"We're finally here, ladies and gents. The final segment of the first round. Our bakers have really put their skills to the test—baking extremely creative and tasty desserts. But who will advance to the second round? Who will throw in the towel here? This segment decides all!"

In accordance with Mr. Oto's proclamation, the stands filled with extraordinary heaps of cheers and chants.

"Yashiro! Minamoto!"

"Go Team Elite!"

"You can do it, Saint! And... whoever the rest of you are!"

"'The rest,'" Koyuki echoed, bitterly. "Since when did this team become his?"

Nori, who'd been waving at the ones rooting for him in the crowd, paused to send him a half-hearted smile. "My apologies. I wasn't aware my overwhelming popularity would cause you to display such jealousy."

"I'm not jealous!"

Ignoring Koyuki's blatant malice, Nori approached me. Hand over his chest, he performed a mannerly bow. "I hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries, Angel. But I guarantee that no matter how brightly I may shine, I will never, ever outshine you."

I hummed, trying my hardest to fight a grin. "You're forgiven."

Koyuki groaned.

"Jealousy is not a good colour on you, Koyuki," I noted.

"I'm not jealous!" he retorted. "I just don't understand how you trust this weirdo so easily. Simply because he comes strolling in the moment we so happen to need him, running his mouth like some kind of holy creation. So what if he can bake decently? Even if you may be on board to have this lunatic in our group, Teruhashi, the rest of us aren't. Right, Chiaki?"

He dramatically turned only to find Chiaki stuffing his face in a finely wrapped sandwich.

"Speak for yourself," Chiaki muffled via a full mouth. "Nori can stay with us forever if he wants."

"Wha— Dude! I thought you hated him?"

"That was before Nori snuck me a sandwich to eat." He chewed blissfully. "Not only can this man bake, but his ability to make a sandwich..."

"Th-that's..." He was sputtering. "That's against the rules!"

"Only if you get caught." Nori extended a carefully concealed sandwich for me. "For you, Angel. I figured you might've been fatigued and planned accordingly."

I squealed, gleefully unwrapping it. "Thank you! I was getting hungry."

Koyuki's jaw was literally hanging limp at this point. He swerved, desperately. "Hayate?"

But crouched with his back against the wall, knees huddled to his chest, he nibbled on an identical sandwich between occasional blinks.

"What the hell," Koyuki hissed, gesturing wildly to our surroundings. "Do you guys realize where we are right now? We're in the final segment! A segment we need a full forty points to advance to the second round! This is no time to be enjoying a sandwich! Especially when outside food or drinks aren't allowed and we could very well be disqualified if we're caught!"

We all watched him explode in silence, gnawing softly on our respective lunches.

"You have a lot of anger for such a small person," Nori said.

Koyuki's glower was chilling.

I hurriedly stepped between them. "Okay, sandwiches aside, Koyuki's right. We need to bring our best game to this segment if we want to advance to the second round."

He crossed his arms. "A very convincing thing to say with your mouth covered in crumbs."

I sweatdropped.

Nori immediately dashed to my side, handkerchief in hand. "Allow me, Angel—"

"Not on my watch." Koyuki snatched it from him, tapering his eyebrows. "Back off, redhead."

Although Nori towered over him at his height, Koyuki stood his ground. Neither was willing to back down. Loitering the middle of this fiasco, I sweated profusely. Even if Chiaki and Hayate didn't seem to mind Nori anymore, Koyuki wasn't going to be so accepting. But that posed a problem. How were we supposed to proceed if these two were always going to be at each other's throats?

"If you're going to break the rules, at least hide the evidence. I thought you were serious about this competition."

I jerked my head up in time for Okito to pluck the handkerchief from Koyuki's hand. Then, before I could blink, he crouched over and expertly wiped my cheek and the surrounding areas. All the while his stormy blue eyes bore into mine.

Heat spread across the areas he'd touched. But calm as ever, he retreated, dropping the soiled handkerchief into Koyuki's open palm.

I threw my inner elbow over my lips, bug-eyed. "O-Oki—"

"Eru's here too!" cheered the brown-skinned girl, poking her head out from behind Okito's lanky figure with a giddy wave. "Hi, Tori! Hi, Tori's friends!"

Her words rid me of my daze. My neck whipped in the direction of the giant screens. The groups had already been confirmed.

If Okito and Eru were here, then they must've been the ones picked for this segment.

One glimpse at the screen confirmed our own competitors: Chiaki and Koyuki.

"Forty points, huh?" Okito scoffed. He'd obviously overheard our conversation. "Basically impossible."

"Oh, but Eru's sure you guys can do it," Eru said, her smile poking further into her cheeks. "You just have to make a cake worthy of a full score. The perfect cake. Simple as that. The Cooking Club manages it all the time, see. And if you can't do as much, you'll be our slaves. Lord Atteru will be pleased to have more subjects' blood."

Okito rose a brow. "Blood?"

She giggled, "Tori promised to buy Eru's macaroons in exchange for a pint of her blood. But if they lose, Eru will make Tori's friends pitch in too. The more the merrier, nyahaha."

Okito shut his eyes, as if unable to muster a rebuttal. "Let's go."

He bumped Koyuki and Nori's shoulders on the way out. Eru, after flashing us a wave, pursued him to the station.

Koyuki dramatically shivered when he disappeared. "He always looks ready to kill."

"And yet he's especially gentle to our dear angel..." Nori smirked.

A frown spread across my face at the mention. I'd noticed that, too. But... "I don't need him to be gentle..."

They turned to address me but I'd already flung my arms through Chiaki and Koyuki's.

"Anyway, go out there and make us proud, boys!"

Koyuki sighed. "You're always asking for the impossible..."

"It's okay, Ko." Chiaki scrubbed the crumbs off his mouth before shepherding him forward. "We're doing this for Teru."

His expression warped. He twisted free the best he could, extending a pointed finger. "I'm watching you, redhead!"

"No need to worry," Nori replied, the smuggest smile on his face. "I'll take especially good care of her while you're gone."

"That's what I'm worried about! That right there!"

Koyuki's yells could be heard long after Chiaki dragged him toward their designated station.

"Your friends are quite amusing, Angel," Nori chuckled once they were out of earshot. "I imagine boredom is never an issue with them."

"They're great, aren't they?" I laughed.

"Very much so." Nori's attention was long stolen by what was unfolding ahead, but his gentle smile never faded. "If it's with you..."

Puzzled, I craned my neck. I never did figure out why he decided to join. He was cryptic, and kind, and flirtatious... but I wonder—was that all there was to a guy like Nori? Who was he really?

Mr. Oto proceeded to explain the rules of the segment. Although the theme still applied, the scoring differed with more emphasis on taste and design. However, as was said at the beginning of the competition, teams who didn't attain at least seventy-five points by the end of today were automatically out while those who did proceeded to the second round.

Needless to say, it was tense. Every move of the bakers, the skin-crawling silence that filled the hall... All of it had everyone at the edge of their seats. Me included. I had no doubts Koyuki and Chiaki could do it, but watching the time fritter by—witnessing the other teams' progress—couldn't help but riddle me with nerves and dejected thoughts anyway.

Was a full score truly possible? Sure, hypothetically speaking, the underdogs always came out on top when the odds were stacked against them. But reality wasn't so forgiving. Even the tiniest mistake could cost us a point, and we'd lose the first round.

Just one point, and we could kiss goodbye to standing a chance against the Cooking Club, and live the rest of our high school days at their beck and call.

Oxygen was scarce, and I often found myself forgetting to breathe. Hayate and Nori didn't speak a word as well. Like everyone else on the sidelines, all we could do was wait painstakingly and hope for positive results.

As expected, Koyuki orchestrated the majority of the work while Chiaki supported him. Chiaki had practiced warm desserts alongside me and Hayate leading up to this competition, but he still struggled with them. But with Koyuki, our connoisseur on cakes and other baked goods, with him, that'd limit any huge mistakes on his part. Koyuki was our key to winning this.

Right as the thought crossed my mind, the cake pan he'd carried out of the oven, dropped. The entire hall flinched at the clattering sound. Koyuki, standing above the now ruined cake, could only stare in shock, much like Chiaki behind him.

"What's this? What's going on?" Mr. Oto exclaimed, allowing ice to flood my veins. "It seems Team Baking Society has dropped their cake! Was it the last minute nerves? Either way, they're in quite the pickle!"

Oh no.

"Nyaha, Tori's team is choking!" Eru's giggle drifted over.

Okito only offered an apathetic sigh. "Stop laughing and whisk, Onitsuka. Ryoma's already glaring."

Proof to that, the said boy's chilling glower pierced through Eru's nonchalance even at his distance. "I swear." She shuddered. "Fuku's way too strict...!"

The other teams continued to work while Chiaki and Koyuki remained at a standstill. Only fifty minutes remaining—barely enough time to remake it from scratch.

"He was too stiff." An uncharacteristically sombre crossed Nori's face, startling me. "The brunet, for sure, but primarily your blond friend. Koyuki, was it? He holds amazing talent—one of the best here, actually—but it's clear his mind has been somewhere else the entire segment."

My stomach dropped to my gut. "I-Is it my fault? Did I put too much pressure on him?"

I had ordered him to bring back a win. It was uncalled for, wasn't it? I caused this screw-up, didn't I?

Nori, albeit amused by my panic, shook his head. "I'm afraid this is unrelated to you and this competition entirely. It's almost as if he's a puppet dancing to the strings someone else has weaved."

Eyebrows high, I digested his vague explanation. I glanced at Hayate to see if he understood only to find him absorbed in his own train of thought.

"His creativity, thoughts, skill... It's all robotic. It's all forced," Nori continued, matter-of-factly. "In simpler terms, not once today has his heart been in his baking."

"I can tell you have quite the experience. But no matter how talented you are, if you don't put in the effort, your desserts will never impress anyone. Who were you comparing yourself to this entire time?"

Mr. Paul's words from the first segment hit me in the face, giving me whiplash. He and Nori had noticed before I did. How hadn't I noticed? Koyuki... he...

"I bet somebody already told you why it's hard for me to bake for myself. That every time, I remember my brother, and it's like I'm suffocating in the memories.
"He loved it way more than me. He wanted it way more than me. How can I just be selfish and live that dream myself? I'm not strong enough for that. So I ran away like a coward. I thought teaching you everything I've learned—cramming into you what my brother once did with me—would make me stop regretting abandoning that heavy dream. But I was just being a baby. I still am. But, at least right now, it's still difficult to bake for myself. That's why it's so damn hard watching you do it with such a happy smile on your face."

Chiaki, also...

"Teru... you're always thinking of others. You want others to think your desserts are delicious. But I've... never thought like that. I've only ever baked for myself. And yet you still praise me... and call me talented or amazing even though I'm not close to that at all. But even if I'm not great at it—even if I can't help you as much as Ko can—I want to keep baking with you. That's why... I have to practice, too. We can't lose. If we lose... you'll start thinking that your dream is stupid and try to give up again. And I... don't want that more than anything. Because... when it comes to baking, you're happiest. And I want you to be happy."

Maybe, like Eru said, the "perfect" cake did exist. But we, the bakers, definitely weren't. We were nowhere near the word. I knew that better than anyone. And yet they were all doing so much for me anyway.

"Koyuki! Chiaki!"

They perked. The entire hall did, actually. But I cared the least how loud I was being.

"I'd never, under any circumstance, ask you to not lose. I don't have the right to put that kind of pressure on you, considering how I cost us the first segment and got us into this whole ordeal." I squeezed the fabric above my chest. Without the slightest moment to register the words pooling out of my mouth, I took a deep breath and shouted, "But, please— Win!"

Their eyes bulged, alongside Okito's and the rest of the spectators.

"I don't care about the Cooking Club. I could care less about getting revenge. But if, because of me, you guys were forced to leave my side—if we couldn't bake together anymore—I'd be unable to bear it. I'd fall apart. I'd cry!"

"Forty-nine minutes remaining!" somebody from the crowd shouted.

It was instantaneous. Koyuki meeting my gaze and gritting his teeth. Him practically diving for a new bowl and whisk.

"Man!" he yelled. "I've made you cry before and I hated it! I'm not about to let that happen again!"

"I already promised to win for you," Chiaki agreed as he grabbed newfound ingredients. "Because I want to stay by your side, too."

Shiori across the room clicked her tongue loud enough for everyone to hear. Kohmi, beside her, scowled with unspeakable anger.

"Oh—oh my gosh!" Mr. Oto cried again. "Another love declaration? Team Baking Society really is putting on a flashy show today. Least to our expectations, both Tamura and Setoguchi are brushing aside their broken dessert and time limit and are making a new one. They aren't giving up!"

Animated whispers consumed the large room. I adjusted my posture, my heart swelled like a balloon in my chest. I hadn't even realized how big I was grinning.

"Angel, why did you make such a bold confession?" Nori asked.

"Hmm," I said, tilting my head. "Motivation?"

He laughed loudly.

I was wrapped in a tight embrace before I could come to terms with it.

"Even still, I feel left out," he whispered, breath fanning my ear. "Can I assume you'd be sad if you were to lose me too?"

I slowly blinked. When what was happening finally settled in, I patted his head top and chuckled. "Of course I'd be. You're our newest companion, after all."

"You're too sweet, Angel." He retreated, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Here's a token of my appreciation."

He leaned in with his lips puckered. As soon as he did, something smacked him square on the forehead. A ladle.

"You're lucky I'm not there, pervert!" Whisking swiftly with one hand, Koyuki snarled viciously in our direction. "Step away from her right now!"

Nori merely hugged me again, ignoring the pain the kitchen utensil had caused. He smirked. "Why? You can trust me."

"No way in hell!"

Chiaki pouted. "Not fair. I've only hugged Teru once..."

Koyuki swivelled in time to gape at him. "Chiaki! What the hell are you trying to add to the batter?"

His reaction was delayed. He paused to stare at the can, cocking a sole eyebrow. "Soybeans?"

Koyuki whacked him upside the head, hard. "You cold-dessert idiot! I thought you were taking this seriously? We don't have a second to waste!"

"Ow...! Ko, you meanie! This is why Teru calls you a demon."

"Demon, monster, alien—I don't care! You're gonna do what I say if you want to win! Now mix this! Don't you dare do anything funny! Soybeans in a cake? A freakin' cake?! I'm beating you into shape after we win this stupid round, dumbass!"

"Ooh!" Mr. Oto adjusted his glasses. "It seems participants Tamura and Setoguchi are now yelling to pump themselves up!"

One of the judges deadpanned where he was. "'Pump themselves up'? They're clearly fighting..."

Laughs enveloped the room. The piercing tension from earlier had completely evaporated. In fact, participants and spectators alike were relishing in what was occurring like some kind of reality show.

As for me, well, I was trying not to make eye contact.

Koyuki was terrifying, sure. But Koyuki under immense stress was next level scary.

I'd never been so glad to not be baking with him...

"...pathetic..."

The whisper caught my focus. Hayate remained huddled where he was, but his fists were firmly clenched.

Hayate...?

The curtains soon closed on the segment. Using what little resources they had as well as leftovers from their previous cake, Koyuki and Chiaki managed to finish their dessert in time. Possibly due to the lightheartedness that had surfaced, the judges weren't as stoic as they were in the first two segments. Nevertheless, they continued offering serious feedback to the groups one by one.

Okito and Eru baked a chiffon cake. The reaction of the judges was exaggerated as ever, but Mr. Paul had some qualms about the texture, to which Eru apologized for getting distracted.

Eventually, Koyuki and Chiaki presented their sachertorte. I couldn't sense my heartbeat, or really breathe. Watching the judges cut into their slices and eat the cake had to be the most excruciating centuries (and yes, they felt like centuries) of my life.

Clasping my hands together, I sent a small prayer to the heavens just in case. And almost instantaneously, it was answered.

The judges offered nothing but compliments. Even Mr. Paul, the guy who seemed to nitpick everything, complimented it too. They also added how greatly impressed they were by our team's "presentation"—something they found represented the theme in its entirety. Not that Koyuki and Chiaki could tell them that they were mistaken and that our team was not, in fact, "presenting" anything.

The scoreboard depicting the final scores flickered on shortly thereafter.

I spotted Team Elite's first. A 39/40 on the last segment put their final score at a whopping ninety-nine.

"You're beating a hundred eggs when we get back," Ryoma mercilessly told a frowning Eru.

"Eru's sorry! Did a one hundred mean that much to you, Fuku?"

Beside our name, located at the bottom listing the qualifiers for the second round, there it was. Team Baking Society. The 40/40 we so desperately needed. A total of seventy-five. It was undeniably surreal.

We did it.

We actually did it.

We'd made it past the first round!

"We're so going to celebrate," I cheered as I changed back into my regular outfit in the girls' washroom.

My treat, of course. My boys deserved to be spoiled. And also Miko for being our literal saving grace for the day.

Right as I finished slinging my bag over my shoulders, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Ah, speaking of my goddess. She should be responding to my text about where to meet her right now.

Giddily, I slipped my cell into hand and opened the very message. But the text I read was a lot more hollow and worrisome than I anticipated.

Kotori, she's in the hospital. Was rushed there. Said it's a stroke. I don't know—
I don't know what to do.

***

I'm sorry for not updating last week (and a day late!)! I was finishing up my semester among other things so I've been busy, lol. But now that school's done I'll be able to write more chapters. (Though I say this, I literally wrote this chapter all yesterday so I'll definitely still find a way to procrastinate writing somehow, lol). Anyway, a lot happened in this chapter. Your thoughts?

(Also, have any of you been watching that Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom anime this season? I'm obsessed xD).

Remember to vote & comment if you enjoyed the chapter! <3