Work Text:
Morning. 8:03 AM.
The Furin cafeteria was quiet, just the sound of spoons clashing and the voices of first year students talking about this morning's practice.
Kiryu sat at his usual table, slightly hidden from the main path. His pink hair was neat, his eyes half-sleepy, but his hand had automatically opened the stainless steel bottle.
Homemade blend: milk, honey, and mint leaves. He opened it slowly.
“SSSSHHHHHHH…”
White smoke slowly emerged from the mouth of the bottle — like fog. Thick. Dancing in the morning air.
Kiryu stared at the mist.
“…why does this look like a drink from another realm?”
“WAAAAA—!!”
A scream from behind nearly made him choke. Nirei jumped to the side of the table like someone who’d just seen a poltergeist.
Nirei: "KIRYU!! WHAT DRINK IS THIS?! WHY IS THERE A FOG?! IS THERE A GENIE?!"
Kiryu (calmly, lowering his head slightly):
“…I don’t know either.”
———
Location: Behind the school.
Nirei has spread out a small portable whiteboard (he brought it from somewhere) and writes in large letters:
SUSPECTS:
1. THE CURSED CAFETERIA LADY
2. THE FREEZER GINIE
3. KIRYU – POSSIBLY POSSESSED
Kiryu sat on the stairs, calmly sipping his “foggy” drink. The taste? Surprisingly good.
Just… visually scary.
Nirei: "Kiryu. This is not ordinary drink. This is… destiny. You will become an ice person. Like Elsa. But… more aesthetic and emotionally distant."
Kiryu: “I added ice this morning…my house ran out of ice.”
Nirei: “ICE FROM WHICH FRIDGE?! Where exactly did you get the ice?”
Kiryu: (thinks for a moment)
“…Student fridge. Top section. Right side.”
Nirei: (eyes widen)
“RIGHT SIDE?!”
He continued to run back into the building.
———
A few minutes later, Nirei returned to the cafeteria, a satisfied look on his face and a small plastic container in hand.
Nirei: “I found this at the spot where you got the ice.”
He showed a small container labeled:
🌿 ICE HERBAL MENTHOL – By: UMEMIYA 🌱 Place with food for a fresh cool aroma!
Kiryu took it and gave it a sniff.
The scent was strong. Like salon cream mixed with a flower garden… stored inside a freezer.
Nirei: "If this thing is in a closed space, and the temperature rises a little... it produces steam like that. So, it's not a spirit. not a genie. It's just...our walking greenhouse’s fault.”
Kiryu: “…does that mean… my drink only tastes like spa?”
Nirei: "Spa in a bottle. You're the first taster."
Kiryu took a small sip.
Cool. Calm. Slight mint aftertaste.
Surprisingly good.
———-
Umemiya walked past them, carrying a tray of baby plants.
Umemiya: “Oh—you guys found my ice herbal? Sorry! I tossed it there yesterday. New experiment. Wanted to see if the aroma could calm down the fried chicken.”
Kiryu dan Nirei: …..
Kiryu (voiceover):
Sometimes, life feels strange.
But once you understand the cause…You realize the world is foggy not because of spirits…
But because of people.
———
Kiryu: “So… it’s poisonous?”
Nirei: “Maybe…”
Kiryu: “So… I’m gonna die?”
(long pause)
Nirei: “Well… at least you’ll smell nice.”