Cook Off

Inei slowly opens his eyes, looking up at the ceiling of Azami's house. He sits up and winces, holding his head as pain shoots through it.

Wow, what happened? Was I not teaching them how to do martial arts?

Inei turns his head left and right slowly, seeing the girls lying in different spots all around the room. Inei sits in a large and spacious chair; Yasu and Yui share a place on a couch, Chura on the floor, lying on and under a blanket, the space next to her empty.

Where are Aneko and Azami?

Inei closes his eyes, keeping one of his hands on his forehead, wincing again.

I need to get some water or something to calm this headache.

Inei puts his hand down on the chair to push himself up. As he does, he hears a gasp. He doesn't react for a moment.

Wait for a second; this is too soft for a chair.

Inei reluctantly but slowly turns his head to face his hand, which rests on one of Aneko's breasts, her hair a mess and her eyes shocked but sleepy. Inei pulls his hand away very quickly, blushing and getting out of the chair soon, bowing to her as to say sorry, and walks to the kitchen quickly. When he gets to the kitchen, he looks around for cups and suddenly feels something wrap around his hips as he's searching, the same soft feeling pushing into his back. He turns his head a bit, and Aneko snuggles into his back.

What is going on with this girl?! If our friends wake up, it will be a madhouse!

Inei quickly unlatches her from himself and promptly makes his way to the bathroom, closing and locking it. He breathes heavily, digging through the medicine cabinet, finding some medicine, taking it and turning on the water tap, cupping his hands under it, and drinking from that. After he does, he sits on the toilet for some time.

What was she doing?! Aneko has never been so loving! She said I was her crush last night, but there's no way! Maybe she was still dreaming! Yeah, that has to be the situation! She was dreaming!

Aneko stands at the cabinet that Inei had left open, exposing bowls and plates. She stands wide awake with a frown, holding her hands towards her heart, mumbling to herself while looking down, a frown on her face.

"Maybe I should be less mean to him..."

A voice now softly reaches her ears.

"Good morning, Aneko. Be nicer to who?"

The voice shocks Aneko, and Aneko turns slightly but poorly, reenacting the little training they had completed the night before. Azami stands at the stove facing her, tilting her head with a smile, Aneko sighing.

"Don't do that, Azami! You gave me a heart attack! But, good morning."

Azami doesn't react to what Aneko says and asks again.

"Aneko, be nicer to who?"

Aneko is silent for a moment. As her silence speaks for her, Azami goes to the fridge and pantry, and she grabs certain ingredients, coming back to the stove.

"I wouldn't make fun of you if you were nicer to Inei."

Aneko blushes, looking up from the ground.

"Really? But I thought-"

Azami turns her head, cutting Aneko's speech off.

"But you want him, don't you? Ever since he caught you from falling after saving you at that party."

Aneko flinches, taking a step back.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Azami. Of course, I thought about it, but I didn't feel it till later on."

Azami giggles with a smile walking up to Aneko and hugging her friend, whispering in her ear.

"Well, I understand. It is funny that you accidentally ended up sleeping beside Inei, though."

Aneko's cheeks beam the color red, pushing off and shaking her head.

"You know I sleepwalk, Azami! It truly was an accident!"

Azami giggles more, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, yes, I know, I know."

Inei tries to listen in, hearing that Azami is with Aneko. The last thing he heard was Aneko quietly shouting about sleepwalking.

Well, now Aneko can't do anything crazy because Azami is here, so it should be safe to come out now.

Finally, Inei comes back out of the bathroom and walks to the table on the other side of the stove, sitting down. He looks up and makes eye contact with Aneko from across the table, looking away from each other quickly with a blush. Inei then slides his phone over to her, it reading:

"I'm so sorry. I did not mean for that to happen. I did not expect you to be beside me, and I had a headache, so I was not thinking."

Aneko pushes his phone back to him, crossing her arms, trying her hardest to be kind.

"I-it's okay. I f-forgive you. I shouldn't have b-been there to b-begin with."

Silence looms over, and Aneko looks at him, his face expressing concern of awkwardness. Aneko then furrows her eyebrows.

"What?! I can't be nice?! Quit looking at me like that weirdo!"

Inei then releases the look, giving off a small smile, and sliding his phone back.

"Don't stop being you. It wouldn't be the same if you weren't mean about everything. That's why I made a face."

A deep beat from her heart rings out as Aneko's hair slightly covers her eyes; she pushes his phone back to him, pulling her knees up to her chin, covering all but her eyes with her knees, blushing.

"T-thank you. That's sweet."

Inei is taken aback by this reaction.

This behavior from Aneko is different! She's not trying this time! That was genuine! And it was adorable!

Inei sits frozen for a moment, then Aneko starts yelling at him again.

"Wake up, fool! Quit sleeping with your eyes open!"

Inei blinks a couple of times and gives a soft smile. Then a new voice rings over.

"Aneko! Shut the hell up! I'm trying to sleep!"

Inei and Aneko both look over to see Chura sitting up, rubbing her eye with a sleepy and angry look on her face.

"Can you not see that there are other people in this house than yourself?!"

Then, Yui and Yasu stretch, sitting up and looking over at Chura, Yui speaking first, then Yasu.

Yasu: "You're one to talk, Chura. You're yelling at her just as loud as she was at Inei!"

Yui: "Yeah! We're the real losers out of this whole situation."

Inei's smile grows as he witnesses all the girls fight each other over who woke who; Aneko is more worried about if they heard what had happened compared to if she woke them or not. Eventually, as they argue, Azami sets plates out among six seats, everyone becoming quiet as she does. Azami then shouts.

"Food is ready!"

Everyone gathers around the table, looking at the food in front of them. Inei observes it as an omurice that seems nicely made and placed on the plates. Everyone at once takes a bite the same way, smiles expressing the pleasant taste of the food; Azami smiles, letting everyone enjoy their food. Inei looks down at it.

Wow! This omurice tastes so good!

Chura stands.

"Azami! I challenge you and all who want to join in a cook-off! Cause honestly, your Omurice is so good that I think you stand a chance against me!"

All the girls stand and shout.

"I accept!"

They all look at Inei and back at each other and push him out of the room; putting him in the living room, Aneko lectures him.

"I'll hit you if you turn around, and I mean it! You're the judge and can't be biased!"

I wouldn't be biased!

Inei looks sad, his stomach growling.

I just wanted to keep eating the Omurice.

Inei then leans down, grabs the television remote, and sits in the chair he had slept in, turning it on, the newscasters speaking highly of him.

"...what do you think of this Inei kid Shike?! He's got the handles, the aim, the speed, the athleticism; he's got it all!"

"Well, I don't know about that one, Juni. He is outstanding, but I wouldn't say he is the best. I still have my money on the now number-two recruit Washito! If Inei was not as lucky as he was, there's no way the game would have ended up the way it had!"

Another commentator by the name of Stoke Smite reacts to Shike's comment.

"W-what?! Come on, man! This prospect, SINGLE-handedly, brought his team back from a twenty-something point hole, broke Washito's ankles on multiple occasions, and the only reason he didn't perform that well in the first half as well is that he had something lingering in his mind!"

Shike counters back.

"Which means he was not game-ready! That's part of what makes him a weak player; if those five girls had not shown up, Washito might have won by forty points!"

Juni steps in.

"Everyone has weaknesses, but what about Washito's reaction to Inei's second-half performance?! He was unable to overcome Inei and was only able to score the smallest amount of points in a game ever by Inei's defense! He may not always need the girls, and I think they just cleared something up for him that was holding him down in the first half!"

Stoke begins yelling once again.

"Thank you, Juni, for taking my stand! Shike doesn't know what he's talking about without evidence! Inei is definitely, even though not ranked yet, the number one prospect in the world right now!"

As Inei watches with a smile, a loud crash comes from the kitchen.

Aneko: "Dang it, Azami!"

Azami: "I'm sorry, Aneko! I didn't mean to drop that."

Inei goes to turn his head and then remembers. He hesitates to continue, then turns back towards the television, turning it down to a quiet volume, and lays back.

I can take a small nap while I wait.

Inei then slowly drifts off to sleep.

Aneko's head shoots up when Azami drops her plate. Azami is confused.

"What is it, Aneko?"

Aneko squints, turning her head.

"Inei almost peaked when you dropped the plate, I was getting ready to hit him."

Azami frowns a little.

"For someone who has a crush on him, you sure are mean to him."

Aneko stammers, shocked by Azami's sudden statement, a hint of confusion in her stammering blushing at the same time.

"Just because I do like him-I mean, I'm mean to him because, but I don't..."

Yui walks over, putting her arm around Aneko.

"Look, don't sweat it; keep being you. Inei is the kind of guy who would pick us based on who we are, not who we're trying to be."

Aneko crosses her arms, looking away with the blush remaining on her face.

"Speak for yourself."

Yui, accepting Aneko's reaction, now teases her.

"Oh? Are you feeling a bit, possibly regretful, that you have been mean to him? I AM the one who argued with you to give him a chance as a friend, to begin with."

Aneko grits her teeth, blushing.

"Whatever. Quit distracting me from my cooking. I'm trying to be the best."

Yui smirks more.

"Why? Because you want Inei to love it?!"

Aneko snaps her head towards Yui with a blush.

"And what dish did you make that's so good that you're so arrogantly boasting upon me?!"

Yui laughs.

"I'm not boasting a bit. I accept I can't cook. Yasu is the cook in our house."

Aneko finally confidently sticks her nose up.

"I at least believe I can compete with Chura!"

Yui raises her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Wow, hold on, do you know what you're talking about competing against with confidence?! Chura is one of the leads of the cooking club for a reason!"

Aneko still keeps her nose up, a smirk on her face.

"So?! I believe I can be just as good!"

Yui shrugs nonchalantly.

"I'll accept you believe it, but it's simply not true. None of us can compete with Chura."

Yui walks off, joining and now teasing her sister since she has already finished the plate she made. Aneko then lowers her head with a frown, looking over at Chura, who waits patiently in front of the oven. Azami takes Aneko's hands, shocking her.

"Hey, regardless if it is as good as Chura's, know Inei will like all our foods. Not only because he looked hungry when you kicked him out, but because he's our friend."

Aneko smiles, nodding with joy.

"Thanks, Azami."

And with that, the girls all branch off, making final touches or finishing up what they had been making.

"Inei, wake up."

Inei slowly opens his eyes, seeing all five girls' heads hovering above his, with a smile on their faces. Azami speaks on behalf of everyone.

"We finished making our foods if you'd like to come to judge them now."

As Azami finishes her sentence, Inei's stomach growls, and the girls giggle as Inei puts his hands to his stomach.

"I'll take that as you're ready; come on!!"

She takes his hand and pulls him up, pulling him into the kitchen and sitting him in a chair, five different dishes covered. The girls stand far back from the table, Azami the only one presented at the table.

"Okay, Inei, your first dish will be-"

She opens it, and lines of handmade sushi sit on a plate, well-placed and formatted.

"Sushi!"

Inei looks at it and takes a piece, plopping it inside his mouth.

Wow, this is good for being homemade. I'm genuinely impressed, especially with it being sushi.

Although Inei's thoughts are joyous and happy, his face is emotionless to keep from showing how he feels as a surprise. Azami then moves on.

"The next dish is-"

Azami opens it, the savory scent of noodles and cheese hitting him immediately as the steam arises from the tray.

"Lasagna!"

Inei notices the girls, everyone but Chura getting a sad feeling.

They must know this is Chura's and that it tastes good; I mean look at this food, it looks flawless.

Inei takes his fork and scoops up some of it, taking it and biting into it, the flavors melting in his mouth, his stomach growling for more.

This lasagna is restaurant-material food! This lasagna must be Chura's, being from the cooking club.

Inei sets it to the side as Azami opens the next dish; a sandwich sits on a plate made of ham and cheese. Azami and Inei both stare at it, confused. Inei nonetheless takes it and eats it.

Basic but still good.

Inei sets it to the side, Azami opening the next dish; an exquisite meatloaf sits on a plater, a piece already cut and laying in front of it to show the impressiveness of the inside. Inei takes a glimpse at the back; all the girls are seemingly shocked by this food as well and who may have cooked it. Inei takes the slice and takes a bite, his mouth-watering.

Wow! Now I'm confused! Who in the group could cook as well as Chura?!

After he moves it over, Azami uncovers the last dish; chicken and dumplings sit in a bowl, and Inei takes a bite.

Jeez, all of these girls are pretty impressive at cooking! Except for the sandwich, unfortunately, that is basic.

Inei then cracks his neck as Azami brings over all five.

"Okay, Inei, put your hand on top of last-"

Before Azami could finish, he placed his hand over the sandwich, and Yui skipped forward happily.

"Yeah, I know I can't cook, so this does not hurt me. Thanks for being honest, Inei!"

Then, Inei places his hand on top of the sushi, Azami raising her hand, Chura a little shocked for her to be out of the count early.

"I tried something I've never made and something a little too difficult for me, and I understand why I got fourth. Who's third, Inei?"

Inei puts his hand on the dumplings, Yasu smiling.

"I expected to get fourth. Thank you, Inei."

What is left is the meatloaf and lasagna, Chura and Aneko both standing across from him. Azami speaks.

"Inei, which was the better meal?"

Aneko stands nervous as Chura stands proud. Inei looks at both dishes and puts his hands on both of them. The girls were very confused, Azami looking at him puzzled.

"Inei, you can't pick both, or are you saying they're equal?"

Inei nods and takes another bite of both. Chura slams her hands on the table.

"I cannot accept! One of us has to be better! You can't have two winners!"

Azami takes one of Chura's and one of Aneko's, lifting their hands over their heads.

"We have two winners! Chura's lasagna and Aneko's meatloaf!"

Chura still rages on about only one winner while Aneko stands in shock with a blush on her face, not believing that she had even managed to tie Chura to win a cooking contest. Yui walks over to Aneko, wrapping an arm around her and hugging her.

"Well, look at you. You did manage to at least tie Chura; you're better than I thought. Do you mind if I try a piece?"

Aneko silently nods, and Yui walks over, takes a bite of the meatloaf, chews it for a moment, and then looks at Aneko.

"Crap, Aneko, that is phenomenal! I just kinda wanted to taste it to see if Inei was saying it was a tie, so no one won, but he wasn't kidding; this has to be as good!"

Chura looks at it and takes a piece, eating it and looking at Aneko with a confused look.

"Where did you learn to cook like this, Aneko? I didn't teach you because I only make Italian dishes."

Aneko giggles nervously.

"Honestly, I didn't learn. I got fortunate, and I took spices I thought would be together and mixed them with the meat I used."

Chura then slams her hand on the table again.

"So it was just luck?! Rematch! We need to go again!"

Azami giggles shyly and nervously.

"Chura, we already used half of the groceries here at my house."

Chura looks at her and then squeals, hugging Azami.

"I'm so sorry, Azami! We used so many things! I'm so sorry!"

Azami laughs, hugging Chura.

"Nah, it's okay, Chura. I understand; at least we all had fun doing it, right?!"

All the girls nod in agreement.

"Now that that's over let's finish off by playing cards and eating the foods we made, except for Yui's."

Yui react sarcastically, causing all the girls to laugh.

"Hey! What do you mean except for mine?! I'm not good at cooking, but I at least tried!... I'm joking! I know it's not good!"

Inei watches them with a smile, thinking in his head as they move things around and chat among themselves.

The dishes they made all simplify themselves, don't they? Yasu's dumplings make her formal and elegant. Yui's sandwich makes her simple and sporty. Azami's sushi is bold and outgoing. Chura's lasagna was elegant and somewhat classy, and Aneko's meatloaf was loud and aggressive with the spices. It's great to see how different perspectives can play an additional role in the same category. All they did was make one thing; food. And yet, every single one of them, even following that category, made something completely different.

He takes a moment to take in all five of them laughing together as they do something with the cards, Azami making some joke.

And even with it all being so different, they are all still the same thing; friends.

Inei's thoughts are interrupted for a moment.

"Inei!"

Inei snaps his attention to Azami, who sits with the deck of cards, realizing that all the girls sit together, him still off in the distance, all of them looking at him with greeting smiles.

"Are you gonna come play with us or keep daydreaming about us?"

Inei's eyes twitch with surprise, then he smiles softly, slowly walking over to them while shaking his head and taking an empty seat at the table between the twins, all the girls cheering. Aneko begins the dealing, handing out five cards to each person.

"We're playing five card draw for fun!"

Everyone looks at their cards, Inei looking at his, holding six clubs, nine clubs, eight clubs, a queen of hearts, and an ace of diamonds. He looks around at the girls' faces, all five stone cold, not showing what they have by the look on their faces.

They play this often when they're together.

Azami looks at Aneko, who sits next to her.

"What would you like, Aneko?"

Aneko takes two cards from her hand and puts them in the middle, Azami handing her two cards in return.

"Yasu?"

Yasu takes one and places it softly on top of Aneko's two, Azami handing her one.

"Inei?"

Inei thinks for a moment.

I almost have a flush or a straight; in a whole deck, there's approximately a twenty percent chance of collecting a flush, and there's roughly a forty percent chance of getting a straight if I throw out my three clubs. I have the opportunity a little bit higher.

Inei puts the three clubs in the trash pile with a hesitant placement, then Azami gives him three more cards, an Ace, a Jack, and a nine. Inei stares at his cards in frustration.

It couldn't have even been something like a three or a two. It HAD to be a nine and not a ten.

Azami goes to Yui; Yui casually throws out four, and Azami gives her four; Chura throws out one and takes one, and Azami throws out three and collects three.

"Is there anyone who would like to fold?"

Inei puts his hand down face-up, indicating that he has folded. Nobody else does. Azami giggles.

"Okay! Reveal hands now!"

All five of them lower their hands simultaneously, Inei studying them as they sit, and realizes what he wanted was a zero percent chance, Aneko having a four-of-a-kind with tens, everyone else having a full house or a pair. They all look at Aneko with amazement, Yui speaking.

"Wow, Aneko! You won! This day is your lucky day, huh?!"

Aneko looks at it with shock.

"Y-yeah, I never win."

Inei watches her with a glance, small enough for it not to be immediately noticeable.

She seems a bit easier and less aggressive, maybe because she feels like she doesn't need to be.

Aneko then collects the cards and stacks them up, laying out more cards, everyone playing the game Aneko had instructed. As time goes, considering they did not wake up till two-thirty and the cooking contest took a few hours, people became more and more tired, eventually, one after another falling out and falling asleep; first it was Chura, then both of the twins, then Azami who went upstairs to her room, leaving Aneko and Inei at the table. It is silent for a moment, then Aneko mumbles something.

"D-do you wanna play speed?"

Inei tilts his head, not knowing the game at all. Aneko smiles.

"I'll teach you."

She lays out the cards, two stacks of ten on the outside, two cards lying face down side by side, and Inei and Aneko have half of the remaining deck split by them.

"You pick up five cards from your deck. Then, we both flip the middle two cards and begin placing cards down in order of rank. You always have to have five in your hand. If neither of us can play, we flip one over from the ten I set to the side. No jokers. Okay?"

Inei nods, and he does as instructed, picking up five. Both of their hands go to the middle, grasping the middle card.

"Ready, go!"

They flip them, racing as fast as they can, placing cards down quickly in order, drawing cards, placing them, and finally getting to a moment where neither person can play with only one card.

"Ready to flip, Inei?"

Inei nods, and they flip one from the extra ten, the number being the one Inei needs. They slam the card down, it being able to go. Either way, the number is nine, Inei having the eight, and Aneko with the ten. Aneko then blushes majorly, hers and Inei's fingers wrapping around each other's slightly from the speed of the play cause both had slightly thrown the card down for theirs to be first. As quick as the game, Aneko bolts up and runs to the bathroom.

"You win. I'll be back to go to sleep goodnight!"

Inei watches as the door closes, looking at his hand.

Heh. I did that on purpose. I figured Aneko would freak out and let me win. Oh well, sleep time.

Inei goes to the floor, taking Aneko's original spot and sleeping in it, letting Aneko have the chair for the wrong move he pulled to win the game.