Double Trouble (Shokugeki No Souma fanfic)

Chapter 18: Childhood Friends

Soma's POV:

"You're late! You only have 15 minutes left!" An angry cat- I meant Ta-chan- greeted us with scolding the moment we entered the room while panting.

"Do you want to be disqualified without fighting me?!"

"Pfft- don't worry Ta-chan. And it's not 'we only have 15 minutes', it's 'we still have 15 minutes'." Su-chan teased Ta-chan after giving me the ingredients he gathered.

I just listened to Su-chan teasing Ta-chan while tying the my white bandana around my head. Me and Su-chan have come to a silent agreement that I will be the one to cook for this assignment.

"Let's do this Tadokoro!"

"Yes! Soma-kun!"

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"Oh my! My Kaki Seeds were used to make such a lovely deep-fried dish!" Chef Inui happily clapped her hands like a baby.

"There you go, Chef Inui." Su-chan was the one who offered the dish to Chef Inui.

We watched as she gently picked up one deep-fried fish and blew on it gently. We watched in boredom when she slowly took the chopsticks near her mouth and finally took a bite.

We watched her chew the fish in silence. A consistent crunch was the only noice in the quiet room. After what felt like hours, Chef Inui finally commented on our dish.

"The consistency is wonderful! And yet the inner part isn't soggy. The Char's deliciousness was protected by the coating and it's well condensed!" Was the constant praise that Chef Inui said, but me and Su-chan can't help but tense up. The battle isn't over until the chef gives their point after all.

"Thanks to the Kaki Seed's flavor, you can also feel a steady tastiness from the coating." Chef Inui then dipped the fish to the garnish we made and took another bite.

"Mm, and the garnish is a fluffy sauce made from Tamago no Moto and Pepper Tree Buds!."

Tamago no Moto:
It's made by adding salad oil little by little to egg yolk and mixing it with a whisk until it becomes mellow like mayonnaise. It's used for many things like combining ingredients or as a seasoning.

'By mixing salt and minced "pepper tree buds" with the Tamago no Moto, we added a refreshing flavor. With that the greasy feeling is lost and an elegant flavor is born.' I thought with a smile as I made eye contact with Su-chan who also had a smile on his face.

"This creamy taste you can feel between the coating's light crunchiness stimulates the appetite." I listened to Chef Inui's opinions while I walked closer to where Su-chan is and held his hand.

"Soma-kun."

"What is it Tadokoro?" I asked Tadokor when she called out my name.

"How did you come up with this idea?" Tadokoro asked while fidgeting a little.

We really need to work on this kid's confidence.

"Well.. in japanese cuisine there's this 'Okakiage' right?" Tadokoro answered with a nod.

"It's a dish where, by covering the ingredients with smashed okaki and deep-frying them, you can make the texture better and add an element of surprise to the taste." Su-chan was the one who added those information.

"By putting those to use you thought of using Kaki Seeds to make a deep-fried dish..?" Ta-chan asked with uncertainty.

"Yup!" Me and Su-chan both replied with popping the 'p'.
"That's about it."

The atmosphere then turned silent. We waited for Chef Inui's verdict.

"Yukihira Soma, Yukihira Sumu and Tadokoro Megumi.. You pass!" Chef Inui said with a small giggle as me and Su-chan, together with Tadokoro, faced each other and made a three way high five.

"It wasn't much!"
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"Phew, what a stressful day that was." Su-chan exclaimed after sitting on the seat on the bus that was beside me.

We sat at the very end of the bus. Tadokoro sat on the very left, on her right was I-chan, then Ta-chan, then there is Su-chan and me.

"You're both So-chan and Su-chan right? From Italy 7 years ago?"

"Took you long enough Ta-chan." Su-chan teasingly said as he hugged Ta-chan from the side.

"We missed you two."

"Psh, who said I missed him?" Me and Ta-chan both said at the same time.

"Pfft-" and the two younger twin brothers burst out laughing, leaving poor Tadokoro to wonder what happened.

I guess some things really don't change.

I thought with a smile.

A/N

Yaha-yaha-yahallo!!!