SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 40 out, this is Chapter 41 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts? So, please be a dear and read and review. Seriously guys, we need more obscure Sailor Moon crossover fics!
Disclaimers: Shokugeki no Souma and Sailor Moon belong to Tsukuda Yūto-sensei and Takeuchi Naoko-sensei respectively. Me, on the other hand, own absolutely nothing, except the pairings in this fic and plot, I hope.
Pairings: Unofficial!Takumi/Ami, Souma/Megumi later, established!Isami/Makoto
Chapter 41: The Two Queens
"Unbelievable." Urara stammered. "Yukihira Souma has defeated the fourth Seat Saitō Sōmei!"
"You guys..." Souma muttered, the released group had now dogpiled him.
"Damn, Yukihira." Kurokiba growled.
"Yeah, he actually won." Hayama nodded.
"Way to go, Souma." Megumi beamed.
"Tadokoro," Takumi voiced. "We won as a team. Your help was a big part of why Yukihira won, and he's very aware of that, as well."
"What are you trying to act so cool for, Takumi-cchi?" Yoshino chided.
"You were amazing, too, Megumi." Sakaki glomped the younger girl.
"Congrats, nii-chan!" Isami hugged his brother.
"Everyone, please return to your greenrooms and conduct your fourth round meetings." Urara instructed.
"Yukihira Souma," Saitō informed his former opponent. "Tsukasa Eishi is strong."
"Yeah, he is." Souma agreed.
"I wish you luck." Saitō nodded.
In the rebel team's resting room...
"Now choose, Yukihira." Hisako brought out two cups of tea. "A medicinal tea to calm your nerves, or a medicinal tea to elevate your enthusiasm and concentration."
"I'm fine." Souma assured. "They seem butter as hell, anyway."
"No, you might be exhausted." Hisako insisted. "Erina-sama, would you like some warm medicinal tea?" she stammered.
"I heard you won, Aldini..." an utterly worn out Mimasaka addressed the blond.
"He's all pale." Isami blinked.
"Mimasaka, I hate to admit it, but this is all thanks to you." Takumi admitted.
"Nah, if you concentrate on your enemy even harder, you'll be a better stalker in no time. Mimasaka assured. "You haven't maximized your clinginess."
"Who are you calling clingy?" Takumi protested.
"Alright everyone." Ami centered everyone's attention. "Time's running out. Satoshi-nii just informed me that he's intending to appear in the fourth round. I need everyone else's opinions."
"You don't even need to ask." Takumi affirmed. "We're ready."
"I'm ready to take anyone on." Souma replied.
"The next bout is definitely going to be on another level." Hayama pointed out. "There are only three enemies left, and they'll all coming out."
"So we get all three victories, that stomps out all the competition." Kurokiba reminded.
"But our opponents aren't going to make it easy." Hisako added.
"Akanegakubo Momo." Alice stated. "Kobayashi Rindō and Tsukasa Eishi."
"May I have a moment?" Erina spoke up.
In the arena afterwards...
"I'm back, baby!" a fully recharged Rindō beamed.
She could barely stand up yesterday. Takumi gaped.
She's totally full of energy now. Even Souma was shocked.
"Come on, Rindō-senpai is back." Rindō nuzzled Souma. "I got plenty of sleep, so I have even more energy than I did the first day. What do you think of Rindō-senpai? Well, Yukihira?"
"You're definitely excited." Souma muttered.
"Rindō's as energetic as a wild animal." Tsukasa remarked.
"I feel all prickly." Momo squeezed Bucchi's face. "I need to make another cute dish to relieve some stress. I have plenty of energy since So-myan made me some sushi. Let's have whoever we're going up against get gobbled up by my dish, Bucchi."
"May I be that opponent?" Erina inquired.
"Sure, I might be a little more violent than usual." Momo shrugged. "I look forward to our match, Eri-nyan."
"You seem to be in a foul mood." Erina noted. "Allow me to explain why you're feeling such irritation."
"You've changed a little, Eri-nyan." Momo remarked.
At the judges' table...
"Nakiri Erina," Charme started. "Director Azami's daughter and Senzaemon-dono's granddaughter."
"She possesses the God Tongue and is the epitome of gourmand." Histoire added.
"She shares the bloodline of the Devil of Food." Anne nodded. "I look forward to her dish."
On the sidelines...
"I finally get to see Nakiri's Shokugeki with my own eyes." Souma remarked.
"Now, in the fourth bout of the Team Shokugeki, the matches and food themes have been decided." Urara declared. "The first match will be Tsukasa Eishi versus Isshiki Satoshi. Their theme is wild rabbit."
In the arena...
"Isshiki, eh?" Tsukasa noted. "You might actually give me some trouble."
"I look forward to competing with you, Tsukasa-senpai." Isshiki chuckled.
On the sidelines...
"The second match will be Kobayashi Rindō versus Takumi Aldini." Urara continued. "Their theme is spear squid."
In the arena...
"Yo, Aldini." Rindō grinned. "Don't be shaking in your boots now."
"Please." Takumi scoffed. "I'm fired up and and raring to go, senpai."
On the sidelines...
"And for the third march, Akanegakubo Momo versus Nakiri Erina!" Urara announced. "Their theme is brown sugar."
In the arena...
"Brown sugar?" Mito echoed. "That's another ingredient that's perfect for desserts."
"You've got this, Erina-cchi." Yoshino encouraged.
In the arena...
"Now, Bucchi." Momo was all fired up. "Let's make a lovely dish to make this irritation go away. And let's beat Eri-nyan while we're at it."
On the sidelines...
"What the heck is that?" Daigo gaped at the numerous different colored batter Momo had whipped up.
"So many bowls of various colored batter." Shōji gawked.
"Looks like she made colors with strawberries, matcha, cocoa, blueberries, black sesame, and other things." Alice noted. "It's like a color palette."
In the arena...
"Now that I have my yummy paint, let's start our super-fin drawing time." Momo started drawing out cute patterns with her chocolate whipped cream.
On the sidelines...
"She's completing fancy illustrations on after another." Isami was impressed.
"How can she be so fast?" even Hisako was stunned as Momo took out her strawberry whipped cream and continued drawing.
"She finished all of them at one go." Mito gawked. "How experienced is she at drawing those?"
"Looks like she's upped the ante from last time." Ami remarked.
In the arena...
"Then, I'll bake the finished drawings in the oven for three minutes." Momo propped her drawings into the oven. "And then I'll pour in batter with brown sugar in it on top."
At the judges' table...
"It appears she's making roll cakes." Anne noticed.
"Like the popular ones made with illustrations in Japan." Histoire noted.
"Maybe this is going to be a surprisingly simple dish, then." Charme mused. "Especially compared to her last dish."
In the arena...
"I'll make the decorations super cute too." Momo stretched out her striped amezaiku.
At the judges' table...
"That technique is known as sucre tire." Charme noted. "They stretch that candy to an uniform thickness by keeping it at just the right temperature so that it remains malleable."
"Out of all the candy sculpting techniques, it gives the candy the most glossy and glass-like luster." Anne added. "It's extremely difficult to pull off, but she makes it look so easy."
"Even her cooking process is overflowing with cuteness." Histoire gushed.
In the arena...
"Cutely, cutely..." Momo chanted. "We still don't enough, do we, Bucchi? Chef Momo's sweets shop is super busy today."
On the sidelines...
"Is Nakiri going to be okay/" Megumi was worried.
"Let's just sit back and watch her work." Souma assured. "I can explain it, but Nakiri sure seems fired up." he took a sip of the tea Hisako poured out.
"She's being careful with the heat, too." Mito blinked. "
"They look perfect." Yoshino gushed at the rick crackers that was freshly out of the oven.
"She's made some super crunchy brown sugar and black sesame tuiles." Alice beamed.
"She also has two batters." Megumi noted. "One made only with egg whites and the other with yolks."
"Judging from the ingredients, Nakiri is trying to make something sweet, isn't she?" Sakaki mused.
"Even though she's up against the academy's top pâtissier." Hisako praised.
"It appears the first tasting of the fourth bout will be Akanegakubo-senpai's dish." Urara declared.
"It's all done now." Momo informed.
"The hell is that?" Souma gawked.
At the judges' table...
"I can't believe I had the nerve to call it simple." Charme was shocked at the massive castle of roll cakes. "There isn't a hint of modesty anywhere in that thing."
"But no matter how impactful the visual might be, the taste is what counts." Histoire reminded.
"This all comes down to deliberation of the tongue." Anne agreed.
"What in the world is this exquisite texture and sweetness?" Histoire inquired, biting into his cake. "When I push it down with my fork, it bounces back with maximum fluffitude. This springy volume is something else."
But once you bite into it, the texture is so gentle and soft, like mist dancing on your tongue. Anne gushed.
And above all, what is this rich sweetness filling my mouth? Charme wondered.
"Here's your answer." Momo brought out the bottle of soy sauce. "I used heavy cream, light brown sugar, vanilla extract, and a dash of soy sauce to make whipped cream. I then spread that on the cakes after they were baked, rolled them up and chilled them. All in order to make the taste of the brown sugar cuter and sweeter."
"So, it is like adding a bit of saltiness to sweets to enhance the sweetness, similar to salted caramels." Anne realized. "But in her case, she happened to create her own soy sauce whipped cream."
"Brown sugar contains minerals like iron and sodium that you don't normally find in white sugar and it has its unique aroma." Charme added.
"The aroma of the brown sugar and the depth of the soy sauce go perfectly together." Histoire noted.
"If you take a fruit with each bite, you can enjoy the different flavors." Momo stated. "Of course, you can eat this candy, too. If you melt a piece on your tongue before eating the cake, it's especially yummy."
"What a lovely surprise." Anne gushed. "No matter how many bites I take, I'm being led into a world of dreams again."
"She has a perfect sense of smell when it comes to the universe of sweets." Histoire realized. "She has created a perfect castle, both in visuals and in taste."
"Anyone who dares enter his kingdom is attacked with blasts of cuteness and prettiness." Charme exclaimed.
"How in the world is Nakiri Erina going to face off against this fortress?" Urara wondered.
On the sidelines...
"Not only does it look perfect, it tastes perfect, too." Mito gaped.
"How can anyone make something like that?" Sakaki was awed.
"I know because I traced her." Mimasaka explained. "Her obsession with cute things makes her strive for perfection."
At the judges' table...
"I've got lots of roll cakes." Momo addressed the audience. "So does anyone want to eat one?"
On the sidelines...
"Is Erina-cchi going to be okay?" Yoshino was worried.
"Don't worry." Hisako assured. "She has some meringue in the works as we speak."
"Looks like Erina's almost done with her dish, too." Alice noted.
At the judges' table..
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Erina presented her dish. "Please enjoy, Soufflé Léger de Grâce."
On the sidelines...
"A soufflé?" Souma recalled. "I made one of those before."
"It looks so fluffy." Sakaki gushed.
"She's competing against her opponent's roll cake with pancake." Hisako gaped.
"I mean, it's definitely fancy and pretty, but..." Yoshino stammered. "Visually, the impact from the roll cake castle is way too much."
"What's up?" Souma heard Alice's giggle. "Is something funny?"
"Nothing." Alice replied.
At the judges' table..
"Now, let us have a taste of the dish made by the girl with the God Tongue." Anne prepared her fork. The cake is so gleefully fluffy. But as soon as the fork breaks through, my entire body shivers in anticipation of the heavenly texture I'm sure will come. She is very well aware that a dish that can give the tongue the power of imagination is a dish that can conquer one's heart.
"This..." Charme was shocked after the first bite.
"Is no ordinary pancake." Anne realized.
"In between the two pancakes is anko paste." Histoire gasped.
"That is the star of this dish." Erina explained. "I created a paste from azuki beans and sweetened it with brown sugar. I call it my Divine Brown Sugar Bean Paste."
On the sidelines...
"Now I see." Ami realized. "She used a pressure cooker to not only reduce the cooking time and also to ensure the flavor isn't lost."
"So that means this dish..." Sakaki gasped.
"It's two pancakes with anko paste filling the middle." Souma answered. "Which basically means it's a dorayaki."
At the judges' table..
"The azuki beans from Tokachi have improved the already impressive flavor." Histoire gushed.
"The sweetness of the bean paste envelops the brown sugar." Charme added. "It's perfectly clear, but not the least bit overbearing."
"I have to do my job and continue emceeing this event fair and square." the entranced Urara tried to resist the temptation.
"There's no need to hold back." Erina soothed. "You want to see how delicious this dish is yourself, don't you?" she fed Urara a forkful.
"Now, if you would deliberate." Urara requested.
"A moment later." Erina spoke. "There's one person I'd like to have try this dish. And you will try it, won't you, Queen of Cute?"
"I'll admit the cuteness level of that dish is pretty good." Momo declared. "But I'd give it a 95. Why did you bother putting anko paste in it and making it a dorayaki? That'll disrupt the soufflé's delicate fluffy texture and aroma. You should've just mixed the brown sugar into the meringue and made soufflé pancakes. Then, I'll would've given you a 100. I can tell just by looking that points will be docked. You made the same dish as Tadokoro Megumi."
"Are you certain about that?" Erina questioned. "Once you have a taste, you'll know what has put you in such a foul mood since the last match."
"This cuteness..." Momo took a bite. "This deep, complex flavor... the secret ingredient is yogurt?"
"You are correct." Erina replied. "And it's Greek yogurt, an unique type of yogurt that's thickened and concentrated through a straining process. Straining the excess moisture from the yogurt condenses it, giving its flavor a gentle body that's reminiscent of cheese. I mixed that with the meringue for the pancakes."
"And as a result, it brings out the flavor of the anko paste which is the star of the dish." Anne gasped.
On the sidelines...
"It didn't look like she was using any special tools." Sakaki noted.
"I get it." Hisako realized. "She used those coffee filters."
At the judges' table..
"Not only are they easy to use, they're obviously excellent for filtering." Erina confirmed. "They were the perfect choice for straining the yogurt. Because of this strained yogurt acting as my secret ingredient, I am able to finally reach the level of deliciousness that I was seeking."
If she had used ricotta or cream cheese which have stronger flavors, then just as Akanegakubo Momo had said, she would've lost points. Charme admitted.
What a terrifying girl. Even Histoire conceded. Now that I've seen this, I can imagine a better twist for this dish. It's as if she was given divine inspiration to share with us mortals.
"The answer I sought for my dish could only be found by going beyond what is correct." Erina added. "If I hadn't seen Tadokoro's dish that challenged everyone's expectations, I could not have made this dish."
On the sidelines...
"Didn't she call that dish 'Soufflé Léger de Grâce'?" Ami reminded her cousin. " Soufflé Léger' simply means 'light soufflé'. 'Grâce', on the other hand, means 'blessings'; in other words, your name, Megumi."
At the judges' table..
"Akanegakubo," Erina addressed the dessert expert. "I'm sure you've continued to create nothing but perfect dishes with your overwhelming talent up until now. And that's why you couldn't acknowledge the dish with unknown brilliancy that was completely outside the world you had ruled over. Tadokoro's dish that aimed for 120%, even if that meant abandoning 100% under conventional norms. That irritated you greatly. I'm so glad you liked it." she smiled.
"And Nakiri Erina of the rebel forces wins!" Urara declared.
On the sidelines...
"What's the big idea, Nakiri?" Souma chided. 'Glad you liked it' is my line, you copycat. And you even altered it a bit."
"It's not like you inspired me or anything." Erina protested.
"Nakiri." Megumi cut in. "I'm so happy for you. Also... thank you very much." she wailed. "Thank you for using my name."
"Anyway, we don't have much time to celebrate." Erina reminded. "We still have two cards to go."
At the judges' table..
"Attention, everyone." Azami stepped in. "I have an announcement. Regarding this Team Shokugeki, there's going to be a change of judges. As of this moment, I will be the judge."
SailorStar9: Any OOC-nes is regretted. *Grins* Don't you just love plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.