Dulce Vivace [Akemi]

“

Without music, life would be a mistake.

In a sense, growing up in a family of chefs brought with it a unique curse. When you start craving for a certain taste, sometimes the only way to satisfy it is through cooking it yourself. And it was even worse when you're looking for something specific. Mashiro never was a picky eater, but it was difficult to be satisfied with something when you know that you can make something just as good.

It wasn't that the town of Fukui had a shortage of bakeries. There were many bakeries run by the local townspeople, from which Mashiro had dutifully sampled from each, and with it came so many different styles of cooking. While most of them tended to satisfy Mashiro's craving for sweets, there was none that could scratch that itch for a strawberry shortcake. If no kitchen could provide the taste she was looking for, then the dormitory kitchen needed to step up to the plate.

It was a warm Friday afternoon when Mashiro finished the first part of her quest for the homemade shortcake, dropping off the freshly-bought ingredients on the table to rest a bit, roll her sleeves up, and tie her hair in a ponytail, which had been growing long since spring. With the summer sun, Mashiro was forced to go out in long sleeves, though thanfully her clothes were made of material that didn't over heat her.

The recipe, its contents considered a prized secret, wasn't from the Satou family, but its sister family the Shirayamas, who ran a bakery near theirs. It was this cake that she grew up with and no other bakery could come close to it.

First up to take care of were the strawberries, where the most difficult part was just letting them soak in some sugar. With the strawberries now resting in the fridge, a large bowl of batter formed the centerpiece of a tablescape full of boxes and bottles of ingredents. It only took a mere fifteen minutes for the myriad of ingredients to be mixed and shoved into the oven in a rectangular pan. With another 30 minutes for the shortcake to finish baking, it would be just in time for the strawberries to finish soaking.

With nothing left to do before the final assembly, Mashiro slipped out of the kitchen for a few moments to retrieve her keyboard. With no other homework to speak of and her small cadre of friends a bit busy, the only thing left for Mashiro to pass the time was with her music. With electronics and food not always getting along, Mashiro set up the instrument on another table. Soon, a calm melody joined the sweet aroma that was slowly escaping from the kitchen and into the dorms, a warm welcome for any passerby.

[ Akemi Takaeda | 439 | ♫MUSIC | NOTES: Here we go! ]

MADE BY KAIZU OF WW AND TWF

'cause tonight's the night

the world begins again

It was a warmer day than usual, and even with all the windows open the draft from outside wasn't flowing in like Akemi wanted. She was nearly upside-down on her bed, feet against the wall and her pig-tails hung over the side of the bed. Her arms laid by her side, drawing her fingers around randomly on her bed-sheets.

"Why is there nothing to do when there's no classes," She spoke out loud. Complaining, something she was good at, and something she did often. She hated having nothing to do. Her roommate wasn't even here to let Akemi bother her, and all her other usual friends were in class or 'busy'.

She huffed and rolled to her side, puffing her cheeks as she looked around the room. "Huh," she noticed, "I left the door open this whole time?" It was only a crack, but even so... could someone have seen her upside down? She giggled at the idea.

Getting up to close the door, she froze. Something from the hallway attracted her nose - a sweet and warm scent that made her mouth water. Her green eyes illuminated at the thought of warm baked sweets. But where were they coming from?? She slipped her shoes on and went out to investigate.

She probably looked insane walking through the halls with her nose in front of her. Akemi followed the scent as it got stronger down the hall way, and stopped in the area it seemed the most intense. Now it was almost like it was on her plate!! But... which door was it? She pressed an ear to a few of them, probably looking even crazier if anyone was to find her. As she pressed her ear and hands against one of the doors, the sound of music was inside as well. She wanted to listen closer, but didn't expect it to not be closed all the way!! She leaned too much against it and it pushed open - her stumbling inside.

The purple-haired girl stood frozen in the doorway, staring at another girl who's hands were on a keyboard. The room was overwhelming of the warm and sweet aroma; the food was definitely in this room!!

"Do you... have any extra??" Akemi smiled big, trying to play off her embarrassment of stumbling in...

made by nette of gs!

“

Without music, life would be a mistake.

If the door to the kitchen was closed, it was not by Mashiro's fiat, but by perhaps the wind's. Not that Mashiro would have noticed the sound of it closing. Even though she had activated her keyboard's onboard speakers, the pianist also had the sound going to her cobalt blue headphones, where she could more closely focus on the improv that she had developed. But the composer's fortress of song was not impenetrable.

-THUMP-

The sound of heavy footsteps penetrate the cups of Mashiro's headphones. In a startled state, she pressed heavily on the keys and the keyboard groaned in dissonance. In reflex, Mashiro turned her head just enough to look at the source of the disturbance, her crimson eyes wide open and glaring at the purple-haired girl who stumbled in. The fearful stare lasted only for a moment, and with an sense of embarrassment over overreacting, Mashiro turned off the keyboard and pulled her headphones down and hung them around her neck.

Plumbing the depths of Mashiro's memory was enough for her to recognize the purple hair and green eyes as coming from someone who at the very least was someone from the same floor as her from the dormitory, but nothing more. At the very least, the girl did not seem to have any malicious intent.

"Ah, good afternoon..." Mashiro started, trailing off awkwardly. People hardly seemed to use the kitchen, or even be in the dorms at all. "I hope my music did not bother you too much." Even though she had said that, it seemed like no one minded the music despite her playing it within the sound-permeable dorm walls.

Upon hearing the girl's request, the moonlighting baker directed her attention to the oven. Thankfully, an internal light was available and from the window Mashiro could clearly judge the progress of the cake. "There is still fifteen minutes before the cake portion is done, and I still have to put the strawberries on top." Honestly speaking, Mashiro had no plans to share because she did not believe that one would be interested in what she was baking. It was the famous Shirayama Strawberry Shortcake that Mashiro was craving for a while, but the pianist couldn't muster enough selfishness to simply spurn the passerby. And so, Mashiro made an offer.

"I suppose if you help me finish making this you may have some."

[ Akemi Takaeda | 406 | ♫MUSIC | NOTES: Yay~ ]

MADE BY KAIZU OF WW AND TWF

'cause tonight's the night

the world begins again

Akemi's wide eyes watched the girl intently, her grin keeping place as if it was making any effect on her. She could hear the sour keys from startling her and knew it was a bad sign. After all, she didn't mean to come in so abruptly. She knew she could have been much more persuasive if she thought about her entrance. Yet... the white haired pianist seemed nice enough. She didn't shoo her away just yet as if she knew Akemi wouldn't leave her alone after just one 'no'.

Her eyes followed over to the oven when the girl's did. She could just see the baking pan glistening from the oven light. She perked up a bit more, taking one more step into the room.

"Wait- really?!" Akemi blinked back to the girl. She didn't expect such a response, and even if it wasn't the most enthusiastic yes, Akemi wouldn't turn it away. "Of course I can help! I love baking, and delicious food..." She wouldn't mention that she had never baked before. But she'd been to many bakeries. How hard could it be?

Making herself comfier, Akemi bounded her way closer to the girl with the piano. She could see the cake better now, and smell it so clearly. "What are you making exactly?"

made by nette of gs!

“

Without music, life would be a mistake.

Mashiro flinched slightly as the other girl approached, still surprised by the speed. There was something familiar about the girl, but Mashiro pushed the notion aside quickly. This was the dorms, and each floor was organized by year; this girl was likely a first year like herself and likely shared some of the core classes. Perhaps what was more unsettling was how rather straightforward she was; compared to other classmates, it was quite rare for anyone to approach her so openly. Or perhaps it was the fact that it was a small kitchen with no one else around, or perhaps it was just the food the other girl cared about.

But such worries can be taken care of later as the offer was already accepted. The pianist sighed as her thoughts returned to the situation in front of her. The mood for song had vanished with the sudden interruption, though the time to finish up with the shortcake was near anyways. Well, there was always the cleanup, so Mashiro set down her headphones and picked up the bowls while heading to the sink.

"Ah...Strawberry shortcakes...it is...a family recipe." Mashiro explained, starting to wash the bowls and utensils. "I just was in the mood for some, and the local bakeries weren't serving any of those yet."

Mashiro's voice slowly became more and more firm as she shifted into her "shop mode" persona to hide the anxiety of being around someone unknown.

"Ah, if you want to help, the whipped cream and the strawberries. Those are currently in the refrigerator, in white bowls covered in saran wrap. Could you please take them ou- oh, that's right." Despite the task her hands were dealing with, Mashiro was able to look back to the other girl; a skill learned from playing the piano. "Ah, my apologies, I believe I did not catch your name from earlier."

[ Akemi Takaeda | 318 | ♫MUSIC | NOTES: short and sweet. Don't worry, Mashiro doesn't hate her, she's just shy. ]

MADE BY KAIZU OF WW AND TWF