“Inoue-san, you absolutely have to turn this in today, alright?” One of their teachers gave her a slip of paper as Takina looked at it weirdly. “You know that in this school, each student must enroll in a club activity.”
“…Is it really a must? What effect would it have in my standing if I did not ?” Takina looked at the paper, her hands not stopping from taking the books from under her desk, and into her backpack.
“Let’s just say that… It’d be a lot more difficult for our school to send recommendations to your target universities, if you don’t.” The teacher explained.
“…That’s a dirty way of dealing with it, if you ask me,” Takina responded coldly.
“…Even if you say that to me… Nonetheless, today, okay?” The teacher gently tapped the paper.
“…I understand.” Takina closed her bag as she looked at the paper.
It was a disaster. For some really weird reason, all of the sports related clubs weren’t accepting new members.
“I’m sorry we have enough members for now.”
“Sorry, not accepting members right now.”
“Sorry.”
“Not accepting.”
Takina sighed as she walked through the other end of second year corridor, then she laid eyes onto the first non-sports club. The cooking club.
Cooking Club, looking for members! Demonstration starting today!
She looked at the clubroom door. It felt like God was playing with her. It wasn’t like she didn’t know nor liked cooking, but since it’s the Cooking Club, baking could be one of them, and that was one thing she would never excel at.
Takina stood in front for a long time, and as she reached for the sliding door handle it suddenly slid open.
“Eh?”
“Eh?”
A similar height oranged haired girl looked at her in surprise. “A new member?”
Takina looked at the paper in her hand. “…Well, I suppose…?”
“Ahhh! Sensei~ We’ve got a new member!” The girl popped her head in the room before going back to look at her. “Ah. I’m Janome Erika, a second year.”
“Hello.” Takina nodded at her.
“Come on in~”
A tall foreign looking man stood behind the teacher’s desk together with a blonde and glassing wearing woman. They introduced themselves to ba Mika-sensei or mostly referred to as just ‘Sensei’, the club’s supervisor, and Nakahara Mizuki-sensei, the club’s teacher, also the home economics teacher.
“I just transferred from Kyoto a week ago, my name’s Inoue Takina.” Takina bowed as they clapped at her. “Um… Does this club not have that many members?”
Takina looked around, there was just her, the person who introduced herself as Erika, and another girl with yellow hair, who mentioned herself to be Kagari Hibana.
“We don’t get many members, but we need at least three to keep the club going, and you just saved us from that pinch!” Erika smiled at her brightly, as Mizuki nodded.
“The club’s schedule is M-W-F, we usually study recipes on Mondays, and then cook them on Wednesday and Friday. The schedule alters every week from normal dishes, aka me, and sweets, with Mika-sensei over here.” Mizuki explained as she pointed at the classroom’s whiteboard. “Today’s a Wednesday, and a Baking Week, so we will be making some cookies today.”
“I’ve never baked before…” Takina murmured to herself. “Um, please take care of me.”
Everyone in the club were kind. While Mizuki was strict, it was mainly Mika who gave kind words of encouragement, and his cookie recipe was intriguing. It had some cinnamon in it.
While the cinnamon scent whiffed in their noses as the cookies started to finish baking, the door to the club room suddenly slid open.
“Ah! Sensei~ Cookies today?” A white haired girl in a red uniform suddenly entered with grandiose. She headed directly to the oven and stared at the cookies. “Whoa!!! Those all look good! Especially those two large ones there with the huge choco chips!”
Takina, who also stood next to the oven, blinked at her. Ah, those are mine… “Th- Thank you…? I’m not sure if they taste well, though…”
“Oh? A new second year? Oooh. A face I haven’t seen around!” The white haired girl looked at Takina with a bright smile. “You’re so cute~”
“Th- Thank you…?” Takina blinked at her.
“She’s a new member, she joined today,” Mika explained.
“Welcome to the cooking club~ I’m Nishikigi Chisato~ You can just call me Chisato! No need for any suffixes!” Chisato smiled at her as she held her hand. “Where are you from? What’s your name?”
“I just transferred here from Kyoto two weeks ago. My name’s Inoue Takina, um, Chisato-…san…?”
“Takina~ What a pretty name!” Chisato smiled at her so widely, Takina felt her face heat up at the attention. “Can I try your cookie?”
“Whoa there, smooth criminal.” Mizuki grabbed Chisato by her collar and dragged her away. “You can’t just ask a woman to give you her cookie!”
“I meant the food, you lecherous woman! Why do you always associate food with body parts!?” Chisato started fighting with Mizuki, bantering as they usually did.
Mika sighed. “I’m sorry. They’re cousins.”
“Ah… I see.” Takina nodded as she side eyed Chisato. What an odd senpai…
A few more banter, and some confused exchanged by Takina to the other members of the cooking club, the oven dinged, and suddenly everyone was excited as they wait for the cookies to cool down.
“Um…” Takina turned to Erika who only smiled at her wryly.
“Ah, Chisato-san isn’t a member, she just loved to drop by and try out food.” Erika smiled at her.
“I- I see…” Takina looked at the girl sitting across her swaying left and right as the cookies in front of them sat in the tray. What a really odd senpai…
The cookies soon cooled down and everyone crowded around the long table as they look at everyone’s results. Takina looked at her handmade cookies and immediately felt a presence next to her.
“Um… Chisato-…san?”
“Can I? Please?” Chisato looked at her with so much expectations, it was like a golden retriever waiting for its treats.
“Y- Yes… I can’t guarantee the taste, however…” Takina blinked as she offered one in a baking paper.
“Then, let’s try it together!” Chisato smiled at her as she split the cookie in the baking paper into half and gave the other to her.
It was the very first time Takina had baked something, and it tasted sweet, as she looked at the mysterious white haired female happily eating her handmade cookie in front of her.
Although she just joined the club out of desperation for a club, she started to actually enjoy coming as she learned more things to cook, and somehow, the mysterious presence of the weird senpai. The weird senpai named Nishikigi Chisato.
Takina discovered, in the brief time they meet each other in the cooking club, that Nishikigi Chisato-senpai wasn’t part of any clubs, and that she actually spends most of her time being an honorary member of most of the sports club. Nakahara-sensei mentioned that Chisato always dropped by the Cooking Club after each day’s activities just to steal food. However, Takina didn’t feel it that way, she did notice that Chisato was always there.
What Takina hadn’t expected with the club was that they had some homework as well. It made sense given that during School Festivals and such, they would be in-charge of supervising and cooking up the food, would really just the three of them be able to handle it?
“Um, Sensei.” Takina approached Mika one club day. “Is it possible to use the clubroom on non-club activity days?”
“Yes can. However, you have to remember to clean up, and close down lights, together with the gas tank, and such. Did you want to come on non-club days?”
“Yes. Um… Nakahara-sensei said that I need to practice my cooking, but I don’t have the same equipment at home…” Takina looked at the club room, avoiding Mika’s gaze.
“Okay. Stay after today’s activities, I’ll teach you which to check.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Oi, didn’t you overdo it with those newbies?” Fuki chugged down a bottle of water before throwing it down the recycle bin.
“Hm? They need to practice if they want to be good.” Chisato only grinned at her. “Anyway, I need to go and get changed. Bye, Basketball Captain Fuki!“
“Stop saying that!”
Chisato ran away with a towel around her neck and noticed the lights on in the Cooking Clubroom. “Is someone here?” She silently walked through the halls as she peeked through the windows. “Oya? Oya, oya, oya?”
It was her, the black haired beauty she’s been eyeing since she laid her eyes on her the very first time. Inoue Takina. “What’s she doing here?”
As per her usual, Chisato silently opened the back door of the club room and infiltrated the room. She crouched behind one of the tables on the other end of the room and sniffed the air a little and noticed the scent of some hot dogs, onions, and egg. Omelette?
Chisato watched her intently. On rare occasions, Takina wore her hair in a ponytail, and today was one of those days. Those amethyst eyes focused on chopping the onions. “She’s so pretty…” Takina wiped a sweat trickling down her forehead with the sleeve of her uniform and continued chopping. She looked up from the table and Chisato immediately hid under the table. “Whoops.” Takina watched her feet move away from the table, then return promptly followed by the sound of the gas stove being turned on.
Takina focused on the frying pan as she added adequate oil on the pan, waiting a few moments, before slowly adding some of the egg formula. Chisato silently walked near the wall of the room as she moved in closer and closer.
“Oohh~ Those eggs are looking really nice.” Chisato grinned as she silently walked behind Takina who was focused in trying to get the correct egg texture by slowly stirring it with a chopsticks. “Nice technique.”
“Hyaa!” Takina took a stepped backward, stepping on Chisato’s foot. She got off balanced and struggled to keep her feet on the floor, with her eyes closed she braced for impact but was embraced inside.
“Are you okay? Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you…” Chisato wrapped her arms around Takina’s waist as she helped her stand up. Takina took a step forward, still losing her balance as she collided into Chisato’s embrace, faces close, as they felt each other’s breaths. “I- Agh, I– s- sorry…”
“I- I’m sorry, too…” Takina took a few steps backward as they both blushed.
The two of them then suddenly smelled something burning near them. With Chisato’s quick reflexes, she turned off the stove and removed the pan from it. While the egg wasn’t completely burnt, Takina went over and flipped it and as expected, it already had some burnt spots around it.
“Uu…” Takina sighed and transferred it to a plate.
“Sorry…” Chisato held her hands in front of her as she apologized. “As apology, could you please let me eat it?”
“E- Eh?” Takina blinked at her. “If you wanted to eat something, I’ll just make you a new one…?”
“I really want this one.” Chisato grinned at her. “I was actually observing you a while and it looked really really good, and oh crap, I’m still in the basketball uniform, sorry, did I smell of sweat? Maybe I should go back?”
Takina blinked at her. “Ah, no, it was, um, fine.” She blushed as she looked away. She smelled nice.
“Really? Well, if you say so… so… can I have it?” Chisato smiled at her brightly.
“I haven’t made the rice yet, though…?” Takina only watched her.
“Oh! That’s right. I’ll go get changed and go back then. Don’t throw it, okay? I’ll eat it.” Chisato grinned at her and quickly disappeared from the clubroom.
Takina exhaled the breath she wasn’t aware she was holding. “…She truly is so haphazard… It was like a storm just came and left.”
With her now new found nervousness, she focused on cooking the fried rice that goes inside the omelette. First frying the onions she had chopped, throwing in the hotdogs, and then the rice. She tried her best to spread the onions and hotdogs evenly before adding the ketchup on the sides to make sure it spread to every rice instead of making it clump together immediately.
Takina heard a knock from the door.
“Please come in.”
Chisato entered with a big smile, now finally dressed up in her third year uniform. “I’m baaaack~ Oh! Are you done?”
“Yes.” Takina nodded as she finished cleaning the utensils she just used and letting them dry on the sink. “Um… Here…” She placed a plate in front of the desk Chisato had just sat down and gave her a spoon and fork. “I really don’t recommend the burnt egg…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine~” Chisato smiled. “I’ll be digging in now, then~” She took the spoon and parted the egg from top to bottom. “Ohh~ Nicely tossed.” She scooped up a spoonful of rice and eggs and put it inside her mouth. “Mmm~~~~~~”
Takina blinked in nervousness as she awaited her reviews.
“That’s really, really good!” Chisato grinned at her before going for her neck spoonful, digging into the plate quickly. “Even if the eggs are charred on one side–I’m really sorry about that–You put in a nice amount of milk, so the taste is really light and fluffy! Your overall balancing of the onions and hotdogs are really nice too. Well, done!”
“D- Do you really think so?” Takina smiled at her expectantly before frowning. “…Nakahara-sensei said I always made it too slowly, so I could never get the correct balance on the eggs and the rice…”
“Guh… I’m really sorry about the eggs, that was really my fault, but hey, if you don’t mind… I can come taste your food whenever you made them?” Chisato grinned at her.
Takina only stared at her flatly. “…You just wanted to eat, didn’t you?”
“Eh heh~ There’s that too!” Chisato grinned at her. “I can’t help it~ Everything you make is delicious!”
“Do you flatter just anyone like that?” Takina blushed lightly as she picked up the empty plate from Chisato’s desk and put it on the sink and started washing it. “But… Thank you, Chisato.”
Chisato looked at her in surprise, before giving her a bright smile with glinting eyes. “I’ll be your gourmet connoisseur!”
“Aren’t those the same words?”
“Eh? Really?”
“I think?”
It was the start of their little secret meetings. Before noticing it, Takina enjoyed the club off-days, more than the actual club activity days. It was not like she didn’t like attending the club with everyone, but it was because she also loved to spend time with her extremely weird senpai, Nishikigi Chisato.
That was until that time Takina heard a really weird rumor.
“Ugh… We really shouldn’t have agreed to close our member search. We need at least two more people for the volleyball team.” Some of the other second years groaned as they passed by Takina’s classroom.
“We had no choice, it was the deal if we were going to continue relying on Chisato-senpai’s skills for the next competition.”
Takina tilted her head. “…?”
She also thought herself that the other clubs, like the volleyball team, or the basketball team, weren’t looking for members. Usually, sports clubs would accept all the members they needed, because the more reserves they have, the easier it would be for the rest of the members.
Was it somehow related to Chisato’s ‘all-around helper’ kind of thing? She then decided that maybe she’ll ask about it later.
Still thinking about the conversation of the volleyball team, Takina stared at the chopping board in front of her. A green bell pepper sat on it, untouched. She shook her head and decided that waiting anxiously wouldn’t solve anything. She grabbed the knife and started chopping as the door suddenly slid open.
“Chisato-san has come~!”
“Ah, Chisato–mm…!” Takina chipped her own finger as she let go of the knife and pressed on its surroundings to let it bleed.
“Takina! Are you okay?!” Chisato immediately rushed to her side and helped let her finger bleed. She opened the faucet and let it run under it. “You shouldn’t chop things without looking at them…”
“I- I’m sorry, my mind was somewhere else…” Takina watched Chisato’s face, it was the first time she had ever seen her make that expression. Her face of worry, and concern…
“Geez~ You can’t use a knife absentmindedly, okay? Let it run under the water, I’ll get the emergency kit.” Chisato smiled at her before disappearing into the staff room then quickly returning with a kit. “Here you go, dry your hand.”
“Thank you very much… How did you know where it was?” Takina sat on one of the desks as she dried her injury.
“Well~ Because I’m always here~” Chisato smiled at her as she took out the disinfectant, cotton and a band aid. “Come on~ Let Doctor Chisato see~”
“…Do you know anything about why the other sports clubs aren’t looking for new members?” Takina looked at her finger as Chisato cleaned it with the cotton.
“Ah, ahh. That?” Chisato looked at Takina for a moment before focusing on the task at hand. “That’s well… Maybe?”
“…Please tell me about it.”
“…You won’t get angry?” Chisato only looked at her with worry.
“…Why would I get angry?” Takina only wondered.
“Then I won’t say it.”
“I’ll try not to be? Please tell me, Chisato.” Takina only stared at her, confused.
“Erm… I was actually a member of the Cooking club… but the Principal said that I’m wasting my talent here, so she asked me to become an all around member of the sports clubs, but with the third years graduating last spring, the Cooking club was on the verge of closure… then you transferred in!” Chisato gave her a smile as she bandaged Takina’s finger. “All done~ No more chopping for you today~”
“Thank you very much. What did me, transferring here, has to do with things…?” Takina still looked at Chisato in confusion.
“Uh… If you had joined another club, the cooking club wouldn’t be here now so… Um…” Chisato scratched her cheek. “I had to cheat a little…?”
Takina then pieced everything together. Why the sports clubs weren’t hiring, why the cooking club had a demonstration, possibly even why their teacher was forcing her to decide on that day.
“Uu… Now I feel really bad…” Chisato stared at the emergency kit as she placed back everything she took out and closed it. “Um… If you still want to leave and join a different club, that’s totally fine…?”
“Why did you go all through those to get me to join the cooking club?” Takina asked.
“Ah… The million dollar question, huh…” Chisato smiled at her wryly. “Um… Sensei… He really loved making sweets, this club is basically his dreams of making a cafe, and sweets. I didn’t want him to lose it…”
“Mika-sensei? Why?”
“Well, He’s my Dad.” Chisato smiled at her. “He always wanted to open a cafe and settle down somewhere, but I was still a student, and he wanted me to finish all the way to university until he could open a business… So when we formed the cooking club, he was finally able to do something about his hobbies. I’m really sorry! I’ll… If you really want to leave and join another club, it’s totally fine!”
“What are you talking about?” Takina looked at her, perplexed. “I’m not leaving.”
“Eh? Even though, I sort of duped you into joining…?”
“Yes, I thought it was odd, but I didn’t join because I was forced to do so. Not to mention, I enjoy being here, so please don’t worry.” Takina smiled at her.
“Ehhh? Th- Thank you, Takinaaaa.” Chisato got up from her desk and engulfed her into a big hug. “I’m really sorry for hiding all these…”
“Are you okay, though? You seem to be really busy…?”
“…Are you worried for me?” Chisato smiled at her warmly, pulling away from the hug.
“…Wh- Why would I be…” Takina blushed as she looked away.
“It could be busy, and tiring, but eating your cooking always gives me the energy to keep going!” Chisato smiled at her. “So please let me continue eating them~”
“I- If you’re fine with them…”
“I’ll be looking forward to them, ah, but for today, no more cooking for you! Wanna skip and go somewhere?”
“Eh?”
“I know this really cool pancake place!”
Takina sighed as she let herself be dragged away to her weird senpai’s whims. Chisato smiled at her as she took her (non-injured) hand, and dragged her outside the clubroom. The story of how she fell in love with her at first sight, that while the situation was true, it was all but an excuse to eat her home cooking, would be a story for another day.
(It Was An Excuse/END)
“Sensei! I’ve thought up a new idea for a parfait!” Takina announced to everyone in the club as she took out a plate of a layer of pancake with some chocolate cream on top. “It’s a HotChoco Parfait!”
Mizuki looked at it with amused eyes. “Why does it look like a p–“
“Chisato’s here!” Chisato slid the door open. “Good, af-ter-noon! How’s everybody doing? And oh, ohhh, what’s this? Why does it look like a p–“
“It’s a new parfait recipe I thought of! What do you think?” Takina smiled at her brightly as Chisato looked at it.
“It looks p- pretty nice???” Chisato looked at Mizuki as she looked for help. Mizuki only shook her head as she covered her mouth with a hand. “Let me try?”
“It was really delicious.” Mika came from the back room, with him was an empty parfait plate.
“That’s what Sensei said so I thought I’d make it again for everyone.” Takina grinned.
Mizuki couldn’t breathe as she almost died laughing, and Chisato had tears in her eyes as she ate the parfait, because Takina’s innocence was far too pure for her to say anything about it.
The door to the cooking club opened as a small girl, who seemed to not even be in her twenties only looked at them. “What’s that? Is that a p–“
The story of how a flying paper plate knocked down the school’s new IT teacher, Kurumi, would be a tale for another day.
“Oh no! Kurumi-chaaaan, are you okay? Are you sleepy?”
(END)
