Hey! Sorry for taking for the wait! I was planning on posting this chapter on Monday, but things happened so...
Anyway, I want to thank EchizenRyomaLover for betaing this chapter again and for putting up with me!
I also want to thank Angelitho-Negro, Blackitten13, Heavens Crow, meow mew chan, promocat, chibi-shueiri, supremekikay24, orlyzara, the kitten420, the3littlesontarans,Thegraybluekitten, Taylor's Little Kitty-Cat, PianoHearts, Obviouslynet, Lazerqueen88 and all the guests who reviewed/favorited/followed this story! You were a great inspiration!
Hope you like this chapter as well! :D
The air became heavy as the judge's words sunk in.
Sebastian couldn't believe it! Just as he was appreciating the view of the adorable judge, the words hit him like a truck, making the young cook blink in confusion.
A challenge? Now?As in right now?
All of the contestants shared awkward stares as they waited for further explanations.
"Mey-Rin will show you the kitchen. There, each of you will have your own counter where you can work. There will also be aprons and jackets with your names on them. Pick which one you prefer," the bluenette explained, gesturing to Mey-Rin, who nodded with a small smile.
"Yes, yes I will! Please, follow me!" She said happily, walking to the left side of the room, where another one of those automatic metal doors opened upon sensing her approach.
As the contestants entered the kitchen, their eyes fell on what seemed to be two long tables, one on each side of the room.
"On the tables all of you will find a small card with your name on them, yes you will! Please, look for your place so you can begin!" Mey-Rin explained happily, grinning at the competitors.
As he took a closer look, Sebastian noticed that the "long tables" were actually several counters placed very close to each other.
He made his way to the counters on the left side with Claude, quickly running his eyes over the neatly-written cards. But only his friend found his place, the last one on the row.
The red-eyed male ran a hand through his hair as he walked to the other line of stainless steel counters, noticing just now how prepared they were; a stove with six big burners, a sink on the far edge, and a cabinet under the counter could be found.
"Oh, here it is…" he murmured quietly to himself as he saw the card with his name, on top of the last counter of the right row, right in front of Claude, which was a rather good and bad thing at the same time; good because he could easily see how his friend was doing and what he was preparing; bad, because Claude could do the same to him.
Sebastian took the apron that was on top of his counter and folded it in half, wrapping it around his waist as he removed his cardigan, rolling the sleeves of his black dress shirt up to his elbows.
As soon as everyone found their places, the judges entered the kitchen, the sound of their fine shoes echoing in the room.
Ciel stood before them, with Alois at his right and Soma at his left, both grinning while the blue haired young judge stared at them with an amused look, his smirk aimed towards the contestants. Sebastian felt a small shudder run down his spine as he saw a peek of white teeth.
"This competition will have two kinds of challenges: the quick challenge and the elimination challenge. As its name suggests, the quick challenge is easier than the elimination challenge," the young judge explained, his hands buried in his pant pockets as he kept an elegant pose in front of the competitors.
"The storeroom is over there. There, is the refrigerator and the fridge. And over there are the ovens." Mey-Rin explained, gesturing to an opening at the end of the room, to four big metal doors on the wall behind Sebastian and to the several (around twenty, probably) wall ovens placed on the other wall respectively.
"And for your first quick challenge…" the blonde started, apparently being the most excited person in the room. "…seeing as it's still early and none of us have eaten anything, you'll prepare us a beautiful breakfast."
"Be sure to be creative," the prince added, a heavy accent dripping on every word that left his lips. "You have one hour."
"Starting…" Ciel trailed off, raising his wrist to check his watch. Sebastian swore that in between the two actions, the judge had glanced specifically at him.
"…now." The three young judges said in unison, with Alois's and Soma's voices over shadowing that of Ciel's.
All Sebastian saw was a blur as the contestants ran desperately to the storeroom. He turned to Claude, who looked just as impressed as he was.
They shared a chuckle before heading to the storeroom, giving each other a small smirk.
"Good luck, Michaelis."
"If I were you, I'd keep all the luck to myself, Claude. You'll need it," the red-eyed male teased, winking at his friend.
As everyone cooked, the only thing the red-eyed male thought of was how great it was that he already knew what to prepare.
All of the competitors seemed nervous (except for Claude) as they cooked. It wasn't because someone could get eliminated on a quick challenge, but because the first impression was always the most important.
Sebastian moved swiftly over to his area, stirring the egg whites and onions on the pan as he glanced at the clock.
Thirty minutes left. I can't finish it too quickly or else it'll get cold.
The young cook walked around the room, checking the oven he was using quickly before returning to his counter, cutting the bread.
He poured water on the other hot pan he was using, applying a bit of sugar and a bit of cinnamon as he glanced at Claude and Agni, who seemed to be doing well just as he was.
Scanning the room as he stirred the mixture, Sebastian watched the three judges conversing quietly at far corner of the kitchen. The three young men ignored the contestants completely, seeming to be talking about a totally different subject.
The raven ran his eyes over the blue-haired judge again, licking his lips at the sight of a hint of pale skin peeking from his white shirt. That lad was too handsome, too adorable. Exactly Sebastian's type. If he wasn't in the competition or if he wasn't the (most important) judge, the male would've already made his move. Ah, well…Perhaps when the competition was over and he had won?
With another look at the clock, Sebastian sighed happily, knowing he was on time. Now he just had to set up the plate.
He, very carefully, took the toasted muffin and placed it on the plate, followed by the slightly baked slice of tomato and the rest of the sandwich's ingredients.
A quick glance at Claude told him that his companion had made crepes. The bastard knew how to make a bloody good crepe (It was what he knew best, and there was a time Sebastian couldn't stand eating more of his friend's favorite dish.) but he wouldn't win this. Especially since this was the first challenge. And Sebastian was always the first.
"One minute left," Soma announced out loud, smiling at the contestants as he checked his golden wrist watch.
And the red-eyed male finished his dish, now just cleaning around the plate, taking the small food crumbs away.
He grinned proudly at himself, humming quietly in approval as he put his plate on the center of the counter, ready to be presented.
"Time's up," Alois announced, his eyes trailing over the contestants' counters, making sure everyone had their dishes ready.
Sebastian watched as the three slowly walked to the first competitor, Ronald. He paid attention to their faces, trying to figure out if the blonde young cook had done well. Apparently, yes, but it seemed his dish was not outstanding.
The raven male kept his eyes glued to the three men the whole time as they tasted the food, especially at Ciel. The sight of him parting his pink plump lips to eat was almost too much.
But right now, he had to keep himself calm. For the first time in years, he was feeling a bit anxious and he couldn't wait for the judges to taste his dish and just get this over with!
Was he really going to have to deal with this feeling in every challenge?
After ten minutes, the judges had just finished tasting Claude's dish. Sebastian soon found some relief at teasing his friend. He made sure no one was looking before making a heart with his hands and directing it to the blonde judge and the golden-eyed male.
Claude glared at him but he just chuckled lowly to himself, sending a thumbs up at the other.
It seemed that his companion had done well, for the three young men wore slightly happy faces. Except for Ciel, who hadn't shown many expressions from the beginning, except for an occasional, slightly cruel smirk.
And finally, they arrived at his counter.
"Good morning," Alois said cheerfully, reaching out with his hand to shake Sebastian's. The blonde lad certainly was cute, but his personality seemed to be just a bit too much for the raven's patience.
The friendly gesture was followed by Soma and Ciel, yet the latter, instead of shaking his hand, only gave him a nod of his head (which really bothered Sebastian. He was looking forward to feel just how soft his skin was).
"You're Sebastian Michaelis, if I'm not mistaken. The owner of the pastry shop," the blue-eyed judge said quietly, taking one of the silver forks on the table.
"Indeed, sir."
The young man only hummed in response before Soma spoke up, looking over the plate.
"So, Sebastian, what did you prepare for us today?"
"Well, sir, I've made smoked salmon and egg sandwich, made with egg whites, onions, and tomatoes on a toasted whole-wheat English muffin and scones as a side dish…"
Just as he finished explaining his dish, he heard a low chuckle, coming from no one less than Ciel.
"Problem, Phantomhive?" Alois asked, sounding a bit amused himself.
"I just thought that with one hour, a good chef could come up with something more interesting that a sandwich and scones."
What a brat!
"Well, sir, I'm sure you'll be surprised as soon as you taste it," Sebastian said with an annoyed glare, clenching his hands into tight fists.
"I already am."
Deciding it would be better to keep his mouth shut, the cook watched as each one cut a small piece of the sandwich, bringing it to his mouth.
"Well, it is simple, but it certainly tastes amazing," Alois commented after swallowing, taking another slice of the sandwich.
"The muffin is nicely toasted, really crunchy, and the egg whites are cooked to perfection. It has a lot of flavour and textures," Soma nodded, licking his lips with a smile as he praised the red-eyed male.
Yet Ciel remained silent, much to Sebastian's dismay. Perhaps he was far too arrogant to say he was wrong. Most likely.
Then they moved to the two scones and a smirk fell on the raven's lips. Now they'd be blown away.
"And the scones…" he trailed off, waiting as Alois cut one of the two pastries in half. Sebastian watched as the filling poured down on the plate. "…are filled with a reduction of Earl Grey tea."
"What luck, huh, Ciel?! Your favourite pastry and favourite tea!" Alois exclaimed before putting a piece to his mouth, humming in delight.
"Shut it…" the small judge whined lowly, elbowing his partner, bringing a piece to his lips.
"This is wonderful, Sebastian. I have never seen or tasted anything like this," Soma pointed out, congratulating the cook.
"Thank you." He replied with a smirk, staring at Ciel who was looking at elsewhere.
Take that, pretty face.
"Alright! Now the judges will announce the three best dishes and the winner of this quick challenge! Yes they will!" Mey-Rin announced loudly in the middle of the room, stepping aside to them room.
"This quick challenge gave us a preview on how tough this competition will be. This time we'll announce the best ones and the winner. Next time, will also announce our least favorite dishes, so be more careful later on," Soma advised, with a surprisingly more serious face.
"Our first favourite was Agni's," Alois said, gently gesturing to the Indian man on the first counter of the right row.
"Your Sabudana Khichidi was amazing and it made me feel home sick after a long time," Soma added, praising the man, his eyes shining with delight.
The tall man smiled and thanked the judges and the other contestants, who were politely clapping at him, bowing in appreciation.
"The second one was Claude's," Alois continued, trailing his eyes to the golden-eyed male.
"Your crepe was nicely done, and the bananas inside just added to the flavor. It was simply delicious," the judge commented, staring at the man all the while and
Sebastian held a chuckle back as the blonde and his friend's stares met.
"And the third was…"
"Sebastian's," Ciel announced, seeming a bit annoyed at the word that just left his lips.
"Your sandwich was amazing. I've never tasted anything so simple and so delicious in my whole life!" Alois chirped loudly, clapping his hands together as he stared at the red-eyed male.
Sebastian stole a quick glance at Claude and smirked, for the other man was obviously glaring at him.
"And your scones were a delicious surprise! Especially to Ciel and—"
"Moving on," said judge interrupted with a small cough, running a hand through his bluish locks. "The winner is… Sebastian Michaelis."
All the contestants clapped for him and the male just smirked at the annoyed lad, who kept glaring daggers at him. The sight strangely reminded him of an angry kitten. Adorable, even if the blue-eyed judge had been a total brat to him.
"Congratulations on your first victory, Sebastian. You get immunity for the next elimination challenge."
Upon Soma's words, the room's atmosphere turned tense once more.
"Which will be starting right now," Ciel announced, still glaring at Sebastian, who fought the urge to blow a kiss to the judge.
"All of you, please take a knife out of the canteen," Mey-Rin said politely, putting the canteen on the edge of Agni's counter.
"And seeing as Sebastian won the quick challenge, he gets to pick first," Alois added, glancing at the red-eyed male to call him over.
The man strolled over and eyed the canteen warily before taking a knife out.
He ran his eyes over the utensil and a surprised expression washed his face. On one side of the knife was a word written with big, black letters.
"Japan," he read out loud before staring at the judges, waiting for an explanation of the challenge from the judges.
"Your first elimination challenge will be to make a dish from that country," Ciel said, smirking as he saw the red-eyed man's expression, knowing that the latter probably wouldn't be able to come up with something good from Japan in such a little time.
"A national dish from that country, and you will present it to us tomorrow. You'll have four hours of preparation today and two more hours tomorrow."
Seeing the lad's smirk irked Sebastian, and he was set on one thing:
To take that bloody smirk off of that pretty face.
