Heya guys! Another chapter done and ready to be served! Hope you enjoy! (peace sign insert)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Shokugeki no Souma, I only own my OC!
Chapter 9: Put your headgear on!
"Well, that was…interesting wasn't it?" Ryoko asked as she and the rest of Polar Star were walking towards their dorm.
"Hm…" Ryou hummed, he was quite…annoyed to say the least.
Souma crossed his arms and said:" Don't worry Kurokiba, we will teach Central what it means serving a great dish! They won't know what hit them!" he grinned good naturedly.
Ryou's eyes snapped to Souma's yellow ones as he said:" Don't go picking Shokugeki's you can't win Yukihira."
Souma's face turned cartoonish as he moved close to Ryou and elbowed him lightly as he said:" Ohh? Then why did you pick a Shokugeki with Lyca huuuh? If ya can't win Kurokiba? Huuuh?" Souma snickered.
Red flames suddenly surrounded Ryou as he ground his head against Souma's and said with bared teeth:" What did you say Yukihira?! Of course I can win, don't be so stu-argh!" a very ticked off Lyca was behind them, grinding both their heads together.
She huffed with a evil look in her eye as she said:" What was that Ryou?" her smile was sweet and devilish at the same time, Ryoko took a few steps away from the three.
Ryou rubbed his head and looked at her, he wanted to say something but instead he just turned around.
Get a grip on yourself.
"Ryou?" he forced himself to look forward and not react to the slight concern he heard in her voice.
Lyca sent a blank, confused look at Souma and Ryoko. Odd…Ryou would have tried bashing Souma's head in by now. Or at least bicker with Lyca but he was…quiet.
Too quiet. Lyca kept stealing concerned looks at the back of her friend's head, something was wrong, she could sense it. Perhaps it was because of Rentaro? She shook her head, better not dwell on it for too long.
"Say Kurokiba, how comes you aren't with Alice? I'm sure you're needed in the mansion." Yuki innocently asked, her eyebrows rising in confusion. Usually he was with Alice, well Lyca was mostly with him too.
"Milady Alice didn't have any objections when I departed, I'm sure she's fine on her own." He replied shortly.
Yuki blanched and whispered to Megumi:" Wow, he's seriously in a bad mood." Megumi swallowed and nodded, she sped up her pace and walked alongside Lyca.
She leaned closer to the older girl and asked quietly:" Um Lyca, i-it's not really m-my business b-but are you sure K-Kurokiba is alright?" Lyca frowned, worry was etched all over her face.
She sighed and shook her head, she looked at Megumi and said softly:" No, I'm not sure at all Megumi. I don't know what to do, you see in what mood he is. I'm afraid what will happen with Central now…" she rubbed her forehead in frustration before her eyes widened when a heavy weight settled over her shoulders.
Ryou was right beside her! Megumi squeaked in surprise, her braid almost flying up in the air on its own, talk about "shocked hair". (A/N: Yeah, yeah bad pun I get it :P)
Ryou said with a determined expression, the fire in his eyes burning brightly:" Tch, nothing will happen with Central because I won't let some wannabe chefs trample on our pride and pull those stunts with us again! Right Yukihira?!"
Souma grinned widely at Ryou and said:" You bet Kurokiba! Don't worry Lyca, we will definitely beat Central and win!" he winked.
Lyca sighed, but a small smile grazed her lips.
Ryou looked down at her with a softer expression, the annoyance from before was gone. He smirked at her and said:" We survived in a kitchen full of grown men and lead it. Central doesn't have a flick of the experience that we have with customers."
Lyca had to agree with him, most of Central's students didn't have much of experience or even worked in real restaurants before.
In a moment where she felt her courage grow, she linked her hand with Ryou's. When he looked at her quizzically, she smiled warmly and said:" Yeah, we will definitely win." Ryou smirked at her, though it was soft and lost some of its usual edge and sharpness.
She believed they could win, if they tried hard enough. They could.
I watched them dancing to the tune of the gentle music, swaying and gracefully keeping in step. Secretly I was hoping that the bastard did something wrong and that Lyca would finally push him away, but he didn't, they still danced, they still talked, they were still so close!
I looked at Yukihira and milady Erina, they kept fighting like an old married couple, they reminded me a bit of lady Leonora and mister Natsu, years before.
I clenched my fist in my pocket tightly, I felt my anger rising. How dare he touch her so casually? So familiarly? Only I was allowed to-
I bit my tongue hard.
No, I wasn't allowed. Nobody was. She didn't belong to anyone, she only belonged to herself. She wasn't taken.
She wasn't mine.
I averted my gaze for a while, I had to control myself before I made a scene in the mansion. I looked back at milady Alice and Leonora, they were talking and joking. I frowned when I saw milady Alice sending me a knowing look.
I forced my eyes back on them, but they were gone. They weren't there!
I looked everywhere, I didn't care if I pushed against the dancing pairs, I had to find Lyca and get her away from the fire bastard.
I ran towards the balcony and froze, there they were.
He was holding her tightly and kissing her. Kissing her like she was his, but she wasn't. I couldn't control my rage, it was like I was in berserk mode, only much stronger. I ran towards them and pried the bastard away from her, I punched him hard.
We fought for a while before the others came, Yukihira and Aldini were holding me back, the younger Aldini and Ibusaki were holding Kusunoki back from punching me. I didn't care, I wanted his blood on my hands!
"What are you doing Kurokiba?! Calm down damn it!" Yukihira shouted, restraining me from lunging back in the fight. I was livid, I shouted:" That bastard kissed her!"
Everyone gasped, Lyca was holding a hand over her mouth, her look crestfallen. It only made me angrier.
Kusunoki growled:" What I do is none of your business!" I barked:" She's my lady you asshole! Of course it's my business!" Lyca walked away.
"Unlike you, I don't want to be her dog." I grew angrier and freed myself from Yukihira and Aldini, punching the bastard again hard before I ran after Lyca.
"Lyca!" I shouted after her, finally catching up and gripping her arm. She tried to free herself but I pulled her close to me and held her tightly. She kept punching my chest repeatedly as she said:" Stop it Ryou! Get away from me! I don't want you, I want Rentaro not you!"
I froze, my blood running cold.
I released her and suddenly Kusunoki appeared before us with a smirk, spreading his arms wide.
Lyca ran happily toward him, hugging him….hugging him… I fell to my knees.
Kusunoki held her and smirked, he spat:" You are just a worthless dog, so very territorial over something that isn't even his to begin with." My eyes widened, I stood up and tried to reach them but I couldn't.
I was suddenly in Denmark, in the restaurant I used to lead, my men were all standing around me, glaring at me, laughing at me, ridiculing me…they threw me out on the streets.
I picked myself up, they slammed the door shut and left me out. What the hell was going on?!
I wiped my mouth and looked up towards the grey sky when I felt a raindrop on my forehead. Damn it all to hell! What was going on?! Why did Lyca leave with him?!
"Ryou…" I turned around, it was her. Lyca. She smiled warmly and said:" I missed you, Ryou." I ran towards her and before I could hold her, she was gone.
Kusunoki appeared again, his grin was almost murderous as he said:" Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away."
"NO!" Ryou sat up, sweat slowly running down his face and bare torso, he shivered from the chill he was experiencing.
"Uh, you want me to be one of the judges?" Ryoko asked completely perplexed, staring at Lyca and Ryou. They both nodded firmly, Ryoko sat down, beside her were Erina and Souma.
Erina grumbled:" Why in the world did I have to be invited to such a simple Shokugeki?! I have a very busy schedule and am not in any way bound to be here!" she crossed her arms in annoyance.
Souma grinned and said:" Oh come on Nakiri! It will be fun! We finally get to see Kurokiba and Lyca have a Shokugeki against each-other!"
"D-don't speak so casually w-with me Y-Yukihira!" steam was coming out of her ears and she turned away from him, blushing darkly. Ryoko placed a hand to her mouth to hide her smile.
The atmosphere turned serious as Lyca and Ryou were obviously preparing themselves for their cooking duel, Lyca said:" Ryou…just because we grew up together doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."
Ryou lifted his gaze, wild, dangerous, feral and said with a grin:" Tch, as if I ever pulled my punches with you." Both nodded, a knife in their hands.
Erina looked at each of them and decided:" Alright, the main ingredient will be pork! You can use any ingredients you find!"
Once Erina gave the cue to go, Ryou and Lyca immediately set to work, each preparing their own dish.
Lyca, while she was preparing the meat, placed a jar of honey next to her other ingredients and that made Souma's eyebrows arch in curiosity. He leaned over and asked Ryoko:" Hmm…what do you think she's making?"
Ryoko placed a hand to her chin in thought as she said:" Well, since it's only the beginning, it's far too early to tell yet but she will use the honey most probably to tenderize the meat and add flavor to the dish."
Erina nodded and added:" Lyca specializes in Western and Japanese cuisine but she's also very knowledgeable of seafood, I'm guessing from her time spent with Kurokiba. Her cooking style varies though, which sometimes puzzles me. I haven't seen her often cooking but from the few times I could tell she was capable of mastering complicated and more refined dishes as well as very simple ones. Though she chooses to primarily cook rather simple, commoner dishes. I wonder why…"
She eyed Lyca's focused hands, seasoning the meat just right, she had a knack for seasonings, especially in combination with meat and soups. Her fuchsia eyes narrowed when she noticed Ryou briefly looking at Lyca from behind him.
"He's monitoring her movements." Souma suddenly piped in, following Erina's line of sight. "I remember monitoring Tadokoro the same way when he had that Shokugeki against Shinomiya, though I was doing that because I was her sous chef. Hmm…" his look was thoughtful as he was watching Kurokiba's movements closely.
Then suddenly when both chefs turned around at the same time, they almost collided but Ryou quickly gripped her wrists to prevent her from directly colliding with him. Lyca squeaked in surprise and blinked owlishly up at her best friend.
Ryou said:" Sorry." Looked down at the female chef.
Lyca shook her head and said:" Uh, right. Sorry…" she quickly refocused on the task at hand. And suddenly she practically jumped in front of the judges.
Erina was the only one who jumped in her seat from surprise at her sudden close proximity.
Lyca asked with a sweet smile:" I'll return soon, let me just get something from the garden!" with that she was gone in a whirlwind out the door.
Erina blinked and asked:" T-the garden?" with no small amount of confusion
Ryoko smiled and clarified:" Well, you said they were allowed to use any ingredients they can find, you never restricted that to the kitchen."
Lyca was smart, Erina had to hand it to her.
Souma grinned and said cheerfully:" Well, seems like it's just you and us here Kuro-" he turned around to directly look at the man, but he was nowhere to be found.
"EEHHH!?" Erina and Souma yelped in surprise. Where was he?!
Ryoko giggled behind her hand and said:" Well, it seems like Lyca's not the only one who is thinking outside the box."
Erina and Souma shared a look, but Erina quickly averted her gaze with a hot blush and kept looking everywhere except for the annoying redhead chef.
Lyca hummed to herself as she was carefully scanning over the various herbs in their large garden, as she picked a selective few of them, she stood up and sharply turned, resulting in her colliding with a hard, warm object.
She yelped and almost fell if it weren't for the two hands holding her upright by her wrists.
She shot a playful glare at Ryou, who was looking down at her. She huffed and said:" Oi! Ryou! You're standing in my way!" she pouted heavily.
Ryou looked at her fleetingly before he asked:" Would you have stopped him?"
She blinked several times. Uhh…stopped who? Lyca tilted her head to the side and asked:" Stopped who? From what?"
Ryou suddenly snapped at her like a viper:" You know exactly what!"
She frowned and said:" Stop shouting. You're as venomous as a snake when you wannabe be…Meanie." She crossed her arms, continuing her search of ingredients.
Then Ryou snapped. Literally.
Lyca's eyes widened when she found herself falling into a pond occupied by all sorts of fish, Ryou's heavy weight on top of her. She screamed in shock and felt the cold water surround her.
Ryou, for his part, was soaked but he observed as she got out of the water.
Her headband on.
Her eyes were practically demonic as she looked at him and he sensed like some parts of his body were in imminent danger. So he did what felt logical at the time.
He splashed her.
Cliffhangeeer! ^^ Weeell…what do you think so far? Please leave some reviews! What do you think what will they be cooking?
