Valentine’s Day Cooking!

seikapan:

jurinathesecond:

“You can sort of it look at it this way - Akibastar is so big in the entertainment industry, it’s sort of like the universe’s Holllywood…There’s so much pressure to be perfect here. Everyone says to be yourself and dream big, just like in Hollywood, but if you do dare to dream big they’ll condemn you for it if you don’t meet their expectations.” Because 0048 was so big on Akibastar, there were even specific schools just for girls to learn how to become idols. Jurina herself had attended a normal school, but she could only imagine how fierce the competition would be like in those specialised ones.

Jurina almost started drooling at the word ‘feast’ again. If there was that much food there, she was sure she would want to just stay at the table and eat her way through the entire trip. The performance though…Jurina’s eyes lit up as she thought of something.

“Performance! Why don’t we perform? I’m sure that what we learned in 00 would impress them!”

Seika hummed. “A double edged sword, huh? That’s rough! Atamistar is rather relaxed - people will get annoyed if you’re too cocky, but it’s in a more concerned way, I guess, to make sure you don’t set yourself up for failure.”

“That sounds awesome! didn’t Jurina do a solo Oogoe Diamond once? You’d probably blow people away with that!” Seika certainly enjoyed being the centre of attention, and being able to show nay sayers off would be cool, and her family would probably be quite proud. Win-win all round!

“That sounds a lot better than what we have here,” Jurina muttered. Being cocky would get you completely torn up by your classmates - having a high skill level made it ‘being confident’. Not quite meeting those expectations meant you were 'cocky’. It really was a two-faced monster.

“Of course, Oogoe Diamond’s my signature song!” Jurina said, winking. The song had been widely known as the first AKB single that the original Jurina was the centre of, and as her successor Miyuki had tried her best to duplicate the amazingness of it. “You’d have to perform something solo too if I do though!”

Valentine’s Day Cooking!

seikapan:

jurinathesecond:

Jurina sighed. “It wasn’t that they were awful - well, I guess the bullying about my height and hair colour was rather bad. But the Centre Nova thing was different, since I was born and raised on Akibastar. We’ve got pretty high standards for people who want to get to that point, y’know?” She smiled a little forlornly. “Sometimes, I think the standards are perhaps too high. But that’s what happens when you live on Akibastar, where every girl secretly wants to be part of 00 and get to Centre Nova, but everyone’s too scared to proclaim it out loud.”

“A feast?” Jurina’s eyes lit up again. The only thing she liked better than running was eating…And boy could she eat. Whereas the other girls stuck with half portions or one portion of what they were given by Chef Papa, Jurina was notorious for always attempting to challenge Mayuyu’s massive appetite - of course, she had never succeeded. But eight portions was still impressive. “I’m not sure about whether it’s a big deal on other parts of Akibastar, but in our neighbourhood we always host a Easter egg hunt! It’s more for the kids, but it’s always fun to participate in.”

“That makes sense. After all, Akibastar has to see 00 everywhere, so they’d certainly start to get picky for the big jobs!” Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief - hopefully that means less pressure for the name of Aanya!

“We do that too! But it’s more of a school activity thing, to keep kids active and make it more community based, since Atamistar is just a bunch of islands.” Well, one main one and few dotted ones, but hey.

“But the feast is amazing! Even though there are so many people, nobody goes hungry! It’s really colourful and there’s usually a performance as well while everyone eats!”

Whipping out her phone, Seika started texting. “I’ll send Mama a message now, asking if you can come stay with us!” Honestly, Seika didn’t know if she was allowed to go home for the holidays, or if Jurina truly wanted to come, but forward thinking wasn’t really her forte.

“You can sort of it look at it this way - Akibastar is so big in the entertainment industry, it’s sort of like the universe’s Holllywood…There’s so much pressure to be perfect here. Everyone says to be yourself and dream big, just like in Hollywood, but if you do dare to dream big they’ll condemn you for it if you don’t meet their expectations.” Because 0048 was so big on Akibastar, there were even specific schools just for girls to learn how to become idols. Jurina herself had attended a normal school, but she could only imagine how fierce the competition would be like in those specialised ones.

Jurina almost started drooling at the word ‘feast’ again. If there was that much food there, she was sure she would want to just stay at the table and eat her way through the entire trip. The performance though…Jurina’s eyes lit up as she thought of something.

“Performance! Why don’t we perform? I’m sure that what we learned in 00 would impress them!”

Valentine’s Day Cooking!

seikapan:

jurinathesecond:

Jurina looked over Seika critically, wondering why she would get teased for any reason whatsoever. If she was a bit chubby in the past, that certainly wasn’t the case any more - the rigorous training from 0048 as well as the regular morning runs that she had been assigned appeared to have stripped her of most of that fat. Jurina thought that Seika was extremely cute, and wanted to cuddle her a lot.

Of course, Jurina thought that about pretty much every 00 girl.

“Well, you still had friends at school, right?” Jurina asked, smiling. “Definitely not the end of the world. And why would anyone possibly tease you for wanting to become Aanya? So cute…and cuddly…” She started drooling from the side of her mouth and a small trickle of blood came from her nose. She quickly wiped it away and acted as though nothing had happened.

“Anyway, at least you weren’t as crazy as the guys at my school thought I was. Wanting to be the first to succeed Jurina, and become Centre Nova?” She laughed. “They thought I was insane, especially since I’m already this old.”

Jurina’s eyes lit up at the mention of ‘running around’. That was the only way for her to get rid of her enormous excess of energy when she wasn’t training and practicing, and having a lot of room to run around was definitely very appealing.

"Definitely! When’s our next break…?” She thought about it. “Easter, perhaps?”

“Yep!” Seika huffed. “People teased me because they don’t understand the charms of Aanya!” Seika nodded fervently, agreeing with Jurina’s words about Anna.

“The people around you seemed really awful. But hey, you’ve already shown them wrong! Nothing can beat determination, right?”

Seika thought for a moment. “Easter sounds right. It’s only a few weeks away, isn’t it? Is it a big deal on Akibastar? It’s a holiday back home, but chocolate isn’t a big part of it. We have a feast though!”

Jurina sighed. “It wasn’t that they were awful - well, I guess the bullying about my height and hair colour was rather bad. But the Centre Nova thing was different, since I was born and raised on Akibastar. We’ve got pretty high standards for people who want to get to that point, y'know?” She smiled a little forlornly. “Sometimes, I think the standards are perhaps too high. But that’s what happens when you live on Akibastar, where every girl secretly wants to be part of 00 and get to Centre Nova, but everyone’s too scared to proclaim it out loud.”

“A feast?” Jurina’s eyes lit up again. The only thing she liked better than running was eating…And boy could she eat. Whereas the other girls stuck with half portions or one portion of what they were given by Chef Papa, Jurina was notorious for always attempting to challenge Mayuyu’s massive appetite - of course, she had never succeeded. But eight portions was still impressive. “I’m not sure about whether it’s a big deal on other parts of Akibastar, but in our neighbourhood we always host a Easter egg hunt! It’s more for the kids, but it’s always fun to participate in.”

Valentine’s Day Cooking!

seikapan:

“Mm, it was really. It kinda sucked living in a resort, because kids come and go so often and penpal relationships always die out, but it wasn’t the end of the world, y’know? I got teased a bit when I decided to join 00 from the boys, since I want to become Aanya…” They’d teased her for being a bit chubby and not the most athletic or graceful, as well as for wanting to succeed such an ‘odd’ girl, but compared to Juritan, it wasn’t anything at all! Brightly, she smiled. “But when I go back home, I know they’ll be begging for my autograph, hehe!”

Seika perked up. “Yes! You should totally come visit! Its not like we’re short on space and there’s plenty of areas for you to run around too!” Seika wasn’t entirely joking - she wasn’t really connecting it to Jurina not having anybody to spend holidays with, but she really did want to bring the other girl to visit.

Jurina looked over Seika critically, wondering why she would get teased for any reason whatsoever. If she was a bit chubby in the past, that certainly wasn’t the case any more - the rigorous training from 0048 as well as the regular morning runs that she had been assigned appeared to have stripped her of most of that fat. Jurina thought that Seika was extremely cute, and wanted to cuddle her a lot.

Of course, Jurina thought that about pretty much every 00 girl.

“Well, you still had friends at school, right?” Jurina asked, smiling. “Definitely not the end of the world. And why would anyone possibly tease you for wanting to become Aanya? So cute…and cuddly…” She started drooling from the side of her mouth and a small trickle of blood came from her nose. She quickly wiped it away and acted as though nothing had happened.

“Anyway, at least you weren’t as crazy as the guys at my school thought I was. Wanting to be the first to succeed Jurina, and become Centre Nova?” She laughed. “They thought I was insane, especially since I’m already this old.”

Jurina’s eyes lit up at the mention of ‘running around’. That was the only way for her to get rid of her enormous excess of energy when she wasn’t training and practicing, and having a lot of room to run around was definitely very appealing.

“Definitely! When’s our next break…?” She thought about it. “Easter, perhaps?”

Valentine’s Day Cooking!

seikapan:

jurinathesecond:

Jurina sighed and relaxed. She had rarely been able to get some time off like this since succeeding***, and she had been waking up even earlier in mornings to do runs now due to her workload - which meant she didn’t see Seika as much anymore, despite the promise to run with her in the mornings.

This though, was a good chance to talk. Last time, they had talked about Jurina…Or well, Miyuki. She had felt it was one-sided though, and wanted to get to know more about her friend too.

“So Seika…” She sat down on a seat, observing the younger girl. “Tell me more about yourself.”

“Me? Eh, nothin’ special, really. I live with Mama and Papa on Atamistar, and I have two younger siblings - they both challenge me for being super loud! Hehe!”

“My family runs a hotel, so I met Yuko-san and the last Acchan there once. I wasn’t into 00 at the time, but I guess meeting them made me look into the group more!”

Jurina stared at the opposite wall as Seika talked. She smiled.

“So your life was normal, then.” It wasn’t like she expected Seika to have gone through what she had at school - the other girl seemed too nice for that.

“Atamistar…” Jurina pondered while looking at the fridge, hungry but not wanting to say it out loud. “I want to visit there some time. You should take me next vacation!” She said it only half-jokingly - she’d much rather go to another planet than spend another holiday season alone.

Valentine’s Day Cooking!

seikapan:

jurinathesecond:

Jurina raised an eyebrow at the rather ambiguous explanation by Seika. ‘Mix all this stuff here together?' she thought, giggling internally. It certainly wasn’t an instruction she would be used to seeing in a recipe book, that’s for sure.

She was relieved when Seika appeared to actually have proper instructions, although the paper was rather sticky and gooey thanks to the chocolate on it. She glanced over the recipe, and sighed in relief. It was rather simple - Seika might well have described it fully, ambiguous as it was. It was literally throw everything together and then freeze it into the shape you desired.

She rolled up her sleeves, determined to get it right the first time. “Alright, let’s do this!”

She followed the instructions, adding a little of her own flavour into it by throwing a small amount of peppermint into the mix to give it a refreshing taste…Or so she hoped. She put the mix into the fridge after molding it into shapes, and then sat down and glanced over at Seika, who appeared to be doing the same.

“How long do we wait?”

Seika finished melting her chocolate and pouring it into shapes. Washing her hands to remove the remaining chocolate, she put her last batch in the freezer.

“Um, I’m not really sure. Each batch has been slightly different. It doesn’t help that I’ve been opening the freezer every few minutes to put new lots in!” Laughing slightly, Seika gave a proper answer, “I think it needs a good two hours though.”

Jurina sighed and relaxed. She had rarely been able to get some time off like this since graduating, and she had been waking up even earlier in mornings to do runs now due to her workload - which meant she didn’t see Seika as much anymore, despite the promise to run with her in the mornings.

This though, was a good chance to talk. Last time, they had talked about Jurina…Or well, Miyuki. She had felt it was one-sided though, and wanted to get to know more about her friend too.

“So Seika…” She sat down on a seat, observing the younger girl. “Tell me more about yourself.”

Valentine’s Day Cooking!

seikapan:

jurinathesecond:

Jurina grinned when Seika said she’d give those to Tomochin. If it was her, Jurina was sure she wouldn’t even taste the bitterness in it…Sometimes, Jurina doubted that Tomochin tasted anything at all.

“Sure!” Jurina said cheerfully, rolling up the sleeves of her sports jersey. She was still sweaty from her morning run, so she had to be extra careful…Or there might be some salty chocolate.

Jurina had lived by herself for almost half her life, so she was pretty confident in her own cooking skills. She didn’t like to brag about it, but having to make her own meals from since she was 10 at least enabled to her to cook at a decent level.

Chocolate was another case altogether, however. She had never made chocolate before.

“Uhh…You might have to teach me how to make them.”

Seika nodded, feeling determined. It wasn’t often that she had to teach someone else, so it was important to do a good job of it! She moved some things around so Jurina could have some more room before explaining.

“Its pretty simple, really! Well, thats because I do it the easy way, haha! Basically, you just mix all this stuff here together and then we put it in the shapes and pop it in the fridge!”

Picking up a somewhat chocolate covered piece of paper, she showed it to the older girl. “Everythings written here!”

Jurina raised an eyebrow at the rather ambiguous explanation by Seika. ‘Mix all this stuff here together?' she thought, giggling internally. It certainly wasn’t an instruction she would be used to seeing in a recipe book, that’s for sure.

She was relieved when Seika appeared to actually have proper instructions, although the paper was rather sticky and gooey thanks to the chocolate on it. She glanced over the recipe, and sighed in relief. It was rather simple - Seika might well have described it fully, ambiguous as it was. It was literally throw everything together and then freeze it into the shape you desired.

She rolled up her sleeves, determined to get it right the first time. “Alright, let’s do this!”

She followed the instructions, adding a little of her own flavour into it by throwing a small amount of peppermint into the mix to give it a refreshing taste…Or so she hoped. She put the mix into the fridge after molding it into shapes, and then sat down and glanced over at Seika, who appeared to be doing the same.

“How long do we wait?”

Valentine’s Day Cooking!

seikapan:

jurinathesecond:

Jurina suddenly got a faint sense of danger emanating from the other girl, as her mind whispered to her that running away might be a good option right now. She didn’t quite understand why until Seika came back with a batch of chocolates and offered them to her.

‘Looks like I’m going to be the test dummy,' Jurina thought to herself, wincing. If Seika’s chocolate making was anything like her endurance…Well, Jurina steeled her stomach just in case.

Taking a bite of the chocolate and preparing herself for the worst, she chewed for a few seconds slowly with her eyes closed…Then opened them, blinking a couple of times.

“Not bad, Seika! Not bad at all!” Jurina said appreciatively. It was definitely better than what she could’ve made, at least. She looked contemplatively at the batch.

“They could perhaps be a little sweeter, the bitterness of the cocoa is still coming through a bit.”

Seika beamed brightly.”Really!? I’m so happy! Usually, I get Mama to help - so, she just kinda does everything and I just get her utensils and things so I’ve never really made them before!”

She rushed the last bit - she liked to say that she was a somewhat decent cook, and she told all her friends that this was something she did every year, but it was a liiiiiitle bit of a white lie…

Nodding at the feedback, she set about fixing it. “Well, these ones are a bit too strong… Maybe they can be for Tomochin-san? Ahhh but thats like giving her the leftovers!” Shrugging, she smiled. “I’ll just have them for me!!”

“Hey, Jurina, wanna help me make some more?”

Jurina grinned when Seika said she’d give those to Tomochin. If it was her, Jurina was sure she wouldn’t even taste the bitterness in it…Sometimes, Jurina doubted that Tomochin tasted anything at all.

“Sure!” Jurina said cheerfully, rolling up the sleeves of her sports jersey. She was still sweaty from her morning run, so she had to be extra careful…Or there might be some salty chocolate.

Jurina had lived by herself for almost half her life, so she was pretty confident in her own cooking skills. She didn’t like to brag about it, but having to make her own meals from since she was 10 at least enabled to her to cook at a decent level.

Chocolate was another case altogether, however. She had never made chocolate before.

“Uhh…You might have to teach me how to make them.”

Valentine’s Day Cooking!

seikapan:

jurinathesecond:

Jurina, in her usual way, was thinking of causing some sort of mischief. She felt like in the last few months she had been rather passive…Meaning not playing the pranks she used to. Valentine’s Day was the perfect time to play a few jokes on her friends. What she had in mind was making chocolate…Honmei ones, meant to be given to someone you’re romantically interested in, and then inscribe “I want your body” on them.

If only she knew how to make chocolate…But that wasn’t going to deter her.

Heading to the kitchen, she smelled a sweet smell - was Chef Papa making something sweet? Seeing a girl in the kitchen, she was a bit surprised - not many of the girls woke up earlier than Jurina did thanks to her daily morning runs, but there was someone in the kitchen already making something…Sweet.

“Hiya, Seika,” Jurina said, peeping through the kitchen door at her friend. “Whatcha makin’?”

“Juri-chan!” Seika beamed at the older girl. It was clear she’d been on a run (eh, maybe we can go later) but now, her she was. Apart from having a great time, Seika now had a victim for taste testing!

“I’m making tomo choco for everyone! Here,” putting down the chocolate, she headed to the fridge, getting out some ones that had been cooling for a while. Heading back over to the successor, she held it out, “Say ahhh~!”

Jurina suddenly got a faint sense of danger emanating from the other girl, as her mind whispered to her that running away might be a good option right now. She didn’t quite understand why until Seika came back with a batch of chocolates and offered them to her.

‘Looks like I’m going to be the test dummy,' Jurina thought to herself, wincing. If Seika’s chocolate making was anything like her endurance…Well, Jurina steeled her stomach just in case.

Taking a bite of the chocolate and preparing herself for the worst, she chewed for a few seconds slowly with her eyes closed…Then opened them, blinking a couple of times.

"Not bad, Seika! Not bad at all!” Jurina said appreciatively. It was definitely better than what she could’ve made, at least. She looked contemplatively at the batch.

“They could perhaps be a little sweeter, the bitterness of the cocoa is still coming through a bit.”

Valentine’s Day Cooking!

seikapan:

Seika was happily humming in the kitchen, keeping out of Chef Papa’s way (and naturally, making a mess whenever he left). Valetine’s Day was a bit weird, as an idol, as they obviously weren’t allowed to date (not like they’d have time to). But still, she enjoyed chocolate and had decided to make everyone tomo choco. After all, who said you could only celebrate romantic love?

She was just about to start melting her third lot of chocolate when someone came wandering in. “Morning!”

Jurina, in her usual way, was thinking of causing some sort of mischief. She felt like in the last few months she had been rather passive…Meaning not playing the pranks she used to. Valentine’s Day was the perfect time to play a few jokes on her friends. What she had in mind was making chocolate…Honmei ones, meant to be given to someone you’re romantically interested in, and then inscribe “I want your body” on them.

If only she knew how to make chocolate…But that wasn’t going to deter her.

Heading to the kitchen, she smelled a sweet smell - was Chef Papa making something sweet? Seeing a girl in the kitchen, she was a bit surprised - not many of the girls woke up earlier than Jurina did thanks to her daily morning runs, but there was someone in the kitchen already making something…Sweet.

“Hiya, Seika,” Jurina said, peeping through the kitchen door at her friend. “Whatcha makin’?”