~Thirty Minutes Later~
Ketsueki was standing by the dining table, her hands were covered in a bit of cornstarch while she was trying to shape mochi dough into a disk. She placed it on the dining table which had the entire surface dusted with a thin layer of cornstarch, on Ketsueki’s right on the table was a large ball of mochi dough that was sprinkled with cornstarch on top. She thought. This is a lot more relaxing than I thought it would be. Ketsueki pinched some dough from the ball of mochi as she started to make another disk using the dough.
Shiro, Mio, and Yuki were sitting on chairs as they were also making mochi disks. Mio finished another one as she placed it on the table and admired the mochi disk that filled half a quarter of the dining table, she thought. That’s a lot of mochi. Mio moved her gaze onto the disks Yuki placed on the table and saw they were completely identical. Yuki placed another one down and noticed her friend was staring at her, she glanced at the disks Mio placed on the table and noticed that the sizes were slightly different.
Yuki's mouth curled into a slightly smug smile which slightly infuriated her friend. Mio added a bit too much pressure as the mochi dough she was trying to shape into a disk ripped into two, she thought. There’s a test in a week and a half. I’ll get my revenge with a higher score. Mio and Yuki glanced at the disks Shiro was making as they noticed she had already made more than both of them combined as the mochi disks were also consistently the same size. Shiro noticed her friends were staring at her as she moved her gaze onto them and said. “Yuki, Mio. Anything wrong?”
Mio shook her head sideways as she quickly rolled the disk of mochi she ripped in half into a ball, she said. “Nothing, I was staring at the amount of disks you’ve already made.” She made the ball back into a disk and placed it on the table near her while Yuki pinched some dough from the ball of mochi on her right. Yuki said. “How many times did you help Reiki with making mochi?” She shaped the mochi dough into a disk and placed it on the table.
Shiro thought for a bit, she said. “No, this is the first time I asked Onii-chan if he needed help.” She used her thumbs to shape the mochi dough she was holding into a disk and looked up to her older sister. Shiro continued. “At least, I think it is. Onee-chan, is this the first time we’re helping Onii-chan make dessert?” Ketsueki pinched some mochi dough from the large dough ball on the table next to her, she said. “Technically, we’ve helped Reiki before.” Shiro had a hint of confusion on her face, she said. “We did?”
Mio placed a disk that was slightly bigger than the one next to it on the table, she said. “What was it?” Yuki was in the middle of shaping some mochi dough into a disk, she thought. With Reiki’s ability to cook, what kind of dish would it take for him to ask for help?... Ketsueki nodded as she placed a disk on the table, she said. “When he was making ice cream.” Mio and Yuki’s expressions turned a bit odd while Shiro pinched some dough from the mochi ball beside her on the table. Shiro said. “Onee-chan… All we did was eat ice cream…”
Mio and Yuki pretended to hear nothing as they made more mochi disks while Ketsueki pinched some dough from the ball of mochi next to her. Ketsueki said. “It’s still helping since we needed to ensure the ice cream tasted good.” Shiro had a deadpan expression on her face as she didn’t believe her older sister, she said. “... Yes, Onee-chan…” The four girls heard Reiki’s voice from the direction of the kitchen. He said. “Last batch of mochi coming through.” The girls turned their heads and saw Reiki wearing a pink oven mitt on his right hand as he was carrying a cast iron pan while his left hand was holding onto a wooden spatula.
He made his way over to the dining table and tilted the pan at an angle as the mochi fell onto the surface of the table creating a small dust of cornstarch while the mochi dough was visibly letting off steam. Reiki looked around the table and said. “... Where’s the bag of cornstarch?” Ketsueki placed a disk of mochi on the table, she said. “I placed it in my pocket after putting some on our hands.” Reiki moved his gaze onto Shiro, Yuki, and Mio diligently making mochi disks.
He said. “I’ll be back in half a minute, let me just put this in the sink.” Reiki made his way to the kitchen while Yuki turned her upper body sideways as she watched his back. Mio placed a mochi disk on the table and said. “Yuki, does Reiki have something on his back?” Shiro turned her upper body sideways and saw there was nothing on her older brother’s back, she said. “There’s nothing on Onii-chan’s back.” Ketsueki glanced at her younger brother while she placed a mochi disk on the table.
Yuki faced the table and said. “I was staring at the oven mitt Reiki was wearing, pink fits him oddly well. Does he have a pink apron to complete the set?” She let out a chuckle while Ketsueki pinched some dough off from the mochi ball near her. Ketsueki said. “There is, he looks cute in it.” Yuki almost dropped the mochi disk in her hands as she managed to catch it mid-air, she moved her gaze onto Ketsueki and saw that she wasn’t joking. Yuki placed the disk on the table and thought. I kinda want to see him wearing it now… It would be great blackmail material if I could get a picture…
Reiki made his way to the dining table, he said. “Girls, thanks for helping out.” He stood beside his older sister as she placed a mochi disk on the table, Ketsueki showed him her hands that had a layer of cornstarch on them, and said. “Reiki, I would get it myself but.” Reiki reached into his older sister’s pocket while Mio placed a disk that was slightly smaller than the one next to it, she said. “It’s the least we can do for making us lunch every day.” Yuki looked around the table as she stared at the large dough balls of mochi.
She said. “Reiki, with the amount of mochi on the table. It makes me wonder how many chestnuts you bought.” Shiro pinched some dough from the ball near her, some of it stuck to her as the cornstarch powder on her hands was visibly gone. She said. “Onii-chan, are all of these going to be filled with red bean paste and chestnut?” Half of Reiki’s arm was in Ketsueki’s pocket, he thought. With pockets these deep, it makes me wonder what she puts in them.
He said. “Not all of them, half of the red bean paste is going to the yatsuhashi.” Reiki snuck a peek at his older sister, he thought. At least Onee-chan isn’t bothered with my hand in her pocket. Ketsueki placed a mochi disk on the table while Shiro was trying to get the mochi dough stuck on the palm of her hands. Mio stared at her hands as the cornstarch on it was almost gone, she said. “What’s going to be the filling for the other half?” Reiki took out a small bag of cornstarch that was slightly open at the top from Ketsueki’s pocket.
He said. “Ice cream.” All the girls' eyes shined like stars while Reiki made his way to the mochi dough he left on the table and dusted some cornstarch on top of it. He said. “Who needs more cornstarch on their hands?” The girls raised their hands as Reiki made his way around the table, he walked toward his older sister and continued. “When you’re about halfway through the large ball of mochi. Tell me, it’ll be used for yatsuhashi.” Reiki dusted some cornstarch on both his older sister’s hands. Ketsueki placed her hands above the table and rubbed her palms together, she said. “Won’t they taste a bit like cornstarch?”
Reiki made his way to Mio as she held out her hands to him while he dusted some cornstarch on her hands. He said. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll give them a couple of folds and the taste should be more or less gone.” Mio rubbed her palms together and said. “I’ve looked up yatsuhashi and saw some of them were orangeish.” Reiki rubbed the tips of his fingers above the table to get rid of some cornstarch, he said. “It’s cinnamon, you roll the mochi into a sheet on top of a bed of cinnamon which gives it that color. It also works well with matcha.”
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He made his way to Yuki while Ketsueki pinched some dough from the ball of mochi next to her. Reiki grabbed some cornstarch in the bag as he dusted some on Yuki’s hands, Ketsueki said. “Reiki, did you manage to buy a barrel for the grill?” Yuki rubbed the cornstarch against her palms and said. “... Why do you need a barrel for that?” Reiki made his way to Shiro who was already holding out both her hands, he grabbed some cornstarch from the bag and sprinkled some on his little sister’s hands.
He said. “The plan was to modify the barrel and turn it into a grill.” Mio, Shiro, and Yuki gave him odd looks while Reiki placed the bag of cornstarch on the table as it created a small dust explosion from landing. Reiki said. “It’s a lot more practical than it sounds.” The three girls didn’t say anything as they quietly made mochi disks and placed them on the table while Reiki looked up at his older sister and said. “No, I didn’t find a fifty-five-gallon drum. Plus even if I did it would only create two problems.”
Shiro pinched some mochi from the ball of dough near her, she said. “How would buying a barrel create two problems?” Reiki was about to place his right hand in his pocket but stopped seeing his thumb, index, and middle finger had some cornstarch. He placed his left hand in his pocket and said. “I would need more money to buy materials for the frame and I highly doubt Onee-chan would let me use industrial power tools.”
Ketsueki placed a disk of mochi on the table, she said. “The only tool you’re allowed to use is a kitchen knife and the only reason is because you’re pretty good at cooking.” She pinched some dough from the ball of mochi near her while Reiki glanced at his right hand which had some cornstarch on it. He said. “Onee-chan, speaking of tools. Can you buy me a couple of bench scrapers?” Ketsueki was in the middle of turning a small bit of mochi dough into the shape of a disk, she said. “What’s a bench scraper?”
Mio was in the middle of thinking as she placed a disk of mochi on the table, she said. “I think I’ve seen a couple of those on videos…” Reiki made his way to the kitchen and said. “I’ll grab some damp towels so you girls can wipe the cornstarch on your palms.” Ketsueki moved her gaze onto Mio and said. “What is it?” Mio turned the mochi dough in her hands into a disk, she said. “It’s mainly used by bakers to measure, cut, and handle dough.” Yuki finished making another mochi disk and placed it on the table, she glanced at the ball of mochi next to her and thought. I’ve barely made a dent in this thing…
Ketsueki raised a brow as she placed a mochi disk on the table, she said. “That’s it?” Shiro stretched both her arms upward while sitting on the chair while Mio pinched some mochi from the ball of dough next to her. Mio said. “You can use it to portion butter and frost cakes.” Reiki made his way to the dining table while carrying a plate that had five rolled damp towels on it, he said. “Do any of you girls want a snack?” He stared at the table for a few seconds before placing the plate of damp towels in the middle.
Shiro pinched some dough from the ball of mochi near her, she said. “Onii-chan, what are those for?” Reiki made his way to the mochi dough that he scraped off the pan as the steam it was letting off was visibly less than before. He said. “In case someone needs to use the bathroom or drink water.” Yuki stood up from the chair she was sitting on and started standing up, she said. “At first I thought this wasn’t a lot… But needing to ensure they’re the same size is getting tedious.”
Reiki used his hands to skillfully roll the loose dough of mochi into a ball, he said. “Think of it this way, when we fill them with red bean paste. You can make them as big as you want.” All the girls' eyes brightened while Shiro placed a mochi disk on the table and said. “How big can we make the ice cream mochi?” Reiki finished forming the mochi ball into a ball, he said. “You can make it as big as a basketball with the condition you finish it, I don’t like wasting food.”
Mio had a puzzled look on her face and said. “But we already made the size of the disks… Why are we making disks?” Reiki pinched a large ball from the dough of mochi near him, he said. “You can roll a few disks into a ball and make them as big as you want. We’re making disks so it’s easier to fan them on a table while adding the filling.” He placed the damp towel over his shoulder while Ketsueki placed a mochi disk on the table and picked up one of the towels on the plate.
She used it to wipe her palms clean and folded the towel as she placed it back on the plate. Ketsueki took out her phone from her pocket and said. “Let me look up what a bench scraper is…” She tapped on the screen of her phone a couple of times while Yuki placed a mochi disk on the table as she smelled something sweet in the air. Yuki said. “You’re already boiling red beans?” Reiki easily made three mochi disks that were the same in size and placed them on the table.
He said. “That and roasting chestnuts in a pan.” Reiki quickly pinched more dough from the ball of mochi, made three disks of mochi, and placed them on the table. He continued. “Give me a couple of minutes to stir the chestnuts.” He reached for one of the towels on the plate as he made his way to the kitchen while wiping his hands clean. Ketsueki saw images of a bench scraper on her phone and said. “Oh, so they’re called bench scrapers. I’ve seen these in bakeries when someone’s in the middle of making bread.”
She waved her hand as the small bag of cornstarch gently flew toward her palm. Ketsueki grabbed a small handful of starch as she rubbed her palms together, she thought. Reiki asked for two… And if I’m lucky he might start baking more often so I can gently nudge him to bake sweets. She placed the bag on the table near her and pinched some dough from the large ball of mochi, she thought. This… Is going to take a lot longer than I thought… Reiki made his way to the dining table as he stood by the ball of mochi he rolled into a ball.
he said. “Chestnuts have been stirred and the red bean paste is boiling nicely.” Reiki was about to say something as Ketsueki placed a disk of mochi on the table and lazily waved her hand as the bag of cornstarch gently made its way toward him. Reiki grabbed the bag that was floating in mid-air, he said. “Thanks, Onee-chan.” He dusted his hands with some cornstarch, placed the bag next to him on the table, and quickly started making mochi disks by threes. Shiro placed another disk of mochi on the table, she stood up and said. “Sitting down is starting to hurt.” Reiki finished three more mochi disks and placed them on the table.
Mio was in the middle of shaping a piece of mochi into a disk as she stood up and glanced at the disks Shiro made. Mio said. “Shiro, you’re pretty good at this.” Yuki placed a mochi disk on the table, she said. “Shiro was always oddly good with crafts. It’s gotten to the point where neither of us can beat her.” Shiro let out a chuckle and said. “Just like how Mio and I can’t beat your scores in any subjects.” Mio felt the sting of her friend's words, she said. “Not true… I’ve managed to get a higher score than her in a couple of tests…”
Yuki’s mouth curled into a slightly smug smile, she said. “Only because of my messy handwriting with numbers so the teacher thought my five was a six.” Mio felt the sting of her words as she placed a hand on top of the table to use as support, she said. “You also got question number eight wrong.” Reiki made his way to the kitchen as he used the towel draped over his shoulder to wipe the cornstarch on his palms off. Shiro was in the middle of shaping a piece of mochi into a disk.
She said. “Wasn’t question number eight invalid? The teacher told us if we scored at least twenty-five out of thirty he would consider it as a plus one.” Mio felt the sting of what her friend said while Ketsueki’s brows furrowed while she placed a mochi disk on the table. Ketsueki said. “Is that even allowed?” Yuki was trying to shape a piece of mochi into a disk, she said. “A teacher's assistant was given too much work so he didn’t have the time to review the questions on the test.”
Ketsueki placed a mochi disk on the table, she thought. That’s one way to blame someone trying to build a resume. Reiki made his way to the dining table as he stood by the mochi ball, he said. “Are you girls sure none of you want a snack? How about a drink instead?” Shiro was in the middle of shaping some mochi into a disk, she said. “Onii-chan, both the stoves are being used. Plus Onee-chan hasn’t bought a new blender since you broke the old one making milkshakes.” Yuki moved her gaze onto Reiki and said. “You made milkshakes and didn’t invite us?”
She pretended to be hurt while Reiki picked up the bag of cornstarch near him. He said. “Next time I make milkshakes. I’ll invite you two.” Mio hid one of her hands under the table as she gave her friends a thumbs up while Reiki moved his gaze onto his little sister and said. “Does the blender not work anymore?” Shiro saw Mio giving Yuki a thumbs up under the table as she placed a disk of mochi on top. Ketsueki pinched some mochi from the ball of dough near her, she said. “It still works, the highest setting doesn’t anymore.”
Reiki quickly made three mochi disks and placed them on the table, he thought. I haven’t had lassi in a while. He said. “Give me a few minutes, I'll give everyone a drink.”
~One Hour Later~
Reiki placed a large bowl of red bean paste in the middle of the table which was cleaned up as the top of it was covered in mochi shaped into disks on one side and squares on the other. The bowl of red bean paste had a smooth texture as it was roughly formed into a mountain, he moved his gaze onto the girls sitting around the dining table holding onto a large glass filled with thick yellow liquid.
He said. “What do you girls think of mango lassi?” Yuki, Mio, and Shiro were too busy drinking while Ketsueki had already drunk half of her lassi. Ketsueki said. “Reiki, what’s in this again?” Reiki moved his hand above the bowl of red bean paste as he felt the heat it was emitting, he said. “I made it with ice, mango, greek yogurt, and blended everything.” Ketsueki gave him a nod as she took another sip of her drink while Yuki let out a long satisfied sigh.
Yuki raised the glass she was holding and said. “Reiki, this is good.” Reiki smiled at her and said. “Thanks, on a different note. No one is allowed to eat the red bean paste while it’s cooling down. I’ll be in the kitchen preparing everything for the tokyo banana and kininaru apple.” The girls nodded their heads while they drank lassi as Reiki made his way to the kitchen. Mio glanced at the table and moved her gaze onto Reiki, she said. “Where are the chestnuts?” Reiki moved his hand away from the top of the red bean paste, he said. “By the sink, I’m keeping them warm on the pan so the shells are easier to peel.”