It took forever to upload this chapter! First, I finished my exams (and one which was very very hard), and next thing I know, I'm moving out of my hometown :( I started writing "Culinary Rivals" from my hometown, worked on it all these years while studying, working on it again when I went back, and now this will be the last chapter I'll be uploading from my hometown... Guess everyone has to face these things at some point in life.

And yeah, the exams and projects delayed the upload of this chapter by about two weeks! There is more ReceptionistShipping to go round...

For the record, "Culinary Rivals" has broken 30,000 views! That's a record.

DaX0315, darkwolf0909, StRAngE ToASt, kcccr, and Etheyyy (hi, Dev1ce. Changed your name again, eh? Life has been rough for me too), please enjoy a glass of the Pinap berry peel cocktail Steven had. And thanks for the congrats!

DaX0315: they will get together in the next chapter... but not quite.

darkwolf0909: you've been keeping up with this story since it was published?! I'm impressed.


Chapter fifty-one: Ultimatum in Fury

Diantha had not seen Cynthia or Steven for the past four days.

True, she had to fulfil her duties as the current Kalos Champion on one hand and as an actress in the other. However, she was more or less concerned for her fellow champions, apart from enjoying delicious food of course.

As a result, she informally met up with Viola, Grant, and Korrina at the Stone Bakery in the morning. They sat well away where Cynthia or Steven would likely show up. If Steven knew they were here, he would probably throw them out.

Plus, when Alexa heard that her sister was meeting up with Diantha, she decided to tag along. The promise of celebrity gossip was too great to miss, even if she worked for the renowned Lumiose Press.

Diantha, sporting sunglasses to avoid media attention, said, "I'm not sure what the deal is between Cynthia and Steven, but I've heard speculation that Steven is dating someone else. Can you tell me more on that?"

The smell of fresh bread filled the room, but unfortunately due to an earlier promise, Diantha had forced Viola to buy ice cream from La Lune de Chocolat for everyone. This was, as she claimed, in Grant's best interests, and it helped Alexa take her mind off of things.

"It's hard to say," Grant admitted. "It's pretty clear their relationship has been going through lows. Just four days ago, we saw Cynthia almost assault Steven."

"And the day before that, Steven had this epic Pokémon battle with a girl," Viola added. "It so happens this girl was a contender in the League championship. Astrid, was that her name? She made it past the quarterfinal."

"Wait… So Steven is dating this Astrid?" Alexa asked. However, she got shrugs in response.

They continued enjoying the foods before them. In addition to the ice cream, there was coffee from Le Café Sinnoh too. How ironic that everything they bought came directly from Vue sur la Lune. So as a result, Diantha treated everyone to a serving of baked baguette, with molten LaBrie to top it.

In Diantha's mind, she thought about the current state of the relationship between Cynthia and Steven. While there had been lots of speculation about their relationship, having seen the media reports, the magazines, and Alexa's publishing in Lumiose Press… Was there anything concrete?

"If Steven really has had eyes for this Astrid, then everything everyone could hope for goes out the window," Diantha remarked.

Grant facepalmed. Why did he have to wind up gossiping about Steven's romantic life? Sure, it was a hot topic at the moment, but he wasn't one to deal with these things. However, the girls seemed to be enjoying it. Stuff like this was for the media… Then again, Viola worked for them.

"I hope that we're not actually fabricating his relationship," he said. "You know, it's like we're the audience watching a series and we press for the characters to romance… Not that the media has been doing that already."

Korrina giggled while Viola snorted into her ice cream. Only Diantha broke the relative silence.

"Even if it wasn't fabricated, I'm sure that Cynthia has some kind of affection for Steven," she said. "Sure, the media would have put things into perspective, but I bet Cynthia's would be easier if she didn't receive all this attention. I'm surprised she hasn't made a public address about this issue."

"That's the thing!" Korrina said. "Cynthia never denied anything, did she?"

"And that's the sign…" Viola added.

For Grant, it was like he was being dragged into the whirlpool of gossip once more. He just wanted a way out – but then again, the invite to be treated to ice cream was too great to resist. This was the result of his decision.

"What does Astrid look like, anyway?" he asked.

Viola was more than happy to oblige and answered with action. She took out her camera and showed Grant a photo on-screen.

"She doesn't look bad, to be honest," Grant added. "I wonder if Steven does have some sort of feelings toward her, you know?"

"Ooh… Do you have eyes for her already?" Korrina piped, hoping to push Grant's buttons. As a result, Grant blushed before looking the other way.

Viola and Diantha shook their heads, and as Diantha looked outside, her eyes widened. Immediately, she motioned for her fellow Gym Leaders to remain quiet and to look outside.

Cynthia was walking in the restaurant's direction. As she got closer, Grant could see Cynthia's eyes were swollen and red. She looked like she had been through something rough, or had seen something she had regretted. Her movements radiated anger at least, and she was wearing her full chef attire.

She stormed into the foyer, which caused Diantha and the Gym Leaders to quickly vacate their seats and see what was going on. However it looked, Diantha had a bad stomach feeling about the situation. Not that her stomach was that bad, as she had a nice fill of ice cream to satisfy it.


Now that their relationship was in better and closer terms, Laurent and Sophie seemed to work better at the front desk than before. Even customers who waited to be seated could tell there was something… intimate between them.

"No no no! People aren't supposed to know that!" Sophie whined, after the last customers were taken to their seats. Nevertheless, she wrapped her arms around Laurent and almost wanted to sob into his shoulder, but Laurent gently pried her away.

"There's a time and place to cry," he said. "Not now, though. You'll embarrass all of us."

"But they will know!" Sophie complained. She tried to hold back her tears.

She tried to hug Laurent again, and this time Laurent allowed her to do so. In his head, he was embarrassed. If Sophie didn't want people knowing she had a romantic relationship with him, the least she could do was not show it off in public!

"Good morning," a cool, familiar, voice said to them.

Sophie broke away immediately with a flushed face, but the flush left upon seeing Cynthia in front of her. Suddenly, Sophie stood up straight with a surprised face. Equally, Laurent was trying to comprehend why Cynthia was here.

Cynthia's eyes were red.

"I need to see your boss," she said.

The silence was deafening at first, with the two receptionists looking at each other in the eyes. They wondered what to say, and subsequently, Laurent spoke first.

"Is this an urgent matter? He is likely busy," Laurent replied. Unfortunately, the look in Cynthia's eyes suggested that she wasn't going to turn away, so Laurent motioned to Sophie to pick up the phone.

"Monsieur Stone," Sophie quietly said. "Cynthia est ici."

Cynthia kept her head down, with her platinum blonde hair doing its best to hide her emotions. She wasn't surprised that Steven was taking his time to arrive, but by the time he did, she saw Martine had tagged along.

"Oh…? What's going on?" Martine quietly asked, not liking the mood in the air.

Cynthia was only reminded of the hardship she had gone through over the past week or so, and to everyone's surprise, she advanced on Steven. She grabbed his collar with both hands and aggressively brought him close.

"How far will you go…" she angrily whispered, "…to break me?" Her hands shook violently as if she was trying to force an answer out of him.

Steven didn't respond at first, but then whispered in her ear, "Put it this way: your cooking is what's breaking me. I'm only returning the favour."

Taking this as an insult, Cynthia shook Steven again. Her reddened eyes already looked like they were going to burst in tears. She raised her voice. "What? Do you want me to prove how good of a cook I am? Are you not impressed?"

"Is that a challenge? I will gladly accept it." Steven's voice grew tense. At that, Cynthia's breathing became short. He added, "I thought you never wanted to see me again."

They continued staring at each other intensely. They could hear each other breathing and if they didn't know better they would have hit each other in the face. But they were more civilised than that! Nevertheless, Cynthia's silence was drawing attention from everyone.

"Yes. Yes! It's a challenge, okay?!" Cynthia shook Steven again. "You still want that Richissime Star? By the time I'm done with you, you'll know I deserve it more than anyone! Your cooking won't see the light of day!"

Hearing Cynthia speak of the star set Steven's eyes aflame. He reacted by grasping Cynthia's collar and shoved her back, but Cynthia's grasp on his own collar was too tight and she pulled him with her.

"I'll happily show you what I'm made of," Steven said. "We will know who is best."

He leaned in to whisper into Cynthia's ear. "Consider this revenge… for making my restaurant look bad in front of Diantha. You couldn't help yourself to bring in coconut, huh?"

"Maybe if you didn't cut off my food supply, you would have better off. You moved first," Cynthia retaliated.

At that moment, Viola jumped into the scene with her camera in hand, with Diantha not far behind. Along with her mindless shooting and flashing, Viola asked, "Oh! Does this mean you two will have another cook-off? That would be like the third time ever!"

Steven and Cynthia briefly glanced at them in surprise, but their expressions quickly evaporated as they looked at each other again. Viola wasn't there when they cooked off at the beach, and thankfully so. That would have been embarrassing.

"One hopes that you two would cook off at that plaza again," Diantha added. "It's actually entertaining, should I suggest."

But before anyone could say anymore, they were interrupted by an exciting series of clapping from Martine. Her face suggested she had a brilliant idea that could rival Wallace's, and Steven had a really bad feeling about it.

"Hey, hey! If you're going to do that, then why not step things up even further?" Martine's eyes grew even wider, like her idea was actualising before her eyes. "If you're cooking off for the privilege of a Richissime Star, then you should bring it before all of Kalos to see!"

Steven said nothing, but his stomach sank and rose at the same time.

"And by that," Martine clasped her hands together, "I mean bringing your display to the most prestigious culinary centre in the world!"

Diantha's mind synced with Martine's, incidentally, and added, "I could get you there."

Sophie and Laurent nodded together eagerly.

Laurent chuckled. "You mean Lumiose City, oui?"

Steven and Cynthia still had their hands on each other's collars like they would fight to the death. However, the mere mention of Lumiose City was enough to snap their senses into gear. Lumiose City: where the best food in the world is made – and where Hotel Richissime is based. Why, they might even award a star or two if their representatives came.

Cynthia acted first. "Fine! We'll take it there! Scrutinise this however you want!" She let go of Steven's collar again but dragged him to Diantha. "It's a cook-off between you and me! Diantha, you will get us to Lumiose City, okay?!"

"Don't worry, Cynthia," Alexa piped. "I'll make sure that this goes on the front cover of Lumiose Press. Viola will also guarantee it."

"Ooh! I can't wait to see this. Wait 'til Lisia hears of this… before it goes public," Martine giggled.

Diantha was amused at this outburst from Cynthia, whom she usually perceived as cool and collected. Was this cook-off competition really getting into her head? Diantha wondered how much more Cynthia could last.


The following day, news of the cook-off went public, and Steven was not surprised that his morning was disrupted by the doorbell. He would normally expect reporters and the media to blast him with questions and such, so he hastily put on a polo shirt before opening the door. He was ill-prepared to face a media blitz.

Fortunately, or maybe not so, it was Wallace and Winona at the door.

"Whoa! Steven! My friend! You went all the way to challenge Cynthia without even telling me? That's so rude of you!" Wallace acted like he was congratulating, but Steven knew better than to take Wallace lightly. "Oh well, at least Lisia kept me updated, and thanks to your attractive waitress."

Winona cringed at Wallace's words, but kept a grip on herself.

Steven held his breath. He knew Wallace had something up his sleeve.

"Now, I've been in touch with Diantha, and we've made all the arrangements! So don't worry, Steven. You are in very good hands. The venue will be delegated by some judges in Lumiose City, and I've taken the liberty of arranging accommodation. Martine wanted to come, and so did Sophie and Laurent," Wallace stated.

Steven didn't know what to make of Wallace working like this behind his back, although he could hardly blame himself. The cook-off was made public, and there was lots of talk about it already. If Martine, Sophie, and Laurent were seriously going (and from the looks of it, it was happening), Steven would have to get James to manage the business quick.

He started, "Wallace. I'm sure I could have handled it –"

"I've already gotten accommodation for myself and Winona already. No problem!" Wallace interrupted. "Now, this is your time, alright? You will mature when this is over."

"I hardly think –"

"When the time is right, you must confess to her!"

"What?! But I keep telling you I don't have that relationsh–!"

"It's alright to harbour your feelings, for now!"

"I don't have that kind of affection! This competition isn't personal!"

"Not personal for you, perhaps! But deep deep down, you know it's true. Besides! Think of how personal Cynthia is taking it!"

"Are you kidding me?! She's anything but –!"

"The airline has already been arranged, so you need not worry about that!"

"I mean, thanks, but –"

Winona slapped Wallace to break up the pointless conversation.

"ANYWAY," Winona said, "Diantha wants to see you. She said she wants to arrange the judges with you and Cynthia."

"But I thought Wallace already did –? Then why didn't Diantha just call me –?" Steven felt lost, but looking at Wallace, he understood. "OH I see. You just wanted to personally deliver the message, eh?"

"Well… Diantha was making the phone call to Cynthia, so it was fair to divide the work," Wallace replied.

Steven facepalmed. He would have to face Cynthia again, and she was the last person he wanted to see at this time. However he felt about her outside of work, she was his sworn enemy. He could he prepare facing her again?

But instead, he gave in.

"Alright." He removed his palm from his face. "Let's get going."


The meeting was supposed to be informal, but media attention was quick in Kalos. By the time Cynthia arrived at the bottom of the hill where the Cyllage Pokémon Gym was located, she saw a huge crowd of photographers, journalists, and reporters run up to her and press her for answers.

"Mademoiselle Cynthia! How long have you waited before making this move?"

"Who are the judges? Have you decided?"

"Cynthia! Is it a coincidence that you are cooking in light of Steven's relationship with someone?"

"Have you decided a venue?"

"What dishes are you making?"

"What will become of Vue sur la Lune if you do have to go away for a bit?"

"Will you use this as an opportunity to sabotage the Stone Restaurant and Bistro?"

Cynthia kept a cool face, and instead brushed her way past the crowd. "No comment!" Nevertheless, the crowd followed her up the mountainous area towards the gym. However, Cynthia could thank the uphill trend that caused them to run out of breath quickly. By the time she got to the cave entrance, only the photographers were energetic enough to keep moving.

With the help of Grant himself, she slipped into the gym where she could settle for some place of quiet. Grant had his Aurorus and Tyrantrum block off the rest of the public, so life could be a little easier for Cynthia and Steven.

The sound of the cave waterfall felt relieving to Cynthia, and reminded her of the waterfall at the Sinnoh Pokémon League. Although the gym featured a climbing wall, Cynthia was also wearing her everyday high heels. It was better to take the elevator.

She arrived at the gym's battleground to find Steven already there, along with Diantha, Korrina, Grant, and Viola (whom Cynthia suspected had exclusive rights to photograph the event). To her surprise, the foreign Gym Leaders were here too: Cilan and his brothers, Fantina, Winona, and, least of all, Wallace.

"All the arrangements have been made! I personally saw to it!" Wallace said. "Now all that's left is to actually pick our judges, and the venue and time that would work for all of us. Though, I think the venue has to be co-decided with the judges…"


At an arranged meeting table set up on the battleground, Cynthia sat beside Steven.

The opening minutes were somewhat brief. Diantha had described the plans to carry the competition to Lumiose City. Given her personal recommendation and popularity, her contacts were happy to oblige. Still, the fact remained that they had to get the right judges with the right culinary tastes. Hopefully, there could discuss what possible venues could host.

"For that reason, I recommend my personal friend Siebold," Diantha said. "He is a famous chef and has some of the sharpest tastes in Kalos, not to mention he is an excellent critic."

"You're also saying that just because he's an Elite Four," Viola commented. "Heh, I'm only joking. I know Siebold's restaurant has two Richissime Stars already, and he's aiming for a third! I support the decision."

Cynthia supposed Viola got this knowledge from gossip work, and Alexa probably filled in the details. Still, the fact remained that Siebold was a very talented and rested among the best of chefs. With Viola seconding the motion and a unanimous vote, Diantha motioned to Fantina to make the phone call, and the discussion went on to recommending other judges.

Madame Marie Leblanc, the critic who praised Steven's Stone Open ten days earlier, was among the suggestions. However, Steven and Cynthia agreed that Madame Leblanc would be better off as a guest and not a judge, since chefs were preferred, so the motion to have her was defeated.

In the end, the second suggestion was brought by Cilan.

"I would like to recommend myself as the second judge," he said. "I come from a different level of expertise compared to Siebold, and I have lots of experience in the culinary world."

"Seconded!" Chili spontaneously said.

With the motion put forward, the majority agreed to place Cilan as a judge. There were only abstentions from Steven and Cynthia because they mostly questioned Cilan's experience. But since they had another judge at least, who were they to argue? At least there were none voting against.

"Now, as for our third judge…" Diantha started.

"Un moment," Fantina briefly held her phone away. "Chef Siebold has kindly agreed to participate, and he would like to recommend a judge himself. Il recommande son mentor…"

Everyone stared at Fantina. Siebold had a mentor? Naturally, he would, now that they thought of it. But to recommend his mentor might mean things were getting really serious. Knowing Siebold's nature of high-end cooking, the vote would probably pass.

"We can probably discuss the terms of the competition when all the judges come together," Diantha said. "Who is Siebold's mentor, anyway?"

Fantina, in response, repeated the question to her phone and waited for Siebold's response. Her eyes widened.

"Siebold's mentor is André Bordeaux. Now doesn't that sound familiar?" she said. "Siebold even says that with a chef of Bordeaux's reputation, there would be no problems finding a venue. You'll have to arrange this with Chef Bordeaux himself, though."

Still, the name Chef Bordeaux caused a stir in the minds of everyone. He was no celebrity chef, but had the caliber of legendary culinary status. He invented and developed his own recipes, which he passed on to his students. Aside from cooking excellent food, the restaurant where Chef Bordeaux managed had three Richissime Stars and a sterling reputation.

"So we have Chef Bordeaux put forward," Diantha stated. "Seconded by Siebold already, so all that's left is to vote. Those in favour?"

Everyone raised a hand.

"And the vote is unanimous," Diantha continued. "Fantina? Je peux avoir le téléphone?"

"Bien sûr," Fantina said as she handed the phone to Diantha. Sure enough, Diantha discussed with Siebold about the arrangement with Chef Bordeaux. Afterwards Diantha explained that Cynthia and Steven would have to talk with the chef personally, in the presence of at least herself and Siebold. That being said, Diantha added, whoever was interested in joining should book transport to Lumiose City.

Whatever else that had to be settled, including the competition, its outcomes, and attendances, would have to be taken to Lumiose City itself.

"I've already taken care of Steven's accommodation! And Cynthia's! So you needn't worry about them!" Wallace enthusiastically added. "So! It's best you all start planning! I need to get some with Winona too –"

SMACK

"How could you?!" Winona had punched him in the face again. "You take care of their accommodation and not ours?! I'm your girlfriend!"

But in both minds of Steven and Cynthia, alarms were ringing. Wasn't this something they had to deal with personally? It was like Wallace had planned this from the get-go. If nothing else, he was plotting this from the day he came to Kalos!

As if that wasn't enough, Diantha concluded, "And that brings an end to our conference! We'll probably have to meet in Lumiose City with, so keep an eye out for updates! Now, we can let the press in. They'll want to know what's going on."

Cynthia's stomach sunk as Grant gave the all-clear for his Pokémon to let the media in. Not long after, the crowd of reporters and all things media swarmed into gym and eagerly waited for everyone to leave the battleground. Cynthia shuddered; how was she going to leave now?


I'll leave you hanging here. There's ice cream from Cynthia to be served to those leaving a review! What did you think of this dramatic chapter?