Mutsuki wanted to sob in despair.

The dorm refrigerator was practically empty; with only a bottle of corn syrup , a stick of butter and a package of shelled pecans inside. A quick survey around the kitchen led her to a bottle of whiskey (What kind of adult leaves alcoholic beverage within reach of teenagers?) and that was it.

There was nothing else to find.

What was she supposed to do? Serve the dorm mother spiked pecans?

This wouldn't have happened if Takumicchi had kept his big mouth shut, Mutsuki sullenly thought to herself. She cursed his hot temper and swore to get back at him at the next chance that arose.

"There's nothing here!" She moaned, slamming the refrigerator door shut. How did this dorm even function on such meager supplies? Did the residents of Polar Star not eat? Did Polar Star even have any residents? But more importantly, did she stand a chance at snagging a room in this godforsaken dormitory?

Probably not.

Oh god. She was going to have to camp out wasn't she? All alone in a tent in the middle of Totsuki's large campus!

What if there were bears?! Oh, the horror!

"I don't want to get mauled by bears!" She cried, earning her twin looks of amusement from Isami and Takumi.

"Seriously. Bears?" Takumi raised a brow.

"You obviously haven't been watching enough documentaries." Mutsuki sniffed.

"Mutsuki-san," Isami began, a patient look in his eyes. "There are no bears in the city."

"That's what you think." Mutsuki huffed.

The dorm mother, Fumio, watched the exchange in delight. "As much as I'd love to watch this petty banter between you brats, if you're giving up then you might as well scram." She cackled. "Just try again tomorrow."

Mutsuki shot Fumio a glare to which the old woman just guffawed at. "What? Are you trying to intimidate me into submission? Fat chance kid."

An eye roll was all Fumio got in response.

With a sigh, Mutsuki took a hair tie from her pocket. She quickly brushed her hands through her hair before arranging it into a mess ponytail. She clicked her tongue in annoyance when she noticed that a stray lock of hair fell free from the tie. Tsk. No matter what she did, it seemed that her hair would always be in a state of perpetual mess.

But that was not the most pressing issue at the moment.

Focus, Mutsuki thought.

To be perfectly honest, Mutsuki knew that unlike her friends, her culinary skills were at best; above average. She was not as good as Ikumi or either of the Aldini brothers and frequently lagged behind them during practical tests. But in her defense, those three were always at the top average whereas Mutsuki would usually be somewhere below but definitely above the median score. Enough to pass but not low enough to frequently live in fear of expulsion. Regardless, the difference in skills was never a source of envy for her. After all, that wasn't really her goal.

All Mutsuki ever wanted was to become a pastry chef and open up her own shop in the future. She didn't even want to be recognized as the best pastry chef in the entire world (or entire Japan , if you went on a smaller scale). Perhaps it was a lack of drive or ambition on her part, but it just wasn't really in her nature to be so competitive about cooking ; which was ironic considering that she was studying at the Totsuki Academy. One of the reasons she stayed at Totsuki was because loathe as she was to admit it, Totsuki definitely gave her the edge in realizing her dreams.

And aiming to be a chef (or pastry chef in Mutsuki's case) needed no small amount of creativity. Since she was young, she had to learn how to whip something up based on the extremely limited ingredients that she would loot from her pantry. (Of course, most of the time it ended up in a complete failure but that was besides the point.)

But never before had Mutsuki worked with only three ingredients.

Think, Mutsuki mentally chanted, think.

But nothing came to mind and an uncomfortable feeling began to form at the pit of her stomach.


Takumi hovered helplessly around the kitchen as he watched Mutsuki work. He was not doing it out of worry but out of restlessness because he wanted to get back to his room soon. Isami, however, had insisted on staying out of moral support and he had grudgingly yielded to his younger brother.

Takumi cursed his soft spot for Isami.

He spared a glance at Mutsuki as she repeatedly thumped her head against the refrigerator in a state of panic. A smirk spread on his lips and he opened his mouth to tease the girl but a sly look from the dorm mother stopped him.

"Heh. Looks like your friend's giving up." She mocked. "You lot are all bark and no bite."

He grunted.

"Bah! I bet you guys can't even cook a decent meal." Fumio sneered.

Whoa.

Did she just?

Okay. That was it! No one mocked an Aldini and got away with it. Ever.

If it were only Kusanagi's lodgings and pride at stake, Takumi wouldn't have bothered to do anything. He was a firm believer of independence and made it a point never to coddle Kusanagi (unlike Isami) so he usually left her to deal with loss and victory on her own. But when the Aldini pride was at stake, he couldn't just sit back and let things unfold.

"Oi Kusanagi. Stop dawdling and cook something already. If you can get creative (too creative, he silently thought) at pranking me then a simple cooking test like this should be no problem for you."

Takumi honestly thought that this would help Mutsuki.

Really!

Unfortunately, it backfired and Mutsuki looked at him like he had killed a puppy.

"Uh," Mutsuki whimpered. She knew that Takumi's backhanded compliment was his way of encouraging her but it had only added fuel to the fire; she felt even more pressured. Nothing was coming to mind! "Okay." A weak smile.

Takumi blandly noted that Mutsuki began gathering her ingredients mechanically, a nervous smile stuck on her face.

Cavolo! He had made things worse! He knew what that stupid smile meant and what it implied; Kusanagi was dead nervous and was ten times more likely to do something stupid.

And on cue, she nearly tripped on thin air (How, Takumi slapped a hand to his forehead, do you even trip on thin air?), frantically waving her arms to find a surface to support herself. Her hand met the counter top and she caught herself.

From next to Takumi, Isami breathed a sigh of relief as he withdrew his extended arms. "If you don't make it," Isami suddenly piped in, startling him. "You're always free to bunk in my room. But I don't think that'd be necessary Mutsuki-san. Just relax. I'm sure you can think of something."

Both Mutsuki and Takumi snapped their heads to face Isami. Oh no, Takumi thought.

In an instant, Mutsuki's previously tense shoulders relaxed and she made a leap for Isami. "Isamicchiiiiiii, you are an angel!"

Takumi had a horrified look on his face as he shoved Kusanagi by the chest (dutifully avoiding the twin lumps of fat on her chest because he wasn't a pervert) away from his brother. He silently agreed that yes his younger brother could be as kind as an angel but half the time, he felt that Isami's kindness was often wasted on the likes of Kusanagi.

Kusanagi, to Takumi's mortification, still managed to cling to Isami (who was clearly enjoying it, if his laughter was anything to go by) despite his attempts at wrenching her away. He groaned at her in exasperation. "Kusanagi , priorities."

Kusanagi simply ignored him and clung to Isami even tighter.

Fumio placed a hand on his shoulder in what he assumed was supposed to be a comforting gesture. "So it's like that huh? You know, it's wise to admit defeat at this point. Seems to me that she's chosen your brother. Don't go breaking your heart anymore kid." She nodded sagely.

The older Aldini stared at her in shock. She had the wrong idea! Kusanagi and he would never -! As if he would ever have such an interest in that uncouth monkey!

Okay, maybe that was a bit rude.

But in all seriousness, Takumi would never be interested in her that way because it would be just plain weird. Kusanagi had always been that one constant friend (he shriveled a little inside at this admission) to the brothers even before they went to Totsuki so suddenly developing feelings for her was just an odd and foreign concept to Takumi that he decided not to dwell on it any further because the aforementioned girl was rubbing her cheeks against Isami's again.

"Oi Kusanagi!"

Takumi sighed. An older brother's work was never done.


Isami honestly didn't think that it was such a big deal for him to offer Mutsuki his room. He had already done it the night before and found it reasonable to offer it up again. After all, if there were no spare rooms in their dormitory and if the Polar Star dorm rejected her then he couldn't just allow her to camp out alone in Totsuki.

His mother did raise him to be a gentleman.

"Isamicchi," A puff of breath tickled at Isami's ears and he nearly flushed. Mutsuki stopped rubbing her cheeks against his and instead inched her face closer. She squinted at him and sniffed.

That's odd, she scrunched her face in confusion, Isami smelled like vanilla. And last time she checked, the boy rarely ever scented of anything but tomatoes.

Mutsuki startled, her eyes widening in realization as she beamed at Isami.

At that moment, Isami could see why Takumi had always likened her to a monkey. The way she hung from him was reminiscent of a monkey hanging from a tree and the way her ears stood out from beneath her dark locks further reminded him of the aforementioned animal. It wasn't bad per se and he even thought that it was actually pretty endearing.

Bad thoughts! He scolded himself. Mutsuki was a friend and you just don't think about friends that way.

"That's it!" Mutsuki abruptly cried out, finally untangling herself from Isami. "I'm free to use whatever ingredients I can find so long as it's in the kitchen right?"

Fumio shrugged. "Yeah. So long as you can make something. Though I doubt you can make anything decent with just three ingredients."

Isami's heart did a tiny backflip as a soft smile curled at Mutsuki's lips but decided not to think too much about it. It was probably just a heartburn.

"I don't have just three ingredients." She said as she placed a hand on his shoulders, startling him. "I have Isamicchi!"

"What," Takumi deadpanned, slapping a hand to his forehead.

"Huh?" Isami blinked, wondering if there was a joke he was missing.


Mutsuki grinned, not bothering to answer the three stunned looks that were sent her way. Instead, she patted Isami's blazer and school shirt, groping around in search of a particular item that was crucial to her victory. He yelped , almost jumping up as her hands managed to squeeze at a particularly ticklish spot. A frown creased her face as she belatedly realized that it wasn't in any of his pockets.

So naturally, she moved her searching to his pants.

God was testing Isami wasn't he?

But before he could even do anything, Mutsuki already had her hands in his pockets and was digging through it's contents.

Isami's face turned red in embarrassment.

Takumi, to no one's surprise, was not pleased with the development.

"Stop molesting my brother!" He yelled, making a grab for Mutsuki's wrists; his protective brother mode maxed out.

Isami loved his brother a lot. Really. And he knew that Takumi would die and kill for him in any situation but he was so not helping out right now.

Mutsuki deftly dodged him as she finally found what she was looking for. She clutched the packets of vanilla wafers on both hands and shot Fumio a victorious smirk. She had a chance now and there was no way in hell that she was going to waste it.

"Sorry but I'll be replacing these later Isamicchi!" She gave the flustered boy an apologetic smile as she dropped the wafers on the kitchen's counter top.

"If I can no longer be a bride, I expect you to take responsibility* Mutsuki-san." Isami sniffled, jokingly dabbing a handkerchief to his eyes. It was a joke, but Isami would probably never recover from the memory of having Mutsuki manhandle him.

Mutsuki nodded absentmindedly, rummaging through her duffel bag in search of the ingredients she was sure she packed. "Yeah , yeah, I'll marry you and buy you a house." A-ha! Found it!

Takumi was gagging in the background while Fumio guffawed.

But Mutsuki paid them no mind as she set to work on the task at hand. She patiently waited for the oven to heat at the temperature she desired while she laid out the pecan nuts on the cookie sheet. A few minutes passed and when she felt that the oven was hot enough, she carefully placed the nuts inside and roasted them to perfection.

Fumio almost drooled at the aromatic scent of the pecan nuts.

Mutsuki continued to diligently work on the confection she was making.

Honestly, Takumi silently observed, if she exerted that much effort and expertise to cooking regular dishes she could easily rival the top students of the 92nd batch.

But Kusanagi was Kusanagi and one of her greatest flaws was her one track mind. So everyone just left it at that.


"It's done!" Mutsuki cheered, sliding the plate to Fumio who merely raised a brow.

The dorm mother inspected the treat that the girl made for her. It was Bourbon balls, peppered with confectionery sugar, chocolate sprinkles and nuts. If she had to be honest, it looked good but nothing remarkable enough to blow her away. She grunted. "Huh. Guess I got my hopes up."

"Just taste it." Mutsuki rolled her eyes. Were all elderly people this cranky all the time?

Fumio reluctantly plopped a piece into her mouth and nearly cried out in ecstasy.

It reminded her of her first marriage that had ended in a bitter divorce. Back then, she used to drink her sorrows away at a dingy old pub, cursing herself for being such an idiot and wasting the five years of her life on him. She eventually got over him but the pub had always remained in her heart and she would frequently visit it until it closed down years later.

As she bit into the center of the bourbon balls, a strange flavor burst into her mouth; the taste of the soft butter contrasting with the overpowering tang of the whiskey.

"You," Fumio breathed. "Pass!"

A pause.

"Congratulations." Isami patted Mutsuki's locks as she jumped up and down in excitement. "I knew you could do it." From the start, Isami already knew that she would pass. Despite her one track mind and self proclaimed innate average skills, she really did have the talent for creating pastries. That and she didn't survive three years of Totsuki middle school for nothing. But nevertheless, he still made it a point to congratulate her on her victory.

Behind them, Takumi rolled a piece of bourbon ball in between his fingers and gave it an experimental whiff. After deeming it safe for consumption (he learned never to eat anything Kusanagi made before giving it a once over, the hard way), he popped one in his mouth and frowned. "Isn't this too strong?" He felt his eyes almost tear up at the way the alcohol burned at the back of his throat.

"It is," Mutsuki admitted, finally untying her hair and letting it fall against her nape. "If I left the bourbon balls overnight to wait for the alcohol to soak, it would taste better and tolerable for people who aren't accustomed to whiskey."

"Then why didn't you?" Fumio asked, a curious look on her face.

"Because the bottle of bourbon was half empty. Which means that someone was either using it to cook or to drink . But when I looked through the sink, I noticed that there was an unwashed shot glass. So I took a leap of faith and thought that Fumio-san probably liked whiskey." Mutsuki shrugged. "I thought that you would prefer it if the taste of bourbon was stronger."

"An excellent deduction, Holmes!" Isami joked, slapping a hand against Mutsuki's back. She startled as the friendly gesture nearly sent her face first to the ground.

Takumi merely nodded his acknowledgement. "That was a good call." But was a risky move at the same time. Had Fumio not been accustomed to the strong taste of whiskey, he was certain that Kusanagi's bourbon balls wouldn't be meet with the same praise.

"Oh, wow, this is good!" Isami said in between mouthfuls of bourbon balls. He moved to take another piece but Takumi slapped his hand away.

"Since when did you develop a taste for alcohol? Takumi gave his brother an accusing look.

A laugh bubbled out of Isami's lips before he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. Whoop. Looks like the cat was out of the bag now. "Last time we went home, Uncle took me out for a couple of drinks."

"But we're not even of drinking age yet!"Takumi said, aghast to which Isami just shrugged at. "It was a valuable learning experience?"

Takumi hissed to himself as he made sure to have a long talk with his uncle the next time they went home.


Fumio gave Mutsuki the keys to room 308 and the girl sobbed in relief. Finally, she thought to herself.

She inspected her temporary residence for the next month and was delighted when she found out that it wasn't as run down ad Polar Star's exterior. In fact, it was nearly as pristine as her old room but there were a few signs of wear here and there. But Mutsuki could live with that as long as it was clean.

Takumi and Isami had bidden her goodbye earlier as they kindly (Takumi complained all the way) brought her bag to her room. But despite all Takumi's grumbling and snapping, he had provided her (somewhat) with help so she begrudgingly noted to thank him for that later on. But as of the moment, she was dead tired and in need of a rest. So in one swift motion, she stripped her blazer off before curling up in her new bed for a short nap.

The rest could wait.


Sorry this chapter is so short compared to the previous ones! Oh and some stuff I'd like to point;

Cavalo, according to google is in Italian curse that literally means cabbage (lol) but is used as a curse word. And given Takumi's background, I thought that this would fit him?

*take responsibility = It's basically a joke since Mutsuki (kind of) harassed Isami so his purity (?) has been tarnished. So Mutsuki has to take responsibility by marrying him, as it's the most respectable thing to do. It's just a joke of course.

Again, guys, I'd really , reeaaaalllly love to hear feedback from you! Just please be nice about it okay?