For a moment I considered snapping my gun upwards and just shooting them as I had alreadly been burned so badly in messing with other people... But although I was still a bit raw about what happened a few hours ago.
I wasn't stupid. I knew these two girls were Sekirei and thus could laugh at my mundane even if unlimited ammo shotgun and submachine gun.
So I stood my ground and said firmly. "I am afraid I will need to go, another group is coming up from another section. Also, I am not much for cooking right now."
Musubi tilted her head to the side as she looked at me and then she spoke with confusion clear in her voice. "Hey... We uhh weren't going to hurt you or anything. I mean we certainly weren't going to eat you especially!"
My hands tightened around my gun as I stared at them both silently before I took a step back to disengage from the conversation and Musubi raised her hand before Akitsu spoke slowly. "We mean you no harm... Just can you please help us? No payment hanging between us, nothing but us having a good meal?"
I paused as I heard that and I took a deep breath before I said slowly. "I... Fine, I can at least cook some rice and meat. Just keep your distance."
I wasn't stupid... If the two of them wanted to kill me, they probably could do it even easier than the two vampires could with Akitsu having powerful elemental powers and Musubi being capable of happily punching through a fucking tank.
Even if I was willing to waste the points to buy a disposable weapon that was capable of hurting them... What? That would be even more points wasted, and god knows if Akitsu could just freeze my ass should be I summon some kind of railgun or something.
So with both ladies keeping a good thirty meters distance away from me... This didn't mean much when Musubi was strong enough to punch through a tank and could move extremely quickly if she wanted to.
I made my way back to the cafeteria and without a word I took out a huge pot, filled it with clean water, then while the water heated up, I cut open a large bag filled with like sixty pounds of rice and began the lovely process of washing all the rice.
In between washing the rice, I went into the refrigerator which thankfully was also clear of zombies as I never bothered to check it previously. And I got some vegetables, meat, and a tub of soup stock that was in Japanese that I couldn't read.
But it had a nice salty creamy flavor I got from tasting it so I set the soup to reduce into a sauce that I could glaze the meat with as I began cooking a large amount of precut frozen chicken and beef in different pans.
'Reminds me of my past life as a chef... And of helping Mizuhara cooking.' I thought as I looked back to the previous night when we were in the fucking haunted subdivision that was filled with multiple Micheal Myers for some reason.
And even though Mizuhara was only with me for a solid two days or three days, we did bond over all the stress that was our current life with her even falling in love with me.
But I just shoved all those thoughts down as I continued cooking and indulged in the strong scent as the soup stock boiled down and condensed while everything else cooked.
Finally the food was done, and with sixty pounds of cooked rice, I just grabbed a couple large mixing bowls and filled it with the white rice and then in each different bowl I added the grilled chicken and the beef with the sauce going on top.
"Food is done, just make your own bowls. I made enough food for literally dozens of people. It should be enough." I announced as I went and sat a couple tables away from the two Sekirei who looked at each other and nodded before they went into the kitchen.
And even as I began digging into my meal, my lips twitched as I heard the clumsy girls banging about in the kitchen as they found some large saucepans to use as bowls for their own food that they came out within a couple of minutes with both girls having bits of the sauce across their mouths.
"Hey! Your meat is super good! And the sauce is so salty and creamy that it helps enhance the plain meat flavor!" Musubi cried out in excitement making my my mind whirl at the particular words she used.
So in my shock at her words I just said. "Uhh thank you, I think?"
Then I froze as both girls sat directly at my table and I was about to get up to leave before Musubi gave me a pout and said. "Oh come on, why are you so scared of us? We aren't a monster or anything? Look at us... We are a waifu!"
The way she so proudly announced herself as a waifu clone of The Company actually distracted me but I took a deep breath and said with forced calm. "Yes you are, but not even a few hours ago, another duo of vampires almost enslaved me as a blood bag, and killed my lover. I am not in a trusting mood for meeting random people."
Both Akitsu and Musubi flinched at my words before Akitsu spoke softly. "I am sorry to hear that... And I am sure you don't want to hear this yourself, but you aren't going to be able to survive in this hellhole alone if you are hostile to everyone you see."
For a moment I wanted to rebuttal that I could get food and water from all the damned little pocket realms I was wandering into. But that was semantics, I knew what she meant. I needed someone to watch my back for shit happening when I inevitably needed to sleep.
I needed someone to help me cook, to deal with monsters with much more security.
There was truth to those words. To say nothing of the reality that it was going to take me time to get enough PEI items to sell off to get a cheat power that I would need to train in to get the actual power level to leave.
So there was the social aspect of myself not wanting to go fucking insane as I am trekking through monster territory and being terrified of every group or band of people wandering around.
And also just the pure security aspect of safety in numbers.
"There... There is truth to your words, but I am just. Not in the right headspace." I admitted honestly.
With both girls nodding and Musubi holding up her fists and said seriously. "Yeah you if you wanna be running around, you gotta keep your head on a swivel. It can't be looking straight behind you at what has already happened!"
'That was a wise thing to say from someone as naive and... Pure hearted as Musubi.' I thought ruefully as I tried to avoid the use of the word stupid or dim. Musubi was just simple of heart and didn't like to complicate things.
"So what about you two? Are you two part of a larger group?" I asked curiously.
Akitsu nodded with a small smile crossing her face as she said softly. "Yes, the Sekirei clones have come together to form our own group with others to stick together so no one could take advantage of us."
With Musubi giggled as she said brightly. "Yeah, we are a big... Mostly happy family hehe! Karasuba, Rangiku, Lust, and Fubuki get into fights some times. But mostly it's after drinking, or they get bored." Musubi laughed happily.
I blinked as I processed those names... And then I asked curiously. "Wait like Fubuki as in the psychic Fubuki with dark green hair?"
With both Musubi and Akitsu nodding at the same time while I paused and gaped... Seeing that the two girls had eaten like five pounds of rice already each!
'Oh, dear gods... No wonder they wanted my help, they need an actual chef to prepare meals of proper size for them.' I thought with some humor rising at the thought and I had to share that humor.
"So how much food does your group typically go through honestly?"
Musubi flinched and she hugged her large saucepan and said defensively. "This is a smaller serving for a physical type Sekierei like me! Uhm... But Kusanoo helps grow some trees that have fruit on them we can eat." Musubi finished weakly.
With Akitsu saying dryly to sum things up. "We go through too much food... We are here not for PEI items, but this is simply a food run due to this being a low energy but still large space area our sensors picked up that this place would likely have edible things."
'They have a way to map out this convoluted universe?' I thought before it hit me and I remembered for one. There was Matsu who could control mass amounts of technology with her mind.
To say nothing of anyone else in their group with prophetic or sensory abilities.
Musubi poked her pointer fingers together as she asked shyly. "So uhmm. What's your name by the way? My name is Musubi obviously, and this is Akitsu. But we never got your name."
I exhaled and smiled wryly as I knew I had been rather standoffish so I just shook my head and said. "My name is Jake Bariss, but yeah... I think I need to probably hit the road. I already sold the PEI items in the area I could find, and I need to move on."
The two girls shared a look with a flush entering Musubi's cheeks with her shifting and saying. "Jake, could... Could my group trade some cooking lessons from you for some PEI items? A lot of us aren't in any real hurry to go back to our native universes so we have a good bit of them saved up that we typically trade with other trusted groups."
I frowned as her reaction plus her words didn't match up.
Well... Actually, that may not be right, this universe filled with cosmic fucking horrors was Karasuba and other battle maniacs like Musubi's wet dream. Going back to the Sekirei Universe would just lead to them being pulled into the Sekirei Game and suffering.
Or in Karasuba's case, be locked into a universe with nothing but boring humans that couldn't fight worth shit.
So after a long moment of thought... I really considered it. Was it worth saying no, and trying to go back to a solo life when I was on the edge of being eaten by some giant zombie monster?
Or if I took a chance, I could get a few PEI items for the low price of cooking for their group for a couple of days and have the added bonus of having a safe place to relax and destress for a couple of days to process everything.
Before I could respond, however, a moan rang out and I looked up from my food only to hear. "Oh, I can't wait any longer my Ashikabi!" And soft yet steel-firm hands gripped my face as soft lips fell on my mine with my vision filling with exotic light as Musubi kissed and winged herself on me.
With my fucking bracelet happily bleeping in the background registering another waifu bound to me as Musubi seemingly wasn't happy with the lunge of the table kiss and bodily crawled over the table with only Akitsu saving our food with swift movements as Musubi damn near pushed me off with how she climbed into my lap.