As the battle between Soma and Somei reached its climax, the tension could be felt by everyone in the arena, as this last matchup would determine which team would go into the afternoon session with both momentum and a team numerical advantage. In addition, the team that lost this matchup would receive an extra psychological blow, as they would be losing one of the top members of their respective teams. Yes, much was riding on the outcome of this butter-themed match.
Somei was the first of them to complete his dish and present it to the judges for tasting – a Jewel Butter Seafood Bowl. The dish consisted of a base of short-grain rice flavored with a mix of orange and lemon juices. The toppings included a salmon steak, cooked with a sauce of brown butter and lemon, various squid parts sauteed in a butter-soy sauce combination, with some pickled salmon roe topping off the bowl like orange pearls. The judges noted how pleasing to the eye the dish looked.
As they dug in for the tasting, they were met with surprise, as the dish tasted even better than it looked – if that was even possible! Similar to the bowl dish Soma served up in his first food war against Ikumi, the judges just couldn't stop eating it. The caged rebels were in both shock and despair, as they thought for sure that the butter theme would trip up Somei at least a little bit. But Somei shook his head at the notion, explaining that it was because he was an expert with seafood that made him able to utilize the butter so well in this dish. Even Soma was impressed, contemplating aloud, "This could be bad – I could be in real trouble here" which caused the rebels to worry. Soma had never admitted that he could be in trouble during a food war before!
Soma then began to chat with Somei, sensing that he was a good and decent person. "So why would you align yourself with Azami and Central?" he asked. Somei then explained about how he had witnessed his mother, who owned their family's small sushi restaurant back home, try to get some training from a famous sushi shop, only to be treated as a maid or custodian just because she was a woman – not even being allowed to touch rice during her time as an apprentice at this place. It was one of the reasons he had come so far at Totsuki, and also what convinced him to join Azami. "I did it so that people like my mother don't have to suffer," he stated. While Daniel was still confused as to how he saw Azami's plan as doing that, Soma replied that he, too, wanted to protect honorable chefs with this battle.
Soma continued on with the preparations for his own dish, which was now nearly complete. A few minutes later, he pulled his Yukihira Style Fragrant Butter Pilaf Inarizushi out of the oven, which was now piping hot and ready to serve, with the sauce bubbling on top. As the aroma reached the judges, their hunger came back to them with a vengeance, despite the fact that they had just consumed Somei's seafood rice bowl. The aroma was so enticing that they were on the edge of their seats to try the dish as Soma brought over their portions.
When they each finally tasted it, the multitude of flavors burst forth upon their taste buds as they all found themselves overwhelmed. Inside the tofu skin was a rice pilaf that was made using shrimp, chicken, and other seasonings and aromatics. But the thing that brought the pilaf together and gave it a unique flavor was the apple butter (made by Megumi) Soma had used for the butter component. The sweet and savory flavors balanced each other out and was a pleasurable sensation on the tongue.
The white sauce that topped the inarizushi, meanwhile, was made from a base of soy milk and mochi, in addition to a cheese blend that Daniel had prepared for Soma earlier during his own match (something he picked up from both Mizuhara and Takumi). Earlier in the match, the judges had been watching Soma make the dish and wondered why he wasn't using butter – the theme ingredient – to make his white sauce topping. Now they realized that the butter would have made the overall dish too rich, while the ingredients he did use not only kept the dish balanced, but also accentuated the apple butter that was in the pilaf.
As Somei watched all of this unfold, he began to realize that the skills Soma brought to the match were not only his own, but those he had learned from all of the people he had battled and befriended in his time at Totsuki. It was like an attack was coming at him from many different directions – and he just couldn't fight off all of them. While he had been concentrating on his own strength, Soma had taken in various techniques from so many different people and integrated them into his own style to create something completely unique – with the inarizushi dish serving as a prime example of this style and mindset.
Somei knew that he was beaten and conceded defeat to Soma – something that was confirmed moments later when the judges voted unanimously for Soma's dish, giving the rebels the victory in this match. This caused an explosion of excitement from the rebel camp, as they were able to break the cage door off its hinges as they rushed towards Soma (and Daniel, for having beaten Eizan) in an excited congratulatory group hug. As Somei walked back towards the Central sideline, he passed by Soma and congratulated him on the victory while also wishing Soma luck in his inevitable future matchup against Eishi, which Somei warned would be exceedingly difficult.
As the two teams made their way back to their respective kitchens and attached dressing rooms, there was a sense of optimism in the air as the victories in the morning session gave the rebels real hope that they would be able to pull it out, especially now that Central's numbers had dwindled a bit. As they were talking amongst themselves, Daniel received a text message from his spy – it wasn't good news.
"Damn!" he exclaimed. As everyone else turned towards him, Daniel explained, "Eishi and Rindo are apparently all rested up and ready to go for the afternoon sessions." As there were a few audible groans, Daniel couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. He had been hoping that those two would have needed the whole day to rest, leaving only two members of Central to battle in the afternoon. If the rebels had been able to win both of those battles, they would have forced Eishi and Rindo into multiple battles the next day, which would have been extremely tough, even for them.
Nonetheless, there was nothing that could be done but prepare for the matchup that they had in front of them. The third competitor for Central in the afternoon session would be Rentaro Kusunoki, as Momo was a bit tired from the morning, and Rentaro was the only team member who hadn't cooked yet. As they discussed who would be sent out for the afternoon, Erina was an obvious choice, as she, too, had yet to compete. As she began to think about who else to send out, both Isshiki and Takumi volunteered for the job. Moreover, they insisted that they take on the top two seats, with Isshiki taking on Eishi and Takumi going up against Rindo. When asked by Erina if they were sure, they nodded with determination. They wanted to make sure Erina would make it to the final phase, but also give her a chance to show her skills in the meantime. Plus, they figured they might be able to do what Tosuke and Kuga had done the prior day – fatigue the first and second seats to the extent that they would still be in a weakened state the next day, but this time with no choice but to compete anyway.
As the teams came back out for the afternoon session, the crowd got fired up again as they saw the top two seats on the council emerge from the runway. They now thought for sure that this would crush the rebels' chances going forward. As was predicted, both Eishi and Rindo came out to compete for Central in this session, as well as Rentaro. The rebels, meanwhile, came out with their lineup of Isshiki, Takumi, and Erina, which caused a stir amongst the audience, as they were curious how Erina would perform against someone from Central. The individual matchups were then announced. As they were, Erina's matchup seemed to be a mismatch at first glance, but she knew that she still needed to take this seriously, as Rentaro's placement in Central and on the team was not a fluke.
Then came the drawing of the themes for the matchups, with each of the rebels doing the drawing. Isshiki drew Wild Rabbit, while Takumi drew Spear Squid for his matchup. Finally, Erina drew a slip of paper from the machine, which read Brown Sugar. The rebels were concerned about Isshiki, as he had drawn an ingredient that played directly to Eishi's strengths with French cooking, while they were more hopeful for Takumi's and Erina's matches. Soon after, the gong sounded, and the cooking time began.
As the competitors made their way to the commissary to get their ingredients, the rebels began to wonder what Erina would make with brown sugar as the theme. Alice casually stated that she was sure to be able to make something delicious, while Hisako was enthusiastically hyping up Erina's chances and abilities to work with the theme ingredient (as was her usual, though Erina had always previously lived up to the hype). When they returned and began the prep work for their dishes, it was clear that both Erina and Rentaro would be making sweet dishes. During the match, Rentaro kept glancing at Erina with a wicked and determined look in his eyes. He figured that if he could beat the princess of Totsuki in a high stakes food battle like this, his place on the Council of Ten would be assured.
About midway through the allotted time, Rentaro became the first to finish his dish and present it to the judges. He had made a Caramelized Banana Ice Cream Cookie Cake, which utilized the brown sugar in multiple ways. First, he had used it for the banana cake base, which was flavored with a banana paste (pulverized bananas) as well as the brown sugar to evoke the flavors of a caramelized banana. He repeated this in the ice cream layers, as he used more banana paste to make the ice cream before adding actual caramelized bananas (cooked using brown sugar) and a brown sugar caramel swirl into the ice cream. The middle layer also brought a surprise, as it wasn't cake, but a caramelized banana cookie, which was crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside – all of which brought various textures to the dish while all tasting of caramelized banana.
In addition, as he sliced up the cake into individual pieces, Rentaro had a finishing touch to the dessert, as he flambeed some sliced bananas as a topping for the slices of cake – reminding the judges of a bananas foster and providing a show at the same time. The judges were enthralled with Rentaro's presentation, and were even more impressed with the strong flavors of the dish, as he had reinforced the banana and brown sugar flavors in every aspect of the cake. Rentaro had clearly used his mastery of heat to perfectly caramelize the bananas and the brown sugar to the point where the flavors were at their peak – right before they turned burned and acrid.
Although the rebels in the cage and on the sidelines were both impressed with Rentaro and simultaneously worried for Erina, Hisako tried to reassure them, confident that Erina would not lose. As Daniel looked into her eyes, he could see the absolute faith she had in Erina, and that was good enough for him to put aside any worries he had. As Rentaro looked at Erina with an evil grin on his face – now certain that he would win after the praise the judges gave him, Erina looked back with a cold stare that briefly sent shivers down her opponent's spine, as though to say, "You're pathetic – prepare to be destroyed by me!"
A few minutes later, Erina was ready to present her dish – a stack of souffle pancakes topped with edible flowers, maple syrup, butter, whipped cream, and a black sesame tuile. The presentation looked exquisite and very refined – as expected of Erina, though some people wondered if this dish was too simple to go up against the banana cake that Rentaro had made. As the judges began to taste it, they moaned in absolute bliss. The pancakes, while they looked large and heavy, were actually light and fluffy as perfect clouds, with just the right amount of sweetness and tanginess to them. The tanginess was revealed to be filtered Greek yogurt, while the pancake's texture was due to the perfectly whipped meringue Erina used as the base of her pancake batter.
The judges then found a surprise in between the two pancakes – a perfectly smooth red bean paste, similar to what you would find in a traditional dorayaki. As the rebels wondered about this, Erina confirmed their thoughts as she revealed the full name of her dish - Soufflé Léger de Grace. She had, in fact, been inspired by Megumi's dorayaki from the morning session, and had even indirectly named her dish after her, as both Megumi's name and the name of the dish translated partially as "blessing." The judges were in awe of the dish, while Rentaro looked like he was going to blow a gasket, wondering how her dish was so much better than his. Erina then offered a taste, which he accepted. When Rentaro took a bite, he was overwhelmed by it and knew instantly that he was beaten, which the judges made official with a 3-0 decision in Erina's favor.
At this, the rebels began celebrating again, as yet another member of Central's team had now been eliminated. That left only three members of Central remaining in the competition, with two of them competing right now. The rebel team was now in a very good position numerically and psychologically. As if on cue, Azami came to the floor of the arena with a clap that could have been described as sarcastic, which broke the festive mood the rebels were in. "Very nice work, Erina," he began. "However, there shall be a change in the judging going forward." As the participants and the current judges looked at him in confusion, he continued, "I will now be taking over as the head judge of this regimental food war."
As you all can tell, I basically inserted Rentaro into this arc to serve as fodder for Erina (you all know he deserved it). Still, I did my best to make it an actual battle, so I hope you liked how I laid it all out. As usual, I appreciate reviews and constructive criticism, and I hope you continue to read on!