Silver Sakura

Megumi vs. Ryo

  "You!" Alice smacked her hand down on the counter in front of me as I was chopping green onions. "How could you tie with Ryo?!" My eyes drifted from the albino girl to the black-haired boy.

  "Because my cooking was good enough to." I bluntly replied and went back to chopping. "If you wait a little while, I'm working on something new right now you can try."

  "Huh?" Her angry expression fell away as interest sparked in her eyes. "What are you making?"

  "Ramen!" I grinned and saw her immediately pout.

  "You're making gourmet ramen?"

  "Nope! I'm using fresh ingredients from the Kyokusei garden, then what couldn't be found there I went to the supermarket for."

  "The....supermarket? You're kidding?" She began to giggle but stopped when Ryo took a seat on the opposite side of the counter from me. "R-Ryo?" He looked at her with those sleepy eyes.

  "Gin turned the docile judges into ravenous animals." He droned before his eyes locked on me. "He's the real deal."

  "They." I corrected. "I'm not a guy."

  "....What?" Alice looked confused before her eyes went over my toned arms and flat chest, then over my face that was more on the masculine side.

  "I'm not a guy. I know how I look, so it's common for folks to think I am a dude, but I'm not." Setting down the knife, I lifted the cutting board and raised the lid on the pot as a delicious smell wafted out. "I'm nonbinary. So, if you will, please use they/them pronouns for me." Dumping the green onions in, the scent of the food was only enhanced.

  "That explains why Soma and the others don't refer to you as a 'he'." Alice held her chin as her brows furrowed.

  "Oh, and before you try to dig your pervy claws in, don't ask about my genitals, either."

  "Wha- I'm not pervy! And I wouldn't do that!"

  "Just making sure." I laughed while stirring the ramen. Picking up the tongs, I reached inside to grab the silver vegetable steamer from inside the noodles. Pulling it out, I set it on the counter over a napkin to keep from making a mess.

  "....What's in there? That's a steamer, isn't it?"

  "Oh, uh.... It was the best thing I could find to use." Opening the steamer, Alice's eyes went wide at the chopped apples inside.

  "Apples?"

  "Cooking them in with the noodles makes them taste really good, trust me. I find the Granny Smiths work the best from what I've tried. The apples and butter soften the noodles while giving an added slight flavor of the apple." Picking up some ground black pepper, I took a pinch and sprinkled it over the noodles. "This batch, however, I've added something a little extra to see how it comes out."

  "'Something extra'?" Alice leaned on the counter since she was now interested enough to stay and see what I was cooking would taste like.

  "I can't tell you everything, that'd be exposing my secrets." I joked with a wink. Plucking up one of the soft apple slices, I took a bite while putting the lid back on the pot. Going to a cabinet, I pulled out some bowls and chopsticks from a drawer. "Just a few more minutes, and it'll be done."

  "Mm." Alice hummed while watching me closely. Even the tired boy was being observant as I finished cooking and served the ramen.

  "All right, time to try it out." I picked up my bowl and grabbed some of the noodles. It smelled delicious but that didn't necessarily mean it would taste good. The ramen slid over my tongue and actually tasted....really good. Alice and Ryo were wide-eyed while chewing, clearly surprised by how the apples really did go well with the ramen.