Hazy amber afternoon light slipped quietly through the gaps in the orange curtains and spilled into the kitchen.
A few more days had passed since Chiose Noshiro was officially diagnosed with anorexia.
These past few days… Taki Shiina had been run ragged.
"Tomori, don't worry. I'll take good care of Chiose. Talk later, okay? I have to go make her dinner."
She hung up on her bandmate Tomori Takamatsu and sank into a chair at the dining table, stretching her arms overhead.
It was a rare chance to catch her breath.
[Ever since Chiose Noshiro got sick, I haven't dared let her move around at all.]
After all, Little Chiose was Taki's most treasured darling, a precious thing she was afraid would melt if she held it in her mouth and afraid would get hurt if she held it in her arms.
Taki stared blankly at the fruit plate on the table, now a little more than half eaten.
This was one of the few moments she could actually relax.
Today, on her way back from grocery shopping, she had seen a few students from her school walking out of a hotel together… The sight had set her mind churning.
She knew that most of the couples she'd met, online and in real life, started doing embarrassing things almost the moment their relationship was confirmed.
They barged into each other's lives at breakneck speed, and once they got bored, or had eaten their fill and wiped the grease from their mouths, they dusted off their hands and walked away.
That kind of thing seemed like the most carefree way to live.
But Taki didn't want that. She couldn't bear it.
She couldn't bear to let her precious darling suffer the slightest harm or stain… As long as Taki Shiina could still draw breath, no one in this world was going to hurt Chiose!
Was it a bit childish to go for pure love in this day and age? She'd leave that question for time to answer.
"Haah."
She still had a mountain of band business to deal with, work that used to be Chiose's.
After taking over from Sakiko as keyboardist, Chiose had also become the band's leader and manager.
The chores weren't that many, but they were a hassle, and Taki had watched her stay up until the dead of night to finish them every time.
Maybe…
"Maybe it was all that pressure that crushed Little Chiose."
When the clock began to chime and rang three times, Taki shot to her feet.
It was time to cook for Chiose again.
To make sure the food was good enough and suited her poor little patient's appetite, Taki had made countless notes and run countless experiments.
People with anorexia usually need strongly flavored food.
And here, "strongly flavored" usually means sour, sweet, spicy, or richly fragrant dishes.
But anorexia patients are very likely to be sensitive to spicy or greasy food and find it repulsive, so sticking mainly to sour and aromatic flavors could never go wrong.
Before opening the fridge, Taki glanced over the door, which was plastered with her little notes. Not one of those crammed slips of paper hadn't been poured over with her blood and sweat.
"Meat is a must. What should it be today?"
This one, then.
Her fingertip landed on a pink sticky note, where bold, forceful handwriting read:
[Lemongrass Lemon Roast Chicken Thighs. P.S. Don't overcook it.]
[Ingredients: two boneless chicken thighs, three stalks of lemongrass, one lemon, 10 ml fish sauce]
[Marinade: marinate in lemon juice, minced lemongrass, and fish sauce for two hours, then roast at 180 degrees for twenty-five minutes]
[Advantages… Southeast Asian flavors, rich aroma, and the lemon's sourness whets the appetite. Little Chiose likes this taste.]
"And this for the main."
Her eyes darted across the notes. She'd meant to pick something seafood, but on second thought she dropped the idea.
"Pickled pepper beef congee, then…"
Rice, beef tenderloin, chopped pickled peppers, and shredded ginger: cook the congee until thick, add the marinated beef slices and the peppers, and simmer for five minutes.
The dish's advantage and purpose: the mild spice warms the stomach, and the beef supplies iron.
Anyone who vomits often knows how important it is to replenish electrolytes and eat healthy food.
"And finally, dessert."
As she took out the ingredients for the first two dishes, she heard the piano upstairs again.
Her brow furrowed slightly, then quickly smoothed out.
"Honestly. Fine, I'll let you play a little longer while I get the ingredients ready."
An after-meal dessert was essential. A passion fruit yogurt drink made with unsweetened yogurt, passion fruit, and honey would suit Chiose's tastes perfectly.
"Little Chiose! I'm coming to get you!"
All day long! Nothing but piano!
And the band isn't even doing any activities, it's on hiatus!
…
"Taki, it hurts."
Chiose clutched her forehead, eyes brimming with tears.
"I only flicked your head. Don't overreact, geez."
"Wah."
"There, there, I'll rub it better. Be good, and take off your hearing aid."
"But I haven't heard Taki's voice for a whole day."
Seated at the dining table, Chiose was rubbing her head against Taki's belly, just like a cat acting spoiled.
"I really can't do anything with you. Can you take it off after dinner? I'll go close the window."
The noise outside was a bit loud. It would probably bother Chiose's hearing.
Closing the window, wiping the table, serving the dishes: the era of Taki's rule over the kitchen at the Noshiro residence had fully arrived.
"Taki… I really can't touch the piano again today?"
"Mm-hm. If you start again, you won't be able to stop. Can your stamina really keep up?"
Keep up? Of course it couldn't.
Chiose Noshiro shifted her gaze from Taki's face to the dining table.
The food was a riot of colors, and the cook's heart was plain to see.
Fruits and vegetables worked into the menu to stir her appetite, with sweet-and-sour ingredients chosen for the dishes… So thoughtful.
A pity that Chiose still had no appetite.
She propped up her head with one hand and held a fork in the other.
The fork clinked against her teeth, and to Chiose the taste of metal was no different from the taste of the food.
"Hmph… Mean. But I really, really want it, after all…"
"Wanting it doesn't make it okay. School's about to start, so you have to build your health back up."
"I know… Haah."
Chiose narrowed her eyes. She suddenly felt like a bird in a cage.
How interesting. Was Taki instinctively trying to shield her? No wonder no one from the band had come to visit. Taki must have turned them all away.
"But Taki, I really want to play the piano. Otherwise I feel so suffocated."
"It can't be helped. Eat more. Once we're in bed, let's turn in early."
"Oh…"
In the end Chiose didn't manage more than a few bites. She really had been trying, but she never felt the desire to swallow down the delicious dishes Taki had cooked.
It seemed that food had become something her body no longer welcomed.
When her back touched the soft mattress, Chiose's mind was no longer in the room.
She began to tally up her plan, the plan that was now three-quarters finished.
"Stage Four…"
[Hm? What did you say, Little Chiose?]
"It's nothing…"
Stage Four: when anorexia becomes a blade lodged between lovers, and an irreconcilable crack opens between ideal and reality… the countdown to the end quietly begins.
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