It's been a while since the last update I made. Enjoy reading...
Dish.24 – Savior [part.1]
"What have you done, Mana?!"
"... What have I done...? I just... train her and help her to develop her talent. You know, Nii-sama... that girl, she inherits that great talent from her father. The talent that... surpass my God's Tongue. She-"
"You call it as a training?! It's not, Mana! It's a torture! What did you want to achieve by doing it?"
"... What I want is... her perfect dish, just like her father's that had satisfied me years ago. I'm sure if I trained her, she will-"
"Stop your nonsense, Mana! You-"
"You're the one who should stop, Nii-sama!"
"..."
"You will never know! I, the owner of God's Tongue, you will never know the curse I bring together with this talent! You will never know how desperate I..."
"I have lost her father, so I can't lose her. She's the one... she's the one who will save me... maybe Erina too."
Nakiri Mana gritted her teeth as her hold over the PC tablet got tighter when she read the news about Nakiri Karen's disqualification in the Toutsuki's Autumn Election Prelim.
"Why do you keep hiding her from the world... Otou-sama?"
At the same time,
Tokyo – Toutsuki Culinary Academy
"What's with that long face, Hisako?"
The first question Erina gave when she accompanied her closest friend as well as her secretary – Arato Hisako – in her cooking training, prepared for the upcoming battle in the main event of Autumn Election.
"Huh...? It's... nothing, Erina-sama."
Hisako continued her activity, compounded the spice mix she has prepared – which previously got halted because something passed through her mind. She took a short look over Erina whom miraculously got back into her manga reading. Unknown for the Nakiri girl, Hisako let out a relief sigh.
Maybe, for the first time that she lied to the girl named Nakiri Erina. Actually, there's something behind her 'long face' that got mentioned by Erina earlier. But, Hisako can't told Erina the reason of it.
As big as her adoration upon Nakiri Erina's cooking talent, she had the same thing toward the older Nakiri twin girl's cooking talent. She hasn't had the opportunity to look Karen cooked from close distance, moreover when the latter cooked for a real cooking match.
She has heard enough about Karen's incredible cooking talent, especially in making sweets. The youngest Nakiri girl – Alice – once told her that Karen already mastered numerous cooking techniques from different cooking styles. That girl also mentioned that between Karen and Erina, she was sure that Karen will win against Erina if the two battled against each other in a cooking match.
In one condition – that Karen took the match seriously.
Hisako put aside the finished spice mix she made, then was about to take another ingredient that suddenly Erina's phone rang.
"Oh, sorry Hisako." Erina abruptly took her phone inside her pocket, then headed out of the training kitchen.
Hisako followed Erina with her sight till the latter was out of her sight. Not until half a minute passed since Erina left that room, Hisako heard footsteps got closer to the training kitchen. She lifted up her sight from her working table to the one stepped into that training kitchen.
"Oh, Hisa-chan. Get ready for tomorrow's match, aren't you?"
"... Ha-hai, Karen-sama."
The other girl – Nakiri Karen – smiled shortly as her respond, then walked toward the cabinet not far from the entrance. Hisako canceled whatever she wanted to do, and chose to watch the older Nakiri twin sisters looked for whatever spice she needed in the cabinet.
"You seem... have prepared something interesting, Hisa-chan."
Hisako heard that clearly, but didn't reply to that words. She waited for a while, maybe Karen will continue on saying something after that.
"Uhm… it's soft shelled turtle... right?"
Hisako had her surprised look after that question given by the same girl whom still busy with bottle of spices in front of her. Hisako hasn't got her shock subsided that Karen turned around after closing the cabinet's door just like before, then facing her.
"How... I know about it? Well... I can tell it from the aroma in that pan, and several things on your table."
Hisako didn't need to look for the said pan as she already knew the only one pan she used to soak the said ingredient. But, that pan was far enough from Karen's place. Also, the aroma which came from that pan already the mixture of the said ingredient with various medicinal spices in it. How...?
"Nah... I wish you got success in whatever dish you wished to make."
With that, Karen left that room. After that girl was fully out of that training kitchen, it was when Hisako got her sense back. She looked at her hands which mysteriously trembled. Not to forget, about the goosebumps she got. She questioned herself, what have happened to her?
She remembered well, how soft-spoken the words coming from Karen, as well as her gaze earlier. It got nothing near intimidating. But, why her body react in such manner?
"Are you alright, Hisako?"
The sudden question which made Hisako almost jumped out from her place, brought her from her own world. Nakiri Erina already stood not far from her workstation, had a worried look on her beautiful face.
"I am, Erina-sama."
A relief look immediately took over the worried one. Erina took a seat on the chair she used before, then gave her closest friend another question. "Did you... have a talk with Karen? I saw her coming out from this kitchen just now."
"Huh...? Ah, yeah... kind of."
There's silence followed after it. Then, Hisako initiated to be the one to break the silence. "Ano... Erina-sama. Pardon me for my insolence, but can I ask you something?" She hung on her question as to see Erina's reaction. The blonde haired Nakiri girl gave her a small nod as the cue to her to continue. "It's related to... Karen-sama."
There was a hesitation written so clearly on Erina's face right after Hisako's continuation just now. The same hesitation she always saw whenever someone brought 'Nakiri Karen topic' in front of Erina. The thing that hasn't got the solution to be solved yet.
Despite being introduced to her as Erina's older twin sister, Nakiri Karen was no other than a hardest mystery Hisako ever got. Since the first time she knew about Nakiri Karen, never for once that she witnessed the girl presented in the social gathering or party. In the smaller scales – inside the Toutsuki Group circle – even though that girl always showed her friendly, a loving sister figure to others, Erina always showed the opposite.
Erina always showed her dislike look over her older twin sister.
Hisako once asked her parents about the past of Nakiri twin sisters. She asked the reason behind Erina's 'hostile' attitude towards her own twin sister. But, her parents always gave her unsatisfying answers.
"... What is it?"
Erina's simple question brought back Hisako to the current situation where she had posed a question to Erina earlier. Hisako was about to draw back as she detected the unfriendly aura in the question just now. But, her curiosity already won over her fear.
"What... what do you think about Karen-sama's cooking, Erina-sama?"
Another silence followed, making the question left unanswered for a while. Hisako got relief and anxious at the same time after succeeding in delivering that question out. The most wanted question she wanted to ask since long ago. She's still waiting patiently for the answer.
"It's... untamed."
Erina let out the first thing appeared in her head. She even didn't know why she's willing to answer that question. If she wanted, she could choose to not answer that question. But, for unknown reason, she decided to give her answer.
She could see the confused look on her secretary's face upon that simple words. That pink haired girl must be not expecting such words could be the answer of her question.
"It's something I never found in others' dish, be it came from a famous chef out there, Toutsuki Group's chefs, or Nakiri family's private chefs."
Moreover in mine. She added it to herself.
"I always found 'indefinite thing' in her cooking, be it in the past when we were younger... till now."
Erina said the last part with a low voice, whisper alike. She wasn't sure if Hisako heard it or not. She looked up and found the confused look on Hisako's face hasn't subsided yet. She chose to ignore it as she continued on.
"Maybe... because of that special thing too that our mother favorite her more than me."
Karen stopped her right hand which was about to hold the door handle once she heard it. She was sure that it was Erina's voice. She didn't know, what kind of thing Erina had talked about with Hisako there that led her to mention about their mother.
Their mother, Nakiri Mana.
Karen put her left hand on her right one, tried to stop the sudden tremble in it. She wanted to leave that place, but at the same time she wanted to hear it.
"As long as I remember, Okaa-sama always told me... about Karen is the one who will be our savior, to me and Okaa-sama. That time, I didn't really know the meaning of that words. It was... when I'm starting getting request from restaurants and resorts to sample their newest menu that I felt like I got an understanding of Okaa-sama's words."
Karen chose to stand not far from the door which ajar. It was kind of frightening, to hear Erina's thought about her.
"Back then, when I got the day off, Karen always brought me to play all day long. She always showed me her new founding, treated me candies and my favorite ice cream. At the end of the day, we will tried numerous things in our little training kitchen."
Karen remembered it too. That time, she always had something interesting to be shown to her sister – Erina. She, whom always spent her days in Nakiri mansion, always gave numerous questions to Erina about the latter's adventure outside the mansion. Both of them shared so many things.
That time...
"That time..."
Was very delightful. "Was very delightful."
"But... it's not last long once Okaa-sama acknowledged her cooking talent."
Erina took a pause – a long one – after that. It was the first time she talked so much about her past. It has been long since she decided to keep that past for her own. But now, in front of her closest friend, she chose to open it a bit.
Her hands which held the unfinished manga she was reading unconsciously put more force in its holding over the manga. The last sentence she said just now was no other than the first trigger which led the-now-awkward situation she had with her sister.
It was... a bitter experience she had, and she thought that it's not the right time for Hisako to know all about it.
"Why... out of sudden you ask about it, Hisako?"
Hisako seemed to be taken aback by that question. It was so clear that it appeared fully on her face. She once predicted that Erina will kept on telling her stories, but that question was really caught her off guard.
"Uhm... it's... just my curiosity, Erina-sama." Hisako answered, but got her sight on the various herbal spices on her workstation. "Actually, I'm eager to have a match with Karen-sama in the main event. Her elimination, that's very regrettable."
Hisako whispered the last sentence, but it's still loud enough to be heard by Erina whom sat not far from that girl. And for a certain reason, Erina got her heart hurt by it. Her amethyst eyes which previously gazed on Hisako changed its sight on the forgotten manga on her hands.
She's jealous. She was sure of it, and she's already aware of it.
Since she was little, she was always jealous with whatever things owned by her sister. She tried her best to copy her sister, but not one per million that she could catch up to her. The girl whom noted as her older twin sister – Nakiri Karen – got people's affection with the least effort.
Seeing the silent Nakiri Erina in front of her, Hisako got a bit panic. She didn't know how to break the awkward atmosphere around them. She rummaged every single thing in her brain, tried to find the way out of that situation.
...
...
...
"You have a fight with Erina?"
"...?"
"Nah... it's kind of surprising, to just hear about it, Hisa-chan."
"..."
"Ah, gomen. You're coming here to ask how to get back being her friend, right? Uhm... let's see..."
...
...
...
Suddenly, an old conversation she had with Karen appeared. Come to think of it, that girl always became the first one she asked for help when it came the problem related to Nakiri Erina. And, as long as she remembered, there was none of Karen's advice that failed.
If Hisako should name someone who knew all of things about Nakiri Erina, she must have said Karen as that person.
...
...
...
"Uhm... first, you must look at her expression, precisely in her eyes. You know, Hisa-chan... Erina is the awkward type person, she's not good with words. She's bad at interacting with her peers too. So, she often kept her feelings bottled up."
"...?"
"... Ah, shortly, what I want to say is... just show your sincerity, Hisa-chan."
...
...
...
"Ano, Erina-sama." Her short yet simple calling was succeed in making the said girl looked up at her. With a smile on her face, Hisako added. "Would you mind to have a taste over my experiment dish?"
I'm really sure that your mother was right, Erina-sama. Karen-sama, she must be your savior. Be it in the past, now, and maybe in the future. Maybe it didn't look big, but each answer I seek from her had saved our friendship.
"As long as I remember, Okaa-sama always told me... about Karen is the one who will be our savior, to me and Okaa-sama."
Karen kept her sight on the tiled floor beneath her as her brain kept playing that words over and over again.
"But... it's not last long once Okaa-sama acknowledged her cooking talent."
She left the training kitchen after that sentence got spoken out. For unknown reason, she can't heard the continuation of that sentence. To be precise, she didn't want to. It was too frightening to hear whatever things will got told in the upcoming words.
As she remembered that no happy things happened that time.
"How could I be the savior when I'm the one who need to be saved?"
