[X] Plan Today's Menu for the Emiya Family Episode 14
You've had to explain the failings of Mikuni Oriko's precognition, and the catastrophically poor judgement calls she made as a result of her inability to understand its faults, so many times before this, that speaking those words to Sayaka feels more like reciting from memory a passage in one of your school textbooks; something you've had to do so many times that there's no longer any thought required of you. "Again, I just want to make it clear to you that Tomoe-san and I aren't here to take her side over yours; we just want to make sure that you understand where all of us are coming from. You are our friend, and Mikuni Oriko is our ally, and even though I'm not asking you to forgive her for what she tried to do to you and Madoka, I am asking that you conduct yourself in a reasonable manner from now on. I'm grateful that you've been reasonable while Tomoe-san and I explained the situation to you, and I'd be grateful to see you continue that, even when dealing with Mikuni Oriko and Kure Kirika."
Tomoe-san nods, adding "We just want to make sure that there are no more problems between anyone, so that everyone can relax and enjoy themselves on this trip. That includes you, Miki-san.
"I don't know... I mean, I know you two aren't trying to lie to me, but how can you be so sure that they aren't lying to you?" Even after what you've just gotten through explaining to Sayaka, you had a feeling that this question would still be one she might raise. "How can you be so sure that they really have changed, and that they aren't just waiting for your guards to go down?"
"Do you remember how, after Mikuni-san and Kure-san surrendered, I asked Caster to tell me whether they were likely to respect our acceptance of their surrender?" Sayaka nods in response to Tomoe-san's question. "That's our assurance. Caster has a very powerful ability, one that lets him see the truth of the World. If he had seen that they would disregard our offered hand, we would not have accepted their surrender."
"If they didn't, or if they didn't change their ways and continued plotting for the deaths of you or Madoka, I would have been last person to accept their continued existence." Your shot was just a few millimeters off from Mikuni Oriko's Soul Gem. Given one more flicker of pressure on your Howa rifle's trigger, and MIkuni Oriko would not have lived another day. "But despite everything, Tomoe-san and I managed to stumble our way into rehabilitating them and helping them to become better people, and better allies."
Tomoe-san nods, adding "I know it seems hard to believe in spite of their previous actions towards you, Miki-san, but Akemi-san and I have had the pleasure of getting to know the people that Mikuni-san and Kure-san are under their masks; and I assure you, they aren't just playing at a long game of perfidy. They really have changed their ways for the better."
"... And, that's about everything there is to see of the beach house itself," Mikuni Oriko says, concluding her tour of the property's interior. There wasn't much else to see, and what was left left you with no surprises. Two bedrooms, a toilet, bathroom, and storage closet fill the upstairs, with an attic hiding above the hallway just like in your own apartment; though unlike in your apartment the Mikuni attic is much more of a real attic, rather than the just-big-enough crawlspace that is your 'attic'. "I would show you all around the grounds outside, but it's dark, so I'll just show you to where we'll be setting up the fire pit Archer asked for." She heads over to the sliding glass double doors, unlocking them and flicking on a lightswitch to illuminate the patio. "You can put your shoes back on once we're outside if you feel like it, but personally I prefer the way the grass and sand feel against my bare feet."
Kure Kirika, Kyouko, and Hitomi take Mikuni Oriko's suggestion, leaving their shoes at the door to enjoy the feel of grass under their feet; while you, Madoka, Sayaka, and Tomoe-san opt to grab your shoes from the foyer. "Come, come." Mikuni Oriko leads the group out to just barely within the border of the patio light, to a sandy clearing surrounded by grassy shrubs. You can already see the remnants of what was probably once a pit of similar use to what Archer requested, ringed with a few chopped-down logs. "We'll set up our fire pit here," Mikuni Oriko says. "There might not be enough seating for everyone here, but if not I can always grab a chair or two from the patio."
Fortunately there are enough seats - though two of the three logs will need to be occupied by three people - and by the time Archer and the other adults have returned, you and the other girls have finished setting up the requested fire pit and grill, pulled from storage. "Well, this is all starting to look pretty cozy," your servant says, admiring Mikuni Oriko's setup. "Alright, first course will be coming up in just a few minutes." Archer looks to Mikuni Oriko, saying "Alright, I've got veggie burgers for you, and beef burgers for everyone else. Cheese, condiments, and everything else I'll add on request."
Kure Kirika raises her hand, requesting "Can I have a veggie burger too? I don't want to make Oriko feel left out by being the only one not eating meat."
Archer shrugs, but as he sets up the grill he says "Alright, two veggie burgers, coming up." Seconds later, you can feel the heat and hear the crackling fire Archer has lit under the grill. "I was expecting Mikuni to have both of them, so two was all I got. I can get more tomorrow if I have to, but I hope nobody else wants one until then."
Nobody else wants one, and Archer is free to prepare your dinners without issue. "I'll be right back," Sayaka says, standing and turning to go back inside. "Make mine one with everything on it."
"Alright, one with everything, coming up. Anyone else?"
Kure Kirika's hand shoots up "Oh! Make me one with everything on it as well!" as she asks for the same as Sayaka. Everyone else has no request of Archer in particular, save for Kyouko, who asks the chef "Think ya can skip the veggies on mine, and just gimme a second burger with extra cheese?"
Archer shoots Kyouko a disaproving glare, but when Mikuni Oriko says "You can put Sakura-san's veggies on my burger, Archer; I don't mind," the chef relents, shrugging his shoulder as he throws Kyouko's requested second burger onto the grill, brushing it with a thin layer of barbecue sauce as it sizzles on the heat.
<Homura: I'm terribly sorry about how Sayaka acted towards you earlier. Tomoe-san and I have spoken with her, and hopefully there won't be any more outbursts like that from her again.>
<Homura: I hope her outburst hasn't soiled the rest of this trip for you or Kure Kirika.>
You hit [Send], keeping your phone out as you wait for Mikuni Oriko to send you her reply. Her face is illuminated by the glow of her phone's screen, and as Kure Kirika leans over to read what she is about to send to you, she hugs her lover, and gives her a single kiss on the cheek. In the dim light caught between the bright patio and the darkened Hakone night, it's easy enough for all to see you and MIkuni Oriko texting one another; hopefully nobody else takes umbrage at your conversing with an important ally.
<Mikuni Oriko: Thank you, Akemi-san. I appreciate the effort you've put in on my behalf, but in truth, I had seen Miki-san's actions towards me much earlier.>
<Mikuni Oriko: I don't think they will be enough to dampen my spirits, though. I'm just happy to be here with my friends and my girlfriend.>
<Mikuni Oriko: The last time I was here, Kirika and I were strangers and my father was still alive. I'm hoping to make many new happy memories with all of you tonight and tomorrow, so that I don't have to look back on my last stay here and be sad that my father is no longer with me.>
Behind you, you hear the patio door closing, and moments later Sayaka returns, and Archer hands her a paper plate with her burger. "One with everything, just like you asked."
"Oh, my, this is really good," Kure Minako says; she's been so quiet since returning, content to watch your servant while he works, and amid the excitement of the night you had almost forgotten about the adult presence chaperoning your beach trip. You had not, however, forgotten Kure Minako's blatant attempts to impress herself upon Archer. "When you said you could cook, you weren't kidding."
"Mom, it's just a burger; it's not like it's anything special." Kure Kirika silences her own criticism moments after she takes her first bite. "Holy crap, you weren't kidding. Oriko, this is really good!" And hers was one of the two veggie burgers, too. "You've got to try it!"
Mikuni Oriko nods, taking a bite from her own veggie burger. Unlike her lover, she remains silent as she chews, contemplating the taste of Archer's cooking, a taste which the rest of the party is well acquainted with. She swallows, and with a vibrant smile on her face she says "Oh, my, this really is quite good. Thank you, Archer. I've never had a veggie burger before, but I imagine it will be hard for any I have in the future to top this."
"Alright," Archer says, clapping his hands as the last of you has been served - himself and Lancer included, so as not to arouse Kure Minako's suspicions - and taking his place on what sparse seating he can find. "Now that everyone's been served, it's time to introduce you girls to one of the time-honoured traditions of summer vacations; telling scary stories. This is one that a friend told me once."
"The place was 4 Kurokizaga St, in Semina Mansions, on the eleventh floor in room two..."
"... In a voice dripping with blood, Red Hood said, 'Onii-chan, the button'-"
"Stop, stop, stop sto~op!" Sayaka moans, rolling her eyes and looking only seconds away from throwing her burger in Archer's face just to make him shut up. "Oh my god; that's so lame! It's so long and it takes forever for anything to happen, that by the time it gets going I forgot I was supposed to be scared!"
"Oh?" Archer raises an eye in Sayaka's direction, as he asks her "Maybe you think you can do better?"
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I can," she says. Quickly, she downs the last of her burger. Taking out her phone, Sayaka illuminates her face as one might by using a flashlight. "Alright, so this one happened a long time ago, in a tiny mountain village by the lake. A group of friends were going camping one evening, and found themselves lost in the mountains after nightfall..."
"... Well, there were rumours of wolves in those mountains. Of course nobody would be surprised when none of those friends came back."
"... That was when he looked up, but from the place where he heard his friend's voice coming, all he could see was the smoking stump on top of his neck."
"... The old man never knew what had spooked his dog into running away that night. But sometimes, he'd swear that he could still see footprints leading away from his house, into the forest where those two red pinpricks always shone."
"... All the better to Eat You! And nobody ever saw the old woman again."
"... And when the two lovers stepped out of the car, they saw a hook hanging from the door handle, with a trail of bloody footprints following just a few meters behind them."
Kure Kirika's story ends with Madoka firmly clamped to your side; not that you mind your girlfriend using your body as her comfort blanket after a scary story. But, when the turn passes, and Kure Kirika says "Alright Akemi, you're up next," you find yourself coming up short. "I'm sorry," you say, offering your gathering of friends and adults a sheepish laugh as you flounder for a story you don't have. "But I don't really know any good scary stories. I've never had a reason to need to know any before. I think I'll have to pass my turn to the next person, if you all don't mind."
"That's fine, Akemi-san," Tomoe-san says. She's had her turn already, but you wouldn't mind it if she went again.
"I can go next," Mikuni Oriko says. You see no objection to letting your host speak next, and in fact you had been assuming that she would go after her lover, before Kure Kirika instead passed her turn to you. "So, like Miki-san's story, mine also begins in a quiet mountain village by a lake. However, mine happened in this very part of Hakone, not too long ago. It all started when the townspeople reported seeing a strange man walking down the sidewalk one day during a downpour..."
[ ] What do you suggest for after everyone has eaten and had the chance to tell a scary story?
