Fate: Hammer Time

Chapter 11: Making Progress

"Senpai, could you pass me the salt, please?"

"Sure, here you go." Osaki Koyo handed the saltshaker over to his partner, Yomaura Taya, who was sitting next to him at the dining table in his house.

"Thank you." She smiled in response, before sprinkling a bit over her dish.

"Taya-obaa-san, can I have the salt next?" Sitting across from him at the table, Osaki's youngest daughter, Chiho, eagerly held out her hand towards the red-haired woman, who obediently passed the shaker along.

It was a bit odd, since Chiho actually didn't care much for salt, but Osaki supposed the only reason his youngest now eagerly poured the mineral all over her food was because she wanted to emulate Yomaura.

His redheaded partner was the only female role-model his girls had, so it was to be expected they'd try to take after her. Or at least, that was what he had been told by the psychiatrist when the subject had come up.

He was actually quite happy about that. If you asked him, there was no one who could be a better example for his daughters to follow than Yomaura. She was dedicated, confident, and intelligent. She had a strong moral compass, and a penchant for hard work. She was in any and every way superior to that woman. If his daughters grew up to become like his partner, he could rest easy as a father.

That Chiho picked up a habit of putting just a bit too much salt on her food was a small price to pay for that.

"Grrr!"

It seemed however that Suki did not agree with that sentiment in the slighest.

Being a composed and calm girl, with long black hair and the typical Japanese beauty about her, his eldest daughter always looked and acted the part of the proper schoolgirl. It was her dream to become a Yamato Nadeshiko, and she was doing a pretty good job of it too.

However, her self-control wasn't perfect, and the sight of Chiho mindlessly spoiling the food that Suki had spent so much time and energy on to prepare easily broke through it.

"Imouto! You dunce!" Suki hissed through clenched teeth, grabbing her sister's hand in mid-motion. "Don't do that! I agreed on cooking today because you asked me to, but if you keep spoiling it, that will have been the last time I ever cooked for you!"

Chiho froze, despair entering in her eyes, before she practically threw the saltshaker across the table, as if trying to hide the incriminating evidence.

"Aah, Onee-san. I am so sorry!" She wailed, grabbing her sister's hand in turn and looking up at her with dewy eyes. "I forgot about my promise, and when I saw Taya-obaa-san with the saltshaker, I just wanted some too. I'm really, really sorry, please forgive me!"

It would seem to be an unusually strong reaction for such a minor occurrence, from both girls, but it had to be noted that Suki's threat to stop cooking was a very real one.

For all that the girl wanted to become the perfect Japanese woman, she did not like cooking at all. She considered it a fickle art, one that was too random and chaotic for her to enjoy.

She was great at it, at cooking, with her meticulous way of working, attention to detail, and perfectionism, but despite her talent, she just didn't like doing it.

The only one who could convince her with any surety to cook a meal was Chiho, but the little brunette understood very well that abusing that privilege would only take it away from her, so she didn't ask too often.

And now that she had disobeyed her big sister's orders and made her angry, that privilege was under serious threat.

So Chiho did everything she could to show how contrite she was, and eventually, she convinced her big sister to forgive her, diffusing the situation and making everyone settle down again.