Disclaimer: Yakitate! Japan is the property of Hashiguchi Takashi; no disrespect is meant with the posting of this work. His paints, my easel.
Note: Takes place somewhere in the final pages of the last volume of the manga. Trying to aim for something that can actually be read without knowledge of the series, which maaay end up somewhat on the heavy-exposition-side of things.
The office of the president and owner of Pantasia was a spacious, borderline extravagant affair. Azusagawa Tsukino hadn't found much need for the plush furniture and expensive wall art that it had come with. She'd had the desk replaced with something more functional, replaced the pictures with portraits of her younger sister and their friends, and had the original wet-bar removed and replaced with a modest (but fully equipped) kitchen for baking.
In the time since winning the right to run the company in that amazing, globe-spanning baking duel -- won, really, by her most successful baker, Kazuma Azuma -- she'd done a lot of work. Only a small fraction of it had been remodeling that office. The greater bulk of it was helping Azuma establish Japan's national bread -- Azuma's fabulous ja-pan.
Looking back on things ... she had to admit to herself that she'd overcome more obstacles than she ever thought possible. She'd also seen and experienced things that most people wouldn't believe! While the world at large was mostly aware of Azuma's work in receiving the Nobel peace prize -- work that Tsukino was proud of him accomplishing as well -- the matter closer to her heart was the Monaco Cup.
More than simply winning the baking tournament -- and the eternal friendship of the crown prince of Monaco -- she remembered Azuma's gift from the queen of Monaco in recognition of his victory and service. She'd given Azuma the ring, and after securing the safety of the small bakery they had started from -- and much more -- that ring had been passed to her.
Oh, more often than not, Azuma seemed lost in daydreams, he was so focused on refining some baking technique, or devising a new bread. That was to be expected of the world's most legendary baker!
But he'd overcome every obstacle set before him, more than once just for her. And no matter how pronounced his love of baking, she had to think that there was slightly more to it than just that, even if he was remarkably evasive when it came time for a straight answer.
As one of her employees -- her most valued, certainly -- he wasn't in the ideal position to speak openly in the way she often hoped he would. He wasn't quite as forthcoming about some things as she thought he might want to be. Just a few days previously, when she'd gotten her college degree, he'd been there with the rest of their friends, cheering her on. And now that that was settled, she thought ... it really was time to move ahead.
He didn't need even a high school education, naturally; his baking was enough. She baked, too, though she knew her skill was negligible compared to his. Since she'd started spending more time in the kitchen when she could, she had even grown her hair out a little.
It was still short -- she had been told it was almost 'boyishly' so, which was ironic coming from her tomboy half-sister. It was a good, manageable length to have in a kitchen, though. Longer hair could be an obstacle, or would require a headband like the one she had given Azuma.
The headband he still wore.
That thought in mind, without any other obstacles in her path to overcome, she ran the tips of her fingers across the crest of the ring on her other hand.
Just like him, it was time for her to rise to the occasion!
After a full day of doing one of the things he most enjoyed -- teaching the bakers of Pantasia how to make different varieties of the breads he'd devised over the years -- Azuma was alone in the teaching kitchen he'd been given. He could make bread almost anywhere, but the modern conveniences made it much easier than turning sap into sugar, or baking in a giant shell over an open flame.
Though the students he taught all should have known better than to leave messes, he still found himself going over their workstations and searching for anything that wasn't clean or correctly placed. A few minutes of the day taking care of that seemed a fine way to 'cool down' from the rest of the work he'd done. That and the fact that his students rarely left anything worse than the smallest of messes -- take today's spilled flour on a single workstation.
Nothing so severe it warranted trying to admonish the student, at any rate. He hummed to himself after wiping up the last stray bit of flour. Hmm, stray flour ... now, how could he work that into a new bread? There were quite a few possibilities, really.
Before he could continue that line of thought, he heard the door open. A glance over to the source of the noise revealed Tsukino peeking in; her face reddened faintly, her eyes lighting up as they met his. She seemed happy, but he was used to seeing that smile on her. Especially over the recent years, with things so much calmer than they had been when he'd first been hired by the girl-- No, well.
She was a woman, now, he supposed. Had the time passed so quickly? He supposed it must have -- the last time he'd visited Kai, the samurai baker's son had been old enough to talk and knead dough.
Well, there was a thought. Loose flour, a bread a child could prepare....
"I think I know that look," Tsukino said in a teasing voice as she drew close, stopping a handful of steps away. "How was your lesson today, Azuma-kun?"
"It was great, Tsukino-chan!" he answered enthusiastically. "All of the bakers that get sent here from the branches are always eager to learn, so it's never very difficult!"
"No problems at all?" she asked brightly.
There had been some minor detail, hadn't there? Something about kneading dough that was slipping his mind at the moment. "I can't remember any," he returned, shrugging. "Did you want a new ja-pan for the shops? Because, I've been thinking--"
"It's not that," she overrode him gently, shaking her head. "It's, rather.... It's been some time, Azuma-kun, and ... I was thinking about our partnership."
"Partnership?" he wondered. "Oh, yeah -- you gave me some shares of Pantasia for my work. Did you need those back?"
Her eyes widened and her smile slipped as she looked astonished. "I-- No, of course not! Those are yours -- recognition for what you've done! I know it's no Nobel prize, but I have to give you something, don't I?"
"No, you don't have to," he replied mildly. "I don't mind at all -- though, those board meetings are sometimes pretty boring."
"W...well, yes, I can see that," she agreed, shaking her head. "Ah, but that's not even what I was thinking about. It's more that, um ... in terms of giving one another things, I was thinking about...." She trailed off, shifting her shoulders. Her face went red again as she raised her hands, one pointing at the ring on the other as she concluded meekly, "...this?"
"The ring of Pierrot?" he wondered. Then he recalled what had happened in class suddenly-- And it was even related to the same ring he'd given to Tsukino! "Oh! Yeah! One of the ladies that was taking lessons today had a ring on that same finger! It didn't take her long to see what my reason for giving that ring to you was, though!"
Tsukino's smile vanished again, replaced with a look of confusion. She shook her head, asking, "What do you mean?"
"Ah, well -- I couldn't keep that ring myself because it would get in the way while kneading dough," he explained authoritatively. "And she found that was true, too. Though, I didn't know that it mattered where people wore rings before? She explained why it was important to her, though, so I gave her a string to wear it around her neck, instead!"
"I--" Tsukino looked like she'd just swallowed a very bad piece of bread. "You.... S...so, you gave me this ring b...because it would get in the way of baking?"
That was strange ... Tsukino's eyes were watering, and she looked sadder than she'd been since they dealt with that terror of her older sister! "Well, yeah," he agreed, a bit anxious. "Do you not like it? We can put it on a string, instead, if you're worried about it getting in the way of baking!"
"O...or maybe you'd like to put it on a string yourself," she returned, bowing her head and hiding her face as she removed the ring. He was surprised; the skin underneath the ring was pale from lack of sun -- the color of dough that hadn't been baked yet. She'd kept it on for a really long time!
"What's wrong?" he asked, confused. "Is someone trying to steal the deed to Pantasia? I'll bake against any challenger for you, Tsukino-chan!"
"I...it's nothing," she said, looking up and smiling. She didn't look like she really meant that smile, though; the tears in her eyes were running down her face. "I-- I misunderstood.... This ring was an important prize from the crown prince of Monaco -- s...so you should have it back, right?"
Well, that made things really easy for him! "Thanks," he agreed, taking it back and offering what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "I'm really glad you gave this back to me!"
Her expression didn't change except for the fact that she blinked -- spilling more tears across her cheeks. Wow -- something was really bothering her, wasn't it?
Tsukino couldn't find it within her to nod or shake her head -- she realized that communication between her and Azuma had never really been ... flawless. Even despite that, she'd thought there was some understanding between them. That he'd cared, not just been that ignorant of things unrelated to bread!
She'd made a terrible mistake and thought -- and maybe expected -- a bit too much out of someone who was really only ever a friend to her. Well, she'd rather have a friend like Azuma than drive him away, so kept trying to force a smile she couldn't at all feel anyway. Still ... it stung to have him be so eager to accept it in return.
Or, she told herself, she was being silly and trying to cling to her childish dreams.
"Before today, I didn't know what it meant when someone gave a ring like this," he added, after a thoughtful minute. "So it's great that you returned it to me without me needing to ask."
She raised a hand to her chest, blinking again, feeling her heart shudder painfully. "I...is that ... so?" she asked, not sure she truly wished to know the answer.
"Well, of course!" he agreed, nodding. "I mean ... I don't know what's going on right now, but how else could I try and give it back to you the right way if I didn't have it again?"
She couldn't keep her smile as shock overruled her expression, her eyes flying wide. "W...what?!" she yelped.
Azuma shook his head, giving her a worried grin. "I-- I messed up by giving it to you without understanding. But since it came up in class earlier, now I do know! And because I do...."
He dropped to one knee, offering the ring up.
"It means that you're the one I want to look out for and take care of -- that's what she said. And that's how I feel about Tsukino-chan, so ... now that I really know what it means, and how to give it properly, I want to give this to you!"
Her trembling hands shot out to snatch the offered ring and put it back on her finger without the slightest bit of hesitation -- then she dropped to her own knees and clasped Azuma's hand in her own. "You mean it, Azuma-kun? You really do?"
"Of course!" he said, nodding. Then he looked thoughtful, slightly distant. "I think I mentioned that I gave it to you already to the students today, but I didn't mention I did it wrong the first time."
She blinked again, then realized what they must think -- what rumors (now true) would probably be running through the company.
"Azuma-kun...."
"Well-- If it's not about bread, sometimes I miss things," he said, shaking his head. "But who else would I want to give a ring like this to?"
She shook her head, giggling. "Azuma-kun, you're silly," she told him frankly, releasing his hand to rub the tears from her face. "But that's just one of the things I love about you."
He looked mildly confused, so she leaned closer to him and pressed her lips against his, letting her eyes drift shut. Judging by his arms going around her, holding her tight and returning the kiss, he got that, too.
And really, that seemed just fine.
Author's notes: Was a bit depressed, so decided to try and write a pointless bit of WAFF to cheer myself up. Hope it lifts a few more spirits than my own. :)