"Damn it," the young boy swore as he pulled on the sleeve of his bag.
The heavy downpour hammered his head, causing trickles of water to flow uncomfortably down his forehead, face and to his lips.
His dilapidated white school shoes – or rather, faded grey school shoes – flopped on the puddles that formed on the cracked pavements.
The drench attire he had donned on was slick and stuck to his body awkwardly.
It was not long before he stood by the steps that led up to his apartment building.
The boy clambered up it lifelessly as he looked down at his feet.
When he swung open the old wooden door, it creaked loudly in the usual fashion that he found rather annoying.
He frowned at it, as usual.
As per normal routine, he went past the stairs and to the back of the room where all of the mailboxes belonging to the building's residents were to be found.
He automatically aimed straight for his, ignoring the need to scan for his unit number as he had memorised its exact location relative to the whole wall.
As he stuck his key into it, a familiar voice spoke out to him from his far left.
"My, my, you're soaking wet," the crackly, old woman said.
The boy kept quiet.
Only the sound of the trickling raindrops outside and the tapping of the water droplets from his drenched clothes and bag onto the wooden floor filled the room.
He twisted the key clockwise without acknowledging her comment.
Just like the past months when he'd bump into her, the boy could care less about interacting with her. He couldn't bother interacting with anyone for that matter.
"You're going to get a cold if you keep that up. You ought to take care of yourself, you know," Mrs Chen said, her voice full of concern and worry.
To any regular person, she would just seem like a kind elderly woman who takes the time to look out for those around her. Approachable and caring, she isn't deserving of the cold shoulder the boy was giving her recently.
But his sour mood dampened any hope of looking at her in such a manner.
To him, she was just getting on his nerves.
"My health is none of your business…" he stated coldly.
He flipped open his letterbox and found a pile of papers inside.
"Oh don't be like that."
The lady began walking to him; the soft sole of her slippers was gently dragged across the floorboards.
"If you fall sick or weak because of your carelessness, what would you mother and father think?"
The boy gritted his teeth through sealed lips as his grip on the pile of useless advertisement pamphlets tightened.
"What would she think?"
This was a step too far for the boy. In an instant, fury and rage welled within him and burst violently out like a primed cannonball.
"YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT SHE THINKS! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"
In his moment of lashing out, he flung the stack of papers in the direction of the woman, causing her to reel back in shock.
She gasped at his reaction.
Instantly, the boy turned about and ran off and up the stairs, leaving the woman to stand alone in the mailroom.
The pamphlets spread and flew in all directions, harmlessly fluttering around her as they fell like autumn leaves from a withering tree.
Alone, she stood once more.
She looked glumly at the wooden floor.
As if the faded walls that were littered with cracks were not looking dull enough, the atmosphere she was left behind in made them look even worse than they seemed.
The heavy thuds of the bearing footsteps of the boy she sought to comfort faded away, eventually engulfed by the sounds of the rain.
The young boy ran up, tears welling in his eyes.
He himself was uncertain whether it was out of sadness or anger.
Whatever the case, he just wants to close himself off from the rest of the world right now.
For a while, he ran up numerous flights of stairs, not caring how much of it he had already gone over.
In his frantic rush, he did not notice the old man making his way down.
At the last moment, he tried to flick his body aside. In the end, he brushed roughly against him.
The old man was taken aback as he fumbled backwards, his wrinkly, old hands barely catching his fall. The brunt of the impact was absorbed by his weak arms.
Despite this, Mrs Chen's husband turned his head to capture who exactly ran past him with such recklessness, only to notice that it was him.
"M-Michael!" he called out in a sputter.
Just like his wife downstairs, his voice was ladled with great worry.
The boy did not show any signs of stopping.
"Miyureno! Miyureno-kun!" he continued, using the boy's Japanese name this time.
Still the dark-haired boy continued on, ignoring him completely.
The old man, too, was eventually left by his lonesome.
The dark-haired boy had found his way to the front of his room. Hurriedly, he unlocked it and slid inside, slamming the door forcefully behind him. The sound of the hard-hitting force echoed down the desolate hallway.
On the opposite side, in the tiny apartment the boy occupied, he crumbled to the floor.
Streams of tears flowed relentlessly down his dirtied cheeks as he hugged his knees, caring less about the coldness of the wet fabric.
To him, it was nothing compared to the freezing snap he felt within the emptiness of his chest.
No, he wasn't angry.
This, he conceded to the reality that this was sadness.
For what seemed like forever to Miyureno, he remained crouched by the doormat, allowing himself to drown alone in his sadness and sorrow…
Nine days after his re-appearance in Patisserie La Soleil, Miyureno found himself sitting in the same booth that he always occupies and in a setting that reminded him of the times before he embarked for Tokyo.
As always, he came to the café after its hectic lunch-time service has died down. It was three in the afternoon on a Friday and the area surrounding the shop was as empty as it always was at this time. Today's weather was unlike the one present last Wednesday. Instead of being scorching hot, the city of Yokohama was currently in the middle of a heavy downpour. No one was out in the street at the moment. No one would want to expose themselves to the pelting rain and rushing wind and end up drenched and cold. Aside from being slightly damp from his short walk from his car to the café (as, to his annoyance, the winds were strong enough to blow his flimsy umbrella inside-out), Miyureno was safe and cosy within the confines of the building.
When he arrived, he shook off the droplets of water yet to have soaked his sweat pants. As he stood at the entrance, he was greeted by the fragrant smell of baked goods and freshly-grounded coffee beans mixed with the aroma of boiled tea leaves. The soft clinking of cutlery and tea-cups against their plates and coasters filled the air along with the hushed chit-chats of the few customers that were present. At once, he was encapsulated by the serenity of the French-stylised café.
It was not until ten minutes after his arrival did the remaining few stragglers from lunch-time take their leave and bravely set out to the rainy, dark streets. Miyureno sat as the only patron in La Soleil at the moment.
While he enjoyed the peacefulness of being alone and immersed in such a calming environment with privacy to himself and time to focus on the work he brought along, he quickly lost the energy to continue. His fifth duty at Kitakata fire station just finished that morning. He took a short nap at home to catch up on his loss of sleep from the 24-hour-long duty before coming to the café.
Today was the first of his two-day break before the next shift. Work was not really what he wanted to do at the moment, nor was it something his body and mind needed. While he would like some time to himself and relax, he also treasured some company – something that the catgirls were more than happy to give now that did not have anything else to do or anyone they needed to attend to right now.
Kashou and Shigure left not too long ago to meet up with one of their suppliers. The temporary management of the café was therefore left entirely up to the eldest catgirl, Azuki. Of course, Azuki being Azuki, the wryly catgirl whined and complained and acted as though she was indignant of the responsibility when, in reality (and subtly), she accepted it obediently.
While she managed to maintain control of all of her sisters for a time, she eventually got overwhelmed by their requests – or rather, pleas – for a break. On top of that, everyone eventually realised that Azuki has sucked the café dry of work to do. They almost ended up doing double jobs were it not for Miyureno being observant and noting something odd with the catgirls.
Earlier, he'd be gazing mindlessly out of the window to his left only to be interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. Chocola and Vanilla had paid a visit to his booth with a request for him to raise his legs as they swept the underneath of the table. Being a simple task as it is, Miyureno simply paid no mind to it and praised the two young ones for their diligence. They wholly accepted his praise with a sparkly beam to their faces. However, he would be concentrated on churning out a paragraph to the report he was working on only to be intruded on by another pair of catgirls: Maple and Cinnamon.
"Hmmm?" he simply asked as he maintained his attention towards his laptop screen. Cinnamon asked for him to raise his legs so that Maple could sweep the area under his table.
Not noticing anything amiss, he absent-mindedly said, "Oh."
He raised his legs yet again and Maple did as Cinnamon promised.
"Miyureno… you know it's hard to reach all the way in, right? Can't you just stand up for a second?" Maple whined at him as she tried reaching for the far end of the floor that was closest to the wall.
This seemed to have snapped Miyureno out of his engrossment. "Oh! Sorry Maple!" he exclaimed as he did as she suggested and started shuffling to the edge of his seat towards the two catgirls. Now that he was anchored back down to reality and became more aware of his surroundings, he realised something and stopped his side-shuffling momentarily.
He let out a plain, "Eh…?" upon this realisation.
The dumbfounded man then thought out loud, "…didn't Chocola and Vanilla clean here a few minutes ago?"
The two simply tilted their heads and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
After realising this, he decided to abandon his work for now and used this as an excuse to leave the booth (and his work) and look for something else to do. He was desperate to take his mind off of his stale report typing. He left the two catgirls behind as they just stared at him in a state of confusion.
Miyureno, curious, decided to look for Azuki and question here about this. He stood in-front of the kitchen door and noticed the 'staff only' sign. He shrugged and pushed the door open slowly and leaned in. Popping his head into the stuffy and warm kitchen, he saw Azuki standing near the central metal worktable at the opposite side to him. She had in her hands a clipboard which she was currently scrutinising intensely with a frown. He called out for her, which made the Munchkin catgirl jump in surprise.
"Ehhhhhhh?" she groaned in typical Azuki fashion, "Miyureno! Didn't ya read the sign? You're not allowed in here!"
"Yeah but it's just my head though…"
As ridiculous as it sounds, it was, indeed, just his head that went past the separation of the tiles between the café floor and that of the kitchen's. Azuki had nothing else to say, the narrow slits of her eyes were more than enough to display here irritation. Her tightening hold on her clipboard made it creak, as though it was crying in despair.
"I'm kidding," he spat out quickly and plainly. Azuki was an easy one to tease, Miyureno thought. One would find her reactions quite humorous – until you piss her off, that is.
"I know I'm not supposed to be here. But I've got to talk to you about something…" he explained.
After convincing the grumbling catgirl, he made her admit that she has run out of things for everyone to do.
"I was thinking that we should just go through the to-do list again and make doubly sure that everyone is done with their tasks…" she says, a bit unconfident of herself and her reasoning.
The catgirl and Miyureno were now by the register. Playing with the pen-holder on top of the register countertop, Miyureno thought about what had just happened with the twins and the Maple-Cinnamon pair.
Because of that, he pointed out sarcastically, "Dust doesn't collect again in less than 5 minutes though…"
Miyureno received a verbal lashing from an irate Azuki soon after he made that statement. Accusing him of thinking lesser of her abilities to manage, a prolonged period of pleading and damage-control took place on his part.
To his surprise and relief, he narrowly avoided being pounced on by the small-yet-nimble catgirl who threatened to 'claw his eyes out' – or something like that...
He didn't want to stick around to find out, though. The eldest of the catgirls was infamous for getting into quarrels very easily. He ruffled his hair and let out a defeated sigh. No matter how truthful it seemed, he disliked the fact that he had to mince his words so as not to tick the catgirl's temper. It was all just a joke, anyways.
Azuki can be such a handful sometimes… She's pretty much a sensitive time-bomb, he commented to himself internally. The catgirl does hold herself with quite some pride, though. Teasing about it a bit was a seen as a declaration of war to her. He turned his attention back to her and offered, humbly, a suggestion to give everyone a break since it does not look as though they sacrificed quality for how quickly they cleared the to-do list she had on her clipboard.
Five minutes later, Miyureno was where he was at now. He was seated back at his booth along with all six of the Minaduki catgirls, happily consuming some pastries as snacks. He was just sharing about the latest incident he had attended during his duty the day before.
They had, on the table before them, two baskets of delectable butterfly-shaped cookies and two baskets of garlic bread. The tantalising smell of freshly baked cookie dough and the mouth-watering aroma of toasted bread made all their stomachs grumble. Despite putting so much effort to reject Miyureno's offering to a treat at his expense, the catgirls couldn't help but succumb to the temptation of the delicious snacks before them. With Maple and Cinnamon's help, Miyureno topped the food up with a pot of black tea and another pot of hot chocolate for their choosing. Together with his companions, the space at the booth felt a bit cramped but Miyureno appreciated their presence nonetheless.
"So just imagine the sight," he said with amazement in his voice as he detailed his story to them, "the whole riverbank is filled on both sides, all of them pointing their strong torchlights into the water as they searched for any signs of the man."
"Ooooooh~" they all went as they gasped in awe – except Azuki, Azuki pretended not to be so captivated, even though she had been showing him undivided attention the moment he began speaking.
"3 station's-worth of men and vehicles all partaking in this search. It was chaotic to co-ordinate but it had to be done, nonetheless." After saying that, Miyureno took a bite off of the crunchy piece of bread that he was holding on to.
"Oh!" Chocola yelped in surprise, her usual excitement and energy evident in her voice, "With so many fire trucks around, it must have been cool with all their sirens making sounds!"
He chuckled at her and nodded, "Yeah! Though, we didn't blare our horns all through the night. That would be annoying now, right?"
"It's in the river, right? The one by the mall? Isn't it very wide? Why didn't you use boats?" Vanilla asked as she spoke with her mouth filled with cookies, causing crumbs to fly to the table.
"We did! It just took a while to come. Our vehicles got there first so we had to do something in the meantime. It doesn't look good to see many fire-fighters just standing around."
Cinnamon was wiping the crumbs left behind by her young kitten siblings beside her with a cloth, "Now, now Vanilla, Chocola, don't eat with your mouth's full!" she pointed out, mimicking Shigure's voice. The two kittens didn't seem to pay her any mind.
"Wahh~!" Coconut smiled, "the effort that everyone goes through just for one person. Such selflessness really fills you up with joy and hope, doesn't it?" The large-sized catgirl quivered in delight as she shoved another morsel of garlic bread in her mouth.
Miyureno sent a smile her way and nodded. He noticed how aggressively she ravaged the snacks he bought for them, consuming them as though she hasn't eaten anything for days (when, in reality, it's only been three hours…). Crumbs that were remnants of the snacks she ate lingered on the sides of her mouth and on her puffed-up cheeks. Despite there being so many of said crumbs scattered on her lower face, the Maine Coon let out a wide grin at him. As if her mouth wasn't full enough as it is, she took in more pieces of food with bright, shimmering eyes.
"Either that, or it can fill you up with a whole-baguette's-worth of garlic bread, 5 whole pieces of cookies and 8 cups of hot chocolate apparently…", Azuki said as she leaned her cheek on her hand that was propped onto the table.
She narrowed her eyes to slits as she began her usual sly comments, "With the rate that you're eating, Nuts, you'll find yourself growing wider instead of taller, just you see! You need to show some restraint!... to think that you are no longer a kitten, what am I saying…"
The lightly-tanned younger sister was taken aback by her sister's comment. She stopped herself halfway through finishing another cookie. She began stammering nervously, trying to explain herself, "B-but that's because I am a Maine Coon though!"
Coconut was right, Maine Coons, being one of the largest of the catgirl breeds, will naturally have a bigger appetite. Though, Miyureno guesses that Azuki was right about slowing down her eating, though. Every time he saw her down food in the manner she always did, he was afraid she'd choke up.
She continued, "W-what's wrong with eating so much anyway, Azuki? A-at least I show appreciation for the food someone has treated us to! Unlike you, just sitting there, refusing and wasting it!"
Miyureno stammered after hearing Coconut using him as part of the argument against her older sister, "I-It's not really a problem thoug- "
Azuki interrupted him with another spat directed to Coconut, "Baka (Dummy)… Well maybe that's because I don't want to steal everyone's share away like what you're doing now!" She stood up and showed angry, piercing eyes towards the blonde-haired catgirl. As usual, the Munchkin cat took things to the next level.
"But there's more than enough to go arou-" Miyureno said.
"Well, yeah?!" Coconut slammed the table as she stood up, the cutlery on the table jumping, shaking and rattling in response.
She glared downwards to Azuki, similar fury in her eyes, "who are you to judge the way I eat. You may be my older sister but that doesn't mean that you can just say whatever you like. Or are you just trying to pick a fight, Azuki?"
The smaller catgirl growled in response, "I'll take you on, you overgrown kitten!"
"But guys…" Miyureno tried helplessly to calm them down regardless of how many times he was interrupted, "it's just snacks. There is a lot to go around and share. I don't mind if you don't take either, really. I just wanted us to have a nice break together…"
Ignoring the bickering of the two, Maple turned to face Miyureno, her usual cool, uncompromising green eyes looking through half-close eye-lids. "Don't bother, Miyureno-san. Once they've reached the point of calling each other names, they lose all reasoning."
As if to prove Maple's point, Miyureno heard the exchange of insults being hurled between the two angry catgirls. On top of the usual slurs they'd use on one another, they became more… desperate with their words.
"You devilish imp!"
"Ya giant clumsy klutz!"
And it goes on… Miyureno had to admit, he was impressed by the vocabulary they can churn as they sustained the to-and-fro 'gunfire'.
"You're right…" he said, partly amazed. It seems that they were in far too deep at this point.
The golden-haired American Curl was sitting next to him to his right. Miyureno, himself, was flushed all the way into the booth and towards the window with his body turned to face all of the catgirls as he shared his story… or was sharing his story.
To Maple's right-side was Coconut, who now stood menacingly with her eyes fixated on her sister. At the opposite side of the booth, in an order from the window to the aisle, were the twins, Chocola and Vanilla, followed by Cinnamon who was trying to stop the fight that was about to erupt. Alas, to no avail. Her soft voice was overwhelmed by the growling of the two. Azuki was unable to squeeze into either side of the table so she grabbed a chair from the standalone wooden tables in the middle of the room and moved it to the edge of theirs.
The catgirl in question had her palms tucked to her chest and facing Coconut, revealing her sharp nails. Coconut merely glared with a spark in her amber and blue eyes as she folded up the right arm sleeve of her La Soleil uniform.
"So we gonna go or what? Or are ya too chicken?" Azuki challenged with an evil smirk and a twinkle in her eye.
The much taller catgirl growled deeply in response and replied in a condescending manner with an equally mischievous looking grin, "I don't know… I'm just scared I'll end up hurting you too badly…"
"WHY YOU-!" the Munchkin catgirl hissed as she pounced on the younger Minaduki catgirl.
"Uwah!" she yelped in shock.
Coconut managed to react to the nimble movements of her much smaller opponent and pounced back, her large body overwhelming and pushing against Azuki's, propelling both of them to the floor a distance away from the booth. An indiscernible flurry of yelps, grunts and hissing erupted as their rough fighting eventually encapsulated them into a ball of dust. One could hear scratching, thudding and the tearing of fabric coming from their direction.
Miyureno genuinely tried to put his finger on the way this fight broke out in the first place. It began so simply with Coconut innocently complimenting the Japanese fire-fighters from his story and somehow, one thing led to another. Before you know it, there an intense sibling brawl is taking place right in-front of him. Judging from the disappointed look of the other catgirls and a lack of panic in their eyes, they appear to be accustomed to such things. He did hear about how prone Azuki and Coconut were to fighting. Some of the catgirls such as Maple admitted to fighting with the aggressive Azuki but Miyureno didn't expect it to take place so easily. Despite being in the café before, this is the first time he is seeing the two of them fight.
Miyureno and the four remaining catgirls heaved a sigh as they left the booth and attempted to split the two catgirls up in order to break the fight.
After much hassle – and too much risk-taking on his own life and the very integrity of his skin – Miyureno and the rest of the catgirls had managed to stop the quarrel between Azuki and Coconut.
They split themselves up to take care of each catgirl. With their uniforms tattered, shredded and stained and their once tidy hair now a tangled mess, the rest had to patch them up and make them look presentable again. The work-day was not over yet, anyway. Not wanting customers to stumble into such an unsightly display was one thing, not wanting Shigure and Kashou to find out was a whole other level of 'nope', the catgirls agreed. Miyureno had his motives for helping them elsewhere, however. Each of them sported a few visible red scratches which played on life-saver mind-set of the man.
It took a good while but eventually, Azuki and Coconut got changed into a new set of their La Soleil work attire. Their unkempt hair was tidied up with the help of their sisters and Miyureno had lent a hand to treat their numerous small scratches.
All the catgirls, with his help, had persuaded the two to try and reconcile with one another. At first, one would blame and pick on the faults of the other but they eventually found themselves agreeing to let the issue slide. Unfortunately, that's all there was to it, it was a mere compromise rather than a proper resolution. Everyone could still feel the tension remain between the two catgirls.
Trying to brighten up the mood a bit, Miyureno suggested that they all return to their seats and continue enjoying the snacks they had on the table. While the other catgirls happily complied, Coconut and Azuki merely followed silently both sporting a grumpy expression on their faces. Chocola and Vanilla got seated at their usual seats while Coconut flushed herself into the side where Miyureno would sit, a distance away from Azuki. The Munchkin cat sat back down at her usual place at the end of the table and towards the aisle.
When Miyureno came by, he noticed that the pots of beverages were close to emptying and cold so he took them to the register where the tea and hot chocolate dispensers were. At the same time, Maple and Cinnamon were begrudgingly cleaning up the mess caused by their sister's brawl. The younger of the two, Cinnamon, swept away some grit off the floor while Maple was putting toppled seats back to their respective tables in an orderly fashion.
Maple caught Miyureno carrying the two teapots and was heading to the register so she went after him. Cinnamon joined the rest at the booth once she was done with the sweeping. She sat beside Vanilla again.
Miyureno was about to pull the lever on the hot chocolate dispenser before he was interrupted by Maple behind him.
"Miyureno, you dummy," she said. "Have you forgotten who's the customer around here?"
He turned to look at her. She stood there with lightly crossed arms and a playful frown. Just like she always would, Maple was mocking him sarcastically. The catgirl went over to where he was and snatched the teapot he was holding away from him.
"Haha… You were quite caught up with tidying up the place so I figured I could lend you a hand?," he explained, not that convinced about his own argument, himself.
"Miyureno-san, you're not making sense. You're the one paying for this after all."
"I know. I just wanted to help."
Without looking at him, she continued about her business, "Of course, but it's fine. I've got this. It's my job, anyways."
Huh, Miyureno pondered. She sounds upset...
Maple went about to do what she did best. She reached into a mini-fridge under the counter and took out milk, another kind of milk, and… condensed milk? Miyureno wasn't too sure. He didn't think much about it; he wasn't good with these sorts of things. She, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what to do. She moved about in a systematic pattern and with great confidence as to what she needs and where could she find it. It was pretty much clockwork, watching her do all that.
She seemed frustrated about something, however. There was no evidence of a frown or any show of anger in her expression but he could tell by the way she was moving about. There was a small hint of rushed, deliberate and somewhat-aggressive movements: taking the tea leaf stocks was done with a barely noticeable yank off the shelf, putting the used stirring spoon into the sink was more of an act of reckless dumping, causing it to clang on the metallic surface, and each step she took around the register seemed heavy, as though she wanted to drive her foot to the ground. She did well to conceal these movements but he caught on to it. The way she was talking to him at the moment added more to his suspicion that she something was bugging her.
Despite her previous words of assurance, he decided to stay with her.
"You okay?" he asked.
Unfazed, she poured each ingredient with great focus and careful, yet, deft hands. Once done, she went to the dispenser where Miyureno was before she came by. Yanking on the tap, she responded to his statement while waiting for it to fill up with chocolate.
"Yes," she stated while staring at the brown liquid pouring out of the tap, her bright green eyes looked intense. She looked like she was trying so hard to persuade even herself of what she had just said.
Miyureno was leaning on the counter's workspace to her right and at the peripheral of her vision. He slid his hands into his pockets and just joined her in blankly looking at the hot chocolate pouring out of the dispenser.
The expression on the American Curl shifted. She loosened up a bit as she let out a sigh and conceded to the worries of the person accompanying her.
The teapot was now full of hot chocolate so she went to where Miyureno was and placed it on a silver tray next to him. Staying in place, she grabbed the one containing Earl Grey tea and took out its used tea-balls.
"No… I'm not," she admitted flatly.
She took the box of tea leaves beside her and placed a small amount of them into fresh, empty tea-balls before dropping them into teapot. She then added a few more… things… in there that weren't familiar to the fireman.
He took a few steps to the dispenser and took the teapot away from her just as she turned around. He gave her shocked response a quick smile as he assisted her in placing the teapot under the hot water tap and letting it fill up. He had his back to her as he looked at the water pour into the pot he held.
"So what's wrong, Maple?"
She clicked her tongue in a show of sarcastic annoyance, "tsk… you're a handful, you know that? Didn't I tell you not to help?"
He ignored the comment, a small curl forming at the corner of his lips that she couldn't see.
She let out a breath as she answered his question, "I don't know…
"I suppose I'm just irritated with those two."
"Coconut and Azuki, you mean?"
"Yeah, their bickering and fights don't seem to be stopping."
She rubbed the side of her arm. She felt rather uneasy, admitting her thought sand feelings to him, "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not like this is unusual to me. It's become somewhat a regular occurrence to the Minaduki family…
"But that's the problem, see? I don't see the two of them ever putting in effort to end this. Sure, they will stop for a time and agree for a truce but… with each fight, I feel like they are drifting further away from a permanent fix. After every quarrel, there is always this uneasiness between the two that is getting worse.
"It just annoys me how those two, especially Azuki being the eldest and the ideal model big sister for all of us to follow, can't just sit down and settle their differences once and for all."
The teapot was now full of hot water, he turned and went back to where he was before by the countertop. He placed the filled pot on the silver tray beside the one containing hot chocolate. He stood beside Maple again. The blonde catgirl was leaning on the workspace behind the counter. She was looking to the right where her sisters were all seated. Miyureno joined her and saw that they have moved around a little.
Cinnamon decided sit beside Coconut, the shy catgirl was trying to converse with her younger sister who was staring out the window with a frown and a snarl to her lips. Chocola and Vanilla shifted, too. One was at Coconut's side of the booth whereas the other, Chocola, remained at their original side. They were both trying to look gleeful as they engaged Azuki who had her arms crossed and was slouching in a display of stubbornness. She, too, looked cross. It was sad to see the young kittens trying so hard to make things seem brighter with their eldest sister.
It was quite an unusual sight, Miyureno had to admit.
"There is no excuse for Coconut, too." The second-eldest catgirl continued with traces of worry evident in her voice.
"She may be a kitten but she is an elder sister now. The young ones look up to her. It's unhealthy for them to be constantly exposed to this bad behaviour."
Kitten? Miyureno's thoughts lingered on that specific word for a while. Was the largest of all the catgirls still that young that she was still considered a kitten? So those times when Azuki would mockingly call Coconut a kitten weren't insults? Maple was definitely not joking about this now so it dawned on him that he may have been fooled by the large stature and mature look of the catgirl in question. He feels the need to confirm this but concluded that now was not the right time.
He brought his focus back to the person beside him. "I understand what you're trying to say Maple – and you're right. They can't go on like this forever. Somehow, they have to swallow their pride and make ends meet or risk straining their relationship permanently when it's too late."
Though Maple seemed clearly distraught by what has happened, he felt like it wasn't something that he can help much with. He had no context and was therefore reluctant that he may share a suggestion that seemed ignorant or insensitive. In other words, he can't do anything impactful at the moment. He felt strongly inclined to help, seeing how it badly affects his good friend's family at large but he needed to spend more time with them in order to truly understand the background and provide meaningful support as a friend.
His helplessness upset him but he understood his position clearly. For now, the least he could do was cheer up the distressed companion beside him.
Maple has surprised him with what she has told him so far. She always gave Miyureno an impression that she was a composed and calm person who would tackle problems the way she believed it should be done, unwilling to replace her beliefs for that of others.
She was strong and confident of herself and reflects that kind of aura to others effortlessly. Any weaknesses or vulnerabilities are well hidden by her expressions and words, likely because she believes herself more than capable of dealing with her own problems.
Basically, she is an independent catgirl, and he respects her greatly for that.
But this issue seems to disturb her more so than usual. To have to express worry in the way that she did was unlike her.
His thoughts dwelled on why was she so willing to open up such tender feelings all of a sudden. Perhaps this particular incident hit her too close to home. It was family, after all.
Whatever the case, this shows more qualities to adore her for, Miyureno concluded. Behind the cool façade, she had an affectionate part within her that looked out for the rest of her sisters. To him, she willingly takes the responsibility as the second eldest in the family. Their fights may sound ridiculous, revolving over small things but Maple is concerned enough to worry about the problem in the long term. This perspective she shared all the more proves her maturity. But not only that, it proves that she cares… a lot.
"I wouldn't have thought you'd react this way to their fights, Maple."
She let out a nervous laugh and looked down at the workspace top in embarrassment, "I know. It sounds like I'm over-reacting to useless things…"
"But I get it, though."
"Hmm?" She showed him a questioning look.
"You see your young sister Coconut fighting with the eldest and the supposed-in-charge Azuki. With Azuki out of the question, it's now up to you, the second eldest, to fix this problem, right?"
Not wanting to sound so shallow, he quickly added on.
"But, knowing you, you wouldn't worry about this just because it's your responsibility. You care for your family enough to show so much willingness to fix this, even if it doesn't involve you much. It's just some bad blood between Azuki and Coconut, right? One can walk away after each fight is resolved like how the others would but you… you wouldn't."
Maple's confused expression did not let up. She now raised a brow, trying to understand where the man is getting at.
"I believe that it's because you care deeply about them. You're not getting desensitised or fed-up the more you see them quarrel. Rather, you feel more and more hurt after seeing each conflict between them. It looks silly, it may seem like a small thing but, as you said, it harms the family in many ways."
"You're right but," she tilted her head slightly, "how does that help?"
It actually never occurred to him that she was looking for advice from him. Miyureno thought that Maple simply wanted to let some bottled-up anxiety out. It appears that she is caught in a tough spot: she had no idea what to do. Regardless, he would've made a suggestion either way. He just found this behaviour quite uncanny of her.
"I don't think I can suggest anything concrete. I know nothing about Coconut and Azuki, at least not as much as you do, Maple. But, if I were to give any advice, I'd say that you should approach each of them personally and really dive into the issue with them. Find out the problems, their thoughts and their feelings and work from there."
Miyureno understood that he can't suggest actual actions to take at the moment so he did his best to give the distressed catgirl some sort of direction.
He has dealt with many issues regarding his men's social relationships that prevented them from performing normally back at the fire station. The issues she raised sounded similar in nature so he knew what guidance he could give to her right now… he thinks.
Maple was mindlessly staring at the silver tray below her. Her idly fingers traced the lining of the tray as she was deep in thought about what he had just told her.
Miyureno hummed thoughtfully in his mind. He supposed it was not something so easy for her to do. She may be the second-eldest in the family but she kept to herself for the most part. When it comes to the soft, fluffy topics about feelings, emotions and relationships, Maple is pretty much a fish out of water. From what he had discovered in the times he knew her, she gets pretty awkward when such conversations come up.
So, he tried to give her some assurance, "It's not something so easy to do, I know. But talking things out will be the fix you're looking for."
He diverted the dialogue to cheer her up a little and prevent her from getting even more worried.
"Though this comes to show, really. How wonderful and caring of a sister you can be."
She faced him again, taken aback from the sudden compliment.
She looked down and sighed, "It's a tough job though. My sisters are quite the handful. It's a wonder how Azuki manages not to lose her mind from this."
Miyureno laughed at her lightly, "It comes with practise, Maple. You're doing good. Though you haven't done anything, sometimes it's the thought that counts, you know.
"You worrying about them speaks volumes about your affection to them. Who knew the cool, down-to-earth Maple would be someone so caring, huh?"
She leaned away from him, smiling – chuckling, almost – she scratched at her cheek, "I wasn't looking for flattery now, Miyureno… and you make me sound like I'm incapable of being someone caring."
He flinched at his mistake. Before he could say anything, she blurted out flatly.
"I'm kidding."
…oh…
"But I know what you're trying to say… so thanks." She looked back to him with her jewel-green eyes sparkling, revealing a sincere, modest smile.
Miyureno kindly returned it with a bright grin of his own.
"Come on," she said softly, "I've whined long enough and the rest must be wondering what's taking us so long."
He nodded his head and grabbed the serving tray before them at its handles on both sides and proceeded to walk out of the register area.
"If there is anything else you need, don't be afraid to ask me alright?" he told the catgirl. She was now walking beside him.
Despite finally finding an end to her anxiety, Miyureno was aware that it was only temporary. Looking back to their conversation, nothing solid has been offered to help her. So, just in case, he made sure to let her know that help was just around the corner.
Or at least… whenever he was around…
Their serious talk ended there as they joined the rest at the booth. For the next half-an-hour, the shop remained devoid of customers as the group enjoyed each other's company as much as possible, trying to get over the recent feud with happy stories, heart-warming beverages and delicious snacks. It went back to becoming the nice, comfortable break that it was a while ago. Miyureno and his company continued to enjoy each other's presence in the midst of the rainy, cold weather outside.
TaRouTaRhoe, 13 May 2018
This is a much longer chapter than the previous ones.
I hope that it was enjoyable!
For your info, the first three chapters were initially meant to be one chapter on its own. In fact, it has been published that way for some weeks now. So last time, this story has two chapters and was 20k words long! I figured that splitting them up would be better and more digestible for you guys. What do you think?
Thanks for reading!
See you in the next one!
