Chapter Text
“Soma-kun.”
Soma made a noncommittal noise at the back of his throat.
“Soma-kun.”
He didn’t respond, his gaze straight ahead, looking dazed.
“Soma-kun.”
Megumi tapped his shoulder which made Soma jolt. He met her concerned gaze.
“Are you alright, Soma-kun?”
The redhead blinked at her and slowly nodded. He rubbed the back of his head and gave his best friend his usual grin. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I was just thinking about something.”
Megumi looked like she wanted to ask what about, but she just kept quiet and nodded.
They were currently shopping for a few ingredients Soma would need for his next Shokugeki against Ryou. They had decided that Akira would be the price; or specifically, a technique that Akira had discovered that enhances the flavor and aroma of game. It was the technique Akira used to defeat Soma in one of their Shokugeki as Polar Star Dormitory residents (Akira and Shiomi decided to stay despite the revival of the Shiomi Research Group). Of course, Akira didn’t exactly consent to this, but Alice wanted to know how he did it as well. It’s not like the white-haired man, or anyone really, could refuse Alice in the end.
So here they were shopping on a cloudy Saturday afternoon.
“Tadokoro.”
Megumi looked up at Soma, tilting her head to the side. “Hm?”
“Do you think I have a chance with Takumi?”
The question took Megumi by surprise. She had been aware of Soma’s crush on the blond, though it seemed like the redhead didn’t know it himself, but she didn’t think that it was that serious. There was also the fact that Soma was doubting himself instead of going for it like he usually does.
Ever since the middle of their second year, Soma had been dating here and there, his relationships not usually lasting long. After a while, he would just have one night stands. Megumi didn’t particularly care, and none of their friends did either. They were hormonal teenagers, and it’s not like Soma was the only one doing it. So it was fine. As long as Megumi doesn’t walk in on one of her best friends fucking someone, then everything should be fine.
Things don’t really seem to be fine right now, though.
Judging by the look on Soma’s face and his earlier silences, Megumi knew that he was serious. Soma actually doubts his chances of dating Takumi Aldini. Literally everyone thought that Takumi might be in love with Totsuki Academy’s first seat. What with his constant declaration of his and Soma’s rivalry and constantly wanting Soma’s attention, Megumi couldn’t even fathom why Soma would think like this. All the signs were right in front of him, and he wasn’t as dense as he was in their first year.
Megumi didn’t know what to say to her best friend, who was still waiting for an answer.
“I think,” she started slowly, carefully picking her words, “that maybe you should be asking Takumi-kun that question instead of me. I can’t decide his feelings for him.”
Soma nodded. “Yeah, but what do you think?”
“Does it really matter what I think?”
The redhead shrugged.
Megumi sighed and looked away. “Well, to be completely honest I think Takumi-kun likes you. Very much actually.”
“And what makes you say that?”
“W-Well, he would always direct his attention to you, and he would get frustrated when you don’t pay attention to him. He doesn’t really like being ignored by you. He does this weird smile whenever you acknowledge him. And he blushes and splutters around you a lot.” Megumi had actually noticed a lot more, but she thinks that Soma got her point. So she was once again surprised by Soma’s response.
“He gets like that with everyone, though.” Seeing Megumi’s confused expression, Soma elaborated. “He hates being ignored, not just by me, but by everyone as well. He hates it when he’s trying to communicate with someone, but they’re paying attention to something else. He blushes and splutters all the time when he gets teased. He takes pride in his cooking, so he feels a sense of accomplishment whenever someone acknowledges him as a good chef or a formidable opponent.”
So Soma did notice these things. This means he’s actually been paying attention to Takumi all this time.
Megumi searched Soma’s expression. He looked nonchalant and unbothered, but one look at his golden eyes and she knew. And he knew that she knew, so he looked away.
In those eyes, Megumi saw anger, sadness, and . . . frustration. She saw his confusion and doubt. She saw none of his usual confidence and assuredness. And she felt it. She felt the emotions that her best friend had been holding in for who knows how long.
Again, she really wasn’t sure what to say, or if she should say anything at all. But there was something she wanted to ask.
“What about the way he looks at you?”
-
Akira sighed. The two idiots, Soma and Ryou, were currently fighting and a Shokugeki against each other to see who would get to be the one to learn Akira’s new technique. He never said anything about keeping it from them though. In fact, he had actually planned to teach them all about it just in case it would be useful for the international competition they were participating in a month from now.
He was the judge of the Shokugeki, which, again, was pretty much pointless since he’ll be teaching everyone anyway. Soma and Ryou are just the kinds of people who would engage in a Shokugeki to satisfy their ‘bloodlust’. Akira let out another sigh. The three of them were the only ones in the kitchen. He didn’t know what the other dorm residents were doing, but Akira guessed that they were probably preparing for a party at Marui’s room to celebrate Yoshino’s success at an event she had participated in yesterday.
The white haired man looked around. It doesn’t look like either of them will be finished soon since they had only started. He briefly wondered where their Second Seat was. Takumi Aldini would usually join in on their Shokugekis, using the opportunity to test out a random dish he had thought of. The blond has long since improved, and his dishes were exquisite as always.
He’s probably with the Nakiris, thought Akira. He spent a lot of time with them now, discussing and applying theory and molecular gastronomy with Alice and then letting Erina test it to see if the concept they applied worked.
These past months Akira noticed something. Though Takumi’s declarations of his rivalry with Yukihira, usually accompanied with a vow to defeat the redhead in any challenge whatever the situation, were as random and dramatic as ever, he had been doing it less and less and now in their third year he seldom does it at all. In their second year, the blond would just randomly slam the door open and challenge his rival to a Shokugeki. Currently, Yukihira was in the lead with a hundred and thirty-seven wins while Takumi had a hundred and thirty.
Akira was pretty sure the rest of their friends noticed it, too, but none of them said anything about it. No explanation had come from Isami either, despite the questioning looks everyone gave him when they expect one of Takumi’s monologues. He didn’t know if Yukihira noticed since he usually ignores Takumi anyway.
He shook his head. Why was he thinking about this?
But the answer was obvious. Months ago, around the time Takumi’s challenges became less frequent, all of them had felt something. It was some sort of . . . shift. They didn’t know what it was, and they all had a silent agreement to just ignore it. But the feeling lingered. Something happened. Something changed. They didn’t know what, but it affected all of them.
Akira guesses it has something to do with both Yukihira and Takumi. And he was right.
For a whole week, Takumi had missed class and Isami was too good at avoiding the issue and redirecting the topic of conversation. It was also around the same time Yukihira had taken a lover instead of just a one-night stand. His relationships never last, and everyone thinks he's just experimenting. It's not like it's a big deal. No one was hurting.
Right?
He was promptly snapped out of his thoughts when Ryou slammed his dish in front of him.
“Taste my dish and declare my victory, Akira!” he demanded.
Akira sighed for the nth time. He had to deal with this first.
-
The Polar Star Dormitory residents were ‘drunk’.
They had been drinking one of Ryoko’s stronger wines. It wasn’t necessarily that strong, but a fair amount of it can easily get a lightweight drunk. Most of them were lightweights.
The evening started out normal enough like all their other parties, but ‘normal’ only lasted but about a good five minutes before disaster brews. They had all congratulated Yoshino as she represented the school in a competition overseas about live game. (Akira had already taught her his newly found technique, which served very little purpose in the actual competition, but Yoshino had used the concept he used to complete her dish.) It was going well, and Akira and Tadokoro were timing how long the peace and order will last. They were a few seconds away from breaking the record when all of a sudden Takumi slammed the door open and yelled, “Yukihira, fight me!” Isami walked in with a smile behind his brother and greeted the dorm residents.
This wasn’t uncommon. The blond chef was always dramatic and had to be extra when it comes to these things. No wonder he got along really well with the Nakiris.
Soma had readily agreed, being unsatisfied from his fight with Ryou. (That was a lie he came up with to tell himself. He actually just wanted to be with Takumi and watch him cook because that’s when the blond shines the brightest.)
They had agreed to make the same dish and whoever made it better wins. In the end neither won because, well, there was no one judging and both chefs thought the other made it better, however begrudgingly from Takumi’s side.
It was then Ryoko thought that it would pair well with her newly made wine, so she quickly dashed to her room and back, holding a bottle of the liquid that caused the inevitable.
They were all lucky it was a Friday, because hangover can be a bitch. So they drank the night away while the more ‘responsible’ members of the Polar Star Dormitory just took a few sips here and there.
Zenji, Shoji and Daigo were all paying cards on Zenji’s bed. Yoshino and Ryoko were pestering Takumi in a corner. Isami, Shun and Akira were chatting quietly, leaning on a wall. Megumi was trying to get Soma to stop drinking, though his alcohol tolerance had increased over the years so there wasn’t much reason to worry.
It wasn’t quiet. Other than the trio talking near the wall, all of them are either shouting, groaning, or cackling. However, all the noise died down immediately when they heard Yoshino exclaim, “Ehh?! Takumicchi, you’re a virgin?!”
All of them had shut up and turned their heads to the half-Italian chef whose face was as red as the tomatoes he had used in cooking their food.
Isami snickered at his brother’s embarrassment, and added insult to injury by saying, “Nii-chan hasn’t even had his first kiss yet. Unless you count our mama or our cousins of course.”
“S-Shut up, Isami!”
Normally, Yoshino wouldn’t be this intrusive. She knew what questions were crossing the line, but she was drunk and things like boundaries didn’t really matter to her much right now. “But – But how do you release all the pent up frustration in your body? You can’t possibly have survived years in this school without masturbating or something? Or maybe you’re not into those things. It’s okay Takumicchi, we’re not gonna judge you.”
If possible, Takumi’s face became even redder. Megumi hid her face in her hands. Sure, she did those things from time to time since tension and frustration can quickly build up in Totsuki, more if you’re an Elite, but she could feel the second-hand embarrassment. She sure as hell wouldn’t want to be asked those questions.
Takumi stayed quiet and Isami was quick to be by his side. “Nii-chan is too focused on cooking to care about those things, so he’s never kissed or dated anyone. He deals with frustration with cooking by cooking, so I have to drag him out of the kitchen frequently.”
They all knew about how Takumi wouldn’t leave the kitchen unless he had his dish figured out or finished, but they didn’t know it was this bad.
“I don’t think nii-chan has ever masturbated before either,”Isami continued.
“So he just . . . suppresses his urges?”
They all blinked at Soma who was looking at Takumi intently.
“Yep. Pretty much.”
“Okay, that’s enough!” said a flustered Takumi. He couldn’t believe this was happening.
No one asked again for the rest of the evening, but Megumi did wonder about the pensive expression Soma was making. Whatever his situation was with Takumi, she hopes he figures it out soon.
-
Takumi was in the middle of testing out a newly modified recipe he had thought of the night before (or more accurately he had woken up in the middle of his slumber, an idea in his head, and Isami had to force him back to sleep instead of immediately testing it out), when all of a sudden he felt arms wrap around his waist.
The blond’s eyes widened in shock and tried to twist his body to look at the person hugging him, but the grip only tightened. It was when the person buried his face in Takumi’s neck that Takumi realized who it was.
“Y-Yukihira?!”
“Hmm. Takumi you smell good.”
“Wha-?”
Soma snickered from behind Takumi and finally let go. When Takumi turned around, he was met with Soma’s stupid smirking face which never failed to annoy Takumi. What was even more annoying was that he had to crane his neck just to look up at Yukihira who had grown around ten centimeters. Ten. Fucking. Centimeters.
Takumi’s eyes hardened, crossing his arms on his chest and cocking his hip to the side. “What do you want?”
“A Shokugeki.”
Takumi didn’t bat an eye. Judging from the look on Soma’s face, this was one of those moments wherein he’ll actually be serious about this and bet something huge. Takumi didn’t necessarily like those moments.
“What are your terms?” he asked warily.
Soma’s grin widened. Takumi gulped. He had a feeling he had just fallen into a trap.
“My seat.”
Takumi’s breath hitched.
Now, it wasn’t rare that Soma wagers his seat in the Elite Ten for a Shokugeki. In fact, during the end of their first year and around most of their second year, he’d just been putting his seat at stake. It wasn’t until he’d finally gotten to get Erina to say delicious, after he beat her in a Shokugeki 3-0, that he’d finally stopped recklessly using his sat as leverage. He felt like he finally deserved it.
That didn’t stop him from betting it, but at least he’d started accepting wagers from the other side. Soma really loved Shokugekis. Heck, he lived for it, for the opportunity it gave him to polish his skills, for the rush it gave him, and he knows his seat is the one thing that’s make sure students keep on coming at him. Though the wagers he accepts aren’t exactly of equal value to the first seat, he would accept anyway.
As time passed Soma would no longer have to challenge anyone to a Shokugeki. The last time he had challenged someone himself was when he finally defeated Erina. So this . . . Well, this was rare.
Takumi inhaled deeply. “What do you want in return?”
Soma leaned forward until their noses were almost touching. Takumi managed not to blush by sheer force of will.
“A date.”