Akako’s thoughts were a tangle of frayed nerves as he stepped out of the Enigmatic Vault, sunlight dancing across the cobblestones beneath his feet. He should’ve been excited- Spring had returned! Mystorica had just welcomed its first guest in over a decade, and the entire village was bubbling with anticipation for the celebration to come- But all he could think about was Kami. Kami, who always knew just where to dig his petty little claws in. Kami, who could ruin everything just for the sake of a bit of misplaced pride.

‘What if something happens at the celebration tomorrow? What if I can’t stop him? What if…’

“Are you alright?”

The sudden voice jolted Akako out of his spiraling thoughts. He blinked and turned to find General, watching him with a cool, steady gaze. There was no sharpness to his words, no indication of judgment of any sort. Just the faintest glimmer of concern, tucked deep behind his stoic exterior, and Akako flushed slightly in response. In between the scrambled mess of his insecurities and thoughts, he’d completely forgotten that General was still right there!

“I’m fine,” Akako said, giving a sheepish smile as he attempted to wave away his concerns with a dismissive hand. After all, there was no use worrying about something before it actually happened, right? Still, the act wasn’t exactly convincing, even to himself, and from the faint furrow in General’s brow, he doubted that the man had bought it, either. Still, General said nothing, merely giving a small nod in acknowledgement. Even if he didn’t exactly believe Akako’s words that everything was indeed fine, it seems that he respected Akako’s privacy, and so, hadn’t pried. That alone earned him a flicker of appreciation in Akako’s chest.

“Well!” Akako declared, eager to use the opportunity to change the subject, “It’s still early afternoon- That means there’s still plenty of time to prepare for the celebration tomorrow!” Then, turning to General, eyes shimmering with a mixture of pleading and anticipation, Akako continued, “Would you like to help?”

There was a beat of pause, but then- “Sure,” General said. Though his tone was somewhere between exasperated acceptance and quiet curiosity, it was still a clear indication of affirmation nonetheless.

Akako beamed at the response, “Alright! Come on!” He already had one hand around General’s wrist, dragging him along, “Let’s get on back to the tavern and prepare, then!”

-

Hanako was just sweeping up the final crumbs left over from the breakfast buffet off the wooden floor when Akako barged through the doors of the Restkeep Tavern with General in tow.

“Hanako!” Akako yelled, with purpose, bounding forward, “We need something for the celebration tomorrow- What do we have in stock right now?”

Hanako paused mid-sweep, then responded, “Just several bags of potatoes.”

Akako blinked, “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Hanako didn’t even look up as he responded.

“But that’s impossible!” Akako was quick to retort, “There were still lots of ingredients left over when I checked this morning!”

This time, Hanako did look up, his eyes locking onto Akako’s with stern precision before he deadpans, “That was before you used it all up for the breakfast buffet, remember?”

Oh. Right. Akako brought his own hand up, slapping himself in the face. So that’s where all the ingredients had gone. Duh. His face flushed red with embarrassment from the revelation.

“So,” Akako begins, once he had painstakingly managed to push aside some of his embarrassment to ask, "A few bags of potatoes. That’s all there’s left?”

“That’s all there is,” Hanako nodded his nonchalant affirmation.

“Hmm…” Akako frowned in contemplation, the gears in his head already turning. What could they even make with just potatoes? Fries? No. That was too predictable, boring and plain. Mashed potato puffs? Maybe, but they don’t taste as good without some bits of cheese and bacon to go along with it. Besides, Akako wanted something that was more festive for the occasion! What to do, what to do…

Then, something clicked, and inspiration flashed. Akako’s eyes lit up as he clasped an open palm beneath his right fist, “Wait- I’ve got it!” Then, Akako tugged at Hanako’s sleeve as he urged, “Come on- Let’s get those bags! We’ve got food to prepare for the celebration tomorrow!”

-

The trio were gathered in the kitchen a short while later, with several large sacks of potatoes all laid out across the counter. Naturally, Akako had taken the lead, apron tied neatly and sleeves rolled all the way up to his elbows, his voice animated yet concentrated as he spoke.

“First, we’ll want to cut off the ends of the potatoes, like this…” With expert ease, Akako’s knife glided effortlessly in swift, fluid strokes as he shaved the potato into a cubical shape, “Like this! See? Now, here’s the important part…”

With practiced precision, Akako began slicing the potato along the top, chopping it up into fine sections, stopping just shy of letting the blade cut through all the way to the bottom, until the humble root had transformed into a ribbon-like spiral.

“Just like an accordion!” Akako noted, chipper as he pulled the potato apart to show both Hanako and General, “Now, we just need to finish with a skewer through the center and… Perfect!”

With that, Akako set his masterpiece aside and looked back towards his audience, grinning with pride, “Well, any questions?”

Hanako, as expected, had already absorbed the demonstration with razor-sharp focus, and was already copying the motions of Akako’s earlier demonstration with eerie exactness. That was to be expected. Even if cooking and food preparation wasn’t primarily Hanako’s duties, he had still been working alongside Akako at the Restkeep Tavern for many years, after all. General, on the other hand, was more hesitant in his motions, fumbling with the skewers and frowning at the stubborn curves of the potatoes as he struggled to shave them, though Akako, far from annoyed, simply laughed and offered his help to General whenever needed.

Over the course of the next few hours, the kitchen rang with conversation- Well, mostly Akako’s as he prattled on about this and that- And the rhythmic slicing of blades and the clattering of wood and metal. By the time the sun began to drift towards the horizon, every potato had been skewered and shaped into petit golden spirals. Then, once everything had been neatly stored, Akako returned with several finished skewers in hand, “Thanks for the help, both of you! Here- Let’s have a taste!”

With that, he plunged two of the skewers into a pot of hot oil, the crackling sizzle releasing a mouth-watering aroma that instantly filled the whole room. When they emerged, crisped to perfection, Akako handed one to Hanako and another one to General with a grin, “Ta-da! Tornado Fries! Bet you’ve never had anything like this before, huh?”

General gave Akako a look that was half skeptical and half curious, before he bit into the curled treat. Then, he paused, before giving a slow, thoughtful nod, the faintest hint of a wry grin tugging at the corner of his lips. At the sight, Akako beamed, instantly puffing up with pride, “Well- What can I say? I’m truly the best when it comes to cooking, right?”

He was about to bask further in his own glory, but then, a low rumble interrupted him, and Akako’s eyes widened in horror and realization- They’d worked all afternoon! And worse still- There was nothing left to prepare for dinner- They’d just used up the very last of the food! With terror and a sense of rising panic, Akako turned sharply towards Hanako, fully expecting to have to beg and grovel for possible solutions, but-

“Go get the dinner menu, Akako,” Hanako sighed, the faintest hint of a smirk tugging at his lips as he wiped his hands nonchalantly after having finished his skewer, “I set food aside. I know how you are.”

The feelings of anxiety were abruptly nipped in its buds, and Akako was caught in between indignant outrage and overwhelming relief, stammering, “You- You tricked me!”

Hanako just gave a wordless shrug, and though Akako had been about to scold Hanako further, those words were quickly interrupted as a relieved laugh unwillingly escaped from between his lips instead.

“You’re a lifesaver, Hanako!” Rushing towards the back, Akako doesn’t forget to yell over his shoulder as he rushes to serve and prepare their dinner, not missing the quiet snort of  bemusement from the otherwise stoic Hanako in response.