bored411: It was time for them to have a conversation about their individual issues and not just the ones they share as an engaged couple! No spoilers for obvious reasons but Kyoya's definitely going to be finding out about Kosuke's issues, and it will be a more complicated matter. "My parents are divorcing and being very dismissive to me about it" is not in the same ballpark as "I think my father and my estranged grandparents seriously hurt my deceased mother but I have no proof". Thanks so much!
Akari Wolf Princess: I have been trying SO MANY writing schedules out and I think maybe I've found one that I can actually stick to that will produce chapters on a somewhat normal basis. Hopefully going forward there will be another chapter every 7-9 days or so. (Of course I've said this before and failed so...grain of salt :I) I feel a little guilty for making this story this much of a slowburn. Like the readers have been traversing a scorching desert of angst and despair and finally...at last...some fluff...Lol but thank you so much! There will be more fluff to come, and (eventually) answers about the grandparents.
When Kosuke was still in high school, and faked a stomachache every day to get out of cleaning the classroom, her laziness made her a hermit. She was friendly, but never went to sports games, never joined a club, and attended a grand total of three non-Okina birthday parties between the age of 15 and 18. To go to places meant to get out of bed.
Ever since she started at Ouran three months ago, though, Kosuke is going to all kinds of events. Not just birthday parties, but art galleries, engagement celebrations, camping trips…Some Shigeo makes her attend, but some she's invited to personally. Is it because she's Kyoya's fiancée, or is she making that good of an impression? Kosuke isn't sure, but either way it's a kind of fun that's wearing her thin.
So she's happy when she's able to socialize in more bite-size ways. She chats with other students, has two or three walking buddies, and sometimes when she's studying in the library someone will sit by her in silent company. She's had invitations to join in after-school trips, but Kosuke can't do spur-of-the-moment hangouts anymore. Even with a nanny and the hospitable staff at the mansion, Kosuke feels like not being home with Hitsuji and Minami means abandoning them in a foreign world.
Two friends that she has made, surprisingly enough, are the Hitachiin twins. They don't share any classes, but they have made it a daily routine to eat lunch together. Kosuke finds that (when they're scheming mischief) they make for good company. They talk about their fashion designs and upcoming plans, and old stories of the Host Club. This is how Kosuke learns that Tamaki and Haruhi's relationship may have been a love story to them, but for the other Hosts was an agonizing tale of months and months and months of watching two idiots not realize that they love each other. Kosuke tells them about her life in Karuizawa—sometimes their fascination with commoners is amusing. Sometimes.
They are also very willing and very happy lab rats.
"Experiment," they cheer one day as she comes to their usual table. They'd be slamming on the table if she hadn't scolded them before over it. "Experiment! Experiment!"
"It's here, it's here." Kosuke unwraps the loaf in her hands and they go starry-eyed. The challah bread still looks as good as it did the night before, still golden brown and crispy. "I'm sorry it's not warm."
"No apologies necessary," they chorus together, and dive in the second it's on the table. They tear the knots apart with their fingers and pop them into their mouths at bullet speed.
"Is it good?"
"Mm-hm!"
"Don't just say it to spare my feelings. Is it good."
"You tell us that every single time you bring something," says Hikaru. He stops another pinch halfway to his mouth to give her a flat look. "And every single time we tell you that it's really good."
"You somehow have a lot of self-esteem and none at all." Kaoru says this as he and his brother-slap fight over a particularly good-looking piece. "It's bread. How bad could you mess it up?"
"It's actually a lot more complicated process than you'd think. First you dissolve the yeast and the sugar in water that must be lukewarm, and then you add the oil and the eggs. The eggs have to be added one-by-one while you whisk, and then you add the salt and the flour, gradually, not all at once. Then you kneadthe dough—"
"Kosuke."
Kosuke stops kneading invisible dough. "Yes?"
"What did we tell you the last ten times you brought experiments?"
She deflates. "'We will happily partake of the food, but please don't turn into a walking, talking recipe book.'"
"That's right." Hikaru pats her on the head, and Kosuke turns away from his crumb-covered fingers. "We know you worked hard and we appreciate it. That's all that matters."
Kaoru adds, "Don't pout."
"I'm not pouting."
"Yes you are," the twins say.
"No'm not," Kosuke mumbles…through lips that are very much pouting. She doesn't want to bore Hikaru and Kaoru with details they care nothing for, but…but…
The twins consume half the challah bread and show no signs of stopping. Hikaru hums around another knot and asks, "I thought you said you don't bake?"
"Only bread. I don't know where my limit is, but has just a small enough amount of sugar in it not to rot in my hands."
"And you're not learning this in class? Or is this a recipe from your m…Your mmmm…"
While he continues his impression of a needle skipping on a record, Kaoru looks to his brother in a frantic plea for help. Hikaru can do nothing but urge him to go on. It reminds Kosuke of Minami trying to recover from almost slipping what she got her for Christmas.
"Your mmmmmemory? Your memory. Did you make this from memory, or did you have a recipe written down?"
"Of course it's from memory." Hikaru scoffs, so obviously backing his brother up. "Did you hear her? It's like she has a book wedged between her ears."
Kosuke pinches off some challah bread for herself and answers, "It's one of my mother's recipes. Apparently she had a long bread phase."
Hikaru and Kaoru squirm for a moment, and Kosuke knows why—discomfort at being caught but relief that she isn't upset. They shake it off and dive back in as Hikaru warns her, "Well, if I were you I'd keep that recipe locked in a safe at the bottom of the ocean."
"Or you could send it to the cooks at our mansion," adds Kaoru, which Hikaru hums agreeably to. "Either of those would be fine."
"It didn't work the first thousand times, and it won't now. Sorry, boys." Now it's the twins' turn to pout. "It's coming with me to the grave."
Kosuke never did tell them that her mother died, but someone did. One day the twins were asking why her mother didn't have a chain of bakeries spanning the globe, and the next they were acting like Kosuke was born via popping into existence. Kyoya, Haruhi, or Tamaki must have told them—none seem more likely than the other. On the one hand, Kosuke is grateful to finally be spared having to plummet the mood with a quiet, "Actually…" On the other hand, this is a behavior that she's too familiar with: acting like acknowledging that she had a mother at all will send her into a breakdown.
She's reached the point where she can talk about her mother and not feel a tidal wave of grief—only a pinch, an ache. It's just that with so many of the people in her life, she'd just be telling stories of a woman they'd never met. Three of the exceptions are strangers shrouded in mystery. As for her siblings, they both go quiet as ghosts whenever it comes up. An expert would tell her that it's healthier to talk about it, but Kosuke tells herself it's not worth making her siblings cry.
Which is not to say that things haven't gotten immensely better for Kosuke. She's finally at a point where most of her days are fine. She's not even afraid of curveballs anymore.
"Oh, Kosuke, there you are!"
Kosuke turns in her seat while Hikaru and Kaoru lean over the rest of the challah bread like wolves over a deer carcass. Thankfully for them, Benjiro's eyes are only on Kosuke as he jogs over to their table. Few times has Kosuke seen him out of his uniform, and his mop of brown curls looks even bigger without his toque.
"Rika said you'd probably be at lunch now," he says, out-of-breath.
Hikaru and Kaoru finally sit upright, and Kosuke asks what they're all thinking: "Is something wrong?"
"No, no. Good news, actually! Have you met the new transfer student yet?"
"Transfer student?" Kosuke thinks back to their last class—fascinating as always, but routine. "I don't remember meeting one yesterday."
"Not in our class; she's a baking student. She just started today, and she's amazing!"
Before Kosuke can answer to that, the twins chorus,
"You realize you're talking to Kosuke, right?"
She bats a hand at them to be quiet. "So what's got you in a rush?"
"She's in the kitchen right now!" Benjiro points to the massive oak doors behind him. "I thought maybe you'd want to come see her in action."
"'See her in action'?" Hikaru's nose crinkles on his face. "What's she doing, mixing cupcake batter?"
Kaoru scoffs, "Or is she icing flowers on top? Either way, it sounds so exciting."
"You two hush!" Kosuke grabs her bag again even though she still hasn't eaten yet. She always loves to see a chef in action, and Benjiro's urgency says she really doesn't want to miss this. "I'm coming."
"Seriously?" Hikaru and Kaoru split the last piece of bread between them. Kaoru nibbles as he speaks. "You're going to skip eating food so you can watch someone make food?"
"I'm just going to go check it out for a minute. I'll come back and eat after."
"Alright, fine," Hikaru sighs, and he and Kaoru both dramatically swing their legs off their chairs and stand up. "If you're interested, then maybe it'll actually be worthwhile."
"You two are going to have to behave," Kosuke tells them sternly, finger pointed and everything. "No rude comments and no playing around."
"Yes, Mother."
"And you can't ask for some of what she's making when she's done."
"But—"
"No 'buts'!" Maybe Kosuke should be ashamed for scolding them like children, but they obey (and pout). She waves at Benjiro, who's almost bouncing on his feet. "Come on; let's go."
Interest turns into excitement the closer they come to the culinary classroom. A crowd of students is mingling inside. Usually if it's food they're waiting for—typical at the end of Kosuke'sclasses, which is as flattering as it is annoying—then they wait outside the classroom. Today they're spectators.
Kosuke hushes the twins one final time, and follows Benjiro in. The only sound anyone makes is hushed whispers that fill the air with a quiet hum. No excitement, just fascination—it sounds more like a chess competition than anything else. No one says anything as Kosuke and the others enter, but they silently make way for her, a few beckoning her to the front.
When she breaks through, Kosuke finds one single student at her station. She's wearing the uniform with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, pristine bare for two tiny pink spots on the apron. From underneath her toque, a smooth ponytail runs down to the small of her back, so black that it shines blue. She's a striking beauty—the crowd admiring her in more ways than one. High cheekbones and a beauty mark on one cheek. Her hazel eyes, smoky underneath her eyeshadow, are laser-focused on her work: spreading meringue across a dome, arranging the peaks in such a precise way.
That alone has jealousy stirring in Kosuke's chest because the one and only time she made meringue, it cost her a bowl and a whisk. More than jealous, though, Kosuke is impressed. She's working tediously but quickly. Someone drops their phone, and though the clack of it rings out in the air, she doesn't falter a bit.
"I'm on the edge of my seat," Hikaru sighs to his brother. His lips snap shut at the icy glare Kosuke shoots him over her shoulder.
With her meringue peaks done, the girl sets the bowl down and grabs a blowtorch next. It's not the kind the kitchen has stocked. Did she bring it from home?
Kosuke leans to Benjiro and whispers, "Baked Alaska, right?"
"Mm-hm. Made the whole thing from scratch. Even the ice cream."
"Ugh. I've already missed everything."
"Just watch, just watch."
"Alright, everyone." The girl's voice rises crisp and clear. "Please stand back."
The ring around her is already fifteen feet wide, but everyone takes a step back regardless. Some are more confused than others—Kaoru mutters Seriously? under his breath. Kosuke is riveted. Especially when the girl levels the blowtorch up and above the Not-Yet-Baked Alaska.
FWOOSH
The heatwave hits everyone all at once. People jump and exclaim and reel back. One of the twins shouts, "Holy crap!" while his brother cries, "WHOA!" Kosuke feels her voice but doesn't know what sound she makes—only aware of the heat on her skin and the blaze in her eyes.
The torrent of flames is gone as soon as it comes. Left behind is a gorgeous Baked Alaska, flambeed to golden-brown perfection.
The girl flourishes her hand over it. "Ta-da!"
There's deafening applause. The twins join in, and so does Kosuke, almost in instinct. Her mouth is gaping wide enough to hit the floor and she doesn't care. It's a level of both skill and showmanship that some masters probably don't possess, but this girl—who can't be any older than she is—does. Knowing that she's looking not at a celebrity chef, but at someone who will be, is somehow even more amazing.
Two thoughts are repeating in Kosuke's head:
Holy moly, this girl is AMAZING
I want to be her friend so bad!
The girl waves at the crowd, going aww and stop, trying so hard to be humble despite the flush of pride in her cheeks. Honestly, she could ask to crowdsurf over them and Kosuke would be the first to hoist her up.
The circle breaks and the first wave of raving fans surges forward. Kosuke stays put, not wanting to swarm the girl but also frozen in place with wonder. She doesn't even notice the twins coming up beside her until Hikaru says, "I didn't know pyrotechnics was part of baking!"
Kaoru points to the Baked Alaska as the girl cuts into it, revealing the layers of soft cake and sweet ice cream to a chorus of oooooh. "Do you know how to do that?"
"Absolutely not," Kosuke breathes. She's never felt so starstruck before. She's a preteen girl meeting the members of her favorite boyband. "I've never seen anyone do that."
"Hey, now." Mistaking her awe for wounded pride, Kaoru winds an arm around her shoulders. "You're still number-one to us."
"Do you think if I asked her how she did that, she'd tell me?" Kosuke brings her hand up to her mouth, worried that she's about to squeal or something just as humiliating. "Or do you think it's a technique she wants to keep secret? It's totally fine if she does, but I would love to know how to do that. Oh, but what can I do it with? Baked Alaska is too sweet. Maybe I could do it with Steak Diane? I don't like to show off when I'm cooking, I don't want to look too pretentious, but that's so impressive and it's so evenly flambeed—"
"Where's the off button on this thing?" Hikaru jabs his finger so hard into her scalp that she squeaks. "You haven't even met her yet!"
"I want to meet her, Hikaru, that's the point!" Watching the girl smile and laugh as she mingles with her new fans, Kosuke thinks about marching up to introduce herself. The thought makes her shrivel. "How should I introduce myself? Should I shake her hand or do you think she doesn't want to do that because she just finished baking? Should I bow? Would it look pathetic if I bowed?"
"We're not going to let you bow to her." Kaoru gives her a nudge. "Let's just go say hello."
They make it one step before there's a crisp Ahem and the crowd parts. Chef Matsuhisa comes forward, seemingly out of the fabric of reality. That's how impressed with this transfer student Kosuke is: she completely failed to notice that an actual celebrity chef was in the room.
"Very impressive," Chef Matsuhisa says, arms crossed and not sounding very impressed at all. "But a good show doesn't excuse that that was a very dangerous stunt that I will kindly ask you not to pull in my kitchen again."
"I'm very sorry, Chef." The girl bows, but when she's upright again she's still smiling. "Guess I wanted to show off a bit."
"I can tell." Chef Matsuhisa looks at the clock on the wall. "My next class begins in two hours. Students, you know my rules—you can stay and practice if you wish, but you willclean and organize your stations before you leave. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Chef," says everyone, including the students who don't even take culinary courses. That's how commanding Chef Matsuhisa's voice is.
What breaks the silence that follows is Kosuke's name, chirped excitedly by Rika, bouncing at the new girl's side. "Kosuke, come here! You guys have to meet each other!"
It being dragged forward by the twins for her feet to gain function again. Kosuke shakes them off and swipes a hand through her hair and straightens her shirt, all in a nanosecond. Oblivious, Rika tugs her forward even more.
"Amaya, this is Kosuke. She's a lot like you! Just started this year and she's already the best of the best!"
Yoshiko pops up behind Rika, beaming from ear to ear. "If you and Kosuke both compete in the championship this year, we'll win for sure!"
Kosuke is so focused on "Amaya" that the word championship completely flies over her head. She feels ten years old again, comparing herself to the older teenage girls who were taller and prettier and better than her at everything. She manages to smile, thankfully, and bows forward about two inches before Kaoru's hand pulls on her shirt. "It's very nice to meet you! I don't think we have any classes together, but hopefully we'll still meet sometime. You're really incredible!"
Amaya smiles at her.
And just…keeps smiling.
Only her eyes move. They narrow while her lips stay frozen, and look Kosuke up and down, from the braid in her hair to her flats.
"So," she says at last. She really enunciates the word somehow, like popping the "p" in "nope". "You're Kosuke. The one I've heard so much about."
Kosuke's eyes flutter back. "Oh! I—um. Sure? I guess. I don't know what you've heard, so…"
Amaya blinks once and smiles wider. "I've heard that you're the best student in all of the culinary classes. Everyone loves you."
"Oh, that's not true," Kosuke says, and not one second later the twins counter, "Yes it is."
Amaya carries as Kosuke shushes them. "Not that I'm one to gossip, but I've heard that before Ouran, you were attending a…hm. Commoner's school? Is that right?"
"It is." Kosuke hears that dreaded c-word again, but doesn't find herself caring very much. Which makes Kaoru and Hikaru squawk. "I was in a high school in Karuizawa."
"Then your father named you the heir of his company, and you got an 'upgrade' in life?"
"Well…I wouldn't say upgrade, I was perfectly fine before—"
"So where did you study cooking? At that high school?"
"No, I didn't study it before now. In school, I mean. I started cooking, really cooking, a little over a year ago now. My mother wrote a huge recipe book everything she's learned, and I've learned pretty much everything from that. And I cook for my siblings a lot!"
"So you're self-taught?" Amaya chuckles. "You can just say so. I think it's impressive, actually. Being able to learn so much all on your own. I suppose I was the same, but I started baking for my family when I was around twelve, and my parents and teachers were so impressed they let me join the high school culinary classes ahead of time. I won a few competitions—usually first place but never anything below second. I've catered many private parties and events, helped as a student-teacher during the summer. Chef Concetto Li Fonti actually offered me a position in his bakery in Sassari, but he didn't realize I was still in high school! Ha! I suppose I would have turned it down anyway, just to focus on my studies. I'm actually studying business management, but everyone has said I could just as well have my own chain of restaurants one day. Chef Vanda Pirozzi actually interrupted a class one time to pull me into the hall and tell me that she would happily make me the head chef in one of her restaurants one day. And if I didn't want to do that, she said she'd just as happily help me start one of my own! Oh, well. I'm not so sure about that, now that I've transferred here. It was difficult to leave my former college behind—all of my classmates and teachers of my baking classes were begging me not to. I was worried that it would be more difficult than it was. Technically I'm only supposed to be in this class with a few requisites, but Chef Matsuhisa was so impressed with me she let me join without them!"
Kosuke hangs onto every word like her life depends on it. Her head is nodding up and down and up and down like a bobblehead.
Distantly she's aware that Hikaru and Kaoru look less than interested. Actually, they look annoyed right now, and it's only their silence that keeps her from scolding them again.
"So yeah, I was taught by several extremely qualified instructors and some highly successful celebrity chefs. But being self-taught is cool, too."
"Tha—"
"It is," says Hikaru. His voice is clipped and thin. Kosuke boggles at him from the corner of her eye. What's wrong with him? "I mean, as long as she knows what she knows, I don't think it matters if she went to school in Italy or France or whatever."
"Oh, sure," says Rika. Her cheery voice is the exact opposite of Hikaru's. "Don't get me wrong, Amaya, that is so impressive! But it's the goal that matters, not the path you took, right?"
But Kaoru continues in his brother's footsteps. "Personally, I think Kosuke is the best cook we have."
"Hey," Kosuke tries to cut in, "That's not fair, we're all really talented—"
"Oh, don't be modest, Kosuke. I think almost everyone here agrees. Right?"
Kaoru raises his voice to the crowd, and there's a murmur of agreement. Yeah! Absolutely! For sure! Kosuke goes pink, and her shoulders come closer to her ears, but she keeps her gaze on Amaya.
She might be impressed…but Kosuke thinks she looks more amused, really. Her eyebrow twitches for a second, which doesn't help Kosuke's confusion in the slightest.
"The best cook Ouran has," Amaya parrots. But she's talking to Kosuke. "Is that right?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said that—"
"But you don't disagree?"
"I never said THAT—"
"Hey, Kosuke." Hikaru puts a hand on her shoulder and pulls her back just so. "Let's have a quick two-on-one."
The twins pull her about ten feet away, then spin her around so fast she almost gets whiplash. She catches a blur glimpse of Amaya smirking as she goes.
Still dizzy, she demands, "What? What has gotten into you two?"
"Kosuke." Just her name, and Hikaru has her bristling. Three syllables, but each one dripping in disappointment, dripping with you idiot. "She's trying to rile you up."
Kosuke lags for a second trying to make a smidgeon of sense out of this. Her eyes narrow at the two of them until her vision is just a sliver. "What are you talking about?"
"Seriously, Kosuke, you're not stupid. How do you not see it?" Kaoru turns his eyes up to the ceiling and puts on a mocking falsetto that sounds nothing like Amaya. "'I was a child prodigy and had celebrity chefs kissing my feet and a hundred restaurants begging me to work for them, but suuuuure, it's totally fine to be self-taught and I'm not at all looking down at you!'"
The more his extremely annoying mockery goes on, the more Kosuke shakes her head. She knew the two had a mischievous streak in them, but she thought they were above stirring up drama. "She was just explaining what it's like to actually be a culinary student and not someone who just taught themselves at home!"
"Okay," says Hikaru, very flatly. "Three things."
"One." Kaoru holds up a finger. "You are a culinary student."
"Two." Hikaru holds up two fingers. "Ninety percent of what she said has nothing to do with learning and was only bragging."
"And three." The brothers join their fingers together and spit, "She's trying to rile you up."
Kosuke looks back at Amaya over her shoulder. She's returned to some more conversation, but she's obviously waiting for Kosuke to return. Others are glancing between them curiously, but Amaya just waves as Kosuke catches her eye.
"Why would she do that?" she asks. "We literally just met. Why would she be trying to fight with me?"
Hikaru rolls his eyes so hard it seems they're about to roll right out of his skull. "You're competition. She's heard you're the best cook in the school, so she has to take your crown."
"Oh, come on. This is college, not a competition."
"Is that the look of someone who wants to be your study partner?"
Kosuke doesn't look back, because she knows that Amaya still has that smirk on her face. She still can't think of a single reason for Amaya to target her. At the same time, she can't think of why Amaya looks so…amused. Like Kosuke's cute.
"Let's assume that she's trying to start something. What do you propose I do about it?"
"Nothing," they say together.
Kosuke gapes at them. "Then why did you even—?"
"So you know what she wants you to do." Hikaru tilts his chin in Amaya's direction discreetly. "She wants you get all hot and bothered so she can make you look bad."
Kaoru leans into her ear as if they weren't already whispering. "When you don't respond to her, she's going to get so angry she's going to be blowing steam out of her ears. Just watch."
Kosuke clicks her tongue. "I still think you two are wrong, but fine. I won't let her get me 'hot and bothered'."
Everyone has paid them no mind other than some curious looks. But they get a lot more looks when Hikaru mutters, "Good. That's Kyoya's job." and Kosuke crushes every toe on his left foot.
They return (Hikaru limping against his brother) and Kosuke puts a smile on once again. "Sorry, ignore them. What were we talking about?"
Amaya laughs. "You were saying you were the best chef here at Ouran."
"Right!" Kosuke snaps her fingers. "And wrong! I'm not the best chef here. I'm not better or worse than anyone else."
"Hey, there's no shame in being shameless." Amaya smooths back a dark length of hair that has dropped over her shoulder. "If you're the best chef here, then own it."
"You're not insulting us, Kosuke." Yoshiko laughs and claps a hand on her back. "You are the best. I'll fight anyone who says otherwise!"
"Oh, you should see the hall after we're done with class for the day." Rika throws an arm over Kosuke's shoulder and shakes her head. "People waiting shoulder-to-shoulder to see if she made anything to share."
Amaya hms and mm-hms to this with that same immobile smile. "Well, it sounds like you've got everyone beat."
Finally, doubt comes into Kosuke's mind. Amaya is very obviously wanting her to say she's the best, and she can't think of any other reason why besides competition. Which is disappointing, if the twins are right. Not five minutes ago she had her fingers crossed that this girl would find her just endearing enough to talk to her.
Kosuke wouldn't have even minded a friendly competition! Yet she knows that's not the case. Amaya is smiling and watching her like she knows something she doesn't. It's how all the girls in high school would act when they found out someone was planning to ask someone else out—saying things to the unknowing soul like, I think you're going to have a good day today or Hey, is there anyone here you have a crush on?
Kosuke's hackles are rising, but the twins aren't wrong. Amaya is being carefully indirect—Kosuke will look like the confrontational one if she says anything. The twins may have another point, that ignoring her is the best thing to do. That's what she did with Minami and Hitsuji whenever they did attention-seeking misbehavior.
"Well, it's really sweet for everyone to say that." Kosuke pauses to give Rika and Yoshiko grateful smiles. "But I'm not."
Amaya's eyebrow twitches again.
"Even so," she says, "I'd love to see what everyone's been talking about. You got to see me at work; I think it's only fair I get to do the same."
"That would be fun. Maybe you could give me a couple of pointers!" Kill her with kindness. "My next class is tomorrow, though, so you'll have to wait until then."
"Right. Someone said you were only in Application. Why's that?"
"Well, I wasn't lucky enough to skip on prerequisites." Kosuke laughs, and Amaya laughs, and they both laugh like they're friends and it's funny. ("Ugh," says Kaoru.) "Besides that, my schedule is pretty busy. One culinary class was all I could do."
"I see. Well, that's a shame. The best chef here and you only have one class to show it!"
Kosuke has to keep her eyebrow from twitching now. She's not going to say she's the best chef here, no matter how hard Amaya tries. "Again, I'm not the best here. I think it's offensive to everyone else—"
"That's all? Not wanting to offend?" Amaya laughs like Kosuke just got cuter. "I wouldn't be offended at all to hear that! I love to hear people take pride in their accomplishments!"
"That's—"
"Although…" Amaya taps finger on her chin. "I may ask for some proof."
"Like I said, if you want to see me cook you can come to class tomorrow—"
"Oh? So you'll prove it!"
"I'm not the best chef here." Kosuke claps her hands together. "Nothing to prove!"
"You just refuse to be anything but humble, don't you?" Amaya laughs again. It's starting to sound like nails on a chalkboard. "Shame, though. I think I'll be too busy tomorrow."
"Oh, well. Maybe later then."
"Although, I'm not busy now…and we still have plenty of time before the next class! Unless you're busy at the moment?"
"As a matter of fact—"
Suddenly there is a hand on either of Kosuke's shoulders, gripping hard enough to bruise.
"She can do it now," the twins snarl.
Kosuke wastes her .5 seconds of reaction time boggling at them—then Amaya throws her arms out and cheers, "Fantastic! Everyone!" The murmur of the students goes quiet as Amaya makes her declaration. "Kosuke and I are going to have a friendly little cooking competition! Feel free to stay and watch!"
The jubilee that follows makes Kosuke's stomach do flips. The students cheer, some whooping, some hissing their excitement to one another. This will be so amazing and ooh, this'll be good! A few even run out of the door to find their friends. Rika says, "Here, I've got you, Kosuke!" and starts wiping down Kosuke's station for her. Benjiro starts ushering people back, telling them to give the competitors some space.
Yoshiko calls, "Chef Matsuhisa, this is okay, right?"
Chef Matsuhisa has a coffee thermos in one hand, her keys in the other, and doesn't break her stride for the door. "Just follow the rules."
People are already trying to rope Kosuke in with their waving hands and urgent eyes, but she turns away from them to hiss at the twins. "You just said not to respond to her!"
"I'm sorry, alright?" Hikaru throws his arms out, as though it's baffling to be blamed for this. "I couldn't listen to her anymore!"
Kaoru is glaring daggers into Amaya's back so sharp the girl may soon bleed. "Don't think of it like giving in, Kosuke, think of it as putting her in her place."
"Idon't want an enemy or a rival or whatever! This just looks childish and petty and—"
"Kosuke, what's wrong?" Amaya pauses as she wipes down her station. Kosuke didn't think it was possible to look so haughty while wringing a sudsy cloth out. "If you're too scared to compare our skills, it's perfectly fine. I won't hold it against you at all."
Kosuke's lips twitch to sneer back at her.
She is above this—she is above giving into schoolyard taunts and prepubescent teasing.
She is also just…very, very sick of that smile.
Kosuke tells herself that all she wants to accomplish is proving that she's not afraid. That even if she loses, she can at least say that she faced the challenge.
Still. She would like to win. It would probably wipe that smile off.
"No, I'm fine. I just need to change, that's all."
When she returns with her uniform, she's met with a round of cheers and whoops, like this is a huge televised championship and her name is on a banner at the bottom of the screen. Kosuke doesn't let it make her nervous, nor does she let it embolden her too much. She has to refrain from preening and parading around. If she loses, then she'll look like a good sport who just stepped up to a friendly challenge. If she wins, then Amaya's bubble will be burst in front of everyone.
"You can do it, Kosuke!" The twins cheer from the sidelines. Yoshiko is giving her thumbs-up behind them, and Benjiro pounds his fist into his open palm. "Defend your crown!"
"All ready?" Kosuke nods, and Amaya goes on with her ringleader impression. "Alright! Since I am the one who posited this challenge, I will give the food that we will be preparing!"
Kosuke's nose wrinkles on her face, and the cheers damper down for a moment. Someone manages to get out "Isn't it supposed to be the other way aro—?"before Amaya goes on.
"I believe that we should stick to something simple and familiar." Amaya says this while tapping a finger on her chin, as if she hasn't obviously made her decision already. "So Kosuke and I will be preparing what I believe will be two wonderful batches of…chocolate-chip cookies!"
There is applause. Some confused, some thrilled, probably some just wanted to get the show on the road. Already there are whispers from the spectators of who will win, the techniques they'll use, the purpose behind choosing such a food. Kosuke can't make out any of what they're saying. Her ears are full of cotton, her tongue is made of lead, and every drop of blood in her veins has just frozen to ice.
Why.
Why did she NOT predict that Amaya could have picked something sweet?
She catches a glimpse of grace when Benjiro says, "Um, isn't that a bit unfair?"
"Yeah, Kosuke isn't a baking student," adds Rika. "That's not really an even match."
Amaya just smiles and shakes her head. "I'm positive Kosuke is just fine making a simple batch of cookies! Surely the best chef at Ouran has a wide range of skills in the kitchen?"
Kosuke puts the world on pause as she considers her options.
One: go into this challenge and make such a horrible batch of cookies that it borders on Lovecraftian, stripping all of her worth in front of everyone and inflating Amaya's ego to global levels.
Two: ask for another dish to cook, confirming to Amaya that a simple batch of chocolate-chip cookies is too much for her, inflating Amaya's ego to global levels.
Three: go into this challenge with a prayer that she can pull through enough not to inflate Amaya's ego to global levels.
Option three it is. "Sure. That's fine with me."
Amaya considers this for just a moment, leaving Kosuke to guess at her thoughts. Probably seeing one opportunity to humiliate Kosuke dissipate, while another takes its place. Again, she tells herself not to let it get under her skin too much, but…
…ooooooh, she wants to beat her.
"Wonderful! Then let's gather our ingredients and…commence the duel, shall we?"
See, even if her baking skills weren't ungodly, Kosuke still wouldn't like baking. You can't freelance; there is no wiggle room. You can't add a little more of this or a little less of that, it has to be exact and precise, which isn't how Kosuke always works.
It is right now, though, as she adds brown sugar atom by atom into a bowl. Much to the torture of the twins.
"Oh, come on." Kaoru buries his face in his hands. "We're gonna be graduated by the time they're in the oven, Kosuke!"
Hikaru looks so bored, Kosuke thinks he's about to wither away into nothing. "You're baking cookies, not defusing a bomb. Why are you being so careful?"
"Because cooking is art and baking is science!" The scale finally hits 200g, and Kosuke dumps the brown sugar into the mixing bowl. She scrapes out every last grain, and finally starts mixing, which gets a round of relieved applause. "That's why baking recipes aren't called recipes, they're called formulas."
"I don't think you're going cause a nuclear reaction if you have 201 grams of sugar instead of 200." To emphasize his point, Hikaru takes a pinch of brown sugar and almost throws it into the bowl. Then Kosuke brandishes a whisk at him, and he puts it back slowly. "But you do you…"
Kosuke starts adding eggs one-by-one, and takes a glance over at Amaya. Kosuke can crack an egg with one hand, but Amaya can crack three eggs in one hand, and the crowd is going wild. Shouldn't she be way ahead of me now? Then Amaya holds her chin on her twined fingers, and Kosuke realizes that she's letting Kosuke "catch up".
This smug little snake, Kosuke swears—
Kosuke reels in her temper to measure out the vanilla. Kaoru raises a brow more than it was before, somehow. "Do you cook like this at home? I thought you said cooking helps you relax."
"It does. I just—" Kosuke looks around. The other spectators are at least ten feet away from her, but Kaoru and Hikaru are on the other side of her station like they're VIPs. (Amaya also has VIPs in the form of a gaggling trio of new fangirls.) She leans a little closer just to ensure no one can hear. "I told you, I don't bake. I can't bake. I have never in my life made a dessert that was edible."
"Please stop being so dramatic." Kosuke shakes her head with eyes so filled with despair that Hikaru grimaces. "Geez, you're not?"
"It's just chocolate chip cookies, how hard can they b—? No, no, no, I didn't mean it like that!" Kaoru pats the vaguely Kosuke-shaped pile of woe on the back. "I'm sure they'll be great! You said it yourself, you get better every day, right?"
"But what if 'better' just means 'able to choke it down'?" Kosuke looks back at Amaya without meaning to, and crap. Amaya is seeing her freak out, and she twiddles her fingers in a wave. Kosuke pops back up. "No, no. Just have to have confidence. Just got to believe in myself."
"Believe in yourself," the twins chorus back, but they're back to sighing when she breaks out the scale again.
An eternity later, both competitors have their pans in the oven. They sit cross-legged in front of the glass, and everyone is leaving them be. The commentary is still continuing, things like how it's actually genius for it to be cookies, you see, the simplicity makes it easier to spot flaws. Kosuke just watches her cookies brown.
She isn't surprised when Amaya breaks the silence. The ovens are at the end of the stations, so there's nothing but the aisle between them now. "So why don't you tell me about yourself? I told you all about my story but I still haven't heard a word of yours."
Kosuke clicks her tongue (quietly). "As I said, I just started cooking one day and followed all the recipes I read. I didn't go to school and I didn't apprentice anyone."
"No, I'm not talking about cooking, silly!" Kosuke feels a vein about to burst in her head. Who's she calling silly? "I mean you in general! I've heard you've had quite the stroke of fortune lately?"
Kosuke finally looks at her. The red heat from the oven washes over her face, somehow making her look a bit sinister, especially with that still-present smile. "What stroke of fortune would that be?"
"Well, heirdom aside, I heard you've snagged yourself quite the fee-yan-say."
Kosuke squints at the cookies so she doesn't squint at her. Is she trying to get Kosuke to let her guard down?
"I have. We're very happy."
Amaya doesn't catch the hint. Or maybe she does. "So what's the love story? Did you win his heart through his stomach? I must admit I've entranced quite a number of fine men in my time, but never just through my cooking. How impressive that would be!"
Perhaps Amaya transferred to be a teacher here at Ouran: professor of How to Disguise Your Insults 101. Kosuke could rip into her that her cooking is not her sole redeeming quality and that it would be the only sane reason that Kyoya would have fallen in love with her—
(Not that Kyoya was actually in love with her, but still.)
—but it'd be too easy. She calculated everything she said for perfect defense of, Oh, I didn't mean it like that! Kosuke breathes through her nose, counts to five, and cherishes that they wouldn't have any classes together.
"Actually…" Kosuke fiddles with her rolled-up sleeves to look extra nonchalant. "We've both been so busy between school and work, I haven't been able to cook for him yet."
"Oh, you don't say?" Amaya's eyes go wide with faux innocence, and it just looks wrong. Even she has to know she can't pull that expression off. "That's a crying shame! It seems like something so easy to find time for…Not that I'm calling you uncaring, of course! Ha-ha!"
"Ha-ha!"
"But I must say, there are so many simple recipes out there. I'm sure if you could find a way if you tried. Cooking for someone is such an easy way of showing that you care about then, I'm sure your fiancé would love it!" Kosuke's eyes burn holes through the glass, but Amaya just keeps going. "Though I suppose the more complex the dish, the more time it shows you put into it, but as you said, being busy means you can only do so much. I can share some low-effort recipes if you need any! Za'atar chicken, gnocchi with bruschetta sauce, coconut curry—"
"Absolutely not."
Kosuke speaks without thinking, and Amaya's hazel eyes glint with delight. "No? That's entirely your choice. I'm sorry for being a busybody, but I just thought, if it was just time keeping you from doing something nice for Kyo—"
"It's not that." Kosuke doesn't dare touch the dial, but she's tempted to, just so these cookies will bake faster and get her away from this. "My fiancé can't stand coconut. That's all."
Amaya doesn't say anything to that. She spends the rest of the wait tapping her finger against the floor, which she wasn't doing before.
At least the hair-pulling conversation distracted Kosuke from her anxiety. The alarms are going off before she knows it, and another cheer rises up from the crowd. The twins yell for Kosuke to go, go, go, as if they're racing and not taking cookies out of the oven. Amaya does so first, and the sweet aroma that earns a chorus of pleased sighs. Kosuke thinks a few people are about to start drooling. She has to admit, the cookies smell heavenly and look even better. She didn't know it was possible to get cookies to look so uniform.
"Come on, Kosuke." Benjiro claps his hands three times. "Let's see them!"
Encouragement and praise, but it does nothing to Kosuke's roiling gut as she reaches for the oven mitts. Only looking over to Amaya does anything. She sets her pan of hot and fresh cookies down, takes off her mitts, and holds her hands behind her back and turns to Kosuke so patiently.
"Come on, now. I'm dying to see how you've done."
Kosuke finally cracks just long enough to say, "I'm sure you'll find the wait to be worth it." The twins crow their support, but Kosuke instantly regr—
Nah. Screw just rising to the challenge, she wants to beat Amaya. Kosuke knows she's a good cook, great, even. She's created so many dishes that she never could have dreamed of just over a year ago, dishes from all kinds of cuisines and all kinds of complexities—she can do a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
More importantly, she can knock Amaya down a peg.
Kosuke is so confident she feels feverish. She pulls the oven door open at last.
"I believe it goes without saying that all other classes will be cancelled today. We will be picking up where we left off last. And if I gave you an assignment, don't think you've gotten out of it."
"Yes, Chef." There isn't as much attention this time. Everyone is more focused on watching the firemen filter in and out of the building.
There are different opinions on what happened, even from the emergency personnel. A freak fire? A sudden, dangerous gas leak? Some even suspect it was a bomb. So many theories, yet no answers. All anyone knows for certain is that the entire wing has been evacuated and the courtyard is now filled with firetrucks, ambulances, and police cars.
"Kosuke."
Kosuke looks up from her hands. She hadn't even realized Chef Matsuhisa had come over to her. She goes to stand, but she's just waved down. "Yes, Chef?"
"Though there should be nothing but absolute attention and precaution from a chef in the kitchen, you should know that just like in any other workplace, accidents do happen. Machines can malfunction. Given, this is certainly more unprecedented than anything else I've seen in my years, but I suggest you just count your blessings that no one was hurt. Rather than moping around like you're going to be expelled for something that was out of your control."
No, Chef, Kosuke should protest. No, you don't understand. It wasn't a malfunction or a gas leak or a bomb, it was ME. My hands. Anything sweet that I touch turns into ash. I have a curse that even King Midas would cower at. I should be burned at the stake, for even witchcraft cannot explain this.
But Kosuke would very much like to not be kicked out of the class.
"Yes, Chef."
"I'll see you in class tomorrow. Hopefully."
She goes, and Kosuke goes back to staring at her accursed hands. She is scared of herself; scared for everyone she loves. Even as someone calls her name, Kosuke is too deep in this ocean of despair that she can only explain to them, "It's getting stronger."
"…Whatis getting stronger."
Kosuke resurfaces to reality with a jolt. She is here. She is sitting on the edge of the fountain, surrounded by students and cars and flowers. The twins had to go to their next class. Kyoya has walked up to her in the midst of all this chaos, and she responded in the most unnerving way imaginable.
"Um." Kosuke stands up and brushes herself off. She's still wearing her uniform, but it feels wrong now—she doesn't deserve it. "Nothing. Just—nothing."
"If you say so," Kyoya says, not sounding convinced in the slightest. He looks around at the scene with probably the most baffled expression Kosuke has ever seen on him. "Could you maybe explain what's going on?"
"Yeah. No. I don't know. No one knows. A gas leak, or a fire, or—something."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"No. No…"
Kosuke is twitching and mumbling like a lunatic. Kyoya seems to mark it up to being shellshocked, and softens his bewilderment to ask her, "Are you hurt?"
"No, not physically."
Pause. "That's good, then." He watches another throng of firemen pass by, then squints at her again. "I thought you didn't have a culinary class today?"
"I don't. I wasn't actually in class, I was…Well. I was at lunch, and Benjiro—a classmate of mine—he came to our table to say that there was a new student and—"
"Oh, Kyoya!"
Kosuke doesn't even know how she responds. Is this what deer feel like when they're caught in headlights? Realizing that it is Amaya calling for Kyoya, with familiarity, short-circuits her brain. Somehow she knows Amaya is approaching but doesn't see her until she's right in front of them.
"Hey there." Amaya holds her hands behind her and bats her eyelashes. She looks cute. Disgustingly so. "Long time no see!"
Kosuke has to drag her eyes like weights from Amaya to Kyoya, thinking, praying, that they are not friends. That Kyoya has better standards than this, that Amaya is not going to be a part of her life now. Thankfully—and not—Kyoya's face does not speak to an old friend. They speak more to a fly that he was positive he'd just squashed a minute ago.
"Amaya." If she wasn't so confused, Kosuke would have laughed at how he said her name so flatly. "What are you doing here?"
"Surprise!" Amaya flings her arms up with a little bounce. "I transferred here to Ouran!"
Amaya continues to bounce as if there's supposed to be confetti flying around them. Even if it was, it'd just be collecting on Kyoya's hair and shoulders as he stood there, immobile.
"Why."
"Why not? You know, I've been studying everywhere but Japan for years. I didn't realize how homesick I was until I was about to start another year at Universitá Fontana. I knew I was leaving a lot behind…my place as the top student in class, the Successful Futures for Women Club, the Leaders of Tomorrow Club, the Inspiring the Next Generation Club, and the Student Role Models Club, all of which I was the President of and formed, a guaranteed position in the Hall of Fame, a classroom to be named in my honor and a statue of myself outside the women's dormitories—"
"That sounds like many reasons to stay."
"At the end of the day, though, Japan has always been my home. My future was always going to be here, not in Italy. And I'm already making so many friends, isn't that right, Kosuke?"
Kosuke looks to Kyoya, but he doesn't need convincing. He knows. "Riiiight…"
"The only thing I have to worry about is you, Kyoya!" Amaya gives his shoulder a sportsmanlike slap, but Kyoya just stares down at her hand like she just smeared mud on him. "Looks like we may have a competition for top of the class! I think we'll even be sharing some periods together. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? You should give me a tour around the campus one day."
"I'll see if I can fit it into my schedule."
Amaya's eyes drop down to the ground and finally stops smiling. Yet somehow still does? "Kyoya, I hope that what happened between our families hasn't left any bad blood between us."
Kyoya shakes his head. "I assure you, that has not."
"I still hope that one day maybe we'll come together again. It seems like too much of a waste." Amaya reaches out to the front of Kyoya's blazer and seems to straighten a wrinkle, but her hands linger there. "All that talk of how our businesses would be so fantastic together. If only, if only…"
Amaya's hazel eyes flit to Kosuke, perhaps remembering that she was still there. As her lips go upwards once again, Kosuke has to fight not to curl her fingers into fists. Thus far Amaya's smile has been amused, condescending, taunting…but not so full of sugar-coated spite like it is now.
"I'm sure that this union with Amida Health will bring great things. Though, if something should happen..." Amaya's fingers on Kyoya's blazer tightens, as does the skin around Kyoya's eyes. "I'll be here waiting to help you." Finally her hand pulls back to her mouth as she giggles. "My father and I, I mean!"
It takes a full five seconds for Kyoya to respond. "I'll keep that in mind."
"I suppose I'll be going now. All this excitement has tired me out, but I'm afraid I still have a class to attend." Amaya twiddles her fingers at Kosuke once more. "Maybe we can duel again one day, Kosuke. Such a shame it ended like this. How unfortunate."
Kosuke knows that she knows that this was not just a freak accident. How, she can't say, but it doesn't matter—what does matter is that Amaya knows where her Achilles' heel is, and it's fodder for her cannon. "Maybe. A rematch would be—fun."
"Goodbye, now. Oh, and congrats on the engagement! You two look so cute together."
Amaya leaves, but remains like a sticky residue. Kosuke knows that this will be far from the last time they meet, and the thought alone makes her want to drop out of Ouran then and there. Another bullet on her mile-long List of Problems. Great.
For now, though, she focuses on Kyoya, whose eyes are still narrowed where Amaya walked away. He smooths out the front of his blazer, in a way that looks casual enough but Kosuke thinks is trying to wipe away any spare Amaya on him.
As much as she'd like to carry on and cherish their respite, it's an elephant too big for Kosuke to ignore. "So…Was that an ex-girlfriend, or…?"
Kyoya's lip curls in disgust. Kosuke holds up her hands and backs away, but Kyoya sighs, pushes his glasses up, and explains. "Not in the slightest. That was Amaya Domen."
At first Kosuke's brow furrows, because for as factually as Kyoya says it, she's positive he's never mentioned her before. Then the spiderwebs on her brain finally clear away. Domen as in DomenMed. DomenMed as in the company that almost ruined Ootori Medical. DomenMed as in the entire reason she and Kyoya are engaged to begin with.
Even before Domen left, Tamaki's voice echoes between her ears, there was Amaya he had to deal with.
"Oh," Kosuke says. Which is dumb, because she still doesn't know anything. "No one said that. I don't even think I caught her last name, but Hikaru and Kaoru were there and they never…"
"They wouldn't have. She's been studying abroad for years, I doubt that many people would recognize her."
Kosuke waits for Kyoya to go on, but he doesn't. She's not stupid—well, sometimes she is, but not now. Anyone could see that Amaya was very interested in Kyoya, the way that moths are interested to flames. She was just as obviously uninterested in Kosuke.
"Did she…do something?" She waves her hands at him. "Not that I'm trying to pry."
"She…" He looks left and right at the mingling crowd of students and firemen, and lowers his voice even more. "She was quite adamant about us being together. It was our fathers' idea, but she was very much on board with it. Though not at first."
"'Not at first'?"
"I'm sure that it looks like Amaya has feelings for me, but I assure you that she doesn't. When we met together for our fathers' experiment, she was utterly uninterested in me and ignored me entirely. Then, when I was unaffected, she suddenly became much more enthusiastic about us being together. Even after the notion was dismissed, she insisted on seeing me time and again. I think she's under the belief that I'm infatuated with her and simply won't admit it, and that if she makes me 'crack' and confess my undying love, she'll win a game she made up."
It's unfortunate to hear that Kosuke's small dose of Amaya Domen is nothing compared to what Kyoya has experienced. Still, she can't help but feel a bit…relieved? She'd thought that perhaps Amaya had done something horrible to him. Or, worse, that they were exes and Kyoya's standards could be that low.
Then Kosuke says, "Oh." Kyoya looks to her, and she closes her eyes—bracing herself for the indefinite suffering in her future. "So I'm the 'other woman' now."
He frowns deeper. "Did she say something to you?"
"I'm surprised one of her many accomplishments isn't a blue ribbon for Passive Aggressiveness. Someone told her I was the best cook here, and she wouldn't drop it. She challenged me to a cook-off. She said she just wanted to 'compare techniques', but she just wanted to embarrass me."
"What did she say when you turned her down?"
"…I didn't." Kosuke ducks her head sheepishly to her uniform. "I…kinda wanted to beat her…" She remembers their unwanted conversation at their ovens, and thinks aloud, "Oh, that's why she was hung up on me cooking for you."
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Just—I'm sorry you've had to deal with this before." Another question pops into Kosuke's head, and she asks it without thinking. "Is that why your companies split? Because you wouldn't marry her?"
Though not without pausing, Kyoya shakes his head again. "No. I think even her father realized it was a lost cause."
"I see. Well. Congratulations."
Kyoya purses his lips, too annoyed to laugh. One of the firemen calls out that the building has been cleared for re-entry, and footsteps and voices rise anew. Some students flock from one personnel to another, but each one just shakes their head and gives no concrete answers.
"I'd better get going." Kosuke looks down at her uniform, which she's just now realizing smells kind of…smoky. "My things are still in there and I've got a class to get to. Ugh, I missed lunch…"
"Would this help?"
Kosuke had thrown her head back to groan, but right-side-up again she finds a foil-wrapped bar held out to her. She's never heard of the brand before. Did rich people really find a way to make granola bars expensive?
"Some way or another Fuyumi keeps managing to sneak these into my bag," Kyoya says without any real annoyance. "She thinks I'm starving myself."
"Are you sure y—Oh. Coconut. Thanks."
Kosuke takes it (and holds it, not wanting it to go into her contaminated pants pocket) and Kyoya tells her sternly, "I doubt that Amaya would actually do anything to you, but if she does, tell me. I've been ignoring her this far but I won't tolerate her harassing you."
"I'm not scared. More…prematurely exhausted. It's you I'm worried about. Think you can avoid her in class?"
"It'll be bothersome, but sooner or later she'll have to learn that she's merely an inconvenience, not a driving force in my life."
"If you say so. I'll see you later." Kosuke turns, but not three steps away from him, she stops. "Hey."
"Yes?"
"You are eating, right?"
"Goodbye."
"It's a legitimate concern!" Kyoya just keeps walking away. "If Fuyumi needs tips on how to plant snacks on people, I will share mine, don't think I won't!"
She ponders if it's a little too chummy to be fussing over his eating habits, but figures it's more important to make sure he isn't going hungry. His work shouldn't make him starve, but if it's time that's the issue, Kosuke knows plenty of non-granola snack recipes that he might like.
Of course, this has everything to do with Kosuke just not tolerating people going hungry and nothing at all to do with Amaya taunting her for not cooking for him yet.
Which makes her wonder, are she and Kyoya friends? She's not sure. They're certainly getting along well (especially in comparison to before) and though they have many differences, they do share solidarity in some things.
Like Amaya. Who Kosuke is certain is going to cause the both of them trouble.