Benihime's birthday

Rika sighed as she looked at the calendar.

"That sigh, was it because of the date?" Zuina asked.

"Yeah, today's Benihime's birthday."

Ever since being fired from Ryokoma, Benihime had completely abandoned contact with all Ryokoma staff and avoided ever setting foot in the area around the place. If she came into contact with someone, she'd shoot them a scowl, before huffing away. Ookuma's party suffering a landslide defeat only worsened her mood as she had looked up to Ookuma.

Now she was nothing more of a shell of her former self.

"Damn girl, you putting a delinquent spin on a horror classic?" Rize teased as Benihime entered her office.

"My hair is naturally blonde," Benihime snarled as she brushed her now waist-length disheveled hair out of her eyes.

"Need a cut too. All that hair will just bog ya down in the kitchen."

"I tie it up properly."

"But it's gettin' in your eyes. Time for a makeover. It's your birthday right, so I'll pay for it."

"Is this your way of weaseling out of giving me a proper gift?"

"Uh... Nope."

Benihime snarled and decided to just leave things there.

...

"All done. Is this suitable to your tastes, ma'am?" the stylist nervously asked as she flashed a mirror before Benihime.

"I say it's good, so ya ready to grab some food?" Benihime grinned.

"And just what is good about this!?"

At Rize's order, the stylist had given Benihime a radical makeover. Half her head had been buzzed, and now sported the same shaved design on Rize's hair. The other half of Benihime's hair had been been cut to shoulder length. Aside from the side-shave, her style was reminiscent of how it had normally been before she learned of Rika's past.

"Was it necessary to etch scribbles into my head?"

"Yeah. Now we match. Now let's head off to eat, though I guess technically it's work."

...

Benihime scowled as she recognized the place Rize brought her to.

"It's routine check as part of the Tabemono alumni. Now stop scowling. I already put in a reservation and ordered ahead so no need to worry," Rize grinned as she dragged Benihime in.

Everyone went quiet as Rize and Benihime entered. It was obvious though that everyone was staring at Benihime. The last time she was here was back in March when she was fired. Since then, all the good relationships she had built up with many of the patrons had collapsed. The main root of this being Benihime's intolerance towards those that appreciated Rika.

Upon being dragged into a private booth, Benihime scowled as she noticed the dish before her; wagyu beef. This was her favorite dish, though what angered her was the fact that Rika, or someone who was on her side, had cooked it.

"You can eat the wagyu, I'll take the [inserttext]."

"Nope, that wagyu's free for you since it's your birthday n' all," Rize huffed as she crossed her arms.

"'Free'!? Is she trying to reconcile? I will NEVER forgive her!"

"Then at least eat the meal."

"It's poisoned. That woman's a murderer, and so is everyone that shelters and praises her."

"And you told me to eat it, even though you think it's poisoned?"

"I'd become headmaster then."

"Well talk about a Machiavellian phase," Rize sighed as she grabbed a piece of beef and chomped it down. "Mmm, tastes fine. Don't- ACK!"

Benihime rushed over in shock as Rize began coughing and sinking to the floor.

"B- Benihime... You were PSYCH! Food's fine."

Benihime scowled in disgust before returning to her seat. "You're lucky I'm a law-abiding woman, otherwise I'd have killed you just now."

"Sheesh, I was only kidding about the Machiavellian phase."

Rize ended up eating all the food, while Benihime watched in silence. All eyes once again focused on Benihime as she walked out with Rize. One patron hurled a jeer at her, but she paid no mind and simply walked out of the restaurant.

"Talk about a lousy atmosphere. You really left a bad impression when you got fired huh."

Benihime remained silent, but that was quickly broken by her stomach rumbling.

"Come on. Why don't you try and move on? If you're stubborn like this, you'll only be miserable till the end of time."

"I am not miserable."

"And how would you describe your time working there?"

"Horrible, a nasty and vile ruse."

"And if you never learned the truth?"

Benihime wanted to lie and repeat her previous answer, but ever since she had been fired, she couldn't get all the memories of her time at Ryokoma out of her mind. All the laughs, smiles, good times, it all kept haunting and tormenting her.

Tears began rolling down her face as she gave her answer. "I destroyed the bridge. It can't be rebuilt."

"Uh, sure it can."

"Not if the bridge was a natural land formation that's collapsed."

"Still possible, just hard to do, but money makes the world go round."

"Then it would be restored artificially, not organically."

"Then we call upon the gods to restore it naturally."

"And just have them overwrite my brain and thoughts!?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Benihime stared in silence before storming away. "I hate you almost as much as that murderer, however, I'll bide my time as your vice-principle until I can usurp you."

"Guess in that case, we'll just have to wait for the natural bridge to reform over time. It's possible, but will take forever. What a stubborn girl."

...

Benihime scowled as she stared out of her office window. The skies were gray, and it had begun drizzling, though what annoyed her more was the mountain of paperwork, Rize had left for her.

"If it's your birthday, you get the day off. No protesting," Rika's voice echoed in her head.

"Sorry for the wait! Took a while to cook in the oven," Rize grinned as she set a plate of wagyu before Benihime.

"I'm working-"

"Free for the rest of the day. Now eat up."

Benihime scowled and stared at the dish. She cautiously cut a piece and pressed it to her lips. However, it was hot, as if it had been freshly cooked. Benihime let out a sigh of relief and began eating the food.

"I hate you, but I will praise you for a meal well-cooked. I truly hate to admit it, but you are a skilled chef."

"Thanks. Now I'll handle all that paper."

Little did Benihime know, but she had been completely tricked by Rize into eating a to-go meal from Ryokoma. The only reason it was hot was due to Rize stuffing it in the microwave for a bit to give off the illusion she had cooked the meal here.

"'Elite chef caught buying meals from restaurants, stuffing them in microwave, and claiming them as her own'! Wonder if she'd try and push a scandal like that if she ever found out. Whelp, guess for now, I can only try and reform the natural bridge as a human," Rize thought.