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“…So yeah, is that totally embarrassing or what?”
“I don’t think embarrassing is the right word.”
An amused giggle flowed from Kimiko’s lips as Jazz gave her deadpan, half-hearted retort. Truthfully, Jazz hadn’t been entirely focused on the story, her emerald gaze much too fixated on sketching her pencil across paper. But her bubbly guest didn’t seem to mind, since she had been busying herself with Jazz’s collection of games for the past hour or so. Indeed, as Kimiko saw that Jazz wasn’t too interested in continuing the conversation, she pouted to herself before returning her gaze to the screen.
When she could be sure that Kimiko was busy again, she cleared her head of distractions before returning to her work in earnest, her inspiration hitting her sketchpad at a sluggish pace.
Kimiko hadn’t shown up completely unannounced, but it almost seemed like it with how quickly she turned up after asking Jazz whether she was available. She assumed that the otaku had likely heading over anyway and only then decided to ask whether it was ok to show up.
Hey Jazzy-chan~! Are you free today~? Might come over to hang out! ( ＾ ∇ ＾)
i’m free but working on art just now
That’s ok! I can just keep you company in silence if you want! o( 〃＾▽＾〃)o
sure that’s fine
The first time this had happened, Jazz had found it slightly irritating and she had just let her stay to keep her happy. As these meetings continued however, so long as Kimiko asked before heading over, she’d managed to tolerate them at least. Kim may have been a big, bubble-gum coloured distraction, sure, but on those rare days off when she was at home and her younger sister was still at school, having someone fill the space in their cosy apartment had its merits.
That said, it did nothing to improve her focus and as she could hear the familiar beats of Jet Set Radio playing in the background, she couldn’t help but want to be over there instead. Turning her gaze to the screen and Kimiko’s back for a second, she pursed her lips together before furrowing her brow.
Gotta finish this design first… Focus!!
Her half-finished piece wasn’t too much to look at right now; just the beginnings of an idea that had been swirling about in her mind at work for the past day or so, that she just had to get down on paper, otherwise she’d never forgive herself. But it just wasn’t taking shape quite yet, so as she rubbed away lines and more formed in their place, she felt as if she wasn’t getting any closer to the end of it.
It’s important… just focus dammit!!
“Hey Jazzy-chan??”
Her pale lips pursed against one another as she tried to force out an idea, a concept that just didn’t seem to stick with her. Her mind kept flipping between what she would want and then what…
“Jazzy-chan!”
Her head flipped up from the page mid thought, eyes wide from confusion. Turning to her side, she saw Kimiko peeking up over the sofa, her squishy features pushed into a concerned pout. Silently, Jazz blinked back before averting her gaze, her cheeks filling with a gentle blush.
“S-sorry. Kind of lost in thought.”
Her pout softening, she instead looked curiously onto the table.
“It’s fine! What are you working on anyway? Must be something important if it’s got you so focused~”
“It’s…”
Jazz looked to the piece and then back to Kimiko, pleadingly curious eyes almost begging for an answer. Picking the paper up though, she pushed it into her project folder. She’d have to work on it later, once Kimiko had left for the night.
“It’s nothing… I’ll tell you later.”
Disappointment filled Kimiko’s features, although that quickly shifted back into her usual smile.
“It’s fine~! A secret’s a secret after all!”
It wasn’t as if Kimiko couldn’t know about it, she just didn’t need to know. That’s what Jazz told herself as she nodded in response. Once it was done, she’d be just as surprised as the person she was making it for.
If I get it done that is…
“Anyways…”
Her attention snapped back to Kimiko as she spoke up again, her hand gesturing that they move along.
“That aside, I was gonna say, don’t you think Mini should be back by now?”
“…Huh?”
Checking the time on her phone, she saw what Kimiko meant.
Half three…
Her heart pulsed in mild panic as she realised this and opened her phone to see if she had any messages or phone calls.
“No calls… no messages…”
Kimiko stood up and wandered over to where Jazz sat at the table, placing a hand onto the woman’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“Hey! It’s probably fine right? Let’s just give her a call and-“
Before she even got the chance to finish, they heard the front door opening in the hallway. Bolting up from her chair, Jazz strode off to see if it was her sister, concern and anxiety bubbling up inside of her head. As she saw the yellow blonde hair in the hallway though, and that gentle smile, her worries began to melt away.
Thank god…
“I’m home… sorry I’m late!”
Her smile widened, and Jazz wandered forward, sighing and placing a hand on her sister’s head, giving it a firm rub.
“You sure are! It’s ok, you’re safe and that’s what matters.”
“Yep…!”
Jazz quirked her brow a little as Mina spoke. Her affectionate smile remained, but she couldn’t help but feel like something was different. Her sister was the quiet sort, but she usually spoke with so much energy and enthusiasm, especially whenever she got home. But something about Mina’s tone felt forced.
As she looked down a little more and took a closer look at her sister’s face, she thought she saw some red markings around her eyes. But as she tried to take a closer look, Mina turned her face away.
“Hey…? Mina?”
Moving away from Jazz’s hand, Mina skipped further down the hall, leaving Jazz’s hand hanging there, listlessly. A puzzled, fearful expression clouded over Jazz’s face, while her insides twisted around anxiously.
“I-I’m just gonna head to my room, Onee-chan…! I-I’ve got lots of homework to do…”
Approaching the door to her bedroom, she wasted no time opening the door. Just as quickly, Jazz found herself about to call out to her, to get her to stop, to allow her to help. She wanted to know what was wrong, although on the inside, she felt a storm of emotions begin to boil. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to keep herself composed, after learning what had upset her little sister.
“Mini, what’s wrong?”
Even though Jazz had opened her mouth to speak, the words she wanted to say were uttered by someone else. Mini stalled at her door, her expression one of wide-eyed surprise as she turned to look over her shoulder at the visitor she had overlooked. Jazz’s attention turned to the pinkette too, uncertainty and caution furrowing her brow.
Although she smiled, rather warmly in fact, Kimiko’s eyes held a sadness that Jazz had never seen in her before. It was a gaze full of sympathy and understanding. And as Kimiko began to step towards Mina, Jazz felt for a moment that she shouldn’t intrude, as much as she wanted to. Mina was her little sister after all, there wasn’t anyone in this world that she cared for more and desperately, with a love that only siblings could understand, she felt it was her duty to help.
But Mina’s eyes, which she could now see were indeed encircled by raw, red markings, fixated on Kimiko so firmly and widely. Jazz could see the adoration, the idolization, mending the heartbreak in those eyes, already slowly undoing any harm that had been done to her. She wondered, if she should really step in, if it would do any good at all.
Kimiko lowered herself so that she was eye-level with Mina, her smile stretching further across her lips before she held out her hand to cup the younger girl’s soft, cream coloured cheek.
“It’s ok, you can tell us. We just want to help, ok?”
At that point, Jazz noticed that Kimiko gave her a quick sideways glance, which snapped her back into action. Bringing herself forward, she placed a hand gently on top of Mina’s head. She found she couldn’t muster a warm smile, she was too worried for that, but she knew she had to try her best to fix whatever had happened.
Mina looked between Jazz and Kimiko, her eyes full of adoration for the both of them, but also a shadow of worry, which only darkened as she tilted her head back down and pursed her lips together. Eventually, she spoke up, in a tone that Jazz had only really heard on Mina’s worst days, completely devoid of the sweetness and kindness she was used to on a daily basis, all of that replaced with sadness and hurt.
“I… my friends at school… they shredded my sketchpad…”
Kimiko let out a gasp as she immediately drew Mina into a cuddle, which Mina seemed to instantly cling into as well. Jazz felt the fury she had felt moments earlier flare up again and her hand clenched into a fist.
“Sketchpad… the one you draw your costume designs in?”
As Jazz asked, Mina nodded into Kim’s shoulder before pushing herself in deeper, soaking herself in the warmth. Jazz knew exactly who these friends were; she had noticed them hanging out with Mina before and to her, they were anything but ‘friends’.
“Damnit… what the hell…”
She fumed, but knew better to raise her voice in this type of situation. Instead she inhaled slowly, before letting it all seethe out of her. After rinsing and repeating, she looked to Mina, still deeply encapsulated in that embrace with the pinkette. After a while of just gently rubbing her hand across Mina’s back, Kim pulled away to look the girl in the eye, the same warm and loving smile perched on her lips.
“Listen, Mina. You’re so kind and loving, you just want to love everyone you meet! But those people, they’re not your friends! What they did today… there was no good reason for them to do that to you. You can’t let them ruin your happiness like that… no one is allowed to make you feel bad for having fun or being nice!”
Mina hung on those words and admittedly, Jazz found herself thinking about them too. The words were spoken so sincerely, so firmly. It exposed to her a side of Kimiko that she had never really seen; she was used to her being so carefree and bouncy, to the point that it was kind of exhausting. Hearing those words, it made her curious.
Still, any curiosity would have to wait. Mina was what mattered, and Jazz needed to make sure things were fixed up on that front. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Mina to nod back slowly, before turning to give her big sister a smile although it wasn’t quite as bright as the one she’d usually wear. Nodding back, Jazz rested her hand onto Mina’s head again. That act alone, seemed to brighten that smile up considerably, which brought a small chuckle from Jazz. She didn’t know why, but Mina had always loved that small gesture.
In that instant though, Kimiko sprung upward, fists bunched and a much more energetic look in her bubble-gum tinted gaze.
“Alright! That settles it! For the rest of the night, we’re playing video games together!”
Furrowing her brow, Jazz shot Kimiko a deadpan look.
“Oh are we now?”
Mina meanwhile perked up even more and looked up to her big sister desperately, giving her a pleading and rather saccharine look. After looking down at her for just a moment, a sigh escaped her throat and she eventually smiled too, rubbing a hand around the back of her neck.
“Alright, alright… let’s do it. I’ll order some pizza too. Really make a night of it.”
Kimiko and Mina cheered out in sync before bustling over to the stack of games that they owned. The sight of the both of them so perfectly resonating stirred a warmth inside of Jazz; although she was Mina’s older sister, she felt like they were on different wavelengths half of the time. They had different interests and outlooks, plus there was quite an age gap between them. They still got on with one another and she felt their relationship was pretty strong, but seeing Kimiko so effectively cheer her up, seeing the two of them in touch with one another, it was like the two of them were made to be sisters as well.
Looking back over to the table, she saw her project folder sitting there, right where she had left it.
Maybe… she can give me a few ideas after all…
---
It was way past midnight when Mina ended up falling asleep during the middle of a round of Smash Bros. Jazz was thankful it was at least Friday, so she didn’t have too much of an issue with her staying up late. After carrying her off to her room with the help of Kimiko though, she couldn’t help but feel exhausted as well. It really had been fun, getting to play games with the two of them, although she usually fell behind, since she wasn’t as familiar with some of the games they picked out.
It was undoubtedly the most fun she’d had in a while.
Closing Mina’s bedroom door behind her slowly, she looked back to Kimiko, who was just heading towards the hall and fanning a drawn-out yawn.
“Oh geez… I’m sooooo tired! I think I’m gonna head home just now…”
Jazz paused as she watched the pinkette pick her jacket off of the coat rack, her eyes trained on the tired, yet still upbeat and bubbly woman. Jazz was still scolding herself slightly, for not being as active a component in Mina’s recovery as she would have liked. Had she been on her own, she probably would have handled it, but seeing Kimiko make a connection like that had a lot of feelings muddled around inside of her.
She was, most of all, grateful though, in a way she never expected to be. Their relationship had really been one note so far; a friendship without much commitment from her side, or even much belief. Kimiko had been nice, if a little too eccentric, even for her own tastes. She just exuded a carefree, bubbly nature that Jazz had completely misjudged. Seeing her so tactfully deal with her sister’s problems made her feel like an idiot though.
When did I get so narrow-minded… guess I’ve got dad to thank for that.
Her thoughts turned back to her project folder again and then she quickly turned to Kimiko and called out.
“Hey, wait up.”
Just as Kimiko was putting on her boots, she looked up, her eyes widening with curiosity. Moving toward the table, Jazz picked up the folder and slipped out the scrap of paper she had been working with earlier. Looking at the page, she saw several beginnings of a phone case design. Looking at her earlier efforts was all the more frustrating now, especially when the solution had been in front of her the entire time.
“Could you… help me with something else?”
Feeling her cheeks warm, she saw Kimiko cock her head in confusion. Passing the sheet over, she rubbed the back of her neck as she cast her gaze away.
“I’m… I’m trying to design a phone case for Mina. But uh… I think it’d be better if we work on it together… if you wanted, I mean.”
“Of course.”
The answer came so quick, it took her completely off guard. As her emerald eyes shifted back to the pinkette, her mouth hung open slightly. The smile Kimiko was giving her radiated such a warmth, such kindness. It was the kind of smile she often wore, but like before, there was a slightly different feeling to it.
After a moment of silence, Jazz smiled back slightly in return and nodded.
“Thanks… and not just for this. But for everything today.”
Kimiko shook her head gently as she handed back the design sheet and continued to put her boots on, smiling warmly all the while.
“It’s no problem! I’m just happy to see her smiling again. And to see you smiling too!”
Jazz scoffed a little, shaking her head as her cheeks reddened more and more. She knew she didn’t smile that much but if there was one thing that made her smile most of all, it was seeing Mina happy. She didn’t realise that her own smile could bring happiness to Kimiko in the same way.
Kimiko straightened herself up and flashed Jazz a bubbly, energetic peace sign.
“Well, I’ll message you later about the design! I’ll let you know what I come up with~! I’ve already got some kawaii ideas rattling around~”
Nodding back, Jazz held up a hand to wave, her slight smile not yet faded from her lips. Even if she wanted it to fade, it just wouldn’t leave; confiding in Kimiko had lifted some of the weight off her shoulders, allowing her to breathe a little easier, now that she had someone to lean on, to help her with making her sister happy.
There was still a lot she didn’t know about Kimiko, a lot she wasn’t sure about and stuff that she wanted to ask. The nature of the words she had said to Mina earlier, for example; there was a history in those words, the weight of experience clung to them like a thick layer of dust, that just never seemed to wipe away.
But what she did know, was that they both cared greatly about the same person, Mina. That would do for now, in her eyes.
“Sure. I’m… counting on you.”