Chapter 33 - Elite Ten Reshuffle Competition: Alice vs. Rindou part 2


"Oh my gosh! I can't believe I missed the whole thing. How was it? Am I in time for the judging at least? How is Alice-san? What did she make?"

Ayame managed to blurt everything out at the speed of lighting, hungry for the latest update on the match. She fought to make the dizziness go away and fill her lungs to the brim with much-needed oxygen. Her chest heaved up and down, feeling ragged and ripped, but she pushed through the pain to suck in her breaths until she was sure there were significantly less rainbow swirls clouding her vision. She practically took the stairs two steps at a time, which was more exercise she got in an average year. Ayame braced her sweaty palm on her shaking knees.

"Oh you made it! Here Ayame, have some water"

Takumi-kun was right be her side before she knew it. He took her book-bag off of her and rubbed her aching shoulders, making her feel a lot better. He slipped a bottle of water between her fingers helping her to take a steady grip on the slippery plastic. She so wished that the Tootsuki Culinary Academy wasn't plastered on the side of the mountain! Taking the bus on the cusp of peak hour was still torturous. At least the bus in Minamikawase wasn't as packed as the bus at Karakura Honchou.

"How did your exam go today?" he asked politely.

"Nailed it. So what's happening now?"

Something had changed in Takumi-kun and herself ever since their first night together. It was like a thin barrier she never knew was there was finally lifted and they could explore each other a whole lot more. She felt like a new person and it was so liberating! Their spiritual and emotional intimacy now met an all-time high and she felt so much closer to him than she was before. She wondered if he felt the same thing. She blushed as rushes of joy and giddiness filled her body as he enveloped her shoulders in a tight hug. Whenever she looked at him, there was an unadulterated love in his eyes and she was sure her love for him was increasing by the day. Those heated touches, the feather-light caresses, big hugs, and his head-spinning kisses were only one facet to their progressing relationship that she very much revelled in. But it also seemed to enhance their emotional bond as lovers somehow. Ayame didn't fully understand it, but she loved it anyway.

It still threatened to melt her into a pile of steaming goo.

She expected to feel horrible, anxious and groggy after she had woken up in his arms the next morning, but she felt none of that. Instead, it was tranquillity, safety and all around pure happiness. As long as she was with Takumi-kun, she'd always be happy. They resumed their day such as showering, brushing teeth (with the spare toothbrush he kept), cooking breakfast, and washing dishes as if it were any other day and it felt so natural. Even Isami-kun didn't appear to be bothered by anything. Or maybe he was too focused on making the perfect espresso to worry about a dazed girl roaming around the apartment wearing his brother's pyjama top and boxers. Perhaps all these feelings were attributed to her and her boyfriend still running on endorphins and oxytocin from that tumble into bed, and that the reality of their actions never had a chance to dawn on them.

Hmm… Nope she did not regret her decision to finally show Takumi-kun all her love for him. Then there was that awkward phone conversation she had with him where he freaked out at the prospect of her being pregnant. Takumi-kun wouldn't be Takumi-kun without throwing a huge drama over something. She felt inexplicably warm at his preparedness to sacrifice his life-long dream to stay with her and their hypothetical baby, but she also felt a sharp pang of guilt for hypothetically putting him into a position where he had to choose between her and his dream…

Then he mentioned something about Otou-san... hmmm, that would be a very delicate operation requiring full bomb disposal gear and a remote controlled drone. But she could handle it... she hoped. Luckily Otou-san was back to spending the night at the precinct so she didn't run into him when she got home.

Since it was all so hypothetical, there was no use worrying about things had had been spoken in the heat of the moment.

Her body moved automatically and she chugged the refreshing liquid without a moment's hesitation, until the bottle was half empty. Once sated, she sighed and looked with into those familiar blue eyes with deep appreciation before trying to return the bottle, but he pushed it back, signalling that she should keep it to drink the rest if she was feeling parched again.

"Thanks… urgh, I hate running upstairs…" she chuckled, a bit embarrassed that Takumi-kun's friends and brother had to see her in such a dishevelled state.

"Glad you made it though. Where's Namikaze-san?" asked Yukihira-san. He smiled at her brightly, always happy to see her.

"Detention. Again"

Yukihira-san guffawed. She spotted Kuchiyose-kun who was standing stock-still at the massive window and he had yet to turn around to acknowledge her presence. She smiled as he didn't need to. His mind was in other places. He had disappeared this morning after first period and it didn't take her long to figure out that he actually headed off to Tootsuki to watch Alice-san compete. Why else would he disappear for the day, including skipping his beloved soccer practice? So Ayame thought she'd do him a favour and tell his soccer team that he was feeling unwell to practice and collect his homework for him. Luckily for her, she had a free period after third period, so that meant she was allowed to leave school early and so made a mad dash so she could spend more time with Takumi-kun… and join in to spectate another brilliant, fun and heart-pumping cooking match of course! She finally had the sense to straighten her uniform, so the dreaded rumples could disappear and eagerly looked at the large television screen hanging from the stadium ceiling.

The picture on the screen made her jaw drop.

"Oh… I-It's so beautiful..!" she gasped.

"Si" Takumi-kun chuckled from behind her.

He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a soft peck on the cheeks as he craned his neck over her shoulder. Ayame absentmindedly trailed her finger tips over his forearms, leaning back against his warm chest. His ticklish exhales against her ears sent her hair on end and a faint blush peppering across her face. Small touches never failed to excite her, especially now that their sexuality had been completely awakened. She continued to gape at one of the four beautifully spectacular dessert on Alice-san's plates.

The first thing she thought of was Nature, true to the theme Takumi-kun had told her about. The whole plate was a symphonic array of fresh green. The artistic shades of nature reminded her of the first seconds of spring, emerging and defrosting from the icy prisons of winter. Coming out of hibernation, craving for the warm glow of the sun to stoke it to life. A smooth glistening sphere dotted by fine, green powder of pastel green was the centrepiece of the obviously dessert dish. She wondered what was inside it! Was it a type of ice-cream? A semi-freddo? She salivated just thinking about it! It sat majestically on a strewn pile of verdant-green soil which stretched around as if thrown naturally, rather than precisely sprinkled. Beside the perfectly round ball of pastel green was a fluffy pillow of sponge cake which took on a deep earthy green colour. It was filled with holes and hollow pockets, almost like swiss cheese or even like the little bubbles found in the aquarium tanks. Just from looking at it alone, she imagined the soft spongy texture between her fingers and she imagined feeling it tear away with zero resistance. On the other side was an apple- green coloured sorbet shaped like a football. It looked really cute! And Ayame couldn't wait to hear what the judges would say. On the other side of the sorbet were these white flakes. Like snowflakes! It really was Nature emerging from the hibernation of winter. It definitely resembled the last vestiges of snow. Her tongue already felt like somebody popped a breath mint on to it and she could already taste the melting winter glazing over her mouth. The garnish she could tell was a paper-thin, delicate frond of the deepest emerald green, it lay stiff and across the side of the centre-piece sphere, its wire-like leaf curving off organically like veins. There were also beige dots of something creamy looking. When she squinted closer, something shining and bright twinkled from the hidden corners of the large glossy ball and the small piping's of cream.

"Aya… Takumi-kun, what is that?"

"Hmm?"

Ayame pointed directly at something crystal gem nestled within the dessert, but realised that the television screen was too far for Takumi-kun to pinpoint exactly what she was looking at and she probably was pointing at the whole thing overall.

"The purple flower trapped inside a crystal"

"Oh, that's called 'apple blossom pearl'" he said.

"What?"

"Basically, what Alice-san has done was mix gelatine with apple juice and orange blossom water. Let it set, diced it and put it into a cling wrap mold with a basil flower stuck in the centre"

"… So you can eat it, right?"

"Of course! Every element on the dish is to be eaten"

"Ayaaa… Takumi-kun I want to eat pretty crystal flowers so bad" Ayame spun around and flung her arms around his neck and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, groaning against his uniform. It was too much to bear! Beautiful dessert that she could look but couldn't touch. Her boyfriend stiffened and gagged from the surprising hug attack, but he didn't push her away. The dish was so visually stimulating, that her brain was already going into melt down from having the blessed honour of laying her eyes on it, but not taste it! Takumi-kun awkwardly patted her shoulder but Ayame didn't care and tightened her arms. She guessed inhaling his natural cedar scent would suffice for now.

"A-Ayame, the j-judging is about to start!"

Takumi-kun's adorable broken voice bubbled with embarrassment as he gently pried her arms from its hold around his neck and turned her around so that she could continue watching the tournament. Ayame sighed and relented, but Takumi-kun's hands still hadn't relinquished touching her at all. She was glad. He was still nervous about PDA from time to time it seemed. She'd have to fix that.

"So Nakiri-san! Tell us about your take on 'Nature'?" said the blonde haired judge through his microphone.

The tiny figure of Alice-san walked up to the podium in front of the judging panel and confidently took the microphone from the emcee, rather than allowing her to hold it for her to speak into. Ayame watched as her beautiful red eyes lit up like embers and her beautiful full lips spread into a smile.

"I grew up in Danmark, so 'Nature' is actually a significant part of our lifestyle, culture and history. It's something I feel connected to and strongly about. Even though Danmark has a lot of flat land, almost no mountains and not many rivers compared to our neighbouring countries Norge and Sverige, as a Skandinavisk, I still appreciate the beauty, richness and wonderful gifts of Mother Nature that is unique to the Skandinavisk landscape"

Ayame continued to watch as the judge's eyes brighten as they absorbed Alice-san's proud and nationalistic interpretation of 'Nature'. That certainly made sense. Ayame could definitely appreciate how modern science and cutting edge techniques that Alice-san possessed could take the judges a step back in time when 'Nature' was dominant on the planet before it was overrun with technologically obsessed humans.

"I call my dish Moss which I've taken inspiration from the moss covered boulders that often sit beside the Scandinavian forest river banks, which have been unmoving for hundreds of years, far from human interaction until moss eventually grows all over it. I took inspiration from the timelessness of 'Nature'. No matter what you do, what you make, how our civilisations advance. 'Nature' will always be there to preserve the Earth's inherent beauty and right the balance. It will triumph over the test of time. It is an innate part of who we are and is the foundation in which we build our life. Unfortunately, our modernised world had made us forget to tap into our connection with the beautiful world around us causing us to harm our planet. Luckily some of us are still able to appreciate the many gifts of 'Nature', like me. My dish serves as a reminder of the green beauty of 'Nature's' vitality and her healing powers. I intend to one day, bring our senses back to the green Earth through my cooking art of molecular gastronomy"

Ayame could listen to her all day. Heck! She would pay to sit in a classic Alice-delivered lecture! She could feel Takumi-kun's small nods against her shoulder. She slowly shifted her head to look at him and she was met by a tense concentration in his eyes as he was mulling what was spoken.

"Isn't Alice's molecular gastronomy, like the epitome of modern technology?" asked Yukihira-san in astonishment "How is that supposed to—"

"Alice's cooking philosophy isn't molecular gastronomy. It's her cooking style"

Ayame's attention drew away from the sight down below to the girl she remembered as Erina sitting with her knees crossed daintily in an oversized armchair. She didn't look at either of the occupants as she spoke calmly and regally.

"Her belief is cooking is an art that shines more brightly as you hone it. 'Nature' is form of beauty that is culturally significant to Scandinavians. Alice being the culinary artisan that she is, obviously would form this perspective. She achieves this through molecular gastronomy. Those are two different concepts. You wouldn't say the famous artist, Picasso's philosophy on art is 'oil-painting' would you? No, it's the impressionism and surrealism that he chooses to imbue in his artworks using oil-painting" Erina-san scoffed at Yukihira-san as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ah! I see, I see"

It probably wasn't to him, but he didn't look at all bothered by being cut off because she didn't think it was worth waiting for him to finish his questions. The goofy-smiling student chef merely let her acerbic words roll off his shoulders, but still considered her explanation with all the gravitas she was owed. If she was saying that directly at Ayame, she would've made some sort of counter-argument. But since what Erina-san had said made logical sense, she'd just pull the 'hurt puppy' card and somehow plant a seed of regret into Erina-san for her choice of wording and condescending tone. It worked on Otou-san ten-percent of the time when he was being a smart-arse at home, which is more than what most people could claim. So it was worth a shot one day. On the other hand, if she did that to Megumi-san, she would've melted, dried up and crumbled into dust on the spot before being blown away into the plains of ignorance. That was probably why Megumi-san continued to fixed her frantic eyes on the floor-to-ceiling glass whilst listening instead of looking at Erina-san.

Ayame ceased the gears from spinning a hypothetical construct before it delved too far into the human psyche and diverted her attention back to the match. However, she made a last-minute mental note to never ever say anything 'stupid' in front of the infamous God's Tongue nonetheless, and to keep Chizuru-chan in check if she were ever to have a 'conversation' with the golden-haired student.

"Ah I guess I understand enough. But it's such a contradiction between using cutting-edge science in cooking to represent something that's supposed to be, I dunno… devoid of all things created by humanity?" said Yukihira-san

"What? Where did you think molecular gastronomy comes from? All chemical and biological principles originated from Nature since the creation of life, just waiting to be discovered and used by humanity. We've only just scratched the surface. Alice must first have learnt the human body and the scientific cause-and-effects of the natural world before she learnt molecular gastronomy"

'Nature is the most beautiful science of all' thought Ayame in great wonder.

"Urgh…" Erina-san gagged. "It's disgusting to think that I would have to explain something so mundane—"

"A-Ah Erina-sama. Inside voice. Inside voice. R-Remember what we spoke about?"

The flustered rosette haired girl she remembered whose name was Arato Hisako, was shyly raising her hand up and down in an attempt to appease Erina-san. Every time Ayame saw her, she was attached to Erina-san's hip. She found it intriguing and she decided to ask Takumi-kun about her later. She languidly turned her head and acknowledged her assistant before something akin to slight embarrassment and guilt flitted across her violet orbs before she sighed dramatically and slumped back onto the cushioned backrest of her make-shift throne. She nodded and her expression resumed being blank.

"Just keep watching everybody…" she said tonelessly.


Rindou rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide it. Nobody said that contestants were supposed to prepare a philosophical essay on what they made. All that little Danish Pastry needed was a power-point slide and projector to make this a boring classroom lecture she had obviously mistaken the competition to be. Rindou thought her interpretation of the them 'Nature' was simplistic at best. If she yabbered on even more in that mock-intelligent voice of hers, her dish was going to freaking-melt.

Was she trying to be altruistic? Because she was doing a horrible job at it... This dessert wasn't going to inspire people to be ditch plastic bags and hug trees.

"Thank you Ojou-chan. It looks like you've put a lot of effort into thinking about your dish. Eleven elements. Gee, the expectations of this school is sure high" said the blonde haired judge cheerfully.

"Hej, Rindou-senpai" Rindou turned her eyes instead of her head and found Nakiri Alice stalking towards her with a plate of the moss and silver spoon towards her. "Just like I promised, this is for you. Nyde dit måltid"

Her plastered-on syrupy-sweet smile dripped all over the dessert Alice handed to her.

Moss.

What a stupid name for a dish. Better name for a pet rock. Alice gave her a last heated look before facing back towards the judges. The crimson-haired alumnus gave the plate of hectic green a once-over herself. It was a beautiful dish; she would give it that. It was sculpted with an array of different techniques and textures, all compacted into this visually stunning display. But everybody knew that beauty was usually skin deep. Rumour had it that last year in Alice's battle against Yukihira-kun, she lost by a landslide because she focused too much on the 'looks' and hadn't considered the 'soul' of the food. That was her weakness. It could look all nice and pretty, but if the flavours didn't live up to the standard of the presentation and the consumer didn't feel a spark of anything, then the dish was a joke. Would it be enough to beat her own dessert?

'Scratch that. Would it be enough to beat an 'Eizan-level' dessert?'

Rindou smirked widely. Like she predicted, she didn't need to show anymore of her skill than what was already agreed between herself and Isshiki-kun. She balanced the plate in one hand and used the other to crack open the giant ball of green thing.

"So what you have there is a matcha chocolate coated pistachio mousse with a caramel gel centre, which sits in a bed of matcha moss of my own creation. There is a pistachio sponge and green apple sorbet. I've garnished my dessert with dulce cremeux, apple blossom pearl and my nitro lime yoghurt foam!"

"Alright, let's taste" said Doctor Haruno.

Rindou followed the motions of the judges.

"Wow, the sphere is so perfectly round. The matcha chocolate coating is so even, not too thin and not too thick. It's glossy quality is just gorgeous" said Doctor Haruno.

"Damn! That mousse is really smooth. It's got a great mouth-feel and has great flavour" added CEO Uzumaki.

Rindou agreed. The mousse for her was very punchy and Alice had really dived into the flavours. She let the creaminess coat her mouth tasting the rich pistachio flavours before she decided that she wasn't actually disappointed in Alice's dish at all. The tempered glazing was a thing of beauty. The satisfying crack against her fork made her smile in anticipation for how good it will feel when she bit into it with her own sharp teeth.

"Mmmm. The caramel centre is soft and oozy. I love this golden brown colour which nicely contrasts against all this green, so good job. What do you think, teme?"

"The caramel has a certain edge to it... it's the right colour, has a distinct flavour to it which is a definite plus to go with the pistachio mousse" said CEO Uchiha.

Rindou finally conceded and agreed with the judges' judgement. The way it oozed when she cut the sphere was so seductive. It took its time dripping from the centre and when it coated her fork, she just wanted to lick it right off and that was exactly what she did. The pleasant caramel burst across her senses and she felt the moan she was trying to hold back escape her throat like a depraved harlot! A small giggle stole shattered her attention and she flushed under Nakiri Alice's triumphant smirk.

"There's so many great elements on the plate. I mean eleven? That's just staggering and seriously impressive because this can't be an easy dessert to pull off in two hours" beamed Doctor Haruno.

"Thank you for your kind words. I assure you ma'am, the skill level I've exhibited today is testament to the many hard years of training to be a top notch chef" said Alice with sickening pride.

She was glowing and Rindou wanted to gag.

"And now, the sorbet is great. It's very fresh, zesty and it lifts the whole dish. Have you tried the jelly... thing yet, Sasuke-kun?" Doctor Haruno turned in her seat, avoiding getting to close to the blonde CEO who was shovelling the dessert into his wide gob without contracting a brain freeze.

"The apple blossom pearl is beautiful and firm. That lovely orange blossom water in there adds a certain sophistication to the dish. The citrus flavours of both the green apple in the sorbet and the orange blossom water is like spring" he simply said.

Rindou almost chuckled over the fact that the judges weren't actually real food critics, so they obviously didn't always remember the exact name of every single element. Yet, the way they described food was good enough to be published in gourmet magazines. Rindou noticed the flower inside was a small basil blossom. The fragrant orange scent was refreshing and it filled her whole nasal cavity as she swallowed it, bring a light and soothing sensation down from her nose to the back of her throat. Spring indeed.

The handsome CEO continued passing his judgement "The yoghurt snow is delicious also. It's light, smooth and silky, it gives another dimension to the plate not only in colour and visual presentation but also complexity and texture... Dobe, you're paid to be here and critique, so stop engorging yourself for a minute and actually contribute something worthwhile already. You're an embarrassment"

CEO Uchiha was steadily losing patience as the other CEO beside him was non-stop shoving spoonful, after spoonful of the dessert and tearing the sponge cake apart with his fingers, and popping them in his mouth. It got to a point that he was starting to transform into a little kid who forgot his table manners and was only concerned with gobbling the yummy dessert. CEO Uchiha wasn't the only one looking annoyed and exasperated under the veil of pure arrogance, but Doctor Haruno was also looking flustered at the embarrassing behaviour, minus the arrogance.

"Hey! You're letting your plate frickin' melt. At least I'm not the one letting good food go to waste. Everybody knows that eating melted desserts is a no-no, teme! So who's the embarrassing one now? dattebayo"

The CEO Uzumaki jabbed his spoon at the man's face. His cerulean blue eyes blazed with fury, his tanned face flushed and his whisker marks bristled. Rindou was greatly amused by the dynamics of those two CEOs, ever since she watched the first two recorded battles Isshiki-kun had lent her on a memory stick. She hadn't felt the need to go see it live as she had better things to do. It was common knowledge around the commercial food world that these two great men were childhood friends. They must have been closer than they let on since they keep breaking out into a petty banter in the middle of judging for every cooking battle, thus far. That left the beautiful pink-haired Doctor Haruno, who was ready to break the blonde CEOs arm, reset it, and break it all over again if he didn't settle down. The task of babysitter fell onto her. So far, she'd only had mild occurrences of flashing her impatience and anger through hard glares drilled at these two men when they started bickering, and a painful ear-yank yesterday, but Rindou had yet to actually see her unleashing her full strength and throttle the men. She was close to blowing up, judging by the throbbing vein at her temple and the panel slightly cracking under her perfectly manicured nails. Yep, nobody better mess with her because those muscles under her professional blazer were real.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun... I swear to God, if I hear one more-"

"Okay! O-Okay! Chill Sakura-chan! Nobody needs to die today! So ah, sorry Ojou-chan. Your dessert was so good I couldn't help myself hehe..."

CEO Uzumaki rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, keeping a wary eye on the ill-tempered Doctor who was threateningly clenching and unclenching her fists at him. Meanwhile, CEO Uchiha merely leaned back and resumed picking at the elements on his plate, looking determined to let the little bits of leftover sorbet and pistachio mousse melt to prove his point. Ahhh... Rindou could stare at his aristocratic and chiselled face all day.

"That's alright" chirped Alice "I'm just glad you enjoy it"

CEO Uzumaki pulled a face at CEO Uchiha before he gave another critique "Anyway the pistachio sponge is beautifully aerated and light. I mean that's the whole point of doing the 'siphon-sponge' right? It's full of air bubbles which makes it light and soft and it just melts away in your mouth" he smiled at Alice.

Rindou too, popped the last morsel of the sponge into her mouth and she could feel all those verbal descriptions transmutate into sensations.

"Now could we give our scores?" asked Doctor Haruno.

The male judges nodded. Each of them bowed their heads as they typed into the hidden keyboards.

Eighteen from CEO of Igakono Senbei, Uchiha Sasuke

Twenty from CEO of TopRamen Limited, Uzumaki Naruto

Eighteen from Tenure Professor of Toudai, Haruno Sakura

The crowd erupted into deafening cheers. The little Danish pastry gave dramatic bows to the judges and turned to the audience waving at them, grateful for the support she was given. However, Rindou only smirked wider. Well wasn't she excited to score the first 'twenty' in the competition so far? How cute.

"Next up is Kobayashi Rindou! Please present your dish!"

Rindou strolled towards the fridge where she had been keeping her desserts cool. She lifted them out carefully and didn't bother to use the helpful trolley and decided she would serve them properly. She placed each plate of her dessert down in front of the judges with a fresh set of cutlery and watched as the judges anaylsed it from top to bottom.

"Alice-chan, be a dear and grab yourself a serving from the fridge and I'll be right with you. I'm afraid I've only got two hands" Rindou crooned to Alice.

She stepped away from the judging panel and hefted her vat of freshly made sour cherry sorbet. She reached behind her and pulled her own spoon from her apron and perfectly quenelled the sorbet for each judge and delicately placed each football shape onto the pinnacle of her dessert.

'And THAT'S how it's done'

Rindou removed her vat of sorbet, excitement buzzing through her, translating it into giddy movements. She then watched listlessly as Alice took out her own serving and surveyed it with unmasked admiration. She went over and quenelled the sorbet for Alice too, humming in delight.

"Well, it's clear from this where the 'Nature' themes come in. Do we still need to ask?" remarked Doctor Haruno jovially.

"No need!" chirped Rindou.

"Gosh! It's so pretty" CEO Uzumaki gawked at it. He turned the plate a few centimetres at a time as he drank in the fine details of her dessert. The other judges did the same and they took their time to anaylse every single crumb and exhale in absolute wonder.

"It's called Chocolate Forest Floor" said Rindou without waiting for them to ask. "So here you have the forest floor which I've incorporated many different textures and flavours. There's the lavender cream, chocolate cream and praline cream, soft chocolate ganache, tempered chocolate disc, cystallised fennel seeds, cookie dough crumbs which makes the soil. We've got the feuilletine from the aniseed-praline mix~ We've got the green tea moss here~ The cherry brandy jellies down here~ And there's the elderflowers and finger-lime pearls in there as well~ Finally, I've topped it off with sour cherry sorbet! Voila!"

Rindou waved her hand in the air in a theatrical flourish. Her fangs protruded, until it rested against her lips like a playful cat, and she licked one of them in anticipation of how the judges were taking in the overload of sensory descriptions. Heh, this was what it meant to be part of the Elite Ten.

"So Alice-chan. What do you think so far? Looks awesome doesn't it?" she spun around and clasped her hands behind her head, rocking back and forth on her feet.

The little Danish Pastry just shook her head with a great big smile on her face. "It really is fantastic, Rindou-senpai. I mean for something that came out of the nouveau cuisine school of food that looks like bird's nests that have fallen out of trees"

Rindou's eyelids twitched.

'Wow. She couldn't make her jealousy any more obvious'

That Nakiri just amazed her every time. She was never boring.

"Like, this may be the only dessert in the world that's made to be walked on rather than eaten" Alice continued to smirk innocently at Rindou.

'...That little—"

"H-Hey... I hate to break up your little BFF moment here, but I was wondering if you would like our critiques on this wonderful dessert now?" CEO Uzumaki chortled good-heartedly and scratched the side of his face to play down the awkwardness of being ignored. Rindou was happy to see that the judges had already dug into the dessert and only had a quarter of the way already since she and Alice began 'chatting'. They were fast eaters weren't they?

"Oh! My sincerest apologises. Please I'd love to know what you think" Rindou hurriedly made a show of bowing to them at waist level but she couldn't suppress the grin on her face.

"It looks really dry at the top but when you break into the cream, it's just so luscious and incredibly smooth. The whole dish is so textural. I got the predominant fennel taste, and a nice bust of salt, but not as strong as I thought it was going to be. The overall dish is just perfectly balanced, creamy and crunchy. Nicely done" said CEO Uzumaki.

"When I look at this dish as an average home cook with a husband and a son, I'm like 'Wow!' It's bright, it's punchy, it's incredibly complex. It's so yummy, the flavours pop, you've got all the individual flavours" Doctor Haruno clapped her hands together giddily.

"Two things I really like about this dish. The lavender flavour and those three different creams underneath. It's really bright and it's like walking through a woodland floor, the branches are snapping under your feet." said CEO Uchiha.

"Yep! I love those little chocolate twigs, they crack like dry twigs at the end of summer from my childhood– I mean, not like I went r-roaming around woods eating every twig I could find as a kid!... hehe..." The normally ecstatic and lively CEO rubbed the back of his golden head, laughing feebly at his own poorly executing joke.

"... I wouldn't be surprised" muttered the handsome CEO beside him who looked ashamed to know him.

The intelligent doctor had the mind to continue before the two men started breaking out into their usual broken record "These little sprinkling of the jelly cubes is so clear. The texture of the cookie dough soil and the matcha moss looks just exactly like the moist soils of a European forest. It's full of finesse"

Rindou inflated her chest. The judges were pretty much eating out of the palm of her hands. Her intensive training in New York, working alongside the best chefs in the business was a land-slide advantage and she was re-thinking her accepting Isshiki-kun's call on a favour to participate was way too much for her kohai. But they needed to learn that beyond Tootsuki was a completely different world and she was here to represent that next step. Tootsuki was but a small pond compared to the vast ocean of professional chefs, not to mention other ponds of professional culinary academies.

"The finger-lime pearls were excellent, there's a lot which helps with the savoury notes" added CEO Uchiha.

"Guys, can we talk about the sorbet now? Dattebayo!" CEO Uzumaki practically bounded in his seat. Obviously he was waiting to save the best for last. "That sorbet was brilliant. It has a wonderful rich colour, it's got a beautiful shine which bounces against the tiny squares of jelly and green tea moss. It's got that lovely sour cherry hit. It's delicious and balances against the richness of the chocolate. I just love it!" he finished his critique all in one breath and fell back against his seat with that cheesy smile plastered on his face.

"I totally agree. The texture is fantastic, perfectly smooth. It's elastic enough just as it should be and that wonderful refreshing flavour was perfect to go with this dish"

Rindou turned around slightly to peek at Alice from the corner of her eyes. She was pouting as she swallowed the final morsel which was the cherry brandy jelly. Her fingers clenched her spoon so tightly, as if peeved that she finished her dessert too soon.

"Something bothers me about this dish" said the indigo-haired CEO suddenly.

"Huh?" CEO Uzumaki deadpanned.

The steely-eyed CEO pushed his empty plate to the side and leaned forward. He propped his strong elbows onto the panel and laced his long fingers together, just in front of his mouth. His posture intimidated Rindou, causing her to gulp without realising. Suspicion and arrogance exuded his form and she was suddenly much more aware of his birth right as the heir to the famous Uchiha Clan. His dark eyes bored back into hers in a half-glare. He was probing her. Analysing her.

"This isn't your best"

"What are you—"

"Hush, Naruto!"

Rindou leveled him back with a stare, a challenge proclaimed between the two of them. There was an accusation hidden in his words which sounded extremely confident.

"I don't know what you mean, sir" said Rindou innocently.

He narrowed his eyes, not taking the bait and mildly offended. "Do not take me for a fool. I've watched all the contestants carefully thus far, and you are the only one who seemed too relaxed, and too composed, compared to the others who pushed a hundred and ten percent of themselves into the two hours of cooking. However you produced this exceptional and painstakingly complex dish which I cannot fault while feeling no pressure. You don't exert passion and drive as the other students do, therefore I cannot see the true face of this dish. You have more to show, but you won't" said CEO Uchiha.

By this time, the stadium had quietened and it was ominous. Cautious whispers floated through the tense air and perplexed looks surfaced around the audience as confusion set it, including the other judges. Except in a few seconds later, the man beside CEO Uchiha suddenly jolted and realisation dawned on his tanned face.

"Ah... So that's what it was, dattebayo! Sorry, Ojou-chan. I think I had that same inkling that Sasuke-teme's talking about, but I couldn't find the words to describe what I felt, so I withheld saying anything. But yeah, now I get it now. I don't know your circumstances or anything, but I don't think this really shows your true skill level. It's lacking something and you know it yourself because we can sense what's missing in your food, that's still in your heart. That makes me think you've got no stakes to fight for in this competition" he pointed his fingers directly at her.

"Care to explain why?" said Doctor Haruno.

Rindou was genuinely surprised and her eyelids fluttered several times. None of the judges were told about her and what she was really doing here. Isshiki-kun wanted to keep this unbiased on the judging part. How awkward for Isshiki-kun. Looks like even the best laid plans could go awry! These three people actually had the capability to taste past the complexity and flavours and sense the true soul of the dish, despite not being actual food critics or chefs. Isshiki-kun probably had overlooked that. She had learnt that a chef puts themselves in every dish they create, so when it was eaten, the consumer would feel and taste the joy, the pain, the frustration, the sadness, the fun, the excitement and the soul of its creator in the dish. That was when one knew the chef had reached the pinnacle. Being able to imbue that, and in turn sense that accurately was a gift and not even ten percent of the chef's in the world could do it. It was something innate, one was either born with it or had trained all their life for it. There was more to CEO Uchiha Sasuke, CEO Uzumaki Naruto and Doctor Haruno Sakura than meets the eye. So how was she going to dig herself out of this little quicksand?

"I'm not obliged to divulge my reasons for participating in this competition. If you want, you are welcome to discuss this matter with the board of directors and the Elite Ten Council regarding my admission. But otherwise I only ask that you purely score which dish is better in your opinion according to your set criteria" said Rindou carefully. She made sure to keep her voice even but couldn't resist throwing in that hint of sass.

"Hnn" CEO Uchiha grunted with such finality, the other judges didn't bother to interrogate her further too. Either he had somehow found the answer he was looking for through visually penetrating her barriers, or he no longer cared for her answers.

The judges typed in their scores into the numeric keyboard.

Twenty from CEO of Igakono Senbei, Uchiha Sasuke

Nineteen from CEO of TopRamen Limited, Uzumaki Naruto

Twenty from Tenure Professor of Toudai, Haruno Sakura

"The winner of the third match of Round One is Kobayashi Rindou!"

Rindou soaked up all the cheers. She placed her hands on her hips and smirked so widely that she thought she'd look like a vampire. She flounced off the podium and towards Alice who had her back towards her. Damn, she should've brought her raincoat or umbrella because she was gonna make it fucking rain.

"Don't be too down Alice-chan, I know you've worked really hard to get to where you are but chin up! I'm not really part of the competition as you already know, so maybe Isshiki-kun will decide a little pity offer to re-enter you to the competition to make up the numbers or something"

Rindou knew she said nothing to make the situation better for Alice and she wasn't planning too. Kicking a girl while she was down, she admitted was a total bitch-move, but she was going to fly out back to New York soon, so whatever!

"Is it true what they've said? Does it mean this dish is only what Eizan-senpai could do?"

"My Chocolate Forest Floor? Yeah, Isshiki-kun specifically told me that I had to cook at Eizan-kun's level. He even placed it in my contract, that fussy guy. As if he'd really sue me if I didn't"

Alice still had her back turned to her.

"Look at it this way" Rindou continued. "Now you have a small taste of what it means to be the Elite Ten. Round two is about competing against the current seats right? I was the second seat. Imagine being selected to go up against maybe the third or fourth seat when you can't even get past Eizan-kun's level. If I had showed you my true skill, you won't find the strength to ever pick up a kitchen knife again once I'm done with you. I've spared you the embarrassment of a landslide fail, so it's a lucky escape, huh?" said Rindou.

"That wasn't even on my mind, Rindou-senpai" said Alice.

Rindou quirked her brow and placed her fingers on her chin. Okay? She wasn't expecting this.

"I just wanted to say mange tak. You've just reminded me of how badly I really want this and I'm going to do whatever it takes. I will use all my failures to get there! Just like Yukihira-kun did!"

"You're… welcome?"

Alice turned around to face her. Her ruby-red eyes gleamed with such a heated intensity that Rindou was sure she was ready for another match right then and there. The fighting spirit was palpable in the air and she unconsciously licked her lips. Alice wasn't being the usual cry baby and throwing a tantrum all over the place like she was famous for after a loss. Instead she held her head up high and there was not a drop of tear dotting her lashes. This was interesting. Why the sudden change of heart?

The Danish Pastry was right up in Rindou's face. What's with these people? This must be Yukihira Souma talking through her. One thing she was sure of was that her respect for Nakiri Alice had risen.

"If that's the way you feel, I'm glad to be part of one of your precious failures"

With that, Kobayashi Rindou strutted past Alice and off the stadium. She didn't get the chance to catch a glimpse of the solitary tear rolling down her defeated opponent's cheeks.


It all came crashing down.

'How many times do I have to fail to get it right!'

Her insides shook and waves of sadness washed over her. Is this what Yukihira Souma felt the first few times he lost against his own father in their daily matches at his family diner? Had he lost so many times now that he's become immune to this crushing feeling. She had caved under the disappointment once at his hands and she expected it to be less the second time around, but it was just as painful as the first time. This was so stupid! She had just finished her big-triumphant speech to Rindou-senpai in the face of utter humiliation to save her dignity, and here she was about to bawl her eyes out. Her words were still genuine. She was glad the Tootsuki graduate had already left before she could taunt her even further. She closed her eyes finally and the tears squeezed out. Just as the wave of sadness had come, so did frustration and pain in her chest. Her shoulder continued to shake, and it grew more erratic until it was controllable. She'd forgotten how to breathe and choked out a sob.

'No more crying, damn it!"

"Ne, Ojou-chan"

She hurriedly wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve and warily looked up.

"U-Uzumaki-san..!"

CEO Uzumaki Naruto stood in front of her. He was a tall man. He had a gentle smile on his lips and his eyes were soft and warm as he looked upon her. When did he suddenly come around the panel so quickly? Alice had never been that close to CEOs of his calibre and fame before so as a Nakiri she felt slightly ashamed he had to see her in such a mess. However, the way he gazed at her wasn't prejudiced at all. With a soft whoosh, he bent onto one knees and plucked a handkerchief from his orange jacket and passed it to her.

"N-No… it's okay, you don't have too" she said pouted feebly.

"Don't worry about it Ojou-chan" he said calmly. His voice was actually a bit deeper when he was speaking so gently to her. He pressed the handkerchief back to her and she relented. She dabbed her eyes instead of her nose.

"You did an amazing job on your dessert today. You should be proud, dattebayo"

She nodded.

"This isn't the end. This is only your beginning on the most exciting journey of your life"

Alice looked up into his deep blue eyes. He wasn't speaking to her as a CEO, or a food critic, or a superior. He was talking to her like he was her best friend, her mentor, her confidant, her uncle, her father. Her anxieties melted away as soon as he placed a large hand onto her shoulder. It was steady as a rock. His smile warmed her insides. Alice bit her lip to stop the next bout of tears and he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. She found the courage to smile back at him.

He continued to speak.

"The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things that make up your story. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't always spoil the good things… and make them unimportant"

It was the smile of a man who'd endured so many things life threw at him. The good, the bad and the ugly. The happiness, the joy, grief and sorrow. His eyes and his smile told his story. It told her, he'd been where she was right now. It told her he'd already felt what she felt at some point in his life. Everybody knew CEO Uzumaki Naruto didn't have a good start in life and the whole world wanted the orphan boy to fail. Here he was now, one of the most successful CEOs of Japan's major commercial food company after many, many years of hardship. She felt guilty for forcing him into a position where he had to comfort her, but there was not a trace of pity or annoyance in his aura. Alice wondered. Did he survive all this time, because he didn't let the bad moments get into his heart? Or did he only concentrate on the good moments? Or both…

Alice closed her eyes and thought about the...

'The… good things'


"Don't you know what's supposed to go inside a bentou?"

Yukihira-kun had liberated the feelings she'd locked away in her heart of ice.


"...if you don't mind me saying so. Meeting you is my highlight of the day!"

Ayame-san, a fellow science enthusiast of the same age and gender, had crossed her path.


"That's not true! I do care for you!"

Erina had wanted to help her.


"Whose stupid idea is this anyway?! Yours!?"..."It was mine, Mi'lady"

Ryou-kun had betrayed her trust because he also cared.


"Did you think I'd care for you so little, that everything you've done would change the way I feel about you?"

Byakko still loved her.


'Maybe… just maybe. They've definitely added to my pile of good things'


Hang in there Alice! Your spunkines will come back (later)! Alice's memories flashing before her eyes at the end with the character quotes is from chapter 8 and chapter 32 of this story :) Just for your reference if you want to go back and refresh yourself.

The judges in the anime/manga (I LOVE THOSE JUDGES) are a lot more lively, exhuberant, passionate and enthusiastic in their eating and critiques compared to my special guest judges. Team 7 are more restrained than them haha.

If you guys are familiar with Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, then you'll know what the next chapter will be titled as :P And that kind of title won't bode well for our characters. kekekeke

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you soon!

Signing-off

- TripWire-dono