The visits from his friends were usually spaced out- with just enough days in between each one for Shin to briefly consider letting his guard down- only to get proven wrong immediately after the thought enters his mind. So, naturally, when Shin saw Kugie the day after she had visited (alongside her entire class), he had a bit of whiplash.

"You again?!" The words flew out of his mouth before he could give them any thought.

"Okay, first of all, rude." Kugie crossed her arms over her chest, an unamused (and rather indignant) look on her face. "Second of all, there's absolutely no need to get your panties in a bunch. I promise I haven't brought my whole class with me this time."

True to her word, there weren't a ton of students this time around. Instead, there were just two students with her- those being none other than her girlfriend, Anzu, and her sister, Kanna.

"Who said you can talk to my girlfriend like that?!" The former huffed, sticking her nose up in an attempt to look as intimidating as possible (which ended up backfiring).

"I-I'm sure he didn't mean it like that..." The latter mumbled, waving to her friend and offering him a kind smile.

"See, Kanna gets me." Shin returned the smile for a brief moment- only for his unamused look to re-appear almost instantly as he turned his attention to the other girls. "So, what fun stuff do you guys have planned for me today?"

"What, are we not allowed to come in here just because we feel like it?" Kugie frowned in disapproval.

Shin's head swelled with a strong sense of deja vu- only this time around, he had a proper retort. "Actually, I know for a fact that at least one of you isn't." With a wicked smile, he gestured to a paper hanging on the window next to the counter. It was a poster with a shitty picture of Anzu taken from security camera footage, with "NOT ALLOWED WITHIN TWO METERS OF THE SLUSHIE MACHINE WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION" written in bold letters above the grainy image.

The suspect in question immediately lifted her hood up, her cheeks flushing red in embarrassment. "I-I said I was sorry!" She whined pathetically. "How was I supposed to know that the slushie machine was gonna bust a nut on me like that?!"

Shin could feel the years being plucked off of his life span like feathers. "Please never say 'bust a nut' like that again." He groaned.

"What does 'bust a nut' mean...?" Kanna asked, looking up at her sister and her girlfriend with an expectant gaze.

"OKAY!" Shin cleared his throat loudly, leaning back in disgust. "We are not going to talk about that today. Or ever."

"Actually, I think now's as great a time as ever!" Kugie smiled menacingly, turning to her girlfriend and cracking her knuckles. "Since you brought it up, go ahead and tell her what it means to bust a nut, babe!"

"Oh, uh..." Anzu glanced from the busted slushie machine to Kanna's confused expression, scratching the back of her neck nervously. "Well, it's like... just another way of saying something exploded! Yeah!"

"Oh, okay!" Kanna's innocent eyes lit up as she turned and pointed at a rather intense looking Shin. "In that case, Shin looks like he's about to bust a nut!" She exclaimed as happily as ever.

Shin, too stunned to speak, promptly started choking on his own spit, slamming his fist onto the counter as he keeled over and wheezed for air. Kugie closed her eyes, rubbing either side of her temple with her index fingers as she let out a deep sigh. Anzu quickly brought her hand to her mouth, stifling her laughter as best as she could. "Anyways!" She yelled just a little louder than she had intended. "I'm gonna go and get a, uh... A slushie! Yeah! I've been wanting one since last time! I'll be back-!"

"Can you read?!" Shin choked out in between gasps, gesturing madly to the paper on the wall. "Are you trying to get in trouble?!"

"Oh, relax," Kugie waved her hand dismissively. "I'm fairly sure that paper wasn't even there yesterday and you just put it up intentionally! If you're so worried about Anzu busting another nut in the store then I'll go with her and make sure she doesn't make a mess."

Shin was nearly launched into another choking fit, too busy clearing his throat to stop Anzu and Kugie from disappearing to the back of the store. Instead, he watched as Kanna reached her hand forward, seeming as if she were going to follow them, only to hesitate and pull back. Perhaps he was looking too into it, but something about her behavior didn't sit right with him. Clearing his throat for a final time, he leaned forward, resting his elbows onto the counter and placing his chin on top of his palm. "So, how are you doing today, Kanna?" He hummed, trying to play it off as if he hadn't just choked for a solid two minutes.

Kanna startled, quickly turning her head back to Shin. "Oh, I'm good! Uh, how are you, Shin?" She asked, her green eyes wide in surprise. "Have you calmed down?"

"I've been through worse. But are you sure you're good?" Shin inquired, tilting his head to the side. "You seem a little off to me. Is there something wrong?"

Kanna frowned. "Is it that obvious?" She asked, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger nervously. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"It's no trouble, really." Shin assured her. "Now, what's bothering you?"

Kanna quickly leaned back, sparing a glance in the direction where the other two had disappeared to before turning her attention back to Shin. "It's actually about Kugie and Anzu... kind of... well, it's more about Kugie than Anzu, but still!"

He'd understand if it was about one or the other- but both of them? "What about them?" Shin raised an inquisitive brow. "Are they giving you a hard time?"

"N-no!" Kanna shook her head. "Why does everyone assume that?!"

"My bad..." Shin whistled, drumming his fingers against the counter.

"No, you're fine, it's just... Kugie and Anzu are great people, really. I love my big sister, and, um, although Anzu wasn't exactly the person who I thought she was at first, I still think she's cool!"

Now that she mentioned it, Shin could vaguely recall Kanna talking about Kugie's girlfriend a month or so ago. "Didn't you say she seemed mature when you first met her?" He had to hold back a snort at how inaccurate her initial assumption had been.

Kanna cringed, her nose scrunching up. "I really thought she was mature! But the more I think about it the more I realize she was probably just too nervous to relax."

"That..." Shin clicked his tongue. "That actually makes sense."

"Even though Anzu's less..." Kanna pursed her lips as she stumbled for a brief moment. "...mature than I had initially thought, she makes my sister really happy, so I don't mind it." Although there was a smile on her face, her green eyes flickered with something different. "They're a really good couple, but if I'm being honest, I'm a tad worried." Kanna watched as Shin nodded his head, taking the cue and continuing. "It's a little selfish, actually, but I'm scared that Kugie's gonna spend less and less time with me now that she has Anzu."

Shin merely blinked. "Oh?" He hummed, still processing her dilemma.

Kanna clutched her arm in shame, her lip quivering as she spoke. "It's dumb, I know, but I love my sister and I don't want us to drift apart! But at the same time, I want her to be happy, and if being with Anzu makes her happy then... I feel like I'm stuck, Shin! I don't know what to say or how to feel! Please help me!" She cried out, clasping her hands together and clenching her eyes shut. "What should I do?"

It was a damn good question- one that Shin didn't know the answer to. "Uh..." He tugged at the collar of his work uniform nervously, averting his gaze as soon as Kanna opened her eyes to look up at him pleadingly. Unfortunately for him, he somehow managed to spot Kugie starting to make her way back to them. It was now or never, and although Shin knew next to nothing on how to comfort a teenage girl, he knew damn well that he was not getting paid enough for all the shit he had to do. "I don't really know Kugie and Anzu too well, so I may not be the best person to ask-" Kanna's eyes drooped to the floor. That was not a good sign. "-But! From what I can tell, Kugie's really steadfast and dedicated. Even though she didn't seem too happy about it, she still agreed to come here for your sake. I think it's clear she loves you and cares for you; and although she has a girlfriend now, I'm sure she's not going to leave you behind anytime soon."

Kanna's eyes lit up at each word Shin said, and by the end of his mini speech she was trembling with two parts delight and two parts relief. "Y-you really think so?" She asked.

Shin nodded in affirmation. "Just ask her yourself."

"Alright!" Kanna grinned happily. "Thank you, Shin!"

Before either of them could say anything else, Kugie emerged from one of the aisles with a slushie in one of her hands. "Yo, Shin, Anzu somehow managed to make another mess." With her free hand, she pointed over her shoulder as casually as ever.

"For fuck's sake!" Shin let out a rather pathetic wail at the devastating news, unwavered by the glare Kugie shot him for his crass language. "What did she do this time?!" In the distance, Anzu could be heard yelling out an apology.

Kugie shrugged. "Don't worry, she didn't break the other slushie machine. Doesn't mean you don't need to bring a mop, though. You're probably gonna need it."

Sputtering angry nonsense for a solid minute, Shin finally threw his hands up in defeat, swiping the mop from its place. With nothing left to say, he sulked off toward the back of the store, succumbing to whatever awaited him just around the corner.

"I almost feel bad for him." Kugie admitted, setting the slushie she was holding down on the counter. "Key word: almost." Grinning cheekily, she turned to her sister. "So, what were you two talking about?"

"Ah!" Kanna's eyes widened. "Nothing, really! I was just asking about what happened yesterday."

"Nice." Kugie chuckled fondly. "Who would've thought my art teacher was in on the whole thing too, huh?"

"Yeah, what a small world we live in!" Kanna chuckled as well, albeit more awkwardly than her sister had. For a moment, the two of them remained silent, both unsure what to say. "Um-"

"Actually-"

Both of the sisters immediately stopped mid-sentence when they realized that they both spoke at the same time. "Y-You can go first," Kanna offered.

"It's convenient that you brought up what happened yesterday, actually..." Kugie's voice trailed off as she held her hands behind her back, pressing the toe of her shoe into the ground and twisting her foot anxiously. "You know that Mishima brought my class here for an art project, and, well... I made this. For you."

Taken aback with a pleasant surprise, Kanna was too focused on the painting being presented to her to question where exactly Kugie pulled it out from. The scene her sister painted was of the two of them, sitting on a picnic blanket and sharing ice cream in a park they used to frequent, surrounded by trees of green and sky tinted pink.

The longer Kanna stared at the painting in awe, the more Kugie started to get nervous from the silence. Clearing her throat, she decided to say something to fill the tense atmosphere. "Okay, before you say anything, I only had green, red, and white paint to work with, so I know it may look a little weird at first but-"

Kugie was promptly cut off by Kanna suddenly hugging her tightly. "I love it!" She squeaked, burying her face into her sister's uniform. "Th-Thank you!"

"I'm glad." Kugie let out a breath of relief, returning the hug. "There's no need to thank me, either. I'm sorry I haven't been a good sister as of late. I'm trying to balance out spending time with you and with Anzu, but I don't think I've been doing a good job at it, so I wanted to make it up to you. I promise I'll be a better sister."

"You're already the best sister I could ever ask for." Kanna pulled away from the hug, looking up at Kugie with watery eyes. "I love you, Kugie!"

"You better not go crying, now!" She scolded playfully, ruffling Kanna's hair. "I love you too, Kanna." Leaning forward, she planted a swift peck to the top of her sister's head. "Now, what was it you were trying to say earlier?" She asked, standing up straight and pulling her hand away from Kanna's head.

"Oh, it's nothing!" Kanna assured her, holding the painting close to her heart. "Though, now I really want ice cream! I think they have some over there!" She pointed towards the large bin- the exact one where Kugie had found her inspiration.

"If you say so, sis." Kugie hummed, placing her hand on Kanna's shoulder. "Let's go get us some ice cream, then."

Word Count: ~2.3k

Author's Note: I sincerely apologize for how late this chapter was! A few things came up, and I also may or may not have let my laziness get the best of me. I didn't want to rush the ending scene, though, so I took my time on it, and I'm glad I did :D I really love Kanna and Kugie's dynamic (even though we hardly see it in-game due to... unfortunate circumstances ):), now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go and hug my own sister now because I don't think I show her enough appreciation. If any of you readers have siblings, make sure to do something nice for them once in a while, maybe (: (assuming they're nice and not mean)

Next chapter will be out 2/3, and then the chapter after that will be out on 2/5, setting this fic back on track for its usual schedule! Thank you so much for your understanding!