A/N: Just as an FYI, Juli is not in this fic. I feel like this story is complicated enough and has enough characters without throwing him into the mix. For this fic I'll use events from the novels, the anime, and the games.

Chapter 1: Before

Eleven-year-old Ema Hinata got home from school on Friday to find an empty home, but that was no surprise. Her father, Rintaro, was an adventurer and spent much of his time out of the country. He wrote books about his adventures and sold the pictures he took to famous magazines.

Walking to the kitchen, Ema neatly placed her school books on the table before turning on the oven and pulling out the dinner she prepared this morning from the refrigerator. All she needed to do now was heat it up.

Sitting down to start on her homework while the oven heated, Ema's eye caught on the picture of her and her father hung up by the calendar. She smiled at the photo of her and Rintaro standing on London Bridge that was taken last year. She loved to hear the stories of her father's adventures and during the summers when she was off from school he sometimes took her with him.

When Ema was younger, her neighbors used to frequently check in on her for Rintaro to make sure she was okay when he was away, but she became self-sufficient at a very young age, and now the neighbors rarely dropped by, though they still talked to her whenever she left for school and came back. While she didn't need their help around the house, she did miss having other people come to visit.

Ema jumped when the oven beeped and she got up to put the dinner inside. She tried to shake-off her melancholy thoughts. She got lonely being home alone most of the time, and sometimes it was hard to leave her friends at school when she knew she was going home to an empty house, but her dad loved his job and she wanted to support him. She loved his job too, she just wished it didn't take him away from home so much.

~.~

On Saturday, Rintaro arrived home early in the evening.

"You're back, dad!" "Ema exclaimed, throwing her arms around her father. "I didn't think that your flight got in for a couple more days."

Rintaro squeezed Ema tight and kissed her head, but he looked nervous when he pulled back. "I had some stuff in Japan that I needed to take care of. Along those lines Ema…There's someone important I want you to meet tonight. We're going to meet her for dinner in a few minutes. I didn't want you to meet her until everything became official. I didn't want you to be disappointed or to put you through anything stressful if things didn't work out."

"What are you talking about, Dad?" Ema asked, tilting her head as she stared at Rintaro in confusion. She'd never seen her dad look so nervous before, and she had no idea what he was talking about. Meet who? And why would she be disappointed or stressed about meeting someone?

"Well," Rintaro rubbed his hands nervously on his thighs before taking Ema's hand and leading her over to the couch. He kept hold of her hand as they sat down. "Ema, I know that it's been just you and me for a long time."

"Ever since Mom died when I was a baby," Ema interjected.

"Right. It's been just you and me for as long as you can remember, but I—I met a woman earlier this year. Her name is Miwa Asahina and I—we love each other very much. I proposed to Miwa earlier this week and she said yes."

Ema's face was a careful mask of calm as her heart fluttered wildly. Rintaro looked at her hopefully, but Ema wasn't sure what expression to show. She was sure that he wanted her to be excited for him, but she didn't know anything about this woman. She hadn't even known that her dad was dating. Did this woman like kids? What did she know about Ema? Did she want to be Ema's mother? It would be nice to have a mother. Someone to take her clothes shopping rather than Rintaro giving her some money and sending her off on her own. Someone to talk about boys with when she got older. It'd also be nice to have someone who was home. Ema would like to cook for someone other than just herself.

"So, we're having dinner with Miwa tonight?" Ema asked.

"Yes," Rintaro said, nodding. "She's excited to meet you. She doesn't have any daughters, only sons. She's very happy to be gaining a daughter."

"Sons?" Ema asked, perking up. "She's has sons? I'd have brothers?" It hadn't occurred to her that Miwa might have children already. Ema had always been so jealous of her classmates with siblings. What would it be like to always have other people home with you? Someone to do homework with and to play with? She hoped one of the sons was close to her age.

Rintaro smiled, relieved to see Ema looking interested and excited. "Yes, when Miwa and I get married you'll have a mother and brothers. Won't that be nice?" He squeezed Ema's hands. "I know that this will be a big change and that it might not be easy, but I think that it will be wonderful for both of us."

~.~

At dinner that night, Ema held onto her father's hand tightly as they walked into the restaurant to meet Miwa. Ema was excited, but also nervous. What if Miwa didn't like Ema? Or what if Miwa was mean?

Rintaro squeezed Ema's hand and pointed, "There she is," he said. Ema looked to see a pretty woman around her father's age with short blond hair. She was wearing a business suit and stood up with a smile when she saw Rintaro.

Rintaro let go of Ema's hand to hug and kiss Miwa, then he turned to Ema and said, "Ema, this is my fiancé, Miwa Asahina. Miwa, this is my daughter, Ema."

Miwa held out her hand, a bright smile on her face. "It's wonderful to meet you, Ema. I've heard so much about you from your father."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Ema said, taking Miwa's hand. Miwa sure seemed like a nice woman, and dinner went well. Her father and Miwa told Ema about how the two of them met and how they started dating. Ema was amazed and a little hurt that Rintaro kept all this from her, but she understood that he hadn't wanted Ema getting attached to Miwa and her sons in case the relationship didn't work out. He could have at least told her that he was dating though.

Near the end of dinner, Miwa said, "So Ema, your father and I want to offer you a couple choices of where to live. The wedding won't be for another six months, so you could continue to live in your current apartment for half a year if you'd like." Ema bit her lip, but said nothing. She definitely didn't want to go with that option. "I have an apartment in the city that your father will be moving into and you are welcome to stay there with us there, and then there is the Sunrise Mansion, where my sons live. As I said, you have six months before you need to decide where you'd like to live."

"You don't live with your sons?" Ema asked in confusion.

"I work overseas," Miwa said, "and when I'm in Japan, I spent most of my time at the office. That's why I have an apartment in the city. It's more convenient that way." Ema was still confused. How could Miwa not live with her own family? Ema's father was gone a lot too, but at least when he was in Japan he came home at night. It sounded like living in Miwa's apartment in the city would be no better than what she had now.

"I want to live with my new brothers, if that's okay," Ema said. "And I'd rather do that now instead of in six months."

"I understand," Miwa said, looking a little disappointed. "It wouldn't be very fun to live with your father and me in that big lonely apartment." She gave a little laugh. "Sometimes I don't like living there, and I'm sure my sons will be very excited to have their new little sister come live with them."

Ema's heart thumped nervously. She hoped so, but she wondered how much they actually knew about her since she didn't even know they existed until today. Then she finally registered exactly what Miwa had said. "Little sister? Are all my brothers older than me then?" She felt both happy and disappointed. She had been excited over the thought of a playmate her age, but she could hardly be picky about it. Having brothers period was going to be amazing.

"Well, most of them are. Two are younger than you and Yusuke is the same age as you. The rest are all older."

Ema resisted the urge to clap her hands in excitement. A brother her age! And younger brothers! Ema was going to be a big sister! She vowed in her heart that she would be the best big sister ever. Except, she had little idea of what a big sister was supposed to do. "How many are older than me?"

Miwa seemed to have to think for a moment before saying, "Ten."

"Ten!?" Ema exclaimed, her eyes feeling like they were going to pop out of her head. "I'm going to have thirteen brothers?"

"Do you still want to live with them?" Miwa asked, looking concerned. "They're wonderful boys and young men, I promise. They're very well behaved and they take good care of each other. That's why I can be confident about leaving them alone while I work. Masaomi and Ukyo take wonderful care of all their younger brothers."

Ema shook her head. "No, it's not a problem." She wasn't dismayed at the thought of gaining thirteen brothers, she was ecstatic. Surely, she'd never be home alone while living with thirteen brothers. She'd finally have someone to come home to. Make that someones to come home to. But what if they didn't want a girl moving in?

~.~

Later that night, Miwa walked into the living room of the Sunrise Mansion to tell her sons the news. Azusa and Tsubaki sat on the couch playing handheld game devices while Natsume, Suburu, and Kaname were stretched out on the floor watching sports on TV. Louis leaned against the back of the couch, watching Tsubaki and Azusa play their game. The triplets had graduated from high school last year and Natsume was still working out what he would do now while Tsubaki and Azusa were attending a school for voice acting. Kaname was working as monk. Louis was in his second year of high school. Subaru was in his second year of junior high while Iori, who sat at the table next to Ukyo, both of them studying for school, was in his first year of junior high. Ukyo had one more year left of college until he graduated as a lawyer.

Masaomi, already a pediatrician, sat in the corner of the room playing a card game with Wataru, who started kindergarten this year. As Miwa went through all her sons in her head, she saw that only three were missing. Yusuke, Fuuto, and—

"Oh! Mother!" A fake shocked voice said from the stairs behind Miwa. "What a surprise to see you. I thought you'd forgotten where we live since we haven't seen you in a while." Miwa turned to see Hikaru. "It's so good of you to do the motherly thing and come see for yourself that we're all still alive rather than just relying on Masaomi's and Ukyo's phone reports. Or should I say their phone messages since you don't actually answer your phone. At least, not for your something so trifling as speaking to your children. As you can see, we're all accounted for, so you can return home feeling that you've done your duty."

Miwa sighed tiredly. She didn't want Hikaru's bitterness to spoil her good news. "Would you go get Yusuke and Fuuto and bring them here?"

"Oh, of course," Hikaru agreed. "You haven't seen all your sons yet. How diligent of you." Hikaru didn't look at her as he swept past her and into the hallway to fetch his missing brothers.

A few moments later, all thirteen brothers were gathered on the massive living room couch and Miwa smiled as she stood facing them, trying to regain her excitement from earlier. She loved Rintaro and was excited for Ema to join the family. She was sure her sons would love Ema.

"You know that I've been dating the adventurer Rintaro Hinata for almost a year now. Last week he proposed and he and I will be getting married six months from now."

Fuuto's face dropped into a deep frown at the same time that Masaomi's lifted into a smile. "That's wonderful, Mom. I'm glad you've found someone again." Miwa's husband had died a little over four years ago, before Wataru even turned one. Masaomi had been worried about his mother ever since. She'd always thrown herself into work with a passion, but it got even worse after his father died. Masaomi was worried that Miwa would burn herself out. She needed something in her life other than work. He hoped that Rintaro would treat her well.

"Thank you, Masaomi," Miwa said, her smiling turning radiant. "There's more though. Rintaro has an eleven-year-old daughter named Ema. She's going to come live with you all shortly. I want you to prepare a room for her and give her a warm welcome into the family."

"A sister?!" Tsubaki exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "I'm getting a little sister?"

"We're getting a little sister," Natsume corrected dryly.

"Ema," Tsubaki said out loud, as though trying out the name. "What a cute name! I bet she's adorable."

"You don't even know anything about her," Fuuto muttered, crossing his arms angrily. He could barely remember his father, having only been five years old when he died, but now his mother thought she could replace her dead husband by marrying some other man? Fuuto would not accept this man as any sort of father figure. He wouldn't accept the man's daughter as his sister either. He wanted nothing to do with either of them.

"So, before he even gets married Rintaro is shoving his daughter off on us? Sounds like you and him really are a good match," Hikaru said. "Don't worry, Mother, we'll take good care of Ema. Someone ought to."

"Leave it alone, Hikaru," Kaname said. "I think it'll be fun to have a little sister. It will be nice to have a feminine touch around here."

"No it won't," Subaru argued, a mutinous look on his face. "I don't want a girl here! She'll mess everything up."

"You're just upset because you're afraid of girls," Tsubaki said, waving a dismissive hand at Suburu. "You'll get over it. This will be good for you. You'll finally be exposed to the opposite sex, and you won't be able to run away from her like you do the girls at school."

"Shut up!" Subaru shot back, his face flushing red.

"I want a big sister!" Wataru said, clapping his hands together in excitement. "Do you think she'll be nice and that she'll like us, Mao-nii?" Wataru asked, turning to his oldest brother.

Masaomi smiled down at Wataru. "I'm sure that she'll like us if we're nice to her."

Wataru gasped. "We should get her a present! To welcome her!"

"That's a great idea!" Tsubaki agreed. "We should get her something cute."

"Having a sister will be fun," Louis mused quietly. "I could do her hair for her."

Miwa smiled. Having Rintaro and Ema join the family was going to be a big change, but Miwa believed that change would be for the best for them all.

A/N: As excited as I am to write a Brothers Conflict fanfic, I'm also nervous because I don't know if I can actually make up my mind about who Ema should end up with. I've got it narrowed down to about half and I decided to just post this before I chickened out.