16. One Shot (Hakuryuu, Kougyoku, Ignis): Ignis visits Hakuryuu and KOugyoku and together the cook a nice meal.

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It was the first time for Hakuryuu and Kougyoku to invite a friend, who also was an advisor of another kingdom, over. Both were unsure what to do or say or what friends did when they met. Of course, they had a plan or a reason why they had invited said friend in the first place, but it still felt strange. It was a completely new experience for both of them. Hakuryuu himself had cleaned the kitchen a million times and Kougyoku had refused to leave the dining hall until every corner was so clean that someone could eat from it. One may not believe how one's eye could see even the smallest dust grain, when one was nervous. The servants were much calmer about the upcoming visit, because for them the friend of their royals were nothing but another noble guest. Therefore, they did what they always did when noble visits were expected, clean and decorate the palace and then go on with the daily life. Sounded easy and reasonable, however Hakuryuu and Kougyoku were so nervous that they got on the servant's nerves so much that it was a surprise no one got killed.
It was hard to stay composed when your boss stood right behind you just to tell you constantly what you had to do and ordered you to clean the same spot for the billionth time. Neither Hakuryuu nor Kougyoku were normally this obnoxious, bossy, demanding and nit-picking, because they knew that everyone knew what they had to do and how to do it. However, today was a special day for the two and so they turned everyone crazy, because why freaking out alone when you can at least drag some servants with you? The more the merrier, right?

A few months ago Hakuryuu and Kougyoku had been invited by a king of an unknown country. After a long discussion what they should do and if they should both leave the country they had decided to trust the other king and visit him. Now that good trading connections with others was necessary to ensure a good and high living standard for the population, they should not turn down an opportunity to seal a contract with another country. With an uneasy feeling they had set out. In retrospect both were glad they had made the journey. For the first time they had spent a lot of time together – in the palace they often were surrounded by servants, guards, soldiers, advisors and so on. It was totally different whether one only spent an evening together at home or had to travel for several day without a possibility to get out of each other's way in case it was needed. Not that they had any problems with each other, but everyone needed some privacy, which was greatly restricted during a journey. On the other hand, this was a good opportunity for them to get to know each other better. At the palace they were very busy. They had talked about their feeling and their hopes, yet there were still a lot of things unsaid. Things they addressed on their journey, when they had to stick together for a very long time without a chance to dodge. Maybe this situation was what they had needed to address those things in the first place, because just sitting next to each other in silence was extremely uncomfortable and awkward, so small talk was made just to turn into a deep and emotional conversation. When they arrived at the unknown kingdom Hakuryuu and Kougyoku felt like different people and as if their relationships with another had gotten stronger, which was quite useful when dealing with the other king. They felt more at ease.

Unexpectedly the other king was a relatively young man – young compared to the other rulers the Ren siblings knew. At his side were his three closest friends and his wife, who was very beautiful, intelligent and kind. Kougyoku and the queen soon established a friendly relationship with another. For Hakuryuu things were a bit harder. He was unsure how to interact with the king and his friends outside of their political meetings.
There was this blond guy Prompto, who was very kind and funny – maybe a little bit too energetic for Hakuryuu's liking, but this did not change the fact that Prompto was a nice person and only meant well. He was making photos all the time with a camera – something like this did not exist in the Kou Empire yet. In general the other kingdom name Lucis was more advanced regarding technology, therefore there was a lot the Kou Empire could learn from them. The question was just what the price they would have to pay would be.
The king's name was Noctis and Hakuryuu had the feeling that they were much alike when it came to interaction with strangers, yet this similarity was not helpful. However, it took a bit away from the nervousness Hakuryuu had felt and it was easier to understand the other's actions and reactions.
Another friend, who accompanied Noctis, was a guard with the name Gladiolus or Gladio for short. It was the first time Hakuryuu had heard a friend being called by a nickname – well, his brothers shorted their names too and Aladdin had done the same with Morgiana, but the first had been family and Aladdin had been a child and children gave nicknames to everyone and everything. Even the king was called Noct instead of Noctis most of the time. Gladiolus was an intimidating guy: tall, muscular, deep voice and a scar across his chest and his left eye. Although he looked like this he was a kind and caring person. Just the way Gladio interacted with his little sister or his wife was prove of this – also Gladiolus always lent a helpful hand to everyone, who needed one.
The last in the group was the advisor Ignis. For unknown reasons Hakuryuu liked the man immediately. Something about him was calming and reassuring. Sadly, Ignis lost his eyesight during a fight years ago. Hakuryuu had been really surprised, when he found out that Ignis was still in charge of cooking, despite not seeing anything. Some people were truly amazing! Ignis was one of them! By the way, his meals tasted fantastic! Moreover, the meals were the reason why Ignis, Hakuryuu and Kougyoku slowly became friends, because all three of them liked cooking.
For Ignis it had been nothing special or enjoyable at first, but seeing the smiles on other people's faces made him feel great and so he started to enjoy cooking more and more. Creating new recipes was also great.
Hakuryuu had found some way to distract himself from the loss of his family, when he started to learn how to cook, and it was something he was good at, which was pure balsam for his broken soul. He had never been good at something or there was someone, who was better at it than him, therefore it felt wonderful to finally have something he was good at.
For Kougyoku it was similar. All her life she had been neglected and only been looked down upon because of the social status of her mother, so cooking or in her case baking was a way for her to be herself and express herself. Unfortunately, besides Ka Koubun and her two personal guards no one had known about her hobby or had tasted her desserts. Ka Koubun even sometimes refused to eat her stuff, which was very heartbreaking. However, she understood that he was just not a sweet tooth like her. Her other two servants on the other hand always ate her creations with a big smile on their faces. To see how much they enjoy her food made her smile and feel great. When Hakuryuu first tasted one of her cakes, she had been pretty nervous, when Hakuryuu said he liked it, she could have died out of happiness. Sharing a hobby with a family member was a brilliant thing, because one could share thoughts, new ideas or do said hobby together. Through cooking they had strengthen their bond.

With Ignis things got better and more excited. Logically Hakuryuu and Kougyoku only knew recipes from Kou – although Hakuryuu knew a few Reim Empire recipes –, so Ignis brought many new recipes and therewith possibilities in their cooking adventures. Due to their limited time in the kingdom of Lucis the three barely had time to share their knowledge or cook a meal together. This was probably the most and the only disappointment of Hakuryuu's and Kougyoku's little trip. All political and economic matters were perfectly dealt with, which meant that a new trading partnership had been made and it seemed like the Kou Empire were the first and the only the other kingdom had trading relationships with outside of their continent. Questionable how long this would be the case. However, as long as it lasted they would make the best out of it!

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After they returned to the Kou Empire they kept in touch with Ignis through phones, which was somewhat strange of course, Shellphones did not exist only since yesterday, but the phones in the kingdom of Lucis were so different and far more advanced than those of the rest of the world. Kougyoku had been extremely worried that communication might not possible because of those differences, however it worked somehow.

The end of this little stories was that the three slowly became friends and now Ignis would pay Hakuryuu and Kougyoku a visit. Originally Ignis was not the only guest they had invited over, however Noctis became father and wanted to stay with his wife and the new born. Gladio was Noctis' guard and so he had to stay behind as well, while Prompto wanted to take as many pictures as he could from the baby. Ignis at first wanted to stay as well, but in the end decided against it. Maybe because he didn't want to bother the queen and the child? More than enough people were surrounding them now, so another one may be too much. Well, it didn't matter in the end. He was coming over and Hakuryuu and Kougyoku were freaking out over it.

While Kougyoku was excitedly fantasizing about all the delicious food they would cook together, Hakuryuu worried that his sister Hakuei may interfere and poison everyone with her creations. All he could do was to hope that she would stay wherever she was right now for the rest of the day – or at least stayed away from the kitchen.
Ignis seemed not nervous at all, when he arrived. Maybe a bit exhausted from the long journey, but not nervous. Perhaps he was more used to visiting friends oversea? Well, it wasn't hard to have more experience with friends than Kougyoku and Hakuryuu, who both barely had any.

Before the three disappeared in the kitchen, they rested in the big garden of the palace and talked about various things that had happened in the last months. Most of the talking was done by Ignis. So much for resting. After resting they had a short tour through the palace. Hakuryuu wasn't sure whether this was useful for Ignis, who could not see anything anyway, but why stopping his big sister enjoying herself, when their guest was not complaining at all?

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As a matter of prudence Kougyoku had prepared an apron for Ignis. Both Hakuryuu and Kougyoku had their own. Hakuryuu had made one for Kougyoku and she had made one for her little brother. It had been an extremely long discussion and a lot of thinking, but in the end they had decided to give Ignis an apron with the words "The mom" on it. Calling Ignis "mom" came from the way his friends in Lucis teased him with it. They two royals thought it was a funny nickname and a fitting one. The blind man, who nevertheless still wore his glasses, was a caring, kind and thoughtful person. The way he treated his king and gave advice reminded everyone of a good mother. Furthermore, he seemed to be the most levelheaded person out of his group of friends. Ignis was a great person.
The color of the apron was white.
Kougyoku's apron was pink and had words "cutie pie" on it, beneath the words was a cupcake. Hakuryuu's apron was white and had the words "kiss the cook" on it. His sister had giggled like crazy back when she gave it to him and when he had read out the words kissed him on his cheek. Judar was teasing him with it as well, but Hakuryuu wasn't bothered by it anymore. At first it had been embarrassing, yet he thought it was funny. His sister had put a lot of effort, love and time into making the apron, so there was no reason to be ashamed of wearing something that was made with so much devotion. And he got a lot of kisses on his cheek every time he cooked together with Kougyoku and wore the apron. Once he had asked her, why she did kiss him. Her answer was surprising and pleasant, because until now he thought he didn't deserve love and a family. Of course, this thought had changed a bit through the time he spent with Kougyoku and Judar, however his feelings often told him otherwise. Feelings were hard to change, even when someone knew they were wrong. Sometimes he wished a special someone would give him a kiss, but this did not made the kisses of his sister less important, nice and pleasant. Knowing their bond got deeper and deeper was a great knowledge. During their cooking session with Ignis, Kougyoku did not gave kisses away, but she giggled at Hakuryuu, when he put on his apron. Ignis made no comments about any of the aprons. Not because he could not see anything, since Kougyoku told him how each apron liked like, but because he simply did not care much. The young man thanked his two new friends for the gift and looked amused about it.

After exchanging gifts, the three now got down to the important matter. What should they cook? And how should they share work between each other? Hakuryuu and Kougyoku were unsure how Ignis would do inside an unknown kitchen. In Lucis the advisor knew where all supplies were, but in the palace kitchen he did not. Well, they would manage somehow and the other one was grown up and could decide for himself, what he wanted to do and what he was capable of doing. Ignis wanted to eat a typical Kou dish, while the other two wanted a lucish meal. In the end they decided to make a mix. Each of them would make a part of the meal. Kougyoku took care of the dessert, Hakuryuu was responsible for the side dishes and the appetizer and Ignis made the main dish.

While they cooked, they had a few problems with the conversation in the beginning. Starting a conversation was hard for both of the Kou children. But just cooking in silence was not so nice, somehow in Lucis things had been easier.
"Say Ignis, how old have you been, when you started cooking?", Kougyoku asked.
Someone had to try to start a conversation.
"Huh, good question. It wasn't so long ago."
"Why have you started?", Kougyoku asked another question.
"Because of Noctis. He left the palace, when he got into high school and had to take care of himself. However his highness was not good at cooking and would only eat fast food, so I decided to learn how to cook to provide him with balanced meals. You cannot believe how hard it is to do so, when your king refuses to eat his vegetables!", Ignis explained.
"This reminds me of Judar. He dislikes vegetables as well and would always throw them away", Hakuryuu said.
Often had he cooked for the black-haired Magi, who throw the vegetables from the plate as soon as he saw them. It hurt a bit to see this, but he had accepted it. Judar was not someone, who gave much about good food. All he wanted was peaches. Peaches were tasty, but one should not only eat those. It was unhealthy.
"Judar? I think, I haven't met Judar yet", Ignis said.
"You will meet him soon enough", Hakuryuu reassured his friend.

"When did you two started to cook?", Ignis asked.
"Well, as a child I was alone often. Since I was only the daughter of a whore, no one cared about me and my well-being. They kept me alive, but I was neglected most of the time. One day I sneaked into the kitchen, because I was so hungry, but the chef refused to make me something at such a late hour, so I wanted to do it myself", Kougyoku explained.
As child it was hard to really cook something, especially when one never had cooked before. Moreover, she liked sweets more than any of the other dishes, so she wanted something sweet. Somehow she still had managed to make herself something to eat and she had had a lot of fun. Not much fun was the cleaning afterwards and the scolding she got for not doing so in the first place.
"Why would a servant refuse the order of a royal?"
Ignis was surprised over such a behavior. Besides Noctis and his father, the late king, no royal had lived in the palace and no one had ever refused an order of them. Well, they did when Regis, Noctis' father, ordered the servants to refuse certain things for Noctis. Apparently things were different, when one was not the crown prince.
"Well, I am just the daughter of a whore and at that time my father was not even the emperor. I was no one. Before me were my three older brothers and my six older sisters and of course the emperor and his family. One could say, despite being a part of the royal family, I was nobody. Unimportant and useless. A burden to everyone", Kougyoku spoke with a lump in her throat.
"I see. That sounds terrible. Noctis was the only child of the former king, so no one ever thought about denying him a wish. I guess, things are different, when one isn't the crown prince."
"Yes, thing are quite different, when one is a low born."
The atmosphere got heavy.

"What about you, Hakuryuu? Why did you learn how to cook?"
"After the fire incident that killed my brothers and ensured the usurper's enthronement, my sister Hakuei and I taught us how to cook. My sister was of the opinion that we should learn how to take care of ourselves. For the people of this palace we were nothing important anymore. My uncle was the new emperor and so his family was now important. No one cared about a small child, who had nothing to give. So why should they do anything special for such a child? We weren't as neglected as Kougyoku had been, but the way they had treated as before and after the murder of my father and older brothers was … Well, we just had to get more independent. And so we taught ourselves how to cook and it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, my sister was not very talented and I always had to taste her creations. She did not get better over the years. For me cooking turned also into something that distracted me from the loss of my family and it was something I was good at. Since I had slept for two months, my sister knew a few things about cooking, when I joined her. I guess, she liked teaching me the basics and it felt nice to spend so much time with her. Although it felt awkward at times", Hakuryuu answered.
The reason why he started cooking was not a pleasant one. However, this did not change how much fun he had with his hobby now. It was the same in Kougyoku's case.
"Let's talk about something more fun!", Kougyoku suggested.
"You're right. I am sorry. It wasn't my intention to remind any of you of such horrible things."

The following silence was awkward, but no one wanted to say anything. Ignis didn't want to hurt his new friends again and Kougyoku and Hakuryuu had no topic.
Maybe it wasn't so bad to cook in silence, but things might have been better, when the silence wasn't so unpleasant. From time to time Ignis asked for a few supplies.
"Is it hard to cook without seeing anything? I mean, you do not see your fingers. Aren't you afraid of cutting yourself? Or using the wrong ingredients? And how can you see or how do you know whether certain meals are ready? When I think about cooking without seeing anything, I cannot image how this should work."
This question bothered Hakuryuu for quite some time.
"A lot of practice. Normally, I am not alone in the kitchen, when I prepare the meals, so I always have someone at my side, who can help me or prevent a disaster. Moreover, I make sure that all supplies always return to their specific place", Ignis explained as if it was totally logical and normal.
For Hakuryuu it was not and his admiration for his friend rose. He wasn't blind on his left eye, but his vision there was extremely bad, which caused a few inconveniences for him, especially when he just learned how to cook. Of course, he had gotten used to his bad vision, but differently than Ignis he was still able to see something through both of his eyes.
"I think this is amazing", Hakuryuu said.
"Agreed! You are really amazing!", Kougyoku agreed with her little brother. "I have a question as well: Why are you called "mom" by your friends? Or better asked, when did they start to do so? "Mom" is an unusual nickname."
"I guess, say call me that, because I am always worried about Noctis and treated him like a mother would treat their child. Noctis lost his mother, when he was still very young, so when I was assigned as his advisor I thought I had to fill in her spot in same way. Someone, who cooks for him, cleans his room, help him with schoolwork and all those other things. Also I told him, what he should wear, so he wouldn't get sick. For me all these things were normal things. I never thought that I did more than I should or would mother him. He had needs and as his servant, his friend and advisor I had to take care of those. When we set out for our journey to Noctis' and Lady Lunafreya's wedding, I also took care of Prompto and Gladio. Well, Gladio was good at looking after himself, but Prompto had never been outside the crown city and also never had fought a fight before. Maybe I overdid it a bit. We were already adults back then."
"Sounds like a funny reason to call someone a "mom" and like they mean it in a nice way. So, they started to call you "mom" during your trip?"
"No, we made some "mom" puns and so, but it was actually my wife Aranea, who started with this nickname. She loved teasing Noctis about being so dependent and call him a mother's boy. Once Noctis asked her, who his mother should be, since his mother was dead. Instead of feeling bad or being shocked Aranea said I would be Noctis' mother. Ever since then I am officially called "mom"."
A big smile appeared on Ignis face. It was a nice memory.

"I wish I could remember my mother", Kougyoku said.
Hakuryuu kept his thought about the "mother"-topic to himself. He had loved his mother until he had found out that she had only manipulated him. Remembering all the beautiful events of the past pained him, since it reminded him about all the thing he actually never had. All her loved had been a lie and all the horrible events after the fire incident were part of his mother's true nature. Looking at Ignis made him think about the qualities a good mother should have and it made him smile. He wished his mother would have been like this, had truly been like this and not just a part of her play pretend.

The next topic the three talked about was the trip Ignis had mentioned. Until now Kougyoku and Hakuryuu only new about political marriages – not that they thought this was the only kind of marriage, but it was the most common one. Having a bachelor party before marriage was therefore unknown to them. Never had they expected that Ignis' story would turn into a story about fighting against a manic, who wanted to destroy the world. It sounded a bit surreal, yet they did not question it, since they had experienced a lot of strange events themselves. Just because something started out normal, did not mean it would stay normal until the end.

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Eating self-made food was great, especially when one could share it with friends. While eating they discussed how they could improve their dishes, shared recipes and talked about their favorite food. Of course, Ignis knew more than just typical recipes from Lucis. The same applied Hakuryuu, who also knew a few other dishes. Kougyoku felt a bit stupid, because she only knew Kou dishes.

Cooking together with Ignis had been a lot of fun and they would do it again. Not just while he stayed, no they would invite him over another time again. Sharing stories with him, laughing with him and just do normal stuff was a great feeling. It gave Kougyoku and Hakuryuu a sense of normality. And this was a feeling both needed desperately. So many things had happened in their lives that it almost normal for them that everything was a mess.