There was a short period of time where both of them were thirteen years old. However, Angel didn't seem very different, still bearing the same innocent nature she always had, simply growing more beautiful by the day.
Emil, on the other hand, was attacked by the worst kinds of hormones.
Stupid puberty. He grumbled to himself in his head constantly.
The worst part was: looking at Angel, and just… noticing her.
When she was a child, she was chubby and round with rosy red cheeks that only got redder when she cried. Her hair was trimmed so that it was always bouncing above her shoulders and tied in two small ponytails at the sides of her head. She was an adorable little girl, always smiling.
Now, she had filled out a bit… she wasn't as little girl, she was a young woman. Her deep indigo eyes stood out more on the paler-than-tan fair skin she had, bordered by long and thick eyelashes. Her navy blue hair grown out so that it reached her waist easily, waving slightly at the ends in a charming way. Her lips were a luscious deep pink, almost red, her smile even more enchanting and cheerful still.
It didn't take Emil long to realize that he had a huge crush on his best friend, even if he denied it to everyone else and went to flirt with other girls instead, beginning to notice the curves and softness in the opposite gender. He just… didn't say anything to her. He was her best friend, and he knew that the most that she ever thought of him was as a big brother and a guardian.
But even as he gave a charming smile to other girls and gave them pet names, to him, Angel was the most beautiful creature to walk the earth.
He knew it wasn't right, though…. They were just friends… siblings, nothing more.
He didn't realize it when he had stopped talking to her altogether, avoiding her in fear that he would slip up and say something stupid to her, or do something… inappropriate. The thoughts going through his head that he spouted to the other girls made them slap him… hard. He didn't want her to do that, or to even know he had those kinds of feelings.
He never noticed that she was far brighter than simply in personality. She had noticed his change in behavior. At first, she was worried, but she didn't say anything either. She kept quiet, acting like everything was normal when she really wanted Emil to tell her what she did wrong, believing it to be her own fault. She didn't consult Access though, confident that if she was patient enough, Emil would tell her himself.
She was too innocent to see the real problem.
After a week, she decided that if he was avoiding her, then she would help him out, and avoid him as well. She would still sneak into their room at night, but only Access was there, and Emil would be out taking a night time walk or something along the lines. After the first week, though, she stopped coming all together. She forgot to tell Access, and of course, he got worried.
She found it hard to sleep at night, but she shut her eyes and pretended she was in the Niwa boys' room. She missed them. Though, luckily for her, Access would come over and sit with her until she fell asleep.
Two weeks into the ordeal, she went out to play alone. She didn't come home that night. That certainly got Emil's attention.
Worried, he went off in search of her.
What if something happened to her? Maybe she got lost? Damn, stupid Angel… Emil thought as he ran through the night. He went to all the places she could have gone. Maybe she went to visit the old jewelry shop, which stood now as only an empty lot of dirt? Her parents' grave? Maybe she went to the field they so often played in.
Being the farthest place, that was the last place he checked. He stopped at the edge of the field, panting hard and sweating heavily. He wiped his chin free of the dirty beads of water that had dripped down his face.
There she was. He let out a sigh of relief. She was sitting on the rope-and-wooden-plank swing that they had made for Access the past year on the other side of the field, simply staring out at the moon, bright and blinding in the night. She had always been afraid of the dark, so she considered the big white rock her "friend".
He made his way over to her, crossing his arms and leaning on the tree where the swing hung off of. She glanced over at him, but they were both silent, and she glanced up again. He stared in shock. Despite the darkness, he could tell… She had been crying.
Abruptly, he started pushing the swing.
"Eh?" Angel sounded surprised. She looked over her shoulder, and smiled. He smiled back as she kicked her legs and laughed a bit.
When she stopped the swing by putting her feet on the ground, she grinned up at Emil. They didn't need to exchange any apologies for avoiding each other, even if Angel didn't completely understand why.
"Thanks for worrying about me." She said softly, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek in the same innocent manner she always had, as if she was kissing away a bruise. She was just trying to be sweet.
He immediately became as red as his hair, his face warming up so much that even she could feel it. She giggled madly.
After a while, he calmed himself down, giving her a strange look as her laughs quieted. She gave a little sigh of contentment. Suddenly Emil smirked, a devious idea popping into his head.
He reached up and took the side of her face with one hand, turning her head to face him. He leaned down, his smirk becoming a charming grin. She looked confused.
Suddenly Emil's lips were pressed against Angel's in a soft, awkward, but chaste kiss.
When he pulled back, he snickered. "That was for making me worry."
It was the first time he had seen her blush so hard.
He cursed himself for thinking that he lips tasted sweet. He just wanted to kiss her again now. It… had felt really nice.
Despite his playful manner, he was burning inside. His chest hurt with loud beats.
That had been his first kiss. He had stolen hers, but he had given his to her as a gift.
"Hikari. He's a new artist in town, just come in from Japan. And the news is, his art… it's different." Access said excitedly.
"Hmm… but if he's new at this, it might not be worth a lot…" Emil crossed his arms. It was the dead of night, and the two Niwas were at it again. This time, they were staking out their newest target.
"No, when I said different, I meant that… his art seems as if it's alive," The ten-year-old thief explained, "and guess what? Hikari is only fourteen."
Emil lifted an eyebrow, looking down to the mansion across the street where the Japanese artist was lodging. "Well. That's a big surprise."
"Yeah, he's some kind of kid prodigy." Access' head bobbed up and down enthusiastically, looking to the mansion as well, crouched on the rooftop of the next building. They could see the lights on in one room, where the Hikari was staying. He was still working on his latest piece, commissioned by the masters of the house.
"Well then… I guess we'll have to welcome him to Munich."
"So that's big bro in Japanese. Hey bro, maybe I should start calling you that." Access snickered. The Niwa brothers were teaching Angel Japanese again, like they had promised.
"Oh, I want to call you onii-chan too! Can I?" Angel said, looking up at Emil with big blue eyes.
"Err…" The redhead frowned. "But it sounds so… girly…"
Plus, I don't want to be your 'big brother'… He thought with dismay.
"No it doesn't! I think it's cute!" Angel pouted.
"No." Emil frowned.
"What, are you too old for cute pet names?" Access teased, "You're only fourteen. Give yourself a few more years before you become a man."
"Yeah, I am." The older Niwa retorted to the ten-year-old. "Besides, Ange, you're fourteen too. Onii-chan is so childish! You should grow up."
"Oh, don't be mean, Emil! Access said it too! We're not adults yet." Angel stuck her tongue out.
"Well, yeah, but come on. In two years we're going to be kicked out of the orphanage. We have to learn how to be adults or else we're not going to make it in the world." Emil pointed out.
"You're such a kill joy…" His younger brother frowned. "But… they can't kick you out… we're siblings. They don't separate siblings. You'll be here till I'm sixteen."
"Yeah, I'll be allowed here. But what about Angel? She's not blood related to us. Sister Natalia will be forced to leave her on the streets." Emil gave a matching frown.
"Huh? What? Really?" Angel seemed clueless about the whole thing, "I… I'm not going to be allowed back?"
Emil sighed, reaching up and ruffling her hair fondly. "Don't worry. We promised we'd take care of you, remember? When we turn sixteen, we'll get out of here… all three of us."
"Really?" Angel had an excited sparkle in her eyes. "Where will we go? Can we go to Great Britain?"
Emil chuckled. "We'll see."
"Why Britain, sis?" Access asked, tilting his head.
"Because! One day, when I'm all grown up, I'm going to be successful like mommy and daddy!" When Angel was a little girl, she always spouted dreams of owning a jewelry shop or an art gallery in Britain, even though she had never seen it. "Except they don't let women be successful here…. They let women be successful in Britain, right? So I'm going to go to Great Britain someday! I'll be the most successful woman in the world when I get there!"
Emil gave a kindhearted laugh. "I'm sure you will be." He said, like he always did when she told him this as a child, "As long as you have a man by your side, you can be as successful as you want." He gave a little smirk. The implication was less than obvious.
Angel didn't even notice.
"Did you hear that the princess is interested in that Hikari artist?" Access asked.
"Wow… I wonder if she'll come here to meet him? She must have the best kind of life… being a princess…" Angel sighed dreamily.
"Don't tell me you want to be a princess too. I bet it's all stuffy and not fun. Who wants to be royalty when you can live the life of freedom down here?" Emil grinned. And besides, it's more fun to steal from them than be them.
"But it looks so… elegant? I think that's the word…. She gets people to dress her up and she gets all kinds of fancy jewels and gifts and those sorts of things! And the dancing! The balls and parties she must go to…. It must be wonderful…"
Emil gave a little grin. "Well then, why don't we have a ball, princess?"
Angel blushed shyly. "Oh, I didn't mean…"
Access interrupted her. "Hey! That's a great idea! Let's make it treat Ange like a princess day!" He laughed, "I get to dance with her first!"
Emil gave a devious grin. "Then I get to be the prince."
Angel laughed at the brothers' antics. The prince, huh… A prince and a princess… together? Like in the fairytales…. Oh, how romantic!