Here's another chapter – and a big thank you to those who have commented so far with the kinds words. So a special shout out to kaede11, LimeGrass, Sharebearsx, jmai and miniwoo!

With this as my first attempt, it means a lot. And yes, I love reading Saitou/Kaoru pairings and always so sad when a good story is left without an ending. That said, I will do my best to see this through to its conclusion. I hope you will stay with me till then.

And yes, the inspiration for the setting and the world of food does come from the excellent dining I've experienced in NYC and that of Bourdain's book, Kitchen Confidential. Saitou is my Tony Bourdain, and wait till you see who will be my Eric Ripert. Thanks again!

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Chapter 5

Kaoru placed her fork and knife to the side of her plate at the four o'clock position to indicate that she was finished. She looked down in misery to see she'd managed to eat two bites from each entree before calling it quits. Her stomach was at capacity, and had she worn sweatpants she might have had a chance, but her designer slacks didn't offer much give at all. She realized there was no point in taking anything in a doggy bag since her refrigerator had yet to be installed. I hope he doesn't think I didn't like the food... um, maybe I should get a box to-go just so he won't know-

While in mid-thought, the busboy came by and had already grabbed the plates and started stacking them together on his arm. It was too late to ask to take it with her, so she slumped her shoulders in defeat and sat back in her chair. Trying to ignore the fullness in her stomach, and the feeling of unease at being "caught," Kaoru looked around to see how the crowd and staff were faring as the dinner crowd was approaching the later hours.

As the busboy cleared the kitchen doors and set the dishes down, Yahiko promptly went to retrieve the plates. His brown eyes widened in surprise and he caught his breath. He had never seen plates being cleared that still had so much food leftover; and this was food Chef Saitou himself had prepared! Yahiko froze - unsure if he should hide the evidence or rat out the new girl. He decided he didn't want to see Saitou in a bad mood and started for the waste bin when he looked up to see the tall man blocking his way.

Yahiko looked up feeling guilty even though he wasn't the one insulting the man. The Wolf's eyes narrowed while looking at the plates and the amber color seemed to glow even as less light entered his eyes. Only two words escaped from Saitou's hard-pressed lips, "I see." With that, he waved off the boy. Yahiko waited until the chef moved so he could dump the contents after all. But before he could scrape the last plate, his eyes widened in disbelief as he watched Saitou's back exit the kitchen into the main dining room. His chef hadn't stepped foot in the dining area during a busy night since he had started gaining some celebrity for the articles he had written about life as a working chef. He hated being surrounded by brown-nosers and preferred being with his team in the kitchen.

The rest of the kitchen crew became quiet as they, too, realized Saitou had stepped out, and not towards the alley for a smoke. Okita was the only soul brave enough to step towards the service window to peek, while Yahiko was the only one dumb enough to bear Saitou's wrath if he were to get caught being nosy and ignoring his station.

Saitou strode through the crowded dining room, weaving gracefully between his wait staff. He ignored all stares from the servers and patrons trying to catch his eye, whether they were attractive women or rich businessmen wanting to feel important by saying they "know" the chef. Saitou was on a mission, and he wanted to confront this woman to see what was wrong with his food. He walked towards table 30 and saw the girl had her head down which made her hair fall forward, covering his face from his view. He stood immediately in front and waited.

Kaoru didn't hear him approach, but she had the distinct feeling that eyes were boring into the back of her head and she snapped her head up in annoyance. Her blue eyes were blazing but immediately backed down when she met the glowing amber set before her. She put on a slight smile, one that was genuine in thought but was insincere only from the pain in her stomach.

"Did you enjoy dinner?" he asked in a flat voice.

She wasn't sure if he was angry or asking a simple question so she wanted to respond as honestly as she could. "It was all very delicious."

Saitou cocked an eyebrow as he looked down on the girl before continuing, "Oh really? Patrons usually express the enjoyment of a meal by finishing what's on the plate."

Kaoru's embarrassment at her own lack of foresight and indulgence too early into her dinner made her cringe for a second but her indignation at being called a liar in not so many words made her temper flare. "I have no reason to lie to you. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and had planned to thank Okita-kun and the staff for a wonderful meal." Her temper deflated a bit before she spoke the next words, "I knew what I wanted to eat, but I didn't pace myself. I made a rookie mistake and ate too much bread."

The chef took in her words and stood silent for a moment. He turned a half-step to return to the kitchen with his departing words, "Don't bother thanking my men. It was my pleasure in cooking for you tonight. I'm sorry it didn't meet up to your expectations. I sincerely hope you won't start your first day at work tomorrow with any more rookie mistakes." Saitou disappeared from Kaoru's sight through the people that had gathered in the hopes to speak with him, but he merely gave a slight nod and walked back into the kitchen.

Kaoru was a mix of emotions between complete anger, surprise he had cooked just for her, a feeling of guilt for being misunderstood by offending him, and disappointment in herself for wasting good food and leaving no room for dessert which defeated her purpose of coming in for dinner in the first place.

Instead, she didn't even bother asking for the check. Having memorized the prices, Kaoru calculated her bill with tax included and left a hefty tip on top of that. She ducked out without saying good-bye so she could nurse her aching belly and fortify her feelings at home. She was feeling uneasy, both physically and mentally about starting her job under the Wolf of Mibu, after having had the slightest taste of being nipped by his fangs. Kaoru decided she'll need as much rest as she could get tonight as she felt tomorrow would not be easy.

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Sorry this is short. It should have continued as part of Ch. 4, but I wanted to post something before calling it quits for the weekend.
I hope to have the next chapter up in the next day or two at the most.
Again, thanks so much for the encouragement and feedback. Means a lot.