[F22-PP] homecoming.

[NIGHT 0]

never mind what night was up to earlier. slaying a monster or cooking/eating one up -- it doesn't matter. what did matter more was the fact that yuki even did message her after such a long time, and it was about her climbing a mountain. and then fighting... whatever that thing was. what the hell was that thing?!

look. night knew yuki was going to be safe no matter what. she didn't know a great many tanks in the game, but all of them were hardy in their own way. for yuki, beyond her personality, there was also her armor, vibe checked against shadow and her shield lived to tell the tale. so as tough as that not-bird not-dragon not-sure-what-it-was was, she knew yuki would make it back at the end of the day.

but it was still in her nature to be worried! the last she'd seen her was in the labyrinth. and now night wasn't even sure how yuki kept ending up in random dangerous places.

did crow know? she hadn't heard from him in a while either. but night figured she'd find out when she made it to the twenty-second, bounding off the teleporter and running a beeline towards yuki's shop. it didn't matter if she beat the tank back to her home or otherwise. once she got there, if the door wasn't open, she sure would've tried opening it, even if it made her look like a fool in public.

"yuki?!" two knocks on the door that she swore wasn't her full strength but still sounded like they might've woken up the neighbourhood. "yuki, it's me, night! i'm here! open up! yuki?!"

stats go here

[Zajcica 0]

A moment of silence stilled the air as NIGHT waited for a response. It was starting to seem like there would be no answer, and just as she might decide to leave or try another round of knocking, perhaps this time with a megaphone, she could hear the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door. Louder and louder they got until there was none. A soft breath from behind the door came before it slid open, revealing the paladin in all her... glory? No, more like nostalgia.

"Y-You're earlier than I expected. I haven't even started cooking yet! Oh no, I need to get it started as soon as possible..." The pink-haired girl started panicking a little, really setting the tone of not acknowledging her absence. She would allow NIGHT to come in and shut the door behind her. The house was in a clear disrepair but also as if someone had started to make a dent in the efforts to fix that. Yuki would charge off to her kitchen, which was the only half decent room in the house, clear of dust and mess.

"Did you bring Nyanko? Should I make something for them?" Yuki will ask as she got started with cooking.

Spoiler

Ha tricked you. Stats in a moment...

 

Edited August 31 by Zajcica

[NIGHT 0]

it definitely was nostalgia. the appearance change back to her original form -- at least, the appearance night was most familiar with -- was shocking enough for the player to also be stilled at yuki's surprise.

she only moved when her friend mentioned the food.

"I haven't even started cooking yet!"

"oh, no-- don't worry about it--"

"Oh no, I need to get it started as soon as possible..." 

and where night didn't know how better to respond, she knew, at least, to enter the home before other players came looking to see who was causing a ruckus.

it was almost as though cardinal was running itself at full throttle, with the dust particles floating about in yuki's home. wooden boards and pieces of partially patched rice paper adorned parts of the interior... not that night was complaining. she'd even decided to up and leave her old place for one reason or another... but that also might've meant crow wasn't around to look after the place either.

night shuffled in, following her friend to the kitchen. at the mention of nyanko, she realized she wasn't sure what to tell yuki. "no," she said, "he's..."

(--? was there something she'd forgot to tell her friend a long time ago?)

"... running the shop right now." it wasn't a lie. for some reason the evening star worked a lot better when she wasn't around. "i mean, you don't have to mind feeding us so much -- we got by on our own after all. there's no need to rush, yuki!"

she leaned against the door frame gently, peering in, arms folded. "it matters more that you're home-- and safe. and if you need help cleaning up around here, i'd be more than happy to lend a hand."

but still, night played with a lock of hair, unsettled. what was the issue? there were words she wanted to say. what were they? while searching for them, she stayed quiet, chewing the side of her cheek as she watched her friend begin her work.

[Zajcica 0]

At the mention of not needing food, Yuki threw her hands onto the counter, giving a good shock to the china that sat upon. "What?! It's not about needing food, NIGHT." She would explode. "It's about sharing it with friends!" She'll continue, grabbing the things she needed and starting to work on her usual craft.

In her panic, Yuki would almost forget the most important part of her upcoming meal: The meat. The pink-haired paladin would open up her menu and bring out the haul that she'd gotten from her avian foe atop mount Rabten. "BEHOLD." She would present it as it spawned from her hammer space and plop heavily onto a plate that somehow didn't crack from the size of the haunch. "A rare, unobtained ever before rare cooking material!! Imagine the dinner I could make with this!!" The excitement in her voice was bellowing. If NIGHT was being loud outside her door, the entire city would likely be awake now with Yuki yelling.

[NIGHT 0]

shock to the china, indeed. night jumped, even as she seemed relaxed -- the wake up call she didn't need from being calm and collected, but she bore it all the same. rather, finding kinship with the cutlery around, she picked it up before they were shaken even more and started to set the table for their meal nearby.

but while night had her eyes on the counter, suddenly yuki spawned a gigantic, thick slab of meat that seemed even bigger than the width of her own weapon -- "BEHOLD. A rare, unobtained ever before rare cooking material!!" did yuki declare. and thus came night's second scare, not from her cook's voice, but the sheer idea that her friend had discovered something new after all she had experienced in aincrad.

"no. way."

she picked at it from her periphery just to bring up its specs. and, sure enough, neither was she familiar with the name nor its renown so far. so the third surprise dawned on the player thereafter.

"yuki," night mouthed, her awe-filled expression absent of doubt, "i owe you my life. you have to cook this now -- who cares about it being exclusive or rare, we have to try it to make a discovery. for science!"

[Zajcica 0]

The paladin grinned in bemusement the reaction from her companion. The meat was divine, she could tell by simply gazing upon it. Quickly did she get to work into making it something no short of a feast for the ages. "This is the result of that massive bird I met at the top of the mountain. It put up a good fight but I, of course, am unbreakable." The pinkette would be wrapped up in her cooking while NIGHT awed over the catch she'd brought in.

After some deliberation, Yuki would decide to make this meat cut into chops of steak. It was certainly a unique piece of animal to work on which allowed her to form it into practically whatever serving method she would prefer. After confirming with NIGHT how she prefers her steak, Yuki would cook it to perfection. Sided with a bowl of Miso, a small salad, a spring roll, rice and steaming hot stir fried vegetables. With grace she would serve NIGHT's portion and then continue to prepare her own.

After hers was ready, she would sit at the kotatsu with her best friend remove her typical armor to reveal her more casual clothing and let out a sigh of relief. "Who said the good-old times would fade away? Even if we're not taking on perilous enemies several times a day... Just hanging out with you makes me feel so at ease."

[NIGHT 0]

once night was done with the table, her eyes settled upon yuki's cooking. and she listened, still in disbelief at the opportunity of being fed untasted meat. she didn't think what her friend had taken on was exactly a bird per-se however. if night were asked for her opinion, she might've said 'dragon or serpent' more.

none of that mattered though.

"It put up a good fight but I, of course, am unbreakable."

"naturally," night simply replied, nodding with vigor.

given the untested state of the meat, the preparation process was likely up to the chef's preference. yuki slid night a whole meal after some time, to which, while exaggerated, the player could only clasp her hands together for in honorable thanks.

(but she wasn't planning on eating it right away?)

in fact, even as night made sure to keep watch on the state of her food, she only decided to pick up the chopsticks once yuki had set aside her own share. then, and only then, did she decide she had the right to dig in.

"Who said the good-old times would fade away? Even if we're not taking on perilous enemies several times a day... Just hanging out with you makes me feel so at ease."

between the meat tasting so delicate, tasty and out-of-this-world and yuki's own comment about being together with night again, she wasn't exactly sure which would've been the one to make her cry.

but tear up she did, even as she was chewing on steak. in a bid part nostalgia, part companionship, and part relief out of the worry that a missing yuki had put her through, all night could do was sit, mouth full, humming a sound of pitiful agreement in a possible misinterpretation of 'night having the time of her life'.

it was only after she'd swallowed that night could brush away the full tears at the corner of her eyes. "yeah, i missed you too, yuki... the food's great too -- y'know, don't worry about that -- but the chef is more important than the meal, and it's been a while since we were able to hang out like this peacefully in a long while..."

the clear of her throat, and a sip of the miso soup later, night had choked. "sorry... i'm really okay -- i promise. you should eat up too! i can't be the only one enjoying the fruits of your labour here, yuki..."

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki smiled pleasantly as her best friend enjoyed what was probably her best meal ever concocted. Even from the first bite she took herself she couldn’t believe how wonderful it was. It really showed how an amazing cook was really nothing without the perfect tools.

As they ate their food, the obvious conversation would begin. She had been extremely absent with her friends recently. NIGHT would talk about how much she’d missed her before apologizing with how she might be bringing down the mood. The paladin would take a deep-sigh of relaxation as she dug into the warm kotatsu ever so slightly more. Silence fell over the two of them as she tried to collect not only her words but her complicated emotions.

”All this ‘sorry’ and worry reminds me a lot of the first time we sat in this exact spot, Ren Jun Hui.” Yuki will say, just remembering the true name of her sword partner, using the formal pronunciation to remind her friend that even years would not erode their relationship. Her somber eyes locked to NIGHT’s, a glint of a tear forming along them. “My life was so complicated then, what a freakin’ mess I was. If it wasn’t for that I don’t think I would have ever been able to open up and be the person I am now.” She swerved a bit in the conversation but it had purpose. After using her clothes to clear her eyes she would happily move over and hug Night.

”Even if it’s been years those memories never fade. We’re best friends and we’ll always find our way back to each other, no matter what obstacles cause us to… uh-“ The tears coming over her too powerfully now to hold back. The quiver in her voice was apparent. “Disappear for years- I’m so sorry, Ren. I know you forgive me already but I’m so sorry! My depression hit me so hard but I’m back! I want to face my problems head on, not in the shadows!”

Her words went off the rails immediately and a breakdown was coming. She couldn’t hold it back anymore.

[NIGHT 0]

"oh," night laughed, voice wavering. "you weren't that bad back then, yuki."

but no sooner past her words being said did yuki close the gap between them, all for their one embrace. and night shivered out of shock for that sudden hug. still, she leaned into it, holding her friend just as tight as she felt herself being held. it was strange to hear her full name after so long -- even stranger still, for ren to see someone she'd imagine was a ghost in spirit, and feel them near sobbing into her. ren fought to swallow her worries, ever as she did long before.

ren to struggle to breathe. they were best friends, weren't they? separated for so long that night thought she would be solo once again, and learned to live with that fact. struggled to fill the spot that yuki once did. might've nearly gotten herself killed for it. fuck -- it was all that and more that she realized she hadn't told yuki that made her solid defense come crumbling apart, too. if ren had nails, she would've dug them into yuki and bore with the thorns that struck back deep within her.

"it's okay," ren found herself saying, sobs breaking through her fighting spirit. "it's okay, yuki. as long as you're safe, and that i know you're safe, and that you're back here. i..." and she drew a heavy breath. "will always be here waiting for you -- i'm patient, you know? i've gotten stronger in the time you were away, too. you can rest easy -- stuck in here, we've got all the time in the world."

"i... i'm here," she swore, even if she couldn't bring herself to put her whole heart into it. scared of a broken promise, even if this was one she was ready to defend with her life, that undying spirit of trying, trying at loyalty even if it killed her. "i'm here. i'll face your problems with you--" and ren choked. "-- even if it takes us a while. i'll try again. i'll do this for you. you don't have to be sorry, yuki."

ren tried not to dry her tears on the armor of her friend. still, some fell onto the cloth that remained, as though it was inevitable for her to give a part of herself away -- to yuki, her dearest, her shield. when night finally pulled away, rubbing at her eyes through a burning expression, swallowing back the wash of sentimentality just so they could share in it in tangible pieces, the player had been smiling.

her other hand had remained on yuki's, their fingers intertwined.

"welcome back, mikoto. it's been a long time." night, trying to stop the dawn from breaking through, tilted her head. "where should i even begin? or-- better yet, do you want to start first instead?"