"Nice butterfly on your shoulder, Cousin."
I had to say it. Maybe I'm the only one who sees it. Akari couldn't see it. Ice couldn't see it. But me? I saw it clearly—the small black-and-yellow butterfly perched neatly on Shion's shoulder, fluttering its wings like some errie.
Shion just stood there for a second, her eyes unreadable, then continued walking away as if nothing happened.
"Did she not see it too?" I muttered under my breath, poking at my food.
Seriously, that girl needs to stop shoving food into my mouth like she's trying to choke me. One of these days, she'll succeed. And don't even get me started on her obsession with getting a date from me. She really has to give that up—because that's never happening. Ever.
I sighed and turned to the girl sitting beside me. "Cousin Akari, are you not eating way too fast?"
Akari was practically shoveling food into her mouth like she was being timed. Her chopsticks moved so fast, I could barely keep up.
"I have to finish up quickly so I can catch up with Rei," she said between bites. "I won't be distracted by anything else today."
I could barely hear half of what she said. "Is eating too much not going to be a problem?"
She glanced up at me, frowning. "What problem?"
"You're going on a date," I said, raising an eyebrow. "So where exactly are you planning to store all that food you're eating now? Your stomach's going to explode before the date even starts."
She froze mid-bite, chopsticks in hand, clearly realizing I had a point.
"Oh," she said, sitting back. "I forgot about that. Very well then, I'm done eating. What about you?"
"I'm just starting," I said, taking another slow bite of rice.
As I chewed, I noticed Minato and Ayato sitting across from me. Both of them looked like someone had just crushed their souls. They were barely touching their plates.
"What happened to you two?" I asked, pointing my chopsticks in their direction.
"Our sensei said training is on hiatus for the week," Minato said with a deep sigh. "He has things to do, so no training today."
"Oh well, resting is a good thing too," I said, trying to sound positive. "Besides, you two have jobs, right?"
"Mama fired me for making a child go bald," Ayato muttered, slumping in his chair.
"Wait—what?" Akari and I said in unison, staring at him in disbelief.
Then our eyes drifted to Minato. "And you?" I asked. "What's your excuse?"
Minato groaned. "Well… everyone's vegetables are already fresh, so what's the point of going to the market to approve the veggies when they're all good?"
I blinked. "So… you got bored already?"
He shrugged. "Guess so."
Honestly, he was still doing better than the jobless one beside him.
"Sorry to hear about you two," I said softly. "Well, I guess Master Daichi must just be busy this week. Once he's done with whatever he's doing, he'll call you two back, I'm sure of it."
"I don't think he's going to call us back," Ayato said, voice low and heavy. "No matter how hard he tries to train us, we never get anything right. The stance, the katas, even defense—we just can't seem to get it. We're useless."
Minato nodded weakly. "He doesn't want to say it, but we can tell. We're not good for anything. I'll never be able to defend myself no matter how hard I try. I'm just… the vegetable boy. Nothing more than that." He sighed, resting his forehead against the table. "Even the seaweed has more purpose on the rice than I do."
He stared blankly at his food like it had all the answers.
"I just wanted to be more than a farmer's son," Ayato added quietly. "Nothing more than that… but it feels impossible."
For a moment, the table went quiet. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't good with comforting people. I just kept eating slowly, pretending not to feel bad for them. But then—
"Come on, guys!"
Akari's voice suddenly cut through the silence like thunder. I turned toward her, startled. She stood up, her hands planted on the table, eyes blazing.
"You two are the coolest cousins I know," she said firmly. "You should never give up, no matter what. If it feels like you're falling, you get up. You try again, and again, until you finally get it! You don't stop until you can't breathe anymore!"
I blinked at her. Akari, giving motivation speeches? Now that's a first.
"Stop feeding yourselves negative words," she continued passionately. "Say good things. Believe in good things. Don't you dare sit here and pity yourselves!"
Before anyone could react, she marched straight over to Minato, grabbed his bowl of rice, and picked up a massive bite.
"Open up!" she ordered.
"Ehn—wait—"
Before he could say another word, she shoved the rice straight into his mouth.
"Now eat it!" she said sharply, glaring down at him. "Never ever compare yourself to food or anything else. Only compare yourself to yourself! Do you hear me?!"
Minato nodded frantically, trying to chew and not choke at the same time.
Then Akari turned to Ayato, eyes narrowing. "Hey—you! Do you want me to feed you too?"
Ayato's eyes widened. "N-No! I can eat! I'm eating!"
Immediately, he started stuffing food into his mouth at lightning speed.
"Good!" Akari said proudly, hands on her hips. "That's what I like to see. I mean it when I say nothing is going to distract me from my date today! Not even you two crying boys!"
Then she turned to me. "Cousin Rin, are you done yet?!"
I jumped a little. "N-No! Almost!"
"Then hurry up!" she said. "We don't have all day!"
I couldn't help but laugh as I started rushing my food too. The Hoshino sisters really do have the most aggressive way of feeding people.
Sometimes, I wonder if we're truly a family—or just a collection of weirdos trying to survive breakfast without choking.