Chapter One: les étoiles

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Your destiny is written in the stars, Kojirou! Through astrology, that destiny can be read. Insert payment method here or use a gift card code *wink wink*

"Seriously, how did Hinako think this was a good idea? This is bullshit."

Shinomiya let out a sigh as he meticulously typed in the code on his gift card, all the while wondering why Hinako couldn't just buy him a normal birthday gift. He'd specified that he wanted a new cast iron pan for his kitchen, but Hinako had decided to take a different route entirely by giving him a gift card for a site called 'Midorima Horoscopes'. Hinako had a habit of giving him everything except the things he wanted, annoyingly enough.

"I'm sure you'll like it! Besides, those horoscope thingies give you relationship advice," she'd said. "You need it, honestly. I'm doing you a favour, Shinomiya-senpai! Would you rather have a cast iron pan that gets shitty after a few years or a relationship that lasts forever?"

"'I'm doing you a favour' my ass," Shinomiya muttered, a glower forming on his face as he waited for the screen to load up with his first horoscope. He wasn't even sure why he was entertaining this bullshit, if he was completely honest. He had much, much better things to do. Like cooking. And cooking. And… you guessed it, cooking.

Welcome to Midorima Horoscopes, Kojirou! Click here for a glimpse at what the stars have determined your traits as!

"Maybe I should just click on the X button," Shinomiya muttered. "Fuck's sake. Fucking horoscopes. They say the same thing for everyone."

Despite his complaining, he was still complacent in following the instructions on his laptop screen. The loading stars appeared on his screen, swirling and bouncing around the screen as twinkly sounds began to burst out from his speakers. He hated horoscopes, sure, but he couldn't deny that it was some pretty high-quality bullshitting. The gift card was a 3D image of space and showed the stars from all sorts of different angles, and it even came with a single quote: Your destiny is in your hands.

Hello, Kojirou! After some consulting with the stars, we have determined your traits. Feel free to tell us here if we got anything wrong!

As a Scorpio born on November 16th, you are a jovial companion but can also be possessive and stubborn, even with those you care for most. You don't like to be wrong and will often do whatever it is in your powers to prove yourself.

It seems that you will have numerous romantic interests in your life.

"Actually… they're kind of right," Shinomiya mumbled after a pause, eyes glued to the screen as he scanned over the words again, again and then one more time for good measure. He was secretly quite a jovial person, though he didn't really tend to show that side of him to most of the people in his life. It was only his staff, his mother and his close friends who really knew how excited Shinomiya could get about cooking and life and the future. To everyone else, he probably just seemed cold and infallible. He preferred it that way.

"So," Shinomiya continued, reading over the last sentence. "Romantic interests? Well… I have had quite a few, but… hmm… do they have anything else to tell me?"

Shinomiya clicked around a little bit, hoping that he'd have an actual horoscope for today. It didn't take long before he noticed the big starry button which had the words 'Daily Horoscope' emblazoned across it in shiny silver letters. He clicked on it and stared at the screen as he waited for it to load, big shiny stars shooting across his screen. At this point, he'd forgotten about his past irritation. He'd become somewhat interested — though he was still making sure to remind himself that it was just a coincidence and that horoscopes were still bullshit.

…possessive and stubborn…

"Shit, I'm being stubborn," Shinomiya muttered, his thoughts drifting back to the analysis of his traits. "Damn. I just proved them right."

On that note, his daily horoscope loaded up on his screen.

Good afternoon, Kojirou! Today is the day that everything will change. Why? You will meet the love of your life. You may have already met them without realising it…

"Ew. How cliché," Shinomiya said, rolling his eyes as he closed the lid of his laptop screen. "I knew horoscopes were bullshit. Love of my life. My restaurant's closed and I'm not going anywhere today. How am I meant to meet anyone?"

After a few moments of thought, Shinomiya got up and went out of his office so that he could lock his front door. Just for good measure. It wasn't like he believed in that bullshit.

He also called the apartment's front desk and ordered them not to let anyone up to his room, regardless of who they said they were. Again, it wasn't because of the horoscope: it was just because he wanted to be on his own. He often spent his days off work on his own anyway — there was no reason why today had to be different.

Finally, he muted all of his social media apps. Just so he could focus on his cooking — not because of the horoscope.

"Whew," Shinomiya said, sitting back down in his chair once he'd finished. Now, all he had to do was wait. He was going to prove that stupid horoscope wrong and then rub it in Hinako's face so that she'd stop toting around that astrology bullshit. All he had to do was go the remainder of the day without coming face-to-face with anyone. He was in his apartment, he didn't have work and he didn't have any reason to go out anywhere. And besides—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Shinomiya's thoughts came to a halt as he stared out through his open office door, wondering just who could be at the door for him at this time. He was pretty sure he'd just called the front desk and ordered them not to let anyone up. So, why was there someone knocking at his door? What if it was some super-ugly person and Shinomiya ended up falling in love with them?

"Ugh, fuck off," Shinomiya grumbled, swatting the air around his temples as if trying to fight off the thoughts in his head. "That horoscope was bullshit. Besides, even if it's true, I doubt there's anyone at that door who can make me fall in love at first sight."

Having reaffirmed that belief in his mind, he rose to his feet and moved out of his office, eyes trained on the wooden door. One knock, two knocks, three knocks then more silence. It wouldn't be long before the knocking started up again.

"I'm coming," Shinomiya called out.

He approached the door, eyes trained on the golden handle as the horoscope flashed in his mind once again. It was bullshit, he knew that, but… the prospect of meeting his 'true love' was a little scary. He really wanted to believe that it was bullshit, but that website hadn't gotten anything wrong so far. It had all been correct, painfully so. What if Shinomiya's true love was really standing at the door and he just hadn't realised it yet? Shinomiya wasn't ready for love. Yeah, maybe he was in his thirties, but he was dedicated to his kitchen. He didn't need love when he had his kitchen, damnit. He didn't—

Knock!

"I said I'm coming!"

As if to troll him, the person behind the door continued to knock a second time, then a third time. Shinomiya let out a loud groan of irritation as he reached up for the chain, loosening it with a grating 'chink' and then lowering his hand onto the handle. He twisted it, only to find that it was refusing to budge. It took him a minute to realise that he needed to get his key and actually put it in the keyhole so that he could open the door. It took him even longer to realise that he'd left the key in his office after rifling in his trouser pockets, but he eventually turned on his heel and retreated back into his office, lifting up various sheets and his laptop bag until he realised that his key was snug in his breast pocket. Of course.

He walked back into the main room, hand diving into his breast pocket to retrieve the key, but froze when he realised that his front door was open. His eyes drifted away from the front door and to the person who was sitting on his couch, one leg leisurely folded over the other as golden eyes flickered from Shinomiya to the painting behind him.

"Painting of yourself, huh?"

There was a chuckle, though it was soon followed by more words.

"I see you're still just as much of a narcissist as you were before, shishou."

Shinomiya had been shocked, but that one quip had been enough to snap him out of it. Irritation quickly flooded his mind as he reached for the nearest item — an orange — and launched it in the direction of Yukihira, who had a lazy smirk on his face. The orange instead bounced off the wall and to the floor, having missed Yukihira by at least a mile. Yup, he definitely needed to work on his throw.

"Mmm. Nice try, but you pulled the throw a bit there," Yukihira observed. "I give it a four out of ten. Better luck next time!"

"What the fuck are you doing here, Yukihira?"

Yukihira grinned. "Well, I thought I'd reintroduce myself. I'm the new owner of this apartment complex."

Shinomiya had been nodding, but when the meaning of Yukihira's words had actually registered in his mind, his blood froze in his veins. He looked at Yukihira's face, searching for any sign of 'I'm just kidding' on his face, but there was none. Despite the smile on Yukihira's face, Shinomiya could tell he was being serious. Completely and utterly serious.

"Wait, what?"

"I had a Shokugeki with the owner's daughter. She put this entire building on the line, so I put my diner on the line. So, obviously, I had to win. No way am I losing my diner to a bunch of land sharks," Yukihira remarked with an eye-roll. "Anyway, after I won and got the records to the people living here, I saw your name, so I figured I'd pop in and say hi. It's been a while, shishou."

"For the last time, stop calling me shishou. I'm not a shishou."

"Shishou."

A cheeky smirk appeared on Yukihira's lips, pure curiosity dancing in his eyes as his lips parted to ask a question, his tone even more cheeky than it had been before.

"What you gonna do about that? Challenge me?"

"Seriously, you're crazy," Shinomiya said, completely disregarding Yukihira's question as he raked a hand through his hair. "Aren't you a chef? How the hell are you meant to be a building owner as well?"

"I can multitask," Yukihira replied, leaning back on Shinomiya's couch. It was clear that he didn't intend to leave for a while, annoyingly enough. The horoscope was still in the back of Shinomiya's mind, but now that Yukihira had arrived, Shinomiya couldn't deny that he was interested to see how Yukihira was faring. He hadn't seen Yukihira ever since his Stagiaire, but… the horoscope. The horoscope.

"Idiot," Shinomiya grumbled, reluctantly moving to sit alongside Yukihira. "You're still just as impulsive as ever."

"Oh, trust me. I'm not being as impulsive as I'd like."

Shinomiya raised an eyebrow. "What's that meant to mean?"

"Nothing," Yukihira replied, though his tone was indication enough that he'd clearly meant something by that statement. Idiot, Shinomiya thought. He was still just as frustrating as ever. But, as frustrating as Yukihira was, he'd always kept Shinomiya on his toes. His cooking had always been interesting. His creativity knew no limits. Not to mention, his pure skill as a chef… it was absolutely amazing. Perhaps Yukihira's impulses were more of an advantage than anything else.

"So," Shinomiya prompted, "do you have something to tell me or can I kick you out now?"

A curious expression appeared on Yukihira's face as he rose both eyebrows ever-so-slightly, Shinomiya's gaze darting to Yukihira's golden eyes as if by instinct. Shinomiya had always thought about how unique the shade of Yukihira's eyes were. It had been a fleeting thought, but the thought had passed through his mind nevertheless.

"Why so eager to get rid of me? You seem antsy," Yukihira observed. "Well, you always seem like you've got a stick up your ass but now, it's like you've got the whole fucking tree up your ass."

Shinomiya's hand reached out to flick Yukihira's forehead before he could stop himself. The ensuing look on Yukihira's face told him one thing: he was being overfamiliar. He hadn't consciously intended to do that — it had just been an automatic reaction to Yukihira irritating him.

He quickly withdrew his hand and opened his mouth to apologise, but before the words could start spilling out, a loud chuckle emitted from Yukihira's lips. Shinomiya felt his own lips drifting shut as his eyes fell upon Yukihira's laughing face, eyes lit up with amusement as small creases began to form in the corner of his eyes. His face was full of life, red hair blazing all over the place as his shoulders shook with laughter, unable to handle the force of Yukihira's laughter. Shinomiya couldn't help but imagine that if pure, woven gold had a sound… it would've been the sound of Yukihira's laughter.

But, that was a weird thought. A really weird thought.

"Still just as violent as before, shishou," Yukihira murmured once he'd recovered from his laughter. "Out of curiosity, why didn't you come to Tootsuki again after the whole training camp thing? Some assistance during the Régiment de Cuisine would've been nice."

"I do have a life, Yukihira," Shinomiya reminded him with a raised eyebrow. "Well, if '24/7 cooking' counts as a life. Still, if you're sitting next to me right now, I guess that means you made it to the top."

"Yeah," Yukihira replied, a warm smile appearing on his lips. "I did. I'm at the top with you. Like, literally. Of course you'd live on the top floor of this complex. The view's amazing."

"What view? The curtains are closed. You can't even see anything," Shinomiya pointed out, his gaze moving towards the closed curtains. When the windows were open, the sky would be there in all its glory, sometimes bursting with clouds. Other times, there would be nothing to behold but pure, blue sky. Right now, all there was to behold was the sight of silky grey curtains. Still pretty, but not as pretty as the sight of the world outside.

"Was I looking at the curtains?"

It took a minute for Yukihira's meaning to click in Shinomiya's head. Shinomiya turned towards Yukihira and was about to reply with a "well, I assume so" but then he realised that Yukihira's gaze was intent on his. Really, really intent.

…you will meet the love of your life…you may have already met them without realising it…

"Get out," Shinomiya blurted.

Yukihira frowned. "Huh?"

"Now. Leave," Shinomiya said, rising to his feet as he took one step away from Yukihira, then two. He might've taken a third for good measure, but he was aware that there was a side table right behind him. He didn't exactly want to start knocking his own furniture over for the sake of making a point, did he?

"You might own the place," Shinomiya continued, "but you can't waltz in whenever you please. I've got stuff to do. Go."

There was a flicker of hurt on Yukihira's face, though it was there for a fraction of a second before a somewhat leisurely smile appeared on his lips as he rose to his feet.

"Alright," Yukihira said, his voice giving away nothing. "Sorry to disturb. I'll see you around, shishou…"

Shinomiya watched after Yukihira as he retreated from his room, trying to ignore the frantic thumping of his heart. He wasn't nervous or anything — he was just conscious of time. Yeah. It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon; he had prototype dishes to cook. He'd spent enough time worrying over that stupid horoscope. It was time for him to get on with his day.