Chapter Text
The smell of medicine and herbal tea invaded Apart’s nose before he could even open his eyes. It was still a blur, everything went too fast. For a second, he was defending a new connection he made – dare to say, a friend? – from the group of the deer who hired him and in the blink of an eye, his arm was cut off. He didn’t even see the motion Slur did, only registering the absence of his arm when his taut strings went slack and blood splattered the side of his face.
After that, everything went so fast, the killing intent of Mr. Sakamoto and Slur dominated the air as soon as he heard Slur mentioning Mr. Sakamoto’s daughter. He could barely see the movements of the two, Slur using his whip sword with deadly mastery while Mr. Sakamoto, all serious yet still refusing to kill, kept up with substantial effort. Apart still couldn’t understand the Sakamotos’ apparent, ‘no-kill rule’ – even he was sure other people would kill for those they claim to care about. Regardless, it was evident that the fat man cared for his family from the disparity of his performance. He was holding back against him when they fought and Apart was sure of that. He could never forget that battle.
This man did not let go of his thread. This man believed he was capable of change. Can he, really? Is that what dads are like? Helping their child when they feel lost and alone?
Was his dad like that?
‘If you’re kind and honest with people, they’re sure to like you ‘cuz you’re a good kid’
‘I’m sorry Apart, it’s going to be okay. We’ll go to the doctor tomorrow together… you and me…’
‘Are you saying he’s a monster?’
‘S-stay away. W-what’s wrong with you???!!!’
Dad… He couldn’t know anymore. It was a connection he had cut and couldn’t recover anymore.
Pain followed soon after all over his body, especially in his supposed cut off limb. Groaning in pain as he laid down on the bed, he looked around to see that he was in the place he woke up in before. The dividing curtain beside him was opened by the old woman who was a renowned doctor. Sifting through his memories, he recalled her to be Granny Miya.
“Boy, how’re you? Tacchan and his gang left you here after digging you from the rubble.” She took a drag of her cigarette while she scrutinized him for reasons he didn’t know.
“Ah… Thank you. My arm…” Apart tried to move his reattached arm, but he could only move a few fingers before he winced in pain.
“I reattached the nerves of your arm. Shin-chan managed to get it with you. Don’t use it too much for a month.”
Granny Miya left him for a while to get new medicine supplies to redress Apart’s wounds and some needles to boost Apart’s recovery through acupuncture. Apart on the other hand, was riddled with his path forward. He never liked doctors ever since he was called ‘healthy and normal’ yet the very next second his father denounced him as a monster.
Still, he wanted to change for the new connections he was beginning to forge. And so, with difficulty, he gathered his courage to ask the opinion of the best doctor in the underground.
“H-hey, Grandma…”
“Hm?” She just continued with her work after acknowledging Apart.
“Is there something wrong in the head with me?” Apart could only gulp, dreading the answer as he continued. “When I was a child, my doctor said that I was healthy and normal but I’ve killed over 200 people. Mr. Sakamoto… He said he’d bet on me changing, but, can I really?”
It felt like hours passed while Apart was drowning in anticipation.
“Who doesn’t have something wrong in the head in this business?” Granny Miya gave a light laugh. “Sometimes sickness of the mind is harder to heal than physical wounds. You say you’ll change but… you’re on death row right?”
Apart couldn’t get where she was getting at, still, “Yes… I am on death row but… for the first time in my life… I could confidently say, I want to live! I want to live… differently. Even if I ended hundreds of lives, I still want to…”
“Ack!-”
Granny Miya seemed to have deliberately made it hurt when she took off a few needles. “Heh. Things ailing the mind are hard to diagnose. However, you possess an important thing: Acknowledging and working on the desire to change is the first step. After that, the actions toward change will follow and you can only hope for the best.” Granny Miya finally gathered her tools and medical supplies as she prepared to leave Apart to recover and mull over his thoughts. “You have a week to recover before I kick you out. On your serial killings, I will not comment. I will give you Tacchan’s store address, afterall, he was the one who took you in.”
“T-took me in???” Apart tried to stand up in disbelief, but he couldn’t because of the pain. It appears like things are starting to go well for him. He could only smile to himself in gratitude as he laid down. “Thank you Granny!”
The week of recovery unexpectedly went by quickly. Apart left the clinic full of uncertainties with only the Sakamoto store address in mind. Anxiety ate at him from the inside from whether he would be accepted. He could only solder on.
The urge to kill is still there. Apart is not some saint who changed overnight because he was just acknowledged or anything. He became an infamous killer for a reason.
His journey to the Sakamoto’s store was apparently not only ridden in his anxiety. A lot of people were assholes.
Just riding the subway was already a test in his self control. From the salaryman who crashed against him without even saying sorry – He was not so keen on social conventions, but shouldn’t that be what people must say when they hit someone? Not to mention, the man smelled like he didn’t bathe for days! – The couple in front of him who were so noisy and eating so messily as they fed each other, as if in their own world, having no tact, were a sight for sore eyes! There were even high school girls who muttered amongst themselves when he just met their eyes for a bit. The audacity to glare at him as if he was trash when he wasn’t even doing anything. Looking at the unkempt uniforms with creases, clearly not ironed properly, they must be so unorganized they’re a bother at home.
It was safe to say, Apart was being generous when he only grit his teeth the whole ride and instead of slicing apart everyone in the train, only played with the threads in his hand to make shapes to distract himself.
After Apart hurriedly distanced himself far away from the subway congested in people, seemingly doing their best to make him snap, he finally arrived at the neighborhood where the Sakamotos live from the address he was given. Expectant, he put all of his focus in finding the store.
Before even turning the final block to where the store is, he already heard sounds of laughter from afar.
“Higher! Higher!”
“Yo! Brace yourself Hana-chan! Hup!”
“Whee!!!”
What met him was the sight of the sniper he fought in Tokyo Tower, the one he thought to look good inside. He was playing with a girl who he just caught, riding his shoulders, in front of the Sakamoto store. Beside them was probably the girl’s mother who was sweeping the front with a smile on her face as she observed. They looked so happy that Apart could only freeze in place in fear of disturbing their merriment.
He should have been at least in a considerable walking distance until the front of the shop, but he was surprised when the sniper looked his way. Apart was surprised by the way the sniper’s face morphed into delight upon recognizing him. Before long, the man ran towards him with the girl on his shoulders and a wide smile on his face.
“Hey! You came for your tangerines, man?”
“A- u-umm” Apart didn’t know how to start. Things went by so fast.
The sniper looked at Apart, scratching his temple waiting for a response. “I’m Heisuke, Yo! Shin and Sakamoto are away right now.” A tinge of suspicion, “You’re not going to fight are you?”
“N-no! Granny Miya gave me Sakamoto’s address and I thought I’d… drop by…” Apart fiddled with his hands as he avoided eye contact, fearful of being misconstrued.
It was left at that, and Heisuke once again went back to his jolly disposition. “Alright! This is Hana-chan, Sakamoto’s kid! Hey, Hana-chan, say hello.” Like Heisuke, the girl also gave off a sunny disposition as she kicked her legs freely, looking at him with interest. “Hey, Mr!”
Without care for personal space, Apart’s wrist was grabbed instantly, startling him. “Come on then, I’ll introduce you!” He was dragged as Heisuke ran back towards the front of the shop at a speed as fast as he approached Apart.
Suddenly he was the spotlight of the group who were just having fun earlier. Looking at the opening store doors, it looks like the girl was also there, already on her way to join them, looking at Apart with suspicion.
“What’s he doing here?” She pointed her tongs at him, curiosity mixed in her guardedness.
“He stopped by for Sakamoto!” Heisuke answered for him.
“Dear isn’t here right now unfortunately…” Sakamoto’s wife looked at him apologetically.
“Yes, Heisuke told me.” Now, Apart didn’t know where to go or what to do. He could only stay somewhere for a while, all alone.
His gloom was detected by everyone around him, but Sakamoto’s wife looked at him in concern.
“Why don’t you grab a bite first? I’m Aoi, Tarou’s wife. Let’s sort something out after.” She smiled at him as he was led inside the store towards the counter.
Apart was very grateful for the offer. His good mood was instantly shattered as he was ushered inside the store. He looked around all the disorganized arrangement of products, disregarding the meat bun offered to him.
Everything’s a mess. Things shouldn’t be this way. His face was already contorting into a frown by the second. ‘Who puts those cup noodles randomly without even taking into account the flavors, the brands, and the sizes???!!! Why were they stacked and aligned so terribly, not even making a straight line? So unorganized!” Apart gritted his teeth, noticing one thing out of place led him to noticing others. ‘Why were the snacks not all gathered in one place? The toys should be displayed neatly, not carelessly! The products in clearance should be sorted from top to bottom, left to right, and decreasing in prices. Things were falling apart that he had to use some of his thread to keep everything in place. The posting for the new promo is tilted too much on the left and Apart wouldn't let that stand!’ Apart only realized that he already went around the store and arranged everything he thought to be wrong after he wiped his forehead and took a satisfactory look when he felt the gazes of everyone else on him.
How impertinent! Did he do something wrong? He hoped he wouldn’t be kicked out.
…
“Wow! I guess someone is stricter than Shin when putting products on the shelf!” Lu said as she offered the meatbun to Apart who only took it in a daze.
“Apart, if you want, you could stay for a while and work here.” Aoi looked at Apart’s work in satisfaction. It was cleaner than usual thanks to this young man. “You can stay in Shin’s room for now. I know you’ll keep it clean.” She rummaged through the back of the store and came back with a green apron. She offered it to Apart with a smile. “800 yen an hour, food and board included. How about it?” She leaned in closer, whispering at him. “Tarou must’ve liked you to have saved you. You probably have a similar background. Please, no more killing.” Apart could only nod at her soft spoken declaration of what he knew was a family rule. With a smile, she then went back to the register and proceeded with store matters with her daughter by her side, enjoying herself as she talked about something in school.
Apart wondered if that would be her reaction if she knew that he was a serial killer who couldn’t help but think of killing people who piss him off. His doubts and worries were put to the wayside as he felt the warmth of the apron that hung on his recovering arm which he hugged to his chest and the pork bun in his other hand.
“Yo! Congrats on getting a job!” Heisuke slung his arm around Apart and playfully ruffled his hair.
“Let go of me!” Apart couldn’t handle the proximity and the sheer familiarity and friendliness of the people in the store. What should have been a shout petered off into a yelp of embarrassment that caused Heisuke to just laugh it off.
“Alright, as a welcome to the new employee, I, your senior, will welcome you with tangerines in a can!” He grabbed one from the store shelves and threw it at Apart who caught it with a string. “Ma’am! Put it on my tab!” He told Aoi who simply waived off the purchase, saying it’s on the house.
“Taste the pork buns, they’re legit.” Lu told him and so Apart did and it truly was excellent. He didn’t need to confirm vocally, from his face, she already knew that her meat bun was liked. “You’ll be in charge of arranging stuff while Shin’s not here.”
Apart would do his best on this new job he had!
Dinner that night was filled with laughter. Apart didn’t know how to join the conversations but he was simply offered a bowl of rice by Aoi. He didn’t talk, only listened in on people talking to each other and occasionally laughed at something humorous as they ate.
He did not feel alone.
Before the sun rose, Apart was already awake and raring to go. He met Aoi in the kitchen who was surprised by the punctual young man. After getting himself ready, he asked what he should do on his first day. He saw how she easily handled the household chores such as preparing food with so much efficiency fitting an assassin that he didn’t see how he could help.
Before Aoi and Hana went to school, Apart was put up to speed in opening the store. Things were quite slow so early in the morning. He was both raring to go and anticipating how his first would go. He hoped he could handle facing people and do well in assisting them.
For these people who gave him a chance.
For himself.
The bustle of children in their uniforms and their bags going to school started to grace the front of their shop. None were entering yet, in a rush to go to school, but he could see some children looking at the toys displayed on the shelves. With no customers yet, Apart made himself busy.
His initial ‘fix’ to the store’s arrangement the day before barely assuaged the niggling feeling inside him that rose whenever something was out of place. He would not stand for a speck of dust or the floor tiles not being squeaky clean. Grabbing the cleaning supplies from the back, he started cleaning, checking on products they look to be running low on, and setting products a millimeter off from their supposed placement back into place.
Nearing the end of his cleaning, he heard the sound of the door opening. This is it, his first customer! Quickly making himself presentable, straightening his apron and making sure no hair was out of place, he approached the counter only to be disappointed. It was Lu who entered with her uniform, yawning with a bag on hand. She looked unkempt, a bit of bed hair sticking out despite her hair being tied. He looked at the clock, it was already afternoon and she had the audacity to come late!
He grit his teeth in outrage. How dare she not follow Mr. and Mrs. Sakamoto’s store rules! He won’t stand for this!
“Hey, Apart! Thanks for manning the shop!” She waved offhandedly as she turned on the steamer and brought out the meat buns she made.
What he was about to say died in an instant. He still wasn’t used to being thanked. It also seems he misunderstood why she was late. “Y-yeah… Make sure you come on time…” He could only lightly warn in an attempt to hide his mortification.
“Come on, when Shin comes back, there will be two nitpickers. Where are Heisuke and Piisuke to lighten things up?” Come to think of it, Apart also wondered where the guy was. He didn’t know how to feel about the sniper’s aggressive friendliness. He sat on the register and waited for customers while Lu looked around the store for what to do.
Mrs. Sakamoto returned a bit past afternoon to check on them. People started pouring in sooner, from adults buying ingredients or just some snacks to children buying toys. Apart easily handled the former, only doing his best to smile without creeping out the customers and saying goodbye and thanks. The latter, however, particularly stressed him out. Children were noisy and messy, things he didn’t like. It looks like Mrs. Sakamoto was fond of his suffering. Not to mention, kids were nosy, asking him questions he didn’t know or didn’t want to answer. This particular kid has been playing in the shop since school ended.
“Why do you have paperclips on your hair?” “They’re hair clips”
“Why are you hiding your face?” “My hair is just long.”
“Why are you biting your nails?...” Apart didn’t say anything. ‘Because you’re letting crumbs from your cookie drop on the floor’
“...You’re such a weirdo.” Apart suddenly rose up from his seat, taking a deep breath. “...I’m not weird.” A flashback of the children who bullied him suddenly crept up in his mind. “I’m… not creepy…” Should he? His threads were in his pocket. A simple tug, just a little… “Hey, it looks like Apart is upset. Why don’t you play outside with Hana? Let’s say sorry later okay?” Mrs. Sakamoto noticed the change in atmosphere and quickly stepped in, gently sending the kid away. She looked at Apart in concern.
“What happened?”
Apart snapped himself out of his daze. “I’m sorry… Please! I…” He gripped the thread he already unconsciously pulled out in his hand. “Please don’t kick me out…” The pain of the wound thread grounded him even more, he could feel it starting to make a bleeding cut. He could only grit his teeth, unsure what to say next.
“Apart… thanks for stopping yourself.” He then felt a pat on his head.
“Yeah, just scare the kids a bit. Knock them down a peg. That brat drew on the window last week. Did you know how long it took before I washed it out?” Lu shouted from the snacks aisle, trying to arrange goods in a way unsatisfactory to Apart.
“Lu’s right. Just gently reprimand them.” Mrs. Sakamoto chuckled on the side. “No harm done. You’re just starting.” Apart couldn’t help but gulp, overwhelmed in his emotions. “Mn! I’ll do my best going forward!”
“Yo! Are there any leftover meat buns?” The door to the store opened and in came Heisuke, having just finished his errands. “We sold out, but we saved some for you and Piisuke.” Mrs. Sakamoto brought it out to the counter, still warm. “You’re the best Mrs. Sakamoto! I just finished deliveries! We should expand. I think my range has improved!” He happily jogged to take the bag and quickly took a bite. It was still as delicious as ever and Heisuke savored it, but then he saw a gloomy Apart on the counter. “Hey, new guy! Why so glum? Bad first day?”
“...Fine” Apart only muttered, still down, but at ease from the comfort. Heisuke broke out in a big smile. “Good!” Heisuke brought out a bag of tangerines from his backpack . “Old man Suzuki let me pick some from his tree when I delivered his parcel. Let’s eat!” He offered it to everyone.
“Heisuke, these are not fully ripe yet. Too sour!” Lu winced as she continued to eat.
“Eh? I’m pretty sure they’re all orange already?” Heisuke ate his without any problems, occasionally giving some to Piisuke. He got a ripe one.
“It looks like a mixed bag. I’ll just make orange jelly from the unripe ones.” Aoi said as she peeled some for Hana.
Apart’s tangerine was already opened. He didn’t see any green parts so he could only taste it. “It’s sour.” He ate it all.
It has been a fortnight since Apart started his job. Having a routine and strict rules and tasks for him to follow put him at ease. He keeps the store clean to his standards and it looks like Mrs. Sakamoto was impressed by his work. It was just business as usual, but it was disrupted sooner than expected.
He was getting accustomed to his newly acquired monotonous life: Wake up, Setup the store early in the morning, Have lunch in the store with either Lu or Mrs. Sakamoto and Hana, then depending on the work, Heisuke visiting sometime before closing time, then dinner above the shop. Dealing with sharp tongued kids was still a challenge, but he was trying. If he felt himself close to snapping, he would call for a substitute to the register and make himself scarce.
It just so happened on this particular day, a bit past lunch that a wrench was thrown on his new normal. He was reminded that there were scum.
He was all alone in the store, business was slow during these store hours. Only some regulars who bought the same things at the same time came. He was familiar with them and so a new customer that entered came to his attention. He circled the store for several minutes, only taking cursory glances before settling on the snacks aisle. Apart was sharp to the next course of action of the man who was discreetly stealing not only one, but pocketing more, smaller, food in his pockets.
What angered him even more was the glee in the man’s eyes. He was so confident in his arrogance that he dared to go through the path right in front of the register towards the exit. The man suddenly brought out a handgun and pointed it at Apart.
“Give me all the money from the register.”
It was a robbery.
“No.” Apart was being nice and firm. He was not speaking in the tone he used when he was getting unhinged. The man was so slow that if Apart were like before, the man would’ve been instantly cut into ribbons, unarranged.
“Hah???!!!” His calm answer further outraged the man, making what was only an implied threat before more likely to happen.
“I could… dispatch you easily. Don’t provoke me.” Apart reiterated. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, the desire to kill lessening. Now, he was at a loss how to handle the situation. It would be a good time for someone like Lu to handle small fry like these and for Mrs. Sakamoto to call the authorities – a serial killer on death row couldn’t exactly do that. Heisuke seemed unreliable for now, with his jolly, almost always unguarded demeanor so Apart wasn’t really hoping for the sniper who didn’t do well in close quarters to come at the moment. He took a minute glance at the clock.
His shift was about to end, and it was the time when either of the three would come to the shop. He still couldn’t use his threads with as much expertise as he usually did because of his recovering arm. Restraining people was easy, but the fear of accidentally killing someone, a squeeze too strong stopped him in his tracks.
The irate thief drew closer to the counter to try and intimidate Apart further with the handgun. His moves were so filled with openings that Apart could snap the man’s neck and end things if he had the desire to do so. ‘Slam’ The table was smacked again by the thief so hard that their tabletop promotional standee for oden fell forward. Annoying. In a flash, threads wrapped around the man’s hand holding the gun. What should have sliced it open did not. Apart wound his threads several times over to make it thick enough to not cut. He was aiming for restraint and so he pulled.
“Ackh!-” The sound of a bone cracking was heard.
“I’m back!” Heisuke’s loud voice as he entered the shop startled both Apart and the thief. They all only looked at each other, clueless how to move forward. Apart lost control. “What’s the sitch?” Heisuke asked, getting suspicious upon seeing a gun aimed at him. Apart let go of the thief in anxiety whether he was too violent for the family’s tastes in treating normal low level guys. Not to waste an opportunity, the thief broke free, aimed his gun at Apart, “You bastard! You’ll pay for this!”, and shot.
Apart already set the threads in his hands to block the bullet but none came.
Blood was still drawn.
‘Bang’ The bullet that came from the handgun was destroyed by Heisuke’s round as soon as it went out.
‘Plngk!’ The round ricocheted towards the gun on the hand of the robber, knocking it off his hands.
‘Shfff’ A final bounce towards the ground, the round embedding itself on the tile floors, but not before grazing the foot of the man, eliciting a yelp of pain.
“Hey, tie him!” Heisuke shouted as soon as the man was disarmed.
“Yeah!” Apart quickly managed to cocoon the man in threads and placed him on the side of the shop inconspicuously.
“Man, why were you holding back there? You easily caught me before, didn't ya?” Heisuke asked him in curiosity as he glared at the incapacitated culprit while kicking the dirt from the shattered tiles of the shop, redirecting Apart’s jumbled mind to the damage of the place. “I might kill him accidentally. I didn’t want to use my threads as much. I still can’t control it because of my recovering hand. Is it okay even if I accidentally broke a bone on a civilian?”
Heisuke laughed at him but Apart did not feel irritated, only curious. He didn’t feel malice. “We don’t kill but that doesn’t mean we can’t defend ourselves!” He once again, without sense of propriety, slapped Apart on the shoulder a few times, thankfully on his healthy arm’s side. “Besides, it’s harder to fight without the intent to kill right? But at the same time, having to protect someone makes it harder and more high stakes.” He lightly gripped Apart’s shoulder, smiling more sincerely. “You’re one of us now. You’re not goin’ around, killing people senselessly anymore right?” Apart meekly nodded. “Y-Yeah.”
“Alright! A new start! Let’s battle sometime when you recover! Let’s get stronger to down enemies easier without killing them.” Heisuke shouted with glee as he went on tirades of how Apart managed to block his shot like Sakamoto always did and how he would break through it.
As soon as Mrs. Sakamoto came home and was informed of the situation she quickly called the authorities to escort the thief out.
They went to dinner as usual, everyone talking about their day.
Apart wondered how he would grow further to help his friends.
It just so happened that they were starting to serve oden on their store and so without anything else to do, other than his part time job while recovering, Apart decided to help out. The night of the preparation, he gathered his courage.
And so, in the kitchen where Apart was already biting his nails on sight, stood Mrs.Sakamoto and Lu who were handmaking some ingredients Apart was not so familiar with. Unable to stop himself, Apart was in a hurry to clean every pot or utensil he found not in use. His eyes couldn’t even help but wander on the preparation table where Lu left some spoons lying – things they will still probably use to shape or stuff fillings.
“Apart, we’re still using these!” Lu told him off as soon as he saw Apart’s already twitching hands.
“I want to help make ingredients too.” Apart was done cleaning everything else but he was unfamiliar with most of the ingredients the girls were making. “I don’t know much about these foods, but maybe you could teach me.” He was being more proactive.
He was given some simple tasks at first, skewering beef tendons, which was quickly finished in comparison to the girls who were making more complex ingredients to be sold the next morning. As soon as he went through everything he was given and neatly arranged the skewered beef tendons in their containers, he proudly presented it to them with a smile, as if saying, ‘Look! I did well, didn’t I’
Being thanked made him feel warm. “What else can I do?”
“How about some mochi pouches? You just open tofu, then stuff mochi into them and then tie them with kanpyo.” Apart eagerly accepted the job. Threads were his forte. “Yes Ma’am, if you need to tie anything or any string-like food, I’ll do it!” Like a child, he once again started on his part.
Apart will come to learn that when making food in the kitchen with people, conversations happen. “So… How are you finding your time working here?” Aoi asked him while she was making some hanpen, just ending her conversation with Lu about Hana’s playmates. Apparently, some kids told Lu she was pretty when she picked up Hana, eliciting laughs when a boy asked her to a date for his lunch.
“I… like it here.” Apart could only say, words not enough to encompass the experience he had of a semblance of a normal life after being a criminal since his youth. His soft smile was seen by the other two at the table.
Of course, the topic of his death row penalty resurfaced in his mind, reminding him that he could lose this at any moment. He still wanted to stay for as long as he could. “Can I stay here as long as I want? ” He looked Mrs. Sakamoto straight in the eye. She must have seen something from his countenance. “Yes, you can.” She said without hesitation, soft, “You’ll have to learn our family rules.”
‘Is this what it’s like to have a nice mother?’
“Thanks…” Apart sighed in relief before he continued making the mochi pouches, now more chipper in his own way.
They continued working in peace, chatting from time to time.
“How about some pulled noodles? We can reserve some broth from our batches for the oden and make some noodle soup. We can just make Chenmian noodles… But seeing that you are good with threads, and kind of a perfectionist, maybe we can do Lamian noodles.” Lu finally suggested after thinking while making the ingredients. Hearing about a task specifically for him made Apart enthusiastic, accepting the suggestion easily.
“I know the basics of the techniques for pulled noodles. I could barely do Chenmian, but Lamian… It’s so hard we had to look for a while before we found another cook that could do it after the old granny chef retired.” Apart liked the challenge. “Teach me! I can do it!”
It was agreed that they’ll start learning it the very next day.
The oden addition to their store’s products had a great start. They still haven’t sold everything out. Word of how great they tasted still hasn't spread. Despite this, they have already made decent returns. It looks like from the content expression on Mrs. Sakamoto’s face as she checked their books, they’ve had better sales for the month.
As soon as Heisuke came back from deliveries, a bit later because of their promotion, Lu and Apart prepared to go out. “Hey, where’re you guys going?” The sniper asked as he snacked on the remaining oden ingredients with gusto.
“We’re buying ingredients for tomorrow. We’ll be making hand pulled noodles.” This got Heisuke’s attention, his gaze looking at them with joy.
“Noodles?! Handpulled?” His eyes were shining as he visualized the authentic food. “Give me some later!”
“Sure. I’ll be teaching the basics since he’ll be the one to handle noodles from now on. What you’ll get for now would probably be trial ones.” Lu said as they left for the market, leaving Heisuke to man the shop until closing.
They went to Niikita Chinatown to procure ingredients. Lu gave Apart a brief explanation on the use of each of the ingredients they put in the cart as they went around the grocery store. She’ll demonstrate the handpulling technique later, but at the moment, she was giving him the ratios when making a key ingredient. Her family had a recipe to emulate penghui, a forbidden ingredient, which is crucial in making Lamian noodles as opposed to Chenmian.
After picking everything they needed, they quickly went home to try and make them. Lu was the first to make the dough. She split them into two, one for each of them. “Making the dough is as important as pulling them. I’ll teach you how to make Chenmian as a start and we’ll have it for dinner. While it’s cooking, we’ll make the Lamian one.”
Lu went again on to explain the theoretical part of the technique of pulling noodles which Apart listened to carefully. From what she’s saying, Apart simply has to be more gentle and refined in his technique. As for the basic motions and movement, he’ll observe how Lu will pull the noodles.
Lu started stretching the dough into a semblance of noodles. Observing her, she really had difficulties as she said, the dough tearing sometimes. Apart still saw some of the theoretical lessons he was given being applied and so he took his part of the dough and started pulling.
As expected, he flourished. It took a while to get used to the difference in texture of the dough to the threads he usually used, but Apart has the macro skills. He quickly finished, the noodle strands visibly uniform in appearance as he intended. Even Lu approved of it and handed him the task of noodle making right then and there.
As the Chenmian noodles they made were being cooked, they proceeded with making the Lamian.
Everyone else at the dinner table liked the smell.
“My, it looks like you succeeded in making the noodles!” Mrs. Sakamoto said as she was packing up the oden ingredients for the next day. “Mn! It does!” Hana said as she was setting the table with Heisuke who was visibly sniffing, enjoying the toasty scent of the boiling noodles.
“We still haven’t reached the hardest one to make.” Lu said as she was observing Apart mix the ingredients for the alkaline and penghui substitute mixture. The alkaline is fine on its own, but the penghui was the one that took up a lot of time both due to its difficulty and Apart’s obsession with perfection. The young man was very meticulous in the ratios so much so that he used his strings to level the top of a measuring cup or rescooping altogether for some reason. It would have taken forever had Lu not stepped in.
“I think it’s enough already. Dinner would have finished if we waited for you. You can tune it up to taste or perfection or whatever after we’ve tasted the noodles.” Without waiting any further, Lu took over and started making the dough, only letting Apart take her place midway to also familiarize the man with dough making.
“Doing Lamian is far harder than doing Chenmian. I only know how and I saw how it’s made so you do your thing and I’ll just tell you if it’s wrong.” Lu worked on preparing to boil the noodles that they were making, already taking out the Chenmian noodles to be served and putting them in bowls filled with broth.
Impatience and boredom from waiting for the preparation of noodles, everyone else started watching. The only thing left to do was noodle pulling afterall and it was fascinating to watch.
Apart started pulling the noodles as Lu instructed. The texture of the dough was very different from the one used in making Chenmian noodles. It was so different that he accidentally broke some strand when pulling. He would have broken down right there and then from the mistake, already starting to breathe deeply.
He would have gone on a spiral, but he was interrupted by laughter from the crowd. For some reason, it did not trigger his sense of paranoia that instantly stokes his urge to kill.
“Hey man, you can just try again!”
“You’re already doing it better than me.”
“Yes, it will come out nicely even if some fall apart.”
The adults somehow sensed his change and opted to encourage him. Hana was not able to pick up on this, but also joined in urging him to continue.
Of course, what else could Apart do but continue even if he messed up?
The texture was different so Apart had to adjust once more how to pull them. The first few ones were uneven to his tastes, but as he proceeded to go through the dough to make the noodles, he got even better.
When it came for everyone to taste the noodles he made with Lu’s guidance and they liked it, Apart hardly remembered the mistakes he made during the process. It was overwritten by the reactions of the people who ate them. It seems his skill could not only be used in harming people.
Heisuke was the most vocal one about liking his noodles, with Lu and Mrs. Sakamoto acknowledging the taste. Lu told him of some more areas he could improve, but overall, he did well for the first time.
“I could eat this everyday!” Heisuke exclaimed as he slurped the noodles completely and asked for another serving.