fujimaru | Palace Game 6/3

"Wahahaha! Coming right up!"

She bounds to the kitchen area. It's possible she completely didn't hear or ignored his first question.

Wha--hey, Tamtam! Wait up!

[FOLLOWING]

It sure is a kitchen, the sort of thing that'd make any professional chef weep with envy. There are some pots already bubbling away that smell of curry, but Cat is busy pulling down a cutting board, a massive knife, and some onions. She's humming to herself some silly little lullaby, and she appears to have forgotten about anything but the work immediately in front of her.

[buddy

on one hand, food, on the other;;; they have priorities]

Man this smells amazing--but you don't gotta cook me something from scratch! Where's the fridge? I'll just grab a snack and keep looking for Ritsuka. You wanna know where she is too, right?

"Woof!" Cat pauses, then turns to him, waving her knife at him. It's not threatening, she just appears to be very enthusiastic. "That's right! A cat's nose never lies! You can probably find something over there. But yeah, the sooner Master's found, the better! If it goes on for too much longer, the Avengers are gonna riot! Gyahahaha!"

[going to grab a snack or two WHAT'S OVER THERE]

Yeah? Who are the Avengers?

"Ehhh, you know, the class, the class!" She waves her knife again, casually spinning it like someone might a pencil. He will find some general onigiri in the fridge if he looks. "So like... like..."

There's another long pause, and then she laughs.

"Eh, it's not that important! There's not that many of 'em, it's probably fine!"

[taking some. stocking up!!]

Eh. . .I'll take your word for it.

[then a beat]

You mind if I borrow that? I don't have any weapons here, so!

"Hmmmmm? You wanna fight me for it??"

She looks a little too eager about the idea. Are you sure?

[crosses his arms]

No way. Men don't hit women, even if they can kick my ass. It's a matter of principles.

We both wanna find Ritsuka, so c'mon, lemme borrow it. I'll trade ya for it!

"A trade?" Her eyes brighten and she grins, all teeth. "Like what, huh? It's gotta pass my standards to count."

[HUFFS]

Why, you get a favor from THE Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!

And one of these riceballs I just found!

"Gyahahaha! What do I care about that, huh? I expect cash, or some actual work! You can do the dishes and I'll call it even!"

Dishes?! [WORK....but...]

O...okay! But let's take a raincheck, yeah? I'll go find Ritsuka and totally be back in time to clean!

"Nope, you don't get a raincheck! A chef's knife is part of her, woof! If you're gonna make a trade for it, you gotta be ready to pay up front."

There's a pause, and then she adds, "Probably no one's gonna pick a fight with you. Unless you want them to, wahaha!"

[looks at the sink. HOW MANY DISHES ARE THERE]

--this place ain't dangerous at all?

"I didn't say that!" Cat cocks her head, enough that her eyes do the reflective flash. "Just that no one here is gonna be looking to pick a fight."

So you're saying there IS danger! In that case I definitely need to arm myself!

"You can do your best! But a knife isn't gonna do much good! This is meant for cutting vegetables, woof!" She gives it another neat spin. "Not meat."

Okay then, do you got something for that?

"You're gonna have to pay for that too! Haha!" She winks at him. "You'll be fine, probably. Master isn't gonna be gunning for you in any way."

Aw man. . .

[SIGHS

GOES TO FIND AN APRON]

Fine then, where are the dishes?

"Gyahahaha! Good job! Everyone appreciates a good sport, woof! You can get started with these."

It's... a not-inconsiderable pile of dishes. Godspeed, Kaito.

"If you finish these up, then this ol' Cat will lend you a nice cleaver."

The disrespect for a Luminary of the Stars. . .fine! Just watch, this is how the Ultimate Astronaut cleans!

[GONNA!!!

WASH ALL THE FUCKIN DISHES!!!1 he's not happy about it but my gosh he's gonna. he's gonna do it.]

Good job, Kaito. You're a bro and a pal, and Cat appears to be impressed, nodding approvingly as he works, even as she continues with making another huge pot of curry.

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