Big Book of Writing

Upbringing (All Students, SDRA2)

Here's a sequel to "Caretaking", featuring the mini Voids!

Warning: Spoilers for the Void members, their pasts/child abuse, and sdra2 chapter 6 (pertaining to Mikado)!

***

As Sora held the tiny painter in her arms, she browsed the library shelves in search of some manga that she remembered the grown Iroha mentioning before. Finally, she managed to find a copy of the first volume of "Jurarara" on one of the shelves in the back. She walked over to the table in the library and set Iroha on her lap, handing her the manga.

"Here, you can read it as much as you want." Sora encouraged with a smile, running a hand through the painter's hair.

"R-Really? I'm not going to get in trouble?" Iroha meekly asked, her hands shaking from fright. "I'm not going back to the room?"

"Of course not. I won't tell your parents, I promise." The albino assured, and the tiny girl's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. She opened the manga, starting from the beginning as she relaxed herself on Sora's lap, laying her back on the taller girl's chest.

A few minutes later, Yoruko arrived holding boxed lunches from the U-Mart. "I brought the bentos! Who's hungry?" She chirped, pulling up a chair and sitting beside them.

"Ooh, a bento! A bento!" Iroha exclaimed, reaching for her lunch as the hostess handed it to her, giggling all the while at the painter's reaction.

"She sure is a ball of energy, huh?" Yoruko remarked, opening her boxed lunch and getting out her chopsticks. "I guess nothing's changed there!"

"I'm glad, though she's seems a lot more timid when she was younger. I'm worried that she was mistreated a lot." Sora commented, looking down at Iroha enjoying her lunch, who was not paying attention to their conversation.

"Well, it would explain how her mouth is like that. But I'm sure that you'll raise her right until we can find a way to get them back to normal." The hostess assured. As Iroha finished her lunch really quickly, she looked around in a confused manner with the empty box on her lap. Yoruko took the box off her lap and switched it with the manga, handing it back to Iroha. "Here, sweetie, you can have your book back."

"Yay!" The painter cheered, taking the book and picking up where she left off.

Sora looked down at her with amusement in her eyes, content with how things were turning out. Looking back up at Yoruko, she noticed that the hostess was looking fondly at the child. "You know, doesn't this make you feel like we're a married coup-"

"Sh-Shut up and eat your bento!" Yoruko cried, her face red with blush. Sora only smiled and went back to eating.

***

As something crashed to the floor in Kanade's room, the twins turned around in surprise after hearing the loud noise. "What the-?!" Hibiki exclaimed, but soon realized that one of the guitars hanging on the wall had fallen.

Emma had backed away from the mess with her hands over her mouth, her face pale with fright. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just thought-" The child was stumbling over her own words as her small body shook with fear.

"It's okay, accidents always happen! We all make mistakes!" The vocalist assured as her younger twin went over to the fallen guitar.

"Hm, nothing's broken. Good, I don't need to get the broom. I fix this later." The guitarist kept muttering as she placed the guitar on the table. She turned around to see Emma shaking and holding out her arm with a scared smile on her face. "Hm, is something on your arm? Here, let me check it out." Kanade rolled up Emma's sleeve and froze.