Rematch

"You really do have something against bets that involve hair," Sundae glared.

"My place, my rules," Helga glared.

"Tch. Well, I'll just drag her over to a salon once I'm done."

"Um, is it OK for me to be doing all this? I know I came here when you said you wanted to show me your place, but another cook-off!? I really don't want to wear roller skates again, plus I gotta get back to work," Mimi nervously smiled.

"You've intrigued me, Mimi. Now I wanna see if you're any good at cooking," Helga smirked.

"I intrigued you? How?"

"By growing back all your hair like that. You also managed to somehow balance yourself while wearing the roller-skates and made a dish. I honestly just want to know how you would have cooked if you weren't hindered by the skates. As such, loser of this cook-off will simply have to scrub the toilets here."

"Lame, she needs more punishment. How bout she also goes bald, but has to keep it shaved for a year? Then I'd agree to such a proposal," Sundae huffed.

"BRING IT!" Mimi roared.

"Heh, idiot," Sundae smirked in her mind.

"IDIOT! Why'd you agree to such a dumb bet? Now you're gonna be bald for a year!" Helga groaned.

"But I didn't lose," Mimi pouted.

"Sundae's the best pâtissier I know. No way an amateur like you would even beat her."

"Just watch me. I may not be the brightest, but I complete my missions."

...

Sundae laughed aloud as she danced through the kitchen cooking up her dish. "Oh, I'm going to savor this moment. Time for overkill," Sundae laughed as she took her cake out of the oven.

"Wow, it looks really good," Mimi mused.

"But you won't be looking so good when you lose again. What are you even making?"

"That sundae you made earlier."

"Copying me? Wow, you really are stupid. This isn't ice cream vs ice cream, it's ice cream vs cake. I made sure to craft my cake in a way that it will stuff the judges and sour their mood on future dishes," Sundae giddily thought.

"Alright, are you two almost done?" Helga asked.

"Almost," Sundae sang.

"Just about," Mimi smiled.

"Good. Then you two come with me while I bring out the dishes. Oh, and you are to remain silent until the judges deliver their verdict."

Sundae and Mimi placed their dishes on the cart and followed Helga as she wheeled them out to the judges. Like before, Helga, Frosting, and Sorbet were judging, however they were now joined by two people from Helga's place. One was a girl with her hair styled like a mushroom named Kyoko, while the other was a guy with red hair and blonde highlights named Akito.

"Now, first we shall try the sundae," Helga stated as she placed said dish before the other judges.

"Tch. So, I won't be able to stuff them full. Well, I'll still win anyway," Sundae thought.

"Mmm! This is delish. You outdid yourself Sundae-sama," Sorbet cooed.

"Tastes better than it did earlier," Frosting mused.

"Sundae-chan's sweets really are the best. Oh, no offense Helga-chan," Kyoko snickered.

"Sundae-chan! Your sundae is divine! I would not mind if you shoveled it down my throat every second of the day for the rest of time!" Akito blushed.

"Huh!? I-"

"No talking till ALL the judging's over or you're DQ'd!" Helga glared as she tried the sundae.

Next it was onto the cake.

"It's delish, but it fills me up WAY too quick. Lame. Bet you were trying to screw over Sundae-sama with this," Sorbet glared at Mimi.

"The cake's good, but it probably would have tasted better before I ate the sundae. The flavors just don't mesh well," Frosting noted.

"Tch. I think I'm enjoying the cake more. I can't let that girl win though," Kyoko thought.

"Um, girl whose name I don't know, your cake fills me to the max! Please feed this to me every day! Also, can I have your number?" Akito asked.

Mimi immediately got defensive before Helga slapped Akito. "Sorry about him. He may be a talented chef, but he's also an insane womanizer. If the others were in, I'd have had one of them judge instead of him," Helga sighed.

Once the judges were finished eating, they gave their verdicts.

"Now judges, which dish was the best? I personally thought the sundae was superior to the cake. How about you, Akito?" Helga asked.

"Cake! There was more! Plus, I think the blonde girl is cuter so I wanna show her some love," Akito gushed.

"Noted. Frosting?"

"The sundae. The cake stuffed me too much," Frosting stated.

"Kyoko?"

"The sundae," Kyoko lied.

"And Sorbet?"

"Well obviously Sundae-sama's," Sorbet smirked.

"Which was?"

"The sundae you dunce. Seriously, that dumbass rubbing off on you? Well, won't be any longer. With a vote of 4-1, Sundae-sama wins!" Sorbet proclaimed.

"No, you got it in reverse. Mimi made the sundae and Sundae made the cake; therefore, Mimi wins in a 4-1 upset," Helga declared.

"HUH!?" all the other judges gasped.

"I was gonna vote for the cake! Let me change my vote!" Kyoko stuttered.

"No. No changing votes. The results stand," Helga glared.

"But I voted for the sundae because I thought Sundae-sama made it! You deceived us!" Sorbet fumed.

"My place, my rules. If I say we do a blind taste test for the dishes, we do it."

"You didn't tell ME that!" Sundae fumed.

"Contestants weren't supposed to know. Now go scrub the toilets."

"Like hell I'm going to accept this! You screwed me over! I would have won if you served my cake first!"

"No. Kyoko clearly liked your cake more, but ultimately gave her vote to the sundae. You lost. Heck, even your own staff said Mimi's sundae was better than the one you made."

"Huh!? A- are you implying she surpassed me at MY specialty!?"

"I recorded everything, so let's hear the replay."

Sundae began to tremble with anger as she watched the replay. "Was it REALLY better than the one I made earlier?" Sundae glared at Frosting and Sorbet.

"Um Well, we thought you made the sundae so-"

"HONESTLY!"

"I- liked the sundae the challenger made more," Frosting trembled.

"Frosting! Er, I- um I-"

"You liked this one more, didn't you!?" Sundae glared.

"Yes!" Sorbet cried.

"You both are shaving your heads and eyebrows for a year. Now get your assess over to the salon! Oh, and have them wax your heads too. I'm really pissed off," Sundae glared.

"Yes Sundae-sama!" Sorbet and Frosting sobbed as they begrudgingly followed Sundae out.

"And you're also required to scrub my toilets," Helga glared.

"No. I'm instead going to inform Makihara-sama that YOU are beginning to get tainted. This match was clearly-"

Splat!

Everyone stared in shock as Sundae's head and face were covered in cake. "Oops, I'm so clumsy I accidently sent this cake flying at you when I tripped," Mimi snickered.

"You bitch!" Sundae shouted as she wiped the cake off her before storming away, humiliated.

Sorbet and Frosting reluctantly followed her while Kyoko dragged Akito back to the kitchen, leaving Helga and Mimi alone.

"So, how'd you do it?" Helga asked."

"Oh, I simply copied everything she did but added in some lingonberries," Mimi replied.

"So, you've got some talent after all. Guess you really are worth taking a look at," Helga smiled.

"Heh, Hylda said the exact same thing when I first impressed her. You sure you don't have amnesia?" Mimi asked.

"I'm NOT Hylda. Ugh, and you ruined my good spirits with your mention of Hylda. Just go. You don't want to get fired, do you?" Helga huffed.

"Fired? AH! I FORGOT ABOUT WORK!"

Mimi bolted out of the restaurant at breakneck speed as Helga stared at the sundae she made. "Mimi... You really are something special," Helga mumbled.

...

As Mimi rounded the corner and approached Ryokoma, she ran into Rika pushing a bandaged up Waki in a wheelchair. "Ah! Ri-chan! I'm sorry I've been skimping on work! I was challenged to a cook-off by Sundae but lost and had to shave my head. Then I grew it all back by drinking milk, but then got challenged again by Sundae and beat her at Helga's place and-"

"Wait what? You were in a cook-off!? Damn! I would have loved to see it!" Rika lamented.

"Huh? You're not mad I just ran off with them without saying a word?" Mimi asked.

"I honestly didn't know you've been gone this whole time. As soon as you left, I ended up having to take Waki to Stitch. Turns out your chuuni friend nearly fractured all her bones."

"He's not exactly my friend. Anyway, is Waki alright?"

"Stitch said I'd be healed up in a day or two so long as I don't exert myself too much," Waki growled.

"That's good."

"Now tell me about the cook-off. If Masaru gets mad, I'll just say you were helping me take care of Waki," Rika smiled.

"Thanks."

...

Frosting and Sorbet sobbed as they arrived at the salon.

"This is what you get for saying that bitch's sundae was better than mine," Sundae glared.

"Well, aren't you being a little cruel to your loyal followers?" Rika smirked as she approached the three.

"What do you want? Oh, here to become bald and ugly?" Sundae sneered.

"Nah, I'm actually here because I heard you lost a cook-off and had to go bald."

"I'm appealing that loss to the Tabemono alumna association. Helga was clearly trying to sabotage me. That and I beat your employee fair and square, yet she didn't shave her head when she lost. Instead, she begged Helga to save her and that's what happened."

"Really? I heard Mimi say that she made a better sundae than you. Even if the cook-off punishments are voided, you still would be the ultimate loser. Also, funny you mention the alumna association. Masaru's got some pretty big sway over them. Should he vouch that Mimi won the cook-off fair and square, you'd be forced to accept the punishment in addition to the punishment you'll likely be given for your roller-skate mandate challenge. If anything, that's the cook-off likely to be voided since it was reported that you tried to bring harm to your opponent."

"And where's your proof?"

"Mimi sent the video footage she got from Helga to me. Wonder how pissed Makihara would be if he found out you lost to a "nobody" without a cooking license at your own craft." Sundae immediately went pale as Rika continued. "Heard your cuteness took a hit after you got caught up in the big shit. Wonder how much more your reputation would fall if your loss went public."

"W- what do you want?"

"Shave your head, Suika-chan."

"HELL NO! And don't you dare call me by my real name!" Sundae fumed.

"Well then at least spare your loyal employees from going bald."

"Don't try and pity us, heathen!" Sorbet and Frosting shouted in unison.

"Sheesh, I was just trying to help. Well, Suika-chan, guess your punishment's on hold. Though I'll only make it even more humiliating for you if I find out your employees went bald by your order," Rika waved as she left.

Sundae clicked her tongue in frustration before turning to Sorbet and Frosting. “You’re off the hook for now," she growled before storming away.

...

"Rika, just how long is Waki going to be out of commission for?" Masaru asked as he and Rika closed up shop for the night.

"Oh, she should be back tomorrow if she heals up quickly," Rika replied.

"And how exactly did she get hurt?"

"Uh... from trying to break up a fight between some delinquents."

"I hope they don't come here," Masaru trembled.

"Relax, I can hold my own in a tussle."

"Well, that is reassuring at least."