The tender beef and vegetables bubbled in the pot.
The sweet aroma escaped through the gaps and filled the living room.
Sen Getsusa washed her hands and walked out of the kitchen barefoot, calling out to the others.
"Alright, alright, sit down. It'll be ready to eat in a moment."
Aoyama Nanami clapped her hands and sniffed the sweetness hard, her speech unconsciously carrying the Kinki dialect. "It's the authentic Kansai way."
Sen Getsusa replied casually, "Nanami's hometown is in Osaka, isn't it? I specifically made it using the method from there."
"Mariko... can you eat very sweet things?"
Machida Mariko leaned over Aoyama Nanami's shoulder, peeking out and sniffing along with the girl in front of her.
"Of course, of course!"
"Shall we eat?"
Yuno Gasai set the chairs and tableware, taking the seat next to Sen Getsusa first. The two guests didn't say anything; their attention was all on that pot of Sukiyaki.
Pshhh—
She twisted open a chilled Coke and poured the sauce.
The colors in the pot were vibrant, the sugar danced with a crackle, and the snowflake-like marbling of the beef sizzled with oil.
"It's practically caramel beef!"
Aoyama Nanami reached in with her chopsticks, picked out a piece of beef, dipped it in the sauce a few times, coated it in egg wash, and impatiently stuffed it into her mouth.
"Full marks!!"
"Hiss—ha—hiss—hot, hot, hot, hot!"
The reckless girl's mouth was wide open as the scalding beef, coated in sugar and beef fat, swirled on the tip of her tongue.
She looked left and right, seeking help from Machida Mariko beside her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.
"Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!"
Sen Getsusa ignored the two of them, Machida Mariko who was 'blowing' on Aoyama Nanami's mouth.
She reached out with her chopsticks to serve food to Yuno Gasai. The other seemed to have the same idea, and their four chopsticks crossed in the air.
Caramel-scented bubbles popped in the bubbling pot.
Aoyama Nanami didn't spit it out in the end; she forced herself to take a few gulps of cold air and swallowed the beef along with the ice-cold Coke.
"I say, school is about to start. What has Tsukisa been busy with lately?"
The four of them chatted about their busy lives while eating.
In two weeks, Aoyama Nanami would officially end her part-time job life.
Machida Mariko's school was also about to start.
Sen Getsusa and Yuno Gasai didn't have much to do, besides being daily nagged for manuscripts by Akasaka Akane, and the trouble Yuno Gasai made for herself.
"Kendo..."
Aoyama Nanami was eating mushrooms, her cheeks stuffed full. "I feel like it doesn't quite match Yuno's temperament."
"A delicate young lady should study Kyudo."
Delicate?
Sen Getsusa raised an eyebrow.
Speaking of Kendo, Machida Mariko seemed to know some nearby dojos.
"There's a very famous dojo around here, but it seems the dojo owner's father has been seriously ill abroad recently."
"She went abroad to take care of her family, and all the classes have stopped."
Aoyama Nanami was surprised to hear this. "Is it that Killing Stream...?"
Yuno Gasai chimed in, "That's right. I heard she broke a perverted molester's leg and shoulder blade using only a shinai. Was it on the news?"
Machida Mariko shook her head. "It was also spread within the school. She's a very impressive senior. Unfortunately, her father is sick abroad, and I heard it's quite serious."
"That senior hasn't returned to the dojo here in Japan for a long time."
Sen Getsusa listened on the side—actually, she was also very interested in cold weapons.
In terms of close-quarters combat, under the kind guidance (abuse) of Master Mutian, it was completely sufficient for Sen Getsusa. At least, it was enough when facing humans.
Plus, with her own heavy daily training, her physical fitness was also slowly improving.
Only with cold weapons was she still at the babbling stage. It might look like she used a table knife with unstoppable sharpness, but in reality, she was just relying on her powerful body and speed.
A complete, systematic set of training is needed... Perhaps she could wait for that senior to return and ask her?
This kind of swordsmanship, tested in actual combat, was more attractive to Sen Getsusa.
"Is there anywhere in Tokyo where one can practice shooting?"
Thinking of cold weapons naturally led to firearms.
However, Sen Getsusa didn't plan to use them in the Source World—considering the possibility of traveling through planes in the future, she didn't want to be in an emergency where a weapon was right in front of her but she didn't know how to use it.
Yuno Gasai shook her head. "The live-fire shooting ranges around here are all gone. There are air guns, but since you mentioned 'live-fire', I'm sure air guns won't meet Tsukisa's requirements."
"Eh? Tsukisa is interested in such dangerous things?"
Aoyama Nanami felt that firearms were far from her life. "Those Olympic athletes have calluses all over their hands, and maybe their knuckles will even deform. It's too hard."
"It's not an air gun." Machida Mariko rolled her eyes at the out-of-the-loop Aoyama Nanami. "If Tsukisa wants to play, she'll have to go abroad. For work reasons, I heard my aunt say she's practiced shooting in the U.S. and Thailand; it's very cheap."
Eh?
Remembered that Tojo Aoi's family has that kind of training ground, right?
Tojo Aoi... Tojo Family... Tsukisa shook her head and smiled, changing the subject. "I was just curious, just asking. By the way, Yuno has had many packages arrive lately. They're very heavy. Is it some kind of glassware?"
Tsukisa was referring to those cardboard boxes.
She hadn't opened them, but they felt quite heavy when she signed for them and moved them into the house. During the bumping, there was also the sound of glass.
Like test tubes... or something?
Yuno Gasai's face stiffened, then she waved her hand with a forced smile. "Ah, no, no, it's just some ornaments to be given as gifts. Glass figurines and the like... Did Tsukisa not open them to look?"
"Of course not. How can I open someone else's things without permission?"
Tsukisa mentioned it casually and was about to move on when Aoyama Nanami asked curiously, "Glass ornaments?"
"A birthday gift from Yuno to a friend?"
"I've been quite obsessed with those glass products lately too."
Yuno Gasai glanced at Aoyama Nanami and nodded perfunctorily.
Tsk.
So annoying.
Aoyama Nanami:?
Did she see it wrong?
—She felt like she was just glared at?
The bubbles in the hot pot bubbled, and the four of them ate until their bellies were full.
Machida Mariko rolled up her sleeves and stood up voluntarily to help clear the table, but was pulled back to the sofa by Aoyama Nanami.
"These two are both friends, so don't be so polite at a time like this. Quick, turn on the TV. I'm currently following a drama!"
Aoyama Nanami held the remote, quickly tuned to a certain channel, and jumped into the sofa.
Machida Mariko smiled wryly. This always diligent and hardworking ponytail girl was quite unkempt in front of Sen Getsusa and Yuno Gasai—but after all, it was her first time here.
Sen Getsusa saw Machida Mariko's awkwardness and pulled her up.
"I'll do it with you."
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