I got all my sisters with me
02:13 – Totsuki – Second year
The Council building is all but abandoned at this late hour, but it's when Alice Nakiri loves it best. It's not unheard of for the Elite Ten to stay past midnight when shit hits the fan, but it's not one of those days, or weeks, or even months. With no events or promotion exams to take up their time – she's not even sure why she'd wanted to be a part of the council anymore; there's just so much work! – the Elite are out to play.
And oh, does she intend to play hard.
In lieu of drowning in paperwork – Ryo takes care of 85% of hers anyway – they'd spent the day in Ginza, getting their nails done, having massages, eating gourmet burgers and melon soft serve, and shopping their way through the entirety of Chuo Dori. It's close to nine by the time they stumble out their car into the courtyard of the Council building, shopping bags and takeaway in tow, giddy and laughing.
Erina has never been an open book, but, as she watches her cousin giggling, beer bottle in hand with a floppy Hermes beach hat draped over her shiny strawberry-blonde hair, Alice has to admit she's come a long way.
They skitter across the empty hallways, occasionally bumping into one another, their heels and wedges clacking against the cold stone floors. Erina's room is the largest in the building, and though the fire in the hearth has long since slowed to gently-glowing embers, it's warm enough and plenty comfortable.
She kicks off her heels, reaching for the plum-coloured velvet cushions meticulously arranged on the B&B Italia sofa. Erina makes a face when she tosses them onto the floor, but consents to lay down by the fire anyway, snuggling deep into the high-pile Nanimarquina rug and letting out a long, but contented sigh. "I can't believe we spent all day out. I've got so much work to do."
"Do it tomorrow." She digs into one of their bags to retrieve a luxurious silk bathrobe, tugging it on over her spring dress and meandering over to her cousin. "You're such a workaholic, Erina. Sometimes I think, if I didn't make you take it easy, you'd work yourself to death."
To her credit, Erina laughs, flushing pink in the face and shutting her eyes. Whatever's in that brew, Alice has to agree it's pretty damn strong. "Oh, god. I appreciate it, I really do, but I was hoping to finish that first year hell-camp report tonight, and now I'm drunk."
"You're barely inebriated."
"It's not even legal. Why d'you think Sakaki-san keeps calling her experiments 'rice juice'?" Erina rolls over onto her chest, setting down her drink and nuzzling into one of the pillows. "Ow. How're you still standing? You've had like three of these."
She grins. "The legal age of drinking in Denmark is 16."
"You just turned sixteen." Erina peers up at her, squinting in the relative darkness. "And you haven't been in Denmark in ages."
She can't help but to giggle at that. "Ryo worked at a pub. We used to sneak beers after dinner service."
Those had been some good years. Nights spent by the docks, bathed in the light of the stars and moon overhead, laughing, singing, and dancing barefoot in the company of her best friend.
She still hasn't decided how she feels about him, so she changes the subject. "Anyway, let's see what's on TV. I don't want today to end."
"I'm sleepy," Erina groans, but hands her the remote anyway.
The Asian Food Channel is showing reruns of Masterchef Junior, and for the next few minutes, they watch as Gordon Ramsey flits from station to station, helping the little midgets with their cooking. They're kind of cute, she has to admit – in that slightly annoying and overly shrill way she's certain she had never been in her youth. It's just as Chef Ramsey's comforting a crying little girl that she remarks, half joking and half serious: "I think he'd make the best husband and father."
Erina, who by now has retrieved a thick woolen Armani wrap and is fully bundled within, seems to consider this. "He's a little rough around the edges, but he's really good with kids." A pause, as she considers this further. "But I think I would prefer Jacques Pepin."
"Ooh, he's a good one. But I like mine a bit more… rugged." She racks her mind for another example. "Like Vladamir Mukhin, or, like… Alex Atala."
"Dominique Crenn," Erina suggests. To this, she can only agree, the both of them sighing wistfully at the thought. "And I really respect Chef Bottura, too."
"You know who I really, really respect?"
Erina glances over, raising a brow. "Ludo Lefebvre?"
"Him, too, but no. Bourdain."
Erina manages a smile, but there is something strained within her face – one that suggests she knows only too well the treacherous, and oftentimes torturous path of the chef who wanders and who seeks, never content to simply be. "Yeah," She says, her voice soft.
Wordlessly, they clink their bottles together, then drink deeply.
"While we're on the subject of chefs in the wilderness," She sets aside her emptied bottle, then wriggles closer to her cousin, laying her head on her pillow. "How're things with Yukihira?"
"How d'you mean? They're the same as always." Erina shuffles aside a little to make room. The bangles on her wrists glint in the firelight; she tugs them off, stacking them one after the other on the parquet floor beneath the carpet. "He does something stupid, I end up yelling, we rinse and repeat."
Alice lets out a sigh, rolling over onto her side. Her nose bumps lightly into her cousin's shoulder. "Do you think he's just jealous of Asahi-kun?"
Erina lets out a faint groan. "I don't know. Don't ask me this – Yoshino-san's already grilled me about it."
She lets out a soft 'hmmmmmm', snuggling closer and shutting her eyes. As cold-hearted as Erina can be, she has to admit her cousin makes a damn fine living, breathing heater. "Do you like Asahi-kun?"
"I don't know."
"I think you do," She stifles a yawn. It had been a long day. "I think you just don't want to admit it, because to admit it would be to admit that you've got your eyes and heart set on someone else."
Erina shifts a little against her side, her voice breaking as she sputters her response: "W-what?"
"Don't worry," She pats her cousin's head lazily without opening her eyes. "I won't tell Yukihira."
"There's nothing to tell!"
"Mmhmm." She lets that sit between them for a moment. "For what it's worth, Erina – Neither of them deserve you right now."
In the darkness, Erina takes her arm. Her smile deepens, and the last thing she hears is a soft, barely perceptible, and yet affectionate 'Thank you, Alice', before the world slips away, lulling her into blissful slumber – the happy end to a day well-spent.
A/N - Thanks for the reviews, guys! I really appreciate them!
