“So first you do this…” Minato carved out a hole in the center of a chocolate cupcake and then poured espresso into the cavity. “Now try it.” Meanwhile, he popped the slender cylinder of cake into his mouth.
Hinako took a bite of the remaining cupcake, and her eyes flew open. The bitterness of the espresso had mellowed out the sweetness of the chocolate. It was the perfect balance!
“You’re right! It really cuts the sweetness!”
As they grinned at each other, a teenage girl sitting at the table with them grumbled. “Good, because you two are sickeningly sweet as it is.”
“I’m sorry my sister’s so catty,” Minato apologized.
Indeed, this was none other than Minato’s younger sister Youko, currently in her second year of high school. She wore a duffel coat and low pigtails, and she was a pretty girl. Her pensive, almond-shaped eyes matched her brother’s perfectly—
“Don’t apologize for me, Oniichan!”
—except for when she glared.
“And bullheaded,” Minato continued.
That much was obvious at a glance. Youko was still wearing her coat over her school uniform, which suggested that she wasn’t planning on sticking around.
“Yeah, but I think we’ll get along!” Hinako declared with a smile.
“Oh, do you?!”
“Catty and bullheaded is exactly how I’d describe my two best friends: Jun-chan the Scorpion and Ai-chan the Cobra!” Hinako showed Youko a photo of the three of them together.
“Why do they have such stupid nicknames?” Youko asked, brow furrowed.
“What would my sister be? Let’s see… How about a blue-ringed octopus?” Minato suggested.
“An octopus?!”
“It may be small, but its bite contains a powerful neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin,” he continued, wiggling his fingers like tentacles.
“Your brother sure knows a lot of stuff, huh?” Hinako grinned, gazing at Minato.
“I’m leaving,” Youko spat as she rose to her feet. “I only came here to see what kind of girl you’re dating, and now I’ve got my answer!”
“And what ‘answer’ would that be?”
“Dating is for squares! Now if you’ll excuse me, this blue-ringed octopus is taking her neurotoxins and going home! Bye!” And with that, Youko grabbed her book bag and started to leave.
“Well, uh… Let’s hang out again sometime, Youko-chan!” Hinako called after her, waving both hands.
Youko whirled around, glaring daggers. “Excuse me?!”
“I’ve built up an immunity to your poison, so I’ll be fine!” Hinako cheerfully threw up a shaka.
“Forget it! Hmph!” And with that, Youko stormed out.
“I really appreciate you taking that in stride,” Minato commented softly, gazing into Hinako’s eyes. “My sister has a lot of trouble making friends, you know, with the way she is, and she used to skip school for weeks at a time. But lately she’s been going again.”
“Gotcha,” Hinako replied with a soft smile. It was obvious just how worried Minato was for her, and how deeply he cared.
“So yeah, it’d mean a lot if you could be a friend to her.”
“Of course!”
Sure, Youko had complained the whole time she was with them, but she had shown up, and she had finished her coffee. Besides, Hinako was a younger sister herself, so she could relate.
We may deny it, but at the end of the day, our big brothers mean the world to us.