Chapter 27 Home Economics

Chapter 27: Home Economics Class

Home Economics Class.

A class held in a dedicated cooking classroom.

Since Karasuno High School has a limited number of cooking classrooms, home economics classes are often combined between two classes, which is normally no big deal.

And because Class 1-3 and Class 1-4 are adjacent both in number and location, they're often scheduled together, which also isn't usually a big deal.

But upon arriving at the cooking classroom and seeing her partner for this lesson standing next to her, Hoshino Haruna's expression couldn't help but become a bit complicated.

...

Was it her imagination? Lately, it felt like Tsukishima had been showing up in front of her an awful lot.

Good heavens, she really didn't have a problem with Tsukishima! The summer training camp incident was already water under the bridge for her. Now, as far as she was concerned, Tsukishima was still the same sarcastic, bespectacled guy she used to bicker with. But his recent behavior was just too strange, making her overthink it. Asking him outright would be in character for her, but the problem was that she couldn't even pinpoint exactly what felt off, so how was she supposed to ask?

...

Feeling too easily distracted by Tsukishima's presence, Hoshino decided to find a different spot to think.

"Hey, Tsukishima," she called out to him.

Tsukishima: "Hmm?"

"Main dishes or desserts, which are you better at?" she asked.

"...Main dishes," Tsukishima replied.

"Okay."

Hoshino nodded, then turned and raised her hand to the nearby teacher to request—

"Teacher, Tsukishima is good at main dishes and I'm good at desserts—our strengths are completely different. I'd like to request a change of partner!"

Tsukishima: ?

Other students: ???

"Oh, is that so?"

The teacher smiled and remarked—

"But isn't that even better? Your strengths complement each other perfectly, and the dishes you make might end up being especially delicious!"

—and turned down Hoshino's request.

Hoshino: ???

What? How is that even possible?!

***

Returning to her spot, Hoshino could clearly feel the atmosphere around them had grown even stranger.

"You don't want to partner with me?"

Tsukishima asked directly, which was rare for him.

"...And you want to partner with me?"

Instead of answering, Hoshino shot back.

...

Hey, hey, at least finish answering the question before turning your face away! Hoshino grumbled to herself.

Unable to see Tsukishima's expression as he deliberately looked away, Hoshino could only gloomily start fiddling with the kitchen utensils.

The task for this lesson wasn't difficult—just some common everyday dishes and desserts. Hoshino and Tsukishima quickly divided up their tasks, each handling what they were good at, and soon found themselves getting twice the results with half the effort.

So while the other students were still figuring out how to read recipes and use the tools, these two had already been working for a while.

"Tsukishima, do you still have some sugar over there? Can I borrow some?" Hoshino asked without looking up, as she was adjusting an electric hand mixer.

"Okay."

Tsukishima took a small bowl, portioned out some sugar, and placed it near Hoshino. But when he saw her movements, he frowned slightly.

"Holding the mixer like that is dangerous. You could easily hurt yourself," Tsukishima warned her.

"Huh? Really?" Hoshino didn't see anything wrong. "I always use it like this at home."

Tsukishima walked over, turned off the power first, then took the mixer from Hoshino's hands and held it in a way he considered safer.

Hoshino's sharp comment: "I've tried that. My arm gets sore."

Tsukishima: ...

"I see. It's probably because the school's machine is heavier than the home-use kind," he said. "Let's switch. You handle the omelette, and I'll whip the cream."

"Oh—" Hoshino let out an exclamation.

Tsukishima: ?

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Aren't you better at main dishes?" Hoshino wondered.

...

Tsukishima explained with a resigned look: "It's just that I'm relatively less good at desserts, not that I can't do them at all."

"Alright, alright!" Hoshino nodded cooperatively.

Still, it was a bit curious that someone who liked sweets wasn't great at making them.

"It's because I like them, so I always end up putting in too much sugar," Tsukishima added, as if reading her mind.

Hoshino: "...Pfft."

What, it's such an adorable reason?

...

Wait, did she just use the word "adorable"?

Hoshino Haruna retracted a thought.

"If you keep laughing, the omelette in the pan is going to burn," Tsukishima reminded her.

？！

Oh no, I almost forgot!!

Hoshino hurried back to where Tsukishima had been and rescued the almost-burnt omelette.

...

After finally plating the cooked omelette, Hoshino looked up and saw Yamazaki Kenji at the table in front staring at her and Tsukishima with a strange expression, as if he'd discovered something incredible.

Hoshino: ?

"What are you doing?" she asked, confused.

"Huh? Oh, nothing..." Yamazaki quickly waved his hands in innocence. "I just think the way you two worked together just now really gave me déjà vu..."

Hoshino: "...What kind of déjà vu?"

Knowing Yamazaki, she instinctively felt it wasn't going to be anything good.

Sure enough, having overheard the entire conversation between Hoshino and Tsukishima, Yamazaki relied on his extraordinary way of understanding things to drop a bombshell—

"Are you two a married couple?" he remarked.

Tsukishima: ?!

Hoshino: ??????!!!!!

"What?! How is that possible?!" Hoshino exclaimed.

After yelling, she noticed that Tsukishima's reaction was strangely subdued, so she quickly elbowed him, signaling him to back her up.

"How could that be, right?" she said, elbowing him.

"...Yeah," Tsukishima said.

Hoshino: ...?

Yamazaki might be losing his mind, but what's up with Tsukishima? Was the guy half asleep to be this unresponsive?!

***

Hoshino's freak-out didn't last long, though, because she soon got back to working on her dish.

Since the later steps didn't require the electric mixer much, she and Tsukishima switched tasks again.

Taking the fragrant, fluffy cake out of the oven, Hoshino carefully spread a layer of cream on the outside following the recipe's illustration, and then prepared to top it with fruit.

But scanning her workspace, she noticed she was missing a box of cherries.

"Tsukishima, do you have any extra cherries over there? Can I borrow some?" she asked in exactly the same tone as before.

But this time, instead of handing her anything, Tsukishima looked at her with a deep, unreadable look, his face clearly reading "Do I look like I have any cherries?"

Hoshino: "...Ahem."

Guess I got too used to mooching off him, huh!

"Alright, alright, I'll just go—"

"I'll go ask the teacher for some."

...

Hoshino: Huh?

Before she could even react, Tsukishima had already taken off his gloves and left the classroom before her.

...

Wow, she really got to see Tsukishima Kei being helpful, Hoshino thought to herself.

Ahem, whatever. It's just getting a box of fruit; not a big deal. She shouldn't let her imagination run wild like that.

At least that's what she thought. Until Tsukishima returned to his spot with the missing box of cherries and said casually—

"I'm back."

And Hoshino, without thinking, replied—

"Welcome back!"

...

The cooking classroom instantly fell silent.

Yamazaki was the first to break the silence.

"I'm just saying," he said, his expression even stranger than before, "you two, are you—"

"AHHHHHHH—!!!" Hoshino cut him off.

"No!!! Don't say that word!!!" she pointed at Yamazaki, warning him. "You hear me?!"

Yamazaki was so startled by her fierce reaction that he didn't dare say anything more, just nodding and saying "yes, yes, yes" before turning back around.

...

Seriously, who jokes around like that? Hoshino was used to Yamazaki's tactless way of speaking, but Tsukishima might not be. He probably wouldn't like being the butt of a joke like that, right?

At that moment, Hoshino was so busy mechanically arranging fruit to calm her inexplicably racing heart that she had no idea her cheeks and ears were redder than ever. And of course, she had no idea—

That Tsukishima, who had quietly turned his back after hearing her reply, had a clear smile on his face.

Finally, it was time for the last step on Hoshino's cake—adding some decorative cream around the edge.

***

...

Finally, the last step!

Although many indescribably strange things had happened during this class, fortunately her cake was unaffected, and the finished product looked perfect. She was very satisfied.

If she had to find a flaw, it would be that her cream piping looked a bit different from the picture the teacher showed. The ones in the picture looked more three-dimensional and prettier, but she couldn't get that effect no matter what.

...

Strange, is it a technique thing?

Hoshino squeezed a little cream onto an empty plate to test it out, but it still looked a bit off from what she wanted.

"Hoshino-san, are you having some trouble?"

Seeing her frowning, a nearby teacher came over and asked.

"Ah, actually, I'm not sure if it's really trouble..." Hoshino felt a bit embarrassed and handed the cake to the teacher for inspection.

The teacher saw the problem at once.

"Hmm... it seems to be an issue with controlling the pressure when piping the cream." The teacher said, taking the piping bag from Hoshino's hand. "Let me try; watch carefully."

"Okay!" Hoshino nodded.

The difference with a professional's touch was clear. Hoshino watched as the same piping bag in the teacher's hand became like a skilled painter's brush, producing vivid, precise patterns that were on a whole different level from her own elementary-school doodles.

"So amazing—" Hoshino clapped without stopping. "It's really completely different!"

"Hoshino-san, you'll definitely be able to do it too." The teacher smiled as she put the piping bag back into Hoshino's hand. "Try again now; I'll remind you of the key points."

"Okay!"

Under the teacher's guidance, Hoshino focused on making a new cream border. But for some reason, as time went on, the teacher's prompts became fewer and farther between. At first, she thought she was gradually mastering the technique, but when she paused and looked up, she realized the teacher was looking at Tsukishima, too absorbed to guide her.

And it was only then that Hoshino noticed Tsukishima had been watching them for who knows how long, so focused that he had even forgotten to work on his own main course, completely unaware that the teacher had been staring at him.

"Tsukishima-san, do you want to learn how to pipe cream borders too?" The teacher could only think of that possibility.

But Tsukishima's full attention was on the cake in Hoshino's hands, and he didn't hear what the teacher said at all. This was quite rare for him. After all, although he had a sweet tooth, he wasn't so obsessed with sweets that he'd freeze up at the sight of them. But this time, he felt it was entirely justified to be so focused and distracted, because he was sure—he had seen that imperfect cream border somewhere before—

That signature-like, one-of-a-kind cream border.

He had definitely, definitely seen it somewhere.

And when he pulled that scene from the vast sea of memories, an unprecedented feeling welled up from the depths of his heart. Summer night, evening breeze, hands overlapping, the sound of running, a nameplate reading "Hoshino"... all the elements came together, piecing together the night they returned from the amusement park, when he took the cake she brought from home, the one said to be from a newly opened treasure of a bakery...

That night, when he opened the packaging at home, he had only vaguely felt that the cake looked a bit different from the usual, but couldn't put his finger on what was off. Until today, until this moment, when he saw that unique pattern recreated under Hoshino's hands, everything finally became clear—

"Tsukishima? Tsukishima!"

Seeing that he didn't respond to the teacher, Hoshino waved her hand right in front of his face.

"Huh? What?" Tsukishima finally snapped back to reality.

"The teacher was calling you. Why didn't you answer?" Hoshino frowned.

"...Sorry, I was lost in thought." Tsukishima apologized to the teacher.

The teacher didn't mind such a small thing at all, of course, and just told him to feel free to ask her if he wanted to learn. But Hoshino looked at him and felt something was off.

"...Did you just laugh?" she asked him.

For a moment, she wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her or if his brain had short-circuited.

"Did I?" Tsukishima shrugged casually, a slight smirk forming. "Maybe I did."

Then he turned around and went back to working on his main dish.

Hoshino: ???

He did laugh, right?! That guy definitely laughed, didn't he?!

And not only did he laugh, but he also looked like he was in a really good mood...

Hoshino stood there, dumbfounded, unable to figure out what was so funny about any of this... Her cake was flawless except for the border not being perfect, and even the border had improved a lot under the teacher's guidance. What exactly was so funny to him?

...

Hoshino couldn't understand it, not one bit. In fact, ever since the new semester started—no, ever since they returned from their separate summer training camps, many of Tsukishima's actions had been incomprehensible to her. And all this confusion piling up finally led her to confirm her earlier suspicion even further—

That guy Tsukishima definitely has some kind of scheme against her!!

-TBC-

*

Author's note:

Finally filled in the plot hole I dug over a dozen chapters ago! Hehe!