And you may find yourself in another part of the world

“A picnic?” Nick’s eyes widened.

“Don’t sound so surprised!” Kim pouted, pretending like she was upset, while smiling from ear to ear. “Nothing wrong with a good picnic. It’s practically the only reason parks still exist, right?”

Well, maybe she had a point.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining in the slightest,” Nick said, shaking his head. “A picnic sounds like a great way to start the day!”

Kim beamed at him. “Good!” She said, picking up the picnic basket that just so happened to be sitting beside the bench. Another nicety courtesy of Dream Alley. “Because I’ve got quite a lot of goodies packed up and ready to go.”

That came as another surprise.

“So I get to have a taste of your cooking?” Nick smiled. “This day keeps getting better and better!”

Kim gazed bashfully at him, and blushed. “Come on… I’m not that good of a cook.”

She quickly looked down warily, and then sighed in relief. She looked up at him again and her smile returned.

“I thought your sushi was pretty great actually,” Nick replied, patting his stomach. “I hope I can look forward to some more of that?”

“Of course you would!” Kim socked him in the arm, giggling all the while. “You pervert, you.”

“Hey!” Nick held up his hands. “I wasn’t the one who told you to serve it to me naked, you did that all on your own!”

Kim’s blush intensified, and she clutched the picnic basket a little tighter. “That… was really embarrassing,” she said. “I’m never doing that again!”

Then she let out a yelp, and nearly dropped her basket. “H-hey!”

“Is everything alright?” Nick asked worriedly. She shot him a warning look full of alarm, and then shook her head.

“…Forget it,” she said finally. “Let’s just get to breakfast, okay? No sushi, but I packed all sorts of stuff that would be good on a picnic!”

She pulled a blanket out of the picnic basket and spread it over the grass. Then she began unpacking the meal.

“We’ve got potato salad,” she said, showing him the first Tupperware container. “Then we’ve got a nice little fruit arrangement, sliced cantaloupe, pineapple, watermelon… all the classics-”

“So, a fruit salad?” Nick interjected.

She shot him a look.

“…Then, for the main course? A classic!”

She unwrapped another container and opened it. The aroma of melted cheese filled the field. “…Some grilled cheese sandwiches!”

“Oh! Hey!” Nick found himself drooling already. “Those look pretty good!”

“Thank you,” she beamed at him. “I don’t have a lot of experience making these, but I got Mary to help me out the other day. When you were on your date with Ella.”

So she’d been planning this out that long?

“I took that day off to relax,” she admitted. “And I didn’t know I was going to take you on a picnic. But I knew I definitely wanted to cook you at least one meal, and this seemed easy to make, so…”

She smiled.

“I have testimonials, as well!” She asserted. “Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had nothing bad to say about it!”

They shared a laugh. Nick appreciated her edgy wit.

“It’s a blend of cheddar and pepperjack cheese, by the way,” she added. “I hope you don’t mind a bit of spice.”

“I don’t mind a bit of spice at all,” Nick assured her, flashing her a smile in turn. She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

He did have one question, though.

“So what’s for dessert?” He asked cheekily.

She smirked. “I’m saving that for last,” she said mysteriously. “I hope you like surprises.”

The way she said that, her voice laced with innuendo, Nick suddenly found himself feeling very very hungry.

And not necessarily just for breakfast.

“…We’ll get to that later though,” Kim said, handing him a thermos. “I made sure to get some apple juice to drink. It pays to stay healthy and hydrated, if you want to keep yourself in good shape!”

Nick appreciated the gesture. At the same time, though, he had his concerns.

“You’ve really pulled out all the stops here,” he said, accepting the thermos. “You know you don’t need to try so hard with me, right, Kim? I’m going to enjoy myself no matter what, just because you’re here with me. This is a day for you to relax, too, don’t you forget,” he reminded her.

Kim blushed.

“That’s sweet of you to say,” she said bashfully, unscrewing her thermos and taking a sip. “But I’m feeling very relaxed now, actually. I guess you just bring out the best in me, Nick. Isn’t that something? …And the worst,” she added with a cheeky grin.

Kim leaned back on the blanket and looked out over the mountainside. The sunrise had passed and the day was only getting brighter and brighter. Things were off to a good start.

She just needed to be careful not to mess it up!

While Nick turned his focus to the potato salad, Kim took the opportunity to quickly adjust her shirt. She was starting to get a little uncomfortable.

Dakota… this punishment transformation… you said it was going to be a light one, you liar! She fumed, her cheeks turning a slight pink.

The transformation Dakota had convinced Kim to take wasn’t the worst thing in the world. As far as punishment transformations went, she could have done much worse.

But it would be… inconvenient.

Hopefully Kim could keep it under control, though.

She put it out of her mind, and turned back to their meal. The important thing was that Nick was enjoying himself, and that made it all worthwhile.

“Oh, wow!” Nick’s eyes widened. “I-I didn’t expect the potato salad to be this spicy, too!”

“It’s not too spicy, I hope?” Kim asked anxiously. “I ate a lot of bland foods back home so with access to spices, maybe I went a little overboard with the paprika…”

“No, not at all!” Nick shook his head and took another bite. “It’s the perfect level of spice, actually! Nice job, Kim!”

Kim sighed in relief. “I guess my transformation path as a slutty schoolgirl isn’t just for show, then,” she joked. “I’m a pretty good student after all!”

Nick dodged the trap of bringing up Mary and let his chewing and orgasmic moans do the talking for him. This was really something special.

“You did a phenomenal job,” he complimented her again. “I mean it, Kim. I really love this. Nice work here.”

She just smiled and kept blushing.

That was exactly the sort of thing she wanted to hear.

“You didn’t make the apple juice spicy, though, did you?” Nick asked in mock alarm. “Because that would be a little…”

“No,” she laughed, shaking her head. “But don’t worry… the dessert should have plenty of spice.”

She didn’t even mind the pinprick of discomfort that came with saying that, some things were just worth it.

Now Nick was curious. He wasn’t sure if Kim was actually implying that something sexual might end up happening, but if that’s what she was suggesting, his interest was certainly piqued. But he had to be careful, and managed his expectations.

“And here we are,” Kim said at last, once they’d finished up their meal, reaching into the picnic basket for one last thing. “I hope you saved some room in your stomach!”

Oh, so it was the ordinary kind of dessert.

Nick felt a little disappointed, but at the same time, he appreciated how playful Kim was being about this.

The tomboy pulled a small box out of the bottom of her basket, and set it down on the blanket. Then she removed the lid.

Sitting in two little rows were six rounded balls of white. For a second, Nick thought it was ice cream or something. He squinted, then looked up at Kim.

“Hey, Kim, is this…”

“Mochi,” Kim informed him. “My mom used to make these for me. They’re pretty big, right? We make ‘em special in my house.”

Nick was pleasantly surprised. Even though Kim’s Japanese heritage was no mystery to him, that didn’t mean he expected her to come out with a little treat like this. She really must have put in a lot of effort making this, and it showed because of how lopsided some of them were.

“At the sushi shop I worked at, they came pre-made,” Kim added, blushing slightly. She thought that Nick’s starstruck expression was a look of doubt or trepidation. “But I promise, most of these are going to taste really good!”

That “most” part was what got Nick feeling a little doubtful.

“Most?” He asked, looking suspiciously at her.

Kim’s only response was a sly smile.

“Well,” she said, drumming her fingers on the basket, “I did promise you that your dessert would have a bit of spice to it, didn’t I?” She mused thoughtfully.

Uh-oh.

Nick took another look down at the snow-white mochi.

“Wait, so these are…”

“Not all of them,” Kim quickly clarified. “I made three for you, and three for me. Five of them are made with an azuki bean paste filling. But the sixth one, well… let’s just say I put in enough hot sauce to even get Gina blushing!”

Great. So she’d booby-trapped him. Lovely.

And yet, Nick couldn’t help but appreciate the cheeky little game she’d put in their food.

“Even I don’t know which one is the spicy one,” Kim assured him quickly, in case he had any doubts. “It could be any of the six.”

“I’m just confused why you would even do it in the first place, that’s all,” Nick admitted. “I don’t think that makes the most appetizing dish in the world.”

Kim answered with a half-hearted shrug. “Maybe not,” she admitted. “But… I thought we could play a bit of a game…”

What, was she trying to be Dakota now? Or Sylvia?

“We’ll each take three,” Kim continued, “and whoever manages to eat the ‘special’ one, well… they’ll get a little penalty.”

“Oh? What kind of penalty?” Nick asked. “Because… oh! Oh, no… I think… I’m a little too full…” He said loudly, patting his stomach. “I couldn’t eat another bite… sorry, Kim, I’m gonna have to skip dessert…” He groaned, over-emphasizing just how bad he felt.

Kim smirked in amusement. Then she leaned forward and batted her eyelashes. “Oh, won’t you please, Nick? I worked so hard to make these… please, won’t you at least take a bite of each one?”

Her overt flirting did little to convince Nick. But then, that wasn’t really the point, was it? After all, they both knew that Nick was gonna indulge her on this. Even if the “hot sauce” mochi cake would sting like a bitch.

But hey, he might not even get that one.

“You’ve convinced me,” he said with a dramatic sigh. “So tell me, Kim, what will this penalty be, should I happen to lose?”

Kim smirked.

“How about… the winner gets a kiss on the lips from the loser?”

Nick blinked.

“So… it doesn’t even matter then?” He asked. “Oh, that’s precious.”

Kim blushed. “Sh-shut up!” She said, smiling from ear to ear. “Do you wanna play the game or not?!”

“Well, it’s definitely worth the risk,” Nick said, picking up one of the mochi. “The chance to win a kiss from you? That’s a pretty rare opportunity.”

“Careful,” Kim warned him, grabbing one for herself with a cheeky smile on her face. “If you get the spicy mochi cake, you’ll have to kiss me, instead.”

“Whelp, can’t have that.” Nick shook his head. “That sounds positively dreadful.”

They grinned at each other and held the mochi up to their lips, staring at one another. Both silently dared the other with their eyes to take the first bite.

They both bit into it at the same time.

Relief washed over Nick as the sweet taste of red azuki bean paste filled his mouth. The initial dread and hesitation completely wearing off, he quickly devoured the rest of the mochi, relishing the unique flavor of the traditional sweet.

“Wow! This is so good!” Kim actually sounded surprised. “I followed my mom’s recipe how I remembered it, but I was actually kind of worried…”

“Well, that’s a glowing recommendation,” Nick laughed. “‘Hey, this is great! The food I made isn’t poisoned!’”

“Well… five out of six, anyway,” Kim pointed out, smirking.

Nick rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.

They finished off their mochi, leaving four left. And obviously from Kim’s reaction, they still hadn’t found her “surprise” yet.

“Is eating supposed to be such a dangerous activity?” Nick asked, carefully selecting the cake he wanted to eat next. “Did you have to make it a game of Russian Roulette?”

“Japanese Roulette,” Kim corrected him sharply.

“Oh, my mistake.”

“And I thought it would be fun,” Kim said, having made her choice. She snagged another mochi, and faced off against Nick like two cowboys preparing for a showdown at sunset.

Nick was a lot more hesitant now.

This time, they’d have ended up eating more than half the cakes. It was fairly likely that one of them would end up getting the taste of hot sauce in their mouth if things went on the way he anticipated.

Kim herself seemed a little cautious as well. She was looking carefully at him, wondering if maybe, just maybe, she had made a mistake…

Nick swallowed, and then looked at the mochi in his hand. Then he turned and looked at Kim again.

“You couldn’t have put something funny or goofy in here, huh?” He asked, exasperated. “No, you had to go with hot sauce…”

Kim smirked. “Why yes. Yes, I did,” she replied. “Although, I could have gone with Holly’s suggestion. She wanted me to put aphrodisiacs in it. But I thought that you probably wouldn’t like something like that very much.”

Then she winced. “Err… okay, the truth is,” she said, shifting a little on the blanket so her knees were pressed against her chest, “it’s not that I thought you wouldn’t like it… I know you’d be interested in something like that.”

She squinted at him and pursed her lips. “Pervert.”

Nick blushed. But he couldn’t deny that Kim maybe had a point about what he would have liked to have happened on their date.

“Kim-”

“I just didn’t want us to rush to the good part right away, that’s all,” she replied, and before he could say anything, she took a big whopping bite out of the mochi. As she chewed slowly, she looked at Nick with gleaming eyes, and flashed him a bean-stained smile.

Nick gulped and looked down at the mochi he was holding, feeling warmer and warmer by the second.

“Gonna eat that?” Kim goaded him. “We’ve eaten half of them now… pretty good chance that one’s the prize…”

Then she decided to go in for the kill. “Tell you what, if you’re worried, we could always skip, and you can just kiss me right now,” she pointed out, leaning in and pursing her lips again.

She wasn’t serious, and Nick knew she wasn’t serious. But at the same time, he was a little worried. He looked down at the mochi.

“Nah, I think I’m gonna risk it,” he said, taking a bite. As much fun as it would be to just get to the kissing now, he knew that Kim would really want him to play along to the end.

As if the universe was rewarding his good intentions, the mochi he ate was sweet and delicious, like azuki bean mochi were supposed to be.

He couldn’t hide the sigh of relief on his lips as he finished off the second sweet.

Of course… the problem had not yet been solved.

“And then there were two…” Kim said mysteriously, looking down at the mochi sitting in the basket with glee. She raised her head and gave Nick a conspiratorial grin. “So what do you say? Would you like to pick one for yourself? Or should I pick first?”

The look in her eyes made him question whether or not she was telling the truth when she said she had no idea which one the sabotaged mochi was.

Or maybe she was playing around with him.

“Why don’t you pick first?” He suggested instead. If that’s what Kim wanted, he would let her have her reward. It was all in good fun, anyway. And so maybe it was a little spicy, not a big deal.

She narrowed her eyes. “Fine with me,” she said, grabbing one of the mochi.

Nick took the other.

When he did, she broke out into a mischievous smile. “You fool!” She declared in triumph. “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous of which is ‘never get involved in a land war in Asia,’ but only slightly less well-known is this: Never go in against a Japanese schoolgirl when kisses are on the line!”

Nick just smiled at her in amusement, and as he bit into the mochi he braced himself for the wave of spiciness that would no-doubt ensue.

“Aaagh! Ah! OW OW!” Kim recoiled and clutched her face as the inside of her mouth burst into flames. Nick stared at her, aghast as the sweetness of his own mochi turned to ash in his mouth.

“Kim!” He gasped. “Are… are you…”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she said, sitting up and giving him a cheeky smile. Then she frowned, and shifted again, scratching at the collar of her shirt. “Well… not fine.” Her face was red and sweaty.

Nick frowned. “Are you sure?”

“It was spicier than I expected,” she replied, fanning her mouth. “But forget about that. You won, I guess. So ready for your reward?”

Nick nodded, and swallowed the last bites of his dessert as Kim scooted over to him, and leaned in close to plant a kiss on his lips.

His mouth burst into flames.

“AGH! Kim!”

Kim winced. “Oh… uh…” She quickly reached up to touch her swollen lips, still stained in capsaicin from the hot sauce.

Even as Nick burned from the spicy kiss, he couldn’t help but laugh. So they’d ended up sharing the misery together, it seemed.

And yet, so far, so good.