~Five Hours Later~

 

Namida, Sachi, and Ketsueki were standing beside a large elegantly carved wooden table. Ketsueki stared at the amount of sushi on the table and said. “For a second, I was concerned the table you had on you was too small.” Sachi stared at the large plate of fatty tuna that was neatly fanned on it with a small mountain in the middle, she said. “I’m more amazed Reiki made all of this in three hours.” She thought. What kind of knife skills does that boy have? Namida was staring at a plate with an assortment of nigiri on it.

 

Namida had some drool on the corner of her lips as her hand subconsciously reached out for a piece of nigiri with some uni. Ketsueki slapped the back of her friend's hand as Namida rubbed it and glared at her. Namida said. “What the big deal? There’s so much sushi to go around.” Ketsueki's eyes slightly narrowed as she pointed at one of the large plates of sushi and said. “And I want to grab one of those overstuffed temaki. We’re waiting for Reiki and Shiro to bring out the soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger.”

 

Sachi couldn’t move her gaze away from the food, she said. “You think he would notice if we ate a few pieces of the uramaki and futomaki?” Namida pointed at the plate of nigiri and said. “You go for those, I’ve had my eyes on that uni and octopus nigiri for a while now.” Ketsueki massaged the temples of her head, she said. “The last time this happened we ate all the pork and cabbage gyoza.” Namida patted her friend's shoulder and said. “It’ll be fine, didn’t your boy say he wanted to eat inarizushi and ehomaki?”

 

Sachi subconsciously gulped, she said. “And it’s sushi, he can’t possibly have kept count of every single one of them.” The three of them heard a couple of footsteps coming from the direction of the kitchen as they turned their heads. The girls saw Shiro carrying a tray with ten miso bowls, half of them filled with red pickled ginger that was thinly sliced while the other half had grated wasabi in them. Reiki was right behind her as he was carrying a tray and another plate of a random mix of sushi, the tray had ten sauce plates that were full of soy sauce. He said. “Shiro, be careful. You don’t want to drop those.”

 

Shiro was carefully making her way to the dining table and said. “I am careful, Onii-chan.” Reiki was a couple of steps behind his little sister as the soy sauce on the tray he was carrying wasn’t even moving, he said. “Just making sure.” He moved his gaze onto the three girls standing by the dining table and continued. “Sorry I took so long, we didn’t have a shark skin grater so I had to get creative.” Namida gave her friend an odd look and said. “You don’t have a shark skin grater?”

 

Ketsueki’s brows furrowed in confusion, she said. “What’s that?” Sachi gave Namida a couple of pats on the back and said. “I’ll take it from here.” Shiro reached the dining table and saw that it still had some space between the plates as she carefully placed the small bowls of miso filled with wasabi and red pickled ginger. Namida let out a sigh and said. “Please.” She saw Reiki balancing the place on his forearm while placing the sauce plate of soy sauce anywhere he could. Sachi stared at her friend who had a clueless expression on her face.

 

Ketsueki spread her arms and said. “What did I say?” Namida picked up one of the sauce plates, she said. “Need a hand?” Reiki looked up at her and said. “Appreciated.” Namida gave him a smile as she placed one of them down, she said. “Don’t thank me too quick, I’m just doing this to eat sooner.” Sachi placed her hand in her pocket and said. “I’m going to need my phone for this.” Shiro was on her tiptoes as she placed the last bowl of pickled ginger on the table, she spoke with a hint of excitement in her tone and said. “I’m done!”

 

Ketsueki watched her friend tap on the screen of the smartphone, she said. “Do they really use shark skin to grate wasabi?” Sachi glanced at her friend from the corner of her eye and thought. For how strong she is to have her current job, I keep getting reminded she’s the same age as me at times like this. Reiki and Namida managed to finish putting the sauce plates on the table as Shiro grabbed her older brother’s shirt with her right hand. Shiro looked up to her older brother and said. “Onii-chan, let’s eat.”

 

Reiki pinched the tray between his armpit as nimbly took the assorted plate of sushi he was balancing on his forearm and grabbed it with his hand, he said. “Nice try, Shiro. Your veggie sticks are in the fridge and since you didn’t want peanut sauce. I made some greek yogurt dip instead.” Sachi tapped on the screen a couple of times and showed it to her friend and said. “This is a shark skin grater.” Ketsueki stared at the skin with pursed lips, she said. “What else can you use it for?” 

 

Shiro puffed her cheeks at her older brother and said. “It’s just fish and rice.” Sachi shook her head sideways as she turned her phone off by pressing the button on the side, she said. “It’s only used for wasabi.” She pocketed her phone while ignoring the odd look her friend was giving her. Ketsueki said. “And you two were giving me those looks because I didn’t know that?” Namida smiled at the two siblings and said. “Hey, cottontail. I’ll trade you a piece of sushi for a veggie stick.”Shiro’s eyes lit up like stars, she said. “I’ll trade you the entire plate for some of your share, Namida-nee.”

 

Ketsueki gave her friend a weird look, she said. “Only wasabi?” Namida let out a chuckle as she playfully pinched Shiro’s cheek and said. “Cottontail, I think your gut is the bigger problem here.” Sachi gave her friend a nod as she ignored the look Ketsueki was giving her while taking a step closer to the dining table full of food, Sachi said. “Now that the condiments are here, itadakimasu.” She was about to reach into her pocket when Reiki passed the plate of assorted sushi he was carrying to his older sister and said. “Here, Onee-chan. And where are all of the chairs? Chopsticks?”

 

Sachi placed her hand in her pocket as she glanced at the plate he was passing to Ketsueki while Namida gave Reiki a pat on the back. Namida’s gaze was on the plate Reiki was holding, she said. “Your older sister hid them away because my friend who has her hand in a pocket didn’t want to mismatch the table.” Sachi quickly took her hand out from her pocket as five elegantly carved wooden chairs were neatly arranged around the table, she sat down on the nearest one and said. “It’s called design, how come you can’t get such a simple word into that complex brain of yours?”

 

She placed her hand back into the pocket of the green elven dress she was wearing. Namida quickly made her way to the chair that was nearest to the plate of nigiri as she sat down and said. “Itadakimasu.” Reiki pointed in the direction of the kitchen, he said. “I need to get Shiro’s plate of veggie sticks, feel free to start without me.” Ketsueki sat in a chair that had one on each side, she glanced at her little sister and said. “Shiro, let’s eat.” She tapped on the chair on her left as Shiro made her way to it, she said. “... Yes, Onee-chan…”

 

Ketsueki placed the plate her little brother gave in front of her while Sachi took out five pairs of metal chopsticks with a simple design on them. Sachi said. “Utensils anyone?” Namida held out her hand to her and said. “Just pass me one, I’m starving.” She took one of the pairs of chopsticks while Sachi held out her hand to Ketsueki. Sachi said. “And one for you.”

 

Ketsueki gave her friend a smile and said. “Thanks.” Shiro held out both of her hands as she had a hint of expectation on her face. Sachi gave her a helpless smile and said. “Not unless you get permission from your older sister.” Shiro puffed her cheeks while Sachi passed another pair of chopsticks to Ketsueki. Sachi continued. “Here’s Reiki’s pair.” Ketsueki took another pair of chopsticks from her friend while Namida pointed at the plate in front of her friend and said. “What’s with the plate?” Sachi pocketed the extra pair of chopsticks while Ketsueki had an ignorant expression on her face, she said. “This? I asked Reiki to set some aside for me.”

 

She saw both of her friends glance eyes had a hint of interest in them, Ketsueki thought. This is going to be great. Reiki made his way from the kitchen as he was holding a medium-sized plate of veggie sticks with yogurt dip in the middle, he said. “I’m back. Shiro, here are your veggie sticks.” He made his way to the dining table and placed the plate in front of his little sister. Shiro stared at the food on her plate as she glanced at the large plates of sushi.

 

Ketsueki poked her little sister’s cheek and said. “This is what happens when you eat too much in such a short time.” Reiki sat down on the empty chair next to his older sister while Ketsueki passed him a pair of chopsticks and placed hers next to the plate of sushi in front of her. Ketsueki stood up from her seat, she said. “I forgot to wash my hands.” Namida and Sachi watched their friend leave as she headed to the kitchen while the two of them moved their gazes onto her plate of sushi.

 

Reiki saw the expression of the two and thought. I have a front-row seat to the show. Namida pointed at the plate of sushi, she said. “Shiro, if you pass me that plate of your older sister. I’ll give you a piece of sushi.” Shiro’s eyes lit up while Reiki looked around the table, he said. “When are you going to bring out the plates?” Shiro quickly picked up the plate as she did her best to lean forward to pass it to Namida while Sachi shook her head sideways and said. “It’s sushi, who needs a plate when everything can be eaten with chopsticks.”

 

Namida took the plate off Shiro’s hands while Reiki had an untrusting look on his face, he said. “And the real reason?” Sachi used her chopsticks to pinch a piece of nigiri with fatty tuna that was on the plate Namida was holding. Sachi said. “I don’t have anything that goes well with these hundred yen ceramic plates.” Namida gave Shiro a smile while keeping her gaze on the assorted sushi on the plate, Namida said. “Shiro, pick any one thing you want and I’ll get it for you.” She used the chopstick to pick up a nigiri with some yellowtail.

 

Shiro excitedly looked at the plates while the two girls ate the piece of sushi they took from Ketsueki’s plate. Reiki watched them as a small smirk formed on his face, he thought. I wonder how well they can tolerate spicy food. Shiro pointed at a temaki that had a few pieces of salmon, thinly sliced avocado, some crab sticks, and some cucumber shavings. Before she could say something she saw the expressions of Namida and Sachi slowly turning odd, both their eyes widened as they gulped the food in their mouth. Sachi started quickly exhaling and inhaling with an open mouth while fanning it with her hand.

 

Namida started a coughing fit as covered her mouth with her hand and said. “What kind of sushi is this?” She moved her gaze onto Reiki who was watching them with a small smile on his face, he said. “With wasabi.” Sachi’s eyes slightly turned red as she had some tears in them, while fanning herself she said. “Reiki, can you be a dear and get me a glass of whatever’s available in the fridge?” Ketsueki suddenly appeared by the empty chair while slowly clapping at her friends, she said. “You two didn’t even bother checking them.”

 

Reiki stood up from his chair and said. “Give me a minute.” He made his way to the kitchen while Ketsueki sat back down on her seat while she couldn’t stop the smile on her lips from growing, she said. “How about you two stop taking other people's food.” Namida coughed a couple of times as she glared at her friend and said. “How about you stop teaching your little brother things like this.” Sachi's breathing was slightly haggard as she glanced in the direction of the kitchen, she said. “Why is Reiki taking so long? The house isn’t even that big.”

 

Shiro pointed at the sushi wrap and said. “Namida-nee, can I have that one?” Namida tried her best to suppress the coughing, she said. “Sure thing, cottontail.” She let out another cough while Ketsueki reached her hand and picked up the temaki her little sister was pointing at. Shiro had a surprised look on her face as she watched her older sister trying to hand her the sushi wrap. Ketsueki said. “Only because I’m in a good mood and this is the only one you’re getting.” 

 

Shiro’s eyes lit up as she excitedly took the temaki off her hands, she said. “Thank you, Onee-chan!” Reiki came from the kitchen, he was carrying a large pitcher of water along with a tray with five glasses on it as he made his way to the dining table and said. “I’m back.” Sachi wiped some drool before it could drip from the corner of her mouth she spoke in a slightly aggressive tone and said. “It took you that long to get water?” Reiki walked around the dining table while placing the glass near them, he thought. I’ll take that as a does not like spicy food.

 

Shiro took a bite of the sushi wrap in her hands as she was giving Sachi an odd look while Ketsueki’s brows furrowed. Ketsueki said. “I know you get agitated from eating spicy food because you don’t like them. What’s with the aggression toward my boy?” Reiki finished filling Namida’s glass with water as she quickly picked it up and downed half of it in one go. He made his way beside Sachi as she picked up a glass and placed it beside her while Reiki started filling it up with water. Sachi let out a sigh and said. “Reiki, I’m sorry about that.”

 

Reiki shook his head sideways as he finished pouring the glass with water, he said. “It’s fine, I could’ve told you two about it  but didn’t.” Sachi quickly took a sip of water as she let out a refreshed sigh and said. “I know you don’t have a choice when it comes to your older sister.” Ketsueki raised a brow at her friend, she said. “What is that supposed to mean?” Namida wiped her lips clean using the back of her hand and said. “Alright, you had your fun. Can we eat now? I would say the food is going to get cold but it’s sushi.”

 

Shiro stared at the veggie sticks on her plate as Reiki made his way to his little sister and said. “Shiro, take a glass.” His little sister took the last glass on the tray while munching on the temaki she was holding, Reiki poured water into her glass and said. “Looks like you're going to have half a chocolate later for eating that sushi.” Shiro ate the last bit of sushi wrap as she froze when she heard the words of her older brother. Ketsueki let out a chuckle as she picked up a pair of chopsticks, she said. “It’s fine, Reiki.”

 

Shiro’s eyes lit up like stars as she looked up to her older sister and said. “Onee-chan treats me best!” Reiki finished pouring water into his little sister’s glass, he thought. Well… Calorie wise I did make sure there is room for error. He made his way to his seat as he placed the pitcher near him, Reiki sat down on the chair and said. “Itadakimasu.” Namida raised the plate with assorted sushi, she said. “Before we start what are we going to do with this?”

 

Sachi moved her gaze onto Reiki and said. “Do all of them have the same amount of wasabi?” Ketsueki picked up sashimi of fatty tuna using chopsticks, she said. “Oh, they are. Just to make sure both of you didn’t make it out unscathed.” She ate the piece of sashimi while ignoring the stares her two friends were giving her. Namida extended her hand as she held the plate to her friend and said. “Okay, genius. Who’s going to eat this now?” Shiro watched them while munching on a veggie stick that was dipped in greek yogurt.

 

Ketsueki took her time chewing, she thought. I did not think that far ahead… From the corner of her eye, she saw Reiki reach out his hand and said. “Oh, that would be my job.” Sachi and Namida’s expressions turned odd while Ketsueki was staring at him with a hint of disbelief on her face. Shiro picked up another veggie stick as she dipped half of it in greek yogurt and ate it in one go. Sachi moved her gaze onto her friend, she said. “What kind of odd plan did you come up with this time?”

 

Ketsueki turned her head as she glared at her friend and said. “I never made a plan with an intention of making my boy into a trash can.” Reiki took the plate off Namida’s hand as he placed it in front of him and used his chopsticks to pick up a futomaki. Namida had a hint of concern on her face, she said. “Reiki, be careful with that.” Sachi didn't trust her friend as she gave Ketsueki a judgemental look while Shiro stole a few glances at the plate of sushi and said. “Onee-chan, it’ll be fine if I eat a few more pieces of sushi, right?”

 

Reiki had a small smile on his face, he said. “It’ll be fine, I love spicy food.” Namida shook her head sideways and said. “That’s not what I’m concerned about.” She watched Reiki eat the piece of sushi as he chewed a couple of times and felt the strong burn in his mouth. Ketsueki placed a hand on top of her little sister's head, she said. “You can, but in exchange, you won’t have anything for dessert.” Shiro puffed her cheeks as she grabbed another veggie stick and dipped it in greek yogurt sauce.

 

Sachi picked up a piece of sashimi while glancing at Reiki who was inhaling sushi at a steady pace. Ketsueki saw what her little brother was doing as concern appeared all over her face, she said. “Reiki, how about you slow down? The food isn’t going anywhere.” Namida used her chopsticks to pick up a nigiri with uni on it as she leaned closer to Sachi and said. “I bet you his mana core explodes.” Sachi elbowed her friend in the ribs which made Namida wince as she lost grip on the chopsticks as the sushi fell to the floor.

 

Namida’s hand blurred as she managed to catch the sushi before it could even go under the table, she glanced at her friend and said. “I never knew you liked to waste food.” Sachi glanced at her friend from the corner of her eye, she said. “And you need to learn an entirely new sense of humor.” The two of them noticed Shiro who was watching them with starry eyes. Reiki finished off the plate of sushi and thought. I feel like I chewed on a green fireball. He noticed the complete disbelief on Sachi, Namida, and Ketsueki’s looks on their face and said. “What?”

 

Shiro looked around and noticed no one was looking at her as she used the tip of her index finger to scoop some of the greek yogurt sauce and licked it off her fingertip. Namida used her chopstick pointed at all the food on the table and said. “I think you need to eat just a little more.” She ate the sushi she prevented from falling onto the floor while Sachi elbowed her friend in the ribs again. Ketsueki had a hint of confusion on her face, she said. “Reiki… How are you feeling?” Reiki grabbed an ehomaki and said. “If you’re concerned about me eating mana-rich food, I’m fine.”