Kyandi: Hey, everyone!
Ariadne: We apologize for taking so long. Kyandi-sama had some art commissions to do.
Kyandi: That, and this chapter is longer than usual…like really long.
Ariadne: Because of that, we won't be talking for long.
Kyandi: Yep, just…expect a little surprise. With that, everyone enjoy and review.
Ariadne: Kyandi-sama does not own Shokugeki no Souma.
Kyandi: By the way…I couldn't help the chapter title.
Chapter 24 Kiss, Kiss, Fall in Love
Upon returning to the dorm, Ariadne decided it best not to say anything to her dormmates about the match against Eizan and made Taliyah promise not to say anything either. The next day, Ariadne found herself sitting in the commons area of the dorm, Taliyah in her lap, after her friends called a group meeting. Everyone, right down to the Aldini brothers, showed up to discuss the upcoming Survivors Purge in which members of Central would take on the chosen representatives of the remaining groups left to be dissolved. Thanks to the quick thinking of Isshiki, the research societies and other groups would be given a fair chance to save their groups.
"So…you proposed that sort of rule as part of the Elite Ten Council." Zenji remarked. "Even Nakiri Azami was forced to approve it. You laid the groundwork for this outside of the school by fully utilizing the authority and connections only an Elite Ten members would have. You created a situation where the Azami administration has little choice but to accept this rule…what amazing finesse!"
"You got a point." Ariadne said from where her chin was resting on her sister's pigtailed head, the child fiddling with some kind of game on Ariadne's phone. "Since the whole match between Souma and Eizan-senpai was made public, many outside the school are in agreement that Kabutoyama-senpai's expulsion should be voided."
"Dang! Good going, Isshiki-senpai. That guy still hasn't taught me about skewering!" Souma remarked.
"Moreover….today is finally…"
"Yeah." Zenji confirmed when Ibusaki trailed off. "Central's Survivor Purge! Today's gonna be the first day of it."
"What do you mean by first?" Souma asked. "Does that mean there'll be a second?"
"Souma, there's over one hundred remaining organizations in Totsuki that have yet to be dissolved." Ariadne told him. "On top of that, last I heard, there is only roughly thirty members in Central. It'll take a few days to go through with so many challenges."
"Central is actually pretty small, huh?" Souma asked.
"Azami seems to be choosing them personally…so it must take some time to do." Ryoko remarked.
"Assuming he's still making selections, it could still grow. The students who've already been chosen…they are the badasses that you could call the Elite Ten reserves! All the tough guys who have potential equal to the Elite Ten are gathering on the side of the enemy! Not sure whether this is a stroke of luck or misfortune, but…neither my Miyazato Seminar nor Tadokoro's Local Specialties RS has its Food War scheduled for today. Pretty much everyone's uneasy right now." Zenji pointed out.
"Central…the Elite Ten reserves, huh…I wanna see what kind of guys they are." Souma said, much to his dormmates' unease. "I wonder if I can somehow infiltrate the place where they're holding the Food War."
"B-but if you make a wrong move, won't things get real bad?" Shoji demanded.
"Nah…I'll be fine. I'm just going to take a look, right?" Souma said, carefree as he always was.
"It's not fine!" Ryoko was fuming as she faced Souma. "This is you we're talking about, Yukihira-kun! It's always bad when it's you or Ari!"
"Hey, I resent that." Ariadne protested.
"But you had a fight with that scary guy, too, Ari."
Ariadne heaved a sigh when her sister spoke up, all eyes turning to her. "Taliyah, sweetie…we have to work on your memory. I said not to tell anyone."
"Oops!" Taliyah clapped her hands over her mouth and turned a wide-eyed look on her sister. "I'm sorry!"
"What does she mean? Ari?" Ryoko asked, turning to look at Ariadne.
Another sigh left Ariadne. "Nakiri-san tried to recruit me to Central." Outbursts sounded from all of her friends, both Ariadne and Taliyah clapping hands over their ears to protect them from the yells. Only once her friends had calmed down did either sister remove their hands. "Done?"
"Why didn't you tell us!?" Yuuki demanded.
"For this reason right here. You guys worry too much." Ariadne replied.
"For a good reason! You didn't even make it into the main tournament of the Autumn Election, Ari!" Ryoko reminded her.
"Yeah, well that was on purpose." Ariadne's words were met with silence. "Look, I didn't come to Totsuki to be center stage and I think I've made it clear that I do everything in my own time and only when I'm good and ready. I didn't want to be pitted against friends, so I made it where I wasn't. Simple as that."
"Okay, but what about the whole deal with Azami and Central?" Yuuki asked.
"I declined, of course. Not that he was going to take that answer." Ariadne replied. "So he purposed a deal. A Food War pitting me against one of the Elite Ten. If I lost, I would join Central. I got lucky and Eizan-senpai stepped up to the challenge. Gave the perfect prize to ask for if I won."
"What did you ask for?" Takumi asked, a little afraid to ask.
"If I won…he had to get on his knees and beg my sister here for forgiveness for what he said to her. He had to keep going until I was satisfied." Ariadne replied.
"And you won?" Zenji asked.
"I'm sitting here, aren't I? It was quite the sight, seeing him down on his knees with all his pride swallowed like vinegar." The grin that spread across Ariadne's face had chills going down some of their spine. Then, remembering where she was and the subject they had been discussing, Ariadne wiped the smirk off her face. "The point is, I won and Azami promised not to bother me or our dorm again. I know the whole battle between Souma and Eizan-senpai was so that they would back off the dorm, but I didn't trust them not finding some other way to do so. I wasn't going to allow the loss of a safe haven for Erina, and now, I have more to lose if we lose the dorm." Ariadne's hand idly pet her sister's head. "I might have gone overboard with how angry he made me, but I'm devoted now and there's no way I'm joining the enemy. That being said…I'm not letting you go check out the Central reps alone, Souma."
"Alright, then I'll join him. I agree with Ari…Yukihira going alone makes me super uneasy!" Takumi agreed.
"Well, with Takumicchi and Ari going, I feel better." Yuuki remarked.
"Speaking of which, it's like he's already part of the dorm." Ryoko agreed.
"He might as well be, with how often he and his brother come around now." Ariadne said, getting to her feet and placing her sister on her feet.
"I…I want to go, too!" Megumi broke in. "If possible…I want to see who the Food War opponent for the Local Specialties RS is gonna be!"
"Oh! Tadokoro! Come, come! What about you, Marui?" Souma asked, turning to the other boy.
"Recon, eh…if that's the case it's best if we split up!" Marui remarked. "The survivor purge matches are being split between four different venues, labeled A to D."
"Geh…they're not having them all in one place? Ah, that's right! Is the Don RS having a Food War today? Apparently, Ari and I are honorary members, so I'm worried about them." Souma remarked.
"I am a little bit, too, even though I'm sure Ikumi can handle it." Ariadne agreed.
"I don't know where they are…the venue at which each organization is having its match weren't publicized. There's another problem…every venue is going to have a number of matches occurring concurrently." Zenji explained.
"Ehh…" Megumi worried at the sound of that. "Will I be able to see all of them?"
"You're right…one person per venue with a second at one of them, would be a bit worrisome. We'll need at least groups of two or three to reconnoiter properly." Takumi mused. "Isshiki-san isn't here today?"
"It seemed he had stuff to do, so he went out." Souma answered.
"It should be fine if we ask Fumio-san." Megumi added.
At this, the rest of the dorm members agreed to go, Taliyah even begging to go with Ariadne. Not that Ariadne was really going to leave her alone with how clingy her sister had been since arriving. They even roped Hisako into going with them and split up. Isami, Yuuki and Fumio to Venue A, Zenji, Ibusaki and Ryoko to Venue B, Daigo, Shoji and Hisako to Venue C and Souma, Ari, Megumi and Souma to Venue D, Taliyah tagging along with her sister. Ariadne loaded her sister up in front of her on the seat of the scooter she had recently splurged on, buckling a helmet on her head. When they arrived, Ariadne helped her sister off the scooter.
"So this is where the survivor's purge is taking place…Venue D, huh?" Takumi remarked, getting off his bike.
"It's seriously crowded." Ariadne remarked. "Taliyah, hold on to my hand and don't let go." Taliyah took hold of her sister's hand with both of hers, moving close to her sister's legs.
"There's a lot of students here to cheer on the research societies…but there's a ton of guests from the outside as well. Why is that?" Megumi asked.
"Well, considering the high level of reform that Nakiri-san has brought to this school, it was bound to attract a lot of interest. I mean, the chefs of Central, the Elite Ten included, all making an appearance across four venues? I'm not surprised there's a lot of guests." Ariadne remarked, Takumi nodding in agreement. "Anyway, it looks like the first match is about to start."
Takumi turned to Souma. "Yukihira, you should already know this, but remember! We're just here to do some recon. Make sure you get a good look at just how strong our enemies are."
"I got it, I got it. Okay, let's go!" Souma replied.
Inside, they found Eizan and Momo as the two Elite Ten present. Ariadne leaned against the rail, Taliyah peering up over the rail, as she watched the two cooking. After having gone against Eizan in a match, Ariadne wasn't interested in the guy. Instead, her eyes were drawn to Momo. Ariadne watched as the older girl pulled off the paws of her stuffed animal to use as mittens. Taliyah reached up to tug on Ariadne's shirt, making her look down at her. "Ari, why would she do that to her lovey?"
"A lot of people around here are weird, Tally. We've all learned not to question it. Just…don't do that to yours, okay?" Ariadne told her sister, Taliyah nodding in understanding. Ariadne turned back to watching. It was a quick, decisive victory for Eizan and Momo.
"Amazing…" Megumi whispered.
"A complete victory for Central." Takumi grumbled.
"Hmm…even though this is a cooking school, she made it into the Elite Ten making sweets, huh?" Souma asked.
"That's harder to do than you think, Souma." Souma turned to glance at Ariadne. "It's obvious that you don't have much experience with them. Sweets take a delicate touch. A little too much or a little too little of something can ruin the entire thing. It takes a fine touch that can be difficult to master. For her to be in the Elite Ten, her abilities with sweets have to be on another level."
All this did was give Souma the sudden desire to challenge Momo to a Food War. A desire that was written on his face and had Takumi crossing his arms. "Yukihira…wasn't today just "reconnaissance"? Don't you go picking any fights now."
"I got it, I got it…we're not here to challenge them." Souma said, though it did nothing to change the look on his face.
"Then reign in your obvious desire, Souma. You're going to creep out my sister." Ariadne told him. The doors down below flew open then, the sound of them opening making Ariadne and her friends turn to look at the students that walked into the arena again. "Huh…haven't seen them before."
"Those are the soldiers of Central, selected by Azami…!" Takumi told her. "Chefs of the current ruling faction of Totsuki!"
"I have a feeling I'm not going to like them." Ariadne remarked, her stomach turning at the way two out of the four grinned at their opponents. When the leading boy went so far as to mock his opponents, claiming they would take on the opposing students in their specialties and win, Ariadne frowned. "Yep, it's confirmed…I hate them."
"Why is that guy with the mark on his face being such a doo-doo head, Ari?" Taliyah asked, a frown matching her sister's on her face.
"Some people just don't have manners, Taliyah. Sometimes, when the opponent is someone like who I faced a little while ago, they need to be mocked…to straighten them out. That being said, this is just him being rude and having no class." Ari knelt in front of her sister, putting the child on eye level with her. "Remember this well, Taliyah Sinclair, if I ever catch you needlessly mocking someone like that, I will be greatly disappointed in you."
"I would never!" Taliyah instantly protested, a stern look on her young face. "I'm going to be a chef that others respect and can believe in! Like you, Ari!"
"Good girl." Ariadne gave her sister's head a praising pat as she rose back to her feet. "Though, I don't know how much people around here respect me."
"We'd respect you more if you weren't always teasing everyone and flirting." Takumi told her.
Ariadne's eyes cut over at him, Takumi flinching because he was sure he had just gained himself a world of teasing. To his surprise, it wasn't Ariadne who made a move. The next thing he knew, there was a tugging on his blazer, making him look down at Taliyah. He found the child with a pout on her adorable face. "What's wrong with my sister? If you're saying there something wrong with her, then you're saying there's something wrong with me! There's not anything wrong with me…right?" Takumi watched as the girl's face went from a pout dissolving into sniffles and tears welling up in her eyes. This had the eyes of those around them, turning to Takumi in disapproval.
"No, no, no! I'm not saying that all! You and your sister are perfectly wonderful! Please don't cry!" Takumi begged, panicking when Taliyah covered her face with her hands, her sniffling growing. "Uh…ummm…please, stop. I'm sorry! How…how about I buy you some sweets after this?"
"Okay!" Taliyah raised her head then, giving him a bright smile, no tears in sight. Takumi deflated in the face of the fact that he had just been played by an eight-year-old. His shoulders dropped in defeat as Taliyah turned to her sister, all smiles. "Hear that, Ari? He's going to buy me sweets!"
"I heard. Good for you." Ariadne gave Taliyah's head another pat before turning her eyes to Takumi. "Better keep that. If you make her cry for real and you'll face a very unhappy devil."
"U-understood." Takumi replied, realizing that he should have seen that coming from the sister of Ariadne Sinclair.
Ariadne turned back to the matches in front of them, watching with arms crossed as the four Central chefs completely crushed their opponents. It was bad enough without the leader of the four Central chefs, a second year named Rentarou Kusunoki, turning to mock all the supporters currently present. "You're all a bunch of shitters! You know that, right!?" Ariadne instantly covered her sister's ears. "Do you understand now?! You all are not among the chosen! So submit already! That's the right thing to do! All that's left for you fools to do is kiss the ground at Central's feet."
Almost as if vanishing from where they had been standing next to Megumi, Souma and Takumi appeared behind Rentarou. "That ain't/isn't how it's going to go down."
Rentarou turned to look at the two. "Huh? You got somethin' to say to me, you little freshmen shits?"
"Wow, and here I thought that Eizan-senpai's attitude couldn't possibly be outdone in the terms of sheer horridness." Rentarou turned when another voice joined the conversation. He found Ariadne standing there, hands on her hips. "Yours just might be a tad bit fouler."
Rentarou smirked at her, scoffing at her claim. It didn't bother Ariadne. Once she figured out what set him over the edge, he would regret ever coming face to face with her.
"We were saying," Souma drew Rentarou's attention back to him. "Having someone arbitrarily judge what we're worth…"
"Is not something we can allow." Takumi finished.
"Someone has to teach you a little manners." Ariadne added. "Men without manners are no better than apes, after all."
"Are you calling me a monkey!?" Rentarou asked, turning on her.
"No, obviously…I'm calling you an ape. There's a difference. That you can't even tell that speaks to the level of your intelligence and it is not a flattering story to be told." A fit of giggles could be heard from the over-all quiet crowd, Taliyah trying to stifle her giggling with her hands, but failing. Ariadne waggled her eyebrows at Rentarou. "See, even my eight-year-old sister found the humor in that one."
Rentarou's jaw tensed, one eye twitching, but he couldn't reply as two of the judges, Oizumi and Saotome, approached them, Oizumi speaking. "Oh!? Yukihira, my boy! And Aldini Takumi and Sinclair Ariadne, too!"
Souma and Ariadne turned to look at the two. "Bonjour, Oizumi-san, Saotome-san."
"Long time no see!" Souma called.
"Oi! Do me a favor and look at me when we're talking!" Rentarou snapped.
"Attention whore." Ariadne said with a sigh.
"What was that!?"
Ariadne turned to glance at Rentarou over her shoulder, smile on her face. "I don't stutter."
Rentarou held back his anger, pulling his attention away from Ariadne and switching it to Souma. "So you're the first-year brat who defeated Eizan…and the other guy's a frontrunner in the Autumn Election. As for you," Rentarou turned to look at Ariadne. "You must be the one everyone's calling the Blue Devil."
"You know, the more I hear that nickname, the more I like it." Ariadne remarked.
Rentarou ignored the comment. "What's all this, then? Came to do a little recon?"
"More or less, yeah!" Souma answered easily. "I think we're gonna have to take all of you guys on at some point. When that time comes, we'd prefer to win."
"Is that so? Listen up…if I were you, I'd be careful about shooting my mouth off. You guys are pretty lucky, ya know? Since you're not in any Research Societies or seminars you can rest easy knowing you don't have to fight me, an Elite who carries the next generation of the culinary world upon his shoulders."
"Oh, so that's why you have a horribly slumped posture like that of an ape!" Ariadne gasped, snapping her fingers. "That makes so much sense now."
"Elite?" Takumi asked before Rentarou could go off on Ariadne.
"That's right! As one selected by Central, I have the power to make the few thousand students at this school bend to my will. We're the ruling class! The rest of you guys are just commoners! And you three strike me as especially plebeian."
"Oh, if you only knew…" Ariadne shook her head.
Rentarou dismissed that as Ariadne agreeing with him and continued on. "We were all chosen by Nakiri Azami…the current headmaster." Rentarou dug in his pocket, pulling out the Central badge he had been given. "No matter how you slice it, we're "elites". You'd best stop digging your heels in, if ya know what's best for you.
"You sound just like a puppet." Takumi remarked. Rentarou paused, turning his eyes to Takumi . "Putting so much emphasis on how you've been chosen simply screams of a long-standing inferiority complex. That's why you cling so dearly to having been chosen by Central. You can't help but use words like "elite" to try and gussy yourself up. Could it be that you lack confidence in your own cooking?"
"Very eloquent, Takumi. I approve." Ariadne gave Takumi a smile before turning to look at Rentarou. "I was offered a place among you so called "elites". I turned it down. If I'm to be honest, when I look at people like you, all I can see is a mindless marionette, dancing to the tugging of strings that someone else has control over. It's not a flattering image, I must say. You are only riding on the coattails of someone else, living off their influence. Cling any tighter to that, and your desperation will start to show."
"Ohh…well said, Ari." Souma told her, turning his eyes to Rentarou. "There you have it, senpai! What say you now?"
"Haha…" Ariadne could tell just from the little sarcastic laugh, that Rentarou didn't like it. "And here I was, thinking I'd go easy on my precious little underclassmen…that ends here. I'll crush you, right here and now!"
Ariadne's head tilted to the side as hands appeared on either side of Rentarou, grabbing him around the ribs and suddenly lighting him and flipping him to tuck him under a strong arm. Ariadne's hand came up quick, covering her mouth as she tried to hold back the urge to laugh. The boy that had grabbed Rentarou merely turned to carry him away. "You mustn't do unnecessary things."
"Shige!" Rentarou fought against the hold the other boy had on him. "Lemme go…! Let me go, god dammit! What are you, made of steel?" Up in the guest seats, Taliyah covered her ears, eyes open wide. "Fuck, man…! Damn it, Shige! Put me down!"
"I won't put you down." Shige replied.
"I got it! I'll listen! So put me down already! Don't just carry me around!" Rentarou protested.
Ariadne leaned forward, waving mockingly at Rentarou. "Bye, bye, senpai~!"
Rentarou's fighting and yelling increased by double after that, Ariadne smiling happily have a job well done. This had one of his companions, a girl named Mea, laughing as well. "Jeez~! Don't fall so easily for the bait, Ren-chan!"
"Shut up, Mea! And you too, Rui! Stop staring!" Rentarou yelled at the two girls. "Fuckin' first years this time, just twiddle your thumbs and watch. I'll be sure to settle this with you next time!"
"Yes, yes, shut up already! Just go and win that last match for us!" Mea told him.
"Oh? That senpai's gonna be in the next match, too?" Souma asked.
"Looks like it." Ariadne confirmed, straightening her back.
Chuckling reached their ears then, making the three of them turn to where Oizumi was standing. "You three have become even more reliable since the Autumn Election. In particular, what you two said just now, Aldini Takumi, Sinclair Ariadne! It really raised my mood!"
"I…I see…!" Takumi blushed.
"I'm glad to be of service, Oizumi-san!" Ariadne told the old man with a polite smile.
"A-anyhow…which research society has a match next?" Takumi asked, trying to fight his blush and thankful that Ariadne didn't see the need to try to make it worse.
"Fuhaha…about that…you it's leaders quite well." Oizumi told them.
To the surprise of Ariadne and her friends, the one's that walked into the room…was Alice and Ryou.
"Alice?" Ariadne called out in surprise.
"Oh, it's you three!" Alice lit up when she saw them. "How do you do?"
"What are you two doing here?" Souma asked.
"You're not here for a Food War, are you? I didn't know the two of you were in a RS." Ariadne remarked.
"That's right! We're here for a Food War. It came as a shock to me, too! But it's kind of a long story. It was two years ago when it was in middle school. I had a Food War with the Cutting-Edge Cooking Research Society. I ended up winning their club room and equipment." Alice replied matter-of-factly.
"Let me guess…" Ariadne's lips quirked as she fought off a smile. "You were under the impression that all you got if you won was the club room, right?"
"Correct! According to the official documents, it seems I had also become their captain! It was ever so surprising!" Alice confirmed.
Ariadne gave her head a shake, but there was a fond smile on her face even as she did. "So you unknowingly made yourself a target of this whole ridiculous survivor's purge thing, huh?"
"Ufufu! Well, "captain" has a nice ring to it. I wouldn't mind being called "Captain Alice" from now on." Alice replied.
"That's Alice for you." Ariadne remarked, while Takumi stared at Alice like she was strange.
"So that means, at long last, I get to see your cooking again!" Souma remarked happily to Alice.
"I'm afraid not." Alice had a little smirk on her face. "The one who will be fighting is Ryou-kun." Without even looking at Ryou, Alice gave him a direct order. "Go on now, Ryou-kun. Rip off that so-called Elite's cracked veneer."
"You got it."
"Ryou," Ryou turned to look at Ariadne, his eyes finding a smile on her face but venom in her eyes. "Make sure to make that ripping painful, will you?"
"Heh…sure thing."
Ariadne joined Alice, Takumi and Souma off to the side, Taliyah slipping away from Megumi to run to her sister's side. The child jumped, startled when Alice suddenly yelled. "Fight, Ryou-kun! You mustn't lose! That's an order from the captain of the Cutting-Edge Cooking Research Society, you hear!? More than anything, though…" A serious look took over Alice's face. "I refuse to sit back and let Uncle Azami do as he pleases."
"Amen." Ariadne said in agreement.
Ryou stepped forward to face off with Rentarou, the older boy sneering at him. "Kurokiba Ryou…a chef who made it all the way to the finals of the Autumn Election…not a bad opponent to cap off the first day of the survivor's purge. More importantly, right now, I'm kinda pissed off thanks to certain somebodies-"
"Yo!" Ariadne's hand shot up, taking responsibility as one of the people who pissed him off. Ryou looked over his shoulder at her.
"Sinclair, huh? Yeah, she pisses off a lot of people." Ryou remarked.
"What can I say? It's a gift." Ariadne shrugged her shoulders.
Rentarou pretty much ignored Ariadne, trying not to let her anger him any further. "I'll be taking my anger out on you."
"You talk as if you'll beat me," Ryou removed his bandana from his wrist, tying it around his head, his more aggressive side making itself known. "If you're gonna try to beat me into submission…I'll beat you black and blue!"
"And that's Ryou for you." Ariadne chuckled to herself.
"Go for it, Kurokiba! I'm watching you!" Souma cheered before realizing that he was standing right next to Momo. "Ah, sorry about all this. Taking over your special seating and all." Momo turned his head away from him, sour look on her adorable little face. Taliyah leaned around Ariadne's legs.
"Ari," Taliyah gestured for Ariadne to lean down. Ariadne crouched next to her sister, lending her an ear. "Why is that little girl being so rude?"
"Well, she might look younger, but that girl is actually my upperclassmen. She's older than me." Ariadne told her sister.
"She is!?" Taliyah's eyes went wide in shock, Ariadne chuckling as she stood up, giving her sister's head a pat. Laughing reached her ears then, making Ariadne turn to where Rentarou's companions were standing.
"Ah, that's Momo's default personality, so don't mind her." Ariadne's eyes landed on Mae. "It'll easily be a month before she'll even make eye contact when talking with you."
"Eh…How in the world did she get through the camp and such like that?" Souma asked, genuinely curious.
"There's no reason to explain that to you." Momo remarked, darkly.
"Eh? Why not?" Souma asked.
"Souma-kun…you're pushing too hard." Megumi protested.
Ariadne, though, was too busy watching Ryou and Rentarou as they brought out the theme ingredient for the Food War: Salmon. "So the theme is seafood, huh?"
"Yeah…that's Kurokiba Ryou's specialty, right? Central is showing off their flexibility and composure by directly playing into their opponents' strong points. Even in the previous Food Wars, all four of them dominated their opponents in their own specialties. They don't plan to deviate from that this time either it seems." Takumi remarked.
"Apparently it's not enough to beat them, they have to completely destroy them and the confidence they had built in their specialties." Ariadne said with a sigh.
"The that means, all of those Central chefs…"
"Yep…that's probably right." Takumi said when Megumi trailed off. "They haven't even shown an ounce of their real abilities yet."
"Damn. At this rate, there was no point in us coming here for reconnaissance." Soum grumbled.
Ariadne wasn't so sure about that. As she watched the two boys quickly and precisely clean their fish, she was able to, at least, gain a bit of an idea on the extent of Rentarou's knife skills. That he could keep up with Ryou was a feat in and of itself. When they finished prepping their fish at the same time, Rentarou turned to Ryou with a grin on his face. "So what do you think, Kurokiba? You're in awe of your upperclassmen's skills, aren't you? Though really, any chef in Central could do it at this speed."
"Central…! So it's just as we feared…all of their members' cooking skills are top notch!" Takumi exclaimed.
"Of course they are." Ariadne's hands went to her hips. "Nakiri Azami wouldn't have chosen them else wise."
"I'm sure you're regretting challenging us by now, but at least try to hide it, will ya? You'll bore me to death otherwise." Rentarou told Ryou.
Rentarou seemed completely confident in himself, but Ariadne was sure that, by the end of this, he was going to regret the fact that he had come to the Food War that day. Ariadne's head tilted to the side as she watched Ryou pull the pin bones from the fillets and move to start cooking two different types of rice. All the while, a bowl sat off to the side with bread dough in it. She wasn't exactly sure what he was planning, but she knew Ryou wasn't about to roll over and let Rentarou and Central walk all over him.
"What's wrong, Central? Looks like you've given up on imitating me…and that stupid self-satisfied face has suddenly vanished." Ryou turned to look over his shoulder at Rentarou. "Come at me with all your might, you pretentious elite bastard. Or do you want to have a convenient excuse for when you lose?"
Rentarou didn't take that too well, his eyes narrowing. "Even though it was mostly Yukihira, Sinclair and Aldini…you've also managed to piss me off. You can rest assured though, as a special present…I've decided to show off my true skills, just for you." Rentarou turned to one of the administration men standing on the sidelines. "Hey! You! Bring 'em here from the special room, on the double! My cute little partners, that is!"
To their surprise, Rentarou's "partners"…were a steam convection oven and a cryogenic grinder. Souma turned to Alice. "Nakiri! Did you know about this?"
"Not at all…it's the first I've heard of it. Kusunoki Rentarou-san…have you truly mastered the proper usage of those machines?" Alice asked.
"I figured, y'know, since we've got such a big audience, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to promote my genius talents a bit. You'll only serve to make me look better, Kurokiba-kun." Rentarou gloated.
"I'm sorry, Kusunoki-senpai, but" Rentarou turned to look at Ariadne as she heaved a sigh. "Nothing could make that face of yours look better. And I do mean nothing."
Rentarou grit his teeth. "Who the hell asked you, you ugly brat!?"
"Oh?" Rentarou flinched as Ariadne's whole posture and attitude seemed to shift. Her hips shifted to the side, one hand going to her chest, over her heart, while the other went to her face, fingers pressing against her lips and jawline. Her eyelids dropped, her long lashes giving her a "bedroom eyes" look. "Ugly? Really? Is that the God's honest truth or just you lashing out? Tell me, senpai, do you really find me ugly? Can you honestly say that there is no part of you that finds me attractive?" Rentarou sputtered, stumbling over his words for just a moment, but that was all that Ariadne needed. "That's what I thought. You know, most men don't even make it slightly challenging anymore. It's just no fun."
"Maybe it's because they're under de-dev-devloped?"
"Developed, Taliyah. In this case, you just might be right." Ariadne said, giving her little sister a pat on the head.
"What was that you little bit-"
"Watch your mouth." A chill ran through them all when Rentarou turned to yell at Taliyah and was presented with the icy cold, rip-your-throat-outlook on Ariadne's face as Taliyah ducked behind her legs. "Finish that sentence or make my sister cry and it will be the absolute last thing you ever do. I will destroy you." A frigid smile took over Ariadne's face, managing to scare Rentarou though he wasn't sure why she scared him. Instead of confronting the reason why, Rentarou turned back to his cooking. Everyone else simply moved on too, no one wanting to risk annoying Ariadne.
"Well, for starters…what's that? Steam…con…steam…konbu?" Takumi glared at Souma as he asked the question, unsure how the boy had made it that far in their school.
"It's a steam convection oven."
"That! What kinda appliance is it?" Souma asked.
"Shouldn't you have learned this is class recently?" Takumi demanded.
"He's slept through most of them lately." Ariadne replied. "I keep telling you that you need to stop doing that, Souma. You might actually find some of that knowledge useful." Souma merely shrugged his shoulders, as if it didn't really matter.
"It's called a "combi" for short." Alice took over from there. "Though there are minor differences depending on the make model…it's an oven that cooks using forced convection of dry heat and steam using its internal fan. Through the combination of both dry heat and steam, it's an appliance that can perform just about any type of heated cooking. Temperature, humidity, airflow and even time are all controlled digitally…you can set any temperature between the range of thirty degrees Celsius and three hundred degrees Celsius and it preheats instantly! In the newest models, you can access the settings through a usb and use your PC to execute functions through a recipe program. Moreover, since smells won't permeate throughout the oven, you can even cook other dishes at the same time."
"Seriously? That's really useful!" Souma remarked, thought Ariadne was quite sure that the last part of what Alice said was the only part he really understood.
"Automated cooking…though it can be said this is a dream machine for chefs…because it has so many different possible settings, without a deep understanding of them, it'll be beyond one's capacities to use. You need intelligence in regard to both the ingredients and the cooking! And this machine will inevitably test just that!" Alice added.
"Intelligence, huh? Doesn't fit." Ariadne remarked, Rentarou choosing to ignore that even though it seriously ticked him off.
"Yeah…but it's somewhat surprising. Since you seem smart and all, it makes sense that you'd be into cutting edge science and such. But Ari is right…can he really handle a machine as difficult as that? Y'know…he's like, got this wild feeling, and he looks so careless." Souma agreed.
"He certainly doesn't seem like he's intellectual enough." Takumi nodded in agreement. "It's simply unthinkable his specialty would be in cutting edge techniques."
Another laugh from Mae had them turning to look at her. "You sure put it bluntly! You guys are great! Though, if you're truly interested, be sure to keep watching. You'll see just how amazing Renny's cooking is from here on out. Ren-chan is a heating specialist. He's especially masterful at "low temperature cooking"." Mae smirked as they watched Rentarou, and Ryou continue their cooking. "Looks like he's finally in the zone, huh? As soon as he starts heating the ingredients, he instantly becomes calm. It's as if…his usual heated rage is softly seeping into his cooking."
Ariadne watched as Rentarou moved, the air around him almost timid in comparison to how he was earlier. When he pulled out the fish fillets he had cut into bars, wrapped in bacon and cooked, Ariadne was sure that it would be tender enough to cut without only the slightest of pressure. He then put those bars into a salamander to char before serving it up to the judges.
"Oh, that's right!" Rentarou turned towards where Momo sat just to the side of Ariadne and her friends. "I want you to try my cooking too, Momo-senpai!"
"Why does Momo have to too?" Momo asked, suspicious look on her face.
"Well you see, on this plate, I've prepared a little gimmick that uses a certain sweet. I just figured you might be interested, right?" Rentarou replied.
"Are you challenging Momo? Momo is quite particular about her candy!" Momo replied, a fierce look on her face.
Rentarou handed Momo a plate too, serving up a serving to each judge. Ariadne's eyes were drawn to the so-called "sweet" on the plate as Momo and the judges tried to dish. Momo glanced over at her as Ariadne bent forward to examine the little scoop. "Looks like ice cream. I'm going to take a guess and say that it's salmon ice cream. Probably with no sugar added so that he could further heighten the difference between the different temperature salmon without offsetting the flavor with sugar. Though, he could have achieved the same flavor and gotten a creamier effect if he had used creamed."
Shocked eyes turned to Ariadne, Rentarou actually freezing on the spot. He wasn't sure how she had figured that all out without even tasting the ice cream. Even Momo stared at Ariadne. When Ariadne finally realized that Momo was staring, her eyes raised to the older girl, blinking in questioning for a moment before she gave her a smile. "Pardon me. It must be hard to eat with me crowding your space." Ariadne stood up straight and backed away. Attention was pulled away from Ariadne as Ryou finally presented his dish.
Coulibiac.
With one bite, the judges were in love. Alice even took the liberty to cut a piece for herself, which she shared with Megumi, Ariadne and Taliyah. Ariadne took a bite, giving her sister one too. While Taliyah melted, exclaiming how tasty it was, Ariadne shifted through the flavors, trying to name the ingredients Ryou had used while making the dish. She hadn't tasted Rentarou's dish, but just judging from the expressions of the judges…it was going to be a tough call. One judge even declared it a tie with no way to pick on over the other. Oizumi, though, announced that there was one decisive difference between the two dishes…their juiciness.
Rentarou was sure he had the win in the bag, going on about how Ryou hadn't changed one bit since the Autumn Election. Ariadne wanted to laugh in his face. Even she could tell that Ryou had changed, but it wasn't her place to say anything. It was the judges who would declare the winner in the end. With everything said, the judges tried both dishes once more before deciding. In the end, Ariadne ended up with a grin on her face as the judges declared Ryou the winner.
"What…! What are you getting on about, honorable elders!?" Rentarou demanded. "The dish that perfectly leveraged the juiciness and essences of the salmon was mine! There's no way that I could take second place to a guy like that!"
"Stop flappin' your gums." Rentarou looked over his shoulder to find Ryou there. "If you've got problem, have a taste for yourself. A taste of my coulibiac!" Ryou handed over a serving of his dish. Though hesitant, Rentarou took the plate and took a bite. He was instantly confronted with the fact that he had been bested. It was then that Rentarou saw the last ingredient that Ryou had added to the dish to bump it up that last level. "What the hell is this? What is this green layer here?"
"That, my unsavory upperclassmen, would be a crepe." Ariadne announced. "I'm guessing the green color is due to some kind of greenery kneaded in."
"It's spinach!" Oizumi confirmed.
"What…sort of effect would that even have?!" Mae asked.
"It would definitely deepen the flavor, condense all of the flavors of the salmon wrapped inside. It gave it a gentle astringency that supported the mellow richness of that salmon's fat." Ariadne remarked. "It would also serve to enliven the appearance of the dish and add nutritional value."
While Ariadne was right, there was more to it. Spinach was only one of the two things that Ryou had kneaded into the crepe. The other thing was seasoning spice. Ryou had used his time wisely, learning from his failures and evolving to where he was now. Of course he won. Ariadne wouldn't have expected anything less of him.
"Good job, Ryou-kun. You made sure to remember what I said and won." Alice congratulated when Ryou rejoined them.
"It was close…I'm not so sure I'd be able to win if we faced off again." Ryou replied.
"Anyhow…! We got one win! We've returned a blow to Central!" Souma cheered.
That moment of cheer was ruined when a lone round of applause reached them over the crowd. When they turned, they found Azami there. Ariadne got a glance of the cold look on Alice's face as she turned to look at her uncle. "Long time no see, Uncle Azami."
Instead of greeting his niece, Azami's eyes turned to Rentarou. "Kusunoki-kun. I seem to recall telling you to "win all your matches"."
"B-but! Headmaster! Ren-chan did actually win his other match!" Mae said cheerfully. "I think you should…" Mae trailed of when Azami turned a dark look on her. "Never mind…ahahahahaha…"
Azami's assistant stepped up to Azami' side. "Nevertheless, Azami-sama…among the thirty-three Food Wars that were held across the four venues today, is it not true that Central has achieved thirty-two wins and only one loss?"
"You gotta be kiddin' me…they have pretty much wiped the table with the other societies." Souma muttered.
"But Ryou-kun won." Alice declared proudly. "Given what's transpired here, I wonder if you can still say with confidence that your ideals are absolutely correct."
"My, my, Alice. I hear you've been taking good care of Erina." Azami retorted with a pleasant smile on his face. "Alice…and here I was thinking that you would be amenable to the idea of my true gourmet utopia…how unfortunate. The duty of ever advancing the gourmet world falls to the Nakiri clan. That is the reason for this great revolution."
"I cannot come to terms with your methods, Uncle. Nor do I want to! That's all there is to it." Alice replied.
"Yeah yeah! You tell him, Nakiri! That's the guy that tried to up and destroy our dorm!" Souma cheered.
"What a pity…an incorrigible child to the last. First you kidnap my beloved daughter from under my nose…how dare you have the nerve to mouth off to my face!?" Azami replied.
Unknown to Alice, Erina arrived then alongside Isshiki. "I couldn't care less. I will never forget what you did, Uncle. I am angry! I…I hate you, Uncle Azami! I will not let you have your way any longer! Not with Erina! And not with Totsuki!"
"Well said, Alice." Ariadne smiled at her friend. "I do believe a great many of us are in agreement with that."
"Is that so?" Azami turned away then, never once losing his smile. "Well, do your best. Allow me to congratulate you all on securing yourselves a win today." With that, Azami left.
"That man displeases me the more I have to deal with him." Ariadne remarked. It was then that Ariadne caught sight of someone behind Alice. "Oh, Erina!"
Alice turned when she heard Ariadne call out in greeting. "Erina…did you hear all that?" Erina only nodded in answer. "I see. Hmph. If Uncle Azami hadn't gone and stuck his head where it didn't belong, I'd have gotten so so sooooo~ much closer with you, Erina! Well, if you'll excuse me…"
Ariadne chuckled to herself as she watched Alice walk away. She found it both adorable and funny to see how the two cousins interacted. She just hoped they got the chance to be friends like they both so obviously wanted to be. In the meantime, Ariadne had a feeling that she really could use a day off. Perhaps a shopping trip with her sister.
-0-0-0-0-
"What about this one, Ari?"
After so much going down at school, Ariadne had decided to just take a day to be with her sister. No school, no Central, no Azami and no friends. Just her and Taliyah doing what they pleased. That said, they currently found themselves in a high-end shopping district that many of the more well-off students from her school visited during their days off. When her sister spoke, Ariadne turned to see what had caught the eight-year-old's attention. She found her sister staring through the store front glass of a clothing store at an adorable little sundress, all made up in pink and green ribbons. "You like that?"
"Uh-huh! Very much. It's my favorite colors!" Taliyah gushed, little nose pressed to the glass.
Seeing her sister so bright and happy, Ariadne couldn't help but smile. She hadn't realized how much she had missed her sister's energy since coming to Totsuki and was grateful to have it back now. Ariadne would do anything to protect her sister's smile. "Then let's get it."
Taliyah cheered, rushing for the store's door while dragging Ariadne by her hand behind her. Twenty odd minutes later, they walked out with Taliyah happily wearing her new dress, a wide smile on her face. "Thank you, Ari!"
"Of course, Tally. Hey, how about we take a break and find somewhere to have lunch? Sound good?" Taliyah eagerly nodded her head in agreement, making Ariadne laugh. Turning to see what restaurants they could see from there, Ariadne froze when her eyes found the figure of someone familiar across the street. A someone who was staring at her.
Seeing her sister spacing out, Taliyah yanked on Ariadne's hand. "Ari? What's wrong?"
"Tally…" Ariadne swallowed as the person started towards her. "Operation Wing-woman! I repeat, Operation Wing-woman!"
Coming towards…was Kuga.
Taliyah leaned around Ariadne to see who her sister was staring at just as Kuga came withing ear shot of them, his hand going up in greeting. "Hey, hey, Ariadne!"
"Kuga-senpai, hello." Ariadne turned on her charm, smiling in greeting, but, for some reason, her greeting put a frown on his face. "What a surprise, running into you here. Out doing some business?"
"Yep! Gotta keep busy, you know." Kuga's eyes shifted then to the child standing just behind Ariadne's legs. "Who's this little lady?"
"Oh! This is my little sister, Taliyah. She's staying with me for now. Tally, this is my senpai, Kuga Terunori. He's a second year at school."
Taliyah came out from behind her sister's legs then, eyes looking Kuga over before she offered him a smile. "Hello, Kuga-san. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Kuga gave the child a grin in greeting. "Hey there! Your Japanese is surprisingly good, kid."
Taliyah's face lit up with a proud smile at that. "Thank you! Ari taught me!"
"She did, huh?" Kuga glanced at Ariadne who was watching her sister with a fond smile.
"Uh-huh! And she just bought me this dress! Isn't it pretty?" Taliyah gave him a little twirl, Ariadne chuckling lowly.
"It's great! Looks good on ya." Taliyah's face lit up, the child turning to latch on to her sister's leg and bury her face in the skirt of Ariadne's strapless, red dress out of embarrassment. A small giggle left the child, making her sister laugh and pet her head. Kuga chuckled along with Ariadne before turning his eyes to her. "So you're out shopping? On a school day?"
"Just taking a day off to enjoy with my sister, doing whatever we want. Just trying to get some time away from school, you know." Ariadne replied.
"Cool, cool. Why don't you two join me for lunch? I have a reservation for a great place around here."
Ariadne's eyes rose to his face in surprise. Kuga was sure it was the first surprised look he had seen on her. She recovered quickly, however, replacing it with a coy smile. "Are you asking us out, Kuga-senpai? Tally, I do believe he's asking us out."
The frown returned to his face for a moment, but, like her, he quickly replaced it. "Asking you out? Please! I'm asking this adorable, little lady to join me for lunch." Kuga turned to Taliyah, giving her a playful wink. "You're responsible for her, so I figure I'd ask you, too. As a common courtesy."
Ariadne could see the playfulness on his face, her nose wrinkling in amused laughter. If she liked him before, she loved him now. Seeing how he was with Taliyah, kind and joking, keeping the child laughing and feeling like she was a part of the whole thing just sealed the deal for her.
She was quickly falling in love.
"I don't know…do you think he's genuine, Tally? Should we accept?" Ariadne asked playfully.
"Well, he is nice and cute," Taliyah started, matching Ariadne's playfulness, making Ariadne bite her lip to keep her laughter to herself. "He has charm and looks great alongside you, Ari. Hmm…I say yes!"
Here Ariadne let out a laugh that was a little embarrassed sounding, making Kuga look at her as she adjusted the way her hair fell. "In that case…we'd be happy to accept. Thank you. Though, are you sure? Don't you have business to see to?"
"Nah! I'm done for the day, so it's fine." Kuga replied.
"Then thank you." Ariadne could barely contain herself as Kuga led them back to the car and driver her had for the day, the boy opening the door for Taliyah and bowing to her, making the child giggle. Ariadne thanked him as she slid in after Taliyah. As soon as the door was closed, Kuga walking around the car to his door, Taliyah turned to her sister. "You really like him?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Got it!" Taliyah settled in next to Ariadne as Kuga opened the other door, sliding in on the other side of her from Ariadne. The little girl turned to look up at him. "Kuga-san, you're a chef, right?"
"Sure am, little lady." Kuga replied.
"What kind of cuisine do you cook?"
"He's a Chinese chef, Tally. Sichuan to be exact." Ariadne told her sister.
"Oh! I don't handle spicy food well, but it still sounds yummy! You're the opposite of Ari. She makes sweet foods. I love her cooking!"
"Yes, because someone has an incorrigible sweet tooth." Ariadne booped her sister's nose. Taliyah giggled, making Ariadne's smile bigger.
Kuga watched the sisters with interest. Even only knowing Ariadne for a short time, he could tell her smiles were wide, more joyful with her little sister around. Ariadne was more considerate, watching, making sure Taliyah's seatbelt was secure and hovering an arm in front of Taliyah if the car came to a sudden stop. It was obvious that Ariadne loved her sister, was protective, and cared greatly. When they arrived at the restaurant and the two girls got out of her car, Taliyah clung to Ariadne's hand, taking comfort in knowing her sister was right there.
Kuga led them inside, where they were shown to a private table, away from the other customers. Before they could sit down, Taliyah tugged on her sister's arm. "Ari, I need to use the bathroom."
"Oh? Alright, then let's go find one." Ariadne told her sister.
"I can take her for you, ma'am." offered the waitress that had shown them to their table.
"Oh, thank you. Would that be alright, Tally?" Ariadne asked her sister.
"Yeah! Don't start eating without me!" Taliyah told her sister firmly, shaking a finger at her.
"Aye, aye, Princess Tally."
Taliyah made a face at her before turning to follow the waitress. Kuga took the chance to pull out a chair for Ariadne, offering her the seat. "Here."
"Merci" Ariadne took a seat, Kuga pushing it in for her. Walking around the table, he took his own seat across from her. "So, how have you been? I heard you had been dismissed from the Elite Ten. I'd say I'm sorry to hear it, but I'm not."
Kuga looked up at her as a waiter offered her a glass of sparkling grape juice. "Oh? Why's that?"
"It means you don't side with Nakiri Azami. Sorry, but I would have kicked you out of my friend group if you had." Ariadne told him simply.
"So you don't like him either. I'm not surprised after I heard you had a Food War with Eizan."
At that, a weary sigh left Ariadne. "Yes…him. Granted, that was a complex situation."
Kuga was intrigued by this. "Explain?"
Ariadne picked up her glass, swirling the grape juice within. "Our new headmaster asked me to replace one of the now missing members of the Elite Ten…and I told him no."
"Seriously?" Kuga wished he could say he was shocked, but he was starting to realize that Ariadne didn't like to conform to other's molds. Something he was coming to like.
"I have a lot of, let's say, "disagreements" with him and his reforms. Mostly him. When I refused, he pitted me against one of his remaining Elite Ten. Eizan-senpai stepped up. I already had an issue with him because of something he said to my sister, so I took the challenge and won." Ariadne shrugged her shoulders.
"What'd the idiot say to sign his death warrant?"
Kuga's phrasing put a grin on Ariadne's face. "He told her that I was going to leave and never comeback. It's bad enough on its own, but because of…certain circumstances, it sent Taliyah into a fit of tears. She cried herself to sleep."
"Eizan always was a money hungry bastard." Kuga shook his head, though now he was curious about something. "What circumstances?"
A sad smile took over Ariadne's face and Kuga instantly regretted asking. "For Taliyah, whenever someone tells her that a person in her life is going to leave her, she thinks they mean like how our parents left us."
"Your parents abandoned you!?" Kuga had a sudden urge to smack two adults over the head with his wok.
Ariadne just gave him a shake of her head, laughing lowly. "No. My parents were…amazing. They loved us dearly."
"Were", "loved"…it was all past tense. Kuga had a good idea on what happened. "They died."
As sad nod was his answer. "A car accident about four years ago. Taliyah was too young to understand and now, to her, leaving is the same as dying."
"Sorry. I didn't know."
"A lot of people don't. I've had so much to handle after that that I don't speak of it often. It's just me, Taliyah, our brother, Dante, and my grandmother, who is ill. So it's been handling new management for the restaurant and affiliated facilities, which is a lot, mind you, a new head chef…Taliyah stuck to me like glue through it all. When it was decided to send me here…I'm surprised she actually made it the six months before forcing our brother to bring her here."
"So they came to stay for a while?" Kuga asked, curious to know more about Ariadne.
"Just Taliyah. Dante is the sous-chef at our restaurant. He had to get back. I just decided to keep Taliyah here. Technically, Dante has legal guardianship over Taliyah, but he always goes by whatever choice I make for her."
"Why?"
"Dante is our brother by adoption. When our parents died, he believed that I, as Taliyah's blood-related sister, should make the decisions, but I'm not legally old enough to be the one listed at her guardian, so he took the title and leaves the choices to me."
"Ah."
Taliyah returned then, the subject changing so not to upset the girl. Taliyah jumped up into the chair between Ariadne and Kuga, Kuga instantly leaning in to point out things on the menu she might like. Ariadne leaned on one hand, watching with a smile as Kuga and Taliyah joked, the boy making Taliyah giggle. They placed their order and shared laughs while they ate. Kuga found out more about Ariadne during that meal than he had ever hoped to learn. He found out that Ariadne was incredibly responsible where her sister was concerned, never ignoring her sister for a moment. He found out that Ariadne wasn't just all flirting and charm, that she actually had a lot of wit behind her teasing, and that she was far sweeter than any dish she could possibly make. By the time they left the restaurant, Kuga was extremely happy that he had invited the sisters to lunch, and he wasn't ready for it to end.
"You two going back to shopping now?" Ariadne turned to face Kuga, smile on her face.
"That was the plan. I need to pick up somethings for both of us." she answered.
"I can show you some good places…if you want."
Ariadne blinked in shock, the look making him want to grin at the fact that he had surprised her twice in one day. "Really? You don't have better things to do?"
"Nah! Even if I did, you two are way more fun." Kuga assured her.
If he wasn't wrong…Kuga could have sworn that Ariadne's cheeks went a little red there. For a moment it seemed like Ariadne didn't know what to say in reply to him. Taliyah looked between the two before she nudged her sister, prompting her to snap out of whatever thoughts had just swam behind her eyes. Ariadne cleared her throat and snapped herself out of it. "Uh, I don't know. That's really Tally's call since it's supposed to be our day out together. Tally, what do you thi-"
"Yes!" Tally let out a cheer before her sister could finish. She rushed forward, wrapping her arms around one of Kuga's. "Kuga-san's funny. Please, let him come with us!"
Kuga grinned as Ariadne blinked at her sister's affection for him. "Sounds like she doesn't have a problem with it."
"It would appear not. I guess you can join us, then." Ariadne relented.
For the rest of the day, it was a series of store after store. Ariadne left Taliyah alone with Kuga only long enough to pick up some allergy medication for Taliyah. While they waited, Kuga bought Taliyah an ice cream. She sat happily next to him on a bench, enjoying her ice cream. "Thank you, Kuga-san!"
"No problem, little lady. You like ice cream, huh?"
"Yes, but Ari doesn't let me have it a lot. She says that it'll make me fat and rot my teeth." Taliyah took another lick of her ice cream, beaming happily.
"Well, she's right, but you still seem to like your sister a lot." Kuga remarked.
"I do! Ari's the best. She's always taken care of me, she protects me and loves me! When I do good in school, she always buys me a treat, to praise me. She's never mean, never yells. Unlike our brother. Dante gets annoyed with me a lot. Ari doesn't. And her cooking is the best! She even does things and buys things she doesn't like just because I do like them." Taliyah gushed, smiling widely.
"She sounds like a great big sister. Sooooo….what does she like? Your sister?"
Taliyah turned to look at Kuga, watching him stare off into the distance like he wasn't really all that interested in the answer. Taliyah was sure that wasn't the case, or he wouldn't have asked in the first place. Keeping a snicker to herself, she idly started swaying her legs. "Ari likes a lot of things. She likes the color blue, and gold and red, too. She really like devil-themed stuff. It makes her laugh because our last night begins with "sin". Oh! She also likes tigers! Mama and Papa bought her this tiger necklace that she used to wear every day. It had rubies for eyes and was really pretty. She loved it a lot."
Kuga, interested, turned to look down at Taliyah. "Why'd she stop wearing it?"
Here, Taliyah's smile faded. Her legs' swinging came to a stop, the girl staring down at the ice cream in her hands. "I was a bad girl. I wanted to try it on one day when she was showering and…I broke the tiger. I apologized and Ari said that it was alright and was just some silly necklace, but I could tell…she was sad. She just didn't want to upset me."
Kuga stared at the child, his eyes darting off in the direction of where Ariadne stood, waiting for the prescription to be filled. Reaching out, Kuga gave Taliyah's head a pat. "I'm sure she was sad, but she also seems to be the type that puts more stock in the feelings of those she loves than a possession. If she said it was alright, then she meant it. After all…you're more important to her, little lady. Don't sweat over it."
Taliyah looked up at him and smiled brightly. "Thank you, Kuga-san! Ari's right…you're a good person."
Kuga flinched in embarrassment, looking away from Taliyah as he pulled his hand back. "Your sister talks about me?"
"She likes you. Like…a lot. A whole lot." Taliyah told him.
"Huh."
When that was all Taliyah got out of him, she turned to look at him, about to ask a question, but Ariadne came back then. With the prescription in hand, they continued on about their shopping. While trying on some clothes, Kuga left the two girls to pick up something he needed. When he came back, they moved on. At the insistence of Taliyah, they even stopped at a photo booth, where they took pictures, Taliyah laughing as Kuga and Ariadne made faces at the camera. By the time Kuga dropped the two off at the Polar Star dorm, the sun had already set. Taliyah thanked Kuga, giving him a hug before running off into the dorm to show Megumi and the girls the stuff animal Kuga had gotten for her. Ariadne laughed as she watched her sister before she turned back to Kuga.
"Thank you, Kuga-senpai. She had a great time. It's been a while since I've seen her smile that big."
"No problem. It was fun." Kuga told her, before he perked up. "Oh, right. This is for you."
Ariadne raised an eyebrow as Kuga pulled a flat, wide box out of his pocket. He held it out to her, Ariadne's eyes going from the box to his face before she took it. "What did you do, Kuga-senpai?"
"Open it."
Now too curious to contain it, Ariadne opened the box…and froze. Icy blue eyes went wide, her lips parting in surprise when she saw what lay inside the box. "Oh, Kuga-senpai…!" Ariadne carefully took hold of the object, lifting it free of the box to look at it. There, hanging from a gold chain…was a tiger shaped charm. Amber and onyx were painted on a gold surface in the pattern of stripes on fur, glossed to a fine finish, with rubies fixed in place of the eyes. Ariadne almost dropped the box it came in, Kuga catching it before it could hit the ground. Her now free hand flew to her mouth and Kuga could swear he saw tears in her eyes.
"Didn't mean to make you cry." Kuga remarked, wondering if he shouldn't have gotten the necklace, but Ariadne shook her head.
"No, it's just…it's beautiful. My mother and father gave me one like it when I was little." Ariadne gentle ran fingers over the charm.
"Yeah, your sister told me." Ariadne looked up at Kuga, surprised. "She was upset as she told me about it, so I figured that while it won't replace the meaning behind it being a gift from your parents, replacing it would go a little ways to making you both happy."
A smile curled Ariadne's lips before she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. She lingered for a moment before she pulled back. "Thank you, Kuga-senpai. It's wonderful."
"Yeah, about that…" Ariadne's head tilted to the side as Kuga gave her a firm look. "Don't call me that. If you're going to call me, then use the name you used the last time we saw each other. Call me Terunori."
Ariadne grinned. "Alright, then…Terunori."
"One more thing." Ariadne parted her lips to ask what, but was cut off when Kuga reached up, his hand curling around the back of her neck to pull her down the few inches between them, his mouth pressing to hers. Shocked by the sudden kiss, her lips remained parted, giving way to his tongue as he deepened the kiss. By the time she pulled herself together, Kuga stepped back, eyes looked in on hers as she cleared her throat, trying to keep her composure. "That's how you kiss. Next time, don't wager to kiss the words from my mouth if it's your first kiss."
Ariadne's brain went blank for a moment, the girl just staring at him. Then she realized the teasing for what it was worth, and a smile curled her lips. Her cheeks darkened slightly as she half turned from him, hand on the gate leading to the dorm. "I knew I liked you for a reason, Terunori. You never fail to surprise me. I'll keep your words in mind and will make sure to practice."
A frown fell on Kuga's face, the boy speaking before he stopped to think about what he was about to say. "I didn't say go and practice on other guys!"
"I never said I would practice on other guys. Good night, Terunori." Ariadne turned and started up the path to the dorm.
"That includes girls, too!" Kuga called after her.
Turning to walk backwards for a moment, Ariadne gave him a wink. Kuga watched as she climbed the stairs and vanished inside. Hand on his hips, Kuga had to stop and wonder what he had just gotten himself into. If he didn't know better…he would say he was starting to fall in love with the devil.
END
Kyandi: I can't stop laughing!
Ariadne: The chapter name is still getting to her.
Kyandi: I would apologize, but I'm not sorry.
Ariadne: I didn't figure you were.
Kyandi: I just had to add a little romance in there. The two are cute!
Ariadne: I won't deny it.
Kyandi: With that, I hope you all enjoyed and review.
Ariadne: We'll return as soon as we can.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!