More Questions Appear

Chapter 120: S2 Episode 19 - More Questions Arise

"Makoto, it was delicious. Thank you very much," his grandfather complimented after he finished his slice. "In this short time, you pulled together an image and made something short of inferior to a professional's. You're always practicing and I could see that when I saw how you tempered that chocolate. You've even been blessed with good comrades… but let me tell you this…"

He paused before relaying his words out loud.

"Don't let someone decide for you what you want to become," he said with a small smile that we all hadn't been expecting.

"Grandfather, b-but I thought that you also wanted me to be—" Kashino began before getting interrupted.

"—It's true that I think you should become a doctor but it's not up to me to make that decision for you. Just like your uncle, I gave him the leeway of becoming a patissier because he chose to make that decision, and so, I'll let you make that decision yourself, Makoto. Choose whatever your heart tells you to do," he lectured which made everyone in the room taken aback by his declaration.

We could see just how flabbergasted Kashino was since it affected him the most as if he was never expecting to hear those words come from his grandpa.

Kashino remained silent before responding in a low voice. "I was a kid raised by a family full of doctors, so I thought I'd become one, too. I knew how tough this profession could be, but I looked up to my parents. But, I was charmed by my uncle's chocolate and figured that this was what I wanted to do: Inventing tastes, deeply moving people with those tastes… I thought I wanted to try doing that, too," Kashino admitted out loud. "But, Mom, are you okay with this?"

Even now, Kashino was looking for his parents' approval despite hearing from his grandfather. Obviously, Kashino wanted to hear their opinion on the matter even though it may conflict with his feelings.

Asa crossed her arms before responding to her son's question.

"It's a world with nothing behind you, you can only rely on your skills. It's a hard job to find success in, especially when there are people that are better than you but… just know that it'll be a harsh road," Asa explained.

"I know it's a tough road. But I'm going down it," Kashino said determinedly, facing his strict mother.

"Even if we want you to become a doctor, there's nothing we can do to change your mind," Asa said in defeat which caused surprise on Kashino's face.

"W-wait! Are you saying that you'll… let me go down this road?"

Before responding, she gave out a heavy sigh.

"*sigh* One day, 6 years ago, one of my closest friends told me that I shouldn't force you to become someone you're not but to support you to become something you want to be. On that same day, I lost her, and right now—I'm heeding her advice. Makoto, I won't force you to choose what you want to be, but whatever you choose, just make sure that you won't regret it in the future," Asa said, which caught all of our attention.

I could tell by the context of her words that she was referring to my mother. But not only that, but the words that I said to her earlier in private were the same ones my mom supposedly said to her.

'No wonder she said that I reminded her of my mother.'

Her words caught Kashino off guard for a whole other reason as it seemed that he was never expecting her to say those kinds of words in his lifetime, which… made sense.

He almost broke out into a smile, but just like his mother, he was an expert at putting on a poker face.

"Besides, the hard road is more interesting," Kashino smirked and his mother smirked back at him in an approving manner.

"If you're that determined, we won't say anything more. However, Makoto… Please show your face around home from time to time," Kashino's grandfather offered as a condition that was easy enough for Kashino to agree to.

"Fine." Kashino looked back at his mother to see her reaction but she kept a calm and collected figure.

"That's another condition you can't take back," Asa said sternly before walking towards the door. As she was about to open it, she paused in her footsteps. "In exchange, you can use the kitchen."

And finally, she left the dining room, leaving the rest of us sighing in relief. After seeing how strict Kashino's family was, it was nice to see that his mother would support him on this tough road.

'Good for you, Kashino. Deep down, I know that your mother cares for you…'

Sadly, after seeing the mother and son duo, it made me think back to the conversation I had with Asa earlier

'If my mom hadn't stood up against her parents, would she have become a doctor just like how my grandparents wanted her to be? I'm sure she knew it was tough and that she'd have to rely on her skill alone, but even so, she decided to climb that staircase towards her dreams, no matter what obstacles she had to face…'

After pondering for a moment to myself, I'd gotten a strange yet intriguing idea as I thought about how my mother reached her dream. It was then that I'd gotten an idea for the "Dream Cake" meant for the final round.

'This could just work.'

* * *

After Kashino's grandfather's birthday luncheon, Team Michiko stopped by Andou's family restaurant, Yumezuki, to talk to them about what had transpired and the news of them making it into the Grand Prix Final Round.

At a small round dining table was a platter of traditional Japanese confections and daifuku. Andou's parents, grandfather, and the three sweets princes sat around the table and chatted as they drank tea.

"The heir of the top hospital's son going to be a patissier, after all, obviously they'd object," Andou's father admitted with no surprise.

"I was beginning to worry if it might have been our Sennosuke's influence," Andou's mother said in concern while her son looked at her in disbelief.

"Seriously, Mom? The reason I wanted to open a Western-Japanese fusion confection shop was because I ate cake at Kashino's house!" Andou tried to defend himself.

"Hanabusa, don't you want to be a patissier?" His mother asked Hanabusa who casually ate the freshly made daifuku.

Instead of Hanabusa answering, Andou answered for him.

"Hanabusa wants to be a coordinator for all necessities of life," said Andou while his parents looked at Hanabusa in complete confusion.

"Co-ordinator?" They questioned in unison.

"If I have to say it, then it'll be a beauty consultant," said Hanabusa who smiled his usual, flowery and elegant smile.

"I-I see…" the parents noticed awkwardly.

"Where did Michiko go? Wasn't she here not too long ago?" Andou's grandfather asked everyone who sat at the table while he glanced around.

The only one absent at the table was Michiko Keiko.

"Ah, she got caught by the kids," Andou said, munching on some food.

"The spirits aren't here either," Kashino added, but only quiet enough for Andou and Hanabusa to hear.

"Let's go see what they're up to," Andou suggested and the two other boys agreed.

Excusing themselves from the table, they got up and walked through the hallways of Andou's traditional Japanese home to search for Michiko Keiko and the spirits.

As they walked, Andou started talking.

"Maa-kun, you should thank Michiko since she was the one who insisted on helping you right away," Andou suggested while he walked behind the other two.

"I also think she's one of the main reasons why your mother decided to change her mind. They did talk privately while we waited in the lobby," Hanabusa added, which made Kashino stop abruptly.

"They talked… privately?" Kashino questioned the two and they nodded their heads.

"Yeah, but we only just recently figured out that they met before when Michiko was a patient at your family's hospital. Auntie reacted so kindly to her that I didn't even recognize if that was the Auntie I knew," Andou explained while he thought back to just a few hours ago. Just remembering how different Kashino's mom acted towards Michiko Keiko made his skin crawl disturbingly. It was so unfamiliar to have seen it.

After hearing it himself, Kashino did think it was strange as well. His mother never acted that kind or soft towards anybody—not even him or his father.

"From what she said yesterday when we were making my grandfather's cake, she claimed that my mom was the one who performed surgery on her, but she didn't say why she was admitted to the hospital," Kashino pondered out loud which made the other two question just as much.

It was obvious that Michiko Keiko was the one who kept to herself, which made her all the more mysterious. She rarely talked about her family, herself, or her deceased mother. All they knew about her was that she was very capable, talented, creative, intelligent, and could think of things when the situation called for it. Not to mention that she had a driving passion to reach her dream of becoming a world-renowned patissiere.

They didn't want to be the ones who snooped into her business so they let her be, but as they spent more time with her, more questions arose.

The main question on Kashino Makoto's mind at the moment was: "What kind of accident did she get into for my mother to perform her surgery?"

It was a plain question but there truly was more to it, and that was because his mother was an 'emergency physician.' She didn't specialize in other clinical specialties of doctors—she worked in the emergency room.