Work Text:
“I’m hungry, Minamoto-kun..” Mitsuba giggled to himself while piggybacking Kou. To him, stirring up Kou was probably the funniest thing in the world. This was met with a heavy sigh from the opposing blonde, which Mitsuba could feel through his fuzzy sweater.
“Ugh.. I swear to god, Mitsuba…” Kou rolled his eyes in pure disdain. His head violently whipped around to meet Mitsuba’s eye level, staring him down. “Fine. We’ll find more supernaturals to hunt down, I guess. I have a place in mind anyways.”
“Yay!!” Mitsuba cheered, his legs kicking Kou. “You should be grateful you’re taking care of a cute boy like me anyway.”
“…”
—————————————————————————————
“…So out of all places. You chose to break into the school? I didn’t take you for that type of person,” Mitsuba inquired, his head looking around while his bright, pink eyes scanned the area. “After all, you seemed like too much of a goody-two shoes.”
The pair had decided to stop in front of the school entrance, where the gates were locked up with heavy, steel chains. The nighttime air felt chilly on Kou’s shoulders, goosebumps raising up along his arms. He could feel the coolness throughout his body; Mitsuba on his back only made it worse. It felt similar to carrying a cooler as a backpack.
Shivering, the blonde didn’t even bother responding to Mitsuba’s earlier comment. Now was really not the time for him to be worrying about his own problems; the events beforehand in the aquarium had shaken them both up, but Kou’s concern over the other had only grown. Mitsuba, on the other hand, seemed to disagree with this statement. He could feel Kou shaking a bit and scrunched his face up.
Mitsuba leaned to the side, his bangs falling over so they almost covered his other eye. “You’re shivering, Minamoto-kun. Are you cold?”
“Nah… I’m fine!” Kou shook his head in denial several times. His earring almost smacked Mitsuba’s face in the process.
“HEY; watch your ugly piercing!! You’re obviously not. Or are you a scared little baby? Is that it? Maybe I should change your name to lame-ass scarebaby,” Mitsuba provoked him once more.
He felt finally at least halfway recovered after fighting at the aquarium, so he hopped off Kou, his pink, beat-up Converse hitting the concrete floor with a thud. Mitsuba’s fingers found the edges of his crimson scarf and lifted it up. “It’s really not that freezing or spooky. You should grow up.”
That was it.
“YOU-,” Kou began, but was then interrupted suddenly. Gently, Mitsuba wrapped his scarf around Kou’s neck, facing him eye to eye, pink staring back at blue. Kou’s eyes widened a little, the lamp making his cerulean eyes shine. His mouth was parted, his face fixed in an expression of both shock and surprise. This took any form of annoyance out of Kou. The air seemed to go up several degrees, all background noise subsiding.
Mitsuba’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked away, something distant flickering in his expression.
“That’s for the penguin keychain. You’re welcome,” Mitsuba huffed and walked off, easily jumping over the fence to the school. The metal chains on the main school entrance were no problem. The gates swung open, and a breeze of cool air passed by. “Can we go hunt now; I’m practically starving.”
After a few hot seconds of just standing around mindlessly, head empty, the lamp flickering off and on got Kou out of his trance. He smacked himself in the face, trying to process what had just happened.
Sprinting over, he could still feel Mitsuba’s touch lingering. He felt a lot less chilly now, a pit of warmth growing in his chest. Huh. Weird.
“YEAH!! Wait up!!” he exclaimed, darting forward.
Trailing behind Mitsuba, Kou leaped over that very same fence, with a lot less ease than the prior individual. By the time he had caught up, Mitsuba was already inside the school building, waiting for him to arrive.
“Man, you’re slow. Anyway, give me my scarf back.”
Kou blinked. “Huh?”
Crossing his arms, Mitsuba sighed. “Are you dense? I kinda need it to fight in case you forgot. Unless you wanna do all the work for me. As if you could though-“
Cutting him off, Kou retorted almost immediately, jabbing his finger into Mitsuba’s chest. His previous annoyance started returning.
“OBVIOUSLY I CAN. Didn’t you see me exorcise that stingray earlier? And…”, his eyes changed into a look of somberness as he scratched the back of his neck anxiously. “…And I’m sorry for the way I acted back at.. you know…”, Kou trailed off.
“…It’s okay,” Mitsuba mumbled. The air felt a lot more tense, the tension almost palpable. The corridors of the school hallways were empty, the only sound being the crickets outside chirping. “Anyway, if you really want to go do all the dirty work for me, you should start right now. I might as well die again of starvation.”
Kou turned his body to face the other way, heading for the stairs in the back of the hallway. “Oh. Yeah. Right. You coming with?”
Scoffing, Mitsuba’s eyes narrowed into slits of impertinence. “Obviously. What happens if you get your butt kicked?”
“I literally saved you an hour earlier.”
“Uhh, no you didn’t!”
“Oh my god, whatever. How do I know which rooms have supernaturals and which ones don’t?” It was easier to just let Mitsuba talk than try to argue back. Adjusting the scarf around his neck—Mitsuba’s scarf—they both started walking down the hallway.
“Ummm. No idea!”, exclaimed Mitsuba, shrugging, looking completely indifferent. “There should be a few nearby the broadcasting room though. I remember seeing them when I was hanging out with Tsukasa-kun.”
The pair strolled along the school corridors after going upstairs. Mitsuba followed beside Kou, with his usual bounce, his hands shoved into the pockets of his sweater while humming. Eventually, they came to a stop in front of a red door with a metallic gold handle.
“It’s this room.”
As the door creaked open, Kou instinctively reached for his staff, eyes scanning the room. The dim light from the moon outside barely illuminated the school’s interior, casting long, eerie shadows along the walls.
Mitsuba leaned closer to Kou, peering over his shoulder. “Ooh, maybe it’s something big. You think it’ll put up a fight? Or are you just gonna get thrown around in, like, two seconds?”
Kou ignored the jab, taking a slow step forward. “Be quiet for a second. I got this.”
All of a sudden, an ominous shadow darted in front of their eyes. Kou barely had time to react. The moment the shadows moved, he swung his staff up on instinct, blocking the incoming force just before it could slam into him. The impact sent him skidding back a few inches, his sneakers squeaking against the linoleum floor.
Mitsuba, who had been standing dangerously close, took a quick step back, his fingers clutching at his sweater.
“Oh, wow, Minamoto-kun, amazing reflexes,” he deadpanned. “Now, uh, maybe deal with it before we get killed?”
Kou gritted his teeth. “I’m trying!”
The shadowy figure reared back before lunging again, tendrils of darkness curling through the air like smoke. Kou dodged, twisting his body just in time to avoid getting hit. He countered with a swift swing of his staff, stabbing the supernatural through the head. The creature let out a shrill, distorted screech as the direct attack hit. It was unable to move anymore.
Kou stepped forward and ripped it apart, tearing apart the supernatural until he finally found the heart. He took it out pridefully, showing it off to Mitsuba.
“See? I can handle it!!” His toothy grin flashed at Mitsuba, lighting up the room a bit.
Looking completely unbothered, Mitsuba sighed dramatically. “Yeah, yeah, congrats on doing your job. Now give me it.”
“…No.”
“…What are you talking about?” Mitsuba’s eyebrows furrowed, a confused expression plastered on his face. “You want me to starve?? Oh. I get it; you want me to be all helpless so you can-“
Kou cut him off right there. “NO,” he snapped, then hesitated for another hot second, rubbing the back of his neck again. It was a bad habit he had picked up from ages ago that happened whenever he became stressed or flustered. “I meant like… Is it possible to cook supernaturals?”
Mitsuba stared at him for a moment, caught off guard. Then, finally, the corners of Mitsuba’s lips pried open.
Softly, his voice almost a whisper, Mitsuba muttered, “You’d do that for me?”
Kou glanced away from Mitsuba, unable to meet his gaze. “Yeah.. there’s a kitchen in the Home-ECS class. I could make it into whatever you want.”
The corners of Mitsuba’s lips tugged upwards involuntarily much to his own dismay. “Alright. But if it’s bad, I’m leaving a one-star and telling Daikon-senpai your cooking stinks.”
The warmth of Mitsuba’s grin lingered longer than it should have, but Kou didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he exhaled sharply, shaking his head as he marched out of the broadcasting room, dragging Mitsuba along by the sleeve. “Come on, let’s get this over with before I change my mind.”
Trailing behind, Mitsuba hummed in amusement. “Wow, you’re really going all out for me, Minamoto-kun. I must be super special.”
Kou rolled his eyes. “Don’t push it.”
They made their way through the eerily silent school once more. Once they reached the Home-Ec room, Kou pushed open the door. The moonlight cast long shadows over the counters, the faint smell of old ingredients still lingering in the air. He flicked on the dim switch for the light, illuminating the space just enough.
Mitsuba leaned against the counter, watching as Kou set down the supernatural heart on the marble countertop. “Sooo… what’s the plan, chef?”
Kou squinted eyes at him. “First of all, don’t call me that. Second—” He turned to rummage through the cabinets, looking for anything that could help. “—I just need to figure out how to make this not disgusting.”
Mitsuba giggled. “Good luck with that.”
After a few moments of searching, Kou found some leftover flour, oil, and spices. “Okay. If we fry it, it could taste better. I could turn it into a tempura-like dish.”
“Whatever you say chef!”
Kou ignored him, getting to work. He moved with a surprising amount of focus, cutting the supernatural heart into smaller pieces before coating them in flour. As he worked, Mitsuba watched him intently, pink eyes glimmering with something unreadable.
“You’re actually serious about this,” Mitsuba mused.
“Duh.” Kou heated the oil, waiting for it to reach the right temperature. “I already said I’d do it.”
Mitsuba tilted his head, his expression softening for a split second. “You’re weird. Why are you doing all of this for me?
Kou hesitated. “I’m not even sure myself. You’re annoying, cocky, and bratty. I don’t even know why I bother with you.”
“Okay, rude.”
Comfortable silence passed. This type of often bantering and bickering was actually enjoyed on both sides, even if they didn’t say it.
Once the oil was hot enough, Kou carefully dropped the battered pieces in, listening to the satisfying sizzle as they cooked. The smell was… surprisingly not bad. He stirred them around, waiting for them to crisp up before pulling them out and setting them on a plate.
Mitsuba looked over. “Oh? That actually looks edible.”
“Yeah, yeah. Try it before you compliment me,” Kou muttered, pushing the plate toward him.
Inspecting as it as if it would come to life, Mitsuba picked up a piece carefully. Then, finally, he popped it into his mouth.
Silence.
Kou watched him carefully. “Well?”
Mitsuba chewed slowly; after he swallowed it down, he blinked. “…Huh.”
The blonde's heart nearly stopped. “Huh? What does ‘huh’ mean? Is it bad? Do I suck? Am I—”
“No, it’s actually kinda good,” Mitsuba interrupted, licking his fingers. He turned towards Kou more intently. “You should do this for me more often!!” His eyes shone brightly like diamonds.
His face growing red, Kou looked away at the floor. “…Sure.”
After he finished the plate, Mitsuba leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms with a smug grin. “Well, Minamoto-kun. Looks like you’re not completely useless after all.”
Kou shot him a flat look, arms crossed. “Gee, thanks. Glad to know my cooking skills are finally up to your high standards.”
Suddenly, Mitsuba stepped closer. “Oh, also I kinda need that scarf back.”
Pretending not to notice the twinge of disappointment in his chest, Kou unraveled it around his neck and handed it over. A flash of light passed through the window. They hadn’t noticed it earlier, but the sun had started to rise.
Kou stretched his arms and yawned. “I should probably head back home. Teru-nii’s going to think I’ve been hanging out with a delinquent.”
“…Oh. Right. Okay. See you, Minamoto-kun.”
“Yeah, see you. Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”
Mitsuba nodded. “Yeah, if anything I’ll just hangout around in my boundary.”
As Kou turned to leave, he stopped in his tracks halfway through the door. His voice rang out loudly, “I’ll make more for you tomorrow ! You better let me in your boundary!”
Waving, Mitsuba replied back, “Only if it’s good!”