Shoujo JUMP project

Kawaii Kimi no Koto da Mono!

Kuroneko

Disclaimer: we do not own Johnny & Associates and Hey! Say! JUMP. All events are entirely fictional

Chapter 16: Cooking with Yamada

The next day, Miki came a little late and saw the others chatting along, except Ryosuke.

"Good morning..." Miki greeted him quietly. The boy turned around and stared at her.

"Oh, it's the Gaijin bunny..." Ryosuke greeted back sarcastically.

"I'm not a foreigner." Miki placed her bag on her desk calmly and sat down on her chair, trying to ignore Ryosuke's presence.

"And I'm not a rabbit either." Miki muttered to herself. Ryosuke looked amused and placed his head on his palms facing her.

"Eh, angry so soon, Gaijin bunny? Maybe I should call you Baka-usagi instead..." Ryosuke chuckled at Miki as she opened her phone in effort to shut him up.

"If you're going to tease me, then-" Miki's message was cut off when she saw Ryosuke staring at her intensely.

"You're just going to give in, Bakausagi." Ryosuke muttered, not removing his gaze from Miki's eyes. The girl looked away and tried to mind her own business.

===

"Good morning everyone, this is Ninomiya-sensei and Tackey-sensei to guide you to your next cooking project." Ninomiya-sensei greeted his students and Tackey-sensei, who was just starting to light up his cigarette. Ninomiya-sensei took his lighter, and Tackey-sensei glared at him.

"!#$%^&*()_+" Tackey-sensei swore and his cigarette back to his pocket.

"Okay, kids, so anyone beside you will be your designated cooking partner."

"WHAT!" Miki suddenly stood up and banged her palms on her desk, alarming her classmates. Ryosuke remained calm despite the fact that she would be her designated cooking partner.

"Please, Kusakabe-san. Take your seat and keep calm." Ninomiya-sensei motioned her to sit.

"It is impossible to back out, Bakausagi." Ryosuke looked at her unconvincingly. Deep inside, he didn't want Miki around. Miki looked at him angrily.

"You! Aughhh! Please, Ryosuke-kun. Don't mess up my cooking..." Miki finally gave in and forced herself to bow to the boy. Ryosuke smirked and adjusted his glasses.

====

"Eh? My Evangelion Model kit is far better than yours, Taro!" Daiki rotested as he squeezed Ryutaro's head with his arms.

"Well, Dai-chan. My kits are more better because I have Nagisa Kaworu's rare figure~" Ryutaro managed to tease his upperclassman and giggled.

Keito smiled at the two as break time passed. He suddenly noticed Miki frowning and a bespectacled male with her.

"Hey, that doesn't look like Chinen-kun." Keito tugged on Daiki and Ryutaro. The two also noticed this.

"Yeah, Kusakabe-san doesn't look happy either." Ryutaro nodded to himself as Daiki squinted to get a better view.

"Hey, that's our new member, right? Yamada Ryosuke!" Daiki tried to wave, but was ignored. He noticed the time and ran to the door.

"Bye guys! Sophie stuff.. Gotta run!" Daiki huffed as he slammed the door.

===

"Well, I guess cooking class is coming as our last subject. Do you have an idea on what to cook?" Ryosuke checked the schedule and asked Miki. The girl, however, seemed to be spacing out again.

"...Rabbit soup..." Miki muttered. Ryosuke tilted his head comically and flicked his finger on her forehead.

"What, Bakausagi? You planning to cook yourself?" Ryosuke laughed sarcastically. Miki turned red and frowned.

"Stop calling me that!" Miki protested and tried to lunge at him. Ryosuke didn't mind her and held her forehead as he read the schedules.

===

Afternoon came, and the two were on the last batch.

"Yamada and Kusakabe, cooking starts now. If you two don't make a decent meal, then I won't allow the both of you to go home without finishing it. so do your best, since this is for your grades." Tackey-sensei's voice blared on the nearby speaker. Miki looked at Ryosuke uncomfortably and sighed.

"Well, goodbye good grades..." She muttered and went to her station.

Once they started cooking, the place turned into a dump as soups were thrown about, rejected. Onions, tomatoes, and other vegetables were scattered on the floor as the two continued to bicker. Four fishes were already overcooked, and flew straight to the trashcan.

"Idiot! Can't you check when the stuff's already overcooked?" Ryosuke scolded Miki for being so careless.

"B-but I was cutting-" Miki tried to explain.

"Augh! This is a fail, Miki! I can't believe it!" Ryosuke punched the nearby concrete.

"It's 5:58 guys, hurry up or this goes all night." Tackey-sensei told them over the microphone.

Miki and Ryosuke exchanged glances and glared at each other.

"Now, now kids. It's not the time to be petty and brash with each other. You two must learn to synchronize with each other." Ninomiya-sensei gently told them.

"Impossible!" The two chorused. The lights on the corridor was turned off and the lights outside gleamed brightly.

"Well, if you two won't cooperate, sorry, then we have to leave you two."

Ryosuke and Miki stared at the dirty floor and did nothing. Staring made it feel more terrible, since it did nothing than hurt the eyes.

Miki sighed and grabbed the mop, cleaning the floor as she went. Ryosuke sighed and helped her clean, grabbing the nearest kitchen towel and wiping the greasy sink.

"Let's do this again..." Miki washed her hands and smiled at Ryosuke. The boy could only nod as he took the last seafood in the freezer: Squid.

"Whew. So, let's do this properly. First, I'll take care of the main dish, and you'll take care of the dessert. " Ryosuke sighed and grabbed remaining fresh vegetables in the crisper.

Miki grabbed a bag of flour and followed Ryosuke's orders. Beating eggs, stirring, and adding confections needed. Ryosuke was already sautéing the squid and spreading chilli sauce all over it. Miki could smell the scent of the boy's amazing cooking.

"Hey, Gaijin. Focus more on you cooking because I'll be done soon."Ryosuke ordered her.

Miki nodded and the oven. The smell of cakes was on air.

Ryosuke and Miki gave a high-five at each other when they saw the fruits of their hard work. When they realized what they had just done, Ryosuke frowned and Miki looked away.

"congratulations, kids! I just saw what you did out there, and fantastic!~" Ninomiya-sensei opened the kitchen door and clapped. Tackey-sensei was beside him, with a cigarette.

"Mhmm, so what did you cook?" Tackey-sensei asked bluntly and observed Ryosuke's cooking.

"Kimchi seasoned squid and Miki's, uhh... Custard cake?" Ryosuke clarified and looked at Miki, who was nodding.

"Well, Tackey-sensei, shall we give it a try?" Ninomiya-sensei offered and grabbed a fork while he prepared to eat Miki's cooking.

"Fine, I'm eating this kimchi squid." The other teacher breathed heavily and grabbed a handful before shoving the squid in his mouth. Pretty soon, his face was red and smoking. Ninomiya-sensei, however, gave them a thumbs up as he finished eating Miki's cake.

"15 out of 15, dears! Excellent! Now you two could go home!" Ninomiya-sensei smiled as he grabbed the nearest hose and shot Tackey-sensei with a spurt of water.

===

Yurikkun! I had a great day today! A perfect score from Ninomiya-sensei for cooking class, thanks to Ryosuke-kun. :D

Miki was texting Yuri while she and Ryosuke were walking back to Shibuyakuni. Ryosuke was looking at her with a weird expression.

"Don't make it a habit to text while you walk, Bakausagi. You might get hit by a car or something." Ryosuke advised her. Miki looked at him and smiled.

"Don't worry, I won't get myself killed." She gleamed.

"Hey, stop smiling at me like that. It's not like I'm concerned or anything." Ryosuke looked away from her and blushed slightly.

The two continued to walk back to the village when Miki suddenly stopped walking.

"Ryosuke-kun, do you love Fujiwara-san?" She asked out of the blue. An image of Maria with her sad eyes suddenly went inside Miki's head. Miki suddenly felt concerned with how she felt.

"...No." Ryosuke told her quietly and kept walking.

"My life is nothing, so I have no choice but to comply." He clarified with a stiff tone in his voice. Miki looked at him and looked back at the floor.

"I weep for you guys, who try to think they're strong..." She muttered to herself. Ryosuke seethed with anger and grabbed her by the shoulder. The boy was about to hit her when he saw her crying silently.

"You two... You do have a choice..." Miki whispered to him and patted his head. Ryosuke's angry eyes turned sad and he soon found himself embracing Miki as he too started to cry.

He started to cry because he was weak, unable to recover from Kana's death. Unable to stand up for himself, unable to show his emotions.

~to be continued.