「君が当たり前に必要な人さ。」
Of course you're an important person.

***
"Hurry up! Put her in the ER!!" I yelled.

"Yes, ma'am!" The nurses replied.

Hi, I'm Shiomi Haruna. Better known as Doctor Shiomi at this establishment. I work at a hospital in Tokyo. I'm a licensed psychologist, but I still step in as a regular physician so I earn twice as much.

"Step aside, ladies. Get some water, bandages, and antibiotic cream." I said as I went near the patient.

"What's your name, dear?" I asked the kid.

"I-I'm Aki." She weakly said.

"Aki, would you please tell me what happened?" I asked as I took a seat next to her.

"A robber came to our house a while ago. Everything was just too fast to process! My dad got shot, mom was being dragged outside the room, me and my brother were getting tied up and h-h-h-h-" the girl started panicking and breathing rapidly.

"Aki. Aki! Get ahold of yourself!"

"Doctor Shiomi!" The nurse said as she tossed me a bottle of water.

I opened the cap and handed it to the girl.

"Here, Aki. Drink." I said as she accepted the bottle and slowly drank some water.

"Thanks, doc... uhmm.. My wounds are starting to sting."

"Okay, does anything hurt?"

"No, just sting."

"Did you get hit by someone? Why do you have so many wounds, cuts, and bruises?" I asked.

"I got cut on the shoulder then I tried to escape, but our entrance was full off barbed wires so I had to make a run for it."

"Did you head directly to the hospital?"

"No, I went to the police first."

"Okay... then we'll have to properly disinfect your would first, which I warn you, will hurt a lot."

"It's fine. Thanks for talking to me, doctor."

"You're welcome. Can you stand?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Just sit on that wheel chair and that nurse will bring you to the disinfecting area. Take care, Aki." I bid as the nurse wheeled her away.

***

"Good job, Doc Shiomi! You're shift's over!" A co-worker said.

"Thank you! Good night!" I replied.

"Good job!" The nurses said as I made my way out.

I headed back to my apartment and saw a note on my door.

THIS MONTH'S RENT IS ¥250,000.
PAY UP OR GET OUT.

I really hate the landlady here. I crumpled the note and entered my apartment then threw the note inside my trash can.

I set my stuff down and immediately called Masaomi.

"Yes? This is Asahina." He answered.

"Hey, Masaomi. It's me, Haruna."

"Oh, hey. Have you gotten off your shift yet?"

"Yeah, I just did." I replied.

"So, do you need anything?"

"Well, yes, I was wondering if-"

"Hold that thought. Kaname, stop bothering Ema! Yusuke, Fuuto, stop fighting! Hikaru, take care of them first. I'll be back...Hello, Haruna? You still there?"

"Yeah. If you're too busy, it's fine. I-"

"Don't worry. Hikaru's got this." He assured.

"Well, ok. You see, I was wondering if you knew any apartment rentals or something."

"Well, no. What's the matter?" He asked with a worried tone.

"The landlady at my apartment raised the rent again."

"By how much?"

"By five thousand yen."

"Yikes."

"I know, right? Well, I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll just find another apartment tomorrow. Goodn-"

"Wait. Come to the mansion."

"What?!?"

"I'll be away for 3 weeks. Fuuto, our 12fth brother is going on an international tour and our parents should be supposedly accompanying him, but they're on a business trip. So I'm going with him."

"Oh, uhm, when can I come over?" I asked.

"In an hour. I'll get things ready for you. You can use the extra room next to Ema's and Tsubaki's."

"Ok. Are you sure that this is fine?"

"Yeah. If you want to pay for something, just the part of your water and electricity bill will do. Take care of my siblings for me." He reassured.

"Wait. Are you leaving tonight?"

"Yup. I promise you'll enjoy it here."

"Fine. I'll grab my things and go."

"If you're still worried, I'll tell you each of my brothers' personalities."

***

I soon packed up all my stuff and was ready to go. I left my key underneath the rug in front of my apartment and took a cab to Sunrise Residence.

***

"Have a good night, miss!" The taxi driver bid.

"Thank you! You too!" I bid back as he drove off.

I silently dragged my bags onto the sidewalk.

"Uh, Haruna, right?" I turned around to face the owner of the voice.

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. You must be Natsume." I said as we shook hands.

"I guess Masa-nii told you all about us, huh?" He asked with a smile as he let go of my hand.

"Not really. He told me your personalities and what you guys do for a living." I admitted.

"I see. Well, let's get inside, yeah?" He said as he grabbed my luggage.

"Sure. Thanks." I replied as I grabbed my other two bags and followed him inside.

I guess Masaomi was right. His brothers are really nice.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Asahina Ema." A girl with golden brown hair greeted me.

"Hi, I'm Shiomi Haruna. So you must be the sister that Masaomi treasures so dearly." I said as I shook her hand.

She just blushed at my comment.

"Hello. You must be Chii-san."

"Chii-san?" I questioned.

"It's A nickname that I like to call girls with. I call Ema "Chii-chan" so I decided to call you "Chii-san". My name's Louis. Nice to meet you." He said as he shook my hand and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Louis." I said, awkwardly.

"Please come downstairs. The others are waiting for you." Natsume said as I followed him.

"Greetings, Madame! Allow me to give you a welcome hug!" The white-haired guy said as he squeezed me in a tight embrace.

"Definitely, Tsubaki." I remarked.

"Wow, you know my name." He said with a surprised tone.

"I'm Shiomi Haruna. Nice to meet you." I said as I pushed him away from the hug and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Haruna. Fwah-"

"I apologize for my brother's incompetence." A guy with glasses said after punching Tsubaki on the head.

"I assume you are Azusa." I said as I shook his hand.

"Your assumption is correct." He said with a smile.

Suddenly, footsteps came crashing downstairs.

"Hey! What's with all the commotion?!? Oh, h-hi. I'm Yuusuke." A red-haired guy yelled as he suddenly blushed.

"Hi, I'm Haruna." I greeted and laughed at his behavior.

"S-Sorry about that. Usually it would be noisy because my brothers are always talking about all sorts of stuff." He said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"No problem. Don't mind me. Masaomi just pitied me so he told me to come here." I replied.

"Uwaaaaaaa~ Ha-tan is here!!~" a little boy ran towards me then hugged me.

"Uh, hello. You're Wataru, correct?" I asked as I crouched down to his level.

"Mhm!~ You're Ha-tan! Makkun's girlfriend!" He exclaimed which made me blush furiously.

"N-No! I-I'm just a friend! We just work at the same hospital. That's all. Plus Masaomi is a lot older than me." I said, still blushing.

"Really? And you just call him by his name?" Natsume asked.

"Yeah, he told me to. He didn't want to feel old." I said.

"By the way, aren't you supposed to be eleven? Only Masaomi and Fuuto are away, right?" I asked.

"Well, sorry, but we're the only ones here, right now. Kyo-nii dropped Masa-nii at the airport, Suba-nii hasn't arrived yet, Kana-nii will be staying over at work, Hika-nii is at America, and Io-nii is staying at his school dorm for the week." Yusuke said.

"Oh, so we're waiting for Subaru?" I asked.

"Mhm. He's been training hard this week so he'll be late." Natsume said.

"I'm home."

"I stand corrected." Natsume said.

"Subaru! Didn't Masa-nii tell you that there would be a guest?!?" Tsubaki scolded Subaru as he (Subaru) walked downstairs.

"He did. I'm sorry for being late. I'm Subaru." He greeted me.

"Oh, no. It's fine. I'm Haruna. Sorry for bothering you." I greeted back.

"Alright. Now that everyone's here, feel free to relax and come downstairs in a few minutes. Do you know how to get to your room?" Azusa asked.

"No, but I was told it would be the one next to Ema's and Tsubaki's." I replied.

"Then let's go!" Tsubaki said as he grabbed my arm and dragged me to the elevator.

***

"So this is your room. We hope you like it." Tsubaki said as he opened the door and gestured for me to enter.

The room was so clean and warm. It had sky blue and white checkered wallpaper, a soft flooring, and a bright enough light to glow inside the room.

"Thanks. I like it very much." I said with a smile.

"Glad you do. Well, I'd best leave you to rest. Feel free to call us if you need anything." Tsubaki said as he closed the door.

I guess living here would be really fun. I hurriedly unpacked my stuff and grabbed a shirt, shorts, and my slippers. I entered the bathroom and changed; walked out then grabbed my phone and went downstairs for dinner.

"Ha-tan~! Hurry, hurry! I have to ask you something!!" Wataru called out as I rushed downstairs.

"What is it?" I asked as I went over to his side.

"Do you like Makkun?"

"Well, yes. He's kind and caring-"

"Do you like him as a man?"

"Wha-What?!? No! H-He's just a really good friend! Nothing more, nothing less!" I yelled with a blushing face.

"Hmm.. this'll be fun then! Haha~!!" He exclaimed then pulled me towards the dining table.

"You sit here, right next to me. This is where Makkun sits. You're Makkun for now so please take care of me, okay?" He said with a grin as he sat down.

"Sure!" I replied with a grin.

***

"So who usually does the chores here?" I asked.

"Subaru. He's our errand boy." Tsubaki commented which made Subaru blush.

"Actually, all of us have our separate share of work. Subaru isn't our "errand boy". He sweeps up the cherry blossoms during spring and the leaves during fall. Iori, our tenth brother, takes care of the plants and flowers outside." Azusa said.

"Ohh. Those were pretty! Especially the Irises! The color bloomed so beautifully!" I exclaimed.

"Uwaaaahhh!! Ha-tan loves the flowers, but not Iorin?" Wataru asked.

"W-What?!? W-Wataru, t-timeout. E-Eat!!" I said as I blushed.

"On a totally unrelated topic, Chii-san, your hair is very pretty and long. I'm very happy that you decided to accept Masaomi-nii-san's offer. Now I have two girls to try different hairstyles on." Louis said with a smile.

We continued eating silently after I smiled at his remark.

My hair was black that looked more of a greyish-dark blue shade to me. It almost reaches all the way to my back. Right now, it's tied up since the taxi ride was so hot. The air conditioner broke halfway as we got here.

My phone then suddenly vibrated inside my pocket.

"Sorry, I'll just take this call." I said as I stood up, went upstairs and headed outside.

"Hello? This is Shiomi-"

"Hello? Doctor Shiomi?"

"Oh, hey, Aki. How are you feeling?" I asked as I sat near the porch outside the entrance.

"I'm feeling great. The nurses here are so nice. Thanks for talking to me, doc. I was so tensed up a while ago. If you weren't there to help me, I would've fainted or something."

"No problem. I'm a psychologist, so it's my job. Even if the patient verbally hurts me or if I lose sanity from all the crazy patients that I see, I still have to move on and keep moving forward. You should too. Don't let this setback affect you. Continue going to school. I'll let my investigation team take care of your belongings at home."

"Thank you so much. I have you to thank for my future, doc."

"You're welcome. Now go rest. I heard that you're on the twelfth floor. The phone is all the way to the fire exit on the second floor. You should go now. Lights out is in 15 minutes."

"I will. Thank you. Have a good night. You are a very kind person. Please smile more, you look more beautiful."

"Thank you. Good night, Aki." I said then I hung up.

Another person called once more. Except, the number isn't in my contacts. Just as I was about to pick up the call, a jacket was slung around my shoulders.

"H-Hey, who-"

"I j-just thought you might need it if you're staying here for a while and.. here, it's from Wataru since you didn't get to finish your meal." Subaru said as he handed me a fruit bar.

"Oops. Did it go to waste?" I asked as I accepted the fruit bar.

"No, Yusuke ate it."

"I see. Thank you. Please thank them for me too and apologize to whoever made dinner hehe."

"Sure. You're welcome." Subaru said with a smile as he went back inside.

His jacket smelled nice...although I expected it to smell like sweat since it's a jersey jacket. Hehe.

I hurriedly answered the call.

"Hello? This is Shiomi."

"Hello, I'm Hikaru. The Asahina Family's fourth son. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, hi. I'm Shiomi Haruna, but you can call me Haruna. Nice to meet you too, Hikaru-san." I replied.

"Oh please, forget the formalities. Hikaru is fine. And on a totally unrelated note, I've seen your pictures on media. You're pretty cute."

His remark made me blush.

"T-Thank you very much, Hikaru."

"The pleasure's all mine, dear. By the way, aren't you supposed to be inside by now?" He asked.

"A-Ah, yes, I'll get inside— wait. How do you know that I'm outside?"

"Easy. You're on the palm of my hand. I can see you wherever you go."

"W-What?" I questioned. Is he a stalker or something?

"Kidding, I just came from the airport a few hours ago and almost in front of the house."

"Oh, I see. Should I wait for you then?" I said in a relieved tone.

"No, it's fine. Azusa and Natsume would do. Be a dear and call them out, would you?"

"Sure. Be careful on the way."

"Alright. Good night." He said then hung up.

I went inside and called Azusa and Natsume to wait for Hikaru, I returned Subaru's jacket and bid him good night, then entered my room.

I opened the lights and put my journal on my desk. The room was really beautiful. I jotted down a few significant events. I guess you could call this a diary, but somehow it's storytelling. I finished my journal log and the fruit bar from Wataru, then fell asleep on my desk.

"Journal #102
12/27/2010

It's not everyday that you see people who care about someone they just met."

Published: February 13, 2017; 9:53 pm