VI.

Eira.

"39.3°C..." The thermometer read. I looked down upon my sister with a worried look, then she looked back at me with a cute pout on her face. "What happened?"

"I think it was because of fatigue..."

"Resting is also part of training, you know." I gently reminded.

Hanako pouted. "Yes, yes. I'm sorry. I was just pressured because of Dad..."

I shook my head, then patted her head. "Hanako... don't worry too much about our parents. I'm sure they're proud of you regardless."

"Nee-san, we both know that is not true." Her lips tugged downwards.

I sighed. Our father didn't like the idea of Hanako joining the volleyball club because he thought it didn't suit the likes of us. Mom convinced him under the condition that she's going to excel at it, basically at everything we set our heart to. For he engraved it on our minds that failure is never an option, both in etiquette, academics and the likes.

He wanted a son to carry his name, but he was blessed with two daughters. It was typical for a family with an elite status to have arranged marriages as it was dated back to our great-grandparents. That's one of the reasons why he enrolled us in personality development classes, to groom the perfect daughters and soon to be wife.

Father's standards are high, so a man worthy of his first born is yet to come. Right now, I am burdened with the duties of the first born, studying hard to achieve satisfactory marks. And I am eager to please.

"Nee-chan, you seem worried."

"I am. About you. Please don't get sick anymore."

"I don't think that's possible..." Hanako yawned, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Are you sleepy? Do you want me to call the doctor to check on you tomorrow?"

She shook her head, smiling faintly. "No need. I'll just sleep it all off then I'll be good as new."

"Then do you want me to stay and look after you?"

She chuckled. "Nee-san, you're such a worry-wart. It's just a slight fever."

"But it's still fever! Don't underestimate it." I draped a gentle hand on her warm forehead, then on her neck. She chuckled again and took my hand.

"You can't take any unnecessary absences, you know."

Then I winced, absences also affects my performance. "But who'll take care of you?"

"I have Kuro-chan to keep me company."

I sighed. Not talking her out of this, I guess. I stood up, taking bowl of ice water with me. "Alright. I'll just buy you some more medicines and fruits on my way home."

Me:

Nii-san, Hanako has fever. What should I do?

Nii-san:

She should drink lots of water and get a lot of rest. See if you can make some porridge for her.

Me:

But I don't know how to cook.

Nii-san:

I'll send you my mom's recipe.

Me:

Yes, please. Thank you.

Nii-san:

Anything for my cute sisters ;)

Me:

We'll visit sometime soon. :)

Nii-san:

I can hardly wait!

My sister is sick, which means that I had to make my own bento. It wouldn't be that hard, right? I'll just make some simple egg rolls and tonkatsu. But it proved to be easier said than done.

"Your sister cooked your bento again? Let's swap!" Mari-san beamed with an excited tone. We swap bentos sometimes because she loved my little sister's cooking. I slowly unwrapped the mint green cloth and opened the bento, watching her face slowly morph into confusion. Does it look that bad? "Well, uh... I guess Hana-chan has her bad days, too..." She sweat-dropped.

"She's sick so I made my own bento." I admitted shyly.

Then she got excited again. "Woah, really?! Eira-chan's cooking!"

"Wait, it's my—"

Before I could finish my sentence, she took a slice of rolled egg and immediately took a bite of it. She chewed happily before she slightly winced.

"—first time cooking..." I muttered in embarrassment.

"There's something crunchy..." She took out something from her mouth. "Oh... an egg shell. Is it a new ingredient?" She laughed awkwardly.

My shoulders sagged in disappointment. "Does it taste that bad?"

"I-it's not bad for your first time. It's tasty in its own way, don't worry!" Mari-san flailed her arms around. "Right, Ayume?"

"What?" Ayume-san looked up from her book, giving us a confused look.

Instead of replying, Mari-san shoved another piece of rolled egg in Ayume-san's mouth. After chewing a little bit, her eyes widened. "Mother of all egg rolls! Who made this atrocity?!" She exclaimed.

"I did..." I muttered. "Does it taste bad?"

"Eira-chan, even I wouldn't feed this to my dog. That would be animal abuse." Ayume-san shook her head. "Are you a rich girl or something?"

"T-that's..." My lips tugged downwards.

"Cut her some slack, Ayume. There's a first time for everything, Eira-chan! You'll improve, don't worry!" She laughed, then took another bite of my egg rolls. "I used to believe that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. So I gave bentos to Kuroo-san for a solid month. He especially loved the grilled salted mackerel pike." She grinned.

"Why did you stop?" I asked.

"Well, I later learned that his mom is a chef. So then it kinda struck me that he only accepted my bentos because he's just being polite. It doesn't compare to what his mom feeds him."

I nodded as I chew on my egg rolls, wondering about the newly gained information about Kuroo-san. So his mother is a chef. That's lovely. How does it feel to taste your mother's cooking though? I don't even remember tasting my mother's home-cooked meal. It was always the family chef preparing our meals for us. But I don't blame her, she wouldn't have the time to cook because she's a very busy woman.

After classes, I did my Literature club activities and went on my way to the convenience store to grab our necessities for the next few days.

"A chef, huh...?" I wondered aloud, choosing what bentos I should buy.

I don't even know if it is ideal for Hanako to eat instant bento given that she's sick but I think I'll only make her sicker if I cooked her dinner. Is there even instant porridge in here? She needs a few days of rest so she wouldn't be able to cook our meals. I have realized that the kitchen is not for me at the moment. Maybe I should practice.

Two bentos for our dinner. Then... four boxes for our breakfast and lunch. I'll just buy dinner at a restaurant or something so that it'll be healthier. I sighed. In the end, I decided to grab at least six frozen bentos, toiletries and different varieties of fruits for Hanako.

I was paying for my food in the cashier when Kuroo-san and Kenma-kun emerged from the ice cream isle. Kuroo-san's eyes darted down to my bento boxes before looking straight into my eyes. I immediately got flustered that I turned around to the cashier to avoid his gaze.

Please ignore me. You didn't see me. Please ignore me. Please ignore me!

"Masa-san," I flinched at Kuroo-san's cheerful greeting. He appeared on my right and smiled at me. "Quite a feast you have there."

"Ahaha... yes, kind of." I sweat-dropped.

"Don't have the time to cook?"

"Uh... yes..." My cheeks heated up in embarrassment. Really, Eira? You don't have time to cook?

"I see... but home-cooked meals are a lot cheaper and healthier than those bundles of bentos, don't you think?"

"Yes..." I looked away, Hanako mostly takes care of the food expenses. Home-cooked meals have more nutritional value.

After paying for the bentos, Kuroo-san paid for their popsicles and he also volunteered to help me carry my groceries. Kenma-kun was so engrossed on his PSP that the reminder of his existence is the sound of his game and sighs.

"I'm sorry for being such a bother..." I muttered.

Kuroo-san gave me that same piercing look again, the look that makes me self-conscious. I really should just shut up sometimes.

"It's fine. We're going the same way anyway." He drawled.

I wonder what he thinks of bento boxes? I don't know why but I feel really conscious about him finding out about the bento boxes. Is it because of his chef mother who feeds him healthier and tastier dishes? Are these bentos even healthy to eat on a daily basis?

But why do I care about his opinion so much? It's not like I'll cook for him or anything. I can't even cook a decent meal for my sick sister. What a ridiculous thought, Eira...

I shook my head with a sigh. Such a disappointment.

"You go ahead. I'm going to carry these to Masa-san's house." I heard Kuroo-san said.

"Okay." Kenma-kun drawled. "Then, see you guys tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow!" I waved at Kenma-kun, then he went left on his street.

Kuroo-san and I then, without a word, proceeded to walk forward on the way to my home. Is he seriously going to walk me all the way to my house?

"Hey, Eira..." He muttered suddenly, making my heart thump at the way he called me. "Is there something bothering you?"

"Huh, what?"

"I'm not sure if I should say this but you're very transparent that it's easy to tell what you're feeling." He was serious as he was saying this. But he kept his eyes on the road.

"Oh. Yes, they always say that I'm like an open book, a girl of expression." I smiled.

That's one of the traits my father hated. In the corporate world, you have to be heartless and stoic, because when they see any ounce of emotion from you, you can get taken advantage of. Maybe that's why he's so cold to me, so that I could take after him.

"I'm training... to hide my emotions."

"Why?"

I bit my lower lip. "Because emotions are a sign of weakness."

Kuroo-san smiled, turning his head to look at me. "Do you really believe that? Your face says otherwise."

I pouted, speechless. Kuroo-san let out a short laugh at my reaction.

"But here's what I believe. Having zero emotions is really boring, yeah? You're no more different from a robot, and I think it's not a good thing." He explained, and I nodded, listening attentively. "Being emotional have higher links to empathy, and you tend to be specific about your feelings. Instead of the generic "I'm fine.", you say "I feel happy." or "I feel upset about this and that." or things similar to that."

"How are you feeling today, Kuroo-san?" I asked, curious.

"Oh, me? Hmm... I feel very productive today because of volleyball. And I feel very relaxed just walking with you right now." He answered. "How about you?"

"I feel..." I trailed off, "anxious..."

"Why do you feel anxious?"

"Because my sister is sick."

"That's understandable."

"And I'm also wondering about you, Kuroo-san."

He blinked in subtle surprise. "Good things, I hope. What is it?"

"How does it feel to have your mother cook for you?"

His expression suddenly changed, from relaxed to somber. But he smiled nonetheless. "I honestly don't know... I don't have a mother to say..."

"Oh, um..." I was more than confused than surprised. "B-but Mari-san said that your mother is a chef..." I stammered. I shook my head, way to ruin the relaxed demeanor, Eira! "I'm sorry. Please forget I asked."

"Maybe she meant by Kirimi-san. She's not my mother, though." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

He doesn't have a mom...

When we arrived at my house, I thanked him for the help. And as I watch him walk away, I realized that while he's right about being emotionally strong, there's still some emotions that we have to hide.