There is only one rule in this cruel world of ours..
A rule that has proven to be the most crucial pivoting point in this merciless battlfield...
A testament that has stood still despite the battle-cries amidst this culinary war...
Only then can you achieve... Only then can you truly begin to stride... Only then can you truly begin from the starting line...
There is only one rule when it comes to cooking...
Make sure to do it with passion!
M̴̪̄ȁ̵̻k̵̞̚e̷͙̅ ̵̤̎s̴̙̅u̵͇̿r̵̬̎e̵̻̐ ̶̧̈́t̴̪͘ò̶̠ ̷͖̋f̴̻́i̵͍̾n̵̪̋d̸̞̍ ̵̜̅ṯ̵̄h̷͚̋ă̷͖t̴̪́ ̸̨́c̴̢̉e̵̛͎r̸͕͝t̵̢̽a̷̦̽i̵̟͆n̷̗͠ ̶̣̌s̶̻͗o̸̙͆m̸̮͠ẹ̴͗ơ̴̞n̷͇̾ȩ̵̎!̴̦̒ ̵͚̆S̵̞͘o̵̪͊m̷̘͐e̸̙̐ǫ̶̚n̴͈͝é̵̡ ̶̣͛w̵̗͛h̵̟̿o̵̮̓m̷̠͂ ̷͚̑y̸͍̆ő̸͎u̵̩̚'̷̋͜l̴͉͂l̶̬̏ ̶̘̄ḇ̸̋e̵̗̕ ̸̹͐d̷̜͗e̸̪̋d̴̛̳ì̸̖c̷̟̈a̸̹̅t̴̉͜i̸͚͑n̵͇̄ḡ̶̫ ̶̧͌a̴͓͌l̷͖̀l̵͔̾ ̵̰͐y̸̼̐o̷͍͋ủ̵̝'̶̭̃r̵̩̈́ė̴̗ ̶̫́c̶̭̏o̵̼͘õ̸͖k̴͖̀i̷̫̋n̶͍͝g̷͓͐ ̵̹̎t̶̼́õ̷̗!̴̬́!̵̯̈́!̴̨̋
xxx
~/L'amour/~
xxx
"Good work out there Erina!"
A certain pinkette woman beamed a cheery smile towards her friend, who just also happened to be her "Mistress". Hisako couldn't help but give the blonde girl a heartfelt congratulations. She knew that it must've been tough for her... To say that this event was large, was quite the understatement. Between planning for said grand-scale competition, and juggling her work as the headmistress for Japan's - and if not, the world's - number one culinary school, Totsuki. Hisako knew that it must have taken a great toll on Erina. Despite the blonde's steadfast and strong facade that she keeps putting up. Hisako knew that behind that front, was a very exhausted and tired Erina. Someone who was well-deserving of a break, a really long one at that...
Hisako's earlier greeting not only served as a breath of relief because of the event to officially be underway, but also as a congratulations for the blonde mistress' efforts being finally payed off. After long and tiring nights of planning and communicating with other well known figures in the culinary world, and after careful research and much thought-out deliberations...
It was finally here...
It was finally starting...
Amidst the pinkette's happy musings. Erina, who was standing directly beside her, couldn't help but giggle at how giddy her face was being. She honestly found these kinds of little details cute about her... No wonder she was already getting engaged. Any man would be lucky to have such a cheerful and optimistic person right by they're side.
Brushing the though of Hisako's creampuff like face away- Erina glanced over the other side of the reflective mirror, staring iddly at her- she meant their - greatest and if not largest achievments...
An event of this scale would've been deemed improbable a couple of years ago... And now...
Here they were, here she was... Here lied a contented erina in the inside of the arena's few spectating rooms, with the happiest grin she could've probably mustered at this very moment... One filled with anticipation and pride. Erina was feeling very excited to say the least... It's been a while since she has entered such a culinary competition of this scale, not one since years ago...
Ever since she won blue...
"Ever since he grew distant towards me- erm- I mean us..."
The blonde girl's facial expression suddenly dampened... It didn't even take a mere second for her face to contort into a regretful frown... Since when did his mere presence had this much effect on her. It would seem that just by the mere mention, just by the mere thought of that certain red head's name... It was more than enough to turn Erina's mood into a silent one...
Gone was her earlier excitement, as if it was never there to begin with... As if it faded like the cruel pink memories of spring... Just a forgotten time that seemed to have drift away and faded into nothing but bitter oblivion...
The redhead did try to initiate contact a few times, and so did she. But it was so hard to get a proper hold of him. Erina could only just get the news that he was in France, only to know that he was already in Poland the next few days. And it was not like she - she meant - they left him out. In fact, it was quite the polar opposite actually. There were plenty of times that he was invited to attend many events. Reunions, Get-togethers, Marriages, heck, even a simple meetup for a cup of coffee, any event of the sort. And despite their earnest efforts for contact, he would barely even show up! To call these occasions rare would probably be the biggest lie anyone has heard... His presence was just as comparable to a blue moon...
Erina knew... that with each passing day... He was growing more and more distant by the second...
She knew that eventually they would have to grow up... That inevitably... They would have to grow apart... But it seemed that with each and every passing second without his stupid joked and, as much as she hated to admit it, cute - hot - smiles...
He was already slipping away from her life... His presence was slowly, and if not gradually dissapearing from her life... If only Erina would have realized it sooner, then maybe... Just maybe...
She wouldn't have been to late... To tell him how she truly felt about him... For all those times he had saved her, For all those happy memories he made with her... For always being right by her side through thick and thin... Through every good and bad experience they shared together...
To thank him for being her hero...
But of course...Life just had a cruel way of playing it's sick jokes on her... Of course she had realized it, realized her feelings, when it was already to late...
"Erina, are you feeling all right?"
Hisako, who was now noticing the headmistress' frown, suddenly grew concerned for her well-being. Was something wrong? Was something not up to par with her standards? Did something go wrong? Was she feeling sick?!
These were the kind of worried thoughts that was racing over the pinkette's mind...
"..O-Oh y-yes, I'm just thinking about something important.."
Wait...did she just call him important? Was her mind playing tricks with her? Or was her brain and mouth not agreeing with each other? She would never know... But there was one thing she absolutely did know, he was not important! Never have been! And never will be!
"Erm- I mean he's- Imean it's nothing important really!"
Atleast that's what Erina told herself... She cursed inwardly with a heaved sigh after that pathetic defense from her part... Not only was his presence making her feel unspeakable emotions, but he was just as good as giving her a head-ache...Even though he wasn't physically there...
"Are you sure?"
Hisako, who was not buying her suspicous behavior one bit, pressed on with an arched brow. Maybe if it wasn't for the fact that her blonde friend was blushing and stuttering over the place... Then just maybe, she wouldn't have asked any further questions... But her demeanor was the very embodiment of 'concerning', atleast for Hisako. That red blush that crept up on Erina's face might have suggested other things for the confused pinkette.
Was she that exhausted? Wait, if her face was red... Is this a clear symptom of a fever?! Hisako knew that Erina was overworking herself! She just didn't have the heart to stop her. Hisako knew how important this event was for her and everybody...
But clearly her earlier warnings towards the Headmistress proved to be in vain...
She should have known better than to give Erina verbal reprimandings... She should have snatched away her laptop when she had a chance! Although it would potentially endanger her job- Hisako didn't care as long as Erina took a break from that things. As her assistant, her close confidant, and one of her closest friends, it was her duty to take care of the blonde's mental and physical health.
And staring at that thing's screen for twenty-four hour's straight was definitely not going to help at all...
"Y-Yes I'm fine! trust me! You don't need to be so worried about me!"
Noticing that her friend may have been over-analyzing things, judging from the smoke emitting out of the pinkette's head. Erina quickly put her hands up in mock surrender in order to assure her friend that she was fine, physically... at the very least...
"You sure?"
"Yeah stop worrying about me! Jeez! It should be you who I'm worried about! You're workload increased tenfold over the course of preparing this event didn't it?"
Erina wanted to change the subject, she needed to change it, and fast... And what better way than to redirect the concerned atmosphere towards her uknowing assistant... Although this thought did linger in Erina's mind for a while, she supposed that now was just a better time than ever to voice it out. As a distraction of course! Yet her genuine concern failed to go unnoticed by Hisako as she felt the worry in her friend's tone.
"I'm fine! In fact, I've never felt better than ever!"
Hisako wanted to atleast brighten up the dampened mood over the back and fourth questions and worries. Like putting up a straight-faced facade, Hisako put her left hand over her right muscle in order to display just how 'fine' she was. As if her work's overtime didn't affect her in any way, shape or form...Well, she might have skipped out on dinner a few times, much to the worry of her fiance, but Erina didn't need to know that!
That was the last thing she should be hearing right now...
Especially now that the event was already under-way.
"Alright if you say so"
'well atleast that calmed her down...even for just a little while..."
Erina shook her head wryly, aggressively even. In an attempt to shake the prevading red-headed man out of her thoughts. She shouldn't be thinking about such things right now. It was already foolish indulging in her own regrets and emotions... It was already too late...
There were more pressing matters that she needs to pay attention to...
Like she mentioned earlier, this event was nothing to brush over; their continued hardwork to make this competition's launching a complete success already had something to say about it. Out of all the events and tournaments that Erina has ever seen and been in, this one so far takes the cake out of all of them. The previous competitons could only pale in comparison to the sheer scale of this world-wide event.
Not only was this tournament being broadcasted globally, and not only was it happening in real time with the other continents and countries... But every renowned chefs and cooks had all gathered from across the face of the earth in order to show off their culinary expertise. Some might be here to make a name for themselves, while others simply wanted to show the world their unique styles and specialties. While others maybe here just for completely different and perhaps, selfish reasons...
But their was really only one common reason they had all gathered under one large roof... Their was really only one goal they had to strive for... A single destination that everyone wants to realize and take hold off, something that they would inevitably arrive and see for themselves...
What may that goal be you ask?
It's quite simple really...
To prove that they are the best, to prove to the world and show them that among the highly renowned and cultivated crowd... That they stood out on top among any other!
And that was really the point to this entire event, the whole reason that this competiton was organized under the joint efforts of all the different world and culinary departments from across the globe...
To finally settle who stood out on top as the very best!
And maybe, just maybe...for a completely selfish desire...she would perhaps get the chance to see him again...Just to get a glimpse of his silly face and that dumb grin of his that she had comed to miss...
...
And speaking of the competition... It was finally moving it's gears into the first phase of this World-Wide Competition...
Erina couldn't help but feel excited over it all as she redirected all her focus on the other side of the large room's transparent glass. In fact, she feels so giddily excited that her heart was racing like that of a young child's... As Erina was watching over the events that were unfolding on the other side of that large and glossy glass, on the other side of that boundary that separated her from the rest of the people... An uknowing smirk just couldn't help but form on her face. Easy to know where she may have gotten that habbit from, not that she was complaining of course... Contracting it wasn't the worst thing in the world... In fact, Erina was glad that she was now more open in showing her emotions... Unlike before, where she would lock it away inside the void of her heart...
...She supposed that it was just one of the many things that he had taught her. Erina admittedly mused to herself out in the open...
"We will now begin the first round of the preliminary phase!"
A large and enthusiastic voice resounded throughout the entire arena's vicinity, most likely because it was the mc's job to get the crowd pumped up and going... roaring even.
Come to think of it, Erina never really did once get the opportunity to look at the early draftings of this competition. Much so the list of the competitors... She knew that her close friends were of course not going to let this opportunity slip and participate... Erina then slightly glanced over a small portion of the participant's bleachers and saw...well almost practically everyone she knew... Well that was already to be expected. In fact, Erina was already half-expecting to see them when she glanced over at them earlier ... It would seem that almost everybody was taking part of this competition. Well that was excluding herself since she was obviously one of the judges, and Hisako since she was already one of the event's organizers...
"May the first pair of competitors please step up on stage and proceed to their assigned stations!"
"Hey Hisako, you've got a list of the Premilinary Match-ups right?"
Erina's whole undivided attention was still glued on the events that were unfolding. Judging from the way she was paying focus and staring at the arena from below... It would seem that she would let anything distract that fierce gaze of hers. Still that didn't stop her from requesting something from her most loyal assistant and friend , Hisako.
"Yes it's right here..."
Hisako replied curtly while giving the specified listing to Erina.
"Thanks"
Erina replied in gratitude while skimming through the binder that Hisako gave her in a matter of seconds. She kept doing this until she finally found herself at the destination she was looking for, at a specific section of the listing that she just turned over...
What Erina was looking at was none other than the List of Competitors that was participating in this large scale event.
It was kind of funny really. Erina herself was one of the judges yet she never took the time to look at the list of participants. She should feel a bit ashamed, Erina internally mocked herself over it.
Her finger kept running down by the list of names like a fast moving vehichle as her graceful mind flawlessy memorized and took note of each name she saw... There were a few names that she was actually surprised upon seeing, like her sibling, to name a few... There were of course other names that she had already been expecting to see, since she already knew that they would be competing...
"May Takumi Aldini please make his way up on-stage!"
Erina kept doing this for a few seconds, her finger kept skimming through the names nonchanantly until it took a complete and absolute hault, until she caught the name of a certain someone under the glimpse of one of her eyes...
Disbelief was the sole emotion that was growing present in her amethyst-like eyes...
Her mind began to clear up like a fuzzy blurr... All of a sudden her eyes couldn't see straight, Her insides felt warm and a mess, Her skin felt like it was rising in hazardous and high temperatures. She could even feel her breathing go hotter by the second... Was she hallucinating? It can't be...No...It shouldn't be...
Erina rubbed her eyes again, just to make sure... Then she read it again -multiple times even-, as if her eyes were deceiving her at the very disbelief she was seeing... and...it was still there... His name was still there! So she wasn't just imagining things!
Like her mind dared...Like her body dared...Like her heart dared her... She began to slowly look-up from the binder she was just reading at...
Her heart began beating at a million times per second...Even she couldn't comprehend the overflowing emotions, - and the sheer happiness - she was feeling. Erina couldn't even measure the rate of her heart was going at this point... Her eyes were solely fixated on a slowly rising silhouette that was coming up on stage... A silhouette she knew all too well... A figure she had come to know and love... As soon as she saw that patch of dashing red hair...
Erina knew...that it was him...That this wasn't a dream...And if it was...She never wanted to wake up...
At this instance, at this point in time, at this fated moment... Erina felt nothing but pure blissful happiness and trepedition... She could feel one thing however... and that was the warm pair of tears that was flowing down on both of her bright red cheeks...
"May Yukihira Soma please step-up on stage!"
As if on cue...
A familiar figure of a man began emerging up from the stage's stairs and into the arena's limelight...all while flashing the entire crowd his signature and ever-confident grin...
"Yo Takumi! Long time no see!"
He was just as stupid as she remembered...Erina smiled wholeheartedly from ear to ear while she gazed with longing adoration at the person she has yearned to see in what feels like an eternity...
Fin
Authors note:
...Yeah I decided to continue the story and keep it going... You know just to see where it goes...
:)
