When they arrived back in the
kitchen the table had already been set with a variety of dishes ranging from a
plethora of locales with an extremely decadent looking cake in the center. From
behind the massive cake emerged King, not yet noticing the others arrival and
admiring the work he had put forth.
“I think that should do it…although
this cake is going to put everything I made to shame.”
Turning slightly he finally
realized that his companions were there staring at the array of food laid out.
“Ummm… surprise?”
“Did you
really take being a butler to heart that much?”
“Oh
can it Leo. I’m more upset he didn’t let us know he was here.”
“How
long have you been here?”
“Long
enough to make things from the ingredients that were sent to us. Did that fight
in the arena really take that long?”
“Yes it did actually. I came back
right when it started actually.”
“And
you didn’t think to watch? How rude.”
“Sorry about that. But when I
thought about it there’s no way I’d win against you and Karen, so my Shadow
wouldn’t stand a chance. Karen still has me beat in combat without magic and
even with magic cancel I figure Alice has a few work arounds for that.”
“It was
a really good fight though. You should have seen the teamwork they had.”
“It
was something even you could learn from.”
“You guys can tell me all about it
after we eat.”
“I’ve
been waiting to try this cake for a while. I’m so excited!”
“Don’t
forget about having some actual food before dessert though, ok?”
“Jeez
mama bear, way to treat me like a child. I am still an adult, even if we’re all
still seventeen.”
“Well
maybe if you acted a bit more mature…”
“But I’m
much more lovable this way. Bruce, Leo, back me up here.”
“Well
what type of man would I be to deny the cuteness in your energetic tendencies?”
“I guess
it’s a positive trait you should keep. Helps counter the sourpuss over here.”
“Want
me to freeze all of your food lizard?”
Sora looked away from everyone in
uncharacteristic embarrassment.
“S-see,
Karen? I’m totally fine the way I am.”
“While
this is extremely entertaining to watch unfold, I think we shouldn’t risk the
food getting any colder.”
With a collective nod, everyone
grabbed a plate and made their way around the dinner table to decide what they’d
take. Dinner was a lively affair, with King, Alice and Karen being the centers
of attention. Everyone was fascinated by the four strange people King had
encountered and curious as to the limits of his Stand. Before starting dessert,
everyone tried their hand at recreating moments from the Persona Jump to varying
degrees of success and King was given six interpretations of the fight between
his Shadow and Alice and Karen.
“I
guess all that’s left is the cake right?”
“I’ve
been waiting for this!”
With apparent glee in her eyes
Sora jumped at the chance to cut herself a slice, but was grounded by a
disapproving Karen. Everyone else laughed at the two.
“So who
gets to cut the cake? You King?”
“I think we should let Psyche do
it.”
“If
you insist.”
Standing up, the resident psychic
ninja lifted eight clean plates with her telekinesis and lined them up in front
of the cake. Closing her eyes for a moment, the wind in the house came to life
and cut pieces of the cake and brought them each to a plate. Everyone gave
Psyche a small round of applause at the display and then took the first bite.
“This cake is…”
“Amazing…’
“Unreal…”
“Divine…”
“Astounding…”
“Astonishing…”
“Enchanting…”
“Delicious…”
It was as if their taste buds had
been momentarily blessed by the gods and sent to heaven. The pure bliss from
just the first bite was evident on all of their faces as they savored the first
taste as though it may be the last. When all pertaining to that first bite had
ended, the second bite was met with much the same. Seemingly a new sensation
even though they had just recovered from it moments ago. Not much was said
during this time of cake eating, as it would lengthen the time between the
current bite and the ever anticipated next. Finally, after what seemed like
hours (but was really about thirty minutes), they had all eaten their fill of
the aptly named King cake.
“That was…something I couldn’t hope
to match in hundreds of years. A cake fit more for a god than a King.”
“It might
be the most satisfying thing I’ll ever have the pleasure of eating...”
“No
amount of magic on my part is going to be able to replicate that.”
“Was
this truly made by hands that were once completely human?”
“I
might just die knowing I can’t ever taste this again.”
“I’d
question your sentiment if I wasn’t prone to feel the same.”
“That
was just way too good.”
“I’ll
never be able to forget this for as long as I live.”
After some time spent committing
the taste of the cake to memory, Karen brought up a question that was on
everyone’s minds.
“King,
are you going to spend the night here with us?”
“Well, there’s nothing pressing I
need to attend to tomorrow…”
“Then
it’s decided! You’re staying here and we’re going to party all night!”
“Umm, I’m not so sure if partying
is-”
“I don’t
think you can fight it. Just look at her eyes, you’re already trapped here.
Might as well enjoy it.”
With a slightly sheepish smile he
agreed to stay and have some more fun with everyone. Games were played, karaoke
was sung to varying degrees of success, movies watched and more. Hours had past
and the morning rays of light were beginning to stream in from various windows
in the house. King and Leo were still awake and everyone else had passed out in
the entertainment room. Alice and Sora on both sides of Karen, Bruce was asleep
with his back against a wall, and Shock and Psyche had fallen asleep on the
same couch with their heads touching. Leo and King had laid blankets on them
all before leaving.
“You sure
you should be leaving while everyone’s still sleeping? They’re all going to be
upset you know.”
“I’ll let everyone chew me out
during my next visit. I can’t let myself spend too much time here away from the
world though. I likely won’t spend this long here at a given time again.”
“Guess it’s
up to me to break the news to everyone then.”
“You’re my best friend Leo. I
wouldn’t leave it up to you if I didn’t think you could do it. I’ve got to get
back, be sure to get some sleep yourself though, ok. Keep looking after
everyone from a distance. Sora’s really gotten the hang of leading you guys and
I’d hate to take that away from her.”
“You can
count on me. We’ll be the same group of misfits you remember next time you
visit.”
The two of them embraced and with
a smile, King left the house.
Comments
Post a Comment