Smells that attract upstart juniors {Eiko, Kimiko}

[yozoraeiko]

Eiko quietly hummed to himself as he cut the ingredients on the cutting board. A few strips of bacon, a bit of spinach, and some shitake mushrooms. A few slices of some bread the messhall staff said were going to go bad soon and needed to be used. A little bit of sliced Gouda chese from a large brick of the stuff he found in the back and a few smaller ingredients and he was good to go.



Since Eiko enjoyed cooking, Eiko agreed to help clean the kitchen and mess hall in return for being allowed to use said kitchen in his free time. Everything was clean now so all Eiko would have to do is clean up his mess as he so often did.



Eiko fired up the grill and let it heat for a moment before he put the bread slices on the grill. After a short moment, he flipped it over and put the cheese slices on top, sprinkling a tiny bit of the sliced up pieces of mushroom, spinach, and bacon on top of the slowly melting cheese. Once everything was melted, with some of the cheese oozing over the sides, Eiko took a spatula and place each of the multiple slices off set them on a long plate like they were collapsed dominoes. After he got the all the pieces of food he decided to take one of the larger knives in the kitchen and cutting the slices in half all in one go. Eiko didn't really feel like waiting and grabbed a slice, blowing on it to cool it a bit further.



It was his first time trying this after he overheard about this so called 'pizza' from western countries. He didn't have the skills to make it fully himself but this seemed like an inventive substitute to try out, and probably wouldn't be a complete mess as Eiko opened his mouth and took a bite. The toasted bread had a nice firm crunch to it, which was complimented by the oozing cheese on top, the mushroom and spinach on top complimenting the piece well. Eiko took another bite, this one with a piece of bacon on it and Eiko's tongue danced as the cheese complimented the bacon really well. Eiko rarely got to eat meat so this was delightful as Eiko enjoyed his day of respite from remedial courses he didn't have to take today, away from everyone.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Today was examination day for many of the first-year students which currently attended the prestigious Shin'ō Academy, and needless to say, it was a stressful day for many. The hallways were busy with students talking between one another and rushing along to reach for their classrooms, and the courtyard outside was filled with many who were practicing their incantations and swordsmanship. Even the weather seemed stressed as well, seeing as the skies were completely covered with light grey clouds which both threatened oncoming precipitations and wind. Yes, today was indeed a very charged day, a day which might end rather poorly for many. The only exception to that rule was Kimiko.

It has now officially been a good amount of time now since the swordswoman joined the school. Although she preferred to not really keep count of the amount of days that has passed since she started, she could remember that it has been at least almost a year. Already a year... It was rather shocking, really, to think that so many days have gone since she entered Soul Society, so much so that she could perhaps say that she was moving on from her first death. So many things have happened already too: her spar with Vice-Captain Shindazu, the beginning of her apprenticeship under that same person's wing, her visit of the Eleventh Division... and all of those days dealing with that annoying teacher of hers. The thought of that last one alone was already starting to make her feel quite tired, to say the least, but yes, she had indeed done that too.

Unlike most of the other students she passed by in the halls, Kimiko had already finished most of the exams that had been given to her in advance due to her outstanding theoretical performance, which in her teacher's mind probably was just a way to personally ridicule her. "You may be that pest's apprentice, but I will not let you dishonor my teachings!" He had declared then before threatening her with expulsion should she be unable to receive a perfect score in one of the tests he would give to her. The result of that threat? An outstanding physical performance in swordsmanship that definitely surpassed perhaps some of even the best students in the entire Academy and even some proper Shinigami officers. It had been great enough to force the elder to give her a perfect score alongside the great ones that she had also gotten from anything theoretical regarding the history of the Soul Society and the Gotei 13. Yes, that was despite the fact that she had been unable to cast even a single Kidō spell before him, which had all resulted in the creation of useless puffs of smokes, and yes, despite the teacher's anger and frustration tied to the fact that was going to still be stuck with her for another year.

In any case, the bottom line was that she had passed and could go on to her second-year without any inquiries, thus ridding her of her worries and letting her have some free days in both the Academy and the Seireitei. It was good to have a small break for once: she could finally take her time to read some of the fictional books that she had taken from the school's library. They were not all good, but hey, at least it was some good reading that she could dedicate her attention to from time to time between training. Besides, after performing so well in front of that annoying old man, she believed that she deserved some kind of reward for her efforts, as small as that reward may be. It was no video game, but at this point, she has somewhat given up on the idea of finding a gaming console somewhere around here.

As she roamed the halls, Kimiko would eventually reach the Academy's sizeable and usually-disappointing cafeteria which was unsurprisingly a bit empty at the moment. Upon passing by it, her stomach reminded her that she was a bit hungry, and for a moment, she had almost thought about going to just get one of those terrible meals the cooks around here prepared for everyone to eat. As much as she liked the food served at Hikashi's ramen shop just outside the Seireitei walls, it costed money, money which she did not have as a student of the Academy, and so she often simply let her mentor pay for the food. It was a shame, but it was the way things unfortunately were. At least she'll get a proper salary to go there on her own once she eventually becomes a full-fledged Shinigami.

However, the further she went down the cafeteria, the more the girl's step slowed down as she smelled something in particular coming from the kitchen. It smelled like... cheese and meat. Bacon? Spinach? No. Impossible. This couldn't be! With a surprised blink, she swiftly turned away from her initial path to instead head towards the kitchens, the source of the smell. By the time she had approached the counter, her eyes gazed at one specific cook who was currently tasting something. She recognized it immediately. Pizza. "Uh... Hey," she tried to call towards the cook, unsure of how to actually ask the question she wanted to ask. "Is, uh... Is that something that the cafeteria's about to roll out? Sorry, it sounds... weird, I know."

Should the cook ever turn towards her to see who was talking to him, he'd most likely be able to recognize her. Ever since her spar with Vice-Captain Shindazu, Kimiko's reputation has shockingly grown to a point that she was seen as one of the best swordswoman in the entire school. Most people recognized her by the color of her Asauchi's scabbard which has already been starting to progressively turn white, hinting at its upcoming transformation into a Zanpakuto.

[yozoraeiko]

Eiko heard the voice of a woman over his shoulder and looked behind him to see a fellow student looking over the counter on the students side where they would normally receive their food. She had short black hair and towered over him, even if he was standing up, at least half a foot taller than he was. Eiko recognized the upstart junior...what was her name? Naka...something? Regardless of what her name was, she was the talk of the school, she had had a sparring match with a vice captain and apparently become her apprentice of sorts, however that worked, and her abilities were considered top of the school. Based on rumor she might even end up graduating sooner than Eiko. Eiko saw her occasionally in the hall in passing though they had never really interacted much before. It was hard not to recognize her with how much attention she was drawing, be it people being envious of her being a vice-captains apprentice despite being only a first year, to those being in awe of her abilities, to the plenty of creepy guys just ogling her as she walked by. Everyone saw her when she walked by, and Eiko just ended up noticing because everyone was staring at the exact same thing, so Eiko's attention always diverted, at least for a moment, to what everyone else was looking at.

"What makes you think the cafeteria staff would cook something like this?" Eiko retorted with a question full of sass. Eiko's eyes were slightly annoyed, nobody was supposed to be here at this time, most of the students went out to get actual food now that they had moved up a year, or were drowning the sorrows of their failures. Regardless, they weren't looking for the bland basic bowl of rice they served here eighty percent of the time. Regardless it's not like he was going to be able to actually drive her away, and it would just cause more problems later down the line to do so. Eiko let out a sigh of resignation as he slid the plate over to the side of table towards a nearby empty chair. "Go ahead and have some before you drool all over the counter. You're cleaning up though," Eiko stated as he reluctantly invited Nakajima over before turning himself back around and taking half slice of pizza toast to eat Alone would have been nice but at least he could get someone else to clean up for once and Eiko could go back to his dorm without too much issue, he'd probably have to double check everything lest he had got the ire of the kitchen staff for not leaving their work space spotless when he left.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko was aware of her popularity. As much as she usually preferred to remain quiet so that she could stray away from too much attention, she obviously was not oblivious to the fact that people found her to be one of the better students in the school. Everyone was aware of her lack of skill in Kidō, that much was certain, and for a while at first, people tended to mock her a little bit for that. Some were doing it out of malice, while some were not. However, once everyone came to eventually know that she had been able to properly maintain her ground against a Vice-Captain, the malicious mocking lessened a fair bit, and once people heard that she more or less did the same thing with a member of the Eleventh Division during a group visit to the barracks, it completely stopped to instead let admiration take its place. It is easy to laugh at the weak, but the same could not be said for the strong.

In any case, the swordswoman could slightly remember the cook now that she was talking to him. She believed that she saw him recently, more specifically from among the crowds of people that usually wandered the halls. Rather unfortunately, it was his appearance that had made her notice him as she had never really seen him before and he stood out among the others. More specifically, it was his glare that stood out to her. It was a vicious one, one that told people to stay away from him, and she found it to be rather odd. The first time she saw him, she had believed that something had happened to him, so she didn't try to think about it any more than that. However, the more he crossed him, the more she realized that his glare seemed to be a permanent one. Whatever happened in his life must not have been great, to say the least about him.

Nevertheless, that did not stop her from wanting to know more about whatever he was eating. No matter how she looked at it, it definitely looked like pizza. Pizza on toasted bread, but still pizza. She may looked a bit weird right now due to how appreciative she was of the sight of such food, but she would not behave like this if she didn't have a reason to do so. For as long as she could remember, she was never able to eat any kind of western fast food ever since she became a Soul. Most of the cooks in Rukongai were specialized in eastern meals, which wasn't a bad thing at all, but it had definitely made her miss her favorite western meal of all time. Now that she finally had something resembling pizza before her, she really wanted to take a bite out of it. It looked like it had been very well-made too, enough so that it would taste amazing in one's mouth. The thought alone was enough to cause her stomach to remind her of how hungry she was yet again.

Of course, her admiration did not last for long, for she was soon enough interrupted by the cook's snarky comment. From both his words and the way he spoke, it seemed like this recipe was not going to be added to the menu any time soon. Instantly, Kimiko felt her excitement just deflate into disappointment. "Oh," she simply let out with a light sigh, downright ignoring the man's critical glare in the process. "Sorry. I was just expecting this place to give us some good food for once." Just as the idea of getting some actual variety from the school's cafeteria had risen in her mind, it was abruptly shut down almost immediately. This guy must then have cooked this for himself. She had absolutely no idea of how that came to be, but she could at least applaud him for being able to do something cool like that. No matter how many times she tried to do it, the swordswoman was never able to cook something good by herself. More often than not, she just stuck to refrigerated food or ordering things from a local restaurant.

Fortunately for her, although the cook was still very much annoyed by her presence, he allowed her to eat from his plate at a nearby table. The student was at first a bit taken aback by this as she did not really like the idea of eating from another man's plate even if he was giving his food away, but her stomach just could not refuse his generosity. "Thanks...! I'll be sure to clean everything once I'm done," she promised with a friendly smile before she headed towards the empty chair. It did not take long at all for her to take a bite off of one of the pizza toast. The moment she did so, her eyes brightened for a moment, enough so for her to sigh happily once she finished gulping her bite. Damn! This quality was just as good as Hikashi's ramen! "Wow, this is... really good. It's your recipe, right? Way better than anything I've eaten in this place so far."

[yozoraeiko]

"Well unfortunately for us all the kitchen staff keeps it simple most of the time. Rice, Salads, and unseasoned meat if we're lucky," Eiko continued to joke about the kitchen staff. "What happens when the school prioritizes health quality over taste. It's not terrible just throw some soy sauce on it and it'll do the trick." Most of the kitchen staff was actually pretty good at cooking, even if they weren't able to make anything fantastic due to strict academy regulations, so he'd throw a jab or two over it but wasn't going to seriously rail them. Heck, they were the ones who taught them how to cook so it's not like he was going to just throw them under bus like that to some stranger he didn't know, much less someone who was his junior.

Eiko went back to eating as the tall junior sat down next to him, only paying as much attention as was minimally possible with her being right next to him and all, but enough attention to receive the praise she was giving out for his efforts. "It's just something I put together on a whim with what I had," Eiko explained before taking another bite before continuing. "I heard some classmates talking about this pizza stuff and decided I could make something similar. It's probably trash compared to the real thing. It's apparently supposed to have pepperoni, though I can't find that here," Eiko continued taking another bite to finish another half slice before finishing his statement. "This is something anybody can make, it's just getting the timing right on the toast." Eiko's voice was calm but blunt, easily able to come off more as a jab to anyone who might be sensitive about their cooking abilities but wouldn't even register to someone who doesn't really care much about the matter. Regardless, Eiko wouldn't even notice one way or the other.

Eiko looked down with half the toast already gone as he grabbed another piece. You wouldn't have seen it on his face but Eiko was certainly disappointed he wasn't going to get as much as he had hoped he would have as Eiko quietly went back to eating his meal.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

As much as Kimiko didn't really want to admit, the cook's assumptions about why the food of the cafeteria was the way it was were most likely right. In an academic institution like this Academy where peak physical and spiritual exercise is prioritized above all else, it is important that the food that is given to the students respect the quota of a healthy body. The body may work differently in Soul Society compared to the Living World, but ultimately, it functions the exact same way whether you are a Shinigami or a Human. Too much calories will result in the creation of excess fat which can not only create cardiac medical conditions over the course of time, but also a weakness to disease. Additionally, depending on how accessible the given food may be, it can lead to an addiction to it. The student could remember that one time a person at her Human school had gained excess weight over the course of time due to an addiction to candy provoked by his parents who constantly bought candy for themselves.

Still, she couldn't care less about that. Food was food, and eventually, one must consider that eating things that are always considered "good" for your body is not particularly great for your mental health. One needs to eat junk food every once in a while, hell, even quality stuff that goes beyond the nutritional requirements of an athlete! So long as it is occasional, there really is no harm at all in going to a restaurant every once in a while. Then again, perhaps she was the wrong person to talk about such things. Ever since Celes taught her about how she believed one could regard the consumption of food, she has more or less been following it with great pleasure. Eating amazing food after every bout of intense physical exercise has become a substantial reward for her, so much so that it has almost become a sort of drive during her training.

"I already tried that a long time ago... It's okay at first, but then everything tastes the same," she replied to the cook in regards to his thoughts about soy sauce. It was not necessarily a bad idea: soy sauce did add a tiny bit of taste to the bowls of rice that were given to her every time she came here. Nevertheless, she grew sick of it and eventually just went back to regular consumption without the sauce. It's not like it was of quality anyway, with it being a cafeteria-tiered condiment. Better to eat something that doesn't taste more than something that tastes something that you've tasted way too many times in a repetitive succession. Better yet, the best thing was to just eat something good for once, something that she could truly quantify as tasty, and this toasted pizza was the best thing she has tasted in this place so far.

Despite the cook's uncaring attitude regarding the praise that she gave to him, Kimiko loved every single bite she took out of that piece of bread. The cheese was good, the mushrooms were great and the bacon was even greater. Really, it was just amazing, especially given that the recipe was apparently something that was made on a whim by the man who prepared it. If what he said was true, this meant that he could make good food solely by listening to what people said in a conversation, which was a skill that definitely impressed the girl. "Well, I don't think it's trash at all. You'd be really surprised at how bad a pizza can be,"  she told her opinion, recalling that one time she saw someone on TV make some abomination of a pizza covered in fruit and BBQ sauce. Granted, it had been made for a TV show which prioritized the making of bad food, but the sight of the pizza alone was revolting.

Although she liked the food, Kimiko could tell that something was bothering the guy. He was blunt, brutally honest and to the point, and that glare of his had not disappeared just yet. The attitude itself was not really what was bothering her the most, but rather the man's seeming inability to accept praise. Maybe she was judging him too quickly; after all, she has just met him not even a few minutes ago and she was more or less eating food that he had prepared for himself. "If you say so, I guess..." she simply replied as he spoke about timing and what-not, "... but I still like this more than some stuff I ate back then. It's different and that's enough for me to like it a lot." She finished another bite, then stopped. Might as well make a bit of conversation with the guy now that she was here. "So, how... long have you been at the Academy?" 

[yozoraeiko]

"Well I'm good with just about anything so long as it's not absolute trash. It get's bland after a while but its still pretty good all things considered," Eiko replied. Eiko couldn't think of a truer statement, before he learned a few techniques from the cooks here, Eiko had at least self-taught himself to cook a little bit... by cooking up rats that lived in his families food cellar, before they found out about that and beat him for that too. Eiko paused midbite for a moment as the thought lapsed back into his head before continuing his meal, his eyes flinching for just a split second. So bland rice was still leagues better when it was consistent, hell any food that was consistent was better than his prior living conditions. "Sometime's I'm just hungry when they're off the clock so I cook for myself," I finish explaining his own thought process. I'll also need to learn to cook for myself after I'm out of the academy anyway.



"I'm a 3rd year," Eiko replied simply. Despite the accuracy of the answer he certainly didn't look the part. Eiko was possibly the smallest person in the entire academy at only 5'6 and a measly 110 pounds. A frame as lithe and small as his also didn't look like it had received or could even endure 3 years of physical training. Not that it did and the bruises and scars from training just blended in to the bruises and scars from his life of abuse. "Why?" Eiko asked, finally glancing over at Kimiko's direction, which was more of caution than anything else. Caution about what exactly she would say in response rather than what exactly she would do. Even if he was aware he didn't look like her senior, Eiko certainly wasn't going to be entirely pleased if he was reminded about it. He got enough of that from his own classmates he didn't need it from juniors, though he ended up getting it anyway. It never detracted too much as long as it didn't sound like an insult, or his zanpaktou spirit warping it in his head into something significantly worse than it was. Fortunately the four eyed devil seemed to be asleep and uninterested so he hadn't heard much of a peep from him. "Also, shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking people personal questions?" Eiko finished in a retort of her manners, as if the shinigami student was in any position to talk of manners, as he took a bite out of what was almost the last piece of toast, one more laying on the plate for whoever would grab it.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko listened to what the cook had to say about her predicament with soy sauce with an attentive gaze. It looked like he was completely fine with eating anything so long as it didn't taste bad, so much so that he was ready to forgive the process of the taste becoming a bit bland after a time. In a way, she understood where he was coming from as the logic made sense from another point of view. Why should it matter? At the end of it all, the only thing that matters upon the consumption of food is its quality and taste, not the act of eating the same thing over and over. Still, it was a bit strange to hear such a thing from a cook, of all things. Shouldn't a cook broaden their tastes as much as possible so that they can make the best recipes they could possibly conjure? The broader their tastes, the broader their ability to create food becomes, no?

Well, in any case, her personal preferences about adding variation to her consumption still ruled supreme, and so it will most likely continue to specifically bother her. She just couldn't help it, especially not after she was given access to a wide plethora of ramen bowls at Hikashi's shop though Celes. As such, without a word, she nodded to the cook's words at that moment in a semblance of agreement, not really sure of what to add. She didn't really want to start some kind of banter with the guy due to such a minor disagreement, especially now after he proved to be generous enough to even allow her to eat this food that he has by then admitted he had cooked for himself. It would just feel wrong to do something like that, make her feel a bit selfish.

Eventually, she moved the subject away from the food towards the amount of time they have spent in the Academy. It was a natural thing to ask, she thought, something that she thought would be rather inoffensive. The cook gave her a surprising answer, seeing as he apparently was a third-year student, but he however then shot at her a cautious glare as he asked why she wanted to know anything about that. It took her aback a little bit. What was that intense reaction to such a simple reaction? It's not like she had asked him anything insanely personal or whatever, or at least not something that she herself considered to be personal. The thought embarrassed her quite a fair now that it came to fruition. She couldn't really pinpoint why he was acting like this at first, and so could only assume that she had made a bit of a social mistake without even realizing it.

Of course, by the time Kimiko started becoming a bit too embarrassed to even answer the guy, her mistake was more or less laid out before her. Apparently, she had forgotten to introduce herself. That was... even more embarrassing. Come on, really? How could have forgotten something simple?! Ugh, I'm so bad at this! Her thoughts screamed in her mind as she tried to recollect herself with a deep breath. Just fight the pain, fight the embarrassment, you can do this. "Right... I... probably should've done that from the very beginning..." she sighed as she comically looked away from the cook with a look of utter mental pain. Right. Introduce yourself now. Go on. With a deep breath, she then straightened herself on her chair. "My name is Nakajima Kimiko. I'm about to start my second year. Nice to meet you," she said with a light nod before rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry about earlier..."

Great, now she felt just way too damn embarrassed for her own good. She has always had trouble with the idea of talking to people and it sometimes showed, which she obviously did not enjoy showcasing in the slightest. This was quite the display of what happens during one of those times. Well, hey, at least that will most likely be enough for the cook to stop being so suspicious of her, right? Maybe the lack of introductions was really the only thing that explained why he seemed to be so cautious to her regard after she asked that question. If it wasn't, then it was probably something that wasn't really related to her at all, which was good enough for her to not feel as bad anymore.

[yozoraeiko]

Nakajima Kimiko. So that's what it was. Eiko thought to himself as he swiped the last piece of toast. "Yozora Eiko," Eiko replied his own name in return as he finished off the last piece of toast before getting up and heading back to the grill and taking off the grate he cooked on and taking it to the sink. Now that it was cool enough to touch after use it would be simple to clean up as he opened a drawer underneath the sink and pulled a brush made of steel fibers out. "Come here I'll show you how to clean the grate," Eiko told Nakajima, waiting for her to come over before putting the brush to the grill. "Ideally this will just be a good hard scrub on both sides since its really just bread and cheese. If this doesn't work, there's Vinegar and baking soda up top, Put a little bit of each mixed together on brush and scrub it onto the grate and let it sit for a minute and it'll help break down any food that's stuck. After that just rinse and dry it off with a rag and place it back on top of the grill," Eiko explained before handing her the brush. "Otherwise it's just washing the plate and wiping off the counter. I'm going to assume you know how to do that. I'm going to be putting the leftover ingredients away if you need me," Eiko finished before walking away, assuming she understood his instructions.



The instructions were simple enough and it was a simple enough task so there shouldn't be any problems, it wasn't like he'd be far, he had to double check otherwise the kitchen staff would come down on him, not Kimiko. Eiko went to the counter where the left over block of cheese was. A little bit of spinach was left over as was some mushrooms. Eiko took the block of cheese to the refrigerator and put in the lower shelf he originally found it before going back and taking the mushrooms and putting them in a paper bag before wrapping it at the top and pressing down to get the excess air out. For the spinach, Eiko took a towel and pressed down on the spinach, to get any moisture on the leaves off, as moisture made the leaves go bad quicker, before putting them in a container. Lastly, Eiko took a pen and wrote Shiitake on the paper bag so the kitchen staff would know what was in it without looking.



Eiko took the container of spinach to the fridge put it on a higher shelf with other vegetables before taking the mushrooms to the back pantry and putting them on a shelf, making sure the label was out front and center for everyone to read. Eiko came back to check on Nakajima's work, if she wasn't done by now she should be pretty close to wrapping up at least. "Finished yet?" Eiko asked bluntly, ready to wrap this up before heading back to his dorm or find a nice quiet place to take a nap.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

With her introduction now completed, the only thing there was left to do for Kimiko was to listen to the cook's own introduction. The tinge of embarrassment was still very much there, but after he presented himself, it gradually started leaving her mind as they finished their plate of toasted pizza. Yozora Eiko... For some reason, the name seemed a bit familiar. She could swear that she could vaguely remember a few people in the halls talking about someone who had a name like that. The people in question looked rather mean and thuggish, enough so for Kimiko to easily strike them as the typical bullies. Maybe it was somebody else they were talking about as, after all, hearing names being called within the hallways of the Academy wasn't necessarily a rare occurrence. Nevertheless, perhaps that was why he seemed suspicious of her back when she asked his year. It now made a tad more sense.

"Right, nice to meet you, Yozora-senpai," she responded to him politely, albeit still a bit embarrassingly due to her previous mistake. Fortunately, the cook didn't really seem to care about it for much longer. Well, at least Kimiko hoped that was the case, seeing as he then stood up without a word, picked the plate they had eaten the toasted pizza on, and then headed off to the kitchen so that he could put it in the sink. Soon after, he then asked her to come to his position so that he could then give her instructions related to cleaning everything that had been used to cook the pizza. The instructions were blunt, concise and to the point, enough so for the student to understand what he wanted her to do. It was a bit weird for her to suddenly find herself in such a strange spot, but then again, she had eaten food that was technically not meant for her and Yozora had told her that she would have to clean everything once she was done. A deal was a deal, she supposed, even if she didn't like it.

And so began a few minutes of scrubbing, rinsing and waiting. Kimiko worked diligently, albeit obviously without much excitement. Having once been a Japanese high-school student, cleaning things had eventually once been part of her daily chores, and so this was not really alien to her at all. It had been a while since she had done any, yes, but the automatic habits she had picked up from those chores had stayed with her even after her death. As much as she did not really like doing this, the deal that she had made with Yozora regarding her food had been enough for her to make sure that everything would be clean enough for whoever was responsible for the kitchens here to be satisfied with it all. At least Yozora himself wasn't doing nothing during this as he was putting everything that he had used to make the pizza into bags and containers for later use.

Eventually, the process of cleaning everything was finally complete, enough so for Kimiko to stand back and take a look at everything with a satisfied smile on her face. Great! From the looks of it, this is certainly clean for the other cooks of this kitchen to use all of this later to make their terrible cafeteria recipes yet again. "Yeah, I'm done," she responded to Yozora with a nod as she turned her head towards him. "I was able to clean everything from top to bottom... It should be good. I don't think I missed anything." Ideally, no, she shouldn't have missed anything. As less used to cleaning as she was back then, this all really boiled down to just getting rid of the stains of cheese and crumbs of bread that stuck to the kitchenware. The instructions Yozora had given her were also easy enough to follow for her to get used to them fast too. All in all, it was good work.

After she was done, however, her time in the kitchens needed to end. She was no official cook and so getting caught in this place was most likely going to get her into needless trouble. That, and she doubted that Yozora wanted her to stick around anyway if he was still attending his duties here. "Alright, well... I think I'll be going now. Thank you very much for the food, it was honestly amazing. I missed eating stuff like that," she smiled in a bit of a nostalgic fashion before she then started walking out of the kitchens and into the cafeteria lounge.

[yozoraeiko]

"Alright," Eiko replied simply as Nakajima headed out. Eiko immediately began double checking everything. The counter top was spotless and the plate left out to dry. The grate? It was clean though Eiko flipped it over as she accidently put it back on the grill upside down. After that Eiko heaved a sigh before heading out, eagerly awaiting a trip into his bed. It wasn't all that bad. Nakajima was a little annoying but at least she wasn't aggressive, hostile, or condescending like his classmates were. Getting praised for his cooking was also a little nice. Eiko closed his eyes for a moment to enjoy the peace and quiet before walking out the door and turning off the lights to the mess hall.

Eiko walked quietly out the back alone at a slower pace than usual. Most everyone was gone and out to party and celebrate either their graduation or their moving up a year so almost nobody was in the building except for some faculty. "Hey now look who it is? Heard you found a way to squeeze your way into year three punching bag?" a crass burly voice sounded behind him.

Eiko's permanent scowl got significantly worse just at the sound of his voice. "Piss off Daichi," Eiko retorted aggressively as he turned around to face the massive figure, standing in at around 6 ft tall, and thick as a wall. Somehow though he seemed a little smaller than usual. Was that Nakajima girl taller than this guy?

"Hey now no need to be so rude. I'm only looking out for my classmate," the large student replied in a sarcastic tone. "I mean with how weak you are you'd only end up as hollow food if you were to graduate. Shouldn't you just quit and go home to that cooshy family of yours in Hokutan? They made great food for us when we visited after moving up," Daichi continued to demean Eiko with little understanding of how angry such a remark would make him.

Eiko's eyes widened with rage at the mere though of going back to that hellhole as his fists clenched tight it hurt. "Say that again. I'll fucking kill you," Eiko replied bluntly, his voice filled with rage and hatred as it took every fiber of what little sensible thought he currently had to not attack his classmate outright.

"Hooo? You think you can take me punching bag?" Daichi replied before raising his fists and lowering into a combative stance right there in the hallway. "Feel free to try. I'll try to leave something alive for the hollows to eat."

[Nakajima Kimiko]

With the cleaning out of the way, it seemed as though Kimiko's stay in the kitchen was over. After eating something as good as that toasted pizza, there was nothing else for her to do in the cafeteria any longer, and so she was fully ready to go back into the hallways of the Academy to read her book. From the looks of it, it also seemed as though Yozora's duties in the cafeteria had also been completed, seeing as even he was starting to move out of the kitchens and towards the hallways. She had no idea where he was going, but given how exhausted he seemed to be, she had a vague guess that he was going to head towards the dorms. Not that she had any issues with that: he really did seem exhausted at a first glance and, judging by the quality of his cooking, he most likely was the kind of person that worked really hard to make his food taste as good as possible even if the recipes bestowed to him are a bit bland and boring.

"I guess I'll see you around," the first-year would tell him with a light wave and a friendly smile as she started walking away. As awkward as the conversation between them may have been, she had to admit that that she did not feel bothered by Yozora's attitude. Although it was true that he was a blunt person for sure, much of the attitude that he had showed to her had been caused by her notably-terrible method of conversation. Really, she was more peeved by her social skills than anything else. All that conversation did was highlight how they were still very terrible and that she needed to work on them. How could she have possibly forgotten to literally introduce herself to her interlocutor before asking him about how much time he has been at the Academy? Such a stupid mistake...

However, before she was able to fully leave the cafeteria, she soon noticed that a new person had suddenly appeared, prompting her to look towards him with a lift of the eyebrow at first. It was a large individual, one that was just a tad bit smaller than her. Broad shoulders, rotund belly, and most of all, a hell of a dirty mouth to boot. The very moment this guy started talking, Kimiko stopped and just turned her head towards him with an annoyed gaze. Oh, come on... A bully? Seriously? Does this guy literally has nothing better to do around here than that? You'd think that such a special school wouldn't have some people still behaving like typical high-school thugs around here. And yet, here we are with such a finely-pathetic specimen.

The man - Daichi - apparently had some kind of grudge with Yozora. He was acting all sarcastic and like any bully out there would, using both his size and apparent familiarity with the cook's family to threaten him. Although Kimiko had at first considered staying out of this as this was supposed to be Yozora's battle and not hers, something about the way this Daichi was behaving was so annoying that it was starting to anger her a little. How could someone in a school for people whose future duties will revolve around slaying Hollows go out of his way to tell someone that he would beat them so hard they'd be nothing more than Hollow food after they're done with them? It was starting to make her blood boil, enough so that she eventually sighed before putting her book away and turning herself towards the scene.

"Hey, Daichi, is it...? How about you face someone your own size...?" She asked as she approached the scene with a demeaning glare, using the man's tactic against him. Her eyes seemed bored by what was happening, but whoever this Daichi was would most likely be able to tell that she was being serious. "Try to leave something alive for the Hollows to eat... Who even talks like that? You sound like all those bullies I kept seeing in my old manga... and those guys kept getting beat up." Her words were harsh, scathing, used deliberately to piss him off and make him go away, but her Spiritual Pressure slightly rose from the mere idea of fighting this guy. She was not used to doing this, but knowing her strength, she knew could take this guy without any problem. There was no way he - some guy who most likely had a brick for a brain - was stronger than Vice-Admiral Shindazu. "I'm giving you a chance to walk away... Punch him and I'll make sure you'll punch nobody else for the rest of your time at the Academy. Sounds good...?"

[yozoraeiko]

"Huh?" Daichi's eyes shifted before his head turned around to see the towering, and quite displeased woman standing behind him. It was almost comical in a way. Daichi who would normally be the towering figure now seeming very normal in stature with Nakajima behind him. "Y-you're," Daichi stammered out as he gave an obviously fake smile to try and get out the fight he had clearly provoked. "H-hey now no need to get so worked up. I'm just trying to keep the worst student in the school from dying. Nothing wrong with helping keep the weak safe," Daichi replied with a wry smile that practically gave away his more malicious intentions as he threw his hands up and shrugged.

Nakajima would then witness all the color in his face drop as Daichi's eyes widened and winced. A foot between his legs, Eiko's foot to be precise, as Daichi screamed in agony for falling to the floor, Eiko glaring him down with eyes filled with rage and hatred. "If you're going to start a fight with someone, don't turn your back on them dipshit," Eiko spat out as Daichi writhed on the ground in pain in the fetal position before Eiko's eyes drifted up to Nakajima.

"And you," Eiko started before pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts. "Who said it was okay to jump into my business? Are you trying to get your ass expelled?" Eiko lectured his junior relentlessly. "Just because a high ranking officer likes you doesn't mean you'll be able to do what you want." Eiko finished before his eyes drifted back down to Daichi. "Anyway, feel free to report this Daichi, I'm sure it'll be easy to have to explain to everyone you lost to the worst student in the school," Eiko finished before turning to walk away.

Daichi writhed on the ground before slowly getting himself up, his teeth gritting in rage. "Eikooooooooo!" he shouted as he turned around in a fit of anger, swinging his fist towards the back of Eiko's head.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The things that came out of Daichi's mouth following Kimiko's intervention made the female student further her demeaning glare onto him. So far, there was absolutely nothing about this man that remotely impressed her; in fact, the more he spoke, the more she lost respect for whatever he was supposed to be standing for. In the matter of about two or three sentences, he had proven that he was nothing more than a man who used both his natural strength and size as a means to exploit others that he deems to be weaker than him. Take those innate advantages away from him by pitting him up against either an equal or superior opponent of higher skill and what is left is a bumbling coward who couldn't even do so much as form a proper defense for his crude actions. Even worse yet, he seemed dead set on defending his terrible values and was definitely not going to apologize for his earlier words any time soon.

As such, once the man was violently kicked in the gonads and collapsed to the floor, Kimiko did not pity him. Rather, she simply stood aside as his body collapsed to the floor, not bothering to give him any help. No matter one looked at it, the damage that he received to his family jewels was all but deserved. Sure, she did not like the fact that such a thing was done by an opponent who was practically behind him, but considering that he was deliberately attempting to injure said opponent only a moment ago, what Yozora said thus made perfect sense. After all, even if this would have ended up being nothing more but an exchange of less-than-pretty words and antics, you should never show your back to your adversary. All in all, it was a cruel fate that a disrespectful individual such as this pathetic Daichi should have thoroughly anticipated.

Of course, Yozora was however obviously not happy about what had happened here. Although she had indeed helped him out, it was true that she had intruded in his business and should have left him alone. Hell, if she was in his place, she probably would have reacted the same way. Additionally, doing what she did could easily get her in trouble in such an establishment, as it was doubtful that those who provided ruling to this school very much liked seeing students beat up one another, and that was even if the basis of being a Shinigami is to battle for the good of Soul Society. Despite the both of these things, however, she couldn't really care. Part of the reason why she had not simply ignored this little feud was obviously because she hated Daichi for what he represented, but there was something else that she believed to be a bit more important than that.

"If beating up trash like this gets me expelled, then so be it," she replied to the ungrateful Yozora as she directed her gaze towards him. "We're supposed to become people who will eventually have to defend this place... I prefer being on my own, but even I understand that we will one day have to fight side-by-side against a common enemy. That's what being part of the Gotei 13 is all about, as you probably already know." Her eyes then grew more serious as she took into account the chef's criticism, her gaze now much less friendly than before. Being ungrateful was one thing, but trying to scold her for pretty much sparing him a beating by a worthless goon was completely different. "I'm gonna be honest, if you really think I'm doing this just because I happen to be somebody's apprentice, then you're just proving to me how important trust is in one another, and how a lack of it can lead to pointless shit like this."

Once she finished speaking, her eyes then turned towards Daichi who had by then started standing up while Yozora was starting to talk away. Unsurprisingly, he was less than pleased by what had just happened, and so, with rage fueling his heart, he attempted to punch Yozora in the back of the head. This prompted Kimiko to speed forward before rapidly swinging a leg towards his to attempt to make him fall face-first against the floor. Should she be successful, she would then deliver a rapid kick to the arm that he had swung towards Yozora. She was not aiming to break, only to hurt, but she had made sure to put sufficient strength in her attack to make it painful. "This is your last warning before I break your arm," she would bluntly told Daichi then. It was a direct threat, enough so to make her previous point even clearer. Although she was aware that Yozora would most likely be mad at her for protecting him again, she was not paying him any mind at the moment. She just wanted this Daichi to understand what kind of predicament he would have to deal with should he bully any more students.

[yozoraeiko]

Eiko glared back at Kimiko as she tried to scold HIM about comradery and fighting for your fellow soldier, or whatever inane friendship bullshit she was going on about. "That's a load of shit," Eiko retorted as bluntly as he has ever been, completely rejecting Kimiko's argument front and center. Daichi, on the other hand, gritted his teeth before falling to the ground on his knees and trying to hold back a scream, only for it to come out more wheezy then it otherwise would have, as he started smacking the ground with his free hand in response to the pain. "A-a-alright! I give I give!" Daichi pleaded before finally ripping his arm free and running off in crippling defeat. "Good luck protecting the whole schools punching bag!" he shouted once he was safe enough distance away, not slowing down for a second while still acting the way he was.

"Tch. Piece of shit," Eiko muttered underneath his breath as he watched his shit stain of a classmate run away, after he was the one that picked a fight even, before turning to focus his attention back Kimiko. "Don't make me laugh. There are plenty in this building who would be abandoned full stop at the sign of danger and left to die," Eiko retorted before pausing for a moment before continuing. "They can fancy up their moto and their stated goals however they want. We're soldiers and are duty is to kill an enemy and follow orders, not protect the innocent. Any idea to the contrary is a delusion of fantasy," Eiko finished with an intense anger in his cold, blue eyes, something that wasn't visible before...that was hiding behind the blue hue...something much more carnal and malevolent seeping its way through as Eiko's glare became something that seemed far more dangerous than the person it was attached to. It could only be described as the deranged look of a starved predator staring down prey. Its not like there's anyone I'd even want to protect anyway, Eiko thought silently to himself.