**
Ingredients:
2-4 Boneless pork chops
8oz can of pineapple juice
8oz soy sauce
1tsp minced garlic
1-small can pineapple chunks
1 medium can Chinese vegetables
1 small bag frozen stir fry vegetables
Directions:
Cut pork chops into bite size pieces and place in bowl with soy sauce, pineapple juice and minced garlic to marinade for one-half hour
While the meat is marinating start rice or noodles as preferred.
Once meat has marinated, brown in an oiled skillet before adding the vegetables and pineapple chunks, (all drained/thawed).
Mix contents of pan thoroughly and heat through until the pork is cooked through and the vegetables are warmed but still crunchy. (can be cooked until vegetables are soft if necessary but not recommended)
Serve with or over rice/noodles as preferred.
**
I could hear Taylor’s father coming down as I slipped out the back door of her house and then out the side of her back yard. They needed to have some time together and my pork stir-fry recipe was just enough for two, maybe three depending on how big a portion you took. That said though, between my time talking with Mayumi this morning and helping Taylor cook this afternoon, I was feeling a bit nostalgic. So instead of waiting and catching the bus back toward downtown and the PRT building, I caught the first one that came along, the one that headed deeper into the docks and toward the local Asian community center.
One of the things about Brockton Bay that I liked was that the bus system was considered neutral territory. Almost everyone here needed the busses to get around, at least unless you lived within walking distance of where you worked, and even then, it helped. That said, because practically everyone used the busses, no one could afford for fights to break out on them, thus the transit peace was agreed to, the first rule being that you did NOT start anything, nor drag anything onto a bus. Busses were for quiet and peaceful travel so that the people on them could get where they needed to go. Gang members who had been glaring daggers of hate at each other moments before, had been reported helping the other remove problems from the busses, and short of outside interference, they were probably the one safe place in the city for everyone.
Riding toward the area where the Asian community had centered, I watched the docks degrade further and further. This was considered Merchant territory for the most part, an area of town so run down that even squatters were few and far between, the only people that spent time out here were scrappers and those to high to care where they laid their heads. Slowly they turned bad, and then almost as slowly, they improved again as the bus trundled into occupied and habitable territory.
As the bus turned the corner to head back east in its meandering journey, I found myself looking on something you would expect in New York or San Francisco’s Chinatown areas, that is, if Chinatown had gone by way of Las Vegas. Neon signs were everywhere, as were people moving around, and as the bus came to its first stop, I found myself filing off with the rest of the passengers, if for no other reason than to wonder around.
**
I honestly couldn’t believe what I was looking at, there was no way in all the possible hells that this was here, and yet I was standing in front of the shop looking at the sign that declared its name. “The Cat Café” was a Nerima staple and had been since the early 80’s when a Chinese exchange student had talked her grandmother into coming over with her to Tokyo and setting up shop. Sometime after that, after the second Chinese civil war and the destruction, (or maybe absorption) of the communist party into the Chinese Imperial Union, the group known only as the Chinese Amazons had become refugees. This is one of the many places Lung earned his reputation, helping the women warriors of the Amazons hold off the Imperial army, the Yangban and another tribal group known only as “the Musk” while first their non-combatants, followed by their leaders and the rest of the tribe, evacuated. Most passed through Hong Kong and Singapore to ships which carried them elsewhere in the world. A handful, or more accurately an extended family group, came through Tokyo, to The Cat Café and Elder Ka Lon.
*Eight years prior- Nerima, Japan**
“Greetings young ones,” the old woman said as we walked into the café. The elder was a bit shorter than I was, old, wrinkled, and tottered around with a cane, and yet she was still somehow fast on her fast on her feet as she served steaming hot bowls of ramen and other food. “Have a seat and tell this old lady what she can get for you.”
“One Wrecking crew sized serving of pork ramen please,” Mayumi said as she laid down our combined money. Weeding her aunts flower beds and scrubbing the slime out of mister green turtle’s pond had been hot, tiring work, but well worth the yen it had earned us to get this treat.
The elder looked at the coinage and sighed, “I’m sorry girls, but that’s not quite enough,” she said solemnly. “Costs have gone up recently and I had to raise my prices to compensate. I can give you a regular bowl for that much with some change back…” she trailed off knowing the problem that this particular solution caused.
“But one regular serving isn’t enough for both of us,” I said softly. “Is there someway to earn the money to make up the difference?”
The elder pulled out her pipe and chewed on the stem for a moment, (she had quit smoking a few years before but the habit of chewing on the stem while thinking still persisted,) and then spoke. “Come with me girls, I know you planned on eating first, but maybe a couple of chores for me can earn you each a bowl outright.” Scooping up our money Mayumi and I followed, we would spend the next couple of hours doing dishes and scrubbing various implements, apparently being judged by the elder as we worked. The next week I ended up starting to work for the café, learning the Amazon style of martial arts by doing so, and giving the elder’s granddaughter the ability to learn how to teach in the Amazon style.”
**Now**
Stepping into this Cat Café was like stepping into the one in Nerima, tables and booths covered the floor and at the back stood the kitchen window that the bowls would generally come flying out of at something close to mach speed. Off to one side of the window was a small hallway where the restrooms and the door to the kitchen were, while right next to the door sat a small hostess/waitress station. “Hello,” the girl standing there said as I walked in. “Are you alone?” she asked, and I nodded looking around at the people in the shop. “And will this be dine-in or carry-out?” she continued. The place was about half full and as I opened my mouth to answer, a familiar voice snapped something out in Mandarin causing the girl to break into action.
Five bowls flew in quick succession out of the kitchen window towards one of the tables, but the girl was already moving to intercept, catching and laying out four of them in quick succession. She had apparently missed the fifth bowl however, and I found myself reacting to it, catching it just shy of hitting her in the back of the head, tucking it close and spinning to bleed off it’s momentum so that it didn’t spill. Looking at it I asked the group at the table, “Who had the fully loaded pork?”
**
Once the bowl was handed over to the customer I walked over to the window and called in through it, “Oi, you almost lost your server with that last bowl.”
“Then she need pay better attention,” a familiar voice replied before stepping around into the window. “I know you,” the lilac haired woman said looking at me. “Where I know you from?”
I smiled, “Elder Xian Pu,” I said switching to Japanese and bowing. “You know me from Nerima, you helped train me under Elder Ka Lon”
She looked at me, obviously thinking back over the years before her eyes widened in shock. “You are Mayumi’s friend, the fast learner,” she said suddenly and I nodded. “What is your name though, I can’t remember?”
“Akane, elder.” I answered.
She nodded, obviously committing the name to memory, “Alright, but what are you doing here?” she asked.
“Getting some dinner for me and my aunt,” I answered. “With what I’ve done today and the late night I had last night I figured that a touch of home that my aunt can not only identify but enjoy would be welcome.”
“No,” she said and then paused, “I mean obviously I can handle that, but what are you doing in Brockton Bay?”
I could see she wanted to ask where my mother was but wasn’t going to push on that at the moment, still she needed an answer, which an honest one would cover mom just as well. “There was an accident while mom was heading home last month, she didn’t survive.” I said softly. “Aunt Emily was my last surviving relative, so I came here to live with her.”
The elder disappeared from the window, her voice calling out a command in Mandarin even as she headed around the wall and came through the kitchen door a second later and wrapped me up in a hug. It felt good to be held honestly and I hugged her back all the same. “Why didn’t you stay with Nabiki or Ran,” she asked, “both of them would have been happy to take you in.”
“Mayumi and I had just broken up,” I said, causing the Amazon to put me at arms-length and look at me. “It wouldn’t have been right to put either of us through that, so I came here to live with my father’s sister.”
“You and Mayumi were?” the question was left hanging there because of course no one had told the Amazon.
“We were dating,” I answered more calmly than I felt. “For about two-years, then there was an incident where I protected her, but then everything went to hell because when I protected her and the rest of the plane’s occupants, I scared the hell out of everyone there.”
“What did you do?” she asked.
“What I had to,” I replied, “they were going to hurt people, probably were going to rape Mayumi, and I gutted that one like a fish with his own knife.” The last came out in a growl as I remembered tricking the man into the planes bathroom and then using his own knife on him. “When they pulled us out, I was covered in his blood and unrepentant about anything I had done.”
Xian Pu looked me in the eyes and nodded, “Good,” she said coldly, “such things are to be done when necessary and put behind you. Now, what do you and your Aunt want to eat.”
“Beef Bowls,” I said smiling at the subject change. “Wrecking Crew size for me, but a regular for her, and don’t spare the daikon.”
The Amazon Elder nodded and called back the order in Mandarin to whoever they had cooking before sitting me down at a nearby table. “So tell me, what has been going on with you?” she asked, and I spent the time between then and when the order came out telling her what had happened in the last eight years.
**
Ingredients:
2-4 Boneless pork chops
8oz can of pineapple juice
8oz soy sauce
1tsp minced garlic
1-small can pineapple chunks
1 medium can Chinese vegetables
1 small bag frozen stir fry vegetables
Directions:
Cut pork chops into bite size pieces and place in bowl with soy sauce, pineapple juice and minced garlic to marinade for one-half hour
While the meat is marinating start rice or noodles as preferred.
Once meat has marinated, brown in an oiled skillet before adding the vegetables and pineapple chunks, (all drained/thawed).
Mix contents of pan thoroughly and heat through until the pork is cooked through and the vegetables are warmed but still crunchy. (can be cooked until vegetables are soft if necessary but not recommended)
Serve with or over rice/noodles as preferred.
**
I could hear Taylor’s father coming down as I slipped out the back door of her house and then out the side of her back yard. They needed to have some time together and my pork stir-fry recipe was just enough for two, maybe three depending on how big a portion you took. That said though, between my time talking with Mayumi this morning and helping Taylor cook this afternoon, I was feeling a bit nostalgic. So instead of waiting and catching the bus back toward downtown and the PRT building, I caught the first one that came along, the one that headed deeper into the docks and toward the local Asian community center.
One of the things about Brockton Bay that I liked was that the bus system was considered neutral territory. Almost everyone here needed the busses to get around, at least unless you lived within walking distance of where you worked, and even then, it helped. That said, because practically everyone used the busses, no one could afford for fights to break out on them, thus the transit peace was agreed to, the first rule being that you did NOT start anything, nor drag anything onto a bus. Busses were for quiet and peaceful travel so that the people on them could get where they needed to go. Gang members who had been glaring daggers of hate at each other moments before, had been reported helping the other remove problems from the busses, and short of outside interference, they were probably the one safe place in the city for everyone.
Riding toward the area where the Asian community had centered, I watched the docks degrade further and further. This was considered Merchant territory for the most part, an area of town so run down that even squatters were few and far between, the only people that spent time out here were scrappers and those to high to care where they laid their heads. Slowly they turned bad, and then almost as slowly, they improved again as the bus trundled into occupied and habitable territory.
As the bus turned the corner to head back east in its meandering journey, I found myself looking on something you would expect in New York or San Francisco’s Chinatown areas, that is, if Chinatown had gone by way of Las Vegas. Neon signs were everywhere, as were people moving around, and as the bus came to its first stop, I found myself filing off with the rest of the passengers, if for no other reason than to wonder around.
**
I honestly couldn’t believe what I was looking at, there was no way in all the possible hells that this was here, and yet I was standing in front of the shop looking at the sign that declared its name. “The Cat Café” was a Nerima staple and had been since the early 80’s when a Chinese exchange student had talked her grandmother into coming over with her to Tokyo and setting up shop. Sometime after that, after the second Chinese civil war and the destruction, (or maybe absorption) of the communist party into the Chinese Imperial Union, the group known only as the Chinese Amazons had become refugees. This is one of the many places Lung earned his reputation, helping the women warriors of the Amazons hold off the Imperial army, the Yangban and another tribal group known only as “the Musk” while first their non-combatants, followed by their leaders and the rest of the tribe, evacuated. Most passed through Hong Kong and Singapore to ships which carried them elsewhere in the world. A handful, or more accurately an extended family group, came through Tokyo, to The Cat Café and Elder Ka Lon.
*Eight years prior- Nerima, Japan**
“Greetings young ones,” the old woman said as we walked into the café. The elder was a bit shorter than I was, old, wrinkled, and tottered around with a cane, and yet she was still somehow fast on her fast on her feet as she served steaming hot bowls of ramen and other food. “Have a seat and tell this old lady what she can get for you.”
“One Wrecking crew sized serving of pork ramen please,” Mayumi said as she laid down our combined money. Weeding her aunts flower beds and scrubbing the slime out of mister green turtle’s pond had been hot, tiring work, but well worth the yen it had earned us to get this treat.
The elder looked at the coinage and sighed, “I’m sorry girls, but that’s not quite enough,” she said solemnly. “Costs have gone up recently and I had to raise my prices to compensate. I can give you a regular bowl for that much with some change back…” she trailed off knowing the problem that this particular solution caused.
“But one regular serving isn’t enough for both of us,” I said softly. “Is there someway to earn the money to make up the difference?”
The elder pulled out her pipe and chewed on the stem for a moment, (she had quit smoking a few years before but the habit of chewing on the stem while thinking still persisted,) and then spoke. “Come with me girls, I know you planned on eating first, but maybe a couple of chores for me can earn you each a bowl outright.” Scooping up our money Mayumi and I followed, we would spend the next couple of hours doing dishes and scrubbing various implements, apparently being judged by the elder as we worked. The next week I ended up starting to work for the café, learning the Amazon style of martial arts by doing so, and giving the elder’s granddaughter the ability to learn how to teach in the Amazon style.”
**Now**
Stepping into this Cat Café was like stepping into the one in Nerima, tables and booths covered the floor and at the back stood the kitchen window that the bowls would generally come flying out of at something close to mach speed. Off to one side of the window was a small hallway where the restrooms and the door to the kitchen were, while right next to the door sat a small hostess/waitress station. “Hello,” the girl standing there said as I walked in. “Are you alone?” she asked, and I nodded looking around at the people in the shop. “And will this be dine-in or carry-out?” she continued. The place was about half full and as I opened my mouth to answer, a familiar voice snapped something out in Mandarin causing the girl to break into action.
Five bowls flew in quick succession out of the kitchen window towards one of the tables, but the girl was already moving to intercept, catching and laying out four of them in quick succession. She had apparently missed the fifth bowl however, and I found myself reacting to it, catching it just shy of hitting her in the back of the head, tucking it close and spinning to bleed off it’s momentum so that it didn’t spill. Looking at it I asked the group at the table, “Who had the fully loaded pork?”
**
Once the bowl was handed over to the customer I walked over to the window and called in through it, “Oi, you almost lost your server with that last bowl.”
“Then she need pay better attention,” a familiar voice replied before stepping around into the window. “I know you,” the lilac haired woman said looking at me. “Where I know you from?”
I smiled, “Elder Xian Pu,” I said switching to Japanese and bowing. “You know me from Nerima, you helped train me under Elder Ka Lon”
She looked at me, obviously thinking back over the years before her eyes widened in shock. “You are Mayumi’s friend, the fast learner,” she said suddenly and I nodded. “What is your name though, I can’t remember?”
“Akane, elder.” I answered.
She nodded, obviously committing the name to memory, “Alright, but what are you doing here?” she asked.
“Getting some dinner for me and my aunt,” I answered. “With what I’ve done today and the late night I had last night I figured that a touch of home that my aunt can not only identify but enjoy would be welcome.”
“No,” she said and then paused, “I mean obviously I can handle that, but what are you doing in Brockton Bay?”
I could see she wanted to ask where my mother was but wasn’t going to push on that at the moment, still she needed an answer, which an honest one would cover mom just as well. “There was an accident while mom was heading home last month, she didn’t survive.” I said softly. “Aunt Emily was my last surviving relative, so I came here to live with her.”
The elder disappeared from the window, her voice calling out a command in Mandarin even as she headed around the wall and came through the kitchen door a second later and wrapped me up in a hug. It felt good to be held honestly and I hugged her back all the same. “Why didn’t you stay with Nabiki or Ran,” she asked, “both of them would have been happy to take you in.”
“Mayumi and I had just broken up,” I said, causing the Amazon to put me at arms-length and look at me. “It wouldn’t have been right to put either of us through that, so I came here to live with my father’s sister.”
“You and Mayumi were?” the question was left hanging there because of course no one had told the Amazon.
“We were dating,” I answered more calmly than I felt. “For about two-years, then there was an incident where I protected her, but then everything went to hell because when I protected her and the rest of the plane’s occupants, I scared the hell out of everyone there.”
“What did you do?” she asked.
“What I had to,” I replied, “they were going to hurt people, probably were going to rape Mayumi, and I gutted that one like a fish with his own knife.” The last came out in a growl as I remembered tricking the man into the planes bathroom and then using his own knife on him. “When they pulled us out, I was covered in his blood and unrepentant about anything I had done.”
Xian Pu looked me in the eyes and nodded, “Good,” she said coldly, “such things are to be done when necessary and put behind you. Now, what do you and your Aunt want to eat.”
“Beef Bowls,” I said smiling at the subject change. “Wrecking Crew size for me, but a regular for her, and don’t spare the daikon.”
The Amazon Elder nodded and called back the order in Mandarin to whoever they had cooking before sitting me down at a nearby table. “So tell me, what has been going on with you?” she asked, and I spent the time between then and when the order came out telling her what had happened in the last eight years.
**
Wolf wins every fight but the one where he dies, fangs locked around the throat of his opponent.
Currently writing BROBd
Currently writing BROBd