"Ojisan, can't you handle Autumn Elections with the official Elite Ten?" Sakura complained like a child. Her hands were clasped together over her chest and she was pouting, giving off some extreme puppy vibes.
Nakiri Senzaemon, the director and headmaster of Totsuki, chuckled in his trademark raspy voice. "Fine, fine." he agreed. Sakura cheered to herself, pumping up her fist in victory. "But," he started. "I still want you to write down the people that you want to be put in the Autumn Elections, okay?"
Sakura shrugged. "Okay." So this is what she wrote:
Everybody in the Polar Star Dorm (No, Ojisan, I'm NOT biased...)
Takumi Aldini
Isami Aldini
Nakiri Alice
Kurokiba Ryou
Hayama Akira
Matsuzaki Shoichi
Kimido Chiro
"Done!" Sakura exclaimed, throwing down the pen and paper. "Send Rinacchi and Ali-chan my regards. I'm gonna go. Bye, Ojisan!" and she exited the door.
Nakiri Senzaemon laughed quietly to himself. "What a beautiful gem. She has already honed her skills and now...now she is still acting like a child."
It took Sakura over an hour to get back to the Polar Star Dorm. Mainly because she was dragging her feet and had procrastinated by visiting Eishi and Rindo in their private offices (Rindo made fun of her as usual while Eishi ignored her nagging for him to put more emotion in his cooking).
Walking into the Polar Star Dorm, Sakura decided she would cook a little something for herself and possibly her other dorm mates. But...she suddenly realized: Dammit, I accidentally broke my timer yesterday. Eh, I'll just go borrow Megumi-chan's.
It was quite funny, Tadokoro Megumi always had the best "kitchen stationary" supplies. To the point where Sakura found herself borrowing them quite often.
Sakura rapped her knuckles on Megumi's door. "Megumi-chaaaan?" she stressed in a sing-song voice. "Are you in there?" No reply. "Hmm...I'll just go ask Yuuki about her whereabouts."
But when Yuuki opened the door: "Oh, Kura-chan is looking for Megumi? Sorry, Kura-chan, but Megumi just left on a trip with her Local Cuisine RS group. If you want, you could use my timer?" Yuuki offered with her signature grin
Sakura waved her hand. "No, it's fine. You just go back to what you were doing." and she returned the Yuuki-style grin.
So Sakura knocked on Souma's door instead. He gave her permission to come in, so she opened the door. Only to find him packing some of his belongings in a small suitcase. "Eh, Souma-kun? Where are you going?"
Souma turned around and his eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, I thought you were Tadokoro. Sorry, Kura-chan." he scratched the nape of his neck. "By the way, I'm going to air out Yukihira, maybe spend some time at the place, y'know? It's been closed for too long. I was also thinking about meeting up with some old classmates."
Sakura nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. But...can I go with you?" she asked, her eyes shining like a small child's.
The red headed chef laughed. "Are you sure? I mean, I'm okay with it. I'm just wondering if you think it's okay to sleep in my room....?" Souma's face heated up ever so slightly at the thought. Nakiri Sakura, his prestigious teacher, sleeping in his room.
"No, it's fine! I'll just sleep on the floor. Anyways, I'll go pack!" So Sakura quickly dashed back to her room.
Grabbing the smallest of her suitcases, Sakura began to fill it up with her necessities. "Hmm, I'll need...two pairs of extra clothes," she folded up some casual clothes and stacked them neatly in one end of her case. "My chef's uniform and pajamas..." those went in as well. "Hygiene supplies," she shoved those into a small pouch before tossing them in. "And my 'kitchen stationary!' Great I'm all set!" so she quickly changed into some more casual clothes (other than her overly revealing uniform...courtesy of Nakiri Alice) before going back to Soma's room.
"I'm done, Souma-kun!" she called before charging through his swinging door.
"Great!" Soma offered her a thumbs-up. "I'm done too, so lets go."
"But shouldn't we tell Obachan first?" she inquired.
Soma nodded in agreement. "Right!" So they quickly made their way downstairs, informed Fumio of their whereabouts for the next few days before heading out the door.
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A warm summer breeze whisked its way towards the Sumire street Shopping District. It was the perfect weather to walk home from school. The breeze made everything feel oddly blissful and the happiness from being able to walk home with friends multiplied the good outcome.
Kurase Mayumi and Koganei Aki, two girls who were inseparable best friends, walked side by side along with their other "guy-friends." Everything was running smoothly, until they hit a particular bump in the road.
Kurase stayed back, as her friends moved on. She looked up at the large red sign that spelled out Yukihira Diner in big jumbo letters. Kurase sighed, a feeling of self-pity and emptiness bubbling in her chest. This isn't worth it, she thought. So she continued to move.
Except, she heard voices...talking (???)....
No! She must be hearing things. It wasn't possible for Yukihira Souma, her long time crush, to be back, right?
She was about to continue walking with her friends, until Koganei Aki got right up in her face and gave Kurase a piece of her mind. "Every single day, you look around when we pass this place."
The shy girl instantly turned beet red. "Eh...?! N-not really, I..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say.
Koganei shook her head, exasperated. "Aish, that's why I told you to confess when we were still in middle school." she pointed a finger upwards to prove her point. "Especially when we found out he would be going to a different high school. You're such a coward, Mayu..." Koganei was simply speaking her mind when she said this, and through her bluntness, Kurase began to whimper like a lost puppy.
Koganei's eyes widened and she panicked at her upset friend. "Aaah! Geez, I'm sorry! Really, I am, Mayu!!"
When Kurase calmed down a bit, they all continued walking. "Well, it isn't too late, now, right? You could call, or mail him something." her friend suggested.
"N-No! I'm too plain. For somebody like me, it would be impossible to..." her voice trailed off and morphed into a small shriek of surprise as the metal door slid open, revealing a slightly shocked Yukihira Souma.
However, he seemed rather indifferent about the whole situation as he said, "Oh? Isn't it Kurase? It's been a while."
Kurase, however, displayed a face of pure shock, mirroring the faces of those behind her. "E-Eh?! Yu-Yukihiraaaaaaaaaaaaa?!?!?!!"
Suddenly, a mysterious beauty wearing a silver chef's coat stepped out, glaring at the indifferent chef. "Souma-kun! I let you borrow my knife, where is it?!"
Souma snickered, quickly shoving his hand behind his back. "Kura-chan, meet my friends from middle school."
Sakura swiveled around, to be met by some seriously confused faces. "Hello," she waved with a peace sign. "The name's Nakiri Sakura, Souma-kun's teacher and friend. Nice to meet you!"
They all eyed Sakura in disbelief. Souma couldn't really blame them. But really, she just said she was his teacher! Who wouldn't be in disbelief? And with her long silver hair and bright turquoise eyes, it was kind of hard not to stare.
Some thoughts that were flashing through their minds...
Eh? Is she Yukihira-kun's girlfriend? W-what am I going to do??
She better not be Yukihira's girlfriend. I mean, Mayu should at least have a chance!
Did she just say she was his teacher and friend?!
Nakiri....I think I've heard that name before....
Damn, she's hot!
But then, a man passing by spotted Souma's distinct red hair and pointed. "Look, it's Yukihira!" Instantly people started to gather around to beg him into making them some food. "Please! We need to eat some of Yukihira's cooking! It's been too long!!"
Souma sweatdropped while Sakura smirked. "Let's make a deal, Souma-kun." she suggested. "If I can keep up with your work in Yukihira Diner, you'll have to eat a whole bowl of my pickles stuffed with ice cream cake! And then vice versa."
He crossed his arms. "Deal." he grinned smugly. Now was a chance to show his teacher how much he'd grown since the training camp!
Meanwhile the people around them were either smirking or had their jaws hanging slack. Could this unknown person really beat Yukihira Souma? The second best chef they knew? Or maybe she was just all talk, and wasn't really up to par.
After a few minutes of more gathering, the customers settled themselves down on some tables and chairs and began to place their order. Souma came around with a notepad in his hand to write the orders down. "Yukihira's Secret Menu #20!" he called over to Sakura. "And two cups of sake!"
"Got it!" she replied and swiftly began to place out the order. Sakura poured out some sake. "The sake's ready!" And she began to work on the Salmon Onigiri Chazuke. The next order was Yukihira's Secret Menu #8. Sakura smirked. She remembered Erina complaining to her about Souma and his dish for the entrance exams. If only she had been there to see it....
"Souma-kun! The rice is finished cooking. Can you go fry the salmon while I boil the chicken wings?"
Their teamwork was so amazing. Everybody watching was an awe. It's impossible! someone thought. How can somebody so inexperienced with Yukihira's food make it taste the same. Or, if I daresay, even better! Everybody was just so satisfied with their food.
In the corner sat two tables. One of the tables were being occupied by two young teens while the other held Kurase and her friends.
"Say, who do you think that chick is?" Guy #1 asked.
"I don't know. But she looks familiar..." Guy #2 replied. "I feel like I've seen her on a magazine or on the TV before."
Kurase gulped, she couldn't help hearing their conversation. On a magazine? On the TV? That meant that Nakiri-san was someone rather famous. Was she a model or something like that?
Koganei shook her head at her friend's transparentness. "Hey, guys. We should help Mayu win Yukihira's heart. We all know it'll be harder with that random girl around."
Most of them nodded while Kurase sat in the corner blushing and staring at Koganei, signaling her to stop it, whatever her plans were. It would probably include Kurase doing weird stuff.....
One of the boys shook his head. "I don't mean to be a pessimist, Aki." he started. "But I'm not sure if it's really worth it. 'Cause, I just realized this: Nakiri Sakura is arguably one of the greatest and youngest chefs in the world." and as if that statement wasn't enough, the boy went on: "Have you guys ever heard of Nakiri Erina, God's Tongue? Nakiri Sakura is her superior cousin. She graduated out of Japan's most elite cooking school at age ten with the top spot and began to teach there earlier this year! Let's not forget, she's only Yukihira's age!"
The boys gasped. Koganei's eyes widened in disbelief. And Kurase felt an arrow pierce her heart. "Greatest?" she whispered.
Koganei could see her friend's eyes hold unshed tears. "It's okay, Mayu! You still have a chance! Remember, that Nakiri girl said that she was his teacher and his friend. If she's his teacher, wouldn't it be illegal for her to have a relationship with Yukihira?"
Kurase nodded, mainly for her friend's sake. But a little part of her heart lit up. Aki-chan is right! she thought to encourage herself. I still have a chance, so I should take it while I can!!
Meanwhile, the two guys sitting at the next table perked up. Nakiri Sakura? The greatest and youngest chef in the world?
"No wonder I saw her on TV and in a magazine!" Guy #2 exclaimed.
"I can't believe it," muttered Guy #1. "Nakiri Sakura....I'm getting her autograph later!"
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Finally, most of the customers had exited the shop. "Ahh!" one of the satisfied men sighed. "Thanks for the meal, Souma!"
"Of course!" Souma answered. "No problem. Enjoy the rest of your day!" he waved. Sighing, Souma approached Sakura, who was currently wiping the table next to Kurase's.
Sakura looked up at Souma and smirked. "So, I won the deal, huh?"
Souma nodded. "Well, I guess it was sort of fated anyway." he explained scratching the nape of his neck. "As expected from Nakiri Sakura-sama." he bowed exaggeratedly.
Sakura laughed and finished cleaning the table. "I'll just go prepare my 'dish.' Pickles and ice cream cake, here I come!" she smiled devilishly.
She was about to go make her 'dish' when a boy from Kurase's table blurted out, "Ano, Nakiri-san! Can we taste your cooking?"
Souma quirked his scarred brow. "But you just did, right?" he pointed at the bowls on the table.
The boy shook his head. "No, I mean her own recipe!"
Sakura looked back and smiled. "Sure! Just give me half an hour and I should be done!" After a few moments of thinking, she decided to cook a Panna Cotta, an Italian desert. Sakura smiled, thinking of Takumi and Isami Aldini. They would probably appreciate it if I made this for them. So she made a mental note to make some for the Aldini twins.
Sakura stirred some milk and gelatin powder into a bowl before setting some heavy cream and sugar on a saucepan over medium heat. While she waited for the Panna Cotta to heat up, Sakura decided to prepare her pickles and ice cream cake in a separate room, as not to disturb the delicate aroma of the Panna Cotta.
Slicing open some pickles in half, Sakura scooped a spoonful of heavily sweetened ice cream cake (which she had brought in her suitcase, 'cause, ya never know...) and stuffed it in the pickle. She proceeded to do this for a whole bowl's worth of pickles before returning to the making of the Panna Cotta.
About 10 minutes later, Sakura had finished dicing some strawberries and raspberries and had carefully arranged them on the Panna Cotta in an intricate array. "Buon appetito, signore e signori. Per favore goditi la tua Panna Cotta." she served them elegantly in her fluent Italian.
As much as Koganei hated to admit it, Nakiri Sakura had impressed her. Very much. Her Panna Cotta was hella good! She just...couldn't stop eating! Koganei was pretty sure the rest of her friends could agree as well. But she felt bad for Kurase. She was sitting there, with a finished cup of Panna Cotta, with an empty sadness in her eyes as she stared at Souma complimenting Sakura, who had a slightly amused look on her face.
"This Panna Cotta is so thin....yet thick. Does that even make sense?!" Souma asked.
Sakura giggled. "That texture is achieved by skim milk. With regular milk, the Panna Cotta would have been too thick and filling. I put this into consideration, as your friends had just finished eating a heavy ramen. And the thin yet thick texture was achieved by this." she pulled out a small bag of powdered confectioners sugar. "It's powdered, yet thicker than skim milk."
"Wow! And to think this was so amazing!" Souma exclaimed.
"Well...it was only 10% of my ability...." Sakura pointed out.
"WHAT?!?!?!" everybody exclaimed.
"Well obviously," Sakura said. "I mean, I've never really pulled out 100% unless I was cooking for myself. Not to sound boastful, but I can easily win cook-offs with all of Totsuki including the Director himself using as little as 17.09% of my ability."
"T-That is kind of understandable." Koganei admitted quietly, something rather uncharacteristic for her. Kurase and her friends could instantly see that Koganei was really, really, really impressed. She was a stubborn person. Not to mention, even if she really was impressed, she would still be spiteful about it.
Finally, they had all finished their Panna Cottas and it was time for Souma to eat his fair share of pickles stuffed in ice cream cake.
Sakura snickered devilishly in her palm as she shoved the bowl forward. "Enjoy!" she mocked.
Souma grinned and plopped a pickle into his mouth.....only to subsequently spit it out. And guess where it landed? That's right, Sakura's face.
Her eyes widened to the size of tea saucers and she shrieked. "Disgusting! You damned imbecile!" she let out a string of curses before rushing to the bathroom.
Sighing, Sakura came back with a cleaned face. "Look, I know it's disgusting, but can you at least finish the bowl without spitting into my face? I won the bet after all."
Souma sighed. "How can a chef so great produce something so horrible?" he muttered before he plopped another pickle in his mouth. This time, he didn't spit in Sakura's face. He swallowed, and ate another, and another. "Ya know," he muttered weakly, his face beginning to resemble a pickle. "I think I'm going to need to puke this all out back into mama nature." and he sped upstairs to the bathroom.
Sakura laughed at his behavior and began to eat the Panna Cotta she had saved for herself. Finally Souma came down, the pale sheen on his face gone and a grin adorned his lips. "Okay! Who's ready for some squid tentacles dressed in peanut butter?" he asked jokingly.
Nobody raised their hands. A rather awkward silence carried on as they relished the aftertaste of the Panna Cotta.
Suddenly, Souma spoke up. "Hey, isn't it supposed to be a lot busier at this time of day?" he turned around to see some pretty depressed young men. "Eh? What's wrong young gentlemen of the shopping district?" he asked them.
Tomita Yuuya, the owmer of the Tomita Bento Shop groaned. "Tell me, Souma-chan. Is....is HUGE CAPITAL REALLY ALL THAT IMPORTANT?!?!" he screamed before slumping back into his chair.
"Aish!" Sakura complained walking over. "If you don't mind being a bit quieter?" she asked.
"She's right!" one of Tomita's friends agreed. "Calm down, Tomi-chan!"
Meanwhile, Souma had a confused look on his face. Seeing that the red head had not understood, Tomita began to explain. "Well, you see here. Exactly one month ago, the station's commercial opened after its renewal, those "in-station" stores." In-station stores are stores that are literally inside the station. Their purpose is to target those going in and out of the station. Our station has many different stores and stuff like that, but there's one thing that really gets in the way of the Sumire Shopping District's sales. Mozuya Karaage, a store that specializes in karaage. They are the ones who have been getting in the way of Sumire's sales."
Karaage... Sakura thought to herself. Mozuya Karaage....why does that name sound so familiar?
"I see...." Souma said thoughtfully.
"Exactly!" Tomita said. "At this rate I don't know how long my shop will be able to hold up. Ugh....seconds, please?" Comical tears streamed down his face.
"Oh....okay. But are you sure this is really the time to be eating so carelessly?"
Koganei looked up. "Hmm, I remember my mom talking about this the other day. But it seems that karaage is starting to get really popular in Kanto. It's been all over the TV!" she exclaimed.
Tomita's river of tears started to move a lot faster. "What are we going to do??" he questioned helplessly.
"Well, that's easy!" Souma said.
"What? How?" One of Tomita's friends asked.
"All we have to do is create a karaage that rivals Mozuya's!" he deadpanned.
Everybody except for Sakura looked at him in disbelief. After that moment of silence, Tomita's friend spoke up again. "No way, that's just reckless, Souma-chan. The difference in appeal and capital is obvious...The opponent is just to strong."
"Yeah, but it's better than doing nothing." Souma pointed out. "And...clients are greedy. If it's a really good thing, they'll find it. So as a part of Yukihira, I can't just watch this place being teared down, bit by bit!" he pumped his fist in the air, a Souma-like fire in his eyes. "Let's steal back the clients with a new karaage and revive the shopping district!"
Everybody followed his actions. "YEAAAAAHH!!!!" they all shouted. "Well said, Souma!" somebody yelled. "As expected of Yukihira's heir!" somebody else shouted.
After a few minutes of Souma conversing with Sakura about some possible battle plans, Koganei pushed Kurase into their faces. "Oi, Yukihira! Kurase wants to help! She's not in any clubs and I'm sure she's a great....taste tester....." she trailed off, seeing that Sakura (Miss Genius) was standing next to Souma.
Souma nodded. "Sure! Sakura and I will need all the help we can get."
After a few more minutes of thinking, Sakura spoke up. "Soooo, karaage? Have you made it before?" she asked.
"I've made it a few times. But of course nothing as extravagant to beat Mozuya."
It's that name again. I really should find out why it sounds so familiar....
"That's true." Sakura agreed. "But karaage is mostly made from chicken meat. Meat...." somehow that reminded her of something. "Oh! Do you have Mito Ikumi's number?" she asked.
"Um, no. But I could ask Kanichi for it! That's great. Nikumi's the meat master! You should call her that, by the way."
"Yeah, sure...." Sakura giggled.
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A few hours later, Souma and Sakura had finished their dinner together (Souma did the cooking this time). "I'm going to go use the bathroom first." he called, making his way up the stairs.
"Okay. I'll wash the dishes then." so Sakura cleaned up, washing the dishes and putting everything away.
After Sakura was done with the bathroom, she walked to Souma's room. Her first thought was: Why the hell is it so damn messy?? Her second thought: Oh shit! I stepped on something! Sakura looked up to see Souma grinning sheepishly.
"Ah, sorry it's so messy." he looked at the bed and the cluttered floor and suggested rather reluctantly, "Are you sure you don't want to take my bed? I'll take the floor..."
Sakura waved her hand, smiling. "No, it's fine! I'll sleep on the floor."
"Oh, okay then." he said.
After they both had successfully settled into their sleeping spaces, Souma flicked off the lights. A few minutes later, Sakura could hear the sound of Souma's soft snores filling the room. After shifting around a bit, she found a comfortable position to sleep in and closed her eyes.....
Only to have them pop back open. She remembered where she had heard the name of Mozuya Karaage! A few days ago, Isshiki had mentioned how the ninth seat of the Elite Ten had recently opened his own chain of karaage, called Mozuya. But what was that guy's name? Oh right....
Eizan Etsuya.
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A.N: Wow! What a long chapter. Sorry for the late update! Please comment to give me some feedback on my writing and what should happen next to Souma and Sakura (*wink wink*). And don't forget to vote!
Word Count: 3,848 words (Woah! Up to 3,000, huh? A new record!! ;))
Ja nee~
~Lady Catherine Griffin of Somewhere Over the Rainbow