The Assistant Chef, Part 1

Later that day, Kirito and Asuna sat together at one of the tables at the centre of the dining area to work on their menu. Now that the restaurant is under her management, Asuna wastes no time in making some major changes to the place. She has already appointed Kirito to be her assistant chef, while Yui is now not only the restaurant's second waiter, but both she and Eugeo also have full access to everything at the counter including the drinks and the cash register, much to the latter's delight. Now, she and Kirito are busy making modifications to their menu while Yui and Eugeo sat together at a different table beside the restaurant window where just like what she and her foster father did with Asuna three nights ago, she spent twelve minutes explaining to him everything about themselves and their home world.

"So, let me get this straight." Eugeo rubs his temple before looking back at Yui as they sit in front of each other. "You and Kirito are actually foster daughter and father."

"Yup." Yui nods her head to every response Eugeo makes.

"And you two are from a world far away from ours called Earth Land."

"That's right."

"And it is a world filled with people who possess magic."

"Correct."

"And nearly two and a half years ago, you and your people participated in a war against an evil organization called the Abbey that is run by an insane researcher and a demon and has an army of brainwashed soldiers and faceless demons."

"That's right."

"And after you defeated the Abbey, you use the researcher's machine to send all the formerly brainwashed people back to their own worlds. But shortly afterwards, you all plan to use that same machine to create bridges between our worlds. And just four days ago, you all started travelling between Earth and Earth Land."

"Correct." Yui nodded one last time. "I know this is a lot for you to comprehend, but Papa and I sincerely hope you can keep all this a secret. The humans of your world are not ready to understand more about Earth Land."

"Yeah, I admit your entire explanation sounds like a chapter taken straight from a fantasy novel." Eugeo scratches his head before smiling back at her. "But since you two did help me get my job back, I promise to seal my lips over everything about you and your world."

Yui smiled back at Eugeo before she bows her head to him with gratitude. "Arigatou!"

"Y-yeah, no problem." Eugeo chuckled.

"Let's cross this one out as well." Asuna said to Kirito as she places her finger on the item on the menu in front of him that she wishes to remove.

"You got it." Kirito replied as he uses a marker to draw a line across the name of the item. "That's 24 down, which means there's 29 more to go. It's absolutely insane that Addie and Teddie would include over a hundred items on their menu."

"I know right?" Asuna chuckled. "I mean who would want to eat sushi in what is supposed to be a Western cuisine restaurant?"

"Honestly, Yui and I would like to try some sushi right now. We don't have that back in our world." Kirito said, looking back at his boss.

"Really? Despite the similarities between our cultures?" Asuna asked incredulously. Kirito nodded in response. "Huh, your home world truly is interesting. Maybe I should visit it some time."

"Well, unfortunately you can't as of now because the people of Earth Land do not allow you guys to enter our world." Kirito said.

"Come to think of it, where in our world did you guys first arrive at before coming here to Chicago?" Eugeo asked Kirito as he and Yui stayed at their table.

"We created four different transport hubs all across your world, but we are compelled by the Magic Council to not give away their locations to anyone on Earth." Kirito explained.

"That's a shame. I would totally love to see these flying cats and giant pigs that Yui mentioned up close." Eugeo said.

"Oh no. You do not want to go near those giant pigs. Trust me." Yui shuddered.

"Why not?" Eugeo asked Yui with an arched eyebrow. "I lived in a farmhouse in Kane County throughout my childhood before moving here. I'm sure I can handle it."

"No, you won't." Yui frowned at him. Asuna and Kirito chuckled at them before he flips to the next two pages of the menu which is the desserts category.

"Alright, the desserts." Asuna said, looking down at the pages. "This one is easy. Aside from the sundaes, banana split and ice cream float, we can remove all the cakes and pies."

"What?" Kirito and Yui said incredulously.

"Why, Asuna?" Kirito inquired. "I admit Addie's cooking wasn't the best, but at least the cakes still look great."

"Oh please." Asuna rolls her eyes before she, Kirito, Yui and Eugeo momentarily stare at the cake chiller. "Addie never made these cakes. They were store-bought."

"Store-bought?" Yui asked.

"It means they were bought from another shop, not home-made." Eugeo explained to Yui.

"So, Addie actually lied to us on our first day of work?" Kirito asked as he and Asuna look back at each other.

"Yeah." Asuna chuckled as she shrugs her shoulders. "What do you expect?"

"That's awful." Yui muttered, frowning angrily over the fact that she and her foster father have been deceived.

"So, what will we replace all the cakes and pies on the menu with?" Kirito asked. "We got to give our customers a reason why this place is called 'Asuna's Baking Company' after all."

"I'm thinking of creating my own cakes and pastries and selling them here. Back in Japan, my mother and I do bake our own cakes together on our birthdays." Asuna said. She places her hand on her chest and looks skyward with sparkling eyes. "Instead of selling them store-bought cakes and pies, I want to bring joy and warmth to people's hearts by baking them actual home-made cakes and pastries that will truly send their taste buds to heaven!"

"I hate to spoil the moment but you're going to make food with Kirito, handle the finances and bake cakes and pastries all at the same time?" Eugeo asked in concern. "I know you're the manager and head chef, but you got to have other people lift some weight off your shoulders."

"Why don't I help in the kitchen? Papa and I cook food together back in Mizuho after all." Yui suggested.

"But can you cook the food in our world without using the stuff and traditional methods of your world?" Asuna asked.

After struggling to answer her question for a few seconds, Yui lets out a sigh of defeat. "No."

"Exactly." Asuna sighed as well.

"Sorry, Yui." Kirito said to his foster daughter apologetically before looking back at his boss. "Not to mention, how are you going to have any time to bake your cakes and pastries? The restaurant opens at 8 am in the morning for breakfast service. Then, you need to make the sauces, soup, dough, and raviolis with me and handle the finances for only 2 or 3 hours at best in between services. Then, when the restaurant officially closes at 9 pm, which is also the end of dinner service, we have thirty minutes to clean up the kitchen and dining area before leaving the place by 9:30 pm. And then, when we reach home by 10 pm, we only have two hours of late dinner and rest before finally going to bed by 12 midnight, which gives us the acceptable period of 7 hours of sleep before waking up in the morning just in time by 7 am to prepare ourselves for another day of work."

"Well, I can just make a cake at home every night after dinner. How long can it take?" Asuna asked.


The next morning…

As the alarm from his orb rang, Kirito places his hand on it to deactivate it before rising from his futon and letting out a long moan as he stretches his arms out. He turns to the sofa beside him when he hears Yui yawning.

"Good morning, Yui." Kirito greeted. Yui pokes her head out from above the sofa and smiles back at him.

"Good morning, Papa!" Yui responded cheerfully. Suddenly, the door to Asuna's room opened and they both turn their heads to her. Their smiles disappear however when they see Asuna slouching and hanging her head down.

"Gooooooddd morniiinnnggg, guuuuyyyyssss…" Asuna groaned before lifting her head up to reveal her horribly sunken eyeballs, the ugly gray bags sagging underneath them, and her once smooth and beautiful skin on her face is now badly marred with wrinkles. Just one glance is all it took to make Kirito and Yui scream at the top of their lungs with their eyes nearly bulge out from their sockets.


Asuna continues staring blankly into space with her jaw agape for a few seconds after her premonition came to an end. She blows out another heavy sigh and admitted, "We really need another chef in the kitchen."


Thirty minutes later, while Yui and Eugeo are busy cleaning the floor and arranging the tables and chairs in the dining area, Kirito pastes a large advertisement behind one of the glass doors that reads 'Help wanted! Asuna's Baking Company is looking to hire a station chef with at least a year's experience in handling sauces, soup, roasting, grilling, pantry and/or pastry. If you are interested in working with us, walk right in to talk with us!'

"That should do it!" Asuna calls out to Kirito as she stands outside the entrance and watch.

"Yo, Asuna." The muscular bald man greeted as he walks up to her. Asuna turns to her right and smiles at him.

"Hello Agil." Asuna said as she places her hands on the sides of her hip.

"Congratulations in taking over the restaurant. I wish you good luck in your endeavours." Agil said with a warm smile of his own.

"Arigatou." Asuna replied cheerfully as she bows her head to him.

"So, is the restaurant open for service yet?" Agil asked.

"Not yet. Not until we find a third chef to work with us in the kitchen." Asuna said as Kirito steps out of the restaurant and walks over to them.

"Hi Andrew." Kirito waves his hand at him.

"Hello Kirito." Agil responded while waving his hand back. "And please, you may refer me as Agil."

"Alright then. Thanks again for letting me and Yui borrow your barbershop, Agil." Kirito said.

"No problem at all." Agil grinned.

"So, what are you doing here?" Kirito asked.

"Well, I usually drop by this restaurant every once in a while to have a tea break, even though I'm aware at times, its previous owners can be rather…explosive." Agil said.

"Basically, he's a regular patron of ours." Asuna said to Kirito.

"Honestly, I'm still quite stunned that Addie would end up doing what she did that got her in cuffs. I know she had problems, but I never expected her to cross the line." Agil said grimly.

"Us too." Asuna replied sadly as she and Kirito lower their heads. "Although I did not enjoy my time working for her, I still feel some pity for her. Everybody deserves to do what they love to do after all. But Addie unfortunately lost sight of that and made the wrong decisions instead." Her lips curve upwards as she and Kirito look back up at Agil. "That is why as the new owner, I'll show my respect for her by working hard to restore the image of this restaurant and this strip mall."

"That's the spirit." Agil smirked as he folds his arms. "I do hope your efforts will help bring new life to this place." Asuna and Kirito both chuckled in response.

"I know I said our restaurant isn't open, but since you have always been such a good patron, we can whip up a nice cup of earl grey tea for you. On the house." Asuna said.

"That sounds lovely." Agil replied in delight. Suddenly however, the glass doors open as both Yui and Eugeo rush over to Kirito, Asuna and Agil.

"Guys!" Yui and Eugeo both cried in alarm at Kirito and Asuna, much to their confusion.

"What is it?" Kirito asked.

"I umm…" Yui trails off for a moment when she and Eugeo sees Agil standing beside Asuna. She flashes a smile and waves her hand at him. "Hello Agil!"

"Yo, Yui." Agil winks an eye at her.

"Good afternoon, Agil." Eugeo greeted as well as both men wave their hands at each other.

"Good afternoon, Eugeo." Agil responded. While he is distracted, Yui raises her heels and whispers to Kirito and Asuna who both lean their heads towards her.

"My senses detected a man pasting a cardboard outside our building." Yui said softly to them. Kirito and Asuna nodded and turned to each other.

"Our security cameras spotted a man pasting a piece of cardboard outside the restaurant." Kirito said solemnly to Asuna.

"What?!" Asuna cried.

"That's right! It's the man with the bandana! He's back!" Eugeo yelled before he, Yui, Kirito, Asuna and Agil run over to the sidewalk and turn to their right. Sure enough, they see the same brown-haired bandana-wearing man standing in front of the wall beside the glass windows of their restaurant. He snickers malevolently as he pastes his newest piece of cardboard on the wall which he wrote 'You can find much cleaner food in the city's sewers than this junk heap of a restaurant! Stay away from this place like the plague!'

"Hey you! Stop this right now!" Asuna shouted angrily while pointing her finger at him. The man turns his head and grins at them.

"Oh, hey there, losers!" The man greeted mockingly as he waves a hand at them. "I read the news that the crazy woman who runs this place got arrested for assault and attempted murder. Serves her and her equally lunatic husband right! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"That's right! The couple whose reactions you enjoyed getting a kick out of is gone now! So why are you still bothering us?!" Eugeo asked lividly.

"One, even if they are gone, this dumpster fire of a restaurant is still standing. And two, what makes us think you guys are any different than them?" The man asked with a lopsided grin as he points his finger back at Asuna and her employees.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Asuna replied flatly as she folds her arms. "But I am a lot better chef than Addie was. And within time, I'm going to make this restaurant better than it was before."

The man snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right! I bet you don't even know that you are supposed to deep-fry your fish on your fish and chips by bringing the heat up slowly until the oil is between 350 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit, pull the cooked edges of your scrambled eggs toward the centre of the pan repeatedly before you start breaking it up to make them fluffier, place the dough inside an airtight box for 20 minutes after you made it super soft and sticky, or use 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt to mix with your bowl of flour while baking a simple white cake!"

Everyone gave different reactions as they listen to what the man said. Asuna and Eugeo narrow their eyes in annoyance and anger. Yui and Agil remain calm, while Kirito stares at the man in awe for a moment before his eyes grew wide and a huge smile slowly plasters across his face.

"If you are so intelligent, you shouldn't be wasting your time away harassing other people who are trying to do their jobs!" Eugeo snapped.

"And you shouldn't be wasting your time giving everyone diarrhoea with your awful food! So quit while you can, and peace out, losers!" The man gave them a mocking salute before he turns to his left and laughs maniacally as he runs away.

Asuna groans and shakes her head. "Some people just can't leave things alone, can't they?"

"Whatever." Eugeo said flatly as he and Asuna turn to each other. "Even if this guy keeps harassing us for all eternity, it is still us who are laughing all the way to the bank every day."

"Right." Asuna nodded in agreement.

"That's it!" Kirito cried happily, causing everyone to turn to him.

"What is it?" Asuna asked, confused by the huge amount of joy her assistant chef is beaming with right now. Kirito cups his chin as he pondered.

"That man…he seems to know how to cook just as much as Asuna…" Kirito turned to Asuna and yelled enthusiastically, "That man should be our third chef!"

"WHAT?!" Asuna and Eugeo both shouted incredulously.

There was a moment of silence among everyone until Eugeo rubs his temples and said, "Kirito, I can thank you and Yui for saving me from unemployment, but I cannot agree with you in hiring that psycho to be an employee of our restaurant!"

"I agree! No way we are ever thinking of getting that no-good harasser to work for us! Hands down!" Asuna yelled as she swings her arms horizontally through the air.

"Whoa, don't you guys think what you said about him is a little harsh?" Kirito asked with a frown.

"A little harsh?! That man has been bothering us and chasing away potential customers for the last two years!" Asuna shouted at him. "If he is so free to create these cardboard pieces and come down here to harass us almost every day, obviously, he is an unemployed nobody who has absolute zero wisdom and added value! So why would he be capable in working in any type of job, let alone as a chef?!"

"But…" Kirito tried to speak.

"No buts!" Asuna snapped. "We are not welcoming him into our restaurant…" As soon as she sees Kirito tries to protest, Asuna jabs her finger at him and finish with a bellow, "AND THAT IS FINAL!"

After she is done venting out her anger, Asuna widens her eyes and gasps softly when she realized who else was idly watching her display of uncontrollable rage all this time. She lowers her arm and turns her head to her right, and all the rage inside her and Eugeo vanished instantly when they see the sad frown now shown on Agil's face.

"Agil…" Asuna said, now feeling nothing but shame and regret. "Please…don't think of it that way. What I meant was-"

"Asuna…" Agil sighed sadly. "I have nothing against you. But I am a little worried that you might have taken a few tips from Addie and Teddie."

Without saying another word, Agil turns back to the direction of his barbershop and walks away. Asuna tries to speak, but silently lowers her head instead as she is now overwhelmed with guilt after what she did. Yui walks over to her and gently grabs her hand to comfort her.

"Asuna…" Yui said softly to her.

"Agil was right. I guess after my time working with her, I developed a little bit of Addie inside me." Asuna said dishearteningly.

"Yeah, we did go a little too far." Eugeo added grimly with his head down and his hands stuffed in his pockets. Kirito gave him a pat on his shoulder before turning to Asuna.

"Asuna, back in Mizuho, I help the authorities apprehend a lot of people who broke the law during my tenure as army captain." Kirito said calmly to her. "I would usually speak to them in the holding cells while they await trial, and I have heard a lot of reasons why they did what they did. One person said he wanted revenge on a man and his family for making his father jobless by having them share the same pain they are going through. One teenager said he had no choice but to steal because he was desperate to pay up for the medication for his ailing mother. And one woman said she nearly killed her husband who wanted to file a divorce because she was angry and frustrated with herself for not being able to save their relationship. While there's no denying that they are still regarded as criminals, they do have their side of the story behind their actions. And if that is the case, I'm sure that man also has his own story for what he is doing."

As Asuna takes a few moments to contemplate Kirito's words, she cannot help but be reminded of her mother and her past mistakes with Rika and Eugeo again. She sighs heavily and replied to Kirito, "You're right. If I don't give others a chance to understand them, then I would be no different than Addie and Teddie." She sees Kirito smiling and nodding his head to her before turning to Eugeo. "Eugeo, I know this may seem crazy, but let's go find and talk to that man."

"I'm with you, boss." Eugeo nods back to her. "But how are we going to find him? He doesn't always come here every day, and I'm sure none of us want the restaurant to remain closed longer than it should." Kirito smirked as he turns to Yui.

"Did you manage to leave your aura on that man before he leaves?" Kirito asked his foster daughter.

Yui nods her head to him and replies cheerfully, "I sure did!"


Sovereign: I would like to thank LayLay lives, AquaBluey, SeleneMoonFall, Allfather-Ford, Guest, NoNameBecauseWhy, YellowBeetle123, Hawkeye1610, SinglePenguin, Azakron and ElecFlameFox for reviewing, favoriting, and following! Thanks everyone!

It's been a long while since I've updated this story, hasn't it? I'm really sorry for the long wait but that's because I've been busy writing and planning out two other stories I had in my mind. Plus, life has been busy for me too.

I also apologize if this chapter is shorter than expected, but while I was planning this story arc, I decided to make the first part short and end it right there. But I still hope you enjoy reading this and be sure to leave a review!