"Awww maaaan!" Chie whined, peering into the window of the abandoned Souzai Daigaku. There was a large sign hanging there that read 'Closed due to illness'.

"Well, would you rather them be open and serving with a sick cook?" Kanji asked her from the sidewalk behind her.

"No…" Chie replied sadly, turning away from the shop. The two had decided that, because of cramming for exams, they would take a break from training for the week. So, instead, they were going to stop for some beef steak before returning to their studies. But Souzai Daigaku being closed threw a wrench into their plans, which dampened Chie's spirits considerably. She had been looking forward to a treat after working so hard the past few days and nothing cheered her up like some good meat.

"We could go to Aiya for some ramen." Kanji suggested, but Chie shook her head.

"I just had that yesterday."

"How about heading over to Junes?"

"I'm too hungry for that!" she pouted, her stomach growling in perfect timing. Kanji grumbled in frustration, looking around for inspiration.

"Well, my house is right over there." he said. "Maybe my ma's home and could whip us up something real fast." Chie's eyes lit up. She was quite hungry and across the street sounded a lot better than across town.

"Alright! Let's go!" she said, sprinting over to Tatsumi Textiles. There was a sign on the counter indicating that the shop would be closed for a little while. Assuming she was in back making dinner already, Kanji headed in with Chie following close behind.

"Ma? Hey Ma!" Kanji called, searching the house. Chie waited in the living room for him to return. He came back a few minutes later. "No luck." he told her. "I'm not sure where she went, but she sure as hell ain't here."

"Oh well," Chie said, sighing. "I guess it's off to Junes…" She was truly disappointed; from what she had heard, Kanji's mother was a pretty good cook. Kanji must've noticed because he sighed loudly again.

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this, but I could try and make something myself." A look of shock showed clearly on her face and Kanji blushed. "H-hey! Don't look so damn surprised!"

"Honestly, I'm only kinda surprised, knowing your skill with crafty things. I'm sure cooking isn't that far of a stretch."

"Well, I've only just starting to learn, so I have no idea if I'm any good. But if you are really that hungry, I could try something simple." Chie considered the offer for a moment.

"I am. I really am." she told him. Kanji nodded and went into the kitchen. Chie waited nervously in the living room. The only guy who's food she had ever eaten before was Yu's, so she wasn't sure what to expect. It was especially strange being made food by Kanji, but he always seemed to have a new surprise up his sleeve so who know how this would turn out. After a short while, Kanji came back with two bowls of food. When he set it on the table in front of her, Chie could see that it was a simple beef and rice dish, with some veggies thrown in for good measure. Kanji looked on with earnest as she took her first bite. Almost immediately the flavor hit her. It was hard to describe, but there was one thing Chie knew for sure: it was awful. The rice was under cooked and hard, the meat was fatty, and the veggies were overdone and mushy. It took a second for her brain to talk her mouth into swallowing it.

"What?" Kanji asked, reacting to the face she made.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Kanji, but you are a terrible cook." she said, taking another mouthful.

"W-well, if it's so damn bad, why the hell are you still eating it!?"

"Because meat's still meat." Chie replied. "And I'm starving!" Kanji shook his head as he sat down to eat, not questioning her reasoning.

"Hey, this isn't as bad as you made it sound." he protested after taking a few bites.

"I'm not so sure about that, but it is at least edible."Chie said. "I will say this, though: If the only thing you have trouble with is cooking, I wouldn't be too upset. I'm actually a little jealous that you're a far better girl than me…"

"W-what!?" Kanji asked, confused. "W-what the hell do you mean by that!?"

"Hold on a sec! It's a complement, I promise!" Chie consoled him quickly before he got too mad at her. "What I mean is that you are good at way more 'girly' things than me. You can't tell me that I'm wrong about that."

"Fine, but tell me this: Who decides what's girly or not? I'm a guy and I knit. You're a girl and you're into kung fu. Who cares?" Chie thought about this for a minute.

"I suppose you're right." she finally said. "If you can accept your quirks, then I should be able to accept mine."

"Besides, if you are ever worried about your 'girliness', you can always fall back on your fear of bugs. Or lightening. Or ghost stories…"

"OK, OK, I get the idea!" Chie yelled at him. Kanji gave her a mischievous grin. "How the hell did you know about all of that anyway?"

"A little bit of paying attention, a lot of Yosuke-senpai being a big mouth."

"Yosuke, huh?" Chie said, glaring. "Let's see if I do anything nice for him again…" Kanji chuckled, assumingly at the fact that he had inadvertently gotten Yosuke in trouble. Chie and Kanji continued eating and evening passed with far less studying than they had initially intended.

Kanji and Chie feel their relationship has grown yet deeper…