Chapter 25: Secrets Revealed

Adopted. She was adopted. The thought kept repeating through Ema's mind as she trudged through the park at night. All those times she'd mentioned her mother, all those times she'd asked for stories…Had Rintaro just fed her lies? She always assumed he got uncomfortable when she asked about her mom because it was difficult for him to talk about his deceased wife, but that wasn't it at all. She had no mother.

Ema's phone went off for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night, and she ignored it like she had all the other times. She was tempted to chuck it into the nearest trash bin. No one cared about her as family anyway. Even Rintaro had only been there for part of Ema's childhood, and the moment he got married, he put up no argument about Ema living apart from him. He started traveling more for work and saw Ema even less. What a relief it must have been for him to get rid of taking care of an unwanted child.

But being unwanted wasn't good enough. No, Ema had to enter the world of the Asahina brothers and cause problems for them. Tsubaki and Azusa fighting. Subaru's and Natsume's relationship becoming even worse. Iori leaving without telling anyone where he was going. Everyone would have been better off without her.

Exhaustion from walking for hours finally overcame Ema and she dropped onto a bench, staring blankly out into the night.

Her phone went off again and then a voice said, "You could at least answer it."

Ema had to blink a couple times to make her eyes focus and see Natsume standing off to the side, his phone in his hand. "Why are you here?" She asked.

"Why am I here? Ema, it's two A.M. Everyone is out looking for you."

"I don't why they'd bother," Ema said, silently adding that she wasn't their sister anyway.

Natsume stared down at her in shock, wondering what could have happened. Kaname called him hours ago to ask if he knew where Ema was. When Natsume said he didn't, Kaname told him that Ema never came home from school, no one knew where she was, and she wasn't answering her phone. Natsume asked if anything had happened, and Kaname said that something happened about a little while ago, but he wasn't aware of anything new happening since then. But Natsume felt that something must have for Ema to have such a dark aura around her.

"I'm calling Ukyo," he announced.

"No!" Ema exclaimed. "I won't go back there."

Natsume stared down at Ema, wondering what he should do. He knelt down next to her and put a hand on her knee. "Ema, what happened?"

"It doesn't matter," she whispered, not looking at him.

Natsume sighed. "You can't just stay out here all night, Ema. Will you at least come to my apartment?"

Ema said nothing and Natsume was afraid she wasn't going to answer. Then, finally, in a quiet voice she said, "Fine."

Since she made no move to get up, Natsume took her hand and gently led her to his car.

Ema stayed silent the entire ride to Natsume's, and he kept throwing worried glances at her, wishing that she would say something. He couldn't do anything if he didn't know what the problem was. Heck, he probably couldn't do anything if he did know what the problem was, but it scared him that she was so despondent.

In his apartment, Ema immediately went to the couch and sat down.

"Ema," Natsume pleaded, "what happened? Why didn't you go home?"

"That's not my home," she whispered, curling her arms around herself. "I don't have a home." Tears started to fall and Natsume's alarm and sense of helplessness grew.

"Ema, you have to tell me what happened," Natsume said, sitting down next to her. "Or I'm calling Ukyo right now." He hated resorting to a threat, and he'd have to call his brothers soon anyway to let them know that Ema was safe and with him. Most of them were out searching for her.

Ema flinched and reached into her backpack, pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to him.

Natsume's brow furrowed as he looked at the paper, realizing it was a family registry. Why would that make her so—

"I'm adopted," Ema said, staring at the turned off TV rather than looking at Natsume. "My parents didn't want me. And neither did Rintaro."

"You don't know that," Natsume said, his eyes flashing to Ema. He was still confused as to why she'd refuse to return home. He had no idea how she was feeling right now, but what did her being adopted have to do with the Asahina family? "Have you spoken to Rintaro?"

"What's the point?" Ema asked. "His actions speak clearly enough. I barely saw him before, and after he got married I saw him even less."

"Still," Natsume argued, "you don't know what he's thinking. And you don't know why your biological parents didn't raise you. You shouldn't just assume, Ema. Look at me and Subaru. If I had been honest with him from the beginning, maybe we would have a better relationship right now."

Ema shrugged and Natsume decided to change tactics. "I know that it must be upsetting to find out that you're adopted, but why does that make you want to run away from home, Ema? Our brothers are really worried about you. We've all been up most the night looking for you."

"Brothers?" Ema asked mockingly, finally turning to look at Natsume. "How many of our 'brothers' actually see me as their sister? And all I've done is cause problems for the Asahina family. Everyone is fighting because of me. The reality is, I don't have a family. Not a biological one, not an adopted one, and not a step one." The anger in her voice faded into pain. "I'm just an unwanted child. I should leave."

Natsume grabbed Ema's arm, holding her to the couch. "Unwanted?" He asked incredulously. "I know that everything happening at home right now is difficult for you to deal with, but it's happening because you mean so much to all of us. Everyone wants you by their side and is afraid of losing you to someone else. They just didn't express it in the best way and put a lot of pressure on you instead."

Natsume's heart thumped as he cupped Ema's face, hoping he wasn't about to make things worse. "I know how they feel because I…I love you too." He bent down and pressed his lips to Ema's. He pulled back and said, "You and I never really lived together and I've never thought of you much as a sister, but I do consider you to be a part of the Asahina family. I can't imagine my brothers or family functions without you there, Ema. You are an essential member of this family."

Ema blinked at him in surprise, a faint blush covering her cheeks. The dark and despondent look had finally left her eyes. Natsume wanted so badly to kiss her again, but knew that he'd just be taking advantage of her in this situation, so he slowly slid his hand away from her face instead.

"Sleep here tonight," he said. "You can have my bed."

"Okay," Ema agreed quietly, looking down at her hands.

"I'm going to call Ukyo to let him know that you're okay. All right?"

Ema nodded before getting up and heading into Natsume's room. Despite the severity of the situation, Natsume still flushed at the thought of Ema lying in his bed. He pushed those thoughts away and took out his phone.

"Hey, Ukyo, it's me. I found Ema and she's at my apartment, but she doesn't want to come home right now. Could you call Rintaro for me and let him know that Ema found out she's adopted? He really needs to speak to her."

~.~

Ema woke the next morning to a text message from Rintaro explaining that both her parents died before she was a year old. Rintaro had been best friends with Ema's father, who was also a traveler and adventurer. Rintaro had watched Ema when her father was away for work after her mother died. When Ema's father died too, Rintaro immediately stepped in to adopt her because he already considered Ema to be part of his family. He'd wanted to tell Ema about her first parents and that she was adopted, but he'd been afraid too. He hadn't know how best to go about it, or when to do it. Rintaro included a picture of Ema's parents with her as a baby and promised that he would be back soon and explain more then.

Ema stared at the picture for a long time, surprised that she could see some of her features in two people who were strangers to her. She was still upset, but she was also excited at the thought of learning about her biological parents. She hoped that Rintaro had a lot of stories about them.

A knock came at the door while Natsume and Ema were eating breakfast and Natsume got up. A moment later, Louis appeared with a gentle smile on his face. "Good morning, Em-chan," he greeted. "Are you feeling any better today?"

"A little," Ema said, fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt. "But I don't know if I'm ready to go home yet."

"Would it be okay if I took you to the park to talk?" Louis asked.

Ema agreed.

~.~

On the way to the park, Louis took Ema first to buy a new dress and then to the salon where he worked to arrange her hair, telling her that looking cute would help her feel better.

"Natsume told us that you found out you're adopted," Louis said as the two of them slowly walked around the park. "I can understand why that would be upsetting, but why did that make it so that you didn't come home?"

"Because I feel like I don't have a family," Ema said quietly. "There's no one in my life related to me by blood and half my stepbrothers don't think of me as their sister anyway."

"Blood relations aren't everything," Louis said. "There's lots of other factors that determine who is your family and who isn't." Ema mentally scoffed, thinking that someone with twelve brothers couldn't possibly understand how she felt, but then Louis turned his head and gave her a little smile. "And I know what I'm talking about, because I'm adopted too."

"What?" Ema asked, stopping in her tracks. "You're adopted?"

Louis nodded. "I'm the only one of the Asahina brothers who's adopted. I was in an orphanage in France when Miwa came to adopt me. Only our older brothers know. Everyone who's younger than me doesn't know." They continued walking again and Ema tried to process this new information. She'd had no idea that Louis was adopted.

"I used to feel really insecure about it," Louis told Ema. "I noticed common traits that our brothers share, and I didn't have those traits. It was hard for me to feel like I belonged, but that changed eventually. I made lots of good memories with everyone and came to think of Miwa as my mother and everyone else as my brothers. What's important with family isn't how you're related to each other, it's how you feel about each other."

Louis stopped and turned so that he was facing Ema, gently taking hold of her shoulders to make sure she was paying attention. "You are part of my family and I love you." He paused and tilted his head. "Do you feel the same way about me?"

Ema nodded, tears falling down her cheeks as she stepped forward to wrap her arms around Louis. "Thank you," Louis said, hugging Ema back and resting his head on top of hers, "for accepting me as family. I know that things are hard right now, but it won't always be that way, Em-chan. You are an important member of the Asahina family, we all feel that way and nothing will ever change that."

They stayed that way for a few minutes before Louis pulled back enough to see Ema's face. "Are you feeling better enough to go home now? Everyone is worried about you."

"Okay," Ema agreed quietly. "We can go home."

~.~

The moment Ema and Louis entered the top floor of Sunrise Mansion, Wataru came barreling towards Ema. "Oooonnneeee-chaaaannn!" Wataru cried as he threw himself at Ema, wrapping his arms around her. "I was so worried about you! I couldn't sleep at all last night." He buried his face in her stomach, holding onto her tightly.

"Sorry, Wataru-kun," Ema said, her heart warming at Wataru's hug. "I didn't mean to make anyone worry."

"Really?" Tsubaki asked, coming up to Ema with Azusa by his side and crossing his arms as he stared down at Ema. "Then why did you run away last night?"

"I…felt like I didn't have any family of my own and that I was ruining the Asahina family."

Tsubaki shook his head angrily. "You're not related to your dad like you thought you were—fine, be upset by that, but don't mix the Asahinas up in that. No matter how your life turns out, you will always be precious to all of us. Yes, I love you and want to be with you, but regardless of what you decide I will always be here for you whether as your family or something else. Don't you ever run away again."

"Tsubaki is right," Azusa agreed. "I realize that we hurt you, and we're deeply sorry for that. We pushed too much too fast and didn't think enough about how you were feeling, but when the stress becomes too much, talk to us about it rather than running away from it. I promise we'll take a step back, but can you promise that you'll talk to us next time?"

Wataru pulled back from Ema enough to look at Tsubaki and Azusa in confusion, wondering what they were talking about and what they'd done to upset Ema.

"I'll try," Ema agreed, nodding once.

"You're back," Yusuke said in relief, appearing from the kitchen. He closed his eyes and dropped his head, looking like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Please don't ever scare me like that again."

Masaomi watched them all from the living room, thinking that all this was why he'd wanted everyone to hide their feelings until graduation. He was afraid that it would all pour out too fast and chase Ema away. Hopefully, everyone would pay attention to how Ema was feeling now instead of just focusing on themselves.

~.~

Ema was surprised that night when Miwa showed up, asking to take Ema out to dinner. She said that Rintaro told her everything, and since he couldn't be here right now, she hoped that she might be able to cheer Ema up a bit.

Ema wasn't sure what they'd talk about, but agreed, happy that Miwa was concerned enough about her to come see her.

Ema asked about Miwa's last business trip and they chatted about mundane things until they arrived at the restaurant. After they were seated at a table, Miwa surprised Ema by saying, "My first husband came from a large family. He had many siblings and cousins and had a happy childhood growing up among so many people that he loved. Because of that, he wanted us to have a big family too. I, on the other hand, grew up as an only child in a very poor family. I wanted to give my husband the large family that he wanted, and I love my sons dearly, but I also strongly felt that I wanted my sons to have all the opportunities that I didn't have growing up, or, at least, not have to fight so hard for them. It seems like everything while I was growing up was a struggle. Having to get through school while hungry. Having to get a job in junior high to help support my family and pushing my studies back to be a lower priority. Working multiple jobs to put myself through college."

Miwa stared at her hand wrapped around drink, seemingly lost in her thoughts. "Anyway," she said, shaking her head and offering Ema an embarrassed smile, "that's my reasoning for always working so hard, so I could give my family a good life. I know that because of the choices I've made, you didn't end up in what you might call a conventional family when Rintaro and I married, but I hope that you consider the Asahinas to be your real family, and that having so many stepbrothers helps make up for not having blood relatives in your life. I hope…I hope that you know how much my sons care for you and that you feel like they're truly there for you. And I hope that you still feel you can regard me and Rintaro as your mother and father."

"It's…difficult," Ema admitted, surprised at Miwa's admission. There was no doubt that the Asahina brothers had been able to live comfortably and get good educations because of Miwa's career choices in life, but Ema wondered if maybe they would have appreciated having their mother home more instead. "But Louis talked with me and told me that he was adopted and how he felt about it growing up. I think…I think that I'll get there. The Asahina family has always meant the world to me. When you and Dad got married and I gained thirteen brothers, I couldn't have imagined anything better."

"I'm grateful," Miwa said, smiling. "Your father and you have been such a blessing to me and my sons. Adding the two of you in made our family better."

"Thanks," Ema said shyly, hoping everyone still felt that way, despite all that had happened.

Ema took a drink as a mischievous light entered Miwa's eyes. "So, daughter of mine, have you fallen in love with any of my sons?"

Ema set her cup down abruptly, coughing as she tried not to spit her water back out.

Miwa laughed at the stunned look on Ema's face. "Not that you need to fall in love with any of them, of course, but I wouldn't mind if you ended up marrying one of them." Miwa's smiled gentled as she said, "Then you'd doubly be my daughter and always stay close to the family. Sometimes I feel like you're the glue keeping everyone together."

Ema blinked in surprise at Miwa's statement. Ema had been thinking that choosing one of her stepbrothers (assuming she could see them as anything but that) would be something that would break the family apart, not keep them close together, but there was no guarantee that Ema would stay close with her stepbrothers when she married and moved out. Could that really be something that would help the family remain close?

"Are you thinking about it now?" Miwa joked, the mischievous light coming back into her eye. She leaned close and conspiratorially said, "Personally, I'd recommend Masaomi as a husband candidate. He's reliable and would make both a good husband and good father."

~.~

Ema felt a little lighter—horribly embarrassed and shocked, but a little lighter as she went home that evening. Outside her room, she found Louis waiting for her.

"What is it, Louie?" She asked, unlocking her door and motioning for him to follow her inside.

"There's something I want to ask you Em-chan, well, offer you really. I don't know if this is what would be best for you, but I thought it might be a good idea for you to get some space for a little bit if you feel like you need it. The choice is completely up to you, of course."

"The choice about what, Louie?" Ema asked in confusion, wondering what Louis could be talking about.

Louis sighed. "A little while ago, my biological father contacted me. He wants to get to know me. I wasn't sure how to feel about it—I'm still unsure, but I do know that if I don't take the chance to get to know him now, I might regret it. I'll be going to France to meet him soon. If you think you need some space from our family to think things through, I'm willing to wait until you graduate in the spring and take you with me to France."

A/N: Cliffhangers are the best Also, I might post again tomorrow because I'm ahead in my writing.