//------------------------------// // Dish 10: Spanish Mackerel // Story: Food Wars! The Advent of Sunset Shimmer! // by ratedoni //------------------------------// “What is going on here?” Sunset asked to the wind, seeing that no other dorm member was up at the moment and the only two up beside her were too entranced with their own duel to pay attention to her words. Well, to call it duel will be too much considering that Isshiki-san had basically goaded Soma into an impromptu cooking battle just as the welcoming party had started. It had been a very interesting day, with her taking her time, visiting some of the stores around the city before returning to the dorm. She had been prepared this time with the acquisition of a small Vespa. It was not exactly the thing that many in Canterlot will picture when thinking about her, but just looking at the small orange and yellow little thing just woke up something inside Sunset. She had spent almost half an hour looking at the adorable machine and was thinking about giving her a name -yes, the bike was a girl- but so far she haven’t had an idea or the right name for her. As she traveled upwards into the Victorian-like building, she thought she had seen Soma walking too. It wasn’t really that important since she decided she will spend the less time possible close to that boy. It was not because he was a bad influence or that she found him annoying -well, just a little bit- like half the people in the planet. It was more because he was half the reason for the outburst of the Devil Sunset coming to the front and literally taking control of the school. After her days of bullying and terror of CH, Sunset had no desire to become someone like that again. It took a lot of effort on her part and the help of Fluttershy and her friends to make her stable enough; to concentrate on her new abilities and her desire to explore the world of food. She was not going to let them down by turning into a Devil. Everything then went down on a fireball when she saw the man itself walk into the bathroom as she and Megumi were in the furo as if he owned the place. Both Megumi and Sunset had become quick friends and alongside Samui, she decided that maybe her time in the rather complex and stressful school of hers will not be that bad. So after spending some time talking and trying to get the shy girl out of her shell, she decided to take some time off and enjoy the great invention that was the furo. Neither girl thought that just as Sunset was leaving the hot water, Soma will walk inside the bathroom. Needless to say, Soma was capable of singing soprano for several hours after that. She was not shy of her body, after all, Sunset knew that she looked damn good, but she still didn’t understand the whole human modesty. She will enjoy teasing and tormenting Soma for the next several years. What happened next was the now classic welcoming party, after of course Soma was capable of walking straight without having to hold his groin with both hands. She may be a human right now, but she knew how to kick like a master no matter the universe. Once everyone was alright once again, the festivities started, with the strange ritual of their older schoolmate Isshiki disrobing himself of all his clothes, ending only with a strange cloth around his waist to cover himself. Sunset may not be that interested in human beings, but even she had to admit that Isshiki had one hell of a body. Maybe it was due to all the work he did in the Dorm’s garden. Looking at the embarrassed and shocked face in Soma helped alleviate things. It also helped that food and drinks were quickly being distributed by cooking students. This was not the first time she had met this people, but her admission into Polaris had been quite a surprise and instead of each showing their special abilities in the kitchen, it ended up being a breakfast at the hands of Sunset. Sunset didn’t understand how it was possible for Shun to see underneath that mass of hair he called bangs. They completely covered his eyes and gave him an unkempt and lazy air; it didn’t help that even his speech was slow and calm. Taking a bite out of his smoked party snacks had made Sunset recognize the deep flavor emanating from them and already gave her ideas about new recipes or twists on her catalogue of recipes. In the end, each one had something special to cook, all except Isshiki. Sunset had her eyes closed; resting from the rambunctious party they have had, when Isshiki struck against Soma, showing his cabbage and Spanish mackerel recipe. She could smell it form here and she already could detect the drizzle and the perfection of the slightly cooked mackerel. Opening her eyes -unlike Isshiki-san who always had his closed- Sunset used the dumbstruck face of Soma to steal the plate from his hands. Taking a bite of the delectable dish, Sunset was quickly buffeted by a storm of flowers and petals. It was amazing the amount of flavor that was found in the rather Spartan dish in front of her. Japanese cuisine was not exactly known by overpowering flavors, or at least most of the basis of Japanese cuisine didn’t use a strong flavored base, but this one was unlike any other fish dish she had tasted while in Japan so far. So this was the power of a seat student in the school? It just made Sunset’s blood boil. It was not that the dish had made something wake up inside of her; that had happened with another dish, but some time ago. No, it was the way in which Soma and Isshiki had simply started goading each other. It was like a duel between the two, leaving Sunset on the sidelines. How dare they, she thought as the sclera on her left eye turned completely black. How dare they ignore her!