Making food and friends!

[onethirdthesoul]

[Over in the home economics room Ryou was cooking up a small feast. After the bitterness of the snow-in had left them, he was feeling more energetic than usual, and what better way to put that energy to use than making a meal for as many of the denizens as he could?

It was all Japanese dishes of course, lots of rice and vegetables adorned with traditional Japanese seasonings, slices of fish, chicken, and beef. There was nothing particularly fancy about any of it, but it all tasted good!

He makes sure the doors are open to let the aroma waft out into the halls, and just to be extra safe he tapes some arrows on the walls to lead the way.

...And yet, despite his outgoing attempts to be social, Ryou's still feeling increasingly shy for every person that enters.]

Comments

[fluffydeathdealer]

...look.

[Lifting his hands to his hair, he draws it back to show the scar from where she winged him with her bullet. The hair there has grown back but it's not as long as the rest of it. Not even close. It's only been about a month and a half, after all.]

I had to knock her out for a bit to prevent our dying. Ryou was lucky she didn't manage to hit us properly.

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou's eyes grow wide at the sight of the scar, and he takes a small step back.]

S-she tried to kill you?! But why--why would she do something like that?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Beats me! She hates that I exist. Maybe she's just willing to sacrifice Ryou to get rid of me.

[Letting his hair fall back into place, he smooths it over almost fastidiously, pouting a little at the feel of it underneath his fingers.]

[onethirdthesoul]

That's...awful. All she'd be doing is hurting Aniki. That doesn't stop you...

[He swallows nervously, fearing in his eyes. What if she comes after him next?]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Most likely... she hasn't figured out the secret of this place.

[And if Ryou doesn't know, he's not going to tell him, either. Glancing away, he yoinks a slice of the beef.]

Don't look so afraid. 'He' won't let your body get destroyed. Letting you die would be detrimental to him after all. If anything at all passes between the realities of our existence... it must be that.

[onethirdthesoul]

[The secret of this place? That sounds ominous... I'll make sure to ask Aniki later.

Ryou looks down at his plate, or rather at his hands as he fiddles with them. Hearing about how the spirit wouldn't let his body get destroyed--as if he were just a thing--was far from comforting.]

That's...reassuring, at least. But I haven't heard much from him at all lately.

[fluffydeathdealer]

...Maybe he went back to sleep. Who knows? You should enjoy it while you can.

[Interesting... what is that guy up to? Being this quiet is suspicious...]

After all, his loss is your gain, wouldn't you say?

[onethirdthesoul]

Yeah... [Ryou closes his eyes, bringing his hands up to the Ring.]

I thought about trying to take the Ring off, thinking maybe he wouldn't notice... But I'm afraid if I try he'll stab me with it again.

[fluffydeathdealer]

...If you try to do that, it might not be just pain that you have to deal with.

[His hand rests on the Ring thoughtfully.]

[onethirdthesoul]

I know... [His voice wavers.] But...

[But he doesn't want to have to worry about it all the time. Even if this other spirit seemed alright... He still used Aniki's body however he pleased! Ryou didn't want that. Amongst other things.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Heheh... you know, if you're really all that worried, I could probably get it off without it hurting you. But I don't do anything for free.

[Well, he does a lot of things for free, but still.]

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou looks up suddenly, his eyes wide with surprise.]

Really?! Please, Bakemono-kun...! What do you want?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Of course! It'll respond to my will as well as his, so there's probably nobody else other than me that could do it.

[Ah, so many options. Most of them useless here. Especially with Ryou. The boy would hardly do anything that would be considered harmful to others, after all! But it might be good for entertainment at least. And there was the chance he could use him without the boy noticing.]

Firstly, understand this. This is a one-time offer. If you put the Ring back on later, it'll be up to you to find a way to remove it. So I'd think a little more seriously about it before you do it.

As to my price... heheh. [Being rid of one annoyance might be good enough... but what fun would there be in that?]

The only thing I'm really lacking in here is entertainment. So why not stir up a little trouble for me? There's gotta be someone you dislike here, right? Go hit on them.

[onethirdthesoul]

[That's right... Bakemono-kun might really be his only way to get this Ring off at all, let alone safely. Ryou's pretty sure he can do anything reasonable the spirit asks of him, but as soon as the word "entertainment" pops up, he knows he's in trouble.]

Um... [Stir up a little trouble--hit on somebody he dislikes?! Well for one, he wasn't a trouble-maker outside of some innocent games and maybe a few light-hearted pranks, and for two...] I don't have anybody I dislike.

[Except for the spirit of his own Ring, but even then he helped to save Rin's life...as well as his own.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

...seriously?

[Bakura just stares at him. There was literally nobody in this place that Ryou disliked outside of his own body?]

Not a single person?

[onethirdthesoul]

Um...I guess Sibyll-san sounds kind of mean?

[But he wouldn't really count that as "dislike". He's never even met her.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

...give me a moment, I'll think of something else.

[LINEFACING SO HARD.]

[onethirdthesoul]

Oh! Um...okay! [Ryou doesn't sound or look even slightly disappointed by this turn of events.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Then, Ryou... [Ryou might be a little unnerved by the suggestion he has.]

I'll take it off for you if you agree to do one little thing. [His smile widens a little.] I want you to find someone you've never met before, or have little experience with... and kiss them. Properly, on the mouth.

Of course, you don't have to do it right away! I'll give you a month to steel yourself~.

[onethirdthesoul]

["One little thing"... Ryou has a bad feeling already.

And that bad feeling was right! The boy stammers, his face turning a bright shade of red.]

Y-you want me to do what?!

[Even with a year of preparation, how could he possibly get up the nerve to do something like that to a stranger?! It's impolite for one, and embarrassing for another!]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Did I stutter? You should be grateful! I deliberately didn't pick anything that would harm anyone!

[Not that Ryou would ever do that anyway. So really, he'd just been avoiding drama.]

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou's frozen, his mouth agape and the corner twitching slightly as he stares over with the same shocked expression.

And then he relaxes, slumping in resignation with a heavy sigh. The Spirit had a point...he supposes.]

H...how is that not harming anyone?

[fluffydeathdealer]

...? How is it harming anyone? It's just a kiss. You're not bruising them or drawing blood, unless you kiss in a pretty interesting manner.

[He raises an eyebrow at him.]

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou smacks his hands over his mouth, a blush rising up on his pale cheeks.]

N--no, of course not! I just, I'll embarrass them doing something like that--

[He drops his hands and bows his head, laughing sheepishly.] You should really give me something that doesn't involve anyone else...

[fluffydeathdealer]

That's too bad! That's my price.

[The intention is to cause embarrassment. Reaching out, he pats Ryou on the head in a playful manner.]

Take it or leave it.