ice queen • haikyuu

026 | didn't know souma yukihira was in this story

"And that's the last of it," she said, taking a step back and wiping away the sweat on her forehead with the towel draped around her neck. Laughter and chatter resounded from the entrance of the cafeteria as the doors were pushed open, disrupting the calm working silence the girls fell into.

"Just in time, too."

The boys all came to the counter, famished.

"SUGOI!" exclaimed the younger ones upon seeing the bowls of food laid out for them.

Like an excited puppy, metaphorical tail wagging, Nekoma's baby middle blocker shuffled closer to the front. "What is this?"

"A Chicken Egg Tempura Don," answered Kaori as she handed out the balls to the lined up boys. "Mizuki made it. We helped with the side dishes."

Sō Inuoka turned to his senpai's soulmate with a broad grin, eyes sparkling. "It looks amazing!"

"Thank you." Mizuki smiled faintly, tugging off the apron she wore and putting it in the basket by the door. "Hey," she greeted her soulmates, moving to their table. Akaashi moved over a seat, welcoming her with a fond look. "How is it?"

"It's delicious!" Bokuto's words were muffled as he stuffed his mouth with food, chewing and swallowing expeditiously.

Kuroo broke the fried egg with his chopsticks, watching the yolk seep out like liquid gold. "How'd you get the egg so soft?"

"I froze them."

"H-Huh?"

Mizuki's lips quirked upwards. "The tempura's made by coating a frozen raw egg with batter. It's the star of the dish," she explained. "Peel a frozen egg, dip it in batter then fry it up nice and crisp. Drizzle a good amount of sauce on freshly-made piping-hot rice, pair the egg tempura with fried perilla, pour more sauce on top, and it's done."

"Why'd you freeze the egg?"

"Freezing the egg intensifies the flavour of the yolk and causes the proteins to coalesce into a gel-like state. That results in a creamy gelatinous mouthfeel and a much richer yolk flavour."

Kuroo hummed, chewing on the rice. "It's really good."

"Thank you."

"How'd you come up with that?" Akaashi asked, holding out the bowl for her to have some. She rose her hand, declining the offer with a thankful smile.

"I was experimenting," she answered. "I honestly didn't know if they would turn out well."

He laughed.

"Never knew you to be adventurous," commented Kuroo, though he held no cynicism behind his words. He was surprised, 'is all. He didn't expect that from her.

"When it comes to food, I like to try new things. One of the many joys of cooking. Though I do prefer to bake."

"Well, I'll be more than happy to be one of your test subjects," he said cheekily, giving her a broad grin.

Mizuki exhaled in amusement.

"I'll make a note of that."

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

A loud sneeze echoed throughout the gymnasium. "The night's are cold, even in Toyko," whined Hinata, clutching two volleyballs in his arms. Kenma turned to his friend.

"That's because you didn't put on a jacket after sweating."

"I can't wait for the match!"

"Yeah." Kenma looked at Hinata weirdly, wondering why he was so excited to play another match right after playing multiple sets today and how he even had the energy. He certainly did not. "I've been thinking lately..."