Out of the Frying Pan

[Aiden]

Having the two girls around the tavern greatly impeded Aiden's usual life style. First off, there was the whole mall incident, during which apparently he was lacking in knowledge because they couldn't do their shopping fast enough. The tavern, mainly the bathrooms and bedrooms, lost their usual state--they were cleaner, brighter, shinier. The volume in the car was to be turned down, rock was to be played less, he was to drive slower. He was surprised that they hadn't scolded him and taken over his laundry, since he mixed everything under the sun and just threw it all into one load. All that was fine, because Aiden still got his way--he still sped, rock was still played loudly and constantly, and his shopping was still completed rather quickly.

However, there was one area in which he had little experience, and couldn't compensate for. It seemed that in an attempt to retaliate at Aiden, Teagan had rigged something in the kitchen to explode on Aiden, but the Tavern's chef received the brunt of the blow instead, and ended up injured and breaking something in the kitchen. Without waiting for any sort of compensation, he quit, demanding that the insolent, demonic (yeah, right) rude girl be kicked out of the tavern. This left quite the predicament for the Portland Faction. Even before their arrival, Aiden dug into fast food a lot, since it was cheap and...well, fast. That had been the majority of meals for the past month or so, with the occasional meal from the food prepared for the tavern. But now, with the chef gone, there was something wrong now that fast food was grown tired of.

Aiden had called both of the girls into the kitchen, he himself leaning against one of the counters, with his arms crossed. He was actually rather exhausted, and this was just one more thing added to his big stress heap. When they finally arrived, Aiden uncrossed his arms, took a few steps forward, and planted his hands on the edge of the table. "Alright, look. We all know that Teagan didn't mean to have the chef leave, but it happened. And if you're relying on me for food, well, it will be a lot of grilled cheese or noodles, I was never taught how to cook. I could try, I guess, but I can't guarantee that it'll turn out well. Can...can either of you cook?" he asked, looking between them.

[Yuki]

Yuki had never been a picky eater. She ate just about anything, though she preferred to stick to her own homemade meals. During her stay at the tavern, she had eaten basic American breakfasts--cereal, toast, eggs--nothing extravagant of the sort. Though she missed the abundance of seafood from Japan, the change in diet was not so bad. Back at school, she had lived in the dormitories and ate what they prepared, which normally consisted of Western-styled meals.

However, while she was at home during the summer, she enjoyed creating her own meals, purely out of boredom. It was a habit that she had started as a child, and through time, she had developed an ability to create what she believed were rather unique meals. Not only could they never be found elsewhere in Japan, or in the world perhaps, since they were combinations of food derived directly from her own mind, but she made sure to mix the different ingredients so that they formed a healthy concoction. To top it off, she always prepared herself an herbal tea.

So when an event took place, in which Teagan was the catalyst, and the tavern's chef tookleave, Aiden presented the pressing issue through the form of a question. With a bit of hesistation, he addressed Yuki and Teagan: "...Can either of you cook?"

"Of course I am able to," Yuki replied, slightly offended that Aiden even had to ask. Perhaps of Teagan, but not of her. "I have cooked for myself for as long as I can remember, cooking for others should not pose a problem. However, I must say that my meals may have more of an oriental feel than either of you are accustomed to." With that statement, she turned towards Teagan with arms crossed, waiting for her response.

[Teagan]

The prank Aiden referred to easily won its way to the Top Ten List of Greatest Pranks Ever Pulled. Teagan spent half the night rigging the stove, the microwave and the fridge with wires and levy systems strewed across the floor. She had remodeled a basic physics theory to, in essentially, burn toast. Her argument for its success solely rested on the assumption that Aiden would continue his on-and-off routine of making toast. Each morning he would start by removing bread from cupboard and place it on the counter. Two pieces of bread would enter the toaster, and then the bread would return to its resting spot. Five steps to the left and he opened the fridge door to grab butter and boysenberry jelly. Within the next two minutes, he either poured himself a drink and slowly sipped it or flipped through a copy of the daily newspaper. When the toast popped with a ding, Aiden would grab a napkin and spread the butter and jelly on top.

Teagan devoted a full twenty four hours developing a plan that had been royally screwed by the kind-hearted chef who wanted to make some extravagant soufflé. And…toast to go with it. The poor man never knew what had hit him. First, he had gathered the ingredients. The bread smoothly went into the toaster, and the man reached for the condiments in the fridge. What he didn’t know is that a spice had been mixed in with the jelly that, once exposed to air, would act as a beacon of light to signal every fly in a five mile radius. Naturally he grabbed the nearest newspaper to swat at the flies with, but it seemed that super-glue had managed to place itself all over the ads in the back. Logically, he moved over to the sink to attempt to wash the glue off of his hands, and in turn the newspaper as well. But the glassy water the man was accustomed to now claimed a neon purple hue. Shouting in frustration and swatting at the swarm of insects with his sticky hands, the chef made his way to the door. It was way past time to leave. Before his hand reached the door, the toast popped. Ding. At least one thing had gone righ- The toaster exploded, causing the room to shake. Smoke billowed out the window in large, gray plumes, causing the flies to all sail desperately outside. By the time everyone rushed to the room, all they found were the charred remains of a toaster, burn marks along the walls, the chef, in tears on the ground and spouting out the words, “I quit,” while holding a newspaper that had dead fly parts on it and two piece of toast, perfectly burnt to a crisp lying on the counter.

Did it go as planned? Not quite. Still effective? Completely.

Could she cook? Schemes, mostly. “I can too. Only child,” she pointed to herself, illustrating the fact, “I had way too much free time on my hands.”

[Aiden]

He couldn't even begin to imagine what had happened in the kitchen that day, the cook would refuse to speak to anyone that worked or stayed at The Crossroad's Tavern, because he believed they had all conspired against him, and that they all planned to wreck his day, though he believed they didn't think they would see his quitting his job coming. Aiden, however, knew that the prank had never been intended for the cook, and rather he or Yuki, and upon further investigation, it had been intended for him. He was relieved that he had dodged this one, whatever it was, but now the staff that actually worked at the tavern for money were demanding a new toaster and such. It was nothing when you ran a credit card scam, but nevertheless, Teagan got Aiden's opinion on the whole thing.

The whole reason that Aiden approached both girls was that over the past week, they exhausted every possible fast food joint in town, and Aiden was much more akin to eating in rather than dining out. Thus, his taste buds and his stomach rejected the feelings of hunger every time he even so much as thought about fast food. Not only that, but there was so much food that could be used for cooking at the actual tavern that it took Aiden the better part of an hour in debating what he should eat to realize that one of the girls might be able to cook. Cooking was never mentioned between the three of them, at least not that Aiden could recall, so it seemed like a good idea in his head to ask them and see.

However, he didn't expect both of them to tell him they could. One the one hand, Yuki appeared to have a wide variety of dishes she could cook that he and Teagan might not be used to, but then again, Aiden did have a liking for his American food. How extensive Teagan's menu was, she didn't let on, but she could always follow a recipe, right? He looked between the both of them, hands still planted on the table before he leaned back, standing up straight, and sighing. "Well, that doesn't help much, you know. The only way I can see that we can resolve this is either allowing a cooking schedule where you two rotate, or," he said with a pause, a small smile working its way onto his face, "we can do a cook-off and I can decide whose food I'd rather have on a regular basis," he finished, the smile now a grin.

[Teagan]

A cook-off? Teagan frowned in disbelief. Sure, the fast food the past few weeks had grown utterly repetitive, but now she could boast having tried everything on the menus of a dozen different food chains. And she only had to try two more items from the local KFC to add that business to the list.

Aiden had a point though; home cooked meals did sound appetizing. But the way he stood in front of them and casually demanded one of the girls cook for him (not them, him) rubbed Teagan the wrong way. She resisted the urge to slap the grin off of his face. But, since the blame for the situation technically fell on her, Teagan contented herself with lazily sitting on the barstool, hands folded on the counter.

“Scratch the cook-off idea from the list, bozo. We’re not contestants on the latest reality show,” Teagan rolled her eyes. Like she would ever put herself up against Yuki on something. Regardless of who won the competition, Yuki would undoubtedly take insult if Teagan won, or silently gloat with her piercing eyes if she found herself the victor. “I’m all for a rotation.”

[Yuki]

While not fond of the idea of a male being the judge in a cook-off, the notion of a competition was profoundly interesting. She hadn't eaten any of her homemade meals since she had so abruptly left Japan. In fact, she hadn't given them much thought until Aiden mentioned the need for a cook. Midst being educated with the supernatural and combat training, it was only natural that food did not hold as much of an important place in her mind as the former two. Now that the issue had become somewhat of a pressing manner, what better way to experience the consumption of another one of her home-cooked meals than through a contest? This way, the other two hunters would be able to sample her healthy, yet more than satisfactory concoctions, while she would simultaneously enjoy the thrill of a battle.

As Teagan so blatantly shot down the idea of a cook-off from her seat upon a barstool, settling for rotation, Yuki raised her brow. That would give her the chance to display her meals, but as a naturally competitive person who enjoyed winning, a mundane rotation simply would not do. Arms folded, Yuki spoke challengingly from her place against the wall. "What's the matter, child? Afraid of a little competition?"

[Teagan]

Teagan internally groaned at Yuki’s obvious enthusiasm for the competition. This did not bode well for her. Getting involved in a competition would be like training all over again. Yuki would shine…and Aiden would yell at her for some reason. And besides, she felt no need to impress people who believed in childhood myths.

“Don’t confuse disinterest for fear, Yuki. I’m not afraid of competition,” Teagan sighed, shooting her faction member a slight glare. “I don’t need to prove myself to both of you. If you want me to cook, I’ll pitch in.”

But no way would she stoop to a competition with that girl.

[Yuki]

"Fine," Yuki thought to herself with eyes closed as Teagan once again dismissed the idea of a cook-off. She couldn't really blame her. The girl obviously knew she was no match for her, and she was only trying to save herself the humiliation. Perhaps for once she had made a wise decision. ...Still, that decision had come at the cost of her entertainment. Oh well. Rotation will have to do, I suppose.

Remaining against the wall, she opened one eye and looked at Aiden. "How do you wish to organize this matter? With seven days in one calendar week, one of us shall be cooking on an extra day. And you, Aiden, will you be participating in this cooking rotation?"

[Aiden]

Aiden frowned at the two girls, or rather at Teagan. He crossed his arms, and moved over to the fridge, opening it up and drawing out a can of soda. "Man, Teagan, lighten up. Competition is healthy for you, don't think that in everything you go up against Yuki in will result in her threatening to take your hair off," he said casually. He pressed the tab down, releasing the hiss of carbonation before taking a long drink. "You guys are no fun. And there you sit around all the time complaining that we're all work and no play. You just missed your chance," he added, sitting down at the table. He glanced over both of them, since they had seemed to agree on a rotation. Now the issue was how to resolve who started.

"We'll go every other day, when we're not out hunting, for now, and see how it goes. But here is how we're settling this, and I don't want any objections," he said, holding his hand between the two. He then curled his fingers, indicating for them to come closer, and once the two were standing across from each other, Aiden spoke again. "Alright, the game is Rock, Paper, Scissors. Three matches, best two out of three, winner takes the first day. Go," he said, sitting back, and waiting for the damage to be done.

[Teagan]

“Ha ha, Aiden. Very funny,” Teagan sarcastically responded, with a hidden glance toward Yuki. No, not every competition resulted in threats, but a good majority of them resulted in similar explosions. She watched with mock interest as he retrieved a can of soda from the fridge and started to lay out how the rotations would follow.

Teagan moved closer when he beckoned them both, her curiosity taking the better of her. No objections? The only thing she had objected to was having Yuki make a mockery of her in a dumb competition.

“Alright, the game is Rock, Paper, Scissors.”

Of course Aiden would come up with a child’s game to make an important decision. Honestly, she shouldn’t have been surprised, even though she expected something slightly more sophistication from him. No, leave it to him to think of that. On the bright side, at least if she lost, Yuki couldn’t gloat that much over a game of chance.

“Alright, but Aiden, Yuki has a point. You get Saturdays.” With that, she clenched her hand and shook it three times.

Paper.

[Yuki]

So the game was Rock-Paper-Scissors? Or rather, Jan-Ken-Po as it was known in Japan. Not many people, including those of Japanese decent, knew that the game originated in Japan. Actually, Janken, as it more commonly referred to, roughly translated to "fist game" in English. How the game was coined "Rock-Paper-Scissors" in English as completely beyond her. In any case, Yuki knew how to play the game well. Many thought that it didn't involve strategy and that it was purely luck, but they were wrong. Yuki knew well that when facing a rookie female opponent, scissors was the best bet.

And she was right.

The second time, Yuki took the psychological approach to the game. The loser tended to use the same move that was used to defeat them in the previous round. Teagan would use scissors. And so...

With a clenched fist, Yuki won the match. Predictable, indeed. Then, Yuki turned to Aiden. "What meal shall be the first one that I cook for? If we have something to hunt today, we may not make it back in time for dinner."

[Aiden]

Yuki? Cooking? Big mistake. That first night, Aiden and Teagan found out that Yuki wasn't quite oriented in the tastes of America, and that her self-concocted recipes from Japan were rather stomach churning. It was after the meal that inspiration struck Aiden, and he announced that the terms of the rock-paper-scissors game had been to see who would be cooking once a month, while the other person would do the rest of the cooking--not that Teagan minded that anymore. And it wasn't like she'd be cooking every night. Some nights there were hunts, other nights they were all out doing their own thing, and some nights it was fast food. Just as long as they could keep Yuki from cooking.

So a month later when Aiden walked in the door, he was a little surprised to see Teagan barreling down the stairs towards him. She quickly informed him that Yuki was claiming her night, and that she had already started cooking. Wide-eyed, Aiden quickly thought in his mind what to do. "All right, all right, you distract her and stall her as long as you can, I'll be back."

If the girls thought Aiden had sped before, they hadn't seen anything. Aiden would much rather face a demon than eat one of Yuki's meals again. Whatever combination she threw together didn't go, it never did. He heard her talking about her recipes, and for once he just wished that she would make a burger or something. Bingo. Taking a left, he sped down the street and into a parking lot, grinning when he saw that the line in the drive-thru was non-existent.

A few minutes later, he had burgers, fries, soda, and shakes, and was pulling out of the parking lot. It was just through the light (check), down the street (check), across the intersection (check), and over the train tracks..."Aw, come on!" he hissed, and then pulled out his phone, punching in Teagan's number. "Stuck behind the train, be there as soon as I can." Behind him was a long line of cars preventing him from turning around at all. Scowling, he watched the train cars roll by.

[Teagan]

She hadn't had a preference before, but after the first night of Yuki's home cooked meal (if it was nontoxic enough to even be called a meal), Teagan found herself immensely relived when Aiden announced Teagan would be cooking from then on. As long as that girl stayed out of the kitchen, she would cook anything at any time of the day. Even a month later, the acidic taste of who knows what still burned in the back of her mouth while walking into the kitchen to start dinner. And wholesome, healthy one at that. No unidentifiable objects in my meals, Teagan smirked.

The grin fell off her face when she discovered Yuki at the stove, wearing a cooking apron. "Yuki? What are you doing?"

Teagan visibly paled when the girl staked her claim for the meal that night. "Oh...well. I suppose I have the night off then." She shrugged nonchalantly, acting like it didn't matter as she slowly backed out of the kitchen.

Code Red. Code Red. Code Red.

There had to be some way to get around it. They hunted the freakin' supernatural, for crying out loud. Wasn't there something they could do to defeat the evil workings of the creature within their home?

From her window upstairs, she heard the loud engine of Aiden's car pulling up in the driveway. Struck with inspiration she burst out her door and down the stairwell. Teagan had to beat Yuki to him! She prayed the other girl had been too focused on the task she hadn't heard the car.

Aiden had just opened the door when she skidded to a stop in front of him. "GET BACK IN YOUR CAR!" Teagan whispered harshly, pushing him back out. "Yuki started cooking dinner! Need I say anymore?"

He had a plan. Good. That was more than she could say, at the moment. "Alright, just hurry!" She could distract Yuki, easy....she hoped.

When Aiden called ten minutes later, the scene had drastically changed.

"You should hurry back," she panted, dipping a washcloth in cool water. "Um, I was stealing the toast from the toaster, making Yuki waste more time trying to remember if she had started it or not, and then I tried to turn off the electricity, but then Lori walked in and Aiden..." Teagan's voice wavered. "Whatever Yuki's making, just one whiff of it caused the poor girl to faint!" Teagan placed the cloth on the unconscious girl in front of her, dabbing around her temple. She had pulled her to the next room and opened the window before Aiden had called.

"Hurry, please. This can't end well."

[Aiden]

Lori had passed out just from smelling what Yuki was cooking? There was no way in hell that Aiden would be eating her food tonight. She really, really, really needed to follow a cook book, he mused, as he sat watching the train. The aroma of the food filled the car, and he couldn't wait to get home and munch on some of those salty fries, or gulp down his shake. He wasn't sure if the girls had realized it or not, but he had a thing for shakes, but only chocolate. He was such a little kid at heart.

Finally, eighteen slow moving train cars later, the lights went off, the barriers lifted, and traffic started to move again. Aiden revved his engine, and whipped around the car in front of him, weaving through traffic. He smirked, knowing that he would now make it in time. He pulled onto the final leg of the trip, the road that led back to the tavern, when he was stuck behind three big rigs, and there were even more on the other side of the road. His speed dropped to a whopping ten miles per hour, and ahead he could see the tavern.

"COME ON!" he yelled inside of his car, revving his engine loudly behind the truck, though it made no difference. Finally, the last truck on the opposite side of the road passed, and making sure there were no cops around, Aiden turned sharply into what would have been oncoming traffic had there been any, and then sped up to the front of the tavern.

Bursting in through the door, Aiden found Teagan hovering over Lori. Taking a deep breath of air and holding it in, he walked into the kitchen, ready to use the acting skills he'd developed as a hunter. "Oh man, Yuki, it was your night to cook?" he asked loudly, and then noisily dropped the cups and bags of food onto the table. "I thought we said we'd just get fast food tonight, since we had that hunt today?" Total lie, but Teagan would 'vouch' for him. "I already got it any everything..." he trailed off, looking at the bags. "It looks like you'll have to wait until your night again," he said, trying to put disappointment in his voice, though it didn't come. "Shake?" he asked, holding one out to her.

[Yuki]

After cooking the first night, it was declared that she would cook only once a month. According to Aiden, she had "misheard" what the competition was really for, and that she had in fact won the spot as the one-day-a-month chef. She protested at first, for she was positive that the competition was to determine who would go first in the rotation and who would cook on that extra day. But no, she was clearly "not paying attention" when they stated the prize of the competition. Yuki had given both of them a cold, unbelieving glare, along with the refusal of the consumption of any of the food that was presented to her by either of the two for the next couple weeks. Eventually, she reluctantly resigned to Teagan's American-style cooking.

However, there was a limit to how much she would wait before she could cook again. A human could only consume so much unhealthy food before the body drew its limit, and on that particular day, Yuki determined it was time to exponentially raise the nutritional value of their meals. No more of that calorie-filled, ridiculously fattening trash, or fast-food sustenances that miraculously passed as food (even though they clearly lacked sufficient vitamins and minerals). It was her turn now to show the Portland faction once again what real food was.

She left her room and headed for the kitchen. If she were back home, her selection of cooking material would be much broader, with an array of herbs as well as several condiments, some of her own invention. But here, she was greatly restricted, limited to common place items such as ketchup, mustard, and the grand abundance of salt. Opening all the cabinets, she surveyed their contents. Mendokusai. Oh well. She would have to make do with what she had. Connecting the toaster to the electrical outlet, she grabbed two slices of bread and placed them in the machine. Then, she headed for the stove. What to make, what to make. She paused, then headed for the fridge. Eggs, garlic, onion, oranges, milk. An excellent selection, very healthy. Grabbing all of the ingredients, she connected the blender and placed all of them inside. Right as she was about to turn it on, Teagan came in and interrupted her cooking.

"What I am "doing" is blatantly obvious, child. Don't waste your breath on such a foolish question, it is my turn to cook tonight."

Yuki finished responding and with her nose in the air, resumed the task at hand.The girl said something, but Yuki could not hear over the noise of the blender. When she turned back around, the child was gone. Good riddance. Yuki headed to the cabinets and analyzed what was inside one of them. An unopened coffee tin, some powedered chocolate milk, cereal, brownies, twinkies, gummy fruit snacks--what were they, elementary school students?! Letting out a frustrated sigh, she opened another cabin, hoping that the contents of this one would be better than the first.

Jackpot.

This one seemed to be the cabin Teagan reserved for when she cooked items from scratch. Cans of an assortment of vegetables and fruits, as well as of soup, different flavors of seasoning, pasta noodles--even some ramen. Her eyes glimmered at the sight. True, they were not in the best condition (fresh fruit would have been much better), but this would have to do. An apple can, a banana can, some leek, one...no, two cans of corn, some carrots, a couple of green bean cans, a bottle of this chicken seasoning...how would all this taste on top of ramen?! True, ramen was full of sodium, but she could cook out the salt and replace it with her newly concoted seasoning. And then...the batter from earlier. She could cook the batter into a pancake-like state, then place the ramen inside each of them. Brilliant! Swiftly, she filled a pot with water and placed the ramen noodles inside. After ten minutes or so, she placed the rest of the mixed ingredients on top. Yuki turned up the heat on the stove, letting the sweet aroma drift from the pot and waft in the kitchen.

Wait a second...that's right, the toast! She went over to the toaster, and although it was connected, there was no bread inside. Nani? She could've sworn she put some bread inside. No matter, she would just place two more slices inside. She planned to infuse the bread with mustard and some of the herbs she had stashed away in one of the cabinets, and then cut up the slice of toast into tiny pieces and sprinkle it on top of her creation. But she would need the bread first. Perhaps she had just imagined she had placed two slices inside already. Opening the bread, she grabbed some more, put it in the toaster, then went to the blender to start cooking the pancake mix. Pouring the batter in a frying pan, she let the batter sit and then stirred the ramen noodles in the pot adjacent to the pan.

What else could she do? The meal seemed too plain as it stood right now. It needed...sugar! Of course! The body needed its daily fill of glucose. Locating the missing item, she looked at it blankly. The meal also needed some protein. The chicken seasoning simply would not serve the purpose by itself. Opening the freezer, she spotted what she was hoping to find--a box of frozen chicken nuggets. It was not a whole chicken, but it would still fulfill its nutritional value to a certain degree. Pulling out the box, she opened it and placed the chicken nuggets in another pan, then topped it with sugar. But where would the chicken go? Perhaps...ah, yes! It could be added the the ramen noodles! After they cooked, she would chop the chicken into pieces, then place it in the blender, and then maybe add some baking soda and apple juice to the mix. It couldn't hurt.

Yuki wiped her hands on a wet rag and then headed to the toaster. What the...?! They were gone! Again! She grabbed the toaster, picked it up, and looked underneath. Everything seemed fine, it wasn't as if the toast had sunk to the bottom. Where else would it be?! She swore she put some in. "Kuso," she hissed, and then went back to the loaf of bread and grabbed some more. Glaring at the toaster, she placed the bread inside and then headed back to the stove. After having the toast disappear three more times, Yuki subsequently grabbed the toaster, headed out back, and threw it violently to the ground in frustration. Aiden needed to buy a new one--one that actually functioned, since that puny, pathetic, useless contraption was clearly broken. And now it was beyond repair, seeing as it lay shattered on the floor. That fate was what it deserved.

Just as she was nearing the end of her cooking, Aiden burst in the kitchen with an obnoxiously loud voice.

"Oh man, Yuki, it was your night to cook?"

"Urusai! I can hear you perfectly fine!" she snapped with her eyes closed in frustration as she held the pot of ramen noodles and seasoning in her hands.

He contnued to noisily place his belongings on the table, and she caught the scent of...fast food? Wait, what did he say?!

"You fool, of course it was my turn to cook! It has been a month since the last time, and the child should've informed you of such if you were so stupid as to have forgotten!" She cast an icy glare in his direction, and then towards the fast food, and then back at him when he offered her a shake. "No, I do not want any of that...that vile beverage!" she scoffed, clutching the pot in her hands tighter. "Fine! If you two want to eat like ravenous scavengers and consume that disgusting thing you call food, go ahead," she said haughtily, and then set the pot down. "I, however, will be dining from a much more exquisite brand of sustenance," Then, she began pouring the noodles inside the pancakes she had already set out.

Yuki looked down proudly at her nutritious invention. It smelled delicious. Itadakimasu!