Something's Cooking
Author's Note: Before I start, I would like to thank you all for the wonderful reception both Momma's Boy and Insecurities received from you. ^^ I was supposed to have a different fanfic in dedication to you, but I HAD to write this one down. It's AU as you can probably see and is based on a Hell's Kitchen episode. I'm in love with Chef Ramsay's accent. By the way, this isn't EXACTLY what happened, but it's very close.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Hell's Kitchen.
Ichigo looked very much pleased when he entered the restaurant. He took note of the sparkling silverware, the gleaming glassware and the very white tablecloths and napkin. The kitchens were wiped and waxed clean, the pantry fully stocked and his sous chefs were ready on call. Everything was neat and perfect to his liking. His maître d did a stunning job as usual with his restaurant. He gave a quick nod of satisfaction to the said man who stood just at the side.
Zangetsu, Chef Kurosaki's fine dining restaurant, was famous in the culinary industry. It was known not only for its delicious food, but also for its high-class china and tasteful furniture. However, the one thing that truly sets it apart from other high-class restaurants was the notorious head chef, Ichigo Kurosaki. From his good looks to his potty mouth, Ichigo could rival Gordon Ramsay, the infamous British celebrity chef.
Ichigo's inspiration to joining the culinary track had been said chef which is why he opened Zangetsu to the cameras. Zangetsu was the Japanese version of Hell's Kitchen in the US and the UK. Ichigo would invite aspiring chefs from all around Japan to work in Zangetsu where he would mold them to be the best they could be. He would divide the men and women into two teams: blue and red respectively. The last man standing would earn immense prizes, because not only did the chef have to stand strong against competition, but they have to stay strong against THE Ichigo Kurosaki.
He would be opening Zangetsu again for its third season. His frown deepened when he realized something. His temper would flare; he would have to deal with chefs fighting. He slapped a palm against his forehead. He would have to deal with smoking chefs, ruining their pallets and taste buds. He groaned, hoping against hope that he wouldn't have to deal with cry-babies this season.
Everything was running smoothly.
Ichigo dared to think as he walked around observing his unlucky guinea pigs for the season. Right now, his "underlings" were cooking up their signature dishes to present to him. He was surprised that in their excitement to impress him they hadn't hurt or injured themselves along the way.
Amidst the mess and the excitement, a petite woman had caught his attention the moment she entered the room. His amber eyes trailed from her delicate pale ankles to the top of her long brown hair. His eyes roamed towards her elegant white blouse and simple black slacks. It was a very practical outfit to run around in the kitchen with. He followed her movements as she gracefully paced herself, adjusting her black, thick-rimmed glasses when necessary. It were as if he was entranced by her. Only one woman had captured his attention this way...
A cough brought him back to his duty and he glared at Uryu, his male sous chef, who sniggered off to the blue kitchen. His sous chefs were also helping him keep an eye out just in case, but then, what was the point if he couldn't tell them off just yet?
He could already see mistakes here and there. The seasoned chef easily eyed the under-cooked asparagus that a young man was taking out of the frying pan. He refrained from clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth when a woman placed her overcooked scallops to the side. He visibly colored when he watched a buxom woman place red bean paste into her watermelon puree.
What did he get himself into?
"Alright. Time's up."
Ichigo shouted, crossing his arms as everybody scrambled to fall into a line. The tiny brunette he had been observing earlier took her place in the middle, smack dab in between the men and women. He could feel her violet gaze on him the whole time, but he chose to ignore her as he tried to get another look at the new recruits. All of them were looking at him expectantly with wide, bright eyes and smug grins. He smirked inwardly. Soon enough, all those grins will turn to disappointed or dejected frowns.
He'll start by wiping off the smile on that midget.
"Oi, you." His finger found the woman. He wasn't surprised when she didn't jump while the others beside her did. Her gaze never left him, after all. Their eyes met for that moment and Ichigo could himself involuntarily shiver in pleasure.
He shook his head inwardly and continued his sentence, "Step forward. You're up first." He curled his finger as he said this.
Even though he was quite far away from where she stood, he smirked when he saw the vein that visibly popped near her forehead. She had a forced smile on her face as she nodded. She brought out her dish where she had settled it on the red counter beside her. Unlike earlier when her movements were graceful and fluid, still with the forced smile, she walked jerkily toward him, stiffly yet carefully placing one foot after the other to reach him.
It looked as if she was scared stiff by him, but Ichigo knew otherwise. She was trying to control her annoyance and anger. He knew because he could still see the vein throbbing. His smirk widened. She looked almost cute when she was angry.
Just almost.
"Name please, Missy." Ichigo said as the woman placed her covered dish on the small round table in front of him. His smirk turned into a frown however when she smiled at him sweetly. So sweet that he could actually taste the sweetness if possible.
He cringed. He did not like where this was going.
"My name is Riruka." She said in a overly-sweet voice still with that overly-sweet smile in a small curtsy. Now, he was annoyed. Her smile turned to dark satisfaction when his eyebrow twitched.
He would have said something, but he remembered that they were still filming. He crossed his arms instead and nodded his head. "What's your job?"
She made this cutesy giggle that made Ichigo want to grind his teeth. "I'm a minor actress with a background in cooking." Ichigo could feel a vein pop somewhere. "And the dish please?"
An uneasy feeling settled into the pit of his stomach when a sadistic grin crossed her face for the briefest of moments that he himself almost missed it. Her hand curled around the handle of the silver cover and she brought it up. Without looking at the dish itself, he could already see the other contestants faces and he dared himself a look. His eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
On the plate were four brown balls mixed with bits of green and yellow thin strips and two slices of...red bread? Ichigo couldn't even get himself to swear as he brought a hand to his lips in thought. "Oh dear. Oh dear. What is this?"
Riruka placed her hands on her hips, a smug smile appearing on her lips. "This is my take on the traditional Indian food, Pakora. It's chocolate pakora with tomato bread slices and a spicy pepper sauce to go with it."
His eyebrows rose to his hairline. Chocolate? How dare she desecrate his favorite food? He angrily looked at her, ready to snap in irritation when Uryu coughed again.
Oh right. Filming.
He'll snap at her after he tastes it. He grabbed fork and mercilessly stabbed one of the balls before shoving it into his mouth.
The moment the pakora was popped into his mouth, however, Ichigo was rendered speechless and his poker face almost broke at the sensation.
The taste was magnificent to put it simply. Surprisingly, the spiciness of the dough complimented beautifully with the rich, sweetness of the chocolate. He tried the tomato bread which was soft and moist. It practically melted in his mouth and reminded him of excellently made tomato soup.
Overall, the dish was stunning. And oh, the verdict from him.
When he looked at her, she had her arms crossed over her modest chest, eyes gleaming with triumph and smugness. Why did she have this "I told you so" look? He coughed into his fist to clear his thoughts. She was looking at him with this expectant look on her face.
He placed the fork back on the table beside the dish. He rubbed his finger against his chin as if he was still thinking about what to say. "Well, when you look at it, it looks like mud balls." She tensed up when snickers were heard behind her back.
He continued, ignoring the glare she shot at him. "However, taste-wise. It's actually quite nice." Well, it was beyond nice, but she didn't need to know that. Her glare and still-tense shoulders told him otherwise. He smirked, perhaps it was too early to let her go back in line. He enjoys ruffling her feathers, so to speak. Too much, in fact.
"What's the matter, Riruka? You look tense!"
"Ohohoho. You're scaring me, Kurosaki-sama!" She said this of course in that high-pitched voice, but he knew that she was far from scared right now if the way she was looking directly into his eyes was an indication.
"Lighten up, Riruka. You want me to hug you or something? I'm not that scary." Au contraie.
When she tensed even more, he took this as an indication to walk to the other side of the round table where she stood. This time he ignored the cough/warning Uryu sent his way and did what he wanted to do.
He hugged her.
As in, he wrapped both his arms around her petite shoulders and brought her closer to him. In the position they were in, it was impossible not to smell her and her smell was intoxicating to say the least. She smelled like flowers and chocolate, but there was an underlying scent underneath it all. It was subtle yet strangely familiar and so, he pressed his nose against the skin of her neck and tried to identify it by inhaling.
"Hey, hey. Doesn't he have a wife?" He thought he heard someone whisper from the back.
Wife.
Wife...?
Wi...!
Pushing himself away from her and her addictive scent should have been the first thing he did, but instead, he grinned and pressed her closer to him. Without warning, he swooped down and caught her lips with his own.
He didn't hear the gasps of the females, the wolf-whistles of the males, the frantic murmuring of the staff or the harsh hiss of Uryu. He was only concentrated on the feel of her moist lips on his and the way she was moving against him in an achingly familiar manner. When her hand came around to play with the hair at his nape, he finally got it.
She was still in a daze from Ichigo's sudden attack, so she never realized his hand had positioned itself at the back of her head. He looked towards the contestants who stood at attention when they realized he had turned back to them.
Now, he got why her movements were so mesmerizing.
"Everyone..."
Now, he got why her eyes were so captivating.
"...this woman..."
Now, he got why she wasn't scared of him.
"...isn't really a contestant."
Now, he got why her scent was so appetizing.
His hand pulled her long, brown locks.
Now, he got why she liked to irritate him and vice versa.
Brown locks parted to reveal short black hair instead, stunning everyone in surprise.
Now, he got why everything about her was painfully familiar.
"Let me introduce you to Rukia Kurosaki, my wife."
The moment he said her name, she seemed to snap from whatever daze she was in and she turned to glare at Ichigo, who in turn smirked at her. With a sigh, she took off her glasses to reveal sparkling amethyst eyes. Everyone murmured amidst themselves. Some gushing cheerfully about cooking beside another master chef, while the others were whispering about her and her restaurant, Shirayuki. Disguise and facade ruined, she bowed to everyone, "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
"STOP THE CAMERAS!" The director bellowed in an outrage and he stormed off the set in a fit.
"What's his problem?" Rukia asked, stepping away to allow her husband to move away from the set. After temporarily stopping filming, Rukia was forced to stay back with the crew until they finished filming. Ichigo rolled his eyes and brushed a hand through his hair. Before he could answer, however, Rukia interrupted him. "Is he angry that I messed up the show?"
Ichigo chuckled, swinging his arm across her tiny shoulders. He started moving which also forced Rukia to walk with him. "Quite the opposite, dear wife. Apparently, some dimwit positioned the camera elsewhere in shock at your little act. He ended up filming the tables."
"My little act?" She huffed, crossing her arms. "What's with you suddenly kissing me? And in front of the cameras too!"
He shrugged. "I sorta knew who you were already. The kiss was just a reconfirmation of sorts."
She raised a slender eyebrow in question, violet eyes gleaming playfully. "What if you had made a mistake and kissed another girl instead?"
He abruptly stopped walking and swiftly pulled her into a dark corner, covering her yelp with his mouth as his lips came crashing down unto hers again. Seconds after, a staff member passed by them, looking for Chef Kurosaki. When they parted for air moments later, staring deeply into her eyes, he answered truthfully, "I'll never make that mistake."
Her heart warmed and a blush graced her face. He pecked her forehead.
"Now then, what brought on this little stunt?"
"You insulted my cooking."
His eyebrow rose. "That's it?"
She nodded. "That's the worst a chef can give another."
"I just said that chocolate will never work well with anything but desserts." He paused. "Alright, I'll have to take that back."
Her smug smile was covered by his lips, but he could definitely feel her smiling. He growled and nipped at her earlobe. His hands started roaming and hers automatically went back to play with the hair at the back of his neck: a weak spot of his that only Rukia knew. He trapped her between his much larger body and the wall, peppering her face and neck with butterfly kisses.
They didn't even pause when the camera crew started calling out his name.
"Chef Kurosaki, they're...they're calling for you." Rukia managed in between breaths. She was caught unaware when Ichigo suddenly sucked her collarbone and she let out a moan. He covered her mouth with a large hand and he whispered huskily, "Let them wait."
He then pounced on her.
It was safe to say that by the time Ichigo decided to reappear, the contestants had to redo their dishes for Chef Kurosaki to taste. Ichigo had to endure a scolding from an infuriated director and a nagging Ishida Uryu. They also had to postpone the opening of Zangetsu and cancel and apologize to those who had made prior reservations.
Needless to say, Mrs. Kurosaki was banned from entering Zangetsu unless she was there to eat or if the director had personally called and invited her.
Mr. Kurosaki would just smirk.
Author's Note: Ugh. The ending...but then again, this story was long overdue so I'm going to have to apologize for the horrible quality. Just in case, background of this story is that Ichigo is a world-renowned chef with his own show which is very similar to that of Hell's Kitchen. Rukia, his wife, is also a chef with a tiny restaurant to call her own which is also quite popular. By the way, I used Riruka as her alias because she reminds me too much of Rukia. I wanted you guys to believe that he was making romantic advances to "Riruka" but I guess you guys already got she was Rukia from the start. ^^ I've also never read anything with Riruka in it, so I don't know how she acts around Ichigo.
Sorry for any grammatical or spelling errors. Hope you enjoy! Reviews are very much loved.
I'll have another story hopefully by next week before I leave for Korea.
PS. If you want to know what episode it is, it's Hell's Kitchen SEASON 7 Episode 1. I got shocked watching it. Ramsay is awesome. Hehe.