Watching Hanabi cook is truly a pleasure.
In my mind, cooks always wear yellowed white aprons, have plump bellies, looking down at the cutting board with keen eyes, wielding a large kitchen knife skillfully with rhythmic thuds.
When watching them chop vegetables, I pay attention to their technique and speed, and whether their cuts are even.
But if ingredients are prepared by a beautiful girl, the focus shifts from the chopping itself to the girl’s serious and focused expression and her charming face.
Hanamaru Hanabi’s fair fingers press down on the water-beaded skin of the tomato, the sound of juice flowing from the red pulp, and slices separating with each stroke of the knife.
With each slice of tomato, her fingers move slightly to the right, her actions unhurried, leisurely and composed.
Beside her, Chiaei watches her sister Hanabi’s hands intently, her eyes fixated with complete attention.
"Making a vegetable salad is simple, just mix the chopped ingredients in a plate and it’s done."
The key technique lies in this, but for a vegetable salad, what really counts is the combination of fruits and vegetables.
As long as the selection of fruits and vegetables is well-matched, as Hanabi said, just mix it evenly.
Chiaei nodded, listening and learning at the same time.
Hanamaru Hanabi put the tomato slices into the prepared fruit and vegetable platter, squeezed a bottle of salad dressing on top, and finally added sweet cream, mixing it all together to complete the dish.
"Sister Hanabi." Aei ran over.
"Tomorrow I’m going shopping for clothes with my brother!"
Hanamaru Hanabi glanced at Uesugi Sakura standing opposite.
Sharing things that make you happy, Uesugi Sakura also noticed Aei’s childish side.
"What style of clothes does Chiaei like?"
"Uh...I, I don’t know." Chiaei’s expression turned shy at the mention of shopping for clothes.
"Then you should discuss this well with Sister Hanabi. You girls shopping for clothes, I can’t give too many suggestions," Uesugi Sakura said, remembering the previous time when Hanamaru Hanabi and Kitagawa Sakisa went shopping together.
They spent an entire afternoon shopping for clothes, making him wait quite impatiently.
Accompanying girls shopping can be quite troublesome; sometimes it’s hard to understand how they can take so long to choose.
But trying to think from their perspective, girls don’t seem to get what’s so appealing about games.
What’s more important, girlfriends or games?
Somewhat irritable ones would simply press the power button, even if you’re in the middle of a major team fight as the carry.
Hanamaru Hanabi hasn’t played many games; she prefers watching morning dramas, and Uesugi Sakura seldom plays; he prefers reading books.
So their weekend routine involves lounging together on the couch, one reading while the other watches TV, munching on snacks and sipping juice, passing a fulfilling yet simple day.
Tonight’s dinner wasn’t sumptuous, if anything, it was quite simple.
However, it was delightfully satisfying.
Aei drank two bowls of soup, ate a sandwich, and after eating half a plate of vegetable salad, rubbed her small belly, burping continuously.
For using some boyish language, Chiaei, being the elder sister, patiently told her to be more ladylike.
Uesugi Sakura just kept eating vegetables; he glanced at the sandwich in front of Hanamaru Hanabi, feeling like it must have spicy sauce inside.
After dinner, Hanamaru Hanabi and Chiaei washed the dishes in the kitchen, while Uesugi Sakura prepared the beds for them to sleep.
They had stayed here once before, so the room was always empty, making bed-making much simpler this time.
Right after Sakura finished setting up the bed, Aei flopped onto it, shoes off, completely still, likely full and too lethargic to move around.
"Take a bath before going to sleep."
"Help me bathe, brother~"
"Let Sister Hanabi help you," Uesugi Sakura said, seeing her lazily sprawled on the bed, which resembled Hanamaru Hanabi’s look when she just wakes up.
"Why does Sister Hanabi have a bulge on her chest?"
"Don’t you know that girls all have a bulge?"
"I know, but why does it bulge?"
"Because as people grow, so do their bodies. The chest grows too." Uesugi Sakura decided not to explain a bunch of technical terms she couldn’t understand.
The usual scenario is due to sex hormones, fat tissue, mammary glands, and connective tissues being stimulated, causing a transformation during different periods, especially noticeable during puberty.
Aei was pressing a shark plush borrowed from Hanamaru Hanabi, resting her head on it, she raised her eyes to look at Uesugi Sakura standing at the foot of the bed, "Recently, sister has been bleeding a lot like brother."
"Did Chiaei get hurt somewhere?" Uesugi Sakura didn’t recall seeing any injuries on her.
"There was a lot, a lot of blood."
"..." Uesugi Sakura paused for two seconds, "How old is Chiaei?"
"Sister is thirteen, and Aei is eleven." Aei swung her little legs behind her.
"That means puberty has started."
Uesugi Sakura finally understood what Aei meant by bleeding a lot; he vaguely recalled a few years ago at school when Hanamaru Hanabi came to him, flustered and embarrassed, right after PE class ended.
It was due to suddenly bleeding a lot.
He seriously explained to little Hanabi why she was bleeding.
Yet such matters, he could only grasp the basics; many details and responses aren’t something a boy could explain thoroughly.
Just like he doesn’t even know how sanitary pads are used, having only heard that some boys use them for cushioning during military training.
The first time Hanabi bled, she immediately took a leave from school, rested for a day, and only returned after discussing the causes and effects with Mrs. Hanamaru.