"You did WHAT?!" Baren's voice cracked from how loud she was shouting. "What... What were you even thinking!?"

"I... wasn't thinking." Kagami mumbled very quietly while averting her gaze. If Elise thought her mentor kicking her into the ocean was bad, she definitely didn't want to know how else she had been punished. "I just... acted."

"I mean this in the nicest way, I really, really do." Kris stepped over and placed both her hands on her leader's shoulders. "But what the hell??"

"What... do you know about fine dining and what they cook?" Cheyenne's head tilted to the side.

"Um..." The jadette swallowed hard while looking in the other direction.

Blinking a few times, Elise stared. "We're screwed. We're so screwed."

"Hey! I'll think of something!" Kagami gritted her teeth while reaching up to rub the back of her head. "Somehow..."

With her brow twitching, Baren reached out with her left arm. Her fingers were curled and ready to grab tightly onto something.

"Okaaay, let's, how about, not do that." Eleanor latched onto the old warrior's arm and pulled her back.

"Yeaaah." Aero stepped in front of her and pushed her back. "Maybe everything will be fine? Remember that one time we sold our entire dorm room to some crazy homeless man for the summer? That was waaaaay worse."

"Wait." Kuro leaned his head in. "How did you rent a place out to a homeless guy?"

Slowly stepping back as everyone kept raising their voice, Kagami took a deep breath and reached up to rub her arm. She let her emotions get the better of her. She really shouldn't have done what she did. She couldn't punch her way out of this one. Deep down though she knew if time was reversed she would have done the same exact thing again.

"So do you have a plan?" Gurin softly asked while walking up beside her older sister.

Glancing down, her brow furrowed as she softly shrugged back. "I don't know. I know how to fight. Not cook."

"Well, it's kind of like a fight, right?" The young girl tilted her head. "You are trying to beat another person by having better skills than them. Or by being smarter. All you have to do is make them want to have your dish again over Mr. Blaze's. Which... is going to be hard with his semblance." Her head lowered.

Blinking a few times, the older jadette quickly knelt down. "Wait. What are the rules to this dumb cooking battle thing?"

"Uh...?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You just cook a plate. Well three plates of the same thing. And there are three judges and they each decide which one they would want to have a second time. And the person with the most votes wins."

Slowly beginning to smile, Kagami stood back up. "I think I have an idea now. Thanks." She reached out to ruffle her hair. Turning around, she quickly headed towards the kitchen. "Dad! I need your help!" She called.

Looking over, her parents grew quiet for a moment before eyeing each other. Raising an eyebrow, Aza gave a small shrug before walking after his eldest daughter.

The following day, Kagami sat in the dining room of Grimm's Kitchen. The entire place had been closed for this event. She was nervously bouncing her leg as she thought over everything in her head. She had successfully pulled off several insane plans, but this was by far the most chaotic and quite possibly the one with the biggest risk.

"You can always use my semblance if you get behind." Aza spoke as he stepped over. "It'll help a lot if you do."

Smiling a little, she glanced up at him. "So why didn't you use it?"

He went to speak only to grow quiet. He then crossed his arms with a sigh. "Alright. Fine. You have me beat there." He then eyed her green hair. "We're going to need to put that up before you cook."

"Huh?" She trailed her hand through a few strands before pushing it behind her ear. "Oh, yeah. I'll probably just put it up in a ponytail."

"Nonsense." He shook his head while gesturing with his hand. "Here. Turn around." As she did so, he stepped up behind her. Running his fingers through her hair, he split it into three parts. He then went to braid it over her left shoulder. "There." He took a step back. "That should help. Oh! I'll go get you a bandana to wear too. There's a whole bin of them in the back room."

Watching him walk off, Kagami softly smiled while running her hand underneath her braid. Lowering her head, her smile grew a little more. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes before standing up. It was time to head into battle.

With a dark and deep chuckle, Blaze crossed his arms as he stood on one side of the kitchen. His chef whites were as bright and wrinkle free as they possibly could be. His gaze was coldly locked on the young girl in front of him.

Gulping slightly, Kagami didn't even glance at him as she tied a green bandana around her forehead. Unlike him, all she had on was a dark green shirt and a white apron. She was really going to need a miracle. Perhaps she should have asked Elise to pray to the god Brothers she believed in. She would have done it herself but didn't feel like it would be sincere enough.

As the pressure started sinking in, Aza began to pace around. "This is bloody insane. This is all fucking madness." He sharply breathed in. "There's no fucking way this'll work. She's going to lose everything of fucking value to her. And it's all because of that fucking bloke. We have to stop this. We can't just sit around here like a bunch of fucking muppets!"

Reaching out, Baren narrowed her eyes while grabbing his shoulder tight. Jerking him back, she forced him to sit down with a small grunt. "Will you shut up? I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to kill your daughter slowly if she fails here."

"And if she succeeds?" Elise leaned over.

Slowly turning her head, the pinkette glared. "Then I'll kill her quickly instead."

The farm girl quietly squeaked as she returned back to her seat. "Oum help her..." She reached up to rub her face. Beside her, Cheyenne and Kris both nervously glanced at each other.

"Maybe her main character's powers will let her win." Aero leaned across the table she was sitting at with her old friends. "Sounds pretty legit."

Glancing at her, Eleanor sighed. "You really need to stop reading all those comics. They're making you talk crazy."

"Crazy like a fourth wall breaker?" She chuckled as she winked towards no one.

"Sh, shh." Midori waved at the two of them to hush up. "The judges are coming."

Coming through the front doors, PJ who was as finely dressed as ever led a middle aged man and woman towards the judges table. Behind them, an older man with long white hair and a black robe calmly walked. A deep scar was just under his chin. His mere presence felt intimidating.

As he passed by, Aza immediately jumped to his feet and bowed his head. "Honoo-Sama." He kept his hands close to his body.

Eyeing him, the old man nodded back. "Aza." He just barely smiled before it immediately disappeared. Taking a seat next to the other judges, he eyed the two opponents and looked both of them up and down. His gaze stayed a little longer on Blaze before he calmly closed his eyes.

"Alright." PJ stood beside the judges with a smile. "These very gracious people will be deciding which one of your dishes they like more." He gestured a hand towards the woman who had light brown hair and a deer tail. "This is Isabella Fawn. Famed Faunus chef known for more down to Remnant plates. And this is Shuyona Princeton." He moved his hand in the direction of a man with blood orange hair. "A pure genius when it comes to plating. His dishes are a work of art."

"And this," He continued as he pointed towards the old man. "This is Binchotan Honoo. A master in the kitchen and owner of nearly every fine dining establishment here in Vytal." His smile began to grow as he glanced at Blaze. "You have one hour to cook. Good luck." He nodded as a timer appeared and flashed for a second before it began to count down.

"Good luck, kid." Blaze eyed the young girl as he pulled away. "You're going to need it. Actually, you're going to need a miracle." He snickered while walking off to grab a few vegetables and a small ring mold.

"I think I'll be fine." Kagami flashed a smile in his direction before calmly walking to her side of the kitchen. "Hopefully..." She mumbled under her breath.

The two of them quickly got to work on preparing their dishes. While Blaze moved more fluidly, Kagami seemed to fumble more with the equipment she picked up. The professional chef only chuckled quietly as he watched the mistakes. Spinning a chef's knife around, he quickly began to cut up a few potatoes.

Taking a deep breath, the jadette glanced back at him as she heard him laughing. She quickly looked away and closed her eyes. She needed to stay focused. With a santoku knife in hand, she furrowed her brow and eyed her reflection. With a sharp exhale, she tightened her grip and went back to work. She had a battle to win even if it wasn't like the usual.

As the timer was nearing the end of its countdown, PJ walked back and forth in front of the hotplate. "You have one minute." He announced and then grinned as Blaze set three covered dishes up.

The tri-colored haired man looked over. "Better hurry, kid!" He patted his hands dry with a towel.

"Just shut up already!" Kagami shot him a glare. Stumbling slightly, she quickly covered her plates before carefully rushing them up. The buzzer for the timer going off moments after she placed them down. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she looked over at her opponent. "You can go first." She gestured with a smile.

He let out a soft laugh at that. "Well if you insist. PJ." He nodded towards his right hand man. He stepped out of the kitchen and grabbed two of his plates while PJ grabbed the third. Walking up to the judges, he set one down in front of Princeton and Fawn.

Grabbing the lids, Blaze pulled them off and stepped back. A rush of different aromas quickly filled the judges sense of smell. "Today I've made all of you a herb crusted rack of lamb with a saffron potato puree and a classic ratatouille. Oh, and a bit of an olive demi-glace." His smile grew as he lightly waved his hand. "I hope you enjoy it."

"Mhmm." Fawn slowly inhaled. "The lamb smells amazing. What did you do to it?" She asked while cutting a piece off.

"I seared it first and then rubbed a bit of mustard on it before adding breadcrumbs and baking it the rest of the way." He gave a small nod and barely contained a chuckle as she began to eat bite after bite.

"You ratatouille is beautiful." Princeton spoke up as he stated at said garnish. "And the puree is as creamy and smooth as humanly possible. And the display of perfectly cooked meat... Who taught you to cook and present like this, young man?" He continued eating as he felt his insides crave more and more.

"No one special." Smiling at the comment, Blaze eyed the old man who calmly ate from his plate. He knew he wouldn't get words out of Honoo, but seeing him nearly devouring his plate was enough. Watching as they each finished, he held his hands in front of himself.

"That was... delightful. I found myself unable to stop eating it." Fawn said as she gently rubbed her mouth with a napkin. "Truly amazing, indeed."

"Agreed." Princeton nodded as he pushed his plate forward with a sharp exhale. "Satisfying as well once you finish it." He eyed Kagami. "I hope you have something just as amazing."

"So do I..." The jadette trailed off a bit. Swallowing a little, she carefully grabbed one of her plates.

Noticing this, Honoo raised an eyebrow before leaning back. "Aza, my boy!" He called out. The blonde chef immediately jumped to his feet as his name was called. "Help her out." He crossed his arms while closing his eyes again.

"Yessir!" He gave a single nod before rushing over to aid his daughter with carrying her dishes over. Grabbing one in each hand, he casually stepped over to the judging table and set them down. Once he did, he quickly returned to his seat with a nervous look.

"Um, so," Kagami swallowed as she placed her plate down in front of Honoo. Grabbing the lid, she took a deep breath and pulled it off.

As she pulled it off, Blaze let out a laugh of victory while looking away. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me!"

Glaring back at him, the jadette took a few steps back. "So..." She pointed towards the plates that had a single spoon on each of them. They weren't normal spoons though. They had thick short handles that were connected to deep flat based spoon sized bowls.

Inside the spoon, there was a single bite of noodles that were spiraled up artistically. On the right side, there were a few small pieces of diced up grilled carrots and turnips. On the left, there were thinly sliced and fried lotus and burdock roots. All of it was sitting in a creamy and rich looking broth. The smell of the broth alone was enough to twitch the judges' noses.

"I um," Kagami nervously grabbed her arm. "I made a spoonful of ramen."

"Interesting choice." Princeton tilted his head slightly as he closely examined the precisely placed items. "Intriguing..."

"It does look very nice. Have you done this before?" Fawn looked up.

"Nope." She shook her head.

Watching her, Honoo ever so slightly raised an eyebrow before looking at Blaze who laughed to himself. Reaching out, he carefully picked up the spoon. He brought it close and as he did, his nose twitched. "Hmm..." He slowly breathed in.

Hearing the old man let out an audible sound, the flame themed chef's expression dropped. His cocky vibe was immediately struck down and replaced with a more alarmed look.

Taking the single bite of food and placing it in her mouth, Fawn blinked once before slowly pulling the clean spoon from her mouth. Very slowly, she swallowed. "I... I love this."

"It's such a rich broth... I find myself needing more of it." Princeton set his empty spoon down with a small smile. "Soy milk and charred miso?"

"With grated ebi-imo root." Kagami smiled nervously. "And um, hot sesame oil and grated ginger and garlic."

"And seaweed and shitake mushrooms." Honoo sniffed his spoonful a bit more. "A very bold blend. Hmm." He exhaled before placing it in his mouth.

Watching his eyes grow wide, Blaze flashed his teeth and glared over. He could hear the two other judges talking amongst themselves. "What the hell did you do?"

"Something you can't when you use your semblance." Kagami smiled back at him. "Leave them wanting more instead of having them eat until they're satisfied."

Placing her hand on her face, Fawn leaned forward. "My oh my, that was so small but so refreshing. I feel rejuvenated."

"And I feel full of energy." Princeton looked over at her. "Imagine having a full bowl of that for breakfast."

"Hmm." Honoo set his spoon down with a soft clink. "I feel..." He closed his eyes and slowly breathed in. Suddenly, he jumped up and raised his fist. His dark robes opened up and revealed a toned body underneath. Strapped around his torso was an unrolled set of cooking knives. "Young again!" He roared as his veins pulsed a dark glowing red color.

Hearing a loud thud, Kagami glanced over at her friends. Kris had fallen backwards in her chair and onto the ground. Smiling more to herself, she reached up to pull off the green bandana her father had given her. Tying it around her left wrist, she looked over at her opponent. "I think you're the one that needs good luck now."

"Shit..." Blaze gritted his teeth as he took a small step back. "Shit, shit, shit." He muttered as the old man slowly wrapped his robe back around himself and sat back down.

It was at this moment, he knew he had messed up.