Chapter 25: Chef Kawasaki
It was a typical afternoon in Dreamland. Perfect weather, relative peace and most importantly, Kirby was hungry. Kirby made his way to one of his favorite restaurants, Chef Kawasaki's place. While his food might be an acquired taste to some, for the puff, it was the best food around. Kirby enthusiastically entered the building with a hungry look on his face.
"Hellooooo, Kawasaki!" Kirby called out to his friend and restaurant owner.
"Oh, hello, Kirby. I guess you'll be wanting your usual?" Kawasaki said in a dull tone that was highly unusual for the generally jolly chef.
It didn't take Kirby long to notice that something was wrong. His hunger was replaced with concern for his friend.
"Is something bothering you, Kawasaki?"
"Oh, it's nothing much, Kirby. Just King Dedede gave me a recipe that he wanted me to try out from his home kingdom but contains all super-rare ingredients. Like, stuff that's very hard to find in Dreamland!" Kawasaki sighed and continued. "I know where to find some of them. Well, the general locations anyway, but the problem is those areas are like very dangerous!"
The chef showed him the list and the puff quickly nodded.
"Dedede really should do his own cooking if he's gonna need ingredients that're dangerous to get!" Kirby said with a pout. He then smiled towards his friend. "Well, if you want, I can help you!"
Kawasaki sprung up. "Are you sure, Kirby? This could take most of the day at least. I don't want you to push yourself for my sake."
"It'll be fiiine! Don't worry!" The puff replied with a smile. "If anything, you can make something yummy for me when we're done!"
Instantly, Kawasaki grabbed Kirby's hand and shook it vigorously. "Oh, thank you, Kirby, you're a life saver!"
"N-no problem! Just what are we looking for first?" The child replied, as if slightly stunned by this sudden action.
The chef immediately stopped shaking his hand and pulled out a list of ingredients he needed for the dish.
"Let's start with something not too difficult. That would probably be... frostberries. They are rare fruits that are found only in really cold areas."
The child nodded and then began to think. "Hm... then the best places to check would be Ice Island, White Wafers, and Iceberg then."
He then walked out of the restaurant and summoned his Warp Star. "Well, let's go then!"
Kawasaki nodded and happily jumped on. The Warp Star took off towards the nearest location the berries could be, White Wafers.
After a few minutes of flying, the sound of only the wind began to somewhat bother Kirby.
"So, Kawasaki, what exactly does Dedede want you to make?" He asked in an attempt to make conversation.
"Oh right, I didn't tell you anything about it other than it was something from his home country!" The chef said as he pulled out the recipe. "So apparently, he's been thinking about his home a lot lately, and he gave me this dessert recipe. It seems to be some kind of cake-pie combination that they're really famous for. In fact, that's exactly what it's called: a cake-pie!"
Kirby's mouth began to water at the mere thought of a dessert like that. He loved cake and pie individually, so combining the two sounded incredible and mouthwateringly delicious to the young puff.
"...do you think you could make me a cake-pie when we're done? It doesn't have to be what Dedede wants. It especially doesn't need to be what Dedede wants." He seemed to slightly pout while saying the last sentence.
"Well, of course! I think I can make it with local produce for you!" The chef happily replied.
Motivated by helping his friend and the promise of food, Kirby made the Warp Star go as fast as it could, causing the chef to hang on for dear life.
Soon the duo ended up in White Wafers. It was beautiful area covered with ice and snow everywhere you looked. While relatively peaceful, they would still need to be careful while traversing the cold landscape.
"So, where exactly in cold areas would they grow?" Kirby asked, looking around the area.
Kawasaki sighed. "That's the main problem, Kirby. The bushes they grow in can be practically anywhere. Just keep an eye out for anything that looks like a bush, ok? Hopefully we can find it soon, I can't stand the cold!"
"Ok! I'll try to find it fast!" The puff exclaimed and ran off.
"Ah, Kirby, wait up!" The chef yelled as he chased after him. "It's not safe to split up around here! Who knows when we might be attacked by some kind of snow monster? Or a giant sentient icicle? Or-"
As Kawasaki kept prattling on, the puff was on high alert for anything resembling a bush.
"I don't mean to interrupt you, Kawasaki, but what color is the bush we're looking for?"
"Uh... something like a very pale light blue."
Kirby tripped but quickly regained his balance before he could get a face full of snow.
"So basically, it looks like snow." The child uttered, quickly realizing why this would be hard.
"Yup." Kawasaki replied with a sigh.
Kirby started to think, treating this situation like a puzzle. While he certainly wasn't a genius by any means, he was a gifted puzzle solver.
"Hm... what should I do...?" He thought aloud. Then he had a thought. "Hey, Kawasaki, what do you normally do when picking berries? Do you have a special trick for it?"
"Huh? Oh, I just look for the ones that look the ripest." He replied.
Kirby sighed at that response. That wasn't going to be useful. If only there was an easy way to find the bush.
"Wait, I could use fire to clear away the snow, but what if I burn the bush in the process? I could inhale incredibly hard, but I don't want to eat snow either!"
He thought a bit more.
"Maybe I could make it rain somehow? With enough rain, the snow will melt, and that should help uncover the bush without any harm to it directly!"
Deciding to take a gamble, Kirby turned to Kawasaki. "Do you have any water?"
"Uhh...sure, what do you need that for?"
"You'll see, trust me it'll help us!" The puff said with his usual trustworthy smile.
Kawasaki only shrugged his shoulders and handed the puff a bottle of water which was quickly inhaled by the puff. Kirby copied the Water Ability and wasted no time in making it rain around them. As he thought, the snow was slowly melting.
"Kawasaki, can you carry my body around while I'm making it rain?" He suddenly asked.
As if realizing how this would help with finding the fruit, Kawasaki nodded and picked the puff up.
"Hey, Kirby, I have a great idea!"
Before Kirby could question the chef, he jumped high up into the air and started spinning him around. Water began to fly everywhere, quickly melting the snow.
"It's working!" The puff thought before increasing his rain output.
Kirby soon ran out of water and reverted back to his normal puffy self. Thankfully for the duo, the plan was a success. Once they safely landed on the ground, they scoured the land for any sign of the bush. While searching around, Kirby quickly got a whiff of something.
"Smells like... fruit! Hey, Kawasaki, this way!" He called out to his culinary companion.
"Alright, Kirby!" The chef nodded and ran in his direction.
Soon, Kawasaki, was also smelling the same fruity aroma that Kirby was.
"We're getting closer!" He said, even jollier than usual.
The two ran in the direction and eventually came across the only bush in the area that was apparently covered in snow.
"That's it! That's the frostberries!"
As Kawasaki got straight to picking the berries, Kirby's stomach started growling.
"Hmm... those berries look yummy..." He mumbled, feeling himself begin to drool. Then, he shook his head quickly.
"No, Kirby, no! I'm supposed to be helping Kawasaki, not hindering him! Come on, stomach, be strong!" Kirby pleaded with himself.
Finally shaking off those feelings, he then spoke up once more upon seeing that the chef was finished picking the berries.
"So, what's the next ingredient we need?" He asked, hoping to keep his mind off it.
Kawasaki pulled out his list.
"Next is a special type of flour. The good news is we can find it here on Dreamland. The bad news is that it grows on clouds, namely the clouds that are under Kracko's control." Kawasaki said with a gulp.
"Kracko, huh? I can easily handle him!" He said with a smile as he summoned the Warp Star. "All we have to do is go find Kracko first and ask for his permission!"
Kawasaki looked unsure about this, but got onto the Warp Star anyway.
"Hey Kawasaki, how exactly does flour grow on clouds?"
"Well, I did say it was special, didn't I?" The child gave a slight shrug at that before taking off.
Once upon arriving to the clouds Kirby immediately began looking for Kracko. Kawasaki on the other hand had a different idea.
"Kirby, wouldn't it be easier to just look for it without getting Kracko involved? I really don't want to risk getting electrocuted."
The puff had a thoughtful expression upon hearing that.
"Don't get me wrong, Kawasaki, I don't wanna be electrocuted either, but wouldn't snooping around without his permission just make him angrier?"
Kawasaki couldn't argue with what his friend said, as much as he wish he could.
"I guess that's true..."
"Plus, he might even be willing to help us find it!" Kirby added.
The chef nodded. "Well, I guess it's worth a try!"
With that said, the duo got moving towards Kracko. Kirby knew exactly where to go, considering how many times he's been up in these clouds. Suddenly the clouds began to darken, a bit of lightning could be seen forming in them.
"We're getting closer." The child said, unfazed by the sudden dangerous change in weather.
He continued forward. "If it makes you feel safer, stay behind me."
Kawasaki wasted no time in taking up Kirby's offer and got safely behind him.
"WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE!?" A loud, booming voice said, seemingly out of nowhere. Looking up the two saw Kracko descending upon them.
Unfazed by this, the puff spoke up.
"We're looking for a special type of flour that only grows in the clouds and we found out it only grows in your territory. We'd like to ask you permission before we go look for it."
Kracko stared at Kirby, as if trying to see if he was trying to trick him.
"IS THAT ALL YOU DESIRE?"
"Yup! I just thought it'd be rude if we just waltzed in and tried to take it without saying anything, so I thought we should ask permission first!"
The dark clouds surrounding the area began to calm down with all sense of danger soon becoming nonexistent.
"IF THAT IS ALL, YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION. AS SOON AS YOU OBTAIN WHAT YOU DESIRE, YOU MUST LEAVE IMMEDIATELY."
"Got it! Thank you very much, Kracko!" The child exclaimed in his usual happy tone.
Kawasaki was dumbfounded. He knew Kirby could win over almost anyone, he just wasn't expecting the always-angry Kracko to be so cooperative.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" The puff said as he ran off.
"Ack! Kirby quit leaving me behind like that!" Kawasaki yelled in a futile attempt to get the child to slow down.
The search began and Kirby was hit with a case of deja vu.
"Hey, Kawasaki, would it be okay to assume that the flour will be blending in with the clouds?"
"That's more than likely."
The puff gave a slight groan at that.
"Well, my rain trick won't work, so I'll have to come up with something else." Kirby mumbled to himself. "Kawasaki, do you have an idea?"
The chef had a smile on his face. "Yup! It'll take a while but it's perfect strategy. We just have to feel around for it. If you feel something that isn't a cloud, then that's probably what we're looking for."
The puff nodded and began feeling around the ground. Immediately, Kirby begun to understand why this would be so time consuming. Searching around wasn't hard in the slightest, but it was definitely testing his patience. Kawasaki seemed to notice Kirby's annoyance rising.
"Man, what should I do? Hold on, that could work!"
The chef pulled out his trusty cooking pot and got to cooking. In a blink of an eye, he was already finished.
"One order of spicy curry coming up!"
For a moment, the puff tilted his head, as if wondering what the plan was. Then, he gave a slight shrug and ate all of it with one gulp. The effects were immediate.
"HOT! HOT! I NEED MILK!"
Kirby's mouth was on fire, but more importantly his feet were moving much faster than before.
"Go, Kirby! While you have those fast feet!" Kawasaki yelled.
In no time, the puff had already covered most of the cloudy surface, making sure to keep his mouth pointed upwards so that he doesn't accidentally burn any of the clouds or flour. Kawasaki had to admit, it was quite the funny sight to behold. After a minute of running, the curry's effects wore off and Kirby came to a halt to catch his breath.
"I'll just take a short rest..." Kirby thought while sitting down.
When he did, he felt something different from how clouds usually felt.
"Ah! Kawasaki! I think I found the flour!" He shouted towards his friend.
Kawasaki smiled in self-satisfaction.
"I knew my special curry would help. It's a good thing I have some milk for Kirby as well, his poor mouth must hurt." The chef said, somewhat guilty about feeding him the curry.
After they regrouped, collected the flour, and Kirby got the much-needed milk, Kawasaki pulled out his list to see the next ingredient they needed.
"So, what do we need next?" The puff asked.
The chef looked up a Kirby with a look of confusion.
"This had me stumped for a while. We need fresh ocean water."
The puff looked confused as well.
"How is that supposed to be difficult? We can just go to any ocean and grab some water."
The chef shook his head.
"I thought the same but that's not it. We need fresh water, as in water with no salt. Water that's in oceans is salt water. So, we'll need to find a part of the ocean that has no salt in it at all." Kawasaki explained.
"...won't that be a bit hard though?" Kirby asked.
"Oh, it's way harder than just a bit. The chances of finding something like that is almost nonexistent!"
"So, it would be landlocked sea water, I guess..." The child shrugged.
"Kirby, why are you acting so calm? Do you know where we could possibly find water like that?"
"...perhaps. Do large seas inside caves count as ocean water?" Kawasaki pondered this.
"I guess so. Why?"
"Then I got an idea of where we can get it!"
"Really? Where at?"
"It was in one of the caves I previously explored!" Kirby then summoned the Warp Star. "Come on, Kawasaki, let's get that water!"
The chef nodded and joined him.
"Next stop the... the... well, I guess it doesn't have a name. Next stop the cave!" The puff shouted as they took off.
During the flight, Kawasaki just couldn't shake a feeling of unease. He trusted Kirby completely, but what if something happened to the source of water? What if salt somehow got in it? What if someone drank it all? While he didn't vocalize these thoughts, it was written all over his face, a face that Kirby was good at reading.
"Kawasaki, relax, it'll be fine!"
"But are you sure about that?"
"Of course I am! I've drunk the water there before and there was no salt at all!"
This put Kawasaki slightly at ease. "Well, if you're that confident, I have no reason to doubt you. How long until we get there?"
"Hmmm... around now." Kirby replied as the Warp Star burst through a pile of rocks.
"Ack! Warn me next time you do that please!" Kawasaki panicked, using a frying pan to block any rocks from hitting him.
"Sorry, Kawasaki, hopefully that will be the only rocks we have to deal with." Kirby said.
"Ah here we go!" He then shouted in joy.
Just as Kirby said, there was a whole ocean inside of the cave.
"I've lived in Dreamland my whole life. I didn't even know something like this existed!" Kawasaki exclaimed in equal parts shock and amazement.
"I know, neat, huh?" The puff smiled.
The chef quickly drank some of the water just to see if it truly had no salt at all. "Incredible! It tastes like ocean water but with no salt! I was expecting this item to take us the longest, but we're already done. Now only two more rare ingredients to go!"
"Alright, so what's next?" Kirby asked.
After collecting the ingredient, Kawasaki pulled out the list once more.
"We need milk, but not just an ordinary milk. We need supreme honey milk. It's milk that's ben combined with a rare type of honey. Unfortunately, I have no clue where to look outside of the various forests." Kawasaki said with a deep sigh.
Kirby took a moment to think.
"Hmmm... I think I know a way to make finding that easier. I know a place that has ingredients from all over the galaxy!" He then said.
Immediately, Kawasaki looked at him in anticipation.
"Well don't just leave me in suspense, old chum, where do we go?"
"The Halberd!"
The chef looked confused, but only for a moment. "Oh, that's right! Meta Knight has one of the biggest sweet tooths in Dreamland! But do you think you can convince him to help us?"
"Probably! His sensei actually travels throughout the entire universe and loves to send him all kinds of sweets! The only problem is... um... he tends to have more than he knows what to do with."
"So, he won't mind then? If that's the case let's go! He might have the fifth and final ingredient as well!"
"What is the last item we need anyway?" Kirby asked while summoning the Warp Star.
"Shaved ice." Kawasaki bluntly said.
The puff looked confused. "That doesn't sound so bad..."
"From Dedede's home planet."
"Oh." The puff then thought about that. "Well, we can see if Meta Knight has it!"
Kawasaki nodded, really hoping that Meta Knight could help.
Kirby then gave a question. "Hey Kawasaki, how did you know about Meta Knight's sweet tooth? He tries pretty hard to keep it a secret. I don't remember telling anyone about it."
Kawasaki gave a hearty laugh. "Right behind you and the king, Meta Knight is the one who buys most of my desserts! He's my third best customer!"
"Oooh! I guess he says not to tell anyone, huh?"
The chef shook his head.
"He doesn't say anything with his mouth, but his eyes sure can talk." Kawasaki said with a shiver.
Kirby only nodded.
"I don't really know why he tries to keep it a secret. Most of Dreamland already knows about it anyway." Kawasaki continued.
The puff looked shocked. "But how? Meta Knight is the best at keeping secrets! How could everyone know about his sweet tooth?"
This was true. Literally everything about the knight is mysterious, from details about his past, to even his true face. Not only that, but those who are close to him have sworn to secrecy on the subject.
"Well, one of his subordinates comes by and orders enough desert for the whole crew every week, it's kind of easy to put two and two together. That and sometimes Meta Knight himself comes by when he thinks no one is around."
"Oh, that makes sense."
"Honestly, the only mysterious parts about Meta Knight are his face and his past. But that's just my opinion." Kawasaki said.
Kirby nodded in reply. Even he didn't know much about his mentor's past except that he had a mentor who he traveled the universe with. However, he did know about his true face.
"Well, let's get going. It shouldn't take very long to get to the Halberd." The puff said.
In truth, the flight took only another minute due to how close the cave and Halberd were to each other. Upon landing, Kirby gave a slight stretch.
"Alright, let me go first!" The puff said as he then ran up to the front door.
"Meta-Sensei, are you home!?" Kirby asked while vigorously knocking on the door.
After a few minutes, the person who opened the door was Sailor Dee.
"Ah! Kirby! What do you need?" He asked.
"Hi Sailor! Is Meta Knight around? We have something to ask to him." Kirby said while motioning towards Kawasaki, indicating who the "we" was.
"Yeah, he is! Just wait a minute, I'll let him know that you're here!"
Sailor closed the door then. In a couple of minutes, the door was opened again, this time by Meta Knight.
"What do you need, Kirby?"
"Well, it would be better if Kawasaki explained." Kirby said while pushing Kawasaki towards Meta Knight.
Kawasaki nervously looked at the masked warrior and gulped.
"To make a long story short King Dedede asked me to make a dessert using incredibly rare ingredients. Kirby told me that you are regularly given exotic items, so I was hoping you could help me."
"That indeed sounds like something that idiot would do..." The knight seemed to mumble under his breath before speaking up. "But to answer your request, yes. The kitchen does keep quite a lot of ingredients from various planets across the universe. As for why I have a surplus... let's just say my mentor likes to assume I don't eat enough."
Kawasaki clapped for joy.
"Oh, wonderful! Wonderful!" He exclaimed before calming himself down. "I only need two more ingredients. I need supreme honey and shaved ice from Dedede's home."
The knight closed his eyes, seemingly thinking. "I believe I have both of those... I remember my mentor often visits Dedede's home planet."
Suddenly Kawasaki grabbed and shook Meta Knight's hands repeatedly, shedding tears of joy. "Thank you, Sir Meta Knight! You're a life saver!"
"Y-you're welcome..." He replied awkwardly, as if he wasn't used to such a reaction. "Sailor, could you grab what the chef needs, please?"
"Yes, sir!" The Waddle Dee replied with a salute before running off.
A couple of minutes later, Sailor Dee came back with a bag donning the Meta-Knights insignia.
"Here you go, Chef Kawasaki. I put the ice in a cooler to keep it from melting." He said while handing the bag over.
"Thank you very much, Meta-sensei!" Kirby said, taking the bag.
"You're welcome." He nodded.
Kirby and Kawasaki got back on the warp star, waving goodbye to Meta Knight and Sailor Dee.
"Bye, Meta-Sensei! I'll see you for tomorrow's training!"
With a slight wave back, the knight closed the door.
"Well, we got all the ingredients now!"
Kawasaki was incredibly relieved. The hardest part of this whole ordeal was finally over. With Kawasaki's immense skill in the kitchen, creating the dessert would be child's play for him.
Upon returning to Kawasaki's restaurant, the chef immediately got to work on the dish.
"Is there anything I can do to help, Kawasaki? I can get the Cook Ability if you want me to." Kirby, who wanted to be helpful, quickly suggested.
"That won't be necessary, Kirby." Kawasaki said while focusing on his work. "But you can think about what dessert you want me to make for you. That'll be a big help for later."
The puff nodded and sat back into his chair, attempting to think about what exactly he wants to be made. He knew he wanted a cake-pie like Dedede, but with more local ingredients.
"What kind of fruit is extremely common around here? I don't want to burden Kawasaki too much..."
Kirby kept thinking and thinking until a certain fruit crawled into his mind.
"Apples, of course!"
The perfect idea! There was plenty of those in Dreamland thanks to Whispy Woods. He was about to say something, but he then noticed that Kawasaki was still working, and became quiet once more.
"Well, I suppose I should think more about. Now what goes better with apples? Vanilla or chocolate?"
Kirby has eaten many, many different foods over the years, but he has never combined apples with chocolate. Would that even taste good? Apple goes well with caramel but can the same be said for chocolate? Chocolate works with other fruit like strawberries, so it should be fine with apples, right? Or maybe he could combine caramel and chocolate! Then Kirby remembered, he liked anything and everything so there's no point in making a big deal about it.
"Chocolate and caramel it is!"
Kirby looked back at Kawasaki, who was still absorbed into his work.
"Hmm, what should I do? Agh! I just don't know..."
The puff really wanted to help his friend but the only thing he could do is cheer him on. He proceeded to quietly watch him, suppressing his growling stomach as he did.
"I'm almost done, Kirby, so you don't need to worry for much longer." Kawasaki called, as if sensing how the child was feeling.
The puff silently nodded in understanding.
After twenty minutes had passed Kawasaki was finally finished.
"Geez, that took some work. Ah well, I'm all done with it now, hopefully the king will like it. Now, more importantly, Kirby, have you thought about what you want?"
"How about a chocolate caramel cake-pie with apples?" The puff instantly said.
Kawasaki smiled. "That's way easier than what Dedede wants! I already have plenty of those ingredients. Give me about an hour or two Kirby. In the meantime, I have some premade sandwiches in my fridge. I'm sure you're starving by now."
The child gave a sheepish laugh at that. "Yeah..."
"You could have just said something Kirby. You know I wouldn't have minded."
"But I didn't want to bother you while you were working."
Kawasaki waved that comment off. "Please! I wouldn't have been able to work without your help, Kirby. Besides I'm used to people taking or yelling at me while I work. It comes with the territory of being a chef."
Kirby slightly nodded. "Ok then."
He then walked up to the fridge. In it was a large array of sandwiches. Part of the child wanted to eat all of them, but quickly pushed that thought out of his head and just settled on taking three of them. While that was going on, Kawasaki was getting ready. Seeing as he just successfully made a cake-pie, a second one would be no issue. The chef had a culinary photographic memory. If he's made it before, he can make it again with no problems.
"I had no idea Kirby liked chocolate-caramel apples. He's never gotten them before. Unless this will be his first time having something like that. If that's the case, then I have to do my best!" Kawasaki declared, smacking his belly proudly.
He always gave it his best shot, no matter what he was making. It could be something small like spaghetti or curry. It could be something complicated like the cake-pie. It didn't matter. But with Kirby he wanted to make sure it was perfect. His favorite customer deserved as much especially after today's events.
Kawasaki's expert skills allowed him to get done much sooner than he had expected.
"Alright, Kirby, we need to let it cool for thirty minutes before it's ready to eat. Are you ok with that?"
The child pouted. "Of course I'm ok with it!"
"Really? Cause that pout says otherwise."
"I'm pouting because you assume that I can't wait!"
Kawasaki looked confused. "I was just asking if that was fine with you. You might have wanted to eat it hot."
"I mean... it looks really delicious and I kinda wanna eat it now... but I don't wanna burn myself..."
"And that's why I asked." Kawasaki said with a chuckle.
Kirby pouted again, but this time it was out of embarrassment. Suddenly, they heard a loud banging on the restaurant's door.
"That's odd, I could have sworn I put out the closed sign." Kawasaki said as he put Kirby's dessert in the fridge.
Before the puff could get it, he walked over and opened the door to reveal none other than King Dedede.
"Yo, Kawasaki, I'm here for my dessert. It's done, right?"
"Of course it is, your majesty!" The chef replied happily. "But how did you know that? I haven't sent you a message about it."
King Dedede laughed. "You kiddin'? I could smell it from a mile away!"
Then Bandana poked his head out from behind the king. "Also, we were hiding behind the building for the past three hours."
The king turned to his advisor, a look of annoyance on his face.
"Bandana, you weren't supposed to tell 'im that!" Dedede yelled before calming down. "So, can I eat it or what?"
Chef Kawasaki frantically nodded.
"Right away, sir! I'll go get it right now!" The chef said, running over to where he put the cake-pie. "Here you go, your majesty. I hope it tastes just like how you remember it."
"Well, I'll be the judge of that!" The king replied.
Dedede took the cake-pie and took a big bite out of it. Almost instantly, his eyes widened, a sign of enjoyment.
"Oh man! This is even better than what I had back home! Yo, Bandana, you gotta try some!"
"Huh!? O-ok!" Bandana then took a bite and his eyes instantly sparkled. "This... this is so delicious!"
The chef was both relieved and ecstatic. All of that hard work paid off in spades. "I'm glad you like it, your majesty."
"Like it?" Dedede questioned. "I don't like it. I love it! Here's your payment, Kawasaki." He said while handing over a heavy-looking bag.
Curious, Kawasaki looked inside to see five bars of gold. "Y-your highness, are you really giving me this much?"
"Yeah, ya gots a problem with that? Imma sure it was a pain to get all the stuff you needed for it and the results was better than I thought!"
Not knowing how to respond, Kawasaki graciously took the bag.
"S-class work as usual, Kawasaki. I'll be seeing ya. Let's go, Bandana."
"Goodbye, your majesty!" Kawasaki said while waving.
Once Dedede was out of sight, Kirby jumped out. Earlier, he decided to hide because he knew if the king saw him, there would be a lot of yelling.
"What're you gonna do with all that gold, Kawasaki?"
"Well, that's a good question, Kirby."
Kawasaki and Kirby thought for a bit, thinking of various ideas.
"Well, I have one idea. Replacing my old ovens for new ones. They still work fine but eventually I'll need to replace them anyway."
"Hmm... I think that sounds like a good idea!"
"Heck, why stop there? I can get a brand-new kitchen with this gold!" Kawasaki yelled, excited at the prospect of getting a needed upgrade. "But first, there's something more important than all that. You ready for dessert Kirby?"
"You bet!" The child exclaimed in excitement.
Chuckling at Kirby's enthusiasm, Kawasaki pulled out the chocolate cake-pie.
"Alright, Kirby, dig in!"
The puff instantly inhaled it. Thanks to his unique body, Kirby tastes everything as soon as food enters his mouth, so he was still able to fully enjoy every part of his dessert. Soon his eyes widened much like Dedede's, but Kirby's eyes were even bigger than the king's.
"KAWASAKIIIII THIS IS SO DELICIOUSSSSS!" The puff suddenly screamed, jumping in the air with happiness.
Kawasaki was delighted to hear that. "Well, it's what you deserve for helping me, Kirby! None of this would have been possible without you!"
The child nodded happily. "It's not a problem at all! Thanks so much for this! I love it!"
Kawasaki just smiled, pleased with how the day had gone. "Three cheers for us!"
The two of them gave a hearty cheer as the sun began to set on this peaceful day.
Yet another great chapter. I hope all of you enjoy it!