"Team Elite versus Team Baking Society," he exclaimed. "The reigning champs against this competition's dark horses. The showdown between Shiori Aida and Koyuki Tamura will commence momentarily!"

"This guy's crazy annoying," Shiori spat from her respective station.

Koyuki stood across from her, in his own space. "He's a breath of fresh air compared to you."

She scowled at him, hard. "The theme?" she demanded.

"The! Theme! For! Today! Is!" Mr. Oto drawled. "'To Overcome.' You have a little over an hour and a half to complete a treat befitting that topic. Breads, cakes, cupcakes, confections—absolutely anything is fair game! PS, that hurt my feelings, Miss Aida!"

Shiori rolled her eyes. Mr. Oto flinched. After a swift breakdown of final rules, he opened up the hall to questions. None arrived, leaving no more room for chatter. The first segment of this round launched with a deafening buzzer and the timer counted down from an hour and half.

There was no hesitation whatsoever in their movements. Koyuki and Shiori scrambled to gather the ingredients of their choice then returned to their stations. Their determination—focus—was suffocating, even at my distance.

Nori stroked his chin. "That Koyuki... it should be a crime how easily he takes my breath away."

Chiaki deadpanned.

"If Ko heard that, he'd be insulted."

"It's a compliment," he reassured him. "Koyuki's the one and only man I want underneath me."

.

.

.

"In ranking. I meant in ranking."

"No, Nori, the other way is good too," I interjected. "Koyuki's exactly the type of guy you want lying beneath you."

"Teru... please... I know it's a joke but there are children nearby."

"Chil...dren?" Hayate murmured, question marks floating above his head.

"Sorry, sorry," I chuckled.

Time ticked by briskly. Amidst that, Koyuki's steadfastness was inspiring. His hands moved with the precision and proficiency of an expert. Flour, ground cinnamon, brown sugar, bananas... I squinted to affirm the elements he was incorporating. My eyebrows darted to my hairline in realization. He was making... banana bread?

"This is... Tsuya's recipe," Chiaki noted.

I frowned. I knew I'd seen this exact recipe, albeit briefly, back at Nori's villa. He was recreating his brother's dessert. What about Shiori...

Toasted walnuts, pears...

My train of thought screeched to an abrupt halt.

"No way," I stammered, slack-jawed. "Both of these are Etsuya's recipes. With tweaks...? How..."

"All throughout middle school, Shi and Ko received lessons under Tsuya. They admired him and treasured his talent," Chiaki explained. "Their sole goal was to upstage him. So, day in and day out, they worked to improve their skills, altering his recipes or coming up with their own. But—"

"—they could never beat him," I finished.

He nodded. "In terms of each other, they were evenly matched. Just as they've never won against Tsuya, I don't think they've ever beat one another either."

"So, this showdown is their chance to finally do so?" Nori mused.

Hayate primmed his mouth. "Yuki... can't lose, then."

"I can't lose either!" Shiori's shout silenced our conversation. Her predator-esque intensity shot in our direction. Her ears could put the devil to shame. "Unlike you, Koyuki, I didn't run away," she spat, now at him. "My path, from then to now, has been forward. Evenly matched? While you shuffled your feet for two years, I worked my ass off. As if I'll be defeated by you."

Koyuki balled his fingers. "Because I look up to Etsu, and because I owe him my passion and skills, I have to surpass him."

"But overcoming him also means accepting he's gone. Are you capable of that?"

Not once had Koyuki beat Etsuya. Since Etsuya was constantly moving ahead, polishing his own skills, and tweaking recipes to one-up him, the cycle never broke. But now, the flaws in his recipes, his ideas and ingredients, would remain forever unchanged. He'd never again pick up a whisk—challenge the evolving Koyuki.

"I was never a match for Etsu. Whenever I thought I'd finally overtaken him, he'd leap ten feet ahead, leaving me grovelling and trying to catch up."

His brother would never again spring into the lead.

Once Koyuki overcame his previous feats, he'd be...

"Alone?" Koyuki, least to mine or Shiori's expectations, bore a large smirk. "Hate to be the bearer of good news, but I have no intention of  going forward alone. You can have a ball doing that if you want but I can't reach the heights I want without her. I never understood what it was like having a shadow you can't outrun. Surely, that's how Etsu viewed me. Yet he spurred me on, giving me tips and ensuring I'd keep up. One day, just as she has my back, she'll challenge me the same. You'll be the one left in our dust."

"As if," Shiori scoffed. "I didn't start baking so I could come off second-best. I already lose in every other aspect of my life... romance included."

With her final whisper, quiet once again consumed this side of the venue. Shiori got back to work, speedily, to make up for lost time. Koyuki followed suit, not after tossing a 'don't worry, I got this' smile at me.

"He does this on purpose," I murmured, willing my thrumming heartbeat to slow.

Nevertheless, a hopeless smile claimed my mouth.

In a blur of fast-paced events, delectable aromas consumed every corner of the room and time dwindled to zero. A chime resounded, signalling the end of their turn. The three judges seated at the large table were presented with Shiori's dish first.

The hazelnut pound cake drizzled in vanilla glaze made me drool like a madwoman from my seat. Expectedly, with a single bite, all they could do was sing praises.

"This is spectacular; the blended tastes and textures. I wasn't expecting ricotta cheese, but it added the ideal flavour to the pound cake."

The judge adjacent to him chortled. "I'd steal that creativity for myself if I could."

"Even dearly-loved recipes get stale over time," Shiori stated. "Limiting yourself won't lead to growth. Unless you're prepared to attempt novelties, you'll never get far."

"I can't agree more," Paul Blanc—if I remembered correctly—flashed a pearly smile. "When I was your age, I didn't learn that soon enough. These dearly-loved recipes wouldn't have been invented if people hadn't gone out of their comfort zone and experimented."

After offering final remarks, the judges presented their scores.

Unsurprisingly, it was a solid 20/20.

"Your turn, loser," she teased after returning to Koyuki's side.

"You sure you don't wanna soak this moment in longer?" he taunted right back. "It's all the glory you'll be getting."

She scoffed.

Koyuki's gait to the judges table carried immeasurable confidence. He offered a brief explanation of the ingredients, and its relation with the theme. The glistening cream cheese frosting, the sweet scent of cinnamon and chopped walnuts—if only I could sink my teeth into its deliciousness this second. Instead, I waited with bated breath for the judges to dig in. They chewed in silence, their expressions giving no leeway into their opinions.

Hayate tensed beside me. "Oh no... Don't tell me..."

Chiaki and Nori shared his taut nerves. My knees jostled restlessly in my seat. The Cooking Club members, on the other hand, revelled in preprepared victory.

Through this all, Koyuki's poise ironically never faltered. His smirk widened, if anything.

Then, as if to answer why, every one of thee judges took a second bite. Then a third. By the time they took their fourth, the entire hall was fighting back gasps.

"What do we have here? My, my, my," Mr. Oto exclaimed.

"This... is incredible," the second judge sputtered. "A student made this?"

Wide-eyed, the first judge stared dumbly at his fork. "Its denseness doesn't hinder the flavours at all. They coexist in perfect harmony. But, there's something that glues it together; something that keeps you wanting to return for more. It's there on the tip of my tongue but I can't place it. Yogurt?"

"Applesauce." Mr. Paul's response garners his peers' approval. They nod and reminisce the details, while Mr. Paul smiles up at him. "You put your all into this dish this time. Without limiting yourself out of fear for what'll happen if you overcame the techniques and approaches that were left behind. Truly, this dessert is near-perfect. Etsuya would be elated."

The shock that registered on Koyuki's face spoke volumes. "You..."

"Has it been three years now?" He twirled the petit fork between his fingers. "Try as I might, I'll never forget the boy who took a student apprenticeship in my bakery back in Paris. He was exceptionally astute and talented. Believe it or not, he asked my opinion of this very dish, incomplete as it was back then. Insisted it was missing something—that he had to discover it before his 'little shadows' could."

Shiori stumbled closer. "You mean to say..."

"Clearly, he added and removed countless ingredients; so much so they can practically be considered different desserts. But now that I've tasted this version, I can tell. Both the baker and the dessert, new and old, have overcome a great deal to reach this point."

He shut his eyes, relishing in the nostalgia.

"I offered him a permanent job but he turned me down because he had 'bigger heights' to reach. 'If I take it easy here instead of gaining more experience and testing my limits, my bright-eyed pupils will sweep the rug right from under me. As I am now, it'll take only two years before they completely overtake me.'" He chuckled. "He underestimated himself plenty. Me—a full-fledged professional—couldn't hope to measure to his potential. I... can't bear to think the world has lost him so young."

Koyuki wasn't capable of mustering the words. Shiori couldn't either.

The judges displayed another full score for Koyuki before chatting amongst themselves to decide the ultimate winner.

Their choice arrived following minimal strife.

"With all three judges in favour, the first vote goes to Team Baking Society!" Mr. Oto whooped for emphasis.

"Dammit," Shiori cursed.

Koyuki blinked. "Are you... crying?"

"I-I'm not, asshole!" In spite of her claim, tears rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't lose! We scored the same so it was up to personal preference! It's definitely not 'cause of that geezer's story, all right? I'm one hundred percent not frustrated that I couldn't live up to Brother Etsuya's expectations like you could!"

Rubbing at her eyelids, she made for where the Cooking Club members stood.

He strolled over to join us.

"Koyuki. When this is over, I want that. Make me."

Sighing, he slapped my extended palm with his. "I expected you'd say that so I pre-made a loaf already, Prez."

I melted. "That's totally my love language."

"I'll feed you too, Teru," Chiaki interjected.

Hayate nodded. "Anything you want."

Regardless of their affirmations, they accepted high-fives from Koyuki.

Nori rose his hand, beaming.

Koyuki shoved his back in his pocket.

"I'm in pain," Nori whined. "I've been metaphorically stabbed."

"Team Elite and Team Baking Society, send in your next warriors!" Mr. Oto called after ensuring the stations were adequately cleaned.

"Nyahaha!" Eru hailed her arms in the air, maroon irises gleaming. "Lord Atteru predicts one hundred percent success for me. Maybe in another life, we could have been friends, Chichi."

"I'm doing this for Teru so there's no way I'll be beaten," he responded. "I've practiced my butt off. So long as it's a warm dessert—"

"Aww! When it comes to warm treats, Eru's third-rate. Can we do frozen desserts instead? It's Eru's specialty!" Her giggle left a chill in its wake. "Eru's Atte Island's very own Blizzard Princess, after all."

"Ooh! Sounds exciting!" Mr. Oto hollered. "Let's decide it here and now, then! The teenage connoisseur of frozen treats!"

Gleeful acclamation from the bleachers and judges echoed off the walls.

Audibly gulping, Chiaki stiffly took to centre stage.

I pursed my mouth.

"Guys, when's the last time Chiaki's made a frozen dessert?"

None of my fellow clubmates could voice an answer.

"He'll be fine," I said again, "right?"