Chapter 18: Cruise Part 2
"It seems like Ema's having a good time," Masaomi commented, smiling down at her playing water volleyball with Tsubaki, Azusa, and Yusuke while he and Ukyo leaned against the deck railing and watched.
"Yeah," Ukyo agreed, his tone much less thrilled than Masaomi's.
"Is something wrong?" Masaomi asked, looking at Ukyo in surprise. Thankfully, Wataru came up at that moment and stole Masaomi away, sparing Ukyo from having to come up with an answer.
Yes, something was wrong, but Ukyo couldn't have told Masaomi that. Ema was a woman now. A woman who looked extremely sexy in a bikini and he hated other men looking at her when she was dressed like that. She didn't even realize how good she looked. As usual, she was too humble and innocent to even think of something like that.
Ukyo was trying to keep an eye on Ema to make sure that no one took advantage of her, but it didn't help when the male pissing him off the most was his own brother. Tsubaki and Ema were on the same team for volleyball and Tsubaki seemed to be using every excuse in the world to touch Ema or cling to her. Admittedly, Tsubaki was always clingy with both Ema and Azusa, so it wasn't like this was anything new, but normally they weren't wearing swimsuits when Tsubaki did it.
Part of Ukyo wished they were at the beach house instead so that there wouldn't be so many guys around to gawk at Ema. He tried to console himself with the thought that with Tsubaki all over Ema, anyone watching would assume that he was Ema's boyfriend and stay away from her. However, Ukyo would have much rather played that role himself.
~.~
"Did you have to jump on her every five seconds?" Azusa asking angrily that night when everyone was back in their rooms. "Did you consider the fact that it might have made Ema uncomfortable when the two of you were only wearing swim suits?"
Tsubaki considered his twin carefully as he leaned back on his bed. "It wasn't that different from what I normally do. We were just wearing less clothes this time. And are you really upset about what I did, or are you more upset that it wasn't you doing it?"
A red flush crawled up Azusa's face and he glared at his twin. "No, I don't wish that it was me. I have no desire to make Ema feel uncomfortable. I'd rather respect her personal space."
"Really?" Tsubaki questioned, tucking his hands behind his head. "I think it's better to put her off balance. How else am I going to make her see me as anything other than her brother?"
Azusa stared at Tsubaki in silence as the tension in the room grew. There it was, Tsubaki's round-about declaration that he was after Ema. Azusa sat on his bed, clenching his fists on top of his knees. "Okay. So what are we going to do about this?" Azusa asked, referencing this new rivalry between the two of them. He didn't know how to handle this. The only times he and Tsubaki had ever fought, Ema had been there to mediate.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I plan on becoming Ema's boyfriend. You can do whatever you want."
Azusa's fists clenched tighter and he had to breathe through the anger. For Tsubaki to dismiss Azusa's chances with Ema out of hand like that ticked him off. He had just as much a chance with her as Tsubaki did. More even, because he would be more respectful and less pushy. He could well imagine his twin's style of trying to make a woman his, and Azusa didn't think that Ema would appreciate it. "I guess that when Ema and I are together, I'll have to find some way to console you. Maybe I'll be able to help you find a different girlfriend so that we can double date. Getting second best isn't so bad, right?"
Tsubaki glared at Azusa and Azusa reached out to flick off the light before pulling the sheets over himself, not bothering to change his clothes first.
~.~
The fourth day, the ship stopped in Taiwan, and the Asahina's got off to enjoy the beach.
Kaname had noticed the twins more glued to Ema's side than usual and figured that perhaps she could use a break, so ran off with her when the twins were distracted. It seemed his thick younger brothers had finally realized their feelings for their stepsister. Kaname feared how Ema would react once she found out that many members of her 'family' didn't feel so familial towards her.
"Afraid to get into the water?" Kaname teased Ema as she dipped her feet into the water. He stood a few feet back on the beach, his arms folded as he watched her.
Ema returned his smile. "The ocean's a bit colder than the pool on the ship. I'm just taking my time getting used to the temperature."
"You know the best way to get used to the cold, right?" Kaname asked, walking towards Ema.
"What?" Ema asked tilting her head.
Kaname almost felt bad for what he was about to do since Ema obviously didn't suspect a thing. When he reached her, he bent down to wrap one arm behind her knees, the other he wrapped just under her shoulders before he hoisted her up in his arms. "The best way is to just jump in and get used to it all at once."
"What?" Ema squeaked. Kaname grinned down at her and ran to a small cliff that led to a deeper part of the water. When he reached the edge, he dropped his arms, expecting Ema to fall in. However, she had her arms wrapped tightly around Kaname's neck and held herself up.
She cracked one surprised eye open and declared, "I'm too strong! You can't just throw me over."
"Okay," Kaname agreed with a shrug, wrapping his arms around Ema again and pulling her close before he jumped off the side with her in his arms. Ema let out a small scream as they fell. Immediately after they hit the water, Kaname kicked his legs to bring them to the surface.
"I can't believe you did that!" Ema gasped.
Kaname grinned wickedly. "I'm sorry, Imouto-chan. Would you rather I still treat you like a little kid who needs to wear a lifejacket and stay close to shore? I'm sure we could find a lifejacket somewhere. The cruise ship probably has some for rent."
"No," Ema said, blushing as she pushed away from Kaname. Kaname throwing the two of them over the cliff and into the water shocked Ema, but she couldn't deny that she was having fun.
Ema almost never teased her brothers, but maybe just this once…"But don't think that I won't get my revenge." Ema splashed a wave at Kaname before turning and booking it towards shore. Kaname was a much stronger swimmer than Ema, and if she wanted to have a chance in this water fight, she'd have to get to where she could stand.
She risked a glance back and saw Kaname not too far behind her. She struggled to go faster until she finally reached where her feet could touch the sand. She ducked under the water when Kaname made a grab for her, and came up slashing water. Kaname turned his head away to avoid the splash before diving under the water and pulling Ema's legs out from under her.
They went back and forth for a few minutes, moving closer to the beach where it was easier to splash each other in the shallow water. When Kaname's foot caught on a large rock, he fell forward, accidently pulling Ema down underneath him. He landed with his knees straddling Ema's waist and his hands on either side of her head.
Ema laughed as she tried to stop the small waves from filling her mouth with ocean water, but all laughter left Kaname as he stared down at Ema. Her face was only a foot from his and all he wanted to do was lean down and kiss her. Pulling her out into the ocean alone with him had been a very bad idea, despite his good intentions to give her a break from the twins. Kaname knew that he was attracted to Ema, but he hadn't expected something like this to happen.
He leaned down just an inch closer to Ema when a larger wave crashed over his back. Kaname shivered at the sudden cold, but was grateful for it. He pushed himself up onto his knees and said, "We should go find the others. It'll be lunch time soon." He pushed his hands through his hair, moving the wet strands away from his face and avoiding looking down at Ema.
"Okay," Ema agreed. "But…maybe you could get off me first?"
Kaname glanced down and flushed when he realized that he was still straddling Ema. She was lying between his knees, propped up on her elbows to keep her face out of the water. She looked at him with an innocent expression and his chest ached with the desire to pull her close and find out what she tasted like. Instead, he got to his feet and offered a hand to help her up.
~.~
The last night of the cruise, Masaomi gathered Ukyo, Kaname, and the twins in his room while Ema, Yusuke, and Wataru had dessert for the last time.
"What's up with this, Mao-nii?" Tsubaki complained. "It's our last night to party. No offense, but I don't exactly want to spend it in here with all of you."
Masaomi sighed, staring at his hands as he sat on the edge of his bed. It wasn't going to be easy to have this conversation, but Masaomi had been thinking about if for a while now. What he planned to say tonight he also needed to say to some of his brothers who weren't present, but after witnessing all that he had during the week and half they'd been on the cruise, Masaomi didn't think it would be wise for him to wait any longer to say this.
"Ema is our sister," Masaomi began, looking up from his hands to watch his brothers. The twins both froze, wondering where this was leading to. "And I don't believe that what I'm about to say applies completely to everyone in this room, but I wanted us all here to hear it. And I want us all to agree to it."
"Agree to what?" Azusa asked, having a bad feeling about this.
Masaomi stared first into Azusa's eyes, then into Tsubaki's. Out of the present group, it was the twins that Masaomi was most worried about. "We are Ema's precious family. Being a member of the Asahina family means everything to Ema, and we cannot take that away from her."
Masaomi paused, but no one spoke up, though Tsubaki crossed his arms and his eyes darkened as he stared at his oldest brother. "I know how much Ema means to all of us, but any feelings that may be had for Ema that fall outside the range of familial love…should just be left to yourselves." Tsubaki and Azusa both started to speak up and Masaomi held out one hand in a 'stop' sign before they got far. "I don't necessarily mean forever, but at least for now. It's important that Ema still feels comfortable and safe at home, as she always has. At least until she graduates from high school, I want to ask you all to keep any romantic feelings for her to yourselves. Please, at least think about it. For Ema's sake."
~.~
Iori stared blankly at the wall as he brooded in his room. He wished that he could have gone on the cruise to look after Ema. She needed someone around to protect her. Especially with his brothers around.
He fell back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling as he contemplated what he should do. He'd been accepted to prestigious universities both abroad and in Japan. Lately he'd been thinking that he'd attend the Japanese school so that he could stay close to Ema, but maybe the two of them needed to leave Japan. With all the attention that Ema was getting at home lately, that was probably for the best. Iori would attend one year of college in Japan, and then he would go abroad, taking Ema with him.
That was the best solution.
A/N: I hope Ema wasn't too OOC in her interaction with Kaname. I really wanted to do a scene like that, but I'm not 100% sure that it fits. Let's just say that Ema let loose a little while on vacation.
