Chapter Text
It was just after their battle that ended in a tie – they were to face off once again in the finals with Souma. The fight was over for now; however, the tension and heat within had not died.
Ryou never felt this way before. After a good cooking match, he could just take off his bandana and be indifferent to everything. This time, it had been five hours since the match and he still couldn't cool down. He was glad Alice just left him alone with his thoughts of the battle.
He swore that he would win by a unanimous decision but that Akira...that Akira with the legendary nose. He still doesn't want to admit it but that man does have an extraordinary olfactory sense… not to mention his own scent.
While they were battling, Ryou’s adrenaline kept pumping, so was Akira’s, he could tell. His manly and oddly spiced pheromones kept seeping through. He had a smell that he just couldn't place but he knew what that musk made him feel — angry, aggressive and frustrated. Frustrated that he couldn't beat him, frustrated that his food smelled so good, frustrated that he couldn't smell him more.
‘Wait...what?’
Ryou stopped in his tracks.
‘What was I thinking just now?’
He closed his eyes and laid down on the bed, trying extremely hard to chill the hell out. But his image appeared: his long white hair contrasting with his smooth caramel skin, his emerald eyes piercing right through him — Akira’s most prized possession, his nose, teasing him with how sharp and defined it was.
Ryou tossed and turned on the bed. He felt his own forehead thinking that the heat he felt might be a fever. He went to his private bath to take a shower, maybe then he’d cool down.
In the luxurious bath, Ryou’s skin felt cool and he was able to relax. He let his mind wander once again. The frigid water reminded him of his hometown. He grabbed the lavender-scented soap and gave it a whiff.
‘This kind of smells like him’.
Horrified, he got out of the bath and dried off.
‘I’ll shower later.’
Now on the bed again, he tried sleeping it off.
‘Maybe I’m just tired. That battle was more exhausting than I thought.’
After more fidgeting on his bed, Ryou was finally able to drift to sleep. He opened his eyes and saw a familiar scene. He felt relieved to know he was dreaming. Lucid dreams for Ryou always meant something good was going to happen.
He felt himself in the cold snow, on the docks in front of his family restaurant, where he grew up… but somehow, it was different. There was a tall, mysterious figure in a white cloak with a veridian aura around it. Ryou’s curiosity piqued then.
He approached the cryptic being with caution only to feel his surroundings get warmer and warmer as he got closer. By the time he was at arms’ length with the figure, the scene around him was now a hellscape consumed by fire.
When the figure turned around, it showed its face. Or rather, his face. It was Akira. And he was well..hot, and... naked?
He had nothing on but the once pure white robe that was now being consumed by the flames. This felt all too surreal for Ryou. He could smell the robe burning, it had the odor of the most aromatic herbs getting heated on a high-temperature flame.
Akira looked at him with literal fire in his olive eyes though his face was as calm as it was during the match. With a mocking smirk, he opened his mouth and uttered a singular word.
“Ryou.”
Ryou woke up in a cold sweat.
It’s a good thing he hadn’t showered as it would’ve been a waste with how much he’s sweating. He looked down at himself solemnly, praying silently to every God he knew, seriously hoping that he wasn't hard.
He was hard.
It was then when he heard a knock on his room’s door.
‘Alice, your timing couldn’t be any better’’
Frustrated, he got up from his bed, not bothering to wipe his sweat before answering Alice’s oddly unfamiliar knock.
His eyes widened. He couldn’t believe who was at the door.