'Sister' ;
written by Rinna.
"Bye-bye, Akasaka-oniichan! Purin will be back tomorrow, no da," the little blonde girl said, flinging her arm into the air and giving an exaggerated wave. Keiichiro smiled kindly.
"Good-bye, Purin-san. I hope you have a nice walk home. -Oh!" he said, holding up a finger. "Just a moment, Purin-san." He disappeared into the kitchen, rushing out a moment later with a wrapped-up tray which no doubt held some of Keiichiro's culinary masterpieces. "Here you are. Take these to your family, Purin-san; I hope they'll enjoy them. And there's some special tea in there for your mother as well, just the thing after a long day of housework and caring for the children." Purin's eyes lit up(but dulled a bit in some far away place?), and the gentle man laughed as Purin shouted her gratitude.
"Oh, thank you, Akasaka-oniichan, no da! Purin's family is sure to love it all, na no da. Akasaka-oniichan is too good to this Purin, na no da!" Purin cried theatrically, throwing up her arms(and nearly dropping the tray).
Minto, Retasu and I shared a discreet look, knowing full-well that Purin would probably be the one to drink that tea.
"Ooh, Shirogane-oniichan, no da! Purin is leaving, to pick up Heicha, na no da, but this Purin will surely be back to work tomorrow! Purin will definitely see you then, right on time, na no da," Purin said quickly as Shirogane came into view. He arched an eyebrow out of curiousity.
"Heicha? She your sister or something?" he asked, looking down at Purin in a brotherly(!) way.
"Yes, no da! Purin must pick her up from her kindergarten before she gets upset, na no da," Purin replied, nodding until her little braids jumped around.
"Oh? Your mother working or something, too busy to pick her up, yeah?" Shirogane said, glancing more my way than Purin's. (Ha, he'd thought I'd know!) I shrugged innocently, knowing Purin wouldn't want me to tell him about her family. She wasn't the type to have people worry after like her that.
"Haha-ue is busy, yes, so Purin must pick up Heicha, na no da. But worry not, dear friends! This Purin will be back tomorrow afternoon to shine again, na no da!!" Purin said loudly, closing her eyes and throwing her blonde head back with a grin.
Shirogane smiled a bit and tousled her hair. "Be careful on your way home, kid," he said, and went off to the kitchen.
"Affirmitave, no da!" Purin cried, saluting his back. She turned to me and the other girls. "Ichigo-oneechan, no da," she said, hugging my waist. I smiled.
"Have a safe walk home, Purin-san," I said, patting her head. "And have a good night. I hope you get some rest." She rubbed her cheek against my apron.
"Ichigo-oneechan is very good to this Purin, na no da! Thank you, Ichigo-oneechan, no da!"
I knew she was referring to what just happened with Shirogane and me not telling about her family.
"Of course, Purin-san," I said softly. She just laughed lightly and went to glomptackle Retasu, who gave a pleasantly-surprised squeak.
"Purin-san," Retasu said in her kind, quiet manner as she returned Purin's hug(though not as forcefully, I'm sure). "I hope you have a pleasant trip home and a nice evening." Purin 'mm-hm!'ed and continued to glomp her friend, nuzzling her face against Retasu's arm before going to hug on Minto, getting a slight scoff and a, "Yes, well, have a safe walk home. See you tomorrow."
Then there was Zakuro.
Purin stepped over to the tall girl and looked up at her face. "Zakuro-oneechan, no da," she said rather softly. She, almost timidly(?!), tugged at Zakuro's arm in a surprisingly gentle way until the model's ear was closer to Purin's face. "Purin knows that Zakuro-oneechan knows about Purin's family, na no da. Zakuro-oneechan is very kind to this Purin, na no da," she whispered. "Thank you very, very much, no da."
Zakruo straightened herself and smiled slightly at Purin before giving her head a little pat. (It seemed like maybe her eyes softened a bit, but I don't wanna stretch it.) Purin giggled and flounced off, giving a last, "See you tomorrow, na no da!" Zakuro, Minto, Retasu and I watched her leave, singing as she skipped out of the cafe. We were quiet for a moment. Then-
"She's a good kid," Zakuro said simply, before going off to change out of her uniform. Retasu gave a slightly saddened smile, and Minto sighed in agreement. I nodded, tilting my head in thought.
"Yeah, she really is," I said, turning away as well.
(owari)
A note from the Rin;
I'd noticed that in the series, not only were Purin and Retasu rather close, but Zakuro was pictured with Purin a bit as well. I wanted to explore the relationships between Purin and the other characters, something I'll probably be doing quite a bit for a while.
In case you haven't read my profile and don't know, 'Haha-ue' is another term for 'mother'.
Ha ha, I like Ichigo's commentaries in the parenthesis.
Re-edited for Musa Rox.