Kyandi: Hey, everyone!
Ariadne: We're so sorry we took so long to come back to this story.
Kyandi: I was trying to finish off another story. Now I will focus on posting on this one until it's complete.
Ariadne: We're not sure how frequent the updates will be.
Kyandi: My character art commission business has taken off and I'm currently working on an illustration job I've been offered.
Ariadne: That being said, we will try to get, at least, two chapters out a week.
Kyandi: I will work hard!
Ariadne: She says while listening to her friends playing through a Star Wars D&D campaign.
Kyandi: Shush! It's funny! Anyway, everyone enjoy and review!
Ariadne: Kyandi-sama does not own Shokugeki no Soma.
Chapter 10 The World of Spice
The next morning, Ariadne was up early, slipping through the dorm quietly, so not to wake anyone who wasn't already awake. As she flew out the doors, she almost crashed into Yuuki, who was charging up the stairs from grabbing the mail after feeding her chickens. Ariadne side stepped Yuuki, hooking her arm through Yuuki's to keep the girl from falling on her face as she tried to come to an abrupt stop. The two spun twice before Ariadne brought them to a stop.
"Good morning to you too, Yuuki. In a hurry?" Ariadne asked.
"Yes! I have big news! Come with me!" Yuuki demanded.
She didn't give Ariadne time to reply, just grabbed her wrist and yanked the girl after her. Ariadne tripped over her own feet, almost falling on her face, when there was a sharp tug on her arm, but caught herself before Yuuki ended up dragging her across the floor. Yuuki pulled her back inside and into the dining room, where she burst into the kitchen with a loud yell of, "Everyone! Wake up!".
They found Souma, his father, and Megumi setting up for breakfast. Ariadne, her arm still trapped in Yuuki's grip, waved to the three. "Morning everyone." Ariadne let out the greeting, as if she hadn't just been dragged into the room by the very girl that was now bent over trying to catch her breath.
"Hmm? Were you guys doing something?" Yuuki asked, looking around.
"Actually, Souma-kun and Jouichirou-san had a cooking contest." Megumi told her.
"Oh, that's ni-"
"What!? Call me, too!" Yuuki yelled, cutting off Ariadne.
"Yuuki, mon amie...that was my ear you just yelled in." Ariadne told her.
"Sorry!" Yuuki told her before turning back to the subject at hand.
She released Ariadne's arm and headed towards the others, waving an envelope in her hands. Ariadne corrected herself and joined Yuuki.
"So, what's the all-important news?" Souma asked.
"Look at this! It came this morning! The Autumn Election's theme for dishes in the preliminaries!" Yuuki told them.
"Open it, Souma." Ariadne told him as she, Yuuki and Megumi crowded around him.
Souma ripped open the envelope and pulled out the paper within. Turning it around, he revealed the theme written there.
"The theme is...curry!"
Silence fell over the room as the four of them stared at the paper in Souma's hand. It was Ariadne that finally broke the silence.
"Well...that's vague."
"So...we should just make curry?" Souma asked, curious.
"But, since it's a curry dish, it's not just limited to curry rice, right?" Yuuki asked.
"I doubt it. There are so many different types of curry dishes out there. Naan eaten with genuine Indian curry, curry stew and even curry udon. It's why I said that it was vague." Ariadne replied.
"Well, making a dish that's too ordinary might not be a good idea with all those VIP there." Yuuki remarked.
"A "dish" using "curry", huh..." Souma mused, thinking to himself.
Ariadne had a feeling that he was in the same situation as her, mentally flipping through the list of dishes served at his family restaurant, only to find that they didn't serve anything like that. Of course, living in France, her family's restaurant served traditional French dishes, though Ariadne had recently been making changes to that. That meant, though, that there were no curry dishes that she made even semi-regularly. To add to it, there was such a wide array of curry dishes that it was a little daunting to even figure out where to start.
"By the way, Fumio-san! Can I leave the chickens under your care for a couple of days?" Yuuki asked, drawing Ariadne out of her thoughts. "Autumn is wild game hunting season. I'm going to show up at my hometown's hunting club for a bit! All so I can get a share of some nice things. Ryoko and Ibusaki said they'd go back home to plan things for the time being. What about you Ari?"
"There wouldn't be enough time, nor a reasonable reason, for me to head home. My home restaurant, until recently, has been all about traditional French dishes. I've never made curry before. Not that I'm not excited to give it a try, though." Ariadne replied.
"I see...Tadokoro, do you have any ideas?" Souma asked, turning to look at Megumi.
"No. I'm like Ari, I've never made curry seriously at home nor at the research society." Megumi told him.
"I see, curry...curry, huh..."
Ariadne wanted to laugh as she watched Souma seriously put a lot of thought into this. He looked like he was close to over-heating, a low hum leaving him as he rakee his brain.
"Come to think of it, we had that girl in the Polar Star...the one who only made curry." Jouichirou remarked then, making them all turn to look at him. "What's she doing now?"
"Ah! That girl is now a teacher to Totsuki." Fumio told him. "She teaches second year classes...so I guess you haven't met her."
"Teacher? Who?" Ariadne asked.
"Shiomi Jun! Besides teaching classes, she lectures at a seminar that researches spices in general. She was one of the members of the Polar Star's Golden Era. She's the youngest person in history to be selected as a professor." Fumio replied.
"Whoa! She sure has gotten up in the world." Jouichirou remarked. "She was my junior in the Polar Star dorm, and in her first year of middle school, I was in my second year of high school. I looked after her a lot, so if you mention me, she's sure to help you out gladly."
"Oh! Really!? Then let's hurry to her place, Tadokoro, Ari!" Souma declared, grabbing Ariadne's arm to drag her after him and Megumi.
"Why do I get the feeling that if we use his name, it's not going to end well for us?" Ariadne asked as Souma dragged her out the door and towards the stairs leading up to their rooms.
The three changed into their school uniforms and met back up at the foot of the stairs. They stopped by the kitchen to say bye to Jouichirou, but the man had already left. Fumio gave them a map to Jun's place. Waving to Fumio, the three set out, following the map. When they arrived, the building that stood before them wasn't what any of them had been expecting.
"Looks like this is the place! Well, it's much more worn out than I'd expected." Souma said, looking up at the old building before them.
"Can we really say anything, though, considering we live in the Polar Star? It's not much better." Ariadne remarked.
"You've got a point." Souma agreed. "Is that amazing teacher really here?"
"Wh-what should I do if she's scary like Chapelle-sensei?" Megumi asked, already freaking out.
Ariadne gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, Megumi. Come now."
The two girls followed Souma in, the boy already heading in as if he didn't have a care in the world. Once inside, they made their way past several doors until they found the one with the sign over it that read, "Shiomi Seminar".
"Oh, it's this room. Excuse me." Souma opened the door as he called out. The room beyond was a cluttered mess but, at first glance, there didn't seem to be anyone inside. "Hmm...there's no one here?"
A noise, like that of something grinding together, had Ariadne leaning around the door to peer behind it. "Uh, Souma..."
Souma leaned around the door too, finding a young woman sitting on the floor with a stone bowl in hand. She didn't look like she could be older than middle school, was tiny and seemed to be grinding spices in the bowl.
"That surprised me...umm, excuse me, about the teacher here..."
At the sound of Souma's voice, the girl looked up at them with wide eyes. Ariadne had only a moment to think she was a small, cute girl before she freaked out, popping to her feet as she yelled, "A visitor!?" at the top of her lungs.
"Ermmm, ermmm! Sorry, I'll brew some tea right now!" she insisted, flustered as she jittered from one side to the other. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thoughtful enough..."
"No, don't be...don't bother about us!" Megumi replied.
"I...I space out and people get mad at me because of it a lot...So, I'm sorry." the girl said, bowing to Megumi.
"Awawah, umm...sorry for intruding so suddenly." Megumi replied in kind.
"D-don't be, it's totally okay, I'm really sorry!"
Ariadne, standing back with Souma, blinked in surprise as she watched the two females go back and forth apologizing to each other. They were obviously cut from the same cloth. Even Souma agreed with her. It took Ariadne stepping in to end the cycle of endless apologizing between the two. She had a feeling that if she had just left them be, they would have carried on for far too long. Finally, back on track, the small girl adjusted her glasses as she looked up at them.
"So...umm, who are you?" she asked.
"Ermm, we want to ask something to the teacher here, so if you could just tell her "Saiba Jouichirou's" son came-"
A hand flew to Ariadne's mouth, the girl's eyes going wide when that small, little female who looked like she could do no harm, suddenly punched Souma hard enough to send the boy flying back off his feet and into a stack of books.
"Souma-kun!?" Megumi cried in shock. "Wh-what are you..!?"
"Sa-Saiba Jouichirou's son? Get out of here now!" came the demand of Souma's assailant.
"Eh!? Umm..."
"Sorry, but it looks like he lost consciousness because of that splendid punch. I don't think he'll be moving for a while." Ariadne declared, crouching next to Souma to tap his uninjured cheek.
"I don't even want to remember Saiba-senpai!"
At this, Ariadne turned to peer at what she had originally thought was a middle schooler only to find out that she was really the teacher they had been looking for. Before Ariadne could confirm it, the door opened and another student stepped into the room, his eyes going from the angry Jun to Souma out cold on the floor with Ariadne crouched at his side, to the flustered Megumi. With one of her dormmates out for the count and the other too flustered to talk straight, Ariadne stood and gave the new boy a smile in greeting. "Hello. Sorry about this and the intrusion. I'm not exactly sure what happened here but I do believe I have a good idea. I'd be happy to explain, but first...could I trouble you for a glass of water to dump on his head?" Ariadne gestured to Souma at her feet.
Unsure really what was going on, they got Souma up and back on his feet. Once he was conscious once more, Jun explained to them how Souma's father had been a source of torment for her during the time they lived in Polar Star together. Ariadne, by the end of it, could somewhat understand why Jun had reacted the way she had. She even supplied them a picture of the residents of the dorm when she had lived there, Ariadne being surprised by how much she still looked the same.
"Wait...stop, stop! Your appearance is almost exactly the same!" Souma declared.
"We-well...people often tell me, "You look so young". Maybe it's because I've always eaten food with lots of spices. Many of them have esthetic effects." Jun replied.
"I think that isn't what you should be focusing on, Souma. Your father was obviously horrendous to his juniors." Ariadne told him.
"He was, wasn't he?" The grin on Souma's face had both Ariadne and Megumi staring at him with bland looks on their faces because, obviously, he didn't see how he was like this father in that aspect. Heaving a sigh, Ariadne joined Megumi on the couch, Souma sitting on the other side of her.
"Ermmm, umm...we're students from the Polar Star dorm, and we wanted you to teach us some things about curry." Megumi started once they were sitting.
"We would be greatly appreciative." Ariadne added.
"That's right! The Autumn Election preliminaries' theme was announced and-" Souma trailed off when Jun just turned her face away from him, refusing to look at him, let alone listen to what he had to say.
"I don't mind teaching just the girls, but I have nothing to talk about with Saiba-senpai or his relatives." Jun told them. Ariadne's hand came up to cover her mouth, her eyes shifting towards Souma. It didn't take a genius to know that the girl was holding back her laughter at him and the predicament that he currently found himself in. It was then that the boy who had walked in on them after Jun punched Souma, placed a tray with tea on the table between them, taking a seat of his own.
"Sorry. We finally get some visitors and she's cruel to you." he told them.
"I might have initially agreed with you, but...I've seen both father and son. That apple didn't fall too far from the tree." Ariadne replied, giving Souma a smile when he turned a sour look on her.
"I'm her assistant, a first year from the high school division. The name's Hayama. You guys are also first years, right? I've seen you in some classes." the boy continued, introducing himself as Hayama Akira.
"Eh? But you normally don't enter seminars until the second year, right?" Megumi asked.
"About that...that woman needs me. She can't do anything but tinker with spices. Right, Jun?"
Jun grew huffy when Akira addressed her like that, one cheek poking out and making Ariadne feel like poking it. "It's "Professor Shiomi"! Ha-Hayama-kun, you're my assistant. As such, you should be respectful and-"
"Jun...You forgot to water the plants today." Jun fell silent when Akira mercilessly pointed this out. "I did it for you."
"Yes...I'm sorry." Jun apologized.
"You forgot about it last week too and your precious spices were about to die, weren't they?" Akira added.
"Yes...it was my fault."
"And who received the visitors you neglected last month?"
"You, Hayama-kun."
Watching the two and how Jun seemed to shrink under the stern gaze of Akira, Ariadne could almost swear she was getting even smaller. She wondered if Jun would vanish altogether if Akira continued long enough. Whether she did or not, it was still amusing to watch. Like the adult in there was Akira, not Jun. Souma, though, didn't let it go on long enough for Jun to vanish from existence. "At any rate, you sure have lots of spices. Ah! This smells a lot like curry!" He had come to a stop next to a tray placed on the countertop. Laid out on it was a few stalks of a plant. Raising to her feet out of curiosity, Ariadne joined him, leaning forward to give the plant a sniff. A strong scent of spice reached her nose when she did.
"That's a spice called Kari Patta." Akira told them.
"Oh! I know this plant. It's also called Curry Leaf, isn't it?" Ariadne asked, twisting to look at Akira. "And it's so fresh."
"I can't believe they have fresh ones!" Megumi gasped joining them.
"Tadokoro? You know it too?" Souma asked.
"The Curry Leaf sapling is weak to cold weather. Since it withers before winter ends, it's only sold dried in Japan." Megumi replied.
"Even I know that and I'm not from Japan." Ariadne chuckled lowly at Souma's lack of knowledge before turning to Akira. "It is difficult in Japan to get fresh leaves easily, so how did you manage? If you do not mind me asking, that is."
"That's one of Jun's research topics: Establishing methods to stably cultivate spices in Japan which are native to tropical lands. Other than that, she's discovered long term conservation techniques that make use of refrigeration technologies. She's also succeeded in the extraction of many new flavor compounds." Ariadne raised an eyebrow as Akira stated this all with an amount of pride in Jun that suggested a relationship far closer than that of researcher and assistant. Akira raised an eyebrow back at her in questioning when a grin creeped across her lips. Souma talking kept Akira from questioning her.
"Wow…you're more than meets the eye, sensei."
"Ge-getting praised by you doesn't make me happy at all, but…that's right, spices have that much hidden potential. To begin with," Ariadne tilted her head to the side as Jun pulled on a lab coat that was almost too big for her small form. "Spices are useful to bring out three things: Aroma, spiciness, and color. By mixing them, you create a synergy. The more varieties you add, the more their individual traits are toned down and they become a mild combination that's well received by many people. But that doesn't mean more varieties are better. If you mix them recklessly, they may become bitter. The limit is estimated to be twenties varieties! Also, the use of "fats and oils" is essential if you want to make the most of spices! The spices' aroma stand out when they're heated in oil. And fats and oils taste best when they are "emulsified"! Ufufufu, emulsion…one of the discoveries made by cooking. Amphiphilic agents create surface tension and-"
"Hey, hey…she's started giving a lecture." Ariadne joined Souma in his confusion when he said this.
"Ah…she takes a while once she starts." Akira stood, Ariadne's head tilting in the other direction as Jun continued on her lecture, not realizing that she had lost the attention of her audience. "Well…experiencing it yourself should be faster. Eat something before you go, I'll show you the depth of spices." Ariadne perked up when the word "eat" left Akira's mouth. She was the first one out the door as Akira led them out of the room and away from the still lecturing Jun and to the kitchen. She stood at the counter, watching with an intense icy gaze as Akira got to cooking. Akira pretty much ignored her, only looking up once to find her eyes fixated on his hands. She didn't break her gaze away until he served them their food. "Here's the first dish…chicken meat "Kozhi Varutha curry". This is a typical dish from south India. The curry leaves from before are used to give it its aroma."
"Oh! It looks really good!"
Souma picked up the plate, Ariadne grabbing her own. Souma didn't pause before scooping up a spoonful to eat. Ariadne, on the other hand, gave the dish a sniff, breathing in the colorful aroma before she ever took a bite. Ariadne paused, letting the flavors spill over her tongue. She could taste cayenne, chili peppers and onion, several more flavors filling in under those. She had cooked with dried spices, with powdered spices, but she had found that nothing could quite stand up to the taste of fresh spices. The curry Akira had made was a splendid mix of fresh spices, the aroma and taste blending perfectly together to elevate the taste. That being said, Ariadne couldn't help but think that there was something missing. She placed the plate back on the counter after only one bite, trying to pinpoint what was off to her.
"That's the power of fresh spices. Fresh leaves give off more than ten times the scent of dry leaves. Alright…the next dish." Ariadne turned to watch Akira as he went about making the next curry. Her eyebrow ticked upward as she realized that Akira was using the same ingredients and spices from the first one. When Akira sat the next plate in front of her, she picked it up to give it a sniff. "A curry that uses white-flesh fish like swordfish or salmon, "Goan Fish curry"!"
"Hmm…? There's two of the same curry?" Megami asked.
"The ingredients and spices used in both are exactly the same. Taste and compare them." Akira invited.
Having smelled the curry, Ariadne picked up the spoon and scooped a bit of it into her mouth. As the flavors spread across her taste buds, she could tell the difference. Her eyes landed on Akira. "You roasted the coriander and red pepper, didn't you?"
"Exactly." Akira gave her a surprised look, but Ariadne merely placed the plate back on the counter.
"Such a small change, but it makes a world of difference." Ariadne remarked, her brain already running in a hundred different directions. She had a lot she needed to consider for her dish. Akira left her to her thoughts, moving on to serving them a third dish. This one looked exactly like the first two, but Ariadne could smell a difference between them and was sure that she would taste a difference, too.
"It looks exactly the same as the Kozhi Varutha curry we ate first." Megumi remarked.
"No…it's different! The curry leaf aroma is way stronger than before!" Souma replied.
Ariadne took a bite instead of saying anything. The flavor was, once again, different than before, the strength of the spiciness changing.
"It's true! The strength of the spiciness that spreads in my mouth is totally different! How to say it…it's a more distinct flavor." Megumi said.
"I didn't add anything to this, either." Akira told her.
"That means…this also has roast spices?" Megumi asked, confused.
"No."
"All he did was switch from boiling it in soup stock to boiling it in plain water." All eyes turned to Ariadne as she placed her spoon down. "It's pretty simple, really. My father taught me that the individual flavor of each ingredient loses its strength the more varieties you add. What he did was the opposite. By taking away the flavor the stock added, it strengthened the flavor of the curry's spices."
"That's correct." Akira confirmed.
"He didn't use soup stock…? If you do that, the flavor would normally leave you unsatisfied!" Megumi remarked, taking another bite. While she had learned that that would normally be the case, the curry before her disagreed with that. Souma's silence drew Megumi's attention to him, the girl finding a serious look on his face. "Souma-kun? What's wrong?"
"That guy…while he was cooking, he never looked inside the pot." Souma told her.
Ariadne had noticed the same thing while watching him. Akira had gone the whole time only judging the ingredients to be ready by their smell. It had to take a really high sense of smell to pull that off. While Ariadne had a good sense of smell, it had nothing on Akira. Akira gave them a smile that came a little too close to smug as he turned to look at them.
"I told you, didn't I? That woman needs me. Sublimating the theories Jun comes up with into real dishes…that's my work here. I honestly laughed when I saw the theme for the preliminaries! For it to be a curry dish, of all things." Akira said, spreading his arms in a what-can-you-do gesture.
"How fortuitous for you." Ariadne remarked, smiling. "Seems we've met someone else in the Autumn Election, Souma."
"Oh? Really?" Souma turned his eyes to Akira who smiled back.
"I'm in the A block with you, Yukihira Souma, and you, Sinclair Ariadne."
Souma and Ariadne shared a look when Akira said that both turning back to him. "Wait…did I ever mention my name? I don't think Ari did either."
"Hey, hey, everyone knows your name. At least, every first year who went to the entrance ceremony." Akira told the bewildered Souma before turning to Ariadne. "And the same stands true for you."
"Hmm…and here I was, thinking my greeting during the ceremony had been better than Souma's. Well, que sera sera." Ariadne gave a carefree shrug of her shoulders, as if she was completely unaffected by the bit of news. Akira smiled, turning his eyes to Souma.
"Your dishes are amusing, and you come up with ideas even under limiting situations. However, that isn't enough to get to the top here." Ariadne's eyes turned to Souma, catching the look of competitiveness in his eyes. "The thing that reaches you before the taste and the looks, the thing that lingers even after chewing and swallowing, is the aroma. One who is in control of cooking is in control of the aroma. In other words, the one who will take Totsuki's top is Hayama Akira. None other than me."
Akira pulled his hair out of the tie he had tied it back with as he walked past Souma. Ariadne caught sight of the look Souma cast him over his shoulder, but it was gone as quickly as it was there, the boy clapping his hands together. "Well, thanks for the feast. Your curry was really good! I'll pay you back for it later."
"Later?" Akira turned back to look at Akira. Ariadne could almost see the sparks passing between the two boys.
"A curry even better than yours. I'll let you taste it during the election."
A silent sigh left Ariadne's lips as Akira stared at Souma in disbelief. "You say…you're going to defeat me with your curry's flavor? You didn't realize anything after eating my curries?"
"I did. They were terrific."
"Huh?"
Ariadne was fighting back laughter at this point. Apparently, Akira hadn't realized the challenge he was taking on by making it clear that he wasn't going to let Souma have the top. She could have warned him, but…she didn't really want to. It was funny watching the reactions people had to finding out just how stubborn and dense Souma really could be.
"There's someone who can make something I can't. That…makes me green with envy." Souma gave Akira a grin, turning to leave. "Thanks for everything! Let's meet again at the preliminary-bueh!"
Ariadne's lips spread in a grin, Megumi gasping in concern when the door swung open, smacking Souma right in the face, the doorknob driving into his gut. Jun came running into the room looking frazzled. "Heeeey! Why did you leave without saying a word!? I was in the middle of my lecture!" It was only then that Jun realized she had hit Souma with the door. "Aah!? Sorry…"
"The doorknob…hit…my stomach."
Only her mother's past vigorous lessons on composure kept Ariadne from bursting out into a fit of undignified giggles. Even then, she had to clear her throat to fight back a laugh. Akira didn't react to it at all, as if he saw such things every day. He merely looked down at Souma.
"Yukihira Souma, facing curry means facing spices…facing aromas. Moreover, my nose is special. You don't have any chance to win." Akira turned to walk away, his eyes landing on Ariadne and her wide grin. "The same goes for you too, Sinclair Ariadne."
Ariadne's eyes shifted to him, and he swore that her grin grew, her eyes narrowing in a look of smug confidence. What she said, though, left him confused. "Who said anything about winning, or even wanting to? My, it must be blissful to have so simple of motives." Ariadne walked past him, patting him on the shoulder as she headed over to Souma. She bent, grabbing Souma's arm to pull him to his feet. "Regardless, best of luck."
Ariadne waved over her shoulder as she walked out of the door, making sure to thank Jun for her time as she passed her. Akira stared after her as she left, humming to herself, Souma and Megumi following after her. He had no idea what Ariadne had meant by her remarks. The feeling he got from her was confusing. On one hand, she didn't seem like the type that would roll over and compromise her own cooking just so others could walk over her, but on the other hand…he didn't get the feeling that she really intended to compete. Ariadne was more than content to let him think what he would.
With the Autumn Election just around the corner, Ariadne was starting to think that maybe it would be a good idea to call home. It would give her a chance to talk to her siblings as well as to get them to send her a few supplies that she just might need. After that, she just might return to talk to Jun. There had to be some useful information among Jun's long lecture. For that, Ariadne would sit and listen as long as she had to.
First things first…she needed to decide on what kind of curry she wanted to make.
-0-0-0-0-
A few days later, Akira came back to the Shiomi Seminar building to find Jun entertaining a very riveted guest with one of her lectures. Akira came to a stop in the doorway, blinking in surprise as he stared at the scene before him. Jun was at her whiteboard, lab coat on, lecturing on and on, while Ariadne sat on the couch, notepad in hand to take notes and a teacup and snacks sat out on the table in front of her. He didn't even know where to start with this after he had made his challenge clear to her and Souma just a few days before.
Only Ariadne looking up and catching sight of him, brought Jun's lecture to a stop as Ariadne's attention turned away from her for the first time in a few hours. "Oh, hello, Akira."
Jun stopped, turning when Ariadne greeted him. Akira merely raised an eyebrow, his eyes going from one female to the other before settling on Ariadne. "I don't think I gave you permission to call me that."
Ariadne gave a shrug of her shoulders, snapping close the notebook in her hands. She eased herself back in her seat crossing her legs with a grin on her face. "I'm French, dear sir. I call people by their given name. You're more than welcome to call me Ariadne or Ari, if you want. I have no problems with it."
Akira merely ignored that and moved on. "What are you doing here?"
"Listening to a lecture. It seemed so interesting the other day while I was here, so I called ahead and saw if Shiomi-sensei would have the free time to continue. She was more than happy to. Right, Shiomi-sensei?" Jun nodded as Ariadne turned a smile on her. Ariadne's eyes shifted back to Akira, a knowing smile tilting her lips. "Is there a problem with that?"
"No, of course not."
"Uh-huh." Akira's eyebrow rose as the noise left Ariadne. The girl obviously didn't believe a word that left his mouth. Not that Ariadne let him get another word in. Rising to her feet, Ariadne gave Jun a smile, bending forward to put her eyes on level with Jun's. "Thank you for the lecture, Shiomi-sensei. It was very educational. I should be leaving now. We wouldn't want him to get jealous, now would we?"
"What is that supposed to mean?!" Akira demanded as Ariadne strengthened her back.
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Ariadne's lips spread in a grin, the girl giving Jun a wink before she stooped to grab her backpack, moving past Akira. Stopping right at his side, Ariadne lowered her voice where Jun couldn't hear her. "You know, I would tell you to dial it back on the pride in her, least you let it slip how you feel about her, but she seems pretty dense to that."
"Wh-what!?"
Ariadne's grin grew as Akira's dark complexion reddened in the face of her words. Sometimes, if she knew where to poke, teasing others was just too easy and too fun. Even with the seemingly cool-headed Akira, she had a pretty good idea on where to poke to make his face light up. She wouldn't tease him too much, though. If she did, he might build a tolerance for it, and she definitely didn't want that. Ariadne gave him a wink before turning back to wave to a confused Jun. "Bye, Shiomi-sensei. Best of luck with your research."
Laughing to herself, Ariadne headed for the door. Seeing that she was leaving, Jun turned to Akira, demanding that he should walk Ariadne out like a true gentleman. Akira turned to look at Ariadne, finding a sly little grin on her face as she looked back over her shoulder. Even though he felt like he was walking into some kind of trap, Akira did as asked. His consent only had Ariadne's grin growing.
Ariadne hummed the whole way to the door, perfectly happy to let Akira feel like she was planning something when she wasn't. The fact that he kept glancing over at her the whole way, had her fighting back a big, stupid grin. When they reached the door, Ariadne turned to grin back at him. "You know, you don't have to be so tense. I'm not going to bite…much."
"Do you always say such weird things?"
"And which statement are you considering weird? The biting comment or my comment about your feelings for Shiomi-sensei?"
Ariadne's grin grew as Akira's spine stiffened, the boy's body language going defensive once more. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure, you don't." Ariadne gave his shoulder a pat, turning to walk out the door as she waved a hand over her shoulder. "Have a good day, Akira. I'll see you at the Autumn Election." Ariadne turned back as she heard the door closing behind her. Shaking her head, she walked away from the building. It was cute, in her opinion, to see his feelings for Jun. While she had flirted with a lot of people in her life, had teased hundreds just to watch their faces turn red, she had never had serious feelings for anyone. She found it sweet to see Akira's honest feelings for Jun. She had no problem flirting with people, passing time in others' company, but if she ever found someone she truly liked…Ariadne couldn't imagine continuing her flirting ways.
Now teasing was a completely different case. She would never grow tired of teasing people, but she would leave the flirting for her beloved. If she ever found one. At that point in her life, she was highly doubtful that she would, nor did she really mind given how busy her current life was. She had to concern herself with school, her sister's nightly calls and a few other issues that kept her flying just below the radar there at Totsuki.
Speaking of flying below the radar…
Ariadne refocused her attention as she hurried away from the Shiomi Seminar building. She needed to get to the market and buy some supplies so she could start some trial dishes. Running through list of ideas on what she could make, Ariadne hurried about her way. For the next four weeks she would be busy, and her final result would surprise all.
Come the day of the Autumn Election, Ariadne went into the competition with a completely different objective from all who were there.
END
Kyandi: I would tease Akira for his feelings towards Jun, too.
Ariadne: It's cute, right?
Kyandi: Totally. Just wait until you meet your "one".
Ariadne: Should I yelp now?
Kyandi: Would you if I said yes?
Ariadne: Probably not.
Kyandi: Then never mind. Anyway, I want to get started on the next chapter, so everyone enjoy and review!
Ariadne: We'll return as soon as we can!
Kyandi: Bye-bye!