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Kitchen class

Oneshot

[Yukio's Point of View]

"What the heck is this, Yukio?"

"Chopped garlic, Niisan."

"They're freakin'... big. For chopped garlic."

"..."

That's how we are in the kitchen. Niisan takes the lead on cooking while all I can do is cut or stir something. Or maybe I do what I do best: Just watch Niisan cook.

"We need somethin' of smaller size," he says as he takes a look at my work.

"Like?"

He looks thoughtful for a moment. A very short-lived moment. "Like how I slash demons?"

"That's larger size, Niisan. And I need something more I can understand."

He huffs. "Yah're a genius. Yah can figure that out."

I gave him a long stare. He waves a hand nonchalantly at my direction. "Alright. The size is maybe two centimeters or smaller."

I nod. "That's easier to understand."

Niisan looks at me like I'm crazy. But he shrugs and goes back to his pot to check if the water is boiling. I watch him for a second before taking hold of my knife and regarding the pieces of pale yellow chunks with all of my attention.

"Two centimeters or smaller..." I mutter under my breath. I gulp as the polished metal with an attached plastic handle I hold in my hand decends on the chopping board. But a warm hand wraps itself around my own before I can complete the act.

"Yah have to do it like this," Niisan says, grinning at my surprised reaction. He takes the knife, places the chopped garlic in a small hill and uses the knife with precision. It takes him seconds to dice the garlic I'm messing with earlier. "Like this, alright?" He hands me back the knife. "Now do it."

I do. It isn't easy. The pieces keep getting out of place and stick on the blade or go off the chopping board. They're knawing on my already rapidly-losing patience.

And Niisan laughing behind me as he watch isn't helping at all.

"Why are you still asking me to help you cook when all I do here is get in the way?" I ask, hitting a particular large chunk of garlic with the knife but it seems to jump out of the way.

"I don't feel stupid if yah're here in the kitchen with me." He chuckles at my display of irritation. "After all, I'm much more capable than a genius when I'm cookin' with yah."

I frowned at him as I place the knife down. Starting to untie the frilly apron from my neck, I say angrily, "You can have all of the kitchen to yourself because the stupid genius isn't going to be here and be your laughingstock."

Niisan grabs my hands to wrestle them from the fabric. "Hey, hey! We're just startin', Yukio. Yah don't have to be like that!"

I look at him and sigh. I pick the knife again to finish his assignment to me.

Yes, Niisan is the teacher and I'm the student when it comes to the kitchen.

I try to smile despite my exasperation. "Sorry about that. I'll finish this as soon as I can."

It took me a while. After finishing, I proudly show the chopped garlic while he stir pasta in the boiling salted water. He smiles as he hands me two bulbs of onions.

"This is next. Chop the onions."

It's harder, a whole lot harder. While peeling the onions, the thin skin keeps sticking to my hand. I tense as I pick the knife once more to chop the purple bulbs.

"Niisan..."

He doesn't look up from stirring the pasta. "What, Yukio?"

Sniff. "I need help here..."

Finally, Niisan looked at me. And then he started laughing as he saw my face.

Sniff.

He's laughing while I'm crying from chopping onions.

"That... T-That's..." Niisan is still laughing. "...really funny!"

"I hate you." I sniff. I really hate him. But I'm still crying, the tears seemingly unstoppable as the smell of onions wafts to my face.

"Don't hate me!" He pinches my cheeks to his delight and to my annoyance. He hands me a grater and a block of cheese. "I'll do that then. Grate the cheese."

That's one of the easy tasks he gave me. Opening cans and sachets of tomato sauce isn't so hard either. And then I watch him mix things in a pot after he finish with the noodles.

"So that's how it's done..." I say almost unconsciously. Niisan grins at me as he place sauce on the noodles. And then I stare at him as he twirls noodles on a fork and put it next to my mouth. I open my mouth to taste our dish, chewing slowly.

"It's delicious," I say in wonder, eyes twinkling.

"Spaghetti's really easy to make, isn't it?" he asks happily. He remove the sauce stuck to the corner of my mouth with his forefinger and put the said finger to his own mouth before smiling.

I smile back. "Of course... not," is my obvious answer to his stupid question. "It's really difficult and tiring."

[Rin's Point of View]

"Spaghetti's really easy to make, isn't it?"

"Of course... not. It's really difficult and tiring."

I pinch Yukio's cheeks again. I like that crossed look on his face and the way his pale skin would redden after I pinch him.

"Liar," I say. But I know he really hate the chopping part and I get a laugh when I see him struggle over something so trivial.

But the fun of it isn't the pride over my ability to cook (while he can't). Nor is it in bullying him. I just want to spend time with my little brother despite his packed schedule and my exhausting demon training.

And that's all that really matters to me.

A/N:

Somehow, it's harder to write Yukio than Rin.

Wrote this after actually cooking spaghetti with my mother. It's almost New Year and I'm waiting for midnight so I killed time by writing this. (Written December 31, 2012 - January 01, 2013)

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