Shiro placed the other plate she was holding on next to her on the couch. She picked up a creampuff, brownie, cupcake, a muffin, and a couple of doughnuts on her small plate. The food on her plate looked like it could fall at any moment. Shiro glanced at her older sister who had a large plate of croquette on her lap while she held a bowl of tartar sauce on her right. Ketsueki stabbed a croquette using her fork as she dipped it in tartar sauce and took a bite out of it. Yuki stared at all the baked goods on the coffee table with a wrinkled nose.
She thought. I can feel my teeth rotting. Reiki turned his head sideways and saw Yuki with a hint of reluctance in her eyes, he said. "Yuki, there's pizza on the table." Her eyes sparkled as she turned her head and saw the twenty boxes of pizza. Yuki was about to dash toward it but stopped and grabbed the small plate with two forks on it that Shiro placed on the couch. She made her way to the dining table and looked up at all the boxes, Yuki thought. How am I supposed to-?
Kiru appeared beside her as she opened the box on the top revealing a large pizza pie topped with a lot of pepperoni and cheese. She looked down at Yuki and said. "How many slices?" Reiki turned his head to look at his older sister finishing off another croquette on a fork, he said. "Onee-chan, how about we talk on the second floor for a minute?" Yuki looked up to Kiru and waved at her. Yuki said. "I'm Yuki, nice to meet you." Kiru gave her a friendly smile and said. "Just call me, Kiru."
Ketsueki glanced at her little brother from the corner of her eye which made him subconsciously take a step back. She moved her gaze onto Mio and Shiro who were enjoying themselves as they ate a creampuff and doughnut respectively. Yuki glanced at the pizza box and saw the steam emitting from it, she said. ”Kiru-san, I would like a pizza sandwich, please." Kiru raised a brow at her and said. "You want a stromboli?" Ketsueki placed the fork on the plate of croquette, she snapped her right fingers as the plate was enveloped with a thin layer of mana along with the bowl of tartar sauce.
Yuki's brows furrowed as a hint of confusion formed on her face, she said. "No, I want a pizza slice on top of another one with the toppings in between." The plate of croquettes vanished along with the bowl of tartar sauce as Ketsueki stood up from the armchair. She looked down on her little brother and spoke in a bland tone, Ketsueki said. "Sure, Reiki. Let's talk." She made her way to the staircase with Reiki slightly limping beside her. Reiki thought. It's just a few more punches, nothing to worry about.
Kiru stared at Yuki for a few seconds, she reached out her right hand and placed a slice of pizza on top of another one with the toppings in between. Kiru picked up the pizza sandwich and showed it to Yuki as the melted cheese stretched. Kiru said. "Like this?" Yuki's eyes sparkled as she held out the small plate she was holding with both her hands while holding the two forks. Yuki said. "Yes!" Reiki and Ketsueki walked up the stairs while Kiru placed the pizza sandwich on the plate and made another one.
She picked up the other one and said. "So do you want me to place it there or?" Yuki held out her right hand and showed her the two forks, she said. "Place these in the pizza box and I'll take that off your hand." Kiru used her left hand to take the forks off Yuki's hand as she took the pizza sandwich off hers. Yuki gave her a bright smile and said. "Thanks for the help, Kiru-san." She turned around and made her way to the couch while taking a bite out of the pizza sandwich as the cheese stretched.
Kiru placed the two forks inside the space of the pizza box and closed it, she thought. Pizza sandwich… Maybe that's how the stromboli was made… Yuki sat on the leftmost side of the couch beside Mio while Kiru made her way back to the armchair. Yuki took another bite of her pizza sandwich as she made the cheese stretch. Mio was staring at the filling of a doughnut that had chocolate ganache while chewing. Shiro took off the wrapper of a cupcake that had whipped cream and a strawberry on top. Kiru picked up a brownie and said. "Is it good?"
Mio and Yuki simultaneously nodded while Shiro hesitantly nodded after a few seconds. Kiru let out a soft laugh and said. "If I remember, your names are. Mio, Yuki, and Shiro-." A loud thud sound came from the ceiling as the four of them glanced at it. Shiro, Yuki, and Mio simultaneously thought. Thank you, for your sacrifice. The three of them went back to eating while Kiru continued. "Are your names, correct?" Yuki took another bite of her pizza sandwich and nodded while Mio wiped some chocolate ganache from the corner of her mouth.
Mio said. "Yes, Kiru-san." Shiro stared at the cupcake she held with her right hand, she said. "... Mmm…" Ketsueki reached the bottom of the stairs as all four of them turned their heads toward her, she gave them a smile and said. "Mio, Yuki, Shiro. Make sure to eat our fill, Reiki somehow managed to convince me." Yuki waved at her using the half-eaten pizza sandwich, she said. "Aneki, have some pizza while it's hot." Mio nodded at her and pointed at the coffee table using her plate, she said. "I recommend trying the brownies first, Onee-san." Shiro showed her the cupcake she was holding and said. "Onee-chan, look. The cupcake has a strawberry on it."
Ketsueki made her way to the other armchair as she walked behind the couch, she said. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to eat more than my fill." She sat on the armchair and picked up a strawberry jam-filled doughnut covered with powdered sugar. Ketsueki pointed the doughnut at Kiru and continued. "How about it, Kiru-san? Tell us more about yourself." She took a bite out of the doughnut in her hand while Kiru was eating a brownie. Yuki placed two pizza crusts beside the pizza sandwich on her small plate, she said. "Should we make a run for it and bring everything we can to Shiro's room?"
Shiro was about to take a bite out of the strawberry cupcake but stopped, she said. "That sounds like a solid plan…" Mio's brows furrowed as she berated her friends and said. "Must you two be so drastic?" She ate the last bit of doughnut she was holding. Kiru swallowed and pointed a brownie at her that had a bite taken out of it at Ketsueki. Kiru said. "What would you like to know about me?" Ketsueki gently squeezed the doughnut in her hand as the strawberry filling slightly oozed out of the hole, she said. "Surprise us."
Shiro munched on the cupcake she was holding as she negligibly leaned forward on the couch. She watched Mio placing the wrappers in the muffin and cupcake boxes while she added more sweets to her small plate. Yuki tried to keep the melted cheese inside of her pizza sandwich as she quickly took a bite and rapidly exhaled from the heat. Shiro swallowed and said. "Don't you two need to go home soon?" Yuki and Mio turned their heads at her while Kiru pretended to think. She said. "I guess I'm somewhat accomplished."
Yuki intently stared at Shiro's eyes while taking a bite out of her pizza sandwich. Mio placed the small plate on her lap as she picked up a muffin and took off the wrapper, she said. "Nice try, Shiro." Ketsueki pretended to be interested, she said. "Only somewhat? From the way you dressed, I expected a lot more." Shiro gave her friends a pitiable look, she said. "I was only curious." Mio waved at her in dismissal while holding the muffing at hand, she said. "We're not leaving until we've eaten our fill."
Yuki's cheeks were full of pizza as she looked like a hamster, she nodded and made a big gulp. She said. "Yeah, what the role model student said." Yuki pointed at Mio using the pizza sandwich as a few slices of pepperoni almost slipped out of it. Yuki caught it by quickly taking a bite out of the part of the pizza where the pepperoni was about to fall. Mio stared at her friend as she took a bite out of the muffin in her hands. Kiru let out a fake regretful sigh and said. "You're right, that's why I only have such a humble house across the street."
Ketsueki took a bite out of her doughnut revealing the center filled with strawberry jam. Her gaze narrowed as she stared at Kiru eating a brownie while maintaining an innocent expression. Shiro finished off the cupcake as she stared at the two girls sitting in armchairs arguing. After a couple of seconds of chewing Shiro swallowed and said. "... Are we sure we can't just take what we want and hide in my room?..." Ketsueki let out a chuckle with a hint of coldness, she said. "Humble? From such a large house?"
Yuki placed two more pizza crusts on her small plate alongside the other two, she raised her plate and said. "How am I supposed to reach that?" She pointed at the table as Mio and Shiro turned their heads and saw the boxes of pizza stacked high while chewing. Mio swallowed and let out a taunting laugh, she said. "Sounds more like your problem than ours." Kiru nodded as she let out a regretful sigh, she said. "That's right, originally I planned on tearing down the building and making one from scratch…" Yuki gave her friend a deadpan stare while Shiro picked up a creampuff and said. "You can stand on the chairs, Onee-chan won't mind."
The corner of Ketsueki's eye twitched, she thought. Motherfucking second-generation rich shit stains. She let out a laugh with an underlying sarcasm and said. "Let me guess, your parents cut you off." Yuki slightly leaned forward to get a better look at Shiro and saw her munching on a creampuff. Yuki said. "Are you sure?" Shiro nodded while eating the creampuff while Mio was holding onto a half-eaten muffin. Mio said. "Just make sure to take off the indoor slippers."
Yuki rolled her eyes at Mio and said. "I'm not that dense." She picked up one of the pizza crusts and started eating it. Kiru shook her head sideways, she said. "No, it would just take too much time. And I didn't want to disturb the neighborhood." Ketsueki's smile had a hint of condescending on it, she said. "Oh, cash flow problems then?" Kiru pretended to think as she placed a hand on her chin, she said. "Not really, I made my fortune on my own so it was more of a preference." Ketsueki stared at her fake innocent expression and thought. Oh my apologies, you're a motherfucking first-generation rich shit stain.
Kiru let out a soft sigh and continued. "But enough about me. Now it's your turn." Shiro glanced at her friends while holding onto a half-eaten creampuff, she said. "Still think we shouldn't cut our losses and hide?" Mio rolled her eyes at Shiro as she carefully made herself more comfortable on the couch. Yuki let out a burp which caught her friend's attention, she said. "Excuse me." She stood up from the couch and continued. "I'm getting more pizza." Yuki made her way to the table and pulled back the chair closest to the boxes of pizza. She took off the indoor slippers, stood on the chair, opened the top of the pizza box, and made a couple of pizza sandwiches.
~Two Hours Later~
Second Floor At The Hallway
Reiki was knocked out unconscious on the floor lying down on his stomach while the swelling on his cheek had visibly gone down. His eyes slowly opened as he looked around, he thought. Everything hurts… Reiki slowly got up from the floor as he felt his entire body ache, he continued his train of thought. Did Onee-chan always hit this hard? I remember being afraid of it when I was young but…
He managed to stand on his two feet as Reiki leaned on the wall for support, he spoke under his breath and said. "I wonder how strong her punches would be if she used some mana." He took a deep breath and made his way downstairs and heard Ketsueki's voice, she said. "Don't you think you've overstayed your welcome?" As it had a hint of impatience. Reiki reached the bottom of the staircase and looked to his left and saw Ketsueki and Kiru sitting on the armchairs. Shiro was sitting in the middle of the couch with both her hands on her slightly pudgy belly, she looked like she could fall asleep on the couch.
Kiru lazily waved her hand at Ketsueki and said. "What kind of household kicks their guests out like this?" Shiro slowly tried to adjust her sitting position on the couch as she struggled to move due to the added weight. Kiru gestured at all the baked goods on the coffee table and pointed at the table that had more untouched boxes, she said. "Especially guests who spend money to bring food."
Shiro eventually gave up as she took off the indoor slippers on her foot and laid down on the couch. She let out one long exhale while patting her pudgy belly, Reiki stared at the two arguing and thought. They haven't even noticed me… He looked around and continued his train of thought. Where's Cherry? Ketsueki gave Kiru an artificial smile and said. "Spending more money doesn't make you any more welcome." Reiki made his way to the couch and poked his younger sister's belly. Shiro opened her right eye and saw her older brother. She opened her other eye as she turned her head and gave him a smile, Shiro said. "Onii-chan, you're back from the dead."
Reiki stared at his little sister lying down on the couch, he said. "If you stay like that you'll get fat." Shiro had a look of disbelief on her face, she raised her hand at him and angrily shook it. She said. "G-Girls don't get fat from eating sweets!" Shiro tried to sit up straight but struggled, after trying a couple more times she looked up at her older brother for help. Reiki helped his little sister sit on the couch as Shiro lazily lay on the backrest of the couch.
Kiru gave Ketsueki a smile and said. "I'm not asking you to be at my beck and call." Shiro gave her older brother a dazzling smile, she said. "Thank you, Onii-chan." Reiki ignored the smile and bluntly said. "I'm not grabbing something from the coffee table for you." Shiro's eyes suddenly had a layer of water in them as she was on the verge of crying. Ketsueki's pupils faintly glowed, she said. "Then why are you here in the first place?" Reiki let out a sigh as he placed a hand on top of his little sister's head and caressed Shiro's head. He said. "What do you want?"
Shiro went back to her cheery self as she pointed at one of the boxes of takeout, she said. "I want another creampuff!" Kiru gave Ketsueki a smile as an answer to her question while Reiki picked up a couple of creampuffs and passed one to Shiro. Ketsueki bawled her right hand into a fist as the sound of cracking came from her knuckles, she thought. This bitch has been avoiding that question for a while now! Shiro took the creampuff out of his hands with both her hands, she said. "Thank you, Onii-chan."
Reiki tossed the creampuff in his hand a couple of times in the air, he said. "Where's imouto two and imouto three?" He took a big bite of the creampuff while Shiro wiped some whipped cream from the corner of her mouth. Shiro said. "Imouto-?" A look of confusion appeared on her face as she let out a chuckle and continued. "They were called back home via talisman. Kiru-san was nice enough to give Yuki four boxes of pizza and Mio got four boxes each of the brownie, muffin, doughnut, and-."
Reiki ate the rest of the creampuff as he pinched his little sister's cheek, he swallowed and said. "She got four of all the sweets, noted." Shiro munched on her creampuff like a hamster while Reiki turned around and saw the two staring at each other. The glow in Ketsueki's pupils slowly got brighter while Kiru ate another doughnut ignoring her gaze. Reiki let out a sigh and said. "Kiru, can you stop that already?" He thought. How Onee-chan hasn't punched her yet is a mystery to me. The glow in Ketsueki's eyes immediately vanished, she thought. He's already up? I made sure he would be knocked out for the day…
Kiru pretended to be surprised as she placed her left hand on her heart touching her chest, she said. "Little brother, how nice of you to finally join us." She glanced at Ketsueki as she moved her gaze back onto him and continued. "If you would have come any later I would've suspected you'd been knocked unconscious." The corner of Ketsueki's eye twitched while Shiro was staring at the sweets on the coffee table. Reiki sat beside his little sister who tried to grab something by stretching, he said. "That, keep doing that and I won't interfere when Onee-chan's had enough."
He picked up a cupcake and took off the wrapper as Shiro, who was struggling to take one, stared at him with envy. Ketsueki pointed at Kiru and said. "Reiki, I don't care how you do it. Get her out of my house!" He passed the cupcake to his little sister as she took it off his hands and wrapped her right arm around his left. Shiro's eyes sparkled as she took a bite out of it, Reiki said. "... Kiru…" He let out a long sigh and continued. "Just tell us what you're here for, I have to go somewhere tomorrow."
Ketsueki's brows furrowed as she spoke in an intimidating tone, she said. "And where are you planning on going?" Kiru crossed her legs while sitting on the armchair, she said. "How long are you going to be away?" The two of them glared at each other from the corner of their eyes. Reiki placed his right hand on his forehead, he thought. What a headache. He felt his little sister pulling on his left arm and looked down at her. Shiro had some crumbs on the corner of her mouth, she said. "Onii-chan, where are you going?"
Reiki placed his right hand on top of his little sister's head, he said. "I'm going to get your special quill." Shiro's eyes lit up like stars while Ketsueki glanced at him as her pupils slightly dilated. Reiki moved his hand away from his little sister's head, he said. "Kiru, let's make this quick so use a talisman." Ketsueki immediately raised her hand in objection, she said. "Refused. You two can have your conversation here." Kiru took out a talisman from her pocket as it was enveloped in a thin layer of mana.
Reiki and Kiri were surrounded by a thin layer of mana as they simultaneously disappeared. Shiro looked around the room while Ketsueki gritted her teeth and was on the verge of breaking the armchair she sat on. A streak of white landed on Shiro's left shoulder as Cherry let out a caw, she said. "Cherry, welcome back."
At A Beautiful Garden
Reiki and Kiru were sitting on white metal chairs with red cushions that were also elegantly designed. They sat opposite to each other around a white round metal table. Kiru gestured at the beauty of the garden, she said. "Little brother, what do you think?" Reiki glanced around his surroundings and said. "I've seen better." He thought. Mora's garden had a pond with real fish in it. Kiru didn't mind and let out a chuckle, she said. "Word on the street is, you're making a company." He kept a straight face and thought. Where did she even get this information?
Kiru smiled at him and continued. "A potion shop nonetheless." Reiki stared at her and said. "So you came all the way here to show off your information?" Kiru had a confident smile on her lips, she said. "That and I'm here to negotiate."
