The Twelve Disastrous Days Of Christmas

December 16th

Kurumi sighed.

"Ku-chan? Can you get me some-"

'On it.'

Before she could question it, he was gone.

Ah, the cold smell of the supermarket. Weird.

He looked around for the carrots, trying to remember if he had any money left over from his last coffee jelly shopping spree.

If I have to be here for three minutes, I might as well look around.

He walked around the aisles, looking through the snacks until he stumbled upon the Christmas cakes. He usually bought one for himself and his mother every year. He sifted through them, reading the packages with a childlike excitement.

He could smell the faint aroma of the strawberries, (or maybe he was getting carried away) and it reminded him of the last Christmas, when he'd finally had a brand that he wanted to buy consistently.

He'd made it a tradition to try a different brand every year, and his mother would try it with him. She'd found her favorite fairly quickly, but he kept looking.

Okay, maybe he'd gotten the same one a couple times, but this one was definitely better.

Strawberries, candies, and the whipped cream is incredibly smooth.

He could almost taste it.

"If you're going to get that, don't get too many. I think Akechi is making a big one."

Kuboyasu?

Kuboyasu grabbed one of the same brand and examined it for a second before placing it back on the shelf.

"Hehehe, I used to eat those when I was a little kid. You like them?"

Why wouldn't I? They're delicious. What are you implying? Huh? That they're childish? Wanna throw down, punk? Huh?

Saiki nodded.

"Yeah, you always liked sweets, right? I almost got some of these to take to Shun's house, but he was telling me that your friend was planning on making one from scratch. Aiura tells me that his baking is pretty good, but hey, how will I know if I don't try it?" he said, chuckling to himself.

The three minutes should be over in a few seconds, right?

"I'm excited to try it. There's a big difference between homemade cake and store-bought. Have you tried his baking?"

...

Saiki nodded again.

"Is it good?"

'Yes.'

It was his favorite, but he wasn't going to tell him that.

Now that he'd heard of it, he was going to have to try some of that cake.

Akechi had made plenty of cakes before, but he'd never had a Christmas cake from him. Granted, he'd never had him around during Christmas to bake, but that was a missed opportunity he didn't need to ruminate on.

Maybe he'd even help him make it, per usual. And by help, he meant trying the frosting and listening to Akechi's wordy monologues for as long as the cake took to bake, and probably cleaning up the kitchen instantaneously, impressing Akechi once again, and making less work for him.

Knowing him, he'd probably make the little candies extremely uniform and neat, but still delicious; eye candy as well as edible candy. If there wasn't any leftover cake after the party, he'd have to ask him to make it again for him to try.

"I'm still debating what to take. I was going to try and cook something, but Shun tells me he's already getting food," he sighed. "Are you taking anything?"

Why would I? I'm not even going.

Saiki shook his head.

Kuboyasu chuckled.

Of course he's not.

"Alright, then. Hey, do you know what the difference is between the types of pota- Saiki? Hey, where'd you go?"

"Ahh! Ku-chan! Stop popping in so suddenly!"

'Sorry, mom. I ran into a friend.'

"Tch. Ku-chan, you need to stop running away from your friends! They're very kind people, and you're lucky to have them," she said, never taking her eyes off the pot.

...

"Thank you for the carrots," she said. "I'll call you when dinner's ready."

She needs to stop saying that and making me feel guilty.

...

I'm definitely trying that cake.