The day of the cooking contest had finally come. A lot of Kuroko's friends was there, ready and eager to judge which of Kagami's or Terry's food was better. They had to cook an appetizer, main dish and a desert of their choosing. The jury, build from the five boys of the generation of miracles, Momoi, Sakurai, Takao, Himuro, Hyuga, Kiyoshi, Izuki, Mitobe, Riko and Kuroko, would have to vote for their favourite for each of the three type of dishes. Of course, they wouldn't have to do fifteen plates, but enough for everyone to have a good taste. They both had a budget to follow, which was a contribution from each jury.
The fist part of the challenge was to find all the required ingredients for their recipe at a fresh market within an hour and be sure not to over-budget. If they did, they could pay the difference from their own pockets, but they would lose points for it. In the other hand, if the have money left, the would gain some points. The five guys from generation of miracles were assigned to help Terry with her groceries and check if she respected her budget while The old Seirin's players and Himuro were assigned to Kagami. Meanwhile, Riko, Momoi, Kuroko, Takao and Sakurai had for mission to pick the drinks for the day.
Kagami and Terry were sides by side in front of the market. Terry was radiant; she was wearing short shorts and a black tank top. Her hair was up in a loose bun, her bangs covering her forehead, and her sunglass was on the top of her head. She had both of her hands on her hips looking directly at Kagami with a grin, eyes wide in excitement. Kagami had a similar expression on his face, grinning from all his teeth, his muscular arms crossed over his chest.
"Ready for this, Kagami?!" she said, her voice full of challenge.
"Oh, yeah! I'll make you bite the dust!"
"In your dreams!" she retorted, laughing this time.
"Are you guys ready? You've got one hour. No pushing, no running," Himuro said raising a hand. "Ready. Set... Go!"
And just like that, the three group parted ways. Kuroko's team to the liquor store, Kagami's to the vegetable section, while Terry's to the bakery one, all waving at each other, smiling like crazies. Terry was thrilled by the challenge, but must of all, she was happy that there was no awkwardness between Kagami and her. They had cross paths a few times at home when he was with Tetsu and each time it had been fine. She was relieved.
"Terry-chin, are you making your famous cake, again?" Murasakibara asked her while she was grabbing dark chocolate.
"Murasakibara, your not suppose to influence the participant." Midorima said, pushing his glasses up with his left hand.
"Heh~? I'm not influencing her."
"You were."
"Heh~? I was not."
While Atsushi and Shintaro were arguing, Kise passed an arm around her shoulders.
"What will you do for dessert, Terrycchi?" he asked, with a teasing tone, visibly to annoyed Midorima.
The said three-pointers turned around giving him a glare and shinning. Terry laugh at them, fighting over this when Aomine spoke up.
"I kinda wanna know too. So what are you making?" he sulkily asked, hands deep in his pockets, as usual.
"I was thinking about making chocolate fondants. It's easy, fast and really good! It's something I learned to make in the US." she answered, ignoring Midorima's side glare.
"Sounds delicious, what else do you need?" Akashi asked, pushing their cart by her side so she could put down the chocolate.
They continued with grabbing the ingredients, and it was pleasant; the boys made it fun. She was laughing at their interactions while thinking about what she would do for the main dish. She saw Kagami at the other end of the aisle; he was arguing with the one who use to be his captain. She smiled to herself and thought about how nice he looked, even from afar and with an annoyed face. She shook her head and still her resolve to beat him at this cooking thing. She turned around to the boys.
"Let's go, guys. We have other things to pick up."
Kagami was arguing with Hyuga about stupid things, like always, but deep down he was happy. He was glad that even if the others had graduate, they were still close. It was weird to think that soon he would also graduate, weird to think that Kuroko and himself wouldn't be at the same school anymore. Not that it would change their relationship, after all they were best friends. From the corner of his eyes, he says blue hair and he knew it was Terry. She was looking at him from the other end of the aisle, a smile on her face. He could feel a similar smile growing on his own. He had to beat her! He cast his eyes down to the list he had made, he still had to pick up what he need for the main dish. When he look up again, she had left.
He hurried and picked up the few ingredients he needed to do his famous pork-ribs. He could see Himuro's smile when he reached for the meat. He had tasted this recipe before and knew it would be delicious.
"Terry will have a hard time winning against your ribs." his brother said softly.
"Wow, really? Just hearing this I can feel my stomach grumbling!" said Kuyoshi, half laughing.
"You betcha! There's no way she'll beat me with this!" the redhead confidently declared.
Kagami was all smile when they reached the cashiers, but it faded a little when he realized how fast the bill was going up. He was scared that at this rate he would bust the allowed budget. It the end it didn't, but it was really close.
"1.67 under. That was close!" Izumi said, letting a little sigh out.
"Yeah, for a second I thought I was busting the budget!" Kagami said with a grin.
"Heh~! Terry-chin you have 21$ left... how did you manage that?" Muraskibara said, impressed.
Kagami turned around to see the five boys and Terry walking out with her groceries.
"Well, I guess she beats you at the first part of the challenge." said Himuro, patting Kagami's back.
"Meh. Maybe, but she can't beat my food!" he said, full of confidence.
Visibly Terry had heard him even if she was nearly out the doors because she was now looking at him and sticked her tongue out. Kagami smiled at the sight; she won't go out without a fight, and he liked it that way. They all walked to the cars, where Kuroko's team was waiting for them with enough vine, beer, alcohol and drinks for an army. They would definitely have a good time.
The second part of the challenge was to cook, obviously, but they had to be able to entertain their guests at the same time, which meant they couldn't stay cooked up in the kitchen all day. They had to participate to any games their guests would come up with. They had to do the cooking alone, they could ask one person to help if necessary, but doing so would cost them points. It was strictly forbidden for the two contestants to help each other; they had to focus on their own recipes.
The fist thing Kagami did when they got back at Terry's place was doing the marinade for the ribs. He planned to let them in it for as long as he could to be sure they would be as tender as it could. He was humming while doing so when a beer appeared next to him. He looked up, surprised, it was his favourite... Terry was smiling at him.
"It's the right one?" she asked, resting her chin in her hand and looking at what he was doing.
"Yeah, thanks." he said, opening it up and clicking his bottle with hers.
"Marinade, huh?" she questioned, taking a sip of her beer.
"I'm doing my famous ribs!" he declared, a huge smile on his lips.
"Can't wait to taste. We can taste each other dishes even if we can't vote, right?"
"I sure hope so!"
She laughed softly while grabbing some ingredients out of the groceries' bags. Kagami was curious at was she would be cooking, he was impatient to eat her food again. He was still determined to win the contest, but deep down he just wanted to appreciate another day in her company. He thought about what Himuro had said... he did want to know her better, maybe today was the perfect day for that. They would both be cooking, well not together, since they couldn't help each other, but still, they would both be in the same room doing something they both enjoyed.
He was deep in thought, looking at her profile when he heard Mirakasibara's lazy voice next to him.
"Heh~? Kagami-chin, what are you doing?"
"Oh, a marinade."
"Heh~? What for?"
"My ribs, I need to let them in as long as I can, that's why it's the first thing I'm doing."
"Oooh." Mirakasibara looked at Terry and asked the exact question.
"I'm preparing all my ingredients for my dessert. Pastry required precise amount of each ingredient; you can't really do whatever you want, or else it won't turn right. And knowing you guys, you'll probably make us drink a lot by the time we are ready to taste, so I'm trying to avoid a disaster." she said, laughing softly.
"Oooh. That's so smart Terry-chin. I want your dessert to be as yummy as usual." he said in a childish tone, licking his lower lip and imagining the taste already.
"Atsushi, weren't you suppose to tell them we're ready for the first game?" Himuro asked, entering the kitchen, frowning at his tall teammate.
"Heh~? Oh, that's right. But I wanted to know what they were preparing."
Tatsuya laughed at his friend, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Well, Taiga, Terry, we are ready for the first game."
"Okay." Kagami said, putting the meat into the marinade, wrapping it and putting it in the fridge.
When they reached the other room they ad placed plastics cups on each extremity of the dinning table. Kagami knew this game; It was beer pong. He felt confident about winning this game, especially if he had to play against Terry. He was a great shot after all; he wasn't the ace of their team for nothing. He was grinning, but when he saw that Kuroko was also grinning, he knew it wouldn't be that easy.
"I'll explain the game," he started. " I think everybody is familiar with this game, but we've added some rules, so I'll explain it in details. You have to throw the ball into the cups of your opponent. Each time you successfully throw your ball into a cup, your opponent remove that cup and must take a shot. The goal is to be the first to clear the other side of the table. At the end of the game, the loser has to drink a shot for each cup his opponent still have standing. So if the loser can't do at least one successful throw while the opponent has the ten perfectly, he would have to do 20 shots. It can be pretty intense, so be careful."
Kagami could see that Terry was a little worried. She knew her chances of winning were slim against a talented shooter as him.
"To avoid having one of you completely drunk after only one game, you'll play in team of two. Your partner will be draw between all the jury. So, you could be lucky and have one of our legendary three-pointers or unlucky and have me." he add, laughing at himself.
"Kurokochii don't say that! You're way better at this that you used to be!" Kise said, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek which resulted in a general awww coming from the girls and a few rolling eyes from the boys.
"I'm pretty sure my eagle eye could be a tremendous asset!" Takao happily declared.
"It doesn't work that way..." Izumi said, annoyed at the other point guard.
Terry laugh at their exchange. Visibly having someone to help against Kagami reassured her. Kuroko clapped his hands, asking for their attention once more.
"But it's not all. The winner will earn a point for each supplementary shots they make the other team drink. After the fist game, the winner has the possibility to play another game against two new opponents. BUT! It's a double or nothing. Which means it you lose the second game, you lose all the points you've gained from the first game. If you win the second game, you can play a third and final game. For this game, you can triple your points. But of you lose... not only you won't have the points you've cumulated since the first game, but you'll lose that amount of points. Is that clear?"
Both Terry and Kagami nodded, ready and eager to play. All the names were already in a hat, ready for the draw. Since Terry was a girl, and they were all gentlemen, she was the first to draw. She plunged her hand, grabbing one of the tiny paper, she unfolded it, a radiant smile was creeping at her lips after reading it.
"Mi-do-ri-ma!" she said half laughing, jumping in place.
Midorima was not one to show a lot of emotions, but seeing how happy Terry was to have picked him, he couldn't refrain a smug, pushing his glasses up. He walked to her, and surprising everyone he high-five her.
"Seriously..." Kagami said, under his breath.
It was now Kagami's turn to draw a partner. He walked to Kuroko, who was holding the hat and plunged his hand deep. He prayed to pick someone useful since he was up Midorima and Terry was an unknown. He thought Kise would be great, or even Kiyoshi... Sakurai would be great too. If he picked Aomine or Hyuga, they'd probably argue a lot, but they were good shots. He took out his hand and unfold the paper he picked.
"Euh. I've got Momoi."
Aomine bust out in laughters, pushing his friend in the back so she stick out of the group. She turned back, glaring at him.
"You would know that I'm good at this kind of game! No need to be a basketball player to be good at it!" she said, puffing her cheeks.
"Oh really? Prove it, then." Anomie challenged, still laughing.
Momoi walked over Kagami, looking up at him, a shy smile on.
"I'll do my best Kagamin."
"We'll do fine." he encouraged her.
So the game was on, and it was Momoi's turn to start. She grabbed the ball, let out a long sigh, concentrating and threw the ball. Against all of Kagami's expectations, it got right in the middle cup.
"Oh yeah!" Kagami exclaimed, raising his hand so they could high-five.
Momoi was all smile, visibly proud of herself. Terry removed the cup while Midorima drank the first shot. Momoi gave the other ball to Kagami, so he could make his shot. It was still their turn since they successfully got one in. He threw the ball straight into the far end cup to the left so Momoi could concentrate to the one in the middle.
"Nice one Kagamin!" she said, giving him a joyful clap on the back.
Terry grunt, taking a shot, while Midorima removed the cup.
"Will get them, don't worry, Terry." Midorima said.
"Oh, Shin-chan is soooo into it!" Takao exclaimed.
"Shut up..." the three-pointer retorted, blushing a little.
"He always hides his true feeling." Takao continued, ignoring Midorima.
It was Momoi turn to throw, and the ball entered one of the middle cup easily. Kagami's ball entered the other far end cup, but to the right this time.
"Oh yeah! Four in a row!" Kagami yelled, proud of his teammate.
"Damn it!" Terry said, drinking her second shot, making a face of disgust at the strong alcohol.
"Terry-chin, you're in trouble." Mirakasibara murmured behind her.
"Tch. I have to admit, you're better than I thought you'd be, Satsuki" Aomine said, looking at his childhood friend.
"Ha! Told you so!" Momoi exclaimed, fist in the air.
The game resumed, but this time Momoi's ball didn't reach its target, far from it, it didn't even touched the table. Kagami gave her a little slap in the back, saying it was okay. It was now Terry's turn, and she was wearing her brightest smile, confident they would easily catch up to them.
"Alright! Let's do this!" she smugly said, reaching for the little white ball.
She throwed the ball, and with a little plok it got right in. She bounced with excitement, giving Midorima a quick hug, before resuming her bouncing. The tall boy blushed furiously, surprised by the sudden show of affection. It was an odd colour to see on the three-pointers; he was usually so uptight, not showing much of his emotions except for his annoyed face. Kagami quietly laugh at his discomfort. Apparently, Terry had the talent for taking people off guard. He was somewhat relieved he wasn't the only who reacted like that around her. He wasn't usually so bashful, but when he was with her it felt like he couldn't properly use his brain. He was looking at Terry who was looking straight at him, a grin on her face. He blinked a few times, wondering why she was fixing him like that, when he felt Momoi pinching his arm.
"Oi! What?" he exclaimed, glaring down at her.
"It's your turn to drink. Midorima just got his shot in." she explained, handing him one of the tiny cups.
"Of course, he did..." he said, downing the strong liquor.
"My turn!" he heard Terry exclaimed and Kagami resumed his starring.
But it didn't last long since she missed her shot. The crowd started on booing her, to which she start laughing at herself, playing dumb. And surprisingly, it was one of the cutest thing Kagami ever saw.
The game ended with Kagami's team as victors. Midorima and Terry had to drink three more shots, which wasn't so bad. It had been an entertaining game, probably because of Terry comments and Mirorima's challenging presence. Kagami was grinning with Momoi when the two next contestants were drawn. Terry unfold the two papers announcing the new team they would have to compete against.
"Mitobe and... Aomine!" she exclaimed, pointing at the two boys standing on opposite sides of the room.
"Tch." grunted Kagami at the idea to play against Aomine, when he felt a little hand pulling him by the shirt. He looked down to see Momoi, a determined look on her face.
"I want to beat him," she firmly declared. "I want to prove him wrong. We can beat them, can't we?"
Kagami looked at the other end of the table where the silent Mitobe and the loud Aomine were standing. They were the strangest of team, but not to be taken lightly. Mitobe was an incredible basketball player even if people tended to forget about him... and Aomine, well. He still didn't win at a single one-on-one against him. But looking at Momoi's hopeful expression, Kagami stilled his resolve. They would beat them, whatever it takes. Even if it wasn't basketball nor a one-on-one, it would be his pleasure and beat that bastard of Aomine!
"Sure we can. And we will!" he exclaimed, shooting a fist to the air.
"Oh? What's this? You guys think you can actually beat me? Foolish. The only one who can-"
"Beat me is me!" Kagami and Momoi cut, laughing at him.
The game had been a tough one, at some point Kagami thought he would lose the points he had gained against Terry, but Momoi was literally on fire. She was focused and played harder, ignoring Aomine's stupid remarks on her frowning face. She was the one to throw the winning ball, and when she did, her expression was pure bliss. She had proven Aomine wrong and seeing her like this felt like he actually accomplish something and not only won a stupid drinking game. She surprised him by jumping in his arms, hugging him with her full strength.
"Thanks Kagamin! It felt good!" she said with the larger smile he never saw on her.
Aomine was sulking, but his hard face soften when he saw how his best friend was happy. Kagami swears he saw the smallest smile at the corner at his mouth for a fraction of second. Aomine definitely has a soft spot for Momoi.
At Satsuki suggestion, Kagami ended the game there and be content with the points he had collected. After all, he needed to finish his preparation if he wanted to be able to present his dishes. Terry had already left for the kitchen since she had lost a while ago, and he was sure she took full advantage of it.
A big chapter to apologize for the wait! Hope you guys liked it!
xx -C.
