Why was Valentine's Day so hard? This had never happened to her before. Every year she could easily find something nice to make for Yuya, Gongenzaka, and a few other close friends, but now she was drawing a blank.
Yuzu paced back and forth in her room, growing more and more frustrated as she tried to come up with a plan. She'd foolishly waited until a day before the holiday to start seriously thinking, assuming the answer would have just come to her much earlier. As one would expect, it did not work out like that.
In truth, it wasn't so much a problem of thinking about what to make for her friends – the first option would be chocolate covered fruit, which she'd gotten fairly good at over the years – but for Masumi. This would be their first time celebrating Valentine's Day together, meaning anything less than perfect just wasn't an option. But what good was perfection is there wasn't even anything to perfect.
Agonizing over the choice had just made things that much harder, as any ideas for the rest of the people on her list all seemed to fall out of her head or be deemed too mediocre. She tried consulting with her counterparts but they weren't much help. Even Ruri had no idea how to bake, nearly burning down her home the last time she tried in her own body.
"I just don't know!" she said, flopping onto her bed in exasperation. Without any clue where to start, she decided to head over to Yuya's house. He could at least offer a different perspective on the whole thing, and maybe she'd see something inspiring while out of the house.
As she walked across the city towards the Sakaki household, she was assaulted by numerous displays of premade chocolates and the signs and banners advertising them. Though she was admittedly tempted to simply buy something for a gift, her resolve lasted long enough to make the rest of the trip. She wasn't ready to give up just yet.
"Sorry to intrude," she said while letting herself in.
"Yuzu?" she heard from somewhere else in the house. "One second." Yuya came running from his room, sliding down the fire pole and going over to greet Yuzu who'd been swarmed by the family's many animals. "I was just thinking about coming to see you."
They sat together at the kitchen table, Yuzu holding En in her lap while she explained her situation. "Yeah, that sounds like a problem," he said, finger placed against his chin in contemplation. Yuya knew slightly more about romance than he did rocket science (that being: more than you'd expect but less than you'd hope), but he could still sympathize with his friend. "Normally my mom would be able to help, but she's out right now and I'm not sure when she'll get home."
"Is she going somewhere with your dad for the holiday?" she asked.
"Well, she's supposed to be. They were going to try to take a vacation to get to know each other again after so long, but now she's just trying to find him."
"Seriously?" Yuzu exclaimed. "Did he disappear again?"
Yuya laughed. "He left us a note this morning saying he was going to check up on some of the other dimensions. My mom took her motorcycle and road through one of the portals to go after him. I think she's a little mad." Noble cause or not on his father's part, he couldn't exactly blame her.
With a sigh, Yuzu slumped down in the chair, rubbing En's ear until he flopped over in her lap. "I guess it's hopeless. I don't know who else I could ask."
"You're really overthinking this. I'm sure whatever you get her, she'll be happy. The thought behind a gift is even more important than what it actually is."
"You're probably right, but still." She looked up suddenly, remembering something important. "Wait, Yuya! What are you doing for White Day this year, do you know yet? Maybe if you tell me, I'll get some ideas."
Though it wasn't exactly traditional, Yuya always liked to get his friends something special every White Day whether they gave him something for Valentine's Day or not. When that group of people was small, he had no problem with making something for all of them, but now... "That's hard to say. I'm trying to make a list, but I'm still really unsure. Gongenzaka doesn't really like sweets, so I was thinking of getting himself else this year. I'm not sure if Reiji even likes chocolate, either, and Sawatari seems like he's planning something really big for me, so I'll have to get him something to match."
He started to scratch his head in desperation. "And then there's Kurosaki. Yuto says there was a certain type of cake that he really liked from Heartland, so I need to go try and find a recipe for it. And then there's everyone at the school. That's usually not a problem, but there's been so many new students ever since I went pro that I'll have to make enough for everyone. Would it be strange to get something for Jack and Crow, too? Since they're older than me, and all. Ah, and Mieru, too, but I hope she doesn't get the wrong idea from it, and..."
Yuya planted his face into the kitchen table. "It's hopeless. There's just so many people."
"You can't give up hope that quickly!" Yuzu scolded him. "If you can't can't keep going, what hope do I have? I've only got a day to prepare everything!" Despite her strong words, it only took a second for her to assume the same position of despondency. "At least Sora will be happy tomorrow," she said. He'd been acting extra nice to her for two weeks now, probably expecting a lot of candy in return.
"Yeah," he said. "Oh, but that reminds me. I think Yuto and Ruri are going to be doing something later on tomorrow. Just between you and me, any idea what she might be getting him?"
"Yuya! Don't try to get me to tell you what Ruri's planning. I know Yuto can hear us talking right now."
"Worth a shot," he said with a chuckle, Yuto shrugging off to the side. Somehow, though, this managed to give him an idea. "Wait, Yuri!"
Yuzu blinked. "Yuri? You mean...him?"
Yuya nodded in response. "Yeah. Apparently, he learned how to bake and make all sorts of sweet things, so I bet he could give you some advice!"
"Are you sure?" she asked, hesitant to trust the boy who'd been their enemy for so long even with something as mundane as cooking.
"Sure, it'll be fine. He's actually a really nice guy now. Most of the time" Though a bit reluctant, Yuzu accepted the offer. "Okay. Yuri, help us out!"
A blinding flash of purple light engulfed Yuya's body, slowly dissipating to reveal his counterpart sitting in the seat surrounded by a thing halo of light. "Hiiragi Yuzu, it's nice to see you again!" His chipper greeting was met with nothing but a scowl. "What? Why the scary face?"
"Sorry, it's just that the last time we met, you were trying to kidnap me."
He laughed at her bitterness, waving a hand in the air to dismiss it. "That was so long ago, though!"
"It was barely six months!"
"Things are different now. I've got no reason to try that anymore, so let's just relax and be friends, okay?" It was clear he wasn't getting anywhere with the niceties, so he sighed and dropped the cheery expression. "Alright, fine. I'll apologize for that. I'm sorry."
"And for Rin and Ruri, too," she ordered.
"Oh, right. They're in there, too." With another sigh, he put on the friendliest smile he could muster. "I'm very sorry for kidnapping all of you. It was wrong of me, and I hope we can all get along be friends from now on."
Despite wondering why their apologies were so much longer, Yuzu relented and decided to give Yuri a chance. "Yuya said you could help me with my problem. Is that true?"
Yuri thought for a moment before nodding. "If it's about homemade sweets, that's a fair bet. I managed to get quite good at it while living at Academia. People are much more likely to trust you when you've fed them good food, you know."
"So you can help?"
"I suppose." Standing up, Yuri began pacing and tapping his chin. "Then the question becomes what to make. Too lavish a gift and you might seem to be moving too fast, but too simple and you'll have yourself a broken heart. What to do, what to do."
"If you can't help, that's fine. Just turn back to Yuya already."
"Well, I did just think of something, but if you'd rather get help from Yuya..." A paper fan smacked down forcefully on top of his head, flattening out the two strands of hair that stuck upwards. "No one in this dimension has a sense of humor," Yuri bemoaned while rubbing his head.
Though he was now annoyed with having his tormenting cut short (and being hit, but to a much lesser extent), he began to pull supplies from out of drawers and cupboards. "You still haven't said what you want me to make," Yuzu said.
"Cupcakes, of course." It was almost like he'd planned to withhold that information until he found the cupcake pan, pulling it out a moment after he'd said it for dramatic effect. With a decent number of bowls, whisks, and rubber spatulas laid out, Yuri began to search the refrigerator to see what they had on hand to work with. "Have you ever made jam before?" he asked after spying a box of fresh strawberries.
"I don't think so," she replied. "What do we need jam for?"
Yuri placed the box down onto the counter top, grabbing a knife and admiring his reflection in it. "Homemade jam is quite delicious, you know. It would be a good filling for these. I imagine we'll have enough time for it. At least, we should if we have the right ingredients." He turned the blade towards himself and handed the knife off the Yuzu. "Rinse off those strawberries, hull them, and quarter them. I'll see what else we have on hand.
Still unsure, Yuzu did as he instructed and cleaned off the berries, hulling the tops and cutting them into pieces before placing them in a bowl. All the while, Yuri scrambled around the kitchen pulling out different baking supplies. Despite his earlier antagonism, he really seemed to be taking this seriously.
As she neared the end of the box, Yuri shook his head with a sigh. "This just won't do," he said as he looked over a collection of ingredients he'd assembled. "We'll just have to go to the store."
"Seriously? It's the day before Valentine's! It's going to be packed, and we might not even be able to get what we're looking for." Yuri simply nodded to himself in lieu of a response, wordlessly dumping a few cups of sugar into the strawberry bowl.
"It may be hard, but love will prevail in the end. Don't fall behind, since this is for you. I also don't have any money." Yuzu scrambled to wipe her hands off before heading out the door, Yuri strutting confidently down the street. It wasn't often he was allowed free reign in the body, so he intended to make the most of it while he had the chance.
"What do we need?" she asked once she caught up. Though she didn't have much of a talent for it, Yuzu had baked a few cakes before. Given her foreknowledge, it seemed like everything Yuri had taken out should have been enough to get the job done.
Even so, he wasn't content with just that. "We're missing a few key ingredients," he said, still neglecting to inform Yuzu as to the full extent of his plans either out of general spitefulness or simple forgetfulness while caught in the moment. "Let's see... Almond extract, vanilla paste, heavy cream, and...white chocolate. Oh, and more strawberries. And a lemon."
She was lost now. "Is it some kind of almond cake?" she asked, a bit annoyed at the dismissive laughter she heard in response. "I wouldn't ask for help if I was any good with this stuff, so you'll have to tell me what you're doing if you want me to be any help."
"Right, right." Without missing a beat, Yuri turned around to face her and began walking backwards with seemingly total awareness of his surroundings. "The almond extract isn't going to make it into an almond cake. What we're doing is baking white cupcakes, so the almond flavoring helps to add in some of the richness and depth you'd find in a cake using the egg yolks instead of only the whites."
People were beginning to stare at the two as they passed by, though neither was particularly concerned at the moment. "From there, we'll fill them with some of our jam and top them with a thin layer of white chocolate ganache and some strawberry frosting. Maybe another slice of strawberry on top, but that might come across as tacky. Would the person you're trying so hard to impress appreciate something tacky?"
"What if I cut thin pieces of strawberry out and made those into hearts? That could work."
Yuri simply laughed, stopping abruptly to say, "Oh, that was a serious suggestion. Well, whatever you feel is best. It is your gift, after all." This only convinced Yuzu even more to make those hearts, burning holes into the back of Yuri's head with her glare after he finally turned back around.
The grocery was only a short walk away after that, predictably swarmed with people trying to make last minute preparations for the holiday. "Desperate fools," Yuri mused to himself. "Rushing around without sense trying their hardest to make everything perfect, but anyone starting this late is doomed to failure." He paused for a moment. "Oh, but not you," he said to Yuzu with a smile. "You have me assisting you, so you'll do just fine."
It was around this time both Yuya and Yugo began to warn him to tread carefully or risk being swatted into unconsciousness by the fan. Not so much because they wanted to protect their other self but because they weren't too keen on having their body left behind in the middle of a crowded store. And, as much as he enjoyed irritating people, he decided to take that advice.
They traversed the store as swiftly as possible, shoving past people in the most polite way possible to try and navigate the different aisles. Yuzu had managed to locate the almond extract and vanilla paste and was headed towards some chocolate selections before turning back. Yuri seemed to be chuckling to himself after returning from the produce section. "I found something interesting," he said, juggling two yuzu fruits with a smile.
"You know, most people stopped making fun of my name like that when we were in elementary school."
He seemed genuinely confused by that statement, pitching the fruits into the basket she held. "I just found it amusing and decided to get some for the jam. They should substitute nicely for lemon and give it an interesting flavor." He also produced another box of strawberries from...somewhere and placed it into the basket, too.
While picking out the white chocolate to use, Yuzu grabbed a few bars of good quality milk chocolate to go with them. The shelves were nearly empty by that point, though a few were still hiding in the very back. "Remind me to get some oranges before we leave. I still have to make things for a few other people, too."
"How generous," he said, examining the shelves to try and find something else he might have forgotten. As they navigated the store, Yuri grabbed a prepackaged sandwich for the road, intending to put it to good use later. Before checking out, Yuzu grabbed a few more yuzu fruits, disappointed to find that all the oranges (what she typically used for the holiday) were gone save for one extremely unripened one and one that had a bite taken out of it.
Yuri, of course, carried none of the bags. Instead, he popped opened the sandwich package and produced a fork. Spearing the top piece of bread, he placed it in his mouth and chewed while maintaining eye contact with Yuzu. The sight alone was traumatic enough to force her to stop dead in her tracks. A look of abject horror spread across her face as he did the same with a piece of lettuce, barely able to mutter a quiet, "Why?" All she got in response was a smile.
Dragging herself out of the sudden existential crisis, Yuzu managed to walk back to the Sakaki household. Placing their supplies on the counter, she noticed the juice that had accumulated in the bowl of strawberries. "Ideally, we'd want to let them weep overnight," Yuri said, going to town on an apple he found (stole) somewhere, "but this will do."
He continued, "Covering the strawberry pieces in sugar draws out their juices, which softens them and creates a sugary syrup. It's one of the keys to a good jam."
"What do we do now? Are making the jam now?"
Yuri waved his hand side to side with a chuckle. "No, they can afford to sit for a while longer. We won't do that until the end. For now..." He scanned the kitchen quickly before finding a Michio-branded apron to wear. "For now, we'll bake."
It was at this point Yuri's forethought really began to show itself. Setting out the ingredients like butter and eggs let them soften and warm up, respectively, making for a better batter by the end of things. He also proved himself to be a surprisingly good coach, directing Yuzu with an uncharacteristically understanding and agreeable tone.
"Gently now," he instructed her as she sifted cake flower into a bowl. "If you're too rough with it, you'll have lumps hopping out of the sieve. Then this would all be for nothing."
"Right!" she said, refilling the sieve with another cup of flower after only a few stubborn lumps remained from the last one.
"When you're finished with the flower, sift through some of the other dry ingredients, too. They aren't as likely to clump as flower, but it's easier to mix everything that way." In a separate bowl, Yuri was busy separating some eggs, easily removing the yolks from the whites without even the appearance of hassle.
Once all the dry ingredients had been sifted, he handed Yuzu a whisk as he set about preparing the electric mixer. "Whisk everything together so it's well combined before we add it here." He was referring to the creamy mixture of butter and sugar he'd just begun making, slowing the beaters down considerably as the powders were poured into the mixing bowl.
Despite his attitude from before, Yuri really seemed to be enjoying himself. Outside of dueling, there wasn't much he actually knew how to do. Also unlike dueling, it was considerably harder to kill someone while baking, making it a soothing alternative to carnage or being extremely annoying.
The ingredients in the bowl had formed a thick, almost dough-like paste now, meaning it was time to add the liquids. First the egg whites, then the milk. "Would you like to take over?" he asked, Yuzu giving a nod before grabbing hold of the mixer. "Keep it steady. Don't lift it up unless you want to have some fun."
In no time at all, the mixture began to thin out. A teaspoon of almond extract and some vanilla paste and they were done. "Acceptable work," he congratulated(?), taking a cupcake tray and oiling it up. "Now all that's left is an appropriate cup design. Let's see what we have to work with." He opened a cabinet, greeted with the sight of absolutely no cupcake cups whatsoever.
"Well, that could be a problem." From behind him, he could feel the white-hot rage brewing from within Yuzu. He'd have to think fast to avoid that fan, meaning he should probably turn the blame on her. "Didn't you buy some while we were out? That's really too bad. Everything could be ruined now since you forgot."
This plan seemed to have the exact opposite result he'd hoped for judging by his limp body in a pile on the floor, fan-whelp steaming on the top of his head. "It was your list!" she shouted. "You live in this house, too! Shouldn't you know what you have before you go shopping?"
"Technically, this is Yuya's home." He was only digging a deeper hole. "But I can see how this might have been an oversight on my part," he said quickly.
Yuzu sighed and rubbed her own head. "It's fine. I think I have some at home. I'll just go check." As she turned to leave, she looked back. "And don't do anything to the food while I'm gone."
"I may be a monster, but poisoning food is where I draw the line," he said indignantly. Yuzu only rolled her eyes before heading out. It didn't take long to reach her house, nor was it all that difficult to find what she was looking for. It was pretty fortunate they forgot in the end, as the cups she was able to find were actually pretty cute.
After consoling her crying father as he wept with a mixture of joy and despair at the prospect of his daughter in a happy relationship and growing up, she headed back towards the kitchen. Upon entering the house, she was surprised to find Yuri laughing with Yuya's mother. "You're finally back," he said.
"Good morning, Yuzu," Yoko greeted her.
"Good morning. Sorry for making such a big mess in your kitchen." She suddenly felt a bit guilty. "And for using your food without asking."
"Oh, it's fine," she told her. "You're like family, so you can use whatever you like. Especially if it's for the sake of love." Grateful as she was, Yuzu was starting to become embarrassed with so many adults acting so enthusiastic about her relationship.
"I'd think about making something for my husband, but I still haven't been able to find him." Despite her laughter, she'd effortlessly crushed the white chocolate still in its packaging in her fist without even thinking. "I came home to get a few things before traveling to another dimension, so I'll get going and leave you kids to it. Yuri, remember to tell Yuya there's dinner in the fridge if I don't make it home tonight."
They said their goodbyes before continuing their work. "Yellow?" Yuri said as he examined the cupcake cups, noting the golden hearts across the pink paper.
"I thought they looked cute," Yuzu said, already feeling defensive.
"These should do, then." Placing them into the tray, Yuri poured the batter into each space as the oven began heating. He made sure to fill them as much as possible to ensure as large a cake as possible, making plenty of room for the jam later on.
"And now we wait," he said after the cupcakes were finally in the oven.
"Baking is a lot of work," Yuzu sighed, taking a seat at the kitchen table to watch the timer. "How did you learn to do all of this, anyway?"
He chuckled. "You'd be surprised how much more willing people are to trust you when you give them cookies." Yuri thought back to all the times he used baking as a means of putting others at ease around him before he used them for his own ends. Then he thought back to how he initially used it as a way to try and make friends only for the other students of Academia to shun him. Then he stopped thinking about that because remembering the past was unpleasant.
"Well, instead of just waiting, we should start work on the next phase of the dessert. You can melt chocolate, can't you?" She nodded. "Then I'd like you start chopping the white chocolate."
Yuzu finely chopping the chocolate as he'd asked before transferring it into a glass bowl. Not that it really needed that much attention after the thorough crushing it received earlier, but it was always best to be thorough. If there was any part of this recipe she was confident about, it would be this step. She'd been melting chocolate for all sorts of things for years now. What she was a bit less confident in, though, was Yuri's sudden desire to put some cream on the heat next to her.
"What's that for?" she asked, expecting a pot of water instead.
"Ganache," he answered. "People are always using dark chocolate for their ganache, but that's a bit played out at this point. Besides, the white chocolate matches better with our color scheme." He began to stir the cream as it started to steam to prevent it from scalding. "A thin layer of this on top of the cake before the frosting. I liked the idea of that but never got to try it."
"You're just guessing at everything, then?"
"More or less." As he said that, the timer began to ring. "Perfect timing. Keep stirring this for me." He handed the wooden spoon to Yuzu, forcing her to awkwardly stand to the side of the stove as Yuri pulled the cupcakes from the oven.
The moment they came out, Yuzu unanimously decided they were the best cupcakes she'd ever seen. Smelled, at least. Yuri had been completely right about the almond extract, filling the house with a light nutty scent to go along with the usual cakey sweetness. "Now we'll let them cool for just a bit before we take them out onto a wrack."
He took the spoon back from Yuzu, giving it back just as quickly after noticing the bubbles forming around the edge of the pot. "Move the bowl closer," he asked. "Stir while I pour." Folding a paper towel over itself three times, he began to drizzle in some of the hot cream, using the towel to prevent any drippage onto the counter.
Yuzu stirred the cream into the chocolate until they started to combine, Yuri adding in more progressively until they'd completely homogenized into a thick glaze. "Are there any lumps left?" he asked.
"Not anymore," she replied, pressing out a small piece of white chocolate that hadn't yet melted fully, stirring the mixture quickly to incorporate it with a hunk of butter she dropped in. She lifted up the spoon and wiped a bit of the ganache onto her finger, tasting to see if it lived up to the hype.
It did, of course. "Are you sure we even need to keep going? I could probably just use this." She took another taste, trying to resist indulging in a third.
"I never took you as the kind of person to stop halfway with things," he said while ensuring the cupcakes weren't stuck to the pan anywhere by running around them with a knife. As Yuri moved them to a cooling wrack, Yuzu's opinion of them only heightened. All twelve looked fluffy and light, almost as puffed up as muffins. Squeezing one around the base, it was firm but not hard. It didn't seem all dried out like when she tried to bake, either.
"Do they...feel good?" Yuri asked, perplexed as to why she'd started to fondle the baked goods.
"Oh! Uh, I guess. I just wanted a closer look, is all." She tried to change the subject to hide her embarrassment. "What do we do now? We have to wait for these to cool before we use the ganache, right?"
Yuri nodded, pleased with her instinct. "Yes. If we tried that now, it would probably slide off. And we can't make the frosting just yet, either, so it seems like it's time for the jam." He pointed towards the bowl of fruit, beckoning it towards him as he set a clean pan onto the stove.
Cutting the lemon they'd bought in half after wiping it clean, he squeezed the juice from both sides into the bowl Yuzu was holding. "And maybe..." he said while looking around. "Might have been easier to do this before squeezing, but mistakes happen." He was referring to grating some of the lemon's zest into the bowl to help flavor it more intensely.
"Mix that together for me, and crush up some of the strawberries while you're at it. They should be soft enough that it won't be a problem." Yuzu began to mash the strawberries together with the lemon juice and syrup they'd made, managing to form a chunky, thin jam without even trying.
After Yuri judged the pan to be heated enough, she poured the contents of the bowl into it. It sizzled and popped as moisture evaporated, the remaining sugar crystals quickly melting into a liquid. "Keep stirring while it starts to boil."
As Yuzu tended to the jam, Yuri set about cutting holes into the tops of the cupcakes to help vent the steam inside them. They'd cool faster like that and have a space ready for the jam once it was no longer blisteringly hot. "Here," he said, Yuzu barely having time to register his words before he pushed a piece of cake into her mouth.
"It actually tastes good!" she said, amazed with how sweet and light it was.
"You had doubts?" Yuri replied, almost taken aback at having his talents called into question. He'd kept the very top of what he'd dug out of the cakes to close the jam inside before they iced everything, meaning they had the rest of the insides to eat as they waited for the jam to reach the right consistency and temperature.
Several minutes passed, the two of them placing a candy thermometer into the mixture early on to track the rise in temperature. The jam had thickened considerably from when it was first introduced into the pan, finally hitting the 105 degree temperature mark. "Transfer it into here," Yuri told her as he pushed the original bowl over to the side of the stove.
With all the components of the cupcakes left to cool, the two of them had nothing left to do but to wait. They passed the time hulling a couple strawberries and cutting their centers into hearts to use on some test cupcakes later, Yuri telling her not to cut any for the real deal until the day of so they'd stay as fresh as possible. Aside from that, they had little to do or talk about. They weren't exactly friends nor did they have much of anything in common, and switching back and forth between different people was tiring, meaning he was stuck there until they finished cooking.
"So, since we've already tried sitting in silence while we wait, why not tell me something about the person you've gone to all this trouble for instead?" Yuzu had already shot down his proposition for a duel, not too eager to challenge Yuri again after their last encounter. Even so, it was starting to look preferable compared to this.
"I don't think I want to do that," she replied, taking a sip of the coffee Yuri had inexplicably decided to brew after they finished cooking. Damn good coffee all things considered.
He quirked his head to the side with a concerned look. "Are you ashamed of her?"
"Of course not!" She barely restrained herself from chucking her coffee mug at his head, only held back by the knowledge that it was Yuya who'd end up taking the brunt of the pain once everything was said and done. "Why would I ever be ashamed of her?"
He shrugged. "In my experience, most people enjoy talking about their partners. At least from all the conversations I've overheard. I figured you would have to be ashamed otherwise."
"I'm not ashamed of Masumi," she said with a glare. "I just don't want to talk about personal things with you, since you're so..."
"So what?" he asked innocently.
"So..."
"I see," Yuri said with a chuckle. "You must think I'm incapable of love. Well, you've been misinformed. In fact, there's someone I have quite a lot of affection for right now."
"Is it Starve Venom?" Yuzu asked dryly.
"That's not incorrect, but I was talking about Serena." Yuzu, her counterparts, and the boys all simultaneously gasped in shock. "Is that so hard to believe?" he asked. "I admired her from afar ever since we were children, but the professor would never let me near her. She's so strong willed and skillful, how couldn't I fall for her?"
Several seconds of tense silence passed before he began to laugh. "Just kidding! Honestly, did you really believe that? Who would ever fall for her?"
Before Yuzu could utter any kind of response herself, she'd already shifted places with Serena. In an instant, Yuri was on the floor courtesy of her fist. "And your eyebrows look like crap, too!" she screamed before switching back.
Yuzu took a seat and took another sip of her coffee, watching Yuri twitch on the floor. Though she couldn't blame Serena for her reaction (and might have even ended up at it herself if pushed far enough), she couldn't help wishing she'd held back for Yuya's sake.
"It's the emotional damage that hurts the most," Yuri mumbled to himself with stroking his brow.
She turned up her nose, completely lacking any sympathy for him. "To think, if you weren't such a bad person, I might have even told you about Dennis, too."
"Dennis?" He perked up slightly. "You have something to say about my former subordinate?"
"Nothing much. It's just that whenever I've been to visit Heartland, he always asks about you. You don't remember the times I've mentioned that to Yuya?"
"Are you implying something?" His eyes narrowed as an eerily stern expression took hold of his face.
"Well, he seems to tolerate your eyebrows, at least. I don't know much more than that." Yuzu walked off cheerfully to inspect the cupcakes, leaving Yuri to try and decipher whether or not she was just messing with him. On the one hand, being bamboozled made him blindingly angry, but on the other, there wasn't any solid proof that he actually was tricked. He'd force Yuya to go to Heartland later to set things straight.
"I think they might be about ready," she said, Yuri finally deciding to get up off the ground. The jam, though still warmed, had become gelatinous enough to spoon. After getting the go ahead, Yuzu dropped a few portions into each cupcake before placing on the makeshift lid.
In truth, it was a bit of an experiment on Yuri's part to see if the slightly runny jam would end up saturating the inside of the cupcake in a tasty way or simply turn it to mush. Potential revenge should Yuzu have lied to him earlier. Though if she hadn't and things went poorly... He took solace in knowing there was nothing anyone could do to make him take over the body by force.
As Yuzu filled the cupcakes, Yuri started on the frosting. He took the last of the butter he'd set out earlier, now soft enough that it deformed in his hand just from picking it up, and tossed it into a bowl. Whipping it up quickly with an electric mixer, he sifted in some confectioners' sugar before adding in a bit of vanilla extract. "Toss a couple spoonfuls into here," he told Yuzu as she was closing up the last cupcake.
Blending the ingredients together, the pale yellow butter started to take on a pinkish hue. He added another cup of sugar, blended, then another few spoonfuls of strawberry jam. He repeated this process once more time until the mixture truly resembled a fluffy pink frosting. Ejecting the beaters from the mixer, he took one to taste and handed the other to Yuzu. "Is the strawberry flavor pronounced enough? I might mix in some more."
"Seems right to me," she answered, intending only to take a taste for sampling purposes but quickly deciding to lick it clean.
He nodded. "We should see what the finished product is like before making changes." With that in mind, he took two of the cupcakes and spooned on a dollop of the ganache followed by the icing, tossing on a strawberry heart to each. "No reason to put too much effort into a test."
He handed one of the cupcakes to Yuzu, wafting his own to get a better idea of what a finished product would smell like in totality. Peeling back the paper, he took a small bite, making sure to get some of each ingredient into his mouth. He chewed it thoughtfully, seemingly deep in contemplation.
Swallowing, he smacked his lips a few time, breaking down its flavor profile in a far too pretentious way for Yuzu to really get a feel for. Deciding to forgo his theatrics, she simply took a bite. Then another, stopping herself from eating the whole thing just so she could savor it longer. "This is amazing," she said.
"The frosting is fine? It's not too busy? That's one thing I'd feared when making all of this. That or it being too sweet."
"No, it's perfect. Maybe if I ate a lot they'd be too sweet, but right now it all works great. The cake is spongy and soft and it's soaking up a lot of the jam, and the ganache is creamy and decadent. The frosting is surprisingly light, too. I was little worried when you started throwing so much sugar and butter in it, but it looks like it worked out."
Yuri sighed in relief. At his level, it sometime became difficult to tell whether there were flaws in your food or your own insecurities simply made you imagine what could go wrong. "If that's the case, then we should start final assembly. Do you know how to ice from a piping bag?"
"I've seen it done a few times, so I can try."
He nodded. "Then you'll do that. I'll glaze the tops with ganache and hand them off." He looked through the cupboards and drawers trying to locate any piping bags. Though he managed to find a few tips, he came up short in terms of the bags. "That's unfortunate."
"Why didn't you buy any while we were at the store?" Yuzu exclaimed, worrying over whether there would be any left and trying to think if there might be some at her house.
Yuri only waved his hand and reached for a thick plastic bag. "Nothing to fuss over." He snipped one of the corners with a pair of scissors and slid in a tip as a demonstration. "See? Easy substitute."
"Is that the one we should use?" she asked, relieved that nothing was about to go wrong after so much effort.
Inspecting the tip, Yuri gave a shrug. "I was imagining you'd want to make flowers, since that seems to be your theme. If so, this would work. You just need control." He placed the bag into a long drinking glass and spooned in the frosting. "Glaze one and hand it to me. I'll show you what to do."
Yuzu took a spoonful of the ganache and placed it on top of the cupcake, smoothing it out into a thin layer. As she went to hand it to Yuri, he held up his hand. "Actually..." He trailed off, tapping his lips with his index finger. "Actually, we should wait for a bit. Glaze the rest with me and we can chill everything for a bit. If any part of these is too warm, it could all fall apart on us."
While she didn't think of herself as an impatient person, Yuzu was starting to become incredibly annoyed with all the sitting around. Even so, he was the expert here and she decided to follow his lead. The two finished off the rest of the cupcakes before placing them and the frosting into the fridge for the next half hour.
Rather than sit silently at the kitchen table, though, they decided a much easier way to spend the remaining 30 minutes would be in front of the television. Yuzu was covered in the Sakaki pets the moments she sat down, Yuri being avoided after a quick, confused sniff from a few of them. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was a bit jealous.
"This is painful to watch," Yuzu said, grimacing at the screen as another poorly animated CG monster was cut down by an even more poorly animated man's giant sword. "Does Yuya really have this recorded? Like, he wanted to watch this?"
"It was Fusion's idea," Yuri responded, the pleasure he got from Yugo angrily correcting his name the only joy to come from this terrible show. "It only comes on after we go to sleep, so he sets it to record." Despite Yugo insistence that it was an amazing work of art and a huge step forward for computer animated shows, Yuzu and Yuri spent the next half hour ripping the episode to pieces.
"Well, that was thoroughly unpleasant to watch," he said. Given his constant urge to cause destruction an bloodshed wherever he went, that really meant something.
"Agreed," Yuzu said with a nod. Serena seemed to like it for whatever that was worth, though. "Do you think they'll be ready now?"
"Probably. I'll show you the first time and you can do the rest." Taking a tray of cupcakes and the now firmed frosting from the refrigerator, Yuri set to work on a demonstration. "Slowly. Squeeze delicately. Work outward from the center." He expertly created the center petals with the frosting, working in a spiral applying new lines to serve as exterior petals until reaching the edge. "And there we have it."
"You really should become a baker," Yuzu said as she took hold of the frosting bag. "It suits you, and you really have a talent for this kind of stuff." Holding her breath, she made the first move and laid down a single frosting petal. Then another. Then another. It was beginning to come together, albeit a bit shakily.
"Not bad for a first attempt." Yuri nodded his head in approval at the finished cupcake. The lines weren't quite as straight or precise as his and it lacked the same height, but it was a start. Yuzu's skills continued to improve with each one, with a finished set of four earning enough of Yuri's praise for her to select them as her gift.
With the job done, Yuri finally swapped places with Yuya. "It's always really tiring to stay like that for a long time," he said, flopping into a chair. "Your cupcakes look really good, though!"
"Thanks," Yuzu said, handing him one. "I only need the four, so you can have the rest. It's the least I can do for letting me use your kitchen." Yuya helped her find a plain red box to store hers in, lining it with some extra pink and white tissue paper he had in his room (he wouldn't let her enter for fear she'd see anything he was working on).
He saw her out, thanking her for the extra cupcakes. "It's no problem. Tell Yuri I said...thank you, if you can. He helped a lot more than I thought he would. And sorry about your face."
"It barely hurts anymore," he lied, smiling to try and numb it. "Good luck tomorrow. I hope it goes well. See you then!" They parted ways, Yuya eating another cupcake and drinking some juice to energize himself to leisurely continue work on his numerous White Day presents. Yuzu, though, couldn't help but worry. Would a bunch of cupcakes really be good enough? Would something bad happen the day of that might ruin all her hard work? Had Yuri secretly done something to sabotage her?
Popping the box into the fridge, she allowed Ruri to take over and put some finishing touches on her own present. Ruri being Ruri, she also decided to give them a headstart on their other gifts before switching back. Even beyond Yuzu's own worries, it would be Rin's first Valentine's Day she could actually celebrate, so they all tried to pitch in to help her while only mildly teasing her about confessing to Yugo. Serena, though, continued to be indecisive about whether or not she wanted to make or give anything to people.
All in all, the rest of the day passed with little issue. Yuzu's father cried a bit, but it was all in good fun. He even helped make the final preparations for some of the gifts with the girls. Despite all the bad that had happened in the recent past, he still remained his usual cheerful and supportive self. Even more so in some cases considering he felt like he had three more children to take care of now.
Despite having everything taken care of now, Yuzu still couldn't help herself from tossing and turning in bed. She'd managed to fall asleep for no more than an hour total, constantly waking up in between short bursts of rest. It was just as bad as when the four of them were first adjusting to being the same person.
"Can't sleep?" she heard off to the side. She recognized it immediately as Serena. "Is it bad memories or are you just nervous about tomorrow?" This wasn't the first time they'd stayed up together in the middle of the night. Since the end of the war, Serena took it upon herself to help each of them readjust to a more normal existence. Maybe it was to atone for her own involvement in Academia's plans or just to help herself deal with her own trauma, but they all appreciated having someone to talk to like this when the nightmares woke them up.
"Second one," Yuzu answered, scratching her head and sitting up.
"Why are you so worked up about it? Those cupcakes are great. She'll love it."
"I know that. It makes sense. But it's..." She looked towards Serena. "It was so hard just being normal again. For everyone. And now I have a relationship to think about and I don't know if it was a good idea."
"Do you regret it?"
"No. I just don't know if Masumi needs to deal with me like this. We're never going to have a typical relationship, so sometimes I think it would be better to..." She didn't want to finish the sentence.
"You know that's not true," Serena said. "She's been great about adjusting to us, and she makes you happy. And it seems like you make her happy, too. If two people like each other, then they should be together. Just work out the problems as they come up. That's how I think it should be, at least."
This made her smile. Her counterpart's matter-of-fact way of thinking always helped her think a bit more clearly. She was never prone to overthinking the way she was. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right," she said, nodding to herself. "Hey, since you can't sleep, want me to show you some moves to really sweep her off her feet?"
"Since when do you have any experience with sweeping people off their feet?"
She scoffed. "I've seen it done enough times to know what to do. Come on, trust me." Unsure of whether it would be of any use, Yuzu went along with it. Even if she didn't put any of this into practice, it still helped her to relax and feel a bit happier until she was able to sleep.
Awoken early next morning by the sound of her alarm clock, Yuzu nearly leaped out of her bed. Though she was still tired, she was able to ignore it given the gravity of the day's festivities. They'd worked it out so that she could spend the day with Masumi before she went to see Yuya, at which point Ruri and Yuto could have the afternoon and night. It would be particularly easy this year given the holiday fell on a Sunday, but that didn't make her any less tense.
She'd finished getting ready nearly an hour before they were set to meet. Too nervous to eat, she was left to pacing around the house until there came a more appropriate time to head out. She did the fourth in a series of "final appearance checks" in the mirror, making sure the curls she put in her hair were staying in place and that her skirt wasn't wrinkled.
An agonizing 45 minutes later, she was finally ready to go. One final touch up on her lipstick (she wasn't used to wearing it, so she had no idea whether peach looked good on her or not) and she headed for the fridge. Grabbing the box, she was relieved to see her father had remembered her warning and not accidentally eaten any as a half-awake midnight snack.
Grabbing a coat, she gave him a hug before leaving the house, making her way towards a cafe close to LDS. As she approached, she could see Masumi was already sitting at a table sipping a drink with something clenched between her hands.
Even after all this time, her heart still skipped a beat whenever she first looked at her. Things were easier back when they were enemies from two rival schools and the worst distraction she had to contend with was thinking she was pretty. Now she couldn't so much as think about the two of them together without her stomach doing flips. Romantic or not, it was kind of distracting.
Masumi must have caught sight of her given the smile that overtook her face. "Yuzu," she greeted her. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"Happy Valentine's Day," she said in response while taking a seat. She could see Masumi was a bit surprised at the size of her gift, not sure whether she should be happy or concerned about that. "I like your sweater. It looks soft."
"It's cashmere." She held her arm out. "You can rub it if you want." Yuzu obliged, holding the white wool between her hands. As she pulled away, their fingers brushed against each other.
They were both nervous about exchanging gifts, though Masumi was doing an infinitely better job of hiding it than Yuzu. Regardless, they couldn't stall much longer with the boxes staring each of them in the face. "So..." Yuzu said, clearing her throat.
"Oh, let me go first," Masumi said. "We didn't get to celebrate Christmas, so I hope you don't mind that I...well, I guess I wanted to compensate for that." She pushed a thin box towards Yuzu who opened it to reveal a stunning silver bracelet studded with pink gemstones. "I thought since your old one doesn't exist anymore, you might want a replacement."
Yuzu was speechless as she held it between her hands. "It's tourmaline," Masumi told her. "Do you like it?"
"Of course I do," she said with a smile, immediately clasping it around her wrist. It felt right to have something there again. "Are you sure it's not too expensive, though? This is really pretty."
"Expensive only means so much when you're from a family of jewelers," she said with a look of pride. "I'm glad you like it, though."
"I wish I could buy you jewelry, too," Yuzu said with a sigh, turning her new bracelet around on her wrist.
"You could. I'd love it if you got me something."
"I know I could, but you know so much about gems that you'd find every flaw in the things I buy and end up not liking them."
After a moment of consideration, she was forced to nod. "You're probably right about that. I'd still appreciate the thought, though."
"That's why I made you these," she said, pushing her box forward. Masumi quirked a brow when she heard the word "made", opening the box and looking in awe at the professional-grade cupcakes inside it. "I had to get some help from Yuya – well, Yuri – but I still did a lot of it. I even learned how to use a piping bag."
"They're beautiful," she said, lifting one up to inspect it. "You really made these? They look good enough to come from a bakery. She started to pout. "I don't want to eat it and ruin it. It looks so pretty."
"Just take a picture," Yuzu said with a laugh.
"Alright, alright." Snapping a quick photo of the cupcake sitting atop the box, Masumi peeled back the paper and took a bite. "It's so good," she mumbled, mouth still full of cake.
"Now I just have to worry about topping it next year," Yuzu said only half jokingly. "I'm just glad they turned out well enough. You really think they taste good?" Masumi would have given an affirmative response were her mouth not too full with half of a second cupcake. She tried anyway, almost blasting crumbs across the table.
Sharing a laugh, Masumi became more serious. "Your eyes are cloudy. Are you worried about something?"
Yuzu knew it was no use trying to hide it. Masumi was an expert at reading people, after all. It was a pretty neat talent most of the time, though it made it hard to keep any surprises a secret. "I was just worrying about some things last night. It's not that important."
Masumi took hold of her hand. "Are you sure? You don't have to be afraid to tell me things."
It took her a few minutes to work up the courage. She knew it would be for the best to have everything out in the open, but that didn't make it any less frightening. "Sometimes I just think it might be better if you didn't have to deal with my problems." She could tell Masumi was confused, so she explained, "I've been kind of a handful ever since the war ended, and sometimes it seems like I'm dragging you down with me."
"Don't say that," she told her, catching Yuzu off guard with how stern her tone was. "No, everything hasn't been easy, but it's worth it. I fell in love with you because you're so strong and resilient, and that hasn't changed since we started seeing each other. You aren't dragging anyone down just because things have changed, especially not me."
Yuzu was shocked at just how pinpoint her response had been, targeting virtually every insecurity she had and tearing them apart. "Just because things aren't always perfect doesn't mean you're a burden. I'll try to understand when something's wrong, and I'll help however I can. You make me happy and I don't want you to think otherwise."
She blinked a few times, looking off to the side. "I thought that was going to be a much harder conversation," Yuzu admitted with a chuckle.
"It's something I thought about a while ago." She smiled. "I hope that helps."
Yuzu nodded, finally at ease with herself. It was an interesting feeling to have someone tell her that she was worth the effort to be with, especially coming from someone who was only tangentially involved in the war. Knowing Masumi was committed to making things work was all she needed to hear now, though.
This seemed like as good a time as any to try and bust out what Serena had taught her last night. "You know..." she began, leaning in and taking Masumi's chin in her hand. "Speaking of eyes, yours look really pretty from this angle." She tried to make her voice as sultry as the demonstration, but the end result was less seductive and more of a bad Gongenzaka impression.
Regardless, Masumi seemed more than susceptible to it after the initial surprise wore off. She started to blush, looking off to the side with a nervous laugh. "Is that so?"
"Absolutely," she said, lightly pressing her thumb against her partner's lips. "Actually, taking a closer look, it's not just your eyes. The rest of you is pretty, too." While her outside remained calm and collected, Yuzu was a mess internally. Both from a figurative and literal sense, with Rin and Ruri simultaneously lamenting how ridiculous these lines were while trying to reign in Serena's cheering.
"Yuzu, are you..." She trailed off as Yuzu leaned in closer.
"Am I?" she asked before planting a kiss on her. Pulling away after a few seconds, her panic finally made its way to the external, the two of them turning beet red. "I actually did that," Yuzu mumbled to herself, Serena fist pumping in the background.
"You know that was...our first," Masumi said, holding a hand up to her lips. The realization hit them both like a truck full of bricks, knowing that they'd now have to live with that nonsense marking the occasion of their first kiss for the rest of their lives.
They both cracked up after that, laughing so hard they almost fell over. "Where did you learn all of that?" Masumi asked between gasps.
"Serena," Yuzu said as she wiped tears from her eyes.
"Tell her I said thank you. That was fantastic." After they managed to stop laughing, the two held hands and set out to explore the day together.
Made this as a gift for PendulumPrince and to have some content out for the holiday. Hope it's not terrible like the unoriginal title would imply.
It's been a while since I finished ARC-V, so I'll just be satisfied if everyone isn't majorly out of character. I rewatched a few choice episodes to give myself a reminder on some of the interplay between people and their different traits, but who knows if it did any good. You do, actually, since you're reading and can judge me for it.
I went with the interpretation of the show's ending that gives Yuya and Yuzu abilities similar to Yuya in the manga where they can switch out with their counterparts still, since that's a lot more fun and this story wouldn't exist if Yuri couldn't be here to be trash. Outside of that, I don't think I took any major liberties with things besides maybe in my interpretation of Yuri as not entirely dangerous anymore but still a huge asshole. And, I guess, remembering that Yuzu and Masumi had chemistry and romantic subtext, since the writers sure as hell didn't keep that in the story.
Tossed in a couple nods to other ships the recipient likes here, either for serious or just as a joke. I don't know if I'd make good on any of them were I to use this as a springboard to explore some post-canon stuff in the future, but that's what indignantly demanding the next chapter as soon as you finish this one is for. I might do it just to explore more of how I'd want the bracelet/Yu state of being to be like. I covered a lot of how they work externally, but I didn't really touch on how it affected the way they feel as individuals or the internal mechanics of being one person with four identities.
Trust me when I say I had to fight not to include an entire duel midway through the story so Yuzu could kick Yuri's ass while they were waiting. Writing out full length duels is kind of my thing if you weren't aware. While it sounds wrong, playing a card game in this story about Yugioh would actually distract from the point of the narrative. Hope I never have to say that again.
If anyone is interested in a recipe for the cupcakes, I could probably put it in a comment. I'd leave it here preemptively, but I don't think I've got the characters left to type it out. Either way, if you mess around you should be able to get it right just by following the abridged version I put in the story.
That's all I have to say. Maybe I'll follow up with Yuto and Ruri's date next year. Or not. We'll see what happens. Thanks for reading. Always remember to not watch Berserk 2016, because it's godawful and nothing Yugo says will change that.