Dia was tired but glad that she was mere meters away from dinner and her bed. Went through the door. Greeted a friend of Ruby's, and went inside. Finally met her sister and asked about her day and the task she had been assigned. She listened, smiled when she got the news, then she apologized for pushing the task to her sister. She excused herself, went to the kitchen, and was staring down her plate. She began to eat, thanking the heavens she finally got some well-deserved rest.
But that feeling didn't last long.
Dia felt trouble coming from the other room. Saw trouble run through the door. Looked at trouble's beautiful chestnut hair being pushed back by the force of trouble's movement, and then looked at it being pushed forwards because of the combination of the momentum it carried and trouble's sudden stop. Dia then watched trouble fidget a bit while she gathered up courage. And finally, she heard trouble asking how her day went.
"It was okay", Dia answered immediately. "How about yours?" she asked back, as a way to distract the brunette while she continued with her meal.
Taken aback by the question, Maru took a bit to process what she had done before she finally answered "Oh, good, I was worried about Ruby. You see, she left without saying goodbye and I thought that she might be sick? But she was alright. Heh-heh"
Dia gazed at golden orbs while they moved about. They pointed to the chair at the corner, at Dia, then at the scroll on the wall, then at Dia again. It was making the black-haired girl impatient. She obviously wanted something, Hanamaru was not one to run just so she could ask how days went. So she swallowed, moved the hand that was covering her mouth away, and asked.
"That's nice. Is that the only thi-" but she couldn't finish her question, as she was interrupted by a relatively far, but loud, "Hanamaru-chan, don't!".
"What did you do to her, Kunikida-san?" Dia asked judgingly.
'Uh-oh. Her flip has been switched', Kunikida-san thought.
"N-nothing. Not yet." Terrible choice of words, because the frown the older girl had became a full-blown scowl.
Dia watched as her little sister looked into the room, got scared, and pigiii'ed away. She got up and was about to move before Hanamaru grabbed her wrist.
"Let me explain, zura", she demanded. The third year, complied, watching the younger girl's face filled with determination now.
"I guess it's the fair thing to do" So she sat again, crossed her arms in front of her chest while trying her best to appear mature and hard to crack.
Maru was about to burst into laughter, as she found the intimidation attempt funny. Dia would look serious when she was not trying, but now that she tried, she overdid it. She was stiff and trying to look tough but the result was the opposite. Maru wanted to laugh but she wasn't that bad at reading the mood, so she tried her best to look serious and tried to explain.
"It's about Ruby." the brunette began.
"Yes, I could see that. Could you do a couple of things before you start, please?"
"If it's within my possibilities"
"Yes. Don't worry. First, can you sit down? You're making me uncomfortable" the older girl gestured at the spot in front to her and the younger complied.
"Last thing, Why did Ruby look like she was about to cry?"
"Um, I'll get to that eventually, Dia-san. She's okay, trust me"
Still not satisfied but visibly relaxed, Dia nodded after remembering no reason why she should distrust her sister's friend.
"Okay, like I was saying, it's about Ruby. Err...Umm… Oh. Do you know about that thing about lions and cliffs?"
"Huh?"
"You know, lions would throw their cubs down cliffs in order to test their strength and would raise the ones that climb back"
"Oh, right. I did know about it but you were not making any sense. "
"Can you imagine Ruby as a little Lion cub?" And Dia sure did.
The green eyed girl had her eyelids closed and was not responding. She also had a small blush, but it went unnoticed.
"Um... Dia-san?"
"Ahem. Please continue, Hanamaru-san. And it better not be about throwing my cute sister down cliffs."
"I'm gonna have to disappoint you, zura."
"The answer is no."
"Don't you want to see her climb to the top, Dia-san?"
"While there's nothing that could make me happier except maybe one thing, I'm going to have to stay ground and repeat: the answer is no. I don't want her to get involved in such a world. I don't want to risk that she might never climb back up."
"She's not alone."
"The second year trio inspires no trust"
"I'm talking about myself... Wait, that was rude"
"It was meant to be... Huh, what? You?"
"Dia-san..."
"Oh, sorry about that. It was surprising you would be interested in such a thing."
"It was all thanks to Ruby-chan!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes. She supported me even though I'm not confident in my looks and my physical condition is not that great." Hanamaru felt a glare directed to her chest area.
"She also showed me a magazine and there was an idol I identified with. It was a member of... Err... U's?"
"It's µ's!"
"Oh, you also know them?"
"Um..." Uh-oh.
"Yes, of course you do. Ruby would have shown you." The older girl mentally sighed because Hanamaru fixed the fuckup she had done.
"H-hanamaru-san, I get it. I'll give you a chance. I'll think about it." The brunette's face flared up. Dia was glad Maru was distracted too. Finally out of the sticky situation, she became serious again.
"But know that you either do stuff right or you don't do it at all. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Good. Now go and fix the mess you've made with Ruby. This conversation has taken a while."
"What should I tell her?" Maru asked.
"Perhaps you should've thought that before you decided to confront me while ignoring what she desired"
'You're one to talk', Maru thought. But the progress had been good. It was not a yes yet but it was probably as far as she'd ever get for now.
"Thank you, Dia-san. Excuse me."
"Good night, Hanamaru-san"
"Good night, zura"
Dia now watched Maru walk away and admired her hair. 'It's long. Goes as far as her lower back.' she kept going down with her gaze, noticed that Kunikida-san had a nice ass and reprimanded herself a couple of seconds later. She looked away while thinking that if it was quality checking, it was not wrong. The short girl might be sexier than her sister but Ruby was definitely cuter. Her little Ruby had idol potential, Dia was sure of it. It just needed to be molded into something solid, which was a word that you couldn't use to describe the redhead.
With a sight she returned to her now cold food. Started chewing again, thinking whether giving the opportunity to Hanamaru was a good choice. It was done on a whim.
Dia was sure Hanamaru alone couldn't support her sister. The black haired girl knew that it was her own duty to wipe the younger girls' tears away when they faced defeat. So she was looking for a reason. Why had she said yes? In fact, she had only said that she'd think about it. Yet there she was, assuming she had already made the choice. She chewed a bit and swallowed. Chew for a bit and then swallow. Chew and swallow. Brain on overclock. She considered consulting her pillow on the matter, but then she found the reason. It was because she had no say on the matter.
Dia had not thrown her cubs down the cliff. They had jumped on their own.
And that's it folks. Hoped you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
