The best UNAGI...

Mission Details:

”So, that’s your mission. Can you handle it?”

”Absolutely.

Emilia did the traditional bow as she let the mission board know that she could absolutely handle the mission she had been given. Honestly, it’s not like this mission was a tough one, it’s just a little odd in the sense that things can traditionally get extremely heated, even if they are in the middle of trying to resolve this decades long bitterness towards each other. Emi raised from her bowed position and turned to leave the room, she’d better hurry and make her way over to the City Square, that way she could get a good start on mediating this thing.

(Flashback)

”For decades, two restaurants in the heart of the city have been bitter rivals. I’m sure you’ve heard this story at least one time. Poisonings, assaults, sabotage - these two establishments have been at one another’s threats for a long long time. As long as anyone can remember. They have finally decided to come to an agreement to settle the differences, once and for all determining which is superior… by a cook-off. You are the sole judge of this thing and your job is to have this go as smoothly as possible. We are not sure why they have now decided to call a truce, but we certainly don’t want to disrupt that though.

Emilia stood there and listened to the speech by the person giving out the mission. The real importance here was making sure that there’s a stop to the future harm of the city square. That was the entire reason that it was suggested to have a shinobi judge this cook off, just in case someone decided to get a little aggressive in their thought process.

”I understand the mission and will make sure I treat it as important as any other mission.”

(End Flashback)

As Emi raced back towards the city square, she thought about what had been said to her when she was receiving this task. There was certainly some part of her that was a little nervous, only because of how huge this rivalry has been over the decades. It doesn’t just predate Emilia, it predates just about everyone in Hoshigakure, maybe besides a few folks. So there’s a lot riding on her to ensure the success of this mission, that pressure can be a lot for anyone - even the most seasoned shinobi fold under pressure.

”No, not me. I won’t succumb to the pressure. That’s not who I am.”

Her golden eyes narrowed as she hustled herself to her first destination. It was still morning time, so her plan is to go and visit each of the restaurants before the cook off and judging is to occur. The thinking behind this is to get an idea of what they may be cooking and possibly to uncover the reasoning behind why they are suddenly wanting to squash the beef. The young genin finally made her way onto the street and had her sights set on the two buildings. She would do a quick eenie meanie miney moe rhyme to pick the building - landing on the left one.

”Well - here we go.”

— — — — —

The front door swung open, lightly ringing the bell at the top of it. The building itself was mostly empty right now since it still wasn’t even time for lunch. The few folks that were there were the employees and they looked up to see who had entered. The family would have never guessed that it was a tiny frail girl, who looked more innocent than an adult woman who had never done wrong in her life. The shock of this is that they had expected a rather large human who was more grotesque looking. It would have gone with the theme of this mission a little more, though maybe this is for the best, since the young girl may not be all that aggressive.

”Welcome to Tabemono, darling. Based on your outfit and the fact that we are not yet open, I would wager a guess that you are the judge of today’s cook off. Am I right?”

The lady speaking was named Iris, and she is one of the owners of this establishment. She’s certainly not a spring chicken and has probably been through her fair share of rivalry wars with the other restaurant. She might be a great person to speak with on this matter, since she’s likely been in the middle of it. There were maybe four or five others who were here currently, all of them were busy preparing something for the day itself, whether it was the restaurant or food for the day. The air in the building was slightly tense, but you could tell that there was a bit of relief too. It’s sort of like all of them had been waiting for this day.

”Thank you so much for the kind welcome. My name is Emilia, though most folks tend to call me Emi. As you correctly guessed, I will be the judge for today’s cook off.” Emilia’s smile provided a little sense of comfort for the family, though they weren’t quite sure why. It was calming and felt like a cool breeze on a really hot day.

Iris left her little area, where she would admit that she wasn’t actually doing much… except for overseeing things. It was pretty clear that she was going to insert herself and have a conversation with Emi. The subject of that conversation wasn’t likely to be difficult to guess. Iris was planning on picking Emilia’s brain around foods that she did or did not like. She might also try and ask some questions around how Emilia would be judging the competition. In a sense, the older lady wanted to know if the young shinobi would try her hand to professionally judge the cook off or would it be more about what she liked?

”Come Emi, have a seat over here with me. I’d like the chance to connect with you and talk for a bit if you have the time.”

Of course, Emilia wouldn’t mind the conversation. It was probably unknown to everyone here but she had her own goals for the day. She would try and judge the competition as fairly as possible and in her own way, but she wanted to understand the reasoning for the truce. For something that had gone on so long, why now? In stories, most of the time it’s something that has to do with love that negates the long rivalry. Would that be the case in this instance? Are they just tired of the bickering? Or is it something else entirely? These were things that Emilia was concerned with, though she’d have to be careful in how she approached them, the last thing she wanted to do was anger or upset them.

”Thank you, I appreciate the kind gesture.I am sorry, but I don’t think I caught your name…”

”Oh dear! Please forgive my rudeness. My name is Iris and I am one of the owners of this fine establishment.”

The conversation lasted for quite a while between Emi and Iris. Mostly because it seemed like they got along so well; there was plenty of laughter, seriousness, and just kind talk. If you hadn’t known that they only met today, you would have thought that Emilia and Iris might have been related by how comfortable the two were. This talk with Iris gave the young girl an idea of why this family was hoping the feud would come to an end through this cook off. They weren’t the ones to suggest this though, it was the other restaurant. Which came as a surprise to Iris because according to her, that family has been trying to outdo them every step of the way. This was something that caused a dark feeling inside of Emilia, she didn’t trust the cook off now.

Even still, she put a smile on her face and waved goodbye to Iris and thanked her for her time. She was heading across the street to see what else she could find… hopefully the true motive of this cook off.

— — — — —

Emilia looked up at the sign which shone the name of the restaurant brightly… Subarashī shokuji. It was literally called Great Food. This alone helped Emilia understand that this family had been trying to outshine the other since the restaurants opened. Good Food…. Great Food. It was so silly that it almost made the young girl laugh. She found a way to restrain herself though and pushed the door open, no bell and barely a hey. They weren’t open yet but she could tell the vibe was just so different, it was ominous and cold, unlike the warm and cozy environment that Iris had provided.

”I’m not sure I want to stay here very long… I don’t like the atmosphere.”

Her thoughts disappeared as the one person who had said hey to her, had finally introduced himself. He was certainly an adult but not nearly the age that Iris currently is. He seemed kind and gentle, the complete opposite of most of the others here. It gave Emi hope that this wasn’t all a ploy to just do something absolutely heinous during the cook off. She spent her time in this restaurant speaking to this man - not actually learning his name until a little later on in the conversation where he finally told her. Shin was his name. He had told Emilia that he was tired of the way his family had been doing things - and since he was the one in charge of the restaurant, he was choosing to end this feud.

”I appreciate you opening up to me, Shin. I can tell you with confidence that the Omoi family is really hoping for a truce. They too are tired of this “war” and want to be able to build on top of the success they have had with the restaurant and want the same for your family.”

A smile came to his face, he was glad to hear that things were beginning to look up. The only thing left was to ensure that there was not a sabotage attempt, which Shin fully expected from his side of the family. As these thoughts crept into Shin’s mind, he waved bye to Emilia. He hadn’t attempted to ask her anything she liked, he wanted her to enjoy their food for what it was. Even if they didn’t win the cook off - this entire thing was meant to bring both sides together. It was an opportunity to grow not only as a family, but as people, and that’s what Shin has always longed for. The tall man watched as Emilia left the restaurant, immediately turning his attention to the kitchen.

”If you so much as take another step with what is in your hand - I will banish you from this family.”

The kind and gentle soul that the young girl had felt earlier… left the room in an instant. He had caught a member of the family attempting to poison the food of the Omoi family. An ominous feeling came over this member as Shin had taken the poison from him, immediately leaving the restaurant.

”Ah, it’s time.” A smile quickly appeared as he felt the joy rush to his heart.

– – – – –

There was a nice set up outside on the street for the cook off. Emilia’s golden eyes widened as she saw the wonderful people out there making sure everything had been prepared. It was time to make her way up the stairs to where they put the food. She didn’t really know if she needed to say anything to be honest, but she felt like it would be a nice gesture on her part if she did.

”I just want to say that I truly believe this is a wonderful thing and I am proud to be part of this great gesture by the two families. I know over the many years there’s been some terrible things happen, but it’s never too late to realize you can do better. So thank you.”

Emilia looked down at the two dishes that had been prepared for her. A huge smile appeared and she even almost started drooling at the look of the plates. The first she would dig into was a ramen bowl - making sure she tasted each of the flavors and different types of food. Not that she was a professional food judge, but she wanted to feel like one. She was just going to pick whichever meal she enjoyed more. Emi made sure to take a sip of water and get some of the flavor out - that way it wouldn’t ruin the Unagi meal that had been prepped. She bit into it and was surprised at how much different flavoring she could taste. Both families had really done a nice job with the meals and now it was time for her to give her thoughts.

”Both meals are wonderful and I wish I could crown them both winners. With that being said - I’m going to go with the Unagi. Solely based on my surprise at just how much flavoring I really could taste. Well done.”

Emi didn’t know who had which meal prior to the tasting and judging. As soon as she made her decision - she could see Shin smiling wide. It was a meal he took a lot of pride in and was so glad that it turned out like he wanted. He walked over and had a few words with Iris and they even exchanged hugs. They each gave their blessings to Emilia and with that, it seemed as though the decade long rivalry had finally waned. Emi would be off to give her report - and she’d make sure to come back to both restaurants.

Exit Claims:

Emilia Kaneko wrote:

Exit Claims:

Approved