Chapter 44: These Are the Asahinas

I must have heard him wrong.

"I'm sorry. I think I'm more tired than I thought. You didn't happen to ask if I wanted to meet your cats for real, did you?" My voice comes out anxious, but I don't know how I couldn't be in this moment.

Natsume stands outside the elevator doors, unperturbed as they open and close beside him. His expression is serious, though his eyes twitch, so I choose to interpret that he's not as confident as he is straightforward.

He clears his throat. "Ema wondered how they were doing a while ago, but she wasn't sure about visiting by herself. My brothers might tease her if she went to a man's house alone."

Even if that man is her brother?  I wonder.

"Ano... And you're inviting me because...?"

Natsume's look of discomfort deepens as he averts his gaze. "I don't mean to be weird asking, but since you both want to see the cats, why not visit them together? You're Ema's friend, so she'd feel more comfortable if someone like you went with her." He rubs the back of his neck so firmly that I worry his collar will come loose.

I'm still not sure I completely understand what he's asking. "Has Ema-chan not visited you at your place before?" 

Natsume tightens his lips, but he doesn't elaborate.

Ah. So she's been teased about it before. I can't imagine why since they're siblings, but more than one of her brothers doesn't see her as, well, a sister...

Yusuke's already made it clear that he has a crush on Ema. He can't hide his feelings to save his life. Meanwhile, Wataru doesn't even try. I have no idea what the other Asahina brothers think about their sister, but I do know that they aren't Ema's blood siblings. 

It begs the question of where Natsume-san stands, but I don't want to unearth that rabbit hole right now...

"So let me get this straight: Ema wants to come visit your cats, but doesn't want to go alone. Me going with her would make both of us more comfortable, and you wouldn't mind either way?" I list off what I assume to be the facts. 

"That's right," Natsume says. "I wasn't sure about asking you to come, since we don't know each other that well."

That makes two of us.

"But you and Ema seem like good friends to the point that she'd offer to host you at our house. I don't mind letting you meet my cats, but I imagine it would've been weird coming from your friend's older brother."

"At least he's self-aware," I mutter. Nothing about this situation is what I'd expect from this kind of acquaintanceship. It hits me then that maybe Natsume's real goal is to visit his younger sister with less people around, like we did at lunch that time. I mostly faded into the background then, but on the whole it was a lot less chaotic that whatever the heck just happened. If I look at it that way, then inviting me along is just an excuse for Natsume to spend time with his cute little sister. 

And thinking about it like that makes it less weird in my mind. But that could be my exhaustion talking. Who knows?

"Okay," I blurt out. "I'm open to a visit with Ema-chan. Can you let her know for me and we can figure out a date?"

Relief softens Natsume's expression. His shoulders sag as he replies, "Thank you. I'll let Ema know. Oh, and it might be a good idea to keep this from the others. We don't want Tsubaki to invite himself again."

I wrinkle my nose in remembrance. "Good point." Not that I'd be broadcasting this to anyone, anyway. I'll omit this from my updates to my parents as well, or at least until after the fact. Kaasan would stick her head through the shouji if she learned I was going to another man's house, even if I was going with his younger sister.

"Would after midterms work?" Natsume asks. He presses the elevator buttons again. It doesn't take long for it to arrive again.

I nod. "Sure. Ema-chan and I can figure something out."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Ahem. Goodnight, then."

"Ah. Oyasuminasai."

Natsume steps into the elevator at the speed of light, and no sooner has he done that than I turn and bolt back into my new apartment. 

On the other side of the door I take a long breath to process what in the world just happened. 

I'll probably scold myself for making such a big deal out of this tomorrow, but at the moment I'm tired from moving and entertaining, and don't even want to think about all the things I have to do in the coming days. My brain fog clouds my logic, so I can't help but panic a little at the fact that I've been invited over to a man's house. 

Albeit, with a trusted friend whose family has been very kind to me thus far.

"Nothing bad is going to happen, right?" 

—————

My eyes snap open from sleep. It takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. The wall across from me is painted a horrible gray colour, like food gone bad or tile floor from an old classroom. Sitting up, I look around the room. The walls are not only bland, but bare, and faint light trickles in through the cheap shades covering the window.

"Oh. Right. I moved."

It all comes back to me: the move, the Asahinas, the twins crashing the party, Natsume's request. 

So much happened in such a short span of time. That has to be a new record since my place got flooded. 

There's no school today, but I do have work later in the afternoon, so I use this time to unpack the rest of my things. As I organize my room, the living room, and bathroom, I mull over what was said the night before.

"Natsume-san asked me to visit with Ema so she isn't uncomfortable going alone."

It sounds far-fetched, and maybe it is. Ema and Natsume gave off the impression that they were close as siblings. I didn't notice any signs that there was any animosity or conflict between them. Ema was fine asking Natsume all about moving out and expressing her thoughts on the future. Natsume was more than happy to help out. Heck, he was happy to help me out during his busy work schedule. 

Yet if there's one thing I know about families, it's that there's a lot more going on under the surface than meets the eye. I know as much with my own family, and I learned more about the Asahinas by living with them.

I already knew that Ema was adopted by her father, and that when he remarried to Miwa-san they got a whole package of boys along with it. Ema has so many brothers that it wouldn't be odd if there was some kind of conflict between them; I couldn't imagine thirteen people living under one roof without a daily squabble or two. 

Natsume might be the exception, having moved out himself. The thought that he might have moved out due to conflict crosses my mind. I push it back, though. It is a possibility, but not one I need to entertain. Whatever the case, it's none of my business. The Asahina family can do what the Asahina family does. 

On my breakfast break I send a text to Ema about last night. She never mentioned wanting to visit Natsume when I was staying over, but then again, we've had other things to worry about these past few weeks. I had the move and we both have midterms coming up. Besides, friends as we may be, there are going to be things that we won't share with each other. Family things.

After breakfast I resume unpacking, but there isn't much else to do. I suppose I could clean, but I should probably go shopping first. There are kitchen supplies to buy that I've held off getting until I moved in.

It's just before noon when my phone screen lights up. I've already put on my shoes and am stepping out of the door, so I pause to view it. 

"Oh. It's Ema-chan... Wow, that's a lot of kanji..."

E: About Natsume-san, I didn't mean to drag you into this. I'm so sorry! I mentioned his cats a while ago and he thought I wanted to go see them. I missed my chance to say that I was talking to myself, and it ended up becoming a visit. I'd be happy if you came too, but I don't want to make you when you're already so busy. There's no rush, since we wouldn't be going until after midterms, anyway. I apologize for Natsume-san's bluntness as well. He probably thought it would be weird to message you about this instead.

Ema's text wall hits my eyes, bringing me to a full stop. I hold the door open with my foot as I read through her message. A lot of it is a deep apology for her brothers getting involved again, and while it was a surprise at the time I shouldn't really be that shocked. 

I can see why Natsume might find it odd to contact me after last night, so it makes more sense now why he'd drop the question on me when he was about to leave, but only after the others were gone. If Tsubaki or Azusa had gotten wind that Natsume was asking not only Ema, but also me, to his place... I don't even want to imagine what chaos would ensue. 

Natsume-san really doesn't want them showing up at his place, either.

I feel like I understand Natsume a lot better now. 

I open the chat and put in my own message.

M: It's okay, Ema-chan. Don't worry about it. It's better that Natsume-san asked me early on so we can plan. I don't mind going with you to see the cats. Natsume-san seems like a good person, so I can understand you not wanting your brothers to tease you about it. When is your last midterm? I can send you my schedule for the week.

I lock up and message Ema on my way out of the building.

"Ittekimasu."

In the warming heat of May it feels like a new chapter has begun. It will be an adjustment to remember the route back to my place instead of going to Sunrise Residence. It will be even weirder not to see anyone in the common area when I get back. I may still say "tadaima" when I come back, but no one will be there to welcome me back. I knew this was coming, but it still feels sad.

My phone lights up again and I check. Two messages have come in in different chats.

The first is from Ema:

E: Here is my schedule. Which of these dates work for you?

Considering who sent the second one, I reply to Ema's first. 

M: That works for me. Can you let him know?

As for the second, it's a combination of text and a photo. 

N: Ema sent me the dates that work for both of you. These ones work for me. What do you think?

With this, he's attached another photo of his cats. This time they're lounging on the cat towel in the morning sun, their paws outstretched toward the camera, eyes lazily glaring as though their sunbathing has been interrupted. Natsume must have taken this earlier in the day, for the light is fainter and I can see his foot poking out from the corner. 

I chuckle. He must be trying to ease the awkwardness before we meet up again. Last night wasn't goodbye after all. 

Now, this will probably be the actual last time we meet, but these are the Asahina's we're talking about. 

Who knows what else the year has in store? 

—————

[End of Vol. 1]