Shokugeki No Souma (Fanfiction)

Chapter 39

I'm terribly sorry for the late update. I've been stuck watching SnS Season 2 Ep 1+2. XD
Anyways...thank you for supporting this fanfic^^ love you all!

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"Time's up, we'll now begin judging. Shinomiya's dish comes first. Serve the dish." Dojima announced.

Shinomiya walked up to the judges' table balancing the plates on his arms with a hidden grin on his face. Kurumi scoffed as she played with a fork on her fingers while sitting on a high chair. Megumi looked excited thinking about Shinomiya's dish.

"Well, I can't help but feel anticipation!" Donato said as Shinomiya laid his dishes in front of the judges.
"This is rather unexpected." He continued eyeing the plate in front of him.

"It's regional cooking from the Aubergne region." Sekimori stated. "It is a dish where a filling of finely chopped meat and vegetables are wrappes in cabbage leaves, then steamed. It's similar to a cabbage roll in Western cuisine."

"How peculiar." Kurumi said softly enough for Shinomiya to hear making him face her giving her a curious look. Kurumi waved her hands signaling him to turn back to the judges.

Unknown to the female, the red-head stare at the both of them with longing look as the judges started complimenting Shinomiya's dish, Chou Farci.

"...and the most fearsome ingredient of all is the cabbage that envelopes the filling. The Savoy cabbage...In Japanese, it's called the crepe cabbage. It has a strong grassy smell when raw, but develops a delicate sweet flavor once cooked." Dojima described.
"Shinomiya shone a fresh spotlight on legumes, or vegetables, shocking gourmands throughout the nation...and earned the name, The Magician of Legumes."

"I hate to say it, but it's delicious!" Hinako said happily.

After judging Shinomiya's dish, Dojima called on Megumi to present hers."All right. Tadakoro, Yukihira, serve your dish."

"'Kay!"
"O-okay!"

Our dish will finally be judged. Megumi thought.

"Let's go, Tadakoro!" Souma cheered.
"Tadakoro?"

I poured in everything I had into this dish. I didn't think that having someone judge it would be so...so terrifying...I wonder what they'll say. What if they say it's disgusting? I even had Souma-kun's help.
She started to panick when she felt a tap on her back making her flinch.

"Tch"

"It'll be fine." Souma cheered on Megumi then she looked at Souma with determination in his face.
"Go!"

Megumi made her way to the judges, placing the dish in front of them...a terrine.

"It's a Rainbow Terrine, featuring seven vegetables." Megumi stated.

"Hmm...seven pates, each of a different color. They created stripes of color, like a rainbow." Sekimori said while touching his chin.

"Wait, didn't Shinomiya also assign a terrine in his lesson?" Mizuhara asked.

"Oh, how interesting." Shinomiya said. (Oh my gosh ! Shinomiya !! Your grin+glare is soooo sexy. Ugh. XD I'm dying.)

"More like, how bold." Kurumi mumbled while playing with the strands of her hair.

"You're trying to find fault with my recette for the Terrine of Nine Vegetables?" Shinomiya continued.

Megumi flinched at the male's question flailing her arms like crazy. "No...uhm...I...I...I just wanted people to seemy own recette, so..."

"Well, let's see how it turned out for starters." Donato said, cutting a portion of the terrine, and so did the other judges.

"Delicious!"
"Indeed!"
"Yeah."

"She made patés from potatoes, carrots, zucchinis, and other vegetables to create layers of seven different colors. Each layer was prepared to maximize each vegetable's flavor. I'm impressed she managed to pull off something so labor-intensive in such a short amount of time." Sekimori explained.

Megumi seemed starstrucked while Souma just put up a smug face.

"There are two kinds of sauce. One is a sweet-and-sour sudachi gelée. The other is a astringent green herb sauce made from paste of several different herbs, with perilla as the main component."

Megumi couldn't help but to smile at what the judges were saying.

"Shinomoya's Terrine of Nine Vegetables is a dish meant to savor the flavor of fresh vegetables, but this recette focuses on the flavor unique to vegetables prepared for preservation. While they're both vegetable terrines, one showcases the flavor of freshness, and the other the umami born of maturation."

It can't be. After all of my failures, I had no confidence. I was a failure of the academy. But the alumni...my long-time role models...have said my cooking was delicious! Megumi though as she started to tear up. She glanced at Souma giving her his smile.

"My turn now?" They all flinched at the voice long forgotten when the unofficial Shokugeki begun.

"This is it." Souma thought while Megumi gulped.

"Crap, I almost forgot." Shinomiya cursed under his breath.

She pulled her ponytail letting her hair fall on her back, "Shinomiya, help me carry all of these. I also made one for the three of you."Shinomiya, without a word, carried three plates while Kurumi handled the other three. She gave Souma one of the dishes and made her way to the judges. When all of the remaining dishes were laid on the judging table, she took off all of the lids revealing a simple dish. She sighed as she stared at Souma making the male flinch and step back.
"This is an ordinary Halloumi, Courgette and Herb Cakes. I have to say that you should taste my dish first before commenting on it, please." She bowed and went back to her station.

Shinomiya, Souma and Megumi, sharing the same plate, they all took a portion and tasted the dish at the same time.

Silence filled the whole room.