The next day came, and it was raining heavily.
The rain poured down in buckets. Water cascaded from the roof of the house, creating puddles in front of it.
Inside the Kurosaki home, Shirou was sitting alone in the living room, making breakfast while listening to the sound of rain. The television was on but the auburn-haired teen wasn't interested in what the TV was showing, nor did he care.
He was focused only on one thing. Making a delicious meal.
"This should be enough." Shirou muttered under his breath as he finished the last dish.
The table was full of food, ranging from rice, fish, meat, vegetables, and even a bowl full of miso soup.
"Yum, it smells good." Yuzu appeared and went to him, sniffing the air, "Onii-chan, can you make me an omurice too? I want to eat an onii-chan special."
"No." Karin appeared from behind Yuzu and grabbed her shoulders, "Shiro-nii has made us a lot of food already. Don't bother him too much, Yuzu."
"Aww..." Yuzu whined in disappointment.
"I'll make one for dinner, so please don't make such a sad face. Okay?"
Yuzu's eyes lit up at her brother's words. She smiled brightly and nodded enthusiastically.
"Thank you, Onii-chan!"
"Hey, no fair, Yuzu!"
The siblings gathered at the dining table, enjoying their breakfast together. Ichigo would join late because he overslept and chaos ensued.
Yes, it usually ended with Masaki cleaning the table with Shirou, but something was different today.
Ding dong!
The bell of their house rang, surprising the whole Kurosaki family.
Shirou glanced over at the door. There was no way to see who it was, but he knew it was either Urahara, Yoruichi, someone from Soul Society, or his friends. The timing couldn't be any more suspicious.
"I'll open the door. Yuzu, Karin, can you put the plates and food on the table?" He stood up from his seat and walked out of the living room.
'Who would visit our house so early in the morning?' Shirou wondered as he went to the door. He reached for the handle and pulled it open, revealing the visitors outside. "...Good morning?"
Outside stood two beautiful girls with long hair, one was black while the other was golden, and both were drenched. Water dripped from their hair and clothes. They shivered from the cold, especially the black-haired girl whose lips had become pale and her body shook slightly.
The rain still fell hard outside and they didn't have umbrellas with them.
"What are you doing?" Shirou asked, "Why are you standing outside in the rain without any umbrella?"
"Ugh... This is all Noel's fault." Ninny muttered and pointed at her friend, "If only she listened to me and let's just wait inside the house."
"It's raining hard on our way. I thought we could get here faster." Noel mumbled and wrapped her arms around herself. Her face was flushed and her body shook from the cold.
"You're freezing." Shirou sighed, "Come on inside and change."
"Shirou, we're not here because of-"
"Talk later and change first. If you catch a cold, it will be troublesome. I have some dry clothes and towels, you can borrow them."
Shirou interrupted Ninny and didn't give her any room to argue. He took the two girls inside and led them to the bathroom where they could dry themselves.
On the way, he passed by the dining room with the door open. The two girls looked inside and Noel nodded at the family before following Shirou.
Of course that made Isshin grin and Ichigo froze in shock and his hand hang in the air.
"Pops... Who was that?"
"Hmm? Didn't I tell you last night about Shirou's foreigner friend? The blonde visited a few days ago to greet us, but the other girl is new. Have you ever seen her, Masaki?"
"Hmm, I am not sure." She tilted her head and put her fingers on her lips, "They seem familiar somehow, but I couldn't recall where."
Ichigo stood there, gaping. He didn't know why they suddenly visited his house, or why they followed Shirou inside.
After a minute, Shirou returned to the dining hall while glancing at the hallway with a worried look. Ichigo immediately grabbed his brother's shoulders and shook him violently.
"What the fuck!? Who are they and what are they doing here!?"
"Stop, stop!" Shirou pushed his brother back, stopping him, "They're Noel and Ninny, friends who visited Japan from England. And I let them in so they can dry their clothes."
"You never told me about any friends coming from overseas. Since when do you even have girls who would visit our home!?"
"Well, there is nothing wrong with having girls visiting home, right?"
"Yes, but not two at the same time. Especially when they're foreigners." Ichigo sighed and slumped down in his seat, "What are they doing here anyway?"
"I don't know."
"..."
Shirou's answer made everyone speechless. Even Yuzu who was busy serving the food and Karin who was sitting quietly beside her stopped what they were doing.
Only Isshin and Masaki remained calm and composed.
"Well, if they are friends then they are welcome to stay. Right, Masaki?"
"Yes." She smiled, "The more the merrier."
"..."
Ichigo was speechless at his parents' nonchalant behavior.
Meanwhile, Shirou looked at Karin and Yuzu.
"Can you help them when they're finished, Yuzu, Karin? I am afraid that they'll get a cold after standing outside in the rain."
The two girls looked at him, then looked at each other before nodding and answering.
"Okay!" Yuzu said energetically, which was kind of cute in a way.
Meanwhile, Karin grumbled under her breath, "...fine, whatever." And walked out of the room with a huff. It seemed that she was still a bit grumpy after being woken up by Ichigo.
It didn't take long for Karin to return with the two girls, all wearing fresh clothes. Noel was wearing a simple black dress, while Ninny wore a blue shirt and white shorts.
Shirou looked at them in surprise and Ninny puffed her chest proudly.
"I am prepared." She declared.
He didn't ask what she meant by that.
After a few more minutes, the table had been filled with dishes... again. Masaki was the one cooking them because she didn't want guests who came to visit them go hungry.
Noel was seated across from the Kurosaki siblings, looking a little nervous, but Ninny sat next to Shirou. Ichigo was still staring at her in suspicion while Isshin had his signature goofy grin on his face. His father and mother didn't seem to care at all, though he was pretty sure they knew who the girls were.
When they were finished eating and Shirou had to start preparing for school, Ninny suddenly dropped a bomb.
"The marchen will arrive soon."
"What?"