Daniel met up with Soma and Hisako outside Mitamura just as they were finishing, and as another Totsuki representative was informing them that they had passed their first Stagiaire. While Hisako bowed in gratitude, Soma reacted with shock that they were able to keep an eye on them without revealing their presence, which Daniel had to admit was both a bit creepy and impressive. As the Totsuki representative got into the town car and was driven away, Daniel waved to them to get their attention before approaching them.

As he got to Soma, they high fived each other in celebration of both of them passing the first Stagiaire. "I think we've all earned a nice treat!" Daniel exclaimed. "What do you say we go to that Kaiten sushi place I've been hearing about to celebrate?" Soma gave a thumbs up as he replied, "Sounds good! I'm in!" Daniel then turned to Hisako and smiled as he said, "That invitation is for you, too, if you're feeling up for it." Hisako seemed surprised that they would invite her to join them, but nonetheless decided to take Daniel up on his offer.

As they were sitting down and enjoying both the atmosphere and the food (which was a lot better than Hisako had expected from such a place), Soma began to ask Daniel about his Stagiaire experience. Soma and Hisako already knew that Daniel had been assigned to a bakery. "Lucky you," Soma commented, "That's right up your alley!" When Daniel then mentioned that he had been paired with Urara, that got the other two's attention. "Oh, ho! So, you spent the week working at a bakery with the class idol and emcee. Veeerrry interesting," Soma teased. "What was it like working with her?" Hisako asked.

Daniel then described how he and Urara had become friends over the last week, with them getting to know each other, how Urara had lowered her barrier for a time, and especially how they had worked together to create and advertise the shop's new app – not to mention how much of a success it had been. There were parts of their conversation that Daniel said he was keeping secret out of respect for Urara, and that he had a newfound insight into her. "We even exchanged numbers at the end of today," he said, holding up his phone. "While I can't tell you everything, I can say that there's more to her than what meets the eye." At this, Hisako inquired, "So, it sounds like you two got nice and cozy over the last week, then?" Although Daniel didn't pick up on it, and Hisako didn't consciously realize it, the question came out a little harsher than she meant it to be. "Well, we are friends now, if that's what you mean," Daniel replied, "but we don't have those feelings for each other. We're not interested in each other that way."

Daniel then turned the inquiry around to Soma and Hisako, asking them about their Stagiaire experience at Mitamura. Before Hisako could respond, Soma started in about how they were surprised to learn they would be working with each other during the week. He also described how nice the restaurant staff was to them, and how overwhelmingly busy they had been during the first few days dealing with the various rushes of commuters grabbing food before catching the train at the station. From what Soma and Hisako described, it was a never-ending war zone! Their experience had been similar to Daniel's in that the first couple of days seemed to go well, but without that "lasting contribution" Totsuki emphasized.

Then, when Hisako was going through the daily reports and the finances, she saw something similar to what Daniel had seen at the bakery – that adjustments were needed in order to keep the restaurant going. After an emergency staff meeting called by Hisako, which Daniel chuckled at, they went through several ideas and had the staff and owner ask themselves some tough questions before finally settling on making the restaurant reservation only so that they could control the flow of customers and keep the local regulars happy. "Sounds like you two really earned your keep this week," Daniel commented when they were done.

The conversation then turned back to Daniel's idea for the app at the bakery – specifically to the speed with which he was able to create and implement the app into the bakery's regular business flow. "I'm really surprised that you were able to fully create and program the app in a matter of two days!" Hisako exclaimed. "Normally, it would take at least several weeks for someone to do that working full time." Soma chuckled and replied, "Yeah, that's Daniel for you. When he's working on something important, he can get really hyper focused and complete tasks much faster than a normal person." Hisako looked at Daniel curiously and asked, "Is it because you're so smart?" Daniel thought about this for a moment before replying, "Well, that is part of it." Hisako was now even more curious and followed up with, "What else is there, then?"

Daniel hesitated for a couple of moments before Soma nudged him and nodded, saying, "Come on, man. Tell her. I'm sure you can trust her." Daniel then sighed and gathered his thoughts before explaining that had Asperger's Syndrome – a cognitive disorder akin to a very mild form of autism, which he had been diagnosed with at a very young age. Hisako's eyes widened at what Daniel said. While she was familiar with this particular disorder, she was still surprised by the revelation. Daniel then explained that there were several common symptoms among those with Asperger's Syndrome, but that they manifested themselves at different levels for different cases. This included internally processing information and going about certain challenges differently than most people. In his particular case, the outward symptoms were relatively mild, making it almost unnoticeable to most people, though it was still something he struggled with on a fairly regular basis.

After Daniel finished his explanation, he then said, "Look, I'm not embarrassed by it or anything like that, but it's also not something I like broadcasting, either." He sighed as he continued, "Outside of my family, only Soma and his father know about this. And now, so do you." He then looked at Hisako and asked, "Can I trust you to keep this a secret for now?" Hisako immediately nodded in response as she said, "Of course!" At Hisako's immediate willingness to keep his confidence, Daniel smiled and stated, "Thank you. That really means a lot to me."

Hisako then followed up with another inquiry. "Can I ask you about that coin of yours? I've noticed that you tend to carry it around with you constantly." Before Daniel could answer, Soma grinned and stated, "You noticed that, eh? Yeah, it's kind of a lucky charm for him – although he doesn't really like to call it that." Daniel then told Hisako about how he got the coin to begin with – his trip to Ireland, and the random shop he walked into with the kindly old man running it. He then took it out of his pocket and handed it to Hisako for her to see for herself. She examined it for a few moments, before handing it back, commenting, "It's a very beautiful coin – and it has a great story to go with it. I can see why you're attached to it."

After dinner, the trio headed across a large overpass bridge over the river and towards the train station. When they reached the far side of the bridge, Soma stopped them as he suddenly remembered something. He then reached into his duffel bag and pulled out a relatively large shopping bag before handing it to Hisako. He then told her that it was filled with manga that he had borrowed from someone, as payment to Erina for her help when he was creating his beef stew during the semifinals. Daniel was surprised by this and exclaimed, "You mean she actually agreed to help you!?" Soma laughed in an embarrassed manner and replied, "Well, sort of." He then explained how Erina had taken one taste of his test dish, given a harsh review (with a very subtle hint) before summarily asking him to leave the mansion and demanding the manga as compensation for her time. Daniel chuckled at the story and said, "Only you, Soma, would be able to pull off something like that."

After wishing Daniel and Hisako a good night, Soma went off to the train station as Daniel and Hisako stood by the bridge, with Daniel waving and Hisako still a bit stunned at hearing Soma's story about getting help from Erina. After a few moments, Daniel was able to get Hisako's attention and out of her own thoughts by asking if she was alright. He then asked Hisako to chat for a few minutes as he leaned on the bridge's railing. As they were looking out on the river, Daniel began to speak seriously, "I heard that things have been a bit awkward for you with Erina lately. Do you want to talk about it?"

While she wondered how Daniel knew this, Hisako thought on it for a moment before responding softly, "Ever since my defeat, I feel as though I'm no longer worthy to be by Miss Erina's side. She expects perfection, and I failed her. Now, I can't even look her straight in the eye." Daniel sighed and stated, "I alluded to this before, but I'll say it again. I know that my interactions with you and Erina – Erina especially – have been limited, but from what I've seen, you two have a unique bond that Erina doesn't have with anyone else. I don't claim to know her history, or the history between the two of you, but I really do think she sees you as more than a secretary or servant. She really sees you as a genuine best friend – someone she can confide in and be more herself around. I have to imagine that's more important to her than whether you are perfect in cooking competitions."

At this, Hisako looked at Daniel wide-eyed – surprised that someone like him would be able to provide such an insight. Daniel then continued, "I really wouldn't worry about it. You're a terrific chef, and I'm sure Erina recognizes that. You're only going to get better, and you're more than worthy of standing with her – not only because of your cooking, but because of the invaluable human connection you provide her." He then turned to Hisako and saw her giving a soft smile with tears of gratitude flowing from her soft, milk chocolate-brown eyes. "Thank you so much," she said, "That's so kind of you to say – and I can tell that you're being sincere about it."

Daniel gave Hisako a big smile as she gathered herself and leaned up on the railing beside him. "You're really different from most other people – and I don't just mean the Asperger's Syndrome," she began. "From the first time we met, you've never seen me as just a secretary or someone in the background to be ignored. You always called me by my name – and not one of those ridiculous nicknames I hear so many people call me. You've always treated me with kindness and respect, even when I didn't do the same in return."

Hisako then turned to Daniel and continued, "I'm truly sorry for how I treated you back then. Also, I never did thank you properly for helping me during the Autum Elections, so I hope this works." She then took Daniel by surprise as he wrapped her right arm around Daniel's neck and brought him towards her as she initiated a firm, yet gentle kiss on the lips. After his initial shock, Daniel began to return the kiss as his heart was racing at the sensation. As they separated, Daniel's was still feeling the shock a bit as all he could muster out of his mouth was, "That was…wow."

Hisako giggled at Daniel's reaction as she then said, "If you think you can handle me, I would really like to have you as my boyfriend." Daniel nodded in response and said, "Yeah. I'd really like that!" Hisako then smiled and stated, "Good. We can make it official after you do just one thing." Daniel looked at Hisako quizzically as he asked, "And what's that?" Hisako then gave a semi-serious look with a smile and answered, "You've got to get through your next Stagiaire successfully. If you don't, I will be very disappointed." Realizing she was at least half-teasing, Daniel decided to tease a little back and said, "Well, we certainly wouldn't want that, would we?" He then wrapped his arms around Hisako's back and kissed her, which she returned.

Shortly after, they made their way to the train station, where they had to part for the time being, as they were headed in different directions, though not before they exchanged cell phone numbers. After telling Daniel to call her and keep her updated on how he was doing, Hisako bid him good night as she went in the direction of her train. As he was watching Hisako go off, Daniel couldn't help but feel like celebrating inside. This had been quite the ego boost for him – now he felt like he could take on any challenge that came his way. He couldn't wait to see what was in store for him next as he started to move towards his train.

So, I hope you all enjoyed that, and that you like the pairing I set up for Daniel! I'm curious how many of you saw this coming before this chapter and how many of you were surprised. In any case, the second, individual Stagiaire, comes up in the next chapter. Tune in next time to see what's in store for Daniel…