Kyandi: Hey all!
Ariadne: We're sorry the update is coming so late in the day.
Kyandi: I ended up making this chapter a little longer than the others, so that took a little more time.
Ariadne: She just loves to make me tease either the most un-teasable of people or the people who react too well to it.
Kyandi: It's fun. Watch, they'll agree.
Ariadne: Maybe.
Kyandi: Anyway, I hope you're all keeping yourselves safe and healthy.
Ariadne: Don't forget to take care of yourselves!
Kyandi: And with that, everyone, enjoy and review. Please review! I need feedback so I know it you guys like it.
Ariadne: Kyandi-sama does not own Shokugeki no Soma.
Chapter 6 Right to Survive
That night, after the rest of their assignments were done and over, Ariadne joined Souma and Megumi and heading for the kitchen where they would be meeting up with Doujima and Shinomiya. They found the two waiting for them.
"Totsuki Villa's annex wasn't suppose to be used for this training camp. In the kitchen on it's first basement, in here, no one will disturb us." Doujima told as four more of their instructors joined them, Inui left in a corner, tied to a chair.
"Wh-why are there so many alumni here?" Megumi asked, her nerves starting to take over.
"I had them come as judges. All since Inui seemed like she wouldn't be impartial." Doujima replied.
"Well, that explains the "Just a Spectator" sign hung around her neck." Ariadne remarked, chuckling lowly to herself.
Ariadne had the strong urge to tease Inui while she was unable to do anything back. Acting on impulse, something Souma and Megumi were coming to expect from the girl, Ariadne walked over to Inui, bending to to poke at one of the cheeks Inui had puffed out in annoyance. A grin spread across Ariadne's face as Inui pouted.
Gotoda chuckled as he watched Ariadne playfully poke at the older woman.
"An unofficial Food War...moreover, in the middle of the training camp, an alumnus vs. a student. I wonder what would happen if Chapelle-sensei gets to know of this." Gotoda remarked.
"He'll get angry...a lot." Sekimori replied.
"If we're found out, I'll run...and make it Shinomiya's fault." Mizuhara added.
"I heard you Mizuhara!" Shinomiya snapped.
The bulging vein in the man's forehead only grew when he heard Ariadne lightly snickering in the background. When he turned a glare on her, she merely gave him a grin, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
"Starting now," Doujima said, butting in before Shinomiya could really lose his temper with Ariadne. "We'll hold a 2-vs-1 casual match!"
"2-vs-1? But there are three students here." Gotoda remarked, his eyes shifting from Souma to Megumi, and finally landing on Ariadne as the girl straightened up.
"I'm merely here to spectate." Ariadne replied.
"Spectate?" Sekimori repeated.
"She's a spectator with her enrollment at Totsuki in the hands of her classmates." Shinomiya sneered, as if he thought that would get to Ariadne.
His response, though, had him clicking his tongue in annoyance.
"Eh."
That was the single, lone sound that left Ariadne as she gave a what-can-you-do kind of shrug of her shoulders. It was as if the girl truly didn't care. Shinomiya was starting to think that was the case.
"Don't you care that you're going to get expelled, putting your trust in the hands of others?" he snapped.
"Not at all." Ariadne gave him a wide grin, waving a hand before her. "You really should learn to relax and not to sweat things. It takes all the fun out of life when you're so uptight. You know, it's a real shame. You're a solid nine out of ten on the scale of looks, but your personality is a solely lacking three."
With that last comment, Shinomiya didn't know whether to be flattered that she thought he was good looking, or insulted that she thought he had a crap personality. Being a prideful man, the latter won out.
"What was that?!" he snapped.
"Sorry, but I don't believe I stuttered. I thought it was pretty clear. Is my Japanese that bad?"
At the earnest smile that curled Ariadne's lips, Shinomiya had to use every last shred of self-control not to scream his frustration with the girl. It was like she honestly didn't notice that she had just insulted him, or the seriousness of the situation she was in. Doujima stepped in before Ariadne could drive Shinomiya's blood pressure up any higher than it already was.
"These vegetables are left-overs from today's assignment." Doujima said, drawing their attention back to him. "The theme will be a dish that uses them. Furthermore...I'll put one more condition, Tadokoro Megumi, you must be the lead cook."
If it wasn't for the sheer panic Ariadne could see on Megumi's face, she might have laughed at the stunned look on Souma's.
"I have to be the lead cook?" Megumi repeated.
"Yes, you must choose the recipe alone. Yukihira, you must only be of support to her." Doujima told the two.
"Doujima-senpai! It was me, who made the challenge for the Food War, so, why?" Souma demanded.
"I'm mediating a challenge that wouldn't have happened otherwise, I'll have you accept the conditions I put. Yukihira...let's say you win with your cooking skills and make Tadokoro survive, what good will it do? That wouldn't change the fact that she's a hanger-on. She would just be disqualified eventually on another assignment, or would she have Yukihira...or someone else," Here Doujima's eyes turned to give Ariadne a pointed look. The girl merely blinked back innocently. "Save her again? Whether Tadokoro should stay or not in Totsuki, is something she has to show herself. Starting tonight, on this moment...in this kitchen, Tadokoro-kun...you're a chef."
Ariadne knew he had a point. Totsuki was a hard school to survive in. If Megumi couldn't do it on her own, than she would never make it. She had to settle this on her own terms.
"Doujima-san, I've already decided the dish I will cook, may I begin preparing it?" Shinomiya butted in, having already gathered what he needed.
"Sure, go ahead." Doujima replied.
Shinomiya turned away from the selection of vegetables, a pan balanced between one arm and his hip. He came to a stop facing Souma and Ariadne, a smirk on his face.
"Hmph...I feel for you, Yukihira, Sinclair!" he told them.
"Why is that?" Souma asked.
"You're feeling desperate, right?" Shinomiya asked.
"Not really."
Shinomiya ignored Ariadne's input. He was becoming more and more convinced that the girl had a screw loose somewhere in her head. That, or her obvious hair dye had seeped into her brain.
"Because your expulsions depend on the skills of that dunce." Shinomiya continued.
"Did you hear that hateful way of speaking!?"
Shinomiya turned when Inui suddenly spoke, the woman free of her binds.
"That's why you don't last long with women, Shinomiya-san." Gotoda added.
"I agree with Sinclair. Shinomiya, I think you really have a bad personality." Mizuhara added.
Shinomiya could hear the snorted laugh that Ariadne tried so hard to hold back.
"Silence, outsiders! Wait...Hinako, when did you get rid of the ropes?!" Shinomiya demanded.
"Whoops." Shinomiya whipped around to face Ariadne, the girl idly swinging a rope from between two fingers, a grin curling her lips as she pressed her free hand to her cheek. "I really do apologize. I just have the stickiest of fingers."
"Why you-"
"A little advice, Shinomiya-senpai," Ariadne cut Shinomiya off, giving him the sweetest smile she possessed. A smile that didn't match the sharpness in her icy eyes. "You really don't want to start a pissing match. I'm a girl...I'll win."
Puffing up like he wanted to start a verbal fight, Shinomiya quelled the desire. He knew he would beat whatever Megumi could put out and then he would be rid of Ariadne as well as Souma and Megumi. Turning on his heel, he got to work starting his preparations, only stopping long enough to yell at Inui to shut up when she started cheering for Megumi.
Megumi, already freaking out since she had to be lead cook and choose the recipe, only started panicking even more as she stood before the selection of ingredients. Her hands started to tremble despite her best efforts to tell herself to calm down. Souma saw this, turning to her.
"Just for your information, you can't revise her recipe." Doujima warned Souma. "Because you're only a sous-chef. You thought that Tadokoro is worth surviving here, right? If you say you can't believe on her cooking skills, then step down from this challenge."
"There's no way I can step down, I'm a chef, you know? Like I'll run away from the kitchen." Souma told him.
"I see. Sinclair?"
Doujima turned to Ariadne, who merely gave him a smile before she lowered herself into a chair, settling in as she crossed her legs.
"I'm not someone willing to back down from a challenge that is obviously good for someone, and I won't apologize for coming to the defense of a friend. If you're looking for someone like that, than you can look somewhere else. Que sera sera." Ariadne replied, spreading her hands in a what-can-you-do manner. "Besides...I've tasted Megumi's food. I'm not worried."
Ariadne turned her eyes to Souma, giving him a small nod. Grinning, Souma nodded back before turning to Megumi. In her panic, Megumi had gone nearly deaf, only barely hearing Souma when he ordered her to put her hand together and hold them out in front of her. Megumi did as told and almost as soon as her hands were in the position that he wanted them in...Souma slapped them between his as hard as he could.
The sting, sharp like a stabbing knife, snapped Megumi out of her panic. Though it had scared her and had, obviously hurt, Megumi released that her hands were no long trembling. It wasn't a way Ariadne would have chosen to ease her tension, but she couldn't deny that it had worked. With a little pep talk, Souma gave Megumi the space she needed to decide on a dish to make. While she did that, he sat to the side and waited.
When Megumi finally decided, Ariadne could see the confidence that Souma gave her. With Souma as her support, the two got to work. They quickly gathered what they would need for the dish and started dividing up the tasks. Shinomiya, waiting for his own dish to cook, watched the two, Inui approaching him.
"Shinomiya-senpai!"
"What is it, Hinako?" Shinomiya asked.
"Putting "restaurant" and "Tadokoro" together, sounds pretty nice, doesn't it!" Inui told him.
If there was a joke there, or something, then it completely went over Ariadne's head. Shinomiya, though, got it and only grew annoyed with Inui.
"Tie her again and put her somewhere far away from here." Shinomiya ordered before turning to look at Ariadne. "And do not free her this time!"
"No promises. I like to tease people and you make it all too easy." Ariadne replied honestly, grinning at his put out expression.
Turning her attention away from him, Ariadne focused in on Megumi. The girl was calm now, her mind focused on her task and her hands steady. Ariadne watched as Megumi cut tomatoes in half, sprinkling them with something before putting them in the oven. By the time she finished that, Souma had the meat ready for her.
Once again, Ariadne was taken in by just how well Megumi and Souma worked together. It was almost as if Souma knew exactly when and what Megumi would need next. It just went to show that Souma really did have experience in working in a kitchen, he moved so fast and without hesitation. He even managed to impress the chefs watching him. Ariadne could understand their fascination and awe.
Shinomiya, on the other hand, did not seem impressed.
When it finally came time to judge, it was Shinomiya that stepped up with his dish, first.
Ariadne leaned forward in her seat to see what it was that he had sat in front of the other chefs. She recognized the dish almost instantly.
"Chou Farci." Ariadne said. "It's native to the Auvergne Region of France. You stuff cabbage leaves with minced meat or vegetables, wrap it and steam it."
"Yes. This...is somehow unexpected." Gotoda said, looking down at the dish.
"This is a standard dish cooked frequently in French families." Sekimori added.
"This was...a bit of a let-down." Inui said bluntly. "For the Shinomiya-senpai who always made showy dishes to make this."
Inui's reward for her opinion, was a karate chop to the top of the head. Ariadne was too distracted by the smell that burst forth when Gotoda cut into his food. The smell of potherbs like lettuce, collard, chard, and endives reached her nose. She could tell, just from the smell, that the taste would be good too. It made her stomach growl. Apparently, the other chefs agreed with that judgment. They all five gave the dish high praise.
"Hey, how was the flavor, Mizuhara?" Shinomiya demanded.
"If it could erase my memories regarding Shinomiya it would've been perfect." Mizuhara replied.
"Hmm...that's a pity." Shinomiya mocked.
"However that was unexpected, Shinomiya. I was sure that we'd get to eat one of "Shino's" specialties." Doujima remarked.
Shinomiya took a moment to wipe clean his glasses, replacing them back on his face before he answered. While he had a confident grin on his on his face, Ariadne had looked in on something that, by the looks of it, Doujima had also noticed.
"Your jokes aren't funny, Doujima-san. My opponents are just students. Did you think I'd be so merciless?" Shinomiya asked.
If Ariadne was to answer that question...she'd go with a resounding yes.
The man was so arrogant that all it took was Ariadne looking at his smug smile to make her want to smack the mother-loving god out of him.
But she was a good, little French girl, and good girls didn't smack people.
For now.
"Here. please enjoy the meal!"
Ariadne perked up when Megumi stepped forth with her dish. A curt laugh escaped Ariadne's lips when the dish she presented to the judges...was a terrine, the very dish that had started this whole thing.
"It's the dish which made Shinomiya-senpai fail Megumi-chan!" Inui exclaimed in surprise.
"This dish uses seven varieties of vegetables...it's a rai-rainbow terrine!" Megumi told them.
"Hmm...interesting. So you want to nitpick at my recette, the Nine Vegetable Terrine?" Shinomiya demanded.
"No...um, I-I-I...I just wanted to see...how my recette is!" Megumi replied.
Ariadne sat back and watched as Megumi grew tenser and tenser as she awaited feedback. Each of the judges took a bite, taking a moment to thoroughly taste the dish presented to them. Watching them really made Ariadne want to give it a try.
The collective consensus was that it was delicious.
"You made seven colored layers of pate using potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and other vegetables and the vegetable of each layer is cooked in a way that its flavor livens. I'm amazed you could do all these in such a small amount of time." Sekimori praised. "There's two sauces...a bittersweet sudachi gelee and refreshing green herb sauce which is a paste made from various herbs with perilla as the main ingredient!"
"Hmm...! To think you'd make us eat terrine with sudachi and perilla, that's an interesting idea!" Gotoda agreed.
"The combination of the fragrant saute zucchini and the herb sauce...is superbly refreshing!" Inui chimed in.
"Sudachi and the somewhat sweet tomatoes...also go well." Mizuhara noted.
"I see! By combining the seven layers of pate and the two different sauces...you can enjoy fourteen different flavors! It's exciting how it makes you want to try different patterns." Gotoda remarked.
"Yes...to think these bright colorful stripes aren't only pleasant to the eye but they also have an effect on the taste!" Sekimori agreed.
"Oh...these cherry tomatoes, they're dried tomatoes, right, Tadokoro-kun?" Doujima asked.
"Ye-yes! In my hometown, a lot of snow falls on winter. So we make all of the vegetables we harvested on summer into preserved foods so that we can eat them in winter. We dry them under the sun. When I was helping out with that, my mom...my mother taught me how to do it in an oven. You sprinkle tomatoes cut in half with rock salt and dry them carefully in an oven heated to 120 degrees Celsius. They become sweeter and taste really good. I thought they could become a good accent for the terrine." Megumi replied.
"Yes...tomatoes contain one of the key substances of deliciousness, glutamic acid. By drying them, that deliciousness condensates and the sweetness you feel with your tongue is increased greatly. Shinomiya's Nine Vegetable Terrine is a dish where you can enjoy the flavors of fresh vegetables, but this recette has the goodness born of preserved food with time, all while being another Vegetable Terrine. The good flavors of freshness and deliciousness born from curing. They are totally opposite approaches towards vegetables!" Doujima explained.
And it really made Ariadne's mouth water.
Ariadne was forced to forget her growling stomach, for the moment, when Inui, Sekimori, and Gotoda started arguing about a nickname for Megumi. Ariadne didn't really see the point in that. After all, they were there for them to judge food, not give Megumi some cutesy nickname. Just knowing that these chefs liked her food, though, was enough to reduce Megumi to happy tears. Ariadne was glad for that much, at least.
Megumi needed to learn to have a little more confidence.
"Alright then, it's time for the verdict. These coins represent votes," Doujima told them, holding up a join in one hand. "Each judge will be given one. Choose which had better taste between Shinomiya and Tadokoro-kun."
Ariadne, her arms crossed loosely in her lap, sat back to watch as each judge approached the counter and laid their coin in front of the chef they liked more. Megumi kept her eyes closed the whole time, only opening them when she heard the third click that informed her that the last coin had been laid down. Megumi's eyes fixed in on the plates before them.
Really, Ariadne didn't know what the smirk on Shinomiya's face was for.
It wasn't like he should take any pride from beating a couple of high school students.
"Ha...sorry for you. Well, don't get depressed, this was the expected result. Well then, I have to wake up early tomorrow so I'll excuse myself." Shinomiya said, turning to walk away.
Megumi instantly apologized to Souma and Ariadne, for dragging them into the whole mess, but Ariadne merely waved it off, even as Megumi started crying.
"The difference in ability is evident. I should say this was Shinomiya's complete victory." Doujima remarked before the sound of a coin clicking down on a plate, filled the room.
Shinomiya came to a stop, turning back to see Doujima placing a coin on Megumi's plate.
"The contest should be over. What are you trying to do?" Shinomiya asked.
"Hm, no, well, I just wanted to acknowledge the value of this dish, so I casted my vote." Doujima replied.
"Doujima-san...? Just what are you...?" Gotoda asked, trailing off.
"What are you saying? You weren't even a judge. Moreover, "you acknowledge the value of that dish"? That's beyond my understanding, Doujima-san." Shinomiya remarked.
"You really don't understand?" Doujima asked, flipping a coin to Shinomiya, the latter catching it easily. "The answer lies in the dish Tadokoro-kun made. Shinomiya, aren't you...stagnating?"
Even if he wanted to deny it, the expression on Shinomiya's face wouldn't let him. Ariadne couldn't help but wonder where his smirk was now.
"From the looks of it, he already noticed." Ariadne remarked, propping an elbow on the arm of her chair before dropping her chin into her hand.
"So it would seem." Doujima agreed. "You already noticed that now that you have the medal, you don't know what you should strive for. That you're standing stock still on the top and you heaven't advanced even one step. Stagnation for a chef means two things, retrogression and staying the same. You didn't make one of your specialties for this match because you don't want to let us know that your cooking is on a standstill, right?"
"Shut up! What do you know!? What would you who are just one of Totsuki Group's employees know about me!?" Shinomiya demanded.
Picking up a plate of Megumi's dish, Doujima held it out to Shinomiya.
"Try it. Tadokoro-kun's dish."
"Hmph...why should I?" Shinomiya demanded.
"Because you're a prideful Japanese man and you don't want to seem like a scaredy cat."
Shinomiya turned a glare on Ariadne, she merely shrugged her shoulders in response. Grin on her face, she gestured to the plate in Doujima's hand. The expression on her face said it all...if he didn't try the dish, she wouldn't let him live it down, and, from what he had seen of Ariadne's personality so far, she would drag others into it. Heaving a silent sigh, Shinomiya took the plate and cut off a bite, sticking it into his mouth.
"Hah...the heating was too indulgent. The arrangement too, the pate aren't well-joined either. Doujima-san, haven't you become decre..."
A smile curled Ariadne's lips when Shinomiya trailed off and took another bite. He set the knife and fork down, bracing his hands on the counter top, his mouth twisted. Then, to Ariadne's surprise, a single tear rolled down Shinomiya's cheek before he dropped a coin on Megumi's plate and wiped the tear away. The expression on his face, in that moment, was actually very pleasing to Ariadne's eyes.
Then he opened his mouth again.
"Hey dunce." Shinomiya called out.
"Y-yes!" Megumi replied, her back snapping straight.
"The spices you prepared for the pate...was it allspice?" Shinomiya demanded.
"A spice useful for taking away the unpleasant smells of some foods." Mizuhara remarked.
"It seems that's what you used to remove the bad smell of the chicken liver." Gotoda added.
"Ah...of course there's that too, but since yesterday all of the senpai were constantly eating while judging everyone's cooking. So, um...in addition to removing smells, allspice has a digestive effect, so...e-even if just a bit, I wanted to include something that would make it easier on your stomach." Megumi admitted.
Of course, this had both Inui and Gotoda in tears. Ariadne could understand that. Megumi was, first and foremost, a very sweet person. She was very considerate and that showed in her cooking.
"Even if it's clumsy, it leaves an impression on you." Doujima remarked. "That's the type of cooking it is. Even in a contest, she tried to look out for the people who would be eating her food. You're clearing the way to the top and yet, you still consider such important things?"
Shinomiya didn't respond, lost in his thoughts as he was. It was Inui slamming something down on Megumi's plate that snapped him out of it, the man turning to stare at the woman and the five hundred yen piece she had placed on the plate.
"There...now the votes are tied. In other words, it's a draw. Allow me to take charge of this match!" Inui said.
"Hmm...a tie, which means we should leave Tadokoro-kun as she was before the Food War?" Doujima agreed, grinning.
Shinomiya merely heaved a sigh, too tired to be frustrated with the two.
"Irregular from beginning to end...what a farce." Shinomiya muttered.
"Is that kind of thing really all that bad, though?"
Shinomiya turned to look at Ariadne, who was raising to her feet. Walking over to Megumi, the girl wrapped her arms around Megumi's shoulders, pressing her cheek against Megumi's.
"I knew this sweet little thing would be my knight." Ariadne said, making Megumi close an eye as she rubbed her cheek against hers. "I'm really going to take you home one of these days. Taliyah would love you. Dante and all of our regulars, too."
Shinomiya caught on to Ariadne's words, his eyes snapping to her face as she continued to rub her cheek against Megumi's. For the moment, though, he focused on Megumi. His words bring Ariadne's cheek-rubbing to a stop.
"Well...you've been striving to survive all day long. Dunces have their own way of doing things...right." Shinomiya remarked.
"Good grief, you just can't be honest." Inui scolded, Shinomiya grabbing her head in a tight grip to shut her up.
Ariadne grinned at that, chuckling lowly as she released Megumi. Fleeing Shinomiya, Inui flew to Ariadne, the girl easily welcoming her with open arms, as if she had known the clingy woman for years rather than days. Ariadne pet Inui's head as the woman complained about how mean Shinomiya was, making him glare at her. Leaving his colleagues to their folly, Doujima turned to Megumi.
"Tadokoro-kun, that spirit that's like a warm welcome to people who eat your food, it's "hospitality", that is what is in your cooking! While you're here at Totsuki, please continue to seriously polish that powerful weapon you have. These three coins are an investment into all three of your futures." Doujima told Megumi.
Megumi looked from a smiling Souma, to an equally grinning Ariadne, who gave her a thumbs-up over the head of the clingy Inui. Seeing the confidence the both of them had had in her, and feeling the relief at being able to stay wash over her, Megumi sank to the floor, in tears. With the match over, Megumi, Souma, and Ariadne were dismissed. Souma and Megumi went first, Ariadne finally prying Inui off her in order to follow.
"Sinclair."
Hearing her name, Ariadne came to a stop in the doorway, turning back to look at Shinomiya, who was staring at her intently. Not hearing him call her, or noticing that she had stopped, Megumi and Souma continued on, leaving Ariadne behind with Shinomiya and the others.
"Yes?" Ariadne asked.
"Sinclair...as in Camille and Louis Sinclair? As in-"
Shinomiya cut off as Ariadne, a wicked, playful grin curling her lips, raised a single finger to her lips. The increase of her grin as the others caught on to what Shinomiya was saying, only confirmed his suspicions about Ariadne.
"Now, now, I'll have to ask that you keep that between us. I'm not quite ready for that juicy little tidbit to come out just yet. Don't ruin my fun, please." Ariadne told them, giving them a wink before she turned on her heel, waving a hand over her shoulder. "Good night, senpai."
Ariadne caught up with Souma, who had stayed behind while Megumi had run off ahead to contact the others. Falling into step along side each other, they headed back to their rooms. When they arrived, Ariadne let Souma go in first, and was glad she did.
Yuuki came out of nowhere, hitting Souma hard across the face with a slap. Ariadne took a step back and watched Souma hit the floor.
"How can you be so reckless all the time! We were worried you know! We heard you challenged some graduates to a Food War. We thought you three might all be forced to withdraw!" Yuuki yelled, gripping Souma by the front of his shirt.
"Y-yeah that's right! If Souma-kun and Ari weren't there, I definitely would have dropped out!" Megumi told Yuuki.
"Ah, that may be true but...grr..."
Yuuki trailed off and threw herself at Ryoko, balling like a baby. Ariadne stepped fully into the room, reaching down to help Souma to his feet.
"Don't come crying to me just because you can't find anyone else after losing your temper." Ryoko told Yuuki before turning her attention to the others. "But anyway, we're really glad that you're all three okay!"
Ariadne smiled as, snapping out of whatever funk she had found him in, Souma declared that they would have a hanafuda championship. While she had had fun teasing Shinomiya, Ariadne much preferred the happy, loud cheers of her friends now to the tension that she had been surrounded with earlier.
After all...what good was tension if she couldn't be the one stirring the pot?
-0-0-0-0-
The next day was filled with just as much tension as the one before, the assignments just as harsh and fast pace as the days before. Ariadne and her dorm mates cleared their assignments, though not without some level of exhaustion. It was nine o'clock that night before they all met up.
"As expected, today was really tiring." Yuuki remarked.
"The test to make fifty meals has increased to eighty meals!" Zenji complained.
"And not only that, the customers this time were from another training camp visiting Japan: "Inner Muscle University". As you'd expect of Totsuki...a lot of different types of people come here." Yuuki agreed.
"By the way, when we were in the middle of the test there were a group of guys in suits...what was that about? Cause I had never seen them until today." Souma remarked.
"So you saw them too?" Ariadne asked.
"Huh? Were there people like that there?" Megumi asked.
"I had no idea about that...my head was just full trying to handle the test!" Yuuki added. "Anyway, with only two days left, it seems like we might just make it somehow, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, if we can just keep up this pace." Ryoko replied idly, looking at the schedule in their guidebook. "Oh...?"
"What is it, Sakaki?" Shun asked.
"It's just something from the schedule page of the guidebook. For the third day, there's no bedtime listed for tonight." Ryoko replied.
Ariadne peered over her shoulder, the other girl pointing to the schedule for that day. Ariadne let out a low "huh!" of surprise.
"She's right. Do you think it's a printing error?" Ariadne asked.
Her answer came in the form of an announcement over the PA system calling for all students remaining to gather in the main banquet hall in an hour, dressed in their school uniforms. Ariadne, as they all split up to go change, had a feeling that their lecturers had something planned that they weren't going to like. She changed quickly, and met up with her friends to head down to the banquet hall.
There, they found the remainder of their classmates all worn-out and clearly on their last leg for the day.
"Everyone is obviously worn-out." Ryoko remarked.
"The perfect time to strike and weed more of us out." Ariadne mused.
"Don't say that, Ari!" Yuuki whined.
Ariadne gave Yuuki an apologetic smile as Mito and Takumi found Souma and started griping him out for his recklessness the day before. Ariadne was just glad that they didn't seem as willing to yell at her. They were forced, however, to quiet down as Doujima took the stage.
"Okay, seems like everyone gathered. Everyone, please give your attention to the stage. The reason I had everyone gather here is to inform you all about tomorrow's test." Doujima told them.
Test?
Ariadne had a really bad feeling about this.
"The content of the test...is to provide a new breakfast menu, one that is appropriate for the guests here at Totsuki Resort. Breakfast is a hotel's "face". It's an important meal that directs the beginning of the guest's day. For their table, we want you to propose a course, one that shines like a jewel, and has a fresh surprise." Doujima explained.
In other words, they were expecting the students to devise a new dish that would stand up to the resort's expectations. So far, while it would be challenging, Ariadne didn't see anything that would set off too many warning bells in her head.
"The main ingredient is eggs! Whether the dish is Japanese, western or whatever, the type doesn't matter. The format will be a buffet-type breakfast. The exam starts at six a.m. tomorrow. Be prepared for tasting at that time."
And there was the kicker.
If they wanted to have the time to plan, test and try their dishes...they would get no sleep.
"You're free to use your time as you wish until morning. Every kitchen will be open for use so you may use them for practice runs. It's also fine to return to your room and sleep too. Well then...let us meet again tomorrow morning at six o'clock. Dismissed!" Doujima called out.
Panic instantly set in on the students gathered. Ariadne, though, already had a few ideas in her head. While her father had a specialist with lunch and dinner dishes, her mother had loved coming up with breakfast and dessert ideas. Ariadne, herself, had revised quite a few of her mother's dishes. She was sure there was something she could pluck from those multitude of recipes for this.
Ready to give a few dishes a try, Ariadne wished her friends the best of luck and went in search of a kitchen to use. Along the way, she heard someone call her name.
"Ari!"
Coming to a stop, Ariadne turned, finding Erina coming her way with Hisako just a few steps behind her.
"Oh! Hey, Erina, Hisako. You two off to try some dishes?" Ariadne asked.
"Yes. And you?" Hisako asked.
"I have a few things in mind, yeah. I was off in search of a kitchen area to use." Ariadne replied.
"Join us then. There's no use in you standing in some crowded area with the others." Erina told her.
"Really? Merci! I'll gladly take that offer." Ariadne agreed.
The three changed into their chef clothes, Erina leading them to a private area of the kitchens where the three of them could work in silence. Ariadne, a notebook in hand, set up in one corner, setting the notebook down to start flipping through it. She pretty much already had her dish in mind, but, just to be safe, she would tinker with a few different dishes. Erina and Hisako did the same, the three working in comfortable silence for a while.
Finally, Erina, having deemed her work good, decided to call it a night.
"I'm going to go rest already, but are the two of you still doing the test runs?" Erina asked.
"Y-yes! I'm still in the middle of them." Hisako replied.
"I'm just making few more changes and improvements. I should be done in a little while." Ariadne added, writing something down.
"Oh? Well, get some rest as soon as you can. Oh, also..." Ariadne turned as Erina braced her hands on her hips. "Tomorrow night we are going to have a match in Othello! All three of us! Yesterday's Uno game was...that is...I was just a bit off that day, that's all!"
Ariadne found herself smiling, Hisako doing the same.
"Of course! Count me in." Ariadne told her.
With a smile on her face, Erina bid them goodnight. Ariadne and Hisoka turned back to their work, Ariadne making a few more tweaks to her dish. When she deemed it ready to go, she snapped her notebook closed, a pleased grin on her face. Turning, she found Hisako still hard at work.
"Are you nearly done, yet, Hisako?" she asked.
"Not quite. Are you done, Ari?"
"Yeah. I was going to head to bed, but I can stay and keep you company if you want."
"No, no. You don't have to do that. Go on ahead to bed. I'll be done soon enough." Hisako assured her.
"Are you sure?" Ariadne asked.
She really didn't have a problem with keeping the girl company. After all, that was what friends did, right? But Hisako merely waved her off with a smile, insisting she go and get as much sleep as she could. Ariadne gave in, not wanting to stress Hisako out. She gathered her things and wished Hisako a good night. Ariadne went back over her recipe on her way back to her room. Only the sound of approaching footsteps made her look up from her notebook.
Heading her way was a pair of students, one a black-haired boy and the other, a white-haired girl.
The girl caught her looking.
"Oh! You're the other transfer student!" she cheered, hurrying towards Ariadne, who snapped her notebook closed.
"Yes, I am. I'm Sinclair Ariadne. And you?"
"I'm Nakiri Alice! This is Kurokiba Ryo. Oh! Is that your recipe for tomorrow?"
Ariadne raised an eyebrow as the girl, Alice, zeroed in on the notebook in Ariadne's hands. Nakiri, huh? So this girl had to be related to Erina. While Ariadne was aware that family members didn't have to act alike or look alike to be related, she couldn't help but notice just how cheerful Alice was compared to Erina.
"It is. Have you already finished your preparations for tomorrow?" Ariadne asked.
"Of course! So what kind of recipe are you planning on us-"
Ariadne danced out of Alice's reach when the girl reached for the notebook. Giving Alice a playful grin and a wink, Ariadne started off down the hall.
"I think I'll leave you to find out tomorrow. Best of luck!" Ariadne called, vanishing off down the hall.
She would keep her recipe to herself, for the time being. What fun would it be to reveal it ahead of time? So, she headed off to bed, humming to herself as she went. Ariadne would let others worried and fret all night long.
For her, tomorrow was going to be fun.
END
Kyandi: Just so you all know, the recipe Ariadne is going to use in the next chapter, is one I came up with myself and cook, at least, twice a week.
Ariadne: She'd do it more often than that, but some of the ingredients are a little to pricey for that.
Kyandi: Especially now.
Ariadne: Exactly.
Kyandi: I think I might actually make it in the morning.
Ariadne: Oh, your family will love that.
Kyandi: I didn't say I would share.
Ariadne: Of course you didn't...
Kyandi: Anyway, everyone enjoy and review. Please review!
Ariadne: We'll return as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!