When morning inevitably comes, Hanako decides not to give her sister and Yuusuke a ride to school after all, the comfort of her bed too appealing to deny.
Following Masaomi's advice and going back to sleep to let a second alarm wake her around ten o'clock leaves her with more than enough hours of sleep and a delicious languidness to her steps as she goes to prepare herself.
With her first class of the day only starting at noon and her bag already having been prepared the day before, she has more than enough time to shower, the hot water, and extra hours of sleep giving her cheeks a healthy flush once she comes out fully dressed.
The fifth floor is unsurprisingly empty when she makes her way into the kitchen with Juli, who Ema could obviously not take to school, her empty stomach reminding her of its existence with a loud growl.
The color-coded calendar on the wall informs that only Louis and Kaname should be in the household at this time, with everyone else in school or at work.
"At long last!" Juli is practically gleeful as he says this from where he stands on the floor next to her since she had insisted he not stay on the counter and leave fur everywhere, "Some peace and quiet, without those brothers crawling everywhere like pest. I can't believe my poor Chii is all alone with that beast at school, he better not try anything or I'll-"
Hanako wisely does not comment that his rodent status could also qualify him as pest, humming the lyrics to the song that had woken her up under her breath as she makes herself some toast.
"Stop it Juli, Yuusuke's nice, you've got to stop being so suspicious all the time," something like exasperation coats her words.
"Nana!" Juli hisses, unpleased with the girl's sensible answer to his ridiculously overprotective tendencies, "Don't let your guard down so easily, you don't know what those wolves are capable of!"
"Neither do you, my small friend," she says, dropping her plate on the living room table where everyone ate most of the time as she had quickly found out - something about the formal dining room being too stuffy, Juli jumping next to her on the couch, "The Asahinas have been nothing but welcoming, I don't know what you could possibly be worried about."
"Don't know-?!" she takes a bite, the taste of rich peanut butter hitting her taste buds - she had never tried this brand before, finding it uselessly pricey, but damn was it good, "They're men, that's enough to warrant suspicion!"
"No, it's not," she argues, putting on the local news channel, "Our parents are getting married, it's not like they see us as anything other than their future siblings."
What Juli, for all that he wants to protect them, does not understand is that she has no intention to be bullied into being scared of the whole world.
What kind of life is that?
To always watch over your shoulder, to always doubt the intentions of the men in your life - she refuses such a perspective, even if it were ever to come back to bite her in the ass.
"You don't know that!" Juli insists, under the strange expression that every member of the opposite sex had to be attracted to either of the two Hinata sisters - Hanako cannot comprehend his trail of thoughts, even when she tries, "There's no blood between you, and you've seen how that perverted monk and Tsubaki were all over you two!"
It gives her nothing to get annoyed with him, so she listens to her squirrel friend's advice good-naturedly.
"You're ridiculous," she says with a playful roll of her eyes, "They were being friendly, overly so yes, but that doesn't mean anything. Girls and boys can be friends you know, really, I should never have let you read Mayu's shojo mangas, they gave you all those weird ideas."
"You and Chii are too careless with these sorts of things, that's why I need to watch over you!" Hanako doesn't answer, done with this conversation. Instead, she swipes down on her phone, absentmindedly checking her social media.
Soon, it's time to leave and she goes to grab her bag in her room once she'd cleaned the dishes she had used, dropping Juli off in her bedroom, "I'll text Ema that you're in my room," she tells the squirrel, double-checking that she had every book she needed for the day, "I've got some nuts in the second drawer of my desk if you ever get hungry."
Subaru is on his way to practice when sees her.
She's sitting alone at one of the picnic tables Meiji University's exterior has to offer, furiously typing on her laptop's keyboard. She looks focused, as if nothing short of a zombie apocalypse could bother her, biting on her lower lip every few seconds.
The glasses on the bridge of her nose are new to him, the sharp curve of the car-eye frames accentuating sharp cheekbones and their navy blue color a shade similar to the girl's lilac sundress.
If he's intent on ignoring her presence since she's so busy and he has no need nor desire to talk to her, the teammates he had met up with on his way to practice, ruin that for him when they catch him looking. "Damn," one of them whistles under his breath, "She's cute."
Subaru pales, hoping she hadn't heard that.
"More than that, she's smoking hot," another says, the group of boys now walking at a much slower pace, much to Subaru's growing panic, "Look at those legs," said legs are indeed very long, smooth skin visible from the hem of her dress along her mid-thighs, down to converses-clad feet.
"Come on," Subaru says quietly, now a good deal further down the road than the three boys who have yet to stop watching - ogling even, "That's not cool."
The first one to have spoken laughs, "You're so shy sometimes Subarun~, come on there's no harm, she can't hear us." The girl might've, were her earplugs not in her ears blasting some unknown song.
"Still," an uncomfortable feeling makes itself known in his chest, curling uneasily beneath his skin, "Don't you have a girlfriend anyway?"
The tall, but lanky replacement center winces, "Mai-chan's the only one for me, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the beauty around me," Subaru's not sure "Mai-chan" would have been pleased with the comment, even if her boyfriend had been rather careful with his words, only using the polite term cute to describe Hanako earlier.
Which Subaru was much less bothered with, compared to what was being said by the other two boys with them - something about wrapping those shapely legs around their waist and the studious ones always being the freakiest in bed.
It was far from as crass as what Subaru sometimes heard in the locker room, but still had indignation coiling in his chest and his fingers tightening into a fist, maybe because he knows her, even if barely.
His shoulders only relax when they're well past the girl, the conversation taking a turn for a subject far more interesting ; their next practice match with a powerhouse school.
And if Subaru averts his eyes guiltily when he sees her later at home, he doesn't mention anything.
Later that day, after spending most of her afternoon working on her sociology paper, Hanako decides to stop by on her way home for her pick-me-up of choice : an overly sweet cinnamon roll Frappuccino and a slice of banana bread.
The young woman enjoys the treat, reading through her paper in a quaint coffee shop named Brewed dreams, pleased with the result, even if she was only halfway through the important paper for her grade.
She notes down in her agenda the progression, deciding that she would advance it on the two hours break she had between classes on Tuesday, letting herself some free time on Sunday just in case she didn't manage to finish it then.
It's just as she leaves this coffee shop she loves, that she bumps into Iori. Like literally bumps into him, a soft humph escaping her lips as she tries to grab into something to steady herself with the hand not holding her drink, a pair of large hands landing on her shoulders firmly to stop her from falling or worse, dropping her Frappuccino.
"I'm so sorry," she apologizes, "I wasn't looking where I was going-...Iori-san?" the boy blinks down at her in slight surprise, the two of them moving over to the side as to let other people pass through the doors.
"Hey," he greets, sending her enormous, diabetes-inducing Frappuccino an amused glance, "I never saw you around here, do you come here often?" the cafe was bustling with clients, mostly students coming here after the end of classes, but with also a few people about to start their late shift.
"Too often for my waistline to be happy with me," she jokes, "Their pastries are to die for, I've got to say I'm surprised so many Bright Centrair students hang out here, isn't it pretty far away?" Iori gives a non-committal shrug, embarrassed to admit that some of his female classmates had found out about his part-time job and came pretty often to watch him at work.
"My car's outside, if you weren't planning on hanging out for too long, I could give you a ride home," she doubts that the numerous girls scattered in the shop are his friends, even with the quick glances they steal her and Iori's way.
It almost bothers her, to see so many people nothing short of spying on poor Iori.
"Actually, I work here," the girl's eyes widen, sending a look to the clock on the wall that indicates that it's already almost five o'clock, the boy probably finished at about the same time as Ema, which meant he would have come directly here to start working, "But thanks for the offer."
"Oh," she says, very eloquently, "Of course, what time do you get off?"
There was a time where Ema had thought about getting a part-time job, something Hanako had been vehemently against - her father paid the bills and gave them enough allowance to be more than comfortable, while Hanako's meager salary back then covered her car, and some additional expenses like a good chunk of her and Ema's college funds or whenever she ate out.
Iori shakes his head, "At eight, since it's a school night, Masa-nii's pretty strict about things like that."
Still, she can't say she was too disappointed to leave the convenience store she used to work at before they moved into the Asahina residence, and she had more than enough economies not to worry about anything. Hanako smiles, pleased - she'd hate for the boy to be working too hard, "Great, do you want me to tell Ukyo-san to keep you a plate?"
Iori smiles briefly, amused, "No thank you, I usually just eat here," right, that makes sense. She gives a sheepish smile, hoping the sudden questions had not come as too intrusive.
"I see, have a nice shift then, I'll see you later," it's hard not to notice the eyes on her, glaring as she leaves the coffee shop, sipping on her drink as she enters her vehicle and drives off in Sunrise residence's direction.
The first thing she does when she gets back is knock on Ema's door, "Oh, Hana-nee, you're back!" the teenage girl smiles, opening her door wider to let her sister in, "How was your day?"
"It went fine, class was the same as ever and I stopped by Brewed dreams," she holds out the cookies box she had bought for them and the Asahina brothers to share, scratching at Juli's chin when the squirrel jumps over her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek, "What about you?"
"Well, Maho-chan and I were paired for an English assignment so that was fun. I was thinking of starting lunch, I wonder if Ukyo-san is already here..."
Hanako hums, "Let's go see, I just need to go put my stuff away." Ema nods, telling her to go ahead while she takes out her apron, and Hanako quickly does so, leaving her bag on her bed as to not forget to unpack it later. Ema is waiting for her outside the door when she gets out, the two of them making their way into the kitchen.
Ukyo is already there when they get there, putting some grocery bags on the counter. With his back turned to them and their light footsteps, the second eldest does not notice the two sisters who share a conspiratorial glance, "Welcome home!"
The man's head whips to the side, the carton of milk he was taking out of one of the bags almost dropping from his hands in the process. Those sky blue eyes of his are wide, features set in an expression of almost shy surprise at the unexpected, but very welcomed greeting.
Rintarou's eldest makes her way to the isle in the middle of the room, dropping the cookie box in her hands on the shiny ceramic surface as she chirps, "Ta-da, I hope you guys like chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, or at least oatmeal!"
"Is something wrong?" Ema asks when the man just looks at them for a few seconds, lips slightly parted, as if trying to come up with an appropriate response.
Ukyo shakes his head slowly, an unreadable emotion displayed on his sharp features, "Ah no, sorry, it's just been a long time since anyone has said the words welcome home to me, it's quite pleasant. And thank you for the cookies, I appreciate it, as will my brothers, especially Wataru."
No surprise there, Hanako's eyes glimmer with something like glee and good humor.
"You're welcome!" she shares a look with Ema, unable to think of something else to say to Ukyo's previous statement, it was a different kind of loneliness she supposed. To be constantly surrounded by lovely people, yet not receiving such simple, but unbearably nice attentions like being welcomed home.
"So," she says finally, clearing her throat, "What did you have in mind for supper?" Ukyo seems to just now notice the aprons wrapped around the two girls' waists, smiling fondly at the picture they make and putting on his own green apron, the cats doodled on it making the girls giggle slightly.
"Well, there were some good sales on the fish at the supermarket, so I was thinking some teriyaki salmon?" ah, a man after her own heart - Hanako absolutely adored seafood of any kind, and her poorly concealed excitement at the idea must have been obvious, because Ukyo smiles her way, "I'll take that as a yes."
"Definitely!" she says, imagining soft salmon flakes melting into her mouth.
Energized with the prospect of a delicious meal, she quickly and efficiently begins with the preparations, talking with Ema and Ukyo about their respective days.
"It's crazy how you have such a demanding job and manage to take care cooking duties," Hanako cannot help but comment, briefly thinking of what Mayu had said the night before, about balancing a full-time job and household management like this.
It's been a while since she'd made the teriyaki sauce from a scratch, instead of using the in-store bottles, but thankfully the process isn't all that hard, although she does give Ukyo's recipe book a quick glance a few times.
"Don't give me too much credit," the man says, looking at her from the corner of his eye, "I learned for self-serving purposes, my brothers and I would either starve or survive on instant noodles if I didn't learn my way into the kitchen. None of them ever bothered with it, well besides Azusa who takes over when I'm not available."
The answer makes Hanako laugh, fingers hiding the way her lips part against her will to give a glimpse of straight, white teeth - thanks to years of braces, "For someone who claims to be self-serving, that's an incredibly selfless answer."
Ukyo finds himself suddenly struck speechless, something that was starting to seem like it would happen often with those two around.
Ema nods, dark eyes bright with conviction, "You definitely need to give yourself credit when it's due."
"Right again, my brilliant baby sister," Hanako leans over to peck the girl's cheek and look at how the seasoned rice is doing, "You didn't have to take such a responsibility on your shoulders," she looks back at Ukyo when she says this, "But you did, because they're your brothers and caring for them is what you do, you're a pretty wonderful brother Ukyo-san."
"I...thank you both, it makes me very happy to hear you say that," the two girls share a secretive smile, watching as the less and less stern man brightens up, slowly relaxing around them.
If Ukyo's brothers notice his incredibly good mood as they all eat tonight's supper, none of them question it.
Even if they have a pretty good idea of what is the source of Ukyo's positive state of mind.
"I'm glad," Ema says later that night, just out of the shower and having convinced her sister to play video games in her room - more like Hanako keeping her company and making sure the teen doesn't stay up too late, or scare the shit out of some poor kid who she happens to team up with at the snipper-styled game she's decided to play this evening, "Things really are going well, aren't they?"
"They are," Hanako agrees easily, trying to find the correct order of buttons on the controller to do an attack maneuver Ema had tried to teach her earlier, "More than I thought they would."
"That's only 'cause you're an unchangeable pessimist," Ema says, earning herself a flick to the forehead and groaning when the screen in front of them announces what she had been afraid of: game over.
"Hana-nee!.." the teen's brows furrow, then smoothing over, "I'm so happy that we get to be a part of this family now."
"So am I," the oldest Hinata says, wistfully choosing to ignore Juli's vehement protests at their apparently thoughtless trust in the beasts in this house, "It's nice, to have so many people to come home to."
"Yeah, it is," Ema grins, delight practically pouring out of her small form, the sight of her has something curling in Hanako's chest - she never, ever wants Ema to be any less happy, for her smile to dim even a bit, "I almost feel like I'm on a cloud, like nothing could ever go wrong with this."
"Hey," Hanako warns, "Don't speak like that, you'll jinx us."