Akane tentatively approached the address on the slip of paper she had received. It had been difficult slipping out of the house unnoticed, particularly by the Saotomes. Her father had naturally tried to insist that he come with, but on this much she stood firm. She was meeting with friends - Yuka and Sayuri both were willing to cover for her on that front - and so Ranma really would not particularly enjoy himself heading out with her today. If he ever actually did enjoy himself whenever they went out on not-dates-really-they-were-just-hanging-out.
The lie made this a lot more painful. It felt like she was betraying him. Here she was meeting with his mother, and Ranma was left at home. Couldn’t even be allowed to come as Ranko. Akane knew how much Ranma ached to meet his mother as himself. He wanted that more than anything, and it was an impulse she understood all too well. Except that the curse made it impossible. That stupid curse had drawn a line between them that he dare not cross, on pain of death. It wasn’t fair to either of them. Yet here she was, about to spend a few hours with the woman on her request. She looked at the note and read it for the hundredth time.
“Dear Akane,
Given your desire to learn how to cook, I feel obliged to help you learn. Please come to the address below, so that we may continue our lessons. I look forward to meeting with you again.”
And below that was the address she was currently standing in front of. Akane marched right up to the front door and knocked. While she may not care too much for the implication that she learn purely for the sake of being a good wife to Ranma, she did long to learn how to cook. This was the best opportunity she might ever get to properly learn without interruption.
Nodoka opened the door and gave Akane a gentle smile that reminded her of Kasumi. “Welcome Akane,” Nodoka said. “Please come in, and we may begin whenever you are ready.”
“It’s nice to see you again, Mrs Saotome.”
“Please dear, call me mother. After all, that is going to be our relationship soon enough.”
“Th-thank you for making this offer! I promise to do better than last time!”
“I am sure it will be just fine. Please, come in.”
She followed her mentor through to the kitchen, noticing that Nodoka was not carrying around that same bundle she usually kept with her. It was probably around here somewhere, just in case Ranma paid a visit or something.
The kitchen was... a kitchen. It wasn’t quite the same as the one back home, maybe a little smaller. Certainly organised very differently. Nodoka was looking at her, smiling a peaceful smile. Looking again, it was the strangest thing. Nodoka looked so much like Ranma’s girl form, but that smile was the genuine sort that Kasumi tended to wear. Not the arrogant smirk or the obviously fake but adorable grin that Ranma wore to manipulate people. This was a much more peaceful smile, and being in its presence made Akane feel a little calmer.
“While this is not the same kitchen as you are used to, it should have all that you would require. However, we shall not be able to finish teaching you all you need to know today. Think about it like this. How long did it take you to learn how to kick properly? How long did it take for you to learn how to block? Not too long, correct? Well, then how long did your first kata take? That’s a bit more complicated, isn’t it? You would have to practise constantly to get good enough to run through a kata properly. It is the same with cooking. First learn how to do the individual steps, and then learn how to do them all together.”
“You really are a martial artist’s wife,” Akane breathed. That made entirely too much sense. She was trying to learn too much too quickly!
Nodoka giggled a little. “I’ve been thinking about our previous attempt quite carefully, and I think I’ve identified your biggest problem. You are indeed thinking of this in terms of a martial arts contest, but cooking is a labour of love rather than aggression. You see how easily you agreed with that metaphor? Akane, you need to relax before doing anything in a kitchen. You are far too tense.”
“What do you mean?” Akane asked.
“When you were cutting up the vegetables, you were so focused on the task that you wound up using too much strength and cut pieces of the board up as well. On top of that, you didn’t cut up the pieces equally. If you were a little calmer, you’d be able to cut them up better.”
“But, I -”
Nodoka patted Akane reassuringly on the head. “It’s good that you’re so determined, but without a little self control you won’t get anywhere. This isn’t a martial art, Akane. It’s a culinary art. Your end goal is to produce something pleasing to the senses. For now, you need to learn how to follow the instructions a bit more carefully. Do you think you can do that?”
Akane cast her eyes to the floor. She hadn’t thought about it like that. “I won’t let you down!” Akane said. “Thank you so much for helping me like this!”
“Before we begin to cook, I suggest that we go to the family room and try to meditate. That way you will be much calmer and more in control when you get to cooking. Would that be alright?”
Though she wanted to get down to the cooking process, she could see the validity of what Nodoka was saying. Right now she couldn’t sit or even stand still if she tried. Her hands rung each other automatically, she rubbed her arms, and just couldn’t stop herself from moving around. How could she cut vegetables if her hands were shaking from nervousness? How could she properly prepare a decent meal if she was using the same intensity she used to break bricks? That must be a big part of the disaster of last time. The contest she’d gotten into with Ranma. It still infuriated her that he could be that much better at preparing food than her. A male could beat her in a kitchen contest! Was it any wonder she was tense?
“Please sit down,” Nodoka said once they were in the family room. “I’m sure you’re already familiar with breathing exercises, yes? We’ll start by engaging in a little controlled breathing, and once you are suitably calm we shall begin the lesson.”
Nodoka adopted a standard seated position, and Akane followed suit. She wasn’t sure that this would work long term, but it couldn’t hurt. Could it? Besides which, Nodoka was smiling that gentle smile at her, and it felt somehow rude to refuse. She closed her eyes and took a single deep breath, holding it for just a moment and letting it back out.
“That’s right,” Nodoka reassured. “Breathe in, hold it, and breath out. Focus on your breathing to the exclusion of all other things. Keep your mind focused on your breathing, and your tension will leave your body. Then we can begin your lessons, and you will gradually improve piece by piece until you can cook anything your heart desires.”
She repeated this three times, straightened her posture and tried to focus on her breathing. In and then out. In and then out. Yes, that’s right. She was focusing on her breathing. Nothing else mattered. Not the fact that soon she’d be a great chef, and would be able to rub Ranma’s nose in just how tasty her meals were. Oh, but that would be fun! Making his own words a side dish!
“If your mind wanders, focus on your breathing,” Nodoka softly said. Akane winced. Her mind had wandered. Focus on the breathing. Drown out everything else, and meditate on the breathing. That was the point of the exercise. In and out. In and out. Keep herself calm. There was no Ranma to rile her up with his insults, none of his other girls trying to muscle in on their time together, no Kuno or Happosai to try and grope her...
“You’re frowning,” Nodoka said. “Focus on the breathing. Only the breathing.”
Curse her mind for wandering so readily! Right! Now was where her determination kicked in. She was going to focus on her breathing if it was the last thing she ever did. In and out, in and out. She lost sense of how many times she did it, lost track of how long she had been doing it and steadfastly ignored all thoughts creeping at her mind. “Can’t cook, shouldn’t cook!” Ranma taunted. “Flat chest pervert girl” Shampoo chanted. “It is only fitting that we should date!” Kuno crooned. Chase those thoughts away. Focus on the breathing.
A strange and sweet smell creeped into her nostrils, and though she did briefly think to herself “what is that?” she chased that thought away as well. Moments uncounted later she felt a sensation at her shoulders that felt almost as if someone were giving her a backrub, but that didn’t matter either. It was obviously Nodoka trying to help her relax more, so Akane focused on her breathing and scared away all thoughts that distracted from what she was focusing on.
“To become a great cook, you must first learn how to follow the recipe,” Nodoka whispered in her ear. “That means you must be able to follow instructions without thinking. Therefore, if you intend to be a good cook you must do everything I say without question. Do you agree, Akane?”
“Yes...” Akane breathed. That made perfect sense. She had come here to learn. It would be wrong of her to dismiss anything Nodoka said.
As for Nodoka, she simply looked at her hypnotised soon to be daughter in law and smiled. She may not be a good cook, but Ranma had certainly picked a wonderful fiancee. Now it was time for her to make the girl absolutely perfect for him...
Mon Jun 25 09:43:47 2012
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4 comments Last updated: Mon Jun 25 16:43:01 2012