Two Cups of Competition [Vanyel, Natsumi]

Vanyel sighed as he continued to scrub a measuring spoon. She was really scared of Violet for some reason -- he didn't fully get why. She'd invited her to have dinner with them, and he knew that Violet, as far as he knew, wasn't going to kill her like some psycho. He was too focused on cleaning to register the door opening, but, he did smile and lift his arms when he felt Violet hug him from behind.

That let Natsumi slip by and give her space to wash the dishes, his hands gently resting atop hers, before gently bringing them up and pressing his lips to the back of her hands. Carefully, he moved to grab a washcloth and start washing off the stove's burners, trying to be sure he didn't make Vi too uncomfortable. He didn't get why Natsumi was so scared of her.

Then again, he hadn't been seeing the death glares she'd been giving the girl.

It wasn’t long before the dishes were done and the kitchen was all cleaned up. Violet had moved to setting the table so they could eat once everything was cooked. Each person got two bowls, one blue, one purple. The purple had Natsumi’s chili in it. The blue had Vanyel’s chili in it. Everyone also got an iced fruit punch to drink. As everyone sat down, Violet gave them both a smile.

“Now, eat up,” Violet said, but Natsumi didn’t start eating yet. She stared at Violet, eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. When Violet noticed this, she blinked, and finished her bite before speaking up about the staring. “Uh… you okay?”

“You remind me of Mama when she’s angry,” Natsumi said bluntly, pointing her clean spoon at Violet. It was all comin’ together. “You gettin’ that same look Mama makes… and you have her nose… Is your hair fake? You’re blonde ain’t ya?”

"H-... How did you know?" Violet asked, completely weirded out.

As the three moved to the table and sat down, Vanyel took a look at the bowls, chuckling softly, before beginning to reach for a spoon. But, just before he did, he noticed Natsumi staring at Violet, and slowly, his hand made its way back to his side, raising an eyebrow. He didn't say anything during the brief exchange between the girls, but, the strangely correct assumption about her hair made Vanyel's head cant to the side a little.

"Weird assumption to make...what's your mom's name?"

He figured that a simple question like that could solve the issue. But, given that her last name was "Asakura" according to her, he figured that it was just a weird coincidence. Even if she was adopted, she was an adult, so, why wouldn't her name have been changed by that point? Plus, she was apparently Japanese, if her name was anything to go by, and Violet was pretty notably American.

There were just too many things that would have to line up for that to be right. So, Vanyel leaned back a little in his chair, taking a sip from his water as he waited for the answer.

“My Mama is Natasha Miller of the Vandenreich. She is better than all of you in every way,” Natsumi said and then narrowed her competitive eyes at Vanyel, “Especially in cooking. It's why I know I woulda won. Ain't no one beatin' Mama's recipe!” Natsumi smiled and took in a bit spoonful of chili.

Violet was stuck. 'Wait... so she... is my cousin? Mother said Aunt Natasha never had kids...' Violet thought, wondering how truthful this was. There was silence from the women as Violet's mind tried to register what was said and Natsumi happily ate her chili. "Wait, so..." Violet finally spoke up. "You're... my cousin?"

Natsumi stopped chewing and stared at Violet, "What?"

Natasha Miller? That name sort of sounded familiar, though he rolled his eyes when the girl started to talk up her mom. Maybe she would have won. Who knows, maybe a nice, simple, homecooked recipe would beat him out. Well, if nothing else, he'd want to see her recipe to learn it and improve.

Taking a sip of his punch, Vanyel was just about to get a spoonful of chili ready to eat, only for Violet to suddenly ask if Natsumi was her cousin. Not expecting that response to come out of her, Vanyel turned his head to the side as surprise forced him to spit out the small amount of drink in his mouth, and coughing as some of it slipped down the wrong pipe.

Eventually, he was able to compose himself, before looking at Violet with a very, very confused look.

"Wait, wait, her mom is your aunt The aunt that you were sent here to in the first place? The nice one?"

Natsumi withdrew from Vanyel’s spitting and coughing with a disgusted look, “Ew… Cover your mouth, Cottonhead! You ain’t got the best’a manners, do ya?”

“Stop it, Natsumi,” Violet said and then gave a smile that seemed… dangerous. “Or I’ll tell your mother. I doubt Natasha would be happy with your antics today.”

"You okay?" Violet asked Vanyel, but then he asked about the possibility of the two of them being family. "If the Natasha Miller she is talking about is my Aunt Nat, then yeah. I... got to meet her a couple of weeks ago, actually... I never got the chance to tell you with... you know... everything going on."

"If we cousins, that means we family. You got two other cousins by the way," Natsumi said and put up a finger as she said each of their names. "Eiji and Stella. Eiji's always in his room and can be a brat... Stella is the best sister a girl can have, even if 'er boobs are as big as her head... kinda like yours... I wonder if that's cause y'er all family... Well, Stella ain't blood like that, but you and Mama both got big ones!" Natsumi wasn't lacking in the chest department herself, but she was definitely beaten out by Violet and Natasha. And she laughed as she held her hand out in front of her own boobs, acting like they were twice the size.

'Ain't no way this little shit is telling me that I don't have the best manners...I wasn't even looking at her for it, much less trying to aim it at anyone.'

Giving a quick nod to Violet, he sat back up, wiped his mouth off, and took another sip, this time keeping it inside him. His face turned to a look of surprise, however, as she mentioned that she finally was able to meet her. Vanyel smiled, reaching out to gently take her hand in his, rubbing the back of hers with his thumb.

"That's great. From what you told me about her, I hope meeting her was good for you. Tell me more about it later, 'kay? If you're comfortable with it, of course."

With everything that had been going on, he wasn't that surprised or even offended that she didn't tell him. Hell, it wasn't like he needed to know every last thing she did in a day all the time. He did, however, catch one particular aspect of interest from Natsumi. Stella wasn't blood like that -- given that her last name was different to her purported mother, and that small detail, that made things a bit more clear.

It was an adopted family. Not that there was anything wrong with that -- hell, it was pretty admirable. So, as he took a spoonful of chili, Vanyel smiled softly as he listened to the two newly-found cousins talk.