Kashino: WHY. DIDN'T. YOU. UPDATE! Were you just gonna...(blah, blah, blah).
Me: Now, now, calm down.
Kashino: *stares*
Me: Okay. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just ran out of ideas to write a 2,000 some word story.
Kashino: What? That's all...well, I guess that does happen. *awkward silence*
Andou: Now, now. Everyone has a time when they run out of creativity. Even me.
Me: Andou...why are you just so much more understanding than Kashino? *cries*
Kashino: Oi! What are you try- never mind.
Me: Yes! Oh, and I do not own Yumeiro Patissiere.
It was unbelievable. Underneath a shrub, walked out a fairy with baby blue wings and long, silky lilac tinted hair. She wore a white dress that fluttered with the morning wind, beautifying her image even more.
"Nice to meet you, Keiko-chan. I'm Lilac, a Sweets Spirit. May I ask for you to become my partner?" Lilac greeted, with a bow.
"Sweets Spirit...no way. This can't be real." I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The fact that an actual Sweets Spirit is standing right before me is...unimaginable. How could Sweets Spirits be real? Aren't they just legendary characters, said to be only partners with ace patissieres and patissiers, who actually had a potential of becoming a true professional? Wasn't that just a made-up story? But then, I remembered: the statue.
"I'm sorry to disturb your thoughts, but, yes, what you are seeing right now is real. Sweets Spirits really do exist." As if in response, Lilac flew up to the top of the shrub so that I could reconfirm her existence.
"Wow..." After rubbing my eyes for the hundredth time, I finally realized that Sweets Spirits are real, and not just a legend.
"So, will you become my partner, Keiko-chan?" Lilac asked, once more.
"Yes, of course!" I screamed with joy. I was finally a step closer to unlocking the recipe book. Immediately after, we shook hands and exchanged more greetings. In no time, our friendship grew to that of best friends. But, I still couldn't figure why she chose me as her partner, when there others out there who are much better than me. Could it be that...I had potential? "Ha, silly me. As if that's true!"
"Keiko-chan, do you wish to make delicious sweets?" Lilac looked me in the eye, with a serious expression. "Do you strive to become a professional?"
"Of course I do! But, the way I am now...it's quite impossible. My skills and my techniques...they're just not up there."
"Then, will you let those thoughts stop you will achieving your dream? Is that really how low your confidence level is?" Lilac stared at me with her powerful gaze, that seemed to zap through me. I was scared and her words...it made me realize that, I might just have been too pessimistic about reaching the goal.
"No. I will not back down. I want to go higher. So, will you help me become a professional patissiere?" When I returned her gaze, Lilac's countenance softened. As her presence warmed, she replied, "If that is what you wish for, I'll gladly help you achieve it."
xXxXx
When class ended, Lilac came out of my pocket and suggested that I practice today's lesson, with her as my teacher.
"Shall we begin?" Lilac asked, earnestly waiting for my reply.
"Why not?" At that, our practice session started. It was late into the evening, but my energy level was still high. I guess I just really wanted to start the lesson with my "teacher".
As we walked to the classroom, Lilac and I discussed what we were going to make during our practice session.
"Let's go with the basic genoise and choux pastry," Lilac suggested.
"...okay. Yeah, let's go with that." And, our decision was completed.
Right after entering the classroom, Lilac and I began gathering all the ingredients for our menu.
"Eggs, cake flour, sugar, salt, water, butter...All ready! Are you done there too, Lilac?"
"I'm too! Wanna start?"
"Let's do this!"
With everything gathered and measured, we were raring to go. First on the menu is...genoise!Slowly, step by step, Lilac instructed me through the whole process to making the perfect sponge. First, I heated the eggs and sugar over a bain-marie, until it was warm to the touch. This way, the eggs would be easier and faster to beat to ribbon stage. As the mixer geared away, I sifted the cake flour over a sheet of parchment paper and preheated the oven. When the eggs tripled in size, it was ready to receive the sifted flour and vanilla extract. Carefully to not deflate the air, I folded in the dry ingredient til combined. Then, I took a portion of the egg mixture and whisked it together with the melted butter to create a thicker base to fold back into the egg mix. That way, I wouldn't have to deflate too much air that have already been trapped in the egg mix.
"If too much air is deflated, then the sponge won't rise correctly, since the only leavening agent in this case is the trapped air inside the eggs," informed Lilac.
After the batter was finished, I poured the mixture into the prepared pans and stuffed it into the oven to bake.
"I hope it rises properly," I prayed. "Shall we start on the choux now?"
"No, let's wait until the genoise is finished, because opening the oven door before the cake is done baking would disturb the rising process and decrease the amount of humidity needed to cook the cake," Lilac explained.
As we waited for the cake to finish, a girl with blond hair came in.
"I see that you're still practicing despite the time. Are you remaking the genoise we made in class today?"
"Ah—yes...of course." Frantically, I hid Lilac under the mixing bowl.
"Hmm, what's wrong?"
"N-Nothing," I smiled awkwardly, trying to hide the situation.
As if nothing had happened, she walked slowly to my work counter and asked me to hold out my hand. Confused, I held out my hand. She dug into her pocket and handed me a piece of paper that was folded.
"Open it."
Curious to see the contents, I quickly unfolded the note. However, what I saw made me more confused. The note read:
The day that it all starts
where I made things into an art
The tows that sent my ear buzzen
is where I made my first dozen
"What does this mea-" Before I knew it, the girl had already disappeared. "Why did she give me this note?"
"KEIKO-CHAN!"
"S-Sorry, Lilac. I for-"
"This is not the time to apologize. The cake, the cake!"
I gasped. I had forgotten the the cake was baking away in the oven. "Oh no. Is it still okay?" In a panic, we rushed over to the oven and with gloved hands, I carefully took out the sponge.
"It's still okay, Keiko-chan."
"Mhm. Thank you, Lilac."
"Welcome! Shall we start on the choux now, then?"
"Okay!" As for the note, I decided to forget about it just for the time being. "I'll just have to find that girl tomorrow and ask her about it," I thought, "She's probably in the same class as me, considering that she knew what the lesson was about today."
xXxXx
"What did the girl tell you?" Lilac asked as we headed back to our dorm room. It was late into the night, about 3 am in the morning, so we decided to call it quits for the day.
"She asked if I was practicing the genoise sponge I learned today in class. And then, she suddenly gave me a note, more like a hint to something, and then, just like that, she disappeared into thin air."
"What was the note about? May I take a look at it?" Lilac, with her huge puppy eyes, began tugging at my pocket. "Please?"
"Uh..okay." I reached into my pocket and unfolded the note for Lilac to read. "What was that about?"
"Just a habit I learned from begging to my brothers, when I wanted something from them," she smiled.
"Oh...I see." I didn't know what to say about it, except why did she think that it'll work on me? I mean, I'm not her brother or anything, so...I don't get it. Anyway, for the time being, I guess I'll just have to wait til tomorrow to ask the girl about the note.
"Doesn't this remind you of anything?"
"What do you mean?" I tried to figure out what Lilac meant, but there was nothing about the message that reminded me of anything.
"Where I made things into an art...is where I made my first dozen. Why does this sound kitchen related?" Lilac mumbled to herself.
"What's wrong?"
"No, nothing. Just talking to myself," Lilac smiled.
xXxXx
As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out. My body felt so tired, that I didn't even have the energy to say "good night" to Lilac that night.
~~ the next morning ~~
"BRAYNK! BRAYNK! BRAYNK! BRAY-"
"Mmm...so noisy! Morning Lilac. What time is it?" I picked up my alarm clock and saw that it was still 6:30 am. "Uhhh...so early. Let me...sleep... for awhile...more."
"Morning Keiko-chan! How ya feeling?" Lilac chirped. I pried open one eye and saw a fully awake Lilac ready to get on with the day.
"How can you be so cheerful this early in the morning?" I yawned and snatched Lilac under my blanket. "Get some more sleep like me."
"Weee...CAN'T! GET UP, YOU SLEEPY HEAD!" Lilac shouted into my ear.
"Oww...can't you settle down for a minute. It's still early in the morning. Besides, we went to bed at 3:30 am yesterday. Let me sleep a little more..." With that, I dozed off once more.
"...GET UP!"
xXxXx
"Geez, why did you have to rush me? It's still one hour until the bell rings." As I took my time heading to class, my complaints about my sleepiness increased. However, with every complaint, there was a comeback from Lilac. In the end, I lost, with no words and reasons to say.
When I opened the door to class, I saw something unexpected. Miyashiro-kun was there, with his back facing me. Quietly, like a mouse out on his hunt for cheese, I snuck into the room, trying to hide my presence from Miyashiro-kun. Just when I thought my plan worked, everything took a turn for the worse.
"Stop being sneaky and turn yourself in. I know you're there already," Miyashiro-kun said, without turning away from his work.
"H-How is that possible? Wasn't I like a hidden ninja?" I wondered, but couldn't figure out his trick in finding my presence. Curious to see what he's working on so intensely, I walked up to him like a normal spectator. "What are you — No way! Is that tempering? How are you able to do that? Doesn't that like, need many years of practice. Even some professional chocolatiers have trouble with it."
"You don't have to be so surprised. With some practice, even you could do it...Well, maybe not you."
Whoa. That did it. One second I thought that he was a pretty decent guy, even with his rude attitude from before. But, this time, it was different. Now, he's just underestimating. "Why is he always so annoying?!" I cried in my head.
After what seemed like an hour of piled up gloom, class finally started. Slowly, students came filing in, dressed in their uniforms for the kitchen.
"Today, we're gonna make lady fingers. Make sure you do not deflate too much air in the beaten eggs, like in the genoise. Let the piped batter set on the counter for 10 minutes after you dust..."
I couldn't focus. All that was in my mind was the note that the girl had given me. I looked around, but couldn't find her. The more I searched, the more interested I became of her identity and her reasoning behind that message. "Could she be in a different grade then? If so, how did she know what we made yesterday? And why did she give me that note?" Lilac had said that the message sounded familiar, but the meaning was still unknown. Just why did she give the note to me? What was it for?
"Keiko-chan. Keiko-chan!"
"W-What? Sorry, Hiyose-kun. I'll go gather the ingredients now!" I rushed to the pantry, lined with ingredients. As I collected the ingredients, Hiyose-kun and the others went to get the equipments.
"Don't you think Keiko-chan is acting a little weird today?" Hiyose-kun asked, tapping Miyashiro-kun, the devil of the group, on the shoulder.
"You're just imagining things, Hiyose. There's no way that clown can feel sad. Look, she's even doing her happy dance, while gathering the ingredients," Miyashiro-kun grinned.
"But, even under that giddy expression, she may feel pain and sadness. Don't you think so, Miyashiro-kun?" Koga-kun stated, preparing the template for the lady fingers.
"..."
xXxXx
After school ended, I went to look for the girl. After what seemed like and eternity, I finally found her, sitting under a tree and sipping on...tea? Not sure, but she definitely saw me coming. Immediately after she saw me, she gave me a signal that told me to come to her. I feel like she knew that I would come to her to discuss the note.
"The note, is it not?"
"Yes. So, why did you give it to me, um...your name?
"Oh my, I'm sorry. I guess I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Sylvia Tennouji, sister of Honey Tennouji, who you have probably met in Bonbon Mall."
"No way. How did you know that I-"
"My sister told me that she had met you, daughter of Amano-san and Kashino-san."
"Ugh, she really likes to cut me off," I mumbled. But, now that I took a closer look at Sylvia, I realized that she did look a lot like Honey-san. "No wonder she looked so pretty."
"Hmm, did you say something?"
"N-No. Nothing important," I whistled.
"Oh, okay. Anyway, do you know where your Mother went to school?"
"Uhm...yeah. She went to this school, did she not?"
"Yes, that is right. But, did you know what she was like when she came here?"
"No, I don't actually. Was she...good?"
"You've gotta be kiddin' me. To tell you the truth, she was even worse than you."
Whoa! That was unexpected. I never knew that Mom was worse than me. "But, how did she become a professional who won the Grand Prix? Could it be because Dad and the others were there to support her?"
"Yes, that was part of the reason, but it was also because of her confidence and believe in her teammates. She didn't give up to her opponents, even if their positions were different. Just like when she faced my Mother, Mari Tennouji, Amano-san, even though many years apart, in skill and technique, she still did her best and was able to enter the Grand Prix in the end."
Wow, was that how Mom was like? Father never talked about her much, so I guess it was natural for me not to know about my own Mom. But, what does that have do with the note?
"You're probably still wondering why I gave you that note, right?"
"Mhm."
"Where do you think was the first place your Mother found her path to becoming a patissiere?"
"Uhm...where could that be? At the Grand Prix? No, that's too late into the game. When she met Dad? No, that's...it just couldn't be." I thought and thought, but couldn't find the answer. Finally, after minutes of silence, the answer came to me. "The kitchen! It was the kitchen, am I right?"
"Yes, and did you know that that was also the place she met her Sweets Spirit, Vanilla?"
"No way! Really!"
"Yep, and the reason I, or rather your Mother, gave you that note, was to tell you to do your best, in everything. 'Do not give up' is the meaning behind that note."
"Mom..." I really can't wait til I finally find my parents.
"And might I guess that you've also met your Sweets Spirit?"
No way. How did she... Just then, a purple glow appeared next Sylvia. Sylvia...also had a Sweets Spirit with her.
How was that? R&R so I know what you think 'bout this chapter! Hope you enjoy as always. C ya soon!