Chapter 5- Cooking

Kenzo settled down uncomfortably on a soft leather couch, bangs covering parts of his deep crimson eyes. He stared into the fire, watching it dance and flicker about, smoke rising up into a chimney above. The fire warmed his skin, and soon he was dry. Around him, the others laughed and chatted, with most of the conversations involving Klee.

"Say, Klee… What did you and Kenzo do all morning?" Jean asked, turning her head to Kenzo.

"Us? We just went on a little excursion. Picnic of sorts." Kenzo said calmly, staring at Klee from the corner of his eye.

Klee nodded in understanding and piped up:

"Yup! Klee and Kenzo went on a fun adventure!"

"Is that so…. In the morning, I heard rumors of a few unnatural explosions by Starfell Lake." Jean frowned a little, staring deep into Klee's eyes. The two, child and adult, looked at each other for a few moments before Lisa cleared her throat.

"Hm… On another note, what shall we be eating on this fine rainy night?" She giggled, patting Jean on the shoulder.

"Yes indeed. I am feeling quite peckish at the moment," Kaeya clapped his gloved hands together, flipping a shining golden coin into the air.

"Why don't we cook up something ourselves?" Eula said, pursing her lips as she paced about, looking at the rest of them. Kenzo shrugged, and the rest of them stared at each other, before nodding. It would be much more convenient than having someone bring something through the rain.

Few Minutes Later….

"Careful with the pan! Coming through! Hot, hot, hot!"

"So I suppose we may eat in the library?"

"Yes, you may… Now dear, please do not get any crumbs on the carpet, or you are in for quite a shock."

"No alcohol either…"

"You think so lowly of me?"

"Can we just cook in peace?"

Kenzo growled in annoyance as his knife flashed across the wooden board, the smell of woodchips and baked bread heavy in the air. The Knights Of Favonious Headquarters Kitchen was a small but quaint place, with beige walls and smooth oak tiles. Kitchen equipment and cabinets were neatly placed.

He slid some chives into a small bowl, sniffing. Kenzo knew how to cook, having done it a lot in his early childhood. The responsibility of the oldest… Around him, Eula, Lisa, and Kaeya went about, cooking up their own specialties. The kitchen pantry was stuffed with resources, so going out was mostly unneeded.

It was a potluck of sorts, which was interesting. All of them were just cooking what they wanted. It was getting quite late as they went about, with the sun just setting and the moon rising. Kenzo was trying an old recipe of his. Food from what people here called: "Inazuma".

Slitting the throat of an eel, he chopped it up, raining down spices and such upon it, along with a giant wok of steaming hot rice. To the side, a thick orange sauce steamed as he nimbly scooped and dumped things on each other to create his "masterpiece".

Steaming Unagi Fried Rice!

Within a bowl, Kenzo sniffed in satisfaction. While it may have seemed salty at first, it really wasn't. More sweetness. Countless grains of glinting sauce dipped rice made up the expanse, all coated in a golden brown. Carrots, chives, and peas were littered about and a neat block of Eel was placed upon its top, almost melting into the bowl.

He propped the bowls about and walked down the kitchen hall, the rest of them staring at him in wonderment.

"That man… Really can do it all." Eula said as she stared into the oven, her pie baking to a honey-brown color.

"If only he were a tinge bit more sociable." Kaeya sighed as he stabbed a baked fishhead with a stick.

Kenzo walked down the stairs, his crimson eyes concentrated as he balanced six bowls upon each other in an oddox manner. Of course, that was the only way to hold them. Nodding to an exhausted Knight, he entered the Library once more, sliding the bowls upon a wooden table, clapping his gloved hands together.

"Oh!" Klee rushed over, staring with drool at the Unagi bowl.

"Don't touch, it's hot. Wait for everyone else to come by first too. I'm a little early, though the food is quite hot." Kenzo shrugged, before disappearing back behind the labyrinth of bookshelves.

Jean sat nearby, fumbling over a pile of paperwork. As usual, she found a way to make "use of her time", or do work. Responsibility of the Acting Grandmaster….

Kenzo sighed, thinking of the times his old friend complained about paperwork, tearing out his hair over the latest trading deal and such. While it was quite funny, they had many similarities actually… Caring, selfless, empathetic. They were traits he was conflicted over….

"You sure do love paperwork, don't you," Kenzo said in a long drawl, looking down as Jean read through pages and pages of work. "Take a break. Better die at an old age than die early to a bunch of words…."

"I-I can't. I, as the Acting Grandmaster of the Knights Of Fav-" Jean stood up, resolution, and bags under her eyes.

"Ugh… Can't stand your type. Don't go on and on about honor. What honor will you have left if you die from exhaustion?" Kenzo walked away, shrugging as his cascading black hair shifted about as he gracefully left the scene.

"Sister! This is what I'm telling you!" Barbara pulled at Jean's arm and a rare frown painted the idol's face. The young teen put her hands on her hips, "Even if what Kenzo said was… Rude! But you really need to step down for a bit and let us help!"

Kenzo rolled his eyes in the background, walking back up the stairs to the kitchen as Barbara gave her big sister a well-needed talk on responsibilities and burnout.