Food Wars! The Knife's Edge

by Kuro no okami 23

The Jewel Generation was a bright time for all at Totsuki but those chefs have completed their time and are now on the front lines protecting their own restaurants. Now, 15 years later new chefs try to take up their mantles. Luke Anders, a young chef filled with the knowledge of the Jewel Generation works alongside his fellow chefs to reach Totsuki's summit and the 1st seat.

Food Wars! A Knife's Edge

Dish 1

The sun shined brightly over the desert state of Arizona which was the home of Desert Edge High School that was currently having its afternoon classes going on. Inside one of the school's history classes, the teacher, a man standing at an impressive 6'3 with short blonde hair and blue eyes, took pleasure in teaching his young students the beauty of what made our nation what it is today. While a few of his students had no real interest in what their teacher was saying, one student paid total and complete attention due to his being a bit of a history nerd. The young man stood at a towering 6'0 with dark brown skin, deep hazel eyes, and short black hair that was cut close to his scalp. He was dressed in a brown leather jacket that was over a red muscle shirt with dark blue jeans, black shoes, and a black newsboy cap on his head with the bill facing forward. On his right wrist he wore a black leather wrist band that had a metal wolf head on the top of it and around his neck was an ancient style necklace that consisted of polished black obsidian and sapphire blue stones strung along a black string. If you looked closely in the center if the necklace you would see the image of a wolf head howling into the sky. This young man was Luke Anders, a 16-year-old student and an incredibly talented young chef.

Luke paid intense attention to the lessons his teacher was giving, he always was an attentive student, but his mind would soon be somewhere else once the bell rang. Once it did, an enormous smile broke out across his face. He gathered his things into his backpack and headed out the classroom door at break neck pace towards his club room. Luke was the president of The Desert Edge Gourmets, a cooking club which was brought back to life once Luke and his friends took it over. It was originally a club where anyone who wanted to eat could come and get a good meal with some good friends but after a lot of the upperclassman left due to graduation there was no one left to pick up the slack, so Luke and his close friends, Davion and Jacob, used their combined cooking skills to get the club back up and running. The three friends combined efforts made the club better than what it was at the beginning, they got boosters, competed in cooking competitions, and sure enough through a lot of hard work and even a few failures they could make the club a great part of their school.

They even got so good that a lot of nearby restaurants and local businesses donated various cooking materials and equipment. All in all, the club meant a lot to them. Luke entered a small room that was nearby the school cafeteria and unlocked the door, opening it he turned on all the lights and illuminated the room. The Cooking Club room was divided into two parts, one that taught and educated those who wanted to learn and be a part of the club and the dining room that would serve actual customers every other Friday that would serve anyone and everyone. Right now, Luke was in the kitchen area that was used for cooking, it was very high tech with top of the line utensils, fridges, mixers, ovens, and many other things that you would normally only find in a restaurant kitchen. Luke put his backpack down, took off his jacket, and went over to a manikin that held a specially made chef coat that Luke kept in perfect condition. The coat itself was long-sleeved and black with red stitching along the collar, shoulders, sleeves, buttons, and cuffs. There was also a set of lapels that could become detached when Luke pulled on the sleeves, so the coat could go sleeveless. On the back of the coat there was also custom symbol on the back which looked like a large Aztec-styled circle with ancient Mexican symbols running along it that led to the center which held the image of a tribal wolf face.

Luke smiled at the coat before throwing it on, this coat and his knives were his most prized possessions. They are what showed people that he was a chef that was not to be messed with. Luke buttoned up his coat and grabbed his knives before rolling them out, the knife he grabbed was the primary one he used. It was an 8-inch knife with a handle made of elk antler and a blade made of black carbon fiber. The blade Luke had forged himself in the forge of his brother's army friend and the handle is from when he killed his first elk. After grabbing all his materials, Luke started cooking.

Today wasn't a day when he would be serving customers but since it was the end of the week Luke wanted to do something special for his friends and clubmates, so he would be preparing a delicious lunch for them and himself.

He first grabbed a large pan of thin sliced pork loin that was covered in a marinade of garlic, onion, kiwi, water, and just a slash of gochujang for some heat that was pureed. The pork loins had been marinating for about 24 hours, so the flavors could set into the meat itself. He also grabbed thin sliced carne asada, white onions, red and green bell peppers, jalapenos, some poblano peppers along with some chicken breasts and a dough that was made from flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, dry yeast, oil, and water. And some eggs and green onions. With all the ingredients he need out before him Luke started his meals.

First the chicken, he minced the chicken into a fine paste and mixed it with breadcrumbs, eggs, salt, pepper, maple syrup, and some paprika. He mixed all the ingredients into a workable mixture before forming them into balls and placing them onto a foil lined baking sheet and popping them into a 350-degree oven to bake through. While the chicken balls were baking, Luke mixed together eggs, flour, sugar, milk, baking powder, a splash of vanilla, and a little oil into a workable batter and set it aside.

While the chicken balls were cooking Luke got to work on the beef dish. First, he rolled out the dough onto a flat surface and cutting out circles, when all the dough was cut Luke set them aside and worked on the filling. He sliced the carne asada into pieces along with the peppers and onions. He placed a skillet onto a stovetop and lit the fire and added some oil to the bottom of the pan and let that get hot, once the oil was hot but not smoking he added the meat and vegetables to its and let them cook. Once the meat was cooked through and the vegetables were translucent he removed them from the oil and onto a paper towel lined plate to drain and cool.

Once the filling was cooled he added portioned amounts to the dough along with some cotija cheese and folded the dough over the filling and added a twisted effect to the top of them. Once all the buns were filled, Luke placed them inside bamboo steamers that were placed over some boiling water and let the buns steam till they were soft. After a few minutes Luke removed the tops of the steamers to see that buns had a slight crust on top but the buns themselves were still soft, he removed the steamers from the water and kept them under a heat lamp to stay warm. With his beef dish done he went onto finishing his chicken and pork dishes.

For the chicken dish he pulled the chicken balls out of the oven to see that they were perfectly cooked through and set them aside to cool. While the chicken cooled, Luke combined honey, rice vinegar, hoisin, chili paste, soy sauce, sesame seeds, some red pepper flakes, and a little bit of brown sugar to make a finishing sauce for his pork. With the pork he took each chop and dredged it in a little bit of corn starch and all-purpose flour then throwing them in the fryer. Once the chops were golden brown he took them out and tossed them in the sauce, he then placed the chops on the flat top grill to get the sauce nice and caramelized. Once the chops were finished, Luke cut them into manageable pieces and placed on some toasted slider buns with some lettuce, daikon, and a little bit more of the sauce and set them aside with the buns to stay warm.

Now all that was left was the chicken dish, with the chicken balls cooled Luke dredged them in the batter and fried them till golden brown. After pulling the completed chicken balls out of the fryer, Luke placed them on a serving platter along with two quick sauces he made. One was a honey Dijon sauce that had a little shaved garlic in it and the other was a chipotle maple sauce for some sweet and heat. With all his dishes completed Luke covered them each with a dome and placed them on a serving cart before wheeling them out to the cafeteria where his friends were waiting.

As Luke wheeled the cart through the cafeteria, many of the other students watched him as he passed by. Many of his classmates and his teachers were already quite well versed in how great of a cook Luke was, there was a reason he was the club's president after all, but they also knew that on Fridays only the members of the D.E Gourmets got to eat the food Luke made but Luke wasn't the kind of man to let people go hungry.

When Luke reached his friends, he turned around to see every single person in the cafeteria looking at him with hungry eyes and drooling mouths.

This made Luke chuckle, "Don't worry guys, I didn't forget about you all. For lunch today, I have prepared Italian chicken sandwiches with a side of sweet and savory tomato soup. There is plenty for everyone so please help yourselves." Once he was finished talking, every person immediately dashed to the counters to order some of the food that Luke had prepared. He loved seeing people happy with the food he made.

"Man, people really love your food Luke." A voice said behind him. Luke turned to see one of his oldest friends Davion sitting at a table. Davion was a tall boy around 6'5, with dark black skin and hair that was so short it made him look nearly bald. He had dark brown eyes and was very heavily built thanks to his years of playing football and basketball. He was dressed in a black sweatshirt that was over a dark blue shirt and dark blue jeans with dark brown boots on his feet. Around his neck he wore two custom dog tags and a very nice looking blue and silver Rolex on his wrist.

Luke shrugged, "What can I say, I live to make people happy with my food." He said walking over to the table that Davion and the other members of the Gourmets were sitting at. The biggest of them all was Jacob Duran, standing at 6'6 he was definitely not hard to miss. With lightly tanned white skin, short brown hair, and dark brown eyes he was dressed in a long sleeved green shirt with jeans and a pair of brown work boots.

Then there was the cousins, Antonio Torres and Ray Ramirez. They were often mistaken for brother due to their similar tanned skin, dark brown eyes, equal 5'8 height, and black hair but Antonio had a pair of glasses over his eyes while Ray didn't but they both did have silver earrings in their ears. Antonio was dressed in a black t-shirt with jeans, red and black sneakers, and a black leather jacket. Ray was wearing a long-sleeved grey shirt with a black and white flannel shirt over it with black jeans and grey sneakers. Finally, there was Jose Carranza, he was a bit stockier due to his wrestling training but around the same height as Luke with deep tanned skin, light brown eyes, and short black hair. Dressed in a red t-shirt, black and gold sweater, khaki pants, and black boots. These were not only the Members of the D.E Gourmets but they were also very close friends that had been together since their freshman year.

"I still say you're only doing this, so you can get girls." Antonio said making the others laugh.

Luke rolled his eyes, "Think that if you like but I don't see you guys complaining about the food I always make for you." He said taking the dome off the food to show the others what he had made. The other guys eyed the food like it was their last meal, but they always tended to do that whenever Luke cooked.

"Today we have chicken and waffle meatballs, sweet chili fried pork sliders, and some carne asada Nikuman. The two sauces with the meatballs are a honey Dijon and a chipotle maple, help yourselves." He said with a smile. The guys didn't need to be told twice as they grabbed some plates and attacked the food. The moment the guys put the food in their mouths, it was like an explosion of flavor. Wave after wave of delicious combinations of flavors invaded their mouths as they continued eating.

"This is bomb, the meatballs are light and crisp which hold in the chicken's flavor and the spices that went into it! And the sauces add an awesome addition to make the dish even more amazing!" Davion said as he ate more.

"And this carne asada is incredibly moist, the juices just come overflowing after each bite. Each bite I take is packed full of the wonderful savory and spicy flavors that just make me want more!" Ray said with delight.

"Just like mi madre makes!" Jose said as he at another bite of Nikuman.

"I don't think I've ever had pork this tender before. The sweet and spicy sauce hits you immediately and leaves a pleasant after taste that makes you want more and the addition of the daikon with the meat adds a coolness that pairs so well together!" Jacob said as he started on his third slider.

"I could eat this pork all day!" Antonio said as he continued to eat.

Luke smiled at his friend's comments, while his main goal was to be able to make a living for himself, so he could do what he loved but seeing the pleased faces of the people who ate his cooking was always worth all the work he did. Luke took one of the Nikuman and took a bite.

"Oishi." He said before sitting down and looking out of the window beside him. While he loved cooking for his friends and being in the D.E Gourmets there was always a part of him that thought maybe he could be doing more with his food. He wanted to make food that the whole world could enjoy, and everyone would come to his restaurant to eat because they loved his food, that was his dream but they way he felt now seemed like there was something missing.

"Hey Davion, stop eating all the meatballs!" Jacob shouted. Luke looked over and saw his friends trying to keep Davion from devouring the last of the chicken meatballs.

Luke rolled his eyes at their antics and got up, "Relax guys," Luke said as he reached down underneath the cart and pulled up more trays covered with domes. He set the trays down and uncovered them revealing more of the food he made. "I always know to make more than enough for you guys." He said causing the guys to cheer. Luke smiled, for now this is what made him the happiest.

The Knife's Edge

Outside the school a black stretch limo pulled up to the front of the school and stopped. The driver got out from the front and opened the back door for the occupants he was driving. Stepping out were three people, two girls around 16 and a boy around 14 but all had Asian features, the first girl had long red hair that reached the small of her back that had blonde highlights with a few bangs reaching the sides of her face. She was very lovely girl with flawless porcelain skin and deep violet eyes and standing at about 5'6 and was blessed with very nice curves and quite a large size bust. She was dressed in a long-sleeved red blouse that was buttoned up and had a blue jacket over it, a black skirt that went down to her knees with a pair of white pumps and white knee socks. On her right wrist was a black leather wrist band that had a metal lionesses head on top.

The girl standing next to her was around the same height and was equally gifted in the curves, hips, and bust department but her skin was as white as snow as was her hair that reached down to the back of her neck with her bangs covering her forehead but neither took away from the girl's natural beauty nor did her red eyes. She was dressed in a long sleeved white shirt with a yellow sweater vest over it and a red sweater covering her with a pair of blue jeans and fur tipped boots on her feet. On her right wrist was a similar wrist band but had a metal snow leopard head on the top. The boy who was tallest out of the three despites being the youngest, standing at about 5'8 with wild black hair that had silver highlights covering a good portion of his face. He had a well-built body and had deep black eyes with a lazy look on his face and was dressed in a long sleeve red shirt with a black jacket over it, black jeans, black sneakers, and the same kind of wrist band on his wrist but with a metal dragon head on it.

"So, this is the place Marina?" the girl with white hair asked her female companion.

"That's right Karin," Marina told her cousin, "The next place that will fall to the Nakiri Family." She said before walking towards the school.

Karin sighed, "Well looks like we better follow Marina Ryuuji-kun." She said with a smile before following the red headed-girl.

Ryuuji nodded his head, "Osu." He said lazily before following his sister and cousin.

The Knife's Edge

Back inside the cafeteria Luke and his friends, along with the rest of the students continued to enjoy their lunch before heading back to class. Luke was laughing with his friends when he noticed their principle, a tall grey-haired man ironically named Mr. Gray, was walking with three people he had never seen at the school before, but he did recognize them, and he looked quite scared.

"Hey, what's up with Mr. Gray?" Luke asked his friends and pointed to their principle with the other three people. His friends had shrugged not knowing what was going on either. The group of friends got up from their seats and headed towards their principle.

"Please Ms. Nakiri, I beg you to reconsider." Mr. Gray said as he tried to get the young lady to change her mind.

Marina sighed in mild annoyance, "I will not change my decision Gray-san, this school as well as the a few of the surrounding homes and the back-desert lot will all be torn down to make way for the new American Division of Nakiri International." She said loud enough for all the surrounding people to hear her. This caused a massive uproar within the cafeteria since nobody had heard anything about the school closing.

Luke ran immediately up to his principle with a frightened look on his face, "Oi, Mr. Gray what the hell is she talking about?" he asked.

Marina rolled her eyes, "Are all you commoners hard of hearing, I said that this school, a few of the surrounding homes, and the back-desert lot will be closing down in order to create a new American branch for Nakiri International." She said placing her hands on her hips.

Luke glared at the girl, "And what possible reason would the prestigious daughter of the Nakiri family need to tear down this school and the surrounding areas for your company?" he asked her.

Antonio looked at Luke, "Yo Luke, you know who this girl is?" he asked him to cause the people around him to look at him.

Luke nodded, "Yeah I do, this is Marina Nakiri. She is the eldest daughter of Erina Nakiri, one of the most prominent and influential people in the culinary world. It is said that the Nakiri Family has their hands in every single major culinary player in Japan. And from the looks of it, it appears their family wishes to expand their holdings into America." He said.

Marina smirked, "You would be correct. This location is large enough and has a great central location for all the desired research and development that our company needs to make it greater." She said with a haughty voice.

"But you can't do that, this school and the surrounding homes mean so much to so many people. You can't just take that away." Luke said trying to get his point across.

Marina waved it off, "The people will receive a generous movement package when the company is established, and the student's here can always find some other school to go to. These public schools all seem to be the same. Now if you'll excuse me I have some important matters to attend to. Gokigenyo, minna-san." She said with a flick of her hair before she turned to leave with Karin and Ryuuji following her. Luke could not believe this, he had heard of the Nakiri family being cold and ruthless, but this was just too much. There was no way he was going to let this woman take away a place that meant a lot to him and the people he cared about. And there was no way he was going to have good, honest, people get booted from their homes for some idiotic reason like this.

Luke watched Marina walk away and decided that there was only one way to stop her and keep his important place. Luke ran after Marina but due to the number of students in his way he took a different way. He jumped onto the lunch tables and ran across the row of them till he was in front of Marina, he flipped off the last one he was on and landed right in front of her surprising her and her cousins.

Luke took a deep breath, "I'm not going to let take this place away." He said with a deadly look in his eyes.

Marina tsked, "There is nothing you can do to stop this, the proper papers are already in place and the demolition will commence in one week. You can't stop this." She said.

Luke looked at her, "Yes I can, there is a way that I can stop this," he said before pointing at Marina, "Nakiri Marina, I challenge you to a Shokugeki." He said. This caused the young girl to become speechless. Nobody in their right minds would be foolish enough to challenge a member of the Nakiri family to a Shokugeki, there was a reason they were called the Demon Family of Food.

Luke dropped his hand, "You seem to think that places like Desert Edge are all the same well you're wrong. This place holds a lot of special memories for a lot of people myself included. I refuse to let you take this away because of your selfishness. So, I'm challenging you to a Shokugeki for the protection of this school." He said with deep desire in his voice.

Davion and the others looked on in confusion, "Hey what the hell is this Shokugeki thing that Luke keeps talking about?" Davion said aloud.

Karin walked over to him and raised her finger, "A Shokugeki is how students of Totsuki Academy settle disputes, basically it's a cooking duel in which two competitors set conditions that they both agree on, they decide on a theme or certain ingredient that must be used, and there must be an odd number of judges, so the battle does not come out to a draw and only one clear winner stands." She said.

Antonio crossed his arms, "So basically this school and the surrounding homes all settle on whether or not Luke can win a cooking match?" he said which caused Karin to nod.

"But that's only if Marina will accept the challenge." She added.

Marina sighed, "I applaud your tenacity but there is absolutely no reason for me to agree to a Shokugeki, I have no need to fight." She said.

Luke smirked, "What's wrong, is the Princess of The Nakiri Family afraid of being beaten by a simple commoner like me? If that's the case, then the Nakiri family must not be all that they're hyped up to be."

Marina glared at Luke, "Nani?!" she said with an angry look in her eyes and venom in her voice.

"If that's how you feel then let's up the ante. If I win the demolition stops and Nakiri International donates to the school and homes for the trouble they caused but if I lose the demolition goes on as scheduled and the Nakiri family get's a new butler for life." Luke said causing Marina to raise her eyebrow and the other students to whisper.

Davion ran over to his friend, "Oi Luke are you nuts?! You can't bet your own future to this chick." He said.

"If I don't bet this then the people around here may not have a future at all," Luke said stepping forward, "So what do you say Nakiri Marina-chan?" he said.

Marina looked at Luke, while she did not have any real desire to participate in something like this she did have a bit of an interest in showing this commoner what it really meant to challenge a Nakiri.

"Very well, I accept. I will show you what it means to challenge a Nakiri. What shall the theme be?" she asked crossing her arms.

Luke thought for a minute before smiling, "Cake." He said.

Marina grinned, "Very well, the match will be three days from now and we will use this school's gym as the venue location. I will have my people come and set everything that we will need up."

Luke nodded, "Works for me, Marina-chan." He said.

"Then see you in three days, Gokigenyo." She said walking away with Ryuuji and Karin following her.

Before they left Luke grabbed one of the sandwiches he made that was wrapped in to go paper, "Oi Ryuuji, catch." He said throwing it at the boy. Ryuuji turned around and caught he sandwich in his hand.

He looked at it then to Luke, "Osu." He said before walking away.

As Marina and the Kurokibas left, the whole room just erupted into chaos, their very scholastic future is riding on the result of a cooking match.

"Luke are you sure this is a good idea?" Jacob asked Luke who was deep in thought.

Luke turned to his friend, "This was the only option Jacob, cooking is the only way to get through to someone like a Nakiri. But don't worry, this is one battle I know I'm going to win," he said before turning to Mr. Grey, "Mr. Grey, I'm going to need a few days off. I have some cakes to bake." He said before leaving to go and find a recipe that would not only save his school and the homes of hundreds of people but also relay a message to the young Nakiri girl.

The Knife's Edge

Outside the school, Marina was in a major huff. She just could not believe that there was a person in this world that was crazy enough to challenge her to a Shokugeki.

"That lowly, no good, uncivilized beast of a commoner. To speak to me, a Nakiri, in such a way is completely unforgivable. I will make him regret his words." She said as her limo pulled away from the school.

Karin sighed, "Oh calm down Marina, I think it's quite interesting. A person we know nothing about but who knows about use challenges you to protect what he cares about. It's quite noble when you think about it." She said

"Regardless of his reasons, I will not allow that fool slander our family name." Marina said turning away. Karin just sighed at her cousin's actions, there was simply no changing her mind. Ryuuji just shrugged at his sister's and cousin's actions and looked at the rolled-up sandwich that Luke had given him. Due to his general curiosity and the fact that he was quite hungry due to the plane and car ride he un-wrapped the sandwich and took a bite, the minute he did his eyes widened. The flavor of the chicken was incredibly delicious, the spices and herbs that the chicken was dredged in brought out the chicken's natural flavor as well as enhanced it. The addition of the roasted red peppers and provolone cheese made the dish all that much better. Ryuuji didn't speak again until the whole sandwich was gone and all that was left was the paper.

'What is up with this flavor? I haven't tasted anything this delicious since I was a kid.' He said as he looked back at the school and wondered about the guy who gave it to him.

"Masaka." He said quietly to himself.

The Knife's Edge

After the incident at school, Luke immediately went home to start working on his Shokugeki dish. His home was his family's bed and breakfast called Morning Glory which was owned and operated by his mother, grandmother, and aunt who all purchased it as a leap of faith to put a few of their family recipes to the test along with their desire to make everyone feel at home when they stayed there. Luke was currently in the kitchen which was twice the size of a standard kitchen, but the size was needed due to the sheer volume of people Morning Glory would receive and since Luke was the head chef of the place he needed for the place to be prepared for whatever amount of people came.

The kitchen's center island was currently filled with different types of cakes that Luke had prepared, he made several different types, a simple white cake with raspberry buttercream, a chocolate chip pound cake, his abuela's tres leches cake, even his cheesecake which was his specialty when he made desserts but there was nothing that seemed to be working.

Luke tasted another piece of cake he made and sighed, "Nope, nothing. All of these are good, but this isn't enough. If I'm going to go up against a Nakiri then I need to pull out all the stops, I need everything at my disposal." He said before sitting down and tried to think up another plan on how to tackle this challenge.

"Wow, I haven't seen you like this in a long time." A female voice said. Luke looked up to see his mother walk into the kitchen holding a paper bag of groceries. Luke's mother Gene was quite a lovely woman, despite her 51 years of age she looked like a woman in her 30's. She had flawless porcelain skills, short black hair that reached her neck, deep brown eyes that were framed behind a pair of square-rimmed glasses, a curvy figure, and wearing a pair of deep blue jeans and a teal shirt that was underneath a light blue jacket and a pair of cowgirl boots on her feet.

Luke smiled and grabbed the groceries from his mother, "Well I haven't really had a serious competition in a long-time mom or gone up against such a serious opponent before." He said putting the groceries away. Luke had told his mother about his Shokugeki with Marina and had asked her not to take any reservations for the next few days since he was going to be using the kitchen.

Gene tasted some of the cakes that Luke made, "Well all of your cakes are delicious but if I had to choose I'd say go with your gut. That is how you won all of your other competitions after all." She said. Luke nodded, in every match he had ever been in he had always just done what felt right, it was how he liked to cook. Plus, every single cooking mentor he had ever had always told him the most important aspect in cooking was to have fun. If you aren't having fun that there is no point in cooking for people.

Gene took a bite of Luke's cheesecake and moaned, "Your cheesecake is always spot on, it always has been. By the way you may want to take a look outside, there are some people here to see you." She said. Luke raised an eyebrow and went to go look, when he opened the door his eyes widened at what he saw. It seemed that the whole neighborhood that was being threated had arrived at his doorstep and they did not look happy, not that Luke could blame them.

Suddenly two kids ran out of the crowd and ran at Luke before wrapping their arms around him and squeezing him tight. Both kids had similar features and brown hair, Luke recognized them as Dylan and Carrie Rhodes who were learning how to cook from Luke on the weekends. The kids were basically like little siblings to him.

Dylan looked up at Luke, "Luke are we going to become homeless?" he asked with watery eyes.

Luke knelt down his and Carrie's level, "Of course you're not, what made you think of such a thing?" he asked with a smile.

Carrie sniffed and wiped her eyes of tears, "The lady on the T.V said that if you lose a cooking contest then we won't have a home anymore." She said sadly.

"Where did you hear that?" Luke asked.

A tall man with brown hair brown eyes and features that matched Dylan came over to where Luke was causing Luke to stand. The man was Carl Rhodes, the two kids father, "There was a news report on earlier today." He said showing Luke his phone that had a video loaded.

"It seems that things look a little bleak for students and homeowner's a like. Marina Nakiri, daughter of the prestigious Nakiri family in Japan has issued an order for Desert Edge High School as well as the surrounding homes of the school to be torn down and be remade into a new American division for Nakiri International. However, there may be hope for the people after all, according to a source from the school a young chef named Luke Anders challenged Ms. Nakiri to a cooking duel for the survival of the school. If Luke wins than the school shall remain and the people of the homes and the school itself shall receive a donation for the trouble caused but of Ms. Nakiri wins than the demolition continues, and Mr. Anders becomes the Nakiri family's new butler. We have no idea how this match will end but we will bring you coverage of the duel three days from now so stay tuned."

Luke growled, "Well this is just perfect." He said as he looked back to the people that had shown up at his doorstep as well as the two kids who he thought of as his own siblings, at that moment a fire was ignited in his soul. There was no way he was going to lose this match.

Luke knelt down to the two kids again and smiled at them, "You guys have nothing to be worried about. I promise you and I promise all the people around me that I will win this battle and save your homes if it's the last thing I do." He said causing the people to cheer and Dylan and Carrie to hug him again.

At that moment Luke sniffed the air and smelled something strange, "Dylan, Carrie, why do you both smell like burnt cookies and brownies?" he asked causing the kids to blush.

"Well, Carrie and I tried to make that Brookie recipe that you gave us to practice with but…" Dylan started.

"We ended up setting the temperature to high since we wanted them to be finished as soon as possible." Carrie finished. Luke sighed, these two students of his were very talented and very enthusiastic but sometimes they could get a little impatient when they were cooking.

At that moment Luke got a flash of inspiration from the two twins that he thinks could give him the edge he needed in his match.

Luke kissed the two siblings on their heads and smiled at them, "Thanks guys, I think you just gave me the trump card that I'm going to need in order to win this fight." He said before he ran back into the B&B to the kitchen. He stood back in front of his ingredients prepared to create the one cake that was going to let him win against Marina.

Three Days Later

The day of the Shokugeki came and it could be seen that the whole town of Goodyear, Az was tuned in to see what was going to happen. The Gymnasium of Desert Edge was currently packed to the brim with students, families, and spectators that were all waiting with nervous excitement to find out what the outcome of the cooking battle would be.

The center of the gym was supplied with various ingredients and equipment that both competitors would be able to use for their match. There was even an enormous jumbotron hanging above the center of the court telling who the winner would be. Outside the gym in one of the waiting rooms Luke along with his friends were waiting for the match to start by trying to relax using whatever method they could. Davion and Jacob were arm wrestling while Jose, Antonio, and Ray were playing video games, Luke on the other hand was looking over all the ingredients he had to make sure that there was nothing missing.

Luke nodded, "Okay, everything looks good." He said closing his cooler and standing up. Today he was dressed in a pair of jeans with a red sleeveless shirt underneath his chef coat on. He also wore his black newsboy cap and he wore a pair of red headphones around his neck. This was what he also wore in competitions.

Davion, who lost to Jacob in arm wrestling, went over to Luke, "You sure you're ready for this Luke? That Marina chick seems pretty tough and from what you said her family name is no joke either." He said causing the rest of the guys to get up.

Luke smiled, "Don't worry mi amigos, I made a promise that I'm going to win this match and as you guys know an Anders never breaks his promises. I'm going to beat Marina, if it's the last thing I do." He said causing his friends to nod. Luke closed his cooler, grabbed his knives and cracked his neck.

"Time to go to war." He said before heading to his match.

The Knife's Edge

Inside the gym people were anxiously waiting for the match to begin, in the center of the gym was an older man in his mid to late 40's but he was in very good shape since he was not only a teacher he was also one of the baseball coaches. He was dressed in a black and copper shirt with a pair of jeans and black shoes with green eyes, a decent sized beard, and a bald head. This was Michael Beale, the host for this Shokugeki.

Michael tapped his microphone to get some feedback, so the people can quiet down, "Alright, alright people welcome to the first ever Japanese Shokugeki happening here in America right inside our own Desert Edge High School. This match is for the survival of DE as well as the surrounding homes that border the school, everything rests on this one match son without further ado let's meet our competitors." He said by pointing at one of the doors from on the opposite side from him, walking through it, with her long beautiful blonde hair flowing around her, was Marina Nakiri in an immaculate white chef coat. Her stoic expression that she was wearing didn't distract from her immaculate beauty.

"Coming all the way from The Land of the Rising Sun, known as the Ice Angel, Marina Nakiri!" Michael announced causing a lot of the people to boo at the sight of her.

"Evil woman!"

"Go back to Japan!"

"Luke is gonna wipe the floor with you!"

Michael continues, "Alright people that's enough of that let's get on with the match by introducing Ms. Nakiri's opponent." He said causing the people in the gym to get into an uproar.

The doors on the other side of the gym opened and Luke walked in with what looked like a serious vibe of swagger as he rolled into the gym. In addition to his chef gear that he was wearing he had a DE Scorpion band tied around his arm to represent his school.

"Representing our own Desert Edge, the head of the DE Gourmets, and the man fighting for the school's survival, Mr. Luke Anders!" he said causing every person in the room to cheer for the young chef.

Luke walked right up to the center of the gym as did Marina and they both stood in the center where their workstations were. The two young chefs faced each other while their teams waited along the side of the gym to watch.

"I must commend you for actually showing up Anders-kun. I figured you would have run away." Marina said.

Luke smirked, "A real man never runs away from a challenge, especially when he is fighting for the people he cares about." He said. Marina smirked back, and the two young chefs walked over and stood in front of their respected stations.

Michael spoke again, "Okay folks this is how it's going to go down, each competitor will create a dish based on today's theme within the time allowed. Once the time ends the judges that we have gathered today will taste both dishes and give their verdict as to who will win. If Ms. Nakiri wins the school and the surrounding homes will be torn down to make way for a new American branch of Nakiri International but if Luke wins then the school and homes stay and the Nakiri family will donate to the all the people that they have troubled in this process." He said moving to the center of the floor.

"Okay the both of you let's have a clean match, the theme is cake and you will have 90 minutes to bake, plate, and serve your creations to the judges. Are you both ready?" Michael asked the two who both nodded in understanding.

"Well then let the Shokugeki begin!"

Luke Anders vs Marina Nakiri

Theme: Cake

Once the time started Luke quickly got to work on assembling his dish which was quite complicated, so he needed to get all his prep done quickly. Luke grabbed flour, white sugar, brown sugar, milk, eggs, butter, vanilla, cocoa powder, oil, and salt. Along with some cream cheese, lemon juice, and some sour cream. First, he took the cream cheese, which was room temperature, and threw it into a mixer along with some sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, eggs, sour cream, and mixed them all together on medium speed until they were all well incorporated and got into the spreadable consistency he was looking for. Luke took a tasting spoon and tasted the filling to check for flavor, once he was happy with it he took the mixture and poured it into a cylinder mold, topped them with some plastic wrap and threw them into the blast freezer to get cold and solid.

Luke then took two separate mixing bowls and placed them side by side and throwing similar ingredients into both. Each bowl had flour, white sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, a little bit of oil, and a pinch of salt. In one bowl he added brown sugar, chocolate chips, and milk, to the other he added cocoa powder, milk, and mixed both at the same time.

"Wow, Luke is amazing!" One student said.

"He's able to multitask like it's second nature!" another student said.

Davion nodded, "That's not that surprising, Luke's skills have always been top notch. He didn't get to be our leader just because we voted for him." He said. Along with Davion, the other members of the DE Gourmets decided to watch the match from the stands along with all the other students, so they could not only have a good view but also hear what the people wanted to say about their friend.

Jose nodded, "True but I still can't tell what he's making." He said.

Antonio shrugged, "Maybe some kind of marble cake since he's using more than one kind of batter?" he said.

"Well whatever he makes it'll be great." Ray said.

Jacob leaned forward and clasped his hands together, "I know that's true, but I'm really worried about that Marina girl. She seems to be up to something, just look at her." He said as everyone had looked over to the Nakiri girl's side and saw what she was cooking, and it looked like poetry in motion. She began by whisking together eggs, milk, vanilla, and lime zest together in a bowl at a rapid pace until they were all well incorporated before quickly moving on to combining flour, corn flour, baking powder, and sugar in a mixer on low speed till there were no clumps. She slowly began adding small amounts of butter in another mixer until it looked like wet sand before adding in her dry ingredients in batches followed by her wet ingredients till there were no clumps and stopped mixing. She then spread the mixture onto a sheet pan and put it into a 350-degree oven to bake for 10-15 minutes. While the cake was baking she placed a few gelatin sheets in water to bloom and placed heavy whipping cream and sugar in a mixer and mixed until stiff peaks formed. She then took a few egg whites and sugar and placed them in a bowl over the stove and quickly whisked them together, watching the temperature until it reached around 140-degrees before pulling it off the stove and adding some passion fruit puree into the egg white mixture and mixed together with the whipped cream.

She then added some of the bloomed gelatin to the mousse mixture which made it light and fluffy. The timer on Marina's side went off and she pulled out her cakes from the oven and onto a cooling rake. The cakes had come out a golden brown which was what she was looking for. The smooth, rich smell of the cake itself wafted off and around the room while the lime zest that was in the cake gave it a slight bitter note that paired extremely well with the cake.

The people in the room began salivating at the mere sight of the cake and the scent that was coming from it just made the people want it more.

Davion wiped his mouth, "Damn, that's only part of her dish and it's already making me want it more." He said.

Karin, who had recently joined the group along with Ryuji, giggled at the comment, "Well that is how Marina cooks, she tempts people with the way her cooking looks and then once she serves it the overall flavor makes their taste buds explode with an amazing taste that you can't find anywhere else. That is how she earned the nickname The Temptress of Flavor, she is a Nakiri after all." She said as Marina began placing amounts of her mousse in round silicon molds and placing rounds of her cake on top of them before placing them in the blast chiller.

"I actually feel a little bad about your friend, he's fighting so hard to keep this school here and yet he will eventually fail before Marina." Karin said making the guys groan in both despair and anger.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Karin-nee, it looks like that guy is about to do something big." Ryuji said causing Karin to cast a surprised look at both her brother and Luke. Luke had finished whipping some cream that had a pink tint to it before placing it on a fridge to cool.

Luke then cracked his neck, "Alright, I think it's time to get serious." He said loud enough for even Marina to hear.

'What does he mean serious?' Marina though as Luke reached up to the clasps on his shoulders with a smirk on his face. Luke then pulled on the sleeves causing them to become detached revealing his bare, muscular arms that both had tattoos on them. Celtic runes on his right arm that swirled from his wrist to the top of his chest while his left arm had the same Aztec circle that was on his coat and even though they weren't visible he also had Cherokee markings that circled his collarbone. This action caused many of the young girls in the room to swoon, even Karin blushed a little. Luke then grabbed his hat and turned it around and placed his headphones on his ears. He then reached to his wrist watch on his left wrist and pressed what looked like a play button causing music to fill his ears.

Luke smiled at the music playing in his ears, once the music started playing his body moved on instinct with the rhythm. Due to his half Latin blood whenever he heard music it just lit something inside of him that made him want to move and when he listened to it when he cooked it just made everything come into perspective, as well as make him feel more focused.

(Insert Song: Don't Wanna Go Home by Jason Derulo)

Once the music started playing Luke began dancing and singing along with the song. This was how he truly cooked.

Karin couldn't believe what she was seeing, "He's singing and dancing?!" she asked surprised.

Davion laughed, "Yeah that's who Luke is. Despite how much he wants to win, the main thing that he always focuses on is having fun when he cooks. It's what he preaches every time he is at a competition." He said while the other guys chuckled.

Marina couldn't believe what she was seeing, "Are you mocking me, Anders-kun?! This is a serious match that could define so much for so many how can you just stand over there and sing and dance?!" she yelled at him.

Luke ignored her and kept dancing and singing, this caused Marina's face to redden in anger.

Karin giggled, "This is so strange I have never seen Marina get so flustered by someone like this, but I don't think that what Anders-kun is doing is very productive." She said.

Jose smirked, "You sure about that?" he asked. Karin looked at him with a questioned look before looking back at Luke and was surprised at what she saw. Despite the performance that he was putting on he seemed to be completing his dish with incredible efficiency. While Luke was singing and dancing he was putting together his two batters together in one ramekin and swirled them together to create a lovely marbled design. He did that till the ramekin was about halfway full and placed the frozen cream cheese mixture that he made earlier and placed it into the center of his cake batter along with some kind of brown crisp before filling up the rest of the ramekin, he completed this process three more times until he had four ramekins that were filled. He then put all four of his filled ramekins and put them in a baking pan and into a 420-degree oven to bake for 13 minutes. Once the time had passed Luke pulled out his cakes and put them on a cooling rack to cool. The mere smell that was wafting from the cakes was just so pleasurable to all the people attending the smell even got to Marina.

'What is this smell? It makes me feel warm and safe.' She thought to herself before looking over to Luke. For some reason she felt something familiar about the boy, something that made her heart flutter. She quickly shook off those feelings and got back to assembling her cake.

When he pulled the cakes out he continued to move and dance causing the people to really enjoy what he was doing, and the smell was just making people love watching what he was doing.

Jacob smiled, "In every competition Luke has ever been in this has always been his trend. He plays his music so only he can hear it and sings so the people in the room will hear his voice, once he does this he wins every single competition he attends." Jacob said while Karin looked at him curiously, "Due to this reason people in the culinary world gave Luke a name, they named him after the legendary wolf that will strike down the king of the Norse gods when the horn that shall signify Ragnarok sounds. They call him Fenrir." He said causing Karin's to widen at the surprise of such a strong person being Luke.

"Okay everyone time us winding down so the competitors should start finishing up their dishes." He said. Luke and Marina were finishing up their dishes as the clocked counted down from the last ten seconds.

*DING DING DING*

(End Song)

"That's it times up! Step away from your stations!" Michael shouted. Luke and Marina had finished plating their dishes and stepped away. Luke paused his music and took his headphones off, this was the one dish he made that could change everything.

Michael began, "Okay everyone it's time to find out who will win this Shokugeki and find out the fate of Desert Edge itself but first let's introduce our judges." He said pointing to a small judges table that had three people sitting at it.

The first was a man in his early forties, he was African American with shirt black hair cut close to his scalp and a neatly trimmed goatee with deep brown eyes. He was dressed in a black shirt with a grey vest over it with a black tie and black pants. He wore polished black shoes on his feet and a stylish black fedora with a grey band around the edge.

"Please welcome the chef and owner of The Blue Star restaurant, Mr. Sean Cassius!" he said causing the man to stand up and wave at the applauding audience.

The next was a lovely woman in her early thirties and Latin heritage. She had lovely light brown hair that reached down to her shoulders with bright green eyes and beautifully tanned skin. She was dressed in an immaculate black dress with matching shoes, a white shawl over her shoulders, and a beautiful yet very simple green, rhombus shaped necklace around her neck and an engagement ring on her left finger.

"Next, we have the head chef and owner of La Casa Bonita, Ms. Gabriella Perez!" he announced in which the woman stood up and bowed while the people clapped, and a few boys cheered.

The final judge was a man in his mid-thirties with bright golden eyes and spiked up auburn hair and of Asian heritage. He had a scar over his left eyebrow and a white headband wrapped around his left wrist. He was dressed in a simple blue t-shirt that had a black jacket over it with a pair of black pants and shoes.

"And finally, joining us all the way from Japan, the owner and operator of the famous Yukihira Diner in Tokyo's Sumire shopping district Mr. Soma Yukihira." He said making the man grin and wave.

Marina was in shock at what she saw, "Otou-san, what are you doing here?" she asked in surprise, but she said it in Japanese so no one other than Luke, Ryuji, and Karin could understand.

Soma laughed, "Oh come on Marina, there is no way I was going to miss my own daughter's first ever Shokugeki in America." He said in English causing people to gasp.

"Hold on, Daughter?!"

"That's her dad?!"

"Isn't that unfair, he will obviously choose his daughter's food!"

Soma laughed at the outrages that were being shouted from the audience, "Maa, Maa, don't worry just because Marina is my daughter that doesn't mean I'll be showing her any favor. I will judge this match based on the food I taste and nothing else." He said getting everyone to calm down.

Michael cleared his throat, "Well with all that out of the way let's get down to the judging, shall we? First up we have Ms. Nakiri." He said standing aside for Marina to come forward with her dish. She placed her three plates in front of the judges and they all gasped at the beautiful jewel that was before them.

"This is my Hurricane Entremet, buon appetite!" she said with grace. The dish she presented was a beautiful cake that was covered in a gorgeous red glaze with a dew edible white pearls on the edge of it.

Soma gasped in delight, "Whoa amazing, this dish almost looks way to goof to eat."

Sean nodded, "The key part in making an Entremet cake is not just the various layers of mousse and cake it is also that beautiful mirror glaze."

Gabriella agreed, "If the outside looks as great as this I can only imagine what the inside will taste like. Well, then shall we?" she asked her fellow judges who all agreed and took a fork. The judges broke open the cake and took a bite, once the cake had hit their taste buds their eyes widened.

The judges were then transported to a festive New Orleans Mardi Gras, all around them was festive fun and good times. The three judges were having an amazing time each with a Hurricane drink in their hands. As of right now nothing in the world had mattered to them except having fun.

The judges were brought back to reality once they all swallowed but they each had to take a large breath to get their sense back in order.

"This cake I can't believe that something this flavorful exists. The cake itself is a thin Genoese cake that taste light and fluffy but is just dense enough to support all the flavors that are above it. And the addition of the lime zest gives it just the right amount of bitterness and sourness." Sean said.

Gabriella nodded, "And the passion fruit mousse that is right above the cake is flavorful and refreshing that you can't help but only want to eat more and more but there is something that I don't understand. This is a Hurricane Entremet which is inspired by the traditional New Orleans drink but how is it I taste ever aspect of those flavors and none are too overpowering?" she asked.

Soma smirked, "The answer to that would be the glaze and the cake." He said.

Marina nodded, "That's right Otou-san. To the cake I brushed it with a rum simple syrup while it was still warm, but I only added a small amount so the cake itself wouldn't have become soggy and the orange is in the glaze. I added fresh orange juice and zest to the glaze to fully capture that Hurricane feel." She said confidently.

Soma nodded, "I see now, by adding small elements of the drink that inspired you the dish has all the flavors you could want and yet it doesn't get too much for you that you can't eat more. Truly an exceptional dish, worth of the Temptress of Flavor." He said getting moans from the crowd.

"Looks like Luke is in trouble."

"This is the end."

"We won't have our school or our homes."

Marina looked towards Luke as he was walking up with his dish, "Do you see now Anders-kun? This is the might of the Nakiri family, you cannot hope to win against me."

Luke stopped right next to her, "Oh really, last time I checked you were also a Yukihira not just a Nakiri," he said causing her to glare at him, "And besides how can you say that this match has been won until the judges have tasted my dish." He said placing his dish in front of the judges.

Sean gasped, "What, what in the world is this?" he said in shock.

"This isn't like anything I have ever seen before." Gabriella said in delight.

Soma just smiled, he knew that the dish that the young man in front of him presented would more than likely be on par with his daughter's.

Luke smiled, "This is my dish, my brookie lava cake with raspberry whipped cream. Dozo oagariyo." He said bowing like a gentleman. Marina was taken back, first by the fact that Luke was able to make something like a simple lava cake look so beautiful or that he was using her father's serving line."

Soma grinned, "Oh this looks delicious, well let's not waste any time. Itadakimasu!" he said as he and the other judges bit into the cakes. The moment they did, their eyes lit up. At first no one did anything, they just stood in place but after the initial shock was over each of the judges began scarfing down the cake in huge spoonful's.

Marina gasped, "W-What is happening?!" she shouted.

Sean stopped eating for a moment, "This cake, it's as if it isn't from this world." He said as he continued eating.

"The two-different chocolate batter match each other amazingly well. One tastes just like a chocolate chip cookie while the other is a rich, dense chocolate brownie. These two are so similar and yet they taste so different but compliment each other so well." Gabriella continued.

Soma had just finished eating the outer portion of his cake and had taken an immense bite of the lava center when he realized something, "This lava filling, it isn't the usually molten chocolate center." He said.

"It's cheesecake!" Sean realized.

"Cheesecake?! A cheesecake filling as a lava center?!" Marina shouted in surprise.

Luke nodded, "That's right, I took the basic cheesecake base of cream cheese, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and a little bit of sour cream to make the cream richer mixed them all together and froze them in cylinder molds until they became cold enough to place into the cake. As the cakes themselves baked the cheesecake filling melted and became the lava filling that gave the cake the creamy quality it needs. The whipped cream on top has been mixed with raspberry puree to give a bit of refreshing tanginess that makes it the perfect complement to the cake." He said.

'But that's not the only thing, each bite there is a pleasing crunch that makes you want to go back into the cake to eat more of it. What is it? Sou ka Almond.' Soma said

"An almond praline!" Soma said surprising everyone.

Luke nodded, "That's right, after I added the cheesecake filling I placed a fresh-baked almond praline crisp right on top of it before covering it all with the marble batter. The combination of the marble cookie cake batter, the tanginess of the cheesecake lava feeling, the almond praline, and the raspberry whipped cream gives you a pleasurable taste to your taste buds that makes you want to keep eating it over and over again." He said as the judges continued to smile and eat his cake.

*Sniff Sniff*

Everyone looked over to where Sean was sitting to see that there were tears forming in his eyes.

"Sean-san, what's wrong?" Soma asked concerned.

Sean wiped his eyes and smiled, "Sorry it's just that; when I was a child the very first thing I learned how to make was chocolate chip cookies from my mother. We would spend hours in the kitchen just baking and having fun. They were some of the best times of my childhood was when I was with my mother. She passed away two years ago and I haven't been able to taste anything similar to her cooking since then but this dish is bringing back all those memories." He said before he looked over to Luke.

"Thank you young man for giving me a little taste of my childhood back." He said gratefully. Luke smiled and bowed like a gentleman in gratitude.

Soma grinned, "Well now that we have tasted both dishes I believe it is time that we vote." He said.

Michael came up to the mic once more, "This is it folks, time to find out who the winner of this battle is. Judges, when you are ready please press the colored button in front of you. Blue for Luke and red for Marina." He said as the judges took a moment to silently evaluate the dishes in front of them. While each dish was spectacular in their own way there could only be one winner and it was in their hands.

After a few moments the judges began moving at the same time towards the buttons in front of them and each pressed the same one at the same moment.

The jumbotron screen above them flashed blue to reveal the name of the winner.

Winner

Luke Anders

The entire area erupted into immense cheers when Luke's name appeared on the screen, no one could hold in their happiness or their tears anymore as the verdict had been decided.

"He did it!"

"Alright, Luke won!"

"I knew he could do it!"

Even the guys in the De Gourmets couldn't believe what they had seen, this was one of the most intense cooking battles they had ever seen.

Marina was in shock she could not believe what just happened, she lost. She, Nakiri Marina had lost.

"This is impossible, how in the world could I lose to a simple commoner?!" she asked in outrage which immediately silenced the crowd.

Luke went over and tasted Marina's dish and in truth it was heavenly, there was truly nothing wrong with what she had made everything was in harmony but there was one thing that was the deciding factor in what made him.

"Your dish is exquisite, all the flavors from the lime to the orange and the passion fruit all work together in excellent harmony and from what you had described about it you delivered on everything from taste to presentation. You check all the boxes." Luke said.

Marina nodded, "See even he sees that my dish is superior." She said to the judges.

Luke smirked, "Oh I never said that, I said your dish was what I expected when you said it was based on the Hurricane drink however there was nothing special about it." He said.

"Nani?!"

"There was no surprise, nothing special, no contrast in textures, nothing interesting or special about the flavors you chose, and everything was way to clean and organized. If you look at my cake there was something surprising from the moment you taste it to when you hit the center of it. Cooking should be about not only making a dish that your guests will enjoy but also something that they can expect something special from and showing them a little bit of yourself. After all cooking is all about putting a little bit of yourself on a plate." Luke said.

Marina was livid there was absolutely no way that she could lose to some commoner like this but there was also a part of her that recognized the words that he was saying like there was something about his words that made her feel special. Before she could retort anything, he placed a plate of his cake in front of her.

"If you still don't believe me then have a taste for yourself. Dozo oagariyo, Nakiri Marina." He said with confidence. Marina looked down at the dish in front of her, at first, she was going to reject the dish but the intoxicating smell that was coming off from it made it all the more appealing. Marina took a clean spoon and slice into the cake, she made sure to get a little bit of every element in one bite and put the morsel into her mouth. The moment the cake touched her tongue, it felt like a piece of her heart had been returned.

'This taste, it's something that I haven't tasted in such a long time, but I would remember it anywhere.'

(Flashback)

A young five-year-old Marina was standing in the middle of a park that was close to her home, normally this would have been a fun place for kids but right now Marina was crying her eyes out. Apparently, due to the reputation her family had there were a few of the other kids in her neighborhood that thought she was just a spoiled princess who always got what she wanted. That's why a few of the local boys would often pick on her.

"Look it's the little princess!"

"She looks so stupid with that little dress on!"

"That's probably why she has no friends!"

The boys just continued to laugh at her and call her names like it was the most fun game they had ever played. Marina was so scared and afraid of the boys that she just continued to try, in her mind she wished that someone would just make these boys go away.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?!" another boy's voice shouted over at them. The three boys looked over to where the voice was coming from and saw a boy about their age but slightly bigger. The bigger boy came over and pushed the other three away from Marina with just one push, making them all fall over.

"Stop making fun of Mari-chan!" he yelled.

The three boys were terrified, they had never seen a boy their age this size.

"Come on, let's get out of here!"

"Hurry up run!"

They all ran away in fear while Marina continued to cry not knowing what to expect next.

The boy placed a gentle hand on Marina's head and petted her lightly, "It's alright now Mari-chan. Those bullies are gone." He said making Marina look up and see the boy she had become friends with a while back smiling at her.

Marina looked at her friends with a blush and sniffed, "Arigatou, Ru-chan." She said. Ru-chan nodded and took her hand.

"Come on, let's go back home. I made something sweet I think you'll like." He said pulling her hand over to her home.

Once Marina and Ru-chan had gotten to their home, the young boy placed a big slice of cheesecake with a raspberry sauce and whipped cream in front of her.

"Dozo Mari-chan. Eat this and cheer up." He said. Marina looked at her friend and to the cake, normally the only people who would cook for her were her family but this boy was a strange exception. Marina took a piece of the cake and placed it in her mouth, her eyes widened at the gentle creamy flavor. The simple, tangy, and tart cake was all combining in her mouth. It was so good she couldn't help but smile and eat the rest of it in one sitting. When she was done she looked at the boy with happy eyes and a big smile.

She ran across the table and threw her arms around the boy in a big hug, "That was delicious Ru-chan. As expected of my future husband!" she said holding onto the boy. Ru-chan smiled and hugged her back. The two young friends just stayed like that for a while and to Marina it was the happiest day of her life.

(End Flashback)

Back in reality Marina had finished the entire cake and placed the empty plate beside her on the table before looking at Luke.

"Masaka, Ru-chan?" she asked hesitantly.

Luke gave her a big grin, "That's right, hisashiburi da ne Mari-chan." He said happily before tears started to form in Marina's eyes. She couldn't believe it, the boy that she had fallen in love with all those years ago but was pulled out of her life by uncontrollable events was now standing in front of her all grown up and handsome. The young Nakiri girl couldn't contain her joy any longer and threw herself at the boy knocking them both to the ground.

Luke was startled, "Oi Mari-chan, what exactly are you doi-" he didn't finish what he was saying because the next thing he knew Marina had her lips pressed against his and her tongue down his throat. Luke was absolutely stunned, both at the fact that Marina was kissing him and at the fact that she was doing it in front of his entire school. And she also didn't seem to mind that the whole gym was going nuts at the fact that she was doing it so brazenly and from the sound of a few angry groans a few of the other girls weren't too happy about it either.

One of them was Karin, "What in the world is Marina doing?! Why on earth is she kissing that boy?!" she asked with a red face.

Ryuji nodded, "Yappari na, that guy is Ruku-nii." he said lazily. Karina was shocked at what her younger brother had said until she looked over to Luke and saw that he had the same kind of bracelet on that she and her siblings had. There was only one kind of person that would have it.

But now she was fuming even more, "Why is Marina kissing my darling?!" she said before running over to the two of them.

Ryuji sighed, "Those two never change but it's good to see Ruku-nii again." He said before getting up and following after his sister and cousin.

Back with Luke, he had finally gotten released from Marina's grip and stood up, but the girl wrapped her arms around his waist and just wouldn't let go.

Luke smiled, "Um, you know Marina you can let go of me now." He said.

Marina shook her head, "Nope, I'm not letting you go ever again." She said with her arms tightening around him. Luke was about to just pry her loose when Karin rushed over and pulled the two of them apart with her cheeks puffed out.

"Mou Marina, why are you holding on to Ru-chan?! The only one that can hold him and kiss him is me!" she said throwing a child-like tantrum.

Marina wasn't having it either, "What do you mean Karin?! Ru-chan hasn't decided on you or me I'm just securing my position as his lover." She said equally fuming.

Karin just shook her fists and looked like she was about to lose her mind, "Not happening!" she shouted before she turned around and grabbed Luke's collar and planted a huge kiss on him. This one wasn't like Marina's, this one had Karin's mouth totally open and her tongue playing with Luke's like she was trying to beat it into submission. Luke's mind was in complete chaos, he had no idea what was happening right now with these girls. Sure he knew that they had crushes on him when they were younger but this didn't seem like an ordinary crush this seemed like straight up passion.

Karin finally let go and Luke put some distance between the two to get some air back in his lungs while Karin wiped her mouth with a smile.

"You sure know how to kiss darling." She said seductively. This sparked off a huge, child-like brawl between the two cousins as they began yelling at each other and pulling hair like little girls.

Luke took in a big breath, "Jeez, these two are seriously crazy." He said.

"Yeah about you." Ryuji said as he walked up next to Luke.

Luke smiled and nodded, "Well, there's nothing I can really do about that. It's good to see you too Ryuji." Luke said ruffling the younger boy's hair causing the young boy to blush slightly.

"Y-yamero Ruku-ani." He said. Luke laughed, while Ryuji was just like his father in many aspects of his personality he was still just a fourteen-year-old kid who Luke loved like his own flesh and blood.

Luke was about to go and try to break up the two girls fighting when he was suddenly tackled by a large mass. The next thing he knew he was hefted up into the air by his friends and classmates who were all cheering for him and congratulating him for winning. After getting put down he thanked his friends for the support and even accepted a few cheek kisses from some female classmates.

"Thanks everyone, I couldn't have done it without you all." He said.

Davion nodded and clapped his friend on the back, "Damn Luke you really had us going but we knew you could win." He said fist-bumping Luke.

Antonio nodded, "That is true although I do have one question. Why is it that you were swapping saliva with those two girls?" he asked pointing at Marina and Karin who were getting pulled apart by Marina's father.

Luke scratched the back of his head, "Well that's because Marina and Karin are my childhood friends." He said.

"Huh?!" everyone asked shocked.

"When I was younger I spent some time in Japan and there I studied under Marina and Karin's fathers as well as the rest of their friends and family. I grew pretty close with them both and Ryuji but later on I helped them out a few times with some of the local bullies that would mess with them which turned into them having crushes on me." He said.

Jacob was shocked, "That kiss didn't look like a simple crush kiss bro." he said. Marina's father walked over to the group of people with a loud laugh and a big grin on his face.

"Well that's because my student charmed my daughter and niece so much that they officially called him their future husband but before he left Japan he never decided which one he wanted." He said laughing.

Luke's face went red, "Oi, Soma-sensei yamero. I didn't decide something like that because I was too young for something that big. Plus, we were just kids, there was no way I was gonna be someone's husband at that age." He said. Not long after he said that his arms were captured by Marina and Karin.

"Doesn't matter to me Darling. I'll wait for you as long as it takes." Karin said pressing her chest into Luke's arm.

"Do not worry Anata. My heart shall always be yours." Marina said pressing into Luke's arm as well. Luke was just trying to keep cool, but it was very hard with these two beautiful girls coming onto him but luckily, he was able to get himself free from their grasp.

"W-well anyway, the more important thing here is that the school and the homes are safe and that's all that matters. And I'm happy I was able to bring Marina back as well." He said.

Marina looked at him, "What do you mean bring me back Anata?" she asked.

Luke smiled at her, "Well after I left Japan to go back home I still wanted to keep tabs on you guys since I didn't know what was going to happen after I left. When that happened, I heard that both you and Karin were making big waves in the culinary world, but it seemed that along the way you seemed to be so focused on the fact that you were a Nakiri and somehow forgot that you were also a Yukihira. That isn't the Marina that I know so in addition to keeping the school and homes safe I wanted to bring you back to who you were, and I can safely say that I've done that." He then went over and placed his hand on her cheek and tilted her head up so she would look at him.

"Okaerinasai, Mari-chan." He said sweetly. Marina had tears forming I her eyes, she had never been so touched. Luke was right, once he was out of her life she didn't really know what she wanted to do with her cooking but then she remembered how her mother often dominated the culinary scene back in her days as the Ice Queen so that's who she became. She then later forgot that she was also her father's daughter but now she did. The man she loved had brought her back to who she was. Marina was so happy as she felt the tears fall down her face, once again she threw herself into Luke's arms and just held onto him and cried. Right now, she didn't car about anything else but staying in the arms of the man she loved.

Luke smiled and just held onto Marina, right now things were all as they should be. His school was safe, the homes would not get taken down, and he had people that he cared about back in his life. Things were good.

The Knife's Edge

After the Shokugeki, Soma was back at his hotel room talking on the phone with his wife explaining what had happened with Marina and Luke.

"Yeah it was just like we thought. Luke was the one who brought Marina back to her old self. As expected as my student." He said.

"Well I expected as much now our daughter can go back to being the happy girl we all know."

Soma grinned, "Yep, now about that other things, is it all good? Did the Elite Ten push it through?" he asked.

"There was a bit of a dispute but ultimately the decision was final. He's approved."

"Yosha, this is going to be one interesting year." Soma said excited.

"Indeed, it shall. I will send you the information to give to him and I will see you back home soon."

"Yep, see you later Erina. Love you." Soma said.

"I love you as well Soma." The two people ended their call and Soma laid back on his bed with a smile.

"Can't wait to see who's going to stand at the top this year." He said.

The Knife's Edge

Four days later after the Shokugeki, things returned to normal at Desert Edge. Thanks to the donation that the Nakiri family made a lot of the school's tools and equipment had been ungraded from the gym to the even the art program. Luke was now sitting in the school's cafeteria with his friends enjoying breakfast.

"I got to say Luke you really did save all of our asses." Davion said.

Luke smiled, "An Anders protects what he cares about, I'm just glad that everything worked out in the end." He said.

Antonio grinned, "Not to mention you got some tongue action bro! Ha ha ha!" he said getting everybody to laugh while Luke groaned in slight embarrassment. While he did enjoy the kisses from both Marina and Karin he really didn't have any real desire to enter a relationship. For now he just planned on working on school and perfecting his cooking.

"Well it didn't look like he was complaining about it."

All the guys turned around to see Marina, Karin, and Ryuji standing behind them which was strange because they all thought they had returned to Japan.

Luke stood up, "Minna, what are you guys doing here? I thought you had already left." He said.

Marina smiled, "Well we were planning to but first Otou-san wanted us to come and give you something. I'm just glad I got in here okay, a lot of the students here still aren't very happy with me for what I did. Even after my apology." She said. After the Shokugeki, Marina had turned to everyone who was attending as well as the people watching and apologized to them all for what they did. She was sincere and Luke could tell that she meant what she said but he couldn't please everyone. But it did give people a better look at what Marina was like now.

Luke smiled and patted Marina on her head, "Don't worry Mari-chan, everything is resolved now so you have nothing to worry about." He said making her blush. Karin puffed her cheeks out and quickly latched onto Luke's arm and pulled him close. Luke just rolled his eyes at the girl's antics before Marina got jealous as well and did the same thing.

"Neh one-chan, shouldn't you give Ruku-nii the letter Soma-jisan gave us?" Ryuji said laizily.

Marina blinked, "Oh right." She said before she handed Luke an envelope. Luke was curious so he opened it, inside was a letter that was written in kanji. Luckily, he learned to read it during his time in Japan, as he quietly read the letter his eyes widened.

"Huh, I've been accepted to Totsuki Academy?!"

"EHHHHHHHHHH?!"

The Knife's Edge

Around the same time as Luke was getting accepted, two young men were taking a very rigorous entrance exam into one of the most legendary dormitories at Totsuki.

"The first dish is spicy breaded shrimp and honey butter biscuits with sweet lime slaw." A voice said with a southern creole accent.

"My dish is vanilla sponge cake with a raspberry gel, mango sorbet, and a passion fruit sauce." The other male said with a clam and cold voice.

The man judging the dishes took bites of each one and smiled at the taste of both.

"You both pass. Welcome to Polar Star." He said. Both young men smiled at their triumph, now their journey to the summit of Totsuki begins.

What will happen when these boy's cross knives with the other chefs at Totsuki?

What will happen when Luke steps foot in Japanese soil again?

The journey of the Steel Generation now begins.

CHOURI KAISHI!