The morning was bright and cheerful, and Kenshin was determined to be helpful. He had overheard Kaoru mumbling about needing a few things from the market rice, vegetables, soy sauce, and some tea. Seeing an opportunity to make her day easier, Kenshin immediately volunteered. "I'll go to the market and get everything for you!" he announced, full of enthusiasm.
Kaoru, who was busy preparing lunch, looked up in surprise. "You? Go shopping?" She paused, clearly debating if this was a good idea. But, seeing the hopeful look in Kenshin's eyes, she couldn't say no. "Alright, but please make sure you get exactly what's on the list. And no wandering off to look at swords!" Kenshin gave her a salute. "Don't worry! I've got it all under control." Kaoru handed him the shopping list, and with a bright smile, Kenshin grabbed a small basket and set off toward the market.
The market was bustling with people, stalls full of fresh vegetables, spices, and other goods. Kenshin strolled confidently through the crowd, but the sights and smells quickly became overwhelming. Still, he had the list he couldn't mess this up! Kenshin pulled out the list and read it carefully.
"Okay, first thing: rice."
He spotted a vendor selling grains and walked up to the stall. A friendly looking old man smiled at him.
"What can I get for you today, young man?" Kenshin smiled back.
"I'll need some rice, please."
The man held up two different bags.
"Do you want short grain or long grain?" Kenshin blinked.
"Um… both? Yes, both sounds good." The old man, a bit confused, handed him both bags. Kenshin, now holding way more rice than needed, smiled and moved on, convinced that Kaoru would be proud.
Next, Kenshin eyed the vegetable stalls. He scanned the list again.
"Vegetables… got it!" As he walked up to a vegetable stall, the wide variety of greens left him bewildered. Spinach, cabbage, daikon, eggplant… what was he supposed to buy again? He hadn't paid much attention to the exact vegetables Kaoru had mentioned.
"Maybe… I should just get a little of everything!" Kenshin mumbled to himself. So he did. He grabbed some cucumbers, two daikons, a cabbage, a whole bag of eggplants, and a mysterious vegetable he didn't recognize but thought might be important. By the time he left the stall, his basket was overflowing with vegetables that Kaoru had probably never cooked in her life.
Feeling quite accomplished, he checked the next item on the list: soy sauce. This one should be easy. He approached a stall that had bottles of sauces, oils, and spices. But once again, the sheer number of options overwhelmed him. Sweet soy sauce, dark soy sauce, low-sodium soy sauce, special brew soy sauce, and a whole array of bottles he'd never heard of.
"Excuse me," Kenshin asked the shopkeeper, "which soy sauce do most people use?" The shopkeeper grinned and, with a sly twinkle in his eye, handed him the largest, most expensive bottle on the shelf.
"This one! It's the finest soy sauce you'll ever taste." Kenshin, not wanting to seem unsure, nodded eagerly. "Great! I'll take it!"
By now, his basket was becoming quite heavy, but there was only one more item left: tea. Kenshin relaxed. He knew Kaoru loved tea. He could handle this. As he approached the tea vendor, he was greeted by an array of tea leaves and blends, far more than he expected. "Let's see… green tea? Black tea? Oolong? Jasmine?" Kenshin scratched his head. He stared at the dozens of tea jars in front of him. "Well, I should probably get… all of them?"
Half an hour later, Kenshin strolled back toward the dojo, struggling to carry a basket that was now overflowing with food, sauces, and a ridiculous amount of tea. As he approached the entrance, Kaoru came out to meet him. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of Kenshin practically buried under the groceries.
"Papa, what did you… buy?" Kenshin beamed, despite the sweat on his brow.
"I got everything, Mama!" He proudly set the basket down, revealing the absurd amount of rice, vegetables, the enormous bottle of soy sauce, and at least seven different types of tea. Kaoru blinked in disbelief, sifting through the random assortment of vegetables. "Kenshin, why do we have three eggplants and no carrots?" She held up a strange vegetable. "And what is this?"
Kenshin scratched his head, grinning sheepishly. "I, uh, wasn't sure what you needed, so I got a bit of everything." Kaoru sighed, then picked up the huge bottle of soy sauce. "And this? We don't need soy sauce for the entire year!" Kenshin chuckled nervously. "I thought it was a good deal." Kaoru shook her head, though she couldn't help but smile at his effort. "Papa, you tried… but maybe next time, I'll go to the market."
Kenji, who had been watching from the side, burst out laughing. "Papa, you bought the whole market!" Kenshin, scratching the back of his head, joined in the laughter. "Well, at least we won't run out of tea anytime soon!"