"Oh, I see."
Miko gave a small nod, then glanced over at Acheron — as though looking to her to confirm whether what Miko had just said was true. The look alone was enough to send a spike of anxiety through Miko.
She was fairly sure Kiana wouldn't do anything too over the top to her. But if Kiana found out what she'd been thinking just now, that would still be very, very bad.
"The Raiden Shogun and her sister just stepped into some kind of space together, so I came over to see what you two were up to." Acheron paused, then continued: "Didn't expect you to be cooking again, Kiana. It's been a long time since I've seen that."
Phew...
I could kiss you right now, Mei...
Miko had been watching Acheron with barely concealed tension the entire time, and the moment Acheron finished speaking, she finally let out a quiet breath of relief. She didn't have to worry about Acheron spilling what she'd been thinking earlier after all.
"Yeah, it's been a while — so I figured I'd give it a shot." Kiana nodded, as though she hadn't noticed anything odd about Miko's reaction at all.
"It's all that little brat Wendy's fault," Miko chimed in suddenly, her tone full of theatrical indignation. "Kiana-nee goes to all the trouble of cooking for her, and she still has the nerve to say all that. Honestly."
She already knew perfectly well why Wendy had said Kiana's cooking was terrible. But right now, throwing Wendy under the bus was really the only move available to her.
Besides, the two of them bickered all the time anyway. Dragging Wendy into this was hardly a stretch.
Of course, having now said all that, Miko would just have to grit her teeth and choke down whatever Kiana produced — no matter how awful it turned out.
Otherwise, everything she'd just said would come back to embarrass her spectacularly.
Ugh...
My dear Kiana-nee...
It won't be that terrible, right...?
A little bit bad I can still handle...
Miko stole a glance at Kiana and quietly thought this to herself.
Beside her, Acheron found the whole situation quietly amusing.
After all, over on Kaito's side, Wendy had already been made to take the blame. And now here was Miko — fully aware that Kiana's cooking was terrible — and she was also making Wendy take the blame.
Seems like Wendy really is the designated scapegoat around here...
With that thought, Acheron spoke up: "Everyone has their own palate — no point forcing it. Wendy's just the type who says exactly what she thinks."
"Alright then — so are you two going to come try some?" As though she had no interest in dwelling on the subject any further, Kiana asked them both directly.
On the surface it looked like she was asking both of them. In reality, there was really only one person she was asking.
Or rather — "asking" was perhaps too generous a word. "Coercing" was probably closer to the truth.
"Sure," Acheron answered without a moment's hesitation, as one naturally would when the question came from another version of oneself.
I really don't want to go...
Miko screamed this in her heart, then smiled sweetly and said aloud, "Of course — I already said I would, didn't I? So obviously I'm going."
"Then let's go."
Looking perfectly pleased with herself, Kiana turned and walked briskly toward the kitchen.
I wonder what kind of face Miko's going to make when she sees my chili stir-fry...
Walking ahead of them, Kiana felt a little flutter of anticipation.
Given that she'd never actually cooked before — and had made a point of making it look as nightmarish as possible — she was genuinely looking forward to seeing how Miko handled it, after all her brave talk about definitely eating it.
Not that it would just be Miko eating, of course. Acheron — the other her — would eat it too. A fair trade, one for one.
Well. One for many, really.
Not that it mattered. They were all her, in the end.
"Kiana, did you forget to turn off the heat after you finished cooking? There's a burning smell."
As they were nearly at the kitchen, Miko caught the increasingly sharp scent drifting through the air and couldn't help but ask.
She'd been waiting for Acheron to say something first, but after watching her for a while, Acheron showed absolutely no reaction — as though only Miko could smell it.
So in the end, there was nothing for it. She had to ask herself.
"Is there? I don't smell anything." Kiana turned to look at her, then made a show of sniffing the air with an air of genuine puzzlement.
"There is — that scorched smell, like something's been burnt. And it's getting stronger."
Miko hadn't expected Kiana to say she couldn't smell it, and she momentarily started to doubt her own nose. But after taking another careful sniff, she was still absolutely certain: there was a burning smell.
"Oh really?" Kiana gave another sniff for appearances, then looked toward Acheron. "Acheron-nee, do you smell something burnt? Miko says she does, but I can't smell a thing."
"Burnt?" Acheron glanced around briefly, then shook her head. "No, I don't smell anything burnt. Although — there was something a moment ago."
Miko: "???"
With both of them saying they couldn't smell it, Miko took another forceful sniff — and the result was the same as before. The charred smell was still unmistakably there.
What is going on with Kiana and Mei...???
How can they both not smell it???
Miko stared at the two of them, utterly baffled.
If she hadn't been smelling it this entire time, she'd genuinely be questioning whether her own sense of smell had given out on her.
Wait...
Could it be that Mei has been eating Kiana's cooking for so long she doesn't even register the smell anymore???
The thought struck her suddenly, and Miko felt a wave of horrible understanding wash over her. She got it now. She got all of it.
But by then, the three of them had already arrived at the kitchen. Even if she'd wanted to run, it was too late.
"The chili stir-fry I made is right inside — come on, let's eat before it goes cold." Saying this, Kiana stepped into the kitchen first.
Are you sure what you made is actually edible, Kiana-nee...?
My dear Kiana-nee...
Thinking this with absolute helplessness, Miko watched Acheron walk in after her — and then had no choice but to follow.
Well. At worst, she'd just have to eat something that might not taste great. It wasn't the end of the world.
Huh???
The moment she stepped into the kitchen, Miko's eyes landed on the plate sitting on the table — and she froze.
What... was that?
Kiana's chili stir-fry???
Oh my god...
Kiana-nee, that is absolutely unhinged...
Wendy must have actually come to blows with you back then, right?
Miko suddenly felt that Wendy must have genuinely resorted to violence at some point. Because honestly — if she'd been eating something like that every day, she'd be ready to throw hands too. Either that or die of food poisoning.
She had already come to terms with the fact that Wendy had been right. But she hadn't expected Wendy to have been this right. This completely, utterly, beyond-all-imagination right.
"Come eat, Miko — it'll go cold."
Seeing Miko rooted to the doorway, Kiana waved her over.
____
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