"Speaking"
"thinking"
On with the story
Soma and Megumi were being escorted to the high area where one meal there, costs 10,000 yen, and by none other than the Second Seat, Kobayashi Rindo herself
"and here we are! The slopes!" Rindo exclaimed as everything and everyone yelled out high class and fancy
"amazing! It's like we stepped into a different world!" Megumi said in awe
"wow, wonder if Erina's booth is as fancy as the others" Soma said rubbing his chin
"now first stop is Tsukasa's booth!" Rindo said as she started pushing Soma and Megumi towards a fancy looking building
(going to skip some timeline here)
Hisako went out to the lobby as she went to see the restaurant
"it must be Yukihira" Hisako thought as she did make a reservation in the restaurant for him after all
But the one who entered was not the redhead chef
There was a man there, tall, slender, short black hair with an off-color streak in it and was wearing a suit
"Hisako? If it's Soma, you have to tell him that he has to wait for a moment or share a table" Erina came around the corner and was expecting to see her best friend but who she sees brought fear towards her heart
"F-F-father." Erina stuttered out in utter fear as her body was trembling and shaking nonstop
"It's been a while Erina." The man said with a smile
"Umm we…we don't accept those with no reservation." Hisako said in shivers as she was shaking nonstop
The man didn't listen to her as he just walked pass her.
All of Erina's customers halted their eating and looks to the man who had entered in
"Erina…" the man said as he stood in the center of the room "You're cooking is not meant to be served to these sorts of people, you should be more selective of your work, it's tainting you."
In an instant all the crowd stood an outrage against the man
Hisako looks to Erina as she was trembling nonstop
"Erina-sama? Are you alright? Do you feel unwell?" Hisako went to her and sees the terror in Erina's eyes as she wasn't responding
"that man…" Hisako looks to the man as she finally remembered on who he was "Nakiri Azami…Erina-sama's biological Father…"
"Making such rude comments while others are eating." One of the Sendawara twins said "Don't you think that's undignified?"
"It's you two, how goes that business of selling child deceiving flavors?" the man told her
"What did you just say!" the older Sendawara twin snapped in an instant
"Dignity Onee-chan." Her younger twin said to her
"We do plenty of work with this school, insults at us insult this academy too."
"Exactly." Azami said "The current state of this academy is deplorable, that's why I came to restore it to proper position."
"What did you just say!"
"Dear self-proclaimed experts, how many of you even know what a true delicacy is?" Azami said "True gourmet food resembles a painting or piece of artwork, the true worth can only be seen by a true expert. Only a select few should be able to share it's worth, that's the true nature of cuisine, everything else is garbage."
"Thank you for voicing your opinion." Orie smiled "But it has no meaning."
"You have no authority to make changes here!" her sister yelled.
"The blood and the education are certainly here." He said.
"Huh?"
"Now then Erina, show me how much you've polished your skills these last few years."
"but sir! We don't accept customers who has no reservation!" Hisako tried to reason the man but he didn't heed her words
"That table appears free." He said pointing to Erina's special table.
"T-That seat is for…" Erina spoke up but Azami walks past her and took the table for himself
Erina saw her father took the table, the table she had only reserved for Joichiro, Soma's father as her dream of being able to serve his dish for him, crumbled and shattered into pieces
"Erina? I will have the wine menu list first" Azami said crossing his legs
Erina felt her father's hand behind her as they place around her shoulders
"Your father is hungry…" Azami's voice brought cold chills down Erina's spine as she trembled non stop "don't make your father wait too long"
"Erina-sama!" Hisako tried to call out to Erina but she seems to be stuck in some sort of trance
"y-yes…sir…." Erina voiced out but her movement seemed robotic
"Erina-sama…." Hisako looks in shock as Erina was no longer Erina at all, what she was looking was a puppet that was being moved by its master
Kreeeeek
The door to the room was slide open as Hisako looks to see who it was and her face instantly light up
"E~ri~na!" it was Yukihira Soma and he had a Hua Jiao Bing in hand
"sorry for being late! You have a seat opened for me like you promised?" he asked Erina
"So…ma?" Erina looks to him as so did Azami
"man, there as so many fancy restaurants here that it took me a while to find yours!" Soma said with a small laugh
"you're Yukihira Soma" Sendawara Orie looks to the man as she remembered him from the Autum Selection Match
"ooh! It's the Sendawara Twins! Long time no see! Did you two came here to grab a bite of Erina's cooking? Her cooking is great as always right?" Soma said with a cheerful smile as the man didn't read the atmosphere at all
Megumi's head came peeking out from the door as she looks around the room
"wow! There's so many famous people here! And the atmosphere here seems to tense for some reason!" Megumi thought
"are there any empty tables here?" Soma asked looking around before spotting the table, Azami was sitting at "oh! Excuse me! Mind if I join ya?"
"hey! Stop! That's!" Orie tried to stop the redhead but the man was face to face with Azami who seems quite annoyed at the young man
"I don't know why" Soma said before his hair lifts up a bit and his eyes turned dark gold "but for some reason, I don't really like you"
"Erina" Azami called out to her as Erina's body tensed up to his voice "choose your acquaintances with more care"
He then stands up from his seat before leaving the room
Azami went pass Erina who trembled non stop
"Erina? Who was that?" Soma asked Erina while still looking at Azami who was walking to the front door
"that was Nakiri Azami…..Erina-sama's biological father" Hisako answered him before Erina suddenly collapsed
"Erina-sama!" Hisako exclaimed in surprise as Erina was having a panic attack
"Nakiri-san! What's wrong?!" Megumi kneeled down to help Erina but she seems to not be responding as her breathing was ragged
"haaaa! Haaaa! Haaa! Haaa!" Erina takes deep breath before exhaling them out so fast as she was hyperventilating
"Erina-sama! Please calm down!" Hisako tried to stop Erina from hyperventilating but Erina didn't hear her words as images of her father keeps appearing in her mind
"Erina-sama!" Hisako tried to call out to her as Erina was on the verge of losing conscious
All of the sudden, Soma pulled Erina into a hug as Erina stops hyperventilating and instantly clutches her hands on Soma's back shirt
"it's alright…I'm here" Soma whispered to Erina as he hugged her tight while caressing her gently
"don't….don't leave me" Erina voice out, almost begging as she was starting to tear up
Soma caresses her back as he helps her stand up before sitting down by a chair
"watch over her" Soma told Megumi and Hisako as he went out to find Nakiri Azami
"wait!" Erina called out to him as tears were pouring down her eyes
Soma heads out of Erina's restaurant as there were many lights at the front
He stopped in front as Nakiri Azami was face to face with Erina's grandfather; Nakiri Senzaemon who had a rather angered look upon him
"It's been a long time, father" Azami said looking at the older man.
"Leave, you have no right to be here." Senzaemon commanded "I made myself clear that day. And that you would never claim the Nakiri name again"
"I was the one who polished Erina's tongue to what it is now." Azami said "Banishing me won't make that education disappear."
"My greatest regret, is ever having left Erina with you to begin with." Senzaemon glared.
"I made a mistake to." Azami retorted "I allowed Totsuki to become like this."
"Cooking is everything, you can rise as long as you have skill."
"Ludicrous." Azamir countered "If your intention was to create True Gourmet Food then it's foolishness to keep inferior students enrolled."
"We are not the ones who decide that." Senzaemon said "The ones who determine the future are young cooks with talent and power, your objection will never change that!"
"Words form a banished person mean nothing!" the crowd said backing the director up.
Azami reached into his jacket and pulled out a paper with the words "Elite Ten" on it.
"that's…." one of the crowd saw the letter
"The Elite Ten has decision making privileges at this academy, in the past they have made important choices regarding the direction of this school, for example did you know that if more than half vote on something it becomes the law here?" Azami said
"What is he trying to pull!"
"hey, Yukihira" Rindo appeared as she called out to the chef who looks to her "if there are two sides, which one would you pick?"
"what are you implying? Kobayashi Rindo?" Soma asked in a displeased voice
"I already picked my side Yukihira, what about you?" Rindo asked
Senzamon opened the folded paper as it was replacement paper for the Dean
With the vote 6 against 4, the Elite Ten voted for Nakiri Azami to be the new Dean of Totsuki
"This is so exciting!" Rindo said with a smile
"Totsuki's Elite Ten!? Turned against it's own school!?"
Senzaemon looks in shock as he fell to his knees
"Everything will settle out tomorrow." Azami said walking off "Japan's greatest kingdom of gourmet has a new king"
"and that would be me"
In the 92nd generation, in the time of the shining diamonds. A dark cloud appeared as it plunges every diamond into darkness
Totsuki's bright future…has been tainted by the dark clouds
That's a wrap!
Bye bye