[Microfic] [MC!Nanako] ( adventures in food poisoning )
Her cousin, Nanako decided, was a rather odd little boy. Eerily quiet, and naturally prone to a strange sort of solitude. As far as she could tell, he only had one friend - a little boy from school, who she’d seen once and then never again. Sometimes, he would sit in the corner of the living room and hold invisible (and inaudible) conversations with the walls. Other times, however, she’d catch him doing something even weirder.
Like today. Her biology teacher had decided it’d be a great idea to make them all grow bean sprouts for a week or two. Half of their class had been instructed to take care of the thing normally; the others were supposed to do more creative things, like deny it light, or water, or grow it in a plastic bottle, and then record the results. It was all very grade school. Personally, Nanako had just shoved the silly thing into the back of the refrigerator and forgotten about it. Lack of light and lack of heat! Perfect.
Until she came home to find Souji seated at the living room table, munching on something enthusiastically. “Hey there,” she said, kicking off her shoes. The floor squeaked underneath her socked feet. “Couldn’t wait for dinner, huh?”
Souji jerked a little, vaguely guilty. She had just enough time to notice the pale white bean sprout hanging out of Souji’s mouth before he sucked the rest of it in. “Souji!” she said, appalled. “You can’t - that’s not food!”
The crunching noises coming from Souji’s mouth said otherwise. He swallowed the rest of the plant, then poked at the little soil tray plaintively. As if searching for seconds.
Nanako sighed. Well, there went her biology project. What was she supposed to tell her teacher now? ‘My little cousin ate my homework?’ “Honestly,” she said, “wasn’t there anything else you could have eaten?”
The boy looked towards the kitchen significantly. As Nanako turned, she could see that the refrigerator door was wide open - and that the fridge itself was absolutely empty. “… oh,” she said, with a sudden pang of guilt. “I guess it has been a week since we’ve really gone shopping…”
The boy nodded.
“… but you still can’t eat that kind of stuff,” she puffed. “If you’re going to steal my stuff, you can at least eat something good.”
Souji looked thoughtful. Or rather, she thought he looked thoughtful … until he started looking a bit green around the gills.
“Oh no,” groaned Nanako. “You’re going to be sick, aren’t you. Can you get up?”
He shook his head.
“Lie down,” she said, getting to her feet. “I’ll get you a bucket.”
All and all, it was a pretty miserable night. But it didn’t come without benefits, at least for Nanako; she certainly felt a lot less scared of throwing up, for example. Because nothing could be worse than having to do it while you were seven, with no one but your strange city-slicker cousin for company.
And besides, it made her want to cook again. If her cousin would eat her homework, then surely he could be persuaded to try a little curry …
*
“It’s not thickening right.”
“S-sure it is! … it’s supposed to be gritty, right Nanako…?”
“It wasn’t gritty when I made it for Souji …”
The three girls hovered above their camp cooking pot. It had been scorchingly hot earlier that day, but by now it had cooled considerably, and the smoke of a dozen cooking fires made their “camping trip” feel campy at last. … well, with one minor exception. Chie and Yukiko shot each other nervous looks, while Nanako stared firmly at their pot of curry. Maybe if she kept looking at it, it wouldn’t boil, and they could just dump the poor misguided mess out onto the ground. “Should we … taste this?” said Yukiko, wincing.
“My cousin would eat it?” said Nanako, trying to sound hopeful. “Then again, he did kind of eat my homework.” Pause. “And Uncle’s month-old pickles. And that horrible moldy old plum …” She hadn’t quite broken him of that habit.
“Well, we can at least say there aren’t any moldy plums in it,” said Chie. “Or my homework.”
Yukiko chewed on a fingernail. “But there are pickles…”
“Are you guys gonna feed me or what?” Yousuke said. He craned his neck, peering at them from his seat on the picnic table.
“We’re coming!” said Nanako, then flopped her hands onto her knees with a sigh. “We’d better…” she said, a little quieter. “He’ll walk over and find us out in a moment.”
“You’re right,” said Chie. “And hey, maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe … ?”
The three girls nodded. Between them, they made a great heaping pile of curry and brought it over to Yousuke, who looked absolutely ravenous. “Oh man,” he said. “Stomach, my friend, you have a date with awesome.”
“Thaaaat’s right?” said Chie, laughing nervously. “Nanako, tell him I’m right.”
“Very right,” she said, her face the very picture of solemnity. “Right as rain. Right with extra right on top.”
Yousuke paused. For a terrifying moment, Nanako thought he’d figured them out. “Ooookay then,” he said. “Chow time!”
He took a bite. The curry squished in his mouth unpleasantly, and Nanako winced. Just listening was bad enough. Before he could even swallow, however, he stood up. He looked like he wanted to sputter, or yell at them, or both; instead, he hit the ground with a soft thunk. “- Yousuke?” said Chie, kneeling next to him. “Oh god, did we-?”
Nanako looked around frantically for a nurse, but saw no one. … well, except Morooka-sensei, but he most certainly didn’t count. “Quick!” she said. “Drag him back to his tent! T-the least we can do is give him some privacy!” And maybe if he stayed unconscious long enough, he might forget the whole thing.
“Good thinking!” said Chie. Together, they hauled him up by his arms and legs, with Yukiko acting as both guide and lookout.
Once they got back towards the tents, however, they ran into another problem. “Do we … know where his tent is?” asked Yukiko. “At all?”
“Of course we do,” said Nanako, puffing a bit under the weight of Yousuke’s legs. “He’s … er … in the men’s section?”
They hung their heads. Even if Morooka weren’t here, they’d get all sorts of unwanted attention by wandering through the boys’ side of the camp. Not exactly subtle. “Our tent?” suggested Chie, tentatively. “We can send him back once it gets dark. A-and if he wakes up before then, we just give him another spoonful. R-right…?”
“Right,” said Yukiko and Nanako, before hauling ass (quite literally) back to the girls’ side of camp.
*
“… and that’s why you’re in our tent,” said Nanako, holding out the bucket.
“With food-poisoning,” added Yukiko.
“With food-poisoning.”
Yousuke retched again. Not that there was much left to come up at this point, except maybe a lung. Or Jiraiya. “Okay,” he said, gasping for breath. “But that still … doesn’t explain him.”
“Got bored,” said Kanji, and popped another animal cracker into his mouth.
*
By the time she made it home from that failure of a camping trip, Nanako was absolutely starving. “Still nothing…” she said, drooping against the door of the refrigerator. “I really should have bought something before I left.”
As she leaned, however, she spotted something. There, in the bottom of the fridge, was a tiny covered bowl. “Thank goodness,” she said, pulling it out and peeling away the tupperware lid. Inside was a tiny scoop of pudding, with a positively delicious-looking fringe of blue icing all around the top. A bit sweet for her tastes, but it was something. And boy did she need it.
“Thank you for the food~” she said. Add one spoon, and - voila! Instant meal. It was certainly quite sweet, although the texture of the icing didn’t quite sit right on her tongue. On that note, how many kinds of pudding had icing, anyway…?
As she scooped out the last bit of icing, she noticed a bit of writing along the inside of the bowl. SO-U- … uh oh. And before she could even put the bowl down, the front door swung open, revealing her little cousin. “Oh … hi Souji,” she said, unable to look anything but guilty. “Look, we’ll go and get more groceries tonight, I promise-”
Souji stared at her. And then stared some more. He remained expressionless during his entire walk up to her, during the time it took to dig something out of his backpack, and a moment to show her the paper he’d brought home with him. “The Fungus Among Us,” she read. “This project is intended to teach young students about the wonders of the invisible world, starting with a culture sample to be grown at home in the refrigerator…”
Her stomach gurgled. Souji left for a moment, only to reappear with their very best friend in the world: the bucket. He held it out, his expression as solemn and reproaching as she’d ever seen it. “Thanks,” she said, trying to feel brave. Somehow, she didn’t get quite as much courage out of it when she was the one throwing up.
Like today. Her biology teacher had decided it’d be a great idea to make them all grow bean sprouts for a week or two. Half of their class had been instructed to take care of the thing normally; the others were supposed to do more creative things, like deny it light, or water, or grow it in a plastic bottle, and then record the results. It was all very grade school. Personally, Nanako had just shoved the silly thing into the back of the refrigerator and forgotten about it. Lack of light and lack of heat! Perfect.
Until she came home to find Souji seated at the living room table, munching on something enthusiastically. “Hey there,” she said, kicking off her shoes. The floor squeaked underneath her socked feet. “Couldn’t wait for dinner, huh?”
Souji jerked a little, vaguely guilty. She had just enough time to notice the pale white bean sprout hanging out of Souji’s mouth before he sucked the rest of it in. “Souji!” she said, appalled. “You can’t - that’s not food!”
The crunching noises coming from Souji’s mouth said otherwise. He swallowed the rest of the plant, then poked at the little soil tray plaintively. As if searching for seconds.
Nanako sighed. Well, there went her biology project. What was she supposed to tell her teacher now? ‘My little cousin ate my homework?’ “Honestly,” she said, “wasn’t there anything else you could have eaten?”
The boy looked towards the kitchen significantly. As Nanako turned, she could see that the refrigerator door was wide open - and that the fridge itself was absolutely empty. “… oh,” she said, with a sudden pang of guilt. “I guess it has been a week since we’ve really gone shopping…”
The boy nodded.
“… but you still can’t eat that kind of stuff,” she puffed. “If you’re going to steal my stuff, you can at least eat something good.”
Souji looked thoughtful. Or rather, she thought he looked thoughtful … until he started looking a bit green around the gills.
“Oh no,” groaned Nanako. “You’re going to be sick, aren’t you. Can you get up?”
He shook his head.
“Lie down,” she said, getting to her feet. “I’ll get you a bucket.”
All and all, it was a pretty miserable night. But it didn’t come without benefits, at least for Nanako; she certainly felt a lot less scared of throwing up, for example. Because nothing could be worse than having to do it while you were seven, with no one but your strange city-slicker cousin for company.
And besides, it made her want to cook again. If her cousin would eat her homework, then surely he could be persuaded to try a little curry …
*
“It’s not thickening right.”
“S-sure it is! … it’s supposed to be gritty, right Nanako…?”
“It wasn’t gritty when I made it for Souji …”
The three girls hovered above their camp cooking pot. It had been scorchingly hot earlier that day, but by now it had cooled considerably, and the smoke of a dozen cooking fires made their “camping trip” feel campy at last. … well, with one minor exception. Chie and Yukiko shot each other nervous looks, while Nanako stared firmly at their pot of curry. Maybe if she kept looking at it, it wouldn’t boil, and they could just dump the poor misguided mess out onto the ground. “Should we … taste this?” said Yukiko, wincing.
“My cousin would eat it?” said Nanako, trying to sound hopeful. “Then again, he did kind of eat my homework.” Pause. “And Uncle’s month-old pickles. And that horrible moldy old plum …” She hadn’t quite broken him of that habit.
“Well, we can at least say there aren’t any moldy plums in it,” said Chie. “Or my homework.”
Yukiko chewed on a fingernail. “But there are pickles…”
“Are you guys gonna feed me or what?” Yousuke said. He craned his neck, peering at them from his seat on the picnic table.
“We’re coming!” said Nanako, then flopped her hands onto her knees with a sigh. “We’d better…” she said, a little quieter. “He’ll walk over and find us out in a moment.”
“You’re right,” said Chie. “And hey, maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe … ?”
The three girls nodded. Between them, they made a great heaping pile of curry and brought it over to Yousuke, who looked absolutely ravenous. “Oh man,” he said. “Stomach, my friend, you have a date with awesome.”
“Thaaaat’s right?” said Chie, laughing nervously. “Nanako, tell him I’m right.”
“Very right,” she said, her face the very picture of solemnity. “Right as rain. Right with extra right on top.”
Yousuke paused. For a terrifying moment, Nanako thought he’d figured them out. “Ooookay then,” he said. “Chow time!”
He took a bite. The curry squished in his mouth unpleasantly, and Nanako winced. Just listening was bad enough. Before he could even swallow, however, he stood up. He looked like he wanted to sputter, or yell at them, or both; instead, he hit the ground with a soft thunk. “- Yousuke?” said Chie, kneeling next to him. “Oh god, did we-?”
Nanako looked around frantically for a nurse, but saw no one. … well, except Morooka-sensei, but he most certainly didn’t count. “Quick!” she said. “Drag him back to his tent! T-the least we can do is give him some privacy!” And maybe if he stayed unconscious long enough, he might forget the whole thing.
“Good thinking!” said Chie. Together, they hauled him up by his arms and legs, with Yukiko acting as both guide and lookout.
Once they got back towards the tents, however, they ran into another problem. “Do we … know where his tent is?” asked Yukiko. “At all?”
“Of course we do,” said Nanako, puffing a bit under the weight of Yousuke’s legs. “He’s … er … in the men’s section?”
They hung their heads. Even if Morooka weren’t here, they’d get all sorts of unwanted attention by wandering through the boys’ side of the camp. Not exactly subtle. “Our tent?” suggested Chie, tentatively. “We can send him back once it gets dark. A-and if he wakes up before then, we just give him another spoonful. R-right…?”
“Right,” said Yukiko and Nanako, before hauling ass (quite literally) back to the girls’ side of camp.
*
“… and that’s why you’re in our tent,” said Nanako, holding out the bucket.
“With food-poisoning,” added Yukiko.
“With food-poisoning.”
Yousuke retched again. Not that there was much left to come up at this point, except maybe a lung. Or Jiraiya. “Okay,” he said, gasping for breath. “But that still … doesn’t explain him.”
“Got bored,” said Kanji, and popped another animal cracker into his mouth.
*
By the time she made it home from that failure of a camping trip, Nanako was absolutely starving. “Still nothing…” she said, drooping against the door of the refrigerator. “I really should have bought something before I left.”
As she leaned, however, she spotted something. There, in the bottom of the fridge, was a tiny covered bowl. “Thank goodness,” she said, pulling it out and peeling away the tupperware lid. Inside was a tiny scoop of pudding, with a positively delicious-looking fringe of blue icing all around the top. A bit sweet for her tastes, but it was something. And boy did she need it.
“Thank you for the food~” she said. Add one spoon, and - voila! Instant meal. It was certainly quite sweet, although the texture of the icing didn’t quite sit right on her tongue. On that note, how many kinds of pudding had icing, anyway…?
As she scooped out the last bit of icing, she noticed a bit of writing along the inside of the bowl. SO-U- … uh oh. And before she could even put the bowl down, the front door swung open, revealing her little cousin. “Oh … hi Souji,” she said, unable to look anything but guilty. “Look, we’ll go and get more groceries tonight, I promise-”
Souji stared at her. And then stared some more. He remained expressionless during his entire walk up to her, during the time it took to dig something out of his backpack, and a moment to show her the paper he’d brought home with him. “The Fungus Among Us,” she read. “This project is intended to teach young students about the wonders of the invisible world, starting with a culture sample to be grown at home in the refrigerator…”
Her stomach gurgled. Souji left for a moment, only to reappear with their very best friend in the world: the bucket. He held it out, his expression as solemn and reproaching as she’d ever seen it. “Thanks,” she said, trying to feel brave. Somehow, she didn’t get quite as much courage out of it when she was the one throwing up.