Chapter 11: Gateau

Chapter 11: Gateau

December 1st, 2024 (Revamped April 25th, 2025)

Tariq is now put in a serious situation, where he has to defeat the enraged Gateau after his Disposition awakened—and all due to one slice of the cake Tariq had made.

The cannon spins rapidly. Gateau points it at Tariq, ready to shoot at any moment.

“A newbie baker doesn’t deserve the win… you’re just a cheater!”

As Gateau speaks, he suddenly fires the cannon.

Tariq ducks just in time and rolls to the right.

The cannon is extremely fast; it results in people in the back getting erased from this world—even the chairs they were sitting on are obliterated. The substance he fired is white with a hint of yellow.

Screams echo as crowds rush out of the place—except for one little kid in a dark blue shirt and black pants, with spiky gray hair.

“Speaking of cheating… didn’t you reveal the fact that you bribed the judge to secure your win?”

Gateau gets even more pissed off at Tariq pointing that out. He stomps on the floor, and some sort of cake armor forms under his foot. The stomp is strong enough to shake the whole building, causing ceiling tiles to fall—and even land on some people in the process.

Tariq falls on his back from the sheer force of the stomp.

Gateau then uses his Disposition to form armor only around his shoulders—short sugar spikes—and some boots to help push off the ground. The strength of his launch leaves craters behind his feet.

He leaps toward the fallen Tariq with intense speed, his expression full of rage and madness.

Gateau grabs Tariq tightly by the neck.

He smirks slightly in satisfaction.

“Do you… have… anything to say before I end it all?”

Tariq chokes in his grip, his expression filled with anxiety—but not fear.

Then, out of nowhere, the gray-haired kid who stayed earlier, fearlessly despite the chaos, uses all his strength to yank on Gateau’s hair.

Gateau yells slightly in pain and loosens his grip from the shock.

“W-who the hell dares to—”

Before he can finish, Tariq summons his classic steel spatula and slaps Gateau square in the side of the head. It’s a clean strike that breaks some of Gateau’s cake armor and knocks him back forcefully.

Gateau’s vision blurs temporarily. He sees Tariq standing next to the familiar little kid.

“I’m still right here, Mr. Briber!”

Tariq shouts, then turns to the kid.

“Appreciate it, lil’ guy. If it wasn’t for you, I’d have been cooked by now.”

The little kid is speechless at first, then says:

“This guy is actually my—”

Gateau interrupts with a furious scream.

“Y-y-y-you… piece of… SHIT!”

He equips his full armor and charges at the kid with killing intent.

“Hold up, lil’ guy.”

Tariq grabs the kid by the back of his shirt and tosses him high in the air with some force to avoid the bull-rushing Gateau.

The kid flies up. Gateau misses and runs in the wrong direction. Tariq positions himself and catches the falling kid on his shoulder, then safely sets him down.

“Stay back now. Don’t try anything risky,” he says gently.

The kid nods and keeps a safe distance.

Gateau yells again.

“Who told you to save my little brother?! It’s between me and him!”

(Wait… did this guy seriously just try to kill his little brother?!)

As Tariq is processing this, Gateau charges again, fully armored.

Tariq pulls out a large tin lid to use as a shield.

Gateau strikes it heavily, knocking Tariq back. The loud clash echoes through the room.

Tariq retaliates with his spatula to Gateau’s left side, but Gateau blocks with his hand and aims a direct blow at Tariq’s head, the shield lowered.

Tariq kicks Gateau in the knees just in time, leaving him vulnerable.

But Gateau throws a bit of cake mixture at Tariq’s face, burning him. Tariq grunts in pain.

Then Tariq summons another large lid, hides the spatula up his sleeve, and slams both lids on either side of Gateau’s head. The loud clang disorients him.

Tariq pulls the spatula again and smacks Gateau, spinning him cartoonishly before he collapses.

Blood drips from Gateau’s mouth, and from Tariq’s burned forehead.

Tariq speaks:

“Shameless much, aren’t you? First you bribe the judge and still lose, and now you try to kill your little brother? I don’t hate you, but your actions make it easy to loathe you.”

Gateau replies weakly:

“W-what do you know… I had to win… the money… I needed it.”

His tone is sad. The kid watches, unimpressed.

“The prize money… it’s enough to get my mom out of the hospital… extend her life. You think I want it for myself… you misunderstand me, Gateau.”

Tariq is shocked. As he opens his mouth—

“Mr. Tariq! Don’t listen to this guy… he’s lying! I know his tricks—” the kid yells.

Gateau scoffs, then suddenly rises, armor shattering the floor beneath him. He speeds toward his little brother behind an oven.

Thanks to Tariq’s reflexes, he pulls out a sharp chef’s knife and throws it toward Gateau’s path.

Gateau grabs his little brother, takes him hostage, and covers his mouth with a large, cake-armored hand.

“You shouldn’t have spoken…” he whispers.

Then, to Tariq:

“You missed, and your aim wasn’t even close! If you want this kid to stay alive, surrender and give me all the competition money!”

The kid shakes his head rapidly in fear, mouthing “No! Don’t do it!”

Tariq calmly puts his hands in his pockets.

“Let’s see what the oven behind you has to say about that.”

“What—”

BOOM. The oven behind Gateau explodes, sending him flying, armor and clothes torn. He drops his little brother—but the kid is also badly injured.

Tariq’s heart stings. He rushes over.

“Kid! Quickly, eat this!”

He pulls a cupcake from his scarf.

“It’ll heal you. Tastes bitter, but you need it now!”

The kid eats it in one bite.

“Oh—guess you don’t mind bad taste?”

The kid points behind Tariq.

Gateau is charging his massive cannon.

“Screw all of you!” Gateau yells. “If I can’t get the money peacefully, I’ll take it by force—along with your lives, Mutafakir and Tariq Al Khazna!”

“I’ll make this the biggest, brightest explosion you’ll ever see—and it’ll be the last.”

The cannon spins faster and faster.

(I know what to do… but I need time.)

Mutafakir hears Tariq muttering and sees him readying another chef’s knife.

Then, Mutafakir suddenly yells:

“Gateau! Think about it… our mom’s in the hospital… Mr. Tariq is willing to give you whatever you need! Please… please…”

Fake tears well up in his eyes.

“Use it for her hospital bills! At the end of the day, we only have one mom!”

(Perfect…) Tariq smirks.

Mutafakir’s words hit something inside Gateau, but he tries to keep his act.

“The hell are you talking about, kid? Don’t act like you don’t kno—”

He’s cut off by a knife stabbing his knee. A gasp escapes him.

“Y-YOU… MOTHERFUCKER!”

“This is the brightest light you’ll ever see, and I’LL MAKE SURE OF IT!”

The cannon spins rapidly. A blinding flash erupts.

“DIE!”

An extreme explosion fires from the cannon. Gateau crashes into the wall, creating a deadly crater. Half the building is obliterated.

Tariq and Mutafakir had backed off just far enough.

“W-what happened?!” Mutafakir yells.

“Thanks to your distraction, I shot a molten chocolate bullet near the cannon’s nozzles. It froze and hardened instantly, causing pressure to build until—boom.”

Mutafakir looks confused, processing everything.

Tariq crouches, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Now, what do you say? Should we teach him a lesson for everything he’s done?”

“What do you mean? He almost turned into ashes and you wanna teach him a lesson?!”

“Haha. No more hitting. Just help me out. Let me have a word first.”

Tariq calmly approaches Gateau, hand in his pocket.

“Mind-blowing, isn’t it, Gateau?”

He clenches his fist in excitement.

“When your bad karma catches up to you? Told me karma wasn’t real—guess you’ve got your answer.”

“Bribed the judge, tried to kill your brother—twice—and lied about hospital bills just to gamble? Hilarious.”

He looks down at the unconscious Gateau.

“Unconscious or not, your ass is still getting it.”

Later, Tariq and Mutafakir hang Gateau upside down using hardened chocolate.

Tariq turns to the kid.

“What do you think? Looks like a masterpiece to me.”

He pulls something from his pocket.

“Yeah… pretty good, I guess?” Mutafakir says.

Tariq grins.

“Close your eyes and open your palms.”

Mutafakir obeys.

He opens his eyes—to see a beautiful stack of cash.

“Use that for your mom’s hospital bills, yeah?” Tariq whispers with a smile.

Mutafakir tears up.

“T-thank you, THANK YOU! I was always a fan of you… that’s why I saved you in the first place… but still, thank you very much, Mr. Tariq!”

Tariq lets go of Mutafakir.

Mutafakir starts walking away from the destroyed building that was once the site of the Baking Competition.

Character spotlight:

Gateau: the type of person who would blame you for their Hamster’s death. The dude was literally ready to gamble the competition’s money away instead of using them for his mom’s hospital bills. I mean, who needs a mother when you can gamble, right?

Mutafakir: bro is literally smarter than 99% of anime kids, he is using 100% of his brain. Now imagine that intelligence with his newly obtained broken ability?