A/N: Here's the new update of the new year...yeah! Sorry about the delay...I'm getting to the part in my story were it's going to get a bit complicated so its taking a bit to write. I already have the next chapter in the works, at least, a basic summary, so it shouldn't take too long to update...but just in case expect a chapter at least every two weeks or once a month. For now, anyway.

Still, hope you enjoy! And see you next update.

32 / Cooking with Genji Kurosawa and Friends

Television, Yugiri still cannot understand it. The name sounds so foreign, so modern, so...strange. Photography, she was somewhat familiar with. Back then, she had heard stories of men carrying their big boxes all over the place to take pictures from all over, one of her clients had even showed her the black and white photograph of a beautiful Mt. Fuji that seemed to have not changed with time. But, like the world, photography has modernized and now, there were moving pictures in this new time.

How exciting.

But alas, when it came to Franchouchou, something would go wrong. was no different.

They had arrived a few minutes late to the location due to traffic; the owner of Drive-In Tori had greeted them with a smile, saying how glad he was to see them again. Then, that familiar director and his assistant came marching about, nodding their way and getting them to work.

Genji and Renoir stood on the side, watching as the director explained how the commercial was going to go. It was a simple commercial for the upcoming holidays and celebrations. Then, they dressed up for the commercial, Junko mildly glad that they were not wearing chicken suits again, and began to work.

Yugiri wonders if the problems started with the fire, although maybe the rest of the girls would disagree. Perhaps trouble began the moment Kokko-kun apparaed, messing up the shot by showing up earlier than he was supposed to. Poor Sakura had been so tired by the end of it all.

Tae had chased Kokko-kun all over the place, once, maybe twice. Sakura and Saki were the only ones who could actually keep up with Tae when she got like that, but that didn't mean the rest of them didn't try to help chasing her all over the place. Many reshots were needed during the course of the afternoon because Tae just wouldn't stop chasing the man in the chicken costume.

It wasn't until their ten minute break that Sakura's brother had come to them with a solution. He had thrown a small piece of dried squid Tae's way, and while she eagerly devoured it, asked his sister why she didn't just "try bribing Tae with some food to behave?" Sakura had just stared at her brother and then let out a loud sigh, placing a hand over her face as if defeated. No one had actually thought about that and now, when Yugiri thought about it, it was rather silly they didn't even try it the first time when they made their first commercial.

Genji had sincerely made an effort not to laugh at his sister's defeated look before going to the nearest store and try to find a bag of dried squid to make Tae behave.

Unfortunately, before he could return, the girls had to go back to filming and everything seemed to be going well. Apparently, Sakura had managed to convince Tae to behave and follow directions with the promise that Genji would be bringing her something to eat.

And then, the fire started.

On the bright side, no one was hurt. It had been a rather small fire, started by a faulty light that no one had checked prior to the filming. Unfortunately, this had the effect of calling Kokko-kun out of his hiding place and without the promised squid in hand, the chase began again.

From the sidelines, Renoir just stared in disbelief stealing glances at Kotaro who just went along with it, cheering the girls on as if that made any sense whatsoever.

Another break later, Genji returned, giving the bag of dried squid to Sakura, who told Tae she would get the whole bag if she behaved; it worked. Tae behaved until the very end.

Once it was time to go, Tae had grabbed unto Sakura's arm, pulling it gently as she stared at the bag of dried squid on Genji's hands. Sakura nodded and passed the bag to the older woman, who happily munched on her prize as they got in the van, sharing a bit of her squid with the rest of the girls as they went back home.

"Well...today was certainly exciting," Renoir commented as he and Genji watched the girls walk back to their room, talking amongst themselves about the recent events. Their manager had disappeared into another room but no one was going to miss him. "...I can't believe Miss Yamada actually chased that guy…"

Genji shrugged. "He was a giant chicken…"

"Not a real one, though…" Renoir said, shaking his head. "I'm surprised no one thought that was weird...or something...that's not really normal behavior."

"Heh…they're TV people...they've probably worked with weirder people before, so them seeing Tae chasing that chicken man around probably wasn't that much of a big deal. Probably thought it was some idol quirk or something like that…" Genji smiled. "Although," he turned to face Renoir. "I'm actually surprised you've got used to this so quickly."

Renoir opened his mouth, then closed it, thinking a bit. "Well...I was a little overwhelmed the first day...maybe the second, too...and today, well…" He shrugged. "I guess...I mean...those girls...they...they're not that different...I mean, it's kinda like hanging out with friends, except most of those friends are kinda dead…"

Genji thought about what Renoir said and nods. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"How about you?" Renoir asks, curious. "How long did it take you to get...used to this?"

"A day…"

"Huh…"

"It's not easy...but you get used to it, I guess," Genji says, shrugging his shoulders. "It was easier when it was just...nah, never mind." Renoir raises an eyebrow but doesn't push it. Genji's glad for that.

They stand in silence for a bit before a door opening and closing catches their attention. Looking up, they see Sakura and Yugiri making their way towards them, still in their makeup. Genji blinks at them as they approach.

"Hey, I thought you were taking a break."

"We were...I'm just going to get started on dinner." Yugiri nods, smiling kindly.

"Yes...before Lord Kotaro dropped the...ah, commercial on us, so to speak, Lady Sakura already had the ingredients prepared for today."

"Why don't you just order a pizza or something instead?" Genji asks, head tilting to the side. Renoir nods.

"Yeah, I mean...you guys literally ran a marathon twice over today," he says. Sakura and Yugiri share a laugh.

"I guess so! Still...the girls were looking forward to some curry so, I don't really mind cooking."

"Curry, huh."

Genji can still remember the days when their family was still together, before the old man hid in his office day in and day out. He can barely recall that time when his older sister had tried her hand at making curry.

She had burned the rice. The vegetables had not been truly cooked. The sauce had been too watery. The pork had been a little dry. His sister had been so embarrassed. Mom had loved it, though. Genji could vaguely remember the taste. It had been crunchy, almost sweet despite the spices and had remembered liking it too. And as for the old man, well...Sakura had left him a plate with the leftovers in the microwave.

(...Mom had been forced to throw it away the next day...it had been too long)

Sakura had gotten better with time. Less burnt rice, better cooked vegetables, perfect sauce, juicy meat.

And no one to share it with.

(Mom and Genji were gone and the old man was never home…)

Genji seems to think about something for a bit before nodding and asking, "Hey, why don't you let us do the cooking today?"

"Huh?" Sakura stares at her younger brother mildly confused.

"I mean, we didn't do anything today," Genji responds. "You girls ran around all over that damn field trying to control that girl...you take your break and we'll cook."

"Well...umm…" Sakura seemed a bit unsure.

(when had been the last time she had seen Genji cook anything?)

"NOPE!"

Suddenly, as if appearing from thin air, Kotaro Tatsumi made his appearance, the few bandages decorating his face the only reminder of Genji's revenge a day prior. Sakura and Renoir jumped, with the young man asking, "Where did you even come from!?" Yugiri stood in place, blinking at their manager with curiosity.

Genji frowned. "Nope, what?"

"Nope!" Kotaro repeated as if nothing had happened. "I can't just allow a bunch of nobodies into the kitchen! How knows the germs that could spread with you...people around!"

Sakura gave him a look of disbelief as Yugiri shook her head. Renoir just watched him, blinking. Genji stared at him a bit, and then, an idea passed through his head. He turned towards Sakura with a shrug, as if defeated.

"Well...I guess he's cooking, then…"

"Huh?" Kotaro was staring at him now, his commanding tone all but gone from his voice.

"I mean, you don't want us in the kitchen, right? And the girls did all that work...we were just offering to get them their meal ready...but I guess you'll have to do, right?"

"Huh!?"

"Cook, I mean…or what? Were you expecting your idols to work and cook dinner after a long day?" Genji stared at him, giving him an accusing look. Kotaro didn't move.

"...Genji," Sakura sighed.

"No, I mean...it's only fair, right?" Genji said, suddenly all smiles. "Seeing as he brought you back from the dead and all. Cooking is the least he can do. Unless, he can't...be bothered, that is." Yugiri has a small smile on her face, already realizing Genji's game and wondering if Kotaro is going to fall for it.

"Hmph!" Kotaro remarks, suddenly heated. "I see what you're trying to pull, you little punk!" He got close to Genji's face. "You're insinuating that you can cook better than me! Are you!?"

Genji didn't move. "...yeah."

Kotaro puffed his cheeks. "Hah! As if! You think you can cook better than I, Tatsumi Kotaro!?"

"That's what I'm saying…"

"Genji! What are you doing?" Sakura whispered to the side, finally catching on to his little game. Her brother shrugged.

"Nothing..."

"Alright then, you little...little jerk man!" the older man turned towards the two zombies and nodded. "You ladies go back to you room! I will take care of dinner!"

"...if he can," Genji said under his breath, but loud enough for Kotaro to hear.

"Hmph! You think you can do better, eh!? We'll see about that!" He turned to Sakura and Yugiri, who were still standing there, with the pink haired zombie glaring at her brother. "What are you zombies still doing here!? Shoo! Shoo!"

"But…" Sakura was cut off by Yugiri grabbing her by the shoulders and leading her away.

"It is preferable we leave, Lady Sakura...let them settle their differences," she smiled as she said this, gently guiding Sakura back to their room.

/…..

"How did I get roped into this nonsense again?" Renoir asked to no one in particular, as he watched two grown men, grab some pots and pans and separate a few ingredients here and there, ready to make a proper, five-star meal.

"Because I paid you to," Genji answers, focused on cutting some vegetables while Kotaro was busy cooking some meat.

"Huh, so that's why…" Renoir commented, shaking his head. "What are you even making, anyway?"

"Some ramen," Genji replied, still cutting vegetables.

Besides him, Kotaro harrumphed and mockingly said, "Ramen...how simple!"

Genji said nothing as he continued to cut his vegetables; he had a large amount already but this was to feed a whole lot of zombies and a trio of humans, he needed a bit more.

"And...what are you making...uh, sir?" Renoir asked, staring at Kotaro. Kotaro grinned his way, adjusting his sunglasses.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No…"

"Hmph! I'm making a proper meal! Meat, rice, soup all that jazz!"

Genji rolled his eyes beside him. "Oh, how original...anything more common and you'll dry out."

Kotaro's sunglasses flashed. "At least it isn't something so common as ramen! Now pass me the salt!"

Renoir watched as Genji took his sweet time to pass the salt but as he was passing the container, he noticed how Genji spun the cap a bit. The younger man blinked unsure of what he had just happened but he realized almost immediately what Genji had done after Kotaro briskly took the salt from Genji's hand and proceeded to spill it all over his cooking meat.

"ACK!"

"Yep. Doesn't look too good to me from over here," Genji commented, keeping a straight face.

"Whatever! Whatever! You think I can't fix this mess!?"

"Oh no…Ooh...no..." Renoir whispered, suddenly realizing what was going on, as Genji passed the pepper and the same thing happened again. "I...I should have called in sick today…"

/…..

Back in their room, away from the cooking, Ai and Junko kept to themselves, watching one Nikko sing another song on Sakura's old laptop.

The had found Nikko a few days back.

Ai had been browsing on the internet to find something to watch and had met Nikko after accidentally clicking on her video. They had been thoroughly impressed by the girl's ability and even the other girls commented on Nikko's skills. Nowadays, Ai and Junko would sit on the sofa, Sakura's laptop in hand, listening to all of the Nikko's covers. The girl had posted over a hundred covers in a single year. It was a surprise she was barely making it big but Ai had explained it was normal. Even if the internet broke the boundaries normal performances had. Nikko wasn't going out. Wasn't having concerts, photo-ops, the works. Talent took time to make it big. Both idols knew that.

So, for now, they just watched as Nikko sang another cover, wondering if they'll get a chance to hear their old music being sung again.

(although, secretly, both idols hoped that wouldn't happen...someone was bound to notice...them…)

As Ai moved to click on the next video on the list, she heard a loud sigh from the other side of the screen. Both girls looked up.

They spotted Lily lying on the floor, humming to herself as she read a book of fables she had found a few days ago. Tae napped by her side, her empty plastic bag of dried squid still in her hands. Nearby, Saki laid on her side, giving the worried Sakura a few amused looks, as the pink haired zombie glance at the door once or twice, as if expecting it to burst open. Yugiri sat next to the girls, preparing her kiseru.

"You gotta take it easy, Egghead," Saki began, stretching a bit. "What's the worse those two can do?"

"I believe you already saw what my brother can do," Sakura remarked, shaking her head. Ai tried not to chuckle at that.

Oh, they had clearly seen how capable Genji was on giving Kotaro his just desserts. Ai guesses Kotaro will be removing those bandages in a few days, tops.

"You worry too much," Saki told her, sounding a bit bored. "What's the worst that could happen? The lovebirds over there already tried their hand in burning down the house...so, I doubt he'll top that." Ai glared at Saki from her place in the couch while Junko shyly tried to hide behind the laptop's screen.

"At least that was an accident," Lily commented, not moving her eyes away from her book. "Not like you burning fish." Saki glared at the little girl.

"Still on with that, you little shrimp?"

"I doubt it will get to that," Sakura said, glancing at the door again. "If Kotaro annoys him…" Sakura sighed. "He obviously did this on purpose…"

"To annoy you or Shades?"

"I…"

And then, there was a knock on the door and the familiar voice of Renoir asked, "Umm...can someone help?"

Shinta Okoba didn't know whether to be impressed or worried.

Kirishima had his number; she had called just minutes after he had clocked out of work.

"Okoba, was it?" Reiko sounded almost tired, as if she was just coming to terms with something, or someone.

"A-ah...yes...um...is this Kirishima speaking?"

Silence.

"It's Amabuki, now," the voice responded with a bit of mirth. "I don't like folks calling me Kirishima unless it's trouble."

"I...I see…"

Maybe that explained her aggression that first meeting. Made sense. Dr. Mizuno had even called him an idiot for that one.

"A friend of mine had your number...so I decided to call…"

"A...uh...friend?"

"She's better at looking through the yellow pages than I am," the woman explained. "I wanted...to talk about Saki...and those other dead girls...if it were possible." A pause. "What's your take on this?"

"It's a little hard to explain over the phone…"

"Run it by me...I want to know if it's worth getting involved with you."

"Well...it's obvious...that does girls...are dead…" Okoba sighed. "My take is that...someone brought them back to life somehow...I guess the crazy theory is that they are zombies...that's what you are getting into."

There's silence on the other end again, as if Reiko was debating with herself of the validity of his claims. Okoba was already waiting for the angry response, the disbelief, theー

"I...see...that doctor's not the only one involved, right?"

The reporter blinks, not expecting that response, but he answers anyway. "No...there's...there's another parent involved here. If you like...how about I set up a meeting and we'll figure it out from there?"

It's quiet for a bit before Reiko sighs, and says, "Okay...where would you like to meet?"

An hour later, and Kotaro was still silently seething.

He had been played like a fool by Sakura's younger brother. If he hadn't been so focused on trying to one-up him he would have noticed him the younger man was sabotaging his cooking. Renoir might have noticed, too, but Kotaro couldn't even blame the young man for not wanting to get involved.

(considering he's the one that told on them before it could come to blows again, perhaps his presence had been a blessing)

Sakura had been absolutely furious when she noticed the mess; salty meat, black water made out of pepper and broth, uneven vegetables, spilled soy sauce, the works. She had arrived just in time before a real fight could break out. Not like Genji wasn't trying.

Genji and Renoir decided to leave for the day, the former looking really proud of himself for something as his sister berated him.

The girls helped Sakura with the cleaning, all of them staying in the kitchen as Sakura cooked a proper meal and Kotaro walked back to his office in defeat.

An hour or so later, there was a knock on his door, and before he could answer, Sakura had appeared. Her face was stern as she carried a plate of homemade curry for him.

He can already smell the sweetness and spice, it's like a dream, probably tastes like it, too. Maybe he's just dreaming.

(...he's Inui again, it's lunch...Sakura already passing the tupperware with leftover curry to share with Inui and Shiro...she had made a little too much, she said...she said…)

"I'm sorry that I let Genji annoy you like that," Sakura said, placing the plate on his desk. Kotaro snaps back to reality.

"He's just a punk," Kotaro tells her, trying to brush the days events off like nothing. Sakura glares at him.

"Your attitude doesn't help either, you know."

"My attitude!?" Kotaro begins, insulted, only to be cut off by Sakura's glare.

"You're acting like a punk, too!" she says, a little loud. "Besides, you already know why he's treating you so poorly." Kotaro says nothing at that last part as Sakura just stares at him before she sighs. "I hope you enjoy the meal…" And then, she's gone, as if she was never had been there at all.