A Lunch Made with Love

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"Sometimes taking care of the flowers keeps you busy all day. It's so far from home... so... so..."

o(*￣︶￣*)o

"So what?"

Ino buried her head against Josuke's chest.

In a tiny voice, barely louder than a mosquito, she said,

"I could sleep in Josuke's bed..."

Josuke had already guessed what she'd say, but hearing the girl put it that way still made his old face turn red. He remembered the fragrance he'd smelled in the room earlier.

Wasn't that Ino's scent?

Josuke teased Ino for a while longer, until his stomach started rumbling again.

Well, they should probably eat.

Otherwise, he'd really starve. Even though Ino was the one cooking, Josuke eagerly went over to help.

As it happened, Josuke was actually pretty good at cooking. A few years after the Uchiha Clan Downfall, he'd taught himself how to cook. He'd had no choice.

The money the Third Hokage had given him had been enough when he was little, but by the time he and his companions were ten, their appetites had grown, and money had gotten a little tight.

So Josuke had started cooking at home.

The results hadn't been very good at first, but practice made perfect, and before long he could make all sorts of delicious dishes.

Ino had stuffed the fridge full.

It looked like she really did consider this her home.

"What does Josuke want to eat?"

Ino rummaged through the fridge.

There were vegetables, fruit, beef, pork—just about everything. But that left Ino stumped. She had no idea what to make for Josuke.

"How about steak?"

Josuke suggested.

Steak? Ino searched through the fridge and found some beef tenderloin. That would do for steak.

No sooner said than done.

They already had seasonings at home, so there was no need to go out and buy any.

Ino took out the beef tenderloin to thaw.

She filled a pot with water and set it on the stove, then took broccoli and carrots out of the fridge to prepare.

She really looked like the perfect homemaker. Josuke watched Ino with satisfaction. It seemed his future love life was in good hands. Ahem.

Good thing he'd been reincarnated. Otherwise, that kid Sai would've gotten lucky. Did he even deserve Ino? And he'd actually tried to steal her from Josuke. Honestly, the first time he'd met Sai a while back,

he'd wanted to beat the kid up.

But he'd held back.

Looking back, what a huge mistake!

He should've given Sai a good beating right then and there.

But now~

Josuke's mouth was crooked enough to rival an AK, and the corners kept creeping upward.

No, no. There was still a risk. He absolutely couldn't let Sai steal his girl.

Just then, Ino called from the kitchen.

"Josuke, could you get the pasta out of the fridge for me?"

Josuke walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and rummaged around until he found a bag of pasta.

"Found it. Do I put it straight into the water?"

The water in the pot was boiling, bubbles popping at the surface.

"Yeah. I'm about to start searing the steaks, too. How do you want yours cooked, Josuke?"

"Medium-well."

Steak cooked less than medium was mostly raw inside, and Josuke couldn't get used to eating it.

A medium-well steak was mostly light grayish brown inside, with just a small pink section in the middle. There was less blood in the meat, the juices were pale, and it was firmer and springier.

It really was delicious.

"Same as me, then."

Ino patted the moisture off the steaks with kitchen paper.

She put butter in the pan, and it melted quickly in the heat, releasing a creamy aroma.

Ino took out two pieces of steak, one large and one small, and put them in the pan.

Sizzle, sizzle.

The butter and steaks met, and the aroma of meat filled the air.

When the steaks looked about ready, Ino flipped them and sprinkled on some coarse black pepper and salt.

Josuke's pasta was almost done. He sliced the carrots and cut the broccoli in half.

Then he boiled them in a pot.

"Ino, are you almost done? The pasta's nearly ready."

Ino was putting the finishing touches on her dish, too.

The steaks looked even more appetizing with black pepper sauce drizzled over them. Just like Ino herself, they left you wanting more.

Finally, she plated everything and took it off the heat.

She added broccoli, carrots, and pasta. Oh, and she'd almost forgotten the eggs.

While the pan was still hot, Ino added oil and took out two eggs she'd removed from the fridge two and a half minutes earlier.

Steak and eggs didn't need to be cooked all the way through. The point was to have runny yolks.

They were ready in no time, and with Ino's careful plating, the meal looked quite good.

"Josuke, eat while it's hot~"

Ino carried Josuke's steak to the table. The starving Josuke had been waiting for ages.

Once Ino had sat down, Josuke picked up his knife and fork, cut off a small piece of steak, and tasted it.

Mmm...

Suddenly, Josuke made a displeased face.

Ino jumped.

"What's wrong? Does it taste bad? Did I put in too much salt?"

Josuke quickly returned to normal and grinned.

"No, it's really good."

"Huh?"

Only then did Ino realize Josuke had tricked her. What a jerk! She kicked him under the table.

She puffed out her cheeks, looking every bit the sulky little girl.

"Haha, come on, Ino. Don't be so grumpy. Here, try a bite."

Josuke coaxed her, cutting off a piece of his steak and dipping it in the black pepper sauce before spearing it with his fork.

He held it out to Ino.

"Here~ Have a bite."

Hmph, who wanted him to feed her?

Ino turned her face away.

But her mouth opened without her meaning to. I'm only tasting the steak I made. It's not like I'm eating something he fed me. ╭(╯^╰)╮

She said she didn't want it, but inside she was over the moon.

Delicious ლ(´ڡ`ლ)

A tsundere really was adorable.

Ino's steak really was delicious, perfect in appearance, aroma, and taste.

Though the steak was medium-well rather than fully cooked, it got rid of most of the meat's gamey flavor—uh, the steak's gamey flavor—while preserving a little of its original taste.

It brought out the steak's flavor to the fullest.

"By the way, Ino, how's Teacher Asuma doing now?"

Josuke had left in a hurry last time and hadn't gotten a chance to ask Ino about Asuma. Now he'd finally remembered, and it felt like the question had come back around to him.

Teacher Asuma?

Ino thought for a moment before replying.

"Teacher Asuma recovered after taking your medicine, Josuke. He lost all his Chakra, though. Luckily, he can train again, and he's a Genin now. He'll be taking the Genin exam in a few months."

"Pfft."

That old geezer was taking the Genin exam?

"The Genin exam? That's hilarious."

Josuke nearly spat out his drink.

Still, that proved Orochimaru's medicine worked. The side effect was that all of Asuma's Chakra disappeared. Josuke just didn't know whether it would work the same way on Tailed Beast Chakra or Senjutsu Chakra.

Ino couldn't help laughing, either. She'd been genuinely worried about Teacher Asuma, but when Teacher Kurenai told her that Asuma was taking the Genin exam, she'd nearly laughed herself silly.

"Oh, right..."

(Man, writing is exhausting QAQ. Honkai: Star Rail updates tomorrow, and I'll finally get to see Feixiao ⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄)