A/N: This will be a side mini-series about Kevin and Vali trying to create the ultimate noodles. I thought it would be funny since both of them are canon noodle lovers.
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Vali absolutely loved noodles.
The texture, the taste, its versatility—the concept of the food itself amazed him.
But above all, it was the first meal Otto had ever made for him and the first meal he ever ate where he hadn't needed to worry about getting beaten up soon after by Rizevim.
To him, noodles weren't just food; they were an important piece of his life.
That's why he had dedicated his free time to researching how to elevate noodles to a higher plane, a level that no one had ever reached before! But to do that, he needed two things: the first was money, which Vali didn't lack. The second was cooking skills—thankfully, he had Otto to teach him the ways of cooking.
After long and grueling training, he began his search for the Ultimate Noodles.
And he still is.
"And a little bit of this and a little bit of that," Vali said, his hands masterfully moving around the kitchen as he added ingredients to the noodles.
He was currently in Hyperion's cutting-edge kitchen, where he would spend most of his time cooking and researching. Seeing that the noodles were close to finishing, he decided to take a taste.
Grabbing a spoon, he used it to drink some of the broth.
He was unsatisfied, incredibly so.
The taste, the warmth—it was all wrong.
It didn't give him the same feeling Otto's noodles gave him.
"Tch!" Vali clicked his tongue in annoyance.
*Zoom*
The door to the kitchen opened, and a handsome white-haired boy walked in, sniffing the air like a dog.
"Kevin?" Vali was surprised to see him here.
Usually, he would either be in the specialized containment room getting his ass whooped by others in the name of "training" or hanging out with the rest of the Flame Chaser team in the lounge room.
"Vali?" Kevin was equally surprised to see him here. To begin with, the only reason he was here was because he was enchanted by the incredible smell of noodles he had smelled along the way.
Kevin subconsciously decided to track down the incredible smell and ended up here.
"Do you need something?" Vali asked.
Kevin visibly gulped as he looked at the pot filled with the heavenly-smelling noodles.
"Ah..." Vali now realized what was happening—Kevin was a noodle enthusiast just like himself.
"Want some?" Vali lifted the ladle filled with noodle broth.
Kevin nodded his head eagerly, completely out of his usual character.
Just like Vali, Kevin was also a noodle enthusiast. Usually, he would eat cup noodles and packet noodles. The only time he went out to a restaurant for a proper bowl was when he got his allowance at the orphanage.
Although that did change after he joined Schicksal, the paycheck he got each month was more than enough to eat the good kind of noodles.
But the ones Vali made—they were different.
Unlike the expensive stuff he usually ate, the smell alone coming from the pot was tantalizing him to no end.
As Kevin sat down, Vali presented a bowl of ramen noodles to him.
Picking up his chopsticks, Kevin took his first bite.
"Mhh~" Kevin moaned softly as the burst of flavor assaulted his tongue. It was unlike anything he had tasted before.
After the first bite came the second, then the third, then the fourth—he continued until he realized there were no more.
He had completely finished the noodles.
Vali, on the side, smiled gently, happy that Kevin enjoyed his noodles. "Did you enjoy them?" Vali asked.
Kevin nodded vigorously, wanting more of what Vali served him.
Vali sighed in relief at Kevin's genuine reply. Lately, he had been feeling less and less confident in his noodle skills due to not getting close to the ultimate noodles he wanted to create, so Kevin's compliment made him feel better.
"Is that so? I didn't think you would like those noodles," Vali said.
"What?!" Kevin exclaimed in surprise, showing more emotion than he had ever shown anyone outside the Flame Chasers.
He couldn't believe that Vali could say such a thing—after all, they were some of the best noodles he had ever had in his life.
Vali nodded, confirming that the noodles he made weren't good by "his standard."
A silence followed. "Can they be better?" Kevin asked.
"Yes, but... I don't know how," Vali admitted. He didn't know how to make them better or at least how to replicate Otto's noodles.
"Maybe you're missing something?" Kevin suggested.
"Perhaps, but..."
"We can ask Otto," Kevin proposed. If anyone would know how to make the food better, it would definitely be Otto.
Vali went silent for a bit, thinking about the proposal. This whole time, Vali had never asked for Otto's help, wanting to do things on his own. The last time he ever asked Otto for help was when he was first taught how to make noodles.
"Alright, let's ask," Vali finally agreed.
-Scene Change-
"You want to make your noodles better?" Otto repeated Vali's question.
From the beginning, Otto had put a lot of effort and investment into Vali's noodle journey.
But despite that, Vali had never asked for help, so him asking for help pleasantly surprised Otto.
"Hmm... maybe you can try an exotic ingredient?" Otto suggested.
"No, I've already tried all of them," Vali replied. He had already tried using and implementing exotic and rare ingredients into his noodles.
Otto chuckled softly as he turned around, grabbing a book from his office shelf.
Opening its cover, Otto stopped at a page with a certain drawing on it.
"The Peach of Immortality," Otto presented the picture of the legendary fruit to Kevin and Vali.
"...Why didn't I think of that!" Vali suddenly shouted, startling both Otto and Kevin.
He had tried countless combinations, with both common and exotic ingredients, but he had never used LEGENDARY ingredients!
A thin smile crossed Otto's lips. "Well, it seems like you both are going to have a journey to the West for those peaches. You should take Bikou with you since he's a descendant of Sun Wukong," Otto recommended, earning an eager nod from both of them.
It looked like they had a long journey ahead—a journey to create the ULTIMATE NOODLES!