"So what is the 'Elite 10 business' you wanted to talk to me about?"' Megumi looks at the text message Nakiri had sent her, then looks up at the blonde.
"Actually… I wanted to ask you questions about… Yukihira."
Tadokoro sighs.
-flashback-
"Let's postpone the meeting to another day. It seems now isn't the best time to be holding it." Isshiki stands up and looks around the room waiting for a response from members of the elite 10.
"Yeah, I think we should do that." Kuga nods.
"I agree."
"Likewise."
"Alright, meeting postponed. Let's decide our next meeting after classes are over via messages. Is that fine with you Nakiri?"
Nakiri, deciding not to say anything, nods.
-End of Flashback-
"Sorry Nakiri, I need to get ready for the first day of classes... If that's all you wanted to talk about, I'll be leaving-" Nakiri pulls on the right sleeve of Tadokoro.
"Please." Tears start forming down Erina's eyes.
Tadokoro closes her eyes, letting out a small exhale, then looks back up at Nakiri.
"What questions do you have?"
Nakiri takes her hand out of Tadokoro's sleeve
"Why did Yukihira leave Totsuki? Where did he go? When is he coming back? Will," Erina pauses to wipe away her tears that yet to have stopped falling. "He come back?"
A couple of seconds pass by the two as Nakiri waits for Tadokoro to come up with a response.
"To be honest, Nakiri, I don't know the answers to most of these questions myself."
"Then… Please tell me what you do know."
"Soma is taking a break from Totsuki. How long? I'm not sure. He could maybe even never return."
Never returning back? So the finals of BLUE could be my last time seeing him?
"And" Tadokoro clears her voice… "I can't tell you exactly why he decided to leave. I promised not to.
So he's keeping promises from me? Tears trickle down the blondes face at an even faster pace.
"It wasn't a promise specifically to be hidden from you, Nakiri, if you had thought so." Me and Isshiki-senpai promised not to tell anyone else, after all.
"Thanks for the reassurance, Tadokoro." Nakiri half smiles at Tadokoro.
Tadokoro replies back with a half smile back. Nakiri's face looks like a total mess.
"One last question, Megumi."
Megumi hesitantly nods.
A slight pause occurs as Nakiri thinks of the words she will be saying to Nakiri.
"About what you said earlier… About me being the same as before… What did you mean…?"
"It's best… You'll learn by yourself, Nakiri. You'll find out soon enough anyways." Tadokoro Megumi turns around and walks towards the direction of her next class. "I need to get to class now."
"Yeah, sorry. I lost track of time. Go right ahead, Tadokoro." Nakiri lightly waves at the retreating form of the bluenette.
"Take care, Nakiri. And you too, Hisako." The bluenette waves back as she makes her way to class.
...
Nakiri drops down on the ground as Hisako tries to comfort Nakiri, giving her the tissues Hisako had decided to carry along with her after the meeting had ended.
"Erina... I think it's best we clear your schedule for the day." Hisako hands her another tissue.
"Yes. Please do, Hisako." Erina looks down at the small puddle she had created from the tears she had produced.
Soma. I fucking miss you.
Zzz
"I drove all the way to BLUEs just to see you lose a matchup that was basically handed to you… And now, you're asking me to help you, Yukihira." Kojiro Shinomiya crosses his arms and stares at the grinning redhead.
"Hey! Don't be like that. Shinos is like right across the street from the competition. Ya coulda even walked from your restaurant to there!" Shinomiya stares into Yukihira.
Gosh, Something sure is up Shinomiya's ass. What's new...
"And don't cha' think ya owe me for making up that amazing recipe and adding it to your restaurant-?"
"You mean the recipe in which I changed half of its ingredients?"
"Um… Ye-"
"And were you referring to the Stagiaire event that you passed despite being useless the first couple of days."
"Well… Yeah, but I went ham the last two days. Character development!-"
"Yukihira, leave." Shinomiya points his hand to the exit.
...
Fuck it.
Yukihira suddenly bows down to Shinomiya
"Shinomiya-Senpai, Please help me. Guide me to the right path of a chef." Yukihira loudly says to the man right in front of him.
Guide him? What is this brat on about-
"I've lost my will to cook"
Lost his will to cook?
"I'm sorry Yukihira, but I'm not the right person to go to-"
"I've lost my purpose for cooking. I've lost it all…And I need you to help me gain it all back."
Lost it All? I have been there before, for sure. Every chief has a desire and purpose for cooking, whether they realize it or not. For me, my desire to cook was for my mother. As a child, things were very rough in the family. Mother and father had often fought. Late at night, father would go out to drink and leave my Mother alone in the house with me. I would go to her bedroom and accompany her, but what I saw of my mother were tears and sadness. Whenever she'd see me enter her room, however, she would wipe away those tears and put up a fake smile. She was trying her best to act strong for me, however, I hated that sight. The sight of her being in pain, and hiding that pain away from me. Mother loved me to death. She was the one who took care of me since birth, and taught me love. Father, on the other hand, worked a lot and didn't pay much attention to me. With all that said, I wanted to repay all the love she had given me, but didn't know what to do, until that day… One day, me and my mother went to a french restaurant. It was the first time we've gone to one, and so we decided to wear our best clothes there. We both ordered Cocotte de legumes, a french legume. I saw her take the first bite, and the reaction she had gotten from doing so… I could still remember how it was, even to this day. Seeing that big and bright smile of hers, was the most beautiful thing I have seen as a child. A smile that pushed away all feelings of sadness and sorrow, a smile that made me forget that mother was in a world of hurt. And that smile seemed so effortlessly produced. That day, I decided I wanted to cook, and specialize in french cuisines, just so I could replicate that smile. And so I did, taking a variety of french classes I had signed up for outside elementary school, and taking even more during my time at Totsuki. I cooked for my mother on the daily, and I continued to see that radiant smile of hers. Everything seemed to be going well for me. Despite having no fatherly figure, I was the best student chef at the best culinary school, and not only that, but mother was genuinely happy.
One day, however, after graduating from Totsuki, a fight had happened between us. I told my mom I wanted to go overseas and away from her for a couple of years to master my cooking technique. I wanted to be a better chef, and cook even better meals for my mother. I wanted to make myself happier, but for me to do that, I needed to perfect my cooking. However, mother didn't take my leave of absence that way. Like what father had done to me and mother, she thought I was trying to leave her for good. So that day, she told me that I don't love her, and that I'm a terrible son, as bad of a person as my father. I didn't take that well, and so I packed my bags instantly, and left the house and onto the airport without one last farewell, let alone, a word to mother. How stupid was I? Leaving my own purpose for cooking, to get better at cooking? Despite traveling to several cooking hotspots overseas, I didn't see myself improving as a chef. Not only that, but I felt my cooking had gotten worse, and the love I had for cooking, slowly dreading away. I eventually buried myself in the storm, having no desire to cook… Until I met her.
"Like I said, Yukihira. I'm not the kind of-" Shinomiya suddenly feels two hands wrapped around his stomach.
"He kind of resembles you when you were right around his age. Isn't that right, darling?" Shinomiya turns around to see the face of Hinako Inui smiling.
"Hinako! What are you doing here?" Shinomiya releases Hinako's hold.
"What do you mean, Mother invited me to dinner!"
Shinomiya's face turns stern
"Stop addressing her by mother, she's MY mother, not yours." Hinako pouts but stops as Shinomiya raises his fist, pretending to give Hinako a knuckle sandwich.
"And it's 6pm. The plan was to start at 10pm!" Shinomiya scolds Hinako.
"But earlier the better! And plus, I love talking to your mother."
"And you end up talking until way past midnight, where you end up staying over and sleeping in MY bed while she tells me to sleep on the floor!"
"You're just jealous she likes me more than she likes you!"
"Like I would"
"She said it too!"
"Oh no she didn't!"
"Uhh. Sorry to ruin y'alls moments" The two pause and look at the redhead. "but I'll get going I guess. Sorry for wasting your time Senpai-"
"Yukihira! Join us for dinner!"
The two males instantly turn to look at the brunette hair girl smiling.
"Hinako! What are you saying-"
"Kojiro! My Kohai is in trouble! We can't just leave him like this!"
"And How is that my problem?" Shinomiya crosses his arms
"He's just a little brat. He can solve his problems on his own-"
"Just like you that day? On the streets, all alone, hoping to be saved?"
Shinomiya looks up Hinako, surprised to her looking physically angry
Have I ever seen her like this?
"Inui-"
"Shinomiya. Where would you be today if I had not encountered you on the alley of the streets that day?"
…
Yeah, How would things be today if she was not there that day? Would I still be a chef, let alone, alive?
One day, after travelling everywhere, and realizing my cooking had grown significantly worse, I layed on the alleyway in Italy, questioning my life. For the majority of my life, I had spent it on cooking and making mother happy. Now I was unable to do either as my mother didn't even want to see me, and that in itself made me lose my desire to cook. Not only that, but I had no more money, nowhere to go, no one I could ask to help. Then the former second chair came along. She saw me, laying down, and approached me. She told me she was in Italy for her vacation, and invited me to eat dinner at a restaurant she's been wanting to try since her stay in Italy. We ate, caught up on everything that had happened since graduation. She decided to take a break following graduation and travel around the world, whereas for me, I decided to head straight into improving my cooking. I had kept quiet about what had happened between mother and I, but she knew something was up. Nonetheless, she offered me a place to stay for the night. Morning came, and she insisted I accompany her onto her tour of Italy. Having nowhere to go, and nothing to do, I accepted. We ended up spending the rest of the month with each other. Travelling across the nation, going through cruising ships and trying out various european dishes. I admit that the month travelling across the world with her was one of the best months I've had in my life. During our time in Totsuki, I had only thought of her as a childish and irresponsible braindead brat. But I saw a new side to her during our time in Europe. I saw a carefree, Yet. caring, loving, and enjoyable side to her. During our last meal together, I decided to tell her everything. What had happened to me and mother, and how that incident ultimately affected me as a cook. She listened and nodded the whole time, not interrupting me once during my long monologue. In the end, I thanked her for everything, allowing me to travel with her and providing me with meals and shelter. I promised her I would pay her back one day. She shakes her head, and told me the only way I could repay her is by making amends with my mother. She said mother seemed like a very caring and loving person, but had gone through a heartbreaking divorce. And she was afraid she was going to lose me, and thus, explained the way she acted. She told me she would love to meet mother one day, but she told me to promise her that I will talk things out with her and become mother and son again. And so I promised to do so, and went back to Japan to talk things out with her. The second I rang the door of my old house, I was met with a crying mother with arms hugging tight around my whole body. She thought I had really disappeared for good, and so had been depressed the whole time since my absence. We ended up talking things through, and became family once again. I later ended up doing another tour of the world, this time, bringing mother with me. There, we traveled the world together, mother and son, taking the challenges of the world together as two Shiniomiyas. That was when my turning point for my cooking career had occurred. And now, every restaurant that I have made since, has our family name imprinted on the front of the store. Me and mother's name. So, going back to your question Hinako. Yes, I would be nothing if not for you.
Shinomiya sighs.
"Yukihira, if you would like. You can join us for dinner with my mother."
Yukihira nods and replies with a smile. "I'm guessing I'll be getting part two of Shinomiya's cooking!"
"Yeah, lucky you brat. but first… Help me close the restaurant."
Hinako smiles. "And you too, Shortie." Shinomiya stares at Hinako.
-pout- "Wowww. Making your own girlfriend do your work?"
You can't always be freeloading women-
"WHATTT, Shinomiya-sensei and Inui-sensei are dating!?"
"Wait, no Yukihira. Shit. We certainly are-"
"Sensei?! Mouu Yukihira, I'm only in my mid 20's! And yes, he is my man!" Shinomiya gets cut off by Hinako
"Goddammit Inui We're not dating exactly-"
"I'm so going to tell Megumi about this! Oh, I can't wait for her reaction!-"
NO. MY PRIDE. NO ONE ELSE SHALL KNOW ABOUT ME AND HINAKO's RELATIONSHIP.
"OH MY GOSH. MY KOHAI NUMBER 2 MEGUMI-CHAN! YES, TELL HER ALL ABOUT US. AND ARE YOU GUYS TOGETHER YET-"
"Yukihira." Shinomiya prevents Yukihira from taking away his phone and cringely smiles at him.
"How about you and Inui watch a movie together and relax while I close up the restaurant by myself?"
"Oh, that sounds great! I've been meaning to watch this one movie!"
"Yeah!" Shinomiya chuckles in the most fakest way possible. "Totally! Only If you promise not to tell a single soul about me and Hinako."
"Mou… Am I a joke to you Kojiro-!"
"And I'll cook you the same snack I had made you back in the Stagiaire-"
"Deal!"
The two gentlemen shake their hands as the female right by them pouts in frustration.
"Now carry along you two! Here's some cash!" Shinomiya hands them the greens and he slightly pushes them to the direction of Hinako's car.
"I'll finish closing in roughly 2 hours and a half, so see you two at 9! And don't be telling no one Yukihira!"
"Gotcha Shinomiya-senpai!" Yukihira waves at Shinomiya as he makes his way back into the restaurant.
No one shall know of us. EVER.
"Gosh… Kojiro is such a baka." Hinako quietly says to herself.
"Hinako-Senpai. Shall we make our way to the movie theaters?" Yukihira points at the shoulder of the brunette who seemed to be lost in thought.
"Oh yeah, we should." Hinako snaps back to reality.
"There's a show I've been wanting to watch." Hinako places a finger below her chin.
"Oh, me too!"
"Are we talking about the same one by chance?" Hinako questions Yukihira.
"Probably not, it's a sequel to another movie."
"Oh, mine is too!"
"Is it romance?" Probably not. This kid don't seem like the kind to-
"Well… Kinda.." My… My... Yukihira, Maybe I was wrong about you.
I'm in it for the food compilations. Yukihira thinks to himself.
"Is it by chance… Weathering-?"
"With you?" Yukihira finishes Hinako's sentence.
The two laugh in Unison.
"Hop in the car Yukihira, We're going to the theaters!" Hinako raises one of her hands up.
"Damn right senpai!" Yukihira replies back with a hand up raised as well.
zzz
"He's not picking up, The calls go straight to voicemail… Nor is he responding to my messages, let alone, reading them." Erinas lays on her bed and faces her head on her soaked pillow.
"I really don't know what to say, Erina. I'm sorry." Hisako sits on a chair facing Nakiri's direction.
Maybe theres a reason for all this, Erina-sama.
…
"Hey, Hisako."
"Yes, Erina?"
"Remember our interactions the day before the finals took place between me and Yukihira?"
"Yes. Once again, I'm very sorry for the appropriate way I have conducted myself-"
"No, it's okay Hisako. Looking back now, I think the words and anger you have expressed toward me was justified." Hisako, surprised at what Erina had just said, looks straight at the blonde in the bed.
"I… suppose-"
"In our interaction, you told me I haven't changed, and I was the same, the same words Tadokoro had told me on that day as well. As you can tell from today's talk with Tadokoro, I still don't know exactly what you and her mean't. She told me I'd learn… soon." Nakiri faces her head to Hisako's direction.
"Yeah, she did say that." Hisako nods.
"If you don't mind… Can you answer some questions for me?"
"Yeah. I'll do that for you, Erina." Hisako says non confidently.
Did those words you say to me that day directly stem from me and Yukihira? Hisako pauses and thinks of a coherent reply.
"The words I have said that night were indeed in reference to your relationship. However, I wouldn't say it was entirely from the relationship alone, Erina."
Erina holds her pillow tight. "Oh, okay... And. One last question."
"Yes Erina?"
"How bad of a girlfriend was I?" Hisako pauses.
"I..." What do I say exactly?
"Please, tell me your honest thoughts, Hisako." Nakiri desperately looks at Hisako. "I want to.. No, I need to know. How was I as a girl?"
I guess it is best to tell her… how it is.
"In my opinion, Nakiri, from what I could see…considering how much dedication and time he seemed to have put for you, I believe… You did not reciprocate nearly as much effort as he did in the relationship."
Tears once again crawl under the blonde's eyes.
"Go on, Hisako."
"No, Erina. Maybe it's best we-"
"Please, just continue."
Hisako clears her voice.
"From what I could observe, being your best friend and being with you guys many times both during school and outside school, Yukihira seemed to be carrying the weight in the relationship. Yes, there were the small and simple things. For example, whenever it was lunch time, it was always Yukihira that would make food for you, and never the other way around."
"Well, I'm sure he liked cooking for me-"
"Have you ever asked if he wanted a break from doing it, and take turns?"
Nakiri turns silent.
"After all, going through 5 back to back classes before rushing to lunch, thinking and making lunch in less than 10 minutes seems kind of tiring, even for Yukihira." Hisako notes
"No… I haven't, actually"
I hadn't even considered it.
"Well, that's just a minor instance. As for the big issues I've noticed from your relationships… You often would vent to me issues you had with Yukihira. For example, you'd express your frustration to me whenever girls would talk to him, or when he forgot to send you a goodnight text, or when he didn't give you a kiss, etc. But you would never really tell me the outcomes or the resolution to these instances. So I ask you, how have you two handled these issues?"
Erina opens her eyes, realizing how it's been all along.
"I… ignore him and send him indirect messages to show him that I am angry for whatever the reason may be, and he just… finds ways to resolve the issues and bring things back to normal without discussing it with me."
"Oh, is that how its been throughout the relationship?" Hisako askes.
"Well… He used to ask directly if I was angry at me. But eventually, he just figured things out on his own and did it all by himself."
"Did you directly express your feelings to him and why you were feeling upset?"
"Well… No, but neither did he try and openly talk about it-"
"Would you have told him the source of your anger?"
…
"No, looking back. I definitely would not have… And… I honestly don't know why." Erina holds her pillow tighter.
Hisako thinks.
"If you were to tell him why you were angry, like, for example, seeing him talk to the girls during passing periods. How would you have felt?"
Erina looks down on her bed and flushes. "I would've felt very embarrassed."
"How about telling him you were angry because he forgot to text you goodnight one day."
"I would feel even more embarrassed."
"And telling him you're mad because he didn't kiss you before going home?"
"... Very, Embarrassed." Erina looks up at Hisako, slightly pissed. "You already knew the answer to that one, Hisako, what the point of asking-"
"Pride, Erina." Nakiri becomes silent. "That's the reason you were unable to properly and appropriately tell him your feelings. Because of your ego. Instead, you selfishly relied on him to do everything to get the issues, whether little or big, to be fixed."
"I-"
"Because you were prideful, were you unable to express your true feelings to him, both verbally and physically, to your own boyfriend. This ended up hurting him, being ignored and hearing only insults from his own girlfriend.
Because you were prideful, I believe it had to do with his decision on leaving Totsuki without giving you any notice, Erina, and likewise, not responding to your calls or messages." Hisako finishes her monologue.
…
Nakiri completely soaks the rest of her pillow, tears even articulating down onto her bed.
"Thanks, Hisako. You may leave now. Your duties for the day are over."
"Erina-"
"I insist, Hisako. Please leave. I need some… time to myself."
…
"Goodbye, Erina. Have a good rest of the day." Hisako closes the door and exits. Please don't break down, Erina.
Erina waits a couple of seconds for Hisako to leave the mansion
I guess she's now left the mansion
Erina breaks down and cries, laying down in the bed, and holding a different pillow in front of her. Her head faces the pillow as she lets out loud sobs, allowing the pillow to mute most of the volume.
Why the fuck am I like this
Erina punches the pillow.
You only gave me happiness, Yukihira
Erina punches the pillow once more
And what did I give you?
Erina switches to her left hand
Fucking Nothing. Nothing but my stupid ass petiness and sadness
Erina puts both hands in front of the pillow and pulls on the pillow, crunching the pillow with her face.
What did I ever do to deserve you?
Redhead "adventures'' continue! And blonde sadness. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Sorry if this chapter took longer to make compared to the others. Working full time is no fun. Not to mention, Mofo finals month :((. And, I kinda lost my mojo for a couple of days too writing, but its just a temporary feeling I guess,but I had some fun writing this one, especially toward the middle and ending parts of this chapter.
Once again, I really appreciate all the reviews left in this fanfic! However, please refrain from simply just messaging "update pls" or "when next chapter!?" I love praises for my review, and I also love constructive criticisms from my review. Just commenting and asking for when the next update is kinda…
Idk how to put it. It's like that scene during the third season of Shokugeki no Soma that shows how Soma's father got lost in the storm. He was in a foreign country serving food to customers, and he got like cut off from customers whenever he was trying to explain them what ingredients he put in the recipe. Instead, the customers would just ask him when he would cook for them again. Like yo, let the chef explain to yall fat fk customers what he made :(
Likewise, for me, I kinda don't appreciate when people simply just comment 'update pls!' without some form of review (its called review for a reason LOL) Like I appreciate that those comments imply they want more content to my fanfic, but at the same time, I'd like real reviews, not just an increase in quantity of comments (I want some quality too fams LOL) But yeah, thx for reading this long if y'alls did (Y'alls are the homies :D) And much much love to those who have been reviewing, whether it be praises or constructive criticisms (which is the majority of you guys. Y'all cuties know who you are ;)
I'd like to at least just do one "long" chapter a week, and that's like the worst case scenario lolol. Anyways, please stay safe and healthy y'alls :)) COVID is a bitch!