"Wait..." Kaname began.
"Sora is..." Tsubaki continued.
"A boy?" Iori finished.
All eyes were suddenly on me and I jumped a little.
"Yeah, isn't that obvious?" I was puzzled as to why they thought that he was a girl in the first place. I mean, I don't think many girls have the name 'Sora'.
"How old is he?"
"How long have you known him?"
"How close are you two?"
"Is there anything we should know about the two of you?"
"When do we get to meet him?"
I was bombarded with questions from many brothers, and answered them all in one go. "16. Since elementary. He's my best friend. Don't know how to answer that question. In a month, hopefully."
"A month?" Azusa asked.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me," I got up and stood next to Masaomi. "I wasn't sure who I was supposed to ask, but since you're the oldest, I believe you're the one who I'm supposed to ask. Pardon me if this is a little sudden or presumptuous of me to ask, but could Sora please sleep over next month?"
Masaomi seemed a little taken aback. "W-Well, that's fine with me, as long as everyone else has no problem with it," he said as he looked to his brothers to see if there were any objections.
Ukyo agreed, as did the other brothers, but though they had all agreed, you could see that some of them were unhappy about it.
I went back to my seat quickly, not wanting to impose any more than I already had.
Ema switched off the lights and went to her chair. "Then we'll have Subaru blow out the candles," Ukyo said.
"Y-You're serious about this?" Subaru asked.
"Yes."
Subaru sighed.
"I'll take pictures," Ema said.
"Fantastic idea, Ema~ I'll take some too!" I said and pulled my phone out of my pocket, leaving Ema's on the table.
With that, Subaru blew out the candles on his cake.
We all applauded, wishing him a happy birthday.
Ema cut the cake and gave everyone a slice. As soon as mine was in front of me, I began devouring it. Ema's cakes are the best, no matter where or when you're having them. As I was shovelling the cake into my mouth, I heard a lot of brothers complimenting Ema on how nice her cake was.
Everyone was laughing at something Yusuke had done when I stood up and held out my plate. "Seconds!" They looked at me. "Seconds, please?" All the brothers and Ema started laughing again. I smiled to myself. It was never this lively at our old house. I got my second slice of cake. Then later, a third, fourth and fifth, but then I wasn't allowed to have anymore because it was "bad for my health". I pouted and sat back down, waiting for everyone else to finish their cake.
But I still managed to get some of Kaname's cake, since he was sitting next to me and, being the beautiful soul he is, didn't mind slipping me a few pieces. Kaname's my favourite now.
Later on, I went with Ema to her room. I hadn't spent that much time with her recently and I really missed her company.
As soon as she opened the door, I jumped on my bed and made myself comfortable.
"Let's share pictures!" I winked as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. She smiled and sat down next to me, camera in hand, Juli by her side.
I leaned on her shoulder as she flicked through her gallery. "Oooh, I like that one!" I exclaimed as a picture of everyone laughing at me holding my plate out popped up.
"I'm going to print these out and put them in the photo album."
"Really? I'll get my thumbdrive later. Could you put them on there for me?" I asked.
"Of course. Can you give me a copy of the photos you took?" she asked shyly.
"Anything for my sister!" I grinned and ruffled her hair. I whacked out my phone and showed her my new wallpaper. "Like it?"
"Yui... You took a picture of the cake?"
"Oh, no, not one. I took multiple," I slid through my gallery, where there were at least 50 pictures of cake. "I don't want to ever forget that creamy delight. Especially since my beautiful little sister made it!"
Ema blushed. "Thanks, Yu-"
She stopped and looked around her bed. "Looking for something?"
"My cellphone... It's not here." She couldn't manage to pinpoint where she'd left it.
"Living room, maybe?" I suggested.
"Oh. I must have forgotten it there when I was taking pictures. I'm going to go get it."
"You're not leaving me behind that easily, sister dearest~" I followed closely behind her.
When we reached the living room, I heard some of the brothers having a conversation.
"What do you think of them, Subaru?" Tsubaki asked.
"What do I think?" Subaru thought.
"You can't say?" Tsubaki pressed. "See? They really are on your mind! So which one is it, brunette or blonde?"
"You're wrong!" Subaru said rather angrily.
"Then tell me why I'm wrong."
"So, like... F-Frankly, they're both pains!"
Ema gasped. What does that idiot think he's saying?!
"I-It's just been us guys all this time, and suddenly, these girls come along... Ever since they came here, I've had to be careful, even just taking a bath. And I can't take my shirt off during my training routine."
Ema looked heartbroken.
"I'm going to go wash my face," Subaru said and made his way up the stairs.
Ema stood there, and I watched her. I don't want her to cry. Please Ema, don't.
Subaru reached the top of the stairs and saw us. "Oh!"
"I-I'm so sorry!" Ema said and ran off.
I turned away from her and looked Subaru in the eye. I smiled threateningly. "'Oh!' is right Suba-chan," I said darkly as I walked to him and stood right in front of him. "Listen closely, nii-san, because if I have to say this ever again, you'll regret it so severely that you can move to the other side of the planet, but I will hunt you down."
He straightened up quickly.
"Okay, we're listening now? That's great. Now. Imagine not ever having much of a family to celebrate with. Imagine that you suddenly had to live with new, strange people. Imagine that they were of the opposite gender on top of that. Not very easy is it? Yet she hasn't complained. Not even once. And here you are, running your mouth like you have full understanding of what it's like. I agree that it may be a little difficult for you and your family, since we're basically strangers to you all, and I am sorry for that. But these are things that we work out. Because we're family."
Subaru looked ashamed, but I wasn't quite done yet.
I grabbed his shirt and pulled him down, making direct eye contact. "Regardless, if you ever make my little sister cry, I will end you."
I released his shirt and took a step back. I smiled as if nothing had happened. "We clear on that, Subaru?"
He nodded quickly. I saw Tsubaki, Azusa and Kaname standing behind Subaru, shocked by what I'd just done. Good. Hopefully they'll get the message too.
I followed after Ema and stood outside her door. No doubt Subaru's gonna come and apologise, best that I let them work that out. I walked down the hall and around the corner, where I sat down. From this distance I should be able to hear what they say.
As I expected, Subaru walked down the hallways and knocked on the door. Ema opened it promptly.
"Sorry, I was wrong to say that. Please...Just forget about it!" Subaru began immediately. "I-I just said those things in the heat of the moment."
"I-It's alright," Ema said quietly. "I was just a little taken aback."
"Still!"
"I-I really am alright," Ema said and I felt her give a pained smile. My heart went out to her. You're a real fighter, Ema Hinata.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry!" Subaru said and bowed hastily. But he was still tipsy from the alcohol and tripped over, landing on top of Ema.
I was about to rush in and heave him off her, but Azusa and Tsubaki appeared and did it.
"Why you little... Hey, he's totally zonked out," Tsubaki stated.
"Must have had too much to drink," Azusa added.
"Man, he's hopeless," Tsubaki said, shaking his head.
They turned to Ema.
"Hey listen.." Azusa said.
"Forget what Subaru said," Tsubaki reassured.
"We all think of you as our precious little sister," Azusa said sincerely.
"It was because I was teasing him that he said things he didn't mean. Really."
"R-Right," Ema replied.
"But how did this end up happening?" Azusa inquired.
"Did Subaru make a move on you?"
"What? No, Subaru tripped there and..." Ema cleared up.
Azusa then asked, "Which means it was an accident?"
And Ema confirmed, "Yes, it was an accident."
"I see."
Tsubaki turned to look at Subaru. "Well, just because it was an accident, he'd better not think that all is forgiven."
With that, the two hauled Subaru off.
I leaned back on the wall and smiled to myself. I made a mental note to thank the two later. They put my sister at ease, got rid of her sadness. And that meant A LOT to me.