I'm a little behind on my Food Wars, but my favorite character was long decided! This girl is just too sweet!
"Great, sounds like another chick-flick chapter." Deadpool remarked.
Tōtsuki Culinary Academy was considered the most prestigious cooking school on Earth. Whenever Cooking Fest rolled around, its students were taken on an intergalactic field trip to Aquaria. They were even encouraged to create and share their recipes with the festival-goers; most particularly, the critics. The students knew they would be up against harsh criticism and humiliation, just as the teachers planned.
"This oden makes me feel as if I am boiling in a vat of rotten milk." Anton Ego hissed harshly, a group of customers listening to him. "If I'm not boiling in soup, I can hardly expect to die with dignity."
"At least the Miso Kusudama melts well in your mouth." Beerus said as he ate a pale-brownish ball. "If you excuse the fact that it looks like it was rolled up by dung beetles."
"The Three Kinds of Onigiri look like a chill group hangin' in an alley." Tom Haverford said as he took pictures of a tray with six riceballs, each pair having different toppings. "They look cool, but mess with them, and they'll twist your world around."
"Will you just eat them?!" Beerus shouted.
"And I'm not seeing a single fly in any of these recipes!" a Mobian lizard named Duckweed complained (from Amphibia). "What, do you not serve to lizards? What kind of cook doesn't consider the needs of any potential customers? Remind me not to eat at YOUR restaurant! Like you could ever work at one."
The criticisms sparked snickering out of the nearby customers, much to the shame of Megumi Tadokoro, her yellow eyes curved sadly with blushes on her cheeks. She had dark-blue hair tied in pigtails, a light-green, patterned, button-up shirt, a straw sun hat, and blue jeans with brown boots. Megumi had the weakest grades going into the academy and had only barely managed to hone her skills enough to stay onboard. Even though her confidence had been growing, even though she learned to abandon her stage fright, being here on this island was reigniting some old feelings.
That night, the students, like everyone else, returned to their designated rooms at the hotels. Megumi changed to her pajamas, a pink shirt and pants with white polka-dots, her hair hanging down. On her way to the bathroom, she was approached by a charming young boy with spiked red hair, a grayish-blue T-shirt, and light-gray pants. "Man, those critics were all over you today, Megumi!" he said spiritedly.
"I felt like I was getting beat up on the playground!" Megumi yelled, flustered. "I just wanted to disappear… I don't understand, Sōma. I thought I was getting better, but…"
"Just hang in there and keep cooking! The festival isn't about proving who's the greatest chef, it's about showing everyone what we're made of. This island is just another stepping stone for us!" he declared with an enthusiastic grin and fist-pump.
"If this island is a stepping stone, I guess that makes us ants." Megumi smiled.
"Darn right we are! Tōtsuki ants!"
"Eh heh heh." Megumi laughed at the awkward remark. "But I'll keep trying! Thanks, Sōma."
"Hey, there's a Ping-Pong table a few floors up. Wanna see if anyone wants to play~?"
"Maybe I will. But there's some leftovers in my room, I think I'll finish those first."
"See you in a bit then!" With that, Sōma turned to head for the stairs.
After using the bathroom, Megumi returned to her room. She approached the window, lost in thought as she gazed at the underwater scenery. To accommodate so many guests, the Gourmet Hotels had to extend beneath Aquaria's surface, making the guests feel like they were sleeping in an aquarium. The sight of so many fish swimming blissfully gave Megumi a sense of ease after a tense day.
Knock knock knock.
"Huh?" Megumi heard a knock. Thinking it was one of her friends, the student chef went to answer the door. However, her guest was a black-haired girl a couple years younger than her, with bangs hanging over her sheepish, bluish-purple eyes, and a yellow pajama shirt and pants. Her frame was shorter and thinner than Megumi, and she had visible blush marks and a tiny mouth.
"Hello there." Ururu greeted in a soft voice, smiling. "Sorry if I'm interrupting, but I just wanted you to know, I loved your food. I hope you don't feel bad about what those people said."
"Oh…thank you." Megumi smiled, blushing at the unexpected praise. "It was pretty embarrassing, but I won't let it get to me. My name's Megumi."
"I'm Ururu Tsumugiya. I don't suppose you've heard of Sector JP?"
"Sector JP? …Is that a Kids Next Door team?"
"I guess you aren't familiar?"
"I mean, I don't really keep track of that stuff." Megumi scratched her head. "I'm usually so focused on school. Tōtsuki has a really strict curriculum. Maybe I heard your team name mentioned once or twice, but… I'm sorry if I don't know."
"No, it's okay!" Ururu eased her. "So, you're from Tōtsuki, huh? One of my friends thought about going to that school. But given our position, she doesn't think it seems likely."
"Yeah, it's really hard. But I'm going to do my best and graduate!"
"I'm glad!" Ururu smiled, her soft tone barely changing. "Tehehe…that boy you were with seemed cute."
"Who… Sōma?"
"I might have been eavesdropping. Sorry. He seems like a really nice boy."
"Y-Yeah, but don't get the wrong idea." Megumi blushed. "He's just… a friend!"
"Okay, can I ask him out?"
"W-What?"
"Just kidding!"
"Hahaha…" Megumi let out a chuckle. "Hey, I have some leftovers. Would you like them?"
"Weren't you going to eat them?"
"Yeah, but I'm not hungry. I just don't want to waste them. I'd love for you to have them."
"Well, okay!"
Megumi invited Ururu into her room. She opened her mini fridge and pulled out a small plastic box with the remains of a terrine: its end side was gold-colored, with fragments of a light-green and red inner layers. "It's not actually much, but…"
"That's okay." Ururu smiled. "I actually have a little trick. Wanna see?"
"Yeah?"
Ururu stepped a few feet away and took out her Compowder. The device scanned her and swapped out her pajamas for the Tiny Devil suit. As Megumi looked on with confusion, Ururu pressed a button and seemed to evaporate into thin air.
"Ahh!" Megumi fell on her rear in shock, her knees angled up. "What in tarnation…" Before she could question what happened, a tiny red, fly-sized thing flew up to her face.
"Tehe! Did I scare you?" Ururu asked in a squeakier voice.
"Ururu… is that you?"
"Uh-huh!" The Tiny Devil buzzed around Megumi's shock-stricken head. "This suit allows me to shrink and spy on people. It's kind of how I was eavesdropping. Hehe!"
"So, that's why I didn't see you."
"It's also how I was eating your food at the festival. I like to take little bites to leave more for everyone else. And if I'm like this, little bites fill me right up." Megumi watched as Ururu flew up to the terrine and started nibbling out parts of each layer.
Megumi stood to watch the tiny girl eat her fill. "That's amazin', Ururu!"
"Hahaha! Is that a country girl I hear~?"
"Mmp!" Megumi covered her mouth. "I guess it slipped out…"
"But I like it! It's so cute!"
"Aww, shucks, Ururu." Megumi blushed.
"Hehe! And look what else I can do!" Ururu flew behind Megumi and under the collar of her shirt.
"Waaaaah!" Megumi felt her collar being pulled and suspended as she levitated in the air.
"I may be small, but I'm super strong!"
"Good Lordy, I'm flyin'!"
"As much flying as we can do indoors!"
"Whoooaaa!" Megumi began to whirl around the room at a slow pace, as if her shirt were hooked to some sort of machine. Ururu set her on her feet and flew away to resize.
"Unfortunately, when I get bigger, my belly grows empty again. Usually, I stay like that a while so the food can settle." Ururu switched back into her pajamas and ate the rest of the terrine. "It's better to eat full-sized food, anyway."
"Gosh, Ururu… I can't believe a girl like you is interested in me. I'm so jealous."
"No, don't be!" Ururu blushed. "You know, earlier when you said you wanted to disappear, I totally got what you meant. That's sort of what inspired that suit you just saw. But nowadays, I have people who depend on me, especially a certain someone. That's how I can tell that boy is special to you~"
"Heh heh…" Megumi blushed once more.
"By the way, you said you were going to play Ping-Pong, right? Could I invite my friends to join, too?"
"Sure, if they're available! I wonder what playing with KND operatives would be like?"
"Let's just say they can be quite vicious at this sort of game."
In the Game Room
Ururu found Karin, Jinta, and Kodama and invited them to the room in question. After introducing them to Megumi and becoming acquainted with the Polaris Dorm Tōtsuki students, a fun Ping-Pong tournament began.
Karin lashed her racket in monstrous maneuvers, Sōma struggling to read and counter her moves. "DWAAAAH!" The ball inevitably impacted his forehead, knocking him back. The ball bounced up and dropped behind him.
"That's 10-1." Karin smirked proudly. "You were pretty good."
"Karin's specialty is soccer," Jinta said, "but she don't bat an eye for other sports. You're just lucky I'm letting her play before me~"
"Red-hair boys sure are full of themselves." Remarked Yoshino, a girl with orange hair in buns.
"I see you can relate." Kodama replied with a wry smile.
"Yeah, well my hand is too used to frying pans!" Sōma stated. "It's time I tag out. Megumi, you're up!" He slapped the girl's shoulder.
"M-Me?!" Megumi froze and flushed.
"I dunno," Jinta said, "I don't wanna embarrass Ururu's new friend."
"Saying that out loud is embarrassing." Ururu replied. "But… maybe I should trade places with Karin."
"No, it's okay." Megumi said meekly. "I can't back down now…" With shirked shoulders, Megumi walked up to their side of the table. She took the racket in hand and held it stiffly.
"Listen, no hard feelings." Karin told her in comfort. She bounced the ball once on her rack before sending it to Megumi.
BAM! It felt like a bullet came whizzing past Karin's neck, scraping off part of her shirt. The Sector Leader was left shock-stricken.
Megumi's rack was in a swung position, but they barely witnessed the motion. Her once-sweet eyes had turned sharp and fierce. "What am I, some baby in diapers?" Her country accent took over in a sassy manner. "Ain't ya gonna trounce me like ya did Sōma?"
"…" Karin blinked a few times. "Oh, I see. You were hustling us, weren't you?"
"I don't like your tone."
"If our girl Megumi didn't come to Tōtsuki," Yoshino smirked, "she could've been a professional Ping-Pong player. Ever since elementary school, only pros have been able to beat her. Close calls, though."
"Grrr…so, that's how it is." Karin glared. "Alright, then…"
Megumi took the first serve this next round, but this time, Karin intercepted it, the ball bouncing several times every second. Karin could only use defensive positions against Megumi's merciless swings, but it was fruitless. The ball whizzed past her upper-right hair, her right waist, her left neck, left ear; luckily, the ball wouldn't actually cut her skin, but it did bloody her nose, bruise her left eye, and knock out a couple right teeth. With a hit to the chest and one to the right shoulder, Karin ultimately lost 0-10.
"Huff…well, that sucks." Karin gasped for breath. "Well, Jinta's tougher than me, anyway. It's his turn."
"W-Wait." Jinta sweated. "I…"
"Come on, Jinta!" Kodama cheered. "Don't let some puny girl humiliate you!"
"Hey, that's offensive, Kodama!" Jinta argued in fear. "I never once said that I was superior to girls, and I for one believe that people of all genders are equally-"
"Shut up and kick her ass, dumbass!" Karin pushed him to the table.
"Fine." Jinta clutched the rack. "But I'm not going easy on you." He channeled Haki to make it as black as a mini frying pan.
The red-haired boy looked fairly tough and sturdy compared to Megumi, and his Haki made the Ping-Pong strike like a cannon. This made him an excellent match for Megumi, for as she intercepted his returns, the ball pressed against her rack for a second before the momentum died and she was able to return it. Jinta endured the same struggle with each counter, but with each round, either a part of his hair or clothes would rip, or his body bruised, and a crater would be left in the wall behind him.
"Hey, I know this building is reinforced," said Zenji, a dark-haired boy in glasses, "but maybe we shouldn't test the waters, if you know what I mean."
"Better just stick to baseball from now on." Megumi remarked after her victory.
"Heh…noted." Jinta smiled, limping back to his teammates.
"So, are you all ponged out? Anybody else want a serve?"
"…" Ururu narrowed her eyes. "It's my turn." Her teammates looked with surprise as their shortest friend bravely stepped up to the table. "Megumi-chan… when you said you were jealous of me, was that a lie?"
"Huh? I weren't lyin' at all, sweetheart." Megumi replied earnestly. "Ya got a heckin' good suit. You can fly, spy on people, and ya probably kick some real butt. That's way more talent than I have."
"But you're clearly talented yourself. You're a champion at this game and a great cook. It's only fair that I face you with the best of my talent."
Ururu pulled out her Infi-Cube and extracted six, large, square-shaped guns with four barrels each. They were in stacks of three with a handle and trigger on the bottom gun, Ururu holding one in either hand. Despite their hefty weight, the small-framed girl was holding them with little strife. Ururu grabbed all the Ping-Pongs in reserve and loaded them into the guns. "I'm not just good at making shrink suits. I'm quite good at firearms as well. This is my best chance at defeating you!"
Ururu rapidly pulled each trigger and bombarded Megumi with a Ping-Pong storm. Megumi whipped her rack with lightning fury, some of them going back into the barrels to be fired again, but others struck the guns enough to damage them. Regardless, some whizzed past Megumi and punctured the wall or floor behind her, and the others had ducked for cover in the doorways.
After a minute-long match, the game was over. The score was 8-10 in Megumi's favor. "Huff…I was so close…" Ururu sighed.
"There's no way that would be allowed in an official match." Zenji said.
"Yeah, but we like doing things the unofficial way." Karin replied.
Megumi set her rack down. Her fierceness reverted back to her sweet tone. "That was incredible, Ururu! I'm so glad I met you today!"
"It was an honor to play with such a pro." Ururu smiled back.
"Man, you wanna join our team??" Karin asked her. "With that skill, you would totally fit in! Plus, another chef wouldn't be bad, you and Yuzu could take turns."
"Nuh-uh!" Jinta argued. "If we get another teammate, it needs to be a boy!"
"I think her school keeps her busy enough." Ururu said. "You probably wouldn't have the time."
"No, I'm sorry." Megumi responded. "But it's flattering to hear that. …Actually, Ururu, since this was such a close match, maybe I could get a reward for winning!"
"What would you like?"
"Well… could you teach me how to use that suit?"
The following day
Anton Ego strolled about the island, his eyes scouting for any recipes of interest. "Ah!" Something bumped him in the chin and turned his head left. "Oh!" Something poked his neck. "What?! Why is this wretched bug so—oh!" The fly-like bug bumped his forehead.
"Yow!" Beerus felt a poke in his left ear. "Yah!" Then a push to his back. "Wretched insect! I will destroy—whoa!" The bug pushed his leg and knocked him over.
"Ouch! Stop! Aaaah!" Stumpy cried, running from the tiny thing's rampant attacks. "I'll never eat flies again! I'll switch to caterpillars! Waaaaah!"
Hiding in an alley, Ururu sported a giggle as she watched this. Megumi returned to her and returned to normal size. "Please don't tell the teachers I'm doing this."
"Not a single word~" Ururu tipped a finger to her mouth. Megumi giggled and shrunk down again, flying to resume her little game.