Author's Note:
Hello, after the short very short chapter last time, here I present you the longest chapter so far o w o;;
I really hope, I didn't mess anything up culinary-wise or something (I probably did, I still need a lot to learn when it comes to that...If you spot something then please inform me) and that you will enjoy the chapter as much as I did writing it.
It's the first Shokugeki I've written so far and I look forward of doing more...even tough it's really hard doing the research for two dishes =w=
But well, enough of me so far and let's get to the review replies to start the chapter!
Anon: Hm, I am glad you liked the chapter! Hope this one will be to your liking as well owo
Anubis: Thanks, that's very nice to hear! And don't worry, we'll get to that.
Well then let's dive in
Author's Note End
Kaori Hayama couldn't care less about other people's Shokugekis.
They were none of her business and boring to watch.
So no one could blame the three students getting very surprised about suddenly having the valedictorian of their generation standing infront of them with crossed arms, darkly asking. "Who did you said is going to have a Shokugeki?"
The three boys, holding an article of "Totsuki Sports", nearly got a heart attack.
Kaori impatiently rolled her eyes at that. "And?" She demanded like some sort of General.
"T...The Transfer Student..." One of the boys stuttered. "Yu...Yukihira Kimiko is having a Shokugeki, presenting the French Cuisine RS in it." "Tomorrow." Another shyly interjected.
Kaori clutched her fist at the mere mention of the name "Yukihira".
She remembered her confident grin at the entrance ceremony and the nerves she had to just claim the top spot as her own.
Although Kaori would have preferred to be the one to absolutely stomp her into the ground, seeing the ego being wiped out of that girl's face was indeed a tempting thought.
But what if some incompetent loser had challenged Kimiko? Totsuki was full of these.
Despite the resentment Kaori held for Kimiko, she did felt that Kimiko's confidence about her skills didn't came from nothing.
She may was able to defeat some of the lowest trash in the 115th Generation.
Like the guys with the magazine for example.
"Who's she up against?" Kaori asked them, making them flinch once again.
One of the guy's gave her the magazine with the open page and as Kaori saw that picture, she just gave a quick nod to herself.
He could have a chance.
She gave the magazine back and turned around elegantly, walking away from the three, who watched her with red cheeks.
Satisfied she took out her phone and opened the most organised calendar anyone had ever witnessed.
"Yukihira Hiraku's sister's Shokugeki" she added for the next day.
The Seventh Plate - A Question of Honor
A medium arena had been chosen for Kimiko's Shokugeki.
It was in mere minutes filled to the last place, with curious students interested in finding out about the peculiar transfer student.
The Shokugeki had not begun yet, so trough the whole arena chats and primarily gossips were held. Most of them addressing "Yukihira Hiraku" and the possible relationship he could have to Kimiko. But a lot were also talking about how curious they were to finally see Kimiko cook and concerns about the French RS who just suffered a terrible loss not too long ago.
But no one expected to see said Hiraku Yukihira actually show up in the VIP Lounge, accompanied by his assistant.
He had that signature squid arm between his teeth, which he seemed to like chewing on and looked down on the arena with a neutral expression. Behind the thick glasses of the lounge, he probably didn't heard the gasps, squeals and exclaims from down there.
The people down there also didn't hear him saying. "Well then, let's see how Kimiko does in her very first Shokugeki."
In between the now very lousy crowd, Mika Aldini's eyes had gotten quite big and dreamy with the appearance of the upperclassmen. Hiroshi looked at her with a knowing smile.
Next to him, Chieko, Yasu, Hideyoshi and Daisuke gazed upwards the VIP Lounge as well, but not very dreamingly. Rather curious and confused.
"Yukihira Hiraku, just recently took over the Fifth Seat of the Elite Ten, while already becoming the Tenth in his first year of highschool, last year. Something truly extraordinary." Chieko adjusted her glasses. "Since he shares the same surname as Kimiko-cchi, a lot of people suspect that they're related."
Mika didn't listened at all, as she was too caught up at staring at Hiraku, who currently chatted with his assistant. But if she had, she probably would have shook herself at the thought of Kimiko and Hiraku being related.
"I am one of these people." Hideyoshi immediately proclaimed. "I mean, the fact that he shows up at such a rather unimportant Shokugeki alone, is proof enough, right?"
"Now, don't judge to fast." Daisuke chimed in. "Yukihira Hiraku apparently had a Shokugeki against the French RS' president. As Kimiko is fighting in the name of that RS, he could be here to just look how she does."
"Oh come on, they look extremely a like!"
"Don't you think, Yukihira would have said a word if she was related to an Elite Ten?!"
"Don't start bickering about such a thing now." Yasu interrupted before Hideyoshi could say something back. "We'll find out soon enough, I guess. Right now, we're here to cheer on Yukihira, not to investigate about her roots."
Hiroshi gave a nod, as he couldn't agree more. "Exactly."
Hideyoshi grumbled. "Man, but I do hope we'll find out someday, so I can cash the money that..." Daisuke interjected. "Hold on, hold on. Who said you would win the bet?"
"...Do you two have to bet on anything?" Chieko questioned and raised an eyebrow.
Before the two could answer, Yasu completely changed the topic. "Besides, shouldn't you already be backstage, Aoki?"
Daisuke flinched at that sudden statement and squeaked. "Damnit, you're right!" All colour went out of his face as his speech got faster and nervous. "Ahh, I am late! What will the others say? Oh stupid, stupid me!"
With a whimpered "Thanks, Ibusaki" he rushed away as fast as he could.
Hideyoshi watched, while shaking his head in disappointment. "Ts, ts. That would have never happened to me."
"...But you're always late for class." Yasu and Chieko stated simultaneously, resulting in Hideyoshi hissing. "Oh can you two not shut up?!"
"Pfew." Hiroshi turned away from the upcoming discussion and drove his attention to his cousin again. She was still looking up to Hiraku with a smile.
"You're being obvious." Hiroshi softly giggled.
"Hm, what is it, Hiroshi?" Mika's dreamingly response, made Hiroshi's smile even wider. "Oh my, Itoko-Chan do you really find him that good-looking?"
First Mika blinked a little confused, but than the realisation sunk in trough the lovestruck clouds and she got red. "Ha..Hah?! What are you talking about, Hiroshi?! I...I...do not..!"
"Of course, Itoko-chan." Hiroshi chuckled but switched the topic for his cousin's sake. "So, how do you think the Shokugeki will play out?"
The red went out of Mika's face at that question. But instead it was replaced with a pout. "What do I know?" She sulked.
Hiroshi sighed and shook his head. "Oh come on, are you still angry about the fact, someone else gets to have a Shokugeki against Kimiko-San except you?"
"Hmph." Was Mika's response but she did snap out of it, with an annoyed moan. "Well, but I can't start any prediction, when I haven't seen Yukihira cook yet."
"Sounds fair." Hiroshi mumbled back and looked down to the arena.
"I'll be fine." Kimiko's words rang back in Hiroshi's head.
"You don't think, I would let someone walk all over my honour like that, don't you."
"Without further ado, now that I am here, I will claim the top spot as mine."
Hiroshi couldn't deny the worry that had build up in his bones.
He didn't liked seeing people sad and what Kimiko was about to experience in case of a loss was probably beyond sadness.
But all he could do was to watch and leave matters into Kimiko's hands after all.
Hiroshi shook himself. Unlike most of them, he had seen Kimiko's skills already and he just had to believe in them, like she did as well. Kimiko had told him not to worry.
He didn't knew that another person was very pleased of the thought of Kimiko loosing.
Kaori had seated somewhere in the top rows and ignored the confused glances she gained. Her focus was set on the arena.
She had a expecting smirk on her face and the fact that Hiraku was here, only rose her excitement for the preferred outcome of the Shokugeki even more.
And then, the lights finally went out.
This action silenced the gossips and chats and everyone turned their attention to the stage, which was now lightened by the spotlights. On the stage stood a unsure-looking, brown haired boy dressed in the school uniform, having a red band around his arm that classified him as host.
"Good Day, everyone." Daisuke said trough the microphone and smiled shyly. Compared to Hideyoshi's constant exclaims and cajoling when hosting, he was pretty soft-spoken.
"Well and uhm...Welcome to today's Shokugeki, between the French Cuisine RS and the Chinese Cuisine RS."
Two new spotlights were cast into the ranks of the audience. One showcased the Chinese RS looking confident. It's members had seated absolutely relaxed and didn't even bothered to pay attention to anything. The French RS however, was rather unsure as they didn't knew who was actually presented them. Except of Kenshin Maeda who just looked at the entrance and Harumi Tsujimoto who glared towards the Chinese RS challenging.
"Today we'll have two representatives of the two societies to clash against each other in a battle of food and cuisine." Daisuke softly continued, so that some people in the higher rows (Kaori for example) had to lean forwards a little to clearly understand just what the host was saying. "I am Aoki Daisuke and I'll be your host today."
"He really does has hosting skills..." Chieko sighed "But he has to speak a little louder." Hideyoshi nodded, while Yasu muttered. "Aoki should raise his confidence."
"S...So uhm well..." Daisuke stammered, as he received nothing but silence from the audience. "Let's get the judges in, then?"
The students set their focus into the direction that Daisuke pointed to, to spot three adult making their way to the judges table.
As the three stepped into the light, the audience could recognise two men and one woman.
The woman had smooth, black hair tied into an elegant bun. She wore a wine-red, floor-length Gala-Dress that hugged her curves. She accompanied it with a fluffy, expensive-looking, white scarf, a black velvet purse and tons of sparkling Jewerly. "Please Welcome...Maaka Akai..." Daisuke introduced the fine lady, who already earned a lot of enchanted looks within the audience. She smiled gently and waved.
"Why does she look like she's going to a movie premiere?" Mika questioned. "Actually.." Chieko informed. "Maaka Akai is a well known actress and singer. However, the reason they bring her here, is because she also made herself a name in the culinary world somehow. Apparently her uncle is a gourmet chef who cooked for her since she's young, which makes her standards incredibly high. There are stories that she left restaurants after taking one bite of a dish."
"Ah, I see." Mika acknowledged. She was not too much in touch with Japan's celebrity world. "She may look a bit overdressed, but still very elegant." Hiroshi commented next to her.
"Ahhh~" Everyone turned to Hideyoshi, who was blushing and looking at the woman dreamingly. "She looks truly flattering. What an honour to be in the same room as her!" They also noted how Daisuke stood down there and looked at the woman with red cheeks as well.
The man next to Akai nearly looked pale in comparison to his sparkling company. He wore a plain white T-Shirt which read "I ❤ Beijing", black shorts, brown shoes and white socks. His hair was light brown and looked like it had never seen a brush.
"...Nishimori Haruka..." Daisuke continued the introduction, while Chieko provided a little background information to her dormmates. "Ahh, I heard of this guy. He's the heir to a know Chinese restaurant in Japan, but refused to take it over until he didn't completely honed his skills somewhere. So he traveled only by bike trough China to fully study their cuisine."
"A Chinese Chef as judge for a Chinese vs. French cuisine clash?" Hiroshi squeaked. "Not just that." Yasu noted and pointed downwards again. "Look."
The person he was referring to was a man way older than the two others. He had blonde hair, black eyes, a mustache and wore an high class, brown suit. Although he was smiling, his smile did look...kind off merciless.
"Daaaaaaaaaad?!" The arena suddenly heard Harumi shouting in disbelief. All sincerity in that man's face completely vanished at that moment and was replaced with a look of happiness. "Bonjour, my cute little angel."
While Kenshin tucked his head and repeated "Angel...?", Daisuke timidly turned to Harumi. "Y...You didn't let me speak my..."
"Huh?!" Harumi turned her attention towards the host, who became pale instantly at that glare of hers. "N...Nothing at all..." He yelped and decided to just redo the introduction.
"...and lastly, Tsujimoto Ichiro."
"He's the main chef of a French restaurant branch. Much like Nishimori, he traveled trough France for research and even took his daughter, Tsujimoto Harumi, with him." Chieko informed upwards. Yasu gave an agreeing nod. "Exactly, looks like they organised a Chinese cuisine expert and a French."
"Ah, Mr. Tsujimoto will probably be hard to impress.." Hiroshi nervously mumbled. "But so will Nishimori." Mika assured to him. "And let's not forget about Maaka Akai-Sama." Hideyoshi swooned.
As the judges finally had seated, Daisuke did a presenting hand gesture.
"...and now...Bring the candidates, inside!"
He drove the audience's attention to the west entrance.
"Making her entrance into the Arena: the new transfer student; Yukihira Kimiko!"
Kimiko's name appeared on the screen hanging above the arena, with blue flames in the background. Kimiko wore a neutral expression as she stepped into the arena and walked towards the stage as she was told to.
"Come on, Yukihira! Don't let us down! You're fighting for my purse!" Harumi yelled so loud, that even Hiraku could hear it in full volume. The rest of the French RS sweatdropped, while Kenshin stammered. "N...Now, Now, please don't kill me Tsujimoto-Senpai, but I think your purse is one of the lesser important things..."
Hiraku had watched Kimiko's entrance with a small smirk, mumbling. "Show them what you've got, little one."
Now he turned to his assistant and asked. "Who's she up against?"
"Hah? You don't know?" His assistant gasped, totally bewildered at the cluelessness of his boss.
"And now..." Daisuke turned to the east entrance.
For the first time, the Chinese RS actually moved and turned their heads towards said entrance as well, through which just in that moment a young boy stepped.
"Making his entrance into the arena: the challenger and the little brother of the president of the Chinese RS..."
The boy looked serious and wore a Chinese-Styled uniform.
The president, a blonde second year with purple eyes, grinned proudly at the sight of her little brother.
"One of their aces: Hojo Takayuki!"
Now Takayuki's name appeared on the screen, with red flames in the background.
"Hojo's little brother?" Hiraku said upwards.
"She's apparently quite protective over him and they both have the same bad temper, as I have heard." His assistant provided. "Hojo Takayuki is, as a Hojo, truly unbeatable when it comes to Chinese cuisine and, next to his sister, the very best in his club."
"I see." Hiraku leaned back in his seat and set his focus to the arena again.
Kaori had only crossed her arms and stared at Takayuki. Consider yourself lucky and don't mess it up. She thought.
As Takayuki finally arrived in front of Kimiko, Daisuke actually wanted to continue his hosting, but Kimiko was faster.
"So, you're Hojo Takayuki? You look a little less impressive than I would have thought." Kimiko coldly said, before Daisuke could speak into his microphone and so he only flinched and stared at Kimiko worriedly.
"Well, yes I am.." The realisation what Kimiko just said hit him and instantly Takayuki lost all his cool. "Hah?! What was that?!"
"Well, you do look..." "Yukihira-San, no!" Daisuke interrupted his dormmate in panic, while holding his microphone away from his mouth.
"If I know one thing about Hojo Takayuki is that you don't comment on his height." Kenshin shivered. "He's freaking tiny tough." Harumi carelessly stated, resulting in Kenshin screeching. "Tsujimoto-senpai!"
Meanwhile, Takayuki had started to growl at a frightened Daisuke. "No, no let her say that insult, so she will be more sorry after I completely destroyed her! Why are you so concerned anyways? And calling her 'Yukihira-San'? Can it be, that you're biased?"
"N...No..." Daisuke stammered, while backing away. Takayuki's sister sighed and shook her head. "Oh my god, Takayuki what are you doing again."
"Hey! Only I am allowed to frighten him like that." Hideyoshi barked above.
"Leave the MC alone." Kimiko sharply demanded which made Takayuki turn.
"Let's leave the basic trash talk out of the way, alright? We both know what we're here for. You want an..." Her face darkened. "...apology."
"Exactly." Takayuki replied in a grim manner. "I just have to teach some brat, that clearly doesn't have any idea what Totsuki actually is, some manners."
Kimiko remained silent first, just glaring at her challenger. So Takayuki only turned to the pale, shaking Daisuke again and unfriendly spat. "Can we continue now?"
"I may not know much about this school."
A little surprised about her talking again, Takayuki set his focus back to Kimiko. So did the audience.
"But I know my skills." Kimiko stated before her voice got a little louder and she pointed at her opponent. "You on the other hand, do not know my skills. Granted, I do neither know yours but I am not assuming out of the blue that you're below me. However the mere fact how you demand such a ridiculous action from me, makes this assumption more plausible. You think I can not take the top? How can you judge when you didn't even saw me cook? You may call it arrogance, I call it confidence. And you...you underestimated me."
Takayuki's left eye twitched, while Daisuke's eyes had become very round.
"Listen here, today I will show you." Kimiko laid her hand over her chest and yelled. "That my speech didn't came from nothing."
Hiraku raised an eyebrow.
Kaori angrily gritted her teeth.
Hiroshi gasped and bewilderedly stuttered. "Ki...Kimiko-San."
"Tch." Came from his cousin beside him, who bitterly grinned. "And that idiot got to face her first."
"What did you get yourself into?" Takayuki's sister mumbled suspiciously while looking at her brother.
Takayuki clutched his fist and stared at Kimiko angrily, while she turned to Daisuke. "You can continue now Aoki."
He gave a timid, soft nod an stammered into the microphone. "W...well...The Theme of t..today's...Sho...Shokugeki is fish. In case of a win for the French RS, presented by Yukihira Kimiko, the Chinese RS has to give up their standard bout place at this year's Moon Banquet Festival to the French RS while also providing assisting for the Festival and some cooking utensils. In case of a win for the Chinese RS, presented by Hojo Takayuki..." Daisuke took a deep breath and practically mumbled the next words into the microphone. "Yukihira Kimiko has to apologise for her words at the entrance ceremony while also taking what she said back. In addition Tsujimoto Harumi has to give her designer purse to Hojo Suzume."
Suzume just couldn't help it but to wave to Harumi with a smug grin. Thankfully Kenshin could stop his senpai from showing that certain finger.
Kimiko and Takayuki exchanged two last glares, before moving to their respective cooking stations as Daisuke lifted his hand.
"Begin...Cooking."
And with that the Shokugeki began.
Not one of the two candidates hesitated and immediately started working. With the basic introduction being over, the crowd became a little more noisy again, commenting the actions of the chefs.
"Look!" Hiroshi exclaimed and pointed to Takayuki, who was approaching a blue box used to keep ingredients cold. "He's already..." Mika started and host Daisuke finished the sentence. "Looks like Hojo Takayuki is already pulling out his fish."
Indeed. Confidently Takayuki opened said blue blox and revealed a grey, lifeless fish to lay inside, between sparkling ice cubes.
As someone who grew up near ports, Hiroshi instantly knew what was in front of him. "So, he will be going for cod!"
"In Chinese Cuisine the usual ways to go when preparing fish are deep-frying, stir-frying and steaming." Hiraku rambled to himself, while watching Takayuki slicing the fish open. "I wonder what approach he is going to take."
"I heard that he's especially known for good Sichuan Cooking." His assistant noted.
Takayuki had already pulled out a new thing. A glass with a deep red paste in it.
"Hm?" "What's that?" You heard within the audience.
"Uh, just looking at it makes me sweat." Hideyoshi panted. Yasu agreed. "You're right, it does look very spicy."
"Ahhh...Chiu-Chow Sauce!" Chinese-Expert Haruka excitedly exclaimed.
"A sauce originating from Chiu Chow in China made off chili peppers and garlic." Chieko murmured to herself.
"Even my own homemade one." Takayuki announced towards Haruka.
Akai clapped her hands together. "Nice, I love spicy food." Next to her Ichiro inspected the paste a little closer. After doing so, he raised an eyebrow at Takayuki and pointed at the glass questioning. "Is that..?"
"Correct." Takayuki answered and began to open the glass.
"Look Itoko-Chan!" Hiroshi pointed out upwards. "There's not just Chiu-Chow-Sauce inside...but also..."
"Shrimp!" The Polar Star students realised all together.
"A Chiu-Chow-Shrimp-Mixture?"
"What will he use that for?"
Meanwhile, Kimiko finally was done cutting through her vegetables and now she also moved to a blue box.
"Looks like, now it's Yukihira's time to pull out her fish-" Daisuke couldn't help but gasp as Kimiko opened her blue box. Like Takayuki's box it contained ice, but unlike Takayuki's box it didn't just had one fish, no, it had squid, scallops, perch and a lobster.
While the audience was trying to come up with what Kimiko would cook, Harumi and Hiraku knew it instantly. "Bouillabaisse." They both said at the same time.
Harumi lectured. "Like Coq Au Vin, Bouillabaisse is a very known, traditional French dish. A fish soup originating from the seaside of Marseille."
"Bouillabaisse is said to have it's roots in normal commoner food. The saying goes, back then the finer used the leftovers of the fish they couldn't sell and made a dish out of them." Hiraku elaborated, not noticing the admiring look his assistant was giving him.
*CLONK*
The audience attention switched once again, at the sound of Takayuki closing the oven and moving on to prepare something else.
"So he's baking the fish!"
"But what happened to Chiu-Chow-Shrimp-Mixture?"
Meanwhile Kimiko was calmly handling her ingredients, not taking any note of what her opponent was doing.
"Is she...just making plain Bouillabaisse?" One of the members of the French RS asked unsurely. The other's exchanged looks or agreed to the fellow. Only Kenshin and Harumi knew better and asked themselves what twist Kimiko would add to the soup.
And so time went on and on. Both candidates pulled trough creating their planned recipes while the audience watched them.
And well at some point, Daisuke raised his hand again. It was the point at which both Takayuki and Kimiko had completed their dish. Just in time.
"aaand...Time is up!" Daisuke informed, while the digital counter on the screen also showed "00:00". Immediately both parties took a step away from their creations and turned to the judges.
"So who'll go-" Once again Daisuke couldn't finish his sentence.
"I'll go first." Takayuki announced and made his way to the judging table. Daisuke sighed. "Seems like Hojo Takayuki will serve first."
On Takayuki's plate was the whole, baked cod. Golden-brown rice laid next to it and you could see that a sauce had coated a lot of parts of the dish.
"Serving the whole fish is quite common in China." Chieko commented. "It symbolises status and wealth."
"Looks like he fried the rice." Yasu added.
"But, again, where did the shrimps go?" Mika asked.
"Interesting, to serve a complete cod." Akai said, while lifting her chopsticks. Ichiro nodded in approval.
"Now, now. I just want to warn you guys, this will probably be a very hot and spicy experience looking at the sauce." Haruka speculated and turned to Takayuki. "Am I right?"
"You are." Takayuki replied. "The sauce indeed is quite hot. I present to you...Cod on Fire."
"Very well then, let's see."
Slowly the judges all took their first bite, while the silent audience watched in curiosity and tension.
Immediately after the first bite was taken, all three eye pairs widened.
The three adults saw themselves merciless be thrown into red, hot flames which ripped their clothes apart and heated every inch of their body.
"Ah! It burns, it burns!" Akai whined but shovelled more of the fish into her mouth. Ichiro's face had gotten red and he started to sweat, while muffling between the bites. "This is beyond a 'spicy and hot experience'."
"I thought that only the sauce would be spicy, but I was dead wrong!" Haruka wailed.
The audience was confused.
"What's going on?!"
"What else could there be but the sauce?"
Hiraku muttered. "I think I know what he did."
Just in that moment, Haruka's sweaty hands cut open the fish for all to see. To everyone's amazement something red swelled out of the baked fish.
Everyone realised it at the same time.
"The shrimps!"
"So it's a stuffed, baked cod!" Hiroshi concluded taken aback. "Stuffed with Chili-Shrimps to be exact." Mika gulped. "Boy, eating this dish really must be like a trip to the desert."
"The rice doesn't helps mild the taste at all." Akai panted with heavily reddened cheeks. And still she took another bite. "But it tastes so good."
Haruka looked absolutely pleased and praised. "Sauce and stuffing go so well and despite it being so hot, you just can't stop."
The Chinese RS exchanged prideful looks. Takayuki smirked. "There's also bell pepper, garlic and peas in the fried rice. Naturally, I also used Sichuan Peppercorns in sauce."
"Oh man, this dish has a great impact indeed." Kenshin muttered, while Harumi gritted her teeth.
Akai had taken out a purely white tissue and wiped away the sweat. She cleared her throat, still a little overwhelmed and said afterwards. "Truly a well dish with a strong flavour..." Being a little overheated she took a deep breath and requested. "N...Next one, please."
Takayuki bowed before leaving the spot in front of the judges table. "Thanks for the praise."
He didn't even bothered to look at Kimiko, who shot a last smile into the direction of Harumi and Kenshin, before she attended the judging.
Hiroshi folded his hands together while Mika clutched her fist.
Hiraku an Kaori both leaned forwards a little as the Honey Blonde arrived at the judging table.
"And now let's move on to the judging of the next candidate." Daisuke informed. "Yukihira Kimiko, please show your dish."
"Bouillabaisse with Seafood and Perch, let it hopefully satisfy you." Kimiko presented the plates she had placed in front of the three adults.
Ichiro, who had been rather silent most of the time, suddenly got quite ecstatic as he saw the bowl of soup, the bowl with the seafood and perch and the pieces of baguette around it.
"Ahh, even served separately! Very traditional! It sure does look promising."
"Looking good." Mika grinned and Hiroshi gave an excited nod.
"She even used baguette, the famous, traditional, French bread!" Chieko noted with a smile and added. "A good Bouillabaisse is always served with bread."
"But..." Yasu muttered, making everyone turn to him. "...will it be as impactful as Hojo Takayuki's dish?"
A little concern showed on Chieko's face, while Mika crossed her arms. Hiroshi swallowed.
The judges took their spoons and Akai purred. "Let's get going then, Gentlemen shall we?"
They put the separate fish into their broth and took the first slurp.
Then they stiffened.
...The sound of slow waves crashing into the beach reached their ears. Akai, Haruka and Ichiro found themselves standing in warm sand and in front of the wide, wide, sparkling blue sea.
It was defiantly a nice, pleasing sight for them.
...
...
Considering how hot the sun burned on their skins.
Akai was the first to speak. It was an overwhelmed yell. "Oh, this is spicy as well!"
The many eyes watching them grew wider at that statement.
Kenshin and Harumi exchanged looks.
Kaori flinched.
Hiroshi repeated. "Sp...Spicy...?"
The rest of the Polar Star members looked completely flabbergasted as well.
The Chinese RS finally snapped out of their prideful state for once.
Hiraku smirked.
Takayuki swung around, with bewilderedness spread on his face.
Kimiko grinned.
"I...It's not as spicy as the former but defiantly spicy..." Haruka stammered completely taken off-guard. "Just what have you put in there, kiddo?"
"A little chili." Kimiko stated. "Also Szechuan Pepper, garlic, tofu and bamboo."
You heard a lot of "What"'s and "I can't believe it"'s within the crowd.
"That doesn't sounds very western." Hideyoshi gawked. "Just what is her scheme?"
"Garlic and Szechuan pepper..." Hiraku's assistant repeated. "Sounds quite Sichuan."
"But Tsujimoto Ichiro has not said anything yet!" Hideyoshi pointed out, looking at the adult man who was still slurping the soup.
"You're right..." Yasu responded, while Chieko pushed up her glasses a little nervously. "This man is absolutely knowledgeable about French cuisine after all..."
Mika clutched her fist once again and muttered. "Come on, Yukihira. You can't loose against that whimp without having faced me first. Show me, that you're a worthy rival."
"Kimiko-San..." Hiroshi whispered and looked desperately to the elderly judge.
Suddenly he had an outburst.
"God - frikkin - damnit, man! Fuck, this is good."
An absolute shocked "Haaaaaaah?!" went trough the crowd.
"Eeeks!" Akai squeaked at hearing such foul words, while Haruka couldn't believe what what he saw. "N..Now where's that coming from?"
Even Kimiko tucked her head. "Pardon?"
"My father seems to like it a lot. He always reacts this way, when he does." Harumi cleared her throat, ignoring all the disturbed looks shot to her.
"You two really are father and daughter." Kenshin deadpanned, remembering the thug-attitude that the president could show off.
"Despite making some changes, you cooked it just like a Bouillabaisse has to be cooked." Ichiro now elaborated, not minding all the looks that demanded an explanation for his swearing. "Also...the fish...It's handled fucking great!"
"Oh boy..." Haruka sweatdropped but Aiko suddenly had a wide smile on her face as well. "I noticed too! The fish tastes splendid."
"I made sure to get very good quality ones." Kimiko explained. "And I washed them in seawater as well."
"Your care for the fish clearly shows." Ichiro responded and he took another spoon full of the soup.
"Now that I think about it..." Haruka suddenly recalled. "I don't remember tasting such a good fish in the former dish."
Takayuki flinched and even Suzume teared up her eyes.
"It seems like the former mostly cared about the spiciness but not the actual main ingredient itself."
Nearly every one of Haruka's words pierced trough Takayuki like a knife.
But he did not understand.
They liked it didn't they?
Everyone likes his spicy cooking?
Also...also...
No way that this transfer student could be better than him.
*clunk*
The sound of a bowl being placed next to him, disturbed his confused thoughts and he slowly turned to see Kimiko wordlessly placing her Bouillabaisse next to him.
She held eye contact for three seconds, before swiftly turning away and returning to her station.
Unsurely Takayuki took the spoon and dived it into the soup.
And as soon as it touched his tongue, he found himself at the beach as well.
Damnit.
He teared up his eyes and gritted his teeth.
Damnit. Damnit. DAMNIT!
This was...
This was...
...
Good.
It truly overcame the level most of the Totsuki's students were on. This was the kind off cooking that would last. This was the kind off cooking that could match the other aces of the 115th Generation.
This was worthy of consideration for...the top.
Damnit.
"Honourable judges." Daisuke spoke. "Would you please cast your vote?"
Without further ado, the judges slammed the button.
"I underestimated her." Takayuki whispered weakly, well-knowing that his sister was giving him a dark glare.
He did not know tough, that Kimiko had took a bite off his fish and was...pleasantly surprised.
And just in that moment, the result appeared on the screen accompanied by Daisuke's exclaim.
Yukihira Kimiko vs. Hojo Takayuki
3 - 0
Winner: Yukihira Kimiko
"And the winner is...Yukihira Kimiko!"
Cheers from the French RS. "Good job, Yukihira-Senpai!" Kenshin giggled, while Harumi laughed haughty. "Truly a member of the French RS." But despite her pride, she hugged her designer purse in relief.
"As expected." Hiraku shrugged, while his assistant said. "Is everyone in your family very talented or what?"
"She won!" Hiroshi happily yelled the obvious. His cousin grinned. "I just want to face off against you even more now."
"Looks like her opening speech really was more than just empty, haughty words with nothing behind it." Yasu acknowledged and couldn't hide the slightly impressed tone. Chieko excitedly clapped her hands together. "Truly a talented chef has joined Polar Star indeed." While Hideyoshi shouted next to them. "Way to go, Yukihira!"
Kaori had already stood up at the reveal of the result.
Who was I to think that anyone else would do any good on this school? Matters are in my hand as usual.
You also heard a lot of comments in the audience.
"Amazing!"
"She truly is related to Hiraku-Sama, I'm sure now."
"Amazing that the French RS was able to recruit her!"
"They must be a pretty good club, after all."
Lola, who had watched from the shadows, chuckled and turned away as well. "Time to get my reward from Tsujimoto-Senpai."
Kimiko pumped her fist into the air and yelled. "Glad you liked it!"
"With Yukihira's win, the French RS will get the standard bout place of the Chinese RS in the Moon Banquet Festival, as well as assisting during said festival and a few cook utensils." Daisuke reminded. "That's the end of today's Shokugeki. Thanks a lot for watching."
Takayuki was down on the ground and only stared at the floor. He couldn't bring up the courage to face the disappointed, leaving Chinese RS or the slightly angered look of his big sister.
Just as he thought it couldn't get any worse, the voice he wanted to hear the least right now reached his ear. "Yo, Hojo."
Takayuki looked up and faced Kimiko, who stood in front of him.
"What?" Takayuki bitterly asked, expecting mocking or laughing.
"Your dish was pretty good as well. You're talented. Maybe...we can face up again some other time...But don't demand such nonsense from me again, alright?" Was all she said before turning away just as quickly and moving to the exit. The left behind Takayuki could only watched in awe, hearing the comments of his classmates around him.
"Man, the transfer student really is something, huh?"
"She clearly did prove, that she meant what she said during the entrance ceremony."
Kimiko stretched herself and yawned.
This had been fun.
She liked the idea behind Shokugekis more and more and couldn't wait for the next one to occur.
But first, it was time to get back to the dorm again.
In the wardrobe, assigned to her, she got changed back into her school uniform.
After that she left the wardrobe and made her way to the exit.
As she stepped outside, to her surprise she didn't met just her dormmates there, but also her brother and nearly the rest of the former audience.
Hiraku had crossed this arms and smiled at Hiraku, he was accompanied by a tanned boy in the same age as him with pink hair and green eyes, holding a clipboard and inspecting Kimiko closely.
The other students had formed a half circle around him and always switched looks from Hiraku to Kimiko and back.
Kimiko just raised an eyebrow at her brother, silently asking him why he wanted.
The crowd, still was absolutely silent and just staring at the duo.
Then Hiraku took one step towards her.
"Good day, little sis."
Author's Note:
So that was it, the longest chapter so far. Hope you liked it.
I did a lot a lot of research for this one, but I still feel so dumb either way. If there is some wrong information or just something that you can't get into your head, please tell me. (I can just imagine how I actually already made some chef cringe with what I did...) Esp. Kimiko's Bouillabaisse was a pain.
Next Chapter is going to be the very last of the Introduction Arc. of "Shokugeki no Kimiko"
I hope I get it done next week, so that I achieved my goal to get trough the Introduction Arc. during my holidays.
Also, I'll get a little surprise ready for next week uwu
But for now, thanks a lot for reading and I hope I can greet you again next chapter.
Have a great day everyone!
Author's Note End