Shift Arakawa/Wanting to Be Relied Upon

Special Homemade Udon Noodles

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Izumi	(These are all the documents I’ll need for the next meeting, and I think I’m done compiling the surveys too.)
	Is it still noon? I should go out and get something good to eat today.
	I’m really craving some curry udon for some reason...
	Come to think of it, there’s a good udon shop somewhere around here. Alright, let’s go to that udon place for lunch today!
Clerk	Welcome~
Izumi	Good afternoon.
???	Ah! Director-saaan!
Izumi	Hm?
	Shift-kun! Talk about a coincidence.
Shift	Right~
	Oh, you can sit next to me if you want!
Izumi	Thanks. I’ll take you up on that.
	Shift-kun, do you come to this udon shop often?
Shift	It’s a long way, isn’t it? I ordered some croquette udon today, and it’s real delicious. It’s got my no. 1 seal of approval.
Izumi	Heh, I see. You’re right, it does look delicious....
Clerk	Are you ready to order?
Izumi	Oh, yes. I’d like some curry udon, please.
Shift	What, but isn’t croquette udon the trend nowadays!?
Izumi	Ahaha, sorry, sorry.
	I was in the mood for some curry udon today.
Shift	Well, I guess I also crave those every now and again.
	But you should definitely try the croquette udon next time! It’s really good.
Izumi	Sure, I’ll keep it in mind!
Clerk	Sorry for the wait.
	Croquette udon and curry udon fresh from the kitchen.
Shift	Let’s dig in, thank you for the food.
Izumi	Thank you for the food.
Shift	..... Hm! It’s so good!
Izumi	The udon here really must be top-tier.
	I tried to make my own udon before, but I couldn’t get it to be firm like these ones.
Shift	Ooh.... director-san, a fellow person of culture! You can’t just get this kind of firmness at home, y’know?
	I mean, you did make your own udon noodles, right?
Izumi	Yup, that’s right.
Shift	For real!? I was actually thinking of making some homemade udon today.
	I usually heat up some frozen udon, but I want to make something for my little bro and for my mom who’s always home late from work.
	That’s why I’d like to ask a favor from you, director-san.
Izumi	From me?
Shift	Can we make some udon noodles together?
	I’d like to get advice from director-san since you’ve made authentic homemade udon before!
Izumi	Is it really authentic...? You know I just followed a recipe, right?
Shift	Well, no, but I’m sure you can do better than me, it’d be great if you can teach me a lot.
Shift	Director-san, I’m gonna need your powers! Please!
Izumi	(Well, I’m done with my work for the day, I don’t have any plans after this, so...... Oh fine.)
	Okay then, I’ll lend you a hand.
Shift	Alright! Thanks!
	Let’s head to the store after we finish eating the udon!

Shift	Now that we’ve brought all the ingredients from the supermarket, we should start making the udon right away don’t you think?
	Oh right, I should invite Azami over to help out.
Izumi	Azami-kun?
Shift	He complains but he helps a lot.
Izumi	Fufu, I think I get what you mean.
Shift Director-san's with me making udon, come on over and help us out!
Azami Huh? Director?
Shift We’re waiting~
Azami Alright
Shift You don’t need permission to enter the house by the way, it’s all good
Shift	Well, looks like Azami will be here soon.
Izumi	Then, let’s get things ready while we wait for him.
	Put the dough in the bag and... Shift-kun, could you knead on these with your feet?
Shift	Ooh! Sounds like fun!
	Alright, like this...?
Izumi	Mhmm.
Azami	That was tiring.
Shift	Oh, you’re finally here~
Azami	You weren’t kidding, director’s actually here....
Shift	I told you so.
Azami	I got a DM from Shift earlier, he was a pain in the ass and didn’t go into all the details.
Izumi	Ahaha, actually...
Azami	I get it. Shift’s troubling you, isn’t he, Director?
Izumi	No, it’s no trouble at all.
Shift	You heard her!
	Director-san's just acting as my advisor for now.
Azami	Don’t tell me that when you’re the one who got her into this.
	...So, what am I supposed to do?
Shift	You can help us out with stepping on the udon dough with me first.
Azami	Shift looks like he’s got this one, if you ask me.
Izumi	Ah, it gets firmer the more you step on it, it’ll be faster if you two worked together.
Shift	That’s what I’m trying to say, so come on already.
Azami	Guess I got no choice...
	*Approaches Shift to help*
Shift	E-easy does it.
Azami	Am I even doing this right?
Shift	Yeah, that’s it! Director-san, can you snap a pic of us stepping on the dough with my phone?
Azami	Why the hell do you even want a picture of us like this?
Shift	Nothing wrong with saving up memories, right?
Izumi	That’s right!
	Okay, say cheese―
	Yup, that was a nice shot.
Shift	If you say so!
	I’m gonna send that to Haruto-san and Madoka later.
Azami	How about you don’t.
Shift	Time to cut the noodles... is this thick enough?
Azami	Doesn’t matter, they’re all uneven.
Shift	Oh well, as long as it tastes good.
Izumi	Okay, it’s done. You can boil them once your mom comes home.
Shift	Got it! Director-san, thanks for sticking with me till the end.
Izumi	You’re welcome.
Shift	Thanks to director-san, I think I was able to do a pretty good job!
CHOICE 1: Glad I could help. [+] Izumi I’m glad I could help you. Shift Director-san's advice was easy to understand. And you were pretty good with what you were doing too. Azami She screws up a lot in our dorms, though. Izumi Azami-kun, hey! Shift Ahahah! I knew it! Director-san you’re real funny! I wanna talk some more with director-san! Let’s go to the udon shop together again. Izumi Sure! I’m up for it.
CHOICE 2: I had fun with it, too. [+] Izumi I had fun with it, too. Shift Same here! I’d love to make other dishes with you when I get the chance. Izumi Sure, why not. Shift Nice! I’m looking forward to it! I’ll be back to visit you again at the MANKAI dorms.
Shift	Thanks for helping out too, Azami.
Azami	It’s nothing.
Shift	We made a lot, so I’ll share some with director-san. We can’t eat it all by ourselves.
Izumi	Then I’ll take it, thank you very much. We’ll have curry udon for dinner.
Shift	If you’re gonna go through all the trouble, why not make croquette udon instead?
Izumi	Hmmm, but I can’t be separated from curry....
Azami	Oi, don’t tell me both of you had udon for lunch......

Adriemori