Chapter 3
By the time lunch rolled around, Hana was covered from head to toe in soot and dust. The two older girls were not much better, and though they had handled most of the demons, there had been a colony of Ghoul-type demons that just would not leave the three girls alone. With only minutes before their time was up, Hana took her spear off of her bracelet and dealt with the demons in a few seconds flat.
"Finally, they're gone," Hana said, sliding down the wall to the ground, tired and sweaty, watching as Kamiki-senpai and Moriyama-senpai did the same. Her spear lay across her lap.
"What kind of spear is that, Okumura-chan?" Moriyama senpai asked, panting in her spot against the wall next to Kamiki senpai.
"This spear is known as Gabriel, and it is a treasure of the O'Connor family in Dublin, Ireland. It's one of the three holy trinity spears named after three out of the four archangels," Hana said, running her hand through her soot-covered hair. It was then that Suguro senpai came up the stairs carrying a tray with two bowls of soup and some more bottles of the special citrus green tea. Hana quickly got to her feet and took the tray from him so that she would have an excuse to go into her brother's room. She really didn't want to bother Rin while he was still sick, but if she was bringing them lunch that was a totally different reason altogether.
"I'll take the tray to your brothers for you, senpai," Hana said with a pop of her step as she walked towards their room.
Okay Okumura-chan; then when you finish with that wash your hands and come downstairs so that you can eat too." Suguro-senpai said before shaking his head and heading back down the stairs with Kamiki-senpai and Moriyama-senpai following behind him. Hana carried the tray down the rest of the hallway to her older brothers' room; shifting the tray slightly so that it was leaning on her left hip. Hana knocked on the door before pushing it open; Hana found Yukio fast asleep at his desk and Rin sitting up in bed drawing. Hana tried to take a look at what her brother had been drawing but Rin quickly held it to his chest, clearly still embarrassed by that fact that he was good at more than just cooking. Hana wanted to tell her brother so but she also knew that if she tried to push him, Rin would just shut down, she sighed at her problem.
"Hey Bean, what did you bring up?" Rin asked as he set his sketchpad on the bed next to him. Rin had been working on a birthday gift for Hana's upcoming birthday. It had become Rin's tradition to recreate the day they first met the shy girl.
"Your favorite miso soup, Suguro-senpai also sent up some more citrus green tea," Hana said as she set the tray on Rin's desk before turning to Yukio and shaking his shoulder vigorously. Yukio sat up, eyes still closed, paper stuck to his face.
"It's time for lunch, Yukio," Hana said while she continued to shake her brother's shoulder until he smacked her hand away. Rin just couldn't help but laugh at the show the two were putting on, even if they hadn't meant to.
"Yukio, it would be better to do as Hana says," Rin said, moving to grab one of the bowls from the tray. "Or have you forgotten what happened the last time one of us didn't listen?"
"You're not helping Rin. Okay I'm awake Hanako, don't you have something more important to be doing?" Yukio said as he smacked her hand off of his shoulder; Hana quickly turned and set to work on putting a bowl of soup in front of Yukio along with a small plate of homemade bread. Hana handed Rin a bottle of the citrus green tea before reaching into the basket and pulling out a bottle of the mixed berry tea for Yukio.
"Okay, my job is done, now back to cleaning. The cram school students are currently eating lunch but once they finish it's back to work. And I'm not sure if you heard us or not, but we had to deal with a colony of Ghouls, just down the hall. They were too much for Kamiki and Moriyama senpai to handle, so I had to pull out my spear," Hana said sitting down at the foot of Rin's bed, while petting Kuro's head.
"How far did you get, bean?" Rin asked, pushing his spoon through the soup as he wasn't really interested in eating, but now that both Hana and Yukio knew there was no point in hiding it. He put the bowl back on his desk for later before picking up his sketchpad.
"While me, Kamiki and Moriyama-senpai got almost the whole second floor done except for this room. I don't know about the guys, but they said that they would get the first floor done. But I can see that Yukio still keeps the room tidy and in order," Hana thought out loud while looking around her brothers' room. Last night when she had been so worried about Rin; she didn't stop praying long enough to look around the room.
"While you should go eat with the others. And don't forget to keep drinking," Yukio said, shooing her out of the room so that Hana wouldn't bother Rin while he ate; that and he could tell that the smell of the food was starting to get to their sister and she was turning slightly green around the gills.
"Yes, Yukio. I'll bring up dinner later. But if you need anything before that, then have Kiba come and find me, okay," Hana said as she reached out to scratch behind her twin brother's ears. Kiba was enjoying the scratches when Hana stopped and got up. That was when Hana's cell phone started to ring, playing her favorite hymn, Hallelujah, and right away she knew who was calling.
"Hello Finn, how can I help you?" Hana asked as she held her phone to her ear. She hoped against hope that her worst fear wasn't about to come true.
"Hey Hannah Rose, I just wanted to let you know that we landed in Kyoto, and it will be a few hours before we reach True Cross Academy. Also, Gran wanted me to pass on the good news, she is becoming the new dorm mother at the dorm we will be staying at." Finn said clearly just getting off of the plane. Hana groaned at the shortened period of time they had to get the dorm cleaned up to the standards of Professor O'Connor. Chiyo O'Connor was a different matter altogether, seeing as she actually gave a damn about what happened to the children in her care, unlike her daughter-in-law.
"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that groan, Hannah Rose," Finn said, his accent coming in clear as day. The whole time that Hana had been in Ireland, she had been in the care of the O'Connor family and its head, Chiyo O'Connor. Now Chiyo was a strict old woman who could banish a demon with the rest of them. It was their father that had introduced Hana to the O'Connor family a few months before his death.
"Okay, but fair warning if Professor O'Connor starts complaining about the dorm being run down, then she is just going to have to take it up with the headmaster. Do the twins still have the directions that I gave them?" Hana said as she rotated her neck in a circle trying to get her spine to pop.
"Yeah, they do. We will see you in a few hours Hannah Rose," Finn said before hanging up his phone. Hana turned to her brothers who were watching her, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hana sighed before sitting on the edge of Rin's bed, rubbing at her temples as the headache started to come on.
"While the English team of Exwires will be here in a little over three hours. Yukio, I know that you want to keep an eye on Rin but I need all hands-on deck." Hana said turning to look at her brothers. Right away Rin got up from his bed and started to clean his side of the room. Yukio quickly followed suit and did the same. Making the last room on the second floor cleaned and ready for the English Exwires team.
"Okay Yukio, do you have the information on which room everyone is moving into?" Hana asked after helping to straighten up their desks. Yukio reached past her and pulled out a green folder with the word "dorm" written on the tab, before handing it to the girl.
"Can you pass those out to the Exwires downstairs and then put the signs on the doors so that everyone can find their rooms? Your room is also being moved to the one next door," Yukio said as Hana looked through the folder, trying to find the floor plan, which was at the very back of the folder along with the signs for the doors. She sighed, trying to hold back the long chain of curse words.
"Sure, thing Yukio. It would also be a good idea if you took a nap before they get here Rin. Lord knows I want to do the same," Hana said turning towards her oldest brother and pushing him back onto his bed. But Hana didn't stay long to listen to Rin's responses to her comment as she had other things she had to do starting with the papers in her hands. Quickly Hana made her way down the stairs to see everyone was still eating their lunch fully enjoying the simple meal of soup and bread, she sighed.
"Okay everyone, you will all be moving into this dorm. You have three hours to do so. You all will be helping the exchange students from the English branch of True Cross Academy adjust to their transition here. I have the forms for the room changes that have already been approved by the headmaster," Hana said as she handed out the forms to their respective intended. Hana was rubbing at her temples again as the pain got even more unbearable, but she just brushed it off as her stress level rising rapidly again.
Suguro-sempai looked at the form and said, "You're joking, right?"
"No, I'm not. To tell you the truth, Yukio was supposed to give you those forms today, which would have given you a week to move everything here. I was supposed to come with the English team of Exwires next week, but when I heard that Rin was sick, I came back early. So, when the new dorm mother who is coming heard that I went back early because one of my brothers was sick, she insisted that she come to take care of him, in honor of our father whom she taught and a fellow exorcist." Hana said as she laid the folder on the table.
"While we better get going before, they get here. Will the doors have signs on them telling us which room we are in?" Shima senpai said getting up from the table. Hana nodded her head before picking up the file again to pull out the signs and showed them to her senpais.
"Look here this is the one for Finn O'Connor and Takara's room seeing as they are the only 17-year-old boys we have. Let's see here Yukio put Patrick O'Connor with Suguro senpai which might not be a good idea with how hot tempered the two of them are, I might have to talk with Mrs. O'Connor. Ryan O'Connor is with Shima senpai and Riley O'Connor is with Miwa senpai. Amelia Anderson is with Kamiki senpai while Sophia Bond and Ava Taylor are in a room together just like they were back in England. I have a room to myself unless Moriyama senpai chooses to move in so that she can be a part of the group. Any questions?" Hana said holding up the sign to show them that it had both Japanese and English, her chest heaving with the effort needed to talk as fast as possible, saving as much time as needed.
"Nemu Takara is a second year. Are you sure about that, Okumura-chan?" Suguro-senpai asked, clearly confused by the information she had just given them. Hana sighed and started rubbing her temples harder, and if she hadn't been careful, there would have been some very dark bruises.
"I'm sure you can look at this room exchange form yourself and it clearly states that he is a second-year high school student," Hana said, holding out the form for the older boy to see. Hana was holding the form out when a hand snatched the form from her.
"Thank you for sharing my information with the others," a soft voice said behind her. Hana turned her head to look at the light brown-haired boy, who was talking through his pink rabbit puppet. Hana had met the older boy once before when she had first started her training before going to England to join that team.
"I only told them that you were a second-year high school student, senpai," Hana said before turning to the older boy. She could tell that he was getting agitated with her, but right now she didn't care because they didn't have the time to be talking.
"You still don't have any right to say something like that," Takara-senpai said through his rabbit. Hana sighed as she ran her fingers through her messy long hair; once again, she didn't have time for this.
"Okay enough of that. We have to get everyone's stuff here. Senpai you can scold Okumura-chan at a later time. Okumura-chan, you go move your stuff into the correct room; then put the signs on the doors." Suguro senpai said, dissolving the situation. Hana looked longingly at the lunch laid out on the table before picking up the folder and turning to head back upstairs; or that was before someone grabbed her arm. It was Suguro senpai. Suguro had noticed Hana's longing eyes when she came into the room; she had wanted to sit down and join them like a normal girl but she couldn't.
"Okumura...no Hana-chan, come and eat first." Suguro senpai said, pushing the girl over to an open chair between Miwa senpai and himself. Hana reached for a bowl of soup before picking up a slice of homemade bread that she had made earlier that morning.
"Whoever made this bread, they have a real gift," Miwa-senpai said, smiling at her.
"Thank you," Hana said, smiling as she pushed her spoon through the soup, not making any effort to hide the fact that she wasn't going to actually eat anything.
"You made this Okumura-chan? That's amazing! Where did you learn how to bake?" Miwa-senpai said in surprise at this innocent fact.
"I learned everything from my mother's recipe book. Me and Rin used to experiment all the time with her recipes; I love baking and making sweets. While Rin was always interested in the main course." Hana said while still playing with her soup.
"Okumura-chan, are you okay?" Suguro-senpai asked as he watched the girl playing with her spoon. Hana looked up at him and then quickly took a bite of her soup.
"Everything is fine," Hana said, fighting the urge to get up from the table. In the last few months, Rin wasn't the only person to have withdrawn from eating for periods of time; Hana mostly had problems around the anniversary of her grandfather and brother's deaths. Which was coming up pretty soon. After Hana had taken about three or four bites of her soup, she pushed the bowl away and put her hand over her mouth, trying to stop herself from throwing up.
"Okumura-chan, what's the matter?" Miwa-senpai asked, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. That was the final straw before Hana ran to the bathroom to throw up. She was violently throwing up for fifteen minutes until someone started rubbing her back while humming her favorite hymn.
"Shh, it's okay…let it out, I know this is a hard time of the year for you, Bean," Rin said as Hana looked over at her brother. She was sitting on the bathroom floor, her head leaning against the toilet seat, Rin right behind her trying to offer her some comfort. Hana whimpered before leaning forward as she got sick again. All this stress was taking a toll on her body and stomach.
"Shh, Bean, just relax. It'll all be over soon," Rin said as he rubbed her back the entire time. By the time she had nothing left in her, Hana was tired and worn out, she needed a nap more than anything, but she didn't have the time to get sick. They still had the rest of the dorm to clean; not to mention the outside.
Rin asked as she sat up, "Do you want to try drinking some tea, Hana?" Hana slowly shook her head before turning to get on her feet. At first, she stumbled but caught herself and straightened up. Rin stayed by her side the entire time until she reached the sink where she could wash her hands and brush her teeth.
"Yukio said that he would move your stuff into the right room. I can make some tea, to help your stomach. How about some peppermint, chamomile and lemongrass with a hint of citrus?" Rin said as he rubbed his hands over her back and shoulders.
"What about everyone else?" Hana asked leaning her head against her brother's shoulder; as he led her down the hallway to the common area and game room. Once there he got Hana to sit on the couch before walking across the hallway and into the kitchen to make a cup of tea to help soothe his sister's stomach. He knew that with the date fast approaching he would have to start making tea for the young girl again. Rin made two cups and carried them into the common area, where he handed one to his little sister.
"Here you go Bean, my special peppermint, chamomile and lemongrass tea with an 1/8 cup sugar and a hint of orange juice. And some peanut butter cookies," Rin said as he came around the couch to find Hana almost asleep with her head laying on the arm of the couch.
"Thank you, Rin," Hana said, taking the cup from her brother. Rin had been making tea for Hana since she was four years old, and he always made it perfectly, light and sweet. It was always easy on her stomach. And he could already see the effect of the tea taking affect, as the tension in her upper body seemed to relax. But she was still playing with the spoon, which was never good.
"No problem, Hana; so, do you want to talk about what is bothering you this time? The date is close to three weeks out," Rin said as he sat down next to her on the couch. He took a sip of the tea and sighed before leaning back on the couch and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.
"I am being bullied by one of the Exwires and the professor in charge of them. He's been making my life miserable since Gabriel picked me over him," Hana said, setting her cup down on the table in front of them without even taking a sip.
"Is it the one that is being put in the same room as Bon? I heard you say to everyone that arrangement wouldn't turn out well since they both have hot tempers. I'm guessing that you've gotten into some very nasty fist fights with this guy, because you are just like me and Bon; hot tempered." Rin asked leaning forward so he could look in the girl's eyes. Hana nodded her head before wrapping her arms around her knees as she brought them up on the edge of the couch.
"Patrick O'Connor, he's a nasty piece of work who loves to make fun of me because I'm a half demon; although in England we call half demons half-bloods (here's a Harry Potter reference). He gets his kicks off of making people, like me and you, miserable. And I can't go to the Professor because she actually encourages such behavior. But I can go to the dorm mother who just so happens to be his grandmother, and she would often yell at him. And yeah, I've gotten into a few fist fights with Patrick because of how he treats both demons and animals. I won't lie I down right hate this guy and I can already see that he's going to get on everyone's nerves with his 'greater than thou' attitude." Hana said curling tighter around herself."
"What, the teacher actually lets him get away with it? How is that fair?" Rin asked, sounding surprised.
"The teacher just so happens to be his mother. But Patrick is the only one that acts that way because he thinks that he is so important because he would have been able to break the traditions of the three holy trinity spears," Hana said pushing a bit of her hair behind her ear.
"Why is that, Hana?" Rin asked as he set his tea cup down on the table next to his sister's.
"As you know my spear is a family heirloom of the O'Connor clan. Patrick is the second oldest son of the professor and was expected to take up Gabriel seven months ago. But the first night I was in Ireland , my spear came to me in my dreams, in the form of the archangel Gabriel, he told me that even though I was a child conceived out of sin I was worthy of wielding him. Patrick wasn't happy when morning came and a half-blood took the spear from him. See there are a set of rules for each generation, following the 2:1 ratio. The last generation to use the spears, which was the generation before our father's, had two girls to one boy, all within a year of the owner of Michael, the next generation isn't allowed to be chosen until all the spearmen from the last generation have passed on. At least one person must be from the O'Connor clan. So, these generations rules are as follows one girl to two boys, both the boys are from the O'Connor clan, Michael wielder is 13 years old and his twin brother is the owner of Raphael. So, this generations girl had to be between the ages of 12 to 14 years old. So before I showed up there was no one that fit the qualifications set out by the rules, so if that happened it would then go to the next closest O'Connor clan member that would have been Patrick." Hana said mumbling into her knees. While playing with the spear charm on her bracelet. In truth the charm was Gabriel just shrunk down. Hana was about to grab the charm when the senpais entered the dorm building.
"Hey Okumura or Okumura-chan, do either of you know if the teacher put the signs up?" Suguro-senpai asked as he walked towards them with his bags slung over his shoulder and a box in his hand.
"I think so…I've been down here trying to get Bean to open up. She has been very forthcoming today; which is very odd because she has never been much of a sharer." Rin said leaning back on the couch so he could talk with the senpais. Hana curled up tighter in her ball her hand gripping the spear charm.
"Okay, I gotta ask why do you call Hana-chan 'Bean'?" Shima senpai asked as he leaned over the back of the couch to get a better look at the two siblings.
"When Hana first came home after being adopted, she was about the size of an 18-month-old girl; only about 80 centimeters. But by April she was at 99 centimeters. Our dad used to say that Hana sprang up because of our love and the care that we gave her. It was the nickname that her grandfather used to call her by, but be that as it may Rin continues to call Hana that; I prefer to call her flower as her name means." Yukio said coming down the stairs with his cellphone in his hand. Hana reached out to take the phone, when she noticed that he hadn't been talking to someone but recording the conversation between her and Rin.
"Hey four eyes, give me the phone," Rin said, holding his hand out to their brother, his head down. Yukio was quick to send a copy of the recording to himself before handing the phone to Rin, who handed it to her. Hana quickly deleted the recording before pulling the charm off of her bracelet. The charm changed the minute it was released from the spell that bound it. In a flash of bright light, the charm changed form to its full size, the point held firmly under Yukio's chin.
"Delete that recording Yukio Okumura. Or do you want to be run through with one of the Holy Trinity spears? Have you forgotten that you also have the blood of the Devil running through your veins, lad?" Hana said, letting her accent bleed through into her words. Yukio held his hands up in surrender before turning to pull his phone out of his back pocket when someone called Hana's phone. Right away, she knew who it was as she flipped her spear and willed it back into a charm.
"This won't take long. Hello, Finn, how can I help you?" Hana said, holding up one finger to her brother while holding her phone to her ear.
"Not Finn Love," Riley said on the other end of the line.
"Oh, hey Ley, are you guys at the school gates?" Hana asked, looking at her watch to see what time it was. She could hear the commotion on the other side of the line and was confused because there was rarely anyone at the school gates.
"No, we umm…got kicked off of the train and have to wait until the next one comes through, which might not be until tomorrow. But the reason I was calling is because Michael started to heat up, meaning that either Raphael or Gabriel was used. And Ryan is standing right next to me so it couldn't be him. So, what got you so upset that you pulled Gabriel out?" Riley asked holding the phone so that his twin brother could also hear her answer.
"Ley, I will tell you both everything that happened when you get here. I currently have too many ears listening in on my side. Have Finn call me when you get to the school gates." Hana said before hanging up her phone.
"Beans, what's the matter?" Rin asked, watching as the girl sighed and placed her hands on her stomach as it started turning again. Hana wasn't sure if it had something to do with her using Gabriel for unjust means or if it was the anxiety of her team finally getting to the dorm which could still use a lot of work.
"I'm fine Rin," Hana said putting a smile on her face so as to not worry her older brother any more than was necessary. She could tell from looking at Rin that he wasn't 100 percent just yet and would technically never be 100 percent again.
"No, you are not Bean. I can tell from just looking at you. You don't have to force a smile, Hana." Rin said reaching out to push a strand of fallen hair back behind her ear. Tickling her cheek with the frayed ends of her hair. Hana laughed lightly but her laughter soon turned to sobs and tears. She couldn't understand what was going on with her but she knew that it needed to stop as tears would do nothing to help her. Or that was until Rin pulled the crying girl onto his lap while burying her head into his shoulder trying to block her from the outside world and all the pain that she was suffering from.
"Shh, Bean, you're alright. No one can hurt you while I am standing guard. Remember I am a brave knight strong enough to drive even the nightmares away and as long as I have my mighty sword and heavy shield, I will always save you, Bean." Rin said running his hand over the girl's shoulders and back, trying to calm her down even a little bit. But after 15 minutes, Hana still hadn't stopped crying and it was starting to worry the older teen.
"Rin, I'll carry Hana upstairs if you want to go get that out from under your bed." Yukio said as he moved around the couch to pick up the slightly thinner girl. Only to receive a slap to the cheek and a kick to the stomach.
"Yukio, you know that Hana hates being carried. But you're right; I'm going to get Angel along with her favorite blanket." Rin said while watching his brother rubbing his sore cheek and stomach, before getting up and moving towards the stairs. Rin returned five minutes later carrying Hana's old teddy bear and the massive heavy blanket that she loved to curl up in.
"Here you go Bean," Rin said as she laid the thick fleece blanket over their younger sister before placing Angel next to her. Hana looked at the bear before looking up at Rin in confusion.
"You kept Angel, Rin?" Hana asked, her eyes wider than saucers.
"Ah course I kept it. That was the last birthday gift you got from your grandfather. It means it's special and that even when you told me to get rid of it, I couldn't. Look, I even patched it up." Rin said leaning over the back of the couch to play with the bear's paw.
"Thank you, Rin," Hana said as she pulled the bear against her chest before laying her head on top of it. Hana was soon off in her own little world just like when she had been a little girl and was struggling with her emotions or whatever was bothering her.
"Okay everyone, I've put signs on the doors. Find your rooms and put your things away. There will be an inspection of your rooms in an hour. Hana, take a nap." Yukio said, clapping his hands before turning to the quiet child on the couch.
"Rin, stay here and make her take a nap. But if you want, I can go get some…" Yukio said before both Rin and Hana's heads shot up, shouting no at their brother. Yukio held up his hands and slowly backed away from the two on the couch.
"Stay out of the kitchen, Yukio Okumura," Hana yelled at her brother.
"Listen to our sister Yukio. Otherwise, you might end up with a spear ran through you. And Bean, calm down now," Rin warned both of his siblings. Yukio sighed before moving around the couch to look at his little sister. She was sitting on the couch with her knees pulled to her chest, and teddy bear close by.
"Hana, I wasn't going to actually make anything. I'll leave that up to you and Rin, because I have no aptitude for cooking or baking. But what I was going to say is that I can get some pudding if you want it?" Yukio said, picking the fleece blanket off of the floor, and laying it back over his sister's legs, the whole time smiling at the small girl.
"I gave the rest of the pudding to the cram school students after everything happened this morning. I saved some for each of you and then gave the rest to the others," Hana said laying the back of her teddy bear against her legs while playing with its paws like when she was a little girl. Rin wrapped his arm around his little sister's shoulders before reaching around her and making the bear wave at her. Hana started giggling before her giggles turned to heart wrenching sobs. Rin pulled the crying girl into his side while their brother took a seat next to them. Together the two brothers wrapped their arms around the girl trying to protect her from any outside force. Or that was before the cram school students all started to make their way down the stairs not so quietly. If you asked Hana they sounded just like a herd of elephants.
"Hey teacher, you said something about an inspection? Okay, we'll let you three have some alone time," Suguro-senpai said as he came into the common room before backing away. Hana looked at both Rin and Yukio before wiggling herself free from between them.
"There is no need for that Suguro-senpai…I better go straighten up my room because I'm sure that Yukio didn't put anything in the right place. And as for the room inspections they will happen either tonight or tomorrow after the English team gets here and has a chance to put their things away. It most likely will be 30 minutes before evening tea tomorrow." Hana said gathering both her blanket and Angel up so she could take them back upstairs.
"Quick question, Hana," Shima-senpai said as she tried to move past the cram school students. "What time is evening tea?"
"17:30 sharp until 18:15." Hana said looking at her watch, trying to remember the times that Mrs. O'Connor had been drilling into her head for the last seven months. It was than that Hana noticed that she had yet to change the time on her watch when she got back to Japan. Hana mumbled under her breath something about hating dealing with different time zones, as she carried her blanket and teddy back up the stairs towards her bed room. Only to find that Yukio had put her things in her suitcase, and her suitcase on her bed. Quickly Hana set to work on putting her clothes into the closet at the foot of her bed before moving to put her books on the shelves on the inside of her bed. The 3d wooden puzzles that Hana and Rin used to put together when he was recovering were put on display on the right far corner of her desk surrounding her lamp, while several of her photo album was in the opposite corner. The folder file in the top drew on the left. Her pens went into the mug that she had brought back from England on the shelves above her desk. Once her desk was set to the way she like it she moved to make her bed, first the soft off-white sheets than her simple sage green comforter laid out neatly on top, her two pillows in sage green pillow cases were stacked at a slight angle, Angel in front of them, her thick olive-green fleece blanket was folded neatly at the foot of her bed. She was about to put up a few of her pictures when someone knocked at the door.
Hana called out to her oldest brother, "Come in." She knew it was Rin by the way he knocked, slight and almost hesitant, as if he didn't want to bother her. Yukio would have been sure and steady.
"What are you doing, Bean?" Rin asked as she came to stand behind her little sister.
Hana asked, "Which pictures should I put up? Any comments?" She held up some of her favorite pictures that she had put in the frame when she was younger.
"I think the one of your fourth birthday, your first day of school and the family picnic under the cherry blossoms, are my favorite. But if you ask me this is my all-time favorite of you Bean. The day you came home for the first time. It's a shame that you never put it in a frame but kept it in your photo album." Rin said laying out three of her framed pictures before reaching out to grab her photo album and running her fingers over the picture of her first day as their sister.
"I could never find a frame that I liked for that photo hence why it still remains in the photo album," Hana said as she sat down on the edge of her bed to look at the photo next to her brother. She ran her finger over both Rin and Yukio who looked so close together.
"You two used to be so close to each other, what happened Rin?" Hana asked looking at her oldest brother.
"While Yukio grew up and got stronger, now he doesn't need me and I can't move on from that time. I wish I could grow up but some small part of me wants to hold on and keep trying to help him in any way that I can. But all I seem to do is cause trouble for Yukio and you Bean..." Rin said looking at his hand. Hana sighed before taking Rin's right hand in her left and giving it a squeeze. Not hard enough to break any bones but enough to give her older brother some much needed comfort.
"You will never cause trouble for me Rin. I might not always admit to needing help but I know that you will always be there to support me and help in any way that you can. And I know that's how Yukio feels too." Hana said looking at Rin. She could tell that Yukio was listening outside the room to the two of them talking, most likely ashamed of how far he's pushed Rin away, trying to protect him. Hana sighed before standing up and opening the door, making Yukio fall flat on his face.
"Yukio, you still have a bad habit of eavesdropping. Now the three of us are going to sit down and talk. Starting with fixing the rift between the two of you. Just give me a few minutes and I will bring up some tea and biscuits. You both still like shortbread biscuits, right?" Hana said as she helped Yukio back to his feet before forcing him to sit on the opposite bed. Hana hadn't been planning to do anything today but it was better to get it out of the way before the English team arrived, she didn't want the others to see her brothers get into one of their fights.
"Hana…I think you should let me and Yukio work that out for ourselves." Rin said still sitting on his bed. Hana stopped in her tracks before turning to her beloved older brother.
"Rin...if I leave, whatever this is, for you two 'to work it out', it will never happen until one or both of you blow up." Hana said pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration, but that was before she saw their shocked expressions.
"Look, I'm trying to give you two a safe place to work through whatever is trying to tear apart my super tight-knit family, who have always had each other's backs. What happened to my heroes?" Hana said, turning her back to her brothers, so they wouldn't see her tears.
"I'm going to go get some tea and biscuits; if you two want to work through this than stay. If you don't then get the heck out of my room and don't…don't bother me when you two come to your senses." Hana said fighting to keep her voice level, so that she didn't give herself away. Hana walked out of her room into the hallway where she slid down the wall to sit on the floor, knees to her chest crying. It took Hana close to fifteen minutes to gather herself before slowly making her way down the stairs to the kitchen so she could make some tea for her brothers. It was just a pot of strong black tea, because she didn't feel like putting in anymore effort than what was needed. Hana than pulled out the tin of authentic English shortbread biscuits, she had brought home for her brothers to share. Hana was putting everything on the tray from earlier, when the Kyoto trio came down the stairs.
"There's a pasta dish in the fridge; I made it yesterday," Hana said, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying.
"Are you okay Okumura-chan?" Miwa senpai asked as he tried to get a better look at the girl's face.
"I'm…I'm fine; while as fine as anyone can be when dealing with Rin and Yukio Okumura, and this is coming from their little sister," Hana said, letting her emotions get the better of her. Luckily, her back was facing the older teens, so they wouldn't see her tears.
"Do you want to talk about Hana-chan?" Suguro senpai asked as he leaned his elbows on the island counter.
"There is a picture of us, the Okumura siblings, with a note under it, in that photo album…read that and you will understand," Hana said as she picked up the tea tray and headed back up to her room; where she had left her brothers.