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Donuts. Aoi Asahina wanted donuts.
The Ultimate Swimming Pro pushed the doors of the Dining Hall, noticing it to be empty. Not that she was shocked, given how early it was. Monokuma's announcement had not played yet, and Hina's inner alarm clock had rung before that with the need for donuts.
It felt... strange to walk so casually inside the room. After all, the girl's situation and that of her friends were far from being what one could call "normal." A murder happened only a few days ago, and they had witnessed two brutal executions.
Deep inside, Hina felt some guilt, not feeling even more down in the dumps. Like she was being disrespectful towards the dead. The hesitant sense of normalcy slowly setting in felt awkward for the students and their memories of the deceased Sayaka, Leon, and Junko.
Focus, Aoi Asahina! You've got to look forward! The swimmer thought, slapping her cheeks to cheer herself up. Almost drooling, Hina opened the door to the kitchen, desperately hoping to find a few donuts.
However, her focus quickly shifted as she noticed somebody inside the room, preparing trays and enough breakfast to feed a whole regiment.
"I-Is someone there?!"
Hina couldn't help but smile as a white-haired girl turned around, visibly startled by the athlete's sudden appearance.
"I-It's just me, S-Snowy," Hina stammered, finding herself embarrassed.
Snowy Sunhaven was the Ultimate Ally, a girl standing at around 5'2, with fair skin, mid-length white hair well-kept thanks to her signature pink bow, sparkling blue eyes, and wearing a pink shirt, white blouse as well as a pastel-colored jacket that looked way too warm to be comfortable in Hina's eyes – but that also seemed highly fluffy.
She wasn't the most talkative student in the group, but she arguably was the gentlest. Hina found her kindness and sweetness to rival Makoto's or Chihiro's, but with a touch of childishness that the swimmer found totally adorable.
It was rare for Snowy to talk about herself, and Hina figured this was due to her shy nature. However, she never failed to pay attention to what others were saying, even more so when it helped her care for them better.
Hina could tell she loved making herself useful to others, although that also meant she could easily be deceived or lied to, which always made the swimmer see red. Still, Snowy appeared to be comfortable around almost everyone in the group, save for Byakuya the Ultimate Jerk, the scary-looking Mondo, and the socially awkward Toko.
And, well... Snowy adored Celeste. It was a mix of adoration and admiration, actually. Only seldom was the Ultimate Ally not hanging out with the mysterious gambler, either making her tea or listening to her narrate her feats in her long and flawless career.
All this would have suited Hina just fine if only Celeste wasn't faking it so much. Hina knew she was also on the naïve side, but it was clear to everyone with a pair of functioning eyes that while Snowy admired Celeste, the same couldn't be said the other way around.
It honestly made Hina angry. It was unfair for such a sweet and kind-hearted girl to be used for someone's bidding! Perverts like Hifumi, she didn't care much, but she cared about Snowy!
"O-Oh, Hina... G-Good morning!" Snowy greeted, still recovering from the surprise. "W-What brings you here so early in the morning?"
Her voice is so cute! Hina couldn't help but think, her blush darkening. "O-Oh, nothing unusual... I-I was just looking for some donuts, is all..."
Hina wished she didn't stutter so much around Snowy. After all, she was usually the confident type, so it sounded out of character. Not that the swimmer didn't know why, mind you.
"Oh, alright! Well, if you want, I can fetch you some and bring them to you for breakfast!" Snowy suggested, showing Hina a friendly smile.
It was new for the Ultimate Swimming Pro, but every time Snowy spoke to her like that, her soft and affectionate voice made Hina's heart pound a little quicker inside her chest. She could not recall another time in her life something similar had happened.
But hey, perhaps she was a little bit of a nitwit, but it had not taken her long to realize why she was suddenly feeling this way. To put it simply, Hina was slowly but surely falling in love.
It would be nice if it weren't so embarrassing!
"N-No need to trouble yourself, S-Snowy! I-I'll look for them myself!"
Snowy looked disappointed, although it was only for a split second. After a moment, she simply nodded, telling her friend, "Okay! Well, in the meantime, I'm going to bring everyone's breakfast to the Dining Hall!"
Hina's blue eyes widened. "W-Wait, I'll help you, Snowy!" she said, immediately turning away from the cabinet she'd been looking through and jogging over to the Ultimate Ally. "I-It'll be quicker with two sets of hands!"
While this was true, Hina also had an ulterior motive, or rather, motives. Being helpful to Snowy was the first and most obvious: the poor girl spent almost all her time helping others; Hina thought it was the least she could do.
And, of course, any opportunity to spend some time with the girl who could make her feel the butterflies in her stomach was good to take. The second Celeste stepped inside the Dining Hall, Hina would lose her shot, so she wouldn't let this chance pass her by!
"O-Oh, alright!"
With a shared smile, the two girls began to walk back and forth between the rooms, bringing a couple of trays along each time.
"You do this every morning by yourself, Snowy?" Hina asked, admittedly feeling a little bad for her crush.
"Mm-hmm!" Snowy nodded, carefully placing a tray at the table Byakuya sat at. "That's the least I can do to help everybody, considering I am the Ultimate Ally and all..."
"N-No, you don't need to do all that work! Oh my God, I'm sorry you had to do all that by yourself! I-I'll come to help you from now on!"
Considering how many trays they had already transported from the kitchen to the breakfast tables, Hina didn't even want to imagine how long it took poor Snowy to prepare all this. And considering she was often among the last students to head to bed since she always helped with cleaning the dinner dishes, the swimmer realized her nights must have been pretty damn short!
"I-It's okay, don't worry," Snowy assured her, waving her arms around and keeping her cheery smile. "I'm used to it, and besides, I don't want to be useless to the group. Our situation isn't great, so I do my best to make it at least bearable!"
It was clear at this point that the white-haired girl wouldn't budge on the matter. Well, Hina could understand where she was coming from.
I'm so annoyed when I think Mister Almighty Togami keeps bragging about how great he is when he doesn't do a hundredth of the hard work Snowy does!
It took a few more minutes for Hina and Snowy to finish setting up the tables in the Dining Hall. For a moment, the swimmer forgot what she had actually come here to do. The reminder came from her growling stomach.
"O-Oh, I'm sorry! Y-You helped me even though you were hungry! T-This was really insensitive of me, Hina-"
The Ultimate Swimming Pro smiled. Even when she panicked, Snowy acted so cutely that it was difficult not to have your heart melt. "It's okay, Snowy. I helped you because I think it's unfair that you work so hard while so many others don't do a thing to help! The donuts could wait a few minutes!"
"I-If you say so... I-I insist that you let me help you look for them, though!" Snowy said, determination filling her voice.
Hina nodded. "Sure!"
With that, the two Ultimates began to look for Hina's beloved sugary treats. They combed through every cabinet and cupboard inside the kitchen but ultimately came up empty-handed.
"Damn, we don't have any left!" Hina stated, pouting disappointingly. It was even more of an issue, considering their search had made her hungrier than before!
"I-I'm sorry, Hina..."
Aww... Smiling, Hina walked over to her crush and patted her on the shoulder with a faint blush. "It's alright! I just have to wait until Monokuma restocks the kitchen!"
It would have been a surprise if the athlete had even been told she would be looking forward to seeing the monochromatic bear do anything. Right now, though, she could have murdered for some donuts.
Not Snowy, though.
"I, um... can try to make some for you if you want."
Hina looked at her friend with a bewildered expression. "Y-You know how to make donuts, Snowy?!"
The Ultimate Ally scratched the back of her head, looking slightly embarrassed. "W-Well, not really, but I can try...? I-I don't think it can be that hard... can it...?"
Suddenly, a new fire appeared in Hina's eyes. She had just come up with the perfect plan! It would allow her to get her daily dose of donuts while also spending time with Snowy! A better opportunity couldn't have presented itself, even in her dreams!
"Let's make them together!" Hina suggested with passion. "I'm sure we can make some amazing donuts as a team!"
Snowy looked a bit taken aback by the proposition but seeing how much it meant to Hina, there was no way she could oppose the idea. "Alright," she said with a small smile. "Let's collect the ingredients we'll need, then!"
The next few minutes were spent collecting the necessary ingredients. They needed yeast, milk, sugar, some eggs, flour, and a little bit of salt. Of course, they also had to prepare equipment like a bowl, a spatula, and a saucepan.
"We're all set!" Hina announced, turning to her friend. "So, what do we need to do first, Snowy?"
The other girl thought for a moment before answering, "We need to boil some water and sprinkle the yeast over it," she said. "Then I think we let it stand for a few minutes."
With a nod, Hina moved to boil some water. Then, Snowy sprinkled the yeast, watching with her friend as the mixture quickly rose.
"Now, I think we need to mix it with the milk, eggs, etc. inside a bowl," she said, working from instinct. She didn't have a lot of experience baking, but she could definitely give it her best shot! Not to brag, but the Ultimate Ally knew she was usually pretty spot-on.
Hina did as she was told and put the yeast mixture inside the bowl they had prepared earlier, working in tandem with Snowy to add the necessary ingredients. Then, they slowly stirred the whole thing with a wooden spoon, switching places every minute or so.
"Let's add some flour now!" Snowy said enthusiastically, grabbing the opened bag of flour and pouring a generous amount. Meanwhile, Hina watched with loving eyes as the girl's every movement was precise and meticulous.
Eventually, the dough stopped sticking to the bowl. Snowy chuckled, leaving Hina to wonder why. Still, the sweet sound of her laughter was enough to make her smile.
"I think we need to knead it now," the Ultimate Ally said, still giggling. "I'm going to let you do this, Hina. You're way more energetic than I am!"
Hina laughed. "O-Okay!" With untrained fingers, the swimmer went at it, kneading the dough for a few minutes until it was elastic. "Is that good enough, you think?"
Snowy looked at her friend's handiwork and nodded. "I think so...? Let's grease it now. Do we have another bowl somewhere close?"
"Yep, right here!" Hina said, grabbing the bowl and handing it to Snowy. "We put grease in it?"
"That's right," Snowy nodded, adding, "It should rise and absorb the grease. I'd say it needs to double in size? What do you think, Hina?"
Hina scratched the back of her head. "I, uh... trust you fully, Snowy! I'm only a donut expert when it comes to eating them, to be honest..." An embarrassed blush came with those words.
Snowy seemed happy to be trusted so much. The two girls waited for a few minutes, observing as the dough rose some more, making it thicker than before. Snowy touched it a couple of times to see if it was ready.
"I think we're good?" she spoke, sounding somewhat uncertain. "Next... Let's shape them!"
"Ohh, sounds good!" Hina said excitedly. "I'm gonna go grab a rolling pin!"
The two amateur pastry chefs proceeded to roll their dough on the floured table, adjusting its thickness until it was about half an inch thick. It wasn't a perfect job, but definitely good enough that they could carry on.
"I'll let you do the cutting, Hina," Snowy said with a knowing smile, seeing the light in Hina's eyes that showed exactly how much she wanted to do it.
Luckily, the kitchen had a donut cutter at the ready, which would be put to good use. Hina focused as she pushed the cutter against the dough, creating the distinctive shape of the future pastries.
"Nice!" she said, looking at her work. They had made enough dough for no less than fifteen donuts! "These are gonna be super tasty! I'm sure of it!"
The burst of enthusiasm had Snowy's smile widen. "Yeah! Let's work on the glazing now! Do we have the saucepan at the ready?"
"Got it!"
Snowy accepted it, grabbing the butter and turning the stove on medium heat. "Let's melt some butter, then add the sugar and vanilla," she explained. "C-Could you please give me the wooden spoon from earlier, Hina?"
"Sure thing!"
It didn't take long for the butter to completely melt inside the pan. "I will add the sugar and vanilla while you stir, okay?"
"Alright!" Hina gave a fervent nod as she did as she was told, observing the Ultimate Ally introduce the ingredients inside the saucepan. Meanwhile, she stirred slowly, licking her lips as a sugary scent rose in the air. "This is making me even hungrier!"
Once this was done, the girls removed the pan from the heat and started adding hot water one tablespoon at a time, making sure their icing was neither too thin nor too watery.
Meanwhile, an announcement that was way too familiar was finally being heard.
"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"
"It's only 7 in the morning?!" Hina exclaimed in surprise. "Well, damn... I must have woken up earlier than I thought!"
"Yes, the others should be here soon," Snowy added. "I think we are almost done, so maybe we should hurry to have breakfast with everyone?"
"Right! Let's get back to it!"
Snowy nodded. "Well, we just need to fry the donuts now. Let's put some oil in the deep-fryer, shall we?"
"Let me take care of it, Snowy! I don't want you to get burnt or anything!"
"Alright!"
With a shared smile, Hina grabbed some oil and put it inside the deep-fryer before turning it on. She set it on one of the highest settings, and quick enough, the heat could be felt.
If oil that hot touched your skin, it would be severely burnt! It would suck if Snowy's skin was ruined because of that! It looks so soft!
A few minutes after, the oil was heated enough. "It's ready, Snowy! I think we can slide the donuts in now!"
"Okay! Here I come!"
The Ultimate Ally walked over to her friend with the tray of donuts in hand. She grabbed a spatula and slid them in one by one, watching as they rose to the surface.
"I'm gonna go grab another spatula so I can help you with turning them around!"
Hina hurried to the other side of the kitchen, grabbed another spatula, then came back. Snowy was humming a song, carefully turning the donuts around to fry them evenly. The Ultimate Swimming Pro joined her, considerably facilitating the process.
Before she knew it, the swimmer was humming along with her crush. They caught a glance of each other's gaze every now and then, causing Hina to blush a little darker each time.
"Do you think they're fried enough, Hina?" Snowy asked, adding with a giggle, "You've probably seen more donuts than I ever will!"
Hina rolled her eyes amusingly. "Looks good! I think we can take them out now!" Snowy nodded in agreement and began removing the pastries from the deep-fryer. "Careful!"
"Thank you," Snowy said kindly, smiling back when Hina smiled at her. The athlete prepared a wire rack to drain the hot donuts of the remaining oil. "These really look delicious! Now we just need to dip them into the glaze, and you'll be able to eat them!"
"Yeah! Only one more step!" Hina grabbed the saucepan from earlier, where the icing had cooled down since then. "I cannot wait!"
An excited grin graced the swimmer's lips as Snowy began to dip the pastries into the glaze, giving them a certain glow. She then proceeded to carefully set them up on another rack, letting the excess icing get drained.
If those taste as amazing as they look... OMG!
A minute later, it was finished. On the kitchen table was a tray of fifteen tasty-looking homemade donuts, asking nothing more than to be devoured.
"Great job, Snowy! Thanks a lot!" Hina said, giving her partner a high-five. Snowy seemed caught off-guard but high-fived her back, not without a faint trace of embarrassment. "Let's dig in!"
Snowy's blue eyes widened slightly. "N-No, Hina! T-These are for you!"
"Surely not!" the swimmer exclaimed, nearly shouted, putting her hands on her hips and puffing her cheeks. "You did most of the work, so we're eating them together! Hey, I might be a donut maniac, but those are fifteen donuts I'm more than happy to share with you!"
Snowy's gaze avoided Hina's as her cheeks felt a tad hotter than before. "O-Okay..."
"Alright, then! Let's stuff our faces, then join the others!"
The white-haired girl sweatdropped as her friend leaped at the donuts, stuffing two inside her mouth at once.
"T-These... are so... gooooooood~!" Hina said with a moan of pleasure, her tastebuds loving every bit of what she was offering them. "Eat one, Snowy!"
"A-Alright," she said shyly, grabbing a donut and timidly biting into it. The second it touched her tongue, her shyness was replaced by immense surprise. "W-Wow, these really taste amazing!"
"Right! You did a fantastic job, Snowy!"
The praise made the Ultimate Ally turn scarlet. "Y-You helped, Hina... I-I didn't do it alone..."
So cute! Hina thought, struggling to stop herself from just bouncing around in joy. The combination of the freaking amazing donuts and her crush's cutesiness was nothing short of heavenly!
"Well, these donuts couldn't have been made if not for you, Snowy! I'm eternally in your debt!"
Snowy said nothing and ate her donut, glancing at Hina as she devoured a couple more.
"Oh, hey, girls!"
Hina and Snowy turned to the door and noticed Makoto standing there. "Oh, hiya, Makoto!" the former greeted. "How's it going?"
The Ultimate Lucky Student smiled, replying, "I'm just fine, thank you. What about you? Making donuts, I take it?"
"You bet! We had run out, so Snowy suggested we made some ourselves!" the swimmer explained, still swallowing. "They're amaaaaazing, Makoto!"
The short boy smiled at Snowy. "I didn't know you could make donuts, Snowy. That's cool!"
"O-Oh, um... I-I just got lucky, is all... D-Do... Do you want one, Makoto...?"
The Luckster shook his head. "It's kind of you to ask, but I can't. This was your hard work, so you should be the ones to eat them. Well, join us in the Dining Hall once you're done here, okay?"
"Sure thing!"
Makoto walked back to the Dining Hall, and the girls could hear a couple of other voices from over there. In particular, it seemed like Byakuya and Mondo were already arguing, with Toko jumping to the former's defense and Taka scolding them for being too loud (while being even louder, of course).
"Well, you heard him, Snowy! Let's hurry and eat those wonderful donuts!" Hina said with gusto, stuffing her mouth with yet another donut. Her hunger was far from being quelled, even five donuts in.
"Okay!" With more confidence, Snowy grabbed another donut and bit at it with vigor, thoroughly enjoying every last bit.
The swimmer watched her as her crush took another one after that. Seeing Snowy smile proudly like this was one of the prettiest sights the swimmer had ever seen. It was a simple yet pure smile that displayed so many beautiful emotions.
Snowy... I'm so happy we got to spend some time together... The second we get out of here, I'm asking you out on a date! ...however you're supposed to do that...
With one last sweatdrop, Hina licked her lips, feeling the despair that had invaded her heart slowly fade as her feelings for the Ultimate Ally grew, and the sugar made life seem so worth living, even if only for an instant.
The End.