A/N: guest review Yuki: Thank you for your review! Your comment that Ema's talk no jutsu is really amazing made me laugh. I'm glad you're impressed with Ema's skills.

Chapter 37: Iori

"You'll be working with a new client starting today," Ema's supervisor told her. "He's a Japanese model from abroad just returning to Japan and he requested you by name. His agency is a big client of ours, so make sure you do a good job for him."

"Of course," Ema agreed, curious about who this model could be. It was exciting to hear that someone had asked for her by name, but odd that it was someone from outside the country. She was doing so well at her job that she'd gone from being an intern to being a full-time employee, but she only worked with Japanese idols. Maybe this model had friends in Japan and had asked around about who from Star City would be good to work with.

Ema only had to wonder about the model from abroad for an hour before she was ushered into a meeting with him. She gasped, then rushed forward to throw her arms around Iori's neck. "You're back!" she exclaimed before realizing that maybe she shouldn't have hugged him. They agreed to be friend and not siblings, after all.

Friends could hug, of course, but Ema didn't want to risk making things awkward between them. She pulled back quickly and grinned up at him. It was a relief to see him looking as good as he had the last time they'd seen each other.

"You didn't tell me you were moving back to Japan." The two of them had kept in touch through email and text after she'd left France. She was surprised he hadn't mentioned anything about returning.

"I thought it would be fun if it was a surprise," Iori said. "Though I'm not moving back to Sunrise Mansion. I'll be starting college again next fall and picked an apartment near campus." He was quiet for a moment, and Ema stayed silent, sensing there was more that he wanted to say. "I left suddenly without explaining anything to the family. I wanted to patch things up with everyone, but I thought it would be good to have some space." A smile flitted across his face. "After living by myself and doing everything on my own for the past two years, it would be hard to transition back to living with so many people."

"I imagine it would be," Ema agree, ignoring the slight twinge that she felt over Iori not returning to Sunrise Mansion. Their family was getting older and it was natural that some of them lived away from home now. The more surprising thing was that more of them didn't live away from home, but it still made her sad. "After I lived in France for one summer with Louis and his dad, it was a bit of an adjustment moving back home. I like all the noise and chaos of a full house though, I got enough of being alone when I was a little girl."

Since that topic veered toward conversations best forgotten, Ema clapped her hands and said brightly, "So let's discuss where you see you're modeling career going now that you're back in Japan!"

~.~

"Iori's really popular," Yusuke grumbled, working on schoolwork as Ema worked on dinner. At least, she'd thought he was working on schoolwork.

"What makes you say that?" she asked. It was true, of course. Ema felt like she couldn't go a week without seeing Iori's face in a magazine, on a billboard, or on a poster. She knew that Iori had been a popular model in France, and it was as though now that he was back in Japan, the country was dead set on claiming Iori as theirs and making sure he'd never want to leave again.

"Because someone in one of my classes found out that I'm his younger brother, and now girls from all my classes won't stop messaging me on the class message board asking me to introduce them to him."

"That's awkward," Ema said, wondering if the messages were private to Yusuke, or if the whole class could see them.

"Annoying is what it is," Yusuke corrected, shutting his laptop with a disgusted look on his face. "Couldn't he have just been content being a genius? Why'd he have to go and be a model too?"

"I don't think it's something he set out to do," Ema said, remembering that Iori had told her he'd been scouted as a model. He went along with it because he'd had no other plans at the time. "It's not surprising that he'd be so popular though. Even when he was just a student working at a café, girls loved him. Don't you remember how all the neighborhood girls used to call him a prince?"

"Please don't bring that up around anyone," Yusuke begged, burying his head in his hands. "If any of his fans get wind of that nickname, everyone will start calling him that."

Ema didn't point out that she was certain the neighborhood girls remembered calling him prince and that certainly some of them were his fans, or would be soon if they somehow hadn't yet realized that he was a model. Ema worried a little bit about what Iori's life would be like when school started. If the girls in Yusuke's class were trying so hard to get close to Iori, who'd they'd never seen in person, what would the girls in Iori's own classes do?

~.~

"I think for the first time in my life I feel bad for Fuuto," Iori commented, staring at his phone.

"You do?" Ema asked as she turned the stove on. When she'd mentioned to Iori that she was missing French cuisine and planned to make some, he'd suggested that they have lunch together. They got together outside of work sometimes to spend time together as friends.

She was surprised at how relaxing it was, but realized it was because when she was with her brothers she felt like she needed to take care of them. And while she loved taking care of them, she didn't feel that same pressure when she was with Iori and it was nice to have a break from it sometimes.

"Yes, I've never thought about the things he had to give up by becoming famous so young. Simple things like just being able to go to the store without wearing a disguise, or going to class without everyone staring at you and whispering about you."

"That's true," she agreed. "When we were in high school, he'd ask me to get things for him all the time because it was such a hassle for him to do it himself. But he signed up for having fans and realized how important they were for him to continuing to grow as an idol. I'm not sure you realized how popular you'd be when you returned to Japan."

Iori frowned at her.

"What?" she asked, before returning her attention to the stove for a moment. It wouldn't do for them to get together for a French meal only for her to burn it.

"You shouldn't have done that for him. Fuuto always took advantage of you."

"I don't mind," Ema waved off. "He worked so hard at school and work that he deserved a break. Besides, I only have two younger brothers. I had to do some spoiling. Isn't that a prerequisite of being a doting older sibling?"

Iori smiled before frowning at his phone again.

"You seem distracted by your phone today. Is something wrong?"

Iori sighed before sitting down at a stool along the kitchen counter so he could continue to talk to Ema easily. "I'll have to change my number again."

"Again?" Ema repeated.

"Yeah. I have to give out my number to classmates for school projects, but the girls keep giving my number to all their friends."

Ema pursed her lips as she considered the problem. That would be highly annoying, and probably came with the territory of being famous, but Iori attended a really prestigious college. Shouldn't the students be a little more concerned with their studies then with bothering their model schoolmate?

"What if you told them you had a girlfriend?" Ema asked carefully, her mind jumping to the cruise she'd taken a few years ago with her family. Tsubaki had pretended to be her boyfriend to make some guys flirting with her back off, and then she had later pretended to be Azusa's girlfriend to make a gang of scantily clad girls back off. Of course, this situation was very different from those, but if it would help Iori then it would be okay, wouldn't it?

"That might be helpful," Iori agreed, "but it would be too complicated without me actually having a girl to show people. It would fall apart pretty quickly without me having any pictures of my supposed girlfriend and having to think up stories of how we met and when we started dating. When you're a celebrity, everyone wants to know the answers to these questions."

"What if you did have a girl to show them?" she asked, still wondering if she should just keep her mouth shut.

Iori blinked at her, then raised his eyebrows. "Are you trying to set me up with one of your friends?"

Ema laughed. "No, I wouldn't do that to you. I don't think that any of my friends other than Mahoko know the connection I have with you . . . I, well, maybe this is a dumb idea. I promise I won't be upset if you don't like it, so be honest with me if you think it wouldn't be helpful or would be too complicated, but I was thinking that maybe you could pretend that I'm your girlfriend."

Iori looked surprised and Ema rushed to continue. "It's something that Tsubaki did for me once before and I did it for Azusa once. Those were very different situations from this one since we only pretended for less than a day, but it would help solve some of the issues you talked about with needing to have pictures and having stories to tell about spending time with the person, and it seems like girls trying to get with you is becoming a big problem in your life . . ." She trailed off, worried that Iori hadn't said anything. "But maybe it's just a dumb idea." She turned back to the stove and busied herself with their lunch, her cheeks flaming.

"It's not a dumb idea," Iori said. Ema couldn't read his tone, but of course he would say that. She'd never heard him insult anyone. Well, maybe once, but he'd been in a very poor place mentally at the time. "There are a couple complications, but more for you than for me. You wouldn't be able to date anyone for real if we did this, it would be a huge scandal. I couldn't inconvenience you like that."

"Actually, I don't plan to date while I'm in school," Ema explained. "Pretending to have a boyfriend would help me out too because it would be a great excuse for me to turn down dates. Not that I get asked out a lot, but it happens a couple times a month. And you'd have the same problem, if we pretended to date it would make things complicated if you found someone you really wanted to date."

"A couple times a month?" Iori repeated. "How long has that been going on for?"

Ema shrugged. "Since I started college, I guess. I feel bad turning everyone down, but, like I said, I'm not interested in dating right now."

"So it would help both of us," Iori said, leaning back in his chair. "I guess that if we would both benefit from it, it would be okay."

"Really?" Ema asked, relieved she hadn't said the wrong thing.

~.~

Ema hadn't changed. It only took Iori a week to realize that, though they'd been pretending to date for a little over a month now. He was surprised he hadn't noticed it before they started to pretend dating, but they hadn't spent much time together outside of work until that point. Now they spent nearly every weekend together and several weeknights together and Ema was just as kind and considerate as she'd always been.

Except, there was more to it than when they were younger. There was a maturity, a quiet contemplation and understanding about her that Iori imagined was what drew so many young men to her. Being around Ema made him feel calm and confident. Like all was right with the world and he could accomplish anything with her help. The two of them actually fit very well together as a couple with how supportive they were with one another. Despite the greatly increased amount of time they were spending together, both of their grades and work performance had improved. It appeared they were good influences on each other.

While Iori did appreciate that, it was the peace that he felt around Ema that meant the most to him. He'd had precious little of that for several years because of his own poor choices. He lamented the time he'd wasted not truly getting to know her and instead forcing his own image of Ema onto her.

He could have felt this peace and comfort years ago . . . though he wasn't feeling much of that peace tonight. Ema was attending an awards event with him and the dress she was wearing made him feel anything but comfortable and peaceful. Ema was always pretty, but tonight she looked gorgeous. She'd admitted to him that she'd been afraid of not wearing something fancy enough, so she'd enlisted Miwa's help.

He wished his mother hadn't done quite so good a job. Several people's attention was on Ema and the murmurs he heard clearly told him that several people believed Ema was one of the models possibly up for an award tonight. Unbidden, his arm curved around Ema's waist until his hand settled on her hip so he could draw her close. He didn't like all this attention centered on her and wanted it clear that she was there with him. His mind jumped to all the guys who'd asked Ema out at college and he hoped none of them were watching the award show.

He felt Ema's eyes on him and looked down to see her giving him a questioning look. She must have been surprised at him suddenly grabbing her, so he murmured, "I didn't want to lose you in the crowd."

She smiled and nodded, accepting his explanation at face value and relaxing against him. For the rest of the night, he couldn't focus on the award ceremony. Instead, his mind was fixated on the beautiful woman next to him. They fit so well together as a couple. Meshing their lives together had been seamless, as though they were meant to be together.

He wanted to tell Ema this, to suggest that they try dating for real, to explain that while this hadn't been his intention when they started to pretend dating, that he was really falling for her. If only he hadn't screwed things up so badly when they were in high school. He wished he'd been smart enough to really get to know Ema, to have been her friend and confident back then. Then they might be in a very different position right now.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye to see that her attention was fixed on the stage where the awards were being announced. He'd just have to go slow, that was all. He'd look for signs that Ema was feeling the same way as him. His heart pounding, he took her hand in his, interlacing their fingers together.

After jumping in surprise, she smiled at him and squeezed his hand before returning her attention to the stage. Settling back into his seat, he was pleased to note the blush on her cheeks. He could be patient. Ema was worth the wait.

~.~

Iori fought the frown trying to take over his face. He'd come to Ema's university to surprise her. He wanted to take her out to dinner since they'd seen very little of each other that week thanks to midterms. She was done with class, but it looked like she was in deep conversation with one of her classmates. A male classmate. He couldn't see Ema's face, but the man looked highly animated as he spoke to her.

Feeling like he was doing something he shouldn't, Iori moved closer. It wasn't like he was intruding on a private moment, they were standing on the sidewalk in front of a building. And he wasn't intending on eavesdropping, just on letting Ema know that he was there and waiting for her. And it if spoiled the conversation that was happening . . . so be it.

A dark part of his mind, a part that Iori thought he'd banished, told him that maybe Ema was interested in this guy. That maybe the blushes and changing smiles Ema had been giving him for the past two months since he'd decided to pursue her for real were only in his mind. That Ema didn't and couldn't like him that way given what she knew about him.

Unable to take these feelings anymore, he called out, "Ema!"

The guy looked up paled upon seeing Iori. A fist seemed to clench around Iori's heart at that reaction. Wasn't that a sign that this man was interested in Ema? Why else would he be so unnerved at seeing Iori? Iori's dark feelings must have shown on his face for a moment because the guy flinched and took a step back.

Thankfully, schooled his face appropriately by the time Ema turned and her face lit up when she saw him.

"Iori!" she exclaimed, immediately turning away from the guy and stepping toward him. "What are you doing here?"

The pressure around his heart eased at her obvious joy at seeing him and how easily she moved away from the other guy.

Reaching up to brush her hair behind her ear he said, "I missed you. We've been so busy with exams this week, so I wanted to take you to dinner."

She beamed a shy smile at him, a smile that he had yet to see her give anyone else. "I would love that."

She looped her arm through his and led the way off of campus, barely looking over her shoulder to tell the guy goodbye.

~.~

Iori was proud of how well he held himself together during dinner. It helped that Ema had so clearly chosen him over this other guy. Maybe Iori had been completely wrong about the situation. Maybe the guy wasn't interested in Ema at all, but had been nervous at seeing Iori because he was a famous model. You never knew how people would react when you were famous and some people were very intimidated.

Still, when they arrived at Iori's apartment after dinner for ice cream, he couldn't help but ask, "Who was that guy you were talking to when I came to pick you up? Is he in one of your classes?"

Ema immediately became flustered, her eyes jumping to floor as she fiddled with her hair. The pressure around Iori's heart from before returned in full force.

"Oh, yeah, he's in one of my classes."

It seemed like Ema planned to end the discussion there so Iori added, "What were you two talking about? He seemed very animated. Was he upset about his midterms?"

"No," Ema said slowly, flushing and still not meeting Iori's eyes. "He's one of the guys that asked me out before. He was trying to ask me out again by telling me that a model would be too famous and high profile for me. He claimed that dating an ordinary girl would get boring for you and that rather than getting my heart broken, I should date an ordinary guy who I would fit better with."

Iori frowned, anger over the insult against Ema temporarily eclipsing his jealousy. "You're not ordinary, Ema. And any guy who thinks that you are, or that any guys are out of your league, is an idiot."

She smiled at him, but it wasn't a real smile. More a quick, nervous one to acknowledge the compliment.

"Are you interested in him?" Iori pressed. "Are you upset that you feel like you can't date him right now?"

Ema's gaze finally jumped to his in surprise. "No, not at all. Remember, I told you that it would be nice to have an excuse to say no to these dates? Honestly, I'm upset that he asked me out again even though he knows that we're dating." Her face turned bright red. "I mean pretending date! He thinks that I have a boyfriend and he asked me out anyway. He's not respecting my feelings, and that upsets me. I hope I don't have any classes with him next semester."

Iori felt better for about five seconds before thinking that just because this guy didn't interest Ema didn't mean that others didn't.

"Is there anyone else like that?" he asked, stepping closer to Ema. She seemed surprised at his proximity and took a step back, but now she was against a wall. He took another step closer and leaned his hand against the wall, trapping her on one side. "Are there other guys who still want to date you? Any guys who you want to date?"

"I—I . . ." she blinked up at him, appearing to be at a loss for words. His mind told him that meant there had to be someone that she liked.

Knowing that it was wrong, Iori wrapped his free arm around Ema's waist, his other hand leaving the wall to bury itself in her hair as pulled her to him and he kissed her.

He told himself that he was supposed to go slow even as he pulled Ema closer, allowing no space between them as his lips teased hers. She made a sound of surprise, her hands pushing against his chest . . . and then they stopped pushing and were clutching his shirt as he deepened the kiss, urging her to open her mouth to him.

He hated this side of himself, had thought he'd gotten rid of it, but he didn't care if there was a guy that Ema liked. They fit together. They belonged together. He would make Ema see that. He would make her forget that any other guys had ever existed. And then he stopped thinking those thoughts at all, his mind instead consumed with Ema herself and how she was responding to him.

He didn't know how long they'd been kissing for before she pulled back with a gasp, breathing heavy as she stared up at him, a blush across her cheeks.

He couldn't bring himself to say anything. He hadn't been able to stop himself from kissing her, but now he was afraid that he'd broken her trust, that she wouldn't want anything to do with him.

"Why did you kiss me?" she asked quietly, her gaze locked on his.

Despite his fear that she was upset, seeing her flushed cheeks and her slightly parted lips just made him want to kiss her again.

"Because I love you," he said without thinking through his answer. Reluctantly, he let her go and stepped back, tucking his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't give in to the urge to pull her close again. "I didn't mean to fall for you. We got along well as friends and I thought that would stay the same as we pretended to date, but the more time I spend with you, the more I want to always be with you as your real boyfriend."

"I'm so glad," Ema said, putting a hand to her heart she breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn't mean to fall for you either, and I was afraid to say anything after what happened a few years ago. I was afraid of ruining my relationship with you."

"You love me too?" he asked, needing her to confirm the words.

She nodded, then shyly added, "I love you, Iori. Being with you feels completely natural. It's not like being with anyone else."

The pressure and darkness in his heart dissipated and he pulled her into a hug. "I'm so glad," he said. "I'm so glad we both feel the same." Then, because he felt like he needed to be honest with her, he said, "I'm sorry that I kissed you without your permission. I was jealous after seeing you talk with that guy and was worried that maybe you had feelings for someone else. I wanted to remove everyone else from your mind and heart."

"There's no one else," she promised, raising onto her toes to kiss his cheek. "Just you, Iori."