Inspiration

Despite all the setbacks, Kosaki wasn't going to give up. Time was running out and she'd be expected to put up something with quality behind it in just one day. Yet with all her efforts, it seemed not much had improved during her time spent in the kitchen alongside Anadama.

"You truly are one hopeless girl." He lamented after taking a bite of her most recent creation. While it didn't nearly end his life like her first one, it was mostly because he was more prepared for it to lack in what he would call the quality of anyone who would call themselves a baker.

He couldn't believe someone such as herself would be as bad as she was. While he understood many people had challenges in certain aspects of their lives. They also normally weren't so bad after spending the amount of time they had in the kitchen together.

"I'm really trying my best." She responded, trying to keep a positive attitude.

"And your best isn't good enough." He gave her a healthy dose of reality in response. "I can't pass you if this is what you submit tomorrow. That would be pretty unethical of me."

"It's good that you don't allow yourself to be biased." He couldn't believe that was her response. They were talking about something which could bring about her time in the academy to a sudden and complete stop. Yet she treated him positively despite being her worst enemy at this point of time.

"And it's bad that you're way too nice." He replied, unmoved by her words. "Now come on, let's give it one more go." They needed to think of something to mix things up. His traditional means of teaching weren't working. Though whether it was due to her poor skills or because he wasn't fit to be a teacher due to his attitudes were up in the air. "Maybe me showing and you doing just isn't good enough. I am elite and you're not, so maybe it's because you just don't understand why I'm doing things."

"Maybe just a tiny bit of guiding might help?" She suggested? Unfortunately for Kosaki, she was only ever average when it came to school. Which meant she had no idea what it took to excel in anything. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that the one thing she happened to not be average in, went in the wrong direction to absolutely horrid.

"It's not like it's rocket science." Regardless of her current skills, he still believed she could hit competency like anyone else who could breathe. "You just need a feel for it yourself." Without asking, Anadama stepped behind her and grabbed both her wrists.

"What are you doing?" She couldn't help but get a bit flustered and blush as this handsome man controlled her limps.

"This is how it feels to crack some eggs." He said, putting his hand over hers as it gripped an egg. He directed her towards cracking it and plopping in the yokes without a single problem. "See?"

"Y-yeah." She barely learned anything at all from it. Instead Kosaki got a bit too preoccupied with how close he had gotten. "Makes sense to me."

"And this is how you're suppose to mix it all if by hand." He then directed her to grab a whisk as they got the dry ingredients together with the wet ones. "Just from looking at how it moves in the bowl now." He said, thinking about how it appeared when she did it on her own. "You don't put enough energy into it. Almost like your unsure of going that far."

"That's one way of putting it." She answered with her mind in autopilot. It was quite rare for Kosaki to get so close to a boy. She knew how bad it was whenever it had occurred with Raku, but it seemed that her shy personality would get this way with anyone.

"Sorry about that." He let go of her hands to allow her to mix on her own with the lesson she learned. "I hope you don't take that as harassment. I know Chiffon would definitely call it that." Anadama spoke with disdain of having to even say the name.

"It's not a problem." She assured him. "You're only just trying to help, even though I've been so pathetic at this."

"Don't act like I've been some great guy." He got the sense she might be trying to butter him up. While Kosaki had the image of a kind girl, he knew she must be trying to get him to be nice for some ulterior reason. "I'm just doing my job. Nothing more, nothing less." Though he normally did less rather often.

"Anyway, do you think this looks better?" She changed the subject back to the more important topic.

"It looks fine, but you shouldn't need to keep asking for my opinion." He replied. Though it was ironic since his opinion would ultimately be what kept her in the school. "Your family runs a bakery, surely you know how it's supposed to look."

"It doesn't look any different than back home." She answered. "But, whenever I try it my results are just… Well you know."

"Yeah." He sighed. "It's a good thing that renovations popped up right when you were going to take that test the first time. You really lucked out there." He could tell that her presentation skills were excellent. In fact, he'd argue they were better than some of the other world class bakers he knew personally. So she could've baked as normal, dressed it all up to impress him, then end up getting him killed with what was inside.

Hopefully it wasn't a metaphor on who she truly was as a person. Or perhaps it was? "I wonder, maybe the problem is because of who you are."

"What's that suppose to mean?" She asked, feeling the nerve come back up. He was not afraid to be mean, so she feared what harsh words might be sent her way.

"It's just that one thing I was taught when I was younger." He said, grabbed the bowl from her to drive his point. "Was that baking is more than just measurements, mixing, and waiting for things." Anadama poured out the now smooth batter into one of the trays. His finesse made it seem so effortless as he spread it evenly with a knife. "If it were that easy, then there'd be no need for this academy."

He paused after saying it, as if remembering something. "There would be no need for masters of the craft. Surely you understand with how much attention to detail you put into decorating. It's something you're real good at, but the inside has some problems."

"That makes sense." She replied, soaking in his words as best she could. "But what does that have to do with me as a person? We're just baking, it's not like-"

"It has everything to do with it!" He firmly answered, cutting her off. This caused her to shut her mouth tightly in fear over his sudden expression of emotion. "You can dress something up pretty, just like that act of yours trying to be all buddy buddy with me. But when it comes to what actually matters, I realize that you're too scared to let that same beauty shine."

"I'm not sure I understand." She finally spoke again. "This all seems a bit… Much, don't you think? I mean, we're bakers, not psychologists."

"You are right, I don't have a degree on that." He took a step back to give her space as he opened up the oven to plop in the sponge of the cake. "Haven't even gone to college, but I am someone who knows baking. And like any master, I also know when my craft has suffered."

"Suffered?" She stared at him in bewilderment. "You mean."

"My ability to bring joy to taste buds seems to have disappeared lately. I can still make something that leagues upon leagues better than you, but my mouth doesn't lie and it knows that something's missing."

"What do you think-"

"Bake another cake." He cut her off, changing the subject away from himself. "We worked together on this one, so I want you to make another one using what I just said. Then we'll compare results." Anadama needed some way to see if she had made any progress at all. Otherwise all his efforts the past couple of days would've been wasted for no reason.

"Okay." She didn't argue as she got to work getting the ingredients together. Kosaki slowed down right as she was to beginning mixing. The fear crept in once again as she panicked on what could go wrong. If she failed here right now, then they'd just be stuck at square one again with no plan on how to get anywhere. Maybe she truly wasn't meant to be a baker after all, despite the fact that her family ran a bakery.

"You're doing it again." He commented, not moving a muscle to aid her like before. "If you let it just sit there, it's not going to be as fresh. Not to mention this is what I meant before. You hold yourself back too much." Anadama was right, there was no denying it.

She had often stood in the background, letting life pass her by, before doing something for herself. "You did decide to come here despite knowing you couldn't bake to save your life." He continue to speak. "So I know you have at least one brave bone in your body. You need to use it, right now."

"But what if it does work out?" She tightly gripped onto her whisk. Tears formed in her eyes as she fought to hold them back. "Even if I finally speak up, just to have it thrown in my face."

"Huh?" He took a step back with mouth slightly agape. Anadama hadn't been trying to be hurtful, yet not a girl in his kitchen had begun to cry. It seemed to him she had remembered something painful as a result of his prodding. If there was anything he knew that had nothing to do with baking, it was that she was a girl who felt the pain of a broken heart.

"S-sorry." She tried to wipe the tears. "It has nothing to do with you. I'm making you worry about nothing."

"I wouldn't call it nothing." He placed a hand on her shoulder. She felt a different Anadama in this moment. He wasn't just jerk, but instead he gave off the aura of gentleness. "I don't know what happened to you back then, but it looks like it's was pretty bad."

"It's not that big of a deal." While getting rejected hurt her heart deeply. Kosaki couldn't compare a girl losing out on a childhood crush.

"But I see now that your heart has closed again." He commented, pointing to the ingredients she had left on the counter. "You haven't been rewarded for doing the right thing, but that doesn't mean you should give up now." Anadama chuckled, realizing how crazy he sounded. If she knew him better, there would be no good reason to listen to his advice. "You need to believe you can bake well, otherwise you'll have already failed."

Taking a deep breath, she stood before her unfinished work again. He was right, she needed to realize her fear of failure continued to hold her back. Because she had already understood what it felt to lose out so harshly that she never wanted to feel that way again.

But life wouldn't just go with what she wanted. Not now, nor ever. So in order to face it, she needed to realize that she wasn't on her own. Even in a strange world away from all the friends she had come to love and cherish so dearly. There was someone willing to help, even if he made sure to say it wasn't out of care.

"Even if I fail now, I know that you'll still be there to give me advice." She said, picking up the whisk. "So no matter what, I won't give up until it's really over." With that, she began to mix together the ingredients.

"I wouldn't say I'm going to stick around forever." He commented on her first point, but Anadama couldn't help but be impressed with the fervor she now carried. The way she mixed the ingredients were a far cry from how she had been just hours before. Even though he had his doubts on her success, even he began to believe she could pull it off.

Kosaki worked at her brisk pace and took care of all the batter as she poured it in a tray and began to cook it in the oven. Time flew by as she worked her craft, decorating and frosting it with the good old Onodera magic everyone who knew her had grown accustomed to. "Done." She remarked upon putting the final detail. "I finished." For the first time since he had met her. She spoke with pride from something she could call her own.

"Good." He spoke, standing up straight after leaning on the counter for way longer than intended. "Looks like we're done here." With that, Anadama began to walk out of the kitchen.

"Wait, I thought you wanted to taste and compare?" She asked, but it did nothing to stop him.

"I think we both know how tomorrow will go." He said, exiting the kitchen. While she didn't initially understand what he meant, Kosaki still wanted to taste her most recent creation. The girl grabbed a fork and knife, carefully cutting a piece to try out.

She took one simple bite and smiled.