The food fight competition was starting to get addictive. Every night after closing the cafe, Cass would take a shiny set of knives and head to Good Luck Alley, true to her word she did not make Ari tag along. The young girl promised not to tell Hiro but she wished her good luck every night, it was nice to have at least one fan.
Every night, Cass would cook, and she'd cook hard. Cutting up vegetables, adding condiments, wrestling an octopus, she won that challenge with ease. Every set of knives she won was another tool to bring further victory. Of course there was the cheating rule, but true to her word Cass wouldn't cheat, she'd rather focus on making her meal taste better than waste the effort attempting to sabotage the other person. When another competitor tried throwing oranges at her she batted them back with ease using frying pans, it was another easy victory during that fight.
One occasion was tricky for Cass, she had to cook blindfolded, however it went better than she expected. The cake she made brought her sweet victory, and she even decorated the frosting to look like Yum Labouche, the ringleader himself.
Cass swore she saw him taking a slice after the match, but she was too busy relishing in the cheer of the audience.
"Cass! Cass! Cass Cass!" She lifted her earned knives into the air, nothing could stop her now!
"Not again.." Hiro sighed, it was another morning where the cafe was late, he knew this because all the customers were waiting outside the window! Whenever this happened Ari was the one who tended to open up the cafe, but sometimes she couldn't wake up early enough.
When Hiro and Baymax entered Aunt Cass' room, she was fast asleep, Baymax opened the blinds, "Good morning, Aunt Cass."
Aunt Cass yawned, getting up and rubbing one eye, "What time is it?"
"It's 8:45, the cafe should be open by now, who are you and what have you done with my Aunt Cass?" Hiro demanded, it's been going on for too many days!
"Oh relax," Aunt Cass brushes it off, something she never used to do, "they can wait a few extra minutes for their coffee."
"What's going on? You're supposed to be the responsible one! Even Ari's been starting to wake up early to open up the cafe because you didn't! It's been taking a toll on her!" As Hiro scolds his aunt for her behavior, Baymax pets Mochi who was curled up on a pillow.
"There's nothing wrong with going out once in awhile to cut loose, and Ari'll be fine."
"Cut loose? And you don't go out once in awhile you've been going out every night! Where are you going? And is it the same place you and Ari went as well?!"
"Uh, it's just the movies! Gotta go to work!" Aunt Cass rushes out of the room before Hiro can question her further.
"She has no idea what it's like to deal with someone who's obviously lying to you," Hiro huffs in frustration, behind him Mochi's fur frizzles due to rubbing against Baymax's vinyl.
Later in the morning, Ari woke up and started helping Cass with the customers.
"Cass I-" Ari yawned, she had been waking up early for the past few days to open up the cafe and it's been taking a toll on her, "I think the uh..late trips need to stop soon."
"Whaat?" Cass tilts her head to face Ari with surprise, "What makes you say that?"
"Well one, it's not healthy for our sleep schedules," Ari yawns, "After you leave I can't sleep, I stay up worrying you're gonna get jumped by an angry competitor-who let the competition b.y.o.b, bring your own blades?!" she nearly drops a plate she was cleaning in exclamation.
"Oh I'll just go a few more times then I'll be done, no harm done." Cass shakes her head.
"No-no harm done?!" Ari huffs, "And you thought Hiro 'bot fighting' was bad." She brings up finger quotes to make her point.
"Well that is bad, it's illegal, and why are you making finger quotes?" Cass raises an eyebrow.
"I don't know what bot fighting is-wait it's illegal?" Ari's eyes widened, "Why is it illegal?"
"No time to answer gotta run the cafe!" and Cass rushes off to help serve another customer, Ari sighs.
"Why does nobody ever tell me these things," she huffed, "I feel so out of the loop."
And I always feel like I'm missing some parts of the story, Ari thought about that time the Baron Von Steamer guy kidnapped poor Wasabi, how the others told her to man the spotlight and members of Big Hero 6 showed up several minutes after they left. A part of her wanted to find out for more details, but she refused. I don't even know if Ariel is even my actual name! No time for me to go poking my nose into someone else's business..She goes back to washing the dishes, though if Hiro decides to follow Aun...Cass! To see what she's doing, I'll follow 'cause this is driving me up a wall!
Ferns and Nerds group chat:
Mikan Ferns: Guess who's getting sushi from the best chef in town, these kids!
TheLittleMermaid: Who?
Sara Ferns: "The man on the moon" -David
Honey Lemon: David that was kind of mean,
Sara Ferns: "Chef wants to remain anonymous" -David
Mikan Ferns: I am not paid enough for this XP
Hiro Hamada: Wait you're paying?
Mikan Ferns: Yeah! This chef isn't cheap and I make a lot of money!
Wasabi: You have a job?
Mikan Ferns: Yes
TheLittleMermaid: How do you make so much money Mikan?
Mikan Ferns: Trade secret! Not important!
When nighttime arose, Cass took a good set of knives and exited the cafe. Ari saw Hiro and Baymax start to follow after she left.
"Hey guys?" she whispered, "Can I join you guys? I don't want to wait by myself in the cafe all night with worry.."
"Sure," Hiro whispered back, and so the three of them followed Cass through the city. They follow her until she ducks under an alley, one that they know too well.
"What is she doing in Good Luck Alley?" Hiro turns to face Ari, "this place is dangerous."
"It's something you have to see for yourself," Ari tells him, "it's complicated." As they follow Cass, they hide behind one of the alley crates, Hiro sees his aunt go towards a building that Felony Carl and his friend are guarding.
"What?" Hiro gasps as the guards let Cass in, he runs over and stops the door before it closes. He sees as his aunt puts on a chef apron and is lifted up to the stage, "What is going on?!" he was so confused.
"That was my reaction too," Ari murmured, "I wonder if the Fern kids are here tonight."
The Fern kids were indeed here, but they were not in the audience seats, nor was one of them attempting to compete. No, they were enjoying sushi prepared none other than-
"Momakase you've outdone yourself yet again," Mikan was eating the food with chopsticks.
"Yeah this is really good." Sara nods, she nudges David, "right bro?"
David didn't give a verbal response, he was too busy enjoying the food.
"Thank you, I only use the freshest of ingredients." Momakase smirks, but it's a warmer smile than her evil grins.
At that moment Yama bursts through the door, "I assume you got the device? The whole thing this time."
"Was it ever in doubt?" Momakase points to the now completed device on her desk, "One Anti-Grav device with a 70 meter range radius."
"70 range?" Sara whispers to Mikan, who frowns.
"Fine, I will pay you double." Yama goes to collect the device but Momakase pulls it off the desk.
"Actually, things have changed." she narrows her eyes, "I'm selling it on the black market to the highest bidder," she seals the device in a metal case.
"Why you-" Yama attempts to charge at the chef, but she tosses one of her special poisoned fish into his mouth, "What?!" he starts to drop on the floor with dizziness.
"Delicious, isn't it? The toxin gives it a real kick," she turns to some of her minions. "Take him home and give him the antidote, eventually."
Momakase tosses one of the antidote bottles to her minions as they drag Yama away.
"That was mean," David says to Momakase after the minions have left the room.
"It's called a hustle, dear." she replies, going back to cutting up food.
"Pretty sure it's about the money," Sara points out, turning to Mikan she whispers, "you have enough money for payment right? I don't think David is enough of a discount."
"I heard that," David grumbled, "speaking of money, Mika you should be more careful next time you go betting."
"Why?" Mikan raised an eyebrow, "And don't spill my money making secrets over to Momakase!"
"Frankly I don't care about your bot-fighting activities," Momakase replies, "It's below me." She continues to prepare food without looking at the kids.
"Wow, rude." Mikan huffs.
"David has a point Mika," Sara nods, "Yama might take his anger out on losing the grav device on you, you do hang around the bot-fighting ring a lot."
"And you two seem to forget that my father has Yama wrapped around his finger," Mikan gestures, "If he touches a hair on my head my dad will finish the job after he failed on getting him that device he wanted."
"How do you make so much money betting on bot-fights?" David questions.
"Simple, my sister does the fighting, and I do the betting, it's a win-win to quick cash." Mikan smirks, taking another bite of her food.
"Just..be careful," David frowns, "Good Luck Alley is a dangerous place."
"Which is why we come with you when we visit your mom." Sara grips David's hand, "You're my brother, as much as I wish you and Mika wouldn't hang around bad alleys, I'm going to do the best I can to keep you safe."
"Awww Sara you're melting my heart!" Mikan drops to the ground in a dramatic manner, "You're killing me!"
"Knock it off Mika.." The cheering of the food fight winner interrupts the conversation, Momakase looks down the window to see the arena down below, "Who's that down there?"
"New fighter, undefeated." one of her minions explains.
"Not..for..long," Momakase grins, then turns to the Fern kids. "Do you children have any information you'd like to share on this fighter?"
"Is it Cass?" Mikan goes to the window to confirm, "Yep it's Cass, the softy that hasn't lifted a finger to cheat yet, somehow she wins."
"I think her dedication to her meal instead of cheating makes her win," Sara points out, "A lot of the time fighters spend the entire round trying to trip her up, they forget to work on their meal!"
"I like hearing Cass in the arena, her nephew goes to our school, she runs the Lucky Cat Cafe," David smiles, "Though you're going to win."
"And I will, and take her knives," Momakase declares to them."Best to get some front seats for the show children."
Back down at the arena, Hiro, Ari, and Baymax are by the seats, "I detect Aunt Cass in the spotlight." Baymax points to the arena.
"Hey, Aunt Cass!" Hiro calls his aunt and runs towards the edge of the seating, "Aunt Cass!"
"Hiro!" Cass exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" She walks to him.
"What are you doing here?" Hiro questions, "Is that you've been doing these past few nights?"
"Yeah," Cass places a hand to the side of the arena wall, "I'm winning." both of their attention goes to Yum as he announces Cass' next opponent.
"And now, back in the ring to defend her title," the spotlights move around and stop at the podium, "You know her as reigning champion...Momakase!" and the sushi chef appears on stage.
"Momakase," Hiro gasps.
"Oh you've heard of her?" Ari raises an eyebrow, "I heard from Mikan that's she's good."
"Me too," Cass nodded, "well I didn't hear from Mikan but I heard she's good."
"No!" Hiro exclaims, fearing for his aunt's safety if she goes against the sushi chef/mercenary, "Sh-she's bad, really bad! You've gotta get out of here!"
"Oh I will Hiro, just as soon as I crush her and take her knives!" She walks over to the arena.
"No wait! You don't want to get near her knives!" Hiro tries to call her back, but Felony Carl and his bodyguard friend grab him and Baymax.
"Hey, it's inappropriate to mess with the fighters," Felony Carl and his bodyguard friend shove Hiro and Baymax out of the room.
They kick Hiro outside the front door, "Oh no," they throw Baymax and the robot lands on top of him. Hiro crawls out from under the robot and pulls out his phone.
"Gogo, I found Momakase, and you are not going to believe this.."
"Hmm, let me guess," Momakase stared down at Cass, "a cook at some nothing cafe, you probably put cute animal faces in your cappuccino foam."
"You wish you could make a panda-ccino like mine!" Cass retorts back.
"Tonight's championship challenge is.." Yum points to the ingredient table, "speed sushi!"
"Ooooh," the audience was in awe as it's a specialty of Momakase's. They were interested in how the fight was going to go.
"Sharpen your knife skills chefs, this could get dangerous!" as Cass runs to the ingredient table, Momakase throws one of her knives on the ground and it trips up Cass.
"Oof!" she trips onto the ground as Momakase runs past her, "Okay fine..you are going down," she gets back up.
"Get her Cass!" Ari yells from the audience, she's sitting right next to the Fern kids, David jabs her on the shoulder.
"Her victory streak is gonna end here!" David is rooting for Momakase, much to Ari's dismay.
"In your dreams! Cass will win!"
"Woah, I never knew cooking could be so tense, I'm never looking at a sandwich the same way." Fred exclaims, he and the rest of his friends are in their superhero suits and near the back door. The audience was so focused on the food fight that they didn't notice Big Hero 6 behind them.
"Baymax, scan the building for the gravity thing." Hiro commands Baymax.
He scans the building, and points to the room above the arena, "Gravity disruptor located."
"Let's go," and the team heads towards the room with Hiro leading the charge.
Back at the cooking competition, Momakase was doing everything in her efforts to trip up Cass. When they both were cutting fish, she sliced Cass's knife, but it only helped her cut the fish with preciseness. She grabbed an avocado off the ingredient table Cass tried to take, and threw it overhead. Cass bolted to catch it, leaping off a kitchen counter, landing in the audience seats and caught it.
In one of her attempts, Momakase tried firing squid ink at Cass, but she blocked it with a bowl, and used the ink as decorations for her sushi instead. Momakase glared, growling at her competitor.
Above the arena, Baymax opened the door to Momakase's room with force, "It is in this room."
"Nice," Hiro skids in, "This is going to be easier than I thought." but then he and his friends notice the minions guarding the room.
"Oh…" Honey Lemon widens her eyes, "Hi.." then Gogo bumps past them and punches a minion in the face, knocking him into the window.
"You are not as good as you think you are."
"Just have to be better than you."
Both Cass and Momakase were finishing up their sushi, "Huh, we'll see about that." the latter narrows her eyes at Cass. She notices the fight going on upstairs, "What?" she places her sushi on the judges table, then before Cass can bring hers to the table she tosses a knife, cutting a rope and a net lands on top of Cass.
The audience gasps, "Oh, this looks bad for Cass," Yum reports, "She needs to get her dish to the judges before time runs out to quality."
"I'll be back to collect your knives." Momakase says to Cass as she exits the arena.
"Why is there even a net in here?!" Cass struggles to break free.
"Hey that's cheating!" Ari points out from the audience.
"It's encouraged," David explains, "Knew Cass couldn't beat Momakase, she's the best."
"Yeah the best cheater!" Ari argues, "because she's too much of a coward to cook normally!"
"Why you little-" David attempts to charge at Ari but Mikan and Sara hold him down, "let me at her! Let me at her! How dare you say that about m-"
"David cool your jets!"
Gogo skids around the room, as they finished knocking out the minions. Wasabi uses his plasma blade to cut open the metal case the gravity device was in, "They're no graphene blades, but they do the trick just fine." the door slides open, all of them turn around to see Momakase behind them.
"That..is mine!" she growls.
"Really?" Gogo raises an eyebrow, "cause you stole it!"
"Yeah so you shouldn't really be that offended." Fred adds in, "y'know..it's not yours and all."
Momakase throws her knives at Gogo, she ducks out of the way but they hit Fred instead, she turns to face her friend worried that he got injured.
He flips open his suit's helm, "I'm okay!" he exclaims, the knives only pinned his suit to the wall.
Momakase smirks, Wasabi clutches the gravity device in fear. The chef jumps on top of Baymax and throws a set of knives at Hiro, he uses his magnets to bend them out of the way but they hit the other arm of Fred's suit.
Honey Lemon tries to throw a chem ball at Momakase, but she throws a knife at the ball, causing the goop to trap Honey Lemon instead, "Ah! Wasabi watch out!'' She warns him as Momakase goes for him next.
The two blade wielders fight, but Momakase kicks the gravity device out of Wasabi's arm, accidentally activating it, everything turns blue and begins to float, including the poisoned fish on Momakase's desk.
"It really works," Wasabi exclaims, "It really works!"
"Woah cool.." Fred is in awe, "Hey I'm free!" the gravity device also lifts up the knives pinning him down, so he's able to unstick himself from the wall, then sees Momakase going for one of his friends, "Baymax look out-"
"Ten, nine, eight, seven-" the audience downstairs counts down the time left, and Cass is still stuck in the net.
"I guess you can't win them all." she huffs, but the gravity device reaches downstairs, causing her and the audience to float. "I take it back!" she scoops up her dish with two plates and flies towards the judges, "You can win them all!" her dish reaches the table just as the time runs out.
"She did it!" Yum exclaims, "It's all over now except for the judging, and the floating!" the judges continue to sample the two chefs dishes despite everyone floating in the arena. The judges turn around and notice Momakase is fighting the red member of Big Hero 6 upstairs.
Yum lifts up Cass' hand, "I won?" she questions, "Oh I won!"
"No!" Momakase screeches, she stops fighting Big Hero 6 and goes to attack Cass.
"What?!" David exclaims, then hears both chefs fighting, "Wait stop!"
"Huh?" Ari raises an eyebrow at David's weird behavior, surprised he reacted to that than everyone mysteriously floating?!
"Nope! Not doing this!" Mikan grabs David and floats away, as much as David tries to struggle, he can't get out of Mikan's grip.
"Mika let me go!" he exclaims, "thats-"
"I know but now is not the time!" she yells back, "Big Hero 6 is here and you know what that means!" and the Fern kids fly out of the arena, leaving a puzzled Ari.
"What on earth is going on?" She is trying to process what just happened.
"Aunt Cass!" Hiro exclaims as Momakase attacks his aunt, he then sees the gravity device, and gets an idea. Meanwhile Momakase leaps from a wooden beam, roaring in anger as she launches herself at Cass, who sees the net next to her.
"Everyone hold on, things are about to get heavy!" Hiro deactivates the device, reversing the anti-gravity effect, when he did that Cass threw the net at Momakase, so when gravity returns it's the sushi chef's turn to be stuck in the net.
Luckily before Hiro fell to the ground, Baymax caught him, "Thanks buddy," he smiles at the robot.
"You are welcome." Baymax replies.
"Cass! Cass! Cass! Cass!" the audience cheers for his aunt, who smiles and takes a bow.
"No!" Momakase struggles and growls as she's stuck in the net.
Ferns and Nerds group chat:
Hiro Hamada: Hey is David okay? Didn't see him at school today.
Mikan Ferns: He's not feeling well, he'll be back tomorrow
Sara Ferns: And leave it there please? It'll make him feel worse
TheLittleMermaid: Tell him I hope he gets better soon! And that I'm sorry for arguing with him yesterday!
Mikan Ferns: Will do
Wasabi: Wait what happened with David?
Sara Ferns He nearly threw hands with a thirteen year old
Hiro Hamada: Omg Ari is literally thirteen it fits!
TheLittleMermaid :V
As Hiro got home from school and helped Aunt Cass clean the cafe, he noticed the tv was playing the report on Momakase's arrest.
"Nobody steals from Alistair Krei and gets away with it," the CEO of Krei-Tech reported to the camera as behind him Momakase was put in a police car, "and nobody tells Alistair Krei how much soy sauce to use."
"Wow," Aunt Cass stared at the news report, "can you believe that woman was a dangerous criminal?"
"And you stood up to her, sometimes I forget how amazing you are." Hiro tells his aunt.
"Thanks Hiro," Aunt Cass gives him a hug, at that moment a familiar turtleneck wearing blonde walks into the cafe.
"Chef Gramercy?" Aunt Cass raises an eyebrow, "what are you doing here?"
"Uh hello Cass, I should say Chef Cass," Gramercy clears his throat, "first of all, I'd like to apologize for my atrocious behavior."
Aunt Cass gives him a smile, "Thank you, I really appreciate it."
"Secondly, I was wondering.." he looked nervous to say this next part, "I was wondering..if..if you could find it in your heart to-"
"You want your nanas knives back," Cass answers, he nods and she leads him to her knife set trophy room. Which had all the knives she won from all her food fights, which was a lot, "So, which one are your nanas?"
"Uh.." Gramercy was baffled at the amount of knives she had, he occasionally challenged competitors but he didn't have that many!
Ari giggled at the chef's shock, "Heh, he had a milder reaction than Hiro." she smirked, then noticing David walk into the cafe, remembering how Sara and Mikan explained he wasn't feeling well she approached with caution, "Hey David, how are you feeling?"
"Not..the best," David mumbles, "first of all sorry for the argument we had back at the arena."
"Water under the bridge," Ari waves it off, "but are you okay?"
"Not really, remember how I told you my mom was one of the food fighters? And how a lot of people were arrested last night," Ari nodded, odd, she didn't remember hearing a lot of fighters got arrested. She only remembers that Momakase was arrested for stealing a device from Krei-Tech, they must have not announced that on the news..
"Well, my mom was one of the fighters," David sniffles, "I'm really not looking forward to having to visit her in jail now.."
"Oh David that's awful," Ari gives him a hug, "I'm sure you'll get used to it."
"Yeah, Mikan offered to take me each time I'll visit her," David shrugs, "I'll live."
"Mhmm," Ari nods, then realizes something, "Wait you can visit people in prison?"
"Yep," David answers, "Why? Is there someone you want to visit?"
Ari thought about the question before answering, who would she see in prison? But she thought of someone..well two someones..who she wished she got to know more before their arrest.
"Yeah, there is," Ari tells him, "Do you think Mikan could help me visit as well?"
Food Fight is a wrap!
A sushi wrap..*rimshot*
HAHAHA I'M HILARIOUS! Been waiting for that joke all day!
So lemme just answer two questions by the same reader in the same review!...A person asked two questions
smooch119: Who were the kids that knocked on Momakase's door and why were the Fern kids at the Food Fights?
Well the knocking was forshadowing to this: it was the Fern kids, they must really love her sushi.
And they said they show up at the Food Fights in that chapter too, to go visit David's mom.
But sadly she hasn't shown up in this chapter...or has she?..muhuhahaha!
Question of the week is your theory about that familial topic! And I bet a lucky penny that one of you has guessed it :wink:
Stay turned for next week!