pat_dinner

A Dinner of Sashimi
Author: Patch
E-mail: patchkhan1@hotmail.com
kittiekat90@hotmail.com
Rated: PG

Hello everyone! This fic is dedicated to Sashimi, a
cutie kitty and Shana-chan, a great author and proud
owner of Sashimi. A BIG thank you to Ely and Laz
(2 *great* authors) for pre-reading this. Just a note,
this will, I hope, be my last fic in a pre-Crystal
Tokyo setting for a while. I think I'm losing my
touch in this area so it's time to move on ^_^.
Enjoy reading!

Insert Standard Disclaimer.

"Mamo-chan."
"Hmm?"
"Will you help me?"
"Anything for you, Usa."
"Will you teach me how to cook?"
The sound of a plate crashing to the floor
filled the air of the tiny kitchen. Usagi, who was at
the sink, up to her elbows in soapy water, turned to
her husband, a slight frown on her face.
"That... was an expensive plate."
"Gomen Usako," Mamoru bent down to
pick up the pieces as his mind began to race. Usako,
cook? Kami, that was not what he thought she was
going to ask. And he wasn't exactly sure how he was
going to answer her.
They had been married for about a
month and a half now and not once had Usagi asked
this question. In the first weeks of their marriage
they had rarely eaten home, being invited to almost
everyone's house or Mamoru taking Usagi out to all
kinds of restaurants. But as they settled into a routine,
Mamoru would be the one cooking dinner, a role he
didn't mind at all considering how used to it he was.
Sure Usagi could cook, but it was the
small things, things that usually came from the box
like macaroni and cheese or pancakes, never
something like... real food.
He gulped nervously, standing up
straight and depositing the broken pieces into the
garbage. "Why the sudden interest?" he asked
carefully.
"Oh, it's nothing sudden," she replied
wiping her hands on a paper towel. "I've always
wanted to learn but whenever Mama tried to
teach me I would never pay any attention, my
mind and thoughts were always somewhere else.
And now I really want to learn and I think you'd
be the perfect teacher," she ended, smiling
brightly at him.
Mamoru smiled back but inside, his
heart had caught up with his already racing mind.
He wasn't the perfect teacher! The perfect
teacher would be the teacher in the Tokyo
Culinary Arts School, not him, ordinary Mamoru.
And he said so to his wife.
"But Mamo-chan, you're a great cook!
The seasoned lamb chops were delicious tonight
and the prawn sushi from yesterday had me
wanting so much more. I *do* want to learn
from the best. Besides," she said, walking up to
him, "I promise to make sure we won't end up
having a repeat performance of last time."
Ah yes, last time. Last time was
actually two weeks ago but he remembered
the day as though it were yesterday. It was that
vivid to him. And Usagi hadn't even cooked!
All she had to do was boil some eggs.
Yes, she had boiled the eggs... and
then some. He hadn't even known what she
was doing in the kitchen, and he would have
known... if he hadn't let her distract him.
He had just woken up and had
come out of the bedroom and according to
his dear wife, looked so adorably rumpled
that she had no choice *but* to kiss the living
daylights out of him. And that... well that
led to them being on the couch and thank
Kami they hadn't gotten too far because all
of a sudden a strange popping noise came
from the kitchen.
The two had rushed over to the
kitchen... just in time to see two eggs
explode in a small pan. The water had all
but evaporated and a small flame was
licking at the bottom of the pan.
Usagi had shrieked and run past
him and all Mamoru could do was stare as
his wife ran around the kitchen like a
chicken with its head... well you know the
phrase. Finally he had shook himself after
seeing the flames nearly engulf the whole
pan -with Usagi still running around-and
had simply walked over to the stove and
turned the knob off.
Usagi, with a dishtowel in one
hand and cooking oil in the other -he
shuddered to think what she would have
done with that-had given him a guilty smile
and said, "Oops."
Coming back to the present,
Mamoru's gaze traveled over to Usagi and
he gave her a doubtful look.
"Oh Mamo-chan, onegai, I won't
disappoint you this time!"
"Usako, you never disappoint
me... you just scare me."
"Scare you?" She looked at him
hurtfully. "So you won't help me at all?"
"Iie! It's nothing like that!" He
shook his hands and head wildly. "It's just
that... well... I'd love to help you Usagi," he
finally said. "What would you like to
make?"
"Oh, I hadn't even thought of
that!" she bit her lip and her eyes narrowed
in thought. "There's just so many options..."
And he was going to make sure
those options would narrow down to ones
that didn't include using fire, heat, large
knives, *and* boiling water.
"How about sashimi? We can
start you off on a simple dish and then get
more complicated." he suggested cautiously.
That was something easy to make... and
safe.
He was more than thankful to see
her eyes brighten tremendously at the choice.
"That's a great idea! We haven't had that in a
while, and it's not too complicated." She
leaned up on her toes and gave him a sweet,
yet lingering kiss.
"Thank you Mamo-chan," she said,
her eyes soft, her voice husky. "This means so
much to me."
One more kiss like that and he
would have *willingly* complied to let her
cook an eight course meal.
But, she walked away and all he
could do was sigh and watch her go into the
living room.
Usako, his love, his life, and his
mini-tornado.
"We have to go to the market
tomorrow then, because the last I checked,
we don't have any fish."
"That'll be no problem, Usa."
Famous last words.

The next day, after a quick lunch
late in the afternoon, they headed out to the
local fish markets because Usagi had
insisted that in order to make the perfect
dish of sashimi, they had to first buy fresh fish.
A grocery store just wouldn't do, she had said
shaking her head.
So here they were, out in the open,
by the docks, the smell of sea-water sharp and
pungent in their noses.
It was a noisy place, the voices of
almost every vendor competing to be heard.
The sound of customers trying to bargain also
filled the air and Mamoru noticed that Usagi
took it all in with wide, observant eyes.
"You've never come here before?"
Mamoru asked, steering her towards a stall
selling whitefish.
"Huh? Oh, hai, I have been here a
few times but the last time I came here was
when I was probably 13. I used to drive
Mama crazy with my boredom so she stopped
bringing me and I really didn't mind at all,"
she finished, laughing.
He chuckled, easily able to
imagine the picture of his wife, in her younger
days, driving her mother to madness.
But Usagi had matured from that.
He was proud to say that she held herself
with more bearing, hints to what she would
truly become when she began her reign as
Queen. Yes, he could be rest assured that she
wouldn't drive *him* insane with her
boredom.
"This is *not* fun anymore."
"Nani? What do you mean?" he
asked. He hoped he hadn't thought too soon.
"Well, how are you supposed to
know what kind of fish to choose?" she replied,
gesturing to all the stalls around them. "How
do you find the *perfect* fish from this place?"
She began walking forward, not watching
where she was going, looking around instead.
"We're going to go insane from
deciding what kind of fish to take home
and-"
She stopped abruptly when a fish
went flying past her. She shrieked and jumped
backwards, bumping into Mamoru who
thankfully, was able to catch her and balance
himself at the same time.
They watched as another fish went
flying past them and Usagi realized that this
particular stall had three parts to it. The first
one was where the customer chose his fish.
The man there would then throw it to the stall
directly across so that the man there could skin
it, clean it and then package it. Then, the
second man would throw the packaged fish to
his left where a third man would weigh it and
price it for the customer.
"Sugoi!" Usagi exclaimed as she
watched one man throw fish to the other.
"You don't remember this?" Mamoru
asked, happy to see his wife enjoying herself.
"Not at all!"
"Well, why don't you see what the
guy's got. I think that second man looks
familiar..."
Usagi did that and the man as the
helped her, Mamoru got into a conversation
with the second man whom he found out he
knew from his college days.
"I need some fresh, healthy
whitefish," Usagi said, looking over the
various types of fish laid out.
"You're in luck, we just got a load
half an hour ago. Healthy, you ask? Most
definitely, we only sell the best, with bargain
prices. I think this guy here," the man
continued picking up a whitefish, "is probably
the best out of the bunch. See, it's firm and it
has no filmy cover over its eyes, indicating
a healthy fish."
"Looks good, I'll take it!" Usagi
finished, smiling.
"Hai, good choice. I saw you
eyeing our 'technique' before. Would you like
to try throwing the fish? Just throw it to Kai
over there and he'll catch it and then throw it
to Juro."
"Of course!" she replied excitedly.
She eagerly took the fish he handed her and
then turned around yelling the man's name.
"Kai-san, catch!"
Mamoru turned around at the sound
of his wife's shout and looked just in time to
see a fish flying... towards his face.
*Smack!*
"Kami! What a throw Miss, you got
him right in the middle of-"
Usagi shot him a glare and then ran
over to Mamoru, who was now holding the fish
that had fallen into his hands after hitting him
in the face.
"Mamo-chan, gomen ne! I have such
a bad aim, I'm so sorry!"
She took the fish from his hands and
handed it to Kai and then looked into his face.
Mamoru, who was now getting over
the shock of being hit in the face with a
whitefish, fully recovered at the sight of Usagi's
blue eyes looking anxiously into his own.
Ignoring the snickers and odd looks they were
getting from other shoppers, he forced himself
to chuckle lightly.
"I'm alright Usako, I didn't get hurt
or anything. Just a little dazed, that's all."
He saw Usagi visibly relax and then
laugh along with him.
"I wish I had a video camera or
something, that was definitely a moment to
catch on video."
"Maybe next time," he replied
nervously. Maybe not, he thought.
They paid for the fish and left the
market, stopping on the way home for some ice
cream.
It wasn't too bad of an afternoon,
they both thought separately. It could only get
better, ne?

"Alright, so what do we do first?"
"Well, first you've got to put the fish
on ice and we'll get to it after we make the rice,"
Mamoru answered, watching Usagi walk
over to the refrigerator.
"Okay, now, you've got to wash
the rice first in a pot." He took the pot out from
a cabinet and then had her hold it as he poured
the rice in. "See, we only need two cups
because there's just the two of us and if there
were more people, then-"
"Mamo-chan, I'm not three, I
understand what's needed and what's to be done,"
Usagi scolded lightly.
"Hai, well... it never hurts to explain,"
Mamoru finished lamely.
Usagi gave him an odd look and then
went over to the sink. She placed the pot in the
sink and turned on the tap.
"All you have to do is to swirl the
pot around so that you clean the rice and... stop!"
Mamoru suddenly proclaimed.
"What? What is it?" Usagi asked
bewildered. She had been quite startled at his
outburst.
"You're not supposed to fill the pot
so much! The water would slosh all over the
sides when you swirled the pot," he said
frantically, reaching over to turn the tap off.
"Oh, so now we have to get rid of
the excess water, ne?" Usagi asked playfully
and then scooped some water up and threw it
onto Mamoru.
She giggled at his expression when
the cold water hit his shirt.
"That was *not* funny," he said
after a bit, squeezing the water out. At first he
had been afraid she would do something
careless and now he had to worry about her
having *too* much fun.
"Well, excuse me Mr. Uptight, but I
thought it was *quite* funny," she replied
haughtily and then proceeded to wash the rice.
He sighed and rubbed a hand over
his face. He had to make sure she didn't
accidentally destroy the kitchen with her 'fun'.
Ten minutes later, they had boiled
the rice and Usagi had transferred it over to a
strainer with no problems.
Mamoru could feel himself begin to
relax... slightly. He mentally patted himself for
making sure no problems had occurred so far.
"Okay, so now we put the rice back
into the pot, ne?" Usagi asked, walking over to
the stove.
"Hai," he said coming to watch her.
They had left the lid on the pot and Mamoru
lifted it as Usagi turned the bowl.
Unfortunately, there was still quite a bit of heat
still trapped in the pot so when he lifted the
lid the steam came rushing up, surprising Usagi
into squealing and dropping the rice... and
strainer... into the pot.
"Usako!"
She jumped back and stared at the
pot for a second and then burst out laughing to
the amazement of Mamoru. His heart had
almost skipped a beat when she had dropped
the strainer and now she was bent over
laughing even though he was sure his face had
lost all color.
"Kami! I can't believe that
happened," she laughed. "Our day has *got* to
be something out of a comedy movie!"
Good Lord, he could feel his right
eye start to twitch.
"Ne, Mamo-chan, don't you think?"
Usagi finally noticed that her
husband hadn't even cracked a smile.
"Mamo-chan, what's wrong?" she asked
uncertainly.
He looked at her and forced on a
strained smile. "Nothing, Usako, nothing."
"No, there's definitely something
wrong. What is it?"
"I said nothing," he replied
defensively.
"Demo... Mamo-chan, then
why are you sounding so apprehensive?"
"I'm not!"
"You are! Just tell me what it is, maybe I
can help," she insisted.
"Help? Usako, you scared the life
out of me just a few minutes ago. The only
way you can help is to stop trying to cook!"
he ended in exasperation.
Her face fell and he instantly
regretted the words. But it was too late, his
statement hung in the air between them and
so did the heavy silence. Until she broke it.
"Oh, I see. Is this why you've
been acting so stiff around me? I noticed
you watching me like a hawk but I ignored
it thinking you'd realize I was trying my
best. I guess you didn't see that, ne?" she
finished with a voice hoarse with tears.
She strode from the kitchen or
at least tried to when Mamoru caught her
arm before she could leave.
"Gomen ne, Usako. I didn't mean
what I said," he apologized.
"But you did!" she cried, turning
to face him. "I know you meant every word
because it's true isn't it? You thought I would
probably klutz out and burn the kitchen
down... without even trying, isn't that it? I'm
sorry I don't live up to your... your
expectations but I just wanted to be more
helpful!"
Her words and the wistful tone
behind them caused his heart to turn over. He
knew he had hurt her through his actions and
the shame washed through him as he
realized how selfish he had acted.
"I'm sorry Usa. I admit, I was
quite unsure of how this would turn out and
I know that must say a lot about me, but
believe me, I never wanted to hurt your
feelings."
"You did," she sniffed. "I only
wanted to learn how to cook because I
thought we could take turns in cooking and
stuff, and I thought maybe once in a while I
could surprise you with your favorite dish
and really make you happy..." she trailed
off.
"Oh Usako," he groaned,
bringing her into the circle of his arms,
"you always make me happy but I
understand what you're trying to say and I
hate myself now for being such a
spoilsport. I'm sorry, Usako."
Usagi smiled and looked up into
his face. "You don't have to be so serious
about cooking Mamo-chan, that's all.
Loosen up a bit... or do you not trust me
enough to do so?" she asked, moving back
slightly.
He pulled her closer and gave
her a hard kiss before answering. "I trust
you with all that I am, never forget that."
He smiled ruefully and he kissed her nose.
"But I can loosen up and I will, just for
you."
"Good. Now, what do we do
next?"
They both looked at the rice
strainer that was still sticking out of the
pot.
"Okay, I'll take care of the
rice and you wash the fish," Mamoru said,
pushing Usagi slightly towards the fridge.
"Sou," she replied and pulled
out the fish.
Mamoru pulled out the strainer
and cleaned out any rice that was still
sticking to it and then turned to walk to the
sink. He grinned and was charmed to see
how she carefully unwrapped the fish from
its package and began running it under the
running water. She really is trying her
hardest, he thought walking up to stand
behind her. But cooking wasn't supposed
to be all work and no play, as he had just
recently realized and he was going to
emphasize that fact.
He heard her stifle a giggle as
his arms came around her waist and he
leaned his chin on her shoulder.
"Are you going to help me wash
this guy?" she asked solemnly.
"Of course, I wouldn't leave my
wife defenseless with such a creature."
"Defenseless?" she gasped in
mock indignation. "What are you trying to
say to the Senshi of Love and Justice?"
"Just that..." he gave her
stomach a soft squeeze and then stretched
his hands and cupped them to catch some
of the running water, "I'll help you as best
as I can!" he threw his hands upwards,
towards her face, wetting her face
completely.
"Mamo-chan!"
The fish landed with a splat in
the sink as she turned to him with an
outraged look.
"What kind of help is that?!"
"All work and no play make
Usagi a dull little wife," Mamoru replied,
shaking his finger at her.
"I'll show you all work and no
play," she huffed, walking towards him
threateningly.
"Uh, Usako, the water is still
running and the fish is still lying there...
you haven't forgotten them have you?"
She stopped and her expression
cleared suddenly. "I forgot!" She whirled
around and ran back to the sink. "See what
you made me do!" she called over
shoulder and then finished up her work.
Mamoru grinned and then
together they cut up the fish into the
appropriate portions. And then he taught
Usagi how to make wasabi sauce,
something they could use to spice up the
meal a bit.
They took the plates of food to
the low table in the living room and sat
down next to each other.
"You know, this really is a
simple and easy dish that I just
complicated," Usagi said, as they settled
down.
"You didn't complicate
anything Usako, you just made it more
interesting."
She smiled at that and then
picked up the chopsticks they had
brought with them.
"So how's about I feed you
the first honorary bite?" she asked, picked
up a piece of fish and dipping it in the
wasabi sauce.
"I'm all for it," he replied,
bending his head. She placed the food in
his mouth and watched his reaction.
"Mm... it tastes good," Mamoru
said, chewing thoughtfully. "It tastes pretty
goo-" He suddenly began choking as his
face turned red. "Kami, I need water!"
Usagi blanched and hopped
up in alarm and raced to the kitchen. In
her rush, she turned the tap water on full
blast, drenching her shirt in the process
of filling the glass.
"Kuso!" she wailed and then
ran back to the living room.
By the time she came back, tears
had formed at the corners of Mamoru's eyes
and he was gasping for breath.
"Mamo-chan! Are you okay?!
What's wrong?!" she asked frantically,
falling down on her knees beside him. Tears
had started to form at the corners of *her*
eyes because she was so worried.
In response, he grabbed the glass
and chugged its contents down, only
stopping when he had swallowed every
last drop. Sighing, he leaned his head back
against the sofa, and wiped a few of the
tears that had trailed down his face.
"Mamo-chan? Love? What
happened? What did I do wrong?" she asked.
God, she thought fearfully, I've probably
poisoned something somehow and now
Mamoru's been afflicted.
But he suddenly grinned and then
grabbed her waist and hauled her atop of him.
"Mamo-chan?" she squeaked in
surprise.
He pulled her towards him, and
threading his fingers into her hair, pulled
her lips to his. She responded in kind to his...
ardor until she realized something was
completely wrong with such a reaction and
pulled away.
"M-Mamo-chan... daijabou?" she
asked breathlessly.
"I did it, Usako," he said, smiling
widely.
"Nani? Did what?"
"I was the one who did something
wrong, not you. I put in too much wasabi
powder accidentally and just paid the price
for my clumsiness."
"Nani?" she asked, still not
understanding.
He chuckled and then hugged her
tightly. "Usako, you assumed it was you who
had done something that caused me to have a
gasping fit when it was *me* who was the
cause. I messed up, not you. You, my love,
should never assume it is you who are the
cause to any mishap. That is *your* lesson
for today."
She leaned back and looked at him
with dawning realization. Then punched him
in the arm. "Baka! And here I thought I had
killed you! You had me so scared!"
He laughed at that and grabbed
her arm when she tried to hit him again.
"Usako, wasabi sauce cannot kill
you, but too much of it can cause a brain
meltdown."
"I know that! But with the way
you were going on..."
"Gomen ne, love. I never meant
to scare you," Mamoru said softly.
"Forgiven. But now I get to tell
everyone that my perfect husband messed
up!" she said matter-of-factly. Her hands
went down to smooth her shirt and it was
then that she realized that it was wet. "But
first, I've got to change," she said, trying to
get up.
"No," Mamoru replied, his
hands stilling her, "you can change right
here," he said grinning mischievously.
"Mamo-chan!" his wife
exclaimed, completely scandalized, her
eyes wide. "You can't be serious!"
"Oh, but I am," he replied and
before she could get in another word, his
lips had claimed hers and in one fluid
motion, he had Usagi on the floor.
"The sashimi..." she protested,
laughing, but he interrupted her.
"Can wait."

~*~*The End*~*~
Ech, my hands are dry.... oh, hello! Hehe,
and how are you all today? Doing good I
hope. ^_^ Please do write me and tell me
what you think. My Mamo-chan clone
(courtesy of Lazuli, gracias chica!) and I
will be waiting, LoL. *Hugs clone and
squeezes life out of him* Oops -_-0
Patch:-)(-: