It is just like some other day when Chino has to go home all by herself. Her classmates and best friends, Maya and Megumi, have some family occasion and hence both of them cannot go home together with her. After saying goodbye to them, Chino steps out of the school gate and walk herself home.
But just walking , especially alone is boring, or so Chino thought, so she starts by making a small hop. She has been doing this for a while whenever she goes home all by herself, letting out a small jump instead of a normal walk. Of course, looking elsewhere will be dangerous, so she will keep
looking in front to prevent herself from bumping towards another streetlamp. Also, nothing will distract her for today, not even a cute rabbit hopping beside her…
Without meeting any obstacle (read: cute little rabbits) to her little game, Chino finally reaches the Rabbit House safely.
It is those time of the day in Rabbit House when the cafe isn't really busy. Chino has come home a little late because of her extra-curricular stuffs in school, and hence the tea-time is practically over. When she step inside, she can only see Rize, the twintailed military-freak beauty, cleaning the used coffee mugs and plates and Aoyama Blue Mountain, the mysterious writer, wiping the used tables. "Guess I am really late, I am sorry. Anyway, thank you for helping" Chino blushes as she walk to the cash register to tidy up today's sales. I guess today is pretty crowded, even Aoyama-san come here to help…
"Ah, don't mind me. I am just helping since I am a bit free. Besides, I already have a good idea on what I am going to write next," says Aoyama while looking at Rize. Rize just blushes as she finishes her job, making Chino wonders what has happened while she was away.
After making necessary adjustments to the cash register and taking notes for the books, Chino finally announces, "Thank you for the hard work, everyone. We are closed for today. I am sorry for the inconvenience caused today, I will be of more help tomorrow." Rabbit House is officially closed for the day and both Rize and Aoyama go to the changing room to change back to their regular clothes. After they are finished, both of them wave to Chino and leave the cafe together. Chino waves to see them leaving the front door as she notices that she are still in her school uniform. Time to go to change my clothes, I guess and perhaps having a nice bath for this long day, Chino thought to herself. Although, she can't help to feel that something (or someone) has been missing all along…
Chino was on her way to her room when weird noises come through one of the doors in front of her. Must be my imagination, she thought , as she decides to ignore it and walk towards her room. However, as she gets closer to the source, the sound suddenly gets more and more clear, almost sounding like a voice.
"no...lp...me…"
Chino gets closer to the door to get a better hearing. The sound seems vaguely familiar…
"Chino..help...me…"
The sound is definitely calling for her. That's not a mistake. But why would that weird noise calls for her? Chino suddenly shivers as she is home alone, meeting a ghost is out of her expectation.
"Jii-chan... Cocoa-san… help me!" Chino closes her eyes as she stand in front of the 'haunted' door. That's when she suddenly come back to her senses.
Jii-chan? Yes, that sound is definitely her grandfather's. And the source of the noise, i.e. the haunted room is…
Chino opens the door without any hesitation. To her surprise, she only see Cocoa sleeping soundly in her room. The girl that stays in her house and often act like her elder sister is laying down on her bed, her head is rested nicely on a round, fluffy looking white pillow. But she definitely hear her grandfather's voice from inside the room, surely he is somewhere around here…
"Chino, you've come to help me! I am stuck in here!" the not-so-mysterious voice that belongs to her grandfather is heard once again, coming from Cocoa's direction. It enlightens Chino on what actually happened:
The white , round and fluffy looking pillow that Cocoa is resting her head on is actually Tippy, her pet rabbit. And since a few years ago her grandfather's soul was somehow mysteriously went inside Tippy, it means… That Cocoa is using her grandfather as a pillow, and the weird noise was him calling for help!
Chino rushed closer to the bed, and to her surprise, find Tippy getting squished on Cocoa's head. Using someone's pet rabbit as a pillow itself is already unthinkable, but when the pet has her grandfather's soul inside it makes it far worse! Without any hesitation, she pulled Tippy out, which in turn wake Cocoa up.
Cocoa open her eyes due to the sudden change in her head's position as her head touches the bed on a direct contact. As she open her eyes, all she can see is Chino standing in front of the bed, staring at her angrily. She won't mind the first part - she have always imagined herself to be woken up by the cute little sister, but the latter makes her wonder what actually happened. Although, now even her half-asleep self realizes what had happened, when she saw Tippy in Chino's head. Cocoa begin to remember how it all happened.
Cocoa was helping in the Rabbit House as usual. The tea time was finally over and Cocoa was exhausted so she went back to her room to sleep. She usually take a rest while resting on Tippy in the coffee table, but this time her fatigue caused her to subconsciously carry Tippy back to her room. The next thing she know, was that she fell asleep while laying on Tippy, and now Chino woke her up. Although she knows for sure that Chino didn't come here to wake her up…
"I.. It has been god knows how many times I have told you this but Tippy isn't a pillow! Why wouldn't you listen?" Chino, still hugging Tippy, stood in front of Cocoa who is just awake, and shouted in frustration. Cocoa is shocked with the sudden turn of event : Chino… is scolding her! Chino is by nature a quiet and shy girl, so when she raise her voice like that, it only means one thing: This is a really serious matter and she is definitely angry. Cocoa knows she is at fault but it's partly accidental as well. "I... I can explain, Chino-chan!" Cocoa tries to defend herself, wanted to explain what actually happened but no matter how hard she tries, it looks like that Chino is not entertained. The silver haired girl even looked away from Cocoa while crossing her arms. That expression and posture... It is obvious that Chino is pouting! This is bad, really bad! Cocoa starts to enter the state of panic as she is suddenly reminded of the times Chino pouted to her.
The last time it happened, Chino would evade Cocoa at all cost. Chino would not listen to what Cocoa say, either a simple greeting or an enquiry; let alone reply to her. What is worse, Chino would even take the next step of taking a detour to make sure that she won't even see Cocoa. Whenever morning comes, Chino would already left for school, or wait until Cocoa leaves before departing from her house. Cocoa can't imagine a single day not being able to see Chino at all!
When she is home, it is even worse as Chino will treat as if Cocoa is inexistent. That also happens when she is at work, as Chino will start from taking order, making coffee to deliver it to the customer all by herself. Cocoa is grateful that there's still Rize who communicate at her on work, or else she will be so lonely and won't be able to work at all (A). Weirdly, at times when Cocoa wasn't present around the cafe, she heard from her colleagues that Chino will start acting strange - she would start making hot chocolate (cocoa) regardless of what the customer ordered. As a result, the consumer will be given the free hot chocolate as the compensation for the delay. That would be bad for business! Also, what's worse… Cocoa won't be able to touch Chino at all! What about the cuddlium charge? She will die if it runs out! She definitely wouldn't want that to happen! She must stop Chino's pouting or she will disappear from this world. Her existence really depends on that!
And now Chino is already walking towards the door, getting ready to leave the room. If she goes out, it is game over.
"You can't do that!" Cocoa pushes Chino down the floor as she denies her from leaving the room. Surprised of Cocoa's sudden 'assault', Chino struggled her way out of the grapple, still not saying any words to Cocoa. She'll still even pout in this state… Cocoa sighs as she gets on top of Chino. Chino is physically smaller than Cocoa and hence it won't take much effort despite Chino's struggle to pin the little girl down. Chino knows that further struggle is useless as it will only tire her, and decides to stop moving while waiting what Cocoa is planning to do next. However, her pouting still stands as she close her mouth tightly, cheek puffing on the right side. Both of them stares at each other for a while before Cocoa starts talking.
"You're still gonna keep quiet even when you are like this, Chino-chan? I thought I have apologized. I… am sorry, okay?" says Cocoa as she grip Chino's shoulders tighter, with a face full of anger and disappointment, Cocoa isn't angry at Chino or something. It looks more like she is angry… at herself. The disappointment is obviously directed at herself too, as she didn't even hide it from Chino. Confused, the silver-haired girl don't know what to do. Chino started to hesitate: she has never seen Cocoa like this, it seems like she is really sorry. At the same time, her pride doesn't allow her to escape her pouting state - Cocoa is at fault anyway and if she forgive her that easily, she won't learn her lesson and will do it again sometime soon. Just as Chino was still wondering about what she should do, she could feel warm drops of water dripping to her cheeks. It doesn't take too long to realize where the water is coming from: Hoto Cocoa, the girl who is always cheerful… is crying because of her. Out of sudden, Chino feel her chest to be warm. Cocoa has buried her face on the little girl's chest, warm patches of tears is formed in Chino's clothes as tears are still flowing out of Cocoa's eyes. Chino unconsciously move her hand towards the brown hair of Cocoa, and started patting her until she feels better.
After calming herself down, Cocoa gave a tight hug on top of Chino, which surprises the girl even more. Still half-sobbing, Cocoa says, "The… last time you pouted, you don't want to see me for a while. This time, I am afraid that… you will not want to see me again. I don't want that! I don't want to lose you anymore…" Cocoa lets out her worries while still hugging her. Chino still brushes Cocoa's head to calm her down, she didn't know that Cocoa was that worried about this matter. She thought that it is just a small matter and she pouted just to make her learn her lesson, but this is clearly what she didn't expect.
"I..it is okay, Cocoa-san. Even when you are at times uncontrollable, noisy and do things your own way without considering others, there is no way I will leave you just because of small matter like this." Even Chino knows that she should stop pouting when it has come to this, and tries her best to calm Cocoa down. After all, she knows that when it come to this the burden of fault is mostly hers. "And by the way Cocoa-san... Can you please get off me? It is... Rather embarrassing." Chino blushed when she realize that Cocoa is still above her . Also, their face is way too close!
Instead of moving from Chino, Cocoa grabbed her little hands instead, clasping and gripping on it gently. She even bring her face closer to Chino, heading for her ears as she whispers, "Thank you, Chino-chan. I want to let you know that… you will always be my little sister no matter what happened. That is because… I will always be your big sister." Cocoa keep on snuggles on top of Chino's small body, rubbing her now not-pouting-anymore-cheek. Chino blushes as she don't know how to respond to this, it is the first time that anyone has do it to her. Is it really what sisters do to each other? She doesn't know, she is an only daughter. Besides…
"But we aren't related by blood, so I don't think we can be called sisters…" Chino accidentally voices her worry out loud. Realizing that she may have said bad thing and hurt Cocoa more, she tries to apologize. To her surprise, Chino grips her hand tighter and suddenly kisses her cheek. "Don't say something like that, Chino-chan. It's the feelings that matters. We may not be blood related but that doesn't change the fact that I feel like you are my little sister." Cocoa's thumb stroke on Chino's and rub on it, as she get closer to her, this time kissing her forehead. "You know, I have never regretted that I come here and meet you. I was a bit worried at first when I have to stay in someone else's house at first, let alone help them out. I mean, I don't have any experience in working, and I am afraid i'll be more of a hinderance. I hope I am not one, am I? ask Cocoa as she kiss Chino's chin. Cocoa smiles sincerely as she keep snuggling at Chino. "But ever since I saw you, I know that I will love this place. So, I can be your Onee-chan, for now?" ask Cocoa as her lips touched Chino's. And I thought that things can't be more surprising… There is no way I can get prepared to this! Am I supposed to just stay quiet and do nothing? Chino blushes as she closes her eyes, her hands continue to hold on Cocoa's tight. She knows that this isn't even something that sisters do. Chino lets out a small moan as this time she is the one to bring her head closer to Cocoa and kisses her lips back. Both girls takes turn in kissing each other alternatively, occasionally stop to give time to breathe. "I forgive you, Onee-chan" says Chino before she fall asleep, apparently today has been tiring for her both physically and emotionally. Cocoa pick Chino up and put her back to the bed, comfortably tuck her in the blanket. Afterwards, she snuck in to the same bed, occasionally snuggle on Chino's sleeping body, trying her best not to wake her up. The bed is a bit too small for both of them, so Cocoa hugs Chino tightly so none of them will fall down. Cocoa lands a final kiss to the cheek when Chino hugs her back. Smiling while looking at Chino's sleeping face, Cocoa finally sleep with both girls still hugging each other.
The next morning, Chino woke up to notice that she isn't sleeping in her own room. Also, she can feel a pair of arms around her, hugging her from the sides. She tries to remember what happened last night, and immediately blushes as she see Cocoa beside her, still sleeping. Chino then snuggles at the sleeping girl, trying to wake her up. "Chino-chan, good morning…" Cocoa lets go of the hug as she sits on the edge of the bed, getting ready to prepare for the day. Before Cocoa leave, Chino says, "Cocoa-chan, you promise that you won't bring Tippy to your room anymore, right?" Cocoa wonders why Chino suddenly ask this from her. " I am sorry, you must still be angry. I mean, she is given to you by your late grandfather, right?" Chino actually want to tell Cocoa the truth about Tippy and her grandfather, but it is obvious that Cocoa will not believe it. So, she just smiles and say, "No, that's not like that. She is the store's mascot rabbit, and so I personally think it will be better for her to be in the cafe instead of here." What's with the reason? To be honest, the reason I'm angry is because Cocoa won't listen to me… But it is embarrassing to admit that to her. says Chino as she blushed, hiding below the blanket.
Cocoa lets out a small laugh while looking at her 'little sister's action. "I get it, I'll bring her out to the cafe on my way back to the bathroom." Cocoa lift Tippy, who is still sleeping, up on her head as she leave Chino to rest on her room for a while. Before she leave, she turn back at Chino and say teasingly,"Although, if by bringing Tippy inside my room I can do it again with you, I won't mind." Upon hearing that, Chino blushes as she throw the pillow towards the door and hit Cocoa.
The school ending bell has rang and it means another day has passed. Compared to her usual little steps, Chino is on a rush today, since she feel like compensating on yesterday's absence. Cocoa and Rize should be on their way home as well, and as the owner she has to reach home faster than both of them. Although, to her surprise and slight disappointment, she saw Rize already cleaning the coffee table. Rize, spotting the silver haired girl, calls her. "Welcome home, Chino-chan!" Seeing her confused look, she explains "We are having an early release today so I've come straight away to the cafe to help. Sorry for surprising you." Chino immediately responds, "I..it's fine, I should say thank you instead for coming here straight away, when you can come in a while later." Wait a minute, we? The only girl who is in the same school as her is Sharo, and she is nowhere to be seen. Unless she meant all high schooler, but if that's the case, it means that…"
Chino quickly look behind the coffee bar table to see that Cocoa is napping on the table. Below her cheek is a familiar looking fluffy thing… Tippy! As Chino went closer to pull Tippy out, Cocoa wake up. Apparently she noticed that Chino is approaching her and possibly is going to scold her again. "I-it can't be helped, Chino-chan. I know! You try it as well!" Cocoa pushes Chino's head onto Tippy in panic, surprising both Chino and Rize who saw it.
"I..it's soft…" Chino snuggles at Tippy as her head touch the fluffy rabbit. "I know right? Now you know why I love to do this too!" Cocoa pats Chino's head as she nap on Tippy. "Not you too, Chino!" says Tippy with his Grandpa voice.