Japan's House (aka Place to Bother Japan)

Japan saw Italy fix him with a pleading glance, but wasn't sure what he should do exactly. Although, Pochi seemed to have sensed something, and went over to lick Italy's hand.

Regardless, at least Germany seemed to be putting his punishment aside for now. Japan agreed that Italy should work to fix what he messed up, but did think that the 'no food or sleep' clause was rather harsh. He put that thought aside for the moment as well.

"Do you feel well enough for us to cook now, Feliciano-kun?" Japan asked. Perhaps the food would put everyone in a lighter mood.

"Veee..." The Italian physically drooped, rubbing the spot Ludwig had poked with his hands. The German could be so strict sometimes! It wasn't like he did it on purpose...it would take forever to organize all those papers by himself! And without food or sleep? What about his siesta? This day was turning out worse and worse!

But he was a little reassured when Kiku's small dog came over to comfort him, giving him a pat on the head and a little hug for the kind lick. Well, if Pochi didn't think it would be bad, then maybe it wouldn't be that bad!

Feliciano looked up at the dark-haired man as he questioned him. "I think I'm better..." After a bit of wiggling, Feliciano stood back on his feet, fighting off a small dizzy spell. Well, his arms kinda felt funny, and his tongue still hurt...but he could really use some noodles right now! And that tempura stuff Kiku was talking about. "Si, I'm good enough for cooking!" He placed his hand on his arm and flexed as if to prove his point. "Kiku just has to help me make that...tempura stuff, and then I should be good!"

Ludwig pulled the blanket back over his knees and made himself comfortable. "I really hope the two of you are making something really good. I feel rather hungry."

He reached out to grasp his cup, taking a sip from his tea. it was not that hot anymore and helped him calming down his strained nerves. Ludwig knew that he would possibly end up at least helping Feliciano sorting out his papers, if not even doing it himself since the Italian would most possibly just mess it up more.

Japan rose up from his kneeling position. "Alright then, food it is," he said and looked at his sleeves. Hmm...perhaps he should get something to tie them back with.

He bowed toward Germany before leaving the area. "We will do our best," he told him, and actually meant it. If it were anything but food, perhaps at least he would doubt himself more. But food was very important to Japan, and Italy's love of food was generally apparent not long after meeting him. And Italy's love was a love of good food. He wouldn't accept anything second rate.

So you could say that if you could be confindent in the two of them accomplishing something together, food would probably be your best bet.

"I am going to get something to tie this with," he stated, indicating his sleeves. "And an apron. ...Do you want an apron, Feliciano-kun?"

---

Since, it's been awhile, I just wanted to give a reminder that Japan shut off the table's heater. There will still be some residual heat under there, but it won't be like before.

"Eh heh, we're making noodles! It'll be really delicious, I promise! Ve~" Maybe even delicious enough for Ludwig to forget his anger? It wasn't likely, but the Italian could dream!

Feliciano gave the small dog a final pat before rushing off to follow the smaller man, rolling up his sleeves and tossing his tie over his shoulder. "An apron would be good! Then I wouldn't get anything on my clothes!" Not that the Italian was messy when he cooked; for being who he was, Feliciano was a pretty neat and efficient cook. He took the chilled noodles from the fridge, giving them a quick check over before he began to look through the man's drawers.

Well...if he could remember correctly, the broth for the noodles had been soy sauce-based, right? With some hint of wine, and some type of sweetener...and very thin. So a lot of water when into it, right?

He tried picking up the bottles and reading the labels...but the were all in Kiku's language! He couldn't even begin to guess what most of them may have said.

"Hmm..." The Italian bit his lip, looking around for the man, but it seemed Kiku already ran off to find something to tie his sleeves back. So instead, the Italian found a spoon, pouring the various sauces and tasting them. Some of them...were really weird, but after a while, he was pretty sure he had what he needed, lining up the bottles he had decided on for the Japanese man to check.

Adam woke up from banging his head on a low doorway. He had run off to find something to help Italy, but had forgotten that some of the doorways here were quite low and knocked himself out. He rubbed his sore head, no doubt having a bruise near his eye from where he hit . Having now come to, he decided to head back to the others, but found himself quite lost, not to mention slightly dazed and confused.



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sorry i disappeared ._.

Ludwig sighed when the two other man left the room, his shoulders falling a little bit out of their strained position. What on earth had he done wrong to deserve this? The blond closed his eyes to relax a moment and to calm down more when something wet lightly nudged against his hand. He turned his head and glanced down, seeing Kiku's little dog rubbing its nose against his hand.

"Oh... It is just you." Ludwig mumbled and picked the little one up easily with just one hand and placed the small dog in his lap. This one was quite different to his own, tall and well trained dogs. Ludwig had drilled them good for hunting and guarding. But a dog was a dog after all, even if it was a small and fluffy house dog. And Ludwig liked dogs. So he patted its little head and was glad for some company while he waited for Feliciano and Kiku to get done with the food.
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@Adam: Yeah you got pretty lost. XD Maybe Japan can find you and lead you back into the storyline?

@Kiku: That is fine. Even without the heater, the blanket is still warm and comfy. :3

Japan grabbed a tasuki and two aprons out of a small storage area. He placed them over one arm and decided to just carry everything back to the kitchen first, before putting anything on. He didn't want to leave Italy alone in there for too long.

On his way back to the kitchen, he spotted Australia looking rather dazed. "Oh! There you are!"

Since the kitchen was now rather close, Japan called out, "Feliciano-kun! I found Banjora-kun!"

Then he asked, "What happened to you, Banjora-kun?"

---

I didn't want to leave Feli all alone in there for another post. You can probably hear the call from the living room as well, Ludwig. Japanese walls are thin.

Oh, and I think the kotatsu would actually be more comfy know, since it was sort of a bit too much before.

Oh and a tasuki is a sash that goes around both arms and crosses at the back. It keeps kimono sleeves tied back.

Adam swayed a bit, still quite dazed. " Whuh?...oh.. I think I hit my head on somethin...." He blinked at Japan , waiting for him to stay in focus.

Feliciano looked up from his musing--he was still deciding if he had all the ingredients he needed for the broth, and had begun to rummage more for things to make that tempura stuff with--when he heard Kiku's voice call out. "Ve?" He wandered out of the kitchen, peeking his head into a few of the nearby rooms until he spotted his friend.

"Ah, Kiku~ And Adam! There you are, ve~ Where did you go? Did you get lost or have to go to the bathroom or something?" He walked up next to Kiku, tilting his head curiously at the Australian.

"...I guess it's okay, because now you can eat with us too!" He smiled brightly--now he could make more noodles! And more noodles meant more for everyone to eat!

Ludwig could hear the others in the hallway and kitchen but he didn't feel like joining them now. The blond knew he would anyways end up cleaning after then. And this was not his house so he didn't have the urge to clean it.

So he just held his spot in the living room and patted the little dogs head. It was curled up in his lap, obviously enjoying the attention. The blond still kept his focus on the voices from outside the room. Not that he was eavesdropping, no. They might need his help or call for him. A German soldier was always on guard! Right?

Japan looked up at the dazed Australian again. "Perhaps you should sit down," he suggested.

Then he turned to Italy. "Feliciano-kun, why don't we go back to the kitchen. Banjora-kun can sit either there or in the living room, and we can find out what happened while we start the food maybe."

He handed the Italian one of the aprons that was laid over his arm.

Adam nodded, swayed slightly and sat down on a chair in the kitchen. He held his head in his hands, as it hurt quite a bit. "Food? You...you makin' tucker? " He asked .

Feliciano grabbed the apron from the Asian with a quick "Grazie~" and quickly tied it around his waist, re-rolling up his sleeves. "Tucker? Ve, we're making noodles! And tempura for the noodles, it should be really delicious when we're done!" He gave the Australian a quick smile before turning back to his ingredients, tilting his head. "I think I have everything...is something missing Kiku?" He wasn't an expert on Japanese cuisine, so it was better to be safe than sorry!

He decided to put the noodles in a part at least, lining up all the ingredients he had gathered for the smaller man's inspection. "Ve...I have soy sauce and wine and some of that fishy stuff Kiku uses for flavor...I think!" He giggled, filling the pot with a little water and adding the noodles. He'd add more water later when he was sure he had everything else right!

"But your language is so funny, I don't know if I have the right stuff! But it tasted right, at least!" The brunet gave the man a little room to look. "And you have to tell me how to make that tempura stuff, too!"

"I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure what tucker is, Banjora-kun," Japan responded to the Australian. "It's...food?" he guessed, based on context.

Then he went over and examined the gathered ingredients for a moment. "You got the right ones," he told the Italian, not sure if he should be surprised or not. "You really tasted all of them?" He knew some sauces wouldn't taste very good by themselves.

He also wondered briefly how Italy had gone about tasting them, and if he should scold him at all...but he let it go for now.

"This is good. Now I'll just get what I need for the tempura, and we'll be all set."

"Yeah mate, tucker is food. Eugh, I'm so hungry" He groaned as his stomach complained. "Can I get an Icepack? My head is killing me here"

The Italian's smile could light a room, it was so vibrant. He got the ingredients right all by himself! Maybe he should try cooking Japanese food more often! It was certainly delicious...and it would be a new cooking style to try! Even though Kiku's food used a lot of salt...He didn't think he would ever get as good as Kiku, but it would be fun to practice!

"I did taste them all!" Feliciano puffed out his chest as if this was an accomplishment in itself. "They tasted kinda funny by themselves...and Kiku has some weird tasting stuff." He wrinkled his nose at the memory--he hadn't every experienced so many extreme forms of bitter and salty and spicy in such a short amount of time.

But he had gotten through it--and even got things right! Although he wasn't sure what amounts of what he should use...he would just have to wing it! Maybe Kiku would help him after he got the tempura stuff ready!

Speaking of which, Feliciano began to scoot closer to the Japanese man, leaving his ingredients along for a moment, curious to what went into that strange batter.

---

orz;; I didn't notice these replies...

Japan paused a moment in gathering things for the food to reach in the freezer so the Australian could ice his head. "There you are, Banjora-kun," he said as he handed over the desired item.

Then he went back to the work of the food, and he noticed the Italian watching him.

Hmm...perhaps he should prevent any more guessing.

"One moment." He quickly grabbed a piece of paper, tore it into smaller peices and started writing out amounts, in numbers and English, which they both could reasonably understand. Then he stuck each amount with the appropriate ingredient.

"There," he announced. "Now, if you have any questions about making this, do not hestitate to ask, Feliciano-kun."

Feliciano was confused for a second when Kiku went for paper and pencil and not the ingredients for the tempura he was making; but when he was handed the list, the pieces finally clicked. "Ah! Wow, Kiku must be able to read my mind, too! This is what I was thinking of, ve~" Kiku and Ludwig were just too smart sometimes!

Distracted by his desire to learn what went into tempura-making, the Italian skipped back over to his ingredients and to the pot of boiling noodles, giving the list a quick review before grabbing some measuring utensils off of the counter.

The Italian stuck up a happy tune as he began to pour out the ingredients to the measurements the Asian had handed to him, happy that his noodles were almost done--and he had cooked something completely new, too! Cooking new food always made him excited, and this was sure to turn out great!

He tried to make a mental note of the amounts for later use (he wasn't very good at remember things, but he could usually remember things like this if he made a note to try to remember!) and began adding them slowly to the pot, tasting the broth ever so often to make sure it tasted okay, adjusting the amount of water and sauces until he thought it was acceptable.

Adam took the ice pack and placed it on his aching head. "Thanks mate" He muttered. He sniffed the air a bit, licking his lips. " Gee that smells good! "

"You are welcome," Japan responded to Australia.

He smiled as he started up the tempura. Making sure he was away from the heat of the stove and keeping the batter cool, taking only seconds to mix the batter with a pair of chopsticks and moving on.

He started heating the oil so he could deep fry the shimp once they were dipped in the batter.

He continued doing what he needed to do, being careful not to bump into Italy as he moved from place to place.

This should come out well.

Ludwig had calmed down from his anger about the messed up paper work. He would just drag Feliciano back to his house and make him clear the mess he made. But dinner first.

The smell from the kitchen lured Ludwig out of the living room. These was no sense in sitting here all alone by himself while the others were cooking. The blond stood up and held the little sleeping dog in his arm while he crossed the hallway and peeked into the kitchen without entering it. He didn't want to disturb any difficult work that might go on.

"Is the cooking going well?" He asked. "Or do you need help? Maybe the table need to be set up?"
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*drops back in*

Hmm...everything seemed right, at least...

The Italian tasted the noodles periodically, ever so often adding a little more of an ingredient as the soup cooked on. They looked done to him, at least. Kiku's noodles were a little softer than his, so he wasn't sure if they were done, but at least the looked it!

...and they looked good too; Feliciano was hungry!

"Kiku, I the noodles are done! Can we eat them yet? Oh, ve, but you have to make the tempura stuff, don't you?" He bounced on his toes, staring into the pot and willing the noodles into his stomach.

He looked up when he heard Ludwig's voice, turning to face the German. "Ah, ciao, Ludwig! Ve, I think the noodles are done, and they look good! And Kiku's working on the tempura stuff that goes with the noodles! Maybe Kiku needs help with that?" He looked over to the smaller man, tilting his head.

"Almost done," Japan told him, as he removed bits of batter from the oil. Then he put the last ones in.

"I think it's going quite well. The finished tempura just needs to added to the rest now."

He was glad to see that the German appeared to be in a better mood now. Their meal was shaping up to be quite pleasant.

He smiled as he finished up.

Ludwig nodded but didn't enter the kitchen. The little room was crowded enough, even without him in there. And an animal like the little dog, that was still sleeping in his arms, was also not really useful in a kitchen were food got prepared.

"Good, I see you both don't need my help, but I will still stay nearby if you might need me later." He leaned against the door-frame and watched the busy man, lightly patting the little dog's head without waking him up.