Chapter 8: Table for Eight

Ema and I set the table. We lay out the bowls of curry and the spoons. I notice that Ema's is pink while the rest are of various shades of blue and brown. Though pink matches Ema's vibes, I wonder if she was the one who first picked them out. 

Ukyo heads upstairs to call the others down for supper. While we wait, Wataru wedges himself in the seat between Ema and me. 

"So your name is Mai-chan?" he asks.

I nod. "And you're Wataru-chan?" 

"Un! You must be in Onee-chan's class. What's she like in school?"

I glance at Ema.

"Ema's been super nice to me," I say. "She helps me whenever I get into scrapes."

"Ah, like now?" Wataru asks innocently. 

I wouldn't exactly call a flooding a scrape. But I reply, "Hai. She says I can stay here until my place gets fixed up. For now it looks like I'll be in your care."

"Uwa! If you want a tour I can take you after dinner," Wataru says. "Tsukkun and Akkun have been clearing out your room all day. Have you seen it yet?"

"Ema took me earlier, but I don't have a lot of things right now."

"Oh, do you want a giant bunny? Masa-tan makes the cutest stuffed bunnies. I have one in my room." 

His grin shows all his teeth. I fight the urge to squeal "Kawaii!" 

Stay strong, Mai, you'll get to see him often while you're here!

"That sounds cool," I say. "Bunnies are so cute. I've always wanted to visit a bunny cafe."

"Uwa, we should go sometime! I bet Masa-tan and Onee-chan can take us."

Ema nods. "That would be fun. We may have to wait a bit, though. Mai-chan and I have project deadlines coming up."

Wataru's shoulders sagged. "Aww. I guess I can wait. Being a university student sounds hard."

Oh, if only you knew, you sweet, innocent child. 

"It's not all bad," Ema says. "Now that we're in university we don't have to wear uniforms anymore. Mai-chan even dyed her hair."

Wataru's eyes widened. "Eh? Really?"

I brush my fingers over the ends of my ponytail. "I got the colour too dark last time, but my tips are supposed to be blue."

Tousan would've said something, but by then he had to accept that I was old enough to make my own choices. In any case, it was hilarious watching him get shocked speechless when I came home with coloured hair.

"Next time, I'll get a lighter blue. Maybe royal blue. Or purple."

"Cool! I'm not allowed to dye my hair," Wataru relates. "But Tsukkun and Nakkun did. When I'm older I think I'll dye my hair, too!"

Err... is Nakkun another brother? 

"Aw, are you sure you want to do that?" Ema pouts. "I like your hair colour right now. It even matches your jacket."

"Mm," I agree. "Maybe not your whole head. You could get a streak or two to start. It takes a while for them to bleach it and then add the dye, anyway."

Wataru stares up at me like I'm the coolest (after his big sis).

"You know a lot about dyeing, Mai-chan!"

I feel my nose grow long at his praise.

"Ah, I only know things because I've done them. They say the best way to learn things is by experiencing them yourself. That way you get the insider information you can't always find on the Internet."

"I should get insider info on cool soccer moves," Wataru considers. "I want to be able to score goals even faster!"

"He's so cute!" I mouth to Ema. 

"I know," she mouths back.

I think Wataru is my favourite Asahina brother so far. He kind of reminds me of my brother. I wonder how he's doing?

Our peace is interrupted by the return of Ukyo, who's brought back Tsubaki and another person in tow. 

The third man has black hair covering his left eye, opposite to Tsubaki. I catch him pushing his glasses up his nose, his brows furrowed as he scolds Tsubaki for something. He's much calmer than Tsubaki, balancing out his excessive energy.

Behind them comes Yusuke, who's calmed down since I last saw him. Next to him is a tall boy with silver hair, bearing a similar cool aura to the man with glasses. 

By my count this is eight, so maybe the brown-pink haired boy isn't joining us.

"This is everyone," Ukyo announces. "Let's eat."

After everyone has taken their seats at the table we each dig into our curry.

"Umai!" says Tsubaki. "This is really good curry."

"A little spicer than usual," the silver-haired boy comments. "But I don't dislike it."

Ukyo smiles proudly. "I added a little extra today, glad you noticed. It's because Mai-san usually eats her curry spicy."

Their eyes fall on me. "Oh. Yo. I'm Tsukiyo Mai."

What an awkward introduction. I curse internally.

Thankfully, they don't seem too bothered by it.

"Nice to meet you," says the man with glasses. He's taken the seat next to me, if only to prevent Tsubaki from sitting there. 

I give a low bow. "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." Please (please) treat me well.

"My name's Azusa. I see you've already met Tsubaki." He notes my cautious look at Tsubaki on his other side. "Don't worry about him. He's promised he'll calm down."

"Hai," is all I can say. 

So this is Tsubaki's twin brother. They really do look alike. Or at least similar. On a closer inspection, I see that Azusa's beauty mark is just below his right eye, whereas Tsubaki has one under his left. 

Tsubaki pokes his head out from behind Azusa, a huge grin still plastered on his face. "Yo, Tsukiyo Mai-chan!"

Urgh. Why's he gotta use my full name? 

I shove another mouthful of curry into my mouth. Ukyo's added some extra spice to mine. I wonder what would happen if I put extra spice in Tsubaki's bowl...

Across the table, Ukyo gently nudges the silver-haired boy. "Go on, introduce yourself," he encourages.

The silver haired boy gracefully sets his spoon down. "My name is Asahina Iori," he says softly with a bow. "Nice to meet you, Tsukiyo-san."

I return the bow. "Nice to meet you, Iori-san. You can just call me Mai. Tsukiyo-san is my dad."

He smiles at that and nods.

"Eh? Why do I have to call you Tsukiyo, then?" Tsubaki whines.

Azusa raises his spoon to eat. "It's probably because you came on too strong."

"But it's how I act around everybody. Imouto-chan was fine with it when she first came here."

"You were too noisy then as well. I had to punch you, remember?"

Wait. Punch? Did I hear that right?