Erwin couldn't recall any time she had been to Yukari's home before. Oh she had passed it on several occasions, but before starting tankery and becoming friends with Yukari, she had never really paid any attention to it. Now she was about to go inside it.

The Akiyama Family barber shop was a very nondescript building. Two stories, an exterior that was painted the same as the surrounding houses, it could easily be mistaken for an ordinary house were it not for the awning and the barber pole she wasn't sure had been there before. Maybe she just never noticed.

Now that she thought about it, was it really a good idea to have a barber shop on a school ship for an all-girls school? Were there enough men in the ship's modest population to support the business?

"The shop is always cleaned right after we close." Yukari suddenly said as she opened the front door. "So you don't have to worry about stepping on any hair."

'Is that something most people worry about when they come here?' Erwin wondered, finding Yukari's statement a little strange. "I'm wearing boots, I'm not worried.

"A-ah yeah, of course, that's right." Yukari stammered. "Um please come in. You can leave your boots on in the shop and uh, there's a porch leading into the kitchen." Erwin just kept smiling. Yukari would probably only get more anxious if she made any further comments or remarks.

"The kitchen is on the bottom floor with the shop and storeroom" Yukari explained. "Upstairs are the bathroom and bedrooms."

She led her to the back of the shop and through a curtain leading to the porch she had mentioned. She took off her shoes and then stepping up into the kitchen.

Erwin propped her hand against the wall to support herself as she unfastened her boots, the smell of home cooking filling her nostrils. She thought she detected chicken in that scent but it was hard to tell. The sounds of sizzling and chopping made it sound like dinner was well underway already.

Just as she put her boots down, she heard a voice from inside the kitchen. "Ah, Yukari. Did you manage to invite anyone?" Erwin couldn't help but grin. This would be perfect timing. She stepped out from the porch into the light of the kitchen, smiling confidently at the woman speaking to Yukari.

"Sorry for intruding."

The woman dressed in a simple pink apron over a white blouse and light brown pants could only have been Yukari's mother. Erwin wasn't sure how to describe the feeling she got from her except that her aura oozed motherhood. That kind gentle face, that smile like sunflowers, those warm loving eyes; Erwin found it reassuring on a level beyond even the subconscious, primal perhaps.

She bowed. "I'm Erwin. Guderian was nice enough to invite me to dinner. Thank you for having me."

Yukari's mother seemed to take no notice of Yukari's soul name, or if she did she took it in stride. Perhaps with a daughter like Yukari it was a skill she was forced to pick up. She simply bowed in return and welcomed her.

"We're happy to have you." She said. Then, as if on cue, a man appeared from the stairwell leading up to the second floor. He had to be Yukari's father. He gawked upon seeing her and then dropped to his knees, his face almost touching the floor.

'Is he kowtowing to me?' Erwin asked herself. 'Or is he one of those guys wanting me to step on him?'

"Ah, th-thank you very much for coming and for taking care of my daughter." Erwin had to take a step back from him, unable to help but feel awkward.

"Ah, no it's fine. Guderian doesn't need a lot of effort on the part of other people to be considered a friend." 'Ugh, that doesn't sound like me.' She thought. 'I sound like some anxious junior officer dealing with her CO for the first time.'

"Dad, get off the floor and help me with dinner." Yukari's mother scolded. The man flinched before he scrambled to his feet and nearly bumped into Erwin as he hurried to his wife's side to help cut the vegetables.

Yukari cleared her throat and gestured for Erwin to follow her upstairs. "The washroom is upstairs." Erwin followed her lead up the steep steps to the second floor, averting her eyes just enough that she didn't look up Yukari's skirt. Even though they were both girls it was still an expected courtesy, although she had heard things about the Naval Studies girls.

'I wonder if it's anything like the initiation rituals in some former elite units.' She recalled the terrible tales of the Canadian Airborne Regiment that led to its disbanding. 'Although there was the possibility that the mefloquine was to blame'.

"Sorry about Dad." Yukari's voice snapped Erwin out of her thoughts. "He gets nervous when I bring people over. I guess he's not used to me having friends."

Erwin grimaced at Yukari's comment and thought back to her father's reaction, the way he hurriedly went into a stance of humility and overzealous amiability. She smiled and couldn't help but think of the way Yukari herself tended to act in an overly modest and respectful manner, even with her friends and especially around those she admired. The thought made Erwin grin. 'I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.'

"Don't worry about it. You're not the only girl with a dad you know." 'Although I don't think my father would do something like that.'

Yukari didn't respond as she began washing her hands, perhaps mulling over what she said, but she was taking a bit too long about it and an awkward silence descended between them. Erwin wondered if she should perhaps try some small talk to help Yukari relax a little, but she had to try and avoid any sensitive or awkward topics.

"So Guderian, did you know about the big mil-surplus market event in town that happened today? I was surprised not to run into you there." There was a pause as Yukari shut off the tap and dried her hands.

"Well I did know about it, and I would have gone but... " Her cheeks flushed a light crimson. "I have already spent all my allowance at the event in Yokosuka." She looked a bit ashamed to admit that, but Erwin only smiled.

"Yeah I get that. I actually spent pretty much all my money today too. Heh, I hope I have enough to get by till my next allowance." She rubbed the back of her head and then took Yukari's place at the sink to wash up.

"Well hopefully this dinner will help with that." Yukari said. "Mother was expecting more than just you so don't hold back and eat as much as you want." Erwin laughed.

"Bold thing to say since you've never seen me chow down."

"I doubt you eat more than Miss Isuzu." Yukari smirked. "I've seen her eat herself full, and the amount Mom made would be beyond even her so I don't think I need to be worried."

Erwin flicked her hands of water and wiped her hands on the towel. "Well I suppose I can't match Hana, but I bet Caesar could." Yukari raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Really? I don't think I've ever seen Miss Caesar eat more than anyone else normally."

"Well, she's a bottomless pit when she pigs out. I'd pit her against Hana any day." Erwin chuckled. "But don't you dare tell her I told you that." Yukari smiled and brought her index finger up to her lips.

"Deal. Now let us go down and see how much of a dent we can put in mother's dinner." Erwin nodded.

"Indeed. I would be all too happy to pillage your table. It will be as if the Mongols were attacking the city of your dinner table!"

"Or Hannibal ravaging the Italian countryside during the Second Punic War!" Yukari added.

"Let the slaughter begin!" Erwin cheered.

"Yeah!"

The two girls hurried down the stairs to begin the pillaging. Had they looked through the window before leaving, they would have noticed the distant flashes of light in the sky, illuminating the fast approaching clouds.

Yukari thought that dinner had started well. The only hiccup had been Erwin forgetting to hang up her cap and jacket, something she didn't often do, but that had only been a minor infraction and her parents had taken it in stride, understanding perfectly.

The meal had certainly been something and Yukari was expecting to be eating it over the next few days as leftovers. She had indulged a lot more than usual, eating more than one plateful of the large meal her mother had tirelessly prepared, even so, she had barely put a dent in the large spread on her own. When she had finally stopped she felt a bit guilty seeing how little of the meal had been touched and regretted not being able to invite more people.

Meanwhile, Erwin had been doing her best to try and eat as much of the bountiful meal as she could manage, perhaps feeling a bit pressured as the only guest to eat more, managing to put away three full plates with relative ease. She looked like she was just finishing up when Yukari saw her father hand her a bowl of chicken.

"Please have some more Chicken. There's plenty left." Yukari winced and stared at Erwin and her father with a painful grimace. Could he not see that she was already full?

"Ah, certainly, I'd be happy to." Erwin graciously accepted the bowl and began eating out of it.

Yukari felt a stab of guilt as she watched Erwin slowly put piece after piece of chicken from the bowl into her mouth. Now she no doubt felt pressured to finish everything in the bowl because it had been given to her. How long would this continue? Would Erwin keep eating until either the meal was all gone or she exploded?

'I can't just leave her on the battlefield unsupported!' Yukari thought to herself. She grabbed the nearest bowl and started to eat out of it, refusing to let her comrade fight alone.

For a brief moment, their eyes met and a feeling of almost supernatural camaraderie and understanding passed between them, both completely understanding what the other was doing. It reinvigorated both of them despite the building pressure in their guts and they continued with renewed vigor. After those bowls, they cleaned up the remaining items on the table that had the least food on it, just for good measure.

Yukari groaned and slouched in her chair, rubbing her stomach gingerly to ease its aching. She felt so full and more bloated than she could ever remember feeling. She wasn't sure but it felt like her stomach was even slightly distended, but she reassured herself that it was just her imagination.

Yukari had hoped that after finishing that they would get a reprieve, but no sooner had Erwin put her chopsticks down that Yukari's father again offered her more, this time a plate full of deep fried prawns.

Yukari watched Erwin's face fall just for the tiniest of moments before she forced a smile and accepted the plate. "Thank you very much. I'll eat them heartily."

Yukari could hear the hint of strain in Erwin's voice and knew that it wasn't only due to the forced smile she was wearing. If her stomach ached anything as much as her own, she was probably in a fair bit of discomfort.

Yukari was starting to get worried that this cycle wouldn't end until either there was no food left or Erwin exploded. Regardless, until she thought of a way out of this she couldn't leave her behind. Yukari grabbed the nearest plate of gyoza and began eating them one by one.

"Please don't push yourself." Yukari's mother told Erwin gently. "You don't want to get sick." Yukari silently thanked her mother for finally getting involved and giving Erwin a way out, though she wished she'd have done it sooner.

"Oh well, it's all just so good and you made so much I'd feel guilty not eating as much as I could." Erwin replied. "But I suppose you're right. I'll stop after I finish this." Yukari felt relieved, especially since she wasn't sure that she herself wouldn't explode if she had to eat more after finishing the gyoza, and then her father tried to interfere again.

"Oh, there's no need to hold back." He said. "You're our guest; eat as much as you want."

'No Dad, no!' Yukari sobbed inwardly, wishing he would stop being so overly hospitable.

"No, she shouldn't push herself." Her mother reiterated. "Don't worry about the rest, we can have it as leftovers."

Both Erwin and Yukari shared a collective sigh of relief and quickly polished off the last of their plates. When all was said and done, the two of them had managed to eat half the meal on their own, not bad considering it was a meal meant for at least eight.

Yukari grunted as her stomach ached, even small movements amplified the pain in her gut. Erwin looked to be handling herself a bit better at first but the effort it took her to finish the meal showed. Her face was flushed a soft red and her skin had the slight glisten of light perspiration as her body worked overtime to digest the abnormally large meal.

Yukari felt a new kind of respect for her. Erwin had eaten a fair bit more than she had and didn't seem much worse off. Even if it was only an act, the fact that she was able to put up a front at all was impressive.

"Thank you for dinner." Erwin said, relief seeping into her voice. "It was incredibly delicious." Yukari's mother bowed her head graciously.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." And then her father spoke up again.

"If you loved that, you'll love dessert!" Yukari's mouth hung open and Erwin's expression turned into one of panic. Did he not realize that she was full- no beyond full by now? Erwin's stomach would probably rupture if she ate any more.

Yukari's mother was about to berate her husband when Erwin actually answered. "Um… what's for dessert?" Yukari and her mother stared at her incredulously. Was she seriously going to eat even more with how full she was?

"It's… it's a marble cake." She replied, a little stunned. "It was freshly made today."

Now Erwin appeared conflicted, no doubt deciding whether it was worth it to shove still more food into her already tightly packed gut or to resist the temptation of delicious sweets and save herself from a severe stomach ache and possible internal damage.

"We-well I-" Erwin was suddenly interrupted by a deafening boom from outside that caused everyone around the table to all but jump and the lights to flicker. Yukari watched as her mother stood up and hurried towards the window to look out.

"Oh, my! Where did this storm come from? I don't remember anything on the radio about this."

"Might be a freak storm." Her husband suggested. "That can happen this time of year you know."

She turned around and looked at Erwin with a regretful expression. "Erwin, perhaps you should spend the night here. It wouldn't be a good idea to try and go back home in this weather."

Erwin frowned and looked at Yukari briefly with a somewhat worried expression, and then looked back at her. "Well, I wouldn't want to impose on you-"

"Oh no think nothing of it. Really it would be more bothersome to let you go home in such a storm."

"That's right!" Yukari added, wincing as pain lanced through her middle. "It's fine, I don't mind having you stay over." She then brought her voice down to a whisper. "And anyway, do you feel like you could walk very far right now?" Erwin grimaced and shut her eyes painfully, bringing a hand down to her stomach to try and soothe it with a gentle rub.

"I suppose not" she admitted quietly. "I-I'll be in your care then."

Her mother smiled. "We'll be happy to have you. I'll go get the the spare futon out and I'm sure we have an older set of Yukari's pajamas that you can use as well."

"Ah, thank you."

Erwin and Yukari both watched her leave and then looked at each other. They shrugged and smiled, clearly not having expected this but they were okay with it. They were friends after all. It actually made Yukari a little excited and giddy. She had never had a sleepover before. And then, her father stood up from his chair and said: "While she's doing that, I'll go get the cake."

Yukari let out a soft whine and she and Erwin slumped in their seats. She gave the blonde an apologetic look but Erwin only smiled back. "I-I won't lose this battle. This is my Bastogne."

The historical reference made Yukari smile and she chuckled briefly before the pain in her gut prohibited any more. As she rubbed her stomach to try and nurse some of its pain and felt how distended it was now, she suddenly realized how humorous and apt it was that Erwin made a reference to an event that took place during what the Americans called: 'The Battle of the Bulge.'

Things only got more humorous when her father returned with the cake, a small warning on the side saying: "May contain nuts!" The two teens laughed through gritted teeth and prepared for their last stand.

Couldn't resist the Battle of the Bulge joke. This chapter took much longer than I wanted it to take due to IRL interference but it's up now and I hope you enjoy it.

I don't know much about Japanese cooking if I'm honest but watching "Sweetness and Lightning" really helped with that.