Agree to cook the stew

(chapter originally by doragom333 at writing.com)

"...All right," Fuuka said reluctantly. "I will cook it again."

"Very good," said Mitsuru, giving a small nod. "I am glad that we were able to settle this without further difficulty. Dinner will be at 11:30. You are free to go about the rest of your day as you please as long as that stew is ready by tonight, though I suggest you head on back to the dormitory first thing to get some proper attire."

"Wait a second!" Minako interrupted. "Can't you just give us our clothes back?"

"Unfortunately not," Mitsuru frowned. "Your uniforms have been confiscated as evidence. If anything goes missing before the investigation is closed, then we would have a case of theft on our hands as well. This would lead to increased efforts on our parts to find the culprits, which would not be pleasant for anyone. You know how zealous the Disciplinary Committee can get, don't you Arisato?"

"Oh, right..."

"And furthermore," Mitsuru continued. "Even if most of the students had gone home by now, there are no doubt plenty left on campus. If anyone were to see you have changed clothes again, even more suspicion would be thrown onto you. In fact, you should be lucky that these were claimed before anyone could recognize these as your normal clothes."

"Oh my!" Fuuka gasped. "I hadn't thought about that."

"Indeed, now if you'll excuse me, I must finish up here. Be careful on your way back."

"Yes, Mitsuru-sempai," said both Fuuka and Minako as they left the room.

The trip back to the dorm was uneventful, for the most part. Aside from stares and whispers from remaining students on the way out, and occasional glances from passersby on the monorail and the way home, nothing noticeable happened on the way back to the dorm. But their safe travel did nothing to ease Fuuka's mind. Proceeding in silence, all Fuuka could think about was what was going to happen tonight. She desperately wanted to take her mind off of it, at least temporarily, but she couldn't think of anything else to talk about. Not that Minako seemed to be in a talking mood, anyways. The normally cheery girl had a glum look on her face, staring down at nothing in particular as she walked onward.

Soon enough, the two arrived back at the dorm right around 3:00. "Looks like no one's back yet," Fuuka said.

"Yeah," Minako replied, still deep in her funk.

"Well..." Fuuka continued, walking towards the stairs. "The stew takes several hours to cook so I'll need to get it started soon. We should get changed before the others arrive."

Minako didn't respond immediately, so Fuuka decided to go on ahead, but just as she reached the staircase, Minako spoke. "Wait, Fuuka?"

"Minako?" Fuuka turned around.

"About tonight..." Minako said nervously. "Are you sure?"

"I... yes." Fuuka said, eventually.

"Even if it means you might end up like I did?" Minako asked.

"Yes, even if it means being naked-," Fuuka paused as she uttered the word, cheeks flushing red. "-in front of everyone. I can't let you take the fall for this."

"Um, actually," Minako said uneasily. "Embarrassing as it would be, the naked part is not what I'm worried about."

"Huh!?" Fuuka gaped. "Then, is it because you really are-"

"NO! NO! I't's not like that, Fuuka-chan!" Minako stammered. "It's just, I trust everyone on this team with my life. What's a little nudity between friends like us?"

"Everyone... Even Junpei?"

"Hey, he's not that bad once you get to know him!" Minako laughed. "But yeah, everyone. And besides, they'll be in the same boat as us," she winked. "So we're not getting a completely raw deal this time."

Fuuka flashed red as a tomato as the mental image of all the guys naked popped into her head.

"That is, if it all works out..." Minako continued, her grimness returning.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Fuuka asked, shaking the image out of her head.

"Fuuka-chan, even though I wasn't completely myself back on the roof, I wasn't lying when I told you about wanting to go streaking. But just as I told Mitsuru later, it was a hidden, _deeply _hidden urge I had. I've been thinking... what if that stew simply brought it out?"

"What do you mean, brought it out?"

"I mean, I had... entertained... the thought of streaking well before eating the stew. What if the stew didn't create the urge to streak, but simply gave me the energy, courage, and recklessness to try and live that fantasy? And if that's the case, what would it be like if everyone had it happen to them all at once?"

"Minako-chan..." Fuuka drew off, thinking.

"..."

"Don't worry about it," she said, boldly.

"Fuuka-chan?"

"You said it yourself, you trust everybody on this team with your life, right? Then I will trust in them too. Even if these 'urges' are unleashed, I think we can handle it. And who knows? Maybe some of them aren't perverted, but just stupid, like doing a song and dance routine."

"I hadn't thought about that..." Minako said.

"And you know what else?" Fuuka continued, getting worked up. "If Mitsuru is going to **** us into this situation, then I can't wait to see what happens when she eats her helping!"

"Mitsuru? That would be too priceless! Ha ha ha..." Minako laughed, looking somewhat relieved. "Thanks, Fuuka-chan, I think we can get through this now. Let's get ready."

Later that night, it was time for the stew experiment to commence. Seated at the table were Fuuka, Minako, and Mitsuru, as well as the other members SEES: fellow students Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko, Ken, and Shinjiro. All were dressed in preparation for the Dark Hour, weapons at their sides. In addition, at the foot of the table, happily chomping away at his own dinner, was their canine teammate, Koromaru, and over by Mitsuru's side stood the android Aigis.

"Welcome, everyone," Mitsuru greeted after everyone had taken their seats. "Tonight we are trying something different."

"I'll say!" Junpei exclaimed. "What's the deal with us having dinner so late?"

"I admit it is rather odd, but tonight's meal may prove to be quite special, isn't that right, Yamagishi?" she turned towards Fuuka.

"_You _made this?" Shinjiro asked, narrowing his already narrow gaze.

"Yes," Fuuka replied, taking the response in stride. It was understandable that he would be skeptical, as he had witnessed a few of her earlier cooking attempts, and had given some very helpful pointers.

"According to Yamagishi, and Arisato who has already tasted this meal," Mitsuru continued. "It should revitalize you and give you an enormous amount of energy. That is what we are going to test tonight."

"It looks like ordinary stew to me, what's makes this special?" Yukari asked.

"Well, the beef and potatoes are standard, but the herbs I added is what gives this its kick."

"Uh-"

"All according to the recipe," Fuuka cut Shinjiro off.

"And you tried this before Minako-chan?" Akihiko asked. "How was it?"

"The flavor's a bit strong," Minako said, reflexively glancing at Fuuka. "But it actually tastes pretty good."

"Can we start eating now?" Ken interrupted. "It's almost time for the Dark Hour, and we can't fight while hungry."

"Kid's got a point," Junpei shrugged. "Chow time!"

And with that, they began to dig in. Just like with Minako earlier on the roof, the first bite seemed to give them pause, but after that they continued steadily eating away. Fuuka for her part, was very conflicted. While she was glad that she was able to provide support through her cooking, she knew it would start getting messed up soon. It would only be a matter of time now...

No, thinking like that now wouldn't help. The meal's been cooked, they were all in this together. Fuuka looked down at her own portion. It was funny, all this chaos over her dish and she hadn't even tried it yet. Taking a bite, the first thing Fuuka noticed was the taste. That flavor was strong all right! She was only able to barely just get it down, chasing it with some water. But it did actually taste really good. Taking a second bite, she felt that the flavor not quite as sharp as before, probably now that she knew it was coming.

"Mm!"

Fuuka turned, and Mitsuru's face drawn as she swallowed, the same reaction she had to the first bite. Had Mitsuru waited until everyone was eating before she began as well, or was it just Minako and Fuuka she was waiting for? However, these questions soon dissipated as Fuuka's thoughts turned solely toward eating more and more of that delicious stew.

The meal passed quickly, and was soon over. Fuuka sat back in her seat, full and content. Looking around, she saw that the rest of the team members were sitting likewise. Even Mitsuru seemed more relaxed than usual.

Still, that rest wouldn't last long. Already Fuuka could feel something welling up from within her belly. As the feeling grew spread throughout her body, she felt herself begin to heat up as well. The side effects had taken hold of her, and the rest of the team as well. What was going to happen?