“Sayori, Sakura, both of you have the same lunch today did one of you cook it?” I asked, my ears twitching with curiosity.

Sayori showed a bashful smile and said, “I cooked it. I wanted to thank Sakura for winning me that plushie when we went shopping.”

“That's so sweet and thoughtful; you two must be close,” Yami-nee said with a very slight teasing smile.

“W..we are childhood friends like you, Eri, and Hina are,” Sakura replied a bit nervously.

“Ooh, that’s nice, childhood friends are the best,” Yami-nee replied while giggling.

‘So Yami-nee caught on to their feelings for each other too. It’s too bad they can’t see it through,’ I thought to myself as I watched Sakura and Sayori.

Yami-nee opened her lunch box as well. It was a double-decker box, one smaller than my own. The food looked delicious.

Sayori asked, “Yami, do you have a chef like Hina and Eri too?”

Yami-nee giggled and replied, “No, I made this all myself.”

Sakura then asked, “You can eat all of that? I thought Hina was the only one that could eat that much.”

Yami-nee looked at me with warm eyes as I had already started eating my hamburger and said, “As a spirit like Hina, I do eat more than a normal human, however, there is another reason I made this much. It was a promise I made to Hina when we were kids. I promised I would be able to make her delicious food and snacks someday.”

I stopped eating, my ears twitching in surprise. “You remembered that promise, Yami-nee?”

“Of course, I did. I practiced a lot when we were separated. Would you like to try some?” Yami replied, looking at me with warm and loving eyes.

“I would love to, thank you, Yami-nee,” I said happily, my tails swaying back and forth in excitement.

Yami-nee grabbed a piece of fried chicken with her chopstick and said, “Here, say aaah...”

“Nyaaah... it's delicious,” I squealed after taking a bite. It was so good.

“I’m glad you liked it,” Yami-nee giggled, showing a delightful smile.

I could feel someone poking my shoulder; it was Eri. She was holding up some of her lunch in her chopstick as well. “Hina, say aah...”

I giggled and let her feed me as well. The feeding cycle, just like last time when we ate breakfast with my mother, continued. This time, Sakura and Sayori looked on with twitching smirks.

Sakura said what I was retorting to myself out loud, “Hina has a big lunch, and Yami and Eri, both of you have already given her over half of yours. Shouldn’t you eat some of your lunch too?”

“Ahh!” They both exclaimed in unison after looking at their lunches, slight tears in their eyes.

“I will make you both something delicious in cooking class later, as thanks,” I said as I hugged them, my tails swaying happily, and then I started eating my lunch again.

“Thank you, Hina. I can’t wait,” Eri smiled, hugging me back and expressing her gratitude before finishing the last of her lunch.

Yami-nee hugged me back as well and said, “Yay, I get to eat Hina-chan's cooking again.” Then she began eating the rest of her lunch as well.

Sakura and Sayori both looked at each other and then at me with surprised eyes, causing my ears to twitch in wonder. Sayori asked, “You can cook, Hina-chan?”

“Hina-chan is a great cook. I actually practiced a lot because Hina-chan's cooking was my goal. I wanted to make delicious food like hers,” Yami-nee answered for me, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Hina’s cooking is that delicious?” Sakura asked, still showing a shocked expression.

Eri laughed at their surprise and started rubbing my ears, making me purr and relax my head on her shoulder. I wrapped my tails around her waist, and then she replied, “When Hina was younger and bored, she would have the chef teach her how to cook. She really enjoyed herself, so the chef taught her how to make all different kinds of meals and snacks. Eventually, she made it her goal to be able to cook wonderful meals for her future spouse and kids.”

“Wow, so you learned from a real chef? That’s amazing, Hina-chan,” Sayuri grabbed my hands and said energetically.

“Thank you. Judging by how Sakura enjoyed that lunch you made her, it seems you are a wonderful cook too,” I said with a teasing smile and gave Sayori a wink, which made both Sakura and Sayori blush.

Sayori then looked at Sakura and asked bashfully, “Was it good?”

Sakura blushed even redder and answered, “It was delicious.”

As Eri, Yami-nee, and I watched the sweet scene in front of us, the bell rang, and it was time to resume classes. The next two classes went by peacefully; they were English and math. The teachers weren’t unique like Yuki-sensei and Kyoko-sensei. Now it was time for science class.

The science teacher came into the classroom and introduced herself, “Good afternoon, everyone. I am Kaichi-sensei, and I will be your science teacher. Today, we are going to go to the science lab and do a fun experiment; we are going to make foam. Please follow me in an organized manner.”

“We are going to make foam; this sounds fun. Let’s go,” I thought to myself, becoming excited, and grabbed Eri’s hand, my ears twitching happily.

Eri and Yami-nee both laughed, and we made our way into the line with Sakura and Sayori. After which, we reached the science lab, and the teacher had us separate into groups. Yami-nee, Eri, and I made a group of three.

The teacher then began explaining items in front of our stations, “In front of you will find safety goggles and gloves. Please put those on before you start. Next, you will see an empty 16-ounce soda bottle, a funnel, different colors of food coloring (you can pick your favorite), ¾ of a cup of 20-volume hydrogen peroxide liquid, 15ml of dry yeast, and 15ml of warm water. All of these ingredients together will make foam. So, get your safety gear on, and let's get started.”

We all did as we were told, and Kaichi-sensei told us to read the instructions on the paper that was with the ingredients.

Yami-nee read the instructions as Eri and I put the ingredients together.

“First, pour the Hydrogen peroxide into the soda bottle,” Yami-nee instructed us.

“Okies,” I cheered as I grabbed the cup holding the ingredients; however, the strong scent from it hit my nose. The smell was even stronger to me because of my heightened senses, and I became dizzy and started to fall. I dropped the peroxide as I started to fall.

However, Yami-nee caught the ingredient without spilling it, and Eri caught me before I hit the ground.

“Are you okay, Hina?” Eri asked with a look of worry.

“Mmm, thank you, Eri. The smell from that ingredient made me dizzy,” I said, feeling a bit embarrassed for causing a scene.

Eri helped me stand back up, and I noticed all the other students were watching us and clapping at Eri and Yami-nee's quick reactions, causing me to blush and hide my face in my tails from embarrassment.

Koichi-sensei told the other students to focus on their experiments and came over to us, and said, “I’m sorry about that, Tachibana-sama. I forgot about your heightened senses. I should have warned you three about the smell. Are you okay?”

I smiled and told her, “It’s okay, Sensei. I am fine. I will read the instructions, and Yami-nee and Eri can add the ingredients.”

“Very well, let me know if you are still feeling dizzy, okay,” Koichi-sensei told us before walking back to her desk.

After she left, Yami-nee handed me the instructions, and it was time to choose the food coloring.

“What color would you like, Hina-chan?” Yami-nee asked me, showing me the colors.

I noticed there was my favorite color. “I want pink,” I answered excitedly, my tails swaying side to side rapidly, nearly knocking over the bottle. Luckily, Eri caught it before it fell.

“Sorry, Eri, Yami-nee...” I said, feeling bad I was causing issues.

They both gave me a warm smile, rubbed my ears, causing me to feel better, and Eri said, “It is perfectly fine, Hina. We are just glad to see you having fun.”

“She’s right, Hina-chan. Don’t worry about such things,” Yami-nee continued before we continued the experiment. After following all of the instructions, pink foam overfilled the bottle, landing in the tray.

“So pretty...” I exclaimed, my ears twitching happily. Sakura and Sayori made blue foam and were excited as well. After that, all the groups had different colored foams forming; it looked like a rainbow of colors.

After we all finished, Koichi-sensei had us clean our stations, and the bell rang for the final class, cooking. Our group made our way to the cooking classroom, excitedly talking about the experiment. When we arrived, the sensei was already waiting for us, and she told us to find a cooking station. Eri and I made a group of 5 with Yami-nee, Sakura, and Sayori, and the rest of the class made groups of four.

“Good evening, class. My name is Yuuichi-sensei, and welcome to cooking class. Today, you will all be making a simple egg dish for members of your group so you can determine who will prep and who will cook for future classes. At the end of the week, you will make a full meal as a group, so please spend some time and decide the meal that you will make together. You can do this during lunch or after school. Now let’s begin.”

“It seems I can’t make a meal for everyone today. I’m sorry, Eri, Yaminee,” I said, pouting a little.

“It’s okay, Hina-chan. Maybe I can visit your house after school tomorrow, and you can make us something then.”

My ears started twitching excitedly at that idea, “Mmm, that sounds good, Sakura, Sayori, would you two like to come over tomorrow too? I will make us all something.”

Sakura nodded her head, and Sayori excitedly said, “I would love to. I will ask my family tonight if I can.”

Eri laughed, and said, “It seems we will have a lot of fun together tomorrow too. Now let’s do our assignment.”

Sakura made her egg dish first; however, “It is black...” we all said in unison, looking at Sakura who was averting her eyes away from us, blushing in embarrassment, and she said, “Don’t look at me, I thought if I put it on a higher temperature, it would cook faster.”

We all laughed, and it was Eri’s turn. She didn’t burn her egg dish, but, “It’s really salty...” I said, trying to show a gentle smile, although it was twitching from the taste.

“Is it really?” Eri said as she took a bite as well, her face twitched as well, and she looked at me with slightly teary eyes and said, “It was. I promise I will have the chef teach me how to season better, Hina.”

I giggled and petted her head; it was very rare for me to get to soothe Eri after all, so I was feeling quite happy at the moment, and my tails revealed so.

I could hear Sakura ask Sayori, “Don’t you think Hina seems a little too happy at Eri's despair?”

I looked at them and giggled slightly, and asked, “Did you say something, Sakura~?”

“Nope, not at all, we just thought it was cute how you were comforting Eri this time, Hina-chan. It’s my turn to cook, right?” Sayori answered before she changed the subject and hurriedly cooked her egg dish; it was very good.

“It is really good, Sayori,” I said, my ears twitching happily.

“It really is,” Yami-nee agreed with me.

Sayori giggled and bashfully said, “Thank you.”

Then it was Yami-nee's turn to make hers, it was delicious.

Sayori exclaimed, “It is so good; it is like I ordered it from a restaurant.”

Yami smiled and replied before gesturing to me, “Thank you, but I don’t think it is on that level yet. Just wait until you try the main event.”

My ears twitched, and I tilted my head in puzzlement and asked, “I am the main event?”

“Of course, it is your turn to cook after all, Hina-chan,” Yami-nee replied happily, as she, Eri, Sakura, and Sayori looked at me with anticipation.

I smiled and said, “I guess I will have to do my best then.” After I started making my egg dish, it was an omelette like everyone else's, but I added some cream, cheese, as well as a few spices for flavor. Lastly, I made a heart out of ketchup on top.

“Okay, everyone, give it a try,” I said as my tails swayed excitedly, waiting for their thoughts.

“....” No one said anything after they all took a bite, not even Eri or Yami-nee.

‘Am I out of practice? Did it taste that bad?’ I asked myself, starting to feel worried.

That was when they all came back to reality, and Sayori said, “It's so good, I felt like I was going on a trip or something, it was fluffy and creamy.”

Sakura started talking as well and asked, “How is it possible to make something so good from such simple ingredients?”

Eri looked at me with a happy but slightly teasing smile and said, “That was delicious, Hina. You will make a wonderful wife.”

I blushed profusely hearing Eri’s compliment, I hid my face behind my tails, and said, “Th...thank you.”

The only one who hasn’t said anything yet was Yami-nee, and when we looked at her, I could see tears coming from her eyes. I grabbed her hand and asked, “Are you okay, Yami-nee?”

“Yes, I am perfect. I just missed this taste so much. I remembered Eri and I being your taste tester when we were kids. I’m just happy that I get to eat your food and spend time with you two again like this,” Yaminee answered, giving me a hug. I hugged her back, calming her down.

After everything settled down, we cleaned our station, and the final bell rang.

After we got our stuff, we made our way outside, and we saw my mother and Sebas waiting for us. I ran and gave my mother and Sebas a hug and asked if everyone could come by tomorrow, to which they agreed.