"Ema-chan, Hana-neesan!" Hanako smiles behind the wheel as Imai Mahoko crawls into the backseat of her car.
"Hey, Maho-chan," the twenty-one years old greets, waving at Mrs. Imai who was looking at them from her window with pursed lips and the worried eyes of a mother to one of the troublesome creatures they call teenagers.
"Sorry 'bout that, mom's a bit cranked up ever since I went to that party last week," Mahoko admits easily, Ema's brows furrowing slightly.
"Do you want me to go talk to her?" Hanako asks, admiring the pretty, multi-colored flower beds lined up in front of Mahoko's house.
"Nah, don't worry," the teen says, eyes sparkling, "She's almost over it, and she likes you two." Hanako nods, rolling out of the parking lot and into the streets of her and Ema's old neighborhood, distractedly asking about curfew, and Mahoko snorts, "Ten-thirty."
Pretty generous for someone who had just been grounded and had school the next day.
Hanako's lips quirk up when her sister starts shooting question over question about the party Maho-chan had mentioned, more out of worry than curiosity.
She decides to cut in once the quick questions reach the double-digit, "I trust you were careful? Made your own drinks or took some bottles, and always kept your drink with you?" Ema's brows shoot up to her hairline, almost offended that her sister was not discouraging underage drinking at parties, then she sighs disheartened.
One thing is for sure, Hanako doesn't need to worry about her sister hanging out at even slightly questionable parties.
Mahoko nods, scratching at Juli's chin as the squirrel had been instructed to stay in the backseat so as to not disturb the driver, "Yes captain!" the two sisters exchange an amused glance at the little firecracker's answer.
"Great, then I'm glad you had fun," she turns down the music a bit for them all to be able to hear each other more clearly, humming under her breath as the two high schoolers discuss whatever piece of drama had happened between the walls of Hinode High this week.
Well, more like Maho-chan spills every tibit of information she knows of, while Ema listens with the occasional input and all-too-fond giggles. Words will never manage to express just how grateful Hanako is for Maho-chan's presence in her sister's life, knowing just how lonely Ema had been at school before the spunky girl showed up, bright and free-spirited.
If Ema had never seen bothered by the lack of friends that were not her sister or Juli as a child, there was no way to fake the light in her eyes as she spoke of the new acquaintance she had made at the beginning of her first year of middle school, or hide how she had started going out on weekends and bring Maho-chan home for supper.
Yes, Hanako is quite grateful for the girl who had managed to bring her sister out of her shell and into the light that suited her like no other.
"Catch!" she squeals when a bag of sour gummy bears is thrown into her hands, fumbling with the article. Maho-chan laughs at the face the older girl makes, moving to hide behind Ema when Hanako waves a finger threateningly like those old ladies in movies.
The rest of the day goes as well as one might expect.
They watch as many movies as they can manage in the span of something like ten hours, ordering in some Thai and eating their weight in snacks.
There may have been some exaggerated swooning, pillows, and some of Mayu's Pokemon plushies being thrown once the debate of whether Molly Ringwald or Julia Roberts had the best movies could not, in fact, be solved peacefully.
With the limited space of Kana and Mayu's couch and one lazy boy - that Ema had wisely claimed for herself and Juli, four of them end up more or less piled over each other.
It's pure chaos, wonderfully so and Hanako loves every second of it.
There is an unspoken rule that the first two months of the semester are supposed to be pretty laid-back for students to get the time to adjust.
This may be why as soon as June hits, schoolwork begins to pile up, burying her beneath midterm projects to hand over in two or three weeks, all the while studying for midterms.
Which is a lot of work in very little time.
Hanako finishes the last of her fourth coffee, vision blurring despite her best efforts to focus and finish the paper for her children's psychology class - which bears a ridiculously complicated name for what is a rather self-explanatory subject. The one she has to turn in, and here she checks the clock on the living room's wall, in five hours.
Holy fuck, she has a class in five hours.
The girl breathes in sharply through her nose, counting from ten to one before getting back to work.
It's two hours later, a few minutes past five in the morning, that Masaomi finds her, cheek pressed flush to her opened notebook, mouth parted in soft snores.
"Ha-Hanako?!" the man startles when he enters the living room with a bowl of cereals, milky brown eyes wide.
Having just fallen asleep half an hour ago, the girl's slumber is light and she wakes up with a gasp, "I-I'm awake!" there's a questionable splotch of dark ink on her cheek, almost the same shade as the circles beneath her eyes, bouncy hair strands sticking to her face, "Oh Masaomi-san, hi."
"Hello," the man's lips quirk up - she thinks, her eyes are still pretty crusted with sleep, "Did you get any sleep at all?"
She checks the time, "36 minutes of it, I think," her vision clears a bit and she takes in his apparel, his white lab coat, and light brown collared shirt, "Early shift?"
"Yeah, do you mind if I put on the tv?" she shakes her head, mumbling something about how it might help her wake up. Once she feels that her legs are steady enough, she gets up, features lighting up when she sees the fresh pot of coffee Masaomi had made, watching the dark liquid drip down steadily.
"You wonderful man," she says, two mugs in her hands, giving him one that is a bit too sweet for her tastes, with a smile, "What time do you leave?"
She had thankfully almost finished writing her paper - only needing to check her answers one last time to make sure everything was in order, and should be able to turn everything in, in time. Which meant she should start working on her philosophy project right about now.
"In twenty, thankfully the hospital's not too far away," the pediatrician sends her a look that comes as mildly concerned when the frazzled girl begins writing down ideas for her essay, her writing messier than usual.
"Ukyo mentioned you like omurice? There's a bento with some in the fridge if you want," stress baking was a habit of hers that had followed her from high school, one that had translated into stress cooking when she found the pantry empty of any ingredients needed for baking earlier.
"The lunchboxes in the fridge are from you?" the man's eyebrows raise up to his hairline, blinking owlishly.
She may or may not have made bentos enough for everyone eating at work or at school in the middle of the night when she found herself unable to focus on her schoolwork and on the verge of a mental breakdown - yes, housework was her idea of a break at one in the morning, sue her and her caffeine-induced hyperactivity.
"Yup," she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "You don't need to feel obligated to take it or anything, although it would be a waste, but I could always take some to Kana's workplace or-"
"No," Masaomi chuckles quietly, "I'm quite glad, I'm sure everyone will be too, just don't overwork yourself too much to take care of us, okay? Thank you very much."
Oh, oh that's actually a very nice feeling.
"You're very welcome," she slumps over the couch's arm, cheek propped up over her hand, "It makes me feel good to help around the house you know, and I know support isn't just housework, but it's like a physical manifestation that I'm of some help? That probably doesn't make much sense, but..."
"But it's a reminder that you're needed?" sheesh, things suddenly got a whole hell lot more real, way to go Masaomi-san, "For me it's the smiles I get at the hospital from the kids right before they leave."
Needed, yeah that sounds about right.
"You're a nice person Masaomi-san," she sips on her favorite beverage, pleased with herself when she manages to find her essay's barebones, a half-done plan that she would polish later during the day, "And I am in a desperate need of a shower, and maybe another thirty minutes of sleep."
"That's probably wise," the doctor cracks a smile when the girl sinks into the kitchen, schoolbooks, and her half-finished coffee cup within her palms, "Good luck with school."
It is not only luck that she needs, but a good night's sleep and perhaps a sabbatical somewhere in the tropics, "Keep up with the good work!" she says, re-entering the loft without the coffee. She almost trips on her own two feet as she passes by Masaomi, twisting her body around to face him while she walks backward, "I'm fine!"
One power nap and shower later, she feels much more refreshed than before as she steps back onto the fifth floor. Well, sort of.
Because concealer hides the bluish bruises beneath her eyes, but not the redness creeping in the edges of her sclera. And while a sleek, high bun might dress up her outfit of the day - grey sweatpants and a humble cropped, long-sleeved shirt - it does not fool anyone.
"Morning you two," she kisses her sister's cheek as she enters the kitchen where the girl and Ukyo are preparing breakfast, "Sorry for not helping with the food this morning, I'm a bit tight on time. I hope you didn't make me anything, I'm not hungry."
Anxiety churns low in the woman's already upset stomach, making her almost nauseous.
"Don't worry about it," Ukyo smiles her way, eyeing her somehow polished, yet shaggy appearance, "I hope you're not coming down with anything."
Hanako leans against the counter, forcing a weak curve to her lips, "I am actually, it's this terminal disease called school."
If Ema rolls her eyes, she does laugh at the joke, the pull at her cheeks making coffee-colored eyes look like little crescent moons. Hanako commits the expression to memory, wondering how in the world such a small thing is enough to calm down her nerves, "By the way, how did that last English exam go? You must have had your results by now."
"Better than I thought it did, my grades are better than last year and Kishida-sensei has even been talking about moving me up to the advanced class," Ema says, cracking an egg open on the pan, "I'm still not sure, but I said I'd think about it."
"That's my girl," the teenager's cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink at her sister's proud expression.
Ukyo hums, glasses glinting from the sunlight that comes from the window to his left, "English is a good skill to have for future jobs, it might be a good idea to take the opportunity."
"I-I'm not that good, not like you at least Hana-nee," Ema says, referencing her sister's skills with the language - mostly due to her friendship with Kana who is a native English speaker, and her obsession with American tv shows.
"Hey now, none of that," Hanako frowns at the obvious way the girl downplays her own accomplishments, "Don't minimize your skills Ema, your English is great and you should be proud."
"Ok..." at the weak answer from her sister, the oldest Hinata sighs, wondering just what she is going to do with that girl.
"I need to go now," she checks the time on her cellphone, lips quirking up when she sees a text message from Mayu - something about a double date, a problem she will address later during the day, "I should be back in time to help with supper, have a nice day. Oh and Ema text me when you get to school please!"
The girl's cheeks puff out like Juli's do when his cheeks are full of nuts, "I can very well survive twenty minutes by train, especially if Yuusuke-kun's with me."
"Please? You know it makes me feel better," Ema sighs, but nods before wishing her a nice day.
She passes by Wataru and Iori in the living room, waving at them, "Good morning," before she can go up the stairs and leave like what had been her plan, the elementary schooler rolls off the back of the couch with surprising agility to trap her in a hug.
"Wataru be careful!" she giggles, palms pressing into his shoulders, "I don't know how you find so much energy at this hour, little troublemaker."
The boy looks more proud than chastised at her words, "But Hana-nee needs to give me a hug before she leaves, always!"
"I do? Hm, I don't remember such a rule..." she lets her words hang in the air before sweeping down to gather the child into her arms properly, swinging him slightly from side to side like her father used to do with her and Ema when they were small children.
His laughter rings loudly, and she hopes it does not wake anyone up on the fourth floor, "There, will that suffice?" Iori watches the two, craning his neck backward to do so, something like fond exasperation displayed on his too-perfect features.
"Yes!" the boy cheers, still firmly attached to her, and Hanako's heart might just give out.
She presses a wet kiss to Wataru's forehead before she can think too much of it, "I need to go now, be good at school okay?" the salmon-haired child nods with resolution, letting her peel his arms off her.
It's when she's on her third stair that she's hit with a thought, "Oh, there's some bentos in the fridge for the both of you if you want them, could you tell Ema and your brothers please?"
She had made seven of the lunchboxes, since Tsubaki had a day off and Kaname worked at night, she was quite sure they'd prefer some leftovers. She wasn't sure whether or not Masaomi had told the others, although, with the time he left at, she doubts it.
Iori blinks, surprised, "Of course, thank you for the food."
"You're very welcome, I'll see you both later!" she hurries up the rest of the way almost giddily as she hears Wataru's excited squeal at having a homemade lunch prepared by his sister.
If a bit later, as she opens up her phone while entering the classroom, she gets a text from Ukyo, thanking her for reducing his workload and for making him lunch as well, then it only makes her day that much better.