(Author's Note: This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I intended it to be; it's a little different, and I introduced some original characters)
After the usual routine of attending Azami's after school review and then stopping by Polaris to leave his notes with Erina, Torrey found himself with nothing to do. He offered to stop by the market and pick up some things for the dorm, looking to atone for the failed shopping trip the day before. Although Erina and Hisako had obtained most of the essentials from various cooking halls around campus (it wasn't really stealing; the Nakiri's basically owned the school), they were still missing some uncommon ingredients.
Soma's ears perked up when he heard the market being mentioned. Perhaps BECAUSE of the failed trip, however, Erina was reluctant to let anyone else go with Torrey.
"Please! Aww c'mon, Nakiri. I promise I'll get right back to my studies!"
"Yukihira! I'll admit, your work ethic thus far has been pleasantly surprising. I expected to be constantly reminding you to attend my review's and remain on-task. However, leaving now will undo all of your efforts!"
"But I'm a peacock! You gotta let me fly!"
Torrey turned to Yuki, who had a book open on the table. Her attention was also focused on the debate; it was much livelier than her studies.
"Can peacock's even fly?" asked Torrey, trusting her knowledge of wild game.
"They can, though their large bodies and small wings make it tough for them to do so for long periods of time. It's usually just a reaction to danger, a literal 'fight or flight' response," explained Yuki.
"Huh. That's pretty interesting."
"I think so, too! I've always dreamed of roasting one for dinner...during times of chivalry, only a lady of the most distinguished beauty was permitted to carry a prepared peacock to a banquet, serving it to the master of the house accompanied by inspiring music."
"I've never even thought about eating one...I wonder if it tastes like chicken?"
"I'd imagine that the flavor is much more robust. You can stuff it with truffles, mushrooms, fowl liver, bacon, salt, spice, thyme, breadcrumbs, and bay leaf," said Yuki, her mouth watering.
"Sounds delicious! We should catch ourselves a peacock. Then you can prepare and serve it for a feast!"
"Let's do it! W-wait, a-are you implying..."
Yuki stopped and turned toward Soma and Erina, who'd been arguing while she was speaking with Torrey. Erina's voice had just reached a new octave.
"Fine! Go! I did what I could to help you pass your exams, but if you stubbornly insist on wasting away your progress, far be it from me to stop you! God knows I tried!"
"Thanks, Nakiri! This won't take long," said Soma, who took a step towards Erina as if to hug her.
Hisako instantly appeared between them with a whistle, blowing it loudly. Soma recoiled.
"That's close enough! Don't you dare lay a hand on Miss Erina!"
"And you shouldn't be thanking me; I'm allowing you to go, but I still don't approve," said Erina.
Soma winced while rubbing the insides of his ears with his index fingers.
"You have to pay a large banking fee for the bills you accrued? Man, I just can't relate to rich people problems."
"What are you rambling on about this time? Your miniscule brain is truly awe-inspiring," said Erina. Amazingly, the whistle seemed to have no effect on her.
"I swear I wasn't gambling online! And I don't know anything about a school train," said Soma.
Erina finally lost her patience, and looked to Torrey for assistance.
"Could you please get him out of here? This tomfoolery is becoming burdensome," she said.
"Sure, that's probably for the best. C'mon buddy, let's head to the market," said Torrey, leading Soma out of the cafeteria and to the front door.
"We don't have time for hobbies, or for rest. We need to get back so we can keep studying! Wait, did you say there's a carcass?!"
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Located near a sprawling waterfront, and just a short walk from campus, the street market was a popular destination for Totsuki students. It had nearly any ingredient a chef could need, and the prices were reasonable, too. The stalls stayed open until 8 or 9pm, so making the trip on a school night was always an option.
Given that it was nearly 6pm now, the area was packed with shoppers and tourists looking to grab something for dinner. Torrey was suddenly very grateful to have Soma with him. He'd only been here a few times before, and never during prime time, so he likely would have struggled through the shopping list on his own.
Soma didn't take long to find a stall selling a wide variety of spices and herbs. It was run by a nice elderly lady, who smiled at him and Torrey as they approached to browse her wares. Though her skin was wrinkled, she still had a certain charm to her, and Torrey guessed that she was a real looker back in her day.
"What I wouldn't give to be young again," she said, as if reading his thoughts. "Nothing compares to the joy of youth!"
She sounds like Isshiki-Senpai...speaking of whom, I wonder what he's been up to lately. Covert ops for the Resistance?
Holding up a small glass bottle and examining its contents, Soma grinned.
"Saffron. Nice! Good thing Nakiri gave us some spending money. I'd never be able to afford this stuff on my own," said Soma.
Torrey laughed; though she hesitated to let Soma go at first, Erina probably just threw him the money to keep him busy. Like a mom who didn't want to deal with her kid for awhile.
"Do you lads know how hard it is to grow saffron? It takes about 200-500 stigmas to make a single gram, and there are usually only 3 stigmas for every Crocus Sativus flower," said the old lady.
"That explains the price tag..." said Torrey.
"I might be able to give you a slight discount, if you buy something else."
"How about that jar of Sumac?" asked Soma.
"Oh-ho! You have a knack for spices, my young friend. 15% off your total purchase if you buy them both!"
"Deal!"
She's good...I bet she marked these prices up in the first place, thought Torrey. But it's Erina's money anyway.
Just as he was about to hand their yen over, someone on the street bumped into Soma, causing him to drop the jar onto the pavement. It shattered instantly, spilling its contents everywhere.
"Hey, watch it punk!" said the offender.
"What do you mean, 'watch it'? You bumped into me!" countered Soma.
Looking to be about their age, the kid was long and lanky, standing a head taller than Torrey, and with an irritatingly smug face. He wore his black hair slicked back with an excessive amount of grease, and his dark eyes held Soma in contempt. A grey and orange school uniform fit loosely over his thin frame.
I guess it would make sense that there are other schools around here...geez, maybe I should get out more, thought Torrey. It occurred to him that he hardly spent any time away from the apartments or campus, but then again, none of his friends really did, either.
"If Kaz tells you to watch it, you'd better watch it!" said the kid's shorter counterpart. This one was closer to Torrey's height, but much, much wider. A messy orange head of hair framed his large, freckled face, and his uniform was stretched much tighter over his round figure. Judging by the way he spoke, Torrey assumed him to be one of Kaz's lackeys.
"If that's true, then what happens when 'Kaz' tells YOU to lick his boots? Or fetch him a soda pop?" said Torrey. The short kid hesitated, probably unused to being talked back to.
"T-that would never happen! Right, Kaz?"
"You got that right, Chase. We're bros! And besides, I can't drink soda; it'd ruin my abs."
The pair of 'bros' were starting to sound like typical douchebags.
"Are you guy's in a frat or something?" asked Soma.
"Ha! You could say that. You could say that we're in an exclusive frat made up of the greatest chefs in Japan! But you Tootsuki boys wouldn't know anything about that," said Kaz, eyeing Torrey's uniform. He probably assumed that Soma was a student there, too, though his standard navy Yukihira Diner shirt wasn't exactly a give-away.
"It's Totsuki! And maybe you shouldn't take it from us, since we're just a couple of transfer students. But TOTSUKI is the greatest culinary school in the world," said Soma. He didn't take kindly to an attack on his pride, especially when it came to cooking.
"Hahaha! You hear that, Kaz? Greatest culinary school in the world," said Chase, whistling sarcastically. "If you're so sure about that, why don't you prove it?"
"You're not seriously challenging us, are you?" said Torrey. He wasn't even laughing; it was preposterous to think that these clowns would be able to best two of Totsuki's most promising first-years.
"D-d-did he s-s-stutter?" said Kaz, earning another pig laugh from Chase. Torrey and Soma looked at each other and sighed.
"Let's end this quickly so we can get back to our shopping," said Soma. Then he turned to face the challengers. "All right- what are your terms?"
"It's simple. We're going to have a food fight to decide which school is superior," said Chase. Kay nodded supportively.
"When you say food fight, do you mean the thing that juveniles do where they throw their lunches at each other in the cafeteria? And what school are you even from, anyway?" said Torrey.
"Is this guy for real, Chase? He's never heard of Kujira Academy!" said Kaz.
"Bwahahaha! You chumps don't know who you're messing with! And of course we don't mean that kind of food fight. We're talking about a cooking battle to see which team can create the best dish," said Chase.
"Ohh, why didn't you say so! You mean a Shokugeki!" said Soma.
"A what?" said Kaz and Chase together.
"Shokugeki. 'Food War', not 'food fight'. Geez, what are they even teaching you guys over there?" said Soma.
"More than they teach you at Tootsuki!" said Chase.
"Either you guys are idiots, or trolls. Maybe both. It's TOTSUKI. And if this is going to be a real 'food war', we need to wager something of equal value," explained Torrey.
"I see, yeah that's good. Hmm...if you losers lose, which you will, you have to come to our school at lunch tomorrow and announce to everyone that WE'RE the better chefs," said Kaz.
"And if we win, which we will, you have to do the same thing at our school. And pay for that jar of saffron! It's the most expensive freakin' spice in the world!" said Soma.
"As if that would happen! You got a deal," said Kaz, reaching out to shake Soma's hand. Chase reached out to shake Torrey's.
"I guess it's a 2 vs. 2 then," said Torrey. "We need to find a good location and some judges, though."
"If you boys would permit it, I'd be happy to partake," said the lady, a youthful sparkle in her eye.
"Sure!" said Soma.
For a moment, the boys stood there awkwardly, scanning their surroundings in search of a suitable venue and two more judges. The options weren't very promising; there were stalls and carts everywhere, but there didn't seem to be any real establishments around.
"Hey, how about that BBQ pit over there?" said Soma, pointing at a stall just down the street. When they walked by it earlier, it had been packed with customers, but now that it had cleared out, Torrey could see the shiny silver grills out front.
"That actually looks pretty good," said Torrey.
"Works for us," said Chase, snickering as he gave Kaz a look.
What was that? thought Torrey.
Together, the four high-schoolers marched down to the pit (The old lady didn't want to leave her stall unattended, so she made them promise to come fetch her when dinner was ready).
The timing was fortunate, since the man working there seemed to either be out of meats or taking a break. His appearance was somewhat comical, with top-heavy proportions and an eccentric beard, but he looked friendly enough to approach.
Soma, by far the most charismatic in the group, was tasked with asking him for permission to use his space.
"Well of course you can! Anything for Totsuki students," said the vendor, bowing humbly. He was surprisingly graceful.
Soma must have dropped the name...this school DOES seem to get a lot of respect, thought Torrey.
"You know, I used to be a chef just like you guys. But one day I took a frying pan to the knee. I was never the same after that. Now I'm stuck working an 8 to 4 desk job, Monday through Friday. I come here in the evenings to relax and relive the glory days. My cousin's out there making three star meals at Sukiyabashi Jiro, and what do I get? Stall duty," said the vendor, shaking his head.
This poor guy. Wait, how does a frying pan derail a whole career? And why is he telling us his life story?
"Want to be one of our judges?" said Soma. The man's eyes lit up; for him, this was clearly a welcome relief from his monotonous routine in the real world.
"Heck yes I would!"
"Great! We just need one more...hey you! Wanna help us out?" said Soma, turning his attention to a poor little girl who happened to wander up to the BBQ pit. She couldn't have been older than 5 or 6, and her big blue eyes were on the verge of tears.
"Umm...Mommy say's I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," she said, glancing away from Soma as she spoke. Then she started fidgeting with one of her brunette pigtails.
"Your Mom sounds like a smart woman," said Soma, thinking carefully. "But you don't have to talk to us! You can just try our dishes and say which one you like better."
"I'm not allowed to take food from strangers, either..."
"Wow, she sure covered all the bases here," said Soma. "But where is this really smart Mom of yours?"
"She was...well we were...together...and then...sniffle...I don't know..."
"Let's make a deal. You help judge our little contest, and when it's over, we'll help you find your mom. This nice man's going to help us too," said Torrey, gesturing to the vendor. The girl looked at him and nodded, apparently recognizing his sincerity.
"Okay..."
"It's settled then! Now for the rules. Let's say we can use any ingredients that can be found in the market. And a one-hour time limit! You guys can pick the theme, since you challenged us," said Soma, looking at Chase and Kaz.
"A whole hour? But..." said the little girl.
"Since we have these babies..." said Kaz, patting one of the grills. "Ouch! Hot!"
"What did you expect? He was serving customers just a few minutes ago," said Torrey.
"I knew that! I was just joking around. Anyways, since we have these babies," said Kaz, this time gesturing to the grill, "the theme should be grilled meat."
"You're on!" said Soma.
"Why can't we look for Mommy first..." said the girl. Everyone else was too preoccupied to properly prioritize.
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It was tough to say what drew the crowd in- it could have been the enticing aroma of BBQ, or maybe it was the commotion that the two pairs of chefs were causing. Regardless, it didn't take long before the stall was completely surrounded by gawkers.
Torrey assumed the head chef responsibilities for Team Totsuki, since Soma would be able to gather their ingredients faster thanks to his previous experience at the market. Kaz became the head chef of Team Kujira, and Chase was tasked with fetching ingredients.
With only one hour to work with, they had to be very efficient with their time. As Torrey prepared their station, Soma grabbed only what was needed right away, starting with the onion. This needed to cook for 4-6 minutes before adding the garlic, so during this time Soma left for the rhubarb, ketchup, apricot preserves, vinegar, molasses, mustard, chipotle pepper, BBQ seasoning, salt and pepper.
It seemed like an unreasonable list for such a short time, but Soma headed straight for the old lady's stall, where most of the ingredients were for sale.
"You can pay me after you teach those punks a lesson! Get cooking!" she said, giving Soma a wink as he quickly gathered up his things. He dropped the seasonings at the station before scrambling to find the ketchup, mustard, and molasses.
Their timing thus far was impeccable; the onions were done at the same time that Torrey finished mixing the seasonings with water, and just as he was about to puree this in the blender, Soma appeared with the last three ingredients for their sauce.
While the blender was going, Soma left to find chicken drumsticks, and once he returned, Torrey seasoned them with more salt, pepper, and BBQ seasoning. The chicken would be grilled over indirect heat for 15 minutes, before it needed to be turned and brushed with the rhubarb sauce.
It was during the brushing process that Torrey noticed Chase standing right next to Soma, observing their work.
"Hmm, so this is what you guys are making. It might be a decent recipe...for a middle schooler!"
"Bahaha! Good one, Chase," said Kaz, overhearing the exchange from his station.
"Hey," said Soma, suddenly sounding serious. Chase hesitated, sensing his shift in attitude.
"Uh...yeah?" said Chase.
"Everyone knows not to trust a chef who runs his mouth in the kitchen. Especially one who lets his partner do all the heavy lifting," said Soma.
"You guys are doing the same thing!"
"No, we're not," said Torrey. "We decided on a strategy that would play to both of our strengths, using a recipe that we both feel strongly about. There's a difference."
"That's a nice sentiment, but what you guys don't know is that this match was decided as soon as you let us choose the theme," said Kaz.
"Heh?" said Soma and Torrey, together.
"Hahaha! You know what we call Kaz over at Kujira? King of the Grill," said Chase, sounding rather pleased with himself. "He has extensive knowledge of nearly every grill model on the market. AND this happens to be the same one that he uses at our dorm- The Napoleon Grills Prestige 500 Propane Gas Grill."
"That's what these things are called? Man, that's a mouthful," said Soma, unimpressed.
"Respect the grill! Or it won't respect you!" said Kaz.
"Okay...well King or no King, I'm sure Soma has you beat as far as experience goes. Thanks to years of practice working at a real diner, he knows how to adapt to any customer's needs!" said Torrey, sticking up for his teammate.
"Thanks Waldenpond, but don't fall into their trap. We just need to let our dish do the talking!" said Soma.
"Right!" said Torrey.
"Pfft...Try-Hards," muttered Chase. "And what kind of a name is Waldenpond, anyway?"
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Torrey and Soma put on brave faces while watching the judge's reactions to Kaz's dish. The flavor of the Whiskey Grilled Baby Back Ribs was powerful enough to make the BBQ pit owner keel over. The spice lady looked perilously close to floating away towards the afterlife. The little girl was crying, but they weren't the tears of a frightened child. They were tears of joy.
After giving the judges a moment to recover, Soma approached each of them with a plate of Rhubarb-Apricot Barbecued Chicken. Torrey was confident in their dish, but chicken alone could hardly be considered a meal. At the last minute, the Totsuki pair decided to make a quick watermelon, tomato, and feta salad to go alongside it.
"Well, I hate to say it, but you boys might have a tough time topping that last dish," said the spice lady, though she was giddy with excitement as she eyed the chicken.
"The judging will be completely impartial, of course. But I have to agree with her on this one," said the BBQ pit owner.
"It was sooo yummy," said the little girl, with remnants of BBQ sauce still on her face.
The judges all looked at each other before nodding their approval. Then they each took their first bite...
Then another. And another. Their plates were empty in no time at all. Just like when the body takes a minute after eating to realize that it's full, it took a minute for the judge's foodgasms to kick in. Once this occurred, they were hit with inescapable bliss.
"GYAAAH!" screamed the old lady.
"HOWOOO!" yelled the BBQ guy.
"EEEK!" cried the girl.
"What?! How is this happening?!" said Kaz, kicking a table. "You said our recipe was guaranteed to win!"
"I thought for sure...there's no way anyone could..." said Chase.
So that's the nature of their "teamwork". Kaz knows how to use a grill, but isn't creative enough to come up with a recipe. Chase is the brains of the operation, and he probably can't cook all that well...
Although it was true that Torrey did most of the cooking while Soma did the shopping, they consulted on the recipe together, and it was Soma's decision to make a salad at the end. As he explained to Torrey when he came up with the idea, "The overly sweet watermelon and mild feta will complement the subtle apricot in our BBQ sauce. It'll create an addicting taste that the judges can't help but fall in love with!"
"We misjudged the first dish," said the old lady, looking at Torrey and Soma. "Yours was by far the better one."
"I don't even like salad...but it went so well with the chicken! You also get my vote," said the BBQ guy.
"Mommy usually makes me eat gross spinach salads..."
"Kimiko! What are you doing over here?" said a woman as she jostled her way through the spectating crowd.
"Mommy's here! Yay!"
Torrey noticed the resemblance immediately. Marie's mother had the same long, dark hair, but she wore hers in a neat ponytail. Her blue eyes were striking, and she looked to be in her late 20's. Jeans and a red tank-top complemented her figure nicely.
"Baby! I'm so sorry I lost you," she said, running up to give her daughter a hug.
"It's okay! I know you said not to talk to strangers, but they made me treats!"
"What's wrong with you?! Offering food to an innocent little girl like that...are you perverts or something?!" said Kimiko's mom. She started swinging her bag around violently, and Kaz and Chase were in the immediate danger zone. They fell to the ground, each curling into the fetal position to fend off the assault.
"It's not like that! They were having a competition, and asked me to judge!" said Kimiko.
"Oh?" said her mother, finally ending her onslaught. She looked toward Soma and Torrey with a raised eyebrow, almost as if Kaz and Chase didn't exist.
"We were, uh, going to help her find you...but we had this silly battle, and..." said Torrey, suddenly nervous. He was smitten.
"My mistake! I shouldn't have assumed anything. Thanks for looking out for my daughter," said Kimiko's mom, embracing Soma and Torrey together in a hug.
Well this is nice, thought Torrey.
Kaz was mumbling something about life being unfair.