A/N: Last chapter's title was "said" by Yumi for ironic effect.
02. Stealth
The door to the shared apartment opened and closed swiftly in an effort to keep out the cold winter air. The sound of a plastic bag rustling could be heard amidst the unzipping of a coat and the stamping of boots. A voice called out into the rest of the apartment from the entrance.
"Hey, Yumichin! I brought those onions you needed. Damn, it's cold out there. I think we're going to get hit by a blizzard tonight."
"Ah, really? We should be fine. The pizza's in the oven, so we have a little bit of time. Want to help me clean up?"
Kanbara peeked her head into the kitchen area where Yumi was making pizza and saw that there was quite a bit of flour on the floor, as well as on the countertops. A few bowls lying around were filled with toppings, and Yumi herself had some flour the hair near her ears. She must have tried to tuck some strands behind her ear without paying attention. It was funny to see her normally neat friend looking even the slightest bit disheveled. Of course, her apron was spotless, so that ruined the effect.
"It looks like the flour bag exploded. What happened?" Kanbara asked curiously.
"Our counters aren't exactly big enough for this sort of thing, so some of the flour spilled over. It should turn out fine, though. We're just waiting for the dough to bake a little and the cheese to melt. Here's a broom; I'll take care of the counters," Yumi stated, passing a broom to her friend.
"Wahaha. It's not that bad. We could always wait until after we've finished eating to clean up," she suggested amiably.
"We have nothing better to do at the moment, so we might as well. Besides, it's your turn to clean up. Isn't it less work for you this way?"
The purple-haired girl began washing a few things in the sink, adding the sounds of quiet clinking and scrubbing to Kanbara's fast sweeping. The heat emanating from the oven coupled with the sweet smell of tomatoes being baked made the cheap apartment almost feel like a home that's been lived in for years.
"Wahaha. I can't disagree with that. Well, all done, boss. What's next?"
Kanbara leaned against a free wall expectantly, already itching to try Yumi's pizza. It wasn't often the serious girl would make something casual like this. Usually she wanted to make some exotic foreign recipe from Europe or South America, so it was nice to have something simple once in a while. There was less of a chance she'd screw it up, for one thing.
Yumi turned after drying her hands on a towel and grabbed a pair of oven mitts.
"Toppings. Here, take these onions and sprinkle them on after I take out the tray. I can get the rest."
The redhead blinked. "Onions? When did you chop those?"
"When you were playing Flour Monster Invasion with the broom," Yumi deadpanned.
"Wahaha. You saw that, did you? Man, I feel embarrassed. Okay, all set."
Yumi finished her part of the toppings and slid the tray back in the oven, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand when she finished. She untied her apron easily and folded it, placing it on a clean countertop.
"All right. Want some tea while we wait? Just sit in the other room while I grab the cups and leaves. The hot water should be ready by now," Yumi instructed.
"Yes ma'am," Kanbara mock-saluted, doing as she said.
Their shared apartment wasn't particularly big. It was on the second floor of a two-story apartment building. There was a kitchen, which connected to the tatami-covered living room (which had a bookshelf, a table, a television, and few cushions). There was a counter that separated those two areas, with three bar stools on one side. There was a simple bathroom that had a toilet and a sink, but no actual bath. The nearby bathhouse was enough for that. They washed their clothes in the machines downstairs, which was where the apartment building residents all washed their clothes. They only had one bedroom, which Yumi insisted that Kanbara occupy. She herself slept in the living room at night, and kept her belongings in the closet. Neither of them brought much with them to begin with, so life was mostly simple and uncomplicated for them.
"Think you'll be okay tomorrow morning?" Kanbara asked her friend over the table in the living room. Her tea was still hot, so she merely swirled the cup a few times as she watched the steam dissipate.
Yumi, however, had no such problems. She sipped her tea without any apparent notice of the temperature.
"With any luck. It's still our first year here, so I don't know how this area takes care of snow. Hopefully the city officials decide that the roads should be clean early enough for me to walk to class on time. Do you think we'll have enough time to get to the bathhouse and back before the blizzard hits?"
"Maybe," the redhead answered doubtfully. "Let's check the weather channel. I'm glad my classes are in the afternoon. The roads would definitely be clear by then."
"Mm," Yumi agreed noncommittally as she focused on the television, which Kanbara switched on.
The oven ding'd not long afterwards, and they both moved towards it before Kanbara motioned the purple-haired girl to stay seated. She made a few trips to the kitchen, coming back with plates, something heat-resistant to put underneath the tray, a knife, and the tray itself.
Yumi blinked. "It looks good."
"Wahaha. Is that something the cook should be saying about her own food?"
"It's been a while since I made this, and last time was with Momo. She gave me the recipe before we graduated, so I've been meaning to try it out. I wasn't sure if I could do it, though. I've never been good in the kitchen; she was the one who did most of it," Yumi explained in a rush, her cheeks tinged with a very faint blush.
"Ah..." Kanbara wasn't sure how to reply to that. Clearly the younger girl had been on her friend's mind all this time, but neither of them ever brought it up. The two seemed to treat graduation as their final goodbye, but Kanbara couldn't understand why. She never asked, though, as her friend seemed to know what she was doing, and it wasn't her place to lecture. Maybe this was a good time to casually poke at the topic, though. Yumi seemed to be in a good mood.
"She's graduating next year, isn't she?"
"With Kaori, yes," Yumi agreed.
Kanbara couldn't read her friend's tone or expression at all. She tried again.
"Mu-ki's president now. I wonder how all of them are doing... Kaori said they had one more member join up, but it wasn't enough for the team tournament this summer."
"Really? I hope that didn't stop them from competing in the singles tournament, at least."
Kanbara looked up from the pizza slice she was eating. "Why do you sound so surprised? I would have thought that you'd keep in touch with our little princess, at least." She gestured to the slice, "This is really good, by the way. I didn't think she was interested in cooking."
"We... haven't talked much since then. We've both been busy with school, and high school's a really important time to take care of your grades," Yumi explained hesitantly.
The redhead wanted to sigh. It looks like both of them were just being stupidly shy.
"Well, I won't yell at you or anything, but friends are friends no matter where you are or what you're doing. You should invite her over for dinner sometime. I'm sure she'd be surprised at how much you cook these days."
"That's not really something I can show off. It's just a hobby, and a lot of what I try to make tends to turn out wrong," her friend began to ramble.
Kanbara took a chance and threw out a theory that she'd been chewing on for a while. "The real reason you even started it was because it reminded you of her, right?"
"H-How did you know that?!" Yumi's face had flushed a dark red in embarrassment, but she pretended not to notice.
"You should tell her that when you invite her. It'd make her feel less lonely. She probably thinks of you just as much," she advised kindly. "Besides, it's not like she's in her third year with her entrance exams and everything. She has a bit of free time. If you're really worried about her grades, you could always tutor her. I don't mind having her here. She's my friend, too. It's better than leaving her at home where her family barely notices her, right?"
"Ah... You're right."
Kanbara could practically see the relief spread across her friend's normally stiff shoulders.
"So, this weekend is fine, right? I already texted her about it and she's free. She sounded happy that you used her recipe for this," she said with a guileless smile.
Yumi's eyes widened. "Wh-When did you-?"
"Just now. You were busy looking anywhere but at me, so I thought it'd be a good chance," Kanbara explained plainly.
Her friend let out a frustrated groan and looked like she wanted to bury her head in her hands, but they were covered in pizza grease so all she could do was look at her friend across the table helplessly. She sighed after a moment and took another bite out of the pizza.
"Hm. You're right. This really si good."
Kanbara grinned. "See? I told you."