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CH VI - strawberry milk with death stares
☠️
If someone had told Risa a month ago that having dinner at her sister's house would be a regular occurrence, she'd probably laugh straight in their faces. Yet look at her now, sitting across from Sensei, her older sister, and her niece, with the most delicious meal in front of her (of course Hina was an amazing cook, damn her). She didn't know how, but the dinners slowly etched their way into her routine. Her older sister and sensei were insistent that she'd join them after training sessions. To Risa's horror, she finds herself expecting it and even enjoying it.
She tried to convince herself that she joins them because it's the polite thing to do, but she had to admit that it's nice getting to view her older sister in a way that isn't so callous. When Hina is around the family she built, she smiles because she means it, not out of necessity.
It's still strange to Risa that families can sit down. together and eat because they want to. She gets front-row seats to the dynamics that they have together, it sort of makes Risa believe that she's been sitting with them her entire life.
"Risa you haven't ate any of your food." Hina points out snapping Risa out of her depressing daze.
Another new development in the past month besides the dinner: Hina actually cares now. Not to say that she didn't before in her own strange way. It's no longer that quick catch-up during the monthly gatherings that were painful for the both of them. It's the little things. If Risa's shirt is wrinkled, Hina will notice and straighten it; she'll give Risa words of praise rather than criticism. Hina will even laugh at some of her lame attempts at jokes and even pass some herself. It'd be a lie if she said she doesn't like this type of attention from someone she loathes yet places on a pedestal; still, it's uncomfortable. It's strange to be treated like a human being; after years of rejection from her older sister, she realizes how easily it could have been like this all along. Hina just chose not to. So Risa wants to play it safe; she keeps her guard up despite the fact that part of her wants to soak up all of Hina's affection as long as she has it.
Risa stares down at her plate, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She hasn't had much of an appetite; she knows that the warning signs should be screaming in her face; they're practically nothing to her ears; this just means that it's working. Risa decides that she could probably take a couple of bites so her older sister doesn't become suspicious.
"Oh yeah," Risa chuckles. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired."
She stabs her food with the chopsticks, forcing herself to take a bite and swallow. Ignoring the pain coursing through her body as she performs what is supposed to be a simple task, To distract herself, her brown eyes land on Sensei, who seems awfully bothered. They make eye contact, and Risa thinks she knows what the root of the problem is. "How's Asahi doing?" She asks for her own curiosity.
