[There's a note of surprise in this throat when Rin takes that first bite. He'd been ready to gently insist she give it a try; whatever her personal feelings on his "magic soup", listening to her poor vocal cords scrape together a sentence is not encouraging, and it's only through effort that he's kept himself from asking what happened to her.
Thus his concerns are slightly mollified watching her sample the dish. Questions rise in his throat - can you taste the slight hint of ginger? All him, that wasn't even apart of the original recipe - or is your throat beginning to feel better - but he settles for focusing on the direction Rin has decided upon]
I getcha. So like when a fire gives off heat. [Or smoke. He mulls over that as he repositions himself, gives a slight slouch against the island counter with his hands in his pockets. It'd explain why measuring Rin's strength has always been a tricky business - maybe even why he underestimated her prowess in battle once before.]
[She nods with an approving smile; excellent comparison, Sanji. That's exactly what it's like. Rin takes a few more spoonfuls of the soup before setting her spoon down to more properly address his next question.]
Yes and no. Mages turn mana into magical energy; accordingly, it's the basis for everything we do. But not all magecraft has a combat focus. Listing all the potential uses I know of would take too long, but I'll use healing as an example.
My guardian was a spiritual surgeon. He could use his magecraft to treat almost any kind of wound.
[Reluctant as she is to admit it, a fact is a fact. It's the only praise she'll allow herself to give Kirei. Rin pauses on the pretense of clearing her throat, huffing and taking another little spoonful of soup then sets it down to try again.]
I'm not as skilled as him, but I can do the same for certain injuries. And so long as I have mana to create magical energy, even if I'm unconscious, this Crest in my arm will also work to heal me quickly.
[Rin lays a hand over her arm, and the lines still aglow there. She smiles at him.]
[Fitting of a proper audience, Sanji's eyebrows notch higher and higher as she explains, until he lets out an amazed whistle. Shit, that's an impressive resume this mana has. The basis for everything - very much like how auras were explained to him, but so much more.
And in-between, he notes her word usage - guardian - with faint curiosity before moving on.]
It helps keep you alive, eh? [He shifts a little, mulling over his question] Does it just do that automatically? ... Like it wants to?
[Whether or not Rin can tell, Sanji is trying to form a question around the potential sentience of such a thing. Can it think? Does it have its own will? Can it override Rin's? After all, what Sanji sees is a bunch of auras interlocking with the girl's - and there is something chilling about that]
[Now it's Rin's turn: one eyebrow arches delicately at his word choice of "want". It's probably only because she does know the true nature of the Crest that it strikes as odd; that she suspects where he might be going with it. The surprised look fades.]
Yes and yes. [Tilting her head, there's a gleam in her eyes, impish and gleeful, that only disappears when she closes them and beams at him with a full smile.] Survival is it's #1 priority. When it comes to that, you could say it has a will of its own.
[BLANCHING and leaning back, that is the exact answer he didn't want to hear. Thanks Rin-chan, you are such a team player. D8]
Oi now! It can't take over you, can it? That sounds dangerous! [He tries to imply a level of danger beyond what they deal with on the daily, but there's no denying he looks wary and flustered by the Crest instead of fascinated. Now it strikes him twice as unsettling]
[Always happy to help! Or get amusing reactions! 8D
And what a reaction it was. Sanji looks so deeply unsettled, so honestly worried for her (paling and all!) that... Well really, Rin can only laugh. It's not so scraped and raw sounding as the rest of her voice; as merry as she sounds and practically glowing from delight, he could have just told her a delightfully amusing tale about his day rather than voice a real fear for her safety. As funny as she finds it, she does feel a little bad for him though, and tries to stop laughing long enough to explain.]
It can't— ha. [Her laugh turns into a cough. Whoops, still got the giggles. Another little cough and she waves her hand, trying to calm down. Give her just a sec here.] Sorry, sorry. Your expression was too funny.
[SHE LOOKS... SO HAPPY. And there's honest pleasure in knowing she's still got enough laughter in her despite all this, but it's also one of those rare occasions where Sanji can't for the life of him trace the line of humor until Rin says it outright. Oh boy she's one of those kinds.
It's okay, he loves her anyway. At least she didn't say his eyebrow was hilarious]
Aaaah, like the tinkle of bells, Rin-chwan's laughter~! [Just gonna roll with it, now looking amused himself. Besides, she's put some of his concerns to rest; if she's laughing at his expression and his statement, the crest can't be dangerous.]
[She sticks out her tongue with a yuck expression, poking fun at herself too.]
This is delicious; I can tell you that much. If it can do all that you're describing, we should give it time to kick in. [She smiles, pointing her spoon at him.] I bet by the time I polish off the bowl, I can give you a full review?
[Hm. So no instantaneous effects then. That's one question answered, and he considers the thought with some disappointment, wondering if it's a result of lacking skill or simply the way of the recipe.
Then again, that shitty geezer did say something about a chef's worth being comparable to fixing his own goddamn mistakes.]
[With that seal of approval, Rin goes back to eating (letting her Magic Crest fade back into invisibility too). Halfway through the bowl, she realizes something she neglected to consider before.]
Hmm... [A noise part way between an appreciative hum and a curious thought; she sets her spoon down for a moment.] Actually now that I'm thinking of it, this is the first meal I've had in a few days that hasn't irritated my throat further. Even other soups haven't gone down this smoothly.
[As if testing to make sure, Rin scoops up the biggest piece of chicken she can find in the soup. Chew chew, swallow. It doesn't hurt at all, like even the finely chew rutabaga had. Maybe she'll ask for seconds?]
[Quick as a beat, Rin's praise wipes away Sanji's previous self-criticisms and he straightens, eagerly launching into an explanation with a pleased wave of his finger.]
Salt's good for inflammation, for instance -- and I added a bit of anise. Had to crush the seeds and the boil 'em separately, and then season that to get the shitty flavor I wanted, but I say it was worth it. [Rambling: the true sign of a mad genius in his chosen field. Sanij walks back to the soup pot and gives it a fond stir, chirping out random facts about ginger of all things, and how he's noticed it's a key ingredient in a lot of the recipes he got from--]
Ah... an island. [A pause, in which he flaps his hand in front of his face, trying to steer the conversation off-course] That's where I got this recipe. If it works for Rin-chan, then those two years of hell were worth it~!
["Shitty flavor," he says. Sanji, please. Sometimes Rin wonders if he hears the way words come out of his mouth, the way he uses swears as adjectives. When he's rambling excitedly like this, she would guess not.
But it's fun to see him talk like this. Rin knows she must be the same whenever she gets into the topic of really explaining magecraft. More than once with Shirou, she can recall starting on one subject only to be at a different topic altogether ten minutes after, unsure of how they got to that point.]
Two years of hell?
[Psst, Sanji. If you want to steer a subject off course, maybe don't describe it with such interesting hooks! But no, Rin knows better than to root around in someone else's business, and transitions expertly.]
Amazing. That sounds a lot more intense than Chinese medical cuisine.
[Sshhh, he got so excited and caught up in the magic of cooking that he forgot to brush over that 2-year footnote. It's of little consequence anyway; Rin mentions a type of cuisine the chef is not familiar with and the blond zeros in on her statement with immediate precision]
Chinese medical cuisine? [His brows furrow, and one can practically see the pages of books, notes, and recipes being flipped behind his visible eye, looking for any connection to his home world] Never heard of it before.
You well versed in it? [Maybe... a little... hopeful... >_>]
[Well-versed in it? Rin raises a hand.] I swear by it!
[Lifting the bowl to her lips, Rin drinks up the rest of the broth before handing her bowl back to Sanji — seconds, please! — and launching into a brief intro to the ancient tradition of Chinese medicinal cuisine.
There's how in that culture, foods are described by qualities such as temperature, flavor, and action. Each food can possess a unique energy and characteristic property like: hot/cold, salty/sweet/bitter flavors, and how foods act on and move throughout the body.
There's the effects different ingredients can have, with multiple health benefits. Tailoring the food to a person's individual needs rather than taking a one-size fits all approach is another guiding factor the the art. Going along with that, medicinal cuisine could be divided into four branches, each focusing on specific functions: health-protection cuisine, prevention cuisine, healing cuisine and therapeutic cuisine.
Rin babbles away about the fourth of these, as she works at her second bowl of soup. Without realizing it, she's starting to talk a little better too. Her voice is still raspy, but despite talking at length, the only pauses she's been taking are to eat, instead of for breath or to cough.]
A good therapeutic one... Oh, I got it. You're a guy, so you don't have to worry about this, but Chinese yams in blueberry sauce is one of my favorite treats for stomach cramps.
[You're a guy, so you don't have to worry about this--
Sanji might've been raised on a ship where female cooks were banned (and Zeff wasn't too keen on female waiters, for that matter), but he's had at least a year to understand that whenever Robin-chan and Nami-san had a monthly... hiccup.... the result was no one got to be happy for a few days.
His tone is entirely sympathetic]
Guess I'll figure out how to make that one next. For you, Nami-san, and Norma-chan. [He's leaned over the counter with his own bowl, giving each spoonful a slow sample as he listens. Overall, it's good shit, and he can't complain about the taste. Maybe should've let it simmer a bit longer, though...]
But this is amazing! I've never heard of shit like this back home. [Grinning ear to ear, and with enough enthusiasm to fill a room] If I combine any of that with my other recipes...
[Dear seas, the possibilities. The danger, too - he'd been warned repeatedly not to take lightly any of the Attack Cuisine recipes - but Sanji thinks he's well learned his lesson at this point. And what's the point of being a chef if he's not allowed to play around?
He looks down at his soup, grin turning sharp at the exciting challenge. Give him a month; he bets he can turn those Chinese yams into something formidable]
[She'd only stumbled onto it herself a few years ago, when she was first getting into Chinese cooking. Rin preens all the same, as if taking this as a personal accomplishment.
And why shouldn't she? By turning Sanji on to the miracles of Chinese medicinal cuisine, she may have very well played an important role in helping him refine his craft. There's pride to be had in that.]
It would be my pleasure to assist. ...For an exchange, that is.
[His head snaps up from his daydreams, momentarily startled by the... um...
Let's just say that any more talk like that and Sanji's gonna ask if Rin was either a thief of a pirate in a separate lifetime. That's the third lady he's met in the castle who seems a kindred spirit to Nami-san.
Ozuma or that Sol guy apparently have a type.]
Of course I'm willing to compensate~! [Would she like her laundry done? Meals brought to her for the next five years? Or maybe he should be done with it and refer her to Nami for the best ideas. Either way, Sanji looks ready and willing to accept the other's price]
[Please, Sanji. She's a business woman, bred for the art of making a good deal nearly as well as she was for being an outstanding mage.]
Then I would take a few of your recipes. Particularly if by combining our resources, we're able to create a cuisine that will restore mana.
[She taps her spoon in her bowl.] And this one as well, when you have the perfected version.
[Already, her throat is feeling improved. Even if it's not 100%, Sanji will have noticed Rin's had to pause less to cough around her food or words; despite the lingering rasp, she speaks more clearly. It really is something special that he has here.]
Rin-chan. [For what should be an easy bargain, Sanji's expression takes an ominous turn. He seems to hesitate before turning his stare back to his half-finished bowl] You remember when I couldn't stay awake for all those shitty weeks?
I botched up a recipe like this one.
[Only Sans and a few others know; it's not a truth he likes admitting, that even the master chef can fuck up that badly. And while Rin speaks of cuisine like she knows it, anyone can boast that knowledge without giving proof.
The responsibility is his, and he can't afford to be lax]
These recipes are dangerous. One shitty mistake and and that soup you drank might hurt you instead.
[What a strange tone. Rin cants her head to listen to him properly, and... The mild surprise shows on her face, when he brings up what he does. If he hadn't explained it so smoothly, quick to answer a question that was there even if it wasn't voiced out loud, she would've wondered why he was bringing it up now.]
It was over something so small? [Despite her words, she doesn't sound shocked. More... Considering. Not two seconds later, Rin nods to herself as her attention shifts to her bowl, tilting her spoon about in what's left of the broth.]
To have the positive, near-instantaneous results you were aiming for, it makes sense. Cooking is a science, like any other. Things can go sideways when you start to experiment, and it's not like you're trying to make peanut butter and tunafish taste good together here. You're trying to produce an honest miracle. It's natural the consequences of failure over even a minute detail would be as severe as the intended effect is remarkable.
[A little thinking out loud. Rin raises her head to look at Sanji again, plainly.] So? Did you figure out where you went wrong?
Aa-- [With so much stopping and starting on Sanji's end, he doesn't hear Rin's question, not until he quits stammering and his mouth thins into a firm, thoughtful line. Even then he doesn't answer her immediately; his mind is stuck fast on the young woman's phrase, examining it like he means to refute it.
But there's nothing to argue. Sanji just hadn't thought of his recipes in such concise terms. That they're dangerous, need a steady hand, require diligence and perhaps a few prayers - yeah, he got all that and more out of the shitty okama who offered them to him like pages of witchcraft. But even when recreating such dangerous recipes, that's all they had ever been to him: recipes. Instructions. Another method of realizing his desire and feeding the hungry.]
Overdid it with the spices. [He mumbles his theory, distracted and drilling holes into the counter while he thinks] Overloaded my shitty system and it needed a while to recover.
Oh, that's an easy fix. [She looks pleased for him, raising a finger.] In that case, there's nothing to hold you back from trying again, or teaching me. We simply follow the recipe precisely this time.
[He just can't beat her enthusiasm, can he? Rin breezes past the mistake like it's nothing but a bump in the road. Sanji's certain if he had half her tenacity, he'd have figured out every secret hidden in these shitty recipes.]
Teaching, eh? [He offers a wry smile before setting his empty bowl on the counter] That's fine -- but before that, you don't mind giving me a demonstration?
I can't teach if I don't know how good my student is.
[It's the kindest, most roundabout way of suggesting Rin ain't getting shit if she doesn't impress him. No pressure, lady.]
[Gentle for him, but not at all unreasonable either. Rin's cheerful disposition shifts, however, face shadowed with a frown. Seconds of silence can be counted off before at last she hunches forward, eyes flat and unimpressed looking.]
...Mm, Sanji-kun. Are you implying I'd be less than good?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Thus his concerns are slightly mollified watching her sample the dish. Questions rise in his throat - can you taste the slight hint of ginger? All him, that wasn't even apart of the original recipe - or is your throat beginning to feel better - but he settles for focusing on the direction Rin has decided upon]
I getcha. So like when a fire gives off heat. [Or smoke. He mulls over that as he repositions himself, gives a slight slouch against the island counter with his hands in his pockets. It'd explain why measuring Rin's strength has always been a tricky business - maybe even why he underestimated her prowess in battle once before.]
I assume mages use this mana for combat?
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Yes and no. Mages turn mana into magical energy; accordingly, it's the basis for everything we do. But not all magecraft has a combat focus. Listing all the potential uses I know of would take too long, but I'll use healing as an example.
My guardian was a spiritual surgeon. He could use his magecraft to treat almost any kind of wound.
[Reluctant as she is to admit it, a fact is a fact. It's the only praise she'll allow herself to give Kirei. Rin pauses on the pretense of clearing her throat, huffing and taking another little spoonful of soup then sets it down to try again.]
I'm not as skilled as him, but I can do the same for certain injuries. And so long as I have mana to create magical energy, even if I'm unconscious, this Crest in my arm will also work to heal me quickly.
[Rin lays a hand over her arm, and the lines still aglow there. She smiles at him.]
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And in-between, he notes her word usage - guardian - with faint curiosity before moving on.]
It helps keep you alive, eh? [He shifts a little, mulling over his question] Does it just do that automatically? ... Like it wants to?
[Whether or not Rin can tell, Sanji is trying to form a question around the potential sentience of such a thing. Can it think? Does it have its own will? Can it override Rin's? After all, what Sanji sees is a bunch of auras interlocking with the girl's - and there is something chilling about that]
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Yes and yes. [Tilting her head, there's a gleam in her eyes, impish and gleeful, that only disappears when she closes them and beams at him with a full smile.] Survival is it's #1 priority. When it comes to that, you could say it has a will of its own.
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Oi now! It can't take over you, can it? That sounds dangerous! [He tries to imply a level of danger beyond what they deal with on the daily, but there's no denying he looks wary and flustered by the Crest instead of fascinated. Now it strikes him twice as unsettling]
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And what a reaction it was. Sanji looks so deeply unsettled, so honestly worried for her (paling and all!) that... Well really, Rin can only laugh. It's not so scraped and raw sounding as the rest of her voice; as merry as she sounds and practically glowing from delight, he could have just told her a delightfully amusing tale about his day rather than voice a real fear for her safety. As funny as she finds it, she does feel a little bad for him though, and tries to stop laughing long enough to explain.]
It can't— ha. [Her laugh turns into a cough. Whoops, still got the giggles. Another little cough and she waves her hand, trying to calm down. Give her just a sec here.] Sorry, sorry. Your expression was too funny.
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It's okay, he loves her anyway. At least she didn't say his eyebrow was hilarious]
Aaaah, like the tinkle of bells, Rin-chwan's laughter~! [Just gonna roll with it, now looking amused himself. Besides, she's put some of his concerns to rest; if she's laughing at his expression and his statement, the crest can't be dangerous.]
Oi, is that soup working at all?
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[She sticks out her tongue with a yuck expression, poking fun at herself too.]
This is delicious; I can tell you that much. If it can do all that you're describing, we should give it time to kick in. [She smiles, pointing her spoon at him.] I bet by the time I polish off the bowl, I can give you a full review?
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[Hm. So no instantaneous effects then. That's one question answered, and he considers the thought with some disappointment, wondering if it's a result of lacking skill or simply the way of the recipe.
Then again, that shitty geezer did say something about a chef's worth being comparable to fixing his own goddamn mistakes.]
Alright, I'll hold you to that.
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Hmm... [A noise part way between an appreciative hum and a curious thought; she sets her spoon down for a moment.] Actually now that I'm thinking of it, this is the first meal I've had in a few days that hasn't irritated my throat further. Even other soups haven't gone down this smoothly.
[As if testing to make sure, Rin scoops up the biggest piece of chicken she can find in the soup. Chew chew, swallow. It doesn't hurt at all, like even the finely chew rutabaga had. Maybe she'll ask for seconds?]
It's soothing. Literally.
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[Quick as a beat, Rin's praise wipes away Sanji's previous self-criticisms and he straightens, eagerly launching into an explanation with a pleased wave of his finger.]
Salt's good for inflammation, for instance -- and I added a bit of anise. Had to crush the seeds and the boil 'em separately, and then season that to get the shitty flavor I wanted, but I say it was worth it. [Rambling: the true sign of a mad genius in his chosen field. Sanij walks back to the soup pot and gives it a fond stir, chirping out random facts about ginger of all things, and how he's noticed it's a key ingredient in a lot of the recipes he got from--]
Ah... an island. [A pause, in which he flaps his hand in front of his face, trying to steer the conversation off-course] That's where I got this recipe. If it works for Rin-chan, then those two years of hell were worth it~!
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But it's fun to see him talk like this. Rin knows she must be the same whenever she gets into the topic of really explaining magecraft. More than once with Shirou, she can recall starting on one subject only to be at a different topic altogether ten minutes after, unsure of how they got to that point.]
Two years of hell?
[Psst, Sanji. If you want to steer a subject off course, maybe don't describe it with such interesting hooks! But no, Rin knows better than to root around in someone else's business, and transitions expertly.]
Amazing. That sounds a lot more intense than Chinese medical cuisine.
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Chinese medical cuisine? [His brows furrow, and one can practically see the pages of books, notes, and recipes being flipped behind his visible eye, looking for any connection to his home world] Never heard of it before.
You well versed in it? [Maybe... a little... hopeful... >_>]
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[Lifting the bowl to her lips, Rin drinks up the rest of the broth before handing her bowl back to Sanji — seconds, please! — and launching into a brief intro to the ancient tradition of Chinese medicinal cuisine.
There's how in that culture, foods are described by qualities such as temperature, flavor, and action. Each food can possess a unique energy and characteristic property like: hot/cold, salty/sweet/bitter flavors, and how foods act on and move throughout the body.
There's the effects different ingredients can have, with multiple health benefits. Tailoring the food to a person's individual needs rather than taking a one-size fits all approach is another guiding factor the the art. Going along with that, medicinal cuisine could be divided into four branches, each focusing on specific functions: health-protection cuisine, prevention cuisine, healing cuisine and therapeutic cuisine.
Rin babbles away about the fourth of these, as she works at her second bowl of soup. Without realizing it, she's starting to talk a little better too. Her voice is still raspy, but despite talking at length, the only pauses she's been taking are to eat, instead of for breath or to cough.]
A good therapeutic one... Oh, I got it. You're a guy, so you don't have to worry about this, but Chinese yams in blueberry sauce is one of my favorite treats for stomach cramps.
no subject
Sanji might've been raised on a ship where female cooks were banned (and Zeff wasn't too keen on female waiters, for that matter), but he's had at least a year to understand that whenever Robin-chan and Nami-san had a monthly... hiccup.... the result was no one got to be happy for a few days.
His tone is entirely sympathetic]
Guess I'll figure out how to make that one next. For you, Nami-san, and Norma-chan. [He's leaned over the counter with his own bowl, giving each spoonful a slow sample as he listens. Overall, it's good shit, and he can't complain about the taste. Maybe should've let it simmer a bit longer, though...]
But this is amazing! I've never heard of shit like this back home. [Grinning ear to ear, and with enough enthusiasm to fill a room] If I combine any of that with my other recipes...
[Dear seas, the possibilities. The danger, too - he'd been warned repeatedly not to take lightly any of the Attack Cuisine recipes - but Sanji thinks he's well learned his lesson at this point. And what's the point of being a chef if he's not allowed to play around?
He looks down at his soup, grin turning sharp at the exciting challenge. Give him a month; he bets he can turn those Chinese yams into something formidable]
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And why shouldn't she? By turning Sanji on to the miracles of Chinese medicinal cuisine, she may have very well played an important role in helping him refine his craft. There's pride to be had in that.]
It would be my pleasure to assist. ...For an exchange, that is.
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Let's just say that any more talk like that and Sanji's gonna ask if Rin was either a thief of a pirate in a separate lifetime. That's the third lady he's met in the castle who seems a kindred spirit to Nami-san.
Ozuma or that Sol guy apparently have a type.]
Of course I'm willing to compensate~! [Would she like her laundry done? Meals brought to her for the next five years? Or maybe he should be done with it and refer her to Nami for the best ideas. Either way, Sanji looks ready and willing to accept the other's price]
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Then I would take a few of your recipes. Particularly if by combining our resources, we're able to create a cuisine that will restore mana.
[She taps her spoon in her bowl.] And this one as well, when you have the perfected version.
[Already, her throat is feeling improved. Even if it's not 100%, Sanji will have noticed Rin's had to pause less to cough around her food or words; despite the lingering rasp, she speaks more clearly. It really is something special that he has here.]
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Rin-chan. [For what should be an easy bargain, Sanji's expression takes an ominous turn. He seems to hesitate before turning his stare back to his half-finished bowl] You remember when I couldn't stay awake for all those shitty weeks?
I botched up a recipe like this one.
[Only Sans and a few others know; it's not a truth he likes admitting, that even the master chef can fuck up that badly. And while Rin speaks of cuisine like she knows it, anyone can boast that knowledge without giving proof.
The responsibility is his, and he can't afford to be lax]
These recipes are dangerous. One shitty mistake and and that soup you drank might hurt you instead.
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It was over something so small? [Despite her words, she doesn't sound shocked. More... Considering. Not two seconds later, Rin nods to herself as her attention shifts to her bowl, tilting her spoon about in what's left of the broth.]
To have the positive, near-instantaneous results you were aiming for, it makes sense. Cooking is a science, like any other. Things can go sideways when you start to experiment, and it's not like you're trying to make peanut butter and tunafish taste good together here. You're trying to produce an honest miracle. It's natural the consequences of failure over even a minute detail would be as severe as the intended effect is remarkable.
[A little thinking out loud. Rin raises her head to look at Sanji again, plainly.] So? Did you figure out where you went wrong?
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Aa-- [With so much stopping and starting on Sanji's end, he doesn't hear Rin's question, not until he quits stammering and his mouth thins into a firm, thoughtful line. Even then he doesn't answer her immediately; his mind is stuck fast on the young woman's phrase, examining it like he means to refute it.
But there's nothing to argue. Sanji just hadn't thought of his recipes in such concise terms. That they're dangerous, need a steady hand, require diligence and perhaps a few prayers - yeah, he got all that and more out of the shitty okama who offered them to him like pages of witchcraft. But even when recreating such dangerous recipes, that's all they had ever been to him: recipes. Instructions. Another method of realizing his desire and feeding the hungry.]
Overdid it with the spices. [He mumbles his theory, distracted and drilling holes into the counter while he thinks] Overloaded my shitty system and it needed a while to recover.
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Teaching, eh? [He offers a wry smile before setting his empty bowl on the counter] That's fine -- but before that, you don't mind giving me a demonstration?
I can't teach if I don't know how good my student is.
[It's the kindest, most roundabout way of suggesting Rin ain't getting shit if she doesn't impress him. No pressure, lady.]
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...Mm, Sanji-kun. Are you implying I'd be less than good?