#Mieru Hochan

[healeroflightanddark]

We Are Family, Chapter 14: Filming

The four boys watched the filming of their mother’s cooking show eagerly, each of them excited about being able to see the behind-the-scenes details. Their mother, too, was very excited to have her babies on set with her.

Yuya was watching Mieru warily, but she seemed to have matured a little since their elementary school days. She clearly still had a crush on the tomato-head, but at least she wasn’t chasing him around trying to kiss him anymore. She was, however, talking about Yuya whenever the camera was on her.

“Yuya’s so sweet!” Mieru said dreamily. “When we were in elementary school, he was always trying to make people laugh when they were sad, even if they were mean to him! Plus, animals love him too! There was this time in fifth grade when a farmer brought baby goats to show the school, and the baby goats just would not leave Yuya’s side. They chased him around and played with him. He’s just so sweet!”

The camera crew came to Yuya and his brothers to get their input, and Yuya grinned. “Yeah, I don’t know why, but animals really do seem to love me a lot! Not just domesticated animals either! Wild animals seem to love me too! I remember when our family went camping once, and there was a bear and it sniffed me a bit but didn’t attack me or run away.”

“Oh man, I remember that!” Yugo said, eyes wide. “The bear wouldn’t leave you alone, either. It’s like it thought you were one of its cubs! The park rangers had to get involved!”

“It’s true,” Yoko told the camera, shaking her head at the memory. “That was actually the day we realized that animals’ love for Yuya was greater than we initially thought.”

“So… what’s Mieru making?” Yuya asked, more curious than he cared to admit. Mieru immediately replied, “It’s a surprise! But I just know you’re going to love it, Yuya!”

“Not even a little hint?” Yuya asked, pouting a little. Mieru blushed at his unintentional cuteness and relented, “It’s got apples in it!”

“Well, that’s helpful,” Yuri said, rolling his eyes. Mieru chose to ignore him and began grating a Fuji apple. “Oh, I can’t wait for Yuya to taste my cooking!” she said happily.

*   *   *

A little over an hour later, whatever Mieru was cooking seemed to be done. Yuto nudged Yuya and nodded toward the girl, who was ladling the food onto a plate of rice. “Looks like she’s done!” the eggplant murmured to his youngest brother.

“Looks like it,” Yuya agreed as Mieru approached him with the plate. She handed it to the tomato-head, and smiled at him. “Tada! Apple Curry!”

“Thanks!” Yuya said, taking the fork in hand and scooping up some of the curry. He took a bite, and lit up at the flavor. “This is really good! Who would’ve thought apples would go well with curry!”

“I knew you’d like it!” Mieru said, beaming with pride. “You were always snacking on apples when we were in school together!”

Yuya blushed a little. “Well, I do love apples a lot!” he admitted, taking another bite of the curry. “Mmm, it’s got the right amount of heat too!”

Yoko smiled as she watched her son eat the curry. “Yuya’s not the kind of person who’ll say something tastes good just to spare the chef’s feelings,” she told the camera. “Not even mine! If he’s saying Mieru’s curry tastes really good, then I have no doubt that it’s true! I’m looking forward to trying it myself!”

[healeroflightanddark]

We Are Family, Chapter 13: Blast From the Past

Yoko was waiting for her boys outside the kitchen studio, smiling broadly as her children approached her. She pulled them all into a group hug, hugging as tightly as only a mother could. “My babies! I’m so happy to have you all on the set with me tonight!”

“Hi, Mom!” her quadruplets chimed together, hugging their mother as tightly as they could. Zarc chuckled. “Well, as much as I’d love to stay, Ray needs my help fixing some issues with her project, so I gotta go.”

“Alright, say hi to your friends for me!” Yoko said as Zarc left. She smiled at the quadruplets, very happy they were there with her. “C’mon, I’ll introduce you to my fellow judges!”

She led the way inside, and the boys got their first look at the live set behind the cameras. It was actually quite interesting seeing the camera crew bustling around. The contestants of the show were in the kitchen area chatting, drinking water, and going over their recipes.

Yuya’s eyes widened when he saw one of the contestants. “What? When did Mieru audition?!” he asked. Yuto glanced at him, then at the contestant he was looking at. “Mieru? She auditioned the night we invited our friends over. You passed out from exhaustion as soon as we got home, so you didn’t see her.”

“Why didn’t you guys tell me?!” Yuya whined. Yoko blinked in surprise. “Do you know her, Yuya?”

“Yeah, we all do!” Yuya replied. “She’s the girl that would chase me around the playground every day at recess and lunch in elementary school, trying to kiss me! The one that came to our house whenever she heard I was sick, and would come inside uninvited and try to take care of me.”

“Oh! That Mieru!” Yoko chuckled. “I remember her now! I thought she looked familiar when she auditioned!”

“Ohh, that’s hilarious!” Yuri grinned. “I wonder if she still has a crush on you?”

Yuya groaned, then yelped and hid behind Yuto as Mieru glanced over. He groaned again when he heard her call out his name. “Nooooo! She saw me!”

“Yuya!” Mieru squealed, running over and tackle-hugging him. She began nuzzling him affectionately. Clearly she still had a crush on him. “It’s been so long! Too long! Ah, I should’ve known you would be here tonight! My crystal apple told me I should make a special recipe with extra servings! Now I know that the extra servings were meant for you!”

Yuri snickered, as Yuya pouted, trying to escape from Mieru’s clutches. Yoko quickly came to his rescue. “Why don’t you go over your recipe, just to make sure everything’s right, and you can bring a plate of it to Yuya when the time comes!”

“I’ll make sure it’s absolutely perfect!” Mieru said excitedly, releasing Yuya. “I just know you’re gonna love it, Yuya!”

She hurried off and Yuya pouted furiously. “Well, as long as she doesn’t start chasing me around the set, or try to kiss me, I guess it’s fine…”