Omi Fushimi/Bright Star of Blooming

My Performance Memories ~Omi~

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Omi	I thought I smelled something good in here. In the middle of preparing curry, are we?
Izumi	Oh, Omi-kun! I heard you were visiting your family today, but you’re back already?
Omi	Just dropped by to show my face to them. Mind if I help you out with that?
Izumi	I don’t mind at all!
Omi	Right. All that’s left is to let it simmer.
Izumi	Mh-hmm. Oh, now that I think about it. Tomorrow’s your screening event, isn’t it? Is it really alright for you to be helping me out?
Omi	It’s no problem at all. In fact I’ve been feeling a bit antsy knowing it’s just around the corner.
	So I actually wanted to get my hands on the kitchen to change up my mood, you know?
Izumi	Fufu. Cooking really does calm one down, doesn’t it?
Omi	Right? That’s why when Sakyo-san banned me from cooking during our 7th performance run, I felt completely restless.
Izumi	It was sad for us too, since we didn’t get to enjoy your cooking for a while. After all, everyone loves all the meals you make for us, Omi-kun.
Izumi	Here you go! Today’s dinner is eggplant and ground meat curry— cooked generously with spices!
Omi	And to accompany that, we’ve got coleslaw salad and milk-braised napa cabbage soup. There’s even tofu hamburger as well.
Taichi	Everything smells soooo good! It’s making me even hungrier~!
Sakyo	Our dinner feels quite extravagant tonight.
Omi	My bad. I started talking about the 7th performance with the Director while we were cooking. I couldn’t seem to stop myself from making more dishes…
Izumi	Everything was made within the budget, of course!
	We managed to make some great salad and soup with the leftover vegetables we had. Plus there was a huge sale on tofu when we went to the supermarket yesterday.
Sakyo	If you say so then…
Taichi	Alrighty! Time to dig in!
Sakyo	Thanks for the food.
Taichi	Woooah, the eggplant in the curry is all soft and melty! This is amazing!
Sakyo	There’s a good salt balance on the tofu hamburg as well. I can barely put my chopsticks down.
Omi	Glad to hear you guys enjoy it.
Izumi	(Fufu, Omi-kun seems to be enjoying himself too.)
Taichi	Omi-kun! Director-sensei! Don’t just sit there and watch— hurry up and eat before the food gets cold! You don’t wanna waste your tasty cooking!
Sakyo	We’ve got our screening event tomorrow. It’d do you good to eat your fill to prepare for it.
Izumi	You’re right! Let’s dig in then, shall we, Omi-kun?
Omi	Of course.
Sakyo	Everyone’s all done changing, right?
Omi	Prep’s all done here.
Taichi	We’ve got to take a polaroid photo of you after this too, right, Omi-kun? You’re not that nervous, are you?
Omi	At the moment? I think I’m feeling fine for now.
Sakyo	Hoh? Seems like you’ve grown a lot since your last screening event.
Omi	Haha, I have gained a lot of experience since then, after all.
Taichi	Aw, but I loved seeing how nervous you were about having your photo back then too, y’know!
Omi	When you say it like that, it’s a little embarrassing to remember…
Izumi	Everyone all ready for standby?
Omi	Shall we get going then?
Sakyo	Yeah.
Taichi	Alrighty, let’s do this!
Taichi	So all throughout our rehearsal period for the show, Sakyo-nii made the rule to ban Omi-kun from cooking so that he could concentrate on the performance.
Omi	That’s right. I do the cooking on a regular basis, so to be suddenly told that I’m banned from it was honestly hard on me too.
	But it turned out to be a great way for me to realize once again that cooking was just that important to me.
	And because it got me to that realization, I can look back now and think that the ban wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Sakyo	The cooking ban was made to lessen some of the burden Fushimi was shouldering, but to think it had that much influence on his performance for the show too…
Taichi	It was a real shocker!
	Oh, by the way, right after the ban was lifted, Omi-kun went ahead and cooked every one of the members’ favorite dishes!
Sakyo	Even went as far as going around to ask each one of us what we wanted to eat.
Omi	Haha. I was really holding back the whole time, so I was just itching to start making all sorts of meals.
Taichi	It was super great to see Omi-kun take in so many requests. But y’know, there’s been one thing that’s been on my mind since then…
Omi	What’s that?
Taichi	I mean, when you really think about it… Didn’t cooking all of those meals mean you went waaaay over the budget!?
	Or did you just buy all of those ingredients out of your pocket too!?
Omi	Oh… Actually, that’s all because Sakyo-san told me that it was alright for me to ignore the budget limit for that time.
Taichi	NO WAY?! Our Sakyo-nii said that!?! That’s the bigger shocker!!
Sakyo	Just shut it…
Guest A	That’s so nice of you, Sakyo-san!
Guest B	Good for you, Omi-kun! You got to cook so much then!
Omi	I sure did. Thank you very much.

Izumi	The talk show went so well, everyone! Good work!
Omi	Thanks for your work as well, Director.
Sakyo	Last but not least would be taking Fushimi’s polaroid photo, right? I’m pretty sure there’s a designated pose as well.
Izumi	That’s right. We’re going with a gratitude-filled heart pose for the fans!
Omi	Got it. Then… Something like this?
Izumi	Just perfect! I’m taking the pic now, ‘kay? 3, 2, 1…..
	*SHUTTER CLICKS*
Taichi	Nice! That heart pose feels just as manly as Riku himself!
Sakyo	I’m sure the fans would love it too.
Omi	Haha, it’s a relief to hear if it turned out that good then.
Izumi	That should take care of everything for today. Great work again, Omi-kun. Make sure to rest up, alright?
Omi	You as well, Director.
Omi	Mm…? This place…
	(This kitchen… These tables… I feel like I’ve seen them before… Am I in Akebono-so?)
	(Maybe the screening event from today influenced my mind to come up with this dream…)
Riku	Hey, who goes there? Trespassing, are we? I’ll call the cops on you.
Omi	Riku…?
	(Even all the way as to meeting Riku, huh. That’s unexpected.)
	(Though it’d be troubling if he really does call the cops on me, dream or not. Maybe it’s better if I trick him, somehow…)
Riku	—Hang on, you know of me?
Omi	Ahh… Yes. I’m a friend of Klaus. I heard a lot about this store from the man himself.
Riku	A friend of Klaus? Really now… But your clothing’s so. Normal.…
Omi	R-Right, of course. But I heard from Klaus that the first bowl of pork miso soup he had from this place was the most unforgettable taste he ever had, so I wanted to try it myself as well.
Riku	…..
Omi	(I suppose that excuse doesn’t cut it for him?)
Riku	… Alright then. Give me a minute.
Omi	Eh?
Riku	Here it is. The much anticipated pork miso soup.
Omi	… Thank you …Can I really have some?
Riku	Well. I just so happened to have some prepared for dinner.
	Plus Klaus is one of my regulars. Can’t decline someone who’s a friend of his, can I?
Omi	(He believes me then. Somehow. That’s a relief.)
	I’ll take your offer then. Thanks for the food.
	——!!
Riku	Hm? You look so shocked, what’s wrong?
Omi	… It’s delicious. This is the first time I’ve tasted a bowl of pork miso soup this delightful.
Riku	You flatter me.
Omi	I’m serious. This richness, this sweetness… Did you put mirin in this?
Riku	Close, but not quite. The secret ingredient is honey.
Omi	You used honey? …I see. Would you mind if I try it the next time I make some pork miso soup as well?
Riku	I don’t really mind but… Are you saying you’re also a cook? If you’re curious about the recipe, I can tell you more of the details.
	So for the kind of miso that I use…
Omi	Mm….
	(I really was just a dream after all.)
	(And yet, even when I’m dreaming, all I ended up talking about was food and cooking. Even when I got the chance to meet Riku, too.)
	(Though, I did enjoy our time together. But more importantly…)
	——So the secret to pork miso soup is honey, huh?
Izumi	Good morning, Omi-kun. I can smell something really good over here.
Omi	Oh, it’s you, Director. I tried making some pork miso soup this morning; it just finished cooking too. Want to give it a taste test?
Izumi	Oh! Since you offered, of course!
Omi	Here you go. Be careful not to burn your tongue though.
Izumi	Thank you… Wow. This pork miso soup tastes incredibly rich! It’s so delicious!
Omi	Haha, good to hear.

Dita