So a Demon and an Angel Walk in the Park...

As much time as this would have saved her, did she really trust Elsa with a knife? She was a sweet woman and all. Generosity and kindness practically oozing out of her, but that didn’t really translate to good motor skills. She wasn’t exactly the ditzy type, but...

Guess it didn’t matter either way, since this turned out to be a complete misunderstanding.

Aw, well that’s a bummer. Of course, she wasn’t thinking they’d employ her, per say. Just sort of...help out. The only employees they’d ever had were them, themselves, and Masuyo. It wasn’t just a business. For a large part of her life, it was her home. She’d grown up there, was homeschooled there, learned aikido there, started taking up the family trade. Then AFW happened and…

Masuyo caught herself drifting away and put her attention back on Elsa. Right. Cooking. Well, she wasn’t sure how much of a teacher she was, but she could at least teach the Swede the basics. There wasn’t a lot too it really. Putting it into practice was the hard part. A lot of it was instincts, gut reactions, trying to apply what you learned along the way and making sure you didn’t get burned. Not too unlike fighting, really.

“Oh.” She twirled her chopsticks around the broth, mulling it over for only a second. Ah, why not? “Well, I’d hate to see you waste your money on some dumb culinary class. Where did this come from? This something you always wanted to do, or are my noodles just working their magic already?”

Elsa smiled as Masuyo thought over her request as she stirred her noodles. The swede hoped that the woman wasn't feeling too bad about not working at the restaurant. Luckily it seemed like her date was still in a good mood as accepted her request. An even big smile would form on the young woman's immediately and she felt like hugging Masuyo. She decided not to, though, as she didn't want to seem over excited. Then as the woman asked why this had come up all of a sudden, Elsa would let out a slight laugh before reply.

"Hehe~ Well these noodles are to die for, but the reason I asked was because...um...well...I kinda wanted something we could do to spend...some more time with each other..." the swede explained as she looked down at her noodles with blushing red cheeks. It felt embarrassing to say those words out loud, but they were the truth.

Elsa was really enjoying this little picnic together, and she hoped that her date felt the same. She only hoped Masuyo didn't laugh at her for being so shy about saying so. Elsa would much rather the woman would think she was cute. If that were the case, it'd be really nice for the blushing swede.

Yeah, she assumed that was the reason, but there was nothing wrong with being sure. She doubted Elsa was just making these offers because she was sick of AFW’s cafeteria junk. Honestly, there were worse ways for the both of them to spend time together. She’d run out of things to watch on Netflix anyway.

Though, she would have to clear this with her parents. They wouldn’t just let anyone into their kitchen, a foreigner at that. There was more to kitchen etiquette than just slicing tomatoes and keeping knives clean. Her mother had a good heart though. She’d get through with enough time and a couple stops to the cookie store.

“Think this date is going that well, huh?” She chuckled. “You don’t need to go out of your way to impress me, but if that’s something you want to do, we can do it.” She slurped up another round of noodles before looking back at Elsa. “I’m totally going to charge you, though. The best cook in Japan works free for no one.”

She let a wry smile grow on her face as a wind washed over. She brushed a few errant strands from her face and watched as the Swede’s immaculate strands danced in the wind.

“I’ll teach you, but you gotta answer one question first for me first.” Masuyo pointed at herself, her hair specifically, while she looked up at Elsa’s own mane. “How did you do that? Is that natural?”

The swede was glad to hear that Masuyo would teach her. For a second she hd thought she'd asked too much for a first date, but it seemed like the woman was glad to do it. "Hehe~ I understand. I will be impressing you while we're training, though. Oh, and I'd be happy to reimburse you for your trouble." Elsa would giggle as Masuyo said she was gonna charge her. However, the next question caught Elsa off guard.

"Do what?" she asked as if she had no clue what was happening. And of course, she didn't. After a few moments, though, Elsa realized what Masuyo meant. "Oh! My hair? Well...if you mean the color...yeah it's natural. I kinda think it's pretty now a days...but when I was back in school I hated it. Kids can be jerks you know? I might've dyed it back then...but I didn't really want to change how I look for just for a bunch of strangers." she explained before slurping up some more noodles.

"How do you think it looks?" Elsa would then ask Masuyo with a small, stray noodle on her chin that remained unnoticed by the swede.

Masuyo didn’t care much of anything for style or appearance, especially if her own look was anything to go by. With her hardened physique obscured by her favorite jacket and a pair of jeans, neither of which were particularly fashionable in themselves, she easily came across as one of any number of the dark-haired, soft-faced Japanese women when roaming the bustling Shibuya streets. Even in the fantastical environment of AFW, the best she could muster for her first foray into the ring was the dime-a-dozen sports bra and shorts combo that she haphazardly carried over from the octagon.  

That’s what made Elsa all the more fascinating to her. The warm way she dressed The hair just finished it all off, really. It gave her this...ethereal quality, like someone that couldn’t actually exist, but was very much sitting across from her, eating her noodles with the most wonderful smile of her face. “Yeah, I do. Really, it suits you.”

She found her mind wandering to the Northmans for some reason, the most prominent Swedes in Japan at this point. The only ones besides Elsa she really knew all that well. First to Cecilia, her ultimate goal in all this, then to the rest of them. All blondes, light hair, fair to pale complexions. If those were common features, maybe Elsa’s was like a rare trait on top of them? Or maybe it was just as common. Man. The outside world never failed to spark her interest. “There are people that go for that color here, but it doesn't really work on most that go for it. Not like yours. It's seriously gorgeous. I can’t believe it always just looks like that.”

She reached into the bottom of her lunch jar, pulling open the false bottom where she stored a few napkins away. She pulled one out and jostled it up and down a couple times to let the whole thing fall loose. “Sweden’s a northern country, right? Maybe it's like a reaction to the cold? Gives you pale skin, closed schools, and super cool hair.” She leaned over and slowly brought it to Elsa’s chin, wiping away the noodle and sauce with only a couple, smooth strokes. “And terrible table manners.” She chuckled.