The chef

Summary: When disaster strikes a small town chef with a gift for cooking, he is forced to find work elsewhere, leading him to the Institute of War. Things heat up and his reputation grows, leading to some exciting events! Rated M (lemons will start later) (OC x Katarina, Ahri, others)

Chapter 1: A Chef is Made

"Come here son! It's almost ready!"

A built burly man stood over a stove and frying pan as he yelled to his young son. A boy no older than 10 came dashing through the door of the small cottage with carrots in his hands, a big smile present on his face. His eyes were emerald green, twinkling in the light of the stove as he arrived at his father's side.

"I'm here papa! Is the soup ready yet? Oh, and I got the carrots you wanted!" The boy eagerly presented his carrots to his father.

The man smiled warmly, patting his son's head as he accepted the bright orange, fleshly picket carrots.

"That will be a great addition to the soup Cody. Well done son." The father generously complimented his son, the boy's mile increasing as he accepted his father's praise.

The burly man turned away from his son and pulled out a stool from under the small counter he was working. He placed it before his son and patted the top.

"Get up here son. It's time you know how I make this soup. It's a family recipe and I want you to carry it on." The father talked to his boy cheerfully and warmly, evident in the boy's happy features, proud to finally be able to help his papa.

"First, I want you to cut up those carrots with this knife. Be very careful Cody. It's sharp and will cut you if you aren't careful. Look how I do it." The boy's father lined up a carrot on the cutting board beside him. "First, slice off the top part. We don't want that in the soup. Next, carefully lift the end of your knife, leaving the tip touching the board, and press down. Your knife should never leave the board and I want you to go slowly at first. The older you get and the better you are, the faster you can go until you get to where I am." The boy's father carefully instructed him on the technique of slicing vegetables, demonstrating what it should look like by slicing an entire fully grown carrot in 2 seconds.

"Wow dad! That's amazing! How do you do it so fast like that!" yelled the boy in amazement.

"Lots and lots of practice son. Here, how about you add the sliced carrots to the soup?" said the father caringly.

The boy reached over and dumped the perfectly sliced carrots into the soup, the warm aroma of the mixed vegetables and beef filling his nostrils.

"Mmmm. The soup smells really good dad!"

The boy's eagerness made his father laugh and then smile. He opened his mouth as if he was about to speak, but closed it almost immediately, placing an arm around his son and holding him tight, enjoying the closeness of their deep bond. Eventually Cody's father sighed and responded, "It sure does son, it sure does."

A few minutes of watching the broth boil, the father took his arm from his son saying, "Well Cody, how about you grab two bowls and we eat this dish? What do ya say?"

"Finally!" Cody quickly leaped off his stool and ran to the cupboard to find two bowls. He brought them to his father, which he filled to the brim with his savory concoction. Each grabbed a dish and left the counter to sit down at the small four person table that was located a few paces behind them. They both sat down silently and each took a bite. Cody felt a wave of pleasure roll off his tongue as he ate the delicious broth. His father felt the same reaction and they both moaned in bliss, sharing in the mutual satisfaction of a job well done. They quickly demolished their bowls, eager for more of their delicious soup.

After finishing the broth, the two sat together on the couch, the father placing his arm around Cody. They both sat in the dim candlelight in silence, Cody's father breaking the silence by handing his son a soup spoon, the one he had used to make the delicious broth.

"This is for you Cody. I want you to have this." said the dad as he handed his spoon over to his son.

Cody glanced at the simple wooden spoon before responding, "T-Thanks dad. I-I can't believe you are giving me YOUR spoon!" cried Cody.

"It's yours now son. The only thing I ask you to do is remember and savor the time we have together cooking. Remember the enjoyment you felt when we first cooked together. Remember the taste of the first dish you made yourself. Remember, that there will always, ALWAYS, be a cook deep within you."

The boy's eyes started to tear up as he replied to his dad, "No problem dad!"

The two hugged each other tightly, relishing in the embrace and bond strengthened by food, tears in both men's eyes as they poured their emotions into each other.

"It's yours now son, enjoy it, but I have one last request." said the burly man.

"Anything pop you name it!" replied the boy.

"Continue the tradition of our small restaurant. It may not be big or very popular, but our family has cooked and served in that place for generations, and I want you to be the next owner and cook. After your mother..." the man paused for a moment, a tear sliding down his eye, "After your mother passed, its hard for me to keep up with the work, and it may soon become your job to run the place. I just want you to remember all the good times that we have had and how much cooking means to me."

The boy eagerly replied, "Of course I'll run the store dad! I've been looking forward to for my whole life!"

Cody's father smiled as the shared one last embrace.

"Well Cody, I think it's about time for you to go to bed."

"OK pop." The boy yawned and ran up the stairs to the second story of his house, leaving his father siting in the dim light of the fading candles, smiling, watching his son head for bed.

Cody slowly opened his eyes, waking up to the noise of his obnoxious alarm. Cody groaned, wishing he could re- enter his dream with his father. He really missed cooking with his father, and he always had this dream at the same time of the year: the anniversary of the recent rune war and the last time he ever saw his father. A tear rolled down his cheek, but he quickly wiped it away and got out of bed. He quickly got dressed and at a loaf of bread before calmly walking out the door to his job.

The sky was dark as it was only 5 in the morning. Each house Cody passed was dormant and dark, except for a few like him who woke up at first light to start their business. Cody soon arrived at his business, a small cafe and bistro located near the end of town. Nobody was around as he opened the door to his restaurant, revealing a few small tables fit for two persons and a kitchen. Cody smiled as he entered his small, yet familiar domain. He eagerly awaited to start his preparations for the day, grabbing his apron and toque, taking the chairs down from his tables and heading into the kitchen.

He was eager to start making this mornings breakfast: Spicy egg casserole.

Cody washed his hands and went into his freezer to grab a bunch of his supplies. He returned with his crate of supplies and began preparing his dish.

He preheated his oven to 350 degrees and took out his skillet. Taking 2-3 handfuls of bland tortilla chips, Cody covered the chips with his signature salsa, gently tossing the sauce on the chips. He took a handful of the cheese next to him and grated it until he had about 1/2 a cup. He added it as well as sour cream to the mixture. He placed the skillet's contents in the over and waited 20 minutes while making the other batch for baking, as people would soon be coming. After 20 minutes, he removed the contents and added more sauce and some more grated cheese. Afterwards, he took the eggs he had cooked (sunny side up) and placed them onto of the chips. To add to the dish, he placed diced avocado on top, adding cilantro to the mix and drizzling 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar over the platter. Cody smiled at his creation, wanting to eat it himself but knew it was for the customer. He was ripped from his trance by a very beautiful red head banding on his store window. She had long, radiant red hair that cascaded down her flawless olive skin. She had piercing green, almost emerald, colored eyes and vibrant red lips. Her most striking feature that drew his attention was the long scar that crossed her left eye. She was dressed in a tight black combat jacket that covered her massive breasts, revealing a large amount of clevage. Her chest was crisscrossed by leather straps that he realized held her dual blades on her back. She had black gloves with intricate silver designs on them. Her midriff was exposed, toned and slim, leading to her tight leather leggings. they were held up by a thin belt, on which numerous daggers were placed. He noticed them placed on other locations of her body as well, straps on her legs confirming this. Finally, her attire was completed by a modest pair of black combat books. Cody noticed her rapidly banging on her door, her eyes darting to and fro and if she was trying to avoid someone or something.

Cody ran over to the door and unlocked it to let her in. She breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly turned to Cody.

"Hiding Place!" said an out of breath Katarina.

"What?" asked a confused Cody.

"A hiding place! Do you have somewhere I can hide!?" I'm being chased by the police here." Katarina noticed that she got a suspicious look from her mystery savior. "It's not what you think. I was framed for a crime I didn't commit! Just please help me!" she yelled anxiously.

"Sure miss I understand. I got just the place for you." replied a calm Cody smiling. "Follow me."

Katarina noticed his smile and felt strangely better after it, calming her tense nerves.

Cody turned and ran to the back off his kitchen, lifting up a floorboard to reveal a hidden wine cellar." You can hide in here. No one knows that this exists. You will be safe." said Cody.

The mysterious redhead thanked him and entered the cellar. As he closed the door, police showed up and knocked on his door.

Cody calmed himself and approached the men.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" asked Cody politely.

"We saw a redhead enter this establishment. Where is she?" demanded the head officer.

"You must be mistaken officer. She may have approached my restaurant but she didn't enter. Here take a look around, but I promise you there is no redhead." replied a still calm Cody.

"Fine. I think my boys and I will take a look around."

The group of officers entered the restaurant and searched for their criminal. They looked under the tables, searched the cabinets, and went through each drawer in the kitchen as well as checking the refrigerator and freezer.

"See told you. There is no redhead her, only me." said Cody.

"Well, I guess you were right. sorry for the intrusion Sir, but please keep a lookout for the criminal and let us know if you do catch a glimpse of her."

The officers exited the restaurant and turned to check the rest of the street. When they were out of sight, Cody opened up the wine cellar.

Katarina slowly emerged, still suspicious of any guards should they still be near. She finally fulled exited the wine cellar and walked over to one of Cody's tables and collapsed in the chair.

As Cody was about to ask her a question, she beat him to it.

"Thanks for saving me back there. Not many people would have done what you did. Most would have left me to face the law."

"Uh, your welcome miss, but I don't think I caught your name?" said a curious Cody.

Katarina raised her head upon hearing Cody's question, pure confusion evident on her face. "Wait. You mean to me to tell me that you don't know who I am?"

Cody smiled at her and shook his head. "Nope. All I know is that you are pretty beautiful. Other than that I have no idea who you are, but I assume that you are some kind of assassin or something. The knives and blades kind of make that obvious. I'm Cody by the way."

Katarina stared dumbfounded at the young man in front of her. First he had called her beautiful and second she couldn't believe that he didn't know who she was. HER! The greatest assassin in all of Noxus and possibly the world! How could he not know who I am! Katarina was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Cody ask her a question.

"Sorry what?" responded Katarina.

"I said would you like to have breakfast. Given your current situation I think I should take the rest of the work day off to help you get on your feet again." repeated Cody.

"No that's not necessary...wait did you ask about breakfast? Well, it has been a while since I had a really good meal.." Katarina replied meekly. She didn't know why she was acting kind, but the man had something about him that made her act soft. Maybe it was his acts of hospitality, she didn't know. All she knew was that she was hungry and he was offering free food, so why not?"

"Hey so is your food-"

"Good? Try it for yourself." Cody handed her the dish he had prepared earlier for his customers, but this gave precedence.

Katarina sat down with the plate of food and took a bite. She moaned into her bite as the food dissolved on her tongue. Katarina closed her eyes in bliss as she savored the delicious food. After breaking from her trance, she turned to Cody.

"This is amazing! Where did you learn to cook like this!" she exclaimed.

"Well I'm basically self-taught, but my dad was the one who taught me the basics and passed on his love of cooking to me. Now I run his shop, making food for anyone that happens to pass by. Unfortunately, not many pass by. I mean, I am located in the worst part of town, alone, with maybe a few customers." Cody hung his head at the last part, but quickly changed his attitude to one of gratitude. "But your thanks really means a lot. Everyone who has come in has given positive reviews. It s a slow process but it s rewarding."

Meanwhile Katarina had inhaled the rest of her breakfast, satisfied after eating Cody's delectable creation.

"I'm sorry that you don't get much business, but that was still the best thing I think I have ever had, and thanks for saving me earlier, so if there is anything that I can do to repay you..." Katarina smiled as she complimented Cody.

"Your thanks means everything miss. As for the favor, would you mind being my assistant today? I don't mean be my servant or anything. All I ask is that you come with me to the market and be the waitress. I'll even treat you to dinner and lunch." proposed Cody.

Katarina thought for a minute before answering. Considering his proposition and his earlier hospitality, she accepted. "OK. I accept. So what do I have to do?" asked Katarina.

"Well, since we still have a little time before we open, let s go to the market in the center of town. Here follow me." stated Cody.