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))

26. Day at the Races

Pairing: Soma/Erina

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

Notes:

Welcome To The New Year Everyone! Zancrowe Here!

This Chapter had to be split in two parts, as it was getting waaay too massive. So, good news for you, one surprise update just before the year comes to a close. Enjoy!

Also, if you are not a fan of the 4kids version of Yu-gi-oh! like Asahi is, well, this Chapter may leave you a bit confused…

Lastly, remember I have Youtube Page with upcoming Sorina & Food Wars content! Link is on my Profile Page or just search up "Zancrowe" on Youtube.

Poll: Visit my Profile Page to cast your vote on your favorite Side Pairings! It doesn't show up on the Mobile Site, only on the Computer Browser version!

Reminder: "Email Alerts are now only active if Email Opt-In is enabled in Account Settings."

Song (really!): "No Matter What" - Mike Pasternack (Yu-gi-oh! Music to Duel By Soundtrack)

Disclaimer: Don't own Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma (or Yu-gi-oh! for that matter…)

---

"If my dad could take out fifty opponents, what's a measly twenty then?!"

The sheer audacity in display from Soma Yukihira's declaration against the small army Asahi commanded was nothing short of both admirable and frustrating. The King of Noirs looked down at the boy with the most amused expression imaginable, even if there was a slight hint in his eyes that he did not find those words as hilarious as he was trying to play them off as. Dove looking somewhat impressed did not help matters, as it made Asahi feel a little something he never quite thought he'd ever be forced to feel again.

"You have a death wish?!" Kou Shiou cried out, claws aimed Yukihira's way.

"Don't think you can speak to our King that way and just walk away from here," Bunnyhair warned.

"Oh my, and here I thought you actually had a plan of some sort for once," Asahi lamented, as the outcry from his Noirs seemed to drown out everything else. Most of them were calling out for blood, but Soma seemed utterly unbothered by it. "Instead, you've just gone crazy and decided to skip the formalities and just head out to the final boss right from the get-go."

"He did do quite a number on Monarch…" Don Calma noted, true to his name, calmly walking pass Soma and standing at the bottom of the decorative steps. "Which does remind me, he is kinda still lying on the sidewalk. We should send someone to drag him inside less we get the cops called in thinking someone died out there."

"That can wait," Asahi just waved off. "Can you not see how my main force has been declared an active challenge? And how would it look if I declined? No, can't have that. He wants to engage against all twenty of us, then, who am I to deny a suicidal man his urges? The pair it takes to even humor this idea, or the lack of brains, not quite sure which, honestly."

"Oh?" Soma noted, then with a little smirk added, "If you're so curious about that. Ask your sister."

Dove had to cover her mouth to hide a laugh at the comment, which quickly turned to a very wide eye stare as Asahi turned to her with a very pronounced frown.

"Do not humor him," Asahi reprimanded, before he turned his full on glare towards the still smug as ever Soma. "And here I was planning of showing just a hint of mercy, but you want to play it that way, then so be it."

"I'm not the one here who is playing with her feelings," Soma shot back, his eyes narrowing to meet Asahi's glare with his own. "I'm not letting you get away with hurting her any further. This all stops now. So if you guys are so damn strong, then shut up and prove it. Are you coming down first, or are you sending your lackeys instead?"

"We're not lackeys!" the lackeys cried out, as Loren just rolled his eyes. This was not how he expected this day to go. But… 'You really are quite the crazy guy, huh? Be careful though, from what Dove has told me, these guys aren't exactly fodder either.'

"Hmm…" Asahi seemed to think for a moment. "What to do? What do you think babe?"

"Huh?" Dove voiced, a bit caught off-guard by getting consulted. She blushed a bit, reminding herself that she was the "Queen" here, a title that still felt surreal, but one she really, really enjoyed. Far more than the God Slayer one that Azami had created and the WGO had designated upon her. "…He does look very assured. But… if any of us challenges him first, we'll just beat him, and there's no fun in that."

"Too true," Asahi noted, "And what do our special guests think? Julius? Ashitaro? Any thoughts?"

"He's always been like this," Julius noted with a little smile. "My advice? Crush him without a hint of mercy, otherwise, he'll just keep getting up and coming for you. Etsuya would have salvaged so much had he followed this advice."

"I'm pretty sure Eizan prefers finally living away from his father's grasp," Soma quickly cut in, causing Julius to turn to him. "And I feel like I owe you a bit of thanks Julius. Had you wanted to, back at that Showcase, you could have crushed both Erina's and my techniques effortlessly. So… If I'm still standing here able to challenge you all it is because it seems you also underestimated us, eh?"

"A fair assessment," Julius noted, as calm as ever. Soma just looked on, wondering what the Neo-Noir was really thinking, since out of all of them, he was the hardest to read. "And one I should prioritize in correcting then, no?"

"I don't much care about this nobody," Ashitaro cut in, his mad eyes on Yukihira. Despite his hostility with Asahi, or his wariness regarding Dove or Julius, Soma couldn't quite fake it here. Just hearing Ashitaro's voice brought out a look of pure animosity towards the older boy. It did not go unnoticed by the Warlock. "…Seems you have a problem with me. Let me guess… Has Nao been whining about me to you as well?"

Soma said nothing here. He kept his glare at Ashitaro up, wanting to say so much, but also knowing that he needed to tread lightly. For Nao's sake, until he knew more about how to help her, he shouldn't make things worse for her. But, damn it all, was it hard.

"Should I humor this boy Asahi?" Sarge asked, turning towards their King, and trying her best to pretend that seeing Dove pressing herself against him didn't bother her in the slightest.

"Actually…" Yuunosuke cut in, raising his hand, "This might prove advantageous to us," he offered, shifting his hand to the side, towards someone in particular. "If I may be so bold in suggesting Asahi, but there is a new member within our ranks that has yet to truly prove himself to us. Is this not the perfect opportunity to test both his skills and his loyalties?"

And of course, Yuunosuke had signaled to Shun, who did not emote at all. Soma just shifted his glare towards his once-dorm mate. Neither boy said a thing.

"Oh, that's cruel Yuunosuke," Asahi noted, then he smiled. "I like it! A clash between former friends, torn apart because of the Elite Ten's incompetence and the looming threat over Tootsuki itself," Asahi said with glee, and Soma couldn't quite hide the shift in his expression. And Asahi noticed it fully. "And yes, Soma, I am aware of the history. Of just what dorm Shun Ibusaki came from, and just how close you are with all your little Polar Stars."

"…I see," Soma said, "Then I guess it doesn't really matter if I try to hide it or not. Yeah, you got me good with bringing in Shun into your ranks," he added, before he turned to his friend. "And Shun got me even better when he turned tail and stabbed us in the back. But… I guess I do understand his concerns, I have been off my game for a while. It's –"

"Of your game?" Asahi noted with amusement, "Is that your attempt at excusing your failures? If you are going to come here so boldly, at least assume responsibility for your pathetic displays."

"Man, you really are hard to like…" Soma noted with a smirk.

"Tell me about it," Loren added, still hunched over on the railing.

"Seriously Dove, your little brother is starting to worry me," Asahi muttered, feeling his eyes twitch. "Kid's an infiltrator, and now he's here. I am half expecting a gas leak to just pop out and this whole place getting blown up in flames at this point."

"Loren wouldn't do that," Dove quickly defended, then she paused… "…Not while I'm here, I mean."

"That doesn't sound very reassuring," Asahi noted with a pout, and Dove just shrugged. "Oookay, while I do my best to keep an eye on that kid, Shun, my brave, new warrior, why don't you do us the honors?" Asahi then instructed, before adding, "That is, unless you have any complaints. I am lenient after all. I would never force you to do something you do not wish to do."

Shun said nothing. He knew a threat when he heard one. The Smoke Master simply walked, taking guided steps down the little stairway and slowly reaching the bottom, where he met eyes with Soma once and for all. He could hear his cousin, Tommy, give out a proud cheer for him, as the rest of the Noirs looked on, examining everything he did like vultures on their prey. One wrong move, and it was all over. So Shun sighed, there was just no other way.

"Congratz on the hiring by the way," Soma told him with a grin, and Shun frowned. It had just been a day, so why did Soma sound so different. Could it be…?

"…You shouldn't have come here," Shun simply told him. "You can't possibly take all of us down. This is too big a risk even for you."

"Hey, careful now, anymore words like that and I could be fooled into thinking you're actually worried about me," Soma snarked back, and Shun just frowned.

"My, how tragic, two close friends, forced to duel against one another," Asahi noted with a tone pretending he was moments from tearing up. "Still… you haven't declared the conditions for this, erm… it sort-of counts as a Régiment de Cuisine, right? Right?" he asked around, to his group, before nodding and concluding, "Right. So what are your conditions, Soma Yukihira?"

"Does I win and you stop whatever it is you're doing count?"

"You really have no idea what my plan even is, do you?"

"Not really…" Soma admitted. "I just want you to leave Erina out of it. And if you could, like, not hurt Tootsuki while you're at it, well then, even better."

"You really are quite the character," Asahi noted. "Then, how about… For every Noir you manage to take out, he or she is expelled from my armada? Weakening my army and all that? Would that work? I mean, after all, you are oh so confident you'll take out all twenty of us, so by… roughly this same time tomorrow, you'd have taken us all out of the picture. Whatcha say?"

"Sure, why not?" Soma simply replied. "That means, once I get to you Neo-Noirs, you guys drop out of the Intercontinental Shokugeki, right?"

Ashitaro just let out a very loud, and sudden, mad laugh. "He really thinks he'll even get a shot at us"

Julius was still smirking at the guy. "…Any bets on just how far in the ladder he'll manage to actually get?"

Dove was quick to perk up at this. "Oh! Oh! I wanna bet he'll beat seven of the lesser Noirs and lose on the eighth opponent"

Asahi just turned to his girl, eyebrow raised. "…Did you just make that calculation based on the fact that he's the Seventh Seat?"

"…maybe."

"I don't think that's how that works – Anyways," Asahi simply shook his head and continued, turning to Soma, all smiles once more. "Very well. We'll accept your challenge. If by some miracle you manage to beat all my Noirs and reach us Neo-Noirs, and then somehow beat us, then fine, we'll step down from the Intercontinental Shokugeki. I mean, if you manage that we might just throw in the towel and stop cooking overall, since, well, no offense, but that's way too embarrassing to any of us to ever recover from."

"Yeah, yeah," Soma just replied. "And me? If I lose, let me guess, I step down from the Intercontinental Shokugeki myself?"

"…Hmm," Asahi seemed to ponder, still smiling. He seemed poised to say something, before Dove motioned right to him and seemed to whisper something into his ear. "…But babe, we're still in public," he said, then she smacked his shoulder with a huge pout on her face. "Sorry, just a joke, but, yeah, why not?" he added, laughing a bit, before he turned back to Soma. "The Queen of Noirs declares it that, if you lose, you'll be joining us as one of our Foot Soldiers. Still up to the challenge, Soma?"

"Man, that's pretty evil there Dove," Soma noted, his eyes on the Queen.

"I try," she noted, all smiles.

"Well, sure," Soma replied, "Do with me as you wish if I do lose. I won't lie, there is some fun to the idea of being one of you Noirs… Does that mean I'll have to get dressed up though?"

"That's not an actual requirement," Yuunosuke replied, fixing his glasses for a moment, before he shifted around towards Asahi, "But, Asahi, are you sure? What use would we have for –?"

"Are you questioning my orders?"

It wasn't Asahi who spoke. It was Dove. The Queen of Noirs merely shifted in place, her leg over her lap, sitting like a Queen should, her glare over to the kidnapper supreme. Yuunosuke flinched at the sight, especially since their King did not seem bothered by it in the slightest. If anything, he looked proud.

"…My apologies," Yuunosuke offered, giving the girl a short bow, "I was out of line. It shall be as you wish."

Sarge let out a grunt in disgust, but she said nothing else, instead focusing on Soma Yukihira and, if the new lot proved inefficient, then making sure she'd be the one to take him out and garner favor with Asahi. The rest all glared at the boy, ready for their shot if Shun failed, while the two friends then stared each other down.

"We do still need to pick judges though," Asahi noted, sighing. "And I'm not sure you'd trust us to be impartial despite how upstanding citizens we all are…"

"I can judge!" Loren quickly offered, hand raised.

"Absolutely not," Asahi shot back, frowning at the boy. Loren's raised hand then shifted itself into a middle finger, directed right at the King. Asahi just swallowed whatever response he had. Despite all his power, Dove had made one thing clear. Loren ranked higher than he did in her heart, so he'd best keep things civil with the spoiled little brat. "…What to do?"

"I do kinda trust Julius as a judge," Soma offered, which surprised everyone, including the Neo-Noir in question. "I'm sure he'll be impartial and whatnot."

"He's right," Dove noted, turning to Julius, "You are like, you know, an absolute professional and all that."

"Did not expect such praise if I'm honest, but I do not mind," Julius offered. "After all, my loyalties lie with neither you Noirs or Tootsuki, so I can promise to be impartial if such is requested of me…"

"Great! Then Julius is going to –" Asahi began.

"…for the right price, of course," Julius concluded, and Asahi felt his spirit crack.

"…You're going to charge me?" he asked, and Julius nodded. "Like, I have to pay you to do this?" Another nod. "…You greedy son of a bitch… Fine! Sure, we'll work something out. Then –"

"I want to judge too!" Dove quickly whined.

"Babe, judges should be an uneven number."

"But I wanna!" Dove repeated, and Asahi tried to counter her "argument", she just pressed her frame, and her cleavage, right onto his chest. "Please~"

"…fine, you judge too," the defeated King relented, and the other Noirs just felt ashamed of the pathetic display at hand. All, well, except…

"Then let me judge too," Ashitaro offered, and Soma simply kept his frown on his features. "Like Julius and Dove, I also hold no place within either Tootsuki or your Noirs, so I can offer my sincerity. I am curious about what this guy can cook, and since he'll never make it as far as any of us, I feel us three can serve as adequate judges… That is, unless you object, Yukihira?"

"What, from such a trustworthy fellow like you?" Soma said with all the fake praise he could muster, "Nah, that's cool."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but," Asahi noted, "Keep it unbiased Ashitaro, we Noirs have an image to maintain, and we gave Soma here our word," Asahi added, before he turned towards the two opponents. "That said, do make enough for four. I won't judge, obviously, but it is bad manners to cook under my own roof and not offer me a piece, you know?"

"Oh, don't worry," Soma shot back, smirking, "You'll certainly get yours."

"Now that's the spirit," Asahi said with a matching grin. "Now then, let's begin."

-0-

The duel was set up surprisingly fast. It really was to be expected, Soma noted, after thinking of it for a moment. Con Calma was after all both a restaurant as well as a hideout and training ground for these Noirs, so it stands to reason they would have all the equipment and ingredients needed for plenty of cooking duels and whatnot. Both Soma and Shun didn't even have to move, as the entire set was built around them in around twenty minutes or so, while a few other Noirs worked hard to set something else up. Soma kept his eyes on them, since despite everything, he distrusted everything he was seeing, but there was not much else he could do.

Their theme, of course, had been selected at complete "random", scout's honor on Asahi's end, and it coincidentally ended up being "Smoked Meat". Soma just laughed at the selection, but he didn't object. Shun, of course, said nothing. Both combatants just stood at the ready, their tools on hands, facing each other down.

'This might just be the craziest stunt I've ever pulled,' Soma noted to himself, half proud, half wary, as even if he had managed to shake off his initial fear and funk thanks to Erina's words, he still knew he was on thin ice as was. 'It's risky. My old man may have taken fifty guys out, but I don't think any of them could compare to these guys, and that's even if I take the main four out of the equation. If someone of Shun's level is still considered as an "unproven" talent to them, then I best watch out for all of them. Give it my all in every round… I mean, this is crazy, and I'm sure once Erina wakes up, I'll never hear the end of it, but I need to try. Forget the rest, focus on who matters right now,' he added, before he focused exclusively on Shun, 'It's just you and me Shun, so let's put it to the test which of us has the craziest plan to save Tootsuki.'

The two were given the signal to start, and they both moved in at once, neither with a hint of hesitation. They moved towards their respective sides, took out the best meat they could find, and begun their prep. Soon enough, the entire area was engulfed by the smoke-filled aromas of meats, vegetables and pure charcoal. It was almost intoxicating, and a very unique start the Noirs noted, as the following dishes would have to content with not only taking out Yukihira, put also getting rid of all this smoke. That was, of course, if Soma did win. Shun looked like man out for blood, and the Noirs were torn on who they saw coming out on top on this one.

As the two once-upon-a-time friends continued to cook, the Paradox Brothers approached Asahi and the others, handing to the King, to Dove's utter confusion, a couple of microphones and an electric guitar of all things.

"Everything has been set up as per your instructions Midnight King," Para Wong noted.

"We can't contain how excited we are to hear one such as you sing," Dox Wong promoted.

"Wait, sing?" Dove asked, eyebrow raised, turning to her King, "What's all this about?"

"Well, seeing all this just brought back some memories," Asahi explained, taking hold of the microphone and signaling to his Noirs to start everything up, "And given how utterly heartbreaking this match looks to be for our dearest Soma and Shun, I felt it appropriate to set up the mood just right."

Dove just looked on, eyes wide in confusion still.

Julius had an eyebrow raised, intrigued.

Ashitaro looked as annoyed as a man could, wanting nothing more to focus on Yukihira's defeat, and if not, just going in there and crushing him himself.

Loren was just wondering if all this smoke counted as a fire hazard.

"Let's see…" Asahi began, taking hold of the guitar, and stringing his finger along, creating quite the messy sound in the process. It had already been linked with the sound system, so it caused such a sudden loud noise that both Soma and Shun visibly flinched and turned to him, both glaring at the guy. "Oh, whoopsie, sorry about that boys," he apologized, and for all his little acts, he sounded outright genuine there. "…Been a while since I've played this thing."

"You can play the guitar?" Dove asked, examining the musical instrument with a hint of sparkle in her eyes.

"…Well, I may be known as a Noir, but…"

"He honestly can't," Yuunosuke quickly replied.

"Not even to save his own life," Sarge added with audible scorn.

"Can't you two behave?!" Asahi cried out, flustered, and glaring at the two. They both shrugged, and kindly reminded him that it was him who had pretty much instructed them all not to lie to their Queen after all, so all Asahi could do was pout and ignore their laughter. Dove didn't seem to care all that much, as she was simply more interested in whatever it was he was playing at. "But if I can maybe string something along, then perhaps…"

He had tried to get a good melody out, but before he could, Julius quickly interrupted him, taking the guitar from him, and holding it firmly. "You can't even hold it properly," Julius told Asahi, before he played a few notes on it, which sounded outright incredible, especially when compared to Asahi's failed attempts. Asahi just looked on, eyes wide.

"Wait, you play?"

"Naturally," Julius noted, "A man can have hobbies, you know?"

"That's amazing!" Dove said, stars in her eyes, and Asahi had to do a soft "hey, hey" to try and get her to sound a little less pleased at that revelation. She just laughed, as did Julius, before she turned back to Asahi, "But what are you planning to do with all this?"

"Well…" Asahi began, and soon the big screen his Noirs had set up, which the Neo-Noirs had initially believed had been put up for the scores and whatnot, as if to make the event look legit and all that, but instead it began to play a video right out of Youtube, with the name making it clear it was just the karaoke version of a song that all three of them had to do a double take to even recognize.

"You damn fanboy," Ashitaro growled.

"Seriously?" Julius asked, almost laughing for once.

"That's from the dub, right?" Dove asked, turning to Asahi, and he nodded proudly.

"For all the faults 4kids had, their music was not one of them!" Asahi noted smugly, as he took hold of the microphone tightly, and with a push, got right up, leaving the throne all for Dove, as he signaled to his crew. "And what better songs fits this scenario eh? I debated the one from the Pokémon movie, but that one's a lot softer, so it is harder to pump yourself up for it, so… hit it!"

Then, upon command, the music began to play, and the surround system really was something else, as it seemed the entire restaurant came alive to the music. Both Soma and Shun had to do a double take of their own, both almost done with their dishes, at the sudden musical theme their duel had seemingly earned itself.

And while Shun tried his best to ignore it, Soma was nothing but amused. It did sound catchy.

Then, as the Polar Stars began their finishing touches, the lyrics began to show up on the screen, to which Asahi began his rendition of the song, with a surprising nice voice to boot. It was a song he knew pretty damn well too, it seemed, as he sung it effortlessly…

"~How'd it come to this, after all we've been through? Two of a pair now on opposite sides~" Asahi sang, signaling to both Soma and Shun with his free hand, "~From the very start, with honor we cooked. Watched each other's back and we broiled with pride; we are closer than brothers, but now we have to fight each other ~ And we trust our fate to the heart of the pans!~"

Asahi sang it from his soul, as Dove, Julius and Ashitaro looked on, utterly flabbergasted by this sudden turn of events.

Shun looked utterly peeved, while Soma just looked impressed.

Loren wondered if he should "boo" at the guy or something. Where was that song even from?

Then came the chorus, and his team of Noirs, the ones that have been there the longest, knew their roles, so they sang along, or else…

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~Let the Shokugeki begin~" Asahi sang.

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~May the best man win~" Asahi sang.

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~We're in this together~" Asahi sang.

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~We'll be friends forever!~" Asahi sang, then placed extra emphasis on his own take off, "~No matter what!~"

The rhythm continued on, as a small pause to the slightly altered vocals came, and Asahi quickly motioned to Dove, handing her a microphone all her own. She quickly shook her head. He laughed, and tugged her on. She shook her head harder, blushing at making such a fool of herself, but he just laughed and pulled her out of the throne, and edged her on, signaling that the next part of the song was about to start, and despite how beat red she was, she held onto the microphone, and with a huge pout, began to sing as well…

"~It's been you and me, hanging out cooking meals~" Dove sang, almost laughing as she did, but as soon as she started, the whole crowd of Noirs all began to applaud and cheer. Loren even began to whistle proudly. She always did have a nice voice. And it was precious, he noted, to see her so outright happy. "~Didn't ever think it would get this hard; time's running out, and there's so much at stake. Everything riding on the flip of a pan~"

And here she just laughed, at the sheer absurdity of the altered lyrics and wondering how Asahi had even found the time to make this video of all things.

Asahi quickly motioned in, joining in on her verse.

"~We'll show them what we're made of~" the both sang in unison, "~As we fight for the ones we love, and we'll be friends to the very eeend!~"

"~No matter what~" the Noirs all sang the chorus.

"~Let the Shokugeki begin~" Asahi and Dove sang.

"~No matter what~" the Noirs all sang.

"~May the best man win~" Asahi and Dove sang, even if she was almost in tears at this point thanks to all the laughter.

"~No matter what~" the Noirs all sang.

"~We're in this together~" Asahi sang, as Dove was too busy laughing.

"~No matter what~" the Noirs all sang.

"~We'll be friends forever!~" Asahi sang, concluding the segment, as he then motioned to Dove, who forced herself to sing the last, "~No matter what!~"

More cheers from the Midnight crowd erupted.

Soma had a little understanding of why Asahi had chosen that particular song. It did feel fitting, and he couldn't help but turn to Shun, who despite his attitude, looked to be struggling to keep up his little façade. At this, Soma just smirked, and forced himself to push on harder, because for Shun, or from any of the Polar Stars or his friends, he was willing to burn his hands to the bone and then some, just to make sure they were okay.

"That was amazing babe," Asahi said in laughter, pulling Dove in and kissing her forehead.

"You made me sing! You made me sing!" she cried out, trying to sound mad but her laughter giving her away.

But then, to their surprise, the song shifted to its guitar solo, and it wasn't just the video that played, but the actual electric guitar came alive, matching the beats from the video perfectly. Both Asahi and Dove turned in shock to Julius, who merely winked at the two, before he began to shred along to the music, ascending it even higher. Dove looked utterly impressed and thrilled, while Asahi had never had a crush on another man before but was wondering if this was what it felt like.

Julius played along, expertly, until the next set of lyrics came on screen, and in order not to ruin a good moment, began to sing along as well…

"I don't wanna give up, but I will never give in. Don't wanna cook against my very best friend. I could throw the whole match, let him win every play, but with so much at stake I just can't walk away~"

And Julius could sing too, everyone noted, wondering if that was just a Neo-Noir talent at this point. As The Godfather continued to play on the guitar, Asahi quickly carried on with the song…

"~Though I need a victory~" he sang, before he turned to Dove, and signaled to her, his hand extending towards her as he sang, "~You always meant the world to me~" before he brought his hand back towards himself, "~And that's one thing that will never chaaaaange~"

Dove just chocked up, feeling a bit light headed and not knowing how to even properly react for a little moment there.

The music began to swell up, indicating the upcoming climax. The Noirs all got prepped, and Bunnyhair was quick to give the last microphone to Ashitaro, who had sat all of it out. Despite The Warlock's protest, she just signaled him to join in, and despite his animosity towards, well, everybody, for once, well, what the hell?

Then the final chorus played…

"~No matter what~" the Noirs all sang in perfect unity.

"~Let the Shokugeki begin~" Ashitaro finally sang, and he managed to hit the notes.

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~May the best man win~" Julius sang, still shredding the guitar.

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~We're in this together~" Dove sang, dancing around.

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~We'll be friends foreeeever!~" Asahi sang, making exaggerated motions all around, "~Yeah!~"

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~Let the Shokugeki begin~" an amused Ashitaro sang.

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~May the best man win~" an entertained Julius sang.

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~We're in this together~" an almost in tears Dove sang.

"~No matter what~" they all sang.

"~We'll be friends foreeeeeeever!~" a very triumphant Asahi sang, before all four Neo-Noirs came together to deliver the final, "~No matter what!~"

Once the song concluded, the cheers erupted even louder, as all the Noirs applauded their King, their Queen, and their… Knights? They weren't quite sure what Julius and Ashitaro were in all of this, but they knew to respect the two, so they all cheered. Loren just looked on, embarrassed at the display, but his eyes never left Dove through the whole song. Their relationship had been recent she had said, right? So why did she look so in love then? Maybe it was that he was too young to understand it properly. He had never been in love himself, so…

He shook his head. He didn't understand why he was thinking of the little witch now of all times.

"I can't believe I was roped into this stupidity," Ashitaro just said as he, Julius and Dove were pulled into a tight hug by Asahi.

"You kidding, even you managed to nail it!" The King of Noirs said with the biggest grin, "And Julius, my man, you literally rock!"

"It is an amazingly crafted piece," Julius noted, signaling to the guitar, before he motioned to return it to Asahi.

"Nah man, you keep her," Asahi quickly shot back, pausing him with his hands. "She clearly has quite a few songs in her that I can't quite get out. She's all yours," Asahi said, and Julius, despite his wary nature, merely nodded and took one last glance at his new "gift".

"We should definitely do karaoke again," Dove, almost out of breath, said, quickly turning to Asahi, "That was so cool! I can't believe you weren't lying when you said this would count as a teambuilding exercise!"

"Come on babe, have more faith in me," Asahi quickly noted, pulling her by the waist, which still sent a shockwave up and down her spine, and then he gave her a quick kiss that left her utterly breathless. "And this is just a taste of what's to come… trust me."

She didn't reply, but her big, blue eyes seemed to do so for her.

"I don't mean to intrude," Soma spoke up, causing all four Neo-Noirs to turn to the boy, who was currently holding a few plates, covered completely. The hints of smoked flavor permeated throughout, and his satisfied grin indicated that he was both done and confident with the results. "Dinner for the four singers, is it?"

-0-

Both Soma and Shun stood side by side as their plates adorned the makeshift table that the Noirs had set up in order to serve for their judging. All four Neo-Noirs took their seat, even if Asahi wasn't allowed to vote. Still, it was quite the sight.

They all looked at Shun's exquisite looking dish, and it seemed Tommy Revolver had not lied at all. It was quite the fancy looking meal indeed. Shun had served them a type of Smoked & Grilled Lamb Backstrap, a very beautiful cut if lamb, stuffed with spinach and feta, seasoned with smoked salts, and rolled with a very thin wiring work that made it look absolutely flawless.

They all then looked at Soma's dish… and they all felt slapped.

Soma had outright served them a fast food fried chicken meal!

"He's utterly insane," Ashitaro said with outright disgust.

"And coming from you, that's quite the accusation," Julius noted, eyebrow raised. He knew from experience this kid was… unique, but this was too much even for him.

"Did… Did you run out while we were singing and buy a combo meal from KFC, or…?" Dove asked, looking at the pieces of fried chicken and fries before her. Granted, it did look and smell smoked, so it counted, but…

"What are you playing at I wonder…?" Asahi simply noted, his eyes on Soma, who merely shrugged, giving nothing away.

"You four are really something else, but even you can't judge a dish fully without tasting it," Soma told the four, before he turned towards Shun for a moment. "And neither can you or I. So I made enough for you, I would hope you did the same for me."

"…I did," Shun said, signaling to an extra plate. "…But why are you doing this? You should have argued against this theme. In fact, you should have not come here at all. I know we both want to protect Tootsuki, but –"

"Hey, let the judges do their work," Soma quickly interrupted, which caused Shun to frown. Despite everything, Soma's tone sounded very, very different. Could that change really happen in just the span of one day?

"Well, he's got a point," Asahi noted, as he gave them all the signal, "Let's dig in then… even if my vote counts for squat, but whatever, let's do this properly!"

The four then took a bite out of Shun's dish, the lamb meat outright seeming to be on fire thanks to all the smoke it gave out. And it was… impressive. All four had to admit, that this delicate taste would have been so easy to ruin, yet the tenderness was still there, just amped up by the power of the smoking flavor.

"Shun…" Asahi noted, letting the flavor permeate. "I think you made the correct call after all. A little more polish, and we can bring you to quite the high level. You got this down to an almost masterful degree. I mean, no offense Soma," he said to the boy, which Soma took it to mean he was going to follow up with something offensive, "but comparing this to the dish you made against me back in the manor, why, I would have switched you and Shun right on the spot. Maybe making him the Seventh Seat would give your Elite Ten at least a glimmer of a chance, wouldn't you say?"

Soma said nothing, instead taking a hold of his portion of Shun's dish, and taking a taste. And despite himself, Asahi wasn't wrong. It was a strong, yet delicate taste. Truly something only a master of the smoking arts could create. And it was a risk, to clash a dish of such a theme against Shun of all people.

Almost like challenging the user of the Smoke-Smoke Logia Devil Fruit in combat using smoke weapons. It didn't even make sense. But…

"You really are amazing Shun, truly an honor to Polar Star, but…" Soma praised, but it was the "but" in his sentence that made Shun turn to him with… concern? "…I understand now why you were so disappointed in me. I am, after all, not just a Polar Star anymore, am I? I am a member of the Elite Ten, taking part in the Intercontinental Shokugeki, the last line of defense our school has. And… I am substituting for our previous Seventh Seat. So it makes sense, that you'd be disillusioned with me after such poor performances, if you used Isshiki as a measuring stick. I wouldn't have matched up. So I'm sorry, but… you were right, and now, forgive me, because I need to do to you exactly what it was Isshiki did to me… and put you in your place."

Shun couldn't help widen his eyes at the declaration, as Soma smiled. At it wasn't a proud smile. Not a boastful one, nor one filled with snark or mockery. Just his honest, friendly smile. He wasn't boasting… He was stating a fact.

The Neo-Noirs then took a bite of Soma's Happy Meal looking dish, and in an instant, it was like another sudden slap right across the four's collective faces. They had to pause, turn to the dish again, and all four of them seemed to outright frown at it. Now Soma did grin, proudly, as he crossed his arms and exclaimed, "So how was it? Is that more akin to what you'd all expect from an Elite Ten member?"

After all, Soma had served them a version of the Smoked & Fried Buttermilk Chicken Thighs w/ Smoked Fries & A Surprise!

"You see," Soma began, raising his index finger to explain his craft and the secret behind its seemingly simple design to contrast the sheer complexity found just underneath. "While it looks like just fried chicken at first glance, I actually –"

"You seasoned it with smoked salt as well," Dove began, her eyes on the dish, after just one, simple bite, "You also used a mix of different herbs and spices in small rations, stuffed it with tiny layers of squashed spinach and cream cheese, followed by smoking it in direct charcoal, allowing the flavor to permeate thoroughly, before you then deep-fried it, being very careful to seal the fatty meats quickly, elevating the heat on the oil to a very dangerous degree that could have easily backfired and burnt off the edges, but you got it right, taking it out, before you double-dipped it, making it extra crunchy without it losing the inner tenderness or absorbing even the tiniest hint of excess oil. I say, even the oil has been seasoned, how very… creative."

Soma just stammered, despite himself. 'Wait…?'

"All your teachings from your home echo in this dish," Julius added, "Your style is a mix of the classic Japanese craft from Yukihira's original owner Kazusato Yukihira, all the experiments and novelties brought forth by his daughter and your mother Tamako Yukihira, the very teachings and worldwide expertise from your father Jouichirou Yukihira, and many, many of the lessons you've learned in Tootsuki, most notably your use of the knife skills, outright mastering the cutting styles of the julienne, batonet, and brunoise, all no doubt teachings passed down by your Master Kojirou Shinomiya."

Soma was now fighting off a frown. '…But they…'

"And you even served it with a Blue Cheese Sauce," Ashitaro concluded, examining the dressing with a little… ire. "You have been experimenting in my domain, it seems. As there are traces of fresh, smoked Surströmming cut into mincemeat mixed in with the sauce, alongside quite a few touches of different aromatic techniques not quite known to you Tootsuki lot. Seems you have been playing with my little sister after all, eh, Yukihira?"

Now Soma was actually glaring. 'They were all busy singing… They weren't even paying attention to what I was doing. Yet, they got everything, every single secret out of my dish with just one bite… Damn it, this could be a little trickier than I thought. How damn strong are these four?'

"…Yeah, I can't really add anything that my… friends here haven't said," Asahi simply said, turning to Soma and smiling. "But it is a marked improvement. We may have to destroy you after all."

"It wasn't… much," Soma replied, and unlike all the other times, this time it sounded like an actual challenge from him to them. They required he push himself even further, then fine, he'd do it. For Erina, for Tootsuki, he'd match their might, somehow.

"So!" Asahi said with a loud clap. "Your votes my esteemed judges of the UGO?"

"UGO?" Dove asked, turning to him, tilting her head.

"Underground Gourmet Organization," Asahi explained with a little grin, "Makes us sound legit."

The other three said nothing else, they had humored this guy enough as was, and simply, since they hadn't really decided on how they would vote, all pointed to the guy they all believed was the winner.

All three of them pointed to the same chef.

Winner: Soma Yukihira.

"Wait? What?!" Tommy could be heard shouting out, as the rest of the Noirs scoffed at the result. Of course the Tootsuki betrayer wasn't up to par.

Before any of them could say anything, Shun moved. He stepped towards the table, taking a piece of the chicken, and dipping it in the sauce. He then took a bite, and allowed himself to be bombarded by the flavors. And, as Soma looked on, eyes narrowed, waiting… Shun simply smiled.

"…Good, you're back," he simply said. "I am still not at the level I could ever hope to defeat Soma Yukihira. Things are… as they should be."

"Did you really plan all this out just to get me out of my funk?" Soma said with the biggest grin, before he closed his fist and playfully placed it on Shun's chest. "Couldn't you just copy Isshiki and challenge me on a romantic cruise or something?"

"…hmm…" was all Shun offered, but he was still smiling. But, this didn't much fix everything, as it was…

"…One down…" Soma noted.

"…Nineteen to go…" Asahi concluded.

Soma retook his stance, swinging his knife expertly and getting ready. "Alright, who's next?"

"This is bullshit!" Tommy quickly cried out, stepping down towards the makeshift arena. "Shun! What the hell?! There's no way you're inferior to this dropout! You had to even help him get back to Tootsuki and all that!"

"…I am sorry Tommy," Shun began, hands on his pockets, but stepping up and standing right next to Soma. "But I can't quite match him… yet," he added, and Soma laughed. "…But, I should warn you. You can't either. Out of all you here, only four of you can, and… maybe not for long."

"Shun, I appreciate the feedback," Soma muttered, feeling all the glares intensify with each word, "But try to save them for when we're not within stabbing distance."

"…That would be smart," Shun noted.

"Stand down Tommy," Asahi instructed, and despite his ire, the Noir did as he was told. The rest looked on, as Asahi signaled to his top two. "Sarge, Yuunosuke, I think our friends here are getting a bit too full of themselves. Can you please show them, that it's not just the Neo-Noirs that Tootsuki has to fear, please?"

"With pleasure," Sarge quickly affirmed, standing before Soma and Shun.

"…My, to think I would get the chance to engage against an Elite, how very frightening," Yuunosuke added, standing next to Sarge.

"I feel like I skipped a few bosses here," Soma noted, his eyes on them both.

"…Be wary, they are not to be underestimated," Shun explained, but he held his ground next to Soma. It was clear this had become a two-on-two. And if such was the case, then… "But, if such is how they wish to challenge us, then it works out. This is no longer one vs. twenty, but rather, two vs. nineteen."

"Ten for me, nine for you?"

"…Why do you get more?"

"Cause I won our duel."

"…Fair enough."

The four all took their stances, ready to clash to whatever theme was given to them, but the moment Asahi was about to call for a start of the match, and probably a new song to sing along to, the doors of the establishment were burst wide open, and what followed was an onslaught of heavily armed, and very buff, men storming in, taking aim at every single Noir present, causing everyone, even the likes of Soma and Asahi, to stare in utter bafflement at the sudden, unexpected interruption.

The, for lack of a better term, SWAT team that had broken into Con Calma all formed a row, their aim on each Noir, as they seemed to even pull out Monarch out of thin air, and hold the guy at gunpoint, shouting towards Asahi, "Tell us where Soma Yukihira is or this man will be shot!"

"W-W-What's happening?!" Monarch cried out, utterly terrified by what was happening.

"Be my guest," Asahi offered, "I don't know that guy."

"Asahi-sama!" Monarch cried, as he felt guns being aimed all over his body, including one probably up his ass.

"Tell us where Soma Yukihira is or we will –!" the man in charge of the operation shouted again, but he was stopped when he saw Soma just raise his hand and speak.

"I'm right here," Soma said flatly, still utterly confused, until he recognized the guy, "…Wait. Gaston? That you?"

"Gaston?" Asahi repeated, eyebrow raised, "Isn't that –?"

"Ah, Soma Yukihira, good to see you are unhurt," the former military man, turned… military man it would seem, said with a smile (at least Soma assumed, since he was in full tactical gear and Soma couldn't really see his face), "That means we made it here on time!"

"On time?"

The squad then motioned outside, and as everyone looked on, the Noirs half wondering if they were all going to be executed on the spot, right from the passage the team had cleared, in came walking, who else, but Tootsuki's very princess.

"E-Erina?!" Soma and Asahi both yelled in unison, both surprised. Dove just rolled her eyes. Drama Queen.

"That's quite enough!" Erina declared, her hands to her hips, with the full force of the Nakiri armada right behind her. It was here that Soma and Asahi could swear they heard helicopters flying overhead, which caused the two to share a twitch in their eyes. So much for not going overboard, Soma noted, but he kept quiet. If she was as mad as she looked, he wouldn't put it past her she'd have one of those guys shot him or something. "Soma! This is a school night, so you are going back to Tootsuki right now!"

"…yes ma'am."

"And brother!" Erina almost roared, and Asahi outright flinched. "You do not get to torment my boyfriend like this. You want to wage war against Tootsuki, then it's with me you do so, understand?"

"My, you've certainly full of surprises little sis," Asahi noted with a smirk. "But, Soma here was the one who came in to my place. I had no ill intentions whatsoever to –"

"Brother."

"Hmm…?" he mouthed, smirking. As if she's actually go all out to stop him. He knew this girl. There was nothing she could do to get him to alter his plans. She wasn't going to brute force her way into a victory. But, well…

"…you promised," she said, softly, pulling out the soft eyes and the little sister tone, and Asahi visibly stiffened at the unexpected hit. Dove, Julius and Ashitaro turned to him, all three utterly unamused and wondering what she meant, as Asahi seemed to struggle with himself.

"Erina," he tried, "You and I both know that…"

"You…" she repeated, firmly, "Promised."

Asahi seemed to switch between ten different expressions, shaking in place for a moment before he paused, took a deep breath, sighed, and then spoke, "…Fine! Let's declare a formal match-up then. Your guys vs. my guys, winner take all. My plan was to crash the party anyways, so if you want me to set it up properly, well, then, fine…" he said, and upon feeling all the judging stares hit him at once, he quickly defended, "What? I am a man of my word. And I may have promised her we'd lie to each other a little less, and stuff…"

They all looked at him like a disappointed parent, and he wanted to smack each one of them. Except Dove, of course. You know what, scratch that. Maybe not smack her, but he could still spank her. She'd probably like it, but still…

"Are you for real?!" said Dove quickly shouted, utterly pissed off, before she pointed at the princess, "All that bravado, all that menacing nature of yours, and she just puts on some puppy-dog eyes and you bend over for her?! You said you wouldn't change course for anyone! Who's controlling who here?!"

"Dove," Erina voiced, and the God Slayer turned to the God's Tongue with outright fire in her eyes. She outright spat out a "what?!" to the Tootsuki Princess, but despite all her self-doubts and fears, Erina was prepared. She was ready this time. "Is my father even aware of your relationship with my brother?"

Dove outright shattered in place, mouth agape, her hand still pointing at Erina, but now frozen in time.

"I thought so," Erina merely added, then warned, "And if you want to keep it that way, keep your mouth shut."

Dove was outright convulsing in rage but couldn't quite voice it, and Asahi was already sweating because he knew, knew that the moment Erina left, he was not going to hear the end of it.

"Now then brother," Erina continued as if nothing had happened, "We shall agree to your little war as we see fit. Select your team, and I will select my own. I assume my boyfriend's idea here was to take you all on by himself," she added, turning to Soma, who after gesturing a bit settled on a nod. Not that he needed to do so, as all the Noirs nodded for him. Yes, he was that stupid. "I figured. But no, you know that you Neo-Noirs cannot face-off against an Elite Ten member, even if you are outside of Tootsuki. And you both already broke that rule once, and I will not allow for it to happen again."

"Fair enough little sis," Asahi said, smiling at her. Despite it all, she could be precious when she was playing up the part of high and mighty. "Tell you what, Soma here already began, what effectively counts as a Régiment de Cuisine against us, and to his credit he did defeat Shun Ibusaki… and Monarch, but that one really doesn't count," Asahi said with a little smile, raising his hand with his index finger in the air. "That's still one victory for Tootsuki. Excluding me and my fellow Neo-Noirs, I still have fourteen undefeated Noirs left in my army. Well, fifteen, but the Paradox Brothers cook as a pair, kinda like the Autumn twins, so fourteen of my Noirs, against fourteen of your classmates, deal?"

"Very well," Erina shot back, firmly. "I shall meet your fourteen with my own. When and where?"

"Would you be available tomorrow?" Asahi asked, "I asked an old friend of your boyfriend for some assistance," he added, and Soma turned to Asahi, the confusion evident. "A woman who was very thrilled when I told her I was going to ensure the end of your career," he told Soma, "Yaeko Minegasaki, her name ring any bells?"

"Ah… her…" Soma said, his mind buffering.

"You have no idea who that is." Asahi assumed.

"I have no idea who that is," Soma confirmed.

"To think you'd forget a woman with such a lovelyyyy…" Asahi had begun his description, but upon feeling Dove's neck begin to twist towards him in an uncanny manner, he quickly skipped the details and moved right along with, "She's an Urban Life Planner, and has many locations around the city. I'll send you the pins for those locations, and you can send each student there, to meet up with one of my Noirs. Like I said, I'll be fair, and appoint one point for Tootsuki as is, raising the total to fifteen points. Whoever earns more victories in total, say, at least eight-to-seven, well, then that's the team that will have earned the right to…" he concluded, extending his arms to fully showcase his army, "…Officially have a wish granted to them by the losing party."

"Fair enough big brother," she mimicked his earlier words, and smiled. "We shall meet up in the battlefield later on… Wait – Why the hell is Julio here?"

Everyone just stopped, as Erina had just realized what she was seeing, her eyes wide at the sight. It had now fully clicked to Soma, that there was indeed a familiar sight within Asahi's ranks, and it was none other than… Julio?!

"You finally notice me you entitled brat," Julio declared, his bulky arms crossed, standing menacingly above the steps. "Yes, it is I, Julio. The bane of the entire Nakiri family, and I –"

"Julio, stop playing around and get on a limousine," Erina simply interrupted and ordered, "This is no time for your games."

"Wait! What!? No! I'm not that Julio!"

"Eh?" both Erina and Soma muttered at the same time. What the heck was he talking about? He was clearly the guy they both knew. Her second (third?) best aide and all that.

"You are confusing me for my younger cousin Julio Rossi Saotome," Julio explained, sounding utterly insulted. "I am Julio Shiratsu, former Third Year of Tootsuki and a longtime servant of the Nakiri family, until I got expelled and you did nothing to stop it!"

"…Eh?" both Erina and Soma muttered at the same time, heads tilted sideways.

"Stop reacting like that!" Julio called out, but the two seemed utterly… underwhelmed. "This is a serious matter! Do you really not remember me at all?!"

"…There were two Julios?" Soma asked.

"…I hadn't the faintest clue," Erina replied.

"My family has served you for generations!" Julio almost shrieked.

"And you are saying you are mad at me because… you got expelled and I didn't… prevent the expulsion…?" Erina tried to rationalize.

"Exactly!"

"Who expelled you?" Soma asked, wondering how two cousins of different ages could look like outright doppelgangers of each other. "Was it one of these guys?" Soma added, signaling to the Neo-Noirs.

"Eh, erm, well, almost, it was quite the battle actually, I almost won, but it turns out I –"

"Yeah, we're not wasting too much time with him," Asahi quickly cut in. "It was the baby of the competition, Aisha. Twerp kicked his ass completely. He wanted payback, spent some time improving, seems decent enough, and what can I say, I need people, can't get picky, alright."

"Do not downplay that little slasher villain's prowess!" Julio shot back, still trembling at the memory of his horrendous defeat…

"You sure you wanna do this?" little Aisha Akintola gently warned his opponent, one of the twenty-nine Third Years that had challenged them, still with his trademark little smile. "You might think it's lucky for you that you got paired up with the youngest of us all, but I am here for a reason you know?"

"Reason or not, I assure you, the one with poor luck, is you…" Julio said with a wide grin, "…little girl."

"…I am going to kill you now," Aisha simply replied, slowly taking hold of his cleaver…

"Such a monster wearing such a cute little skirt!" Julio cried out, tears dripping down his face, sulking in just how utterly outclassed he had been.

"Yeah, Aisha does tend to have that effect on people," Soma noted with a little laugh. Loren could only nod. Little brat was more of a Noir than half the people here.

"…Right, I, well, whatever, thank you for your services and all that but you probably earned that expulsion, so… sorry," a clearly not at all apologetic Erina merely said, as the elder boy just cried, and she did her best to ignore him.

"I always said this reveal felt forced," Sarge noted.

"How else where we going to get him into the story?" Yuunosuke offered.

"Ignoring all of that," Erina retook control of everything, shaking off the weirdness of it all, "Send me the locations and the time, and I shall meet you in battle brother, but until then, don't you dare try and harm any of my friends, or my boyfriend, got it?"

"Careful princess," Asahi warned, same smile as always. "There's a limit how much I'll allow you to say to me."

"We shall see," Erina simply retorted, then with a snap of her fingers, her whole squadron began to move. They released the quivering Monarch, allowing the guy to drop to the floor, probably unconscious again, and began to escort Erina, Soma and Shun out of the premises of Con Calma. Soma just gave it all a bemused look, but he followed on regardless. Shun was even more concerned, since he wasn't sure how much Erina knew or if she was going after him next, but he decided it would be best to just go along with it.

Asahi, Dove, Julius and Ashitaro all watched the Tootsuki students go, all staring down at the fight that had now been declared, or rather, altered, to something a little more… fruitful, in Asahi's eyes.

"Feels like you almost planned for this," Julius noted.

"Oh, you think too much of me," Asahi replied, "I just prepare for every eventuality."

"You should put that sister of yours in her place," Ashitaro argued, and Asahi frowned.

"I feel very weird agreeing with you Ashitaro," Dove voiced, utterly peeved, "But he's right!"

But, to their surprise, as they were being escorted out, Soma made a quick stop, turned around, and went right back towards all the Noirs. The entire teams, both armadas at that, all stopped, as Erina also gave pause and looked back, wondering just what Soma was going to do. She really did not want to escalate things any further, since the words Ikumi had said still echoed in her mind. She really shouldn't be making this big of a scene. And she knew Soma… he wasn't going to just deck her brother, right? Maybe Ashitaro, and for what little she knew, he would deserve it, but still. She wished someone would punch Dove, but she knew Soma would never, but, in a way, he kinda did…

"Almost forgot," Soma said, standing right before the four Neo-Noirs, but rather than addressing any of them, he simply turned and called out, "Hey Loren, come on, you have a class tomorrow. Gotta get you back to the dorms."

The four Neo-Noirs just stared. Then blinked. Then turned to the side.

"Huh? Oh, that's right!" Loren quickly recalled, rushing away from the rail and down the steps. "I have a group presentation to give in class tomorrow with Mitsuru, Berta, Cilla and that doofus Raymond. I shouldn't be late!" the young boy said as he quickly joined Soma down below, passing right by all the Noirs. "I'll give you a call later sis, love ya, don't stay up too late!"

"H-Hey, wait!" Dove called out, utterly baffled. "Loren! Hey! You don't have to keep this farce up any longer, just come and stay with me, it's over already."

"Huh? Oh, that's okay, I know you'll win and all that, but…" the little brother said with a pause, "It's kinda fun, and I promised them I'd help, so until you win, I'll just stay at the dorms."

Dove could only stare in disbelief as her little brother went along with Soma, Shun and, especially, Erina. She outright felt her soul leave her body.

Erina seemed to notice her outright stare turned glare, and she smirked, and no sooner had Loren reached her, than had she extended her arm and politely patted the boy in the shoulder. "It's nice to finally meet you Loren," she introduced, "I'll be more than happy to take you back to the Polaris dorms. But I feel I have to ask, from one younger sibling to the next, are you also against them being in a romantic relationship?"

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe it!"

"Then we are going to get along swimmingly," Erina concluded, and with that, the four students, and the dozen upon dozen of armed men, quickly vacated the premises, leaving the Noirs alone with a lot of broken doors and a sudden, heavy silence. Said silence did not last for too long, as Asahi could have sworn he saw Dove's face outright turn red in sheer fury and anger and she let out the loudest scream he had ever heard anyone utter.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL HER!"

-0-

The ride back to Polaris was indeed quite the trip. As Erina, Soma, Shun and Loren were boarded into the main car Erina had for her personal use (one of them anyways), the four just sat in silence as the surrounding limousines and armed vehicles all drove away, and the two choppers also flew away, leaving three of the four on that car utterly bewildered at that display. But of course, any sane man would rather face off against the Noirs or the Nakiri army instead of, well…

"That was an absolutely reckless and stupid thing to do!" Erina reprimanded, and Soma just nodded to each word, trying his best to avoid her glare. "What were you thinking?! Did you honestly believe you could just walk in there, beat them all in a Shokugeki, somehow, and this entire situation would be resolved?! Is that how you think the real world works?! Do you have any idea how dangerous a stunt that was?!"

"…I can tell you're mad –" Soma tried.

"Oh! Am I?!"

"And with excellent reasoning," Soma quickly added. "But, and hear me out, I didn't exactly think things through," he explained, and she just scoffed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. It really was. "I was taking it on a step-by-step way, you know, I mean, look," he signaled to the guy next to them, "I got Shun back! That was the main focus of my plan at least."

"Oh believe me," Erina outright growled, her eyes shifting from Soma and towards the Smoke Master, "I'll get to you Shun soon enough."

"…I feared as much," Shun merely acknowledged.

"He was just desperate," Soma defended, "We all are. But… it worked out. I kinda expected you'd come in with the cavalry and all that… Not the armed cavalry, I'll admit, nor so soon, but even I didn't actually think I could take on all twenty of them in one go."

"That's not true, he actually expected to win against all of them. Are you going to just let him get away with it?" Loren simply added, smirking, and Soma felt something in him break.

"That's right!" Erina quickly followed up, eyes glaring, and now Soma wanted to throw Loren out of the car. "You didn't think of this at all! Always trying to prove yourself, screw the rest! That's not how teamwork works! That's not how a relationship works! You lied to me, Soma, you outright lied to my face!"

"Erina, I –"

"You did do it for her after all," Loren added again, smirking.

"I did do it for you – Wait, Loren, damn it, stop –!"

"For me?!" Erina shot back, and Soma was moments from strangling the kid. "What does getting hurt or risking your career or even our entire livelihood earn us?! Ever since we got together we've always planned things together! Even when things were at their craziest, I've had your back, and I never go behind your back and risk it all because of pride!"

"It's not pride," Soma shot back, frowning at her. "It's concern. It's worry. Because I know how much you care about Asahi, and I am tired of him dangling those feelings over you. It's hard to tell when he'll be earnest, or when he'll simply turn around and hurt you for real. I won't allow that to happen. And I needed to get through to Shun. If it was a dangerous situation for me, then it was for him as well, and for any of my friends you know I'd do anything."

'…Stop mentioning me, please,' Shun inwardly begged.

Erina seemed to give pause, her arms still crossed, and her eyes still flared, but she was at least trying to listen to his words to try and understand whatever his thought process had even been. But of course…

"Are you really going to believe that excuse?" Loren added.

"Loren, I swear –!"

"He's right!" Erina flared back up, and Soma had to cover his own face with his hands in desperation. "That was risky, and there is no excuse! Communication, Soma, that's what needs to happen between you and I! I cannot go through this again! I… I was worried, scared even," her voice broke a bit, and it was here Soma felt a pang in his chest, "If because of my problems, something happened to you, I… well, I…"

"It's not just your problems, not anymore," Soma noted firmly. He did pause for a moment, and pointed threateningly at Loren. The kid just laughed and raised his hands defensively. Fine, he'd keep quiet. "…It's hard, Erina, to see you struggle so much. To know in just how much pain and stress and drama you're in and I can't do anything to help out. So, I am sorry, it was a dumb idea, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but everything I do, I do it thinking of what's best for you. I love you, and it felt suffocating to see you like that and not be able to do a thing!"

"It was dumb," Erina said with a frown

"I know," Soma admitted.

"You could have been hurt."

"I know."

"Why didn't you at least tell me?"

"Because…" he tried, but then it hit him. Why she was so mad. It wasn't the recklessness of the plan, but rather… "…You would have gone along with me, wouldn't you?"

"Of course," she said, firmly, then added the words she seldom ever spoke aloud, and despite himself, he didn't really know how to react to them yet, "…Because I love you just as fiercely."

-0-

The following day was when, as per the records went on to show, the actual war between the four sides: The Elite Ten, the Graduates, the Neo-Noirs, and the Midnight Chefs, actually began in earnest. Everything beforehand had just been a prelude, and as all sides got prepared, the final negotiations began to take place.

As such, Nene Kinokuni, Satoshi Isshiki, and Terunori Kuga gathered around their Elite Ten meeting room, alongside their acting Headmaster Soe Nakiri, in their meeting with the former Tootsuki Top Five Elite members: former First Seat Eishi Tsukasa, former Second Seat Rindou Kobayashi, former Third Seat (and surprisingly still here) Tosuke Megishima, former Fourth Seat Momo Akenegakubo, and former Fifth Seat Soumei Saitou.

"We've been going back and forth enough as is," Eishi commented, a surprising level of control and calmness in his tone, clearly indicating just how much he had thought this through and how much he believed it was the right call to make. "I mean no disrespect to any of you, and I am aware of Headmaster Senzaemon Nakiri's initial wishes, but we cannot deny that the current Elite Ten members have just barely survived this Intercontinental Shokugeki as is. Engaging against those Neo-Noirs, talents that even the WGO ranks above even us, would be career suicide not just for you, but for every Tootsuki student, past and present."

"Your concern is warranted," Nene quickly argued, standing firm. "But we believe trying to alter the current contract in any way to assist our end opens the grounds for Azami Nakamura to have some leeway in gaining even more power. And such is a risk we simply cannot take."

"Why not?" Momo was quick to shot back. "Such power would only be of use if his side wins, so he could alter his winnings all he wants, it would still not amount to much if we defeat his team, and our chances of doing so far eclipse you team's chances, do you not agree Nenyan?"

"Can you not call me such – I mean, that's a fair point," Nene resisted the urge to get into petty squabbles. Such lack of control was probably Momo's aim from the start. "But it's like you said, your chances are higher, but not absolute. The WGO still ranks the Neo-Noirs above you five," she added, her eyes shifting to Eishi, "…right?"

"She does have a point," Rindou added, playing around in her phone, only half paying attention to the conversation as a whole. "Those suits up at the World Gourmet Organization have their data and all. How was, if you or I," she said, signaling to herself and Eishi, "Were to engage against, say, Dove Dillinger, our chances of winning are, what, a two-out-of-ten?"

"That was when we graduated," Eishi corrected. "It does not account for what we have learned since."

"Doesn't that also mean it is based on how strong Dove was a few months back?" Kuga quickly sneered, "I'm sure you ain't the only ones that have improved since then. Azami does not seem like the kind of guy who would let his prized student slack off in months leading up to his entire master plan."

"That's –" Eishi tried, feeling his eyes twitch.

"That may be true," Soumei added, "However, I've never been one to put much stock into the WGO's prediction methods. A true chef fights no matter how the odds are stacked. Is that not why you all made it such a point to bring Soma Yukihira back in the first place?"

"Using "we" a little bit loosely there…" Nene muttered, eyes to the side.

"…Soma Yukihira is a special case," Isshiki quickly intervened, his eyes on his five former seniors. "While it was indeed unorthodox, and went against protocol and our very teachings, his return to this establishment was to right a wrong that had been committed. Soma Yukihira was never expelled do to failing a class or losing a Shokugeki. And that very wild card you wish to use in argument against us still stands against the Neo-Noirs in this competition, as do I. Forgive me, my former seniors, but it is insulting the lack of trust you have on us."

"I don't mean it in that way Isshiki," Eishi quickly responded, his hand raised, "I'm just rightfully concerned."

"It does sound like you are making light of them," Rindou offered, and Eishi felt an arrow go right through him.

"…Indeed. This is somewhat insulting to them," Tosuke spoke for the first time all day, and Eishi felt yet another arrow hit him.

"…Whose side are you two even on?" was all the former First Seat could ask at this point, and the former Second and Third Seats just muttered something and left it at that. Eishi felt like this conversation would have indeed been more productive if it had just been him. "…But, leaving that aside, you cannot deny that, currently, Erina Nakiri is not at her best condition. And, frankly, neither is Soma Yukihira. As gifted as the God's Tongue is, and believe me, I know how strong she is, her record of gaining a Seat while still in middle school is something even I couldn't manage, she is not at all prepared to face down an opponent specifically trained to destroy her."

"I would love to see you handle even half the pressure she's been put under," Nene quickly shot back, and Eishi was surprised by the sudden sharpness of her tone. "You, who can't even muster a conference without quaking in your boots, actually wants to call her out on how she's handling stuff we cannot even begin to comprehend."

"That's not what I mean," Eishi countered. "I'm just stating what is happening. As she is now, Erina Nakiri cannot possibly –"

"Eishi," Soe voiced, and it made the elder boy freeze up. The man had sounded so much like his father that it made all the teens visibly flinch at his tone. "I am remaining impartial here as promised, but you are referring to my niece. Do choose your words very carefully."

"…Apologies, I mean Erina no disrespect whatsoever," the former First Seat was quick to say in earnest. "I have nothing but respect for her. And, on that note, for all the current Elite Ten members. But should that not also be a priority of ours, to defend her and the others. You all have fought enough, you lasted this long. Let us finish this. Azami can try and squeeze as much as he can from the arrangements we make, but if we defeat him, he won't get anything. And Tootsuki will finally be safe."

"It's the "if" that concerns us," Kuga noted, his eyes still on Eishi. The former First Seat merely frowned.

"While you do make an excellent point," Isshiki added, "Truth of the matter is that not even you can assure a victory over the Neo-Noirs. Their power is great, and we've seen it firsthand. And I am sorry, but I simply cannot stand back and risk further harm to come to little Erina, Alice or Nao just because you five think you have a better shot at this than we do," Isshiki said in no uncertain terms, then, with a knowing smirk, turned to Nene, and said, "That being said, I think this all boils down to just one fact, right, Nene?"

Nene Kinokuni just took a deep breath, steeling herself and looking Eishi right in the eye. "That's true," she said, "For as much as we look up to you all, and treasure all you did for this school, do not forget, I am the First Seat of Tootsuki Academy right now, not you, and it is I who will decided how we wage this war. Please do not make me have to take harsher methods… Eishi."

The former First Seat's expression darkened considerably, but when he spoke, it was as if nothing was wrong at all, "I see… We agree to disagree then. Very well."

The meeting ended shortly thereafter, and the former Top Five left, leaving the current Top Three and the Acting Director alone, all of them deep in thought. This had not been the way they all would have wished to conclude this meeting, since everything still felt off.

"He's not convinced," Nene noted, frowning, "They're going to try something, I just know it."

"What could they do though?" Kuga asked, eyebrow raised. "If Tootsuki won't agree to switch them in for us, what's left?"

"Hmm…" Isshiki pondered, before he turned to Soe. "Perhaps they could reach out to Azami directly? In the contract Tootsuki signed, would such a thing be unforeseeable?"

"Azami purposely made the contract to be as vague as legally possible," Soe noted, frowning at the realization. "There could perhaps be some way he could use Eishi to his advantage to screw us over, but considering they aren't Tootsuki students any longer, I cannot prohibit them from reaching out. But it would be very detrimental to us if such a thing were to occur."

"He's going to try," Nene noted, biting her lower lip. "And he knows we'll try and intercept him. Sir, do you happen know where it is Azami Nakamura is going to be today?"

-0-

"ERINA NAKIRI'S FOOD WARS' COUNCIL PT. 2"

Soma and Takumi stared at the new banner with equal amusement. Hisako had not just simply drawn in the "PT. 2" part and called it a day, no, she had made a whole new banner, even more colorful and impressive than the last, and had gotten it ready for their early morning meeting. To say they were impressed would be an understatement.

"Hisako is mad talented," Soma noted.

"She is indeed," Takumi noted, "Wonder if we could change the rules and challenge the Neo-Noirs into a decorating battle."

"What would that be?" Soma asked, laughing. "A Paintgeki?"

"Either that or calling in for a Pongeki and throwing Megumi at them," Takumi added with a laugh himself. Megumi, overhearing the two boys as everyone else got prepared for their meeting, just turned to them with an amused look on her face. As they spoke, Takumi did still voice the sensible thing and said, "Still, that was pretty damn reckless of you, charging in guns a blazing towards the enemy's lair."

"Yeah," Soma admitted, "Erina wasn't too happy either. Actually, nobody here was."

"It was pretty stupid."

"Yep."

"And I am hurt you did not think to invite me, you know?"

"You know what? I actually did think of you, but I thought about it once I was there and I didn't quite know how to ask for a pause and call you."

"That better be true, cause if Erina had not stopped you, you would have taken all the fun away from us. Like all of it."

"I know man, I know, and I'm sorry. Last thing I want is to be known as the selfish guy that doesn't share."

"…I feel you two are not taking this as seriously as you both should," Megumi quickly voiced, stepping in between both boys, as the both noticed her with a "Tadokoro / Megumi" respectively, before she politely grabbed them both by the ear and dragged them away from the banner and towards their seats. "None of that. We work as a unit. Now sit!"

"Yes ma'am," Soma and Takumi both replied in unison, taking their seats, as everyone else finally gathered, everyone ready to start at the behest of Erina. The Princess of Tootsuki took one look at her phone, and at eight o'clock sharp, she received a series of locations spread all over the city, in the outskirts of Tootsuki, just like her older brother had promised.

Fourteen locations.

Fourteen opponents to take down.

Matches started at noon, and they had two hours to be concluded.

Judges would be picked at random, five civilians around their respective area chosen and given two free meals each on the account of signing a (somewhat false) legal document that ensured their tasting and judging of the dishes would be fair and unbiased.

Erina frowned, it was expertly set up, but the locations did not say what Noir was where. It was the equivalent of a random encounter in a RPG, and she knew this was her brother baiting her. Wanting to see how she'd react. However…

"Alright! Let's get our plan set-up!" Erina declared, hands on her hip, "In less than four hours we have to meet my brother's forces with our own, and take each of them down, no exceptions. And we all should know by now, that these Noirs are not to be underestimated, but we cannot allow them any more free reign, so they must be stopped."

As Erina spoke, all of the Polar Stars and the select others gathered around, listening intently to her words. The current team consisted of: Soma Yukihira, Megumi Tadokoro, Takumi Aldini, Isami Aldini, Hisako Arato, Ikumi Mito, Julio Rossi Saotome, Yuuki Yoshino, Ryoko Sakaki, Shun Ibusaki, Zenji Marui, Madoka Enomoto, Daigo Aoki, and Shoji Sato, alongside, of course, Erina Nakiri herself and the Polaris Dorm-Mother Fumio Damidou overseeing whatever mess these kids were about to get into.

However, before the planning could properly begin, they all heard a little commotion come from upstairs, as the younger Polar Stars quickly came rushing down, dressed in their uniforms, and late to class.

"Hurry! We have to be there five minutes ago!" Berta could be heard telling the others, as the young squad came rushing down the stairs. "Very bad time for you to have overslept Loren!"

"Oh excuse me, I was involved in that Noir stuff these guys are all worried about," came the reply from the blonde, halfway into a yawn. Maybe he should have just stayed with Dove and left them all screwed.

"Don't mind her," Cilla quickly defended, then added with a smirk, "She's just anxious to meet up before class so she can talk to Raymond for a while, eh – ouch!"

"Do not test me sister!" Berta cried out, after smacking her short hair twin right upside the head. "I'm not the one who spends her time texting a boy that lives on just the opposite floor!"

"I am not always texting Mitsuru!" Cilla quickly cried out, blushing hard, as all the kids scampered about. "And when we do text it's just about class stuff, right Mitsuru?!"

"Y-Yeah, what else would we talk about, it's not like – Loren, stop laughing, you'll get me in trouble for things I didn't do," Mitsuru basically pleaded, as Loren just carried on laughing.

"Not my fault you suck at keeping your ~feelings~ under wraps," he teased, as the four finally found their way near the door, past the little war council. Loren did, however, turn to the group, and with a smile said. "Good luck you guys! Don't challenge Dove unless you want to be wrecked for life, but if you can crush Asahi, go for it!"

"They're certainly… loud," Erina noted, both frowning and smiling at the display, but she said nothing else. They were easily excitable, and that was fine. It was the duty of the upperclassmen to take care of their juniors, even if one of them was the little brother of her sworn enemy, had infiltrated the school in the hopes of crushing them all and actually acted at times like a carbon copy of Dove herself… Someone remind her again why they kept the boy around?

"Hey, hold up," Soma quickly voiced, standing back up, and reaching the four. He gave them all a smile, before he turned specifically to Loren. "Have you spoken to Nao yet?"

"Why would I?"

"He was texting her this morning," Mitsuru quickly added, which caused Loren to turn towards the young reporter with a massive glare, as the twins had outright sparkles in their eyes at the gossip. Mitsuru just smirked, "If you can hit, then you can take."

"I will enjoy it oh so much when you get expelled," Loren simply voiced, before he turned back to a very amused-looking Soma. "Yeah, I texted her. What of it? She's fine, if that's what you're worried about."

"That's part of it," Soma noted, before he raised his hand. Loren wondered if he was going to get punched or something, but instead, Soma merely patted the boy in the head fondly. He really didn't know how to react to this at all. "And I wanted to thank you, for taking such good care of her. I know you guys started out on a rough spot, I…" he paused, his eyes shifting a bit towards the side.

Towards Erina. She had her arms and legs crossed, and with a little frown, just asked, "What?"

"…May have an idea of how that's like," he continued, smiling. "So thank you, for keeping her safe."

"…You went into that hideout without a plan," Loren uncharacteristically said, his eyes narrowed for a bit. The other three looked on, feeling that they were seeing a side of their friend he rarely showed. "Why did you risk it all like that? It is nothing short of stupid. Everything you've had for so long, you threw it away in an instant… why?"

"You asking me or yourself?"

Loren just frowned. And pouted. He then flipped right around, before Soma laughed and flipped him right back.

"I can't answer that for you," he told the pissed off kid. "But for me, I went in there because I love Erina," he replied, and Berta and Cilla outright swooned at the reply, while Mitsuru didn't know where to even look. "And love makes you do crazy things. Makes you charge ahead against impossible odds. Makes you leave your home and go after a guy you claim to hate just to make sure he's okay," he added, and Erina visibly shifted her posture at the words. "…Makes you also not drop a plate when every voice inside your head argues otherwise," he added, and Loren's frown deepened. "…But all I know, is that, right or wrong, I will always try to defend and protect her. Because," he added, and now he shifted his hand and closed it into a fist, before he placed it on the young boy's chest. "…Because I swore, to myself, to my very soul, I wouldn't let anyone hurt her ever again."

"That sounds kinda corny."

"It is kinda corny."

At this both Soma and Loren laughed a bit, before the blonde boy just shook his head and turned away, joining his friends as Berta pushed them all to hurry and get to their meeting spot for reasons totally unrelated to any crush of hers or any chance said crush would finally ask her out for the big ball, as Soma just gave them all a little wave, before he walked back towards the meeting and sat down.

"You are simply too much," Erina noted, smiling to herself. When Soma gave her a puzzled look, she merely said, "That kid's going to end up as an actual Tootsuki student at this rate, which, given who he's related to, might mean I'll have to deal with Dove for three… freaking… years…"

"He's kinda earning it himself."

"Quite," Erina said, before she turned around. "That being said, there is someone else missing, is there not."

"That would be little Nao Sadatsuka," Fumio voiced in, sitting by the kitchen counter, a fresh cup of coffee in her hand. "It is her call, but I believe it would be best she sit this one out. If it deals with her brother, I much rather she not get involved."

"That's precisely why I think we should consult her first," Erina noted, as she stood up. Then she turned to Hisako, "Hisako, please begin to explain what we spoke about on our way here," then she turned to Soma, "And Soma, join me upstairs for a second."

"…Sure."

As Erina and Soma left the council in Hisako's hands temporarily, with her beginning to explain to the uniformed what had transpired last night and the challenger Erina and Asahi had set up, with Shun overly quiet despite the increasing glares from all the Polar Stars, since he had not yet explained himself at all, the main couple made their way upstairs, and directly to the one occupied room at the moment.

A soft knock courtesy of Erina.

Soma just stood back, hands on his pockets.

The door was flung open.

"What is it now – AH!?" what Nao began as a complaint quickly turned into a shriek the moment she saw her crush, her idol, her outright beloved standing before her. "M-M-M-Milady Erina!" she couldn't help but exclaim, shaking in place. "W-What – I mean, how can I assist you, and… stuff…?"

"You really are a strange one, aren't you?" Erina noted, and Nao just blushed. Soma just smirked at the scene, before Erina added, "May I come in for just a sec?"

"I-I am sure my room is not apt for one such as you, b-but," she said, but she still motioned towards the interior, "You practically own this place, so I cannot say no. I would never say no to you."

"That's untrue," Erina simply mussed, as she walked into the witch's little lair and took a seat on her bed. It didn't smell as bad as she would have imagined it to considering her cooking craft, which Erina was grateful for. "I still respect privacy above all else, and once a room is designated to a student, I hold no power over that place. But enough about that, I came here to apologize to you, Nao."

"Apologize, to me… for what?" Nao asked, averting her eyes.

"You do know you can try and relax when you're around her," Soma whispered in her ear, and Nao quickly pouted.

"The fact that you do not realize the beauty that walks alongside you does not mean I am blind to her perfection!" Nao shot back, her visible eyes glaring at him. "How she settled for you is beyond me."

"I am far from perfect Nao," Erina simply said. "And, that very line of thinking has caused me so much pain."

"Milady, I didn't mean –!"

"No, it's not you sweetie," Erina quickly countered, a softness in her tone that even Soma found surprising. "It's an image I myself built up, and I suffered the consequences for it. I built these walls around me, just focusing on my God's Tongue and my prestige, and nothing else. Now I have to content with my father, my mother and my brother all gunning for a throne I don't even want, and I no longer possess my greatest gift. And I… am happy that I found good friends to hold me up, because, had it been me from a few months back, only looking at the mirror, at my unchanging face and my stagnating craft, I wouldn't have lasted this long. So I wanted to apologize to you for not reaching out sooner. I heard we are kindred spirits, both at risk at falling into dangerous hands if this whole thing goes south."

"…You know of my brother."

"I have met him," Erina admitted. "Seen him cook. A frightening individual. And I've also been told of what he had done to you, and worse, what he could do to you."

"…I believe you guys can win," Nao softly said. "Isshiki can beat him. And I hope you both," she added, turning to Soma for a moment, "Will successfully defend Tootsuki… I-I don't want to put more pressure into any of you, sorry, it's just…"

"I too want to believe that," Erina stated with a smile.

"And we will," Soma added, placing his hand on Nao's head, and caressing her gently. For all the complaints she had, she didn't voice any, just allowed him to caress her and smiled a bit as he did so.

"And we are going to try and put an end to this once and for all, for your safety, and my own," Erina continued, signaling to the little witch, then to herself, before adding, "And to everyone else while we're at it. So… just to let you know, starting today, we will be facing off against my brother and his team, and that includes…"

"Ashitaro."

"Yes," Erina confirmed. "So I just wanted to say, do not feel that you have to participate in any way. Let us handle this, you have done enough."

"I-I haven't done a thing," Nao protested, her visible eye shifting for a bit.

"You did expose Loren," Soma noted.

"And that in turn exposed a lot of what my father is truly after," Erina added. "So you've helped, so much. So, as we go on to fight these Noirs, just stay safe, okay?"

"I can't much do anything else," Nao simply admitted, fidgeting with her little skirt. "…I am terrified of him. I can't bring myself to even be in the same room as him anymore. Even so, it feels so… wrong to just leave it all up to everyone else, and-and just sit back and watch… utterly powerless to do anything."

"We all need to be saved at one point or another," Erina simply told the girl, standing back up, and pressing her palm on her exposed cheek. Nao's face flushed. "Soma saved me, a whole bunch of times."

"And Erina saved me," Soma added, "As did pretty much everyone else down there and then some."

"So we've got you," Erina concluded, "You are Tootsuki after all. And I protect my own."

Nao didn't even reply. She felt a knot on her throat, and with those two just smiling, patting her face all over like she was some little kid, and leaving her to form their plan downstairs, the little witch couldn't even try to begin to comprehend just how near and dear she held everyone in this school. What had initially been just a desperate ploy to get her away from Ashitaro, she now treasured so. But… Was it really okay? Could she really just sit back and wish for all this to be resolved, and somehow, it would. This unbeatable monster she had been hiding from ever since she was a kid, could they really, finally bring him down?

She didn't know. And she didn't know what to do anymore.

So she just threw herself onto her bed, eyes closed, until she realized…

'My bed now smells like Milady Erina~' she noted with glee, taking a huge sniff just where the princess had been sitting on. 'Does she wear scented panties?! Oh gods, how I love that girl so –'

Then she felt her phone vibrate, and curiously she took it out, finding a new message, and feeling utterly slapped by it.

"Don't go jerking off to Erina you weirdo."

"Damn it Loren!"

As Nao's very confusing cry was heard downstairs, the meeting continued as planned, with Erina and Soma finally joining in just about when Hisako was done with her part. The secretary gave them the "microphone", so to speak, and Erina began…

"Now then, if we're all up to speed," she said, "We need to form a plan on how to counterattack, and we need it now."

"So we need fourteen of us to challenge their group, right?" Megumi asked.

"Fifteen if I heard Asahi right," Soma replied, "He's counting a pair of Noirs as one in there. And, not sure it's the brightest idea to go on a one-vs.-two against any of them."

"We already have eleven Elite members," Takumi noted. "That is, if Eizan even graces us with his presence, otherwise, true to our name, we have the Elite Ten to challenge these Noirs."

"There's more than enough of us here to round up our numbers to fifteen," Isami added, signaling to the Polar Stars and their friends, "In terms of numbers we should be alright."

"I'm not so sure," Hisako voiced, fixing her little glasses, her eyes on the twins. "We already know that Alice and Kurokiba are away, and Erina has made it clear we cannot call out to them unless it is absolutely necessary, since they are visiting her grandfather and all that."

"…It's more than just that," Shun finally spoke up, and the rest all turned to him. Ryoko was visibly glaring at him the whole time. "I… am aware I owe you all quite the explanation, but my time there wasn't just me pretending to be a Noir. I did manage to pick up quite a bit of information. For one, Asahi Saiba is plotting something, with this in particular. He had reserved those locations in advanced, before even Soma came barging in, so we should be wary. I don't think putting any of our Elite Ten at risk would be the right call, not if… as you said, Eishi and the others are attempting to get you guys switched out."

"You think Asahi knows about what Eishi is planning?" Yuuki asked, eyes wide.

"We can surmise Asahi knows just about everything that's going on in this school," Marui noted, frowning, "And we're not that surprise you went in there to gather intel, but the idea you didn't bother to tell us, and you also said such mean things to Soma, does bother us quite a bit, Shun."

"Hey, it's fine, I –" Soma tried, but Shun quickly spoke.

"You are right Zenji, I didn't think it through," Shun offered. "I was so desperate to help, that when Tommy reached out, I felt that if I didn't take that chance to try and pry something, anything from them, I would have contributed nothing to our struggles. I know it was wrong, and I know I should have trusted all of you more…" he paused, before he turned to Soma, "…and I should have been clear, that I respect you skill far more than I could ever convey, or…" he paused again, this time his eyes on Ryoko, "…that the last thing I would ever do would be to hurt you… a-any of you, I mean."

"We'll see how we work things out," Ryoko simply said, her eyes on the boy, who squirmed at her gaze, before she added, "But you did say we shouldn't risk the Elite Ten. You think they could be defeated?"

"No, that's far from it," Shun explained. "If anything, if they can't do it, the rest of us don't stand much of a chance… What I mean, is that Asahi is most likely counting on the Elite Ten, and is preparing his team for them. Much like how Shouko set herself, for weeks, to face-off against Isshiki, and that all got thrown upside her head when Megumi was the one to duel her instead… I think we should respond in the same way. Asahi had been keeping tabs on all of the Elite Ten members, and he's been training his team for them. There was some talk about some dishes he even served to you," Shun added, signaling to Erina, and she frowned. She remembered all the dishes she tasted when her brother crashed her date and all the unpaid consulting she gave in response. "…They are preparing for a very specific scenario."

"But wait, could we even challenge fifteen Noirs without the Elite Ten?" Ikumi asked, her hands crossed against her chest, frowning at the mere thought of it. "That means, even us gathered here, if we exclude Erina, Soma, Megumi and Takumi, we are left with just eleven."

"Then we find four more," Erina declared, "This is Tootsuki academy, Elite Ten or not, if my brother underestimates my alumni, he will pay for it dearly."

"I am just so upset that my bastard cousin even dared to speak to you in such a manner!" Julio roared, outright furious. "How very frustrating that we know not where each of them are, as I would like nothing more than taking him down myself."

"…Actually," Shun noted, smiling a bit, "About that, I may have also kept myself occupied by taking a few pictures here and there," Shun added, taking out his phone, and placing it on the table for all of them to see. "Photos that just so happen to reveal the locals and where Asahi plans to send which Noir."

"You crazy bastard," Marui couldn't help but say, looking at the little picture of the detailed map and the little names written at each location.

"With that we can even try and plan who matches best with who!" Yuuki noted with glee, "I mean, do we know what they all specialize in?"

"…Actually," Shun noted again, a very proud smirk on his face. "I do have one, last confession to make. I wasn't exactly the only Tootsuki student spying on the Noirs…"

-0-

As the war was declared, everyone began to move out, getting ready themselves for what would be the biggest fight of their career. Isami was quick to excuse himself, telling Takumi he needed to get his equipment ready, and when the elder twin offered him their Mezzaluna, Isami simply denied it, saying "that he had that covered", much to Takumi's confusion. But he trusted Isami. Hisako then began to get everything prepared, and soon, she began to set up everyone against the best target they could match up against. Of course that left four spots open, like Ikumi had said, which, as the main eleven got prepped, the four Elite students began to search for the best four alumni to fill in the other four spots…

-0-

Their first destination was the one Shun suggested, although, even if he hadn't, they would have come here regardless.

"Shun says you've been prying around the Noirs little hideout," Soma said with a little smirk, as Erina, Megumi and Takumi looked on. "I take it you are up to giving us a hand in taking them down?"

Subaru Mimasaka just gave the four the widest of grins. "I have trained hard to repay what I owe to you four… So what kind of question is that? Let's go and break some Noirs."

-0-

Their second destination would have been a very big surprise to any of them a few months back, to consider this girl as a trustworthy chef and partner to count on in such a dire situation, but time had proven otherwise. Ever since that initial cruise ship, where not only she helped them during the Stagiaire, but also assisted the power couple in coming together, and she has helped them ever since.

"You up for a little change of pace?" Erina asked, smiling at her, while Soma, Megumi and Takumi nodded in approval. "For once, a little less hosting, and a little more cooking perhaps?"

Urara Kawashima just gave her a little wink. "I am a chef after all, of course I'm up for the challenge."

"…Could we also use her co-hostess?" Soma asked, signaling to Urara.

"Huh, Yua?" Urara asked, blinking a bit. "I mean, I'd vouch for her, but she did text me earlier she was planning on meeting up with Bridgette back in the Resort, trying to hatch up a scheme to make Van feel better and whatnot. We shouldn't try to break such a blossoming… contradictory relationship, now should we?"

The other four just nodded. Love was a priority after all.

-0-

Their third destination was one made upon Megumi's request, and while the rest knew of the chef, since she did give Golden Locks a few "paid" lessons back in the day, they weren't that heavily acquainted with her. But, upon Megumi's glowing review, they just couldn't say no. So they let the girl do all the talking, and she easily sweet-talked her way into a deal, surprisingly enough.

"…And that's about it," Megumi concluded, as Erina, Soma and Takumi awaited a response. "I know you'll help us out… pretty please."

Miyoko Houjou just sighed. This really was unfair. "…Fine. I do this just for you Megumi, not for any of these three, got it?"

-0-

Their fourth destination was… different. The four ended up staring at a closed door with a sign that read: "Don RS Closed Due To Main Chef Having: Heartburn, Indigestion, Nausea, Upset Stomach And Diarrhea".

"…This is just a list of what Pepto Bismol provides relief for…" Takumi noted.

"He's really not sick, is he?" Megumi asked, eyes wide at the sight.

"That's our good old Kanichi Konishi for ya," Soma said with a laugh, "How did this dude last thing long in this school?"

"Ikumi told you this wasn't worth it," Erina stated, frowning at the door. "Let's move along, we need just one more chef, and we sadly can't take any of the First Years away from their classes, so…"

-0-

Their fifth destination was, honestly, just pure desperation at this point. Soma had to be reminded who they were even searching for, and Erina and Megumi honestly had very little faith in the selection, but a poor answer was better than no answer at times, and they needed to match Asahi's thirteen plus a pair with their own thirteen chefs plus a pair. So this was why…

Ken Dakekanba stood proudly before the four, knowing they had come groveling for his help in their hour of need. "I see you finally have accepted the fact that I will one day be your reckoning, Soma Yukihira! But, very well, like sworn enemies that must put aside their differences for a bigger threat, we will form a temporary alliance, but do note, that once we are done here, I will challenge you for your Seat, and I will prove that I am your biggest rival once I claim it from – ack!"

"Yukihira's only rival is me you damn self-centered bastard!" Takumi cried out, not being able to help himself anymore and grabbing Ken by the throat, lifting him up and swinging him around. As the poor guy turned blue, and both Soma and Megumi tried to calm the Italian down, reminding him they needed the guy alive to make the plan work, Erina quickly contacted Hisako and informed her of what the full roster would look like.

'Very well brother,' Erina inwardly noted, pure determination in her eyes, ignoring the scene behind her that had caused all the other students to pause and look at the near-murder scene taking place. 'All the pieces are in place, so as you love to reference so, it's time to duel!'

-0-

It was minutes until noon, and Erina had just finished sending out a massive series of texts to everyone that she needed in the know. From sending one to her uncle, giving him the list of students she needed to "borrow" for a little while, as to excuse them from their classes for the day; sending little Nao a little note, sending a message to her brother than she was set to meet up, up to sending an individual text to each of her competitors with the coordinates of where they were supposed to go along with a little copy / pasted message for support, which, in alphabetical order, individually read:

Isami Aldini – "Stand your ground."

Daigo Aoki – "Stand your ground."

Hisako Arato – "Stand your ground, sis."

Ken Dakekanba – "Do something of worth for once."

Madoka Enomoto – "Stand your ground."

Miyoko Houjou – "Stand your ground."

Shun Ibusaki – "Stand your ground."

Urara Kawashima – "Stand your ground."

Zenji Marui – "Stand your ground."

Subaru Mimasaka – "Stand your ground."

Ikumi Mito – "Stand your ground."

Nao Sadatsuka – "Withstand the pain. We'll get through this."

Ryoko Sakaki – "Stand your ground."

Julio Rossi Saotome – "Stand your ground."

Shoji Sato – "Stand your ground."

Yuuki Yoshino – "Stand your ground."

And with those messages sent, Erina was driven towards Con Calma once more, this time with just one car, driven of course by Gaston, and with Soma, Megumi and Takumi accompanying her. The four got off, and Erina quickly instructed her bodyguard / chauffer / SWAT Leader to wait there just in case, to which he quickly offered a formal salute. Satisfied, Erina then led the four of them into the restaurant of the Noirs, where, of course, the four Neo-Noirs awaited.

This time, as opposed to the massive play-throne Asahi had downstairs, they four of them sat right across the bar, and as Erina noticed, Asahi had set up a little game of chess right between his seat and an empty chair, reserved strictly for her it seemed.

"Sis, so good to see you, and so punctual, how nice," Asahi quickly greeted, saluting her and the other three. "And see, you can come in here without busting down my doors and costing me a small fortune."

"I will pay for whatever you wish, brother, but don't think I will apologize for hurrying up last night," she informed, as she took the seat offered, and Asahi just laughed. Erina then noticed the little pictures taped into the pieces of chess, and she scoffed. "…Really?"

"I find it symbolic," Asahi noted, signaling to one piece. Each of them had a photograph of each member currently set to engage in combat. Sixteen pieces per person, fourteen of those each marked with one of the Noirs, and the other fourteen marked with the team Erina had chosen. Daigo and Shoji shared a piece, as did the Paradox Brothers.

On Asahi's side, he was King, and to Erina's ire, Dove was the Queen.

And of course, Erina was the Queen on hers, and, surprisingly, Soma was the King.

"I would have sworn you would have made Soma a Pawn, or maybe even the Queen," she noted, and Asahi laughed again.

"It did cross my mind," he admitted, "But I do want to be fair. Besides, the King might be the center piece, but the Queen always holds the most power," he explained, holding up the plastic little Dove.

"I do not need the rules of chess explained to me," Erina shot back, "And I didn't come here to play with you. Just to make sure you uphold your end of the bargain once you lose."

"Humor me then," Asahi simply said, before he turned to the others, "And feel free to sit down or ask for anything to eat or to drink, on the house of course," Asahi told the other three. "Soma, you already made yourself home here before, so keep at it. Megumi Tadokoro. Takumi Aldini. We have not gotten a chance to speak, but you both have my respect. I was… shocked when my sources told me you weren't going to take part in today's round."

"We do apologize for letting you down," Megumi sweetly offered, smiling at him.

"I trust you are aware not to underestimate the ones we did choose, however," Takumi added, arms crossed, his eyes on Asahi. The King of Noirs just smiled and nodded.

"Naturally," he replied. "Never in my wildest dreams would I insult anyone who wears the Tootsuki uniform after all."

"So I take it this…" Erina deduced, examining the photographs on her chess pieces that depicted the faces of students they had only chosen two hours ago at most, "…Confirms that you do have Noirs keeping tabs on us back at Tootsuki."

"I need to make sure you are safe," Asahi said. "Too many dangerous folks out there. We can't be too careful, now can we?"

Soma, Megumi and Takumi all sat to the side, close to Erina, but opposite Dove, Julius and Ashitaro. The Elite Three and the Neo-Noirs, at best, only exchanged glares… or the closest to that that Megumi could muster.

"So let's… begin," Asahi announced, and with a click of his remote, the restaurant's screens all lit up, showing that he had set cameras in all the locations, and they all showed the Noirs setting themselves up against their respective Tootsuki opponent. "Still, it is pretty ballsy to challenge me with just ordinary students."

"It runs in the family," Erina noted, and began her move, moving a Pawn two places forwards. "I need not much else to take down ordinary Noirs."

Asahi just laughed, and moved one of his own Pawns forwards as well. Then they began to play, both with the pieces, and more importantly, with the chefs set to engage in battle. These do-or-die match-ups ended up as…

-0-

Ken Dakekanba vs. Shigemichi Kumai

Shigemichi said nothing, but his glare did intensify as soon as he saw his would-be opponent. This was not the reason he had joined the Noirs. He was promised a shot at the Elite Ten. This wasn't one of them. This wasn't even a Third Year. It was just another, no-name Second Year with illusions of grandeur and little else.

"Damn you're big," Ken noted, as he squared off against the giant. "But even if nobody believes in me, I won't let my father's name be dragged through the mud! I, Ken Dakekanba, only son of the great Noboru Dakekanba, will not fall to the likes of you!"

Madoka Enomoto vs. Rui Kofuru

"…This is a very poor choice," Rui softly voiced, her bangs hiding the sheer fury her eyes were aiming her opponent's way. They had been promised retribution. Revenge. And yet… this was the target they were given? Absurd.

"Why should I be afraid of someone who had been defeated twice, despite cheating twice?" Madoka declared, and she could outright feel Rui's glare increase tenfold. It didn't matter. Her friends needed her to pull through, so she would… somehow.

Miyoko Houjou vs. Mea Yanai

"Wait, hold up!" Mea quickly blurted out the second she saw her opponent stand before her. Why, out of the entire student body, did she have to get paired up against the one student she had the most… history with? "This… This is so not fair! Why are you my opponent?! Since when are you even involved in any of this?!"

"I didn't actually choose to partake in this knowing you were in the opposing team," Miyoko admitted, before her eyes narrowed. "That being said, once I did know, I knew it had to be me against you. You broke my heart once, Mea, only fair I return the favor tenfold."

Urara Kawashima vs. Rentaro Kusunoki

"…Do I seriously get the emcee?" a baffled Rentaro asked, clenching his teeth in outright anger. This was beyond insulting. "As if losing to Yukihira in front of millions wasn't enough, and then in front of Mana Nakiri of all people thanks to that God Slayer girl, but this, this is just stupid! Can you even cook?!"

"Let me answer that question of yours Hamtaro, with a question of my own," Urara quickly shot back with a little knowing smile, and a little flirty wink, that quickly made the five randomly selected judges all swoon over her. This made Rentaro quickly realize there could be a problem here, but then, she added, "Remind me again which one of us two is still a Tootsuki student, hmm?"

Daigo Aoki & Shoji Sato vs. The Paradox Brothers

"Salutations you mediocre foolish fools!" Para Wong began.

"It's time for the ultimate of cooking duels!" Dox Wong almost sang.

"I know they said the Noirs were a… unique bunch, but…" Daigo noted, his eyes on the huge toy strapped to his arm. It was a duel disk of all things, complete with a card game starter pack and a little rulebook. "Why does it feel like we just got isekaid into another world entirely?!"

"I know how you feel," Shoji added, although his concern was less the cards (since he knew how to play) and more the… chains. "But… why are our ankles chained to the ground?! What the hell is going on?!"

Julio Rossi Saotome vs. Julio Shiratsu

"You will fall today Julio!" Julio screamed out.

"No Julio! It's not I who will fall, but you!" Julio screamed out.

To say the crowd was utterly confused about just what was even happening would be an understatement.

Ikumi Mito vs. Boogie Malcanta

"I was going to make a "they all float down here" joke just for you girly, at the request of Asahi himself in order to garner favor with my King, but…" Boogie began, his eyes examining his opponent delicately, savoring each inch of tender skin he saw. "But I see I made the correct call. He has awarded me for my loyalty, giving me such a prize. I feel you, with those fine assets, can float just fine."

"Disgusting and perverted, what an insult to clowns everywhere," Ikumi just replied, utterly done with everything even if the match had just started. She still twirled her cleaver swiftly, expertly in-between her fingers, before adding, "And you're the last person I want to hear any comments like that from, Bozo. You have even bigger tits than I do."

Boogie seemed to choke in whatever his retort would have been, as Ikumi just braced herself to take the damn clown down.

Zenji Marui vs. Claude Ville

"To think we'd find ourselves in such a position where it is required of me to take out such an insignificant waste of space," Claude noted with ire, his eyes on the scrawny young chef before him, outright scoffing at the pathetic sight. Why was Asahi even humoring this farce?

"While I'll be the first to admit I am awfully worried about all you brutes…" Marui admitted, pushing his glasses back, allowing the glare to cover his features entirely. "Do be warned. One should not take Tootsuki lightly… Such a mistake, will only earn you enlightenment."

Yuuki Yoshino vs. Kou Shiou

"Very poor match-up girly," Kou quickly warmed the cute, petite girl that had arrived as his would-be, quote-on-quote, opponent, which would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic. "What? Did Asahi's little sister have to bring in students from the middle school division?! You should run home little Nancy before my claws tear you to smithereens!"

"Oh ~ A fan of sharp objects, aren't we? Such a big, strong man underneath such a dorky mask," Yuuki said with a little knowing grin, and before Kou could object, she added, all the while passing her finger over the very edge of her finest blade, "Have you, I wonder, ever actually taken a life? Pressed a knife into the flesh, drained the blood, and seen the light outright extinguish itself from a creature's eyes? If not, then this is no place for you, you pathetic excuse for villain."

Ryoko Sakaki vs. Bonnie Harriet

"~My, aren't you the looker. Nice body, you sure you don't want to become a Noir. We need more sex appeal over here, I can't quite do all of it by myself," Bunnyhair teased, her eyes on Ryoko, scanning her from top to bottom. A Japanese beauty in all sense of the word, she couldn't deny, and one she felt she could have a ton of fun with today. However…

"I specifically asked to be pitted against you, you know?" Ryoko voiced, and her tone, sounded so serious and dripping with venom that it made the Noir give pause. What did she even mean? "While I still have words to exchange with… somebody, I do want to make one thing crystal clear beforehand. You keep your hands, and your other parts, away from boys that aren't yours. Am I clear, Bunny-girl?"

Shun Ibusaki vs. Tommy Revolver

"You really took my damn offer and just spit it back to my face, didn't ya?" Tommy blurted out, outright furious, as both he and Shun stood opposite one another. After all that effort, all that good word he put in, and this was the thanks he got? Fine! If Shun didn't want it the easy way, then he would be happy to show him what a Noirs' true power was like the harshest way imaginable!

"…I am not ungrateful, you know?" Shun noted, and Tommy just frowned. "But… they are also my family. And what your "King" wishes to do, puts them in harm's way. That… I cannot allow. So forgive me cousin, I understand your anger, but rest assured, it pales in comparison to my own. You joined the ranks of a man who wishes to harm my friends, and for that, I will show no mercy."

Subaru Mimasaka vs. Don Calma

"It is outright inconceivable that I, the great Don Calma, would actually be forced to engage in a cooking combat, no, even more than that, a Shokugeki of all things against a non-Seated member of Tootsuki!" Don Calma lamented, in his very over the top fashion, hand over his visage. "This has got to be… oh?!"

"What? Looks familiar old man?" Subaru voiced, grinning like a mad man, as he took out a mixer that was a dead ringer for the one in Don Calma's very own hands. The old man glared at this discovery, before he turned his glare towards the chef before him. Would he actually attempt to challenge him in his own craft?! "…I can tell from that look in your eyes, you never once noticed it didn't you…? Don't worry, I'll clear things up, that is, after I'm done mopping the floor with you and that goofy-ass moustache."

Isami Aldini vs. Yuunosuke Tanaka

"This is… unexpected," Yuunosuke noted, his hands on his pockets, his eyes on his opponent. The currently slim Isami was waiting patiently for the match to start, but he did meet his eyes with those of his opponent's once the elder guy spoke up. "We honestly expected some of the Elite Ten members to take part in this little… war. But don't think I'll underestimate you. Oh no. I know you are the younger twin brother of the current Tenth Seat. And I will engage with you as if I were engaging against him."

"My, that's mighty nice of you to say," Isami replied, smiling at the Noir. This was the left hand of Asahi's entire operations, the Neo-Noirs excluded, so he knew he needed to go all out or else. "So I will respond to that kindness in equal measure, and I will make sure to destroy you every bit as fiercely as you merit me to do so… No hard feelings, of course."

Hisako Arato vs. Sargenta Kruel

"The things I have to do to please Asahi," Sarge said with an incredible amount of spite, her eyes on the unassuming girl before her. Sure, she was a beauty, but beyond that, such a small fry when compared to their actual targets that it was beyond aggravating to even think about. "Let's make sure –"

"Please spare me any type of formality," Hisako interrupted, and the pretty girl before Sarge just gave her the most intense glare the former military woman had ever seen directed at her. What… was even happening? "I have spent weeks seeing my sister be mocked, tortured and hurt far beyond her breaking point. I am past having any form of witty banter exchanged between us. You wish to hurt Erina further, and that I cannot allow. I will simply destroy you."

---

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Stand Your Ground.