The morning dawned without incident, yet unbeknownst threats loomed in Kaira's culinary creation. While Imran gathered supplies, Kaira determined to prepare breakfast as thanks for their hospitality.

When Kiyoshi emerged, stomach rumbling, Kaira beamed and presented her concoction. "Fresh stew, courtesy of my skills! Dig in."

Dread seized Imran at her words. Racing to the scene, he frantically gestured behind Kaira's back, trying to warn the brothers away. But it was too late - Koruki and Kiyoshi had already begun consuming the mysterious mush. 

Moments later, Kiyoshi crumpled like a felled tree, eyes rolled back. Koruki spewed the contents violently, cursing between heaves.

"What the fuck, woman what have you done?!" he rasped.

"I, er, may have added some extra protein," Kaira replied sheepishly. "A fox I found, still mostly fresh."

Imran stared in horror. "You...threw a whole dead animal in the pot? Kaira, you can't cook to save your life!"

She frowned defensively. "It's nutrition! And the meat was tender..."

As Kiyoshi stirred fitfully and Koruki retched still, Imran sighed.

Imran scrubbed a hand down his face in mounting despair. "Kaira, please, what else did you put in that stew?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, just a few other things to give it flavor. I found some rubber scraps and figured, why not? Adds texture."

"Rubber?!" Imran spluttered in disbelief. Across the way, Koruki retched again at the revelation. 

Kaira nodded enthusiastically. "It was perfectly good rubber! I even tasted it first, see?"

Imran couldn't take any more of her botched culinary experiments. Grabbing Kaira's shoulders firmly, he looked her dead in the eyes. "Listen to me. You are never, ever allowed in the kitchen again, do you understand? From now on, I do the cooking."

A petulant pout formed on her lips. But seeing Kiyoshi's still form and Koruki's watering eyes, she conceded with a sigh. "Fine, have it your way. But you're missing out on my special recipes!"

Imran could only shake his head despairingly. It seemed he had gained not only an ally, but a culinary disaster too, in the form of Kaira.

The memory of Kaira's "cooking" was still vividly seared into Imran, Kiyoshi and Koruki's minds the next dawn. So when she cheerfully announced her intent to begin preparations for breakfast, the three men reacted in panicked unison:

"NO!" 

Kaira paused, mouth agape at their vehemence. Imran was quicker to explain. "The kitchen is off limits, remember? We value our health too much to risk another...experiment."

She huffed indignantly but did not argue, storming off in a flurry of loose braids and frayed dignity. 

As Imran set to work on a hopefully less hazardous meal, Koruki pulled his brother Kiyoshi aside. "Yokoshi is coming."

Kiyoshi paled at the name of their eldest brother, a hardline traditionalist who tolerated no dissent. "When?"

"Within the week," Koruki replied grimly. "He wishes an assessment of your...progress here."

Both knew full well 'progress' meant rooting out any signs of disloyalty or weakness. Kiyoshi steeled himself - with Yokoshi's impending judgment, keeping this fragile coalition intact would test even his renowned diplomacy to its limits. Only time would tell if peace could hold, or if darker forces would at last tear them irrevocably apart.