Bonus Side Story: Their Eating Habits

At the Shibuzaki house, I, the eldest daughter, handle pretty much all the chores.

Mom’s an architect in construction, and Dad’s a department head at a pharmaceutical company. They’re both so busy, I’ve been holding down the fort for them.

It started because I wanted to ease the load for my parents, who worked late into the night. After the whole mess with Amagawa-kun, I worried them so much, it just felt right to step up.

I actually love housework, so it’s never been a burden. Honestly, with how few hobbies I have, it’s practically my only one—and I love it.

Since Tak-kun came back, the chores have piled up, and it’s been genuinely fun. He eats mountains of food—literally—so cooking feels rewarding.

I’m so happy… Tak-kun’s back, and this is the happiest I’ve ever been.

So, Mom, please.

Don’t take my hobbies away. Especially not the laundry.

It’s my passion. My purpose.

I’m not scheming anything shady with Tak-kun’s underwear. I just want to do the laundry, pure and simple.

Ever since Tak-kun returned, Mom’s been way too overprotective of him. She’s snatching up my noble hobby left and right.

Talk about a helicopter parent…

Sighing, I open the pack of men’s underwear I bought today. Same size, color, and style as Tak-kun’s.

Last time, he got suspicious about his disappearing underwear and asked Mom, blowing my cover. But this time, I’m golden.

I’m swapping them all out with new ones! No way he’ll suspect a thing now!

Snickering to myself, I carry out my genius plan in secret.

After dinner, a bath, and some chill TV time, it’s the golden hour.

Having cleaned up the kitchen and executed my grand scheme, I open the living room door.

It’s a typical family room, with a decent table and a decent TV.

In the middle, Tak-kun and Natalie-chan are hyped up, watching a special about a restaurant serving massive portions.

“What’s with this pile of karaage~? That’s insane~ How many pieces are there, holy crap~?”

“Looks like breast meat, but still, that many for a single coin? And free rice refills for that price…? Is this place a holy land?”

“Hold up~ It says all-you-can-eat tartar sauce too~ What’s going on, Takashi~? Huh~?”

“Diner joints that grab students’ stomachs like this? Love ‘em. I’d marry this place five days a week.”

“No way~ I can’t handle it~ Takashi, take me there~ I wanna chug that tartar sauce~ Pleaaase~”

“I wanna chug it too… But it says this place is in the capital. No way we’re going all the way there just for this. Settle for a local diner.”

“Nooo~ I want this one~”

Natalie-chan rubs her head against Tak-kun’s chest.

They’re always flirting like this. Ignoring me, your big sister, to flirt? Unacceptable.

I mean, I wanna rub up on Tak-kun too. I wanna mark him with my scent.

“Dude… You’re always whining about wanting fancy places, so why’re you obsessed with this diner? You’re so inconsistent.”

“Look, Takashi-kun, girls are fickle creatures. The cuter they are, the more fickle they get~ If you can’t handle this, you’re not much of a man~”

“Stop saying that… It shuts down any comeback I’ve got…”

“Hehe~ Nope~”

What’s with these two? If I leave them alone, their flirting just keeps escalating.

Natalie-chan’s already casually shifted into a lap-pillow position. Watching TV from that spot? That’s the dream. I’m so jealous I could spit blood.

“Hey, speaking of, didn’t you two go out for sushi at lunch? How was it? Was it good after so long?”

Before they get any cozier, I change the subject and plop down next to Tak-kun.

I’ve gotta seize my chance to stop Natalie-chan’s lap-pillow privilege. That spot belongs to your big sister.

“It was crazy good. Like it soaked into every cell in my body.”

“You’ve always loved sushi, huh, Tak-kun?”

“Made me realize all over again how damn good Japanese food is. For three years, all I had were combat rations and those god-awful calorie blocks. Eating something human almost brought tears to my eyes.”

“Combat rations…”

Rations, like the portable meals they give soldiers, right? The ones you always hear are gross on TV.

Hearing this kind of thing really drives home how rough those three years were. Tak-kun never shows it, so it’s easy to brush off, but…

Maybe I can dig a bit more into what it was like back then? I want to understand my little brother’s feelings, even just a little.

“What do rations taste like? Were they really that bad?”

“They were just salty, not terrible taste-wise… but eating them cold was rough.”

“Oh, yeah… no microwaves on the battlefield, huh.”

“Nah, even without a microwave, they had these bags that heat up when you add water. Modern rations are pretty well thought outcloser to the viewer out. You could warm them up.”

“Really…? Then why’d you eat them cold?”

Tak-kun shrugs, his voice casual.

“There wasn’t time for proper meal breaks. Even when the fighting died down, aliens could attack any second. So we’d scarf ‘em down fast, just in case it was our last meal. Some guys cried over eating cold rice like that…”

“So during a ceasefire, the first thing we’d do was heat up rations~ Try to eat like humans for once~”

“Wow…”

Not being able to eat a warm meal must’ve been torture… Food’s such a big part of life…

I remember reading online once that soldiers’ morale could skyrocket just from a hot meal.

That must’ve been so stressful. I feel like crying just thinking about how tough it was for Tak-kun and Natalie-chan.

But I hold back—if I cry now, the conversation’s over.

“Still, having rations at all was the good part. When you could eat. As the war with the aliens got intense, we’d go days without sleep or food. No time for rations.”

“Then you’d get guys starving to death~ Bio-soldiers like us burn fuel fast, so two days without food could put you in malnutrition~”

“So to keep us from starving, the military cooked up these high-absorption, high-calorie, super-filling mystery things called calorie blocks. The nastiest shit ever.”

“Those changed our eating situation~ For the worse~”

Tak-kun and Natalie-chan’s faces twist like they’re staring at something cursed.

The vibe’s getting heavy, so I steer it back.

“So, uh, today’s sushi must’ve been amazing then, huh?”

“Honestly, every meal since coming back to Japan’s been incredible. No complaints.”

“What’s been the best so far? Tell your big sister.”

At my question, their faces light up, the gloom vanishing. Natalie-chan even sits up from her lap pillow.

Looks like I hit a nerve—in a good way. They dive in eagerly.

“Gotta be the gyudon place with Nee-san. The joy of reuniting plus that warm gyudon? My back teeth were buzzing. I’ll never forget that taste.”

“For me, it’s the chocolate bar I got at the airport~ Sweets were rare on the battlefield, so that thing melted my brain~”

“Oh, and the barbecue right after the war ended was killer, right? Total brawl over the meat, though.”

“That got pretty wild~ Like, legit life-or-death fighting~”

“There wasn’t enough meat for all the soldiers. I told ‘em to let me handle the supplies, but Sōkan’s shitty leadership screwed it up…”

Tak-kun’s grinning and muttering “idiot, idiot” as he recalls it.

He’s so harsh on this Sōkan person. Like he’s totally comfortable with her, or maybe doesn’t take her seriously.

I thought a commander would be some big shot, but from Tak-kun’s tone, it’s like he’s talking about a dumb friend.

Isn’t the military supposed to be all strict and hierarchical? Is it okay to talk so casually?

Even during those “regular check-in” calls, he was totally informal…

As I’m lost in thought, Tak-kun changes the subject like he just remembered something.

“Hey, is that place still around? The all-you-can-eat joint with curry, yakiniku, sushi, and that lever you pull for ice cream?”

“You mean… that buffet we used to go to?”

“Yeah, yeah! Is it still open?”

I search my memory, picturing the place.

“I think I saw their sign recently, so probably.”

“For real? Then tomorrow, let’s all hit up the buffet—”

“Buffets are off-limits, remember~?”

Natalie-chan’s words freeze Tak-kun’s smile.

He looks disappointed, like he just remembered something.

“Oh… right, Sōkan banned us from buffets…”

“Huh? Why’s that? Come on, let’s all go tomorrow.”

“It’s, uh… kinda a problem, they said.”

“Problem?”

“They said we’d cause trouble for the restaurant.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah… I mean, we get food stipends from the amnesty, so we don’t need buffets, but still, I wanted to go…”

“Oh…”

Yeah, Tak-kun and Natalie-chan at a buffet would be bad news. They eat insane amounts.

They eat so much, we’ve got three rice cookers now: one for Tak-kun, one for Natalie-chan, and one for the rest of us.

We buy rice by the sack around here. That’s how much they eat.

“Well… can’t be helped. You two would probably bankrupt the place…”

“Bankrupt…? Us? Bankrupt a restaurant?”

“Bankrupt~? Why~?”

They tilt their heads, genuinely clueless.

Don’t they get how abnormal they are? Time to mess with them a bit.

“Didn’t you get stared at in the sushi place today? That’s your answer.”

“…How’d you know we were stared at?”

“Duh, anyone could tell…”

I lay it out for the stunned duo.

“You and Natalie-chan eat manga-level amounts of food. If you hit a buffet, the place is done for.”

“…No way. I didn’t eat that much…”

“You did! You guys eat like you’re in a competitive eating contest!”

My words rattle them, and they start whispering to each other.

“So that’s why everyone was staring at the sushi place… I thought it was weird…”

“Now that I think about it, we did overdo it~ Totally let our guard down~”

“Should’ve known when they banned us from buffets… Guess I’m still in war mode…”

“No free-refill rice places either, huh~? I wanted to chug that tartar sauce…”

They groan, looking genuinely bummed.

Judging by this, they really had no idea.

Are they just oblivious, or did the war mess up their sense of normal? Hard to tell…

I savor the moment with the three of them for a while.

“Welcome home, Karin. Still up? You could’ve gone to bed.”

“Hey, Mom. I was just gonna explain dinner and crash. Dad got home earlier too.”

It’s late, and Mom’s just back from work.

This is my final routine. Mom always tells me to sleep early, but I stay up until both parents are home.

Despite everything, we’re a tight family—when Tak-kun’s not involved, that is.

“I made shogayaki, miso soup, and chikuzenni tonight. Just heat it up. There’s pickles too, so cut some if you want. Oh, don’t eat all the kinpira gobo in the fridge. It’s for breakfast.”

“You’re something else, Karin… I swear, you’ve surpassed me in housework.”

“Then let me do the laundry again. Come on.”

“No way. I’ve gotta fix that rotten fetish of yours first.”

Mom says it as she shrugs off her jacket and sits down.

Her eyes drift to the trash can nearby.

“…Karin.”

“Hm? What?”

“There’s a ton of plastic bags in the trash… Know anything about that?”

“Huh?”

“They look like packaging for men’s underwear… Know anything about that?”

“Uh, w-what? W-w-what’re you t-talking about? I-I-I don’t… uh… know…”

Mom’s brow furrows deeper as I stammer.