Fate/Cooking Days: Shokugeki no Shirou (to Saber)
Notes:
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The basic premise of this story was inspired by a story I read a long time ago, I think it was called "Fate/Stay Cooking".
The premise of this story (i.e. the premise of Shirou and other Fate characters in Souma's world) was inspired from there, but besides that premise, every other idea is completely original, as you'll see below.
I really got inspired when I realized just how well the characters from Fate/Stay Night and other Fate/Works would fit into the world of Shokugeki no Souma.
No magecraft, though some characters do have cooking specialties, as it was in the early parts of Shokugeki no Souma.
No crazy "superpowers", though, like the later parts of Shokugeki no Souma.
As always, this is just the prelude to establish the characters, setting, context, and character motivations.
It gets better as it goes on, naturally.
Then, please enjoy.
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The First Dish - Garlic (Chinese, Hainan-style) Oyakodon
Chapter 1
Emiya Shirou was a chef. And a very good chef, at that.
Or, well, so he'd like to believe, at least, as he'd tried to take after the man who saved him; his old man, the world-class chef, Emiya Kiritsugu.
Emiya Kiritsugu had saved him from a burning house-fire, caused by a unclosed stove, one that had killed his parents when he was young. And it was from Kiritsugu, who saved him and inspired him, that he had inherited his ideals of saving as many people as possible, through food.
It was Kiritsugu who had inspired him so thoroughly, and it was because of Kiritsugu that Emiya Shirou had started admiring professional chefs, and that Emiya Shirou dreamed and aspired to someday become an "Ally of Cuisine" himself.
And he had done his best, up until now, to live up to Kiritsugu's name.
...But now, Kiritsugu was gone.
To a place neither Shirou, nor Ilya, could reach.
To a place, far, far away.
And he had entrusted Ilya to Shirou's care,
To take care of her, in his place.
And it was at times like these, that Shirou really missed his old man, sometimes...
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No, no, no,
More accurately (and less dramatically) stated,
Kiritsugu had just left on yet another tour with Irisviel again, to some Western nation, at the behest of his rich customers.
Leaving Shirou, once again, to take care of his younger sister, Ilya.
Well, not that that was anything new.
If there was anything new though, it would be the fact that Kiritsugu had also entrusted an extremely bulky and intimidating Greek bodyguard (code name: Berserker) to watch after her, as well.
And Berserker was the kind of guy that looked incredibly massive with his monstrous figure, further wrapped up in a completely black business suit.
He certainly gave off the impression that he was the kind of guy that could tear your head off nine times (NINE LIVES BEHEADING WORKS), if you so much as looked at Ilya in the wrong way.
Well, that might've been the point, though.
That much was probably Kiritsugu's overprotective affection for his adorable and innocent daughter at work, scaring away any elementary school boys that got the wrong idea about her.
Or at the very least, to scare away any boy not brave enough to approach her even with Berserker by her side. As, surely, no boy who didn't even have the courage to do so would be worthy of Ilya's affection in the first place!
Shirou sweatdropped.
Heavy!
It was really heavy!
He could feel Kiritsugu's heavy love, even from here.
The real question, though, was why he hired a bodyguard for Ilya this time in particular.
It's not like Shirou was particularly against the idea, but normally, just he himself would be enough to protect Ilya when Kiritsugu went on his usual trips.
...And as Shirou was pondering, cleaning the tables of the Emiya Cookery while he was at, he found a note. A note that happened to be from Kiritsugu, by the looks of it.
...Strange...
...Kiritsugu didn't usually leave notes behind when he left on business trips.
What could be so important, that he would leave behind a note this time?
Unfolding it, Shirou took a look, quickly read over its contents.
[]
To Shirou (and Artoria),
This is a very important letter.
I'm entrusting you two with a mission of the highest priority, one that will save many lives.
I want you two to infiltrate Homurahara Academy's sister culinary-focused school, Totsuki Academy, the most prestigious culinary school in Japan.
Very soon, probably only a few days after you find this letter, they'll be holding their admissions test. And that'll be the perfect time for you to infiltrate inside the academy without being noticed.
I want you two to infiltrate Totsuki and save Jeanne, the Ruler of Totsuki Academy.
Save her, and take her away from Totsuki Academy before "The Holy Food War" ceremony starts.
Jeanne is the Heart and Soul of Totsuki academy, and without her, it'll collapse in on itself, stopping the ritual in the process.
First, though, you'll have to earn her trust, through your food.
Jeanne is notoriously difficult to please, though. She hardly eats anything except baguettes and water, almost like she's in a constant state of fasting.
She has a certain ability, which she calls "God's Sense", an ability to distinguish between "good" and "bad" foods. And naturally, she's a very picky eater as a result.
But, that in and of itself is your opportunity; one that you can use your advantage to gain her trust, by making her food that can actually satisfy her.
If it's you, Shirou, I know you'll succeed. I know that you, of all people, will be able to discover what she really means.
I'm sure it's not unlike the true meaning of "cooking", I've told you about before. And though you might not know what I mean now, I'm sure you're just on the verge of understanding it, especially with Saber at your side.
Good luck.
I have faith that two of you, together, will succeed.
P.S.
Make sure to "trace" as many recipes as possible, while you're at it. Especially from Totsuki's top 7 chefs, the "Servant Seven".
P.S.S.
Don't worry, I've entrusted Ilya to Berserker's good and trustworthy hands.
Officially, he was hired by the Einzbern family, but he's a very good-natured and gentle man, and a real professional.
P.S.S.S.
Contact my companion, Assassin, if need info on anything.
He's my trusted associate, friend, and comrade, in my line of work.
I've already paid in advance for his services, and he still owes me a few favors.
[]
Shirou sweatdropped.
As expected of his old man, it was phrased in such a needlessly somber and dramatic manner; even though, if he was reading this correctly, their "mission" (task) was only to get into enrolled into Totsuki Academy and make friends with Jeanne, maybe take her sight-seeing outside of Totsuki when this "Holy Food War" competition started taking off.
And how hard could that be, really?
His old man was really playing into his weak points, too, claiming that it would "save lives".
(Shirou scoffed. His old man, after being influenced by mom, had played enough playful tricks and pranks on him when they were younger that he no longer always took what they told him at face-value like he used to, as a naive child.)
But more importantly, was Ilya really gonna be okay with just Berserker around?
Kiritsugu trusted him, which spoke well about his moral character and professionalism. But, as her older brother, Shirou couldn't help but worry about her anyway.
...Well, if Kiritsugu trusted him, then Shirou supposed it was fine...
Enclosed within the note was another note, one that contained Assassin's contact information (phone number and email).
...Wait, wasn't Kiritsugu a chef?
...Why was his associate in his line of work an assassin?
Well, maybe it was something about Japan's dark underground cooking scene? If such a ridiculous thing even existed in the first place.
(Internally, Shirou laughed at the idea. There was no one something so ridiculous could actually exist. Right...?)
Pondering whether or not he should actually go through with it in his head, Shirou shrugged.
Might as well. If it was important enough for Kiritsugu to have a reason to suggest the idea to him, even if the whole thing was just one big prank on his part, then Shirou might as well at least try it out.
It sound like it might be fun, at least.
And it might be a good chance for he himself to improve his culinary skills as well, and become one step close to becoming a true "ally of cuisine".
Now, Shirou was not nearly as good a chef as Kiritsugu, "The Gourmet-Killer", whose food was rumored to be good enough to make his customers feel as they experienced "a little death" and made them lose track of time, as though they had been sent to and spent hours in heaven with each bite.
But even still, Shirou thought he was pretty good.
Kiritsugu hadn't taught him much beyond the basics (besides correcting him in his youth, when he had once accidentally almost burned himself against a hot stove-handling rod), but even then, Shirou still learned a lot from Kiritsugu, just by tracing his techniques with his eyes, and learning to mimic Kiritsugu's form and style (though with a few of his own personal touches).
Calling Saber, he had summoned her to his side, and told her all about it.
She looked incredulous, but she decided that if Shirou was going to did it, then she might as well tag along, too.
And so, they set off.
To Totsuki Academy!
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It was time for the Admissions test, and Shirou had just been separated from Saber, who was sorted into the next trail admission sections, the group that would take next test, 1 hour later.
As luck would just so happen to have, Jeanne was serving as the direct taste-tester (and only taste tester) for all the admissions tests this year, but she was known to hardly ever tasted any dishes, and to disqualify most contestants, despite her reputation of also being very kind-hearted.
Among judges, she was probably the harshest, and the last time she had served as an admissions tester, practically no-one had passed the test.
So naturally, all the students were very nervous.
Everybody had three attempts, but only 1 hour of time to make any dishes. So, most students focused all their effort on making one high-quality, rather than three mediocre attempts.
They all knew Jeanne had a reputation for only tasting food that she deemed to be in the "Image of God" (she had said as much in interviews), and many tried to cater to her tastes. Though few actually understood what she meant.
And so, many students tried to create delicious-tasting and delicious-smelling dishes which would appeal to her, and tried to make their dishes look like crosses or crucifixion scenes, trying to appeal to her Christian artistic Jeanne.
Jeanne, despite being surrounded by so many delicious smells, was naturally able to resist the temptation of the myriad of foods extremely easily, even though it was as though all the world's food treasures were laid out bare before her.
About 30 minutes in, Jeanne approached one student's table, smiling sweetly.
The student looked slightly nervous but also very proud, no doubt completely confident in their own glorious work.
"Fail."
Jeanne declared.
Still smiling sweetly, without even the slightest change in expression.
An instant fail, just like that!
"But why?!" The student protested, incredulously, "You haven't even taken a bite out of it yet! If you just gave it a try...!"
Indeed, the student's looked very appealing to many, a very sweet-looking dessert, that would no doubt taste delicious. Undeniably, a treat that many girls would want to consume or at least to try a bit of.
But, that's not what Jeanne was looking for at all, and she didn't seem interested in the slightest.
Cryptically, Jeanne replied, "None are saved by works alone, but only though spirit, from which Good Works will naturally flow."
Inflamed, the student wanted to continue protesting, but was very quickly and roughly handled and taken out by strongmen guards in white suits, who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
In an instant, the tension in the air intensified.
Shirou sweatdropped.
'Heavy!' Shirou though.
And in an instant, it felt as though the massive kitchen, full of students, had just turned from a field of ketchup and tomato-sauce and strawberry jam decorated crosses into a blood-stained massacre scene, filled with gravestones all around.
The increase in student tension was certainly very noticeable.
Jeanne went through the remaining students in order, failing all of them so far, though some of them actually had surprisingly good artistic-sense in their dishes, Jeanne acknowledged and praise them for.
...But they all still ended up failing, as Jeanne mercilessly cast her judgement from up above, in her position of authority.
Shirou became nervous as she stopped by his table, and looked intently over the food he had prepared.
Was she about to fail him, just like all the others?
He started sweating a bit.
Strangely, though, this time she also leaned in close to observe Shirou's face, zooming in to a very close distance.
Shirou blushed.
Her face was way too close!
...And she looked a lot like Saber (but with softer features and larger chest), whom Shirou had always admired and had a crush on, but had yet to muster up the courage to confess to.
"Uh, is, is something the matter?" He asked, face still red.
Smiling, Jeanne backed off, and shook her head. "No, I'm just looking forward to it is all! Your dish."
And just like that, she quickly passed on by, to the other students' tables.
Internally, Shirou sighed a breathe of relief, though he quickly gained the ire and jealously of the other students who still remained.
Shirou was a bit confused though.
He hadn't even been trying to make any sort of food that looked even remotely Christian or religious in any sense, but apparently, he had passed the qualification, somehow?
Just what kind of standards was she judging by, exactly?
...
Finally, the time for the testing had approached. The Judgement Hour was upon him.
Nervously, Shirou presented his dish.
"Ah, um, this is just a simple recipe I came up with, a few years ago, but I hope you'll enjoy..."
It was a simple Chinese Hainan-style Oyakodon, with a simple broth at its side. It was a very simple-looking egg fried rice dish with chicken, though chicken wasn't immediately visible through it's covering of rice and eggs.
It wasn't a particularly complex or ornate dish, but it was one that Shirou had made with Saber in mind, thinking of how much she enjoyed it.
It was the first recipe he came up with that Saber had praised him as actually being better than Kiritsugu's, and it was the first dish that Kiritsugu himself had praised Shirou for making.
Jeanne looked at it curiously.
"It is indeed simple...'
It looked just like simple dish of eggs and rice.
"A, hahaha," Shirou laughed nervously, "We, well, my best friend, Saber, did always that extravagance is the enemy..."
He trailed off, as he notice Jeanne was still staring at the dish.
"How strange..." She muttered, "That this simple looking dish would be the one God would tell me to choose..."
"Huh...?"
Shirou didn't quite understand what she was saying.
"Oh, nothing." She said, dismissing his inquiry.
Well, perhaps it was fitting, in a way.
A simple and pure dish for a simple and pure girl.
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Bringing the tasting spoon up to her mouth, Jeanne sampled her first spoonful,
And she was immediately overwhelmed by an intense shockwave of flavor, sending chills through her spine!
The heavy flavor of garlic violently pushing and wrestling against her tongue and the back of her mouth,
She found herself almost chocking on the thick meat strips (of the chicken),
which was then washed down by the life-giving liquidly protein juices (of the broth),
It felt extremely nutritious and nourishing, satisfyingly her mouth, her tongue, and her stomach, as though she was receiving manna from the heavens!
No, it was like a true manna transfer, from Shirou giving her his tender and loving strips of protein to be embraced by her throat and swallowed down into her stomach, filling them up with his love.
A true mana transfer, shot right down her throat and into her stomach as an amazingly satisfyingly and pleasant protein supplement,
One that she had she had been so lacking in, for so, so long.
Like a Japanese phoenix-prince, rising from an egg amidst the fiery ashes of Shirou's hair, embracing her warmly and warmly, kissing her upon her lips tenderly, as he filled her up with his essential energizing fluids.
Truly, a bird of fire, which reviving her from the inside out with it's most internal essence, satisfying her completely.
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"Aaaaahn~!"
Jeanne suddenly arched back, as she letting out an intense, immodest moan of pleasure, biting her lower lip and the side of her pointer finger, her sizable chest upraised and notably pushed out.
Her hips were unsteady and her knees were buckling, as she rubbed her lower legs together.
Shirou blushed fiercely.
Uh...
Did, did French girls normally get so flustered and make such erotic-looking gestures and let out erotic-sounding moans when eating food?
Were French girls supposed to be so intensely erotic?
No, no, his childhood friend Saber (from England), and his (Germanic) sister and mother didn't, and French girls couldn't be all that different from other European girls, right?
...Right?
Jeanne, barely able to stand, her hips and lower body twitching and breathing and panting very heavily with a tomato-colored flushed face, gave Shirou an approving thumbs up.
"Pa, pass!"
(Incidentally, he was the only that passes the admissions test that round, while 108 other students failed.)
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A very short while afterwards, as Jeanne recovered, though still blushing and looking vaguely satisfied, and with her skin naturally sparkling,
She asked Shirou to show her how to make his dish properly, what sort of ingredients and preparation methods had he used? And such.
And Shirou complied, showing her from a safe, non-erotic distance.
Gratefully, she thanked him.
It had been the first Good meal she had in a long while ("Very stimulating!"), despite being so simple in concept.
Shirou blushed, again, from her wording.
"Will you make it again for me, sometime?" She asked, sweetly.
Her voice sounded almost pleading, and Shirou was suddenly finding it very hard to her down, especially with how sweetly she asked, and given how much she looked just like Saber.
"Well..." He hesitated a bit, but upon seeing Jeanne's pleading eyes, he quickly gave in. "...Sure, if it's just making a meal."
Jeanne smiled at him sweetly.
"Thank you."
Shirou looked away in embarrassment.
And, noting that it was time for the second admissions test, she swiftly headed over to the next testing room, much to Shirou's relief.
That girl...
She really was way too intense!
Shirou blushed as he looked down.
Well, he probably wouldn't be able to walk properly, for the next few minutes.
Why did she have to look so much like Saber?
Now, he couldn't get the image of Saber acting the same way out of his head...
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Later on, in the other testing room
As Jeanne sampled another dish, she felt another intense wave of pleasure.
Like twin Excaliburs from both sides, acting as scissors with which to cut her senses apart, violently piercing into her from the outside, and explosively blast her in half from the inside-out.
It somehow reminded her of adoptive brother, Arthur's, dishes.
And so,
Artoria Pendragon also passed (though also a bit put-off by Jeanne's, ahem, "enthusiastic" display).
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Both having passed,
Shirou and Saber later met up right outside the Type-Moon dorm, a dormitory ran by Kiritsugu's old acquaintance, Fujimaru Taiga.
They had to make something to impress her, but they both passed incredibly easily.
She was surprisingly easy to please!
(Or perhaps, it was because of her lingering feelings for Kiritsugu...?)
In any case, whether it was fate or destiny or sheer coincidence, that they would stumble upon a dorm run by Kiritsugu's old acquaintance, they now had a place to stay for the coming nights.
The First Dish - Garlic (Chinese, Hainan-style) Oyakodon
EATEN
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Author's Notes:
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Kiritsugu was being completely serious about "The Holy Food War", naturally.
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Might expand on Taiga's tests and trails, make it into its own chapter or mini-chapter later.
But it's fine as is, for now.
For now...
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Recipe next, chapter 2 after that.
Chapters 2&3 is where it really gets good (the aftermath of the event, Shirou and Saber discuss Jeanne, introduction of the Tohsaka sisters (and Issei)), so stick around for that!
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