Ageha [A Shokugeki No Souma Fanfic]

Interrogation

Ageha took off from her apartment at 3.30 pm. She didn't risk herself having to spend a lot of time finding their apartment, and then end up being scolded by the older Aldini. Turns out the apartment was far from being hard to find. In less than 15 minutes she already stood in front of the supposed apartment, pressing the bell.
She was greeted by a freshly showered Aldini, his blond hair damp decorated with a surprised look on his face.
"You're like twenty minutes early," he let her in.
She liked his flat at first glance. It was quite spacious. Japanese styled but modernly furnished, plus it smelled really good. She couldn't describe, it wasn't the smell from perfumed toiletries or aromatherapies. It just smelled good.
"Fifteen actually, and I wouldn't risk being harshly criticized," she said avoiding calling him directly, she still didn't know how to address him.
The good smell intensifies as he got closer, and fades with his passing.
"Make yourself home," the blond ignored her picking up a fight.

She walked in and saw the size of the kitchen. Yeap, it was like hers. The kitchen was very big compared the other parts of the house. Even the living room only had a TV and a sofa that barely fits 4 people, and since Isami is a bit chubby, she wondered if it would fit even the three of them.
Takumi sat down on the couch and signaled her to sit herself. She saw no other place to sit beside the same sofa he's sitting on, so she sat down at the other end. There was an awkward silence for a good two minutes. I should've brought my book, she thought. But she was dead wrong, because at the end of the story she was glad she didn't bring her book to keep her occupied. At the end though, at first she was wondering where the hell Isami was.
"Isami is still taking a bath, just wait he'll get out in no time," Takumi spoke as he switched the TV channel, as if he could read her mind.
Ageha just nodded, and stared at the TV blankly.
"So Frenchie," Takumi tried to start a conversation.

Say what you want to say, Ageha. You can be anything you want. You don't need to hold back. You've started a new life.

"That's racist."
"What?" Takumi turned his full attention to the girl.
"The way you keep calling me, Frenchie this Frenchie that. That's racist you know. How would you feel if I were to call you Italiano this and Italiano that? I have a name, Aldini-san." Ageha snapped, her face burning red.
She could tell that Takumi was shocked and was entirely ready to start fighting with him, calling him names, spitting bad words to him, and eventually leaving the apartment rudely before Isami even come out of the bath.

But the next sentence that came out of Takumi's mouth surprised her.
"I'm sorry."
"I didn't mean to upset you. It was rude for me to do that to a girl," he looked at her.
"But I guess if you can't forgive me, I understand. I just think that you should know that it was unintentional. I don't know how to address you. Should I call you by your name or not, I don't know. I don't think I have the privilege to do so," he averted his gaze from her face.
Takumi Aldini, not an honest man? Isn't this what they call honest? Ageha asked herself. Her rage was canceled because of the Italian's sincere apology.
"Apology accepted, and you can call me Ageha," she looked at him.
Takumi turned his view back to the girl with the name, "Okay Ageha," and Ageha felt a bolt of electricity running through her body at the sound of his voice calling her name.
"And that's Takumi for you," the blond added.
Ageha was too confused that she had a hard time grasping Takumi's words. She just stared at him like he was a total lunatic and she was an idiot.
"Instead of Aldini-san, I mean," Takumi finished.
"Right," she said, smiling and this time the mini thunder struck the man sitting on the couch. And as he figured out what was that just now, the younger Aldini got out of the bathroom.

A good fifteen minutes later they were all set in the kitchen ready to cook, or at least Ageha was.
"Cook anything I can cook?" her azure pupils dilated. The next second Ageha bursted out laughing. The twins would laugh along with her any other day but as for today, they just stood there with their eyes on her, looking for enlightenment.
"I can't cook, at all."
Takumi Aldini opened his mouth, but before he talked he got his explanation.
"But I bake, a lot. My speciality is dessert and sweets. When it comes to cooking, I'm as pointless as a 2 year old kid."
He frowned, "So you mean you were lucky and got desserts as your theme for the entrance exam here? That's too much of a coincidence."
"No," and this confused the two Aldinis even further.
"I didn't undergo any kind of exams. I got myself here on a special condition."
"We're all ears."
"I was a professional pâtissiere in Paris, I wanted to sign myself up to one of the most prestigious pastry programs but I couldn't. Because the program requires me to have a legitimate certificate of culinary arts instead of just pâtisserie."
"No culinary arts school in France would accept me, because I'm that useless. That's when Nakiri Sanzaemon talked to my father and let me in if I will agree to fulfill a few conditions."
"And now I'm in, I can take as many years as I want in this school, but this is just a stepping stone for me anyway. I can't be kicked out unless the conditions are not fulfilled," she finished her story.
"And the condition? Is it for you to win the Junior Pastry World Cup? Because we heard Marco-sensei kept calling you Miss World Champion. Isn't that too much for a mere student to fulfill?"
"No, actually," she held her breath. A silence conquered the flat for a few seconds.
"I won it two years ago," she breathed out.

All these was too much for the two Aldinis to process in a day. A new student, a mere frenchgirl, who totally sucked at cooking, won Junior Pastry World Championship, at the age of 13?

Sounds like a bad liar's doing.

But Ageha's eyes did not lie. The two Aldinis decided to take a break on the series of asking, saving it for next time. For now, she was going to train first.

"So what thing other than pastries can you make?" Takumi demanded.
"Bread."
"Ageha-chan, that doesn't count," Isami smiled.
"Ummm, boiled egg, sunny side up, omelette, instant noodles?"
Takumi shook his head, "So you've been eating out everyday since you started living alone?"
"What? Of course not."
"Tell us what you cook for yourself Ageha-chan."
"Umm I don't cook. Like at all. Because I can't."
"My God. Just get to the point. What do you eat at home?"
Ageha looked away, she pouted with her cheeks tinted red in embarrassment and for a second it crossed in both of the Aldinis' minds that she was somehow cute.
"I'm french you know, I can live with a baguette."
"Just...a baguette?" the younger Aldini held back a laugh.
Takumi threw himself hard to the pantry chair from the frustration, while Ageha threw her gaze to the wooden floor.
Isami clapped his hand.
"Nii-chan, let's just teach her from scratch. Doesn't shrimp scampi sound nice for tonight's dinner?"

Ageha practically had no skill. She probably would've done a better job making the pasta, but the Aldinis always kept some pasta dough around. She groaned when the younger Aldini told her to chop the garlic and almost died in fear when the blond took out some shrimp from the fridge.

Takumi folded his hand when Ageha took a skillet. A sinister aura around him indicating that he was all serious. Few minutes later all the silence and peace in the Aldinis flat were taken away.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you can't cook it for too long! It will come out like a rubber!" Takumi scolded Ageha.
"I know! Stop yelling at me Takumi!"
"Look at this one! If I were to pick it and throw it on the table it would bounce against the walls! Stop wasting food won't you?!"
"You're exaggerating! Just let me concentrate!"
"Ageha-chan, that one is nicely done," Isami complimented her.
"This one?" she lifted a shrimp off the pan.
"Yes, that one. I think it's time to add the pasta now, good job Ageha-chan!" Isami's kind remark made Ageha smile wide like a kid given a candy.
"Three hours for salad and three portions of shrimp scampi isn't a good job, Isami. Stop spoiling her," Takumi walked to the dining table with the plates as Ageha glared at him.

By the time the trio finished eating, the clock showed 8.15 p.m. The kitchen was a total mess. Ageha walked to the sink to wash the plates but Isami stopped her. Just about the time Ageha prepared insisting, Takumi cut her patience string off.
"Hey, why don't you just go home now?"