Like brother like sister

When they were kids, Popuri loved how protective her brother was. Rick was always there for her when other children picked on her. He never minded being isolated by his peers or the cruel nicknames others would give him; he had said that it was worth it if it meant keeping Popuri happy and safe. And so, little crybaby Popuri had started smiling a lot more. She smiled at him because her smiles always made him smile, too, but she also smiled because she really was happy to have him.

As they grew up, though, his protectiveness got weirder and weirder to the point of discomfort. Scaring people off, being a nag and scolding Popuri about things she should and shouldn't do was fine, she thought, when she had been a defenseless and naive little kid, but she had grown up now and she was able to fend for herself just fine. And while Popuri appreciated that her brother cared for her, she didn't appreciate his apparent need to control her life.

Popuri huffed and rested her elbows on the table, her hands on her chin, propping her face up. She knew she may not have looked like a grown woman or even acted like one but she was legal of age, and that was what mattered to her. And being an adult meant that she had thoughts and tastes of her own. So, if she wanted to think that Kai's tan skin, purple bandana, and gentle smile was hot as hell, then she was more than justified, and she didn't need to hear her brother scold her about it.

"Uh… Popuri?" The pink haired girl snapped out of her thoughts, the scowl on her face disappearing with it, and looked up to see a red-cheeked Kai with a sheepish smile on his face "You're thinking out loud."

Popuri stared at him. She tilted her head and then blinked. "Oh." She murmured simply, she looked down to see her order on the table; she looked up to him again "Sorry for that. Thank you for the food!" She beamed, knowing that she should have felt embarrassed since she had essentially told Kay that she thought he was hot, but she liked the way his cheeks were heating up too much to feel bad about her words.

Kay smiled the gentle smile that she liked so much. She liked it even better with his cheeks tinted a lovely shade of red, she decided "You're welcome. Enjoy." He told her, before leaving her table. Popuri watched him stumble to the kitchen with a smile of her own. How could her brother hate him? He was the most precious thing in the world, up to pair with the chickens in her coop!

Her brother just never cared to get to know Kay, she thought, while taking a bite of her fried rice absent-mindedly, which wasn't fair at all. How would he have liked it if she just went to scold his love interest without knowing anything?

She abruptly dropped her fork on the table making a tink sound resonate the air, Kai came out of the kitchen to check up on her, then deeming it just Popuri being Popuri, got back inside. In the meanwhile, a huge smile spread on Popuri's face. Yes, that was it! If she showed her brother how obnoxious his attitude towards Kai was, maybe that would be enough to make him stop! Popuri smirked to herself and hummed quietly, her head bobbing with the rhythm of the music.

She picked up her fork and took another bite of her food as she schemed her plan. She wasn't dense, she knew her brother really seemed to like Karen, and Popuri liked her, too, which made her operation that much more difficult. After all, Karen was great, and Popuri was never one to have beef with others. So, the mere thought of going up to her and give her a threatening warning made her shiver. Besides, what could she warn her about? If anything, she should be more concerned about her brother being unable to get a girl like her. As much as Popuri loved her brother, she couldn't deny that he was a rather dorky, jealous chicken-boy.

"Popuri, you're doing it again." Popuri looked up to see Kai handing her a glass of juice, this time there was a glint in his crinkled eyes and his lips were pressed tightly together.

"Ah, sorry." She said, taking the glass that was handed to her.

He shook his head "No need to apologize. So," he said, taking a seat next to her, "Why were you bad-mouthing your brother?"

Popuri blinked at him and then glanced around. She always ate lunch at awkward hours during summer to have some alone time with Kai but, sometimes, customers would slip past her attention, especially if she was deep in thought. Once she saw that the store was indeed empty, she returned to him "Well... I was thinking about Karen. Do you think she likes him?"

"Your brother?" Popuri nodded, Kai gave her a look that seemed to scream 'You're adorable' which made her feel all giddy. His sweet, adoring smile wasn't helping cooling down her red cheeks. "I'm only here during summer but I think it's pretty obvious that she does."

The girl's jaw dropped "Really?" He nodded "Even though he's, well,"

"A dorky, jealous chicken boy?" he finished for her and Popuri couldn't contain the laughter that escaped her lips. His eyes softened "Yeah, really."

"That's great," she replied, a relieved look on her face "Wait, no. I'm getting side-tracked." She mumbled to herself, Kai raised an eyebrow at her "What do you know about Karen, Kai?"

He hummed "She comes here sometimes but I never really got to know her."

"But her dad comes here, too, right? And her mom? Do they say anything about her to you?" Kai's incredulous face told her that he needed more convincing "I know, customer privacy, but maybe you could make an exception for me?" she asked, making sure to battle her eyelashes a couple of times.

He mulled her words over "Ah. You're worried for your brother," he concluded, the pink haired girl decided not to contradict him, "Well," he started, leaning back against his chair with crossed arms "I guess I can make an exception for you."

She beamed "Yay! Thank you, Kai, you're the best! I promise I won't tell anyone that I heard it from you!" She exclaimed, her last phrase said too quickly in the hopes that he wouldn't catch up on what she had said.

It seemed to have worked; he nodded at her with a smile, and then looked away from her. He looked deep in thought and Popuri turned serious accordingly, leaning her body forward "I heard that she's not a good cook. And by that, I mean terrible cook. But I'm sure your brother knows that already."

Popuri frowned. She had heard about it before, but she never truly believed it since, according to her brother, Karen seemed to be perfect. He had never mentioned her cooking skills being bad "Really? Have you tried her cooking, Kai?"

"Oh, fortunately no." He chuckled "Jack's constantly complaining about it, though. He keeps going to the hospital after eating her meals. Trent seemed to be very sympathetic at first but he couldn't keep giving medicine for free."

"Wait, hospital?" She asked, eyes wide "Why doesn't he reject her meals, then?"

Her panicked look went missed by him as his eyes were still not on her "According to him, she's really pushy."

In Popuri's mind the image of her brother coming home looking paler than usual appeared. Was it because of Karen's cooking? She was starting to regret not pushing further when Rick had assured her he was fine "Anything else?"

He shrugged, finally looking back at her. Popuri seemed to have calmed down in the meanwhile as she sat there; looking obedient "I think I need to specify that people usually complain about their everyday lives to me, so you have to take what I say with a grain of salt." He clarified. Popuri nodded at him with a determined look in her eyes. He seemed to be satisfied with that, his eyes darted on the table again "Karen's dad comes by sometimes. He's always complaining about her daughter not doing chores at home and being a, uh, snob. But he's afraid she'll stop liking him if he brings it up, so he always leaves the scolding to her mother."

Her heart suddenly dropped. The pink-haired-girl knew Karen was a bit messy, but she had never considered what that would have meant to her brother. That sounded like something he would do, too. Not bringing Karen's messiness up because he'd be afraid that she'll stop liking him. She then imagined him cleaning up her mess, an image of him in dirty clothes, cleaning the hardwood floor, while Karen slept and snored loudly, like Cinderella without the fairy.

"Mh?" Kai asked, his attention snapping back to her. She blinked at him, lips slightly parted. Was she thinking out loud again?

"Nothing. Go on," She said, shaking her head. Kai looked unsure.

"Popuri, you don't look very happy."

"Oh, but I am!" She smiled as if making her point "These are pretty funny stories!" she giggled, sounding completely sincere.

If Kai caught up on her weird behavior, he didn't say anything about it. "Alright…then," he said after a moment. It took him longer than usual to start speaking "Duke is always complimenting her." Popuri perked up slightly "They often drink together and he's always impressed with how much liquor she can handle." Her smile dropped "They usually both go home drunk. Jack tells me he's used to bringing Duke home while Karen is contempt in passing out at the inn." Kai's voice had a tint of fond amusement in it. Normally, that would have made her smile but her stomach was churning too unpleasantly.

Popuri bit her lower lip harshly as she stared at the table in front of her. She thought about her brother dragging a passed out Karen home every day, then after tucking her to bed, he would clean up her house because that was something he definitely would do. And in the day, not only did he have a job to do, but he also had to eat Karen's cooking which would have brought his stamina way down. Her brother's life was going to be spent on bad cooking which resulted in bad work, bad health, trips to the clinic, going home and taking care of a drunk Karen and instead of resting like he should deserve, he would go around cleaning her mess because her brother was that much of a wimp when it came to her and what the hell was he thinking?! Why couldn't he have fallen for Elli? She was a bad cook, too but at least she wouldn't push him to eat her meals and she definitely was not a drunk or a slob!

"Popuri?"

And Mary was such a nice choice, too. She was so gentle and caring and she knew how to cook properly, at least! If he ate her cooking there would be no chance of passing out.

"Popuri? Are you okay? Where are you going?"

And Ann… well Ann was her best friend, so that would have been weird but still; Ann knew how to cook a heck of a curry rice. And she wasn't going around drinking to the point of fainting. Honestly, of all the girls present, Karen? To hell with Karen being too good for him, he was too good for her! Her brother would never let anything happen to the one he loved and he would do anything to take care of them and… and he would nag, sure, but it was always because he cared and he wouldn't have become this way if he hadn't cared for her so much that he didn't mind being called a snitch or tattletale, and he didn't care about becoming isolated if it meant her happiness and-

"Karen!" Popuri yelled once she spotted the girl sitting on a bench near her family's store with Rick. They both jumped at her voice, her brother looked completely flabbergasted while Karen looked at her with wide eyes.

"Um, yes?" She asked, shrinking back into her seat more and more as the pink haired girl marched towards her with a look so serious and unlike herself that it was starting to scare the blonde.

Popuri stood in front of her, hands on her hips and narrowed eyes, she pointed at her with her index finger "Stay away from my brother."

"What?" Both people on the bench said at the same time. "Popuri, what are you-" Rick started, but got immediately interrupted by her sister who raised a hand at him.

"Not now, Rick, I'm doing this for your own good."

Rick had to wonder who in the world had kidnapped her cheerful and sweet Popuri and replaced her with …this. This copy of what seemed to be him. He tried countless times to stop her from her ranting, but to no avail. Popuri seemed to be really serious about it. Karen's initial shock seemed to have faded, replaced with hurt and now anger. He was stuck in between them, listening to them argue with each other and no matter what he said, he was getting cut off or glared at.

In the distance, he saw Jack holding Gray's…hand? Wrist? He couldn't get a good view from where he was, but he could see how amused the farmer looked as he laughed at the scene, Gray looked sympathetic so at least someone was emphasizing.

"You tell her Popuri! Your cooking does suck, Karen!" Jack yelled and Gray buried his face in his free hand.

"What! Jack, how could you?"

"Right? Jack, you've been enough of a victim, is time you stand up to her!"

"I did, but she keeps making me eat her horrible food-"

"That's because I want to prove you wrong and make you see that I've improved!"

"If you want that, then sample your own foods first instead of making me eat it!"

"I don't want to go to the hospital,"

"Oh, so it's okay if my brother goes to the hospital? See how selfish you're being?"

Rick and Gray exchanged a look and in that moment, there was a connection. At least, Rick thought, maybe he could gain a friend after this horrible situation.

Somehow, the arguing mellowed down to really loud chatter and the three of them were now talking about this and that like old pals, their previous cat-fight seemingly forgotten. Karen suggested they all go to the inn to have a nice dinner together and the two agreed with a cheer. Jack threw his arms over the shoulders of both girls and Rick was prepared to say something about that, until he glanced at Gray who was sitting beside him, then he calmed down. The three of them were laughing and talking as they walked away from the bench, leaving only Rick and Gray at their spot.

Now that the air wasn't filled with such loud noises, an awkward greeting ensued between the two guys, who before were content in sitting there in silent companionship, but somehow, Rick felt closer to the usual distant blacksmith. Gray seemed to be more open to him as well. It didn't take long for Jack to come back and drag Gray away, by hand, Rick noted. Gray looked annoyed, but he let himself be dragged and as they walked away, Rick could swear he looked almost happy.

"Rick." Rick blinked. How had he missed Popuri coming back as well? "Um. I'm sorry for that." She mumbled, her arms behind her back, her head lowered and her foot kicking the ground.

Rick smiled. He wasn't mad at her. He couldn't get mad at her no matter what she did. He could and would, get mad at Kai, though "You don't need to apologize. I'm not angry."

His sister looked up, their eyes met for a moment before she looked down again.

Popuri knew that her cheerfulness had started attracting more and more people towards her, while Rick's stern attitude drove more and more people away. That was why Popuri had made it her goal to be by Rick's side and support him in everything, even if it meant listening to his constant scolding. Somehow, though, she started thinking of him as a bit of a nuisance. She felt a pang of guilt at that thought.

She still wanted him to give Kai a chance but… it was okay, she thought now, if he didn't approve. She still liked Kai and her brother had his own tastes as well. She couldn't act the way he did with her, overly protective to the point of obsession, because that wasn't how he raised her to be. She was going to support him no matter what and he was going to get worried and nag, that was how they worked. So, if he liked Karen, then she liked her, too.

"I love you," She told him as she looked up at him again.

Rick stared at her speechless "I love you, too." He finally said.

Popuri beamed at him, and then looked over to the direction of the inn "Do you want to join us? Karen said she'll buy everyone a drink."

"No, it's okay." The pink haired girl gaped at him, clearly not expecting a rejection "You go have fun and bond with Karen, okay? And apologize."

"I already did! We both did," she huffed, and then smiled sweetly at him "She's nice, you keep her." She laughed at her brother's flustered look and waved goodbye at him, sprinting away. Rick watched with a smile as she ran to the small group who were standing in the middle of the road as if waiting for them. Karen was watching him with an understanding smile and his heart skipped a beat at the sight. He watched with content as Popuri stroke a happy conversation with Karen and waited until their figures disappeared. He then looked to the road that led to the beach.

Saying that Kai was surprised when Rick entered his restaurant and ordered something without making a scene would have been an understatement. The chef was prepared for him to get up and start yelling any time, but he never did. He sat at his table, looking thoughtful which made Kai all the more suspicious. He figured Popuri running out of his restaurant earlier in the day had something to do with his behavior.

When he placed the order in front of Rick, he heard him say "I still don't like you."

"Oh, okay."

"I want you to stay away from my sister."

His usual fierceness was gone, he sounded like a robot repeating the words input in his memory "I won't, but I can't stop you from thinking that way, apparently." Kai responded just as monotone.

"Yeah," he sighed "Popuri really is stubborn on this. At the very least, know that I'll cross the seven seas if it means finding you and punching you if you ever hurt her."

"I won't ever dream of doing that," he scoffed, then his features relaxed "But I'll keep it in mind."

He nodded, seemingly pleased with his answer "Good."

Kai walked away then, in favor of serving other customers. When things slowed down a bit, he decided to pour Rick a glass of water. As he walked to his table he could hear him muttering, "Jeez, his cooking is good. Way better than Karen's. I guess I can understand why Popuri likes him a bit, I'd honestly marry him for his cooking-"

He shook his head with an amused smile. Like brother like sister. "Rick, you're thinking out loud."

AN: Thanks to Fogu for the good laugh I had after reading Rick's bio.