ADMIRE ME |Brothers Conflict

25

The gravel moved under my feet as I moved to the entrance of Sunshine Residence. On my way in, I passed by Kaname who glanced at me and kept a wide berth. Some brothers still remembered that they had promised Ema to stay away from me, lest more harm befall me.

Fuuto hadn't kept the promise for more than a few hours, I mused. Inside, Fuuto laid sprawled on the wooden floor of the hallway, listening to music.

"Hey," I said, waving with my free hand.

In one elegant movement, Fuuto lifted to his feet, pulling off his headphone.

"We have finished compiling songs for the album," he said as a greeting. "Here, you should give it a listen."

Before I could even remove my shoes, my arms were already full with my crutch and Fuuto's iPod.

It looked a lot more expensive than my mp3-player, so I put it on the floor carefully.

"I'm looking forward to it," I said with a smile.

"Okay," he replied as he nodded. "Then, I'll leave you and Ema alone."

The elevator doors had just closed behind him when Ema appeared from the stairwell.

"More zombie games!" she exclaimed as she waited until I had untied my shoelaces.

"I have never been called 'more zombie games' before. Being unable to greet people in a normal way runs through the family, doesn't it?"

Ema cocked her head when she saw me scoop Fuuto's iPod from the floor.

"I thought you had a pink one," she commented. I stared at the white device in my hands, wondering what I should say in response.

When I didn't react fast enough, Ema returned her attention to the important matters: the zombie video games.

She dragged me to the elevators.

"Now that you're here, I think I can get more people to play," she revealed in a hushed voice although we were the only ones in the hall.

Confused, I stared at the back of her head and the squirrel perched on her shoulder. Who were these 'more people' Ema had mentioned?

In retrospect, I could have known what tactic Ema would use. After living with her stepbrothers for months, she had become skilled in manipulating them.

She knocked on Fuuto's door.

"Hey, Fuuto, [Y/N]-chan is here. Do you want to play with us?"

After a moment of silence, Fuuto answered. "Sure, I'm on my way."

"See you upstairs in the living room," Ema said with a big grin. After this, she moved to another door. I had never entered the room behind this door, so I waited both patiently and cluelessly, as Ema addressed the occupant.

"Want to play games with us?" she asked gently.

"Who're us?" someone asked, and it took a while before I realised that she was talking to Yuusuke.

"Well, [Y/N], Fuuto, and I, of course."

Immediately, Yuusuke opened the door to give Ema a hard stare. Their hostility was the first sign that gave away that yesterday's fights weren't over. Although everyone acted civilly, the smell of an argument lingered in the air.

Ema took his wrist to pull him out of his room, and Yuusuke's expression softened right away.

Now that the three stooges, as Natsume had coined us, had reunited, Ema moved to the fourth floor.