Good evening.
I've received a few not-very-nice PMs about my 'Paradiso' chapter. The senders expressed that they were angry that Takumi & Ayame didn't use protection, and already made angry assumptions about the trajectory of my story, especially about 'teenage pregnancy'. As a health professional, I'm happy that they at least support safe sex just as much as I do. However, whatever decision I take in my story will the best decision I am capable of making.
If I decided that Ayame doesn't get pregnant, I'll make sure I do a good job writing the storyline for it. On the other hand, if I decided that Ayame does get pregnant, I'll still make sure I do a good job writing the storyline for it too. I hope that sounds fair.
You lovely readers have stuck with me all the way to this chapter and I don't think I've committed any serious faux pas in my story except now, that is, if you count Takumi and Ayame (seemingly) lack of safe sex as a faux pas. All I ask from you is to continue trusting in me that I'll continue to deliver a good quality story with all the strength I have. I'm not the type of person to write things on the fly, I always do my research and plan things out. The last thing I would do is shank my story after so much effort.
I enjoy readers guessing what's going to happen next and I really love constructive feedback, which I've also been receiving :) but I DON'T appreciate people SECOND-GUESSING and accusing me for events that haven't even happened.
This is kind of like an open-letter. If this doesn't apply to you at all, then I apologise you had to read this and waste your time. I seriously needed to get it off my chest. It was unbelievable.
Well, lets get on with the chapter now :)
Chapter 30 - Elite Ten Reshuffle Competition: Ryou vs. Isami part 2
The audience erupted in whispers and Ryou couldn't help give a feral smirk and bare his sharp teeth. He watched the judges faces eagerly, waiting to see that widening of the eyes, and the slight gaping of the mouth that told him they weren't expecting that at all. His bandanna was still wrapped securely around his head. After all, he wasn't done with this dish yet.
"Eight-textures huh? Amazing work you've put yourself through. Well, then I better be expecting eight times the 'wow' factor here dattebayo" chuckled the blonde CEO. He tilted his head from side to side as he inspected the cake at all angles.
"Tell us about these eight layers" asked the pink-haired doctor, folding her arms onto the table top and leaning forward.
"Heh. Basically, I've made the sponge cake as the base, the chocolate mousse as the body, a milk chocolate praline disc, caramel, vanilla and chocolate ganache, chocolate and praline dacquoise, chocolate caramel cream and the dark chocolate disc on top. The chocolate sauce is the last layer" growled Ryou as he propped his hands on his hips.
It was fucking hard to get rid of the animalistic speech patterns when he was in 'berserk mode', but with Andhrímnir mode, he was able to keep in in check with the judges and it came out as more of a husky rumble.
"Alright then, let's try this"
Ryou picked up the small copper saucepan and removed the lid. He gave the chocolate sauce a bit of stir to get it running and made large dollops of pure liquid chocolate ganache onto the centre of each cake. They waited. Soon before their very eyes, the middle of the tempered chocolate disc suddenly caved in, in a mini surround waterfall of oozing and shiny chocolate deep into the heart of the cake. The judges were now even more transfixed on the magical transformation of his decadent dessert.
Ryou tried to suppress the savage glee threatening to burst from his chest as the three judges were already simply submitting shamefully to the presentation of his chocolate cake. If that chocolate cake itself was a black hole, sucking in all their attention to its round, perfect and minimalist style, then the hopelessly melted centre created another powerful black hole that siphoned more of their attention, holding them captive to its simplistic, but luxurious beauty. Ryou knew, the judges couldn't possibly escape from his hold now. He'd got them dead-locked as his prisoners before the battle even began. He could practically see their mouth about to water.
The judges pressed their spoons against the tempered chocolate disc. The pink-haired doctor gasped at the satisfying, sharp crack, and then her spoon glided smoothly through the creamy mousse. Ha. He tempered that chocolate like a boss. As soon as the first spoonful was caked in all the textures and reached their tongues, Ryou had them chain-mailed to his fingers.
The blonde CEO looked like he was about to jerk off. His face started getting pink, his hands started shaking uncontrollably, and his eyes almost rolled to the back of his head. He also had to pause all his movements to get over his sudden burst of euphoria before continuing to gorge himself in the insanely decadent cake, one agonisingly rich spoonful at a time. That pink-haired doctor mewled like a cat in heat after each bite and she was also doing measly attempts of resisting making those delicious noises, much to his sadistic amusement. Even though she was the only female judge on the panel, he felt a sense of great strength and power coming from her as soon as he laid eyes on her. It was great and all, but the sooner she learnt to let go of that prim-and-proper-doctor persona she'd been toting around, the better she could indulge in this once-in-a-fucking-lifetime dessert of his. Meanwhile, that pretty boy, frosty CEO son-of-a-bitch of Igakono senbei had the least visible reaction but it was still enough to tell Ryou that he won him over. It was miniscule, but Ryou's acute sight saw his micro-expressions slip from his steadfast control every now and then and it was even more amusing to watch the indigo-haired CEO try to withstand it. With eyes of a canine, Ryou spotted the way he held his breath and his eyebrows raised up ever so slightly. The Cerberus of Tootsuki clenched and unclenched his fingers, his nails biting into his skin with every clench but all he felt was excitement.
'You can try and hold it in all you fucking like. You're already breaking against the decadence I've created'
Ryou was as ecstatic as Andhrímnir mode allowed him to be. It was a bestial form of ecstasy he got from watching his customers reduced to shameless puddles before him.
The judges did not say a word until they wiped their plates clean from all the chocolate.
"Man I gotta be honest!" began the blonde CEO exuberantly. "Half the excitement of this dessert is the theatre of pouring that eighth texture of chocolate. You know, that ganache on top of the mouse and just watching all that cave in. Brilliant dattebayo!"
"Hn. It was a simplistic trick, but surprisingly still amazing to watch" said the CEO of Igakono senbei in a monotone voice.
"Yeah, I was wondering why you scooped out a part of the middle of the mousse before you placed the chocolate disc on top" said the pink-haired doctor. The two male judges nodded in response.
The beast within Ryou lapped up their compliments, however he himself knew that there would be more to come.
"You were able to nail the mousse, which is the most important bit" started the CEO of Igakono senbei this time. He leaned back again and crossed his arms as if the panel was his own office desk. "The colour was the right shade between the balance of chocolate and cream as it was stiff enough and really held the cake together. Getting that balance right of all the ingredients will actually set the mousse" His eyes bored into Ryou's, unflinching.
The pink-haired doctor nodded before taking her turn to speak "The presentation was really decadent too, in my opinion. I guess, the assumption most people make is that decadence has to be 'over the top' or something like that. But you know, I think the minimalist visual effect of you cake actually enhances the decadence of the flavours and the textures it encompasses. Even the melting centre, the slow way it just oozes and dips into the centre made my skin crawl!" she clapped her hands together.
Ryou watched the way her verdant green eyes lit up and her petal-pink lips curved into a gentle smile. He smirked.
"The chocolate component and the cream component was quite smooth and the palate was good. I can taste all the layers in there" said the CEO of Igakono senbei who hadn't moved an inch from his rigid position. Ryou wasn't at all intimated by the oppressive and intimidating air he was putting out. It wasn't really in his nature to be intimidated by anything or anyone anyway.
"Oi, Sasuke-teme… Is that all you're gonna say? Don't hold out on the guy who busted his balls to cram eight different things into this tiny cake, dattebayo!"
The blonde judge banged his fist onto the table and glared at the CEO next to him, who decided to close his eyes, as if none of his words reached him and he couldn't give a fuck. The icy attitude he was now giving made the vibrant and sunny CEO shake with annoyance and he looked he wanted to strangle him with his own tie. So much for being fucking professionals.
"Get a hold of yourself Naruto! If that's all Sasuke-kun wants to contribute, then that's it" the female doctor grabbed hold of the blonde judge's closest ear and yanked him harshly until he yelped. "Anyway, I for one thought the tempering of the chocolate's got that beautiful crisp and crunch. It tastes spectacular and the sauce was delicious. I can taste the fizzy crackle of the praline, the mouse is beautifully smooth, the cream is beautifully smooth too. Not a single thing was curdled, so I was seriously impressed. Also, there's this wonderful crack in the chocolate like we've mentioned before that I can't get enough of, and the chew of the dacquoise was fantastic. Forget heaven, I think I'm going to hell with this cake because the flavours are absolutely sinful!" laughed the pink-haired doctor.
Ryou grunted. That was also the effect he was going for. The sinfulness was the nature of the decadence he created.
"I could pick up on the sponge at the bottom" commented the CEO of Igakono senbei. "And there is a real sense of textures-"
"Oh now he speaks…"
"You are such a child Naruto!" yelled the rosette-haired doctor and smacked him over the head, hard enough for even Ryou to be impressed. "Please continue, Sasuke-kun"
He almost rolled his eyes.
"Hn. It's not so sweet, so I was able to enjoy each morsel without the richness being overwhelming. I agree with Sakura, I liked the praline crunch and the sensations it brought to the palate and if you interrupt me again, dobe, I will key your car" his voice encased in glacier at the very end and he dangerously shifted his eyes to his right in the direction of the blonde judge, but he didn't move a muscle in his neck.
His threat lingered in the air and it was distinctly palpable. Ryou's inner berserk beast chortled and revelled in the tense and daunting atmosphere that the CEO of Igakono senbei's calibre and breeding could pull off. However, Ryou himself felt differently. He was starting to get seriously pissed that these judges were picking fights with each other when they were supposed to be judging his dessert. They had one fucking job to do and they still ended up being petty. However, he didn't say anything to get them to move the fuck on. He came fucking close though but instead let it play out and endure the tedious bickering. He didn't want to risk embarrassing Mi'lady Alice otherwise he would get an earful when all this was over.
"Alright boys, let's give our scores before I lose any more of my patience. If you two bicker again for the next taste-testing, you'll regret it!" said the pink-haired doctor.
"Yes, Sakura-chan…"
"Hn"
All three judges bowed their heads as the typed their score into the number pad below the table.
Eighteen from CEO of Igakono Senbei, Uchiha Sasuke
Eighteen from CEO of TopRamen, Uzumaki Naruto
Eighteen from Tenure professor of Toudai, Dr Haruno Sakura.
The audience whooped and cheered. Ryou grasped the knot of his bandanna and yanked it from his head. The transformation was instantaneous. He went from a chained and tamed raging beast, blowing smoke from his flaring nostrils and gnashing his teeth in silence, and into the soulless deadpanned expression he was comfortable to tote around. He felt so much lighter.
Gee… he also felt tired all of a sudden… ah. Perhaps he needed more training to master his Andhrímnir mode. Hmm... It would be stressful, but he was going to have to do it eventually. He peered up at the screen with his name and his scores like an intoxicated moth, eying a lantern. If he was a complete dolt, he would've rubbed his eyes and wondered if he was dreaming, but he wasn't, so he didn't. He huffed and draped his flaming bandana around his neck. They were all pretty high scores... but it wasn't as high as he thought it would be.
'How irritating…'
"We've raised our benchmark for judging in this competition now. We had no idea what standards you students will be at, but after the judging yesterday, we're pretty confident to say we're expecting dishes that are on par with the heavy weights of the gourmet cooking world" said the pink-haired doctor.
The other judges nodded in agreement.
Ryou nodded back.
"Next up is Isami Aldini! Please present your dish!"
Ryou inwardly groaned at the banshee of a voice from that stupid emcee. Would it kill Tootsuki to change it up a little and get someone different to hold the microphone? Preferably someone who didn't sound like a desperate host of a children's show? Somebody needed to club her over the head. She annoyed him to no end. That Urara chick or something like that. He tended to forget stuff that weren't important.
Ryou turned around, curious to see what the younger Aldini had plated up to go against his own magnificent dessert.
The sight of it stopped his heart.
"Oh my god! That looks like a piece of art work!"
"Can you really eat that?! It looks like it should be behind glass in a gallery"
"Well, that's a Takumi-sama's brother for you!"
The cheering of the audience dropped into gasps and whispers, but it still didn't escape Ryou's acute hearing.
Aldini balanced all three of his dishes in his arms and gently placed them before each of the judges.
Ryou stared at it curiously. It indeed looked like an artistic masterpiece with a visual theme, he'd give him that. In the foreground and the centre piece of the dish was some sort of dessert, shaped as an old fashioned, vintage atomiser perfume bottle with a pump. It was coned shape and possessed the colour of the deepest and lushest of velvet red. The nozzles, the tube and the pump was no doubt, had to be precisely shaped by some sort of molding chocolate which had been evenly coated in gold dust. Behind it were tall, beautiful sugary glass-like shards of a sensuous green and firey gold, flanking the perfume bottle shaped dessert, like a burning aura. Also a jagged piece of tempered chocolate, stood at attention with zebra like patterns behind it, giving another visual depth to this artwork the Italienesk had crafted. A nest of small violet flowers was fluttered delicately and expertly, around the base of the strikingly red velvet dessert perfume bottle and if Ryou looked closely, he saw small sparkling red sugar crystals lining the bottom of the perfume bottle. Practicing this dish must have been a patisserie nightmare.
The judges were in awe. The blonde one stood up and rotated the plate a bit to get his own panoramic view of his dessert. Their eyes grazed over each and every element and Ryou couldn't resist doing the same.
"Oh goodness… tell us about this dish you've got here, Isami-kun" sighed the pink-haired doctor.
"I call my dish essenza della donna. Which means 'Essence of Woman'" said the smiling Aldini. "I dedicate this dessert to all the beautiful women who have been an important part of my life and who have helped shaped me into the man I am today. My mamma, my nonna and my girlfriend. I tried to make the decadent presentation as beautiful as them"
Ah. He could hear the Tootsuki female population's ovaries exploding.
Ryou got it now. The whole visual was even more stunning now that he understood it's meaning. The striking glass shards shaped like flames and molten droplets frozen in spurts was almost incandescent under the stadium lights, and the sensuous, patterned tempered chocolate represented to Ryou the strong, fiery and blazing passion that only women were capable of commanding. That same dangerous passion that could undo men and slice them into ribbons in a heartbeat. The height of the decoration and the prominence of the beautiful perfume bottle exuded such feminine power. The flowers added that touch of vivid, delicate beauty, elegance and grace, just like a woman, which complimented the messages Aldini engraved into his presentation.
"I'm a romantic guy myself- Don't roll your eyes at me, Sasuke-teme. Do you know what I worship more than anything in the world? My wife and my mother. So I definitely know how you feel and I'm pleased to hear you say that. I can certainly see you've put your heart and soul for these women on your plate, dattebayo. I look at this plate and I can think 'Hot damn!' Your dish just screams beauty, femininity, power, strength and passion and I love it" said the blonde CEO who grinned widely, looking pleased as punch.
"Well, I am completely blown away! I think your presentation have done justice to all those qualities in women with the exquisite perfume bottle and the glass shards is so captivating. Your tribute to these wonderful women in your life brings me just joy and pride. If all the men in the world thought at least half of what you think of your mother, grandmother and girlfriend, then us women would live certainly very pleasing and comfortable lives. Looks like my husband needs to step up his game because, you've certainly stole my heart with this gorgeous dessert!" said the pink haired doctor and she chuckled brightly.
The indigo-haired CEO cleared his throat. "A young man your age whose respect for family and women is something that should be commended. I too, wouldn't be the man I am today without my mother and her wisdom. The Uchiha family on the front is a patriarchal family, however behind every great family head is an equally great woman supporting him all the way, such as my mother, Uchiha Mikoto. Behind the scenes, the running of my family is greatly matriarchal. The Uchiha family would've been decimated long ago without the strong women supporting the foundations of the family. Your presentation is an interesting representation of raw feminine power to say the least" said the CEO of Igakono senbei.
"Grazie, signore, singora" Aldini bowed at the waist.
Ryou never talked about his own family and he barely remembered his own mor, or 'mum', to begin with. He found himself struggling to identify with the messages and feelings Aldini had put in his decadent dessert, but he agreed that it was a pretty sexy looking dish. The Aldini's eyes practically sparkled as he was washed over with praise after praise for his presentation. Well… the proof was in the taste, if the judges could hurry it up along.
"Ah sorry, we waffled on a bit, but please continue!" the CEO of TopRamen laughed and rubbed the back of his hands bashfully.
"Nessun problema!" said Aldini. "So basically essenza della donna consists of a frozen praline parfait shaped as a vintage perfume bottle. Inside the frozen parfait are crystalised violets and freeze-dried rhubarb. I've sprayed the outside of the parfait with red cocoa-butter. The nozzle, tube and pump is made from melted chocolate mixed with syrup. The pump here is a chocolate truffle shell with rhubarb velvet inside. I rolled them all into cocoa powder and gold dust" said Aldini as he gestured to his elements.
"I'll say it again, the glass shards look absolutely spectacular! How did you make it? Is it with sugar?" asked the pink-haired doctor.
"Sort of, signora. It's melted isomalt which is a sugar substitute" said the Aldini.
"Welp! Let's give this a try everyone. But first, let's check the tempering of the chocolate" said the blonde CEO excitedly.
Each of the judges picked up the shard of tempered chocolate and snapped it, and popped a part of it into their mouths. Ryou's ears twitched at the sound of the delicious crack. Aldini had also tempered his chocolate to perfection. Next they cut into the velvet rhubarb chocolate pump and watched as the viscous and smooth centre oozed out. It looked delicious and they each had a taste. Next, their spoons cut into the parfait and Ryou saw bits of crystalised violets and the cubes of freeze-dried rhubarb peeking through the lovely beige parfait
They instantly jolted and their expressions froze in surprise
"Oh my god!… This taste!" began blonde CEO. "I can't believe it… did you add-"
"-SALT!?"
Takumi jerked at the sudden yells to his face. Yukihira, Tadokoro-san, Arato-san, the Nakiri cousins, Mimasaka and Hayama crowded around him. They had all been watching very closely to the judging of Kurokiba's decadent eight-textured chocolate cake and were listening to the judges' critiques captured by the microphones they had on their lapels. Even the view from up there, his cake looked absolutely magnificent with the way, the different types of whipped up chocolate just oozed and melted when the judges sliced their spoons through it. However, Isami had definitely stole the show with his presentation. It took him twenty-four hours to come up with this dish and he'd been working all morning and afternoon yesterday. He even beckoned Ayame to stay a bit later after their dinner so that he could re-create his dessert one last time for her to try. The flavours were utterly amazing and so unique! Isami had really leveled up and grown so much to reach this height of advancement since being a first year student. He even gave Takumi a copy of the recipe he wrote up for it to peruse. It was a four pages long. Takumi was shocked that he would go so far as to incorporate a theme into it to showcase another level of decadence and Takumi couldn't be prouder. Italian's were born romantic at heart and women to them were as important as breathing itself, and mamma made sure they grew up respecting the fairer sex. It was Isami's time to step out of the shadow and into the light.
"Aldini-kun, that is freaking genius! Salt! Who would've thought~" Nakiri Alice squealled and clapped her hands together. "He's using salt to bring a unique depth of decadence and he's mixed it in to really enhance the sweetness of the parfait"
"That's correct. Measurement and balance of ingredients has to be key in this dish. You know, with everything going on, on the plate the salt level must be absolutely perfect to get that effect, like salty peanut butter. Five grams over, or five grams less, the mixture would be absolutely ruined" said Nakiri Erina sagely.
"It's pretty courageous for him to add that saltiness to the parfait with desserts being strictly sweet and all" contributed Hayama. He returned to standing a bit off the side. He'd been silent for the majority of today's battle, but his voice carried out loud and clear. "Most chefs hold back on the salt which is also not favourable. If you use too little, it loses some of the brightness. I think for most chefs the issue is having the courage to have enough salt in there to make the parfait really pop."
"That's right… the sugar and salt would cancel each other out, so there needs to be a balance of saltiness and sweetness, favouring the salty side, in there to have that really enhanced effect" said Arato-san.
"I'm really curious about the glass shards he's made. How did he do that?" asked Yukihira.
"It's made from Isomalt. He melted them down and spreaded it over a silicon mat that's had vodka coated on it to help with the reaction and shaping. It crystallises much better than normal sugars" replied Takumi.
The growing respect his peers were holding for Isami was mounting as they nodded and gasped in wonder at the variety of techniques he used. Takumi's chest swelled up with pride. It was hard for others to see how great his younger Fratello truly was. Most people skimmed over his achievements and didn't really bother to see the great potential he had in him as a chef. This chance was absolutely transforming for Isami. Everyone would get to see his true capabilities as a chef and no doubt will never look at his dear Fratello the same way again.
"Shhh! Shut up everyone! The judges are about to critique!" yelled Nakiri Alice.
"This has got to be the most technically difficult dish I've ever tasted" said Doctor Haruno. Isami glowed at her words. "I'm really impressed with the tempering of the chocolate, it's got that shine and great snap so well done. The saltiness was the dark horse and was absolutely perfect! In the parfait, I really get the praline base, it's really smooth and the parfait itself is made really well".
"Me too Sakura-chan. I'm getting that real sense of textures in the parfait. There's the lovely crunchiness of the pure violets which you've crystalised into sugar, and the lovely chewiness of the rhubarb chunks was really good, I mean it's just wow. You've nailed it dattebayo!" said Uzumaki-san.
"If I didn't have anything sweet to have with the actual parfait, for me it would have been over-salted. But it sets off the praline really well, it sets off the chocolate really well too and I think it shines through" said Uchiha-san who gazed at Isami cooly.
The other judges nodded in agreement.
"Grazie" Isami bowed again.
He just couldn't believe it. All of a sudden, all that experimentation of different and advanced techniques, and the extra studying about different food textures and flavour combinations were beginning to really pay off. Isami's palate wasn't the same as Fratello and it was different. He was different. Isami had come to realise that he would never be the same as his brother, the way pappa had secretly hoped, and that was okay because Isami had something unique and fresh to offer the world and he would still be able to stand side-by-side with Takumi and together they would continue to make a formidable team. If by the willingness of God, that he did not allow him to surpass his dear Fratello, then that was God's choice and it was Isami's job to make sure he made the best with what he had and continue to strive to better himself, for himself, with nobody as a better judge than himself.
'It's not about Fratello anymore. It's about ME'
"I'm tasting honey in here as well, but it's not the same as the normal honey. It's got this light and delicate taste which has a hint of caramel" continued Uchiha-san.
"Si signore. It's Ligurian honey which I've imported from Australia. It's an organic honey. The Ligurian bees of Kangaroo Island gets its nectar from the cup gumtree blossoms which give that unique flavour" said Isami, he held up his jar of Australian honey and showed it to the judges.
"Well, it's absolutely gorgeous Isami-kun, well done" praised Doctor Haruno.
"Yeah, and that rhubarb velvet inside the chocolate truffle pump added a coolness and a freshness to the dessert too, which tied everything nicely" added Uzumaki-san. "Let's give out our scores before we fall into a food coma, dattebayo. Remember we are judging which is the best decadent dessert"
Isami held his breath as the judges bowed their heads and tapped onto the numeric keyboard under the panel. He stared up at the blank board high above him, waiting with bated breath for the numbers to appear.
Seventeen from CEO of Igakono Senbei, Uchiha Sasuke
Seventeen from CEO of TopRamen, Uzumaki Naruto
Nineteen from Tenure professor of Toudai, Dr Haruno Sakura.
Isami released his tight breath and dropped his hands to his knees to stop himself crumbling to the floor.
"The Winner of the second match of Round One is Kurokiba Ryou!"
Isami straightened himself up and threw his heads back, staring at the roof and all the stadium lights which blurred into random splotches of brightness through his tears. The crowd burst into applause and cheering with Kurokiba's names dancing on their lips. He felt the tears slipping through and they cascaded down his temples. His shoulder wanted to shake with all his pent up emotions and he worked even harder than making the dessert to hold down the choking sobs which threatened to rupture the dam within him. He'd lost by a hair's breadth. By one point.
He forced a smiled.
He had to keep smiling for his own sake.
'It all just disappears doesn't it? Everything I've worked for, gone in a moment like breath on a mirror. And just like that… I'm out of the competition… again'
"Oi"
Isami automatically turned away from the voice to wipe his tears and the snot that was coming out from his nose. The last thing he wanted was for his opponent to see was him crying his eyes out for losing. His mamma always told him there was no shame in crying, but god damn it, he couldn't control himself this time! He turned around to see Kurokiba standing and staring in front of him, not bothered by his swollen red eyes. He was back to being his normal, placid self and his bandana was back to being tied around his wrist. His hands were deep in his pockets and his shoulders were slouched.
But there was something different about the way he was looking at him and Isami could've sworn there was something akin to respect or even acknowledgement in those deep dark eyes.
'I could be wrong though…'
"Your recipe… I want it…" Kurokiba drawled.
"Huh… umm… S-sure, alright then…?" Isami replied dumbly. What the on Earth was that?
Kurokiba gave him a solitary nod before dragging his feet away, picking up his knife case with his knives already packed up and slung it over his shoulder the same way he did when he came on.
"Wait! I want a copy of your cake recipe too!" Isami yelled back without thinking.
"Ousu" Kurokiba replied with looking at him and stepped down from the kitchen stadium stage.
"Fantastisk. I knew it! I knew it~!" sang Alice as she skipped down the stairs of the viewing box to meet Ryou-kun at the entrance of the tunnel under the audience seats. That was most certainly an interesting battle yet! She was surprised that Aldini-kun got that low of a score, but hey, at the end of the day the judges were looking for decadence and what was more important than a decadent presentation? A decadent flavour which Ryou-kun obviously knocked out of the ball park with his eight-textured chocolate cake. While Aldini-kun's decadence was mostly in the presentation and also the saltiness of his parfait, Ryou's decadence was in the eight chocolate flavours. Like anything else right with the world, chocolate always won. Poor Isami Aldini though, he did amazing work on his dessert and frankly hearing his explanation of the ideas behind his dessert made her gush. He was such a romantic guy. Well, it looked like he was going to go back to being his brors shadow.
Isshiki-senpai had shown up in the nick of time for the scoring along with alumnus Kobayashi Rindou. He thought it was more convenient to just reveal the next match which was her's and Kobayashi-senpai's and the theme on the spot to save the trouble of going back to his office. Thank god for that!
'Haha! So my theme for tomorrow is Nature. What an interesting theme!'
Erina had disappeared somewhere during the middle of judging Aldini-kun's dessert, so she had better find her later to tell her the good news that so far her aide had reigned supreme in the competition and that she was up next.
Just as the silver-haired Nakiri made it into the dim tunnel, she could already see the light at the end of it. There were two shadows at the very end at the entrance and she had to squint a bit to see who it was. One was tall and the other was shorter.
"Ah, who's that I wonder" she sped up her pace and as soon as she made it out of the shadows and into the light to see who they were, she recognized one was Erina.
And then she stopped dead in her tracks.
"Byakko?!"
He turned his head at his name. He was standing right there! He leaned against the wall in all his glory. He was dressed rather sloppily in his grey school uniform with his blazer undone revealing a black T-shirt, something he always did after a soccer match. Damn her brain from remembering such an insignificant detail! His lilac-coloured hair was tied back into a half ponytail this time and his fringe was swept back, revealing the entirety of his chiseled face. His beautiful hazel eyes were as sharp as ever, as he looked down at her from his height. He carried with him his sports bag and his school bag. Even in her presence, he was nonchalant.
Alice felt a pang through her chest.
"Erina… What is he doing here?" Alice said through gritted teeth. Her fists balled by her side and she had to discipline herself from throttling her superbly dense cousin.
"I-I gave him an all access pass the last time he was here—"
"AND WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" Alice bursted out. Erina flinched and Byakko remaining completely still as a statue which irked her even more. "You know about my situation—"
"And he doesn't! Which is why you need to tell him"
"Who are you to decide that?" she sighed irritably. She puffed out her cheeks and looked away.
"Because clearly you are still heartbroken and maybe the two of you will have another cha—"
"Hold on a god damn minute! You are one to talk Erina as if you're an expert in these sorts of things. Your delusional ideas of sweet romance are just fantasies coming out of unrealistic shojou manga anyway, and Byakko and I aren't part of that. Not everything ends happily and not everything can be fixed so don't pretend you understand"
"H-Hey! I'm not as d-dense as you make m-me out to be! I've learnt s-some things!" Erina spluttered as her face turned beetroot red.
"Sure you did, Hishoko must have upgraded you on the deeper stuff. Congratulations. When the hell did you start caring for me anyway Erina?" Alice tried to turn the tables onto her, anything to escape this building sense of shame and indignation galloping wildly through her.
"W-Well, grandfather said—"
"Ah. It's always somebody telling you how you should feel and what to feel. You don't have empathy for me Erina, so don't try to force yourself to because grandfather said so"
"That's not true! I do care for you!"
Both girls went red in the face and glared at each other. Alice could feel the electrifying tension zap all over the place. Alice was almost blown away by her cousin's words, but this wasn't the time to coo and tease Erina's sudden burst of familial emotion and certianly not the time to ask if she ate one of Yukihira's godforsaken creations to addle her brain into oblivion. The more important issue was still glaring them in the face and it came in the form of her blasted ex-boyfriend, still lounging against the wall.
"Whose stupid idea is this anyway?! Yours!?" Alice suddenly rounded on Byakko, targeting all her anger and fury to him
"It was mine, Mi'lady"
Alice dreaded to hear Kurokiba's voice at that moment. If she was hearing his voice right now… that meant he was all part of this ludicrous and twisted set up. Why couldn't people just butt out of her business! She turned around and saw him stopping short of a metre away from them as his combat boots finished clonking down the kitchen stage stairs. He carried his knife case over his shoulders like he always did and he looked at her in the eyes with the same blank stare. Except it wasn't the same blank stares, they carried a lot more weight and seriousness in them.
"And what, pray tell, could possibly have inspired you to do something to betray me like this, Ryou-kun" she whispered harshly at him and shoved him in the chest. Ryou-kun didn't budge and just took it like he usually did.
He said nothing.
"Kurokiba-kun and I noticed negative changes in you last year, Alice. It was concerning. Ever since you broke up with Kuchiyose-san, you've been forcing yourself to be happy and cheerful and you've even been trying so hard to forget your relationship ever existed. You should've tried to confide in Kurokiba-kun they way I did with Hisako, instead of bottling it all in because it eats away at you. Trust me, I've been there, but with different circumstances. You've buried yourself in shokugekis, you started meddling in other people's personal affairs which you never did before. You don't think we can see you chip away on the inside, but we do. You've been hurting for a whole year and you didn't let Kurokiba-kun or I help you. On top of that, Kurokiba-kun has observed that lately you've been sloppy and distracted when practicing for your matches. To be honest, your cooking has been declining" said Erina, this time it was biting, almost in criticism.
"RYOU-KUN!" Alice yelled at her aide and stamped her foot. Then she went back to glowering at Erina.
"It's because you never told Kuchiyose-san the truth" concluded her goldern-haired cousin.
"I have no idea what you're talking about" she snapped quickly. She heard Byakko shift in his position as he pushed himself off the wall.
"You lost to Yukihira in the quarter-finals of the Autumn elections last year, Mi'lady. It's something that you never would've allowed" said Ryou-kun.
Great! Now her aide was also ganging up on her. She ought to kick him back to Danmark and that dank seaport pub for giving her cheek. Alice felt a massive tantrum brewing on the inside. She couldn't believe her family and her aide was doing this to her right here and right now, and he just had to be here too! Angry tears started stinging her eyes and she puffed up her cheeks like she always did when she felt frustrated. Yukihira was a freak of nature so they couldn't use him as an excuse. Besides, it was a one-time thing and she didn't lose to anyone else after that, other than Ryou-kun.
"That's different! Yukihira's conception of bentou as a theme was actually pretty good when I look back on it. So he beat him fair and—"
"No. It's because you remembered bentou was my favourite food, wasn't it"
Alice sucked in her breath at the thick huskiness of Byakko's voice. It sent shivers up her spine. It wasn't even a question. It was simply a statement. He moved to stand nearer to her, his hulking frame daunting her own. She refused to look him in the face now, because every time she did in the past, she came undone.
Erina and Ryou-kun continued to gaze at her with pity when she realized that they were agreeing to what Byakko said. They were understanding what he was hinting now. Anger continued to well up inside her, looking for a way to vent out in the most epic of proportions. The anger wasn't directed at her cousin, or her aide, or her ex-boyfriend anymore.
She was angry at herself.
She was angry at the truth.
What they said was irrevocably true.
"I… I…"
"Shh"
Byakko placed his thumb over her lips to stop them quivering. She didn't even notice they were quivering.
Bentou. It was the theme that had cost her, her match with Yukihira last year. Byakko used to eat a lot of bentou when he was with her. He was agreeable with anything, and with anything agreeable to him, he ate in large quantities. However, whenever bentou was on the menu at whatever shop or café they visited up in Tokyo CBD or the local places, he had always picked the biggest one. That was when Alice had realized Byakko's favourite food was bentou. Every time they went out for a picnic or when he was participating in a soccer game, she had always designed a bentou that was the most fabulous of her creations, just for him to enjoy for lunch. She had worked hard all the time to create the most delicious and nutritious bentou she could for Byakko's to eat and tried to make it new and exciting each and every time. As a soccer player, he had to eat a balanced meal to suit his horrendous soccer-training regime. She had placed a bit of herself into it each time and he would always find it. Then he'd give her that handsome sly look when he figured out the exciting and fun part of it. She had always loved the way he gave her one of his rare smiles after he finished gobbling up everything in the bentou box. It had made her heart melt because his smiles were so rare. And when he had told her it was delicious, Alice felt her heart was stolen every single time.
So when the theme 'bentou' rolled off of Isshiki-senpai's lips last year for her quarter final match, something in her crumbled away into the pits of darkness just when her heart was supposed to be mending.
And then Yukihira asked her in the middle of the match, 'Don't you know what's supposed to go inside a bentou?'
Of course she did! She placed it inside every time she made her bentou for Byakko!
When grandfather explained to her that she focused too much on the technical aspects of a bentou dish while Yukihira focused more on the emotional aspects of it, she already understood that from the very beginning! She knew that the whole time!
... she knew it the whole time...
It was because that day, she couldn't bring herself to unlock those feelings of making Byakko his bentou again.
She just simply couldn't bear to relive the pain of making just one god damn bentou.
Thus, her dish no longer reflected her warmth and love for the person she was making it for. Instead, it reflected her cold and icy heart, devoid of all feelings and emotions.
And so she had lost.
She had lost because of the person she'd become.
Alice didn't realise hot tears were pouring from her eyes, torrenting down her flushed cheeks until Byakko pulled her forward and pressed her to his chest. He wrapped her in his strong arms like a security blanket. She unleashed an anguished sob as she grabbed onto his uniform and she wept shamelessly onto his undershirt. Damn it! She wasn't supposed to end up like this! His smell was too nostalgic, that smell of grass from the soccer fields, his deodorant and his natural scent smothered her in too many memories. She held onto him with all her strength. She missed his warmth, she missed his comforting touches. His muscles were as hard as she remembered, but there was still a softness to them that she'd always enjoyed.
She missed him.
Alice felt him pull her away slightly. He placed his slender finger beneath her chin and tilted her head up. She gazed up at him through her tears and what she saw made her want to cry again.
Love.
"Did you think I'd care for you so little, that everything you've done would change the way I feel about you?"
"I-I'm so s-sorry…" she hiccupped.
He didn't say anything else. Byakko wasn't stupid. He could always read her like a book.
He bowed his head and placed a gentle kiss onto her forehead.
For the first time in her life, she felt everything was going to be alright.
Isami brought the party to this chapter and gave it his best. But my poor baby... Don't worry, he and Ayame can hangout in the 'losing makes you stronger clubhouse'. Congrats Ryou and congrats to your new personality mode. I hope you guys have enjoyed both of their decadent desserts!
Oh Alice... My heart bleeds for you. I don't think Erina gets enough respect as a character in the manga. She's stereotyped the hot-tempered tsundere princess. I think having a 'sad past' was about as complex a character as she is going to get... I had thought it would be nice that she could practice being empathetic in my story just to tone down the tsundere a tad.
We've found out that Alice's and Rindou's theme is Nature. I wonder what those two will make of this?
Let me know what you think and I'll see you soon!
Signing-off
-TripWire-dono
