Chapter 64: Incidental Implication
"Erm..." Tsukasa suddenly spoke mournfully. "We never even came up with how we would judge this cook off. Rindō would kill me for that". Shaking his head of negative thoughts, as well as the mental image of a certain red haired girl screaming exasperatedly at him, the first seat sighed. "I guess we'll just have to taste and compare our own dishes". It was then that he noticed a grin spread across the opposite redhead boy's face.
Bolting from where he stood, and sliding open one of the windows, Sōma proceeded to out the hidden presence's of Erina, Hisako and Megumi. "Hey there ladies, do you want to come and eat our food?" The grin plastered on the redheads face was only matched in size by the shock and embarrassment of the girls.
As they stood up and made their way into the class, the girls were suddenly faced by a pale faced Tsukasa who was covered his face with his hands, "oh my goodness! Were you here the whole time?" The genuine shock mixed was evidence of the first seat's obliviousness to things that he considered extraneous variables. "Why were you ladies hiding from us?" Sōma chuckled playfully booping Megumi on the nose. "You could have come in and watched us anytime... but seeing as you're here would you mind acting as judges?"
"Well, erm... it's kinda like this..." Megumi stammered as she fought off the blush across her face and the embarrassment of being caught spying on one of Sōma's cook offs. "Why are we here again!" She stated looking over at Hisako. Not ten seconds later both of them had turned towards Erina for her to answer the original question.
"Hold on a minute Sōma..." Hisako spoke nervously breaking away from embarrassment to instead, anxiety. "We can't just say yes to something like that?" Frowning slightly as he took in the rose haired girls answer Sōma turned to Megumi and Erina whom looked worried. "Depending on the outcome, you might end up being forced to join Central..." Megumi spoke coolly but with a flicker of wateriness in her eyes.
Pressing his body next to hers, Sōma wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and whispered an apology into her ear. "Megs... I really am sorry that I keep worrying you, but after hearing Tsukasa talk about 'central wanting to obliterate all of Japan's restaurants', the way I see it is I don't have a choice but to face off with him here and now".
Wiping her eyes with the ends of her sleeves, the blue haired girl softly sniffed as she fixed a steely gaze towards the, again oblivious, first seat. "Very well". Spinning around Megumi and Sōma looked at Erina walked past them and over towards an amity work surface. "I shall judge these dishes. Sōma bring me your food to try".
Sōma almost did a double take; surprised by the resonating determination in Erina's voice that for the first time wasn't in anyway disparaging or arrogant. "Of course..." he replied grinningly returning to his station, Megumi following him, to begin plating up. "You're wish is my command, Erina".
Blushing as she heard the friendly challenge in the boys voice, the god tongue met Hisako's beaming gaze which immediately had the affect of significantly increasing both girls heart rates. Talking ahold of each others hands, remembering their awkward kiss on the balcony of Kyokusei dorm, the god tongue and her best friend followed the blue haired girl towards the awaiting judging table.
"Sōma... you really are quite a bizarre person you know that", Tsukasa announced. "You're skills are definitely refined, your culinary knowledge is only going to get better with every time your cook and your passion for cooking is pretty much unrivalled. However, be them as it they are, I believe you still lack the correct sensibility that all proper chefs need to make it in their profession".
Turning away from the redhead boy, to refocus on his own cooking, the first seat didn't see the angry glower on his face. Nor did he see the redhead clench his fists. As both chef opponents each placed three plates of their food down before the three girls, Sōma frowned as he observed Tsukasa pouring himself a glass of red wine from the cupboard which stored cooking wines.
"Would you like a glass?" The first seat asked, holding out the bottle for Sōma to inspect. "Chef Tsukasa... the legal drinking age is 20 in Japan... none of us here are that old".
The first seat simply shrugged as he smiled and sipped at his own full glass. "Oh come on Sōma, live a little, and have drink to mark our unofficial food war", he offered again the glass of wine towards the redhead.
"A full bodied red for a hard headed chef", Tsukasa chuckled. "Anyway... I think we should let the food do the talking". Hearing those words relit the anger felt towards Central's desires, hence Sōma's narrowing of eyes as he accepted the alcohol and took a sip. "Very well then".
As three plates were placed before the girls, and a forth handed to Tsukasa, Sōma's venison dish began its judgment. "Bon appetite", the redhead grinned. Flinching slightly as she instantly felt herself enveloped the rich bitter aroma from the charcoal grilled venison, Megumi sighed as she allowed deliciousness to flow through her body. "Ahhhhh..." as she ate another forkful of venison with the chestnut sauce, the girl remained oblivious to the fact that her sigh had come across to the others in the room as almost coquettish.
"This is... such a plump, melt in the mouth piece of meat!" Hisako cooed looking towards Erina whom was also blushing. "This district sweet flavour of chestnuts paired with the aroma of the charcoal it only further draws out the juiciness of the venison", Tsukasa announced widening his eyes in surprise. "This flavour wouldn't have been possible with normal chestnuts but only from candied chestnuts!"
From where he stood, with arms crossed in front of him, Sōma grinned as he watched the sheer adoration of flavour on the girls faces. "You used diced chestnuts in the sauce didn't you? As well as the whole roasted ones as garnishing the plate", Megumi smiled at her boyfriend.
"You are so right Megs!" Sōma replied taking her hand and pressing a kiss to it. "Before I simmered the sauce down I added orange zest, cinnamon and diced chestnuts to the venison stock. I call it Yukihira Style Chestnut Sauce!"
"Huh..."
All eyes swung towards Eishi Tsukasa as he stared dumbfounded by the food he was eating. "What a real surprise but I'm missing something. The taste of charcoal shouldn't lend itself to French cuisine as well as this? But here with this, the charcoal works perfectly". Noticing a slight smirk coming from the hid tongue, the first seat directed his gaze towards her as he enquired about her current visage.
"He added coffee".
Blinking away his shock at hearing about the usage of such a strong ingredient, Tsukasa turned back towards his chef opponent. "Ha! I guess I can't hide anything from the god tongue", the redhead chuckled resulting in Erina faux-glowering at him. "I leaned this from Chef Kojirō. Apparently cacao pairs really well with wild game but as I don't have any experience working with cacao, I decided to use instant coffee instead".
"The bitterness pairs really well with the venison, and the deep rich flavours make sense for a French style sauce. Hence it is my secret ingredient for my original take on French cooking. Chargrilled Thigh of Venison in Chestnut sauce" he announced grinning.
Hisako eagerly gulped down forkful after forkful of food, dazed by the onslaught of deliciousness but then before she could comment she felt a soft weight rest upon her shoulder. Glancing to her left the rose, her face immediately bloomed into a mess of fervent redness. "Miss Erina..." she stammered, yet it was then that arms wrapped themselves around her and Erina nuzzled into her.
"Well it's about time you two got together". Hisako and Erina glared at the redhead boy, not out of annoyance rather it was their conjoined sense of irony that Sōma was the one saying that to them despite him being oblivious, for nearly four months prior, to Megumi's feelings for him. "Shut up!" They both yelled back blushing furiously. "We don't want to hear that from you".
"If you're quite done..." Tsukasa interrupted tersely. "Sōma and I require judges".
'Oh I'm so sorry', Hisako desperately wanted to retort but she stilled her tongue after seeing an infinitesimal flinch from her partner. Placing a small kiss to the god tongues forehead, she smiled attempting to calm her girlfriend's mind. "Very well. Tsukasa bring us your food" Erina spoke plainly as she and Hisako broke apart.
Not even five minutes later, Tsukasa presented his venison dish to the girls as well as an extra plate for Sōma. "I hope it's to your liking, I call it Two Expressions of Roast Venison. Please dig in".
Staring down in shock at the plate of food before him, Sōma could immediately tell that this plate emanated Verdancy, it reminded him of Kensuke's Hari-Hari Nabe; only this time the power of the aroma was far and above Ken's. "Harmony... compete and utter harmony".
Turning his head slightly he saw both Hisako and Megumi practically wilt where they stood overcame by Tsukasa's plate of food. "The amount of care he used to create venison that can be cut as if it were butter is phenomenal..." the rose haired girl oohed forgetting her earlier annoyance. "But what's more spectacular are these two beautiful sauces..."
"What the heck is going on! How do these sauces taste so incredible" Sōma mused as he chewed on a morsel of venison lathered in the first sauce. "The first is a sauce poivrade. It's made from the meat stock and green pepper corns which create a rough taste, and the other is a fresh wild berry sauce".
Nodding his head as he listened Sōma took a notebook from his shirt pocket and began noting down what the first seat had just said, ignoring the scowl that graced his opponents face. Yet, he snapped his head back up when he heard Megumi abruptly and directly ask something that he wanted to answers to as well. "Why exactly is my brother supporting Central? Kensuke would never support the abolition of small restaurants!"
Another scowl formed across Taukasa's face. "Central has done nothing to Ken..."
"Don't call him Ken!" Megumi interrupted narrowing her eyes. "That's a nickname that only me and our family call him! I thought you and chef Rindō were his friends but I'm beginning to think that the Azami administration is using him!" Abruptly facing the blue haired girl the first seat narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, tired of constantly being perceived to be manipulating the third seat.
"You don't know a damn thing about the hellish suffering that Tōtsuki has made us three go through to get us to where we are now!" He yelled slamming his fists down upon the work surface, startling Sōma and the girls. "Me, Rindō and Ken are friends! We are doing this Revolution so that the cruel, meaningless and demeaning tasks that master Senzaemon asked of previous years to partake in to become chefs, never occurs to anyone else".
"Maybe so..." Megumi ruefully retorted "but I really hoped that by meeting Sōma, Ken would find a reason to move forwards. But now that Central has twisted him to their side..." The girl was cut off by a slap across her face delivered by Tsukasa who was seething with rage. "You dare..." he began only for Sōma to burst forwards and slam a fist into ten first seat's face. Knocking him backwards and to the ground.
"Don't you dare lay another finger on Megumi!" The redhead growled, his eyes flashing madly. "I know that without a shadow of a doubt she loves and cares about her brother probably more than you and Rindō do combined! And whilst I can see that you three do have some sort of bond within Tōtsuki, I too feel as if it's all a show". Placing himself in between Tsukasa and Megumi whilst letting his anger subside the boy chef turned his back on his opponent and pulled his girlfriend into an embrace.
"Apologise!"
Erina's firm curt voice cut through the stillness of the room, belying her own anger. "Tsukasa!" Suddenly realising what he'd just done as well as understanding that there was no way in hell that Sōma would join him, the first seat dropped to his knees and bowed his head; the prostrating himself and profusely apologising for striking Megumi.
"I'm sorry..." he stated mournfully. "I shouldn't have lost my temper. It just that whenever people look at us... me Kensuke and Rindō - all they see are our ranks. They never see us for whom we are... all they want from us is our skills, knowledge and patronage". Still with his head on the floor, Tsukasa continued to explain his, Kensuke and Rindō's problems with the old Tōtsuki ways.
"We really are friends..." he murmured, tears slipping down his face, "it's just that Tōtsuki doesn't take into account peoples emotional well-being as they progress through culinary school. The other members of the Ten are all in agreement with the director's plan but Azami made us three accept his plans before he even pledged to see that our own wishes were met as well".
"And what were your wishes? " Erina asked, preempting Sōma's question with a scowl. "And what did my father ask of you?" Finally looking up, the first seat spoke directly to Megumi and Erina. "All we want is to remain together... but Director Azami said that for us to survive the overhaul of the culinary world we'd have to prove ourselves by 'decimating' the restaurants that we love the most".