I almost broke my complex's elevator button by the amount of pressing I did on the damn thing. If only I had this skill when I played Super Mario Party against my friends. Maybe then I'd actually win a game for once.
Ding! 'Finally!' I was about to step out when I was met with a familiar face, no, faces. "Oh, (Y/n). You usually don't come home this late." Aizawa said, surprised to see me as I was to see him. He looked tired, not the sleeping tired, tired from working, kind of tired. "Yeah, I was on a date but it didn't go well. I went somewhere after that and got sidetracked." I briefly explained myself. We were close enough friends to share our personal lives.
He gave an understanding nod and an "ooh". "Hi Miss (Y/n)!" Eri waved from his shoulder with a smile plastered on her face. I smile back, "Hey little goober. Whatcha up to this evening with your pops here, hm?" I asked, stepping out of the elevator. Her face lit up as her hands ran through Aizawa's long black locks. "We are gonna go pick up Papa Cloud! Then we are gonna get happy meals!" She giggles, excitement written all over her. Papa Cloud is what she calls Shirakumo because his hair looks fluffy and soft as a cloud. She calls Aizawa "Papa Zawa".
"That sounds amazing" I glanced at Aizawa. "So amazing in fact, I should let you guys be on your way. Don't want to keep you guys from your awesome family dinner." I excused myself. It was a quick and polite way out of this conversation. I would love to stay and chat with them but I could not. I was already late as it was for my sister.
Aizawa nods. Gently he taps her knee and says, "Say bye-bye to (Y/n) now." His attention fell on me. Eri gave the most energetic nod I had ever seen. "Bye-bye Miss (Y/n)!!" She giggled, waving like crazy with one hand and the other tugging poor Aizawa's hair. I could tell he was holding in the pain he felt from it while I was trying to hold in my laugh seeing him trying to keep his impassive resting dead face together.
"Bye-bye, Eri~" I sang-songly, waving back. We waved to each other 'bye' and they left in the elevator. Once they were gone, I ran like a mad woman down the hall to my apartment.
»»——♡——««
"I am so so so so so so SO sorry I was late Jirou!! I didn't look at the time and —" Jirou grabbed me by the shoulders "First, Calm down. Second, Makoto is in her room studying." She released me once I appeared less stressed from her reassurance. "We can chat tomorrow on Facetime about your date tonight. You go shower and have sister bonding time stuff, or whatever siblings do, I am gonna go home." She was grabbing her stuff as she was telling me this.
I walked her to the door "Thanks for babysitting, Jirou." I thanked and she smiled. "Anytime (Y/n)." She and I fist bump when she said that, a little thing between me and Jirou. "I'm always here for you and that little Legolas sister of yours." Jirou stepped out of the door. "Byeeee." We both said in unison.
I closed the door after her and I went to Makoto's room. "Knock knock. Guess who's home?" I said through the door. I tried not to laugh hearing a book slam and running feet rushing to the door. The door which almost ripped off by how Makoto yanked the thing wide open. "(Y/n)! Your home!" Makoto greeted me with that big smile of hers, giving me a tight hug.
"You came home late. That's a good sign, it means the date must've gone well!" She pulled away and noticed my new accessory "Ooooh ~ He got you jewelry on a first date?! Is that how first dates are supposed to normally go? I have been asked out before but haven't gone out on a date myself. What's his name? How old was he? Does he have money? Siblings? Is there gonna be a second date?!" Makoto was bombarding me with questions left and right. My brain was having a hard time comprehending them all.
Makoto is a very chirpy individual. It is what makes her so lovable and also a handful. Despite her energetic nature, she is fearless as she is agile with her bow-wielding skills. She is in the archery club at her middle school. Makoto even has better grades than I ever received. She isn't a top student but she is up in the higher ranks of her year's peers.
Unlike her, I had average grades. It was enough for me to graduate, to say the least. Makoto has many friends and many love confessions. Though she never accepted any of them, she isn't interested in the ones who have confessed to her thus far. Most of them she doesn't even know. They are either not in her class and/or in her year. Even so, she manages to captivate their lovey-dovey gaze by simply being her bright, honest, and in her own unique way – despite her hard-headedness – kind self.
My 13-year-old sister can have people like-like her while I am here dreading the thought of going on another date with the jackass I walked out on. I dreaded it so much that it made my eye twitch a bit. "I'd rather be in a room with a hungry lion than go on another date with that punk." I grumbled.
My response puzzled her. She opened her mouth to speak but I cut her off. "I will answer all your questions Mako" I ruffled her pixie (h/c) hair "after I shower." A dramatic groan came from her. It brought a grin to my face knowing I had all the power of withholding juicy info from her. "Come on, I had a long day at work and a bad date after it." I smiled at her pouting. "Lemme wash off my stress and then we can eat our tub of ice cream and chat in my room after. Keep studying in the meantime 'kay?" Makoto gave me a quick thumbs-up with such confidence it startled me at first. It made me laugh a second later.
Makoto appeared to have this newfound energy and was now hyper-focused on her textbook and papers, back to studying. I shook my head and chuckled while walking off to my bedroom.
I grabbed my favorite dark purple pajama set of a shirt with pants from my drawer. They had white cat paws scattered all over the pajama shirt and pants. This set was my favorite because Eri chose it last year with Makoto and Jirou for Christmas. Also, they were super soft and comfy.
I took them, and undergarments, and went to take a nice and long-needed shower.
»»——♡——««
"Mako! Come grab a spoon!" I shout as I close the freezer. I heard her running footsteps hurdling closer to the kitchen. "Finally! Hurry up! You will not believe the day I had! It was cra-zay I tell ya!" Makoto exaggerates, grabbing her tub of ice cream I set on the counter and our spoons. I blinked and she was already booking it back to meet me in my bedroom, I reluctantly followed after her.
This ice cream and chatting was a tradition of ours. I wanted to keep myself in Makoto's life as much as possible. She was all I had and I was all she had. This tradition was our way of staying in touch with each other's lives despite our lives being busy with her archery practice and my work. Also to remember that I am still her sister aside from being her main caretaker.
You may be wondering what I mean by that. Well, our parents are dead. They were loving and kind . . . But . . . Fate seems to hate the kind ones and shortens their lives so quickly . . . Our dad died in a car accident on his way from work when I was 13 and Makoto was 5 so she got a chance to know him. Our mom was left as a single mom to take care of us.
She was the best . . . She worked hard to provide and always made time for us both. I tried to lessen the burden and took up the cooking and cleaning around our house.
Then one day when I was 17 . . . A week before my 18th birthday . . . She never came home . . . Our mom . . . Worked herself to death . . . Found at her desk . . .
Our relatives argued over who wanted to take us in. Mostly from our mother's side. They didn't like our father because he came from "afar" as our mother used to say. She wasn't on good terms with her family either. Our father's family was also on bad terms with him, at least, that was the reason he told me whenever I asked why they never visited us during Christmas time.
When I met them all, it made me wonder how on earth any of these scum were related to either of our parents. They were the entire opposite of our parents . . . It was also no wonder my parents cut these people out of their lives. They were all cruel assholes
They called us "burdens" and "too expensive to take care of". Some tried to separate Makoto and me to make it easier for themselves. Some were open about claiming the government checks they would get if they took us in. All in front of our faces.
I walked out of that funeral with my sister. Hand in hand. I decided that day that I would take care of us and vowed to give Makoto a life better than mine.
I never touched our parent's dowry they left for me. I still haven't even though I am old enough now to inherit it. Makoto was still too young to inherit the sum left for her from our parents will.
I know. I could use the money on my end of the inheritance to let us live without worries. I probably could have used it to go to college or a university like I had planned before life happened. But . . . I am saving that for Makoto's high school and college tuition. I made a vow. I was going to give her a life better than mine. I am not going back on that. Ever.
When I work, I make sure to not push myself too hard either. I do not wish to share the same fate as our mother. I stay home when I am sick and do overtime when I can and need to for a little extra. Which I rarely can anyway. From managing our house and taking care of Makoto — I just don't have that much time to spare.
Heck, I barely spared time for that awful date. I had come home from work early and glammed myself up to go out for it.
"Soooo how did that date go? What was his name? Tell me everything. Don't you dare leave a single detail out, (Y/n)." Makoto was discrete as she ate her Twix ice cream on my bed. "I thought we were gonna start with you." I watched her pout from getting caught for trying to make me spill my tea before hers. I wasn't going to let her sneak her way around this one.
She huffs and begins to tell me about her eventful day. I wanted to charge my phone so I dumped out my bag on my bed. All to find my phone when I spot 2 sets of keys with different keychains. One was obviously mine with my adorable Pompurin keychain and wristlet. The other was with a keyring with its key and one of those keychain mini library card things. On the back, it had Inoue's name. The key had Sharpie writing on it saying "STORAGE CLOSET" in all caps.
"Aw crap. I must've taken Inoue's keys while I was rushing out of her store." I mumbled, touching my pendant as I said that.
"That does not sound like a guy's name."
"That's because it isn't a guy."
"Ha?"
I sighed. "I will get into that detail later in my day's story." I put the keys and everything else back in my bag then plugged my phone in to charge. 'I will go over later tonight. It's only 9 PM. We shouldn't take that long.' I thought. So naively I believed in that. I put off setting my alarm too. I planned to set that up after we talked.
"After your story. Don't think you can sneak your way around your day to get to mine. So go on. Out with it." Makoto gave me a side glare as I jumped in the bed. I snuggled my way beside her with my tub of ice cream in my lap. Her glare went away a second later. She caved in and told me about her day.
Makoto was a bit eccentric in her storytelling. I could never get tired of it. I admired as I envied that side of her. Mostly, I am grateful she is. That she can be. I cannot imagine her any other way. "We did that." I think every time I see her smiling, being herself, living happily. It is the proudest thing I could ever achieve in my life. I don't think I could live if I ever lost that or this.
"Okay, okay! I have gone long enough of my day. I ate half the tub already!" Makoto laughs, setting her tub and mine on my nightstand. "Tell me about your date! Please please pleeeeease?" She shimmered a toothy smile to persuade. I roll my eyes. "Okay. Fine." I caved in, dramatically of course. "The date was horrible." I start. Her face scrunched up. Confused and curious she became.
"Yikes. What was his name?"
"Yo Shindo. 24."
"Oh! From your company christmas party!"
"Yes. He came by last week for a meeting with the higher ups. Thats when he asked me out."
"Ooooh. So what'd he do?"
"Shindo ordered for me without even asking me what I wanted."
"Well thats a immediate red flag."
"Exactly! So I ditched him. Used the bathroom excuse."
Makoto gave me a high five. "He ruined his chances before the date even began. Glad you did not waste your time on him. Speaking of time, where did you go after if you ditched him?" She finally asked me. I touch my pendant. A smile grew on my face. "Well . . ." I told her of my little run-in with Inoue. Detailing all the trinkets and statues I saw in the store. Especially the mirror. She was bummed out as I was that I didn't bring it home. Claiming it would look better in her room than mine. Makoto was wrong of course.
"Inoue," Makoto paused to yawn "sounds nice." She rubbed her eyes and looked over at me as she lay down. "Do you think we can see her tomorrow?" I couldn't help but smile. 'I knew she liked her.' I thought happily. "Maybe she'll give me something pretty too hehe." she gave a mini mischievous yet tired grin. "Maybe we can. Maybe she will." I laugh, ruffling her hair up.
"Okay, sleepy head. Go to your room and sleep. You got that exam in the morning. You need all the sleep you can get." Makoto groans and she pulls the blankets over herself. "Can't I sleep here tonight? My room is too far away now. I just got into a comfortable spot~" Makoto begs. Peeking out from the blankets to see me.
I rolled my eyes. "I thought you said you were too old to sleep in my bed?" I tease. "Whaaat? Psh. I never," yawn "said that." She was already dozing off. There was no point in wasting effort. Plus, I never minded her here in the first place. "Alright, alright." I turned off my side's nightstand lamp, snuggled further under my blankets, and flipped to face Makoto. Slowly succumbing to sleep.
"Hey, (Y/n)?" Makoto whispered. "Hm?" I hummed, my eyes adjusting to the dark. "Thanks for listening to me today." She smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. "You know what. We should go out for dinner tomorrow. You and me." I suggested and her smile grew bigger. "Really?" she quirked up with interest. It was a bit humorous seeing her trying to stay awake. To hear what I had to say despite being sleepy. "We can celebrate your exams being over and you can make up for my time from that horrible date." I say as I run my hand through her pixie hair. She was closer and closer to being drifted to sleep with every stroke.
"Maybe . . . we . . . can invite . . . Inoue and Jirou . . . too . . ." Makoto trailed off, sleeping overcoming her. I had to hold in my laugh seeing her fall asleep after a few hair strokes. It worked almost every time. 'Maybe we can.' I thought, taking my hand back. Pulling my blankets closer to me. 'I feel like I'm forgetting something . . . Oh well. Thats tomorrow me's problem . . .' I closed my eyes and fell asleep.