As Hanako Hinata opens her eyes, something flutters low in her stomach.
She's excited to meet this new day, the girl realizes, more so than she has been in quite some time - who knew that moving in with her future stepmother's sons would be such a welcomed change?
Through halfway closed drapes, she sees how the sun has begun its ascension, brilliant, scorching light peeking out from behind the tall buildings of West Tokyo that are visible from the window of her room. It's early, too early for a Sunday her cellphone informs her; not even seven o'clock quite yet.
The brown-haired girl lets herself fall back into her covers, figuring out after a few minutes that she will not, in fact, be falling back asleep any time soon.
I might as well do something productive, she decides and crawls out of bed to rummage through her dresser - she had unpacked everything yesterday in the evening, once she'd left the fifth floor to go to bed.
"Ah, ha!" she exclaims under her breath when she finds the articles of clothing she had been looking for, a matching set of navy sweatpants and cropped sweatshirt. If the material covers enough so that she won't be too cold at a time of year when mornings are still chilly, it isn't thick enough to be uncomfortable while she moves around.
With this in mind, she gathers her heavy hair in a ponytail similar to the one Ema favors, sends a text to her most certainly still sleeping sister to warn her of what she would be doing, and puts in her earplugs, mp3 so light in her pocket she almost doesn't realize it's there.
Hanako then tries to tiptoe her way through the fourth floor, cringing when the rubber of her shoes makes a slight crunching noise, stopping by the fifth floor to grab herself a tall glass of water in the kitchen, both as a way to wake herself up and to hydrate.
Once everything is in order, she takes off.
If she starts off with a brisk walk, she soon alternates between a slow jog and a pace so fast her feet barely touch the ground, until she feels her blood rushing through every inch of her body, it's exhilarating.
Even if she had given up the track team in her second year of High school, she still makes it a point to go and run at least twice a week, thrice if she can manage.
It also allows her to discover the layout of the neighborhood a bit, although she doesn't stray too far from the street Sunrise residence is on, since it would be quite a shame to get lost in an area she has never explored thoroughly, without a map or her phone.
Slightly out of breath, she rounds a corner and comes face to face with a vast park, the one she had briefly seen the day before when she and Ema had been making their way to the Asahina residence- while she wouldn't call it full, there are quite a few people doing their morning run like she is, or walking their dog. The children's playground, however, is completely empty.
She's not sure how long she wanders on the cobblestone path in the park's center, admiring the large pond it has to offer and how sunlight reflects off the motionless waters.
The song that hits her ears, the next one on the playlist, is one of her favorites and so of course she cannot help but fasten her pace, sneakers hitting the ground with renewed purpose.
She finishes her turn around the pond, landing on the first empty bench she can find, muscles aching deliciously and heart pounding like it might burst and spill out of her.
Before she can decide to start making her way home, having lost track of time, a voice cuts in from behind her, "Imouto-chan?" Hanako blinks a few times, trying to place the voice as she twists her head to look at the origin of said voice, to her right are two increasingly familiar boys, "Kaname-san? Subaru-san?"
"What are you doing here?" Subaru's voice is slightly strangled as he asks this, trying not to look at how Hanako's sprawled position leaves her midriff in plain view, how her chest is heaving visibly from the recent physical effort.
"Running," she says simply, trying to ignore how her sweatshirt sticks to her increasingly sweaty self, "And exploring the neighborhood, this park is amazing."
"Maa, what a coincidence, so were we," Kaname drawls, "Suba-chan never misses his morning workout and I tag along sometimes, you're right though, this place is great, we always finish our run by passing through it."
They must have gone pretty far for them to pass the park, then come back through it since its lenght seems to stretch out for about a mile, "That's nice," her throat feels as dry as sandpaper as she sheepishly admits, "That pond is much bigger than what it looks like, I'm pretty wiped out."
"What time did you leave?" Subaru asks, his curiosity winning over his nerves. The girl hurries to get up on her feet when she realizes they were waiting for her to make their way out of the park and towards the Asahina household, "I have no idea, does one of you have the time?"
Kaname seems a bit amused, "I'm not sure I'm happy that you didn't bring your phone, especially if you were alone, that's not very safe," he takes a look at his watch, "It's five past eight."
"Then I left like fifty minutes ago, and don't sweat it, I know how to take care of myself," she waves it off, putting her earplugs in her pocket with her music player, then frowning a bit as a thought crosses her mind, "I wouldn't want to slow you guys down, if you were planning to run on your way home, you should do it."
If Subaru looks ready to accept her offer, Kaname tsks, shaking his head, "That won't do now, we can't be lucky enough to cross paths with our darling sister and then leave her to walk alone on her way home."
The assumption makes Hanako pause before she smiles brightly at the man, "Who said anything about me walking?"
Without waiting for any of the two to answer, the girl breaks into a light jog, waiting for the two men to catch up to her before she speeds up to a pace she considers adequate.
Subaru finds himself unable not to grin, long legs stretching to match the girl's speed, a jog just short of a sprint.
"Okay, okay, I admit defeat," Kaname says with a huff, unable to keep up with the two and falling behind a bit after something like five minutes, "I'm sorry for assuming you wouldn't be able to keep up with us. You're just full of surprises, aren't you Imouto-chan?"
She knows his words are only a gross exaggeration, either out of a dramatic streak or simply to compliment her.
Either way, Hanako gets this pleasant feeling that curls within her chest.
She slows down when it becomes clear they'll miss the pedestrian light, cars rolling into the street they were about to cross, momentarily giving Kaname a bit of rest. Feeling a bit cheeky, she glances at him from over her shoulder, "Guess you'll just have to get used to it then."
"Maa," the man sighs, "Have a bit of mercy on your poor big brother."
Subaru doesn't wait for a second, once again starting to run when the light flashes white - it doesn't take long before they reach the residence, Hanako pushing a curly strand of hair that had escaped her hairstyle behind her ear as they enter, Kaname taking out his key.
The action has her choking on a bout of laughter, and she feels the need to explain when the two brothers send her a look, "I completely forgot my key, I guess I was lucky to run into you two."
She's...a bit of an airhead, Subaru blinks, bewildered at the admission, and then meets his older brother's unreadable, yet familiar gaze.
The kind Subaru knows means something along the lines of : please be careful, I am very unpleased with this, yet I will smirk charmingly and not say anything.
The three reach the fifth floor, taking off their shoes and putting on some slippers. Subaru and Hanako promptly collapse on the couch closest to the elevator, while Kaname goes to get them some water bottles.
"I can't remember the last time a workout took such a toll on me," Subaru, in his defense, does grunt as a form of acknowledgment and the girl continues, "You're in really good shape, I guess that's a given when you're a regular on a university's basketball team."
At his wide-eyed gaze and spluttering, she quickly says, "Ah shit, that must have been weird, sorry, I'm not a creep, I swear! I go to Meiji and a friend of mine dated a guy from your team a while back - Suzuki Makoto-san? We went to see some of your games, I thought recognized you yesterday, but I couldn't remember from where until this morning when-"
Before the girl can go and babble some more, Subaru interrupts her, "You go to Meiji?"
"Yeah," she nods, cheeks still faintly flushed from the previous exercise, "This is what, your second, third year maybe?" she guesses, pleased when the boy nods and mumbles out second, "Do you mind if I ask you what you're studying in?"
"How sweet," Kaname drawls out, handing them both plastic water bottles - her reusable one was in the few boxes she had yet to unpack, chuckling when Hanako stops talking to eagerly gulps hers down, "My two little siblings are bonding."
Like an overgrown cat, the monk sprawls out on the couch, leaning his full weight on the armrest and extending his legs out, Subaru's shoulder brushes her own when he moves over to leave his brother some more space, face turning a deep red color, "S-sorry."
"It's fine," she assures, inwardly glad she had found someone in the Asahina residence perhaps even more awkward than she is - which is quite the accomplishment if she does say so herself. She leans on the opposite armrest to Kaname's, leaving Subaru more place to move around.
"So," Kaname says slowly, still recuperating from the morning workout, "What were you two kids talking about?"
Just as Hanako prepares to answer, footsteps have their eyes shooting further down the room where Ema appears, fresh as a flower. "Ah, Imouto-chan, good morning," Kaname smiles, practically basking in the sunlight that filters through the wide windows that take most of the wall.
"Good morning, you're all up early," Ema's gaze lands on her sister curiously, it was a common thing for the young woman to go on a morning run at this hour, even earlier - but the presence of their new brothers was a bit of a surprise.
"Yeah, we just came back from a run, we crossed paths with Hana-chan over here at the park," Juli who is resting on Ema's shoulder, as usual, cries out angrily at the nickname, not noticing how the girl brightens up at the affectionate term. She's much more fond of Hana-chan, rather than Kaname's earlier Imouto-chan, with how fresh the whole situation still is.
"Oh Ema we have to go take a walk there together sometimes, there are some lovely gardens you'd adore and a huge pond in the center," Hanako beams, standing up to kiss her sister's cheek as a greeting, "Did you take your temperature before coming up?"
The teenager's nose wrinkles, "Hana-nee! Get off, you stink," the disgruntled reaction startles out a laugh out of even the ever-so-reserved Subaru.
Rintarou's oldest gasps, feigning a wound to the heart, "I'll have you known, you little gremlin, that I never stink," Ema hisses when her sister wraps an arm around her, much like an adorable cat, "Hana-nee!"
"Okay," Hanako lets go of the girl when her ribs are poked harshly once, twice, waving a metaphorical white flag, "I yield, I yield! Geez Em, you're ruthless."
"You two really are the cutest," Kaname sighs, his amused smirk making him almost look like a fox, hazel eyes trailing to Hanako for a second as the girl falls back down on the couch, pouting slightly, "So Imouto-chan, why are you up so early?"
"I was thinking I'd help make breakfast, though I don't know what time you guys usually eat, so..." the high schooler trails off, sending a look to the kitchen's half-opened door.
"Ukyo usually makes the food for ten o'clock on weekends, he should have already started by now," Subaru quietly informs, for the first time involving himself in the conversation, "Though he leaves out some plates in the fridge for Masa-nii and Yuu-chan."
Hanako's brows furrow, "Why those two in particular?"
Kaname's teeth peek out from in between his lips, coyly looking at the girl on Subaru's other side, "Masa-nii's schedule is all over the place, so we never know when he's home or if he had a late shift, Yuusuke's just lazy. That boy gets up at unholy hours on weekends, says it's a high school thing - though now I guess we know he's just making up excuses with our sweet little sister getting up at this time."
"Well I'll go see if he needs some help then," Ema adamantly says, eager at the idea of helping out, of course.
Hanako's gaze softens, wondering how the girl could have turned out so well-mannered and sweet despite Rintarou's infrequent presence and a sister not nearly as responsible.
"I would have joined you, but I'm not sure Ukyo-san would appreciate my presence in the kitchen looking like this," she jokes, knowing sweat still gives her skin a disgusting shine and that the tangles in her hair are made more visible by her hairstyle.
Kaname shakes his head, "I wouldn't try it, that man has a habit of going for the frying pan when he's dissatisfied."
"Hah?" the two girls share a glance, not knowing in the slightest what he means by that, a frying pan..? Subaru grunts slightly, only looking at them briefly, "He's only like that with you Kana-nii."
Brushing the subject off, Ema heads off in the kitchen's direction, Hanako resolving to stand up despite how comfortable the couch is, "Will either of you be taking the fourth-floor shower?"
"Nope," Kaname says when it becomes obvious Subaru won't answer - face beet red at the mention of a girl, in the shower, in their home, "It's all yours."
"Great, I'll see you guys later," she had washed before leaving their old home yesterday, and she was increasingly craving to use the shower she had briefly seen the day before when cleaning her leg after the whole bike incident with Wataru. It's as luxurious as she remembers it, with grand ceramic walls and floor, as well as a wonderfully big shower.
She must spend a good twenty minutes under the warm water, washing herself and feeling the tension slowly ease out of her muscles.
Once she's done, she wonders if any of the brothers would fault her for blow-drying her hair since she hates her clothes getting damp because of how thick and long the dark brown strands are. Eventually she decides against it since not everyone is up yet - consider her good action of the day done.
She dries her hair to the best of her abilities with the towel, knowing it will still take at the very least four hours to dry, detangling the last of the knots with a comb and some hibiscus-smelling product.
It's just as she's almost finished buttoning up her blouse that a knock is heard.
"I'm almost done!" she calls out hastily, rushing to hang the used towel on a hook for such purpose, eventually reaching the door, "Sorry for the wait."
Azusa blinks very sorry at the girl's disheveled state, eyeing the way Hanako's hair falls around her shoulders in loose, heavy waves instead of the bouncier curls from yesterday and how her buttoned-down shirt's first three buttons are undone, "It's fine," he says carefully, "I didn't mean to bother you, I thought you were one of my - I mean our brothers."
Which she obviously is not, he tries not to notice the faint feminine smell that hits his nose, or the delicate collarbones that peek out from between the panels of her top.
"You didn't!" she assures, feeling a bit like she is intruding on these people who had taken her and Ema in, no questions asked, "It's all yours," she's tries to cover her dirty clothes gathered in a messy bundle in her hands, embarrassed - she'll have to ask Ukyo when she could use the washing machine.
"And forgive me if I took so long, I..." if with Ema or her dad, it's easy to say it's because she had to spend an eternity washing and taking care of her hair, she's suddenly shy when it comes to telling Azusa.
"Anyway," she coughs, flashing a guilty smile as she steps out, "I'll get out of your way."
"Sure," Azusa answers, just as kind as he was yesterday, "See you at breakfast." Hanako stumbles back into her room, reminding herself that things like that would happen all the times now, with so many people around, it was only normal.
"Still," she moans quietly, putting her clothes in the basket she had put her clothes, as well as Ema's, from yesterday with the firm intention of washing them sometimes today, "That was so awkward."
When she sees there are still fifty minutes until ten o'clock, she decides to finish unpacking what she had not done the day before, mostly some books and decorations, which to Hinata Hanako translates as pictures.
Maybe she could ask one of the boys for a hammer to put some of the frames up on the wall. For now, she is content with putting on her nightstand a picture of herself and Ema on Hanako's first day of university, the two girls mid-hug with their cheeks squished together as they turned their heads to look at the camera.
That was a good day, Rintarou had been in town, and Ema had baked a delicious pecan pie - that Juli had a slice of and ended up being sick. The girl traces Ema's toothy smile on the frame's glassy exterior, noticing how the teenage girl's cheeks have now lost a bit, but not too much, of the baby fat present in the picture.
To think things are so different now, with their dad remarrying and Ema almost done with High school, not to mention the sudden gain of enough stepbrothers to make a baseball team.
She throws one last look at the picture before closing the door to her room, going upstairs for breakfast a text from Ema had warned her it was almost ready.
"Good morning," Iori greets when she exits the elevator to land in a very crowded loft, brothers waiting for Ukyo to call them for breakfast.
"Good morning, did you sleep well?" Iori blinks, as if not having expected her to try and start a conversation with him, something that is almost a smile tugs at his lips, "Yes, although I should be asking you that since you just got here, it's not always easy to sleep in an unknown place."
"Eh, it was fine, most of my stuff is the same so I barely noticed," she brushes a piece of damp hair out of her face, jumping slightly when something rams into her from the right.
Wataru is looking up at her with wide, chocolate eyes, arms locked around her hips, "Hana-nee! It'll be our first breakfast together, isn't it great?"
His excitement is contagious and she pats his head softly, "Good morning Wataru, I'm happy we get to eat together."
"Can we play after with Onee-chan? I have a giant plushie in my room-" it's hard to say no to such a face, far too hard - she had never been good at uttering the word no in the first place, unable to refuse Ema, or even classmates, anything when she was younger.
But this is different, she doesn't know anything about what Wataru's brothers allow and don't, she's far from an authority figure for the boy.
"Don't go bothering her so soon in the day Wataru," Iori says softly, but with intent - he must understand what her wide-eyed, inquisitive stare means, because he then answers her question before she can ask it, "Wataru can pretty much do as he likes on Sundays if he's finished his homework that is, but don't let him guilt trip you into anything."
"You're godsent, thank you," she says, amused when Wataru pulls a face at his older brother, tongue poking out and all, "I'd be glad to play with you later Wataru, but only if you're nice to Iori-san okay? We'll have to ask Ema if she wants to join."
"Yaay!" she doesn't remember Ema being this energetic at that age, or ever really and she's not quite sure what to do with all of that effervescent energy the boy seems to have in endless reserves.
She smiles at Iori a bit sheepishly, "I feel like this family should come with a detailed manual."
"Step one," Iori intones dryly, "Try and survive the week."
The sarcastic reply steals a dumfounded laugh out of her, "Oh please, you've all been great, I was only joking because I'm not sure how to deal with this one," she flicks Wataru's forehead lightly when he blinks owlishly up at her, still holding onto her like a koala, "Ema was terrible at being an actual child, so I'm not sure how to act."
"Heh, seriously?" a voice asks, Tsubaki suddenly appearing behind her and wrapping his arms around her in an embrace that has her almost losing her footing, "Tell me, tell me! I want to know what Ema-chan was like as a child!"
Hanako squeaks, not knowing how to find her balance with Wataru blocking her legs at her front and Tsubaki tugging her backward while restricting her arms with his too-long limbs, again - she's going to need some time, or an eternity, to get used to so much physical contact from more than a person or two.
"I'm gonna fall! Tsubaki-san, let go-" she grabs onto the man's forearms, fingers digging into the skin there, over his thin vest.
Kaname, Subaru, and Louis all look at the scene from the couch, somewhere halfway between pity and amusement.
"Tsubaki," Iori sighs, looking around for his older brother's twin or Ukyo - the only two able to reign Tsubaki in effortlessly, "She's clearly not comfortable," understatement of the century if the girl's panicked eyes are anything to go by.
The voice actor whines at that, the girl's spluttering only encouraging him to tighten his hold on her, "But I want to know! I bet you were both adorable!" what had to happen, of course happens.
When Hanako tries to jerk away, Wataru stumbles back in surprise, tugging her in his direction unknowingly because of her slipper-covered feet, and even if he quickly lets her go, she slips. Tsubaki's arms loosen their hold around her in surprise and she falls to the ground.
Silence momentarily washes over the room.
"What in the world is happening in here?" Ukyo's voice booms into the loft, jaw-dropping when he sees their new sister, on the floor.
The girl is looking up at Tsubaki, who is gradually paling, murderously, and Ukyo looks like he might smash his own head on the wall or something, "I..I really can't leave you alone for a minute, can I?"
Hanako is helped up by Iori, her buttocks tender because of the fall, "I feel like a toy shared between children," she tells him, assuring Wataru she's not mad at him and ignoring a spluttering Tsubaki's existence altogether.
"Welcome to the family," Iori's voice is quiet, but amusement rolls off him in waves as they all join a gleeful Ema who is finishing setting up the table in the living room, "You'll get used to it."
"So," Ema smiles, taking a seat between Hanako and Wataru, "What was that noise all about? I heard some sort of bang right after Ukyo-san went to get you guys," Kaname coughs, trying not to laugh at the face Rintarou's eldest daughter makes.
"I don't want to talk about it."
Tsubaki tries to meet her eye, which she stubbornly avoids, "Ah but Imouto-chan, it was an accident!"
Ema, of course, tilts her head curiously, "Now I'm really curious," she doesn't get an answer, Hanako preferring to stuff a piece of tofu in her mouth, congratulating the two who had worked on the delicious meal.
That's when Azusa joins them, sending Ukyo and Ema an apologetic look, "Sorry, I just got a call from my manager."
"Next time take the evil twin with you," the oldest Hinata says pettily, Tsubaki sprouting some flowery words about heartbreak over Wataru's loud giggles, "You're too cruel! It was an accident!"
She looks at him briefly, biting back her smile and softening her expression to let him know she really is just teasing. Azusa takes a seat next to his twin, looking far from amused, "Tsubaki what did you do?"
"Nothing!" if anyone is surprised when Iori leans over to whisper something in Hanako's ear that has her bursting into laughter, no one mentions a thing. Now that's surprising, Ukyo thinks contemplatively, noticing how Kaname tenses briefly, I've rarely seen Iori so talkative with someone he just met.
"I think it's time," Louis says, earning himself lost looks from the two newcomers, as well as a groan from Tsubaki, "Subaru can you...put it on?"
It seems everyone understands Louis' words, except for the two only girls who share a glance when Subaru puts on an entertainment channel that is covering an idol's concert. Frowning Hanako tries to put a name to the face on the screen, "Isn't that the idol everyone is talking of these days?" she asks her sister, "Asa..Asakura?"
"Asakura Fuuto-kun, yeah," Ema says with a nod, "He made a cameo in that drama we went to see the other day with Maho-chan, remember?"
The dark-haired woman's face lights up in recognition, "Oh yeah, she wouldn't stop talking about him on the way back," Maho-chan, as nice and likable as she is, has the tendency to speak very loudly, for a very long time. She looks at the idol's childish features for a moment, "He's pretty good."
"Oh please," Tsubaki snorts, "That fake smile is a cry for help," Azusa nods at his twin's words, mentioning that the boy sucks at singing, despite the fact that he doesn't sound so bad to Hanako's ears.
"Wow, you guys are harsh. I guess that because you two work in the industry, you're pretty critical," the boy on the screen cannot be older than sixteen, and yet he's already so well-known - she wonders what that must be like.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him around in a while," Iori says calmly, as if he had not just admitted to knowing such a well-known idol, Hanako's eyes widen considerably as Kaname hums, unperturbed, "Where is he now? Hokkaido?"
"I think so, yes," Ukyo remarks, "Some souvenirs would be nice, do you two want anything?"
"Hah?" the two girls echo at once, not sure what they are missing here. Ema's brows furrow briefly as she says, "You guys know him, enough that he would bring you souvenirs? I'm not sure I understand..."
"Wait," Iori looks at the girls on his left in surprise, "No one told them?"
Hanako shakes her head, since she has no idea, none at all, where this conversation is going - Iori's sympathetic look is certainly not what she would call a good omen, "Fuuto is the second youngest of the family, which makes him your new brother. Asakura is just a stage name."
Say what now? Ema laughs slowly and uneasily, mirroring her sister's expression of shock, "That, strangely enough, makes sense, still...an idol, that's amazing," this family that they will be a part of next November just keeps surprising them more, and more.
Amazing is one word for it, otherworldly is another.