//------------------------------// // Arc XII Episode I: Sourness // Story: Family Begins With You // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// Meanwhile, with Aria… Soon enough, she arrived at Sugarcoat’s house. The blue girl in question was already walking out of her front door wearing a pair of jeans and a black hoodie. “Sup,” she said plainly as she walked onto the sidewalk next to Aria. “You’re quite well-dressed.” Aira looked down at her gingerbread dress and gave a witty smile in response. “Yeah. Thanks. I break this out whenever my sisters and I are doing charity work or something for a friend. In fact, that’s what I just got done doing. Spent a few hours with the new guy from our school.” “Sounds like it was quite the time.” Sugarcoat also managed to catch the scent of fried chicken that was still freshly upon her. “Hm. Homemade battered and deep-fried poultry. You all must’ve eaten well.” “...Woah,” Aria recoiled with wide eyes, “You could tell what I’ve been eating? Is it that obvious?” Sugarcoat merely shrugged and replied, “The scent is strong. Take it however you please.” “First of all, creepy,” she stood upright and continued walking, “Second off, you’re right. Keiji made it for us. And apparently he’s making it for the whole school. I’m sure he’d let you have some if you asked.” “How nice of him,” she adjusted her glasses and changed the subject. “Anyhow, we’re almost there. Allow me to fill you in on the details of Sour Sweet’s affliction.” Aria snapped her fingers. “That’s right. Now what exactly is she dealing with here?” “This may be a bit difficult to explain, so I’ll get right to it,” Sugarcoat looked Aria dead in the eyes and said, “Sour Sweet is bipolar.” This left the siren frozen in silence for a moment--she had no clue how to respond to something so…direct. “...Uh…” “...Oops,” Sugarcoat frowned, “I suppose I should back it up a little. Sour Sweet has a bad habit of being overly nice and revolving between that and passive-aggressive statements--sometimes, they’re not even passive. Just aggressive.” “Oh…” Aria started to understand a bit more. “I see now…she has a hard time expressing herself, right?” Sugar stuffed her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and went on. “Well, there’s more to it than that. But that’s the gist of it, yes. Anyhow, the reason I brought it up is because you don’t know her very well. I want you to be prepared for any of her sudden…outbursts.” “Ah…no problem,” Aria said with a nod, “I’m used to mean comments. Although, I bet this has something to do with the dreams she’s been having, huh?” “Precisely, good guess,” Sugarcoat replied, “According to what she told me, her aggression is being used against her in these dreams. That’s why I wanted your help. You have more experience with the emotions of aggression than your sisters.” “...” Aria raised a brow and asked, “Is that a genuine compliment or a backhanded one?” “A compliment in this case. I came to you for a reason.” At long last, they would arrive at Sour Sweet’s single-story home near the middle of the city and down one of the side streets. “Here we are,” Sugarcoat stepped through the gate that led into the yard over a red cobblestone path through well-kept green grass. “Everything seems fine on the surface, but I have a sneaking suspicion something’s up with her.” “Wait, she’s one of your closest friends and she hasn’t told you anything?” Aria asked with a disheartened frown. “Ouch…I wonder what she’s going through?” “That’s what we’re about to find out,” Sugar replied as she walked up to the door and knocked… “Little girl!” From inside, they heard a woman’s voice shout. “Answer the door!” “Okay dammit, I’m going!” a young woman’s voice shouted back. More specifically? Sour Sweet herself. She was wearing a cyan tank top alongside a pair of black yoga pants. She flung the door open and practically barked at them. “The hell do you--?!” But once she realized who was there, she calmed down, “Oh. It’s you, Sugarcoat!” In fact, her tune changed on a dime--a complete ‘180’ so to speak. “How are you? Oh and you brought a friend? It’s nice to meet you!” she greeted Aria. “...Yikes…” Aria bit her bottom lip as she thought through the implications to herself. “Zeus-be-damned. That was…unexpected.” Sugarcoat shot Aria a subtle, knowing glare--silently letting her know that this was essentially the problem in a nutshell. Then, she turned her attention to her friend. “Hey. I got your message and decided to ask Aria for help. You said you had a really bad dream right?” “Yes,” Sour responded right away, “It was so goddamn--I couldn’t even sleep from the shit that I--” But she quickly stopped herself and cleared her throat, lowering her voice. “Ahem…I mean…it’s just, it was really scary, so I didn’t know who else to turn to. Do you think you guys could help me?” From nearby, the loud, female voice would shout again. “Who’s at the door?! Answer me, Sour!” Sour turned and shouted back, “Just a friend, Aunt Squirty! Don’t embarrass me right now!” “Don’t talk back to me like that!” the woman shouted again, “Treat me with respect, ya hear? Don’t make me get the cable!” Sour Sweet’s eye twitched as she muttered under her breath. “Y-yes ma’am…yes…ma’am…” Aria took a look at Sugarcoat--the blue girl’s expression remained neutral. Instead of continuing small talk there, she decided to take things elsewhere. “Okaaaaaay, why don’t we take this somewhere else?” Aria suggested, “It’ll help you clear you’re mind if you’re able to think for yourself.” “That sounds great!” Sour said with a smile, but then it quickly faded and turned into a frown, “...if I don’t get spammed to shit with loads of phone calls by a certain someone.” Aria and Sugarcoat exchanged another glance with each other. This was going to be far more difficult than it sounded…