CHAPTER 20 (PART 1)

Cookbooks, recipes, kitchen utensils, you name it—Hiro was absorbing it all.

The only thing he wasn't taking so thankfully was my input to his cooking.

And the two-plus seasons of Shokugeki no Soma I was trying to shove down his throat.

"If you just ignore the awkward naked fan service and sexy gasps and moans after every bite of food I promise it's a great anime! It has delicious food porn, great characters and guffaw-worthy humour—"

"Naked?" echoed Yuji from behind me.

"Moans?" said Saki.

"Porn?" Wannabe blinked. Immediately, he lost all colour to his complexion and gaped. "H-Hoshino, w-we're way too young to be watching that kind of stuff!"

"Not that porn, idiot," I shot and sighed. "Food porn. You know, delicious food that makes even an overgrown man drool like a baby?"

Hiro rose his hat and propped it upon his face to shield it, frowning distastefully. "I'm not watching any means of porn."

"Oh, c'mon! We've been trying to help you for how long and your cooking is somehow getting worse," I reasoned, gesturing to Kouichi sprawled out on the couch from earlier's event of us heading to the cooking labs. "It even knocked out Kouichi when the guy taste-tested it!"

At the mention of his name, Kouichi woozily picked up his head from the couch, a handkerchief over his blue, nauseated face. "N-no, I'm fine."

Saki crouched down beside him and patted his shoulders. "It's okay, rest some more."

I rose my eyebrow since I proved my point and Hiro heaved a strangled groan, shielding his face in mortification yet again.

"So let's marathon it before Sunday," I said. "A show with over-the-top battles in which the characters face head to head, knives in hand, to determine the more masterly chef! One on one cook-offs where anything and everything can be wagered—"

"No," he refused, not even letting me finish. "We only have a day left anyway, and I have no hope. Just go ahead and pack your things."

"Oh don't worry about that, I already have," I assured him, gesturing towards the corner of the room where my leftover snacks and sprawled mangas were piled.

Hiro peeked through his hat to see my words true and groaned unappealingly not long after.

"But you've been trying despite that so I want to give you some hope," I went on. "I think you need to see some visual means of good food to awaken your inner Soma."

"Nothing can help me now."

I made a face. "You're so negative..."

"I'm being realistic."

My shoulders slumped and I hovered over him again. "Please?" I urged. "For me?"

Hiro stiffened. I pried off his cap so he had no choice but to look me in the eye—and at my earnest face of opportunity to drag him down into the world of anime—and soon enough, he grimaced. It only took a couple seconds before he averted his eyes and snapped, "Fine." I brightened but he immediately added, "But this food porn better be worth it."

I threw my arms into the air. "Woo-hoo! You're the best!"

Colour tinged his cheeks and incoherent murmurs left his mouth under his breath.

"Wait," coughed Kouichi from his position on the couch. "Should I accompany you, Hoshino-san?"

As rigid as wood, my gaze wandered back and forth between Hiro and the ground. It was still extremely surreal whenever I tried to remember what exactly happened that day—not that you could blame me. Especially when the male only showed up to the club this past week regardless of Wannabe's refusal of him joining. Which, I wholeheartedly agreed with; Kouichi was merely confusing his emotions for me for something crazy like infatuation.

It was hella awkward with him constantly recognizing my presence and proclaiming bashful statements, sure, but it was more than that, too. For somebody who had invested themselves deep into the 2D world, real-life occurrences like this always made sure to mess up my flow pretty well.

Gulping hard, I feigned a smile. "Well," I said. "You're still feeling unwell, right? This is kind of our problem so you should go rest up at home so you can feel better, Kouichi."

The colour in his face began to return as he sighed dreamily, knocking his head back down. "Ah, Hoshino-san's worried about me~!"

"As long as there are snacks I'll come," Yuji chimed in.

"I want to be with Mi-chan, too!" Saki cried with her arm high in the air.

Wannabe stiffened and whipped his head around the room in utter confusion. "I-I'll come too!"

But at their offers, I grew uncomfortable rather easily. Were they all tagging along? I didn't really think this through did I? How were we supposed to watch it? My house...

There was no way I could invite them over! My house was never clean, much less my tornado of a room. And with my potential smirking brother and little twerps of younger siblings who loved to spy on my every move, it was a recipe for disaster. But, saying this all was a little too late...

Besides, if we were having an anime marathon—with these people who were actually on board for once—I had to suck it up. There was no way I could miss this opportunity!

I opened my mouth with renewed motivation, "We could—"

"Let's all go to my house."

My voice got lodged in my throat at Hiro's suggestion. We all turned his way as he hopped off the couch, swinging his cap so that it hung backwards on his head.

"It's already late so let's head straight there," he said. "Whether it's cooking or a petty marathon, this is our last hope."

———————————————————

The Ikeda household was larger than I expected. Lavish, too. It was a traditional household located at the far back of a lush lawn, both spacious and surrounded by the serene vegetation and sounds of nature. Waiting by the entryway when we arrived were two people, a male and female both, dressed in a butler and maid uniform respectively. As we made it up the long cemented pathway their heads were dropped in a polite bow, and when we entered their vicinity, they spoke in unison, "Welcome back, Hiro-sama."

Hiro stood poised, giving off the impression he was well accustomed to this kind of treatment. Damn, he really was some rich kid! It wasn't as if I wasn't already aware of that fact, but seeing it was different from hearing about it. I mean, Hiro looked like the last person to be one, considering his scruffy image most of the time, and signature cap.

My eyebrows surged together and I spared a glance to the others by my side.

But really, with the exception of maybe Hinata and Kouichi, they all were of status, weren't they? Way to make me feel more inferior than before.

         "I brought some friends over to work on something," Hiro spoke up for confirmation. "It's not an issue, right?"

         "Of course not," said the female, aiming a smile our way. "Your parents are still absent on their trip until the weekend, but please do make yourselves at home."

       The old geezer performed another bow. "It's a pleasure seeing you again, Yamamoto-sama, Sato-sama."

       "The pleasure's ours, Asao," said Saki with a tight smile.

        Yuji mimicked her manner. "And we keep telling you our first names are fine."

        "We can't drop our respect for the families of our fellow business partners," reasoned Asao. "Thank you for looking after our Hiro-sama all the time."

        "I see the son of the prestigious Hayashi family is here as well," noted the lady, a weary grin in place.

        Wannabe politely bobbed his head in response. "Thank you for having me. I hope we're not being a bother."

        "Of course not!" she refuted. "Do enjoy your stay."

        I busied myself by scouring my surroundings once again as I shifted my weight from foot to foot. The entirety of this stiff, distinguished situation made me feel even more of an oddball than at school. Then again, Seisein was a prestigious institution so I should've expected this kind of awkwardness.

        Well, the only plus side I could take was the whole Ouran-like vibe radiating from this all. I really felt like a commoner—Haruhi.

        As Asao led Hiro inside, the rest of us followed suit. Just as I tried to enter through the front doors though, I was stopped by the maid. Since Yuji was behind me, he was forced to stop as well.

        The female accordingly popped her wrinkly face before mine, eyelids framing her pale eyes fluttering slowly.

         "Excuse me," she said. "It's just, I don't recognize your face. May I inquire which family you are from before you enter inside?"

         "My family?" I asked.

         The cautiousness and judgement in her gaze hit me in one fell swoop, catching me by surprise. Her tone and gaze; it was as if I were to tell her I was your typical middle-class citizen, that would decide whether I was allowed inside or not. My heart sank a little in my chest, eyebrows ascending upon my face. That couldn't be the case, right? I had to be reading too much into this.

        "Haruna-san, you have to ask?"

        I was clapped on the shoulder and was honestly grateful to see Yuji, a dramatic hand over his mouth.

        Regret appeared upon her features. "Oh, um. I apologize. Hiro-sama hasn't informed us that he's gained another friend so we haven't been able to search her records—"

        Records? My eyebrows furrowed together, and all at once, it settled in. That wary look in her eye, it was true. And if that was the case, I didn't like it one bit.

        I discreetly met Yuji's eyes and with that alone, his intentions became apparent to me. I had to fight back a smirk. Should I have some fun with this?

        Straightening my posture, I dramatically flipped my hair over my shoulder. "Can you believe her?" I demanded to Yuji. I made my tone snooty and filled with contempt. "I'm offended."

       "It truly makes me embarrassed as the family of a fellow business partner," Yuji agreed, shaking his head.

        Seeing the fear settling into her countenance, I bent over to stare her right in the eyes. "Listen and don't forget," I enunciated. "Yours truly is from the Hoshino family."

       Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion, she shared a look with Yuji. "H-Hoshino...?"

       "No way, they haven't heard of the Hoshino's?" Yuji demanded.

        "I-I... I mean," the female stammered. After growing as pale as a ghost she stumbled out into the garden, bowing repeatedly to apologize. "Excuse my rudeness! Wh-why don't you go join Hiro-sama inside? H-have a splendid time!"

        She scampered out of sight at that and Yuji snorted just as I heaved a humoured laugh.

        "You sure we can be tricking her like that?" I said as we entered inside, removing our shoes and padding across the polished wood.

        "Knowing Haruna-san, I don't think it matters. She'll be too prideful to admit her fault and search up if what we said is true or not," he responded, following as I eyed the evocative paintings and delicate shoji's we passed. "Besides, things were going in a bad direction."

        I hummed, paying heed to the distant chatter of the rest of them up ahead. The house really was just as spacious and pretty as it looked on the outside.

         "So why did she stare at me like that?"

          "Remember what Raku said?" Yuji prodded. "Hiro's family business is the most successful out of the three of ours, and his parents are pretty strict, too. They've only ever allowed him to hang around exceptional families and judged or scared away those who weren't."

         "What? That's odd."

        "In your eyes maybe. But at the end of the day, they only want the best for their company. That's why they've been on his back for joining an obscure club like the Humanity Club since the beginning of the year. It's only because of Saki and me—Kazu, too—are apart of it they're letting it slide."

        The rest of them came into sight and we joined the back of the group who had turned into another classy corridor leading to the 'theatre room' as Asao had explained.

       I fixed my gaze onto Hiro ahead and pursed my lips. Even without such a thing, the Humanity Club was a feeble club with little to no accomplishments. And despite possessing such esteemed members (with not-so charismatic personalities) we only ever received menial tasks from very few people who knew of our existence.

        The Sket Dan even had more of a following, granted it was an anime with three amazing main characters.

        "They're right, though," I said after a pause. "You guys would be better off in another, more credible club. Hiro losing this battle for the HC would just make it all easier, for the both of us."

        Yuji blew air from his nose. Asao departed after ushering us into the theatre room, leaving to grab respectable snacks and drinks.

       "Hoshino, help me put on this anime," Hiro called me over.

       I pried my eyes away from Yuji and his strange reaction. "Coming."

        I took a step forward towards the back of the room where a computer screen hooked up to many wires and projectors stood.

         "You always say stuff like that... Why do you think he's doing this all, Miyuki?" I halted in place and glanced behind me. Yuji half-heartedly smiled before swivelling around to join Saki and Wannabe, excitedly rambling on the furnished chairs propped before the large screen ahead. "It's not only the club Hiro doesn't want to lose. He doesn't want you to leave either."

———————————————————

         After episode one, Wannabe, Yuji and Saki had all fallen asleep. I hadn't pinned that on them, though, because it had gotten awfully late. Besides, Hiro sitting next to me had gone from having regret slapped onto his face after the whole tentacle and groping business in episode one, to stars in eyes by episode four. Honestly, he'd gotten so invested in the idea of anime that he was actively asking me questions and commenting throughout it all. He even admitted he felt inspired to practice cooking again.

         You have no idea how happy this all made me.

          I'd dreamt countless times of the idiots in my school realizing the amazingness of anime but when it was actually happening it took all the words out of me, leaving me a grinning, rambling mess.

           "Mhm," I hummed, bringing my shoulders high as I savoured the flavour of the cookies he'd made. I held out a hand to him. "See, these aren't too bad. Kinda average, but edible nonetheless. Still, these past couple days you've always been trying such complicated recipes, but the deal with Rack didn't place any 'has-to-be-top-notch' restrictions. You can make whatever dish as long as it's tasty, so that's all that matters."

         Relief consumed Hiro's features at once and he collapsed into the open kitchen seat. Picking up a cookie, he took a moment to try it. His eyes brightened slightly before shifting to me. "But something as easy as cookies can't be okay," he said. "The judges are most likely going to tell us strict restrictions the day of it, so I've practiced actual dishes too, but..."

           I waved him off. "I'm seriously telling you it's fine if it's simple. If these 'easy dishes' will get you the win, you should go for it anyway."

           Hiro's shoulders slumped and he picked up another cookie. I decided to set aside my own post-midnight snack; it really was average tasting. It still needed more pizazz.

           "It's Raku, by the way."

           I blinked, turning his way. I snorted once it settled in, "Oh, of course. Don't want to get your fiancée's name wrong."

          Hiro promptly choked on his bite and began coughing hysterically to clear his system. "F-fiancée?!"

           I stifled a smirk. "You promised to marry each other, right?"

          "No!" he shouted, a little too loudly considering the time of night. "We did not! We were kids, playing a game with too innocent intentions for our own good! And we're cousins! I view Raku like actual family—"

           My lips curved upwards further and I couldn't help but laugh. "Chill, Hiro, I was kidding. It'd suck if you got married due to that anyway."

           Chagrin overcame him at once and he frowned and averted his eyes.

            "You need true love to want to spend forever with somebody," I went on. "That's why romantic-comedy animes and mangas make girls and sometimes boys, squeal like pigs and cry over jealousy of not being able to recreate a relationship as perfect."

            Hiro slumped in his seat, blue eyes flickering to me. He outright surprised me with his next words, "Anime isn't as bad as I imagined."

            I grinned immediately. "I knew you'd join my side someday."

            The guy rolled his eyes. "I won't say I'm entirely bought yet. Moreover, I doubt I'll ever become as obsessive as you are."

            "That's what they all say before they're swallowed in by a certain fandom."

           Hiro suppressed a sigh. "Who got you this deep into anime anyway?"

            I shrugged. "I've always watched the stuff—especially the programs that came out on TV when I was younger. But I think I got really into it after... yeah, the start of middle school."

         "So not too long ago then," Hiro murmured. "Hoshino."

           The sudden seriousness from Hiro's voice took me by surprise. My stomach flopped as I rounded to face him. Every inch of his countenance was soaked in distress and with a disgruntled breath, he stared at me right in the eye.

             "Sorry about what happened at the door."

             My skin crawled. "You were aware?"

            "Yuji told me," he said, clenching his teeth. "I should've expected they'd ask. My parents always request they keep things like my friends or acquaintances in check, and I hate it. But I never thought they'd do something so rude at the door."

             "It's fine, Hiro," I assured him, the corners of my lips quirking up. "Besides, I think I gave this Haruna or whatever a big enough scare so I'm satisfied."

             "Still," he said. "I don't know why they're so uptight about a life that isn't even theirs. I joined the Humanity Club thinking I'd finally get some more leeway in my life, and yet they only got more preachy."

            My smile wavered the slightest. "So that's why you want to save it?"

           "Hoshino," he said instead, "I'll definitely beat Raku. For my own reasons of getting her off my back, and to save the club and your admittance."

           I sneered, "You don't have to act like saving me is one of the positives."

           He didn't counter immediately per usual and instead eyed me with the same incredulity Yuji had earlier today. As Hiro fumbled for words, my heart felt heavy enough to be lead.

           "Maybe you don't, but is it bad that I still want to think of you as one?"

            "You helped us out a lot since you joined the club, Hoshino. You didn't join by will, sure, but you've still participated nonetheless. Especially by meddling in matters that should've least concerned you. And for that, I'm thankful."

            I closed my eyes and rose to my feet. "I keep telling you guys there's seriously nothing positive in becoming friends with me."

            Hiro's head jerked upwards. "Huh?"

            "Hiro-sama, are your friends ready to leave now? I've prepared the car."

         The both of us recoiled with a jolt. Eyes wide, we craned our necks in the direction behind us to find Asao bowing politely at the entranceway of the kitchen. Hiro scrambled to his feet and took a glimpse of his cell screen, gaping as a result.

         "Crap! When did it get this late?" Hiro cursed, swerving towards me. "You need a ride, right?"

          Caught between the gazes of Hiro and Asao, I nodded. "I'd appreciate that."

          "We should go wake up the others then," Hiro said.

          "No worries, I've already taken it upon myself," Asao replied, twisting his body and allowing the crew to come slugging out into the open.

          All were weary and shut-eyed, representing their exhaustion.

         After pulling out my own cell phone, I realized that I'd left it on silent, allowing for Kyo's dozens of messages and calls asking me where I was for the last couple hours. I sweatdropped. Well, it should be fine since tomorrow (or really today) was officially the weekend.

          Once we were outside, Asao beckoned us towards the car, and I stopped to turn to Hiro. "You better go Yukihira Soma on Rack's butt tomorrow and knock her off her high horse."

           Without much hesitation, Hiro returned a confident nod. "That's what I have in mind," he said. "I mean, not including those sensual gasps and moans the judges would have after every bite of food... 'cause that'd be a little..."

           Hiro's reference successfully lessened the tension and we both shared a small, awkward smile.

           It was a smile the rest of them who didn't understand were forced to send us wild looks; a smile only between us.