Disclaimer: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is not mine. I own none of the characters mentioned below. Kasai is amazing, and so is Shion. :D Fun.
Author's Note: First Higurashi fic. I noticed how Kasai, Shion's bodyguard and caretaker, seems to have an unusual liking for sweet desserts. He doesn't even need to pay to get inside a restaurant and has desserts that aren't on the menu made for him (seen in Higurashi first season Ep 22). There's just something about him that shouts out 'DESSERTS FTW' to me. Plus, after watching Kai Ep 23, I'm kind of hyped on Kasai at the moment xD
Slight spoilers, but mostly silly and fluffy. Akane/Kasai (onesided) and Shion/Kasai. This takes place in... umm... either before Tsumiboroshi-hen or after Matsuribayashi-hen, I suppose. That's my interpretation anyway. It's not specific to any arc.
----------------------------
Kasai Tatsuyoshi liked sweet things.
One would never have imagined, a ex-yakuza like him loving desserts like mango sorbets and chocolate puddings, but that was how he was. Every now and then he would enter Angel Mort, blissfully unaware that he was scaring the male staff with his fierce looks, and order a dessert. Sometimes he ordered things that weren't even on that day's menu, but he usually didn't get too worried about this; he had plenty of other alternatives to choose from and that was what he did. The owner would usually offer to make the dessert specially for him, as all the other restaurant owners and waiters nearby did, but he would politely decline and choose something different.
Unless Shion happened to be with him.
"Oh, come on, Kasai, they're planning to make that specially for you." She would tease playfully, putting her arms around his neck. "Go on. It's what you wanted in the first place!"
"...I'll take it, if that is so." He would finally mutter, as no matter how many times he declined, the girl just wouldn't give up. Shion could be very persistent in those matters. Yet however much the girl teased and annoyed him, he couldn't dislike her; Shion was too kind, too gentle and cute to dislike. The fact that she was the daughter of Sonozaki Akane added on to this factor.
Kasai had admired Akane since they were young. But somehow that hadn't worked out, and she had married his friend - paying a huge price in the process. Kasai could still remember how she had appeared at the wedding, her left hand bandaged and sore, having pulled three of her fingernails out. That was her punishment for marrying a foreigner. He remembered being heartbroken at the sight, agonizing silently over how much it would have hurt, how it had resulted in Akane getting disinherited and all those things. He had really thought that Akane would be hated and shunned for ever by the rest of the Sonozakis, and had made a vow to always stand by her if that happened. Luckily she had been forgiven, and Kasai knew that she spent a great deal of time with the Sonozaki Head, drinking tea and engaging in idle conversation. In public Akane was usually ignored, but at private she was still family and cared for deeply. Kasai thanked Oyashiro-sama dearly for this.
Akane had moved on. Kasai had to move on also. So he had retired from his yakuza duties and had settled down quietly. When Akane had children, Mion and Shion, he took over as Shion's guardian and caretaker. He had mixed feelings about both of the girls; Mion was the heir of the Sonozakis and he seldom got to see her. She struck him as rather obnoxious sometimes, but kind and caring. Other than that he knew little of Mion.
Shion, however... was different.
As the child grew up, it became evident that she was of a different nature than her sister. Even when she was shoved in St. Lucia Academy and forgotten about, Kasai still made frequent contact with her and thus knew about her development more than anyone else. Shion was quiet and elegant at first sight, unlike her playful sister, and was very well behaved. But she could be teasing, just like her mother; whenever she teased him, Kasai saw Akane's vision in her laugh. Shion was so much like Akane it was unbelievable. Everything from her smile, mannerisms, even her fate - Shion had also pulled her nails out before, to pardon Kasai, her uncle and herself, just like her mother. Every part of Shion, from her crooked fingernails on the left hand to her smile, reminded him of Akane.
And that made him still more determined to protect this girl at all costs.
Kasai thought back at all the times he had done something for Shion. He had taken care of her when she was little. He had rescued her from St. Lucia Academy. He had protected her in the little apartment in Okinomiya and had visited her frequently. None of this he would have done for anyone else - excepting Akane, of course, he would do anything for her still. Shion had grown in him, and he was very fond of the young girl; which was partly the reason he visited Angel Mort often.
Sweet desserts made him forget about all his worries, and instead helped him focus on what was happening right now.
Every time he entered Angel Mort, Shion would serve as his waitress, and happily recommend desserts to him. Although he pretended to be somewhat annoyed at this, he was always secretly considering all the options she picked for him; Shion had good taste, and he appreciated that. He would normally start off with a hot chocolate - which Shion took as 'the usual' - and order something on the menu. When she wasn't on duty, she would sit with him and chat, and Kasai loved those times with her.
Which was what was happening right now.
"Honestly, Kasai, be a man!" She laughed. "I know you usually order larger things. Like this souffle here." She pointed at the menu. "Come on! You can't fool me!"
"No, honestly, Shion-san, this is all I want..." Kasai knew that the rare times he got his way, Shion would pout in a disappointed manner, but she would still serve the dessert up with a flourish. But he was feeling increasingly guilty by the minute. He was going to give in, he knew that.
"I'm always in your debt, Kasai." Was Shion's unexpected reply. He looked, startled, over at her. "Don't worry about the price or anything else - feel free to have anything! Although..." She grinned cheekily. "...because today has the 'Eat All You Want' event taking place, I won't be buying."
Shion always had to add those little quirks at the end of what would normally be a heartfelt speech. But at her playful grin, Kasai felt himself weakening; this was one of the times when he felt deep affection for Shion.
"Alright, I'll have the Chocolate Fondue Parfait then, if you please."
"Now we're talking!" Shion jumped up and whipped out her notebook, scribbling down the order. "If you want anything other than the usual, and the Parfait... just ask!" Her charming grin was back in place, and he couldn't resist.
"Two wafers in the parfait instead of one."
"Right away!" Shion giggled and ran towards the kitchen with her order. Kasai leaned back and sighed. He felt weak at the knees, recalling the charming smile to himself; it reminded him of Akane, but at the same time it was entirely Shion. He smiled softly, thinking of the girl, wondering how she could be so alike her mother and still be herself at the same time. Shion made him smile, although she seldom saw it, and he was never as relaxed in anyone else's presence. Shion was the only one he was truly close to in that sense.
Parfait. French for 'perfect'. It suited Shion very well, he thought idly while fiddling with the edge of his sunglasses.
"Kasai, you're smiling!" A voice shook him out of his thoughts. It was Shion, peering into his face, a cheeky grin in her face. "Glad that you're happy. Your order's come up." She put down a tray with a cup of hot chocolate and a large glass of parfait in front of him, and quickly sat down next to him. Kasai leaned over the table to look at the parfait; the chocolate sauce was drizzled all over the scoops of vanilla ice cream, and it had two wafers in it, as ordered. It looked delicious. But it had two spoons in it, which made Kasai raise an eyebrow.
"Two spoons?"
"I put in another myself." Shion winked. "Thought I'd help you out." She picked up her spoon and scooped up the ice cream and chocolate, holding it up to Kasai's mouth. "You get the first scoop. It's your order after all."
Kasai hesitated, but then opened his mouth and let Shion push the spoon between his lips. A wonderfully rich taste of chocolate, mingled with vanilla, assaulted his senses; but then he thought about what he'd allowed Shion to do, and then a blush made its way to his face.
"Look, you're blushing!" Shion giggled, rubbing her cheek against his in a playful manner. "I've never seen you do that!" She pulled away after a while, and then scooped up the ice cream herself as if nothing had happened.
Kasai coughed slightly to diguise his blush and then picked up his own spoon. They sat in silence for a while, both of them enjoying the parfait and Kasai occasionally sipping his hot chocolate. The more he thought about what Shion did, the more pleasantly warm he felt inside; perhaps it was the dessert, he decided. Parfait, indeed.
"That was really nice." Shion said after the dessert was finished, and with a dozy grin settled down next to Kasai.
"Lovely." He commented, looking at the young girl, and noticing how beautiful and sweet she was as if for the first time. He smiled again and took another sip of his hot chocolate.
Yes, Kasai Tatsuyoshi liked sweet things.
A certain green-haired girl included.
------------------------------------------------
Kasai sounds a little like a lolicon now... but I personally enjoyed writing this. It's a fluffy look at Shion and Kasai and I think it turned out okay.
Did you like it? Reviews make me happy!