“All right, you all. Listen up.” Shio leans forward. “We’re baking a funfetti cake for Uihai day.”
Masanori adores the day between his parent’s birthday. His parents are so sweet to each other and get presents for him, too. “Yesssss.”
“I brought all the colors of the rainbow.” Rikai holds up half a dozen tubes of frosting.
“I brought the mix.” Yusa hols up a box.
Shio pouts. “We should bake from scratch.”
“Shio, we’ll burn the house down and then have to explain to Ui and Hairu why their son is dead,” Yusa replies.
“What does dead mean?” Masanori squints.
Shio giggles. “Eh – ask your parents.”
“Not cool! I thought you were the fun uncle!”
Shio gasps. “My heart! No!”
“Tell him.” Rikai makes her way to the kitchen.
“Dead just means you’re not on earth anymore…you’re in heaven where there’s cake all the time and no one ever gets tired,” Shio says, hugging Masanori.
“Okay.” Satisfied, Masanori races after Rikai. Yusa just shakes his head.
When Ui and Hairu return, their apartment smells like burnt sugar.
“Masanori? Shio?” calls Hairu as she opens the door.
“Surprise!” yell four voices.
Masanori wears a virtual kakuja of rainbow frosting, and the Zero Squad children are equally smeared with icing.
Hairu laughs. “Well, well.”
“We baked you a cake!” squeaks Masanori.
“Well, Yusa insisted on taking it over. That was probably a good idea,” admits Shio.
“Then you, what, had a frosting fight?” Ui asks, hands on his hips. Their entire kitchen looks like a thousand Kanekis were released in it.
“Precisely,” Shio says happily.
Masanori beckons Ui down. He wipes green icing on the tip of Daddy’s nose.
“Now you’re one of us.” Shio nods. “No one can escape the icing.”
“I’ll be a ghoul for a moment, then.” Hairu uses her mouth to eat the icing off Ui’s nose. “See, all better.”
Mercy and Magic 