A/N: I have to explain some Japanese dishes before you get into the chapter.
Oyakodon: A rice bowl dish. Chicken, egg, green onion, and other ingredients are simmered together with a varying sauce and then served on top of a large bowl of rice.
Chikara udon: Translates into "power udon". A noodle soup in a mildly flavored broth. Topped with mochi rice cakes.
Okonomiyaki: Consists of a pan-fried batter cake and various ingredients.
Source: Wikipedia. If you want to know more about these dishes, I suggest you go there. I was just trying to give you a visual of them.
Okay, on to the chapter...
Chapter Eleven: The Quarrel of Cooking
Megumi walked home after a short day of work. It had been several days since Ed had spied on her, Tio, and Winry, and, since then, she had been keeping a close watch on him to make sure he wasn't plotting anything or following her again. Every time she went out, she checked the inside of her bag. She stayed aware of her surroundings and checked her room often to see if anything was missing. She also searched Ed's room constantly to see if anything of hers was there.
"She can't cook!"
Megumi turned around. Until that moment, she was unaware that Ed, Al, and Winry were walking in the same direction she was. Ed walked backwards with his hands behind his head, facing Al and Winry, who were walking alongside each other. They were so far back that they weren't noticing her. But Megumi could hear Ed; he was talking loudly. She turned back around and listened closely.
"She sucks at it!"
There was a pause. Megumi assumed that that was Al or Winry talking.
"That was a hoax, Al. She bought that cake from the bakery. She has a lot of money."
Megumi briefly thought that Ed was talking about her. She refused to believe it because, despite everything he had done to her, Ed respected her very much and wouldn't insult her like that. She knew it.
"I bet Megumi microwaves food for dinner 'cause she burns everything she tries to cook."
Megumi was a little angry at Ed's accusations about her cooking, but she kept listening to see if he was kidding.
"Yeah, she can't 'cause she's an idol and can't find time to learn how. So she hires people to do it for her. Like I said before, she's an idol and has a lot of money, and can buy her way to everything."
Megumi was hurt and a bit mad, especially since Ed brought her life as an idol into this. She didn't care if he was kidding or not; that was insulting. She walked towards the trio. As she walked, she saw Al and Winry staring at Ed, showing no emotion. She stopped a fair distance behind them. Al and Winry looked up at her. They stopped, both their eyes getting huge, and gawked. Al took a step back. Ed stopped walking.
"She's behind me, isn't she?" Ed said.
Al and Winry nodded slowly. Ed turned around and looked at her. He didn't show any regret or fear.
"Ed-kun…you…you…" Megumi stammered. "What you said…about my cooking…"
"Yeah, I don't think you can."
Megumi noticed Ed's prompting. "If you think that I can't cook...you..." Megumi smiled competitively. "Why don't we have a little competition? Whoever's the better cook wins. It'll be next Friday. No martial arts lesson this week."
"Fine by me."
"I hope you learn how to cook, Ed-kun!" Megumi walked away, leaving Ed, Al, and Winry staring at her.
"You've dug yourself deep this time, Ed," Winry said after Megumi was gone. "Now you have to learn how to cook in a week."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Ed said. "Hey, do you guys know how to cook?"
Al and Winry shook their heads.
"Since both of us don't know how," Al said, "what're you gonna do?"
"He should give up," Winry said. "There's no way he can win against Megumi. She's way too talented."
"No, I won't give up," Ed said. "If I do that, then I have to do something embarrassing in front of everybody. I've seen it happen on T.V."
"You can't win," Winry said.
"I'll win. Al thinks so. Right, Al?"
Al pretended to be engaged in an ant carrying a crumb on the ground.
"You can't win," Winry repeated. "Even Al doesn't think you can win."
"It doesn't matter what other people think," Ed said. "I'll win for sure."
Ed lay on his bed, staring outside the window at the moon. He couldn't go to sleep. He was thinking about how he would learn how to cook in such a short amount of time. Even though he had this to worry about, he was satisfed. He had made Megumi angry.
Then, he knew: Hana.
The next morning, Ed went straight to Kiyomaro's house. He looked at Umagon lying on his back sleeping in his doghouse for a moment and then knocked on the door. A second later, Hana opened it.
"Hello, Ed-kun," she greeted him.
"Hi, Hana-san," Ed said. He was nervous. "Uh…I got myself in a bit of a mess, and…I need to learn how to cook..."
"That's no problem, Ed-kun."
"…in a week."
"That still isn't a problem. Come in."
Ed followed Hana into the kitchen, still nervous. He looked around. Gash and Kiyomaro were nowhere to be found.
"Where are Gash and Kiyomaro?"
"They went to the park, and Umagon-chan's still asleep, so there won't be any interruptions."
That made Ed even more nervous. If they were watching him, he would feel a little better.
Hana opened a nearby drawer and took out a knife. "Now, let's begin…"
By the end of the day, Hana had taught Ed how to cut with a knife, some basic recipes, how to work an oven, and showed him ingredients and materials. Ed was having trouble catching on to this, however. He kept getting ingredients mixed up, had a hard time telling the difference between a teaspoon and tablespoon, and kept holding the knife incorrectly, almost cutting himself a couple of times. The only thing he understood was how to work the oven. He promised himself that he would do better tomorrow.
Ed arrived on the doorstep of Megumi's house. He put his hand on the doorknob and opened it without thinking. The first thing he noticed was the smell: it was a mixture of noodles and vegetables, and it smelled good. He heard Megumi's voice from the kitchen.
"Tio, I need more good recipes!" she was saying. "Give me the best recipes that are in there!"
While she said this, Ed walked towards the kitchen and stood a little outside of it, staring at them. Megumi had her hair in a ponytail and had an apron on. She was chopping radishes at a blinding speed. Tio looked similar to Megumi and was frantically flipping the pages of a cookbook. A cake was baking in the oven.
"I'm looking, I'm looking!" Tio said. A few seconds later, she said, "I can't find anything. What're you gonna cook?" Apparently, she had been told about the contest.
"I'll just cook a combo of-" She looked at Ed from the corner of her eye. "Oh, Ed-kun." She stopped chopping a radish, put down her knife, and turned around. "We were just training for the contest."
"You're gonna get beat bad," Tio had stopped looking through the cookbook and was looking at Ed now. "Megumi's real good at cooking."
"I hope you're practicing too, Ed-kun. After what you said…I definitely won't lose." Megumi paused. "By the way, you'll need to memorize the recipes."
"Why?" Ed asked.
"It'll help you in the long run. Trust me."
"You're not trying to make this easy, are you?"
"Who said it was gonna be easy?" Tio said.
Tio did have a point. Ed turned around and walked towards the stairs. "Whatever. I'm going to bed."
"You're not going to train, Ed-kun?" Megumi said.
"I don't have any place to train by myself this late, and I'm…" Ed stopped. He was too embarrassed to tell them that he was struggling quite a bit with cooking and needed someone to help him. "…sleepy. Yeah, I'm sleepy. Good night." Ed started climbing the stairs.
As he climbed, he heard Megumi say, "Sleepy, huh...?"
He also heard Tio say, "Wow, he's going to lose."
Ed was cutting carrots in the kitchen at Kiyomaro's house. Gash and Hana surrounded him, watching.
"You're doing well, Ed-kun," Hana said.
"But I still need to do better, right?" Ed said, not taking his eyes off the carrots.
"You'll do well, Ed!" Gash said enthusiastically. He, Kiyomaro, Umagon, and Hana had all been told about the contest that day. Gash and Kiyomaro were going to be two of the five judges in the competition.
"Kiyomaro-kun, Gash-kun, Tio, Sunbeam-san, and Folgore-san have all agreed to judge the dishes we make," Megumi had told a sleepy Ed that morning. "Al-kun, Winry, Kanchome, and Umagon are going to watch. You know, to make sure we don't cheat. I asked all of them on my way to work yesterday."
"How were all of them able to come?" Ed asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, they find their free time…"
Ed was snapped back to reality by a sudden pain through his thumb on his right hand. He looked at it. He was bleeding heavily. He dropped the knife and backed up, holding his thumb in horror and screaming. He had sliced himself with the knife.
"Ed-kun!" Hana said, running over to him. She bent down and looked at Ed's thumb. Gash ran over and looked at it as well.
Kiyomaro ran down the stairs. "Everything all right?" he said, looking at them a distance away. "I heard a scream."
"Ed…" Gash was horrified. He didn't take his eyes off the bleeding thumb. "Ed…"
"Ed-kun sliced himself with the knife while cutting vegetables," Hana said. "Kiyomaro, can you get some bandages and alcohol, please?"
"We don't need to take him to a hospital?" Kiyomaro asked.
"No, he should be fine with just bandages and some alcohol."
Kiyomaro ran back upstairs.
"Ed-kun, you have to pay attention when you're doing something like this."
"Yeah, I know…" Ed said. "I zoned out for a sec, and the next thing I knew, my thumb was gushing."
Kiyomaro came back down with loose bandages, a bottle of alcohol, and cotton balls in his hands. He ran over to them, Gash moving aside. Kiyomaro poured the alcohol on a cotton ball and then dapped the cotton ball on the cut.
"Augh." Ed flinched. "It burns."
Once he had gotten a good amount of alcohol on Ed's thumb, Kiyomaro took the bandages and wrapped them tightly around the thumb, securing it with a knot.
"There," Kiyomaro said, "that should do it."
"Ed-kun, you should stop cooking for a while," Hana said. "Let your thumb heal for a couple days."
"But if I do that," Ed said, "I won't be able to beat Megumi…"
"Even after you've sliced your thumb," Kiyomaro said, "you're still worried about that contest?"
"Once Megumi-chan sees that…" Hana said.
I won't let her see it, Ed thought.
Megumi collapsed on the couch. She was tired; she had had a long day of work. She knew what she was going to cook for the contest: an oyakodon and chikara udon combination. She had to practice as much as possible and make it the best, but she needed to lay down for a while first.
"Hey, Megumi." Tio came in the room. She stopped next to Megumi, looking at her.
"Oh, Tio…" Megumi said drowsily. "You're still awake?"
"Yeah, I'm not sleepy. Ed's asleep, though. He came in and went straight to bed. I didn't even see him."
"Hmm…that's strange…"
"Yeah, I guess. Anyways, why are you on the couch and not in bed?"
"Well, I was planning on practicing my combo a little…"
Tio gave Megumi a look. Megumi knew what that look meant.
"…but, I'll just go to bed. Good night, Tio." She forced herself off the couch and went upstairs in her room, closing the door.
Is Megumi gonna be able to win? Tio thought.
Hana opened the door. "Ed-kun? You're not here to learn more, are you?"
"That's exactly why I'm here," Ed said. "The contest's only five days away, and I still have a lot to learn."
"I told you that you should wait until that wound's healed completely. Didn't you tell Megumi-chan about the cut?"
"No. This cut's nothing."
"Well, since you look like you won't take 'no' for an answer, I guess it'll be okay. Come in." She led him into the kitchen. "Now, what I'll show you today is…"
"Hey, Megumi, are you all right?" Tio said, looking at Megumi worryingly. "You don't look too good."
"Yes…" Megumi replied weakly, chopping green onions as fast as she could, which wasn't as fast as usual.
"You look beat. Are you sure you don't need to take a break? You've been going at it for hours."
"No, I'm…" Megumi lowered her head. "…fine…" Her head hit the table, knife still in hand.
"Megumi!" Tio ran over to Megumi with a chair dragging behind her, stood on the chair, and gently tapped Megumi's cheek repeatedly.
Megumi stirred and slowly lifted her head, opening her eyes. "What happened…?"
"You have to go to bed, Megumi. Get more sleep." Tio hopped off the chair, kicking it aside, and pushed Megumi towards the stairs.
"No, I have to train... Tio, let me…"
"You fainted, Megumi, and you've could've cut yourself or something. You need sleep."
"Ed-kun's trying his hardest."
Tio stopped pushing Megumi.
"If he's doing his best, then I should, too. After all, I'm sure he's just as tired as I am."
"But he doesn't have to work 'til late like you!"
"He's learning how to cook elsewhere, and he's probably stressing himself out with it as much, or more, as I am with work. I mean, he has to learn in such little time…"
"There's no way he can be stressing himself out with it as much as you do with work. It's just not possible. He hasn't been cooking for long, so he'll lose. Stop worrying yourself and go to bed." Tio started pushing Megumi again.
"No, Tio… I have to…" Megumi's head began to droop. "I have…to…" She fell asleep.
Tio took Megumi by the hands and dragged her upstairs with some difficulty. She pushed Megumi on the bed.
Hmm… Now what do I do? Tio thought. Should I stay with Megumi, or…? Eh, she'll be okay. Tio left Megumi laying on the bed.
Ed was working hard. It was tough, with his thumb impaired, but he was catching on more and doing better. He was beginning to memorize some recipes and was handling knives better. He also knew how to use a stove.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" Gash volunteered. He ran over to the front door and opened it. "Hi, Tio!"
"Hey, Gash!" she greeted him. She sniffed. "What's cooking?"
"Ed is."
Tio stared at Gash. After a minute, she figured it out. "Oh, you thought I said who's cooking. I said what's cooking. But anyway, is he learning how to cook from Hana-san?"
"Yes."
"I think I'll take a little peek…" Tio pushed Gash aside and ran into the kitchen. She saw Ed pouring noodles into a bowl, his back to her. Hana and Kiyomaro were on both sides of him, watching.
"You're only gonna cook ramen?" Tio teased.
Ed jumped. He, Hana, and Kiyomaro turned around at the same time.
"T-Tio…!" Ed hid his right hand behind his back. "No! Get her out! She's not allowed to see what I'm cooking!"
"I'm sure it won't do much harm, Ed-kun," Hana said.
"Yeah, Ed," Gash said, walking in. "She wanted to know, so I let her in."
"Gash!" Ed yelled.
"What?"
"Gash, you weren't supposed to let her in," Kiyomaro explained. "Since she's most likely helping Megumi-san, she can't find out what Ed's cooking. Same with Ed."
"Oh…sorry…"
"Don't feel bad about it," Ed said. "It's not a big deal. She can't piece together what I'm really gonna cook…I hope…"
"Why don't you two go to the park with Umagon?" Kiyomaro suggested.
"But…Naomi-chan…" Gash started trembling.
"I walked through there today on my way here," Ed lied, "and I didn't see her."
"Alright!" Gash was happy again. "Come on, Tio!" He took Tio's wrist and dragged her out the door. Tio gave no resistance.
Ed was afraid that Tio would tell Megumi what he was cooking, and he prayed that Tio hadn't seen his injured thumb. He had to cook something else to be safe. But what?
As the days passed, Ed got better at cooking. He knew what he was going to cook, and his sliced thumb was healing fast. He had incredibly managed to keep his it a secret all six days since he had cut it, something he was surprised about. He had finally figured out the difference between a teaspoon and tablespoon, memorized most of the recipes in the cookbook, and could cook them all without a problem.
Megumi, on the other hand, was having a hard time training. Since she was staying up late most nights, she hardly had time to practice. And, when she did have time, she was practically falling asleep, and most of her dishes didn't come out as planned. Tio was getting more worried about this everyday, as the contest was approaching fast, and Megumi didn't look like she was going to be able to win. Tio decided to give her as much rest as possible so she would perform her best the day of the contest. When Tio told Ed to leave Megumi alone, he said he would cooperate; he wanted the best performance out of Megumi as well so his win wouldn't be a fluke.
The day of the contest finally arrived. Just as Megumi had said, Al, Winry, Umagon, Kanchome, Sunbeam, Folgore, Gash, Kiyomaro, and even Hana came to watch, some to judge. Ed and Megumi were cooking at different times, not to reveal their dishes to anyone until both of them had finished. They were to wait someplace where they couldn't look inside the kitchen to prevent cheating. Megumi went first, Al and Winry following her to watch.
Ed had taken off the bandages around his injured thumb before he came. There was only a red cut there, something no one could notice unless they were up close.
He had relaxed the night before so he wouldn't be nervous and mess up his dish. He waited patiently between Kanchome and Umagon for Megumi to get finished.
"Is there going to be yellowtail in any of these dishes?" Gash asked eagerly. He had come prepared: he had chopsticks in hand and had a white cloth tied around his neck, working as a bib.
"We'll see," Kiyomaro said.
If Ed had put yellowtail in his dish, he would get Gash's vote for sure. But it was too late to change, and he didn't know what yellowtail went with. He hoped that Megumi hadn't put yellowtail in hers.
Meanwhile, Megumi was cooking her best, Al and Winry watching a safe distance away. She had gotten as much rest as possible yesterday and was refreshed. Her oyakodon and chikara udon combination was coming out perfectly. She was confident that she would win.
Megumi finished. She came out of the kitchen with her food in a lunchbox. She placed it on the table where the judges were sitting. Gash was drooling a little, Tio's eyes were glowing, and Kiyomaro, Sunbeam, and Folgore were staring at it, grinning.
Ed got up and went into the kitchen, Kanchome and Umagon behind him. The ingredients were all laid out for him. All he had to do was cook his okonomiyaki. He started cutting the cabbage leaves.
While Ed cooked, Megumi sat on the stairs. Al and Winry were socializing with everyone. She wondered what he was, no, what he could cook at his level. Before she knew it, Ed came out, Kanchome and Umagon by his side, carrying his dish. He put it on the judges' table next to Megumi's. The judges' faces weren't as enthusiastic as before, as they thought Ed's dish wouldn't be as good as Megumi's, due to lack of experience.
The judging began. Gash sunk when he saw that the dishes didn't have any yellowtail in it, but they still looked tasty. Kiyomaro tasted both dishes first.
"Hmm…" Kiyomaro thought for a moment. "They're both delicious, but I'll have to go with Megumi-san's."
Ed showed no emotion. He didn't want to somehow sway the votes; people would probably think he was planning something to win.
Next was Gash. Immediately after he had taken a bite of each, he said, "Um…Megumi-dono."
Did he think? Ed thought.
"Well, Ed-kun," Megumi said, giving Ed a little nudge and winking, "only one more vote for me, and I win."
Ed stepped away, blushing.
Then, it was Tio's turn. She took a long time to decide. Finally, she said, "Ed."
Everyone was surprised. It was ironic in every way.
Did she do that out of pity for me, Ed thought, or to stir things up?
Tio passed the two lunchboxes to Folgore. It didn't take him too long to decide. "Wow… I didn't expect him to do such a good job… The skill's almost even… Ed. I vote for Ed. Good job, boy!"
"Thanks…" Ed said. It's a tie, and there's only one more person voting… What a cliché… But, at least now I know that Tio wasn't voting for me out of pity…I think... Or maybe…Folgore-san was doing it out of pity and to stir things up…like Tio… This could go…
"Ed-kun."
"Huh?" Ed said, looking at Megumi, agitated at being jerked out of his thoughts.
"Did you hear what happened?"
"No, what happened?"
"Erm…" Kiyomaro scratched his head. "Megumi-san won, Ed."
Ed wasn't surprised. "Well, congrats, Megumi."
"Thanks, Ed-kun." Megumi said, smiling. "You did a good job, too."
Ed went over to Hana. "Thanks for teaching me."
"You're welcome, Ed-kun." Hana smiled.
"Is there a prize?" Tio asked.
"No, no prize," Megumi said.
"No one gets anything?" Kanchome said. "Not even candy?"
"No," Ed said bluntly.
"If there's no prize, what's the point of the contest?"
"You don't know the whole story."
As Ed said this, Megumi went over to the judges' table and took a bite of Ed's dish. "Ed-kun… This is delicious, Ed-kun!"
Ed beamed, knowing that Megumi would never lie to him.
As Ed, Megumi, and Tio walked home, Ed thought about what could've happened.
If I had made a more complex dish, he thought, I, most likely, would've won. I would just have needed to season it well. Megumi did all that, and that's why she won. It also depends on everyone's tastes. If I had put yellowtail in my dish, Gash would've voted for me without thinking, like he did with Megumi's dish. If Megumi had put something that Sunbeam had liked in hers, Sunbeam would've voted for her. And if...
"What're you thinking about, Ed-kun?" Megumi interrupted Ed's thoughts.
"Thinking about what?" Ed said, a little shaken. "Oh, yeah... I was thinking... I was thinking about... Um... Uh..."
"He was thinking about the contest," Tio said. "Y'know, how bad he got beaten."
"N-No...! Not about that! I was just...thinking..."
"About how you could've done better?" Megumi guessed.
"Uh...yeah... Yeah, let's just go with that."
Tio and Megumi exchanged looks.
It was nighttime. Ed lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't care that Megumi had won. All that mattered to him was learning how to cook. His new skill would be useful in the future.
There was knocking on the door.
"Ed-kun." It was Megumi. "Can I come in?"
"Sure." Ed sat up.
Megumi opened the door and walked in. She was in her pajamas. "I really think you did a good job today. I mean, to be able to learn in such little time…it's amazing, it really is. And, to make it even more amazing…you're really good at it!"
"But I'm not as good as you, so I still need to get better, right?"
"If you feel that way, then I'll teach you more."
"That's cool and all, but you're already teaching me martial arts. How will you…?"
"Don't worry, I'll find time. I can teach you both at the same time."
"W-Wow… Thanks, Megumi…"
"You're welcome, Ed-kun. By the way…why did you say all those things about my cooking? Were you just trying to make me mad?"
Megumi was dead-on. Ed had done it on purpose.
"Yeah," Ed said. "You never get angry about anything… You're always happy, Megumi, even though you do have a stressful life."
"I am? Hm. I never noticed."
How could she not notice? "But, if you knew that I was doing it intentionally, how come you didn't stay calm?"
"I didn't know you did it purposely until the contest was over. I was so flustered about what you said and frustrated about work that I couldn't manage my thoughts, so I couldn't figure it out with the obvious clues."
"Frustrated…?" Ed felt guilty. "Sorry about making your already stressful life even more stressful, Megumi…"
"Don't worry about it, Ed-kun. With everything that's happened with this demon battle and all, that was nothing."
"Demon battle…?" Ed's face became blank. "What demon battle?"
Megumi was about to explain it when Ed suddenly remembered.
"Oh, yeah. What were you saying?"
"Actually, I was just about to go to bed." She turned. "Good night, Ed-kun."
"Wait, one more thing, then you can go to bed, promise."
Megumi looked back.
"Why did Tio vote for me?"
"I asked her the same exact question, and she said that she thought that you did a great job on your dish. The look on her face...she meant it."
"R-Really? Wow... She wasn't kidding... Okay, you can go to bed now. 'Night, Megumi."
"Good night." Megumi winked, and then left.
Ed slid down in bed, blushing. Another thing to add to the neverending list of things Megumi had done for Ed: teaching him how to cook better even though she had ten thousand other things to do. He still had to figure out a way to repay her. He wondered if there was anything he could do that was equivalent to the amount of things she had done for him. He decided to worry about it tomorrow, and fell asleep.
