Hey guys! So for reference, this chapter starts off the morning after last chap, and we're gonna go through a mini timeskip within this chapter as well so stay tuned!

And aww Baby Runa + Haru fluff in this art omg!! We're gonna need all of the extra Runa and Haru fluff we could get hehe 🤡☕️

There's absolutely nothing anyone could try to say to me to convince me that waking up could ever be a pleasant experience. No matter how hard I try, I could never get used to the feeling of waking up with the sun in my eyes.

Sure, the lighting could be pretty, but that's as good as it ever gets!

Today was no exception, from the second I tried prying my eyes open, the glowy rays of light shone on my darkened eyes to which I audibly recoiled in disgust.

Grabbing onto my silky purple comforter, I tried hauling it up to cover my face as a shield from the run's harsh morning light.

To my discomfort however, the blanket wouldn't budge!

It was then that I became a bit more aware of my senses, now frustrated with the light in my face and the lack of cooperation from my bed, I then felt a weight on my shoulder.

Turning my head to the side to see just what the hell was going on, my squinted eyes widened at the sight of Haruki sleeping right next to me.

"Ruki?!" I ask, squinting once more and twisting around to face her properly.

Did she sneak in the middle of the night or something?!

She's still dead asleep, not budging even after I disruptively move around and call out her name.

"Ruki? Hellooo?" I ask aloud, now placing a hand on her arm and shaking her a bit. She barely budged however, slowly opening her eyes and blinking groggily at me.

"Good morning." She mumbled sleepily before shutting her eyes once more.

I deadpanned at that, now completely awake and confused.

What on earth has her so tired!?

Haruki's a total morning person, always chipper and excited to start a new day. Not once have I ever been more alert than her after waking up!

So frazzled by our shifts in demeanor, I don't even question why Haruki is in my bed in the first place!

It wouldn't be the first time I woke up with Haruki by my side, but usually she'd sneak into my room for impromptu sleepovers before she got upset with me over the Sumire situation.

Has she gotten over it?

With the thoughts still running through my head, I swing my legs off of the bed, ignoring the goosebumps that arise from my skin

I take a quick shower, scrubbing myself with my rosewater body wash before stepping back out, a fluffy towel wrapped around my body. I leave my bathroom, arching a brow at Haruki who's still dead asleep underneath my numerous blankets.

Eh, I'll give her a couple of moments before waking her up. I think to myself, dropping the towel and swiftly putting on my outfit for the day.

Since there's no class today, I opt for a cute little dress!

With pockets!

I glance back at Haruki one last time just to make sure she's still dozed off, and sure enough, she's sound asleep.

Venturing out into the rest of the house, I pass by Katsuro's room only to note how the door's wide open and he isn't in there.

Shrugging a bit at that, I trot downstairs and frown at the silence. Jeez what is up with today? Everything seems so off!

Normally, my mom would be downstairs cooking breakfast for everybody, or she'd be outside watering the garden!

Or she'd be on one of our couches taking a nap with our breakfast already on the table....

However, right now she's doing none of those things! The first floor of my house resembles a total ghost town! Mom isn't even home from what it looks like...

Did she stay at the hospital last night with Daisuke? I thought he'd be home by now! Whatever's going on with him must be serious, he's been at the hospital for days!

And although it isn't unusual that he spends a night over there, as his older sister I can't help but worry!

I stroll into an empty kitchen, picking up a small note that my mom left on the island.

'To whichever one of my beautiful babies that are reading this, don't worry I'm coming home soon! I had to stay overnight with Daisuke, but don't get too anxious. He's getting better I promise!

Katsuro, if this is you, do me a favor and pass by your uncle's house. Sakura told me that Hanako has a cold and I cooked her something last night. Go take it to her!

Haruki if it's you, rest up alright? Last night was a lot to take in but you didn't do anything wrong. We talked earlier but I know your brain runs in circles sometimes! Just relax and take the day to rest.

Runa honey if you're the one seeing this first, then go take some medicine, it's not normal that you'd get up so early without me waking you up first.

Also I found out that you were training with Shinji! Why didn't you tell me?! I could train you way better than that loser! When I get home I am teaching you how to on water, that idiot couldn't even get you to stand properly I bet-

Oh I gotta go! The doctor's calling me. Don't forget to take that medicine!!'

I sweatdrop at her message addressed to me. There's no way I'm taking that medicine!

But it is a little weird that I woke up so early....

I shake off the thoughts before letting my dark eyes glide back over the black inked words in her little note for Haruki.

What the hell happened last night?!

It's in the middle of my numerous thoughts that I hear the shower running upstairs from my room and I arch a brow. Haruki finally woke up!

With the note in my hand, I race back upstairs, eager to find out whatever it is that Haruki possibly could've done to think that she did something wrong in the first place.

By the time I walk into my room, Haruki's already out of the shower with her shiny white hair up in a messy bun.

She's wearing one of my oversized sweaters as she lazily decided against going into her own closet, and the article of clothing barely covers her thighs. It's because of the length of the sweater that I notice bandages wrapped all around Haruki's left thigh.

"Can you help me brush my hair?" She asked nonchalantly, reaching up and letting her messy bun loose, and her hair tumbles down her back.

"Y-yeah of course." I say, eyeing the bandages confusedly and following her back into my bathroom where my vanity is. She sits down at the mirror and sighs quietly, handing me my brush before facing forward.

"What happened to your thigh?" I blurt out, poking at the bandages with my brush and quickly recoiling when she winces a bit.

"I fought Sumire last night, this cut didn't heal all the way through since you know my regeneration isn't as good as mom's." Haruki sighed as I ran my hands through her thick hair, parting it expertly.

My eyes widen like saucers, and my jaw practically drops to the floor. "You fought her?!"

Haruki actually willingly left her house to fight somebody?! Our class rep at that?!

I need those details!

"Yeah, She was the culprit all along like I thought she was." Haruki mumbled, her voice soft as I brush through her hair slowly. I could barely close my mouth from how shocked I am, staring at her face through the mirror.

She seems calm, just a bit more tired than usual. In fact, she's just sitting there with closed eyes, her dark lashes fluttering against her cheekbones as she answers my questions.

"How'd you confront her? Or like how did the fight start?" I ask, turning back to her hair and brushing through the ends softly, watching as they bounced and curled up naturally at the ends.

Unlike my pin-straight hair, Haruki's always had a bit of a wave pattern or curl at the ends of her own hair. My mom's always obsessed over it since she has no idea where it came from in the family tree.

"I went to talk to uncle Naru about it, and he told me that I was right. And then there was this really big burst of chakra at our old clan park, and it was a beast Sumire unleashed! The adults had it under control of course but Sumire was nowhere to be found." She then sighed before continuing.

"That's when I went and found her myself, and the fight started." She said, blinking slowly at the vanity mirror across from her.

"What'd mom say when she found out?!" I can't help but ask, pausing my handiwork on her hair to pay full attention to the story.

God if it were me my mom would've yelled at me like there was no tomorrow. What'd she do to Haruki? Give her a small pat on the back?

"I guess uncle Naru told her to take Sumire, so she showed up after the fight and told me to come home and sleep, so I did. But this morning she was home for a little bit and I was awake then, so then we talked."

She then sighed, fluttering her eyes open before continuing.

"She told me she wasn't mad or anything, and I didn't do anything wrong. But I got upset and asked her why everybody was letting Sumire off the hook, and she told me that in certain situations I have to learn to forgive, this is one of those situations." She mumbles the words almost poutily much to my surprise.

"And you haven't forgiven her?"

"Am I a bad person for not wanting to like a girl who almost killed our baby brother?" She asked quietly. I shake my head, returning to brush through other sections of her hair.

"Not at all, you're usually just so forgiving, it caught me off guard."

"Yeah, mom said the same thing." She sighed, bringing up a hand to her forehead and rubbing at it. "She told me to not be so stubborn, and that I look just like dad whenever I get all upset."

I snort at that, smirking a bit at the small glare on her face "You know from the pictures we've seen of him from when he was a kid, I agree." My smirk turns to a smile when she rolls her eyes lightheartedly.

"It's in the eyes." I went on to muse, to which she shook her head. "Dad looked like a mean kid." She claimed, twisting around and arching a brow at me.

"Do I look mean?" She asked in a mini panic.

"When angry? You're a monster!" I laugh, dodging her hand that attempts to smack my abdomen.

She turns back around and continues rubbing at her head. "So then after we talked mom told me to go back to sleep, and your room is closer than mine so-"

"Oh c'mon just admit you like my bed better than yours!" I scowl, eyeing the little smirk forming on her lips.

This has been an ongoing debate for ages!

Sure, Haruki's bed has the aesthetic going on. It's frilly, pretty, and looks like it belongs in a princess-themed dollhouse just like the rest of her room.

Mine on the other hand?! I've carefully crafted it over the years to be the perfect bed to sleep on!!

When I was little I wasn't a big sleeper like my mom and Katsuro were from the get go, but as I grew up my naps would get longer and longer, so I theorize that those two just somehow rubbed off on me!

My bed is absolutely perfect, it's king sized, luxurious and memory foam, and every single blanket has been picked out for maximum levels of serotonin!

.....and the aesthetic is cute too!

I have to give my mom some credit though, I have at least three blankets that are hers, and I don't think she's noticed I've taken them...

"Your bed is okay." Haruki smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes that has me fuming already.

"One day you'll admit that my bed is superior!" I exclaim, pointing at her through the mirror to which she smiled in amusement. The two of us fall in a comfortable silence as I take another section of her hair and brush through it.

God, Haruki's hair is the true monster here! It reaches her waist and is thick as hell, I don't know how she has the willpower to straighten it herself sometimes.

Before I know it though, I'm suddenly overrun with guilt.

Haruki was right all along, and I didn't believe her!

Biting my inner cheek instinctually, I mentally mule over all of the times I summed up to her anxiousness over being jealous. Fuck, I'm a terrible sister!

"Haruki, I'm really really sorry for not believing you back then. You were right all along and I called you jealous, I'm sorry." I apologize, facepalming at my own actions. I should've trusted her judgment!

"Oh that's fine. Don't worry about it." She smiles gently, letting go of the topic with ease.

Ah, that's the easily forgiving Haruki I know!

But I stayed feeling guilty, knowing I made her feel bad for a while since I didn't believe her. "Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?"

"No, it's okay I promise." She claimed yet again, mindlessly analyzing her pastel blue manicure.

"I'm being serious! I'd do anything just tell me what you want!" I exclaim, lightly tapping her head with the brush in my hand. Haruki never asks me for anything, hell, she never asks anybody for anything! So hopefully I could actually do something for her-

My thoughts are interrupted by the look on her face through the mirror.

The corner of her lips quirked up, only to then morph into a full blown smile going as far as to reveal her extra sharp canines. I don't know what it is that she's thinking, but the look on her face tells me it can't be anything good-

"Bake with me!"

Fuck!

"You know I can't do that!"

"Why not?! You said you'd do anything!" She whined, twirling around on her chair to face me properly rather than speak to me through the mirror.

"I've banned myself from the kitchen ever since....that incident."

"Oh c'mon I always want to bake with you! Without you I'm stuck with Inojin and he doesn't take it seriously!"

"Haruki who are you fooling?! You like it when Inojin acts like that!"

"Wha- I do not!"

I arch a brow at her, only flustering her further.

"Okay maybe I do! But what about it?! I still wanna be able to bake with you!"

"You know I can't."

"Runa, you only burned down the kitchen once before! Mom had people renovate the entire thing in one day it was no big deal!"

"It was traumatizing!"

Unlike Haruki who's been blessed by the baking gods, I swear I can't even touch a piping bag without it exploding in my hands!

I'm so untalented when it comes to cooking and baking, even my mom's given up on trying to teach me!!

I don't blame her though, the kitchen is a scary place...

"Pleaseee? We can make cupcakes for Daisuke and bring them to him today! Wouldn't that be nice?!"

I sigh at that, obviously being tempted by the idea of bringing Daisuke some sweets while he's all alone at the hospital and probably missing home.

But, if I'm anywhere near those cupcakes, I don't think they'd be very edible...

As if she could hear my thoughts, Haruki stands up and takes my hands in hers. "Please Runa? I promise the kitchen won't explode! And we'd be doing something nice for Dai!"

I sweatdrop at the literal sparkles in her eyes, only hesitantly agreeing against my own better judgment.

If our house burns down, I want zero blame this time!

We head downstairs right after I finish up with Haruki's hair, She has excitement laced all over her features and I have dread all over mine.

I'm going to burn down this house and my mom is going to kill me!

To my surprise, baking goes smoothly......

As smoothly as it could get with my involvement!

Did I almost somehow set the icing on fire despite being very far away from the oven? Yes, but Haruki promised she wouldn't tell!

She put me on sprinkles duty, the most low risk task of all once the icing has been successfully piped onto the mini cakes.

I couldn't help but sweatdrop at her with the bottle of rainbow sprinkles in my hand, watching as she swiftly created perfectly iced cupcakes fit for a bake sale. She hummed a random tune as she did so, only adding to the effortless appearance.

Gosh, all those princess movies from when we were really little stuck to her huh?

She then handed me one of the cupcakes, smiling at me encouragingly as I hesitantly held the bottle of sprinkles over it.

"You promise it won't blow up?" I ask, shaking in my non-existent boots at the thought of the fluffy white sweets we (Haruki) worked so hard on combusting in fire.

Haruki giggled at me, clearly not taking my worries seriously.

SHE SHOULD BE TAKING THIS VERY SERIOUSLY!

"I promise there will be zero explosions! Just carefully tilt the bottle-"

The bottle barely even moves by how delicately I tilt it, but to my horror the lid falls off and all of the sprinkles pour over the single cupcake, creating a mountain of rainbow sprinkles and a huge mess.

"........."

"........."

"Um..Runa it's okay! We have more bottles so you could try again!-"

"This is too much for me!" I whine, dropping the empty bottle and slamming my head against our refrigerator, blue sulk lines appearing all over my body.

Haruki stifles a laugh at my misfortune much to my dismay, and she takes over the sprinkles task since I refuse to go anywhere near those cupcakes until they're complete.

A few minutes pass of her flawlessly putting together the last couple of touches, and to my genuine relief, it seems like this nightmare is finally over!!

"Finally we're done! Daisuke's gonna love them!" Haruki exclaimed with one of the extra cupcakes in hand.

I'm not really the biggest fan of so many sweets, so I don't participate in eating the cupcakes, but a small smile does show up on my face knowing Daisuke's gonna be happy with them.

Amongst all of our siblings, Daisuke is totally the one with the sweetest tooth. He loves every sort of candy, cake, dango, and everything in between!

Masahiko and I on the other hand? Not so much. Of course I could eat a couple of sweet things every once in a while, but Masahiko absolutely despises anything on the sweets radar.

Mom swears up and down Masahiko gets it from our dad....it's not like I would know.

Haruki and I fall in a comfortable silence after a while as Haruki munches on her cupcake and I clean up the mess we've made.

Amidst my cleaning, I start thinking about just how silent the house is without my mom. She's usually the one bringing the life to our home, especially whenever my uncle Shinji's around.

Isamu as well, but he's like a grumpy old wolf who only ever has fun whenever Shinji's around!

Within the silence of our own home and the absence of our mother on my mind, a lightbulb practically appears over my head.

With my mom not home, then that would mean that she wouldn't know just what we're up to.....

Right?

A devious smirk suddenly appears on my face, and I'm perking up in my seat at the idea I've come across.

"Hey, let's go upstairs! To the attic!" I suddenly whisper, the smirk on my face practically blaring warning signs in Haruki's brain.