An Addictive Yet Tasty Desire (Part 1)

You found yourself inside of a small, deep sea diving Triton submarine, searching through the dark, deep waters for marine life. At this point, you were so deep into the ocean that the light was having problems reaching the point where you were at. You got nervous. As any marine biologist knows, the darker you go into the ocean, the creepier the sea creatures get.

Something then catches your eye. The two lights on your sub could barely make out what the giant shadow in the distance was. It was too long and too thin to be a shark, and then again, you knew that you were near the Twilight Zone area of the ocean. You knew that sometimes sharks could go to deep depths, especially during migration season, but you would probably expect the largest predator in these waters to be a sperm whale. Those things could grow up to 52 feet in length. And this creature didn't look like that. No, it was just a bit too small to be a sperm whale. Not correctly shaped, either.

The creature was also moving around much faster than usual. As you tried to get away from the ominous monster, you could see a brief flash of what looked like a long, red tentacle, with suction cup-like suckers, that touched the front glass of your sub. You knew enough about sea life to tell what kind of creature this was.

This was a giant squid. He knew it was that since it was way too big to be an octopus, and the shape of the creature immediately gave it away. These monsters could grow up to 43 feet in length. You looked into the large eye of the beast that started right back at you, and before you knew it, the creature was rapping its tentacles around the front of your submarine. You tried to get control of the submarine again, but the creature's tentacles held a firm grip. You saw that the squid's beak was now trying to break open the glass, as it pecked at it continuously. You nervously panicked, as the creature held you hostage, shaking the submarine.

Then, you hear the annoying ringtone of your alarm clock, and before you know it, you wake up immediately. You felt that you were breathing heavily, and you noticed that you were slightly sweating, too. Damn it, another nightmare. You slowly got out of bed and grabbed your street clothes and changed into them. You tried not to think about that nightmare you experienced. The time was around 8:40 A.M. You then headed over to your backpack and brought out a bagel that you quickly gobbled down. Damn it, I need to go out and get myself some actual breakfast.

Ironically, even though you were the Ultimate Marine Biologist, one of your biggest fears was drowning. Of course, your fascination with sea life outweighed your fear of drowning, but it was still an odd quality to possess, none the less. You had encountered large sea life before, like humpback whales, but squids were always something that creeped you out. There was something about those long, tentacles with hooked suction cups that could scratch its prey's flesh, those large eyes that looked like they could stare right into your soul, and that beak. That parrot-like beak that looked so out of place for that monster. That and it could spray black ink if it felt threatened.

You were never really a fan of squids nor octopi. Of course, you did enjoy some of the smaller variations, but you were frightened of the large ones. If a giant squid got ahold of its prey, it would only drag its prey further down into the sea, which also wasn't comforting since underwater pressure increased the further underwater you went. It was the reason you didn't really sign on for extremely deep sea diving expeditions.

But enough of that. You already had enough to worry about right now without those nightmares reoccurring. You pulled out your phone and tried to see if Seiko had left any texts for you. Yesterday, she gave you her contact info, and in return, you gave her yours, to communicate better. You would've thought that by now, she would've told you where to meet up at. Just give her a moment, dude. She's probably very busy right now. You'll get a message soon enough.

You waited for a few minutes before you saw a notification. You were thankful that your prayers had been answered, because it was a message from Seiko.

S: *Hey Y/N. Sorry I didn't send you this sooner, but Ruruka and I just settled on where we're going. We're going out to Omotesando's Cafe for breakfast. We'll probably do more things once we are done eating. I'll send you the directions to it below.*

S: *Please be there by around 10 A.M. Ruruka said she doesn't want you to come too late, okay? I also have a little special gift to give you when you arrive! See you there! :)*

Okay, good. Now I know where to go. Just need to follow the right directions to go there. I don't think I've ever heard of that cafe before, either. Hey, I'm down for it, though. I'm hungry. Wait, who's paying for this? You then received another notification and saw another text from Seiko.

S: *Oh, P.S. : Ruruka said to bring along some money. We're paying for our food with our own money. Don't tell her I told you this, but I think I can lend you some more if you really need it. Oh, and don't worry about ordering food. I got an extra menu for you to look over before you get here. Bye now! :)*

Oh. Well, that's not too bad. I've got some money to spend from my chores. You decided to bring along at least twenty dollars and some change, just in case you needed it. Then, you got out your cellphone and tried to Google the fastest way to reach the cafe. It's about a good 45 minute walk, but hey, I need some more exercise. I'm willing to walk around the city for a little to reach them. You then prepared to get your shoes on and head out of your dorm room, looking at the directions. On your way out, you saw Nagito along the way, and you wished him a good morning.

"Ah, how lucky am I to meet such a wonderful person at this time in the morning! Unworthy filth like me shouldn't be wasting your time. May your day be filled with hope and happiness, good friend!", Nagito said to you before going to do his own thing. That was pretty normal for Nagito. He usually said a lot of things about hope and self-loathing. Even when you told him not to say such horrible things about himself, he still did it. You weren't sure why, but you still felt that Nagito was a good egg. He means very well.

You headed off Hope's Peak campus and headed into the city. The noisy and busy city streets weren't something you were used to. Too many people. Too much noise. You didn't really mind it too much, since the reward would be well worth it.

----------------------------------

Meanwhile, at Omotesando's Cafe, thirty minutes later...

---------------------------------

Seiko anxiously took our her phone and waited for Y/N to arrive. She was sitting down at a table alone on one side, where she was saving the seat next to her for Y/N. On the other side of the table, Sonosuke and Ruruka were talking to each other. Sonosuke wasn't paying much attention, since he was chowing down on several of Ruruka's delicious macaron treats. He was still wearing his red trench coat, but in a less formal way. Ruruka wasn't in her usual uniform, and instead was wearing a large, pink coat with fur trimming and yellow shorts. Apart from that, everything else was pretty normal.

Seiko wasn't in her usual uniform, either. Now, she was wearing a dark grey formal jacket, with a white dress shirt, as well as a dark grey skirt held by a purple belt. If anything, she looked more professional than she did in her normal uniform. I wanted to dress nicely for the occasion, she thought. I hope that Y/N doesn't mind.

She re-checked her phone again for any replies from Y/N. She got one that said, "Understood. I'll be there as soon as I can. See you then!" a couple minutes ago. Okay, so he's going to arrive soon enough, that's good. With her, she made sure to keep the box she brought with her intact. She kept the candy that she chose from Ruruka's collection for Y/N: a few pieces of peppermint bark. With a half dark chocolate, white chocolate mix and large bits of crunched peppermint candy cane parts in it, she was sure that he would like it. Reckoned, this stuff would destroy my teeth if I ate it, she wondered.

Around twenty more minutes passed, and Seiko was starting to get worried. He hasn't sent me a new text in a while. He should've been here by now. She didn't realize it, but she was slightly shaking. Calm down, I'm sure he's just taking a few more minutes. Besides, he's probably never been to this place before, so it would make sense if he ran a few minutes late. She took a few deep breaths in and out to calm down.

"10:05", Sonosuke said, checking his watch. "Y/N was supposed to be here five minutes ago. I don't like wasting time, you know. When I set a time, I aim to arrive exactly on time. If he keeps us waiting for twenty, then I'm really gonna be pissed."

"Give him a few minutes, Yoi-Yoi. We're more familiar here. Y/N's never been here before. He's probably trying to figure out where we are. I'll be fine if he takes slightly more than usual, but you better make sure he's coming, Seiko," Ruruka said. "I didn't give you those sweets for him for nothing, you know."

"Okay, I-I get it, you don't want him to keep us waiting. I understand," Seiko told them. Come on, please get here soon, Y/N. I want to see you today. She decided to send Y/N a text message back to be sure he was coming. *Hey, Y/N, where are you? I don't want to pressure you, but Ruruka is getting a little angry. Please get here soon.*

She didn't get a reply back instantly, so she just waited. She started tapping her foot slightly, while Sonosuke fell asleep on Ruruka's lap. Ruruka was looking kind of tired, not from waiting, but kind of drowsy. Her eyes weren't blood shot, but Seiko could tell that she was having trouble staying awake. "Uh, did you take those pills I suggested last night?"

"Yeah, I took two, but my head was still hurting like hell for the next hour, so I took a few more before I went to bed. The pain went away, but when I woke up, I felt very tired," Ruruka told her.

"Ugh..." Seiko said as she shook her head. "I told you not to take more than two pills, Ruruka. You know that. I don't want to see you get hurt-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she saw someone enter through the cafe entrance. It was none other than her lovely Y/N. She instantly breathed a sigh of relief the moment she saw him enter the place. Ruruka nudged Sonosuke to wake him up. Y/N walked up to them and sat down right next to Seiko. She had a big smile on her face, even though you couldn't tell.

"So, looks like you finally arrived. I thought you'd be later," Sonosuke told you. "I was getting sleepy waiting for you."

"Yeah, I can tell," you told him. "Sorry about that. The directions I found took me a little longer than usual to get here. I would've tried to get here sooner, I really would have."

"It's fine. I'm still happy that you're here with us today," Seiko told you, while she looked into your eyes. "Oh, that reminds me of something." She quickly pulled out the small treat box she kept, and handed it over to you. "Here's your gift, Y/N! I h-hope you like it!", she said nervously.

You opened the box to find that it was filled with nicely made peppermint bark. Oh man, I used to love this stuff around Christmas time! "You made this for me? Thank you so much, Seiko!"

You could tell that she was blushing when you thanked her. "Oh, w-w-well, uh, Ruruka gave me some tips on how to make some treats. I thought you might like if I gave you a treat, you know," she told you.

"It's true. I taught her how to do it, but she's the one who did all the hard work," Ruruka said to you. "Well, don't just stare at it, Y/N. Go try it. She made it for you, you know. You wouldn't want to break her little heart, would you?"

"Oh, uh, sure, sure," you told her. You weren't exactly sure why she was trying to guilt-trip you into eating it, since you were going to anyway. You took a look at the colorful box.

"Y-You don't have to eat it right now if you don't want to, Y/N. I know it's not exactly a breakfast food, but I wanted to make that clear," Seiko told you. "You can always have some later."

"I understand, Seiko." You took out a piece of peppermint bark and tried to offer it to Seiko. "Would you like any of this?"

Seiko avoided the treat like poison. "Oh, n-no! Sorry, Y/N, but this candy is for you, not me. Besides, I couldn't eat it even if I wanted to. Sugar is very detrimental to my health. If I even take a small bite, I could get incredibly sick," she explained.

"Yep. I've tried to get her to eat some of my treats, but she can't," Ruruka said to you. "She suffers from some kind of genetic condition, I think. It's a bit long to explain. I'm not sure what it's for, but she has to take a very special kind of medicine to keep herself healthy. If she doesn't, she gets even more sick."

"I keep taking that medicine regularly. The downside to this is that my medicine does not mix well with sugar. When sugar and my medication are mixed, it can lead to threatening side effects. Maybe even life threatening. That's why I can't eat anything sugar related," Seiko said, in a gloomy tone. "Finding food that doesn't contain sugar is harder than you think. Many things have grams of sugar in it. I am able to find some organic food, though. That's why I ate breakfast before we got here. Imagine how long it would take to find something without any grams sugar in it here."

"Well then, if you excuse us, we're gonna go order our food now. I'm guessing you don't want anything, right, Seiko?", Sonosuke said. Seiko nodded in agreement. "Alright then, let's go Ruruka. Y/N, what do you want?"

You only got a quick glance through at the menu, so you didn't take too much time deciding on what you wanted to eat. "I'll be fine with some, uh, bacon and scrambled eggs, if that's possible," you told him. "Oh, and give me some coffee, too! I really need some caffeine." He made sure to write it down and nodded. Both he and Ruruka went to the front to order their food.

While you were minding your own business, you saw that Seiko was acting a little blue. "Hey, Seiko, I didn't hurt your feelings by offering that candy, right? I'm sorry if I did-"

"No, no, it's not that. You didn't know. I probably should have told you earlier. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Thank you. I'm sorry to hear that you can't eat sugar. I imagine it must be very difficult. Look, I'm not trying to make you feel bad about it, Seiko. I just want to know if you're okay, that's all. If you don't want to talk about it, I respect that."

You noticed that she thought about it for a few moments before she spoke. "Just don't judge me for it, okay? It's hard enough that I can't eat sugar without getting sick. It's even worse knowing that I can't even eat my best friend's own treats. Ruruka's been my best friend for years, Y/N. When we first became friends, she offered me one of her treats. I tried to explain my condition to her, but she seemed to understand. At least at first, she did. Since I couldn't eat any of her signature sweets, I decided that I would try to help Ruruka in any other way I could."

"Huh. Interesting. I didn't know you and Ruruka had such a long history with each other. What about Sonosuke?"

"Oh, I met him around the same time I met Ruruka. Funny, isn't it? It's like those two have been together since they were children. Anyways, back to Ruruka," Seiko replied to you. "She's always wanted me to at least try her sweets. Even though she was kind of upset I couldn't eat them, she still considered me to be a good friend of hers. But one day, a little while after we became friends, I felt almost guilty that I couldn't eat her treats. I thought to myself, 'Just take one nibble, it can't possibly be THAT bad, can it?' I felt that it was wrong, but...I... I just wanted to show her that I could eat it. Of course, at that time, my parents said eating sugar was dangerous, but I thought a little wouldn't kill me. That was before I understood how dangerous it was."

You couldn't tell what her expression was. It looked almost angry, or regretful, or sadness, or all of them. She continued to speak. "So on that day, I took a little bite of one of her treats. Just a small nibble, nothing more. For the first few moments, I didn't feel anything. I barely got even a taste of her treat from it. Then I started feeling like my stomach was going to burst. A little while later, my stomach was in more pain than I had ever felt before. Then it got incredibly hard for me to breathe, and m-m-my skin was c-covered in rashes. Ruruka and Sonosuke were able to get me some help, and I was taken to the hospital. The doctors told me I suffered a... s-severe allergic reaction."

She started mumbling her words. You also noticed that her eyes started tearing up. "I-I...*sniff*, I could've died from that. The rest of my family gave me company. I practically scared them half to death. Ruruka and Sonosuke visited me when I was in the hospital, too. I was in that waiting room for weeks, Y/N. *sniff* I-I c-could barely breathe, my stomach was in constant pain, and it hurt when I tried to move. But Ruruka visited me every day I was there. She gave me some comfort while I suffered. *sniff* I f-f-felt so stupid for eating that candy when I knew I shouldn't have. A-Al-l I wanted was to see if I could just have a tiny bit, just a nibble of her treat. And I didn't even stop to think about it! I could've died from just a stupid bite and I didn't even-!!"

You gently placed your hand of Seiko's shoulder. You knew if she kept going like this, she would probably have a meltdown. "Oh my God, Seiko, I am so sorry. I had no idea it was that serious for you. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that," you told her. You could emphasize with her because when you were younger, you had an allergic reaction to peanut butter that sent you into the hospital, too. She was having a moment, so you didn't want her to make her feel worse. I had no idea she was so emotional about this, you thought.

Seiko stared directly into your eyes, silent for a few moments. She had no idea how to react.

"Thank you for telling me, Seiko. I know it must've taken you a lot of courage to say that. Are you... do you need a moment?"

Then she wrapped her arms around you, and started hugging you tightly. You were completely caught off guard by this. You didn't want to break free, so you decided to hug her back. For some reason, you felt something strange going off inside you, some kind of odd yet satisfying feeling. You didn't know how to describe it, yet, you wanted more of it. Seiko kept hugging you for what felt like minutes, but lasted much shorter. You could tell that she was enjoying this. Then, she released her grip on you.

"Thanks. I really needed that. I-I think I feel a bit better now," she said, as she formed a weak smile underneath her mask. "O-Okay, let's try to focus on something better, right? Ruruka should be back in a few moments, so maybe you could learn a thing or two about her."

To be continued...

P.S. - That little piece of backstory for Seiko (the eating the candy part) was something that I slightly based off of a scene from the Danganronpa 3 manga. I thought it would at least be something interesting to bring up.