"Alright, troops! Today's lesson: taming the cutting board! Remember, a sharp knife is a loyal friend, but a dull one is a treacherous foe!" announced Dearka.
"Please, Dearka. This is easier than piloting a GINN," scoffed Yzak.
He reached for a knife, a cocky grin on his face. But his grin vanished as quickly as it appeared when he sliced his finger clean. "Ow! Fragile vegetables, my foot!"
Athrun, on the other hand, approached the task with the utmost caution. He meticulously examined each vegetable, his movements slow and precise. But after several minutes, all he had to show for his effort was a pile of vegetable confetti.
"Maybe I should just stick to mobile suits," he sighed in defeat. "The only time I'm even good with a knife is whenever cooking isn't involved."
Mu, the ever-reliable one, surprised everyone with his knife skills. His cuts were precise, even, and efficient. Dearka, genuinely impressed, whistled.
"Looks like we have a secret chef among us!"
"Don't mention it," commented Mu La Flaga. "I passed by class by making sushi."
Dearka smiled and placed a hand on La Flaga's back. "You should show us some of that sushi later."
Meanwhile, Kira, Shinn, and Andrew weren't faring as well. Kira's mind seemed to be elsewhere, resulting in uneven cuts. Shinn, ever impatient, hacked away at the vegetables, leaving them more like mangled chunks. Andrew, completely new to the kitchen, resembled a deer in headlights, unsure where to even begin.
Dearka chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Alright, alright, looks like we have a long way to go but hey, at least nobody's launched a missile into the kitchen… yet."
Everyone grumbled and Dearka put the cut up meats into a frying pan to show them how to cook meat.
"Unless it's beef, make sure everything is thoroughly cooked," said Dearka. "Otherwise, your stomach will be in for an unpleasant surprise."
"What about vegetables?" asked Shinn.
"Those you can eat raw," said Dearka. He then put the large and uneven cuts made by Kira, Shinn, and the Desert Tiger in a large boiling pot.
"If you really don't want to use the pan, then just drop it in the pot to make soup. Don't ever experiment with your food and look up instructions," stated Dearka. "Trust me. That's one of the reasons Miriallia has a hard time making something nice."
"Well that certainly explains why the beef soup she made was not only raw but had clams in it," recalled Kira. "How long does it take for meat to cook?"
"5-15 minutes. Depends on the cut and meat," answered Dearka. "Also, always set timers to avoid undercooking and overcooking."
"Uh, I think I just overcooked mine," said Athrun.
Acting quickly, Dearka turned off Athrun's stove and opened the windows to let the smoke out.
"That was close."
For a few moments, no one said a word until finally Athrun decided to break the silence by asking whether they should buy more groceries.
"Yes. And while you're at it, help Kira and Shinn buy replacement items for his barbequed house."
As the trio left, Dearka pulled out some seasonings and got ready to prepare their next lesson.
"Okay, was that everything?" asked Kira.
"Nope. We still need a new oven and spatula," informed Shinn. "Hey, I'd like to test out your car's features. Mind if we take a break and go down to the range?"
"No. If you do that, someone's gonna call the cops."
Shinn shrugged his shoulders and helped Athrun carry the new pots and pans to the cashier.
"Your grand total is $50,000. Cash or card?"
"Card," responded Athrun. He pulled a piece of plastic and after a swipe, he got a surprising message.
"Rejected."
The cashier looked at the two boys who cleaned the card and tried again but got the same message.
"Hold up for a moment," commented Athrun.
He dialed a number into his phone and moments later came back with a worried look on his face.
"They thought someone stole my credit card," informed Athrun as he swiped again. "And almost canceled it for me."
Shinn resisted the urge to laugh while Kira looked at the increasing line behind them.
"We better hurry or everyone's gonna hate us for holding the line."
As they left, Kira saw a few thugs going through Athrun's car and trying to pocket some cash.
"Hey Athrun, I think you have some uninvited guests."
The former ZAFT pilot looked at his car and after putting their new purchases in Shinn's car, walked over to the thugs with Kira to demand an explanation.
"Hey guys, I'm sorry but my car's not for sale. Care to explain why it's unlocked?"
The leader of the thugs pulled out a gun while the rest of them pointed their knives at Athrun.
"Hey Athrun," addressed a meek Kira. "You're insured right?"
"Yeah why?"
Kira gave Shinn a thumbs-up and seconds later, Kira's Z3 roared to life and brought out its forward firing machine guns. The look on the thugs' faces was more than enough to tell them that they screwed up big time.
"Run."
Athrun didn't need to be told twice as he and Kira hightailed their way from Athrun's car while Shinn fired the Z3's built in weaponry. Though the shots took out the thieves, a loud boom was more than enough to let Athrun know that Shinn had overdone it.
"Gundamit Shinn! I said to leave Athrun's car in one piece, not leave us one piece," cursed Kira.
"Sorry but how do you shut this off?" yelled Shinn over the loud machine gun fire.
Kira internally sighed while Athrun gave his best friend an annoyed look.
"Good thing I left nothing of value inside," commented Athrun.
Kira ignored him as he directed Shinn to the manual and after several minutes of loud machine gun fire, the Z3 finally stopped shooting and Kira was able to take his BMW back from Shinn.
"From now on, you read this before you use anything," commanded an annoyed Kira.
Shinn apologized once again before taking the manual with him to his car. Before they could leave though, the sound of sirens pierced the air and seconds later, the trio found themselves sitting in the back seat of a police car with several extremely unhappy and pissed thugs.
Lacus and Cagalli were doing their best to show Miriallia how to properly cook when suddenly Lacus' phone rang. The pink haired princess picked it up and moments later, showed Cagalli and Miriallia the contents while laughing.
"The heck?" asked Cagalli. "What did our lovable idiots do now?"
Kira had sent her a selfie of him, Athrun, and Shinn crammed together in the back of a police car with several bruises while holding fake prison inmate number signs. The text caption read: "We survived the back of a police car."