"Thanks for the dishes everyone, I'm sorry I couldn't taste yours." Soma remorsefully smiled in Erina and Megumi's direction, his expression then switched to an excited grin, "But I'm going to take a nap!"

Soma leapt off his feet in a hurry, a part of him felt relieved that it was all over but the back of his shirt collar got caught by Erina's tight grip, momentarily choking him.

"You're not going anywhere, Yukihira."

"But I don't feel so good!"

"Erina, I think you should treat Soma gently, he has been through a lot after all." Megumi tried to put a halt to what would inevitably lead to an argument.

"Hah? You of all people want to go easy on him? Have you forgotten about that time with the peanut butter squid? Or how about the strawberry jam shrimp? Or even the chocolate surf clams?"

"Urrrrgh." The memories alone were enough to churn Megumi's stomach.

"This is your chance to pay him back!"

"Pay me back? Is this Shokugeki supposed to be my punishment?!"

"No, but I'll use any chance! Yukihira, what is it with you and seafood?! Seafood is meant to be cooked with the utmost delicacy and elegance, not that you'd understand. But honestly, peanut butter squid? You'd never see me cook such an atrocity."

"Ya got me Nakiri. I'm more of a meat and eggs person."

Megumi's stomach continued churning at the mere thought of those concoctions. Erina had reminded Megumi of all the other times Soma would aggressively encourage her to be a taste tester. Her taste buds would turn numb and just as she would regain feeling.

"Perfect, here's the next one!"

Soma would slide the plate across the table. He'd grin ear to ear with a devilish snicker, almost as if he already knew the taste but would still be hoping to hear the results straight from Megumi's mouth and every single time, she'd find the taste utterly repulsive.

"I…"

"I?"

"Thank you, Erina. I could never forget those times…that's why…" Megumi glanced over to Soma with a sadistic smile, "You aren't going anywhere. Not until you taste my dish."

"And mine." Erina licked her lips with a face so disturbing that you'd think she had just killed a man.

"Nope, just mine."

"What? But that's not fair!"

"Fair? You were trying to piggyback off the sacrifices my tongue made." Megumi stormed back into the kitchen but returned quickly with a bowl in her cupped hands and placed before Erina.

"What…is this?"

Erina inched her face closer towards the bowl with a peculiar expression of curiosity. The contents were yellow and glistening , it appeared to be a gelatin substance. The gelatin was translucent with more contents inside.

"Hey! That's my durian tuna jello from yesterday."

"…"

"What is wrong with you?!" Erina barked at him, "This is an insult to food everywhere! Why did you show me this Megumi?"

"If you want things to be fair, eat this abomination."

"Nonsens-"

"Eat. It. NOW."

Erina's plan to manipulate Megumi backfired and now, now had to eat something so terrible that if she were to proceed, could cause her to lose the title of 'God Tongue' forever. She reached out towards the jello bowl, her arms shaking, hesitating. Instinctively, her body knew it would reject the jello, she had tried his peanut butter squid but this was on an entirely different tier from that.

"Why am I even considering this? Why am I doing all this for Yukihira Soma? Normally, people beg me for my food but if I eat this…thing, then wouldn't that practically be as if I'm begging him?"

She picked up the bowl and brought her head closer, examining it from every possible angle, smelling it, though that would be useless since the tuna's odor had been trapped within the confines of the jello.

"Pathetic. I will never beg Yukihira for anything! But…But I can't find a way out of this."

Erina continuously poked the jello causing ripples on the surface of the jello. It looked like such a playful dish if not for the tuna trapped inside. She tipped the bowl like one would for soup, but it wouldn't fall. She continued to tilt the bowl and her head would follow suit but the jello would not leave the bowl. She put the bowl back down with her face flushed red.

"I…I've never eaten jello before. I assumed it would slide off, I was wrong."

All the girls in the room couldn't help but laugh lightly. It made sense that Erina, a girl with refined, high class tastes had never eaten jello before. Hisako had known but simply wanted to see her friend embarrass herself.

"Haha, how cute." Isshiki patted her head.

Erina swiped at his hand, "Shut up!"

"Never? Well that's a shame. You're missing out."

Soma took a spoon he used for previous contestants' dishes, scooped a chunk of his jello and then shoved the spoon to the tip of her lips.

"Wha?" Erina had been thrown off, as were the others.

"A-a-an indirect…"

"Kiss?!"

"Forget that. Spoon-fed…"

"By Soma?!"

The situation turned from one of despair and embarrassment to one of jealousy. Despite all of Erina's thoughts, her body reacted on its' own, wanting to take a bite of that terrible tasting dish. Time slowed down. The same thought came across all the contestants, it didn't matter who won this Shokugeki, if Erina ate from that spoon held by Soma, they may as well admit defeat to their chances with Soma.

"And here I am…" Erina's closed her eyes as she leaned forward at the spoon held before her. "Even if I don't want to, my body is begging for it. For a bite of that jello."

Megumi, Hisako and Ikumi turned their heads away, unable to bare witness to one of the most significant events in Polar Star history.

"Nyaaaaaaaaoh!" From the shadows, a cat-like figure dashed and a light gulp was heard a second later.

"Eeek!" Erina jumped out of the way from the figure before collision could be made.

"Who…who is that?" Nikumi wondered.

Isshiki gave a welcoming smile, "Heh, competition."

"Huh, that voice…" Soma had to think for a moment before realizing who had bitten down on his spoon, "Oh no, I have a bad feeling about this."

The girl tilted her head to the ceiling with Soma still holding the spoon in her mouth. Her thick wavy, red hair covered her eyes and face gaving her an aura of mystery and her cat-like tongue slowly soaked in the flavors of the durian tuna jello.

Erina stared, baffled at who had just entered the dorms, "Rindou Kobayashi, the 2nd seat of the Elite Ten Council."

"Found you, Yukihira~! Nyahaha," She stuck out her tongue in disgust, "That was terrible! Haha!"

She pounced on Soma with her arm swinging over his shoulder. The sudden weight caught him off guard. He dropped his spoon as he stumbled for a moment before regaining his balance.

"Geez, Yukihira," She rapidly poked his cheeks. "Keeping secrets from me. You know that if you're involved in something interesting, I'm going to find out."

Soma squinted angrily at her pestering fingers, "Yeah but I'm not the one cooking this time."

"That's right, they are." Isshiki individually pointed at every competitor in the Shokugeki.

"One, two…seven bombshells? How is that not interesting?"

"Four. This one dropped out." Ryo held Alice by his side to which Alice nodded in agreement.

"Someone stole our ingredients." Ryoko and Yuki pouted.

"And you didn't invite me!?"

"I mean, it's not up to me. I didn't decide this Shokugeki. Anyone could enter. Even boys."

"Why do I have this weird feeling that Takumi's going to be the next person to appear?" Ryoko whispered to Yuki.

"Ohoho! I wish. What trick do you think he'd pull? Ou, ou! Maybe he'd spoon-feed Soma!" Yuki salivated at the thought.

Nikumi and Hisako's faces heated up as they both turned red, visualizing the image created by Yuki.

"Say ahhh~" Takumi held food between his thumb and index finger, gently pushing it into Soma's mouth. His finger would catch a bit of Soma's tongue. "Hehe, oops. I guess my dish came with a hint of Italian." Takumi playfully winked.

In that moment, all the girls of the gallery would accept a Takumi victory. The shocking entrance of Rindou had destroyed any tension in the air and allowed Erina to regain her composure.

"Ahem," Erina cleared her throat and bursted the bubble of her friends imagination, "I assume you're here to watch."

Rindou scoffed at the thought, "Watch? You think I would eat tuna jello for the chance to watch a Shokugeki?"

Megumi stood in awe and fear of Rindou.

"No, she can't be. I could never have predicted this."

"How could I watch by and have Yukihira settle for a first-year?" Rindou slowly tasted her own lips, they gave a seductive allure with their glossiness to go along with her voice. "Wouldn't it be interesting if he settled for an older woman?"

"I think I can handle being friends with everyone."

Kurokiba slapped Soma's lips shut which made his statement audible to no one else.

"Shut it ya dunce."

"I can definitely satisfy Yukihira better than any inexperienced first-year can." Rindou practically moaned.

"How lewd!" Hisako gasped.

"What was that?!" Nikumi cracked her knuckles.

"Grrrr. This seductress." Yuki began shadowboxing and had to be held back by Ryoko and Isshiki. "Megumi! Erina! Say something!"

"Haha…an Elite Ten?" Megumi's confidence began to waver. No matter how much love she put into her dish, it would probably fall short before the 2nd seat of the Elite Ten.

"Rindou Kobayashi. You may just be the thing I need." Erina crossed her arms and flicked her hair, demanding the attention of the room, "The only problem is…Yukihira claims he can't eat another bite."

"That's right! I never even agreed to continuing the Shokugeki if someone ate the jello!"

"You what? So, you're saying…I almost ate that disgusting dessert of yours for nothing?!"

"I mean, he didn't agree after all." Isshiki defended.

"Umm, hello?" Rindou innocently raised her hand. "I ate that jello!"

"Without anyone's permission, may I add." Despite being younger, Erina treated Rindou like a junior.

"She also got an indirect, spoon-fed kiss by Soma." Hisako scoffed in jealousy.

"Lucky bit-"

Ryoko covered Nikumi's mouth before Rindou could overhear and start an unnecessary catfight.

"But it's fine!" Rindou shrugged her shoulders, "You know what I say? An eye for an eye."

"Eye for an eye? That sounds like you want revenge." Soma started to sweat nervously. He knew his day was going to get a lot worse.

"That dessert was terrible but revenge? Hahaha~ That's not my thing. Not to worry, I won't waste any time. After all…" Rindou snapped her fingers.

Isshiki returned back to the room with Rindou's plate in hand, she arrived and had merely left it in the main hall to keep her hands free.

"Here you go, Rindou."

"Isshiki you traitor!" Yuki ran up to him and walloped repeatedly against his chest.

"I'm sorry, she could smell something interesting was happening, so I just had to tell her. But you're not even in the Shokugeki."

"You think a first year can resist the allure of a third-year?! That feeling of being wanted by a talented, high-class senpai is too much for any normal boy to handle!"

"That's right. Not only am I the second seat of the Elite Ten, but I'm also older and more ahem, developed and not afraid to get down and dirty for my prey." Rindou brushed her hair and she gave a catty smirk to Soma.

Megumi butted herself in between her glare and whispered close to her ear, "I'll admit. You're older, attractive, and versed in many fields. You could sweep any guy off your feet from your reputation alone. To make things more in your favour, the chemistry between you two has potential, you two are very similar after all."

"Haha, right~? Glad that we see things the same-"

"You even look similar."

There it was, the sadistic, scheming smile that the other competitor had become so wary of. Despite being outside of her calculation, Megumi managed to fill a hole in the armor of her new competitor. Rindou had been caught off guard! During her grand entrance, she had taken a single step into room before deeming Erina as the only threat and that was her first mistake.

"Why, you could pass off as brother and sister! Even if you happened to win, if someone (me) kept insinuating such a thing, eventually he wouldn't want to push your sibling-like relationship to the next level. One of the cute things about Soma is how naive he is. He might even believe you two are siblings and then oops, there goes your chance."

Megumi spoke almost threateningly. It was a threat only Megumi could think of so quickly thanks to her homely, family-styled cooking.

"Everyone has been saying you're an angel…"

"I am an angel, Rindou Kobayashi. The type of angel that stands above the battlefield, waiting to deliver the final blow to the warriors knocking on death's door."

Megumi gently slapped Rindou's cheek twice times as if she were petting her.

"After being so dramatic, it'd be so embarrassing if you walked away. So, here's the deal. If either of us win, I still get the rights to Soma and you get to save face. Okay, Onee-san?"

"Y-Yeah…I understand." Complete and utter defeat, those were the only feelings that could describe Rindou's voice as she slowly approached the dish, "I understand, Tadokoro Megumi, but I don't agree! Because abiding by you would be no fun at all!"

The plate has been stylishly wrapped using a shedded snake's skin and what appeared to be snake eggs marinated in a curry sauce.

"That's unique…" Erina had never tried snakes before and was jealous that Soma would get to try them first.

"She hunted down a snake?!" Nikumi had entertained the thought of fighting Rindou but not anymore.

Despite Megumi's threat, Rindou had become unfazed. There was no certainty that things would go according to how Megumi described after all and now Rindou intended to make sure Megumi wouldn't dare think of crossing her again.

"Yukihira!"

Rindou grabbed his shoulder and aggressively pushed him onto his seat before the table, she propped one foot onto the small leftover space of the chair. Her skirt lifted up enough to give Soma a sneak peek of what he'd get if he chose her.

"Here before you, aren't snake eggs but sheep eyes topped with crispy snake skin in sheep blood curry sauce."

"Sheep and snake? How would those two even work together? What gave you the idea to use those two?" Erina continued to be intrigued, ignoring the fact that Rindou could win the Shokugeki.

"Convenience. The snake hunted the sheep and I hunted the snake. That's an easy 2 for 1 deal!"

"Okay, now I'm even more scared." Nikumi latched onto the back of Hisako.

Rindou's attention turned back to Soma, she brought two fingers to his chin and lifted them up as they stared at each other, "I want your eyes to focus on me and only me. I told you, I'd pay you back." She pointed at his eyes and then the sheep eyes and picked one up. "An eye…for an eye."

Rindou proceeded to finger feed him and she moaned delightfully, going all out in her attempts to seduce Soma. Jealously arose from the girls in the room, wishing it could be them in Rindou's position. She managed to feed and be fed by Soma. She turned her head to the competitors and winked. Mouthing the words, 'I win'.

"Ugh. It's no good."

"Eh?"

Rindou's skin turned pale as she went back to focus on Soma, who had his tongue sticking out and a disgusted expression on his face. Meanwhile, the other competitors had their ears perked up and a slight smile on their face filled with hope.

"Y-Y-Yukihira, what do you mean?"

"Considering this is a Shokugeki and the effort you put into your dish. It wouldn't be fair if I rejected you. But knowing that I'm eating sheep eyeballs is really unappetizing."

Preference. Everyone has specific foods or ingredients they like and dislike. In a food competition, in an official Shokugeki, there are multiple judges with different preferences to minimize the bias of presented dishes. Technique, finesse, plating, creativity. None of these things that would normally matter, matter to Soma. In this Shokugeki, what truly matters is the theme itself, 'Soma's favourite food', the taste and Rindou failed to give that. As this was the first time Soma ever tried snake and sheep eyes, it was very unlikely he'd enjoy the tastes of both unique ingredients on the first try, even the second seat of Tōtsuki could salvage that.

"I'm sorry Rindou but I can't eat this, let alone finish it."

She could ignore Megumi's threats. But this time it was truly, utter defeat for Rindou.

"I understand." She picked up her dish, her hair blocking any expression as she walked into the kitchen staring down at the ground and her failure of a dish and then closed the door behind her.

"I feel terrible but I feel like I could have handled that better…"

All the competitors wanted to say something, the reality of the Shokugeki had hit them. They hoped to overwhelm him with their best meal coupled with all their tactics and schemes to give them an edge but at the end of the day, the winner is decided by Soma and his preference. And so, all the competitors had one question on their mind.

"Those eyeballs left a bad taste in my mouth and now I'm feeling a bit hungry again." Soma rubbed his stomach which then growled quietly.

"Hungry?" Erina and Megumi could not help but smile. Rindou's entrance brought despair but her exit brought hope and a second chance for the remaining two competitors.

Status of the Shokugeki

Ikumi Mito: Served dish while providing dreams of the faraway future
Hisako Arato: Served dish with an aphrodisiac
Alice Nakiri: Happily Dropped Out (Also would have been disqualified anyway)
Soma Yukihira: Hungry
Tadokoro Megumi: Relieved and scheming(?)
Erina Nakiri: Panicking about her unique lamprey a la bordelaise
Rindou Kobayashi: Quietly crying in the kitchen and finishing her plate, alone.