Hi everyone! Me again. I hope you didn't mind the waiting too much (but hey, at least I'm back to a normal publication rhythm).

Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Family Reunion

Souma and Takumi had been arguing about the qualities of each dish for what felt like hours and still couldn't come to an agreement. It was starting to be tiresome as none of them wanted to let the other win. That was predictable, the blonde thought. They both had really good reasons for refusing to lose, so obviously, neither of them could be really objective here. What they needed was an impartial jury, or at least one person whose judgment wouldn't be impaired by the things at stake.

If only someone could come, knock on the door and…

"Nii-chan!"

Takumi recognized the voice immediately. He turned around swiftly and barely had time to prepare for the incoming impact of his brother running at him full speed. Isami hugged him tightly, mumbling:

"What were you doing? What happened? Why didn't you tell me you were here? Do you have any idea how worried I was? Don't do that again!"

As he tried to keep his plate balanced with one arm, Takumi put the other around his twin to hug him back. Something was wrong, he thought, unable to pinpoint the problem.

"But … I haven't left for that long, right?" he asked as he tried desperately to calculate how long he'd been in the underground kitchen.

It then hit him what the problem was. Isami was too thin. He was usually that thin in the middle of summer, and that was months away! Could it be…?

"It's been ten years, Takumi."

His whole world shattered. That wasn't true, right? That couldn't be true! But he didn't have time to see Isami's face so maybe…

His brother finally let go of him and looked at him right in the eyes. He hadn't aged a day, and there was a playful smile on his lips.

"Did you really believe that? Of course it hasn't been years! Nii-chan, you're so silly!"

Still, there were tears in his eyes. And he was responsible for them.

"But look at you! Given how thin you are it must be at least July! How long…" Takumi started.

Isami's smile disappeared instantly as he said:

"A week. We've been looking for you for a whole week."

So summer was still months away. And yet…

The truth hit Takumi like a house in a hurricane, and he suddenly felt so terrible about himself he could have cried. His throat tightened, and he said weakly:

"I'm so sorry… How could I have been so selfish?"

There were only two things that made Isami lose weight like that: summer heat and extreme stress. Sure, a week wasn't such a long time, objectively. But how would he have reacted if his brother had been in his place? The time he spent underground with the Phantom seemed so short to him, but for Isami it must have felt like ages. And yet, not once did he think about him, except maybe for that quick thought when he won with his first crepe.

Of course he was aware that he'd spent more than one day underground. But somehow, that didn't matter to him. He didn't even think about the clients, or all the people he was letting down. Because surely, he was going to prove his superiority next time, and then he could go back to the Trattoria proudly. Also, he hadn't left for that long, right?

But it's already been a week… A whole week, and it never occurred to him that people would be worried, not knowing where he was. He completely forgot about Isami and didn't even think about how he would feel about him disappearing without a word. What a terrible brother he was…

.

At the same moment, another kind of reunion was taking place in the underground kitchen. Jouichiro and Gin had entered it with Isami and as the sommelier ran to his brother, the detective approached the Phantom slowly, almost as if he was scared to see him disappear if he wasn't careful.

"I've finally found you, Souma."

There was no doubt about it this time. His son turned around to face him with a joyful:

"Hi Dad!"

The conversation stopped there.

They stood in front of each other awkwardly, neither of them knowing what to say. It had been such a long time… After all those years, after nearly losing hope so many times, he was finally standing in front of his son. And now, he didn't know what to do.

It was funny, he thought, how the way you react to things is always different from what you imagine… Although it was true that whenever he tried to picture what would happen if he found Souma one day, he could never decide if he'd be angry or overwhelmed with joy first. However, he never imagined that he would feel … nothing. As he looked at him, wondering why he was wearing that stupid mask and not taking it off, he noticed the plate in his hands. And since old habits die hard, he couldn't help but ask:

"Did you cook that?"

He slapped himself mentally as he said that. He could have found a better approach… However, it was enough to make Souma react and get them out of that dead end they both seemed to be stuck in.

"Not that one. I was having a contest with Takumi, and this is his dish."

Challenging random chefs sounded so much like his son… And of course, that immediately raised his interest.

"And who's the winner?" he asked.

"We were trying to figure it out."

Souma then turned around to better see the newcomers, said hello to Gin and stopped at Isami and Takumi, who was looking at his brother like a guilty child.

"That makes three of you," he remarked.

"And I suppose you want us to decide on the winner, right?"

"That'd be great!"

Jouichiro sighed, unable to repress a little smile. His son hadn't changed one bit.

Of course, Gin accepted immediately, and so did Isami once they managed to get his attention. As soon as he heard the proposition, Takumi seemed to switch back on competitive mode. His expression changed completely, from a guilt ridden puppy to a determined chef. Both of them prepared three portions for the improvised jury and let them try both dishes.

Curious, Jouichiro started with Souma's creation, wondering how his son's style improved after all this time. It was a seafood risotto with mussels, zucchini and grilled oysters. On the side were three small pancakes that looked a lot like…

"Are those blinis?" Gin asked.

"Yes. I thought it would be great to… Well, try the risotto and you'll see."

From the first bite, Jouichiro could tell how different it was from what Souma used to cook. It was as daring and original as usual, but it mixed so many ideas and influences that each bite felt like an explosion of creativity. If the mussels had been cooked with the rest of the rice, giving their taste to the whole dish, the grilled oysters and zucchinis had clearly been cooked separately and added last minute to give it small bursts of a stronger, different taste. The result was almost overwhelming though, and as soon as the thought came to his mind, the detective understood why the blinis were important. He took a bite and the soft taste and fluffy texture soothed him immediately, almost resetting his taste buds to let him dig in more of the risotto.

"You've grown up a lot, haven't you, Souma?" he said with a soft smile.

His son's radiant grin was the only answer.

He eventually put down the plate and turned to the other, thinking that Takumi would have a hard time beating that. Surprisingly, his creation wasn't an Italian dish like he would have expected. It was a soba salad, mixing Japanese and Italian ingredients. Parmesan cheese chips, dried tomatoes, marinated chicken and pine kernels met soy sprouts, small bits of nori and various fresh herbs. On a small ramekin on the side were what looked like breadstick chunks.

Deciding to keep them for later, he took a bite of the salad. Soy sauce and olive oil were used in the dressing, but the real surprise came from its spiciness. It was strong yet short, which was very typical of wasabi. The marinated chicken, although tasty, felt quite appeasing and was amazingly soft in his mouth. The result was incredibly refreshing, and the crunchiness of the breadstick chunks added an interesting twist to the texture.

That was … clearly different from what Takumi had cooked until now. This dish was on a whole new level, and a quick look at his brother's dumbfounded expression was enough to confirm that he thought exactly the same thing. Of course it tasted like something the Italian chef would come up with, but at the same time, it was full of a passion and a fire that the detective hadn't felt in his previous creations. Really, deciding on a winner after that would be a real challenge. And yet, he had to do it.

Making a choice seemed to be as hard for the two others as it was for him. And yet, the final decision was unanimous: the winner was Takumi. The blonde let out a radiant smile at the words and turned to Souma with a triumphant look, making Jouichiro wonder if there wasn't more to this challenge than just their pride. However, he didn't dwell on it as he declared:

"Okay Souma, now that this is settled, maybe you could take off that mask and come back home with us."

This made Takumi frown in discontent, for some reason.

"No," Souma replied firmly. "I mean, I'm not really against going back with you, but the mask stays on."

"What? But, Souma, why…?"

"We had a deal," Takumi intervened. "I've reached the number of victories we agreed on. You have to take it off now."

Souma turned to him with pursed lips and remained silent for a few seconds.

"I made the deal with you, not them," he countered. "So I'm okay with taking it off in front of you, and only you."

If the blonde's smile earlier was radiant, this one was dazzling. And Jouichiro swore he literally saw his eyes glitter. He looked so much like a small child finally receiving the toy of his dreams along with a huge ice cream… However, that only lasted an instant before he put back his serious face on and asked:

"Why are you so protective of it, anyway?"

Sighing, Souma grabbed his wrist and quickly led him to the small shack his father noticed in the corner.

"You'll know that soon enough," he muttered.

As he went in Souma's room – or their room, for the past … week apparently – Takumi's heart was racing in his chest. Which wasn't different from his last three challenges, thinking about it… Especially that one. But now it was over, and he would finally be able to see that face he'd been dreaming of for all this time. He found himself hoping that it wasn't really made of pizza, and slapped himself mentally for having such a stupid thought.

Of course, he was prepared for him being disfigured in some way. That sounded logical, and the fact that he was Yukihira's son only confirmed that, given what he heard about him. However, he didn't really care about it. Actually, now he knew the truth about the Phantom's origins, he wanted more than ever to show him that his appearance wasn't a problem, so he could leave the underground kitchen and start living a normal life again. Or more precisely, one that was normal according to society's standards and not only his own, twisted ones.

Souma put his hands on both sides of the mask, and hesitated for a second, saying:

"I haven't looked at myself in a very long time, but it will probably look terrible. Are you sure you want that?"

"Go ahead, Souma. I'm sure it will be fine."

He let out a nervous smile – since when was Souma nervous? – and finally took it off, revealing…

Wait, something was wrong here.

Takumi blinked a few times, thinking that he might be seeing wrong due to the dim light. But the more he looked at it, the more certain he was that…

"Are you serious?"

"Well, I told you it was going to be horrible…"

"You have nothing!"

And that was true. Apart from a scar on the eyebrow and maybe a little damaged skin on the left side, Souma's face was the smoothest, most normal looking face he could have imagined. Actually, he was way cuter than he would have thought…

"What? But it can't be!" the redhead exclaimed.

Takumi couldn't tell if he felt disappointed about it or not. That kind of plot twist was just so … lame. Even fairytales never dared to do that! There had to be some kind of trial for that! Well, the challenges were some kind of trial, but that was off topic.

"Really Souma. Apart from that little scar over there-" he pointed toward it vaguely –"you have nothing."

The redhead gave him a suspicious look – and really, it felt so good to finally see his expressions – as he said:

"You're lying. You can't be serious."

"Why would I lie?!" he exclaimed.

He was maybe a bit too loud when he said that, because they both heard Isami's voice in the distance shouting:

"I don't know what you guys are talking about, but you shouldn't worry about my brother lying. He's the most terrible liar I know!"

They both fell silent after that. Then, Souma asked shyly:

"So you're serious? I have … nothing?"

Seeing his uncertain, hopeful expression, Takumi softened. Then, without thinking, he put his hand on Souma's cheek and cupped it gently, whispering:

"Trust me. You're beautiful."

He slowly inched toward him and brushed his lips against his. The other stiffened at the contact, but soon gave in and wrapped his arm around his waist, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss.

Takumi eventually pulled back, too soon for Souma's taste, and said with a smile that somehow made his eyes seem bluer and brighter than ever:

"Now let's get out of here, shall we?"

He nodded. He would have followed those eyes anywhere.

As he stepped out, Souma was soon struck by how strange it felt to have his face uncovered after such a long time. Sure, he took off the mask when he slept, but he usually covered his face with the blankets so it didn't really count. And even then, he still had plenty of time to forget what it was to go out in the plain light – sort of – without it.

His father walked toward him, but stopped at a few meters with a horrified expression. If it hadn't been for Takumi's hand in his – when did they even start holding hands?! – he would have run away and put his mask back on immediately. So he was disfigured after all… he thought regretfully.

"Souma… Are you kidding me?!"

"Dad I…"

"Did you really run away and hide from society even though your face looks perfectly normal?! Do you have any idea how I felt for all those years, while you were having fun in your little underground kitchen?! I even stopped being a chef and became a detective to find you! Do you know how boring it can be, playing spies for people who absolutely want you to prove their partner is cheating on them, or working for companies who believe someone is spying on them? And all of this for nothing?! Really Souma, you have some serious explaining to do!"

So Takumi was right, in the end. Relieved, Souma simply scratched the back of his head and said with an apologetic smile:

"Well, it seems that I was wrong about that whole disfigured thing. Sorry?"

His father sighed, and that seemed to be the end of it. For now, Souma thought, knowing he would have a lot to explain once they were alone. Jouichiro then closed the gap between them, and for a second the redhead almost thought he was going to hug him. But his dad had never been the hugging type, so he simply put a hand on his shoulder and told him:

"You might be a complete moron, but I'm still glad I found you. I couldn't wait to beat you for the 500th time!"

"Well that's not going to happen anymore! I will beat you next time, you'll see!"

"Say that when you beat Takumi, will you?"

"I've already beaten him! It was just a one-time thing."

"Hey, you've lost against me three times in a row!" Takumi protested.

The only thing left to complete the cliché would be a lame pun or a gag of some sort to make everyone laugh in a completely exaggerated way… Isami thought as he looked at the group from a small distance, a soft smile on his face.

And that's why I intentionally "forgot" about the other characters. But now this part of the story is over and I'm so happy I can start using other PoV again! I missed them all so much...

Also, about the plot twist of Souma's face being normal, I just wanted to say that it was my plan from the very beginning. I didn't change my mind or anything. That was supposed to be the ultimate plot twist of the story, and I'm so proud I've finally reached that point! Don't worry though, my work here is far from done and I still have lots of new ideas for the upcoming chapters!

As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. See you in two weeks!