Rashomon [Makoto, Shishiyuki]

"I do. I like to cook."

She thought about also clarifying that she didn't like when other people took the lead on cooking, it was nice and all when Abalia brought cooking but she did prefer to do it herself. It was just a tick for her, on one hand she wondered about Shishiyuki after all there was no reason for her to need to learn to cook but she striked her as someone who had some competency or else why would her own kitchen be so stocked and ready?

"I'm not really good at anything fancy though, I'm more of a practical kind of cook and I like making extras for afterwards. Do you cook often? I mean like, you probably don't have to in your position or anything but it seems like your thing."

"Ah... No, not terribly often. It is pleasant enough, and I am quite able to do it when the need arises, but there are enough duties that I attend to that I rarely have the time. Typically a family retainer will prepare it for me when I've returned home."

While normally Shishiyuki would simply speak about her life circumstances with a bit more confidence, if not outright pride, she felt almost embarrassed to say as much in this particular situation. She did not especially relish the idea of boasting about that facet of her life, least of all to Makoto, and it made her feel somewhat distant in a way she did not care for.

"Though, given the situation in my family of late, I suspect I will likely have more time to myself for my own pursuits. I don't suppose you would be willing to help me hone my skill in that particular field?"

What a surprising response, Makoto looked a little bit longer than she meant to until it occurred to her that she was hearing Shishiyuki say that she delegated. It was just so weird to hear it, even if she did believe expect that being a noble and all but it was just surprising. That's all.

"Oh, of course. I'd love to teach you how to cook."

Maybe she sounded a little bit more excited than she meant to convey to Shishiyuki, an eager enthusiasm that she didn't normally have. Maybe it was to be able to return a little bit from all the help with her martial arts, or maybe she just found the idea of teaching her something to be a nice change of pace.

"So, what do you like to cook then? I can't really teach you if I don't know what you're capable of doing. Well besides the basics but I'd never have to teach you the basics, right?"

It sounded like she was talking broadly over any and all subjects, that she was omnipotent although it was really her own nerves which made her stretch it outside of just cooking.

"Perhaps not in the kitchen, but it would be quite overconfident of me to claim that I know the basics of all crafts and subjects. I am certain there are other matters beyond cooking where you are more well-versed than I."

Shishiyuki chose not to bring up the fact that this had just come up in this very same room, at this very same kotatsu. That the intimacy they had shared had been rather decidedly directed by Makoto, and that Shishiyuki herself had only barely carried herself through it.

"I would be lying if I said that I often think about what I enjoy cooking. I typically make what would be filling, simple in the kitchen, good for maintaining fitness. I think rather rarely of the culinary side of matters."

"Like what?"

It was a stupid question that she just said as a small tad of nerves wanting her to say something or keep commenting on rather than settling to silence and Makoto sure knew that there was definitely things that they would probably have different strengths and weaknesses in. Romance and stuff for certain given that she had already known that prior to asking her to extrapolate without thinking.

"It's not bad to be have simple tastes though.. I used to think cooking was boring, I just needed to cook when I was in the academy."

"I imagine in more day to day social matters, you almost certainly have the edge up on me. After all, I've spent most of my time among the nobles."

Of course, there was plenty more that could probably be assumed to be the case, but Shishiyuki wasn't here to simply list everything that she might or might not be as skilled at as Makoto. She was fairly certain that the romantic side of this would all be very in Makoto's hands as well, but she wouldn't say so quite so openly.

"While that is true, I think it would be more honest of me to say that my palate is unrefined rather than merely simple. That is why I quite look forward to your teaching me."

"I think you're putting too much faith in how well I was with people growing up. I was uh, especially shy and withdrawn as a child and it only got worse after I was left on my own."

Then the story went that she opened up to a guy, and he betrayed her repeatedly and that's where she liked to end how much she spent reminiscing about those days. Makoto didn't like to idea of it being unrefined either, it did make her want to teach her a little more. Like she could work the bends out of her technique and skills to help her grow, it was like why she decided to try and teach at the academy.

That and to try and add extra workload onto her.

"I mean, you don't show it if you do feel that way. You're always so graceful."

A compliment such as that was one Shishiyuki had heard thousands of times in her life, but there was something about having heard it from Makoto that made it far more emotionally compelling. It led her response to be accompanied by a small, almost bashful smile, considering how out of her element she was.

"That is part of being the family head, I suppose. To hide how I feel from others. But I would much prefer not to do so when it is only you and I."

Was that properly romantic? She hoped so, at least. Well, even if it hadn't been, surely her placing her hand gently on Makoto's was enough to make the meaning of it clear. Not necessarily forward, simply an effort to try and be more open with her.

It was to be expected that her heart raced just that little faster at the touch to her hand, she could almost anticipate it now given the course of the night. If her romance was like a muscle though then it was atrophied and she felt like a dancer that was trying to step around egg shells or who was one step off slipping like a novice. Maybe she would've been more witty or confident in her younger years but all she could find herself doing was taking the hand in her own and giving it a small squeeze.

"That makes me very happy to hear... I want you to share everything with me."

She didn't know whether she had to say that she wanted to share everything with her too, for some reason she thought it sounded more romantic and confident if she kept it brief. That it should be read through that sub-text, a direct look to those onyx eyes with her crimson ones while holding the look and maintain that bridge between their eyes.

The wording of what Makoto had said was not completely lost on Shishiyuki, though she did not think that was exactly what she'd meant by it, either. After all, she had wanted to take this slowly, and Shishiyuki was still all too willing to agree to that. But, if she wished to know more...

"Very well. Then you only need to ask, and I will tell you."

Moving over once more, Shishiyuki sat directly next to Makoto now, leaning against her with more confidence than she had before. She was perfectly glad to speak with Makoto here, like this, for as long as she wished, on whatever she wished.

And she wondered, briefly, if this was the sort of genuine happiness for which she had banished her sister.