Chapter 8 - Fooling Around in the Angel's Cooking Classroom
“Welcome to the first-ever Mahirun Cooking Class!”
Chitose made this announcement with the rhythm and energy of a television cooking program’s intro. Amane shot her an annoyed look.
Golden Week had started, and they had decided to hold Mahiru’s cooking class on the first day of the break. The venue was Amane’s apartment, for the simple reason that it was an easy place for Mahiru and Chitose to meet.
Chitose’s family was at her house, so they wouldn’t be able to get too noisy, and Mahiru had volunteered her place, but Amane had balked at going into a girl’s apartment, so they had settled on his.
Wearing an apron, Chitose was getting herself all worked up. “Yaaay! We’ve invited Miss Mahiru Shiina to be our lecturer for the course!”
Mahiru, too, was wearing her apron and a wry smile as she stood next to Chitose.
“You didn’t invite her anywhere,” Amane insisted. “You’re also a guest here, you know.”
“And as our taste tester…we’ve invited the extremely tiresome Mr. Amane Fujimiya!”
“Oh, shut up. Also, this my house.”
“He’s no fun at all!”
Amane just couldn’t keep up with Chitose’s incredibly high-energy personality this early in the morning. It was just past nine. They had planned to finish cooking around lunchtime, so this was the only time they could meet.
Amane didn’t really mind the hour, but Chitose was a lot to deal with right after waking up.
“…Sorry about this, first thing in the morning…,” Mahiru apologized.
“No, it’s fine. You are making me lunch, after all,” Amane insisted. “Though, speaking of which, please keep an eye on Chitose so she doesn’t put anything strange in it.”
“O, ye of little faith!”
“Have you forgotten your previous offense on Valentine’s Day…?”
He still hadn’t forgotten the taste of her prank chocolates. The ones with nothing weird in them had been delicious, of course, but the taste of the surprise special chocolates had been shocking enough that he could recall it even now. And he couldn’t trust Chitose’s palate, since she claimed she had been able to eat those experimental pieces like regular sweets.
“Ah-ha-ha, but those were meant to be a prank. It’ll be fine if I’m cooking normally. Probably.”
“That ‘probably’ worries me, you ass… I’m begging you, please make something I can eat.”
“Don’t worry about it!” said Chitose confidently as she started rolling up her sleeves.
Amane felt a tinge of anxiety as he watched the girls set up, but he believed Mahiru would probably intervene on his behalf somehow.
Mahiru didn’t compromise on dishes she planned to serve to other people, and she was the one running this lesson, so Amane was confident they would make the food properly, and everything would be fine.
With Chitose in tow, Mahiru headed for his kitchen as if it were her own home and read out the names of the dishes on the day’s menu.
Namely, today’s lunch would consist of a quiche and salad, with shrimp bisque and a sauté of any excess ingredients. She had apparently decided to answer Amane’s request to include shrimp.
He was sure that everything would go okay, but he still worried about Chitose putting something strange into the quiche.
“…I feel like you’re being needlessly wary…,” Chitose protested. Maybe she had noticed him staring at her.
Amane averted his eyes and flopped down on the sofa. His job was to be a taste tester, so he didn’t really have to do anything, and that suited him just fine. He wasn’t totally useless as Mahiru’s helper, but that was Chitose’s role today, and anyway, he had been instructed by Mahiru to sit down, so he couldn’t move from his spot.
And so he had lots of free time.
He looked into the kitchen and saw the two girls in their aprons pleasantly chatting as they started their work.
They were both beautiful girls in different ways, and having them both here, wearing aprons and cooking in his apartment, would surely make any other boy in their class drool with envy, Amane mused, as if he were an uninvolved observer.
Fighting off a second round of anxiety over whether the practical jokester might pull something outrageous, Amane let his eyes drift closed, unsure of what else to do with his glut of free time.
Apparently, cooking class would take several hours, so they probably wouldn’t mind if he took a little nap. It was his apartment, after all, so the only one who could blame him for anything was…Mahiru.
Amane let out a small yawn and made himself comfortable on the sofa.
When he came to, Amane detected a sweet scent nearby. It was an aroma he had become used to, a sweet fragrance that was milky and floral, hard to describe but extremely pleasant, so without thinking, he inhaled deeply.
In his barely conscious state, he brought his face closer to the source of the smell and felt something warm and soft to the touch. When he snuggled his cheek closer to the pleasant warmth, it started to squirm.
“…Ah, um, that tickles…,” said a halting voice from somewhere very close by. Amane realized someone was patting his thigh. This quickly dragged his dim consciousness up to the surface, and when he pried open his heavy eyelids…what he saw was an expanse of smooth milky white.
He nervously lifted his head and found Mahiru’s flushed face incredibly close to his. She looked very embarrassed.
“…Mahiru?”
“Yes?”
“…Uh…good morning?”
“Good morning. Although…actually, it’s already time to say good afternoon.”
He looked at the digital clock on the shelf and saw that it was past noon.
He had dozed off for quite a while, he realized. But what was Mahiru doing by his side?
“When I sat down next to you, you leaned onto me.”
Mahiru answered his unspoken question, her cheeks still tinged slightly red.
Apparently, he had nestled his face into the area near her shoulder. The shirt she was wearing today had a fairly open neckline, which left some skin peeking out, and that seemed to be where he had stuck his face.
If he was unlucky, she might consider this a matter of sexual harassment, so he prepared himself for her anger, but Mahiru seemed more embarrassed than angry and just cast her eyes downward.
Personally, he would have preferred for her to get mad, because he was truly at a loss for what to do when she reacted that way. He appeared to have been forgiven, which made him uncomfortable.
“That’s— I’m sorry,” Amane apologized. “It must have been a pain.”
“N-no, not at all!” she insisted.
“Quite the contrary, Mahirun said ‘I’m going to take advantage of the fact that Amane’s half asleep’ and sat down to catch your head.”
“Chitose!” Mahiru turned even redder.
“And just when did you two start calling each other by your first names, I wonder?” Chitose grinned.
“…Chitose.”
“Don’t scowl at me, Amane. You’re the one who was careless!”
He couldn’t argue with that. In his half-conscious state, he’d called Mahiru by her first name even though Chitose was there. That was his error.
“And anyway, Mahirun already told me about how you two talk when no one else is around…”
“Look, you—,” Amane growled.
“S-sorry,” Mahiru mumbled.
He quickly shook his head. “No, you’re not to blame here, Mahiru.”
Chitose cackled merrily. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, I think it’s just great that the two of you are getting so friendly! It’s not a bad thing at all.”
“You’re a real pain, you know that?” Amane glared. “It’s seriously not what you’re thinking.”
“Ohhh?”
“What?”
“Uh-uh, nothing. Nooothing at aaall!”
Chitose sure seemed like she had a lot to say about nothing, but she shrugged as if she had no intention of expressing it through words. Amane knew that when she got like this, it was no good trying to question her, so he gave up on asking her anything further.
Beside him, Mahiru looked slightly concerned.
“…Mahiru?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.”
Mahiru seemed to come to her senses when he spoke to her. She hurriedly put on a smile and shook her head, so he knew he couldn’t question her any further, either. All he could do was shut his mouth.
“…So we made lunch as promised. Wanna eat?” Chitose asked.
“Sure. I can’t believe I dozed off until lunch…”
“You slept like a log, so we had plenty of time to play around, looking at your sleeping face.”
“…I don’t suppose you pulled any pranks?”
“I did not!” Chitose insisted, though he knew better than to believe her. “What’s got you so worried, young man?”
“You did something other than a prank, didn’t you?” Amane asked suspiciously.
“I’m telling you: I didn’t do a thing!”
“I wonder. Mahiru, did she do anything to the food?”
He looked over at Mahiru to confirm, but she must have been caught by surprise when he suddenly brought up the subject. She looked confused and smiled wryly.
“Chitose didn’t do anything, but…”
“Really? If she did, I’m thinking of squeezing her until she pops—”
“No violence!”
Chitose was cackling with laughter even as she protested, and Amane could only sigh in exasperation.
Finally—though Amane didn’t really feel as if any time had passed, since he had been asleep—it was indeed lunchtime.
Even Chitose seemed to have taken her cooking seriously for a change, and the table was set with a beautifully cooked quiche and a bisque soup that was giving off the rich aroma of shrimp.
They had served everything up on individual plates, so the salad, quiche, bisque, and shrimp sauté were carefully arranged to show off the rich array of colors. It looked like a lunch that might be served at a cute café.
“Wow, everything looks great!” Amane exclaimed. “…Mahiru, how’s the flavor?”
“It’s all fine.” She nodded. “Chitose didn’t add anything strange, and I tasted everything as we went.”
“Great.”
“You really don’t trust me, geez! I made everything properly today, too. Rude.”
Chitose was in a huff, but she had a history of launching surprise attacks right after saying something similar, so Amane knew better than to let his guard down. This time, though, Mahiru had been there to supervise, so Amane could mostly relax and eat.
“Ah, Mahiru made this quiche. I made one to give to Itsuki.”
“You’re gonna give him a whole quiche…?”
“It’s a little one, about the size of my palm, so it’s fine. Eh-heh-heh, I wonder if he’ll be happy with it…?”
Chitose was wearing a big grin, and Mahiru was staring at her with a heartwarming smile of her own. As long as Chitose wasn’t preoccupied playing pranks or getting up to some other kind of mischief, she was a pretty thoughtful girlfriend. Amane thought it was nice she had made something just for Itsuki.
But she did tend to take things too far, so it could be a little dangerous to trust her completely.
Amane also smiled a little at the beaming Mahiru, then turned his attention to the plate that had been set before him. He pressed his hands together. “All right, let’s eat.”
“Go ahead! Enjoy your meal!”
Chitose looked almost bashful. It was surprisingly endearing, and just for a moment, Amane was reminded that she was a girl, too, after all.
“…Um, I’m sorry.”
After Chitose left, Mahiru suddenly apologized.
Amane wasn’t sure why she was apologizing, and he looked with wide eyes at Mahiru sitting beside him. She had her legs drawn in and was fidgeting restlessly, wearing a guilty expression.
“…Sorry about the pranks.”
“Pranks?”
“Chitose didn’t do anything to you, but…well, I did.”
“Huh, you did?”
He was certain Chitose had said she hadn’t done anything when he interrogated her, and Mahiru had also confirmed that Chitose hadn’t. But Mahiru hadn’t said a single word about whether she herself had been up to no good.
Amane had never even considered that Mahiru might do something to him and had automatically excluded her from suspicion, but apparently she had been busy.
She looked guilty, like she wanted to run away at any moment.
“What did you do?”
“Well, I squished your cheeks…”
“…Does that really qualify as a prank?”
“A-and then I stared at your sleeping face, and I stroked your hair.”
“Well, you do like doing that.”
“…Y-yes.”
“So…was that all?”
“…Yes.”
The way she was acting, she seemed remorseful, but Amane wanted to joke that those things were hardly pranks. What Mahiru had done was less of a prank and more like normal physical intimacy. If that was a prank, then that would mean Amane had also been messing with Mahiru, so he hoped she didn’t think of it that way.
“I’m not really mad, you know. Like, as long as you were having fun, I guess it’s fine; it was just careless of me to fall asleep in front of other people.”
“Th-thank you…”
“I mean, I don’t think it would be much fun to look at this ugly mug, but…”
“…You looked cute, you know?”
“You’re just about the only person who would say a guy like me looked cute.”
“That’s not true. Chitose said so!”
“She was definitely making fun of me…”
In Chitose’s case, she obviously said he looked cute because she thought it was funny. That was a different matter than Mahiru finding him cute. As a rule, nobody should ever take Chitose too seriously, he thought.
“…You really were cute.”
“Really?”
“I played with your cheeks a lot…”
“I wonder, is it that much fun to poke at a guy’s cheeks?”
“It’s more fun than you realize.”
Based on his own body, Amane thought guys’ cheeks would be very stiff compared to girls’ and therefore not that much fun to poke or play with. He didn’t understand what Mahiru found so great about it, but if it was the very act of poking that she found enjoyable, then he supposed he shouldn’t complain.
“Well, it’s not like I can’t relate,” he said. “Your cheeks also feel nice to poke at.”
He had played the same “prank” on Mahiru before.
That said, it wouldn’t do to touch her too boldly, so he cautiously, gently poked her with the tip of his finger.
Mahiru’s cheek was soft and a little squishy and undeniably feminine. She obviously took very good care of her skin, because it was smooth and lustrous. Just touching her like this felt amazing. Telling himself that if Mahiru had touched his face, he should be allowed to touch hers, Amane gently pinched her pliable cheek.
Mahiru looked up at him with a bit of dissatisfaction, and he knew he’d better not overdo it, so he stroked the cheek gently with the pad of his finger to mollify her. He moved gently and carefully, just like he would if he were petting a kitten.
“…Hmm.”
Before long, the look of dissatisfaction faded and was replaced by a soft smile that seemed to be hiding something. It was such a sweet expression, he wondered if the secret ingredient was plenty of honey.
…She looks really relaxed.
He was surprised to see how relaxed Mahiru looked while a boy touched her like that. Then it occurred to him that Mahiru never let boys touch her, and he suddenly felt very embarrassed to be receiving such special treatment. It made him want to bang his head on the back of the sofa.
Trying to put such thoughts out of his mind, Amane reached his hand under Mahiru’s chin, and this time he really moved his fingers like he was petting a cat.
“Hyah!” She let out a small yelp. “…Wh-what was that?”
“Practice for when we go to the cat café.”
“What were you thinking? I’m not a cat, I’m a person!”
“It’s because you’re so catlike. But also kind of like a dog and a bunny at the same time.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“Exactly what I said.”
Recently, Amane had made the private observation that Mahiru at times acted like a cat, a dog, and even a rabbit. When he was first getting to know her, she had been a very wary cat, then as they became closer, she became friendly like a dog…not exactly the same, but she had definitely warmed up to him. As for the rabbit…for some reason, Amane had gotten it into his head that rabbits were lonely creatures, so he had just thrown that one in the mix for good measure.
Amane was glad she didn’t hate being doted on, since he wanted to do exactly that. As he scratched under her chin, Mahiru quietly said “The top of my head would be better,” so he obediently switched to stroking her head.
He decided not to mention that, at times like this, she was more doglike.
“…If I’m a cat and a dog and a bunny… In that case, Amane, you’re a wolf.”
“Does that mean I attack girls…?”
“N-no, I don’t mean it like that! Wolves seem to care about their companions a lot. I’ve heard they do anything to protect their pack. Well, since their packs are usually formed of family members, I guess it’s a little different, but I say that because you take really good care of the people in your circle.”
“…Well, I guess you’ve got me there.”
Amane’s circle of friends was pretty small. Small enough that he could count the people he would call friends on two hands. But he always tried to do the best he could for those people and treat them well. If she was going to call that facet of him wolflike, then he wasn’t going to argue.
“B-besides…that’s how I want you to be.”
“That’s how you want me to be?”
“…No, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Um, also, your hair is fluffy, which is why you’re like a wolf.”
“That’s not a trait of wolves.”
Mahiru seemed like she had been about to say something different, but now she was stroking Amane’s hair, so he didn’t question her and just let her touch his hair as she pleased.
It was the day after the cooking class, and Mahiru apparently had plans to hang out with Chitose again, so she departed after preparing Amane’s lunch.
Amane would have been perfectly capable of feeding himself without her help, but she went to all the trouble of cooking for him, so he wasn’t about to complain.
He saw her off as she left his apartment, looking somewhat restless, then sighed as he wondered how he should spend his free time.
It was currently just past one thirty. Mahiru had gone out, and it wasn’t a bad time for going out, but he didn’t really feel like it since he had nothing in particular planned. If he’d had plans to hang out with someone, he could have probably summoned the willpower to leave the apartment, but if no one waiting for him, then he figured he didn’t need to go to the trouble.
That left him with the question of what to do with his day. There weren’t that many ways he could kill time at home.
His most frequent pastimes were games and comics, but he had cleared all the scenarios in his role-playing games and even finished all the speedruns, and it wasn’t all that interesting to play party games by himself.
So he was down to comics and novels, but Amane didn’t typically keep a lot of books around, and he had already read the ones he had several times over and knew all the plots. Amane was a fast reader anyway, so he would probably breeze through a whole comic book series in an hour.
Amane was at a loss for what else he could do. For the moment, he went into his bedroom and opened the textbook that was lying on his desk.
Chitose would look so confused if she could see me now.
Amane didn’t have much to do, and they did have homework even during Golden Week. And after Golden Week, midterm exams were waiting for them. He actually enjoyed studying a fair bit, so he figured it might be a good way to spend his day if he didn’t have any other ideas.
One way or another, he had to get through their assigned homework, and he wanted to be able to enjoy tomorrow’s outing without having it in the back of his mind the whole time. So he decided it was best to go ahead and get his academic obligations out of the way.
Amane was naturally a serious student, and he pulled himself up to his desk, mechanical pencil in hand, to complete his schoolwork.
When he next noticed the time again, it was already past six o’clock.
Whenever Amane was seriously concentrating, he tended to tune everything else out. As he left his bedroom, rolling his shoulders around to loosen up his stiff body, he smiled at how the sunbeams that were filtering through the window had changed their angle bit by bit.
He could see the kitchen as soon as he was out in the hallway, and sure enough, there was Mahiru in her apron. She hadn’t been there the last time he’d left his room to take a break.
Apparently, she had returned from her outing.
He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing that he had been so focused he hadn’t even noticed the sound of the door unlocking in the entryway, but he knew it wasn’t good that he hadn’t come out to greet her.
“Welcome back. Sorry I didn’t greet you.”
“No, it’s fine… I didn’t call out to you, either. I thought you were probably busy with something in your room.”
“I was doing homework.”
He had made plenty of progress in the quiet apartment, but he might have been studying too long, because his body was awfully stiff. He regretted not changing his posture a little more often while reading.
He did some light stretching while they talked, and Mahiru let out a small giggle.
“You’re very studious.”
“I’m the type who likes to get my work done ahead of time so I can enjoy myself.”
“I’m much the same. Though I prefer to do my studying intermittently.”
“You’re even more serious about schoolwork than I am.”
Generally speaking, Amane was also the type to study on and off and steadily etch things into his memory by repetition, but he wasn’t as scrupulous and methodical as Mahiru.
Incidentally, he had learned over the last summer break that Itsuki would finish his work first and then really play around, while Chitose would play first and then drown in her own tears of regret, so he expected the latter half of summer vacation this year to be rough going.
“Once you make a habit of it, it’s really not that much trouble,” Mahiru explained. “Once it becomes second nature, you don’t think anything of it.”
“Impressive. I’ve got to put in some more work, until it becomes second nature.”
Most people assumed that Mahiru was some kind of prodigy, a genius blessed with a naturally brilliant mind. Those people didn’t know how hard she worked. Amane would never deny that she was very smart, but he knew that, above all else, she was a hard worker first and foremost.
She didn’t show it much on the surface, but behind the scenes, she never failed to put in the effort. That was why her grades and her looks and her athletics were all outstanding.
Amane knew how hard Mahiru worked, so he recognized and admired her efforts and didn’t begrudge her successes. Mahiru’s abilities were earned through being disciplined, and anyone who wanted the same for themselves would have to put in the same labor. Amane doubted he would ever be able to reach Mahiru’s level, but as someone who always wanted to improve his grades, he admired her.
Mahiru was frowning like something had tickled her. “Flattery will get you nowhere, mister. At best, you might get pudding after dinner.”
“Oh, then should I praise you more?”
“How calculated.”
Mahiru smiled like something was funny. Amane gave her a sidelong glance, but when he opened the refrigerator, he realized there really was pudding inside. It was store-bought, but it came from the patisserie that Chitose liked so much, and it was one of Amane’s favorites, too. Though Mahiru’s handmade pudding was the best, this was also sure to be delicious. A surge of happiness bubbled up within him.
Mahiru giggled when she saw Amane’s face light up all of a sudden, so he came back to his senses and felt a bit embarrassed.
“You really do love eggs, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do.”
There was no need to hide it in front of Mahiru, who already had a thorough knowledge of his culinary preferences, so he meekly nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Mahiru froze in place, still stiffly holding a potato she had just finished washing. Amane tried to look at her face to see what was the matter, but she quickly turned away.
“Mahiru?”
“…It’s nothing. More importantly, if you’re not going to help, I recommend you leave the kitchen.”
“So harsh all of a sudden. I actually came in here intending to help, but…”
Still, he wasn’t going to make Mahiru do all the work alone. Besides, a little light activity would be just perfect for waking up his stiff limbs.
Amane grabbed his apron from the kitchen rack and put it on. Mahiru wordlessly put several washed potatoes in a bowl and handed it to him along with a peeler. She didn’t look him in the eye the whole time.
“By the way, what are we going to make with these potatoes?”
“…I was planning to make potato salad, but now they’re going to be ingredients for a frittata.”
“Isn’t that a pretty big change?”
“It’s fine. I’m in charge of the kitchen. You just need to follow what I say.”
“I—I don’t really get it, but you make a good point.”
This was Amane’s kitchen, but Mahiru was in charge of the cooking, so this kitchen was actually under Mahiru’s control. After all, Amane didn’t know nearly as much about culinary matters as she did, so he was better off obediently following her lead.
Mahiru was obviously not in a good mood, and Amane wondered about her cold tone as he washed his hands and began to peel the potatoes. Fortunately, he didn’t need to worry about injuring himself with a peeler.
Mahiru, meanwhile, had started her own tasks. It seemed like the change in menu had been pretty sudden, but Mahiru knew what was in the refrigerator best anyway, so Amane was sure there was no problem.
“…So what did you do today?”
The kitchen was spacious enough that the two of them could work side by side, and he wouldn’t have minded working in silence, but Amane’s task wasn’t that hard, so he tried to strike up a conversation.
Mahiru’s whole body twitched.
“Eh…um, well… I—I got her advice on something, I guess.”
“Oh, was something giving you trouble? Did you sort it out?”
Honestly, Amane hoped Mahiru would come to him if she ever had a problem. But there were probably a lot of issues only another girl would fully understand, so he wasn’t about to complain or anything.
“Y-yeah, sort of. I’ll know for sure in a few days.”
“Hmm. That’s good, then.”
If she had solved her problem, then Amane had nothing further to say, and he promptly shut his mouth, knowing it would be bad to pry.
Mahiru tugged nervously at her apron.
“…Amane?”
“Hmm?”
“Uh, um, Amane… Which style do you like better, simple and clean or more mature?” Her eyelashes fluttered as she peered at him with a troubling expression.
He didn’t ask why she was suddenly asking him such a question. He figured she must be trying to decide what kind of look was best for their outing tomorrow or something.
“I think it’s best when the style suits the person wearing it,” he finally answered.
“I’m asking about your preferences.”
“I don’t know what to say. It’s nice to see a woman in something that really suits her, but I think everyone should just wear what they feel comfortable in.”
“…I’m asking about your preferences.”
“Uh…”
Amane really thought it was best for Mahiru to wear whatever she liked, but she didn’t seem content to take that as his final answer.
“I really think either style is fine. A simple look suits your personality and looks cute, and a sophisticated look brings out your beauty more. I think either one looks great on you. There’s something to like about each of them, but I can’t say which look I like better unless I see the actual outfits.”
“…Y-you really do just come out and say things like that pretty bluntly, don’t you? Agh…”
“I mean, you asked. Hmm, I guess go with the simple look.”
He was getting the feeling that she wanted him to come out and pick one, so he obliged.
Mahiru turned away from him. “All right, I’ll do that,” she answered. “I’ll do my best to put together a look that will astonish even the calm and collected Amane.”
“That seems like it won’t end up being very simple…”
“Fine, I’ll wear something that will make you lose your mind.”
“Don’t go too far; I won’t know what to do.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
Mahiru was being awfully forward today, but it was still adorable, just in a different way. Amane chuckled to himself and continued peeling potato skins.
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