Akira rolled up the sleeves of his blazer as he stood at the centre of the cooking crew, the surprisingly all-girl Home Economics clubs looking at him expectantly while Doctor Maruki stood beside him. He resisted the extreme urge to just pinch his brow and let out a heavy sigh as the myriad of first, second, and third-year females looked at him for instructions even though there was a perfectly qualified teacher standing patiently beside him.
Then again, Akira did suppose that Makoto gave him full control over the cooking crew.
What a pain.
Letting out another internal sigh, Akira looked up and got to work. "Alright," Akira said as he clapped his hands together loudly, making extra sure he'd gotten everyone's attention before he continued.
"We have around two and a half hours to cook for exactly three hundred and seventy-eight tired, hungry and possibly grumpy students," Akira announced, some of the girls giggling for some reason or the other. "I'll be splitting a large majority of you to take care of the white rice since we'll be cooking a lot of it, a small minority of you to take care of the pickled radish and steamed vegetables, while myself and Doctor Maruki takes care of the curry."
There were several disappointed aww's and pouts from the female side of the cooking crew at his announcement. One girl, however, raised a hand hesitantly.
"Uh… yes?" Akira asked, pointing at the shy first-year girl who quickly flushed under the attention she was receiving.
"U-Um… I… I just thought that m-maybe leaving the curry to you and Doctor Maruki might be a bit much?" she stammered as the cooking crew looked at her. "D-Don't you have to bread and fry the chicken as well?" she asked hesitantly.
Akira blinked.
"I… completely forgot about that," Akira admitted. Actually, cooking thirty pounds worth of karaage would take up a large amount of time, and they did have to be done first before the raw chicken began to spoil as the day went on.
"You raise a good point," Maruki complimented as he interjected, turning towards Akira. "Maybe we can have two volunteers assist us with cooking the karaage? It would certainly ease the workload," he offered with a kind smile.
Akira thought about it for a moment before ultimately accepting. It wasn't like taking two away from cooking the rice would slow them down since there were a limited number of pots for them to cook with. "Okay… would anyone like to volunteer to help us?" Akira relented as he asked around curiously.
Each member of the home economics club rose a hand causing Akira to actually be forced to choose two of them.
"Uh… you and you," Akira pointed at the first-year who'd first asked the question and put forth the idea before just throwing his hand out in a random direction in the vicinity of the gaggle of girls, his finger pointing at one of the girls at random before landing on a second-year that seemed to be fawning over Maruki as she stepped forward.
Not something he needed to think about. Nope… nope…
Dammit, he thought about it.
"Alright," Akira shook his head free of those weird thoughts. "Okay, please split up into pairs, four pairs taking care of the rice, while two pairs take care of the pickled radish and steamed vegetables," Akira ordered the remaining members of the Home Economics club, the club members slow to form pairs but quick to get to work.
"Kurusu-san, h-how would you like us to be split up?" the first year asked hesitantly as she and Maruki's fawning fangirl moved over to them.
Akira frowned minutely, largely unused to directing groups like these outside ft the Phantom Thieves. He supposed he'd need to get used to situations like this with his new position though. "I'm not sure to be honest-"
"If I may, perhaps it would be best if Kurusu-kun and I work together?" Maruki interjected politely, three gazes looking at him questioningly to which his response was a kindly smile. "Kurusu-kun is still recovering from his injuries after all. You're still not meant to be overexerting yourself, correct?" he looked at Akira who gave a slow nod.
"If you're not averse to it, I wouldn't mind assisting you," the brown-haired counsellor offered with his trademark smile.
"If that's okay with the two of you?" Akira looked over at the two girls from the home economics club with a raised brow. The fawning second-year seemed like she wished to say something but was prevented by the shy first-year slapping a hand over her mouth and nodding vigorously.
"O-Of course!" the first-year agreed, the second-year giving out muffled noises of discontentment.
Akira noticed Maruki let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. Keeping that note away into the depths of his mind for the time being, Akira began to give the girls their instructions.
"If you two could begin to prepare the karaage that would be greatly appreciated," Akira said as he pulled out a hand-written piece of paper outlining how to prepare and cook the karaage before handing it over to the first-year who took it gratefully. With her hand free of the second-year's mouth, the fawning second-year now had a sullen expression on her face.
Akira began to riffle through the absurd number of cool bags that was scattered around them and began to withdraw the necessary ingredients before placing them onto a tray alongside some oil and some of the home economic club's woks. "Here, this should be everything," he said as the metal tray bent slightly from the sheer weight of the chicken that needed to be cooked. Noticing the issue, he quickly placed it next to their cooking station rather than handing it over to them.
"Thank you, senpai," the first-year nodded gratefully before bowing, the second year standing behind her still sullen before the first-year grabbed the second year and began to drag her over to their own cooking station to begin preparing and frying the chicken.
Akira couldn't help but feel disconcerted by how strange it was to hear someone other than Sumire call him 'senpai'. It was rather strange to actually be respected by other students rather than having an openly disdainful expression sent his way before they scurried away in fear.
"Are you okay Kurusu-kun?" Maruki asked in concern as he noticed the student council vice-president simply standing there lost in thought. If Akira was startled by the hand landing on his shoulder, he didn't say anything.
Instead, he just shook his head to wave away the counsellor's worries. "I'm fine, just lost in thought. We should begin and prepare the curry roux," Akira said succinctly, Maruki nodding in acceptance as the two began to move around like well-oiled machines. With only the slightest amount of information, Maruki was already picking out the different pieces of equipment that would be needed.
While Maruki began to prep and heat the various pots and pans that would be needed, Akira began to grab the ingredients, the most notable being red wine, sliced chicken thighs, star anise, a banana, and chunou sauce alongside several different types of condiments and heavy vegetables.
To begin, Akira retrieved a large bowl and filled it with almost four litres of water before adding salt and baking soda, mixing it and setting it off to the side.
It was around this time that Maruki had finished preparing the equipment and noticed Akira already beginning to make the curry as the teen poured some vegetable oil into the largest pot available along with very thinly sliced strips of chicken breast before lightly frying them.
"Oh? You're adding chicken and vegetables into the curry roux?" Maruki asked with interest as he noticed the small medley of carrots and potatoes off to the side. The look of interest became a look of concern as he took notice of the bottle of certainly expensive red wine that he was absolutely sure hadn't been supplied by the academy.
Akira nodded in concentration, not deigning to answer but rather a hand grabbing grated ginger and garlic to sauté the chicken. A majority of the ingredients already having been sliced, diced, and grated by the home economics club with the exception of the potatoes since they tended to oxidise if left unused.
Once the bottom of the pan had been sautéed and adding a proportional amount of onions, Akira grabbed the bowl of water before pouring it into the pot before closing the lid and allowing it to boil. Now the waiting game began.
"Did you bring this Kurusu-kun?" Maruki asked in wonderment, the adult in him popping the resealable cork off it before taking a whiff of the wine. He almost recoiled from the full-body scent emanating from it.
"I did," Akira confirmed as he plucked the bottle from the now sheepish counsellor who'd realised he'd essentially opened it without permission. "Wine adds acidity, richness, and depth to the curry while also tenderising the meat," Akira instantly recalled only to wince lightly at how easily it was for him to say it.
COLD
Kohryu warbled in his mind, but Akira ignored the centre of Si Xiang.
"The wine will help in tenderising the chicken later enough that it'll all but dissolve into the roux," Akira continued on as he watched steam rattle the lid slightly from the building pressure, a hand reaching out slightly to adjust it and allow the pressure to escape before it exploded.
"I hadn't expected you to be so knowledgeable about cooking," Maruki said appraisingly as he looked over the array of ingredients he hadn't realised would be necessary to create a simple curry roux. "If I might ask, why exactly did you choose to prepare curry?" the counsellor asked the black-haired teen, an expression of curiosity on his face.
"Wouldn't it have been simpler to make something such as miso soup? Perhaps with vegetables and pork?" Maruki offered.
Akira just stared at the pot, taking the time for quiet introspection. He knew of course… it was a purely selfish reason.
"Just a moment of weakness, I suppose," Akira eventually said before pulling the lid off the pot, the bottom now a caramelised sauce with small strips of chicken spread out in between.
Maruki didn't become a counsellor just so he could miss the body cues his patients showed when they were having problems. He noticed almost immediately after he'd asked his question how Akira's chest hitched slightly along with the forlorn gaze he sent the pot before answering.
It obviously meant something.
"I don't suppose you'd mind if I watch you cook, I've never actually made curry before," Maruki said with an almost curious interest but also an underlying motive. It was generally a safe bet to ease patients by talking or partaking in something they enjoyed or were passionate about.
Akira paused for a second in his stirring of the caramelised mixture covering at least a quarter of the pot. "Would you mind passing the grated carrots?" he eventually asked, Maruki accepting as the teen's shoulders seemed to ease the frizzy-haired second-year accepted the carrots, Maruki looking over his shoulder into the large pot with interest.
"Do you cook yourself Doc?" Akira asked as he added some curry powder, not the curry blocks with additives but natural curry powder.
"I do, I live by myself after all and it does get sickening eating takeaway all the time, not to mention expensive," Maruki nodded, a hum of agreement leaving Akira's mouth as he grabbed a potato masher before adding vegetable stock and the sole green banana into the mixture before mashing it into a puree.
"…Banana?" Maruki couldn't help but utter confusion, unaware that said fruit could be added into curry.
"When the red wine is added, it'll cause the roux to become too acidic and rich," Akira explained as he continued to mash the roux, forearms tensing and flexing with each upwards and downward motion. "The alkalinity of the banana will balance it out so it doesn't upset the stomach," he said, Maruki nodding along understandingly.
"You seem to know your way around with cooking, Kurusu-kun," Maruki noted as another hitch stopped Akira for a millisecond, not too noticeable but to the counsellor, it was telling.
"I had a good mentor," Akira uttered as he stirred the thick gloopy mixture. He directed Maruki to hand him a variety of ingredients: sliced potatoes, soy sauce, chunou sauce, tomato paste, bay leaf, star anise, and cocoa powder, all of which was added into the pot.
Maruki was taken aback by the rich scent that was now emanating from the pot, almost slightly abashed at the smirk Akira sent him as his stomach rumbled.
"I'm also the one that cooks at home so it's only natural that I'd know may around a kitchen and cooking," the teen spoke as the ingredients slowly began to mix into the curry roux.
The smell was quickly beginning to attract the attention of the home economics students who'd, at this point, mostly finished their own tasks with the exception of cooking up copious amounts of white rice. It wasn't only the home economics students whose interest had been piqued but also other students who've been assigned areas nearby.
Maruki's stomach rumbled hungrily even though he'd eaten just about an hour prior, and knowing full well that it'd be a long day he'd had a hefty breakfast. He took a look at his watch.
10:11 AM
They still had another hour and nineteen minutes before they'd be allowed to serve, and with that state his stomach was growling just from the scent of the unfinished curry, he knew that this was going to be a long wait.
Akira let a small smile grace his lips as he noticed the various students and teachers around them stare longingly at the pot, much less the counsellor standing beside him. Grabbing the red wine, he poured it into the pot until only a sixth of the bottle remained before he lowered the heat, giving the curry one last stir before allowing it to simmer.
The red wine would seep into every nook and cranny of the curry, softening the meat and potatoes until they dissolved leaving a delicious roux remaining. The alcohol would be burnt out while the depth of flavour and full-bodied richness would remain, the acidity of the wine balanced out by the potatoes and banana.
And now, it was time to wait once more. Akira grabbed two folding chairs off to the side before placing them down for both himself and Maruki, tucking the red wine into his bag as he did so.
It wasn't like he could just drink it out in public.
"You said you're the one that cooks at home, Kurusu-kun?" Maruki asked as he sat down, figuring he'd might've as well taken the time to get to know the student council vice-president outside of Akira just being a patient. "What about your parents? Do they not cook?" Maruki asked but immediately regretted as a flash of hurt shot across Akira's face for just a moment.
Maruki remembered what the teen had said in the nurse's office on the first day of his tenure at Shujin.
"I don't want to say how, but… three years ago everyone I knew, everyone I cared about, everyone I loved… died," Akira exhaled slowly, the weight of an entire dead world pushing him down. "I watched as they died… one by one. They disappeared from my life in a matter of moments until I was left with nothing… until I was left alone…"
Everyone… that must mean his parents as well.
"I'm an orphan actually…" Akira said, "A friend of mine lives with me though. He can't cook to save his life, so I'm the one that cooks for the two of us."
Maruki stayed silent, stewing in his thoughts. He recalled the Akira had admitted to there being another person in his life that he cared for aside from Yoshizawa, a second anchor. Taking a deep breath, Maruki decided to bite the bullet and ask.
"Your friend… is this the one you mentioned before?" Maruki asked tentatively, internally feeling out of his depth as he conducted an informal counselling session for the first time, much less in such a public setting.
Akira nodded, and thankfully Maruki could easily tell that he was more than at ease now. "Mhmm… Goro's been living with me for I think coming to three years now?" Akira said in thought. "He tried cooking once but ended up causing an oil fire… he almost burned the house down by trying to put it out with water," Akira chuckled reminiscently.
Maruki winced, more than familiar with pouring water on an oil fire. It was a miracle his landlord hadn't evicted him for destroying his kitchen. A small creasing of Maruki's brow belied his confusion, however, as he tried to think of anyone he'd might have even heard of with the last name of Goro.
None were coming to mind but he supposed that didn't really matter at the moment.
"You sound like you care about him a lot," Maruki mused glad that even with his more than personal questioning the frizzy-haired teen sitting beside him was actually more at ease compared to earlier when he was initially instructing the cooking crew.
Akira nodded with a small smile. "I do, he's like a brother to me," he said with a fond smile, "He can be overprotective at times in the strangest of ways… and sometimes an ass but yeah, I care about him."
So, this Goro was Akira's second anchor… interesting. A gentle grin wormed its way onto Maruki's face. Even though he knew he was talking to only a single facet of Akira, at least he now knew that the teen had people that he cared for and were supporting him.
However, Akira wasn't about to allow himself to be the only one questioned. "Don't think I didn't notice how you were trying to get away from the second-year," Akira smirked casting a faux judging look at Maruki, referring to the second-year who'd been fawning over him.
Maruki gave a wince along with a slightly sheepish laugh at that little reminder. It seemed he hadn't been as subtle as he thought, or Akira was more perceptive than he thought.
"It's… certainly disconcerting to know that some of the female students have been pining after me," Maruki admitted, "When I saw the opportunity to work with you as quite plainly the only male on the cooking crew, I decided to go for it."
"And here I thought you decided to pair-up with me purely out of concern," Akira gave the counsellor a dull look but they could both tell he was being humorous. Both Akira and Maruki burst out into muted chuckles.
The two continued to chat about inane things, passing the time as Akira would sometimes get up and stir the roux.
By the time the curry roux was finished, the chicken karaage, white rice, pickled radish along with sides of steamed vegetables were ready to serve. Just in time as Akira could hear Makoto's voice resounding throughout the park from her megaphone.
The cleanup is officially complete. Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Would the leader of each group please come and get the curry for their teams?
Akira groaned slightly, he hadn't actually thought about how tedious it was going to be to actually serve out three-hundred and seventy-eight servings of curry. Maruki laughed beside him, as he picked up another ladle before moving to Akira's side.
"Here, I'll help out," he said as they both stood behind the large pot full of curry sauce, platters of fried karaage beside them and large mounds of white rice ready to be served by the home economics club in one line with the rice at the start and the curry at the end. "You did do most of the cooking so it's only fair that I help with serving, right?"
Akira nodded thankfully while Maruki just gave his usual trademark kind smile.
Councillor Arcana – Rank 2!
"Hey, that girl – yeah, her," her group leader whispered in a hushed manner to the rest of her group while she continued picking up rubbish. Is she… THAT transfer student?"
"Yeah…"
"You mean the one in all the crazy rumours?"
"Keep it down! What if she hears us?" the third-year group leader tried to whisper so she wouldn't hear, not that it matters since they were only five paces behind her and well within hearing distance.
Rem felt her brow twitch as they just continued to mutter to themselves. It was well within two crappy hours that Rem felt relief in the form of a loud announcement from the Student Council President.
The cleanup is officially complete. Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Would the leader of each group please come and get the curry for their teams?
Rem had to admit that she was feeling more than hungry at the moment, and the tantalising scent of curry wafting throughout Inokashira park wasn't helping the matter. She turned towards her group leader only for him to be staring at her the moment she looked at him.
What irritated Rem about him was the deer-in-the-headlights looks along with the expression of panic that flashed across his face before he quickly turned her back towards her to address the other two membered of the group.
"So, after the curry's doled out, everyone's free to do whatever they want," her group leader said, not even bothering to look at her. "Including getting the hell outta here."
"Oh… okay?"
"Thank you for everything."
The second and first-year of Rem's group thanked their third-year leader before the three quickly ran off, leaving her behind. Rem didn't bother to stop the light glower that appeared to her face as she sat down on the bench next to where she'd left her bag.
"Wow… they just left you, huh?" Morgana noted as he poked his head out of Rem's bag, Rem only letting out a small huff of irritation as she reclined into the park bench. "What a useless leader… he just left you out to hang without even bothering to talk to you," Morgana groused as he stared after the third-year leader's retreating back as it was still in sight.
"Oh…?"
Rem looked up, her glower vanishing and replacing itself with one of bewilderment as her crimson-red irises met ruby-red behind a pair of black spectacles. She felt Morgana shuffle his way back into her bag in the presence of another student.
"Aren't… Aren't you the girl that knows Akira-senpai?" the silky red-haired girl wearing black spectacles asked Rem with the slightest amount of hesitance as she approached. Rem recognised her as the girl that had been waiting for Akira outside the nurse's office and the one that had accompanied him to the hospital following the incident with Shiho.
For the sake of respect, Rem actually bothered this time to recall her name.
"Sumire?" Akira asked as he looked down at the blushing red-head, her blush quickly dying down in front of her friend but not fading all the way. "Were you waiting for me?"
No… Sumire was likely her first name.
She tried to recall a moment before that… she could have sworn she'd heard her last name at least. If she remembered correctly, Doctor Maruki had called her…
"Yoshizawa-san! I wasn't aware you were acquainted with Kurusu-san…"
"You're Akira's friend… Yoshizawa-san, correct?" Rem asked curiously, a slight look of surprise flashing across the girl's face as she nodded.
"Y-Yes, I'm Sumire Yoshizawa," Yoshizawa stuttered before introducing herself. The red-haired girl took a look around noticing that Rem's group wasn't with her, Rem noticing that Yoshizawa's group didn't seem to be anywhere nearby either.
"Rem Amamiya," Rem introduced with a nod as she sat reclined on the bench tiredly.
"Um… If I may… where did the other people in your group go?" Yoshizawa murmured shyly. Rem couldn't help but wondered if she was always this shy and demure.
But, she as least gave the girl a response before she got too lost in thought. "They ditched me," Rem replied succinctly, the light glower reappearing for just a moment before vanishing as she remembered she was still talking to someone.
"Ah… I see…" Yoshizawa murmured discontentedly, her hands clasped in front of her in discomfort, "…I'm in pretty much the same situation."
Rem rose a brow in disbelief at her admittance. "You? My group left me because of my background… why did they leave you?" Rem had to ask.
Yoshizawa gave a small but dim smile. "Most students don't exactly feel comfortable around me because of my… status as an honour student," she admitted.
Rem couldn't help but give a light derisive chuckle at the absurdity of her words. "Guess they don't like anyone too good or too bad," she laughed lightly, her words bringing a small but this time kind smile to Yoshizawa's face.
"You can't be that bad," Yoshizawa declined with the shake of her head, surprising Rem. "If you're friends with Akira-senpai, I can't believe the rumours about you being a bad person."
Rem felt like she was brought back to that one moment almost a month ago.
Rem and Sojiro watched as Akira shrugged. "Well… you've always had a good head on your shoulders. If you haven't kicked her out yet, I figured I'd make my own decisions rather than listening to what others say."
"…Heh," Rem chuckled as she stood up shaking her head before looking at Yoshizawa. "You're just like Akira, you know?" she asked rhetorically as she stood up stretching, a hand grabbing her bag with Morgana inside.
"H-Huh?!" the red-haired girl squeaked out in surprise, a rosy tint to her face at the suddenness of Rem's words.
"Come on, your group ditched you yeah? Why don't we grab some lunch from our mutual friend?" Rem offered, her head inclined in the direction of the delicious smelling curry.
Her answer was the sound of a stomach rumbling.
Well… two stomachs' rumbling, her own and Yoshizawa's. Yoshizawa let out a small happy smile as she hopped slightly so they were side-by-side.
"Thank you…" she whispered as they walked.
"Don't worry about it," Rem lifted her shoulders and let them fall in a dismissive manner.