Distracting the Storm

XIII - You Have That Power Too

Checking her phone again, Mikado quietly laughed to herself before continuing to push a large cart. In the cart were a bunch of kitchen supplies: pots and pans, portable stoves, cutlery, ingredients, and other things of the sort.

Located the large elevator on the first floor, she pressed a button to open it and went inside, letting the mechanism lift her and the cart up. When the doors opened again, she went to go find a large classroom, one that was preferably empty.

Earlier that day, Setsuka had messaged Mikado, Yoruko, Hajime, Sora, and Yuki to help her hold a class picnic, and she put Mikado in charge of the food. It was a very large step, in Mikado's opinion, to arrange something like this without Starlight Apocalypse making sure they don't brawl with each other.

Either way, she trusted Setsuka more than the twins. Hajime would follow in her steps, and Sora, Yuki, and Yoruko belonged to no group. It was an inclusive and peaceful group, and they managed to iron out the details of the picnic together. Though just in case, Mikado sent Monocrow away to find Shinji to send her an invitation.

Using magic to open one of the doors, the wizard was delighted to find it empty. Pushing the cart up to the largest desk she could find, she began unloading the cooking supplies and ingredients, separating them into neatly-arranged piles. Taking out her phone once more, she put it on the table and looked at the list of things she needed to make for the picnic.

"Most of these seem like things that don't require much cutlery or even chopsticks. I guess I should go easy on the sauce, or maybe make stuff that can be picked up by hand," Mikado muttered to herself, and she began choosing out her ingredients for the recipes to come.

As she turned on the portable stove to heat up an oiled pan, the classroom door suddenly opened. "Oh good, I was looking for you," Yoruko spoke up, and she closed the door behind her and went to the desk.

"Ms. Kabuya. To what do I owe the pleasure?" the wizard questioned, spinning a stalk of green onion between her fingers as Yoruko pulled a pot in front of her.

"Hey, you don't need to be fancy with me. I just thought you'd need a little help with making stuff, that's all." Yoruko noticed Mikado's phone on the table and looked over her shoulder. "Oh, you're making bento lunches? Here, I'll do the rice."

Taking the rice from the ingredients pile, Yoruko set to work as Mikado began pouring spices and sauces into a bowl for the meat. They worked in silence for a while, only communicating in small taps and pointing at objects to be passed to them. And then the silence was broken.

"You know, I've never actually seen you cook before. You said once that all your cooking was done with your magic, so I didn't think you did any of it by hand," the hostess remarked. A beat of silence passed, and she added, "That's pretty impressing, you know. You can harness otherworldly power for cooking, but you retained an intricate and delicate cooking style."

Not even looking up from her work, Mikado replied, "You have that power too, you know. You might have to use a grief seed if you use that power, but using magic is good for a quick meal." Pulling over a cutting board, she cut up the meat and put them into the bowl with sauces.

After putting the pot of cooked rice to the side, Yoruko turned to face the wizard. "Maybe we should, uh...I don't know, come to my dorm and have tea parties sometime? I know we don't really see eye-to-eye as magical girls, but we could at least get along as classmates..."

Noticing the other girl turn from the corner of her eye, Mikado stopped mixing the meat and sauce. "That's surprising. No one has wanted to befriend me, not even you. Why start now?" she questioned.

"Wait, you're not even friends with your Voids? You've spent almost a year with them," Yoruko pointed out.

"I've never really felt a connection with them. Whenever I look back on any good memories I had with them, I only feel an empty and distressing feeling. I don't know if it's a side effect..." Mikado paused for a moment. "...A side effect of having our job, that is. If you can call it that."