Nyanko da! (ft Natsume): A Brothers Conflict Fanfic

Chapter 18: Outing

Ema is still finishing up her essay by the time I reach her room. She still lets me in, apologizing for the wait.

"No problem," I say. I go on my phone and check for any new messages. Sitting next to a napping Juli, I listen to the faint tap-tapping of Ema's pencil on her desk. She's diligently writing her heart out for this essay. She likes to write out her thoughts and then type them.

In a few minutes Ema sets her pencil down and pushes her papers away. Stretching, she lets out a big yawn when she's done.

"That took a lot longer than expected," she said. "Sorry about that. I hope you didn't wait too long."

"It's fine," I say. "I just got an email from another real estate guy. He said I can go in and look at a place on Saturday."

"Oh, that's great." Ema stands and grabs herself a purse. "Juli, it's time to go." She steps over to the bed and gently prods the squirrel awake.

In his sleep, Juli twitches. He stirs on the third prod, tiny eyes flashing open. "Is it time to go, Chii?"

"Un. Louis-san will be waiting for us."

The three of us gather our bearings before leaving the mansion. At this time we're already hungry for lunch. Ema and I have been doing work all morning, so we're dying to get out for some exercise and food.

We take the train to the park and walk down one of the foot trails to the restaurant. 

Louis has picked out a sort of outdoor diner. There's a food stall that seems semi-permanent, set against a small lake. Green trees surround us, with a grassy hill trimmed to perfection. Not too far off a few people walk, some salary workers and a couple of young children not yet in school. It's peaceful, with the warm sun and cool breeze flitting through the tree branches. Louis sure picked a good day to go out.

Ema and I spot Louis sitting at a fold-up white table not far from the food stall. He's sitting with one leg crossed over the other, sipping delicately at what looks like a cup of steaming coffee. He spots us and waves.

"Good afternoon," he says in his slow and calming voice. "I hope you found this place okay."

"Your map helped," Ema says. "Have you eaten yet?"

"I got myself a coffee while I waited. We can order some lunch now. I've been meaning to try their sandwiches."

We head toward the stall. Louis orders himself a sandwich full of greens, along with a little plate of cakes for us all to share. Ema gets herself a white breaded egg salad sandwich and a bag of nuts. I opt for the same, though I get cold green tea with mine.

Once we've gotten our food we sit back down at the table Ema opens her bag of nuts and offers them to Juli. The little squirrel thanks her and wastes no time in digging in. 

Louis takes another sip of his coffee, his log lashes fluttering. "So, how are things going at home? Have we driven you up the walls yet?"

I think he's joking. "Ah, it's been fine," I answer honestly. "Most people are away at work and school most of the time, anyway."

"That's good to hear. I know we brothers can be a lot at times. Chii-chan knows what I'm talking about."

"They have calmed down a bit, but maybe that's because there's a guest. Even ruffians can be a little more polite if they know they're being watched," Juli admits begrudgingly.

I stifle a laugh. "Actually, I met Fuuto-kun earlier today. Tell me, does he always extend his finest hospitality when there are guests?"

The table falls silent. Juli's eyes narrow fiercely at the name, his tail fluffing up like a cat backed into a corner. Any second and I expect him to start hissing. 

I'm about to ask what's up with him when Louis cuts in, saying, "Well, most of our family is on our best behaviours around guests. I know that it's harder to do so when you're in the comfort of your own house."

That's true. 

"Hai, I just wondered. He's the tenth Asahina brother I've met so far."

"Who have you met?" Louis asks, intrigued.

I list them off: "Masaomi-san, Ukyo-san, Yusuke-kun, Tsubaki-san, Azusa-san, Iori-san, Natsume-san, Louis-san, Wataru-san, Fuuto-san... I did meet Subaru-san at a different time, but Ema says he's not living at the mansion right now."

Louis' eyes raise. "Oh, so there's just two of us left. Kaname-niisan and Hikaru-niisan. I guess it'll be hard to meet Hikaru-niisan, since he's still living in Italy."

"Kaname-san works late most nights," Ema adds. "But I'm sure he'll join us for dinner sometime before you leave. He never misses a chance to greet guests."

"More like hit on them," Juli grumbles. 

I gulp. "Eh, no one's hit on me yet." Not seriously, anyway.

"Then you're lucky," Juli remarks. "Unfortunately, it's too much wishful thinking to hope that they've been tamed after all this time."

He does know that Louis is sitting here, right? 

I look over to Ema's long haired brother, who merely smiles and sips his tea. He must have nerves of steel. Either that, or he's used to Juli saying things like this, so much to the point that he's not bothered by it at all.

"Mai-chan, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Louis suddenly speaks up.

He catches me midway through a mouthful of egg salad sandwich. Muffling a strange sound, I nod.

Louis smiles. "Great. I don't mean to like, startle you, and you don't have to answer this if you don't want to..."

What in the world is he going to ask me about? Please don't be something to do with boys. I don't really have an answer for those kinds of questions!

"Chii-chan and I were talking, and I was curious to hear it from you."

Huh. What?

Louis leans back in his seat, his gaze dead serious. 

"How do you feel about wearing cute dresses?"

I pause. 

That wasn't what I was expecting at all.

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Needless Commentary

Here's to a fun chapter!