The catering gig

"I- Itsuki!?" Masaru trembled as he stared at Itsuki.

"So yeah, I kinda just found her in the hallway like this," Rika explained as Itsuki put on one of the bathrobes.

"Why is she like that!?"

"I... don't know. It's hard to understand her with her mouth like that."

"Then what do we do!?"

"Well, luckily I've got a friend that happens to be a doctor on speed dial. She's more a night owl so she should be up," Rika said as she dialed Shiori.

"What?" Shiori growled.

"St- Shiori-chan."

"My name? You around normies?"

"Yeah, also one of my employees can't talk cause her mouth is glued shut. Can you swing by the Tall tower hotel and resort?"

"Tt hotel? I'm almost there now."

"Really?"

"Though your employee's gonna have to wait. Someone called ahead of you, so I'm seeing them first."

"Alright, we'll chill then."

"Well?" Masaru nervously asked.

"We're on the waiting list, but she'll be here. Guess Itsuki can just snooze on the sofa while we snooze on the bed."

"I can't sleep in these conditions."

"Guess we'll just stay up then. Not like we're the ones that gotta cook in a few hours anyway."

...

Shiori's eyes widened as she stared down the hole on the rooftop. "And just who is that mangled at the bottom?" she growled.

"Um, one of Ri's friend Helga. We were... asked to guard her," Hanabi nervously chuckled.

"Well, you screwed up big time. Ri just called me and said she had a patient for me. Tch! Two floors down. Bring a wheelchair to the floor two levels below," Shiori glared at Hanabi as she leapt down into the hole. She slid down on her threads before landing and examining the motionless Helga. "Not moving, but alive. Has multiple broken bones and fractures," Shiori grumbled as she opened her medical kit.

"Also got some immobilization serum in her!" Hanabi shouted down.

"Start with that then!" Shiori growled back.

...

"Mmph ngh mmph?" Helga groaned as she was placed in a wheelchair in a full body cast.

"No, sadly you aren't dreaming. You're gonna be stuck like that for a week or two," Shiori grumbled.

"MMPH!?"

"You'll only have to spend a night in a full cast, though your left leg and right arm are completely broken while some of your right ribs are fractured. Luckily, the beds here are comfy."

"I should have stayed in bed," Helga miserably thought.

...

"St- Shiori! Um, why are you bringing a mummy here?" Rika nervously asked as Shiori knocked on her door with Helga in tow.

Shiori peered into the room and noticed Masaru. "Tch. Now I gotta do my makeup. You two take white hair back to her room while I apply it," Shiori growled at Izumi and Hanabi.

"White hair? Wait, is that Helga!? What the hell happened!?"

"Keep it down, it's the middle of the night!"

"Sorry Ri, we messed up," Hanabi said as she bowed along with Izumi.

"What happened?" Rika asked as she closed the door and stepped into the hall.

"Well, she went up to the rooftop lounge, but the cult was there so we fought. However, she fell into a hole I made."

"Well at least she's alive. Now since I'm gonna be sleeping in, I want you two to get up and see how my staff do tomorrow at the breakfast."

"Got it. Sorry for messing up your friend."

"We aren't exactly friends, but still should have been a little more on top of things."

...

Itsuki coughed and gagged as Shiori finished unsealing her mouth. "Ugh, that evil little bitch is gonna pay for this," she moaned.

"Looks like she can talk clearly again at least," Shiori grumbled.

"Wait, you're not gonna do something about her tattoo?" Masaru asked.

"It would cause her too much pain. I'll wait until she's eased up before lasering that shit off. Now how bout I see how your hand is doing, Ri."

...

Itsuki massaged her bandaged mouth as Shiori finished re-bandaging Rika's hand. "Your hand looks to be improving, but keep it bandaged for a week and ease up on the cooking. As for your friend, have her rest and then you can remove the bandages when she wakes up. We'll continue when you both wake up. I'll be staying in white hair's room, so come to me there," Shiori grumbled as she left.

"Guess I'll have to wait to find out what happened to you, Itsuki" Rika sighed.

...

As the sun rose, Matcha, Mimi, Waki, Zuina, and Benihime prepared for the catering gig. "Time to do this, girls!" Waki cheered as she took a group selfie.

"I hope Rika at least had an uneventful night," Matcha sighed.

"She should be fine, she's got Masaru," Mimi smiled.

"Then it is our time to shine! Now, who has the most cooking skill other than myself?" Benihime asked.

"Probably Matcha," Zuina theorized.

"Then Matcha and I shall head the operation!"

"Zuina!" Matcha groaned.

"Come on, you clearly are the most talented one here. Have a bit more courage and confidence," Zuina said as she patted Matcha on the back.

"I'm gonna kick Rika's ass for having us do all this," Matcha grumbled.

...

As the 5 arrived at the kitchen, they noticed Makihara talking with some chefs. "Ah, so rabble has come to cook. Truly, you must consider my offer. I do not mind doing ALL the cooking myself," Makihara argued.

"But we couldn't ask an esteemed guest to do labor. We have our pride too," the head chef argued.

"They will destroy your reputation."

"How bout you like, go to your table," Waki glared.

"Very well, I shall judge your breakfast, though don't think you'll have a miracle like at the remedial exam," Makihara glared as he stormed out.

"Well, let's get cookin girls!"

...

"Mmph ngh mmph!" two women cried as they were stuffed in a closet bound and gagged.

"Sorry, but Ri asked us to check up on the staff. Least we can do for botching her requests," Hanabi thought as she locked the closet. She then grabbed her disguise kit, and within seconds, her and Izumi looked just like the two women they had caught. "I'll do the talking since I'm fluent in German," Hanabi stated.

"Izumi understands," Izumi smiled.

...

Hanabi and Izumi approached the dining hall but were stopped by the greeter. "Hello, I apologize, but this is a private event and only those-"

"Wir sind von der Münchner Gourmetgesellschaft. Wir sind hier, um die Küche von Masaru Ryono zu probieren [We are from the Munich gourmet society. We are here to sample Masaru Ryono's cooking],” Hanabi stated.

"Uh, German?" the greeter nervously asked.

"They are representatives from Munich's gourmet elite organization," Makihara stated as he arrived.

"Makihara-sama, then am I to let them in?"

"Yes, let anyone from a gourmet elite organization in. Though do inform them that due to sudden illness, Masaru Ryono is unable to cook himself, and thus forced to rely on his far less experienced staff."

"Uh, how do I say that in German?"

"Apologies, I can speak some Japanese, but not very well. I can, however, understand it," Hanabi stated in a thick German accent.

...

"Ugh, I see a bunch of gourmet elites here. Makihara and his wife, Asahi Ryono and his wife, and Rebelle," Matcha groaned as she entered the dining area.

She then noticed Mochi being accompanied by a beautiful woman with long lime green hair sporting multiple piercings. Both Mochi and the women were garbed in kimonos, though the woman had elected to wear lime green sneakers instead of zori like Mochi. Matcha immediately burst into laughter upon realizing who the woman was. "Wow, you really dolled yourself up, Mother," she laughed.

"Don't make fun of me! I was in the makeup chair for hours! Kiji never had a problem with me dining with my hawk and no makeup." Mocha pouted as she and Mochi sat down.

"My apologies, Miss Myouchi, but since this is a formal event, there is a proper dress code in place. My deepest sympathies to what happened to Kiji, he was a talented chef," Makihara nodded.

"Well thanks for the condolences at least. Though once I'm free, I spike up the hawk and wash off the makeup."

"I'm more surprised your daughter came. I thought she had turned her back on pursuing a cooking career," Makihara glared.

"I'm merely here to accompany my mother. It is also safer that we stick together considering what happened to my father," Mochi glared.

"I bet that bitch he disowned killed him. Like hell he accidently killed himself in a scuffle like they claim," an elderly man with grey hair clad in a tan hakama grumbled.

"For once I agree with you, Ryono-san. Though the fault partially lies with my father. Had he been a better parent and been more supportive of my older sister, she might not have strayed from the path of good. Then again, even if he did shower her with unconditional love, it might not have vanquished the green-eyed monster that has set its sights on me," Mochi sighed as she drank her water.

"Well, now it's my other daughter's time to shine. I only put up with dolling myself up so I wouldn't embarrass her. Now it's her time to shine," Mocha smiled as she glanced at Matcha.

"Thanks Mother. now, allow me to take yours and everyone else's order," Matcha smiled.

...

As the Ryokoma girls arrived with the meals, a young woman with black hair clad in a blue kimono glared at the group. "You really think you're gonna pass? Maybe when you fail, I'll punish you like I did to some of you back at Tabemono," she sneered.

All the Tabemono Gakuin alumni shrieked as they recognized her voice. "A- Azuki-sensei!?" they gasped.

"Yes, I know it must seem weird to see me looking like a geisha. But I allowed myself to be dolled up for this event. So Zuina, care to remind everyone what I did to those who failed my class and any classes I subbed for?" Azuki sneered.

"You shaved their head and eyebrows and had them march around the school with a "failure" sign hanging from their neck," Zuina trembled.

"Correct. Though it is surprising that you are the only one amongst your group that I've personally failed."

"Yes, it was humiliating. But I did hear that you yourself ended up doing the bald march of shame after Komachi-san humiliated you in your own class."

"Want to go a round!?" Azuki glared.

"Azuki, calm yourself. Do not let the rabble provoke you," a woman clad in a red kimono, sitting next to Makihara glared.

The woman was none other than Mahi Makihara, Makihara's wife as well as Itsuki's mother. She appeared to be fairly young, but still much older than Azuki.

"My, everyone is so tense. Well guess we should vent our anger on their slop first," Rebelle mused as she tried a bite.

Makihara also took a bite of the food before him as did the others at the table. "Unsatisfactory. It seems this is unable to satisfy my taste pallet. A shame Masaru-kun is forced to hire such rabble due to the heathen. Though I'm disappointed more with Itsuki," Makihara glared as he pulled out his phone and gazed at all the unread messages he sent to Itsuki.

"Despicable. You all fail," Mahi glared as she too pulled out her phone to check if Itsuki had responded to her.

"You brats are lucky I got too old to be headmaster. Back in my time, this slop would have netted you an automatic expulsion! What the hell was my son thinking when he allowed you to work at his place!?" the old man in the tan hakama snarled.

"Your son?" Mimi asked.

"I'm Masaru's father dammit!"

"Wait really? But you look old enough to be his grandpa."

"I had kids late in life!"

The old man was none other than Asahi Ryono, Masaru's 70-year-old father. In his prime, Asahi was the former headmaster of Tabemono Gakuin. However, he eventually passed his role to Makihara after his age began to hinder his cooking ability.

"Hoh, you didn't know that? Well Miss Laks, perhaps you should get to know him better. Speaking of which, I'd like to know more about YOU," Rebelle glared.

"Onee-san, I heard what punishment befell you last night. It serves you right," Zuina glared.

""San" instead of "sama"? So, you've started to lose respect for me."

"I never had any. I only called you "Onee-sama" because that's what you conditioned me to call you. Though perhaps I previously had some lingering feelings, possibly familiar love for you before. But no more. After I found out the truth of what happened in Madagascar, Onee-san, no, Reina, I hate you."

"Don't you DARE call me by the name those idiotic sods gave me! My name is Rebelle! Oh, and your dish is terrible."

"You seem to be a bit on edge. Did losing all your leverage knock you off your high horse?"

"Nay, I still have plenty of leverage. I just had a long night dealing with the repercussions."

"That explains why you nearly slept in. As for the meal, I hate it," Azuki sneered.

"Well, that's nice, but you 5 aren't the only ones here. I wonder if the majority of folks here will enjoy their meals" Waki grinned.

"This isn't bad, for amateurs," another guest stated as he tried the meal.

"Matcha, this is really good. Make me breakfast from now on," Mocha smiled.

"Mother, I don't even live with you anymore," Matcha grumbled.

"It is nowhere near the level of Rika and Masaru, but I believe the "Elitist 5" were a bit too harsh in their judgment. Sure, I agree with many of their critiques, but as a satisfactory meal, it passes," Mochi declared.

Izumi then took a bite and began crying at how delicious it was, she had never tasted something so delicious before in her life.

"I- Izu- UMAI!" Izumi cried as she shoveled everything down.

"Huh, guess she really likes it. Ah, really is good," Hanabi thought as she smiled and ate.

"Huh!? The women from Germany think the food is amazing!" a guest shouted.

"Munich's gourmet elite society is one of the most prestigious in the world. Perhaps, we must have failed to notice something, we must clear the plates!" another shouted.

Makihara grumbled as he watched everyone suddenly clean their plates of food. "Those women's taste palettes must be off," he growled.

Once everyone had finished, the host approached the Ryokoma chefs to give his verdict. "As the leader of the worldwide gourmet elite society, allow me to judge your meal. You five are by no means as talented as Masaru Ryono, nor Rika Komachi or Itsuki Makihara. Though, I don't see what one of the women from Germany sees in your cooking, it was satisfactory enough, that Mr. Ryono can rest easy knowing his restaurant will not go under should the cooking fall to you," the host stated.

"Regrettable, I am of the opposite opinion," Makihara stated.

"Well then, let's take a vote," Waki grinned.

Once everyone had given their verdict, it turned out that about 52% of the guests agreed with the host's opinion. Makihara shook his head and took his leave. "I am going to see how Masaru-kun is doing. I hear he is currently staying here as well," Makihara grumbled.

"Guess that means we got a W," Waki grinned.

"Indeed, we did. Seems Azuki-sensei will have to sport the bald look once more," Benihime mused.

"I never made any bets dammit!" Azuki fumed.

"Seems like we won then," Zuina snickered as she gazed at a glaring Rebelle.

"The battle perhaps, but not the war," Rebelle glared.

"Guess that means we truly won. Let's celebrate once we finish cleaning up," Mimi smiled as she headed back to the kitchen with Zuina and Benihime.

"Why the long face girl?" Waki asked as she strolled up to a somber Matcha.

"We might have proven our worth, but we didn't impress Makihara," Matcha sighed.

"So? Who cares about him? The majority liked our dish."

"I guess you could call it anxiety, but even though Rika's been able to make food Makihara will acknowledge as good, she's never faced him in a head-to-head cook-off and won."

"So? She beat his faction."

"That's it, she beat his faction, but not the man himself. It's true Rika beat him in order to get the remedial course greenlit, but I heard she only won because Makihara's transporter somehow messed up his dish. In other words, he wasn't at his best. Even though his reputation has taken a hit, it feels like he still holds that edge over Rika. He isn't the top chef in the world for nothing."

"So, why're you getting so antsy now?"

"Because I worry what he'd do if he found out about Rika's family."

Waki went quiet as she struggled to come up with any words to ease Matcha's fears.

...

Itsuki glared as Rika finally woke up. "Oh hey, give me 5 more minutes. I wanna cuddle with Masaru," Rika yawned.

Itsuki grunted in annoyance and yanked Rika off the bed to the floor. "You can take the bandages off," Rika grumbled as she groggily got dressed.

Itsuki glared and began removing the bandages.

"Hey, your mouth really does look better," Rika smiled.

"Save the flattery, I have MUCH to discuss with you," Itsuki glared.

"Then-"

"Not here, Masaru is still asleep. We shall converse while that doctor attends to me," Itsuki glared as she headed for the door.

"Wait, you really wanna go out looking like THAT!? I can smear some makeup on you to at least make you look somewhat normal," Rika said as she followed Itsuki.

"It's not like anyone would recognize me. Let us make haste."

"Well, at least it'll prevent others from seeing the tattoo and- ...!"

Rika stopped and went pale as she noticed a flabbergasted Makihara in front of them.

"Why did you- ...! F- Father!?" Itsuki gasped as she too stopped and went pale as she noticed her father.

To make matters worse, a draft from the air vent Itsuki was standing over caused her robe to come undone, revealing her ripped clothing to Makihara.

"Well, this is awkward," Rika nervously thought.