Chapter 90: Victory and Defeat

Gazing up at the stunned and mesmerised expressions of the three not-impartial judges - Azami, Decora and Corage - Megumi held firm and refused to fail her friends expectations, as well as showing any form of weakness to the usurper judges.

Instead, she glanced over towards the ousted three: Anne, Charme and Histoire, all of whom were staring in blind amazement of her prepared dish practically salivating at the sight of it and bemoaning their ill-fortune for no longer being able to taste it.

Smiling as she made her way back over to her workstation; whereupon she took up three extra plates, she walked forwards and presented them to the 'ousted judges', grinning as she observed their drooling faces.

"For you Master Charme, Master Histoire and for you too Miss Anne", she bowed politely. "Even if you won't be judging my dessert, I still hope you enjoy".

"T-thank you Miss Tadokoro", the ousted three judges exclaimed joyfully. "You really are a gifted and wonderfully kind hearted chef".

Turning back to the main oppressors, Megumi pushed her annoyance down deep and pointedly avoided looking at the new judges and chose to instead look over and past them; over their shoulders. Choosing to merely acknowledge their presence but still denounce their actions seemed like the most passive aggressive thing to do in this instance, and Megumi knew that her quiet unspoken actions were ticking off the Director.

"Well…" Megumi scowled impatiently whilst tapping her finger on the tabletop at the three usurpers. "What are you waiting for? Dig in".

Glowering at the chef before them whose implied impudence irked them greatly, Decora and Azami audible growled as they clenched their fists so tightly that the skin on the complexion of their hands began to appear as if they had varicose veins.

"You have some nerve girl!" Decora spat angrily. "Whilst I may not be as hawkish about getting rid of you as Master Azami, I resent your behaviour!" And you..." the woman suddenly stated turning towards her fellow female judge. "Corage! You had the temerity to invite them to San Francisco. She's a rebel. Unrefined and uncouth!"

Despite her idol like status amongst her culinary critique career, and her culinary adoration, Decora could be sadistic and cruel to whomever she felt slighted by.

However, in this instance the person before her, whom she'd felt insulted by, was actually the sister of the 'Silent King', and the judge instantly knew that if she did anything against the younger Tadokoro then her older brother would sick his three benefactors on her. And those three were so far over her head in terms of the W.G.O that they were on first name terms with the BookMaster herself.

And so the fact that this first year girl was so apparent, as Decora imagined, in showing them up as well as being snide too, simply infuriated her. And unable to properly retaliate unless she wanted to be excoriated herself, Decora resigned herself to simply growling insults under her breath and throwing petty contemptuous stares at the blue haired girl wherever she got the chance.

However, try as she might, she, plus Corage and Azami, simply couldn't ignore the aroma of booze and caramelised apple. Giving in to their culinary carnality, Decora and Corage bowed their head in thanks - thanking the gods, not Megumi, for receiving the food - and began to salivate profusely as they ate ever more.

Azami on the other hand simply clenched his fists together as, for the second time, his two new judges had gone against him and tasted the rebels prepared food.

'Damn you stupid rebels!' He internally, and bitterly, grumbled. 'How is it that they continue to show me up?'

Reluctantly the Director picked up his fork and spoon and broke into the dorayaki.

Expecting to see a rough textured layer of chopped apple chucks intermingled with the sweet bean paste, he found himself utterly taken aback by a ridiculously smooth the apple purée layered in between sharp and tangy apple chunks, with which then matched perfectly with the sweet bean paste.

Moreover, in addition to the utterly delectable dorayaki filling there were the two pancake halves themselves which were so light and airy it was like he was eating extremely light brioche.

Widening his eyes, Azami realised far too late that his unwitting and reckless satisfaction for this unconventional fusion Japanese-French dessert had caused him to unconsciously release the 'burst', which he suddenly noticed had derobed many in the audience, whom were now screaming in alarmed embarrassment.

Ignoring the shouts of panicked abashment as the audience began scampering about trying to cover up their naked bodies with their arms and hands, whilst scrabbling around for their clothes, Azami bit the inside of his cheek so that the instant pain would dull his taste buds and quickly remedy this pitiful display of satisfactory power.

Refusing to admit to himself that this dessert was delicious, even though to release the Nakiri families 'burst' meant exactly that, Azami's furious scowl deepened. 'This. Means. Nothing!' He angrily mused before indignantly throwing down his spoon and fork on his plate.

Turning his head towards his chief aid, now emcee, Sean Aida, he made mouthed for the other man to begin speaking another round of 'rebel bashing', but unfortunately a startled scream brought his attention back to the girl before him.

"Eeek!"

Looking back at the first year rebel before him the Director suddenly saw that she too was clasping onto her clothes; as they fell from her body. A haughty smirk graced his lips as he narrowed his eyes upon the chef, whom was desperately trying to reaffirm her clothes and apron in place whilst blushing bright red.

Raising an eyebrow and appraised the girl's now visible 'features' before him, the Director smirked before quickly shooing her away, whilst also keeping a lecherous gaze upon her at all times.

Then as if nothing untoward, not to mention devious, had just occurred, he spied the forth seat approached carrying a a tray of three baskets made out of bread filled with what looked like rose flowers sitting in little individual tart cases.

"Now..." Azami grinned adoringly, "this is what true culinary perfection oils like. Central's very own Fairy Godmother!"


Bolting back towards her team mates, Megumi clutched her clothes tightly in place as she narrowed her eyes at the lecherous smirk Azami continued to send her way, even as he lauded chef Momo with praise.

She could still feel the sensation of having the director's eyes rake across her body. Shivering in revulsion at the prior moment, she immediately began thinking about taking a shower to cleanse herself of Azami's deviousness, Megumi once more recalled her mother's words about not exposing herself to anyone 'before marriage'.

Unlike before, when she and Sōma had inadvertently seen each other naked in the Kyokusei dorm bathroom, all she felt now was an even greater sensation of anger; burning into a rage, and a hatred towards Erina's father.

"Megumi!" She heard Erina exclaim. Shaking herself out of her internal musings, Megumi managed a weak smiled as she immediately felt herself rushed into by the former tenth seat. Embraced by the blonde girl, who both hugged and wrapped her large cloak to cover her half naked form the eyes of the venue, the blue haired girl could only wipe her eyes with the back of her hand as she returned Erina'a kindness.

"Thanks… Erina", the blue haired girl replied hugging the blonde ex-tenth seat.

"Megs…?"

Freezing to the spot, Megumi felt her face burn even redder than she imagined she'd been before standing in front of the judges. And now she realised that it wasn't just the usurpers who'd seen her stripped of most of her clothes but everyone in the entire venue hall - including her boyfriend.

Upon that realisation, that Sōma would have just seen her stripped of her clothes, Megumi tightened her grasp on the large cloak around her and took several deep breaths. Whilst they had seen each other naked before - mainly due to his denseness in walking in on her during the girl's bath time back at Kyokusei - she still was still reserved about nudity.

Moreover, she hated that her first memory of meeting with him, outside of class, had been like 'that'.

"What did you see…" she murmured quietly, covering her body and face with the cloak she was wrapped in.

Equally red faced and looking as if he was going to keel over, Sōma simply rubbed his hands over the back of his head and looked sheepishly at the floor; tryjng very hard to ignore the glare Megumi was sending his way. Stuttering, he replied, "I-erm… not much. You were quick in covering yourself…" he murmured, his hair falling in front of his eyes.

"You better not have", Megumi grumbled imperceptibly, clutching her clothes tightly to her body, as Erina and Nene lead her away so that she could redress without the crowd watching her.

However, as she walked she couldn't help but feel a tad disappointed. Immediately regretting that thought she shook her head to rid herself of that shamefulness, even if she knew that it was true.


"So this is the food made by the 'dark horse' of the Autumn Selection", Director Azami exclaimed sounding put out by the fact that the food before him seemed to have a more triumphant aroma than chef Momo's Apple-Rose pastries. "This Flambé Dorayaki is extremely unconventional…"

"But..." Corage interrupted, "Miss Tadokoro has skilfully made use of French and Japanese techniques to make a delicious dessert. One that I can see fitting in extremely well in the fashionably hotels and restaurants of Europe, America and South-East Asia".

The bitter smile worn by Decora, equally showed her begrudged approval of Megumi's food and her willingness to praise it. Yet, the female judge's own appraisals further made Azami growl in being rebuked by his allied judges.

Taking up the plate on which sat a second Dorayaki and gazing adoringly into the small blue flame of burning alcohol, which she still hadn't blown out, Decora tried in vain to stifle a childish coo but instead sounded as if she had just orgasmed.

Glaring dangerously at the red faced-slightly seduced central supporting audience, Decora drummed her fingers on the table before she finally blew out the flame and then used a knife an fork to cut herself another piece of the Dorayaki and proceed to place it in her mouth.

"Hmmm... ~so good~!" She cooed, he face loosing its bitter sternness that she had worn when she had first been introduced. "The booze used was a St~Germaine…" she identified, "the soft notes of the elderflower liqueur pairs perfectly with the slightly tart Bramley apple and exquisitely contrasts with the Oshiruko sweet bean paste!"

Faltering in his attempt to find fault with the food currently before him, Azami scoffed and waved his hand dismissively through the air.

"That may be your opinion Decora", the Director scoffed dismissively, "but I strongly believe that with the combining of these two well known traditional dishes: Dorayaki and Crêpe Suzette, this 'girl' has made nothing less than a bastardised monstrosity!"

As the director and Decora continued arguing, forgetting that they were supposed to be on the same side when it came to wanting to expel all rebel chefs, Corage simply continued to eat her fill before silently moving on to try the Apple-Rose tartlets from the quietly seething forth seat.

Glowering at Megumi's Flambé Dorayaki with sheer hatred in her eyes, Momo clenched her fists and bit her tongue. "Stupid, un-cute, timid and boorish..." she grumbled to herself. Her internal raging was then interrupted by the blonde haired judge practically screaming as if she was in orgasm.

"Ooooh-awww! T-this is sooo-ooo goood!"

The satisfaction that erupted from Corage verged on the scandalous as she bucked in her seat with a grin across her face, and her dress dangerously close to falling off her body.

"This scent… this scent, it's damask rose! The apples have been sliced and steeped in rose water, then carved into the shape of rose petals and then layered in a tart case!"

Jumping to her feet, the blonde haired female judge and bolted towards the forth seat and hoisted her into the air. "This girl truly is the Fairy Godmother of sweets!"

Grumbling as she realised that being manhandled by an adoring judge was not what she wanted, Momo folded her arms across her chest and pouted petulantly. "You done…" She avowed looking down at the woman holding her up. "Or do you plan on embarrassing yourself further?"

This time, however, it was Corage's turn to pout as she realised her celebration of the apple-rose tartlets hadn't gone down well with her almost naked form being on full display of the auditorium.

Lowering the forth seat back to the ground and readjusting her dress, the judge smiled sweetly before recovering her body with it's lost clothes and the returning to her judge's chair.

"Urgh, you really need to contain your emotions", Decora rolled her eyes at her colleague. "You're far too vibrant a personality. Take a leaf out of the third seat's book and draw yourself back from the situation, then maybe you'll learn what it's like to be a real gourmet critic".

"Shut it you!" Corage snapped back. "Although…" she softened her tone, "maybe I will have seconds of each chef's desserts, to refresh my mind's eye and better my judgment".

As the judges continued to repeat their sampling of the two desserts, and then subsequently quarrel about them, the forth seat shrugged her shoulders and returned to her workstation ready to assist Saitō in his battle against Mimasaka Subaru. Thus fulfilling the 'teamwork' element bit of the Regiment de Cuisine.

Glancing back over at her opponent, her junior yet superior chef's sister, Momo scowled as she saw 'her' smiling and laughing beside her fellow rebel chefs. 'Such an un-cute chef', she thought to herself as she bit her lip in annoyance. 'She won't be missed at all. Once her and the other degenerates from Kyokusei are gone, they'll be no one to our cute me'.

Refusing to admit that her thoughts had just contradicted themselves, Momo growled as she continued to silently seethe as she glared at Megumi and Sōma.


Re-clothed but still flustered knowing that hundreds of people had just seen her half naked, Megumi too bit her lip as she stood in between Erina and Takumi, clasping Sōma's hand, and watching Mimasaka continue against the fifth seat.

As if she wasn't nervous enough simply by watching this food war, the blue haired girl was now acutely aware that chef Momo was pointedly glaring at her. Such was the ferocity of the fifth seat's silent annoyance, Megumi found herself retreating back to the caged 'special seating area' waiting with baited breath as the, still, arguing judges adjudicated her own dessert.


Smiling, as he stood by his workstation adjacent from the fifth seat and managing to deftly follow in the professional steps as was being done before him by Takumi and Megumi, Mimasaka couldn't help but feel supremely happy to be given the chance to assist the rebels against Central. Moreover, getting to repay his debt of gratitude to Sōma was well versed in him too.

After having been told off countless times by his chef father, time and over again that merely 'copying' a plate of food was just the most simple and pitiable form of cooking that a chef could undertake.

More so, as he thought back on his childhood remonstrations for permission to cook utilising his photographic memory, as his key weapon, Mimasaka realised that his desperation to prove that his father's disregard and contempt for 'copy cooking' was ill placed had unfounded.

Siding with Eizan had been a direct result of his despair and resentment towards his father's culinary beliefs. And it had been Sōma, and Takumi, who had shaken him free from the Alchemist's designs.

Continuing to cook the way he wanted regardless of how his father would react and feel, was now the driving force behind Subaru Mimasaka's new personality. He would never again allow himself to unconsciously or willingly require another's permission or attention for culinary gratification. His strength would come form his cooking; both in term of culinary strength and imaginative originals.

Moreover, standing here showcasing his enhanced photographic memory and copy skills, free from Eizan's hegemony, he further realised that his cooking style was now being vindicated and his father's rigid dogma was being properly challenged by Sōma and Erina's rebellion.

Smirking as he sliced up the huge tuna fish, the theme ingredient, matching the speed and dexterity of chef Saitō exactly, Mimasaka noticed the grins from both the red head and blond first year boys on the sidelines as they cheered him on.

Nodding his head in his fellow teams direction he began final plating up his various tuna sushi, and within ten minutes both he and Saitō moved away from their stations carrying their two almost identical dishes of Ruby Tuna Sushi, the sole difference between his and Saitō's food was the Gunkan Maki that he himself had put out, as a 'Mimasaka Original', as Takumi had begun coining his new dishes.

Standing before the scowling Director whilst Decora and Corage continued to chuckle amongst themselves about the previous food they'd tasted, had the effect of making both Mimasaka and Saitō glance at each other and roll their eyes in frustration, non verbally bemoaning Azami's petty decision to oust the previous, perfectly competent, three judges.

"Ahem…" Saitō coughed loudly interrupting the two female judges chatter whilst making Azami frown. "Could you please taste our two Tuna Sushi dishes? If you aren't too busy".

Looking down the the two almost identical sushi dishes, the judges grinned appraisingly before noting that Mimasaka had included an eleventh such portion in his specialty - which they all knew would be the deciding factor and difference between him and the fifth seat.

"Ohhh… so petty!" Decora cooed holding up Saitō's plate adoringly, "I hear that in parts of Kyoto there are sushi small enough for an apprentice geisha to eat without disturbing their makeup".

"This is indeed exquisite!" Azami exclaimed getting to his feet and beginning another round of applause that rapidly spread into a massive standing ovation for the fifth seat.

"The tuna is jewel-like in appearance, silken in texture and sublime in taste", pausing as he walked around the table to pat Saitō on the shoulder, the Director looked over at Mimasaka and mockingly congratulated the rebel chef for his ability to match the 'consistency' of cooking he had demonstrated.

"Also..." Azami added , contemptuously, "I would like to commend Mimasaka for his adequate adaption of flavour to the whole sushi plate's profile".

"And so there we have it folks!"

The emcee grinned devilishly he spoke into his microphone. Spinning around on the balls of his feet, a beaming smile on his face, Mister Aida gestured towards all four of the competing chefs.

"Megumi Tadokoro, Momo Akanegakubo? Subaru Mimasaka and Saitō Sōmei? Who will be glorified and whom will be remembered as second rate?"

As the words fell from his lips, announcing the end of the last two cook off's in the second bout made the venue hall erupt once more into rapturous cheers. Spinning on his feet, the new emcee smirked as he gestured towards the judges and began to ask them who had won.

"Central or rebels? Is this a straight win or a spilt victory?" Turning back to the judges, Mister Aida gestured to Director Azami to give the results.

"Momo Akanegakubo is…" Azami began, his face a wide grin as he prepared to extoll the forth seat's victory; clearly expecting Decora and Corage to back him. Unfortunately, the two women sitting either side of him vociferously interrupted and slammed their hands down on their respective buzzers, marking the rebel team as victorious.

"The winner of the second cook off is Megumi Tadokoro!" Corage exclaimed. "Her Flambé Crêpe-Dorayaki was simultaneously ingenious and sublimely delicious! It simply overwhelmed the apple-rose pastry made by chef Momo".

"Agreed..." Decora gritted bitterly. "I am loath to admit it, but the younger Tadokoro has indeed proven her culinary skills and has bested the forth seat".

Taking over the announcing from a stunned Aida, and a vitriolic Azami, Decora and Corage held up placards with the name Sōmei Saitō written on them.

"And lastly..." the two women yelled together and rather excitedly, "chef Saitō is declared the victor of the third round of the second bout!"


R.I.P -

Ali Ahmed Aslam. Chef Restauranteur and Inventor of Chicken Tikka Masala.

N.B.

Depression is a fickle beast.