[Present]
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Ichigo's eyes blinked open. Glancing at her Charzander clock and reading 6:22 A.M., she yawned and stretched as she got out of bed.
As she headed towards the bathroom, she paused at Yuzu's door. Knowing her brother's daily routine, if she opened his door and peeked inside, she would find an already-made bed and room absent of its inhabitant. Just in case, however, she turned the knob and looked inside his room.
It was cleaned and empty, just as she expected. She closed the door and began walking towards the bathroom, the room adjacent to Yuzu's. Right before she entered, she glanced at the door directly across from the bathroom. It belonged to Kari, and it would most definitely be empty at this hour, too. Instead of checking Kari's room like she did to Yuzu's, Ichigo headed towards the bathroom without a second thought to her step-sibling.
I'd rather avoid that person if I can, Ichigo thought with annoyance as she brushed her teeth.
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Kari sneezed before running the last lap around the neighborhood.
Wondering if the youngest, dearest, cutest, little sister was thinking about k, Kari grinned and almost didn't notice Yuzu, who was jogging just slightly ahead. "Big brooother!" Kari called.
"I don't want to be called that by you," Yuzu stated as he continued his own pace.
"Big B, don't be so cold!" Kari frowned. "What am I going to do if you dislike me as much as Ichigo does?"
"With you spoiling her and trying to hug her every single day, she already does."
Kari laughed maniacally. "I'm surprised you aren't slobbering all over her already, Big B! With her strawberry-pink dyed hair meant to resemble the color of her favorite Charzander—an epic fail, but her attempt is toooo adorable—and those big, black eyes of hers…ooh…when she glares at me I just want to do whatever she wants—I know you've felt this way towards her!"
Yuzu ran a little faster. "You're a pervert with a sister-complex. Get away."
"Ah…I get it," chuckled Kari, keeping pace with Yuzu. "It's hard to admit you have the same feelings for Ichigo-char, huh?"
It's amazing how far your logic jumps, Yuzu thought.
Idiot.
"According to my countless mornings of observations, Ichigo-char should be currently in the bathroom right now, so if I finish this lap early, I might just be able to catch her—"
Yuzu decided he wanted to wipe off the lewd smile off its idiotic owner's face. "You aren't 'catching' her anywhere," he barked.
Kari's eyes turned to slits. "Just watch me, Big B."
With a laugh, Kari sprinted past Yuzu. Yuzu cursed as he increased his pace.
"I'll be the first one to the house! You can't beat me!" Kari called back to him before running even faster.
Irritation flared in Yuzu, and he growled as he drew out his inner power and will. Pumping his arms and legs, he soon caught up to Kari, who rolled eyes at the sight of him.
"Let the young run and lay down already, old man!" Kari goaded.
Yuzu's tolerance snapped. I'll never let Kari reach home before I do!!
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"Ichigo-char, say aah <3."
Ichigo ignored Kari, already used to k's antics. She coldly sipped her orange juice while Kari waited with k's spoon outstretched.
Just as Ichigo thought Kari had given up, Kari longingly mewed, "I guess my Ichigo-char wants me to walk with her to her junior high school on her first day? I wasn't planning on doing that because my Ichigo-char wanted me not to, but if she doesn't eat from—"
Ichigo clamped her mouth on Kari's spoon, barely tasting the egg omelet as she gulped it down. "There!" she growled with annoyance. "You better not walk me to the gates like you did last year!"
"My, Ichigo-char is so feisty~!" Kari said with delight, oblivious to Ichigo's death-glare. "Your big sibling here will reconsider if you take another bite <3. Say aah <3 <--"
Yuzu's fist rocked Kari's head forward, and Ichigo cried out in relief, "Big brother!"
"Stop teasing her," Yuzu growled at Kari as he sat in his seat.
Kari clicked k's tongue in disappointment as k rubbed the back of k's head. "You didn't have to hit me to tell me that," k muttered, shooting a glare at him. And then k's face brightened. K grinned. "Don't tell me…you're still sore about this morning?"
Yuzu sputtered out the juice he was currently drinking. "Don't be an idiot!" he barked.
"This morning?" asked Ichigo, curious despite knowing her question would only fan Kari's delight.
"Our Big B thought he would win in a race against me," Kari said nonchalantly, as if k was talking about an unimportant matter. K's grin said otherwise. "I didn't want to race, of course, because I didn't want to embarrass him by winning…"
"You were the one who wanted to race!" growled Yuzu indignantly.
"Let me guess, Kari-idiot won?" asked Ichigo in a neutral voice.
Kari chuckled and gave Ichigo a serious look. "Do you want to know what Big B promised me if I won?"
"No," Ichigo responded honestly as she finished her drink.
"Well, let me tell you, Big B promised me one-hundred and three nights to spend by Ichigo-char's bedside," Kari boasted, oblivious to the fact that Ichigo had already left her seat. "He even promised that he wouldn't interfere if you were to request me to sleep with y—"
"Idiot," interrupted Yuzu as he got up from his seat. "Ichigo already left."
Kari grunted in reply and fell silent, shoveling down the rest of k's eggs and rice.
As Yuzu washed his and Ichigo's bowl and glass, he wondered not for the first time when exactly Kari started to vie for Ichigo's attention. K certainly didn't behave as k was behaving now towards them when they first met as children. K was quite the opposite…
["Don't touch me, or I'll hurt you."]
"Ichigo…she hates me."
Yuzu resurfaced from his memories and stilled at Kari's words.
What do you mean by that? He wanted to ask. Do you genuinely want Ichigo to like you? Or are you just trying to be nice for the moment because of what happened to our parents?
"That just makes her cuter," k muttered with a full mouth. "I want to see all her cold and hot moments, she is so cute."
Yuzu pitched the sponge he was using at k's head. "You're just a pervert!" he growled.