Food-gasms at Restaurant Yukihira

Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.

A week passed quickly. During that week, students in Japan underwent their midterm exams. Naturally, Tatsuo was no exception. However, unlike most students, he was relatively relaxed. The only thing he worried about was getting to school on time.

And just like that, the week of exams ended.

"*Sigh* It's finally over." Chiho said as she approached Tatsuo and Yakumo's desks with a tired expression on her face. "So, how do you two think you did."

"I should pass." Yakumo said humbly.

In response, Chiho rolled her eyes.

"I've been in the same class as you for all three years of middle school, Yakumo-Chan." Chiho said exasperatedly. "And you've never gotten anything lower than third place in our year on any exams."

"She's that good?' Tatsuo asked curiously.

"Yes." Chiho replied as she nodded her head emphatically. "Yakumo-Chan is really smart. She's like, the total package. Both smart and beautiful."

"It's not that exaggerated." Yakumo said softly.

"Yes, it is." Chiho replied strongly. After that, Chiho shook her head and turned to Tatsuo as she continued. "What about you? How did you do, Tatsuo-Kun?"

During the two days spent at Tatsuo's apartment to study for the midterms, Tatsuo agreed to let all the girls call him by his given name since his mother was also surnamed Soramoto.

"I don't think I did too bad." Tatsuo said with a shrug. "getting into the top five in the year should be possible."

"You call that, 'not too bad'?" Chiho asked with her eyes wide open. "Then what would you call scoring badly?"

"Anything outside of the top ten." Tatsuo replied casually.

"*Sigh* Smart people just think differently than the rest of us, huh?" Chiho asked in forlorn tone. "If I make it into the top thirty, I'd be really happy."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Sasaki-San." Yakumo said encouragingly.

"Just call me Chi-Chan like everyone else." Chiho said while smiling wryly. "I call the two of you by your given names, after all."

"Sure." Tatsuo replied. "I felt kinda left out since I was one of only two people who called you by your surname."

"I understand, Chi-Chan." Yakumo said with a small smile gracing her lips.

"Anyway, let's go out to celebrate the end of exams tonight." Chiho suggested. "I really need to unwind after using my brain so much."

"What did you have in mind?" Tatsuo asked curiously. "I'll tell you right now, I don't' wanna do karaoke. I sing so much at home that I really don't wanna do it outside."

"I'm okay with anything." Yakumo said.

"Then, um…" Chiho muttered as she considered all the options. "Oh, I know! There's this restaurant in the Sumiredori Shopping District that I heard some girls talking about. It's only a few stops away on the subway. Why don't we go there?"

Hearing the name, Sumiredori Shopping District, Tatsuo thought it sounded familiar. Yet, he could not put his finger on where he had heard it before. Either way, he did not think about it for too long.

"I'm down." Tatsuo said with another shrug. "As long as the food is good, I don't care where or how far we have to go to eat."

Yakumo on the other hand, looked apprehensive.

"What's wrong, Yakumo-Chan?" Chiho asked after seeing the uncertainty in Yakumo's eyes. "do you have something to do after school today?"

"Not exactly." Yakumo replied softly. "It's just, I don't know what my Nee-San will do for dinner if I'm not home."

"Well, why don't you call her?" Tatsuo asked. "If she's okay with you going, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Although she nodded her head in response to Tatsuo's suggestion, Yakumo was still nervous. Tenma had proven that she was completely inept when it comes to housework not too long ago, when she went out to celebrate Tatsuo's birthday.

'Maybe Nee-San will go out with her friends, too.' Yakumo thought to herself. 'If she does, then I have nothing to worry about.'

With that thought, Yakumo reached into her school bag for her smartphone. However, just as she unlocked it, it started to ring.

"Huh?" Yakumo intoned after seeing the name on the screen. "Nee-San is calling?"

Wasting no time, Yakumo answered the phone call.

"Hello." Yakumo said into the phone. "Yes, the exams are over… I think I did well… What about you? Huh? Oh... Um… You want to know if Tatsuo-Kun, Chi-Chan, and I want to go out with you and the others for karaoke?"

Reaching that point, Yakumo glanced at Tatsuo, who was shaking his head vigorously.

"Sorry, Nee-San." Yakumo said calmly. "but I've already made plans with Tatsuo-Kun and Chi-Chan. We'll be going to have dinner at a restaurant Chi-Chan suggested… Okay, I'll see you when I get home."

With that, Yakumo ended the call and put her smartphone away.

"Well then, shall we go?" Yakumo asked.

And that was exactly what the three did. After packing their school supplies, they all left the school, headed to the subway station, and got on the train headed towards Sumiredori Shopping District.

"By the way, what is this restaurant called?" Tatsuo asked curiously while holding the handle on the subway car.

"Oh, it's called… Um… Restaurant… Restaurant… Restaurant Yukihiro?" Chiho replied. "Yeah, I think that's it."

'She definitely meant Restaurant Yukihira.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'Which means Food Wars is in this world, too. And since the restaurant is still open, it's probably before the beginning of canon. Then again, it could be after the story is over, too. I'll just have to wait until we get there to find out.'

"And what kind of food does this restaurant serve?" Yakumo asked curiously.

"Actually, I don't' know." Chiho said in a bashful tone. "My friends only talked about how good it was. But they never said what kind of restaurant it was."

"That seems kind of strange, doesn't it?" Yakumo asked.

"I… guess…" Chiho replied. "Do you think… they were trying to trick me?"

"Probably not." Tatsuo said with a smile. "Everyone knows how much everyone adores you, Chi-Chan. I doubt they would do that to you."

"I hope so." Chiho replied. "If they did, it would be so embarrassing."

The short train ride continued while the three discussed what they could expect from the restaurant Chiho recommended. And not long later, they had disembarked from the train and were walking through the Sumiredori Shopping District.

"It should be close." Chiho said while looking at the GPS on her smartphone.

"Now that I think about it, why didn't we just look it up on the internet to see what kind of food this restaurant served?" Tatsuo asked.

Hearing that, Chiho looked a little embarrassed.

"It's because I got the name wrong." Chiho replied. "After having the thought that I had been tricked, I looked it up. But I couldn't find it. It wasn't until I looked at the map of Sumiredori Shopping District that I realized the name was Restaurant Yukihira, not Restaurant Yukihiro."

"And you're just telling us this now?" Yakumo asked in a calm tone. "What if the place really didn't exist?"

Chiho could feel cold sweat forming on her back. However, she had no response for Yakumo's question. And the fact that Yakumo was completely calm and showing no signs of anger or irritation made the whole situation a little scary.

"Oh, look!" Chiho exclaimed while pointing ahead in order to shift everyone's attention. "There it is."

Following the direction of Chiho's finger, Tatsuo and Yakumo saw a small diner with a signboard that read Restaurant Yukihira hanging above the door.

"Well, I was expecting something bigger." Yakumo said. "If it's really that good, it's probably packed inside."

"There's only one way to find out." Tatsuo said with a shrug before taking the lead to walk towards the restaurant.

Chiho and Yakumo quickly followed. And when they arrived at the front door, Tatsuo pulled it open before holding it for the two young ladies to enter.

"Such a gentleman.' Chiho said with a giggle as she walked inside.

"Thank you, Tatsuo-Kun." Yakumo said as she entered the restaurant.

Tatsuo followed closely behind Chiho and Yakumo, and the inside of the restaurant was exactly what he expected it to be from its outward appearance. A few wooden tables and five or so counter seats.

"Welcome to Restaurant Yukihira." A young man, appearing to be around the same age as Tatsuo, Chiho, and Yakumo, with yellow eyes, spiky, dark red hair, and a vertical scar over his left eyebrow, said in a friendly tone. "Table for three?"

This young man wore a black t-shirt with the Restaurant Yukihira logo on the left chest, a white apron around his waist, and a clothe tied around his left wrist. And when he turned around to survey all the tables to guide the customers, it was shown that the restaurant's logo was also on the back of his shirt.

"Hmm… It looks like all the tables are taken." The young man said as he turned back. "Do you mind waiting for a little while. I don't' think it will take too long."

"It's up to you two." Tatsuo said uncaringly.

"I don't' mind." Yakumo said.

"Neither do I." Chiho added.

"Great!" The young man cheered. "Then, I'll let you know---"

"Hey! Sōma!" A man shouted from behind the counter. "There are three seats available at the counter. Seat them there."

"Oh, sure thing, Old Man." The young man, Sōma, or rather, Yukihira Sōma, replied. Then, he gestured towards the counter seats. "Right this way."

In fact, Sōma had noticed the seats at the counter. However, from his experience, girls usually did not like to sit at those seats unless they were alone. So, he did not even suggest them.

Yet, the young man and two girls who just entered the restaurant did not seem to be bothered by the counter seats at all.

"So, what can I get for you?" Sōma asked with an energetic smile once the three were seated.

"I'll have the number five." Tatsuo said after looking at the menu that was hanging over the counter.

"I think I'll have that, too." Yakumo said.

"I want the number eight." Chiho said.

"Two number fives and a number eight, Old Man!" Sōma shouted.

"Got it!" the man in the kitchen shouted back.

"Your meal will be out shortly." Sōma said with a smile.

"Thanks." Tatsuo replied.

With that, Sōma went to attend to other guests while Tatsuo, Chiho, and Yakumo chatted about the midterms and talked about the parts that gave them trouble while comparing answers.

Eventually, without their notice, their orders were placed in front of them on the counter. And when they heard the sound of the plates being set down, they all looked up. When they did, they caught sight of a middle-aged man with long brown hair tied back into a ponytail and a lock of hair that hung down in front of his face and reached his chin, with sharp and serious looking brown eyes. This man also wore a shirt with the Yukihira logo on its left chest and an apron wrapped around his waist.

"Your meal is served, kids." The man, Yukihira Jōichirō, the owner of Restaurant Yukihira, said with a slight smile. "So, you kids just finished your midterms, too, huh? Well, I threw in a little extra to help you celebrate."

"Oh, wow! Thank you, Oji-San." Chiho said excitedly. "it smells so good."

"It really does." Yakumo said as she looked over her order.

"Thanks." Tatsuo said with a smile. "We appreciate it."

In response, Jōichirō nodded before turning around and getting back to cooking for the other guests. However, he kept a bit of his attention on the three new faces. Meanwhile, Tatsuo, Yakumo, and Chiho all picked up their chop sticks.

"Itadakimasu." X 3

After that, they all picked up some of their food and put it in their mouths. And because Tatsuo knew what to expect after seeing Sōma and Jōichirō, he steeled himself for the flavor that exploded on his tastebuds. Unfortunately, Chiho and Yakumo were completely unprepared for what was to come.

"Mmm~~~~~~~~~!" Chiho moaned in pleasure from the taste of the food.

"Ahn~~~~~~~~~!" Yakumo moaned, sounding even more seductive then Chiho.

'Damn, it's the quiet ones that are the freakiest.' Tatsuo said as he crossed one leg over the other and continued to eat quietly.

Meanwhile, the other guests of the restaurant had been staring at Tatsuo, Chiho, and Yakumo ever since Jōichirō put their plates in front of them. Over the years, all the regular guests at Restaurant Yukihira have found much enjoyment from seeing new customers' first reactions to Jōichirō's cooking.

While Chiho's and Yakumo's reactions were exactly what they expected, they were all thoroughly amazed when Tatsuo did not moan in the slightest. Even Jōichirō turned back to look at Tatsuo when he realized that he remained silent after tasting his cooking.

'Hmm… This kid isn't bad.' Jōichirō said as he glanced at Tatsuo. 'He's got pretty strong mental fortitude. I guess I'll have to try even harder if he ever comes back.'

While Jōichirō was thinking that, both Chiho and Yakumo had reddened up to the tips of their ears in embarrassment. Even so, they did not stop eating. The food was just too good for that. They could properly experience their embarrassment later, once all the food was gone.