Post-Trial I Afterparty

[cellpreservation]

[They're down two of their number, and who knows how many more will follow, but for tonight at least... They have a chance to rest.

The school has already been cleaned, leaving no signs of the deaths that occurred on this very day, but that's just as well. After looking around to make sure of that much, Yuta marches into the kitchen and, after a bit of looking around, ends up gathering some snacks: boxed crackers and apple slices that aren't perfectly even in cut but look, he's not the chef of his group, he did his best. These he sets out on some plates in the cafeteria before finding his usual seat to lounge in, eating some apple slices off of a smaller plate he grabbed just for himself.

And then, he waits - to see who trickles in, and who doesn't.

Where is your character in the aftermath?]

Comments

[copycut]

I see. [ She looks down at the apple slices, her brow furrowed as she continues to garnish them. ] I just thought... Even though I don't know how to cook, Sella makes snacks for me and Illya when we get home from school every day. So, I at least know how to do this much.

[ But, she shouldn't assume everyone has that kind of life. That much is obvious. ]

[cellpreservation]

If you want to do it yourself, go ahead.

[He's well aware his cuts are... not great.]

[copycut]

[ She huffs out a little sigh—though the exact emotion behind it, and precisely at whom it's directed, is more difficult to discern. ]

It's not like I'm great at it, either. [ And then, as if she hadn't just implied she doesn't want this job either, she asks: ] Did you see any cherries in the kitchen?

[cellpreservation]

No, but I didn't look around too much. I wasn't sure if anyone would even want to eat after all that.

[copycut]

I don't care if they want to. We all need to keep our strength up. [ Which is maybe the least normal way to say it's bad to skip breakfast, but nevertheless. ] Well, whatever. This plate could use a little more color, so I'll go find them myself.

[cellpreservation]

That's true...

Well, tell me if you find any? I wonder if the others can cook.

[copycut]

Other than Yasu?

[ It's a really grim joke, all things considered, but Kuro waves him off with a casual gesture as she stands. All things considered, it doesn't take her a terribly long time to return—and given that she's holding a jar of maraschino cherries taken from the refrigerator, Yuta can probably be forgiven for missing them if he was looking for fresh fruit on the counter. ]

Here~ You're a guy, so you should be offering to open this up for me.

[cellpreservation]

[Because he's a guy, huh. With a sigh, he reaches for the jar and begins working on the top, popping it off after a moment.]

There. ...Aren't these really sweet ones?

[It smells more like dessert than a snack.]

[copycut]

Mm-hm. So what? [ She's already digging some out of the jar. They leave little pink trails as they roll across the plate she loads them onto. ] After this morning, we all deserve a treat, don't we?

[ She slices one in half without waiting for an answer. It's... not the most even cut in the world, but even so, she tops off a cream-cheese-apple-slice with each of them. ]

[cellpreservation]

Does that even taste good...?

[Apples, cheese, and cherries is not something he's thought to combine before.]

[copycut]

Mm-hm. It sounds strange, but cream cheese is a little sweet... People even make cakes out of it.

[cellpreservation]

Wait, really?

[copycut]

What, have you never had cheesecake before? I guess people here really do come from all walks of life...

[ Alas, she has. No idea how to make such a thing to demonstrate. Maybe the Little Brothers could be asked to supply...? ]

[cellpreservation]

I mean- I have, but I didn't realize it was cream cheese...

[Possibly he just doesn't really think about ingredients in the things he eats in general.]

[copycut]

Huh, really? But it's right there in the name. What did you think it was made of?

[ It's hard to tell, since she always kind of sounds like this, but she's just giving him a hard time. ]

[cellpreservation]

I-- I don't know! There's lots of kinds of cheese!

[Save him.]

[copycut]

[ fufufu~ ]

Like a cheesecake made out of brie or limburger? I wonder what that would taste like... Well, I'm glad you've at least had it before. Otherwise, it'd be a real tragedy that we couldn't do anything about that!

[cellpreservation]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mrrrg.]

Someone else always handled the cooking, so I can't help it if I don't know everything about food.

[copycut]

[ His expression earns him another coy giggle. Still— ]

Well, like I said, I can't hold it against you. It's the same for me. My big brother and Sella did all the cooking for us... And even when they tried to give us home-ec lessons in school, I would leave the work to my partners~

[cellpreservation]

You actually got home-ec lessons?!

[SHE HAS EVEN LESS REASON TO GET ON HIS CASE!!]

[copycut]

Huh~? Didn't you?

[cellpreservation]

No. Not 'til like, junior high or high school.

[copycut]

Is that so? It's not like we did home-ec every day, but that's what our enrichment period was for. Art, culture, cooking... Things like that!

[ basically as an excuse to present different topics during comic relief chapters but lol who's counting ]

[cellpreservation]

My school wasn't really that fancy.