13 – Everyone Has Reasons

The rest of the week was fairly peaceful. She went out sometimes, checked for pictures and went shopping again.

Kanade wasn't around much for the rest of the weeks, having had to stay and help her roommate and her friends survive the horror that was their tests. She found it hilarious, of course, but it also seemed like a lot of work.

Also as a result, Serena was getting a lot of links to recipes on her phone. They were all great and practical but still! It was... It was like a hint or something.

"Why are you sending me these?!" she finally messaged her, pretending like she wasn't pouting at the tiny phone screen.

Kanade's response was fairly quick. "Because it's fun!"

Seren pinched the bridge of her nose. Why was she attracted to this person again?

It disturbed her that her brain had taken this after a single conversation and less than a week.

She decided not to think about it and kept at it. "I'm not sure my sister would eat some of this."

It took about five minutes to get that one. "You can always yell at her. I've seen the diets she's tried to forcefeed the wondertwins."

"They're not twins, Kanade-san." No, they were a couple who had a tendency to do so many things together even their thought processes sounded similar. "Maria-nee-chan just hens over them both equally."

"Weird. But still, you have to keep her from being a hypocrite."

"I..." I guess that's the duty of a little sister. "It is not."

A laughing face appeared on screen and then her phone started to ring. Trepidation filled her throat as Serena answered the call.

"Really?" she managed to say.

Kanade laughed. "Well it's no fun if I don't hear you react to the things I say."

Serena rolled her eyes and smiled at the same time. At least it left her hands free... "If you say so." She got up and went to make dinner.

Kanade laughed again, this time over the sound of a mechanical dinging sound "Chris," she called, her voice muffled by her hand. "Your water's done."

Whatever the response was to that was obscured by Serena turning on the faucet.

"So," she said,putting the pot on the stove. "How do you know what a little sister is supposed to do?"

"Huh?" Kanade sounded like she'd almost coughed up a rice ball. "Cause I have a little sister! She does that to me all the time!"

"You..." Serena looked at the phone. "You have a sister?"

"Yeah!" Kanade sounded like she was grinning now. "I'll send you a picture after we're done. She's cute. Much better behaved than I am." Kanade laughed out loud. "I can't bring her around much because Tsubasa likes her better."

"Likes her better?" Did she even know much about Kanade, now that she thought about it?

"Tsubasa likes anyone who is as much of a serious worrywart as her!" Kanade said this with complete fondness and pride in her heart. "It's why she likes your sister a lot."

"I... I see..." Serena loved those traits too... but only because it was her sister.

Thinking about that brought that other, familiar question back into her mind. She hesitated, at first, chewing her lip and focusing a little too hard on defrosting the fish.

"Kanade-san," she began. "Could I ask you something important?"