Pine Garden

[Elf]

Emiya

One of the hardest things about Chaleda was running into his Saber. 

And then like 100 different ones that had her face but were different in some sort of skill or personality. 

Running into her as an ally was different than how he usually ran into her during a Grail War, which generally ended with him almost getting cleaved in two.  Because I stand there like a goddamn potato every time I see her after she's summoned.  I've got records of seeing her like that again like thousands of times, but the sight of her always stuns me.

"She was short, haughty, and blonde," Emiya answered, "And if you had, you would have remembered her."

I remembered her even though the very depths of the hell that I made myself.

He folded his arms over his chest and said, "Well, maybe we should keep it simple for your first kitchen experience.  Not to mention chicken curry generally makes a good amount of left overs and it's even better the second day."

[SINIB]

Emiya

One of the hardest things about Chaleda was running into his Saber. 

And then like 100 different ones that had her face but were different in some sort of skill or personality. 

Running into her as an ally was different than how he usually ran into her during a Grail War, which generally ended with him almost getting cleaved in two.  Because I stand there like a goddamn potato every time I see her after she's summoned.  I've got records of seeing her like that again like thousands of times, but the sight of her always stuns me.

"She was short, haughty, and blonde," Emiya answered, "And if you had, you would have remembered her."

I remembered her even though the very depths of the hell that I made myself.

He folded his arms over his chest and said, "Well, maybe we should keep it simple for your first kitchen experience.  Not to mention chicken curry generally makes a good amount of left overs and it's even better the second day."

Tsumiko

"Mmmm." She nodded, opening the fridge and quickly pulling out the ingredients to cook the food. "This isn't my first time cooking, you know. Just, you know, with other people. And all of that."

"Hm." It sounded even worse when she said it out loud, didn't it?

[Elf]

Emiya

Emiya nodded and said, "Well, then you have some skill in the kitchen so maybe we should up the ante."

He opened up his refrigerator with a smirk.  It was well stocked, full of fresh ingredients of all types, all of them reasonably priced and of good quality.  It was the pantry of a man who took his cooking very seriously, but was cautious with his money as well.

"What would you like to cook, Tsumiko?" he asked with a grin.

[SINIB]

Emiya

Emiya nodded and said, "Well, then you have some skill in the kitchen so maybe we should up the ante."

He opened up his refrigerator with a smirk.  It was well stocked, full of fresh ingredients of all types, all of them reasonably priced and of good quality.  It was the pantry of a man who took his cooking very seriously, but was cautious with his money as well.

"What would you like to cook, Tsumiko?" he asked with a grin.

Tsumiko

Tsumiko suddenly felt herself blush, her face heating up for reasons she didn't understand. And then, she shook her head at Archer. "N-no, I want to cook with you, but I want you to take the lead this time!"

She didn't understand exactly why she was saying this, but then felt like she had control over herself again, like the control stick had been given back to her. "But, um, well, I like um..." She fiddled with her fingers, looking down at her feet again. "I like cake. I've never eaten it, but it looks really yummy."

Plus, it was almost her birthday.

[Elf]

Emiya

He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Starting with desert?  You must be some kind of deviant, Tsumiko."

Emiya did smile at her, to take the edge off of his teasing.  He said, "Well . . . white cake is a good place to start and I do have all the ingredients to make a good cake and frosting.  Not fondant, because fondant is disgusting and should be banned from all respectable kitchens."

He walked to a cabinet and opened it.  There was a shelf full of cookbooks and he picked one up.  He flipped through the pages before putting the book down and pulling his glasses out of their case from his pocket.  He slid the glasses on his face and explained, "If I'm not wearing these I'll see the fibers that make up the paper and it gets distracting."

He poked to a recipe and asked, "What do you think of this?"

[SINIB]

Tsumiko

Tsumiko smiled shily back. For some reason, the buzzing in the back of her head felt altogether pleasant right now.

"Hm." She leaned forward, brushing against his arm. "Anything's fine. We can have curried rice and then cake."

[Elf]

Emiya

Emiya nodded and said, "That sounds like a good plan.  Since the cake is going to take longer to bake, I suggest we start with that first."

He felt her brush against him as she leaned forward to look in the book.  Please do not get a crush on me.  I'm too old to be your Sempai, he thought with a shake of his head.

"Well, Tsumiko, you should get adjusted to my kitchen.  See if you can find everything," he said with a grin as he gestured to his well organized (almost to OCD levels) kitchen.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vega

"Hoh? You will find in me passion aplenty. You are mistaken." He wagged his finger at her with the same sweet smile. Tsk tsk.

"To begin with, I only partook in that foolish arena because it felt nostalgic. The rushing of the bulls, the cheering of the crowds. It brought me back to when I was 12. It was nothing more than that, and it was a foolish notion to begin with. Besides..."

He smiled fondly all the same, until he cocked his eyebrow in bemusement and crossed his arms. You could see his own muscles, rippled across his body.

"Isn't it selfish? To impose your values onto me?"

[SINIB]

Emiya

Emiya nodded and said, "That sounds like a good plan.  Since the cake is going to take longer to bake, I suggest we start with that first."

He felt her brush against him as she leaned forward to look in the book.  Please do not get a crush on me.  I'm too old to be your Sempai, he thought with a shake of his head.

"Well, Tsumiko, you should get adjusted to my kitchen.  See if you can find everything," he said with a grin as he gestured to his well organized (almost to OCD levels) kitchen.

Tsumiko

It was rather uncanny how Tsumiko seemed to know exactly where everything was instinctually, opening cabinets simply to confirm the locations. It was as if she had more than just his arm inside of her, and was literally inside his head with how well she knew his kitchen.

"Everything seems to be perfectly in order, Archer."

[Elf]

Emiya

At her words, Emiya smirked and stood a little straighter.  "Well, a craftsman is only as good as how well he keeps his tools and workshop," he said with a nod.

However, as he watched Tsumiko it looked as if she knew where everything was.  He quietly watched her gather the ingredients that the cake called for.  It wasn't just luck that she was getting everything on the first try, but she seemed to know where everything was kept.

Even though she's never been here before, or maybe she somehow knows how Emiya Shirou would set up a kitchen, he thought.

The girl was a puzzle and one who needed help, but he wasn't sure if he was the right person for the job.

[SINIB]

Emiya

At her words, Emiya smirked and stood a little straighter.  "Well, a craftsman is only as good as how well he keeps his tools and workshop," he said with a nod.

However, as he watched Tsumiko it looked as if she knew where everything was.  He quietly watched her gather the ingredients that the cake called for.  It wasn't just luck that she was getting everything on the first try, but she seemed to know where everything was kept.

Even though she's never been here before, or maybe she somehow knows how Emiya Shirou would set up a kitchen, he thought.

The girl was a puzzle and one who needed help, but he wasn't sure if he was the right person for the job.

Tsumiko

Tsumiko put it all down on the counter, and began to make the dough. She turned and smiled at Archer as she filled a bowl with water. "Thanks for being so tolerant of a misfit like me. I've only met one other person who's been nice to me."

[Elf]

Emiya

Emiya blinked at her words as Tsumiko began to get the cake batter ingredients together.

"I know a few things about being a misfit," he said as he leaned against the counter to watch her, "And I'm sorry that the majority of people are idiots."

Great, now I'm sounding like Gilgamesh.  What's next, calling people mongrels? he thought with a shake of his head.

He pointed and said, "That's cake flower, you should sift it before using it for the batter."

[SINIB]

Emiya

Emiya blinked at her words as Tsumiko began to get the cake batter ingredients together.

"I know a few things about being a misfit," he said as he leaned against the counter to watch her, "And I'm sorry that the majority of people are idiots."

Great, now I'm sounding like Gilgamesh.  What's next, calling people mongrels? he thought with a shake of his head.

He pointed and said, "That's cake flower, you should sift it before using it for the batter."

Tsumiko

"Ah." She handed the bowl to him. "Show me!" She let out a girlish giggle. "I want to learn from you so I can beat you, just like her!" She flexed her arm, holding her sizable muscle and showing off. "I won't lose!"

[Aiden]

Vega

"Hoh? You will find in me passion aplenty. You are mistaken." He wagged his finger at her with the same sweet smile. Tsk tsk.

"To begin with, I only partook in that foolish arena because it felt nostalgic. The rushing of the bulls, the cheering of the crowds. It brought me back to when I was 12. It was nothing more than that, and it was a foolish notion to begin with. Besides..."

He smiled fondly all the same, until he cocked his eyebrow in bemusement and crossed his arms. You could see his own muscles, rippled across his body.

"Isn't it selfish? To impose your values onto me?"

Mira

She frowned in consternation at his answer. "Then why bother staying strong? Why go through the effort to maintain that figure, or keep your skills in order, or any of that? Vanity? Habit?"

Mira shook her head at that, and moved to grab her jacket. "Forget it. You're not even worth fighting with an attitude like that."

[Elf]

Emiya

He took the bowl from her and then began to measure out the flour.  Then he picked up the sifter and poured some of the flower into it.  He said, "You turn this hand crank here, it'll make a fairly loud clicking noise as it lifts and separates the flour."

The sifter did start clicking as he turned the crank.  White powder fell through the mesh bottom and to the bowl below.

Emiya said, "Doing this actually makes the batter easier to stir and if we were making a chocolate cake, I'd be sifting the cocoa with the flour to evenly distribute it."