Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093093152263860/episodes/16818622177243229410
One day, shortly after I entered fourth grade, my mother started working at a nearby supermarket. She said she had to go to work to pay off the mortgage on our house.
“Mom is going to work starting today.”
“Okay.”
“Please take care of Yuzu.”
“I understand.”
With that, my mother left for work, even though it was Sunday. Since my father was also working today, Yuzuha and I were left home alone.
“Onii chan, I’m hungry.”
Yuzuha, who had just entered second grade, sat on the sofa, rubbing her stomach and looking at me. Yuzuha was still very clingy and always followed me around, which was a little embarrassing.
“That’s fast! You just had breakfast!”
“Ugh… but I want something to eat!”
Yuzuha pouts, hugging her knees and curling up at the edge of the sofa. She looks really unhappy.
“Haa… Well, what do you want to eat?”
“Omelette rice!”
“Ugh… Fine, I guess…”
Reluctantly, I head to the kitchen. Yuzuha jumped up and followed me.
“Be careful! I’m using a knife, so don’t come near me!”
“But I want to watch!~”
“You can watch, but you have to promise not to touch anything.”
“Okay.”
Yuzuha obediently returned to her seat at the dining table and stared intently at me.
I’ve done a little cooking in school, but I’ve hardly ever cooked before… Feeling nervous inside, I opened the refrigerator. Eggs, sausages, cold rice… There was also ketchup. Somehow, I had all the necessary ingredients. Now I just had to figure out how to cook it.
(Um… First, I have to cut the sausages… But using a knife is scary…)
I placed the sausages on the cutting board and carefully held the knife. I tried to do it like I saw on TV, but my hands were shaking, and I couldn’t cut them properly. Still, I managed to finish cutting them, and next I took out the frying pan. When I turned on the gas stove, a small flame lit up, and I was a little startled.
“Onii chan, you can do it!”
“Umm… just watch, okay?”
Encouraged by Yuzuha’s voice, I fry the sausage. The sizzling sound makes me feel like a chef, and I get a little excited.
(This might work!)
Next, I add rice, pour ketchup over it, and mix it. I shake the frying pan desperately to prevent it from burning, but somehow a grain of rice flies out.
“Ah, it flew!”
“Shut up, I told you to just watch!”
Yuzuha is laughing. I’m trying so hard! Still, I manage to make something that looks like ketchup rice.
Next is the egg. This is the real deal. I crack the egg, mix it, and pour it into the frying pan… but the heat is stronger than I thought, and it solidifies instantly with a sizzling sound.
(Oh no, this is the kind you can’t roll…)
I quickly turned off the heat, placed the rice in the center, and forced it into a roll with a spatula. The shape… well, if you think of it as omelet rice… yeah, it’s okay. It turned out more like scrambled eggs, though.
“It’s done… maybe.”
“Wow, it looks delicious!”
I drew Yuzuha’s face with ketchup. It’s a little crooked, but I don’t care. Yuzuha was waiting for me with sparkling eyes.
“Here you go.”
“Let’s eat!”
Yuzuha scooped up the omelet rice with a spoon and took a bite. After chewing for a moment, she suddenly smiled.
“It’s delicious!”
Yuzuha smiled contentedly. Yuzuha is probably hungry, so I think she would say anything is delicious right now…
“Ha, I’m tired, so let’s be healed by Toka-chan.”
“Onii chan is trying to watch Toka-chan again.”
With her mouth full of omelet rice, Yuzuha looked at me with eyes that seemed to want to say something.
“Because I haven’t seen yesterday’s song program yet.”
With that, I turned on the TV and played the program I had recorded yesterday. Then, Yuzuha’s eyes lit up again, and she was immediately glued to the screen.
“Wow! Toka-chan is so cute!”
Yuzuha was dancing along, imitating Asahina Toka-chan. I can’t see the TV! Either eat or dance, but don’t do both!
“By the way, why do you like Toka-chan?”
“I don’t know.”
“You just like her for no reason?”
Yuzuha’s “why” disease had kicked in. When this happens, Yuzuha becomes quite annoying.
“Because she’s always on TV…”
“She’s always there?”
“Don’t you think it’s great that she works so hard?”
When I said that, Yuzuha tilted her head in confusion.
“Hmm… Do you like her because she works hard?”
“Well, when I see that, I want to support her.”
Toka is very different from me, who can’t do anything. She is good at singing and dancing, and she can act too. She can chat confidently even when surrounded by adults. I think she’s really cool even though we’re the same age.
“Then I’ll imitate Toka-chan and cheer you on, Onii chan!”
“Why!?”
“Because if I cheer you on, you’ll make me omurice.”
“That’s a really impure motive.”
Saying that, Yuzuha imitated Toka-chan’s dance with her gestures. To be honest, she’s pretty bad at it. But I’m genuinely happy that she’s so happy with my omelet rice.
(Please take care of Yuzu…)
It’s not as glamorous as Toka-chan’s stage, but I have to do my best with what I can do… My mother must be busy with work, so I have to at least be able to do all the housework.
“By the way, what will you do if Toka-chan can’t do her best anymore?”
“What do you mean?”
“She might feel like slacking off sometimes, just like me. She might secretly eat two ice creams instead of just one, just like me.”
Yuzuha looks at me seriously as she munches on her omelet rice.
“When Toka can’t do it anymore…”
I had never thought about that. But as Yuzuha said, we are the same human beings, so there may be times like that.
“Then, when that happens, I want to give Toka a hand.”
“Onii chan, it’s not that easy to meet celebrities.”
“Shut up! It’s just an example! That wouldn’t happen to Toka chan in the first place!”
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