Autumn Taste [Tsukasa Eishi x OC] [Shokugeki no Soma Fanfic]

XX

"How ya holdin' up, old man?" The man greeted the director of the Tootsuki Academy, Nakiri Senzaemon and made himself comfortable in the room. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties. He was muscular and had long black hair. Some hair hung over his face and he was slightly bearded. This man known as Ashura during his early days as a Tootsuki Elite Ten member goes by the name Saiba Jouichirou, and now he has adopted the name Yukihira.

"You've come, Jouichiro." Senzaemon did not take offense of his impoliteness and welcomed him warmly.

Both men went into the tatami room and Senzaemon served him tea. Saiba took a sip before starting the main topic. After reporting his side of sources to Senzaemon, he began to ask him a few questions.

"By the way, I heard she's in the same dorm with Souma. So, you decided to bring her here?"

"Yes." Senzaemon paused for a second and continued. "It was partly my fault as well. I shall bear the responsibility of looking after her."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Senzaemon-dono. Nobody blames ya." Saiba said in an easygoing way which resembles Souma.

***
Until the day she was discharged from the hospital, Tsukasa did not once came to visit her. She was utterly disappointed but Isshiki explained that the Autumn Election is coming near and that Tsukasa was trapped in his office all day long. His workload doubled when Rindou passed her papers to him just so she could go out and play. Rin stopped sending him text messages to but he was so busy that his replies were very short and some even took him hours to reply.

The theme of the first round is curry dish. Everyone went home to to find the ingredients that compliments their cooking the most. The only first years that were left in the dorm were Rin and Souma. Kyouka had went on a vacation with the psychiatrist who was treating her. Rin was not sure when but they were growing closer and she finally announced that they were dating. She felt relieved for her mother that she had found her own happiness.

"Now, it's Tsukasa's turn to serve his dish!" The MC Urara announced.

Rin was watching the recorded shokugeki of Tsukasa and Ruri for the third time. Ruri was clearly distracted. She made several beginners' mistakes and kept glancing towards Tsukasa while she blushes. On the other hand, Tsukasa's movements were fluid and there was no hesitation when he handles the ingredients. Rin could already imagine the taste of his dish.

"I can never cook like this..." Rin sighed.

"No kidding. His skills are the real deal." Souma crossed his arms as he appeared suddenly. "I wanna take him on..."

"Souma-kun! How is your dish going?" Rin asked after recovering from the brief shock. Since everyone went home, she was too free that she voluntarily act as Souma's personal taste tester.

"Pretty well. The oyster sauce is a great idea by the way. Thanks!" Souma referred to Rin's last suggestion.

"Anytime." Rin smiled. "I'm rooting for you, Souma-kun."

"Yeah! I'm gonna show Hayama who's boss!" Souma's yellow orbs burnes with determination. He seemed to be riled up by Hayama for some reason. "I'm goin' back to trainin' now, see ya!"

And Rin returned to boredom. She went back to watching the shokugeki but she had lost interest to continue. She rested her chin on the table and scrolled through hers and Tsukasa's messages. She missed him badly. She decided to try once more and sent him a message.

(re:)rin92@mail

Which curry dish would you choose to cook for the Autumn Election?

She put her phone down and decided to watch Souma work when the phone vibrated. Her eyes widen in surprise. This was the first time in a while that he replied so fast.

(re:)tsukasa@mail

Whatever is your favourite.

Rin almost dropped her phone.

(re:)rin92@mail

You're not busy?

(re:)tsukasa@mail

I was thinking about you.

Rin literally dropped her phone this time. Who is this? Rin wracked her brain to come up with any explanations and reasons why he acted like that.

(re:)rin92@mail

Have you been working too hard? Or am I not speaking to Tsukasa? (×_×;

(re:)tsukasa@mail

I need to go back to work now. Be a good girl and stay healthy.

Rin almost had an imagination that Tsukasa was patting her head while saying this. She never knew he could be such a straighforward person. Sometimes she would think that maybe, perhaps, possibly, at any chance, they were climbing up the stairs to being in a relationship but that is just ridiculous. She waved her hand at thin air as if trying to clear her thoughts, only to be spotted by Isshiki.

"What's wrong, Rin-kun?" Isshiki asked, slightly amused.

"Tsukasa is acting strange..." Rin trailed off, not noticing that Isshiki was peeking at her phone.

"Fufu, I think he's getting impatient." Isshiki laughed mysteriously.

"Why?"

"Do you want to go to the fields with me? I could always use an extra pair of hands." Isshiki beautifully avoided her question.

***
Tsukasa coughed up a chuckle when he saw Rin's message. Rin never fails to entertain him. Just as he was about to reply, someone busted his door opened and threw a huge pile of paper on his desk.

"When are you going to do your own work, Rindou?" Tsukasa placed his palm over his face tiredly.

"When you get a girlfriend." Rindou shot back. She was getting bored of watching him and Rin eyeing each other with love but never progress. "Be a man an' confess already!"

"Even if I want to, I can't do it if you keep handing your work to me..." Tsukasa gave reasonable answer.

"So does it mean if this," Rindou gestured a circle above all the papers with her finger, "is aaaall gone, you'll confess?"

"W-well, m-maybe not too early..." Tsukasa was cornered by her words. He looked away awkwardly. Suddenly, his phone rang. Rindou snatched it before he could, thinking it was Rin.

"'ello? Rindou speakin'...Oh, it's just you." Rindou threw the phone back to him and pouted uninterestingly.

"Hello, Tsukasa speaking...Yes, it is proceeding smoothly...Do you need a reservation for the Autumn Election? It's a great chance to discover young talent...I see, have a safe trip then." And he hung up. "Geez, I still can't get use to talking to him."

"Just like you can't get use to expressing your feelings to Rin." Rindou's words shot through Tsukasa like arrows. "So he's not comin'?"

"Yeah, he said something about making a flashy entrance."

"Well, I'll be off now." And she skipped out.

Tsukasa once again sat down in his office and began tapping on his keyboard. He glanced over to his phone and his hand was itching to dial Rin's number. He pulled his hand back and continued his work, thinking that he should focus on his priorities but his thoughts led back to Rin.

"I need to finish work fast..." After all, it's not good to make a lady wait for too long.

Author's tiny note: It's a short chapter, I know. I'm running low on ideas ;-; Anyone know where I can get them refilled?