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Ichika sighed as she stepped back, looking over the kitchen counter. Rice? Check. Shrimp? Check. Pan? Check. She quickly took a moment to pray to Hatsune Miku to make sure she wouldn’t accidentally burn down the apartment while her parents were away.
It was winter, so naturally, people got sick. Somehow, Saki, Honami, and Shiho had all gotten sick in the same week, and they all seemed bummed out about it.
So, why not cheer them up with a home cooked meal?
The guitarist was very aware of her cooking abilities. Her… horrible, horrible cooking abilities. However, it seemed easy to make shrimp-fried rice. How hard could it be?
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First stop was Saki’s house. She pressed on the doorbell, and waited for a bit.
The door swung open. “Ah, Ichika!! You must be here to cheer up my dear little sister, come in!!” A certain world future star exclaimed.
Ichika said a quick “Thank you,” before heading up to Saki’s room.
When she opened the door, she was greeted with her girlfriend making dying fish noises while lying face down on her bed. Beside it was a mountain of dirty tissues, which was probably covering up a trash bin. When Saki heard the door open, she slowly lifted her head. Her eyes lit up like fireworks. “Icchan!! Wah, don’t come too close, that’s what got Hona-chan and Shiho-chan sick too…!”
“Okay, eheh… hi Saki.” Ichika said with a smile. “I brought you some food.”
“Food?! Yes, I love food!” Saki grinned, watching as Ichika placed a plastic container on the floor. “What is it?”
“Shrimp fried rice!” Ichika beamed, sitting against the door. “I made it myself!”
Was it just Ichika’s imagination, or did she just see Saki’s face get paler?
Saki’s head slowly tilted. “You… made it yourself?”
“Made it myself,” The guitarist confirmed, still beaming.
Saki pressed her lips into a thin line, slowly sliding the container over to herself and opening it. “Oh wow! It looks… crispy! I love how it smells like a campfire…”
Ichika smiled wider, standing up. “Enjoy it! I’ve gotta go give Honami and Shiho their portions while it’s still warm!”
When Ichika left, Saki looked down and slowly ate a spoonful of the rice. Somehow, some of the grains were soft while some were… crunchy. “I’ll finish it for you, Icchan…!”
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Next stop was Honami’s house. Even outside the door, Ichika could smell something like apple pie. When she knocked, she heard Shibao barking for a while, until Honami herself opened the door, while also holding Shibao back to prevent him from jumping on Ichika. “Ah, Ichika-chan, welcome in!”
Ichika stepped in with a frown. “Honami, you’re sick. You should be resting, not… baking.” Her eyes landed on the kitchen. There was a comical amount of fresh pastries on the table. If she hadn’t known Honami, she would’ve thought the taller girl came from a family of bakers.
“I tried, but… I couldn’t stay still.” Honami sighed, probably making an embarrassed smile from behind the medical mask she was wearing. “Since you’re here, how about you take some of these home and share with whoever you want?”
It was then that Ichika remembered why she was here in the first place. “Oh! Speaking of sharing, I came here to deliver some food to you.”
“Ah, really? That’s so sweet of you!” Honami said, taking the container Ichika was handing to her and taking a quick look at it. A small pause. “Ichika-chan… did you make this?”
“Yes!” Ichika smiled proudly. “Haha, was it that obvious?”
“It… looks like you worked very hard to make this!” Honami nodded a lot with a smile. A little fast and long for just a few nods, but Ichika didn’t question it.
“Well, I’m off to Shiho’s house! Remember to get some rest and take medicine! Enjoy the meal!” Ichika said, heading out the door while waving.
“Y-You too.” Honami responded without thinking. Luckily, Ichika was already outside by then. She sighed as she closed the door, looking down at Shibao. “Well, I suppose I should eat this while I wait for the apple pies to finish baking….”
Shibao looked back up at her and responded with a gleeful bark.
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Ichika came into Shiho’s house after being let in by her mom. She walked over to the bassist’s room, and heard the unmistakable sound of an epic bass guitar solo. When she slid the door open, the sound was gone, and Shiho was lying in bed with a suspiciously bass guitar shaped lump under the blanket next to her.
“...still down to play bass, even when you’re sick, huh?” Ichika asked, trying to raise one eyebrow, but instead making a weird face.
“Nuh-uh. I’m asleep.” Shiho mumbled with her eyes closed. “Honk shoo, snoring noises, et cetera…”
“I dunno, I don’t think sleeping people play epic bass solos in their sleep.” The guitarist said, placing the last container of shrimp fried rice on top of Shiho’s head, who opened her eyes at the contact. “Mm? What’s this?”
“Food for you! That I made!” Ichika said proudly. “You’ll need it for a good recovery!”
Shiho just stared for a long time, before nodding once. “Th…Thanks, it looks really I mean yes mmmm looks delicious thank you Ichika you are very kind and considerate and I will kiss you when I am not sick yes okay thanks.” To show her appreciation, Shiho grabbed a fistful of rice and ate it. “Hrk- um, wow, good job. It really tastes like you were the one who made it.”
Praise from Shiho?! This was a rare occasion! Ichika checked the time. “Oop, better get home now! I need to go do my homework! Bye!”
Shiho waved, watching Ichika leave, before sighing and standing up to get water.
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Back at home, there was still a bit of shrimp fried rice left. Since Ichika was hungry, she got a spoon and ate directly from the pan.
…dear Miku, this tasted like poison.
She coughed a little. Maybe it was just a one time thing? She ate another spoonful… it was equally horrible.
Her eyes widened. “Did… did I really give this to my girlfriends?!”
Panicking, she took her phone out of her pocket and typed in the group chat.
Ichi! : [RETURN TGE SHRINP FRIEND RICE NOW]
Ichi! : [I MADE A MSIDGKE IM SO SORYRY]
Tears pricked at her eyes. Had they all been pretending to like it? Had they even touched it? What if they ate it and then threw it up? She was such a useless-
Saki♡ : [WOAH icchan what???]
Honaaaaa : [Ichika-chan, are you okay?]
Shiho “I don’t need a groupchat nickname” Hinomori : [come to sekai]
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In sekai, Ichika sat sobbing in front of her three sick girlfriends.
“I’m sorryyyy… I cooked it wrong… it tastes like asphalt…” Ichika hiccuped. “I’m so sorryyyyy…!”
“H-Hey, there there.” Saki said softly, patting the other girl’s back. “It wasn’t too bad, really! It was made with love, and that’s all that matters!”
“R-Really?”
“Really!” Honami agreed. “Look, next time, I can teach you how to cook it evenly… I smiled while eating it because I remembered how much you were smiling!”
Everyone glanced towards Shiho, waiting for her to say anything more. After a moment, Shiho took the hint and said, “Soy sauce would do good.” with a thumb up. “I think… what you started with was alright.”
Ichika sighed with relief. “Again, I’m sorry… I’ll do better next time…”
“WE’LL do better next time!” Saki corrected, looking cheerful and confident despite shivering and being wrapped in a blanket. “We’ll cook with you! Partner bonding!”
Ichika just smiled, thankful for her loving partners.
…She ended up getting really sick the next day since she went to all their houses before.