Kyandi: Hey everyone! Guess what…

Ariadne: You're going to absolutely hate Eizan by the end of his chapter.

Kyandi: I think I did my job of setting up for a later scene.

Ariadne: You certainly did that and more.

Kyandi: That I did. This chapter is longer so we're going to just jump into the chapter.

Ariadne: Please enjoy and review.

Kyandi: I do not own Shokugeki no Souma.

Chapter 22 Fool's Mission

Over the next few days, Ariadne could practically feel the change around the school. While Azami seemed pleasant enough at his position acceptance speech, Ariadne still felt the uneasy among those at the school. Soon after Azami's speech, Ariadne stopped seeing Erina at school. Ariadne slowly became more and more worried about Erina, the girl spending most of her time trying to figure out how she could get in contact with Erina since she wasn't answering her phone. That was where the night found Ariadne, sitting in the dining room with Megumi, staring at her phone like she was silently demanding it to find Erina for her.

"Still waiting for her to call back?"

Ariadne looked up as Megumi placed a cup of tea in front of her, sitting across from her. "Yeah. It's not right. Usually Erina replies, either by call or text, within an hour of me calling or messaging her. It's been two days. I'm worried."

"I'm sure she's alright. I mean…you don't think her father would hurt her, do you?"

"Maybe not physically, but that's not what I'm worried about. I saw the way she shook when he showed up. He's hurt her alright…he's hurt her mind and heart and, sometimes, that can be way worse."

Megumi looked up at Ariadne when her voice left her in an almost sad tone. She found Ariadne staring off to the side, the bottom half of her face hidden by her palm as she leaned into it. Something about her eyes was sad and serious, the far-off look revealing more about Ariadne than Megumi had seen in the many months she had known her. An almost weary sigh left Ariadne, the girl shifting to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Is Nakiri-san the only thing you're concerned about, Ari? It seems like there's more to it."

Ariadne looked up at Megumi, put a smile on her face. "I'm fine. It's just that, at times like this, I really wish I had my family around me. They have a way of making the frustration just melt away." Ariadne assured her.

Megumi wanted to press, feeling like there was something else to it, but a noise from outside had both of them turning. "What was that?"

"I don't know, but I think we should check it out." Ariadne said, getting to her feet. Nodding in agreement, Megumi followed, the two grabbing umbrellas on their way out the door. What they found in the thicket behind the dorm, surprised them both. "Alice? Erina!" Ariadne ran forward, as her eyes found Alice, Hisako, Erina and Ryou. Erina stumbled back a few steps in surprise when Ariadne threw her arms around her, hugging tightly and completely forgetting about her umbrella. "I'm so glad to see you! I was worried when you didn't answer your phone."

"Wh-what's wrong? What are you all doing in the thicket?" Megumi asked.

"I could ask you the same…why are you two here?" Hisako asked.

"Eh? Umm…We heard some voices from behind the dorm, so we came to see what was happening." Megumi answered.

"I see…we ran away this far." Hisako muttered.

"It doesn't matter," Ariadne held Erina out at arms-length, giving her a relieved smile. "We can talk once we're all inside and dried off. You'll catch a cold like this. Megumi, run ahead and get some towels, will you?" Megumi nodded, taking off while Ariadne led the others into the dorm where they could stay until the rain had stopped, at the least.

Ryou and Alice left soon after, borrowing an umbrella from Ariadne, while Erina and Hisako stayed a little longer. They were still there, drying, when Souma arrived back home. "It's Nakiri. Arato too? Why?"

"I…it's a long story." Hisako told him. While Hisako caught him up on the whole story of them running away from home after Azami had returned, Ariadne grabbed another towel for Souma.

"Hmm, you're running away, huh! That's nice! Way to go, Nakiri. Hmm…where are the other two?" Souma asked, after being told that Alice and Ryou had helped.

"Milady Alice…has already gone home." Hisako replied.

"Anyway…you're going to get cold from the rain. For now, take a bath." Fumio told Erina.

Once Erina had headed up to the bath, Hisako turned to the members of the dorm to ask them for a favor. "Umm…I would like to ask you too, can you please shelter Erina-sama for a while?"

This whole thing turned into an argument from there, with most of the dorm members unsure as to whether to help or not. Most of them were worried that it would turn around to be bad news for them. Hisako had no choice but to tell them all about how Azami had hurt his daughter, tormenting her emotionally and mentally until her grandfather had taken over custody of Erina. Ariadne sat sideways in a chair, legs crossed as she listened to the whole thing. By the time Hisako was done, there was no question that they were going to take Erina in. When Erina came down from her bath she was met with the teary faces of the majority of the dorm inhabitants. Shoji, Yuuki and Daigo instantly rushed her.

"Azami, was it? He pisses me off! He's horrible." Daigo said, blowing his nose.

"Yeah! No parent does that, dammit!" Shoji added.

Yuuki got right up in Erina's face. "You can stay in the dorm for as long as you want, okay? Erina-cchi!"

"Erina-cchi!? By Erina-cchi, you mean me?" Erina asked, not quite sure how she felt about the nickname.

"Alright you three, give her some space already." Ariadne called to them, the three backing off and letting Isshiki approach Erina.

"Nakiri-kun, have you eaten dinner yet?" Isshiki asked.

"Ah…not yet…" Erina replied.

"That's perfect then!" Isshiki turned to the rest of the dorm members. "Everyone! We have a special guest in the Polar Star Dorm! Let's have a banquet to celebrate it!"

With that, the dorm lit up, the others sitting Erina across from Ariadne. They each started presenting Erina with one dish after another. Erina found herself falling into the ways her father had taught her, relentlessly critiquing their dishes. To Erina's surprise, all it did was fire them all up and made them excited to have her taste their dishes. Erina relented. Ariadne watched as her friends crowded Erina, the girl telling them to line up. Even when Souma joined, it only made Ariadne chuckle to herself.

"Ari?" Ariadne looked up as Hisako called to her from across the room, making everyone stop and quiet down. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Hisako. What's is it?"

"Why did…Why did Erina-sama's father know you?" All eyes zeroed in on Ariadne, who had a steaming cup of tea hovering before her face, the girl pausing in the process of taking a drink. Ariadne's eyes came up to meet Hisako's through the steam. "He recognized you, knew about a past hair color you had…he knew you. When he said something about bringing an "above talented student" to the school…he was looking at you."

For a moment, silence reigned before Ariadne lowered her teacup, sitting it back on the table. "You caught on to that, did you?"

"Wait, seriously!?" Daigo demanded.

"You know that bastard, Ari!?" Shoji added.

"Yes, I do. My family has had dealings with him for a while now. I believe the first time I met him I was…ten? Yeah, ten. I had a really unfortunate unicorn phase back then and had dyed my hair pink for the spring. That was a big mistake. I'll never go pink again." Ariadne heaved a sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair. "The next time I really had anything to do with him was about ten months ago. My hair was more magenta purple than pink, but he obviously couldn't tell the difference."

"So, he was serious the reason you came to Totsuki!?" Yuuki asked, horror staring back at Ariadne from quite a few of her friends.

"Not quite. I'm sure he'd love to take credit for that, but that was going to happen eventually, with or without him. He just put the plan in concrete, much to my annoyance." Ariadne replied.

"What do you mean?" Hisako asked.

Ariadne looked up at them all before heaving a sigh. "Don't worry about it, okay? The last thing I really need tonight is even more anger at that man. Let's just say he played two important people against me and now here I am. I should thank him, but, at the same time…I really want to take my heavy ladle and hit him somewhere sensitive."

While many of them wanted to question her farther, all of them not liking the sound of what she had just said, they could also tell that Ariadne was genuinely angry with Azami. It made them wonder if the two people she had talked about was her parents and the two had agreed with Azami or something to send Ariadne to Totsuki. Ariadne didn't offer them any more information, calling it an early night.

The next morning, Ariadne stayed at the dorms instead of going to class in order to give Erina someone to talk to. She was there, standing at Erina's side when a broadcasted speech of Azami's came on the TV.

"Good afternoon, dear students, it's Nakiri Azami. I'm going to tell you about the ideal world I'm aiming for. About the reforms that will take place in Totsuki Academy. There are two pillars for my reforms. The first concerns the cooking lessons, seminars, research societies, associations…and all other kinds of self-governed bodies currently existing in the academy."

"Why do I get the feeling that we aren't going to like this?" Ariadne asked, Erina and Fumio agreeing.

"They will all be dissolved."

"God, I hate it when I'm right." Ariadne had a good idea where this was going, since the dorm, itself, was a self-governed building on the campus.

"They will all be voided. The research societies and the seminar system are hereby completely abolished. This was approved at the Elite Ten regular meeting a few days ago. You will receive notifications starting today, so please cooperate with us. And the second concerns the creation of a new organization within the Academy. An organization with the director and the Elite Ten Council at its head. A congregation of students hand-picked by me. An elite organization which will pursue the creation of new gourmet food. A world of gods where all delicacies will be shared. I'll temporarily denominate it as "Central". The food you'll make from now on will be decided by the members of Central. You don't need to create dishes anymore."

"My, God…that sounds like a cook's worst nightmare. He's leaving us no room to grow!" Ariadne gasped. She couldn't imagine living in a world in which she couldn't create new dishes. It would drive her completely insane.

"It's terribly regrettable, but anyone who disobeys will be asked to leave this academy. And it seems you all have a mistaken idea…The system we had until now was far more irrational. It used meritocracy as an excuse to completely abandon dropouts. It didn't consider that all cooks have different personalities and growth speeds. Don't you think that was far too violent? All cooking classes from now on are places to convey the Central's teachings. Everyone can receive its benefits equally. In other words, Elite Ten-level techniques, ideas, and recipes will all eventually be learned by everyone present here. That's a world without useless confrontations, without needless expulsions! Without needless classifications! Without needless competition! It's then when you'll all become free. Listen, listen very well. None of you are sacrificial pawns. You're an important asset which will make Totsuki's future possible. Help me improve this country's gourmet food!"

Ariadne felt a chill go down her spine. To her, it sounded no better than slavery. Azami was wrapping the whole school in chains that she could already feel tightening around her neck. Suddenly, her whole mission at the school started looking impossible to fulfil. How could she stick to the deal, succeed, when she felt like Azami was about to squeeze the very life from her lungs. The way things were now, if she wanted to complete the deal…she would have to bow to Azami's will. It made her sick to realize that she had been backed into a corner without the ability to retreat, regroup and try again.

How was she going to weasel her way out of this one?

Later that day, things got just a little more complicated for Ariadne. Around dinner time, there was a knock on the dorm's door. When Fumio answered the door, she found a pair of people standing on the other side. One was a young man somewhere in his mid-twenties. He was a tall, averagely muscled man, with a dark complexion, dark eyes and even darker hair. About two days' worth of stubble coated his sharp chin and his thick hair was carefully styled back from his angular face with its soft, dark chocolate eyes and crooked smile. The second person was a little girl that was his complete opposite. The child had to be about eight, her thigh length hair a golden blond and her big, doe eyes a bright blue. Looking at her made Fumio feel like she had seen the child before, her facial features were so familiar.

The child was peaking around the man's leg, looking up at Fumio with wide eyes while the man was carrying a suitcase, a backpack slung over one shoulder. Fumio could see nothing between the two that connected them as family, but from the way the child clung to the man's leg, Fumio had a strong feeling that that was exactly what they were. When Fumio had the door open, the man gave her a smile and a bow of his head.

"Hello. I'm looking for Sinclair Ariadne. Is she here?" His voice was heavily accented with an accent that could have been French and could have been Italian.

"And who are you?" Fumio demanded.

"Fumio-san? Did I just hear my name?" Ariadne stepped into the front hall from the dining room, Ryoko, Megumi and Yuuki following her and Erina peeking around the corner. Ariadne came to a stop when she saw who was at the door. The little girl gasped and bolted from behind the man's legs, throwing herself at Ariadne. Ariadne caught the little girl as she threw her arms around her waist. "Taliyah? Dante? What are you two doing here?"

"Taliyah? As in your little sister?" Ryoko asked.

"Yeah. Guys, this is my little sister, Taliyah, and my older brother, Dante." Taliyah squeezed herself closer to her sister while Dante waved from the front door. "What are you two doing here?"

"Tally has been aggravating me for weeks now to bring her to see you. She's missed you greatly, Ari." Dante told her, smiling at his two sisters. Ariadne looked down at the girl hanging on tightly to her waist, as if the thought of letting her go was impossible.

"Oh, Tally…I was going to come home for winter break." Ariadne told the child, lightly petting her hair.

"That's too long! You were gone too long and Dante's mean!" Taliyah complained.

"She's only saying that because I wouldn't let her have sweets after she brushed her teeth." Dante said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"As you should. Taliyah," Ariadne pried her sister off her waist and knelt to be eye-to-eye with her sister. She took hold of her sister's hands, smiling at her. "What have I always told you, huh?"

"'Sisters are special, from young ones to old…'"

"'God gave me a sister more precious than gold.'" Ariadne got a smile from her sister before she bent, the two letting the tips of their noses touch. "You could have just called me. You know I'll always make time for you."

Taliyah pulled back. "I wanted to see you, Ari! I've missed you."

"I know, petit oiseau. I've missed you too." Ariadne rose to her feet, turning to look at her brother. "Both of you. Fumio-san, do you mind if my siblings stay here a few days?"

Fumio looked between the three siblings as Dante moved to give his sister a hug. "Sure. We have plenty of space here." Ariadne smiled in thanks.

"So, wait! This is your brother!?" Yuuki asked, staring up at Dante.

"Yeah. Dante, these are some of my friends. That's Ryoko, this is Yuuki, that one there is Megumi, and the one behind the corner is Erina. The others are elsewhere in the dorm." Ariadne told her brother, pointing out her friends. "And you just met the lovely Fumio-san. She's the dorm mother."

"Bonjour, belles dames." Dante bowed to the females.

"You two look so…different." Ryoko remarked.

"It's like night and day!" Yuuki added.

"Dante is adopted, but a brother through and through. Right?" Ariadne turned to her siblings. Both nodded, Taliyah latching onto her brother's pants leg once more. "Dante is the sous-chef at our family's restaurant and Taliyah, here, is our little mascot."

"I'll take Dante's place one day!" Taliyah proclaimed.

"Why mine!? Why not become the head chef?" Dante asked.

"Head chef is Ari's place! You know that, you goof!" Taliyah retorted to her brother.

"Goof!? You see what I've had to put up with since you left?" Dante turned to Ariadne. "She's picked on me more than ever."

"Dante," Dante didn't like it when Ariadne said his name like that, that smile on her face that told him she was about to tease him. "You're twenty-four, she's eight…get over it."

Complete and total shut down.

"I really wish you hadn't taught her to be like you." Dante said.

"Blame Grandmother. She's the one that taught me to be this way."

Dante heaved a sigh before heaving the suitcase up. "Where can I put this?"

Fumio gave Ariadne a key to a spare room on the second floor, leaving the girl to take her siblings to the room, Ariadne scooping up Taliyah along the way. Once they were up the stairs, seemingly out of earshot of her friends, the smile slipped from Ariadne's face. "What's the real reason you're here, Dante? I understand Tally missing me, but you wouldn't agree to fly her all the way here to Japan if there wasn't more to it." Ariadne stopped in the middle of the hall, turning to look at her brother with a serious look on her face. Dante reached up to rub at his neck, heaving a sigh.

"You always were able to see right through me." he remarked.

"Regardless of what others have said, Dante, you're my brother. Of course I can see through you. What's wrong?"

"It's Granny." Ariadne looked down at Taliyah when the girl spoke, a sad look on her little face.

"What's wrong with Grandmother?" Ariadne asked, looking back at her brother.

Unknown to her, Souma and Megumi, who had been coming up the stairs, were hiding just out of sight, Souma listening in while Megumi worried about if they really should be doing that. They heard Dante sigh before he spoke. "She's getting worse."

"Worse?" Ariadne paused, her voice, for a moment, trembling before she cleared her throat and carried on. "How long?"

"From what I heard…eight months, maybe." Dante replied.

Souma peeked out from his hiding place, finding Ariadne just staring off to the side while her sister clung to her neck. There was a look of being pressured in her eyes as she tried to think. Looking up at her brother, she spoke. "They're decision?" Souma wasn't exactly sure who Ariadne was talking about, but it sounded like she was referring to her parents and wasn't too happy about it.

"…" Dante shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "They're giving you until the end of your promotion exams. Make good on your end or the deal goes through."

"What!?" Ariadne dropped her face into her free hand. "I was promised until the end of high school. How on earth do they expect me to make it into the Elite Ten in so short of a time? I'm not Erina with the God Tongue."

"I know, but you're not going to change their minds. It's make it into the Elite Ten or…well, you know. Grandmother isn't in a position to take your side, right now, and you know they aren't going to me. I'm not blood related." Dante replied.

"I'm so sorry, Dante. I'm sorry you have to be put in the middle of this whole thing. I'm surprised they let you take Taliyah with you."

"Yeah, well…I didn't give them much of a choice. So…what are you going to do?" Dante asked.

"For now, even when you go back, leave Taliyah with me." Ariadne adjusted her grip on her sister. "I'm sure Fumio-san will allow it. They don't need any more leverage against me. As for the rest…I'll figure it out. This is the absolute worst time for this, but I'll figure it out. Come on, let's get you settled in."

As Ariadne led her siblings away, Souma and Megumi shared a look. They weren't sure what was going on, but it sounded like Ariadne was being backed into a corner with no clear way out. If there was one thing they knew about her…Ariadne would do anything to help her family and friends.

In a case like this, though…family trumped friends.

-0-0-0-0-

Things took another bad turn when Eizan came by the dorm later the next day with a bunch of his thugs. "The Polar Star Dorm…as the only dorm in the academy, it separated from the corporate body of Totsuki Academy about twenty years ago…it has maintained an independent profitability until today. It's undisputedly a target of the purge. We're shutting this dorm down. It isn't needed at Totsuki."

"You're going to…abolish the Polar Star dorm?" Yuuki asked.

"That's right…all relevant structures and land are to be seized by Central. The point is none of this belongs to you anymore." Eizan replied.

"Don't fuck with us, asshole!" Shoji snapped.

When two of Eizan's thugs stepped up to his challenge, giving him dark looks, Yuuki popped up in front of Shoji. "Wh-what the heck! You wanna go!? C'mon!" Yuuki started blinding swinging a fist, the boys just staring at her weirdly.

"How was it that my brother put it?" Eizan turned to look at Ariadne who seemed to be thinking hard, trying to remember something. Then she snapped her fingers as it came to mind. Smiling brightly, she turned to look at Eizan. "Go gobble a hairy one, Yankee."

"Don't repeat what I say!" Dante poked his head in from another room. "That is nothing for a lady to say!"

"Dante, love you, but…shut up." Dante frowned, vanishing back into the next room when his sister came him that curt reply. Eizan just glared at Ariadne before a cocky grin took over his face once more.

"You won't be so sassy for long." he told Ariadne.

"You underestimate me, Eizan-senpai…I'm always sassy. It's one of the hallmarks of my personality." Ariadne retorted simply.

"Eizan-senpai," Souma calling Eizan's name kept Eizan from saying anything in reply to Ariadne. "Well, let's not just stand around and talk. Please come in and have some tea. Ari."

Ariadne heaved a sigh as she stood up straight. "Fine, I'll get the tea. Dante! Get in here and help your sister." Dante came out of the other room, following his sister to the kitchen. With her gone, Souma showed Eizan to the dining room.

Ariadne brought in a tray of steaming teacups which Souma offered to Eizan's thugs. Eizan finally snapped at them. "Don't just stand there! Sit!"

"Oh, right!" Souma turned to Eizan. "Eizan-senpai, didn't you say a while ago that you were gonna crush me? When do you think you'll be coming for me?" Eizan grew angry at Souma's obliviousness, but Souma simply got him to sit down before offering him a cup of tea from Ariadne's tray. "So? Why does this dorm have to be abolished, too? I've heard that we are kind of like an independent start here…does the academy have a reason to feel we'll interfere with their decisions?"

"The reason is exactly that. Having an autonomous organization within the school, outside of Central's control, is a problem. One head is plenty. That is our decision." Eizan replied.

"If one head is plenty then why don't you get rid of your second one?" Ariadne asked.

"Ariadne Genevieve Sinclair!" Dante gasped, unable to believe what his little sister had just said. Ariadne merely waved him off.

Eizan stifled another burst of anger, in too good of a mood to bother being angry with Ariadne. He held out his hand, one of his guys placing a stack of papers in his hand. "This document contains the date by which you must vacate. Ah, but do not fret. If you're amenable to these stipulations, you'll still be allowed to stay on as students at Totsuki."

"I've got a question for ya." Souma started. "About you decision to abolish the dorm…there's no chance I could get you to change your mind, is there? For example…with a Food War."

Ariadne's eyes shifted from Souma to Eizan, her eyes taking in the high and mighty, smug grin on Eizan's face. For one, Ariadne didn't have the strong urge to wipe the grin off his face.

"That possibility certainly exists. If you win a Food War, then any decision can be overturned. However…that is only if we decide to accept." Eizan, obviously, couldn't be happier. "We are under no obligation to accept a Food War challenge. Nevertheless, we have had a deluge of Food War challenges coming in from almost every group. All of them wanting to overturn our decisions…every single one of them. If I were to ignore them, they would all simply be abolished. However, keeping the feelings of my colleagues in mind, I've decided to accept the challenges."

Ariadne's eyes narrowed. It was too easy, to simple. If Eizan was accepting the Food War challenges when he had to do to win was ignore them, then there had to be more to it. It couldn't just be that easy. She searched her brain, trying to figure out what Eizan's game could possibly be. Was it simply because he thought he couldn't lose? No, that couldn't be. He wouldn't leave it to chance like that, no matter how good of a cook he was. There had to be something, but she just couldn't think of it.

"Heh…but even if you don't accept, for it to be a Food War it'll have to be a huge ordeal." Souma remarked.

"The opponent must also bear in a suitable risk. Well…this will be a good "lesson" for you." Eizan stood then. "I'll be working on the Food War schedule shortly. Once you've seen the results…assuming you haven't lost your will to fight, why don't you come take me on, too? Yukihira. Or even you, Sinclair."

With that, Eizan left. They found out soon enough what Eizan was talking about, Ariadne getting a horrible feeling in her gut. Watching the live broadcast of the first Food War, they were treated with a horrible, fixed sight. All three judges declared Eizan the winner without ever even tasting either's dishes. Now Ariadne understood what Eizan's play was. It wasn't enough for the boy to just abolish their hard built groups. No, he wanted to show the whole student body that even their last ray of hope was no longer an option for them. There was no way any of them could ever hope for a fair match. Ariadne was confronted with a sense of pressure in her chest that, in the last few years, had become more familiar to her than she wanted to admit.

There was so much about the situation that weighted on her shoulders, made her even more highly annoyed by Eizan than she had ever been before. If they lost the dorm, Ariadne lost her lodgings and a place to shelter her sister and they lost a hiding place for Erina. Giving up wasn't an option, but now their only option had been turned against them. Over the next few days, more and more groups were demanded to dissolve, all of those who had challenged Eizan to a Food War, canceling their challenges. Ariadne had to sit back and watch her dormmates as they cried over the looming fate of the dorm. Meeting Souma's eyes from across the table, the two seemed to come to the same agreement.

Eizan had to go down.

The next day, Eizan was walking down the hall when he came across Souma and Ariadne, the two standing there like they had been waiting for him. "Huh…I'm begging you, Yukihira…spare me the block-headed verbal diarrhea toady. And as for you, Sinclair…go one day without aggravating prattle."

"Prattle, he says." Ariadne rolled her eyes. "I'm not some old maid."

"Whatever. You still don't understand the situation? The judges are all your enemies! You'll be expelled if you lose. They're not even going to taste your cooking before making the decision. The moment you step into the ring, you're dead meat, okay? And yet, you're about to say, "Food War", aren't you?" Eizan asked.

"Yep." Souma replied.

"I don't know whether to be flattered or disgusted that he seems to know us so well, Souma. What do you think? I'm leaning heavily towards disgusted." Ariadne remarked, grin on her face.

"Even if you make all your little friends back at the dorm cry? Even though you have your own little shops back home, you're not satisfied, huh?" Eizan asked, trying to ignore Ariadne's quips. "I know you love to save people and play the hero and Sinclair loves to annoy me, but just give it up…there's a difference between courage and sheer recklessness, okay?"

Before Eizan could walk past them, Souma held out his arm, presenting him with a written Food War challenge. "I'm not doing this for the guys back at the dorm."

"What?" Eizan glanced at Souma out of the side of his eyes.

"I'm doing this for me. The Polar Star dorm is the castle where I can further master my own style of cooking. That's why…you'll be accepting this Food War. I won't let you destroy my dorm."

"And if he happens to fail," Ariadne turned, displaying her own written letter of challenge. "It'll be my turn. Trust me, you don't want it to come to that."

Eizan was taken back by the both of them, but Souma was already pressing ahead. "What should we go with for the theme…? Ah, that's right! Since there wasn't a clear winner in the karaage battle, how about jidori chicken? Let's make some chicken dishes…that way we can also wrap up the karaage battle nicely."

Seeing that neither were planning to back down, Eizan agreed and moved them both to a little room where they could discuss their business, the ingredients already waiting for them. Eizan took a seat across the table from Ariadne, getting to business. "We'll go with you suggestion." Eizan went into explanation about the theme ingredient only to realize that neither Ariadne nor Souma were listening. Ariadne filing her nails while Souma was standing over the ingredients. "Hey, jackasses, are you even listening? What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm listening. Unlike guys, us girls are actually able to multi-task." Ariadne answered honestly, Eizan's eye twitching.

"I'm just giving the ingredient a once-over." Souma replied, picking up the chicken to examine it. "It's Eizan-senpai, after all…there's a chance that you might have done something sinister to it!"

Ariadne looked up to see the angry twitch of Eizan's eye and cheek. "Can you blame him after all the shady things you've done? I mean, come on. I've met backdoors salesmen who aren't anywhere near as shady as you. And you wonder why I call you Yankee."

There was a yell from in the hall that kept Eizan from saying something to her, the door slamming open a moment later to reveal Kobayashi. "God dammit, Eizan!"

"Wha…!? What the hell are you doing here, Rindou?!" Eizan demanded, a nervous look on his face before Kobayashi put him in a headlock.

"It's Rindou-senpai to you! You better remember your manners!" she snapped at him.

"There, right there." Ariadne shifted forward. "That's the look I want to put on his face. Teach me your ways, Rindou-senpai."

"Shut the hell up, the both of you! Only authorized people are allowed in here!" Eizan snapped.

Not listening, Kobayashi released Eizan to turn and greet Souma and Ariadne. "Yo, Yukihira Souma, Sinclair Ariadne! Looks like you're getting yourselves into trouble, like always!

"Hello! It's been a while, Rindou-senpai." Souma greeted, Ariadne giving her a wave in greeting from her seat.

"That's just the thing! Everything's a mess! Because so many things in the school are changing due to Nakiri Azami's reformation, all the members of the Elite Ten have been crazy busy with paperwork and official business! All we do is work!" Kobayashi complained. "Even so, that goddamn Kuga still hasn't shown up!"

"He hasn't?" Ariadne perked up at the mention of Kuga's name. To hear that he was basically boycotting all this mess by refusing to go to Elite Ten meetings had Ariadne's heart fluttering. She knew she liked Kuga for a reason.

"And on top of that, there's you with all this Food War nonsense!" Kobayashi continued, turning on Eizan. "Thanks to that, all of Eizan's work got handed off to me! Stop doing stuff without realizing how much trouble you're causing everyone else!"

"Huh? Then why are you here, Rindou-senpai?" Souma asked.

"I bet she passed off all her work to someone else. Tsukasa-senpai, maybe?" Ariadne asked.

"That's right." Kobayashi answered as if it wasn't a big issue.

"Poor, Tsukasa-senpai. I actually feel a little bit bad for him." Ariadne said, shaking her head.

By this point, Eizan had a headache, adjusting his glasses to cover his annoyance. "Well, anyway! We still have a while before the Food War begins. So if you need to make preparations, I'll allow you to do so."

"Ah, thanks! I'll be borrowing the kitchen, then. You coming, Ari?" Souma called over his shoulder.

Ariadne rose to her feet. "Coming."

When the whole thing started, Ariadne was shown to a seat off to the side, across from Eizan and Kobayashi. Watching the two, Ariadne crossed her legs. From the grin on Eizan's face as he answered a phone call, she knew he had something else planned, but she was fairly sure that Souma could come through. After all, he always had in the past. Just before the actual match started, Eizan revealed that his subordinates were on their way to the Polar Star dorm and that the date of the eviction was right then. To be frank, neither Souma nor Ariadne were all that concerned. As much as Eizan looked down on all of them, they both knew they could count on their dormmates to take care of themselves long enough for Souma to finish this farce with Eizan.

Ariadne remained perfectly calm in her seat, pulling out her nailfile to continue her work on her nails. Even Souma just continued on as he always did while cooking, the sheer lack of concern on their part only making Eizan even more angry. Then, as Souma started his cooking, a report came in that Eizan's guys were having an impossible time trying to force the others out of the dorm, going so far as to, literally, turn a hose on them. Ariadne laughed when she heard that. "Sounds like our friends alright." Ariadne remarked, much to Eizan's annoyance.

"Eizan-senpai," Eizan turned his eyes to Souma. "You reeeeeally seem to like launching all these schemes from the shadows, but…if you have something you want to say to me, to Ari, why don't you say it properly on the plate?"

With that remark, Eizan set his glasses aside, rolled up his sleeves, and decided to take the challenge seriously. He wouldn't lose to Souma and then, after he had defeated Souma, he would deal with Ariadne and move on with his life, the two gone from the campus. Eizan was so full of himself in his head, that Ariadne's next comment really took the wind out of his sails for a moment. "You know…if you'd get rid of those glasses, that horribly awful personality and that ridiculous hairstyle…you wouldn't be bad looking. Well…for a yankee."

"Must you always insult me!?" Eizan yelled at her.

"When you react that way? Yes." Eizan twitched at her fast reply. "There seems to be a fatal flaw to you, Eizan-senpai. I mean, besides your personality."

"And what would that be?" Eizan demanded.

"You look down on people whose true skill you have yet to fully see. You can't possibly see someone you deem a mockery, besting you in any way. Trust me, by the time this is over, you're going to think twice about it." Eizan scoffed at Ariadne, but she didn't care. He was going to find out just how badly he had underestimated Souma. When he served up his dish, he gave a portion to Souma and turned to offer one to Ariadne. "No, thank you. I make it a point to never eat the food of use a foul man. It ruins the taste." Ariadne handed over her portion to Kobayashi, who jumped on it.

When Souma wanted to present his, the judges moved to simply get the judging over with. That changed when Souma challenged Eizan by suggesting that Eizan was scared of his cooking. Eizan paused, his back to Souma. By the time he turned around, his face had morphed into one of pure rage. "Huh!?"

Ariadne let out a whistle. "Wow, now that's a face only a mother could love."

"If you weren't scared, then you wouldn't mind trying it, right? If you left without trying it, even though I'm saying all this stuff to you, it'd be kinda pathetic, right?" Souma asked.

"You…motherfu-"

"Oh~! Looks like you're interested in trying it now! That's just great!" Souma said, cutting off Eizan.

With that taunt, Eizan took up the challenge, the judges actually agreeing to try the dish. And that was Eizan's downfall. With the first bite, the judges couldn't help but declare Souma as the winner. "With this, the Polar Star dorm will not be destroyed, but instead live on, right?"

When Eizan tried to have them shut down the camera, Souma took it over, declaring that if people were going to mess with his friends, then he wasn't going to hold back. That said, Souma and Ariadne left, returning to the dorm to the tears of gratitude from their friends. Ariadne was just starting to relax as one of the pressures on her shoulders were lift when her brother came crashing out of the dorm. "Ariadne!"

Ariadne turned to her brother. "Dante, what is it?"

"Please tell me you have Taliyah with you!" Dante pleaded. "She's nowhere in the dorm."

A look of horror took over Ariadne's features in that moment, the girl's face starting to go white. "I…I don't have her." Ariadne swallowed before a low curse left her. "We have to find her."

Seeing Ariadne actually close to panicking for the first time since they met her, her dormmates agreed to help in searching for the child. All of the spread out, running the school's grounds in search of Ariadne. As the sun started to sink in the sky, Ariadne became more and more concerned, knowing just how much her little sister hated the dark. Having covered all she could, Ariadne returned to the dorm, hoping one of her friends had found her sister. When she came through the gate, she found them all standing there.

"Well?" Ariadne asked, running up.

Ryoko shook her head. "None of us found her."

Ariadne could feel her heart about to jump out of her chest. The first time in months she had seen her sister and she had lost her. She was close to truly panicking when she heard a cry. "Ari!" Turning, they found the very child they had searched for, come running in through the gate, her face covered in tears. "Ari!"

"Taliyah!" Ariadne rushed to her sister, scooping the child up and hugging her close. "I have you, sweet girl." Ariadne soothed her sister, turning to carry her into the dorm, stroking her hair. Dante followed close behind, the others bringing up the rare. In the dining room, Ariadne sat her sister in a chair and crouched in front of it to look her sister in the eye. "Tally, I know you were raised better than to go running off on your own. Where'd you go?"

"I-I was lo-looking for you!" Taliyah said between hiccups. "In-instead, I ran i-into this s-scary guy!"

"Okay, Tally, sweetie, take a deep breath, calm down and then tell me." Ariadne told her.

Taliyah sniffled before doing as her sister told her. A few deep breaths later, Taliyah continued. "I went looking for you because your friends were saying you got yourself in trouble and I wanted to help! I got lost and ran into this scary guy who yelled at me. He…he told me bad things!"

"What bad things, Tally?" Dante asked, leaning over Ariadne's shoulder.

"He…he said that he knew you, Ari and that…that…" Taliyah started to cry again, sniffling as she tried to fight back her urge to sob. "He said that you were going to leave, and I would never see you again! Please, Ari, don't leave! I promise I'll be a good girl! Please don't leave like Mommy and Daddy!" Taliyah threw herself at her sister, wrapping her arms around Ariadne's neck.

Ariadne shifted, moving to take Taliyah's seat as she rocked her crying sister. There was a sharp edge to Ariadne's eyes as she tried to calm the child. "It's alright, Tally, I promise, I'm not going anywhere, okay? Tell me, sweet girl, who told you such a lie?"

"H-he wore glasses and lots of rings and chains and a leopard print shirt. I heard one of his f-friends call him…Eizan?"

If Ariadne's eyes have been cold before, they were like glaciers in the Arctic. Seeing the look that took over Ariadne's face, every single one of them knew that Eizan had just signed his death certificate. Ariadne was going to destroy him, and she was going to enjoy.

In short…Eizan had fucked up.

END

Kyandi: Eizan, Eizan, Eizan…must you be so stupid?

Ariadne: Yes, because he can't help it.

Kyandi: Sadly, this won't be the last time he's so foolish.

Ariadne: It makes me look forward to the fate you have for him.

Kyandi: Me too. Now it's late and I'm tired, so everyone, enjoy and review.

Ariadne: We'll be back as soon as possible.

Kyandi: Bye-bye!