Waki and Zuina

"I didn't know that was how it happened," Matcha said as the two walked back to the pool.

"I just threw the knife on reflex. I was taught efficient and effective ways to kill people, not spare them sadly," Rika somberly stated.

"And that's why you now only kill thugs? In order to save those who might have become their victims?"

"Yeah. I'll never erase my killer's instinct, but I can at least choose where I point my blade unlike before. You don't know how liberated I felt when I enrolled at Tabemono. For once, I wasn't ordered to fill a kill quota. Aside from the Madagascar incident, I didn't have any really bad memories of my time at school."

"What about when we were all unfairly expelled?"

"Well yeah, I was mad that you all were unfairly kicked out, but I didn't feel like I was helpless to escape my fate like before I enrolled."

As the two entered the pool area, Mimi finished her dish. “And I'm done!" Mimi smiled as she presented her dish. It was none other than a tarte tropézienne.

"And this is what you sacrificed punishing me for? Well, La Tarte de Saint-Tropez can be quite the delicacy, though I doubt an incompetent buffoon could make it properly," Rebelle sneered as she freed herself and put on long grey dress over her swimsuit.

"Not bad Mimi. This tastes REALLY good. I think you might have a talent for making sweets," Rika smiled as she tried a piece.

"My, high praises from you? They mean-"

"No, she's right. This tastes better than Sundae's," Helga stated.

Rebelle froze in shock and immediately grabbed a piece and ate it. "MMPH!? No! NO! NO! NO! How could a buffoon like you craft something like this!?" Rebelle fumed.

"Well, I had to er- be a waitress in the past, and well, I guess I picked up some pâtisserie skills," Mimi nervously laughed.

"Well, I will certainly have to report all this to Maki- ...!?"

Rebelle immediately went pale as she stared at the message on her phone. It read, "I have stolen all your servers, now I'M the blackmail king. - Dastard."

"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS!?" Rebelle fumed.

"My friend said he knew this cool thief, so I asked him to steal all your blackmail material," Mimi grinned as she stuck her tongue out.

"Who are you!?"

"Codename: Laks, the blackmailer buster."

"Laks huh? I'll remember that!" Rebelle glared as she put on her beanie and stormed away.

"Quite the rejuvenating- huh? Why does it feel like I missed something?" Benihime said as she awoke and removed the cucumbers from her eyes.

"Oh, I just made some Tarte tropézienne and everyone likes it," Mimi smiled as she handed Benihime a piece.

"We got cake? Well let me try some," Mocha smiled as she got out of the pool with Hina.

"Not bad Mimi. I'll take some to Zuina," Matcha said as she attempted to leave.

"Why are you trying to run away?" Mocha pouted.

"Because I'm embarrassed to be around you."

"Don't be so harsh to Mother, Matcha-nee-san. Hmm? Well, this is a pleasant surprise," Mochi nodded as she ate a piece.

"No kidding. I've never tasted a cake this good before," Hina gushed.

"Truly exquisite! Mimi, thou art skilled in the art of sweets," Benihime mused.

"Huh, really is good," Ichika mused as she ate a piece.

"It does taste good," Nino concurred.

"Stuff is pretty good," Hanabi mused.

"Izumi really likes it," Izumi smiled.

"Looks like I better take a piece to Masaru. Maybe it'll convince him to let Mimi cook with the rest of you in a few hours," Rika mused.

"In that case, I'll escort Matcha as she takes a piece to Zuina," Waki grinned.

"Oh, in that case, you can take a piece to her yourself," Matcha glared.

...

"Oi Zuina, brought you some cake," Waki hollered as she knocked on the door to her room.

Zuina miserably opened the door. Her eyes were also red from all the crying.

"Girl, you look like a wreck. What happened?" Waki asked.

"No, I'm done crying. It's time to go to bed so I'm rested for the catering gig," Zuina stated as she headed back in the room and flopped onto the bed.

The revelation of what happened with Hinari continued to weigh heavily on Zuina. She was also unsure of whether to truly blame Rika for the entire mess.

"I brought some cake that Mimi made. This stuff's really good," Waki said as she stepped into the room.

"I've been meaning to ask you. Komachi-san mentioned that you were an underworld assassin. Is this true?" Zuina asked.

Waki paused for a bit before composing herself. "Yeah, though my reasons for doing so weren't so great. See me and my sis were raised solely by our father. He's not the greatest guy but has a solid job as a science teacher. Well, one day some debt collectors came to the house while I was the only one home. We were already poor as is, and those guys were being pretty mean to me. Sensing that they only had bad intent, I decided to poison them with some tea," Waki stated.

"You poisoned them!?" Zuina gasped.

"Yeah, I was only 7 at the time but I killed 3 grown men with a little poison. The only reason I didn't get caught is cuz I got rid of the bodies with my sis's help before our dad came home. The only problem was that I couldn't stop killing afterword. It all started when I found out my sis was doing underworld hit jobs. See she's pretty good at shooting and was able to rake in some big dough even though she was only 12. Once she found out I killed those debt collectors, I got roped into her bounty hunting. I continued doing it for a few years until my sis got caught. That's also when I met Rika."

"What happened?"

"My sis got caught by government agents. Never saw her again. I only ended up avoiding the same fate thanks to picking a fight with Rika."

"A fight?"

"Yeah, she stole a kill and I got mad. She ended up kicking my ass but didn't kill me and chucked me in a garbage bin. Though that's what ended up saving me. Turns out the target I thought I poisoned had some immunity and wasn't dead. He was weak, but not dead. Rika ended up finishing him off, and thus threw all the suspicion on her. Unfortunately, my sis got caught trying to find me and was taken away. At first, I was pissed at Rika, but then I realized I was wrong. Had she not stolen the kill, my sister and I would have been blamed for killing the agent and possibly been killed as a result. Though, I never got to see Rika again until she enrolled in Tabemono."

"And how did your father handle the news of your sister?"

"Oh, he was over the moon."

"HUH!?"

"Oh, uh guess I skipped a part. See, I guess my sis ended up getting recruited by the government instead of imprisoned. Thus, she wrote that she got a government job."

"But you said you never saw her again."

"Yeah. Haven't seen her since, but she sends letters. Also spotted her in news footage guardin' important folk. Though haven't been face to face with her since that day. I then quit the underworld life and decided to try cooking since I learned it in order to enhance my poisoning. Pretty ironic that's the excuse Rika used to convince her old man to let her go to Tabemono. I did still kill, though they were mainly against goons from the underworld that came after me. I also did some cover kills for Rika, though I guess they weren't enough to convince her old man to get off her case. So yeah, that's my story."

Zuina paused as she digested everything. "I can see why you two are close. You're idiots," Zuina grumbled.

"Idiots?"

"Maybe it's something I can't understand since I'm not an underworld killer, but why do you keep killing if you don't want to?"

"Because sadly it's our instinct. We kill our foes cause that's the easy way to solve the problem," Waki somberly shrugged.

"Why not just subdue them?"

"Sure, we can, but then what? We can't just turn them over to the cops. They'd probably blab about us and then we'd get arrested. I know I said I continued to kill, but like I said, everyone aside from like one or two guys I killed for Rika were bad people."

"Why you would kill to help Rika."

"Oh, well simple. She would be screwed if she had risked the mission and got caught. If I got caught, no biggie, I had nothin much goin for me aside from my crush on Matcha."

"You shouldn't throw your life away."

"I wasn't, worse case I would've been jailed, but my timed poison did the trick."

"Would it really be worth going to prison for her?"

"Yeah, she saved me from getting blamed for poisoning that government agent. That likely helped sis too as they would've been harsher on her if I had gotten the kill. All I was doing at Tabemono was returnin' the favor to a friend."

Zuina went quiet as Waki simply smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

"No need to sort everything now. Just don't let it bog you down tomorrow."

"Very well. I won't allow what transpired tonight to bog me down tomorrow. If you all are willing to still accept me as a friend despite who my sister is, then I must do my part to ensure we all do well."

"No need to worry about that. Rika's sisters are assholes too. So is Matcha's older sister."

"Thank you Waki. Now I must be off to sleep."

"No worries. I should probably hit the hay myself."

...

"This... is truly a delicious tarte tropézienne. Quite frankly, I'm shocked that Mimi was the one that made this," Masaru stated.

"I guess she's a secret pâtisserie prodigy. So, can she help out tomorrow?" Rika asked.

"I guess if she can make a tarte trop this good, she should theoretically be able to make good French toast. You may give her the approval," Masaru nodded.

After calling Mimi and letting her know she was good to cook, Rika decided to fall face down on the bed.

"And where am I going to sleep, now that you have taken the bed?" Masaru glared.

"Uh, next to me? There's plenty of room," Rika blinked.

"HUH!?"

"Come on, we won't do anything, unless you want to," Rika teased as she pulled back her bra.

"RI- RIKA!?"

"I'm so happy you've begun to look at me more."

Masaru paused and uncovered his eyes to see a calm and serene Rika. He began to inch closer. "Why do you look so- so..."

"So what?" Rika asked.

"Serene!" Masaru blushed.

"Because you've begun to truly fall in love with me. The old you never would have said the things that employee told me you said, nor would the old you have stopped the match back then."

"LOVE!?"

"Heh, guess you're still a bit too innocent in romance, but you're getting ever so closer. Just so you know, I truly do love you Masaru."

Masaru trembled as he slowly approached the bed.

"We can put a long pillow in the middle. You also don't need to tell me your feelings right away," Rika smiled.

"No, I respect your skill. If sleeping together will improve it, then we'll sleep together," Masaru blushed.

"Heh, so innocent. Don't worry, since I respect you too, we'll both keep our virginity tonight."

"V- VIRGINITY!?"

"Let's just take a nice snooze. We'll wake up in the afternoon and hear the praises for our staff," Rika smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

Masaru trembled, but ultimately closed his eyes and fell asleep next to Rika.