In Those Deep, Starry Eyes, I See Cherry Petals Depressed but breathing

Chapter 8: What Was She Thinking

She opened the door to her room, dropping her purse and phone beside her bed. Collapsing into it removed a layer of stress she didn't realize she'd been carrying. It wasn't as much weight as she would have liked to have gone. Her brain seethed as a headache ripped through it. She promptly moved toward the head of her bed, plopped down face-first into her pillow, ad flailed her legs about.

"You IDIOOOOOOOOT! How could you mess up that badly?!" A rap sounded on the door before a pink-haired woman appeared behind it.

"Oiiiii, quiet down a little bit. We can't get another noise complaint, now." The calming, somewhat mature voice chided her through her pillow-y fortress. She turned around, glimpsing at the woman before placing her head into her pillow. A pair of hands gently touched her shoulders. With almost deadly precision, they began working the tension out of her. “So, how’d your therapy session go today?”

“It’s not therapy. I told you that already…” A hum was what she received as a response as the hands pushed against her back.

“Then, how was your date today? You’ve been spouting about how pretty she is almost nonstop the past few times you came home.” She let out a groan.

“Shut uuuuup. Just because I’m incompetent doesn’t mean you have to rag on me.” The pressure from the hands massaging her back increased sharply, causing a sting of pain to shoot down her back. “Ow! Hey, watch it!”

“I thought we’d been through this already. You’re not incompetent. Stop saying that you are.” The voice had turned stern, as though a bitter memory was sitting on the speaker’s tongue. “I rag on you because I know you are competent. Your competence is how you landed your job, and it’s how we’ve survived despite me being unable to find an actual job outside of at-home data entering.” She decided to bite her tongue, metaphorically of course.

“Sorry. Still… working on that one.” A sigh, followed by the return of the gentle hands working diligently on her back.

“I know that, and I’m being patient with you... but just because I’m being patient doesn’t mean I can’t use more straightforward means sometimes. You need to remember that I need you, even if it seems like nobody else does. I can't be relying on a younger sister who hates on herself all the time.” The pink-haired girl’s hands hit a spot on her shoulder, loosening her muscles like a coiled spring waiting to bounce. A heavy sigh exited her mouth as she all but melted into the bed.

“You got it, sis. Thank you.” As her sister’s hands came off of her back, one of them ruffled her hair. It was playful, but there was deeper meaning behind it. It was the touch of someone who desperately cared.

“No problem Sui-chan. You should get some rest though, you’re super drained.” Suisei’s eyes snapped open. She wheeled around on the bed, staring her sister in the eyes.

“Ah! Didn’t you ask how the session today went?” She blinked a few times.

“I guess I did, yeah.” Her sister promptly plopped down on the bed opposite to her own position. “Well? Spill.”

“I uh, might've accidentally given Miko-san a panic attack…”

“You WHAT?!” Suisei winced at the piercing shriek her sister let out.

“You just told me to be quiet and then you break my ears. Make up your damn mind.” She shook her head to chase away the ringing. “And as I was saying, it was an accident. I noticed she’s not prone to change, and she started breathing really fast. I got her to calm down, but she seemed really shaken up afterward.” The older sibling looked on with understanding.