"Hello everyone, it's the pure, true and honest, Aya Shameimaru of the Bunbunmaru news and I am currently getting commentary from the locals of this sudden "Cookoff."
High in the bright sky, the blackbird circles the excited crowd awaiting the event. With a swift twirl of her body, the crow swoops down and catches hold of the blonde-haired puppeteer, Alice Margatroid, holding an empty plate in hand.
"Alice Margatroid! Perfect, can I interview you for this newspaper?!" The reporter pleads as she shoves a black mic to her face. Courtesy of "Nitori Industries."
"Eeehh, no, I don't want to be interviewed!" The magician heaves back.
"C'mon, C'mon, please? I need it else I'll lose subscribers!" Begging now, the blackbird god approaches. Her height towers over the lone puppeteer nearly suffocating her.
"Leave me alone!"
The day reaches its peak as Keine, leader of the competition steps up on the podium placed squarely in the middle, splitting the two stands from one end to the next. On the right side, the Usagi and Phantom stand in full-fledged cookware. Konpaku Youmu in her trusty lime-green stripped apron, Inaba in a purple with polka dots. On the opposing side, Mystia in a long apron that trickles down to her ankles. With the writings cast across her chest reading: "Kiss the Bird." Tokiko also with a similar dark apron mirroring the color of her dim blue dress. Now, these iron chefs face off, utensils at the ready.
"Attention!" The school teacher shouts.
The crowd surrounding the chefs settles down. Familiar faces from Lunasa, the musical poltergeist and her sisters, to the rest of team 9 all gather in anticipation. Even the solitude magician stands in the crowd eagerly, plate in hand.
"Thank you all for coming to this sudden event. We are here to thank you all for your hard work for this upcoming festival. We ask that you judge these delicious meals that these four girls will provide for you." With a stern look and sweat dripping down her face Keine persist. "We ask that after you eat a meal provided by both of the contestants you slip a red or blue piece of paper provided in the box for the corresponding team's color."
The citizens look towards the voting box.
"As well, we have three special guests who will provide expert critiques in this food wars. Please, give a round of applause to our first-panel member. Rinnosuke Morichika, the runner of the rare antique shop, Kourindou."
The crowd claps as the shopkeeper takes his seat as the first judge. "Thank you, Ms. Kamishirasawa."
"Next up we have a beauty that many know and wish to not see for as long as possible, Yuyuko Saigyouji!"
"Master Yuyuko?!"
"Shh!" Reisen scolds her partner with her finger to her mouth.
Yuyuko floats her way into the far-right seat, forks, and knives at the ready.
"And last but not least we have the princess of the moon, Kaguya Houraisan."
"Princess Kaguya?!"
"Shh!" Youmu scolds but Reisen doesn't let up as she frantically wiggles about.
"The rules are simple; each team will create three dishes. Each will be served to the spectators and judges. The judges will decide either the red team, Rei-Myon team, or blue team, Myst-ikiko first. Then the crowd will place their votes in afterward. In the end, the judge's word is worth ten votes as each individual spectator is worth one. These will be tallied, and the victor will be decided."
After that long-winded explanation, Keine takes a deep breath.
"Iron Chef, you have forty-five minutes on each round. On your mark, get set…GO!"
"Boil the water!" Mystia screams flying across her small stand. "Get the onions ready, I'll prepare the basil, peppers, and eggs!"
"Right, Master Mystia!"
"Reisen, start on the rice! I'll prepare the eggs!" Youmu points to the rice stack in the corner.
"Mh!" Reisen nods and rushes to her job. Youmu flips her battle knife in the air, grabs two onion sticks, a few peppers and onion heads, swirls to the side, catching the fallen utensil mid-air. Fiercely, she cuts the hedges like a machine.
Keine abuses her thumb as the true battle begins. Mokou whirls her white locks to see her friend in a panic. "Is everything all right, Keine? You seem tense."
"Yes…this clash means everything to these children. I just hope…they've truly settled their differences." She nurtures her head in her palm and exhales deeply.
"It's just a cookoff…right?" Curious now, hands in pocket, Fujiwara questions.
"Listen…closely to what I tell you, Mokou." Keine glares at Lorelei intently focused on her skillet. "That sparrow…is a force to be reckoned with."
"Oh! She's making Omurice!" Yuyuko stands up clapping uncontrollably. "Youmu, oh, Youmu please add in your special love sauce recipe!"
"Ms. Saigyouji, you're distracting the contestants." Rinnosuke waves her down to no avail. "Sit back down, if you want it to taste good, don't badger her."
"Yeah, be a good princess and sit your ass down." Kaguya snickers.
At that moment a sizzle of fine cuisine hits the immortals nose. She stops and turns towards the sparrows stand.
"This simple yet effective smell. A meal that can be made in mass quantities in little time. Not only delicious but ingenious! She's making Niratama Donburi!" Kaguya gets to her feet, squealing like a cheerleader in a rally. "Add plenty of Nira! I love plenty of Nira!"
Rinnosuke sinks into his chair. "I'm surrounded by idiots…"
"Youmu, do you have the eggs ready?!"
"Yes, I'll plate them, you add the rice!"
Like an assembly line perfectly made eggs fly from the side like frisbees, falling flawlessly on the already staged plates. Reisen spins around scooping precise quantities of delicious fried rice, still steaming from the skillet. Effortlessly, over twenty plates appear in front of the counter. Keine and Mokou rush over and take three from the front just before the crowd of spectators shower in for the remains. Like a stampede of bulls, the crowd mows down the plates of ready dishes wiping the counter clean.
"W-We need more food!" Reisen cries, desperately cracking the next egg.
"Food, red team ready!" They cry, plopping the plates down in front of the three judges.
"Arrgg…" Yuyuko's face contorts.
"Is there a problem, Ghost?" Keine scowls with frustration.
"There's no special love sauce on this…"
Furious, Youmu marches up the steps leading to the judge's panel. Hand on one hip, the sassy gardener flips her bob cut hair.
"Master Yuyuko, do you know how long it takes to make that 'special love sauce' as you call it?! Two hours of prior prep time. Two hours. Let me repeat, two hours!
Yuyuko puffs her cheeks and pushes the plate away. "I don't want it."
"Master Yuyuko, you put that Omurice in your mouth right now and rate me like a judge else I will force it in!"
"No." As stubborn as a mule, Yuyuko puts a blue slip in the box then turns her head to the side with a "Hmph!"
"You are digging both our graves you ungrateful-" Youmu grips the plate and lunges for the selfish child. But before she can make her move Kamishirasawa grasps the enraged chef by the stomach, rips her to the side and, forces her off stage.
"Go cool your head for the next match." Keine orders, Youmu still seething with rage.
"Myon!" She curses to no one in particular then trumps back to her stand.
Keine with her own pint up rage makes her way back to the stage. "Listen ghost, if you don't play fair I will replace you immediately."
With a snicker, the childish princess nods. "Yes, Ms. Oh So Scary Teacher!"
Kamishirasawa glares with an obvious intent to kill but before she can make good on her rage Mouko jumps onto the panel, rushes to her friend's aid and, gently pulls her away from the judges. "L-Let's go, Keine."
Youmu, in a fuss, stomps back into the stall. "Stupid Master Yuyuko. She did that on purpose. Probably to make the game more fun for her." Defeated, she sits down on a stool, weighing her head.
"Yeah, we lost a judge's vote right off the bat because of Ms. Saigyouji." Reisen clicks her tongue as her eyes glance back at Youmu, cheeks still flaring with irritation. The rabbit reaches her hand out but stops mid-way bringing her palm back to her chest. "Don't worry, Konpaku. We still have two rounds." We can win this, okay?"
After a brief moment of silence, the gardener looks up at Reisen. In an uplifting nod, she stands to her feet. "R-Right! Thank you, Inaba." Now motivated, Youmu grabs her knife. "Let's prepare the next meal!"
With the tension now settled the shopkeeper, Rinnosuke takes the first bite of his Omurice. Like a sudden rush of power surging through his body, a blast of memory floods his mind, taking him back to a blissful day in a forest alone.
The now isolated item collector looks at the desolate spot on the clean green earth. With a smile and a heart of gold, he opens his mouth, uttering the words that started his journey.
"This…is Kourindou." Suddenly, the flashback ends bringing him back to the present. Rinnosuke violently clenches his heart with all his strength. With all the power he can muster he holds a red ticket high in hand, dropping it in the voting hold before collapsing face first on the table.
"Oh, god, is he dead?!" Kaguya screams in terror.
"Omurice! Omurice! Omurice!" His glasses hit the table as he holds his head up high. "That was the first meal I had when I opened Kourindou." The nostalgia takes hold of his body as the shopkeeper starts to weep realizing all his bottled emotions from that day had been suppressed long ago. "How could…I forget such an important memory?!" The distraught man bangs his fist on the table. "It's because of all of the shoplifters lately! They made me regret building Kourindou! B-But...But...I do love Kourindou!"
Yuyuko takes the chance and coddles the crying man in her arms. "There, there. It will be okay." As she brushes his soft white hair.
Mystia, plates in hand along with an annoyed glare to boot, trumps up to the judge's panel. "Hey, why are judges voting before they get all the meals provided?! There should be a rule against that!" With a harsh clank, she sets down her three plates of Niratama Donburi in front of each panelist.
The glutton is the first to react. Pushing the sobbing man down, she devours the plate in seconds. "Oh, that was quite delicious. I even tasted the hint of a bird." With a smile, seductively, Yuyuko glosses back at Mystia. "Won't you let me…eat you next?"
"N-Never!" Mystia shrieks and races off the stage back to the safety of her stall. But not without tripping a few times on her way there.
"The Omurice was fantastic but you can't go wrong with Niratama Donburi first. I'm going with the blue team on this one. Great job, the both of you though."
Keine, now calmed down, steps up in front of the judge's panel. "Alright, the crowd votes are in. The current score is…
Two digital screens flash from behind the grand stage, revealing the score of the cookoff. To the announcer's surprise, she clicks her tongue in disgust. "That Nitori…greedy Kappa…she must have conned her way into making a profit out of this event." With a huff, she gathers her composure and reads the conveniently placed scoreboard.
Round 1
Rei-myon ) RED TEAM
10 (Judge Vote) + 19 (Crowd Vote) total = 29 votes.
Myst-ikiko) BLUE TEAM
20 (Judge Vote) + 11 (Crowd Vote) total = 31 votes.
"That bird knows how to cook. And did you see her petition? I guess she's battling big business to fight for the little guy. Hell yeah, I signed up. I'm a small business too, you know?!"
"It sounds like the rabbit's team is starting a big food chain or something. If I were you, I'd petition to stop them too. No matter how good their Omurice was…I don't want it to ruin my husband's food stand."
The discussions around the crowd only grow fiercer as Youmu tries to concentrate on cutting onions for the next meal.
"Ouch!"
Reisen turns to see blood leaking on the cutting board ruining the premade onions. "Geez, did you cut yourself?" She searches around frantically. "Hm, where's my first aid kit?" She then turns back to Youmu who's quiet despite the blood flowing rapidly down her fingers.
"How…can we win this?" the girl mutters.
Reisen looks at Youmu, her expression twist to an irritated stare. "Where's this coming from?" The bunny puffs her tail then flicks her on the head.
"Ouch!" still bleeding she puts her hand on her forehead. "Why did you do that, Inaba?"
"Get your head in the game, focus Konpaku. Now you got blood on your forehead! Arrg, dang it, where are my ointments and stuff? I swear I brought them with me." With a moan, she looks around and grabs a handkerchief from her pocket instead.
"Hold still." She demands. The nurse sits Youmu on a stool and bends to one knee, wiping the blood off her temple. Just as a nurse would, she holds the injured hand steadily as she dabs away at the trickles of blood still dripping to the ground. With the handkerchief now soaked deep red, she sets it to the side. But unlike a nurse, she places her warm lips at the ends of her patient's finger.
"Eh, what are you doing!"
"Mph dompj bomph dom…"
"Take my finger out of your mouth first!" The surprised Youmu shrieks.
Reisen sighs and does as she's told. "I don't have my ointments so I'm cleaning the cut and slowing the bleeding. "Sternly she replies. "Now hold still, this won't take long."
"Mhm…"
Her soft lips coil around the wound, bringing a sudden jolt in the half-ghost. The odd sensation ripples through the petite child's body. When she finally releases her finger the cold night air cools the sliced skin, opposite to the bunny's sincere embrace seconds ago. Reisen looks up from below.
"There you go, now hold still, okay?"
"Mm…" The fuchsia faced girl nods.
"Quite the passionate kiss there, Reisen."
The pair's eyes dart over at a familiar smaller Usagi holding a medicine kit.
"Ah! Tewi, so it was you that's been stealing my stuff?!"
Reisen let's go of her patient and trumps over to the trickster.
"Sorry for interrupting something special but I had to play that part." She snickers.
"I-It was nothing like that!" Reisen's face blooms a rosy tone as she rips the box from her.
"Well anyway, it looks like you guys are losing. That Mystia sure is a shrewd businesswoman."
The doctor now applies the ointment then she applies a bandage to Youmu, finishing up her task. She closes the box and slips it safely under the counter.
"Yeah…" Youmu replies in irritation. "She's not only a good cook but a savvy opponent." The girl puts her head down. "There has to be a way to win…else Inaba and I are done for."
The ghost puts her finger on her lip contemplating the situation. "I… can't see the answer due to my lack of merchant expertise. No matter how hard I try to ponder for a solution…in the end, I just want to cut that bird up and make her into teriyaki!"
"Huh?" Reisen's eyes widen. "So, you weren't giving up?"
"Giving up? As if." She turns back to the two. "If I do…everything we've worked for up until now will be for not. I can't let you or Master Yuyuko down…despite her being against us in this endeavor."
"Konpaku…"
Tewi chuckles. "Wow, who thought that this is where my expertise would come in handy?!" The mini Usagi jumps in between them, grips their shoulders and winks.
"Listen Konpaku, Reisen, I got a plan."
"A plan?" Reisen parrots suspiciously. "This isn't a tasteless prank, right Tewi?"
"Oh, it is a prank. One that only I, Tewi Inaba can do!" With both hands on her hip, she declares proudly.
"Tewi, can I trust you?" Youmu questions.
"Trust me or not, I don't care. But you'll have to put your faith in me if you want to win this challenge. I know what the true stakes for failure in this are for you guys."
Like a snake, she slithers to Youmu's side. "C'mon Konpaku, trust the devil…it won't be so bad." Seductively, she creeps closer, giving the half-ghost a chill.
"I don't like it…but…" Youmu groans. "Take my soul if you must but please, help us win, Inaba Tewi!"
"Okay, I'll start it now: Mission Cooked Sparrow commence!"
"What are those two plotting?"
On the other side of the street, the sparrow glares. Tokiko puts her hand on her shoulder. "Mystia, we need to start our next dish before they declare the next round."
"Right, get the water boiling, Tokiko. I'll get the meat ready." She continues to glare at her opponents. "Your business venture falls tonight, Konpaku, Inaba!" She clicks her tongue, lifts her sleeves and, lights her stoves fire. The crackle of oils and determination flares through the coming night sky.
