Sumi opened her apartment door and stepped inside. It had changed. Boxes were piled in the kitchen and living room corners, and even from the door, anyone could easily see her bedroom also hosted several packages. It wouldn't be long before the place would be a memory. She'd be leaving soon, and when she returned, things would be different. She'd never come back here. She would miss it but wouldn't come back. The apartment was part of her life before, and, quite frankly, she didn't want to be surrounded by the old reminders. There would be other places to start fresh.
Start fresh. That was what she'd be doing in less than a month. The Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School in Australia accepted her application, and the new year started soon. Akanishi made sure she received all the necessary studies and testing before her departure, so she could still graduate, simply earlier. He refused a withdrawal, content only with the resolution that she tried her best to finish. He settled for nothing less than high B's, however, so her last few weeks were heavily consumed with hours in the library, nose in a book.
"Sumi?"
She glanced over her shoulder and smiled as Izaki came in behind her carrying several grocery bags. "Izaki, what should we have for dessert tonight?"
He arched a confused and disinterested eyebrow then walked past her for the kitchen. "It's just a bunch of Suzuran guys. Why do you need to make something special?"
Sumi pouted her lip and closed the door as he unpacked the purchases. "It's not just a bunch of Suzuran guys. It's the Serizawa Faction and GPS together peacefully under one roof! It's the only thing that can keep me strong through my time away."
"You'll be too busy making daydreams over your latest creation to care about if Serizawa and Genji are gonna knock each other's lights out," he replied dryly.
She stomped her foot. "Oie! If you wanna eat, you'd better zip your lips!" He protested by unpacking the groceries without visually acknowledging her, but complied by not speaking. "Anyway, I think it's a special night, and since I'm the chef, my opinion is all that matters. I'm pretty sure they're only coming because I asked anyway."
"But shouldn't you have told them they'd all be meeting together?"
"Iie," she said simply. "GPS beat the Serizawa Faction, but I'm not stupid enough to believe Tamao will follow someone just because they beat him. Makise got beat by Tamao loads of times and never followed him. It's better to leave them in the dark."
Izaki shook his head and put a new set of eggs in the refrigerator. "So cunning, but will it work?" he mumbled into the cool air.
Sumi didn't hear him, and it wouldn't have mattered if she had because she was already in a frenzy about preparing the meal. "Izaki! Lay out everything we just bought! Tonight, I'm going to make a meal fit for a king!"
Izaki smirked and closed the refrigerator. "You're going crazy over this."
"Love makes people do crazy things, Shun-sama!" She slammed her hands soundly on the counter then quickly stripped off her uniform coat. "And you're going to help me!"
His face dropped. "What?"
By seven o'clock that night, the apartment overflowed with delicious smells of bold main courses and sultry desserts. Sumi was a little surprised they managed to finish her desired choices in time because she and Izaki kept kissing and flirting. It had been like this for a while now. Izaki was more possessive of her than ever since he found out her intentions for school, but instead of getting jealous or angry with their separation, he intensified their intimate moments with more and more frequency. She didn't mind in the least. The more she had of him, the more she wanted, and the more she desired him, the more he gave her. It was a well-functioning cycle. The lonely nights that would follow could be the death of her.
A knock on the door signaled the first wave of guests, and Sumi practically jumped with excitement. Izaki grabbed her arm before she could answer it and leaned close. "Don't tell them I helped you cook, okay?"
"Why not?" she asked curiously.
He frowned. "How can you ask me that? You know."
Sumi giggled and motioned her finger the length of his body. "You might want to take off the apron then." She skipped off to answer the door, and he frantically took off the green apron. "Meiko-chan!"
Meiko beamed and waved at her friend. "Sumi-chan! I brought company." Shoji, Go, and Manabu stood just behind her and shouted excited hellos.
"Good! The more the merrier. Hurry up and get in here! We're expecting more so hurry and take your seat while you can." She practically yanked them inside and shoved them toward the setting in the center of the living room. Izaki had moved the coffee table and replaced it with two long tables set up like a buffet, only with chairs surrounding them. "Dinner will be ready soon."
"Izaki, are you a killer in the kitchen, too?" Manabu teased.
Izaki raised a butcher's knife, and the laughter ceased. Sumi pinched his side warningly then ran back for the door as another knock sounded. "More guests!" This time when she swung the door open, the rest of GPS stood outside. "Genji! Makkie, Chuta! Hurry up and get inside! The food'll be ready real soon so just have a seat and we can get started shortly." She frolicked back into the kitchen and gathered the food to set the table.
Meanwhile, Genji and his friends stared at the members of Serizawa Faction watching them. There was a long, awkward silence that everyone but Sumi noticed. Genji glanced sideways at Izaki standing at the kitchen counter as he cut up vegetables. Izaki nodded seriously. Genji fidgeted then sat down, and Makise and Chuta joined him on either side.
"Sumi," Izaki whispered lowly.
Sumi came up beside him and lifted her eyebrows innocently. "Hm?"
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Sumi eyed the group sitting at the tables and smiled. "Of course. Leave it to the Mikamis."
He raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"Hey Makise," started Manabu again, "you get laid yet or are you still scaring girls with your gorilla tactics?"
"What did you say?" he growled lowly.
"Kyoko still wants nothing to do with him," chimed in Chuta. "Whenever he gets within ten feet of her he practically goes all over himself!"
"Are you still that susceptible to a woman?" Go gawked. "You're an old man! Experience should be your middle name!"
"Not with that face," mumbled Genji teasingly. Makise's mouth hung at the smirking Genji as the others laughed. Izaki grinned and glanced at Sumi, who winked.
Another knock sounded on the door, and Sumi skipped across the room. "The last of ours guests! It's about time to dig in!"
"How many more people could fit in this little apartment?" Shoji asked in amazement.
Sumi swung the door open and beamed. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."
Tamao smirked and stepped inside, pressing his forehead into hers before passing into the living room. "If food's involved, you know I'll be here eventually."
"Everyone loves your food," said Tokio. He ruffled her hair then smiled across the room. "Meiko-chan. You came too?"
Meiko blushed and nodded. "Hai. Come sit by me, Tokio-kun! We have a lot to catch up on."
Tamao lingered at the far end of the table, examining the rest of the guest list, but sat down when Tokio sat on his right. Meiko was at Tokio's right with Chuta beside her then Genji then Makise. The chair at the other end of the table was empty, as was the seat on its right. Beside it sat Shoji with Manabu and Go sitting down from him. There was a place set for someone on Tamao's left, but the chair was vacated.
"Izaki," beckoned Sumi, "help me bring out the food. We should get started while the peace is still being kept."
"All right," Izaki complied and picked up a dish full of freshly cut turkey. They put the food out quickly, and Sumi fetched drinks as Izaki took his seat at the empty chair across the table, he and Tamao facing each other with a silent contempt but mutual neutrality—for the moment.
Before Sumi could join them at the spot beside Izaki, a final knock rapped on the door. She turned curiously and strode across the room to pull open the door. Her curiosity fell at the sight of the guest.
Tokaji looked up slowly from the floor and bowed his head. "Konbanwa."
Sumi's chest inflated, and she glared. "What're you doing here?"
"I invited him," replied Tamao, but she didn't bother turning to look at him. "He's part of the Serizawa Faction."
Sumi's teeth clenched together. The sight of him made her mentally spout off verbal profanities she'd never say out loud, and she was keen on slamming the door in his face. But she was very aware of the reestablished tense silence behind her, as well as the genuine humility in Tokaji's eyes as he kept her furious gaze. Finally, she took a deep breath and stepped aside. "Fine. He can stay."
Tokaji's shoulders lowered somewhat, relieved, and he entered. He joined Tamao at the empty spot on his left. Tamao grinned and smacked his friend's shoulder. "She would have let you stay; there was already a place set. What'd I tell you? Women always forgive if you approach them right."
"I said he could stay," she inserted darkly. "That doesn't mean I've forgiven him." Their eyes met; her point was established.
And with that, her anger evaporated, and she clapped her hands together. "Okay! Let's eat!" The flood gates opened with those two words. In seconds, the individual plates were filled with the various assortments of foods, and the serving plates were stripped bare. Sumi shook her head at the unreal spectacle. "Like a herd of carnivores."
"Sumi-chan," Meiko piped up. Even she had rallied a full plate of food. "Aren't you going to eat?"
Sumi forced a smile and shook her head. "Uh, no, I'm not hungry yet. You guys go ahead." Meiko needed no further convincing and dived into her meal.
Sumi took that time to examine the guests. They were still bandaged, bruised, and swollen from their showdown not so long ago, but their familiarity with casualties left them moving like prime condition.
She scowled and stood again, gripping Shoji's chin in her hand. "Gosh, just look at you guys. It's like rejects from a sitcom." She pinched a particularly red spot on Shoji's face, and he winced severely. "Have you been putting ointment on this like I told you? It's not gonna heal right if you don't do it regularly, Shoji." She released him and stepped around to Manabu.
He volunteered his face to her hands but recoiled when she smacked him soundly across the temple, where a gray-blue bruise was still prominent. Go offered his face up too, but since most of his wounds had healed, she let him off easy. Tokaji's lip was still swollen in the corner, and she intentionally pressed on it with her thumb. It passed her test, however, when it didn't bleed.
Tamao tried forcing her away, but she was resilient and yanked his chin upward so she could inspect his face. Of course his was still worse for wear, but he healed faster than most in his state. She pulled the flesh back from a cut over his eye, but he was so used to her tactics that he never even flinched. The wound would heal without a scar.
Tokio let her pull his head up to hers as well, and she was gentle with him. Not gentle enough to insult his pride, but significantly gentler than the others. She pulled his bandages back just slightly and inspected the stitches in the side of his head. "They're going to heal nicely. Probably won't even leave a scar." She smiled down at his grinning face and slapped Chuta on the back. He choked on his glass of soda and pounded his chest for air. Most of his injuries were not visible, but she knew there were distinct ones beneath his clothes. She resigned herself to hitting him on the back and continued to Genji.
Genji resisted inspection too, but she got him in a choke hold long enough to check the taped bandage beneath his eye. It healed nicely. Makise backed away from her when she faced him, and she set her hands on her hips. He decided her wrath was scarier than her methods and leaned back over. He always looked rough around the edges, but he was a remarkably fast healer. The only noticeable things were the stitches at the top of his forehead just below his hairline.
Sumi reached her hands out for Izaki's face, but at the last minute he dodged her attempt and pulled her into his lap. She blinked in surprise then laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows at her. She pressed her hands lightly against his cheeks and studied every spec of his face. He was really too handsome. "Izaki-sama," she said softly.
"Hm?" He was still smiling and rubbed the small of her back as he inspected her face as well.
She gripped his face tightly all the sudden and glared sharply. "If you cheat on me while I'm gone, I'll come back and personally kick your ass, I don't care how handsome you are. Got it?"
He nodded against her grasp forcing his cheeks to pudge up like a fish. "Hai."
"Good." She softened her hold then leaned in and kissed him. They kept the passion in check, but the seduction was inevitable as he gradually explored every cranny of her craving mouth. His hand flattened against her back, and his other cupped perfectly around her neck.
A throat cleared then Tamao barked, "Oie. Don't remind me why I need to break your neck after she leaves."
The others laughed, and the couple did too as they separated. Sumi returned to her seat and listened to the ensuing verbal battle about relationships and family. No one had the same opinion about anything, so the conversation escalated higher and higher. But the tension never grew.
And as her friends and family caroused and ate together, she clutched Izaki's hand and winked slyly across the table at Tamao.
The End