Chapter 21: Business and a Few Drinks
Flashback, Trina Age 7
"Are you sure you want to learn this now?" Martel asked his precious gem.
"Yes! I am sure I wanted to learn this now" Trina begged, "It just seems so natural to me.."
"I was afraid would you say that" Martel sighed to himself. She was too eager to learn the art of butchery, as her instinct to kill was becoming more apparent. Maybe was it best to lay down proper rational now, so she would understand the risk of killing the wrong things later.
"Alright, I will show how to properly butcher animals. But a word of caution, don't practice what I teach you on other human beings" Martel firmly stated.
"Why?" Trina pouted. Martel would've laughed at the cute expression on her face if wasn't for fact he was training her to be rational, calm, and less psychopathic.
"Because sweetie, society deems those actions as highly illegal. The consequences range from 25 years to life imprisonment; in some countries, it's an automatic death sentence. Do you wish to die because you decided to tear someone up for your own amusement?" Martel lectured. Trina blinked once, then twice.
"No...I don't want to be tied to those conditions" Trina simply answered. Martel nodded as his rationale was able to reach her.
"We will start with something easy: A chicken" Martel smiled while walking back to retrieve a chicken from the coup.
"So the cleanest way to do this is place the chicken upside down in the steel funnel and lob its head off" Martel instructed. Slowly, Martel went through the steps and cleanly cut the bird's head off.
"The blood rushes out quickly, thus giving plenty of time to defeather and gut the chicken" Martel further explained.
"Then we cook it?" Trina asked.
"That's right munchkins, we cook it" Martel laughed, "You don't mind if you taste my new Deep Fried Chicken recipes?"
"I am always happy to taste papa's cooking, he has the most interesting recipes in the whole wide world!" Trina exclaimed while flailing about.
"Heh, you're so cute when you're hungry" Martel teased. However, Trina's attention was on the bucket full of blood.
"Um, daddy? What happens to the blood?" Trina asked.
"I dispose of it" Martel shrugged. Trina pursed her lips at her father's confession.
"But isn't that wasteful? You keep drilling into my head that being wasteful is foolish" Trina asked coldly.
"Ah, you're right" her father laughed sheepishly, "But to be honest, I really haven't looked into blood as an ingredient. But I could image it being difficult, since it contains iron oxide, clots quickly, and I image a general bitter/bland flavor."
"Really? To me, it has more of a tangy bittersweet flavor" Trina nonchalantly stated while licking the chicken's blood off her finger. Her father raised an eyebrow at the action before putting on a silly grin.
"Is this a quirk of your 'Devil's Tongue'?" Martel jested. What he didn't expect was to witness her chug down the entire bucket of blood.
"Mmm, maybe?" Trina mused, "So this chicken's blood is not only tangy bittersweet, but rich as well. I think it ate something before the beheading."
"Well I did feed the chickens this morning before the demonstration" Martel stated, "Here, wipe your mouth with this napkin and I will fetch you a chicken to behead yourself. Once we both have a chicken, then I will show you how to defeather and gut the carcass." Martel explained.
"Yes Daddy!" Trina exclaimed with glee.
End Flashback
Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen, Pour myself a cup of- Click
[A/N: Lyric line is from the song 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton]
"Yawn!" Trina moaned while stretching out her arms, "I think that's the first time I dreamt about a real memory." Scratching her face, she noticed the clock read 5am, October 30th, 2013. Tomorrow was her 16th birthday, which according to her calendar was on Tuesday and a day before the Autumn Leaf Viewing.
"Looks like this will be my only down day, which sucks since I wanted to relax more after coming home from the stagiaire yesterday" Trina sighed. Yes, Megumi and her passed their stagiaire on Friday, but spent Saturday and early Sunday learning more about Turkish cuisine. They arrived back around the same time everyone else did, except Soma who came home earlier in the day. Of course, the first thing he did was get himself in a round of Shokugekis with a bunch of second years; amusingly, he trounced the second years without breaking a sweat.
"Well, it looks like it's time to get dressed and tend to the vineyard" Trina hummed. Putting on her black sports bra, Dallas Cavs T-shirt, blue jeans, cowboy boots, and strapping a partially filled canteen around her waist, Trina made her way outside. Today she needed to prune the vines in preparation for the winter months. Secondly, this was the time to plant one of her favorite grape varieties: King of the North. King of the North grapes did well in cold weather climates such as Wisconsin and Minnesota, so Japan should be a cakewalk.
Snip. Snip.
"I am sorry my lovely vines, but you must be groomed in preparation for winter" Trina singsonged. As busy and turmoil as Trina's life could be, tending to her vineyards and hop farm was where she found peace. Unfortunately for her, the peace would only last for an hour.
Cluckcluckcluckcluckcluckcluck... And army of chickens came racing towards Trina.
"What the?" Trina thought. She didn't have much else to think as she was nearly swept away by the horde.
"Wait! Comeback you stupid birds" the voice of Yoshino shouted out. Running at full speed, the girl was rapidly approaching Trina's position.
"Yoshino! Please halt before you crash into me!" Trina screamed. On cue, Yoshino came to a stop...only one foot away from slamming into Trina.
"Huff, Huff, Huff, damn birds and their plot to escape" Yoshino breathed heavily, "Hey Trina, can help me round up the chickens and place them back in their coup?"
"Sure, but what happened?" Trina politely asked.
"I was trying to gather a chicken to cook for breakfast, but they decided to escape the moment I opened the gate" Yoshino explained.
"How bizarre" Trina murmured.
"Hey, you're a fast runner...can you help me wrangle these chickens back to their pen?" Yoshino pleaded.
"Ha, sure thing Yuuki!" Trina laughed, "On one condition, I get to butcher the chicken you want to cook."
"Ok, thanks!" Yoshino beamed. For the next two hours, the girls ran and wrangled the chickens back to their pen, using nets that Yoshino pulled from nowhere.
"Hah! I got the last one" a tired Yoshino exclaimed.
"He...that was fun" Trina responded in between breathes, "Now to butcher her up!" She grabbed the chicken from Yoshino's grasp, immediately placing it in the metallic cone. Pulling out the bowie knife from her back pocket, Trina cleanly beheaded the chicken and allowing the blood to flow into the bucket. Prior to moving the chicken to the lob station, she poured the blood in her canteen.
"Why are you pouring the blood into the canteen?" Yoshino asked.
"I am going to make a dish with it. There's alcohol in here so it won't clot" Trina answered. Trina quickly feathered and gutted the chicken before washing it and placing it in a pot.
"Here you go, all cleaned and ready to be cooked" Trina smiled.
"Thanks for the help Trina" Yoshino beamed.
"You have visitors waiting in the living room, Trina" Fumio yelled out to the duo.
"Oh? Alright, then!" Trina fired back before heading back inside to meet her visitors. She was a bit stunned when seeing them.
"Momo, Nene, Soumei, and Rindo...what are you doing here?" Trina asked.
"We have business with you" Nene calmly answered.
"I see. Well, can we talk about it in the kitchen? I haven't eaten breakfast yet" Trina begged.
"We wish to speak to you in private, since some of it is council business" Nene clarified.
"I see, should I get Satoshi then?" Trina asked.
"No, that won't be needed"
"...Alright, how about meeting in my room? It's totally private now that I made a few modifications"
"Fine" Nene sighed. The four council members followed Trina up to her room. After locking the door, Trina laid out a few folding chairs around the table.
"What an interesting dorm room, especially one equipped with a small kitchen" Soumei noted.
"Ah, it isn't that special" Trina dismissed, "Every bedroom here has its own kitchen setup. However, it's nice to cook in private and not needing to fight for the downstairs kitchen."
"It seems you like this place, Trina" Rindo spoke up.
"I do. It's away from everything and self-efficient" Trina beamed.
"And yet you're willing to dismantle it?" Rindo pondered.
"Only on the technicality of it being on Tootsuki property. Unfortunate, but I am not going to let it interfere with my ultimate goals" Trina flatly answered, "Can I get you something to drink? To eat?"
"A cup of green tea would be fine" Soumei answered just before Momo whispered in his ear, "And Momo would like a cup of hot cocoa."
"Would she like whip cream and/or marshmallows?" Trina asked. Momo once again whispered into Soumei's ear.
"Whip cream would be nice she says. Oh! And a shot of espresso if you have any" Soumei fired back.
"I think I do, let me check" Trina said as she went to search her fridge, "Yup, I do in fact have a cup of espresso left. Is there anything I can get for Nene or Rindo?"
"Green tea as well" Nene answered.
"I will eat and drink whatever you will make, Trinaaaa" Rindo purred. Trina smirked at the third year's cat like behavior. After grabbing the cold espresso and a few other things, Trina began cooking.
"Since you mentioned me going after this dorm, I assume my uncle has revealed his plans to you?" Trina asked to the fourth, fifth, and sixth seat.
"Yes, we have and everyone here is in favor of the switch" Nene answered for the group, "The only members who rejected the proposals were Satoshi, Kuga, and Tosuke."
"And Erina?"
"Azami told us that she was already in favor, so we didn't ask her"
"I see" Trina mumbled as she threw bacon onto the frying pan, "Nene and Soumei, would you like loose leaf tea or bag?"
"I prefer loose leaf" Soumei answered.
"Bag for me, actually" Nene answered. Trina simply nodded and continued cooking.
"Also, Azami will be coming to Tootsuki during the fifth evening of the moon banquet" Rindo chimed in.
"Really? Not sooner?" Trina pondered.
"He said he needed to wrap some stuff up beforehand, so that Sunday will be the earliest he can arrive" Soumei stated. Trina took the teapot off the stove and made the drinks for Soumei, Nene, and Momo.
"The drinks are ready" Trina softly said while handing them their drinks. Momo was the first to drink from her cup, feeling ecstasy rushing though her body as she drank.
"Um...what kind of cocoa is this?" Momo mumbled.
"What did you say?" Trina asked.
"She asked what type of cocoa was used" Soumei interjected.
"Oh! It's a new strand known as porcelain cocoa. It's the richest brand of cocoa in the world and costs me 200,000 yen per .5 kilograms" Trina informed.
"It's really good" Momo thanked loud enough for Trina to hear.
"You're welcome!" Trina beamed, "Now to finish breakfast for Rindo and I." Trina pulled the bacon, which now had melted provolone cheese on it, and diced it into small pieces. Once done with that, she mixed the bacon and melted cheese into the pot of rice she made, mixing everything together. Grabbing two bowls, she scooped some rice, bacon and cheese mixture and plopped it inside the bowls. Next she cracked some raw eggs onto the rice and finished with a random drizzle of soy sauce and Tobasco sauce. Finally, she blended two red smoothies using the liquid in her canteen.
"Guten Appetit" Trina gently said to Rindo.
"Huh, raw eggs on top of rice. How unexpectedly common of you" Rindo teased. The taste, however, was anything but. She felt herself being caressed and massaged by both Trina's Western and Eastern sensibilities.
"That maybe so, but its a good breakfast to have working outside for three hours" Trina informed.
"I noticed you added bacon, cheese, and Tabasco to this Tamago kake gohan, may I ask why?" Rindo asked.
"After finding my Eastern sensibilities while working with Chef Hinako, I began remixing my Western philosophy into my new senses. Bacon, Cheese, and Tobasco are staples of a western breakfast, just like rice, raw eggs, and soy sauce are typical of a eastern breakfast" Trina explained.
"Ah, so this is a combination of western cooking with eastern cooking, no?" Rindo inquired.
"Yes, but at a much deeper level than before" Trina added.
"And what about this smoothie?"
"The smoothie has raspberries, blackberries, mango, ginger, kale, and..."special juice" that I made earlier" Trina smoothly answered. Rindo just smirked at the last bit, knowing what the "special juice" was.
"So, any more business we need to discuss?" Trina pondered as she ate her breakfast.
"Yes, but not council stuff" Nene responded, "We were curious what your plans for the Moon Festival were." Trina paused before placing her bowl down.
"To be honest, I haven't thought about it" Trina shrugged.
"In that case, would you like to be our sous chef?" Momo, Nene, and Soumei said in unison.
"Pardon?" Trina gaped. All three of them wanted her to be their sous chef.
"Yes, you see we learned a few things about you while you were gone last month" Nene explained, "In particular, Momo and I tasted the impact you have at Ristorante F."
"Oh? So Master Mizuhara added more dishes of mine to the menu?" Trina laughed.
"Yes and they were delightful. We were a bit shocked to learn that you were the mind behind what we ate." Nene confirmed.
"Well, I feel honoured to be praised by my upperclassman" Trina mused.
"And in my case, one of my relatives kept raving about you when you worked at his Vietnamese Cuisine Restaurant a couple weeks ago" Soumei stated, "Since I highly respect my relative, I decided to send you this request."
"I'm flattered. However, I am unsure which one of you I want to be a sous for" Trina sighed.
"Why not all three?" Rindo suggested.
"So I work with a different chef each day? I am fine with that...what do you guys think?"
"Well, there is one problem...there's only five days for the banquet. This means one of us would get Trina only once" Nene pointed.
"That's ok, she can join me on my food tour for one of the days" Rindo beamed.
"Food Tour?" Trina said while raising a brow.
"Uh-huh! I'm making it my goal to eat at every booth this year" Rindo answered with a large grin.
"Ok, but that leaves one extra day" Nene stated.
"Well...I was thinking about going on a first date with my girlfriend in the uptown area, so that would cover the fifth day. Would that arrangement be ok?" Trina pondered. A moment of silence was held between the fifth, fourth, and sixth seat before they nodded in unison.
"Yes, that will be fine."
"Good!" Trina clapped, "So is that the final business you have with me?"
"It is and I think we will be taking our leave" Soumei answered for the group. He was the first to get up, the girls soon followed.
"Thanks for your hospitality, Trina. We will see you on Wednesday at the Autumn Leaf Viewing" Rindo thanked. Just before Trina could respond, she moved her lips to Trina's ear.
"Next time, can you serve me your special juice as a standalone drink? I might like it better that way" Rindo whispered.
"Uh, yeah, sure" Trina muttered. The trio raised an eyebrow at the secret conversation.
"Are you done? We need to head out now" Nene nonchalantly stated.
"Ok, Ok Nene! I will be right there" Rindo waved off before regrouping with the other elites. The four left without saying another word.
"She likes to drink blood raw?" Trina thought before picking up the dishes.
An unholy bond was formed that day.
Chapter 22 Preview:
"What's this?" Trina asked.
"It's your birthday present from me" Erina said in an odd tone. Trina read the letter's contents.
"My birthday present is a Shokugeki with you?" Trina said while raising a brow.
"I figure this is the thing you wanted the most. Do you accept my challenge?" Erina haughtily challenged. Trina's trademark grin rose on her face.
"Of course I accept your challenge, dearest cousin" a fiery Trina exclaimed.
A/N: So Trina has made her Moon Banquet plans to be a sous chef for three other elites and join Rindo on her food tour. Oh yeah, Megumi and Trina will be going on their first date during the festival too :D! A shame that she is also planning to betray the polar star dormitory, but c'est la vie...
Final Note: Shout out to the users who found the plagiarized version of this story on quotev. It's frustrating I have to deal with this four times now...