O.K., this story is taking a wild turn again, unfortunately. It went from fluffy to angsty and now it's resorting to fluffiness again. I'm sorry. Comedy and angst just don't mix. I should have never tried it. :sobs uncontrollably: My poor creation!
D/c:
Walking Center
~*~*~*~*
Yamato
~*~*~*~*
I whistled slightly as I walked along, and large bags of groceries in my hands. I was determined to do it right this time. I didn't care if Daisuke wasn't up to it, he was going to cook and he was going to pass the grade kami kuso!
Yep. I was going to do it right this time. There was only one obstacle in my way.
Jun.
We were going to cook at him house because I thought he might be more familiar with the set up. I just hoped she wouldn't be there.
I walked, I whistled and I got strange looks from passer Byers. I didn't care. I was determined. I, Yamato Ishida, was on a mission and I'll be damned if anything short of death stops me.
But then I guess Jun is worst then that, ne?
I came to the building, and went up to his apartment number. I gulped. What was I doing? I should have phoned ahead. What if they're out? What if Jun was there?
Somehow, without my remembering, I rang the doorbell. Guess who answered? Yep, you're right.
"Um," my breath got stuck in my throat. "Hello Jun." She stared at me for a moment, as if I weren't real. Then, she frowned.
"Konnichiwa Yamato, um, why are you here?" I mentally gasped. Rude. That comment was rude. She was never rude to me. Maybe there was hope yet.
"I'm teaching you brother to cook." She just stared at me again. I started to feel uncomfortable.
"You mean," she said finally. "that you are willing to try to teach him the difference between cooking and baking?" I frowned.
"Yeah. I've been teaching him for the last week." Jun shrugged.
"He didn't tell me. Of course, he never tells me anything so I guess I have no reason to expect anything different. Come in, he's not here right now but he'll be back in a bit." I bowed slightly as I entered, taking off my shoes and putting on a pair of slippers. She took the bags from me and put them in what I could only guess was the kitchen. I gazed over the walls slightly, looking at the arrangement of things. They had some pictures of the younger years and other things. But then something caught my eye.
A painting. It was in watercolours and absolutely breath taking. A woman stood over the bridge, looking down at her reflection. You couldn't see her real face, but you could clearly see it in the reflection, filled with grief, uncertainty and pain. Behind her, the scene was divided into two pieces. One was a picture of the city. Buildings loomed in the distance, with cars going along the road and smog polluted the air. Two people were in what looked like an argument, facing each other with fists raised. You couldn't see everything is absolute detail as you could with the girl, but it was still excellent.
The other side was painted a meadow, with tall, lush grass, healthy trees and plants. Animals played around in a clearing, and a bird took flight from a tree. Simple, but the artist made it look like paradise with the sun setting a low shadow over the entire place.
"Good, isn't it?" Jun asked, eyeing my glance. I just looked at her for a moment.
"Good? God that's amazing! You must have paid a small fortune for that!" I exclaimed. She gave a smile.
"Funny, everyone says that. But we didn't. Daisuke painted it." This took a moment to sink in.
"Daisuke… painted… that?" I asked slowly. She nodded.
"Daisuke himself wouldn't admit it. He has to keep up his machoistic side. But if you look in the corner, you'll see his signature." As I peered in closer, in the murky blue water I made out the black initials 'DM.'
"Wow, this should be in a museum somewhere." I said.
"That's what my parents said. They were going to get him an agent but Daisuke wouldn't have any of it. He doesn't want people to know he's an artist at heart. This is the only watercolour he's ever done. But he has an entire book of sketches that are equally as amazing."
"Can I see them?" I asked. Jun looked at the door suspiciously.
"Daisuke would kill me if he knew I had ever let someone touch his precious sketchbook, but sure. He deserves some recognition." She went into a corridor for a moment, disappearing from view. Quickly she came back with a middle-sized sketchbook in her hands.
"His stuff is simply amazing. But try to tell him that, he accused you of sneaking into his room and says that you're condemned to hell for thieving." She snickered. "But the blush he gets is cute." I bet it was.
Jun led me to the couch and opened the book. I couldn't speak. I was simply stunned. If this wasn't some serious talent, I'd shoot everyone in the city.
She skipped through a few of them. Oddly I thought they would all be pictures of Hikari, but they weren't. In fact, there were probably more drawings of Takeru then her, all in all. The sketches were amazing! Every last detail was refined and defined. Some were coloured in with pencil crayons, and they looked breath taking, almost as if they were painted. There was one thing that was troubling me though.
"Jun?" I asked.
"Uh huh?"
"Why didn't you just steal this and sell it for millions?" she smirked and rolled her eyes.
"Cause he'd send me to the hospital. Besides, believe it or not Daisuke is very shy. If I did that he probably wouldn't go out in public again. If he dies before me then I'll steal it and sell it for millions." We both smiled lightly, and there was a silence for a few moments.
"Jun?"
"Uh huh?"
"Why aren't you groping me?" She looked at me and raised her eyebrows for a second, amused.
"Why, you like being groped?" I blushed heavily as I heard her snicker faintly.
"No, it's just that you're usually, more, well…" I paused, searching for a word that wouldn't get me slapped.
"Fan girlish?" Jun asked.
"Well, uh, yeah." I replied. She sighed and leaned back.
"Look, Yama, honey, baby, daaaarling…" she drawled. "I'm over you." I blinked.
"Are you serious?" She nodded and gave a grin. I simply stared at her.
"Jun, I love you." She laughed.
"It's a bit too late for that." Jun replied, and then giggled. I smirked.
"Ha ha."
"Ha ha what?" A voice asked. I looked over my shoulder to see Daisuke enter through the front door.
"Ha ha as in ha ha." Jun replied, going over and brushing her hand lightly over his hair. Daisuke rolled his eyes as he took his runners off. Judging from the fact that he was in his soccer uniform and he had a bag he had just been at soccer practice. Then Jun confirmed my suspicions.
"So how was soccer?" she asked. He sighed.
"Great. Wonderful. Why the hell is Yamato in the living room and what did you do to him?" he asked suspiciously, glancing in my direction for a moment and then glaring back at his sister. "Yamato is still sane, hai?"
"Ha ha Daisuke." Jun replied, grabbing her coat. "He's trying to teach you cooking lessons which have apparently been going on for a week which I was not informed of." Daisuke rolled his eyes.
"Oh, and I have to tell you everything?"
"It might be nice to know where you are before I phone the police."
"Whatever." He waved his hand dismissively.
"I'm going over to a friends' house. I'll leave you two alone." It might have been my imagination over reacting but I could have sworn she had put weight on the last word. Then, I was pretty sure she winked at me. But as I said, it was probably all in my imagination. Then, she left us alone.
"Just let me change, O.K.?" I nodded as he left my sight, heading down the corridor. Meanwhile, I opened his sketchbook again.
*********************
~*~*~*~
Daisuke
~*~*~*~
What the hell is Yamato doing here? Was my first thought. The second thought answered it.
He teaching you to cook, dumb ass. Don't you ever listen to anyone?
Whatever. Yeah, I was probably insane. Oh well. There was only one more question left to answer.
How the hell did he have so much time to bug me with his band rehearsals? We may never know.
To be perfectly honest, I had been nervous around Yamato since last night. Well, I supposed that's incorrect grammar. I will be nervous around him would probably be more correct. But I have never been one to question these things.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. Nervous. Yamato. Ever since we almost kissed last night…
I shivered slightly as I put on my t-shirt. It was from the cold. That's what I would tell myself. I really didn't want to go out there and face Yamato. I really didn't. Right?
But the show must go on.
***********************************
"So, what do we do first?" I asked, approaching the living room. Yamato turned from whatever he was doing and studied me. I felt myself blush lightly out of nervousness. I really didn't like it when people stared at me. It made me feel small.
"Well, first I'd like to discuss your notebook." I wish I could have seen myself then. I froze on the spot, opening my eyes wide and gaping like a fish.
"My…. N-n-o-te book?" I managed to gasp out. He chuckled slightly, and motioned for me to come and sit down on the couch. I followed numbly, not believing he had found my oh so precious notebook.
"You were snooping around in my room!" I exclaimed, about to move but he grabbed a hold of my shirt and forced me back down.
"No, I wasn't snooping around in your room!" he growled. Then in a softer tone he added. "Your sister brought this to me." I groaned.
"What are you groaning about? These are great! You have got talent!"
"They're privet." I mumbled grumpily. He sighed and shoved my notebook in my face.
"Daisuke. You have talent." He repeated, opening the book to the first page. "And your painting is even more miraculous." I groaned again.
"Oh come on Daisuke!" Yamato sighed, leaning very close to me. I caught a whiff of his cologne. It smelt… nice. Of course, he could spring for the more expensive stuff, but still. It smelt French. "You need an agent! You could become the world's youngest millionaire!" I rolled my eyes.
"Aren't you here to teach me how to cook?" He sighed and put the sketchpad on the table.
"Fine. You're no fun." I shook my head.
"Nope. Absolutely no fun at all." Yamato rolled his blue eyes and got up.
"C'mon, let's cook." He said, grabbing a hold of my shoulder, and dragging me towards the kitchen.
******************
~*~*~*~
Yamato
~*~*~*~
"So… what are we going to make?" Daisuke asked cautiously, once I let go of my death grip on his shoulders. I grinned and turned to face him. He looked scared. Really scared.
"We are going to try chocolate chip cookies again!" He stared. I started. Her stared back. I stared harder.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.
"You can't quit something just because you have a problem the first few times around.'
"But Yama," he protested! I decided to let the name thing go. "This isn't a 'you learn it it's O.K.' thing. This is a disability. I have a cooking disability. Hm, I wonder if you can get disability checks…" I groaned, and grabbed him by the shoulders, crouching down so he had to face me.
"You are going to learn to make them. I do not care if I have to spend the next three years teaching you how to add eggs and milk to flour, I will teach you." I swore. He shrugged.
"Your loss of sanity." I sighed as I got up and surveyed the kitchen.
"Now, let us bake!" I cheered. He stared at me as if I was a mental hospital escapee. "So, what's the first thing you do?" I asked. Daisuke stared at me for a moment, his chocolate eyes looking doubtful. But I kept a half smile on my face, so he shut them tight and started thinking.
"Um, wash your hands and sanitize the area?" he asked, and then backed away slowly as if expecting me to explode.
"Um, Daisuke? You don't have to hide. You're right." I said. He stared, almost as if I were an alien. Man this kid has so many different ways of saying 'You're weird' with his eyes.
"Really?" I nodded, and headed towards the grocery bags and started getting out the stuff we would need. I felt Daisuke's eyes on my back, and smiled. It was kind of neat, just us in the kitchen. I mean, now I had a whole new outlook on this. I wouldn't be stressed anymore. I couldn't. Or I might make Daisuke feel even worse.
You know, that might have been the reason Daisuke had a problem cooking. He was always afraid I might blow up at him. Poor kid. But now we know each other a bit better. So, all in all, hopefully this attempt goes well.
"Here." I put all the ingredients on the counter. "Now, what do you have to do next?" I asked.
"You have to mix all the dry ingredients together, right?" Wow. He actually paid attention.
"You're smarter then you let me think." I said, ruffling his hair.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, patting it down furiously. I smiled. The boy was cute, no denying it.
"So do you remember the ingredients?" I asked. He drew a blank.
"O.K., first you have to add flour."
"Oh yeah…" he said slowly. "Um, how much?"
"Two cups." He nodded as I handed him the flour and the measuring cup. He began carefully pouring the flour in. I nodded as I watched him carefully.
PHOOFF!
"That's all right Suke-Chan. I brought lots of extra flour." I said, grabbing a towel from the counter. "We can just try to scoop some back into the bag, and clean this up." Daisuke stared at me through flour-encrusted eyes.
"Yamato-san, are you feeling alright today?"
*************************
"Finished…" I mumbled, bringing the cookies out of the oven. Daisuke watched the cookies carefully, as if trying to see a time bomb.
"Are they O.K. doc?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.
"They're fine! You did a good job. Now, could you just please clean up the eggs all over the floor?" He nodded, and got to work on it as I set out the cookies and let them cool. Yes, everyone was still alive. The status might change after Daisuke eats the cookies.
"So, tomorrow you get to come over to my apartment and cook." I could have sworn Daisuke said 'Damn' under his breath but I let it pass.
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FWAP!
"That's all right Daisuke. I don't like this shirt much anyway."
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PLOP
"It's fine, I didn't need my homework."
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BAM!!
"Don't worry about it. We needed a new refrigerator."
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SWISH!
"Never mind, my pinkie finger doesn't do anything anyway."
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O.K., the last one was a bit of an exaggeration. 3 long weeks has passed and guess what? Daisuke could cook. He could cook, bake and make julienne fries. (Gomen, can't spell) I was so proud of my student. My hard work, patients and effort were getting results. I could have cried.
"So I'll see you tomorrow Dai-chan?" I asked over my shoulder.
"Yep. Actaully," he paused for a moment. "Tomorrow I have an appointment with my cooking teacher. If I can make something edible she'll let me into class." I turned around and smiled at him.
"Good going!" He sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
"Let's hope so. See you tomorrow!"
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I know, I cut the 3 weeks short but I didn't feel like writing them. _ Anyway, next chapter will be filled with Yamasuke goodness if it goes to my plan. Muaha. Muahahaha. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
::cough:: So, yeah, review if you want to.