𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦

two

English was normal enough with a minor incident—they were told to go around the room and ask their friends a few questions without using the letter E, which ends up in a small shouting match between Gluttony and Temperance. Only because of a petty thing, really. But their relationship had gotten tense enough for this to happen.

When the class was over, Temperance immediately slumped to her table, face down. She was exhausted and conflicted, and she just wanted to sleep. Sleep seems really good right now, she mused sleepily.

"You're too dramatic," Chastity said, walking in. It must have been break time. Of course it is. The bell had just rang a few seconds ago. She wasn't focused.

Temperance peeled her face off the table. "I'm tired, not dramatic," she said simply. "Besides, I seem to recall you suing Lust because she stole your u—"

Everyone was staring at this point. It was unusual for a college student to come into a high school classroom and try to drag out their sister. Besides, Chastity was in full-on theology gear. She was in a nun's costume with a stack of textbooks in her embrace.

Temperance guessed the re-enactment of the martyring of a saint she didn't knew but one that Chastity had babbled on for days was scheduled for today.

Sighing, Temperance rubbed her eyes. This was going to be a long day.

Her sister scowled. "Shut up about that. Now, let's go. Patience told me to get you, and Kindness was looking everywhere for you."

"Kindness?" Temperance said, frowning. She peeled her face off the table and got up. "Why is she looking for me?" she asked as Chastity dragged her out of the class and to the middle school building.

"She was worried about you, because her rival was worried about your rival."

"Why won't you just say their names?" Temperance asked, annoyed.

"Because I'm Chastity," she said matter-of-factly. "I don't like the sins."

"That's not what you said when you and Lust had k—"

Chastity clamped a hand over Temperance's mouth and continued dragging her to the middle-school canteen. The other buildings had their own cafeteria(s), true, but this one was the first and therefore this one was filled with actual food. The high school and college lunchrooms were barren, and people only went there to eat food... that they bought from the middle-school canteen.

They found Kindness eating her meal with Envy (who seemed to had bought Kindness her food, because he was staring at it).

Only then did Chastity let Temperance go. "Hello," she said.

"She kept a hand over my mouth through the entirety of the walk here!" Temperance immediately protested, glaring at Chastity.

Kindness frowned. "Hello, Chastity. Why did she do that, Temperance?"

"Someone needs to teach her how to keep quiet," Chastity said. "Anyway, here she is now. Why did you call her?"

"Okay, so Envy told me that Gluttony said that he doesn't know why his own partner and rival keeps on avoiding him and looks like she hates him, so he's worried that he did something wrong but he couldn't talk to Temperance himself because he wanted to respect her feelings and gives her space, so Gluttony asked Envy to talk for him and he asked me to call you here," Kindness explained in one breath.

"I'm not going to talk about this," Temperance said.

"He said you were acting all cold and indifferent towards him," Envy spoke up, using his fork to gesture. "He thinks you hate him."

Kindness continued eating her noodles, listening intently.

"Are you insinuating that she's a tsundere?" Chastity asked, amazed.

"Correct," Envy affirmed, waving his fork around, "and you also act like that, and Lust assured me that you're a tsundere type B, where the dere is your main personality and the tsun is how you act—Oh my god, I'm becoming a weeb." he muttered, putting his fork down sullenly and putting his face in his hands.

Chastity was still amazed. Probably why she's being nice to Envy (as in tolerating his existence). "Everyone who talks to Lust picks up her weeb and Homestuck vocabulary, it happens to everyone," she said slowly, empathizing with Envy. "I now know what kismesis means and I do not want to know what it means. I want to clean my memory."

Envy lifted his head out of his hands and nodded. "Right? Why can't she just 'platonically' or 'romantically' or whatever? We're just lucky she doesn't say 'notice me, senpai!' I'm going batshit crazy living with all the sins."

Chastity snorted. "That's because she's the senpai."

"You're not wrong," Envy muttered.

"Okay, I hate to cut this bonding short," Temperance said, "but are you saying that I'm a tsundere?"

"This is not—that's not—we're not bonding," Envy retorted. "To answer your question, quite unfortunately, yes." he said, picking up his fork again. "You should try being nicer to him. I have Wrath ranting to me, and I don't want another person doing the same, it just makes me envy them more. This is literally my whole motive for helping you," he said. "Honestly, I think tsunderes are just emotionally constipated people in love."

"That's you," Kindness added in.

"Hey, that's rude," Envy said, mock betrayal on his voice.

Temperance smirked. "I think it was obvious when yo—"

"Can we focus on Temperance's love life and not mine?" he said, facing Kindness, jabbing his fork in the air towards Temperance. "Because I'm one millimeter away from leaving. My job here is done."

"We are not focusing on anyone's love life!" Temperance retorted.

"The one millimeter would be Kindness," Chastity muttered. "Okay, so your point is that Temperance should be nicer to Gluttony?" she added, louder.

"Yeah."

"I don't want to be nice to him!"

"I don't want to see my brother miserable!"

"Still a no from me."

"Whatever then, bye. I don't have time to waste when a sin has been added to my kill list," Envy said, getting up. He left the busy cafeteria, leaving Kindness behind.

"Well, I didn't really, uh, expect that," Kindness said, brushing her bangs away from her face. "I hadn't expected him to be this nice, if I'm honest. I'm sure he's rather annoyed."

"You're here, that's why," Temperance said. "Everyone knows he's madly in love with you."

Kindness frowned, stirring the broth of her noodles. "No, he's not," she said.

"Well, then you're blind, dear sister," Chastity said.

Temperance nodded at that, about to add more, but suddenly she felt her throat becoming itchy, like she was about to cough, but also the sensation of almost throwing up.

"Excuse me," she choked out, confused, then she ran to the bathroom. It felt like bile was rising in her throat, but when she heaved and coughed, blood-stained sakura flowers came out.

She lived in Japan for a while. She knew what this is.

Hanahaki.