Ayame sat down quietly as she listened to Fujiwara's defense for his actions, shaking her head at how foolish he had been. Of course, she couldn't call him out on it if he had actually risked his own life to save a bunch of strangers; that wouldn't feel right to her at all. Sighing, Ayame looked at Fujiwara and, pointing her finger in his face, began to lecture him.

"Though it maybe true that a bunch of people might have lost their lives if you weren't there, your willingness to go headfirst into such a dangerous situation without notifying us is absurd. I may not be your older sister, but I certainly can act like one if you're going to be sticking your life out on a limb without caring about us." she said, staring straight into his eyes. "Though it pains me to treat you like a child, I'm not going to let you head out into danger without someone else."

Fujiwara sighed, as if he expected such a response from Ayame. He did make a pretty big mistake, but he came out of it all right... So why was it so important that someone stick to him?

"You know, I'm not the same little kid who almost fell off that small cliff all those years ago."
"I can see that, but you're acting so reckless in your endeavors! Can't you just dial it back a bit?"
"But if I want to be useful to everyone, then I need to train? What use is a weakling on the battlefield other than cannon fodder?"
"You're far from weak! What are you even going on about?"
"If I can't stay at the head of the pack like Umichi and the rest of them, then what good am I? If I'm just going to be dead weight, then what am I even doing here on the front lines? If I can't get myself out of a simple situation like the one that happened last night, then-"
"Stop! Just... Stop. You're not worthless. Nobody here thinks you are."
"But-"
"I said, nobody thinks that you're useless. You've been acting really aggressive lately, and if this is the reason why then you're getting all worked up over nothing. It's okay to not be at the top of every scoreboard all the time. Sometimes, it's okay to be mediocre."
"But this isn't just about scores; it's about life and death! If I don't have the strength to fight, then-"
"You don't need to have the strength to fight; you just need to have the strength to protect, the strength to accept your own shortcomings."

Taking a deep breath, Fujiwara sighed before a small 'Ha' left his mouth.
"That was the most cliche thing I've heard all day." he smiled slightly as he looked at Ayame.
"Well, you've been asleep for most of it, so that's to be expected. Now, if you're done wallowing in self-pity, come with me to the kitchen. You're helping me cook, whether you want to or not."

Without giving him a chance to respond, Ayame swiftly left for the kitchen on the inn. Fujiwara breathed another sigh of relief as the tension in the air seemed to have dissipated; almost as if revitalized by a sudden burst of energy, Fujiwara swiftly followed Ayame into the kitchen. As he walked in, Fujiwara saw Ayame sending a few messages off to the rest of the party. Peeking over her shoulder, he noticed that the one she was sending off at the moment was addressed to both Umichi and Suki, telling them of her 'declaration' of sorts to check if that was okay... And that the night's dinner would be roast boar and assorted vegetables with rice. Sending that message off, Ayame looked at Fujiwara, a half-joking smile on her face.

"Didn't you ever learn to not stare at other peoples' mail?"
"Well, I'm curious. Anyways... What do I do?"
"What do you do? That's easy." Ayame responded shortly before materializing a bunch of ingredients and cookingware. "Organize everything. Vegetables, pots, meat, and so on and so forth. Cut up the boar as such." Ayame responded as she took a small knife and made light cuts all over the boar's corpse. "On that note, remove all the bristles and make sure to clean up after we're done. That's your punishment for making everyone worry."

Fujiwara stared blankly at the entire mess of stuff before turning to Ayame, who was already preparing to boil some rice. "You... Aren't kidding, are you?"
"You know me~!" she responded joyfully before looking over at the unlit fireplace. "Oh right, start up the fire too. Can't took without heat!"

"...Well. Guess I brought this on myself, didn't I?..." he said to himself as he began preparations for that night's dinner.