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Shiritori: Valentines (Inui & Kinjou, G, 600 words)
In which Kinjou wants to bring chocolate for his class for Valentines Day. Totally not inspired by certain recent real life events or anything.
Things would have been simpler had he just said no, Kinjou thought as he searched for a discrete way to break the news. Offering to bring chocolates for his classmates for Valentines Day had seemed like a nice idea when his teacher had asked, but now he was regretting his decision. He hoped his grimace wasn't too visible.
"I...don't think these are quite right, Dad," he said as he put the other half of a truffle back on his plate.
Inui's face fell. "No?" he asked. "What is wrong with them? Per your request, I replaced the Inui Juice filling from the original plan. They are now 100% chocolate truffles."
"It's the chocolate that's off. It's...a little bitter."
"Of course," Inui replied. "There is extensive research suggesting excessive added sugar consumption has detrimental effects on one's health. I used only pure, unsweetened chocolate."
"It's a little...harsh...currently," Kinjou said carefully. "It's nice you're thinking about my classmate's well-being, but I think they'd like something a little...smoother."
"Smoother. Milder. Less astringent," Inui muttered. "With some minor modifications, this should be well within the range of possibilities in the current recipe. Do you have homework tonight?"
"I have a history project due tomorrow. I was thinking about asking practicing my presentation for Father. Is he around?"
"He's in the gym now," Inui said without looking up from his notebook. "Why don't you go ask him, and I should have a new batch of these ready by the time you are done."
"Thanks Dad. Love you." Kinjou blew a kiss across the counter before heading for the gym (with a quick stop in the bathroom first to hopefully scrub the last of the aftertaste out of his mouth).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kinjou felt pretty good by the time he returned to the kitchen. He had caught Kaidou just as he finished his workout, and his father had agreed to hear his report. It had gone well, and and Father had given him some suggestions for improvements that he would make before the next day.
"Shingo, come try these," Inui called from the kitchen as Kinjou walked by.
The tray of truffles from earlier was gone, replaced by a half dozen smaller plates, each with a different, brightly colored wrapper behind it.
"What's this?"
"Based on your feedback from the first prototype, I felt that standard baking chocolate was of insufficient quality for this application. I obtained a half dozen varieties of higher quality chocolate and made small test batches of each. Please try them and report on the properties of each and if any are suitable for the intended purpose."
With a growing feeling of concern, Kinjou looked more closely at the wrappers. "100% dark chocolate. Single source." "Unsweetened chocolate. Bright and fruity." "100% cocoa. Ethically sourced and traditionally made."
Very cautiously, Kinjou bit into the first truffle. While it was a significant improvement over the first attempt, he still didn't think it would go over well with his classmates who had not had a chance to build up their resistance to his dad's cooking.
"I think it could still use some work, Dad," he said. "Can I come to the store with you to find a good chocolate? These are for a special occasion, so I think it's okay to bend your rules a little. I think I know something that will work. We can make them together, and then maybe there will be some extras for you and Father to share."
He took Inui's hand and pulled him in the direction of the front door. "We're going to the convenience store on the corner, Father," he called as they left. "We'll be back soon."
Things would have been simpler had he just said no, Kinjou thought as he searched for a discrete way to break the news. Offering to bring chocolates for his classmates for Valentines Day had seemed like a nice idea when his teacher had asked, but now he was regretting his decision. He hoped his grimace wasn't too visible.
"I...don't think these are quite right, Dad," he said as he put the other half of a truffle back on his plate.
Inui's face fell. "No?" he asked. "What is wrong with them? Per your request, I replaced the Inui Juice filling from the original plan. They are now 100% chocolate truffles."
"It's the chocolate that's off. It's...a little bitter."
"Of course," Inui replied. "There is extensive research suggesting excessive added sugar consumption has detrimental effects on one's health. I used only pure, unsweetened chocolate."
"It's a little...harsh...currently," Kinjou said carefully. "It's nice you're thinking about my classmate's well-being, but I think they'd like something a little...smoother."
"Smoother. Milder. Less astringent," Inui muttered. "With some minor modifications, this should be well within the range of possibilities in the current recipe. Do you have homework tonight?"
"I have a history project due tomorrow. I was thinking about asking practicing my presentation for Father. Is he around?"
"He's in the gym now," Inui said without looking up from his notebook. "Why don't you go ask him, and I should have a new batch of these ready by the time you are done."
"Thanks Dad. Love you." Kinjou blew a kiss across the counter before heading for the gym (with a quick stop in the bathroom first to hopefully scrub the last of the aftertaste out of his mouth).
Kinjou felt pretty good by the time he returned to the kitchen. He had caught Kaidou just as he finished his workout, and his father had agreed to hear his report. It had gone well, and and Father had given him some suggestions for improvements that he would make before the next day.
"Shingo, come try these," Inui called from the kitchen as Kinjou walked by.
The tray of truffles from earlier was gone, replaced by a half dozen smaller plates, each with a different, brightly colored wrapper behind it.
"What's this?"
"Based on your feedback from the first prototype, I felt that standard baking chocolate was of insufficient quality for this application. I obtained a half dozen varieties of higher quality chocolate and made small test batches of each. Please try them and report on the properties of each and if any are suitable for the intended purpose."
With a growing feeling of concern, Kinjou looked more closely at the wrappers. "100% dark chocolate. Single source." "Unsweetened chocolate. Bright and fruity." "100% cocoa. Ethically sourced and traditionally made."
Very cautiously, Kinjou bit into the first truffle. While it was a significant improvement over the first attempt, he still didn't think it would go over well with his classmates who had not had a chance to build up their resistance to his dad's cooking.
"I think it could still use some work, Dad," he said. "Can I come to the store with you to find a good chocolate? These are for a special occasion, so I think it's okay to bend your rules a little. I think I know something that will work. We can make them together, and then maybe there will be some extras for you and Father to share."
He took Inui's hand and pulled him in the direction of the front door. "We're going to the convenience store on the corner, Father," he called as they left. "We'll be back soon."