Italics indicate thinking

Clint's POV

"You're finally back." Erina said as I took my seat.

"I'm looking forward to this one, let's see how it shakes out."

"For the Semi-Finals we will be the five judges." The speaker said.

"Inui Hinako, Mizuhara Fuyumi, Dojima Gin, Tsunozaki Taki, and Kikuchi Sonoko!"

"Sonoko-senpai!" I cheered.

"What are you yelling for?" Erina hissed.

"Sonoko-senpai is my idol." I smiled "She's a master of Western cuisine, her restaurant Shunkatei is super popular. She was able to bring the flavors of the west to Japan…and in just two years after graduating, I wanna be just like her. It also helps that she's so gosh darn pretty too."

Erina just rolled her eyes "Men…is all you care about breasts?"

"Leg meat is great too." I smirked.

"OWW!" I screamed when Erina poked me in the eyes.

"I'm…sorry Erina…"

"Ahem?"

"I mean I'm sorry Erina-sama…I'm no better than common pond scum."

"Good boy." She smiled "So…you worked with Yukihira."

"I think he might actually stand a chance now that I whipped him into shape." I smiled "I hope you don't mind that I…"

"It's fine." She said looking back down at the ring "I assume you didn't hold his hand."

"Nope, only little tips here and there till he got it right, it took him a while but he figured out what was wrong with his first dish."

I looked at her.

"The flavor was too tender." We both said.

"Western cuisine has a few styles, some are loud and proud, other more soft and calm, beef stew focuses on being eaten many times in a row, you should never grow tired of the flavor, it should be part of your being. "

"If he can't things you say to heart." Erina smirked "I'll watch him lose right now."

"Hmmm…" I observed Yukihira's station "Oxtail."

"So that's what you're doing." I smiled "HAHAHA! Yukihira!"

This is the same thing Hisako did with her turtle! It won't be a gelatinous as the turtle burger but it doesn't have to be.

The kid looked up at us and smirked.

"HAHAHAHA!" I couldn't stop laughing "Yes! YES!"

I glared down at him "Show me everything you've got!"

I'm not even competing with him but I can't wait to see what comes out of that head of his.

I can't wait to get the chance to take him on someday! If he's close to me, I can't screw up anymore!

I've got so much to improve on if I'm gonna ever throw down with a guy like Yukihira!

Even his spice choices were things I never expected like cloves.

He's pushing my advice to the very edge, yet he manages to not tip over.

This stew will be incredible, that one from last week will be like pig slop!

"In the last week, what you bought, who you met, I know it all, even the lessons you got with the Right hand."

So the copycat makes his move

Mimasaka was also frying beef tail.

He's got the clove and black pepper too…this is stuff I didn't even know Yukihira was gonna use…

"Time to pass you by!" Mimasaka yelled.

That's…

"Bacon." I mumbled.

It's…the same kind I used in my ramen.

"If he's adding Bacon to the stew…" Erina-sama mumbled.

"It's just his garnish." I said "Soma's dish is one in which you strain the stew, without a garnish it ends up like my dish form the group round, meat and sauce."

I sniffed the air.

"He added mesquite to the bacon."

"HYUP!" Yukihira slammed a cooler down.

Is that…

The cooler was full of beef parts of various shapes and sizes.

"Judges…" Soma smiled "I'm going to take you to the Beef amusement park."

"HAHAHA!" I laughed.

Is he making this up as he goes along?

"Adlibbing won't work." Mimasaka said "I told you I know everything, your visit to the Aldini apartment, training with the Hand, even buying that meat this morning."

"We will now begin judging with Mimasaka Subaru."

"It's done." He said placing the bowls down.

Yukihira looked ticked off that his dish had been copied to the letter. The judges adored Mimasaka's dish, for being a dish with a few changes here and there it was surprisingly well made.

He's countering Soma at every turn.

Suddenly the room was filled with smoke.

"He's done." I said squinting.

"Just what is that?" Erina coughed.

"Here you go…" Soma said placing the bowls down "Yukihira Style Beef Stew: Autumn Election Special!"

The dish looked just like assorted meat parts dropped into a bowl of stock.

"You're screwing with me!" Chef Taki glared.

"What…that's just the garnish." Soma smiled.

"Well let's taste it." Sonoko-senpai smiled.

"Hmmm…" they each took one bite.

"MMMMM!"

"I…It's great!" Taki yelled "It's like a thrill ride!"

"This is very original, a multilayered beef stew."

"Well I used another dish as a model for this one, Chikuzenni."

He modeled his meat dish after a vegetable dish.

"Impossible, how could you have been improvising this whole time!" Mimasaka growled.

"Who said I was improvising?" Soma smirked "Up until…no even after we started I was still constructing my dish, you who seek to investigate and only stay one step ahead, you can't replicate something like this."

The whole time he never stopped thinking on how to change and improve the dish. The whole time, he needed my tips to lead Mimasaka away from his ever evolving dish. With Mimasaka convinced that Soma would make a traditional dish with my advice he could never anticipate the sharp dramatic changes that would happen once the dishes began to cook.

"Uhh…." I looked up "Why are all the judges holding hands?"

"I'm…not sure." Erina sighed.

"Cast your votes for the winner!"

All five judges flipped the papers.

"WINNER: Yukihira Soma!"

The Shokugeki director came out and tore up the contract saying Yukihira would have to quit being a chef and retuned all the knives Mimasaka had won.

"Well…" Mimasaka sat down "Time to end this, I'm gonna be leaving this school, I can't cook any more. I lost so disgracefully I've got nothing to be proud of."

"Idiot!" Yukihira bopped him on the head "Well that would have made this whole thing worthless."

"How long are you gonna stand there, come get your knife Takumi!" Soma laughed.

The blonde boy stormed down "I lost, but next time it will be different, I will pay Mimasaka back for the humiliation he caused me, the same goes for you Yukihira."

He pushed the case into Soma "Someday I will take back my Mezzaluna, but winning it in a Shokugeki, but until then…you take care of it."

"Do you see?" Soma looked at the dark skinned boy "Even if you fail, you gotta get back up and keep fighting, that's what it means to be a chef."

The winner started to walk off.

"Yo!" he waved as he walked passed "I made it this far, to the top of the first years, where I can compete with people like you. Only one match left."

"Get this straight." Erina said "You…are nowhere near my level…also you still owe me the books."

*DING DING DING!*

"It's time for the next match!"

Suddenly you could feel the tension in the air.

"Hayama Akira Vs Kurokiba Ryo!"

Both these guys…I wish I could have taken them on myself.

AN

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Till Next Time!