Something silly I've written to cope with the recent loss of tm_suac. Don't expect much from this one-shot.
"I've heard that it's not really the same in those overseas sushi bars. The atmosphere feels different, the fish is always salted up and doesn't feel as pure as what's normally used… But hopefully, this one will be an exception."
It was one of those quiet November Saturday afternoons. Akko decided that Sucy needed some time away from her potions and books, and considering that the two girls were just done with their usual homework – both the theoretic assignments and the magic practice, too – it was only fair that Akko decided to spoil them both a little. At first, she didn't really think that there would be a proper sushi restaurant in Blytonbury. Come on now, just because there were at least a few of them each in almost all corners of the world didn't mean that every town had one, did it? For once, Akko was glad to have been proven wrong with her suspicions, as there was a small but well-known sushi bar – or, rather, a full-blown cafe – on a particular side street.
And honestly, at first Sucy just wanted a quick walk around the city, maybe a quick trip to an alchemist's shop, and then back to the Academy it was – she hated going around in crowded places for long. And she certainly didn't want to stick around in what used to be the definition of a "hipster café" barely less than a decade ago, either. But of course, Akko was way too convincing for the mauve-haired Filipina to straight-up refuse.
"Wer'come, visitors! Prease, have a seat!" – The waiter remarked as soon as the duo entered the peculiar place.
Both Akko and Sucy were equally annoyed with the stereotypical accent that the waiter tried to keep up.
"I'm really glad you know English better than this person does, Akko. Hearing you stick r's where they don't belong would probably give me migraines. Come to think of it, this one's accent sounds so fake and forced that I am about to have a migraine from this one." – Sucy was, of course, being her typical deadpan self.
"Ugh, sorry for the accent. I… Tried to keep the atmosphere up somewhat. The other customers, even if they're few and far in between, don't seem to mind, so I figured that... Nevermind." – The waiter remarked, shyly scratching the back of his head. – "So, anything in particular, or you'll just order one of the standard sets?"
"Just give us the normal salmon sashimi and rolls, a dozen of each." – As Sucy heard Akko voice the order, the alchemist groaned as she realized that she'd probably have to part with more of her scholarship money than necessary. Oh well, if it's for Akko, then the violette could put up with it.
"Oh, and I think two sets of chopsticks might be necessary. It wouldn't do for my girlfriend to just sit there and watch me wolf down everything, would it now?" – Akko grinned as she gave Sucy a "light" hug – just enough for another groan from the witch.
"Alright, coming right up, just wait for a little while." – And with that said, the waiter ran off with the order.
"Tch, seriously? Sushi? How utterly stereotypical of you, Akko." – Sucy joked as her girlfriend let go of her.
"Hey, it can't be helped. I'm not above some of the more traditional food, you know. Besides, after all the potatoes and foul-tasting potions, it wouldn't hurt to have something new for once! Especially for you, you mushroom lover. Tasting mushrooms on every kiss isn't much fun. " – To emphasize her point, Akko ran her index fingertip lightly across the violette's lips, eliciting a slight blush from the girl.
"Well, in all honesty, I fail to see the appeal of sushi. It's basically raw fish wrapped in algae and served with plain rice. On a scale of ten to hundred, how many people do you think walked out of these sushi restaurants and cafes with a whole hive's worth of intestinal parasites in them?" – Sucy gave out her trademark shroom-eating grin as she finished the last sentence.
"Eating mushrooms of dubious origin that are freshly picked out of the ground is not any more sanitary either, Suce." – Akko retorted, her tone not having even the tiniest hints of animosity – she was already used to her girlfriend's penchant for grim humor.
"Alright, here you go. Twelve salmon sashimi, twelve salmon rolls, a bit of soy sauce to go with it, and that second set of chopsticks. You didn't have to elaborate on that detail, young lady." – And with that said, after leaving the full plate, the waiter lightly bowed and left.
"Gee, trying too hard. Why not a full 270 degrees bow, then? " – Sucy remarked while Akko unpacked her chopsticks and near-instantly grabbed a single piece of sashimi, soon nomming it down without even bothering with any soy sauce.
"Wow, not half bad for once. Guess we've hit the right café for today." – Akko remarked as she swallowed. – "Come on, Suce, dig in!"
"For starters, I don't have any experience with using those darned chopsticks. And second, I think I already voiced my gripes with this particular kind of food." – Sucy replied dryly as she looked over the plate. In all honesty, she would be more content just drinking the soy sauce up and leaving it at that.
"Well, the chopsticks thing – I'll help you with that one later. As for sushi… Don't knock it till you've tried it!" – As Akko grabbed another piece of sashimi, she pointed it right at Sucy: "Come on, it wouldn't' hurt to have a taste now, would it?"
"Don't even bother." – The mauve-haired witch remarked. Akko decided she might as well take a different approach, so she instead took the sashimi and held it out in her lips, then turned to look at Sucy, eliciting a slightly confused glare from the violette.
"Wesh? Shash shashoush shoush? (Well? What about now?)" – She remarked as she looked at Sucy.
"Ugh… You're way too persistent, you know. Fine…" – And with that said, the violette reached forward for the faux "kiss". After biting her half of the sashimi off and munching it down for a few moments longer than necessary, Sucy swallowed and remarked: "Huh. You're right, this… Isn't half bad. Although, the sweet taste of your lips might have possibly made things a tad too difficult to discern for me."
Akko blushed at the rather odd way of compliment, and remarked: "Oh, really? Well… I guess I might have exaggerated about that persistent taste of mushrooms myself. Anyway, we've got plenty more sushi left, so dig in, then, there's enough for us both!"
"There's still the chopsticks problem." – Sucy reminded her.
"Oh, don't worry about that one." – Akko temporarily stuck her chopsticks into a random roll and handed Sucy another pair right after unpacking it. The mauve-haired girl certainly had trouble getting them into the right position even after getting them unstuck, as evidenced by Akko's repeatedly shifting expression until her lack of patience set in and…
"No-no-no, you've got it all wrong! You don't have to outright clench your hand like this – you'll end up either breaking them or flinging your food all over the place! Here, let me help." – And with that said, Akko had her hands on Sucy's, helping her a bit with the necessary repositioning. – "The trick is to hold one stick tight, and leave the bottom one stationary."
Sucy felt… Rather odd, to say the least. Maybe it was because of the fact that, for once, it was Akko teaching her something, and not the other way around. Maybe it was the close contact between their hands that, while nothing new to them at this point, still brought some odd feeling of relative intimacy. Or maybe it was just how Akko's sheer eagerness in trying to teach Sucy something that got to her. Heck if the Filipina knew, but…
"There! You got it! Now go on ahead, just remember – don't close them in until you positioned them juuust right. And… There! You got it!" – Wow, Akko was probably the only person Sucy knew that would get so excited at something like her best friend learning to use chopsticks properly. Sending a roll into her mouth and gulping it down pretty quickly, the violette remarked: "That was actually… Surprisingly easy."
"It's all about getting a proper grip first, you see. Now come on, eat up!"
From that moment onward, the duo didn't have any interruptions and were quietly enjoying the remaining rolls and sashimi, so it wasn't long until both witches were done with their small meal, paid up for it and decided to head on back to the leyline terminal. Throughout most of the way to the terminal, Akko was being her usual talkative self and listing off the merits that the "real japanese sushi" had over the typical cafe-bought stuff, and that, if she had the necessary skills and produce at hand, she'd probably whip some up herself. Sucy didn't respond much, as she just didn't feel up to being nearly as talkative as Akko was, however, when the brunette went quiet for at least a few moments at the terminal proper, that's when Sucy decided to speak up.
"Say, are mushroom sushi a thing? Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with the more traditional kind of sushi, but I'm just wondering if I might be able to have a taste of my next favorite thing to go with that. " – The alchemist remarked as she got onto her broom, with Akko sitting just behind her – even if she had gotten a lot better in broom flight over the course of the summer vacation, the brunette still preferred to "stay in the backseat" whenever she flew together with someone.
"Considering that rolls filled with pickled plums and cucumbers are a thing, I'm sure that mushroom sushi is nothing unusual. " – Akko remarked, steadying her grip on Sucy in preparation for the flight.
"By the way… This whole sushi mess kinda reminds me of how you used to pronounce my name for a short while after returning from the summer vacation. I know it was due to your lack of practice, but it was actually kind of endearing for a while. " – Sucy grinned as she made that remark, and soon it wasn't long before they flew right onward through the leyline.
"That's something I remember all too well, Suushii." – Akko joked, eliciting a cackle from Sucy as well.
"Alright, enough with the comedy. We've gotta head back to the Academy for now. Oh, and… Thanks for today's date. It was nice to take a break from the constant smell of potion fumes." – As Sucy said that, she just barely turned around and gave Akko a light kiss on the cheek before turning back to focus on the "road" again.
That whole "sucy sushi" joke is partially based off how Sucy's name is pronounced in the original japanese dub - that is, it's pronounced almost exactly as "sushi", except that both syllables are slightly drawn out. It's... Really hard to describe, as I'm certainly no linguist.
Anyway, I've had this idea for a very long while, especially after seeing the pic that's used as the cover for this one-shot quite a while ago. So yeah, there's that. Though it is kinda a bit low-effort. I'm getting the feeling that I've yet to get out of my "rusty" phase recently. Because I feel like I am sorta writing faster, but my quality seems to have dwindled.
And on that note...
Darky Out!