A Taste of Decadence (Collab with Kezika)
20 May 2021KazukoHimura
It had only been a day since Kazuko graduated-with honors, at that-from the Pilot’s Academy in Matet, and was flown back to Keltim by Amaleigh. She already knew that Kezika had loaned her a Sidewinder, but didn’t know what else was waiting for her other than plans discussed before her graduation, due to wanting to sleep after the long flight back. Amaleigh had brought a now-rested Kazuko down to Keltim A5, specifically to Kezika’s mansion-it had to be the largest building that Kazuko had ever seen. She was led inside, gasping in awe at the even larger expanses of luxury before her. Polished tile floors with zigzagging lines in three different colors, wood so dark it’s almost black, glass panels accented with dark golden metal trimmings. She was led through that entryway, into one of the drawing rooms, a more muted tile floor at her feet, with black, angular furniture dotted around. Sitting on a black leather couch with solid gold armrests was Kezika.“Welcome to my humble abode.” Kezika ironically greeted, leaving Kazuko to give Kezika yet another strange look.
“Humble? This is anything but!” Kazuko couldn’t help but exclaim, the pin holding her brain-to-mouth filter in place slipping briefly.
“Oh, just an old greeting.” Kezika replied, waving off the remark as quickly as it came. “Here, let me show you to your room for this evening before the festivities begin.” Kezika then stood up, leading Kazuko down several more halls, to a door marked “Guest Room #23”.
“This one in particular?” Kazuko asked. Kezika nodded, opening the door. Kazuko briefly glanced in, her eyes lighting up seeing artwork from one of the games she’d been playing on the wall. She then turned back to Kezika. “Thank you so much, this means a lot. Anyways, when’s dinner?”
“Well, first, we must have hors d'oeuvres while we wait for the guests to arrive.” Kezika explained, Kazuko nodding in response.
“Well, wouldn’t want me to-” She cut herself off. “Nevermind. It’s not important. Where are these ‘hors d’oeuvres’ you speak of?” Kazuko felt a pang of hunger gnawing at her stomach, adding a small hint of urgency to her prior words.
“Ah, yes, the butlers are putting them out in one of the drawing rooms.” Kezika stated, leading Kazuko practically gearing up to start running, only to stop when Kezika spoke again. “Please, follow me.”
Kazuko followed Kezika down several more hallways, to another drawing room that looked strikingly similar to the one they left, albeit the layout was different. Various plates with different small finger foods were laid out, Kazuko was immediately sampling everything she could get her hands on-she had a small plate piled high with everything present in the room, and had perched herself on one of the couches, quietly eating and looking around.
Guests slowly began arriving, all familiar faces to Kazuko from her time spent in a now-CEA-owned facility, and even a doctor or two from the hospital she stayed at all the way back after her escape. It warmed her heart that these people cared about her that much to come celebrate her accomplishments so far! Some of these people she’d known since she was a young child, without anything, not even a name, to call her own-and having not seen them since then, Kazuko couldn’t help but think what a stark difference it was between then and now. Words of praise and encouragement, congratulatory messages were spoken to her, such things bringing tears of joy to her eyes. Feeling as if she was in a ‘safe’ place, she let herself show these feelings of sentiment to a small degree. She answered questions fielded to her, but didn’t really make much in the way of small talk.
Soon, the actual dinner was ready, and everyone was led to a large, extravagant dining hall, well-lit by chandelier-esque light fixtures, each with long strings of droplet crystals-are they real gems or just glass? Kazuko couldn’t easily tell, as they were quite high up. But they only caught her attention for a fraction of a second, as she could immediately smell a massive number of different delicacies. Turning towards the source caused her eyes to widen in awe-she had never seen that much food before in her life. The feast easily spanned across the entire table, which spanned almost the entire length of the hall. Each dish was made with the most premium ingredients that could be obtained, and it showed, and the variety was as vast as the number of human cultures in the galaxy. Kazuko immediately requested that her plate be stacked tall with as many different dishes as possible, her request was obliged. Various conversations were had at the table, some of which she participated in, some she did not. More questions were fielded towards her, which Kazuko answered honestly, at least in-between mouthfuls of food. She had certainly tried everything that the main table had to offer, and even gotten seconds on a select few items-which pretty much made her fourth plate, which was much more sparse than the previous three. The feast wasn’t over yet, though, there was still dessert-a whole other dining hall dedicated to sweets, spread over several smaller tables-Kazuko yet again requested to try everything, which resulted in 3 more plates. By the end of the second one, she was beginning to slow down her eating pace, but she kept going regardless.
By the end of the night, Kazuko had finished off all of the food she had ordered, but she had her head down on the table, and was sound asleep. Kezika noticed this, walking over to Kazuko.
“She seems to be in a classic food coma from too much food-I’ll take her to her quarters.” Kezika mentioned, carefully picking her up and taking her to Guest Room #23-which Kazuko slept through still.