Chapter 20

Ren stopped to talk to security at the gate about the hooded man and proceeded to park in front of his house.

What if the stalker tries to break in here? I mean... they have security, but still. What if I put them in danger, too?

"Emi, you can come in to meet Shun while I bring in Misa's bags," Ren said and got out of his car.

"Really? It's happening? Yes!" Emi hopped out of the car, her notepad in hand.

"But remember to introduce yourself before lunging at him, or he'll think you're an intruder."

"Yes, sir." Emi saluted and bounced in place, waiting for more instructions.

"I've got Misa's bags..." He shut the trunk and stared at the passenger door. "But apparently no Misa."

Knock, knock. He tapped on the window.

"Misa," he called to her in a singsong voice. "Come on out, please."

"Why don't you just pick her up and carry her in?" Emi winked at him.

"Isn't that going a bit too far? I mean, I could if that's what she wants, but otherwise it'd feel like I'm forcing her to stay."

"Oh." Emi puffed her cheeks out. "I know I'd enjoy it," she mumbled and opened the door for Misaki. "Come on out, or Ren will carry you."

"Hey, that's not what—"

"Shh!" Emi held up her hand, shushing him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Misaki stepped out of Ren's car. Wait, what did Emi say? Ren will carry me? Best to avoid that happening again. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and glanced up at Hayase's massive house. This'll take some getting used to.

Ren led the girls inside and upstairs. "We have a couple of guest bedrooms you can choose from, each with their own complete bathroom, so you don't have to worry about that."

"Which one's yours? Can I look?" Emi asked, her hand reaching to the nearest bedroom door.

"Mine is over here..." Ren glanced back to see her opening the door. "Hey, that's Shun's room!"

"Eep! Shun!" Emi shrieked and fell back, hitting the ground, unconscious.

"What the hell?" Ren and Misaki rushed over.

"Emi! What's wrong? What happened?" Misaki glanced into Shun's room to see him standing there with a towel around his waist, his toned upper body bare, and a box of chocolate milk in his hand. Damn... Just focus on Emi. Don't get distracted. Misaki's face flushed, and she looked away, back at Emi.

"Dude!" Ren snapped at Shun. "You can't go around like that."

"I'm in my own room, but sorry I didn't lock my bedroom door while I took a shower. I wasn't expecting anyone to come in..." Shun rubbed the back of his neck.

"Emi." Misaki called out as she fanned her. "Please wake up."

"Is she okay?" Shun asked, resisting the urge to check on her himself.

"She's probably fine, but definitely fainted from... excitement or something. I'm sorry. She shouldn't have randomly opened a door like that."

Shun's eyes shifted from Misaki to Emi, the spitting image of each other. "So this is the little sister, then?"

"Yes, and she's a big fan of Hayase, so this first meeting was too much."

"Ah, I see."

"Hey." Ren gave Shun a gentle push back into his room. "Mind getting dressed? We don't want Emi waking up only to faint again from overstimulation."

"Right, sorry." Shun couldn't hide his smile as he backed away. "I'll meet her properly in a moment."

Ren closed the door on Shun, wishing Misaki hadn't seen him that way. "Here, I'll move her to your new room, once you pick one." He set Misaki's bags down and picked up Emi, cradling her in his arms.

"Another way to make her faint again," Misaki said as she picked up her bags. "Any will do?"

"That one is mine, but the ones across and beside are both free. There's another further down if you don't want your bedroom beside anyone's."

Misaki automatically took the bedroom across from Ren's, making it beside Shun's. Inside the room was fully furnished with a king-sized bed, dresser, desk, couch, and a TV, with a blue and purple theme throughout the room.

Ren set Emi on her new bed and sat beside her. "Oh, it looks like she's waking up already."

"Hmm?" Emi cringed and opened her eyes. "What happened?" She tried to sit up, but Ren gently pushed her shoulders down.

"Maybe rest for a few minutes, and I'll get you some water."

"Thanks." Emi took a deep breath, watching him go. "Please tell me I didn't just faint in Hayase's house."

"I'm sorry, Emi." Misaki sat on the edge of the bed and patted her hand.

"Oh my gosh, this is so embarrassing. I didn't faint when I met Ren, so why..." Emi trailed off as she remembered seeing Shun in just a towel, and her face turned red. "Never mind. I remember. How am I supposed to face him now?" Emi covered her eyes as she teared up. "Doubt he'll give me a chance in a few years after this catastrophic first encounter!"

"Emi..." I don't know if she had a chance with him in the first place; it's a hard spot to fill. "I doubt Shun will hold it against you, but it's likely he's worried right now."

"She's right; I am worried." Shun stood at the doorway, fully clothed in a T-shirt and jeans as he gazed in. "Are you okay?"

Emi rushed to wipe away her tears. "Yes, I'm okay. But I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to trigger that reaction." Shun cleared his throat and looked away.

Definitely not Shun's fault, but he's apologizing, anyway. How sweet! Misaki gripped Emi's hand tighter.

"I'm sorry I opened your door without knocking. It's all my fault." Emi felt around her pockets and around her on the bed for her book and pen, but it wasn't there.

"Are you looking for this?" Shun held up her book. "I found it in the hallway, and I wasn't sure if you wanted my autograph, but I put it in there on the page next to Ren's." Shun approached and held out the book.

"T-thank you!" Emi hugged the book to her chest.

"Of course, Emi." Shun smiled and patted her head.

Emi's eyes widened, and she bit her lip, attempting to hold back her smile.

"I brought you a glass of water." Ren approached the other side of the bed and held the glass up to her.

"I think I'm dreaming." Emi sighed, relishing in their presence.

Living the dream of many Hayase fans. "Okay, you seem to be better. Drink your water, and we should get you to the station before you miss your train." Misaki stood and bowed to the brothers. "Thank you for letting me stay here and for putting up with my sister."

"Hey! I'm right here," Emi huffed, still sipping her water.

Kinda my point.

"Putting up with? It's cool; we're friends." Ren patted Emi's head.

"And a friend of Ren's is a friend of mine," Shun said.

Is she a friend or a cat with the way they keep patting her head like that? "Either way, she fainted in your house after opening a door she shouldn't have, so I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Misa. I think we're past it already. I'd offer to hang out longer, but I think you have a train to catch before your mom starts calling." Ren stood and held his arm out to Emi. "Shall we go?"

"O-okay. But first." Emi reached out to Misaki for a hug with one arm and pulled Shun into it with her other.

Ren chuckled. "Well, you did say you wanted a hug from him, too," he muttered to himself, still waiting.

"You'd better keep me in the know," she whispered to Misaki. "I imagine I'll see both of you sometime soon." Emi backed away, smiling. "And I promise I won't faint the next time we meet." She bowed to Shun, blushing.

"I'll try to be more careful about walking around in a towel without locking my door." He ruffled Emi's hair.

"Oh, maybe I screwed up a future opportunity," Emi grumbled under her breath.

Shun tilted his head to the side. "What was that?"

"Nothing! I'm so glad I got to meet both my idols." Emi bowed again. "Bye bye." She waved with both hands.

"Bye, Emi. Be good on the drive, and text me when you get home," Misaki said.

"Will do."

"I'll be back in a bit." Ren waved and turned to leave. "Oh, and maybe talk to Shun about the security footage, but don't have too much fun without me."

"See you later..." Misaki took a deep breath. Right, we have to figure out who he is... and what he wants. She thought about the hooded man staring at her from the sidewalk and shivered.

"You okay?" Shun asked, observing her.

"Honestly, I'm not sure, but I'm at least safer here."

Shun nodded. "Definitely safer with us around, and our security. I'm going to talk to them for a moment; are you okay to settle in on your own?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thank you."

"I'll be back in a moment." Shun headed out, closing her door behind him.

Misaki sat on the bed and looked around the room. This is going to take some adjusting. She pulled her bunny plush out of her bag. A small piece of home. She hugged the bunny and set her on the bed. "Looks like this will be home for a little while. Now, how do we make sure no rumours spark?"