Chapter 3: Family Pedigree
Megumi Tadokoro, fifteen years old, born in the fishing port town of Hachinohe in the Tōhoku region of northeastern Japan, was nervous. After a long talk with Yuki and Ryōko she had agreed that it would be far easier to just be straight with her mother about her feeling for Sōma, than to try and skirt the subject. The manner in which they both became friends and his importance to her, were the founding blocks for her feelings towards him.
After and later than expected bedtime, talking to Sōma and then Yuki and Ryōko, she had very few hours of sleep. She was currently laying in bed trying to dispel her tiredness, and wake up properly when a loud knock on the door had her instantly sitting bolt upright and clutching the bed sheets to her body, as in the Polar Star dormitory it was sometimes customary for her friends to barge in when she was in various stages of dressing herself. This time, luckily, the person remained outside her room, and continued knocking.
"Hey, Megumi" the unmistakable voice of Yuki called out, "me, you and Ryōko in the bath in five minutes. We need to talk about your itinerary for the time you and Sōma will be spending together". Megumi immediately buried her face back into the thick duvet of her bed spread. "Yuki— it's not like that...it's just a small regional festival..." she began only to hear Yuki laugh back on the other side of the door. "Oh Megumi, you don't have a clue about how a date works. Five minutes, me and Ryōko will be waiting".
Upon hearing the sound of footsteps fading away, the blue haired girl sighed in relieved frustration. She almost wished that she hadn't gotten them involved with romantic advice but she shook her head knowing full well that without their assistance, she would still be confused and too shy to confront Sōma about inviting him with her to her home villages festival.
The only negative, well not really bad as in outcome for their visit, was that she wouldn't be able to introduce Sōma to her elder brother who was also a chef. Four years older than her, Kenosuke Tadokoro specialised in South American cuisine: from Bolivia to Brazil, Chile to Argentina he loved the strange and unexpected flavours from the southern American continent.
Megumi adored her big brother, but she barely saw him anymore to which she missed him dearly. Kenosuke had apprenticed in restaurants of New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Berlin and Cape Town. All of which had helped him gain entry into Totsuki Academy, six years ago, but he deferred his entrance by one year due to his ongoing battle with severe social anxiety. When he did join Tōtsuki, Kenosuke was fifteen, and from the letters that he sent back home it seemed as if his classmates and dorm mates seemed to understand him and give him space when and if he required it.
Megumi's most recent letter, from her mother had announced that Kenosuke was again stricken by a severe bout of social anxiety, and was receiving more counselling in Kyoto. Therefore he was taking brief time off from his second term at Tōtsuki, and was unavailable to visit home for the festival.
Cooking was how he communicated his emotions, and despite being told to get out more any be more social, Kenosuke was never truly able to break out of his continued negativity. He had always struggled with making friends. and then holding onto them, something which was an endless worry for his mother and grandfather. However, when he cooked it was as if all his anxieties disappeared, it was like he became someone else. Unencumbered by any psychological impediment.
Quiet and unassuming. Kenosuke Tadokoro was looked over in the street, seen as having no skills whatsoever but when he entered the kitchen his food shone. Culinary originality paired with a love of South America, made Kenosuke's food special. The Tadokoro family were not particularly wealthy by any means and it had taken a lot of money to get both siblings into Tōtsuki but it was worth it. Megumi always told her mother such in letters, hiding out the parts of her miserable grades and nearly getting expelled. But ever since meeting Sōma she could actually tell her mother; 'yes! It really was worth it'.
Megumi and Kenosuke's mother owned a small inn called Shōkeien Ryokan, in their home town overlooking the port district. Their mother was the first of their family to own any sort of eating establishment, she hadn't any formal training like Kenosuke would gain in the West. But their mother did learn first hand from early travelling and working in Guangzhou, China and a sushi restaurant in Fukushima. And she had passed on her love of food to her son and daughter.
Both Megumi and Kenosuke had always been inspired by, and loved watching their mother cook. Emiko Tadokoro was their role model.
When Megumi was told about Totsuki Academy, she was decidedly nervous about leaving home but she agreed to go so she could go experience the wider Japanese, and global, culinary world. Learning from a truly great school, and from her fellow students. Upon her passing the entrance exam, and then gaining entry to Polar Star; Megumi had told her dormates that she had a brother who was also a fellow student, but was a second year at Totsuki.
Ryoko, Yuki, Shōji, Daigo, Zenji and Shun had all been surprised that two members of the same family had managed to enter the school, a feat that was quite rare. Only, Erina and Alice Nakiri were the example that could be given but then again they were other hand they were the granddaughters of the 'Demon of Food'.
Megumi often. spoke about regretting not seeing much of her brother around the academy with only Isshiki telling her about seeing him in and around the academy, since he was a second year and so shared some classes with Kenosuke.
As Megumi left her bedroom for the female bathroom wearing a dressing gown over her pyjamas and carrying a towel with her clothes for the day, she couldn't help but think about the coming journey home. A happy squirming writhed around in her gut about the journey to come. Specifically, about her and Sōma being in such close proximity to each other, and of her mother's reaction. Walking down the hall she finally reached the girls bathroom, and after gently knocking, she pushed the bathroom door open.
Steam instantly filed into her line of vision and she had to raise her arm to feel her way along the wall to get inside the room, only then she tripped over a bag on the floor and went straight into the bath itself. 'Splash'.
"Megumi! You finally got here", Yuki exclaimed, standing up and not bothering with covering herself, they were in the girls bathroom after all. Ryōko was sitting immersed in the steaming water, knees drawn up to her chest and as Megumi climbed out of the bath, and removed her sodden dressing gown and pyjamas before slipping into the water anew, she quickly became aware of Ryōko's grin. "You really should embrace your femininity Megumi. I'm sure Sōma would appreciate it..." She stated, pushing up her breasts and sighing just the right amount for effect.
The blue haired girl immediately became flustered and uncomfortable, and she was about to denounce the idea when Ryōko started giggling. "Ohh Megumi, you are just so adorable. Just be yourself, I didn't really expect you to agree to that idea anyway". Yuki on the other hand, was laughing, "don't listen to the first bit of her advice or she'll have you either scantily dressed or parading around in just your underwear".
"But I digress. I brought us here to help you, Megumi, come up with an itinerary for what to do these coming day back home with Sōma..." Yuki explained. No sooner than her friend stopped speaking, Megumi frowned. She already knew that the festival would be a large part of their trip, aside from family stuff and her mother's questioning but still it couldn't hurt to hear her friends out. "Okay...I'm all ears". Ryōko and Yuki beamed with delight, and then burst into advice and plan giving.
"You live by the coast, and the Aomori prefecture is pretty at autumn time. So enjoy the autumn sun at the beach, if you are able, or just take a stove and ingredients with you to cook their", Yuki suggested. "Yeah, Sōma told me once that his father sometimes orders seafood for their eatery from Tōhoku region", Ryōko added, "and we all know that his work in progress is squid based. So take him to the local market. Or a seafood stall at the festival".
These ideas weren't as bad as she'd thought, she had been expecting far more embarrassment and potentially far more skin exposure than this but then again her friends knew about her shyness and knew how to build her confidence. Thinking about Yuki's suggestion, she did know that Sōma did enjoy going to the seafood market as during the final Fall Selection against Ryo and Akira, he had been there many times. Albeit at different times to them. So maybe he would enjoy another a second market trip; even if this one was smaller and more provincial. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks Yuki. The market does sound like fun. And beach certainly sounds interesting, thanks Ryōko".
Before she could continue, Yuki pounced. "If you're going to the beach you need to have swim suits. Unless you want to go au natural, but I suggest an attractive bikini. Here I brought you several of mine, now put them on. Me and Ryōko will judge their attractiveness". The first of four bikinis was handed to her and tentatively, she agreed to try them on. The first was a green and blue two piece bathing suit which was quite modest but still left nothing to the imagination.
"Ooh, that's definitely a maybe," the two friends stated. The next was a kind of crop top and underwear which, Megumi liked more than the previous as it hid more of her breasts, but divided her friends Ryōko liked it and Yuki didn't, so in the end it was put in the maybe pile. The last two were so scandalous that Megumi vetoed them outright before Yuki could even try and advertise them to her.
A move backed up by Ryōko. As Megumi and Yuki climbed out of the bath, and started to dry themselves, so they could get dressed, Ryōko asked her own scandalous question. "So is your brother going to be there," her voice dripping with appreciation, "Can you text me his number?"
Megumi dropped her towel, shocked by her friends declaration. She had been attempting to redress behind her towel but now that was not happening. Luckily, she was spared the embarrassment of having her lower region on show, as she had already redressed but she was still topless, so her breasts were totally on show. "Ryōko! My brother is four years older than you..." she responded, pulling on her bra and flushing at the way Ryōko was still grinning lustily.
"Besides he's not going to be there, and he's not exactly in the right state of mind for anything relationship wise right now," the forlorn look she got back was enough to make her feel better. She loved her brother deeply but she didn't want him to be dating any of her friends, it would be way too awkward. "Aww come on Megumi, let me see his picture again. He's such a brooding beauty". Both Megumi and Yuki turned bright red from second hand embarrassment, as Ryōko stood up from the bath and walked over to her own towel and clothes, and started to dry herself.
Leaving the bathroom, the three girls quickly returned to their bedrooms to drop off wet towels and to get anything else for breakfast. So five minutes later as the three girls made their way downstairs they became increasingly aware of voices coming for the dining area, and as predicted Sōma was the loudest and the one who had started the latest conversation.
"I believe you when you say you are aiming for the top spot at Tōtsuki but I don't think you realise just how much of a task that really is. The stakes you would have to offer up just to get on the radar of anyone on the Council of Ten are far too out of your range at the moment. Whilst myself, Erina and Eizan all know you, and maybe the sixth and eighth seat as well", Isshiki spoke, "I can say with absolute certainty that the other seats are totally ignorant of you" Isshiki stressed, trying to quell his determined dorm mate from this particular path.
"I want to challenge them... I'll offer my career as a chef if I have to..." Sōma replied trying to make Isshiki see that he was ready to face. food wars with a councillor. But then, before Sōma could continue or Isshiki could interject, Yuki and Ryōko barrelled into the room and knocked the redhead over. Standing over the hotheaded boy, both Yuki and Ruōko berated him for trying to pursue such a reckless road before he was even ready.
"Don't you dare!" Yuki yelled. "Think about how sad we all would be if you had to leave", Ryōko added sternly. "Some would never be the same," she continued, fluttering her eyes in the direction of Megumi. That did it. The usual hot headed reckless boy was mollified upon seeing Megumi standing in the doorway frowning. Hanging his head, Sōma apologised.
"I'm sorry guys. I just want to prove myself..." he began but then found himself entrapped in a big group hug. Everyone Shun, Zenji, Daigo, Shoji, Ryōko, Yuki, Isshiki and Megumi all embraced him, reaffirming their belief in him and their friendship. "I don't know when you'll be ready to issue a challenge to the higher ten", Isshiki stsated, "but they'll probably begin to notice you if you continue at Tōtsuki like you have already", Isshiki grinned. "And who knows, perhaps they'll challenge you".
Breakfast consisted of a selection of cold meats from Yuki's menagerie, paired with fresh vegetables, prepared by Shōji, from the garden and smoked cheeses courtesy of Shun. "Isshiki... who are the on the council of ten exactly? Aside from you, Erina and Eizan". Sōma's question hung in the air, no one really knowing how to proceed, mistress Fumio simply shrugged her shoulders and sighed, whereas Isshiki looked cautiously reserved. So taking it upon herself to redirect the conversation, Megumi decided that she should remind him about the journey later. "Sōma...", she spoke, "don't forget we are leaving midday".
Hearing her words had the affect of relaxing Sōma to the point where he completely forgot what he had asked. Turning towards her he grinned and slung an arm over her shoulders, "yeah! I remember Megumi thanks again, I'm looking forward to the next few days". Feeling her face heat up, and a smile wrap itself on her face, combined with all the rooms collective eyes on her, Megumi stuttered out a quick "meet you outside in an hour", before jumping to her feet and bolting from the room. Her heart pounding in her chest, face flushed and breathing irregular. Finally, realising that she was hopelessly in love.
Staring at the door from which Megumi had vanished Sōma scrunched up his face in confusion before standing up and announcing his departure. "Well I'm off to pack. See you later guys". No sooner as he had left, the normally quiet and reserved Shun blurted out, "what the hell just happened?"
Yuki and Ryōko simply shared a look, giggling together, knowing full well why Megumi had been blushing. And, apparently, so did Isshiki, who in reference to Sōma's change from competitive to calm, and Shun's question, simply stood up from the table dressed in only an apron covering his naked body, and throwing apart his arms declared:
"The bloom of adolescence clashing with the goal of ambition!"