The moment Kuro Kurogane walked into the kitchen he sensed something was off.

There was a heavy and tense feeling in the air. As if two countries were preparing for war.

Akari was in an apron covered with pictures of tiny cats and was humming very loudly while she was at the counter.

Meanwhile, Aoi was stacking the food into lunch boxes as if she was a world-class athlete preparing for a championship race.

Neither of them could look at each other.

That was even worse.

Kuro started to slowly back away.

"I’m just going to get bread at school."

"Sit down."

Both twins said in unison.

Kuro sat down immediately.

It must be an instinct to survive.

Daichi, their father, was happily sipping on his coffee a few feet away.

"Ahh, the joys of youth."

Kuro muttered to himself, "This is not youth. This is just someone who’s been mentally scarred."

"Looks like they’re finally getting along..." Shizuka, their mom, said with a smile.

Just then, Akari slashed at a sausage with a knife while never losing her aggressive glare at Aoi.

Aoi stared back at Akari with a quiet look of amusement, as if these two intimidating people were mere bugs in the eyes of the ’aura of calmness’ that followed Aoi everywhere.

Kuro looked over at his parents.

"...Can both of you not see that there’s a huge problem with the two of them?"

His parents both continued to watch Kuro, as if they didn’t hear anything.

Kuro then decided he was done with them.

Five minutes later, the twins came storming into the dining room carrying a lunchbox each.

Akari placed hers down and proudly helped hers.

"Ta-da!"

It is beautiful and full of colours, shaped like little hearts, in colour; by using spaghetti, there are monsters on everything in the box, except for the rice and the egg.

KURO ♡

Kuro quickly turned away from the scene.

"I’ll pretend I never saw that."

"Ehhh? But I woke up super early to get ready."

Without saying anything, Aoi sat down at the table next to Kuro’s lunch and placed her bento down.

Immediately, the atmosphere around them changed.

Aoi’s lunchbox looked as if it were from a trendy restaurant - - grilled salmon, rolled omelet, great decoration. The rice was somehow very appear to be very educated.

Akari began to twitch.

"...You’re trying too hard."

"That’s a skill issue."

"YOU WANNA GO?"

"Aoi," Kuro said in a calm voice and totally ignoring Akari, "my lunch has balanced nutrition."

Akari was crossing her arms in a pose of sheer triumph.

"And mine has love!"

"That would also explain why it has a nutritional deficiency."

"OI."

Kuro began staring at both lunches and began to realize there was a trap here.

How he answered either question would ultimately create conflict for one of the girls, or for both girls.

"...I like both."

Immediately Akari started to lean closer toward Kuro.

"But which one do you believe looks more delicious?"

Aoi slightly repositioned her hair.

"Yes, you must answer honestly."

Kuro began to notice beads of sweat on his forehead.

What started as breakfast was turning into a hostage situation.

"...Can’t I eat both?"

"No."

Far too quick.

Way too in unison.

Very intimidating.

Kuro looked over at his dad for help.

Daichi simply gave him a thumbs up.

Betrayed.

On the way to his school, Kuro was desperately hoping that things would begin to settle down between these two girls in his life.

He was wrong again.

What started as a small spat quickly escalated into a public street fight.

At lunchtime, when Kuro finished eating lunch on the outdoor rooftop, he had just finished putting away his food when Akari, Aoi, and Akari arrived next to him again...

Like they always do...

Like the weirdest curse in the world.

Too many other students; some even started to whisper to each other.

"There they go!"

"There’s that weird triangle thing."

"Kuro looks really run down."

"He always looks really run down."

Truth.

Akari then opened her bento box with an excited "ok, first bite!"

Aoi opened hers in an eerily calm manner.

"OK, Kuro. Try my meal before it gets cold."

"No, mine first!"

"No, mine."

"Nope, mine."

Kuro wanted to fall through a portal for alternate dimensional travel.

Eventually, after a little argument, he tried Akari’s meal.

Akari’s eyes just lit up when Kuro took the first bite.

I amazement—"Were is is!"

After he tried Aoi’s plate of food—Kuro was astonished with his first taste.

"That is soooo good!"

Akari stopped immediately and stared at Kuro after hearing what he said.

Aoi sat back quietly, clearly pleased with herself.

"Duh." Aoi stated.

Akari stood up with her finger pointing directly at Aoi.

"HEY! Your facial expression was totally different!"

"I never had one, and what did the other have to do with a facial expression?"

"Your facial expression was different because you normally look so impressed with Kuro."

"I looked at my friend sitting right next to me; and in fact, I did look concerned that my friend to the left of me could be potentially ill."

"Kuro likes only mild tastes." Aoi said as she sipped on her Japanese green tea.

Akari gasped like a typical girl would do.

"Oh, you little snake! ..."

Then just before the argument could go any longer, someone crept up behind them. It was none other than Mina Fujikawa.

"Oh, good day again, I will see you again at the rooftop!"

Kuro immediately picked up a sense of a dark energy surrounding him.

Mina was peering at Akari’s shoulder with much curiosity.

"Wow, these look so good!"

Akari quickly put her hand in front of the lunchboxes.

"Don’t touch."

"That’s scary."

After leering mischievously at Kuro, "Which girl would be the best wife?"

Silence.

No sound.

Even the wind stopped.

Kuro slowly began to turn white.

This question is going to make him die.

Akari’s sweet smile was big.

Aoi remained bored.

Both waited.

Mina found too much enjoyment in this.

"Well?"

Kuro made his worst error in his life:

"Both."

Silence.

Then—

Akari’s smile turned into a frozen rhythm.

Aoi’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Mina cried with laughter.

"Oh my gosh," she gasped. "You chose the forbidden answer."

Kuro realized his error immediately.

It sounded safe to most people.

But, to the twins:

"No, you are my equal."

Meaning: war.

Akari crossed her arms.

"You can’t decide between us?"

"That’s not what I said."

Aoi closed her lunchbox quietly.

"That’s interesting."

"That is a threat."

"That’s the purpose."

Kuro laughed as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"I thought you were going to make me suffer."

"So, you are," she replied.

The psychological warfare continued over the rest of the afternoon.

Akari became overly affectionate.

Aoi became terrifyingly polite.

Both were trying to out do each other by performing indirect acts of entitlement.

Akari helped clean Kuro’s desk, fix Kuro’s tie, and give him snacks. Aoi helped organize his notes, get him drinks, and remained silently beside him. The whole classroom around them was watching it all happen as if it were on live television.

Haruto whispered in a dramatic voice, "They’re fighting for dominance."

"I know."

"You are the territory."

"I KNOW."

That night, Kuro got home feeling exhausted from the long day, both physically and mentally. He walked to the refrigerator to get a glass of water. He opened the door to grab the glass but then froze when he saw something in the refrigerator.

When he looked in the fridge, he saw two containers of food. One had a note on it that said:

"Made with love ♡" -Akari

And the other had this note:

"Nutritionally optimized for Kuro" -Aoi

Kuro slowly closed the refrigerator door, and he released a deep sigh. His family was not what it had once been; it now resembled a battleground with cooking privileges.