Crackle, pop.
The sound of wood burning in the fireplace.
Faint sparks burst forth, quickly fading away.
Udon noodles are one of the most characteristic noodles of Inazuma. Their texture is between cut noodles and rice noodles, leaning towards softness. When paired with carefully prepared broth, they become a delicious noodle dish.
In winter, they're served in hot soup; in summer, they're eaten cold. Cold udon can be dipped in a thick sauce called "めんつゆ" (noodle sauce).
The most classic udon preparation can't do without beef and dashi broth. With slippery soft noodles and rich sauce, when visiting Inazuma, you must try a bowl of beef udon from the outlying islands.
Seino gently kneaded the dough, his steady index finger pressing slowly into the center of the dough ball.
Behind him, the fox lady, with her two fox ears perked up, held a cup of fragrant tea, kneeling quietly on a cushion, waiting with slight anticipation.
Then there's tofu.
Fried tofu, pan-fried tofu, spicy tofu - Inazuma has many tofu restaurants, but the most famous, with the most exquisite craftsmanship, is the tofu made by the Pillar General himself in the Pillar General's mansion.
There's a story behind this.
In his early years, when the Pillar General was still a wandering samurai, poor and destitute, he opened a fried tofu shop at the foot of the Narukami Grand Shrine. Those who tasted it praised it endlessly, and it was deeply loved by all. People who came to pray at the shrine, after making their wishes and burning incense, would have to eat a bowl of hot fried tofu before leaving for their journey to be complete.
The clean fragrance of tofu, its refreshing taste, had already mingled with the faint scent of incense rising from the shrine, becoming an inseparable part of Inazuma's nostalgic atmosphere.
No matter where people from Inazuma go, eating a bite of fried tofu makes them smell home.
Now the Pillar General no longer runs the shop, but his skills haven't diminished. For all the high officials of Inazuma, if they're fortunate enough to eat a bite of the Pillar General's tofu from his mansion, it's truly an honor for several lifetimes.
Washing the pot, cutting vegetables, preparing seasonings.
The firewood burned quietly, and as Seino watched the flames flickering in the cold sky, his heart also swayed gently.
His five hundred years of life had long since blended with this land...
Really.
How could he bear to part from it?
The flames burned quietly.
A sting.
Seino looked at his fingertip with some surprise.
A shallow cut appeared on the pad of his finger, blood seeped out, dripping onto the cutting board, staining the clean tofu with a mixed red hue.
Ah.
He laughed dryly.
He really was getting old, no use denying it,
He had used knives for hundreds of years, yet today he was cut by one.
"Be careful, you old fellow."
The fox lady's voice appeared behind him.
Seino turned his head. Yae Miko tilted her head slightly, leaning on his shoulder, her light purple earrings glittering in the firelight, a few strands of soft long hair on Seino's neck.
It was a bit itchy.
"Tch." The great Pillar General Seino felt his dignity was being challenged. He clicked his tongue, stubbornly insisting, "Women shouldn't meddle in cooking! Just wait on the side."
"You're bleeding," said the fox lady.
"No, I'm not," Seino lied blatantly.
"I remember the first time I saw you," the fox lady mused. "It was snowing heavily, just like today. You had fainted from hunger in front of the shrine, so I brought you a few dried fish."
"A week later, you made a bowl of tofu noodles and placed it in the shrine's courtyard. Adding fried tofu to udon - it was actually your invention... Later, people called this dish 'Kitsune Udon'."
She gazed at the firelight, speaking of past events.
"Old man, you've forgotten this, haven't you? Your memory really is poor."
The firelight reflected on her fair, delicate profile as she teased, "What Pillar General, great hero, haha~ Poor memory when old, couldn't even afford food when young, you old fellow."
How impolite.
This stinky fox.
"Stop meddling!"
Seino snorted heavily.
"Just wait over there, don't disturb my cooking."
"You're bleeding."
Seino grew somewhat annoyed. He knew he was old, he knew he wasn't capable anymore, he knew he couldn't even cut vegetables properly, but he didn't want it to be like this, he also...
A slight cool sensation came from his palm.
"Hey."
The fox lady's hand was very cool. She took Seino's right hand - the right hand whose wound had not yet healed.
Then, an even cooler, softer sensation came from his fingertips, moist and soothing, very gentle, ticklish.
The fox lady's tongue gently scraped Seino's wound. She lowered her eyes, meticulous and serious. More than a fox, she looked like a little cat licking its companion's wound.
She really was like a little cat, an elegant pink cat: whether it was her pink long hair, or her deep purple eyes, or even her current posture, slightly raised on her slender toes, body leaning slightly forward, holding Seino's right hand.
— She looked just like a cat licking a small dried fish.
Her tongue moved along his finger joints, reaching the fingertip seeping with blood, gentle and slow.
Her warm, moist breath scattered into a light layer of mist.
It fell on Seino's skin, very humid.
The world after the first snow was so quiet, the creeping vines growing wildly outside the window. This moment seemed exceptionally long.
Through the wooden window, one could see that the snow had completely dissipated, the sun had begun to rise, the red-tinged clouds that had dyed half the sky at dawn had also retracted their color, and heavy clouds were piled up on the snowy mountain ranges at the horizon.
"Fox saliva can stop bleeding."
Her voice was soft, tickling Seino's ears, also itchy.
"Stop pretending to be strong," said the fox lady, her voice as light as snow falling to the ground. "You need to live for a few more years, a few more decades, otherwise this Shrine Maiden's efforts to save you would have been in vain."
...
Seino withdrew his right hand. He stared at the cutting board and said, "It'll be ready soon, wait a moment."
Seino prepared this meal very carefully.
Warm broth, with thin, pale yellow noodles floating in it, a few tender white cabbage leaves sunk to the bottom of the bowl, and the softer, yellowish fried tofu placed on top of the noodles. At the very top were a few grains of fresh green scallions.
Simple and clean.
In this cold air of early winter, the two bowls of noodles emitted a thin, faint, warm steam, most comforting to the heart.
When the fox lady ate the noodles, her long, narrow eyes curved happily, her ears drooping comfortably. One hand held the chopsticks with noodles, the other propped up her cheek. It was evident - she was eating with great pleasure.
A happy diner is the highest praise for a cook.
Seino quietly observed this scene. Perhaps many years later, when he was no longer himself, he would still remember,
On a clear morning after heavy snow, recalling this bowl of 'Kitsune Udon'.
—
After finishing the noodles, perhaps realizing that what she had done earlier was a bit embarrassing, the fox lady snorted a few times, mocked Seino a bit more, commenting that the noodles were barely passable - she never admitted defeat verbally - and then hastily bid farewell and left.
She pushed open the door and walked out quickly.
The fox lady felt her heart beating a bit fast.
The shrine maiden 'Gyoufuu Ringo' was quietly waiting in the guest room.
Seeing the Shrine Maiden come out, she patted her miko outfit and stood up. "Shrine Maiden, did you give it to him?"
What the shrine maiden referred to was a fluffy white scarf, soft to the touch, very warm and comfortable when wrapped around the neck.
Ringo was actually very surprised. To weave this scarf, the usually lazy and proud Shrine Maiden had humbly asked them, the shrine maidens, for guidance. Who knows how many times she failed, how many times she started over, until she finally finished weaving this scarf before winter set in.
However.
It's been a week into winter, and she still hasn't given it to him!
Hearing the shrine maiden's words, the fox lady's ears perked up. She clicked her tongue lightly, waved her hand, and said irritably:
"This Shrine Maiden just fears that old fellow might freeze to death!"
Ringo's gaze grew more suspicious.
"Next time, next time... definitely next time,"
She left the mansion without looking back, as if escaping, concluding, "Anyway, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future!"