Terumi Mei pretended to be weak as she walked up to Kakashi.
She put down the pile of vegetables she was carrying and shrugged her shoulders.
"Kakashi, the market was so crowded, I worked so hard to buy these vegetables and now I'm simply exhausted."
"Kakashi, why don't you help me rub them a bit?"
Kakashi held his book, unmoved, "Compared to last time, there's progress, but the act still shows too much."
Terumi Mei immediately felt a huge sense of frustration and could no longer keep up the act. She put her hands on her hips and shouted, "Kakashi, is my attractiveness really that low? You'd rather read a book than look at me?"
Kakashi put away Icha Icha Paradise, speaking lazily, "The book is indeed more interesting than you. I suggest you buy one too and read it, Jiraiya-sama's thoughts are quite profound."
Terumi Mei became angry, even thinking, 'Such a small-minded man, is he really a good marriage match?'
But thinking of Kakashi's handsome face, she held back and, helplessly, picked the vegetables back up.
"Thank you for cleaning the house so thoroughly, it even gives me the illusion that my parents haven't left. To thank you, I'll go cook."
Kakashi glanced up at Terumi Mei this time, "If you still miss the deceased people, then why don't you return home more often? If it were me, I wouldn't let the house gather dust."
Terumi Mei was truly annoyed now. Some mindsets and values really can't be changed in a short time.
She snorted, "I live nearby with the elder who trains me for most days to train; I simply don't have time to go home."
"Do you think mastering the double bloodline heritage is that easy? Kakashi, if you have the ability, try it yourself."
Kakashi rolled his deadpan eyes upward, "No need to try. I also train an extremely hard jutsu, perhaps I understand the difficulty of training even more than you."
"But training is training. A person can't train all the time; besides training, you can't forget to live."
Terumi Mei couldn't help sneering, "Here we go again, Kakashi, lofty Konoha man. I told you, I decide how I want to live, you don't need to teach me…"
Saying this, Terumi Mei showed a playful smile, "Of course, if we could get married, you as my husband, I wouldn't be unwilling to change for you."
Kakashi was inexplicably stunned. He didn't quite understand why he felt a strange emotion toward this girl whose values differed so greatly from his.
He quickly turned his head, "Weren't you going to cook? I'm already very hungry. If there's no food soon, I'll really eat a ration pill."
Terumi Mei then remembered that Kakashi was indeed hungry. She showed an apologetic expression, hurried to the stove with the vegetables, and got to work.
———
A moment later, from the stove rose a billow of smoke carrying the smell of burning.
Kakashi, who had been reading Icha Icha Paradise, twitched his nose and shook his head helplessly, then stood up.
He walked into the kitchen and saw Terumi Mei frying a fish, a fish that hadn't even had its scales scraped off, its gills not removed... a whole fish.
Because the scales weren't removed, under high heat it had already become charred…
Kakashi couldn't help but comment, "So, you can't cook, huh?"
Terumi Mei continued fiddling with the fish in the pan, somewhat dazed, "Isn't this how you fry a fish? Before, I saw my mother do it like this."
Kakashi felt an urge to die. Luckily, Terumi Mei had bought a lot of groceries, so there was ample room for waste.
He stepped forward a few paces, took a few more fresh fish from the bag, and began washing them, saying as he washed, "Throw away the fish in the pan. That one's already burned and can't be eaten."
"Also wash the pan. Leave the rest to me, if I let you handle it, it might be dark before we get anything to eat."
Terumi Mei blinked innocently, "Do I really have a problem cooking? Although this is my first time, it should be simple."
After saying that, she exclaimed, "I didn't expect, Kakashi, that you can cook?"
Kakashi glanced at Terumi Mei and continued his actions, scraping the scales and removing the gills from a fish as he spoke.
"My father also died when I was very young, so from a young age I took on the responsibility of taking care of myself. Learning to cook isn't that difficult."
Seeing this, Terumi Mei's pride took a hit. Watching Kakashi deftly clean a fish reminded her of when she was little and her mother in the kitchen, she seemed to remember going through the same steps.
She dared not argue further. She obediently threw away the burned fish, then used a Water Release technique to clean the pan.
But while cleaning, she suddenly felt very sad and said in a low voice, "Mom used to say that for a happy married life, a woman must learn good cooking skills."
"But when I wanted to learn, my mother was already gone…"
"In the end… I still can't do anything."
Kakashi shivered all over. For some reason, these words struck his heart. That strange urge to step forward and comfort her rose again.
This time, it came so suddenly and unexpectedly that Kakashi had no time to think; he had already turned to Terumi Mei and reached out.
His hand touched Terumi Mei's head and gently patted it.
"It's not too late to learn. I can teach you."
Terumi Mei's face flushed. For some reason, though she had hoped for something to happen with Kakashi, when he made this intimate gesture, she felt an indescribable fluster.
She thought perhaps the advice from relatives was wrong: when she had acted weak before, Kakashi hadn't treated her kindly.
But when she was simply a little sad, Kakashi knew how to comfort her.
She looked up at Kakashi, "Kakashi, just now, were you... caring about me?"
Kakashi's hand stiffened and withdrew from her head, "If you say so, then yes. So, do you want to learn to cook?"
Terumi Mei immediately nodded, "Yes. I watched all your movements just now and memorized them. This time, I won't forget."
Kakashi's eyes curved slightly as he continued with the fish, "Actually, ninjas have excellent memories. With a little attention, learning to cook isn't that hard."
"Listen carefully. Cooking fish requires several steps. The one you just did was the first step; now is step two…"
Kakashi explained as he worked, and this time he was especially earnest.
Terumi Mei's eyes shone, and thus, bite by bite, she watched Kakashi intently.
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