So here's a random idea that came to me a bit after my Perospero idea. It reads like a first chapter, all set-up and only a brief appearance of Katakuri at the end. So far this fic is set in the same Modern AU as my Peros idea snippets (where Totoland Inc. is a huge corporate candy and baked goods company). I don't plan on working on this anytime soon, but it's safely stashed on the backburner for now.

Enjoy!

"WHHAAAAAATTTTT?!?!?!"

"EEEEEEEHHHHHH!?!??!?!"

The peaceful quiet of the park was shattered by two exclamations of pure astonishment. Birds startled into frantic flight, dogs barked in surprise, and people exchanged worried glances.

You snapped your mouth closed and fumbled for the pause button before you sat up, looking around for the other person who'd shouted.

The park wasn't too busy at this hour. Most people had already finished their lunch and gone back to work. From your spot under the shade of an apple tree, you could see a swathe of grassy hill and the roof of a lattice-work gazebo.

It was probably a coincidence. It was most definitely a coincidence. But excitement was still sparking through your veins, and you felt a sudden and undeniable urge to share in the earth-shattering event you had just heard. And so, you rolled off the old bedsheet you'd been lounging on and jogged up the hill.

As the gazebo came fully into view, your hope soared higher. There was someone sitting there, under the heavy mantle of ivy that had crawled up the lattice and created a dense patch of shadow. A phone was clenched in her hand, and she had one earbud out and was looking around in apparent confusion.

You reached the top of the hill and made for the shade of the gazebo. When the woman noticed your approach, she stiffened and looked back to her phone. Her mauve hair hung loose around her shoulders, which shook as she sneezed into a very worn handkerchief. She rubbed her beaky nose and then sniffed loudly.

"Excuse me?" You reached the threshold and waved awkwardly, "Did you... did you hear someone shout just now?"

The woman peeked up at you, saw you looking directly at her, then quickly averted her eyes again. A scar marred her face, a long slash that extended from her hairline and ran diagonally down to her chin, narrowly missing her left eye as it cut over her nose. Parts of it were splotchy, covered awkwardly with some kind of concealer.

"I heard something... from down the hill," she muttered in the voice of someone with a very stuffed nose.

"Oh? Yeah, that was me," you said, "But I swore I heard someone else..."

Her eyes widened and snapped back to you. You weren't sure if that was a sign in your favour or not. You decided to take a direct approach.

"I'm sorry to be so nosey, but..." you paused to gather your courage, then ploughed on, "Did you just discover that Lucas has a big sister named Anne?"

Her jaw dropped and her fingers tightened around her phone. You tilted your head a bit to try and see the screen, hoping to find a familiar podcast logo.

"Do you... Do you listen to Twice Chaos?" Her voice was low, and a pink hue was venturing across her cheeks.

You couldn't help but do a little jump on the spot.

"Yes!" you exclaimed, "I finally found another fan! And today of all days too! This is amazing!"

You sat down on the bench beside her. She immediately scooted away from you.

"Sorry... I guess I'm being a little forward." You tried to reign in your emotions (not something you've ever been good at). "I've just never met someone in real life who listens to my favourite podcast." You took a deep breath in, and then let it go. "I'm Y/n. Pleased to meet you."

The woman eyed you warily.

"I'm Brulée," she muttered.

You smiled.

"Hi Brulée," you said, "Do you want to listen to the rest of the episode together?"

She stared at you, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. A large booger started dripping from her nose.

"With... me?" she stammered faintly. Then sniffed loudly and blew her nose in her handkerchief again.

You nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! I've never had someone to listen to it with before. I mean, there's only ten minutes left... but still!"

You could clearly see her weighing her options. She began to chew her bottom lip as her fingers tapped anxiously along the edge of her phone.

"Fine." She unplugged her earbuds and placed her phone down on the bench between you.

You forced yourself not to lean forward as she pressed play and the story picked up right where you had left off.

"This is my big sister, Anne." A young voice laughed.

"EEEEEHHHH?!" Multiple new voices shouted in astonishment. And then the sounds of a scuffle came through the headphones, dull thuds and the shuffling of feet.

"What do you mean you have an older sister?!" a female voice shouted, "You never told us that!"

"Ow! Ow! Sorry, Nana," the first voice was muffled as he stammered out an apology, "It just never came up."

You smiled.

"That's so Lucas," you glanced over to Brulée, "He never thinks things like that are important. I bet he's got a huge family that we won't know about until they show up out of nowhere to save the day."

"Ssh!" she shot you a frown, "I want to hear Anne's reaction."

You both returned your gazes to Brulée's phone as an older female voice spoke.

"That's Lucas for you." This was followed by a loud laugh and the sound of a clap. "I've always had to worry about my little bro. But I see he's got a good crew with him now. You guys have my thanks for looking out for him. I know he can be a handful."

"Awww," you whispered and cupped your cheeks in your hands.

Brulée didn't shush you this time, she was staring off into space, her gaze unfocused. You turned your attention back to the podcast and listened to the rest of it in silence. When the ending theme played, you sat back with a groan.

"They always leave us on a cliff hanger," you huffed, "But what an episode! I love Anne's voice actress. I hope they have her listed now."

"It's the same woman who voice Rabs in 'Future, Where Are You?'," Brulée said. Then she scowled and looked away.

"Really? I liked that one too," you said, "Wow, she has range. I would have never made the connection. Those characters sound nothing alike."

"Whatever," Brulée muttered and abruptly stood, "I'll go now. Goodbye."

"Oh." You couldn't help your crest-fallen sigh. "Do you have to leave already?"

She eyed you with something between suspicion and disbelief.

"Yes..." She suddenly sounded unsure.

You stood and smiled.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Brulée," you waved, "I always come here to listen to the new episodes, so... if you ever want to fangirl about anything..."

She blinked at you, her expression blank and non-plussed.

You waved again, trying to brush off the awkwardness of the situation, and returned to your spot under the apple tree.

The embarrassment had begun to set in already. Why had you just forced your company on a total stranger who obviously hadn't wanted to be anywhere near you?! Your face burned as you packed up your stuff and hurried home. At least you probably wouldn't see her again. You'd told her you would be here every other Wednesday, so she knew exactly where not to go to avoid you.

Dammit. And just when you'd finally found another fan...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rain had started in the early morning and hadn't let up since. Your fingers tapped anxiously against your thigh. Driving in wet weather always made you nervous, and the fact that you were late wasn't helping. You parked the car and scrambled around to hoist the package from your back seat.

"One, two-"

You pushed the door open and sprang out, jogging as fast as you could without slipping. Despite your attempt, you were soaked through by the time you reached the awning of the hotel. Your shoes squeaked loudly on the polished tile floor and your sleeve dripped all over the front desk as you lifted the package onto it.

"Delivery for Mr. Hogback in room four four two," you said.

The man behind the desk gave you a tight-lipped smile.

"Ah, yes. He's been waiting for it the past fifteen minutes."

Just as he said this, an extremely grumpy looking man with hunched shoulders and a beaked nose appeared at your side.

"Finally!"

You flinched as he snatched the box from you and slapped the exact change into your palm.

"And that's Doctor Hogback," he muttered before marching off down the hall.

You sighed at the money in your hand. No tip this time... oh well.

You turned and soggily trudged back to your car, sitting in your seat with an uncomfortable squelch. The rain pounded on the roof. You stared out through the windshield trying to make out anything beyond the other side of the street. Moving slowly, and using just your fingertips so you wouldn't get it too wet, you pulled your phone from the glove box and checked for any new delivery requests. None. Your shoulders lost some of their tension. You glanced at the digital clock on the display. Quarter to noon. Your face brightened into a smile.

"Alright!"

Despite the low visibility, you arrived at the park in ten minutes and settled under the gazebo with seconds to spare. You set your phone down, plugged in your headphones, and-

"Um... Hi."

You looked up, blinking in surprise at the woman standing there, shaking droplets off a large umbrella. Her nose looked less runny today, though it was still very red. Your eyes brightened.

"Brulée!" you waved her over, "Come on! It's about to start!"

She had been hesitating just over the threshold, looking either like she wasn't sure if she wanted to be here or regretting that she had come. But at your exclamation, a tentative smile lifted her lips. Her scar pulled a little at the skin of her cheek, making one side look more like a grimace. You beckoned to her again, the opening credits were already playing.

"Hurry!" You held out an earbud.

Brulée sat down beside you, a little further away than necessary, and took the earbud and placed it in her ear. You leaned in a little, to give her some more slack, then settled in to listen to Twice Chaos.

This episode followed the motley crew as they struggled through a tropical jungle kingdom, trying to reach the rebel base and stop an imminent civil war from tearing the country apart. With the rain beating on the roof overhead and splashing on the nearby pond, you had to turn the volume up high and there was no way to have any type of conversation. So the two of you just sat there, side by side, watching the rain drip down the ivy as an amazing adventure played out in your minds' eye's.

The podcast was an hour long, and by the time the ending theme played the rain had lessened to a gentle patter on the gravel path outside. Brulée pulled the earpiece out and rested it on the table.

"Do you think they'll make it to Koda in time to stop the rebels?" you asked, "Things seem to be moving pretty fast."

Brulée scoffed, sending you an awkward sideways glance.

"There's no way Vahi will fail. Lucas always pulls through," she said.

You frowned.

"Of course," you said, "But this Komodo guy is a whole other tier of villain. We've never seen someone so calculating before. He's got plans within plans within plans."

Brulée tilted her head back.

"True," she agreed, "This is also the first time we've gotten anything from the villain's perspective. That probably means he's going to be a bigger problem than anyone before."

There was a pause.

"I like Miss Rose," you said.

"What?" Brulée finally turned to look at you directly, "But she blew up Vahi's bodyguard! I liked him. She's evil."

You shrugged.

"I have a soft spot for villainous women," you said, "I was obsessed with Shego from Kim Possible when I was a kid."

Brulée snorted, but she was smiling her crooked smile again. Between you, your phone buzzed. You glanced at the screen. It was another delivery order.

"Well, that's work." You picked it up and tucked your headphones into your pocket. "Same time in two weeks?"

Brulée glanced up at you, then away, then back to you again. Her long fingers toyed with the handle of her umbrella.

"Sure," she said, "If you... don't mind."

"Not at all," you smiled, "Actually, it's great to have a friend to share Twice Chaos with. I'll be looking forward to it."

Her eyes widened, but your phone was buzzing again, so you waved and hurried away.

"A... friend?" Brulée whispered after you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so it went.

It became your new routine. Every other Wednesday, you would meet Brulée at the park and listen to Twice Chaos together. Sometimes you only had enough time to listen. Sometimes you lingered for a while after it was over, discussing what had happened and sharing your theories.

Perhaps because of your short hangout time and shared interest, your conversations hardly ever veered out of the realm of Twice Chaos. Despite months passing, you knew almost as little about each other as when you'd first met. A few dropped comments hinted at Brulée having a big family and an important job, and you'd mentioned your delivery job a few times. But other than that, you were still relative strangers to each other. Yet, for some reason, you were both content with that.

The heat of summer faded gently into a crisp and cold fall. The leaves were at their peak, vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows danced beyond the gazebo walls. The ivy, of course, was still a lush, verdant green curtain closing you off from half of the park. Very few people were walking around today. The weather threatened rain, or perhaps the first snow of the year.

You pulled your scarf closer around your neck and snuggled in as a chill breeze swept by. The final notes of the closing theme blaring from a portable speaker you'd bought to make joint listening easier.

"Seeing you in that scarf reminds me of my brother," Brulée said.

You glanced over to see her smiling gently at your neck. You pulled the fluffy fabric down to expose your mouth.

"Does he not like the cold either?" you smirked.

She shook her head and wiped her runny nose with a handkerchief.

"He doesn't," she sniffed, "Not many of us do, actually. I always wondered why Mama never moved somewhere warmer..."

You hummed.

"Are you from the area?"

She shook her head, then nodded.

"Most of us are," she said, "The older siblings travelled around a lot when Mama was first setting up... things."

She trailed off and pursed her lips. When she caught you watching her, she looked away, a flush on her cheeks. That was the most she'd talked about her private life in a while. You felt the urge to make a fair trade.

"That's cool," you said, "I've never left Novamondo. This city is where I was born, and probably where I'll die."

Brulée shivered.

"That's a bit morbid, isn't it?" she murmured.

You shrugged again.

"I'm barely scraping by as it is," you said, "There's no way I could save up enough to start a new life somewhere else. And to be honest, I don't really want to. I like it here. I just stay inside as much as I can in the winter."

Outside the gazebo, a pair of women walked by; their chic coats and felt berets made them look like they walked straight out of a magazine. Two small balls of fluff zipped around their feet, yapping playfully and tumbling in the leaves. Brulée wrinkled her red nose and glared at their backs as peals of laughter floated to your ears.

"Do you know them?" you asked.

Her eyes snapped back to you and she scoffed.

"No," she grumbled, "I just... beautiful people make me angry."

You blinked at her, then looked down at yourself. Sure, your clothes were thrifted, and maybe you'd neglected to patch a few holes here and there, and you weren't much one for skin care routines, but...

"Don't look like that, you're pretty," Brulée muttered, "But the women who are gorgeous without even trying, who get the world handed to them on a silver platter just because they smiled and batted their eyelashes. Having boys fawn over them left right and center. Ugh! I hate them!"

You weren't sure if she realized she was picking at the edge of her scar. You sunk back down into your scarf. The women and their dogs had moved on, the park was empty once again.

"You know what I think?" you hummed.

Brulée's eyes shifted in your direction as she continued to scowl at the park.

"What?"

"Since the next episode is the last one before a break, we should do something special," you said, "Maybe go somewhere to eat after or something?"

Her cheeks took on a rosy hue, but she quickly looked away and sniffed loudly.

"Uh-"

She was cut off by a burst of bright city-pop music. She jumped a foot in the air and lunged for her purse, pulling out her phone. Her face paled and she immediately answered.

"Mama?!"

"BRULÉE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

A female voice shouted loud enough for you to hear clearly. Brulée jerked the phone away from her ear and shot a frightened look at you.

"Mama! I'm on my lunch break," she spoke quickly as she stood and shouldered her purse, "Has something happened-?"

The voice shouted again, but Brulée was walking away without so much as a wave of goodbye, her head bowed, her shoulders hunched and tense. You watched her vanish behind the curtain of ivy.

Out over the pond, a few snowflakes drifted down on the breeze.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks passed and you found yourself alone in the gazebo. You went to text Brulée, only to realize that you had never traded phone numbers, or any type of contact information. Some friend you were...

You'd booked a table at a little café not too far from the park, but when the ending theme played and Brulée was still absent, you simply went home.

The podcast was going to take a month break to give the actors some time off and to prep for the coming finale of the current arc. But even with nothing to listen to, you continued to sit in the park every other Wednesday, even as the weather took a frigid turn and snow began to accumulate on the grass. You were a creature of habit, and your middle-of-the-week listening dates had become a regular part of your life.

When the month came and went, and Twice Chaos started up again, you kept a lookout for Brulée. But she didn't show up. You started to accept that you were probably never going to see her again. It was surprising how much that stung, how much a few fleeting meetings could make such an impression in your life.

It was almost two months since you'd last seen your listening buddy when you got an odd request through your delivery app.

Date and time: Wednesday, 11:45 a.m.

Request: Please pick up 2 (two) packages at Mallory's Muffins and deliver them to Wholecake Chateau at 11:45 a.m. sharp. There will be a person to escort you into the building.

Wholecake Chateau? That was the headquarters of Totoland Inc., the biggest candy and baked goods company in the country! Why the hell would they request a