#very depressed that the story didnt transfer into words well from my idea actually

[ashxketchum]

A Fine Day for Curry [Mayblade 2024 entry for Card, Apron, Doughnut and Secret]

Summary: Before anything else, Kai would like you to know that he's not a picky eater, he is just very particular. Rei might wholeheartedly disagree, but he's not getting off the hook so easily. [Crackfic, No plot only vibes]

Characters: Kai, Rei (Other BBA Team Members mentioned)

Word Count: 2649

Note: The idea came to me when I found out that National Curry Day in Japan is also celebrated as KaixRei day by the Japanese fandom since the first letters of their name spell curry (Ka-Re) in Japanese. I thought it was really cute and funny and wanted to post something silly featuring the two and of course, Curry. I'm usually very happy with my 'no plot only vibes' kind of writing style, but this is the first time I'm posting something like this for Beyblade without Tyson and Hilary leading the story so I'm very nervous. I don't think I did a good job with this fic and I'm sorry in advance if you read and it feels like a complete waste lol. Feel free to send in constructive criticism, I won't mind at all!

[post divider by @/cafekitsune]

Resting his hands on top of his knees under the table, Kai resisted the urge to push the plate placed in front of him away. He was not a picky eater, or so he liked to believe, but he was set in his preferences, never taking the chance of trying something he didn’t like. He had worked hard on developing and maintaining his taste palette and didn’t really enjoy it when it was disturbed out of the blue. But still, he was an adult so most of the time if he was served something he didn’t enjoy eating, he would gulp it all down with a passive face, compromising on his beliefs to keep up appearances.

Today, however, was different because he was under the impression that when Rei invited him over for lunch, the two would get Thai takeout as they usually did, instead he was taken by surprise when his friend served up a plate of freshly made curry and rice.

Japanese-style curry was one dish that Kai found hard to make compromises on. If it wasn’t cooked with the specific recipe that his mother followed, he would rather not go anywhere near it. When he raised his eyes from the plate and watched as Rei happily folded his apron to keep it aside before taking a seat opposite him, Kai found it hard to voice out his thoughts about the dish. Rei fixed him with an eager smile and rested his folded arms on top of the table with a nod towards the food, signalling him to go ahead and take a bite.

He swallowed a gulp, raising one hand from under the table to pick up the spoon before he changed his mind and looked at Rei with a raised eyebrow, “I assumed we would be getting takeout.”

“It’s nice to switch things up once in a while, don’t you think so?” Rei shrugged, if he was bothered by how Kai had still not taken a bite of his food, he didn’t let it show on his face.

No, was what he wanted to respond with, you should know that by now.

“Aren’t you going to join me?” Kai sent a pointed look towards the lack of a plate with food in front of Rei. It was when the latter chuckled lightly at his observation that he realised, today he would not be able to get away by just inhaling the food without tasting it and pretending he liked it.

“In a bit, I need to know what you think of the dish first,” Rei said.

“Why?”

Rei considered his question for a moment, possibly debating whether it was worth telling the truth right now or to save the explanation for later. After a while he sighed, raising one hand to rest his chin comfortably in it, he addressed Kai with an excited look in his eyes, “I’m thinking of adding a new menu on my food truck.”

“Is that feasible? For the business model, I mean,” Kai asked, letting his gaze drop back towards the curry. If it were up to him, he would rather eat a month’s worth of Rei’s baozi in one sitting over trying out the Japanese curry offered to him.

“People love buying steamed buns on their way to office or school in the morning, or while heading back home in the evening. But business slows down during the day quite a bit so I thought having a popular lunch item might help.” Rei explained, surprisingly still not annoyed that Kai was spending so much time delaying taste testing a dish clearly very important to him currently.

“That makes sense,” Kai muttered, eyeing the food in front of him with a somewhat renewed interest, “But wouldn’t Tyson be a better choice for something like this?”

Rei laughed loudly, waving his free hand dismissively, “Tyson only enjoys finding fault in Hilary’s cooking. He never judges my food harshly.”

“Max?”

“On the off chance that Max wouldn’t like the dish, he would just empty a bottle of mayo on top of it and I’d rather not watch him butcher my cooking like that.”

Kai felt defeated, he didn’t know whether telling Rei that his opinion would not be as unbiased as he assumed was the right thing to do. His chest did swell with pride, however, at the thought of being the more reliable friend within their circle.

Then he decided that since eating the curry would end up helping Rei, there was no point in trying to push the task any further. He picked up the spoon once again, and while attempting to fight off the disgust from showing on his face, he scooped up a small portion of the curry and rice. As he lifted the spoonful close to his mouth, Kai closed his eyes with the hope that not being able to see the curry would make it easier to swallow.

He had intentionally put more rice on the spoon, diluting the taste of the curry slightly but when it finally hit his senses, he was taken by surprise for a second time that day. He frowned as he chewed on the carrot piece that had landed in his bite, admitting to himself that it didn’t taste as bad as he thought it would. The sweetness of the curry wasn’t overpowering, as was the case in most Japanese roux mixes, but was a much subtle presence at first easily subdued by the rice, allowing the spicy aftertaste to flourish in all its glory making Kai conclude that the taste was actually quiet-

“Decent.”

Uncharacteristically, he ended up voicing his last thought out loud, biting his tongue in regret he sneaked a careful glance at Rei. Assuming that no chef ever wanted to hear their new dish described so blandly, Kai was expecting him to look offended or annoyed even but instead, he had the biggest smile plastered on his face, his amber eyes shining bright with accomplished pride as if he’d just won first prize at a cooking competition.

“That is a huge compliment,” Rei said, his voice now loud with excitement but still retaining the gentle, teasing tone as he added, “Considering how much you hate curry.”

“Wait, you knew I hate curry?” Kai quickly dropped the spoon back onto the plate, pushing the dish towards Rei as he scowled at him, “Why did you make me taste it then?”

“Because-” Rei paused to shake his head, the way he pursed his lips made it obvious that he was trying to hold back a laugh before he spoke, “As I implied earlier, you are the only one I can trust when it comes to objective feedback.” He leaned forward to bring the dish closer to him, picking up the spoon Kai had dropped to serve himself a bite, gathering more curry on it than rice, unlike Kai. He let out a gasp of satisfied approval after tasting it and passed a grin in Kai’s direction, “Decent enough for you to want seconds?”

“Sorry, that privilege is reserved for my Mom’s curry alone,” Kai muttered grumpily, a little relieved to see Rei nodding in understanding. While he wasn’t happy about being manipulated into sharing his opinion on something he didn’t like, he still thought it best to let Rei know that he shouldn’t put his review on a pedestal, “You should get a second opinion. About the taste.”

“I plan to. The others should be here in a while.”

Kai rolled his eyes at the obvious set-up he had walked into, Rei laughing at his reaction only soured his mood further, “I suppose I am more surprised by the fact that you do know what I don’t like.”

“Of course I do, how long have we known each other? Don’t hurt my feelings with accusations like that,” Rei clicked his tongue as he shook his head disapprovingly, “Do you know how much trouble yours and Max’s picky eating habits have given us over the years?”

“I am not a picky eater.” Kai defended himself quickly, “I’m just particular about my likes and dislikes.”

“That is the definition of being a picky eater, Kai.” Rei chuckled, going back to take a few more bites of the curry, he did not bother to explain his own statement of accusation against Kai any further.

“What did you mean, when you said Max and I have caused problems over the years?” Not that Kai was one to give up easily, he fixed Rei with his best intimidating stare and folded his arms across his chest in a gesture to show he wouldn’t budge till he got his answer.

“You know when we used to travel extensively for tournaments and stuff,” Rei said, expecting it to be a sufficient hint but sighed when he noticed that Kai was still looking at him with confusion, “The amount of effort Hilary put into finding hotels and restaurants that would match all our tastes so we wouldn’t have reason to complain.”

Kai leaned back in his chair, relaxing his arms slightly. If he was being honest, this thought had never crossed his mind. After all, whichever hotel they stayed in or wherever they stopped by for meals after matches, the menu always had some option that he enjoyed eating, there was no reason for him to go beyond and think how that always worked out. But now when he revisited those memories, little things seemed to pop up. Like how if he ever lost a match, he never joined the others for a meal afterwards, opting to go for a long walk to clear his head instead. When he’d get back a package of his comfort food would always be waiting in his hotel room, which he had always taken for granted, but now understood was something that wouldn’t be possible without Hilary.

“We had a secret group chat too, Chief, Hilary and I.” Rei continued, his eyes softened as memories of their beyblading days probably came rushing back, but it was quickly replaced with a mischievous glint, “We still do actually, do you think it’s a coincidence that all our get-togethers and reunions always have a perfect menu to boast?”

“So the three of you have just been gossiping about our eating habits behind our backs?” Kai scoffed, the moment of guilt he’d felt about not appreciating Hilary’s efforts as a manager was immediately doused by Rei’s extended explanation.

“Can you blame us?” Rei responded in amusement, but seeing Kai refusing to take this lightly only made him laugh more.

Kai found it hard to fight back with denial because the truth was just that obvious.

If he ever had to spend time with his former teammates over a meal, he preferred to have Rei or Hilary tag along, since he’d always assumed their tastes were quite similar. Now he knew it was just because they understood his habits so well, and were being considerate towards him by accepting his invitations. That didn't leave him much to argue with so he kept quiet even as Rei looked at him expectantly, deciding to instead focus on how to get back at Rei for first, making him eat curry manipulatively and second, implying that Kai was a fussy eater.

Because he really wasn’t, he was just particular. There was a difference, even if Rei refused to acknowledge it.

After seething and brainstorming in silence for a while, just when he thought he was at a loss for ideas, the sound of the doorbell ringing loudly across the apartment reminded Kai that there was still one very good card left to play. Rei quickly got up from his seat and began to rummage through the kitchen, pulling out more plates, and turning the stove on to reheat the food.

“Kai, can you get that please?” He called out as he moved around.

Kai reluctantly got up from his seat and walked to the door, though not before he caught Rei pulling out a plate of egg sandwiches, one of Kai’s favourites, from his fridge and setting them on the table along with the pot of curry. He couldn’t tell if knowing that Rei had already prepared a backup dish for him as per his tastes made him feel happy because at least his friend knew him well, or even more annoyed because it only served to strengthen the trap he’d fallen in today. When he pressed the button on the intercom and saw Tyson, Hilary and Max wave through the tiny screen, he settled on feeling annoyed for the sake of it.

“Rei! We got doughnuts!”

Tyson’s voice cracked through the speaker as he lifted the bag in his hands up towards the camera. Kai didn’t respond obviously, only pressed the button to open the door that would let them in.

“Rei? Are you there?”

Tyson asked again, making Kai roll his eyes at his actions. He could just come up and talk to Rei in person, why did he feel the need to speak through the doorbell was beyond him, Kai thought as he shook his head.

“It’s probably Kai who answered, Tyson. Let’s go.”

He saw Hilary dragging Tyson away, and the plan became quite clear in his head at that moment.

“Would it kill him to greet back once in a while-”

Tyson’s muffled complaint was completely cut off as the display went black, indicating that all three of his friends had successfully entered the building. It would take them a while to come up as Rei lived on the tenth floor, so Kai decided to saunter back to the kitchen, a smirk playing on his lips as he leaned against the door frame with the confidence of a beyblader about to land the winning strike.

“This secret group chat of yours,” Kai spoke, pausing to check if he had Rei’s attention and when his friend passed him a confused look, he continued, “Does Tyson know about it?”

Rei stopped setting up the table and looked up at Kai, eyes wide with fear and horror, “Kai, don’t.”

“Because I just think that, it’s the kind of thing he should know about.”

“Kai, please! If he throws a fit, Hilary will strangle me without a second thought, you know she’s capable of it.”

Rei's scared yet pleading voice did make him feel better about all the manipulation, and just for a second, he thought he would forgive his friend and play nice. After all, Rei did prove that he knew him better than most people, and valued his opinion more than the others, so there really was no need for Kai to exact his revenge.

A knock on the door announced the arrival of their friends and the tension on Rei's face deepened as Kai promptly turned on his heels to open the door.

"Kai, I will owe you big time if you keep this secret for me!" Rei called out in a squeaky voice from the kitchen, making Kai laugh out loud for a change.

“It’s been so long since we saw a real Tyson and Hilary fight, you know" Kai turned his head just once to smirk in triumph, "They just don’t do them like that anymore.”

As he turned the doorknob, he heard Rei shuffling behind him in the kitchen at twice the speed from before, possibly hiding any sharp objects out of Hilary's reach. He suppressed another laugh before swinging the door open. In the end, Kai decided to let Rei off the hook just this once. But there was no reason for Rei to know that, instead he would enjoy keeping him guessing about when Kai would drop the bomb for the rest of the day. When he finally came face to face with Tyson, Kai made sure that Rei could hear him as he announced loudly, “Tyson, guess what-”

- x -