Here, Kitty, Kitty!

Better to Give Them What You Can Than to Let Them Starve

 I smile at the last customer in line as I hand him his matcha latte, gaining a smile and a slight tip of the man's head in return before he walks off. I stand at the counter for a minute to see if anyone else is coming in before turning to go to the back. Considering it's a Saturday it's been a pretty slow day, I've mainly only been serving the regulars who pass by on their way to and from work. It's not like it's a Sunday but I had still expected things to pick up like they usually do.

I yawn as I open the door to the kitchen, taking a moment to stretch as the door closes behind me. "If you hadn't waited so long to start cleaning up you wouldn't be so tired, Takemichi." Hina's voice causes me to lower my arms as I turn to look at her. "You really should try to get more sleep." Hina opens the oven as she speaks, sticking a toothpick in whatever pastry she's baking before shutting the door and turning the heat down.

I give her an awkward, toothy, smile and bring my hand up to rub at the back of my neck. "I didn't wait that long to clean up, I just underestimated how long it would take." Hina sighs and leans against the counter, showing off the unusual amount of flour coating her apron. Ever since the day she stopped by to see how the bakery was doing only to find me still asleep well past opening time Hina has been coming to help out on the weekends. I appreciate it, even if it means seeing that disappointed frown on her face whenever I yawn more than twice in front of her.

Hina tucks one of the hairs that's escaped her bun behind her ear, eyes closing as a look of fake exasperation takes over her features. "I swear, Takemichi, would this place ever open if I didn't wake you up every day?" She peeks an eye open and smiles before she breaks into a giggle. She turns to open the oven again, I watch as her eyes light up and she reaches in to grab the tray faster than I'm able to warn her. She quickly pulls her hand to her chest with a gasp, shaking it to try and dispel the heat and pain. Our eyes meet as the frantic shaking of her hand slows, I press my lips together to keep from laughing. "Don't you dare." her eyes narrow at me and I have to bring my fist up to cover up my smile and muffle my laughter, Hina pouts as she looks down at her hand.

My laughter only lasts so long before I'm reminded of how bad her burn must have hurt. "Are you alright?"

Hina sighs and gives her hand one last shake. "Yeah, it's not that bad." She raises her left hand and slowly levitates the tray out of the oven and places it on the trivets on the counter, closing and turning off the oven with a slight flick of her wrist. Her gaze turns to her finished product and her eyes again light up at the sight. "But, hey, I didn't burn them this time!" The smile Hina directs at me is bright and full, showing off just how happy she is with this small achievement.

I step closer to the counter and look over at the tray Hina proudly stands in front of and, surprisingly, am met with a large tray of eight red bean buns, none of which are burned or misshapen. Ever since Hina started helping out I've done my best to write down any of my recipes on sticky notes for when she's in the kitchen, she's not too interested in following them. If I take my eyes off her for even a second I'll turn around to find her attempting to recreate one of the menu items without a recipe in sight, something that, more than not, ends badly. "Those look really good, you should go put them in the display case! But, you should probably stay up front for the rest of the day, wouldn't want you burning yourself again today." I smile at her and watch as she crosses her arms and starts pouting again.

"But I did so well, I can keep going!" Hina makes a show of pushing her sleeves further up her arms as she continues speaking. "I'll even try and follow the recipe this time!" She reaches out and pulls one of the recipes off the wall to look it over with a concerning amount of focus.

"I thought you were here to help me not just use my kitchen to practice your baking? Plus it's almost time for your favorite customer to come in and you know he doesn't like when I try to take his order."