Cœur Tendre
I do not own Shokugeki no Soma anime and manga or any of the in-series characters. Just my OC's.
Chapter 3: An Excursion Within Himself and Recreational | Un excursion - En lui-même et récréatif
March 02nd, 2018 | Shinomiya Family Hotel Room | Before sunrise
Kojiro was laying in his shared bed on his left side.
He was trying to get a bit of sleep before needing to prepare for the events of the coming morning.
Kojiro exhaled a deep breath as he stretched out his tall, muscular body and reached for his folded pair of eyeglasses placed on the night table next to him.
The newly appointed father yawned as he turned his body onto his back.
Then, sat up and shuffled his legs near the bottom right corner of the mattress. "Need me to take over?" He inquired to his mother, speaking in their Kyushu dialect.
"She still does't have much of an appetite." The middle-aged woman was sitting in her pajamas with her undone brown hair reaching her shoulders. She was cradling her newly appointed granddaughter in her left arm while holding the bottle of formula in the opposite hand. The grandmother couldn't help but make a concerned, worried face.
Angélique whimpered as her light sleep wear was dampened in sweat, while the bib was covered in spat out formula.
Kojiro's mother tilted her head to the side, making it lightly press against the top of newborn-looking infant's head. She gently placed her fingers on the bottom of the tiny left jaw line, as her thumb stroked the soft cheek. "You tried. It ain't yer fault." She whispered worriedly and kissed the opposite cheek as her closed eyes welted up.
Within a few minutes, Kojiro wrote into his journal recounting the failed feeding, writing the notes down in French.
Meanwhile, his mother, in a slightly better mood dressed the child in a fresher pair of clothes.
Kojiro's form grasp on the pen turned his knuckles white. I really underestimated how much she sweats while eating. This is her third outfit tonight! How many times do I have to do laundry then?! The landlord might as well add the whole building's water bill to my new rent. He recorded that the time was nearly half past three in the morning.
He felt his mother's hand glided softly on top of his black tank top's back and his unkempt pink hair. "Ya better get some rest."
Kojiro only gently smiled and wordlessly nodded.
His mother climbed into her bed while he turned off the room's lights, using his phone's unlocked screen as a guide back to his.
The new father cautiously laid down leaving as much room as he can for the medium gray, wool, crotcheted sleeping sack with dark brown buttons fastened around the edges.
Kojiro momentarily adjusted his body where his right wrist flexed inward and had his elbow pointed outward. Then, he slowly brought his lips closer towards his newly appointed daughter's hearing range. "Tu au essayé. C'est n'est pas votre faute." He planted a pair of soft kisses on Angélique's forehead and balled up left hand.
8:00 AM
Hinako's violet eyes fixated on the tiny royal azure irises on the newborn-looking infant's thin face. Her mind went to the the moment she had inadvertently eavesdropped less than ten hours ago. I hope I misunderstood what he cried about last night.
Hinako changed the child's position from laying on her lap to being closer to her chest, cradled in her left arm, as the young woman's right hand was gently folding back the cuffs of the long pink sleeves that enveloped the minuscule hands.
The downy blonde haired infant yawned somewhat weakly held onto the adult female's slender finger with both minuscule hands before closing her royal azure eyes and nuzzling into Hinako's chest.
"Angélique-chan has such a natural adorableness," she placed her cheek on top of the infant's forehead.
"She's quite taken with you, Chef Inui." Wei commented.
"I noticed that to last night." Lucie added.
Kojiro's mother simply smiled at the younger woman as she adjusted her granddaughter's hat.
"I still almost what happened last night, even though I just took a video of her." Fuyumi handed back Hinako's camera as she took a sip of her caffeinated drink.
"I wish I had this along last night, I would've taken so many pictures of her." Hinako whispered loudly but cheerfully.
Fuyumi observed her longtime friend closer, and sighed. She's trying just has hard as last night to be cheerful. The images of her slight out-of-character behaviour from the previous night prior to Kojiro's arrival. The sudden news of Shinomiya Kojiro's immediate family extending by an unheard of member definitely did surprise the green-haired woman. Although, it also struck her odd that the new child's own mother had not come.
"I'm still adjusting to what happened last night, even though I just took some videos and pictures of her." Fuyumi handed back Hinako's camera as she took a sip of her caffeinated drink. In addition, Fuyumi had thought how could her coral-haired batch mate and school rival would keep such a big secret of personal and professional magnitude, involving take a year-long leave to raise an unknown child.
The Italian cuisine chef took another sip of her coffee and release a deep breathe.
"Mizuhara-senpai, do you want to hold her now?" She heard Hinako's question.
Fuyumi remembered how last night she, Donato and their Sekimori-senpai agreed to have Hinako be with baby the most as the brunette woman anxiousness dwindled.
She nodded and sat beside a seemingly much happier Hinako.
Hinako made a goofy face as she brought the small infant's right cheek laying on her left shoulder. "Actually, can a get a couple of more minutes, please?"
Fuyumi smiled smally and nodded. "Go ahead, there's still plenty of time since he's still asleep," she replied.
The young woman witnessed quietly as she sees Hinako carefully held up Angélique within her frontal vision and begin to softly rub her bigger nose against the much smaller one.
Fuyumi bit her lip as she saw a tiny glimmer of an obviously forced stopped tear hanging in the corner of Hinako's left eye, despite the happy smile. In a couple of days, he'll- no both- will be gone, going to another part of the world. Will she still be able to keep this kind of composure?
Fuyumi then noticed the proud smile of Kojiro's mother face as she held her own smartphone in Hinako's direction while sitting next to the younger brunette woman.
A few moments pass by until Hinako turned her to face to her right, lightly smiling. "Now's your chance, Mizuhara-senpai." She carefully passed Angélique towards her.
Angélique nestled against Fuyumi's light sweater, making the pink eyed woman blush. She lightly stroked the infant's hand, which triggered it to give back a weak grasp using both hands around the chef's finger. Shinomiya said that she's two months but she feels really light and can barely hold on to my finger. Something's going on with her isn't there?
Hinako lightly placed her hand on Fuyumi's shoulder. "Angélique-chan really likes you."
Fuyumi changed the current holding position and laid the infant's head on top of her shoulder while supporting the underdeveloped neck.
The bluish-green haired woman then turned and replied with a small smile while looking into Hinako's camera.
"Do you want more pictures with her, Mizuhara-senpai?"
Fuyumi nodded sideways, "not right now".
Hinako got up and stretched her arms over her head. "I better go go back next door and give Shinomiya-senpai his coffee before it gets cold."
The younger brunette woman sadly pouted while her violet eyes became thick black lines. "That means I have to be away from you for more than a minute." She kissed the back of Angélique's head and lightly rubbed her nose on the sleeping infant's cheek.
Abel cleared his throat. "If you'd like, one of us can go give it to him."
Hinako took the tray with a single large cup and paper bag alongside an emptied formula bottle from one of the nightstands. "No, its fine. Waking him up shouldn't be take too long."
"Chef Inui, why are you taking that with you?" Wei noticed the smartphone in her hand.
Hinako made a mischievous grin. "I'm playing a prank on Shinomiya-senpai," she snickered. "I want to record his reaction."
In a manga panel, the staff trio would be drawn as faceless chibis with a faded blue tinged background.
Knock, knock.
Hinako opened the door and gave a welcoming smile. "Good morning, Dojima-senpai."
"Good morning Inui." Gin showed himself in while carrying a folded inward contraption with wheels.
"Thanks a lot for bringing in a stroller." Hinako expressed her gratitude for hers' and Fuyumi's request.
"It's fine." Gin set the wheeled object by the door, then let out a yawn. "I got it as soon as the board meeting ended."
"Why don't you come sit and relax?" Hinako offered while putting the coffee tray back on the same nightstand. "I don't think you got a chance to hold Angélique-chan yet." She stood next to Fuyumi and stroked the infant's back. "The urge of having her in your arms is beyond irresistible." Hinako's chibi face would be a round one with starry eyes while fixated on gently stroking on the back of the child's head and continuing down until her gliding hand reaches her lower back.
It's good to see that you're enjoying yourself, Inui...but is this just a front your clinging onto? Gin bit his lip as he continued to quietly observe her.
"So do you want to hold her?" Hinako looked at him with the same starry-eyed irises while still gently petting Angélique's small back.
Gin smirked jokingly and crossed his arms. "If you insist, but I can't stay for too long."
"Here she is." Hinako loudly whispered as she cradled the sleeping bundle and nuzzled her nose and gave another small kiss on the same area.
Gin's commanding aura managed to keep away his hidden anxiousness about the idea of holding her last night, largely due to his inexperience with handling infants alongside being as muscular as he is, inadvertently hurting her.
After a sharp, quiet inhale and exhale, the thirty-eight-year-old man cautiously extended his hands towards the little one in Hinako's arms.
This is certainly...interesting.'Gin thought to himself as he looked down wordlessly observing the infant's slumber as the pacifier nearly covered the lower half of her face.
The several rumors regarding the career status of Shinomiya Kojiro transpired between the six weeks until they suddenly stopped. I don't remember all of them at once, but to my knowledge none of them involved the idea of a child-!
Gin's thought was interrupted by the unexpected action of Angélique's weak attempt to clutch onto his pinky finger. His natural intuition noticed something about the child. I may not know anything about you, Shinomiya-kun, but seems you're having your own fight going on. I hope you get all the support available. It'll be a pleasure to help.
Gin gave her back to Hinako, who passed Angélique to her grandmother.
Hinako once again held the the coffee tray and paper bag in her hands. "I'm going to give these to Shinomiya-senpai." She put her hand on the door knob. I wonder what his reaction will be,' she bit her lips, 'if what he said last night really was true.
She cautiously closed the brown door behind her, getting closer to the metal handle on her left.
Hinako lightly laid her forehead again the smooth wooden surface, shutting her dark violet eyes. She inhaled deeply and exhaled for a moment, Shinomiya-senpai...will be really tired after today. So tomorrow...could be a better - maybe... She tightened her grip on the portable drink holder.
Kojiro's heavy eyes barely fluttered open as he heard the sound of a door being closed. The strong glimpse of sunlight flashed into his vision.
He was unaware of the amount of time had passed since he had last opened his tired amber eyes.
Prior to turning his body around to the left, with half-opened eyes, he extended his hand to gain an accurate sense of awareness of how close the wool sleeping bag was.
He yawned with a gentle smile across his sleepy face, "ya know, if yer really my angé, you'd let me have a few more minutes," he moaned.
Kojiro unknowingly cupped the right of a face of the object laid next to him and gently glided his thumb across its plush cheek. "Yer just as soft as those plumes ya got on yer back," he continued to speak in a groggy tone.
Next, he gave the object's delicate kisses loud enough to hear his lips clasp into each other, and depart. "Si douce, mignonne, and officially all mine." The barely awakened father moved the swaddling sleeping bag closer to centre of his face, then nuzzled against the plush surface, unexpectedly inhaling the faint scent of lavender.
Kojiro's hyper awareness finally caught up with his foggy conscience.
It's not her! Where is she?! His golden eyes instantaneous opened and he kicked his blanket off the bed, tumbling out of it. His tall, muscular body stood up, alongside some lightheadedness, as he began breathing heavily, feeling his heartbeat within his throat.
The heat of sweat forming radiated through his bare arm's skin. Kojiro clenched both hands into fists. No, this isn't like... It's not like that dream! This is real life, dammit! Angélique's with me now!
A moment of deep breathing later, he put on his glasses as his vision adjusted to the natural lighting of the current surroundings.
"S-Shinomiya-senpai, a-are you okay?" He heard a concerned Hinako's voice.
Kojiro's eyes widened as he turned his neck. "How long you were standing there?"
The burnette woman was carrying her phone while holding a tray with a large cup and a small paper bag sitting next to it and placed on the night table. "Actually," Hinako blushed, "I was the one who switched Angélique-chan, with the bear-!"
Kojiro threw the soft plaything in her direction.
Hinako instinctively deflected it by grabbing onto the large journal Kojiro wrote in earlier.
She lowered the thick notebook towards her chin. "Hey! Be careful with it, it's been in my personal collection for years!"
Wait, she had her phone a moment ago. A vein pop icon showed up on the side of his head. "You recorded me without my consent?!"
Hinako chuckled nervously. "I didn't plan on it... I was just going to take a picture but than you started talking."
Kojiro lifted her up by her face before she continue to ramble on.
"Ow ow ow ow!" Hinako flailed her arms, the motion of moving them quickly caused her to loosen the grasp of her clenched left palm, dropping the phone onto the floor.
He left her go, and gave back the phone.
The brunette woman squinted her eyes and pouted. "Do I really have to get rid of it? I never heard Shinomiya-senapi speaking so nicely since-!" Hinako's eyes widened as her mind briefly flashbacked to the time after their last food battle. At the end, Kojiro -although clumsy, he did gently placed his hand on Hinako's head as she tearfully gave her blessing to begin his journey to France.
Her bit lower lip trembled. She shook her head sideways trying to remember that she attempting to tease him. She pointed back at him, "I couldn't even understand what you we're saying anyway! You were muttering in your home dialect and French!"
Dammit, I never knew I could talk while sleeping. Kojiro demandingly tapped his bare foot repeatedly, mostly out of repressing embarrassment. "Why are you taking so long?
"For the record Shinomiya-senpai." Hinako looked up to him at eye level. "Regardless of how or what you said it," Hinako looked away, and exhaled, making a mad, yet cartoonish face again pointing at him, "could have been deciphered better in standard Japanese and by one of staff next door!"
Kojiro's embarrassment was being easier to spot by others, he dope slapped her as a natural reaction to this situation.
"I should've used this thing as a shield again..." she groaned, her violet eyes' vision caught a row of kanji written on the cover. The middle character made her hands momentarily clench onto leather bound notebook, as it also is the same one which is a part of her own name when spelled out using the lingual system.
She smoothed her slender finger over the first and third characters but stroked the one in the middle with the back knuckle of her right index finger. 'This is such a specific spelling for something.' The brunette bit her lips as if the weight of the leather bound notebook had its own gravitational pull before placing it back to his original resting place.
Hinako got herself back into a standing position, adjusting her light pink sweater and belt, then gliding her hands over her white skirt to check for any wrinkles. Next, she took off her white scrunchie to make a fresher looking side ponytail. "I've gotten ready more times this morning than you," she moaned.
Kojirou groaned in response. A red vein icon appeared on his face. 'I had to get up more times than you did,' he thought. "And you actually think that coming in here would make me get ready faster?"
"We have to get to mall as fast as we can! My precious sweetheart Angélique-chan needs more things to spoil her with and she really needs more clothes. Poor thing is almost down to her last outfits." She complained and crossed her arms on her chest.
How she know something like-! Kojirou bit his lip, as he remembered barely hearing some idle whispering while he was taking his earlier nap. She shouldn't have seen any the syringes because I hid them and only mom knows where... But if Hinako noticed anything off about before?
"Shinomiya-senpai..." Hinako bit her lip for a second before preceding to speak further. Instead, she put on a brave face while looking very happy as she was scrolling through her phone's screen in a sideways motion. "While you were sleeping, I took a bunch of pictures of Angélique-chan!" She passed him the gadget while continuously sliding her finger, revealing different images.
How many of these did she take? She's already acting obsessed!
Kojirou swiftly observed each one being shown. There were multiple ones where his newly appointed daughter was shown in either a different sets of clothes or a mix-match type of outfits of almost everything he had acquired while still in Paris. So Angélique does look really mignonné in them? But she just looks even smaller...I should've got her exact measurements while she still in hospital custody.
A few other pictures of his newborn-looking infant being shown tender affection by Hinako and his mother. It felt if he was able to sense the amount of love that had been captured within the snapshots.
Would Angélique's...concerns have some improvement if I was that attentive from the start? His thought cut-off midway as the sound of the young brunette's soft voice was secretly soothing his mind. He turned his face to her direction. "Shinomiya-senpai, if you want I can take some of you and your family together."
Kojirou looked away from her unresponsive.
She clenched her teeth before speaking aloud in the quiet hotel room. "Why do you have the word 'ashitaba' on the cover of this book?" She blurted out the question, with a nutty vocal tone.
Kojirou's pop vein icon was returned. "You read it wrong, stupid!"
A question mark appeared hanging over a wide-eyed chibi of Hinako. "Then how is supposed by read as?"
The coral-haired man crossed his arms on his chest. "Stop wasting my time and go back next door. I'll be ready in a few minutes."
"But that's not answering my questions at all!" She moaned in disappointment.
"Get out." He growled and pointed to the door.
Hinako pouted as she crossed her arms on her way out.
The brunette woman pressed her back against the flat wooden surface, hanging her head low. The images of the images of the kanji characters linger in the back of her mind. She raised her slender finger and drew a line upward, to the right, then downward, with another stroke in between them and a final one near the bottom. Her hand felt heavy as dropped back to her side.
Her violet eyes became moist as her throat nearly dried up. How cruel of you, Shinomiya-senpai. She sniffled and wiped away the forming tears as a warm smile was forced to take form. Time to get back to my precious sweetheart! She shook her head mid-thought. No she's...Shinomiya-senpai's Angélique-chan. She only belongs to him, and that's it. I'm not his family, we just friends after all.
On the other side of the door, a tired Kojirou stared intently at the emptied plastic bottle wrapped firmly in his palm. Angélique really drank the whole thing?The sudden and unfamiliar amount of relief entered his mind. I tried feeding her so many times on the flight but she'd stop around half or barely a quarter.
He rubbed his forehead in slight frustration, I was even lucky that she actually got all of the medicine down. Then somebody else comes along and then she decides drinks the whole thing?
He shook his head and tossed the disposable plastic container in the trash.
A moment passed by until he opened the hotel's bathroom door.
The vibration of his electronic toothbrush and running sound of the facet could not distract his thoughts for longer then a minute.
He rinsed out the white mint flavored foam.
The way...she looked last night. Hinako's facial expressions from the unexpected surprise less then ten hours ago entered the back of his mind.
He remembered how Hinako's fist was placed to her chest. The fellow former Totsuki student's violet eyes looked slightly puffy, dried and tired, yet still had a notable amount of relief, friendliness and warmth to them.
He bit his lip as he was again heard her teasing words about how his chosen wardrobe last night gave off the look of a father in a televised series. In a way, it was a compliment in that he later decided that probably could have taken more lightly in response if Kojiro's own aggressiveness was not as it is. The recently made memory of how he observed Hinako holding onto his daughter as soon she Angélique was introduced to everyone in his restaurant.
Splash. The feeling of cold water on his face. His mind went back to the mini plastic formula bottle. For Angélique to drink all of that in just one feeding... Kojiro held out the deep sigh. My précieuse beauté must've been starving... He surprised himself by using such a manner of words in his personal thinking, as he never bothered with thinking about another person in such a manner.
Kojirou gritted his teeth. His previous actions from the beginning of the year were infrequently playing back in his mind. Angélique, could've been a little more better off if...it hadn't taken me so long to get back to her.' He wiped away every drop of water away from his skin.
He unfastened some of the buttons connected to the knitted sleeping bag and took out the old, red neckerchief. Mom forgot to wrap it around her from earlier.
An image of seeing his own hands holding out the red piece of cloth invaded his vision. Kojirou gasped as the neckerchief fell onto the wrinkled bedsheet. A pair of tears almost dropped out from his amber colored eyes before being wiped away. Dammit, as if one wasn't already enough!
Kojirou snatched the sleeping sack and clutched it to his chest as he shuddered. I know what I did was inexcusable, but is the effort I'm trying to put in still not going to be enough?! I put my bloody professional reputation on the line! A whole decade of worth's of work!
Several minutes passed until he regained his known steel-like composure.
His amber eyes caught onto the image of the paper bag and large coffee cup still sitting on the night stand.
Thanks for the help, Hinako, he paused as a small smile was shaped on his lips.
Knock, knock.
Kojirou's attention went towards the closed door. It was approximately fifteen minutes since Hinako left the room.
Unsure of knowing it was Hinako again, he told whoever it was to wait for a minute.
Kojirou carefully took a small metal scoop filled with a white powder and placed gently inside the disposable plastic bottle.
He lined up four plastic bottles beside him.
Kojirou sighed. "Maybe another one just in case," he quietly muttered. He reached for the metal scoop and cautiously took some powder the designated 'high-calorie' travel-sized container. Next, the one labeled 'iron-fortified'.
This stuff is expensive, but it's all I got to keep her fed. Kojirou released a frustrated sigh. There's nothing I can do about it. His grip tightened around the plastic transparent bottle.
Knock. Knock.
Oh right, can't keep them waiting forever. Kojirou twisted the cap back on the portable containers and placed them back in a large black carry-on. "Come in."
Kojiro heard the door handle turn followed by an airy hissing noise.
"Good morning." The words were spoken after the door was shut.
"Congratulations on becoming a parent, Shinomiya."
Kojirou attempting to avoid eye contact, reached for a light blue sweater and wore it over his black tank top. "Thanks, Dojima-san."
"That was quite a surprise you gave last night."
Kojirou turned around, unresponsive.
"It hasn't even been a full year yet, but you've managed to come up with another respectable goal and even opened a new branch. Your efforts and ambitions are certainly still commendable."
Gin folded his arms on his broad chest. "These plans of yours have the same height of determination you had before winning your Pluspol award."
A sudden tension made its presence within the room.
"Shinomiya, it's your choice to answer me, but as your friend and colleague, I have to ask this." Gin sighed as he silently dreaded to rethink his upcoming words.
"Do you realize that any standstill in the future will have more severe consequences, for yourself as a parent?"
Kojirou's eyes lowered as he felt his chest thump.
"You've always been goal oriented, efficient and self-reliant. Yet there's that reputation of being a short-tempered, stubborn, workaholic who doesn't have much fondness for change."
Kojirou continued to listen as he could not ignore the well intention of the words adding weight to his chest.
"Shinomiya, you entered an inescapable role. You must never forget to keep yourself in check. Are you absolutely sure that you're able to expand your tremendous willpower?"
Gin paused. "If you do, will you still remember that Shinomiya-kun's fragility is far more inferior compared to an adult?"
"If you are keeping this child by your side as some kind of crutch," Gin's calm demeanor changed.
In a manga, the older gentleman's background would be painted in a hybrid shade of deep black and dark violet. His right eye would become an intense, blue light. "You truly can't afford to fail. What the hell will you do later on if you can't think of another goal that will benefit her wellbeing?"
Kojiro's jaw clenched as his amber eyes moistened. Why can't I say anything back? Do I even have an answer for any of this?
Did I go too far? Gin put his hand inside of his blazer, pulling out three envelopes.
"Here," Gin got closer and shook his hand. "Consider it a reimbursement for the rooms."
Kojirou examined the thickness of the envelope. "Dojima-san, I can't really accept these."
Gin half-smiled. "Then, consider it a gift from a poor chef employed by his old school." He went behind the coral-haired younger man. The older alumnus noticed the engraved kanji letters on the cover.
He'll never let that go will he? Kojiro bit his lip.
Gin walked towards the door and opened. "Tomorrow's party starts at 4 PM. I'll see you back at the dorm."
After taking some steps further into the hallway and stopped holding up the same finger Angélique weakly clutched earlier. Shinomiya, your child's hands need to be stronger.
He took out his phone and scrolled through the listed text message logs, looking at the kanji spelling Hinako's name. Well, isn't this something?'Gin smiled smally.
He glanced through some older messages asking him about any inside information about the then mysterious situation regarding Kojiro.
A previous concerning thought resurfaced as he sighed. Will you really be alright, Inui?
Kojiro stared intently at the stuffed envelopes. I wonder how much is in these. He lifts the taped seal of one and ran his thumb over the notes neatly stacked inside. If its for just the rooms that why does it look like a lot more then my bill?
Not wanting to wait any longer, Kojiro carefully took the cash out and counted.
The total counted to one-million, nine-hundred and twenty-thousand yen.
"Thanks a lot, Dojima-san." He whispered under his breath. But I'll only take what I need.
"Geez, he said he'll only be a few minutes," Hinako moaned and put her phone away.
She turned towards smiling Kojiro's mother who was fondly caressing her granddaughter's loose fitting hat while both miniature hands curled up within her right one.
The look of enjoyment in the elder Shinomiya's eyes, triggered a sad smile in the younger brunette. She glanced at the baby in the stroller and back at the older woman. Knowing not that you're going to see your son and grandchild for so long, must hurt you so much more, doesn't it? I'm not even apart of your family, but... I won't be able to hold myself together when they leave. A dull ache crept its way into her chest. She really wanted to hug the woman next to her, but all Hinako could only was to continue to put on a light smile.
The sound door knob turning was heard.
Kojiro stepped inside.
"Good morning, Chef Shinomiya." His staff trio greeted simultaneously.
"Good morning," he replied in a stern tone.
"You took such a long time to leave your room, Shinomiya-senpai," Hinako pouted, using her chibi face.
"You didn't even take this long in school." Fuyumi commented in her usual deadpan voice.
Kojiro glared at the blue-haired woman. "Nice to see you to, Mizuhara." He spoke in a slightly annoyed tone.
He turned to speak to his mother. "Mornin', Mom," he said in his Kyushu dialect.
"So, yer finally up, huh?" His mother replied joyfully.
"You betcha," Kojiro's eyes gazed on the side angle view of his sleeping child. "Mom, can you bring the baby back to our room. It'll only be for awhile."
The elder Shinomiya nodded. "Of course. It's just about time anyway." Her gently lifted her granddaughter out of the car seat and exited the hotel room.
The male Shinomiya reverted back to his more stern self when facing the other five adults present. "We'll all be ready to leave in just a few minutes."
"Why are you telling us what to do? We've all been ready for a long time now." Fuyumi crossed her arms on her chest.
Hinako pouted. "Just hurry back with your mother and Angélique-chan. They're a lot nicer to talk to!"
Kojiro glared at this longtime friends, then looked at his own staff members. "Do any of you three have anything to say?"
The three gulped slightly nervously at the sharpness of his gaze.
"Not at all." Abel said as Wei nodded in polite agreement. "T-take all the time you need."
"See you later." Lucie gave a slight wave.
"It wouldn't hurt to be a speak a little nicer to them." Fuyumi advised in her typical deadpan tone.
Almost everything you say sounds the same. Kojiro walked towards the closed door.
Kojiro's weary face gazed in awe, as he smiled, crouched down in front of the sleeping infant laid on their shared bed.
He lightly shook his head sideways to break him from his trance.
He turned to the to the fluid filled plastic objects placed on the left of her.
They were liquid medication syringes. These six medications included ACE inhibitor, ARB, antiarrhythmic, calcium channel blocker, beta-blocker and an anticoagulant.
They have to be given on a strict schedule. He sighed preceded to wake her up as gently as he could. I can't afford to mess around.
"Good morning, mon précieuse trésor. Angélique, tu es si belle en ce moment." He gave the softest vocal tone and smile his tired body could impart as he gently stroked the cheek of her small thin face.
The infant he was gently caressing appeared to be looking more normal, her facial features only resembled what she should've looked like at birth.
"May I see your yeux merveilleuse?"
The infant stirred in her slumber.
"You gotta have your medicine now."
Her small eyes remained shut.
Kojiro sighed and rubbed his forehead. What did nurse Isabelle say I could do? He took the leather journal from the night stand and read from the pair of cue cards taped inside.
The first tip was to try to speak softly and caress. The first way failed, he sighed.
He carefully picked up the infant by her underarms. Come on, this has to work. There's a schedule that can't get ruined. He tapped on her back once.
Angelique's bodily reaction took him by surprise. The sudden light strike triggered an involuntary reflex which caused her arms, hands and fingers to fling and brush against the top of Kojiro's left shoulder. Her legs extended, and the soles of her feet were pressing on the front of his shoulder, triggering another primitive reflex. Kojiro's right hand was instinctively used to support her head as it drew itself backwards. She let out a soft grunt followed by feeble mewling.
At least she's up now. Kojiro brought her body onto his chest, then changed to the face-to-face hold. He gazed into her royal azure irises. "Are you ready to spend some more time with me?"
He laid her back onto the bed.
Next, he took a deep breath in order prepare to feeding her the encased prescribed liquids. "Fact is, this is a super important part to make sure we get a little more time together."
She was only beginning to look like a four-day-old, chronologically, however the previously unnamed child, was in fact, born eight weeks prior to the current date.
Inadvertently, Kojirou's mind went back to when he first laid eyes on the child. How wrinkled her loose, fragile skin looked and the cold sensation of it due to the lack of fat, accompanied by small thin bones underneath. You look almost unrecognizable from when we met.'He placed his right thumb in her palm, allowing the infant to grasp it. The image of the glowing white feather faded from that same thumb nearly twenty-four hours ago. There's still not enough strength in it... But I know it's definitely an improvement, compared to then. A rush of anxiousness accumulates as his eyes moisten. Then again, will there even be a day I get to know how strong that will feel like?
His mother gave him a side hug and lovingly brushed the back of his head. "Don't you have to add to that diary?"
Kojiro cleared his throat and nodded directly. His amber eyes gazed back as he smiled at his daughter. "S'il vous plaît, lâchez-moi." He caressed the top of her hat.
After recording the details in the notebook, he put it back on the night table. Kojiro eyed one of the envelopes and carefully picked one up.
"Mom." He turned to her.
"Just hold on for a second." The elder Shinomiya was placing her granddaughter back into the car seat and stroller.
Kojiro took a couple of steps closer to the woman. "I want you to have this." A luminescent hue and a half smile appeared on his face.
"Another present?" His mother gave him a confused look.
Kojiro took her hand placed on the envelope onto her palm. "Every bit of it is yours."
She opened the seal, revealing the staggering amount of yen notes. She gasped as she mistakenly dropped the envelope on the floor. "W-where'd all of that come from, huh?!"
Kojiro smirked as he searched below for any that may have fallen out. "That ain't even the full amount," he chuckled. He explained that he snuck a few of the bank notes inside her purse while she was in the bathroom.
"Whaddaya going on about? How much did you give me?" His mother asked.
"It's nine-hundred-sixty-thousand."
His mother became momentarily speechless and wide-eyed. "W-where do you get off givin' an old woman that kind of cash?"
Kojiro placed his hands on his hips. "Mom, you're in world's biggest city, wouldn't be nice to splurge a little?" He smiled lightly. "Do you have any idea where we'll be?"
"Your friends said something about heading to Shibuya, Akihabara and Odaiba."
Kojiro clicked his tongue and opened three fingers from his left hand. He pointed to the first one and repeated that pattern, "costly, pricey and high-priced."
He approached her closer and embraced her. "Just have some fun, aright? You don't to worry about anything."
She closed her eyes and squeezed him back tightly without a word.
When their hug was over, she laid a hand on the sleeping infant's hat. "Yer pa sure is a handful, even when he's bein' thoughtful." She chuckled, "I hope that'll rub off on you someday." She ran her thumb across her granddaughter's face as her eyes moistened. "Keep trying your best to hold on." She cautiously secured the pair of miniature earmuffs.
Abel, Lucie and Wei were set to go in Fuyumi's car.
Thump. The car trunk was shut causing a noticeable shake. 'If that triggered Angélique's reflex, Mom shouldn't have any trouble dealing with it.'
Meanwhile, the three Shinomiya family members were almost settled in Hinako's.
"You can get going now." Kojiro groaned closed the front passenger door.
"You pushed the stroller all the way in back of the trunk?" Hinako asked she modified the vehicle's navigation coordinates.
"Yes." Kojiro put his elbow on the door's arm rest.
"Shinomiya-san?"
Kojiro gave a confused look.
His mother replied from the back seat. "Yes, Hinako-san?"
Hinako turned torso and face towards the older brunette. "You and Angélique-chan are comfortable, right?"
The older woman chuckle and raised a thumb. "We're fine."
"Oh, and if she does anything adorably cute when I'm driving, can you please send me a picture later?"
A small red icon appeared on Kojiro's forehead. Why are you making your questions so long? I'm not sure how much of your dialect she knows!
"Oh, of course no problem." The older woman placed her hand on the young woman's shoulder.
Kojiro glanced at her. Looks like she understood after all.
"Thank you!" The starry-eyed Hinako overlapped her own hand with the other woman's.
Kojiro turned his himself to get a better view of his mother's face. "That sound and movement from a couple minutes ago bug her?" Kojiro asked in their shared dialect.
"She got a bit scared, but she didn't make a sound."
Hinako bit her lip. I wish I could understand them.
She diverted her attention back onto the steering wheel.
The young woman exhaled, "and now we're off," she notified.
The first event listed on the Fuyumi's and Hinako's itinerary was to stop at a breakfast café in Shibuya.
Fuyumi and Kojiro's employees were already at their reserved booth with a extra pair of chairs standing out.
I hope that Angélique won't make much of a fuss. Kojiro sighed as he sat in between the blanket covered stroller and his mother.
There was some silence as every adult was browsing their menu.
"Chef Mizuhara was told us this restaurant is know for its around-the-clock breakfast and dessert dishes." Wei spoke up.
Lucie slightly nodded. "Is it alright order two large dishes to share?"
"If you're worried about the bill, it's no trouble for us." Hinako took out a credit card and another decorated card with the café's name printed.
Fuyumi had an identical one placed on the table. "We're loyalty members here."
Kojiro felt a light tap on his arm. He turned his head to speak with his mother.
"What do they mean by 'loyalty members'?" His mother whispered in their shared dialect.
Kojiro replied by nicely explaining how certain companies develop rewards programs for longtime customers.
He then preceded to describe the Western menu items to her, since many they also had French and Italian origins.
The group of seven adults shared a savory casserole and a plate of biscotti.
Meanwhile, at a mall in Tokyo, most of the Polar Star dorm members and their friends were gathered around each other.
Why did Alice have to pick now to go shopping? Erina thought to herself in frustration. I barely have any idea of what to get anyone I do know. How am I supposed to know what to give to four strangers...and a...very small child. She but her lip and casted down her eyes.
"Um, Nakiri-san, are you alright?"
Erina turned around to see the concerned blue-haired girl. She cleared her throat. "I'm fine, Tadokoro-san."
After the gathering last night, Erina, Senzaemon and Hisako left for the Nakiri estate, so Erina could get some work done early.
Alice, Ryo, Akira and Ikumi stayed overnight at the dormitory. This was due to Alice not wanting to wake up extra early and having to go all the way to the dorm to pick up everyone else.
Nakiri-san looked like she was going to be sick last night.'Megumi placed her fist on top of her chest. "C-coach... Shinomiya's-!" The high school girl stopped mid-sentence.
Erina gave a questioning look. "What were going to say?"
Megumi blushed from embarrassment. "I was just saying that," she paused a took a moment to recollect her train of thought. "His surprise was really...unexpected wasn't it?" She added a nervous chuckle at the end. The blue-haired girl was still surprised unexpected event from last night.
Erina bit her lip. Yukihira-kun and Chef Dojima mentioned something about rumors about Chef Shinomiya's career status last night. But who knew that the reality any event of that caliber?
"Alright everyone we new to pick really great gifts for tomorrow!"
I don't think she wants to talk about last night. Megumi thought as turned around as she heard Alice's enthusiastic yell.
Ryou turned to Alice in his usual demeanor. "Milady, are you sure you exchanged all of the krone you got this morning into yen?"
Alice huffed as looked at him with an annoyed chibi face. "Of course I did Ryo-kun!" She tapped on her glowing smartphone screen.
Yuki turned to the white-haired girl. "I thought you already got your allowance last week, Alicecchi."
"Oh, I forgot to tell everyone that I managed to persuade my parents to give me extra some money to pay for the party preparations and gifts!" Alice replied cheerfully.
"It wasn't so much persuading as it was more like simple request. They did right it away."
Alice slapped her aide's back after his comment. "I said persuade Ryou-kyn! It's a better sounding word!" She repeatedly strike audible smacks on the same spot. "Why can't you compliment me like Hishoko does for Erina?!"
Ryou moaned in response.
Yuki, Ryoko and Ikumi were standing nearby as Alice continued to reprimand her aide. The trio were discussing possible gift suggestions for their guests.
Ikumi sighed, "dammit, if that Yukihira didn't go back to his shop for the day with his dad we could've gotten more ideas."
Yuki have a michiveous cat-like smile. "Oh thinking about him this early in the morning, eh Nikumicchi? She nudged her elbow on Ikumi's arm.
Ikumi's tan cheeks grew a pinkish hue. "I-I was only saying that because... H-He's spent the most time with Chef Shinomiya!"
Ryoko decided to chime in. "You have a point Mito-san, but you still referred to him." She smiled as she her hand on Ikumi's shoulder.
The gesture only led to Ikumi to become increasingly flustered. "M-Megumi! Megumi spent time training with the guy to. Let's ask her if she got any ideas yet!"
The meat expert waved her hand, catching the attention of the girl with a blue single side braid.
"Is everything okay, Mito-san?" Megumi asked curiously.
The tan-skinned girl fastly shook her head up and downward. "I sure am!"
"Then why is your face all red?" Megumi questioned.
Ikumi paused and bit her lips in embarrassment. She shook her head from side-to-side in the same fast speed. "It-it's nothing."
"Anyway," Yuki put her arm around Megumi, "what ideas do you have on what to buy?" Yuki wore a silly chibi face with her tongue sticking out of the left side of her face.
"We thought we'd ask you since you and Yukihira-kun were the ones that spent more time with Chef Shinomiya." Ryoko repeated Ikumi's words.
Megumi sighed. "I don't. Actually, Soma-kun and I had no idea that he was in a relationship or having of a baby at all." She apologized.
The three girls sighed.
Ikumi folded her arms on her chest. "Back to the drawing board then."
"How's the brainstorming coming along?" Alice sang her question to the the other girls.
"No good Alicecchi," Yuki pouted. "We have no clue on what to get them."
"We don't even know them well enough to be sure if they'll like any of the suggestions found online." Ryoko tapped her chin.
"But I think we can't really get more than more than one present, since passengers can't carry a lot of luggage for the plane ride."
'Plane ride?' Erina subconsciously stared in Megumi's direction as she voiced her concern.
"Why did you have to complicate things further Megumi? This isn't like you!" Yuki groaned.
"I'm sorry." The blue-haired girl's concerned look remained on her face.
"Maybe we could get everyone a card?" Ikumi suggested. "Ah no, I don't think that'll be enough."
Megumi took a moment to bring up her. "But, I think Coach Shinomiya would need something more than that since...he's the one whose a parent."
Alice excitedly raised up her hand. "I've got that covered!"
"How is that Nakiri-san?" Ryoko inquired.
"A couple that works for my parents had a kid last year. I met him when I took Erina to my house in Denmark after I suggested she have a little vacation."
It was more like you forced her to go. It was kind of how Soma-kun makes her try a new dish.'Megumi thought to herself. She glanced at Erina's direction without turning her head. Nakiri-san must've felt the same way then she did last night.
Just then Megumi felt her smartphone's vibration in her jacket pocket. She took it out and found out that it was a text message from Soma.
She skimmed through it and made a trouble sigh.
"Is everything alright, Megumi?" Ryoko asked.
"Soma-kun just sent this." Megumi showed the rest of them the electronic message:
"Morning Tadokoro! I'll be spending the day with my old man down at the diner. Good luck with picking out the presents! I'm pretty sure that I got a really good one for Master Shinomiya! Just need to get my dad in on it."
A second message appeared on the screen:
"I'll show you guys and Nakiri a new dish I came up with my dad! Can't wait to show it."
Just then a third message appeared a moment later:
"I'll be back at the dorm after serving lunch and competing against him again. See you tomorrow."
A wave of concern loomed over the group.
"I hope it's not any of his bad ones." Megumi chuckled nervously as she put back into her pocket.
"If this recipe was made with Joichiro-san, would be amazing or disgusting?" Ryoko voiced her thought.
"Like that snake dish after we got back from our training camp." Megumi recalled the day they first met the elder Yukihira.
"Didn't you say something about that ramen he made the morning after?" Yuki reminisced.
"Ramen for breakfast?" Ikumi asked curiously.
"Oh, that sounds quite interesting!" Alice spoke her thought in a sing-songy tone.
"Maybe I can him to make it again since not everyone had it that morning." Megumi smiled.
Ryoko and Yuki excitedly took their dormmate's hands into their own. "Thank you so much!" They looked at her with gimmicky eyes as a dazzling star formed where their irises should be.
Megumi cheeks grew a reddish, luminescent hue and instinctively pulled away her hands.
"What's going on?" Shun asked as he, Zenji, Daigo and Shoji walk up to the group.
Yuki had a sparkling star centered on both of her green irises. "Megumi's going to ask Joichiro-san about the making us that ramen she judged during that battle with Yukihira!"
Shun's response was only a silent nod and stare.
"Anyway did you guys come up with any ideas?" Ryoko inquired in a more relaxed tone.
"We just figured everybody walk around and send pictures to each other." Mauri replied.
"I think you might have to stay away from things that give off strong smells it could turn into a problem later." Shun suggested to the group.
Ryoko turned her attention towards the quietest male of the group. "Oh, is that why you didn't go back into your smoke room when we went back into the dinner last night?"
Shun turned to her. "No, I already know what I'm going to do for my shokugeki later today."
"You're more hospitable then you look." Ryoko teased as ended her statement with a little laugh at the end.
"I don't know what you're going on about." Shun denied in a slightly annoyed, flat tone of voice.
"Oh, I think you do." Ryoko continued to tease.
Just then, Yuki linked Ryoko's arm into her own. "Since Mauri's idea, the only one that we can make progress on let's do it!" The orange-haired girl pumped a fist into the air. "Let's do some serious shopping, Polar Star!" She yelled in excitement as she also pulled Ikumi's arm in the air, making her fellow meat expert blush from embarrassment.
The group of adults transferred from the café in Shibuya to a aquarium located in Ikebukoro's Sunshine City.
This is more relaxing than I thought it would be. Kojiro's amber eyes carefully wandered as the aquarium's colourful fish and decorations provided a tranquil effect instead of an overwhelming one.
Although his surroundings could be considered as calming, his mindset has not changed since he woke up earlier. We've been out for almost three hours now. How could I give Angélique the medicine without making it look suspicious? What excuse could I even use? Do I just take her somewhere secluded without an explanation? But where would I even find a spot like that? I mean, we're in a mall, but there still has to be somewhere private.
The volume of Kojiro's internal thoughts increased, it was as if he could hear himself scream at the top of his lungs. 'f somebody sees me putting in the medicine from the syringes like I have to...it could cause an issue later!
His breathing became heavy as the surface of his skin began to gain warmth, while he clenched his fists and teeth. He rapidly blinked his eyes thrice to prevent tears from falling. Why didn't I say anything about what's going on with me last night?! That was the whole point of coming back to Tokyo in the first damn place! Another wave of anxiousness came over him. 'I have no control over where I am right now. The baby needs it- no! She's not that same child I picked up off the street! She's my daughter now- my daughter will need her medicines soon enough! I can't make her pain go away indefinitely, but I'm the only one who can do it! I already caused her all that strife that one time. I have to take away the pain she's going to have, I had that nightmare and I made that promise! He swallowed to moisten his drying throat, but his dry tongue produced very little saliva. He can still feel the pounding sensation from his chest creep into his throat.
The thought of overthinking of the situation, his reluctance- along with his natural stubbornness, hadn't occurred to him since his own inexperience and avoiding the possibility of his two friends beginning to ask questions, was was again taking over his mind.
Unknown to him, Hinako observed his facial expressions with the help of the reflectiveness of the vast fish tank. Shinomiya-senpai, I know you're getting really worried about your daughter. Hinako's mind also traveled back to earlier that morning in the Shinomiya family hotel room. She recalled how kind it was of Kojiro's mother for letting put on all of the available clothing options to change the baby in. Hinako kept silent when she discovered, visible red scars located on the infant's arms, torso, legs and feet. Are you ever going to take the time to explain anything to me? A feeling of anxiousness went into her chest. I understand very well that I'm never going to be a part of your family. But why aren't you saying anything just being a friend, Shinomiya-senpai. She moved her head down and quickly wiped her moistening violets eyes.
The strength of paranoia tightened in Kojiro's mind. I-I can't think of a plan of giving Angélique's the medicines. What...am I supposed to do?
He placed a hand on the cool wall next to him. The limb began to slightly tremble. His artificially cleared vision began to blur. I can't lose her. He blinked feverishly.
Without warning, the coral pink-haired man, felt an unexpected pat on his shoulder.
"Here," Fuyumi's deadpan voice called out to him.
The image of a round, white plastic cap came into his vision. "Take this." The sound of his old schoolmate's flat voice brought a strange comfort to him.
Kojiro raised his head higher, while letting go of the wall. He turned his stiffened neck. "Thanks," he mumbled without making contact with Fuyumi's eyes. He took a sip and exhaled.
Kojiro's mother held onto his hand took him a little further away from the group. "You're nervous about her medicines aren't ya?" She rubbed her sleeping granddaughter's back downward and as the infant laid upright on the woman's chest.
Kojiro's casted his eyes down. "Made that obvious, huh?" He whispered back. He glided the back of his right pinkie knuckle on his infant's back side-to-side, underneath where his mother's hand was rested.
"I don't think your friends would mind if you take her away by yourself for a few minutes. They don't look like they're nosey." His mother reassured him in a whispering tone.
Kojiro lightly nodded in response.
His mother continued to give him a soft smile. "Do you want me to give it to her then? I've seen it every time." She carefully suggested.
Kojiro took a moment to ponder. The thought of it sounds nice, but this is something I'll have to deal tomorrow to, isn't it? She's my child only, so I can't just have someone else take over. He look at the watch on his left wrist. It was nearly one o' clock.
"No, it's fine. I can handle it myself." He whispered back.
Everyone sans Kojiro and both of his family members went to the aquarium's gift shop.
At one o' clock, they had lunch in a restaurant inside the Tokyo Skytree.
I can't keep having those thoughts right now. This whole day was supposed to be going to a bunch of places and having fun. Hinako exhaled a breath while trying to properly enjoy the shared appetizer.
Everyone was waiting for their main courses to arrive at their table.
She's a quiet person, Fuyumi observed her other longtime friend, but when and how will any of this stress starts pouring out of her?
"You three were incredibly busy until last night." Hinako tried to free her mind of the troubling mindset she's had since last night. "Going to the aquarium earlier was a nice change of pace, right?"
"It was, thanks for taking us there." Abel replied.
"The whole place was quite delightful." Wei thanked.
"Do you always go to one with your staff during your regular day trips?" Lucie asked the Japanese and Italian-style restaurant owners.
Hinako nodded. "They reduce stress, so we take our staff to every time."
"Did you ever take out your staff?" Kojiro's mother whispered her question in his ear.
"One time, just for drinks." He whispered back dialect.
"You should buy something while we're still out. I bet they'll like it it a lot." The elder woman suggest.
Kojiro nodded in agreement.
Fuyumi looked down on her phone at saw a message from another former underclassman.
[Donato]: Are you enjoying your day so far?
Fuyumi]: Yeah, we left the aquarium a little while ago. We're having lunch at our regular spot in the Skytree.
[Donato]: Sounds like fun! I wish I could've been there... How's Hinako-san doing?
[Fuyumi]: She's holding on really tight...
Fuyumi put her phone back into her purse as the main dishes arrived.
"So where are we headed to after?" Lucie asked eagerly waiting for the response.
"Oh, that's a surprise." Hinako chuckled playfully.
"It's a special theme store." Fuyumi hinted.
"Really? Can you give us another clue?" Wei asked.
"The theme is a still popular franchise." Hinako response with a teasing smile.
"So it's from a series that started long time ago?" Lucie further inquired.
"Longer than I want to admit." Hinako laughed with some embarrassment.
Fuyumi sighed. "I don't know how you keep with all of that."
Hinako turned and wrapped her arms around Fuyumi's neck. "I guess it makes excited to get to tell you what happens when you have we our inside nights."
"You mostly talk about how cute a lot of them are while you wear costumes." Fuyumi added.
Hinako laid her head on Fuyumi's shoulder. "But then I stop so we can watch the movie of the night."
Fuyumi wanted to comfort her dear friend, but still had to distance herself from the situation. It's already been a long day for her. Tomorrow's going to crush her.
"I didn't expect you both to be this close after graduating. That's kinda rare." Wei complimented.
"It's really nice to see it up close." Lucie smiled.
Hinako blushed. "We've almost been inseparable since we met."
"She's pretty easy going so keeping up with her isn't much of a bother." Fuyumi took a sip of drink.
"Same goes for you." Hinako gave her side hug.
"Where will be going after the store?" Lucie questioned the two in charge.
"Angélique-chan really needs a lot more clothes." Hinako replied.
Kojiro eyes shifted in her direction and glared. 'You made it sound like I barely bought any.'
"Oh, are you going to dress her up a lot like before you came back into our room?" Lucie chuckled.
"I sure am." Hinako smiled brightly, much more than she was inside the Shinomiya family hotel room.
Kojiro remembered the many pictures of his daughter taken by Hinako while he was asleep. 'Why did have to end up like this? I'm really sorry, Hinako.' He bit his lips tightly. 'I wish you didn't end up getting so attached.'
After the lunch, Hinako and Fuyumi took them to the special theme store mentioned earlier.
They had moved the group over to another area within Sunshine City.
The eyes of the three being surprised, widen.
"I've never seen a shop like this!" Lucie squealed.
"I don't know how many of the names I can remember." Wei looked around the merchandise bewildered.
Abel looked around his surroundings energetically, "I don't know which section to go through first."
"Rappelez-vous que vous êtes tous les trois des représentants de mon entreprise." Kojiro rebuked them from behind.
"This is the second time you you've been like that with them." Fuyumi reacted to his remark.
A frowning Hinako, stood by Fuyumi's side crossed her arms on her chest. "Yeah, just let them have their fun. They've worked their hardest five weeks straight. I think they've definitely earned it."
Fuyumi decided to chime in. "And knowing how you get, you must've worked them to the bone as soon they came."
"Actually... I can get what he's trying to say." Lucie interjected.
"Even though we're not working, but he's still our boss." Wei pointed out.
Abel cleared his throat. "If he didn't say what he did, then we would've been scattered all of over the store."
Fuyumi looked at the trio. "So you're really alright with whatever's he says?"
They nodded in agreement.
"How sad," A chibi faced, teary eyed Hinako shook her head. "Shinomiya-senpai is so ruthless that he's even brainwashed you all."
A red mark icon appeared on the side of Kojiro's pink hair. "You can't make a joke like that." He grumbled.
He turned his attention towards his mother. "So what do you think about this place?"
His mother smiled. "I like it. It's a whole lot bigger than the one Fukuoka."
"So do you know anything about the stuff they sell?" He asked.
"Not a lot, but the kids back home talk about it." She replied. "You used to watch that show didn't you?"
Kojiro nodded. "Yeah, but that was a long time ago and then I lost interest."
"They have a lot of nice stuff here. Do you recognize any of these?"
He nodded sideways, "I got no clue."
His mother chuckled softly, which made a light smile form on his face.
Meanwhile, the the five others were walking around the large store.
"They even got take-out cafe here, and you guys can get whatever you'd like." Hinako informed them.
"It's our treat." Fuyumi added.
After thanking them for the pair's generosity, the trio suddenly stopped walking.
"It's them, as plush toys!" Lucie squealed.
The three huddled together looking at the display in complete delight.
One the self were three monster-looking creatures.
"It's a Bublizzare." Wei awed. The first stuffed toy was a green coloured, red-eyed creature.
"That's one a Carapuce." Lucie pointed excitedly. The second one was a turtle-like creature with a light blue body colour.
"A Salaméche." Abel smiled brightly at the orange coloured salamander and a flame lit tail.
Fuyumi turned to Hinako, "do you recognize the names they said."
Hinako nodded. "The games change the names of the monsters so that they translate better in different languages."
Wei awed. "It's a like almost dream come true."
Lucie looked conflicted. "I'm not sure which ones to get..."
Abel pondered carefully as he stared intensively at the self. "This is just like the big decision at the beginning of the game."
"You guys can have the whole evolutionary lines if you want." Fuyumi said behind him.
Hinako nodded in agreement. "You can even get the special forms to."
The three looked at her confused. "Special forms?"
Hinako nodded. "The games came up with a plotline that gives the player's team a super powerful power-up," she began to explain. "The company released a lot of merchandise after that."
"I'm sure they've got some in this store." Hinako wandered off and came back a few moments later. "I found them, they're right next these." The brunette cuddled against with a small stuffed toy that had light brown fur, fox-like ears and large brown eyes and puffed tail.
Wei turned to her co-workers. "Oh, I think that's one called an...Évoli?"
"Why does that sound familiar?" Abel questioned aloud.
"This is the one that can evolve into a bunch of different types right?" Wei's answered followed.
Hinako gave her a thumbs up. "You're right. There's eight of them now."
Lucie groaned. "Hearing you talk about all of this stuff makes me want to go back and watch from the start."
"Oh right, it's still ongoing series." Abel added, "how many episodes are there now?" He asked Hinako.
Hinako took a moment, "well... A new one aired yesterday so... There's one-thousand and five now."
The three former fans stood like stone statues.
"T-that's the official amount?" Lucie voice followed.
Hinako nodded.
Abel looked at her slightly impressived towards her level of commitment towards the franchise. "How do you manage to keep up with all of that?"
Hinako chuckled. "It was one of my favourites growing up." She began to explain, "but then I got into the Elite Ten so instead of watching it on TV, I had to wait for the manga, DVDs and games instead. It's one of the ways that I unplug after all of that studying and working."
"You even played the games while you were super busy with all of your extra school work?" Lucie asked in slight admiration.
Hinako blushed from slight embarrassment. "Actually, Shinomiya-senpai would take my game console or books whenever I slacked off on my paperwork. I fought him off everytime but he always end up hitting me on the head and locking them in the safe." Hinako took a moment to breathe. 'I can't believe how long ago that was.' She once put her head on Fuyumi's shoulder. "But you always gave it back to me when I was finished."
Fuyumi sighed. "He changed the code all the time."
Abel had a questioning look on his face. "A powerful cooking school group had to have a safe in their office? Would there be classified information inside it?"
Fuyumi shook her head, "nothing like that." She poked Hinako's tilted forehead next to her. "That's how bad her habits were. Shinomiya ended up getting it the day after she joined the Elite Ten."
The brunette lifted up her head, "at least I'm a ton nicer then he's ever been!" Hinako jokingly grinned.
"He's really not as bad now." Lucie smiled, while speaking about their boss. "He's actually a great teacher, even when he complains about help."
Abel nodded in agreement. "There's definitely a lot more patience inside him since he finished with that event last year."
Wei decided to speak up. "We don't know any of the details, expect...something big must've happened back then. But whatever transformed him for the better."
Hinako's mind went back to that morning. Her former upperclassman, Gin said he was looking for her and that he needed her help. Later that day, the underground food battle happened. Hinako mind flashforward to the smile and gentleness on Kojiro's face right after she offered to help him in his Paris restaurant. The conversation ended with him teasing her by declaring that he may have a busboy position available for her.
The young woman suddenly turned her back away from the four others and pointed over there. "If you guys want to see more stuff there's a lot more over there."
Before they went to explore rest of the building, Abel, Lucie and Wei picked one of the three plushies they saw first.
Kojiro and Abel were in a sitting area almost surrounded by shopping bags as the women of the group decided to go into a clothing store.
There were some moments of silent awkwardness between the two men.
"Abel..." Kojiro finally broke the quietness.
"Yes, Chef?"
"About earlier- what I said in the store..." He began to mutter under his breath and sighed. "I'm sorry if that ruined the fun for you three."
"There's nothing to apologize for."
Kojiro reluctantly made eye contact. "You three have worked nonstop for the past few weeks," the tiredness in his usually stern vocal tone was catching up to him.
"We had it more manageable then you did." Abel spoke. "Moving into a new apartment while working and making hospital visits is a lot more then what we've done."
Kojiro cleared his throat. "It wasn't much of a waste of time, luckily my landlord didn't give it away yet."
Kojiro's eyes glanced at his former sous chef's face. He could tell that the native Frenchman wanted to say something.
After a moment of silence, Abel inhaled and exhaled, then turned his head to make eye contact with his boss. "Chef Shinomiya, I wish you all the best on your time off."
The sudden words almost took Kojiro aback, as no one from his staff dared to make such a determined stare and vocal tone before. "As the appointed co-head chef during your absence, I wholeheartedly promise that I won't let my performance dwindle the head branch's reputation."
Kojiro patted his hand on Abel's shoulder. "If your performance sullies the groundwork that I'm leaving for the time being." His amber eyes display an intense sharpness, similar to his behaviour of the previous year. "Consider yourself fired, do I make myself clear, Monsieur Blondin? The same goes for the two." He smirked as he extended his free hand. "Bonne chance dans votre travail."
Abel reciprocated and shook it, without breaking eye contact. "Je vous souhaite bonne chance dans votre vie familiale."
Hinako felt instantly soothed by the infant's position. The look of the clenched fists, the bent elbows, hips and knees, while the tiny arms and and legs closed inward against the front of the four pound body. She gently picked up the infant and gently rubbed her nose across the tiny, flat cheek.
The woman cautiously removed every piece of clothing, almost too big for the child to have on. Hinako once again saw the same red scars as earlier.
The infant of mysterious origin, opened her eyes revealing the royal azure irises and lightly, yet weakly flailed her arms and legs.
Although she thought she could've distanced herself longer from the child, Hinako held her closer towards her face. "What's going on with you, Angélique-chan?" She began to very quietly whisper. "What do you have that causing you to end up with this sad story? You're just so little, and you're already giving me so much happiness." As her whispering momentarily paused, the infant lightly snuggled against Hinako's cheek, while both hands barely tapped then grazed both sides of the woman's face and whimpered. Hinako sniffled and continued to speak with a nearly audible tone of voice, "were you actually born to Shinomiya-senpai?"
She loathed the thought of even saying to aloud, despite the abysmal chance of someone else hearing her. "Or were you born to meet him by something having to happen to you?" The infant repeated the same actions from a moment ago.
Hinako's eyes moistened. "I'm sorry, Angélique-chan." She inhaled and exhaled sharply, the burning sensation made her reddened eyes sting. "I'm so sorry," she pulled the child away and finally started to put on an outfit she entered the changing room with.
She turned her head away and tightly shut her eyes for a second, "I'm not your mother." Her hand was searching for the for the rest of the outfit as she refused to open up her eyes. She felt a tear drop escape from her left eyelashes. The next sound she heard was another whimper.
Hinako felt a tiny hand barely wrap around her pinkie finger.
Despite feeling disgusted by the thought of such an action, Hinako pulled her hand away from the weak grasp.
There was another whimper coming from the same person
Hinako saw the tiny face again, and saw that the fallen teardrop had actually landed on the right side of the baby's face.
Hinako clenched her shaking hands into fists. In the heat of the moment, her impluse took over as she cradled the infant in her arms. She lightly kissed the full streak of the tear stained line.
She inhaled and exhaled sharply again. "I shouldn't be doing this to you Angélique-chan." She kissed each finger and palm of the hand which grasped her pinkie finger. "I can't be your mother," she whispered, doing the same to the left hand. Hinako then kissed other opposite side of thin face. "I can't be your mother." The weight of her words made not only her chest feel heavy, but also caused her throat to become more painful with each uttered word. "I. Can't. Be. Your. Mother." There was a tender kiss placed around the infant's face as each emphasized word.
Hinako's remaining strength to slip away each time her puckered lips touched the infant's soft skin.
She took a snapshot of the child in the unbought clothing.
She placed the baby back into the car seat on the floor and used her foot to rock it back and forth.
Hinako violet irises locked with the infant's alert royal azure eyes. "Please don't look at me that way." She softly demanded.
The pair of miniature, scrawny arms moved around as if they were searching for something to hold onto. The bottom of the face revealed a quivering chin.
While trying to keep her breathing steady, The young woman turned her back toward the child. 'I'm not strong enough for this'.
Hinako, unable to resist her internal urge, turned back around, sat on her knees and lunged closer towards the doll-like body.
She stared into the smaller pair eyes.
A second later, she wrapped her hands around the baby's torso and gently lifted the fragile body as she raised her own to stand up still. She lightly pressed both foreheads together. "Angélique-chan, I love you so much." She softly whispered. "But I'm still can't be your mother," she sniffled, trying her best to suppress any new tears. She tilted her head slight, inadvertently touching the left corner of the child's mouth with her lips.
In an unexpected turn, the infant's head moved slightly to the right before the small lips opened wide and began to weakly suckle on the maiden's own pair. It ended after the child's tongue stuck out and licked the centre of the adult's mouth.
Then, Hinako felt the infant's back arch arch. She looked down and noticed how much faster her breathing rate became.
She gently changed holding positions and leaned the tiny body against her shoulder. The woman's slender thumb stroked the back of the baby's downy blonde hair.
The maiden sighed in slight relief, as she realized that she can finally leave the changing room.
As she took a deep cleansing exhale to clear her mind.
There was another unexpected, yet familiar motion within Hinako, as it happened the previous night while holding the mysterious child.
A second unified heartbeat.
It was the middle of the afternoon when the group reached their new destination, Palette Town in Odaiba.
Kojiro crossed his arms in frustration. How much more longer is this line going to be? He looked at the time on his watch and sighed in frustration. Just two more hours until the next dosage. He tapped his foot impatiently.
Hinako didn't even need to sense his internal stress, it was written all over his face. It's usually more busier at night, if only I could've predicted this much foot traffic. I guess we should've just cancelled his part after all. He's probably never been this far from Angélique-chan before.
Meanwhile, Fuyumi was sitting on a bench with a stroller next to her. This is always better then anything dealing with heights.'She relaxed her shoulders while enjoying a small cup of coffee.
As she swallowed each sip she closed her pink eyes, then her mind wandered around the memories of her school academy days. How she would have to make excuses regarding any business trip abroad, despite being a second seat, just to get to have to spiral into an episode of acrophobia. Her most used excuse was to make sure that Shinomiya kept his distance from Hinako as the latter would say almost anything to ruffle the male's feathers.
"I doubt I'll have many memories together with you, Shinomiya-chan," she muttered softly as she held her free hand onto the bar of the stroller.
The echoing sound ball bouncing from a small distance met with the woman's ears. I better move just to be sa-!
Whoosh! A suddenly basketball ball flew from a nearby bush.
Pow. It collided the back of the stroller, giving it a shake and knocked the coffee out if her hand.
Fuyumi heard a frightened whimper and opened the closed hood. This of all things has to be a memory.
She spotted a little black bag in the stroller's lower compartment. Maybe a pacifier will help?
As she found the object in mind, she also saw several labeled plastic syringes. They're written in French.'She took a picture of each one before placing the bag back. She used a translation application on her phone.
Her eyes widened at her discovery. Shinomiya, what's going on here? What did you get yourself into?
Her mind then thought about her other dear friend. Hinako, how are you going to deal with any of this?
Hinako acted her typical nightly routine, only this time she was having a lengthy text conversation.
Fuyumi: I'll pick you up tomorrow around 1 PM
Hinako: Sounds good. I'll ready by then.
A few moments past before the brunette received another message.
Fuyumi: Do you plan on being with Shinomiya while we're there?
Hinako: I guess. There's going to a lot of people there. But I should be able to get him to talk alone.
Fuyumi: Hinako...
Hinako: Yes?
Fuyumi: Are you prepared to be in a long-distance relationship?
Hinako: I'll be alright. I already made peace with it.
Another message was appeared
Fuyumi: And...long-distance parenthood?
Hinako stared blankly at the electronic words.
Fuyumi: Earlier, when I was waiting for you to get off the ferris wheel, I saw medical syringes. The labels were written in French. I looked up translations for them and found out what they do.
Fuyumi: Are those medicines who I think they're for?
Hinako: Medicines from France? Who do you think they belong to?
Fuyumi: You already figured it out didn't you?
Hinako: Yeah...
Hinako: I overheard something for Shinomiya-senpai when I was standing in front of his hotel room last night.
Hinako: I tried going into his room after that but...
Hinako: I just couldn't. So just left without saying anything.
Fuyumi: The medicines are for his kid isn't it?
As the forming tears blurred the vision of her violet eyes, Hinako typed her response.
After pressing the send button, the heartbroken maiden threw her phone next to right lap.
The right side of her body fell a second after and she curled up next charging smartphone.
Alone, in her lamp lit bedroom, she fell asleep with no one to provide physical comfort.
S'il vous plaît, lâchez-moi." -Please let go of me.
"S'il vous plaît calmez-vous. je vous ai" -Please calm down. I've got you.
"tu es si belle en ce moment" -You look so beautiful right now
"yeux merveilleuse" - wonderful eyes
"Rappelez-vous que vous êtes tous les trois des représentants de mon entreprise." -Remember, you three are representatives of my business.
"Bonne chance dans votre travail" - Good luck with your work.
"Je vous souhaite bonne chance dans votre vie familiale." - I wish you all the best with your home life.