Characters: Mazaki Anzu & Jounouchi Shizuka (mention of Shizuka x Otogi)
Rating: G
Theme #4: Gingerbread Cookies
Disclaimer: Yuugiou is copyrighted to Takahashi Kazuki.
For as long as she could remember, she wanted to learn how to bake as perfect as her mother. She was the only one who could bake a cake, a pie, bread or cookies with nothing but a perfect result- tasty, crunchy, a golden glaze, excellent structure. Whenever her mother baked, the kitchen would be filled with a heavenly scent, and she could do nothing but to wait until her mother pulled her perfect baking out of the oven before a mouth-watering taste.
Jounouchi Shizuka wasn't about to allow herself to get down by this. One day, she'd achieve the perfect baking herself, but as she was glaring at the ingredients, the large bowls, some spoons and the cookbook, she decided that today was not that day. She huffed, blowing some stray strands of hair out of her face. Why oh why couldn't she succeed? She tried before, and she'd only managed to burn or to mutilate her baking beyond recognition. Frustrated, she picked up the bowl again, cradling it into her arms as if it was a wee baby, and started stirring the batter again, muttering under her breath.
The doorbell rang, but she wasn't expecting any company and immediately assumed it was for her mother, who she heard walking to the door to answer it. Shizuka refused to ask for help, wanting to achieve maximum result on her own, and her mother had, after smiling at her daughter, retreated wisely to the living room to catch up on reading magazines this lazy Saturday afternoon. While she was stirring the batter, eyes fixed on the appropriate page in the cookbook, she suddenly heard her name being called out.
"Shizuka-chan?"
Looking up, a bright smile showed on her face. "Anzu-chan!"
The other girl ventured into the kitchen, smiling as well. She put her purse on the table, away from the display of ingredients and cookware. Curiously, Shizuka looked at her- Anzu was a good friend, and a veritable source of good advice. If anything, Shizuka longed to be as independent and determined as she was; it was no secret anymore that Anzu had high goals, to become a dancer and study for it in New York, saving every yen for it since she was a small kid.
"It's your big night tonight," Anzu said, winking at her and smiling. Shizuka blushed. It was just a simple date with Otogi Ryuuji, but her circle of friends found it very amusing somehow; she knew Otogi and Honda had been 'chasing' her ever since she was released from the hospital after her eye surgery, but she hadn't given both of them any chance until...until everything was over, concerning Yuugi and his mysterious Sennen Puzzle. She still hardly understood the half from what was going on, but it had changed the circle of friends- to an even tighter unit, caring and looking after each other. Shizuka wasn't sure if it was suffocating or comforting. In any case, her date with Otogi wasn't a secret anymore either, and Anzu was probably here to give her advice or something.
"Do you know what you want to wear, or are you going to buy something new? We still have time to shop for something, and I'll help you with your hair and make-up, so you'll look extra pretty tonight." Anzu smiled, opening her purse and taking out a make-up set, looking for a spot to put it down. The table was covered with baking equipment and the large cookbook.
"What are you baking anyway?" she asked with curiosity in her voice.
Shizuka sighed and put the bowl down. "Gingerbread cookies," she answered. "I want to surprise Otogi-san."
Anzu moved her hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter, making it look like she was thinking. It was typically Shizuka to think that something self-made would be hopelessly romantic to give to her date- and of course, it was very endearing and Anzu was sure that Otogi would appreciate it...but gingerbread cookies?
"Anything I can do to help you before I start prettifying you?" She offered, noticing that Shizuka was a little heated by the whole baking thing. The large bowl she cradled almost protectively to her chest showed Anzu the rather thick batter. She wasn't really sure how to give advice on that one- she could hardly bake herself and didn't have much interest in it, but Shizuka probably didn't add enough milk to it, as it was rather chunky looking.
"I don't know what I did wrong, it always goes like this! I want to give Otogi-san his cookies tonight!"
Anzu laughed, delighted by Shizuka's romantic-inclined determination, only slightly ruined by her frazzled look and the flour in her hair.
"Shizuka-chan, don't worry! I'm sure it'll turn out all right."
"Even if it does, I'm probably going to burn it in the oven anyway," she muttered under her breath. Angrily pointing at the cookbook, she all but snarled: "And it's supposed to be easy! Easy!"
"Tell me what you did and I'll take a look at it," Anzu said, using a reassuring tone in her voice. "You're going to take a shower, and when you're done, you'll call me and I'll do your hair and make-up."
Shizuka's cheeks coloured a little red, obviously embarrassed about it. "I followed the recipe to the letter and I didn't want to ask my mother for advice. I'm supposed to be able to do it myself..."
Anzu walked around the table, putting her hand on the bowl and slowly taking it out of Shizuka's arms, putting it on the table. "You. Are going to take a shower, now. You have flour in your hair, and you look all flustered. We want you prim and pristine tonight, remember? For your date. Let me take care of this while you go clean yourself up, all right?"
"B-but Anzu-chan..."
"Go," the elder girl nudged Shizuka to the kitchen door, "warm water and soap awaits you. Don't forget to put on a nice perfume. I'll be with you when you're ready."
With one last, quizzically look, Shizuka finally left the kitchen, leaving a small trail of flour behind her. Anzu continued to smile- Shizuka just had that effect on her. Like a younger sister and a hopelessly romantic friend in one...if Otogi would break her heart, she would break his arms. Heaving a sigh, Anzu turned toward the bowl and examined the chunky batter. Bah, why didn't she know a thing about baking, and why did she promise Shizuka to take care of it? The only time there was anything remote to a pastry in the Mazaki household, it was bought at the bakery or supermarket. Hesitantly, she picked up the carton of milk- she knew enough to see that too little liquid was added to the mixture- and tilted it a little to add.
"Not too much," a warm, female voice told her, and she gasped, startled. Anzu hadn't heard Shizuka’s mother come into the kitchen, and now her cheeks tinted a little red.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the elder woman said, and took the milk from her gently, taking up the large spoon with her other hand. "Adding too much liquid in one time won't do the batter any good...here, like this..."
With a routine build up in the course of years of much baking, she added milk to the batter, stirring with the spoon, adding some again and stirring again, until the dough was taking a nice form. Anzu watched Shizuka’s mother at work, taking out the dough from the bowl and rolling it out on a clean and lightly floured plate, every motion a sign of her experience, as she wasn't looking at the cookbook.
"Would you hand me the cookie cutters, Anzu-san, or do you want to cut them yourself?"
She picked up the cookie cutters from the kitchen table and smiled at the other woman.
"I'd like to cut them myself."
"I'll pre-heat the oven."
Anzu busied herself cutting out the cookies, listening once in a while if the shower had stopped running. Shizuka would be ready any moment now, and she had a lot of work to do- not that Shizuka wasn't pretty of herself, or needed lots of make-up; it was her long hair, for which Anzu had one of the greatest ideas to make her look extra beautiful. The braiding and the style would take some time, but the result would be worth it.
Placing the cookies on the plate, Shizuka's mother nodded, and shooed Anzu out of the kitchen.
"They'll be ready in ten minutes, but I know they're not for you, but for a nice young man who'll take my daughter out tonight. I'll make sure they're in a box when you're ready to leave."
Anzu thanked her and left the kitchen, purse and make-up set in hand. She met Shizuka in the hallway, wrapped in towels, with her hand on the doorknob for her bedroom door.
"Anzu-chan..? My cookies?"
"They're in the best of hands," Anzu answered her, nodding to the door, holding up the make-up set. Shizuka scowled a little, knowing that her mother had finished the baking. "I wish that I..."
"Get inside, Shizuka-chan," the elder girl wasn't about to let her finish, "you have plenty of time to reach perfection in your baking... and in applying your make-up and braiding your hair, but for now, let your friend and your mother give you a helping hand, all right?" She gave her a joyful wink, and Shizuka giggled.
Sure, there would be a day that she would present Otogi or any other date her perfect baking, just like her mother, but today was not the day. She resigned, and took place on a stool while Anzu hovered over her to start combing her hair, and gave into the pampering. After all, pampering was good and she was in good hands...closing her eyes to fully enjoy the treatment, she already smelled the gingerbread cookies, the delicious scent reaching her nose. Just perfect.