Kaname
"You're not a monk anymore?" Ema asked Kaname in shock. She'd been back for two weeks and though she hadn't noticed Kaname walking around in his monk robes, she hadn't thought much of it until she saw him leaving the house in a business suit. That caught her attention.
"What can I say?" Kaname asked, shrugging with a joking smile on his face. "It was time to grow up."
"But, when did you get a new job? And what are you doing?"
"I'm working for Mom's company now," Kaname answered. "She's wanted one of us to be involved in it with her for a long time. I started working for her a few weeks into the summer."
"But…are you happy?" Ema asked in concern. She knew how much he'd enjoyed his job as a monk. He'd been doing it for as long as she'd known him. His love of women and drinking aside, he really was a caring person and had been able to help a lot of people through his job. As a monk, Kaname had presided over things like funerals and had taken his duty to comfort the bereaved very seriously.
Kaname smiled and patted Ema's head. "Don't worry so much, Imouto-chan. It's just work and I'm learning lots of new things."
"That's not really an answer," Ema argued, worried that Kaname seemed to be avoiding her question. "You didn't take this job just because Mom wanted you to, did you?"
"No, no, that's not the reason," Kaname assured her. If he'd wanted to please his mom with his career choice, he'd have gone to work for her as soon as he was done with school. However, he couldn't tell Ema that she was the reason for his career change. She made him want to be a better man.
After everything that happened during Ema's senior year, Kaname decided to become more serious about his life, which meant getting a job that didn't revolve around women. Of course, he wouldn't tell Ema any of this. Though he loved her, we wanted to protect her and be there for her as a big brother, so he wouldn't chase after…At least, that was how he wanted to feel. He wished he could be more like Masaomi and Louis and truly be content with only wishing for Ema's happiness, but he couldn't give up hope that Ema might fall for him.
"If you're sure," Ema said, still looking concerned. "But if you don't like this job, I think you should switch to something that makes you happy, Kaname-kun. You spend too much time at work to be doing something you don't like."
Kaname looked mock disappointed and hurt as he asked, "You think that all I'm good for is entertaining women? I promise that I have other skills, Ema-chan."
Ema quickly shook her head. "No, not at all, Kaname-kun! I think that you have many skills. You're so good with people, I'm sure that—" Ema broke off when Kaname started laughing.
"I'm sorry, you're just so serious about being worried that I'm offended," Kaname said, still laughing.
Ema flushed as she realized that Kaname had just been teasing her. She should have known.
~.~
"As you can see, this plan will help to skyrocket Miyako-chan's singing career," Juliet said, gesturing to the PowerPoint slide on the screen behind her. "Each of these planned events and the corresponding social media response that we will oversee will help to showcase her best points and her talents."
Ema was in a meeting at Star City, and she felt sick as she watched the presentation. The plan to boost Miyako's popularity after she debuted was Ema's. Ema had spent the past two weeks working on it and every free moment thinking about it. She had been very proud with what she came up with, and rightfully so from the positive reactions of the other people in the meeting.
A few days ago, Juliet had asked Ema to show her what she had been working so diligently on. Ema had, not at all expecting Juliet to steal her plan and present it as her own. Worse than that, Ema was pretty sure this was the second time. The first time, Ema had planned a rally to support an actor who got hurt on set and who the director wanted to replace. The next day, Juliet presented the rally to their manager. At the time, Ema thought that they must have just come up with the same idea separately, but after seeing this Ema wondered if Juliet had seen Ema's notes about the rally.
"You should take notes, Ema-chan," Ema's manager said, turning to her and pointing at Juliet. "As an intern, this is exactly the kind of thing you should emulate. Maybe I'll have you job shadow Juliet for a few days and you can pick her brain for how she comes up with ideas like this."
"R—right," Ema said quietly, not sure what else to say. She was only an intern while Juliet had been working for Star City for three years, having transferred from the main office in France. Who would believe Ema over Juliet?
Later that day, Juliet cast Ema an arrogant look when they passed each other in the hall. "I hope you're not dumb enough to say anything to anyone," Juliet warned. "You're only an intern, after all. Obviously, you wouldn't have ideas as good as someone who's been in this business for a while."
"If you've learned so much than why would you take my ideas?" Ema asked, clenching her fists. She hadn't been able to concentrate since the presentation she was so upset. She couldn't focus on anything other than memory of Juliet presenting her hard work.
"Silly girl, this is what I've learned. This is a tough and competitive business. If you don't have what it takes to stay on top, you might as well get out now."
~.~
Ema struggled not to cry as she started dinner by herself that evening. She had been so excited about her work for Star City and had really been enjoying it. She'd hoped that she'd found what she wanted to do with her life, but if today was any indication of what working for a company like Star City would be like in the long run…
Ema was so caught up in her dark thoughts that she didn't notice when someone else entered the kitchen.
"Ema-chan?" Kaname asked softly. "Did something happen today?"
"What?" Ema asked, spinning to face him and widening her eyes, trying to stop her tears from falling. "Oh, no, everything's fine." Ema smiled to show him she was okay. Kaname had enough to worry about since it seemed like he was still settling into his new job, often coming home looking tired. And it wasn't like there was anything he could do to help. Ema didn't want to make him worry needlessly.
"Really," Kaname said, his voice flat.
"I—yes," Ema said, her brow wrinkling in confusion at Kaname's tone. "Did something happen to you today?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. I came home to my little sister looking obviously upset, but when I asked her about it, she just brushed me off."
"It's just a problem at work," Ema said, shrugging and turning back to her dinner preparations to hide her face.
Kaname stared at Ema's back, his frustration quickly mounting. How many times had he talked to Ema about not keeping things to herself and relying on her family more? If she hadn't internalized everything when his brothers started confessing their feelings to her, then maybe things wouldn't have gotten as bad as they did. Once, once, Kaname had seen Ema truly express being hurt and upset, and that was only after she was pushed nearly to the breaking point by Iori and the stress of what the others who'd confessed had done.
"You know," Kaname said casually, trying to hide his frustration as he leaned against the counter. "It's not fair for you to expect me to express my concerns about my new job when you won't do the same with your own."
"I'm having some problems with a coworker," Ema admitted. "Though I'm sure that I'll figure something out." Like maybe leaving Star City and finding something else to do with her life. The thought depressed Ema and her shoulders unconsciously sagged. She'd been so excited to think that she finally might have found what career she wanted.
"What kind of trouble?" Kaname prompted.
Ema looked over, surprised that Kaname was still in the same spot, then she felt guilty for telling him anything. He obviously must be worried about her if he was still here. He hadn't even changed out of his work clothes yet, and he always got out of his suit first thing when he got home.
"Don't worry about it," Ema said, smiling what she hoped was a convincing smile. "You should go change, Kaname-kun. I'm sure you're tired from work. Dinner should be ready in less than an hour."
"Ema," Kaname said sternly, than forced himself to gentle his tone. "You don't have to force yourself when you're upset. If you always keep things to yourself, it's harder to be closer to the people around you. Relationships with the people we care about are supposed to work two ways, with each supporting the other. You never let us support you, even when you're going through hard times. How many things have you kept from us and went through alone through the years?"
Though Kaname was sure Ema wouldn't answer that, he truly wanted to know. A few weeks after Ema and Yusuke started high school, Yusuke came to Kaname and confessed that the family might be getting a call about Yusuke hitting a kid at school. Yusuke told Kaname that a boy had been bullying Ema for weeks and Yusuke decided to take matters into his own hands after he found out about it. Kaname intercepted the call from the school to make sure that Ukyo didn't find out about it and get Yusuke in trouble for it, but he'd been very upset that Ema hadn't said a word to anyone about it. How many other times had things like that happened?
"I don't want to be a burden," Ema brushed off, still smiling. "There's no reason for me to complain about the little things that go wrong in my life."
From the expression on Ema's face when Kaname got home, he doubted that she was upset over something small. "You're not a burden," Kaname said, losing his temper and slamming his hand on the counter. Ema jumped in surprise. "I've told you before that we're your family and it's part of our job to be there for you, Ema. Half a year ago you complained that you're not really part of this family, but if that's true it's because you hold yourself back." Kaname immediately regretted it the moment he said it. Obviously, that wasn't the truth. Ema was as much a part of the family as everyone else. "Ema, I didn't mean—"
"There was once a little girl who stood outside Sunrise Mansion, looking up at it," Ema interrupted, not looking at Kaname. Her voice shook with emotion. "She was ecstatic to be joining a new family, but afraid of how thirteen brothers would feel about a little girl intruding on their lives. She swore two things to herself." Now Ema looked at Kaname, finding him looking wide-eyed and confused at Ema's seemingly abrupt change in topic. "The first was that she would be the kind of sister her new brothers could rely on, and the second was that she would not be a burden to them."
Kaname moved to stand in front of Ema, caging her against the counter behind her. "If you won't let me support you as your brother, than maybe you'll let me do it as a man instead." Cupping the back of Ema's head with one hand, Kaname kissed her. He pushed his body against hers, wrapping his other arm around Ema's waist.
Ema made a noise of surprise, her hands coming up to fist in Kaname's suit jacket. She was shocked at how it felt to be kissed by Kaname. He had always been such a stable, reliable presence in her life. She felt safe in his arms. And excited. Was this how it felt to like someone?
Kaname pulled back and the two of them stared at each other, inches apart. Before either of them could say anything, Kaname's cell phone rang. He made an irritated face and pulled out the cell phone Ema had seen him use for his job at the shrine. She saw a woman's name listed on the phone and stepped back from Kaname uncertainly, feeling hurt. Kaname may have left his job as a monk, but did that mean that he'd left his 'followers' behind?
Rather than answering the phone, Kaname handed it to Ema. "Here," he said. "You can do whatever you want with it. I have a company phone now with all our family numbers in it and those are the only contacts I need. I don't have any use for that phone now."
Ema stared down at the phone in shock, knowing what a big gesture this was for Kaname. How long had he had feelings for Ema? Did she have anything to do with him changing jobs? Ema tossed the phone behind her, hearing it clatter on the floor as she reached for Kaname. He looked utterly relieved and elated as he wrapped Ema in his arms again, bending down to kiss her.
~.~
Two weeks later, Kaname and Ema were holding hands as they walked down the street. They had just finished a lunch date and Kaname was walking Ema back to Star City. Their conversation was abruptly interrupted when Juliet stepped in front of them. They stopped in surprise and Kaname pulled Ema closer to him.
Juliet smiled sweetly at the couple in front of her. She'd been dumbfounded as she watched Ema walking back to Star City with such a hot guy holding her hand. How had a little girl like Ema managed to land a guy like that? Jealousy spiked through Juliet when she noticed the man pull Ema protectively closer to him.
"Goodness, Ema-chan, where have you been hiding this man?" Juliet asked, staring at Kaname the whole time. Kaname raised his eyebrows at Juliet, wondering who this woman was and what she wanted. She smiled sultrily and put a hand on Kaname's arm. "Ema-chan is such a darling little girl, isn't she? But she is just a girl." Juliet blatantly looked Kaname up and down. "You, on other hand, are very much a man. Wouldn't you rather be with a woman?"
Ema flushed as Juliet spoke, shocked that Juliet would be so bold as to flirt with Kaname right in front of Ema. A small part of Ema was also afraid that there could be some truth to what Juliet was saying. Kaname was ten years older than Ema and had dated a lot of women. What did he think about dating someone in their first year of college? Ema wasn't even nineteen yet.
"And you are?" Kaname asked, looking bemused as he stared at Juliet.
"Pardon me for my rudeness," Juliet flirted, putting one hand to her chest. "I'm Juliet, I work with Ema at Star City. And your name is?"
The moment Juliet gave her name, Kaname's eyes went cold. He tilted his head as he said, "Ah, so you're the idiot with no sense."
"Excuse me?" Juliet demanded, shocked at the man's words and his cold tone. "Oh, wait, is this about Ema's confusion that I stole her work? I'm afraid that as an intern, she just doesn't understand how things work. I promise you that the whole thing is just a misunderstanding."
Kaname shook his head. "I'm sure you think you're very lucky and clever being able to steal the outstanding work of an intern, but I personally think it's pretty stupid and rather bold to dare to steal the work of Miwa Asahina's stepdaughter."
Juliet's face went pale as she finally looked at Ema. "Miwa Asahina?" Even living in France, Juliet knew who the major conglomerate owner was. Who didn't know the name of one of the wealthiest businesswoman in the world? "Why-why didn't you ever say anything?" Juliet demanded, now fearing for her job. Miwa Asahina had a lot of connections that would be beneficial to Star City. If the company learned who Ema was, there was no way they would choose to keep Juliet over Ema if Ema complained about what Juliet had done.
Ema blinked uncomprehendingly at Juliet, making Kaname smile. He was sure that it had never, and would have never, occurred to Ema to use the connections available to her. "Unlike you," Kaname said to Juliet, pausing to kiss Ema's forehead, "Ema is good enough that she doesn't need to use tricks to advance at work. However, if you ever do anything to Ema again, I will interfere on behalf of the Asahina family."
Juliet paled further. "I—I'm sorry, Ema-san. It all really was a misunderstanding, I swear. It won't happen again." Before she could say anything else that might make things worse for her, Juliet fled back inside.
"You see?" Kaname said, turning to Ema. "Telling others about your problems does make things better."
Ema smiled up at Kaname, squeezing his hand. "I'm not sure how valuable complaining by itself is," Ema said, standing on tiptoe to kiss Kaname's cheek, "but I promise that I'll always share my troubles with you from now on."
A/N: On to Natsume!
