Kyandi: Hello, Kyandiacs.
Ariadne: I may have gotten a little carried away in this chapter.
Kyandi: Carried away? You were badass!
Ariadne: Don't mess with big sisters.
Kyandi: Agreed!
Ariadne: That aside, she wants to jump right into the chapter.
Kyandi: I'm off to a game night.
Ariadne: So, enjoy and review.
Kyandi: I do not own Shokugeki no Souma or the song I used the lyrics of.
Chapter 23 Wrath of the Big Sister
That night, while her friends partied, celebrating Souma's victory over Eizan, Ariadne was up in her room, trying to sooth her sister to sleep. While she missed Hisako's and Erina's reactions to Isshiki running around in nothing but his apron, Ariadne couldn't bring herself to leave her sister's side. The child ended up crying until she had nothing left, clinging to Ariadne until she had exhausted herself so thoroughly, she fell asleep. Watching the tears run down her baby sister's face had Ariadne's temper simmering like it had never done before. In all that had happened in her life, in all that had been dumped on her shoulders, Ariadne had never been this angry before. Holing up in her room with her sister, her anger slowly building with ever tear Taliyah shed, Ariadne missed the visit that Azami decided to pay to the dorm.
Ariadne wasn't sorry she had missed him. In the mood she was currently in, she didn't think it was a bright idea to put her in the same room as Azami or anyone on his side. For the next few days after Eizan's verbal assault on her sister, Ariadne stuck close to the dorm, Taliyah acting like a little shadow, following her around everywhere. Dante, needing to get back home to their restaurant, left a few days after Souma's match with Eizan, leaving Taliyah with Ariadne. He promised to come back and visit again as soon as he could managed to keep Ariadne updated on things back home. To accommodate Taliyah staying with her sister, Fumio had the boys move a spare bed up into Ariadne's room.
To further add to the changes at the school, Isshiki, Kuga and one other member of the Elite Ten, three of the four who didn't agree to the change of directors, were dismissed from their seats on the Elite Ten. Ariadne wasn't surprised to hear it. After all, they had voted against Azami, and the man couldn't allow them to remain on the council knowing they didn't agree with him. She was happy, though, to hear that Kuga was one of those who hadn't agree with Azami. It made her relieved and joyful all at once. Her joy was squandered a few days later.
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The next day after dismissing Isshiki and the other two from the Elite Ten, Azami summoned his current members to his office. There was a matter he wanted to finally get out of the way.
"What was the summons for, Headmaster?" Tsukasa asked when they were all settled in the office.
"I have invited a guest to join us. One, I hope, might be joining you on the Council of Ten." Azami replied.
"You want to personally recommend someone so soon?" Tsukasa asked, surprised.
"Yes. I know a great deal of this chef. She is one who could be of great use to our goals, should she join." Azami answered.
"Who is it?" Rindou asked.
A knock on the door kept Azami from answering her question. Looking over at the door, Azami's assistant stepped into the room. "She is here, sir."
"Show her in."
The man nodded, turning to gesture to someone outside the door to enter. In through the door stepped the last person any of them expected. Well…one of the last people. One hand came up to flick black to aqua blue hair out of icy blue eyes, the other hand braced on one cocked hip. A playful, half grin, that almost always seemed to be in place, curled her lips as her eyes scanned those before her, paying no mind to the door closing behind her.
Standing before them…was Ariadne.
"Headmaster," the French girl greeted, her voice leaving her in an accented purr that was second nature to her regardless of who she was talking to. "To what do I owe credit to for this summons?"
"Credit? No "honor" or "pleasure"?" Azami asked, a smile on his own lips, quick to pick up on Ariadne's word choice.
"You will have to forgive me, Headmaster, but I can find no honor or pleasure being in the presence of someone who, not long ago, ordered his…thugs to attack my dormmates as well as being the perpetrator in another high offense. Surely you can understand my being a little…miffed." Ariadne replied, her eyes zeroing in on Eizan, who grit his teeth.
"Of course. An unfortunate event." Azami replied.
Ariadne's eyes narrowed, but a pleasant look remained on her face. Unlike Isshiki, none of them were as adapted to picking up on the small expression changes that told her true feelings. "If you say so." Just the way she said that a calculating look in her mischievous eyes, had many of them sure that this meeting was not going to go as Azami wanted it to. Azami ignored the subtle hints and gestured to an open chair across from him.
"Please, have a seat."
"Merci, Headmaster." Ariadne bowed her head before taking the seat, instantly crossing her legs and relaxing back as if she did not have a care in the world. If it was not for the rare few times that they had caught sight of the cunning, calculating look in her eyes, many of them might have actually believed she didn't have a single care. A look she currently sported in those icy blue eyes of hers. "The reason for the summons, Headmaster? Surely you are too busy to waste time on pleasantries with a simple first year such as me." Ariadne said, completely ignoring the others in the room now that she had stated her displeasure with Eizan.
"I believe you know what I want from you, Sinclair Ariadne." Azami stated.
"I am afraid I am drawing a blank, sir. I am, after all, blonde beneath this color." Ariadne replied, wrapping one lock of mostly aqua blue hair around her finger. None of them believe it for a second, except maybe Eizan. Azami gave her a smile, deciding to indulge her in her feigned ignorance.
"I want you to join us in Central. Perhaps even fill one of our currently vacant seats on the Council of Ten." he told her.
"Interesting…" Ariadne thought for a moment before she smiled happily. "Thank you for the offer, Headmaster. I think I'll be turning it down now."
It took them all a few moments of replaying her words through their heads before they realized that she had rejected Azami's offer. Ariadne waited patiently for it to sink in, her smile only growing as incredulous looks were directed at her from her upperclassmen. Azami's smile faltered, but otherwise remained fixed in place.
"You're turning down my offer?" Azami asked.
"Oui, I am."
"You do realize that you are turning down a spot on the Council of Ten, right?" Tsukasa asked. "You have a lot to gain."
"Not interested." Ariadne gave a graceful shrug of her shoulders. "You could offer up your own first seat and it still would not be enough to entice me." A lofty claim and one that had all eyes riveted on Ariadne. It was a good thing. While she didn't always like the limelight, there were times, like this, when a girl wanted all attention to herself. "No offense to you, Headmaster, or to those who follow you, but allow me to be frank." Ariadne uncrossed and recrossed her legs, appearing all the part of a queen on her throne. "I do not agree with some of your ideals. Destroying the clubs, the groups, of those I care for? Even worse, planning to shut down the restaurants that are home to so many others, which I know is your next step? Put aside the fact of whether or not I actually agree with your vision of what "true gourmet cuisine" is or not, that alone is enough reason for me to disagree."
"Are you saying you disagree with my vision of true cuisine?" Azami asked.
Ariadne gave him another shrug, spreading her hands. "That is neither here nor there. We are currently discussing the fact that I do not agree with your plans for closing so many groups and restaurants. There is a lot of tradition in some of those family places you want so badly to be rid of."
"I didn't take you as one to stand by tradition." Azami replied. "After all…isn't that the reason you are currently caught up in a deal you wanted no part in?"
That was not the first time she had heard that, though his causal mention of her deal had her wanting to hiss at him. She placed that part of his comment to the side for a moment. Ariadne had always been…unorthodox, to say the least. She had done things completely different from her parents before her, and now was grooming her own sister to do things her own way, too. After all, what was the point if they didn't love what and how they did things? Ariadne had never been about conforming to a mold, and she had made no secret of that. The only one who would ever decide the tune she danced to, would be her. She really could not blame Azami for thinking that she didn't stand by tradition as well.
"The second half of your comment aside…While I cannot blame you for thinking so, as I have made it no secret that I do not play well with labels and molds, well…I, too, am from a family restaurant that has been owned and manned by my family for five generations. As much as I might want to play things my own way and dance outside the box, I was forged and built up upon the traditions of my family. They make up a fraction of the very foundation upon which I have built my throne."
"So, you aren't going to agree simply because of that?" Azami asked, clearly amused.
"It's a valid reason in my opinion. Not to mention…you did go after my dorm, my home. And that deal you so causally threw in my face is partly on your head. Let's just say that I'm someone who takes people messing with what's hers to be rather personal. Not to say I'm holding a grudge or anything childish like that. Oh, no. Only someone truly juvenile would hold grudges." Whether she meant it only as a dig at Eizan or others aside from him, it did not matter. Eizan flew into a rage at her words, flying to his feet. It did not matter that Azami was right there. His explosive reaction to her rather innocent-sounding words, only had her grin growing as she gestured to Eizan, her eyes still on Azami, her eyebrows waggling. "My case in point. I've seen better manners from my eight-year-old sister."
Azami chuckled before turning a look on Eizan that instantly had the teenager snapping his mouth shut. With Eizan quietly seething, Azami turned back to Ariadne. "Perhaps I can entice you another way."
"I very much doubt it, but I'm willing to listen. I'll never have it said I didn't display some level of manners." Ariadne said as she inclined her head for him to continue.
"Thank you. I propose…a Food War." Ariadne's eyes turned sharp when he said those words, her grin remaining even as her eyes turned serious and shrewd. "One of my Council of Ten against you. With impartial judges and completely fair terms, of course."
"I see. I must say, Headmaster, you are quite the surprising individual. To think you would want little, old me that badly." Ariadne carefully considered the situation presented to her, picking her words with care. She had just been presented with the solution to her current problems back home. "This is assuming, though, that you have something to offer me that I actually want so badly that I would risk my freedom here at this school."
All eyes were silently riveted on the exchange between man and teenager. Ariadne paid them no heed, her mind focused solely on getting out of the situation without becoming a member of Central or the next person on Azami's chopping block. If she could get out of it without that pesky deal hanging over her head, too, then she would be truly grateful.
"Quite so. How about this…if my chosen chef wins, you will join Central. No further arguments." Azami told her.
"And should I win? Mind you, in order to get so complete a compliance from me, it would have to be quite a generous deal." Ariadne remarked, Eizan letting out a curt laugh at Ariadne thinking she could best any of them.
"Should you win, I will leave both you and your dorm alone, and, of course, I will have the original timeline of the deal restored."
Ariadne eyed him. She was very aware of his choice in words. He had said her and "her dorm", not anything about its inhabitants. If she pushed, she had a feeling it would end badly for her. Whatever came their way, Ariadne was sure her dormmates could handle it and she could not help them if she wasn't there. She just needed to make sure that they had a place to come home to, that Erina had a place away from her father and Taliyah had a place where she could remain with her. They all watched as the girl had a quick debate with herself, the whole pro-and-cons conversation passing in the blink of an eye. By the time she blinked, she had fully weighted her options.
"Just to clarify, Headmaster…should I win, you agree to making my dorm an untouchable place. No interference from you or your Central members or anyone else for that matter? An independent kingdom of its own, so to speak?"
A chuckle left Azami. "An independent kingdom, you say? Quite the comparison."
"It is fitting in my mind. Yes or no, Headmaster."
Seeing the seriousness that lurked behind her smile, Azami's own smile became a little sharper. "Yes, of course."
Ariadne nodded. "Who would my opponent be?"
"Allow me, Headmaster." Eizan quickly requested, eager to deal with Ariadne himself.
"If you believe you are up to the task." Azami told him.
Ariadne's eyes flashed to Eizan before her smile widened just a fraction more. "Alright then, Headmaster. You have a deal…on one condition and one more added perk for me."
Azami raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"I prefer if this little battle of ours remains between those here and the judges. The last thing I want is some needless display. Now, if Eizan-senpai wins, far be it for me to stop you from announcing it, but I think we can all agree that, should he lose, it would be in yours and Central's best interest not to let the student body know. I am, after all, a nobody who didn't make it far in the Autumn Election."
Azami chuckled. "We both know that was by design, not chance."
"Hmm, perhaps. Perhaps not. I will neither confirm nor deny that accusation." Ariadne waved it off. "Do we have a deal?"
Azami chuckled. "That we do. I believe two days should be enough time to prepare."
"Why wait?" Ariadne relaxed back, a grin on her face. "Just as a queen is always prepared no matter the circumstances, so am I. That is…if Eizan-senpai is. And I know you could get three impartial judges today if you really wanted to."
Amused by Ariadne's seemingly endless confidence, Azami agreed. "Alright then. Tonight, five o'clock. Does that sound good to you?"
"More than so." After agreeing on cayenne peppers as their main ingredient, Ariadne stood to her feet. "Well then, if you will excuse me, I must go prep my tools."
"Why should you even bother? You'll just lose." Eizan told her confidently.
Ariadne turned to look at him, her lips spreading in a grin. "It must be so nice to be so naïve. Ignorance truly is bliss."
"What was that!?" Eizan demanded.
"Just remember your words, if you will, because…I'm going to make you swallow your pride. This queen needs no king. Not that you were ever up to the challenge." No false over-confidence, the grin vanishing from her face as she simply stated those few sentences. It was not something said out of cockiness, just a statement, a fact. She would win, this she already knew. "Oh, by the way, I forgot to state what my added perk was."
Eizan suddenly got a bad feeling in his gut as she turned to look at him. "What is it?"
"If I win, and I will, you, Eizan-senpai…will have to get down on your knees in front of all who are present and beg my sister for forgiveness over the things you said to her the other day." A dark look, unlike any that had been seen on Ariadne's face, took over, turning her eyes to ice shards as she tilted her chin to look down the length of her nose at Eizan. "And you will continued begging until I deem you punished enough for sending my sister to bed with tears in her eyes. Should you not accept this term and follow through, I will use every bit of influence I have to completely demolish you in the culinary world. You can ask the headmaster…I'm capable of this. Decide the hill you die upon, senpai because I will not relent."
Eizan was confronted then with just how badly he had poked at Ariadne's last nerve. Despite there being a smile on her face, there was absolutely nothing friendly or even pleasant about it. It actually sent a chill down some of their spines to be confronted with the anger that Ariadne kept firmly under lock and key. She was furious and she wasn't going to let go of Eizan now that she had him firmly caught in her clutches. It was like watching a devil looming over its prey, mouth spread in menace and joy at the writhing of their target.
He was making a deal with the devil, and he had no way out of it without completely ruining himself.
So Eizan agreed. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me. I must prepare my execution method." With that, just as she had strutted in like she owned the place, she strutted out, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she went. Just like she had done at the Moon Banquet Festival when she had walked away from Tsukasa after telling him everything she found wrong with his dishes, Ariadne never once looked back, as if she was already done with the people she left in her wake. As if they were all best left forgotten, completely erased from her memory until she had need to remember them again.
And thus it was for those who were not deemed worthy enough to exist on the radar of Ariadne Sinclair.
Ariadne rushed back to her dorm, flying up the stairs with her nose in her phone. She did not hear any of the welcomes from her dormmates as she quickly vanished into her room only to come flying back out and down the stairs ten minutes later, a bag hanging from her shoulder. She grabbed her sister from the dining room as she passed it. Once again, she flew past her friends, never once hearing or seeing them, and made a beeline for her personal greenhouse. About thirty minutes later, she came back out with a second bag before she was gone once more.
Hurricane Ariadne left with no marked course for them to follow.
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How could this have happened?!
Going into the Food War, both Ariadne and Eizan were prepared to win. The loser never saw their defeat coming, leaving them in complete shock despite their last words to their opponent.
Coming into the fight, Ariadne had brought most of her own ingredients straight from her dorm. She paid Eizan not a lick of attention as she sat her little sister on a chain and got to work dividing her ingredients into two separate groups. One group consisted of unbleached white, fine pastry flour, hazelnut meal, sugar, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, unsalted butter and ice water while the second group was made up of olive oil, cranberries, more sugar, diced shallots, walnuts, chard, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, nutmeg, eggs, heavy cream and brie.
Just looking at her ingredients it was easy for them to tell that she was making some kind of pastry. What they couldn't place was an unlabeled bottle she pulled out of her case and sat on the countertop. She said not a word, humming to herself as she simply got to work. What really got some of the Elite Ten members was when Ariadne's sister, Taliyah, started humming along with her sister while she focused on a coloring book she had pulled out of one of Ariadne's bags. Eizan tried to say something to Ariadne a few times, but she simply kept moving about her station as if she couldn't hear him. It took a moment to realize that she had a Bluetooth earbud in each ear and really couldn't hear him.
Eizan's jaw dropped in incredulousness at her sheer audacity. How dare she so boldly refuse to hear a word he spoke. Ariadne was well aware of how annoyed he was, but she merely ignored it focusing on her task as she mixed up her dough, wrapping it up and placing it in an ice chest to chill while she moved on to the next step of her dish. "These boys just talk and talk, but somehow I just can't seem to listen. I'm thinking about the one who's dressed in black, got my head missing. I'm switching up the order, I'm on top that's my position. I eat 'em up, I spit 'em out, I got a bad condition. I got my finger on your trigger. Here's your shot, I'm comin' for you The night is young, so suck it up. That's what I came here to do."
Allowing her music to wash over her eardrums, the beat pounding in her head, she fell into that trance-like state where she merely let herself exist in her cooking and music. Now and then, her fingers would drum along a surface, her head would bob or her feet would suddenly pull off some little dance step as she moved about her tasks. This was just a glimpse at the real Ariadne, the chef she rarely let others see because it made things problematic when others knew just what she was and was not capable of. She had let it slip a few times recently, letting herself get a little too lost in her cooking, but she had no problem in letting Eizan and the others have this glimpse, just to show them how incredibly far out of his league Eizan was.
Azami sat to the side with the other members of the Council of Ten, watching as Ariadne expertly worked a paring knife, humming along with whatever song was playing in her ears. Now and then, she would sing, her sister joining her even when the lyrics weren't something that should come out of an eight-year-old's mouth. She quickly trimmed her crust, finishing up with it before moving to a sauté pan. A sweet smell filled the air as she sautéed cranberries and sugar, pouring something out the mystery bottle into the pan. She continued adding ingredients, cooking the mixture for a few minutes before removing it.
It was when she started to assemble her dish that they realized that she was making a tart. Just before she layered sliced brie across the top, she removed one last-minute ingredient from the ice chest, spreading it along the top. Only when it was gone did she layer the brie on top and put the tart into the oven. Not bothering to remove the earbud, Ariadne perched herself on a stool, crossing her legs and flipping her hair over her shoulder. Closing her eyes, she lost herself in her music and let her sense of smell and the song that started be her timer.
Eizan carried on with his cooking, shooting her glares now and then, but Ariadne was completely unfazed and unconcerned, humming as one foot bounced to the beat of her music. After the humiliating loss to Souma, Eizan was not about to allow another rebellious first year outshine him. Especially not if that first year was Ariadne. The girl had gotten away with angering him for far too long.
If only he had known what he had signed up for.
While Ariadne had never been one for traditions and falling within labels and molds, she didn't fault others for doing so, nor did she particularly mind being labelled protective. What was hers, was hers, end of story. And no one got away with making her sister cry. She normally liked to fly below the radar where her cooking abilities were concerned, but this wasn't simply just a threat against her friends and her current home.
It was a threat against her freedom.
Ariadne Sinclair would not conform to someone else's ideal.
Thirty-five minutes passed and just as her current song ended, Ariadne got to her feet, grabbing an oven mitt to pull the tart from the oven. She set it to rest while she moved to a saucepan, pulling out powdered sugar, milk, crushed cranberries and orange peels. She poured the milk, powdered sugar and crushed cranberries into the saucepan, bringing it to a boil. Now and then, she would zest the orange peel into the mix, giving it a nice mix until she had a nice icing. She poured it into a pipping bag and started making little swirl designs all along the edges of the tart. Taking a knife, she cut it up into servings and topped with a tiny spring of mint.
By that point, Eizan had finished his cooking and presented it to the judges. He had gone the opposite direction of Ariadne with a cayenne pepper chicken dish. While the judges enjoyed the food, Ariadne plated her dish, still not paying any attention to Eizan or his food. Only once her food was ready to be presented did she removed her earbuds, handing them off to her sister. She still ignored Eizan as she presented her dish to the judges. With one bite, the decision was made and left one of the two staring in utter surprise.
"The winner…is Sinclair Ariadne!"
Eizan couldn't believe it. Ariadne who hardly took cooking seriously, Ariadne who hadn't made it into the main tournament of the Autumn Election, had bested him? One judge spoke up, then. "I have a question, what was it that you spread under the brie? It gave it such a wonderful sweet but spicy flavor."
"It was harissa." Ariadne answered. The answer caused Eizan's eye to twitch. Who in the world thought to put harissa, which was a mix of red peppers, Baklouti peppers, garlic paste, caraway seeds, and many other spice, on a cranberry tart? Sometimes, Eizan had to wonder if there was any reason behind her choices, but they always seemed to work out for her. It had his anger rising when Ariadne turned to walk past him, pulling her hair out of the ponytail she had tied her hair into to cook. "Tally, petit oiseau, come here." Taliyah put her coloring book aside and hopped out of her chair. She came running to her sister's side while Eizan was lost in his fuming and wondering how he could have possibly lost to the likes of Ariadne Sinclair. "Oh, Eizan-senpai~!"
Eizan stiffened when that grating purr washed over him. Turning, he found Ariadne staring at him, her sister standing in front of her, Ariadne's hands on her shoulders. There was a smirk on Ariadne's face as she looked at him. "You…!" Ariadne's head tilted back when that was all Eizan could say. Eizan, once again, found himself being looked at from down the length of her nose, like the girl was looking down at him, and she probably was.
"I do believe you remember our deal." Ariadne crouched behind her sister, looking up at Eizan. "I think there's someone you own in apology to. Tally…don't let him off easy." Ariadne stood up then, fixing her icy eyes on Eizan. "Eizan-senpai?"
Eizan ground his teeth, trying to swallow the beating to his pride he had just taken. He was unaware that it was far from being over. "I…I'm-"
"Ah, ah, ah, Eizan-senpai! I think you're forgetting something." Eizan's eyes turned from staring at the floor to looking at Ariadne. The smirk on her face had obtained a sharp edge as she pointed to the floor. "On your knees."
She was really going to make him do this!?
Eizan stared at her, wide eyed, the others even surprised. Of course, Ariadne had made the deal, but they hadn't expected her to keep it. Looking at Ariadne's face, right then though, there was no mercy. Eizan had crossed a line with her and now he was going to pay the price. From the calm way Taliyah stood in front of Ariadne, they guessed that it wasn't the first time she had drawn the line and brought down the hammer. "You little…!"
"Food War's rules state that the conditions agreed upon before the match must be carried out. Be glad that this is all I'm making you do. For the way you made my sister cry herself to sleep…I wanted to do much worse. For now, though, I will settled for taking that pride of yours and stomping all over it. Now…my sister is waiting. Apologize." Ariadne was not going to relent. Eizan could see it in her eyes. His fate was sealed.
While it made him want to punch something, to be ill by how he was having to swallow his pride, Eizan got down on his knees, gritting his teeth. Clutching his fists to the point of them shaking, Eizan bowed his head to Taliyah. "I…I apologize for what I said to you. Please forgive me."
"Hmm…I don't know that I believe he's really apologetic. What do you think, Tally?" Ariadne asked.
"He sounds like Dante that one time he took a huge bite out of a lemon!" Taliyah replied.
"You heard her, Eizan-senpai. You can do better than this." No one else tried to step in, knowing that the conditions of the Food War had to be fulfilled, but it still surprised them all. Ariadne, who usually acted like nothing mattered and she couldn't be bothered by anything, had firmly put her foot down. It wasn't bad, seeing her serious, but it was scary to see how persistent she was in punishing Eizan. Poor Eizan had been stupid enough to put himself far on the wrong side of her.
Swallowing his pride and swearing that he was never going to go up against Ariadne again, Eizan did as told, begging Taliyah for her forgiveness. Only once she knew his pride was in tatters and the boy got the message, did Ariadne decide enough was enough. "I think that's good enough. What about you, Tally? Do you feel like forgiving him now?"
"Yep!" Taliyah moved forward, giving Eizan a pat on the head. Eizan wanted to badly to yell at the girl, but one look at Ariadne's face told him that he wouldn't like the punishment if he did. "Good boy! You're forgiven."
"Good. Now, Tally, why don't you grab the leftovers of the tart and take it and my bag out into the hall. You can have some of the tart. I'll be out in a moment." Ariadne told her sister.
"Alright!"
Tally skipped away, grabbing the leftovers and Ariadne's bag before leaving the room, struggling for a moment to push the door open, before she slipped out. Once she was gone, Ariadne turned to Azami. "I do believe that finishes our business, am I right, Headmaster?"
"It would seem. You never fail to entertain, Sinclair-chan. I shall call your…handlers. I am, after all, a man of my word. I do have one question for you." Azami said.
"Oh?" Ariadne raised an eyebrow as her hands went to her hips. "Please, by all means, share."
"Knowing the details of the deal between me, your handlers and you like I do, wouldn't it have achieved your goal and sealed the deal if you had merely sided with me?" Azami asked.
"Hmmm…" A low hum left Ariadne as she considered the best way to respond to that. "Certainly it would have been the quick and easy route but, honestly, think about how much you know about me…since when have I taken the easy way?" A response he really should have seen coming. "To be truthful, I might have sided with you, at least in appearances, just to be done with this ridiculous deal, but then I found out just what you did to Erina and why she's so terrified of you."
Azami's smile faded just slightly with being presented with Ariadne's reason. "Oh?"
"Don't get me wrong, Nakiri-san, I have no real problem with what you want to consider as true gourmet. To each their own. But when it comes to my friends and people playing around with my right to do as I please…well, then I take offense. To be frank, I care nothing for the Elite Ten seats or anything that comes with them. To…mundane."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nene demanded.
"I think I was rather clear. I mean no offense to any of you, but I just don't see the point. I already have all I need. If people want to aim higher than that, then that's their choice. It's just not for me." Ariadne answered her, her eyes returning to Azami. "I think I have made my stance here quite clear."
"Very. It seems you'll be siding on the side of the rebels, then." Azami remarked. "Quite a shame."
"I do believe we've already covered my inability to conform." Ariadne replied.
"You're truly going to turn down the chance to be seated on the Elite Ten?" Tsukasa asked. "You can gain so much from the position."
"Yeah, like a headache." Ariadne shook her head. "Let me put this in easier terms for you…a supercomputer capable of calculating every mathematical equation on the planet could never come close to calculating the sheer lack of fucks I have to give. If I was to have a basket full of wooden "fucks" to hand out, my basket would be empty. My interesting in this whole thing has been shot, killed and strapped to the hood of a car heading for Don'tgiveafuckville. Are you getting the picture here?"
Unfortunately, he was. "Yes."
"Good. It was bad enough that the damage done to Erina, a dear friend of mine, even worse when that lacks-a-brain yankee over there decided to head right for the head of another friend of mine and tried to take my home away, you," Ariadne's eyes turned Azami. "Had to go and dismiss the only reason in world I could have for joining the Elite Ten. Now that he's gone, I'd rather wallow in the pits of despair than to work for Central. Have I made my choice clear?"
"In great detail." Azami replied.
"Good!" Ariadne clapped her hands together happily, smiling brightly. "Then I do believe we are done here. Now, if you, any of you, ever wish to make another deal with the devil, than. by all means, come and find me. I'm always more than gleeful to blow up other's plans in their faces. Now, if you'll excuse me," Ariadne glanced at the clock. "It is time for me to feed my sister dinner. Have a nice day." With that, Ariadne turned on her heels, grabbing the last of her equipment as she headed for the door. When she pushed the door open to find her sister on the other side, they could hear her scold her sister. "Tally don't eat so much of that tart. It's a half-baked recipe and will ruin your dinner. Come on, I'll make you something better."
The door closed on Ariadne and her sister, leaving the room she had just left in silence. Azami had been out played, this time, but he wasn't going to let it happen again. He would let Ariadne and her dorm have peace, for now, but soon enough, the true battle would start. Azami was sure that Ariadne would regret her decision then.
Too bad he forgot…Ariadne never regretted a thing.
END
Kyandi: If it had been me…I would have maimed him.
Ariadne: I think we established that you're a very overprotective big sister with a…liking of hurting men.
Kyandi: I would do it to a female too. I'm not prejudice.
Ariadne: I simply meant that you enjoy punishing guys more than girls.
Kyandi: There's a reason for that.
Ariadne: You find nut shots to be hilarious?
Kyandi: Yes.
Ariadne: Go figure. Also, the song she used was Bite My Kiss by DIAMANTE.
Kyandi: Anyway, enjoy and review!
Ariadne: We'll be back as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!