SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 30 out, this is Chapter 31 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 31: The Pioneer of the Wastelands

Later that night...

"It's been bothering me a while." Takumi started, he and Ami were sitting opposite Dojima when Megumi entered the train compartment. "Why is Nakiri Azami so obsessed with Jochiro? Can you tell us why, Chef Dojima? What happened during your time when you were students?"

"True, this is something you should know." Dojima relented. "You should hear this as well, Tadokoro."

"This photo was taken when you were students." Megumi looked at the photo that showed the younger versions of Dojima, Jochiro and Azami.

"The three of you are so young." Ami gawked.

"I still remember it like it happened yesterday." Dojima reminisced. "The shining star of our generation was undeniably Jochiro. By my count, of the 121 times he and I had a Shokugeki, I won 20 times and lost 101 times."

"What?" all three teens gaped.

"Even you, Chef Dojima?" Takumi was stunned.

"You lost that many times?" Megumi blinked.

"Your rank in the Elite Ten is determined not only by Shokugeki outcomes, but also factors such as grades and contributions to the Academy. Jochiro may have been number one in terms of culinary skill, but he was late for class, if he showed up at all. Even after joining the Elite Ten, he ignored all his responsibilities. He was also known as an eccentric."

"Like two peas in a pod, those two." Takumi sighed.

"No kidding." Ami agreed.

"Like father, like son." Megumi piped in.

"Alike, huh?" Dojima chuckled. "Anyway, all of us met him, Saiba Jochiro, the chef with his genius full bloom. Jochiro's path was headed straight into a storm-torn wasteland. But he advanced without fear. With a single step, he'd create a path. With a single swing of his chef's knife, he'd open a new world of flavor. That was our life back then. Honing our skills with a genius whose skills denied description; our days were filled with sheer joy. I didn't exactly like my name, Gin, which means 'silver', back then. People would tease me, saying it was as though I was announcing that I'm always in second place. But after I met Jochiro, I didn't care anymore if I was in second place. I just wanted to walk with him, side-by-side. I'm sure Nakamura Azami felt the same way. But our worlds began to quietly diverge from Jochiro's. After a time, Jochiro began to exhibit a curious habit. He began to make peculiar, disgusting food. Still, he was still going full speed in competitions and Shokugekis: he crushed all of them. The BLUE: it's the ultimate competition in the fine dining world for newcomer chefs who manage to pass the qualifying rounds from around the world. Victory will assure you a bright future and world-class fame." he then recounted how Jochiro had taken on the Sawatsubashi family heir along with his gathered cohorts and defeated every one of them in a joint Shokugeki. "For some reason, I had a very bad feeling about the whole thing. I felt this Shokugeki would cause Jochiro to go somewhere faraway. People had praised him, calling him a true genius, a revolutionary and a pioneer in fine dining. That day, he gained another nickname, 'Shura'. And then, we became third years. I became the first seat and Jochiro was second seat. Azami was the third seat, the fourth seat was Ebisawa Riko from Polar Star, followed by Shiomi Jun who was in junior high at that time. Polar Star was in the midst of a golden age. There were so many dorm applicants that Fumio was at her wits' end. Jochiro was continuing to crush all the external competitions." he then recalled how the entire student body of Polar Star Dormitory went out in full force to locate Jochiro after Dojima found his best friend missing from his room on the morning of BLUE. Eventually, it was Dojima who found him in the middle of the Gatten Hall. "Jochiro was no Shura." he confessed, realizing that Jochiro had already started cracking before he completely broke. "He was just someone with delicate sensibilities, just like the rest of us." it was then when Senzaemon gave Jochiro a period of leave to rediscover himself. "He had a light-hearted smile, as though he'd just stood us up for a meet-up." he recalled when Jochiro stepped out of Polar Star Dormitory for the last time. "That was the last time I saw him as a student."

"I had no idea Jochiro had a past like that." Megumi broke the silence.

"But Chef Dojima, I still don't understand." Takumi voiced. "Why is Nakiri Azami acting the way he is?"

"Jochiro was his idol." Dojima could only make an educated guess. "I think he struggled with Jochiro's breakdown in his own way and is now seeking vengeance for that past. Looking back, I think he may have needed more help than Jochiro."

In the train's kitchen...

"Why does this keep happening with these two?" Ami shook her head exasperatedly when she, Dojima, Takumi and Megumi walked into the kitchen to witness yet another father-son cook-off. "This is the what... 489th time?"

"490th time." Megumi supplied, recalling the cook-off previously in the Polar Star Dormitory.

"Guess Yukihira the Younger just set himself up for the 491st consecutive defeat then." Ami shrugged.

"You don't have to be so nonchalant about that." Takumi deathpanned.

I could tell right away that this boy was one of the people who saved Jochiro from the storm. Dojima looked on fondly as father and son went up against each other. Yukihira Souma, as Jochiro's friend, I am deeply grateful that Souma was born as his son.

SailorStar9: Any OOC-nes is regretted. *Grins* Don't you just love plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.