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

[ricebird]

A-ah... right... okay...

[DEEP breath. It's just holding a wooden knife, NOTHING to be nervous of...

Even with her hand shaking, she manages to get a fairly good grip on the handle. Perhaps her hand could be a LITTLE closer to the blade, but it's obvious that she's seen a professional chef hold a knife enough times to try and imitate the position. Now if only it wasn't a death grip, or shaking so much.]

[chippedsoul]

[The Disciple is rolling away, making segments in the dough for them to practice with multiple pieces. A few times he'll glance over at Kotori to see how she's managing. He could see her hand was not steady, visibly uncomfortable holding it. He stops messing with the dough, and then puts a hand over hers without saying a word.]

[ricebird]

[Oh, hi, hand! She doesn't flinch or startle so badly she flails and drops it, but she does look over in surprise.]

E-eh?

[chippedsoul]

Relax. [His hand was just gently resting on hers, not squeezing it or anything.]

[ricebird]

[Aaaand of course being told to relax makes her automatically tense up more.]

O-okay...

[Veeery slowly lessening her grip on the handle... it's... SLIGHLTY better than where she started, but still too tight.]

[chippedsoul]

Take all the time you need. I'm here with you. [If she doesn't want his hand there, he can move it away if asked.]

1/2

[ricebird]

Mm...

[A nod, a few shaky breaths, and she begins to position the blade over the dough. She won't move Disciple's hand away, at least.

But then she remembers she... needs to put her other hand down to stabilize what she's cutting...]

2/3 (Coin flip said fail. Also, one more part.)

[ricebird]

[And then her eye catches sight of the bandage on her ring finger, and she freezes.

A few cabbage leaves rolled together for a chiffonade; if she manages to cut them thin enough, they'll be nice and springy. The perfect side for shougayaki, her dad's favorite. He said she was really good at cutting udon noodles when they made it together a while ago, that she'll be doing this on her own in no time. Mom will be proud too, and... maybe they'll be happy enough to stop arguing, remember that they're a family...]

3/3 (CW: Panic attack and memories of blood)

[ricebird]

[Sharp pain through her finger, screaming and crying, her hands covered in blood, Mom running over, the hospital visit and stitches, MORE yelling--

Kotori had been frozen stiff for a second, but suddenly she DROPS to the kitchen floor in a crouch, hands clutching her head, the wooden knife clattering in the counter.]

I can't...!

[chippedsoul]

[He waits patiently, for as long as she needs. It becomes clear though that something's not right.] Miss Kotori...? [She seem frozen in place, visibly looking terrified by something. Suddenly she was on the floor and Disciple follows after her.

Her fears went deeper than he initially thought to get this kind of reaction from her. He carefully puts a hand on her shoulder, at a loss at what to say. Though maybe it's better he didn't and wait, staying there to remind her that he's by her side.]

[ricebird]

[Thankfully, even fear spikes like this are mild enough that she's not completely lost to the world. She cringes a bit at the touch, but she doesn't flinch away or try to remove his hand. When she looks to him, though, when it hits her that someone's WATCHING her break down like this... "You can't be a proper cook if you can't cut..."

Her face starts to crumble in shame, and tears begin to well and fall as she looks away, curling in on herself more.]

I-I'm sorry... I know...

[She knows she's being stupid, being a coward and a failure... And she hates it so, SO much.]

[chippedsoul]

[His expression softens. He checks his pockets and offers her a handkerchief.]

It's all right.

[ricebird]

[Her head shakes vigorously between her hands.]

N-no it's not... You came all this way and... I'm wasting your time and... I can't...

[chippedsoul]

You're not wasting time. You actually held the wooden knife. [He spent months just trying to sneak onto ships to get to Great Britain, this is nothing.]

I'm willing to take as much time as you need. If you want to stop, we can do that.

[ricebird]

[A few deep breaths to calm down, think... and then she nods...]

Maybe... maybe another day...

[Still, even though the fear's still there, Disciple's words are at least helping the shame and self-loathing ebb away.]

[chippedsoul]

[He nods.] That's fine. [He tries to offer her his handkerchief again.]

In that case...would you be willing to instruct me on how to make niku-jaga? [She did prepare all those ingredients. He can at least try to make something for her.]

[ricebird]

[A few more breaths, and she nods as she reaches for the cloth.]

Yeah... Yeah, I can do that... Thank you...

[chippedsoul]

[He sits there with her, and waits quietly. A moment of silence can be a luxury to someone, and he's in no rush to push her to do anything until she was okay.]

[ricebird]

[A few more deep breaths, and after wiping her eyes dry with the handkerchief, she slowly hoists herself back up and hands him the handkerchief back.]

Thank you. Um... we can put this in the ice box for now. And get the beef back out.

[chippedsoul]

Sure. [Pocketing the handkerchief, he will go ahead and put away the dough and take the beef back out.]

You said this dish is from Japan? [He tries to make conversation with her, now that she's back on her feet.]

[ricebird]

[A nod.]

Yes, it is.

[She doesn't know quite enough food anthropology to explain on its history of Fleet Admiral Tōgō trying to emulate the British Royal Navy's stews, but it is quite tasty. And the small talk is slowly bringing her back around.]

[chippedsoul]

Do you know any other dishes from Japan? [It sets out the ingredients, awaiting instructions.]

[ricebird]

Yeah... My mom's restaurant serves a lot of Japanese dishes, so I've eaten a lot of them at least. [And, you know, just by virtue of being born and growing up there her whole life.] Some of them I'd actually have to look up to get the details on how to MAKE them.

[Like the niku-jaga. VERY thankfully, this is a world where books are in no short supply, even cookbooks, and a library especially generous to Aspects.]

So to start... we want to soak the konbu seaweed in the 200 milliliters of water while we work. [Easy enough, with the sheets sitting next to a bowl with a pre-measured pool of water.] Then we want to boil some water for the shirataki noodles; after you cut them to size, boiling them for a couple minutes will remove any bitterness.

[chippedsoul]

[He'll go ahead and get the water going on the stove then and work on the noodles, letting Kotori handle the seaweed. Hopefully she'll be ok with a knife being present.]

What is your favorite?

[ricebird]

[Depends on how confident he is; as long as he looks like he knows what he's doing, she'll be fine.]

My favorite...?

[Disciple. Disciple no, this is like asking her to pick a favorite child. She is like Bubba Gump on steroids and no shrimp based limits. You will be here until nightfall, if now dawn.]

Well... rice and miso soup are pretty much THE staples of any meal at home, and I love them both a lot. Then again, noodles are delicious too, like ramen which are thin and curly wheat noodles made with alkaline water, or soba which are really toothsome buckwheat noodles, or soft and gooey udon noodles, or somen noodles which are also wheat-based like udon but a lot thinner. And there are so many ways to prepare them too! Of course there's hot soup for all of them, but you can also serve ramen noodles cold with veggies and cold meat or fish and sesame sauce for hiyashi chūka, or grill udon noodles with salt or sauce- oh and don't be fooled by the name! Yakisoba actually uses wheat noodles instead of soba noodles more often than not! And of course there's a lot of different toppings you can do for all of them--

[SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE? AND THIS IS JUST THE NOODLES.]