Magic is a funny thing. To some, it's the stuff of fairy tales. To others, it's the feeling they get when they look at their loved ones. To others still, it's just part of a routine. Magic is wonderful — even to those who have never experience what is "real" magic, there will often still be something in their lives that they can say is magical, and this can extend to anything. Magic can be fantastic and it can be mundane. That's what makes magic, well... magic.
For some, it's the smell of a new car and hearing the rev of its engine for the first time. For some, it's the wonders and the unknowns of space. For some, it's being able to solve a case that seemed hopeless, to bring a smile to someone who thought they had lost it for good.
"Nitou... I really don't see why I..."
And to some, magic... Magic is food.
"Come onnnn, just because you're my eternal rival doesn't mean we can't share a meal once in a while! Everyone else is already waiting!"
For even to the lucky few who have experienced what many consider "real" magic, the magic of a good meal is just one that can't be beat.
Against the ever persistent Kousuke Nitou, both bonafide wizard and... "connoisseur" of all sorts of foods (in a manner of speaking), his "eternal rival," Haruto Souma, knew that he was more than likely beat here. He had tried to get out of this dinner that Nitou had planned for all of his friends, Haruto included despite the whole "rival" thing, but it looked like there was no escaping it. With this in mind, Haruto sighed, a wry smile on his face as he shrugged, finally admitting defeat in the face of the "Beast" before him.
To make a long story short, a story of epic proportions that involved one wizard being cornered by another after discover his favorite donut shop was closed for the day, this was how Haruto found himself following Nitou to his newest camp site. Apparently Nitou had cooked up quite the feast for Haruto and the rest of their motley crew, though considering this was Nitou... suffice to say, Haruto was more than a little wary of just what he might be putting into his mouth before all was said and done today.
"Almost there, eternal rival of mine!" The young man in front of Haruto gestured to a park that was a short ways away from them now, looking over his shoulder with a broad grin as he did. "You're lucky Mayu and the others are there to keep everything warm for us, or you would have missed out!"
Chuckling lightly at how excited his friend was, Haruto just nodded in response. It wasn't like he had anything better to do today, and who knew? Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Seeing the park coming into view up ahead, already able to hear the sounds of their friends' voices coming from within, Haruto found himself wondering just how Nitou had wrangled everyone else into this. He supposed Shunpei, Rinko, and Wajima would have been easy enough to convince, assuming Wajima had been willing to leave the shop... But Mayu and the others too...?
"So... Why are we doing this again?" Haruto couldn't help but wonder. It wasn't like Nitou cooked for them often or anything. In fact, he'd never done it before for that reason alone. Sure, he'd always be willing to share (so long as his own helpings were kept safe and covered in mayo), but straight cook for them like this? Maybe he'd been talking to some of those other Riders they'd had some forays with recently... Drifting off into his thoughts, Haruto had to wonder if he might have been on to something. "Maybe that's it..."
Haruto knew there were at least two other Riders that liked to cook a lot. Kabuto didn't seem like the most sociable type, though maybe getting Nitou to like something of his without the need for his extra topping might have been seen as a challenge for the man who walks on the path of heaven...? On the other hand, Agito was a really friendly seeming person from what Haruto could remember from the brief instances they had interacted, and he probably would have been more than happy to do who knew what with Nitou...
"Maybe what's it?" Blissfully unaware of his eternal rival's thoughts, Nitou glanced over his shoulder to check on Haruto as he led his friend into the park where the rest of their party awaited for them at a group of picnic tables. Sure enough, their whole bunch of friends was there, each with something... strange in front of them, clearly being magically warmed by some spell or another Mayu and the other wizards were using. "Oh, right, a friend of mine from America told me about this! It's called 'Pi Day' and you're supposed to eat a whole lot of pie! I made one for everybody!"
"Pi...? You mean Pie Day? That does sound like a holiday you'd like." So they were going to eat pies, huh...? Well, that explained those things that were in front of everyone. As for the spell Mayu was using... Haruto stroked his chin as he observed the effects of the magic. It was simple enough — all of the food was being heated, from what he could tell, and now that he and Nitou were upon the picnic table where the others were already seated, he had a pretty good grasp of things. It looked fairly useful too. "That's one of Shunpei's rings, isn't it? He's getting a lot better at that."
"IIIII heeeaaaard thaaaat!"
Speak of the devil!
"Shunpei, don't let what Haruto said get to your head."
And there was Rinko, there to keep him in check.
Grinning, Haruto raised a hand to greet the group as he sat down, offering nods to his fellow wizards as they gave him their greetings. As Haruto exchanged pleasantries with everyone, Nitou walked forward, slapping his friend jovially on the back before proudly making his way to the head of the picnic table. He stood there for a few moments, hands on his hips, smile as wide as the sea, as he watched everyone greet Haruto — greet Haruto and revel in the pies that he had made for them!
... Well, not so much that second part yet, but that was going to change soon enough!
"Everybody! You can all say hello to Haruto later! We don't want the food to get cold, do we?" Crossing his arms, Nitou surveyed the group. Now they were looking at him. That was more like it. Reaching down, the young man pulled out the most important thing of all — the icing! "Good! Now since we're all finally here, are you all ready to have some pie?"
Haruto visibly paled when he saw what Nitou had just brought up. He should have known. He should have known from the moment Nitou brought food up, but he had seen the perfectly normal looking pies and just... forgotten. He wasn't alone in his reaction though, oh not at all. Shunpei and Rinko made gagging noises, and Mayu looked like she was turning green.
The things in Nitou's hands were bottles of mayonnaise. Bottles of it.
"Nitou... You aren't going to put that on these pies, are you?" Haruto was keeping his voice steady, but he couldn't believe he even had to ask this. Whether it was a meat pie or a fruit pie or a chocolate pie or some other sort of pie, he knew he wouldn't touch it if it had any of Nitou's white goop on it. "Just this once, can't we go without it? I still have nightmares about the time you got it on my donuts..."
Trailing off, Haruto found himself shuddering at the thought. That had been a day he would never forget.
"Listen, um..." Rinko finally spoke up, her tone surprisingly diplomatic considering the situation — a stark contrast to the increasingly panicked expression on her face. "What if you use it yourself? That way we can all enjoy what you made for us the way you want to, and we can enjoy it the way we want to. That's fair, isn't it?"
Nods and noises of agreement quickly rose from the others seated at the table. The wizard at the head of the picnic table blinked, looking from each person to the next, and finally seemed to realize he had been beaten. Sighing, he shook his head and smiled, before he laughed heartily as he began opening up the bottles of mayonnaise.
"W-Wait, but we said...!"
"That's right, we...!"
"Hold on! I get it, you guys win. I know what you really wanted to say — you're just so appreciative of this that you were willing to let me have it all!" Before anyone could even attempt to correct him, Nitou turned over all of the bottles in his hands and began covering the pie in front of where he was sitting in the white goodness that was mayonnaise. "That's fine with me! I'll just turn this pinch into a great chance for me, hahaha! Too bad for you all, but you can't change your minds now..."
Silence.
Wide eyed, wizard, former Gate, and normal human alike stared as Nitou hummed a little tune to himself and drowned his pie in mayonnaise. The noise was bad enough, but just the sight of it...
"Idon'tthinkI'mhungryanymoreeveryone." Rinko stood up. Her hand was covering her mouth and she looked ill. She looked as though she would have been better off at a hospital rather than here at a picnic table watching culinary murder.
"Now now, Rinko! I'm sure it's fine..." Shunpei gently reached for the woman's shoulder, before he shot a look at Haruto to get his friend's support as he whispered to the police officer. "He used it all...! That means our pies are safe from him! Didn't your department get a pay cut? I don't think you can turn down free food... I wouldn't...!""
Haruto had a feeling that Shunpei simply didn't want to eat Nitou's pie without Rinko's support, but even so, he offered a supportive nod himself. Rinko slowly sat down, and with that out of the way-
"Okay everybody! Dig in — and Happy Pie Day!"
It was time for them to eat.
One by one, the others seated at the table cut themselves a piece of their pies. One by one, after exchanging nervous, hopeful looks, they raised their forks, or even whole pieces, to their lips to take a bite...
Almost immediately, forks clattered onto plates.
Gagging noises started to spread throughout the group like wildfire.
White, sloppy mess began dripping from the mouths of those gathered at the picnic table as those seated began to choke.
And all the while, Kousuke Nitou sat at the head of the table, munching happily on his food as though he had no idea what had gone wrong.
Needless to say, the first — and last — Pie Day celebrated by Haruto could be summed up in one sentence:
"WHO IN THE WORLD MAKES A MAYONNAISE PIE!?"