"I can't believe you didn't consider that possibility beforehand!" Daniel was scolding Soma after they got back to Polar Star. "I mean, that's practically the penalty for any type of failure for these sorts of events around here!" Soma sighed as he replied, "Yeah, yeah. I know. But it's still another thing to actually hear it said aloud." Daniel sat down as he calmed himself a bit and stated, "Well, you're at the point of no return now, so you know what you have to do." Soma grinned and said, "You bet I know – and I'm going to do it, too! The only question is, will you still join me on this one?" Daniel sighed before giving a light chuckle and replying, "Yeah, sure. It would really suck if you had to leave."
The next day in gym class, Soma and Daniel were talking with Megumi about how to approach this challenge as they were playing some basketball. "Alright, seeing as Kuga's specialty is Chinese, and Soma has decided to battle him that way, we could really use someone's help figuring out what's in Kuga's arsenal so we can try to counter it," Daniel said. "Do any of us know someone who could help us on that?" As they were wondering, they saw a tall, athletic-looking purple-haired girl taking the ball aggressively to the paint before performing a reverse jam into the basket that left everyone stunned. 'Dayum – she's got game!' Daniel thought. Megumi then lit up and suggested that they get her to help. The girl, a fellow first year named Miyoko Hojo, knew Megumi from the Autumn Election preliminary rounds. Megumi just beat her out for the final slot in the main tournament, and she was an expert in Chinese cuisine herself, being the heiress to a well-known Chinese restaurant in Yokohama.
After gym class, they went up to Hojo to talk to her about getting her help. When they told her about how Soma was going after Terunori Kuga, of all people, she seemed intrigued and agreed to provide whatever advice and information she could. What she proposed was taking them to the Chinese Cuisine Research Society, which was Kuga's stronghold, to see exactly what he was capable of doing. While Soma and Daniel readily agreed to go, Megumi had to decline as she had her own club meeting that afternoon for the Regional Cuisine Research Society. At this, Daniel reminded himself to let the Chocolate Research Society know about his plans for the Moon Festival.
As they made their way to the Chinese Cuisine Research Society, Hojo informed them that while it used to be a society that explored all aspects of Chinese cuisine, Kuga had used his ability and power to take control of the club and have it focus on his favorite type of Chinese cuisine – Szechuan. She also warned that they would have to be discreet when looking in, as they didn't want to provoke him or let him know what they were up to. When they arrived, what they saw wasn't a cooking club, but more like an army in boot camp, with all of them training to be in sync with each other by flipping dry rice in a wok. It was frankly the most insane thing Daniel had ever seen in a kitchen.
Once he got over the initial shock, Soma made his presence known as Kuga saw them looking on, even asking if Hojo was finally going to join, to which she deadpanned, "Not a chance." Soma then let Kuga know that he was planning on running a stall at the Moon Festival and would be challenging him to see who made the most sales during the week, with a potential food war date on the line. While this seemed to amuse Kuga, Hojo was annoyed that Soma had completely ignored her instructions beforehand. "Hey! What is it about being discreet that you don't understand!? Were you even listening to anything I said!?" At this, Daniel chuckled gently, and when she turned to him, he deadpanned, "Welcome to my world."
When Kuga asked what dishes Soma had in mind, Soma mentioned a Mapo Tofu meal set the diner served. At this, Kuga called out ten of the members and had them make the club's version of Mapo Tofu. What happened next sent chills down Daniel's spine. Not only were all ten of them working in sync, but they all finished the dish at the exact same time, making it the exact same way so that there was absolutely no difference between the ten servings made. While Daniel politely declined to taste, as it looked a little too spicy for him, Soma dug in. Before long, his mouth was on fire, and yet the flavors were mind-blowing. Kuga then began to speak about how Szechuan and its neighboring provinces viewed and revered spiciness in its cuisine, and how this philosophy drove his own cooking and overall thinking.
After this display, the three of them walked out of there with a great deal of concern. However, Soma was also deep in thought. While he now realized that this would be a bigger challenge than he initially thought, he was also pretty excited by it. He and Daniel then thanked Hojo for taking them on this little field trip. Before they left, Hojo took Daniel aside and asked, "Does he know what he's doing, or even getting himself into?" Daniel replied, "Yeah, he knows. I realize it looks like he's going into this flying blind – and he kind of is – but he'll figure it out in the end…I think." As they started back to the dorm, Hojo called out to them, saying if they or Megumi needed anything, to give her a call.
The first thing Soma did upon returning to the dorm was to call Mitsuru Sotsuda from the newspaper club and cash in a favor – specifically asking for advertising space in the Moon Festival pamphlet that would be featured right next to Kuga's advertisement. The next day, the school was abuzz after seeing Soma's advertisement, which was right where he wanted it to be. Because it was right next to a council member's ad, it got quite a lot of attention. As Soma explained, this would be his "official" declaration of war against Kuga.
The next thing they would need to do is have someone they trusted actually taste the diner's Mapo Tofu to see where they stood. For this, Soma wanted to get Erina. While Daniel doubted that she would agree, he nonetheless went with him as he went to the mansion to ask, if only to at least see Hisako. As expected, Soma and Daniel found Erina just outside the mansion overseeing the construction work of her booth in the mountain area alongside Hisako. Alice was also there, trying to get Erina to find a slot for her to set up something for the festival, despite the fact that the deadline had already passed. When Soma came up to them and asked if they would be interested in trying his dish, Erina tried to shoo him away, saying she was too busy, but Hisako, while giving a subtle smile Daniel's way, unexpectedly said that they could have one hour of their time, much to Erina's surprise. As she was already there, Alice demanded that she be allowed to taste as well.
They were then led to the kitchen where Soma unpacked his ingredients – at which point, he and Daniel got to work. Daniel served as Soma's sous chef, as he knew how the diner's Mapo Tofu was made. Before long, three servings of the diner's Mapo Tofu set meal were ready for the three ladies, and they dug in. While Alice commented that it definitely had a kick to it, Erina was unimpressed, stating that it was very pedestrian compared to Kuga's Mapo Tofu, as it lacked the mala flavors Kuga was known for.
Hisako then mentioned something that Kuga once said about how he enjoyed seeing the look of pain and pleasure on a customer's face all rolled into one as they were eating his food. Soma commented that he could relate, as he found similar pleasure in giving people his 'experiments' with the look of disgust on their faces. Erina rolled her eyes and commented, "Like Kuga, you have a serious screw loose." Daniel then added in a teasing tone, "More like a screw missing, actually," which got a giggle out of the girls and a loud, "Oi!" out of Soma. After Daniel got a good chuckle, he patted Soma's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I still like you anyway."
When they got back to the dorm and began to ponder on what the girls had said to them, Megumi came into the kitchen and asked what was up. When they explained what had transpired earlier, she was surprised that they had gotten Erina to try Soma's food. When she commented that the two of them seemed overwhelmed, she then told them, much to their pleasure, that she wanted to volunteer to work with them for the festival, having declined both Isshiki's as well as the chief of her research society. "Alright!" Daniel exclaimed, "The Three Amigos are back in action!"
Soma, who was happy to have an extra helping hand (and an extra taste-tester), was so excited he immediately got to work on some test dishes – all of which were devastatingly spicy. Before they began tasting, Daniel decided to be prudent and pour everyone a large glass of milk. It was a good thing that he did, because the spice was so overwhelming that it destroyed their taste buds instantaneously, with only the milk stopping their suffering. Soma commented that while the food was spicy, the taste of Kuga's food simply wasn't there.
As the three of them pondered on what to do, Daniel commented, "You know, maybe fighting fire with fire isn't the way to go on this one." When Soma and Megumi turned their attention to him, Daniel continued, "My best experiences with Chinese food are actually from this really good dim sum place my family used to go to back in Los Angeles. All the different dishes there, you couldn't get enough. Plus, even the desserts were great! They had the best…" Daniel then suddenly sat up straight as a proverbial lightbulb went off in his head. "That's it!" he exclaimed. Soma and Megumi blinked owlishly as Megumi asked, "What's it?" Daniel then replied, "I know what I'm going to contribute to our little venture here." He then got up and quickly went to his room, stating, "I've got to write this down before I forget!"
The next morning, after doing some research and refining his idea on paper, Daniel came down to the dorm kitchen to find Soma and Megumi already there. Daniel then explained to them what he had in mind, which was met with enthusiasm as both Soma and Megumi gave the go ahead for Daniel to start testing his dish. As Daniel was making a list of ingredients he would need, he also re-entered discussions on what else to make with Soma and Megumi, who told Daniel that they had thought about what Daniel had said the previous night and believed he may have a good point. As they began to reflect on their previous experiences to determine what might best work here, Soma then remembered something from a past festival. After explaining it to Daniel and Megumi, they felt they really had a solid starting game plan and got to work refining their dishes.
Over the next couple weeks leading up to the Moon Festival, everyone, including the Three Amigos, were busy testing and refining their dishes and overall concepts for their booths (at least those who were setting up booths). Despite this flurry of activity, however, Daniel still managed to find time to call and talk with Hisako on a number of evenings. They even found the time to meet up with each other in secret off-campus on a couple of occasions, giving them the opportunity to really get to know each other better.
Hisako told Daniel about her family's background, a fairly high-level one that was well known for the practice of traditional Chinese medicine and medicinal cooking, having learned these skills from a very young age. At the same time, she also took on the role of Erina's assistant and personal confidant, as the families were quite close to each other. "Do you like being Erina's assistant?" Daniel asked. Hisako nodded and replied, "Yes – very much so. It's been the biggest honor of my life and I wouldn't want to give it up for anything." Daniel smiled and stated, "As long as you're happy with what you're doing, that's what ultimately counts."
Daniel then told Hisako about his background. Although it was not nearly as prestigious or well-known as hers or Erina's, he still took pride in it. He told Hisako about how he came from a long line of academics, about how his dad had been selected to create this law program in Japan by American University, about how he had tested at genius levels upon entering school in Japan, and about how he met and cultivated his friendship with Soma. "He accepted me immediately as his friend for who I am, and I'll always be grateful for that," he explained. He also told Hisako how learning to cook in that diner kitchen with Soma and his dad was one of the most enjoyable things he had going for himself in quite a while. "This is why I decided to try applying to Tosuki in the first place," he said. "I wanted to do something that I enjoyed with people my own age for once." Hisako had to admit, she admired how Daniel was able to take joy in his experience, despite the harsh pressure that came with it.
As they walked back to campus a few nights before the start of the festival, Hisako asked Daniel how everything was going with the stall. Daniel replied that things seemed to be going as well as could be – their recipes were ready to go, and they even had Megumi joining them at the stand. All they could do now was work hard to get the customers they needed. Hisako then gave Daniel a stern look and said, "You'd better get through this in one piece. I would really hate it if you were forced to leave because Soma acted so impulsively." Daniel chuckled and said, "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Believe it or not, this isn't Soma's first rodeo, so he knows what he's doing…. At least, I'm fairly sure he does."
On the morning of the festival's first day, everyone gathered at the entrance to the festival grounds for the opening ceremony, where Urara and Yua explained how the monetary system and tallying of sales would work. After Senzaemon gave a speech, and the students sung the school song in unison (except for Soma and Daniel, who didn't know the words, though Daniel tried his best to fake it), the festival was declared open, and everyone raced off to set up their booths.
Soma, Daniel, and Megumi headed to the Central area, where they would be set up right next to Kuga's Chinese Cuisine Research Society booth, which looked like a large Chinese temple. Before the festival, they had gotten permission to borrow a couple of kilns to make the savory dish they came up with – Hujiao Bing – a baked bun with a spiced pork patty in the middle that was crispy on the outside, and juicy and tender on the inside.
Daniel, meanwhile, had gotten permission to use a portable multi-layered oven and a portable bakery display case with wheels for his contribution – a Chinese egg custard tart. However, this was no ordinary egg custard tart, though it looked like it from the outside. While he made sure the crust was buttery and flaky, and that the egg custard was smooth and creamy (and not too sweet), he also added a couple of unique touches – a piece of toasted sesame brittle on the top, and a layer of smooth, sweet adzuki bean paste at the bottom of the tart.
Daniel had already prepared a bunch of the tarts that were ready to sell and serve, while keeping some of the components in a cooler ready to go into the oven in case he had to bake more. Soon, the display case was filled, and Daniel made a quick check in his pocket to make sure he had his Irish coin with him (he did, of course). Meanwhile, Soma placed several uncooked buns into the kilns, which would soon be piping hot and ready to eat. It was now time for the battle to commence!