My new Neighbor's an Idol!?

Gal Cooking

"You're really good at this." Ishi couldn't help but compliment Ryugi as she fired up their food. "Kind of wish you didn't need me to 'encourage' you to do this."

"My parents already make me do a lot of stuff when I'm home." That was the reason for why she seemed to be talented in so many things. "You're not my dad, so I don't need you telling me what to do."

"I also don't need you pulling me around, so I guess that makes neither of us happy." Still, standing by the grill wasn't all bad. After all, the food smelled amazing. Ishi's stomach growled from the excitement of being able to chow down on some scrumptious ribs along with the grilled peppers sitting next to them. "Did you really just want to torture me here because I suggested you man the grill?"

"Well, maybe you should pay attention and learn how to do it too." She playfully tapped him on the head. "You always brag about how smart you are. How about you try it and we can take turns." That was... A lot more logical of a thought than he ever expected her to form. Ryugi had a good idea and that ended up being a good motivating factor for him to stick around.

"Then maybe the students here would love if I was the one to deliver their food." Chiana made her arrival known as they finished off the first servings of grilled meat. "That way you two can put your full focus on staying safe."

"I'd like to help too." Youna meagerly came up to them. Since Ishi had been busy cooking, she was kind of on her own since Rinse was also getting swamped by the fans. As much as she'd rather just stick next to him, the smoke from the grill was very aggravating to her eyes. Plus that fire looked very hot and she didn't want to get burned, no matter how unlikely.

"That's wonderful." Chiana responded. "Some help is always welcomed around here." The way she spoke made it seem like she was giving out lessons for young children. While that certainly worked out pretty well in terms of her own career, since certainly she had her elementary aged fans. Ishi found it hard to believe that Chinae actually believed in what she was saying in this persona. Actually, it was strange to think how easily she fit into this personality of 'Chiana', who was supposed to be her sister.

Who was this girl really? Perhaps people at school had her all wrong all along. Sure, that was due to the way she acted in order to hide her identity. Except, just how much of the version she was at school an act of its own?

"...And that's how you work the propane." Ryugi finished her explanation for Ishi to be able to properly grill without supervision. "See, once you get a handle of it. Things aren't that hard at all."

"You're certainly not wrong about that." He said, flipping over a couple of the pork chops. "Though it feels like you're a lot better with handling how long to keep the meat cooking."

"Hehe." She giggled. "Just keep complimenting me." Despite not initially wanting to do this, Ryugi was beaming with pride about her clear ability over everyone else.

"Don't push it." He glared at her. "Just because you're one of the most popular girls doesn't mean you need to be so full of yourself."

"I like to think of that as part of my charm." She paid no mind to his poor reaction. "Besides, you're the one who's always saying to be more honest."

"There's a difference between me saying you should be yourself, and me actually liking what that means." He responded, then looked at her funny. "Ah wait, just hold still."

"Hmm? Don't tell me there's a bee." She was worried from his statement. So much so that she froze on command. Slowly, Ishi licked a bit of his thumb and rubbed it onto her cheek. "Ehh!?" She shivered from his touch on her that came out of nowhere. "Wh-what's this all a-about."