Post #2714788 in Arc 4, a roleplay on RPG

Old Black Rose - 5:30 PM

"Strawberry cake huh? Hmm..." Kazuya thought about it for a bit. Truth is he has never really made a cake before and so he doesn't exactly know how it's done. He's tried baking other stuff but for now, cake was a little out of the question.

"Maybe I should practice at home?" Kazuya thought. Only a couple more days til the parent meeting and he wanted to show it off there too. He wondered if he could learn the recipe in time to also teach Akeno how.

"Alright! Let's do it! Ah, but probably tomorrow since this place doesn't have any ingredients for pastries nor strawberries for that matter." Kazuya beamed proudly as he takes her up on it. "The strip mall down at Queen's is a nice place to get fresh ingredients. I wonder if strawberries will be in season though?"

Kazuya makes a mental note to head over there tomorrow. Hopefully, he remembers this plan.

Blue Lotus Lobby - 5:20 PM

"Yeah, everyone does." Kirika muttered as Tadakatsu left. Making friends wasn't exactly her strongest point especially--

No, it wasn't right to think about it like that. She could hear the two indistinctively talking upstairs. As she said, the two seemed to be having fun. Honestly, it should be a relief to her that Kazuya could somehow laugh, smile and joke around again. However--

"Gah! Why does this all feel so frustrating?" Feeling frustrated for some reason, Kirika marches up to her room. She needed both the quiet and the space to cool off. As her head fell on the pillows, her thoughts soon started to dim until she fell asleep.

Uzamaki Ramen Hut - 5:35 PM

"You sure took your sweet time talking." Cel greeted Makoto as he rejoins her at the table. Their ramen had already been served though Cel hadn't touched hers yet.

"Sorry. You should've gone ahead and eaten without me."

"No can do! Family principle says we all eat together at the table. Besides, if I finish up before you and clean up while you're eating, you'll grow old a bachelor!"

"Ugh! Is that how it happens?"

"Maybe. It's an old superstition from where I was from."

"Superstitions do not really have--"

"--scientific basis I know. I take up engineering remember?"

"Your field isn't exactly hard science though."

The two got to eating their ramen first, slurping it down as per usual ramen etiquette, finishing up in just a few minutes partly due to the fact that it had already cooled down. Makoto finished up first and waited for Cel to finish hers before putting the bowls away.

"Thank you for the meal." Makoto thanks the chef and turns back to Cel.

"Tough day huh? Must've been nasty to see." The look of Cel's eyes already screamed "I know" at Makoto.

"You looked it up?"

"While you chatted outside. Should I not have done that?" Cel asked. As per Makoto's earlier request though, she tried to keep it down as much as possible.

"Well...it can't be helped now that you know about it now. But--" Makoto's voice dropped a little. "Don't tell this to the others okay? It might hurt the school's reputation."

"Sure thing." Cel assured him. Given that it was Cel, Makoto didn't find it difficult to believe her words.

"Thanks."

"Why are you so concerned about the school's repuation anyway? Is that the only reason why you don't want this to get out? Just to avoid blowing up the topic?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, being a Kurogane student's one thing I actually take pride in you know? No. Perhaps it's the only thing I actually take pride in. So if the school's reputation goes down, I go down with it. Shirazumi-san and Harumi-kun don't understand that."

Hearing that, Cel takes the boy's hand in hers. Somehow, she could understand how he feels--having only the prestige of your school to hang on to. She feels that, though he may not say so directly...perhaps, he really likes studying in that school.

"Hey, want to take a small detour somewhere? Just before we go home." Cel suddenly asked.

"Well, I'm not in any rush. But why?"

"Nothing. So, are you up for it?"

Makoto thought for a bit. Honestly, he was feeling a little tired walking around left and right. However, he can't deny he wanted to spend a bit more time with Cel. After all, she was leaving tomorrow. Not that she won't be back but seeing as how busy the next week is going to be, he might as well make the most of this night.

"Alright. Where are we going?"

Cel just smiled. "You'll see."

The Sagittarius - 6:00 PM

Kazenari listened in attentively to the man discussing the victims he knew in-between light bites of the appetizer and some water. Of the five mentioned, only two seemed to be related with gang activity and even between the two, only one was directly involved with Westside. Whether others would've been involved with Enigma, even the man doesn't seem to know.

"I see. So based on what you said, this can possibly still be related to your ongoing power struggle." Kazenari thought for a bit. It's possible that the other girls were killed by Westside should they be revealed to be involved with Enigma.

"Yet something still seems off..." Kazenari thought as she glanced back at the man across the table.

"Quid pro quo. I believe you also have questions to ask of your own, correct? It's why you came to school in the first place after all." Before proceeding any further, Kazenari gives the opportunity for the man to ask his own questions. The main course also arrived just in time, with the elderly waiter setting their dishes in front of them: Beef Stroganoff for the man and a fried herring for Kazenari.

"Feel free to dig in first if you please--umm..." It was only then that Kazenari realized they haven't introduced themselves to each other yet.

Snippet #2714788

located in Unnamed City, a part of Arc 4, one of the many universes on RPG.

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