Serenedipity

Chapter - 10

After Soma left the room, Hana laid down trying to calm herself. They may have made this a routine but it still gave her butterflies. Her hand went up to her neck reflexively to fiddle with the flower charm on her ribbon only to find that it is not there, she sat straight up, ready to go search for it when her eyes fell on the object lying beside her bed. She couldn't help but sigh, picking it up she held it close to herself. This was the first gift Soma had ever gifted her, smiling at the memory. She finally relaxed and got comfortable as she kept it back beside her bed and fell asleep, tired after the eventful day.

After a long day of school and helping at the diner, Soma was already fast asleep on the kotatsu, while Hana was still awake, standing on top of two crates to reach the table. Jouichiro-san stood beside her as he told her about the basics.

"Listen, Hana. The trick to becoming a good chef is to meet someone you want to devote all of your cooking too." the male ruffled her hair with a smile.

"Really?! Then, I want to cook for Soma!" Hana said in a small squeaky voice.

" So, Hana...Do you love Soma?"

"Yes! I love him!" Hana said boldly. Jouichiro simply chuckled loudly as she tilted her head in a confused manner. A five-year-old child like her won't understand something as complicated as love. Well, it was better to leave it like that, she will soon know the meaning of those words and something tells him she means it more than she realizes.

"What should I teach you today, Hana-chan? It might be better to teach you how to cut with a small knife first instead of using the stove. The fire was not something that you could play with. Besides, if you can cut ingredients it might help me a lot." He wondered out loud. Hana had already learned about the basic like when to use which ingredients and memorized a few cookbooks, he was impressed when she started showing interest in cooking but he doesn't mind it one bit, Hana looked up at him, waiting for him to decide, unlike Soma, Hana is much easier to deal with. 'I'll be so glad to have you as my Daughter-in-law, You better not mess it up, Soma!"He smirked at himself. But, he decided on what to do and gave her one large sheet of nori. He then eyed the knife before reaching out to grab it. Once the knife was in his hands, he glanced at Hana. 'well, she is more responsible than soma.' "Be careful, okay, Hana?"

"Hai"

"First, try cutting this nori into long rectangles." the man instructed her to which she nodded too. With a wide smile, she started cutting them. It was surprising that she was willing to comply without even knowing what you were going to make.

"Done!" Hana pushed all the nori towards Jouichiro with a proud grin on her features. His eyes widen in slight shock. He ruffled her hair with a smile. To think that she was able to cut so neatly. Perhaps it's her talent.

"Good job, Hana! The next thing to do is make rice. I taught you that before so you know what to do, right?" he questioned. She has seen him make onigiri for both Soma and her lunches from time to time so she has a grasp of how to make it from watching. She nodded in response, "Yes."

"Alright, for now, let's call it a night. It's getting late."

The next day Hana woke up extra early to make onigiris for Soma. Jouichiro stood beside her but he decided to let her do it. She stepped up on the crates and washed her hands before drying them with a cloth that was near the sink. Placing a few seasonings and meat on the chopping, she carefully chopped them finely and placed them inside the sushi. Before closing the onigiri, she added soy sauce and a little bit of pepper for the meat inside before placing it on a bowl. Jouichiro wanted to see what she would do to fix the small basic mistakes she did. He had always been more learning from mistakes with them and it works great for them.