Chapter 49: The Light in the Darkness


Trina's Dreamscape

On the porch of a small Taoist Temple, Trina Furman-Nakiri was dressed in traditional Japanese garb and having tea with Lucille.

"So, what is that you wish to discuss?" Trina asked.

"You're changing" Lucille cryptically answered.

"In many ways" Trina replied after taking a sip, "But, you're talking my spiritual being, no?"

"Yes" Lucille smiled, "The seed of light is growing, as it's now represented by this small Temple engulfed in the night. And while I know you detest religion, you're aware of the meaning of this, right?"

"I'm the yang to Megumi's yin" Trina nodded, "In other words, a Noble Demon."

"Yes, an embodiment of Chaotic Good, opposite of what Megumi is becoming and partially what Rindo is." Lucille smiled.

"...Yet I agreed to kill Urara one day, so how can I become good?" Trina questioned. Ever since she killed her childhood friend, she saw herself as nothing but evil. After what her mother did to her, she reveled in it.

"Have you peered into Urara's future?" Lucille pondered.

"No" Trina admitted. She had no reason to do so.

"Urara is a terrible human being, through and through. To make it worse, she also claims to be a devout catholic. Killing her before she causes too much harm is mercy" Lucille replied.

"I see, but what's with the catholic non-sequitur" Trina raised a brow.

"It's an excuse to hide wickedness under the veil of righteousness" Lucille seethed, "It's Yahweh's MO. Look, a proper religious person, such as your cousin Alice, doesn't commit that kind of hypocrisy."

"Right...I think we're getting side-tracked" Trina deadpanned, "So, let me sum this up. Megumi and I are gradually switching alignments, which I assume is to fit our demonic roles?"

"Indeed" Lucille confirmed, "But like the Yin and Yang, a part of your old alignments will remain intact."

"I told her it was ok to be bad during the Autumn Election" Trina softly laughed, "I guess the reverse is true for me."

"Yes, as I foresaw" Lucille sighed.

"As you foresaw?" Trina raised her brow.

"Your eldest known ancestor, Vlad Tepes, was a devout follower to Yahweh until his wife committed suicide by the deceit of his own men. He cursed Yahweh, which would lead to his downfall. On my pledge to save his kingdom, he sold his soul to me. That soul was nourished through the generations until it brought forth the Demon of Fortune" Lucille explained.

"So...my true nature was always meant to be chaotic good?" Trina worked out.

"Yes, as the Demon of Fortune is to be the Mother of Time and Nature, being good is part of that role" Lucille answered, "Meanwhile, your lover is destined to become the Mother of Calamity and Death, thus being evil is part of the role. And of course, Rindou is to become the Mother of Wealth and Prosperity, which is neutral in nature."

"I just realized something, but those titles sound like they belong to Goddesses...not demons" Trina frowned.

"Demon is the nickname of Chaotic Ethereals after the First Cosmo War" Lucille explained, "The conclusion of the Age of Demons will end in a final conflict between Yahweh and myself, along with our allies. To ensure this universe maintains its balance afterwords, there will be a Cosmic Council of 9 Ethereals: 3 Lords, 3 Watchers, and 3 Mothers. The Lords are all Angels, with Immanuel being good, Gabriel being neutral, and Azriel being evil. The watchers are a fusion of an angel and a demon; currently I am unsure of the angel half of the watchers, but the demon halves are Lilith, Eve, and Adam."

"So...Megumi, Rindou, and I are literally going to ascend into Godhood" Trina blinked, "That's...difficult to comprehend."

"And becoming immortal isn't?" Lucille chuckled, "Although in your case, that's not entirely true."

"What do you mean?" Trina frowned.

"You will experience the pain of death 9 times" Lucille solemnly answered, "6 will be from the death of your children and three from mass calamity to immeasurable amount of life."

"I don't understand" Trina solemnly replied.

"You will cease to exist in a tangible manifestation for a thousand years for each of your children's death and 10,000 for each cosmic sundering. In other words, your seat will be empty frequently until the ninth death is complete" Lucille lectured.

"So, Megumi will be without me for long periods of time" Trina frowned, "Will I be alone?"

"No, you will join up with the souls of the deceased" Lucille answered, "In the spirit realm, you will meet up with your children and welcome those lost in the Great Calamities."

"I see" Trina softly spoke, "Am the only burden with such a curse?"

"No, each Ethereal has some burden to carry in order to learn fully understand their roles" Lucille answered, "Rindo for example will need to eat for eternity, as she will be frail."

"What about Megumi?" Trina bit her lip.

"Hers is tied to yours. She will be imprisoned on her throne so she doesn't destroy the universe in her grief" Lucille simply stated. Trina closed her eyes, taking in the new information. For a cumulative of 36,000 years, Trina would wander the Realm of the Dead while Megumi was hardened by imprisonment. Immortality came at a heavier price, it seemed.

"Ah, the sun rises" Lucille noted, "It's time for you to wake up and continue on with your first life."

Trina nodded before letting herself return to reality, where Megumi was already dressed and ready to go.

"I was wondering when you would wake" Megumi teased, "You must hurry though, we need to be there in 40 minutes."

"I will only need 20" Trina said with a grin.

And soon, the fate of Tootsuki would come down to a final match.


Regiment de Cuisine Arena

This was it, either Central was victorious or the Rebels would undo everything. And it came down to the four best chefs in the 92nd Generation.

Soma "The Culinary Brat" Yukihira vs Trina "The White Fox of Flavor" Furman-Nakiri for Card 1.

In card 2, it was Megumi "Bathory" Tadokoro vs Erina "God's Tongue" Nakiri.

The theme for card 1 was wild boar, while card 2 was squid.

"Tell me Erina" Trina said while rolling her neck, "Are you truly freed from your Father's conditioning or will you fall back in line."

"My Father's shackles may have molded me to who I am, but I am no longer bound" Erina said with confidence.

"That's good to hear" Megumi smiled pleasantly, "Can't have the third general to Central's Army be limited in ideas."

"You've really fallen, Megumi" Erina frowned, "Maybe I should correct that?"

"Try as you may, but I've chosen my path with full embrace" Megumi chuckled.

"And to you Soma, I do hope you know your way around Wild Boar" Trina taunted, "It would be a shame if you were expelled because of a lack of knowledge."

"Don't worry about me" Soma shrugged, "I am not letting down my late mother, who used to hunt boar." Trina's eyes momentarily went wide at that statement before returning to their normal, sharp look.

"Let the Shokugeki begin!" the announcer shouted.

Trina went to grab some celery, cabbage, granny smith apples, and some other ingredients to make coleslaw.

"Oh? Coleslaw with Wild Boar racks?" Anne pondered, "An interesting pairing." Trina just smirked as she did her prep work. Across from her, Soma was prepping squid stakes.

"Surf and Turf?" Trina asked, "Tell me, will you be using peanut butter on it?"

"No, but Erina will" Soma smiled. Eyes going wide, Trina turned to her right to see Erina using non-homogenized peanut butter.

"A satay?" Trina thought.

"Trina, The Ginger Whiskey reduction will be ready in 30 minutes" Megumi shouted.

"Ok!" Trina shouted back. As the dishes came together, the judges came to realized what was actually going.

"Soma and Erina are creating parts of each others dish, meanwhile Trina and Megumi are doing the same" Historie observed.

"The Ultimate display of teamwork" Anne smiled.

"Well, it's no secret that Trina and Megumi are an item" Charme smirked, "But I don't think they're the only ones."

"Wait, what is he suggesting?" a few among the crowd questioned.

"Oho! So it's becoming obvious to everyone now~" Alice giggled, "To think feelings would develop this fast."

"Shut up, Alice" Soma and Erina said in unison. Unlike Trina and Megumi, they wanted to keep a lower profile.

"Now, Now" Trina teased, "That just confirms your relationship. Besides, your bedroom isn't as soundproof as you think it is." Both Erina and Soma faltered a bit after that comment before giving the laughing fox a death glare.

"No way" someone muttered, "Trina has to being pulling our leg."

"If anything, she would know these things" someone countered.

"Wow, Lewd" Alice pouted, "You should be more classy with your comments, cousin."

"You started it!" Trina pouted back.

"Trina, the reduction is ready" Megumi interrupted. Grabbing the pot, Trina gracefully poured the reduction over her caramelized apples and roast boar racks. Just as well, as the other chefs completed their dishes

"Judges" Erina spoke up, "This is a selfish request, but can you judge the dishes at the same time? Our dishes are paired together."

"As does ours" Megumi said while wrapping her hand around Trina's waist.

"Very well" Anne nodded, "We shall start with Erina and Soma's dish first."


A/N: So, here's the deal. I will be splitting this series into three ways. The last chapter for part one is next, then I will move to part two (second yer) and part three. I need some time to think what I want for their second and third years at Tootsuki.