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/Dove; Loren/Nao; Ryou/Alice; Isshi/Nene; Taku/Hisa; Akira/Megu] ((43 / 44: To You, 10 Years From Nao))

10. Faker

Rating: T+

Pairing: Soma/Erina

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

Notes:

Hey Everyone! Zancrow Here!

I'm late, I know. Work has been brutal, and I did have some personal issues to tend to as well. But, as some of you have noted, I should really at least be better at updating the "Expected Update Date" on my Profile Page, so I'll be sure to keep a better eye on that. Also, hopefully now I can try to jump back into an update pattern of once every month, so as to not leave you guys with a sudden hiatus like this. Here's hoping!

But, as an apology, here's a double chapter! And no, I'm not exaggerating. Back when I started "Nouvelle", my chapters (using a regular Word document as an example) were usually 18 to 22 pages in length. That slowly grew to what it is now in "Classique", where most chapters are usually between 30 to 34 pages, give or take. But this? This behemoth of a chapter is over 60 pages long! It was meant to be two chapters, and you can probably catch where I would have left a possible cliffhanger on, but since it has been so long since the last update, I didn't quite feel like it was enough. So I powered through and gave you guys this. Hope it is to your enjoyment. Cheers!

Disclaimer: Don't own Shokugeki no Soma.

---

"You're going to wear yourself down if you keep handling all this stuff on your own you know?" Ikumi noted as she walked alongside Tootsuki's favorite secretary towards the Elite Ten's meeting room. She had randomly bumped into the girl while exiting her own club, overworked and juggling more that her fair share of documents, which made the blonde decide to offer her a helping hand. She was, in essence, still one of Lady Erina's aides herself, even if Soma had pretty much put a massive dent on her career as such thanks to practically forcing her to end up in the Don RS.

"I know, I know," Hisako quickly responded, likely having heard the same advice way too many times. "But these are uncharted waters after all. Erina and the others have all of Tootsuki on their shoulders, least I can do is make sure her work as an Elite is done without her having to turn her focus onto it. That way, she can concentrate on her matches and keep this place safe."

"If you say so," Ikumi simply stated, before she paused, stopping right next to one of the many bathrooms scattered throughout the many buildings that made up Tootsuki, and setting her stack of folders down on top of one of the water fountains. Hisako inwardly shrieked at the notion of any of the documents getting wet, and thus, ruined, but refrained from saying anything if nothing but out of politeness at the assistance being offered.

It did peak her curiosity, though, to see Ikumi so quick to pick up her phone and begin to text something. The usually carefree girl had a very pensive look adorning her features, which made Hisako even more curious. Or nosey, as her father would probably say.

"Did you get a text from a potential buyer?" Hisako assumed, trying her hand at small talk with a girl she felt she should have a lot more in common with, yet the two barely spoke unless it pertained to Erina Nakiri herself. Hisako was, after all, trying to open herself up a bit more, at Erina's insistence granted… but still.

"Oh?" The meat master turned to look at her, her eyebrow raised, before she caught on. "Oh, this? No, not business related. It's just Hakeem."

The confusion could not be more visible on Hisako's face unless she openly drooled like an idiot in response. She was outright perplexed.

"Hakeem? Isn't that…?"

"Yeah, the elder Akintola," Ikumi replied like it was the most obvious answer. When Hisako did not seem to compute even with that, the meat master sighed. She really was like Erina at times. "Just because we're from rival schools doesn't mean we can't, you know, interact. And, before you get all preachy on me, one, their team already lost, and two, I still haven't said yes. He's asking me out, but I'm playing a bit hard to get, although… how much is too much?"

"…Ikumi?"

"I said don't judge!" Ikumi shot back, frowning. "I told you, I still haven't-"

"That's not it," a flushed Hisako quickly cut her off, placing her stack of folders on the water fountain, wetness be damned. "He's asking you out? Like on a… date-date?"

"Um… yeah. What else would it be?"

"But isn't that stuff, like, I dunno… I didn't think you'd be…"

"Hisako, we're in high school, second years at that," Ikumi explained, her arms proudly crossed against her chest. It made sense, Hisako knew, that even boys from rival schools would be attracted to her. Ikumi was stunning after all, even with her proud figure locked behind the uniform she was now being forced to wear whenever she wasn't at the club until the event ended. "I didn't expect you to be all that shocked," Ikumi stated, purposely ignoring Hisako's stare. "Milady herself already has a boyfriend, before either of us at that. And after that last Shokugeki, I'm certain Alice and Kurokiba's relationship has probably gotten a bit different. We're at that age after all."

"I know… it's just," Hisako stammered, since she did know, but just hearing about it, it made her realize, how she still hadn't even fully processed it. Erina and Soma were together, for months now, and somehow, it still felt like news to her. "I didn't think you'd be so open about it. I'd be unbelievably embarrassed to admit it even to myself, much less to my friends."

"That's because you feel you still have time."

"Huh?" Hisako asked, her head tilted to the side, honestly confused by that statement. Ikumi looked at her with the softest of smiles.

"I waited too long once," Ikumi admitted. "Thinking that just playing the mean girl would get me what I wanted. Leave little hints here and there, and just wait it out. By the time I realized it, he was long taken," Ikumi said with the brightest of smiles, and Hisako felt a sharp pain in her heart. "So, realizing that, I've promised myself to be more honest, both to myself, and to others. It is… embarrassing, I'll admit. But, it hurts a lot less than imagining what-if. So, if Hakeem is the first boy… erm, man, that I've felt like this for since… well, why not go all out? Risk it."

"That's so mature," Hisako said in awe.

"You saying I was immature before!" Ikumi blasted, frowning at Hisako who quickly shook her head and waved her arms around defensively.

"No! Not at all!" Hisako frantically corrected. "I just meant it was sage advice, way more wise than anything I could have come up with. And… I didn't know. I'm sorry. A better friend would have been able to tell."

"Sorry about what?"

"Well, that there was someone you liked," Hisako explained, and Ikumi just shrugged. "I mean, it must have been rough, so I would have liked-"

"Its water under the bridge by now," Ikumi said, and the smile she had made it clear she wasn't lying. "But, just keep that in mind. If you fancy anyone, try not to play the waiting game. Only thing that produces is losers all around," she added with a laugh, as both girls grabbed hold of their respective documents and began to move once again back towards the Elite Ten's meeting room; Ikumi's text now properly sent. Hisako was curious as to what the other girl had replied to the elder boy, but decided not to push it. She'd let Ikumi reveal her story at her own pace.

…Still…

"So… Hakeem huh?" a little devilish spark shone across Hisako's eyes, as she recalled the young man from his match against Akira, the little, evil side of her actually impressed that he had made the guy who had defeated her in the Autumn Elections sweat hard. "You sure do aim high."

"I'm not aiming at anything," Ikumi corrected. "He's aiming at me. And it's not a done deal or anything, so don't go jumping to conclusions."

"I wouldn't."

"Right…" Ikumi just shrugged. "Guy's nice enough, a far cry from his younger goblin of a brother."

"You mean the one that faced off against Ryou?"

"Faced off is one way to put it, if you're nice about it," Ikumi noted. "I'm not, jerk got crushed. Out of those four brothers, only Hakeem and little Aisha are worth their salt."

"Ah~ Aisha's a cutie," Hisako said with a little bit of glee, to which Ikumi nodded. She was growing a soft spot for the little slasher, despite how much it seemed to irk the kid to be everyone's favorite little competitor.

The two girls made their way towards the front door of their destination, with Hisako quickly turning to Ikumi and flashing the girl a bright smile. "Thanks so much for the assist, I'm-"

The door swung open fiercely, catching both girls off guard, leaving Hisako mid-thanks, as one of the Elite Ten students walked out, pausing only at the sight of the two girls before him. It was not someone either girl would have expected to be in such a rush, and Hisako's eyes only widened at seeing him with something other than a polite smile on his features.

"Takumi…" she voiced.

"….Hisako, Ikumi," Takumi greeted, but instead of smiling he merely nodded at them and wavered, his hand still clenching at the door before he seemed to force himself to move. "Excuse me," he offered, before he moved past the two and walked away down the halls. Hisako looked on, still unsure, having not really seen that boy ever sport such an expression.

"Heh, he's polite even when he's mad," Ikumi noted with a grin. "Go figure."

"He's not mad."

Both girls turned towards the inside of the room, where the only other Elite Ten student present sat, the one they were bringing in Erina's documents to. The First Seat, Nene, who despite being long eliminated from the International Shokugeki, was still organizing pretty much everything that they did and how they handled each and every match-up.

"Did something happen?" Hisako quickly asked, stepping in and placing the folders onto the table, no longer her main priority. Ikumi followed suit, as both girls stared at Nene, who closed her eyes briefly.

"It's not my place to say, I feel," Nene explained, "But, I know that that knucklehead won't admit it to anyone, and maybe you can speak some sense into him," Nene added, as her eyes focused on a confused Hisako. "He asked to be excused from the upcoming match-up. And… he's not sure he's going to be able to continue his duties moving forwards… It's all-"

"What?!" Ikumi quickly shouted. "Is he insane? That guy has nothing on his head but beating down his rivals and being the best! Is this, like, not the best place for that? We need that! Is he sick, or is it a family thing?"

"…But it's not those things, is it?" Hisako noted, her expression downcast, as Nene merely nodded. Ikumi turned to her, and she saw that Hisako had fully figured it out. "Tootsuki's next match-up, it's against the Scuola Dotata di Arti Culinarie. The only WGO accepted school in Italy. It is… cruel of us to want him to fight for us against them."

"You think that's it?" Ikumi asked, surprised, "but he's a student here!"

"Only by chance," Hisako said, as she looked on out the window, understanding a little bit of just how different this upcoming match would likely be. "In another life, if things were different… he'd be with them, on their team, challenging us… and he knows that."

-0-

It was a strange occurrence, she noted, to find herself having lunch not in the school campus, on one of her many, many confiscated kitchens, but on her own dinner table, surrounded by her actual family for once. Erina could only look on as her family was served their meal, a serving which even to her extensive culinary background still looked like overkill, as it had been prepared not by the Nakiri staff, but by the WGO agents serving directly under her mother.

Mana Nakiri, the original God's Tongue, whose sensitivity far outclassed even hers, and who could not stomach any type of food not crafted to outright perfection, sat right next to her, the first time in what seemed like forever. It was surreal, Erina thought, sitting down for a quiet, unplanned lunch with all of them.

Her mother Mana, flicking her fork on her hands for a brief moment, as if contemplating if she really needed to eat or not.

Her uncle Soe, doing his best not to say something at the overabundance of food present on the table, a meal crafted for five yet served as if they were thirty. His eye twitch gave it away a little.

Her aunt Leonora, smiling in such a sarcastic way that Erina could practically hear her call her mother out, but surprisingly enough, she kept quiet.

Her cousin Alice, awestruck at the scene. And knowing her, not really at the food, but rather at Mana actually bothering to sit with them. A feeling Erina shared wholeheartedly.

And her, Erina, totally unprepared for any of it.

"This is a lot," Alice simply noted, as if she had just noticed what had been eating up everyone else, but of course, she really didn't have a filter on her mouth, so she just voiced it.

"You may help yourself," Mana simply replied. "Most of these are failures that I cannot possibly eat, but I am sure you can enjoy them just fine. Best not to let food go to waste, and all of that."

"You're offering us your trash?" Leonora asked, and Erina heard her uncle choke.

"Dear, that's not what Mana meant," he quickly added, before a glaring Mana could speak. "You know her gift, this is just a… result."

"You don't have to eat anything if you don't want it, Leonora," Mana still said. "The staff will be more than happy to have it for themselves. In fact, I don't much recall inviting you to join me."

"Mana, that's not what Leonora meant," Soe again added, moments before his wife actually exploded, given the massive pout and glare she sported. "But can we please, just once, sit down and just enjoy each other's company? ….please?"

"…You two really don't get along," Alice said with a light laugh, and both Leonora and Mana turned to the youngest Nakiri, who was still all smiles. "What? I always thought my relationship with Erina had soured, but boy, are you two something."

"But… it's not me," Leonora quickly defended, turning puzzlingly at her daughter.

"A-Anyway," Erina quickly cut in, trying her best to keep any form of conversation alive. "This food is really good. Your team is really something mother."

"It is… passable," Mana noted, setting her fork down, resting her cheek on her closed fist. She was honestly not going to say anything else on the matter, or anything else at all, but glancing to the side she caught sight of Erina's expectant face. Mana wasn't blind. On one side of the table, she could see Alice and Leonora chatting away, in a charming yet joking manner, yet here she was, leaving her own daughter's attempt at a connection with nothing but a few words.

Like always.

"…Your next match-up is tomorrow, right?" Mana said, and the attempt at keeping the conversation alive was not lost on anyone, as all the other Nakiris paused, mid thought, eyes wide. "Are you both prepared?"

"Aunty, are you feeling-ouch!?" Alice began, but a swift kick on the shin by her cousin quickly shut her up.

"W-We're pretty much set," Erina quickly responded. "According to our First Seat, Nene, we want to keep on rotating our members as much as possible, so since Soma, Ryou and Akira went last time, and our seniors Isshiki and… Shouko are unavailable, that leaves our current group with Kuga, Takumi, Alice here, and myself."

"I see…" her mother simply noted, and Erina felt her heart still stuck on her throat, wondering if she should try and continue or if that was all Mana wanted to hear.

"That's still only four," Soe noted, a bit more invested in the conversation, considering the stakes. "Your next opponents are a five-man team. That would mean you'd need one of the boys to go again, correct?"

"Oh relax Dad," Alice quickly cut in, after having rubbed her leg and glared at Erina for two minutes straight. "We already told our boys that one of the three who went last time would probably get a chance to go again. Knowing them, you can probably imagine they pretty much fought for the opportunity to be the one chosen."

"Did they?" Leonora asked, head tilted.

"They… settled it," Erina replied, her eyes closed, still a bit embarrassed by the lack of professionalism in their part. "Somewhat."

"They played rock-paper-scissors for it!" Alice explained, as the entire room fell silent for the briefest of moments.

"Well… I suppose that is one way to make such a drastic, possibly career-ending decision," Soe said with a cough.

"Sweetie, don't be so negative," Leonora cut it. "I'm sure they made the right choice."

"…Who won?" Mana asked, turning to Erina, who was slowly sipping her glass of juice like she was a child. She took one last, long sip before she replied.

"…Soma."

"Figures."

"Why don't you like Soma, Aunty Mana?" Alice asked, and at that moment Erina contemplated smashing her glass against her face. For her part, Mana simply shook her head.

"Nothing of the sort," she simply replied. "It's not that I dislike the boy. Merely, I want Erina to be careful. Unlike, say, you and Ryou, this is not a relationship that had been fostered since childhood. A young lady must be cautious."

"Me and Ryou?!" Alice quickly barked, face flushed. "Aunty, he and I are close friends, nothing like what Erina and Soma are… I mean…" Alice tried, but Mana merely shifted her posture a bit, and the smile she gave her niece made it pretty damn clear the elder woman knew everything. Alice could do little else but follow Erina's example and drink her juice… slowly… avoiding eye contact if possible.

"So you do see promise in the boy?" Soe asked, also under the impression that his sister hated the redhead. This was news to him too.

"Of course, I was part of the WGO for a while," she explained. "I know a talented chef when I see one. So I have nothing against him per se," she continued, then added after a pause, turning to Erina, "Of course, I'd much prefer it if he refrained from stepping inside your room from now on, if that's not too much to ask."

Erina's face could not get any redder, as she simply nodded feverishly, and like Alice, avoiding eye contact completely. Why couldn't her mother let her live that down?

"Come now Mana, you're making the girls sink into their seats," Soe noted with a little laugh, which surprisingly caused Mana to let out a very similar laugh in return.

"It's their fault for thinking they can get away with the things we did way before they were even born," she stated with a smile.

Soe gave out a soft chuckle, which quickly became a worried gulp the moment Leonora laughed alongside him. He quickly assured her it wasn't anything anywhere near what she could be imagining, to which his wife merely smiled and told him she believed him, in the most passive-aggressive tone he had heard her utter in quite a while. He quickly dropped the subject.

A still blushing Erina wanted to say something, but seeing her mother, her uncle and her aunt share a little laugh meant more to her than she could ever properly express, so for once, she just smiles along, and hopes that days like these could hopefully, one day, become the norm.

-0-

The Tootsuki alumni continued their curriculum as planned, with only the matches pertaining to the International Shokugeki intercut between their usual hard-as-nails classes. On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, the rival challengers aiming to take down Japan's best were surprised by a sudden call for interviews from several mayor outlets. From those that had already competed, and thus lost, to those still waiting their turn, all seven teams were called to give their side of the event that had slowly become the talk of the youngster side of the culinary world, eclipsing even the famed Bishoku Leading Under-25 Entrance. The latter was even rumored to be possibly postponed, a first if there ever was one, but given how heavily involved the WGO was with the International Shokugeki, not that farfetched a notion.

So, the usual carefree challengers found themselves under the spotlight of several mayor networks, all itching to get the word from these "underdogs" taking aim at the unmovable king that was Tootsuki Academy.

One such program heavily involved in this process was none other than a Tootsuki regular, the host of "Is That a Kitchen's", Luka Miyano, occasional judge of Autumn Election-esque Shokugekis, and a very good friend of Soe's. He had planned on conducting several interviews in a row with most of the challengers, having set up a miniature set of sort right at the Resort, with Gin's approval of course. His film crew had worked fast, and he had managed to get these rowdy teens to cooperate with the process… mostly.

"Originally, I had every intention of getting you all sat down with me on a one-to-one basis, but given the current circumstances and how much sought-after you all are, this was the compromise I managed to come up with," Luka informed, as the cameras rolled, the host with the most seated behind a mockup of his usual desk, with seven occupied seats before him. "Although, I must say, this, I feel, will make for an even more dynamic interview. One member of each team, all at once, an informal debate of sorts. And I must give a very special thanks to each of you for making this all possible. But without further ado, let's give our guests a very warm welcome, on our special International Shokugeki coverage, on Is This a Kitchen?!"

A massive cheer from the audience was heard, or rather, a recording of one, since there was no live audience at the moment.

"First, introducing them in order of their teams' scheduled matches, we have Linda Montes from La Academia Real Cocina!" Luka introduced.

"Pretty sure our school's named Cocina Real and not the other way around, but who cares!" Linda quickly flashed the camera a bright grin. She sat on the closest chair to Luka, dressed on her school's uniform like the rest, crossed leg and laidback. "Hey, Linda here, my team already lost but I took out the First Seat! None of these other losers can say that!"

"What a way to start!" Luka praised, eager to see if he could capture the bickering with each other on camera. It would make for some good television after all. "Next, our youngest competitor, little Aisha Akintola from Ada Akintola's Culinary Academy!"

"Why am I always getting introduced like that?!" Aisha complained, and on cue, a very loud "d'aww" echoed through the sound system, causing the young boy dressed in his trademark skirt-sporting uniform to outright glare at whoever was in charge of the sound effects off-screen. "This is why none of my brothers wanted to do this interview thingy…"

"I guess you can't help it if you're a fan favorite Aisha!" Luka responded, before he turned to his third guest, and the one most eyes were going to be on, as it was her team that was stated to face off against Tootsuki next. "And next, we have the Team Leader of Scuola Dotata di Arti Culinarie, Lucrezia Russo!"

"Never did I quite come to imagine I'd be in such a program as this," Lucrezia replied, a very proud smile on her features. "Even in my humble hometown, this show of yours is quite well-known for all of us involved in the food and beverage industry my dear Luka."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that," the host said with glee, before he signaled to the following guest. "And next, we have Gautier Pierre, from Éco-"

"The Gautier Pierre from École des Plats Cuisinés," Gautier quickly cut off Luka and gave himself a "proper" introduction, quickly taking sole aim at the camera. "And to all the lovely ladies out there, rest assured, I will also become the victor of this International Shokugeki in less than a week. So make sure to cheer for me, as that is what will give me the strength to push on through!"

"…Oh, yes, right, good on… you… right," Luka shook his head and regained his composure, before he turned to the next competitor. "Moving right along, we have Grigory Kholod, from Moscow International!"

Grigory said nothing. The young man, who towered over even the likes of Hakeem and Alex, just stared. Luka felt a chill run up his spine, as the competitor remained silent, staring, watching. Even the sound effects guy had no idea what to play.

"…okay!" Luka spat out, deciding to move right along once more. "W-We also have here Van Autumn from Lestrade International Academy of Culinary Arts!"

"Hey everyone, Van here!" the teen introduced himself as he flashed the would-be televised audience a big grin. "You guys are looking at the next big shot of the culinary world! So be warned Tootsuki, as the Academy that prides itself as using its own students as stepping stones to polish the one percent amongst them, will be nothing more than my team's stepping stone to stardom!"

"That's quite the declaration we-"

"I know, right!" Van quickly responded, still grinning ear to ear.

"Yes, quite, so ne-"

"So what questions do you have for me?!" the loud teen interrupted once again, causing Luka to stammer a bit.

"I-I, well, we'll get to that in-"

"No, yeah, cause I have another of these set up in like an hour, so the quicker the better!" Van added once again. He turned out to be even louder than Gautier, surprisingly enough.

"Well-"

"I'm sure you have plenty of questions from all out viewers about what my journey has been like over these last few-"

"Oh will you shut up!" the last member of the interviewees quickly cut in, her arms crossed against her chest and a massive glare aimed at Van. It was clear that one thing Dove Dillinger did not like was being forced to share the spotlight. "If you keep hammering on and on, we'll never get to what people really want to see, me!"

"Is that supposed to be a challenge Dillinger?!" Van quickly shot back, taking aim at the raven-haired girl.

"Oh please you shonen-stereotype, this is Japan, I don't have to compete with you for the spotlight," Dove responded with a knowing smirk. "I'm practically an anime girl brought to life. If I wasn't the master chef that I am, I could might as well be an idol. So don't you go thinking you'd have any popularity points over me in any timeline."

"She makes a most valid point," Gautier added, which caused Van to turn to him with a glare.

"You're the last person any girl would want standing up for them," Lucrezia snarked.

"You wound me Milady," Gautier mimicked a hurt tone, to which Lucrezia merely laughed.

"She's not wrong though," Linda added, as Gautier turned to her and voiced an over-dramatic "not you too" at her, as she tried not to but ended up giggling a bit in response.

"This is what happens when you're a lover and not a fighter," Gautier mused. "Always on the receiving end that I am. Any chance of getting some back up here, eh Grigory?"

Grigory said nothing.

"…Right, that's everyone!" Luka tried, really tried to get back control of his own show. These personalities were really way too large to keep them all in control at once, he was coming to learn. "So, let us begin our interview right away! You guys can answer in order if you wish," he told them, even if it sounded like he was begging, "Now, what most of our viewers are dying to know, is about the story behind you guys and how you all managed to get up to this grand stage, challenging the once thought invincible Tootsuki for the crown of best of the best. So… How did you guys came to be?"

"I actually joined Cocina Real back in elementary, way before-" Linda began, but was quickly cut off.

"I've been cooking since before I could walk!" Van stated, pointing to himself proudly with his thumb, trademark smile ever present. "My father was the best chef in all of England, until a career-ending injury stopped him from participating in that year's BLUE. As thus, I took-I was three by the way-I took up his knife and apron, and-"

"How is that going in order you spotlight hog?!" Linda quickly blasted.

"He said in order if we wished!" Van shot back.

"We kinda do though," Aisha added. "Not very polite to interrupt a lady."

"And of course the baby of the bunch in the bigger gentleman of said bunch," Dove said with a chuckle. Aisha's pout only made her laugh more. "…No offense Grigory."

"…None taken," was all Grigory said.

"Oh, and he speaks," Gautier mocked. "Guess it's only worth your while if it is in the form of a reply to a mademoiselle, although I must admit, I do not disagree with such an approach."

"Not everyone here thinks with only their second head Gauty," Lucrezia added, before she shifted her attention from her fellow challengers to the camera before her, her eyes narrowing as if she could see right through it and directly at the audience watching. "Besides, it doesn't matter who goes first, or who says what in this interview. It won't change the facts. Tootsuki falls in this next match, and the school you all overlooked over these past several years will be the one that finally takes that previously unwinnable crown."

As Lucrezia gave everyone the dire warning, all those watching could not feel the weight of her words more than the young blond currently sitting somewhere he really should not be sitting at. He could get in trouble. That much he knew, for simply being there without permission, Elite Ten member or otherwise. But still, for once, he knew he needed to bend the rules. To be there, with them.

Takumi looked at the screen, showing the interview as Luka tried his best to keep those seven proud characters from clashing with each other over and over, as a cold glass was offered to him from the side. "Oh, thanks."

"Lucrezia really commands all the attention, doesn't she?" fellow Scuola Dotata di Arti Culinarie alumni Valentino De Luca told Takumi, his eyes on the screen, as their queen spoke. Takumi nodded, still somewhat getting used to being in one of the hotel rooms assigned to the Italian challengers. His attention, however, was quickly focused elsewhere.

"Oh man," he said, taking a sip of the soda offered. "How I've missed this taste!"

"It's hard to find here in Japan, isn't it?" Valentino noted with a smile, signaling to the empty bottle on the nearby counter, labeled as "Crodino Twist", a brand Takumi had yet to see marketed anywhere near Tootsuki. "I cannot imagine how you lasted so long without getting homesick."

"Who says I wasn't?" Takumi said with a chuckle, before he drank the whole thing down within moments.

"Hey, mind your manners, Taku here is living the fancy life now, remember," a fellow member of the team quickly added. Aurora Costa was quick to tease, as she laid down on the floor, upside down, her eyes on the television set. "He's practically Tootsuki royalty, aren't ya?"

"As if," Takumi was quick to correct. "We're all in the same boat."

"Don't tease him Aurora," the elder Costa sibling, Alessandro, was quick to call his sister out, before he moved towards Takumi, stepping over Aurora, causing the girl to lash out at him almost stepping on her.

"My hair!" she screamed.

"Then move out of the way!" he shot back. "Anyways," Alessandro said, turning to Takumi, "You really should have seen our collective faces when it was announced that you were one of the Elite Ten."

"…You should have seen mine when we were told you guys had been accepted by the WGO," Takumi responded, shifting the empty glass in his hands, playing a bit with the leftover ice. "A little over a year ago there were only five schools outside of Tootsuki that held that title, and here you guys are. It's… insane."

"Its hard work being rewarded," the final member of the team, Marco Giordano said. The young man, same age as Takumi, sat at the far end of the sofa, opposite the latter. "Not all of us had the resources to jump to another country for education."

"Dude!" Alessandro quickly shot back, as Marco just shrugged.

"No, he's right," Takumi noted, pushing himself up from his seat. "I… I'm really happy to be able to spend time with you guys. And I wish you all the best."

"Are you going to be competing this next round Taku?" Aurora asked, turning to the blond. He motioned to answer, but couldn't quite come up with one, since even he didn't know.

"You know there's no hard feeling, right?" Valentino assured, placing a firm hand on Takumi's shoulder, and Takumi just nodded. "All of us, Lucrezia especially, understand why you're on that side. This won't be personal, I assure you."

"But if we win, we get Tootsuki right?" Aurora asked, as she flipped herself to better face Takumi. "Can't we just the officially enroll Taku as one of our students?"

"That's quite the jump you're doing there," Alessandro noted. "We have no idea what our Headmaster plans to do with Tootsuki and its students if we win."

"Once we win," Valentino softly corrected, and the siblings flinched a bit, before nodding. Takumi looked on, offering the group a polite smile, but it was clear to all those present it wasn't that happy a gesture. They all knew, even more-so than him, how torn he was at this all. So, at Valentino's request, they changed the subject, the conversation shifting to the past, to the life back at Italy, to the life they did have in common. And they all spoke, gleefully, laughing at the tales and stories from their homeland, until it was way past time that the Tootsuki student returned to his dorm, lest he risk getting caught trespassing.

So, saying his farewell, and wishing them the best, Takumi walked out, only to be met by the sight of the fifth member of the team, returning from the interview at the best and worst of times.

"Lucrezia," Takumi greeted, softly, almost as if he were apologizing.

"Going back already?" she asked, turning her head slightly to the side. He nodded.

"Yeah," he added. "Isami will never let me hear the end of it if I get kicked out of the Elite Ten for… this."

"…You should be here," Lucrezia flatly said, and Takumi just looked on.

"I know."

"You could have just said no," Lucrezia added. "You should have been part of this team, helping me lead this team in taking this absurd place down. A school which only focusing its attention on the top one percent of its students should never be held to such a regard."

"It's not like that," Takumi defended, "I know it looks that way. That they market it that way. And yes, they can be strict, but they really give us ample opportunities here."

"Opportunities for what?" Lucrezia asked with a scoff. "A dozen different ways of getting expelled? I mean, look at you now. You are one of their top ten students, and yet, if they catch you here, chances are you get kicked out. Well, with as desperate as they are, maybe they won't just so they don't lose another Elite member, but otherwise… well…"

"I know," Takumi said. "But I wouldn't have come here if I didn't know I could make the cut. Should I have been part of Scuola Dotata di Arti Culinarie, probably, but I can't change that now. I made this choice."

"You chose against your home," Lucrezia firmly stated, and she could see how Takumi tensed at every word. "You can still make this right… I would rather not see you lose in front of the entire world," she added, before she moved pass the boy struggling with his thoughts and emotions. She reached for the door, keycard on hand, before Takumi spoke up.

"Even if I don't compete," he said, "Tootsuki won't fall so easily. The Elite Ten… are not so effortlessly defeated."

The team leader just replied a few simple words, the disappointment evident in her tone.

"We'll see."

-0-

The long awaited date for the next match-up came quickly, and all the attention was focused solely on the third Shokugeki on this International affair. With the stadium once again filled to capacity, the hostess in place, and all the VIP guests slowly getting seated, all eyes were glued to the events about to transpire. The two teams were awaiting their cue, each gathered at their respective waiting room, getting prepared for the matches to come.

"Alright!" Erina said with a loud clap, calling for the attention of her team. Before her, the current team chosen for this next match-up consisted of herself, Kuga, Soma, Alice and Ryou, the last of which had been a last-minute, would-be substitution. Not that the mad dog minded, but she knew Nene had not been thrilled by her idea. "We've barely scrapped by these last two times, so if we are to get spirits up, we need a resounding victory."

"No wonder Nene's bringing out the big guns for this one," Kuga noted with a grin, as Erina pouted in response. "What? It's quite clear that you two princesses are the biggest draw out of any of us here. Even more so than they guy indirectly responsible for all of this here."

"What did Kurokiba do?" Soma asked, seemingly confused.

"He means you," Erina corrected, eyes narrowed. She suspected he was acting dumb, well, dumber, and the sly little laugh he gave out made it clear her suspicions were right on the money.

"We really shouldn't have any problems getting a steady win-flow here," Alice noted, with the brightest of smiles. "This time we have all of our members from the start, and with zero chances of getting stabbed in the back to boot!"

"What is Kinokuni going to do about that?" Ryou asked, clearly irritated, his eyes focused on Kuga, who merely shook his head.

"Not sure she can do much," he lamented. "Truth be told, we haven't even seen Shouko since before the second match. She skipped town on us, or something. Can't offer up a substitution if we can't even confirming our theory."

"Bullshit," Ryou barked.

"Settle down boy," Alice told him, her eyes on his pockets to keep him from placing his bandanna on his head. He was irate enough as is.

"Erina," Soma called out, and the blonde turned, her eyes showing a bit of surprise, at the sudden shift in tone in her boyfriend's voice. No anger, she noted, but a lot more serious than his usual attitude would suggest. "…Wasn't Takumi taking part today?"

"Well…"

-0-

"Well…?"

"I told you why I did this already," Takumi argued, before his brother could even finish a statement that Takumi could already read off his face. They were twins after all. "Isami, it's better this way. I don't want to… freeze up there of all places. Nene understood that. You, of all people, should understand it!"

"I do, actually," Isami noted. "It's just, unlike you."

"How?"

"You love the challenge," Isami explained, as he moved and took a seat right next to his distressed elder brother. The twins found themselves on the floor, right on one of the many halls that led to the stadium, halfway from the seats and halfway from the stage. "It's not like you to back down when things get rough. That's not the brother I know."

"It's not because of the challenge," Takumi corrected, his eyes firm but the gleam long gone. "Lucrezia's right, we should have been part of that team, getting them to be recognized by the WGO, being part of that. You know how proud they've made everyone back at home?"

"And you haven't?"

The question came not from the sibling seated next to him, Takumi was surprised to realize, but from a young girl who had appeared right down the hall. A girl he had gotten to know quite well ever since the Stagiaire period that had forced the two to team up, and then Soma's plight had kept the two as the most unlikely of teammates.

"Hisako?"

"I have to say," the secretary noted with a soft smile, and a hint of teasing in her tone, "That this is the last place I ever expected to find you," she added. "…Hey Isami, you doing alright?"

"Pretty much," Isami replied, a fond smile on his lips. He had grown really fond of this girl lately. "Just trying to do the impossible and make sense of my brother is all. You know how that goes."

"Oh, totally, you have my sympathies."

"I am still here," Takumi voiced as he stood up, but despite trying to sound annoyed, he sounded deflated instead. "I… Did Erina tell you?"

"Actually, I told her," Hisako corrected, taking a few steps until she reached the boy, standing right in front on him, her hands to her back, against her skirt, and her eyes focused solely on his. "I've been working up the… what I mean is, trying to find the words. We worked together for the Stagiaire, had it not been for you, I don't think I would have had the guts to go by myself to Megumi's aid. Nor would we have managed to help Soma as much as we did. So…"

"It was just the right thing to do," Takumi replied. He then paused, his mind still racing, but deciding that if anything, he was just causing unneeded concern to his team, so he'd best get out the way if he wasn't going to contribute anything. "This, this is just me being indecisive. But, I won't drag them down. This is still my team, my school. So I'll be here, cheering them-"

"Bull."

"W-What?!" Takumi blurted out, shocked at the suddenness of the interruption, and the choice word Hisako had uttered.

"I said bull," Hisako repeated, her eyes narrowed and the cutest frown present. He was trying to be serious, but in the end she looked more adorable than anything. "I don't want to curse, so add whatever suffix you want to that word, but leaving your team incomplete is the furthest from the right thing to do."

"Wait…" Takumi voiced, his expression still perplexed. "Are you mad at me?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Hisako shot back, and the blond flinched. "I competed in our cook-off lest you forget. I was among the students closest to the sales needed to pass, alongside Megumi and Subaru, and yet, we didn't make the cut. And why was that?" she asked, tilting her head, expectantly, eyes still narrowed, brow still furrowed.

"…Cause I got in?"

"Cause you got in," she repeated, affirmatively. "So, while not my ideal scenario, it was still acceptable. If I couldn't be amongst the Elite Ten, yet, might I add, I could at least take some solace in knowing that my ever-so dependable friend and partner would be there, making sure to serve as one of the pillars to the academy that I have called home since I was little. Or did you also forget, that unlike you two, I've been in this school since I was a kid? Almost as much as Erina herself. Heck, I've been in this place longer than Alice."

"…I, yeah, no, you're right," Takumi said, closing his eyes for a moment. "I know what you mean. I'd be pretty pissed at myself too. It's just…"

"Did you ever think why this third match was meant to be your first within the Intercontinental Shokugeki? Like, if we knew about your history with this other school, we could have just switched you with Akira, or Soma, or Ryou, and have you on the second match, so you could rest this one. Wonder why we didn't do that?" Hisako asked, and Takumi frowned a bit, since he hadn't thought of that at all. Once he was told he was going to compete today, he had been thrilled, until it hit him who it was he was going up against. It had been sudden, but Hisako's question was one he had not even pondered.

"Because you wanted me to decide…?" he tried his hand at guessing. Hisako merely laughed and shook her head.

"No, dummy, its cause we didn't even think it," Hisako admitted, and Takumi just stared, confused. "We were so focused on just placing our best people in their best places. It was… cruel of us, I'll admit, not to think of this a bit more thoroughly. Pitting you against them, if we had considered that, then maybe we would have done it differently. Well, maybe Nene would have, but… I don't think I would have."

Takumi stared, at the girl he never thought he'd have anything in common with, who had become, in her own words, his most trustworthy partner in this school, barring his own flesh and blood.

Isami just looked on, trying his best to hide his proud smirk, but failing miserably at it. It was just too cute a sight, and he'd tease the heck out of his twin later. Much later, once all of this was settled, right now, the knucklehead needed to hear this.

"If you can't do this, because it hurts, or because you don't want to crush them like we all know you would, then fine, just leave it to them, they'll understand," Hisako told him, and her tone was nothing but sweetness. "They're…We're not just your team, we're your friends. We'll always have your back. But, I swear, if you think even for a moment that we have any doubt that if you go out there, you'll do anything other than your very best, then that's just insulting."

"You really think, even after all this, that I'd be an asset to this match?" he asked, a faint little smile threatening its way onto his features.

"Not one of us would think the contrary," she replied earnestly. "I know you. I know why you're here, in the halls, not at the seats with the other Elite Ten members not participating. You want to fool yourself into thinking you're here looking for excuses not to participate, but really, you're just looking for the tiniest reason to do so. And, truth be told, who would be better against these guys than someone who knows their style first hand, right?" she added with a smile and a wink.

"She's got you there," Isami added.

"Also, if you weren't planning on participating," she added, turning her posture a bit, towards the case next to Isami. "Why is Mezzaluna sitting there?" The moment Hisako mentioned his trademark tool, Takumi turned briefly, before he shook his head with a little nervous laugh. "What?" Hisako added, "I took care of her for a little while back then, you can't hide her from me."

"That you did," Takumi responded, before he shook his head and straightened out his posture. "So, you think it would be for the best; that they would benefit from me being there."

"Don't make me slap you."

"I'm just trying to be clear here!" he joked, putting his arms up defensively. Still, Hisako only smiled.

"If I can't be there for Erina, for this school, the least I can do is make sure the guy who took my spot is," Hisako said, before she softly shook her head a bit. "No, the boy who earned that seat. It may not mean much to you, but that seat, that number, is precious to me. I would have given anything to have it… But, if it's you, I suppose I can hold out a little longer. Once I can confidently say I can beat you, I'm coming for it! But… right now, the Tenth Seat is in the best hands it could ever be."

Takumi just took a deep breath. He knew her words rang true, and he knew how, despite how conflicted he felt, that running away was never the answer. He turned to his brother, who without a word, merely lifted of Mezzaluna's case towards him, which Takumi slowly, but firmly took a hold of. It… felt a little heavier.

"Thanks Hisako," the blond boy told the girl, with a nervous smile and a firm nod. He took a deep breath, took a few steps towards their designated waiting area, before coming to a stop. He pondered, really pondered, and decided, what the heck? "Hey," he added, as she turned to him, both happy and somewhat curious. "If we don't get kicked-out in the following hours, you… want to maybe grab something to eat afterwards?"

"…Ah, I…" the girl tried, really she did. She had not been expecting the attention to shift to her all the sudden. "S-Sure," she faked the best confidence in that reply she ever could. He smiled, and it felt so genuine she forgot how to breathe.

"Then it's a date!" he replied, and went on his way.

The girl was left in a daze, eyes wide, merely voicing a "Like a date-date?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Isami answered for her, standing up right beside her, trying his best not to smirk at the blushing girl. He was so ready for that night and all the teasing material he was going to get out of it.

Leaving the two behind, Takumi quickly made his way towards the Elite Ten's waiting area, pausing just as he came in contact with the entrance door. Even from there, he could clearly make out the music from the arena, as they were moments away from bringing in Urara and starting the presentation, which made him tense a bit more than he'd be willing to admit. Shaking his head, he tightened his grip on both his Mezzaluna and the doorknob, and swung the latter open.

"-all there, every single chemistry play-set you wanted, it's all…" Erina paused her train of thoughts, having been previously directed at a pouting Alice, as both she and the others turned to the blond standing by the entrance. Takumi just narrowed his eyes. "Oh… Takumi."

"Sorry I'm late boss," he said with a playful smirk at Erina. "You would not believe the traffic."

"See… Told ya," Soma whispered at Alice, who quickly frowned.

"Still, it would have been so much cooler if he had shown up as we marched up to the arena," she argued, as softly as she could. Takumi wondered if either of them realized that he could quite clearly hear both of them despite their attempts.

"Well, well. Will wonders never cease?" Kuga voiced, sitting down on the table, arms and legs crossed. "You do want to partake in today's festivities after all, huh Takumi?"

"Wouldn't be here otherwise," Takumi said with a small smile, as he motioned to step into the room, before Kurokiba got in his way, the taller boy glaring right into him. "Got a problem, Kurokiba?"

"Thanks to you chickening out, I had to be dragged into this thing, on my day off too," Ryou complained, his tone dry. Soma quickly motioned to his side, but he was stopped by Alice tugging on his sleeve. She quickly gestured something, and it gave Soma pause. Erina just looked on, kinda figuring out what was going on. "Don't think you can just waltz in here and half-ass it out there. We're not going to forgive you if you lose and then whine that you couldn't bring yourself to take out your friends and all that shit."

"Who's going to lose now?" Takumi replied, his smile still present. He closed his eyes, took one last long breath, and said: "I got cold feet, I'll admit that much. But, I'm not about to leave my team hanging. So I'm not asking for permission. It's my turn to go, so move aside Kurokiba, unless you want to settle this the old fashion way first?"

Both Takumi and Ryou starred each other down for a moment, both silent, until Ryou suddenly scoffed and gave out the closest thing to a laugh he could. "Good, you are back, glad to see," he said, a total one-eighty from his prior tone. "Well, I'll be taking my seat with the rest," he said to the group before he walked right past Takumi, right before he placed his hand on the latter's shoulder, rather strongly but Takumi refused to complain. "Kick their ass Aldini."

"…You know it," the blond replied, and as soon as Ryou walked out the door, he turned to face his group. "…I'm sorry guys. But I really want-need to do this… If you'll have me. So, tell me where do I need to inform the change in participants? So that we can get started."

"Just take a seat, will ya," Kuga replied, signaling to one of the chairs. Takumi looked at him strangely, on the verge of asking something, but Erina's voice stopped him.

"There's no need to inform anyone of any change," she said. "As far as anyone's concerned, there never was any change to begin with," she added with a knowing smile. "You've been part of the announced team from the start, and none of us changed that."

"You may think you owe those guys something," Alice added with glee, "But we're your teammates. You're Tootsuki. And we know our own. We knew you'd have our back!"

"As we'd have yours," Soma concluded, stepping up to Takumi, hand extended. Takumi looked at him for a moment, before he shook Soma's hand firmly, for a moment, both boys recalling being on the opposite side, with Takumi coming out and saving Soma from not making it into the showcase in time. "Glad to have you on the team."

"Wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

"…Hey," Soma added, the tiniest smirk forming on his face. Erina felt a chill, but she'd refrain from acting out. Let boys be boys for once, she supposed. "Bet ya I can get more judges to vote for my dish than you can for yours."

"Oh, those are fighting words Yukihira," Takumi shot back, his eyes now lit, as both boys nodded to one another. Within minutes, the announcement was heard, and the teams were called onto the stage.

The third match of the Intercontinental Shokugeki had officially begun.

-0-

"How are we feeling today Tootsuki?!" Urara blasted onto the mic, no sooner than she had been given the green light by the Academy's current acting Headmaster. The crowd, all seated and anxious beyond words, began to cheer and applaud, much to the girl's joy. She flashed the crowd the brightest of smiles, perfected down to the wire, thanks to how much she loved the attention. Still, this was a serious matter, that much Urara knew, but part of her was a little less worried today. Why? It was obvious really. Not only was Soma once again a part of the team, a classmate of hers she had full confidence in, but even more-so than that, Erina Nakiri herself would be finally taking part in the Intercontinental Shokugeki. And she was simply unbeatable. "Welcome one and all," she added, before turning to the judges table, "And a fine welcome to our esteemed judges from the WGO."

The five all waved a bit at the comment, with Anne and Courage being the brightest smiles of the bunch, while Decora just looked on, her eyes glued at the screen, since she, like everyone else, knew just who it was that was scheduled to compete today.

As the crowds' cheers slowly died down, and Urara continued with her pre-prepared little motivational speech, the members of the Polar Star Dormitories all kept quiet, each lost in thought, tense at everything that was happening, but hoping for the best.

A quick, uneventful and totally one-sided victory. That was all they wished would happen.

Well, almost all of them.

Loren, for his part, prided himself in being able to act and lie his way out of even the most dangerous of situations. That was, after all, how he managed to score a gig as big as working under Azami after all. Not many could brag about managing to steal from said man right in his face, yet Loren had somehow managed. Granted, he had sort-of screwed it up later on, but it worked out. He had not gone hungry a single night afterwards. But… he had never quite been forced to face such a… strange opponent before either.

"…Why did you decide to seat next to me?" he muttered, his eyes still on his phone. His brand new, super expensive, thank-you-Dove-you-sure-took-your-sweet-ass-time-to-get-it phone. And he did not want it broken again. The little witch beside him just narrowed her single visible eye.

"What's wrong?" she simply asked. "I had thought we settled our differences already. Nothing wrong with me seating here, or is there…?"

"Now you're just fishing for something to spark an argument between us, not falling for it," Loren muttered back before he took out his headphones and placed them on, deciding that some music was the best cure for this headache of a dorm mate of his. "You just better have my assignments done. The crusty, old man's one is due tomorrow."

He couldn't help but smirk the way her face contorted as he spoke.

"Took you two long enough," Ikumi could be heard saying, at the approaching Hisako and Isami, which took the wind out of whatever curse Nao was about to fling Loren's way. The little witch decided to just ignore him for the time being her attention shifted briefly to the arrival of her favorite secretary, before she realized she really wasn't in the mood to even try and call out her would-be "big sis", before settling on refocusing her attention down at the arena and at the attention-hog that was Urara.

"We had something that needed our attention," Hisako replied, all smiles, before she took a seat and gave Isami a wink. "Right?"

"Yes," the younger twin noted, also taking a seat. "Did we miss anything?"

"Just Urara being Urara," Ikumi replied, her head on her hand, her back rested to the seat, slightly slouched. How could these people remain in these uniforms day in and day out. It wasn't even the afternoon and she already felt like she was suffocating.

"Soma's in this round too, right?" Yuuki asked, turning to Marui, who nodded.

"He said they didn't want any of them to go twice in a row unless absolutely mandatory, but…" Marui noted, his eyes narrowed as he shifted his focus to the Elite Ten. Or rather, the ones not competing this round.

"With Kinokuni out, Isshiki still injured and Kaburagi… well, being a bitch, one of the three had to compete," Ryoko added, while giving a shrug at Yuuki when she gave her a surprised look.

"We know that's not a bother for Soma," Shun stated, and Ryoko gave out a soft laugh.

"He's probably argued with Kinokuni about being in all the matches," she noted, to which the entire group felt like nodding at once.

"And let's bring in our next set of competitors!" Urara began, as the stadium began to cheer once more. It was finally time, they all seemed to think, as Urara motioned to the entrance for the challengers. "On our third day of the Intercontinental Shokugeki, all the way from Italy, the top of the top from Scuola Dotata di Arti Culinarie, our challengers everybody!"

The screen came alive, flashing the names of the five challengers that would be partaking in the day's events:

Lucrezia Russo

Valentino De Luca

Marco Giordano

Alessandro Costa

Aurora Costa

"And, responding in kind, we have our friends and defenders!" Urara continued, shifting her stance to signal to the entrance for the Tootsuki alumni, as her tone, despite her attempts at pure professionalism, got just a little bit happier. "Representing Tootsuki Academy, our classmates and reigning champions, give a loud cheer for the Elite Ten!"

And no sooner had she spoken, than had the screen changed, showing the names of the five who would be defending Tootsuki that day:

Terunori Kuga

Erina Nakiri

Soma Yukihira

Alice Nakiri

Takumi Aldini

As Urara's announcement still rang throughout the arena, the ten chosen competitors marched their way towards their respective area, with heavy cheers all-around. Out of the massive amount of screaming and clapping, the most common words that could be made out were quite clearly aimed at one single chef amongst the group, with words like "Milady", "Princess", "Queen" or "Goddess" being the most repeated.

No one had any doubts who they were being aimed at.

"Almost makes you think we're some sort of opening act for the real MVP of the group, eh?" Kuga said with a sheepish laugh, giving Soma a side glance, as the redhead merely shrugged.

"I'm kinda getting used to all the attention she commands by simply being… well, there," Soma noted, his eyes turning to his girlfriend, who walked towards their area with all the poise and elegance she always carried. The cheers and the calls to her, she was more than used to it all. It was expected by now, and for such an event, she needed to be even more focused than usual.

"I'll have you both know that some of those calls are for me," Alice added with a playful frown, as she turned to Takumi for a moment. "And you are not one to be outdone, it seems. Looks like your not-so little fan club is out there in full force."

Takumi shifted his eyes to the side as soon as Alice mentioned them. Indeed, the group of girls, well, mostly girls that had joined up under a banner of his name and picture were at the ready, with flags and shirts all branding his smug face, for some reason. He never did quite managed to learn how that club got started in the first place. He was flattered, really, but it seemed so strange. Then he looked to the opposing team, and he could tell they all had their eyes on him, for better or worse.

"So Taku's in this after all," Aurora noted sadly. The youngest of the group gave her brother a glance, as the elder boy merely shook his head.

"Nothing we can do, he made his choice," was all he said.

"This changes nothing," Lucrezia firmly noted. "We win this. But…" she paused, her attention shifting from Takumi towards Erina, who stood arms crossed at the center of their area, focused as ever. Valentino nudged at her, wondering what she was going to add, but Lucrezia merely shook her head. "It's nothing, let's just not lose our focus. We've come too far to get cold feet here."

Back at the seats, where the other competitors sat, the pre-match chatter was high, as everyone was outright ecstatic at being able to witness the Erina Nakiri finally compete. Wondering if she'd be able to live up to the massive hype surrounding her. Or would she be a complete disappointment, as most believed the ever regarded First Seat to have been.

But, out of all of them, the only one quiet was someone who had previously been nothing but loud.

Asahi looked on, his eyes fixated on his little sister. She looked prepared enough. They had, after all, been practicing not just for the matches, but for the upcoming dinner later tonight. He knew she had skills. And despite her attitude around him, her desperate attempts at being humble and modest despite being raised to be anything but, he could tell she prided herself in her immense talent. And he needed that side of her. He needed her to be the best. Only way he walked out of this with what he wanted, was if she was outright unstoppable by anyone outside of him.

"Is that brotherly concern I see in your eyes?" Dove asked, motioning towards him. Her tone was still dripping with sarcasm, something he had learned to ignore, but he'd best not act too out of character, less she go and spill the beans to father dearest.

"You think I'm above such feelings?" he asked in turn. "It's her first big match in this whole thing. Of course I'm worried for her."

Surprisingly Dove said nothing else. She merely smiled, before shifting her attention back to the stage. Asahi wondered if what he had said had sounded off, but he decided trying to force a conversation with this girl would feel even stranger. It was no secret that their little team of Noirs were the furthest from friends. So he'd best keep to himself. Anyways, come tonight, a big part of his plan would be put into motion, and not even his father would be able to counter him so late in the game.

"Now then, let's get this thing started!" Urara blasted into the mic, as the screens began to flash all the names of the competitors. It was decided to be random selection this time, chosen so by the Challengers of course, and Tootsuki had no arguments. "And our first match is…!"

Then the screen stopped flickering, and two names popped out.

The audience went completely silent for a good three seconds, before a massive roar of applause and cheer overwhelmed the arena. Everyone else, competitors and bystanders alike, all felt their bodies tense.

"…You've got to be kidding me…" Lucrezia could help but mutter.

"…Of course," Soma noted with a proud smile. Who else would be better?

Erina Nakiri vs. Marco Giordano

"Right off the bat, huh?" Anne noted, her fingers intertwined as she leaned forwards into the table. Decora frowned, her eyes shifting from the little blonde girl towards Azami, up above, wondering what that man would make out of all of this.

"I mean, come on," Marco couldn't help but whine the moment he saw his own name right next to hers, of all people. Why was he being tortured this way? What were the chances?

"Holy shit, you're screwed-ouch!" Aurora had begun, until her brother had pulled her hair rather strongly. She glared daggers at him, but said nothing else.

"Dude, like…" Alessandro tried, but he didn't much know what to say to negate what his sister had said. By all intents and purposes, she had a point.

"Ever since we got note of who our opponents were, we knew this was a possibility," Valentino quickly cut in. "We didn't come her to half-ass our victory and just pray we got the easy ones, otherwise we'd have chosen to be able to pick our opponents. Bringing down this place means taking her out. Are we clear on that?"

The other three nodded, as Marco took a deep breath to steady himself. Before he could motion to the arena itself, Lucrezia stopped him, hand on his shoulder. "We practiced this before. You know what you have to do," she told him, and grimly, he nodded.

"A resounding victory, right? Those were your words exactly," Kuga noted, turning to Erina. "Feeling confident in delivering just that in the next two hours?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Erina replied with a smirk, before she turned to her group. "Well, this is it. Let's do this."

"Best of luck," Takumi told her with nod.

"Of cou-Alice!" Erina quickly flared up, face red, as Alice had just given her backside a rather loud slap. "Can you not?!"

"Just go out there and make the family proud!" her cousin proudly told her, all smiles. "And, damn girl, you really are giving those workout equipment quite their money's worth. Pretty firm."

A still blushing Erina, who would really like to remind her cousin that they are on live television, so she'd be ever-so thankful if she kept her immature mannerisms to herself, or God help her she'd slap Alice back, just right across her smug face; decided to simply take a deep breath and move on.

"She's right, you know," Soma said, as he walked up to Erina. The blonde froze in place eyes wide, face getting redder still. For all his obliviousness at times, well, most of the time, Soma read her eyes pretty well, and with a laugh added, "Not talking about your butt. I mean about going out there and making the family proud. Or rather, proud-er. Relax, you got this."

"You…" she tried, her mind fighting back the urge to argue, from his casual reference to her backside as if it were nothing, to his cheeky little smile that still irked her at times; but in the end, she was happy he was there with her. And of course, it meant, that he had a job to do too, since she was going to compete and he needed to wish her luck. Not spoken, mind you, but…

"You okay?" he asked, at seeing her not moving to the stage.

Erina frowned. 'Am I okay he asks,' she replied to herself, refusing to voice her… well, intentions. Or desires, if you wanted to be shameless about it. 'Your girlfriend is about to go into her very first match in what is the biggest event in the Culinary World this side of BLUE, and you won't even have the common courtesy to even offer her a good luck kiss? I'm not asking for it, Soma Yukihira, so you'd better offer…'

"Did ya freeze?"

"I'm not frozen!" Erina spat out, childishly angry. "You are going to wish me luck, right?"

"You don't need luck," he said innocently. Stupidly, if you asked her. "You've got this in the bag! So don't worry."

"I'm not worried!"

"Then why are you…?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. She was still frowning, pouting and blushing all at once, and it made him wonder if he had done something wrong… again. "I really wish I could read your mind, but I really can't."

"You know what, forget it," Erina said with a scoff as she turned around, quite fast as to purposely smack him with her hair. He would have complained if he didn't find it so funny. And if her hair didn't smell as heavenly as it did. "I'll just have to content with-hey!"

"Wait," he quickly interrupted, taking hold of her by the waist, which was a bit more forward than what she had been aiming for. The moment he did, the talkative crowd quickly began to shift into murmurs and whispers, which caused the heiress to blush even more. "You're not mad at me are ya? Can't blame a guy for not being a mind reader, or because of a certain girl that is just so against saying what she really feels."

"Oh? Am I that girl?"

"Who else?" he noted, pulling her closer. "I still haven't heard the words it's delicious from you."

"And you never will," she said teasingly. It was a tone he rarely heard from her, but boy did it suit her.

"And you want me to wish you luck?"

"…Not anymore."

"Really now?" he asked with a laugh. She tried to keep her indifferent act in place, but being in his arms was really a weakness of hers. These many months later, and he knew just how to hold her. She couldn't quite manage to describe it. He motioned a little closer to her, wondering if it was that she wanted, and when her eyes widened slightly, he figured it indeed was. So he kissed her, and no sooner had she responded, had the entire arena flared up. Playful whistling could be heard throughout, as the cameras caught a second kiss between the biggest young couple in the culinary world, probably second biggest in the world outside of the surprise that was Shinomiya and Hinako, and debatably, maybe behind Eishi and Rindou.

It was just a quick kiss, lasting merely a few seconds, but it was enough. Really, she wondered, was that too much to ask for?

So they parted, and Erina gave him the biggest smile she could, and he felt like he really didn't want to let her go. He knew he should, but boy, this girl was as cute as she was stubborn, and he knew just how high the ceiling for the latter went.

"Good luck," he jokingly said.

"Don't need it," she jokingly replied. Then she turned, moving towards the arena as the crowd could still be heard whistling and calling out to them.

Erina had to outright stop herself from skipping towards the center of the stage, and no sooner had she reached it, than had a very smug-looking Urara approached her.

"My~my, now wasn't that something?!" the cheeky hostess quickly commented, before she motioned the mic to Erina. "Care to comment on-hey!"

Erina said nothing, merely playfully slapped the mic right out of Urara's hands, causing the girl to drop the thing, sending a huge, metallic clank to echo throughout the arena.

Soma laughed at the scene, all the while Alice cheered at her cousin and the others tried to keep a straight face. He did, however, feel a pair of eyes burning holes into him, and turning to the side, upwards at that, caused him to confirm his suspicions. There was Azami, up from above, staring down at him, and a very clear look of disapproval evident. Soma merely smiled, and offered the man a mocking salute, bumping his fist into his own chest, wink and all.

Azami did not look happy.

"Damn is that guy lucky," Alessandro noted. "Scoring a girl like that."

"He's lucky?" his sister argued, frowning. "She's the lucky one. That guy looks like my kind of trouble."

"Focus, both of you," Lucrezia quickly voiced, and the siblings quickly quieted down. Then, everyone turned back to the stage, as Erina and Marco stood face to face, for the beginning of the match.

"Quite the honor," Marco voiced.

"I'm certain it is," Erina replied.

"She could have just said no comment," Urara muttered to herself as she wiped the mic, before turning back to the audience. "Now then, let us begin! The first match of the third round of the Intercontinental Shokugeki, from Scuola Dotata, we have Marco Giordano!" she added, before signaling to the heiress, as the stadium erupted in cheer. "And, from Tootsuki's Elite Ten, the Goddess herself who needs no introduction, give a big round of applause to our Fourth Seat, Erina Nakiri!"

The screen flashed again, and the theme was chosen.

Caesar Salad

And no sooner had the word been given, than had both contestants moved to their respective areas, quickly taking out a batch of ingredients and beginning their prep-work. Erina started with the romaine lettuce, taking out a set and with quick knife work, slicing it into the proper diameters. Marco, on the other hand, began with the sauces, mixing and matching, and placing no less than six different saucepans to boil.

"They are certainly starting differently," Histoire noted, his eyes shifting from the sauces Marco was working on, to the fine knife-work Erina was currently engaged in.

Marco then took out one of the saucepans, setting it aside before he replaced it on the stove with a bigger pot of oil, setting the fire on high, and then, once it began to boil, setting down a whole chicken on it, causing the meat to scream the moment it touched the oil. The fragrance behind it began to fill the arena, and most chefs began to realize there was more than mere oil on that pot. Marco then shifted towards his vegetables, beginning his own process of cutting them to form, quickly, yet expertly. He had been almost done when he caught sight of her, and at that moment, he felt himself freeze up.

Erina took hold of several different meats, chicken, duck, salmon, rabbit, shrimp, beef and several others. She had placed them all on the counter top, and with each individual finger, softly caressed the proteins, before bringing the finger to the tip of her tongue. A simple touch, a simple taste.

The crowd froze. The idea of getting to see the God's Tongue herself in action was still a novelty to many. It was not something just anyone could witness. Yet, here she was, and at the moment her finger left her tongue, she quickly discarded all but two of the meats she had pulled out. Everyone looked on, surprised, as she threw everything else away and proceeded to cut and prepare her chosen two ingredients, washing her hands thoroughly before washing the meats and setting them aside to be spiced up and fried.

"Did she just throw away half our ingredients?" Kuga noted, also taken aback.

"Relax, we get restocked before each match," Alice replied.

"They must have been of inferior quality, I guess…" Takumi assumed.

"…That's Erina for ya," Soma simply said, his eyes never leaving her. After all this time, he still loved seeing her work. Her motions, her focus, it was all so fantastic to witness.

Feeling the immense pressure from her display, Marco proceeded to focus fully on his craft, finishing his massive prep and turning towards the final touches. He took out the cooked chicken, browned to perfection, and begun to slice into it. He had to be careful. The cuts must be perfect, less he risk the juices flowing out and it losing flavor. And that was something he could not allow if he had any hope of defeating Erina Nakiri.

The princess, on her end, cut each shrimp free of their tails, slicing four at a time, one finger holding onto each, as the knife came down and gave a clean cut. She then pushed them to the side, onto a bowl, before she cut four more. Once she was done there, she took hold of her other main meat, the lamb chops. She took hold of the spices she had, taking careful note of each one with just a little taste, and proceeding to make very small cuts into the skin of the lamb, before sprinkling in the spices, herbs and salts. The small cuts gave room for said powders to lodge themselves into, and once she was done, she threw it in the fryer. The oil went wild, spitting right out, but she had been doing this for years, so she knew what to expect. The pot's lid served as an effective shield, protecting her from those burning droplets, before she continued to turn the lamb chops over and over, not allowing them over a minute to sit before she shifted them again. She held onto them, so no spot was without the proper temperature. And, once she believed it was ready, she tossed the shrimp in, mixing with the lamb, and creating a very strong aroma which outright eclipsed Marco's own.

Then the timer went off, and the match was officially over.

Marco presented his dish, a Cajun Chicken Caesar, a name that hid what it was that was hidden in the oil.

Erina, meanwhile, presented not a dish, but a glass stuffed with veggies, shrimp, lamb, sauces, croutons and cheese. She called it True Gourmet Caesar Salad – Surf & Turf Edition.

"…That's quite the small portion," Charme noted, his eyes on the glass Erina had served them. Just one glass, hardly enough for a drink for one, clearly not enough for a meal for five.

"This is all you need," Erina replied, a small smile on her lips. "World Gourmet Organization as you may be, if you desire to taste more of my dishes, you will have to pay for them."

"This cheeky little…" Decora voiced, frowning at the heiress before her, all smug and sure of herself, while Anne merely gave out a chuckle.

"She is entitled," Anne noted. "But, I cannot blame her. Let's give each of these dishes a try then, shall we."

"Let's…" Histoire agreed, and soon enough, all five took a bite of each dish, limited as Erina's was. Marco's dish was grand, perfectly cooked and spices, with the right flavors and perfect hidden taste that gave it the correct push into deliciousness. In any other case, he'd be the clear winner…

…but he was against Erina Nakiri.

"~Oh, fu-dge," Anne caught herself, reminding herself she was on live television, representing the WGO to boot. But she could barely help herself, as no sooner had she gotten a taste of Erina's dish, had her whole body weakened considerably. She felt her knees shake, her legs give way, and her vision start to blur. It was insane, the texture, the flavor, the scent, all of it so intoxicating, so mesmerizing, so damn good.

The five struggled to keep their emotions in check, and to keep the sense of heat slowly building within their bodies to a minimum, less the risk the chance of stripping off their clothing in an attempt to cool off. Such a display, while a standard for Senzaemon to a safe-for-work extent, would be unbecoming of elite members of the WGO such as them. Even so, Anne really struggled against the urge of simply blacking out, drunk on the flavor that was Erina Nakiri's masterpiece.

"Umm, judges…?" Urara voiced, unsure of what to do. 'I mean, I know people tend to over react when judging the dishes here, it is part of our working culture and all that, but they look like they're outright about to or-'

The screen then flashed the match's winner, and to the surprise of no one, it was a unanimous vote.

Winner: Erina Nakiri.

On a five-to-nothing vote.

"That's how it's done!" Soma quickly roared, as the stadium exploded into applause once more.

"She is still incredibly frightening," Takumi noted, still a little sympathetic at poor Marco getting the short end of the stick.

"And she held nothing back," Alice said with a hearty laugh. "Good thing she got a decent theme. Can you guys imagine if she had gotten Fast Food instead?"

At this both Soma and Takumi began to laugh a bit, while Kuga simply turned his focus onto the opponents, who despite their overwhelming loss, looked not all that shocked. "…Don't let your guard down young ones," he told them, causing the three to stop joking around and turn to their senior. "When Nene got disqualified right off the bat, it's kinda an understatement to say we were all totally caught off-guard. So shocked I had to get screamed at by her to notice something was amiss. They, on the other hand…"

"…Look like they were expecting it," Takumi noted, his eyes now focused on his friends from back in the day, and at the steely look on Lucrezia's eyes.

"You guys think they planned to lose to Erina?" Soma asked, his head tilted slightly. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Not sure that's it," Takumi replied. "More like… they could have contingency plans of some sort."

"Constin-what now?"

"Oh, come on Soma," Alice quickly added, eyes narrowed at the redhead. "You've read a lot of manga, you should know what that word means. Think Death Note or something."

Erina slowly approached the group, a wide, pleased smile on her face, as the four quickly congratulated her. Alice was the first, quickly pulling her into a tight hug, which did fluster the elder princess a bit. "Alice, really…"

"You did great!" Alice told her cousin, holding onto her warmly. "So proud of you."

"…Yeah," Erina replied, her eyes a bit softer. She was used to complaining whenever Alice did something stupid, which was most of the time, but for once, she really did want that hug. So, she hugged back, pressing her own head onto Alice's nape. She said nothing, and Alice, while surprised, just let her rest a bit. Once they parted, Erina's eyes went upwards. The crowd was still celebrating, cheering on what they saw as a return to form after the way their First Seat had been eliminated. But, she could also see two certain people she really had been meaning to impress.

There was her father, slow clapping, and his eyes at her.

And there was her mother, sitting back, stoic as usual, but the moment she met her daughter's eyes, she simply nodded and offered her the tiniest of smiles.

It wasn't much, but it was progress.

The screen began to flicker again, signaling the start of the next match. Everyone present tensed, and while the candidates' names flashed across the screen, Erina moved right next to Soma, who wordlessly just tugged at her sleeve, giving her a knowing grin which she responded with her own smile. They didn't say anything else to each other at this point. Then, it was decided.

Terunori Kuga vs. Valentino De Luca.

"Here's to keep the wins coming along!" Urara perkily announced. "For the second match of the third round we have Valentino De Luca from Scuola Dotata!" she added, before shifting to the Third Seat. "And, from Tootsuki's Elite Ten, we have our ever popular Third Seat, Terunori Kuga!"

With a simultaneous pat on the back by both Soma and Takumi, a rather loud cheer from Alice, and a nod of acknowledgement from Erina, Kuga moved towards the center of the arena, where he was met with the eldest looking of the invading bunch, Valentino.

"There's still time for you guys to surrender, you know?" Kuga offered jokingly.

"Don't patronize us, friend," Valentino simply replied, his tone dry. As Urara called out to the theme of the match, the screen began to flicker once again, and soon enough both candidates had their objective.

Broccoli

"And we have the theme!" Urara announced with the brightest of smiles. "Contestants, to your stations! The match begins!"

Kuga immediately moved to his area, taking out a large bag of fresh broccoli, before he set it aside. He felt a little at ease, since he had not gotten an outlandish ingredient or theme, lucky him, but that also meant… '…It's quite easy for him to cook something up as well. Tootsuki prides itself in the absurd at times, so simplistic selections can be a double-edged sword if one is not careful.'

"Something on your mind," Valentino voiced, his back still turned to Kuga, on his own area, already carving away at a fine piece of chicken breast. Kuga just gave him a smirk. "I can feel your eyes on me," Valentino added, "Getting cold feet?"

"Nothing wrong with sizing up you opponent," Kuga retorted, as he placed a large white block on the middle of his cutting table. With a simple flick of the wrist, the spiky-haired chef twirled out his chef's knife and proceeded to cut the tofu into perfectly even cubes.

For all his bravado, Valentino couldn't help but frown at the display. Not because of how skillfully Kuga had made the cuts nor how quickly he had done so, since, while impressive, it was not something he himself couldn't do. But rather, what unnerved Valentino was how Kuga had not once taken his eyes off Valentino. All those cuts, so perfect, and not once had the Third Seat even looked down at the board.

"You getting cold feet?" Kuga shot back.

"…Hardly," Valentino coolly replied.

"Seems our senior is getting serious," Takumi noted, his eyes shifting from the match to the side, where the opposing team stood, all four fully focused on the match.

"He makes it look easy," Soma said with a little smile, as Erina shifted her focus from Kuga to his opponent.

While true that Valentino seemed momentarily shocked, he nevertheless recovered quickly, managing to get back to his technique and proceeded to make a fine cut to the entire chicken breast, slicing it clean in half with just one fell swoop. Then, with the same motion, he chopped it into pieces. Clear cut, square pieces.

"Now that feels like you're just mocking me," Kuga noted, smirk still in place, as he signaled to Valentino's diced meat and his own cubed tofu. Valentino merely shook his head.

"An absurd claim," Valentino simply responded. "You just got ahead of me; that is all…" Valentino said, and while he seemed like he wanted to leave it there, he still took the time to pause and turn to Kuga fully, slightly surprising the other chef. "…But I will admit something. We do owe you students of Tootsuki some credit to our success. You do have a very effective system."

"Oh?" Kuga said, "Is that praise I hear?"

"You can take it as mockery if you wish, but it is the truth," Valentino continued. "We would never had polished our skills to this extent if we had not copied your school's working formula. As the grandson of the current Headmaster of Scuola Dotata di Arti Culinarie, I feel obligated to give credit where it is due."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kuga asked, turning fully to Valentino. He was honestly curious, since it was the first time he was hearing any of this. "What system did you guys copy? The Shokugeki? Because I think we have a trademark on that…"

"No, not your battle system," Valentino replied, his eyes narrowed. "But your rankings. The Elite Ten, creating your student council out of the top of the top, such a simplistic and primal motivator, yet so effective. We ended up practicing and studying like crazy, just to be amongst our school's own top students. Hence, what you see before you, us five, we are like you, ranked from one to five."

"Huh? They're ranked like us?" Alice asked, titling her head to the side. She turned to Takumi, who practically read her mind.

"I had no idea they had classified themselves as such," he answered earnestly.

"Not that it matters," Erina noted, her arms crossed against her chest and her eyes closed. "Mimic as much as they like, the system my grandfather created is not something that can be that easily replicated. Their ranks pale in comparison to our equivalent for it to be-"

"That's so damn cool," Soma mused, his eyes already glowing as they stared at the opposing team, already trying to decipher who was what number and praying that he'd get to duel against whoever was Número Uno.

"Can you not praise such a blatant plagiarism of my family's legacy?!" Erina quickly argued, annoyed, as Soma just pouted.

"But it sounds like a cool system."

"It's the same one we have!"

"Yeah, but like, and evil version of ours… well, not evil per se…"

"…You can be such a child sometimes…"

"Power rankings are exciting," Soma argued, "You can't deny that!"

As the couple argued about the finer points of their school's shared power dynamics, Kuga had long returned his attention back to his dish, even if his curiosity had been peaked. He had not quite been expecting another school to make their system theirs, even if it was by just half. 'I feel little Erina's annoyance, but I have to agree with Yukihira on this. It is tempting to figure out who is ranked where. My current opponent did say he was the Headmaster's grandkid, so it would not be surprising if he was seated first… but…' Kuga thought, before his eyes shifted to the side, towards the opposing team, and the young woman who stood right smack in the middle of them. 'Lucrezia Russo. She's the Team Leader, according to our documents, so if I were to make a guess…'

"It won't matter, not for long anyways," Valentino suddenly added. "This match decides pretty much everything. Unlike Tootsuki, our ranks actually do reflect our skill."

"…What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means we don't have a First Seat that can't even win a single match," Valentino replied with just the slightest hint of mockery in his tone. If he had been expecting a reaction from Kuga, he didn't quite get it. Not the way he expected anyways. The smile faded, and his eyes sharpened. It was almost like a completely different person had shifted in for him. Kuga went back to his dish, and with a strong gesture, tossed all the tofu into the pan, bringing it into a boil just enough to color it before flicking it out, creating the prettiest golden cubes of tofu that looked almost like jewelry.

"And we're reaching the halfway point!" Urara could be heard announcing, as Nene looked down at the scene before her. From up on their area, she could still clearly hear everything that was being said, thanks to the sound system at play. And she couldn't help but somewhat agree with it.

"Pay him no mind," Isshiki whispered to her ear, but it did little to alleviate her. "He's just trying to get a rise out of us. Out of Terunori."

Nene gave Isshiki a look that hurt him inside, but she said nothing, merely turned back to the match. Kuga was focused, overly so. He was livid, that much he knew, but he also knew that getting pissed off was not overly helpful in the situations. Well, maybe for Kurokiba, but outside the mad dog, chefs were more probable to make mistakes if they let their emotions cloud their judgment.

But even so…

"So I get you as a partner," Kuga said, less a question and more a disappointed remark, which caused the girl behind the glasses to glare at him as soon as she heard his voice.

"We are not partners," Nene clarified quickly. "The Stagiaire is meant to evaluate students on an individual basis. This is not a team assignment. So if you can, please do not distract me any further," Nene said, and with a soft little scoff, pushed her way right past him and into their assign restaurant, leaving the boy seriously annoyed.

"What crawled up her butt?" he muttered, before he sighed and merely went inside. If he wanted to make it big it Tootsuki he needed to focus on improving, not particularly on making friends.

But, both would soon come to learn, a restaurant's kitchen cannot be helmed alone. When rush hour hit, both found themselves running around, caught out of their element, desperate to get the orders out and the work done. And when left with no other choice… forced to depend on the other. Nene was better with mixing, Kuga was better with prep. Nene was slow looking for things in the fridge (her glasses fogged up in an instant), while Kuga had never polished a stove before. Also, they both were unable to reach the upper counter to save their lives, so Kuga had to lift Nene and help her get it… why neither thought to ask for a ladder was beyond them.

Thankfully the JISHA never caught wind of that.

"That… was… insane…" Nene said between gasps of air, as the two sat of the floor, their shift over, alongside any remaining strength in any of them.

"No joke… Did you see that order…? For table 14? Dude that ordered… for a family of seven…?" Kuga asked, also out of breath, his uniform and apron stained and grease, and his usual spiky hairdo even messier than usual thanks to being forced to wear a cap all day long.

"…Yeah, very precise with his orders. Quite picky a guy…"

"Yeah, and it was just him."

"What? No way, that's way too much food."

"No joke, it was just one dude."

"How'd you even…?"

"When I took my break, saw him stuffing his face," Kuga replied, mimicking the man. "Man seemed like he was made of rubber, with how much his cheeks could expand."

"Oh, so we ended up serving Luffy, makes sense… What? Is there something in my face?" Nene asked, as Kuga's eyes had widened and he was looking at her like she had grown a second head.

"…You know One Piece?" he asked like if it was the revelation of a lifetime.

"Of course I do," Nene replied, then caught herself, and with a small blush, added, "I mean, I have read a bit of it."

"Who's your favorite character?!" a now energized Kuga quickly asked her, and Nene realized her mistake. But, try as she might, there was no going back. The two twerps of their year, bonding over manga and a long day's work.

"And Valentino has come forth with his dish!" Urara announced as the Italian chef placed his plate before the judging table, as the members of the WGO took note of the very gourmet-looking pasta. Anne was moments away from speaking, when a very intense aroma hit her, hit all of them, as they saw Kuga approach the table as well, his dish steaming so much it seemed like it had been set ablaze.

Valentino looked on, eyes wide, at the sight before him. It was Mapo Tofu, of that he had no doubt, but it was so red and so vibrant that it looked like outright magma. 'I haven't even tasted it, and yet, I feel my throat drying up…' Valentino noted with a grim look on his face.

"And what do we have here?" Anne asked, as she looked up at the two competing chefs. Having presented first, Valentino was the first to speak.

"That is my Organic Chicken Orecchiette Pasta in Broccoli Sauce," Valentino declared, a fierce look in his eyes.

"And this is my…" Kuga began, a seemingly meaningless conversation from two years ago echoing in his mind for some reason.

"Favorite character?" Nene repeated, a little geeky smile on her face despite her attempts at hiding it, "W-Well, if I had to pick, it is a rather obvious choice, I mean… I am a chef, after all…"

"…Mapo Tofu – Diable Jambe Edition," Kuga declared, as the fiery tofu and broccoli mix seemed to flare up, intoxicating the entire arena with its intensity.

"That idiot," Nene muttered, but she couldn't quite hide the little smile on her face. Isshiki looked on, a very proud smile on his face.

The judges then proceeded to take a taste of both dishes, which proved an extremely difficult affair, as the dishes turned out to be almost polar opposite, and as such, very difficult to judge against each other. Even more so, Kuga's dish outright redefined what spicy meant, and it was so very hard to swallow, yet… even so… almost addictive in its powerful flavor.

"~Oh… Goodness…" Courage almost moaned. "This is outright unfair. First Lady Erina's dish, then this… I can barely keep my head from spinning."

"…It's quite the flavorful whiplash," Histoire agreed, feeling as if smoke was coming out of his nostrils and ears with every bite.

"I can't even…" Anne tried, but it was too hard. The tasting of both dishes, so distinct in flavor, yet so good in their own way, was like being tied to opposite cars and pulled at the same time. At some point, something was going to break.

"Seems like we are at an impasse!" Urara declared, signaling to the judges, doing her best to keep her hand from shaking with worry. 'Just hurry up and declare Kuga the winner!'

"I… I give my vote to Valentino," Decora announced with her arm barely raised. The woman looked intensively flustered. "It is a close call, but I feel that his dish has a more versatile usage and taste as opposed to the Third Seat's."

"…I would have to agree," Charme declared, giving Valentino his vote as well. "But, it's so close… I don't think I'll ever be one hundred percent sure of my selection today."

"Wait! This is bad, isn't it?!" Alice noted, her eyes wide, as Erina, Soma and Takumi frowned while looking at the results screen, showing Valentino with two points already. Just one more, and it was game over.

"He's doing it!" Alessandro cheered, as Aurora bounced up and down in joy, while Lucrezia kept her eyes glued at the judges. They needed one more, just one more vote…

"…I'll have to disagree," Histoire noted, wiping his sweaty brow with a personal handkerchief. "While I agree it is close, I have to give my vote to Terunori's dish. That taste is not easily achieved, and for that display of talent, he has my vote."

"Right?" Courage added, "I can't hardly ever stand spicy foods, yet this is absolutely ravishing. So, my vote also goes to Tootsuki's Third Seat!"

'It's a tie!' nearly half of the student body thought in unison, as all eyes fell on Anne, who looked visibly struggling with her thoughts, a massive achievement for both participants given the pedigree of the judges at that table.

'Come on!' Kuga screamed in his head, his expression fierce as ever.

'Please, so damn close!' Valentino thought as he dug his own nails into his palm, almost drawing blood.

"…This is quite possibly one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make on my career, and it's a scary thought considering this could still be only day three of seven, but, if choose I must, then my vote goes to…"

And the result was given, and the crowd was silenced.

Winner: Valentino De Luca.

"No…" Nene outright whimpered.

"Terunori…" Isshiki voiced, his eyes narrowing.

"While both dishes were delicious," Anne explained. "I personally feel Valentino's had a stronger focus on the theme of the match. That sauce was a splendid answer for this match."

"I… Ah…" Urara failed to properly enunciate, before she bit her lower lip and forced herself to carry on. "A-And the winner of the Shokugeki is Valentino De Luca! And with this… Our Third Seat, Terunori Kuga is e-eliminated from the International Shokugeki!"

Whispers and murmurs began to surround the arena. Everyone was in outright shock, outside of a select few of the challengers of the other schools, who could be heard applauding and cheering at the score.

"I can't believe it…" Yuuki muttered, as she and the other Polar Stars stared in disbelief. "Kuga's… like, one of Isshiki's best friend. And he's pretty much just as good a chef as him. How could this happen?"

"I don't even know," Ryoko voiced, while the rest all looked on, horrified.

Kuga just stood there, his eyes wide, blank. His mind was still processing it all. He… had lost. He had come so close, it had come down to the wire, and yet, he lost all the same. Even after he gave it his all, even after he tried so hard to defend their honor. Her honor. He didn't snap out of it until he caught sight of the extended hand aimed his way.

"It was a marvelous match," Valentino offered, and for all his earlier snark, the Italian chef sounded sincere, as the worry in his eyes had not yet fully vanished even after his victory had been declared.

"Y-Yeah," Kuga responded, taking his opponent's hand and giving it a firm shake. "That was nail-biting to the very end. Congrats," Kuga added, "…But, now I get what it was you guys had your pal do when he went up against our princess…"

The members of the Elite Ten down at the arena, all turned their focus to the young man Erina had beaten, Marco, who simply smiled and nodded.

"How observant," Valentino noted. "Indeed, Marco did us the favor of preparing the six sauces we mostly use in all our dishes. While we cannot use the ones he made, of course, given how we are unused to the equipment here, it helped seeing him make them here; that way we could all get firsthand knowledge on what to do and what not to do."

"The heck?!" Alice quickly shouted out. "You used your own teammate as a test subject to make sure you guys got better results!" As Alice waved her fist at them in anger, Soma turned to Takumi, since the blond seemed to have his eyes dead set on Lucrezia upon hearing this.

"That's the problem with you Tootsuki lot," Marco replied, turning to the younger heiress. "You all believe in your own hype way too much. As the Quinto Studente, it is my role to make sure my peers are able to claim victory. A small sacrifice, which proved fruitful."

"Quinto?" Soma repeated, tilting his head to the side.

"It means fifth," Takumi explained.

"My… how utterly ruthless," Kuga noted, but simply shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets, turning back to Valentino. "But, whatever floats your boat man. Still…" he added, turning to Marco. "If he's number five, which one are you? First, or Second?"

Valentino simply smiled, and upon raising his fingers into the air, the members of the Elite Ten felt a chill run down their collective spines.

Four.

"Sorry, but I am just the humble Quarto Studente," Valentino told the shocked Kuga. "While I may be the Headmaster's family, nepotism is not something we tolerate back home. Although, to be fair, your own heiress shares my number, so there is something poetic in that, I imagine."

With those words spoken, both competitors returned to their side of the stage, as Soma was quick to place his hand on Kuga's shoulder. Kuga gave the younger boy a knowing smile and nod, before he took a huge sigh. "Guess I messed up, so much for us older students taking care of our adorable juniors."

"You did your best man," Soma replied, tightening his grip on his senior's shoulder.

"Not your fault those guys use their own as fodder!" Alice added.

"It was a good match," Erina also said, as she took a step closer to her teammate. "It was my mistake in not noticing that little stunt. Had I done so, I could have warned you against what we now know is their specialty," Erina explained, as her eyes focused on the saucepans being switched out for new ones by the assistants of the WGO. "Those six sauces, had I been more focused on my opponent, I would have been able to identify them. Maybe I could have prepared you better."

"Nonsense," Kuga replied. "No one could have guessed that. And I don't think they'd allow you to stick your tongue inside their six pans anyways."

"That's not what I meant!"

Kuga just laughed at Erina's blushing face, before he turned to face the screen, since it had just begun flickering. The next contestants were about to be chosen. At the moment the screen stopped, everyone tensed. Because out of everyone from that team, this was clearly the most unpredictable force, and both friend and foe knew it. And he couldn't help but smile.

Soma Yukihira vs. Alessandro Costa.

"Our next match has just been announced!" Urara blasted into the mic, signaling the chosen opponents. "From Scuola Dotata, we have Alessandro Costa! And, from Tootsuki's Elite Ten, you know him, you love him, you can probably pin all the blame of this damn thing on him! The one, the only, the Seventh Seat, Soma Yukihira!"

"Was all of that completely necessary?" Soma jokingly called out to Urara, who merely turned and stuck her tongue out at him. Soma was more amused than anything at hearing a few scattered laughs all around. At least that helped improve the overall mood, he noted.

"You don't need me to wish you luck, do you?" Erina asked with a small smile, as Soma just laughed at the comment.

"Do I get a kiss, or…?"

"Just go!"

"Yeez, one-sided relationship much," he joked, as he began to move towards the stage's center. Takumi gave him a knowing nod, Alice cheered as much as she could, and Kuga added a simple:
"Avenge me!" in a somewhat over-the-top tone. But he didn't need to hear that. He was fully prepared to get back at them for having eliminated Kuga, and as he faced down his opponent, a part of him couldn't help but ask: "I'm guessing your Team Leader over there is your number one student, so which one are you, two or three? I should be hoping you'd at least be the third, but…"

"No need my friend," Alessandro assured with a smile, "I am the Secondo Studente."

"Yeah, I figured," Soma noted with a massive grin.

Then the screen began to flicker again, as the theme or ingredient for their match was to be chosen. Everyone in that arena tensed up again, hoping against hope that the ever unpredictable Soma Yukihira could pull one out of the bag like he usually did. His confident smile did alleviate some, at least, since if he felt so secure, they could be too.

'I can't make any mistakes this time. This is going to be one of the toughest matches of my career,' Soma thought, as he started holes into the screen. 'Kuga's one hell of a chef, and this guy is two ranks above the one who won against him, so I have to give it my all. If only, I could get a simple dish or ingredient. Something simplistic that I could have room to modify. I can then match and exceed those sauces of theirs. Just, please, give me something I can work with… Give me-'

Then the theme was chosen.

"Oh come on!" Urara shrieked.

"You can't be serious," Takumi lamented.

"Like, seriously?" Alice noted, placing her palm on her forehead.

"It's…" Erina tried, but there really was no looking at it from any positive angle.

"That could have gone better," Kuga said, a very clear understatement if there was any.

Soma just looked, his left eye involuntary twitching like crazy.

Pizza.

"How unlucky can one guy be?!" Yuuki called out from the seats, as slowly, everyone could be seen sweating bullets at the implications of Soma taking a professional Italian chef in one of Italy's biggest trademarks.

"Soma…" Megumi voiced, having already unknowingly started her little habit of writing the word "win" on her palm and swallowing the imaginary text.

"…W-Well," Soma tried, turning to his opponent, knife in hand, forcing himself to move. "Let's do this. It's quite exciting to take you on with such a theme, don't you think?"

"Dude, you don't have to force yourself," Alessandro simply told him. "You totally look twitchy as hell."

"Who's twitchy?" Soma asked, just as his left eye twitched once more. It… was not the show of bravado he wanted to put on.

'Well, unemployment, here I come,' Urara thought grimly, before she took back the attention with her announcement: "Third match, begin!"

Soma quickly rushed to the kitchen, doing his best to drown out all the worried murmurs that surrounded the entire arena, since he knew no amount of whining could change the hand he was dealt. He just needed to improvise, like he always did. Plus, he knew his opponent's biggest strength. The sauces, he'd surely make a pizza that focused on that, so he needed something to either compete or negate that effect on the judges. 'Either go for something equally saucy,' he planned, 'Or, completely dry. Which would be better?'

Alessandro began with the dough, his dish already set in his mind. He flipped, pressed, squeezed, mixed and manhandled the ingredient like he had been doing this since childhood, and in no time at all, he had it all set out, ready to be prepped. Then he took hold of the ingredients, with tomatoes and different cheeses being the most plentiful… and then he took out a very familiar tool. A very fine looking Mezzaluna.

Soma couldn't say he was all that surprised, but still, seeing that on an opposing side was still a bit unnerving.

And just like he had seen Takumi and Isami wield it, Alessandro effortlessly cut his ingredient perfectly, so quickly that he looked more machine than man. In no time, Alessandro was done with his prep, which put a massive strain on Soma, who was still struggling with choosing a dish, going back and forth within his mind and not being able to pinpoint a surefire winner. 'This is bad, this is no time for a chef's block,' he criticized, biting down on his lower lip to try and force himself to make up his mind. To pick something and commit.

But, when his mind seemed clouded to the extreme, he heard a somewhat familiar voice call out to him. It was not someone he had even expect to hear, and by the look of his team, the judges, and even most of the audience, neither had anyone else really.

"Don't you dare lose!" little Aisha called out, edging out of his seat and against the railing, with his older brother Hakeem holding him by the tip of his skirt to keep him from toppling over. "You won against me, if you lose, then that means I also lose! I don't care about this school, and I really hope you all lose, but not you! You hear me!"

"Seriously?" Keelan gave the youngest Akintola a very annoyed look, but Aisha paid him no mind.

"Soma got quite the magnetic personality huh?" Alice noted with a smile, "Even I have never gotten an opponent to cheer me on like that!"

"He's… good with kids," Erina replied, recalling just how excited to see him little Kanon had been back at the cruise. She wondered how the little girl was doing, it had been quite a few months since she saw her last. Any of them really. How time flies, she noted with just a little ounce of nostalgia.

Soma looked on, before he gave his worthy rival a knowing grin. "You got it!" Soma replied with his fist into the air. He then pulled onto his bandana tied around his arm, and quickly (and somewhat dramatically) tied it around his forehead, having been too caught up earlier with his chosen theme to do it. But, that little "cheer" had been enough to snap him back to reality. Then, he turned to the judges, surprising them a bit. "Hey, quick question!"

"Uh… yes?" Anne asked, tilting her head slightly sideways.

"I know you guys don't want outside interference," Soma explained as he raised his finger to illustrate his point. "But is sharing tools between teammates such an offense?"

"Sharing tools?" Decora repeated, almost prepared to say "no" to whatever it was this kid was plotting. But, of course, the other four where not as "strict" as she was.

"So long as no one helps you with the dish itself, it should be fine, right?" Histoire noted, turning to the others. Both Anne and Charme nodded, while Courage only looked on, her attention still on Aisha and wondering if she could somehow adopt the kid.

"Great!" Soma cheered, before he turned back to his team. Or rather… "Hey Takumi! I know you won it back fair and square, but you don't suppose I could borrow it for a bit?"

"…And that's what this is," Takumi noted as he closed his eyes and smiled, before he bent down and opened his most prized case, taking his own Mezzaluna out. "Don't you dare disgrace her with a loss, Yukihira."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Soma shot back, as he took hold of the Mezzaluna from the opposite end, before Takumi let go from his. Soma then went right back to his side, and begun to take out all the ingredients he needed, all the while Alessandro stared in disbelief.

"You must be joking," he said. "After all that, your plan is to just copy my style? You can't seriously expect to beat me with a borrowed tool."

"Normally, no," Soma replied, before he took aim with Mezzaluna. "But this girl is special. She belongs to my biggest rival, and outside of him and his brother, I am certain I can wield her like no one else can."

"…Are you crying?" Alice asked Takumi, as the blond chef struggled with keeping his emotions in check. Too many praises, much too quickly.

"No, I'm not," he squeaked.

Erina just stared. She'd never fully understand boys.

"Is that a fa-?" Alessandro continued, but before he could finish, Soma begun to cut with Mezzaluna, and it was insane with the precision he was able to wield it. Each cut on par with Alessandro's own, which caused the Italian to force his attention back to his creation, since it needed finishing in order for it to be placed into the oven.

But Soma was quick to close the gap. He swung it like a pro, and flipped it between his hands like if the Mezzaluna had been his all along. It was less a blade and more a fan, as Soma twirled it so quickly that the blade resembled a circular saw, and with it, all the ingredients before him were shredded into near nothing. And then came his signature knife, finishing the job by pushing it all into the nearest bowl.

Alessandro took his creation into the oven, then went to make the sauce.

Soma had downright ignored the oven, turning instead to the microwave, to the surprise of many.

"And that's a match!" Urara declared as the time ran out, and both opponents stared each other down, with their respective dishes before the judges. The esteemed WGO members looked on, a bit taken aback.

On one side was Alessandro's dish, which he had called Squisita Pizza con Ragù alla Bolognese, which seemed like a very detailed and fancy pizza served with a traditional Italian sauce ready to be either poured or dipped into.

On the other side was Soma's dish… which they had no idea what it was even supposed to be.

"What is that?" Decora bluntly asked, her eyes on the redhead.

"This is a very, very modified classic of mine," Soma announced with glee. "From Yukihira's Secret Menu, item number forty-three, I call it the New Cheesy Turnover & Then Some!"

The five judges just stared, first at Soma, then at the "dish".

His teammates were silent.

The opponent's teammates were silent.

The arena was silent.

"Did he just…?" Takumi just had to ask.

"He totally served the judges Hot Pockets," Alice replied, caught totally off-guard.

"Points for creativity," Kuga noted, before he turned to Erina, who was staring intently at the dish. "You see something we don't princess?"

"Hmm…" Erina pondered for a moment, before she turned her attention back at the three. "What are Hot Pockets?"

All three of them just stared. They really needed to take her out more.

"Okay, let's do this then," Charme declared, as he took a bite of Alessandro's dish. Soon, the other four did as well, and they almost fell over due to the suddenness of the flavor. It was divine on its own, but when mixed with the sauce, it gave off a meaty, filling sensation that was nothing short of deliciousness incarnate. "Oh… so good…!"

Then they took hold of Soma's calzone-like goodies, and they took a bite.

They all felt slapped.

"Ah, what is this?" Decora blurted out, almost spitting the bite-sized treat out.

"This is way too sweet," Histoire examined, finding it not awful, but not tasty either.

"Are you sure this is your dish?" Anne asked, still feeling the strong, fruity aftertaste. "I mean, I don't even sense anything relating to pizza in these… things."

As everyone stared, their hearts in their throat, Soma just smiled.

"Yeah, it's pretty gross, ain't it?!" he said with the brightest smiles, and everyone felt like slapping him all at once.

"Is he seriously pulling that now of all times?!" Yuuki screamed out, as all the Polar Stars felt a wave of uneasy hit them at once.

"Did you really decide it better to not take this match seriously instead of making the attempt of challenging me?" Alessandro asked, feeling a bit offended at the display. He had heard Soma Yukihira was a bit of a wild card, but to this extent? Even after all that bravado and the pep talk from Aisha?

"Huh? Oh, no, not at all. I never did quite tell the judges to eat it like that. Unlike your marvelously looking dish, I can't really vouch for these little fellas if you eat them on their own," Soma told them, before he placed a boiling bowl right before the judges, having kept it hidden from view because of course he had.

Alessandro stared, wondering what could he be possibly be hiding in there. It really shouldn't matter anyways, since if they had outright disliked them on their own, there was little something extra could remedy that.

"This," Soma declared, "Is where the pizza part of the dish is at."

Then he opened the lid, and a massive aroma hit the entire stadium. It hit everyone, almost like if they had all set foot inside an Italian restaurant for a moment. Inside the bowl, was what looked like melted cheese, still bubbling, with several select toppings mixed in, all resembling a pizza.

"Please," Soma continued, "Dip in."

Courage, true to her name, was the first to take another one of the little calzones and dip it into the melted pizza, scooping a bit of the cheesy sauce and proceeded to take a bite. Anne turned to her, about to ask her if it had improved the taste at all, but was stopped when Courage outright moaned in pleasure, before the white haired woman quickly blushed and covered her mouth.

"C-Courage?" Anne asked, surprised.

"Sorry…" she replied. "It was… just… so good. I can't even, properly… I feel… if I eat more… I won't be able to get married anymore…"

Most of the male audience was pretty pleased with that reaction, with Alessandro outright mystified, wondering what the heck was going on. Charme, utterly unimpressed, took the plunge and took a piece, took a dip, and took a bite.

He moaned even louder.

"Charme!" Histoire called out to his fallen friend, as Anne was really hoping the ground would swallow her up and take her away from here.

"Sorry…" he replied. "It was… just… so good. I can't even, properly… I feel… if I eat more… I won't be able to get married anymore…"

"But you're already married!"

"…Oh, right."

A tap on the microphone interrupted the drama, as everyone turned upwards, at the sight of a very unamused Azami, who was staring down at the table. His words were few, but direct. "May we conclude?"

Soma frowned, staring up at the man, but he kept to himself.

Alessandro also said nothing, turning to the judges, as the remaining three took a taste from Soma's dish, this time with the pizza-like sauce. They, either due to professionalism or sheer force of will at least kept their reactions to a minimum.

"Judges?" a very worried Urara asked, and after some pondering, the vote was cast, and both Soma and Alessandro's eyes widened when the saw the result screen.

Soma Yukihira… had only two votes.

'I lost!' he couldn't help but scream out inside his head, as he turned to his opponent, the supposed victor, but then he saw his own face reflected on Alessandro's. 'But wait, why is he also…?'

Then Soma turned back to the screen, and saw that Alessandro had also been given only two votes.

Anne and Charme had voted for Soma; Histoire and Decora had voted for Alessandro. They all paused, and turned to a still red-in-the-face Courage. Everyone stared at her, as she seemed to shrink into her seat.

"…I'm still thinking," she meekly voiced. "Give me a minute."

Soma and Alessandro both felt like fainting. They totally did not have the strength left to handle all this stress. Their teammates looked on, their fists clenched, eyes on the remaining judge, as she waved her hand from one buzzer to the other, unsure of which to call out as victor.

'Damn it Courage!' Decora screamed at her friend from her head. 'Vote him out!'

Azami stared, his eyes dead set on her hands. If only she would just…

Then she made her choice.

Winner: Soma Yukihira.

A pregnant pause was followed by a massive roar of applause, as the entire audience came back to life as soon as they all registered the win on their side. The Polar Star kids all cheered as loud as they could, their voices almost giving out. Even little Aisha was bouncing up and down, before he caught himself, and sat back down, since he totally did not want Tootsuki to win or anything.

"And he did it!" Urara cried out. "In what can only be described as my career flashing before my eyes, Soma Yukihira has managed to secure another victory for Tootsuki Academy, bringing the score up to two against one!"

"He's still all kinds of crazy," Nene noted, but unlike her past self, she had a very fond smile on her face directed at Soma.

"He is one of our best for a reason," Isshiki noted, knowing just how nerve wrecking that must have been for Soma.

"And he even copied the "aroma bomb" from way back then, what a guy," Akira said as he slid back onto his chair, all the tension having caught up to him.

Kurokiba said nothing, but he could help but smirk at the results.

A still lightly trembling Soma walked back onto his team's side, which resulted in Alice quickly hug-tackling him, cheering "you did it! you did it!" as she did. Soma responded in kind, cheering alongside her before he gave Takumi back the battle-worn Mezzaluna with a very genuine "thanks man".

"Excellent work, young grasshopper," Kuga said mimicking an old master. "Much learned, you have."

"Thank you sensei," Soma said with a playful bow, before his eyes softened, adding, "No, but for real. Thanks Kuga. Had you not caught on to the fact that they specialized on those sauces, I would have probably lost. You saved me. Thanks."

Kuga paused, his eyes a bit wider, before a soft smile slowly crept onto his face. "Anytime."

Soma then turned to Erina, as the latter seemed to want to say something, but she was having trouble finding the words.

"You didn't think I'd lose this, did ya?" he asked.

"Of course not," she replied. And he believed her.

The screen begun to flicker once more, as Alessandro made his way back to his team. His little sister was quick to hug him, whispering how proud she was, while the rest of the team gave him an approving nod. Only Lucrezia remained focused elsewhere, on the flickering screen. Valentino followed her line of sight, and he couldn't help but get increasingly worried.

'I can totally tell what she's thinking,' he thought. 'We had this in the bag, but this loss, this gives them a chance. If that screen ends up with Erina Nakiri facing off against Aurora or me, we're screwed. I'm way too worn out from dueling with the Third Seat to be able to take her on, and without our element of surprise, I don't think Aurora could manage. Please, if it's against Erina, let it be Lucrezia who gets to go, otherwise…'

Then the competitors were chosen, and Lucrezia let out a long sigh, as the grip on her bag tightened.

Takumi Aldini vs. Lucrezia Russo.

"Oh, come on…" Hisako muttered, her eyes narrowed. She trusted him, of course she did, but this was still too cruel.

"Brother…" Isami also muttered, knowing fully well the storm that was probably brewing inside his elder twin's mind.

Takumi stared at the screen, before he moved forwards. He fully heard his team backing him up. And he knew they all meant it.

"You've got this!" That had been from Soma.

"Kick her stuck-up butt!" That had been from Alice.

"Time to shine, Aldini." That had been from Kuga.

And, most surprising of all, was what he heard Erina say. "Just remember," she told him, as he walked forwards, "You're Tootsuki. And you always will be."

Takumi stared Lucrezia down, as the Italian's group Team Leader gave him a look that almost resembled pity.

"…I find no joy in defeating you, Takumi," Lucrezia told him, just as the screen began to flicker once more, ready for the theme or ingredient to be chosen.

"Then rest assure, because you will not," Takumi shot back, his eyes sharp as ever.

"And here we have the fourth match of this stressful day!" Urara announced. "From Scuola Dotata, the team's undisputed leader, Lucrezia Russo!" she added, before turning her attention to the blond, as the girls in the crowd erupted into cheers. "And, from Tootsuki's Elite Ten, our very own Italian Stallion, Takumi Aldini!"

Then the theme was chosen.

Chimichanga.

'Why couldn't I get that?' A totally-not-still-sore-Soma thought, his left eye still twitching a bit.

Takumi took a look at the screen, before he turned back to Lucrezia. "Just to be one-hundred percent certain… You are the number one student, correct?"

"…Yes, I am the Prima Studentessa," she replied after a pause, before she turned and went to work. As Takumi gave Mezzaluna a thorough wash (Soma had done so after using her, but Takumi knew how to do it better) he noticed Lucrezia taking out her ingredients, before she pulled out her own Mezzaluna. Takumi felt himself tense up at the sight, as he heard the crowd began to whisper, as they had never seen one like that before.

A triple-bladed Mezzaluna, sharpened to the extreme and with stainless steel so clear he could see his reflection tripled within it.

They both took out their chunks of beef, the best cuts they could each find, and began to wash, then cut. For all his talent, which eclipsed even Soma's speed when it came to handling the Mezzaluna like a chainsaw, Lucrezia was something else. It also didn't help that for every cut he did, she made three. It took strength, Takumi noted, to wield three blades at once like that. It was heavier, the cuts, if one was not careful, not as deep. But she had the talent. The skill. She made literal mincemeat out of the beef long before Takumi had gotten a third of his prepared.

"You really should have been on this side," Lucrezia said, her eyes narrowed.

"I'm where I belong," Takumi replied, focusing on his cuts, making sure not to make a mistake, not to let his team down. If he could only just pull this off, he could save the day. He could clear this match at least, and keep them alive to fight another day. He just needed to pull through.

As Takumi finished his cuts, Lucrezia had long turned to the other ingredients, focused on what would be the fillings, while at the same time bringing the oil to a boil. And, Takumi noted, preparing a sauce. No, that was wrong. Preparing sauces, multiple.

'She's going to make a dish with all six sauces?!' Takumi noted with a slight fright, as he had been fully focused on which one she'd use, having not expected "all of them" to be the answer. He shook his head, forcing himself to focus on his own craft and only on it. He began to take out all the other ingredients he would need, and proceeded to prepare them properly.

Even so, despite himself, from the corner of his eye, he could see her work. She made it look so easy, creating such exquisite looking burritos that even without being fried they still smelled gloriously. And when she threw them into the oil, the aroma only intensified. It, mixed with the aroma from the six sauces currently boiling, caused an outright suffocating fragrance that fully eclipsed even Soma's earlier "pizza aroma bomb".

Still, Takumi continued to try as much as he could to get the most out of the flavor he was making. To spice it up to perfection, to stuff only the finest of cuts and best of fillings. All mashed, all fresh, all as perfectly as he could muster… But, he still felt it couldn't quite match her. And that thought crept onto his mind, and it refused to leave.

It was so much he had to take a bite out of his own dish, to try and evaluate what it was missing, and much to his horror, he could barely taste a thing. All he could taste, was what she was making. He tensed, his eyes wide, and his body in a cold sweat.

'Lucrezia… She's in a league of her own…' a panicked Takumi thought, as he turned to his team, all still looking at him, all of them still with resolve on their eyes. He bit down, turning up to face the audience. His fan club was still there, at full force, but more importantly, there was all his friends. Megumi, Ikumi, and even Mimasaka.

There was his brother.

There was Hisako. The look on her eyes said it all.

'I'm making them all worry, aren't I?'

Gritting his teeth as much as he could, Takumi turned back, resolved to fight to the bitter end, to give them hell if need be, and one final look at his team helped him steel himself. '…Wait,' Takumi noted, upon seeing his team, or rather, one member in particular.

Lucrezia proceeded to take out her masterpiece, the aroma still shocking the senses of all those present, as she walked forwards, taking her presentation to the judges. Urara gave her a very surprised look. "Um… there's still thirty minutes left," she voiced, but Lucrezia merely shook her head.

"That won't be necessary," she replied. "This cannot be perfected any further. Please, esteemed judges of the World Gourmet Organization, have a taste of our school's best."

Lucrezia served the judges a stack of deep-fried burritos, with the six differently colored sauces surrounding them, calling it the Vero Buongustaio – Rainbow Chimichanga.

"It's so pretty," Courage noted, taking one of the burritos. Each one was colored differently, thanks to the use of different tortillas used to make them. Each sauce different, each chimichanga different, it was too much.

"With all this variety…" Histoire noted, as Lucrezia nodded with a soft smile.

"Six sauces, ten different chimichanga, mix and match, and you have a grand total of sixty different combinations to try from," Lucrezia announced, and the judges felt a shiver run down their spines at the sheer amount offered before them.

Deciding it best to start somewhere, they each took a piece and dipped it into the nearest sauce, and they each took a bite. Within moments, there was nothing, no competition, no crowd, just… bliss.

Anne looked on, as her other partners of the WGO had all been tied up to nearby walls, before slowly she herself felt a strong pull backwards, as all of her clothes were stripped suddenly off, leaving her with nothing. She tried to cover herself, but the mastermind behind the attack came suddenly, as Lucrezia appeared right behind her, cupping the elder woman's breasts with her own hands and licking down the nape of her neck, causing Anne to squirm at the touch.

It made no sense, none at all, but Anne could not deny it, this girl, this devilish girl, could actually match the God's Tongue herself…

Then Lucrezia's hands lowered, and Anne screamed.

She actually screamed, causing her coworkers to jump. Anne was quick to cover her mouth in embarrassment, blushing madly, as the other judges, also overwhelmed, struggled to keep themselves in check.

"Damn," was all Charme said, his eyes turning to the Elite Ten. To Erina Nakiri in particular.

"And here I thought we'd get no dish superior to hers," Decora noted, as she signaled to Erina and voiced everyone's thoughts. "But this, this is a worthy contender… I wonder, if these two girls were to square off…"

The crowd was frozen, their eyes on Lucrezia, as those words of her being able to challenge their God's Tongue proved too much for some. Lucrezia, for her part, just shrugged, having fully expected that. If only, if only she could be assured the next match with the princess, then they could win this. They could pull it off.

"Sorry for the delay," Takumi suddenly voiced, placing his plate of chimichanga on the judging table. The judges looked on, blinking in visible confusion, slowly forcing themselves to come back from the ecstasy that had been the prior dish.

Takumi's, on the other hand, looked outright… sad.

Not bad, just… dry. No sauce, no spectacle, no nothing. Just deep-fried burritos, cooked expertly of course, but not much else.

"You don't have to subject yourself to this," Lucrezia told him, that damn pity still wedged within her tone.

"…Yes, yes I do," Takumi replied, glancing at her, before turning back.

The judges each took hold of one of Takumi's burritos, before they each took a bite, already knowing who they'd vote for. Lucrezia was just too much. Her dish had been…

Anne found herself on the ocean.

She blinked, eyes then wide, as she realized she had been stripped once more. Blushing, she found herself floating on not water, but juice. Juice from the best cut of meat imaginable. 'How?' she asked herself, even if she couldn't talk. It made no sense. Where did this all come from? Then it came, a cruise ship, swimming right across the juicy, meaty ocean. It was one huge chimichanga…

…driven by the weirdest masked guy she had ever seen.

"I'm a Shonen Jump protagonist too you know," the masked man voiced with glee. "Suck it Wolverine!"

Anne didn't know whether to worry about being seen naked or drowning in this strange ocean, but no sooner had she thought that, than had the juices swallowed her up, sinking her, and consuming her everything. It was too much, she couldn't take it.

"…Did she just fucking die?" the totally-unknown stranger voiced.

As Anne slowly drifted away, she could only hear the fading last words of the strange masked man.

"Buy my manga!" he said, "Also, Zancrow should update this story more often. Like, for real. A six month delay? Who does he think he is? Black Widow?"

Anne had to bite down on her tongue to avoid screaming again, as she felt herself tense up. No sooner had she taken a bite of Takumi's chimichanga, than had she experiences a gush of juices enveloping her very being. She took a glance down at the half eaten piece, half expecting it to be spilling out from the inside, but it wasn't. "…How?"

The entire stadium was silent, with Urara taking a step towards them. "Judges?"

"How does this have so much juice on it?" Anne asked, turning to Takumi. "I thought you had just overfilled it, but no, it's not just thrown in there. It's… I can't even…"

"It's overwhelming," Histoire noted, his hand still shaking. Courage said nothing, afraid she's sound too lewd. Decora frowned, for as much as she wanted, she couldn't deny that it had tasted a lot better than it had any right to.

Then the vote was cast. It was sudden, faster than either participant had expected; and as they stared at the screen, they both felt light headed.

In a three-to-two vote…

Winner: Takumi Aldini.

Takumi took a bit to realize what was happening. His senses overwhelmed him. He barely saw his name on the display. He could barely hear the growing cheers and applauses and screams of delight. It took him a while, as his heartbeat slowed down to a more normal pace, and his hands stopped shaking to such an extreme. As he learned to breathe again.

"Yes!" Soma roared, as he and Erina, Alice and Kuga all jumped for joy, again and again.

Upstairs, the other Elite Ten students cheered as well, with even Kurokiba joining in.

"You did it! You did it!" Megumi exclaimed as tears streamed down her face. The others all screamed and cheered, with Daigo and Shoji joining in on Takumi's fan club and waving the flags that featured his face.

"Is there anything you can't do, brother?" a very teary eyed Isami wondered, before he turned to the pink-haired girl next to him, whose eyes said everything she wouldn't. "He did great, right?"

"Yeah," she said, fighting back the smile, the tears, the everything. "T-That's our Takumi," and never had Isami heard such a phrase used with such pride before by this girl.

"We did it!" Urara exclaimed, bouncing up and down in delight. "Managing a third victory, and securing Tootsuki's win over Scuola Dotata di Arti Culinarie, Takumi Aldini saves the day and Tootsuki Academy advances to the next round!"

"Wait!" Lucrezia was quick to shout out, just as Takumi's team had reached him and were all gushing over his win. Takumi paused, turning, as all attention turned to Lucrezia. "What did you do?! There's no way that simple dish of yours would ever be comparable with my creation," Lucrezia quickly added, almost glaring at Takumi, as if he had somehow cheated. The boy simply forwarded a plate towards her.

"This one I made for you," Takumi simply told her. "Judge for yourself. This… This is my answer. This is why I'm here."

Lucrezia frowned, wanting nothing more to reject that notion, but it was Takumi, and she couldn't just refuse him. So she took the piece, and took a bite… and then she felt the wave hit her. It was unlike anything she had ever tasted. Her whole being was swallowed up by the taste. Too much, too strong. She felt her knees weaken, she felt her body shiver. There was no way he could have packed so much flavor without it breaking apart. "H-How?"

Anne also tuned in onto the reply, since she had been fully curious about it. Takumi just smirked, and pulled out one cooking tool from his pocket, and Lucrezia's eyes went wide.

It was a syringe.

"Oh?" Alice noted, surprised. "You used my equipment?"

"The judges told Soma that sharing tools was okay," Takumi explained with a smile. "And your stuff was like right there. While I'm not as good as you with it, I've seen you handle it quite enough times to know the basics. It made filling every ounce of that dish with the purest of juices all the more manageable. Quite a desperate ploy, I'll admit, but against all odds I say I made it work well enough, don't you think?"

"…Why?"

"Huh?"

"Don't "huh" me Takumi!" Lucrezia cried out, her glare evident. "Why do you submit yourself to this?! You can cook to this level, pull stunts directly from the Nakiri Family themselves! Why do you remain merely the Tenth Seat when you can do all of this?!"

"Lucrezia…" Takumi voiced, and his tone was the most serious she had ever heard him use. Lucrezia froze, and it was here she understood, with the simple words he told her: "Do not insult my friends. I couldn't even dream of being the Tenth Seat, if I couldn't do at least this much."

-0-

The event ended as it usually did, with Urara continuing with her performance, before passing the stage to Soe and Azami, who each spoke a bit about healthy competition and all that stuff that neither really gave two shits about but it helped with sponsors and all that. The Tootsuki alumni knew the drill by now, so once the winner had been declared, most began to get up and be on their way. Of course, the closest friends of the Elite Ten members waited for them, to offer their congratulations and support. It had been close, they all noted, and despite the relief of their victory, everyone still felt the pressure always growing. It had been the First Seat last time, now the Third Seat had also been eliminated. The Second Seat was still recovering, and the Sixth Seat was outright missing. It was too much, and despite the reassurance of Tootsuki still being in the clear, almost all the students could only feel dread that next time they might not be so lucky.

Soma couldn't exactly say he was happy with the results. As he found himself in the Nakiri Mansion, for what seemed like the first time without him needing to break into the place, he couldn't help but go over the day's event again and again. Losing Kuga had been like getting an ice bucket dumped on them all, and excluding Erina, both he and Takumi had managed to score a win by the skin of their teeth.

And Alice was still pissed she had not gotten to go. "What am I? A damn mannequin?" she had cried out, half in jest, half actually annoyed. He couldn't say he didn't understand her.

"Soma," Erina called out, as he lifted his head away from his phone's screen and towards the girl, who stood by the doorway of her immense walk-in closet. "I'm thinking of wearing something like this," she noted, showing him a very fancy dress that seemed to glimmer with the light. "It is a fancy dinner, so we need to look the part… What do you think?"

"…I think I'd be afraid to learn what qualifies as "fancy" to you," Soma said with a nervous laugh, which caused Erina to instantly frown.

"Figures," Erina just said, "Some help you are."

"Come on, don't get mad, it was a joke," Soma quickly defended. "Listen, clothes aren't my thing, but… Erina, seriously, the dress doesn't matter. As long as it's you who's wearing it, it will look beautiful."

She paused, bringing the dress up to her face, leaving only her eyes visible. "That's still just a fancy way of saying you don't think it looks that good."

"How do you get that out of what I said?" Soma asked with a laugh. Erina said nothing, but instead of discarding the dress, she set it out on the bed. The very bed he was currently sitting on, doing his best attempt at trying to remove the mental image of just what it was that had happened the last time he had been on this very bed. Now was not the time.

"Luckily for you," Erina continued. "I am a better girlfriend than you are a boyfriend, so I have the perfect attire for you," she announced as she took out a very expensive tuxedo set from her closet, causing the boy to stare at it in amusement. "Ta~da! What do you think?"

"Looks great," he said with a clap. "Let me get in on that… somehow," he added, before Erina's index finger was placed in his chest, stopping him from moving towards the closet.

"Absolutely not," she declared. "This is going to be the most important night of my life. And I'm going to need you to be one-hundred-and-twenty percent prim and proper. And right now, you still smell like a half-baked pizza. So," she turned signaling to her bath, "You put this on after you take a bath."

"Ah… sure," Soma noted. It made sense, he supposed. Although… "What about you? Aren't you going to hop into a quick shower too?"

"Naturally," she replied, and the moment that word left her lips, against his better judgment, Soma couldn't help but raise his eyebrow in a very peculiar way. And, of course, she caught it. The massive blush on her face said it all. "Get your mind out of the gutter this instant! We are not going in at the same time!"

"Never said that," Soma merely replied, avoiding her very scary glare. "But you sure this is okay? Don't want any of your family members getting the wrong idea."

"It's just getting ready," Erina replied matter-of-factly. "Mother and Uncle are still back at the stadium, sorting the official stuff out, alongside, I presume, Father. Aunty is the only one who could get here before we leave to the dinner, but she won't just barge in here, and even if she did, she's understand. She… doesn't distrust me as much as mother does…"

"Your ma doesn't distrust you," Soma said as he took hold of her hand, pressing it gently. Interlocking fingers with hers. "She distrusts me, and I can't really blame her. It's a parent's job to protect their kid, so I get it. Now then, let's get through this night… I'm sure we'll manage just fine."

She gave him the cutest smile before she nodded, before she turned and headed to the bathroom. "I'll get in first, give me a few minutes okay?"

"Take your time," Soma simply said. "We have time to spare," he added, as she closed the door and proceeded to get ready. Soma, left alone in her room, decided to simply sit back on that insanely soft bed, taking hold of his phone once more, checking up on the messages he had received and the conversations he had yet to reply to.

One was from Megumi, as the two had been talking about what Soma and Erina were plotting for tonight, and the petite girl was of course worried for them.

Another was from Takumi, still bragging about how despite both he and Soma had gotten three votes each, Takumi had defeated the Number One, whereas Soma the Number Two, which meant Takumi had won their little bet. Soma was very clear when he said that it did not work that way.

Then he heard the water start to run from behind the wall to his right, and he felt himself tense up. He had no intention of letting his imagination run wild, but he could quite clearly hear how the sound of the shower subtly changed when he imagined Erina got in, as the water no longer hit against just the floor, but also against her body.

He violently shook his head, pressing his face into the phone's screen, and forcing himself to focus on his texts. Ignore the way the droplets sounded when they hit every inch of her exposed form. Ignore the little hums she could be heard singing. Ignore the sound of every bottle of soap, cream or whatever it was she took hold and placed down. And by the sound of it, there were a lot of bottles in there.

It was hard, in more ways than one.

She took a quick shower, like she promised, but it had felt like an eternity to him. She slowly opened the bathroom's door, as the steam began to fill up her room, and the fresh smell of roses overwhelmed his already fragile senses. He quickly stood up, turning to her, ready to get into that bath once she got out and turn its setting to their coldest temperature. But, she had to outright attempt to murder him before he could get the change.

She peaked her head out, wet hair clinging onto her face in such an adorable way, as those expressive eyes of her stared right at him. He froze.

She was wrapped in only a towel, and clearly nothing more. Her blush said it all.

"…I forgot my clothes," she admitted, utterly ashamed. "I-I did not do it on purpose, so don't get any ideas."

"I-I didn't say anything," Soma tried his best to act casually, but it was quite hard. Very hard. "I'll give it to ya, what do you need?"

"You will not!" Erina cried out, and Soma almost jumped. "I mean… that includes my-Just switch with me!"

"Alright, alright," Soma said defensively, as he motioned, moving towards the bathroom as she stepped away from the doorway. He tried his best, but it was very difficult not to glance at her frame as she did. The way that wet towel clung to places, and everything it did not cover. Since when did Erina had legs like that? Her thighs could drive a man insane, even one as dense as Yukihira, and it clearly was. Still, he persevered, sidestepping the blushing girl, and getting inside the bathroom.

Erina needed to catch her breath, deciding to take a minute and take a seat on her bed, not really caring if her towel caused her bed sheets to get moist. It had been too much. She really hoped Soma believed her when she said she had not done this on purpose. She really hadn't. She had been too preoccupied in getting the perfect dress and giving him the tux she had bought for him that she had forgotten that, yes, dress or not, underwear was still needed.

Then she heard Soma turn the shower on, and her blush deepened. It's not like this was the first time they had shared a bathroom, since she had taken a few baths at Yukihira's, but that shower had not been wall to wall with his room. It didn't cause her to hear every minute detail of his bath procedure.

She violently shook her head. Little good it did her to just sit there like a frightened kid, spaced out. She needed to get ready. This was a once in a lifetime dinner, and if she had any hope of having any semblance of her family back, she needed to make this work flawlessly.

Making sure the shower was still running, less Soma come out and catch her getting dressed, Erina took off her towel, setting it aside, and turned to her drawers.

Then she heard the door begin to open.

She instantly freaked, haphazardly grabbing hold of her towel to try and cover herself as best she could. But, much to her horror, she realized that the door that was opening was not the bathroom door, but her room's door.

"Are you getting prepared Erina?" Mana asked as she walked in, but was a little taken by surprise by what she could only describe as a blur of motion that seemed to have stepped into the bathroom. "…What are you doing?"

"N-Nothing, just taking a quick shower," Erina called out from the other side of the door, trying to keep her erratic breathing in check. She was so, so damn thankful Soma was so damn carefree and had not even bothered to lock the door. "You should knock, mother, I was… indecent."

"Kid, please, not this again," Mana said with a sigh, before she added, "But, for your consideration, cover up, I'm coming in."

"Huh?!" Erina blurted out, before she realized that she too had not locked the door when she went inside. And before she could even try, her mother was already opening it up. She didn't even think what to do next. She just acted.

Mana Nakiri went inside, went to one of the drawers, taking out the bottle of medication she had returned to Erina not that long ago, taking one more for herself. "Just taking one, don't worry," Mana explained, "Seems I was a bit too hasty when I returned them, since Lanterby can bring mine in later tonight, and God knows I need this to get through tonight."

"O-Okay!"

"See you tonight then," Mana said, still mystified why her daughter was so aghast at being seen nude by her own mother. Granted, Mana had not really been there for her much, so maybe that was it. Deciding to try and let her daughter be, Mana simply walked out, closing the door behind her, completely unaware of the state she had left her daughter in.

In a shower, undressed, with Soma, also undressed, with merely a towel between the two. Both of them where facing the other, close, too close. Erina's fingers over Soma's lips, to try and keep him from giving them away. She knew, just knew if her mother caught Soma bathing in her personal bath of all places she'd have her head on a spike. Not to mention, she'd probably call the whole thing off.

But…

Trembling she removed her fingers from the boy's lips, and with her face red as can be and forcing her eyes to look into his eyes and only his eyes, she whimpered, "I-I swear this was all out of desperation, Soma, you know I'd never…"

"Hey, I get it," Soma reassured with a smile. "Your mom scares me too. We really dodged a bullet there. So relax," he added, and she could tell how his eyes were solely focused on hers as well. He was blushing madly too, but she'd honestly be offended otherwise. "That said," he continued. "I have a limit, so, we really should step out."

"Limit?" she voiced, and he for the life of him couldn't decipher her tone, if she had meant that as an innocent question or if she had purposely used such seductive tone. So he couldn't quite take it. He'd never take advantage of her, of course. Girls were meant to be respected, that much he learned from his dad, and with how much he loved his late mother, he'd never, ever do something to any girl. Even more so if that girl is Erina. This beautiful mess of a girl.

But he still kissed her. Pulled her closer, his strong hands firmly on her bare back, taking claim of her in a moment. Erina should have really complained, she had not meant for this, but she had been clear, had she not? They were to behave in public, but right now… they were as private as could be. So her hands found themselves on his chest, the lone towel falling onto the floor, as she caressed the bare chest of the boy that drove her crazy in all the wrong and right ways. She motioned towards his neck, pulling him even closer, until his tongue meet hers, and it caused her to outright moan into his lips.

He was stiff, and it wasn't just his posture.

She was wet, and it wasn't just the shower.

"S-Soma…" she tried speaking without breathing, "W-We shouldn't…"

And without a moment's hesitation he stopped, parting his lips from the nape of her neck where they had found themselves. The boy, without another word, turned around, in order to let her have what little privacy she had left. Erina couldn't help but smile and blush in equal measure, since she knew, she knew for certain that if he had outright ignored her half-baked pleas for him to stop, she probably would not have insisted much further.

But Soma wasn't like that… And she wouldn't change him for the world.

Without another word, Erina stepped out of the shower, leaving the discarded towel behind, since she knew he wouldn't sneak a peek if she didn't want him to. Even if she was sure he had seen quite a bit already. I mean, so had she, but… She shook her head, not the time.

Soma simply turned to faucet back to its coldest setting, wondering if his body would ever regain its regular temperature.

It took the two about an hour to get fully ready, and they barely spoke to one another during it all. But they didn't need to. The little looks and smiles they gave each other said everything they still weren't ready to say anyways.

-0-

Azami Nakamura was a perfectionist.

That much had been clear from a long time ago to anyone who had ever met the man, but he was always sure to plan for any and all variables. To always keep his cards close to his chest, and his enemies even closer. As such, when he made dinner reservations for his family, he did not only reserve their best table, he reserved the entire restaurant, kitchen, staff, everything. At first the owner had been perplexed at the offer, but that blank check had been too good to pass off.

So the man in all black sat at the table, with his newfound son to his right, still struggling in his new tuxedo, and his replacement daughter on the left, dressed as perfectly as he would like to always see Erina as. They were ready, the staff was ready, and had been warned, in no uncertain terms, that any and all mishaps would guarantee an end to their careers, so it would be best to be absolutely flawless tonight. Everything had to be perfect.

So, imagine how elated he was when he caught sight of the host bringing forwards Mana Nakiri, the woman of his dreams, and the wife he would without a doubt reclaim. She looked as elegant as she was beautiful.

But even more so, imagine his sheer excitement upon seeing his precious daughter arrive moments later, dressed like the princess she was, with her long, flowing golden locks flowing in the breeze from the still opened doors, just like he had always told her made her look prettiest.

And even more than that, imagine his utter delight upon seeing her daughter's date right alongside her, that precious boy dressed in a tux too expensive to be his, smirking at him with such a shit eating grin that…

'Wait…'

"Seems we may need one more chair on this table," Mana noted, signaling to the incoming couple.

"Oh my~" Dove softly noted, a very sly smile on her pretty face, expertly covered by her gloved hand.

Asahi was doing his best not to laugh, seeing how his father looked like he had outright stopped functioning.

"Erina…" the older man spoke up, the clear effort in keeping his tone in check evident, as he was moments from popping a blood vessel. "Is there any reason for this… addition?"

"Naturally father," Erina voiced with complete confidence. She even flicked her hair to the side with a little overdramatic flair for good measure. "This is a family dinner after all, and since both you and Mother have been rather… hard to reach, what better opportunity would I ever have to properly introduce my boyfriend to you all? Would you not want to know more about the young man currently dating your only daughter?"

Azami did his best to hide his intense displeasure. Years of practice made it possible, but even he had a limit. But, worse of all, was the fact that the young Yukihira took a few steps away from Erina, and approached Azami directly, causing the elder man to turn his eyes to him, with the most disapproving look Soma had ever felt being directed at him, and boy, had he had his share.

Still, he took it in stride, and merely extended his hand to Azami.

"Seems like we got off on the wrong foot before, let me try to fix that," Soma said with the most polite smile he could pull off. Months of dealing with all these rich snubs had allowed him to practice tons, and never had he needed it more than now. "My name's Soma Yukihira, and as you know, your daughter's boyfriend."

---

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Just A Family Dinner; What Could Go Wrong?!