Fic - Mr. Daikon
Title: Mr. Daikon
Pairing: Yoshio Ezaki/Handa Sen
Rating: PG
Summary: Osen gives Yocchan-san another project.
A/N: Taking some liberties and ignoring the end of the series/having it set before the last two episodes. Written for psychoniji for je_whiteday 2011! :D
"I think Yocchan-san is ready," Osen says one day, her eyes crinkling at the corners when she smiles at the improvement in Yoshio's tea.
"…Really?!" Yoshio jumps up, grabbing one of Osen's hands and missing the look that flashes across her face. "I'm going to be a chef, finally!"
Tome smacks him across the back of the head, glaring daggers at Yoshio.
"You're a thousand years too early for that."
Yoshio pouts at him, rubbing the back of head, then quickly turns back to Osen for her response.
Osen smiles and sets the teacup down and then without a word skips out the door.
"…Weirdo," Yoshio says to himself.
"You little…" Teruko says her voice dangerous as she grabs a broom and chases Yoshio outside. Yoshio jogs a safe distance ahead of her, hands still covering his head protectively. He looks horribly confused when he sees Osen is just standing in the middle of the small dirt field holding onto garden tools.
"It's time to plant Mr. Daikon's seeds!" Osen says happily, handing Yoshio the second shovel.
Yoshio smiles hesitantly. Something tells him he's in for (more) pain.
"I wonder what Yocchan-san's daikon will taste like," Osen says, smiling slightly as she starts to break up the soil around them.
"Awesome, for sure!" Yoshio shouts, finally feeling excited about this even if he is by default still wary of Osen's projects. He still has to prove himself. He rubs his hands together and mimics Osen as he pushes the shovel into the dirt and turns it over, watching as the dirt loosens up around them. Soon they'll be using daikon that he grew in Isshouan's food. Yoshio grins.
"Wait, Yocchan-san, over here." Osen gestures for him to come over, he does, looking at the large, unmarked bag with distrust.
Yoshio grabs for the bag, freezing and not missing the way Osen jerks her hand back in surprise when his fingers brush over hers.
He wants to laugh; the corners of his lips tilt up but he can't bring himself to when he's not entirely sure his heart beating fast is from all the shoveling or from just that miniscule touch.
He opens the bag warily and is instantly engulfed by the smell of manure.
"Oh god, it stinks," Yoshio exclaims, jerking his hands away from the open bag and retreating a couple steps as the scent overwhelms him.
"Yocchan-san?" Osen looks at him, head tilting to the side, like she doesn't understand why he's making a fuss.
The word 'cute' flashes through Yoshio's mind when he sees that. He turns back to the large bag of shit and tries not to breathe in at all.
"We need to mix this with the soil so Mr. Daikon can grow well," Osen explains, producing two pairs of gloves from her apron and passing Yoshio a pair.
Yoshio might whimper a little bit when he first sticks his hand in the mixture to start the process of spreading it over the soil. Osen is polite enough to not laugh but Yoshio is about 100% sure he sees her smiling. He'd even be willing to wager some of his meager wages that she just giggled into her hand.
The last touches of winter are slowly leaving but the mornings still leave Yoshio's hands chilly. (He hates the cold.) It's not going to last much longer; as the day goes on, it warms up. Spring is definitely here.
Sweat gathers on his brow as he works harder at trying to finish tilling the small plot of land.
"There are machines for this crap," Yoshio grumbles while Osen hums to herself.
"It stinks," he groans.
~#~#~
"You're serious?!" Tome yells. Seiji keeps methodically stirring the large pot, waiting until it's just the right temperature before he removes it from the heat.
"Why is Osen-san teaching that rookie?" The jealousy is evident in Tome's voice.
The girls diplomatically leave the room without answering.
"Do you think..." Fuyuko says in a soft whisper.
"What?" Tamako scoots closer. "Think what?"
"That Osen likes Yocchan," Fuyuko says conspiratorially.
Teruko almost drops the tray of tea she's carrying, catching it at the last minute.
"No way!" Teruko exclaims. "Not that idiot."
"He seems to have become more serious compared to when he first came, maybe…" Fuyuko trails off and then giggles.
"Don't tell Tome-san," Tamako whispers. "He'll kill Yocchan."
Teruko's expression darkens. If he did anything funny, she'd get to him before Tome could.
"Girls, we need to get the rooms set up now," Shizu says softly, interrupting the gossiping.
"Yes, Shizu-san."
~#~#~
Yoshio wakes up to his shoulders and arms feeling like they'd been run over by about eighty express trains.
He stumbles down the stairs, uniform haphazardly put on.
"Idiot, your clothes are all wrinkly," Tome complains, trying his best to make Yoshio presentable by tugging it down properly and redoing the tie.
"Thanks," Yoshio mumbles.
"If we're going to let you work here, you have to take it seriously; your uniform too," Tome scolds.
He gets halfway through his prep duties before Osen comes into the kitchen and motions for him to follow her.
"Oh god," Yoshio says, already feeling the pain in his back and shoulders when she informs him that they're going to plant the seeds now.
"Don't put them too far in," Osen corrects, hands covering his and fixing his mistake. Their faces are too close and Osen's face turns red before she quickly retreats back to her own row.
Yoshio watches her as she focuses entirely on sowing the seeds, unable to catch her eye as they work in silence together.
~#~#~
"Yocchan-san!" Osen calls up the stairs, successfully waking him up. He's pretty sure it was a good dream too. Yoshio grumbles and rolls over, bumping into Tome and getting a swift kick in the thigh in return before he reluctantly gets up.
"Time for more hard labor," Yoshio whines, not entirely meaning it.
When he sees Osen, in a kimono instead of her work pants and shirt, he's entirely confused. Weren't they weeding today?
"First, we need to get fish and then…" Osen continues mumbling her shopping list under her breath as she walks a few steps ahead of him.
"Honorary packmule Ezaki at your service," Yoshio says sarcastically under his breath but follows afterwards. Honestly, he doesn't mind going, really; he gets to spend a day away and in town. (Sometimes he does miss the bustling of the city.)
~#~#~
"Mr. Daikon won't grow if you don't give him water," Osen directs, using a pail to wet the ground where they planted the seeds just yesterday.
It's exciting, Yoshio thinks, cultivating something that people you know will be eating.
If only the things didn't take so long to grow. Yoshio is impatient; it's a trait that his dad used to always tell him would get him in trouble.
They finish rather quickly and Yoshio goes back to the kitchen, Tome glaring at him.
"You're cleaning the kitchen tonight," Tome says. Yoshio almost whines but catches himself. He'll settle for sticking his tongue out at him when he turns his back.
~#~#~
"Osen," Yoshio says, heart beating fast when she's a bit too unsteady on her feet and presses closer to him. He'd just finished putting away the dishes when she found him in the kitchen.
"You drink way too much," he grumbles, adjusting his hold on her as he tries to lead her back to her room.
"I'm fine," Osen slurs.
Yoshio just shakes his head, already used to taking care of Osen when she's had too much to drink.
It doesn't help that he seems to be attracted to her. He knew that from the beginning, but the incident in which all of his worldly belongings turning into a rice bowl seemed to blind him to the kind of a women she is: amazing.
"I like you," Yoshio says bluntly and Osen freezes, like she wasn't just stumbling around drunk.
Yoshio wants to laugh; he's not even the one who is drunk and he's confessing. He even surprises himself sometimes too.
"Yocchan-san…" Osen looks at him, surprise written across her face.
"Let's go home," Yoshio says, smiling brightly. She's drunk; she won't remember, Yoshio hopes, at least. That was a little embarrassing.
Her hand curls into the sleeve of his shirt as he walks her down the hall. He's all too aware of its presence and the fact that it's there the entire time.
"Goodnight," Yoshio says softly, and Osen mumbles back the greeting, disappearing behind her door.
~#~#~
They don't talk about what he said that night. He figures that she forgot about it. She did drink a lot that night, more than her normal amount of liquor.
After the seeds are planted, there isn't much to do together Watering doesn't take very long and while weeding does, Yoshio does the majority of it by himself. Isshouan's new spring menu preparations take a lot of time out of Osen's day.
It's okay though, Yoshio thinks. Maybe he'll tell her another day.
~#~#~
"Yocchan-san, I think Mr. Daikon is ready," Osen says softly one morning as she comes back from the market, shrugging her pack of supplies off by the back kitchen door.
Yoshio looks up from where he's watching Seiji doing prep work for tonight's dinner.
"Seriously?!" Yoshio bows at Seiji before rushing out the door, pulling Osen along with him and missing the way the entire kitchen stares after them.
The green leaves are now large and the soil is only slightly visible, Yocchan feels something like accomplishment bubble up in his stomach as he stares at the product of his and Osen's labor.
She's walking down one of the rows and leaning down to take a look at the stems before she looks back up at him and smiles, waving him over.
"Mr. Daikon is ready! We can have Seiji-san prepare the employee meals," Osen says happily.
Yoshio leans down, the vegetable cool against his hand as he pulls at it, trying to lift it out of the ground.
~#~#~
"It's good!" Kenta says and the others make similar comments, even Tome (although he follows that up with his usual "You're still a thousand years too young" spiel). Yoshio grins, happy he came back all those times, a bit embarrassed at how many times he tried to quit. Not anymore, he thinks, watching Osen.
It's his turn to clean up the kitchen, so he stays behind as everyone else files out to go finish closing the restaurant. His teapot, the one he's been "raising" so to speak, catches his eye and when he's done he grabs it, making tea, trying to remember what kind Osen likes best.
Although she's more of a sake person, Yoshio muses to himself.
"Osen." Yoshio taps on her door, waiting outside and looking up at the moon. It's pretty tonight.
"Yocchan-san?" Osen looks surprised, her hair flowing down her back and her kimono slightly disheveled.
"Tea?" Yoshio asks, lips quirked up in amusement. He can't smell alcohol on her; she probably didn't get a chance to start her nightly routine yet.
She smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and nods.
"Thank you."
They sit on the porch, Osen watching the moon again and Yocchan feels a rush of warm familiarity. They do this often.
"Osen?" Yoshio starts, leaning closer. He's aware of his own heart beating a fast rhythm in his chest. She turns to look at him questioningly and he brings a hand up to her chin, watching the blush spread across her cheeks.
She's a master of a lot of things but she's not so good with guys, Yoshio thinks, smiling slightly as he leans in to brush his lips against hers softly. It only lasts for a few seconds, but Yoshio's heart still pounds loud in his ears. He's got it bad.
Osen looks at him for a second, her eyes wide before she busies herself with sipping on tea.
Yoshio covers up a laugh by coughing for a second, surprised when he feels her fingers brush against his, not pulling away when he takes her hand in his.
Yoshio watches her as she smiles up at the moon.
Pairing: Yoshio Ezaki/Handa Sen
Rating: PG
Summary: Osen gives Yocchan-san another project.
A/N: Taking some liberties and ignoring the end of the series/having it set before the last two episodes. Written for psychoniji for je_whiteday 2011! :D
"I think Yocchan-san is ready," Osen says one day, her eyes crinkling at the corners when she smiles at the improvement in Yoshio's tea.
"…Really?!" Yoshio jumps up, grabbing one of Osen's hands and missing the look that flashes across her face. "I'm going to be a chef, finally!"
Tome smacks him across the back of the head, glaring daggers at Yoshio.
"You're a thousand years too early for that."
Yoshio pouts at him, rubbing the back of head, then quickly turns back to Osen for her response.
Osen smiles and sets the teacup down and then without a word skips out the door.
"…Weirdo," Yoshio says to himself.
"You little…" Teruko says her voice dangerous as she grabs a broom and chases Yoshio outside. Yoshio jogs a safe distance ahead of her, hands still covering his head protectively. He looks horribly confused when he sees Osen is just standing in the middle of the small dirt field holding onto garden tools.
"It's time to plant Mr. Daikon's seeds!" Osen says happily, handing Yoshio the second shovel.
Yoshio smiles hesitantly. Something tells him he's in for (more) pain.
"I wonder what Yocchan-san's daikon will taste like," Osen says, smiling slightly as she starts to break up the soil around them.
"Awesome, for sure!" Yoshio shouts, finally feeling excited about this even if he is by default still wary of Osen's projects. He still has to prove himself. He rubs his hands together and mimics Osen as he pushes the shovel into the dirt and turns it over, watching as the dirt loosens up around them. Soon they'll be using daikon that he grew in Isshouan's food. Yoshio grins.
"Wait, Yocchan-san, over here." Osen gestures for him to come over, he does, looking at the large, unmarked bag with distrust.
Yoshio grabs for the bag, freezing and not missing the way Osen jerks her hand back in surprise when his fingers brush over hers.
He wants to laugh; the corners of his lips tilt up but he can't bring himself to when he's not entirely sure his heart beating fast is from all the shoveling or from just that miniscule touch.
He opens the bag warily and is instantly engulfed by the smell of manure.
"Oh god, it stinks," Yoshio exclaims, jerking his hands away from the open bag and retreating a couple steps as the scent overwhelms him.
"Yocchan-san?" Osen looks at him, head tilting to the side, like she doesn't understand why he's making a fuss.
The word 'cute' flashes through Yoshio's mind when he sees that. He turns back to the large bag of shit and tries not to breathe in at all.
"We need to mix this with the soil so Mr. Daikon can grow well," Osen explains, producing two pairs of gloves from her apron and passing Yoshio a pair.
Yoshio might whimper a little bit when he first sticks his hand in the mixture to start the process of spreading it over the soil. Osen is polite enough to not laugh but Yoshio is about 100% sure he sees her smiling. He'd even be willing to wager some of his meager wages that she just giggled into her hand.
The last touches of winter are slowly leaving but the mornings still leave Yoshio's hands chilly. (He hates the cold.) It's not going to last much longer; as the day goes on, it warms up. Spring is definitely here.
Sweat gathers on his brow as he works harder at trying to finish tilling the small plot of land.
"There are machines for this crap," Yoshio grumbles while Osen hums to herself.
"It stinks," he groans.
~#~#~
"You're serious?!" Tome yells. Seiji keeps methodically stirring the large pot, waiting until it's just the right temperature before he removes it from the heat.
"Why is Osen-san teaching that rookie?" The jealousy is evident in Tome's voice.
The girls diplomatically leave the room without answering.
"Do you think..." Fuyuko says in a soft whisper.
"What?" Tamako scoots closer. "Think what?"
"That Osen likes Yocchan," Fuyuko says conspiratorially.
Teruko almost drops the tray of tea she's carrying, catching it at the last minute.
"No way!" Teruko exclaims. "Not that idiot."
"He seems to have become more serious compared to when he first came, maybe…" Fuyuko trails off and then giggles.
"Don't tell Tome-san," Tamako whispers. "He'll kill Yocchan."
Teruko's expression darkens. If he did anything funny, she'd get to him before Tome could.
"Girls, we need to get the rooms set up now," Shizu says softly, interrupting the gossiping.
"Yes, Shizu-san."
~#~#~
Yoshio wakes up to his shoulders and arms feeling like they'd been run over by about eighty express trains.
He stumbles down the stairs, uniform haphazardly put on.
"Idiot, your clothes are all wrinkly," Tome complains, trying his best to make Yoshio presentable by tugging it down properly and redoing the tie.
"Thanks," Yoshio mumbles.
"If we're going to let you work here, you have to take it seriously; your uniform too," Tome scolds.
He gets halfway through his prep duties before Osen comes into the kitchen and motions for him to follow her.
"Oh god," Yoshio says, already feeling the pain in his back and shoulders when she informs him that they're going to plant the seeds now.
"Don't put them too far in," Osen corrects, hands covering his and fixing his mistake. Their faces are too close and Osen's face turns red before she quickly retreats back to her own row.
Yoshio watches her as she focuses entirely on sowing the seeds, unable to catch her eye as they work in silence together.
~#~#~
"Yocchan-san!" Osen calls up the stairs, successfully waking him up. He's pretty sure it was a good dream too. Yoshio grumbles and rolls over, bumping into Tome and getting a swift kick in the thigh in return before he reluctantly gets up.
"Time for more hard labor," Yoshio whines, not entirely meaning it.
When he sees Osen, in a kimono instead of her work pants and shirt, he's entirely confused. Weren't they weeding today?
"First, we need to get fish and then…" Osen continues mumbling her shopping list under her breath as she walks a few steps ahead of him.
"Honorary packmule Ezaki at your service," Yoshio says sarcastically under his breath but follows afterwards. Honestly, he doesn't mind going, really; he gets to spend a day away and in town. (Sometimes he does miss the bustling of the city.)
~#~#~
"Mr. Daikon won't grow if you don't give him water," Osen directs, using a pail to wet the ground where they planted the seeds just yesterday.
It's exciting, Yoshio thinks, cultivating something that people you know will be eating.
If only the things didn't take so long to grow. Yoshio is impatient; it's a trait that his dad used to always tell him would get him in trouble.
They finish rather quickly and Yoshio goes back to the kitchen, Tome glaring at him.
"You're cleaning the kitchen tonight," Tome says. Yoshio almost whines but catches himself. He'll settle for sticking his tongue out at him when he turns his back.
~#~#~
"Osen," Yoshio says, heart beating fast when she's a bit too unsteady on her feet and presses closer to him. He'd just finished putting away the dishes when she found him in the kitchen.
"You drink way too much," he grumbles, adjusting his hold on her as he tries to lead her back to her room.
"I'm fine," Osen slurs.
Yoshio just shakes his head, already used to taking care of Osen when she's had too much to drink.
It doesn't help that he seems to be attracted to her. He knew that from the beginning, but the incident in which all of his worldly belongings turning into a rice bowl seemed to blind him to the kind of a women she is: amazing.
"I like you," Yoshio says bluntly and Osen freezes, like she wasn't just stumbling around drunk.
Yoshio wants to laugh; he's not even the one who is drunk and he's confessing. He even surprises himself sometimes too.
"Yocchan-san…" Osen looks at him, surprise written across her face.
"Let's go home," Yoshio says, smiling brightly. She's drunk; she won't remember, Yoshio hopes, at least. That was a little embarrassing.
Her hand curls into the sleeve of his shirt as he walks her down the hall. He's all too aware of its presence and the fact that it's there the entire time.
"Goodnight," Yoshio says softly, and Osen mumbles back the greeting, disappearing behind her door.
~#~#~
They don't talk about what he said that night. He figures that she forgot about it. She did drink a lot that night, more than her normal amount of liquor.
After the seeds are planted, there isn't much to do together Watering doesn't take very long and while weeding does, Yoshio does the majority of it by himself. Isshouan's new spring menu preparations take a lot of time out of Osen's day.
It's okay though, Yoshio thinks. Maybe he'll tell her another day.
~#~#~
"Yocchan-san, I think Mr. Daikon is ready," Osen says softly one morning as she comes back from the market, shrugging her pack of supplies off by the back kitchen door.
Yoshio looks up from where he's watching Seiji doing prep work for tonight's dinner.
"Seriously?!" Yoshio bows at Seiji before rushing out the door, pulling Osen along with him and missing the way the entire kitchen stares after them.
The green leaves are now large and the soil is only slightly visible, Yocchan feels something like accomplishment bubble up in his stomach as he stares at the product of his and Osen's labor.
She's walking down one of the rows and leaning down to take a look at the stems before she looks back up at him and smiles, waving him over.
"Mr. Daikon is ready! We can have Seiji-san prepare the employee meals," Osen says happily.
Yoshio leans down, the vegetable cool against his hand as he pulls at it, trying to lift it out of the ground.
~#~#~
"It's good!" Kenta says and the others make similar comments, even Tome (although he follows that up with his usual "You're still a thousand years too young" spiel). Yoshio grins, happy he came back all those times, a bit embarrassed at how many times he tried to quit. Not anymore, he thinks, watching Osen.
It's his turn to clean up the kitchen, so he stays behind as everyone else files out to go finish closing the restaurant. His teapot, the one he's been "raising" so to speak, catches his eye and when he's done he grabs it, making tea, trying to remember what kind Osen likes best.
Although she's more of a sake person, Yoshio muses to himself.
"Osen." Yoshio taps on her door, waiting outside and looking up at the moon. It's pretty tonight.
"Yocchan-san?" Osen looks surprised, her hair flowing down her back and her kimono slightly disheveled.
"Tea?" Yoshio asks, lips quirked up in amusement. He can't smell alcohol on her; she probably didn't get a chance to start her nightly routine yet.
She smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and nods.
"Thank you."
They sit on the porch, Osen watching the moon again and Yocchan feels a rush of warm familiarity. They do this often.
"Osen?" Yoshio starts, leaning closer. He's aware of his own heart beating a fast rhythm in his chest. She turns to look at him questioningly and he brings a hand up to her chin, watching the blush spread across her cheeks.
She's a master of a lot of things but she's not so good with guys, Yoshio thinks, smiling slightly as he leans in to brush his lips against hers softly. It only lasts for a few seconds, but Yoshio's heart still pounds loud in his ears. He's got it bad.
Osen looks at him for a second, her eyes wide before she busies herself with sipping on tea.
Yoshio covers up a laugh by coughing for a second, surprised when he feels her fingers brush against his, not pulling away when he takes her hand in his.
Yoshio watches her as she smiles up at the moon.