Bake, Beloved

The Cream Bully

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Funami Yui hears the buzzer go off in her apartment. Though only fourteen, she's already become used to living on her own (it does help that her landlord is a relative and her friends visit constantly). She walks to the buzzer to check the camera, expecting to see Himawari. She indeed does see Himawari, but to her mild surprise she also sees Sakurako.

The more alarming surprise, however, is that it appears that Sakurako had run into some trouble involving repeated lashes across the face and arms. She opens the door, bracing herself for the adventure that awaits.

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"Funami-senpai, I'm sorry I'm late. Please forgive Sakurako's presence and...her need of first aid." Himawari gestures to Sakurako, whom she had repeatedly slapped with the stick that Sakurako had used to strike her chest.

"N...no worries, Furutani-san, there's a first-aid pack in the bathroom under the sink and ice packs in the freezer. I'll go get them for you," Yui steps back and starts to turn, but Himawari shakes her head.

"Thank you, but please don't trouble yourself. I'll get them. I am...partially to blame," Himawari removes her shoes and heads towards the kitchen as Sakurako yaps angrily.

"Partially?! You-"

"Sakurako.....it would be rather unfortunate for additional accidents to occur before we've had a chance to start baking, yes?" Himawari's face begins to darken again, but Sakurako quickly shakes her head and holds her hands up in surrender.

"Y-yes! It would be! Very unfortunate! In fact, I believe I was more p-partially to blame than you!" Sakurako stammers, but then recoils, "W-wait! Not..not more partially as in, less a part, but more as in...a bigger part! A bigger slice!" She suddenly perks up, drooling slightly. "So....are you going to bake a cake?" Hearing this, Himawari sighs and opens the freezer, retrieving an ice pack.

"Actually," Yui answers, "the plan was to attempt creme brulee."

"Cream...bully?" Sakurako cocks her head as she removes her shoes. "Oh! That actually fits Himawari perfectly."

"Excuse you," Himawari returns, slapping an ice pack to Sakurako's cheek. "It doesn't look like you're bleeding at all, but this should help with some of the bruising. Also....erm..." Himawari leans in close, looking away from Sakurako. "I'm...sorry."

"Uh....EH?!" Sakurako jumps back in shock, the ice pack falling to the ground. Himawari sighs, picking it up and tossing it to Sakurako, who catches it without looking, her eyes locked on Himawari's as a slight blush builds force in her cheeks. Himawari turns to Yui.

"Funami-senpai, do we already have all of the ingredients? I won't mind a trip to the store if we need to pick anything up," Himawari asks, hearing a series of soft thwacks behind her as Sakurako applies and reapplies the ice pack all over herself.

"I believe so: eggs-" thwack "sugar-" thwack "vanilla extract-" thwack THWACK "Eh...."

"SAKURAKO!" Himawari roars, her temple throbbing, her hands clenched into fists.

"Sorry!" Sakurako calls back, putting the ice pack atop a spot on her forearm before continuing a tad softer. "Partially sorry.....eheheheh." Yui sighs and turns to Himawari, continuing.

"Anyway, Furutani-san, after that we have the cream and brown sugar....did I forget anything? To be honest, I was surprised it was this simple." Yui begins retrieving the ingredients and laying them out across the counter.

"That will be all we need. It's actually not a terribly difficult recipe," Himawari washes her hands while Sakurako wanders about Yui's room, looking for some way to entertain herself while she waits for her free dessert.

"Oh? I feel a little guilty asking you to come all this way then," Yui steps in to wash her hands after Himawari finishes. Yui's straight, shoulder-length black hair falls forwards along her cheek as she looks down into the sink, her strong, slender shoulders working under her untucked white dress-shirt. Himawari blinks and thinks briefly of her classmate, Yoshikawa Chinatsu, whose intense crush on Yui was well-known.

No wonder Yoshikawa-san wanted to make Funami-san that scarf. They're both so lucky.

I wonder how it feels... Himawari's mind fills with half-formed images, an ache in the pit of her stomach growing in intensity as strange, grey wants flit through her heart. Yui, drying her hands, glances at the vacantly-staring Himawari.

Snapping out of it, Himawari smiles at Yui.

"Oh! No, it's no trouble, not at all. To be honest, I was just looking forward to cooking with someone again. I did enjoy it so when we cooked together for the flower viewing."

Yui smiles back, folding the towel and motioning to the countertop.

"Furutani-san, shall we begin?"

"Yes," Himawari replies, beaming. "Lets!"