The Art of Flirting Chapter 6: Momo
Four Regulars left: Tezuka, Oishi, Taka, Kaidoh
A/N: Okay, updates will be whenever I have inspiration. Or I feel like writing. I really want to complete this story, as I DO have an ending in mind (once I get down to two regulars left, I'll be sure to update faster). Anyway, I would like to thank everyone for making this the best story I have ever written. 95 reviews, loads of hits, THANK YOU EVERYONE! I know I'm not the best writer or the super-frequent updater, so for you guys to stick with the story means the world to me!
"Sakuno- 3, Ryoma- 0!" Tomoka's voice greeted me as we walked to lunch together. I had just finished telling her about yesterday's events. Tomoka was extremely happy, and I was too. I was able to study (and therefore pass my Japanese History exam) and flirt at the same time! It was like that American saying 'killing five birds with one stone'…or something along those lines. It's weird, but I am pretty proud of myself. I mean, I never thought I could flirt with one person, but I have already been through three!
"Very funny Tomo-chan." Ryoma- 0? I doubt he has even been affected by what I have been doing. In fact, I doubt he has even noticed I have been ignoring him!
"So it is Momo today?"
"Obviously," I answered.
"Good." She started, "Momo is the closest friend Ryoma-sama has. This means he will be extremely jealous!" I nodded, and she continued to rant on and on about what I should do. In my opinion, everything was starting to sound repetitive. I mean, how many times has Tomoka said 'he will be extremely jealous', and Ryoma ended up showing no emotion?
And then there was that scary thought from yesterday that was still sort of bugging me. Am I starting to have feelings for all the Regulars? I hoped not, because the last thing I wanted was this plan to backfire…
BRRING! After saying goodbye to Tomo-chan, I went to Advanced Cooking. Coincidentally, Momo-senpai was in my class. When I first saw him there, I was surprised. I have never seen Momo-senpai cook. In fact, I have only seen him buy burgers. But, he ended up being a better cook than me, and, not to brag, I am a pretty good chef.
I took my usual seat in the left corner of the room, only a few desks behind Momo-senpai. The class was as boring as usual. We learned cooking terms, names of equipment and what they were used for, and how many dishes you could make out of eggs. Then, the cooking sensei uttered the words, "We are having an egg cooking contest!" I groaned inwardly as he continued, "You will find a partner and the two of you will have to make a dish using eggs. Presentation of the dish and taste will also be scored. You have forty minutes. Ready, go!"
Everyone was running around, trying to find a partner. I sat in my seat, deciding not to waste the energy. I had no friends in this class, except Momo-senpai, but he was my senior. Upperclassmen usually didn't pair up with freshman, even if the freshman was I, the world's next great chef. I giggled; I was really being a braggart today. Everyone was getting partners, and I was alone in my seat. I wondered if I should try and ask someone…
Then Momo-senpai's figure came towards me. "Yo, Sakuno, we are defiantly partners." Dumbfounded that he would pick me, I only nodded my head. He started walking to a cooking station, and I followed. On the station was our instructions, and when summarized, they pretty much said 'be creative'. I looked at Momo-senpai and he looked at me.
"What-t…should we make?" Oh come on Sakuno! Momo-senpai is only a year older, and yet here you are, stuttering! "I have a few ideas." That's better! "What are yours?" Two sentences without stuttering! I really was getting better!
"Hmm…" Momo seemed deep in thought. "I was thinking Chawan Mushi."
"That is perfect!" I exclaimed. I was being sincere. Chawan Mushi was a very popular appetizer and very easy to make. "Okay, from what I remember, we need four eggs…and…" My mind was coming to a blank. Come on Sakuno! How many times have you made this simple custard? I blushed as I remembered how I made this same dish for Ryoma-kun. It was a special addition in his bento. What was his reaction to it again? I racked my brain, but I couldn't come up with an answer.
"Two and a half cups of fish stock, four shitake mushrooms without stems, a chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces, four medium-sized shrimp which should be peeled and de-veined…."
I was caught off guard. How did Momo know a recipe better than me when I've made it on numerous occasions? "Wha…how…?"
A huge grin played on his face. "I read the cook book, silly kouhai." My face flushed red with embarrassment. He ruffled my hair and continued to read through the list of materials. We then ran off to separate sides of the kitchen, grabbing the necessary food items. Momo was carrying the eggs, mushrooms, chicken, and shrimp. I had an easier load of fish stock, cilantro leaves, a little bag of salt, and a small container of soy sauce. We laid our ingredients out on the station.
"First step?" I glanced at the clock. There was forty minutes left in the period. I started dicing chicken into small pieces
"Let's finish prepping the ingredients." I finished my work with the chicken. I started cutting the shrimp. The knife cut through the soft flesh quickly and accurately. I finished in a couple of minutes.
"I think we only had to dice the chicken and shrimp, which I just finished. So?"
"So, grab the chawan." I froze. I totally forgot to get a cup! It was extremely essential to the dish, and I forgot to get one!
"We… don't have one." I said meekly. Momo looked at me with surprise.
"What?"
"I…forgot to grab one, and…and…and…because of me…we won't be able to finish the dish….and I know you are mad…and…."
"Why would I be mad at you?" He bent over so that his face was near mine. In fact, it was so near mine that I let out a tiny squeal of surprise. His violet eyes stared into my chocolate ones. I was frozen to the spot. I had no clue Momo was so intense…
"Be…because…" I looked back at the clock. 30 minutes left. I felt my heart drop. We were only given 10 minute prep time, and we were supposed to start the cooking process around now. "Our prep time is up, and at this rate we'll never finish!"
He kneeled on the floor and his hands went on my shoulders. "Sakuno-chan, you believe in me right?" He whispered this in my ear. I was so shocked at what was happening and probably very red too, that I didn't hear the classroom door open. I only knew someone was there when I saw Momo's concerned expression turn into a fox like grin. "We can do this. Trust me." And then he nibbled my ear. Oh my god! A wave of emotions ranging from panic to embarrassment to confusion to a slight happiness hit me. I turned around to hide my red-as-a-tomato face. And what greeted my vision made me blush even harder.
Ryoma-kun. Ryoma-kun was standing in the doorway, with a packet of official looking papers in his hands, with an expression of mild confusion and betrayal. He quickly pulled down his cap, gave the papers to our sensei, and walked quickly out of the room. I pushed Momo's hands off my shoulders and said, "Let's just go find one."
I was beyond embarrassed. I couldn't believe Ryoma saw Momo nibbling my ear. He probably thinks we are dating now! Our, even worse, that I'm dating all the Regulars. I groaned inwardly. Was this whole plan backfiring?
"Chicken and shrimp pieces, please." His voice brought me back to life. I quickly gave him the chicken and shrimp as he trickled soy sauce on the meat and seafood. He then put tiny amounts of salt on them. While I was contemplating whether or not this plan was a good idea, he found teacup to use in place of our chawan. He put the meat and seafood products into the cups.
"Do the egg part." His voice sounded…embarrassed. He wasn't as confident as he was prior to the incident. As I grabbed and cracked four eggs into a mixing bowl Momo picked up while getting the teacup, I wondered about the sudden change in personality. Momo wasn't…angry at me was he? I walked briskly to the communal sink, where I grabbed a pair of chopsticks that were recently dried. I brought them back to the station and started breaking the eggs up. While gently mixing, I thought about Ryoma. I wondered how he felt when he saw me in that position. I wondered if he felt jealously, or if he was happy for me to find someone new. I mean, he must know I liked him. If he didn't he would have proved himself to be very oblivious. I grabbed the fish stock and poured it into the eggs. I slowly stirred the concoction, adding in salt and more soy sauce.
"16 minutes!" Sensei yelled. I looked at Momo with a look of concern. We hadn't even reached the cooking part yet. Cooking the custard took about fifteen minutes.
"Egg part done." I reported. He grabbed our teacup, and he helped me steady my hands as I poured the egg mixture into the cup. It mixed in with the already resting meat.
"Ready to cook?" Momo had his fox grin back on his face. I felt my heart lighten.
"Yep!" I answered with the same enthusiasm. He ran to the sink, and opened a drawer filled with plastic bags, paper bags, and most importantly to us, aluminum foil. He ripped off a sheet and ran back. He gave the sheet to me, and I covered the top of the teacup. Momo set up the steamer on the oven, and set the flame low. We then put the cup on the steamer and waited. I watched the clock as it slowly ticked, as if it was mocking us. I crossed my fingers and prayed that we would make it in time. Momo's hand touched mine and held mine for a few seconds.
"We will make it." His voice was soft, but firm enough to reassure me that we would make it in time. Fourteen minutes later, we checked on the Chawan Mushi, and it looked ready to be taken off. Momo was about to turn off the flame when I realized we forgot the cilantro leaves.
"Momo wait!" I put my arms around his stomach and pulled him back. He looked back at me, full of surprise and amusement. "We forgot the leaves!" I grabbed the leaves and held them out to him. Suddenly realizing his mistake, he took them and put it in the custard. We now had to wait another minute.
"One minute left!" I was about to panic when I realized this was good for us. Our dish was meant to be served hot. And seeing as it was getting off the steamer the exact second class ended, it was going to be very hot.
"End of class!" Sensei bellowed. Groans, cheers, and last minute directions were heard. Momo took the cup off the steamer, and using the tips of his fingers, placed onto our white serving plate. To decorate our plate a little more, I took some extra cilantro leaves and placed them around the cup. Hopefully we would get a passing grade in plating as we had no time left to do anything more.
I grabbed my schoolbooks from my desk and headed out the door. Momo walked behind me, and leaned forward so he was over my shoulder. "We did pretty well today. You are a very good cook Sakuno. Why don't you make bentos for me now on?" I felt my whole face heat up. He knew I liked Ryoma, and I made bentos to impress him. Momo walked away with a huge grin on his face. My heart was beating a million beats per minute as I walked to lunch. Tomo-chan greeted me with her usually scream, but I ignored her. She continued ranting anyway.
In one class period, I had my breath taken away, had my ear nibbled on, and had blushed more than ever. And it was all Momo's fault! It suddenly hit me I wasn't calling him Momo-senpai anymore. When did I become so casual with him? Was it because of today? Or was I always dying to call him just plain old Momo? Everything was confusing. This whole plan was confusing. And Ryoma's reactions were confusing. I focused on my lunch, for it was the only thing not confusing today.
"Inui?" Momo tried his best to keep his voice from sounding too excited.
"Yes? There's a 99% chance you finished your mission and performed it well." The data analyzer reported.
"It went beyond well. It was perfect." Momo couldn't help but sound conceited."No such thing as perfection."
"You are such a party pooper. It was as close to perfection as you can get then. You should have seen Ryoma's face!"
Inui became interested. "Tell all then." He took out a pen and his green notebook, and wrote down Momo's words. After Momo finished with Sakuno's bright red embarrassed face at the end of class, Inui smiled. "Great. This is going around perfectly. I'll tell the others so they are ready for the next missions." He hung up the phone and said to himself, "99% chance Ryoma is already beyond jealous, but hasn't come to terms with it yet."
Ryoma stalked to lunch. I was in a bad mood. A very, very bad mood. I mean, what was Momo-baka thinking? He knows Sakuno is mine… What is wrong with me? Did I just say Sakuno was mine? Ryoma put yourself together! They are obviously trying to trick you. That's it! It's a prank. That is what it is…right? Suddenly, I wasn't very sure…
A.N: I'm sorry about long wait. Longer chapter! We are near the end everyone! REVIEW!
