He ran home as soon as he heard about it. His superiors wouldnÆt be happy, since he ran off during work hours, but he had no time to explain.
It wasnÆt every day that you got a phone call telling you that an ambulance had been dispatched to your house. That it was for Souji was even more unexpected.
He parked his car and got out in a hurry.? The ambulance had already left, but he wanted to check if anyone was in the house before going to the hospital.
Once inside, he quickly took a look around. Tatsumi was sitting on the sofa. One of the waitresses from the inn was here, comforting Amagi. Satonaka was standing near her friend, looking equally distressed.
ôIÆm here. What happened?ö Another look around the room confirmed that someone he expected to see wasnÆt here. ôAnd whereÆs Nanako?ö
Kanji got up and walked to him.
ôShe said she wanted to go with senpai, so Yosuke went with her.ö
ôI seeà Souji said you were going to be here today but what on earth happened here?ö
Both Yukiko and Chie looked down as Kanji started to talkà
----------------------------
Flashback
ôCooking lessons?ö Nanako asked.
Souji had forgotten to inform Nanako of his plan for the day.
ôYes. IÆm going to teach Yukiko and Chie. You donÆt mind?ö
ôOf course not! Can I watch too?ö
ôOf course.ö
Yosuke and Kanji were here too. On the counter were all the ingredients needed for curry. Souji just needed to wait for the girls to arrive.
ôWhere are they anyway? ArenÆt they late?ö Yosuke asked, checking the clock.
Just as he asked, the doorbell rang. Souji opened the door.? As expected, it was Chie and Yukiko.
ôSorry weÆre late!ö Chie called as they entered. ôWeà Wait, what are you guys doing here?ö She asked, spotting Yosuke and Kanji.
ôWell. I wanted to see how it would go.ö
ôI had nothing to do, so I decided I might as well learn something from senpai.ö
ôI see.ö Chie answered. ôBut I think you came for nothing.ö
ôWhy?ö Souji asked, curious. Yukiko moved forward and held out a lunchbox in front of her.
ôWell, before coming here, we tried to make curry again. I know we made a few mistakes the first timeàö
ôJust a few?!ö Yosuke interrupted
ôAlright, so it wasnÆt edible!ö Chie snapped, before turning to Souji. ôWe decided to try it again but then we realized we were going to be late so we came here right after we finished. IÆm pretty sure it turned out right this time, so can you try it?ö
Souji took the lunchbox and opened. Indeed, it looked good. Nothing seemed strange.
Then again, Mysterious Food X also looked normal at first glanceà
ôWhere did you cook it?ö Souji asked, curious. If his suspicions were rightà
ôWe cooked it at the inn, why?ö Yukiko answered.
ôJust curious.ö
Well, it was probably safe then. The staff of the Amagi inn would have stopped the two if there was something strange about the curry.? Souji knew Yukiko was trying to learn how to cook by herself, and even though she wasnÆt good at it so far, it was still edible and better than her effort with Chie at the campout.
ôAlright then. Just give me a second.ö
He took the lunch box and grabbed a spoon. He sat down at the table with the curry in front of him. Yukiko and Chie moved closer to await his verdict. Souji took one bite of the meal.
Everyone leaned forward, waiting for his reaction.
A few seconds later, SoujiÆs eyes rolled back into his head and he fainted.
ôWhat the hell!? Souji?ö
ôSenpai, are you still awake? Senpai!
ôBig bro!ö
The girls were too stunned to react. Like a scene out of a horror movie, it got worse.
ôOh my God, is he foaming at the mouth? IÆm not dreaming? Kanji, call an ambulance, quick!ö
ôA-Alright! Hold on senpai!ö
ôBig bro! Big bro! Nooooo!!ö
----------------------------
ôIt was pretty much a blur after that. Nanako wouldnÆt leave senpai, no matter what, so Yosuke went with her.ö
ôIà see.ö Dojima said, glancing at the curry at the center of the situation. He then turned to the waitress.
ôCan I ask why youÆre here?ö
ôWellà As you know, they cooked that at the inn. We were busy at the time so we didnÆt pay attention to what they were doing. As soon as they realized they were going to be late and that they still had to clean up, we offered to clean for them. They packed and left right then. However, once we started cleaning, the chef realized what they had made and immediately sent me to stop them. But I was too late...ö
She then bowed to him in apology.
ôIÆm sorryà If only we had noticed it earlieràö
ôNo, itÆs alright. ItÆsà Hold on a second, I need to answer the phoneö
Dojima took the phone that had started ringing and immediately answered it.
ôDojima residenceà Yesà Yesà ThatÆs goodà Alright then. Yes, IÆll give them the message. Make sure to bring Nanako home, alright? Thanks.ö
He turned off the phone and turned to the people waiting for him to tell the news from the hospital.
ôThat was Hanamura. As expected, it was food poisoning. SoujiÆs resting right now, but he should be back tonight if all is good.ö
He then turned to Chie and Yukiko.
ôBefore falling asleep Souji also mentioned that he wasnÆt giving up on you two.ö
Silence followed that declaration. Apparently, Souji was more stubborn than any of them had given him credit for.
Or suicidal. Maybe it was both.
ôWowà SenpaiÆs really determined about this.ö
----------------------------
He slowly returned to consciousness. The last thing he remembered was eating thatà thatà whatever it was, and then darkness. He opened his eyesà
And saw the very familiar face of Sayoko Uehara right in front of him.
ôWhoa! U-Uehara-san?!ö
Souji lost no time moving back on the bed. The nurse chuckled at his reaction as she stepped away.
ôEh eh, did I scare you? I saw you moving so I decided to have a little funàö
Souji started to calm down. He really couldnÆt let his guard down around her.
ôI heard about what you did. That wasnÆt very smart of you given you already knew what those girls were capable of cooking up.ö
ôI thought someone had kept an eye on them to prevent just thatàö
ôThen I suppose it couldnÆt be helpedà But that makes me wonder, how good are you at cooking?ö
ôWellà I think IÆm good. I havenÆt had any complaints yet.ö
ôMy. I donÆt usually eat at night, but I would like to try your food once. Who knows, I could even reward you if itÆs good enoughàö
Once again, Souji felt himself becoming very nervous. This, of course, only made Sayoko smile even wider.
ôYouÆre so fun to tease! Well, if youÆre alright, you can go home. But I really would like to try your cooking someday.ö
Sayoko left after that. Souji left for home immediately after her, thinking about his future plans on the way.
There was no way he could give up now. It would be a hard and long road, but he was more determined than ever to teach Yukiko and Chie to cook. If not for himself, then for the sake of anyone else who would ever try to eat what they cooked.
Well, people always said that the road to success was long and painful.
According to the parental unit, who was raised when Home Ec. and Machine Shop were still part of the national curriculum, Home Economics was the class where kids were taught basic living skills--cooking, sewing, and some other stuff (need to ask again; it's been a long time).