Chaos (1)

Reiji rubbed his sore back, muttering complaints under his breath as he walked towards the Cooking Club with Haruna skipping happily beside him.

".....That really hurt," he groaned, giving her a disgruntled look.

"Oh, come on. With all those muscles, I didn't think you'd be this weak," she giggled.

"Hey, everyone has an Achilles Heel, and mine is my back, apparently."

"Boohoo, want me to rub it for you?" she teased, but her hand started slowly massaging the sore spot before he could reply.

He was startled by the sudden intimate gesture, unsure of how to react. His shoulders stiffened automatically instead of relaxing, especially when he saw the focused pout on her face as if she was seriously trying to help him out.

"U-Um, we're here," he said softly, snapping Haruna out of her concentration.

"Ah? Oh, right!"

She glanced at him with what seemed to be a mix of confusion and embarrassment, retracting her hand all of a sudden.

She hurriedly entered the clubroom, leaving behind a bewildered Reiji who stepped in hesitantly a few seconds later.

There were still a few minutes left before the session began, and today was going to be a regular one where they were going to be taught some techniques and then given free time to make their own dishes, with guidance if they wanted.

Haruna had run up to Ren, who was setting up his station, catching up with him since they hadn't talked much after the outing last week.

"What're you guys talking about?" Reiji asked as he joined in.

"Oh, Reiji-san! Have you decided what you want to make today?"

"I was thinking about trying out a mochi recipe!"

Reiji wanted to focus on making Japanese recipes whenever he could, even during the cooking club.

"Nice! I'm gonna make some Japanese-style tacos," Ren clapped his hands with excitement and turned to the blonde-haired girl. "What about you Yuzuki-san?"

Haruna didn't respond right away; she still seemed to be a little out of it for some reason.

"...Huh? Me? Oh, I haven't seriously thought about it. I was hoping the seniors or Tomoe Sensei could teach me a new recipe," she finally said.

"Ohh that's not a bad idea, they definitely have some interesting dishes. I should do that next time," Ren wondered, not noticing Haruna side-eyeing Reiji, who was taking a few pots off the equipment shelves.

"GATHER AROUND!"

Mizuno Senpai ushered everyone to the front, and crossed her arms as she studied the 11 other members aside from her.

"The third-years are exempt from the 30-minute tutoring and can go straight to making their meals as usual. Second years, you can choose to listen in, but it isn't mandatory if you've shown enough growth in these areas, which Tomoe Sensei has taken note of. You three first years, on the other hand, have to follow Tomoe Sensei's lessons regardless of your current skill level," she said, looking right at their group.

Although Reiji was quite experienced due to having worked in professional kitchens, he was nowhere close to knowing everything that he needed to become a great chef.

The game skimmed through these lessons that Sensei was about to give them, so he was looking forward to finally learning applicable skills and techniques from a top-tier chef.

Tomoe Sensei walked over to them, wearing her signature pink scarf and apron, sporting a kind smile that made them feel at ease.

But Reiji knew that when it came to food, that smile would be the last thing you'd want to see.

"Hello, children. Today, we'll go through the very basics of being a chef, which covers safety, hygiene, and kitchen orientation. I know that you all might have some knowledge on these principles, but it's still important to go through them carefully, understood?"

None of the second years chose to listen today because they knew it was going to be the most basic of basics being taught, so it was only the three of them.

"Yes, Sensei!" they said in unison, making sure to concentrate.

Over the next 30 minutes, she explained things like proper handwashing, sanitization, knife handling, tool and appliance identification, etc.

It was a barrage of boring information, but they knew it was incredibly important so they listened carefully despite wanting to start cooking.

Finally, they were dismissed and allowed to return to their stations.

Haruna stayed back to get a fairly simple but supposedly delicious recipe from the elderly chef, whilst Reiji and Ren got straight to work.

For the remaining hour and a half, the three of them barely chatted unless some part of the process allowed them to step away for a moment without risking a mistake.

Ren made a variety of fish tacos like he promised, though some of them looked quite strange to Reiji when he looked over.

Haruna was trying her hand at making a risotto, which wasn't really simple for her since she had never cooked something that wasn't Japanese.

Reiji smiled with satisfaction as he placed his last mochi into a container, happy with the result because it was his first time making something like this.

"Alright, everyone, remember to clean up your stations and take your cooked meals with you, and we'll see you all on Wednesday!"

***

"Woooo, that was fun!"

Ren's bright expression and bubbly excitement got a chuckle from the other two, who were walking alongside him as they left the clubroom.

"The cooking part was, but my head still hurts from that lesson," Haruna groaned.

"To be fair, your head always hurts when you try to absorb new information," Reiji grinned.

"You want another backslap? My hands are still warmed up from that workout!"

"....Please don't, I'm still recovering."

"Hmph."

Ren couldn't help but laugh at Reiji's resentful face.

"So, what are your plans now?" he asked.

"Midterms are starting next week, so we gotta study," Reiji replied.

"Urgh, right. The bet...."

"Bet? What bet?" Haruna asked quizzically.

"Oh, you weren't there. We went to a food exhibition on Friday after school, along with Airi-san and Greeny-san from your class. I wanted to invite you along, but you'd already left. Anyway, we were talking about the midterms and Reiji-san proposed a bet where whoever scores higher in the rankings can make the losers do one thing for them," Ren explained patiently.

Haruna, who was surprised that all that had happened, turned to Reiji with an aggrieved pout.

"....I wanted to go too!"

"You went out with your friends, didn't you? What can we do?" Reiji shook his head.

"You could have at least told me about the bet!"

"Really? You'd join knowing that I'd just win anyway?" he replied, raising an eyebrow playfully.

Haruna choked down her response, an understanding look dawning upon her.

"....Yeah, that makes sense. But....I still don't want to be left out!" she complained, hugging the large container tightly to her chest.

By this time, they were close to the reading club, and almost as if fate willed it so, the Glasses Trio stepped out of the room, chatting together amicably.

"The fight scene was so co-, eh? Reiji-kun!!" Airi chirped loudly when she caught sight of them.

She jogged over and looked at the containers in their hands, almost drooling with a predatory look when she smelled the light aromas.

"Gimme?"

"Nope," Reiji snorted.

"Heyyy! That's not fair! You have to take responsibility for us, right, Greeny?" she gasped, turning to the green-haired boy for support.

"Th-That's right Reiji-kun, you signed up for this!"

"When the hell did I agree to adopt two pigs?"

Reiji hid his container behind his back with astonishment.

"When we agreed to be friends. That goes for the two of you as well, Yuzuki-san, Ren-kun!"

The other two, who were watching them with amusement, were taken aback by their inclusion.

"Huh? Us?"

"Wait, what?"

"Yep, let's all have a food party. Sakuraba-san, you join as well!" Airi giggled, pulling Hina over, who was still awkwardly standing near the reading club's exit.

"M-Me?"

"Hina-tan!" Haruna skipped over, just now noticing her friend amidst the sudden commotion.

Reiji rubbed his head as he watched the chaos unfold.

He had expected something similar when all of these guys crossed paths, but this was beyond him. Everything was snowballing faster than he was prepared for.

He glanced at the timid girl, who was tugging at her skirt with discomfort and peeking at him from the corner of her eyes.

'Doesn't seem like she's really fine with me yet...'

"Ok, so everyone agrees! Let's find a good spot and have some fun!"

"Uh, Huh? Wait, I..." Hina tried to say something, but her frail protests were drowned out by Airi and Haruna's combined cheer.

"YESS, LET'S GO!" they high-fived with excitement.

"Haruna, are you forgetting something?"

Her green eyes, which had been twinkling with eagerness, froze at Reiji's stern voice.

She had a sheepish look on her face as she avoided his gaze, her internal panic growing.

"Sorry, but no food parties until after the midterms," he said, turning to the group with finality in his voice.

"Wait, are you seriously working hard just because of that bet?" Airi's eyes widened with surprise.

"Of course not, I'd whoop your asses regardless. This is for something else," Reiji smirked confidently.

Haruna toddled over to him and tugged his sleeve.

"Haven't I made good progress?" she asked softly.

"....Yeah, but ther-"

"Then can't we delay today's tutoring for a bit? Pleeease?"

Reiji clenched his teeth, trying to resist her powerful puppy eyes.

But how could he?

That was a near-impossible feat.

"....Fine."