"Kattobingu da, ore!" The shout made its way through the house, and Akari-san held her forehead in irritation. I giggled, and Akari-san looked at me in exasperation.
"Hand me that pan, will you, Rio-chan?" I reached for it and handed it to her.
"Sure, but we're almost finished. What do you -" With a mighty wind-up, she hurled the pan through the kitchen doorway with the speed of a professional pitcher.
"Hahaha, Kattob- Owww! What? Where did-?" A second later Yuma's head popped into the doorway with a huge welt on the top, and I marveled at Akari-san's aim.
"Hey! What was that for?" Yuma asked angrily.
"For being annoying. Can't you keep it down?" Akari-san demanded heatedly.
"She's right. You deserved that." My brother coolly entered the conversation, leaning against the doorframe with a remarkably annoying air of superiority. "You know, you two are even worse than us," he said, gesturing towards me. I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him.
"Except when you refuse to east your vegetables," I provoked.
His eyes widened, surprised at my boldness. He contemplated between shrugging me off to save face or taking the bait to salvage his pride and, being a boy, his pride won out.
"Peppers and onions are evil. Anyways, I have less trouble with them than you do with cats."
I crossed my arms and tried not to stamp my foot. He did not just go there. "Well, at least I don't sleep in and ask for five more minutes every morning," I jeered.
He turned redder than a pepper. "Why, the nerve -" He charged toward me, probably intending to tickle me into submission, but Yuma must've thought worse and he held Ryouga back while I took shelter behind Akari-san.
I laughed maniacally. "That's right. Stay on your leash, and away from me, you filthy cat."
Ryouga's thrashing increased. "Oh, that's it. Let me go, Yuma, and I'll show her a real beast." Yuma's grip tightened, and I made a mental note to thank him later. "You better let me go, Yuma, or I'll get you, too."
Yuma let go of Ryouga suddenly. Ryouga stumbled forward, then caught himself and turned to find – a fiery-eyed Yuma.
"Oh, now you've done it, Ryouga-kun," said Akari-san, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Is that a challenge?!" shouted Yuma.
I sweatdropped and Ryouga waved his arms in front of himself frantically. "No, don't -"
"Kattobingu da, ore!" Yuma jumped into the air excitedly. Somehow, probably due to unhealthy levels of practice, Yuma had acquired the ability to jump rather high. Subsequently, he collided with the pots hanging from the ceiling at the top of his jump, and the metal pieces went flying. Although I would've given a large sum of money to see Ryouga pegged with a cooking pan and out cold on the kitchen floor, as soon as he realized what was happening he went into his ninja super-commando mode, jumping briskly to the side, grabbing me roughly by the arm and pulling me under the table. I watched in horror as pans raced toward Akari-san, who was completely unshielded. But she just sniffed, irritated.
"Hmph, how annoying." Hands moving faster than bullets, she blocked all the pans and stacked them above me on the table, neatly. As Yuma crashed onto the floor with pans coming down on top of him for good measure, Akari-san conjured a broom seemingly out of thin air and fished Yuma out of the mess by the collar. "How many times do I have to tell you NOT TO JUMP IN THE HOUSE!"
Yuma looked back innocently. "Beats me, not like I was counting."
As I suppressed a giggle, Akari-san's irritation grew to an all-time high. "It was a rhetorical question, idiot!" With a thrust Akari-san threw Yuma out of the kitchen…ooh, was that hinge supposed to turn that way?... through the front door… oh, was that a pot smashing?... down the front steps… ouch, that metal has got to hurt… through the front gate… was that a – truck's horn?... into the street.
"When you get to whatever special place has been set up for you after death, tell Astral I'm sorry that his host is such an idiot!" Akari-san screamed after him. Ryouga and I sweatdropped.
"Is he going to be ok?" I asked sincerely, climbing out from under the table.
Akari-san gave me a charming smile that suggested she wasn't capable of the thrashing she'd just dealt. "Of course he'll be alright, Rio-chan. That was a rather mild one, after all."
Ryouga's eye twitched. He decided to change the subject. "Are you perchance skilled in the martial arts, Akari-san?" he asked.
She blinked, as if this was a random question. "Hm? Well, yeah, I'm a black belt. How'd you know?"
Ryouga sighed, shaking his head and making his way out of the kitchen, mumbling. "Should've known he came from an entire family of freaks."
I bit back a laugh and started helping Akari-san clean up Yuma's mess. "What am I going to do with him?" she asked, sighing.
There was an air of humor about it, but I could tell it was just for my benefit, and the statement hid a deeper meaning. I realized it wasn't true despair over Yuma's antics, but a feeling of anxiety as his only authority figure. I had forgotten: Yuma's parents weren't around. Akari-san was probably worried about whether she was doing the right things for Yuma, if she was enough. I wondered passingly whether Ryouga ever felt the same way about me. I moved to comfort her.
"You don't have to do anything. Yuma's great the way he is. I may not be his closest friend, but even in the short time I've known him I've come to know that he benefits everyone around him. He brings them peace and happiness. I should know, since he got to Ryouga. And trust me, getting to Ryouga is no easy task."
She paused, and then smiled gratefully at me. "Thanks, Rio-chan. You're right."
"No problem." I smiled. Honestly though, my little speech held its own deeper meaning as well. As lighthearted as we were about Yuma and his attitude, I knew there was something extraordinary about him. I wasn't kidding when I said it took something big to get to Ryouga, and I'd have to be blind to miss all the other things Yuma had done since I'd been around him. There was something special, something powerful behind Yuma's casual playfulness, and I aimed to find out for myself.
From what I'd heard and seen, getting close to Yuma wasn't hard. I could A.) Give him food, or B.) Duel him. Either way seemed to be a straight shot to his core.
"Are you ok, Rio-chan?" Akari-san asked suddenly.
"Huh? Yeah, why?" I asked, bewildered.
"You seemed to be thinking rather intensely."
"Wha-? Nahh." I shrugged it off casually, but I felt my face heating up. I had never thought about any boy for any significant period of time except for Ryouga, but Yuma was an exception. I was starting to think it was unhealthy, because the perfectly innocent thoughts I had about getting to know him every once in a while provoked more… mischievous thoughts. Which I attributed – completely, mind you – to the whims of my growing body.
"So, Rio-chan…" Akari-san started again.
"Yes?" I answered quickly, on guard this time. She was turned towards the sink, so I quickly felt my face to make sure it wasn't hot… not that it had any reason to be…
"What do you think of my brother?" She shut off the sink and turned towards me, crossing her arms.
"Wha-?" I stammered, caught completely off guard. "What do you mean? I just told you-"
She made a noise with her tongue in her cheek, dismissing my attempt to B.S. my way out of her question. "That's not what I meant, Rio-chan, and you know it."
My mouth suddenly felt dry. The logical part of me didn't know why. If I dissected this to the best of my judgment, Akari-san was asking me, as another girl and my friend, not really as Yuma's sister, what I thought about him as a boy. It was two girls talking about a guy. Perfectly normal, right? And I could acknowledge that and still dismiss the idea that I saw Yuma like that, right? Why was it so hard to look into her eyes and just say that?
BRRR-IINNNG! The doorbell went off, scaring me out of my reverie. Akari-san's mouth twitched at my jumpiness. Apparently pitying me, she went to get the door, but not before giving me a "this isn't over" look. As she left, I let out a sigh I didn't know I'd been holding.
"Oh! Kotori-chan, Cat-chan!" I came to the doorway to see Akari-san greeting Kotori and Cat with hugs. I noticed she held the hug a beat longer with Kotori, which bothered me for a reason I couldn't place. But as they pulled away from each other and Kotori gave me her characteristically warm smile, any negative feelings were blown away and replaced with the warmth of our genuine friendship. I suddenly felt ashamed for feeling anything negative towards her, who'd only been good to me since I'd known her.
"Hey, Kotori! Good to see you, Cat!" We exchanged hugs and made our way to the living room.
Kotori looked around. "Hey, where's Yuma?" The twinge of irritation popped up again, and I fought it down.
Akari-san smiled mischievously. "What, Kotori, us girlfriends not good enough for you? You need a -"
Kotori's face was already beet red, but she was saved from the blatant embarrassment by the sound of the door slamming.
Akari-san smiled evilly and turned, crossing her arms. "Well, speak of the devil."
Yuma struggled into the living room, looking badly bruised and supporting himself with a stick as a makeshift crutch. He opened his mouth to say something to Akari-san, but then closed it, wincing. He fell forward, missed the sofa by 6 inches, and fell smack onto the ground, out cold.
Akari-san smiled smugly. "That's right. Sleep tight, little bro." Cackling, she strode into the kitchen to finish the arrangements for dinner, leaving us all sweatdropping.
Kotori got over her disbelief first, rushing to Yuma's side and picking up his head. "What happened to him?" she asked, looking to me frantically. "Is he alright?"
I fought the twinge again, although it became harder as Cat rushed to Yuma's side as well, and the two girls hoisted him up onto the sofa.
"He should be fine. Just a little sibling fight, that's all." I supplied.
"I hope so," said Kotori worriedly. "With everything that's been going on, I wouldn't want -"
Yuma suddenly let out an elephantine snore, throwing his arms above his head and smacking his lips contentedly.
Kotori rubbed her forehead, but I had a hard time telling whether she was angry or trying not to laugh.
"Looks fine to me," said Cat. "In fact," she said, gushing, "he looks really cute, sleeping like that."
The twinge that flared up in me this time was reflected in Kotori, who turned to Cat and looked like she was about to brawl, although that seemed to be exactly what Cat wanted. For better or for worse, my brother chose to enter then. Why does he keep disappearing and reappearing, anyway?
"Oh," he said disinterestedly. "You guys are here?"
I made a mental note to talk to him about that attitude later. Really, even if it was his nature to be indifferent most of the time, he could at least be decent when we were in another person's house. To my relief, neither Kotori nor Cat seemed fazed, and better yet, Ryouga took their attention away from Yuma.
"Oh, hey, Shark," greeted Kotori warmly. My brother, the dunderhead, nodded stiffly in return. Then, to my utter surprise, Kotori and Cat engaged my brother in an actual conversation. Wow, a lot must have changed since before, if Ryouga was having conversations without being forced to and while not in a duel. He was trying to look casual and apathetic, but Cat was commenting on his guitar performance in the festival, and Kotori was piling on the flattery, but in a completely sincere way. Ryouga never could resist flattery directed towards his guitar skills.
"Yes, well, what can I say, they call me the Guitar Hero," he boasted, stealing the name from some videogame to compensate for his lack of creativity. He closed his eyes and flipped his hair, but Kotori and Cat just blinked. I laughed inwardly. He had mistaken nice friends for gushing fangirls. This is why I told him to get out more.
Realizing there was no high-pitched squealing and that he was being awkward, he cleared his throat roughly. "So, what are you guys doing here?" he asked, trying to change the subject and failing miserably. Kotori was the one who'd had the idea for this and invited us, after all…
I was somewhat interested in what Kotori's response to my brother's idiocy would be, but just then Akari-san called from the kitchen: "Alright, dinner's ready!"
Before any of us could react to that Yuma shot up from the sofa so fast we three girls jumped five feet in the air. Ryouga flinched visibly. "Did someone say dinner?" Yuma asked eagerly.
Without waiting for a response Yuma dashed to the table and started serving himself. We all looked at each other, laughed, and made our way to the table to sit. Akari-san and Ryouga sat on opposite ends of the table, Kotori sat with Yuma on one side, and I sat across from Yuma next to Cat.
"Oh, hey, Kotori, Cat. When'd you get here?" Yuma asked innocently, noticing them for the first time.
Kotori giggled. "Right before you passed out in your own living room, Yuma."
"Oh…" Yuma rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
Akari-san sighed, shaking her head. "Alright, now that the idiot's caught up, let's dig in!"
Yuma probably would've protested, but his mouth was already full. I couldn't blame him though. At the risk of sounding boastful, the food was really good. I guess being the head of the house had given Akari-san culinary skill, and I'm sure it hadn't hurt that I'd helped.
"This is amazing," Cat said, filling her plate a second time.
"Yeah, did you make it yourself, Akari-san?" Kotori asked.
"Partially. Rio-chan helped me out." Akari-san said generously.
"It probably would've been better if Rio hadn't helped, but it's still pretty good, Akari-san," said Shark begrudgingly. I would get him for that, but I was glad he'd remembered some of his manners.
"Oh, don't be such a downer, Shark," said Yuma, although how he was speaking with his mouth so occupied was beyond me. "I know my sister couldn't have done it like this herself." He met eyes with me. "You're a good cook, Rio."
"Thanks, Yuma." I said levelly, trying to suppress the urge to blush and look away. Akari-san gave me a smile and Ryouga narrowed his eyes at me, but I ignored them.
Once us five humans had finished eating, we started talking about what to do while the beast that was Yuma consumed what was left on the table.
"I brought some board games," offered Kotori.
"I have some cards if you guys know any good games," said Cat.
"In the event that we have nothing else to do, we could play this Guitar Hero game that I brought," Ryouga tried to say indifferently even while it was obvious (to me at least) that he was dying to play it.
Akari-san nodded. "Let's start with the board games, then. Now that the vacuum cleaner here has been turned off." She gestured to Yuma, who was sighing contentedly in his chair with a belly the size of the table.
Once Yuma's belly receded, we got to the games. Kotori had brought Sorry!, Monopoly, and Life, and we played them all. As soon as the game started Ryouga went into ninja super-commando mode, Yuma boasted that he would thrash Shark, and I quietly determined to do the same.
Although the games were never boring, the winners' lineup became rather predictable. Ryouga would take first, me second, Akari-san third, Kotori and Cat were back and forth for the next two places, and Yuma, to his great despair, would finish last.
"Kattobingu da, ore!" shouted Yuma, throwing the die across the board as Akari-san held one hand on his head to restrain the accompanying jump. "Come on, come on, a six and it's victory!" The die landed on 1, and Yuma stared at it, dumbfounded. He knelt on the floor melodramatically. "Why... why?!"
Ryouga laughed maniacally. "Watch and learn from the master." He rolled the three he needed and won, cackling all the while.
"What? Noooo… it can't be. Fine, second place, then!"
Despite his best attempts and being in the lead, Yuma somehow managed to keep rolling 1's. Despite my sympathy I finished next, and so on as usual.
"I can't believe this," said Yuma dejectedly, lying face down on the floor after his third straight loss.
Kotori tried to comfort Yuma, although it didn't look like it would work.
"Do you want to duel, then?" challenged Ryouga with a smirk.
Yuma jumped up, nearly braining Kotori in the process. The tears in his eyes were replaced by fire. "Yes, let's go Shark! In fact, let's have a duel tournament!"
Kotori stiffened. Before the two boys could go further however, Akari-san intervened. "No dueling today, guys. This evening we're all off from dueling. There's been enough of that recently." Shark's lips tightened solemnly and he nodded, understanding; even Yuma acquiesced after some groaning. I noticed Kotori visibly relax, and realized suddenly how hard it must be to not be able to duel when your best friend (that's what she and Yuma were, right?) was a fervent duelist. I guessed that played a part in Akari-san's decision as well.
"So, cards?" asked Cat, holding up two decks.
Akari-san took them and started shuffling. "Yup. Any suggestions for what to play?"
Ryouga crossed his arms and huffed. "The only worthwhile game with cards is poker. I doubt any of you can handle that," he directed at Yuma, Kotori, Cat, and me. "I know Rio can't."
I stuck my tongue out at him and he sniffed haughtily.
"I can play poker," Akari-san offered. "But you're right, these guys probably can't. Do you guys know any other card games?"
We all came up short. Akari-san's eyes suddenly lit up, and I thought apprehensively that saying Go Fish might not have been a bad idea.
"So I guess Ryouga and I will play poker," Akari-san shrugged. Ryouga looked surprised and I narrowed my eyes. I wasn't a poker expert, but I knew it wasn't much fun with just two people. Something was up… "And the rest of you can play Spin the Bottle. That should be simple enough."
"What!?" I cried indignantly. It wasn't so much out of a feeling of betrayal as embarrassment. Playing Spin the Bottle with two other girls and the guy who'd been on my mind recently was… well…
"She's just kidding, Rio-san," Kotori said so bluntly that I felt embarrassed I'd taken it any other way. "Right, Akari-san?"
Akari-san huffed. "Well, kids these days. Absolutely no fun. Then how about Truth or Dare?" She smiled evilly.
Kotori and I might've gotten out of that one, too, but Yuma cut in. "Yeah, let's. Better than standing around and not doing anything." He said, shifting from foot to foot restlessly. "But why don't you and Shark join us. It'll be more fun with more people."
I tried not to roll my eyes as Akari-san obviously tried to come up with a cop-out reason. Ryouga bailed her, and himself, out. "As if I'd play a game like that with my sister."
"Yeah," agreed Akari-san. "Only one sibling should be in that game at a time. I'm doing you a favor, bro."
Yuma looked skeptical but let it slide. "Alright, then, let's go."
I had my reservations, but I didn't want to be a spoilsport, and I'd hear no end to the "chicken" jokes from Ryouga if I ducked out of a game of Truth or Dare.
The four of us arranged ourselves in a circle on the floor. Cat pulled her duel computer out of her bag and opened up the "Truth or Dare" app.
The main menu options popped up: "Mild," "Moderate," "Spicy," and "Hot n' Wild."
Cat, Kotori and I, curse it, blushed. Yuma sensed the discomfort and tried to get a better look at the screen. "What -"
"Nothing!" Cat said quickly, tapping the "Moderate" level. There was some portion of my mind that was disappointed, and I realized that Yuma probably would've gone for the "Hot n' Wild" option just because it was the most intense. My face heated up as I contemplated what that would've entailed.
Cat cleared her throat, and Kotori felt her face, and I guessed they had been thinking along the same lines. Meanwhile, Yuma was entering something on the screen.
"There!" he said satisfactorily.
"Player 1 – Yuma"
"Player 2 – Rio"
"Player 3 – Cat"
"Player 4 – Kotori"
The screen blared. "Looks like I'm up first," Yuma said excitedly. "Kattobingu da, ore!"
