Chapter 63
Cooking
Satsuki’s kitchen smelt of melted chocolate and vanilla. Elyna was wrapping the pieces she’d painfully whipped under sharp supervision while the little lady chattered beside her about the Valentine hierarchy.
“So, those are honmei-choco for love.” She gestured to a bag of store-bought chocolates by the door. “And those are giri-choco—obligation chocolates. Then there’s tomo-choco for friends, jibun-choco for yourself…”
Elyna’s head spun at the complexity. Everywhere else in the world, you just gave chocolate to someone you fancied, end of story. Here, apparently, you needed a flowchart.
I shouldn’t tell her I’m going to ignore most of it.
Her teaching assistant salary wasn’t made to fill greedy bellies. But that one box on the counter was precious.
“Arigatō gozaimasu,” Elyna bowed to her friend, grateful for the lesson.
“Oh, it was fun! You know I love cooking, Elyna-sensei.” With her hime sidelocks, Satsuki sometimes looked like a princess who had stepped out of time, all shy and proper. That she refused to follow her parent’s footsteps at the restaurant didn’t diminish her love for the craft.
One day, Satsuki would be a wonderful nurse … a nurse that could cool any chef under the table.
“Now,” the girl interrupted her musings, pulling out rice and vegetables, “I promised I’d show you my mother’s nimono recipe. The one Shūji-senpai always wants.”
Elyna watched Satsuki run cold water over the rice, working it with her fingers until the liquid gradually turned clear. The motion was so automatic, so ingrained, that she didn’t even look down as she rinsed and drained, rinsed and drained.
We never washed rice in Italy, Elyna mused, remembering the restaurant near her flat in Firenze. Their risotto had been to die for, and definitely using the extra starch to keep the dish cohesive. Different country, different rice, I suppose.
“Hey Satsuki-chan,” Elyna said carefully, “how are things going between you two, by the way?”
Satsuki’s hands paused on the colander as her cheeks turned red. “Erm, what?”
Teasing her was way too entertaining; Elyna could easily fathom why Shūji was so adamant to make her blush. “Come on, gimme some juicy gossip now. You’ve been all secretive since Christmas. I don’t even know how you got together.”
“Ah. Onishi… Shūji-senpai walks me home when he stays at his mother’s.”
Taken aback, Elyna blinked. “His parents are divorced?”
Satsuki’s shoulders tensed, as if she had not meant to reveal that particular secret. “Hai. He spends a lot of time here…”
That explained the defensive attitude, the need to annoy. Japan was still a very traditional country where family was sacred. “You mean he invites himself for dinner?”
A smirk bloomed on Elyna’s face at Satsuki’s horrified expression. “No, of course not! Kaa-san is always happy to have him.”
Elyna waggled her eyebrows. “So he knows to behave for his future in-laws.”
A scarlet wave overcame the girl’s cheeks; she dropped her face into her hands, smearing her skin with remnants of chocolate that had dried on her knuckles. “Elyna-senseeei!”
Elyna couldn’t help but laugh.
She’s so cute.
Setting a hand on her student’s shoulder, she tried to reassure her. “OK, OK, I’ll stop.” She opened the rice cooker. “So,” she commented, hoping to coax Satsuki from her hiding place, “Did Shūji’s father get remarried?”
The man she’d met at the nationals had seemed pretty serene, and immensely proud of his son. She hoped, for Shūji’s sake, that his relationship with his father was fulfilling. Eventually, Satsuki huffed and dropped her hands, looking conflicted.
“Ah! Erm… Onishi-san did … uh…” She bit her lip, eyes darting everywhere but Elyna’s face. “I don’t think Shūji-senpai will be too happy with me talking about it, really. It’s complicated. You should ask him yourself.”
Elyna snorted. “It’d be easier to make Haruki dance ballet.”
The mental image sent the student into a fit of giggles. Elyna couldn’t contain a smile at the sound. She understood why Shūji, bad boy at heart, couldn’t resist such a tender character.
But beneath that overly kawaii exterior, Satsuki could be stubborn as a mule and dedicated to boot. Elyna watched her measure the water with the precision of a chemist, then set the lid on the rice cooker.
“Shūji-senpai…” she started, sounding worried. “He complained that Haruki blackmailed him into … well, he said he should take good care of me, and threatened to reveal a secret if he didn’t behave.”
Elyna’s eyebrows rose. “That’s getting juicy. Do you know what kind of secret?”
Satsuki shook her head in frustration. “No. But I heard them talk once, it had to do with a prank in athletics class … but every time I mention it, they just clam up like shells.”
Kuso … merda! Elyna’s wrist rolled instinctively, even though the pain was mostly gone. Except on cold and wet days. I think I know exactly what Haruki is blackmailing Shūji with…
“Ne, Elyna-sensei?” Satsuki’s concerned voice cut through the recollection. “Do you know what this is about?”
Yeah, I know. And you shouldn’t.
One look at Satsuki’s innocent expression decided it; Shūji was clearly striving to be a better person; she wouldn’t be the one crushing that image for them both. Some truths were better left buried.
“Honestly? It doesn’t really matter, right?” she responded carefully. “If you love Shūji-kun, whatever happened in the past is just history. He clearly adores you.”
“Really?” Satsuki’s hopeful tone was almost painful to hear. Only a woman like her could possibly dig out the heart that lay underneath Shūji’s bitter layers.
“Really. People change, especially when they have someone worth changing for.” She watched another blush rise to Satsuki’s cheeks and smirked. “So basically, Haruki was playing protective —?”
Her sentence was cut off by the front door banging open. Onishi Shūji—who else?—appeared in the doorway like a cat who’d caught the scent of fish. His dark hair, longer than it used to be, was slightly damp and his cheeks flushed from the cold.
“Oh! My two favourite ladies in all the world!” he exclaimed, walking straight to the kitchen as if he lived there.
“Shūji-senpai!” Satsuki’s voice rose in panic as her eyes darted nervously towards the chocolate boxes on the counter. The young man ignored his girlfriend’s protest in favour of dropping a kiss to her cheek, so tender that Elyna melted on the spot.
Satsuki gaped, only held upright by the arm that slid around her waist. “A cooking lesson?” Shūji gave Elyna a smug look. “How domestic of you, Elyna-chan. Learning to cook for someone special?”
“Don’t call me that, Sushi,” Elyna replied automatically, feeling bitter about her obvious lack of skill.
“Hmm.” The boy hopped onto the counter with easy grace, clearly a familiar routine judging by Satsuki’s resigned expression. “I can’t help but notice those lovely little packages over there. Valentine’s preparation?”
Of course he knows. And Satsuki’s flustered protest would not deter him from his goal as he reached for the carefully wrapped chocolates. “Homemade treats! Sacchan, you make me the happiest of men.”
His eyes held a challenge: call me a boy again, see if you dare!
Idly, Elyna wondered if they’d been intimate; jealousy flared in her stomach. With Satsuki’s parents’ busy schedule, the lovebirds probably had many opportunities to tumble into bed, or spend a romantic evening sharing sweet nothings on the sofa.
“It’s not what you think,” Satsuki stammered as she tried to save her chocolate box.
Sensing her distress, Shūji’s focus shifted, allowing his girlfriend to disappear into her room with her precious cargo.
Elyna’s pulse suddenly quickened as his catlike expression zeroed in on the gift destined for Kazuki.
He reached towards the carefully wrapped package with a wicked grin. “I’m sure that girlfriend you’ve been hiding from us will be absolutely thrilled…”
“Touch that, and you’re dead,” Elyna snarled, snatching the box so swiftly that she surprised them both. Beating a cat at a game involving reflexes was a feat in itself.
Shūji used her brewing anger to his advantage. “Ooh, defensive! So I was right, there is a secret girlfriend. Is she at school?”
DEFCON 1, this is dangerous territory. Elyna glowered to hide the flush that tried to claim her cheeks.
“Piss-off, kid, before I beat you with a shovel.”
Shūji’s smile turned amused, responding to the threat. “Think you can take me, Elyna-chan?”
“I’d rather not,” she retorted smugly, stowing her precious chocolate away from the prankster. “For the record, not even if you were the last man on earth.”
His eyebrows shot up, not the least flustered by the innuendo. They definitely did it. “Incest is forbidden, Elyna-chan.”
Elyna snorted; she would die before admitting how amused she was by the comeback.
“You wound me,” Shūji continued, dramatically splaying a hand over his chest. “Sacchan finds me perfectly acceptable.”
Oh, you just gave me the perfect opening.
Elyna’s smile turned absolutely wicked as she delivered her killing blow. “Well, she has weird tastes. Like … oyster chocolate, really?”
Shūji’s features morphed into barely contained horror, eyes darting to the now-empty shelf. “You’re kidding… She wouldn’t.” That his voice lacked conviction felt like a victory.
“Well.” Elyna blinked innocently. “She’s going out with you, isn’t she?”
As if on cue, Satsuki appeared in the kitchen again, looking at them both suspiciously. Her hair was neatly arranged, her clothes changed into something more flattering than the faded apron.
“You’re staying for dinner, ne?”
“Who, me?” two voices responded in perfect unison.
“You both, of course,” Satsuki laughed, unfazed by the prospect of hosting two people who fought like territorial cats.
Her mother wouldn’t mind additional mouths to feed; the woman was as warm and welcoming as her daughter in that regard.
Elyna suspected that Shūji had been adopted by the family long before he started courting Satsuki.
“Does she have to?” Shūji whined while donning his best puppy-eyed look. Satsuki didn’t even blink; her immunity to her boyfriend’s antics was developing. “Yes, she does,” she responded sternly.
Shūji huffed and disappeared into the living room, clearly at ease in Satsuki’s house.
Elyna spared a fond thought for Kazuki. Was he grading papers, half-buried under the kotatsu, or bickering with his flatmate?
She hoped the chocolates would be to his taste—not too sweet and flavoured with unprocessed ingredients. Provided she managed to hand it to him without getting caught.
Elyna: made my first chocolates!
Aksel: do I get any?
Elyna: I don’t think they’ll survive being sent over
Aksel: ??not interested