Hina hummed the melody of "Shuwarin☆Drea~min", the first single of her band, as she was walking through the school's hallway. The girl carried a guitar gig bag on her back. She was going to attend a music lesson for her band in a few hours; a new routine that she had gone through for a week.
Along the way, Hina exchanged greetings to fellow students of Haneoka Girls' High School; both friends and people that she didn't know. The latter made her confused in the past, but she had gotten used to it now. Being known by strangers might be the effect of her status as a top student. Not that she was bothered; they were interestingly random sometimes. During last winter's university exam season, an upperclassman asked her to shake hands in the hope to receive some of Hina's intelligence.
Hina could hear a familiar voice coming from the faculty room.
"Oh, little kitten in distress! Allow yours truly to represent you in the venture to the fallen princess' castle!"
That deep voice and manner of speaking only belonged to one person. It came from the faculty room. Whatever Kaoru Seta was doing there? Did she gets caught in another trouble?
Hina peeked inside. The room was full of teachers who were either relaxing around after long lectures, surrounded by students who asked for elaborate explanations for today's covered subject, or chit-chatting around between faculty members. She could spot Kaoru easily due to her height. The school prince along with the class representative stood before their homeroom teacher's desk. Hina was curious about this princess in a castle affair, but before she could take a step inside, Kaoru had finished talking and walked away.
"Fancy meeting you, little kitten." Kaoru smiled and waved her hand. "Are you, perhaps, enchanted at my humble self this whole time?"
"I just got here for like five seconds, you know~"
"Is that so?" Kaoru touched her chin and chuckled. "The flow of time works in a rather mysterious way, isn't it?"
"What's the fallen princess' castle you were talking about, anyway?"
"Oh, we were conversing about a visit to Lisa's house. The poor princess..." Kaoru replied. She glanced at the homeroom teacher and class representative who were still talking about something. "Reina was supposed to set off for the castle. But, alas, her good intention must be thwarted by the Milky Way."
"I don't understand what you mean by the Milky Way, but whatevs~" Hina grinned. "In other words, you volunteered to go because Reina-chan couldn't."
"Why, of course."
Kaoru showed a bundle of paper that contained easy peasy algebra. Hina recalled that their class studied this formula today and they would have a quiz tomorrow. Studying was a serious business in Haneoka, so skipping school even for just a day would be disadvantageous for some people. The case couldn't be applied to Hina, though.
"Hey, can I tag along?"
Hina didn't have anything to do before band practice, anyway.
»↠ ≈☆≈ ↞«
About an hour later Hina found herself in a relatively busy shopping street. Dozens of shops lined up within the span of the half-a-kilometer street. It only took a few minutes to walk from the residential areas. The shopkeepers greeted everyone who passed by their shops, inviting them to see their goods. Housewives were loitering here and there to shop for dinner.
Speaking of it, what should Hina buy? She never cared for an ill person. Her family was healthy all year round, after all. She should ask Kaoru then, as the one who would do the cooking. But the chef later replied to her chat with a super vague line: "The best ingredient to cure sickness is fleetingly undying love."
Hina frowned. Love was a cure-all, according to Kaoru. Love... Did she mean delicious food? Everyone loved good food on their plates. Her pair of green eyes then caught a convenience store she was frequent to. Browsing at lunch boxes there would give her an idea of what to make.
Hina crossed the street and walked to the convenience store. An automatic door immediately opened, revealing the contents of a medium-sized store that consisted of mostly food and beverage products. Ready-to-eat foods like skewers, sausages, sandwiches, lunch boxes, and oden were positioned neatly at the cashier.
"Welco, welco..." greeted a store's employee behind the cashier. "Oh, it's Hina-senpai~"
The one who welcomed Hina was a short-haired girl with sleepy eyes, as opposed to Hina's ever-lively ones. She was Moca Aoba, her underclassman at school. They became acquainted when Hina was looking for a band (Moca's band Afterglow was among the ones she approached).
"Moca-chan!" Hina approached the cashier merrily. "Thought I've seen you before somewhere. So this is where!"
"Fufufu, Moca-chan has been working here since last autumn~" The silver-haired girl wore a smug smile. "And since then, Moca-chan has mastered the art of efficient product placement that boosts sales."
"Oh, I went here a lot during autumn!" Hina exclaimed. That might be the time when she and Moca bumped into each other. "Too bad pumpkin and sweet potato goods only appear once a year, tho."
"I miss the limited pumpkin coronets..." Moca wore a glum face.
"Huh? I don't remember any pumpkin coronets."
"Moca-chan bought Shonen Jump using employee's discount, yay~"
Hina laughed. Moca was so random that it kind of reminded her of Kaoru... Which brought the realization of her task at hand. She excused herself from the cashier and picked up a shopping basket.
The teal-haired girl browsed at the furthest part of the store. It was a row of refrigerated showcases full of chilled beverages, desserts, rice balls, sandwiches, as well as lunch sets. Hina caught a glance of the spring edition goods like sakura berry milk, sakura mochi, and various sakura-related flavors—which were tempting—but she shook her head and turned away. Hina's allowance was cut since Mom and Dad agreed to buy her a guitar, so she couldn't snack as often.
Hina then got a call from the manager of her band, who informed her that tonight's lesson would be canceled. It was a bummer that she couldn't tease her vocalist today, but looking at the bright side, she could help Kaoru cook in return.
Time to explore the lunch box section. It was vibrant with colors, yet there was a certain dish that immediately caught her attention. In front of it was a rack that displayed instant seasonings. The whole top two rows were dedicated to a certain cuisine loved by all Japanese households. Its wide variety of flavors confused her at first, but she chose a box that had a cartoonish mascot of a turban-wearing old man who spat out a fiery breath.
The problem was, what kind of toppings that Hina would pick for Kaoru. She turned her head to a showcase of candies and confectioneries. And it gave the genius girl a boppin' idea.
»↠ ≈☆≈ ↞«
Hina came back to Lisa's house after spending half an hour touring the shopping street. Kaoru, who opened the door for Hina, helped her carry the shopping bags and placed them on a food preparation table. The taller girl then unveiled one of the plastic bags; it contained a one-kilo bag of rice as well as 500 grams of beef chunks.
"Aah, our thoughts are connected, indeed!" Kaoru waved her hand at the ingredients displayed before her. "I've been meaning to cook beef porridge as well."
Hina scrambled the contents of another bag and took out a box of instant seasoning. "Let's cook this instead!"
"Curry? That's quite an unusual choice to serve for a fallen princess...."
"Porridge is too plain. It doesn't express the passionate love you told me before," explained Hina. "Besides, producing sweat fastens the recovery of a cold, right?" She raised her thumb. "Sooo, a super hot curry is the best for the job!"
"Hmm, it seems plausible if you put it like that." Kaoru nodded in agreement. She glanced at the three remaining bags. "I believe you've procured other necessary ingredients, then?"
Hina put out various ingredients from the plastic bags, one by one.
"Oh, that's a whole load of greens there," Kaoru commented at five bunch of spinach laid on the table. "Are we going to use the remaining ones for spinach juice, perchance?"
"Be it curry topping or veggie juice; anything goes," said Hina. "I was reminded of Popeye the Sailor Man when I passed by the veggies shop."
"Popeye?"
"He's a cartoon character who goes boppidy strong after he eats spinach," Hina explained. "Welp, maybe spinach can help Lisa-chi gain some energy." She raised her shoulders. "Aaaand, next~"
Hina revealed a can of jelly beans when Kaoru took a pair of scissors from a knife block set. The top student of Haneoka then proceeded with packages of chocolate bars, assorted marshmallows, and colorful tapioca pearls.
"You planned to make a cup of hot chocolate?" asked Kaoru, confused. "Curry, spinach juice, and hot chocolate make a rather intriguing combination."
"No, silly~" Hina wore a smug smile. "These four go to the curry!"
Kaoru gasped and dropped the scissors, but managed to catch it in mid-air. Hina didn't wait for her friend's remarks as she immediately unwrapped the last bag. It was filled with mangoes, strawberries, as well as Mandarin oranges.
Hina grinned. "And don't forget to put these fruits into the sauce as well!"
Kaoru was left speechless for a while before saying, "M-my! You never cease to amaze me, Hina. What a magnificent creation you had in mind!"
"I know right~" Hina nodded. "Beef curry with potatoes, carrots, and onions are kinda boring, right?" She put her hands on the hip. "So I bought sweets and fruits instead!"
Kaoru averted her gaze and laughed in low spirits. Hina wondered if Kaoru, in fact, hadn't fully recovered from the cold and offered her a bucket of spinach, but the recipient politely declined. Kaoru cut the rice bag and poured some into a measuring cup, then asked Hina to wash it.
Hina sang "Baby Shark" gleefully when she was washing the rice at the washbasin. In contrast, the only sound that came from Kaoru's side was the one produced by the tapping between a knife and its cutting board.
"Lisa-chi's rice cooker has many interesting options~," Hina said after she put the rice pot inside. "Hey, Kaoru-kun, should I try sushi mode?"
"Trying to experiment on the rice, aren't you?" Kaoru chuckled. "I'm quite curious about that function, but we should use the regular white rice mode this time."
"Okey dokey~" Hina picked the most common option. When an indicator lit up, she turned away and approached Kaoru. "What should I do next?"
Kaoru put grated ginger, crushed garlic, onion wedges, and carrot cuts (she used some ingredients from Lisa's fridge) into the curry pot. The girl seemed to be lost in thought before she replied, "How about cutting fruits?"
"Oh, so we can put them into the sauce later?"
The theater club member let out a sigh and turned to Hina. "...my princess, I'm afraid I can't present the fleeting curry of your vivid imagination," Kaoru said in a solemn tone.
Hina's shoulders declined. Since the high schooler saw curry lunch boxes at the convenience store, she had been picturing a brand new type of curry that would shake the culinary world. And to be told that it couldn't be done was disappointing.
"But why?"
Kaoru added blocks of beef chunks and poured water into the pot.
"Your highness, please accept the apology of this lowly vassal." Kaoru kneeled before Hina. "I deeply regret that my skill isn't sufficient to bring the curry that you envisioned into reality."
Hina was startled in surprise. She never received an apology as heartfelt as this. And it made her kind of guilty for asking the impossible.
"I-it's okay! Don't blame yourself, Kaoru-kun!" Hina gripped Kaoru's arm and shook them up, signaling the cook to rise.
Kaoru got up and touched her own chest. "I shall furtherly engage myself in the art of cooking so that I'll be able to serve any dish that my princess asks." Her scarlet eyes were filled with resolve.
After that dramatic moment, Kaoru told Hina that the remaining ingredients should be used to make fruity spinach juice, hot chocolate, and mixed fruit bowl. The two then continued their task. Hina peeled and cut the fruits, while Kaoru put various spices—including the instant curry roux Hina bought—while stirring the curry sauce.
A piece of classical music suddenly filled the air. Hina looked around, looking for the source, and she found Kaoru took out a phone from her school bag.
"Hina, could you watch the curry for a moment? You only need to stir it occasionally until the sauce thickens."
"Okey dokey!" Hina gave her friend a salute.
Kaoru left the room, but Hina could still hear her voice coming from the hallway. The school prince talked in a polite manner, although she didn't use difficult vocabulary or vague expressions like she usually did. And from the looks of it, she might be talking with her grandfather.
Hina looked around the kitchen while stirring the curry. It had a minimalistic wood-colored kitchen set and parts of the wall were warm brick accents. The stove she used right now had five burners with multi-tiered oven beneath it (a whole turkey would definitely fit in there). A bunch of cooking and food preparation equipment was present as well; even ones that she never had seen before. At the center of the kitchen stood a preparation table, equipped with a washbasin.
The Imai family sure loved cooking, Hina guessed. The kitchen in her home was decent but wasn't on par with this one.
A bunch of unused food was laying around on the preparation table. Hina peeked at Kaoru, who was still away chatting around without a care in the curry world, then looked back at the sweets and fruits.
Hina Hikawa admitted that she was a terrible cook. She had burnt burger patties, baked cookies that were hard as rocks, and fried super oily fried rice. But in this case, the curry was nearly done. It won't turn into a burnt curry just because she added some additional ingredients, right?
Oh, Hina was so going to do it.