Entry 004

[chippedsoul]

Characters: Kazuma Asougi [Jekyll/Hyde]
Campaign: Break
Format: [ brackets ]
Open
Summary: Catch-All for the Break


A - The Doctor is out [Network]

I will not be meeting with clients in person until further notice. If you must make an inquiry for some medicine, use the journal to contact me. I will let you know when it's ready to be picked up.

-Disciple

B- A nightly stroll in the forest

[Anyone who happens to be wandering around or living in the forest, might hear a disturbance during the nighttime. It doesn't occur every night, but when it does, it sounded like someone was cutting down the trees. There's also a low rumbling like thunder that occasionally accompanied the sound afterwards, like a rhythmic thumping. Looking into the source, they will find themselves at the edge of the Index. The ground appeared unstable, with trees uprooted and large boulders that have been split into smaller pieces scattering about the area.

This warzone was only found along the edge of the Index, and every few nights, a new area would turn into a disaster area. If someone manages to catch the person in the act, it turns out to be the Disciple, or was it the Disciple? The low rumbling noise was from him ramming trees into the barrier or throwing boulders at it. Whatever he could pick up and throw, which was almost anything, he was directing them at the barrier. A few times he was crazy enough to punch the barrier.] I need...to go... [If you manage to get in close enough, you can hear him mumbling about going somewhere. It doesn't seem like he's quite all there himself. Are those pajamas he's wearing?]

C-Wildcard
[This post is for the entirety of the break, so feel free to poke me on Discord or silentdrifterz if there's something else you want to play out instead or make your own starter!]

Comments

[chippedsoul]

[The Disciple waits patiently, trying to remain compose. Regardless of what others thought of Hyde and himself, it won't deter him from keeping things professional.] Miss Kotori. [He bows his head slightly as he is invited inside.

He takes a moment to admire the interior, which looked like it could be a functioning restaurant, just lacking in clients. He sets down the knapsack he brought onto a table.] How are you feeling right now?

[ricebird]

Oh, um... I'm doing fine, thank you for asking...

[Excitement to try tasty food, the slowly building dread of having to deal with knives AND possibly a superpowered evil personality, and guilt over being nervous when Disciple's just trying to make amends all balances out to "fine," right?]

Hoooow are you today?

[chippedsoul]

Better. [He looks to her, getting a tense feeling between them.]

. . .Are you scared? [He goes right for the question. Knives are a useful tool in cooking, but if someone is too nervous or scared from the start, disaster only awaits them.]

[ricebird]

[WELP. Caught. Kotori blinks a bit before swallowing.]

W-well... yeah... B-but it's not your fault, honest! [And she means it, even the part about Hyde isn't Disciple's fault.] I'm looking forward to the niku-jaga, but I'm just REALLY scared of knives! I'm sorry...

[chippedsoul]

[He listens to her, and then relaxes a little.] It's all right. You don't have anything to apologize for. [He shakes his head, folding his hands behind his back.]

Your fear of knives, it sounds like you had a really bad experience with them.

[ricebird]

[A slow, shamed nod. Her gaze focuses on her hands as she fidgets with them, and the Disciple might have noticed during their time in the Index, that the tip of Kotori's left ring finger is never without a band-aid wrapped around it.]

Yes... when I was a kid, I cut my finger. There was blood everywhere, and I needed to get stitches.

[That's not the WHOLE story, though... There are emotional circumstances around the event, but... those are the hardest parts to think or talk about, even more so than the pain and the blood.]

[chippedsoul]

...I see. Then we won't go near knives just yet. [He turns to his knapsack and takes out a kitchen knife made from wood?] Do you happen to have ingredients to make dough?

[ricebird]

[A wooden knife? That's... different. Oh, wait, he's asking her a question.]

Um, yeah, most of them, I think. What sort of dough are you thinking?

[Because she knows there's definitely no dough in niku-jaga, and uh... Kotori could probably rattle off at least a half dozen VERY different forms of dough, so what ingredients they need will vary a lot.]

[chippedsoul]

Soft enough to cut through. [He presents the wooden knife to her.]

We're going to practice using this for now.

[ricebird]

[Nod.]

That's a good idea. What kind of dough are you thinking? Noodles, bread, pie crust, puff pastry, dough for a dessert like cookies, or doughnuts...?

[As she goes on thinking about all the delicious dough-based treats, she does look a little less anxious, if not quite perking up.]

[chippedsoul]

[There options were getting sweeter and sweeter...] Cookie dough. [Cookies make everyone happy, right? It'll be a nice treat after their session.]

[ricebird]

[It's honestly just the genuinely random order that the mun wrote them in, but hey, that works!

Well that definitely gets her attention!]

Oh! That's a great idea, let's do that! [YES, a recipe without knifework at all, or at least with nothing sharper than a butter knife!] Yeah, I think I have everything we need for chocolate chip cookies, so let's do that!

[Which, fun fact, chocolate chip cookies were invented in Massachusetts in the 1930s, so unless the Disciple's been reading cookbooks, he likely has NO idea what Kotori's talking about.]

[chippedsoul]

[Not a clue, but he gets it's a chocolate cookie.]

Ah...don't get too excited. [He crosses his arms, with a stern look on his face.] We're going to use the dough to practice some knife techniques, baking cookies will come later.

[ricebird]

[Erk! Yup, duly chastised, and yay, knives...]

R-right. I'll um... just... get the ingredients ready.

[chippedsoul]

It will be all right. [He quietly assures her. He'll follow after her.]

Do you need help preparing?

[ricebird]

Ah... lemme get the ingredients out first... [Because absolutely none of the already-out niku-jaga ingredients contain anything even close to being used in chocolate chip cookies, and Disciple doesn't know the layout of her kitchen.] But then we'll be doing wet and dry teams, so you can help me out there.

[But wait, maybe there is something.]

Oh! Actually... since we're not going to be using the beef right away, do you mind taking it to the icebox and swapping it for two eggs, please?

[Because not getting food poisoning is important. She gestures over to a counter where the niku-jaga ingredients are waiting to be chopped, not too far away from the deep brown wooden cabinet that is the icebox.]

[chippedsoul]

Mm, all right. [He will go and do as he's told. He admires her preparedness for the task today, it makes him feel a little bad her efforts aren't put to use right now. But in the end, it's better to avoid accidents and the goal is to help her become comfortable with a kitchen knife.

He returns with the two eggs as instructed.] Sorry, for the sudden switch, but I think taking a step back will be more beneficial for you. Regardless of our progress, I'll be sure we make that niku-jaga dish.

[ricebird]

[She nods, and she feels herself start to genuinely relax. This is closer to Disciple's first impression, calm, businesslike, but quietly caring and patient too. Maybe she wasn't wrong about him after all. Makes his essence all the more tragic though...]

Thank you. [A soft nod of a bow.] I really appreciate you taking the time to work with me on this, Disciple-san.

[chippedsoul]

[He looks to her with a nod.] You can't be a proper cook without at least knowing the basic cutting techniques. [He says, almost teasingly.]

Now, let's make this dough.

[ricebird]

R-- right...

[She almost catches that teasing note, and if he said ANYTHING ELSE she might have blinked in surprise and laughed with him. And she at least knows he didn't mean it unkindly.

But... she KNOWS what he says is too true. She might not know what she wants to do with her life yet, but it is a source of shame for her. Not being able to cook as her mother's daughter. Not being able to cook when she loves food so much, or how it would be a huge help to have a second cook to help keep the restaurant open, or how she's left alone so often these days and should be able to at least feed herself, or how she needs to improve to help her fellow Aspects. She KNOWS all that, but that fear is still so strong, and the shame of still being too weak to fight it HURTS.

So instead she just nods and the two of them go through making the cookie dough together and gives him instructions on his end, even if Kotori's enthusiasm is noticeably muted. She has enough self-control to not start crying, but the fact that she IS holding something in is obvious.]

[chippedsoul]

[To be fair, his dry humor usually involves a bit of the truth that it's hard to know if he's being serious or not. As they get to work on making the dough, the Disciple proves to be a very diligent follower. He doesn't say a whole lot during the process, focused on making sure he's executing this dough making perfectly. It needs to be the right consistency for cutting! And cookies.

Eventually, it does become noticeable how Kotori didn't seem as excited as she was before.] Are you all right? [Asking while he's stirring the ingredients in the bowl.]

[ricebird]

[Whoops, caught again.]

A-ah, yeah, I'm fine. Make sure not to mix too much, or the cookies will be tough.

[See, cooking instructions, the perfect distraction from accidentally bruised insecurities.]

[chippedsoul]

[And here he just think she's nervous about cutting things. He slows his stirring and then eventually presents the bowl to her.]

Is this good?

[ricebird]

[Good, all according to keikaku*!

She looks the bowl over, before giving a nod.]

Yeah, I think that's good. Everything's mixed up, but not so much that gluten will form. So I guess all that's left is... rolling it out?

[And... cutting it...]

[[*(Translator's note: Keikaku means "plan"!)]]

[chippedsoul]

[He nods, taking out the dough.]

While I'm doing this, why don't you show me how you hold a kitchen knife. [He gestures to the wooden knife sitting nearby on the table.]