[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.
[ She stays by the stove to watch the potatoes cook, not really on the lookout for anything burning but more like she's waiting for that magical moment when "ingredients" come together to become "food." ]
That's a good job and a good hobby! You make lots of people happy doing it, it's not like baseball or soccer or things that I do.
[There isn't anything interesting about the potatoes?! They hardly even look any different as they continue to cook, only getting softer (which is the goal). But Kouhei isn't about to say anything, content to let her enjoy it.]
You think so? Sports make people happy too. I've never played any, but lots of people find enjoyment in watching them, you know? And if it makes you happy, that's the most important.
[He's putting the vegetables in the pan now.... and pouring the sauce on top as he stirs them. This looks more like food!]
Besides, it's not like I ever cook for anyone else. I've only started to do it in the past few months.
Sports are more fun to play than watch, but food's different! I like watching and I like eating. I especially like eating!
[ The potatoes continue to look the same and she can't even tell how soft they're getting just by looking, but with the vegetables and the sauce.... ugh... waiting is so hard, she thinks as she lets her head rest sideways on the countertop next to the stove while she watches. Maybe if she stares hard enough at the pans, they'll heat up faster and it'll all be done sooner. ]
Who else are you cooking for, since you live by yourself? Whoever it is, they're super lucky!!
Good, since I think watching them is kind of boring, to tell you the truth. But maybe playing would change my mind. [Yes, Mafuyu, he knows your priorities by now.] Hold on just a few more minutes, okay? Once the vegetables finish cooking and soak in more of the sauce, the stir-fry will be ready.
[He'll probably be the one working on the other dishes as Mafuyu (hopefully) enjoys the first course of her meal, but hey, there's nothing wrong with that.]
I've actually made a couple of friends.... One of them lives in this building too, so I make a quick meal maybe once a week. It's nothing special.
I'll teach you how to play, sometime! Whatever sport you want.
[ This is basically all she can offer in return for cooking for her, which is still a pain and she'll have to judge whether it's worth cooking for half an hour vs zapping something in a microwave for two minutes. By the smell of it already, though, it's worth it. ]
Uh.... Are you sure? I'm not the most flexible guy around, and I doubt I have much stamina. But if you really want to, I could try whatever you like best. ....You'll have to put up with me being pretty terrible, though.
[Sports have clearly never been a point of interest for him, but all the same, he's a bit touched that Mafuyu would go out of her way to offer teaching him.]
Yeah? I'm sure your family would worry if you said you want to move in here on your own. It can get lonely living by yourself.
[Back to the food, though! Because he let the vegetables cook in the pan for a few minutes before pouring the sauce over them (even though I didn't write it, listen, let me live my life), they're just about finished, and he takes out a plate and fork before offering them to Mafuyu.]
Don't burn yourself on it, it's hot. Let it cool before eating, okay? [Guess what's not going to happen.]
Think of it like this: If you can hit a home run, you don't have to run bases.
[ Put another way, you don't have to be amazing at everything, just good at one thing and everything else accommodates. Flexibility and stamina aren't all that necessary if he can be a good soccer goalie, or shoot three-pointers in basketball, so she's sure she can make things work. Kind of how like she can't cook but Kouhei still found something she can do and now she's the best potato peeler in the world!!! ]
My parents probably wouldn't care if I moved out, but I want to take my dog and cat and snake too...
[ They'd probably be happy about her moving out, to be honest, so they don't have to put up with things like Mafuyu taking this plate and blowing the steam off a forkful of food as if that will magically make it not feel like fire when she shoves it in her mouth. IT'S HOT AND IT HURTS BUT WHAT IS THERE TO DO besides chew and swallow and not only burn your mouth but your throat too, she is probably crying or close to it. ]
[Well.... Mafuyu has a point, and that does get a small smile out of him. There's no way he'd be able to hit a home run, but he isn't going to say that. The meaning is clear, and he isn't about to be enough of a downer to argue that.]
It might be hard to take care of--
[That many pets on her own, in addition to herself, he's about to say.... (And he hopes her parents would care.) But then she does EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID NOT TO, and he straight up drops the spoon he was holding and hurriedly fills up a glass of water for her.]
Are you okay?! Uh, just-- Spit it out! You aren't choking, are you?! [SHE DIDN'T SWALLOW IT, DID SHE.... He honestly can't tell from her face, but he's freaking out a bit anyway. Please help this child.]
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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.
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[ 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!
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[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?
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[ 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. ]
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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?
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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. ]
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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[ 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!
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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?
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[ 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!
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[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.
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Did you cook a lot at home too? Do you have siblings you cooked for?
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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.
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That's a good job and a good hobby! You make lots of people happy doing it, it's not like baseball or soccer or things that I do.
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You think so? Sports make people happy too. I've never played any, but lots of people find enjoyment in watching them, you know? And if it makes you happy, that's the most important.
[He's putting the vegetables in the pan now.... and pouring the sauce on top as he stirs them. This looks more like food!]
Besides, it's not like I ever cook for anyone else. I've only started to do it in the past few months.
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[ The potatoes continue to look the same and she can't even tell how soft they're getting just by looking, but with the vegetables and the sauce.... ugh... waiting is so hard, she thinks as she lets her head rest sideways on the countertop next to the stove while she watches. Maybe if she stares hard enough at the pans, they'll heat up faster and it'll all be done sooner. ]
Who else are you cooking for, since you live by yourself? Whoever it is, they're super lucky!!
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[He'll probably be the one working on the other dishes as Mafuyu (hopefully) enjoys the first course of her meal, but hey, there's nothing wrong with that.]
I've actually made a couple of friends.... One of them lives in this building too, so I make a quick meal maybe once a week. It's nothing special.
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[ This is basically all she can offer in return for cooking for her, which is still a pain and she'll have to judge whether it's worth cooking for half an hour vs zapping something in a microwave for two minutes. By the smell of it already, though, it's worth it. ]
Lucky.......... I want to move in here too.
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[Sports have clearly never been a point of interest for him, but all the same, he's a bit touched that Mafuyu would go out of her way to offer teaching him.]
Yeah? I'm sure your family would worry if you said you want to move in here on your own. It can get lonely living by yourself.
[Back to the food, though! Because he let the vegetables cook in the pan for a few minutes before pouring the sauce over them (even though I didn't write it, listen, let me live my life), they're just about finished, and he takes out a plate and fork before offering them to Mafuyu.]
Don't burn yourself on it, it's hot. Let it cool before eating, okay? [Guess what's not going to happen.]
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[ Put another way, you don't have to be amazing at everything, just good at one thing and everything else accommodates. Flexibility and stamina aren't all that necessary if he can be a good soccer goalie, or shoot three-pointers in basketball, so she's sure she can make things work. Kind of how like she can't cook but Kouhei still found something she can do and now she's the best potato peeler in the world!!! ]
My parents probably wouldn't care if I moved out, but I want to take my dog and cat and snake too...
[ They'd probably be happy about her moving out, to be honest, so they don't have to put up with things like Mafuyu taking this plate and blowing the steam off a forkful of food as if that will magically make it not feel like fire when she shoves it in her mouth. IT'S HOT AND IT HURTS BUT WHAT IS THERE TO DO besides chew and swallow and not only burn your mouth but your throat too, she is probably crying or close to it. ]
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It might be hard to take care of--
[That many pets on her own, in addition to herself, he's about to say.... (And he hopes her parents would care.) But then she does EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID NOT TO, and he straight up drops the spoon he was holding and hurriedly fills up a glass of water for her.]
Are you okay?! Uh, just-- Spit it out! You aren't choking, are you?! [SHE DIDN'T SWALLOW IT, DID SHE.... He honestly can't tell from her face, but he's freaking out a bit anyway. Please help this child.]
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