Brightest Star Above

Chapter 9

Suzuki Miyako P.O.V. 

"What she already finished?" 

"Aghhhh she's taking all of the customers."

"Shoot there won't be any room for my dish if they keep on eating hers." 

After reaching 200, I had let out a sigh of relief. As I was about to exit the mini kitchen, some people blocked my way. 

"Suzuki-sama will you not continue to cook your dish?" 

"Awwwwww there is no more sample of Suzuki-sama's food." 

"It's a shame. I wanted to taste it." 

"Yah! Isn't she the one who won recently at BLUE?" 

I looked back at the people who were waiting to be served food. I looked back at my area and saw that none of the crowd had left and were waiting as if they were expecting me to come back.

Well, why don't I just go with their wishes just this once? 

I walked back to the mini-kitchen and started to cook again. People started cheering my name and releasing sighs of relief. Some of the people who had left came back to this place. 

I started to cook again. People who had tasted it knew that fundamentally speaking my dish was simple. However, it looked very different or "high-class"; it was because of the control of one of the finest delicacies in the world: caviar. 

High-quality caviar is not only expensive but it is quite difficult to control when placing in dishes. People would often mistake that place more would be good. However, creating harmony from the high-quality caviar and the simplicity of the scrambled egg and lobster made people understand what this dish is.

 An unattainable dream that could only be imagined. A once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity. Some kind of miracle that would never appear under normal circumstances.  

Humans have always been prone to their self-centered desires and every day they act on these desires. Some of them tend to forget that some things are simply unattainable. May this serve as a reminder that although unattainable now it is not impossible to find something better. 

As I continued to create my dish, I looked around the room and saw that Yukihira was struggling. I stared at his dish and saw that it was a mini souffle omelet. It had deflated before people could even taste the dish.

 I shook my head at his poor decision-making. Well, to become a world-class chef, one must learn to survive and thrive under challenging situations. He should be able to survive this... I think...

As the clock only had five minutes left, I stopped cooking and asked everyone to please leave due to the lack of plates and ingredients available. They all sighed in disappointment but gave a nod of understanding. I started to look over my leftover ingredients. There was barely anything in the left except for a few tin-lids of caviar and lobsters. 

I then exited the cooking area and started to look for my dormmates. Going around the hall, there were quite a few remarkable ones. Megumi had a proposal from one of the guests to marry their grandson. Takumi had made an Insalata frittata which surprised the guests with the manner the dish was presented. 

Ah, Erina's eggs benedict was also praised for being a dish that truly represented as the queen of breakfasts. After she saw that I wasn't cooking anymore and was simply walking around, she gave a hostile stare to which I blankly stared back at her. She then frustratedly went back to cooking. 

Soon, Takumi and Megumi had reached the 200 dish mark and was allowed to stop. They let out a sigh of relief and started to fixe their areas. I walked by to Megumi and took one of the remaining dish plates. 

I take a bite and nod in approval. I could feel my eyes glisten in happiness as I continue to take a bite of her dish. It's very warm just like home. Most of the dishes she had made at school were either clumsy or sub-par but her dishes at the home were more reminiscent of a warm or caring feeling. Now, she was able to channel that into cooking for random strangers. Indeed, she has grown while I was away. 

I looked at Megumi and saw that she was glancing at Yukihira who was serving piles of dishes one after the other within a short amount of time. His cooking was somewhat like one of those restaurants where people cook in front of the customer. However, this also had repercussions. People expect more of the dish and will mercilessly complain if nothing will happen. 

By the skin of his teeth, Yukihira-kun was able to finish the 200 dishes assigned to him. As Megumi and I approach him, an albino girl introduced herself first. 

"I am Nakiri Alice" the albino girl said before pausing to look at Erina, "That's right. Erina and I are relative. We are cousins." She then spots the approaching black-haired guy who looked kind of rough and scary.

"Ojoo-sama, what are you doing here?" Say the unknown male at a somewhat sluggish pace. 

"Ahh, Ryo-kun. Come here and explain to them." Alice "commands" him and they begin to do a somewhat unfunny comedy sketch. 

After Alice is thoroughly annoyed, she looks back at Yukihira-kun and says, "You sure talked big during the entrance ceremony but the era where artisan skills were highly praised is over." She then leans on the kitchen top and continues to taunt him "You don't have the caliber to stand on Tootuki's top. To prove that, you barely finished an assignment that required to make only 200 meals."

Yukihira-kun replies with a careless grin, "Right!? I panicked a bit there. I really failed there. But... now, I've got the "experience of failing." 

Alice frustratedly walks out with Ryo on her tail. With them finally away, I finally get to approach Yukihira with Megumi. Megumi continues to voice her problems about Yukihira while Takumi also complains at how reckless he was. I simply stood on the side watching this scene. 

Unknowingly, Yukihira Soma had become the center of everyone. Even Nakiri feels something for Yukihira-kun. Whether it was bad or good, people have revolved around Yukihira-kun. He was probably also responsible for Megumi's change. 

The training camp continued without a hitch. Everything was according to schedule. More students had either dropped or simply failed. Those who were left were either barely alive or simply not human. 

Everything was smooth... until the fifth day came. We were all gathered in the lobby of the hotel. I had sat with my fellow dormmates. Everyone was nervous. Based on the guidebook, there was nothing written on today's schedule. 

Everyone probably thought that this was a trial like the egg dish challenge. Well, they're probably right seeing as how this school does not have a concept of a break. 

Dojima-senpai enters the hall and everything goes silent. " As of right now only 2/3 of the current freshman are in this training camp. You have learned how to deal with diverse situations under pressure... I wish you the best of luck" He then paused. There was an ominous aura around the hall. 

"Let's proceed with the final program of this training camp..." He says in suspense. The doors to the banquet hall open and we are struck with the hotel staff welcoming us in a loud voice. "The last program is a modest banquet to celebrate the completion of this training camp."

There were cheers of joy and laughter all over the hall. Some had their souls leave out of their body from the anxiety of the announcement. I simply smiled at the scene. Maybe the school did know that we had to have a break sometimes. 

I sat with the rest of the members of Polar Star dorm. Megumi was on my right while Yuko was on my left. I ate quietly as I savored this meal. I was then reminded of his offer out of nowhere.  

Tsukasa Eishi 

You have intrigued me... 

After the banquet, everyone went back to their rooms while I completed some paperwork. I had never initiated something like this before. 

SHOKUGEKI

~~~~~~~

Hello... I'm back for a while... I have no idea what to do now. I thought that there would be more to the end of Shokugeki apparently that was it... I feel kinda empty or lacking... I don't know why... 

Anyways... I hope you enjoyed the chapter...