Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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16:39
According to the top answer on Yahoo, if a host wants to warmly entertain guests, they should prepare a lavish dinner.
After telling them he was going to cook, Ritsu had been asked by Morofushi whether he needed help. Ritsu declined.
In the living room, Rei stayed behind with Hiro to play games. On the screen, he controlled the character "Chain Chomp" in Mario Tennis. The creature was completely black and baring its teeth. Honestly, it looked more like a fierce tadpole than something called "Chomp."
Meanwhile, Morofushi chose the female character Toadette, simply because he thought she looked cute.
#What home-cooked dishes are good for gatherings with friends?#
Looking through the recipes listed below, Ritsu carefully selected a few that seemed simple enough. Rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, he prepared to demonstrate his cooking skills.
Takikomi rice.
You cook rice together with ingredients you like. Instead of plain water, the cooking liquid is mixed with light soy sauce and mirin.
Ritsu took out the ingredients he had bought at the supermarket. Personally, he loved salt-grilled chicken skewers, which used chicken thigh meat. After washing the rice and placing it in the rice cooker, he directly pressed three whole chicken thighs on top of the rice.
To remove the gamey smell, he added lemon, something he liked. His knife skills were actually quite good; he quickly sliced the lemon into thin pieces and neatly arranged them over the chicken thighs. Thinking the colors looked a bit dull, he washed a carrot, diced it into small cubes, and sprinkled it in.
Next came an appropriate amount of water, followed by light soy sauce and mirin.
Finally, he closed the rice cooker lid.
"All done."
"Cooking is pretty easy."
"Are you sure about that?"
While Morofushi was in the bathroom, the worried Rei quietly stepped beside Ritsu to check his cooking. The moment he saw the rice cooker, with giant chicken thighs and lemon slices sitting on top, he felt certain that no matter what came next, whatever was inside that pot was already doomed.
"What's wrong?" Ritsu asked.
Although he didn't cook himself, Rei often watched his friend cook. He could say with absolute certainty that Ritsu was a complete beginner who knew nothing about cooking.
In fact, he had the potential to become a master of disastrous cooking.
"Why did you put chicken thighs and lemon slices in there?"
"The recipe said to add ingredients you like. I looked it up, salt-grilled chicken skewers use chicken thigh meat. I also like squeezing lemon juice on them. Is there a problem?"
'A huge problem!'
'The biggest problem is your mysterious confidence!'
Rei rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. How had this kid grown up? Had he been eating out every single day?
Just then, the sound of a toilet flushing came from the bathroom.
Rei immediately called for reinforcements.
"Hiro! If you don't want to be poisoned, get over here!"
"Hm? What's going on?"
"See for yourself."
Morofushi walked into the kitchen area in confusion. When he saw the innovative dish inside the rice cooker, his slanted-shaped eyes blinked three times per second.
Noticing Ritsu lowering his head in disappointment, Morofushi quickly smacked Rei on the head.
"If you can't cook, could you please leave?" he said. Then he turned to Ritau with a smile. "Don't listen to him. I'll teach you how to make takikomi rice."
'So that thing was supposed to be takikomi rice,' Rei muttered silently to himself.
Not wanting to damage Ritsu's confidence, Morofushi, like a walking cooking encyclopedia, patiently explained how to make the dish properly.
Adding chicken thighs was fine, but the meat needed to be separated from the bone and cut into small pieces first.
As for the lemon, that definitely didn't belong in the dish. Instead, Morofushi added diced konjac, since Ritsu had already poured in quite a lot of soy sauce and mirin. Increasing the amount of ingredients would help balance the saltiness.
The final menu:
Chicken takikomi riceCrispy pan-fried tofu with oil-drizzled chicken–style sauceBeef and potato stew Button mushroom soup
Since Ritsu hadn't bought a dining table or chairs yet, the three of them sat cross-legged on the living room floor.
Ritsu loved home-style cooking, but it had been a long time since he had eaten a meal made with such care.
"Incredible."
"You just get better with practice. Try my specialty, beef and potato stew. It's really good!"
The stew was made with potatoes, carrots, onions, konjac knots, and thin slices of Japanese black wagyu beef. Even the color combination alone made it appetizing. Morofushi, who cared about presentation, had even placed two snow peas on top for decoration.
The potatoes, fully soaked with the broth, were soft and tender. With one bite, the flavor spread through Ritsu's mouth. The savory-sweet taste was exactly the kind he loved, and he couldn't help scooping up a few more bites of the delicious chicken takikomi rice.
The crispy tofu with oil-drizzled chicken-style sauce was something he had never eaten before. The tofu had been fried until the outer layer was crispy, and when he bit into it, juices burst out.
The sauce was also sweet and savory but had its own unique twist. Finely chopped scallions added a slight sharpness, while toasted white sesame seeds brought out a fragrant aroma. The combination was perfect.
To finish, they each had a bowl of mushroom soup seasoned lightly with salt, pepper, and chopped green onions.
Even with simple ingredients, it tasted incredibly rich.
"Ahh, I'm full!" Rei said, slumping against the sofa without any regard for appearances. The cool, aloof attitude he had earlier was completely gone. It seemed he had truly accepted the kid now.
"Hiro's cooking really is top-tier."
"I was supposed to be the one treating you… but you ended up doing the cooking instead. Sorry, Morofushi," Ritsu said awkwardly as he stood up and began clearing the dishes.
Morofushi waved it off.
However, his sensitive nature picked up on something. Ritsu seemed to care deeply about how others viewed him. During their time together, he was always considerate and accommodating.
Especially while playing games, he had clearly been about to win but deliberately held back so Morofushi could take the final round.
A people-pleaser?
Not exactly…
"Ritsu, which middle school do you attend? If it's Beika Middle School, Zero and I would technically be your seniors!"
Ritsu froze while holding the dishes.
For a moment, he didn't know how to explain why he had been suspended.
If he said it out loud… would they think he was a bad kid?
Realizing he might have touched a sensitive subject again, Morofushi shot Rei a pleading look.
Rei dropped his cool demeanor and asked directly,
"Did something happen? If you need help, just say so. I've never lost a fight."
Morofushi sighed helplessly.
'Zero… what are you even saying?'
"I've been suspended," Ritsu said. "I can't go to school for a year."
It was better to be honest. The longer you hid something like that, the worse it became.
"Suspended? Why?" Morofushi asked.
"I shoved Councilman Muragaki from Saitama Prefecture… It's normal if you haven't heard about it. After the ruling, my identity wasn't made public since I'm still a minor."
It was hard to imagine that a boy barely over 5'3" had done something like that.
There had to be more to the story.
"So what's the truth?" Rei asked bluntly. "You didn't actually do anything wrong, did you?"
"You might feel better if you talk about it," Morofushi added gently.
Why were they choosing to believe him?
They had only known each other for three days.
Ritsu set down the dishes and sat on the floor, curling his body inward as much as possible. In a quiet voice, he began recounting what had happened that night.
He had seen Councilman Muragaki trying to drag away a female employee who was resisting him.
He heard the crude conversation.
The disgusting behavior.
And when the woman cried out "Help me!"
Ritsu had gathered his courage and rushed forward, pushing past the two bodyguards in black and shoving Muragaki away from the woman.
He thought his act of courage would at least earn him a "Thank you."
But instead…
His sense of justice had been repaid with betrayal and false accusations.
"That's awful," Morofushi said softly, crouching beside him and gently patting his back.
Rei frowned as he looked at Ritsu, who had buried his face in his knees.
"If you had the chance again," he asked, "would you still step in to help?"
"Of course."
No matter how many times it happened, he would still help.
Rei chuckled softly and stepped forward, rubbing Ritsu's head. His hair was soft and smooth, nice to the touch.
"Hiro and I are planning to apply to the police academy after we graduate. Want to join us?"
The police academy?
Ritsu had never planned his future. All he had wanted was to escape the cage that had trapped him.
He didn't think his personality suited becoming a police officer.
"Come uphold real justice with us."
"…Okay."
He agreed almost without thinking.
Maybe he truly wanted to become a police officer.
Or maybe he just wanted to stay with them.
"Then you'd better work hard this year," Rei said teasingly. "Otherwise you won't be able to skip a grade and attend the academy with us. Though… I wouldn't mind if you became our junior."
"Furuya-san… I must refuse," Ritsu replied seriously. "I'll become your classmate, not your junior."
Rei raised an eyebrow.
"If we're going to be future classmates, then stop calling me by my last name. You're younger than us… how about calling me big brother?" he said with a mischievous grin.
His eyes sparkled with mischief. Rei was secretly looking forward to hearing this little ice-faced kid call him big brother. Growing up in an orphanage, he had always wanted a younger sibling.
"Can I call you Hiro-Aniki?" Sasajima asked instead, turning to Morofushi.
Completely ignoring Rei's suggestion.
Morofushi, who had an older brother but no younger one, smiled warmly.
"Of course. Then I'll call you Ritsu from now on. Sound good?"
"Yeah. Hiro-Aniki."
"What about me? What about me?" Rei asked eagerly, smiling with anticipation.
The reason he had accepted Ritsu so quickly was simple. Thinking about Ritsu reminded him of himself. Both of them had once had happy families… and both had lost them.
"I'm going to wash the dishes."
Ritsu calmly ignored him.
After gathering the dirty dishes, he turned and walked into the kitchen.
Rei instantly froze with a blank, stunned expression. After a moment, he turned to Morofushi, who was barely holding back laughter.
"He ignored me on purpose, didn't he?"
"Pfft… yeah."
"Hey! Why won't you call me Zero-Aniki?!"
"I must refuse."
"Damn it! You're just a kid, but you're not cute at all!"
"Zero~" Morofushi said teasingly. "You had that same bad temper when you were little. Not cute at all."
Rei decided he shouldn't have comforted this brat in the first place.
At this rate, his childhood friend might get stolen away by this kid.
'Sooner or later, I'll make you call me Aniki!' (▼皿▼#)