56. Kaede Kayano: Flavor (80/24)
September 15, the day before the pudding assassination
We've backed off from the encased pudding for a while. An engineering unit from the JGSDF is connecting the pipes to the cooling units. They're industrial-scale refrigeration machines, meant for quickly setting up large food stores in disaster areas, with built-in generators. A lot of the others are resting, but I'm too excited to not stand and watch the whole process. There's still more to do, adding the outer layer and the topping. But that'll have to wait for tomorrow morning before Koro-sensei arrives. He'll be so surprised!
This is a dream come true. I planned this all out to the finest detail, to make a bigger pudding than anyone in history. I even designed the special mold with the cooling pipes myself. It takes a lot of work to organize all the different steps in the recipe. Each layer has a different consistency, which is possible because they're viscous enough that there won't be a great deal of fluid motion between them. We made and remade the mixes several times yesterday, and tested them to make sure they were strong enough to support what was going on top of them. Not to mention, we had to ensure the different layers don't evaporate too much moisture or start to coagulate before they're put in the mold. Then we had to pour them in carefully so that the levels would remain separated like we want. Regular cooking doesn't even begin to compare in terms of complexity. That pesky square-cube law. I wish we could have news crews or world record guys come see this. It'll be gone all too soon.
"It looks like it's turned out well." Kataoka-san says behind me, pulling my attention away. "This is the last step for today, right? Should we let everyone go?"
I blink at her in surprise. This is my plan, but it feels a little strange to have her actually following my lead. She doesn't draw attention to my reaction, and I'm grateful for that. Actually, she and Isogai-kun have been working hard under me all day. They really have been wonderful about letting me take charge. They didn't act like they had to hand over command, or that I needed their help in directing everyone. They trusted me as much as we all trust them.
"...Ah, yes. Thank you, everyone, for all your hard work." I collect myself and say.
After a chorus of responses, everyone gets up to go home. I turn back to just look at my pudding again, as it cools in its casing. The engineers are still milling around a bit, checking on levels. Isogai-kun comes over to us, and stands on Kataoka-san's other side.
"Today went off without a hitch." He says. "You've helped us out a lot this year with supplies and materials, but this is really something else."
I blush a bit. Everyone wants to be praised by our class's top ikemen. Everyone. "No, it wasn't all that much. Just a labor of love, you know?"
"It was very well put together." Kataoka-san jumps in. "You have a real talent for keeping track of all those technical details. You'd make a great engineer, you know. There aren't enough women in that field."
I beam, and bask in her compliments. I hadn't really thought about doing something like that, but it sounds like fun. She's so good at knowing what to say. All the girls are like close friends to her. She makes you want to do your best for her... Which is why I felt really bad for messing up in the basketball match we had against the main school, after she picked me for the team.
Isogai-kun shifts towards me. "By the way, what was the explosive you and Takebayashi-kun decided on?"
"C4." I answer, easily remembering off the top of my head. "It definitely had to be a plastic explosive, to be stable enough for having the weight of the pudding poured on top of it. Resistance to heat is also important."
I see. Isogai-kun has been letting me do this on my own, but he's always kept his eye out for anything going wrong. He's watchful, but he knows when to keep his hands off too. Not only that, he's both brilliant and hard-working. Listening to him, you can tell that he knows what he's talking about.
The two of them are different, but it's kind of hard to describe. They're both very smart, and very strong. Everyone trusts them completely, but in different ways. It's kind of like Kataoka-san is a breeze holding us aloft, and Isogai-kun is a safety net protecting us. With her, we've had a lot of fun, even when we lost. But when he leads us, in freerunning practice, or when we're playing sports, it always seems like we'll win. Or he will. He's stupidly good at assassination badminton.
Now that things are wrapping up, I don't feel like much next to them. I'm good at keeping the nuts and bolts in working order behind the scenes, and I can be really freaking charming when I need to. I don't need big breasts for that! But I don't have the kind of gravity they do. They say I help them, but I want to do more. I want to live up to their standard, and be as trusted and as popular as they are, so when I have something to do, I try very hard. But it's tough. It's like there's not enough room for me to claim for my own. They take care of everything.
"Their eyes... Did you notice?" Kataoka-san and I turn our heads when Isogai-kun speaks out of the blue. I'm not sure what he's talking about. He's staring at the military workers, frowning tensely. "This is just a job to them. Just orders. They resent being out here, working for us. I've been seeing it for a while. They don't see us as being on the same team. There's a gulf between us and the government, and it's getting wider. I don't know how far it's going to go."
I look, and I don't know how I didn't see it before. I must have been too into making the pudding. Their faces are focused, but blank. Like this isn't something they personally need to put effort into. I feel bad that they're not as passionate about this as I am. As we are. But that's not the issue. There's something a lot more serious to think about, if what Isogai-kun is saying is true.
"That may be..." Kataoka-san says slowly. "But we don't need them to like us. Karasuma-sensei will make sure they follow orders. Beyond that, it doesn't matter. We have each other for support."
I'm a little surprised by both of them. Isogai-kun doesn't often show us that he's worried. Kataoka-san usually takes a more cooperative tone than that. This is a side to them that I haven't seen much of before. I wonder if that means they trust me a bit too?
Isogai-kun signs and turns to leave. Kataoka-san starts to follow, but pauses. "Kayano-san. When you speak to them, show them what we're made of. Let them know that even the smallest of us isn't to be taken lightly."
I nod firmly. "I will."
I stand alone when the lieutenant breaks away from his group and walks over to me. A tall, bulky man, with short, dark hair under a helmet. He's looking down at me, chin raised. His face looks both tired and annoyed. "We're all done here. Is that all?"
I don't step back, or cross my arms, or do anything defensive. This down-looking old man won't intimidate me. He's got nothing on Koro-sensei when he's really angry. I'll show him my determination and seriousness. "Is everything set up exactly as planned? No loose pipes, and all fuel tanks full? We only get one shot at this. It has to be perfect." I learned to talk like this from listening to Karasuma-sensei. I like it.
He stands a little straighter. It looks a bit like I just punched him under his exposed chin. "Yes... We triple-checked everything. Karasuma-san would have our heads if we screwed up."
I nod, as if he isn't forty centimeters taller than me and two and a half times my weight. "Then that's all we need. We can handle the removal ourselves. Thank you for your help." I give him a small bow. I want to come off as in control, not rude.
"No, it's fine." He actually bows back. Wow.
I turn and leave him. I have to put away my apron and oh wow I can't believe I stood up to that guy. Heheh. I think I'm all flushed. That felt good, to get a bit of respect from an adult, and not just be humored. A girl could get used to that. I'm going to keep trying. Even if it takes me the rest of my school career, I want to be that person, just like them, who can be trusted and relied upon by everyone, and especially... him.
Kayano's pudding assassination is one of the few instances where we can pinpoint an exact date for it. It takes place after a long weekend, and since it's September, that means it can only be the weekend of September 15, for Respect for the Aged Day. That means they actually (fail to) complete the plan on the 16th. Also, even though the freerunning manga chapters are after the pudding chapter, I have them practicing it beforehand. Basically, the scenes happen out of order. It has to be this way, or else there's not enough time for everything else that needs to happen in September. Freerunning isn't something you can pick up in just a few days.
For a long time, I didn't know what to write about her. I didn't want to write about her lack of breasts, nor did I want to reduce her to simply being a love interest. Because she's so prominent, I was waiting to see if she would reveal some amazing hidden talent, like Nagisa's. In light of that, what we got was a little underwhelming. Don't get me wrong. It was impressive. Scaling up food like that isn't easy. It just wasn't quite on the same level. And I didn't want to just rehash want the manga said about her logistical planning ability. So I eventually came up with this, comparing her leadership to Megu's and Isogai's.
That having been said, I don't think we've seen everything she can do. In the baseball arc, she blames herself for losing the girls' basketball match because she kept getting infuriated by the large-chested enemy players. What's interesting is that she was playing in the game at all. She's the shortest girl in class E. Basketball players are normally very tall. Yet, Megu fielded her anyway. She may still have some hidden ability in her yet.
Beyond that, Kayano seems to be the type who has insecurities and covers them up with a temper. I think she definitely wants to be stronger, and more outgoing. Sure, she's cheerful enough, but I think we can all see that there's a certain someone she wants. She just doesn't have the impetus to claim him, particularly when he keeps showing his growing abilities.
