On the last day of December, late afternoon drew near. The setting sun dyed the sky with shades of orange and blue, a strikingly rare sight. Unlike summer, with its long twilights of orange-yellow, a winter sunset was fleeting – darkness came quickly. Yet this fleeting evening glow felt both warm and slightly cool, colored in a dreamy mix of orange and blue.
Students from Yukio's class and Ichinose's class were each preparing various ingredients, snacks, and small treats, gathering in the home economics room. Home Ec was a typical course in Japan's schools, from elementary through high school, so plenty of them had signature dishes to show off. They'd learned these either in middle school or in Home Ec. No worries about cooking ability: dinner would definitely be served in one form or another.
The Home Ec room at AN High School was quite spacious, enough to hold 80 students from both classes. It couldn't handle everyone cooking simultaneously, but there were at least 40 stations, plus several ovens and microwaves—plenty for their needs. A facility this lavish obviously wasn't open for student use all the time, but if students filed a request, it was typically handled via the Student Council. Horikita Manabu once told Yukio that the special permission for the summer test-of-courage event—using the teaching building—had been approved by him. Now that Yukio himself was Student Council president, borrowing the Home Ec room for an evening was child's play.
When Yukio arrived, Ichinose's group was already busy at it. The cold air from the hallway was practically driven off by the warm bustle of cooking inside, making the place cozy.
"Yukio-kun!" Ichinose greeted him warmly, gesturing at a table piled high with snacks – practically a mini-mountain of treats. "We're just starting on the main dishes. If you're hungry, you can snack on these first!"
With that, she hurried back to work, wearing a bright smile. She seemed entirely in her element with a lively New Year's party like this.
Following Yukio were the two girls, Shiina and Ibuki. Shiina smiled without speaking, while Ibuki scanned suspiciously between Ichinose and Yukio.
Her guarded expression, to Yukio's eyes, resembled a mother hen warily protecting her chicks from foxes or weasels.
In truth, that was just Yukio's assumption. If one asked Ibuki, she wasn't guarding so much as investigating. Investigating that overly generous dumplings belonging to Ichinose, then tipping her head to check out Shiina's figure as well, inwardly sighing.
Glancing down at herself, Ibuki couldn't see anything but her toes. It left her rather dejected. She tugged Shiina aside, away from Yukio, so she could quietly ask: "H-Hiyori, you… you both… what do you eat to get, well… that big…?"
At first Shiina assumed Ibuki wanted to know if Yukio had any special relationship with Ichinose. Who'd have guessed she'd be asking about cup size?! Shiina had no idea how to answer. Even if she'd grown bolder since dating Yukio, discussing such a topic privately with Ibuki still made her blush. "I'm not sure," she said. "It just grew naturally."
"Maybe it's because… I'm not picky about food?"
Ibuki instinctively pressed a hand to her chest. She wasn't a picky eater either – so how come…? Frustrated, she shot a glare in Yukio's direction.
'All your fault, jerk!' She felt sure Yukio favored that size of Ichinose and Shiina. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't be agonizing over this.
Still fuming, Ibuki pressed her palms together in a pleading gesture. "Hiyori, let me see what you normally eat, okay? We can cook it right here."
Facing that request, Shiina, ever helpful, agreed and led Ibuki off to whip up something. Yukio, for his part, was glad to see both of them engaged in this end-of-year activity.
The main purpose of organizing a big to-do was for everyone to have fun. Let them be; he was content. Yukio himself moved toward a table where Ishizaki and Nomura were hanging out, devouring crabsticks in plastic packs, while Ryuuen lounged like a king, sipping green tea from a straw and not saying a word.
You had to admit, Ichinose's class was pretty generous. The giant mound of snacks alone showed how committed they were to ringing in the New Year in style.
"You guys are already eating? We haven't started on dinner. Won't you be too full?" Yukio asked casually, taking a seat but not touching any snacks, picking up a bottle of lemon tea instead—rather like Ryuuen with his green tea.
"Don't worry about it, aniki." Ishizaki spoke around half a crabstick still in his mouth, making him a bit hard to understand. "Isn't the plan for us to party till midnight? That's ages. We'll get hungry again after filling up, then we eat more."
Yukio blinked. He wasn't sure whether Ishizaki was cunning or just sharper now. He let him keep stuffing his face, then turned to Ryuuen. "What are you staring at so intently?"
"Watching the countdown," Ryuuen replied, gaze fixed on something in the distance. No straw in his mouth this time, though. "This year's New Year's turned out real lively, thanks to you."
"Yeah, for real!" Ishizaki chimed in as a devoted sidekick. "I've never rung in the New Year with so many classmates before. This food-festival idea of yours is brilliant, aniki!"
Hearing that, Yukio also looked at the boisterous scene filling the Home Ec room. Everyone seemed fired up, bustling around, excited for the night. Some hovered over the pots, carefully watching cooking times, even timing them on their phones to avoid messing up. Others were anxious, roping in friends for taste-testing. If the feedback was good, they'd jump and cheer; if it was bad, they'd hurry to adjust seasoning.
Even more comedic moments popped up.
"Dude! Where's the panko I just made from scratch? Who ate it?! I need it to fry shrimp!"
"Hey, hey, hey, you idiot! That pot's boiling over – turn it down! Wait, not off—dang it, that's all the way off!"
"Taste-test? Sure, what the— ugh…! You tricked me!"
Yukio could understand why Ryuuen and Ishizaki were feeling a bit sentimental. They'd never experienced such a noisy, festive New Year. Maybe they used to gather with a few pals, but that would never match the scale of this get-together. Everyone could join in, either cooking or sampling each other's dishes, a real sense of camaraderie. On the last day of the year, this event would surely be one of the most memorable pages in their youthful memories.
Watching for a while, Yukio tapped the lemon tea bottle on the table, switching his gaze to Ryuuen, eyes glinting with mischievous amusement. "I guess I was right on the money. Quit sneaking looks at Rika and just admit it. I promise I won't laugh."
A faint flush colored Ryuuen's face, though he kept his eyes fixed on that female classmate "Rika," refusing to meet Yukio's gaze.
Sure enough, this New Year's day, maybe some girl had prepared a home-cooked dish for him, something he was looking forward to. Even a so-called villain like Ryuuen was too shy to admit such a thing openly, using the crowd as cover…
***
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