Of Chicken Bones and Accusations
by Autumn Win-Dow
(AoGA House Cup. Words: 794)
"I'm hungry." Koko whined as he leaned back on his foldable chair, as he indulged in the scent of the barbecued chicken.
"You'll have to wait a little bit longer, Koko. We're going to start eating when every single piece is barbecued to perfection." Anna reassured him as she stood in front of the barbecue, with tongs in her hand.
As she was one of the only people in the group capable of cooking well, they entrusted the duty to her – not that she minded, of course, as she was more willing than anyone else.
"Can't we just eat now? I'm bored!" Kitsu moaned, as he sat high in one of the surrounding trees next to Mochu, with his legs swinging to and fro.
"Be patient!" Wakako sighed in irritation at the complaining of the men, even though she herself was feeling hungrier by the minute.
Yuu smiled at the harmonious environment, which was quite rare for a chaotic gang such as them. Natsume was sleeping underneath the shade of the tree, Hotaru was reading a book while sitting a few metres away from the barbecue, and the trio of Ruka, Mikan and Nonoko were kicking a ball around in the open grass.
However, his attention was immediately diverted to something on the ground.
"What's a chicken bone doing on the ground?"
Heads perked up at his question. The distances between others and the barbecue area quickly closed in.
"Is that from our barbecue?"
"I don't know… is it?"
"That marinade looks like Anna's…"
"Someone secretly ate a piece from our barbecue!" Mikan gasped as she pointed straight at the tiny bone.
Everyone who had gathered looked at each other with eyes full of suspicion. All over a chicken bone.
"Who ate it?" Nonoko murmured, only to be argued against by the hungry but passionate gang.
"Not me."
"No way, I didn't even go near the barbecue!"
"I was in this tree the whole time…
"Same!"
"I bet it was Koko!"
Koko was shocked from the sudden accusation by Wakako, "Eh? But it wasn't me!"
"You were the one complaining about how long it took!" Wakako crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"No, I swear! I was sitting on the chair for the whole time…" He trailed off, and suddenly his expression mirrored hers. "Was it you?"
The rest of the gang observed the two arguing people in worry, as Wakako gasped, "Of course not! I'm not a pig!"
"Lies!"
"…What if it was Usagi?"
Everyone turned to look at Kitsu, who appeared as if he just had a great epiphany.
"It was Usagi, right? It must have been. Who else could have snuck one away from the plate?"
"Kitsu's right!" Mikan piped up, evidently shocked, "It was Usagi! He's the culprit!" She turned around to point at Usagi, of whom was usually in Ruka's arms.
Usagi was nowhere to be found.
"Umm… Usagi didn't even come today. Besides, rabbits are herbivorous." Ruka hesitantly explained to the determined duo, causing them to look down in embarrassment.
"…So who was it?" Natsume asked, as he pushed his hands into his pockets.
"Maybe it was a bird?" Yuu wondered, as he picked up the small bone from the grass – pinched between his two fingers.
Anna shook her head, "No, I don't think so. I would've noticed…"
As the whole gang was rendered speechless, all they did was stare at the bone in Yuu's hand – except for Anna, who had been forced to tend to the barbecued chicken, and Hotaru who had already become bored from the mystery.
Nonoko caught a glimpse of something abnormal on the bone. "Hey guys, is that-"
"Lipstick?!" Ruka blurted out, astonished, as he also saw a pink smudge on the bone's clean surface.
They all glanced at Wakako, who held her hands up in defence, "I had to time to put on make-up today!"
Indeed she was being honest – the usual gloss of her lips was not present at that moment.
"Than that means…" Koko trailed off, before his eyes widened in bewilderment and realisation, "There's only one possible culprit! It's-"
"Hi guys, I just had to go to the bathroom. It's disgusting!"
All heads turned in unison towards Sumire, of whose lips were layered with a thick, pink gloss.
Noticing the sudden attention, Sumire raised her eyebrows in a sceptical manner. "Why are you all staring at me like that? Is something on my face?"
"Sumire, did you eat the chicken before us?" Mochu questioned her as he pointed to the bone in Yuu's hands.
She had never been a particularly good liar.
"W-What? I didn't do anything! What are you talking about?!"
Burp.
In the end, her own body betrayed her in her lie.
A/N: I've been really into fics about the GA gang recently. They're actually fun to write.