Bonus Chapter: The Recipe to a Maiden's Heart
"EH! Yamamori-san, the room I rented is occupied. I visited here since junior high just to get this spot."
A girl with long flowing hair and marble white skin was persuading the manager of North Lake Dormitory for the room reservation. He looked at the letter that was handed to him containing the down payment for the month's rent.
"Ayako Minami-san, the room was taken by a foreigner a few days ago. He came too early and I gave him the liberty to choose his room."
"How rude! You haven't even memorized my name. Like I said, I came here since the past few months just to get this room. I could stay at any place I wanted but I still chose this place."
The door opened and two men entered and headed to the lobby. She noticed a boy who had an average height and had short black hair. His skin had a light tone to it but was darker than the average Japanese.
"That's why I'm telling you that you should talk to people as much as possible or you will have a hard time learning the language."
"I am… trying… best." The boy stuttered as he spoke.
Ayako watched the two for a little more until the stuttering boy left and entered the room she wanted.
"Takeuchi-kun! Who was that kid?"
"Oh that one? His name is Alex, it seems he transferred from Philippines just to study here, neat huh?"
"I don't care about his life story. I just want to know why he is staying here."
Takeuchi went to the cupboard and took out some instant coffee and opened the refrigerator to take out some leftover yakisoba bread. He sat down on the chair beside the dining table and started eating.
"That's disgusting! Aren't you even going to reheat it before eating?"
"I like it a little bit cold with the noodles having a firmer texture to the bite."
"Anyway, tell the kid to transfer so that I could have the room he is currently staying at."
"Isn't it rude to ask him? Cut him some slack, he is still adjusting."
Ayako also sat down to be in front of Takeuchi. She stared at him intently.
*JIIIIIIII~~~~*
"Why do you want that room anyway? It's not like there is something special about it."
"Haven't you heard of the time when Tsukasa Eishii-senpai was practicing for a competition? He stayed in that room for three days."
"Get real! How can a member of the Elite Ten stay in this house? If that were true, he would stay in a hotel or one of the grand rooms inside the academy. Our kitchen barely has enough equipment and utensils for him to use. That is just a baseless rumor."
"Idiot! I know my sources are true, I even saw him pass by this place one time."
Ayako woke up to the sound of luggage rolling in from the front door. She opened her eyes and noticed that she was hugging her pencil, a special pencil that Tsukasa Eishii picked up for her when it rolled on his feet. It was the moment she had a huge crush on him. She got up and went to the front door. Yamamori was talking to two women who came at the same time. She stopped briefly when she realized that she was in front of the rumored room. Her hands brushed the door knob and gave it a little squeeze but the door was locked.
"E-Excuse me… you…need something?" the boy suddenly appeared right beside her.
"UGGYYYAAAA!"
*SLAP*
"WAAAHHHH!" the boy fell down to the floor and held on to his burning cheeks, the mark of Ayako's palm was embedded on it.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"You… opening… door." He pointed at her hand still clutching the door knob.
She let go of the door and jumped back. With a head held high and a finger pointing at his face, she said,
"S-So you are the foreigner student who took this room away from me. I'll have you know that I had that room reserved for more than two months now. How dare you just take it away from me?"
"Huh? My… Japanese… still no fluent"
She grabbed him by the collar and brought her face near to him.
"GIVE ME THIS ROOM!"
"What is happening here? Oh my, Ayako-chan you are so bold to confess before school even started." Takeuchi was peeking through his door.
"WHA- ME?! Confessing? If there is any confessing in here, it should be with Tsukasa-senpai and not with some random foreigner."
Takeuchi suppressed his laughter which made Ayako snap. She delivered a flying kick at the half opened door which hit him squarely in the face. Takeuchi passed out on his bed.
"Now where were we?" She looked back at where the boy was sitting and heard the sound of a door quickly opening and closing.
"Where is it?!"
Ayako kept looking at her room then dashed in the garden outside looking for something.
"What's the problem?" Takeuchi asked.
"The pencil Tsukasa-senpai picked up for me is missing! Help me look for it."
"Oh that reminds me. Is it the one that fell in front of him when he was passing by?"
*Nod*
"The one he picked up and gave to you?"
*Nod Nod*
"That pencil with the fluffy heart at the end with a sticker that says 'I Love Tsukasa-senpai'?"
Ayako blushed and nodded a little.
"Hahaha I haven't seen i- MUGYAAAA!" Takeuchi was sent flying with an uppercut punch.
"Then don't say anything at all!"
It was past four in the afternoon and Ayako was extremely exhausted. Tears were dropping from her eyes as she covered her face with her arms crossed in the dining table.
"I've kept that pencil since junior high and it gave me all the confidence I needed during my hard times. What am I going to do without it? This is all that foreigner's fault."
The boy entered the dining area and grabbed a glass of water. He looked at the moping girl and stood in his place for a few seconds.
"What are you looking at? This is not some drama show for you to watch!" she vented her frustrations at the boy.
He left the room but returned after a few minutes.
"I told you to scram, didn't I?" She spoke slowly with gestured for him to understand "YOU – GO – AWAY – NOW!"
The boy still stood in front of her and Ayako was close to her breaking point when he raised his hand and offered a long pink pencil to her.
"Me… saw pencil… break… you kick… Yuzu door…"
"What…"
"Me… cannot join piece… only… put glue and tape."
Ayako took the pencil and confirmed that it was her heart decorated pencil. A few pieces were missing but it was thoroughly fixed with glue.
"Why would you do this for me? After all of the things I said to you?"
He did not answer but instead opened the cupboard and took out condensed milk and powdered milk from the refrigerator and mixed the two ingredients until they could be shaped into small balls. He rolled the balls in white sugar and placed them in a small platter.
"You… no cry… eat sweet!" he said and gave a gentle smile.
She took one of the white confectionary balls and placed one inside her mouth. A surge of sweetness overcame her with one bite. The creamy texture of milk mixed with the sweetness of condensed milk was divine. Every bite had a crunch because of the tiny bits of sugar coating.
"This… in my country… Pastillas… I eat… when sad…" he took a piece for himself and chewed on it.
Takeuchi entered the dining room and took a piece of the sweets as well
Ayako once again looked at the boy who showed her a gentle smile.
*Toki*
It was a gentle smile…
*Doki*
…that struck through a young maiden's heart.
"Hey Takeuchi! The three of us are studying and we are going to teach A-Alex how to speak straight Japanese before school starts."
"EHHHH! Why do you have to include me? I never dreamt of being the third wheel- MUGYAAA! NO MORE PUNCHING! I GIVE UP!"
IRON HEART COOKING:
Alex: Good day everybody! Welcome to the "Iron Heart Cooking" segment.
Ayako: Alex, what am I doing here? Why did my clothes change? KYAAAHH! What did you do to me?!
Alex: We are here because a certain anonymousxXx-san PM-ed Writer-san and asked for this segment.
Takeuchi: Do I need to be here? I still have one hundred eighty-six egg dishes to serve. Just call me when you are done so we could say goodbye together.
Ayako: That's just lazy of you! *Drop Kick from the Sky*
Takeuchi: MUGYAAAAA!
Alex: We are getting out of the point here. Can we just do this? This is my special memory I shared back in Chapter 1.
Takeuchi: You… you just broke the fourth wall… if you are going to be like that, then… Good day everybody! Writer-san, can you please stop making Ayako-chan hit me every time you are bored? It hurts… in the heart *Sparkling eyes*
*PANG!*
Ayako: Let's get on with it! You are stalling too much. We are still in the middle of the Training Camp Arc.
Alex/Ayako/Takeuchi: We present to you our first dish…
"SPICY CHICKEN ADOBO WITH COCONUT MILK"
Alex: We need the following ingredients
- 1 kg chicken, cut into 8 slices
- 2 stalks lemongrass, pounded
- 4 pcs bay leaf
- 1 knob of ginger, peeled and julienned (thin strips)
- 1 red onion, coarsely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- ¼ cup of vinegar
- 1 can of coconut milk (approx 800mL to 1L)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp bird's eye chilli (labuyo) or jalapeno peppers, chopped
- Salt and pepper, for taste
Ayako: Now, Takeuchi here will be demonstrating how this dish is cooked… Hey! Don't sneak away!
Takeuchi: How can I demonstrate if the 'readers' can only READ about it? You are not thinking straight. Alex, why don't you explain it since this is the first recipe and all…
Alex: okay then, first make sure that your hands are clean before you start handling food. After that, all ingredients and utensils should be prepared and are right in front of you, it is commonly known as 'Mise-en-Place' which is French for everything in place. Everything that must be chopped should be chopped because we don't want to burn the food in the stove while we are still chopping other ingredients. So…
1. Saute garlic, onion, ginger and lemon grass in oil until fragrant.
2. Add the chicken, bay leaf, vinegar, soy sauce and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is slightly tender and liquid is absorbed by the chicken.
(Takeuchi's Tip: Chicken is considered as a tender meat so boiling it would make the chicken dry and flaky, always remember to only simmer meats of this type. Make sure, Chicken absorbs most of the soy sauce and vinegar before adding the coconut milk or the mixture will split and look unappetizing when served.)
3. Add half of the coconut milk and stir constantly to avoid curdling and burning of milk
4. Simmer on low heat until liquid is reduced and chicken absorbs the milk then add then last half of the coconut milk. Cover and simmer until chicken is full tender. Stir occasionally to avoid burning of the milk.
(Alex's Tip: scrape the bottom part of pan every so often because burned milk will change the color of the adobo and will give a bitter flavour.)
5. Add the chilis until right spiciness is achieved.
(Ayako's Tip: add chillies little by little. Adding everything from the start could make the dish unbearable to eat. As the liquid reduces, the flavours concentrate and therefore, the spiciness will also get spicier!)
6. Season with salt and pepper and serve over piping hot rice.
Takeuchi: I guess we are done!
Ayako: I agree! That wasn't a bad start. So Alex, can we return to the breakfast dish assignment by Dojima-senpai?... Alex?
Alex: *shaking in the corner while hugging knees* What am I going to do?... What am I going to do?
Ayako: Ahehehe… That is it for the first episode of "Iron Heart Cooking". Til the next chapter!
Takeuchi: *Whisper* Since Writer-san doesn't seem like he will stop hurting me through the course of this story, I'll share you a secret… He was giggling from reading your reviews and PM's HE HE HE… embarrassing right? Right?
*Lightning strikes from above*
Takeuchi: MUGYAAAAAA!
Ayako: So yeah, goodbye…
