Disclaimer: I do not own Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End). I write this for your enjoyment only.
Insufferable
Mikaela Hyakuya wiped the sweat from his brow as he entered the house he was sharing with his allies in Shinoa's Squad after leaving Yuu to sleep off the effects of his latest demon transformation in the shed when he heard a piercing scream coming from the kitchen. Sighing, the young vampire broke into a run and entered the kitchen just in time to see Shinoa and Mitsuba trying to put out the fire from their latest cooking mishap. Although both girls have gotten a lot better at cooking for the squad in the last few months, their adventurous tendencies when it came to food preparation often backfired when trying to come up with new recipes to impress and catch the attention of their squad mates. Or rather, two squad mates in particular.
"Damn, what did you girls do this time!?" Mika shouted in frustration as he entered the kitchen just in time to see Shinoa and Mitsuba throwing water over the stove to put out the fire they accidentally set off when they attempted to make Korean barbecue.
Thankfully, he didn't have to do much because the girls had managed to put out most of the fire on their own but unfortunately, they were going to have a bit of a mess to clean up from the ash and soot. Not to mention that they were going to have to start cooking all over again. Fortunately, they still had another two hours or so before the rest of the squad came home for dinner and by that time, Yuu would be awake to join them as well.
It was times like these that Mika was glad his brother was asleep and recuperating from his demon transformations. For trying to keep the girls from burning down the kitchen and the house from their cooking adventures would have sapped his much-needed strength to fight his inner demon even more.
After the fire was put out, Mika turned to Shinoa and Mitsuba and gave them an exasperated look.
"You two always make such a mess of things, do you? Is it too much to ask that you not burn down the kitchen and destroy the food while the rest of us are gone?"
Mitsuba glared at him. "Well, excuse me, Mr. Hyakuya!" she huffed. "Unlike you, some of us do require actual food which takes time and effort to make and if we don't eat well, you certainly won't either!"
Mika returned her glare "You know what would be great, Miss Sangu? If I can leave you girls alone for just five minutes without fear of you destroying the house we live in. That would be great!"
Even though she knew it was Mitsuba's fault the food caught fire and not her own, Shinoa remained silent throughout Mika's rants. She didn't want to stress the young vampire further since she knew he needed his strength to watch over Yuu, so the purple-haired girl was willing to equally shoulder the blame. Mitsuba, unfortunately, didn't share her insight.
"Well, excuse me, Mr. Hyakuya! If you think you can do better, I'd like to see you try! And I don't like the way you said Miss Sangu!"
Mika huffed. "Well, tough luck, Miss Sangu, I'll say it any way I want! Why don't you use that pea brain of yours for something other than impractical cooking methods that might burn us out of house and home!"
Mitsuba finally lost it. "Argh!" she shouted before reaching for a small bag of flour and hurling it towards Mika's direction.
The blond vampire had no time to react before the bag made contact with his face and busted open, almost completely covering him in white powder before the blonde girl's face turned red with embarrassment and she ran out of the kitchen as fast as her legs could carry her. The whole scene was so hilarious that Shinoa couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into laughter.
After wiping the flour from his eyes, Mika scowled at Shinoa.
"Well, I'm glad at least one of us finds this amusing" he growled.
Still smiling, Shinoa took a clean cloth and approached the blond vampire. He stood still as she proceeded to clean the flour off his face and shirt.
"Please excuse Mi-chan; she may be…difficult at times but she only has all of our best interests at heart. Even yours. She just didn't want us to get bored eating the same foods night after night so that's why she's always experimenting with new things."
Mika sighed. "I understand but is there any way Mitsuba could cook without it becoming a complete disaster?"
Now it was Shinoa's turn to scowl. "Mikaela, we're soldiers, not professional cooks. And we're still learning. If it will make you feel better, I will never leave Mitsuba alone in the kitchen, ok?"
Although that didn't sound very reassuring to the young vampire, Mika decided that it will have to do. He didn't want to waste any more time or breath arguing.
"Fine" he said. "I'll leave you two to it. I better go change and check on Yuu-chan now. If you'll excuse me, Miss Hiragi."
Shinoa said no more and nodded as she watched Mikaela leave the kitchen. They still had another two to three hours before dinnertime and she needed Mitsuba's help to clean the kitchen and resume cooking, so Shinoa made her way to her friend's room where she knew Mitsuba would be. This wasn't the first time she had gotten into an argument with their new vampire friend.
It was quite rare to see the blonde girl all flustered up; the last time Shinoa had seen Mitsuba so was when Yuichiro disobeyed her direct orders and broke formation to save a little girl from a Horseman of John. Yoichi and Kimizuki also irritated Mitsuba at times, but nowhere near as much as Yuu and Mika.
As she thought of this, Shinoa could not help but smile. She and Mitsuba had been rivals for Yuichiro's affections but Shinoa noticed that ever since Mikaela came into the picture, the blonde girl started paying more attention to him and less to Yuu himself even though she treated them just the same. As soon as it became apparent to her that Mitsuba had a thing for Mika, Shinoa teased her relentlessly about it. But this time, she decided to go easy on her blonde squad mate as she knew she wouldn't be able to clean the kitchen and prepare dinner for their other squad mates alone by the time they got back without Mitsuba's help.
SSSSSS
Mitsuba Sangu placed her arms behind her head as she laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling of her room with a sigh. What was wrong with her? Every time that blond vampire was nearby and uttered one tiny little bait, she would automatically take it. Why? Why couldn't she just ignore him and let the bastard choke on his own saliva when he got angry? What was it about Mikaela Hyakuya that always put her on the defensive and ready to get into a fight with him? In some ways, he was even worse than his brother, Yuichiro.
Ugghh! That bastard is so insufferable! I can't stand him! Mitsuba thought in frustration.
Insufferable? Who are you kidding, Mitsu? Her subconscious whispered. You think he's incredibly handsome and will do anything to get him to notice you!
Mitsuba shook her head in refusal. "NO! That's not it at all…" she murmured out loud to herself. "It's just that I've never had anyone tell me I was stupid before. Absent-minded, yes. But stupid?"
He didn't necessarily call you stupid, you know…
"No, he called me a 'pea-brain', close enough."
You can deny it all you like but I know the truth: you're crazy about the boy!
Mitsuba snorted. "Yeah, right! Crazy? About him?! About what's-his-name? I don't think so." She shook her head. "He's annoying, pigheaded, insensitive, and downright rude! Plus he's much too physical for me. And I barely know him!"
Barely know him? You've been living in this village and in the same house for almost four months with him! And on another note: all those are the reasons you like him…and the 'physical' stuff is just what you want the most.
"That's not true!" Mitsuba said aloud. "All that guy has is faults! He has no good qualities! He screamed at me the time I tried to keep him from taking Yuu on the battlefield. And that was the first time he actually spoke to me!"
Have you spoken to him before that?
Mitsuba was silent as she stared up at the ceiling. "No…"
Then what in the world are you complaining about?
"I don't know… I don't know anything…"
Mitsuba sighed as the conversation with herself ended. If the boy in question ever knew that she had such long extended conversations with herself, he probably would never let her live it down. He'd probably call her crazy as well as a pea-brain.
The blonde girl shook her head. She wasn't a pea-brain…though she sure had felt like one earlier. She felt her face flame up again at the stupid thing she had done earlier. She had actually bombed Mika with a bag of flour. She actually let him get to her that much. But she couldn't help it… He just… He just…drove her nuts!
Mitsuba was snapped out of her thoughts by a knock on her door.
"Mi-chan? Are you in there?" It was Shinoa.
"Yes, come in!" she answered.
As soon as she gave her permission, the door opened and Shinoa went in. Putting on her best smile, the purple-haired girl tried her best to get Mitsuba out of her sour mood. As the Sangus were a branch of the Hiragi family, Mitsuba was also Shinoa's cousin as well as her friend, so she always did her best to defend her when their other companions got upset with Mitsuba and her hot temper. As squad leader, Shinoa also felt it was her responsibility to be the peacemaker and keep squabbles between her subordinates to a minimum whenever possible.
"Hey look, Mi-chan, I know you're a bit upset with Mika, but please try to be patient with him. He didn't mean what he said, he's a good guy, really."
Mitsuba sighed in frustration. "I know he's a good guy, Shinoa. It's just that he can be so difficult at times."
Shinoa laughed. "Now who does he remind you of?" she teased.
Mitsuba scowled. "Don't even start, Shinoa…" she growled. "I'm not in the mood."
Trying to change the subject, Shinoa said "Look, I need your help. The others will be back soon and we need to have dinner ready for them. We can clean out the kitchen tomorrow if you're not up for it tonight."
"Fine, fine. I'll be right down. Where's Mika now?"
"He's probably with Yuu. I notice you haven't been paying as much attention to him as you used to lately."
"Is that so?" Mitsuba huffed. "Well, it's probably because Mika irritates me more."
"But you have to admit, he is very handsome, is he not?" Shinoa teased.
Mitsuba felt her face growing hot "Well, he is…" she agreed. "But so is Yuu. So are countless other guys in this world, so what's your point?"
Shinoa rolled her eyes. Her friend and cousin was completely missing the point but this conversation was going to have to wait; there was work to be done
"Nevermind" the purple-haired girl said. "Just help me with the cooking for now, ok?"
"Tsk, fine" Mitsuba muttered and she finally got up and walked out of the room.
Shinoa was grateful she didn't have to beg her cousin to help her finish the task they started in the kitchen. Hopefully, the blonde girl won't be repeating the mistake that caused the little fire earlier; the last thing they needed was for her and Mika to get into another fight again.
Before finally leaving the room herself to join Mitsuba in the kitchen, Shinoa paused in the doorway for a moment, her thoughts going back to her conversation with her cousin about the Hyakuya brothers before her own face grew hot.
Yuichiro…Mikaela… they're both handsome, Mi-chan. We're in big trouble…
A/N: Sorry for the wait! Though I love Yuu and Mika, I thought it would be interesting to see how well they may pair off with the girls as well ;)