"Hey, Shirou! Do you want to come to another party with me?" Michiru smiled at him as he threw the ball over her head.
"When is it?" He kept his eyes on the ball, it went through the hoop and bounced.
"Tomorrow, it's Jackie's birthday and they're having a potluck." She grabbed the ball and ran up to him, throwing the ball over his head next. He quickly jumped and got in the way.
"Alright, do you know what you're bringing?" He stole the ball and threw it over her head again. It went into the hoop again. Shirou's plain physical ability was enraging sometimes and yet she knew how useful it was. That knowledge didn't stop her from wishing she could go back to winning against other people or the days when he didn't understand the rules.
"Nope, I was hoping you could help me with that." She caught the ball and tossed it over his head, finally getting the ball into the hoop. He held his hand up, calling time out. He grabbed the ball and turned to her.
"Shouldn't we be thinking about that then?" He handed her the ball and sat down on his chair.
"I guess, do you have any ideas?" She sat down on the floor, leaned against his legs, and stared up at him. She felt hot and sweaty, but the windy weather helped relieve her body a bit.
"It's in the slums, right?" He stared down at her and felt around for his coat. She hummed at him with a nod. "We should bring something with vegetables then, it's healthy and filling." He found his coat and started to shrug it on. She turned around and leaned her head on the long chair thing, right next to his legs.
"Vegetables, do you want to cook it? You are older than me, doesn't that mean you're better at cooking?" She stared at him and he sighed at her.
"Not necessarily." She pouted.
"Well, do you cook it or should I?" She leaned back and started to get up.
"It's your friend, you do it." He watched her stand and brush off her legs. Just as she was going to start protesting, his phone started ringing and he held a hand up to her. The call was from the mayor.
"Afternoon Ogami."
"Mayor, what did you call for?" Michiru's ears perked up and he raised an eyebrow at her.
"I just found out that I'm going to be packed with meetings tomorrow so I'm calling to tell you that I won't be contacting you again until the day after tomorrow."
"Is there anything you want to tell me today then?" Michiru sat down next to him and they just kept staring at each other.
"Just that, also have a nice day off." He sighed.
"Alright." She hung up and he put his phone back in his pocket.
"So, you're still coming. Right?" He nodded and she went back to smiling. "And you're sure you don't want to cook the food?" He gave her a look and sighed.
"Fine, I'll help you. But I'm not making it all." She smiled and hopped back up.
"Great, do you think we should start cooking right now or tomorrow?" He shook his head and lip tilted at her excitement.
"I have tomorrow off so we can start tomorrow morning." He moved up to a soft smile and she couldn't help but marvel at it.
"Hey, dinner is ready!" Gem called from the roof door, they looked over and waved at him.
"We'll be there in a second!" Shirou yelled and Gem nodded, heading back in. "Let's go." They got up and went down for dinner.
---
"So do you have any plans for tomorrow?" Melissa smiled while they ate dinner.
"Yup, me and Shirou are going to Jackie's birthday party tomorrow!" Gem raised an eyebrow.
"The raccoon who keeps going into debt?" Shirou looked up and Michiru's smile strained.
"Yeah." She went right back to eating.
"We'll be using the kitchen tomorrow, the party is a potluck apparently." Shirou looked over at Michiru and she gave him a small smile.
"Really, do you want any help cooking?" Melissa finished her food and stood up. That got Michiru's attention fast, she glanced over at Shirou with hopeful eyes.
"Sure." He answered and stood with his empty bowl. Michiru quickly finished her bowl and stood up too. They all walked to the kitchen and left Gem as the last one with any food. He sighed a little and followed after them with a now empty bowl.
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"Alright, let's cook!" Melissa smiled. Shirou worked with the oil, Michiru cleaned and prepped the vegetables, and Melissa breaded them. They made tempura.
---
"Thank you for your help with the food, are you sure you don't want to come?" Michiru tilted her head at Melissa as they walked to the door.
"Yup, you kids have fun!" Melissa laughed and shooed them outside.
"Alright, we'll see you later!" They waved and Shirou held the big bowl of tempura.
"So, do you think we should get a present?" Shirou looked down at her.
"Probably, I'm not sure honestly." She shrugged. They walked past a plushie store, but Michiru quickly back up and looked into the window. The store had a yellow bear plushie in the window. "This could work as a present." He walked over to her and leaned down a little to look at it.
"Am I going to have to pay for it?" He gave her a look and she pouted at him.
"That would be nice." She crossed her arms and looked up at him, her nose almost touched his jaw.
"So would you getting a job." He deadpanned. "Actually, I'll get the present, but you have to get a job this month." He looked down at her and she pouted before nodding.
"Fine, I'll try. But if I don't get a job you can't blame me!" He gave her a look.
"Beastmen give jobs to people who can work, it isn't the same as getting a job from humans. You should be just fine." He straightened out and walked into the store with her right behind him.
"Hello, what can I get for you today?" A man smiled at them, he wore a big sweater and had fluffy, yellow hair. He kind of reminded Michiru of a duckling.
"How much does the yellow bear in the window cost?" Shirou pulled out his wallet and the man looked over at it.
"Six dollars." The man answered with a smile, then he glanced over at Michiru. "Wait, you're the miracle pitcher from the bears team! I can give you fifty percent off if you give me an autograph!" He looked even more like a duckling now, all happy and flappy and cute.
"A discount sounds nice." The man nodded and got the bear from a box next to the window. He walked over to the counter and pulled out a paper and pen before walking back over to them.
"Thank you!" He smiled and handed her the pen and paper. She smiled at him and wrote a quick note and signed it, leaning over the counter. He raised an eyebrow at her and payed for the plushie, taking it from the man for her. She handed the note and pen back to the man.
"Thank you for the plushie." She waved and smiled as she left with Shirou.
'People haven't really asked for anything like this in a while, so thank you for this and the discounted plushie. -Michiru Kagemori'
---
"I guess that baseball thing did make you a little famous." He lip tilted at her as they walked to the slums.
"I guess it did!" She laughed. This is kind of nice. She walked a little closer to his side than before.
---
The slums were brighter than usual, they had lanterns all around and the place looked happier. They heard singing and dancing, it was pretty. They walked in and saw the birthday girl and a couple others sitting to the side with family.
"Hey Jackie!" Michiru ran ahead of Shirou and started talking to Jackie. He shook his head at her and put the tempura on the table, walking over to Michiru and handing her the plushie.
"You forgot to get this back from me." She nodded at him and handed the bear plushie to Jackie.
"Happy birthday, we got you a present!" Jackie laughed and wiped her nose before hugging the bear.
"Thanks guys! Don't forget to eat while your here, potlucks are the best! What did you guys bring?" She stared at them with big, happy eyes.
"Tempura." Michiru smiled and Shirou's face didn't move, but his eyes got a little softer.
"What's tempura?" Jackie leaned forward with so much excitement.
"I'll show you! Come on, Shirou!" She pulled Jackie with her to the table of food and Shirou followed.
"Whaaaa, this is tempura? It looks good and it smells good too!" Jackie drooled a little and grabbed some, "Thank you!" She ate it and quickly hugged Michiru. "This is really good!" Michiru smiled at her. "What's it made of?" Shirou pat her head.
"Bread and vegetable that were fried." She looked back into the bowl like it was made of magic.
"This is wonderful!" She grabbed a handful and ran around, passing it to the other people in the slums. They all looked so happy. "More super bread crust!" Shirou looked down at Michiru, but she kept her eyes on the party. She looked so happy that it made him smile a little.
---
"Who made this punch?" Michiru gagged after drinking some. Shirou looked over at her, but no one else noticed or responded. She put the cup down next to her and ate some of the food on her plate instead.
"It's your turn to play!" Jackie grabbed her and handed Shirou her plate as she was dragged away. She was taken to the circle of dancing and singing, the radio starting playing the songs from Nazuna's concert. Michiru looked over at Shirou, it was the same song where she held a gun to Shirou. His face from at moment flashed in her mind, but she smiled and waved him over. Everyone started singing and bouncing along to the song. He raised an eyebrow and raised his hands, staying in his spot. The song was so cutesy. Jackie looked over and followed Michiru's line of sight, seeing the unmoving Shirou. He had his arms crossed and seemed to be thinking about something. She smiled and ran up to him, dragging him over too. He shook his head, but allowed himself to be moved over. The song finished and another one came on. It was another one from the concert. Night Running came on and everyone but Shirou started singing. Michiru elbowed him and kept on singing, he sighed a little and held his hands up again. It was kind of funny how Nazuna's take on the song had such epic instrumental instead of the cool instrumental the original had. Eventually the song ended and another song came on. It was unfamiliar to Shirou and Michiru but she danced along to it with the others. It was fast and fun, so they all bounced along to it. She glanced up at Shirou and smiled, he smiled back and rolled his eyes before crossed his arms and scooting back. This went on for a while, but eventually a man broke through and turned down the radio.
"It's time for sweet bread!" He called out and a woman came over with a plate of bread crust coated in sugar and frosting. Jackie squealed and ran over, four others following her. "Alright, no sharing your special birthday bread this time. Now blow out the candles kids!" Everyone started laughing and the kids blew out the candles stabbed into the middle of the pile. It was divided into five pieces and given to the birthday kids. The kids in the slums shared their birthdays with other kids and shared their parties and didn't even get cake. It was so nice and yet a little sad.
"I wish I could give them more." A woman smiled behind Michiru. She smiled and pat the woman's arm.
"That would be nice, but they're happy so don't worry too much." The woman nodded and pat Michiru's head.
"That is true." They looked back at the happy celebration.
---
"Me and Shirou have to get home. Happy birthday, Jackie!" The people in the slums waved as they walked away. As they walked farther from the party, it got colder and darker. The sun had already fallen past the buildings and it was getting late.
"So how'd you like the party, Shirou?" She smiled at him.
"It was nice. They turned a corner and walked into the city. "What about you?"
"I liked it, the food was good and the singing was fun." Her eyes strayed to a Fire Bull stand, but she quickly looked back at him. "Y'know, it would have been nice if you'd joined us. You're pretty good at it!" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"When did you hear me sing?" She laughed a little.
"Nina's birthday party, you sang with the others."He rolled his eyes and lip tilted at her.
"I don't sing much, but thanks." She thought of the first song that came on. The memory of the gun at Nazuna's concert.
"Shirou?" He looked down at her and hummed. She shook her head, "Nothing." She smiled and he raised an eyebrow. "Nothing!" They walked down the bright streets.
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Okay, Chapter 15 is done! Goodness, this chapter was pretty difficult to get out. I rewrote the thing like three times! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this. I'll see you in the next chapter!
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This is the chapter that didn't make setting sense. I tried to write a chapter between this one and the last one, but decided against it due to it feeling like a rerun of Chapter 14. Anyways, school will be starting up soon so my updates will probably slow a bit. Thanks for reading my chapter!