Rating: It's probably M rated, but we lie and say its T+ to get more views. What? Too sincere?

Pairings: It seems my cousins' love lives are very interesting to you all. Not just Erina with Soma, but it seems even Asahi's relationship with that bombshell of a soap bar has a few fans too. No, I'm not jealous or anything ~ as if.

Genre: A Romance that's about to get very, very intense in the upcoming chapters. You'll love it!

Notes:

How do you do? My name is Alice Nakiri.

Just recently I got eliminated from the Intercontinental Shokugeki my devious Uncle Azami orchestrated to take down my family. I do hope we get along. Because I was feeling a bit… down, I asked (not ordered) to be allowed to address you all myself. I mean, if Loren could do it, heaven forbid I cannot. Now then, we of the Elite Ten plus One Douche are currently facing quite the predicament. My cousin Erina is up next, and she's in a very delicate state, so I do hope you all wish her the best. I know you've all been supporting her through social media, especially behind the "Protect Erina" hashtag, and I am ever so grateful. She means the world to me. As does this school. So, let's wish her luck… Or if not, you wouldn't happen to know where one such as I could find some housing, perhaps…?

Oh! And please be a dear and make sure you follow the author on Twitter. Same name as in here: Zancrowe ~ You'll do so for me, won't ya?

Disclaimer: Funny enough, I do partially own the trademark for the Shokugeki part of our title. Don't own the Soma part, that's all Erina's. ;)


Asahi proceeded to hang up on the call, despite it being vividly clear that whoever was on the other end was still talking to him about something or the other. His expression made it obvious it was no longer a priority, and despite his best efforts, it did make Jouichirou tense up. He had heard a lot of the rumors surrounding his former pupil. From his exploits, his dealings, his conquests and all the chefs that had been left trembling in his wake. How dangerous a chef the lone boy from that orphanage had become, and how many were quick to compare him to the "Asura" himself from days of old. The boy, now a young man, who currently held his late wife's trademark knife tucked away in his belt, likely another victory trophy from his own son, who of course, had not listened to his old man's warnings. Because of course Soma never did. But, then again, whose example was Soma following anyways?

"Been a while kiddo," Jouichirou tried again, offering Asahi a small smile.

"…A while you say?" Asahi finally spoke up, and Jouichirou was quick to pick up on the venom in his tone masquerading as sarcasm. "My, things must have certainly gotten dicey for Tootsuki for you to finally grace them with your presence."

"Alright," Jouichirou noted with a nod, "That's a fair assessment. It is true I'm not the most… reachable of individuals," he added, which caused Asahi to let out a rather loud scoff at the notion. Jouichirou pushed through regardless, "…And yes, things have gotten a bit too frantic around here. I little more intense than what a friendly competition should bring. You holding up alright?"

"Wow," Asahi let out, laughing a little to himself. "Really? All these years and this is the best you can muster?"

"Asahi, I get, okay," Jouichirou responded, hands on his pockets and resting his frame on the nearest wall. "I should have kept in touch. Should have offered more assistance. You were young, and I was not emotionally mature enough to realize how much I had hurt you-"

"Hurt me?" Asahi quickly cut in, and the smile the young man had was outright the absolute most intense Jouichirou had ever felt aimed his way. "What makes you say that? I'm not your kid. I didn't come out of your balls. That little piece of responsibility falls on good old Azami himself, and to his credit, which feels dirty to even say, but he didn't know about me. He hasn't exactly done much now that he does, but that's another story."

"You know what I mean," Jouichirou explained, keeping his tone as low and calm as he could. "I should have done so much more for you."

"I'm quite used to my parental figures wanting nothing to do with me," Asahi replied, and it would be a lie to say it didn't make Jouichirou flinch. It hurt, both to hear and to know that there was quite some truth to that. After all, back at the orphanage, he had heard about what Asahi had been through. What that monster masquerading as a mother had done to him. "Hey, none of that," Asahi quickly cut in, waving his hand over the older man's face, bringing his attention back to the Noir. "If anything I should thank you, shouldn't I? Back then, you told me the secret of being a great chef was to find someone who'd make you wish to give all the food you cook to them. But… there's an even greater motivator, isn't there? And you taught me of it firsthand. The fear of abandonment, the anger of abuse, and the desire to crush the very world that turned a blind eye to all your cries. That's one hell of a motivator, and unlike love, it cannot be taken away by an illness, now can it?"

"…I'm not here to argue with you, Asahi," Jouichirou said after a pause, taking a deep breath. "…I know what you are trying to do. I'm not going to get mad at you. You have every right to be angry with me. Disappointed at what I did, or didn't do. Just know, Tamako… she would have handled things differently. Had she known, I'm sure she would never have allowed me to leave you behind, grief be damned."

"…I don't doubt that," Asahi replied, and for once, his voice sounded genuine, which caused the elder man to give pause. Asahi continued, "As I'm sure you've been told, I've had the… pleasure of meeting your actual son. I'd like to say we've gotten along swimmingly, but that would be a bit untrue."

"Seems you two ended up in a Shokugeki of some sort," Jouichirou noted, his eyes on the handle of the familiar knife that had beaten him so many times in the past. At this the elder man smiled a bit. "And here I thought you weren't supposed to have a match with any of the Elite Ten until the final round."

"It wasn't a Shokugeki," Asahi clarified, "And shut up, it didn't happen. No one needs to know," he explained. "But what I'm trying to say is that I've gotten to know Soma, more or less, and despite our differences, we've gotten along well enough."

"I find that surprising," Jouichirou noted. "Not sure how Soma would ever agree to part with his mother's memento like that."

"I was surprised too, but then again, love makes you do crazy things," Asahi replied. "And hey, I said we got along well enough, not that we're best friends or anything. We certainly get along better than Erina does with Dove, trust me."

"Little Erina has really been through-"

"Don't do that," Asahi quickly cut in, his tone sharp as ever. When Jouichirou gave him a confused look, Asahi added, "Don't try and pretend you actually care what happens to the princess. The look of a concerned parent does not suit your face Jouichirou."

"Asahi," Jouichirou voiced, his voice also getting a little more serious in tone. "Believe it or not, I want to help you kids. This… This whole mess, it won't end how you are picturing it. There's too much at stake here."

"Isn't that the Tootsuki way?" Asahi said, and he was all smiles again. "And like I told you, unlike whatever ill intentions you believe I have, I actually like Soma. He's dependable, really puts family and friends first, and dedicates himself to his goals and ideals even when he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell at succeeding. Sure, kid's about as dumb as a sack of bricks, but he's got heart…"

"I'm sure you two could be genuine friends," Jouichirou added, wondering if his tone sounded as close to pleading as he himself heard it. To reach Asahi, that's all he needed. "You don't need to do all this-"

"Don't get me wrong Jouichirou," Asahi cut in yet again. And this time, he gave the older man a look so sharp that it was clear the little kid from that orphanage was no longer the one looking at him at all. "I like the guy, but I will crush him and anyone else that stands in my way. Because that's the lesson you taught me. Myself before anyone else, no matter who I hurt."

"That's not…" Jouichirou tried, "That was never my intention with any of this."

"And yet, here we are," Asahi said, and then he just laughed. Such a mockery of a laugh. "…But, going back to what I said, Soma clearly has family values in him, which is why, despite what you may think, I do hold Tamako Yukihira in high regard," Asahi explained, and his next words made the older man outright flinch. "Because it is clear as hell Soma didn't learn those values from you."

Jouichirou remained silent for a moment, as Asahi just stared him down. Both men looked at each other, the younger with his hands on his pockets, looked pissed and hurt and everything in-between, and the older just lost on what he could even do or say at this point. Then, before either could speak, they heard the crowd begin to cheer again, signaling the start of the next, and probably, final match of the round.

"Seems the match-ups continue," Asahi noted, with a little click of his tongue. "Pity, guess that means my cousin lost. Well, better now than against us Noirs. I wouldn't want to see her get absolutely destroyed by Dove, Julius, or heaven forbid, Ashitaro. And I don't think I have the heart to actually go all out on her."

"Stop this, kid, it's not too late," Jouichirou said, and Asahi just smiled, before he began to walk, right up to Jouichirou, passing right by him. The elder man sighed, turning around. "…Asahi."

"Don't worry, it's not good for a man your age to be this concerned about things beyond his reach. I'll listen to whatever you want to say soon enough," Asahi told him, as he gave pause, turning his head to look at his former father figure. "You and me, one last match before Tootsuki crumbles. Sound fun? Of course it does. It's the only thing that ever truly mattered to you. The only language you ever understood. I'll crush you once and for all, and after that, don't you dare get in my way ever again, or it won't be pretty," the younger man warned, and with the brightest of smiles, he just walked away.

Jouichirou remained, watching him return to his seating, and his mind was a jumbled mess of what had just happened and what would happen. How, he asked himself, how was he supposed to stop this young man from either destroying himself, or destroying the lives of so many good kids? Soma, Erina, Alice, and every single person who had ever worn the Tootsuki uniform.

'Tamako, I'm… really not enough of a father to even know how to fix this,' he thought, bracing himself for what he knew would be a clash of forces equivalent of trying to swim up a raging waterfall. 'But I failed him before… I can't fail him again. I have to try. If he believes only in the kitchen I am sincere, then fine, I'll try my best to at least match those expectations… But I really need some guidance here, sweetie, because for once, I'm genuinely afraid of what will happen if I can't get him to at least hear me out…'

And with his thoughts lost to the sandstorm he had falsely believed he had long ago conquered, Jouichirou slowly went back to his viewing area, just in time to witness another worrying sight, as the contestants for the next match were quite possibly the most worrisome of all.

-0-

Erina looked up at the screen, and she felt her world outright shatter.

She was up. Her name was showing on that screen, for the world to see, and she couldn't feel worse. She tried to rationalize it, make sense of what she could try and do to save face. Like she did against Ekaterina… only, that didn't work. She had failed, badly, even with Berta's massive help. Had Akira and Soma not gone above and beyond their limits to deliver outstanding showings, they would have lost then and there. And now, there really wasn't any more room for her failures. Only four Elite Ten students remained, and if she lost, which she would, that would leave only two. Even if Isshiki and Eizan won the next round, it would be just them against the four Neo-Noirs. Eizan had already made it clear he was staying away from any clash with the Noirs, and for as amazing as Isshiki was, there was already a lot of pressure on him to eliminate a single Noir, much less all four of them. This… This couldn't be happening…

Her breathing got rougher, and she realized that no matter how much she tried to breathe in, she felt as if she wasn't getting any air inside her. Her vision blurred, and she felt lightheaded. Only sound she could make out was her own heartbeat crashing against her ribcage, as all other noises, from Urara's commentary, to the many cheers from the well-meaning yet mistaken classmates of hers, seemed to blend into the background and become a jumbled mess. Her body grew cold, and the nausea hit her all at once, so strongly that she barely had any time to even react before…

"Erina."

Her body somehow responded to his voice, freezing in place but managing to keep itself from breaking apart. She lowered her eyes, finally looking away from the screen, as she could now see Soma standing right next to her. She had not even noticed his hand holding onto hers, tightly. He seemed on the verge of asking if she was alright, but he stopped himself, likely because the answer was quite clear.

"S-Soma…" she voiced as best she could. She didn't even recognize the broken creature that had spoken on her behalf.

But the boy didn't say anything about that. To her surprise, he slowly, softly, took hold of her head, cupping her face with his hands, and moving her slowly to face him properly. She wondered if he could see just how lost her eyes were. Just as she could see them reflected them on his. He, regardless, held onto her tightly, and when he spoke, it was the softest tone she had ever heard the boy speak.

"Focus on me," Soma told her, and she was dumbfounded. What? "Ignore everyone else, everything else. Focus on my voice. Focus on my eyes. Focus on my touch. Are you here with me?"

She bit her lower lip in an effort not to cry. She nodded, slowly realizing what this was. She was having a panic attack, and she had not even realized it. But, he did? Since when would Soma even know what symptoms to look for? Before she could even contemplate that, or try to, Soma's voice brushed against her ears once more.

"Just breathe," he told her, and she did as he said without question. "Try and keep calm. It's just a match, just one more match out of the many we've been through. And you are not here alone. I don't care how many people will try and make you fall, I will fight every single one of them and keep you safe, you hear me?"

"Soma, I-I…" she tried, tears filling her eyes. What was even happening?

"Calm down, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere," Soma told her. And in what seemed so out-of-character for the young chef, the boy simply pulled her in and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. She froze at the touch. For a girl that had been kissed on live-television, who had felt his dominating tongue overtake her God's Tongue in front of millions, the simple act of a little kiss on her forehead proved too much that it outright shifted her heart from almost breaking out of her chest and instead got it lodged inside her throat, and all her senses came rushing back in a jolt.

And all she could do was cry. She cried suddenly, without warning. And he pulled her in, hiding her face in the nape of his neck, allowing her to cry without being caught by the cameras. She clung onto his uniform with her nails, likely digging them into his skin, but if it bothered him, he didn't show it. He held her for as long as she needed him to, merely stroking her hair, ever-so softly, until she slowly regained some sense of composure.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered.

"What for?" he asked, and as always, he sounded so genuine it hurt. This… This was the boy she had wanted to crush and humiliate. She did not deserve this kindness at all. "I'll always be in your corner, so use me as you see fit. You feeling a bit better?"

The girl with the teary eyes nodded, which was as best a response as she could give.

The crowd had grown silent, utterly shocked at the display, but barely anyone said anything. All the Polar Stars had to hold their own tears at bay, less they make things worse. Doubly so for Hisako, who had to outright restrain herself from jumping down and hugging her sister with all she had. Likewise, both Ikumi and Julio felt utterly miserable at the scene, but at least Soma was there. And to Julio's surprise, and to Ikumi's not, they found that they felt at ease whenever he held onto Erina, because they knew that no harm would come to her as long as he was there.

'The young chef that we hated so,' Julio noted, runny nose and all. 'How integral you have become to Milady's life. Forgive my behavior from before Soma Yukihira, but from now until the end of our careers, I will have your back on anything and everything you ever need. This is the oath of a man!'

'He's the one Milady,' Ikumi thought with a small smile. "Open your eyes girl. You ain't getting it better than this. You can count in one hand how many people will see you at your absolute worst and then respond with the best version of themselves to keep you afloat.'

'…Thank you Soma,' Hisako though, tears streaming down her cheeks. 'Thank you so much for protecting her.'

Up above, in the main area, Soe Nakiri looked down at the scene, and he was sure his heart had been broken into pieces. First his daughter had lost, and he knew it had hurt her greatly. No childish tantrums this time. She had struggled so much, fought like a true professional, and achieved so much. Yet, he knew she was blaming herself for not doing just a little bit more, even if no one could accuse her of this. Because she was probably blaming herself for now forcing Erina to go, and for the ever-proud uncle, seeing his niece just break in the arena, utterly unable to keep herself in check, it was too much. This… This shouldn't be the way these events went down.

"…And that's the boy you were so strongly against letting Erina see," he heard his wife speak up, and he knew she was talking to his sister. Mana seemed to tense up at Leonora's words, but the Aunt didn't much care, as she turned to her sister-in-law with the coldest look imaginable. For once, the ever imposing God's Tongue and Bookmaster of the WGO didn't even try to make eye contact with the other woman, but this didn't stop Leonora from speaking. "And here he is doing more for her than anything either of her parents have managed. Do you actually see it this time, or are you fucking blind?"

"I see!" Mana cried out, getting up in a huff, and without another word, storming off. Soe thought about trying to stop her, but he really had nothing to add. Leonora didn't either, as the other woman just turned her attention back to the arena, her eyes on her girls and wishing there was some way to stop this madness.

Mana for her part, wandered outright aimlessly, utterly lost on what she should even do, but somehow, she ended up reaching the worst possible spot. Or perhaps, the best. She no longer knew.

"…Azami."

"Mana…"

The former couple looked at each other, both standing on the top walkways that gave them both a good view to the arena down below, and as the cold air blew right past the two, neither seemed ready to talk. Still…

"She can't handle any more of this," Mana just said.

"I am aware," Azami replied. "This… is not what I want. Everything has gotten out of hand. My True Gourmet can fix it, I… hope it can. Please, help me save our daughter. I swear I will not shoot this school down. We can find a middle ground. I'll take over, serve as Headmaster, but I can keep the student body as is."

"Fine," Mana replied, and it seemed to even surprise Azami himself. Did this mean he…? "But answer me just this one little thing beforehand."

"Anything."

"In this would-be perfect Tootsuki of yours," she began, and her eyes turned as sharp as they were back when they were married. The daughter of the Don of the Food Mafia, it was undeniable what she truly was. Despite himself, it made even a man like himself tense up. Her question, however, was even more unexpected, "…Would there be a place for Soma Yukihira?"

Azami's expressions, despite himself, darkened at the name.

Soma Yukihira? Was Mana actually…?

And he gave her the best answer he could muster at the moment, and truth be told, for the longest time, he would have no idea if it had been the right answer or not. But it would be the catalyst that would then lead them to the outcome neither of them ever truly expected…

-0-

"Let's go!" Van screamed out, standing proudly at the center of the arena, edging Soma and Erina on. Bridgette stood nearby, dancing to her music, but her murderous little smile had not once left her pretty doll-like face.

Urara shuddered at the sight, before she turned towards the star couple, and she knew just how utterly screwed they were. And, surprising even herself, for once, she was actually more worried about Erina that she was about herself. Since when had she become a better person, she wondered with disgust?

"Better?" Soma asked, and Erina forced herself to nod. At least her senses weren't outright overwhelming her.

"Yeah," she replied. "And we both know I can't do this."

"Erina, that's not-"

"Soma, I can't cook," she quickly interrupted, her eyes on his, the grip on his hand tightening out of reflex. It was her nerves, he knew. "Those two, as dimwitted as they seem, still defeated Alice and Akira. Even when at my best, those two are quite the challenge, and after everything I've seen in this tournament, I'm certain they have surpassed me. Heck, all of you have. Every single one of you have gone above and beyond, and yet, here's me, getting worse by the day. I… I can't bring myself to face Dove. I couldn't beat Ekaterina. I didn't get a single win against Eishi or Rindou or Tosuke or Momo or Soumei… and, and I can't challenge these two siblings who took out two people I know are amazing."

"We won't know that unless-"

"Soma, please," she outright begged, and he felt his heart sink. Was this really, truly how Azami wanted to see this girl? "Let me do the responsible thing and forfeit. There is more than enough evidence to my state of being, and there are no longer any missing Elite Ten members to hold us back. Father won't risk even more negative publicity by making me compete against my will. And if I forfeit, you'll still be in the running. The selection will go on again, and you could get paired up with Isshiki, or Eizan," Erina explained, and Soma had to struggle not to gag at that, "Or maybe they end up together, which would still be better than me. I did all I could, just let me step down. Please…"

"Erina," Soma voiced, and once more, his hands found themselves cupping her face. She paused, pouting a bit at all the intimacy between them all the sudden. "Listen to me, and listen closely. I will never, ever force you to go through something you don't want to take part in. Okay? You want to step down, then step down. It is true, I can manage with Isshiki, and… even Eizan again, because why not?" he said it so depressingly that Erina could help but laugh out of pity. "…But, I want it to be what you really want to do, at least promise me that."

"Soma, of course, there's no other choice that makes sense-"

"I'm not talking about the smartest choice," Soma countered. "You know me, that ain't how I roll. I want your decision to be yours and yours alone," he added, and then, firmly, said, "So, tell me… What do you want to do?"

To give up.

Erina replied, or tried to, but she lost her voice.

The blonde girl froze, slowly realizing, that despite her fear, her sadness, all the negative emotions weighting down on her like a cloud that fogged her very mind, despite it all, her tongue couldn't quite voice those words of surrender. What did she want? Had she ever been asked this? She was no longer sure. Soma did not push her, he didn't say anything else, he just looked at her, never breaking eye contact, as the girl had the biggest emotional battle deep within.

Alice looked on, hand over her heart, praying to whoever would hear her to give Erina the strength to push on through.

Akira kept silent, his eyes on the two, truly wishing they could pull this last, little miracle they had slowly grown famous for.

Isshiki had his arms crossed, eyes on the heiress, worried, but a part of him seeing the visage of Soma in her, at just how broken the boy had been back on that cruise, and how now that image reflected onto her almost perfectly. Like a cruel poetry, it rhymed in the harshest of ways.

Eizan was at the back, hands on his pockets, already mentally preparing himself for the next match, which would be him and Isshiki, as no one else would be left. And, even if they won, which would be easier, as Van and Bridgette would be utterly exhausted by then, why would it matter? If not Lestrade, then the Neo-Noirs would crush them both like ants, so why even fight? Better lose against the Brits and give Azami a half-victory than get destroyed by the man's private militia.

Up above, from the Elite Ten, both current and past, and the Polar Stars and friends, everyone waited on baited breath.

Asahi, for his part, finally made it back onto his seat, silently passing through the crowds until he reached his would be team. He sat down, without a word, eyes on the arena. On Erina.

"Seems your little sister is breaking apart," Ashitaro noted with glee, hand raised, biting deep into his own fingernail. "I guess we share that it common, huh, King of the Night?"

"…Shut up Ashitaro," Asahi replied, and Dove had to do a double take, as the voice she had just heard had not sounded at all like the boy she had grown intimate with. What… What had happened?

"Hey now, it's just a little pep-talk from one older brother to another," Ashitaro explained, chuckling like the warlock he was, "Can't let our little sisters think they have the autonomy to go on and decide-"

"One more word out of you, and I'll do little Nao a massive favor."

This made Ashitaro see red. The Warlock stood right up, glare fully on Asahi. "Is that a fact you damn bastard?"

Asahi didn't even bother to respond.

He just got up. And for all their bravado, Ashitaro had to actually take a step back the moment he saw Asahi motion right to him. The Warlock Supreme had his eyes opened wide, but luckily enough, Dove had held Asahi back. The King of Noirs gave pause, standing in place, much to the confusion and surprise of all the Challengers seated near the four Neo-Noirs.

"Don't do this," Dove told him, her head rested on his back. Asahi seemed to take a deep breath, and despite his murderous glare fixated on Ashitaro, he at least didn't motion forwards.

Ashitaro allowed himself to smile at the scene. King of Noirs, really? Seemed the Queen called the shots after all. Ashitaro them motioned to talk, the biggest slasher smile plastered all over his face, but their final member cut in before he could.

"Sit down Ashitaro," Julius simply instructed. Ashitaro turned to the dark skinned man, outright scoffing at the notion, but the Godfather merely added, in no uncertain terms. "Sit down, or I will sit you down."

The Warlock clenched his fists so hard he knew he drew blood, but with all three of his would-be team against him, he'd rather not risk it. Scoffing again, he nevertheless took a seat. Asahi, for his part, kept his glare fixated on the other young man, before he felt Dove slowly take him into her arms from behind. "…Calm down," she softly told him. "I don't know what happened, and you don't need to tell me, but please, just take a seat."

The King of Noirs was a mess, his thoughts the darkest they've been in years, but hearing her voice, he just did as told. He retook his seat, and turned his attention back to the arena. It was here he saw just how utterly broken his little sister looked…

…No, it was time to end that charade. Erina Nakiri and Asahi Saiba were never meant to be siblings, and it was time to sever that bond, once and for all.

'She's is downright useless to me now,' Asahi told himself, and he swore to himself it didn't hurt.

Said would-be little sister took a deep breath, her eyes still on Soma, and after another long pause. She spoke up.

"…I want to fight," she answered in earnest, feeling a pang in her chest but pushing through. "I want to defend my home…"

"That's more than enough," Soma replied, "If you want to fight, then let's fight. I'm with you, every step of the way," he added, and then extended his hand to her. Erina looked on, brushing her tears aside, and slowly taking hold of his hand. He held onto her tightly, and to the silence of the stadium, the two walked towards the arena.

Hand in hand.

She held onto him tightly, fighting back the shivers, the tears, the pain. She stood upon that arena, with Van and Bridgette looking fiercely at them, the entire student body looking on, and the whole world watching. And with her fingers intertwined with Soma's, she stood as tall as her body would allow, and meet the twins' challenging looks with her own.

"Quite the honor, princess," Van noted with glee.

"Trust me, it is," Soma quickly replied for her, which made her smile. He even knew what she'd say.

"You're gonna lose," Bridgette cheerfully told the two of them, all smiles as always.

"…Bring it," Erina forced herself to say, channeling her boyfriend in turn, and with those words spoken, the four faced each other down.

"And here we have it!" Urara beamed, forcing as much positivity as she could despite just how utterly petrified she was. This didn't look good no matter how you saw it. "Representing Tootsuki Academy, we have our power couple finally taking the ring, together!" she began, giving heavy emphasize of the last word. "The duo that first began working at Golden Locks, then on the cruise, with yours truly on board at that, and then overtook the Hiei Showcase by storm! We have our golden princess herself, the God's Tongue and current Fourth Seat of the Elite Ten, Erina Nakiri!"

The worried cheers spread throughout, and even if she had it tucked away, Urara could feel her phone buzz endlessly over the furry of social media posts being written on the ice-queen's behalf. This really felt like the end of an era, and she wasn't sure how to even process it.

"A-And on her side!" she pushed on through. "Our Seventh Seat, the chef that turned this establishment upside down, runner-up of the Autumn Elections, winner of the Hiei showcase, the guy we all tried so hard to take down and yet here he stands defending us all, Soma Yukihira!"

The cheers continued, and there the two stood, hands held tightly. Van and Bridgette just looked on.

"Should we hold hands too?" Bridgette asked.

"No," Van simply shot back. Bridgette pouted.

"And representing Lestrade!" Urara continued, her hand now signaling to the opposing team. "The surprising duo who took out two of our very best students, the creepy twins that looked like they were taken right out of The Shining, and I don't care if one is a boy because I can clearly picture him in a dress, Van and Bridgette Autumn!"

"Oh! You would look so cute on a dress!" Bridgette screamed out, causing Van to blush a deep red.

"I'm not into that!" Van cried out, having to restrain himself from smacking his sister upside the head.

"To be fair," Urara quickly cut in, "Rumor has it that Yua is into that sort of thing. Just a little food for thought," she added with a smirk and a wink.

"Wha-?" was all a very red Van could reply with. Bridgette was all giddy at that little piece of "knowledge".

Elsewhere, up in the seats, an utterly perplexed Yua had no idea what that was even supposed to mean. 'Into that?' she wondered, her head tilted to the side. 'What is that even supposed to mean?'

"Now then, judges!" Urara cried out, her arms switching toward the five judges. "Our theme, if you'd be so kind!"

The screen began to flicker once more, and the four contestants, alongside everyone else within that arena and many without, all turned their focus onto it. After a brief cycle, it came to a stop, and Erina, Soma, Van and Bridgette all caught sight of the theme that would pretty much decide the very fate of Tootsuki Academy as a whole.

Wagyu Beef

Ikumi could outright feel all the curious stares fall right onto her once that theme was chosen. She just narrowed her eyes, sighing inwardly as this was just a result of all her boasting about being the utmost expert in meats and cuts and all that was related. So it made sense that all that bravado of course resulted in these expectations being placed in her. It is also where her stupid nickname came from, but that was neither here nor there.

"…Yes, Wagyu Beef is a particularly rare, and pricey, cut of the beef cattle," Ikumi explained, doing her best to summarize. She was sure her Lady knew all of this and more, and she hoped this wouldn't be the first time Soma was to handle such delicate meat. "Heavily sought-after, what makes the "Wagyu" so prized amongst meats is its copious marbling, as in, the white fat streaks found within the red meat, that give it a tender, almost buttery texture and retains so much more of the flavor when handled with care. It is such that a true Wagyu Beef has to be properly certified by a licensed professional, less an untrained chef or client be made a fool off…" she added, before she turned to what felt like the entire part of the stadium where she was sitting at, as everyone there seemed to have gone quiet just to hear her out. "We're in the most luxurious culinary school in the world! You all should know this by now!"

"J-Just making sure," Yuuki was quick to brush off with a blush.

"Doesn't hurt to be safe," Ryoko added with an embarrassed smile.

"I-I knew that!" Marui quickly defended, looking away.

"Did you now?" Shun asked with a knowing, little smirk, which caused his best friend to glare at him.

"You did explain it so well," Madoka offered, hands clapped together, a little embarrassed too.

"We really should know this by now…" Berta said.

"That we should…" Cilla added.

"…I'll be honest," Mitsuru noted, "I really didn't know."

"That's a bad look for you Mitsu," Loren quickly added, smirking.

"H-Hey! Did you know?" Mitsuru shot back, blushing at the other boy.

"Nope!" Loren admitted shamelessly. "But I'm a fraud!"

"…You shouldn't say it so proudly…" was all Mitsuru could offer, as Nao had to look the other way to hide her laughter at it all.

"…Jeez," Ikumi noted, trying her best to ignore them all and focus on the match. On her Lady's struggle. 'This is clearly not a theme you'd be unfamiliar with,' she noted, 'But that doesn't change the fact that you are unwell. Please, let this work.'

"Damn," Van noted with a long whistle upon taking in the theme. "We really eating fancy today! Let's hop to it then! You know what to do Bree!"

"Aye, aye!" Bridgette quickly saluted and began to move towards the main kitchen area, as a very reluctant Urara was basically forced to call out that the match had indeed begun. She had tried to hold off as much as she could, buy Erina as many precious seconds as possible, but one word on her earpiece from the higher ups forced her hand. Bridgette moved fast as soon as she gave the word, opening the huge fridge and quickly scanning all the fine cuts of beef available, her bright eyes examining them thoroughly for the one that would serve them best. As soon as she spotted it, she grinned from ear to ear. "Got it!"

"Perfect!" her equally loud brother shouted, taking his stance, knife in hand, at the prep table. Bridgette would handle the beef, or at least, the initial portions of it, while he would in turn take control of everything else. Best if they kept all her attention on the main ingredient after all. "You do that, leave the rest to me!"

And the boy proceeded to cut down all the ingredients with the cooking equivalent of the Thunderclap and Flash; he mowed down everything in sight so quickly like a Slayer against demons, resulting in the most perfect cuts imaginable from one so loud and seemingly so ungraceful as he presented himself as. But, then again, everyone knew better now.

"The terror twins have begun!" Urara commented, feeling her spine chill at the sight. She then turned towards the couple, and hoped for the best. "How will our power couple respond?!"

"How indeed?" Soma noted with a little wry grin. He had been very positive about getting into this match alongside Erina if she so wished, but it wasn't like he was entirely unaffected. Defeating Akira and Alice was no small feat, and he couldn't quite pretend it didn't unnerve him. Much less so when he saw just how frightening these two siblings worked up close. "…Still, no sense in getting into the ring just to gawk at them. Ready to give them a one-two?"

"…This was a horrible idea," Erina squeaked, her eyes wide as plates at the sight of just how fluid the motions of both siblings were, and worst still was the fact that they were still working separately. Had their match against Alice and Akira not tired them at all?! "I'm gonna screw up. Or throw up. Or both… probably both."

"Calm down Erina," Soma repeated, smiling at her. "Let's go at it by steps, first we should move and-"

"Don't let go of my hand!" Erina quickly interrupted with the cutest little shriek, which caused him to pause. They had indeed not let go of one another yet, and the moment he had motioned to move away, she had held on tighter.

"Eh-Erina? You want to cook while we hold hands?" he asked, utterly surprised, and for the very few times in his life, feeling a little self-conscious about it and, frankly, bashful. They had done plenty of things far more intimate in public, and way more in private, but this was almost too cutesy and dorky even for him. "…I mean, if you want, but it's gonna be tricky."

"The only reason I am willing myself to even stand here is because you are next to me!" she told him in no uncertain terms, and he was taken aback by the fierce expression on her face. "So you make this work, because if you let go of my hand I will freeze up, puke, and faint, and I'm unsure of the order. So do not let me go!"

"…Got it," he said with a nod, before he pressed her hand a bit for reassurance. He really had missed that commanding tone of hers, that could move mountains if she so wished, and he really couldn't say no to her anyways. So, cook like little lovebirds was it? Fine then, whatever was needed. "Then come along then, sweetie, we need to go get some beef."

Erina muttered something unintelligible, because it wasn't as if she was unaware of what she was asking of him and the little show she was giving off. This was embarrassing beyond belief, but it was probably that very rush of blood to her face that was keeping her from fainting, so she'd milk it for all it was worth.

The two, hand in hand, moved towards the fridge, looking less like the dream team ready to slay and more like a newlywed couple out on a grocery shopping trip.

The difference in presentation from the teams was staggering.

"…I'm not sure if that's adorable or moronic, but I'm gonna applaud it either way!" Urara commented, blushing on their behalf because this was too much even for her to handle. "Erina and Soma have begun to pick out their selection, while it seems Van and Bridgette have already finished with most of their prep work!"

"That's… a little pathetic I'll admit," Van noted, blushing a bit at the scene before him. This was not what he had in mind when picturing a duel against the Ice Queen of Tootsuki and the Rebel of all Rebels.

"I think it's sweet," Bridgette countered, her hands clasped together, with a little "aww" escaping her lips. "You just say that because you haven't had a girlfriend yet!"

"Stop screaming personal stuff on live television!" Van shouted back, now blushing even brighter, which caused his sister to just burst into giggles. "And you haven't dated anyone either!"

"But unlike you I'm still a baby."

"We were born on the same day you moron!"

'Tootsuki's not the only one having to deal with an embarrassing duo,' the four other members of Lestrade inwardly sulked in unison, all of them averting their eyes from the comedy antics of their infamous twins. How they wish the two would hurry up and mature. They had talent to spare, if only they'd shut up and focus.

"Can they actually cook like this?" Akira asked, feeling a bit worried at the sight before them but wanting to avoid voicing anything that would bring the mood down any lower than it already was. Granted, it was almost rock bottom, but life had taught him there was always room to go even lower.

"True love conquers all!" Alice beamed, fist in the air. "…And by that I mean, once this is all over, positively I hope, I am so not gonna let Erina ever live this down… Not telling her that now, of course."

"Please," Isshiki noted, smiling proudly at the couple. "This is true youth after all. They are doing the best they can, and I believe in them. We should do our best to support them," he added, before he turned to their surprisingly silent final member. "Surprised you haven't chimed in Etsuya. Please don't discourage them, just this once as a favor to us all."

"…Heh," Eizan noted with a light laugh. "It may come as a shock to you, but unlike you lot I have a firsthand experience when it comes to these two," he said, and his words were not ones Isshiki had ever expected to hear from the young Yakuza. "Those two, if they're together, can be rather effective when pushed to their absolute breaking point. I ain't counting them out just yet."

"Still a betting man I see," Akira noted, recalling a conversation from long ago.

"Naturally," was all Eizan said in response, his arms crossed once more.

"More like you know what it is to have them whoop your ass, huh?" Alice couldn't help but chime in, all smiles. She could see how Eizan's face contorted itself in response.

"Like you haven't lost to them both at this point!" he countered.

"That was then! This is now!" a playfully offended Alice shot back.

"It's the same in my case!" a genuinely offended Eizan barked.

Isshiki just stared at the scene with the biggest smile imaginable, as despite the odds and the lamentable results of the last match, it still felt… nice to have the Elite Ten truly in this together, no ulterior motives or bad actors to be found. Just them against a very, very harsh world. 'And if even Etsuya believes in you both, please, Soma, Erina, you can do this. Make this work. Bring home the victory we so desperately need.'

"Don! Don! DON!" Bridgette cried out the onomatopoeia of the most overused suspenseful music her surprisingly deepened voice (for added effect) could muster, all the while she held up the perfectly cut beef over herself with both arms, as if she had just uncovered a rare item in a video game.

"Bring it here sis!" Van told her, utterly used to her antics, as she quickly bounced her way towards him and the two began to work their magic. The audience, on the other hand, looked utterly perplexed at how these two of all people had been able to out-cook the likes of Akira Hayama and Alice Nakiri, and looked poised to do it all over again against the struggling power couple.

"How many times were they dropped?" Urara just commented, her eyes narrowed, picturing the baby versions of the twins just tumbling down a flight of stairs, hitting every single step and each other on the way down. It was the only way to excuse what she was seeing. "A-Anyways, how are our-eh?!"

"Erina, just… hold it steady, okay?" Soma tried, his knife firmly on his knife, well, the one that used to be hers, as he took aim for the cut of beef they would need, all the while Erina held the piece with her available hand. It was shaking a bit too much for him to get a clean cut, and one miss was enough to ruin the texture entirely, so he couldn't just swing wildly and hope for the best.

"I… am… trying…" she noted firmly, steading her hand as best she could. It wasn't working.

"If you just let go of my hand for only a second-"

"Hmm!" she cried out in a massive put, which caused the boy to quickly swallow his words.

"Okay! Okay! Not letting you go, last time I suggest that," he quickly added. "Maybe I hold and you cut?"

So they switched spots, which hands they were holding, and who was holding what, with him on the beef, and her with the knife.

Said knife looked like a revved-up chainsaw in her hands do to her trembling.

"Okay… Nope!" Soma swiftly cut in, noticing just how bad an idea this was. "Erina, slowly put that knife down on the table, gently okay, don't want you to lose a finger-"

"This isn't going to work!" Erina cried out, "This is stupid! I can't cook like this! I can't let you cook like this! And if you let me go, I can't even be here, period! This was a mistake!"

"We will get through this!" Soma shouted back firmly, pulling her closer with their locked hands, causing the girl to stammer at being so close to him all the sudden. One thing was certain, all her blood was still rushing to her face, so she had at least that going for her. "We just have to find a way to hold onto each other, while also holding…"

"…How about, like this?" Erina tried, softly placing their interconnected hands onto the expensive-as-all-hell beef. She shifted her hand around, with her palm on the meat itself, while his palm now rested on hers, not holding onto each other, but still connected. "I hold it, you hold me."

It wasn't a question, but more of a suggestion. She turned to look at him, those bright, pinkish violet eyes of her wide as could be, almost as if afraid of her own idea. And, he'd admit, he wasn't overly enthusiastic about it either, but not because of how they'd look doing so, since they couldn't possibly sink any lower at this point, but rather…

"Erina…" he told her firmly, his tone a bit lower. "No, like this… I could cut you. I need to be very precise, if I mess up…"

"You won't," she said in such an assured tone that even he found it hard to believe in himself as much as she sounded like she did. "You won't hurt me. You'll…" she added, expanding her fingers to match his identically. "…cut it out perfectly. I trust you far more than I could ever convey. If I can't stop shaking, you'll do it for me. Watch… You won't harm me even once."

"I… okay, this is a lot even for me," he admitted with a little laugh. "But fine, if I mess up, we're both going to need a surgeon, you know that right?"

"If nothing else," she offered jokingly. "We can say we were doing a blood-pact."

At this he laughed a bit, before he added in a more serious tone. "I do swear this, though. No matter what happens, I will keep you safe. I swear I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

"…I know," was her simple reply.

Then, without caring about the whole world watching, they gave each other a quick kiss. Nothing overly grand or romantic, just a simple lock of their lips, eyes closed, not filled with burning passions, but rather tender care. Then they began to work, with Soma taking extra careful aim to cut the meat perfectly, all while making sure he held his hand over hers completely, keeping hers steady and away from the knife's ever-so sharp edge.

The whole crowd was silent at the display, as what had initially been seen as dumb or overly sappy had in turn become just outright…

"That was so genuine," Urara thought aloud, before she caught herself, shaking her head and blushing. "I-I mean, our power couple are showing us how it's done! They are massively behind schedule, as the twins are already prepping the main course, but I feel like my commentary is going to just make them more nervous so I will stick one of my own shoes down my throat and the other up my ass and keep quiet!"

"That girl is the bane of my existence," Decora noted, her face buried in her hands, hiding her face.

"Her commentary is certainly… colorful," Anne added, feeling a sweat drop across her forehead, as the other judges all awkwardly fiddled with their phones at all that was on display. From the chaotic twins, to the perky hostess, to the sickening sweethearts that had somehow outshined even the earlier efforts from Benjamin and Emilia, it was simply too much even for the masterfully trained bookmen of the WGO.

Up at the seats the Polar Stars and friends all looked on, all blushing a bit at everything unfolding down below, until a very particular aroma hit. Shun was, of course, the first to distinguish it, his ever-hidden eyes widening at the recognition of his craft being used by the enemy team.

"They're smoking the Wagyu Beef?" Shun asked, his eyes on the twins, as the rest all turned their attentions to the two, just as they placed their meat into a barbeque grill.

And not just any grill, but an old-fashioned, wooden grill filled with oak pellets, allowing the Japanese A5 Wagyu Brisket to be slow-cooked while giving it a fine touch of char to the delicacy. After setting it up, they both took turns watching over it, all the while setting up the side dishes and sauces for the finishing touches, as all that remained was to let it cook and they were done. Wagyu cooked well at lower temperatures than most other beef cuts, or meats in general, which boded well for the twins and the time they were given.

Urara had to pretend she didn't hear her stomach outright roar the moment those smells started to invade her nostrils. Looking to the side, she noticed that, like her, Erina and Soma had taken notice of it too.

"They really are good," Soma noted, frowning. Normally this would excite him, but with so much on the line, having such strong opponents was not the best.

"…They are," Erina replied, before she turned to him. She really didn't feel strong enough, even after managing their cuts, time was short and she knew she was effectively holding him back. "Let go of me then, let's see if I can hold long enough until-"

He held her hand tighter.

"Soma!"

"I promised I wouldn't suggest that anymore," he simply replied. "I'm just as scared as you are, but we can make this. I have an idea," he added, and she was sure he was just winging it at this point but he always spoke to her with such earnest optimism that she couldn't help but play along to whatever plan he had. "You remember our little Central Restaurant back on the cruise?"

"I was never outright fond of the name."

"Me neither, no idea why," Soma noted. "But you remember our Number One Special?"

"The Marinated Flank Steak & Shrimp in Asian Chimichurri Sauce?" Erina asked, without needing much time to think. It had been their initial best seller after all. "You… wanna try and recreate that with Wagyu Beef?" she almost laughed as she asked, because of course.

"Pretty much," he replied, smiling right back at her. "We made that baby so much that we should still have it memorized, so it could be made quickly. Not sure if we can make it work with this dish, but… nothing ventured…"

"…nothing gained," she concluded, nodding, and tightening her grip in turn. "Fine. Let's."

And they moved. Hand in hand, Soma and Erina took each side of the grill, one taking the steak, the other pulling out the shrimp, and proceeded to marinate and cook it all up, first separately. The entire crowd looked on, utterly shocked that the couple had not broken their oath and had indeed kept their hands held onto tightly, as they singlehandedly managed each side of their workload. In a flash, they were back to back, hands still held onto each other, but each on their respective meat.

Soma took hold of the salt.

Erina took hold of the pepper.

They both proceeded to gently season their choice protein, before, without a word, they both tossed their respective condiment into the air, shaker and all, before effortlessly catching the one the other had thrown. The crowd could be heard gasping at the sight.

Soma now had the pepper.

Erina now had the salt.

They both seasoned the protein with the other condiment, before they set the shakers aside.

"Switch," Soma voiced, and in a swift movement, they flipped around, Soma now with the shrimp, while Erina took hold of the beef's pan's handle, keeping as steady as she could muster. Soma proceeded to use his knife to cut the shrimp to outright perfection, knowing he needed to be the cutter between the two. And the boy was quick, everyone noted, as not even a few seconds had passed and it seemed he had finished.

"Switch?" she asked, sensing his grip tug at her gently. He smiled, and they switched again, but not before, without warning, Soma simply spun her in place, mimicking the many dances they have shared, and finally getting an outright laugh out of the girl. "Soma!" she said with a blushing smile, and his grin said it all.

It was hard to find someone within that massive crowd that wasn't smiling that wasn't somehow related to Erina, ironically enough.

"Back at the cruise," Kuga noted, signaling to the couple. "We were tasked with destroying that young love. We were monsters, you know? Animals I tell you!"

"We didn't even know," Nene defended, blushing deeply, but she was very glad Satoshi had talked them out of it and convinced them to do the right thing. She couldn't imagine ever trying to break such a genuine relationship.

"We fought to defend that, FYI," Takumi added with a grin.

"I actually dueled you to defend them," Megumi recalled with a little laugh, her eyes on Takumi, who nodded at her comment, recalling the crisis. "Master Shinomiya and his "methods"."

"Such simpler times," Kurokiba voiced, and Megumi and Takumi could only nod. If only their younger counterparts could know just how tougher things would get just a couple of months later.

With the dishes almost ready, Van and Bridgette quickly took theirs out of the grill, and proceeded to prepare it upon the plates, all the while Soma and Erina were cutting it close. A few minutes left, and they needed every second. Naturally, Erina's God Tongue would have worked wonders here, making sure they had marinated everything just right, but given the current condition of said ability, they made do with Soma's less-than-godly tasting skills.

Soma took a sample of the main parts of the dish, savoring it for a moment as Erina looked on, nervous but trying to pretend otherwise. Setting the spoon to the side, Soma simply lifted her hand connected to his, and gave it a quick kiss, before winking at her with a smile, signaling that it was just right. And it was these little dumb details, that most people would overlook, that would simply cause her to lose focus and feel her knees weaken. How? Why was this boy this way?

"…And this match's time is officially over!" Urara cried out, feeling herself about to faint, just as the two pairs of chefs walked towards the judge's table.

Van and Bridgette had served them their Twin Smoked Wagyu Brisket.

Erina and Soma had served them their Marinated Flank Wagyu & Shrimp in Asian Chimichurri Sauce.

The four stood before the five judges, Soma and Erina still, of course, hand-on-hand, while Van and Bridgette stood opposite them, with Van glaring fiercely at the bookmen, while Bridgette bobbed her head to the rhythm of the music on her ears.

"Judges?!" Urara called out, signaling to the bookmen. "Today! Please!"

Despite their shared annoyance with the girl, the five still did as they were told and proceeded to take a bite of each dish. Some took a taste of Lestrade's dish first, others of Tootsuki's offering. In the end, it didn't much matter, as it was a one, two punch of buttery-smooth textures, followed by powerful flavors packed in each bite. The juices burst out of the meat to unheard of levels, and the judges had to take a bite of both plates again and again to try and discern which had indeed surpassed the other.

The crowd waited, the silence staggering, and the Elite Ten, both up above and down at the arena, had their eyes glued to the judges and the screen.

Erina, Soma, Van and Bridgette all waited, as the voting began…

"…It's so close," Anne noted, before she gave her vote. "By quite frankly the shortest margin so far, my vote goes to Lestrade. The smoked flavor just gave it the slight edge it needed."

One point to Lestrade, and Erina tightened her grip.

"I agree," Histoire said. "It is insanely close, but yeah, Lestrade also gets my vote."

Second point to the opponents, and Soma held onto Erina as tightly as he could. She was shaking, he was too. Please, please let this work.

"…I… disagree," Charme voiced, and both Anne and Histoire turned towards him in slight shock. "…I do admit it does have a bigger initial impact, but I'll just assume since neither of you are married, you don't feel the amount of care put onto the Tootsuki dish. After that initial flavor wears off, I feel that each piece of the marinated Wagyu holds its flavor just a tiny bit more than the smoked one does. My vote goes to Tootsuki."

Van was now glaring at the man, as Tootsuki got its first point.

"I have to agree," Courage added. "It's so, so close, but I felt the dish these two adorable kids served holds up with every bite. Each piece was done so tenderly, so I can't help but also vote for Tootsuki!"

Bridgette slowly turned her music down until she could no longer hear it. Tootsuki had a second vote, and she didn't much like that.

All eyes then fell on Decora, and the judge simply raised her eyes from the dishes before her, to the four chefs in front of her. They all looked positively ready to drop at any given moment, the twins thanks to going at it twice in a row, the couple thanks to the massive burden on their shoulders. Still, they didn't falter, and Decora had to give them some credit for that. It was commendable. Far more than any of them could claim to be able to muster at that age. Still…

…Business was business…

"…It really is the hardest choice so far," Decora said, and it took all her willpower not to smile as she spoke. "But, after heavy consideration, I have to give my vote to Lest-"

For a single second, the entire stadium's mood collectively dropped, as for that one flicker, all hope was lost.

Soma's eyes went wide.

Erina's eyes began to tear up.

But…

"Don't," Decora heard Azami on her earpiece, stopping her declaration at the last possible second. She pretended to give pause, avoided touching her ear or even looking up at wherever he was, all so she wouldn't get found out. But… what was he doing? "I spoke to Mana," he said, and she tried to pretend that it didn't bother her to hear her name. "We've done enough. With this, we've won. With just them four they can't hope to defeat my Noirs, and if Tootsuki is left with just two, then the public will side with the Elite Ten because of the disadvantage. Everyone always clings onto the underdog. With four of them, it gives the illusion of fairness. Plus…" he concluded, and she couldn't for the life of her tell if he was sincere or not. "I don't want to see Erina lose like this. Give her the win."

Decora inwardly sighed, but again, business was business.

"…Dee?" Courage asked, her eyes on her friend, wondering why Decora had declared her side but had not properly voted yet. The other three looked on, with Anne narrowing her eyes at the sight. Why did this feel so off?

"Pardon me, as I was saying," Decora carried on as if nothing had changed. "I have to give my vote to Lestrade, or rather, would have, had it not been for one small, nearly insignificant detail," she added, and everyone just stared, utterly lost at what was being said. Both the couple and the twins stared, all four of them with the fiercest expressions imaginable, as Decora finally voted, "The choice of sauces made it for me. Marinated made the best use of the Wagyu, just barely, but still… So my vote also goes to Tootsuki."

And the uproar was almost so loud that the stadium couldn't contain it. Because…

Winners: Erina Nakiri & Soma Yukihira.

"Thank you Decora," Azami softly voiced, and the woman just rolled her eyes.

"We won?" Erina asked, and Soma couldn't help but smile at the sheer innocent joy he could see in her eyes.

"I think we did," he replied, honestly unsure himself. That had been way too close. Even his catchphrase went utterly unused, as he couldn't even muster the strength to say it. Instead, he pulled at the girl, and she instinctively took to his arms, finally letting go of his hand and hugging him instead, tightly. She pressed her face against the nape of his neck, buried herself there, and to his relief, he could feel her smiling through the tears. "You did great," he softly added.

"And you did better," she softly mused, still blushing, 'Our hands are so sweaty… This must have looked so corny…'

"Seriously?!" Van blurted out, utterly pissed off. "What a cruel way to announce a winner!" he added, his glare on Decora, who had to look away, since he had a point.

"We lost?" Bridgette asked, almost in disbelief. "I must have messed up. I'm sorry."

"…It wasn't you," Van simply said, sighing. "We did the best we could. You did great Bree."

This wasn't enough to make the girl not feel devastated by the loss, but it at least made her feel better that her brother wasn't mad at her. Then again, despite how much they argued, she barely remembered him actually angry with her.

"Not to side with the enemy but it was a mean way to announce a winner, he's got a point," Urara chimed in, pointing at the twins, her eyes also on Decora, who was getting tired of it, before she turned to the crowd. "But, in what has been described by the very judges themselves as the closest match so far, Erina Nakiri and Soma Yukihira have managed to obtain a victory, and with it, secure the round for what is now Tootsuki Academy's sixth victory in the Intercontinental Shokugeki!"

The applauses, cheers and whistles were staggering, as everybody applauded the hard-fought victory. Tootsuki Academy had survived yet again. Just one more match, everyone thought, and this nightmare would be over.

Up above, Dove felt her phone vibrate, and as she took a look, she flashed a wide grin.

"Oh!" she quickly beamed. "Looks like we're up! Come on, Neo-Noirs, get your butts up and moving!"

The other three just stared at her, having no idea what she was saying, but she was technically the Team Leader, so they just did as they were told.

Down below, Urara had begun to say her usual final statements, as Soma and Erina returned to their side, both looking just about ready to faint. Alice was quick to hug Erina, while to Soma's surprise, Isshiki was quick to hug him.

"Excellently played," Isshiki told him.

"…Yeah," Soma replied, his words caught in his throat.

Akira and Eizan just looked on, before the two took notice of someone else approaching the arena. Urara, midway into her dialogue, also gave pause, as she hadn't expected that man would walk down to the arena so suddenly, as he had lately given his speeches from the safety up above, or not at all. Still, when Azami Nakamura walked into the arena, all the hope was quickly overcome with a foreboding sense of dread, as every Tootsuki alumni watched the very man who threatened their very way of life take center stage.

"What a brilliant display," Azami began, with his own microphone, his tone sounding utterly pleased. "To the incredible Elite Ten students, regardless if the final count ends up with one more digit than expected, it has been an utter delight to see you accomplish so much despite the odds. And to all the Challengers, you all have my utmost respect for not giving them an inch. Every single competitor who set foot onto this stage, take pride that you are amongst the very best this generation has to offer."

"It feels so gross to be complimented by this guy," Kuga noted, pretending to shiver at his words, while the rest nodded in agreement.

Only Nene frowned, slowly getting up. "We should move, I don't like this."

"After careful consideration," Azami continued, his trademark smile plastered all over his face. "With these results now in place, the Nakiri family and I have decided to push back the date of the final match-up for week-"

"Wait, what?!" Alex cried out, gripping the railing of his sitting.

"What is that man plotting?" Hakeem noted, glaring at the sight.

"How on Earth is that fair?! After we busted our asses following his damn guidelines to the letter?!" Lucrezia added, the Prima Studentessa clenching her fists in disbelief.

"…Does anyone else feel utterly manipulated, or is it just me?" Gautier asked, his eyes also on the man that had promised them all wonders.

"No, it is not just you," Ekaterina outright growled, her eyes shifting from the arena to the now empty seats where the Neo-Noirs had sat at. 'All this time, was this carefully planned out? Were we really just the opening act for…?'

Van stared at Azami, his arms crossed, and his glare now fixated upon the older man. Bridgette followed suit, and for once, the siblings eyes matched, as the ever playful girl couldn't really muster much beyond anger at this point.

Despite the sneers and contempt being thrown his way from the Challengers, Azami seemed to take the entire situation in stride. "I understand how you all must feel," he said, even if he didn't mean a word of it. "But do know that I do this for all of you. Before the final match takes place, two very important things will be taking place. One, this very stadium will be expanded, and construction will begin shortly, in order to accommodate the increase in demand to witness such finale."

'If you use this as an excuse to replace me with another hostess I swear I will go feral,' Urara forced herself not to outright say, as everyone reacted differently to the news. Making the biggest stadium Tootsuki had, and quite possibly the biggest stadium in all Japan, even bigger sounded so climactic it was hard not to get excited even despite the very real threat behind all this.

"Secondly, and I'm sure what you all will most enjoy, Tootsuki Academy will host a very special ball, a once-in-a-lifetime dance to celebrate this school and everyone in it. You all are of course invited. This, of course, is a show that no matter who wins, be it the Elite Ten, or my Neo-Noirs, you all will have a bright future ahead of you within these walls. Once-Were we to win, your way of life will not change, or I suppose I should specify, will only change for the better and grander."

Everyone soaked that additional information in, a dance of all things, now? It sounded so far-removed from what they had been building up to, but before the other teams could voice their complaints, Azami added…

"But rest assured… If you feel you have been wronged in anyway, you too can challenge my team, take the Neo-Noirs down, and they'll be eliminated before that final match-up. Lose, and well… That's up to you what you are willing to sacrifice," he concluded with the same smile, and the chilling words which made all the Challengers give pause and seriously contemplate the declaration made to them.

And just as they did, from the side, in walked the Neo-Noirs, with Dove Dillinger leading the way. The six Elite Ten students down at the arena all turned, just in time to be met by the sight of the four outright horsemen of the upcoming apocalypse marching right down to the center of the arena.

"Excuse us," Dove mockingly moved pass the little group, before she quickly paused at the sight of Erina, "Oh wow, don't you look like shit."

"H-Hey," Erina tried to protest, but Dove just shrugged and bounced right away, leaving her frustrated, but she soon caught sight of her elder brother, which made her at least feel a bit… better? "…Asahi?"

Said brother walked past her without even glancing in her general direction, making a beeline right towards were Dove was moving them to. Erina couldn't hide the fact that this sudden change in attitude shocked her, and it hurt, because, really? Him too?

"Hey!" Soma called out suddenly, causing Erina to have to hold him as he motioned to move after her brother. That was the last thing any of them needed. He stopped at her touch, but his glare still bore holes into Asahi, who didn't even seem to notice.

Ashitaro followed along, his eyes falling onto Isshiki, who couldn't quite hide the displeasure in his eyes. Ashitaro chuckled at this, before he raised his sights towards the seats, since he could now clearly see his darling little sister.

Nao felt herself shrink into her seat, her hand instinctively reaching out for Loren's hand. The blonde boy, for once, said nothing on the matter, simply allowing her to hold onto him tightly, as he too stared down at the monster taking center stage.

And, unlike all the others, Julius merely walked right in, not as quickly as Asahi, but not stopping to antagonize anyone like Dove or Ashitaro did. He simply walked in with his hands on his pockets, and his eyes on the prize. He and Eizan avoided eye contact all throughout.

The four Neo-Noirs, now having taken center stage, stared at the entire stadium before them. Azami motioned to the side, and handed his microphone off to Dove, who gladly took hold of it.

"Congratz Tootsuki!" she said, and it sounded like the biggest insult to them all. "You made it to the end boss. Oh… How utterly exciting! This is it, your big moment. Will you conquer your fears and take us down, or will we demolish what is left of your Elite Ten, hmm?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, smiling from ear to ear. At the first instance of a displeased comment, Dove was quick to add, "Oh, "boo" yourself! You've all had your fun, now it's our turn. Like Azami said, if you don't like it, you are free to challenge us. Or are the words of your First Seat set in stone? Such a prestigious academy, and yet, so utterly afraid to clash against us? So either put up, or shut up. Neo-Noir time baby!" she concluded, and then flashed them all the biggest slasher smile imaginable, "And I thank you all for waiting!"

The crowd was conflicted, but all over the world, social media was going crazy. The hype was real, and the anticipation for this last match, that had somehow, expertly ended up as a four-on-four match-up, was through the roof. But then…

"…If I may," Nene softly interrupted, walking down to the arena alongside the remaining members of the school's Top Ten. For the first time, all eleven members of the currently ill-named Elite Ten stood together at the arena, as Nene reached out, with Urara quickly giving her the other microphone. "Thank you Urara," Nene began, "Now then, I'd appreciate it if you focused on your team and allowed us to handle our own, thanks."

"Oh my~" Dove almost sang, "My bad, no ill-intentions meant behind my declarations."

"Of course," Nene simply replied, closing her eyes. She was ready to address the crowd, but of course her presence there meant…

"You tell her Kinokuni!"

"Don't let them have their way!"

…her fanclub, of course. Nene decided to best ignore them, but of course…

"Who cares if she's sexier than you?!"

"Even if you lost in the first round, we still love you!"

"Flat chests rule! Nobody cares that she's six times your size!"

Nene Kinokuni felt each comment hit her like an arrow to her very torso, bending and twisting at each phrase of "encouragement", until something in her outright snapped. She simply turned to them all, and in the coldest tone imaginable, just said, "…Die."

"~So cold~" they all cried out in unison, hugging themselves in sheer ecstasy and Nene now wanted nothing more than to tell them all to go ahead and challenge the Neo-Noirs and get themselves kicked out.

"Come now, ignore those fools," Kuga softly voiced, using a paper fan to cool her down. "Best not to be telling the very people we are trying to save to die."

"I-I just… Gah!" she tried, she really did, but she was seeing red at this point. She was so pissed off, first at Dove and now at these fools, that she didn't even notice when Isshiki moved closer to her and bent down to speak into the microphone himself.

"We appreciate the support, really," he voiced in his trademark carefree voice, even if his next words were anything but. "But, please refrain from such comments in the future. Nene Kinokuni is my girlfriend after all, and if you disrespect her, you'll get your punishment, just not from her."

In an instant all the comments died down. Isshiki just smiled in response. Nene was beet red.

"~Oh my," Dove voiced, before she mimicked the motion and the sound of a whip, her eyes on the pathetic crowd.

"T-That aside," Nene forced herself to continue, fixing her glasses with both hands to hide her massive blush. "My plea to you all still stands. Let us finish this fight. Our four against their four. Nothing else is needed."

Dove just smiled at them all.

Ashitaro was still eyeing the seats where Nao was.

Julius was the only one behaving properly.

Asahi, in a complete contrast to the rest, was glaring at someplace else. Soma followed his line of sight, and to his surprise, he found his own father at the opposite end. The elder Yukihira stood by the railing, and Soma could see Gin, Jun and even Riko standing close by. So many of the Golden Generation, and it made sense, this was massive enough to affect even them.

The redhead slowly turned back to Asahi, and the young man's eyes were like nothing he had ever seen him sport before. Something had happened, he was sure of it.

But, with Azami's announcement, Dove's declaration, and all the unrest that followed, the Elite Ten stood by as their final hurdle to cross seemed almost impossible to conquer. It would be all or nothing come the next match, and through it all, Erina couldn't take her eyes of her brother…

-0-

"Sorry to worry you so much. I'm better now. Hisako, Ikumi and Alice are here in my room, girls night or something or the other as Alice calls it. You needn't worry about me, but thank you for doing so anyways."

It was the most recent text Erina had sent him, and Soma frowned as he read it. It wasn't that it was a bother to worry about her, because he couldn't stop himself from doing so, but he really felt that it was unfair for the girl, that this whole scenario was simply too much, and it irked him that he couldn't do much more outside of cooking as best as he could and then some to try and keep Tootsuki alive. Outside of the Intercontinental Shokugeki, he was utterly powerless to help her, and he hated it.

"Pay attention!"

Soma instinctively raised his eyes from his phone's screen and towards where the current little "study group" of theirs had gathered. It was close to nighttime already, as after Azami and Dove had spoken, not much out of the ordinary happened. Soe came down and gave a few more specifics about the new arrangements, but he didn't much understand any of it and he assumed it was directed more to the WGO and investors than at the alumni or participants anyways. A comically annoyed Urara was then finally allowed to finish her closing statements, and even the attention-hog that was her looked so tired of this all that she outright fast-forwarded the whole thing. Soon enough, they all told each other what a good job they did, and to rest up for the rest of the day, as Nene promised to keep them all updated on anything and everything that would come within these upcoming two weeks. Everyone had simply forced themselves to agree and call it a day, well, everyone except for Eizan who had left long before they even gathered (and no, Soma wasn't pissed off at him or anything, far from it).

Still, now back in the coziness of Polar Star Dormitories, with the students all running around getting their homework and studies up-to-date (as everybody felt utterly stressed out by this point that they had been falling behind), Soma found himself in a little group of four as they practiced a few recipes, which was where he also realized that the earlier command had not been aimed at him, but rather…

"I am paying attention!" Loren shrieked, his arms folded in annoyance, one hand holding the wooden ladle he had been given, while the other held his knife, and at least now Soma was ninety percent sure he wouldn't try and stab any of them… well, maybe eighty. Given how, at Isshiki's request, said younger boy was also outfitted with one of Isshiki's trademark aprons, and Soma had not been mature enough not to laugh when Loren first put it on. "You just suck at explaining! Besides, you were supposed to do this for me! The month hasn't ended yet!"

"You and I both know you cheated on our match," Nao replied, the little witch wearing her trademark cloak to really look the part, as she pointed at the boy accusingly with her own mixing spoon. "Be thankful I'm at least taking the time to help you with these assignments. You gonna be a true Tootsuki student, then time to put in the effort."

"…I should have dropped that damn plate," Loren grumbled.

"What was that?!" Nao barked, pouting fiercely at the boy. "Less talkie, more cookie-ing? That doesn't sound right… Anyways! Focus. What comes next?"

"Ah…" the boy dreadfully turned, placing his knife down and passing the page of the textbook they were using for the study. The two of them, alongside a supervising Soma, and a supervising-supervising Isshiki, had agreed to help Loren out now that he was effectively "on his own", not that they boy was all that grateful. "…So we're going to be working on a herring dish, the objective of the assignment is to learn how to grill the fish to utmost perfection so that the flavor and umami… doesn't that mean the same shit?" Loren read the page, frowning at it all the way.

"Don't you ever dare say that in front of Professor Chapelle," Nao noted with a disappointed look.

"Indeed!" Isshiki added with his ever present smile, his index finger raised ready to give an explanation on the matter. Loren's outright glare didn't much stop the senior. "While they are certainly words that some people can use interchangeably, umami is professionally describe as the essence of deliciousness, the fifth core taste alongside sweet, sour, salty and bitter."

"So, in other words, no, they don't mean the same thing," Nao followed on, still pointing at the boy accusingly with her spoon like a disappointed mother. "After this, we are sitting down and reading your copy of the Tootsuki Gourmet Dictionary and clearing up all these rookie mistakes and confusions of yours."

"Are you serious?!" Loren whined. "I just want to go to bed!"

"Hey, at least you have help kiddo," Soma chimed in, smiling at the increasingly annoyed Trojan Horse. "We usually had to learn all this stuff on our own."

"Who asked you?!"

"…Sorry, just got distracted by that cute apron you're sporting," Soma playfully mocked, which made the boy blush and pout.

"I offered him the true naked apron experience, but he sadly declined," Isshiki added, sounding genuinely disappointed.

"Everyone declines," Soma noted, and Isshiki uncharacteristically let out a long sigh. Why did no one understand how freeing it really was?

"I would rather die than cook like that?!" Loren screamed out, now blushing a deeper shade of red. This had been a mistake. He should have taken Dove's offer, gone away with her at the resort. He could be playing video games with her or checking out girls like Ekaterina or Lucrezia at the swimming pool, instead he was here getting threatened with being left naked and in a childish apron.

"…You're fine as is," a likewise flustered Nao muttered, averting her gaze for a moment. While she knew Isshiki meant it in another way entirely, she was sure she wasn't quite ready to see Loren in such a state of undress… again. She quickly shook her head. "Focus damn it!"

"Fine…" Loren just gave up and went along with it, turning back to the page, but not before smirking to himself. "Fine, umami, essence of deliciousness then, right? I know an easy way to remember it. It's what Soma fails to achieve every time he cooks for his girlfriend, no?"

Soma felt a joint pop. "…Hey kid, that's a low blow," the young Yukihira warned with a twitchy smile.

Isshiki and Nao just laughed a bit, playing it off, while Loren just gave the guy a smug look before he turned back towards his "study buddy" Nao, and decided to at least try and get this damn recipe right.

"So I need a fish," Loren noted, skimming through the page.

"Not just a fish you idiot, you need a herring," Nao corrected, before she proceeded to take out a can she had stashed away… somewhere. Loren didn't question it until she opened the damn thing, which made it clear, for him at least, that she had probably been keeping that can right up her ass.

"What the hell is that?! Some sort of corpse on a can?!" Loren cried out, water in his eyes, as he covered his face with his hands. But it didn't work. The stench was so strong it went right through his palms and punched him directly in the lungs.

"It's called Surströmming, a delicacy of the Swedish cuisine, and luckily for you, part of my areas of expertise," the girl said with a little grin, so giddy at holding a can that seemed to house a dump someone took about a month ago.

"You want me to cook with that?! I feel like I should call a morgue instead!"

"I'm going to teach you just how delicious you can truly make the food no one else ever dares to even touch! So be grateful!"

"…Nao really has quite the peculiar tastes," Soma noted, his hand hovering over his nose to try and save himself a bit. He was far more used to this stuff, thanks to all his little experiments, but that type of herring really was something else. How would that go with peanut butter, he wondered? Before he could contemplate what else he could conjure up that would be the best, most disgusting dish imaginable, he turned to Isshiki, and it surprised him just how intently the older boy was staring at the two. "…Isshiki?"

"You really did amazingly Soma," Isshiki just said, which also caught him off-guard.

"Where'd that come from?"

"Getting through to Loren," Isshiki replied. "Not only did you open so many doors for his future, but…" he then gave a slight pause, before he turned to face Soma. "It's good to see little Nao happy, in her element… safe."

Soma looked on, and only offered him a knowing nod. He knew what Isshiki meant. Who Isshiki meant. And he also shared in that sentiment. Ashitaro was yet another in their long list of problems not easily solved by just cooking good. He was not one they could allow free reign, not with Nao at stake. And it was impressive, Soma noted, how while even he himself had to guard himself from the stench, Isshiki seemed utterly unaffected. In fact, the elder boy seemed to be paying close attention to everything Nao was teaching Loren, almost as if…

"Wow, who died in here?" Ryoko voiced up, also covering her nose as she went into the kitchen, with Shun following closely behind. "Something is clearly fermented, but I do hope we haven't gotten to the point of cannibalism yet."

"Oh no, that's on your Third Year I'm afraid," Isshiki joked, to which Ryoko just pretended to be shocked and opened her eyes wide in "fear".

"At this point I'd believe it," Loren just muttered out, which caused the girl to laugh.

"Pay attention," Nao reprimanded yet again, and he grumbled something but kept his focus on her and her witchcraft.

"You guys up-to-date with your stuff?" Soma asked, still sitting down with his legs crossed, trying to will himself to relax a little.

"Eh… kinda," Ryoko noted, and her expression made it clear just how much work there was to be done. "You guys are lucky your assignments were pretty much excused on the account of the tournament. I feel the professors have given us your load and-I mean!" she quickly caught herself, turning to Isshiki and Soma with a worried expression on her, this time genuine, "Not that I'm underselling all the effort you guys have put into this competition. I know you guys have it the hardest of all. Even Megs now too."

"Don't worry about that," Soma brushed off.

"We fully understand where you are coming from," Isshiki added, smiling at the girl. He then turned to the other boy. "And you seem quieter than usual Shun. Everything alright?"

"…As alright as we can manage," was all the quiet young man offered, his hands still in his pockets, his fingers hovering over his phone, as if contemplating taking it out or not. "What really matters is you guys. I know… this mustn't be easy."

"Que sera, sera," Isshiki just voiced, offering the two of them a little nod. Soma said nothing, but his limited Spanish aside, he knew what Isshiki meant. They had no way of stopping this. All they could do was deal with the here and now, and get prepared as best they could. Soma had even texted his father, since he was here now (better late than never he supposed) and asked the elder man what his plan was. Jouichirou had told him he was trying something, which wasn't the most reassuring answer, but his dad did tell him to keep calm and that he would visit the Polar Star dorms soon enough.

"Just focus on yourself and on Erina and your friends. I'll see you soon enough and offer as much help as I am allowed, okay?"

Soma frowned. It was something, and he knew his father meant well, but that one-sided stare-down between his old man and Asahi was still stuck in his mind. He couldn't quite shake it off, and he really felt he needed to do something. But, he had no idea what that something even was.

Still, soon enough, a few of the other Polar Stars started joining them in the kitchen, likely because the stench had spread throughout the entire place once Nao forced Loren to start grilling the fish, and the conversation shifted all over the place. From Megumi trying to cheer everyone up, to Yuuki teasing Loren and him threatening to smash the morbid fish right into her face, everyone just chatted away and laughed, as per usual. But…

The thought remained. Small as could be, but it was there.

This could be it. The last days of their shared experiences. Of the lives they had learned to cherish so.

So through it all, despite how much they pushed that thought into the inner most recess of their minds, like a bacteria, it remained, waiting, expecting.

And, once everyone was there, only Ryoko noticed that Shun had slipped away from the crowd. She followed on, equal parts curious and worried, only to catch a glimpse of him in the dark hallway, his eyes on his phone screen. And the look he had, was not really one she had seen on him before.

Shun stared, his reflection only brightened by the dim screen, as a message he never thought he'd receive showed itself on his screen.

"They will never really appreciate your talent. If you are finally willing to admit this to yourself, come over to this location. You are more than welcomed to join our ranks and truly show them all what you can do."

And thus was how the exchange began, with Shun Ibusaki receiving the most tempting invitation by none other than the Noirs.

-0-

Ladies Night, as Alice also called it, was less what Erina had expected from her (limited) knowledge of it from Shoujo manga or movies, and a lot more like a childish sleepover… which she expertly pretended not to get giddy about. Still, inside her massive room, the princess found herself playing cards (at her request, not demand, let her be clear) with Alice, Hisako and Ikumi, all four girls sporting their best and most fashionable pajamas imaginable. They had not been skillful enough to avoid Leonora catching them and taking many pics of the four of them, which made three-parts of the quartet blush intensively.

"Stop trying to look at my hand!" Hisako cried out, pulling her hands closer to her chest, while glaring at Alice.

"Oh please, as if I'd need to cheat against you," Alice replied, smugly smirking at her, "You have a horrible Poker Face after all."

"Wait, we're playing Poker?" Ikumi blurted out, her eyes wide. "I thought we were playing Sevens!"

"We are, just a figure of speech," Erina corrected, finishing dealing the cards to everyone for their next round. She liked her current hand very much. Plenty of sevens and sixes to try and make the girls squirm. "But no cheating, Alice, otherwise you get a penalty."

"This game is simple!" Alice barked. "Why would I cheat?! As if I can't run circles over Hishoko and Nikumi here."

"…don't call me Hishoko."

"…don't call me Nikumi."

"To good to resist!" Alice cheekily added, grinning from ear to ear.

Erina just smiled. It was nice, despite all the turmoil, that when she felt down, these girls came rushing to indulge her in her childish tastes. She really needed to be a better friend after this, which reminded her…

"Oh, and Ikumi?"

"Y-Yes Milady?"

"That…" Erina noted, pointing her index finger at the girl. "No more of that. Call me Erina, you are one of my best friends. Stop putting me on a pedestal."

"I-I… Mi-" Ikumi tried, but Erina simply pouted harder. "Erina! Right, okay, wow, that's going to feel weird."

"You have no idea," Hisako added with a sigh. It had taken her a lot of effort.

"…Still, it's nice we get to hang out like this," Alice noted. "Next time, when we plan it not just so last minute, we can invite the Polar Star girls too. Have a true girls' night."

"Speaking of…" Erina recalled, turning to Hisako for a moment. "Didn't I see Julio also stop by when you guys arrived?"

"Uh, yeah, since you sent a text to our group chat that you wanted to see us without many details, all your aides, or I should say, friends, received it, him included," Hisako explained, and Erina just blinked, as she had not realized she still had that chat between her and her once-upon-a-time aides.

"Wait… No, I don't want him to feel bad," Erina quickly added once realization hit. "It would be weird to have him here, but still…"

"Worry not cousin of mine," Alice quickly chimed in. "I expertly took care of that…"

-0-

"Cover my ass, I'm going after the one with the chainsaw, he has the key," Kurokiba growled, his bandanna on, as he clenched his PlayStation 3 controller tightly.

"Wait, my ammunition is seriously low!" Julio replied, outright shaking in place, as both boys were seated in Kurokiba's room right in front of the television set and gaming console.

"No time! The zombies won't stop spawning! Aim for the head! Make every shot count!"

"Damn it! We're getting overwhelmed! I need herbs! Quick, Get away from the explody barrel! I'll explode those bastards to kingdom come!"

"I can take the hit! Take the damn shot!"

"Ahhh!"

-0-

"…And by that I mean Ryou's getting a play-buddy today too," Alice concluded, mentally noting that she didn't really specify her intentions with her boyfriend much, so she really hoped he didn't play with Julio over their safe file, for his sake.

"Oh, that's good then," Erina noted, wondering since when were Julio and Kurokiba friends? Not that she was complaining. The more of her friends that became friends with each other, the better.

"So…" Alice spoke up, placing her card down on the table. "What have you guys been up to lately?"

"Ah…" Hisako tried.

"Eh…" Ikumi tried.

"Hmm…" Erina didn't even bother.

"…I see," Alice responded, feeling her eye twitch a bit. She knew they had all agreed before they got together with Erina to avoid any conversation that involved the Intercontinental Shokugeki, and especially, the girl's parents or the whole Protect Erina movement. That of course, made it difficult to converse, since these very topics were the first thing that came to mind to all four of them.

"…You guys don't have to hold back on my account," Erina noted, reading the room, and instantly everyone could tell her eyes fell. They didn't much like this. "I know the topic on everyone's mind, what we're all concerned over. No need to dance around the subject because of me."

"But we're here to enjoy ourselves Mi-Erina!" Ikumi offered, shouting the last word because old habits really did die hard.

"~Mou, that sounded a lot more intimate than my cousin asked for," Alice added with a mischievous wink.

"Put a lid on it!"

"Hey! Where's all that high and mighty respect for me?!"

"Ignoring them," Hisako added, her eyes on Erina. "We can talk about whatever you want us to talk about. Be it about my studies, Ikumi's latest business ventures, or even, heaven forbid, anything related to Alice and her own molecular gastronomy research," Hisako added, despite a firm protest coming from the girl with the silver hair. "We can talk about our futures, our past, we can even be cliché and talk about boys if you want, Bechdel test be damned. We can talk about whatever you want, or of nothing at all if you prefer."

"I cannot measure how much I value you, you know that?" Erina simply stated, and it made Hisako blush a bit. Her former Lady had said it with so much honesty that it honestly made her a bit self-conscious. "So allow me to a bit selfish then," Erina continued, her eyes now on Hisako. "…How were you able to understand your own parents' separation? I… don't seem to be able to grasp it even this many years later."

"Erina…" Alice voiced, now focusing on her cousin. Ikumi did as well, her own eyes shifting from the heiress and towards the famed secretary.

"I don't really have a magic answer, sadly," Hisako replied honestly. She then smiled. "Momma and Poppa divorced when I was three, so I don't even remember it. They did it on purpose, deciding against trying to keep the marriage alive and then it hurting me once I was old enough to understand it, or so they tell me. They wanted me to grow up just seeing one place as Momma's house, and the other as Poppa's house. So it was never strange for me. I never had to adapt… When Momma remarried, Poppa was invited and he went and we all had a blast. I mean, you were there too, remember?" Hisako noted, her eyes on Erina, who nodded fondly. Hisako's mom had looked so pretty, and she was utterly fond of her father. "The two of them remain friends to this day, and I think that's what should happen. I… I can't really put to words, now that I'm older, how grateful I am for how they handled everything."

"That sounds so sweet," Alice noted. "I love your folks, they're the best."

"You should talk," Ikumi quickly cut in. "You practically won the lottery when it comes to parents."

"Your father is very firm, isn't he Ikumi?" Erina asked, her eyes now on the meat specialist.

"Yeah… But he's not bad, just strict," Ikumi noted, and Erina had to force herself not to stiffen at that comparison. It was what her own father always insisted he had been, but she knew. She knew how different Ikumi's father version of "strict" was when compared to her own father's. "Old-fashioned to a fault, but I wouldn't trade him for the world… Uh, not that that means-"

"Relax," Erina just said. "I am well aware that I have the most… troubling set of parents out of us all. But, I also do get Uncle Soe and Aunty Leonora, so I've got that going for me."

"And boy do they adore you," Alice said exasperatedly.

"Sounds like someone is jealous," Hisako noted with a grin.

"Have you seen how my parents treat her?!" Alice barked. "Like, if they had Erina and me dangling on each arm over a cliff, I'm sure I'm the one they'd let go!"

"Oh, don't be stupid Alice," Erina quickly reprimanded, even if she couldn't help herself from adding, "I mean, they would, but you can't fault them for it." Alice's massive pout was photo-worthy, too bad she had her phone on the opposite side of the room. She had been contemplating going to pick it up when they all heard a soft knock on the door.

The four got up, with Erina walking towards the door and opening up, revealing her Uncle, almost as if summoned.

"Uncle?" Erina asked, tilting her head, wondering if something was wrong. Her mind instantly flashed towards her grandfather, but before she could voice her concern, he replied, and the cheerfulness in his tone made it clear it wasn't anything bad.

"Oh, pardon me ladies," Soe told the four, as the other three just smiled and offered him a little wave. All of them liked him a lot. "But it seems you have one more guest Erina dear. Curious if you want to have him come up here, or if you rather greet him downstairs, if you want to that is."

"Guest?" Erina repeated, confused. Still, she nodded and asked her uncle who it was, and upon receiving the reply, she had no idea how to feel about it. Should she be happy, or…? She shook her head, she wasn't going to get anywhere second guessing herself at everything life threw at her. So she told her uncle she'd be down in a minute, and told the girls to give her a moment. So, dressed in her fanciest jammies, pretending it didn't embarrass her a little bit to be seen in them, she found her way downstairs, holding onto the stairs' rail, her eyes on her unexpected visitor. "…Asahi."

Her brother turned. The older boy had been looking at the many portraits found within the manor, and the moment he met eyes with her, she felt herself tense up. The silly pajamas was a mistake. He looked serious, mad even. But her uncle hadn't told her that. Said he had asked for her with the same jovial tone she had always seen him sport. Was this something regarding her specifically, or had he simply been acting when speaking to her uncle to avoid extra drama?

Asahi, for his part, wanted to feel anything at all right now except what he was truly feeling. He knew his plans had fallen through, and he needed to alter them correctly, otherwise Azami would win and he'd be left with nothing. Nothing, same as always. Erina, try as she might, had failed spectacularly. This privileged little darling, so used to having the world at her fingertips, had caved under the pressure and it was clear now that she was no longer any use to him. She'd never measure up against Dove, Ashitaro or Julius. Not even he could fix her at this point. He needed to alter his plans, and that meant, making sure the little princess didn't try to cling to him any further.

Which meant, for this first and last time, he should be completely honest with her.

"Erina… sorry to bother you," he said, and his tone was far colder than Erina had been hoping it would be. "But this is going to be quick."

"Quick?" Erina repeated, her eyes now reflecting the concern she felt. "You've been acting strangely since the last match. Is something wrong? Do you need something that-?"

"Stop, please, just stop," he said, and now he was smiling, just that it sounded far more sarcastic than anything. "Don't do that. We're done. I'm sorry sis, but I can't be the heroic big brother you want me to be. Not if you can't hold your own end of the bargain. Despite all of our practice, you've gotten worse, so I think we should really stop with our little training sessions, cause you are certainly not improving."

"…So that's what this is?" Erina asked, stepping down from the steps. "You came all this way just to criticize me? I mean, it's not untrue, just not something I expected from you of all people."

He laughed.

"What do you even know about me?" Asahi said with a smile. Erina wasn't smiling. "You just fooled yourself with this idea that I came out of nowhere, just when you needed me most. Grow up Erina, please. You just love the idea of having an older brother, I know it, you know it. There's nothing genuine about us. So I came here to give you your limo back, and to wish you the best luck at whatever it is you plan to do with the mess that is your life. God knows you'll need it."

He really had come over without a solid idea of what to tell her, just that he knew he needed to nip this at the bud, now and not later. This was getting too close for comfort, and Azami was so close to victory, that if he didn't act now, it would be too late. So, if even breaking this girl wouldn't work, next best thing was to discard her entirely.

So he fully expected her to cry.

Expected her to scream.

To argue. To fight. He expected her to break down because she really, truly believed the world revolved around her and she was the only one suffering…

So why…?

"Wow," she simply voiced, soaking in his words. "…We really are related."

Asahi, for all his frustrations, couldn't help but give pause. What?

"You certainly spoke without a filter," Erina noted, smiling a bit, despite the fact that he could tell her eyes were getting a little wet. "Came all this way just to tell me off and make me feel like shit, my, how utterly mature of you."

"I'm not playing games here, Erina," he warned.

"Neither am I," Erina insisted. Then she walked closer to him, and he braced himself to get slapped, because that was also a possibility, and at this point he knew he'd deserve it. Instead, she stepped up to him and tilted her head defiantly. "Asahi."

"I just told you – you damn spoiled brat, that I-"

"Every single word that you said," Erina interrupted, her eyes firmly on his, "I've told, and even worse one at that, to almost everyone I care about."

Asahi's eyes went wide, and he honestly didn't know how to even respond anymore.

"That whole act," Erina continued, and her tone was both serious, and worse still, somehow tender. "Masking my own pain and lashing out to those around me, those that didn't have any fault whatsoever about what was wrong with me, but since I wasn't brave enough to lash out at those responsible, I took it out on them. All my arguments against Alice. The times I took Hisako for granted. How I treated everyone who worked for me, or how I humiliated everyone who either hired my expertise or who studied here just because they didn't measure up to standards I didn't even set myself. I lived my entire life putting people down, just because I felt like utter crap. The boy I love, I humiliated him at every turn, because despite everything, it burned me up inside that he could be so damn happy and carefree all the time while I sunk on my own self-pity… But you know what? He stuck by me. Made me see, and I promised him, and myself, I would change. I am not the Erina from those months ago. But I can see through you perfectly, because you are acting just like I did. So, again, brother, what's wrong?"

"Wha-I, what?" was the best he could muster, actually having to take a step back from her and her intense eyes fixated on his. For the first time in his life, he couldn't muster up a comeback at all, having to settle for a, "Do you even hear yourself at all?!"

She crossed her arms across her chest, standing firmly before him. Expectantly. "If insulting me makes you feel better, then go ahead, shoot. But you can't fool me. It doesn't, and this is about far more than just you and me."

And he had no answer to give her. He just pantomimed an expression, raising his hand to try and push the words out, but he came out short. He had nothing left to say, no lie left to spew, and if he tried to speak more of the truth, even he wasn't sure what he'd say.

"…I bumped into Jouichirou today."

Her eyes widened at the name, and his widened at hearing himself confess that. He gave pause, wondering what the hell was going on, and she could see how freaked out he really looked. She had never really seen her brother like this at all.

"You are a protégé of his, right?" Erina asked. "Something tells me you may have skimmed out on the details when you spoke about that."

"I…" he began, and everything in him screamed to simply abort and leave, without saying anything else. It is what a Noir would do. It is what Asahi Saiba would do. But, for reasons he couldn't even comprehend, he said, "…I fooled myself into seeing him like a father. For months I clung to him, as he worked at the orphanage I was sent to. I learned to cook from him. No, not just that… I learned what being a man meant. How he walked, how he talked, how he interacted with others, I emulated all of it."

"…That sounds nice," Erina said, and she was sporting a smile he didn't quite understand.

"No, it wasn't. I shouldn't have," Asahi continued. "Because when he left, because of what happened to his wife, to… to Soma's mom, I felt abandoned. Betrayed, because I myself had built up this stupid, idiotic fantasy that he would adopt me. Finally give me a home. That if I was good enough, talented enough, he'd… And I thought I had pushed that all aside, but seeing him today, with him trying to talk to me, I just-just… It all came flushing right back. It… I wasn't his responsibility. He didn't plant that stupid fantasy in me."

"You were a child, Asahi," Erina countered. "Sometimes, fantasies are all that we have at that age. And I can't even begin to imagine what growing up like that would be. I'm sorry, and I admire Mr. Yukihira more than anything, but if you feel hurt by his actions, then it's not he who needs to talk to you, but rather, he should listen."

"Ah… I…" Asahi said almost without a voice. He didn't know what was real anymore. "Why are you doing this? Erina, have you any idea how much I've lied to you?"

"I assume I don't," Erina replied with a hint of snark, which forced him to bite down to avoid grinning. "But to be fair, I may have lied to you a little here and there too."

"You, lie to me?" Asahi asked, scoffing at the notion. "About what would you even lie to me about?"

"Well…" Erina tried, thinking a bit back to all their interactions. "Despite how I let you both in last time, I really, really do not accept you dating Dove. Like at all. Dump her."

This time his laugh was genuine. "Would you believe me when I brought her over, it was also a lie? She and I weren't actually on a date. We weren't anything."

"Oh thank good-!"

"We kinda are now, though."

"-ness… Shit!" Erina outright cursed, glaring at him and pouting just as fiercely. He laughed a little more.

"Seriously sis?" he asked. "You look a lot more offended about that than about… well, everything else."

"I do not approve," she outright growled, before she shook her head and tried to focus on what mattered. "Your awful tastes aside, you're not wrong. I clung onto you in a way that doesn't make any sense. With my, well, our father returning to my life, dismantling everything I hold dear, and my mother being here and it feeling like she isn't, I just wanted desperately to have someone on my corner. An actual family member I could depend on. It was selfish, I know, but with grandpa not being here, I was… scared."

"We do have… some shitty parents, don't we?" Asahi noted, his hands on his pockets once more. A defense mechanism if she ever saw one. Was her own body language anything like his, she wondered?

"You at least have an easier time talking back to Father," Erina noted. "I try, but I just can't seem to manage. One look and I'm six again."

"I almost got into a fist fight with him."

"Wait, what? Really?"

"Yeah… He was being a little bit too pushy with Dove, some time ago, before the whole dinner date and all that, so I stepped in," Asahi explained, shrugging at the memory. "I had no plan, funnily enough. But it's just, he makes it so…" Asahi said as he mimicked him strangling someone, "You get me?"

"…So that's what made her fall for you."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, sadly, nothing," Erina noted solemnly. It was probably genuine for them both at this point, much to her dismay. "But, just… get it off your chest. I knew from the start, that what I saw in you, was probably too good to be true. And its fine, I don't expect you to live up to my insanely high expectations… But at the very least, I can try and meet yours. If not as a chef, then maybe as an actual little sister."

He looked at her, a series of expressions flashing in his face for the briefest of moments, before he settled on a look that was neither mad nor sad, and yet both as well.

"…What do you want me to say?" he asked, and she shrugged. It wasn't her place to decide that. She had done enough talking all her life. For once, she'd listen, if only he'd let her. And despite everything. Despite every ill-intention, he still spoke, "…It's just, I… I didn't know of our Father until just… a few months ago, and I wasn't sure until even less than that. It's clear he doesn't want anything to do with me. Everything's appearances for that man… Jouichirou is the man I considered a father, and I'm so… So damn angry at him, for setting me up, for giving me hope and then disappearing without giving me the means of contacting him. Without ever checking up on me. And-And…" he gave pause, as now he felt his own eyes tear up. What was he even doing anymore? "My… my mom was worse. She hated me. And I mean, absolutely despised me. Why she even had me I'll never know. What the hell I did to merit all of that, I have no clue. I remember once I tried to hide her damn booze, because as a stupid kid you think it's that that makes mommy into a bad person, and I remember how she held my hand over the lit stove, hovering it just above the flames, threatening me to tell her what I had done otherwise she was going to punish me, in that way. I was a damn kid! I didn't know if she was going to really burn me or not. All I remember is crying and begging, but she didn't care. If not that, it was sinking my head into the filled up sink, and I remember not knowing if I was going to drown or not…"

Erina couldn't quite hide the horrified expression on her face. Her eyes had gone wide, and her features were utterly pale. Even her own father had never gone that far.

"To this day," Asahi continued, taking a moment to wipe his eyes with his sleeve. "To this damn day I don't feel anything whenever I visit her grave that isn't outright relief that she died… And a part of me feels sick that, even after everything I've done, I can still go this low…"

"She sounds horrible," Erina said firmly, before she motioned to her brother for a moment. When he gave her a confused look, she explained. "Take a seat," she said, motioning herself and sitting on the carpeted floor. When he looked at her strangely, she added, "Indulge me. Please. Sit."

He sat down, right on the floor next to her, still confused. She then turned back to look at him after pondering her next words carefully.

"…Our childhoods suck," Erina stated plainly. "I mean, even in the abuse department, you've got me beat, so there's that."

"Yay me," he replied with a pained smirk.

"But I get it," she assured, her head tilted and those big bright eyes focused on him fully. "I spent countless of hours roaming these very halls, playing on this very carpet. Such a big manor, so much money, how… lucky she is, I heard everyone say. The God's Tongue herself, she has such a privileged life. And, I did, but… Father forbade so much. All those broken toys, all those would-be friends he made me drive away, all those imaginary parties I threw, in my big, fancy dollhouse, where it was just me, and no one else. I really wish we could have met as kids… I know you would have kept me company, and I you. And maybe you don't see me as a sister, never did, never will, but I would have settled for being a friend. And I still do. So… screw your mother, screw my mother, and screw our father."

Asahi finally forced himself to stop staring at the floor and look back up towards Erina, and he honestly didn't know what to do. He had never, ever told anyone as much as he had told her now. All during the one moment he had meant to sever all ties with her, she forced him to do the opposite. And now, the King of Noirs had no back-up plan anymore.

"Asahi," her tender voice felt like a stab. "Why don't you quit Father's team? If he doesn't value you as he should, and your reasoning of being there so he wouldn't "bring in someone worst" is probably another lie, right?" Erina asked, her head tilted once more, and her brother could only nod. "…Then come over to our side. If its money you need, I can provide. If you are so prideful you don't want a charity, then come and work for Tootsuki. You have taught me plenty. You are insanely talented, and you are good at teaching. Work as a professor here. Lectures created by you would help the alumni incredibly."

"Erina, I-"

"At least consider it," Erina outright begged. "Please…"

And he knew he had no intention of taking her up on that offer. He wouldn't, couldn't settle on some nepotism job while Azami took over the entire culinary world. If anyone was to sit on that throne, it would be him, not his father, and not his little sister. And it hurt, it genuinely hurt, because for the first time in his life, he really, really wanted to just say "screw it" and take her up on the offer. Swallow his pride and trust that Satoshi Isshiki, Etsuya Eizan, that idiot Soma Yukihira and his little sister could somehow defeat those other three. But he knew better. No amount of "cooking for the one you love" would ever overcome those monsters. Only he could, and he couldn't take the three of them on by himself, so he needed to work on the other plan first. But, seeing his sister's eyes on him, inwardly begging him to just say what they both wanted him to say, all he could do was just… lie once more.

"…I'll think about it."

She probably saw through it, but she still smiled. The two of them quickly got up right afterwards, brushing themselves off, as he excused himself, ready to leave, almost prepared to outright run away, since this couldn't have gone any differently unless another person walked in and revealed themselves as the third secret sibling. Then they could all hug and cry and whatever. Damn it… Even his thoughts weren't making any sense anymore.

"One thing though," Erina added, as she accompanied Asahi to the main door. He gave pause, almost avoiding her gaze at this point. "You talk to me in that tone again and I am going to slap you, we clear on that?"

He laughed, because of course he did. "Yeah, yeah. Fair enough."

"And try to lie to me just a little less," she said, raising her hand and leaving a little gap between her thumb and her index finger to signify the tiny amount. "Just a bit."

"Fine," Asahi replied, then added, while pointing at her, "Those pajamas make you look like a dork."

"You make it very hard to like you, you know?" she shot back, pouting and blushing, which made him chuckle. He then turned around, and she was quick to add, "And hey! I know it won't matter much to you, big bad Noir that you are and all that, but…"

And as soon as she told him those words, he simply nodded and left, since he couldn't quite respond to that. Asahi walked right past him limousine, realizing he didn't quite give it away, but he wanted some fresh air. He'd call on it later if need be. But right now, his mind was a mess. It had sounded so simple. Fool the damn girl into thinking you care, use her, then take the culinary crown as your own. That was it. That was all he had needed to do.

But her words made him stop, right in the middle of nowhere, and in a blind fury, he kicked a nearby trash can, toppling it over, spilling its contents everywhere, before he proceeded to kick into it again and again, crushing it in mere moments…

"You've grown attached."

Another kick…

"Better than trying to disprove a dead mother."

And yet another…

"You should be very careful with your next choice of words, son."

And yet another…

"I should have kept in touch. Should have offered more assistance. You were young, and I was not emotionally mature enough to realize how much I had hurt you-"

And yet another…

"You should have never been born!"

And as all those words circled around him, in his blind fury, the ones that hurt the most, were still ironically enough the kindest said to him. Why would she just say something like that? These words, all from that dumb, naïve, useless, baby sister of his…

"And hey! I know it won't matter much to you, big bad Noir that you are and all that, but… I'm so glad that you were born."

"FUCK!"

And with nothing but a starless sky above him, and an utterly destroyed trash can around him, the King of Noirs no longer knew where his North pointed to at all…

-0-

Back at the Tootsuki Resort, as a variety of rumors circulated the halls now that the event had changed and every team had been eliminated save for the infamous Neo-Noirs, the students that would have been in charge of defending this very school had this challenge been presented just a year earlier had all retreaded back to their rooms.

Soumei stepped out of the shower, one small towel around his waist, barely concealing anything, while another hung over his shoulders. He took a glance at his bed, where it still didn't quite register for him that they were indeed sharing a room. Granted, Gin Doujima had been clear that they were adults now, so he didn't need to supervise them, but even so, it didn't make it any easier to see his girlfriend on his bed, dressed, of course, in the cutest onesie she could fit herself in. This… This was the reason everyone gave his the stink eye whenever he introduced her as his girlfriend. He had already pictured himself in handcuffs way too many times for it to be healthy.

"You take longer in the shower than Rindou does," Momo noted, turning her eyes from her phone, as she had just finished posting her latest pic on her social media pages, and setting them on him. She had to blink a few times to fully take in the visage of him and how little he was leaving to the imagination as was. "…D-Do you need me to step out for a moment?"

"If it makes you uncomfortable, you know you don't need to ask," he told her, and she shook her head. It was the opposite really. Still, what he did next did raise her blood pressure. "I took a little longer than usual because I can't seem to shake what Eishi told us, what he wants us to do," he told her, utterly oblivious to the fact that he had removed both towels and had proceeded to search for his robes, utterly preoccupied about his own feelings that he didn't notice how Momo was squirming in that bed trying and failing to avert her eyes. She caught one hell of a glimpse at every single inch of him, and that was not a cute thing for a cute girl to do. "…What do you think?" he asked, turning to her, finally wearing a robe.

The girl was covering her face with Bucchi, as steam seemed to come out of every pore in her body.

"Momo?"

"You are shameless!" she screamed out, pouting at him, which made him tilt his head. "Don't undress so casually in front of me!"

"But you said it didn't make you uncomfortable," he told her, and she wanted to smack him. "Besides, we are dating. So it doesn't matter. You're the one for me, of that I am sure, so no need to save myself for the right one when she's right here."

"Stop!" the increasingly flustered petite girl shrieked. "Too much! Tone it down!" she added, before she hugged Bucchi tightly, sighing a bit. "T-This isn't fair. You can't show me that and then expect me to just roll over and sleep…"

"Wait," he said, slowly realizing what she meant, and "Do you actually want to-?"

"Change the subject!" she outright demanded. "Go back to Eishi and his moronic plan!"

"Uh… Oh, right," Soumei began, brushing his wet hair back. Momo was both loving and hating this moment. "What do you think? You're usually smarter than I am when it comes to this whole plotting thing. You think his idea will help us save Tootsuki?"

"Eishi knows what he is doing," Momo noted firmly, her eyes narrowed. "We already saw just how… much this has hurt Erinyan. She can't take any more of this. And if those Neo-Noirs are as tough as everyone says, we have to intervene."

"But damn it," Soumei cursed, taking a seat next to her, as she scudded over to get closer to him. "Tosuke already said no. I know they guy made a name of himself for hating the whole Shokugeki system, but you'd think, just this once, he'd try and give a shit. It's all of our careers at stake here. Tootsuki loses and all our diplomas lose value on the spot."

"…It would still be four against four," Momo noted, discreetly placing her head on his lap, and of course, as always, he didn't protest. Instead, he began to caress her hair. How she loved that. "Might make it a more enticing deal for Azami if we challenge him like this."

"Maybe," Soumei said, softly caressing her, before he added, and the more serious tone he used did catch her attention. "Just… promise me one thing."

"What?"

"If this does go down," Soumei told her. "No matter what arrangements we make. Promise me you won't go against that Sadatsuka guy. Leave him to me."

"You think I can't take him?" she asked, and it was clear she had been offended by the idea, she turned, her head still in his lap, but her now facing upwards. "I'm not afraid of any of them."

"I am," he replied so earnestly it honestly shocked her. "…Just humor me, alright. What I saw in his eyes, this is not a guy that just wants to settle things in the kitchen. Those are they eyes of someone who has hurt people before, and will hurt more if he's not stopped. Just… trust me. I don't want you to be in any sort of peril."

"…Fine," she simply agreed, knowing that trying to argue it any further would just make him worry endlessly. She could still make due with any of the other three Noirs, and she'd have plenty on her plate regardless of who she ended up against. "Say Soumei…"

"Yeah?"

She said nothing else, just lifted her arms, signaling him to take her into his arms. He protested, because they were both wearing very few layers and he was just a man, but the little, satisfied smirk she gave him made it clear she was very well aware of this fact.

On the room next to theirs, trying his best to drown out the sounds, Tosuke sat on his bed, his luggage already packed and ready to just go away come morning. He had told Eishi and the others very clearly from the start that he had only agreed to come back to offer his assistance to the current Elite Ten, and even then it had been him forcing himself to help. What Eishi wanted now, while it made sense, was not for him. He'd wish them all the luck in the world, but he wanted no part in it. Only thing stopping him, now, funnily enough, was the young woman on the phone.

"You should stay, offer support at least," Sonoka Kikuchi told him through the speakers, and as always, she sounded so polite and sweet even while worried. "I know you care about them. All of them. You are just going to regret it later."

"…This isn't my fight to take part in," was all he offered, his eyes closed.

"I know that sweetie," Sonoka added, "B-But… just wait a bit, okay? I… well, I didn't want to ruin the surprise, but I'm stopping by too."

"You're coming to Tootsuki?"

"Surprise!" she said with a forced smile. "I wanted to, well, surprise you. But, given your insistence on leaving, I want to tell you so you at least wait for me, please…"

"You don't have to do this."

"I kinda already asked Taki to cover for me," Sonoka sheepishly added. "And after all the complaining she did before she agreed, I do not want to hear how much she'll let me have it if I cancel and she had to reschedule her shifts once more. So, please… for my sake, don't go yet…"

Tosuke just sighed. What was he to even do at this point? There was no way he could say no to that. And besides, he did want to see her, so, against every fiber of his being, the chef that hated the Shokugeki with all his might just muttered a little, "…Fine."

And on the last room of the bunch, oblivious to his friends respective concerns and worries, Eishi sat on the bed, his finger passing article through article on his phone, all related to the many business ventures Azami Nakamura had and just how much power this man still had despite all the negative public perception he had garnered due to the Protect Erina movement. Clearly some men were too strong to be taken down.

"Are you still reading about him?" Rindou asked, stepping out of the shower, clad in just a form fitting towel, her cat-like eyes quickly fixated on her boyfriend. "It's late. Let's try and rest."

"I know Rin," Eishi replied, setting the phone to the side. "It's just… We have to act, and act now. I already got in contact with Azami's aide, Shawn, and scheduled a meeting with the man."

"That was fast," Rindou noted.

"I need to be," Eishi said. "He's moving fast, so we need to match that. But, luckily for us, this little stunt he pulled, pushing back the date like that, it gives us a little leeway. If he can alter the conditions to suit him, then we can ask the same in turn."

"…This is going to piss of the Elite Ten, you know?" she sort-of asked, because it was obvious. He just nodded.

"They'll have to deal," he simply replied. "Erina, for as strong as she is, can't be expected to cook anymore. It's too much, and I get it. I can't even begin to imagine what it must feel to be her. Etsuya won't even set foot in that arena come the next match, and as much as I like Soma, I know he's good, but these guys, they're outright magic. And we can't act like everything happening to Erina isn't weighting down on him as well. Satoshi alone can't salvage this…"

"So we really are going to replace them?"

"Azami already has this stigma of being an abusive father, so I'm sure I can persuade him to change the line-up and make us four, you, me, Momo and Soumei, be the ones to take on his Neo-Noirs, that way he seems like a fair man who places his daughter's health before the competition, and gives us a shot at actually saving Tootsuki…"

"Eishi."

"It's a damn shame that Tosuke is being Tosuke and doesn't want to compete, because we could really use him, but we'll make due…"

"Eishi."

"Four on four will still sell the views, which is what Tootsuki, the WGO and Azami himself wants most, so we can still keep those numbers up. Plus, us coming in at the last second to save the day will surely garner a lot of interest from many professionals who have been following our careers…"

"Eishi!"

"But we need to be ready, because from everything I've dug up, these Neo-Noirs are the real thing, so we need to be absolutely sure we bring nothing but our best to the-"

Rindou frowned. She had enough. So instead of calling his name again, she simply gave her towel a tug, and allowed it to fall to the floor. It took Eishi less than two seconds to notice and promptly shut up, whatever he had been saying lost as his brain had to do a small restart.

"Ah, finally caught your attention," the cheeky nude girl said with a little flirty grin.

"Rin!" Eishi quickly cried out, as he got up and quickly moved towards the door, locking it in a haste. "The door was unlocked, don't just… strip," he told her, almost whispering the last word like if it were a curse of some kind.

"It's your job to make sure this…" she said, signaling to her hourglass figure seductively, "Remains for your eyes only. But, now that I have your undivided attention, and then some, allow me to say this…" she added, and despite her current state of undress, her next words carried a far more serious tone than he had been expecting, "Think very carefully of this. I will follow you to the ends of the world, and you know this. But… We are no longer the Elite Ten. They are. And they've fought tooth and nail to survive this long. You and I both know, that if we do this change, they are not just going to stand back and let us handle things. They are going to challenge us for this."

"Rin," Eishi replied, his eyes finally finding her own. "…I know. But you've seen how they are. They are good, I trust in them, but this is too much. They can't match us in our little mock battles, so even if they do challenge us, it won't matter. If to save this school, we have to beat them too, then so be it."

"…Just be sure," was all she said, moments before they dropped the topic and she took him into her arms and into the bed, ready to break it in two, "A cornered animal will bare its fangs at even the strongest predator. And we will be pushing them to their utmost limit… Don't be surprised, by just how much ferocity they come to us with…"

-0-

Dove Dillinger wanted to pretend she was as assured as she had made herself out to be in front of the crowd. She didn't doubt her skills. It wasn't that. She was sure, no matter who challenged her, be it from Tootsuki, the rival schools, or even her own team, she had more than enough skills to crush them all. Nothing short of a graduate the likes of Shinomiya or Hinako could ever hope to take her down, and that wouldn't be true for much longer. But, she still felt uneasy.

She hadn't had much time to speak with her mother lately, and she felt utterly homesick at this point.

She hadn't spoken to her baby sister at all, since the few times she called Baby Ruth was either sleeping or her mother was out and the kid was with her nanny. And damn it, she wanted to hear the little girl's voice mispronounce her name!

And, as if to add insult to injury, Loren hadn't called her, like at all. And while the idea of finally being on her own had seem like a dream come true when she first set foot within this resort, after all these weeks, she hated, hated to admit it, but damn it, she missed her little brother. She wanted to snuggle up to him and sleep with him as if he were a body-pillow. What did he think he was, all-grown up?! He had been mentioning that Nao girl way too much, and her big sister instincts were kicking in. It was dumb, but she was even toying with taking Soma Yukihira's offer and dropping by the dorms unannounced just to check up on him… Should she though…?

And then there was Asahi. He had been acting weird, and she hated how she was concerned over that.

'Gotta love it when the one thing I absolutely hate is the only thing I'm good at,' Dove mused to herself, throwing herself at the bed. Just as she did, she heard a knock on her door, and she outright groaned. If this was Azami with more of his plotting and going over their plans she was going to scream.

Still, she picked herself up and dragged herself to the door, opening it violently before she outright growled out a, "What?!"

However, rather than a displeased Azami (because honestly the man rarely sported any other face), it was Asahi.

"Dove…"

"Asahi, h-hey?" she tried, mentally kicking herself for still feeling her heart skip a beat at the sight of him. They had already gone all the way, so she should be better prepped for this, but just the reminder of his body over hers and his hands touching places even she had not yet explored before made her feel faint. "…Ah, is this a booty call? Because, let me tell you, I cannot stress enough how we shouldn't be seen…" then she paused, finally seeing it, and all pretenses of playing down her nervousness was replaced by genuine worry. "Asahi, have you been crying? What's wrong?"

"Just," he tried. "I don't want to put you in danger. I'm not lying, about this, I swear I'm not."

"…I know," Dove replied, but when he looked away she quickly placed her hands on his cheeks and cupped his face gently. "Hey, I know. You're not using me, I don't distrust you, okay?"

"You think you can accompany me for something?"

"Eh… right now?"

"If you can't that's fine, I know it is so last minute and-"

"I-It's fine," she assured. "I'll get ready. Seems you really need this little trip. Don't think this is a surprise date, now is it?"

"Wish it was babe," he replied. "There's someone I need to talk to… and I don't think I'm brave enough to do so by myself."

Dove just nodded, confused, but she was already in too deep to back down now. So she got ready, and soon enough, they both found themselves in the limousine Asahi had earlier sworn to throw back into Erina's face (figuratively of course) only to have her turn his entire plan on its head with just kind words and that little smile of hers that he was learning he just couldn't pretend not to be affected by.

The drive was mostly quiet, with Asahi staring out the window, at all the passing scenery, as they were driven right out of Tootsuki's main gates, all the while Dove was busy checking stuff out on her phone. Or at least, she pretended that was what she was doing. She had a lot on her mind, but from the look of things, so did he. So, for as out-of-character as it would seem, Dove softly placed her hand on his, which did cause the boy to flinch for a moment, before he turned to her, and this was the most vulnerable she had ever seen him.

"You know you can talk to me," she told him, biting her lower lip in the process. She was still nervous, and it showed. This was uncharted waters for her after all. Asahi just nodded, but before she could ask, he simply moved in.

One kiss, softly on her lips, enough to take her breath away and cause her to squirm in her seat. This was simply too much.

"Thanks," he told her. "For being here. I don't think I would have worked up the courage to do this without you."

She had meant to ask what that meant, heck, where they were going at that, but no sooner had that thought crossed her mind that the place of destination appeared at the distance. Dove's eyes widened, because of course she had heard of this place. It was the bane of Azami's existence, and the one place she had never expected to visit in her lifetime. But, such was life. What seemed impossible just days ago, was now her reality. And slowly, she begun to understand just what it was that Asahi Saiba really wanted to do. She just hoped it was indeed for the best. Regardless, there they were…

…right outside the ever-infamous Yukihira Diner.


%

...And The Curtain For The Final Arc Rises!