Fen: Hey guys, Fen and Queen here for the second half of our double feature and man I'm so excited for this one! XD

AQ: Yup still singing here too! This time Unravel!

Fen: For this one, Kurogasa and Erina are-

Kurogasa: NO! Don't spoil it!

AQ: Thank you, Kurogasa!

Fen: Party poopers… ¬_¬

AQ: Then stop trying ruining your own works.

Fen: Oh fine…

AQ: Time to start this chapter!

Disclaimer: Same thing.


It was now the third day of the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp. Last night's event of the unofficial Shokugeki between Kojiro Shinomiya and Kurogasa Kururugi and Megumi Tadokoro was eventful. The battle against the Légumes Magician was no doubt a Herculean task. After all, he had the advantage. Initially, he had won, but somehow someway it turned towards Megumi and Kurogasa thanks to Oren, Gin, Hinako, and Tendou. Meaning that she and Kurogasa got to stay. His Shishou though had reprimanded him for being brash in making the challenge, but seeing as how loyal he was to his friends and protecting them, he let it slide. After that, Megumi and Kurogasa had returned to their friends and they were all demanding explanations, which he did.

As of right now, the 92nd Generation students were doing their thing, cooking like it was their last day at the camp. The Polar Star students were also doing their best to stay in this camp as well. In the case of Kurogasa and Megumi, they were in the same group once more and this time their dishes involved ramen in one way or another.

"Mmmm…" The teacher nodded in approval. "You pass! You can clean your station Megumi Tadokoro!"

"Thank you!" Megumi smiled brightly before going over to her station, until accidently bumping into someone.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"S-S-S-S-Sorry!" Megumi panicked.

Kurogasa was watching this from afar as he smiled a bit. 'Nice work, Megumi-chan. You got some rough patches, but you're pulling through.' He thought to himself.

He then remembered about last night, about how Shinomiya had beaten him and Megumi soundly before the decision was reversed. That smug smirk on his face downright irritated him. 'We won but it's not enough… not enough. Fine!' He then pulled out the ramen that was boiling in the metal basket before shaking off the excess water. 'I have to improve. I have to!'

Unbeknownst to him, from the corner, Tendou and Oren were watching from afar.

"Your student looks to be improving." Oren commented.

"But he has a long way to go." Tenou replied.

"…I don't like ze girl going after my boy!" Oren comically whispered loudly.

"Megumi?" Tendou raised an eyebrow. "She seems rather sweet."

"What's her sign?" Oren demanded.

"December 19. Sagittarius."

"Zat's Nero's sign…" Oren's eye twitched.

"And how is that a problem?"

"That means he has a possible compatibility with each other, my baby boy might leave me~!"

"It won't be right away."

*POP!*

"You're overthinking this. Let time do its thing and we'll see what happens."

"I'm still keeping an eye on zat girl…" Oren growled.

"You endorsed her dish yesterday."

"Only because zat Shinomiya boy knows nothing about a woman's heart." Oren retorted.

"Oh Oren," Tendou sighed.


(Cue Escape by Hemenway)

(Instrumental) The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se) Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix.
(Kareru made supīdo agete) He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy.
(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa) As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them.
(Haruka na ano sora no mukou) The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa) In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.
(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru) Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background.
(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa) The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.
(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa) However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete) In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot.
(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku) All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give and lose to the others and continued to cook.
(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato) Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures.
(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku) The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh) When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

(Ano sora no mukou) Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.


Dish 9: Breakfast Sushi

It was now the night of the third day and everyone in the Polar Star dorm were walking down the hallway towards their room and they were exhausted as they were in their yukatas.

"Man… today is so tiring…" Yuki groaned with her head hung down and her shoulders slumped.

"You're telling me…" Nero groaned too on the same state.

"What's wrong with you?" Soma asked.

"Hmm, maybe being tazed and getting hugged by an annoying idiot might be a reason." Nero growled.

"Who would that be?" Soma wondered.

"Oh like you care!" Nero snapped.

"Whoa easy, relax." Soma raised his hands.

"Hey, is it just me or is there no lights out scheduled?" Beatrix furrowed her brows while looking at itinerary.

"…Crap Baskets." Nero said, "That means we're going to work at night too!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Yuki and Marui freaked out.

"Calm down, it's probably just a mistake in the schedule." Ryoko said.

"I highly doubt it." Shun said. "It's on all the itinerary. They wouldn't make this kind of blunder on purpose without a good reason."

"Beatrix did chef Ramsay do things like this?" Nero asked Beatrix with a deadpan tone.

"Constantly when I was training with him, when you work for Ramsay that old saying 'Shit happens' HAPPENS EVERY-FREAKIN-TIME!" Beatrix said.

Just then a PA announcement rang in the hotel. ["Students of Tōtsuki Academy. One hour from now, at 10 o'clock, you will all meet in the banquet hall in your uniforms."] Gin's voice rang out, making all of them groan.

"See? What did I tell ya?" Beatrix groaned.


And so the Polar Star students went back to their rooms and got dressed up in their uniforms before walking back over to the banquet hall where all the students first met. However, upon looking at the crowd now, they saw that the number of students have dropped significantly. Not to mention that they were stressed and exhausted.

"Man, the alumni really thinned out the student body." Kurogasa commented.

"KUROGASA!" Takumi, Mito, Hojo, and Nao shouted as they ran up to him and-

*POW!*

-punched him in the face?!

"ITEEEEEEE!" Kurogasa cried out holding his nose before he managed to crack his nose back into place.

"Don't you dare pull that kind of stunt again!" Mito snapped.

"What were you thinking, challenging an alumnus to a Shokugeki, huh?!" Takumi added.

"You really are an idiot, you know that?" Hojo fumed.

"W-We were so worried about you!" Nao added.

"S-Sorry. But wait a minute, you guys heard about that?!" Kurogasa asked surprised. No one was supposed to know about that unofficial Shokugeki, other than himself, Megumi, Tendou, Gin, and the rest of the alumni that were there. How did they find out? It was supposed to be a secret!

"Some weird guy told us when he was trying to look for one of your friends, he had a french accent."

"Oren… figures…" Kurogasa sighed.

"Who?" Nao asked.

"A friend of my Shishou."

"But hold on. If you're still here…" Hojo began before she gasped. "Does that mean that you beat Chef Shinomiya?!"

"Uh… technically, no." Kurogasa sweat dropped. "Let's say that Shinomiya and I came to an understanding."

"Understanding my ass." Nero said walking towards him, "If dad told me what was true, you beat him and show him your Heaven thingy."

"Uh… would you get mad at me if I told you I was Megumi's sous chef at the time…?" He asked sheepishly.

"Why would I be angry? It's not like me and her are in a relationship." Nero said as the others sweatdrop at his words.

"But… technically Megumi was the head chef against Shinomiya-senpai, meaning on a technicality, Megumi… beat him."

"Again so?" Nero asked. "Where are you going with this?"

"You really don't understand the implications do you…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"What, that you guys won? Just because Oren is my dad, doesn't mean I have to beat Shinomiya." Nero sighed. "I mean it's not like you have a duty to your teacher to beat his enemies."

"Well no, but…"

"But nothing, it's up to the student to walk on his own!" Nero declared with pride in his tone causing Kurogasa to shrink. "NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO RULE YOUR PATH, NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE SWAYED!"

"Uh… okay?" Kurogasa blinked.

"Down boy, heel." Beatrix said, before tasering Nero again.

"DAHGAGALLGGLGAGL~!" Nero shouted before he fell on the floor twitching.

"What's with him?" Hojo raised an eyebrow.

"He's… weird." Nao added.

"Did you not see the taser?!" Kurogasa yelled.

"Hey look, it's Erina-sama!" One student said, as they turned to see said person, walking in gracefully as ever.

"E-Erina…" Kurogasa got out as she approached him.

"What's this I heard about you going against an alumnus in a Shokugeki?" Erina slightly frowned, making him flinch.

"Ehehe… that was supposed to be a secret." Kurogasa said sheepishly with a sweat drop.

*BONK!*

"Ite!" Kurogasa cried out, as he was bonked on the head by her.

"Fool! What were you thinking?! Chef Shinomiya was the first seat of the Elite Ten back in his day! You expect to beat him with the way you are now?!" Erina snapped comically.

"Geez… never knew you cared that much." Kurogasa muttered, rubbing his head.

"T-That's not the point!" Erina stuttered, blushing slightly.

"Then what is?" Kurogasa retorted.

"Tsun… dere…" Nero chuckled from his spot.

*STOMP!*

"ITEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Nero wailed when Erina stomped on his head.

"I am not tsundere!" Erina snapped.

"Hai…" Nero whimpered.

"Look, just… don't do it again, got it?" Erina glared at Kurogasa.

"Alright, I'm sorry…" Kurogasa sighed before smiling a bit. "I won't do it again."

"All eyes towards the stage." Gin's voice said, as the students turned to him who was at the podium. "You are all gathered here for one reason, and for one reason only… to explain to you what tomorrow's task will be."

"Why tell us this now?" Ryoko wondered.

"The task will be to create a new breakfast menu worthy of being served to guests at this resort." Gin explained. "Breakfasts are the face of the hotel. It is an important meal that starts the guests' day. I'd like you all to suggest an innovate dish that will make a vibrant contribution to the breakfast table." He then pulled out something from his jacket and it was an egg. "The main ingredient will be the egg."

'Just like in my transfer exam.' Kurogasa thought to himself.

"We won't restrict the cuisine genre, but the dish must be served buffet style. The judging will begin at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning. Make preparations so that you're ready for tastings by then." Gin continued.

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!" All of the students groaned save for some.

"I hope he means 6 o'clock tomorrow evening, right?" Yuki hoped.

"No. He definitely said morning." Shun replied.

"That means we have no time to waste on sleep!" Marui wailed.

"You may spend your time freely until morning, you can test recipes in the various kitchen facilities, or get rest in your room. I'll see you all again in the morning. Dismissed!"

"No way!"

"I'm already in pieces!"

"My brain's barely working as it is!"

"Finally, a task worth competing over." Takumi smirked as the students began to slowly leave before turning to Soma and Kurogasa. "Just you wait, Yukihira, Kururugi." He said, before suddenly getting passionate. "I'll deliver up the ultimate breakfast of a traditional Italian egg dish that's been arranged using the Aldinis' expertise!"

"Heh~ what's in a traditional Italian egg dish?" Soma asked blankly.

"You use cheese and vegetables with eggs, and-" Isami suddenly said.

"Don't spill the beans, Isami!" Takumi shouted.

"We're all gonna see what you and the rest of these guys are cooking. So I don't see why you have to hide it." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"W-Well that's true, but it's not like you're going to tell yours right?" Takumi said with a frown.

Kurogasa shrugged at that before looking to Erina who approached. "So… it's gonna be like that transfer exam on the first day, huh?" He said to her sheepishly.


Flashback

"The Main ingredient will be the egg. Make one dish. I'll only allow those whose creations impress my palate. Furthermore, I will allow those who wish to withdraw and cancel their application to do so within the next minute only." Erina said with a cool smile on her face.

End Flashback


"Hopefully you made it simple enough yet tasty for a buffet style."Erina said, "This isn't a speed course you know."

"Well, I'm not worried about that. I just hope I don't… make you cry like last time…"

"MHM!" Erina's eyes widened as she had no control over what she did next…

*STOMP!*

"OWW! What was that for?!"

"What I should've done at the opening ceremony!"

"You mean… the flowers weren't enough…?" Kurogasa slightly paled. Once again Erina's eyes widened but this time her face turned into a perfect imitation of a tomato!

*STOOOOOOOOMP!*

"ITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Kurogasa wailed in pain. "WHAT DID I DO NOW?!"

"Just shut up!" Erina demanded as for some reason she felt totally embarrassed by this.

"Okay just stop stepping on my feet!" Kurogasa brought out his hands upward to simulate surrendering. Erina brought her foot up and Kurogasa knelt on one knee to nurse his injured foot. "That hurt…"

"It was supposed to!" Erina huffed before stomping away.

"Wow, what did you do to get her so mad?" Soma asked.

"I didn't do anything…" Kurogasa whimpered.


This was definitely not good.

How was Kurogasa supposed to create a new menu item when he can't get any sleep? Gin Dojima was really putting the students through the wringer. All of the students were tired and their bodies can't handle the stress, but they had to keep going. It's only been three days at this training camp and they had two more to go. How much longer can they take before their bodies give in? One thing's for certain, it was only a matter of time.

As of now, Kurogasa had managed to secure a spot in the kitchen so he could experiment. Sure, he managed to get through the third day relatively easy. It was nothing compared to the unofficial Shokugeki that he, Soma, and Megumi had against Kojiro Shinomiya. But even then, his body had shown signs of wearing down.

"Hehhhhhhh… man, I really hope Erina has calmed down by now…" Kurogasa sighed to himself before snapping out of it. "Okay… let's focus on this. I have to use egg as the main ingredient… and it has to be buffet style." Kurogasa muttered as he was remembering what Gin had said.

'An innovative dish that will make a vibrant contribution to the breakfast table.'

"It has to be something innovative and creative. It can't just be there for the sake of being different. It has to be something classic and be worthy of a luxury hotel, but it can't be too fancy either…" Kurogasa muttered as he began to think. "A breakfast casserole…? No, that would take too long… too much prepping and cooking. It has to be something that will be ready to serve as soon as possible…"

What can he make that's easy, not time consuming, and classic?

"That's it!" Kurogasa realized as he began to write down what he needed. 'I know just what to make. I'll make a breakfast sushi since that's my true forte. Sure, I'll probably have to prep everything now, but if I time it right, I should be able to do it. They're a classic amongst us Japanese, it's easy to make, at least for me, and not time consuming since I'll be prepping everything tonight.'

He continued to write as the idea started to form in his mind, 'Since everyone is going to making their dishes buffet style, there's no doubt that there will be a lot of people so I have to make a lot. I don't know how much, but I'll have to estimate.' He added. 'Let's see… for a typical serving of six pieces of sushi, that will be half a cup of rice and with two people, that's a full cup. So then I'll probably need about 800 cups of sushi rice to make this happen along with the rice vinegar needed. And as for the eggs, each portion would be two eggs per person. So if I do this without any mistakes, I can use about 600 eggs, I'll go 700 just to be safe. And as the nori sheets, probably 300.'

He nodded to himself, as he kept writing. 'I'll base this breakfast sushi on the California Roll. Once I finish scrambling the eggs, I'll cut them and after putting the rice on the nori sheet and flipping them over, I can put the sliced scrambled eggs on top of the nori and then roll it up. I can also probably cook bacon bits as well and use them as garnish. The average serving for bacon bits is about a tablespoon, so probably 200 strips of bacon. If I cut them up now into bits, I can cook them at the judging and it'll be fresh and crispy by the time I serve. I just have to time everything right and pace myself. Yosh… I got my menu item figured out!'

"Heh~ that looks like a pretty interesting breakfast dish." A female voice said.

"Huh?" Kurogasa was snapped out of his thought when someone talked to him and looked up to see who it was. He blushed at the sight of a beautiful girl.

She had short silver hair with a longer left bang that reached the bottom of her chin. She also had fair skin and a large bust, like a certain other someone. Her red eyes are a little different having much more pronounced irises. And unlike most of her fellow classmates, who wear a standard Tōtsuki uniform jacket, she opted to wear a cream-colored Tōtsuki uniform vest instead.

"Uh… thanks?" Kurogasa blinked. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Mm?" The girl tilted her head with an easygoing smile. "You don't remember me, Kuro?"

"Eh? You know me? I know you?" Kurogasa tilted his head.

"You do… but it seems you forgot your girlfriend." The girl pouted at the boy.

"EHHHHHHH?!" Kurogasa said slipping on the floor and landing on his rear end. "What do you mean girlfriend?!"

"You really don't remember, do you… mou~" The girl pouted harder. "I'm sure the name Alice Nakiri rings a bell?"

"Huh? Wait, Nakiri? You share Erina's family name?" Kurogasa asked a bit surprised after getting up.

However it was the wrong thing to say as Alice now had a mock angry pout, "MOU! ERINA, ERINA, ERINA! You're my boyfriend but you always think of my cousin!"

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?! Boyfriend?!" Kurogasa yelled comically.

"Mou… let me guess. You don't even remember our first time either…" The girl turned around hiding her mischievous smile.

"F-F-F-F-FIRST!?"

"Alice…"

The said girl flinched before turning around to see Erina standing there, with a frown while crossing her arms. "Just what are you doing…?" She muttered darkly.

"Oh, I didn't know that I was stealing your boyfriend." Alice said while draping her arms around Kurogasa. "But I want him too." The albino girl said with a teasing smirk.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"He's not my boyfriend! He's just a friend!" Erina blushed as she pointed at Alice. "I barely know him since the school year started."

"Eh" Alice said looking between the boy and her cousin. 'Does she really not remember… ohoho, less competition.' "Okay, so you don't mind if I take him then?"

"WAIT, WHAT?!" Kurogasa shouted. "Hold on! I never agreed to this!"

"Aww… you don't want me as a girlfriend?" Alice said with a trembling bottom lip.

"I-Its not that! It's just… just…" Kurogasa stammered, looking away. 'What have I gotten myself into?! Someone save me!'

"I don't hear a no…" Alice leaned in with her lips coming near Kurogasa's.

"Hey, hands off!" Erina snapped, pulling Alice back away from Kurogasa, much to his relief.

"Ohh, so you do have feelings for him?" Alice said with a knowing look.

"I didn't say that!"

"But surely there's something going on between you two since he gives you dishes to try on a regular basis. And you enjoy his food too."

"H-How do you know that?!" Erina shouted.

Alice snickered as she leaned in to Erina's ear, "I don't mind sharing him with you. As long as we have fun together." Erina's face went really red and steam came out of her ears.

"Uh… am I missing something?" Kurogasa asked nervously.

"Nothing, Erina was leaving. So back to us." Alice said using her elbows to keep her up when she laid her upper body on the table.

"No it's you that's leaving. You're disturbing him." Erina said.

"No I wasn't!" Alice whined like a child who was losing an argument. "I wanted to ask him some stuff."

"Do that after the breakfast challenge. Now leave!" Erina commanded.

"Yada~! I don't wanna~!" Alice said holding onto the table as Erina tried to remove her by pulling her legs.

"Actually, I really need to concentrate, so… can we talk later? Please?" Kurogasa asked nicely.

"Fine…" Alice sighed before Erina let go of her and the former stood in front of him with her eyes closed and her hands behind her back before opening her eyes again. "I guess I'll see you after the challenge. Then we can talk more… personally." She walked up and gave a quick kiss on his cheek, making him blush a bit. "Gokigenyou!" she said, before turning around to leave, with an extra sway to her hips. But not before she bumped into someone. "Itai!" She cried out before looking up to see a familiar guy with black lines under his eyes. "Mou~ Ryo-kun, watch where you're standing!"

"But you told me to stand here" Ryo answered.

"Ah! You!" Kurogasa pointed. "I met you at the Tsukiji Market!"

"Hm~? Ah… it's you." Ryo recognized.

"Oh?" Alice said taking on her comical form as she placed a hand on her cheek, "When was this?"

"It was during my bout with Hojo Miyoko in our Sushi Shokugeki." Kurogasa said. "He helped me pick out some fish."

"Oh… so that's why you were late!" Alice said patting the boy's shoulder. "Good job, aiding my future husband~!"

"Hai." Ryo deadpanned.

"Future husband?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"Okay, that's enough out of you. Go!" Erina stomped her foot and pointed towards a direction.

"Mou~ fine. Iku wa yo, Ryo-kun." Alice pouted before turning away to walk off.

"Hai, hai." Ryo said, before following her.

"Ohhh, Alice you… ahhhhhhhh… I give up…" She then turned to Kurogasa. "I'm sorry about her. She can be a handful." Erina apologized. "Though I've never seen her that… close to a guy before, well save for her attendant."

"I see." Kurogasa chuckled sheepishly. Erina then noticed the paper he was writing and quickly snatched it to give it a read. "O-Oi, what are you-"

"Hmm… this might be too much for you, Kurogasa." Erina said after reading it.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Kurogasa wondered.

"Washing and cooking the rice might be too much work, not only that there's also prepping of the other ingredients." Erina explained.

"Hmmmmm… really?" Kurogasa tilted his head with an unsure look. "I mean they're easy to make, it's classic, and it's not that time consuming like other breakfast dishes."

"True, but like I said it may seem like that… but can you keep it up for nearly 200 people?" Erina asked rhetorically.

"Wait, what? 200 people?" Kurogasa blinked. "Gin-senpai didn't say anything about that when he told us what we were gonna do."

"I got a notice by my seniors," Erina explained, "This happens every year."

"I… see…" Kurogasa blinked.

"But remember, this isn't a matter of speed, but stamina… don't kill yourself." Erina said an actual worried look.

"I've been enduring stuff for a long time…" Kurogasa looked down with a sad smile. "Especially enduring trying to find someone for the past ten years…"

"I see… I can relate to that. But you will have to pace yourself."

"Of course." He nodded before he raised a finger in the air. "Shishou ga iteita: 'If you wish it to be so, luck will always be on your side.'"

"Words from your shishou?"

"Mhmm. I've always taken his teachings to heart, and I'm not gonna stop now." Kurogasa nodded firmly. "I will beat this challenge. So I can get through all of this and one day find that person."

"Well good luck, but I still say you should change recipes. You don't want to get kicked out yet, do you?" Was all Erina said before leaving.

"Ha! Me, being kicked out? Who do you think I am huh?!" Kurogasa called out good-naturedly.

"AN IDIOT!" Erina called out.

"THAT'S LOVABLE IDIOT TO YOU!"

"ADD HANDSOME TO THAT!" Alice's voice also came out.

"SHUT UP ALICE!" Erina shouted.


The next day…

"Uwhoooooooooooooooooa!" Soma shouted amazed as he came into Buffet Hall A where there were many cooking stations set throughout the entire hall. In the hall, were Megumi, Takumi, and of course Kurogasa. "This hall is huge!" He added, though looking at Kurogasa, he was already doing preparation for his breakfast dish. He was getting the sushi rice ready after it was cooked and placed in a very large wooden bowl, rice vinegar being poured in and slashing the rice before fanning it with a paper plate to cool it off.

"Dude, you're such a kid…" Beatrix giggled dragging Nero with her.

"Eh?" Soma blinked. "Oh hey."

"Help… me…" Nero begged.

"Why?"

"Oh don't, he's just tired from having his dad over." Beatrix smiled.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhh…" Shiki groaned before Beatrix dragged him to their spot.

"Huh…" Soma got out.

"Yosh… all done with prepping." Kurogasa said as he finished cooling down the rice. It was a good thing he had asked Gin to make an acception. Since sushi will take a good amount of time to cook, it wouldn't be fair if he had no rice to begin with at the start of the judging, so he had taken the precautions to prep before judging. The same thing with the bacon bits since he 200 slices and needed to cook them so that he use them as garnish right away.

"Ha, too bad for you. I don't need to prep." Nero smiled. "I got permission of my own to serve my drinks to the adults, I also got some kiddie drinks for the brats."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just don't get them drunk on their first take." Kurogasa deadpanned.

"Dude, bartender's code. It's up to the drinker, not me."

"I thought the code was to get the girls drunk." Beatrix said.

"No… that's your code." Nero deadpanned.

"Oh ye~ah…"

"Please don't, Bea…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Don't worry, I won't use my big guns for the drinks rest assured." Nero raised his right hand up to make Kurogasa sigh in relief. The latter then heard the sound of trays being set on the counter and he looked to see… Erina?

"Not that I mind, but we're seeing each other more often in this camp." Kurogasa commented to her.

"Oh, for the love of- just make out you two!" Beatrix roared, "There's so much sexual tension here, that it's annoying!"

"WHAT?!" Kurogasa and Erina gawked at her.

"Come o~n," Beatrix put her hands behind the two teens backs and pushed them together, "Kiss… KISS… KI~SS!"

"O-OI! What are you doing?!" Kurogasa panicked trying to resist.

"Get your hands off me!" Erina panicked too.

"See you guys wanna kiss… so ki~ss!"

"Oh mon ami~ what are you doing?" Oren said, suddenly behind her. "Are you speeding up their love?"

"Ha~i!"

"Non, non, non, non, non! You must let time do its thing!" Oren chided as he pulled her back, and Kurogasa and Erina breathed in relief and pulled back.

"H-Hey, Oren-san, it's been a while, even though I've seen you yesterday." Kurogasa said, waving at him weakly.

"Kuro~!" Oren smiled kindly, "Hmm, well aren't you a handsome boya~?"

"Well, yeah," Kurogasa said sheepishly. "How's that pastry shop of yours? Jounouchi taking care of it?"

"Good and so is my young student," Oren nodded to himself, "We always welcome new handsome young men like yourse~lf."

"I'll… think about it." Kurogasa smiled with a sweat drop.

["Students, may I please have your attention."] Gin's voice rang as the television screens at all corners of the hall showed Gin's face with a microphone in hand.

"And zat is my cue to go. Good lu~ck!" Oren said, before leaving.

["I presume that each of you are ready to present your dish."] Gin said. ["I will now explain the conditions for passing the test. First, I will introduce the judges."] At the point, the doors opened and many people and children came walking or running into the halls, eager and waiting to have their breakfasts this morning. Much of the students were started to be overwhelmed by the people coming in. ["As you can see, they are people who grow and produce ingredients for Tōtsuki Resort Hotels, and their families. Every year, they serve as judges for this camp. I've informed them about the theme being an inspired egg dish. And their judging is quite accurate."]

"There's so many…" Megumi said to herself, worriedly.

"Man, I knew there was gonna be so many people for the buffet, but not this many." Kurogasa said to himself, but then shook his head. "No, I gotta focus. I got this covered."

["Tōtsuki Resort's cooking and service staff will also join the judging team."] Gin further added.

"That's Sakuma Tokihiko, the steward of the resort!" One said.

"There's even Chef Dojima's right-hand chef!" Another added.

["There are two judging criteria. One is whether your dish presents an inspiration worthy of acknowledgment by professional producers and staff. The other is to prepare and serve more than 200 servings within the next two hours."] Gin further explained.

'I see. There are men and women, young and old-a wide range in customers.' Takumi thought as he looked around. 'So they're providing an accurate reproduction of a breakfast at a hotel. This challenge closely mimics a real-life situation.'

["Those who fulfill those two criteria will pass the test. Without further ado, honored judges, please enjoy the breakfast. Let the judging begin!"]


And so the breakfast competition went underway as the students in the various halls went fighting against the clock, hoping to serve 200 dishes in two hours and pass. At Takumi's station, he had made an Italian frittata, which was a popular egg dish among italians. However, he had chopped the frittata into pieces, added them in the salad to toss, then finished off with balsamic vinaigrette and parmesan cheese that he sprinkled onto them, making an insalata frittata. It made quite an impact on two staff members as the raw vegetables complimented the frittata itself.

As for Megumi, she made a single-bite breakfast oden, which consisted of boiled quail egg, fried tofu, cooked octopus, and boiled carrots and brussel sprouts that was in a mild broth. Three of her customers were in content as it had a comforting taste and the appearance was colorful. One of them even asked to marry his grandson which surprised Megumi.

Mito had made a loco moco donburi. Gin's right-hand chef had tasted it and was impressed. Loco moco would typically use a gravy sauce, but the one Mito made used a sauce vinaigrette and the light acidity of the white wine vinegar heightened the creamy texture of the yolk and the juiciness of the meat.

For Erina, she had made an Eggs Benedict, a dish consisting of an English muffin, topped with poached eggs and bacon and such, then topped with a slightly acidic hollandaise sauce, a mainstay in the American breakfast menu. But Erina added a twist to it, she sprinkled dried mullet roe powder on the muffins. Salted roe is another type of egg. The refined saltiness of the roe came together with the chicken egg yolk to produce this deep flavor and she had people coming to her station en masse. Even the steward of the resort even approved of this.

Alice had made an egg plate what was served in three forms. The first looked like it was a raw egg but upon closer inspection, the "white" is a gelee made from diluted seawater and the "yolk" is salmon roe held together within the gelatin. The second looked like a boiled egg, but the "white" is a white asparagus mousse, and the "yolk" is the sauce hollandaise made from egg yolks. The third looked like an "egg" but it was actually a milkshake you drink with a straw. Alice had injected a milkshake she made from eggs, milk, and caramel into the empty shell. Upon the people tasting it, they felt a mildness and refreshing aftertaste which are a perfect complement to a morning meal.

As to what Soma was making, it was an omelette souffle. He would whip the egg whites into a meringue before cooking the dish, so the omelette will have a special fluffy texture. Once it was finished cooking, he would finish it off with tomato sauce and parsley.

Nero had a bar with with his any kind of liquor that was there, as he mixed drinks with eggs and had also made a non-alcoholic and alcoholic sign above him. This way there were two lines, one for the kids and the other for the adults. For the kids, it was a non-alcoholic eggnog consisting of eggs, sugar, a pinch of salt, then tempered it with the milk so it wouldn't scramble for about four to five minutes so it cooked like a custard, after that he would use vanilla extract, egg whites already cooked, nutmeg, and whipped cream. For the adults, it was the same version, only adding bourbon to the mix.

Beatrix was wearing a white apron as she had her hair tied into a ponytail, pull out pastries from her ovens. The pastries were muffins of all kinds, waffles, cinnamon rolls, scones, cookies, cake pops and many more.

As for what Kurogasa did for his dish, he followed his recipe to the letter. Once he was finished scrambling the eggs, he cut them into slices and after placing the nori sheet on the mat and spreading the rice on the mat, he sprinkled some bacon bits on it before flipping them over and putting the sliced scrambled eggs on top of the nori and then rolled it up with the mat before cutting them into six pieces and standing them up in an arranged bunch before placing more bacon bits on top for garnish.

"Oh, what have we here?" the steward, Sakuma asked as he approached Kurogasa's station after having Erina's Egg Benedict. "A breakfast sushi?"

"Hai. I based it on the California Roll." Kurogasa nodded. "I mixed in the bacon bits with the rice, with the sliced eggs in the middle as the filling. Go ahead."

"Boo, that sucks!" Beatrix yelled over to Kurogasa. "It's got nothing over my swee~ts!"

"Let's have a taste shall we?" Sakuma said as he picked up a plate and a pair of chopsticks before placing one piece in his mouth. His eyes widened at the taste. "My, my, this flavor is rather unique."

"WHAT?!" Beatrix gawked, before raising a hand. "Can't, it's my rule not to eat while cooking. Save me piece later if you can."

"No promises." Kurogasa said.

And so the minutes had dwindled down as the students kept cooking and serving their breakfast dishes. By then it was a little over 30 minutes left.

["Ryoko Sakaki, 200 servings complete!"]

["Yuki Yoshino, 200 servings complete!"]

["Takumi Aldini, 200 servings complete!"]

["Isami Aldini, 200 servings complete!"]

["Shun Ibusaki, 200 servings complete!"]

["Marui Zenji, 200 servings complete!"]

["Daigo Aoki, 200 servings complete!"]

["Shoji Sato, 200 servings complete!"]

["Mito Ikumi, 200 servings complete!"]

["Nao Sadatsuka, 200 servings complete!"]

["Miyoko Hojo, 200 servings complete!"]

["Ryo Kurokiba, 200 servings complete!"]

["Alice Nakiri, 200 servings complete!"]

["Erina Nakiri, 200 servings complete!"]

"This drink is so amazing!" A woman said turning red as she took another shot of Nero's eggnog while eating some roasted nuts. "Ahh… it's like drinking love…"

["Megumi Tadokoro, 200 servings complete!"]

"Mommy~ I want more sweets from the girl!" A horde of children cried as they around Beatrix who continued to send more sweets to the adults and young children.

["Shiki Kishi, 200 servings complete!"]

["Beatrix Altair, 200 servings complete!"]

"Hmmm…" Alice looked over to Kurogasa when she already finished cleaning her station. "Oh my, some people don't know what they're missing."

"Shoot, this isn't good…" Kurogasa gritted as he only had 50 plates served. "I only got thirty minutes left and only 50 people came to my station." He looked over to Soma who wasn't doing good either and he had only 10 plates served. "Crap, Soma's even worse with his omelette souffle."

"Hello!"

"AH!" Kurogasa cried out, seeing Alice in front of him. "A-Alice?"

"I'll take one, it's my cheat day after all~!" Alice said taking a piece of Sushi and popped into her mouth. "Ummaaaaaaaaaaaaaai!" Alice squealed with joy after tasting his breakfast sushi.

"Ehhh?!" Kurogasa said surprised.

"This is delicious! The saltiness of the bacon with the fluffiness of the egg and rice, compliments so well with each other!" Alice said holding her cheeks. "Hey everyone! Come try this breakfast dish out! It's so gooood!"

At that point, the customers started flooding in towards Kurogasa's station.

"Alice, you…" Kurogasa got out, as he looked at her, the latter winking at him. "Wow, I can't believe she's helping me… yosh, ikuzo!" He grinned before holding onto his chef jacket. "Cast… Off!" He shouted before removing his entire jacket and flipping it over before reattaching it, now becoming cape-esque. "Clock Up!" He said tapping his right side waist before he started going speedy.

"Whoa it looks like there's two of him!" A customer said as Kurogasa current speed made it look like he was in two places.

"Order up!" Kurogasa said presenting more of his dish.

"Wow!" Alice said in English seeing Kurogasa's speed. "He's really gotten better since his days back when we were kids."

"Sugoi…" Megumi said in awe, seeing Kurogasa go really fast.

"Kururugi… you're really something…" Takumi muttered.

"Man, he's not playing around." Soma scoffed. "I better pick it up too."

'I don't believe it… there's no way.' Erina thought in disbelief. 'Can he really get 200 people to eat his food?'

'C'mon… C'mon… hayaku… hayaku…!' Kurogasa gritted his teeth as he kept going, not stopping for even a moment's rest as more customers kept crowding towards him.

"Damn… I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm sick of booze." Shiki said after serving his last customer. "How much does Kurogasa need? We're done in the last minutes!"

From the video room, Gin eyed Kurogasa and Soma as the two were working fast to get their dishes served. Both were putting on show for the customers and were being innovative and creative in showing their skills as chefs. "Impressive. Soma has the flexibility to fix his mistake, while Kurogasa near Erina who took most of his customers from her amazing dish, made little progress until Alice tasted his food and now he is finally catching up to his work." The hotel owner said with a smile.

And now there was only about a minute. Soma and Kurogasa weren't wasting any time. They continued doing their work with fierce concentration. Both were sweating profusely and it dampened the top collar of their shirts.

'I can't Clock Up much longer… it's wearing my body down…' Kurogasa said screaming in pain in his mind from the overuse of his best technique. 'No… I'm not giving up! Shishou told me that the strong survive and the weak crumble! Only the strong shall survive! And I'm gonna survive through this!'

30 seconds remained.

'Keep going… keep going!'

20 seconds to go…

'I want to see her again…'

10 seconds…

'I will have the future in my very hands!'

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" Kurogasa yelled before slamming the last plate down on the stack.

["Soma Yukihira, 200 servings complete! Kurogasa Kururugi, 200 servings complete!"] Gin's voice shouted. ["STOP! Time is up!"]

"I don't believe it…" Erina gasped in disbelief.

"…Amazing." Alice said with awe in her eyes.

"S-Sugoi!" Megumi said as well in equal amazement.

"Heh, I knew he could do it!" Soma said, tired from his work.

Beatrix smiled sweetly as she nodded to herself and Shiki smiled too, while raising a glass of sparkling grape juice.

Kurogasa was standing there, hunched over as multiple drops of sweat fell on his counter. His heartbeat was beating rapidly, he was panting heavily, and he was overcome with exhaustion. He looked to his stack of dishes and saw that he has over 300 plates served. "I… did it…" He muttered before he suddenly felt weak and fell to his knees, his arms being able to keep him up on the counter, but he knew it was going to fail him next.

"!" His friends gasped, noticing what happened.

"Damn…" Kurogasa muttered before-

*THUD!*

"OI! KUROGASA!" Soma shouted, suddenly running over to his station, followed by Nero, Beatrix, Megumi, Takumi, and even Erina and Alice. They saw a keeled over Kurogasa with everyone looking on in worry. Soma then knelt down next to Kurogasa and held him. He was barely conscious with his eyes closed, had broken out into a cold sweat, and was panting heavily. "Oi, Kuro! Shikari shiro! Kuro!"

"…" The boy couldn't say anything as he was nearly fainting.

"C'mon, don't pass out on me now!" Soma snapped before looking to the crowd. "Someone call a doctor!"

"Shiki!" Beatrix said as the boy nodded.

"Right. I know the basics, so I'll help as best as I can." The Alcoholic user said as he laid the boy on his back. "Try breathing in long breaths, if you can't, tell me and I'll make a girl perform CPR." Kurogasa tried to breathe in a long breath, but was barely able to.

"I-Is he going to be okay?" Megumi asked worriedly.

"So far… he will, but we need something to keep the edge off… GET ICE NOW!" The boy ordered as he pulled out a bottle of whiskey. "Alright drink this, just a sip to dull the sense. Can you do that?" Shiki asked the boy. Kurogasa tried lifting his head up and took a sip of the whiskey.

*COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!*

"Okay, that's good." Shiki said as the boy felt oddly less tense. "WHERE'S THAT ICE?!"

"Here!" Megumi said, passing him a bucket.

"Okay… this might be a little bad." Shiki said wrapping all the ice in many towels and pressing them on the chest and limbs of Kurogasa.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Kurogasa groaned.

"Hold him down!" Shiki ordered as he couldn't keep the ice on properly.

"Got it!" Soma and Takumi said grabbing the arms while Megumi and Beatrix held his legs. Shiki then managed to put all the ice on his limbs. Kurogasa kept writhing but his friends held down. After a few minutes, he stopped squirming.

"Okay, his body should cool down now." Shiki said taking off the ice. "He should be able to breathe fine now. Kuro… take a deep breathe."

Kurogasa did so and this time he was able to do it properly.

"Good… but we need a medic to check him out though." Shiki sighed.

Alice and Erina couldn't help but looked worried over the boy who fainted. The latter clutched her hand to her chest. 'Why… why is my heart hurting so much…?'


Soon they got Kurogasa to his room and medic soon came after, checking up on him. The others have heard and they too went to check on Kurogasa. They were all standing outside Kurogasa's door.

"I hope he's okay…" Ryoko said sadly.

"I did what I could." Shiki said drinking from his flask.

"Give me that." Beatrix sighed, taking the drink and chugged it. "Dude… juice?"

"Not going to drink when a friend is in bad shape."

"Excuse me." The doctor said, as he came out of his room.

"How is he?!" Yuki panicked.

"Is he okay?" Marui asked.

"He's fine, just overextended his body. It was like he was running a marathon and doing an army drill at the same time, making him burn too much and knock himself out. He'll be allowed to leave in a few minutes." The doctor explained. Everyone sighed in relief.

"Yokatta…" Megumi placed a hand over her heart.

"Too close…" Shun added.

"Yeah, it would've been bad because if he's out for the rest of the day, he'll be expelled." Mito added.

"We should see him." Daigo suggested.

"Yeah, nothing that a few friends visiting can't fix." Shoji added.

"Of course." The doctor said before they all entered his room with Kurogasa on the bed.

"Hey guys." Kurogasa waved.

"Hey man, you gave us a scare." Soma said.

"Sorry…" Kurogasa laughed weakly. "Guess I got too fired up."

"Fired up? You nearly got yourself expelled if you went further than that."

"Wha-"

"This training camp is still not over." Mito crossed her arms. "If you were out for the rest of the day, then you wouldn't be able to complete the training camp and would've been expelled right then and there."

"Ahh…" Kurogasa moaned in fear. "Good thing I didn't do that breakfast casserole…"

"Are you nuts?!" Marui snapped. "That would take too long to prep and cook!"

"Okay! Sheesh, I said good thing!" Kurogasa snapped comically.

"We're just glad you're okay." Ryoko smiled a bit.

"Yeah, it would've been bad to see you go." Yuki added.

"Ditto." Beatrix said as she looked at Shiki. "Right?"

"Yeah yeah…"

"Thanks Shiki. You really helped me out there." Kurogasa smiled.

"I just did what I could. Takumi, Soma, Bea, and Megumi helped out too. I just wished I learned more from the battlefield…" Shiki mumbled the last part. "Well at least it worked on ya." The drinker said with smirk before taking out a flask and chugged it.

"Can you get up?" Megumi asked.

"Y-Yeah, hold on…" The boy said as he stood up on his feet but wobbled a bit and was caught by Soma. "Whoa… need a break soon. I just hope they'll be lenient because of my condition."

"I heard that they will get the doctor to show a note and they'll lighten the work. Enough to get real progress from you but not enough to send you back here." Beatrix said. Just then the door opened and Erina came in surprising them.

"Erina…" Kurogasa muttered as she went up to him and-

*SLAP!*

-slapped him.

"Idiot, I told you not to overwork yourself!" Erina snapped.

"Oww… okay, I totally deserved that…" Was the only thing that Kurogasa said as everyone around was also surprised at the action that Erina displayed. "Sorry…"

"Sorry's not going to cut it this time." Erina huffed before looking away with a slight blush. "You'll have to make it up by… making that breakfast sushi for me…"

Kurogasa shocked face slowly turned into a charming smile as he nodded, "Sure… anything for you."

"Heh, you should take lessons from him Shi." Beatrix nudged Shiki towards Megumi.

"Hmm…" The boy stopped drinking to look at the gentle girl before resuming slower and with a noticeable blush.


And so the training camp continued from there. It was only the fourth day and they had one more day to go on their 6 day 5 night stay at the hotel. And it didn't get any easier from then. Luckily, for Kurogasa, as noted before the doctor had given the necessary precautions to the Gin Dojima and they had given him some leniency on his workload. It was enough for Kurogasa to show progress, but not enough to have him be sent back to bed due to exhaustion. And thankfully, the staff were able to keep an eye on him to make sure things didn't go awry again.

Right now, it was the evening of the fifth day and everyone had gathered in the hotel lobby's in their uniform. Seeing them now, the crowd had been really thinned out.

"I'm finished…"

"I can barely move my legs…"

"I want to lie down…"

"I'm totally spent…"

"Wh-Why are we suddenly being summoned to the lobby?" Megumi asked.

"There's nothing listed on the schedule." Ryoko said, looking at the itinerary.

"I just hope it's not another task like that breakfast buffet…" Kurogasa sighed. "Even though it's been a day or two, I'm still feeling the aftereffects…"

"Then drink this." Shiki said, giving a bottle of liquor to Kurogasa.

"You're giving this to me, because?" I deadpanned.

"Relax, just take a sip to take off the edge and you'll be fine." Shiki waved off. Kurogasa deadpanned and frowned in suspicion, but then let the matter drop, seeing that he was too tired to even argue.

"Good, looks like you're all here." Gin's voice said, as they turned towards the voice and saw Gin standing there with a microphone. "Before I get into why you're here, I'd like to say a few things." He began. "At this point in time, 352 students have dropped out, and only 628 remain. This may seem cruel, but this training camp, is a microcosm of what it means to choose cooking as your career. You'll need to stay calm when facing the unknown, and commune with your own ingredients. If you become a chef, there will be pressure. You'll have to endure countless nights filled with anxiety and indecision, adapt to a wide range of situations, and overcome those challenges. This life is akin to wandering alone through a wind-torn barren wasteland. The more you climb, the more you will stumble, and the more your goal will become unclear. Before you know it, you may reach a standstill after reaching the pinnacle and lose sight of how to return. But I want you to remember one thing… you are with others who would tread the same wasteland. This fact will sustain you once you sally forth and go on alone. I wish all of you the best of luck from the bottom of my heart! Now then… let's begin the final program of this camp!"

Everyone groaned at this.

"Nooooooooo! No more~!" Beatrix whined.

"Not again!" Marui wailed.

"I knew it…!" Shoji got out.

"Tch…" Kurogasa gritted as everyone prepared for what was to come. When the doors opened though…

"WELCOME!"

All of the staff members and the steward were lined up at the door that led into the banquet hall.

"The final program consists of a modest banquet to celebrate the conclusion of the training camp!" Gin announced. "We will have all of you enjoy a full-course meal prepared by the alumni! Let me now say to all 628 of you who survived: Congratulations for passing the training camp! Enjoy to your heart's content! And to quote one of the top student's among you: Welcome to Paradise!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The students cheered happily.

"I can't believe it!"

"We did it!"

"This isn't "modest" in the least!"

"I'm so… glad to be alive…" Marui moaned before he turned white and fell to the ground.

"AHHHHHHHH! Marui finally kicked the bucket!" Yuki panicked.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhh… I don't blame him…" Beatrix groaned before doing the same thing.

"Oh boy, she finally cracked." Shiki sighed.

As the students went into the banquet hall to celebrate eating the lavish food the alumni prepared, Kurogasa approached Gin. "Who said you could use my bit Gin-senpai, huh?" Kurogasa asked with an amused smile while arching an eyebrow while crossing his arms.

"Your shishou." Gin grinned widely as he chuckled, "Sorry to tell you this, Tendou had to return home due to something with someone call Daisuke?"

"Oh him, the make-up artist. Figures." Kurogasa scoffed.

Nero raised an eyebrow, "Who's Daisuke?"

"Daisuke Kazama." Kurogasa said. "A make-up artist. Free spirited and eccentric, that guy is."

"Ohh… that guy. My old man has been trying to get an appointment with him."

"Why's that?"

"…" Nero turned green from the thought. "I don't want to think about… please don't make me…"

"Uh… sure." Kurogasa blinked.


The night has come and gone. There were only 628 students left in their generation and despite that, all of the Polar Star Students survived and thanks to their efforts, all of them were treated to the lavish banquet made by the alumni themselves. To be treated with such awesome food was the greatest reward the students chefs would have. They get to finally have a taste of heavenly food.

After the banquet, the students decided to finally rest properly after five days of the training camp.

"Whew… finally we can relax." Kurogasa sighed as he was in the hot spring, relaxing on the edge of the pool. "Man, I thought my sushi wouldn't cut it, but boy was I wrong."

The boy was right. He had a slow flow of selling them which harmed his chances as he made it to the first fifty while everyone was ahead of him. Alice came by, who after she used up all of her ingredients, and ate one of Kurogasa's sushi, verbally exclaiming how delicious it was. It caused a huge mass of people to come and eat it. In the last final minutes of that challenge, he had served over 300 and used every ingredient he had. However, because of the fast rush, he had overworked himself and almost keeled over, if not for Soma catching him, feeling very exhausted. Of course, his friends were worried and they called in a doctor just in case. The said doctor arrived and concluded that it was just exhaustion and would need rest, much to relief of the others.

"Man… this is what happens when I overwork myself." Kurogasa sighed to himself. "I guess… I'll take this after all." Kurogasa moved his arm to grab a bottle of alcohol that Nero gave him. "Just a sip to take the edge off…" The boy does so… before his eyes turn comically white and large as he spat it out. "PPPPFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTT~! Gah! What the-" The boy looked at the bottle label and sweat dropped.

Nero's Secret Heavenly Spirit! Enough to send you to heaven!

"This tastes like Devil's Springs! Nothing heavenly about this, you underaged drunk bastard!" Kurogasa yelled before putting the bottle away to the side and sighed heavily. He then looked to his black 'V' necklace as he cupped it in his hands. "Man, five days on this training camp and still no sign of her…" He sighed to himself. Kurogasa then placed his back on the stones behind him, "I wonder if I can really find her… what would I even say to her? Sorry I was too scared to come back? Sometimes I wished I was like Shishou and just Rider Kick most of my problems away…" Kurogasa sighed in slight depression. That was when he decided to get out of the water, seeing that he had enough for today. "I'm done… I'm out of here." He said before placing his necklace and towel on him. The boy slowly stood up not wanting to overwork his already weakened body. He walked to the door as he saw someone open it…

"Haa… I wish I can find him soon."

Kurogasa blushed red when he saw… an almost naked Erina standing in front of him with a towel covering what little it can cover, the perfect body of the girl.

"Gah!" Kurogasa freaked out. "E-Erina?!"

"Kyaah! Kurogasa, what are you doing here?!" Erina stammered, blushing red.

"I-I was just about to get out! I swear I thought it was still the men's time!" Kurogasa used his towel to circle around his waist as his black 'V' necklace was now exposed to the world.

"!" Erina gasped surprised.

"Huh? W-What is it?"

"That necklace… w-where did you get that?" Erina asked.

"Huh? This?" Kurogasa got out as he cupped it in his hand. "I've been having it for a while… why-" His eyes widened and his words were cut short when he saw… a green 'V' necklace on Erina?! 'No way… that necklace!'

The girl dropped her towel as her eyes had tears flowing down as she mumbled, "K-Ku-kun…?" The girl whispered almost too quietly.

"Huh?!" Kurogasa gawked with surprise. "W-What did you say…?"

The girl went up to him with her hands on his bare chest, "Please tell me! Tell me that you're Ku-kun, the boy who I… who I loved and missed so much! If you're him, tell me my nickname! The nickname Ku-kun only knows!"

"!" Kurogasa's eyes widened even further in surprise. And for some reason… tears went down his face.

"…Na-chan?"

*POW! SPLASH!*

Erina suddenly tackled Kurogasa into the hot spring causing a huge splash in the water. After the wave calmed down, the two of them gasped for air as Kurogasa managed to place his back on the stones behind him as Erina straddled onto his waist while holding his shoulders while tears of joy streamed down her eyes. "Yappari… it really is you… you came back… you came back…!" The girl cried, before hugging him despite her naked skin touching his.

"Na-chan…" Kurogasa got out as he too cried before hugging her tight. "Yokatta… I finally found you after all these years… Yokatta… Yokatta…"

"Where were you… where were you all this time?" Erina sobbed.

"I wanted to see you so bad…" Kurogasa muttered before they broke the hug. "I never meant for you to be all alone for so long… I'm so sorry…"

"I don't care anymore… I'm just glad to see you again…"

"Na-chan…" Kurogasa smiled as more tears fell streamed down his eyes before his hand held her cheek, wiping her tears. "Me too. I'm so happy to see you too… now I can make that cake you liked so long ago."

"Unn!" Erina nodded as she cried tears of happiness while smiling an actual genuine smile for the first time in years. "Ku… Kuro…" Erina got out as she realized something important. "EEP!"

…She was naked.

Kurogasa noticed too and cried out, "Gah! Sorry!" before looking away embarrassed.

"No… it's okay…"

"Huh?" Kurogasa got out, looking at her, seeing the full bare view of her front while her necklace dangled…

"Ku-kun… I love you… so I'm okay with this." The girl said inching towards him her eyes full of want and love.

"Na-chan, I- mmmmmmmmmmmph!" Kurogasa's eyes widened when Erina kissed him. He gently got up, being able to sit on the edge of the pool as they kept kissing before he gently pushed her away. "Erina… you… really want to be with me."

The girl nodded before laying her head on his chest, "More than anything… I don't want to lose one of the only few people I love… especially the one who stole my heart." Erina then looked up at him with her hazy eyes leaning up slowly.

"Na-chan…" Kurogasa muttered.

"Ku-kun…" The girl said and took his lips once more with hers. "Mmmmh~!"

"Mmmmmmmph…!" Kurogasa got out as he tried to keep up with her, which he eventually did, and soon it became a very hot make-out session.

"Kuro~" Erina moaned out as she curled her toes when the boy gently licked her lips to make her open her mouth, to which she did, and his tongue went inside of her mouth to explore, making her eyes more hazy in pure pleasure.

"Erina…" Kurogasa said as he held her close while continuing to kiss her, enjoying her sweet moans and gasps between their sweet make-out session before he pulled away. "Erina…" he whispered as he tucked a lock of her hair behind her head. "I love you…"

"I love you too, Ku-kun…" Erina murmured. "Don't leave me… ever again…"

"Not in a million years…" Kurogasa whispered before they went back to making out.

Unbeknownst to them, Senzaemon was around the corner, hearing everything. "Normally if any other boy did this… no one would ever hear from him again. Kurogasa… take care of her… she needs you now." The man smiled as he left, leaving a 'Cleaning Sign' on the door so the kids won't be disturbed.


Fen: Awwwwwwwwwww! Isn't that cute?

AQ: Yes… yes it was…

Fen: Kuro and Erina finally recognize each other!

AQ: And now time to roll the credits!

Fen: Wait wha? That's it? o_O

AQ: No of course not, idiot!

Fen: Okay… ·_·; Well uh, anyways, hope you guys enjoyed! Hopefully this double feature made up for lost time.

AQ: Yup, next time it's the Autumn arc thingy…

Fen: So see ya on the next Main Course!