(3rd Person's POV)
*Flashback*
"Momo-Sama! There are our new products! Which is the cutest?".
"These are the designs for children's clothes!".
"This new confection!".
The people showed their products to young Momo.
"This one, that one, that one, this one" Momo pointed at the chosen products.
"What?!".
"You're really going to Totsuki academy?! Please come to our toy company!", "No, to our apparel company!", "No, help us with graphic design!".
"Please tell us! Why did you choose to become a pâtissier?".
"Well, it's because I look the cutest when I'm making sweets" Momo answered with a smile.
*End of Flashback*
"I've spent all this time striving to be the cutest and expressing cuteness and deliciousness through my dishes. And yet you had the nerve to..." Momo pondered as she glared at the owner of the 'God Tongue'.
"What are you going to try to teach me, Eri-Nyan?".
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Please enjoy. 'Souffle Leger de Grace'" Erina finally served her dish, and it looked stunning.
"Hey, a souffle. I made one of those before" Soma said, smiling. "It looks so fluffy!" Ryoko commented as she stared in awe.
"She's competing against her opponent's roll cake with pancakes! Splinded, Erina-Sama! You're so brave and courageous to face the enemy head-on!" Hisako praised, blushing.
"I mean, it looks fancy and pretty, but...Visually, the impact from the roll cake castle is way too much!" Yuki stated, doubtfully. Alice then giggled, which caught the red head's attention.
"Hm? What's funny?" he asked. "Oh, nothing" Alice smirked.
"Now, let us have a taste...of the dish made by the girl with the 'God Tongue'" Anne said, smiling as she took a bite of the gleefully fluffy pancake, followed by Histoire and Charme.
*FOODGASM*
"This...", "...is no ordinary pancake!", "I n between the two pancakes...".
"...IS RED BEAN PASTE!!".
"Yes. That is the star of the dish. I created a paste from azuki beans and sweetened it with brown sugar. I call it my 'Divine Brown Sugar Bean Paste'" Erina said.
"She used a pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time without losing the flavor" Alice pointed out, smirking mischievously.
"Brown sugar bean paste?", "So that means this dish is..." Yuki and Ryoko stared in disbelief.
"It's two pancakes with red bean paste filling in the middle. Which basically means it's 'Dorayaki'" Soma clarified.
"The azuki beans from Tokachi have improved the already impressive flavor!" Histoire remarked. "The sweetness of the bean pastes envelopes the brown sugar. It's perfectly clear, not the least bit overbearing!" Charme added with his mouth full.
"Hey, look! Even Urara-Chan is..." Daigo pointed at Urara, who had hearts for eyes as she stared at Erina's dessert, drooling.
"No, no...I have to do my job and emceeing this event fair and square!" she tried to resist.
"Ara~, there's no need to hold back. You want to see how delicious this dish is yourself, don't you?" Erina smirked as she offered a serving to Urara. "Y-Yes, Erina-Sensei!" the girl caved in and took a bite of the pancake.
*FOODGASM*
"Please...Please teach me more! I want more of your smooth, fluffy, silky special lessons to squeeze me tighter!!" Urara screamed mentally, she and Anne started moaning.
"Anne somehow ended up in there, too!" Charme thought, staring at moaning Anne with wide eyes.
"I-I'm so jeal-...I mean, how indecent" Histoire mumbled, but it was obvious from the hearts coming out of him.
"Now, if you would deliberate..." Urara said. "One moment, please. There's one other person I'd like to have try this dish. And you will try it, won't you, queen of cute?" Erina held a serving to Momo, who was sitting on a chair.
"I'll admit that the cuteness level of that dish is pretty good. But I'd have to give it a 95. Why did you bother putting red bean paste in it and making it a 'Dorayaki'? That'll disrupt the souffle's delicate fluffy texture and aroma. You should've just mixed the brown sugar into the meringue and made souffle pancakes. Then I would've given you a 100. I can tell just by looking that points will be docked. You made the same dish as Tadokoro Megumi" Momo answered, glaring at Erina.
"Are you certain about that?" Erina asked, and Momo's green orbs looked up at her. "Once you have a taste, you'll know what has put in you such a foul mood since the last match".
"Did you hear that, Bucchi? What should we do? What? It wouldn't hurt to give it a try? You're so nice, Bucchi" Momo talked to her doll before taking the serving from Erina. The purple-haired girl took a bite of the fluffy dessert, expecting that it wouldn't impress her.
But oh how wrong she was...
*FOODGASM*
"The cuteness...I can't...dodge it!" Momo's eyes had hearts in them.
"WHAT?!!" Eizan screeched. "Momo-Senpai is actually head over heels for someone else's dessert?!" Nene looked utterly shocked at the sight.
"T-This deep, complex flavor...The secret ingredient is yogurt?" Momo asked with her mouth full. "Yes, you are correct. And it's Greek yogurt, a unique type of yogurt that's thickened and concentrated through a straining process. Straining the excess moisture from the yogurt condenses it, giving its flavor a gentle body that's reminiscent of cheese. I mixed that in with the meringue for the pancakes" Erina explained.
"And as a result, it brings out the flavor of the red bean paste, which is the star of the dish" Anne added after she snapped back to reality. Her face was still red, though.
"It didn't even look like she was using any special tools" Ryoko stated with wide eyes. "I get it! She used those coffee filters!" Hisako pointed.
"Yes. Not only are they easy to use, but they're also obviously excellent for filtering. They were the perfect choice for straining the yogurt. Because of this strained yogurt acting as my secret ingredient, I am able to finally reach the level of deliciousness that I was seeking" Erina clarified.
"If she had used ricotta or cream cheese, which have stronger flavors, then just like Akanegakubo Momo said, she would've lost points" Charme stated.
"The answer I sought for my dish could only be found by going beyond what is correct. If I hadn't seen Tadokoro-San's dish that challenged everyone's expectations, I could not have made this dish" Erina said, then looked at Momo. "Akanegakubo-San...I'm sure you've continued to create nothing but perfect dishes with your overwhelming talent up until now. And that's exactly why you couldn't acknowledge the dish with unknown brilliance that was completely outside the world you had ruled over. Tadokoro-San's dish that aimed for 120%, even if that meant abandoning 100% under conventional norms. That irritated you greatly".
Her words clearly angered the petite girl.
"What's the big idea?! Who do you think you are, going off on me all of a sudden like that?! You know that everyone calls you the ice queen, Eri-Nyan!" Momo snapped.
"Indeed, they do. But I am no longer a queen who just sits back on her throne" Erina smirked. Momo gritted her teeth as she looked down at the dessert, her hand was shaking as it was slowly moving, her body was forcing her to keep eating, yet her mind tried to resist.
It was like she lost complete control of her own self, she refused to admit that Megumi's 'Dorayaki' was actually cute. But Erina's dessert, which was inspired by the bluenette's dish completely cornered the purple-haired girl like a little mouse.
There was no escape...
"I'm so glad you liked it" Erina said.
"And Nakiri Erina of the rebel forces wins!!" Urara announced, excitedly.
The 'Polar Star' gang were released out of jail as they cheered and congratulated Erina. Until the small celebration was interrupted by a clap from someone.
"Attention, everyone. I have an announcement" everyone's eyes gazed at the person who talked and saw that it was Azami. "Regarding this 'Team Shokugeki'...There's going to be a change of judges. As of this moment, I will be the judge". He then approached the current judges.
"I'm sure you've had enough of the elite ten's dishes by now" he said.
"HUH?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!", "YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THIS WHOLE THING! THERE'S NO WAY YOU SHOULD BE THE JUDGE!", "GET LOST, YOU DUMBASS! YOU REALLY THINK THAT'S GONNA WORK?!" the 'Polar Star' gang were enraged.
"I still haven't had my beloved daughter's cooking since I came back to Japan. Not even at the 'Moon Festival', because someone got in the way" Azami glared.
"Wow, someone disrupted his meal back then? Talk about rude" Soma sipped his tea casually.
-
A few hours later...
"Hey, Terunori, I'm really worried! Everyone is fighting at the arena while we're sitting here doing nothing!" you pouted. After watching the matches, Momo lost to Erina, but both Takumi and Satoshi lost to Rindou and Tsukasa. And that means only two participants left from each team. Not to mention the sudden change of judges that Azami made, which clearly angered you as it felt to you that he was indicating that those judges weren't taking sides and simply vote for the elite ten, so he made himself a judge and brought two others with him. Only Anne demanded to stick around and judge as well, which Azami approved of.
"You really won't stop worrying, won't you?" Kuga looked at you. "I told you not to worry. And besides, what can we do? I lost the match against Tsukasa-Senpai just like we had planned, and that's it".
You sighed and looked down at your reflection on the tea with a frown. Kuga's wine orbs glanced at you before letting out a sigh as well. A small reassuring smile curled up his lips as he reached to hold your hands ever so gently, making you look at him.
"We'll be there on the last bout. I promise".
You smiled back at the former 8th seat, gently squeezing his hands while he leaned in, planting a kiss on your forehead.
"Now, let's go. I'm sure they're back now" Kuga got up from his seat, his hand didn't let go of yours as you followed him until you saw the 'Polar Star' standing and heard them arguing.
"The 'Team Shokugeki' is finally going to end tomorrow. Everything will be decided" Alice stated. "I feel so restless" Ryoko added, worriedly.
"There's no way I'll be able to sleep tonight" Yuki whined, ruffling her hair. "Isn't there something we can do??" Mito asked.
"I mean, Yukihira and the others are fighting to reverse our expulsions", "Maybe we can help with trial stuff or something" Shoji and Daigo said.
"Non, non" the 'Polar Star' gang looked and saw Kuga and you approaching them. "The more everyone gets involved, the more time they're going to waste" the multi-color haired boy said, casually.
"Kuga-Senpai! Mochiduki-Senpai!" Yuki's eyes travelled down to see you locking arms with Kuga's, and her eyes widened.
"Oh my go-...are you two dating?!" Yuki asked.
"DATING?!!" everyone screamed. You flinched, feeling your cheeks burn and shushed them. "Shh! Don't raise your voices!".
"Well, we kinda are. But let's put that aside for now" Kuga dismissed. "But not doing anything is just..." Yuki tried to protest.
"I think it's part of our job to just believe in those two" Kuga stated. "Besides, staying up late is murder on your skin! Go to bed right now, you hear me?!" he scolded them like a lady, which made you giggle.
"S-Sure..." Yuki sweat dropped.
"Hey, where's Satoshi? Is he okay?" you asked, frowning. "He's with the others having a meeting on what to do for tomorrow's last bout" Ryoko answered.
"I gotta go see them" you said, hurrying to where they were.
-
Meanwhile...
"Let's get over this one more time. I'm gonna go 'bam' and present this as the main dish, and 'boom' win this thing! So, you just make an appetizer to go with that, chop chop!" Soma argued.
"Why do you never think things through?! I will give you a proper lecture on truly elegant course meals!" Erina retorted, angrily.
"Hahaha! It's rare to see two people disagree this much" Satoshi chuckled. "We don't have any more time. What are we going to do?" Megumi asked, worriedly.
"Satoshi!" a voice called, and Satoshi, Takumi, and Megumi looked towards the door to see you poking your head with a smile.
"(Y/N)-Senpai!" Megumi beamed as if her worries melted away, and Satoshi's eyes sparkled. "(N/N)! Oh, it's so good to see you!" he opened his arms as you ran in and hugged him, even though he was almost naked now.
"It's so good to see you, too! I'm sorry I wasn't there to cheer you on! But I watched the match on the TV. You did a great job, Satoshi!" you cried. "Haha! It's okay, (N/N). I feel much better now that I had seen you" he smiled, resting his hand on your soft cheek.
"Oh, and...I kind of told Terunori how I feel" you looked away, blushing. Satoshi was taken aback by your words as he stared at you, blinking twice.
"Really?? Then, does that mean..." he said, and you nodded in confirmation with a grin. Satoshi smiled widely and hugged you tightly again, crying tears of joy.
"I'm so happy for you! This is how youth is! Love! It's so beautiful!".
"'Quail Stuffed with Risotto and Egg, Cheeky Youngster Style', new and improved! My 'Countdown Mapo Tofu Curry Noodles'! New and improved! Both are my specialties!" Soma served his dishes with a proud grin.
"They aren't profound enough to be main dishes. They didn't get used as main dishes as SHINO's, did they? There you have it. It's too difficult to work mapo noodle into a course. You clearly haven't given any thought to any other dish in this course with these ridiculous dishes. Rejected" Erina stated, harshly.
You watched this situation get all chaotic as Erina and Soma kept arguing over what to serve as a main dish. Satoshi didn't seem to be bothered at all, Megumi was a trembling mess, and Takumi was dumbfounded and just kept staring at the two.
You shook your head, a smile curled up your lips, even though your stomach was turning out of anxiousness, but you had to repeat Kuga's words in your head over and over again.
"I think it's part of our job to just believe in those two".
-
Chapter End.