RP - Koushirou and Tentomon - Adventures with Rice
"Tentomon, do you remember where we put the rice after we used it last time?" Koushirou asked, opening one cupboard after another in search of that elusive Tupperware container.
When he got caught up in a project, he really got caught up in it, and if he'd absentmindedly moved anything during that time, there was virtually no chance he'd remember where it had ended up once he'd finished his project and gotten some rest.
Tentomon looked up from where he had been looking through their spices. "I believe it is in the cupboard to your right, Koushirou-han." He flew from his chair to investigate for himself. "Yes, here you are." He fumbled to get a good grip; humans and their odd Packaging Materials...
"Ah, thank you," Koushirou smiled, taking the container from his Digimon carefully. "I'm glad you have a better memory for these things than I do." He plugged in the rice cooker and measured out what looked like a decent amount of rice. He'd just looked up the directions for making onigiri online; it was one and a quarter cups of water for each cup of rice, right? He dumped everything into the rice cooker, quickly starting to wonder whether it wouldn't have been more efficient to just buy more from the convenience store.
"I don't know, does this look right?" he asked, peering down into the pot and wishing his mother's cooking lessons had sunken in better.
Tentomon squinted into the pot. "I believe so," he said finally. "Do not worry. I trust your judgement, Koushirou-han." Cooking was not something he had done before, so he examined each thing his partner did with interest. "Would you like me to get out anything else?" he inquired, flitting back toward the cupboards.
"I guess you could go ahead and get out a bowl and... we have some nori somewhere, right?" Koushirou said distractedly as he turned on the rice cooker and adjusted the settings. "I think it's pretty old by now, but... does it even expire?"
"I believe so," Tentomon replied as he selected a dish and set it on the countertop. "However, I did purchase some umeboshi while working earlier," he revealed. "Would you like to use it?"
"Assuming I do it right, I think that would be good," Koushirou agreed. "However, simple as it is, since there's still a significant chance that I won't do it right, how about we make half of them with it and the other half plain, just in case?" he suggested.
Tentomon nodded. "All right." He pulled the nori out of the cupboard and went to the fridge for the pickled plums.
"Miyako-han's mother makes excellent onigiri," he explained to his partner. He looked a bit shamefaced. "I would sometimes buy one after getting my money from Mantarou-han. I hope that was all right," he added, suddenly very interested in the stove.
Koushirou had been taking another small dish out of the cupboard but now stopped, looking a little guilty himself. "Tentomon, I... I overreacted before. You worked hard to earn all that money yourself, and I'm sorry if I've somehow given the impression that I'd be upset with you for buying food with some of it." He set the dish down on the counter and offered him an apologetic smile. "You paid me back, don't worry about it anymore."
Tentomon perked up. "thank you, Koushirou-han. Anyway, I was glad to do it, and it has helped me learn a great deal about human culture." He began unwrapping the seaweed, looking at it with interest. "For instance, your food looks even more odd when uncooked."
"What kind of food did they have you working with at the store anyway?" Koushirou asked with a laugh, imagining Tentomon carefully attempting to make icing flowers on cupcakes.
"Oh no, I didn't work with any food," Tentomon hurriedly explained. "Especially after I discovered energy drinks. I mostly helped in stalking shelves and cleaning. Cleaning toilets was my least favorite task," he moaned with a wince.
"Sometimes, however, Mantarou-han allowed me to work at the cash register. That was very exciting, I got to interact with many humans." It felt wonderful to share these details with Koushirou-han, Tentomon reflected as he finished with the nori.
Koushirou finished filling the dish with water and took a seat at the table as he waited for the rice to cook, motioning for Tentomon to do the same. "It sounds like a good experience! Er, except for the toilets," he added quickly. "Do you think he'd let you volunteer there once in a while now that you don't need the money anymore? I hate the idea of you being stuck here while I'm in class, or while I'm... you know, wrapped up in work."
"Oh, he does," Tentomon explained cheerfully, settling on a chair across from his partner. "It is most enjoyable - except, of course when Kenji-han or his friends come by. They keep trying to convince me I am a Poke... thing," he sighed, aggravated.
"However, I suppose I should consider myself very fortunate. Only one exterminator has visited while I was working," he concluded.
"W..well, that's good," Koushirou replied, a little taken aback by the thought of an exterminator mistaking his friend for an infestation. "I'll have to come see you in action there sometime. If that's all right with you."
"Really! That would be most enjoyable, Koushirou-han! I wouldn't even mind cleaning toilets for you," the bug decided.
"...Well, I'm honored," Koushirou said with an amused smile. Just then, the light went off on the rice cooker, indicating that it was done.
"Great!" he said, jumping up from his chair and hoping that when he looked at the rice, it really would be great. "Let's see now... we need to move this rice into the bowl for it to cool off, and then we have the dishes of salt and water for when we form them into balls... I wonder if we're supposed to put the salt in the water..."
Tentomon hovered behind his partner, watching. "I never saw Miyako-han's mother prepare onigiri," he remarked. "I doubt it will make a large difference," he decided, picking up the salt shaker and offering it to Koushirou.
"Hm, I guess that wouldn't really make much sense though, would it?" Koushirou mused to himself as he dumped the steaming rice into the plastic bowl.
"Oh! Thank you," he said upon noticing Tentomon and gratefully taking the salt shaker. He looked at it briefly, then gave Tentomon a shrug and shook some out into the second dish.
"May I help with something?" The bug studied his claws thoughtfully. Perhaps there was a reason he had been kept away from food in the convini.
"You could cut the nori into small strips," Koushirou suggested. "And once the rice cools down and we can start making the actual rice balls, I think you would be well suited for the honor of putting the umeboshi in the middle."
"All right," Tentomon nodded, flitting back to where he'd left the nori. "Koushirou-han," he said after a few moment's of slow slicing. "They should make these knives more accessible for claws."
"Ah, I'm sorry, here," Koushirou said sympathetically, walking back to join him. "How about I bend the sheet where we want to make cuts and hold it still for you, and then you use your claw to cut out the pieces?" he offered, already starting to fold a sheet along the perforations.
"Thank you, Koushirou-han," replied his Digimon gratefully. He carefully clawed at the thin seaweed. "This is much easier," Tentomon determined. "And the process has sped up significantly."
"With a little more practice, I think we could definitely reach peak efficiency," Koushirou agreed proudly.
Once they'd finished with the seaweed and the rice had cooled, Koushirou got to work molding the rice into shape (though despite his best efforts, they were far from symmetrical). After forming each ball, he'd pass it to Tentomon as if they were on an assembly line so that he could push the pickled plum into the center and smooth on the seaweed strip.
Eventually they had two whole plates full, and Koushirou stepped back to admire their work. "They're not completely falling apart," he said, clearly impressed and surprised.
"They are not," Tentomon agreed. "Perhaps we should share them at the anniversary gathering? After sampling them," he added hastily, looking at their creations excitedly. "However, do you think it is all right we did not add any toppings? I know some enjoy flaked fish," he said, trying to mask his distaste. "That does not sound very appealing."
Koushirou watched with a slight cringe as the top corner of one of the onigiri suddenly fell off and disintegrated into a pile of disconnected grains of rice.
"I don't think we should take any chances," he said with an embarrassed laugh.