Mimasaka Subaru

In the Arena, it was Hayama Akira vs Arato Hisako.

The theme of the third quarterfinal match is Hamburgers.

"Any cooked patty sandwiched between two buns will qualify as a hamburger. Contestants have free reign over the type of patty and bundling use." Senzaemon announced out as the contestants came forward.

"Give your master a message for me," Hayama said as he ties his hair back in a ponytail, "I'm going to replace her on the Elite 10. And while I'm at it, I'll have the top spot too."

Hisako scoffed at the message and replied, "Let that be your last foolish boast. Erina-sama will be back on the Elite 10 in no time. And the next one to join her there will be me."

"I highly doubt either of those will come true," Akira said as the two went to their kitchen station.

"Let the cooking Begin!" Senzaemon announced out as the gong rang and the match began

(skipping a few scenes)

Soma entered into the VIP box lounge as Erina was waiting there

"How's the match?" Soma asked as he sits beside Erina on the couch

"They're nearly finished in their preparation," Erina replied as the two watches as Hisako and Hayama were nearly finished with their dishes

They watch as the two presented their burgers and awaits the winner who came to be Hayama Akira

"The winner of the third quarterfinal match is Hayama Akira!" Senzaemon announced out as the crowds cheered for the spice master

"Hisako…" Erina looks in surprise as her friend had been defeated by the Spice Master

Soma looks at Hayama as the man was a real force to be reckoned

'So you were hiding your claws this whole time,' Soma thought as the man looked back to Soma in the lounge

Erina instantly went down to find Hisako as the girl looks to be crying

Soma watches from above as he looks at Hayama who smirks to him

"Looks like we'll be seeing each other in the finals," Soma said before he followed Erina

Hisako was walking down the hallway with a gloomy expression as a tear dropped to the floor

"Hisako…" Erina called out to her friend from behind as Hisako didn't reply

"I'm sorry, Erina-sama….i need some time alone for now," Hisako said before she slowly walks away

"Hisako!" Erina tried to go to her but Soma came and hold her shoulders

Soma shook his head to Erina as she looks to him before to Hisako who exited the arena

"Give her some time…" Soma said before looking to the arena as the last matchup was undergoing with the crowds cheering

The match was burning up as it was Takumi Aldini vs Mimasaka Subaru

But the match was no ordinary one as it was a Shokugeki match that ended in horror for Takumi and Isami

"Hehe, I'm taking my prize," Mimasaka said as he takes possession of Takumi's prized mezzaluna

Takumi fell to his knees in despair as the man had lost the Shokugeki to Mimasaka Subaru who created an identical dish to his but it was superior to his

"Diablo…" Isami muttered out in the stand as Mimasaka Subaru laughs in his win

Soma, Hayama, and Ryo, the three watched the Shokugeki match as they expressions hardened

"Despicable," Erina muttered out as she was feeling angry to how Mimasaka Subaru gloated in his victory

Today's matchup ended as the semi-finals' participants are Yukihira Soma, Hayama Akira, Kurokiba Ryo, and Mimasaka Subaru

The Polar Star Residents were on their way home to the dorm as Yuki was extremely angry

"I can't believe the nerve of the guy! He took Takumi-chi's Mezzaluna!" Yuki shouted out as she was strangling Ibusaki

"Don't vent it on me," Ibusaki said

The semi-finals will be held next week as all the participants will have time to prepare themselves

"So despicable! A chef's knife is his life!" Ikumi shouted out with Yuki as both were extremely furious of Mimasaka Subaru

Soma keeps on walking without saying a word as Takumi walks off the arena with Isami as Takumi's defeat brought a depressing and sad aura upon the Japanese-Italian man

"Hey, Yukihira! What are you going to do!? Takumi's Mezzaluna just got taken! You've got to win it back!" Ikumi shouted out to the redhead who just keeps on walking

"Why are you here?" Soma asked as everyone stopped walking

"Huh? But you guys said." Ikumi said as she looks to Yuki

"Not you, Nikumi," Soma said as he turns to the bushes "I'm talking about you, Mimasaka Subaru"

On cue, came from the bushes is Mimasaka Subaru as his sudden appearance made Ikumi and Yuki screamed in surprise

"Keen senses, Yukihira Soma," Mimasaka said with a smirk

"You are a stalker, aren't you?" Soma said before he walked off, "if you want to come then just say so, no need to be all stalking"

Mimasaka Subaru gets out of the bushes as he started following Soma

The others watched as the two walked away before they followed them

They all reached the Polar Star Dorm as Soma went to the kitchen and made some tea

"Here," Soma said as he placed a cup of tea on the table for Mimasaka who sit in the chair of the dining table and then one for himself, "did you eat yet? I have some beef stew that I cooked this morning"

"I'll have some," Mimasaka said as Soma went to the kitchen again and this time came back with a bowl of beef stew

"Hey, Yukihira! You sure it's a great idea on having him here!?" Ikumi told the man as Yuki nodded in agreement

"So, going down to business, what do you want, Mimasaka?" Soma asked the man while sitting across him while Ikumi and the rest were behind the redhead

"Just informing you on the next match," Mimasaka replied while eating some beef stew, "the next match with be Kurokiba Ryo vs Hayama Akira and then you against me."

This surprised everyone as Soma would be going up against such a monster

"and I guess you want a Shokugeki as well," Soma said to Mimasaka who smirked

"Correct" Mimasaka said before looking to Soma's knives case, "you got some good knives there."

"Hey! Yukihira! Don't accept it!" Ikumi told the man who didn't heed her words

"Fine," Soma said to the man while crossing his legs, "but if I win, you'll be returning all the knives, you've taken to every single chef, you had a Shokugeki with"

Everyone and Mimasaka were surprised by his words as Soma looks at the man bored

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Mimasaka exclaimed "No way that's a fair exchange! If you want all 100 knives your offer has to be just as big!"

"Okay," Soma said as he places down the cup of tea from his hand to the table "If I lose, I'll quit Totsuki."

An eerily shocking silence fell throughout the Polar Dorm at the very moment these words left the redhead's mouth.

"W-what?!" Mimasaka stuttered out in shock as he thought that he was hearing things

"You heard me. If I lose the Shokugeki, I'll leave Totsuki," Sōma said before taking a quick sip of his tea. "You beat me, and I'll leave Totsuki and never return. that seems big enough, right?"

"YUKIHIRA! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?!" everyone behind Soma shouted in shock to what the man's proposal as he was betting his entire chef's career on the line

"YUKIHIRA! ARE YOU INSANE!?" Ikumi shouted out at the man who scratches the inner of his ear

"We're inside a dorm, don't need to shout," Soma said as he looks bored

"Yukihira..." Mimasaka spoke out to get the redhead attentions and it did "Shokugeki rules are as good as law. You realize you won't be able to laugh this off as a joke if you lose, right?"

"Yeah," Soma said as he finished his tea "If you're okay with the conditions, let's do it."

Mimasaka looks in confusion to the man as Soma was yawning to him

'What is this guy thinking? He knows what I do to win. He knows how I would trace everything about his cooking, yet he's putting his life's career on the line?!' Mimasaka could not grasp on what is Soma thinking as the man was playing around

"Oh, and just to make things quick since I know you're going to stalk me the whole week," Soma said before he pointed a finger at the beef stew, Mimasaka was eating, "I'll be making Beef Stew"

Mimasaka and the others were surprised yet again as Soma just deliberately told him the dish, he would be preparing and making.

Ikumi and Yuki clamped Soma's mouth with their hands as the two were shock.

"YOU IDIOT! WHY ARE YOU TELLING HIM!?" The two shouted out at him

She then turned her attention to Ryō and Akira and snapped, "DID YOU TWO KNOW THAT HE WAS GOING TO DO THIS?!"

"He's just gonna find out anyway, why not just tell him?" Soma said while prying off the hands-on his mouth

'Is this a bluff?' Mimasaka thought, 'Is he lying to me about what he's making now so that he can show up to the match with something completely different?'

The copycat then stood up from his seat as he finished the beef stew.

"I dunno if you're trying to trick me or not, but either way, I'm gonna research exactly what you're making down to the last detail. Telling me some random dish now isn't gonna help you." He said with a grin

"Nah, that wasn't random. I mean it," Soma said while waving his hand around casually, "besides, I don't lie about food. So we're going to have a beef stew competition, eh?"

Mimasaka looks at the man before smirking, "Shokugeki's condition is on."

After thanking for the meal, Mimasaka went to the front door and was about to leave when Soma called him

"Oh yeah, Mimasaka," Soma called out to him as Mimasaka turns his head to look at him still sitting on his chair, "I'll let you trace me and everything about me but don't try stalking on who am I with on the weekends"

"Why's that?" the stalker asked before feeling a shiver run down his spine

Soma's hair lifted a bit as his eyes turned dark gold.

"I'm going to be at her home as promised and I don't like stalkers near her even if that stalker is stalking me," Soma said as his expression was dark that nearly freaks everyone out "I don't like seeing her sad or anything, got it?"

Soma's teacup suddenly shattered as Ikumi and the Polar Star Resident never seen Soma get angry and seeing him angry was terrifying

"G-got it," Mimasaka complied with a slightly terrified look on his face.

"Good" Soma said as his expression lighten up "see you next week, Mimasaka" Soma waved him goodbye while smiling

Mimasaka had a drop of sweat sliding down his cheeks as he could tell that Soma was a snake that has its bare fangs still hidden within

He then leaves the place while Soma smiles as he leaves

Ikumi and the others watched how Soma's character changed as they decided to not ever make the man angry

The next day came as Soma was in the bathroom and the man was in the middle of brushing his teeth

He keeps on brushing his teeth while his mind was thinking up of the ingredients of the Beef Stew

As the man finished brushing his teeth and was gargling in water. He heard the doorbell ring.

"Who the heck could that be at this hour?" he said as he went to answer the door

The front door to the Polar dorm opened, revealing a boy that looked like he was in junior high with short dark wavy hair, gray eyes, and wearing the junior high variation of the Totsuki uniform. This boy had a camera hanging around his neck, a long-range lens dangling from his side, and something that looked like a voice recorder

"Yes, who is it?" Soma asked the young boy

"Yukihira-senpai! Oh my gosh! You're him!" the boy said in amazement

"Answer the question, will you?" Soma said while crossing his arms

"Oh! Sorry! I'm with the journalism club! My name is Sotsuda Mitsuru! I'm a third-year in Totsuki's Junior High Division!" the boy introduced himself "I'm here to deliver today's newspaper morning edition"

"I didn't know Totsuki had a journalism club." Soma said as he was given the newspaper by the young student before looking at the front page and it had "The Totsuki Spotlight" written on it

"The Totsuki Spotlight is the Totsuki Institute school newspaper published, almost, daily. It covers all events of interest on and around the school campus. From feature stories on major events like the Autumn Elections and exclusive interviews with star chefs, down to quick blurbs on fun topics and columns, with helpful everyday tips. The Spotlight covers a wide range of topics that any Totsuki student or faculty member would want to know! It's an old and venerable publication that's been around since the dawn of the Institute!" Mitsuru explained to Soma

"Really? Wow, I didn't know Totsuki had its paper," Soma commented as he reads the content and sees that the news of the Shokugeki between him and Mimasaka Subaru was already out

"and looks like your club's resources are wide, huh?" Soma said as he knew that someone must've leaked it to them

Nearly every single student had a newspaper article in their hands, particularly the one about the upcoming Autumn Election Shokugeki. There was even an article about it pinned up on all of the oversized billboards that were on campus, ten total.

Every single one of them is all about the big Cooking match that is coming up

"Umm, Yukihira-senpai?" Sotsuda called out to the man as Soma looks away from the newspaper

"I would like to beg a really big favor of you. For the next week, will you please let me do a total-coverage feature on you?!" he asked in a nervous tone

"Why?" Soma asked as he continues reading the newspaper' article

"I was so impressed when I first saw you during the Elections." Sotsuda said with an excited smile "Especially your quarterfinal match with Alice-senpai. She was the projected winner, but you didn't look intimidated at all. And you beat her easily! All the articles in the Spotlight are saying you're likely to lose to Mimasaka-senpai, but I don't believe that at all! They're wrong about you senpai! I know that you deserve to be taken seriously!"

Soma raised an eyebrow to the young student as he continued

"Um, I-I came here on my own. I'm still just a junior high kid on the bottom rung of the club, so no one asks me to do any articles. But if I get to do an exclusive special feature on someone as big as you, Senpai... Then I'm sure everyone will come to respect me as a real Newsie!" he said to Soma who sweatdropped

'This is a cooking school, though' Soma looks to the young student

"I still don't know if I'll even be given page base for my article, but I, really, really want to follow you, Senpai! I promise I'll try my hardest to write the best article I can! So please let me interview you, Yukihira-senpai!" Sotsuda begged to Soma who was in the middle of closing the door

"No," Soma said before he closed the door "thanks for the newspaper though"

"eeh! Yukihira-senpai!" Sotsuda cried out "please let me interview you! And please pay for the newspaper as well! It's not free!"

The next day came as Soma was in class with Megumi

"Did you read this morning's Spotlight?"

"Yeah, I did! Looks like this year semifinals are gonna be big."

"That blind idiot made a real bold statement saying he'll leave Totsuki if he loses."

"What, is he that stupid? Pfft! What a dumb move."

"But hey, it'll be loads of fun to watch."

The other students started whispering to each other while some watched Soma as they whispered to each other

Chappelle-sensei was in the middle of lecturing but he could hear the number of whispers around the class and they were all talking of the redhead

'A Shokugeki with his career life as a chef on the line, I could say that Joichiro would've done the same thing,"' Roland thought before smiling 'as I thought, this young man will sure bring the gourmet world by a storm.'

After 40 minutes in class, the bell rang as everyone headed out of class

"Since it's almost lunchtime, how about we head on over to the cafeteria to grab a bite?" Megumi said to Soma

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll go start-" Soma replied and slide open the door before seeing Sotsuda Mitsuru waiting for him outside

"Um, Yukihira-senpai! I, uh... I made a bento lunch for you! *Holds out the bento*. I-I hope you like it!" Sotsuda said with a nervous tone

Some of the nearby female students started whispering, "What?" "Do those two have that kind of relationship?" "Isn't he a little young to be in a relationship?"

"No thanks," Soma said in reply as Sotsuda looks heartbroken

"He got rejected!" The nearby girls said at once.

"If you're planning on interviewing me, forget it, I'm busy," Soma said while looking a bit annoyed

"But!" the young reporter exclaimed as he takes out a notepad "According to my notes, your schedule for today was, um... Math, English, Western Culinary History I, and a Spanish Cooking Practicum! But since the professor is on a business trip, your afternoon Practicum got turned into a study hall period! That means you have the entire afternoon to work on practice dishes, am I right?"

"You're stalking me, you know," Soma said as Megumi nodded in agreement

"Please let me watch for my article and take notes on what you do, Senpai! I promise I'll do whatever I can to help!" Sotsuda begged to the man as Soma looks to him before sighing

"Fine, but I still need to get some herbs…" Soma said before he ran off

"I'll go get them for you right now! I'll be back in a flash. Wait for me right there, Senpai!" Sotuda shouted as he ran in the hallway

"Wow. He's sure going fast." Megumi commented

"No kidding and he didn't hear what herb, I needed in the first place," Soma said before sighing "well, looks like I have a taste tester for my dish this afternoon"

"Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with, though. I'm rooting for you." Megumi said with a smile

Sōma thanked her with a smile on his face before the two went off

After finishing all of his classes, Soma and Sotsuda were at a reserved kitchen station as Soma was chopping up some herbs and throw them into a pot that had some beef stew cooking

Sotsuda nodded and nodded as he writes on his notepad to the actions, Soma was taking on

"There we go," Soma said as he created 10 different beef stew dishes with all sorts of meat in them

"Amazing! In just 1 hour, you made 10 dishes!" Sotsuda said amazed as he took pictures of the dishes with his camera

"Try it," Soma said as he cleans his hand with a kitchen towel

The young reporter tried the dishes one by one as he squealed in ecstasy as each dish was very delicious

"It's so good, Senpai! With these, you will certainly win!" Sotsuda said to Soma who shook his head

"No, these are barely good enough," Soma said as he stretched his hand before making a new stew again

"But Senpai, the dishes are good, though," Sotsuda said to Soma who was mincing up some carrots into the pot

"They are good but not good enough," Soma said as he had ten pots on the stoves "if Mimasaka takes a step further for his dish then I just need to go beyond that"

After 30 minutes, Soma finished making 10 different beef stew as each one had a powerful aroma within them

"There," Soma said as Sotsuda was taking pictures after pictures of the chef

Soma scoops out the beef stews as he made 10 servings of different beef stews and presented it to Sotsuda

"The basic beef stew has the basic ingredients but I put many different seasonings in each one of them, Miso soup, allspice, black pepper,…" Soma explained as Sotsuda takes a bite of one and instantly squealed in joy

"Hey hey, don't eat them all" Soma said as the junior high student was getting a flat stomach

"but they're all so good," Sotsuda said to him

The door slides opened as Megumi and the rest of the Polar Star Resident came in

"Took you guys long enough," Soma said

"We've brought them, Soma-kun," Megumi said as each one of them was holding a plastic bag

"Good, let's start experimenting," Soma said with a grin as he served them up the 10 different beef stew, he made and started listening to their comments of them

While Soma and the others experiment on the beef stew, Mimasaka Subaru was spying on them from a pole and looks at them with a pair of binoculars

"I see," he said with a smirk

4 days passed as Soma puts on his shirt and heads out

And as he sets out of the dorm, Sotsuda was waiting for him

"Experimenting again, Senpai!" Sotsuda asked Soma with an excited smile

"No," Soma replied as he went to the garage to get his bike

"Eh, but the match is getting near!" Sotsuda said to the man as Soma unlocks his bike and gets his helmet

"and this is Saturday, which means an off day," Soma said as he clips on his helmet securely before pushing his bike in front, "I have other plans today so I won't be cooking"

"Then please let me take a few shots of where you are going!" Sotsuda begged Soma who grabbed his camera and his face turned dark.

"Hey Sotsuda, I'm a patient person." Soma said as Sotsuda was shaking in fear, "but once someone gets on my nerve, I make them my guinea pig for my horrid dishes"

"Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa" Sotsuda tried to speak but Soma's dark looks terrified him so much that he nearly pissed himself.

"I have a promise to meet someone today, and I would kindly like that no one is taking a photo of me with that certain someone, Okay?" he said as Sotsuda nodded rapidly

"Good," Soma said as he gave back the camera, "now, scram."

Sotsuda instantly ran away while crying as Soma was a monster when he's angry. 

"Sorry for bothering you!" Sotsuda cried out as he leaves a trail of dust as he ran away.

Soma sighs before he gets on his bike and left the Polar Star Dorm.