Grateful Riceball Making (Makipana)
Maki stood, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She goes over the ingredients, measuring tools, kitchen utensils, and appliances, reciting each name under her breath. A confident smile crept up her face. She nodded to herself.
Every preparation that could be made was seen to with a precision her parents could be proud of. She looked at every tutorial video online, even sucking up to Nico for advice in the kitchen. After was bearing Rin’s teasing to get the preferred fillings. If anyone else saw, they’d think her to be over prepared. Of course, Maki would meet this opinion with a sharp dismissal. She resolved herself to create perfection, and perfection is what she’ll make.
A smile crept up her face, hands on her hips. She was ready, and it was time to put her hours of preparation to work.
“Uhm... Maki-chan?” Hanayo called out, standing across the island counter from Maki. “What’s all this on the counter?” The sudden invitation to her house took the brunette by surprise, but she went along, simply wanting to spend more time with her. Hanayo expected them to hang out in Maki’s room. Talk about school, their school idol activities, or maybe even gossip.
The sight in front of her was something out from the realm of her expectations. Maki wore a black apron with a pink star in the middle, a similar design to her practice attire. It was cute, but Hanayo kept that fact to herself. She scanned the various ingredients on the counter, but her eyes gravitated towards two certain things. Maki took notice of her gaze and followed it, giggling when she found the object of the brunette’s interest.
Maki patted the small sack of rice that rested against her rice cooker. It was brand new, fresh out of the box. “I’m going to make rice balls, Hanayo.” She declared confidently. Across the counter, Hanayo has a skeptical look, but excitement soon replaced it as the moment’s mention of rice balls.
“Oh! So, will I be helping you, Maki-chan?” She asked, her eyes sparkling. Lunch was too long ago. Now, she was getting hungry.
Her excitement was met with a firm shake of the head. Maki looked to her, reaching for the rice cooker. “You’ll just be over there while you watch, Hanayo. I’ll take care of everything.”
Hanayo blinked in surprise, but nodded meekly, her feet shuffling in sudden awkwardness. She wondered why she was invited if she would do nothing but watch. There was a more tempting question, though. One she ended up asking. “So... W-why are you making these?”
Maki suddenly stopped. Her cheeks dusted with a lively red. She darted her eyes away, her hands and words plagued with a sudden stutter. “I... I-it’s for someone important!” She wracked her mind for a quick lie. “Er... For my parents! Y-yeah, it’s for them...”
“Ooh... I see.” Hanayo hummed our in understanding. Maki heaved a sigh of relief, her intentions still successfully a secret. At least, she hoped they were. If Rin somehow told her, there would be hell to pay. “S-so, uh... Why am I here?” There was a short silence, and Hanayo exploded into a panicked stammer. “I-I mean! I’m glad you invited me, er... It makes me happy, M-Maki-chan!”
“O-oh,” Maki was still reeling back from her own embarrassment, and the various expressions of worry on Hanayo’s face made her chest weigh heavy. It was cute, but the redhead would keep it to herself. “I’m uh, I’m glad you’re here too, Hanayo.” Normally, the brunette’s calming air would calm her down, but today did the opposite. “A-and, since you know so much about rice, I t-thought it’d be good to have you around to er, ask advice!”
Her words were laced with nervous stutters and quick breaths, but Hanayo seemed to have bought it. She nods, putting her hands in front of her body. “T-then, I’ll do my best to help you, Maki-chan!” She smiled brightly, and Maki was enamored.
The redhead nodded to herself with a renewed resolve. She will do this and earn herself another smile. All because of her.
Half an hour later, and Maki was reaching the depths of her despair. She stared wide-eyed at the impossible degree of clutter, disarray and mess on the counter. Half the sack’s worth of rice was gone, and Hanayo was standing across, looking at the scene with concerned eyes.
Her first attempt, she added too much rice, producing congee. Her second try had too little rice, and by the time she noticed, it had dried out in the rice cooker. Hanayo offered to help, but Maki promptly refused, deciding to make the fillings first. She could always return to the rice later.
It was an utter disaster. It seemed less of possessing a lack of talent in the kitchen but having a talent in flipping everything in the kitchen upside down. By the time afternoon light filtered through the window, she had not finished a single rice ball.
“Uhm... Maki-chan?” Hanayo walked around the counter towards her, taking care not to step on stray kombu or anything that might had flew off. Maki looked away, refusing to see her out of shame.
“I thought I could do it myself, and...” Her words trailed off with a frustrated growl, balling her fists on the countertop. She nearly jumped at the sudden warmth on her hand, for a moment expecting that she had set something on fire. But there was nothing but a gentle hand atop her own. She trailed her gaze up, meeting Hanayo’s eyes. Radiant violet met murky purple, and she saw a comforting smile.
“It’s okay to make mistakes, Maki-chan.” Hanayo said, her voice a whisper. “Will you let me help?”
Maki fell silent in thought. This was the farthest thing from her plan. If she had her help, wouldn’t it make the surprise less valuable? She looked at the mess of her own doing, then back up at Hanayo. There was no way she could do this alone.
She sighed out, nodding her head with an embarrassing guilt. Hanayo moved her hand, patting the redhead’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fun!” She eased with a smile. It was enough to convince Maki to give it another try.
With Hanayo’s help, cleaning up took less time than she thought. With arguably the most knowledgeable person regarding rice at her side, there was no chance for error. The brunette taught her how to properly wash and cook the rice. She used no measuring cup, but only her fingers to know how much water was needed. Seeing her work was almost like magic for Maki, and she could watch her all day.
Next was the filling. Hanayo helped out greatly in that area, as well. All the while, she had a smile on her face. As she prepared the assortment of fillings, the brunette remarked at all the ones they had were her favorite. Maki smiled to herself, at least accomplishing in something.
Assembly was the final hurdle, and this time Maki was adamant in making at least one on her own, watching Hanayo do it first before attempting. When Maki gave it a try, it looked nothing like the perfect reference rice ball made by her. The more irritated she got, the more crude her hands moved, deforming the handful of rice.
A calm weight on her shoulder stopped her. She looked to her side, finding Hanayo. “Cup your hands like this, Maki-chan.” She reached over, guiding Maki’s hands. Her touch sent a heat up to her ears, but she kept silent, following Hanayo’s hands and instructions. It was a moment that felt like forever, her breath held as if not to ruin the moment.
“See? It’s easier like this!” Hanayo said sweetly, moving her hands away from Maki’s. She inspected the rice ball in her hand, alternating her gaze between her own and Hanayo’s. It... Didn’t look half bad. A grin split Maki’s face, and she showed Hanayo.
“It looks like a rice ball!”
It was a bright smile. In the afternoon glow, it was even brighter. Hanayo returned it with her own, clasping her hands together. “You did great, Maki-chan!”
With a sense of pride returned to her, Maki fell into a quiet rhythm of making rice balls beside Hanayo. She shaped hers carefully, as the brunette advised, but there was another reason for her cautious movements. Everything else up until now had been a mess graciously saved by Hanayo. At least, she wanted to get this right.
With the rice cooker completely empty and their fillings exhausted, they both took a step back, admiring their work. Maki suggested they arranged the rice balls they made in separate plates. Hanayo’s, though bigger than average, was picturesque. Evenly shaped, each one identical to the other. Maki thought they were perfect.
In comparison, her own were clumsy and varied in size. Her last few rice ball were her best, after settling into a groove in the monotony. They picked up their plates, smiling at one another. Hanayo had fewer rice balls on hers, the reason being she couldn’t help herself to one or two during the assembly process.
“You did it, Maki-chan!” Hanayo cheered with a smile. Maki shook her head, her vibrant red hair swaying softly.
“No, we did it, Hanayo.” She looked down at her own plate, chewing on her bottom lip in thought. The brunette took notice, concern quickly crossed her face.
“Maki-“
“H-Hanayo, I’m sorry!” She stammered out, her voice raised. “I wanted to do everything myself, not knowing it was harder than I thought. Even if I went through so much to prepare...” Maki snapped her eyes up, meeting the murky purple that captured her. She swallowed her nerves, admitting everything.
“To be honest... I wanted to make these for you!”
Hanayo gasped, nearly dropping the plate in her hands. Her face bloomed red, her words falling over themselves. “M-Me? But, why?”
There was a silence. Maki didn’t answer immediately. The words that she wanted to say got caught in her throat. Her face radiated warmth, and her chest thumped erratically. She bit her lip, parting them to push out whatever she could.
“I... I wanted to thank you, f-for everything. As well as er...” Her voice trailed off, and she huffed, frustrated. Instead, she held out her plate of rice balls to her. “Anyway! Please, accept them!”
Maki had looked away, trying to fight down the heat on her face. In front of her was silence, and it tempted her to look up. The sight of tears sent her into a panic, taking Hanayo’s plate and setting it safe on the counter.
“Ah, I’m sorry, Maki-chan.” She said with a breathless laugh, pawing at her tears in a vain effort to dry them. “I’m just so h-happy that you’d do so much for someone like me...”
“What’s with that? I’m doing this because it’s you, Hanayo!” Maki snapped, accidentally raising her voice. “A-Ah, I didn’t mean to yell, I-“ Laughter cut her words. In front of her, tears streamed down Hanayo’s cheeks, but she was laughing.
“I’m f-fine, really.” She said, her laughs dying down. It left her with a flushed face and wet cheeks, but she couldn’t be happier. “T-then, I’ll gladly accept them, Maki-chan.”
“P-please do.” Maki choked out, the embarrassment finally catching her. Hanayo took the first rice ball the redhead made, bringing it over to her. Her tears stained the edges of her lips, but she opened her mouth.
Hanayo took a bite, a bright smile on her face. She put a hand on her damp cheek, meeting Maki’s eyes, “They’re a bit salty, but I love them.” Maki sighed in relief, retuning the brunette’s warm gaze with her own.
“I’m g-glad... I’ll make more for you from now on, if you want.”
Hanayo finished the rice ball, and took another, eating it with gusto. “Only if you let me do the same, Maki-chan.”
Maki laughed, reaching over to take one of Hanayo’s rice balls. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to finish one, but she took a bite, smiling.
“I’d like that, Hanayo.”