Here we are again, this time with an update for A tale of Conquest in the Food Wars. I really hope you are liking it so far, this time around we have made it to the Shokugeki with Ikumi.
For those of you interested, come try out AizenTheGoat's discord server where you will be able to chat with me directly as well as a big selection of other writers and readers of fanfiction. A link can be found right here → /FFGEDgVWfR
On to the story!
Chapter Four
By this point news of the upcoming shokugeki between Naruto Uzumaki and Ikumi Mito had quickly become the most popular conversation piece across Totsuki Academy's campus. Even the faculty was abuzz with chatter about the two first years clashing in a cookoff. All manner of rumors about why they had challenged one another had begun to circulate. The most popular theory was that they were fighting to see who was to be top dog for all their partnerships in class.
It had already become common knowledge that the two gifted chefs in training butted heads in nearly every class, especially so when it entailed something in the kitchen. The cookoff was big enough to garner the school newspaper, even doing a story and interviewing both challengers. The interviews were rather short, neither Naruto or Ikumi seemed all that interested in participating, something they saw as an added distraction. However they had both managed to badmouth the other quite eloquently with Ikumi claiming Naruto was actually just a hack riding on his family's coattails and Naruto making lewd remarks about how Ikumi's only real talents involved handling meat. He added onto it saying he had heard she was skilled with her mouth too.
That had whipped the school into a frenzy, despite Naruto's words being somewhat misconstrued as sexual innuendo when he was just stating facts. By now they had moved the venue for the challenge from the typical smaller auditorium used for less important challenges to the school's arena. A large space with a massive set of audience stands.
For Soma it was all surreal. He knew everyone took this stuff seriously but to see it for himself, the amount of planning and work going into just setting up the venue for the event, it was mind numbing. Still it kind of got his blood pumping and his desire to have his own Shokugeki was growing more and more every passing moment.
On his way down the hallway to meet up with Naruto, Soma could overhear the various students talking about the upcoming match.
"You hear about the Shokugeki today?" One boy asked another.
"Yeah between Nikumi and like Don RS right? I feel bad for Don RS coming under Erina Nakiri's crosshairs like that." Another replied.
"Wait you didn't hear?" Another kid asked.
"Hear what?" They asked.
"There's been a swap. Naruto Uzumaki is standing in for Don RS." He replied.
"What? Oh I was going to skip out too, no way am I missing that." The first boy said.
Soma passed out of earshot before he could hear any more of their conversation.
"You really seem to draw a lot of attention." Soma thought out loud about his new friend.
Eventually he made it to the academy's shipment reception center where Naruto had asked for him to lend a hand and was a bit shocked by what he found. Naruto stood directing a small army of men and women around as they loaded and unloaded boxes. Each one was clearly marked with the Akai Uzu brand.
"Woah what is all this stuff?" Soma asked, catching his friend's attention.
"Oh Soma, you're here a little early, that's great. Come here and check this out." Naruto said as he ushered the other boy over to a small prep table that had the contents of one of the crates spread across it.
"It's…food." Soma said, unsure of what Naruto was wanting to show him. It just looked like normal food.
"Of course it is, but see each of these is a dish that comes from my family restaurant chain. We bring all the ingredients you need for it together, seal it all up in a package for travel and then deliver it to people based on what they want. Then they just have to follow the directions on the inside to remake one of my family's popular dishes. Makes it so people all over the world can enjoy Akai Uzu no matter where they are with just a little bit of preparation time." Naruto excitedly explained.
"That's cool, but what about the shokugeki. Aren't you worried about that?" Soma asked.
"Nope, see this ties into it. These are the usual meal prep boxes that people order but we recently made a new line of them and have been waiting for an opportunity to begin really marketing them. Akai Uzu's new Free Form Meal." Naruto said placing another slightly larger box than the others onto the table.
"Free Form Meal?" He asked the grinning Uzumaki.
"Yep, it's just a little bit more expensive and a little bit bigger than our usual box sets, but check it out." Naruto said as he opened the container revealing a lot more ingredients and a much larger instruction booklet.
"It's a bigger version of the other stuff?" Soma asked.
"Nope, see here. Each FFM box has the ingredients inside that can be mixed together differently or cooked differently to make over twenty different dishes. Each one is explained and given preparation directions in this little booklet. So these Free Form Meal boxes are marketed as chicken dish, beef dish, fish dish…so on and so forth. Pretty cool right? Brining fine dining into the households of people all over the world in a whole new and more expansive way." Naruto explained.
"Huh, that is pretty cool. I imagine it would get more people interested in cooking at home too." Soma said as he flipped through the booklet in his hands.
"You bet. I helped set up this new line of product before we started here at Totsuki. It has me really excited." Naruto grinned.
"I get that, and it's cool and all but really what does this have to do with your Shokugeki this afternoon?" Soma asked.
"Man, it has everything to do with my Shokugeki. Like I was saying, we have been looking for the best opportunity to advertise the new line of products and this is going to be it." Naruto said.
Soma blinked at him before looking at the box and back to him. Naruto continued to smile back at him though his smile began to drop as the boy began to slowly look back and forth between him and the crates.
"But what about the cookoff?" Soma finally asked.
"I guess I am not explaining myself properly. I am going to not only beat Ikumi while she uses the finest cuts of meat for her dish, I'm going to do it with a mail order meal and turn it into a commercial for my family's company." Naruto replied.
Soma stared at him for a long while causing Naruto's frown to become more pronounced.
"Oh my god you are serious." Soma said as his eyes widened.
"Of course I'm serious. Just have faith man." Naruto replied as he began shuffling things around to get it ready.
"Yeah, faith." Soma said as he began helping the other boy prepare things.
"Well, confidence is key or whatever that old saying is. I have to say you at least have that part on lock." Soma said as he picked up a box.
"Thanks…I think." Naruto replied as they started walking toward the arena for the upcoming match.
Meanwhile Ikumi was also doing her own preparation for the upcoming event. She was just as, if not more confident than Naruto was in the shokugeki and she had no doubt that between the quality of her ingredients and skill in handling meat perfectly she had the challenge in the bag. It was kind of exciting to think about the fact she was going to be getting her own name out there at such an early stage in her career.
The public attention from crushing the only son of cooking legends the likes of Minato and Kushina would be a boon in itself. Add on to that the publicity event promised with her victory funded and supported by the family and Akai Uzu. It was the Holy Grail of jumpstarts to a cooking career.
All that being said she definitely had to make sure she looked good doing it. She was plenty aware about what her typical attire did, not only to her opponents but all those watching as well. As her opponent's mother was known to say, the Kitchen was a battleground and Ikumi knew that her body was just another powerful weapon to use. She could already imagine the headlines she could garner…Bombshell Beats Basic Bitch Boy with Best Beef Bowl. Oh yeah, that sounded just the right amount of corny to catch everyone's attention and when coupled with a picture of her in the perfect outfit while presenting her work…she would be in the hearts and minds of every foodie in the pacific region or perhaps even further.
"Now, to just figure out which one though." She hummed as she flipped through the set of bras she set aside for the day.
They were all great, but none of them were perfect. The cowgirl look seemed too much, the leopard print one was too little. Really this shouldn't be that hard.
The tanned blonde girl let out a long sigh before she locked her eyes on the perfect one. A white number with a flame pattern along the bottom of the cups. Oh it was perfect. She smirked as she put it on and got ready to head out and check on her supplies. It was almost time to win her fame.
When they made it to the arena Naruto and Soma were greeted by some of their friends. Megumi was frantic as she panicked over the huge crowd gathered inside and did her best to try and calm down. Konishi looked rattled as well but he was doing his best to put up a strong front. After all, Naruto was risking his own reputation on behalf of Konishi and his Research Society. Soma walked over to try and calm the shuddering girl down while Naruto met up with Konishi.
"What is all this?" The older boy asked Naruto as he set down the box.
"Huh? Oh, those are the ingredients I plan to use for the challenge. They were sent by my family's company." Naruto answered.
"Err, no I meant that." The boy said as he pointed through the doorway and to the swarm of workers setting up additional lights as well as cameras, microphones, and all manner of things typically found in a television studio.
"Oh, well I thought she would be here by now but I will tell you like I told Soma. I plan on turning this whole thing into my show." Naruto said simply as he began unpacking.
"You're show?" Konishi slowly asked.
"He means that this whole thing is going to get recorded and cut together to make an advertisement for his family's products." A woman said as she approached catching their attention.
"Oh, Granny there you are." Naruto said, surprising the others as the woman was older than them but was gorgeous.
"I hate that damn name you brat." She growled as she came to a stop beside them. "The crews will be done setting up everything in the next few minutes. You had better bring your A-game out there. You make the company look bad and I have to suffer the nagging from the board for it."
"Don't be like that." Naruto tried only to get her to shake her head.
"Nope, don't give me that brat. For some reason you, your mother, and your father can do no wrong in the company's eyes. Even when your dad decided to run off to cook in little rainforest villages and your mom runs new employees out of the service industry entirely." The blonde complained.
"It is our company though…so…" Naruto said awkwardly.
"It's a pain in my ass." She said ignoring the fact that the two other teenage boys couldn't help but look at the spoken of feature in appreciation.
"Tsunade, you know how I handle the kitchen. It will be fine." Naruto said bringing them back on track.
"It had better be. Now where is your competitor? I need to meet her and fill her in on this whole thing." She asked.
"Uh, actually that's her coming this way now." Naruto said pointing at the girl as she approached.
"What the hell is all this?" She asked.
"Man, I am so tired of explaining this. Listen, this is the publicity event, I figured I will beat you so bad that I might as well show some mercy and do the publicity event anyway." Naruto said with a shrug as he began pushing his supplies into position.
Ikumi's eyes flashed with outrage before she crossed her arms under her pronounced bust. Pushing them up much to Naruto's approval. He smiled at her despite the scowl she directed at him.
"This does not count, and shove any ideas of pity or benign better than me right up your ass Uzumaki." Ikumi bit out harshly.
"Right, right, sure. It's just that you definitely aren't going to win." Naruto replied, causing her to huff and storm back toward her own preparation station.
"Holy shit. You actually weren't kidding." Tsunade said.
"Kidding about what?" Soma asked.
"That his competitor would pretty much be in her underwear for the challenge. I thought it was a bad joke but she really is just going to cook in that, huh." Tsuande was a bit shocked by the boldness of the teenager.
"Well, yeah. It's perfect for the commercial." Naruto said.
"Yeah, you aren't wrong there." Tsunade agreed. "This will make things even easier on my part when we cut the whole thing together for the advert."
"I'm sorry but what?" Megumi asked.
"Oh, well she is practically naked. We already were going to get mothers and housewives with the commercial because it looks like school kids cooking an expensive meal on the cheap and easily. Now we are going to get men as well." Tsunade explained.
"Wait…" Soma said in surprise as he realized what they meant.
"Sex sells." Naruto commented. "And Ikumi Mito is sexy as hell. This is going to be fun. I can't wait till she stops trying to always push her way around in class. It's going to be a nice change of pace." Naruto said.
"Not to mention if she isn't fighting with you she becomes a lot hotter right?" Tsuande asked with a chuckle before heading off.
"She's not wrong." Naruto shrugged as he finished setting up his station.
"You all should clear off for now. The show is about to begin." He said as he turned to face his friends and the family producer.
"Right. Good Luck man." Soma said with faith in his new friend.
"Yeah, good luck." Konishi said with a bit of worry in his voice. That was fine by Naruto though, he would show the kid to have faith in him soon enough.
"Remember what I said." Tsunade ordered as she trailed after the kids.
"I never intend to do otherwise." Naruto said simply with a smirk on his face before hsi features hardened as he heard the announcer begin.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! The administration has deemed this event an official Shokugeki!" The announcer called, getting a wave of cheers from the audience as she began the show.
"I am Urara Kawashima, First year in the highschool activities division. I'll be your host for this event!" The girl continued winking at the cameras that displayed her face on the screen for the audience to see. The cheering picked up as she did so, especially among the male portion of the crowd.
"Now, the contestants will come in from each corner!" Urara announced before sweeping her hand toward one of the entrances. "The first to enter is the Meat Master Ikumi Mito!"
Ikumi's name flashed over a series of animated flames on the massive screens over the arena as she stepped into the pit and began making her way toward the stage. She threw off the black coat she had covered herself in for her entrance revealing her racy choice of attire much to the approval of the viewers. The crowd roared even louder than before at the sight of her.
"Alright, here comes our next contestant, the Conqueror in the Kitchen, Naruto Uzumaki!" The girl hollered.
Much like with Ikumi, as Naruto's name flashed onto the screen the crowd roared out their support, however where Ikumi had the adoration of the boys, Naruto had a surprisingly large following of fangirls. He strode to his position confidently with an expressionless face as if the crowd wasn't there at all. At least until he reached his position a foot from the camera. Then he sent a small smirk and a wink to the audience that had a wave of screams erupt from the crowd.
Konishi, Soma, and Megumi stood nearby and were stunned by everything. Megumi was nearly crying from the massive crowd all roaring at once, while Soma simply looked stunned by the turnout.
"Are they all like this?" Soma asked.
"No way. I remember my shokugeki against the Stand-up Dining Soba Research Society. There wasn't even a host and the only audience we had were stray dogs that were attracted by the smell of food." Kanichi explained.
"Then what's with this madhouse?" Soma asked.
"Neh, it's the two of them. Ikumi and Naruto are both from big families in the cooking world. Not to mention Naruto has been on television cooking in the past and Ikumi has been in several Shokugeki already. They're pretty much already super stars even though Naruto is a new transfer student like you are." The Don of the Don Research Society explained.
"Crazy…" Soma said as he continued to watch.
"Allow me to run you through how everything here works." Urara said, mostly to the cameras brought by the Akai Uzu crew. She was very intent on showing up on actual TV even if it started in a weird cooking competition ad.
"There will be three judges, The theme is the don, the main ingredient must be meat. If Ikumi wins, then the Donmono Research Society will be shut down, Naruto will provide her with a publicity event using his family's resources and he must publicly state she is a superior chef to him." Urara said getting a series of murmurs from the crowd at the additional conditions regarding Naruto and the publicity event. Still Naruto didn't look bothered in the slightest. Instead he simply smiled back at the cameras without a problem.
"If Naruto wins, the Don RS budget will be increased and their cooking facilities will be upgraded, Ikumi will be required to join the society, and has to…wait is this right?" Urara asked one of the other staff of the event. After a moment of whispered conversation she returned to the center of the stage.
"Evidently if she loses Ikumi must also stop being 'snobby' in class." Urara said. Again that got a confused reaction from the audience as it hardly seemed like a harsh condition.
As Urara began to step away Ikumi grinned across the stage toward Naruto with a cocky expression. "Hey, Uzumaki. When I win this, do you think you could admit I'm a better cook than you while you are down on your knees in front of me?"
"What is this trash talk? You role up here dressed like I can toss a hundred bucks your way and have you master my meat for me and you are gunna trash talk me?" He taunted back, not that he disliked her appearance in the slightest. Her damned shorts were so tight across her ass that she couldn't even button them.
Ikumi flushed red in embarrassment and rage at his insinuation while the audience went silent at his words. Quickly the girl regained her composure as she recalled just who she was. He could talk all he wanted but her father had made sure she wasn't afraid to show off her body and skills equally. She wasn't a normal girl and wasn't going to act like one.
"Moh, are you saying you want me?" She asked, getting surprise from the crowd as the two began to evidently flirt with one another. In an extremely crude manner.
"Well, well. You bounce back fast. I gotta say that's a good feature. Not your best though." Naruto replied.
"Oh? What's my best feature in your opinion?" She asked.
"Easy, your attitude in the kitchen. You have no mercy. That is the shit I like to see." Naruto honestly complimented her, causing her to blink in surprise. She had expected something geared more toward her body but instead he had complimented her mentality. That was…confusing.
"You won't rattle me by trying to flirt you know." She snapped.
"Uh-huh. See, the thing is I'm not flirting right now. Just being honest. I can flirt with you after the show if you like though. Maybe show you some other things you might like." He said as he turned toward his work station.
Ikumi stared at his back for a moment before turning to her own station. Both paused though as murmurs broke out in the crowd again and several people turned to see Erina Nakiri taking a seat in a private booth for her to watch the event. Naruto stared up at her for a moment before shrugging. He still doubted her actual cooking skill but maybe she could learn a thing or two from watching him and Ikumi battle it out.
Unlike Naruto, Ikumi stared up toward the other girl and quailed under the intent stare she got in return. She often did the other girl's dirty work for her. That was what led her here in the first place. If Naruto hadn't of butted into the situation she would have simply crushed Kanichi Konishi and that would have been the end of it. It was best to stay on Erina's good side, and Ikumi's rivalry with Naruto was infringing on her desires. Ikumi knew that the girl was displeased but as long as Ikumi won it would all be fine.
"Let us proceed! Contestants to your stations!" Urara called out, getting Ikumi to move back to her work station as Naruto was already inspecting the supplies he had set out and metnally readying himself for what he was going to do.
"Let the Shokugeki…Begin!" She hollered
A cameraman, wearing a black shirt with the red Akai Uzu logo on the breast stepped up and flashed the boy a thumbs up as he began filming for the ad. Before he could get started though Ikumi caught his and the cameraman's attention with a chuckle.
"Oi, Uzumaki. Take a look at this ingredient. I don't even see any fresh meat at your station but this right here is the ultimate meat!" She declared showing off a massive slab of A5 grade beef.
"Hmm," Naruto hummed before turning to the camera, ignoring Ikumi cutting her perfect section of beef behind him.
"As you can see, my opponent here has brought in the most high grade of beef imaginable. What could I have as a possible comparison to that? Well I'm so very happy to show you. Step over here with me and take a look at this product." Naruto began as he retrieved the sealed package from the cooler.
"So not everyone in the world can afford premium grade A5 wagyu beef for a meal, especially not for a Don, am I right?" Naruto asked as he showed several angles of the box he held.
"But you don't have to. Today, I am going to show all of you how I defeat Ikumi Mito and her premium ingredients with Akai Uzu's newest product. This is the Free Form Meal box. Now it might not be a cut of meat that costs almost three hundred dollars per pound like my competitors choice over there but you can order this at home for a mere price of thirty-five ninety-five. That's less than forty dollars for eight full meals in one box versus a single pound of that premium beef." Naruto said as he began to open the box.
"What's more this doesn't just contain meat, but every single one of the ingredients needed for these dishes. Saving you even more money. Even the price of gas to drive to your local grocery store is removed as these boxes are delivered directly to your front door in carefully sealed packaging to ensure they remain as fresh as the day we over at Akai Uzu selected them with our normal ingredients for our restaurants." Naruto explained as he began pulling the various ingredients out of the container.
"That's not all though. Zoom in to get a good look at this right here." Naruto directed the cameraman who zoomed in on the small booklet in his hands.
"Inside this little guide found in every one of our Free Form Meals, you will find as many as two dozen different dishes with directions on how to make them with what is delivered within your box. Now, lets see here Uzumaki style Donmono." Naruto said as he flipped to the proper page in the booklet.
The audience sat dumbstruck as the Shokugeki was converted into a commercial for Akai Uzu products.
"Is he really selling this stuff to us right now?" One student asked another.
"He doesn't have to, I'm already sold." Another girl answered as she pulled out her phone to begin setting her account with Akai Uzu's mail order meals.
"Our first ingredient is onions, so we need to chop them finely. Look here, this knife comes from our Akai Uzu official knife set. I know what you are wondering…what is the difference between this knife and something I can just pick up at the store myself. Well, first off nothing keeps an edge and cuts as easily as Akai Uzu products." Naruto said as he rapidly chopped onions for his dish.
"Look at this, are you all seeing this. Akai Uzu makes our tasks in the kitchen fast and easy. Now, for today only, for you here in the audience we have a deal, buy one set of our cutlery and get not only our top of the line sharpener but also a month's worth of Akai Uzu blade cleaner. A simple spray that keeps your kitchen tools clean and breaks down the tiny molecules of food in every little crevice of your cookware all without inducing rust." The boy explained as he presented the knife with the Akai Uzu mark imprinted into the metal to the cameraman.
"For limited time only all of this the knife set, knife sharpener, and cleaning solution is a low-low price of $29.95 U.S. That's right! All of this for under 4,000 yen. Don't miss out on owning a little piece of Akai Uzu quality." Naruto announced.
The number of crowd members ordering with their phones quadrupled as students and a couple of staff members fell to the infomercial style presentation. In her private booth Erina Nakiri was less than pleased however.
"He makes a mockery of the shokugeki? Turning it into some cheap paid-programming style trash? I can't wait for Ikumi to put Uzumaki in his place. Can you imagine his arrogance, Hisako?" Erina asked, not noticing the girl carefully sliding her phone back into her pocket.
"Err, not at all. Still are you sure that Ikumi will win? Uzumaki is already well known in the cooking world and as much as ikumi thinks it's because of his parents, he really is a skilled cook." Hisako said somewhat worriedly. It was common knowledge that Erina backed Ikumi.
"Maybe but I know something about Ikumi that few do. Do you want to know the secret?" Erina asked.
"Of course." Hisako answered quickly.
"Besides the skill she uses in cutting the meat is how skilled she treats the meat, but that isn't her greatest ability. It's her sensibility she brings to bear. The lips are the most sensitive part of the human body. That being said when it comes to sensing temperature, her lips have a whole different level of precision. It's like whenever she touches meat her senses come to the forefront even more. Look at how her fingertips caress the meat. Like an artist." Erina said, grinning down at the blonde girl as she worked away.
Ikumi finished cutting the meat before glancing over to catch sight of Naruto working away to prepare his food. Grinning she stalked over to try and trash talk or psych him out only for him to stop and shoot a frigid look her way.
"Remain on your side of the stage Mito, you'll interfere with my commercial otherwise and that means you'll be interfering with Uzumaki business." He commented as he jammed a knife into the table while glaring at her. Then he simply looked away and turned back to the camera with a smile.
"Now, you see how I have just impaled this knife into the prep table. Thick hardwood. Look though, our knife isn't even scratched and cuts just as well as it had before!" Naruto announced as he dove back into his work. "Remember it's a limited time only. Act now and get this whole set for under four thousand yen!"
"Oi, don't brush me off like that." Ikumi began to say.
"Mito, return to your cooking, I have nothing to say to you other than this little battle is already mine, even if your don is worth over five hundred dollars from the ingredients alone, mine is going to be priceless. After all, it's a don everyone can afford and still fills their bellies with a premium grade meal." Naruto said simply as he shook his pan of onions.
Ikumi looked like she was about to say something, but Naruto again cut her off.
"You talk far too much in the kitchen. I say it again and again that my family considers the kitchen a battleground. It's no place for idle chatter. If you want to talk I'll take you out to dinner after all this is finished, but for right now you're my opponent." Naruto simply said while never turning back to face her again.
Ikumi and the audience blinked before a huge portion of the student body took in a gasp of air. Ikumi herself blushed hotly as she realized what had just happened.
"Did you just ask me out?" Ikumi demanded.
"Sure I did, but I'll retract that if you don't take this cookoff seriously and get back to work." He answered.
"Take…it…seriously…" Ikumi mumbled before her blush turned brighter in anger. "You don't get to say that while running this like a commercial!"
"Sure I do, whether filmed or not. Whether selling something or not. This is a Kitchen, and I always take such a place seriously." Naruto replied finally, shooting a look over his shoulder.
Finally Ikumi huffed before turning back to her station. Naruto turned to look at the camera man for a moment before sighing.
"We'll need to cut a lot of that out for the ad. Too much interaction. Let's move onto the next thing though. Cookware." Naruto said before launching into a spiel about trying to sell the cookware he was using, this time instead of Akai Uzu though it was his father's company, the Golden Leaf brand.
As they cooked Ikumi made excuse after excuse to pass by Naruto's station to look into what he was doing. Time and again though she found herself growing increasingly worried as the smell from his dish was almost overpowering and was even making her hungry for his food. She shook off such thoughts though as she focused on her premium Don.
Finally the pair finished just as the timer ran out and they began presenting their food to the judges. First up was Ikumi who set down the dishes in front of each of the judges with care. Before them sat a meal with a meat cut in such a way as to resemble flowers and their petals on top.
"This is an A5 Wagyu roti rice bowl." Ikumi stated as the judges first fawned over the presentation of the food.
Together all three tried a bite before gasping at how delicious it was. The first of the judges even claiming to be getting weak kneed at the burst of flavor.
"This dish really is A5 grade. When she was cooking it, she even took into account the angle of heat into consideration. Even taking the meat's fibers into consideration like that…it's the mark of a master chef!" The second judge happily explained.
"And below the meat petals, thai garlic rice was cooked in butter and beef fat, it's exquisite!" The Third Judge proclaimed.
"Now, let's have Uzumaki's dish." Urara said as he stepped forward to present the bowls of food.
"What do you call these? I mean you have cheaper packaged ingredients so it's not quite up to the bar of Mito's A5…" One of the judges said only for him to take a bite of it and pause.
Not noticing the action Ikumi already began mentally cheering herself on to victory, certain her better ingredients and focus on the meat easily gave her the win. At least until she saw the ravenous way that the judges inhaled their food. In an instant it became clear that they adored Naruto's food and couldn't get enough.
The judges couldn't even say anything as they were too focused on shoveling as much of Naruto's dish into their mouths as they could. Finally they couldn't help but describe how all the elements complimented one another so well it was like they were designed to go together.
"Of course, after all, each of our Free Form Boxes has a selection of multiple ingredients that have been tried and tested until the perfect combinations can be found. After all a meal isn't built from one single ingredient it's made from several all combined together to make something wonderful." Naruto explained, causing Ikumi to look at him and the judges in shock.
"But…why? They didn't finish the rice in my bowl." Ikumi said, shaking slightly.
"Simple, you used too bold of flavors with the rice. It clashed, sure it was good but at its heart a Don is a rice bowl. The meat is just a topping that is there to compliment it." Naruto explained.
"Here, you try some as well." He offered her a bowl.
Slowly Ikumi tried his food. The moment she bit into it a change came over her and she couldn't stop herself as she began shoveling it into her mouth as fast as she could. Memories slammed into her as she recalled her childhood and her father forcing her on a specific path. She couldn't help but feel how stupid that was now.
Ikumi knew she had lost, even as the judges smashed the voting button in favor of Naruto she couldn't lie to herself. Even with her better ingredients and skill with meat she was utterly crushed.
"You saw it here everyone!" Naruto cheerfully announced. "A humble Akai Uzu mail order ingredient box beat A5 Wagyu steak. Easily, I might add."
The audience roared as the results scrolled across the screen and Naruto grinned as he watched nearly every student and staff member present pulling up the Akai Uzu web page on their phones to order his family's products. With a turn he grinned over at Ikumi before slowly approaching her.
"Ikumi…" He said quietly, so that only the two of them could hear.
She turned to glare at him with tears of humiliation in her eyes. "What?"
"Well, I was going to say consider yourself conquered…I mean I did win. I didn't make it a stipulation of my victory, but I really was serious about that dinner. In the meantime let me try some more of your dish, It's pretty good, you really are talented at handling meat." Naruto teased.
"Stop mocking me!" She demanded.
"Oh, no chance of that. Like I said, you've been conquered." He said drawing even closer and making her blush.
"Plus seeing a confident girl like you blush like that, it's even better than the food I'm eating." He said as he finished off a bowl of Ikumi's dish.
Ikumi froze at that while Naruto stepped away and began gathering up his things along with his camera crew. She was still standing there as he and the others began to leave.
"See you in class tomorrow Ikumi." Naruto said as he left, leaving her to stew in her thoughts.
"Yeah…see you tomorrow." She said quietly while staring at the empty bowl in her hands.
And that is that. Hope you liked it. We are finally closing in on some romantic plots here. Even if Naruto has been a little verbally rough with her, there is definite chemistry between him and Ikumi. They aren't done with their challenging of one another though. After all, both are too similar in their aggressive personalities for that.
Till Next Time