Takumi found himself a lost cause before he even knew what was happening to him. This wasn’t what he expected or what he thought he would ever want. One moment he found himself wanting to defeat Yukihira Soma in the classroom and bring the newbie down a few pegs; however Soma’s cooking skills took him by complete surprise. He hadn’t expected anything from this transfer student, but all it took was one class; one chance to witness Soma’s ability and charisma with his cooking at Takumi found himself falling apart.
At first Takumi assumed that he was just in shock over his cooking skills, but deep down he knew it wasn’t just the food that drew him to Soma. He had a charm that was integrated into his very being and everyone found themselves drawn to him either for his cooking, personality or both. Yukihira Soma had completely entrenched himself in Takumi’s mind and thoughts. Takumi considered himself to be a very calm and collected individual, but Soma was somehow able to reduce him to a blushing mess, with just a greeting and a smile. His heat rate would speed up and he would try his best not to stutter so the other students would remain unaware of the effect that Soma had on him.
“This isn’t normal. Hide these feelings. Hide them. No one can know. No one. Especially not him.”
Takumi repeated these words to himself almost as if the repetition would make his feelings any less true and make life easier. He tried to mask his embarrassment and cover up his feelings by shouting at Soma, but multiple people could see through him and knew that Takumi did not feel anger or dislike towards the other chef.
Soma happened to be one of those people and he simply smiled and laughed whenever Takumi made his flustered shouts. Takumi knew that his hidden crush hadn’t been exposed and that Soma just assumed that they both saw each other as friendly rivals. That in itself was enough to cause him even more pain.
“That’s all I am to him. Nothing more.”
Takumi wanted to learn more about his life. He wanted to have a relationship that extended beyond just talking in class. Even if his feelings were never reciprocated (and Takumi was positive that they never would be although he kept a sliver of hope in his heart) he still wanted to be able to get closer with Soma as actual friends.
One day after class, Takumi decided to make his first move. He walked up to Soma and tapped him on the shoulder right before he was able to exit the classroom with Megumi. Takumi took a deep breath and then spoke.
“Yukihira, I was planning to use the afternoon to go shopping as preparation for the Autumn Elections and was wondering if you wanted to go with me. It would be great to
Takumi looked up to find Soma scratching the back of his head. “Oh man. I’m sorry Takumi!” He felt his stomach drop after hearing that first sentence. “Tadokoro and I already did our shopping yesterday and were planning to do some recipe testing this evening in the Polar Star dorm. If you asked yesterday, you could have come with the two of us. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it Yukihira. All this means is that you now won’t have the pleasure to see the ingredients I plan to use,” Takumi said while trying his best to hide his disappointment with a forced smile. “Well I’m off to go shopping now.” Takumi knew that his last statement was a lie. He certainly wasn’t in the right state of mind to prepare a recipe for one of the most important dishes in his high school career, but Soma didn’t know that. He just had to get out of school as soon as possible before
He walked past the two other students and began to make his way to his room, but heard a soft whisper in his ear.
“You’ll be fine. The pain will hopefully dull over time.”
He quickly turned around just in time to see Megumi’s face as she gave him a sad smile before making her way down the opposite side of the hall towards Soma.
What.
Takumi assumed his brother was the only one who could figure out his true feelings for Soma. The two of them had a connection that extended through all aspects of their lives so that was no surprise. But Tadokoro Megumi was another story entirely. The two of them rarely spoke and only when Soma was leading a group conversation. So how was she able to see straight through Takumi’s hidden feelings?
Takumi spent the next couple of days trying to talk with Megumi. This turned out to be much more difficult that he expected. He assumed that because she was relatively soft spoken it would be easy to strike up a conversation and get her to a secluded area so they could talk in private. In reality, she was almost always surrounded by members of her dorm which usually included Soma.
By the end of the second day, Takumi was ready to give up and not talk to anyone about his emotions. Holding them in was not the best course of action, but he honestly couldn’t think of anything else. But then while walking through the hall towards one of the side exists he heard a faint mumbling sound from one of the empty classrooms. He peeked in out of curiosity and found Megumi on the floor, knees pulled to her chest, eyes red, and tears streaming down her face.
“Tadokoro?” he asked a bit in shock at the situation.
She looked up and upon seeing his face looking down at her immediately began to wipe her eyes as if doing so would somehow erase the fact that she had been crying just a moment earlier.
“T-Takumi!” Megumi exclaimed while trying to make herself look presentable. “This is so embarrassing. I can’t believe you found me looking like a mess. Please don’t tell anyone I was crying. I can’t have the rest of them asking me questions. Especially not Soma. You out of all people should know that. Right?”
“But Yukihira is one of your closest friends here. Why wouldn’t you want his help with thi-” Takumi stopped speaking mid-sentence as all of his thoughts from the past couple of days came together to form a single truth.
Tadokoro Megumi understood his feelings because she carried them as well.
“I take it you understand now?” she asked smilingly softly. “Everyone around Soma is easily drawn into him because of his charm. I was drawn in by his kindness and his faith in my cooking. Because of that I’ve always loved having opportunities to cook alongside him in my dorm. I wanted to be able to grow alongside him, but then I started thinking about how many people are going to be drawn to him and I was upset. At first I didn’t know why. I thought it was because I’d lose my friend and cooking partner, but now I know it’s more than that. Same with you right?” Megumi asked looking over at Takumi who was stunned at her confession.
“Takumi. Don’t feel ashamed for having these emotions. It’s ok. I understand and I’m here for you. Could you do me one favor” she asked scooting a little bit away from the door. “Please sit with me for a moment. If we cry together maybe it won’t hurt as much.” She said the last part with a little bit of a laugh, but Takumi could tell the intensity of the sadness that laid behind those words.
Takumi sat down next to Megumi on the floor and closed his eyes. Thinking about what she had just told him, he slowly opened the locks he had placed on his heart and allowed his feelings to slowly course throughout his body. It hurt, but Megumi served as a calming presence for him as he allowed a few tears to come out of his eyes. The first tears he had ever cried over Yukihira Soma.
FILL: TEAM CHIHAYAFURU, G
I have no idea what I just wrote. Whoops.
Takumi found himself a lost cause before he even knew what was happening to him. This wasn’t what he expected or what he thought he would ever want. One moment he found himself wanting to defeat Yukihira Soma in the classroom and bring the newbie down a few pegs; however Soma’s cooking skills took him by complete surprise. He hadn’t expected anything from this transfer student, but all it took was one class; one chance to witness Soma’s ability and charisma with his cooking at Takumi found himself falling apart.
At first Takumi assumed that he was just in shock over his cooking skills, but deep down he knew it wasn’t just the food that drew him to Soma. He had a charm that was integrated into his very being and everyone found themselves drawn to him either for his cooking, personality or both. Yukihira Soma had completely entrenched himself in Takumi’s mind and thoughts. Takumi considered himself to be a very calm and collected individual, but Soma was somehow able to reduce him to a blushing mess, with just a greeting and a smile. His heat rate would speed up and he would try his best not to stutter so the other students would remain unaware of the effect that Soma had on him.
“This isn’t normal. Hide these feelings. Hide them. No one can know. No one. Especially not him.”
Takumi repeated these words to himself almost as if the repetition would make his feelings any less true and make life easier. He tried to mask his embarrassment and cover up his feelings by shouting at Soma, but multiple people could see through him and knew that Takumi did not feel anger or dislike towards the other chef.
Soma happened to be one of those people and he simply smiled and laughed whenever Takumi made his flustered shouts. Takumi knew that his hidden crush hadn’t been exposed and that Soma just assumed that they both saw each other as friendly rivals. That in itself was enough to cause him even more pain.
“That’s all I am to him. Nothing more.”
Takumi wanted to learn more about his life. He wanted to have a relationship that extended beyond just talking in class. Even if his feelings were never reciprocated (and Takumi was positive that they never would be although he kept a sliver of hope in his heart) he still wanted to be able to get closer with Soma as actual friends.
One day after class, Takumi decided to make his first move. He walked up to Soma and tapped him on the shoulder right before he was able to exit the classroom with Megumi. Takumi took a deep breath and then spoke.
“Yukihira, I was planning to use the afternoon to go shopping as preparation for the Autumn Elections and was wondering if you wanted to go with me. It would be great to
Takumi looked up to find Soma scratching the back of his head. “Oh man. I’m sorry Takumi!” He felt his stomach drop after hearing that first sentence. “Tadokoro and I already did our shopping yesterday and were planning to do some recipe testing this evening in the Polar Star dorm. If you asked yesterday, you could have come with the two of us. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it Yukihira. All this means is that you now won’t have the pleasure to see the ingredients I plan to use,” Takumi said while trying his best to hide his disappointment with a forced smile. “Well I’m off to go shopping now.” Takumi knew that his last statement was a lie. He certainly wasn’t in the right state of mind to prepare a recipe for one of the most important dishes in his high school career, but Soma didn’t know that. He just had to get out of school as soon as possible before
He walked past the two other students and began to make his way to his room, but heard a soft whisper in his ear.
“You’ll be fine. The pain will hopefully dull over time.”
He quickly turned around just in time to see Megumi’s face as she gave him a sad smile before making her way down the opposite side of the hall towards Soma.
What.
Takumi assumed his brother was the only one who could figure out his true feelings for Soma. The two of them had a connection that extended through all aspects of their lives so that was no surprise. But Tadokoro Megumi was another story entirely. The two of them rarely spoke and only when Soma was leading a group conversation. So how was she able to see straight through Takumi’s hidden feelings?
Takumi spent the next couple of days trying to talk with Megumi. This turned out to be much more difficult that he expected. He assumed that because she was relatively soft spoken it would be easy to strike up a conversation and get her to a secluded area so they could talk in private. In reality, she was almost always surrounded by members of her dorm which usually included Soma.
By the end of the second day, Takumi was ready to give up and not talk to anyone about his emotions. Holding them in was not the best course of action, but he honestly couldn’t think of anything else. But then while walking through the hall towards one of the side exists he heard a faint mumbling sound from one of the empty classrooms. He peeked in out of curiosity and found Megumi on the floor, knees pulled to her chest, eyes red, and tears streaming down her face.
“Tadokoro?” he asked a bit in shock at the situation.
She looked up and upon seeing his face looking down at her immediately began to wipe her eyes as if doing so would somehow erase the fact that she had been crying just a moment earlier.
“T-Takumi!” Megumi exclaimed while trying to make herself look presentable. “This is so embarrassing. I can’t believe you found me looking like a mess. Please don’t tell anyone I was crying. I can’t have the rest of them asking me questions. Especially not Soma. You out of all people should know that. Right?”
“But Yukihira is one of your closest friends here. Why wouldn’t you want his help with thi-” Takumi stopped speaking mid-sentence as all of his thoughts from the past couple of days came together to form a single truth.
Tadokoro Megumi understood his feelings because she carried them as well.
“I take it you understand now?” she asked smilingly softly. “Everyone around Soma is easily drawn into him because of his charm. I was drawn in by his kindness and his faith in my cooking. Because of that I’ve always loved having opportunities to cook alongside him in my dorm. I wanted to be able to grow alongside him, but then I started thinking about how many people are going to be drawn to him and I was upset. At first I didn’t know why. I thought it was because I’d lose my friend and cooking partner, but now I know it’s more than that. Same with you right?” Megumi asked looking over at Takumi who was stunned at her confession.
“Takumi. Don’t feel ashamed for having these emotions. It’s ok. I understand and I’m here for you. Could you do me one favor” she asked scooting a little bit away from the door. “Please sit with me for a moment. If we cry together maybe it won’t hurt as much.” She said the last part with a little bit of a laugh, but Takumi could tell the intensity of the sadness that laid behind those words.
Takumi sat down next to Megumi on the floor and closed his eyes. Thinking about what she had just told him, he slowly opened the locks he had placed on his heart and allowed his feelings to slowly course throughout his body. It hurt, but Megumi served as a calming presence for him as he allowed a few tears to come out of his eyes. The first tears he had ever cried over Yukihira Soma.