For the past few days, I had been Sakuya’s test subject to try the food she makes. I did made a deal with her that I would only do so twice a week, but she had been so persistent lately I just can’t refuse her.

   Today, the food she’s supposed to make is cabbage roll. I made the mistake of going to the toilet for a while and left her to her own device. Now I regret not holding it in for a little while longer.

   I pick up one of the supposedly rolls with a pair of chopsticks nervously. I said supposedly since the outer layer looks nothing like a cabbage. It’s completely black without a single hint of green. I don’t know how can someone ever burn a dish when you’re supposed to steam it.

   ‘What happened to the cabbages, senpai?’ I ask her.

   ‘Well, I got impatient since steaming takes so long. I then got the idea of deep-frying it.’ she answers without looking at me.

   Now that she mentioned it, there’s some oil inside a red pot that I swear it wasn’t there on the stove before I left the room. The temperature of the oil is so high it’s actually smoking.

   I put down the cabbage and undo the roll so that I could check the filling which consists of minced pork, scallions, sliced dry shiitake mushrooms, ginger and garlic. As I have half-expected, the ingredients inside are barely cooked. Furthermore, the vegetables are unevenly chopped. I brace myself and pick it up once more with the chopsticks so that I could eat it. I take a bite.

   The first thing that I tasted is the charred cabbage. I guess this is what charcoals taste like. It’s, well, charred. I don’t know any other way to describe it.

   Since the scallion is next to raw, I could still taste its crunchiness even though I’m not supposed to. The raw garlic and ginger are sort of burning my eyes with their strong smell and taste. The mushroom, on the other hand, is kind of mushy. The pork is half-cooked, which I’m sure can be dangerous if it’s pork we’re talking about. Next, the seasoning. Sakuya has once again put too much salt, making the roll extremely salty. And that’s before adding the soy sauce. The only proper seasoning she did was adding an adequate amount of oyster sauce and pepper. Even so, I could still barely eat the food.

   ‘So, how was it?’ Sakuya asks gingerly.

   I tell her about everything that’s wrong with the cabbage roll. The more I tell her, the lower her head becomes.

   She sighs after I’m done. ‘I’ve failed again, didn’t I? I’m so sorry for giving you terrible food like this.’

   ‘Don’t be. Even though it’s not obvious, you’re improving bit by bit. The first few food you cooked were akin to nuclear waste. Now they’re just regular waste.’

   ‘How are they any different?’

   ‘The regular waste are somehow edible with a few flaws here and there. Just remember to keep trying and not give up.’

   She nods. ‘Thank you for willing to accompany me like this every single time.’

   ‘I don’t mind at all, senpai. I’m your boyfriend, remember?’

   ‘Oh, you.’

   She opens up her arms and hugs me. I gently hug her back.

   ‘By the way, senpai? Why are you so hardworking all of a sudden?’ I ask her curiously once we let go of each other.

   ‘Well, my mother’s birthday is coming soon, and I want to cook her something edible for once.’

   Ah, her estranged mother. I never really had the courage to ask Sakuya about her mother since family matters is one delicate subject. I didn’t push the matter further and just helped her with cleaning up the place. After we’re done, we went our separate ways since she still has things to do at the student council. Sakuya stops me right before I leave.

   ‘Say, Akira-kun. Are you free on the 29th? You know, three days from now?’ she asks me.

   ‘I think so. Why do you ask?’

   ‘The thing is, my mother told me that she wants to meet you. Would you humor her if it’s not too much of a trouble?’

   ‘Of course. I’ll make sure to empty up my schedule on that day.’

   ‘Thank you, Akira-kun.’

   As I was heading back to the dorm, I started to have stomach pain. It’s definitely because of the half-cooked pork I ate. I spent almost an hour inside the toilet for it. When I come out groaning like a sick person, I receive a message from Tamai-san.

   ‘Good evening, Kagenahsi-kun. Principal Morifuji would like to have a word with you, so please go to his office immediately.’ the message wrote.

   I wonder what he wants to talk about. Oh, well. I’ll find out soon enough.

   Tamai-san is sitting in front of her desk right net to the principal’s office when I got there.

   ‘Hello there, Kagenashi-kun. He’s waiting for you inside.’ she greets me when she saw me.

   ‘Thank you.’

   I go to the door and knocks on it.

   ‘Come in.’ I hear Principal Morifuji’s muffled voice from inside.

   I open the door and goes inside.

   ‘You wanted to see me, sir?’ I ask while closing the door.

   ‘Indeed I do. Do sit down first.’

   I do as he says and sit down right opposite him.

   ‘Are you sick, Kagenashi-kun? You look kind of pale.’ he notices.

   ‘To tell you the truth, I’ve just eaten your daughter’s cooking.’

   A pause.

   ‘I see. You have my condolences. I hope the experience wasn’t too nightmarish for you.’

   ‘Not at all. She has somewhat improved since the first time she cooked something for me to test eat. I still have to go to the toilet for hours, though.’

   ‘Just remember to go the the nurse’s office if it gets serious.’

   ‘Will do, sir. More importantly, what did you want to talk to me about?’

   For the first time ever, I’m actually witnessing Principal Morifuji fidgeting.

   ‘You see, the birthday of Sakuya’s mother, my ex-wife is coming soon.’

   ‘Are you planning to get her something?’

   ‘Yes, and it’s not only that. I was thinking of wanting to mend our relationship. However, I don’t even know where to start.’

   ‘Why did the two of you separate in the first place?’

   Principal Morifuji suddenly has a grim look. He obviously doesn’t want to remember the bad memory, but still forced himself to speak.

   ‘I was always a workaholic who had little time for companionship. As a result, I was always alone. However, Lena, my ex-wife, never gave up on me and insisted on staying by my side no matter how many times I pushed her away. In the end, I have fallen in love with her, and we even married each other. That said, my habit of working myself half-to-dead were never gone, and I continued to concentrate on my work rather than spending time with my newly-wed wife.’

   ‘So, she finally couldn’t take it and asked for a divorce?’

   ‘Not at all. She was very supportive of me, and she never complained even though I was more married to my work than her. Rather, I was the one who initiated the divorce.’

   ‘What? Why?’

   ‘It happened when Sakuya was six. One of Lost Children’s executive who had long bared a grudge against me somehow found our house and kidnapped them just to spite me. I was so engrossed in work it took me two whole days to notice that they were gone, since I never left here throughout the two days. I manged to rescue them in the end, but it could have gone very badly. If only I paid more attention to them, none of that would have happened.’

   ‘So you wanted to separate with them in case they’re no targeted by your enemies again.’

   He nods. ‘I originally wanted Sakuya to have no part in our world, but she was extremely adamant on being enrolled here. I eventually gave in.’

   ‘I understand the reason you wanted to divorce your ex wife in the first place. But why do you want get back with her all of a sudden?’

   ‘I was always conflicted by my desire to protect her from harm and the feelings I still have for her. After seeing the way you rescued Kiryuu-kun, I realized that maybe I could steel my resolve and protect her properly this time.’

   ‘That’s rather admirable of you, sir.’

   ‘Thank you. However, I am loss for solutions. For starters, I doubt Lena would easily accept back someone who cast her away like she’s nothing.’

   ‘For that, I could help you ask her since she wanted to meet me.’

   ‘She told you that?’

   ‘Not directly. She wanted Sakuya-senpai to invite me.’

   ‘I see. But there’s still my bad habit to fix.’

   ‘Actually, it’s quite easy to fix.’

   He stares at me in disbelief. ‘I-It is?’

   ‘Yes, sir. All you have to do is delegate your workload to others just like how you appointed Tamai-san to be your secretary so that she could keep track of your schedule. If you could trust Tamai-san, you could trust your future Vice-Principal and other people of positions, right?’

   ‘I suppose so. Honestly, it is a wonder that I need someone’s suggestion to figure this out. Thank you very much for this, Kagenahsi-kun.’

   ‘I’m glad to be of service, sir.’

   As a result of our discussion, Principal Morifuji actually got more people to help reduce his workload. On the next morning, he gathered us all at the assembly hall and suddenly introduce us to his new subordinates. His decision was so sudden he had to get temporary staff from other branches until permanent staff are hired. Even so, we now have a Vice Principal, a teacher in charge of Students Affairs and another one in charge of handling discipline.

   Everyone is absolutely stunned by Principal Morifuji’s decision. Even those new staffs of his couldn’t believe that they’re actually assisting him in reducing his workload. Everywhere I go, I hear people talking about his change in attitude. I know of the truth, but I’m not into gossiping, so I always kept my mouth shut. Madoka and those at the Information Squad probably know his true intention, but since majority of the students and teachers are still in the dark, I’m guessing that they didn’t spread it around.

   The birthday of Sakuya’s mother finally arrives. On that day, I accompany Sakuya to go to the supermarket after school ends so that she can buy the necessary ingredients to cook the food she’s cooking for the three of us. She told me that she’s going to make fish and chips. To make sure I didn’t repeat the same mistake as last time, I followed her closely and made sure she only got the ingredients used in making regular fish and chips. The last thing I want is all three of us to end up in the hospital during her mother’s birthday. After we got the ingredients, we get inside a taxi and had the driver to give us a ride to where Sakuya’s mother is living.

   Lena-san lives in a modest apartment at the outskirt of Harajuku. The said apartment only has four floors, and her room is at the third floor. When we reached the place, Sakuya presses the doorbell and wait for Lena-san’s reply.

   ‘Who is it~?’ a woman’s voice asks from inside.

   ‘It’s me, mother.’ Sakuya answers.

   The door is opened by a woman who looks a lot like Sakuya. The same blonde hair, green eyes, a fair complexion, and well, large bosoms. Unlike Sakuya, however, Lena-san is purely Westerner, so she has the look of one.

   Lena-san smiles at Sakuya. ‘Sakuya-chan~! How nice of you to visit me again!’

   Sakuya smiles back at her mother. ‘Happy birthday, mother.’

   ‘Thank you, Sakuya-chan. It’s always nice to see that you care.’

   She then looks at me. Her warm smile turns into a mischievous grin that looks exactly like the one Sakuya shows whenever she feels like teasing someone.

   ‘And I take it that you’re Kagenashi Akira-kun, Sakuya-chan’s boyfriend?’ she asks me.

   ‘Um, yes ma’am.’

   ‘Oh, don’t be so formal. Call me mother like Sakuya-chan does, or even better, call me mommy.’

   ‘Mother~!’ Sakuya complains.

   ‘Did you know? Sakuya-chan calls me that all the time when she was little. Now that’s she’s all grown up, she became such a cold girl. Mommy is so sad~.’

   Lena-san starts to tear up. It’s amazing how women can conjure up tears from the corners of their eyes like it’s the easiest thing to do in the world.

   ‘Geez, mother! Can you stop embarrassing me in front of my boyfriend?’ Sakuya demands while blushing.

   Lena-san’s tears stop flowing in an instant. Seriously, how do they do that?

   ‘Sorry Sakuya-chan, no can do! It was always mommy’s dream to tease you when you got a boyfriend of your own. Now my dream has finally come true!’

   Sakuya sighs in defeat. ‘Can we at least come in first?’

   ‘Why, of course. Silly me, I was so busy in teasing you I forgot to let you in.’

   The first thing I notice when I got inside is how clean and tidy everything is. Comparing her room with Sakuya’s is like comparing heaven and hell.

   ‘Not one word, Akira-kun.’ Sakuya warns me in a small voice. It’s like she could read my mind.

   Sakuya gets to her cooking at once, leaving Lena-san and I sitting opposite each other at the dining table. I wanted to at least supervise her when she’s cooking, but she’s having none of that today. She wears an apron in front of her uniform that presumably her mother’s and gets started with the preparation.

   Lena-san sneaks a glance at Sakuya who’s busy cooking. After making sure her daughter’s not looking over here, she leans forward so that she can speak to me.

   ‘Would you like to see some of Sakuya-chan’s photo when she’s smaller?’ she asks me in a small voice.

   I nod at once. She smiles and gets up from her seat quietly so that Sakuya can’t hear her leaving her seat. Lena-san goes to a book shelf and eventually comes back with a leather-bound photo album. I take care in opening the photo album so that I don’t damage the photos inside.

   There she is. Sakuya when she was a baby and right up to before her parents got divorced. I could tell that she wasn’t six years-old when the last photos were taken because both her parents are in them as well. And she was smiling more genuinely than she is now.

   ‘Cute, wasn’t she?’ Lena-san asks me softly. ‘Of course, the Sakuya-chan now is cute, but she’s nothing compared to her younger version. I guess it’s because our family was still in one piece then.’

   I look up from the photo to look at Lena-san. She has an extremely lonely look while staring at the younger version of her ex-husband. Meanwhile, I smell fish being cooked and hear the sizzling of oil. I guess Sakuya’s starting to deep fry the fish fillets.

   ‘The dinner will be ready s-what are you looking at, Akira-kun?’

   Lena-san and I turn to look at Sakuya who looks all flustered. She quickly comes over to snatch the photo album away.

   ‘What on earth are you showing him, mother?’ Sakuya demands from Lena-san.

   ‘It’s fine, right~? It’s not like we have anything better to do while waiting for you to be done.’

   ‘No, it’s not!’

   Sakuya puts the album back to the shelf and continue to tend to the fillets.

   ‘So, do you think she will succeed this time?’ Lena-san asks me.

   ‘I sure hope so. I made sure that she didn’t buy any weird ingredients, so it won’t turn out disastrous unless she somehow messed up.’

   ‘That’s not really reassuring, though. Did you know that she even managed to mess up hard-boiled egg?’

   ‘By cracking the egg directly into the boiling water? Yes, I’ve seen her do it once.’

   ‘Oh my, and I swear that I taught her the proper way of doing it.’

   ‘I guess the key is not giving up. She finally knows how to do it right after I taught her five times.’

   ‘That was fast. She failed nine times before she could finally cut carrots without making them fly all over the place.’

   ‘Can the two of you stop telling each other the stories of my failures?’ Sakuya demands loudly from the kitchen. ‘It’s both distracting and embarrassing!’

   ‘Don’t mind us, Sakuya-chan~! You just concentrate on your cooking!’ Lena-san shouts back.

   ‘I’m telling you to stop because I can’t!’

   She finally serves the fish and chips after three more minutes.

   The battered fish fillets nor the french fries are burnt. In fact, they are deep-fried to a nice brown color. The home-made tartar sauce is thick and not watery, and the wedges of lemon on the side are sliced to a nice shape.

   ‘Senpai, did you teleport these from a nearby restaurant?’ I couldn’t help but ask since all of them actually look delicious.

   ‘You know as well as I do that our teleportation magic won’t work unless it’s used to teleport the things we own! Is it that hard to believe that I made all these?’

   ‘To be completely honest with you, yes.’

   I poke the fillet in front of me with a fork and cut it apart with a knife. I then put the small piece of fish into my mouth and chew it a few time.

   ‘So? How is it?’ Sakuya asks me nervously.

   I notice that she’s not touching her food. Neither is Lena-san.

   ‘...It’s delicious.’ I tell her without a single hint of sarcasm.

   Her eyes sparkle like two precious emeralds. ‘You mean it?’

   ‘Don’t just take my word for it. Try for yourself and see.’ I tell her.

   Sakuya does as I say nervously. So do Lena-san. Their eyes widen the moment they took their first bite.

   ‘Wow, Sakuya-chan. He’s right. This is delicious.’ Lena-san compliments.

   ‘Did I really make this?’ Sakuya asks like she couldn’t believe it.

   ‘Oh, sure. So it’s fine if you doubt yourself?’

   ‘I can’t help it! I’ve never cooked something like this before in my life!’

   ‘Yeah. We know.’ I tell her drily.

   ‘So Sakuya-chan can finally cook. Mommy is so proud of you~!’

   Lena-san gets up form her seat and go hug Sakuya.

   ‘Mother, please let go of me! Akira-kun, help!’

   ‘Why? It’s just your mother hugging you. Nothing wrong with that.’

   ‘Exactly~! You should come join us, Akira-kun.’

   I shrug and get up from my seat so that I can hug Sakuya too. I made sure to be careful so that I don’t accidentally hug Lena-san.

   ‘Not you too, Akira-kun! Can you two get off me?’

   As we’re fooling around, someone rings the doorbell. Lena-san and I stop hugging Sakuya at once.

   ‘I wonder who it is. You two just sit here, I’ll go see.’ Lena-san tells us.

   She goes to the door and opens it. She then gasps loudly.

   ‘It’s been a while, Lena. May I come in?’ I hear the voice of Principal Morifuji coming from outside.