This takes place the same time as the previous chapter, only from Isami's POV.
I've been doing this for almost every chapter, but I have decided to share some songs (earworms, mostly) that I've been listening to as I wrote this chapter. They may or may not fit with the mood with the story, but whatever. This time, I have two:
"Catch Him Another Day" by Blimpflyinghigh
"Wonderful" by Weirddough
I have my notes about the chapter below! Like last time, I try to keep them in order along with the story.
Yuki
Quick meeting in Zenji room to discuss stuff!
Isami lifted an eyebrow at the message that had lowered the music volume on his phone. Didn't they just get out of a meeting not even an hour ago? Why was she calling for another one? And why wasn't she using the main Polar Star group chat?
Ibusaki
Why the new group chat?
Yuki
The others can't know what I'm planning. Now come!
Curious, Isami looked at the recipients of the group chat. He noticed that it was everyone else in the dorm who were not part of the Elite Ten. Yuki was going full tilt with the surprise element, it seemed. The brunet waited for a few more messages to pop up before sending his own reply confirming that he would be there. After all, he had nothing else to do.
Isami liked the idea of the free for all. Even though he wasn't as competitive as the others around him, he still wanted to win this contest. He wanted the recognition that would come from complete strangers that were well established in the food industry. He needed that confidence boost, that assurance from customers to feel like he was improving.
He needed to catch up with Takumi, after all.
It did not take long to get to Marui's room since he was located just a floor below. Yuki was already there, as well as Ibusaki and Aoki. Marui was not in here, though.
"Where's the owner of the room?" Isami asked.
"Recon." Ibusaki replied. The reply only further confused the Italian, but he decided to roll with it.
He sat down next to the auburn teen and checked his phone. Megumi had texted him on the way down that she had left with Isshiki to do errands. She also had texted him that she suspected that Isshiki had another reason to invite her, which probably was related to the event from this morning.
Which one? It feels like there were like seven today.
The first one.
Ah. Well, let me know what happens. Yuki dragged us in for another meeting so might not answer right away.
I will.
Wait, ANOTHER meeting?
Yup. Don't know why.
Okay. Then YOU let ME know what happens then.
Using my words against me? Lol.
Megumi sent a emote sticking its tongue out in response. Isami let out a soft chuckle before sending an affirmation to her.
"Why are we here?" Ryoko asked as Isami put his phone to sleep. She must have come in while he was absorbed in his conversation.
"It's about the competition." Yuki answered. "I'll tell you guys in a minute."
Sato and Marui came in then.
"Okay. Yukihira and Takumi are well into cooking some dishes in the kitchen." Marui told them.
"And I couldn't find Megumi or Isshiki anywhere in the dorm." Sato reported.
"They went to run some errands." Isami filled in. "Last I heard they went to order some supplies to build the stand."
"Perfect." Yuki slid off the bed. "Operation Secrecy is a go."
"We would love to know what it is before you say it's a go." Ibusaki reminded her.
"Judging by the name and the new group chat, I'm thinking that you want to keep parts about our competition a secret from the other group?" Marui guessed.
Yuki nodded. "I want to keep everything on our end a mystery from the other group until the day of the judging. That way, they could start off with a blank slate."
"You really want to make this as challenging for them as possible, don't you?" Aoki grinned.
"Yes." Isami could see the fighting spirit flare up in Yuki's eyes. "We are at war with four of the strongest cooks of the school. We may be fighting our own separate battles, but we must stick together so they won't get an advantage over us. That means that we can't share anything with them. Nothing. Not even a taste or a glance of our dishes."
"That would mean that we would have to kick them out of our cooking areas to make that work." Ryoko noted.
"That's exactly what I wanted to do." Yuki stated. "Tomorrow, we should have a few of us take over the kitchen and make sure none of them can use it until dinner. Also, if you want to cook in your rooms, make sure they don't come in, Isami."
"Why was that last part directed at me?"
"Because I have a feeling that Takumi will try to see what you're doing. And wherever Takumi goes, Soma will follow eventually, which will destroy the plan."
"Fine, fine." Isami held his hands up in surrender. "I'll kick my brother out when I start cooking." He could deal with a pouty Takumi.
At least he would live from dealing with a pouty Takumi.
"I might have a problem with keeping people away." Ibusaki raised his hand. "I only get so many free passes from Fumio with an impromptu indoor smoke room, and that last one really got her angry because it took longer than usual to clear out the hall."
"If it gets to the point that Yukihira bothers you, just threaten to send Megumi after him. He's terrified of her." Sato said. The comment drew a few chuckles from the cluster of teens.
"So, we are in agreement?" Yuki asked. Everyone nodded. "Good! Tonight, we plan, tomorrow, we strike!"
"Yeah!"
The short burst of adrenaline Isami got from their meeting left him as soon as he got into his room, exhaustion taking its place. There was no surprise that he was tired. He had gone on a rollercoaster of emotions within the past twenty-four hours, which would make anyone weary. The fact that he was running on about four hours of sleep made it worse. The brunet threw himself on his bed and turned on his music. He must have passed out soon after because he woke up to someone gently shaking his shoulder.
"Isami?"
"Hm…" He stretched and twisted himself to face his brother who was sitting on the edge of the bed. When the hell had he come in?
"You usually wake up at the sound of me knocking." The blond told him. "You alright?"
"Yeah." Isami sat up. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."
"How much did you get?"
"Maybe four hours." Takumi stared at him in shock. "What time is it?"
"About fifteen-thirty." Takumi answered his question. "But what happened last night that made you only get four hours of sleep?"
"Just one of those restless nights. I kept waking up." The answer was true, not whole, but true.
"Ah. Understandable. I get those, too."
Isami resisted the urge to say anything about his brother's statement. He remembered the couple or so times Takumi spent a night over at a girl's room for fun last year. The blond also had taken him one of those times, which had ended in him having his first time in bed with an almost stranger from Takumi's fan club. Even though both him and the girl did it for the experience and had no feelings towards each other, he was a bit glad when she failed out a couple weeks later at her Stagiaire. Isami didn't go with his brother after that one time because he had started to crush hard on Megumi. Takumi stopped altogether during the Central takeover at the school.
"Did you need something, Nii-chan?" Isami asked instead.
"Ah, yes." Takumi brightened up. "Yukihira and I made a bit too much food and I was inviting you to a late lunch with us."
"I'm guessing that you guys want a judge as well?"
"Both?" Takumi admitted hesitantly. "But mainly the first reason."
Isami's stomach chose to growl loudly at that moment.
"I guess I have no choice." The brunet sighed as his brother tried and failed at trying not to laugh.
"So, any idea on what you're going to make for the contest?"
"I don't know."
"'I don't know' as in you don't know what you are cooking yet or 'I don't know' as in you won't tell me?"
"I don't know."
Takumi exhaled heavily, clearly annoyed by Isami's answers.
Isami sighed in return, much less annoyed by Takumi's badgering. The blond had been asking since yesterday after lunch about his dish. Yukihira had joined in as well, meeting everyone's expectations about him earlier. Thankfully, Isami was able push them off his case by telling them that he was still tired. Takumi's older brother instincts kicked in after he said that and immediately told Yukihira to hush and both stopped bothering him about the subject until dinner.
Isami had gone back into his room after playing a few rounds of a card game with them. He didn't go back to sleep, though. That would have screwed up his sleeping schedule completely if he had. Instead, he looked up dishes of random themes to see if he could get some inspiration from something. Megumi came back later, making a beeline for his bed and resting her head on his lap while he continued to scroll through his phone. She told him a summary of her run, including when she had managed to get Isshiki to get out what he had wanted to say. She then dozed on and off until dinnertime.
Supper that evening gave Isami a chance to see how adamant everyone else was on keeping their dishes a secret. Yukihira and Isshiki had tried to ask several times to different people about the contest, but the subject was always changed when it came too close to specifics.
On one occasion, Yuki had changed it to ask why Megumi looked so tired.
Once the bluenette had comprehended that the subject had changed to her, her nervous habit started to kick in. Yukihira saved her by playfully chiding her about her reoccurring insomnia. She apologized to everyone, saying that she just had a restless night and that she was sorry for everyone's concern.
Isami had hoped that his brother did not realize that her answer somehow almost mirrored his own from earlier. When Isshiki shot him a knowing look, he concluded that he did not have the energy to deal with another person knowing about their relationship so soon.
Megumi did not come in into his room last night. The brunet guessed that she had crashed soon after her bath, which was one of the last ones in the dorm. He didn't go to her room because he had to go running in the morning. It was a blessing in disguise as Takumi got up unusually early and was at his door right before he finished dressing. Takumi had started his questioning after they had started jogging.
"Why don't you want to tell me?" The blond asked at their usual halfway point.
"Because of the pact." Isami told him while looking at his phone. Megumi had sent him a message earlier confirming that she had fallen asleep right after her shower.
"Pact?"
"Yup. The group said no Elites living in the dorm as supposed to know anything about our food until judgement day."
"That's absurd."
"I think it's fun."
"You won't even tell me what you are thinking of making?"
Isami shook his head.
"Fine." The blond huffed. Isami knew his brother, though. He would be glued to his side practically all day for any information, especially since he had nothing important to do.
Isami decided to text Megumi that it would be better for them to sleep in their own rooms until after the festival because of how persistent his brother could be and the chaos that was to come. Her agreement came right before they started to run home.
The coup went as planned after breakfast. Yuki, Marui, Ryoko, and Aoki banned the four chairs from the kitchen when everyone was done eating. Isshiki chuckled at the order and left the room saying something about how excited he was for the next two days. Yukihira did protest, but it wasn't a serious one. Megumi and Takumi simply agreed. Mito, who had come over for…something, was allowed to stay with the group in the kitchen. Isami could hear Yuki catching her up to speed as he left to the foyer.
As expected, Takumi stayed around him. The blond even turned down an invitation for another battle from Yukihira in favor of his mission. Isami could not help but to feel a bit sorry for the redhead when his expression noticeably fell, but he knew that Yukihira would be alright.
"If you're going to stay here, you sit at the desk." Isami told his brother when they got inside.
"Fine, fine." The blond laughed as he grabbed the desk chair and sat on it backwards. Isami turned on his music and sat on his bed. He grabbed the notebook he had left on the mattress earlier and flipped it to the page he was working on.
"So, you do have ideas." Takumi commented as the brunet started to scribble down his lists in a notebook.
Isami grunted, not looking up from his writing. He wondered if the dorm had enough ingredients for what he wanted to do. Maybe he should have asked Megumi to pick something up yesterday. Wait, he didn't even have an inkling on what he wanted to do when she was there, so it wouldn't have not mattered. He still was stuck between two choices. Both of them were Italian based, as he had a natural pull towards the food of his home country despite his fascination with Japanese culture in general. Already he was thinking of alterations to mix the two cultures, but was that the best choice? Wouldn't it be better to keep it completely in an Italian style?
"You look like you are having trouble." Takumi's voice reminded him that he wasn't alone in the room.
"I'll figure it out eventually." Isami replied.
"This is weird." Takumi sighed.
"What is?"
"That we're not throwing ideas off each other."
"It has happened before." Isami reminded him. "More often than you remember."
Takumi didn't reply for a few moments. Isami took the chance to go back to his choices.
"It's been a while." The blond eventually said.
"For?" The brunet questioned.
"It's been a while since we've cooked together."
Isami blinked as he tried to remember the last time they did. Shit, the last time was at the Shokugeki that had been before midterms. They hadn't even cooked a meal together for the dorm since the day before that.
"Sorry." The brunet apologized. "It's been a busy couple of weeks,"
"Don't apologize." Takumi held up a hand. "I've been busy, too." The blond smiled. "Tell you what. We'll set a day or two to make a new dish after all the fuss of the festival blows over. I'll even reserve on of the Elite's cooking rooms so we won't be bothered."
"That would be great." Isami grinned back, excited at the suggestion.
They talked on and off until the door opened unexpectedly. Isami immediately knew it was his girlfriend, as she was the only one who would visit him without knocking. Takumi did not know this fact, thankfully, and was thoroughly surprised to see the golden-eyed female at the entrance. After greetings (and an apology to Takumi) she informed them that she had come to grab the older twin for stand work. Seeing the hesitation in his eyes, Isami warned him that he would have been kicked out anyways. The blond relented after some more persuasion and Isami saw them off with a smile. Once he could feel his twin's energy far enough, the brunet looked back at his two choices.
Maybe he needed a break from brainstorming. A walk might help.
He tried to do just that. What stopped him from going outside were the mix of scents that were coming from the kitchen. He decided to go check that out instead. He stayed at the doorway as he examined the occupants in the room. Aoki was the closest, playing with some type of batter in a bowl. Isami knew that he specialized in fried foods and the dish he was making pointed towards that. Yuki had different cuts of meat on a cutting board, Mito hovering next to her. Marui had three or four bowls next to him, but Isami was too far to see what it was. Ryoko, the furthest one away, was the one to notice the brunet at the door.
"Hey, Isami!" She called, making everyone else look in his direction.
"Hi." He waved back. The female walked over to him as the rest went back to their work.
"Taking a break?" She asked him. He barely got a nod in before the female grabbed his arm. "Are you up for a taste testing?"
"It depends. Will I get my head bitten off if I do?" He glanced over at Yuki, who was the unofficial leader of this whole plan.
Ryoko laughed. "We're allowed to help each other. Feedback is always needed."
"Okay, then. Lead the way."
"Perfect." She led him to her station. Isami watched as she uncovered a pot and served two bowls of a noodle and vegetable dish.
"It's a tofu vegetable noodle toss." She told him as she pushed the bowls towards him.
"You already know your dish." He admired.
"Not completely. I haven't decided on the kind of soy sauce to use, or how to have the tofu, or the organization, or even the list of vegetables I want."
"Better than me. I still haven't settled on a dish to try."
"It'll come to you." She assured him. "You don't have to compare yourself to me."
"Isn't that what this whole thing is about? Comparing each other's dishes?"
"And here I am trying to make you feel a bit better about your situation."
Isami chuckled before dipping his chopsticks in one of the bowls.
"So, what exactly do you want me to taste for?"
"Soy sauce comparisons. I want to see which one works better with the dish."
Isami ate both samples before looking back at the fuchsia haired female. "One's spicier than the other."
"Right."
"Personally, I don't mind that kick. But other people might."
"So, you think I should go with the milder one?"
"I think you should go with both. Have the customer pick if they want mild or spicy. You made the dish in a way both sauces could be used so having those options should work."
"That's true." Ryoko looked at the bottles of soy sauce next to her. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind."
"Hey, you should try mine next!" Aoki yelled from the other side of the room.
"I will!" Isami replied. He looked at Ryoko for permission. She thanked him and released him to see what Aoki was planning to make. After he gave his comments on the food and no one else had asked him for his thoughts, the brunet chose to go back upstairs. His notebook was still on his bed faced down. He picked it up to stare at his choices again. He thought back to his friends cooking downstairs and how they got him to try their dishes. It reminded him on how he used to experiment back in Italy and tried to get the first family member he saw to try whatever he had made. He realized that both dishes had been ones that he made before that he had Takumi try. He chuckled at the coincidence. He was more homesick than he thought.
Then, a deciding factor came to his mind. He should leave the Italian influence in his meal this time but make a variation of the original recipe he had. He thought for a few moments before deciding on the one that he could make the best variation from. He checked his fridge to see if he had the ingredients for it. Once he saw he did not have all of them, he went back downstairs to grab them from the kitchen and the storage.
"Decided on a dish?" Ryoko asked as he grabbed some canned beans from the pantry.
"Yup!" He grinned as he dashed to the deep freezer. He did not know how much time he had before people got home and he wanted to finish before they did. Luckily, he was able to locate everything else he needed quickly and went back upstairs. He opened his window and started to prepare his meal.
Less than an hour later, he heard someone knocking at his door.
"Who is it?" Isami could tell it wasn't his brother because his presence still felt far away.
"Aoki." That's good.
"Come in."
The black-haired teen entered and was about to close the door when something stopped him.
"I told you to wait, Daigo." Ryoko's voice could be heard behind the door.
"Sorry." Aoki opened the door again to allow a slightly peeved female and a slightly confused male behind her.
"Hayama?" Isami didn't hide the surprise in his voice. "Don't you have your own stand to worry about?"
"He's running away from Alice and Ryo as usual." Ryoko filled in. "Which I think is weird because they are teammates again this year."
"Nakiri will not agree with me on a menu." Hayama explained. "I really did not want to exhaust myself this time."
"He arrived just as we were going to come upstairs to check on you." Aoki put in. "Ryoko decided to drag him along since we met him at the door.
"Check on me?"
"Well, you did taste our dishes." Aoki replied. "We came up to do the same. If you want us, of course."
"You guys are welcome to stay and try my food." Isami told them. "I have just enough for all four of us. It's just simmering now."
"It smells like a chicken dish." Hayama commented as the guests sat down.
"Because it is a chicken dish." Isami confirmed. As much as he admired Hayama's talent for discerning scents, he did not want him to reveal the details of his meal before he had a chance to show them. Aoki did not give the dorm visitor a chance to elaborate, though.
"Yuki was doing something with chicken as well from what I saw."
"Oh, she decided on chicken? Last time I looked at her prep work she had different kinds of meat there."
"I think she was trying to see what went better with her rub."
"What was Marui doing? I couldn't really tell what he had there." Isami asked.
"He said he was doing some kind of salad." Ryoko told him. "I forgot the name, but it's from the middle east region."
Isami hummed in response, lifting the lid off the skillet. The food was done. He noticed that he had been right on the amount he was able to serve, as he barely had enough for four plates. He was glad for that because he could remove the evidence before Takumi tried to come in again.
"Here is my version of a chicken skillet." He announced as he placed the dishes in front of them. "It has chicken breast, mushrooms, vegetables, and beans. I sautéed everything in olive oil."
"Parsley for garnish?" Hayama noticed. The brunet nodded.
"Have you made this before?" Ryoko asked.
"I've made a vegetarian version of it a few times, but never one with chicken."
Ryoko nodded and joined the other two room guests in eating the dish.
"This is good!" Aoki grinned. "What seasonings did you use?"
"Well, the parsley as you saw, along with oregano and thyme and pepper."
"That's it? That's so simple."
"The whole dish is supposed to be simple in order to keep up with customers." Isami reminded him. After watching them eat for a few more moments, Isami remembered that he had yet to try his own food. He took a bite, glad that it had balanced out perfectly despite the substitution of the beans he usually used for the ones he found in the cabinet.
"I always like eating yours and Takumi's food." Aoki hummed. "It makes me think that I'm actually in Italy."
The comment did not sit too well with Isami, but because he had no idea why it bothered him the brunet tried to ignore it.
"I'm glad it does that." He laughed it off. He placed another bite in his mouth, stopping in mid-chew in shock. Something had changed with his food. He suddenly didn't feel as satisfied as he had been the first few times he had eaten. He looked over at the other three, noticing that their plates were now empty. He would have noticed their expressions if something had gone wrong mid-way, but they hadn't said a word. He decided to ask, anyways.
"Hey, did you guys notice a difference in the food as you were eating?"
All three of them said no.
"Was there supposed to be something that changed?" Hayama asked. "It stayed constant the whole time through."
"No, there wasn't." Isami told them. "I think I'm just assessing my cooking a little too hard."
"That does happen." The white-haired teen said.
Isami hummed and kept eating. The strange change was still there, but he was able to identify that it wasn't because of the flavors of the dish after all. It was more of a feeling that something was missing that he had not noticed before.
However, he did not know what it was.
His guests did not stay long after they gave their detailed reviews about the meal, something that unnaturally relieved him. He loved when he was spending time with his friends, but right now the mysterious missing ingredient was on the forefront of his mind and he was glad when he was finally left alone to think. He turned his music on and started to wash the things he had used earlier for the food, letting his thoughts wander.
He made sure he focused back in when he washed the sharper tools. The last thing he needed was to surprise cut himself and have Takumi send worried signals to him.
"I like eating yours and Takumi's food."
Come to think of it, the change in the food had only happened once Aoki had said that. Had Isami been that bothered by it that it affected the way his food tasted? In fact, why had the comment troubled him in the first place? It was meant to be a compliment. Not even outright insults had affected his taste. The brunet leaned on his little sink and sighed. At least he had found the weird cause for the unsatisfactory taste in his food. But now he had two mysteries to solve.
He had a sinking feeling that he would have to solve one to get the other.
Isami glanced over to his dresser. A small portable projector was on top of the wood. He had bought it at the end of his third year of middle school. It cost a bit more money than he was used to spending, but he thought it was worth it. The grey box was used a lot, especially for anime. After he learned that Megumi was another avid fan, he'd bring it over when he and Takumi came over to visit. They would lay on her bed while watching the shows playing on the ceiling. The only things that changed when he moved in was now there was another room to view them in and they would intentionally snuggle instead of slowly drifting to each other. It was also a great cover story as their dormmates assumed that that's what they were doing when they came up together.
The brunet decided to do just that. He was growing weary of the problem, and he needed to be ready mentally when dinner rolled around. He ended up nodding off during an episode, but he woke himself up this time and was feeling a bit better by supper. Someone else had cooked tonight and he felt content with their food. It made him feel a little bit better that something wasn't wrong with his taste buds. It was something about his own cooking that felt empty. Luckily, many of his dormmates were also lost in their thoughts as well and not much attention was put on him.
After a shower, he pulled out the spices that he had in his cabinet in an attempt to figure out the solution to his problem. Part of him thought it was futile, as he knew that the problem was within him rather than his food. However, he could probably find a clue through this task. He hadn't noticed that he went so deep in thought until he felt something wrap around his mid-section and caused him to tense up.
"Everything alright?" Megumi's angelic voice brought him back to his surroundings.
"Yeah. Just thinking." He told her.
He could feel her putting her forehead on his back. He knew she knew something was up, but she wouldn't ask. He caught the strong scent of her soap, an indication that she had just bathed. That mixed in with the classical music playing in the background helped him calm down a bit.
"I made something today." He told her, not caring that he had practically swore an oath to secrecy. His girlfriend hummed in response. "It felt like something was missing, but I don't know what it is."
"I know the feeling." She replied, and it reminded Isami that he wasn't crazy to be bothered by something like this. He turned around to look at the bluenette and felt better once he saw her beautiful face. He curled part of her now loose hair around a finger.
"Maybe it might help to sleep on it?" She recommended.
"Maybe." It did sound like a great idea, as he was mentally exhausted. He really wished that he could curl up with his girlfriend, but it would be dangerous to do so with the excitement of the dorm. Instead, he had to be content with a kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
She gave him a nod before telling him goodnight. He watched her leave his room before putting up his seasonings. He wasn't going to get anything else done tonight.
Isami and Takumi were running.
That was normal. They always ran together. What wasn't was his surroundings. They were on a single path surrounded by dense trees and shrubbery. Isami turned to Takumi, ready to ask where they were, but the blond suddenly veered off the path they were on and disappeared through the trees. Isami was confused but kept on running on what he on.
He saw his twin a few seconds later, popping out from the brush ahead of him. Isami sped up to catch up to him.
"Where did you go?" He asked the blond once he was by him. Takumi only grinned before running off to the side again. This time, it took a little longer before he saw him again. He was much further up this time. Isami tried to run up to him again, this time almost reaching his shorter brother before he took off again. It felt like he took even longer to show up again, but the distance had not changed this time. However, Isami suddenly felt too tired to try to catch up this time. All he could do was watch his brother disappear over the horizon.
Isn't it tiring being your brother's tag-along?
Isami stopped.
"I'm not his tag-along." He told the voice. "I'm his partner."
Tag-along, partner, the other half of a whole…
The sun suddenly shone brighter. Isami raised his arms instinctively to cover his face. He froze once he saw that his arms were black and hazy. He looked down and saw that his whole body was covered in the black mist.
Whatever you want to call it, you're still a shadow. Still following your twin despite him forging paths on his own.
"He wants me by his side. I help him."
You've done well with keeping up with him, but can you for much longer? His light grows every day.
As the voice spoke, the light seemed to get closer. Isami was able to make out a figure within it. Takumi was the source of this bright light?
How long until he burns you away?
This mist from his hands started to rise, leaving nothing behind. Isami started to panic. He looked towards his shining brother. Takumi was still coming closer, a warm and inviting smile on his face. The blond seemed unaware of the predicament he was putting his brother in. Isami tried to warn his older twin, but the words wouldn't come out.
It's already affecting you.
"W-what do I do?" Isami couldn't go backwards. He had come so far. Going back would make him lose all his progress.
You need to find yourself in order to get stronger. Only then will you be able to stand with the light without disappearing. A whole won't work if half of it is gone.
Another path opened up next to him. It looked ominous, as he could not see past the entrance, but he knew that was where he had to go now. It was time for him to veer off the path.
He walked into the darkness.
Isami could hear himself snort as he woke up.
Briefly, he was terrified as he noticed sunlight. Had he not gone on that path? Did he burn up after all? Only when he had checked his hands and saw that they were solid and their normal color did he come to his senses.
"Merda." He exhaled and fell back on his mattress. "Was that a nightmare or a prophecy?"
Either way, he had found the answer to his mystery.
"I'm not entering the contest after all."
Takumi's and Megumi's expressions turned into shock as they processed his declaration.
"But…but why?" Takumi asked after a long pause.
Isami explained everything that had happened yesterday starting from the weird feeling of his dish. He omitted the part where Megumi visited, for obvious reasons. He also did not describe his dream, as it had the potential to sound crazy and make Takumi feel guilty that his dream self could cause such harm to his brother.
"So, did you ever figure out what was missing?" Megumi asked.
"Myself."
"Eh?"
"I was missing myself. Every time that someone makes food here, they always add a bit of their specialty in their dish. Like how you have that motherly touch to your dish or like how you can make new flavors from classic Italian dishes."
"But you're able to do that, too." Takumi told him.
"That's your thing, though."
"It could be our thing."
A part of his dream flashed in his mind.
Takumi was still coming closer, a warm and inviting smile on his face. The blond seemed unaware of the predicament he was putting his brother in.
But this time Isami could speak to him.
"No." Isami surprised himself with how firm the word came out, but he continued. "I've been trying to make it our thing for years, but you're so far ahead that it has become your own. I'm proud of you, Nii-chan, but I need to be proud of myself. I can't do that if I'm just attempting to keep up with you. I want to become a better cook, and I feel that the best way to do that is to go find my own thing. That way, I can bring something of my own to our partnership and make us stronger in the long run."
Isami wasn't proud of his speech, but he hoped that he got his point across.
"I know you two were looking forward to my dish this whole time, but I don't feel happy with my food right now." He looked down, believing that he had let the two people he loved down. He heard some shuffling before he felt Takumi's arm on his shoulder and Megumi's hand curling around his hand on the other side.
"It's okay, Isami." Megumi's gentle voice came from beside him. "We understand."
"Are you guys mad at me?"
"Why the hell would we be?" Takumi asked from his other side, causing Isami to look up in shock. "If what you were doing isn't getting you very far, then I want you to find whatever will. Don't worry about me. Now I'm looking forward to what comes next for you."
"And don't hesitate to come to us for anything." Megumi squeezed his hand a little tighter. "All of us will support you no matter what happens." Takumi nodded.
From the moment that he had decided that he would not enter the contest, Isami had been a bundle of nerves. He had been scared that everyone would be angry at him for their wasted time. He had been worried that Takumi would take everything the wrong way. He had been upset over the thought of Megumi being disappointed with him. So when the two closest people to him assured him that they were rooting for him on this plan of action that had not even existed for a full day, Isami was thoroughly shocked. He sunk to the floor in relief, not even trying to hide the tears that were coming out. The two people next him also joined him on the ground, two pairs of arms wrapping around him for a group hug.
"Gr-Grazie."
The path wasn't as dark as Isami initially thought.
The moon was out, casting its gentle light on him. soothing him from the panic he had acquired before. He could think again. He wasn't scared anymore.
He looked back from where he came from. He still could see the sunlight streaming through the branches, no doubt in the spot he had been before. But Isami knew that that bright light wasn't dangerous anymore. In fact, it felt like it had originally: something that pushed him forward.
Isami wasn't alone in this anymore.
He had the sun and the moon with him.
-I usually hate writing text messages in my story because I know each person has a style of texting. I suck at shorthand texting, even though I'm in my early 20s. I have decided to just keep all texts the same because of it. Plus, it made a great way to start off the chapter. I won't use it much though.
-Different format for personal texts. Emojis are hard for me as well...
-Yup, this is war for them.
-I don't think I mentioned it in the first chapter, but Isami was not a virgin when he slept with Megumi. As you read, he had a sexual experience or two before all this. I also HC Takumi as bisexual because no one can convince me that he did not have some fun with a couple of his fangirls.
-I felt so bad having our favorite brunet exhausted for half the chapter, but that's what happens when you stay up doing things at o' dark-thirty.
-I also wanted to add more Isami & Takumi brotherly moments so that's what a lot of this chapter has.
-I like writing about the other members of the dorm. They are developed enough to write about, so I will.
-Here's the story for all these meals mentioned and that will be mentioned. I don't know fair food. I don't go to fairs often because transportation and money issues. I was at a lost to where to start. I asked for help on a discord server I recently joined and only one person helped by giving me a dish idea, (Thank you, Exvnir from the CHEFPK server!) I then remembered that I had gone to the Asian festival in my city earlier this year. (I swear, if they cancel next year's because of the shit that's going on, I'm going to cry because it's going to be the year of the Ox and I am an Ox.) I just downloaded the guides from the past two years and took some dishes from there. I googled the rest and threw the list at my best friend and told him to pick one for a winner, which he did.
-Expect anime to be the common excuse for Isami and Megumi to explain why they sneak off together.
-This dream sequence? Four days on how it was going to start. I went from memories to nightmare to memories. I finally decided to make it the way it was...yesterday at midnight. That voice could either be his subconscious or Mufasa, I don't care. I just know that's another tag to be added.
-Have you ever had that strange moment when you can tell that you're sleeping? Like you can hear yourself snoring, you know you're snoring, but you're awake? That's what that snort is for.
-I really feel like Isami comes to a point where he realizes that he needs to break away from the goal of getting better to help his brother. It's similar to how Hisako had to change her goal from getting better for Erina's sake. I do want to write an interaction between them eventually that they notice the similarities.
-If you haven't seen that I did that, I made up the tag that ships these three together. Of course I had to make them hug.
-This last part is Isami dreaming again.
Thanks for reading! I now have to buy a new mouse...going to be a bitch copying and pasting with my laptop.
