MAKING BREAKFAST

“Since I’m already here, who wants a delicious warm breakfast?”

Both Ito-san and Kogami tasted her cooked meal before. While Ito-san was lucky enough to eat multiple times in the past, Kogami ate yesterday. No one of them said “no” to her.

Nanami was happy with their decisions. She went to the kitchen humming a popular Japanese pop song.

After a while, Kogami went to the kitchen. He watched her chop tofu.

“Do you need help? I can help you chop vegetables,” he offered.

Nanami paused and looked at her. “Would you like to? It’ll be quicker if you do.”

“Sure.” Kogami rolled up his olive green sleeves.

Nanami passed him some eggplant, mushroom and green onions. She only showed him once how to chop them and then went on to prepare the miso soup.

After leaving the miso soup on the stove to cook, she prepped the spinach and komatsuna for ohitashi, a Japanese vegetable dish.

She looked at Kogami for a second to see how he was doing and then burst into laughter.

Kogami halted and raised his head.

Nanami wiped her tears and said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed. Is this the first time you are chopping vegetables?”

Kogami swept his eyes over the vegetables he chopped and then Nanami’s. After that, he compared both of their works.

“I believe I’m doing better than I thought I would,” he declared.

Nanami raised an eyebrow. Then, she looked at his artwork again.

Not a single piece was evenly chopped. Some were bigger and some were shorter, making it look like a child’s handiwork.

Nanami was a perfectionist when it came to food. She couldn’t stand the unevenly chopped vegetables.

“How about you wash the rice while I take care of the vegetables?” she suggested.

Kogami looked at her and asked, “Do you not like it?”

For some reason, Nanami thought that his gaze was too sharp as if he was trying to read her mind.

Not wanting to hurt his feelings she averted her gaze.

"No way! You did a great job for a first-timer. I'll just give them a finishing touch if you don't mind."

"..."

As if Kogami could read her mind, he put the knife down and went to wash the rice.

Nanami was relieved. She managed to slice the pieces properly and cooked the rest of the meal.

Kogami stayed in the kitchen and watched her cook like a professional chef.

“How long have you been cooking?” he asked.

“Hmm…” Nanami tried to remember. “I think I’ve been cooking for three years. My tongue always craves delicious food. So, I practiced until I could master the dishes I usually eat.”

“You are good at it. Have you ever thought of becoming a professional chef?”

Nanami was pleased to hear the compliment. She was used to listening to praises for her cooking but after hearing it from such a handsome man, she felt unexpectedly better.

She said, “Thank you for your compliment. As for your question, the answer is ‘no’. Cooking is just a hobby. I don’t want to turn it into a profession.”

“I see.”

They both fell silent. The spacious kitchen seemed too quiet. It made Nanami feel uncomfortable.

Therefore, she picked a random topic to talk about.

“You went out yesterday. Did you like roaming around the city? What do you think of Takayama?”

“Breathtaking. It’s peaceful as well,” Kogami commented without giving her a hint of where he went yesterday.

Nanami replied, “This is the safest place in the world, I tell you.”

There was a hint of pride in her voice. Kogami was quick to catch it.

“Is that so? When I went out, I heard something crazy. The safest place you called just now, there had been a murder,” he said.

Nanami was making tamagoyaki, a delicious breakfast egg dish that was also called egg roll in some places.

Her hands paused when she heard him. “So, you heard.”

“What was the name of the woman again?” Kogami pretended to remember.

“Akira,” Nanami stated.

“Oh, yes. Did she live around here?” Kogami probed to continue this topic.

Nanami regretted starting the conversation. She didn’t want to talk about dead people in the morning while preparing breakfast.

She reluctantly replied, “Close. Everyone knew her. She was amicable. I liked her son more. It’s heartbreaking what happened to them. They didn’t deserve it.”

Kogami noticed her discomfort. “I’m sorry I brought up this gruesome topic in the morning.”

Nanami tried not to show she cared.

“No, it’s fine. It’s normal for people to get curious. At school, everyone spoke about it.”

“Your friend from yesterday mentioned something to me. She said that she walked past that house that fateful night.”

“Did she?!”

Nanami turned around and looked at him. She was surprised.

“That’s what she told me. Do you think she noticed anything the day the people were murdered?” Kogami inquired.

Nanami was confused. “I don’t know. She never mentioned anything to me.”

Nanami’s friend lived two blocks away from that house and she was late going home that night. It wouldn’t be impossible for her to notice something.

Kogami strongly believed that Sakura knew something.

“Is that so?” He narrowed his eyes. His head was working like a roller-coaster.

“Strange, I didn’t hear anything about it,” Nanami muttered. “Why didn’t she mention it to me? She always shares everything with me.”

Kogami thought of something and then abruptly asked, “Do you think she might have witnessed the murderer?”

Nanami was bewildered. “Huh?! I can’t believe it! Is that even possible?”

“Why not? Anything can be possible.” Kogami shrugged.

‘Why isn’t she worried about her friend?’ he wondered.

Soon, he realized why she wasn’t worried at all.

Nanami said, “That will be so cool! Facing a murderer! Just like a movie.”

“…”

Kogami was speechless.

Then again, he shouldn’t have expected so much from a school kid.

“…It’s a reality and she might be in danger,” he stated.

“Oh yeah, she could be.” Nanami’s excitement died.

A few seconds later, she tried to think positively.

She said, “But she knows karate so no criminal is a match for her.”

“Does she now?” Kogami acted like he was surprised.

The first time he met Sakura, she threw him a high kick. From that one move he knew that she knew karate.

“Oh, you don’t know about Sakura-chan. She has a black belt,” Nanami proudly boasted about her friend. “Moreover, I don’t think anything will happen to her.”

“Why not?”