Road to Nakiri Mansion

Alice had just finished up at the Molecular Gastronomy Club and was making her way back to the mansion when she felt her phone buzz.

"Hm? Erina? What is it?"

"Alice, get over to the mansion, right now." Erina said, whispering on the other end of the line.

"What why? Did something happen?"

"Haru's here, and he just challenged me to another Shokugeki."

"Why don't you just decline?" Alice said matter-of-factly.

"Because that would make me seem insecure!" Erina hissed.

"Uh- I don't think that's how it works but okay, I'll be there!"

*Beep!*

"Hey Ryo, go faster, we gotta get to the mansion!" She whined.

"Yes miss." He responded in his usual monotone voice as they sped away.

Back at Nakiri Mansion

"I guess the only problem is who our judges will be..." Haru kept muttering to himself as he paced the kitchen floor.

"Hey, do I have any say over how this shokugeki will occur or will it all be by your rules?! And stop touching that!" Erina yelled as Haru ignited and turned off the stove repeatedly.

"I mean- You can determine what happens if you win? How's that?" Haru asked.

"That's not fair at all!"

Just then two girls stormed into the kitchen, one being Erina's white-haired cousin, the other her faithful assistant.

"Hey, blue-haired maniac! What are you doing, challenging Erina to a shokugeki, especially this late?! She needs her beauty sleep!" Alice demanded as she came face to face with Haru.

"Hm? Oh it's the Albino-Nakiri! How are ya?" He said with a dumb look on his face.

"What- Albino-Nakiri?!" She snapped.

"And it's the secretary!" Haru yawned as he moved past Alice and approached Hisako and Erina.

"Do not come any closer! You've already violated rules coming into this estate uninvited. I won't allow you to come any closer to Erina-sama!" Hisako put up her hand.

"Erina-sama I apologize for not handling this sooner, I'm a failure of an assistant." Hisako said, turning to Erina and bowing.

"No Hisako, I should be the one apologizing, I've been so harsh towards you lately, I don't know why, but nonetheless, my behavior is inexcusable, I'm sorry." Erina replied softly as she hugged Hisako, surprising the purple head.

As Alice cried tears of joy in the back, Haru yawned again.

He stood there for a moment, thinking while looking at Alice, then Hisako, then Alice, then Hisako again.

"Wait, that's it! You and the Albino Mouse can be judges!" He exclaimed, pointing at Hisako and Alice.

"Just what am I to you?!" Alice yelled, now looking like said albino mouse for some reason.

"Wait just a moment here! You just walk in here, suddenly challenge me to a shokugeki, and try forcing my cousin and assistant to be judges, and expect us to along with it?!" Erina yelled, slamming her hands on the counter.

"Why yes I do." Haru said calmly.

Erina was about to burst another vein on her forehead.

"Look, I already told you, the day you beat me in a shokugeki will be the day I get this Soma Yukihira to come back-."

"How do we even know you can do that?! Why would we trust a complete stranger to bring back one of our most trusted and beloved friends?! Do you think we haven't tried getting him back ourselves?!" Hisako cut him off.

Haru stared blankly for a moment, then reached into his pockets and took out his phone.

"Maybe some incentive would help..."

He dialed something on the phone, and handed it to Erina with the speaker on.

"Hello?" She said once hearing the line connect.

"Hello? Oh it's you Nakiri, what's up?" A young man said on the other end.

Erina was too stunned to speak, but Alice and Hisako spoke for her.

"YUKIHIRA?!"

"Oh, hey it's Alice and Arato! What's going on you guys?" Soma said.

"YOU IDIOT, WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL, IT"S BEEN MONTHS, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Erina finally screeched on the phone, scaring the other two.

"Ow, hehe sorry about that, I guess I just forgot- Oh hang on just a sec-"

Erina heard Soma speaking to someone in a foreign dialect. From what she studied before, he was speaking German. It was then Erina could also hear the sounds of a kitchen in the background.

"W- Where are you?"

"Oh, me? I'm in Hamburg right now, the people here are awesome! The food's great too!"

"Yukihira... Why did you leave? When are you coming back?" Erina asked.

A pause.

"Nakiri, if I'm being honest, what you said during the BLUE- I don't know, I really thought I had it down at that moment- But if you say my cooking's still bad, then it's still bad I guess, and I did promise to make you say it was delicious, hahaha!" He laughed on the other end.

Erina could feel her heart getting wrenched from her chest. She wanted to tell him it was all a lie, that his food was the best she ever tasted, but her ego cut off her words. She could only keep up her facade for now.

Soma's voice snapped her back to reality.

"Hey, Nakiri you alright? You haven't said anything yet."

"What? W- No I'm perfectly fine." She huffed(it was fake of course).

"Good, I'm glad you're still the same Nakiri!"

Erina could tell Soma was grinning. He was trying so hard, all just to make good on his promise he had made to her when they first began at Totsuki.

"Well, sorry to cut you off, but I am pretty busy here, it was nice talking to you though!"

"Wait, Yukihira. If I went to Hamburg, would you be there?"

"Hm? Nah, I'm actually leaving tomorrow!"

"Where?"

"Hm... I would tell you but then you'd come running after me, and I know how stubborn you are, but I'm more stubborn, haha! Either way, don't worry about me, just worry about you and being the same Nakiri everyone already loves! Ooh- a customer's getting impatient, gotta go now, bye Nakiri cousins and Arato, take care!" Soma said.

The call cut.

The three stood there, silent and amazed by what had just happened.

Erina finally looked to Haru who had been patiently waiting.

"How did you-"

"It doesn't matter how. Point is, if I can get someone as annoyingly elusive as Yukihira on the phone, I can get him to come back to this school, you just have to beat me in a shokugeki, simple." He said.

"...."

"So, what'll it be? You wanna try again?" Haru prodded.

Erina looked to Alice and Hisako. They both nodded in understanding.

"Cool beans! Now then we just need another judge..." Haru said, scratching his head.

"I think I have just the man for you-" Alice said, giggling.

"RYO, GET IN HERE NOW!" Alice called, and within a couple of seconds, the sleep deprived teenager walked in the room.

"Who's he?" Haru asked.

"The miss' assistant." He said without changing tone.

"Oh right, the one with the alter ego! I've always found you to be the most interesting of the Elite phonies, so can your guy just come out whenever, or is it only when you put on that bandana of yours?" Haru said.

The second he did though, Ryo's bandana was suddenly tied around his head, as if Haru had done it that same instant.

"WHAT THE F*CK DID YOU SAY, YOU BASTARD?!" Ryo immediately screamed in Haru's face.

"Apparently so." Haru yawned, turning away.

Alice and Hisako were still trying to process what had just happened, but Erina was thinking about what Soma had said.

Was it even possible to bring him back? He was indeed stubborn, but Haru claimed that he could, in fact, bring him back. Not only that, but he proved it somewhat with his ability to track down and call Soma. All she had to do was beat him. It seemed like a long shot, but as much as Erina didn't want to admit it, she was desperate.

"Hey, you mind if we use this guy to judge? The other one's too boring!" Haru asked.

"THE F*CK?! THERE'S NO WAY I'M JUDGING SH*T, I"M GONNA BEAT YOU TO THE GROUND RIGHT HERE!!" Ryo screamed.

Alice then started hugging Ryo's arm, swaying side to side like a girl pestering her dad for a new puppy.

"Aw, c'mon Ryo, do it for me, please? I'll give you something nice if you do!" She whined.

Ryo looked pissed, but had stopped yelling.

"Tch." He muttered as he stood by a wall, reluctantly accepting the role he had been given.

"Um- If we're ready, I think it's about time we got started!" Haru said.

Erina looked ready as well, for she had already washed her hands and was ready for whatever dish they had to prepare.

"Hm- let's see, what do you guys think?" Alice whispered amongst Hisako and Ryo.

...

"Hm, okay, are we all in agreement?" Alice said after a while.

"Yes, I believe so." Hisako said,

"I could care less." Ryo huffed as the three approached Haru and Erina.

"Right then! Your theme for this shokugeki is a broad one, but loved by many. Your theme is- desert!" Alice said happily.

Erina was ready. She had made a name for herself as a princess of sweets, even rivaling her former senpai, Momo Akanegakubo, who was known as the patissier of the school.

Haru was also getting into the mood of things apparently as he took out some of the things in his bag, it looked like a whole bunch of bargain foods he bought at a corner store. It reminded Erina of a certain someone...

"Ready?" Alice was cut off by Haru.

"Hold up." He said.

He pulled out something else from the bag. Headphones.

"Wh- Really? Headphones?" Alice sneered.

Haru shrugged.

"Cooking, making desserts in particular, requires much focus, something I believe you don't have, you'll only make it worse with such a contraption. It was only a fluke that you managed to beat me before." Erina said with disgust.

"A contraption? Seriously you guys need to work on your insults- Don't judge until you try it." Haru shrugged as he put the headphones over his ears.

...

"Um- Begin?" Hisko managed to get out.

Immediately, Erina rushed to the cabinet and grabbed her items, almonds she would make into a paste, almond extract, heavy cream, and more.

Meanwhile Haru pulled out some sweet potatoes and started cutting them, humming and quietly singing to whatever he was listening to, it seemed to be in Spanish, as some of the words he recited were  in the language.

Alice and Hisako could smell Erina's dish slowly coming together. Even Ryo, who claimed he would have cared less, took a peek at Erina's work.

Haru kept humming as the judges eyed the chefs.

Hisako could tell what Erina was making, Biscuit Tortoni, a classic, yet marvelous Italian pastry that could be modified in whatever way the chef thought was fit, which led it to be included in many menus across the world.

Alice on the other hand was still rather confused at what Haru was making, he seemed to be making some sort of jelly with the minced sweet potatoes he once had. Regardless, she remained clueless as to what.

While Erina seemed to take things quickly and seriously with her dish, Haru seemed more nonchalant and would even jam to the song he was listening to from time to time, as if he wasn't paying attention.

"Mmmm-" Hisako couldn't help but let out a sigh of pleasure as the waft of Erina's Tortoni entered her nose.

Ryo himself seemed slightly less irritated now that he saw what Erina had created.

Alice, however, was still fixated on Haru. This led to Hisako's renewed interest as well as Ryo's.

After trying to figure out what Haru was making, the three had pretty much given up and were now waiting for the competitors' dishes to be served.

Erina knew about Haru's title as a former first seat, as well as how little he thought of it, she was going to be more cautious now, the Magistri was no joke. She would ensure victory with a twist on her Tortoni.

"It seems Erina-sama has finished first." Hisako murmured approvingly as the Nakiri approached the trio of judges with three plates in hand.

"Biscuit Tortoni, it's a useless dish on it's own, but knowing Nakiri, she probably made it tolerable with whatever she added." Ryo pointed out.

"In any case, it's such an honor to judge your food, Erina-sama." Hisako said as she picked up a fork.

Erina couldn't afford to look, not because she was nervous about her dish, but because of what Haru was making. He was still in the final stages of completing his dish, and it didn't make Erina feel better when she smelled just how amazing his dessert was turning out to be.

"Mmmmph!" Hisako let out what appeared to be a moan. The tortoni was blissfully soft, and left a sweet after-taste in her mouth that differed from its normal sweetness, which only made her crave more.

"What the-" Ryo murmured as he took another piece in his mouth.

"There's something about this tortoni that changed it's basic form. It's not just a pastry but-"

"Yummmy!!" Alice cut him off before he could get to explaining.

"Yes, Kurokiba, you are correct. There is something this specific dish has that most Tortoni don't." Erina said.

The judges stood silent, trying to figure what exactly Erina put in the dessert, until someone from the kitchen spoke up.

"It's macadamia, you donuts." Haru said, taking off his headphones.

"HOW'D YOU FIGURE THAT OUT, BASTARD?! YOU WEREN'T EVEN LISTENING IN!" Ryo yelled.

"Man, I could smell it from here, was it not obvious? It makes sense too, considering the fat content of the nuts and how they add to the creamy texture of any tortoni. Since she roasted the nuts, they also retain a crumbly taste when you chew on it, keeping the integrity." Haru pointed out as the judges appeared miffed at discovering the nuts were roasted too.

Who the hell is this guy, he could tell all that just by smelling the tortoni? All three of the judges thought to themselves, except Ryo, who yelled it inside his mind.

"Well- it doesn't matter, the point is, the dish came out exceptionally splendid!" Alice said happily.

"Yes, indeed. A true masterpiece made by Erina-sama. " Hisako agreed.

Ryo stayed quiet, but didn't voice any criticism.

Meanwhile, Haru took his now completed dish and made his way towards the judges.

"Well, on that note- my turn!" Haru said with a little smirk on his face.

...

A/n:

Hey guys, sorry again for the unannounced leave of absence, I've been even more busy than usual. It ranges from running a marathon to moving apartments to studying for AP exams and the ACT. I've also been busy completely rewriting The Iron Bender so the first chapter will be on hold for a little longer. As for this fanfic, I figured that the long wait warranted a longer chapter so yeah. I also plan on releasing Chapter 7 later today, hopefully end Season 2 by next week, and get started on Season 3 which should be fun. Thanks for reading and as always, I will see you in the next chapter!

-Kano

...

ACT?! Wow I almost forgot I took that thing... Has it really been that long?... Anyway- yeah as you can tell by the Author's Note, I was in the middle of moving apartments as I was writing this fanfic and the Iron Bender- that was back in January of last year though...