A/N: Credit for the plotlines in this chapter go to xsafyx and guest reviewer guest97. You can also thank xsafyx for Hikaru finally reappearing again.
Chapter 19: Visit Home
"Where did Kyo-nii put the carrots?" Ema mused quietly to herself as she rifled through the refrigerator. It was only 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but she and Ukyo wanted to try a complicated new roast recipe, so Ema wanted to get started earlier to make sure it was done by the family's usual dinner time. She was grateful that it was still summer since she probably wouldn't have time to make a dish like this during the school year.
"Ah! There you are." Ema reached all the way to the back of the fridge and pulled out a plastic bag full of carrots.
As she stood up, Ema heard someone say. "How mean, Imouto-chan. I come all this way to see you and you don't even greet me. Don't you always say 'welcome home' to all our brothers every day?"
Ema spun around, nearly dropping the carrots in shock. "Hikaru-kun!" Today, Hikaru stood dressed in a blue dress and white jacket with tall white boots. Ema quickly tossed the carrots on the counter before throwing her arms around Hikaru. "When did you get here? How long are you staying for?"
"I arrived in Japan today. I came to meet with my agent about the release of my latest novel. I'll need to be here for at least a week, though I'm considering extending my visit to two since it's been a few months since I've been home."
"It's been a half a year," Ema informed him, pulling back from the hug.
"How sweet of you to keep track," Hikaru said, patting Ema's head.
"Why don't you sit at the counter and talk to me while I make dinner?" Ema suggested. Hikaru obligingly went around to the other side of the counter and sat at one of the stools. "When does your new novel come out?" Ema asked excitedly as she started peeling carrots. "This one is about a female lawyer who gets dragged into the Italian mafia, isn't it?"
Hikaru smiled at Ema's enthusiasm. The genuine passion she showed for her brothers' endeavors always charmed Hikaru. She had been Hikaru's number one fan and supporter before he ever wrote a complete novel, let alone published one. "Yes. The hope is that this new one will do well enough that I'll be able to develop it into a series. The release date is two months from now."
"That would be so cool if it turned into a series! I really liked the chapters that you let me read."
Hikaru was about to respond when a voice from called out hello from the top of the stairs. "Welcome home, Tsubaki-kun," Ema said.
"Oh, you're here, Hika-nii," Tsubaki said, barely glancing at Hikaru as he swept into the kitchen and pulled Ema into his arms. Tsubaki pulled back a little to kiss her cheek. "I missed seeing you this morning, Ema-chan."
"Sorry, Tsubaki-kun," Ema said, blushing as she moved away from Tsubaki to start chopping the carrots. "I stayed up late last night playing video games, so I slept in this morning."
Tsubaki tsked at Ema. "You should be more responsible. My day isn't as good if I don't start it off by seeing you."
Ema's blushed deepened and she focused on the carrots. "I'm sure your day went just fine. You wouldn't let anything ruin your day, Tsuba-nii."
Hikaru gave a slow blink as he watched this strange exchange. Tsubaki had always been affectionate with their little sister, but this seemed new. And the frown that flickered across Tsubaki's face when Ema called him 'Tsuba-nii' was definitely new.
"You shouldn't underestimate your power, Ema," Tsubaki pouted. "My days are always better when you're in them."
After that, Tsubaki went to his room to read manga and Azusa came home a few minutes later.
"Oh, Hika-nii, it's been awhile since we've seen you. Welcome home."
Hikaru gave Azusa a nod, not surprised that the younger of the twins gave him a warmer welcome.
"Welcome home, Azusa-kun," Ema said, smiling at Azusa.
Hikaru watched with interest as a light blush covered his younger brother's cheeks. "Thank you, Ema. And thanks for making my lunch today. I definitely wouldn't have had time to get anything to eat between the two auditions that I had today. You're a lifesaver, and your cooking is much better than anything I could have gotten anyways."
Hikaru couldn't help but raise his eyebrows half an hour later when Iori came into the kitchen with flowers. "These are for you, Ema-chan. I'm sorry that I haven't been around much lately. I feel like we've barely been able to spend any time together."
"That's okay, Iori-kun," Ema assured him as she took the flowers, looking pleased. "I'm sure that your really busy preparing for college. I heard from Kaname-kun and Ukyo-kun that you decided to stay in Japan. I'm happy that you'll still be close by, though I'm sure that going to a foreign country for school would have been amazing."
"Yes," Iori agreed, "For now I know that Japan is where I should be. We'll see about later." Ema put the flowers in a vase and placed it on the table. "It's good to see you, Hika-nii," Iori said, giving a wave before he left for his evening shift at the café.
When Ukyo arrived home and started helping with dinner, Hikaru rested his face on his hands and watched Ukyo interact with Ema, wondering if anything had changed between these two as well. Or, perhaps more accurately, if anything had changed with Ukyo towards Ema.
An idea had been forming in Hikaru's mind during the evening as he watched his brothers interact with Ema. He wanted to verify that his hypothesis about the situation was correct. At dinner, after most of the family had gathered, Hikaru decided to carry out his idea. "Ema, dear," he began, looking across the table at his little sister, "why don't you tell me about that boy you emailed me about. I want to hear more about him."
Silence descended on the table. Ema's eyes crinkled in confusion. She tilted her head said, "I'm not sure what—" Before she could finish, Ukyo interrupted in a stiff voice to say, "I don't approve of there being a boy in your life that Masaomi and I haven't had a chance to meet and speak with, Ema."
"I don't approve of there being a boy period," Tsubaki declared darkly, his hand gripping his fork so hard his fingers turned white.
"Who is this boy?" Yusuke demanded, thinking that it had to be a boy from school, and, therefore, someone he knew. "Is it Sasakura-kun? He's not that cool, you know."
"You can't trust high school guys," Subaru warned, a panicked look in his eyes. "You shouldn't date them."
"I don't know what Hika-nii is talking about!" Ema finally burst out, raising her voice to be heard over everyone else. "The only boys I ever email Hika-nii about are all of you."
Hikaru tapped his lips with one finger and casually said, "Oh, that's right, it was my old friend from high school who told me that she met a guy." He gave Ema an apologetic smile. "Your emails and her emails read so much alike that I got the two of you confused. My mistake."
Ukyo glared at Hikaru from the head of the table, not believing Hikaru's words for a minute. Hikaru had done it on purpose, either wanting to confirm something that he suspected, or already knowing something and wanting to cause a raucous for his own amusement. Typical Hikaru.
Hikaru sat back in his chair, demurely eating his dinner. On the inside he was thinking that his brothers' reactions were even better than he'd been expecting. Apparently, he'd been missing a lot living in Italy. He was disappointed in himself for missing what appeared to be at least half his brothers falling for their stepsister. He wondered if any of them had confessed to her yet.
"So anyways…," Kaname said, breaking the awkward silence, "my shrine is holding an event this weekend to celebrate summer. You should all come."
~.~
At the shrine, Hikaru decided that he would stick close to Ema so he could further observe how his brothers acted around her. So far, based on Ema's actions and their actions, Hikaru didn't believe that any of them had confessed yet. Though, whether Ema had admitted it to herself or not, part of her seemed to realize that some of her stepbrothers were treating her differently now. She probably brushed it off as her imagination, but Hikaru didn't miss the fact that Ema seemed plenty happy to stay by his side, where as in the past she might stick with a brother she was closer to.
Speaking of sticking close to, the twins and Yusuke seemed reluctant to leave Ema's side. Of those who went to the shrine, only Masaomi and Wataru had wandered off to do their own thing. Though every one of them had seemed dazzled by the sight of Ema in a yukata and complimented her.
They were walking down a path with food and game booths on either side when a voice called out, "Ema-chan?"
Ema paused and looked around in confusion. When her eyes lighted on a handsome young man with short dark hair wearing a blue yukata and waving tentatively, her face lit up. "Masato-kun!"
The man, apparently Masato, grinned and came over. "I thought it was you, Ema-chan."
Ema, unable to contain her excitement, immediately hugged him. Masato looked surprised for a moment, but happily returned the hug. "It's been so long since I've seen you!" Ema exclaimed before letting him go. "What are you doing here?"
"My father got promoted," Masato explained, "which brought us back down to this area. As for what I'm doing here tonight…" His face flushed red. "My sister Haruka-chan wanted to check out this shrine. She heard about the monks here and all her friends were telling her she had to come here. How did you end up here? I never would have expected to see you in a place like this."
Behind the two, Azusa and Yusuke looked on with shocked expressions, confused and wishing that someone would clue them in on what was happening here. Azusa was afraid that whoever this guy was, he might be something more than a friend to Ema. Yusuke was hurt that Ema had a friend, obviously a close friend, that he knew nothing about. Tsubaki stood with his arms crossed and a ticked off look on his face. Whoever this you man was, Tsubaki wanted him gone. Hikaru, on the other hand, was amused to learn that there actually was a guy in Ema's life that her brothers didn't know about.
"One of my brothers works here," Ema explained to Masato. "He invited us to come tonight."
"One of your brothers?" Masato asked, tilting his head to the side and looking confused.
"Yep!" Ema replied cheerfully. "My father got remarried the year after your family moved and now I have stepbrothers." Ema turned to gesture at her siblings. "This is Hikaru-kun, Yusuke-kun, and the twins, Tsubaki-kun and Azusa-kun. Guys, this is Masato Hirashi-kun. He's a dear childhood friend." The Hirashi's had once lived in the same apartment complex as Ema and her father. Masato and Ema had grown up together and the Hirashi's were the family who looked after Ema the most when Rintaro was traveling and Ema was really little. Ema had been heartbroken when Masato's father was transferred for work and they moved away.
"Maybe you and I could catch up?" Masato asked, casting his eyes at Ema's stepbrothers for a second before looking back at Ema. "Would that be okay?"
Ema turned to Hikaru. "Do you mind, Hika-nii? I know I was supposed to spend this time with you since you're rarely home and you said you wanted to make the most of it…"
"Go ahead, Imouto-chan," Hikaru said, smiling cheerfully and waving her off. "Far be it from me to keep you from a childhood friend you haven't seen in years. I don't mind at all." Internally, Hikaru was laughing at the looks on his brothers' faces. The three of them needed to learn a little self-control. What if Ema turned and saw?
"Thanks, Hika-nii!" Ema exclaimed before giving him a quick hug and leaving with Masato. The next moment, Hikaru found himself confronted with three pissed off brothers.
"How could you let her go off with that guy?" Tsubaki demanded.
"You saw how excited our Imouto-chan was to see that guy," Hikaru said, acting like he was oblivious to Tsubaki's anger. "How could I have said no?"
Masaomi and Wataru appeared a moment later. "Where's Onee-chan?" Wataru asked, looking around.
"She left with an old friend she hadn't seen in a while," Hikaru answered with a shrug. "They wanted to catch up."
"A friend that none of us know anything about," Azusa muttered darkly. Masaomi's heart clenched at the thought. He wished that he had been there so he could have seen what kind of a relationship the two of them had. Then he pushed that thought aside. Whatever relationship Ema had with this friend, that was her business. As long as he didn't hurt her.
"Awwww," Wataru whined. "Why couldn't they have stayed with the family to talk? I wanted to play with Onee-chan at the festival."
"Maybe the two of them wanted to be alone," Hikaru suggested innocently.
"Why would Onee-chan want to be alone with her friend?" Wataru asked.
"Silly boy," Hikaru said, patting Wataru on the head. "There's lots of reasons that a man and woman would want to be alone together." At Hikaru's words, both Tsubaki and Yusuke took on a panicked look and they frantically searched for Ema, but she and Masato had already been lost in the crowd.
~.~
"Wow," Masato said, his eyes blinking in disbelief. "Thirteen stepbrothers, huh? That's pretty intense. Wait, you said that Hikaru person was one of your stepbrothers?"
"Yep," Ema answered, nodding.
"Oh," Masato said, thinking back. "She, I mean he, had kind of a girly yukata on."
Ema tried to stifle her giggle. "Yeah, he's got kind of an interesting style." Saying that was easier than explaining that Hikaru lived as a woman at least half the time in order to do research for his novels.
"Well, you seem glad, so I'm happy for you." Masato knew how lonely Ema had been when they were younger. Ema deserved to have a family around to help take care of her. Not that Ema was very good at letting others take care of her. She'd always been too independent and too worried about being a bother to others. Of course, she'd had to be independent with Rintaro around so little.
"What high school do you go to?" Masato asked.
"Hinode High."
"Dang, we won't be going to the same one. Well, at least we live in the same city again. Maybe we can hang out sometime."
