[Well, that didn't take long! It isn't like Kouhei's apartment is very big, given that it's clearly designed for one person, so it makes sense that Mafuyu found the kitchen right away. How does she manage to stay this cheerful....?
Unable to keep up with her pace, Kouhei takes a few more seconds to follow her trail, and gestures to the counter of ingredients once he arrives.]
I already started making rice, but since I have a lot of vegetables, I was thinking we could try something like omelet rice.... Maybe stir fry? Or even tempura or croquettes. It's all up to you.
[ Despite all her shouting and arguing, cheerful really is her default, and there's no way she can look anything but excited when faced with food, even in its raw form. The only really Japanese food she's familiar with is Americanized sushi, but she's twisted somebody's arm into making omelet rice for her before and stir fry sounds like the default method of cooking by throwing everything into a couple spoonfuls of oil. Tempura and croquettes are things she has very vague concepts of, but they sound like something crunchy and literally nothing that is crunchy can be very disappointing, so! ]
EVERYTHING. Let's make everything! Omelet rice is just egg, and I dunno what tempura or croquettes are, but you can stir fry whatever's left and have delicious leftovers for days!
Everything?! I mean, I don't have that much food, but if we don't make too much of anything and you take home some of the leftovers for me, it should be okay. Like a sampling, I guess?
[Maybe he should have offered to make more American choices.... but this is what he grew up making, and at least he thinks it's delicious, so hopefully Mafuyu will like it.]
For omelet rice, you usually put mixed vegetables, chicken, and ketchup into the rice before covering it with the egg. Croquettes have potatoes and a little meat on the inside, and then you bread and deep fry the outside so it's crunchy. And for tempura, you can batter and deep fry just about anything. I was thinking vegetables, but stir fry is even easier.
[Half of these are fried foods.... Thanks, mom.]
None of them take too long, so if we start boiling the potatoes now, we can eat within the hour. How does that sound? I have a potato peeler, if you want to help out.
[ Fried foods are the best foods, and the fact that she gets to take some of the leftovers home (more likely eat it on the way home) instead of him keeping it seals the deal. She will follow Kouhei to the ends of the world. ]
I can do potatoes! I'll peel them!!
[ Already she's rolling up her sleeves, pushing them to her elbows before bounding over to the sink to run her hands under the water. Abnormally good behavior for her that's been drilled into her by Mao for all the home ec classes he's suffered through with Mafuyu as his partner, but at least she's aware that she shouldn't touch food right after grappling with a live turkey, even if she does shake the water off her hands in the air instead of drying them on a towel. ]
Just-- be careful! Don't cut yourself with the peeler!
[She bounds toward the sink with so much enthusiasm that Kouhei can't help but immediately worry. The peeler isn't even in question yet.... But before he can focus on anything else, he likewise can't help but fetch a towel for Mafuyu to dry her hands on. They're probably dry by now anyway, but. Let him fret just a little, okay?]
If you peel three or four of those, I can get started slicing the vegetables.
[The apron he offers her is likely a little big, and also a little cuter than the one he's quick to put on. Clearly picked out by his mom.]
[ She wasn't even going to use the peeler in the first place, about to grab a knife and whittle away at the peel like she would an apple. That might be more of a cause for worry; soft towels are less so, and she takes that in her hands, then the apron... stares at the apron...
It's cute, but also ]
What am I supposed to do with this? Where do you tie the straps?
[ She has never worn an apron in her life. You don't need aprons to microwave pizza rolls. ]
[Oh lord, sweet summer child, let him help you....]
Have you never worn an apron? I guess not many people wear them anymore, but it's a good habit to get into.... Here, turn around.
[He takes the apron from her hands, unfolding it and very carefully (almost too carefully) slipping it over her head before tying it around her waist. See, nice and easy!]
When you put on an apron, it feels like you're in cooking mode.... I guess? My mom always made me wear one in the kitchen.
[If Mafuyu is as much of a novice as she seems, he's going to need to help her out, here.]
The potato peeler is next to the potatoes. You don't have to wash them, since you're peeling the skin off, but it's a good idea anyway. Okay?
[ Aprons are things of myth, something clipart of a grandmother might show but nothing she's ever associated with reality. She does feel a little more professional though, almost like it's a uniform she's wearing, or scrubs in a hospital. ]
Huh.
[ Huh. Just that little thoughtful noise before she turns to the potato peeler and picks it up, along with a potato. "You don't have to" means "I'm not going to" so. She doesn't wash them. They can be washed after. ]
[To be fair, they probably won't need aprons (or at least Mafuyu won't), but hey. He isn't going to scold her for not washing the potatoes, and smiling a bit sheepishly, he turns to slice more of the vegetables instead.]
Are there any vegetables you won't eat? Or spices or any other ingredients. I know you said you'll eat anything, but just in case.
[ Anything particularly weird, she probably just has never eaten it before though, microwaved meals tending to be heavy on the salt but not much any other flavor. ]
I guess I don't like raw carrots? But if it's fried, then anything fried is good!
Carrots? Most people like raw carrots over cooked ones, but we can skip them today.
[She's so agreeable....?! Which is nice, honestly, since he isn't used to cooking for someone else. Maybe he's getting just a touch overzealous, making all of this, but it's difficult to restrain the urge when Mafuyu seems so excited about food.]
If you still want to do both stir-fry and tempura, we need to choose which vegetables we'll use for each of them. Onions will be for the stir-fry and sweet potatoes for the tempura, but we can kind of mix and match the rest depending on what you want to do. Sound good?
[ She's excited, but also flighty, abandoning her potatoes for a second to bound over to the other vegetables, carefully pick out and set aside onions to one side, sweet potatoes to the other, and haphazardly section all the other vegetables into either depending on whether they were closer to her left hand or right. More "mix" than "match," but. It's fine. ]
[Well, he did ask her to pick them, so he won't interject. Stir fry is a little more up in the air (though probably just fine), but really, what vegetables would be bad in tempura? Seriously.]
There, that should be good. Once you peel the potatoes, we have to boil them so we can mash them, but the other dishes don't take too long. The rest shouldn't take too long.
[Maybe he should start making the tempura batter next.... There's so much to do, and he doesn't want anything to get cold.]
I never asked earlier, so have you ever cooked before?
[ She's good at following directions, but bad at multitasking or anything that requires an attention span longer than five minutes. Meaning she returns to her potatoes, but can't help with anything else and should never be left in a kitchen by herself and be expected to cook something. ]
Yeah! I've cooked using a microwave before [ hot pockets ] and I can use a toaster [ pop tarts ] and stuff you just add hot water to! [ instant noodles... you get the picture. ]
[That's about what he was expecting, based on what she's said.... For what it's worth, some people can't even do that much. Probably? Good job, Mafuyu.]
Then this is a new experience. When you peel the potatoes, make sure to get all of the skin, but not remove much more than that.
[Hmm....]
I'm going to start on the stir-fry, since that can sit in the pan and stay warm once it's finished.
[ She has more culinary knowledge than most three-year-olds, heck yes. ]
Leave the potatoes to me! [ There may be some chunks of potato that get removed when the peeler gets stuck in the eyes, but she's more or less able to remove all the skin, dumping the potatoes into a colander when she's done so they can be rinsed prior to dicing or cutting. ]
...Are stir fried potatoes a lot different from making French fries? 'cause if you can make French fries, you can quit school right now and open up a restaurant and make tons of money that way!
[Hey, that's good enough for him! Better than he expected, in total honesty.]
Thanks, that's perfect. Do you think you can wash and cut them, or should I handle the knife? We're just going to boil and mash them, so they don't have to look nice. But I don't want you to cut yourself, so tell me if you don't feel comfortable with a knife.
[He's beginning to remind himself of the way his mom talked to him when he helped her in the kitchen as a child. Mafuyu isn't like.... five.... but you know. He just doesn't want her to hurt herself!
In the meantime, he puts a wok on the stove, waiting for it to heat up so he can toss the vegetables in.]
You don't really stir fry potatoes.... I mean, I guess you can, but I've never heard of it. You can bake them and make french fries that way, though. [He can't help but laugh a little.] As nice as Sugihara French Fry Co. sounds, I'll stick to getting my degree.
I can use a knife, so let me do it! [ As a show of proof, she runs one of the potatoes under the faucet and then cuts it in half, cuts the halves in half, and tosses the quarters back into the colander with potatoes where they'll have to wash them a second time and also spend a lot longer boiling and mashing. Quarters are the best she can do without nearly slicing off her finger even though she could get a mem regain from it, so this'll do; they're cut and she's not cut, and this little amount of work done properly is enough to make her feel super proud of herself. ]
We can make Kurosaki Frech Fry Co. instead, and I'll hire you as my chief French frier! That way, you don't have to worry about paying for college, and we'll help each other out like that!
[WELL.... He'll trust her word, but that certainly doesn't mean that he isn't watching every move Mafuyu makes, just a little nervous every time her fingers get too close. But quarters are a start, and proud of her work, Kouhei walks over to give her a small pat on the head.]
Good work. Could you help me out by filling up that pot halfway with water?
[With only a tiny smile, he rinses the quartered potatoes and puts them back on the cutting board to slice them up a little smaller. It's important to make Mafuyu feel like she's helping (and she is!), but he also doesn't want her to feel bad about the parts she can't do.]
Yeah? If it'll pay well enough to cover tuition, I'm in.
[ The little pat on the head makes her freeze up. It's not a bad feeling; it's just surprise, because it's a clear sign of affection or praise or something that's in general good, that's so rare for her to receive even if it's a gesture commonly given to small children or cute dogs. ]
...I got it!
[ It's such a rare gesture, she definitely cannot let him down here, she decides as she grabs the pot and holds it under the sink faucet. ]
And you can have all the money that we make from it! All I'd use it for is to buy food, but if you can make good french fries, then that's all I need to be happy!
[Likewise, Kouhei isn't generally the affectionate type, but there's something about Mafuyu trying so hard that makes him want to praise her. Like this, he really is reminded just a little of the way his mother taught him to cook.]
I wouldn't need all of that money, you know. I already have a job.
[Smiling (again!), he dumps the small chunks of potatoes in the colander and rinses them one final time.]
But I can try to make you french fries sometime, even if the kind you buy frozen and put in the oven would be easiest. How does that sound?
[ Fun jobs are the only ones worth holding, in her opinion, but she's having trouble finding one that's both fun and sustainable. It's a problem she'll tackle in the future, putting it off for now that she still has two years of school to get through, but Kurosaki French Fry Co. would really solve all her problems, because then she wouldn't have to worry about money, and she'd get good food all the time, and she gets to watch Kouhei cook and smile like that and talk normally despite all his claims that he's bad at it. ]
I don't need the money either, so you take it and buy potatoes with it! I like watching you cook, 'cause you seem happy doing it!
I'm a tutor, remember? Here to judge your writing in all of your text messages.
[Honestly, Kouhei more or less lives at school, so he actually really enjoys teaching people. Talking with someone one on one can actually be quite nice, but hanging out with someone outside of school, someone like Mafuyu, is.... nicer. Less stifling. Freeing, in a way.
He doesn't realize he's still smiling as he puts the potatoes on the stove. By the time he turns around, though, it's slipped away (now that it's been drawn to his attention).]
You think so? I guess it does remind me of home. I usually don't have anyone else to cook for.
[ Her texting's gotten a lot more legible since the start of the year where her chatspeak was insufferable and I quickly gave up on it. With the prep more or less done, Mafuyu just hangs by the stove, warming her hands over the pot whenever she can without being in the way. ]
Did you cook a lot at home too? Do you have siblings you cooked for?
[Listen, he won't actually judge, okay! He isn't that cruel. Or cruel at all, really. Mafuyu being by the stove isn't a bother at all, and now that the potatoes are on, Kouhei begins mixing a sauce for the stir-fry in a separate bowl.]
I'm an only child. It's just my Mom and I back home, but she's a chef, so she's been teaching me to cook since I was young. It's been a hobby ever since, if you could call it that.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Wipes a river of tears.
Unable to keep up with her pace, Kouhei takes a few more seconds to follow her trail, and gestures to the counter of ingredients once he arrives.]
I already started making rice, but since I have a lot of vegetables, I was thinking we could try something like omelet rice.... Maybe stir fry? Or even tempura or croquettes. It's all up to you.
no subject
EVERYTHING. Let's make everything! Omelet rice is just egg, and I dunno what tempura or croquettes are, but you can stir fry whatever's left and have delicious leftovers for days!
no subject
[Maybe he should have offered to make more American choices.... but this is what he grew up making, and at least he thinks it's delicious, so hopefully Mafuyu will like it.]
For omelet rice, you usually put mixed vegetables, chicken, and ketchup into the rice before covering it with the egg. Croquettes have potatoes and a little meat on the inside, and then you bread and deep fry the outside so it's crunchy. And for tempura, you can batter and deep fry just about anything. I was thinking vegetables, but stir fry is even easier.
[Half of these are fried foods.... Thanks, mom.]
None of them take too long, so if we start boiling the potatoes now, we can eat within the hour. How does that sound? I have a potato peeler, if you want to help out.
no subject
I can do potatoes! I'll peel them!!
[ Already she's rolling up her sleeves, pushing them to her elbows before bounding over to the sink to run her hands under the water. Abnormally good behavior for her that's been drilled into her by Mao for all the home ec classes he's suffered through with Mafuyu as his partner, but at least she's aware that she shouldn't touch food right after grappling with a live turkey, even if she does shake the water off her hands in the air instead of drying them on a towel. ]
no subject
[She bounds toward the sink with so much enthusiasm that Kouhei can't help but immediately worry. The peeler isn't even in question yet.... But before he can focus on anything else, he likewise can't help but fetch a towel for Mafuyu to dry her hands on. They're probably dry by now anyway, but. Let him fret just a little, okay?]
If you peel three or four of those, I can get started slicing the vegetables.
[The apron he offers her is likely a little big, and also a little cuter than the one he's quick to put on. Clearly picked out by his mom.]
no subject
It's cute, but also ]
What am I supposed to do with this? Where do you tie the straps?
[ She has never worn an apron in her life. You don't need aprons to microwave pizza rolls. ]
no subject
Have you never worn an apron? I guess not many people wear them anymore, but it's a good habit to get into.... Here, turn around.
[He takes the apron from her hands, unfolding it and very carefully (almost too carefully) slipping it over her head before tying it around her waist. See, nice and easy!]
When you put on an apron, it feels like you're in cooking mode.... I guess? My mom always made me wear one in the kitchen.
[If Mafuyu is as much of a novice as she seems, he's going to need to help her out, here.]
The potato peeler is next to the potatoes. You don't have to wash them, since you're peeling the skin off, but it's a good idea anyway. Okay?
no subject
Huh.
[ Huh. Just that little thoughtful noise before she turns to the potato peeler and picks it up, along with a potato. "You don't have to" means "I'm not going to" so. She doesn't wash them. They can be washed after. ]
no subject
Are there any vegetables you won't eat? Or spices or any other ingredients. I know you said you'll eat anything, but just in case.
no subject
[ Anything particularly weird, she probably just has never eaten it before though, microwaved meals tending to be heavy on the salt but not much any other flavor. ]
I guess I don't like raw carrots? But if it's fried, then anything fried is good!
no subject
[She's so agreeable....?! Which is nice, honestly, since he isn't used to cooking for someone else. Maybe he's getting just a touch overzealous, making all of this, but it's difficult to restrain the urge when Mafuyu seems so excited about food.]
If you still want to do both stir-fry and tempura, we need to choose which vegetables we'll use for each of them. Onions will be for the stir-fry and sweet potatoes for the tempura, but we can kind of mix and match the rest depending on what you want to do. Sound good?
no subject
[ She's excited, but also flighty, abandoning her potatoes for a second to bound over to the other vegetables, carefully pick out and set aside onions to one side, sweet potatoes to the other, and haphazardly section all the other vegetables into either depending on whether they were closer to her left hand or right. More "mix" than "match," but. It's fine. ]
no subject
There, that should be good. Once you peel the potatoes, we have to boil them so we can mash them, but the other dishes don't take too long. The rest shouldn't take too long.
[Maybe he should start making the tempura batter next.... There's so much to do, and he doesn't want anything to get cold.]
I never asked earlier, so have you ever cooked before?
no subject
Yeah! I've cooked using a microwave before [ hot pockets ] and I can use a toaster [ pop tarts ] and stuff you just add hot water to! [ instant noodles... you get the picture. ]
no subject
Then this is a new experience. When you peel the potatoes, make sure to get all of the skin, but not remove much more than that.
[Hmm....]
I'm going to start on the stir-fry, since that can sit in the pan and stay warm once it's finished.
no subject
Leave the potatoes to me! [ There may be some chunks of potato that get removed when the peeler gets stuck in the eyes, but she's more or less able to remove all the skin, dumping the potatoes into a colander when she's done so they can be rinsed prior to dicing or cutting. ]
...Are stir fried potatoes a lot different from making French fries? 'cause if you can make French fries, you can quit school right now and open up a restaurant and make tons of money that way!
no subject
Thanks, that's perfect. Do you think you can wash and cut them, or should I handle the knife? We're just going to boil and mash them, so they don't have to look nice. But I don't want you to cut yourself, so tell me if you don't feel comfortable with a knife.
[He's beginning to remind himself of the way his mom talked to him when he helped her in the kitchen as a child. Mafuyu isn't like.... five.... but you know. He just doesn't want her to hurt herself!
In the meantime, he puts a wok on the stove, waiting for it to heat up so he can toss the vegetables in.]
You don't really stir fry potatoes.... I mean, I guess you can, but I've never heard of it. You can bake them and make french fries that way, though. [He can't help but laugh a little.] As nice as Sugihara French Fry Co. sounds, I'll stick to getting my degree.
no subject
We can make Kurosaki Frech Fry Co. instead, and I'll hire you as my chief French frier! That way, you don't have to worry about paying for college, and we'll help each other out like that!
no subject
Good work. Could you help me out by filling up that pot halfway with water?
[With only a tiny smile, he rinses the quartered potatoes and puts them back on the cutting board to slice them up a little smaller. It's important to make Mafuyu feel like she's helping (and she is!), but he also doesn't want her to feel bad about the parts she can't do.]
Yeah? If it'll pay well enough to cover tuition, I'm in.
no subject
[ The little pat on the head makes her freeze up. It's not a bad feeling; it's just surprise, because it's a clear sign of affection or praise or something that's in general good, that's so rare for her to receive even if it's a gesture commonly given to small children or cute dogs. ]
...I got it!
[ It's such a rare gesture, she definitely cannot let him down here, she decides as she grabs the pot and holds it under the sink faucet. ]
And you can have all the money that we make from it! All I'd use it for is to buy food, but if you can make good french fries, then that's all I need to be happy!
no subject
I wouldn't need all of that money, you know. I already have a job.
[Smiling (again!), he dumps the small chunks of potatoes in the colander and rinses them one final time.]
But I can try to make you french fries sometime, even if the kind you buy frozen and put in the oven would be easiest. How does that sound?
no subject
[ Fun jobs are the only ones worth holding, in her opinion, but she's having trouble finding one that's both fun and sustainable. It's a problem she'll tackle in the future, putting it off for now that she still has two years of school to get through, but Kurosaki French Fry Co. would really solve all her problems, because then she wouldn't have to worry about money, and she'd get good food all the time, and she gets to watch Kouhei cook and smile like that and talk normally despite all his claims that he's bad at it. ]
I don't need the money either, so you take it and buy potatoes with it! I like watching you cook, 'cause you seem happy doing it!
no subject
[Honestly, Kouhei more or less lives at school, so he actually really enjoys teaching people. Talking with someone one on one can actually be quite nice, but hanging out with someone outside of school, someone like Mafuyu, is.... nicer. Less stifling. Freeing, in a way.
He doesn't realize he's still smiling as he puts the potatoes on the stove. By the time he turns around, though, it's slipped away (now that it's been drawn to his attention).]
You think so? I guess it does remind me of home. I usually don't have anyone else to cook for.
no subject
Did you cook a lot at home too? Do you have siblings you cooked for?
no subject
I'm an only child. It's just my Mom and I back home, but she's a chef, so she's been teaching me to cook since I was young. It's been a hobby ever since, if you could call it that.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)