The Sixth Plate Chapter 6 – Past defeats mean new challenges
Horizon's second day had begun. Today the round of 32 would commence. All of the Totsuki students and alumni had made it this far but not all of them will get to advance this time.
Erina and Ikumi's match was just about to begin. The arena was nearly completely full with spectators and the judges entered before taking their seats. Anne then stepped onto the floor with a microphone in hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to this huge match in the first ever Horizon event. I wish the two of you the best of luck and for this match the theme will be... lamb!".
The audience began discussing the theme that had been selected.
"You have sixty minutes to complete your dish. Begin!".
As Erina and Ikumi decide on what their dish will be we cut to scenes from the other matches taking place. Soma, Hisako, Takumi and everyone else were in the midst of creating their dishes. The scene then shifts to the final match. Tsukasa vs Kuga.
"The theme is beef!", Lanterby shouted over the microphone.
Kuga and Eishi stared each other down determinedly before turning away and beginning. Kuga began setting out the ingredients in front of him that he would need. He then turned his head and looked across at Eishi. "Tsukassan, all the time we were at Totsuki you were always better than me. That first defeat was the hardest loss I've ever had to take. Even so I kept going and going in the hope I'd get to face you again, and that chance finally came at the team shokugeki, but again you squashed me like a bug. I know we've both grown since then and I know you'll hit me with everything you have so I'm not holding back either. You're about to get the best of Terunori Kuga!".
Both men moved with absolute precision and confidence. So far, they appeared to be on the same level and neither was giving an inch.
The scene then returns to the match between Ikumi and Erina. Like Kuga and Eishi they too were elegantly preparing their dishes. The preparations lasted a few minutes longer before time time was up.
Anne once again stepped onto the floor with microphone in hand. "Time is up, you may now present your dishes to the judges". The first to step forward was Ikumi. She placed a dish out in front of the three judges, each one with a cloche cover on it. She then removed the cloche on each to reveal her dish. The aroma soon began to fill the air. The judges began to delight in the delicious scent of the meal prepared for them and then started to analyze the dish itself.
One of the judges then began to speak "This looks like mutton BBQ in Yakiniku style, which means...".
"Yes" interrupted Ikumi. "This is Jingisukan lamb don".
The three judges began stuffing themselves with the dish. One of the other judges then managed to take a minute to analyze it further. "While the meat is strongly seasoned the vegetables are less powerful and allows for a great balance".
"When cooking the meat, I did it in a marinade which allowed for it to be slightly stronger in seasoning than the vegetables and also increased its tenderness. The rice also adds greatly to the dish and really balances out the seasoned meat and vegetables".
The judges quickly finished the Jingisukan lamb don before the middle judge composed herself and gave her say. "This truly is a delightful dish, and the way you handled the lamb is truly befitting of the title of 'Meat General',".
We cut to an image of Ikumi standing in front of a tank that has just fired three big pieces of lamb at the judges who are now high in the sky with the meat crashing against them.
Erina the made her way towards the judges.
She too placed a dish in front of each judge and removed the cloche cover. "I give to you, spiced grilled lamb skewers. Please enjoy".
The judges surveyed Erina's dish. "They seem well prepared but the question is how do they taste?". The three judges each took a bite of the lamb skewers and chewed for a moment before their eyes grew wide.
The judges were now surrounded by a red background and were completely naked except for small chunks off lamb that were covering them. They continued eating the skewers one after another at an alarming pace. Ikumi and everyone else in the venue couldn't believe how quickly they were eating them.
"The meat is so fantastically tender and the way they have been grilled adds an amazing flavor".
"I cooked the skewers on a barbeque with oiled racks which allowed for them to be cooked to their best and I made sure to turn them often so as to not overdo it on one side" replied Erina.
"When you take that first bite a flow of juice from the meat explodes out and makes you want more!".
Erina then put her hand out and pointed towards a small bowl placed beside the dish. "I'd like you to try the sauce beside you with the meat. It should add another flavor to it".
The three judges all dip the meat into the sauce and taste it. Suddenly the same scene from earlier occurs but this time with a green background. "This is an Indian chutney!".
"Yes, it is an Indian chutney with coriander, mint and pistachios. This allows for you to experience two different flavors. First the one you tasted previously and now the tangy flavor with this".
"Both have quite different tastes but provide their own unique and amazing tastes. It's like two utopias both created by the same god but both manage to be different in their own ways".
By this point the three judges had fallen to the ground in delight and their plates had been completely cleared.
"The winner of this match is Nakiri Erina!".
Erina unties the bands in her braided ponytails. "Osomatsusama".
Ikumi begins to move toward her opponent before stopping and smiling at her. "Congratulations Erina-sama. It seems I still have a way to go to reach your level".
Erina smiled at Ikumi. "If you keep fighting for what you want and never give up on it you can achieve anything. It took me a long time to realize that but someone managed to teach me it and I now know that what they said is true and I carry that belief with me everywhere". The two shake each other's hands as the scene returns to the match between Kuga and Eishi.
"Time is up! Both contestants present your dishes to the judges!".
Eishi presented his dish to the judges first. "I give you Crab apple and chilli glazed beef sirloin. Please enjoy".
The three judges each grab a fork and knife and take a bite of the sirloin. The second they do the scene changes to one where each of the judges is on the plate lying on the sirloin in absolute joy.
"The meat is cooked to complete perfection".
"The glaze adds a new and unique flavor that explodes when it enters your mouth".
The blonde-haired judge then looked to the side of his tray that the plate was on and noticed a small bowl. "What is this crème?".
"That is watercress crème. Feel free to try it with the meat".
The three judges then try the crème with the meat. After eating the meat, the scene then changes. The judges are now covered in the watercress crème with a pure white background.
The judges sat in their chairs completely out of breath.
"Now, now. You don't want to wear yourselves out before you try my dish, do you?".
Kuga stepped forward with three plates and a confident smile and placed one in front of each judge. "Enjoy".
The judges begin to taste the dish.
"This dish incorporates chilli as well".
"Yes, yes this is crispy chilli beef brought to you by the one and only Terunori Kuga".
"I'm trying to contain myself but this dish is amazing". Once more the scene cuts. The judges are now being wrapped up by the noodles in the dish and they can't stop eating the crispy chilli beef.
"This dish is incredible and was created with so much fantastic skill. But I can't stop thinking about Tsukasa-san's dish".
"I agree. It is amazingly made but it just can't reach the previous dish's unbelievable quality".
The three judges then place their votes.
"Eishi-san".
The second judge hesitates. She takes a further moment to think and then comes to a conclusion.
"Kuga-san".
The crowd gasps as Lanterby raises the microphone. "That means the score is now tied. This vote will decide who wins the match!".
The final judge now starts to hesitate almost as if what his fellow judge had just done made him think about his decision and question if he had missed something. After a few short moments the judge decided on his outcome.
"...Eishi-san".
Lanterby raises the microphone one last time. "That means the winner is Tsukasa Eishi-kun!".
The crowd applauds the result and the match.
Kuga raises his head and looks to the sky. "Still not there huh?". He looks down again and sees Eishi standing in front of him. Eishi puts his hand out to Kuga and smiles. "Thank you for the great match Kuga".
Kuga exhales and shakes his hand. "I promised I'd give you my all Tsukassan and that was it. But I promise you that is only my best for now. Next time I'll be improved".
"Then I promise I'll keep improving too".
"Kuga-senpai! Tsukasa-senpai!". The two looked over to see Soma shouting beside everyone else. They made their way over to the group. "Man, Kuga-senpai you and Tsukasa-senpai have only gotten better".
"How long have you all been here?", Eishi asked.
"We just managed to get in for the end of the match. You guys really went at it".
"How did all of you do?".
"We all managed to get through. But we saw the result of Erina and Ikumi and Ikumi's gone too".
"Well, Nakiri-cchi is going to be really hard to beat" Kuga replied.
"Yeah, and you've gotten even better Kuga-senpai but Tsukasa-senpai still managed to beat you".
"Hey, don't kick me when I'm down!".
The whole group laughs as Kuga starts shouting at Soma. We then cut to a VIP room where Mana and Senzaemon were watching the match.
"It seems that this competition is going to be quite interesting" Senzaemon said to his daughter.
"Mana looked down at the arena and then to the screen which had Erina vs Ikumi on it. "Yes father, it seems it will be".
Hey, everyone. Sorry it took me a while to get this chapter out but I hope you enjoyed it. This is my first time writing one of these matches so hopefully it isn't terrible. Let me know if you have any thoughts and I'll see you all next time.