Chapter 64 - Your Cooking

                                    

                                          
(Name)'s POV
                          
"Hell no."
                          
Soma and I keeled over at my father's instant response. That was fast!
                          
Joichiro laughed as if he were used to the rejection. "C'mon! It'll be like the good ol' days."
                          
But my father wasn't interested. "I think we remember the 'good old days' differently. It was Dojima-san you were always battling. All you did was torture me with your disgusting experiments." Despite his refusal, he released my shoulder and approached Joichiro calmly.
                          
"You took those on willingly!"
                          
Soma and I seized the opportunity to wash our hands (and my eyes, which still burned). I apologized on my father's behalf, but I was just as shocked if not more than Soma was. He sent me a spooked-look over the running tap, voice a whisper. "You never told me your dad is scary."
                          
"He's not though," I insisted, unable to picture him as anything other than a lovesick fool. 
                          
I'd never forget the time he picked my mom a bouquet of wildflowers, only to find out she was highly allergic. Of course my mom's just as much of a fool and endured it for days before telling him. He sulked for at least a week, despite her swift recovery.
                          
Yeah, my father's about as scary as a frog in clown shoes.
                          
"Pfft. Or maybe you're just a scaredy-cat," I teased. Soma pouted and flicked his fingers at me, effectively splashing water into my face. "Hey!"
                          
"Heheheh..." he chuckled as I wiped my face, only to scream when I cupped the spout so the water arched and soaked him. "O-oi!" Mama didn't raise no quitter.
                          
Behind us, my father pinched the bridge of his nose, a furrow to his brows. "I'm not going against you, Joichiro."
                          
As if their group wasn't complete without Dojima, the tall man entered the kitchen. "Still eager to face Yasuo after all these years, Joichiro?" He sighed as if unsurprised by the current situation.
                          
Soma and I approached Dojima, our hair and shirts damp, and he shot us an amused look before he explained, "Yasuo is the one chef Joichiro has never beat."
                          
"What?!" Soma and I gasped. 
                          
Wait, I remember him telling me that before, I realized and remembered our phone call a few weeks before. "Yeah, you're right..." I muttered, rubbing my chin.
                          
Soma spluttered in shock. "You knew!?"
                          
"Because he never accepted my challenges!" Joichiro complained. Sounds about right.
                          
"I wasn't interested." My father deadpanned as he tried to rub a handkerchief against my face. I was perfectly capable of drying my own face if he just gave me the chance to! "(Name), your shirt is all wet."
                          
"Dad, stop it," I hissed, embarrassed under Soma's amused stare. But he continued fretting over me like I was a toddler.
                          
"Stop moving so much."
                          
"It's just water..!"
                          
My father ignored my protests and continued to rub at my face. "Besides, we know you'd win, Joichiro. So you don't have to feel like you have something to prove." He sighed.
                          
Joichiro was baffled. "That's why you think I've spent all these years asking?" 
                          
"...It's not?" My father paused his ministrations.
                          
I huffed at his denseness. "He's always been a bit clueless."
                          
He squinted and seized my wrist suddenly, bringing my hand up to his face. "Is that a cut? Why aren't you wearing a bandage?" Before I could explain, he shot a dirty look at Soma. "This is why I always taught you to exercise caution with knives, (Name). Don't let that Yukihira kid tempt you with his tricks."