The Epic of Leviathan (A Mutant's Ascension)

Chapter 435 - Autumn Elections (I)...

A/N: I have decided to make a small change in the Autumn Elections. In the canon, only four students were selected from Black A and another four from Block B.

But, I am going to select 8 students from each Block. That will make it more fun… I think that way I will be able to include the girls without kicking out any of the original students.

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[POV Momo]

A week had passed in the blink of an eye and it was already the day when the list of the names for the Autumn Elections was going to be announced. So, here we were patiently waiting for the list to be revealed.

"Momochi, I feel nervous" Yuki said from my side.

"Yes, I noticed. Your body is kind of shaking" I said dryly as I pointed out that her whole body was shaking.. Yuki noticed that and laughed nervously.

After a few minutes, someone from the Totsuki staff finally pulled down the covers revealing the names. It took me a couple of seconds to get all the names.

"Looks like I am in Block B along with Luna and Nat, while the three of you are going to be in Block A" I said while looking towards my group. Most of them simply shrugged and Luna was being Luna.

The theme wasn't going to be revealed today, so we decided to leave… but we stopped when I noticed Alice and her aide were approaching us. Alice and her aide have finally found us among the crowd.

"Momo, I knew that all of you are going to be selected… though I wonder who is going to come out on top…" Alice trailed off and I smirked.

"Of course… this will be a good chance to see who is better among us… don't you think?" I asked and Alice cocked her head with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Alice's aide was acting like he always did… he didn't seem to be interested in anything we were talking about, he simply wanted to sleep.

"Yes, we are in the same Block… I am looking forward to the dish you prepare Momo and remember, I am not going to hold back" Alice said as she bid me farewell and walked away with her aide.

"Wow… the students are really competitive" Jean said dryly as she noticed the same type of thing happening everywhere around us.

"It is good. A little bit of competitiveness can do wonders for you" Nat mused and chuckled humorlessly.

Yes, I understand what you are trying to say… the students of Totsuki take the competitiveness to completely another level. What can I say? The students of Totsuki are filled with passion.

"I think we should get back and keep practicing… I think that would be the best" Ororo said and all of us agreed. Yes, we have practiced a lot but that doesn't mean we couldn't practice more.

"Yep… that's a good plan" Fleur pointed out while nodding her head… after that, all of us decided to head back to our estate…

[POV Dora]

"Is that a cigar?" I asked incredulously.

"Yep, Dora. This is a cigar" Nemuri deadpanned and took away the cigar from her lips.

"Why the fuck are you smoking?" I asked and Nemuri shrugged.

"Well, I have seen in the movies how rich people love to indulge in cigars. I decided to give it a try and well… I am not impressed… I think a glass of bourbon is much better than this" Nemuri said in an annoyed tone and threw away the cigar.

"I think Vodka is better though…" I pointed out and she simply grinned. With a wave of her hand, two bottles appeared on the table along with two glasses.

Nemuri poured a drink for me and handed me the glass… I took a small sip as I relished the taste. Merlin's balls!! That's some good Vodka, I wonder where she got that from.

"You see… Alcohol is all about relishing" Nemuri grinned and chugged down the whole glass of Bourbon she had poured for herself. I also did the same and chugged down the whole glass.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Nemuri asked as she poured us another drink.

"I have heard that the Autumn Elections are starting in Totsuki… I want a spot on the Judge's panel" I said and Nemuri nodded her head in understanding.

"Sure… that's doable. I will send you the details later" Nemuri said and I nodded my head. We weren't in any type of hurry.

"Ok then… I will be goi…" That was all I was able to say before Nemuri cut me off.

"Why don't you stay and have a drink? It has been some time since the two of us had gotten drunk" Nemuri proposed and looking back, I found that Nemuri was right.

It has been some time since the two of us had gotten drunk. "Sure… but we will need snacks" I said and a happy smile appeared on Nemuri's face.

"Yeah sure" Nemuri said and poured me another drink…

[POV Momo]

The rest of the day passed in the blink of an eye. After two days of the names being revealed, the theme for the preliminary rounds was also announced. After that, the six of us kept practicing without taking a long break.

With the progress the six of us have made, I was quite confident that we could win the Autumn Elections but I wasn't going to hold anything back. So, today was the day when the 43rd Annual Totsuki Autumn Elections were going to start.

So, after bidding farewell to Fleur, Ororo, and Jean, we made our way towards Block B. Luna was happily skipping around while Nat looked completely serious.

"Nat… you aren't going on a mission. You need to relax" I said, trying to calm down Nat. She looked really stressed.

"...Yeah. You are right but this is a big stage and learning to cook is something new for me so I simply don't want to mess it up…" Nat confessed and I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

"You don't need to worry about anything Nat. We have worked really hard for this and even if you mess up, it isn't going to make you any less of a chef" I said trying to encourage her and it seemed to work as she nodded her head with a smile.

"We are here" Luna called out from the back as we finally arrived at the entrance of Block B. We could see the students trickling inside the building.

We also made our way inside, as we finally arrived where the cooking stations were set up. The stations had our names written over them so that no one would fight for a station. I arrived at my station and saw that Hisako Arato's station was beside mine.

I quickly started to set up my station according to my preferences. Slowly the other students started to arrive too… I looked around and found that all the seats were packed with students or faculty. It was like the whole school was watching us now.

I was looking around when my eyes landed on a certain boy. I won't say that I know everyone but I am pretty sure that I haven't seen that boy in Totsuki until now… his aura is somewhat similar to someone I know.

Yes! Isami Aldini. I can't believe my eyes!! That's an unnatural transformation! This world is surely strange. I pondered as I went back to contemplate my own dish. All of a sudden the lights turned off.

"We would like to thank all of our attendees for waiting, please pay attention to the stage in front of you, the Director would like to speak a few words before the opening" the announcer said in the mic as all the participants looked towards the stage with nervous looks on their faces.

Senzaemon Nakiri, the Director of Totsuki finally arrived on the stage. He was dressed in a grey yukata and traditional wooden sandals. He took a deep breath as he scanned the crowd of participants.

"When I take a deep breath, I can feel my heart and body being filled with vitality. This is Chandra's Room. It is only used for Shokugekis between the elite 10" Senzaemon said in a deep tone.

"To honor all of the people who have been in this position of the first seat, it is our tradition to hang their portrait here" Senzaemon said as he pointed towards the edge where the portraits of all of the 1st seat holders were hanged.

"Their statements and their sentiments still linger in this place. So all of you must give it your best so that you don't disappoint all those memories of your predecessors" Senzaemon's voice kept getting louder and louder.

It was pretty clear that he was trying to motivate the students in the roundabout way and it was working too. None of the students were nervous now…

"Ladies and Gentlemen, you will be making history here!!" Senzaemon shouted in excitement. The students were also pumped up, adrenaline running through their veins.

"Young Chefs of Totsuki's 92nd Generation! Let us meet again, in this place!!" Senzaemon finished followed by ear-piercing cheers. With that, the Totsuki's 42nd Annual Totsuki Autumn Elections has begun…