Author's Note: Felt like writing something crazy for a change. It's been a while since I've done that. Inspired by the cooking of Persona 4's female cast and Mystery Food X.


The peaceful day of eating lunch together on the school roof seemed like a faraway dream days ago, but since they've returned, the Raimon Eleven had somehow gone back to their normal, mundane lives, save for a few who were still recovering from the tragedy almost a week earlier.

"Mmm…" Shinsuke muttered as he crunched on his apple slices.

"What's wrong, Shinsuke?" Tenma asked worriedly. "You've been like this for days now."

"Oh, no, no, no! I'm fine, really!" Shinsuke answered. "Just thinking about my math test."

"Oh, algebra, right?" Tenma asked. "I thought it was easy."

"…wait, what?" Kariya said. "Did you say algebra was easy?"

"Yeah." Tenma said. "It's not that hard at all."

His friends gave him a shocked look. Aoi, however, wasn't the least bit surprised.

"You didn't know Tenma was good with math?" Aoi asked. "He's always been good with numbers."

"Sorry, but this is a shocking revelation to me." Kariya said. "Anyway, Tenma, could you do me a favour and buy some cheesecake for me in the cafeteria. Please~!"

"Huh? Um, okay." Tenma said, getting up before heading off. Once he was gone Kariya sighed in relief.

"Finally! I never thought'd he'd leave!" Kariya said, getting out some sparkler candles. "Here's the stuff I promised, Shinsuke. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy keeping this away from the other kids!"

"Thanks, Kariya!" Shinsuke said. "Hikaru, how're preparations?"

"Kurumada, Nishiki, Aoyama, and Ichino are preparing right now, Hayami, Hamano, and Amagi are keeping Tenma away from the soccer club, and Kurama is making sure Tsurugi doesn't suspect anything."

"And Midori and Akane should be making the cake and food in home economics today." Aoi said. "Sangoku will fetch Kirino and find Shindou and bring them over after school."

"Okay, looks like everything's ready for the party!" Shinsuke said confidently.

"Man, I can't believe we're doing this." Kariya said excitedly. "We've never held a real celebration before. Even after winning the Holy Road tournament, it was straight back to practice nothing had happened."

"Well, we can't afford to get lazy." Hikaru said. Kariya pouted at him. "I just hope this works."

"It's flawless!" Shinsuke said. "Coach Endou already gave us the go ahead! So we should have fun today later!"

"Agreed!" Kariya said.

"I can't wait!" Hikaru cried and Aoi nodded excitedly.

"This'll be fun!" she said.

"What'll be fun?"

Then the four flinched. They turned to see Tenma behind them, a slice of cheese cake on a paper plate in hand. He went over, handing it to Kariya who nervously thanked him.

"So what were you guys talking about? Are you planning something after school?" he asked curiously.

"Er, no!" Hikaru said first. He could a small jab from Kariya, as if telling him to calm down.

"Actually, yes!" Kariya said. "There's a new arcade opening and we were going to check it out. Want to come?"

"Oh. Well, not really. I'm not good with arcade games." Tenma said, feeling a little embarrassed. Around then, the bell rang, surprising the kids with its loud tone.

"We should head to class. Don't want to be late." Aoi said. Tenma nodded and left, with the four following behind.

"That was close." Hikaru said.

"No thanks to you! You were trembling so much, I thought he might be on to us there." Kariya scolded, giving Hikaru a light, hand chop in the head.

"Well, as long Tenma doesn't know anything." Aoi said. "I'm going to check with Midori and Akane later to see how to food went."

"Alright. We should make sure nothing else happens." Shinsuke said.

"Argh! My head!" Kariya complained. It was finally the end of class and they had just finished taking a science test about human anatomy. Most of the students seemed to have trouble, save for a few.

"What's wrong, Kariya? I thought the test was easy." Tenma said.

"What?! Are you serious?!" Kariya said. "I'm starting to think you might not be the soccer idiot you make yourself out to be…"

"Huh?" Tenma said, though Kariya shook his head quickly.

"I thought the test was easy too." Aoi said.

"Me three." Shinsuke agreed. Kariya began to fluster.

"Seriously?" he said.

"I'm going to go see Midori and Akane. See you guys later." Aoi said.

Tenma waved, saying goodbye to his best friend. "She's been really busy lately."

"Speaking of busy, what do you plan on doing with soccer practice cancelled?" Kariya asked.

"I was thinking of heading to the river to practice." Tenma replied. Kariya saw the answer through and through.

"Well could you stay after school?" he asked. "There's something I want to show you."

"Um, okay!" Tenma said happily.

"Good! I'll see in the clubroom in an hour." Kariya said, getting up and taking his stuff with him and leaving Tenma confused with a sprint.

"Er, wait! Why an hour?" Tenma yelled.

Kariya arrived to club room. With one swing of the door, he saw the room practically drowning in black and white streamers and confetti hanging on the walls and ceilings, banners strewed across the room with black, white, and green triangles, and balloons that were painted to look like soccer balls. Kariya could tell that this was a party Tenma would jump in without a thought.

"Wow! This place looks great!" Hikaru yelled, entering behind him. "I can't believe we're really throwing a party!"

"Ha ha! This place looks great, right?"

The two turned to see Nishiki and Kurumada who looked more than proud about their work.

"You like the black and white?" he said. "Doing a Japanese-themed party was so boring so we figured a soccer-themed party would do the trick!"

"The balloons weren't easy and we had to cut up so much paper for the confetti!" Kurumada said.

"Is that why Aoyama and Ichino aren't here yet?" Kariya said.

"Nah, they'll be here soon." he replied. "They're helping the girls bring the food."

The door behind them opened and they saw the mentioned pair with the managers carrying some trays of food, a box, and pot.

"Hey, guys!" Kurumada greeted, but all of them looked away with a frown.

"I can't believe you cooked, Midori! I never thought you were the type!" Nishiki teased, but instead of snapping back as usual, she gave a silent groan. Nishiki noticed and frowned with worry.

"Hey, is something wrong?" he asked and the managers flustered nervously.

"Well…" Midori mumbled hesitantly.

"We did our best to make the food." Akane said with her usual, quiet voice.

"Oh, then let's see it!" Nishiki said. Aoyama and and Ichino gave each other a hesitant look before opening the lids of the trays and pot and unboxing the cake. The other four boys cringed immediately upon the sight.

In the first tray was a strange, bubbling black and purple sludge. It was unidentifiable and no one could understand how that had come from something that was once edible, not even the two managers who cooked it themselves. The second tray was simply filled with a cloudy substance. It wasn't watery or lumpy. It was more of congealed. The third tray had lumps of charcoal inside. As for the pot, the contents inside looked normal but there was a foul stench being emitted from it. And inside the box, the contents resembled mud.

"W-what is this?!" Nishiki yelled in disbelief. "Is this all the food?!"

The two meekly nodded.

"H-h-hold on!" Kurumada said. "Maybe they don't taste that bad?"

"You go ahead and try it then, my good friend." Nishiki offered, causing the defender to slink back.

"Wha-?! Me?!" he yelled.

"You offered." Nishiki said. Kurumada now regretted his suggestion. Gathering nerves of steel, he approached the food, dipped his finger inside the first tray, and put it into his mouth. The results were fast.

"Ghhgngh?! A-auugh! Blegh!" he chocked. He writhed in pain, screaming for a brief moment before he collapsed on the ground to the horror of everyone in the room.

"WE'RE NOT EATING THAT!" Kariya yelled firmly.

"What the heck happened?!" Nishiki yelled to Midori who yelled back, "Hey, it was hard work, okay?! We tried!"

"And now we have a man down!" he yelled.

The two began screaming at each other as Aoi began to comfort Akane on what she and Midori had produced; a brutal blow to her feminine pride.

"Hey! How're things going?" Shinsuke asked happily upon arriving though the scene gave him a clear answer. "What's wrong?"

"It's the food!" Nishiki answered. "It's poison! One bite and you'll end up like him!"

Shinsuke stared down in shock at Kurumada body, pale and stiff with a empty stare in his eyes that resembled a zombie.

"N-no! It can't be that bad!" Shinsuke said, hoping that he was right, but the taller, tanned player shook his head.

"If you value your life, don't do it." Nishiki said. Shinsuke found himself too scarred to even eat it now.

"Yo! So is the party almost ready?" Hamano said coming in with Hayami and Kurama.

"I told Tsurugi to bring Tenma here at…what happened to Kurumada?" Kurama asked.

"The food is horrible." Shinsuke muttered.

"What? Let's have a look." Hamano said, going closer before backing away in surprise.

"What…is that?" Hayami asked.

"Apparently, food." Kariya answered.

"You've got to be kidding me." Kurama said, eyeing the third tray oddly. "These look like rocks!"

Hamano couldn't believe what he saw and decided to see if at least the other meals were edible and took a taste of the second tray to shock and horror of the members.

"Nooo! Hamano!" Nishiki yelled. But after a minute, nothing happened. Hamano stood there, confused.

"Er, Hamano? A-are you okay?" Hayami asked. Hamano hesitated for a moment.

"Well…it doesn't taste-URGHH!"

He coughed and hacked for brief memento before spitting the contents out.

"What happened?!" Nishiki yelled. "What'd it taste like?!"

"Guh! Like nothing, but…" he rasped. "Urk! I think it was crawling up my throat! Gack! Argh! Water! I need water! Anything to get it out!"

"C-c-c-c-crawl?!" Hayami screamed. Kurama threw back the rock immediately, deciding against trying it while Hikaru went over to Hamano and kindly shared with him his water bottle.

"What are we going to do? We can't have a party without food!" Shinsuke cried.

"Should we order food?" Hikaru suggested.

"Who here has money?" Nishiki asked. The only person they knew was Shindou and it would rude to ask him. They all turned down in grimace.

"Is everything ready?" Amagi chirped coming. Upon seeing the unusual scene in front of him, he was left confused. "Erm…"

Sangoku arrived with Kirino who was in a wheelchair. He nearly said, "Surprise!" until he saw how gloomy things were.

"Um, what was the surprise for me?" Kirino asked.

"I think we need to give them a moment." Sangoku said quietly.

"Kirino, what are you doing here?" a bright voice asked from behind. There was a wave of shock within the group when Tenma came in with Tsurugi in tow from behind.

"Sorry, we got sick of…..Eeyuck! What's that horrible smell?" Tsurugi asked.

"Now that you mention it…" Kirino said with a cringe. "Ugh! It smells rotting fish!"

"And why does room look different?" Tenma asked. "And why is Kurumada sleeping on the floor…with his eyes open? Uh…"

There was a silence before Shinsuke broke in tears and ran to Tenma.

"I'm so sorry!" Shinsuke cried. "This was supposed to be a party to help you guys feel better and…and…!"

"Huh?" Tenma said, clearly confused. "Um, what's going on?"

Everyone gave each other an awkward glance.

"We tried to throw a party but the managers made some…stuff and now the whole thing's ruined." Kariya replied bluntly, feeling sour. Tsurugi approached the trays of food and was shock to see so much unidentifiable productions. Tsurugi wasn't even what it was supposed to be.

Tenma approached it too. Then, rather awkwardly, he took a nearby spoon and ate a spoonful of the black sludge to the terror of everyone in the room. He cringed, suddenly paling. He wobbled but shook his head.

"It's…really…good…" he managed weakly. He looked absolutely sick.

"…need to go to the clinic?" Tsurugi offered. Tenma nodded quietly.


"You really are stupid!" Tsurugi scolded. Tenma quietly apologised to the team from the clinic bed.

"Sorry…I didn't…want it…to go to waste…" he said.

"Garbage like that is supposed to go to the waste!" he said. He turned to Midori and Akane who've had their heads down for a while.

"At least I know what any poor sap would be in for if he asked you out…" Nishiki said to Midori's anger.

"Just you wait! When I make something again, I'm going to make you eat all of it!" she snapped.

"WHAT?! I don't want to die yet! Be merciful, Midori!" he yelled.

"Ugh…" uttered a groan behind them. They turned to see Kurumada regaining consciousness on the other bed. "Haha…! The bunny in the sky is telling run! Wahahaha!"

"S-See what you did to him!" Nishiki yelled. "He's talking nonsense!"

"I should go get peanuts for fish!" he laughed. Tsurugi frowned before giving Tenma a worried look.

"How much did he eat?" Tsurugi asked.

"He only dipped his finger in it." Kariya answered. Then the entire team looked to Tenma who ate a spoonful.

"I-I won't…turn into him…!" Tenma mumbled.

"Ah, there you are, octopus!" Kurumada yelled. He then tried to jump to Tenma before Tsurugi quickly intercept and gave him a swift blow in the face, knocking him out again. It caught them off guard but it wasn't surprising.

"Uh, what did you do with the rest of the food?" Sangoku asked worriedly.

"I tossed them into the furnace at the back." Kurama answered.

"That sounds reassuring." Kirino said.

"Hey, what happened?!"

All of a sudden, Shindou burst in to the surprise of everyone. He quickly ran to Tenma to see how he was.

"Did you get injured? Do you have the flu?" Shindou asked. Tenma shook his head weakly.

"No…just…ate something…" Tenma answered.

"So you have food poisoning?" Shindou guessed.

"…maybe?" Tenma replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Then why are you here?! I'm taking you back home now!" Shindou said. Tenma became a little frightened by Shindou's aggressive tone. The rest noticed, but it was Tsurugi who quickly went to defend Tenma, approaching Shindou and asking him to calm down. Shindou shot back to him another glare.

"Just saying. You're scaring him." he replied and Shindou settled down a bit.

Kirino gave him a worried glance.

"So here's where you've all been." Endou suddenly said, coming in. "Hm? I take it the party didn't go well?"

Everyone inside seemed to give a nod except for Shindou.

"What party?" he asked.

"Oh right. We were going to bring you, Shindou until…stuff came up." Amagi replied. "Anyway, it's over. It finished before it even started."

"What happened?" Endou asked.

"The managers made food." Nishiki answered. "And we had to burn it all so no one would ever eat like these two."

It was only then Shindou noticed the unconscious Kurumada on the floor, laughing silently to himself like a madman.

"How many times do we have to say we're sorry?" Midori asked.

"Oh…I can relate to that." Endou whispered grimly. "Well, it was lucky then I decided to bring some food."

The entire group suddenly turned to him. "I thought the amount would be too few so I brought some food and a cake from home. I left them all in the clubroom. Come on, some of you guys help me carry the food here."

A few of the team members went to help bring up the food. After a few minutes, they returned with a large, heavily decorated chocolate cake, a pot of fish head curry with trays of onigiri, fried rice, and naan.

"From the looks of it though, I doubt this is still enough for all of you." Endou said. "I'm going to head to the kitchen. I'll see if they'll let me whip some more up for you guys."

"We can eat all of this?" Hikaru said, absolutely amazed. Nishiki took a bite of the fried rice and beamed. "This is amazing! Did your wife make this?"

"I made them." Endou replied to their bigger surprise.

"You made these?" Hikaru said. "That's amazing! Where'd you learn to cook?"

"I thought myself. You don't really have a choice when…" he quietly mumbled with a far off look. "Um, never mind. You guys go and eat."

He left in a hurry, confusing everyone in the room but Tenma. He chuckled dryly to himself.

"Well, no sense in letting this stuff go to waste!" Sangoku said.

"Yeah! Why can't you cook like Coach Endou? And he's a soccer freak too!" Nishiki said to Midori who replied with a smack to his head.

"Should I get you some cake?" Tsurugi offered to Tenma. He nodded quietly.

"And onigiri…" he said.

In a few minutes, the clinic turned to a quiet party of the Raimon Eleven with the members talking and eating. Endou eventually returned with more food. Hamburgers, fish cake, and drinks. Everyone enjoyed themselves but Kurumada, the poor defender remaining unconscious on the floor the entire time as he muttered about riding on horse in space.

When they finished, Endou collected the food and went downstairs to clean the trays with managers. Sangoku and Shindou left early to bring Kirino home since he was still incapacitated while Nishiki and Kurama offered to drag Kurumada home. Tsurugi remained to look after Tenma with Shinsuke as the other members left as they awaited for Endou and the managers to finish.

"Oh, Shinsuke…thanks…for the party." Tenma said.

"But it didn't turn out right." Shinsuke said. "And you got sick."

"It's fine…" Tenma said. "I had fun."

Shinsuke laughed while Tsurugi rolled his eyes.

"Okay, we're done." Endou said, returning. "Come on. I'll drop you home, Tenma."

Tenma nodded. Endou returned over, picking Tenma up on his back. As the adult, someone had to drive each child back to their respective homes.


Epilogue

"Geez, you're late, Mamoru!" Natsumi said and Endou chuckled apologetically as he closed the door behind him.

"Sorry, Natsumi." he said to his wife. "I had to drive each of the kids back home."

"It's fine, but please, call me next so I'd know!" she said. "Anyway, have you eaten yet?"

"Um, not so much." Endou gulped. Natsumi then smiled proudly at him.

"Luckily for you, I saw this coming, so prepared for you a late dinner!"

"Oh…you did?" Endou squeaked. "I…thanks, Natsumi. I'll…eat every bite."

"Good! You'll absolutely love the winter melon steak I made for you!" Natsumi said. All Endou could do was laugh quietly to himself.

The things he did for love...