Chapter 35: A Crash Course In Cooking & A Huge Serving Of Competition (Part 4)
"Damn it all! Are you serious?!" I exclaim loudly.
"Everything okay, Sweetheart?!" Polt, Lilith, and Draco immediately ask, shouting from the kitchen while cooking.
"Yeah! Nothing major!" I answer.
"Just checking!" They say. Nothing major for them to worry about at least. This sucks so much! Rus and Rohe are only seeking female contestants which means no entry for me! Well… I could still enter… but I'd have to really hide any sign of being a guy. Am I really gonna break the rules and crossdress on purpose just to have a shot at maybe meeting those two? …I'm sorry but I'm also not sorry.
When I get some free time on my hands, I'm gonna buy some new clothes from their store and doll myself up. No one's prepared for what divine femininity I got in store! Can't let the girls find out about it though. They would tear me apart like a pack of wolves and as much as I would oblige for it, I can't have whatever outfit I pick out get ripped up at their horny discretion before I get the selfie let alone before the contest is over.
Sounds of knocking come from the front door. Something in my soul tells me it's Kuroko trying to get food. Heading over to the front door, I answer it.
"Good afternoon, Ryuta!" Kuroko greets with a big smile.
"Good afternoon to you too. What's the deal this time, Smith?" I ask.
"Why must there always be a deal when I show up at your door?" She questions.
"That's usually how things work so not like it's unreasonable of me to assume such," I answer, my left hand staying firm on the side of the door.
"I just wanna hang out here is all. Is that too much to ask for?" She inches closer and closer, noticing my preparation to shut the door.
"Where are the others?" I question.
"Oh you know… busy doing stuff," she responds. They're hiding on each side of the door again. I just know it.
"Smith, are you going to keep this lie going or just go ahead and admit this is about pit stopping to get food?" I inquire. She sighs deeply and takes off her shades.
"Fine… I'll be honest now. This really isn't about food like you thought. It's time we had that serious talk about you-know-what," she says, her face and voice matching the seriousness she talks of.
"Oh really?" I smirk, not taking her words seriously.
"Yes really. Let me in so we can have this… urgent conversat—," her stomach growls, interrupting her. "… P-Please ignore that," she stutters, blushing really hard. I simply shake my head. Time to see if I can lure the MON squad out.
"Hey!" I say.
"Hey?" She raises an eyebrow, confused.
"Hey!" I repeat. The MON squad immediately leaps out from hiding.
"Hey Smith!" They shout loudly. They actually fell for that?!
"W-Wait! Shit!" Zombina says, realizing they took the bait.
"Gotta admit that he got us good," Doppel says.
"Albeit a little cheap but I much prefer the direct approach anyway," Tionishia says.
"Please forgive us for employing such deceiving tactics," Manako apologizes. Looking back over at Smith, her reddened face is shifting around with a raw blend of anger and embarrassment.
"W-Which… which one of you is responsible for letting Ryuta hear that song?! I wanted to be the one to show it to him!" Smith shouts, turning to them. They all guiltily turn their heads to avoid looking her in the eyes.
"Sounds like you got a scolding to do so I'll see you guys later," I say, starting to shut the door. Smith suddenly whips her body back around and jams the top half of herself in the partial space of the doorway.
"C'mon, Sweetheart! We're starving! Why are you turning us away today?!" Smith yells frantically with her hands on the side of the door, desperately resisting against letting me close it.
"Because I'm not even cooking and we're busy today! Go bother Kimihito for food!" I shout. I knew she had a few screws loose but this is ridiculous.
"But that's like a fifteen minute drive from here! If you don't feed us, then… then we won't pick it up later," she warns. I know she wouldn't dare call it off but I'll play along.
"Fine," I stop trying to shut the door.
"About time. I knew you would come aroun—," I cut her off short by grabbing her chin and kissing her lips with zero hesitation.
"Your little theme song is really badass by the way, Kuroro," I whisper that compliment to her with words smooth like velvet. In an instant, blood jets out of her nostrils, physically knocking her down and out of the doorway. Okay, that worked a little too well!
"Smith?!" The MON squad exclaims, surprised.
"I…I'm okay… Can't believe that just happened. He actually did it," Smith giggles to herself like a schoolgirl, still lying on the ground. She must be riding high on cloud nine from that.
"So I guess this mission is a bust this time, huh?" Zombina asks.
"Seems so," Manako affirms.
"Welp, let's go bug Kimihito then," Doppel says.
"Time to go, Smith," Tionishia picks Smith up and throws her over her shoulder like a towel.
"Byyyye Sweetheart," Smith waves to me, still all giggly.
"Bye you guys. Sorry I couldn't be of service today," I wave back.
"Don't sweat it. Smith was just being lazy and stubborn," Zombina says with a big grin.
"Not like that's anything new honestly," Doppel says.
"Please continue as you were," Manako bows before following after her squadmates.
"Hey, Yuyu," Tionishia turns herself around to look at me. "I have an important question for you."
"Shoot," I say.
"You plan on going to Sumidagawa, right? Y'know, the Fireworks Festival?" She questions.
"That's indeed the plan," I answer.
"Good. We'll see you there then! Take care!" She waves, smiling so warmly that I can sense the hug she's giving me in her head.
"Right back at ya! Make sure Smith stays out of trouble!"
"Don't worry. We will!" she giggles, catching up to the others. Closing and locking the front door, I breathe a sigh of relief. I successfully prevented them from hijacking this competition. I pray that they don't hijack much of our plans for the festival. Wanting to see the girls' progress, I pop my head through the open window that's just above the kitchen sink and gives a clear view of the living room.
"Hey, you three. How's it going?" I question.
"Smoothly," they respond simultaneously, not bothering to even look my way as they all intensely cook. Polt is stir-frying beef, Lilith is handling clumps of white rice with her hands, and Draco is carefully mincing up what seems to be the leftover octopus tentacle from one of my personal cooking endeavors for homemade takoyaki. I'm curious what will be produced out of their hard work.
"That's good to hear," I say.
"Was it my imagination or was Smith here for a moment? I couldn't really pull myself away from the kitchen to check my suspicions less I fall behind these two," Polt asks.
"So I wasn't the only one that thought I was hearing things?" Draco questions.
"Same here," Lilith says.
"She was here including MON as well. They were just trying to get a meal as usual so I turned them away this time just to make sure our little cooking competition doesn't spin into complete chaos," I explain.
"Typical," they say. I really wanna mess with them to throw them off their game again but I'll withhold.
"Well, I'll let you three continue your culinary crafting. Whatever each of you are making, it smells really damn good," I compliment.
"Thank you, Sweetheart!" They respond.
"Just give us a little more time and we'll have your scrumptious lunch ready!" Polt adds, looking over her right shoulder at me.
"That's fine by me. I'm in no rush," I say.
"Great because we can assure you that the wait will be more than worth it!" Draco claims.
"I'll hold you to that," I say before going to sit back down in the living room. Won't be much longer now. I'm anticipating amazing things.