I've Met Her Before?

Chapter 114: S2 Episode 13 - I've Met Her Before?

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In a vivid memory was a small boy, around the age of 8, with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. It was the very young Kashino Makoto.

He sat in a large kitchen and watched an adult man that looked relatively similar, but not exactly, to this young boy.

"Uncle, is that your latest creation? It's pretty," the young boy complimented with astonishment as he watched his uncle hold a tray of elegantly decorated chocolate truffles.

"Want to try one, Maa-kun?" His uncle asked his nephew, putting down the tray on the counter.

"Can I?" The boy asked, taking a glossy tempered chocolate truffle and putting it in his mouth. He began chewing and his uncle watched him divulge into the chocolate.

"It's pistachio ganache, tasty~" The young Kashino flattered with a much more joyful expression than he usually had.

His uncle continued to temper chocolate as Kashino watched him studiously.

"Maa-kun, you have to go home soon or else your parents will kill me. You can't always come here since you're Kashino Hospital's son and heir," his uncle explained.

"Who me? I'm not going to be a doctor. I'm going to become a patissier like you!" Kashino said with determination on his face.

His uncle sighed as he looked at his young nephew, but he couldn't help but crack a smile at his adorable yet handsome young face.

"I'm happy you're saying that but I've already told you that if you keep having those thoughts, your mom's going to give you a scolding."

"Whatever, she already scolds me enough," Kashino said with an emotionless face that looked far off into the distance. "Even when I say that I want to become a patissier, she just brushes it off and tells me to keep studying hard in school. What difference does it make if I do well or not? She won't praise me…"

His uncle couldn't help but feel pity for this poor child. Ever since he was the only child born into a family of doctors, the pressure has been put on him ever since he was born. An imaginative and creative boy like him didn't deserve to have his dreams stepped on because he was expected to be something he didn't want to be. He could only imagine how tough this child's life was.

Even though he came from a well-off family of doctors, it didn't change the fact that because of the adults around him that have been pushing him, he couldn't even have a real childhood. The only time he could act like a child was in front of his uncle.

"Well, I heard that that famous patissiere is going to be stopping by at the hospital for the celebration," his uncle quickly changed the topic.

"Yeah, so I've heard. What was her name again?" Kashino asked curiously.

"Ella Fournier. She's a world-renowned patissiere who achieved success at a young age. She's even better than me at pastry making and chocolate."

"What? No way! That lady can't be better than you at chocolate! You're the best!" Kashino cutely defended his uncle which only made him chuckle.

"Hehehe—Sure, I'm a chocolatier, but it's her job to specialize in many things. She may be even better than me at chocolate."

"No. I won't believe it!" Kashino stubbornly said.

"*sigh* Sometimes, Maa-kun, you have to admit that there are people out there in the world who will be better than you, no matter how good you are. But, it's up to you to decide how you deal with that, whether you stand around envying them in the shadows or choose to become a better you. And with that, I've admitted that Ella Fournier is much better than me."

The young boy still didn't want to listen to his uncle admit that there was a person in the world much better than them. It was obvious from the boy's actions as he crossed his arms and pouted.

"You know what? Try asking your parents if you can see her when she comes to the hospital. Maybe you can even see and taste her creations, then you can judge who's better."

After hearing that, Kashino looked up at his uncle putting on a cheeky smile.

"Fine. I'll be the judge of that."

~

Not too long after, Kashino had to go home to his family's hospital. The outside of the large luxurious building appeared different with lots of extra decorations that usually wouldn't be placed there unless it was for a special occasion.

Plastered at the front of the building was a large sign that read: "National Doctor's Day!"

'The celebration, huh…' Kashino thought to himself as he looked at the outside of the building.

This celebration was in honor of recognizing the many physicians who dedicate their lives to the health and safety of their patients. In Japan was the Kashino Hospital who hosted this important and grand celebration to honor the top physicians all over the world.

Needless to say, this was a very big deal.

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Kashino walked inside his family's home/hospital.

The inside was very well kept and luxurious. Countless people were scurrying all over the place as if there was no tomorrow, busily moving things around and causing a commotion.

"Makoto, there you are!" An older-looking woman spoke up during all of the chaos and appeared before Kashino.

She looked very similar to the boy with dirty blonde hair but she had green eyes instead of brown. It was quite obvious that this woman was his mother.

"Oh, Mom," Kashino said emotionlessly as she got closer to him.

"We need to get you ready for the celebration. Your grandfather's coming soon too, so go to your room and get ready," she ordered him but the young boy crossed his arms in rebellion.

"Hmph! Why should I? I'm only gonna go to show my face, that's it. Why do I have to get ready if I'm only going to attend for a minute?" Kashino said sharply but he could see that his mother's eyes were beginning to twitch. He observed that he was beginning to test her patience, which she didn't have much of.

"Excuse me, young sir?! How dare you show an attitude against your mother?! I said for you to get ready right now! Don't let me repeat it again, understand?!" His mother now ordered fiercely which even made those around them flinch in response.

Not having a rebuttal this time, Kashino drooped his head.

'Whatever she says goes, as always…'

"—Ease up on him, Asa! He's still young, give him a break!" A female's voice interjected from the side which made both mom and son turn their heads to face the speaker.

"Oh, Ella. You're finally here," his mom rubbed her forehead and sighed.

As she approached, they could see a gorgeous woman with long blonde hair pushed to the side and bright blue eyes, wearing a tight white dress and red lipstick. Her beauty could stun people in place despite how frantic they were, and it was hard to explain her goddess-like features in words. Actually, there were no words in the world that could describe this scenery as she elegantly strutted to the mom and son duo.

Kashino thought back to how his mom referred to the woman and he clocked his head to the side as if he'd heard the name before.

'Ella?'