Chapter 6
Yuumei reluctantly turned the door handles to the Third Music Room. When her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she was met by two adjacent simulated kitchens in the center of the large room. The right kitchen was occupied by Tamaki, Haruhi, Huni, and Mori, all in chef outfits. While Kyouya, Hikaru, and Kaoru were behind the counter of the left kitchen in similar attire. In front of the setup were arranged seats filled with the club's regular customers, each one prepared to watch the baking battle in the hopes of tasting a creation from their favorite hosts.
"Finally, you're here!" Tamaki gleefully made his way to Yuumei, escorting her to the stage-like kitchens, "we can finally begin!" He gestured for her to join the left side after placing a chef's hat on her head. He stood in the center to address the anxious crowd. "Now ladies, we can finally begin our cooking competition," he looked at every girl as he talked, a hint of romance in his eyes, "today we will be making some cakes and all of you will be the judge as to which team's is the most delicious!"
"On this side," Tamaki continued passionately, pointing to the kitchen on the right, "is myself, Haruhi, Huni and Mori. This team will be led by Haruhi," at the end of his sentence a banner rolled out from the ceiling just above the said team, revealing a childish portrayal of each host mentioned. "And on the opposing side is Kyouya, Yuumei, Kaoru, and Hikaru, led by Yuumei," a similar banner appeared above them. "For those who don't know. Yuumei is from a family of restauranteurs and this competition is to see how her cooking skills compares to our own Haruhi! Who, without a hired chef, cooks at home…herself!" The crowd responded with awe to this, while Haruhi simply rolled her eyes at the mundane fact.
"The prize," Kyouya interrupted, "is the opportunity to cater the food for the Host Club. Each team will produce four cakes, one for each team member. Choose wisely." There was an underlining threat in his announcement as he pushed up his glasses and stared at the audience with a cool gaze.
"Now then, we'll start NOW!" the whole crowd cheered with excitement.
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Haruhi sighed, she didn't want to compete against Yuumei after finding out her capabilities the day before nor did she want to lead the team, but she had been persuaded by the others' lack of experience in the kitchen and by a little hint that winning would affect her debt. It didn't hurt to try. She had made a few cakes before, though they weren't as amazing as Yuumei's, they were edible.
"So, where do we start?" Huni asked, jumping off of Mori's shoulders with a determined look in his eyes.
Haruhi took a deep breath and started gathering the ingredients.
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Yuumei didn't hesitate and gave each member of her team an assignment, to which the twins responded "how are we suppose to know you made that cake if we help you?" Preferring to not deal with the two's attitude, Yuumei tried to work twice as fast to compensate for their lack of participation. Kyouya helped but asked to do the most menial tasks in fear of ruining the final product.
While mixing the batter Yuumei sighed, they want to see what she could do then she'll show them exactly that.
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"Now add the egg whites to the dry ingredients," Haruhi commanded her team. Each member did their best to follow their leader's instruction. "After you finish mixing then you can put the batter in the pans."
"Uh I don't mean to be rude Haruhi, but are you sure this is all that goes in the cake?" Tamaki reluctantly asked.
"Yea, this seems too simple," Huni added, "Yuumei must have had some secret ingredient!"
Haruhi simply brushed off their comments and commenced pouring her batter into a circular pan, "well it's not like I specialize in making cakes, I usually just get the mix in a box."
"Huni-sempai is right! Something else must be able to make our cakes as delicious as Yuumei's" Tamaki's hand touched his chin as he thought of ingredients that could possibly help them.
"How about strawberries? Strawberries are delicious!"
"That's a great idea Huni-sempai! You can add that in your batter. I think I'll add some vanilla bean in mine, oh and peppermint! Peppermint will make it cool and refreshing!" The excited blond threw in his supplementary ingredients in random quantities.
Huni followed suit, "I'll add some chocolate and candies too!" He then reached to Mori's bowl, "here Takashi, I'll make yours good too!"
Haruhi sweat dropped, unable to stop her teammates from their impulsive actions, she simply placed her simple batter in the oven. Did she even expect to win in the first place?
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"Sour cream for chocolate cake?" one of the twins remarked. Yuumei didn't bother to turn around to see which one it was.
"Just trust me."
With Kyouya's help, Yuumei was able to have three cakes baking in the oven in record time. Finishing up the last one, the twins were still eyeing her movements from behind while Kyouya stood beside her, prepared to help if asked.
After a quick glance at the more hectic opposing team, the other twin also made a remark, "seems like their recipes are quite complex. Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"Yes, I'm sure," she replied, still not glancing back at her critics, "you don't need all of that fluff to make a perfect cake. Simple ingredients are enough as long as you know how to use them."
Kyouya closed his eyes as he leaned against the counter, taking comfort at his familiarity of his friend's philosophy.
"What are you talking about? You've been exposed to ingredients from all around the world, how can you say that none of those would make a basic cake recipe taste better?"
Yuumei's focus on her task didn't waver, "I never said they wouldn't. I'm just saying you don't need them." She began pouring the batter into a round pan. "Despite being a commoner and not having any official training, my mother made the best food I ever had. She always focused on simplicity and tradition. Her ingredients were basic, but because she knew exactly how to use them her food always came out perfect."
"So you're saying your mom made that cake?" their voices were synchronized.
"Hikaru, Kaoru," Kyouya suddenly said sternly.
"It's ok Kyouya," Yuumei turned to place the pan in the oven then finally faced the twins, "my mom died a few years ago. I just try my best to keep her ideas alive." Closing the oven door, she took a glance at the other team and smiled. "Actually, if you don't believe me, you can ask Haruhi. She's tasted my mom's cooking."
"Haruhi came over to your house?" Kyouya inquired.
"Yea, a lot of times when we were kids." Yuumei watched the antics of the other team but her eyes were glazed with nostalgia, "as we grew up, more and more kids found out about my background and they suddenly treated me different from them. But, I'm sure you can understand," a smile grazed her lips, "Haruhi was so innocent and oblivious. Even though she knew, she didn't consider it important and she never alienated me. It's nice to have someone like her, especially now."
Kyouya, Hikaru, and Kaoru stood in silence, looking at Yuumei. The atmosphere had gotten heavy but their eyes softened.
Yuumei took a deep breath then reached for more bowls, "now for the icing. Kyouya, can you hand me the flour and milk?" But when she placed the bowl on the counter the hands that handed her the ingredients were not from the person she expected.
"Flour and milk. What do you want us to do?" Their simultaneous voices was absent of any hint of coldness and distaste. Though simple, this was their offer of friendship.
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"TA-DA!" the twins marked the end of the baking competition and the transition to the judging.
Haruhi was content with her simple angel cake which she decorated with white icing and an "ENJOY" written on top. Tamaki's cake resulted in a swirl of colors that were unintentional, and amused by the multi coloring, he chose to leave it devoid of any icing. Huni, on the other hand, covered his misshapen cake with as much icing and strawberries he could. What he had leftover was placed on Mori's similarly shaped cake.
On the other side, Yuumei's expertise was able to produce a coffee cake for herself, a chocolate cake for Kyouya, and a pair of red velvet cakes for the twins. Apart from a layer of icing, Yuumei's was lacking in any excessive decor. Kyouya's looked like it could be sold at a bakery. The icing was piped with a precision that rivaled any store bought cake. While, the matching red velvets were coated with icing then drawn on with a cartoon version of the twins.
The audience began to line up at each kitchen. First, they lined up for their favorite host's cake, then lined up to try the other cakes. It didn't take too long for the customers to gather to one side. Yuumei's.
"Remember, the winner will serve the food for the Host Club. So, choose wisely," Kyouya's kind reminder was an unnecessary threat with the evident preference of the crowd.
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"The results are in and the winner is…" Tamaki took center stage once again and shouted with excitement, "Yuumei's team!"
"Wahoo!" the twins exclaimed with slightly feigned enthusiasm while the audience and Haruhi's team applauded in relief.
Tamaki congratulated and shook Yuumei's hand, the expression of excitement frozen on his face. After a few awkward seconds, it didn't seem like Tamaki had any intention of stopping the hand shake and remained frozen.
"The Host Club thanks you for your participation," Kyouya replaced Tamaki in addressing the audience, "we will resume hosting tomorrow. Please look forward to the new snacks." He smiled as he, and the other unfrozen hosts, escorted the students out of the room.
Once the club members and Yuumei were alone, Tamaki immediately retreated into a corner. Holding his knees to his chest, a melancholy aura surrounded him.
"Let me guess," Kaoru approached him.
"No one liked your cake," Hikaru teased.
Huni, Haruhi, and Mori tried to comfort Tamaki while the twins continued poking fun at their hurt king.
"I'll talk to my dad and arrange the catering, but I'm not sure if we can have it by tomorrow" Yuumei ignored the commotion.
"No need, I've already arranged it while ago in advance," Kyouya said without hesitation, amused at the scene before him.
Yuumei's brows furrowed as he looked up at the host, "wait, if you were already gonna do it what was the point of having this competition?"
Kyouya smirked, nodding his head in Tamaki's direction, "it was his idea. Even though I told him I had already arranged the catering, he still insisted. He was the one that arranged the teams. If I were to guess, I'd say he wanted you to make a couple of friends."
Yuumei paused in thought, "Hikaru and Kaoru." He did it on purpose.
She took another glance at the King of the club. He was now trying to hide behind Haruhi, asking to be defended from his disrespectful "sons."
Yuumei sighed at the laughable king, "are you sure?"
