Yuki’s gaze was glued onto the metal baseball bat, glove, and ball Reiki was carrying. She said. “Reiki, are you going to play baseball? Can I join?” She ate half of the ice cream mochi in her hand while Reiki tossed the glove at her as she caught it mid-air and walked past her. Reiki said. “I’m not, but we can play catch. If you decide to spare me a day, you and I can go to a batting cage in Umeda.” Yuki ate the rest of the ice cream mochi as she put on the glove and gulped down the food in her mouth.
She quickly caught up with him as she walked beside Reiki. Yuki said. “Really?” Reiki made his way to the TV stand as he placed the metal bat beside it, he said. “Sure, it’ll be my treat.” Ketsueki grabbed a tokyo banana wrapped in plastic from the tupperware as she cleared her throat which got Reiki’s and Yuki’s attention. Reiki continued. “Well, Onee-chan’s treat.” Ketsueki rolled her eyes at her little brother as she took the plastic wrapper off the tokyo banana while Shiro grabbed a glass of water on the coffee table. Shiro said. “Can we watch?”
She took a sip of her drink while Mio placed a plastic wrap in her pocket and said. “I prefer volleyball but, Yuki once said she would show us what a home run looks like.” Ketsueki stared at the metal bat that was resting beside the TV stand, she said. “Reiki, why did you go to Akihabara?” Reiki passed the ball to Yuki as she happily took it off his hands, he took out a tattered pouch from his pocket and placed his hand inside it. Reiki said. “I needed a new charger since the other one was fried.” He took out a charging cable with a large brick and showed it to his older sister.
Yuki and Mio had odd expressions on their faces as they exchanged looks with each other as they stared at the charger Reiki was holding. Ketsueki gulped down the food in her mouth and said. “Oh yeah… I forgot to buy you a new one.” She thought. They still make those for that model? Yuki and Mio moved their gaze onto Shiro as she placed her glass back on the coffee table and noticed the stares her friends were giving her. Shiro said. “What?” Mio reached for an ice cream mochi from the tupperware as they made a visible dent in it.
She said. “Shiro, does Reiki still use a flip phone?” Reiki placed the charger back in the pouch while Shiro nodded at her friend while taking a tokyo banana, she said. “He does.” Reiki placed the pouch in his pocket and said. “Onee-chan, I’ll be outside playing catch with Yuki. Can you keep an eye on the oven? The whole apple pie should be done in ten minutes..” Ketsueki took the rest of the plastic wrap on the tokyo banana, she said. “Sure.” Reiki made his way to the front door as Yuki walked beside him, she said. “Why am I the only one with a glove?”
She threw the ball in the air a few times and caught it while Reiki turned his head at her. He said. “I thought you might need the handicap.” Yuki had a hint of irritation on her face as the two of them were near the front door as he took off his indoor slippers and neatly placed them at the side. Reiki made his way to the shoe compartment and slid open the door as he took out his pair of sports shoes.
While putting them on Reiki gave Yuki a slightly smug smile, he said. “I somehow get this feeling you don’t want it.” Yuki slightly squeezed the ball she was holding, she gave him a smile that contained a hint of coldness and said. “I’m going to make you eat those words.” Reiki finished tying his sports shoes, he held his hand toward her and said. “I’ll hold those for you.” Yuki passed him the baseball glove and ball, she said. “At least say something witty back.”
She quickly took off her white indoor slippers as she neatly placed them to the side and took out a pouch from her pocket. Reiki spun the baseball on the tip of his index finger, he said. “Something witty…” Yuki took out a pair of sports shoes from the inside as she picked up her leather shoes on the ground and placed them inside the pouch. She said. “I’ll keep my school uniform on, so both of us are hindered in some way.” Reiki let out a chuckle as he watched her quickly tie her sports shoes, he said. “I don’t need to hear that from someone who uses a glove to catch a ball.”
Reiki opened the door as he walked out of the house and ignored Yuki glaring at him. He said. “Are you up to play a game of catch?” Reiki lazily threw the glove at her as Yuki caught it mid-air and placed it over her right hand. She said. “If you end up hurt, I’m going to let you know now that I will laugh.” Yuki made her way out of the house as she closed the door behind her while her gaze was glued onto the spinning ball on the tip of his index finger.
Reiki said. “That’s fair.” Yuki made her way down the street as she slowly inhaled and exhaled to help her focus, she said. “I’m ready.” Reiki thought. Let’s put her on edge first. He held the ball with his right hand and used his left hand to cover his right hand. Reiki threw the ball at Yuki as her eyes followed it, she thought. That’s slower than the last time-. She stopped her train of thought as she saw the ball curve as the trajectory was headed to the glove.
Yuki caught the ball without moving as she turned the glove to see the spinning ball start to slow down, she thought. … Nice curve ball… She grabbed the ball from the glove and moved her gaze onto Reiki who had a smile on his face. He said. “Last chance, to take the glove off-.” Before he could finish his sentence Yuki quickly got into a pitching stance and threw the ball at him. Reiki watched the ball turn into a streak of white as he placed his right hand in front of him and caught it.
[System: User has received 5 Damage.]
The ball was still spinning in Reiki’s hand as he gripped it tightly to get it to stop, he saw the smug smile on Yuki’s face. She took the glove off her hands and offered it to him, Yuki said. “Last chance, to get the glove from me.” She put the glove back on while Reiki threw the ball in the air a couple of times, he nodded and said. “Tempting offer, but I’ll politely decline.” Reiki threw the ball at her as Yuki watched its trajectory curve as she agilely moved to the right and jumped as high as possible to catch the ball while revealing the shorts underneath her skirt.
Yuki barely caught the ball as it hit the tip of the glove as she landed on the ground and grabbed the ball as it was falling to the ground. She thought. I barely caught that. Yuki didn’t even notice a smile forming on her face as she threw the ball at Reiki at high speeds as he caught the ball while jumping back to lessen the impact on his hand.
[System: User has received 3 Damage.]
Reiki threw the ball in the air and caught it with his left hand while rotating his right wrist, he thought. No mercy… He moved his gaze and saw the excitement on Yuki’s face as he smiled at her and threw a low ball at her as it started to curve upward.
________________________________________________________________________________
Living Room
Shiro and Mio were sitting on the couch as they ate ice cream mochi while watching the animal documentary airing on TV. Mio used her left hand to reach for her glass of water as she took a sip and placed it back on the coffee table, she said. “Wanna watch Reiki and Yuki play catch outside?”
Shiro finished off a tokyo banana as she was holding onto some plastic wrap, she gulped down a mouthful of food and said. “Yes, I wanna see them jump around again.” Ketsueki came out of the kitchen as she made her way to the living room, she said. “Only after you two help me fill a few tupperwares.” She was carrying a small trash can that came from the drawers, Ketsueki continued. “Put all the plastic wrap in your pockets here.” Mio and Shiro started taking plastic wrappers from their pockets as they placed them into the trash bin.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Shiro slightly puffed her cheeks to pout as she looked up to her older sister and said. “Why do Onii-chan and Yuki get to play catch while we have to help?” Ketsueki placed the trash bin on the floor beside the coffee table, she said. “That’s because Reiki did most of the work for everything.” Mio reached for her glass of lassi and took a sip of it while Shiro put on her best puppy dog look. Shiro said. “But we also helped with the filling.” Ketsueki stared at her little sister while Mio almost spat out the lassi in her mouth.
Mio placed her glass of mango lassi on the coffee table and cleared her throat, she said. “Shiro, by the time we four did a total of sixty. Reiki already half filled one tupperware…” Shiro stopped doing her puppy dog face as she let out a sigh and leaned on the backrest of the couch, she said. “... Yes, Onee-chan…” Mio glanced at the dining table and saw all the plates of yatsuhashi, kuri daifuku, and mochi. She said. “Nee-san, how come those desserts on the dining table aren’t in a container?”
Ketsueki pulled out a handful of plastic wrappers from her pocket as she tossed them into the bin, she glanced at the dining table and said. “Reiki told me everything on the dining table is for dessert.” Mio glanced at all the food on the table and said. “Then… What are we eating?” Shiro leaned forward and picked up a tokyo banana wrapped in plastic, she said. “Snacks.” Ketsueki nodded in agreement as she placed a hand on top of her little sister’s head while Shiro took the plastic wrap off the tokyo banana and threw the plastic into the bin.
Ketsueki said. “Reiki made too much to the point I had to take all the cuts of meat out of the freezer and into my pouch to make room.” She tapped on her pocket a couple of times while Shiro finished off the tokyo banana. Shiro thought. Coffee cream is so good. Ketsueki gently poked the tip of her little sister’s nose and said. “Start filling your plates because I’m going to put those tupperwares in my pocket.” Shiro quickly started placing yatsuhashi, daifuku, tokyo banana, and mochi onto her plate while Mio stared at her friend with wide eyes.
Ketsueki placed a hand on Mio’s shoulder which made her look up to her. Ketsueki smiled at her and said. “Mio, make sure to place some on Yuki’s plate.” Shiro formed a small pile of desserts on her plate as she was staring at it to see if she could make it bigger, she said. “Onee-chan, Yuki doesn’t eat sweets after playing.” Mio started placing desserts on her plate while Ketsueki placed both her hands inside her pockets, she said. “Then if she refuses I guess you two can have her share.” Mio and Shiro had a look of surprise on their faces which quickly went away as they started putting desserts onto Yuki’s plate.
Ketsueki watched the two of them pile desserts onto their friend's plate while Shiro stopped and said. “Mio… Do you smell something burning?” Mio’s brows furrowed, she thought. Nothing’s burning… Ketsueki’s eyes widened in panic as she ran toward the kitchen while Shiro’s mouth curled into a cat-like smile. Mio had a hint of disbelief on her face while Shiro picked up a couple of tokyo bananas wrapped in plastic and noticed her friend staring at her. Shiro said. “Wanna be my partner in crime?” She pocketed one of the tokyo bananas and handed the other one to Mio.
Mio glanced at the direction of the kitchen as she quickly took the tokyo banana from her friend and pocketed it. The two girls pocketed a few more tokyo bananas but instantly stopped the moment the sound of footsteps came from the kitchen. Ketsueki made her way to the living room with two trays floating behind her which had twelve whole apple pies wrapped in pastry on each tray. Ketsueki said. “The kininaru apples are done.” She thought. That was close. Mio and Shiro stopped piling desserts onto the plates as they noticed the faint smell of cinnamon in the air.
The two of them quickly stood up from the sofa as they made their way to the trays but stopped when Ketsueki raised her hand to stop them. Ketsueki said. “Stop, these are hot trays. I don’t want either of you two getting burned.” Shiro had a bit of drool on the corner of her mouth as she stared at the whole apple pies, she said. “Onee-chan, are we going to try them?” Mio stared at the apple pie, she said. “They just came out of the oven, I think we should let them cool for a few minutes.”
Ketsueki kept stealing glances at the whole apple pie as she managed to pry her gaze away from it and said. “... Mio has a point, we should let them cool for a few minutes.”
~Three Hours Later~
Shiro, Mio, and Ketsueki were sitting at the couch as they watched TV. The three girls were holding onto a plate and fork as they were eating a whole apple pie split into four, Ketsueki said. “What do you think girls?” Shiro used her fork to cut off a piece of the apple pie on the plate she was carrying, she said. “Can we eat another one?” Ketsueki stabbed some of the pastry on her plate, she said. “Shiro, Reiki only made twenty-four of them. If we take away his share all of us get four each.”
She ate the pasty on her fork while Mio glanced at the front door and said. “Those two have been outside for nearly three hours now.” She used her fork to cut off a part of the whole apple pie while Ketsueki placed her plate on the coffee table. Ketsueki said. “I’ll-.” Before she could get another word out they heard the sound of a door opening followed by a couple of footsteps.
Ketsueki grabbed her plate again and continued. “Talk about timing.” Shiro was in the middle of chewing as she gulped down a mouthful of food, she said. “Mio, do you know if Yuki has any spare clothes on her?” Mio used her fork to cut off a part of the whole apple pie on her plate, she said. “I don’t know, but with how frequently she exercises I wouldn’t be surprised if she carried a spare on her.” The three of them heard footsteps behind them as they turned their heads and saw Yuki who was drenched in sweat.
Yuki had a big smile on her face, she said. “We’re back.” Ketsueki stared at the school uniform she was wearing that was sticking to her, she said. “Want me to heat some water so that you can take a bath?” Yuki let out a chuckle and said. “I’ll take you up on that offer, nee-san.” Reiki made his way to the living room as the rest saw the clothes he wore were also drenched, he said. “I’ll prepare the bath and It’ll give me time to take a cold shower.”
Yuki gave him an odd look and said. “You take cold showers?” Reiki nodded at him while Ketsueki used the fork that had part of an apple pie stabbed on it to point at him, she said. “Yes, my boy is weird.” Reiki rolled his eyes at her and said. “Onee-chan, cold showers are not that odd.” Ketsueki shook her head sideways, she said. “They’re not, what’s odd about your cold showers is that all your baths are cold showers.”
Mio and Yuki gave him odd looks while Reiki lazily waved his hand at them and said. “Yes, I only take cold showers. I am not an endangered species so there’s no need to stare.” He made his way to the staircase while Yuki peeked over the couch and saw a plate that had a pile of yatsuhashi, kuri daifuku, and mochi. Yuki said. “I’m fairly sure my plate didn’t have… Any of that when Reiki and I went out to play catch.” Ketsueki ate the apple pie stabbed on her fork while Shiro avoided the stare Yuki was giving her. Shiro said. “Onee-chan told us to put some on our plates before she hid the tupperware.”
Mio nodded in agreement and said. “Since you were busy playing catch, we decided to-.” Yuki interrupted her friend, she said. “You three can have it.” Shiro and Mio quickly reached for the desserts while a tokyo banana flew toward Ketsueki who was holding onto an empty plate. Yuki let out a laugh while Ketsueki placed the empty plate onto the coffee table as she ignored the shocked looks on Mio’s and Shiro’s faces. Ketsueki smiled at them and said. “Yuki said three, meaning I get a share. So stop with the surprised looks.”
Mio quickly grabbed a yatsuhashi while Shiro grabbed a daifuku as the two girls placed them onto their plates. Yuki made her way to the side of the couch and stood next to it, she said. “I gave you two my share of desserts and I don’t even get a thank you?” Her mouth curled into a mischievous cat-like smile as neither of her friends noticed it. Shiro finished off the apple pie on her plate as she was in the middle of chewing while Mio used her fork to cut the yatsuhashi into two.
Mio stabbed one of the halves of the yatsuhashi and said. “Thank you-.” Yuki took a single step forward which made Mio glare at her. Mio said. “Don’t you even think about it.” Shiro placed the fork on her plate and picked up the daifuku on it. Yuki had feigned a clueless expression on her face, she said. “Think about what?” Shiro placed the empty plate onto the coffee table as she ate half of the daifuku while Ketsueki drank some water. Shiro turned her head and saw Yuki slowly walking toward Mio with her arms spread as wide as possible.
Mio placed the plate in front of her as she used it as a divider between her and Yuki. Mio said. “Yuki, I’m warning you-.” Before she could finish her sentence Yuki appeared at the front of the couch as she hugged Mio as the plate her friend was holding onto was pushed to the side while Shiro moved closer to her older sister as she felt a drop of sweat fall onto her forearm. Mio slowly exhaled and said. “I hate you with every fiber of my being.” Yuki stopped hugging her as she made her way back to the side of the couch.
She said. “Think of it this way, after you take a bath all three of us would be wearing casual clothes.” Mio gave her friend a side-eye glance as she placed her plate on the coffee table and used her hand to wipe the sweat off her forearms. Ketsueki let out a laugh as she took the plastic wrapper from the tokyo banana while Shiro ate the other half of the daifuku and reached for her glass of water. Shiro took a sip of water while Ketsueki threw the plastic wrap into the trash beside the coffee table.
Ketsueki said. “Mio, do you have any spare clothes on you?” She took a bite of the tokyo banana while Mio flicked the sweat on the palm of her hand at Yuki who didn’t even bother to dodge. Mio said. “... I don’t…” Shiro placed her glass back on the coffee table, she said. “If you’re fine with borrowing clothes, I can lend you mine while Onii-chan puts both your uniforms into the washing machine.” Yuki stared at the show that was premiering on TV, she kept her gaze on the television and said. “If we tell Reiki one of us doesn’t want stew for dinner. Do you think he’ll adjust the menu?”