After the initial meeting Hugo and his wife Marie basically took Ain in as was the custom of this after life as their daughter of sorts. Ain got a long famously with the couple. They were like her own personal soap opera. Constantly fighting and making up only to fight once more.
The couple owned a little restaurant called Le Petite Merle. The 'Blackbird' as it was called by the shinigami, was actually quite the gather place for the gods of death. They'd gather in different waves to sample the odd 'gaijin' cooking and especially the wine. It seemed that even dead people still liked to get smashed every now and again.
Hugo and Marie almost instantly decided to teach Ain how to cook (or at least tried to teach her how to cook). She ended up making more of a mess than a dinner most times. Something that seemed to oddly amuse the owners rather than annoy. Hugo would always just tell her to try again...and again...and again.
It was one of those days of 'trying' that the matradee came rushing into the kitchen face flustered and short of breath. "We...we've seated a captain!" The woman sputtered out.
"A what?" Ain asked from her spot covered in a light dusting of flour and bread dough.
"A CAPTIAN you foolish girl a CAPTIAN!" the matradee said straightening out her uniform. Ain just sort of gave her a disgruntled frown.
Hugo used the spatula to rub his chin in thought. "And?"
The poor matradee's hands went up in the air in exasperation. "Hugo you've been here for 50 plus years and you don't know what a captain is?" She all but squeaked out their impending doom.
The French man gave a hearty laugh "But of course!" Hugo said waving his spatula at the flitting woman "Do not twist your panties!" he added in broken Japanese. It was a remark that earned him a swift knock over the head with a rolling pin from Marie.
"Du nut zay zuch things to je woman." Marie scolded in her heavy French accent. "Ju know Kikeo iz fragile!"
"What do I do?" the matradee Kikeo said still fretting.
"Take their order?" Ain tried to suggest calmly not sounding too sure if that was exactly the right answer or not.
"I can't do THAT!" Kikeo actually squeaked.
Marie, Hugo and Ain along with the rest of the chefs exchanged a look of confusion. "Why?" Marie finally was the one to ask the question they were all thinking.
"He wants to speak to the chef!" Kikeo looked as if she might feint there and then at the thought.
Hugo meanwhile puffed out his chest like a proud rooster. He was able to take two steps forward when his ego received a smashing blow from a rolling pen known as Marie. "Ju can not go out there. Ju will only insult his undergarments like you do everybody elses!" She said delivering another wap of the rolling pen to his head.
"Oh ho? And I suppose YOU wish to go talk on our behalf?" Hugo asked his wife.
"Ov courze not! My Japanese is worse zan yours!" She said waving off his now confused look. "We send Ain."
"Wait what?" It was now Ain's turn to get nervous.
"Your language is on par with therez!" Marie said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"But...they want the chefs?" Ain tried to remind the two.
"But sweet you are a chef!" Hugo tried to comfort Ain. Ain only gave him a 'yeah right' look in reply "Do not doubt yourself. Go you will do fine!" Hugo said ushering her out the kitchen doors into the front.
Ain stood frozen to the spot for a moment as all eyes turned to her and her flour covered state. She had the sudden realization that maybe jumping out of a plane was easier than this before Kikeo indicated she should follow her to where she had seated the so called captain. Ain followed leaving tiny puffs of white flour in her wake.
"Good evening sir." Kikeo said bowing, a motion Ain did too out of habit. "This is Miss Cordare." Kikeo said stepping aside to let Ain step forward.
It took her an awkward moment of realization that that was what Kikeo was actually doing before Ain actually stepped forward. "Um...hi there?"
The man seemed to be non-chalantly reading over the menu. He gave Ain barely a passing glance. It actually would have been a passing glance if they'd actually been passing each other but since they weren't it was barely one instead. "Aren't you a little young to be a chef?" The man inquired in a slight monotone voice.
Ain's mouth opened and closed quickly. She'd almost said something crass to the man. "Some might think so." Ain replied instead. She of course left out the fact that she was one of those that thought so.
The man gave her another glance then turned back to the menu. "What is edible here?" He inquired in a manner Ain instantly recognized as snob.
"Generally food." Ain didn't catch herself the second time. 'Woops...' She thought and stiffened as the snobby captain gave her a disapproving look. Ain then had the sudden feeling of being slammed by what Ain could only describe as numerous G-Forces in the back of her brain. She would have actually stumbled if it wasn't for the sudden appearance of Hugo's large hand steadying her.
"Ah so sorry to keep you waiting monsieur shinigami." Hugo said in his good mannerly voice.
Ain looked over her shoulder wide eyed at the cook that had appeared out of no where. What the hell had just happened to her? And how come Hugo was just standing there like nothing had happened at all? She looked back at the shinigami setting at the table. He had returned his attention back to the menu.
"Ain, Marie needs your assistance once again." Hugo said giving Ain a much appreciated escape. One she wasn't too prideful to hurry on about either. She gave just one more glance over her shoulder at the seated captain before returning to the safety of the kitchen.
That night while all the restaurant workers were a buz with gossip while they cleaned up and closed down shop, Ain asked Hugo a question she'd been curious about since the day she'd gotten to the afterworld.
"Say...Hugo?" She started out slowly dragging the mop across the kitchen floor. "What is it the shinigami actually do?"
Hugo looked up from his bookkeeping at the girl surprised. He rubbed his chin in thought. "Dey are like the militia."
"Militia?" Ain asked more curious now. She rested her hands on the mop in a cross fashioned then propped her chin on top to listen more.
Hugo nodded. "Dey protect the dead from the monstres" Hugo explained as he stretched his arms above his head, hands splayed out in a clawed fashion to mimic a monster. "From those called the hollow."
It was the second time Ain had heard the word hollow used. "What are the hollow?"
"Ey?" Hugo looked surprised. He then laughed his hearty laugh. He then shared what knowledge of Hollows he had with Ain. "I've have never seen them myself but I know of those who have. Say, you look like you've seen a ghost. What ever is the matter?" Hugo asked realizing Ain was matching the flour she was covered in.
"I've seen a Hollow." She said as the cold realization swept over her.
Hugo's eyes got wide like he might be in for a good story. "Oh?" He asked full attention on her now. "Must have been quite the ways off for you to be standing here." Ain shook her head like that wasn't the case and Hugo's face switched to one of concern almost instantly. "Just how close?"
"Close enough to wind up standing here." Ain said staring solemnly at the floor.
She let the meaning of her words translate in Hugo's mind and he whispered a few curse words breathlessly at the realization that Ain had died at the hands of a Hollow. He then laughed a bit shaking his head at the new information.
"Hugo?" Ain's voice broke into his running imagination. "How do you become a shinigami?" The girl questioned the cook.
Hugo sighed. "Wanting a bit of revenge are we?" He said leaning back and looking up at the ceiling of the kitchen.
"Wouldn't you?" She asked staring at the slowly drying trail of water that her mop had left on the tiled floor.
Hugo laughed a laugh that let Ain know that he would indeed. "I suppose you as a shinigami is all for the better."
Ain looked up at the cook confused. "Why do you say that?"
Hugo's face broke into a wide grin. "Because you have no talent for cooking."
PPW Golden
Anybody else suddenly want pizza?