Many games have been played throughout history. Most of these games involve some sort of physical contact, ranging from basketball, to hockey, and even to sex. The last is quite obviously the most physical of said games, where touch is strategy and lips are fair weapons.
Many games, however, take place in the mind. Love is one of these games, a game played unintentionally by many, and unwanted by some.
The game of love is a fascinating one. The teams are often divided unevenly, and often there are no teams. But when the players are counted, the game is vicious; neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, but most importantly, brother against brother.
And so let the games begin.
"Chii, you're looking impossibly... I don't even know what. Your head's been in the clouds, I can tell."
Ema chuckled quietly at her small friend, setting down her pencil with a small smile.
"It's nothing, Juli."
"Nothing, hm? You're not upset because one of those wolves did something to you?"
She laughed fondly, turning to him. "Juli, they're not wolves. They're my brothers, and they didn't do anything wrong."
Juli crossed his arms. "Hmpf. I wouldn't say that, Chii. I heard them talking last night. They think you're in love."
Ema froze as Juli continued.
"They didn't see me sitting on the stair rail, but I heard every word. Fortunately, Louis seems to be on our side so far; even if you are in love, I know he'd help us out! Those pervert brothers just wanted you to themselves... Chii?"
He scampered to her shoulder. "Chii, what's the matter?"
She turned to him, tears pooling on her eyes. Could it have been true? She'd known that she'd felt a pull to Kaito, but they'd only known each other a few days... and if it was an infatuation, why was she so upset?
No, she knew why. She turned her view to the door, eyes wide with the fear of a puppy caught ruining the sofa. She held her hands to her heart and furrowed her brow, turning her head downward as she contemplated her affection for Kaito, but more importantly, the affection she knew her brothers felt for her.
An instinct told her that there were more of them who had feelings for her, than the ones who had confessed. Hikaru had certainly hinted at that idea, and Fuuto and Kaname had straight-out told her that she had the entire family wrapped round her finger. But from the moment she'd arrived, she'd been so bombarded with the brothers' feelings, one after the next, that she hadn't ever considered the possibility of being romantically involved with someone who wasn't one of them. And now that she was considering it, horror at her selfishness nearly tore her apart inside out.
"Chii." Juli's voice was gentle now. "I can tell that you're crying inside. What is it?"
"Oh, Juli," she sniffled. "I..."
"Yes?"
"...There's a boy at my school." Ema said as Juli's fur stood on end in surprise. "He's funny, and sweet, and even though I just met him a few days ago, I already like him. A lot. And there have only been a few times I've considered any of the brothers romantically, but I'm already thinking of him that way, and I..."
She broke off with a small cry.
"I see." Juli said understandingly. "You feel guilty because this boy, he's taken your heart when the brothers were there first. It's not your fault, Chii, those wolves shouldn't have fallen for you in the first place; you're their little sister. And you can't control how you feel about this boy."
"I can't help it," Ema said, her shoulders seeming to wither. "Feeling guilty, I mean. I've already turned down Tsubaki, Azusa, and Natsume, but Hikaru's said that everyone's feelings have just begun. And they seem to be more intense than usual... and I can't help but feel like everyone's feelings are going to break loose soon. Everyone's."
"Ah, so you know about that, hm?" Juli said, dropping lightly on her desk to look at her head-on. "Well, it couldn't have been kept from you forever. It's true that they have romantic feelings for you, save Wataru and possibly Louis and Hikaru."
"I know," Ema replied solemnly. "Which is why... even if I do decide to move to that level with Kaito, I'd never truly be able to enjoy it. Not without hiding with him, or feeling guilt over how I'd be hurting them... oh!" Ema started in embarrassment. "Of course, I can cross that bridge when I get there. I've only known him a few days, after all, and we're going to be going on a picnic tomorrow. I don't want to make things awkward between us."
"Eh?! You're going on a date and you didn't tell me?"
"It's not a date, Juli, it's just two friends picnicking under the cherry blossoms."
"You're far too trusting, Chii. But in any case, I should go with you."
"You really don't have to, Juli. Besides, if you do come with me, then who will stay here to keep an eye on my brothers?" she smiled in amusement.
"I— hm. You do have a point there, Chii. But you know that if you need me, you can call me."
"I know, Juli. Go to bed now."
"I will. Don't stay up too late."
With that, the squirrel jumped onto the bed and curled up beside the pillow, leaving Ema to contemplate her thoughts. Her frustration grew within her and reached its peak with the click of her lamp.
The darkness that weighed her eyes was more welcoming than she could have known.
"Good morning!" Kaito waved at Ema from his car as she locked the house door.
"Good morning!" She called back with a small wave. He walked around and opened the passenger door for her before slipping into the drivers' seat. The engine purred softly as they left the driveway, Ema taking in the delightful aroma of the lunch that Kaito had packed, and commenting on it, he perked.
"There are tuna sandwiches, fried chicken, some stew, and steamed rice. And we have juice to drink. There's enough for two of us, yeah?" He winked, pulling a blush from the small girl beside him.
At last, they pulled into the cherry blossom park.
"Ah, Hashira-kun-"
At that, Kaito held up his hand, cutting off Ema. "You don't have to call me that. You can call me Kaito."
"O-oh. You can call me Ema, then."
"If you want, then I will. Sorry, what were you saying before I interrupted?"
"Right, I was saying that if you wanted me to help with something, I can. There's a lot to carry, what with the basket and the blankets and the grocery bags..."
"No, it's alright, they're quite heavy and I don't want you overexerting yourself."
"Oh. You're sure? I don't want to be a bother," Ema said.
"Well, it's no bother, but if you really want to help out, you can just hold onto the blankets. I'll take everything else."
So the two of them settled on that, Kaito heaving the picnic basket onto his shoulder as two plastic bags dangled from his other hand; Ema folded the picnic blanket over forearm, carrying it in front of her as they scouted out a place to sit.
The afternoon passed on without a hitch, the two laughing the entire way through. Orange began to dust across the clouds, and Kaito stood, taking Ema's small hand in his own and lifting her to her feet.
"We should get you home to your brothers," he told her with a smile.
"Ah! It's alright, I don't think most of them will notice me coming back anyway."
"Most of them?" Kaito's eyebrow arched curiously.
And there it was, the dreaded question. Ema swallowed, a smile plastering itself on her face. "Thirteen."
He blinked in surprise. "Wow, thirteen? How do you even handle it?" His good-natured laugh set her at ease. "I can barely handle my sister."
She giggled, cautiously letting him thread his arm into hers. "Well, most of them are grown up. Usually it's easy to feel comfortable around them."
"Usually?"
The girl froze, and feeling her tension, Kaito turned to her in concern. "If it's something you don't want to talk about..."
He trailed off, and her gaze fell from his. He squeezed her elbow reassuringly.
A small smile graced her features.
From a spot on the bench across the lake, a certain red haired man turned his rouge-stained lips into a secretive smile. He produced a small chart from his purse, delicately tearing it twice, then thrice, before tossing its shreds into the water.
"A new game has begun."
Ahah, sorry for the long wait! Don't worry, I'll try to get things rolling soon. This was mostly a filler; I wanna pace the story evenly, but I still want to make sure to get a good point of view from both Ema and the brothers.
As always, please review!