The Suffering of Kurumi Manaka

2.1

Konoha: (I've finally come to the cooking class...)

Manaka: "Hello everyone, over here!"

"My name is Kurumi Manaka and I will be your cooking instructor today!"

Konoha: (Oh, the instructor is a child.)

(Around the same age as Hazuki? Older than Ayame, I think...)

(But Ayame is more childish than her age would suggest...)

"My name is Shizumi Konoha. Please guide me well today, Manaka-sensei."

Manaka: "Konoha-san! Nice to meet you! Do you normally cook much?"

Konoha: "No, I decided I should learn, so I just started..."

"I've only ever made shockingly disgusting dishes before..."

Manaka: "I'll show you the ropes, don't worry!"

"I'm sure you'll be able to make delicious food, Konoha-san!"

Konoha: "Yes, I hope so too!"

Manaka; "Then to begin, let's start with the basics:"

"How to properly use a knife."

"In order to prepare fresh, delicious food fit for the table, you must be able to make beautiful, waste-free cuts!"

"Food changes depending on whether you cut with or against the fibers."

"It also affects the texture!"

Konoha: "Ah, that's 'Texture Choices', right?"

Manaka: "Yes, that's one way they call it..."

"But for now, please just mimic the way I handle the knife!"

[knife-wielding-sounds]

Manaka: "..."

Konoha: "Like... like this?"

[vicious slashing sound]

Konoha: "...!"

Manaka: "That's not right! You're going to shred the fibers like that!"

"More carefully, steadily line it up..."

[vicious slashing sound]

Konoha: "Hah!"

Manaka: "!"

"That's no good, like that."

"Why don't you try something else instead?"

"First, crack this egg."

Konoha: "Hah!"

"Oh no, all of the shell fell in!"

Manaka: "Why don't you try striking one egg against another?"

"If you do that, the one with the thinner shell will just barely crack..."

[smash]

Konoha: "Hah!"

"Oh my, I broke both of them."

Manaka: (Huh!? That's the first time I've ever seen both eggs crack when doing that!)

"What should I do? How should I begin to teach you..."

Konoha: "Sensei, I don't have any confidence in myself..."

Manaka: "It's too soon to give up!"

" I will definitely help you raise your skills!"

2.2

Manaka: "I've got it!"

"Let's move on to making practice dishes!"

"It's all about practice! Then we can figure out where you have problems."

Konoha: "I think that's a good idea."

"I'm the type who's good when it comes to the real deal, so I think I'll do better than with the foundations."

Manaka: "Ah, confident, are you?"

"Confidence is vital to cooking!"

"Confidence in your food is the best spice!"

"Good luck!"

Konoha: "Yes!"

[screen wipe]

Konoha: "..."

"..."

"Sensei, even when I turn down the gas, the fire won't get any smaller."

Manaka: "K-Konoha-san! The oil in your pan has caught fire!"

"I'll put out the fire, so put your ingredients in a bowl!"

[screen wipe]

Konoha: "Sensei, I accidentally made the rice all black and crispy."

Manaka: "Ehhh!? You put in too much dashi!"

Konoha: "Yes, I see."

Manaka: "Like this, the dashi got burnt and and the rice isn't fluffy anymore!"

"I'll prepare more rice from you, and you can take over starting with adding the dashi."

Konoha: "Yes, I understand."

(...But it should be okay if it gets just a little dark.)

[screen wipe]

Konoha: "Sensei!"

Manaka: "What is it now!?"

Konoha: "The miso soup exploded."

Manaka: "I can't even imagine why that might have happened!"

"I'll make the miso soup, you can... uhh, perform the arranging."

[screen wipe]

Manaka: "...sigh... Somehow we finished the food..." [she looks pretty deflated here]

Konoha: "That's right! I did it, sensei!"

Manaka: (Well I had to help...)

"But we sure did finish! All that's left is..."

"Seeing how it tastes."

Konoha: (I can't wait.)

2.3

Manaka: "Now, I'm going to taste it!"

Konoha: "Yes!"

Manaka: [chew chew]

[chew]

"..."

(G-gross! This is ridiculously bad-tasting!)

(With one bite, it blows away the historical era I just spent learning about!)

(But this is Manaka's Cooking Class.)

(If something turns out not to be delicious, as her instructor my reputation... no, the whole restaurant's reputation will suffer!)

Konoha stares at her.

Manaka: "Huh?"

Konoha: "How is it, sensei?"

Manaka: "Uh, right!"

"..."

"It tastes good!"

Konoha: "Really!?"

(Somehow, she seems like she's restraining herself...)

"I'll have some too, then!"

Manaka: "Ah! You can't do that! I will eat all of it!"

"Man, it was so tasty that even I learned from it!"

[chew chew... chew chew...]

[chew... chew... ch....]

"..."

Konoha: "Sensei! Manaka-sensei!"

"She passed out!"

"What should I do... Wait, before that..."

"How did the food turn out?"

"There's some left, I'll take just a small strip..."

[chew]

"!!!"

"I knew it..."

"I knew it wouldn't work out..."

[battle]

witch: "....!"

Ayame: "Let's do this witch hunt! Let's go, Hazuki, Konoha!"

Hazuki: "Yeah!"

Konoha: "..."

Hazuki: "Are you all right, Konoha?"

"You seem quiet, or dispirited..."

Konoha: "I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me."

[she attacks the witch]

"..."

Ayame: "That's Konoha for you!"

Hazuki: "She seems to be fighting fine..."

Konoha thinking while fighting the witch:

(Sigh... I prepared all the tools, red the books, and studied up.)

(I even went to a class to learn, and I still didn't get any better.)

Ayame: "Ah! Watch out, Konoha!"

Konoha: (No matter how hard I try, will I never be able to learn to cook?)

[meanwhile she keeps attacking the witch]

Hazuki: (It's amazing that she can fight while so deeply lost in thought...)

"All right, Konoha, Ayame! Let's finish this!"

"Let's use our usual pattern!"

Ayame: "Hai Hai Sir! Take this!"

Hazuki: "Here we go! Konoha! Finish it!"

Konoha: "Yes..."

[they beat the witch and the labyrinth dissolves]

Ayame: "Yes! We beat it! We were in perfect form again today!"

[they transform back into street clothes]

Konoha: "..."

[Mao Himika shows up, not in costume]

Himika: "Aw, I didn't make it in time!"

Konoha: "Who are you?"