flaredo | Inbox;

... Is this the part where I'm supposed to say, 'Honey, I'm home'?

[ Yata turns red, but at the same time— ]

Save it! Ah, watch the crow.

[ Even so, said CYbuddy hops out of her way and Yata steps aside to welcome her in. A savory aroma wafts across the room and leads them to the kitchen a few steps away, where a stack of plates and a large bowl of fried rice sit in the middle. After resting the spoon in the bowl as a serving spoon, he rushes back to the stove. It looks like he's deep-frying something. ]

Take a seat. I'm almost done here.

Hey, buddy-- [ to the crow, as she steps in and takes a deep breath.

And she's still sniffing the air appreciatively as she pulls out a chair, blinking at the bowl. ]

... Whoa, wait-- you made this?

[ With a grin, he talks as he takes the fried pork cutlets from the pan, waits for them to cool and chops them into strips. He's making tonkatsu. ]

Yeah! You gotta learn how to cook when you're taking. If you shove too much of that fast food shit in your mouth, it'll slow you down.

You're just full of surprises. What did I do to earn a homecooked meal, anyway?

You were on speed dial.

[ Putting the tonkatsu on their plates! ]

... Good a reason as any! Thanks for thinking of me.

[ Sort of. But free food and Yata bonding, it's definitely a good day. ]

[ She's on speed dial in case he gets trapped in the ladies' room or something. ]

Wh— I-it's not like I wanted to text you, jeez. I wanna gonna call other people... [ But he trails off. ] Eat!

[ Because he's already sitting down and getting a few spoonfuls of his fried rice on his plate. ]

You could've! I don't mind sharing space.

[ But yes, she's grabbing everything and popping a spoonful into her mouth, making a muffled happy noise immediately after. ]

[ Oh, she likes it. He keeps an eye on her as he takes a bite of the meat. ]

Totsuka-san's busy... Saya's in school. I dunno if Oz likes tonkatsu. Do you know what Killua's favorite food is?

Chocolate.

[ Typical kid. But she pauses after another bite to consider a more helpful answer. ]

But if he's like most guys I know, he'll eat anything.

Haha, what a kid!

[ Yata, Killua is a kid. ]

But yeah, I just figured I wanted to do something for you since you help me out a lot... Whatever.

[ SHOVES A SHITTON OF RICE IN HIS MOUTH ]

Awww, you made me gratitude food! [ Yata, you're precious. ]

[ Well, now that she says it like that, he kicks her foot under the table, but not too hard. ]

Hurry up and eat! Or I'm getting this all.

[ DON'T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL, YATA... ]

[ If he thinks she's not going to kick back, NICE TRY. ]

Geez, don't kick a girl for telling the truth! [ and fine, SHE IS COMMANDEERING DAT FOOD. ]

[ Yata swallows and kicks back harder! It's a scuffle under the table. ]

Oi, you already had half, didn't you!?

[ He scrambles for more rice THAT SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO SHARE. ]

[ HE JUST TOLD HER TO EAT WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT-- ]

I'm a growing girl who needs her gratitude!!

[ YOU WANNA GO, YATA'S FOOT. ]

[ He's using two feet. IT'S ON. ]

And you ate it all! You're out of tonkatsu!

[ The meat-to-rice ratio on her plate is horrendously off. ]

[ AIMING FOR HIS KNEE, because Yang fights fair. ]

The rice is just as good, it's fine!

That's not—

[ Ow, that hurt. He uses his other foot to do the same, but he ends up hitting the edge of her chair between her legs. ]

[ And Yang is going to serenely pull her legs up and settle so he can't reach them anymore, so HA. ]

Not what?

... I forgot what we were talking about.

[ Score another one for Yang Xiao Long. His foot settles back onto the floor as his CYbuddy flies up to perch on the backrest of a chair. Maybe it's time for a change of topic. ]

How was yesterday?

... Kind of boring, honestly. Bargains aside.

[ What a shame, though. ]

What about you?

[ Although she knows the gist of it. ]

Nah. Killua got us into a fight. But these guys were givin' me lip, so I played with 'em a bit.

[ "Played"... A bit... ]

[ So he really did punch a guy for her... bless her little brother thing. ]

... So I missed all the fights and you guys got into all of 'em.

[ SHE'S KIND OF ENVIOUS. ]

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;