Chapter 3: How many rooms?

After retrieving what's left of my wardrobe, I salvage my laptop, which has thankfully been preserved in its case on my desk. It's mostly the bathroom and my bed that's suffered the most. Good thing I made sure to put my laptop back on my desk after my nightly anime!

Ema and Masaomi help me carry things to the car. Popping the trunk, Masaomi puts my things into plastic bags. I've no idea why there are so many of them in the trunk. Maybe from groceries? 

Once that's done, I climb into the back seat. On cue, Ema slides in next to me. She smiles, trying to lift my spirits. I smile back, trying to make an effort to appreciate her making it less awkward.

Up front, Masaomi starts the car and pulls out of the lot.

As we drive, Ema tries to get me talking about school. I do my best to keep up conversation, but it feels weird knowing that there's someone I don't know listening in on us. 

I don't doubt that Masaomi is a good brother. I just met him, that's all.

"So," I say. "Masaomi-san is your older brother?"

"Hai." Ema nods. "He's the oldest out of all of us."

"So it's Masaomi-san, Yusuke-san, you, and there was someone else, right?" I close my eyes, trying to remember the name. "Ah, you mentioned a Subaru-san, right? The cute one." 

Ema blushes and shrinks back at the mention of Subaru. Mah, did I embarrass her? In the rearview mirror I catch Masaomi raising an eyebrow at us. I guess it's weird when someone calls your brother cute.

"There's a lot more of us," Masaomi says, startling us both.

"Eh? Really?" 

Already that's four kids. I know Ema's dad married into the Asahina family, and Ema didn't have any other siblings before. 

"How many more?"

Ema nods, relieved that the conversation veers away from Subaru. "There's fourteen of us in total. Thirteen brothers."

She pauses, waiting for my reaction.

On cue my eyes widened. I clench my jaw, willing it not to fall open. 

I've read about big families before. There are a lot of them overseas, like in mainland Asia and America, but I've never met anyone in Japan with more than other three siblings.

The me who's been conditioned to be polite purses her lips. I have to be careful in how I ask about them. I don't want to seem too nosy.

"Thirteen brothers... Must be noisy."

Really, Mai? That's all you could come up with?

Ema laughs. "It can be at times, even when there's less of them living at home than before. Natsume-san had moved out before I came here, and Hikaru-san likes to travel a lot. Ah, and Subaru recently moved for school. He's going to play pro-basketball."

Her eyes beam as she speaks of that particular brother. I want to ask more about him, but I'm also curious about the rest of them.

"So not all of them are living at your house?" I ask. It's getting harder and harder to picture the place where Ema lives. If I think of the average house, there must be at least three rooms upstairs. Being a girl, Ema would have a room to herself. So that's thirteen subtract three, then divide by... two? That's definitely a decimal.

To prevent my brain from further malfunctioning, I ask, "So ... how does that work?"

"How do you mean?" Ema asks. She appears genuinely confused.

"You said you have a spare room," I remind her. "Does that mean I'm going to be sharing your room?" That's the only explanation I can think of. 

"Ah, but I'm okay with taking the living room," I add quickly. "I don't mind sleeping on the couch or on the floor. I can sleep pretty much anywhere."

At the wheel Masaomi merely smiles. 

I stare at him in confusion. What's with that look? Is there something he wants to say?

"You don't need to worry about it," Ema assures me. "We've got a spare room on the third floor. The others are cleaning it up right now."

Does that mean their house has more than four bedrooms?

My questions are soon answered as Masaomi pulls up the drive. The main entryway looks as fancy as a private school's. The road circles around a large flowering tree. Is it sakura? It must be. The pale pink blossoms remind me of cotton candy.

But it's the building behind it that leaves me absolutely breathless. 

Initially, it looks like an office building, or a school, perhaps. The white walls glisten in the afternoon sun, the structure reminding me of an open book.

I count five floors in total, with a grand entrance where the two wings meet. As Masaomi parks at the door I make out the name of the building.

Sunrise Residence. 

The home of the Asahina family. Heh. How fitting.

"I'll park the car and get the others to help bring your things in," Masaomi offers. "Ema, why don't you take Mai-san upstairs and show her around?"

"Un," Ema agrees. "Let's go, Mai-chan."

I don't know what I'm expecting at this point as we enter this colossal building. 

Turns out it's Ema's stepmother, Asahina Miwa, who owns the building. Ema shows me the mailboxes in the lobby. There are enough for all the siblings she's mentioned and more. 

She leads me to the elevator where she presses the button for the third floor. 

"The first and second floors are usually rented out," Ema explains. The elevator doors close, shutting us inside. "We could let you stay in one of those rooms, but I thought it would be okay to let you stay in one of our spare rooms instead."

My frugal side thinks, Good idea, that way I won't be obligated to pay rent. 

I really wish my frugal side would shut up.

"I see." 

"All the living areas are on the fifth floor," Ema continues. "Those of us who make it back in time for supper usually eat together, so you're welcome to join us."

"Okay." Will the Asahinas be okay with me butting in on their family time like this? 

"Ne, Mai-chan?" she asks.

"H-Hai?" I turn to look at her. 

She forces a smile. "Ah, never mind. I was just wondering if you'd want to go shopping later. I've also been meaning to stop by the supermarket."

"That sounds good," I say, thinking about all the things I'll have to replace, starting with a bed cover. Mah, and I really liked my old one. It was soft and fluffy like a kitten. 

The glowing lights flicker as we reach the third floor. The elevator pulls to a stop, and there's a pause before the doors slide open.

Ema and I are about to step out when we hear doors crash somewhere down the hallway. We exchange glances. Mine is one of confusion. Hers is almost apologetic.

"That's mine, you idiot!" someone shouts.

Ema cracks a smile. "Welcome to the Asahina family residence."