Classique

by Zancrowe

{Soma / Erina} As rival schools attempt to crush Tootsuki in the biggest Tournament Arc; Azami finally attempts to retake control of his daughter; while Asahi decides it's time to usurp the Nakiri Throne from that very heiress. Only problem? Erina's boyfriend. [ft. Asahi/OC; OC/Nao; Ryou/Alice; Isshi/Nene; Taku/Hisa; Akira/Megu] ((38: Finals! Unlimited Cross Knives))

21. The Commoner, The Delinquent (II)

Rating: T+

Pairing: Soma/Erina

Genre: Romance; Drama; Hurt/Comfort; Shonen; Slight Mature Themes

Notes:

Hey Everyone! Zancrowe Here!

Apologies for the delay. Got caught up in work, and for once, not just my own. I ended up having to offer some assist to a colleague of mine who manages an Italian restaurant. So, I ended up working a bit there to try and help out, all the while managing my own stuff. Add to that the fact that my birthplace, Puerto Rico, got hit by Hurricane Fiona, and I was running like a chicken with its head cut off trying to send any help possible to my family there. I'm slowly getting back to the grove of things, but I do apologize regardless.

That said, working at that Italian place, funny how none of the employees there could rightfully understand why I was so utterly giddy when I first held a Mezzaluna.

Disclaimer: Don't own Shokugeki no Soma.

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VIP guests as they were, they still dropped in unannounced, which ended with them having the near impossible mission of finding a parking spot in this stadium that seemed to get more and more crowded with each passing match. Tootsuki had to even resort to setting up giant screens outside to allow some unlucky students to sort-of view the Intercontinental Shokugeki "live", as several rich and powerful individuals had thrown bags of money at Tootsuki and at the WGO for seats at the event, and they knew, if Tootsuki survived today, then people would be willing to pay a fortune for the final round. Television views had skyrocketed, with each match gaining more and more viewers, and Megumi and Shouko's little livestream match-up had spiked the interest of the younger generation. Everyone was tuning in. Everyone who was anyone wanted a seat at this event. Which of course meant...

"There's no place to park at all," Jouichirou noted with a frown, as he felt he had been driving around the stadium for nearly twenty minutes, with not a single empty spot to be found. Even the valet parking area was booked. And, from the look of things, they were about to start. "We really should have left the car at the Resort and taken the bus here instead."

"Funny that," Riko replied with all the sarcasm she could muster, her head rested to the side of the window, looking out. "Who would have guesses my suggestion might have, gasp, actually been the right call all along?"

"Oh, don't act all high and mighty now," Jouichirou shot back, as he wondered if he could get in trouble if he left the car on the decorative lawn. "I wasn't the one who took forever to get ready. We both knew this was important."

"Oh, excuse me for having a hard time managing without half my things," she said. "And after I had the decency of accepting the offer of crashing over at your place. You really haven't changed, always shifting blame around," she added, clearly in jest, which made him laugh.

"Just don't tell Soma you stayed over at Yukihira's like, well, like I know you'll say it," Jouichirou almost sounded like he was pleading, but she just laughed at his would-be accusation. "Don't make it sound weird is all I'm asking."

"Weird? Me? I'd never. Although… it would make for a decent payback for all those horrid monstrosities you used to feed me back in the day," she figured, as he frowned.

"Hey, there's an art to that," he defended, "You just don't get it. Just like Jun. Or Gin. Or, well, pretty much everyone else here."

"That should clue you in that the problem's not us," she said, her eyes on the screens, which were showing the just-announced competitors. "Oh, and hey, your boy's up!"

"Soma, eh?" Jouichirou noted, eyes on the screen as well. "…Ah, and he got stuck with that Eizan boy. I didn't even know he was still a seated member. This… Soma's not going to like that."

"Hmm…" Riko just mused for a moment, before she quickly opened the door of the moving vehicle, which made Jouichirou have to stop on the spot. Before he could complain to her, she just flashed him a smile and said, "I kinda realized that it doesn't take two to park a car. So, best of luck, I'll be inside watching the match! Thanks for the ride!"

"H-Hey!" Jouichirou cried out, but within a second, she was gone, leaving him to fend for himself, much to his annoyance. "…Seriously? How can a person mature so much and still seem like the same girl from high school at the same time?" he voiced to himself, hand on the wheel, sighing. "But, damn it, you've got this Soma. You've been through worse. I know pride is a big thing to overcome, but for once, try and play nice with you former enemies. Really hope all those life lessons from all that manga you read comes in handy now of all times."

And just as the screens showed to the world, the first match of the Sixth Round of the Intercontinental Shokugeki was officially underway…

…just that the two from Tootsuki's side had yet to take a single step into the arena.

"Hey!" Urara cried out, as she pointed towards Benjamin and Emilia, already at their station, "Soma, Douche, move on over here."

"…Who are you calling a douche?!" Eizan finally seemed to snap out of it, barking at Urara, who merely stuck her tongue out at him, before he turned back to Soma and the others, the former still frozen in the spot like a broken mirror, glare and all. "And this is not what I agreed to! I am willing to go above and beyond just to spite my father, but no way in hell can you expect me to actually cook alongside this guy!"

"That's some pretty bold talk for someone who's still in this academy thanks to my kindness," Soma, also coming to, spoke up. In a sheer contrast to Eizan's fury, Soma spoke coldly and with all the mockery imaginable, which almost sounded outright out of place coming from him of all people. "I expected a little more gratitude, senior."

"Is that so you little punk?!" Eizan spat out. "Don't forget that you all made it this far thanks to my interventions and my masterful plan! If they just followed your lead of leaving the cooking do all the talking and nothing else this academy would have been an amusement park weeks ago!"

"Half of the things you intervened at were caused by you!"

"Why should I even bother listening to your drabble? The Sixth shouldn't lower himself to the opinions of the Seventh."

"That's not your seat! It's Tadokoro's!"

"Sorry, can't hear anyone seated lower than I am!"

"…Can we at least try to get along?" Isshiki chimed in, smiling politely at the bickering duo, and while Soma seemed to stand down, albeit with the biggest of pouts, Eizan just scoffed.

"No thanks!" the yakuza replied, turning right around. "Deals off! You idiots deal with this mess! I rather start over from scratch than ever share a kitchen with this plebian!"

"Wha-Hey!" Alice quickly called out, grabbing Eizan by the collar of his uniform and holding him in place. This caused the older boy to stagger, because for such a princess, she certainly had quite the grip. "You can't just bail on us right in the middle of the round!"

"Leave him be," Soma just said, his eyes on the arena, cracking his knuckles in a show of force. "I'll take them both by myself. No sweat."

"This isn't the time for that," Akira told the boy, before he turned back to the struggling Eizan as Alice pulled him right back towards where they were all standing at. She basically had to drag him back, as the once former villain now looked like a child throwing a tantrum, arms crossed and all. "And you, Eizan, you promised Kinokuni your full support. You said the Neo-Noirs where off the table, but not once did you say anything about a tag-team with Yukihira."

"That's because this wasn't supposed to be how the teams were split up!" Eizan fired back, standing up right once Alice let him go, despite the girl giving him a very stern look like a disappointed mother. He just did his best to ignore her. "Besides, how can any of you even think this will even work?! This imbecil and I can barely be in a room together, how are we expected to cook together?! I cannot bring myself to lower my craft so much to even resemble his level!"

"Says the guy too afraid to face-off against me properly!" Soma shot back, glare aimed right back at Eizan. "Come on, Shokugeki time! Right here, right now! Winner faces off against Lestrade."

"None of that!" Alice cried out.

"You're on you damn piece of trash!" Eizan accepted, his hand already hovering over his knife's handle.

"Or that either!" Alice cried out again.

"…So much for all that planning," Akira noted, deflated. This was truly the worst starting combination they could have gotten, and by the look of things, they didn't have time for this. Urara was doing her best to keep the audience occupied, but the judges were already looking at them expectantly, and if he knew Azami, the man would certainly jump at the opportunity to harm them further if they didn't have Soma and Eizan on that arena in less than a minute at most.

"You two," Isshiki voiced, and despite the animosity between the two enemies, they did pause from what looked like the start of a duel between the two, and reluctantly turned towards the Second Seat. "I understand your frustrations, I really do. But this isn't the time, nor the place. A lot is riding on this competition, and you both know this well. Soma," Isshiki said, eyeing his junior. "I understand how you feel about Etsuya. What he did to you really was out-of-line, and despicable, but you yourself allowed him to stay. No sense in holding grudges now," he said, and Soma just huffed. He knew Isshiki was right. Isshiki then turned to Eizan, who looked not at all convinced. "And Etsuya, you've hurt a lot of people both here in Tootsuki and out. We won't fool ourselves here, you can be quite the vile individual when you want to. But… and correct me if I'm wrong, I don't believe it's just flipping off your father the only thing that drove you to assist us during our time of need."

"Huh?!" Eizan flatly asked, now glaring at his classmate. Isshiki did not waver.

"This is the one time you get to actually help save the career and livelihood of so many people," Isshiki explained, his expression fierce, and despite all his anger, Eizan couldn't quite hold his glare up. "It's your call. Always will be. But I feel that this is your only shot at fixing so many of the wrongs you've committed. It always starts with one step, and that's always the hardest. We need your help. Will you or will you not help us?"

"That's not-" Eizan began, but got cut off by the person who had remained the quietest out of all six of them.

"I was exceedingly against you staying, you know?" Erina interrupted, her tone trying to sound as ice cold as she was known for, but the cracks in her voice were still evident. Still, she persisted, and for all his ire, Eizan bit his tongue and just looked on, frowning but not glaring. "Just to make your father happy, to expand the family business, you attempted to destroy Soma's life; all to get to me. I knew you deserved nothing but an expulsion, and if I could have it my way, some time locked up in a juvenile penitentiary," she added, and he flinched at that accusation. "…But Soma refused that idea. He still saw potential in you. He knew you were skillful, and he wanted to maybe someday challenge you again. Kinokuni, Kuga, and Isshiki here all think highly of you, so I ask you, if you are really being honest about helping us, for just this once, just do so."

Eizan just stared at her for a moment, utterly silent. Isshiki decided it best not to add anything else, as Soma, Akira and Alice all looked on, not sure if they should do something or not. But, for Eizan, looking at this girl, who had been the bane of his existence ever since she voted against his proposal all those months ago; once the pinnacle of pride and culinary nobility, now just a shell barely holding on. He didn't care about this whole movement behind her, the drama she face, or at least, he had told himself as much since it all began.

Get back at his father, that's all he told himself he wanted…

"Well, bystanders say they saw Erina Nakiri run out of the restaurant like if there was a fire brewing…"

Those words his sister had told him back on the cruise always crept back into his mind. He didn't even know why. Knowing what he did now, it was clear it hadn't even been his actions that had broken the princess back then. Subaru had been caught by that little shrieking violet that he was substituting for, so his initial plan to spread nasty rumors of her were cut at the bud. But… He also knew, or at least suspected, that it had been her involvement in his dealings that had given her father his first grasp at clawing his way back into her life…

"We won this, and I'm not sure what the hell you did to make that girl outright cry, but damn bro, you're ruthless."

He was. He prided himself in it. But… looking at the girl now, utterly hanging on by a thread, and all he could picture was just how much like his father he had grown up to be. He paused, he closed his eyes, he sighed, and he moved.

"Move it Yukihira," he simply stated as he flipped around and walked towards the arena. A very confused Soma bit down any witty response and simply followed along.

Much to the relief of a very, very worried Urara, the two took a stance at the arena in what she believed had been seconds before they were called out. The other four Elite Ten students down below, as well as the rest up above, five current, five former, all waited on baited breath as to how this match would go down, but at least, it wasn't over before it had begun.

"Took you guys a while," Benjamin noted, smiling, "For a moment I thought you'd be too afraid of facing off against the sheer amount of love that is the cooking my dearest Emilia and I put on a plate."

"That sounds revolting," Eizan just stated, fixing his glasses with just his middle finger alone.

"~How utterly deplorable," Emilia quickly came to her beloved defense. "We will make you regret those words, substitute Elite."

"Bring it on then," Soma chimed in, removing his scarf tied at his wrist and fastening it over his head. Never in a million years did he ever imagine himself having to cooperate with Etsuya Eizan of all people, but if it was for Erina's sake, well then, so be it. "Give us your worst!"

"Our competitors are at the ready!" Urara announced, as the stadium slowly got quiet since it was clear the match, belated as it was, was ready to start. "Representing Tootsuki Academy, in what has to be the most unexpected participation ever, we have our former Ninth Seat! You all have the displeasure of knowing him, probably, and if you feel dirty for cheering him on you're not alone, but this is what our life has become, the current Substitute Sixth Seat, Etsuya Eizan!"

A series of very confused claps followed, which just ticked Eizan off even further. This has got to be the dumbest thing he had ever agreed to. Oh well, no backing off now he supposed.

"And, reluctantly joining him in what I can only imagine is the hardest team up for the guy!" Urara continued, turning her attention to the redhead. "Our biggest troublemaker! The only Tootsuki student who can have you cheering him on and the screaming at him thanks to the stunts he pulls! You know him! You love him! You can't have him because that booty belongs to Erina, our Seventh Seat, Soma Yukihira!"

Soma just let out a laugh at this, since Urara seemed to change his introduction every time and every time she seemed to make it both weirder and funnier.

Erina, on the other hand, was just glaring at the hostess. Blushing too.

"Facing off against them, from England's very own Lestrade International Academy of Culinary Arts!" Urara continued, her arm now extended to the opposing team. "We have Benjamin Bracken and Emilia Bailey! Two chefs per team! One dish! With the four chefs at the scene, please, our theme!"

The screen once more began to shift around, flickering the hundreds upon hundreds different possible themes or ingredients that could be possibly given, as Soma, Eizan, Benjamin and Emilia all looked on. The audience all keep quiet, and within seconds, the theme was chosen…

Soup

"And the theme has been chosen!" Urara announced, her hand in the air, giving them all the much awaited signal. "Now then, first round, Shokugeki start!"

Eizan looked up at the screen, the frown still plastered all over his face, as that stupid theme only made him remember…

"Hey, that's what I used to beat you with," Soma noted, standing by his side, smirking. It took an enormous amount of willpower to stop Eizan from stabbing him. He turned, his joints creaking loudly, to face the redhead pain in the ass.

"Don't make me do something you'll regret," he warned. "Now get to work. You should at least know that with this as our theme, what our best course of action should be…"

"Yeah, yeah," Soma replied, softening up a bit. He really should, for once, focus and leave the trash talk to the side, as tempting as it was. "I'm glad we're on the same page at least. Since its soup, we should obviously go with…"

"Pork," / "Shrimp," they both replied in unison.

Eizan and Soma both then froze in place, both slowly turning to each other.

"Why the hell would you pick shrimp?!" Eizan barked. "Pork is the most obvious choice, and this is me being kind enough to pick an ingredient so versatile that even someone from a crappy little shop down the street has to have some knowledge on how to cook it properly!"

"Oh yeah?" Soma countered, "And here I was being so mindful of your shortcomings that I picked shrimp because it is so easy to cook and mixes with everything; that way you could focus on ruining our opponents dish with whatever underhanded tactic you have in mind."

"Why you little-!"

"Am I lying?!"

The other Elite students all looked on, utterly blank in the face; while up above, all those seated in their special area, from the Polar Stars to their friends, every single one of them, Yuuki with Terrubunny, Ryoko, Shun, Marui, Madoka, Daigo, Shoji, Mitsuru, Berta, Cilla, Hisako, Ikumi, Isami, Julio, Subaru, and especially Nao all couldn't help but think…

'He's having a harder time cooperating with Eizan than with Loren…'

Only the blonde boy himself seemed out of the loop, as he just looked on, finding it oddly amusing to see Soma so pissed off.

"Those two are certainly quite the pair," Victor noted, his eyes on the bickering team from Tootsuki.

"They've been enemies for a while now, so it makes sense. I guess this answers whether that animosity during that showcase had been overacted or not," Timonthy replied with a little laugh, before his eyes turned to their own teammates, currently occupied with actually cooking something up. "Looks like our little lovebirds wasted no time to get started. I just hope-"

"BRING IT HOME YOU GUYS!" Van shouted so loudly that it made Timonthy jump, as the other teen turned to their would-be leader with a frown, and even Victor seemed to have to take a deep breath to try and calm himself, since they were only starting this thing. "GO! GO! GOOOO!"

Bridgette, on the other hand, was busy setting up her phone's music player, before she began to jam out to some music, drowning out most of the action, but once she saw her brother pumping his fists into the air over-dramatically, she just instinctively began to follow suit, imitating his fists pumps even if she hadn't the slightest clue what he was screaming about.

Victor and Timonthy tried their best to ignore the twins. Although, they did notice that their Team Leader in name only seemed to give pause mid-cheer for a second, as his eyes seemed to scan all around before they settled themselves on the hostess. He then frowned for some reason.

"That's a new look for you," Victor noted, eyes narrowed. When was Van ever serious?

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning to the older boy. "I'm just… sizing up the competition, is all."

"But Urara Kawashima isn't part of the competition," Timonthy noted, following his line of sight, before he added, "I mean, she is part of Tootsuki, and insanely biased at that, but we don't have to duel her or anything."

"I'm not looking at her!" Van quickly flared, now frowning at the two, much to their confusion. This seemed to catch Bridgette's fragile attention, as she turned towards the three boys, and after observing them for a bit, quickly smiled.

"AH! YOU'RE UPSET THE OTHER HOSTESS ISN'T HERE, RIGHT?!" she screamed so loud it made the boys jump, and actually caused Urara and the Elites to turn towards them in confusion. Victor and Timonthy just blinked at this, while a very flustered Van quickly grabbed his sister by her earphones' cord and gave her a tight pull. "Ouchie!"

"STOP SCREAMING SO LOUDLY!" Van said calmly. "You have these things on at such a high volume that you basically eclipsed the damn hostess herself!"

"…Hmm? My bad then," Bridgette quickly noted. "But you were hoping-hmph!"

He quickly shut her up by placing the earphone right into her mouth like a gag, before he turned his attention back to the match, frowning and pouting in equal measure, as the others decided it best to ignore whatever that was.

Urara, on the other hand, had mix feeling about it all. On one hand, this had caught her interest, as she could smell the juicy story hidden away by that little exchange. But, on the other hand, the last thing she wanted was to bring Yua of all people back into the spotlight, so she decided to simply keep quiet for now. Besides, more important matters needed to be resolved, starting with the fact that Soma and Eizan seemed on the verge of starting a fist fight at any moment now. Something the other Elites also took note off.

"…I told you," Alice noted, "We're screwed."

"I'm sure, well, hopeful they'll work things out," Isshiki added.

"You really are a man of faith Isshiki," Akira told him, before he turned to their last member, and in a lower tone, voiced, "…You feeling alright?"

"Mmm…" Erina forced herself to almost mutter, her mouth shut tight, as the scent of the food was already getting to her. 'Not even a few minutes in, and it quickly begins to act up,' she thought to herself grimly, 'And I took my medications with two hours of anticipation, but… it's no use. I get up on this stage, and I feel the panic start to kick in. Why am I so weak…? No, keep those thoughts out of your head. Focus, stand strong, just breathe in and out,' she instructed herself as she placed her hand over her mouth and nose in an attempt to try and keep the aromas at bay.

As this was going on, Benjamin and Emilia were indeed already cooking smoothly. Benjamin took hold of several nicely cut slices of bacon, setting them up in an oiled-up Dutch oven, and beginning to grill them until they were as crispy as they needed. Right next to him, Emilia set a few paper towels for him to drain the cooked bacon with, while she moved to sauté the celery and onions until they were tender enough. Once they were both done, in unison, they moved towards the potatoes, taking hold of one each, and like a ballet, proceeded to peel them almost effortlessly, in perfect rhythm.

"Absolute perfection my dear," Benjamin noted.

"Like you can talk handsome," Emilia replied with a flirty smile.

"Screw you bastard!" Eizan barked away, "We're not doing no damn shellfish soup!"

"Listen you stuck-up jerk, we-!" Soma fully intended on arguing his point further, but two things caught his senses. One, was the aroma from their opponents' cooking, which honestly smelled great and made him tense up a bit. Two, and even more importantly, he caught a glimpse of Erina. She was… She didn't look well. Hand over her mouth, posture tilted a bit, trying to keep herself steady. He knew that well enough already. So, frowning, he knew, that no matter how difficult this would be for him, if he really meant it when he said he'd do anything for her, then… "…Eizan."

"What?!"

"…Listen, we're not going to get anywhere like this," Soma noted, with the pain evident in his voice. Eizan just looked on. "Pick a damn ingredient and I'll stick to it. We're putting everyone at risk here."

Eizan's stare did not waver. His glare, however, slowly dropped to merely a frown, which wasn't much but it was a start, and the yakuza grumbled something to himself.

"Hmm?" Soma asked, having heard the mumble but not really understanding a word he said.

"When we dueled," Eizan voiced, and for once, surprisingly, his tone was closer to as normal as this guy got. "You and I both used chicken. Think we can compromise on that then?"

"Works for me," Soma replied, his eyes shifting towards the lovey-dovey couple currently making bedroom eyes at each other and seemingly halfway done with their craft. "What are we going for?"

"We'll never decide in time," Eizan said, and Soma eyed him warily. "…Make the best damn chicken for a soup you can, and I'll make my own. Best one gets used," he added, before he turned to meet Soma's gaze. "And… what type of soup do you suggest?"

"…If I said Chicken Noodle would you try not to take it as an insult?"

"I make no such promises."

"…Fine, then a variation of that then," Soma concluded, his hand on the handle of the knife Erina had gifted him. His priorities just as sharp as that instrument's very edge. "Let's get cooking."

"Don't order me around," Eizan shot back, but with that spoken, both teens moved and finally got into their respective shared area.

"…Aaand finally it seems our team remembered that this is a cooking duel and not a comedy sketch and have decided to get into the damn kitchen!" Urara announced, clearly exasperated. "On the other hand, the sickening sweethearts seem to have most of their job done! Will this result in a knockout dish from the get-go?! Can Soma and Eizan mount a proper comeback without killing each other?! Am I getting paid enough for my talents?! The answers to this and more, we shall see! …Expect my pay, because the answer is no!"

As the judges tried their best to ignore the girl with the microphone, their attention focused on the two titular enemies-turned-teammates as they began to work, somehow…

Soma and Eizan both took out a whole chicken each, and proceeded to cut it down and prep it as they would. Soma went for fine cuts, as he begun to get the grill ready. Eizan went for chunkier, beefier cuts, deciding to use stuffing, and soon enough he got the deep-fryer ready. Then they both motioned to the vegetables…

At the same time.

It caused both chefs to hit their heads against each other.

The entire stadium went silent, and everyone stared with nervous anticipation. Urara was left with her mouth agape, worried that if she even squeaked wrongly she'd ruin what little progress they had made. But…

Both boys just looked at each other for a second, their eyes flashing a series of emotions before they both settled on just… moving on.

"Go ahead," Eizan said through gritted teeth.

"Thank you," Soma answered in kind.

So Eizan took a step back, and Soma took hold of the vegetables he needed, before he too took a step back to allow Eizan to take hold of his own share. The tension was so thick that everyone was afraid to even speak out of fear that that would be the catalyst of ruining the paper-thin alliance Soma and Eizan seemed to have settled on. So the entire audience looked like they were even holding their collective breath, as Soma and Eizan continued to work, getting their stuff ready.

Benjamin and Emilia, on the other hand, had pretty much finished their entire process. The duo had shifted to working in unison, both chopping the celery ribs, chopping the onions, mincing the garlic clove, and, alongside several sauces and spices, chopped quite the batch of freshly caught, undrained clams. They took great pains, knife on hand, to getting the meat out just right, and it was with a surgeon's like precision that they managed to work it out insanely fast.

Urara couldn't help but drool at the aroma that came out of the large pot once the couple was finished and began to serve their soup into the five bowls and present them towards the judges after giving it a little flare with some garnish decorations.

"…And Benjamin and Emilia are indeed done! What have they presented to us now?!" Urara announced, signaling to the pair, as she couldn't help but inwardly beg, 'I never believed in it, but please, if there's ever a time I need that superstition about those who serve first always lose to be true, it's now!'

"T-This is quite…" Histoire voiced, a bit taken aback by the presentation.

Anne just looked, blinking, as while she could tell what dish it was, she had never seen it so… adorable before.

"It's like a honeymooners' banquet!" Charme excitedly said, hearts in his eyes, recalling his own.

"Oh, is it really?!" Courage asked, almost as excited as he was.

"Ain't that something," Decora noted, as she turned her eyes from the bowl of soup towards the couple that had just made it, "This is quite the presentation. Honeymoon phase doesn't even begin to describe it."

"It's but a fraction of what my love for Emilia represents, but…" Benjamin began.

"And it pales in comparison to my feelings for Benjamin, but…" Emilia continued.

"This is our earnest love put on display in a single dish!" they both announced in unison, extending their arms as they presented their efforts, as an imaginary heart could be outright pictured right behind them for added effect. Their big, goofy smiles did not help.

Everyone just stared.

Urara did her best not to just mimic herself gagging at the diabetic-inducing display.

Isshiki just gave the couple a look that screamed he found their passion noteworthy, as even he was not sure if he was bold enough for such a display.

Akira wanted to be away from there at any cost.

Alice felt her left eye twitch uncontrollably, as this was too much even for her.

Erina would have been annoyed, but she was busy trying not to faint, and for all their would-be theatrics, their dish had a strong aroma, and it was metaphorically choking the life out of her.

Everyone else decided to simply say nothing, less they insult the well-meaning couple, and their little, grade school like love. Like, what grown-ass teenager fawns over stupid details like that?

"D'aww," both Asahi and Dove softly voiced in unison, clearly to themselves, but the sheer silence that surrounded the two made it so the entire Challenger section of the stadium heard them quite clearly. At this all the Challengers turned to the two, utterly baffled at just how sincere that had just sounded, as instead of mocking the English couple, these two found it… charming?

Ashitaro was actively glaring at them now, utterly disgusted; while Julius just face-palmed out of the shared embarrassment he felt.

Asahi and Dove slowly realized they had all eyes on them, and they both blushed at the notion.

"I-I mean, what a sappy, idiotic display, am I right?" Asahi tried to save face. King of Noirs everybody.

"Y-Yeah, only a schoolgirl would find something so dumb romantic, right?" an equally flustered Dove added.

Then the two turned to the side. "Ain't that right Julius?"

"Don't drag me into this!" the older boy yelled at the two idiots, blushing a bit, before he turned away.

"I just lost… so much respect for you both," Ekaterina said with disdain.

"Don't me mean Katya," Camille tried, even if she did find it a bit silly.

"Oh, but when I do it its cringy, huh?" Gautier lamented.

"You are the living embodiment of cringe, Gautier, learn to live with it," Lucrezia couldn't resist throwing the shade in, much to the boisterous young man's frustrations.

"Are Asahi and Dove being all kissy-kissy with each other?" little Aisha asked, perked up at his seat, his hands and head rested on the backrest of his seat, flipped around to take a peek at the two.

"Like you and Kanon you mean?" Keelan quickly added, which saw Aisha turn several different shades of red as he pounced on his older brother like a cat that had just been hosed down, screaming how that was disgusting and that he'd never.

"I think the baby's right," Alex noted with a grin. "You two reek of that new couple smell. Seems this tournament is the event that just keeps giving, huh?"

"We do not!" Asahi and Dove both cried out, arms crossed, glaring at, well, all of them.

Soon enough, much to their relief, after a bit of teasing, the other Challengers did let the matter go, as Linda did them a favor and kept her insider knowledge all to herself (knowing smirk not withstanding) and the attention slowly fell back onto the arena.

Where Benjamin and Emilia had served their special New England Clam Chowder ~ Starcrossed Lovers Edition.

It was quite the sight. Snow white broth, bright veggies throughout, with clam and potatoes almost buried within the whiteness, all with the crispy bacon bits forming a perfect heart shape on each bowl. Those bowls oozed so much love that the steam almost came out in the form of smokey hearts.

"…Judges?" Urara worriedly asked, since ignoring the over-the-top display (which was saying a lot considering their academy), the dish did smell divine.

Nodding to themselves, the judges all took a spoonful of the soup, and proceeded to savor it to the last drop. They remained motionless, until the five collectively got the biggest grin in their faces.

"~It's a love confession!" they all sang in unison.

"Like when your crush finally says "yes"!" Histoire expressed.

"Like when you share your very first kiss!" as did Charme.

"Like watching the big kissing scene in the biggest romance novel!" as did Anne.

"Or when that damn slow-burn romance novel finally makes them kiss after eighteen stupid chapters!" Courage, likewise, expressed in delight.

"…That's a bit oddly specific, but okay!" Decora simply noted, but was likewise blown away.

"That savory, huh?" Alice couldn't help but ask, frowning at the pair. This wasn't good.

"Mmhmm mmm," Erina tried to voice, but she couldn't really open her mouth less she got nauseaus.

"Erina, sweetie, it's okay, don't talk," Alice replied, patting her cousin in the back, "Can't really understand you anyways."

"Mmmhmhmhmh!" Erina cried out some sort of complaint, but Alice only nodded and patted her again. Erina wanted to smack her. What she was trying to say was important. 'That's more than just a simple clam chowder. Soma! Other guy! Please, you have to do something!"

"That's our power couple, well, one of them anyways!" Van cheered with his fist into the air. Bridgette, still dancing along to her songs, quickly imitated him.

"Did we win already?!" she asked, a bit too loudly, looking around.

"Can you at least pay attention to your team's efforts?" Victor told the confused girl, frowning at her, to which she just stuck out her tongue at him playfully.

"I wish I had her unwavering faith in our abilities," Timonthy admitted, before he turned to Victor, "Still, this is almost as good as won, right?"

Victor said nothing, because while he wanted this to be the case, his eyes fell on their opponents, and it seemed both cooks were just about done. But…

"And on Tootsuki's side we have-ack!" Urara had tried, but the moment she saw what was before her, she couldn't help but shriek. Really, most of the crowd just looked at the scene with utter confusion, and worst, fear.

There they stood. Soma Yukihira and Etsuya Eizan.

Both, for some reason, with a different plate on hand.

"Did they seriously make a dish each?" Akira couldn't help but say, feeling his blood pressure rising. Erina, Alice and Isshiki all joined him in his bemusement as Soma and Eizan stood before the judges, their eyes on their opponents' masterful dish.

"They really did make something good," Eizan noted, sounding utterly pissed off.

"Yeah, hate to admit it, but against two chefs of this caliber, I can't really best them on my own," Soma replied, sounding equally irked.

"What are you two idiots doing?!" Urara screamed at them, the resounding microphone-enhanced yell echoing all-throughout the arena. "Why do you two have two separate dishes?!"

"Our plan was to make two dishes, have the WGO decide which one was best, then we could serve that," Soma replied, eyes narrowed.

"No, that was my plan, you just followed along. And of course it would be a given my dish would be better," Eizan corrected, eyes also narrowed.

"What part of a team effort don't you idiots understand?!" Urara screamed, almost losing her voice for a second. The two boys seemed unaffected.

"…She's right, in a way," Anne noted, her eyes on the two. "I am well aware of the history behind you both, but the purpose of this round is team dishes. No aides, and also, no solo runs I'm afraid. If you both just made your own dishes without the assistance of the other, then I'm afraid we can't judge them."

'…Is this really the way Soma Yukihira gets eliminated,' a very annoyed Decora noted, her eyes shifting slightly towards Azami, up on high, as she instinctively pressed her earpiece in a bit, just in case the man had anything to say to her… privately.

"We know," Soma and Eizan both replied, and before Anne could inquire, Eizan moved his bowl to the side, towards Soma, just before Soma took his own bowl and simply… dropped its contents into Eizan's.

The silence was staggering.

Wait… What?

"What?!" Urara screamed, utterly perplexed what she had just witnessed. The two proceeded to do this with all their bowls, and then, with a straight face, somehow, presented those very dishes to the stupefied judges.

"Enjoy," they both said, and they sounded like they had died inside.

"D-Did you two just…?" Anne tried, she really did, but there just were no words.

As she and the rest of the judges looked on, at that mix-match of two very different chickens and vegetable preparations, with unevenly colored stocks, they couldn't help but shiver. Knowing this was probably going to be the worst tasting dish in this event by far, and probably the best these two boys were willing to cook in unison, the five took a deep breath and took a spoonful. Their opponents, their teammates, and the audience at large all waited for what most of them feared was to come. Except…

All five judges' eyes went wide, and in a flash, their head flew back, as if they had been uppercut out of the blue. All five remained like that, utterly dazed, as everyone tried to decipher what had happened. Had the taste been so awful that the judges had outright died? Food poisoning perhaps? But as Urara moved to see if she needed to check someone's pulse or something, the five slowly regained their composure, even if they looked like they were sweating bullets.

"…Um, judges?" Urara spoke up, clenching the microphone with both hands, very, very afraid of the upcoming verdict. There was no way Soma would… right?

"T-This… T-This…" Anne tried, tears in her eyes, her body quivering. "H-How on Earth does this actually taste this good?"

A collective "huh?!" could be heard.

"N-Not just good," Histoire added, looking like a mess, "This is insane, it makes no sense! I just saw you two just mix the soups right in front of my eyes! What sorcery is this?!"

"Sorcery? Nothing of the sort," Soma noted, a small smirk in his face. "I just did my best to recreate that dish I made to you guys back at the showcase, and I figured that, in order to upstage me, Eizan here would do something similar. So I left a few things out, so if push came to shove, his dish would complement mine."

"An oversimplification, but more or less that's what this was," Eizan agreed, pushing his glasses back in order to hide his own smirk with his palm. "But rather, it was I who knew what Yukihira would do, so I went to great pains to make a better version of his dish, so when his didn't meet your standards, mine could make up for his deficiencies."

"Wait?! So without even agreeing on a thing…?" Charme asked, his eyes on the soup before him. Seeing how the brightly colored, finely cut, chicken and veggies seemed to have been cooked on a skillet to perfection, swimming within that broth that was slowly combining to form a new color entirely. The color was striking, almost neon in presentation.

"…You two actually cooked two parts of the same dish?!" Decora couldn't even help but blurt out, utterly caught off-guard.

"B-But how?!" Courage asked, eyeing the two.

"I'm with the bimbo, how?!" Urara added in, which caused Courage to do a double take and frown at the girl, but she really wanted to hear the response so she let it slide.

"…When your goal is to crush someone, you study up everything about that individual," Eizan noted. "As my goal was, and still is, to someday crush Yukihira, I need to be well-versed in his so-called craft. Once we decided on an ingredient and recipe, I knew what he would do by simply observing what ingredients he took. As much as it pains me to admit, while he's reckless, Yukihira's not one to waste food. So I knew what he took he would use, and what he left, well, that would be for me to bolster."

"Pretty much," Soma concluded, "So it's not magic, just months' worth of plotting against one another, all finalized into a little dish. Rather than sorcery, I guess, it would be what now… Alchemy, right, Eizan?"

"Hmm," was all Eizan replied.

The five judges all stared, eyes blank, at the soup once more. Because…

Soma and Eizan had served them their Mango Spiced Chicken Noodle Soup ~ Classique Edition.

'If that prior dish was love in a bowl, well, what else is this, but…' Anne thought, utterly baffled by this turn of events, '…sheer and utter HATE on a bowl!'

"J-Judges?" Urara tried to hold strong. 'Please! Please let that stupidity actually fly!'

The judges then began their voting. The stadium got quiet once more. Both teams looked on, their hearts caught on their throats. Benjamin and Emilia, holding onto each other tightly. Soma and Eizan, as far away from each other as allowed.

One vote, from Decora, to Lestrade.

The Elite Eleven at this point, those up above at the stands, all felt a chill.

Another vote, from Histoire, to Tootsuki.

Van, Victor and Timonthy all frowned, eyes on the big screen… Victor had to then smack Bridgette on the head to get her to pay attention, to which she quickly joined in on their collective glare.

One more vote, from Anne, to Tootsuki.

Azami looked on, fist clenched. There was no way that method could have possibly…

Yet another vote, from Charme, to Lestrade.

Erina, Alice, Akira and Isshiki all clenched their fists, their eyes on the screen. Two-to-two. Come on!

And the last vote, from a very indecisive Courage, to…

Winners: Etsuya Eizan & Soma Yukihira.

"…And I may need a change of underwear once we go to commercials, because in a vote of three-to-two…!" Urara announced with as much force as she could muster, "…Soma Yukihira and Etsuya Eizan get the win!"

It took a few seconds for the victory to get through to the confused audience, but once the snapped out of it, the clapping and cheers all begun. Louder and louder. It started scattered, confused, but soon enough they were cheering wildly, with the Polar Star kids and company leading the applause.

"That's the spirit!" Isshiki cheered, a fist pump to his chest in pride.

"…Frustrating to the end," Akira noted, but he was smiling nonetheless.

"My God was it ever!" Alice moaned, finally taking a deep breath, as she felt she had not been even breathing throughout the entire thing.

Erina said nothing, but her eyes remained on her boyfriend, and she smiled. She knew how annoying this must have been for him, as if someone asked her to team up with Dove (heaven forbid), and she knew he did it for her. What more could she really ask of this boy at this point?

"It… wasn't much," a very emotionally exhausted Soma said.

"Oh shut up… yes it was," an equally exhausted Eizan spat right back.

'I just voted for a dish that represent hatred over one that represents youthful love,' Anne noted inwardly, feeling like she needed a bath after this whole fiasco. 'What kind of message are we sending to the kids…?'

As the unlikely duo began to move back to their side, the cheers continued, and while Soma gave the audience a little wave, having slowly gotten used to being on the receiving end of cheers instead of sneers for once, Eizan gave a slight pause. Because, it was here he noticed, not all the cheers were directed solely at Yukihira.

He heard some call out his name, others his moniker. He heard the applauses, the whistling, and mostly it all came from the Third Years he would never really care about, but who were, in essence, his classmates. His generation. And as the yakuza gave pause, he saw them all cheering for him, for what felt like the first, genuine time.

Up above, trying her best to keep herself together, Yukichiko had a mix of emotions almost outright alien to her. So much joy. So much pride. Wanting to cry and to cheer at the same time. This was a feeling not know in her family. A feeling she would have endlessly mocked on anyone before, but now, seeing her little brother slowly, but surely breakaway from their father's grasp and path, and carve a brand new one for himself, she couldn't quite contain herself.

"You hear all that?" she spoke softly. "You've earned that. I knew you could. You don't have to keep punishing yourself for the horrible things we did. Move past it. You can do it. You've had what father and I have never had, natural-born talent and the dedication to polish it to an absurd degree…"

As everyone cheered, up above, the other Challengers all took that close-call of a victory with different reactions. Some outright cheered, especially little Aisha, who had to be constantly reminded he was not a part of Tootsuki given how much the kid cheered for them whenever Soma was involved. Some were a bit happy, like Camille, Hakeem or Alex. Others indifferent, like Ekaterina or Lucrezia (sort-of). But out of everyone, the one with the most livid expression was the least one any of them had ever expected.

Julius Bedlam did not look happy.

'Just what are you playing at here Etsuya?' The man nicknamed The Godfather thought, his glare firmly placed on the rebellious son of his employer. The little brother of his ex-girlfriend. And, once-upon-a-time, his close friend. 'Don't make this mistake… Don't make me have to destroy you.'

Soma and, at a slower pace, Eizan both returned to their side, with their teammates quickly congratulating them before, in the same breath, calling them out on how reckless that had been.

"You almost gave us all a collective heart attack!" Alice barked, pouting at the two.

"Sorry about that," a sheepish Soma replied, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "We didn't plan for that, it was just the best we could do given the… scenario."

"Geez," Alice said with a sign, before she turned her pout to the other winner. "…Well?"

"Well what?" Eizan just said, frowning at the princess.

"Don't you get snarky with me!" Alice cried out, arms crossed. "I want an apology from you too!"

"You can't be…" he began, but seeing her childish pout, and knowing what he did of the Nakiri family, he decided it best to simply let it rest. "…Yeah, fine, sorry. Just don't lump me in with him again and that won't happen again."

"Hmm…" Alice muttered, not entirely pleased, but it would have to do.

Soma, on the other hand, quickly went to Erina's side.

"How you holding up?" Soma asked the girl, his right hand on her shoulder, his left softly caressing her forehead, using his thumb to push out her hair from her face. She still had her hand over her mouth, but used her other hand to form a thumbs up to him. He just laughed. "You sure about that?"

She paused for a moment, as if thinking about it, before opened her palm and waved her hand from side to side, making a "more or less" gesture.

As this went on, the opposite team also got back together, with a very gloomy looking couple joining the others. "…We failed," they said in unison, truly defeated in hope and spirit.

"Oh, come on, we're still in this!" Van quickly told the two, trying to pump them up once more.

"There, there," Bridgette spoke, quickly tippy-towing her way to Emilia and serving herself as a huggable plush toy to ease her mind. It… surprisingly worked. Bridgette was adorable, Emilia knew, and hugging the girl tightly always eased her mind.

"Thanks sweetie," she told the girl. Bridgette just flashed her a smile before she tippy-toed towards the taller Benjamin, extending her arms at the young man.

"Pick me up," she instructed, and with a laugh he did, also hugging her tightly.

"Much appreciated Baby Brie," he told her, and her smile was ever present.

"Stop babying her so much!" Van cried out, arms crossed. "This is why she never takes things seriously!"

"You sure you're not just jealous?" Victor asked, his eyebrow raised, as a very frustrated Van turned to him with a glare and a pout.

"Totally jealous, but what can we do?" Timonthy added, smirking a bit, "Not our fault he's not as adorable."

"I heard that!"

"Damn it, stop screaming!" Urara screamed from her podium, glaring at Lestrade's Team Leader, since it made it hard for her to even hear her own thoughts with how much he went on and on. Van turned his glare to her, but she didn't care, as she turned back to the crowd. "Now then folks! With one victory out of the way, Tootsuki Academy only needs two more wins to take home the victory! So, who will be our next competitors?!"

As she spoke, the screens began to flicker once more, and with it all the names began to flash on by. Both Soma and Eizan shivered at the sight of their names popping in and out of existence once again, as they knew that little stunt they pulled would not save them a second time. They hoped, begged that they would not be picked together again.

Erina, on the other hand, pleaded not to be picked at all.

Still, everyone stared, until the screen came to a stop, and the next match-up was shown:

Satoshi Isshiki & Alice Nakiri vs. Victor Slingby & Timonthy Humphries

"And we're up!" Alice beamed, forcing herself to sound as positive as possible.

"That we are," Isshiki noted, taking a deep breath for a moment. It seemed a little out of character for their senior, Soma noted, but whatever hesitation was there was gone in a flash. The elder boy quickly moved towards the main arena, with Alice quickly following along.

"Wish us luck!" she said with her head turned towards her teammates, as Soma gave out a little cheer, Akira just smiled, Eizan scoffed and Erina… tried her best to mimic a gesture while still holding her hand over half of her face. Intention's what matters Alice supposed. "…She looks utterly adorable playing charades like that," Alice added with a little sneer, "Still, I don't much appreciate how much stress this is putting on her."

"Truly," Isshiki replied, as they both reached their spot. "Best we do our best to fix that."

"And here we have it folks!" Urara quickly announced, to the ever-growing cheers of the now hopeful audience. "Representing Tootsuki Academy we have one of our greatest assets, the always dependable Second Seat Satoshi Isshiki!" she beamed with pride, while adding, "And accompanying him is our Second Princess, the ever elegant Eight Seat Alice Nakiri!"

Both Isshiki and Alice stood at the arena, now face-to-face against Victor and Timonthy.

"And from Lestrade!" Urara continued, now announcing the opponents, "We have Victor Slingby and Timonthy Humphries! Now then, yadda-yadda, judges, our theme!"

With that announcement out of the way, the screen flickered once more, and as everyone looked on, the theme of the match was given:

Papaya

"…Alice, if I may?" Isshiki voiced, his expression focused on the screen and at their theme. Alice turned, eyebrow raised. "Papaya is a good pick for your craft, is it not? You can use fruit very efficiently in molecular gastronomy, correct?"

"Yeah, it is very versatile," Alice replied, but she did tilt her head. "But don't hold back on my account. I know I messed up last time by making our starter too, well, complex. Had Akira not done what he did, we'd-"

"No," Isshiki corrected, firmly, before he turned to Alice and offered her a smile. "That was no one's fault but my own. You did what you needed to, and scored higher than your opponent. I cannot say the same thing about my performance. Erina has more than enough reason to not be at the top of her game. She's doing more than any of us ever could even hope to by just being here. I… I have no such excuse. I failed to understand the assignment, and as such, I placed a heavy burden on our partners."

"I think that's way too much for-" Alice tried, feeling that he shouldn't be that hard on himself. It had been a team effort, and they both had screwed up in her eyes.

"It's the truth," Isshiki countered firmly. "So… allow me to correct my mistake. Let's make something out of your playbook. Don't you hold back on my account. Our opponents are not to be taken lightly, let us not hold anything back."

"…Oh, sure, okay?" Alice replied, unsure, but deciding to go along with it. She trusted Isshiki after all.

"Seems they have something in mind," Victor noted, before he turned to Timonthy. "Let's answer in kind. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Always!" Timonthy replied with a smile and a wink, before the pair moved in towards their chosen side, just as Isshiki and Alice moved to theirs. Their teammates all watched, as did the entire audience, silent once more, as Urara took a firm grasp of her mic and announced…

"Shokugeki, start!"

Victor and Timonthy, to the surprise of many in the audience, worked even more in-sync than Benjamin and Emilia before them. Timonthy quickly moved to prepare a type of dusting mixture, taking hold of ground cinnamon and sugar, setting the necessary measurements for each aside. Meanwhile, Victor began to prepare what looked like batter, using cake flour, whole milk, egg whites, melted butter and a pinch of sugar and salt, all thrown together and mixed with an eerily calm ferocity.

"And they've begun!" Urara narrated, her eyes on the couple. "Seems like Victor and Timonthy have both gotten their idea! But, they look to be preparing totally different things! One seems to be making a fried entrée, while the other is prepping dessert!"

"It would look that way wouldn't it Tim?" Victor noted with a grin.

"They'll catch on quickly," Timonthy replied, "Let's not forget how insanely talented these Tootsuki lot actually are."

"…Hmm, indeed."

On the other side of the arena, Alice had gone straight to the main theme of the match, the papayas. Taking hold of the several fruit, she quickly took out her knife, and began to slice them in half. They were cut in perfect symmetry, as expected of a girl who could have been a master surgeon, and placed on a bowl to the side. As she did, she turned to the side, where Isshiki was stationed. She wanted to ask him about it, but seeing the look on his eyes, the sheer resolve, she kept it to herself. Instead, she focused on the cuts, making sure to be as precise as humanly possible.

Isshiki, on the other hand, quickly took hold of her cut fruit, and with his firm hands, placed them on a hand-operated juicer he had just set up, and proceeded to squeeze every last drop he could from the fresh fruit. The crowd all stared, as the muscular young man focused intently on his task, and made it seem like child's play as he squeezed ounces of juice from the fruit in mere seconds, before discarding the leftover husk and taking hold of the next piece. He moved so quickly Alice had to speed herself up to try and keep up, since he was juicing a lot faster than she was slicing.

Within minutes, they had juice to spare, and as Alice wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, all smiles as always, Isshiki placed the juice to the side, before he took small, delicate taste of the leftover juice droplets running down his index finger, slowly licking it to the tip, before a satisfied grin overtook his features.

Most of the girls in the audience found it difficult to keep a straight face during that display.

"Stop looking so cool!" Charme and Histoire shouted out in unison, both red in the face, utterly flustered.

"Feeling a little antiquated there, eh boys?" Anne quickly teased, which caused the two to squirm in their seats. Of course, as unprofessional as that was, it was still miles better than her other two coworkers' reactions.

"God… I wish I was those papayas," Courage noted, almost drooling.

"…No joke," Decora admitted, finding it hard to look away. Anne wanted to slap all of them.

"And now he's just showing off," Kuga said with a grin, laying back on his seat, as he watched the events unfold alongside the rest of the Elite Ten, both former and current.

"It's…" Nene tried, fighting the blush. She wasn't sure if it was the tongue or the finger that made her have to cross her legs. Probably both. "I mean, it's that, in a way, but also… It's more. This isn't him just being a showoff, there's clearly something else he's trying to do here."

'…And now we know why Nene Kinokuni seems a lot happier now than she did last year,' Urara noted inwardly, deciding to at least spare their First Seat and keep that comment to herself; instead, "It seems our Tootsuki duo has already gotten the main ingredient set! What comes next I wonder?!"

As Alice moved to quickly set up the ice-water bath they would need, without even needing a word, Isshiki moved to get the papaya juice and place it into a sauce pot, before he took hold of the agar agar powder. This plant-based gelling agent would work perfectly, he noted, and he mixed in the amount he believed would work best with the papaya juice. He then let the mixture simmer, before he took hold of a small syringe. His eyes examined the tip, it glittering against the stadium's lights, before he proceeded to take small amounts of the mixed juice into it.

Isshiki then took hold of several little tubes Alice had in her toolkit, roughly three millimeters in diameter, and proceeded to inject the papaya agar agar mixture into it until it was fully filled. He did this over and over, creating dozens upon dozens of filled tubes, all done with intense precision and calculated, systematic motions. The crowd was in a daze, utterly confused at what he was even doing, and even more-so, at the fact that they had never seen this guy, once known as one of the best in the field of traditional Japanese cuisine, now looking like an utter expert in such an advance field only the likes of the Nakiri family and very few others had even dared to thread.

Alice quickly motioned to him, the ice-bath at the ready, and quickly the two of them proceeded to set the stuffed tubes into it, before, with nothing but a nod to each other, they moved to the rest of the cooking, with Isshiki taking hold of a notable center-cut steak, while Alice took hold of several fruits and vegetables, chief among them being a huge, fresh cucumber. Knife in hand, they both made quick work of their prep, and soon enough, they were cooking.

At the opposite end, Victor and Timonthy finally took hold of their own fruit, taking out the plump, juicy papaya and, in unison, proceeding to season each papaya with ground cardamom, before they dipped the fruit, whole, into the batter and then threw it into the deep fryer purposely filled with avocado oil, letting it cook until crisp and golden. Victor took the fruit out, setting it on a tray to drain, as Timonthy moved to dust them each with the cinnamon sugar mix.

"Wait folks, is that…?!" Urara asked, her eyes on their dish, as Victor and Timonthy both proceed to place each fried fruit into a dish, before topping each dish with fried pawpaw chunks and a scoop of snow white vanilla ice cream respectively. It looked so good Urara felt her stomach grumble, and within moments, they had their dish served before the judges of the WGO. "…That's!"

"This is the ultimate combination of fried foods and sweet desserts," Victor noted proudly.

"Not the best dish if you're on a diet, but in terms of flavor, well…" Timonthy added cheekily.

And, as such, they had served the judges their Glamorous Deep-Fried Papayas a la Mode.

"These kids are certainly upping the intensity with each match," Charme noted, his wide eyes on the exquisite looking, and even better smelling, dish before him.

"Seems they took our comparisons with the BLUE to heart," Anne added, with a knowing smirk. She knew the Tootsuki alumni, and by extension, the competitors as well, were a competitive bunch, but this was really surprising to the extent they all took it.

"It looks so good~" Courage voiced, almost drooling on the spot.

"That it does," Decora said, her eyes on the dish. This could work for a simple vote to hopefully get some eliminations. They had been so close with that last match, but Courage failed her. She really needed to talk to her friend, but maybe…

"We've come to a point where I think these kids are already serving dishes truly worthy of BLUE each time," Histoire concluded, as he took hold of the dish, ready to dig in. "Let's see if such praise is truly warranted."

Then they all took a bite, and as everyone watched, most biting their lips in anticipation, the judges all seemed to hold in a moan of sheer pleasure as the sweet and tangy juices violated their senses. The taste, the texture, the everything! It was too good…

"~So savory!" the five declared, looking like five little happy campers, as both Victor sneered while Timonthy quickly flashed a bright grin at the reaction, both lifting their hands and fist-bumping each other in triumph.

"Nailed it!" they said in unison, before they then turned towards their opponents.

Urara did as well, wiping the drool from her mouth, since no one bothered to serve her anything anymore, and she was met by the sight of Isshiki and Alice approaching the judges table. Alice held onto a single plate, proudly showcasing it to the judges, while Isshiki flawlessly held onto the last four. They placed it before the judges, and…

Wait? What even was this?

"Eh?" Courage voiced out, confused. "Wait, what am I looking at?"

"Our masterful dish of course!" Alice cheerfully replied, all smiles, her hands clasped together. "A Sirloin Steak papaya pasta!"

'This is pasta?!' the five thought in unison, looking at the plate, as it looked like anything but. The circular steak they could make out, but around it was a handful of spread veggies and fruits. Didn't pasta need, well, pasta?

"Pasta?" Timonthy asked, his eyes on the dish, before he turned towards Victor. The older boy said nothing, he just frowned. There was more to it, wasn't there.

"Erm, a pasta you say?" Urara forced herself to say, unsure, but she had faith. The judges moved to take hold of a piece of the "pasta", as Isshiki and Alice looked on, looking far more composed than Soma and Eizan before them, and the moment they took a bite, it was clear why.

It was like an adrenaline rush on the senses, an explosion of flavor so fierce it outright overwhelmed the five. They all gasped, and as they audience looked on, eyes wide, Anne was the first to try and explain away what had just happened.

"O-Oh my," she tried, "That gelatinous texture, with such a fresh flavor, hidden beneath the meat, vegetables and fruits, those are your noodles. You both turned the papaya juice into a near solid."

"Exactly," Isshiki confirmed, as everyone shifted their eyes towards the young man who still had his shirt on if by nothing but sheer willpower. Well, that and Nene's warnings every so often flashing in his mind. "The trick is simple really. Setting the juice agar agar mixture into those little plastic tubes, the letting it get cold in the ice-water bath, results in a texture similar to gelatin, but much more versatile, allowing us to turn them into noodles and allowing it to form the base for which we based our entire dish's presentation onto."

"Yeah!" Alice chimed in, "And it's super easy once you get the grasp of it. Hardest part is getting the now solid noodles out of the plastic tubes, but Isshiki here was a pro. I didn't even have to tell him. Best trick is to use the same syringe and just blow air into the opposite side, and presto, they come right out!"

"And as always, anything to do with Alice sounds more like a science experiment than a recipe," Urara commented, but she grinned regardless, "But it sounds great to me! Now, then, judges, what are our scores?!"

The five judges all gave pause, as if conflicted, and Urara and the others all tensed, because this always meant it would go down to the wire. As Isshiki, Alice, Victor and Timonthy all looked on, they seemed to have a harder time at in than usual, but, then Anne spoke.

"…How was this even conceived?" she asked, her eyes on Isshiki for a moment. "I did not expect this level of craftsmanship from one of your background. Of everything you have showcased so far. Do not take this as an insult, you are the Second Seat, and beyond any reason one of the best of your entire generation. That is undisputed, but…"

"This was something done as if it were cooked by two masters of molecular gastronomy, not one," Histoire elaborated, his eyes also on the teen. Isshiki just gave the judges a small smile. The entire audience turned to him, and he felt it. He felt their eyes on him, expectantly, and more so, he felt the stare of the Challengers.

Of the Neo-Noirs.

And even of the worried Polar Stars and friends. Especially Nao's.

"Like I told Alice, I messed up last time," Isshiki explained. "It was my lack of understanding on what our true objective was, alongside my style being so completely different than hers that led us to almost get defeated. Had that match of ours, of mine, not been a team match, by all accounts, I would have been disqualified from the Intercontinental Shokugeki right then and there."

Up above, Nene looked on, finally realizing what it was she had been feeling. It finally hit her.

"I've been told, so many times, that I'm a true genius, capable of learning anything so, so quickly," Isshiki continued, his eyes now narrowed. His expression serious. "Nene was the very first, very vocal about that. And… I can't blame her. I know I tend to pick up on things quickly. I never thought much of it. But now… Now that our very way of life is threatened, who am I to just twiddle my thumbs and allow myself to fail them? I didn't understand my teammates' specialties well? Well then, I needed to fix that. So while we all practiced, trained, I took the time to study up on each of my teammates' strengths, all to try and become as proficient as I could in their areas. All to back them up…"

Silence followed, and this was news to pretty much everyone. While they had been clashing against the former Top Five of the Elite Ten, Isshiki had also been…?

But then he spoke as firmly as possible. "…All so they never feel disappointed in me ever again. If a genius I am, then I need to hold myself to even higher standards than they do. All so I never fail them again. All so that I do not fall on this stage, and neither does Tootsuki Academy."

'This guy…' Victor thought, now almost glaring at Isshiki. 'For a moment I thought we were in it for a close one, but… damn it, that's not the judges' line of questioning at all. It's not that they're conflicted on who won… They're shocked at how much this man improved!'

"Then… Huh?!" Urara had begun, but then she saw that the judges all had silently voted, and her eyes went wide as plates, and, for once, she forgot how to speak.

Erina, Akira, Eizan and Soma all looked on, as did their opponents, and the rest of the students and audience, at that massive screen, showing something they never thought they'd see again.

Winners: Satoshi Isshiki & Alice Nakiri.

In a five-to-nothing vote…

"And in a landslide victory!" Urara quickly beamed, bouncing up and down in place. "Satoshi Isshiki and Alice Nakiri secure the second win! Yes! Yes! We've got this in the bag!"

The sudden uproar from the crowd was almost too loud to bear, as despite Urara trying to announce the results once she found her voice, the shouts overwhelmed even her. The Third Years specially, all clapped and cheered like crazy, chanting Isshiki's name. Kuga was grinning from ear to ear, and Nene had trouble fighting back the smile and tears that followed. Isshiki just stood, for a moment, before he raised his first high into the air, in a show of pride, smiling to the crowd, with Alice bouncing up and down right beside him. A celebration well worth all the tension, they were almost in the clear, but then, to everyone's surprise, Isshiki did something that would have seemed, to most people, seemingly out of character…

His raised first, now extending his index finger, before he pointed it decisively to the stands.

No, not the stands.

At someone on the stands.

At Ashitaro Sadatsuka.

The Warlock Supreme felt his blood boil at the motion, but Isshiki's posture did not waver. His fierce expression remained locked against Ashitaro, as his single raised digit could only be really inferred as one dedicated message.

"You're next."

The crowds went wild, the cheers and claps all rising up, through the roof, as every student present began to chant Isshiki's name. Over and over. The young man slowly lowered his arm, content, his eyes now on little Nao, who looked utterly bewildered at his out-of-character display. But his message had been clear as day. He was going to keep her safe, come what may.

"Seems we are going to get an actual challenge after all," Asahi noted with a smirk, his eyes on Isshiki. This guy really was something else.

"…The guy does seem to pose a genuine threat. How exciting!" Dove said gleefully.

"I told you both, he is not to be underestimated. This… This is his actual prowess," Julius added, before he turned to Ashitaro, since he could feel the threatening aura surrounding his teammate.

Ashitaro remained quiet for a moment, as between Isshiki's bold display, and his little sister's expression afterwards, he was outright out for blood. He did, however, turn to his team, the venom almost outright dripping from his fangs. "…Just remember you lot," he warned them. "Satoshi Isshiki is my opponent, do not interfere."

The other three Noirs just looked on, frowning at his statement, but deciding to leave such decision making to when it truly mattered.

Meanwhile, back at the arena, the competitors made their way back to their teams, just as Urara gave off her closing commentary on the match. Isshiki and Alice quickly reached the others, with Alice outright bouncing about.

"That! Was! So! Awesome!" she said with outright stars in her eyes. "You rocked it!"

"We did," he corrected with a smile. "I learned everything I did today thanks to your methods and craft. I could not have done this on my own," he added, before he turned to the rest of the team, "And the same goes to you all. This remains a team effort. Still… one additional victory, happily served," Isshiki told them all with a little thumbs up.

"Amazing as always," Soma quickly beamed, standing right next to Isshiki and bumping fists with him. Akira gave the older boy a nod, while Eizan only scoffed.

"And how was I?" Alice asked, bouncing right next to Erina, who gave her cousin her best attempt at, well, communication and, presumably, praise, but all she could muster was a few gestures and expressions. Alice just laughed, taking hold of Erina by her head and hugging her tightly. "Ah, you are so damn adorable, you horrible mime you."

"Hmph!" Erina protested, fruitlessly, although she did not much resist the hug.

On the opposite end, with the cheers still going strong, Victor and Timonthy made their way back to their side, both sporting matching expressions of disbelief and disappointment.

"That was such a frustrating display on our part, terribly sorry," Timonthy voiced, rubbing the back of his head, while Victor scoffed.

"Didn't expect Isshiki to come out guns blazing like that," the elder boy noted. "Not gonna lie, this doesn't look good for us."

"With all six of them still standing…" Benjamin began, as the group turned their eyes towards their leader, who had his arms crossed and eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought, but they knew him better.

"It's unfair of us to expect Van and Baby Brie to take home three wins in a row!" Emilia exclaimed, clearly concerned, but at this Van finally reopened his eyes.

"…Fair or not, it's what we have to do," he declared, before he turned to the side, "Sis? You ready?"

"What?!" she shouted out, still not paying any attention.

"…I'll take that as a yes," the elder twin noted, before he raised his fist into the air and shouted, "Come on, let's move it! For Lestrade! For England! For the culinary world as a whole! We have to win!"

"…And he's shouting again, great," Urara voiced, before she turned towards the big screen. "Anyways! With another win in Tootsuki's belt, we are just one more victory away from calling it a day! Judges, please, show us our contestants so we can finally get this thing wrapped up!"

On cue, the screen began to flicker again, but as Lestrade noted grimly, only for their opponents' side, as theirs showed the only pair left for them to challenge the Elite Ten with. The still eligible six members from Tootsuki Academy all turned towards the screen, all of them tensing, despite themselves, at the sight of their names flashing across that screen. Especially the God's Tongue herself, who was well aware of her current predicament. But luckily…

"And there we have it folks!" Urara announced, her hand extended to signal the screen, as the stadium once more erupted in cheers.

Akira Hayama & Alice Nakiri vs. Van Autumn & Bridgette Autumn

"Huh? Again?!" Alice barked, her hands at her hips. This wasn't exactly easy, you know?

Akira said nothing, just frowning at the screen, before he pressed forwards, to which Alice quickly followed behind, a bit annoyed but pushing on regardless.

The two of them were met with the twins at the center of the stage, the four facing each other down, sort of. Van was trying to stick out his chest defiantly, but he didn't quite have the physic for it, so it looked less intimidating and more goofy. Bridgette, on the other hand, just waved at the two.

"…So we get the Kagamine twins then?" Alice noted, waving back at the girl.

"The Kaga-what?" Van asked, utterly confused.

"Google it," Alice said with a smile. "You two are dead-ringers for them. You should cosplay it!"

"That better not be an insult!" Van threatened, while Bridgette was still off in her fantasy land.

"It's really not," Akira chimed in, before he set his sights on Van, glaring at the team leader. "You're Lestrade's leader, correct?"

"I am!" Van proudly boasted. "Is the Autumn Election Champion actually feeling scared?"

"Hardly," Akira shot right back. "You won't be the first Team Leader I've eliminated."

"Nor will you be mine," Alice added with a little smile and a wink. It did work to fluster Van a bit, but he shrugged it off.

"Alright, the contestants are set!" Urara continued with her announcement, "Representing Tootsuki, once again is our princess, the Eight Seat Alice Nakiri, and alongside her, the man who took the Tenth Seat by force last time, and our current Fifth, Akira Hayama!" she said, to the resounding cheers and applauses, before turning her attention to the opposing team, "And… representing Lestrade… these two brats!"

"Hey!" Van barked, glaring at her.

"Did she say the theme was rats!?" Bridgette asked, loudly, having misheard Urara, which caused her brother to flinch.

"Wha-No! Damn it Brie, I know how you cook, but try and pay attention before we start!" Van called out, pulling on her hair to try and turn her attention to the ring, as she just yelped and muttered another "ouchie" in response.

As the screen once more began to flicker, with Urara calling for the ingredient, everyone waited on baited breath, hoping this would be the final match and the conclusion of this sixth day. From a very worried but hopeful Jun Shiomi, to a pensive Gin Doujima. The latter, standing by a large window in an area not unlike where the Nakiri family was viewing the event, just stared down, his thoughts running simulations of every possible outcome and how to react accordingly. He was so focused on this that he failed to notice he had some unexpected company.

Said company proceeded to cover his eyes from behind with her hands, or tried to at least.

"Damn it, you keep getting bulkier," Riko complained, having failed at her prank. "I can't even get a good grip on you unless I jump onto your back on all fours."

"Please don't," Gin replied, but the man did smile fondly at her, turning to face his former teammate and still friend, "And I'm glad you finally made it. These kids have been holding the fort down for so long. If we survive today, I'm thinking I may need to try and offer them some classes and strategies, and your help would be most appreciated."

"Hmm, I suppose that is a good idea," Riko voiced, as she turned towards the arena, her eyes scanning each participant. "That's Soe's girl, right?"

"The one and only," Gin replied, "And the boy's Jun's."

"Ah, that's Akira, man, they grow so fast!" Riko noted with amazement. "I feel like it was just months ago she told me she had adopted a kid. Time really waits for no one."

"It does not," Gin replied, before his tone softened a bit more. "How… How's everything on your end?"

"…Unresolved," Riko noted with a hint of pain in her voice. "I'm here to fix that, actually. Which would be so simple if only my ex-husband wasn't such a dick all the time. He always placed profit ahead of family, but I can't let that keep getting my little girl in trouble."

"Any assistance you need, you just let me know."

"I know," Riko said with the brightest of smiles.

"Now there's a sight, I haven't seen in a long time."

Both Gin and Riko paused, turning towards the nearby doorway, one of two that led to opposite hallways, where none other than Azami stood. The younger man gave the two a small nod, which earned him a frown from Gin and an outright glare from Riko.

"Ebisawa," he greeted as coolly as ever. "It is great to finally have you within these walls once more. Rest assured, once I have ownership of Tootsuki, you will be invited back on a yearly basis."

"No thanks," Riko shot back, unfazed. "You have some nerve to talk to us so willy nilly after you set this whole damn thing up. My little girl's livelihood is not something I tolerate being trifled with."

"Once I win," Azami offered. "Nao Sadatsuka is free to remain here if she wishes. Granted, so long as her father approves of course."

"If you win," Gin corrected, moments before Riko just outright insulted the man. She relented. She knew him well. She solved nothing by getting into an argument with him.

"I have offered you plenty of chances already," Azami told Gin, before he turned to Riko, "And I extend the same offer to you as well. Allow my Noirs, my Dove, to cook something for you both. I assure you, once you taste what my True Gourmet can accomplish, you both will be begging me to take ownership of this academy and steer this ship in its right course."

"Dramatic as always, eh?"

Azami, despite himself, tensed up when he heard that man speak up. Coming in from the other door, the one Riko had entered herself, Jouichirou made his presence known, lazily stepping inside with naught but a smile and a wave. Gin just crossed his arms and grinned. Riko sighed, although she felt oddly at ease now. Azami… Azami wasn't sure how he should respond. He felt both excitement, and ire.

"Things must be truly dire on your end, for you of all people to make an appearance within these Academy," Azami noted, eyes narrowed.

"You say that like I swore to never set foot in here or something," Jouichirou merely replied, a soft smile still on his face. "Besides, my kid's out there, unraveling your plans and whatnot. What kind of father would I be if I didn't cheer him on?"

"Ouch. I know we're chefs and all, but you didn't have to burn little Nakamura like that Jouichirou. Careful, he'll think we're back in school and begin to follow you around again," Riko added with all the mockery she could muster.

"Keep thinking I'm the same as I was back then. You've all been warned. I had wished such a reunion between us four would be more amicable, and for you to truly see the intent behind my vision, but so be it," Azami simply stated, eyes returning to the arena.

"Could have fooled us. This hostile takeover of yours has been quite the spectacle. You even have old man Senzaemon worried. That's not a very nice way to repay everything that man did for you, ya know?" Jouichirou voiced, hands on his pockets, as Azami's frown got visibly narrower.

"Best we focus on the match about to start. For now, we should play nice with each other. We're not kids anymore. Let's act like it," Gin added, making it clear to them that this was neither the time nor the place, and it seemed the other three did not much want to argue it.

And with those words spoken, for what seemed like the first time since graduation, the former top four of the Golden Era's Elite Ten all stood back and watched as the next, and perhaps, final match of this round of the Intercontinental Shokugeki was stated to begin.

"…And the theme is…" Urara announced, just as the screen gave her, and everyone else, the answer.

Blueberries

"And we keep getting fruits, works for me!" Alice quickly beamed, turning to Akira with her fist held on high. "Let's go my fellow Lab Coat member! Let's bring this competition to a close for today!"

"I guess it can't be helped," Akira noted, deciding he had no one else to blame but himself for giving Alice the ammunition needed to make that little nickname of hers stick. "We should probably then come up with-"

"HEY!"

Akira and Alice both flinched at the sudden scream, with both of them turning wearily towards the loudmouth responsible. Van posed dramatically before them, arms crossed and smirking at the two. Alice was a little amused, Akira not as much.

"You two are quite the big wigs around here, ain't ya?" Van voiced, before he extended his hand and pointed his index finger at them. "Defeating the Autumn Election Champion, as well as one of the Nakiri heiresses, is sure to put our school on the map! So don't you two dare hold anything back!"

"Not our intention," Akira just flatly said, eyes narrowed. This guy was like a worst version of Yukihira, all the hot air but none of the heart.

"We've poured our hearts into every dish we've made," Alice added, hands to her hips. "And now, since we actually have ten members, and no backstabbing at that, we'll give you an even bigger treat."

"Ha! That's what I like to hear!" Van exclaimed, boastingly. "While I wish we could have gotten Yukihira, given he is the reason for all of this, I can most certainly accept a duel with the guy who defeated him last year!"

"I'm not sure I appreciate that guy's implications," a barely able to hide his frustrations Soma muttered, feeling equal parts irked and annoyed. Erina just turned to him, her expression softening to try and convey her sympathies to him. Isshiki just patted him on the back, understandingly. Eizan…

"Oh, that's right, you've never beaten Hayama, for shame," the yakuza said with a mocking laugh, which made Soma feel a vein pop.

"What was that?!"

"You heard me runner-up!"

"I wonder what that makes you then, since you've lost to me. Twice!"

"Oh, so now that second match counts, huh?!"

"Kids, don't argue, please, we need to support our friends," Isshiki tried, smiling at the two, who just glared at each other for a bit before they turned back towards the arena.

Erina, of course, kept quiet, but she couldn't quite deny she felt Soma's frustrations too. Despite her prior attitude, and all the pretenses she kept even to this day, despite her initial harsh thoughts on the redhead and his "plebian" talents, she utterly hated to hear anyone else badmouth his capacity. It irked her even further that she couldn't quite voice her defense of him without risking throwing up on the spot.

"Enough chatter!" Urara cut in, notifying the four contestants that the match had already pretty much started. "Get moving! The third match-up of the day has officially begun! Shokugeki… Start!"

-0-

As what felt like the entire world was watching the Intercontinental Shokugeki take place, deep within the city, within the seedy establishment known as "Con Calma, Don Calma", the little would-be villainous group of Le Cuisine Noirs all gathered. At the directions of their fearless leader, who they totally did not start to think that maybe his little sister had a leash on him rather than the other way around, they all began what he had called "phase two" of their master plan. Said master plan, clearly cooked up with a lot of liberties and near failures at every turn, had so far worked well enough. They had gotten direct consultation from the God's Tongue herself, luckily before the girl emotionally broke and an entire movement rallied up behind her, and using those specific three dishes she somewhat approved off, the team began to polish their skills to match and, hopefully, exceed that level.

Asahi needed them to be able to serve as a culinary army, capable of taking out the Elite Ten, the Challengers from the other schools, and somewhat frightening, even the other three Neo-Noirs.

All so that Asahi could in turn do whatever his "phase three" was, which they weren't quite privy on just yet. Still…

"So this is the little bunch we were able to gather up on such short notice?" Yuunosuke, Asahi's right hand man, said as he took a look at the new "recruits" his crew had gathered. They weren't as many as he would have hoped, but at least it was something.

Seven new would-be members in total, five of whom had been part of Tootsuki just a few weeks ago. And by all accounts, were pretty bitter about it.

"These four agreed rather quickly," Sarge voiced, taking a seat at the nearest chair, one of many within this little meeting spot of theirs. The other top Noirs stood by, with the restaurant's supposed owner Don Calma calmly polishing his wine glasses from behind the counter, while Kou, Claude, Bunnyhair and a still very bruised Boogie all looked on. "Seems they got offered the short end of the stick. Etsuya Eizan made them think they actually stood a chance against the Neo Noirs, and this sweetheart," Sarge added, extending her hand and softly caressing the younger girl's face, causing her to squirm a bit at the touch. "…Actually had the bad luck of facing Asahi himself. Our devilish leader actually got a little kid to cook for him and kick her ass."

"T-That's not how that went down!" Mea Yanai, former Tootsuki Third Year, former Eizan lackey, and former dignified chef, cried out, blushing deeply. "That guy cheated! You can't possibly make me believe he could give this little brat a recipe, one that didn't involve heating or even cutting anything, and she still produced a dish better that what I-"

"Silence!" Sarge quickly cut in, extending a chainsaw of all things and placing it menacingly inches from Mea's face. The girl's expression turned ghastly pale as a result. "You were all told why you were summoned here, and each of you jumped at the chance. But make no mistake. Asahi Saiba is the real deal. That loss of yours was valid. Count yourself lucky he didn't cook himself, otherwise you'd have given up your culinary career had you tasted the sheer magnitude of the gap between his abilities and your own."

At this Mea could only gulp in response.

"T-This bitch is hardcore," Mea's former teammate, Rentaro Kusunoki, muttered under his breath, but when Sarge shifted her glare towards him, he just straighten out and kept quiet. The other two of their group, the elegant and gothic Rui Kofuru and the imposing giant Shigemichi Kumai said nothing, not that it was in their character to give in to the sudden outbursts their other two friends were known for. Still, they had all shared Mea's horrible misfortune, as each one of them had taken on one of the Neo-Noirs, and got crushed as a result.

"Why the hell are you wielding a chainsaw?" Claude asked, the bad doctor looking at Sarge's weapon curiously, wondering where she had even been keeping that tucked away.

"It's a prop," Sarge merely replied, tossing the toy to the side, causing it to crack a bit once it hit the floor, "But believe me, the threat is very real. You seven agreed to our terms, and given how you couldn't quite measure up to a Shokugeki against any of us, well, you can't really complain, now can you?"

"How cruel," Don Calma noted sadly, if not a bit over-dramatically. "Did you seriously go out and challenged as many young chefs as you could to strong-arm them into our cult? How devilish of you~"

"Asahi wants more chefs, and I can't exactly put an ad up," Sarge just replied with a frown, "Granted, not sure how much we can polish these guys in such a short time to be of any use to us."

"Well, now, take it easy Sarge," Yuunosuke quickly defended. "While not quite at the level we'd wish they'd be, these guys are still noteworthy, and…" he added with a knowing smirk, "They know Tootsuki Academy quite well. Such intel will be most useful."

At this, Mea, Rentaro, Rui and Shigemichi all frowned, but they said nothing. They really didn't like this idea, but they were desperate. Both Tootsuki Academy and the Eizan family had left them out to dry, and this was the only alternative they could cling to. If this Asahi fellow was really that good, and given Mea's experience, he was, then he could most likely throw the entire culinary world upside down and, if they helped, they could end up rewarded handsomely for it.

"We still need more, right?" Bunnyhair asked, hopping over and landing right next to Sarge, much to close to the other woman's comfort, but she relented. Bunnyhair wasn't one for personal space anyways. "Claude and I got our hands on these four. They weren't that bad, so cut them some slack, Sarge."

"My biggest concern is those two," Claude added, his eyes on two other new members standing to the side, both wearing masks covering half of their faces, and with some very elaborated robes on. "What freak show did you get these guys from Yuunosuke?"

"Ah, this are our special guests," Yuunosuke informed, "Asahi made it vividly clear, once he learned of the through Instagram, that they had to be recruited, no questions asked. I present to you all, our next new Noirs, The Culinary Paradox Brothers!"

The rest of the Noirs just stared, their eyes twitching at the realization of why they were dressed the way they were. That Asahi, did he seriously…?

"Salutations you mediocre fools!" Para Wong began, with a very peculiar accent at that.

"Time for the ultimate cooking duels!" Dox Wong finished, forcing the rhyme a bit too much to the Noirs liking.

Then it really clicked to them all, as they all felt a collective sweat drop down their necks.

'That damn Yu-gi-oh fanboy really wanted these two with us just cause they are cosplaying,' they all thought in unison, their perception of their unshakable leader reaching closer and closer to the dirt with each passing minute.

"I don't get it," Bunnyhair's voice broke the silence, sounding genuinely confused. "Why are they rhyming?"

"I-It's a dubbing thing," Yuunosuke offered, but when Sarge outright glared at him he quickly cleared his throat. "O-Or so I'm told. Anyways, they're not just here because of the cosplay, they are actually up-and-coming talents with a hefty following. No doubt a couple of chefs that will assist Asahi greatly."

"But do they seriously cook while dressed like that?" Claude asked, eyes narrowed at the pair.

"That's certainly quite bold of you to say!" Para quickly shot back.

"Given that you all are dressed that way!" Dox quickly added.

"Stop it with the damn rhymes!" Sarge cried out, moments from picking the toy chainsaw and actually slashing the two up. "You don't have to stay in-character during this meeting. Asahi isn't even here!"

"We never break from our stellar act," Para noted firmly.

"It's even written in our very contract," Dox added.

"…Tootsuki Academy is going to laugh us out of the competition at this rate," Bunnyhair noted, while Sarge only sighed. The things she had to deal with while Asahi was no doubt living the life of the rich and famous, what with a stupidly rich father and even richer sister, not to mention whatever the hell that guy had with the God Slayer. She tried to pretend it didn't bother her as much as it did.

"…That said, what about you Kou?" Sarge asked, turning her eyes to the masked man who seemed to be sulking in the corner for some reason. "Where's the girl?"

"…She ain't coming," Kou Shiou simply said.

"Story of your life, eh?" Bunnyhair added with a smile and a wink, before Sarge smacked her right upside her head and knocked her bunny-ears off. "Hey! Not cool! I'm just saying what we all know Asahi would!"

"It's annoying when he does it too," Sarge argued, before she turned back to Kou, "And what do you mean by that?"

"I mean she refused."

"Why didn't you challenge her like you were supposed to?" Sarge shot back. "We have enough dirt on her to force her to agree to the duel."

"…I did."

Silence followed. Kou didn't really elaborate, which made it awkward, until Bunnyhair, after fixing her look, quickly caught on. "Oh! I get it! She kicked you ass, didn't she?"

"Damn it! I didn't think she'd be that tough!" Kou quickly shouted, sounding utterly frustrated. "After her lackluster display last match, I thought I could get her easily. Damn girl out-cooked me in like half an hour, told me to go have sexual intercourse with my own ass, and slapped me for good measure. I will murder that bitch!"

'And we didn't get to witness that…' the rest of the Noirs inwardly noted, all the while Bunnyhair was busy laughing up a storm. Sarge, feeling a migraine coming, decided it best to take matters into her own hands. 'I may need to challenge her myself, since if it's like that, anything less may not win us favor with Shouko Kaburagi.'

"That aside," Yuunosuke noted, turning towards their most quiet member, "It was a good call to stay on our side, Boogie. Asahi extends his gratitude."

"…I assume," Boogie noted, trying his best to act like he wasn't absolutely livid, yet he knew crossing Asahi Saiba was not something someone could do twice. "I got my guy, you handle the rest."

"Indeed," Yuunosuke noted, his eyes on the seventh new Noir. "And as per your reports, you actually lost your round against him as well, eh?"

"…Yeah."

"He lost?" Sarge asked, feeling increasingly frustrated at her team's current record. What happened to the infamous Noirs all the sudden? Asahi leaves their side for a few weeks and they crumbled apart? "Then why…?"

"Why did I take your offer?" the newest Noir completed her question, before he flashed her the biggest smile imaginable. "Why else? After being betrayed by the Nakiri family, I will take any opportunity to get back at them that I can. But don't misinterpret my intentions. I do not work for you. The only one amongst you that has my respect is Asahi Saiba, and for him, I will crush whoever from Tootsuki that is asked of me. So… What's next?"

Sarge and Yuunosuke stared for a moment at this imposing young man, before they both let out a little smile. This… This was a little more promising.

-0-

Akira and Alice quickly got to cooking, the timer already ticking down, with both having decided to play to their strengths and meet each other halfway. Akira took hold of the freshest berries he could dig out, the fragrance letting him know which ones were the outright best for the would-be dish, before he set them aside to procure the needed spices. Out of the little vials he carried in his person, he placed a good eight different spices on the table, slowly deciding which ones would work best with their chosen theme.

Alice, at the opposite end, fought off the fatigue that came from dueling twice in a row, noting that if Ryou could compete thrice, she shouldn't complain about going two times. She had long decided to stop feeling sorry for herself and to struggle just as much, if not more, than the others. So, with the dedication evident in her features, the Nakiri heiress proceeded to take hold of a selection of chicken breast meat, setting them aside, and, knife in hand, proceeded to cut them down to the required measurements. She sliced the meat so fast that she seemed more like a swordswoman using a breathing technique rather than a chef at work. Even Urara, long accustomed to these type of high caliber matches, could barely see the moment she made the cut itself.

"And they're off!" Urara announced, outright impressed. "Alice is working her magic, this time getting down and dirty with the meat in order to get some very impressive cuts ready. All the while Akira has taken out his trademark spices and is currently setting the prep up with just his nose alone. Impressive as always!"

"…This commentary really is extremely biased," Van noted with a frown. Said frown deepened when he noticed Alice's choice of meat, since he had settled on the very same ingredient. 'Great, we are probably thinking of a similar dish. I mean, on one hand, it would be perfect to beat them with a dish that closely resembles theirs, cementing our victory even more-so and all that, but on the other hand, this makes it tricky…'

"Got the berries!" Bridgette screamed into Van's ears, which caused her twin to flinch at the sudden shout. He loved his sister, he really did, but why was this girl only able to cook while listening to ungodly loud music? It made communicating with her such a pain.

Van nodded to her, knowing she wouldn't hear him even if he screamed, so he simply pointed at their next set of ingredients. As Van moved to preheat the oven to roughly 350 degrees, Bridgette began to season the chicken thighs and legs with salt and pepper, all the while dancing about to what many presumed was a catchy pop song. She moved her hips a little too much to Urara's liking, as the male alumni present in the stadium had quickly taken notice of the girl's… assets and all attention had shifted away from the hostess and towards the airhead. Urara was struggling to pretend it didn't irk her.

Not that her brother, for as loud and annoying as he was, was hard to look at. The young man had this boyish charm and, very close to Alice's earlier observation of them, they did resemble outright virtual superstars to an uncanny degree. The fact that they boy's chef uniform was very tight did not help matters, as it seemed those assets ran in the family.

Oblivious to all the thirst from the audience directed their way, the Autumn siblings moved on to add olive oil, butter and the chicken to a large non-stick pan, letting it turn hot and bubbly. They seared it over medium-high heat for about a minute on one side, flipping the pieces around with a flick of the wrist, with Van throwing it up, oil and all, and tagging out so it was Bridgette who caught it all, and preceded to sear the other sides for another minute, leaving both sides a nice, crisp, golden brown.

"Their chemistry is something else," Isshiki noted, his features focused on the twins and how effortlessly they cooked with each other, almost as if seeing their own Aldini twins at work. They didn't need words, or even glances most of the time. It was almost like twin-telepathy. "And it seems they have the skills too."

"Akira and Alice aren't going to be beat by just chemistry alone," Soma noted firmly, his eyes also focused on the siblings. "They are good, but Akira is outright magic in the kitchen. And Alice is super smart. They've got this."

Eizan said nothing, his arms crossed and examining the competition with as expressionless a face as he could muster. He was not fond of predictable stories, but something about this didn't quite sit right with him at all.

Erina, finding it harder and harder to hold on, as Akira had begun to spice up his own selection of chicken that Alice had just prepped, and that aroma alongside Van and Bridgette's own cooking was almost too much to bear. She just looked on, hand still over her mouth, begging anyone who'd listed to give her the strength to at least see this match through.

Akira finished seasoning the chicken breast with his selection of spices, before he placed it on a large skillet over medium heat, letting it cook for seven minutes over 165 degrees. Alice, meanwhile, began to combine the blueberries with vinegar and mustard, taking hold of a mixer and savagely mixing the contents until it all resembled a paste of a single ingredient. The correct level of thickness, she noted, and as soon as Akira flicked the skillet to the side, away from the flames, Alice poured the mixture into it, to a resounding flash of fumes that covered the entire arena.

All the guests felt it. The power of the spices Akira specialized in, alongside the pinpoint accuracy Alice had employed in her prep.

The Challengers all looked on, frowning. Wondering why it seemed like Tootsuki's Elite Ten were getting stronger and stronger with each passing match. Where was the ceiling? How high could they go?

"That Alice is quite something," Dove noted, head rested to the side. She didn't notice until a bit later that she had been resting her head on Asahi's shoulder. If he noticed beforehand, he didn't say a thing.

"…That's my cousin for you," was all Asahi commented, his eyes on the ever-playful girl who looked so fierce and professional right now she seemed like a completely different person than the usual goofball he had gotten to know.

Maybe faking your personality was a family trait?

Asahi shook his head. He didn't much need those thoughts right now. Before he could try and think of something else, he felt his phone vibrate, and taking a quick glance at it, he noticed it was from his little team of Noirs. What had they done now? Frowning, he excused himself, softly standing up, which was when Dove noticed where her head had been, causing the girl to blush and stiffen, hoping nobody, especially Azami, had seen her like that, before Asahi moved right past the three of them, offering Julius and Ashitaro an apology for passing his ass right across their respective faces.

Back at the arena it seemed both teams were getting ready to finish things up, with plenty of time to spare. Better for Urara, since it left her more airtime for herself, plus it helped with her nerves if they got this last victory quickly. "And we seem moments away from the judging!"

Van and Bridgette had cooked some shallots for roughly four minutes, before the girl added the blueberries and cooked it for an additional minute, and after adding a few more stuff, they proceeded to let it bake for ten minutes on the preheated oven, before taking out the dish. With this, and a nod to each other, the Autumn sibling walked towards the judges table, and placed the five dishes before them, with Van standing proudly before the five, arms to his sides, chest held up high. Bridgette kept on dancing, but at least she was looking at the judges and smiling at them.

"You two are quite adorable," Courage noted, giving the two a smile in return.

"Thank you!" Van exclaimed, trying his best to look at the woman in the eyes and not her cleavage.

"What she say?!" Bridgette asked, tugging at Van's sleeve. He just ignored her, which made her pout.

"And what do we have here?" Decora asked, noting at the plates before them. The aroma was striking, and the dish looked equally divine. Chicken legs and thighs, cooked to perfection, drenched in blueberries as if marked by dark blue ink, with several thinly cut veggies throughout.

Van and Bridgette had served them their Blueberry-Balsamic Glazed Rosemary Chicken.

"Damn it, it looks good," Urara noted, displeased, which caused Van to feel a vein pop.

"Of course it does!" he roared back. "While all you privileged twerps may be dumbfounded by it, my sister and I, from our small little special-of-the-day shop, will be the ones to conquer Tootsuki!"

"…I feel your character archetype has already been filled, thanks," Urara just replied, eyes narrowed, "Twice at that, mind you."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Van barked back, Urara just ignored him.

"…Eh, let's taste this then, shall we?" Anne suggested, and the other four judges nodded in turn. They each took a bite, just as the entire stadium came to a massive silence, everyone awaiting a reaction.

And it took them a bit. They took a bite, and it came slowly, then suddenly. The rush of flavor, almost drowning the five. It was uncanny. As if the two twins were indeed performers, playing to them a song of pleasure and forbidden loves, singing in perfect harmony, as the five of them were lost to the melody and the movements of the dancers. And in no time, they joined in, the five of them serving as back up dancers to the Autumn twin's masterful choreography and singing. It was joy incarnate, and they were lost to the rhythm divine…

"…Wow…" the five of the muttered, lost to their thoughts, backs rested as far back as their seats would allow.

Urara frowned at the display. Over-dramatic as always. "…Seems like the loudmouth siblings have actually-"

She had attempted to give the two an underhanded compliment, but one moment her attention had been focused on the twins, the next… Well, the next she got smacked by the intense aroma that came when Akira and Alice unveiled their dish. The aroma was so powerful, so savory, it outright eclipses Van and Bridgette's dish completely. The judges all had to take a moment, as what had been a euphoric experience just moments prior, now seemed like a distant memory. What…? What had these two cooked up?

"Yikes, that smells incredible," Soma noted with a proud smirk, before he gave pause, turning to Erina. She had taken several steps back, her back against the arena's wall, and now covering herself with both her hands. Soma quickly moved to her, reaching her and asking, "Do you need me to get you out of here?"

She quickly shook her head. She couldn't leave. They both knew that.

"Erina…"

"Hmm…" she did her best to try and convey herself. She had to endure, nothing more, nothing less.

"Apologies for the delay," Akira voiced, placing a set of dishes on the table. Well, all of them, because Alice didn't carry a single one this time. He pretended not to be bothered by this. He did, however, allow his stern look to linger over Decora for a bit longer than the rest, and her expression made it clear she noticed.

"We had to make sure we had this just right!" Alice added, her hands together, proud of the work accomplished. With this, both Tootsuki alumni stood before the judges, with Van and Bridgette staring them down, or as close as Bridgette would stare someone down, as of course…

Akira and Alice had presented their Five Spice Blueberry-Dijon Chicken.

"And here I thought he couldn't get more outlandish," Urara announced, before she let out a very big smile. "But it seems Akira has given us the most aromatic dish so far, and considering how the aromas seemed outright trapped within the dish just moments before, it seems Alice had her way again and did some of her magic to trap those juices and scents!"

"You know it!" Alice said with glee, and Akira merely nodded. The boy then turned to the judges.

The five, still weak from the prior dish, took hold of their respective dishes, and after a moment's hesitation, dug in. In a sheer contrast of what had come before, the five were sent into a desert planet, were nothing but sand surrounded them. They were all undressed completely, naked to the elements, as the very world itself seemed to move around them. They didn't know how to react, as before they knew it, from the very sands, came out a giant worm, its circular maws opened up ready to devour them whole. And it was here they screamed, as they knew they would not escape this creature. As in this world, where "spice" was the most sacred of materials, they were unprepared. All they would experience… was pain…

Pain to the taste buds, that was, and like a masochist receiving their punishment, all they could mutter out was a, "…more please."

The audience quickly began to cheer, the sight of the five judges all draped over their table, lost in ecstasy, a reaction equal if not better than the one before. The Elite Ten all looked on, as did every single Tootsuki alumni, with their hearts of their throats.

Akira and Alice stared the judges down.

Van and Bridgette did the same.

"…Okay, wow, this is too much," Anne noted, almost out of breath.

"No joke, so similar and at the same time both packing such distinct punches," Charme added, outright out of breath. The man sounded as if he had just finished running a marathon. He, like the others, were visibly sweating.

"I'm beginning to think we're underqualified for this level of dishes," Histoire noted with a laugh.

"We've judged the BLUE, have some shame," Decora said as she tried to pretend the two dishes had not made her weak in the knees.

"These kids are ready for BLUE, I think," Courage added, which did not much help Decora's cause. She really needed to talk to her friend, and that was sooner rather than later.

"C'mon judges!" Urara almost growled at them. "Give us a verdict!"

The four contestants, alongside everyone else present, all tensed, as the five judges seemed to take a moment to ponder their would-be voting results. Everyone waited, and waited, and waited… But the five seemed utterly frozen in place.

"Hey!" Urara screamed out. "Votes! Now!"

"I-It's not that easy," Anne defended, her hand on her chin, pondering intensely. "Both dishes are incredible. Utterly magnificent in their display and taste. If we go my aroma, Team Tootsuki's has the upper hand, but likewise, if we base it on synergy, Team Lestrade got it down."

"It's gonna be a close one again," Nene noted, tensing. She hated when that happened.

"Don't freak out just yet pigtails," Kuga quickly chimed in. "Akira and Alice have proven how damn resourceful they are."

"Please win, please win, please win," Megumi chanted, praying for the Tootsuki's team victory, her eyes closed and hands held together tightly.

"Come on," Takumi begged, his expression fierce. "We're so close. So damn close."

"…Alice," was all Kurokiba muttered, his eyes on her and her alone. Please, let this work in her favor. Unlike everyone else, outside of Erina and, arguably, himself and Hisako, this was her home. Don't let her lose it. He couldn't bear it if she did.

The other five former Elite Ten, all looked on, each lost in their own thoughts. But Rindou did take the time to turn to the side, noticing an expression in Eishi she had not seen in so long…

"…If I were to vote without pondering it fully, well…" Histoire noted, his hand on his chopsticks as he held a piece of the cooked chicken. At noticing which dish he was holding up, Tootsuki tensed up. "My vote would have gone to Van and Bridgette's dish. The synergy behind it, and the relaxing fruity taste seemed to fit the theme much better than Akira and Alice's…"

At this Akira frowned, feeling his chest tightened.

Alice clenched her fists and bit her lips, her eyes fixated upon the judges.

"…But," Histoire added, "There's a hidden layer in the Tootsuki dish, isn't there?"

At this Van outright flinched, turning towards the Tootsuki duo. Akira just nodded, as Alice was all smiles.

"Yep!" she noted, even if the nervousness was still there. "You caught me. Outside of everything you saw us prep, I actually used this little fellah," she added, as she took out one of her syringes, "And proceeded to inject small amounts of pure blueberry juice directly into the chicken breasts at precise intervals of the cooking process. It was hard, as too much and it would have ruined Akira's carefully selected spices, and too little would have had a lackluster effect. I think I made it work, no?"

"She was extremely precise," Akira added, smiling. "While I cooked she was like an outright chemist, carefully making sure the dosage was precise, keeping it at the level needed down to the utmost percentage. I don't think I'd be able to manage something like that so flawlessly."

"Ah, shucks," Alice said with another smile, "As if I could spice those babies up like you did. That nose of yours is really comparable to my cousin's tongue, as is your skills to hers. So, in a way, this is a dish only the two of us could hope to achieve!"

The crowd all stared, silent for a second, before they erupted into applauses. Soma and the others were all grinning, save for Eizan, because he was Eizan, and Erina, because she was about to faint. The Polar Star students and company were all cheering as loud as they could. One more win, then one more day, then this nightmare would be over. They could do this. They could win!

"…Damn it, they really are too good," Van noted, frowning, and for once, feeling a wave of nervousness hit him. It was uncharacteristic of him, he'd note, but against such opponents, not unwarranted. Still, he turned back to the judges, and spoke, "…Is that your judgment, or is there, perhaps, something else you'd like to add?"

"Something else?" Alice asked, turning to Van, as they boy in question kept his eyes glued to the judges.

Akira said nothing, but he did frown as his choice of words. 'It's still close,' he thought, 'But we have a slight advantage. But… That judge, Decora, could she…?'

But, it wasn't Decora who spoke first. It was Anne.

"…Hmm," Anne tried. "Indeed. While I agree with everything that was just said, it seems Lestrade also had a bit more to their dish than meets the eye. But, it's something I can't quite put my finger on…"

"Something unseen?" Isshiki voiced, his eyes on the dishes served by the twins. Before he could comment any further, he heard a little scoff from the opposite side of the arena. He turned, his eyes falling onto his former opponent Victor. "…Seems you have an idea friend."

"Not just an idea," Victor noted, as he and his team seemed to take pleasure at the scene before them. "We weren't sure ourselves. But there is a reason why Van is our Team Leader after all."

"You said it was because none of you wanted to do the paperwork!" Van cried out, glaring at the four, and they all shrugged.

"That part is still true…" Victor admitted, "But more than that…"

Anne and the rest of the judges took another taste of the twins' chicken breast meat, and the flavor seemed to get better and better the closer to the center they got.

"…It's not just because of the fact that Van is an amazing chef…"

And it was here, after multiple tasting, that they finally understood. Hidden deep within the chicken breast, there was a mixture of blueberry jam and several herbs and spices. Stuffed meat, in a way, but cut so precise, in layers. Four? No, five layers per breast, all covered with the thinnest amount of that paste that it was almost undetectable to the naked eye.

"…The real reason we chose him, was because quite frankly…"

To have cut something so precise, so insanely detailed, was simply… unimaginable.

"…He's the only one that can actually make Bridgette cook for real."

Akira and Alice's eyes went wide, just as the little Baby Brie's smile widened at the moment her song perked up, quickly bouncing up and letting out a shout. The song then ended, and with the massive silence from the entire stadium, Bridgette took off her headphones, and in the most unimpressed tone imaginable, she simply asked. "Did we win yet?"

The entire stadium all stared in disbelief, with Urara utterly silent, her eyes wide. Just as Akira was. Just as Alice was. As they, and everyone else, stared at the screen.

With a score of five to nothing…

Winners: Van Autumn & Bridgette Autumn.

"…No way," Nene voiced, sounding utterly defeated.

"…How?" Kuga could only offer, in total disbelief.

"No…" Megumi almost cried.

"…Kurokiba, hey," Takumi, trying to shake the shock turned to the mad dog.

Kurokiba said nothing, but the way he was gripping the rails made it clear he was on the verge of jumping right down.

The others said nothing, each soaking in the unexpected results. All except of Eishi, whose eyes had shifted from the stage and towards the man responsible. Azami Nakamura. '…I cannot allow this to continue,' he noted inwardly, fist clenched. 'I'm sorry Headmaster, but your new Elite Ten. They won't survive this Intercontinental Shokugeki.'

"…A-Ah, erm, I-I can't believe…" Urara tried, fighting back the sheer shock of it all. "In a five to nothing vote, and I can't believe I am saying this, our Fifth Seat Akira Hayama, and our Eight Seat Alice Nakiri, have both been eliminated from the Intercontinental Shokugeki…"

Akira just stared at the screen, his fist clenched so hard he was drawing blood. Such chemistry, too much for them to overcome. And it hurt, not just for himself and his own pride, but because he knew, that despite her front… Alice was crying.

She stood tall, because she was a Nakiri and she was a professional. And she had grown. But the tears were still streaming down her cheeks. Why now? Why here? When Erina needed her most, when her entire family needed her to finally pull through, she failed.

But she refused to throw a tantrum. This was much bigger than that, and she was no longer a child. So she held on, tears and all, as Van and Bridgette were announced as the winners.

Up above, Soe, for once, had barely reacted to the decision. He just looked on, simply muttering, "…baby girl."

Leonora had her hands over her mouth, feeling her own heart caught in her throat. This was too much. She couldn't handle seeing her little girl breaking like that.

Mana, despite herself, couldn't quite deny it actually hurt. She knew her niece could be annoying, but this was not how she'd ever want to see her. She was down there giving it her all. This was too cruel.

Elsewhere, seated, and in disbelief, Jun couldn't contain herself either, and the tears streamed down. She couldn't be prouder, of course, but it still hurt.

"Come on," Akira offered softly, his hand on Alice's shoulder, "Let's head back. We did everything we could."

"…Yeah," she replied, her voice breaking, but she held on. The two of them moved back to the sidelines, where the other four awaited.

Erina, despite her situation, quickly threw herself into Alice's arms, holding onto her cousin fiercely. It was here Alice broke, and Erina shielded her from the cameras. "I-I tried so hard…" she sobbed, "F-For once, a-all I w-wanted was to h-help save us."

And the girl who couldn't talk still said, "…I know. And you did… perfectly."

"E-Erina, I…"

"I love you."

Alice gave pause, as Erina's words had never sounded clearer. Alice didn't even reply, she simply buried her head into the nape of Erina's neck, and Erina held onto her tightly.

"Sorry for the disappointing results," Akira offered the rest as he reached them. And while Eizan said nothing, Isshiki was quick to offer the younger man a warm smile.

"You saved us all when I messed up," Isshiki reminded him. "You, and Alice, have done more than enough to help keep Tootsuki safe. We are all proud."

"Yeah, you also took on Hakeem, and that guy is a monster," Soma added, smiling at Akira.

"Yukihira, listen-"

"No, its fine, Hayama, trust me," Soma quickly cut him off. "You did great. We can take it from here."

At this Akira said nothing else. He wanted to argue the point, because of his pride if not for nothing else, but he simply kept quiet. He nodded, and closed his eyes, and moved to the sides. And because time waits for no man, the screen began to flicker once more, as Van and Bridgette's next opponents were about to be chosen.

"So the girl's the true ace in the hold," Eizan observed, hands in his pockets, liking his decision less and less with each passing second.

"Would be best not to underestimate the boy either," Isshiki noted. "They seem like quite the unstoppable pair."

Van and Bridgette, knowing they were next by default, remained on stage, as their team cheered them on, and as everyone looked on. It should be enough, everyone thought. Even with such a massive loss on Tootsuki's part, taking out the likes of Akira and Alice had to have taken its toll on the siblings. They should not be able to score a second win against Tootsuki.

That's what everyone thought. What everyone hoped.

Then the screen stopped. And so did everyone's heart.

Erina Nakiri & Soma Yukihira vs. Van Autumn & Bridgette Autumn

"…Oh boy…" Urara muttered, as silence once more eclipsed the entire stadium. All the students looked on, at a team that would had once upon a time garnered nothing but sheer joy, now housing the deepest of worries.

"The Princess and the Rebel," Van noted with the biggest grin. "Even if we don't beat Tootsuki, if we take those two out, Lestrade will be hailed as the biggest culinary powerhouse in the entire world. You ready sis? Put that music into high gear!"

"You know it!" Bridgette screamed out, turning on her player and setting it to outright rock, her pretty little smile turning downright sinister by effect.

Soma stared, taking a deep breath, before he turned to Erina, and he could see it in her eyes, just how utterly broken she was. "…Erina."

But all she could whisper was a, "…please no…"

-0-

He heard him speaking on the phone before he actually saw him. It was strange. The voice alone made him tense up. It was a very surreal feeling for him. He had never been one to be intimidated. Even people he was wary of he always played it off, kept it lighthearted, never taking things too seriously. It worked well enough for him. But now, hearing the deep voice of what effectively was a man, and not a child, was not something he felt prepared to handle. It was funny, that he could stare down Azami, the real cause behind all this, and not bat an eye, yet, right now…

"-are necessary," the young man ordered. He really had grown, he noted, once he was able to see him, standing with his back to a nearby wall on one of the many hallways to and from the arena. "And I happen to like how they cosplay. I don't care if you don't understand it, but my decision is final. Now, please, go on and find me others who can…"

He then paused, taking note of the other man who had appeared, and the young man's expression shifted into something far darker than he could have ever anticipated. And it wasn't exactly… unearned, he'd note.

"…Hey," Jouichirou greeted.

And for the longest time, Asahi said nothing.

---

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