Chapter 2: Moonlight Squid
Soma had dealt with the bitter taste of defeat on multiple occasions against his father multiple times, and they had only made his resolve even stronger and his love of cooking more intense. Yet, this time the loss was more painful. Granted he had known that knew he had been fighting an uphill battle, given it his all and still Akira managed to come out on top in the end.
"Specialty...huh" He mused aloud, "a dish that represents the character of the chef who made it..." Shaking his head, Sōma decided to try working on revamping his ongoing recipe idea: peanut roasted squid. As he set up his charcoal grill and lit it with the adequate amount of charcoal for the right amount of char; his mind drifted back to the food war, the knowledge shown by Akira had been incredible and his dish; a lightly torched Fish Carpaccio was both ingenious and decadent.
Turning his mind back to the task at hand, and a way to distract himself, was to prepare the squid. Brushing on a newer version of the peanut dry rub before using chopsticks to lay the cut squid down on the grill. As the smell of squid and roast peanut reached his nose, he was reminded of his fathers words to him, and that he had failed to keep his promise. 'Don't you go loosing to anyone, before you loose to me again'. His straight four hundred and ninety losses now felt even more unbalanced.
"Man that sucks," he sighed, turning over the squid with chopsticks and brushing on a new sauce; cider vinegar, basil and tomato for the final cooking time. "I'm going to have come up with my own style of cooking if I'm ever going to have a chance to beat Akira, Erina and father".
The pieces of calamari were now beginning to release their juices, and their sizzling was their way of saying that they were ready to the final adjustment. Plucking a single piece of calamari from the grill and blowing a few times upon it, Sōma decided to sample this latest attempt. The pallet of soft tender squid that had been grilled with a peanut rub was good enough, and mixing with basil and slight hint of tomato it proved to bump up his confidence. 'At last' he thought, 'ingredients that fit'. But, he felt the basil still masked the cider, which was what Sōma wanted to keep in play when his dish was eaten.
With one large intake of breath, Sōma pulled another piece off the grill and took a bite of it. He chewed it slowly, taking this time to properly and truly savor the taste and analyse his work. 'Nicely put' was a decent way of describing it, but it was still...a bit plain, the taste of cider was beginning to shine through but it was still being masked by basil. "I need to work on the ratio of basil to cider... perhaps if I use holy basil instead of regular Italian basil... or maybe tarragon, and French Brittany cider instead of normal cider vinegar ..."
Musing out loud, he took out a notebook from his satchel and began jotting down that idea. He continued cooking the rest of the pieces in relative silence, his only companion being the moon that hung majestically in the night sky framed by two sole clouds. The rest of the night sky was punctuated by thousands, or possible millions, he wasn't an astronomer, of small stars. The night air was so tranquil, and sitting here such a peaceful feeling that he didn't hear the voice calling to him from across the garden, until they were right in front of him.
If looking up at the night sky was calming and made him feel free, then staring up at the slightly red face of the girl before him lit by only the moon and the faint glow from the grill, made him feel... at a loss for words, really. Moreover, he realised for the first time since meeting her all those months ago, how pretty she was.
By the time his mind caught up to what his eyes were seeing, the voice was right in front of him. So familiar, and so calming. "Soma!" The familiar twin pigtailed blue haired girl panted, hurrying towards his locale, just aside from the dorm allotments but still in sight of the main building. Megumi Tadokoro seemingly coming out of nowhere. "There you are, I was worried about you".
"I'm fine Megumi", Sōma smiled dimly, "I'm just remedying a recipe of mine". Noticing her slightly red face, Sōma patted the ground next to him inviting her to sit down.
"I saw you walking out of the dorm, so I chased after you, and you seemed a little down at dinner, so I wanted to see if you were alright." Megumi answered taking a couple of paces towards Soma and sitting down, folding her coat beneath her.
"I'm fine. Sure I lost but its not like I'm not used it. My dad taught me years ago, that if I continue to hone my skills and improve my talents then one day I will defiantly gain a victory against him", he chuckled, self deprecatingly. Reaching forward Megumi took ahold of Sōma's hand and squeezed it tight. "I believe in you Sōma. You are an amazing chef! And someday you will defeat your father and gain a place on the Council of Ten". Suddenly realising what she was doing, Megumi pulled away blushing, which only made her feel more awkward as she felt his eyes on her. "You always know how to cheer me up Megumi", the boy exclaimed, "that's why I consider you one of my closest friends", Sōma stated.
That did it, her blushing face only become more pronounced, and coincidentally; be it from his own words or the cold air, Sōma blushed as well. It was almost as if he said something he hadn't thought about before. Trying to stay the course of the mood, Megumi enquired as to what he was doing out this late. "Ooh, what are you making, Soma? It smells lovely". Grinning, Sōma took the chopsticks from a plate next to him and plucked a piece of squid from the grill. "It's calamari with a peanut dry rub, and then brushed in a light coating of cider vinegar, tomato and basil. And then charred over coals".
Offering her the sample of squid, Sōma passed the chopsticks to Megumi, trying not to laugh at the way she eyed the food suspiciously. "This isn't one of your 'inventions' is it?" She mused. "Why don't you taste it, and find out," Soma grinned, Megumi hesitated before succumbing to her wish to help out her friend. Taking the offered food and taking a bite. As she chewed, the dominating flavour was obviously that of the peanut roasted squid, along with the basil, but the cider; he had mentioned was lost to her.
Still the taste was enough to make her smile and sigh, contentedly in hungry satisfaction. Yet, as flavourful as it was, she could tell that the usual flamboyance of Sōma's food was lacking in this dish. Instead of an exuberant display of unusual flavours and unorthodox cooking techniques, this dish was a somber affair. There wasn't much to feel exited about but not much to be negative about either. It was as if the spark that fuelled Sōma's cooking had, been dulled. "Well... it's okay", she remarked, "the squid is really delicious with just the right amount of peanut dry rub however the basil overpowers the cider..."
Sōma frowned. "Yeah I agree, but at the very least it's been getting better. I remember when I first started to make this recipe people would pass out or immediately throw up when they ate it. So you lucked out Megumi, and got an edible version". Megumi sighed, as she revelled in the taste of the chargrilled basil, tomato, cider-squid, and without thinking she lowered her head onto his shoulder humming with resolute happiness. Sōma looked over to her and smiled, she was always pretty honest when it came to his food and on cooking in general. That was one of the best reasons for his admiration of her culinary style, and her resolve.
As both teenagers sat contently in the calm and peaceful silence under the moon, and by the waning light emitted by the small charcoal grill and eating the rest of the squid dish, Megumi could tell that there was still a weight hanging on Sōma's shoulders. It seemed as if he was lost in his own world, trying to understand everything that had occurred in the past few weeks. 'I wonder what he's thinking about?' She mused to herself, Turing her gaze back to the beautiful shimmering moon above, as she allowed the silence to envelope them. "Hey Megumi, do you think I'll ever develop my own 'specialty'?" Soma asked softly, continuing to look upwards at the moon.
The question caught her off guard, she hadn't expected or even considered that Director Senzaemon's words were the reason for Sōma's mood. Slowly turning her head and looking at the boy beside her, whom had now resorted to poking a twig at the dying embers of the charcoal grill. "I think you can." Megumi replied without hesitation, and with clear conviction in her voice. "I've seen your passion for cooking!" Her words caused a stir within Sōma's chest, but still he remained fixed on the grill. "You never give up, even when the odds are stacked against you, you see ingredients and recipes ideas that others don't understand and sometimes see as unflattering. But I believe, no, I know that you'll be able to come out of this defeat even stronger than before".
Sōma didn't answer he just retained his downturned facial expression, and she began to worry about his lack of response. So she upped her words of encouragement. "Remember when your dad came by to visit? You told Isshiki and me about your 489 consecutive loses against him, and even though you never once beat him you never stopped challenging him". Slowly, Sōma looked up at her, listening to her. "I... I know you Soma, and I know that if through your work hard and persevere, you'll definitely be able to overcome any loss that comes your way!"
Megumi was out of breath after just about shouting her final positive response. As she looked over at him she a small grin play upon his lips, and soon after he began to chuckle. His laughter, so honest and sincere seemed to revitalise his lost energy and resolve. "What's so funny?" She asked, looking straight at him and placing her hands on her hips, trying to to laugh as well. The first genuine happy smile since his loss at the Fall Selection.
"It's nothing... nothing at all Megumi". He flashed her a toothy grin and stood up. "As I said before, you always know what to say to cheer me up. I really am grateful for your friendship and companionship". That was the smile that she was looking for; a smile so full of life and passion, one she dearly missed, was now back upon his face.
"I've lost way too many times to my old man to let one more loss get to me. " Soma offered his hand, and Megumi graciously took it, allowing Sōma to pull help her up. "Thank you Megumi, for helping me realize that." She was suddenly filled with a deep sense of accomplishment and pride as she was then captured in one of Sōma's embraces. "It's the least I can do. Considering all the times you've helped me out in the past," Megumi blushed. Sōma released her and stretched out a bit, his shoulders popping, and said, " I think it's about time we head back. It's almost midnight but first I have to clean all this up." In no time at all the two of them had put out the grill fire, put away all the food supplies into the cool box and packed Sōma's notebook into his satchel. "Shall we go then?" Sōma asked, lifting the cooler under his arm and the grill in his other hand.
"Yeah lets go," Megumi answered, making her way back to Polar Star Dorm. As the two friends made their way back to the dorm with a serene silence between them, they completely missed the eyes watching them from the upper floor of Kyoksei Dorm, as well as the eyes of Mistress Fumio from her ground floor room. As they approached the building, neither one of them said anything, and as Megumi used her key to unlock the doors, they still didn't notice the blonde haired half naked young man in the allotments, leaning on a rake and smirking.
As they slowly made their way back up the stairs, and approached their floor, Soma began saying goodnight but was then stopped by Megumi. "Oh Sōma! what about your equipment aren't you going to store them in the storeroom?"
Sōma smiled back, "I have a small cupboard and mini fridge in my room. Goodnight Megumi, sweet dreams." Soma waved. "Yeah goodnight…" Megumi whispered, that was when she was reminded of her mother's letter, and the questions she would have to answer.
"Soma, wait up!" She piped up, making him stop his motioning unlocking his bedroom door, "what's up?" He replied looking, once more in her direction, "Um… I was…wondering if you're doing anything for the next three days?" Megumi stuttered, cautiously. Sōma placed a hand on his chin and thought for maybe a minute before speaking his thoughts. "I hadn't really planned anything, I suppose I was going to practice more cooking, ahead of the Stagiaire Internships in two weeks".
"Then what do you think about accompanying me to my hometown for a couple of days? A local festival is starting two days from now, I think that you'd like it, there's a bunch of delicious regional food kiosks and booths there. As well as music and fireworks. Everyone is so nice there I'm sure you'll get ideas for your new cooking style there Soma!"
Megumi wishfully explained, but then her perchance to self destruct hit her again, as he magnitude of the words set in and she consequently realised what she had done. "You don't have to come if you don't want tomorrow if you're too busy...", she stammered feeling her face redden in embarrassment. Yet the excited expression she was met with on Sōma's face was more than she could handle. "Man I haven't been to a festival in years!" He excitedly replied as he walked up to her and placed a hand in her shoulder. His words instantly brought Megumi back to her senses, "thanks for the invite Megumi, and yes I would love to go."
"That's great!" Megumi exclaimed almost too enthusiastically. "We'll leave tomorrow around mid afternoon. Make sure sure to pack for the entire weekend alright. I live in a small fishing town, Hachinohe, so it gets quite cold from pacific winds, so pack warm".
"Alright, sounds like a plan," Soma was now cheerful as he answered. As silence once again claimed them, it was no longer awkward but a kind of anticipation for tomorrow, Megumi finally moved away and towards her bedroom door. "We should probably get some sleep".
"Yeah, figure you're right," Sōma replied, "goodnight Megumi".
"Night Sōma," The girl responded as she took a last look back and saw her friends door close behind him.
As she walked into her room she was suddenly confronted by the two sets of grinning faces. "Well well well... what do we have 'ere then", Yuki grinned, as Ryōko smiled from her place on the bed. A great tiredness suddenly overwhelmed the blue haired girl causing her to wobble on her feet, making Yuki dash forwards and catch Megumi before she fell. Inside, Megumi felt a whirlwind of conflicting emotions but above all of them was her internal monologue practically screaming, 'what the hell have you done!'
"I did it. I actually did it. I invited Soma." She whispered "he is coming with me to the festival back home". Ryōko grinned patting her friends shoulder, as Yuki sat Megumi down on the bed. "I told you you could do it. Sōma is the reason for your renewed confidence and energy in cooking!"
"Yeah! He is the person who helped you build confidence in yourself", Yuki continued. As the three girls chatted, Megumi reigned in her excitement and her pensiveness; no doubt her mother was going to be extricate more anxiety from her when they actually arrived. But for now Megumi Tadokoro was happy and excited; Sōma had agreed to come with her to her hometown.
Even with worries about what her family would think about Sōma, swirling around in her mind Megumi couldn't help but feel joyful about the whole situation. Eventually she fell asleep on her bed with her two female friends each side of her. Her dreams were full of Sōma and her at the festival, smiling and enjoying each others company.