starter for @ephemerecloud !!!
Flour dusts her nose and cheeks as Haru kneads the soft dough, enjoying its warm solidness beneath her palms. This one is for brioche, a light and buttery French bun, and the amount of kneading she did was crucial to producing its slight puff.
“Oh, Haru-chan, I’m glad you could make it in today.”
Mikoto-obaa-san, the kindly old lady who runs Namimori’s best bakery (in Haru’s opinion, at least), shakes her head worriedly. “All those robberies lately, it’s so concerning. They got Takigawa-san’s soba shop last week, can you imagine that? Why would anyone want to break into a noodle shop?”
“It’s certainly confusing,” Haru agrees, hands not pausing in their work. “And leaving behind notes written with archaic symbols? No wonder the police are stumped.”
Mikoto-obaa-san sighs. “Such things have never happened in Namimori, not in the 75 years that I’ve lived here. Hopefully the new baker I hired won’t be scared away by the sudden spike in crime.”
“A new baker?” Haru inquires, tearing her eyes away from her dough for the first time. She dusts her hands off and moves to stand by Mikoto-obaa-san, who was scanning the busy streets of Namimori’s downtown.
“Yes, he’s all the way from France.” Mikoto-obaa-san’s eyes gleamed. “He comes highly recommended from one of the top culinary schools in Europe, and Kami-sama knows we could use the extra help around here.”
“So cool, desu!” Haru was beginning to say, but Mikoto-obaa-san shushed her noisily. “Look, I think that’s him!” Moments later, a tall figure pushed open the cheerfully decorated glass door of Marigold Bakery and stepped inside. Though Haru was sure she had never seen him before, he felt oddly familiar somehow.
Hibari-san! That’s it, he reminds Haru of Hibari-san!
Hopefully he’d only bite the pastries to death.