Kyandi: We're back!
Ariadne: She's really excited for the next arc. Like, really excited.
Kyandi: I can't help it. You become love struck in the next arc and it's when the Council of Ten comes into play.
Ariadne: Be honest…the first part is the biggest reason.
Kyandi: …Shut up, Sinclair.
Ariadne: Pfft!
Kyandi: Anyway, this chapter is a little longer than the last few, so enjoy and review.
Ariadne: Kyandi-sama does not own Shokugeki no Souma or the songs' whose lyrics she used.
Chapter 17 Sweet Disaster
That night, Ariadne and Souma were given the couches in the men's and women's locker rooms as the place where they would crash during the night. Lucie left Ariadne with an overstuffed pillow to use, Ariadne fulling asleep feeling like she was cuddled into a pillow. The next morning, they were both presented with their own Shino's uniform to wear while working in the kitchen. Ariadne eyed hers, inquiring if she could make some quick changes to it. Shinomiya looked indecisive, as if the man was debating whether to say yes or no. Ariadne was sure that he wanted to say no, but then again, he didn't want to deal with the absolute holy terror she became when she was denied what she wanted.
"You have ten minutes." he told her.
Ariadne's face lit up and she dashed back into the women's locker room. When she came back out with the uniform on, Shinomiya found that she had shortened the pants to thigh-length shorts and had shortened the sleeves so that the cuffs created cute little cap sleeves, her hair pulled back into a ponytail high on her head. Shinomiya's eye twitched as he look down at her. Not only did he have no idea how she had done that in just a matter of minutes, he couldn't believe that she had actually made his uniform adorable with just a few little alterations to it. When Souma joined her, dressed in his uniform, the both found Shinomiya staring at them in displeasure. It had both of the raising their eyebrows at him.
"What's wrong, Chef Shinomiya?" Ariadne asked.
"That cook coat…looks unexpectedly normal on you. And here I wanted to laugh at you." Shinomiya told Souma.
"What's that "unexpected" for?" Souma demanded, Ariadne chuckling lightly.
"As for you," Ariadne stopped laughing, turning to look up at Shinomiya when he turned to her. Shinomiya stared at her, well aware when Ariadne's expression shifted to what others would call "puppy dog eyes". His eye twitched when it only made her even more adorable. "How the hell did you make it so…cutesy in just ten minutes!?"
Ariadne grinned, giving him a wink before she raised one finger to her lips. "Trade secret~!"
The door opened then, Lucie rushing into the kitchen. "Boujour, Yukihira, Ariadne! Have you finished the work I gave you?"
Ariadne instantly swept over to Lucie, grabbing her in a hug that had their cheeks pressed together. "Aw! Lucie-senpai, you're so cute!" Shinomiya scoffed while Ariadne lovingly rubbed her cheek against Lucie's, the older woman smiling. "I could just hug you all day!"
"No, you can't!" Shinomiya snapped as he turned to walk away.
Ariadne released Lucie with a longing sigh before she turned to Lucie. "We finished all the peeling and the making of the lobster bouillon."
"Oh and…the octopus and daikon have been marinated for half a day." Souma added.
"Good!" Lucie gave them a thumbs up.
Souma took the moment to look over the three menu courses once more, while Ariadne moved about the kitchen, making sure all their prep work was done correctly. It had surprised Souma when he and Ariadne had sat down the night before to look over the menus, just how quickly Ariadne had looked through the menus and deemed herself good. Then again, the girl had grown up in a French restaurant, so Souma was sure she would probably be more at home in that kitchen than she had anywhere else. While he was still learning how a French menu progressed, he was sure that having the menu already laid out would make things far easier.
That was…until he reentered the kitchen and found the air thick with tension.
Abel was silent at his station, staring at the counter top with a solemn expression on his face. Wei was taking deep breaths, as if she was doing some quick meditation exercises, one hand pressed to her chest. Lucie, on the other hand, was crossing herself, praying a quick prayer. Even Ariadne felt differently to Souma, the girl standing before her station, her head tipped back, eyes closed, as if she was mentally shuffling through something in a moment of quiet. Just a moment before Shinomiya walked through the door, Ariadne's eyes opened, showing Souma a sharpness to their icy depths that he had never really been confronted with.
"The customers have been seated. Get ready." Shinomiya announced.
Souma was shocked when everyone moved at once, including Ariadne. He found that the staff of Shino's moved quickly with only the sounds of knives and boiling pots in the air. Even Ariadne started moving quickly, the girl's head already bobbing to some silent tune in her head, her lips moving to lyrics he couldn't hear. Stunned, Souma carelessly sat some metal bowls on the counter, creating just a little bit of noise.
"Don't make any extra noise." Shinomiya told him from the cooking range. "I'm kicking you out next time you do it."
It didn't take Souma long to figure out that it wasn't like any kitchen he had been in so far. The amount of work was unlike any he had expected. Despite the drastic difference from the school, Ariadne didn't seem to have any problems. She moved quickly, having everything she was responsible for ready when it was needed. She even had a moment or two to add in a little twist or dance step as she moved, lost to her own beat. Souma, on the other hand, fell behind. It became overwhelming as they moved on, Souma's head becoming a mixed up mess.
"Yukihira, get working on the mirepoix. Sinclair, is your work done?" Shinomiya called out suddenly.
"Oui, chef." came Ariadne's quick reply.
"Good. Lucie! Leave table three to Sinclair, prepare the fish dish for table one first." Shinomiya called out. Ariadne and Lucie responded with, "Oui, chef!", the two instantly racing to do their work. Souma turned, shocked, as he watched Ariadne jump from her station to Lucie's, working along the woman to quickly turn out the dish. All without having to look at the menu hung on the wall. "Wei! The meat dish for table three will have a five-minute delay."
"Two minutes, chef!" Ariadne called back.
Shinomiya nodded. "Two minutes, Wei."
"Oui!" Wei called back.
"Abel," Shinomiya turned to his sous-chef. "Clean up after Yukihira's mistake."
"Oui, chef." Abel turned to Souma, looking down at Souma with a look of disappointment. "I'll be helping with table one's dishes. Move away."
Souma was confronted with just how bad he had messed up. Not only did he not help Abel, he had created extra trouble for the man. In the past, Souma had always been able to make up for himself if he fell behind, but there in Shino's kitchen, that little bit of lag ended up effecting the whole kitchen. He couldn't help but feel bad when Ariadne rushed past him, handing off the meat dish for table three to Wei before hurrying back to her station, easily making up for her few minutes away with the skill of practice.
"Just to be clear," Abel said, drawing Souma's attention back to him. "I haven't accepted you as a member of the team. Not you or Sinclair, but at least she's making more progress than you."
Ariadne didn't even glance over her shoulder, seeming lost in some rhythm in her head. It was like she only heard Shinomiya's orders as she moved. Wei, though, stepped up. "Abel-"
"Do you have any objections? In the kitchen, we have no need of people who delay the workflow. I'm Shino's Tokyo's head chef. Supervising work here is my duty." Abel said, cutting off Wei and silencing her before he turned back to Souma. "You've learned your lesson, haven't you? In the end, you're only a stage. Don't get conceited and try to force yourself into the main force. If you got it, then bear your position in mind and-"
"I'm sorry, I'll be back asap!" Souma declared, cutting off Abel before he whipped around, quickly trying to catch up on his work.
Abel stared at him for a moment in surprise, but was jolted back to kitchen when something was suddenly placed before him. Turning, he found Ariadne. "I took the moment, while you were talking, to fix Souma's fall behind. You can return to your work, sir." Abel met Ariadne's eyes, a cold shiver passing down his spine when he was confronted with an stare as cold as the icy lakes of the far north. He was sure there was some kind of warning, some kind of challenge in those icy eyes, but she gave him a smile and whipped around to return to her work, her ponytail lashing out as she walked away.
Abel decided, in that moment, that he didn't like either of them. While Souma's eyes had the look of someone who was reaching to surpass chefs like Shinomiya, Ariadne's held a carefully banked inferno, just waiting to be released. It was like the girl was carefully holding back a force that none of them could ever predict. Abel felt like there was far more to Ariadne than she was willing to show, the same for Souma, and from the smile on Shinomiya's face, he knew.
By the end of the day, Souma felt bad that most of his work ended up being passed to Ariadne to catch up. Not that Ariadne had a problem with that in the least. When they finally closed the restaurant and had cleaned up where they could change, Ariadne was happy to just be able to hum aloud again. The moment she stepped into the woman's locker room and started changing, that was what she started doing. She wished Wei and Lucie a good night and took a nice, hot shower. By the time she finished, had dressed and decided to get a drink of water, she walked into the kitchen to find Souma standing at the counter, mumbling to himself.
"When cutting potatoes to use as garnish, there are three ways to do so…pont neuf…allumette…and paille, the thickness and length differs in all of them. When cutting fish, there are medaillon, darne, troncon, and escalope…which one to use depends on the ingredients and the dish you're making…"
There were books laid out in front of Souma, the boy pouring over them in seriousness. Ariadne smiled to herself as she watched him, finally heaving a silent sigh as she approached him. "It's so rare to see you serious."
Souma jolted and turned when she suddenly spoke. He found Ariadne, dressed in a skin-tight, lacey nightgown that barely contained her curves, walking towards him, a towel draped around her shoulders and her hair air drying from a shower. She came to a stop on the other side of the counter from him, smile on her face. "I can say the same to you. Today surprised me."
One side of her mouth twisted up in an amused smile. "Oh, Souma…I'm always serious when it comes to cooking. I just don't always show it. Don't tell me you spent all day comparing yourself to me."
"How could I not?" Souma heaved a sigh, rubbing at the back of his head. "I lost count of how many times you had to bail me out today."
"Souma," Souma looked over at Ariadne, surprised to find that her smile was gone and her expression was serious. "Have you forgotten that I grew up in a French kitchen? There's a big difference between the way a French restaurant is laid out and a special-of-the-day restaurant is laid out. You and I grew up in two different environments. It just so happens that this is my kind of domain. It would be the same way if our roles were reversed."
"I don't know about that…"
One eyebrow rose as Ariadne tilted her head. "I know I act confident and perfect, Souma, but I am far from so. As it is, it took me a long night of reminding myself the traditional, right way of doing things in a French cuisine kitchen because, even in the heart of France, my family's kitchen is far from traditional."
"You were up late last night?" Souma asked, surprised.
"Yep. All night, actually. I thank God for the day he gifted the human race with make-up. That was the only thing that hid the dark circles under my eyes." Ariadne's hand went up to her eyes, sighing as she touched the slight rings under her eyes that Souma could only barely see now that she had said something. "My point is that even I have to work at it. I'm just more use to the fast pace of a kitchen like this one. I can help you, if you want?"
Souma was grateful for the offer, he really was. Ariadne was a good friend, just trying to look out for him, but Souma felt like if he didn't do this himself, try to learn from the chefs of the kitchen verses his friend, than he wouldn't be doing himself any favors. He was shaking his head to her offer before he finished that thought process completely. "No, but thanks. I need to do this myself. Especially after Abel-san said he didn't accept either of us as part of the team."
"Hmm? When did he say that?" Souma looked up at Ariadne who had an honestly confused look on her face, her head tilted to once side. "I don't remember hearing that."
Souma blinked for a moment before he finally asked a question he had been meaning to ask for a while. "Just what goes on in your head when you're cooking?"
The answer was enough to make even Souma smack himself in the face.
"Why, elevator music, of course!"
-0-0-0-0-
The next morning, Ariadne woke up early to help Souma with completely prepping the kitchen before any of the staff arrived. With that done, Ariadne went to check her phone for any messages from her sister, leaving Souma in the kitchen. Souma was sitting there waiting when Abel and Lucie showed up. Ariadne came back into the kitchen just as Souma greeted them.
"Oh! Good morning!" Ariadne greeted.
"Yukihira, Ariadne? You sure are early." Lucie remarked.
"Yeah! Errm, you see," Souma got to his feet, turning to face Abel. "I had some questions regarding the cutting of ingredients where I made many mistakes yesterday. May I have some of your time?"
"Listen here! We have to clean and prepare the ingredients right now! Don't be selfish!" Abel snapped at Souma. "Isn't it quite shameless of you to ask me this when you held us back so much yesterday!? We can't keep wasting time for your sa-"
"What do you mean clean and prepare ingredients?" Ariadne cut Abel off, making him whip around to look at her as she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. "We already did that."
It was only then that Abel realized that everything, the peeling and cleaning, had already been done, the pans and bowls carefully laid out to be used once more. Abel's eyes scanned the kitchen before shifting to Ariadne, who stood there to his side, looking bored.
"Lucie, answer Yukihira's question." Abel said, his gaze traveling over Souma and Ariadne as Souma began to ask Lucie his questions and Ariadne leaned against a counter, watching the two. For two teenagers to have done that amount of work by themselves would have taken hours. He had a feeling that the two hadn't slept all that much, though, looking at Ariadne, he couldn't tell if that was the case. Then again, watching as she pulled out a little compact mirror, opening it to check her eyes, he was sure she was probably covering up the evidence with make-up.
Wei and Shinomiya arrived not long after that, the customers following suit soon after. As soon as they were seated, the tension from yesterday was back. While he did better than he had the day before, Souma fell behind once more, Ariadne having to pick up the slack. Souma apologized to her for it, but Ariadne simply waved him off, telling him that she was only going to do it until he got himself together. The day ended much the same way, Souma staying up late into the night to study, while Ariadne helped him by doing all the cleaning for the next day. In the morning, Ariadne helped him fully prep the ingredients before Abel showed up so that Souma could ask Abel more questions.
"Again? This is the third day already." Abel complained.
"No well, I'm sorry I'm causing you so much trouble. So, there are about fifty things I want to ask about today."
Ariadne snickered to herself, fighting back a snort when she saw the look on Abel's face. She could already tell that Souma's unique personality was starting to wane on Abel. As they started the cooking for the third day, Abel soon came to realize that…Ariadne wasn't covering for Souma anymore. It shocked Abel, leaving the man wondering when that had happened. The last time he had paid close attention to the two, Ariadne was still covering for Souma's short comings, but not anymore. Souma was quickly getting the gist of it, Ariadne adjusting her pace to match. And then came the realization that the two teenagers…were picking up their pace. As Souma caught on more and more, Ariadne would increase her speed, forcing him to do the same thing in order to make sure she didn't have to cover for him. Shinomiya noticed this, too, and caught a grin on Ariadne's face as she moved past him. That grin told him all he needed to know.
Ariadne was doing it on purpose.
She was purposely pushing Souma, more and more, poking and prodding the boy into doing better. All the while, she was completing her own work. Knowing what he now knew about Ariadne, Shinomiya wasn't too surprised. After all…it was her job.
At the end of the day, Ariadne had to stretch her back, Souma undoing the top button of his chef's coat as he gasped out, "Good work today.".
"You don't have time for a breather, do you?" Shinomiya asked, looking over at Souma. "The true challenge begins now, you know? Tomorrow…is the last day. Don't make mistakes, Yukihira. You either, Sinclair."
"Of course I won't!" Souma replied.
"I don't know what you're talking about…I've already got my recipe for tomorrow. Speaking of which…I need to go to the market." Ariadne said.
"You know you can just use the ingredients here." Lucie told her.
"Oh, trust me…you don't have the main ingredient I want to use." A sly grin curled Ariadne's lips, making Shinomiya wonder, for a moment, if he should deny her the chance to participate in the new dish challenge. He decided to go with the lesser of two evils.
"Abel!" Shinomiya turned to Abel, purposely choosing to ignore the grin. "Do you have any objections to letting Yukihira and Sinclair stay?"
A huff left Abel before he turned away from them all. "None at all. Well…they get passing marks, I guess."
"Passing marks!?" Abel flinched when Ariadne suddenly popped up in face, a pout on her lips and her hands on her hips. "I'll have you know, mister, that I covered the work of two people the first two days and had everything to you right when you needed it! Passing marks, my French ass! Do I need to punish you again?"
Abel instantly put his hands up before him, backing away from her as fast as he could while apologizing to her. The moment he had a table between them, he turned and ran away from her. Shinomiya watched from the side as Ariadne chased his sous-chef around the kitchen.
"I had no idea how this would end." Wei said then, stepping up to his side. "You didn't give him any advice, after all."
"It's meaningless if he doesn't get over it by himself." Shinomiya replied. Beside, he knew that Souma was the type that wouldn't fail there. Especially not with a good friend like Ariadne watching his back. Speaking of Ariadne… "Sinclair!" Ariadne paused in her chasing of Abel to turn and look at him. "If you're going to the market you can pick up some things for me as well."
"Sure, just give me a list." Ariadne told him, turning to head towards the woman's locker room.
"And Sinclair," Ariadne turned back to look at him. "Leave Abel alone."
"Hmmm…" For a moment Ariadne considered that order before she smiled. "No promises."
Abel deflated as she left the room. He could handle a fast-pace kitchen and standing along side Shinomiya, but he couldn't handle one fifteen-year-old girl.
How pitiful was that?
-0-0-0-0-
By the next day, Souma had caught up enough that Ariadne could fully focus on her own task, her rocking and swaying to whatever music was in her head, increasing the more she focused. They closed the restaurant early that day, though it was only because Shinomiya had reserved the place for one last group of guests. The last group consisted of Shinomiya's friends, minus Doujima and Chef Chapelle from school. Hinako stopped the moment she saw Souma.
"What!? Yukihira-kun!? Why are you here?" she demanded.
"Long time no see. Ermm, I'm a stagiaire here." Souma told her.
Hinako instantly rounded on Shinomiya. "Why didn't you let me help with the opening! To think you'd disregard me and call Yukihira-kun!"
"You have your own restaurant to attend to, idiot." Shinomiya told her simply.
Before Hinako could press him, another voice spoke. "Hinako-senpai!"
Hinako turned, her eyes landing on Ariadne as the girl came towards her, waving with a bright smile on her face. Upon seeing her, Hinako's face lit up and she instantly rushed to Ariadne, grabbing the girl in a hug. Hinako happily rubbed her face against Ariadne, the girl letting her squeeze her tight.
"Hinako-senpai?" Shinomiya repeated.
"We kept in contact after the summer camp. She insisted I call her by her given name." Ariadne replied.
"It's so cute when she calls my name! And you in this uniform is just darling!" Hinako said, holding Ariadne out at arms length. "Don't tell me that that mean Kojirou actually designed this for you!?"
"Oh, no," Ariadne waved her hand in front of her face, ignoring the glare from Shinomiya. "He let me make some changes to his boring design."
Shinomiya simply turned away, knowing enough about Ariadne to not comment. Instead, he turned to greet Chef Chapelle, shaking hands with the man. "Long time no see…Chapelle-sensei."
"You always were a student full of vitality. Back then, you also had some dare-devilry, but I can't see any of that now." Chapelle told him.
"Really? Sounds like he hasn't changed to me." Ariadne remarked, from where she was being hugged by Hinako once more.
"Sinclair…"
"I know, I know…shut up." Ariadne rolled her eyes at Shinomiya.
It was then that the last member of their group arrived. Shinomiya turned to greet her with a wide grin on his face unlike all the ones Ariadne had seen until then. "Welcome, Madame."
"Who's a madame!? Jeez! Don't ya chaff me!" Hearing a twang of what others referred to as country bumpkin there in Japan, Ariadne turned to look at the woman who had just walked in. "Kojirou!"
"Oh, wow…it's his mother." Ariadne remarked while Souma, Hinako and Lucie stared in shock.
"Yer really selfish! Ya ain't come home for years, and then ya tell me to up'n come to Tokyo. What's all that, now? Anyway, I don't come on out to these parts a lot, so it's really awkward." Ms. Shinomiya scolded her son.
"How 'bout ya relax a bit. Just think've this as home." Shinomiya told her.
Ariadne doubled over a table, trying to hold in laughter as the country twang that entered Shinomiya's voice when he spoke to his mother. She didn't quite succeed, giggles and gasps leaving her now and then. All of the adults looked down at her while Shinomiya continued to talk to his mother. "Are you going to be alright?" Mizuhara asked.
"He acts so cool…hehe…and then talks like that…hehehe…I'm never letting him live this down!" Ariadne giggled.
It took Wei corralling the girl back into the kitchen for Ariadne to pull herself back together. After seating their small group of guests, they got back to cooking. Once it was served, Souma and Ariadne turned Shinomiya in watching their guests enjoy the food.
"I've been wanting to ask this for a while, Shinomiya-senpai," Souma started. "Why did you choose French cuisine?"
Ariadne was pretty sure, knowing Shinomiya's personality like she did, that he wouldn't answer. He went thoughtful for a moment, like he might actually answer, but then he turned on Souma with one of his awful expressions again. "Is there any reason why I should tell you that? Huh?"
"That. That right there, that ugly expression," Ariadne pointed to Shinomiya's face. "Is why even though you have a good face, you will never get married. No woman wants to wake up to that every morning."
"Must you always insist on pissing me off?" Shinomiya demanded of her, one eye twitching.
"Pretty much, yes. It quite entertaining."
Shinomiya heaved a sigh, knowing by that point that arguing with her would only egg her on. Looking up, Shinomiya debated for a moment before he spoke. "Remember that quiche I made on the first day?"
"What are you talking about?" Souma asked, confused.
"Greater burdock…is something that Westerners only think about as a "tree root". They get surprised and say "Japanese eat tree roots?" all the time. During the second world war, they used greater burdock in the food of one of Japan's war prisoners. He then said "the Japanese made me eat tree roots"…and things escalated to an international trial for cruelty against war prisoners." Shinomiya told them.
"Oh, yes, because eating a tree root is the heinous act that took place during World War II." Ariadne remarked, rolling her eyes.
"Huh…that's still an amazing story." Souma remarked.
"Besides, greater burdock, carrots, parsley roots…such root crops remined people of the meager meals they ate during the war, so they weren't use as foodstuff for a long time. Those vegetables…are called legumes oublies in the west." Shinomiya continued.
"Forgotten vegetables? Sounds about right given the story." Ariadne said, shaking her head. To her, it was ridiculous and she was French. Shinomiya nodded in agreement with her.
"If I had to give a name to the quiche I made, it'd be "Quiche de Legumes Oublies". I guess." Shinomiya fell quiet for a moment before he continued. "The reason why I decided to open a restaurant in Japan was to reaffirm the foundation…the roots of my own cooking. Once again…I'll face the cooking of the country I was born in. That's something I must do in order to get three stars."
Ariadne and Souma shared a look, finally understanding just a little bit more about Shinomiya. Ariadne turned back to look at the man's back. "Huh…so you are capable of cool moments." Shinomiya turned to look at her over his shoulder. There was no teasing look on her face as she spoke, her hands braced on her hips. "Consider me apologetic for my rudeness on the subject. Just don't grow accustomed to it. I'll still call you on your uncool moments."
Shinomiya didn't even know where to start with her statement. He knew it was her off hand way of saying he had earned her respect, but it made him wonder if she could just be straightforward about it without having to get a dig in at him at the same time. He highly doubted it, but it was still nice to know that she had respect for him even if it didn't mean she'd stop teasing him.
"Shinomiya-senpai," Shinomiya turned to Souma. "Tonight…you're doing the new dish competition, right? I want to turn in a dish for it, too."
"Me as well." Ariadne added.
"T-turn it in for the competition? Didn't you have your hands full with supporting us every day!?" Lucie asked, making the two look at her.
"Well, we both planned to turn a dish in from the first day. Right, Ari?" Souma glanced at Ariadne.
"That's right. I might have helped a little bit, here and there, but I had more than enough time to come up with a dish, too. To think you thought I didn't…I'm hurt, Lucie-senpai." Ariadne placed a hand over her heart, as if she was hurt. "After all…what kind of chef do you think I am? I am a Sinclair, after all."
"Wait a minute…" Realization dawned on Shinomiya's staff then, a grin spreading across Ariadne's face when she saw it. "You don't mean you're-"
Lucie cut off when Ariadne raised a finger to her lips, silencing her with a wicked grin and a wink. Shinomiya took over before questions could be asked. "Can you two even make a decent dish?"
"And the hurt continues." Ariadne sighed. "Of course, we can."
"Come to think of it, this'll be the first time I taste one of your recipes. Fine…but, don't blame me if the confidence you've build up gets smashed to pieces, okay?" Shinomiya told them.
"Excuse you?" A scoff left Ariadne, the girl flicking the long length of her aqua ponytail over her shoulder. "You do remember who you're talking to, right? I'll make you regret those words."
Shinomiya grinned back at her, accepting her challenge. "I'll let Yukihira and Sinclair participate in the new dish competition. After you serve the coffee, begin preparing your ingredients."
"Great, but one thing," Shinomiya turned to Ariadne when she spoke. "Since you aren't cooking, I get to do whatever makes me comfortable in the kitchen. That means that if I feel like making noise, I'll make noise. I have my own way of cooking, you know."
"Fine. Just don't make a mess of my kitchen." Shinomiya told her.
"Sure."
With that, they served the coffee before getting to work. Having already prepared her ingredients up to a certain point, Ariadne sat to the side and watched the others get to cooking. She would take over once they were done. After all, thanks to one of her ingredients, she considered it best to have an empty kitchen. She was sure they wouldn't be able to stomach it.
"Hm?" Souma looked up from a pot he was prepping when Wei walked past, dressed in a chef's coat. "Wei-san, you're participating too!?"
"Yes." Wei replied.
"Weren't you the service manager?" Souma asked.
"Well, Wei was in charge of the viande dishes in the Shino's main restaurant until half a year ago." Lucie explained.
"Oh, so that's how it was! Why did she change to customer service, then?" Souma asked, curious.
"We also hold this competition may times a month in France. But…my dish has only been chosen once in two years." Wei picked up her knife, holding it tightly in one hand. "I thought I couldn't continue like this. The reason I became the service manager was because I thought something would become apparent to me while having direct contact with the customers. But, I haven't stopped training as a cook for a single day, either."
"Me too," Lucie spoke up from where she was crouched, her hands folded tightly as if she was in prayer. "I didn't just pick up Wei's leftovers as the one in charge of viande dishes. I need to prove it!"
"That's just how serious we all are about this new dish competition." Souma looked up at the critical look on Abel's face. "Do you have such a resolve?"
"Either way, I won't be able to pass this stagiaire period if my dish isn't chosen. Besides…my resolve and all those things…I'll put them in my dish." Souma replied.
"As for me," Ariadne leaned back on the stool she had perched herself on, her legs crossing. "Resolve is exactly the question. I'm serious about my cooking, but that doesn't mean I'm always serious about cooking for others. It's a matter of interest, for me. And before you blow up, no, that's not me being half-baked about this competition." Ariadne's eyes went to Abel as he opened him mouth. "I'm merely saying that my resolve has nothing to do with this. I'll take this competition serious…well, serious enough. I'd get in trouble if I was to take this completely serious."
Before anyone else could say anything, Shinomiya opened the kitchen doors, announcing that it was time for them to start cooking. Ariadne sat back while the other four begun their cooking. She watched as first Abel and then Lucie and Wei took their dishes out to be tested. Only once they left the kitchen did she rise from her seat to begin her cooking. Souma paused for just a moment to watch as Ariadne pulled a pair of over-the-head, Bluetooth headphones, settling them over her ears before she hit play on her phone, tucking the device away. As whatever music she was listening to started to play, Ariadne took a moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath. Then her body stared moving, swaying back and forth to a beat that Souma could just barely hear from her headphones. She didn't even notice when Souma left to present his dish.
Ariadne started moving about the kitchen, gathering butter, sugar, eggs, corn flour, plain flour, fresh milk, vinegar and a sealed cooler. As she moved into final perp, she started adding little dance steps to her movements, now and then singing along with the music. "All wrongs do me right, I dig my nails in dynamite. I might go off in the night, I fend to bite." Ariadne moved to grab a souffle dish. Picking up her butter, she generous coated the inside before sprinkling it with a mixture of white and brown sugar. Spinning on the spot, she placed the dish into the fridge to chill, hip-bumping the door closed.
By this point, curious as to what she was doing to cause noise, Ariadne had gained an audience. She remained unaware of the adults watching her from the kitchen window and door as she continued to move about the kitchen, dancing and singing now and then along with her music. "When you're away from me, I'm cravingly impatient, chained up to the bed inside my head. And I don't care, I'm a bitch if I'm not getting my addiction feed. I'll end up dead." Ariadne paused her movement long enough to start the oven to preheat. Twirling away from the oven, she grabbed a bowl, tucking it into the crook of one arm as she snatched up the eggs with the other hand, quickly and expertly cracking them into the bowl. She quickly separated the yolks from the whites, dumping the yolks into a mixing bowl with more of the sugar mixture.
Ariadne turned from that counter, swiping up an egg beater to start whisking the yolks and sugar together. All of her movement was done along to the beat of the song. "What am I supposed to do but sink my teeth in you. I starve without you on my lips, I die without the taste of it. What am I supposed to be, when you sink your teeth in me. I live for the way you move, I'd die without the taste of you." Ariadne placed the bowl on the counter, snagging a pot to place on the stove top. She put it on to heat as she added milk to it, bringing it to a quick boil before pouring half of it into the yolks and sugar. She started mixing it just as the song changed. "Ayy, my girl's bangin', she's so low maintence. Don't need no champagne poppin' entertainment. Take her to Wendy's, can't keep her off me. She wanna dip me like them fries in her Frosty."
The popping shifts of her hips turned into a more fluid flow as she mixed the hot milk in with the yolks and sugar. Once it was well mixed, she poured it back in with the rest of the milk and brought it back to a boil, whisking and cooking until it was as thick as a custard. By this point, many of them knew she had to be making a souffle. "Yeah, we fancy like Applebee's on a date night. Got that Bourbon Street steak with the Oreo shake. Get some whipped cream on the top, too. Two straws, one check, girl, I got you. Bougie like Natty in the stryfoam, squeaky-squeaking in the truck bed all the way home. With some Alabama-jamma, she's my Dixieland delight, that's how we do-"
Ariadne cut off when she turned to find her audience watching. Pulling her headphones from her ears, she shook her head at them. "Oh, no, no. Out." She came across the kitchen, shooing them all out. Shinomiya opened his mouth to protest, seeing how it was his kitchen, but Ariadne shook a finger in his face, cutting him off. "For the moment, this is my kitchen. For your own sake…stay out. Trust me, you don't want to be around when I break out my main ingredient." With that, Ariadne shut the door tight in their faces and closed the shutters over the window so that they couldn't see inside. It was fifteen minutes later when she came out, carrying a try with a lid on it.
"Alright, bon appetit, Chef Shinomiya." Ariadne placed the tray in front of Shinomiya and pulled the lid off. Sure enough, sitting in the middle of the tray was a souffle dish topped with a spoonful of whipped cream and a sprinkle of zested lemons.
"A souffle?" Shinomiya asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Taste before you turn all opinionated." Ariadne told him. "I was actually somewhat serious with this dish."
Shinomiya eyed her for a moment before he picked up the spoon and scooped up a bite. A unique mix of flavors took over Shinomiya's mouth. Is was savory, sweet and yet creamy all at once with a taste almost like a mix of chives and powder sugar. The souffle was light and fluffy, the taste an instant impact on him. He could taste the brown sugar and lemon, but the main body of the flavor had him pausing. "What is this flavor?"
A mischievous grin took over Ariadne's face. "Take a guess. By now you should have been able to piece together the hints I gave you." Ariadne dropped to sit in the seat across from Shinomiya, crossing her legs. "What can you taste?"
"The brown sugar and lemon and a flavor akin to chives and powdered sugar." Shinomiya said, trying to work through it. It only made Ariadne's grin grow when he couldn't get it right away.
Now curious, the others took a bite too, all of them shocked by the layers of flavors they found in the simple little dish. It blew their minds, leaving their mouths watering for more. They all got the brown sugar and lemon, but were having a hard time placing what else was lending it's flavor to the dish.
"Give up?" she asked.
"Just tell me." Shinomiya snapped.
"You're right about the brown sugar and lemon. I mixed white and brown sugar together to coat the inside of the dish and the lemon was to hide the horrendous odor."
"Odor." Shinomiya looked up when he heard that. "What odor?"
Ariadne leaned back in her seat, her grin like that of the cat that caught the canary. "The main ingredient in the souffle…is durian fruit." The looks that came over the faces of those around her, had Ariadne breaking out in giggles. "I thought I might get that reaction! It's not a common ingredient anywhere in the world, which was why I thought it was perfect."
"But isn't durian fruit supposed to have a horrible smell to it? I don't smell anything." Lucie remarked.
"One of the many ways to get rid of the bad smell is with citrus, which I used in the recipe. Also, I already dealt with the smell in your kitchen. Coffee grounds and even just using the fruit's husk, works wonders."
Shinomiya considered the dish for a moment. Durian fruit was a hard ingredient to work with. Much like bear meat, a chef had to do something to eliminate the bad smell least it ruin the dish's flavors. That Ariadne not only knew how to prepare it, but how to deal with lingering smells in the kitchen, showed just how much work she had to have put into the dish before ever making it. His eyes fixed in on both Ariadne's souffle and Souma's quail before looking between Souma and Ariadne. "I suppose I should judge your dishes now."
"Would be nice." Ariadne retorted.
"Yukihira," Shinomiya stood to face Souma. "It's no good. The quality is too poor. If we leave it like this…that is." Souma blinked in surprise at Shinomiya. "You might as well use it in the small restaurant you'll have in the future, but it's a bit shabby to use it in Shinomiya Kojirou's restaurant. But, well…I can correct a few things here and there…what do you want to do?"
Ariadne almost laughed at the awkward way Shinomiya said all of this. Even more so at the blank look on Souma's face before it finally clicked what Shinomiya had said. Souma lit up, happy. "Please do that!"
"Right. Sinclair," Shinomiya turned to look at Ariadne, who had made herself comfortable in her chair, her legs spread out and propped up in the next chair over. She raised an eyebrow at him, the smile on her face begging him to say anything awkward so that she could tease the day's light out of him. She watched as his eye and mouth twitched. "It was…fine enough. Make sure you tell Abel how to get rid of the smell."
Ariadne's grin only grew when he had nothing negative to say about her dish. Shinomiya turned away from her, trying hard to quell the urge to squeeze her head between his hands. Hinako, though, soon gave him an outlet for that urge. "He really just can't be honest! He could've just said, "I'll give you some advice."."
"Right! This happened a while ago in France, too." Lucie popped in.
"Eh, what happened? I want to know!" Hinako insisted.
Ariadne shook her head as Shinomiya grabbed the two women by their faces, lifting them off the ground while he squeezed. "And that is why you are single. No consideration for women." Ariadne heaved a sigh, Shinomiya shooting her a glare as he dropped the two women.
"After you two are done here, you'll go to another kitchen, huh." Shinomiya remarked to Souma and Ariadne.
"Ah, yes! That's right." Souma confirmed.
"Shame. I really liked it here." Ariadne added with a sigh.
"Even if it was just for a week, you two trained in my restaurant. If you fail in some other kitchen, it'll tarnish Shino's reputation. Bear that in mind." Shinomiya told them.
"Yes. Thank you very much…Master Shinomiya!"
Shinomiya came to a stop, Ariadne breaking out in undignified giggles when Souma called Shinomiya his master. In the end, the night came to a very cheerful end, Souma and Shinomiya ending up in the kitchen, working on tweaking Souma's dish while Ariadne served coffee to Chapelle and the others. It was as she was refilling Chapelle's cup that the old man spoke up. "Sinclair," Ariadne looked up at him when he called her name. "I have a question for you."
"Oui, Chef Chapelle?"
"Your dish tonight…it was only a small display of your true cooking ability. I know where you came from, what you are capable of." Chapelle remarked, drawing all attention to them.
"Is there a question in there, Chef Chapelle?" Ariadne asked as she offered more coffee to Mizuhara.
"Why are you reducing your skills so much. It was obvious to some of us in the facility that purposely didn't allow yourself to pass further into the Autumn Election than you did. You were capable of winning."
Ariadne glanced at Chapelle before she heaved a sigh, standing up straight. "With all due respect, Chef Chapelle, I came here for a reason. That reason is to prove a point that should have already been proven. That being said, I don't see the point in trying to outshine others when I already have my place in the world. Whether it is willing or not, I have to be at Totsuki. Why not at least making it entertaining for me?" Ariadne gave a shrug of her shoulder. "That being said, I am a chef and I am always looking for a challenge, something to get my blood pumping. Until I'm presented with that, I see no point in removing the mask, per say."
"So you pretend to be less than you are?" Sekimori asked.
"Why not? I'm not hurting anyone." Ariadne replied.
"Only your own reputation." Mizuhara stated.
This got a laugh from Ariadne, the girl waving a hand in front of her face. "Don't be silly, Mizuhara-senpai! What a better way to show how good I truly am then by rising to the top from the bottom? Besides, it's fun. One of these days I will show everyone just what I really am, but I'll do it in my own time and not a moment before. Until then, I'm going to have fun. If I have to be somewhere I never intended to be, then I'm going to get as much entertainment from it as I can. My own little form of payback." Ariadne grinned, the devilishness shining through as she pressed fingertips to her lips. "Do me a favor."
"What is it?" Chapelle asked.
There was a glint in Ariadne's eyes that had a shiver running down all of their spines. In a purr of a voice that was both playful and serious at once, she looked at each of them. "Don't ruin my fun. When that challenge I'm looking for finally rears its head, then I will show them all that I am sweet alright…a sweet disaster."
Her expression returned to its light and playful default as she gave them all a sweet smile. With a wink to them, she turned on her heels and strutted away, humming to herself once more as she went to refill the coffee pot in her hands.
Souma and Shinomiya ended up working on Souma's dish all through the night, Ariadne joining them to offer her opinion now and then. When the sun came up, Shinomiya and the others saw Souma and Ariadne off in front of the restaurant.
"I'm really sorry…I had you teach me all the way till morning." Souma apologized.
"Hmph, you're just a slower learner." Shinomiya replied.
"One of these days we will get you to be honest for once, Shinomiya-senpai. Being tsundere can only do so much for you." Ariadne told him, hands on her hips.
"Sinclair…shut up." Ariadne's lips spread in a grin as Shinomiya turned away from them. The two teenagers picked up their bags. "Yukihira," Souma and Ariadne stopped, turning back to look at Shinomiya. "Go take the first seat. We all know that Sinclair will let you."
Souma glanced down at Ariadne, who shrugged her shoulders. "Eh. He's not wrong."
Chuckling, Souma put a huge grin on his face. "Roger!"
"Sinclair," Ariadne looked up at Shinomiya. "Don't give people too much hell. I got you to work like a proper chef this week."
A small laugh left Ariadne, a grin curling one side of her mouth. "You should know by now, senpai…a little good won't stop a devil."
With that, Ariadne gave them a wink and turned to leave, calling a farewell to Souma as the two separated for their next location. She had two more weeks, two more locations, to go before she could head back to the dorms. As she walked down the street, smile bright on her face, her reflection in a store front caught her attention. Looking back at herself, she was forced to realize just how much her pale roots were starting to grow in.
"First stop, more color. Second stop…the end of this program." Ariadne looked up at the sky, as if she was praying for a brief moment. "Wish me luck."
Not that she would need it. A devil would always find a way.
END
Kyandi: For those of you want to know, and couldn't figure it out from the lyrics, the two songs Ariadne listened to was Taste of You by Dove Cameron and Fancy Like by Walker Hayes.
Ariadne: They're just two songs among those on a playlist Kyandi-sama made just for me.
Kyandi: I hold firm that Taste of You is your theme song.
Ariadne: You will hear no arguments from me.
Kyandi: I will reveal more and more about Ariadne and more songs on her playlist as we go.
Ariadne: Just a little spoiler for you guys…CorpseHusband is on that playlist.
Kyandi: No judgment.
Ariadne: I highly doubt anyone will judge you for that. It is me, after all.
Kyandi: True. Oh, and since I always make the recipes I have Ariadne cook, I can tell all of you…durian fruit smells horrid!
Ariadne: She was gagging the whole time.
Kyandi: Nose plugs didn't help! But it taste so good!
Ariadne: The price you pay for being a writer.
Kyandi: Very true. With that, everyone, enjoy and review!
Ariadne: We'll be back as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!