A night passed.

With the morning sun shining outside , I gently woke up.

Ema's body was still wrapped around mine and she was gently snoring.

Today was the start of weekend.

She was adorable while sleeping.

She kept mumbling my name.

"F-Fumi…" she was saying.

Ema was probably having a dream.

But somehow, my feelings were still on guard.

I was relaxed and happy to be with her, but in some ways, i still had a very bad sensation.

To explain it better, it felt like someone was squeezing my heart from the inside, giving me some soft pain.

"I wonder why i'm feeling like this…" i said to my self.

Suddenly , I felt someone knocking outside the door of my room.

"Who's there?" I asked.

"Fumi , I prepared breakfast ! Take your time and come downstairs!" It was my mother.

She gently prepared our first meal of the day.

Ema was still sleeping like a stone, not giving any sign of waking up. She was adorable.

"Okay mama!" I said.

No response.

I kept hugging and cuddling the sleeping Ema for other 10 minutes before whispering her name to

her ear to wake her up.

"Ema... Ema...!" I said while tapping her shoulder.

"Mmm~ Let me sleep for some more... Please..." She said, while hugging me tighter.

*Sigh* "What a sleepyhead..." I said while caressing her hair.

"Yes...! Give me more cuddles... please." She mumbled in her sleep while clinging to me.

"Okay... Okay..." I said.

Ema was really relaxed and, obviously, she wanted to stay like this forever.

She was caressing my chest while her eyes were closed and my hands were massaging her head.

"Mmmm... So good..." She mumbled.

She snuggled more.

Having her so affectionate was such a beatiful thing.

*Ema's behavior is usually very serious and strict when she's in public and interacting with other people, so being the only one in the world to see this soft side of her is such a great blessing.*

After 10 minutes of cuddling, Ema finally opened her eyes.

She looked at me with such a deep and passionate look.

Her hair were a mess, her body was hot and stunningly beautiful, everything about her was lovely.

"Good morning... Fumi..." She said while yawning and waking up.

"How are you feeling today?" She gently asked my while rubbing my cheek.

"Well, i feel really... energetic today." I replied.

"Uh... So... Would you want to go for a morning round...?" She said while showing a naughty grin and wrapping her leg around mine.

"Haha... I'd love to but mom already prepared breakfast." I said while she was in my arms.

"..." She looked away and showed a small , disappointed pout. "Okay then, let's get dressed and wake up." She added, while getting off me.

"Yep, i think it's time..." I stood up too.

I then started looking around my room for my phone to check the time but i couldn't find it.

I just saw Ema's phone on my desk.

I grabbed it while she was dressing up to look at the time.

I turned the display on to see something strange.

It was 9 am and from Ema's phone i saw a text message from someone called "Kiko".

"Kiko...? Who's that? Is it a girl or a boy?" I asked to myself.

The message said "Hello, Ema! I'll wait you after school on Monday! Don't make me wait! I have to buy lots of things!".

I thought it was someone of her friends but she never mentioned someone named "Kiko".

Judging from the text, it seemed like a female friend of her so i pretended not to notice.

Ema didn't see me using her phone since she was dressing so i rapidly put it back on the desk.

I then started to dress up too.

We even forgot to take a shower after our "session".

"Ema, did you see my phone? I'd like to check the time." I asked her while putting up my underwear and my pants.

"E-Eh? Y-Yes, i think it's on your piano." She replied.

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I walked over to my piano, searching for my phone. As I picked it up, I noticed that Ema's eyes were averted, and she seemed a bit uneasy. I decided not to dwell on it for now and focused on checking the time.

"Ah, it's already 9 am. We should get going downstairs for breakfast," I said, trying to sound casual.

Ema nodded and smiled, seemingly relieved that I didn't pry further. We finished getting dressed and made our way downstairs hand in hand.

Ema was wearing a beautiful short and pink dress which was decorated with cherry blossoms.

My mother was waiting for us with a warm smile. "Good morning, you two! Did you sleep well?" she asked, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

Ema blushed, and I chuckled. "Yes, Mama. We had a good night's sleep," I replied.

We all sat down to enjoy the delicious breakfast my mother had prepared. The atmosphere was pleasant, and Ema seemed to relax as we shared light-hearted conversations.

As we finished our meal, my mother excused herself, leaving Ema and me alone in the dining room.

There was a brief silence between us, but I couldn't shake off the feeling of something lingering beneath the surface.

"Ema, i didn't want to check your phone but... after trying to see the time, i saw a message from

someone i don't know... who's Kiko?" I finally asked, unable to contain my curiosity.

She looked at me and remained silent without speaking for some seconds.

She was about to ask why i checked her phone without her consent but she didn't.

Ema's expression changed, and for a moment, it looked like a mixture of surprise and concern.

"Kiko...? Oh, she's just a friend from school. We're working on a project together," she explained, avoiding eye contact.

I could sense a hint of discomfort in her response, but I chose not to press further. "Alright, just wanted to make sure. Let's finish getting ready; we have the whole day ahead of us," I said, trying to ease any tension.

We then standed up from the chair and decided to finally go out to take a walk together.

Ema nodded, and we continued our day, spending time together and enjoying each other's company.

However, that uneasy feeling still lingered in the back of my mind.

I couldn't shake off the thought that there might be more to this situation than met the eye.

As the day unfolded, Ema and I decided to take a stroll in the nearby park.

The weather was pleasant, and the cherry blossoms added a serene touch to our surroundings.

We walked hand in hand, occasionally stopping to enjoy the blossoms or share a light-hearted conversation.

However, my mind kept wandering back to that mysterious message from Kiko.

I couldn't shake off the feeling that there might be more to the story.

Finally, unable to contain my curiosity, I gently brought up the topic again. "Ema, I trust you, but I can't help wondering about Kiko. Is everything okay? You seemed a bit uneasy earlier."

Ema sighed and looked down, a hint of guilt in her eyes. "Fumihiro, I didn't want to worry you. Kiko is a friend, but she's been going through a tough time. I promised to help her with some things after school on Monday," she explained.

I nodded, relieved that Ema was open about it. "You know you can always share your concerns with me, right?" I said, trying to reassure her.

She smiled, appreciating my understanding. "Thank you, Fumihiro. I didn't want to burden you with unnecessary worries."

"Ema, I understand that this "Kiko" is going through a tough time, but why haven't you mentioned her before? You've always been open about your friends," I gently asked her, trying to navigate the conversation delicately.

"Well..". Ema looked at me with a soft smile, her eyes reflecting a mixture of gratitude and reassurance.

"Fumihiro, honestly, it never crossed my mind to mention Kiko earlier. It's just a casual thing, nothing important. I didn't want to burden you with unnecessary problems of my friends" she explained, squeezing my hand.

Somehow, that explanation didn't satisfy me.

She always told me every single thing about her friends, even the most stupid one.

For example she always said things like "Fumi, i'm going to meet my friend Fubuki later!" or even "My mother called me!".

I couldn't ignore something like this.

"Well... Okay. I understand." I said, while giving her a reassuring smile. "I trust you." I added.

She remained silent for a second before answering me.

"T-Thank you, my love." She smiled back.

I didn't even try to hug her.

An awkward silence between us was filling a small tension in my heart.

For the first time, i had the feeling that ema was hiding something from me.

"Oh! Look at who's there!" A masculine voice coming from behind us interrupted our silence.

We both turned our head to see my friend Benjiro and Ema's older sister Kanna.

I was really surprised.

Benjiro hanging out with a girl. And it was Ema's sister.

She's way too clever and beautiful for him.

They got closer to us.

"Benjiro!" I said happily.

"WASSSSSSUP!!!" He said while giving me a really strong pat on my shoulders and hugging me like a brother.

"Ouch!" I mumbled.

"Benjiro-Kun! G-good morning--!" Ema said.

Her tone was a little bit uncomfortable.

"Fumihiro-kun, good morning!" Kanna added, while giving me a headpat.

*Why does everybody treat me like a child?*

Benjiro then released me from his grip and talked to Ema.

"Ema-Chan, how are you feeling today? Is everything alright?" Benjiro said with a nervous tone.

It seemed like he wanted to say something.

The look in his eyes was somewhat strange. He was really serious.

Ema remained silent some seconds before answering.

Her hands fidgeted nervously with a bracelet, sliding it back and forth on her wrist.

"Y-yes, everything's fine. I think." She avoided direct eye contact with him.

"Can i ask you something, Ema-Chan?" Benjiro said with a serious tone.

"S-Sure." She replied, looking down on the floor.

"Excuse us for a second, brother." Benjiro smiled at me.

"What's wrong with these two...?" I asked to myself.

But Benjiro is my best friend. Maybe he has something serious to tell her, or some love advices.

As he started speaking with Ema walking some steps of distance from us, in the meantime i started talking to Kanna, pretending not to notice Ema's strange behaviour.

"Kanna, how are you feeling today?" I asked her while scratching the back fo my head.

I didn't know what else to say.

"Fumihiro, i'm totally fine today, what about you?" She said while smiling at me.

"I'm fine too. Hehe..." I replied nervously.

Sadly, Kanna had the special gift of knowing when someone lies.

That's why she never had a boyfriend in her life. She never trusted anyone.

"Ah... You know you can't lie to me, Fumi~ You can tell Onee-chan what's wrong." She said while

looking at me with a motherly look and crossing her arms.

"Well... Ema has been acting strange since yesterday... Maybe it's just my imagination..." I said.

"Uhm... Did you talk to her?" Kanna said.

"Yes, i did. She said that she's recently been scared of losing me. She's even been jealous of Arai-sensei. And even more jealous after knowing that i'm gonna be the tutor of a transfer student called *Evangeline Beaufort*".

Talking to Kanna about these things felt like a weight off my shoulders. I felt much lighter.

"Uhm... Are you sure? You can't tell that her behaviour is strange if it's just one day. Maybe she wasn't feeling well." Kanna tried to reassure me.

"Well yes, i know. But this morning i picked up her phone to check the time and i saw a message from a certain *Kiko*. Do you know who's this girl?". I asked her.

Kanna was surprised and she let out a soft sigh.

"Kiko? I never heard about that name. I think you should talk to her." Kanna said.

"I already did and she said that-" My voice was suddenly interrupted by Benjiro.

"Hey! We are done here. I just asked Ema for some love advices." He then looked at Ema.

Benjiro's hands were clenched into a fist. Ema was still avoiding eye contact with him.

She was looking at me, like she was asking for protection. In fact she walked towards me and grabbed my hand and started looking down.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, but my soul could feel a lot of tension in the air.

"Why don't we go together to the Karaoke?" Benjiro asked while taking out a phone from his pocket.

"Look at this one! It's only 10 minutes distant! It seems amazing! Shall we go?" He said with an energetic tone, showing us this beautiful karaoke restaurant.

It was also cheap.

I then looked at Ema and Kanna.

They didn't talk.

I realized that they didn't even said hello to each other.

"I'm in." I said.

"What about you, Kanna, Ema?" I added.

They both nodded.

"So it's a deal! Let's start walking!!" Benjiro said, while taking the lead and starting to walk.

Ema was still squeezing my hand.

I looked in her eyes and gently smiled at her.

"Shall we go, darling?" I asked.

"Umu-" She nodded and wrapped her arms around mine as we started to walk to the karaoke.Kanna didn't say anything.

She just started to silently walk with us.

She was walking with her hands in her pockets and gave me a little smile.

Benjiro was leading the way.

Nobody was talking.

We just kept walking...

With a lot of tension in the air...