This is written as a pinch hit for Nanami, for the Tenipuri Benefactor Secret Santa 2009 exchange that I ran this year. I wrote it on the 24th of December, and submissions were to be sent out on the 25th…so sorry for the totally lack lustre writing and lame plot D;

There he was again, surrounded by his horde of fangirls, each with a gift and snack of their own for him.

"Marui-kun! This is for you~"

"I hope you liked it!"

"Kyaa, I'll make more for you tomorrow!"

Kumiko stared out the window with a lazy drawl, a small frown painted her own lips as the voices those girls nagged at her ears, slowly picking away at her temper.

With veiled frustration, she fingered the cloth of the lunchbox underneath her desk- the one she made for Marui.

She gave out a slow and dejected sigh. She should have known better than to have wasted her time making an extra lunchbox for him. It isn't as if he would eat it…she didn't exactly have the best cooking skills around, compared to the other girls currently showering him with theirs.

But a small part of her just wished- just wished a heartfelt and flickering wish that he might somehow change his mind, and eat her lunchbox.

The event that occurred 30 minutes ago flickered across her mind.

"Here, Bunta-kun~" She pushed over the lunchbox wrapped with a blue hanky.

"Hmm? What's this, Kumiko-chan?" He asked, peering curiously at it.

She frowned deeply. "It's a bomb. No~ duh, it's a lunchbox!"

He blinked at her in surprise. "E-eh?...You…made it?"

"Yea."

"O-oh…" He looked around nervously before looking back at her again, scratching his cheeks nervously; cheekily almost. "I thought we made a deal before that you will never waste your time making lunches or anything for me again?"

Kumiko placed her hands against her hips, her foot tapping impatiently against the classroom floor. "W-well, I thought it was time to change that!"

The door to the empty room, save for them, swung open at that time, and a couple of girls from the other class poked their heads in. "Marui-kun!" One of them waved a baked cake around in the air.

Kumiko noted with slight offense at the light that instantly lit up in his lavender eyes at the sight of that cake. With a dejected sigh, she took back the lunchbox she had worked to make for him early in the morning, and turned to return to her seat in next to him, by the window.

"H-hey, Kumiko-chan!" He called and she looked at him, a pout on her face. But Marui knew better- that pout was not a playful one.

"It's fine." She grounded out through tightened lips. "I suck at cooking anyways. That was why the deal was made in the first place…you shouldn't eat this…will probably give you stomachaches during practice later…" She muttered under her breath as she sat back down and opened her own lunch box. But Marui heard loud and clear what she had said and he sighed.

But all sense of guilt was wiped from him as soon as the girls outside the class, seeing that the conversation between him and his childhood friend had ended, entered the room and started hoarding him with their snacks.

Afterschool activities ended for the day, and Kumiko made her way towards the tennis courts to meet up with Marui. They usually met up after their own activities- him and his tennis practice, and her with her art club duties.

On the way, she spotted a mock of silver hair walking ahead of her, and she called out to him. "Niou-kun!"

The blue-eyed Trickster turned to see her calling, and he stopped as he waited for her to catch up. "Yo, Kumiko-chan."

"Have you seen Bunta-kun?" She asked as soon as she was close enough.

"Marui? He should still be at the courts. I was just heading there to grab my things." He answered. The two of them proceeded towards the courts together, light chatter between them accompanying them on the way.

Moments before they arrived, Niou's eyes caught sight of a blue patch sticking out of Kumiko's hand carry bag.

"Hmmm? What's that, puri?" He asked curiously.

She blinked and reached down into the bag. "Oh, this?" Almost instantly, Niou could tell a change in mood in the girl.

"It's just a lunchbox…"

"Why didn't you eat it then?" He said, rattling the box around to find it still heavy with its contents.

"I-it was extra food! I-…I couldn't finish it…"

He stared at the girl, taking in her downcast eyes; and despite the small smile on her lips, it was obvious to even a blind man that she was upset.

"Really? Can I have it then?" He asked nonchalantly.

She looked up at him in surprise. "Eh?"

"I'm starving after practice. I'll eat it if you can't finish it, piyo~"

She smiled at him. "Sure thing."

Later on in the boys changing room, Marui hurried to quickly finish as he knew Kumiko was waiting outside for him, and they were going to do their homework together at her place.

Then a curious sight caught his eye.

"Niou, what are you eating?" He asked, sharp eyes scrutinizing that tauntingly familiar blue handkerchief, that was held in Niou's hands underneath a lunchbox.

The Trickster looked up casually from his food and smirked at him. "Kumiko-chan's homemade lunchbox."

Usually,Marui would have paled at the mention of Kumiko + homemade lunch together. However, the displeasure he felt at seeing Niou eat her homemade lunch overrode that.

"Why the hell are you eating it?!" Didn't she make that for him?!

"Hmm? Because no one else would eat it~" He took another bite. "It's pretty good you know, puri~"

Marui raised a dubious eyebrow at him, watching as the Trickster walked out of the room with his bags and the lunchbox.

Outside, Niou approached Kumiko who was waiting by the school gates. "Here." He handed her the now empty lunchbox. "Thanks a lot~ it was really good!"

She blushed, as her eyes lit up at that small compliment, before she shook her head and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Yea right Niou. We all know I have the worst cooking skills around!"

He laughed at her. "Not anymore~ You've improved!"

"Really?" She asked, hope painting her eyes. And even if it wasn't true, no one would have the heart to say no to such eyes. They were filled with so much hope, that it would be cruel to diminish it.

"Yep, definitely. You should try making another one for Marui."

She opened her mouth to reply but then paused at the smirk Niou was throwing at her. "W-what?"

"You made that one for him, didn't you?" He watched her reaction closely, and saw a slow blush of embarrassment creep into her face.

"Y-yea….but he wouldn't eat it…" She didn't blame him, really. She had a notorious reputation for bad cooking.

"Well, it's time for him to change that! He should."

"Should what?" Marui asked, approaching them from behind and Kumiko startled in her place.

"We were just saying that-" Niou began but Kumiko ran past him and grabbed Marui by the arm. "C-come on, Bunta-kun! We should get going or my mum will be mad!"

Quickly pulling the protesting redhead away, she waved at Niou. "See ya, Niou-kun!"

That night, rolling around in her bed, Kumiko considered what Niou said, still unable to believe his words that her food was actually edible.

Her food?! Edible?! The two words don't seem to fit well together…

But perhaps, like Niou said, she has improved. Her cooking has changed!

With a determined nod of her head, Kumiko threw the sheets off and went down to the kitchen to make one more lunchbox.

Kumiko always knew Marui was selfish to an extent, especially when it came to food. But he was still generally a nice guy.

But the least she ever expected of him was to turn down her cooking outright!

"Seriously, Kumiko-chan? You want me to eat that?" He pointed at the lunchbox she held in her hands during lunch break the next day.

The two were currently in one of the school's expansive courtyard, trying to enjoy lunch together for once; since nowadays, Marui's growing number of fans left little time for them to spend together.

"You haven't even tried it yet!" She cried with exasperation.

He rolled his eyes and did a fake shudder. "I used to eat your food because you were my best friend; but man, you know what they do to me!" He tried to reason with her.

But Kumiko was not backing down easily this time. "I know my cooking is bad. But I've improved since the last time you ate it, alright?!" The last time he ate her food, he contracted food poisoning. And they agreed that she would never cook for him, ever again.

But she really wanted to cook for him. She was tired of watching all the girls, whose numbers grow every year by the way, cook new food for him; and they barely even know him!

While she, his childhood and best friend, is forced to sit by and watch him devour all those food created by stranger girls' hands.

When all Marui did was stare at her, hands still refusing to receive her lunchbox, tears welled up in Kumiko's eyes. Tears that had gathered over the years- when she watched him ate other's food but not hers, whenever he got sick because of her cooking, whenever he turned down her food…

She could not hold them back anymore. Before, she thought that maybe if she tried hard enough, Marui would change his mind and give her another chance, or maybe even change his mind about her cooking.

She knew that whenever she cried, Marui would give in easily as he hated watching girls cry. So she never cried, never showed how hurt she was every time she got turned down- because she wanted Marui to change on his own accord, not because of her tears.

"I hate you Marui Bunta!" She cried at him, packing up her things to go.

"H-hey! Kumiko-chan!" He gave in. "Alright, alright! I'll eat your food!"

"No!"

What? Marui stared baffled at her retreating form. First she wants him to eat and when he finally does, she doesn't? He just doesn't get girls!

Marui gave a loud groan of exasperation and ran his hand through his hair. He should go apologize to her…

"You know…her cooking isn't all that bad." Marui whipped around to see Niou walking up him, a mischievous grin playing across his lips.

"Yea, like you would know…you didn't spend your childhood years and middle school years eating her cooking…" He grumbled.

Niou rolled his eyes and smirked. "I might not know how bad her cooking is before, but I do know it has improved since last year." Even after a year, Niou still shuddered at the memory of the cookies she made for him during Valentine's Day last year. She had made cookies for every single male friend of hers, though he suspected he, Yagyuu and Jackal were the only ones who finished every single cookie they received.

Marui ate one before secretly dumping the whole thing away. Yukimura ate a couple before falling slightly ill, causing Sanada to dump the whole bag away. He didn't know what Sanada did to his bag.

Akaya "lost" his bag.

Marui gave a light shrug of his shoulder, a soft 'humph' was all Niou heard from the boy lounging on the grass.

"Give her a chance."

Marui peered up at the Trickster from underneath his bangs, before looking away again.

Frowning at his lack of reaction, Niou feigned a sigh, a smirk coming onto his lips. "Ahh~ Since you're so reluctant to do so, it's better for me!"

"Har?" Now only did he get his attention.

"They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach~ So the way to a girl's heart is through her cooking~ I'm sure Kumiko-chan won't mind if I ate her lunchbox again today…" He trailed off and turned to head towards the direction Kumiko left for.

Marui blinked at Niou's back, and it took a few seconds before the meaning of his words registered in his head. When it did, he shot up from his seat on the ground. "Oi! She made the lunchbox for me!"

Niou turned around to face him with one eye brow raised dubiously, mockingly even. "Oh? But you don't even want it-"he was cut short when Marui stalked past him grumbling a loud, "I do!"

Niou grinned with a glint in his eyes as he watched the male stalk away.

Marui found Kumiko at the back of the school, by the school's own mini-pond, sniffling.

His heart wrenched with guilt when he saw her crying without hold into her palms, face hidden away from the world.

He knew he hurt her whenever he turned down her food, especially the last two times; and he knew he hurt her as well when he got sick eating her food (but it's not like he can help that one!). But he didn't think he hurt her this bad.

It has been…what? A year and a half since they swore that stupid deal of her never cooking for him ever again? It was a childish deal, but it seemed necessary at the time, for she constantly cooked for him, knowing his love for food. It's like a deal that restricts her from trying to improve her cooking skills- what meaning is there for her to further her culinary skills if she does not have an incentive to do it?

And Marui could hardly deny the fact that she tried really hard to improve and impress him.

But these improvements never actually seemed to show in her cooking before…but perhaps, Niou is right this time. Maybe she had improved over the year and a half?

But whether she did or not, Marui knows that he has been a horrible friend. Nervously, he thought about the white gift box sitting at home on his desk. White's Day was approaching, and he was planning to give that to her…

If their friendship ended now, how could he ever take it to the next step with her, needless to say give that present?

Perhaps, it's time for him to change himself; from the self-interested food connoisseur that he is, and maybe think about eating her food and helping her improve with tips. No one can improve without the guidance of others after all~

Or perhaps, it's the time for him to change how he thinks about her cooking instead. Instead of thinking just about the taste, he should give more thought about the effort she gave to do it, and appreciate that.

Screw the taste!

If he can't change her cooking skills, he can try to change how he feels about it!

With a determined step, he approached her. "Kumiko-chan…?"

He heard her crying stop short suddenly with a jolt of her shoulder, and then she was still in her position.

Warily, he took a seat beside her.

"Hey, look…I'm sorry, alright?" He started quietly, giving a sidelong glance at the girl.

"Give me the lunchbox. I'll eat it." He said, looking around for it. But she shook her head, still buried within the crooks of her arm.

"No…it's alright. I don't want you to get sick because of me." Her muffled voice came through to Marui.

Marui opened his mouth to reply, but she raised her face to look at him, shaking her head once again. "It's alright, really. I was being childish, trying to force you to eat my cooking…"

"I…I know already for a fact that my cooking is bad. And I completely understand why you would not want to eat them ever again. So…really, it's fine." She sniffed.

"I shouldn't try to change you and make you like my cooking. I'll just…try to think differently about it." She tried to laugh, but her laughter choked on a sniff and Marui's eyebrows knitted together. "Like, maybe try to think that my cooking style just doesn't suit you, and its not actually all that bad?...though perhaps I'm fooling myself if I did that…" She muttered, looking away to the side and Marui laughed airily.

"Seriously? No! Don't change anything about yourself! Keep cooking…!" He trailed off, trying to piece together his words as Kumiko turned to look at him curiously, eyes puffy from her crying. "I….it's really me who has to change."

When she looked at him in question, not understanding him, he sighed and tried to explain. "You…always tried your hardest when cooking. I'm sure of it, and I know it." He nodded at her fingers, one of which was bandaged, which was not there yesterday. "And I had been nothing but a selfish bastard about it…"

"I think I took you for granted, and the fact that you'll just keep doing what you do for me, and cause of that, I failed to appreciate your efforts. I always thought only about my stomach, and what my tongue was tasting…maybe I should start thinking about you instead….and your efforts!" He quickly added when he saw a blush flare across Kumiko's cheeks.

He mussed up his hair in frustration. He hasn't been at a loss for words for ages! A tensai like him rarely had trouble with words!

"To cut it short!" He cried with exasperation and Kumiko stifled a laugh. "I…shouldn't try to change you, and make you stop cooking for me, just because I don't like your food. I should instead try to think differently about your food!" He punched the palm of his hand with the other. "Like maybe think of it as nouveaux taste?!" The grin was wiped off his face when he saw the frown on Kumiko's face. Perhaps that wasn't much of a compliment when it came to food…

He laughed nervously and reached a hand out to grab hers, gently caressing her bandaged finger. "But really, let me eat that lunchbox you made. I'm starving!" He gave her a bright smile, the one Kumiko always saw on his face whenever he ate something good.

Reluctantly, she reached into her bag and took it out, handing it to him. "Y-you sure you want to eat it…?" She asked again, watching him remove the chopsticks from between the knot of the hanky. Despite all he that had said just now, she still would feel really bad and would not forgive herself if he got food poisoning again.

"I'm positive!" Marui said confidently, removing the top of the lunchbox. "Besides, Niou said that it was good!"

True, Niou did say that but…

Marui popped a piece into his mouth.

….Obviously Niou was lying.

"Oi, Niou!"

The Trickster turned around and nearly rammed his face into the box that was being dangled around in front of him.

"Marui…what's this?" He asked suspiciously.

"Kumiko-chan made it!" Marui cheered, and Niou thought he saw a veeery suspicious glint in those lilac eyes. "You were right Niou! Her cooking was seriously good! And if it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't be able to call myself her boyfriend today! So I asked her to make one more box for you!"

Niou was dubious, and suspicious; so suspicious and baffled that he is that he did not resist when Marui pushed the box into his hands.

"Just hand it to her after you're done! I have to go find her now, before someone else eats my share of her cooking!" The redhead disappeared around the corner.

Niou stared at the spot where Marui disappeared for the longest time, trying to puzzle out whether the redhead was out of his mind!

He ate her cooking 2 days ago, and it waaaasnt exactly…appetizing. He just said all that bull to get them together.

But…now even Marui is saying her cooking is good?

Something is seriously wrong here. It was known to everyone how opinionated and open Marui is about his thoughts and tastes of someone's cooking.

It's either he was lying and trying to pull a prank on him right now or….it was for real.

With caution, Niou peeled the hanky away from the lunchbox and popped the top open to find a lunch for one, nicely arranged and made (from the looks of it).

Niou could tell instantly this was made by Kumiko, for there was no way in hell that the redhead could make something this neat. He had originally suspected that maybe Marui made whatever was in here and is trying to poison him. But…it didn't look like he made it, and Kumiko would never do something bad as intentionally poisoning someone…

So, Niou took a bite.

…..

…..

His face turned pale.

…obviously, Marui was lying.

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