Chapter 3: School Is Cool! Anzu's Fear Strikes Again!
Having dropped her little brother off at his classroom, Anzu took her time and got to class. Everything went as time was slowly eaten away by her teachers as they taught different concepts.
Over time it was finally lunch time and when she dug into her bag and took out a gift, Shisui wanted her to deliver to Saki. "What's this?" Saki asked as Anzu gave her a baseball.
"My little brother wanted to give it to you. He said it's a thank you for helping me with the pancakes over the weekends." Anzu explained as Saki smiled.
"Wow, really?! He didn't have to do that. Tell him I'll cherish it." she concluded as she put it in her bag. "I think you should tuck it away somewhere safe, Saki. That was his 20th home run ball." Anzu pointed out much to Saki's surprise.
"20th?! But didn't the junior baseball season start a month ago?"
"I know right! He's such a tank when it comes to sports, almost a cheat code." Anzu said feeling pride from her little brother. "His potential is really amazing, Anzu. He's like a baseball prodigy." she smiled and quipped "I'm sure he'll end up being the most dominant kid of his generation."
"With Shisui...I think that'll really happen." as the two chatted about her little brother, they eventually got to their normal hangout spot and once Anzu opened her bag and searched for her lunch box.
She was shocked to see that she didn't have lunch. "OH NO!" Anzu gasped as beside her Saki looked concerned. "Is something wrong, Saki?" she asked as Anzu's face looked mortified.
"I just realized I didn't make lunch! I'm so used to mom making me and Shisui's lunch boxes that it must've slipped my mind." she whined, how could she have been so careless? 'Wait speaking of Shisui...does he also have lunch?' realizing that her poor little brother would starve and be too tired for his baseball practice.
In Anzu's Head
She thought of a chibi little version of her little brother sitting on the ground crying with his baseball gear in hand. "I went through school without lunch, Anzu! I was so hungry I couldn't practise well today! The coach decided to bench me and that my career is over!" that was the worst case scenario that went through her head as the one thing she didn't want was her little brother being sad. "This is all your FAULT!" that last part from the chibi, made her shudder as the one thing she didn't want was to be the reason of her little brother's pain.
Back to the real world
"I need to go find some lunch for us right now." she concluded as she got up. "Saki, can you come with me? I just have to go to the cafeteria and buy some lunch for me and Shisui."
Saki smiled at that. "No problem," she replied as she put her lunch back in her bag. "Lead the way." the two went towards the canteen. At that time they ran into a kid that Anzu knew was in Shisui's class and asked if he'd call him for her.
"Tell him to meet me at the canteen, alright." Anzu told the boy as he nodded and went to search for Shisui.
Eventually arriving at the canteen, the two friends stood in line as they waited for their turn. Explaining how her parents left her and Shisui alone, to Saki. The two killed time and got to have a chance to order.
"Can I please get the Lunch set D." Anzu stated to the vendor who took the plate and handed it to her. Taking out some money from her school bag, she paid for it. "Saki, can you help me out and hold Shisui's food? I still need to buy mine." she turned to her friend who gave her a grin. "No problem.' she said taking up tray."
As she spoke to Saki, Anzu didn't notice Tsukasa who'd approached the front and was also about to order.
With her focus back at the vendor, she looked at the trays infront of her and looked for one that would quench her hunger. When her eyes landed on the one she liked, also Tsukasa's did the same.
"I'll have, lunch set A." the two said in unison as they turned to each other surprised. Anzu looking beside her saw Tsukasa and began to melt down. Feeling bad about what happened to his phone, she offered for him to take the lunch. Deciding to take another one, the awkward situation was easily avoided.
"I think that's the hot guy, everyone's been talking about." Saki spoke up as the two friends found a table to eat their lunch. Sitting across each other they began to talk. "He's Kazuki from class 7."
Anzu hearing this began to ponder as soon enough she recognized the name. "That now makes sense." she retorted "Yeah, he's really popular with all the girls." Saki pointed out as she took up her chop sticks and began eating. "You probably didn't notice. Since your always playing games during lunch." she said between bites.
"Yeah, that must be it," Anzu replied, as by that time Shisui arrived in the cafeteria. Anzu seeing her little brother sighed in relief. "Oh good, he's here." she commented "Who's here?" Saki asked as her friend just smiled. "Shisui. Though I don't think he sees us." raising her hand up to call her little brother over, Saki turned around and watched as they boy stood at the door looking around.
"Shisui!" hearing his name called, Shisui looked in the direction and saw his older sister waving at him. "Where over here!" she stated as she and Saki signalled for him to approach them.
Doing so Shisui, arrived at their table. "Hey, Saki." he greeted the girl who smiled. "Hi, Shisui. How are you?"
"I'm good." he replied as he turned to Anzu. "Onee-chan." he greeted her as she smiled. "Sorry for not remembering about lunch, okay?" she gestured at the tray beside her. Sitting next to Anzu, Shisui broke his chopsticks.
"It's fine. I wasn't expecting you to be perfect on the first day." Shisui replied as Anzu felt that blow. "You didn't have to roast me." she whined.
"But it's the truth, if you had didn't make a mistake, I would skeptical that you were my onee-chan, to begin with." Shisui backed his claim.
"But before you end up sulking and making me feel bad, I should eat up."
"That would be appreciated." Anzu retorted as she watched her little brother eat, seeing this inside she felt satisfied and was able to eat as well. "Tsukasa!" Anzu almost chocked at the mention of his name by a girl she saw with him earlier at the train station.
"Hey, isn't that." Shisui spoke up as at the table behind them, Tsukasa sat with his friend who was faced opposite to him. "They're the one's we saw at the station." Anzu replied as she cleared her throat.
"I'm going to sit next to you." Tsukasa's fangirl said as she sat beside the man, who clearly felt bothered by it. "Oh, so hey I heard you live all by yourself. Is it true?"
"Yes." Tsukasa replied as Shisui and Anzu were forced to listen in the conversation as the fangirl was speaking very loud. "I guess we aren't the only ones, hey Anzu." Shisui stated turning to his sister who nodded.
"That's nuts. I wanna come and hang out, where do you live?" she asked as at that time Shisui chuckled. "Two teenagers in a house all by themselves. What could go wrong, hey Anzu." Shisui nudged his sister who perked up and put her hands on her ears. "I am not listening to this anymore!" Anzu stated that, as to both her and Saki's surprise she shoved all her food into her mouth trying to leave the cafeteria as fast as possible.
"Onee-chan, calm down with your food or else you might choke." Shisui pointed out as Saki agreed "Yeah, Anzu why are you in such a rush?" the two weren't answered as Anzu just hit her chest repeatedly as she downed everything eventually. Sighing in relief she took a glass of water.
"Alright...I'm done." she declared as the two just looked at her weirdly.
"There's nothing to do here!" Anzu shouted out as she lay on the couch looking lifeless. "I'm so bored," she commented. "No chocolate...no Momohiki...my life sucks." at that time her tummy rumbled signaling hunger once more. "Time to make dinner." she concluded as she slowly raised her head and got up from the couch.
Strolling to the kitchen, she held her tummy in pain and as she was about to walk to the stove, her eyes landed on a cake(cockroach) sitting on the floor.
"AAH!" Anzu screamed out as not wasting time she ran out of the kitchen into the hallway. Hearing all the commotion, Shisui was in the shower and he peaked out of the curtain. "Onee-chan?" Shisui called out "Is everything alright?" Shisui never got an answer as Anzu was so terrified her sense of sound was overpowered by fear which drove her to leave her fourteen-year-old brother in the house all by himself as she ran out of the house due to her fear.
Shisui quickly dried himself and got out of the shower, wearing his night gown. He went to investigate and found the door wide open with a cockroach in the kitchen. Putting two and two together he realised, Anzu was spooked by the cockroach and it caused her to run out of the house abandoning him...again.
'This has to be a phobia.' Shisui thought as he took some tissue and caught the cockroach with no problem. Dumping it away he now found himself all alone and hungry.
'I'm gonna call mom.' Shisui concluded as he took out his phone and called his mom.
"Aww, Shi-chan are you missing mommy already?" his mother cooed over the phone as she'd answered his call. "Hi, kaa-chan. How are you?"
"I'm fine. How is school?"
"It's going great...though I do miss you and dad."
"We miss you too. So what's up?"
"By any chance would you know where Anzu would go since, she ran out of the house after she saw a cockroach." Shisui's mom hearing this laughed a bit. "That's Anzu for you, she's most likely at the park you two played at as kids."
"The park? Why there?"
"She says it was the place she felt most safe." she replied. "Wait so being in the outdoors and away from your little brother is safer than being with a cockroach at your house? That doesn't make sense." Shisui stated as he then remembered it was his sister who they were dealing with. "She's such a drama queen. But thanks mom, I'll go find her."
"Okay, now be sure to call me once you found her okay."
"Yeah, will do." he ended the call. "I guess I better go find her." Shisui said as he went outside and noticed the rainy clouds in the sky. Going back into the house he took two umbrellas and locked the house.