So, for now I have decided to write each chapter by switching POVs. I may change it for special future chapters but this is going to be the main way the story goes.
Aldini Isami would have to thank Yukihira Soma one day.
If he hadn't challenged his whole class at the entrance ceremony, Takumi would have not held a grudge against the redhead and gone out of his way to challenge him. He would have not met the blue haired girl that had been his partner. She would have not been fascinated by his knife skills, something that rarely happened. It was his brother that usually was the star in cooking, not him. But here was this bluenette giving him her full attention. Unused to the undivided attention, he tried to pass on the attention to his brother. However, he ended up having the urge to be Tadokoro Megumi's friend. It was easy enough to fill that urge, as Takumi had not been satisfied with the results of his first match with Yukihira and continued to seek out the redhead every chance he got. Eventually, Isami gained several friends because of this, but for some reason he viewed Tadokoro in a different light than the rest of their friends. It could have been because quickly found out that they were kindred spirits, both of them having to reel their companions in before too much trouble was made. Of course, they could not always keep their charges on a leash so he and Tadokoru found themselves alone with each other as Yukihira and Takumi ran off.
Those were the times where he truly got to know the girl he was able to call Megumi.
He did not know when they became comfortable enough to tell the other about their fears and worries and thoughts, but it happened. They did not try to cheer each other up when their conversations went blue, no, they had plenty of people to do that for them. They just listened to what the other had to say and gave their own thoughts in response. That seemed to help them when school life became a bit more hectic for them to handle.
Last night was no different. Neither of them had been able to sit down and relax due to the daunting tasks that had been put on as students of the best cooking school in the country. Megumi had a bit more on her plate due to her position, but she was more than capable of handling them. However, it took a toll on her as well. He wasn't surprised to see her leaning against her room door as their other friends were getting rowdy. Isami knew that she needed a bit of peace at that moment. He led her in the room and made her relax on the edge of the bed. He sat down next to her, by now a familiar position they took when it was just the two of them. For a while, Isami listened to Megumi describe her heavy workload and how she had to keep appearances and the Shokugekis that she accepted. There had been a short pause after her recollection, causing him to check to see if she had been alright. She had a slight flush in her cheeks, and the male placed a hand on her cheek to see if she had a fever. She did not feel hot, so he chalked it up to the rice juice that had been served during the party.
"Thank you, Isami." Megumi sighed, looking up at him. "I really missed our talks."
"I would do anything for you, Megumi." He murmured, earning a blush from her. Her gaze remained on him, though, and he could feel the pull of her honey colored eyes.
He had his lips on hers before he could stop himself. He started to pull away, ashamed at what he had done, but to his surprise, Megumi tugged him back.
"Stay." She whispered before kissing him much more fervently than he had done to her.
They never did get back to the party.
"My, my." Isami chuckled as he prodded his brother's body on the kitchen floor. "What a lovely sight."
"What are you talking about?" Takumi drowsily replied.
"Look around you and see." Isami gave a sly smile and backed up. Takumi yawned and followed his brother's advice. The blond screamed, completely awake now as he pushed what had been a slumbering Yukihira off him. Isami cackled as his brother stumbled to his feet quite a distance away from his original position and left Yukihira dazed on the ground.
"Shut up, Isami!" Takumi was turning red, and the sight of the two made him laugh even harder.
"Oh. You woke them up." A voice came from the entrance of the kitchen. Seemed like the rest of the Polar Star residents plus Nikumi had come to see what the commotion was. It had been Yoshino who had spoken up, her pout showing exactly how she felt.
"They both fell asleep right after a small cooking contest." Sakaki supplied.
"You mean you guys just left us here?" Takumi was scarlet now, more from embarrassment that almost everyone in the dorm had seen him and his supposed rival in such a position. Yukihira, on the other hand, was already up and making tea.
"Yup!" Yoshino stuck her tongue out in jest. "You guys looked so cute that we didn't have the heart to move you."
"Sorry," Isami ignored his brother's growl. "I woke him up so we could go home and change. I would have left them longer if I did not feel like we overstayed our welcome."
"You guys are welcome to stay as long as you like." Fumio came in the room then. "The three of you are here more often than not, anyways." She added, including the tan female currently standing by the stove with Yukihira. When she realized she was being talked about, Nikumi fidgeted.
"Thank you, Fumio-san." She uttered.
"Did I miss something?" Megumi peeked in. "I heard screaming."
"Just Takumi and Soma snuggling on the kitchen floor." Sakaki pointed out, earning another groan from the blond twin.
"Oh." Megumi faintly blushed and tugged at her yellow short sleeve shirt in a particular area. Isami smirked and quickly shifted his gaze to his brother. No one else needed to know how the younger twin slept last night as well.
"You look much better than you did last night, Megumi!" Yoshino chirped. "You must have had a good night."
"Yeah, exhaustion finally hit me after the past few days. Sorry that I went to bed early."
"That's okay, Megumi." The orange- haired female patted her shoulder. Her marked shoulder, Isami noticed. The blue haired girl knew as well as she stiffened. "You okay, Megumi?"
"Y-yeah." She smiled. "I fell asleep in a weird angle so I'm a little sore." Isami could not help being proud of how easily the lie slipped out from her lips. She made a show of looking around the kitchen. "I guess Isshiki-senpai left already. He was calling me to help him in the garden."
"He was heading outside when I was coming in here." Fumio confirmed.
"Okay, I'll go and join him! See you guys later!" She said her goodbye, her gaze lingering on him a second longer before she left. Isami glanced at his brother again, who had his head in his arms. Then he looked at Soma who was helping Fumio with breakfast along with a couple of the other residents of Polar Star. The red head was idly rubbing his side. Feeling a bit mischievous, Isami called out to him.
"I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you Takumi moves a lot in his sleep. You may have bruises because of him." Laughs filled the room at his statement.
"Yeah. I found that out the hard way." Soma replied, causing the teens to laugh even harder.
"Time to go home, Isami!" Takumi pulled on his brother's sleeve as playful taunts were aimed towards him. The younger twin thanked his friends for hosting them as he was dragged out of the dorm. As they biked their way home, Takumi got over his embarrassment long enough to remember something.
"Where did you disappear off to last night, younger brother?"
"Me? I saw you about to face off again with Yukihira and I decided to not watch your flirting attempts and borrowed one of the bedrooms for an early night."
"Humph. I was not flirting with him." Takumi muttered. Isami hummed. He had told his brother the truth.
There was no need to tell him any details.
