Chapter 18: Out and About
A few more days pass on by after Shina woke up. Mew, Riku and Joe Dark have returned home, and Gabriel returned to his regular patrols around Sancturia.
Shina remains in her bed on this bright and early morning, now sitting properly upright with at least ten towering stacks of manga on her right and an equal amount of them to her left. She fiddles through one right now with a wide-eyed unblinking gaze.
Then came a knock on the door, and Shina said "Come in!" without moving her head. Auris walked into the room carrying a tray of food.
"Breakfast is ready dear." She said warmly.
"Oh!" Shina put a bookmark in and laid the book on the nearby drawers, then patted her lap with a smile, "Whatcha make today mom?"
Auris closed her eyes and laid the tray down flat. Fluffy eggs, a slice orange and two pieces of light brown butter and jam toast filled the plate. Shina licked her lips, rubbed her hands up before her chest then swiped up the fork and knife and said, "It looks delicious as always! Thanks!"
"You're welcome." Auris whispered.
As her daughter dug into the meal with ravenous intent, Auris stared at the growing stack of books and rested a hand upon her cheek, "You've read this much already?"
"Mmggglll frr mmmm...!" Shina swallowed a big load of eggs and then waggled her fork at the books, "I gotta catch up on my reading! I've missed two years of releases!"
She got right back in while Auris sneakily grabbed the bookmarked manga and took a peek at the cover. "Hunter x Hunter Volume 40", it read. Auris placed it down and shook her head.
"I'll never get the appeal." She lamented with a sigh, then smiled at Shina, who had already finished her meal.
She wiped the eggs off on her sleeve and belched, giggling as her cheeks turned pink. She then clapped her hands onto her knees and spoke enthusiastically, "All me and Alex went to were video game worlds. Maybe anime isn't real..."
Auris sucked her lips in then turned her head away as she let them pop. A few seconds later though she'd turn back upon hearing her daughter sigh.
Shina was looking out the window, drawn to the sounds of kids playing in the streets. She curled a fist up against the sheets and then raised her head high to bring it down with a heavy nod.
"Alrighty! Enough nappin'!" She grabbed the edge of her sheet and threw it right to the end of the bed and was standing up on the floor before it had finished landing.
"I wanna go see how much things've changed!" Shina pumped her fist towards the window.
Auris rested her hands before her waist and remarked, "Hopefully not in your pajamas dear."
Shina looked down at herself and chuckled "O-Of course not!", proceeding to whisper to herself "Foiled again..."
She then started unbuttoning her shirt on her way to her closet, flinging it off onto the edge of the bed once she had entered, with her pants joining soon after.
"Hey mom, is sis up yet?!"
"She's still resting." Auris said in a reprimanding tone.
"What?!" Shina blurted in utter disbelief, poking her head out and shaking it about, "Well that won't do at all! I ain't going out without her!"
"Want me to try waking her?" Auris suggested.
"Nuh uh! Leave her to me!" Shina ducked back into the closet and ruffled through many of her clothes. She could be heard grumbling indecisively every now and then.
After a few minutes Shina twirled out of the closet wearing her standard blue shirt, beige jeans ensemble, and stopped in the center of the room with her hand swung down beside her hip.
"Ta-da! It still fits me!"
Auris pressed her fingertips up to her mouth and giggled, "Of course it does, you haven't changed at all."
Shina curled her fists up to her chest and puffed her cheeks to proclaim, "Uh-uh! My muscles have gotten a little bigger from all that fighting!"
"If you say so dear..." Auris smiled and rolled her shoulders, then laid her hands down to her waist and gave her a warm look, "Have fun. But don't overdo it."
"Haha, me? Of course not!" Shina proudly stood tall and rushed for the door, suddenly hopping on one leg and muttering, "Ow! Ow! Leg cramp!"
She found her footing and swung the door open, then used the frame to swing right in front of her sister's door. She opened it up and headed on in quietly. A quick scan of the room and everything was just how she left it.
Shina tip-toed over to her sister's bed and looked down. She was wearing dark green plaid pajamas more fit for her size now. Her resting eyelids showed she was sleeping well.
Shina's heart sank a little as her mind replaced this Kairi with the one that laid here two years ago.
"Was it only just that long ago...when I said goodbye?" One blink of the eye and Shina was back in the present, where she looked at the nearby nightstand and saw a certain headband resting on top of it.
"Hmm!" Shina hummed and rubbed the metal plate that had been split in half. She then closed her eyes and "SHINA, YOU IDIOT!" echoed in her thoughts.
"Hehehe!" Shina looked at her sister and whispered to herself, "Sorry ya had to break my gift just to knock some sense into me."
Shina gazed at her some more. Her face was fuller and more womanly, and there were large bumps visible in the sheets near her chest. Her legs now stretched close to the end of the bed.
Shina's eyelids sank and she shook her head, trying to smile instead of frown, "You're still cute when you're sleeping sis."
She leaned in and gently pinched Kairi's cheeks. Her own skin was so cold it gave the proper jolt to wake her.
"Ummmbbblle..." A slight bubbling sound came from Kairi's lips as she opened her eyes and turned her head to the right.
"Wakey wakey sis!" Shina leaned in lovingly and tucked her hands behind her back, "We've got a full day ahead of us so ya better find your feet and get rarin' to go!"
"Oooookaaaaay..." Kairi murmured as her eyes gently drifted shut and back to sleep. Shina giggled and trotted out the door to wait for her sister to come along.
When the door shut and Kairi was left alone, her sister's voice stopped dragging its feet through her ear canal and rammed into her brain like a bullet train. Kairi thrust her eyes wide-open and went "HUH?!" then pulled herself upright with her head swung at the door and exclaimed "WHAT?!"
A few minutes later we find Shina leaning up next to the front door and Kairi barreling down the stairs in her everyday clothes. Her hair was a mess she was trying to straighten out with spit on her palms.
"W-Wow sis, you're even more excited for this than I am!" Shina exclaimed with delighted praise.
Kairi's head was throbbing her heart was racing and she was so stiff in the legs from having not moved for nearly a week now. So many questions, yet Kairi could only single in on one.
"W-What do you think you're doing?!"
"We're gonna have a fun day out, just the two of us!"
Kairi tried catching her breath and calming down, "I-I must still be asleep. Y-Yeah. A dream...That'd explain..."
She nervously opened one eye and both suddenly bulged open when she saw Shina nonchalantly bobbing her hips forward and back and humming a merry tune.
"Mmmmrrrr...!" Kairi internally screamed at how carelessly her sister was flaunting this kind of attitude.
"You just got up Shina...! A-And you want to go OUT?!"
"Of course! I need to see how things've changed in Sancturia!" Either Shina was teasing her or she legitimately was oblivious. With her, it could go either way.
"Aren't you...forgetting something?" Kairi tried not to be blunt about it though.
"Uhhh..." Shina looked all over herself then raised her head and shook it around, "Nope! Got my clothes, got my wallet, got my sister! Everything's accounted for!"
"Ohmygod..." Kairi was stunned, absolutely stunned, that her sister would ignore the obvious complication that everyone thought she was dead.
But no, apparently she's just going to strut on out into the open and everything will be hunky-dory!
"We're burning daylight sis! Lets go go GO!" Shina pumped her fist in the air and started turning towards the door.
"Eeep!" Kairi chirped. Her body suddenly sprung forward all on its own and tackled Shina's legs to drag her to the ground.
"Whoa!" Shina exclaimed playfully, her breasts cushioning the fall with a slight bounce.
Kairi gripped her sister's legs in a tight vice and said "Y-You're not going anywhere!" defiantly, unsure herself where that strength of voice even came from.
Shina looked entertained by this show of restraint and chuckled, "Aww you wanna wrestle first sis?"
She quickly slid her legs out from their confinement and raised them up, using her flattened hands to leap backwards and get the drop on top of her sister like a pouncing tiger. She then quickly put her sister's head in a gentle lock under her right arm and pulled it up.
"Ya may be bigger now sis, but I still got a few inches up on ya!"
"What's with all the racket?" Auris softly inquired as she made her way down the stairs.
Kairi grit her teeth and tried to yell out, "M-Mom! Shina's trying to leave the house! Tell her to stop!"
Auris fluttered her eyelashes and then warmly smiled, "I forgot to mention, try and be back before it gets too dark out."
Kairi's eyes widened and her resistance soon plummeted. She could faintly hear her sister scream "You got it!" as she got off and helped her stand.
Then, the next thing Kairi knew she was being dragged out of the house by the arm while stuttering "H-H-Huh?"
The last thing she saw of her mother was her gently waving them off, securing in Kairi's mind that this must still be a dream. No way this blatant disregard for sanity could be real.
Kairi tried digging her feet into the ground but her sister pulled stronger. She tried getting her hand free but it didn't matter. Shina seemed blissfully unaware of her resistance.
Ultimately Shina let go but only so she'd swing her arms as she strolled through the streets. Kairi kept pace and rubbed her sore wrist then looked around.
Of course everyone was looking at them. There was a literal dead girl walking around like it was a normal day in the life for them! And they were singing "Lalala la la!"
And if they were staring at Shina, they were staring at her too! Oh, Kairi so wished to go back to bed already...
"Shiiiina...?" Kairi tried to whispered to her through her teeth and Shina suddenly spun around and started walking backwards.
"Where shall we go first?"
Home, obviously, but that was clearly not going to work, "I guess I could try moving us to an uncrowded area..."
Kairi started looking Shina in the eyes but found difficulty finding her voice again, "U-Ummm, maybe the Pyramid? We could say hi to Gabriel or..."
"Oh I got it!" Shina clapped her hands and excitedly said the feared words, "Lets go to the mall!"
"That's the most crowded area of all!" Kairi yelled internally as her skin turned a shade paler. Alas, the course was now set and there'd be no steering Shina off it.
Best Kairi could hope to do was ride the tide out and maybe nobody would bombard them with questions.
"How long was I asleep for anyways? Did everyone make it back safely?" Kairi's pupils shrank as dread filled her mind, "Oh god, somebody had to have notice us coming back already!"
Her eyes darted around so quickly it made her feel a little dizzy, "Any one of these people could pounce on us anytime! Shina's not ready for this! THIS IS THE WORST IDEA IN THE UNIVERSE!"
Kairi felt sick to her stomach the whole way to the mall and tried to rationalize how to make this work, "No its fine! The mall's usually so crowded no one'd probably pick Shina out!"
As they entered through the sliding front doors the area was indeed packed with people of all ages. And given there's about three floors worth of stores and shops stretched across a mile big area, that said a lot.
The sun beaming in through the glass ceiling gave the mall a warm vibe and brought out the best in people's attitudes. Kairi didn't come here often but if there was anything she needed to get, this tended to be the place to go to, even if the prices weren't the cheapest.
Business was bustling and that kept people's eyes off Shina for the time being. Kairi rested a hand on her beating heart and breathed a sigh of relief. But god knows what Shina would pull next.
Kairi stood back with bated breath as Shina propped her fists on her hips and looked around, "Awww, doesn't look like they got any new stores since I was last here."
"There's a new coffee shop on the west side..." Kairi mumbled.
"Yeah but coffee's 'bleck'!" Shina emphasized by sticking her tongue out for a moment, then stared off into the distance behind Kairi for a bit before clapping her hands together.
"I want to go clothes shopping!" She tugged at her shirt near the chest and remarked, "I've been wearing the same thing for two years now! Its time for an update!"
"S-Sure?" That could work out just fine...as long as Shina didn't-
"Off we go!" She threw her fist into the air and marched onward towards the crowd.
Kairi winced and murmured, "Do...that..." But alas, she followed her anyways. The other Aurians didn't seem to care that she yelled. No no no, what made Shina stick out was her height, and her ridiculously long hair. It was much easier to hear whispering amongst the crowd indoors than outdoors.
"Is that?"
"Isn't she dead?"
"What's going on now?"
Were some of the more common things heard. Kairi heard them anyways. Shina, on the other hand, did not seem to. They pushed through the crowd at a brisk pace and wound up at the place Shina wanted to go the most: Wear Weavers, a clothing store that claims their stuff feels like the silk from a spider.
The store used dim orange lights for a haunted atmosphere and had fake webs in the corners. But despite appearances this place didn't sell primarily gothic clothing. If it did well...then Kairi wouldn't know how to handle her sister's sudden identity crisis.
At least the darker lighting would make it harder for the customers and employees to recognize Shina.
"Ok, so the women's section is riiiiiight...there!" Shina pointed the way forward and headed along with her sister in tow.
Kairi quietly stood by as Shina rolled her finger through the rounded clothes racks for stuff in her size. She picked out three different shirts before finishing the first one. They all had to be blue, of course.
Shina was enjoying herself, but that worried Kairi.
"She's not saying anything about what happened." She didn't want to be the one to do it. It didn't feel right. And this still didn't feel real. Just her and her sister, out and about like normal siblings would do.
Her time got lost being adrift in these thoughts and suddenly Shina was staring her down a few inches from her face and saying, "Heeeello? Ya dozing off again sis?"
Kairi pinched her lips shut and shook her head. Shina stood up, revealing a dozen shirts and pants on each arm, carried with the weights of feathers.
"Good! I'm gonna need you to hold on to some of these while I try them on in the fitting room!" She passed off half the load and Kairi's arms dropped to her waist before she hoisted them up.
Shina wandered off to the fitting rooms and her voice was giddy with glee, "I'm going clothes shopping with my little sis. What fun!"
And that indirectly guilted Kairi into keeping her mouth shut and trodding along after her. For the next hour she then stood outside the fitting room as Shina mix-and-matched all the possible clothes pairings she could. Whenever she needed to switch out she'd toss a one article out and have Kairi toss another one in.
Kairi heard her muttering. A lot of disappointment, a few gasps of shock, and one deep purr. The break did help Kairi relax a little, at least.
Eventually the door swung open and Shina waltzed out. With a dazzling twirl she stretched her arms out and let Kairi take a nice long look at what she decided on.
She had a dark blue crop top, XL size so it'd properly hang down and cover her breasts while still exposing part of her mid-riff. On her bottom half was a nice smooth pair of black bell bottoms. The small display of cleavage up top along with the mid-riff nearly made Kairi faint.
"S-Shina what the heck is that?!" She proclaimed unrestrained.
"Its my new look!" Shina said with pride on her face as she plopped her feet down and leaned forward with a smile, "Don't I look great?"
"W-Well..." Kairi gazed her sister up and down and she didn't look...bad. This was just so...so...bold, in a way her bright, smiling face couldn't cover up.
"Yeah...you look great...Shina." Kairi gave two thumbs-up and her grin twitched.
"Awww, thanks!" Shina's cheeks turned red and she wobbled around embarrassingly. If that was how she was going to act when complimented, then maybe Kairi wouldn't have to worry about her becoming more...provocative.
"Oh!" Shina suddenly raised herself up and rushed back into the fitting room, then came right out holding another crop top that was...green.
"I got a matching shirt for you to wear too!"
Kairi's face felt like it was losing all color and she hastily swung her hands up in protest, "A-Are you crazy?! I-I can't be seen wearing that!"
Shina pinched the shirt at the shoulders and held it up proudly, "But it'd look great on you! You're older now, you gotta liven your appearance up a little!"
She then started nudging her brows knowingly as she murmured, "Especially for that Mew fella."
Kairi's face did a complete reversal and turned bright red. She pulled back and avoided looking Shina in the eyes, "U-U-Uh I...don'tknowwhatyou'retalkingabout!"
"Uh huuuuuuh..." Shina smirked.
Kairi threw her fists down in protest and proclaimed, "H-He's not into that sorta thing anyways!"
"Oh really?" Shina gave a wily smile. She didn't believe her for a second.
"Y-Yes really!" Kairi said in earnest.
Shina draped the shirt over her arm and remarked, "Well I'm gonna buy it anyways, juuuuust in case you change your mind."
She then wandered back into the fitting room and put herself back in her old clothes. Kairi leaned back and laid her hand on her hard beating chest. Right now she preferred the "being bombarded with questions" route.
When Shina was done she carried out her pick of clothes to the front counter and paid for it with cash. Nobody batted an eye, and they made it out of the mall without any further fuss. Kairi was left on baggage duty.
Shina stretched her arms and hummed deep in thought as she looked around.
"Lemme think here..."
"Please somewhere quiet, pleeeease somewhere quiet..." Kairi's hopes and prayers would go unnoticed as her sister spun around with a particularly daring idea.
"Hey sis! Do you have any idea how any of my old school friends are doing?"
"Crap!" In the midst of all the craziness Kairi somehow forgot another huge problem...Shina had missed out on her last two years of school!
"I-I'm sure they all graduated..." Kairi's mouth moved all on its own, "Ummm...But I know Bobby's working at the school as a part-time teacher."
"Is he? That's great!" Shina clapped and rubbed her hands, "Oh I bet he'll be ecstatic to see me again! Lets go pop in and say hello!"
"S-Shina wait!" Kairi stretched her hand but only managed to grab a few hairs on her sister's head by the time she turned and walked off.
'...Haaaaaaaaa!" With a long winded breath Kairi ran to catch up, "M-Maybe this is a good thing...The sooner Shina confronts reality, the better."
Kairi's expression turned uneasy thinking about that, and she growled hesitantly. The march to doomsday was a long and tiring one, and left Kairi with a dry mouth by the time they reached the school.
Shina stayed a couple hundred yards back and breathed out a deep sigh, "Ahhhh memories..."
She closed her eyes and started listing them off, "Kindergarten baking...1st grade math...2nd grade english...3rd grade economics..."
While she was drifting off into nostalgia land Kairi looked at the front door and saw the man named Bobby walking out. She bit her teeth and hastily ran ahead, hoping to avert this terrible encounter.
Bobby fluttered his eyelids and gave a tired smile as Kairi ran up to him panting her lungs out.
"Hey Kairi, what's up?" He asked, looking a little confused.
"O-Oh nothing much!" Kairi forced a smile and shoved both hands into Bobby's stomach to force him towards the doors, "Why don't we go inside real quick?"
"Ummm, excuse me?" Bobby's face quickly turned flustered.
"HEEEEEEEEEY!" Shina suddenly hollered out, and Kairi froze on the sight of Bobby's face turning pale and his eyes looking past her completely.
"Oh no." Kairi gasped.
She could hear Shina sprinting on light feet towards them. School supplies rained out of Bobby's arms.
"S-Shina?" He murmured.
Kairi wobbled out of the way and Shina hopped towards Bobby, giving him a big hug using his shoulders as support.
She quickly pulled her head back and remarked, "Whew, you're a little sweaty there Bobby!"
"You think?!" Kairi thought with her eyes wide.
"Shina...?" Bobby whispered, his pupils shrunk as she stared deep into his friend's eyes.
"The one and only!" She proclaimed, letting him go. In return, he began to raise his hands to her face. He paused and shook, and when he got his hands on her she shivered and blushed. He rubbed his hands around slowly and his trembling worsened in the eyes specifically.
"It...it really is you." He said.
"Uh huh!" Shina smiled and nudged him in the gut with her elbow, "Look at you, teaching kids now! I knew ya could do it!"
Bobby let go and touched her shoulders next, and even as he rubbed down her arms all he had to say was, "But...but...how? You were-"
"Oh, I know I was gone a while but its alright!" Shina grinned big and turned to Kairi, "Sis bailed me out of a major jam, so now I'm back and better than ever!"
Bobby turned to Kairi. Kairi pouted her lower lip and rolled her shoulders.
"I-I...see..." He let go of her and backed away, putting the back of one hand on his forehead and looking a tad feverish.
"I'm...glad you're back Shina..." He said with low energy in his voice.
Shina gave him a couple puzzled blinks and remarked, "What's up with that stiff formality? Have ya forgotten what ya used to call me?"
"T-That was something we used to say as kids..." Bobby sounded embarrassed.
"It was only two years ago!" Shina swiped her hand down and leaned forward a little with puppy-dog eyes, "Say it once, for ol' times sake!"
Bobby's stressful look in his eyes faded with a dragged out sigh and he rubbed the back of his head, "How could I say no to that face...Shinster."
"Hehehe!" Shina smiled satisfied and stood up, "I'd love to stay and catch up but you seem busy with work and sis I still got a few places to go!"
She turned around, waved her hand back and said, "See you around Bobby!"
Then she started walking off, much to Kairi's disbelief. She looked at Bobby with a sheepish grin and ran after her sister. He stayed behind and had shivers all over his arms...
"That...was about as awkward as it should've been." And it was still pretty early in the day too. Shina was an endless supply of energy. This would only end when she wanted it to.
It didn't take long for Shina to veer towards the left and settle down in place. Kairi turned and saw that she was looking at the "Moviepalooza" theater, all bright and lit up like a christmas display.
"Hmmmmm!" Shina's hums were now an omen of doom.
She turned around and said, "Pick one."
"Huh?" Kairi blacked out for a second there.
"A movie! Pick a movie!" Shina grinned.
"Why...don't you pick one?" Kairi replied.
"Cause, I want to know what kinda movie you like sis!" Shina egged her on with nothing but the pure kindness in her doting smile, breaching Kairi's (admittedly) weak defenses.
Kairi closed her eyes and turned to the giant billboard hanging over the movie's entrance. There were 20 movies playing. Ten brought here from Earth, five from alien worlds, and another five produced here in Sancturia itself. Aurian cinematography wasn't very good due to a lack of budget, but it made for the occasional laugh.
"...That one." She pointed at the one on the far left.
Shina rubbed her chin and murmured, "Slasher Robot Factory 2: Gears of Revenge? Wow, can't believe they made a sequel already!"
She grinned at her sis and playfully taunted her, "Sure it ain't gonna be too spooky for you?"
Kairi confidently pumped her fists by her chest and remarked, "I-I've handled scarier stuff than any movie could ever produce!"
Fifty minutes later...
"AAAAH!" Kairi jolted up in her seat, sending many popcorn kernels flying out of her bucket.
A chainsaw revved up on-screen, and sloppily edited in gore soon followed. Shina laughed and eyed her sister with a grin.
"What was that sis?"
"S-Shut up!" Kairi meekly bit back with her eyes squeezed shut.
A loud "Bang!" went off, followed by a scream. Shina jolted in her seat with a childish "Eeep!", prompting Kairi to glare at her and murmur "Et tu, Shina?"
For a run time of about two hours, the movie went by surprisingly fast, and the two sisters left the theater still shivering with goosebumps.
"That was...ok," Shina muttered with a shrug of her shoulders, "It lost a lotta steam after the halfway point though."
"Ironic, since that's when the steam powered robots shut down." Kairi's remark made Shina paused and gasp.
"Hey, that's pretty good sis!" She said with a humored tone. Kairi's eyes widened and she blushed.
"U-Uh...yeah." She murmured.
"I also didn't like when they revealed the robots were being run by people. I thought it ruined the first movie's theme." Shina sighed and rolled her wrist around in the air.
"Oh well, maybe if they make another sequel they'll iron the problems out."
"You're always so optimistic about sequels...Didn't Star Wars Episode XIV teach you nothing?" Kairi said with lament.
"Hey, its not the movie's fault that they had like three different directors working on the same script!" Shina defended her position with the same enthusiasm she used for everything else.
"Hahaha!" Kairi smiled and Shina laughed before doing the same. Then, both their stomachs growled simultaneously.
Shina rubbed her belly warmly and remarked, "Sounds like its lunch time."
Kairi touched her belly and murmured, "Ughhh...I knew I shouldn't have had all that popcorn."
"All that butter's gonna give ya a butter belly sis!" Shina leaned in and pinched her Kairi's slightly chubby waist, causing her to giggle and playfully sway her sister's hand away.
"H-Hey!"
Shina pulled her hands behind herself and leaned out towards the rest of the city, murmuring aloud, "I wonder if that place is still around..."
Shina wandered off and Kairi trailed behind. It took her a little bit to realize that she had a permanent smile on her face now. She had to touch it to be sure.
It was probably the worst thing to do, as the feeling of joy soon left her body and was replaced by that sense of dread from before. The watchful eyes around her didn't help.
"Mmm..." With an uncomfortable hum, Kairi slumped slightly and stuck closer to her sister as they reached their destination.
"Mambo Italiano!" Shina looked up at a one-story building with a rustic vibe and an ivy wrapped wooden arch placed before the entrance. Warm scents of marinara sauce exuded out of the chimney.
"This place is just how I remember it!" Shina walked on up to the arch and looked at the nearby display board, "Oooh, they're even having a special on shrimp alfredo today!"
Kairi hurried to catch up as Shina opened the front door and the bell chime overhead alerted the employees that they were here. The server up front approached and started to say "Ah, table for two?" only to drop the menus out of their hands and recoil.
"O-Oh my goodness!" He alerted everyone else and soon all eyes, customers and employees alike, were on Shina, with Kairi squeezing behind her to avoid being seen too.
"Yep! Me and my sis are hungry!" Shina said, happily rubbing her belly and licking her lips.
The server's knees were weak picking up the menus and standing properly back up, "R-Right...right this way then..."
He shivered the whole time he took them over to their table, which was in a corner away from most other people in the building. He then hastily put the menus down and ran off.
"Huh, must be busy!" Shina chose to interpret events as such as she plopped down in the cushioned bench and Kairi sat on the opposite side of her.
Shina pulled the menu up and flipped it open, eyeing all three sides in a slow, hungered gaze. Kairi slowly picked her menu up but continued to stare at Shina. When Shina's gaze turned her way she quickly looked down at the menu.
"Pick whatever ya want sis! I'm buying!"
"Uh...huh." Kairi ducked her head behind the menu.
"..." Shina's expression softened and she pinched the top of her sister's menu to pull it down to the table.
"Sis, you've been really quiet all day." She said with some concern in her voice.
"I-Its nothing to worry about Shina." Kairi gently shook her head and forced a smile.
Shina flattened her menu on the table and cupped her hands, planting her elbows down for support and calmly remarking, "Is it cause everyone's looking at me like they saw a ghost?"
"...!" A jolt ran up Kairi's body and she gulped tensely.
Shina gave a wide smile and giggled, turning a slight eye towards the many people in the restaurant, "Let'em stare. I'm home, and that's what matters."
She looked directly at her sister and spoke with a slight air of maturity, "If they want answers, they can come to me for them."
She reached out, took Kairi's hands into hers, and put them to rest in the center of the table. Then she looked her lovingly in the eyes and said softly, "We lost two years sis...I just want to know the kinda person you are now. What ya like, what ya dislike...How you've been doing in school, your hobbies..."
Shina calmly closed her eyes and tried to reassure her sister with a few words, "You don't have to protect me. And...I don't have to protect you."
She took one finger up and bopped Kairi on the nose, "But I'm gonna. Cause you're still family to me!"
As Shina retracted her hands, Kairi was left feeling like a giant fool. She slumped back in her seat and looked Shina in the eyes. She wasn't the same goofball she remembered her to be. That two-year journey had changed her in very subtle ways.
"I was so worried about Shina thinking that things would be the same as they used to be...That I wound up thinking that way myself."
"...Shina I'm sorry." Kairi hastily gave out a heartfelt apology as she lifted herself up.
Shina swung her hand down and scoffed, "Ah schucks don't worry about it! Its fine!"
She grinned extra wide and started chuckling, "I was worried that you were your same ol' shy self..."
But then her eyes lit up full of pride, "But then you told me off in the clothes department and I was like...'Wow! Is that MY sister?'"
Kairi's cheeks turned pink as Shina kept heaping on the praise, "You never woulda told me off back then! You've really grown into a strong, independent woman sis..."
"I-Its all thanks to you." Kairi's thanks were instantly shot down by Shina shaking her head.
"Naw, I don't think I'm the one to thank." She whispered.
Kairi's cheeks got redder and she looked away. Shina giggled and then murmured aloud, "Looks like you still need some maturity in the love department though!"
Shina reared her head back and smiled, "Fortunately Shina Aurora, the Sage of Love, is here to help!"
Kairi quietly looked her in the eyes and said her name. When her sister settled down she told her, "I...I know you lost two years but...Please try not to overdo it."
Shina picked her menu up and remarked, "Overdo it? Me?! Ha!"
She settled down the intensity of her smile and whispered, "I'll keep that in mind sis."
Kairi picked up her menu and soon after the waiter cautiously approached, trying his hardest not to look at Shina as he held up his notepad.
"W-What can I get you...two lovely ladies?"
"One special, add some Parmesan!" Shina folded her menu and handed it off.
"Ummm...I think I'll try the spinach lasagna." Kairi handed her menu off and the waiter bowed his head.
"Absolutely. Our server will be back soon with some water..." He quickly vacated the area, shivering in fright.
Shina then faced Kairi and said, "Spinach? You used to hate that stuff!"
Kairi sheepishly rolled her hair up in her pointer finger and murmured, "W-When I turned 16 my tastes in a lotta foods changed."
"Oh I getcha! I used to HATE crab, now its one of my favorite seafoods!" Shina put her hands down on the table and asked, "How about cinnamon?"
"I put that sometimes on my morning toast. It adds..."
"That sweet but sharp 'Pow!' to every bite?" Shina thrust a fist out and Kairi enthusiastically nodded her head.
"Yeah, it does!"
The sisters started talking about food, which led into other topics, even as they ate their meal.
This was the way things were now...And neither of them would change it for the world.
STORY 3: Sisters END
NEXT: STORY 4: Fractured Hearts