Kyandi: Hey, guys! Sorry it took so long to get another chapter out.
Ariadne: Somebody got a new job.
Kyandi: And it's killing me! But I still really like it.
Ariadne: It's just taken her some time to adjust to how time consuming it is.
Kyandi: I've finally adjusted, so here we are!
Ariadne: We'll still be a little slow on getting chapters out.
Kyandi: But I'm trying! So, everyone, enjoy and review!
Ariadne: Kyandi-sama does not own Shokugeki no Souma.
Chapter 25 No Contest
"…saying that it's cruel and unusual punishment. Is it even legal in this country? Souma…are you listening to me?"
The morning found Ariadne and Souma partnered up in a class, the boy staring off into space. He was clearly lost in his thoughts, having not heard a single word that Ariadne had said to him. After being presented with the display of what happened to those whose research societies had been disbanded kept trying to hold activities, Ariadne had gone on to rant about how extreme the punishment was and how it had to be illegal. Souma was too busy thinking about all the ways the school had changed since Azami's arrival, to hear a world she had said to him. It took her snapping her fingers in his face to snap Souma out of his thoughts.
"Sorry…you say something?" Souma asked, looking down at Ariadne.
He was met with a pout on her red-painted lips. "Have you been listening to anything I said?"
"Not really."
Ariadne's pout turned to a frown as she braced her hands on her hips. She was just about to launch into a scolding about how he needed to pay a little more attention to others when they spoke, and Souma knew it. Over the last few days, Ariadne had been lost in her own head, drifting through the dorm and school like she was floating on cloud nine. There had been several times when Souma and other had tried to talk to her, only for her to walk right past them with a huge grin on her face. Souma didn't really see where she had the room to scold him for the same thing.
Before either could say anything though, the door to the classroom opened. Souma and Ariadne turned to face the door, expecting to see their teacher walking in. Instead, they were greeted with the sight of one of Azami's main suit-clad administration workers. Souma and Ariadne glanced at each other as others in the class muttered to each other, wondering what had happened to their usual teacher.
"Regarding the lecturer who was in charge of this lesson," the man started. "He has asserted that he will not abide by the plans of Central, and therefore has been dismissed."
"Go figure." Ariadne muttered as she leaned forward to brace her folded arms on the countertop in front of her.
"Consequently, today, we have arranged for a guest lecturer to perform a live cooking demonstration. His cooking abides by the true gourmet standard espoused by Central. Be sure to observe carefully and learn from it. Now then. Please welcome the lecturer."
Ariadne blinked in surprise, Souma completely taken off guard, when in through the door came Tsukasa. The class erupted in noises of shock and awe as Tsukasa took his place at the front of the classroom, a light smile on his face as he spoke. "Good afternoon…ummm…I'm not sure if you all know me or not, so…I'm the first seat of the Elite Ten…Tsukasa Eishi of Central." As if they didn't all already know who he was. "I'll be cooking a number of different things today. When next you make these dishes, I'd like you to model your preparatory methods on the ones I use today." This caught both Souma and Ariadne's attention, the two unable to believe they could get a close up look on Tsukasa as he cooked. Neither of them were going to pass up that chance. "Umm…with that said, in this lesson, I'd like to invite two of the students to come up and be my sous chef and assistant. I need two people to assist me in my cooking. Are there any volunteers?"
Tsukasa was quickly presented with the fact that the majority of the class wouldn't dare step up to help him. All of them insisted that there was no way they would step to the challenge. It had Tsukasa about to panic, when, from one moment to the next, Souma and Ariadne appeared beside him. One second, they weren't there and the next…both were just standing there, Ariadne adjusting the little frilly apron tied around her waist. Even Tsukasa was taken by surprise with their sudden appearance.
"Yukihira Souma and Sinclair Ariadne…! So you're also in this lesson?"
"I'll be your sous chef." Souma informed him.
"I'm fine with helping." Ariadne added, glancing at her upperclassman out of the side of her eyes. "Is that fine with you?"
"Sure. I'll be relying on the two of you then." Tsukasa told them before turning to where the recipes had been pinned on the wall. "Today we'll be showcasing five dishes of amuse-bouchées from French cuisine. I've put up the recipes here. The cooking of all five will happen at the same time. Yukihira, Sincla-"
"Ari! How many times must I tell people to call me by my given name? I'm not Japanese." Ariadne butted in, one cheek puffing out in a pout. Tsukasa nearly tripped over himself to apologize before continuing.
"Yukihira, Ari, I'll have you complete the prep work. Let's begin! Yukihira! First use the food processor to process the semi-dried figs. Shape them into quenelles. Ari, hache the shallots and julienne the carrots. Add cardamom powder and milk to the egg yolks and sugar and finish the mixture into an anglaise over low heat….once it's cooled, put it in the sorbetiere."
"Got it. I'll do it." Souma said, tying on his apron.
"Already starting." Ariadne called, giving her knife a twirl between fingers before she got to work on her task.
To the surprise of their classmates, Ariadne and Souma moved with surprising speed and accuracy, the two working around each other to finish tasks quickly. Even Tsukasa was surprised when he found he didn't even have to tell them what to do next. Ariadne and Souma just quickly jumped to the next thing, presenting him with what he needed next before he could even begin to ask. Tsukasa even jolted in surprise when Ariadne slid past him, quickly correcting something that had been overlooked before continuing on with her tasks, all the while humming to herself.
The class stared in wide-eyed shock as in what seemed like no time, the three completed all five dishes, Tsukasa smiling at the class. "Now then, I'd like to see you all make these the same way. And also done in the same amount of time as you just saw."
In horror and disbelief, the class got started. Ariadne returned to her station, still humming. When class was done, everything cleaned and put away, it left only Ariadne, Souma and Tsukasa in the classroom. "That was wonderful, Yukihira, Ari! You're far better than I expected you to be…!"
"No, no…I also had a lot of fun. Learned a lot, too." Souma replied.
"You know, I'm sure you meant that as a compliment, but all I'm hearing is an insult." Ariadne remarked from where she had perched herself on a counter. "What? Did you expect me to be a horrible cook? After watching my battle with Eizan-senpai?"
"E-eh!? That's not what I meant at all!" Tsukasa rushed to assure her, working himself up until he looked like he was about to fall to pieces.
"Tsukasa-senpai," Tsukasa came to a stop, looking at her with almost puppy-dog looking eyes. "It was a joke."
"Oh…ah." Tsukasa bent double, bracing a hand on his knee as if all the energy was suddenly sapped from him. "That's good. My tension was already getting to me. Now I feel weak…"
"Eh, what?! Are you alright?" Souma asked surprised.
"Haaah…man, I'm really beat. Cooking in front of so many students and then almost offending one…" Tsukasa broke out in a cold sweat as he pressed one hand to his face.
"W…with your skills, I wouldn't think you'd be that nervous." Souma remarked.
"Or care about my opinion as much." Ariadne added.
"But just think…if by chance I made a mistake…Haaah…if I keep whining though, Rindou's just gonna yell at me again." Tsukasa said, sulking in the corner. "She'll really yell at me if she heard I had insulted you. She really likes you, Ari."
Souma and Ariadne shared a look before Ariadne turned her attention back to Tsukasa. "Wow…she's really given you a complex, hasn't she? Sounds like she has you whipped."
Ariadne was shaking her head when it finally dawned on Souma that they had just helped in a Central lesson. When he whispered that fiercely to her, Ariadne raised an eyebrow in an expression that suggested he was soft witted. Her words only solidified that as her thought.
"You just now realized that?"
Souma stared at her, scolding her lowly while also scolding himself. They were supposed to be enemies of Central and Ariadne was acting as if it was no big deal that they had just helped their foes. Ariadne didn't see the harm in a little up close and personal observation of her so-called foes. Tsukasa was silently watching as Souma whispered something to Ariadne that the girl simply waved off.
"Whatever the case, you two really did a great job." Souma and Ariadne turned to look at Tsukasa. "You're a pair of useful ones."
"Uh…duh." Ariadne flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Again, we wouldn't have made it this far if we weren't."
Tsukasa nodded in agreement with her. "So, Yukihira, Ari. How about you become my right-hand man and woman? You interested in joining Central?"
Souma and Ariadne shared a look, Ariadne's hands going to her hips as Souma turned back to Tsukasa. "You want us…to join Central?"
"Yeah." Tsukasa seemed so serious that Ariadne almost hated to burst his bubble.
Almost.
"Have you hit your pretty head?" Tsukasa blinked in surprise when Ariadne spoke with a scoff. "You have to be kidding. Why would we join Central? Why would I!? I just had a Food War with Eizan-senpai over this."
A sigh left Tsukasa before his shoulders sagged in depression. "I guess it really is hopeless."
"Hopelessly hopeless in a sea of hopelessness." Ariadne confirmed, only further sending Tsukasa in this depression.
"Th-there's no need to get so down about it!" Souma told him. "To be honest, I'm quite flattered and all that you recognize my skills, but I don't have any intention of revealing all my Yukihira cooking to Central."
"That's perfectly fine." Souma looked up Tsukasa. "I don't have any interest in Yukihira cooking at all. What I want is your ability as a support. I can't help but think that with you two around, or even just one of you, I'd be able to further hone my cooking beyond its current state. Umm…that's all there really is to it, though the headmaster would be thrilled if I could get you to agree, Ari. So…I'd be delighted if you'd reconsider. For the sake of my cooking."
Ariadne blinked back at the innocently insecure smile that Tsukasa gave them. "Huh…Well, if that isn't the most self-centered thing I've ever heard. And he said it with such an insecurely innocent look."
Tsukasa gave her a confused look before Souma picked up where she left off. "I'm surprised you can say something so selfish with such an innocent face. Geez, all chefs really are egocentric divas."
"You do realize that includes you, Souma." Ariadne pointed out.
Souma merely shrugged his shoulders. "But you agree."
"That I do. A little, at least." Ariadne confirmed.
Seeing that Souma and Ariadne were serious about not accepting his offer, Tsukasa sighed once more. "I see…so neither of you have any intention of joining Central." Unknow to them, Erina and Hisako were outside the classroom, listening. "You know, if you join Central and partner with me, you'll be able to participate in much higher fields."
"Wow, how condescending of you, thinking I need you in order to do that." Ariadne scoffed, fluffing her hair.
"Let me see if I have this straight…it would only be as your support, right?" Souma asked. "If I can't show people my own cooking, there's absolutely no point!"
"Hmmm. I see…that's too bad." It made Ariadne want to spank Tsukasa like a naughty puppy, seeing how little he cared for anyone else's cooking but his own.
"Besides, you've never even seen a single one of my dishes, have you? What if, just maybe, my cooking skills were actually superior to yours!?" Souma asked, annoyed.
Ariadne was noticeably silent here.
"True…in that case, let's put it to the test." Tsukasa declared. "Just whose skills are higher? With the first seat of the Elite Ten on the line. I'll take you on, right here and now. Both of you."
Both Ariadne and Souma were surprised, the air in the room taking on a serious thickness. Souma's eyes narrowed. "You serious?"
"I'm serious. But if I win, you'll join Central and be my underlings. Do you accept this challenge, Yukihira Souma, Sinclair Ariadne?"
Souma quickly jumped at the challenge. "Bring it!"
"No, thanks."
The serious air was lost when Ariadne spoke, the two boys turning to the girl who was busy checking her nails in the perfect image of a bored, teenaged girl. She had hopped up on a countertop, her legs crossed and her expression idle.
"Bu-but…are you afraid of losing that much?" Tsukasa asked, a whipped puppy look on his face.
"Not a chance." Ariadne heaved a sigh. "I do believe, when I accepted the challenge and beat Eizan-senpai, that I made it clear that I have no interest in any of the seats on the Elite Ten. You have nothing to offer me that I want." Tsukasa got the feeling of being looked down upon when Ariadne's icy eyes landed on him, her nose tilting just a bit into the air. "All a challenge like that would accomplish is my wasting of my time pointing out the tiniest details about traditional French cooking that you have butchered with your Japanese ways and then ultimately growing bored with the whole thing. I have no interest in you, your cooking, your title and status, or Central. Save yourself the trouble."
Ariadne went back to examining her nails, Tsukasa blown away by Ariadne and her words. No one, not even Kobayashi, had ever spoken to him that way. Ariadne had dismissed him as if he didn't matter one bit. Souma, on the other hand, was more than happy to take the challenge, getting up in Tsukasa's face.
"What's the theme gonna be, huh? The theme, the theme! The theme of the match!"
Tsukasa was a little taken aback. "Um…are you listening to my side of the deal? As I said, if I win, then you're going to join Central, alright?"
"To be honest, I don't wanna!" Souma retorted bluntly.
"Huh…? Even if you "don't wanna"…so I guess we're calling it off?" Tsukasa asked confused. "Of course, I'm planning on going all out as well, so…I frankly can't imagine losing to you anyway."
That sealed the deal. "Not so fast…the match is on. Whether I can or can't win is something I'll never know until I try, right? I'll gladly accept your challenge! Just you and me, Mr. First Seat! A one-on-one match! Ain't no one gonna get in our way! Right, Ari?"
Ariadne shrugged when they looked at her. "I won't get in the way. I just won't be taking the challenge."
Souma was more than happy with that, removing the white cloth from around his wrist to tie it around his head. "Whatever floats your boat!"
Tsukasa looked between the two first years, Ariadne still idly examining her nails as if she had no interest in the whole thing. Where Souma was excited about the chance to challenge Tsukasa for his seat, Ariadne truly didn't care. She would support Souma, but that was about as far as her intrigue went.
She had already dismissed Tsukasa as a challenge.
Tsukasa wasn't sure how he felt about that realization, but he had other things to concern himself with, and, at the moment, that was showing Souma who was superior out of the two of them. "As for the theme of the battle…how does venison sound?" Tsukasa turned to the refrigerators where different choices of venison were displayed. "It seems like these were originally planned to be used in the class just now, so various cuts have been prepared."
"I see…that's fine with me!" Souma agreed quickly.
"All that's left is to decide the cooking genre and any ingredient limitations." Tsukasa remarked, thoughtful.
"Let's go with French!" Souma insisted, a light scoff leaving Ariadne, who shook her head at just how childish Souma could be.
"Fine by me." Tsukasa loosened his tie, completely removing it. "Then, let us begin."
Ariadne turned her eyes to watch the two was Tsukasa went instantly for the back meat, wasting no time in getting started. Souma, on the other hand, got caught up in watching Tsukasa as he rubbed salt and pepper into his meat and began to slowly cook it. Crossing her legs and propping an elbow on the top knee, Ariadne watched. There was no doubt that Tsukasa knew what he was doing and knew how to make the most of his ingredients. While not everything he did was strictly traditional French cooking and wasn't how she, as a Frenchwoman, would have prepared it, there was no denying his results.
"Yukihira," Tsukasa glanced over his shoulder, noticing that Souma had paused and was watching him instead of cooking. "Are you going to be alright? You haven't even begun your preparation. I am a member of Central, after all. As such, I cannot afford to lose. You didn't expect me to hold back, did you?"
Ariadne actually found that question a little amusing. If what Tsukasa was currently doing was the best he had, was him going all out…she seriously worried about the future of the Elite Ten.
"Tsukasa-senpai," Tsukasa turned to look at Souma. "In the end, what exactly does Central want to do?"
"Eh? What's the matter, all of a sudden?" Tsukasa asked, not quite sure what Souma was getting at.
"They said something about "true cuisine" or whatever…but is gaining control over this academy really all Central's trying to do? I mean, you're such an amazing chef after all, Tsukasa-senpai. If you ask me, you could do fine on you own even without joining up with the Azami Administration."
Tsukasa waved his hands in front of him, fair cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "Y-you're really overestimating my abilities, Yukihira."
"That is a laughable statement." Tsukasa turned his eyes to Ariadne, confused by what she meant. "You boosted, just moments ago, that you were superior and now you are saying that he's overestimating you? Either you are a hypocrite, or you really think quite lowly of us…which, in and of itself, then contradicts your interest in our abilities to support you. Your whole personality is a contradiction, to be honest."
And to that, Tsukasa had no reply. He could see her point. When she raised an eyebrow, silently begging for him to say she was wrong, he turned away from her. He had a feeling that entering any kind of argument with Ariadne would only result in her victory. Giving her any kind of victory wasn't something he really wanted to do. So, instead, he turned to answering Souma's question.
"Hmm…let's see…from now on, you could say our goal is…shut down all of the restaurants throughout Japan…I guess?"
"Huuuuh?!" Souma was shocked when Tsukasa flat out admitted this, but Ariadne wasn't so shocked. She had pieced enough of Azami's goals together to guess that that was the direction that he was heading in.
"Aah, but don't get the wrong idea, okay? Of course, establishments which are serving properly prepared cuisine won't be shut down. President Azami said the following: "We must eliminate without prejudice all restaurants which are serving "feed" that couldn't even begin to be called cuisine. This is an absolutely necessary step we much take in order to push Japan's fine dining forward to the next level.". To that end, first of all, assembling chefs of superior ability…in other words, soldiers, is an absolute necessity. The purge and classes that we are currently conducting within the academy are also part of our preparations for the first stage of the plan to destroy all inadequate restaurants nationwide. Central's ideology will, in the near future, leap forth and expand from Totsuki and spread across the entire country."
"So, for example," Souma didn't sound too pleased. "Does that even include restaurants for the masses? You know, like western cuisine Mitamura? Are you saying that Restaurant Yukihira, my home, isn't needed either?"
"Well, I suppose that may be the case, yes." Tsukasa replied, still cooking.
"I have never been more pleased that I'm French." Tsukasa blinked as he looked up at Ariadne and her smile-free face. "If you and the Headmaster are the example of Japan men that I can model all else by then I fear for the future of Japan."
Tsukasa was surprised by her blunt opinion. Souma, though, was still fixed on what Tsukasa had said. "And it's just fine if a place that someone truly holds dear is taken away to further those ideals of yours?"
Tsukasa raised his eyes to look Souma square in the face. "Yeah, that's right. "It can't be helped", that's how I feel."
From the way one side of Ariadne's mouth twisted up, Souma had a good feeling that she was fighting back the urge to throw something at Tsukasa while calling him nine kinds of stupid.
"I see. In that case, I guess I'm really not suited to be your right-hand man after all." Souma remarked. "Alright! I've decided on my dish over here, too!"
As Souma snatched up the cut of meat he was going to use, Ariadne heaved a sigh, drawing Tsukasa's attention to her. "You know, for someone with such a pretty face and such a nervous disposition, you very readily share your opinion on others cooking. Not that I can say anything…I give my opinion whether others want it or not. That being said…I have never been so incredibly self-centered."
Tsukasa sputtered when she stated that, crossing her arms over her chest. "Self-centered?"
"You heard me correct. How would you feel if someone came in and started telling you that your way of cooking is wrong? Oh, wait," Ariadne's nose rose slightly into the air, Tsukasa, for a moment, feeling like shrinking in the face of her displeased look. "I already have. Perhaps I should spend every day for the rest of my life pointing out every slight mistake you make."
"Please, don't." Tsukasa half whined that, looking almost like a whipped puppy in front of Ariadne and her queenly attitude.
Sometimes, Souma wondered if there was ever going to be someone willing to stand up to Ariadne no matter what she had on them.
He was not that person.
Ariadne, having said her piece, for the time being, sat back and watched the two as they cooked. She wasn't surprised to see that Souma had chosen a cut of leg meat for his dish. Much like with all of his previous dishes, Souma used every trick he had learned while he had served in Shinomiya's kitchen. Ariadne rolled her eyes, smile on her face, when he also pulled out a snack food to use in his dish. This time, the snack of choice was peeled sweetened chestnuts.
"Yukihira, you're really an enigma." Tsukasa remarked.
"Ya think?" Souma asked.
"Everyone thinks that, Souma." Ariadne informed him, much to Souma's surprise.
"Are you gonna be alright though? What with nothing but your deliberately eccentric ingredients and cooking style, I really don't think you can make any decent dishes like that." Tsukasa added.
"Ahh…I'm going to have to apologize in advance to you then." Tsukasa glanced over at Souma. "Because I'll probably be surprising you one more time."
"You sure as hell better do so, Souma. If you end up in Central then I just might have to talk the others into kicking you out of the dorm." Ariadne told him. Though he was sure she was only joking, Souma begged her not to do something so mean while he pulled out his favorite little charcoal grill to start grilling up his meat. "You just can't go without using that thing, can you?" Ariadne asked this in amusement, ignoring the sudden noise from outside the classroom. She already knew that Hisako and Erina were there, they were so noisy. "You do realize that grilling meat from start to finish isn't something usually found in French cooking, right?"
Souma gave her a big grin that, to Tsukasa's surprise, Ariadne returned. When he had done something that wasn't exactly French cooking, she had scolded him, but she grinned at Souma. It had him half whining as he looked at her. "Why do you scold me and not him?"
Ariadne didn't even pretend not to know what he was talking about. "Because he's not a hypocrite about it." Ariadne's hands went to her waist despite her still sitting on the countertop. "You insist cooking has to be by a certain rule book and then you can't even follow them exactly for the type of cuisine you're supposed to specialize in."
Seeing the point behind her comment, Tsukasa returned to his cooking. He had basically walked right into that one and wasn't going to argue with her about it any further. He was staring to find out that arguing with Ariadne was a pointless task. There was no winning against her.
"Alright, Tsukasa-sempai," Tsukasa and Ariadne turned to Souma as he presented Tsukasa with his completed dish. "Food is served. Let's settle this one-on-one, shall we?"
Tsukasa placed a lid on the pot in front of him. "Perfect timing. I need to wait for this sauce to come to a boil anyway. By all means…I'll try your fare."
"Hey, Thoughtless and Thoughtless Jr.," Tsukasa and Souma turned to stare at Ariadne. "Did you two forget that you never settled on a judge?" The completely thoughtless look on the two's faces gave Ariadne her answer, the girl sighing. "I now understand Rindou-sempai's frustration."
"Now that she says something, we never did decided how we'd do the judging, did we?" Souma asked.
"Oh…well, we're the only one here, so I suppose we have no choice but to let Ari do the tasting." Tsukasa replied.
"You really want me to critique yet another dish of yours?" Ariadne asked, an eyebrow raised, watching as Tsukasa's face grew even paler than it already was. It looked like the boy had just had a war flash back before he profusely shook his head.
"So, maybe not Ari."
"Smart choice. You're learning." Ariadne praised.
Tsukasa went from nervous to let Ariadne do the judging to shocked when Souma opened the window looking out into the hall and stuck his head out to look down at Erina and Hisako. "Hey, hey~! Do you guys mind doing a little taste test for us?"
"Th-that scared the pants off me! Have you two been there the whole time?" Tsukasa asked, jolting when he realized that Erina and Hisako were there.
"Hmmm…would have been nice if it had literally scared the pants off you." Tsukasa turned wide eyes on Ariadne, finding her scanning his body with a thoughtful look in her icy eyes. "On a different note, did you really not know they were there? You really aren't aware of your surroundings."
Tsukasa deflated. It seemed that Ariadne was looking for every opening in which to scold him about one thing or another. She wasn't cutting him any slack. Souma completely ignored the short conversation, dismissing it as Ariadne's quirky flirting. Which it wasn't. "And why were you hiding anyway?"
"Eh?! Umm, well, you know…" Hisako turned to Erina. "Why were we hiding again?
"H-how am I supposed to know?" Erina replied, jolting at suddenly being asked a question.
"W-well, shall we leave the judging to the two of you, then?" Tsukasa asked.
"And there ya have it! We're countin' on you! You guys spying on us turned out to be the perfect coincidence, huh?" Souma said with a grin.
"Wa…! Wait just a moment, Yukihira!" Hisako looked from Souma to Ariadne, both looking completely unconcerned with the situation at hand. "You can't expect us to just go right along with everything just like that! Depending on our decision, in the worst-case scenario, you'd be forced to join Central!"
"But, y'know…after hearing everything he had to say, I couldn't just back down, now could I?" The look on Souma's face said it all…he wasn't happy. "I've come too far to stop now. This match needs a clear victor. I won't except anything else!"
"We'll deal with whatever happens." Ariadne added, not really worried.
"E-Erina-sama?" Hisako turned towards Erina for her answer.
"Very well. If you're that insistent…as you wish, I will perform the judging. Yukihira…portion out your dish!"
Souma did as told, presenting Erina with a dish with a rich aroma. Tsukasa stared at the dish for a moment before joining Erina and Hisako in trying a bite. Tsukasa was surprised by the sweet, mellow flavor the pairing of chestnuts and wild game gave. It only took a few bites for Tsukasa to realize that the flavor couldn't have been accomplished with normal chestnuts.
"But, why…!? Applying the kind of slight bitterness charcoal grilling creates to French cuisine is exceedingly difficult. And yet, this dish has done just that! There must still be some secret to this!?" Tsukasa remarked.
"There is…it's called coffee." Ariadne replied idly. "I'm pretty sure I saw my name on that bag. Have you been in my coffee supply again, Souma?"
Souma grinned at her. "Your unique blend of coffee beans is perfect for this." Ariadne shook her head at him, commenting about putting a lock on her greenhouse. "I was taught this at Master Shinomiya's restaurant…game meat goes amazingly well with cacao. Though truthfully, I don't have much experience using cacao. So that's why I used the instant coffee blend that Ari made. The bitterness of cacao in coffee also meshes perfectly with that of the game and the charcoal. The deep richness and astringency is a perfect match for the French sauce! That's why I joined them together as a hidden flavor in the sauce."
"You better not have used my whole bag. If I have to go to these new boring classes in the morning without my coffee, I'm not going to be very happy." Ariadne warned.
Souma assured her he didn't use it all before turning back. "This is my original new French cooking…Charcoal grilled venison round steak-chestnut sauce~!"
"Shorten the name. It's too much of a mouth full." Ariadne piped in.
Erina glanced at Souma before taking a bite. Though she didn't want to approve, the taste was good. "Hm…Hmph! Well considering its Yukihira-kun, I guess he's at least managed to throw together a bunch of nominally French ingredients."
While Erina said this, Ariadne knew that Souma wasn't quite on the same level as Tsukasa. Tsukasa, himself, was lost in thought. It took him a moment to realize that they were staring at him, waiting.
"Oh…that's right! I have to bring my dish out too! Pl…please just give me a moment." Tsukasa's personality effectively gave Ariadne whiplash. She raised an eyebrow at his dish when he placed it before Souma. "I call this Venison Roast Showing Two Expressions."
Ariadne leaned forward to look at the food. The meat was a pretty rose color, glistening on the plate, and cut with barely more than the weight of the knife. Leaning further forward, she snagged a bite of the meat from Hisako's plate, popping it into her mouth. While Hisako was reduced to a flushed mess, Ariadne let the flavor roll over her tongue.
"What's with this meat…! The completely pure meat juice is over-flowing from the fragrantly refreshing red meat! This must be the result of that seemingly affectionate heating he used!" Hisako remarked. "Also, on top of that, the most surprising are these two types of sauces!"
Souma took a bite too, surprised when the taste of the sauce hit his tongue. "What in the world…what the hell is going on with this outrageous sauce!?"
Ariadne dipped a pinkie in both sauces, dabbing it on her tongue. "Hmm…the one on the right is made from the scraps of the venison. The one on the left, however, was made from different kinds of berries to come up with a sauce that's more acidic. Let's see…blueberry, red currant and black berry if I'm not mistaken."
Tsukasa stared at Ariadne in surprise, Erina taking over from there. "Also, crème de cassis, red wine, blueberry vinegar, raspberry jam…was that right?"
Tsukasa applauded the two of them. "Amazing…you two got them all! Then again, that's to be expected of Nakiri-kun."
"But that's not all there is to it, is it, Tsukasa-senpai?" Tsukasa turned to Ariadne as she stared at the plate. "It has liqueur, wine, vinegar and even berries in their natural form. There's even differing forms of the processed berries all mixed in. One mistake and you could've ended up with something incredibly unpleasant. You certainly chose a tightrope act for your dish."
"I can't tell if that's a compliment or not." Tsukasa whined.
"Keeping whining and you'll never know. There's only one instance in which a whining man is attractive. This is not it." Ariadne replied.
Tsukasa didn't know what she was talking about, but he had a feeling that he didn't want to know. Especially when she looked up at him and wiggled her eyebrow suggestively. Turning awkwardly away from her, Tsukasa joined Souma in waiting for the judgement call from Erina and Hisako. Hisako found it hard to decide. While both boys had used the same main ingredient in their dishes, what they had presented was completely different. It made it hard for her to choose between the two. That being said, when it came down to it, she knew which one would win.
"Hisako…have you finished deciding?" Erina asked.
"Yes."
While they wanted to name Souma the victor, they knew it wasn't true.
"The winner of the cooking battle is…the dish prepared by Tsukasa Eishi." Erina announced.
Tsukasa glanced at Souma out of the side of his eyes. "You've got no objects, right Yukihira? You understand the difference in ability between us now, don't you?" That being said, Tsukasa had changed his mind. "Yukihira…you…you are much too daring for me to handle you."
"Eh…?"
Ariadne was trying hard not to laugh.
"That's what I determined once I tasted your cooking. I most likely wouldn't be able to keep you in check as my right-hand man. If I were to actually invite you into Central…" Tsukasa broke into a cold sweat. "Forget about having a load taken off my shoulders by your support; I have a feeling I'd just die of sheer anxiety instead. You'd probably, like, make all sorts of things that I didn't tell you to. Ari would be even worse! We really dodged a bullet!"
"That…I get that…" Hisako said in agreement.
"I do hope you're talking about his statement of Souma and not me, Hisako." Ariadne remarked, puffing out one cheek. The look had Hisako chuckling nervously.
She was not going to admit that she agreed with Tsukasa on Ariadne, too.
"So I won't bother with forcibly dragging you into Central." Tsukasa announced.
"Are you sure about that?" Hisako asked.
"Yeah…I mean this wasn't even a real Food War to begin with. So let's call this a "no contest" shall we, Yukihira? Well anyhow, laters…"
"No." Tsukasa was brought up short by that stern retort. "This was my loss!"
"Oh, boy…here we go." Ariadne sighed and shook her head.
"Wait…! What in the world are you saying, Yukihira!?" Hisako demanded.
"A loss is a loss. I ain't happy about it, but…I was forced to taste the gap in skill firsthand!" Souma replied.
"Sto…stop saying stupid stuff! If you recognize this as a loss, you know you have to join Central then, right?! Are you saying you're fine with that!?" Hisako demanded.
"Well…I mean I definitely don't wanna, but…" Souma trialed off as he thought about this.
"As usual, nothing you say makes sense, you stubborn little…!"
Ariadne gave her head a shake and turned to Tsukasa. "You might want to take this chance to leave, or he'll harp on this all day long. You won't get anything done."
Tsukasa nodded, taking her suggestion to turn and leave. Erina, however, stopped him before he could walk out the door. "Are you showing some pity on him?"
"Pity? What do you mean? It's quite the opposite." Tsukasa assured her. "His cooking will never waver or change. No matter if I try to force it to or not. So I figured it would be dangerous to keep him by my side…that's all. Anyhow, I gotta go. I'm sure we'll see each other again before long, but…until then, take care."
Ariadne watched as Tsukasa left, the boy pausing for just a moment to turn and look back. His eyes met Ariadne's and he swore that he knew her from somewhere else. Something about the girl's cooking style and about those icy eyes of hers were familiar, though he couldn't tell from where. His eyebrow rose when, with a grin, she gave him a wink and a wave of the hand.
Tsukasa had to worry to himself…something about this year's freshman had him on edge.
He would find out soon, why.
END
Kyandi: You know, I was a little disappointed when the manga only showed Tsukasa's shirt unbuttoned after tasting Souma's dish. I was hoping for a little more.
Ariadne: I'm interested as well. I mean, nothing will ever compare to my Terunori, but a girl can still look.
Kyandi: Just no touching.
Ariadne: …Oh, shoot! That's right…I can't touch anymore if I'm taken!
Kyandi: Will it really change your mind about Kuga, though?
Ariadne: Oh, hell no! I'll just have to touch him lots to make up for it!
Kyandi: That grinning face of yours scares me sometimes.
Ariadne: You're the one that made it that way.
Kyandi: True. Anyway, everyone enjoy and review!
Ariadne: We'll return as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!