129. Worry (3)

"Hmm, I find it a little strange," Tomoe Sensei mused, smacking her tongue with a frown.

Reiji furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Why? Is it bad?" he asked anxiously.

"Of course not, it's quite good!"

Reiji breathed a sigh of relief, but stiffened slightly at her continuation.

"It's just that your cooking is giving me this feeling like it has some Western elements integrated in it. I thought it was a coincidence or a choice at first, but that's three straight dishes where this has been the case. And it doesn't fit the bill for a fusion either. For an authentic dish like Takoyaki, straying away from what makes it inherently Japanese makes it lose some of its best qualities, despite it still being a tasty meal," Sensei explained, still rubbing her chin in deep thought.

Reiji felt a little awe at her being able to discern that so easily, because he'd thought he'd actually done a good job at adapting his style to make Japanese cuisine.

"Well..... I went through a phase where I was obsessed with cooking Western dishes, and I guess I haven't done a great job at keeping those habits separate," he replied, making up an excuse on the spot.

"I see.... that makes sense. Then it's fine, just slowly make sure to focus on using the appropriate techniques and skills without clashing them where it's unnecessary. This is still quite delicious, and if you're just cooking as a hobby, then it's already a good enough dish. But I know you want to keep improving, so keep at it."

"Yes, Sensei. I'll do that!"

"Alright, then that's all for today's session. You're all dismissed!"

Reiji bowed and turned back to his station, cleaning up the used utensils and packing away the Takoyaki that he'd made.

Ren and Haruna were already waiting for him with their packages in hand, the latter bouncing with impatience.

"Let's go, let's go! We're already late!" she motioned, pushing Reiji out of the door.

"Alright, geez! Why are you so worked up!" he chuckled, allowing himself to be guided towards the rooftop.

"No reason, just hungry, I guess."

"Me too! I'm starving," Ren added, rubbing his belly with urgency.

The three of them went straight to the staircase leading to their lair of goodies, and Reiji took out the key from his pocket as they climbed up.

The other three were already waiting at the top, leaning against the wall since the door was locked.

"About time! I thought you guys were never gonna get here!" Airi grabbed the bags from them in excitement.

Reiji's mouth twitched as he unlocked the door.

"You're acting like you're dying from malnutrition."

"I essentially am! It's been days without a proper meal because of the midterms!"

The group entered the rooftop, and almost as if it was second-nature at this point, started with their respective tasks.

Unfolding the blanket, setting the paper plates, bringing out various drinks, and Airi had even brought a small table fan and connected it to a socket in the corner.

"When the hell did you get a fan?" Reiji asked in bewilderment.

"Hehe, I bought it specifically for this. It's small enough to fit in my backpack, and still packs a punch. I did have to leave behind a few books at home for it, though."

Reiji nodded approvingly and gave her a thumbs-up when he felt the air cool the surroundings somewhat.

'Not bad at all, but why does it feel like it's becoming more of an actual club as time passes?'

He shook his head and started laying out the food they'd made in the cooking club today, also looking forward to trying out the food the others had made.

But with his back turned, he didn't notice the nervous yet determined glances exchanged by the others, who crept closer to him.

"Reiji, Haruna tells me that it's almost impossible for you to lose the bet," Airi started, her tone a tad bit unusual. "So what are you planning on making us do if you really do win?"

"Huh? I haven't really thought about it," Reiji scratched his hair. "But what I do know is that you won't be getting off easy!"

He smirked jokingly and rubbed his hands together in eerie fashion.

"Ughhhh! You're so annoying!"

Airi stomped her foot, though it looked forced for some reason, and raised her hand slowly to smack his shoulder like she usually did.

But her movement was deliberately slower, and Reiji's eyes widened for a split second as he stepped back instantly, avoiding the swinging arm.

"Hey, stop moving, I need to get a light hit in, or I won't be able to enjoy the food!"

"Are you crazy?"

Airi ignored him and lunged once again, this time at a faster speed.

Reiji leaned back and dodged again, furrowing his brows in relief because she missed.

"Haha, this seems fun, I'll join in too!" Ren laughed, rolling up his sleeves.

His wooden expression, as well as the fact that it was completely out of character for him, rang alarm bells in Reiji's mind.

'What the fuck is happening? This feels like a terrible play with actors they picked up off the street!'

Ren and Airi both lashed out again, not too heavily but with decent speed.

And when Reiji saw them both aim for his right shoulder even though his stance made it easier to target the left, his frown lifted in realization.

He stopped in place and caught both of their arms easily.

"Alright, out with it. How'd you find out?"

"Huh?"

"Uh oh...."

The two of them quickly avoided his gaze sheepishly, and Airi stuck out her tongue playfully.

"Whatever do you mean?" she asked.

On the other side, Haruna was staring at them blankly.

"Are you guys serious?? This was your grand plan??" she snapped with disbelief.

Reiji clicked his tongue and let them go, crossing his arms sternly as he studied all five of them one by one, who each looked away when it was their turn, before finally resting on Haruna's frustrated face.

".....You told them?"

"U-Uh....." she stuttered.

"It's not her fault, don't b-blame her Reiji-kun!" Greeny squeaked with a high pitch, breaking his silence till now.

Reiji raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.

"Do I look like the devil or something? It wasn't exactly something I expected to keep a secret forever, and I was already planning to let you all know at some point. I just didn't want to make a big deal out of it, that's all," he reassured calmly.

"So..... you're not mad?" Airi brightened up.

"At them? No," he replied, but then his eyes narrowed dangerously. "But at you two? A little."

"What?? Why?" Ren gulped.

"What were you even thinking? What if you actually landed the hit? Because it still hurts quite a bit, you know?"

The two perpetrators looked down at their feet in shame, feeling guilty for their actions.

"By the way, what was the plan exactly? How was that supposed to reveal his injury naturally?" Haruna piped up while rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Well.....We thought that maybe when he dodged a couple of times, we could question why he was hiding his shoulder so much, and then interrogate him from there....."

Reiji facepalmed immediately, holding back the urge to laugh at this.

".....Those brains should be dissected for scientific study," he muttered wryly. "If I was 99% sure before, now I'm 200% sure that I'm winning the bet."

"Forget that, even though we know that you have the injury, we still don't know how you even got it?" Airi flailed her arms, changing the topic while blushing with embarrassment.

"Yeah, that's not going to be a discussion. I made a stupid mistake, and that's all I'll say on the matter."

"Ugh, so mysterious...."

Reiji glanced to the side and saw Haruna not reacting at all to his refusal to explain yet again, which was a little surprising.

'I thought she'd pout again, but I guess she understands it now.'

Hina, on the other hand, looked sad for some reason.

"Can we see it?" Ren suddenly asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Reiji pursed his lips and simply sat down on the blanket.

"No, it's wrapped up with bandages right now. Maybe after it heals, you can look, though I don't know why you would even want to."

"Haruna-chan said it was super long, so I'm kinda curious too!" Airi added with a gleaming expression.

"You guys are serious oddballs....."

"A-Are we...Are we being too nosy?" Greeny suddenly asked.

Reiji tilted his head to think while the others held their breath awkwardly.

"Yes and No? I guess?"

".....Huh?"

"I personally don't really care, up to a certain extent, but at the same time, it's not like I'm trying to hide things from you all on purpose. It feels nice that you're all worried about me, but there's a reason why some things are best left unsaid. That's why it's both yes and no."

The rest of them stayed silent, as if seriously thinking about the words he just said. They looked quite guilty, but also relieved that he didn't seem to mind as much.

"....Alright, we'll.....we'll try not to cross that line from now on," Airi said, her voice laced with a bit of guilt, and the others nodded in agreement.

Haruna especially seemed eager to agree.

Reiji just rolled his eyes and picked up his set of chopsticks, popping a Takoyaki in his mouth. He tried to see if there really was a noticeable Western flair in the flavors.

'Hmmm..... I can't really tell. Seems like I have a long way to go.'

Tomoe Sensei wouldn't make up something, so he decided to take it one step at a time.

The others were still standing, watching him eat the food with gusto.

"You guys don't wanna eat?" he asked while still chewing.

"Hey, don't eat everything!" Airi wailed, hastily settling in her seat and grabbing some chopsticks too.

The rest joined one by one, slowly moving on from the horrific failure of their supposed plan as they all ate the food.

"Tomorrow's the day..... I really hope I'm not at the bottom at least," Ren sighed, shoving some fried rice in his large mouth.

"Yep, tomorrow's the day when I'll get justice," Reiji responded with a sly grin.

"Wait, what does that mean?"

"Oh, I was considering going easy on you lot, but after this..... hehe."

Airi, Greeny, and Ren exchanged terrified looks, their faces blanking as their souls decided to ascend in hopes of escaping their cruel fate.

'Sweet little lambs, await your execution!'