Chapter Text
“I have $100,000 of cold, hard cash in this case,” Honoka held open a case full of rainbow-colored, monopoly money, “Four chefs get $25,000 each. If they want to leave this kitchen with any of the cash, they have to survive three culinary challenges...” She flipped through the bundles of money, making the most sinister face she could muster, “... and each other. In a game where sabotage is not only encouraged - it's for sale!”
A girl with purple hair tied in two, low pigtails walked quickly and carefully down the stairs to her table. “I’m Nozomi Toujou, and I’ve been cooking all of my meals for the entire time I was in highschool,” Nozomi adjusted the utensils that were laying in front of her, “My parents moved away during my first year, but I wanted to keep going to Otonokizaka, so I’ve been living by my own since then. I think that’s given me more than enough cooking experience to beat anyone who could challenge me.”
A short girl with a childish face and black hair tied into pigtails walked down the stairs, trying to seem as intimidating as she could. “My name is Nico Yazawa. I’ve been cooking for my three younger siblings for as long as I can remember. My parents told me that they were worried that my club activities are preventing me from being able to take care of my siblings. I want to win this competition so I can prove them wrong, ” Nico started sharpening her knives with a concentrated look on her face.
“Nico-cchi, the cards told me you were going to lose first today,” Nozomi taunted Nico with a devilish look on her face. All she got in response was a dismissive “Hmmf .”
On the stairs, a slightly taller girl with Blonde hair tied back in a tight ponytail gracefully walked over to her station. “My name is Eli Ayase. My grandmother is Russian, she’s been teaching me to cook since I was seven years old,” she wiped her hands across the table, removing any dust that might be there. “I want to win so that I can make my grandmother proud.”
“You better watch out, Eli,” Nico tried to taunt Eli.
“I’m not worried,” Eli smiled back, “You should be more concerned about Nozomi.”
“That’s right, Nico-cchi~,” Nozomi smiled, “I’m going to give all my sabotages to you.”
Finally, a small girl with short, orange hair came skipping down the stairs, she ran over to her area and smiled at her other competitors. “I’m Rin Hoshizora, and I’m gonna win! I don’t have much experience in cooking things…,” She trailed off with a slightly worried look on her face, “But I’m really good at winging it!”
Rin pumped her fist in the air, “Just you wait guys! I’m gonna win all the money!”
The third years looked at her, Eli with an encouraging smile, Nico with apathetic scorn, and Nozomi with a cunning gaze.
“I know I’m the best cook here,” Nico said confidently during the solo interview, “I’m not worried about Nozomi at all, I’ve eaten her food before, it’s nothing special. Eli is probably good - I’ve never actually tasted her cooking, but it can’t be that bad. Her major setback is that she’s easily flustered, so if she gets any sabotages, I don’t think she’ll be able to handle them.” Nico smirks, and hesitates before continuing. “But Rin? Rin’s a wild card. I honestly have no idea how she’ll do.”
Honoka walked down the stairs with a look of purpose on her face. She was carrying a silver briefcase, presumably filled with the money.
“Hello, chefs,” She greeted them with a nod, “And welcome... to cutthroat kitchen. Okay, so the competition’s gonna work like this: You’re going to compete in three culinary challenges, after each challenge, one of you will be eliminated,” She said with a scary look on her face. “Alright, now once I tell you what you’re gonna make, you’ll have sixty seconds to shop in the pantry for everything you’ll need,” She points at the large pantry behind her.
“After those sixty seconds, you’re gonna bid on some devilish devices,” She wriggles her eyebrows, “that you can use to inflict pain on your competitors during the auction. Each of you will begin with twenty five thousand dollars of cold, hard, monopoly cash,” She opens the briefcase to reveal eight bundles of rainbow money. “This is your money to spend throughout the competition, but spend wisely. Because the last chef standing will only walk away with the money they have left!” She claps her hands together in front of her and laughs maniacally, looking like she was having way too much fun. “Okay then, let’s start! Chef Nozomi, please come up and get your money.”
One by one the chefs come up and take their bundles of money.
“Twenty five thousand dollars!” Rin shouted excitedly during her solo interview, “I mean, I know it’s not real money, but it’s still so much!”
“I have no intention of saving my money,” Nozomi said flatly, “I’m not sure if I’m going to win this competition, but my plan is to make everyone else suffer.”
“Okay! So, for the first challenge, I think I want you all to make… the most delicious bowl of ramen ever!” She exclaimed, interlacing her fingers, “You’re all going to have thirty minutes to make it, after sixty seconds in our pantry, which starts now!”
As soon as Honoka said it, the four competitors grabbed their baskets and sprinted into the pantry.
“When I heard Honoka-chan say ramen, I was like… ‘Yes!’ I know how to make ramen! I mostly only eat instant ramen, but my mom taught me how to make it from scratch a few times!” Rin jumped around in her seat.
“The pantry was the most hectic place I’ve ever been,” Eli said with a grave look, “I almost forgot what we were making five times!” Eli gave a good-natured, innocent laugh.
“Why are we letting them do this again?” Umi whispered to Kotori, who was currently filming the whole mess.
“Because, Umi-chan!” Kotori said, lowering the video camera for a second to look at her, “I thought it would be good for the fans to see our more competitive and fun sides!”
Umi sighed and leaned back against the wall, content to just watch the mess go up in flames.
“The door closes in five… four…,” Honoka counted down as Nico ran out of the door last, “ Threetwoone !” And slammed the sliding door shut.
“I hope you all got what you needed,” Honoka strolled casually over towards the wall with her hands behind her back and an excited grin on her face, “Now, it’s time to start my favorite part: the auction!” She opened a hatch on the wall to reveal to rolls of aluminum foil. Honoka laughed evilly, “Oh, this is great. If you win this item, you’ll get to give it to one of your competitors, who will have to make all of their pots, pans, and any other container they might use out of it! Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
Nico looked at her wearily. She swore she could see sparkles in Honoka’s eyes.
“Let’s start the bidding at five hundred!”
“Five hundred!” Rin called.
“A thousand,” Eli bid, earning a look of betrayal from Rin.
“I’ve only made ramen a few times. I don’t know if I’d be able to use aluminum foil!” Eli worried.
“A thousand one hundred,” Nozomi chimed in.
“My plan…,” Nozomi tapped her fingers together, “I don’t care if I win it, I just want to drive up the price.”
“A thousand two hundred,” Eli countered.
“A thousand two hundred, going once, going twice… sold! To miss Eli Ayase,” Honoka waved for Eli to come up to where she was, “Give me my money.”
“I wasn’t sure how much she would want to bid,” Nozomi shrugged.
“I think…,” Eli paced in front of the other chefs, “That Nico would appreciate this.”
“For me?” Nico asked, taking the foil as if it were a present.
“I’m not that worried,” Nico dismissed the sabotage, “I mean, it’ll be hard, but I’m confident in myself.”
Honoka knocked on the shelf that the aluminum foil was on, and a pair of goggles that resembled scuba diving goggles were revealed, “Ohoho, these are cool,” Honoka grabbed the goggles and held them up in front of her face, “These are called drunk goggles, and - woah!” She tripped over her feet, then held the goggles down by her side. She cleared her throat, “They make your vision all cross-eyed. It’s really confusing. Whoever wins this can give it to one of your opponents to wear the entire time! I think they’re worth five hundred.”
“Five thousand!” Nico called out immediately.
“I already have to use the aluminum foil, there’s no way I’m getting stuck with those. And I know if anyone else gets them they’ll give it to me,” Nico explained.
“Five thousand! Does anyone wanna bid any higher?” Honoka looked at the other girls, who were all either shaking their heads or holding their hands up, “Okay then. The drunk goggles go to Nico for five thousand dollars.”
Nico gladly took the goggles from Honoka and gave her the money. She walked over to Rin without hesitating, and put them on her table.
“Nico-chan! How could you?” Rin looked heartbroken.
“Sorry, Rin, but I’m not planning on losing,” Nico gave her a smile that looked like she wasn’t sorry at all.
“That’s all there is for this round. Remember: best bowl of ramen ever! The cooking time starts… now!” Honoka called.
Everyone started cooking immediately. Eli had little to no problems with cooking, and with no sabotages, she felt pretty confident in herself.
“Nico, how is that aluminum foil working out for you?” Eli asked as she poured her pasta into her pot of boiling water, “I sure am glad I don’t have to use it.”
“The aluminum foil’s fine,” Nico dismissed her taunting, “I’m more worried about Rin over there,” She gestured towards Rin with her knife.
“Everything’s great, guys! Don’t worry about me!” Rin called out as she bumped into the counter for the umpteenth time.
“Everything was not great,” Rin said gravely, “Why do those goggles exist? It was impossible to get anything done!”
“Two minutes left, girls!” Honoka updated them. She walked over to where Nico was pouring her ramen into the bowl. “That looks good, Nico! I’m surprised you were able to make anything.”
“Of course I was able to make something! It’s gonna be delicious! There’s no way I’m going to lose this round,” Nico confidently told Honoka as she arranged the final garnishes.
Honoka walked back to the front of the room, “Five… four… three… two… one! The rounds over, put your things down and step back!” Honoka called out.
“Everyone, please welcome chef Maki Nishikino!” Honoka held her hands out in front of Maki, “She’s really rich so she has professional chefs cooking for her all the time. She has a very defined, sophisticated palette. She’s the real deal! Okay, Maki. Are you ready for the best bowl of ramen ever? Cause you’re gonna get four of them!”
Maki sighed. She walked over to where Nozomi was standing. “I made my favorite, shio ramen,” Nozomi watched intently as Maki used the chopsticks to try a few bites of the ramen.
“It’s very salty,” Maki commented, “But that’s to be expected with shio, so that’s not a bad thing. The noodles are very overcooked, though. They’re basically mush,” Maki held up some of the ramen, a sour look on her face.
Nozomi smiled, “Thank you.”
Maki walked over to where Nico was standing proudly behind her bowl of ramen. “I made my most very special Lovey-Nico-Ramen! It’s sure to win over your heart!”
“I want to be able to say that there’s something wrong with this,” Maki said in between bites, “But this is really good, Nico-chan.”
“Thanks!” Nico smiled.
Maki walked over to Eli, “I made tsukemen ramen,” Eli pointed at the two bowls sitting in front of her, one with the broth, and the other with the noodles.
“I always liked tsukemen,” Maki commented, “I thought it was fun to eat when I was younger. Your noodles are cooked perfectly,” Maki complimented, “But the broth is a little thick - or, thicker than I would like it to be.”
“Thank you,” Eli bowed.
Maki walked over to Rin, who was smiling nervously. She didn’t even say anything to present her dish, just braced for criticism.
“Rin?”
“Yes, Maki-chan?”
“This is a mess.”
There was a bowl that was filled up to the brim with what looked like very watered-down broth. Maki stirred the chopsticks in the bowl.
“There’s no noodles.”
“Yeah…,” Rin nodded sheepishly.
Maki lifted the bowl up to take drink some of the broth. She set it down, careful not to spill anything. “Rin,” She started, “How did you mess it up this bad? I’ve seen you make ramen before….”
Rin looked over at Honoka, who was shaking her head ‘no’ disappointedly.
Rin laughed and rubbed the back of her neck.
“Okay, Maki-chan. Now that you’ve tasted all of the “best bowls of ramen ever”s. Which one was the worst?” Honoka asked.
“Well…,” Maki chose her words carefully, “There was one that was a lot worse than all of the others… And that was chef…”