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Dawn’s sunlight gently illuminates the room, waking Tsukasa from her slumber. It takes some time for the fox to wake properly and to notice the lone space beside her. Seems like her other half has already risen, which… wasn’t all that unusual. She definitely has a habit of sleeping in, much more so than her master. Tsukasa slinks off the bed, long but thin legs hanging off the edge as she stretches languidly with a yawn. Her tail whips from side to side, hackles rising then falling as if rebooting themselves after a night's rest. As she finally rises to her feet, a pleasant smell reaches her keen nose.
Savoury… She must be making breakfast already.
With a well-timed rumble of her stomach, Tsukasa turns on her heel. She takes a moment to fix the bed, smoothing out any creases in the sheets and fluffing the pillows. Shifting away from the bed, she swipes a fine comb from the nightstand and quickly fixes a few wild hair strands into place.
Once satisfied, she leaves the room with a pleased mumble. As she trots down the hallway, the smell only becomes stronger, definitively indicating that it is indeed coming from the kitchen. When she pokes her head around the corner, she sees exactly what she expected. A tall, broad, navy-haired woman working away at the stove. Feeling a smirk coming on, she lets her form dissipate to mist, only re-collecting itself when she is peering around the other woman's shoulder. However, just as she opens her mouth to let the words out—
"Good morning, Tsukasa." She was shortly interrupted by a deep purr from her companion.
No matter what she tries, Tsukasa struggles to catch her master off guard. She vaguely remembers moments long ago, when she could easily earn a full-body jolt or even a squeaky exclamation from the tengu. But much has happened since then, and both women have changed along with time. One day, Megumu has to let her guard slip once more, and Tsukasa will be there to catch her out when she does.
"Mhm, mhm... Morning to you, too, Master Iizunamaru." Tsukasa lets her tone fall on the airy side, choosing to bury her minor frustrations.
"Go take a seat, I'm almost done."
The kuda-gitsune does as she is told with little fanfare. She steadily backs away from Megumu and promptly seats herself at the small table for two. She notices it was already laid, plucking a spoon from its place and examining it. Her sharp eyes scrutinise the wooden utensil, watching the light shimmer off its lacquer finish and examining for any smudges.
“They're clean, I just washed them.”
A low but amused chuckle shifts Tsukasa's attention from the spoon back to Megumu. She lets her gaze focus on the other woman before almost recoiling in disgust. Megumu is sporting an all too familiar apron, made from thick navy fabric and embroidered with white thread to spell the phrase:
Kiss the cook.
When that wretched thing first came into service, Megumu insisted it was a gift. From whom, she did not say, and Tsukasa knew better than to take that at face value. It was equally likely that her boss just bought it for herself and was reluctant to admit that she found it amusing.
Tsukasa made no secret of how repulsive she found it, and repeatedly reaffirmed her sentiments every time it came back in action. Today, however, she decides to hold her tongue. It is too early for a spat, and if she didn’t know any better, Megumu most likely pulled it out of the back of the closet just to get a rise out of her companion.
“Steamed eggs,” Megumu remarks with a proud grin, placing a bowl on the table in front of her.
There are many things Tsukasa can snark about Megumu, especially that damn awful apron, but her cooking is not one of them. She’s questioned her boss before on why she has such a knack for the culinary arts, but her answers always remain vague.
Tsukasa looks into the bowl and, as the other woman has proclaimed, sees the unmistakable fluff of steamed eggs. However, her eyes quickly focus on the toppings, finely diced green onions, definitely precariously placed to form a…
“And this?” Tsukasa inquires, her voice a little quiet and strained as she points to the onion-made loveheart.
“Is what I want to talk to you about,” Megumu answers, taking a seat opposite her subordinate.
Tsukasa looks up, scanning Megumu's face for clues. Alas, she draws blanks as a well-known smirk remains on the Great tengu's face.
“In the Outside World, they like to partake in a festivity known as Valentine's Day.”
The fox raises a blonde eyebrow, encouraging Megumu to continue.
“It is a day dedicated to showing appreciation for your lover.”
Tsukasa feels her cheeks flush a little warm for a moment, unable to guess where she is going with this conversation. She goes to open her mouth, but it just hangs for a second before closing, not too dissimilar to a fish gulping for air.
“Traditionally, people gift their lovers confections, flowers, or even something particularly expensive like a ring.”
Megumu picks up her spoon, smirk only growing as she continues.
“A holiday dedicated to pining fools, making them desperate to spend their money to prove their fickle love is—”
“—A fantastic business venture,” Tsukasa finishes her boss's sentence, ending it with a light-hearted giggle.
Megumu, satisfied that the two have reached the same page, begins eating first and quickly encourages Tsukasa to do the same. Another thing the fox can’t fault her for is her table manners. Despite her fairly boisterous nature, Megumu knows when to reel herself in. She has an interest in fighting and getting her hands especially dirty, but she will never stoop so low as to chew with her mouth open.
As soon as the first spoonful hits her taste buds, Tsukasa all but swoons. The savoury tang hits just perfectly this time in the morning, and the light texture only adds to her enjoyment. She feels her wispy tail begin to wag involuntarily and makes no attempt to stop it.
“I thought about making gift packages for particularly lazy customers to buy. However, the making part…”
Megumu finally speaks up after taking a moment to enjoy her breakfast.
“... Turned out to be more labour than profits would return.”
“Well then… Just don’t make them yourself.”
Megumu tilts her head, tapping the spoon handle to her chin.
“Which is exactly why I need to pick at that sharp brain of yours. What would you do instead?”
Tsukasa considers her options for a moment, feeling the thoughts whirr around her head, before responding.
“Hm hm hm... I do think pre-made gift parcels are a good idea, but I’d buy the sweets themselves from the Human Village. Buy them in bulk, bargain for a discount, and then sell them repackaged with some festive flair at a higher price.”
Megumu nods, clearly pleased by her subordinate’s idea.
“How would you get customers to choose the more expensive option?”
“I’d advertise to those who don’t visit the Human Village, who aren’t even aware that a cheaper option is available.”
Megumu heartily laughs, swiping her now-empty bowl off the table and rising to her feet. Tsukasa has to crane her neck for her eyes to meet amused crimson.
“And people wonder why I keep you around!”
She gracefully steps around the table, making sure to pass by the fox as she does. A large but dexterous hand reaches out, gently rummaging the blonde hair between two large, vulpine ears.
"Aside from these, of course." Megumu moves her fingers south, scratching a particular spot behind one of the fox's ears.
Tsukasa responds with an unusual sound, somewhere between a huff and a squeak. Megumu only bothers her for a second more before withdrawing and leaving for the kitchen sink.
They don't speak another word, allowing Tsukasa to finish her meal peacefully and tune into the sound of running water.
An absolutely fantastic kappa invention.
She mulls, finishing her final bite. Tsukasa looks into her bowl once more, noticing how her breakfast has been reduced to just a saucy puddle, harbouring some floating green onions. As she focuses, she can vaguely see her own reflection, and despite the lack of detail, she can tell her cheeks were puffy from sleep.
Just as she goes to bring her hands to her face, footsteps approaching stops her in her tracks. Before she can turn her head toward the culprit, the bowl in front of her is switched out for a box.
It’s a deep red, adorned with white paper hearts and altogether tied with a dusty pink bow.
“What—” Tsukasa feels herself splutter, a little out of character for herself.
“It’s a prototype for the gift boxes. You can keep it.”
Megumu briefly explains before quickly leaving Tsukasa alone with the "prototype".
The fox lets herself scrutinise the box. Megumu definitely made it… She has an unusually artistic streak to her, that’s for sure. She insisted on drawing the ability cards herself, so Tsukasa supposes it isn’t too surprising that the Great tengu would take on this crafty task herself.
However, this box is particularly well-made. Each paper heart is equally sized, most likely the result of using a template. The bow itself is tidy, but Tsukasa can tell from the extra creases that it must have taken her master several attempts to tie it right.
She lets her gaze slowly lift, away from the gift and towards Megumu. She watches how the tall woman shifts on her feet, toned arms moving as she scrubs the bowl clean, humming some unfamiliar tune to herself.
The kuda-gitsune is unable to get any further hints from her boss's demeanour, so she setsherself to decipher the box once again. Slowly moving her slender hands forward, she grasps the bow and tugs it lightly, allowing it to loosen and for the lid to pop. She shifts her fingers to the lid’s edges, easing it open to reveal the contents inside.
Chocolates.
Little white chocolates carved with rough, bumpy surfaces and individually decorated with a trim milk chocolate dip at the bottom. They glitter with a light gold dusting.
Barley rice-themed chocolates.
Tsukasa feels the air blow out of her nose in an amused huff. They are, to be frank, pretty impressive, especially considering their small size. She can only imagine how painstakingly delicate the process must have been.
Tsukasa can’t help but wonder when Megumu had found the time to hand-make chocolate, and even more so without attracting the attention of her subordinate. Did she really think this little business venture was worth that much effort?
“I’m going to get ready for the day. You should get ready too, it seems you'll need to make a trip to the Human Village,” Megumu calls out, the words barely registering in Tsukasa’s mind as she continues to ponder the Great tengu's intentions.
Did she really?