Kitchen Confidential

Thanks for the kind words and for those who are keeping track of this story. It means a lot and it does help me to try and crank out the pages as best as I can.

Sorry if this chapter sucks. The general idea has been there, but it wasn't quite flowing the way I'd hoped. However, I pray it's good enough you'll continue on with me.

I haven't gone through to edit and revise any grammatical errors, so feel free to point it out. Otherwise, I will definitely be doing so once this project is done. Thanks again!


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Chapter 7

Kaoru took a deep breath and steadied herself before walking through the front doors of her new workplace. She knew she should enter through the rear service entrance, but since she hadn't been shown which door from the alley is the correct one (and since Saitou had neither bothered to show her around or let anyone do the same), she figured she could bypass work ethics for her first day.

She introduced herself to Kamatari and found the young man to be cordial but lacking the sincere warmth Tsubame exuded. Kaoru bit back the nervousness that continued to work up her spine as this first encounter proved to be less pleasant than she hoped. But as she made her way towards the kitchen, she shook her head to shake it off. What am I, a newbie? It's my first day in a new kitchen, not culinary school.

I know what I'm doing and know what to do. Not everyone has to be friendly - it's a job. With that thought, she felt more confident and brushed past the swinging kitchen door to face the eyes that turned to greet her.

Okita walked over slowly to welcome Kaoru to the kitchen while Yahiko looked unimpressed and went back to shuffling around as requested by everyone else on staff.

"Good afternoon, Chef Kamiya. Welcome aboard." Okita gave her a sweet smile and Kaoru was grateful.

"Please, call me Kaoru. No need for such formalities." She returned the smile and shook hands.

Okita continued, "I'm sorry we didn't have a chance for formal introductions last night. Saturday nights are busy and intense and we can't afford to lose our momentum. As you can see, our kitchen is cramped so keeping up our pace is the best way to be efficient. And we can't afford to lose any of our pace under Saitou-san's watch."

"Yes," she replied, "I got the impression he runs a tight ship." Her smile faltered under her lame attempt and keeping up the boating analogy, but her nervousness would come through strained conversations.

They kept up a light conversation and without being told, Okita started to show her around the kitchen since he knew she had yet to be given a tour of the brasserie. She tried to take in where all the supplies were and to mentally keep track of which appliances were most used by which stations, so she could be sure to work with the proper person when she needed said appliances.

"Um, Okita-kun, what are the specials for tonight? I'd like to figure out what desserts I could make to compliment them."

Before Okita could reply, Saitou bounded down from his office staircase to arrive in front of the two. Kaoru had to raise her head to meet his gaze and she was caught by the narrowed amber eyes. They were even and steady and she couldn't gauge if it held any annoyance with her.

She realized the man held his emotions in check, so she'd never know what he was really thinking. Hmm, this might be a tougher gig than I thought...

Saitou continued to look at her before coolly stating, "There is no need to worry about tonight's specials. You'll just stick with our usual offerings."

Kaoru's temper couldn't be kept in check any longer. She had felt guilty about the dinner mishap the night before, but her indignation with Saitou's behavior to her was reaching her limit. She'd worked too hard through all the "boys' club" mentality while going through culinary academy and working under some of the toughest chefs in the industry. She wasn't about to let one other alpha male intimidate her now that she'd proven herself to be a respected chef of her own in the male dominated filed.

"Look, Chef, I realize this is your kitchen and I expect to give you a level of compliance, but Shishio brought me on as a pastry chef and I intend to make my own creations as I see fit. My goal is to do what I am good at while staying out of your way. That is the extent of my employment here and I intend to do just that - my job." Kaoru's brows furrowed as she huffed while trying to remain professional, but her tomboyish nature leaked through as she faced him with fists on hips while waiting for Saitou's reply.

She was waiting to be yelled at for disrespect or (she secretly hoped) watch the man recoil at her temper as some chefs had before. As expected, some of the toughest chefs were the weakest willed when anyone bothered to challenge their authority. To Kaoru's surprise, Saitou didn't react in either manner.

The kitchen had grown quiet and it was unclear if Saitou didn't acknowledged that all eyes were now on the two or if he didn't care at all. His stoic expressing slowly changed into a wide smirk which caught Kaoru off guard. While his faced showed nothing more, inside his mind Saitou found her temper and upfront manner to be surprising - in a good way. No one usually bothered to speak to him beyond a yes or no since his fierceness was a well known trait in the business.

He replied in a slow but deliberate voice, "Kamiya, I have no intention from keeping you from your profession as you have chosen. However, considering this if your first day in our kitchen, and I am sure you've not had the opportunity to look for fresh produce or ingredients to create any original off the bat, I was merely stating you may want to keep it simple for tonight. Feel free to give us a list of what you'd like our vendors to provide and you can create as you see fit, once you have ingredients to your liking." Saitou kept his self-satisfied smirk on his face as he watched the young woman's resolve melt a tad while a blush crept to her cheeks.

Saitou chose not to acknowledge this small win and instead continued on, "Also, once you've decided on any favorites you may want to amend to the menu, please give Okita or myself your information and I'll have Soujiro redo the menus to include your name and creations."

Kaoru realized she couldn't argue with the man's plan, but she knew he had also rendered it to his own satisfaction, but there was nothing she could do on the spot, so she decided to concede for now. "Thank you. But please, call me Kaoru. I have no desire to keep up formalities." She raised her eyes to look again into the glowing amber pools but found it difficult to maintain the piercing gaze.

"Very well, Kaoru. And you can call me Chef or Saitou. I'll only answer to one of the two." And with that, he turned on his heel and moved on to do his usual routine.

She took a breath and blew out from the side of her mouth which pushed her bangs upwards. Okita saw this and smiled. "Kaoru, let me finish our little tour, and I'll let you get to work as I will need to start focusing as well." She nodded and followed Okita silently trying to keep thoughts to herself so she wouldn't say anything she might regret. Okita may sympathize with her, but she had no doubt the man's loyalty was to Saitou and that it'd be unwavering.

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Kaoru reviewed the items offered on the regular dinner menu. She noticed they actually offered Crepes Suzette en flambe table-side and smiled in amusement. It seemed a bit highbrow for a brasserie, but she could see how it would be a unique and amusing signature for the brasserie. She wanted to inquire about it with someone but she noticed everyone was busy prepping their stations, and she didn't want to take Okita or anyone else from their stations. However, she saw that Yahiko wasn't doing anything in particular. He had kept giving her sidelong glances with a slight frown on his face, and she wasn't sure where the animosity might stem from, but she didn't let it bother her.

Her nature was open and fair to all and she was fiercely loyal and compassionate, though that compassion may be stretched if she tried to include Saitou. But she let that idea slide as she called out to the young boy.

"Hey, could you come over here a sec so I can ask you something about the menu?" Kaoru suppressed her amusement when she saw that his eyes had grown wide open. Almost imperceptibly, Yahiko looked over his shoulder to make sure there was no one behind him so he couldn't mistake her calling out to be for him and not someone else.

Yahiko muttered a quick, "um, sure," as he shuffled over.

She knew he was probably surprised he was being spoken to, let alone being asked for information. Kaoru knew most chefs tried to maintain their "hierarchy" by ignoring those not working any stations, but she wasn't one to judge people by their status or titles. She remembered her first days being young and new and was lucky enough to have a mentor who welcomed her and gave her the confidence to be her own person... well, Himura Kenshin had built up her life on the professional side, but her personal life was more of a problem. However, she pushed that out of her mind as Yahiko sidled up to her.

"What do you want?"

Kaoru let the curtness slide since she could tell he was actually interested in why she'd asked him over.

"I see they offer tableside crepes flambeed. Who usually serves this and do you know how it got started?"

Yahiko put one hand to the back of his neck and scratched lightly as he tried to recall all the details before he began, "Soujiro does all the table-side orders, but he's trying to teach all the head servers to do it themselves so it's never an issue for any night he isn't working." His brows furrowed as he continued, "I'd never bothered to ask why it got done. Ain't it normal?"

Kaoru shook her head. "Well, it's usually reserved for some of the more fine dining places, and many are phasing it out as being passe, but I think it's interesting that it's here."

"Oh," he replied. He looked up at her to see if she would find him to be ignorant, but saw that she held no judgement and was waiting for him to continue. This gave Yahiko a bit of self-confidence and he decided to share what he knew even if it wasn't much. "So, I never bothered to ask, but I once heard Soujiro telling somebody the story behind it. I guess Shishio used to really like doing the flambe himself, and since people kept asking for it, he added it to the menu back when he ran the place. Out of loyalty or whatever, Soujiro decided to keep up the tradition, and now they haven't bothered to stop."

"Well, I think that is a fun tradition. I'm all for keeping it going. Let's make sure we have all the ingredients so we aren't going to be short tonight." Kaoru's eyes sparkled as she eyed Yahiko before turning to the pantry to look for the necessary items.

"Uh, um, did you say we?!" Yahiko wasn't sure he'd heard right.

Without turning around, Kaoru called out, "if you don't want to help, it's no big deal."

Barely letting her finish that sentence, Yahiko quickly responded, "No! I mean, yeah, I want to help. I mean... I can help you, if you need it."

Yahiko couldn't believe his luck. No one had bothered to include him in anything related to making the food - all he was allowed to do was clear the dirty dishes. He'd never minded since he knew he had to earn his way up, but even he admitted to himself it felt like it'd never happen. He wasn't sure why this new person, let a lone a girl was giving him a shot and while he didn't care about desserts, he wasn't going to let this rare opportunity pass him by.

Kaoru chuckled to herself as she entered the pantry while waiting for Yahiko to reach her side. She had a feeling the boy was being left out of anything creative, and she knew even the smallest gesture would bolster his enthusiasm by leaps and bounds. She knew the benefits she received from a mentor who made the effort to make her feel included. She didn't want her thoughts to return to Kenshin, but he was the biggest influence in her life. Even if that relationship soured, she still reaped the benefits of what she'd learned in the kitchen. And for that alone, she wanted to share her good fortune with anyone who was willing to learn.

"Yahiko, where is the flour? I'd like to open a fresh one if I could," she asked while peering through the shelves before her.

"Oh, it's on the top. I just rotated all the goods this morning."

Kaoru gazed up at the top shelf which towered over her petite frame. It was small moments like these she wished she weren't short, but she didn't bother arguing with nature. Without thinking, she actually tried to tiptoe to see how far she'd get. The flour was on the edge of the top and she thought she could reach it enough with her fingertips to push it along to tip forward.

Yahiko cried out, "Oi, busu! You can't reach that! I'll get the step-stool." He walked back into the kitchen to grab it.

Kaoru, being the independent and stubborn girl that she is, continued to tiptoe and reach up and her fingertips brushed the side of the flour package. She looked down at the bottom shelf and was about to step up to gain more height when she felt a presence behind her. As she put her raised foot on the floor, her back pushed into a hard warm barrier. A shadow crossed over blocking the light from above as she looked up to see a long arm grabbing the flour bag that had been eluding her own hand. Without thinking, she arched her head backwards to see who the arm was attached to.

Her blue eyes grew wide as she saw the head bend down to look at her and even in the shadow she could see the amber eyes gazing at her. Kaoru's breath caught in her throat as she realized her awkward and vulnerable position while staring up at the Wolf of Mibu. She snapped her head back and turned around to face him, which was actually his chest.

Saitou had taken a step back once Kaoru turned around, but he realized without thinking he hadn't given her much room so that their bodies were still unusually close. He'd seen Yahiko rush out of the pantry and wondered what the boy was doing in there since his duties for stocking were done in the morning. As Saitou walked in, he saw the woman tiptoeing as she was foolishly trying to knock the flour off the edge. Of course, she couldn't see from her height that a glass jar of olives would have been knocked over before the flour ever got close. Saitou recalled having had the opportunity to give Yahiko a lecture about using his head when rotating the stock, but thought the mishap would befall the young boy, not his newest employee.

Whether or not he wanted to admit it, deep down he was still a gentleman, so he decided to grab the flour, hand it to her without a word, and walk away while getting a hold of Yahiko to see why he was hanging around Kaoru. He had decided not to bother asking her what she planned to make since he was sure she'd stick to the menu as discussed. However, as he approached her unsuspecting back, he was overwhelmed by the scent of her hair. It was a mix of clean soap and the faintest scent of jasmine. He despised heavy perfumes and would never allow anyone on his staff to wear it while working, so he was pleased to notice she didn't bog herself down in the offending exercise of vanity, but he found her "normal" scent to be intoxicating. He hadn't meant to linger as he grabbed the flour, but his mind wasn't adjusting as quickly as he normally would.

Once he looked down and gazed into her sapphire orbs, the momentary spell was broken for him and he was able to resume his composure by the time she turned around to face him. Without a word, and as he planned, he silently handed her the bag of flour and turned around to leave. However, all thoughts of confronting Yahiko was brushed aside as he left to return to the comfort and solitary confinement of his office. All of sudden, he wanted to be alone.

Kaoru figured the dark pantry woudn't reveal the blush that was furiously reddening her cheeks, but she didn't want to risk it and lowered her head anyway as she took the flour from him. "Uh, thank you, for your help." She looked up to see the man was already out the door and hadn't responded. She then mentally kicked herself for feeling embarrassed and blushing about a guy who so cold and emotionless. But then she thought, why was his chest so warm?

As Yahiko returned with the stepladder, he was completely put out that she no longer needed it or his help in retrieving the flour. He called her busu again but she let it slide and continued to include him in her preparations which eased his irritation and she put moment that passed between herself and Saitou to the side and concentrated on making the crepe batter and giving Yahiko a task as her unofficial helper.

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So, of course Kenshin has to have some sort of role in Kaoru's life. That'll get fleshed out later as the story reaches that point.

Again, I wasn't too keen on the flow of this chapter, but I hope it wasn't too unbearable.

Please feel free to comment, ask questions, or critique as you see fit.

Thanks a bunch and I'll try to update in the next few days. Best -z.