You'll Be Just Fine (BxB Budo x Taro Next Gen Main Ship)

Chapter 8 - A World Shattering Performance! Pt 2

- 8 pm, Clear-

Night had finally fallen in the city of Buraza. Tameko was cheesing for the cameras while she held a carefully made Chocolate Raspberry roll. Ryukon looked at the roll and how its chocolate glistened under the stage lights. The knowledge that there was a heavy sodium content in the roll helped him snap out of his desire to try a piece. He frowned since he loved fruit-flavored things.

"Alright everyone, bring them over!" The host said. The four team leaders walked over and placed their dishes on the judging table. The judges tried the fourth team's dish first and were amazed by the smooth and berry flavors of their mixed fruit cheesecake.

"Marvelous! Marvelous!" The Main Judge said clapping. He was the most important judge there and was typically kind. They all tried the third team's dish and the deep chocolatey flavors of their lava cake received a high mark that was hard to beat. The main judge clapped again, louder than the first group. Ryukon stood there, waiting for everything to go south. He begged for his plan to fail. He looked at Tameko, who showed her teeth with pride.

They got to the second team's dish and were having high hopes for each of the teams this year. They might actually have a hard time choosing a winner. The judges then looked at the Akademi High Team. They saw the roll and couldn't wait to dig into it.

"This is in the bag~" Tameko whispered. The group was already celebrating their victory.

"AAHAHA! MARVELO- uh?..." The Main Judge went. A few gasps came from the audience. Some people gave gasps of anguish, while others seemed to have had a light shine down on their hopes. Besides a snicker from Info San, the Aishi family gave no input. The Main Judge just sat there, offended by the taste in his mouth.

Tameko eyed him hard. The Main Judge gave a small chuckle and decided to give his favorite the benefit of the doubt by taking another piece from the center. The roll's center sure did taste as if it really was made of blood, sweat, and tears...

"UUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGH!!!!" his white mustache had uncurled. The whole room shook. The audience became more vocal. Keito was also glaring at the stage. A few of his friends took out their phones and messaged with haste.

"U-Um," Tameko started, "m-...may I please ask you what's wrong with our dish?..."

"I.... I'm heartbroken..." he said, then wiped sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief, "you mixed the amount of sugar... with salt, my dear..."

"W-WHAT!?" Tameko went.

She immediately turned to her team. The other members pointed blame at each other with their shifting eyes. The other judges gave a quick taste to the dish and inched back. One judge chuckled from discomfort. The amount of salt in the dish was enough to rival a cup of seawater.

"I...I..I've done EVERYTHING in my power to always lead us to victory!" Tameko started, "was I yelling at you too hard yesterday?? HUH? The SALT was mixed up!?"

People at home watched Tameko break down at the event. They were all rather shocked by such a slip up as well. The mistake was so simple. Keito looked at Ryukon, who was smiling and waving at the cameras to lighten the mood. He hid a small chuckle under his breath. After a few minutes of separation and waiting, the room brought the focus back.

"The judges had made their decision... In third place, we have..... Korijo Academy!" The host said. The audience clapped and rewarded them the 3rd place trophy, "second place goes to..... Sokarashi High!" The audience clapped as they were being rewarded. Tameko's heart was speeding so fast that she was spacing out. Her soul was nearly leaving through her eyes.

"Now.... The first place winner that will receive this year's trophy AND go to the internationals will be............ SUKURU HIGH!"

Tameko's cooking rival screamed from the top of her lungs, finally winning first place. Tameko began to twitch as she watched the golden trophy be handed to someone else, sparkling in its glory under the stage lights. Tameko began to shake her head. She grabbed random things on the counter and started dropping them.

"Thank you audience members and viewers alike for watching! We-" A glass jar crashed on the floor. The teams looked over and watched Tameko lose her mind. She ripped off her apron and hat.

"Salt! SALT! WHO DID THIS??" She went. The audience now watched in horror at Tameko reaching for imaginary things around her space. Many were eyeing the security, as if they were telling them to do something, "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" she turned sharply at her team, "I didn't even touch the salt! Who touched the salt!?"

Ryukon officially felt the impact when he saw Tameko sobbing. Slobber began to drip from her mouth.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" She shouted. "Are you serious?!" she was sniffling. The other members were huddled together as they watched.

"Whoa, little miss," the host started, "please calm do-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"

Tameko fell to her knees on live television. She faced the floor. Ryukon made an effort to relax his shoulders. He messaged his parents that he was going to go to a friend's house tonight. He then exited the stage. The audience's eyes followed Ryukon off the stage in sync. Security got on stage and grabbed Tameko by the arms.

"SALT??? SALT???"

____________________________________________________________________________

-10 pm, Clear-

Ryukon had gone to Keito's house that night. They were sitting on Keito's bed, trying to unwind. Keito was staring at the ceiling while Ryukon was sitting next to him, blowing smoke rings at him. Keito would poke at them every now and again when they got too close.

"Wow, you just walked off the stage after that..." Keito said.

"I guess the championship didn't mean much to me... After all, I just joined the club..."

"Hm... She's dead when she gets home..." Keito said.

"What do you mean?...."

"Her cooking career was rather promising to her family..." Keito started, "It was supposed to be her family's 'ticket' out of this mess. Her going to the internationals was going to really bring in money... Then again, her parents were probably gonna keep it for themselves... Those men aren't kind..."

Ryukon had to place a hand on his chest from such information. He was yelling at Info White in his mind when he was met with a kiss to the side of the head. He jumped out of his thoughts and looked at Keito.

"I felt like that wasn't going to last long anyway..." Keito said, "But anyway, I want to do what we did Wednesday..."

Ryukon's neck started its familiar tingling, "but I thought I was a risk..."

"At this point, my fate is sealed, so I mind as well enjoy myself before the inevitable..."

Ryukon got closer to Keito and began to kiss him once more. Keito then went for his neck and repeated the process of Wednesday night. Ryukon hugged around Keito's neck and tried to relax from all the information that was given. He closed his eyes, a little regretful.