Hope and Despair of Cooking [Shokugeki No Soma]

Chapter 21- Failed Confession

Third POV: 

"Tadokoro!"

"Hai?!"

"I want you to use these ingredients as the accompaniment. I want you to go gather them. Think you can find them?" Soma asked, giving Megumi the list of ingredients needed. 

Megumi took the note and read it, before nodding. "Um... Yeah! I think I'll be fine! I used to go looking for mountain vegetables a lot back home!" 

"Great!" Soma smiled. "I'm counting on you, Tadokoro!" 

"What are you going to be doing, Soma-Kun?" Megumi questioned. 

"I have to track something down, too, so I'm going out again," Soma answered. "Oh, before that..." Soma turned to Hinako. "Inui-Senpai. You said we can use anything we can find here, right?"

"What? Oh yes. Anything, if it's within the fence's boundaries," Hinako told him. 

"Then the key ingredient of our dish will be... this!" Soma grinned. 

"Huh?"

"Th..."

"Tha..."

"THAT'S... MY TEA SNACK!" Hinako cried. 

Megumi immediately became confused. "K-Kaki-no-tane?"

Soma faced towards both Takumi and Moka. Takumi looked at him with a face of shock and Moka looked at him... normally. Like an emotionless potato watching paint dry. "So, anyway, we'll be going out again. Oh, can you hang onto this for me?" Soma asked Takumi. 

Takumi reached out to get the bag of snacks. "Huh? Why me?" he inquired. 

"Cause you'll be a great mom in the future. Take care of the baby Kaki-no-Tane," Moka commented, watching Soma and Megumi dash away. Takumi was watching them afar with a sweatdrop on his forehead. 

"All right! Let's go, Tadokoro!" Soma yelled.

"Okay!" Megumi replied. 

"How disappointing. I made all these white flags for nothing. They'll go to waste," Moka sighed, shaking her head looking dejected; holding the a bundle of white flags in her arms. Meanwhile, Takumi was looking at her dumbfounded. 

"My Kaki-no-Tane..." Hinako booed. 

ooo

"It doesn't taste good," Hinako sternly told the two pair of students. "Try again." 

'Are we ever going to pass?' all the failing students asked themselves in their mind. 

"At any event, I must say there've been so many grilled fish. Everything has the same texture. I'm in the mood for something with more bite. Ne, Mokaaaaaaa-Chan! Please make Hinako-Neesan a dish please. I need to get the taste of fish out of my mouth. You can use Bob over there as your ingredient," Hinako whined pointing to the poor rabbit. Bob seemed to have sensed his life was in danger since it suddenly jumped after what Hinako said. 

"I see... so you don't mind if I fry you up into a dish?" Moka said, scaring Hinako. 

Hinako decided to ignore her, but not without feeling a shiver down her spine at Moka's comment. "Oh, you are all welcome to keep making new dishes before time's up!" Hinako bubbled. 

All the students ran out once more to get more ingredients.   

"Sh-shit! Let's try again!"

"It's no use!"

"There's no time left!"

Isami turned towards his brother and grinned. "It's a good thing we passed, Nii-Chan."