AN: Something I wrote over the summer and forgot about...
Aside from that, enjoy! :D Oh, and please know I don't own TAMNI or any of the characters described in this story.
Review if you like!
Today clearly isn't the greatest day for the Ace of Tokiwadai, Misaka Mikoto.
Early in the week, Mikoto had decided to bake something for Touma. Not just any baked good, though. Mikoto wanted to bake him something he had never tried before- preferably orange flavored. Dead set on the plan, the Electromaster underwent extensive planning to make it happen.
The first thing she did was enlist help from the internet. She searched for quite a few different things: "Orange desserts," "Desserts for guys," and "How to zest an orange" being a fraction of what she researched. It was clear that Mikoto was on a mission.
After deciding exactly what spectacular piece of art she was going to make (she had found orange flavored cheesecake so often on each website, that she was positive he had eaten it a thousand times already), she ventured off to the three stores that could supply her with the finest ingredients.
Other than the "Orange Kiss-Me Cake" all Mikoto could find were lame cake recipes, and she thought that was kind of dull to make. Cakes aren't a challenge after all. With a lot of deliberation, she decided to make Touma an orange parfait. He's such a clumsy person, he couldn't have had the grace to make one of those before, right?
Right?
"Right," she decided. An orange parfait will be a completely unique experience for him, and he'll love her for it.
…
Well, not love her love her. You know, he'll just appreciate it, and he'll appreciate her for making it- not that she wants him to appreciate her, she just want him to see her amazing cooking skills, is all. You know what she means.
Anyway, Mikoto spent an entire afternoon scoping out the specialty culinary stores for the parfait's ingredients, taking all the time she needed to compare and re-compare one brand to the other. As expensive as the imported supplies were, the girl never minded the price. In her mind, his delighted face would be completely worth the money.
Once the girl was equipped with her recipe, Gekota apron, and supplies, she was ready to get started.
As soon as Kuroko was busy with Judgment…
It took three days of waiting from her life.
On a Sunday afternoon, Mikoto was finally, finally ready to make the perfect parfaits she had been anxiously thinking about all week. Once again in her Gekota apron, her heart filled with giddy passion, the electromaster pulled her ingredients from the Tokiwadai refrigerator, only to find half of it there.
There were no fresh oranges, no Demerara sugar, or vanilla extract. On top of it all, the fresh heavy cream and Greek yogurt went bad as well. Suddenly, the Ace of Tokiwadai, the Level 5 Railgun, was not prepared to make orange parfaits.
"Damn it."
After a week of planning, it all adds up to this sad, rainy Sunday.
Mikoto slowly pulls her hair out of its short pony tail and sighs, the strings on either side of her apron dangle limply past her hips, as if they ran out of energy as well. Making tired, defeated movements, Mikoto manages to take off her Gekota apron, fold it, and throw away all the expired products. With the cloth stuffed under her arm, she begins to walk back to her shared dorm room.
Days like this make Misaka Mikoto wish she could say "Fuko da" like him.
Deciding to mope on her bed, Mikoto glances at the clock. The time reads 11:32 AM. Kuroko has only been gone for about twenty minutes. Before leaving, the younger girl told her onee-sama that she would be busy with paperwork until close to 4 o'clock, which means the electromaster has a little over three more hours to not do much of anything.
Lying on her back, Kill Bear in her arms, she thinks of how much she could do in three hours. "It's possible," she thinks. "I can get more ingredients in three hours. I remember the brands I bought, so all I have to do is grab them and go!"
"Alright! No matter what, I'm definitely making those desserts today!" Her voice roars with new-found fervor. Tossing Kill Bear aside, the girl slips on her shoes and jumps out the window.
….
After more than fifteen minutes of jogging, Mikoto finds out that the first store she needs is closed for the day. The humid air and rain causes her clothes to lightly cling to her skin and makes her feel gross. Brushing some wet strands of hair to the side, the girl decides to use her phone to see if the other two stores are closed as well.
They are.
A low, whiny rumble forms in her throat and crawls past her lips. Standing under the covering of a bus stop, her shoulders sag yet again.
"This is so dumb," she whispers to herself. She doesn't understand why all of this bothers her so much. Why does she want to make him a stupid parfait, anyway? She obviously needs a new hobby; she's spending way too much time on this.
Not caring about getting wet at this point, the girl steps out of the protection of the bus stop. The loud traffic is irritating, but she tries to ignore it as she walks.
Coming to a curb, Mikoto notices a bakery across the street. The glow from the lights inside shine off of the cold, wet cement from the sidewalk and make the whole establishment look a little more inviting. What's most important though, is the "Open" sign dangling from above the shop's front door.
A small grin forms on the Level 5's face.
Although it won't be gourmet, a bakery will definitely have the things she's looking for. She'll bet that she can force someone to sell her the ingredients, even if it takes some haggling.
Plowing across the street, Mikoto wrenches the bakery door open. A small bell chimes as she walks into the store, glancing around in the most nonchalant way she knows how.
The smell of warm cinnamon and sugar immediately surrounds the girl. There are baskets of scones, turnovers, cookies and breads decoratively stocked in shelves on her left. To her right, she notices a long, refrigerated counter showcasing delicate cakes, pies and puddings. She can faintly hear the low hum of the bakery's heater, and the soft clinking of someone stirring something in the kitchen. Aside from those things, the place is completely quiet.
Subduing her grin, the Electromaster turns to face the cashier, and is met with an equally subdued grin. The cashier is much too tall to make any normal person comfortable, and his blue hair and pierced ears only serve to make him look like a delinquent. Sadly, this is not the first time the girl has run into him.
"Can I help you?" He nearly sings the words, and she already feels disgusted. Hopefully he'll just take her money and let her leave.
Looking the blue haired high school student dead-on, Mikoto slams her money card onto the counter. "I need some ingredients. Don't ask me why, just give me a price."
Raising an eyebrow, his lips lower in surprise. "I'm sorry, tsundere-chan, but I'm only allowed to sell you bakery products." The older boy never opens his eyes as he gestures vaguely around the store.
"Tsun-tsun-tsundere?!" She yells, a small, blue spark flashes near her forehead. "Don't you know how to treat your customers better?"
The boy turns to a young woman's voice in the kitchen. She seems to be warning him to cut it out, or he'll be in big trouble. The boy, "Aogami-kun" as the woman put it, looks back to Mikoto and flashes her a gleaming-white smile.
"Oops," he says.
Mikoto crosses her arms, "I don't think that was an apology."
"Whoops?" Aogami cocks his head to the side. His grin widens as Mikoto groans in irritation.
She just wants to make a parfait, damn it!
Rubbing her face like a tired soldier, Mikoto looks up towards Aogami. "Look," she places her hand on the money card and slides it over to him, "I just need a few ingredients for orange parfait. That's all. I'm not interested in childish banter right now."
Aogami makes a high-pitched whine and crosses his arms, as if he were trying to mimic the electromaster. "Define 'childish.'"
"Just let me buy some ingredients, you annoying piece of trash!" Mikoto roars.
The woman's voice wafts out of the kitchen yet again, causing Aogami to sigh and finally pick up the girl's money card. He takes his time pressing a few buttons on the cash register's touch screen before lifting the card to swipe it.
"Oh, I forgot," he stops his motion mid-air, looking thoughtful.
"What's that?"
"I can't sell you ingredients."
The girl stammers. How long is this supposed to take? She glares, "You're doing this on purpose."
The boy examines the money card interestedly, "Maybe a little, but I really can't sell you anything that isn't a product of the bakery."
Groaning in frustration, Mikoto runs a hand through her hair. She'd really like to give up at this point, but it seems like she needs to make the parfaits on principle now.
It almost feels like too much effort is going towards that guy.
"You're really annoying, you know that?" One hand lies on the girl's hip while the other flicks sparks of electricity from her fingertips in an attempt to let off some steam.
Aogami slides the card back over the counter, "I don't think I've ever heard that before," he laughs. "I'm pretty popular."
"I can't see how."
Another laugh, "Ouch."
Suddenly, Mikoto's eyes light up as an idea strikes her. "Hey, can I make a special request? Will you make me something if I ask for it?" She asks rapidly, leaning on the counter.
"Special requests cost-"
"I don't care about that." Mikoto digs into pocket of her skirt and reveals a very damp and crumpled list of ingredients.
The boy smiles as he watches her try to unfold the paper without tearing it, "I didn't know Gekota had stationary now."
The Railgun scoffs, finally getting the paper semi-flattened on the counter, "It's pretty obvious, you geezer." The girl grins wildly, "Anyway, I need you to make me a couple of things, you got that?"
Aogami nods, his eyebrows pursing together as he seemingly reads the list with his eyes closed. "Do you want us to make you some orange parfait?"
"Nope! It's better than that," the girl shoves her money card back into the boy's face. "I want you to make me two cups of plain Greek yogurt, one cup of heavy cream, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, one tablespoon of whatever sugar you have, and one orange. I want everything in separate containers, and I need it quickly. I'm kind of in a hurry." Mikoto smiles, proud of her swift thinking.
The older boy silently stares at the Level 5 for a moment or two, as if trying to think of how to respond. Sudden laughter erupts from his chest, causing Mikoto to jump back slightly. "Well, I don't see how that's a problem. I'll be right back," he says.
Mikoto watches as the boy turns and walks toward the kitchen. Half of her is excited that she'll finally be able to make those awful parfaits, and the other half is waiting for something to happen to stall her progress again.
No more than three minutes pass before the boy, Aogami, comes back with everything she requested stacked in his arms. He takes a moment to carefully pack all of it away in a large bag on the counter. Taking her money card, Mikoto watches him swipe it and hand it back to her, not bothering with giving her a price. "Do you want a receipt?" He simply asks.
"Uh, no, thanks." Mikoto simultaneously takes her card with one hand and grabs her bag of items with the other. She doesn't want to spend another second in that bakery, or something bad might happen again.
"Have a nice day then," the blue haired boy croons as she heads for the door, making her shudder slightly.
The door of the bakery slowly closes behind the girl and she is greeted with wet sidewalks and humid air. Feeling the weight of the bag in her hands, Misaka Mikoto is excited to make parfaits again.
She's also excited to make him smile, whether he likes it or not.