Date A Live! Practice Chapter 10:
Outside the classroom in the hallway, Michael and Kurumi were standing together with the Time Spirit leaning on the ledge of the window, looking at the world outside. Mike was too, but his back was against it instead.
It was only a few days since that huge fight with Mukuro, Inverse Tohka reappearing, both those two fighting on par with the other even though the Zodiac wasn't Inverse herself… at least, not at first. Thankfully, they got her back to normal and got her to get over her past.
Seriously… her going to the exact same orphanage as Michael was a huge slap in the face to everyone, including Michael himself. It was no wonder she acted the way she did when she was finally "Unlocked" and was overly-friendly to him.
Speaking of her, she was still a little clingy, but it was bearable now. And since her powers have been sealed, its not like she'll lock up memories again… or planetary rotations. But in any case, he was back in school now that he was out of that fog regarding if sealing the girls was a good idea thanks to said girls.
Mike had to admit it, they snapped him out of it pretty good. They were right… whether it was a mistake or not, it was their choice to kiss him; then it caused their powers to be sealed inside him on their own freewill. Even if what Locked-Up Mukuro said was true about them being weaker in comparison, they were the ones that decided to kiss Michael, not him. He never forced them into anything, therefore it was not his fault like he was lead to believe.
"You gave us quite a scare, Mikey," Kurumi said, keeping her eyesight outside. "Shutting yourself down like that," she then finally looked up at him, and got off the ledge of the window and instead got closer to Michael, her uncovered eye locked into his own two.
"Yeah. But it was thanks to you guys for snapping me out of it," Michael said, making eye contact with her. "I'm lucky to have all you." He added, which was true. He did feel incredibly lucky to have amazingly beautiful girls that also cared for his well-being, to the point they all picked up on his stubbornness. No matter how many times he pushed him away during his dark place, they refused to give up on him.
Plus, he was too selfish to imagine then with anyone else. He may have never asked for a harem, but he has grown to love all the girls in different ways.
Kurumi leaned a little closer to him, making sure to make her visible eye as sensational as possible, with a matching smile. She placed a hand on his chest. "And like we said… we are lucky; to have you…" she added honey to her words, having leaned up close enough to kiss him if she wanted too. She didn't care if they were in the hallway in front of other people, she was just happy to have her Macho Michael back.
Color her surprised when he denied her by placing a hand on one of her shoulders, and pushing her down gently. Her mouth opened a little in confusion, staring at him for doing this. Not only that, he was giving her the exact same smile.
"You can drop the charade, Tik-Tok." Michael said to her. "What do you want?"
Kurumi leaned back down but kept her eye on him. "Can't a girl be happy her lover's back to normal?" She smirked at the accusation, trying to play it off. She also drew a single circle on his chest for good measure.
Michael's face, despite the tickling sensation of the circle-drawing, did not crack despite any of that. He just looked at Kurumi with a look that was a mix of asking "really?" and that one Bugs Life Scene: "Do I look. Stupid. To you?" As nice as that might have sounded, he wasn't buying it. Not even for a second.
"Kurumi… I know you." Michael said. "You've always been like this. When you want something, you always go directly to the source. You even try to play this cutesy character for added incentive to get it." He said, pretty much calling her out. This was just like many times before, just like when she had every chance to eat him, she did not take that chance and dragged it out. "You've had every opportunity since breaking me free from myself in the privacy of our home, only now to ask for my time? And conveniently on our free period when the others are in class?"
Kurumi just stared… her face gave no indication if he was on the money or not. "… You gonna tell me? Or am I gonna have to figure it out?" Michael finished, letting his words sink in for a moment.
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"… Alright. You win." Kurumi fessed up. "There is something I want, and its very important."
"Mind sharing?" Mike asked her. If he could, he'll do everything in his power to provide for her, but he couldn't help but wonder what it could be. It couldn't be all the Spirit Power in his body as they were well past that, or at least he thought so. However, Kurumi was one of those people that when she sets a goal, she will do absolutely anything to accomplish that goal.
Kurumi gave her signature small chuckle before answering. "Why don't we save that for after school? The walls have ears." Okay, she was gonna be secretive again? Fair enough. "Met me in…"
XXX
When school was let out hours later, Michael was standing in front of the closed doors of the rook marked: Nurse's Office.
"She can't let this go, can she?" He asked out loud. While yes that was a reoccurring gag between them, even he had to admit it was getting old after all this time. Sighing, he knocked on the door thrice. The nurse of course was long gone and had locked up, but that won't stop Kurumi from getting in.
"Do you have an appointment, sir?" Came the honey-filled voice of Kurumi on the other side.
"No, but I have this huge tummy ache." Michael responded.
"Oh dear, that's an emergency!" The 'Nurse' said in a mock-worried tone. "You should come in right away! All hands at the operating table, STAT!" When that last joke came out, so did a long white hand from a small shadow mass on the center of the door itself. It bent and held out its fingers to present Michael with a key, obviously to the office. Once Michael slowly took it, the arm retreated back inside.
Miku's right, that's still creepy.
Michael unlocked the door and went inside. Closing the door behind him, he saw Kurumi standing in the center of the room with her hands behind her back in an charmingly innocent-like fashion. "What. No Nurse cosplay?" Mike asked with a smile.
"I thought about that option…" Kurumi answered him, matching the smile with her own. "But then I remembered, your more into schoolgirls with short skirts."
"I mean, short skirts are fine…" Mike began a new jab. "But recently I found myself also enjoying rich girls in spaghetti strapped, backless dresses."
"Oh, really? I wonder where you'll find a girl like that?" Kurumi 'asked', putting a finger on her chin.
As the Nightmare and Spirit Sealer were talking, the door cracked open and we see them talking from the doors point-of-view. It was then shown the other Spirits who also go to school here were eavesdropping, their almost cheek-to-cheek since they were all trying to see inside.
"Scooch over! I can't see Darling!" Miku whispered.
"What's Mister and Kurumi talking about?" Asked Mukuro, also in a whisper.
"Can we move closer? I barely hear them." Asked Mayuri, softly.
"Hey! Stop pushing!" Kaguya whispered to someone(s).
"OW! Origami! That was my foot!" Tohka complained, but thankfully kept her voice down.
"Frank. We should be quiet." Yuzuru warned them.
"So what's this all about this time?" Michael asked Kurumi.
"I just wanted to experience a romantic time alone with you in our favorite spot." Was Kurumi's answer. "Our tour was cut short back then, if you remember." She added, mentioning the first day they met.
"As tempting as playing out a fantasy sounds, why not tell me the REAL reason we're here?" Michael called her out.
It was here Kurumi stepped closer to him. "… I'm ready…"
Michael was a little taken aback by that. "Um… here?" He asked. "Not that I'm complaining, but haven't we been through this already?"
Kurumi giggled, knowing what he was implying. Such a boy, misinterpreting what she meant… though that wasn't a bad idea either. "I…"
All of a sudden, Michael saw his vision blur, and felt himself slowly black out…
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"… Michael?" Kurumi's voice echoed. Michael reopened his eyes… when did he close them?… Regardless, he noticed Kurumi was a little bit closer than before, having leaned up to get a better look at him, most likely to make sure he was ok.
"… s… sorry. I was; distracted by your beauty…" He excused. It was really weird, he felt this hot sensation before blacking out… "Anyway, what were you saying you were ready for?" He asked, getting back to the conversation.
"I'm ready to tell you the truth." Said Kurumi.
Michael immediately knew what she was saying. "You mean, about how you became a Spirit?" He asked. All he knew about her past was that Phantom must have turned her at some point (though she never confirmed or denied this); she was from a rich family but unlike most stereotypical rich kids, she wanted to help those that were beneath her on the totem pole; and lastly during the time she was having Night Terrors, she sobbed the name 'Sawa' in a clearly saddened tone (which he has not disclosed he heard her say).
Other than that, he didn't know much about her personal life only that she had been on her own and was gathering Time to survive, as well as seek him out for a special mission. He was honestly a little shocked she finally came froward with this.
"I think you earned the right to know." Kurumi said, then her visible eye has some emotion in it as the feelings began to surface. "Your… the only one I feel I can trust with this information. You remember what you promised me… after sealing my powers?" She asked.
Michael thought about it… how could he forget? That was the firs time he saw Phantom in person before going on a trip through time. She appeared after Kurumi ran off, but thankfully they managed to track her down. They fought Phantom, who disappeared after fighting all of them.
One word… incredible. The power of Phantom was incredible. The girls had a huge sense of dread just being in the same facility as her.
Her readings were off the charts. No matter what they did, even when the Spirits all combined their strength (minus Kurumi), they couldn't even touch her. Even when Michael did the unthinkable and flare all the powers he's acquired at one time, which he then felt he got shredded in a meat grinder after, that still BARELY scratched her. She didn't even attempt to summon an Angel throughout the entirety of the short battle they had, assuming she had one to begin with.
That. Or she was that strong and saw no need to manifest it. To be fair, when Michael attacked her, she did appear to take some damage from his strike, but whether or not it affected her greatly was up for debate.
Kurumi punched the ground in frustration and was a wreck after Phantom left, tears all in her eyes and her teeth clenched so tightly they looked like they would shatter like glass. Michael promised she wasn't alone anymore, and that's when the Nightmare finally gave in and kissed him a second time. Not like the "Thank You" peck she gave from protecting her from Kotori, but an actual kiss. Of course being sealed at that point.
"Course not. I meant every word." Michael assured her.
"I know you did. You kept giving me a chance, even after messing up all those other ones…" Kurumi said. "That being said, my goal has always remained the same…" She added. "You obtained even more Spirit Power since we've first met… power that could help me achieve my goal, if only I had it."
Now, if this was the same ruthless Kurumi he had met so long ago, Michael might have freaked a bit… but he knew she wouldn't hurt him. "You wanted to seal my power, and you succeeded. And I'll be honest, it was nice while it lasted…" It was here Kurumi's expression changed. "But I've realized… both our missions can't both be completed, one has to take priority over the other. They are entirely different like 2 faces on a coin. Only one can be face-up, while the other must be face-down."
"I thought we were past all this." Michael said. "Kurumi, whatever it is, we CAN get it done together."
"I'm afraid that's not possible." Kurumi said, still using her sweet tone but it sounded more assertive. "Trust me. I've given this a lot of thought. This is the last thing I want to do… but there's no other way."
"… so was this all an act?" Asked Michael, feeling a little betrayed. Kurumi even looked shocked the accusation came out. Now she still ran off on her own like when she saved Nia after Michael O.D'd on Reiryoku, or when Mayuri first appeared she did some investigating on her own. That he could tolerate. But it seemed now that Kurumi was just using him the whole time. "Did you never really care? It was just convenient I was a storage system?"
Kurumi's expression looked a little regretful, needing to gently brush her hand on his cheek. He didn't pull away though, probably just giving her a chance to explain herself. "Your wrong, Michael… I do care…" she admitted, some of the emotion present in her face. "I do love you… that's why I have to do this on my own."
Hearing that reminded Michael of how he broke up with Origami. It was nearly the exact same wording, and he did it to protect her like Kurumi was doing to him now… that was a mistake, a mistake that made Origami an easy target for Phantom to manipulate, which he thankfully rectified later on.
Not this time… not again.
He slowly grabbed the hand on his cheek, giving it a squeeze as well. It gave Kurumi pause as Michael lowered their hands from his face, but he do not release his grip. "I won't let you." He said in a serious tone.
Kurumi stared into his eyes. "You can't stop me."
"I'll find a way too…" he warned. "I'll use the others powers if I have too."
Kurumi smirked then, thinking he was bluffing or over-exaggerating. "I'm not sure how good a swords gonna be when I shoot it." She said, implying she would use Zayian on Tohka's power.
"Not if I freeze you solid first." Michael warned again, referring to Yoshino's power.
"Nothing a little aging can't fix."
"Then I'll suck you into a hurricane."
"What if I accelerate my own Time and outrun it?"
"Cause even without her Angel, Mayuri's power will shock you."
The Spirit and human continued to stare each other down. Neither said another word, seemingly talking with their eyes. The eavesdroppers also watched on in silence. If a fight, like an actual physical fight happened between them, they could only imagine the carnage. While Tohka didn't remember her fight with him, being Inversed at the time, the others that were there that day said he continued to fight and use Reiryoku to the point he was bleeding all over his body, in places Inverse Tohka did not strike at all. Kotori healing flames barely kept up with it.
All Tohka knew was after a kiss and a head pat, he passed out in her arms.
Both Mike and Kurumi were still silent for a few more seconds before she broke it. "… well… seemed we've reached an impasse." She said. "So how about this?" She added, then made a suggestion to solve the problem. "Rather than leave this at a stalemate or escalate to becoming physical, why not make things a bit more interesting?"
Interesting, huh? Michael thought about that for a few seconds. "What'd you have in mind?" He asked, willing to hear her out.
"How about we settle this with a little contest?" Kurumi suggested. "Think about it. Your a decently handsome man, and I'm a fair beautiful woman. So I propose for the next week onward, we each do everything in our power to make one of us fall harder for the other. The winner will be decided when one of us can't take it anymore and give in to our desires."
That was Kurumi's challenge… and by can't take it anymore, she obviously meant love and/or lust.
"… I mean, isn't that a bit redundant?" He asked, not that he had a problem with the contest, it just seemed repetitive after all they've been through. "I think we already know who the winner is…" he added, slyly.
Kurumi smiled back at him, knowing what he meant. "You think you'll make me fall head over heels for you first?"
"Well, I did have you throwing your head back pretty far." Michael joked, which was also true from the first time they engaged in 'late night activities' and the amount of pleasure she was in.
Kurumi just continued to smile at him. "Funny… I seem to remember you were wrapped around my lips back then." She shot back, remembering the pleasure she was giving him at the time.
"And yet, you said: 'I knew you were delicious' before letting me devour you." Mike returned, also mimicking her voice, with Kurumi only smiling back still. "But let's say we do this little pvp match of yours; what's the stakes?" He asked. Of course, he already had a good idea of what they were, but wanted to be sure.
"I thought you'd never ask." Kurumi purred. "If you win, I'll drop the subject here, and leave it at that. We'll do things your way, never to be brought up again. In addition, I'll also tell you the full truth; about me and my mission." She put up her bet.
"And if I lose?" Mike asked, again having a good idea of what the penalty was.
Kurumi got out of his hands grip before continuing. "Should I win… you'll have to let me devour you… along with all the power stored inside you. No objections." Once she finished, she licked her index finger for good measure.
Michael just stood there, taking all the information in. "… *sigh*Look, I'm not gonna deny that I love you," He began, folding his arms while doing so. "But do you really think I'll admit defeat knowing I'll die?"
Kurumi put her hands behind her. "It's not like you haven't tried sacrificing yourself for everyone else at some point. Besides, I'm confident I can make you say it." She said. "Oh yes… I'm gonna make you want me so bad, you'll be begging me for one last night together before letting me finally eat you." Kurumi added. "Though on the contrary, I believe you have an equal chance yourself… Where's the fun without a bit of a challenge?"
She unexpectedly added praise that Mike was caught off guard by, which showed a little in his face. "… trying to get a head start?" He smirked at her, which she only returned. "Alright, Time Wizard. Your on. May the best lover win."
"I plan too…" Kurumi said. "Shall we began our Date?"
"I don't know…" Michael said unexpectedly, then turned his neck to the door… "What do you guys think?
The sudden call out caused the other High Schoolers hiding at the door to eep, lose their balance, and fall forward; crashing into the Nurses Office. They all groaned upon avalanching on top of each other, and also from being caught.
XXX
Literally the next day, Kurumi went on the offensive.
Michael stepped out of his room, fully dressed and ready for school once he gets breakfast going. "Oh, good morning, Michael!" Came her voice, which he looked in her direction not even thinking what was going to happen.
He froze… being greeted by a rather gorgeous/generous sight to behold…
Kurumi Tokisaki… in the hallway… hair not in pigtails… wrapped only clad in a white towel. She was also wet, not dripping wet, but just enough to be sensational and the towel sticking to her body, showing off her curves.
Fascinating… that was one word for it. For the love of him, Michael could not look away nor close his slightly open mouth.
Why did hormones in the human have to be so selective and hypocritical? He's already seen her naked, once due to sealing and even then for maybe a second, then again when they shared a night of passion, yet he freezes when she's wearing just a towel?
"You'll have to excuse me. The shower in my room just broke all of a sudden. I was only getting cold water." She said with her signature smile plastered on her face. "I'll just use the guest one real quick. I'll see you in a minute!" She told him, then walked down the hallway.
Michael did not expect her too… well, it was Kurumi, so he kind of did expect it… just not this soon in the game. She was really going all out, wasn't she?
He went into her room to check on this, just in case it could be a bluff. Sure enough, it wasn't. The shower was only giving cold water like she said… because thermostatic mixing valve's hot inlet was removed. But since the shower itself was still intact, that meant either it was perfectly placed back together… or something phased through to it.
'Clever girl…' He mentally praised her.
"Did you figure it out?"
"GAAAAH!" Mike panicked, now seeing Kurumi was back and behind… but still wet and wrapped in a towel… THIS was her plan all along! She did all this on purpose, knowing full well he'd go and check for himself. He walked right into her trap!
"Is something wrong?" She edged a little closer, as she had him right where she wanted him.
Flushing cheeks be damned, he played it cool. "Y-Yeah? You see this?" He directed her attention to the part of the shower he opened up. Although not the reaction she was looking for, she played along herself, knowing what she had done still had an effect on him.
"Mmm-hmm." She nodded, not seeing Mike grin.
He 'accidentally' pushed her foot with his own. Since her feet are still somewhat wet, he's sudden move made her lose her balance and slip. She yelped at this, but Michael caught her as she was falling, like that one tango move when is held leaning to one side. However, he made sure their faces were as close as possible, but not exactly close to kiss unless she leaned up quite a bit first. Now her face was red.
"… Draw?" He smiled at her.
"… Draw." She agreed, and Michael helped her up.
XXX
"I'd normally never pass up walking to school you, but…"
"It's okay… I understand…"
That was the end of a conversation with Michael and Tohka. Normally Tohka walked to school with Michael, but he canceled on her. She was a little disappointed, but she knew why. He was trying to beat Kurumi at her own game, and after explaining what his plan was, she allowed it.
Seriously, that Time Spirit was a puzzle. She was once an enemy, then an unlikely ally, now becoming a house mate, but still went off on her own sometimes. Whatever her game was this time, Tohka was certain Michael could pull it off and didn't doubt him for even a second. It's just Kurumi was… well… Kurumi.
Michael moved in to attack this time. As Kurumi was putting on her shoes and went to turn the doorknob, Michael's hand grabbed it a second sooner so her hand ended up on his. She did get surprised at this for a moment.
"Please. Allow me." He offered, opening the door for her.
Kurumi didn't know what he was up too, for this was a mediocre nice gesture that you see guys do for girls in TV and films, but she played along regardless. "Awww. Such a gentlemen." She said to him as she walked out with him exiting with her, then they walked side-by-side to school together.
As they walked along the road, Michael noted a path that lead to another housing area… time to make his move.
As they got closer to this path, Michael grabbed Kurumi's hands with his free hand, as she was using both of hers to hold her schoolbag. "How's about we take this path? It's a shortcut." He said, then added in a whisper. "You might enjoy it."
"Ara?" Was Kurumi's response. "How can I refuse? I can't wait to see what it is." When they walked down this path to a shady downstairs area, her expression changed from her normal one, to a more eye-widened one which she was trying to hold back but failed to some extent.
Cats… Cats everywhere. "Th… This is… what you…?" Her words got caught in her throat, not expecting this at all. Michael had caught her off guard.
"Most of the local cats gather here in the shade. Even some strays, but they like peope believe it or not." Michael said, seeing the feelings she was trying to suppress despite the eye he was closer too was covered by her hair. It was more of her body language that gave her away. Mike put his bag down and went to the closest cat that was laying down on its side in the shade, where the Spirit Sealer began rubbing under its chin. It gave a purr as the human gave it attention.
Kurumi was now shaking, watching Michael handle the cat like an expert, and even gulped. She couldn't let weakness show, not with their duel going on, no matter how cute and adorable all these cats were…
"You know you want tooooooo~" Michael said without looking at her.
Kurumi eventually gave in and kneeled down next to Michael with the cats, where one just happened to be sitting next to the one Michael was petting. "H-Hey…" She outstretched her hand to try and pet this cat, but when she attempted, it walked away. Not out of fear or anything, just lost interest.
Even if her eye was covered, Kurumi felt Michael's smile on her. "Glad you think its funny." She cutely snapped at him, a little upset the cat didn't return affection her way. Michael just kept a smile at her. To think she was a serial killer at one point, yet she has these honestly cute sides to her.
Killing machine or not, she was still a girl.
"… Kuru? Tsk, tsk! You out there?" Michael called out after a few seconds of keeping his gaze on Kurumi, then looked towards the herd of cats. Kurumi cocked both her head and an eyebrow.
From a small group of cats, one of them had their ears perked the moment Michael said: 'Kuru'. It looked behind itself by turning its neck in the humans and Spirits direction. This cat was a bit smaller than the others, and was white with blue eyes.
"Kuru? I brought a friend for ya." Michael said to… wait a second… now Kurumi was starting to get it. That cat had a name, given by Michael? Or did he know the owner? She wasn't entirely sure.
Upon having its name being called a second time, it began to stretch its body after getting up from a laying down position like most cats or dogs do when being called by their masters. The cat then began making its way up the stairs, where the camera switches to its POV. It show Michael easily enough, but the position the cat was in along with the angle it was walking up made Kurumi covered up by other cats bigger than itself.
Once it got up a few flights of stairs, both students were clear in its vision. And when it saw Kurumi, it immediately meowed and appeared to increase its walking speed from a casual cat-like stroll, to practically running up to them.
The cat first greeted Mike with a rub against him, then went immediately to Kurumi, rubbing up against her… and purring.
If Kurumi wasn't overwhelmed for her love of cats before, now she definitely was. This cat seemed a little too cheerful like other cats. She was frozen, but slowly lowered a hand to pet this cat. She was even more shocked that the moment she attempted this, the cat immediately pushed its face into her hand, rubbing against it. Kurumi's heart skipped a beat.
She didn't understand… at least, not at first. "Is… Is this?"
"Yep." Michael confirmed, making Kurumi's head snap in his direction. She could not believe it…
This was the one… the one cat her clone had saved from those punks from forever ago. However, the cat did not seem to care about this, and continued giving Kurumi affection. This cat has been here the whole time? Within walking distance?
"Brought him around after the whole mess, gave him food and water, but he likes going off on his own sometimes… kinda like someone else I know… someone really special" Mike said, then glanced back to Kurumi. "So I named him Kuru."
Kurumi understood right away… her… He named the cat after her. There was no denying what she was feeling, it was plastered all over her face. She then finally recovered, and smiled at him. "Alright… this round is yours." She said, admitting defeat this one time.
She'll give him this one, but she mentally promised to make the next round harder.
Michael pet Kuru himself, causing the cat to purr again. "As fun as staying here with all these cats sounds, we should get going." He said, then he began to stand up.
"Before we go," Kurumi said, getting Michael to stop for a moment. "There is one more cat I want to pet…" While looking directly at him for a second, the next second she was tickling under his own chin. He tried to resist, but that area did affect him like she intended too. "Ara, ara; wow. I think this kitty can't get enough of it."
"Purrrrrrrrr!" Michael said, deciding to stop fighting it and just entertain Kurumi a little.
Kuru looked up at its 2 people friends, cocking its head as if asking: what the heck? In fact so where the other cats, them all staring up at the display between the couple and would have sweatdropped if they could.
"Heheh… now we're even." Kurumi said, the score now tied again.
XXX
It was nonstop for the next couple of days. Dates, walk-ins, cosplay, Kurumi in an apron and helped cook though Michael returned fire by eating a cherry a certain way, Kurumi showing up in his darkened room in a kimono, Michael doing house work with his shirt off deliberately… One person would attack with full force, though the other would find a way to counter shortly after.
It was clear to everyone else that Michael and Kurumi were making each other warm and fuzzy inside regardless of what they did, but neither was going to admit defeat. That was always they're dynamic even before Kurumi began living with them; both of them always trying to outdo the other.
It was lunch time at school currently, and Kurumi and Michael were sitting on the roof together. It was Kurumi who requested this, but whether or not it was part of the contest or simply two close people having a meal together was up in the air. Michael got his out first, which was cat themed: cat shaped rice cakes, paw print side dishes, you name it.
Kurumi was taken aback by this. It was strange enough for Michael to make himself a bento, for he usually did that for everyone else and just got a sandwich at school or something.
"What?" Michael asked with a straight face.
Kurumi recovered slowly. "N-Nothing… just a little surprised at your choice of lunch is all…"
Michael looked down at his bento and back to Kurumi. "… you, want a bite?" He offered, which Kurumi thought nothing of at the moment… then she REALLY looked at his face. He was giving her a smile, but in her vision: she saw horns grow out of his head, fire in the background, and an evil laugh back there too.
Oh… he was gonna try this route, huh? On break of all things?… Not bad. Looks like nowhere is safe from their battle of lust to the death. "Well, it'd be rude if I didn't show you mine." Said Kurumi, opening her own.
And it was anime-themed. Worse. It was Man-of-Culture themed. Noodles were positioned on one side on top to emulate hair, some pieces of meat on it to give the impression of a face, and finally a type of 2 rolls were on the bottom to make it look like a pair of breasts. Everything else about it screamed "degenerate".
Michael had never seen that before, not even in anime, so he gave the same reaction Kurumi did. She in return gave him a knowing smile… they both thought of the same thing.
They then both chuckled as a dark aura surrounded them, but it was more of a visual aesthetic rather than the power they both had.
Watching them was Tohka, Origami, the Yami twins, Miku and Mayuri. They weren't hiding this time, they just came up here to have lunch themselves and yet there Kurumi and Mikey were… still going at it. It was impressive how long this has been going on.
"There they go again." Tohka said.
"The battle rages on." Said Origami.
"Insight. You can practically see they're auras." Yuzuru stated.
"Here, Baby! Help yourself!" Michael said cheerfully while handing over his lunch with both hands and closed eyes, but was very overdramatic.
"Oh no, Darling! You first! I insist!" Kurumi matched him, doing exactly the same thing but mirrored.
Michael's eyes then narrowed. "Whatever happened to ladies first?"
Kurumi narrowed her own in kind. "Exactly." Sparks then shot between the contestants foreheads, both showing their determination.
"I've never seen Darling this intense before." Miku said.
"They're like 2 brave warriors fighting to the death! Just like manga!" Kaguya said.
"This contest is fine and all… I just hope they don't overdo it." Mayuri said.
"Rock-Paper-Scissors?" Michael suggested, seeing neither of them was going to go first and risk taking damage. Kurumi nodded, agreeing to this. Both still holding their respective lunches, they got one hand to play the game with, and after shuffling 3 times…
Kurumi - Paper, Michael - Scissors. Kurumi eeped. "Scissors cut Paper." Michael taunted.
Kurumi gave a cute growl. "2 out of 3." She requested while holding up her fist to try again, which Michael allowed. Doing another shuffle…
Kurumi - Scissors, Michael - Rock. Nightmare was rendered silent. "Eat up, kitty-kitty." Mike taunted more, presenting his lunch again and more closer to Kurumi's face. Not only did it look cute (Kurumi swore she heard a meow somewhere), it also looked really appetizing, and smelled incredibly delicious.
Kurumi was shaking, but stood her ground and bravely reached over and took a rice cake. She stared at it for a moment… why did he have to know cats were her Kryptonite? "Come on, it won't bite." He said to her, but could tell it was both a pun and a callback to when they first met.
She eventually took a bite… and her mouth experienced an explosion of flavor. The texture was also perfect that it practically melted in her mouth. She almost didn't want to swallow it because it was that good on her taste buds.
"Critical hit!" Said Kaguya.
"Confrimation. It's Super Effective." Yuzuru said.
Once Kurumi did swallow, she had to hold herself up with a hand, her body now shaking for another reason. "Well… no surprise there… its really good." She said.
"Glad you like it… Honey." Michael still taunted her. "Oh, and try not to cream the bench…" He added, which of course was a joke but if it did happen, that counted as not able to take anymore and he would win by default.
Kurumi finally did recover from the powerful strike, but this just incentivized her to hit back just as hard, if not harder. It showed in her uncovered eye. "Alright, Mikey… say AH!"
Before Michael even had a chance to do as he was asked, Kurumi had taken a small portion of her lunch with chopsticks and shoved it into his mouth rather forcefully. It forced Michael to try the food on instinct, and when he tasted it, he had the exact same reaction as Kurumi did over his food only moments ago.
"Oh no! Darling was hit!" Miku said, worried for him. Mayuri did as well but didn't say anything.
"How's it taste… Dear?" Kurumi shot at him, seeing the effect her cooking had on him. Michael didn't respond right away. Very rarely did any else do cooking but him, especially when the one time the Spirits (minus Kurumi as she wasn't around at the time) tried being nice and made a dish for a change.
TLDR, they were good at eating food. PARTICULARLY Tohka, Kotori and Miku.
"Gotta admit… your really good at cooking yourself…" Michael said, then upon recovery added: "I'm usually the cook… also because I never had anyone else's cooking that I actually liked." He revealed he was kind of picky when it came to his own food.
"Oh my, you poor thing." Kurumi said, feeling a bit of humor in his reaction. "We girls must've run you ragged."
Michael then leered at her, getting back to business. "Do you want something else?"
Kurumi leered back. "Can I try the katsuobushi?"
"I'm not sure you can handle it…"
"Then in the meantime, try my egg omelette…"
"Oh wow! They're really fired up!" Tohka said, having stepped a little closer.
"Tohka, maybe we should stay back. This could get ugly." Origami warned.
"Ooooooh! This is super unfair!" Kaguya complained as the competition continued and heated up. "They get to flaunt their stuff and were stuck on the sidelines!"
"Consensus, and jealousy. We too would like to compete in a contest like this." Yuzuru said after and in agreement with her twin.
Kurumi took a bite of Michael's bonito flakes (katsuobushi) after dipping a side of it in soy sauce and gasped at what she experienced. "Incredible! To think mere bonito flakes can be this good! This soy sauce is absolutely legendary!"
"And the eggs are so soft and fluffy. Just the right amount of meat and cheese." Michael said, him to experiencing an amazing dish.
After Kurumi finished what she was eating, which was the exact same time Michael finished his own, she got a Zojirushi (a thermos) from her bag next to her feet. "Can I interest you in some of this?" She asked, pouring what looked to be soup into its top and presented to Michael in a cutesy way.
Hot fresh soup? Was it Miso? "S-Soup?!" Michael squeaked, taken even more aback as that dish was quite basic, but it's what you put in it what makes each one so different. Of course, when he looked into it, he noted something…
Letters… small pasta letters…
'Alphabet?' He questioned to himself. Why would Kurumi make that?… Was she calling him a child?! That's most likely what it was. She was using a child's dish to make fun of him! 'Oh-ho; NOW you've done it, Shadow Queen…' He thought. Two can play at that game!
Copying what she did with his own bag (them both having planned a surprise dish), he took out a small freezer bag with something wrapped in aluminum foil on the inside. He took out the foil, but didn't open it just yet, which left Kurumi confused.
"Why don't we just skip to desert?" He asked with a smile, then unwrapped the foil to reveal something that made Kurumi almost drop the soup she was holding, but the absolute shock on her face and gasp she let out was priceless. She even copied his squeaky tone of voice.
Kurumi: B-Black… Forest… C-Cake?
They both ending up eating everything the other person brought, pretty much swapped lunches all for the sake of the contest. "Ha… Ha… Another draw?" Kurumi asked Michael.
"At this rate, we'll end up splitting like Tweedle-Lance and Tweedle-Chains." Michael agreed. They have been tying so many times, he felt he had to reference Kaguya and Yuzuru. The Spirits who had been watching all clapped after the duel was over.