Chapter 10:
After the man from TSUJI had bid the teens goodbye and left the stage, Makoto stared down at the gold-embossed card she clutched in her hand. "I don't believe this is happening, Yuji honey. Not to me!"
"It really is, Mako my love" the boy answered before kissing her cheek.
"You've certainly earned it" Mamoru spoke to the girl. "Appearing on this cooking show was the big break you needed to have your incredible culinary skills recognized, and I might add, the break you truly deserve. Well done, Mako-chan!"
"Hai, Mako-chan" Usagi grinned. "Especially after making me and our friends all those yummy dinners and snacks over the last two years. Just think of all that time and energy you spent as an investment in your future, and now it's finally paying off!"
"I need to thank Michiru for suggesting the idea to me" the brunette said. She looked across the stage toward the v.i.p. seating area only to find to her disappointment that the entire front row was deserted. "Oh... she must've left with Haruka already."
The mention of that particular name brought another frown to cloud Minako's pretty face. "Did Hussy Haruka make a pass at you or do anything else she shouldn't have during the contest, sugar dumpling? I was too busy to watch you as closely as I wanted to."
"Not even once, my sweet" Taro reassured his girl. "To be honest, she hardly spoke to me much at all."
"Good!" Minako breathed in relief.
"She probably wouldn't want to do anything that would disrupt my Mako-chan's chance at winning tonight's contest" Yuji mused.
"Nani? Are you implying she would have if there wasn't any contest or I wasn't here to protect him, Yuji-chan?" the blonde gasped. "That wicked woman!" She fumed, "Just wait until I get a chance to drive her Ferrari again! I'm going to whip that hussy's car until it begs for mercy, and then I'll-"
Makoto turned away from the angry blonde, shook her head and sighed "Here we go again, Yuji darling."
. . . . .
With the program off the air, Rei switched off her television set and collected her purse. "Ami-chan, the other couples won't make it back here for at least half an hour. It's a beautiful evening, how about we take a stroll down to the park together?"
"Hai, I'd love to, Rei-chan" the blue-haired teen agreed with a smile. She softly giggled, "And while we're there, you can tell me more about those... um... romantic movies you like to watch."
"Yuuichirou-chan!" the miko blushed red. "See what you and your big mouth just did? Don't you know that some things in life are supposed to stay private?"
"Gomen nasai, darling!" the apprentice grinned. "I'll definitely remember to hold my tongue better next time."
"There won't be any next time!" Rei insisted. "Or else!"
"Hai" her fiancee solemnly promised.
"You and Ryo can put the tv away and tidy things up in here while we're gone" Rei continued. "Oh, and remember to put up that paper banner I made yesterday. Hang it above the study table." She told the other couple, "It's just a little congratulatory sign I taped together in case Mako-chan won tonight."
"That was very sweet of you, Rei-chan" Ami said. She smiled sweetly at her young man. "I'd like my fiancee to come to the park with us, if Yuuichirou doesn't mind taking care of things here by himself."
"You two simply can't handle being apart for more than a single minute, can you?" the raven-haired girl laughed.
"Well, that certainly is the main reason" Ami agreed. She added with a faint blush, "But also... on those occasions when I do smoke, I always find it quite romantic when my Ryo-kun lights my cigarette for me."
"Ah, you mean the same way those girls in Rei's steamy romance movies always have their partners do for them, Ami-chan" Yuuichirou nodded without thinking.
"Kumada Yuuichiruo!" the miko yelled, making her fiancee cringe. "You just promised me you'd be more tactful about certain topics! How could you forget so soon?"
"Sorry, darling! Heh heh. That one must've slipped out somehow."
After giving her young man a playful but stern glare, Rei chuckled at the blue-haired girl, "You've trained your lover boy well, Ami-chan." She teased her shy friend, "And apparently, I'm not the only one here who's watched that kind of entertainment before."
Ami's cheeks instantly changed from faint blush to bright crimson. "Um... well..." she stuttered.
After the three teens had left the shrine, Yuuichirou unplugged the television and began coiling up its cord, looking up when he heard the room door slide open. "Hino-sensei! I thought you'd be fast asleep by now."
The elderly priest quietly stepped into the room and over to his young apprentice. "Well, Yuuichirou-chan? Did Makoto win the cooking contest?"
"Hai, she did!" Yuuichirou nodded. "The competition was intense, but Mako-chan really knocked it out of the park tonight!"
"Hmm... that would be a baseball reference, I assume?"
"That's right, Hino-sensei." Yuuichirou lifted the small tv set from the study table. "Might I ask, did they have baseball way back when you were a teenager?"
"I'm not that old, boy!" the old man grumbled. "As a matter of fact, they did have baseball. Along with indoor plumbing, electricity and Shinto apprentices who were considerably more respectful toward their sensei!"
"Gomen, Hino-sensei!" Yuuichirou grinned. "I may not be perfect, but I'm always trying to improve."
"Try harder." Rei's grandfather regarded the teen in silence for a moment, then smiled. "Please congratulate our young chef for me when she returns to the shrine. It's getting somewhat late and I'm going to bed soon."
"I will" the boy nodded. "Have a pleasant night, Sensei."
The old man turned away, muttering "Certainly not nearly as pleasant a night as you and Rei will undoubtedly have."
. . . . .
With Mamoru having left his beloved Usako and her friends to catch up on an important assignment at his university, Usagi and the two remaining couples took the next bus back to the Hikawa Jinja.
"Minna, does anyone have the time?" Minako asked as the group strolled onto the shrine grounds through its rear entrance.
"It's nearly nine-thirty, Minako-chan" Yuji told her.
"Oh... that late already..." she sighed wistfully. "I suppose we'll be driving you and my Taro back to Nerima soon." Her previous bright and bubbly mood quickly turned glum. "I hate it every time we have to part like this, sugar cuddles! I want to be with you forever!" Minako gazed upward beyond Tokyo's bright lights into the heavens above. "Is that too much for a lovesick girl to ask?"
"I'm going to miss you too, Yuji my love" Makoto softly spoke to her love. She gently squeezed her fiancee's hand as they neared the shrine. "So very, very much." She sighed, "Another long, boring week of school to struggle through..."
The brown-haired boy gave his older brother a wink. "Should we tell them now, Taro-chan?"
Minako abruptly stopped walking. "Tell us what?"
"Umm... only that Yuji and I don't have any classes tomorrow, my beautiful princess" Taro answered his girl. "Most of the sensei at our school have this Monday off for something called a 'personal improvement' day."
The blonde's eyes met the brunette's and both girls' faces broke into wide smiles of utter joy. "This day just keeps on getting better and better!" Minkao squealed with delight. "Another whole night of romance and love-love with my handsome man! And my parents are out of town visiting relatives until Tuesday, so we have my house all to ourselves!" She leapt into her young man's arms. "Yes! Everything's absolutely perfect, snuggle muffin!"
"Minako-chan! Stop drooling on your fiancee!" Usagi giggled.
"I know you and Minako still have your regular classes tomorrow, Mako-chan" Yuji spoke to his happy bride-to-be. "But at least we can share a little more time together before you leave for school in the morning and Taro and I catch the train back to Nerima."
"Hai. We certainly can, Yuji darling." Makoto replied. "And even though this day has turned out fantastic so far, I know a way we can make tonight even better."
"How could you possibly top winning that contest and earning a scholarship to a famous cooking school all in the same hour, my sweet?" he grinned.
The brunette slipped her arms around her fiancee and softly kissed him, her green eyes aglow with joy and her heart filled with longing and desire for the young man who had stood faithfully by her, the boy who had given her his unwavering love and support when she needed it most.
Makoto coyly whispered, "I think you already know what I have in mind, my Yuji."
. . . . .
"Congratulations, Mako-chan!"
The two couples waiting in the study room cheered their conquering friend as she walked in, causing Makoto to blush from the unexpected attention.
The girl noticed the colorful banner Rei had made and chuckled as she read it aloud. "Iron Chef Mako-chan? That's kind of a stretch, don't you think?"
"It certainly isn't" Yuji proudly insisted. "Mako darling, tell everyone about what happened after the tv show finished."
"Did we miss the big fire?" Rei chortled. "Or did Usagi and Minako manage to wreck something else after the cameras were off?"
"Hey, no fair!" the odango-haired girl grumbled. "I only broke one thing tonight! That stupid noisy machine!"
"And that's supposed to be an improvement?" the miko snickered. "Then again, knowing you two, it probably would be."
"Hush up, Rei-chan!" Usagi sulked.
Makoto tried to ignore her friends' bickering. "Minna, after the show ended I met a man from-"
"From a famous cooking school!" Minako interrupted her. "And he offered Mako-chan a free scholarship when she graduates from Juuban!"
"That's wonderful news!" Ami exclaimed. She and her Ryo closely examined the business card the brunette held out. "TSUJI is a very renowned academy, Mako-chan! I'm so proud of you!" She hugged the tall brunette.
"We all are" Rei added, also giving her friend a warm hug.
"Minna, a special occasion like this calls for a proper celebration" Yuuichirou announced. "And although we can't drink in the shrine, here's a little something you can enjoy at home, Mako-chan" He opened a nearby cupboard door and produced a bottle of champagne, handing it to Makoto. "With love, from all of us to you."
"Arigatou, Yuuichirou-chan!" Makoto thanked him. "Yuji and I will open it tonight."
"Where did that come from?" Rei puzzled.
"I took the liberty of procuring the bubbly because I knew without any doubt that Mako-chan was going to win, Rei darling."
"Oh? Are you a fortune teller now, lover?" the miko laughed.
"Hai, that's me! Yuuichirou the Psychic, at your service!" he bowed. "That is, when I'm not a doctor, or a philosopher, or... uh... what was that other one?"
"You forgot detective and rocket scientist" Rei chuckled.
"Oh yeah! Those things too!" Yuuichirou grinned.
. . . . . . . . . .