Work Text:
The sun had long since set by the time Kanata exited the supermarket after her shift. She stifled a yawn. Her eyes struggled to stay open, but at least the streetlights were nice and bright; that’d probably keep her awake until she got home and had a proper dinner.
As she trudged home, she mentally went over everything she had to get done. Obviously she’d need to cook that proper dinner. What did she have on hand to cook? It sort of depended if mama was home or not…. Well, whatever, she could figure something out. After dinner, she had some homework to take care of, too. Sometimes she could work on that during lulls at work, but today had been super busy, so she hadn’t been able to touch it. That was fine, though. Nothing she couldn’t handle.
Arriving home, she called out her usual, “I’m back.”
“Welcome home, onee-chan!”
Kanata perked up. A lazy smile settled on her face as she took her shoes off. Then a wonderful aroma hit her nose, and her eyes widened. Stepping into the kitchen, she found Haruka in front of the stove.
“You’re making dinner?”
Haruka looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Of course! I knew you had to work late tonight, and I got my homework done really fast, so I thought it was the least I could do. I hope you’re in the mood for oyakodon. I… still don’t feel that confident making much else.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Kanata said. She hugged Haruka from behind and nuzzled her cheek against her adorable sister’s head. “I get to eat Haruka-chan’s delicious homemade food. I must be the luckiest girl in the whole world.”
“Onee-chan,” Haruka whined, “it’s just oyakodon. Now go ahead and get ready for dinner; I’m almost done.”
The sisters soon found themselves at the table, eating happily. While Kanata might have cooked this meal slightly differently, she could taste Haruka’s love overflowing from it. That was the best seasoning she could possibly ask for.
“Hey, so… do you have work tomorrow?” Haruka asked part way through the meal.
Kanata thought for a moment then said, “I do, yeah. Since the day after is the weekend, I took a longer shift, so I probably won’t get home till really late. Why?”
Haruka’s expression fell. “Oh….”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just…. Well….” She squirmed a bit in her chair. “Shinonome is having a concert, and I was hoping you’d be able to come. But it’s fine! I know you’re busy, and work is important, and it’s not like we won’t have another concert, and—”
“Haruka-chan.” Kanata grabbed her sister’s shoulders. “I promise I’ll be there tomorrow. So save me a seat in the front row, okay?”
With a deep breath and a firm nod to herself, Haruka forced out a smile. “Okay!”
Kanata smiled back, and the two returned to their dinner.
After eating, Kanata sent several text messages to various co-workers, asking if they could cover her shift tomorrow. Several didn’t answer right away—it was pretty late already—but the few who did universally said they couldn’t. That also made sense considering how short notice it was, but it did cast a shadow over the rest of the evening. She tried to ignore it and get her homework done.
A few text messages greeted her the next morning, all regretful rejections. But that was fine. Totally fine. She wouldn’t let that get to her. She had to keep her hopes up!
That got harder and harder throughout the day. In between classes, she would check her phone, but only disappointment greeted her every time. By the time school ended and idol club practice rolled around, Kanata had essentially given up hope.
“What’s wrong, Kanata?” Karin asked the instant she saw her. That drew everyone else’s attention.
“Ehhh? Nothing’s wrong,” she lied, trying to put on her normal lackadaisical facade. Judging by the way their expressions only grew more concerned, she figured it didn’t work.
“You know you can always tell us if something’s wrong,” Yuu said.
“Yeah! We wanna help!” Ai added.
Kanata really didn’t want to bother them with her personal issues after all the help they’d already given her on that front, but she could tell they wouldn’t let this go until she told them. So she took a few minutes to explain the situation.
“I think I might just have to miss Haruka-chan’s concert….”
“Don’t say that!” Yuu said. “What if… what if one of us covered your shift?”
“I know it’s not a supermarket, but I’ve got experience working at my parents’ restaurant!” Ai said. “It can’t be that different, right?”
Warmth filled Kanata’s chest at how far her friends were trying to go for her. That’s why it hurt even more when she shook her head.
“Sorry, girls, that’s not how that works.” She gave them a sad smile. “But thanks for trying. Really. Why don’t we get started on practice?”
The others reluctantly agreed. It wasn’t the worst practice they’d ever had, but it was a far cry from how upbeat they normally were.
Afterwards, she changed and headed to work.
Kanata always tried her best to be a good employee. Do the work, do it well, do it quickly. But that evening, she just couldn’t bring herself to muster the same level of gumption. She kept stealing glances at the clock, mentally counting down until Haruka’s concert was set to start. An hour. Forty-five minutes. Half an hour.
“I don’t normally see you staring at the clock so much, Kanata-chan.”
She jumped. Her manager—a middle-aged woman a few years older than her own mother—stood a few steps away. Kanata couldn’t read her expression. Embarrassment and guilt bubbled in her stomach at getting caught like that.
“Sorry, boss. I’ll get back to work.”
“Everything alright?”
Just like with her friends, her first instinct was to lie and deflect; her personal issues were even less her manager’s problem than her friends’. But then the woman’s expression softened just a tad, and Kanata decided it couldn’t hurt to be honest.
“Well… my younger sister, she’s a school idol, right? And she’s got a big concert tonight in” –she glanced at the clock— “twenty-five minutes. I tried to see if someone could cover my shift tonight, but everyone was busy.”
“Ahh, that explains it,” her boss said. She made a show of looking around the store. Kanata glanced around, too; it was pretty empty, all things considered. “Eh, just go.”
Kanata blinked. “Really?”
“It’s a slow night, and you’ve always been a good employee. The others and I can take care of things here. Just go enjoy your sister’s concert.”
Hope bloomed in Kanata’s heart. She might have to hurry, but with just a little luck, she should be able to reach the venue in time.
“Thank you so much, boss!” she said, already rushing to the employee area to clock out and collect her things.
The rush to the venue passed in a blur. For possibly the first time in her life, she mentally thanked Ai for all of the cardio she made them do. She made it with a few minutes to spare, and the run barely left her winded.
It was pretty crowded by the time she got there—rightfully so, her Haruka-chan was the cutest idol in the world—meaning she had to settle for standing near the back. Less than ideal, but the simple fact that she was here at all made up for that minor inconvenience.
The lights fell, and a cheer erupted. Kanata joined in. She wished she had some penlights, but that became irrelevant when the spotlight kicked on and illuminated the Shinonome Academy School Idol Club. And standing right in the center, shining brighter than any star in the night sky, was her Haruka-chan.
Shinonome was so different from Nijigasaki. Their cohesion as a group was second to none, and the way their choreography so effortlessly brought attention to the center made it no wonder why they were held in such high regards.
Of course, that method only worked if the center was up to the task. And Haruka was more than up to it. Kanata stood, transfixed. This always happened whenever she watched Haruka perform. The entire world faded away, and she could only stare at the absolute perfection on display. Her voice, her movements, her expressions, all came together to turn Haruka into Kanata’s ideal idol.
The concert ended way too soon. (Then again, a five hour concert would have ended too soon in her opinion.) As the crowd began to filter out, Kanata made her way to the backstage entrance. Thankfully for her, a girl from Shinonome that she recognize was on “guard duty,”and on seeing Kanata’s approach, she smiled and stepped aside. Kanata smiled back and went backstage.
In another stroke of luck, her old friend, Kasane, stepped out of the dressing room as she approached. Her friend’s eyes widened.
“Kanata? What are you doing here?” Kasane asked. “I thought you couldn’t make it tonight; Haruka was super bummed out about it.”
“A big sister has her ways,” Kanata said, winking. “I would bend time and space itself if it meant getting to see Haruka-chan perform.”
Kasane smile. “Then lemme go get her for you. I’m sure she’ll be over the moon.”
She disappeared back into the dressing room. A few moments later, the door opened again, and Haruka stumbled out as if pushed.
“Hey, what’s the big idea, Kasane? Why’d you—”
The sisters locked eyes. Kanata smiled her biggest smile while Haruka’s jaw dropped.
“O-Onee-chan?”
“Surprise~ I told you I’d make it.”
Haruka lunged forward and pulled Kanata into a massive hug, almost with enough force to send them both tumbling to the ground.
“I searched the audience before the show and didn’t see you,” Haruka said, her voice muffled against Kanata’s chest.
Kanata rubbed her sister’s head. “I got here super last minute. Ran all the way from work. Looks like all that idol training has paid off, huh?”
They broke the hug, and Haruka took a step back. She glanced down and fiddled with her skirt. “So… what did you think?”
“I thought it was amazing.” Kanata launched into an extended rant of every aspect she loved about the show—of which there were many. Haruka’s blush grew larger and redder with every word, and it made Kanata want to see just how embarrassed her little sister could get.
“O-Okay, that’s enough!” Haruka sputtered after Kanata compared her voice to symphony of angels. She took a few deep breaths to regain her composure. “Thank you, Onee-chan. For managing to be here tonight.”
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. Now c’mon, let’s get home so I can cook you the best dinner ever.”
Haruka spent the whole walk back trying to convince Kanata to let her help, but Kanata would have none of it. It was little sister spoiling time.