Thanks for sending in your characters! I had so many sent in that were lovely, but I could unfortunately only take 13 for the story, and since I have more than 13 to choose from, I'm cutting off the character submissions there. At the end of this final chapter, there will be a list of people whose characters I have chosen! If you are one of those people, please expect a few follow-up emails sent to you about your characters' cooking style, an in-depth history, etc. If you weren't chosen, don't fret! I might see if I can squeeze your characters into this story, especially in the section with unspecified new Polar Star students.

Anyhow, final chapter. It's here. Thank you so much for sticking with this story, and I hope you stick around for the follow-up ones! What follow-up ones, you ask? Why, you'll have to read the final A/N to find out :)

REPLIES:

NefCanuck: You can't have a SnS fanfic without writing a Shokugeki into it, haha. One of the cardinal rules, methinks. And yeah, Erina's trying to make a point, though it went completely over Sōma's head as per the norm. | bill2011us: That's it for now, check in later~ All your questions will most likely be answered in the next installments. | YokaiAngel: Thank you! | Cat McHall: Eishi has succumbed to the realization that he can't be the one doing everything at once, especially when there are 400 mouths to feed. | I'm a Guest (Guest): Uhh... | l Hypocrisy l: Nice profile pic, by the way. And yes, it's coming, it's coming~ | aGirlWhoLovesBlueAdidas: Have you been reading my story notes? And yes, many more Shokugeki stories are on the horizon! | DJDrake: Your question will be answered in this last chapter~ | Neroj: Haha, everyone's asking about these things! I tried to wrap it up here, and yeah, you've got the right story. | FoulIceQueen: Haha, I tried ;w; Thanks for your enthusiasm! | Lunahras: Quality? O/O I mean, I try, haha. Ahhh thank you for your kind words! And I can't believe I spelled that wrong. I'll have to fix that in the editing process, haha... | Demon Damian: Why do you try so hard with reviews haha while I really appreciate it :P I might have to use your description in the next story..? The pairings were fun to come up with, as were the one-liners that the characters were shouting at each other. And information on my next work is in the author's note at the bottom~

The four hundred-or-so remaining students were dragging their luggage behind them as they left the main Tōtsuki Resort building and headed for the buses that would take them back to the Academy. As the mass of people left, a few specific students straggled behind.

"I wonder where the alumni all are," Umiko commented as she glanced about.

"I'd assume that most of them are heading back to their restaurants to regain some semblance of control of their lives," Seoyun responded wryly.

"You'd be right there, Mun-chan." A somewhat familiar voice spoke up.

The group of students whipped around, their eyes widening dramatically as they recognized the people in front of them: Tsukasa Eishi, Kuga Terunori, Shinomiya Kojiro, and Mizuhara Fuyumi all stood, their own bags rolled out behind them. It had been the last chef who had spoken to them, though all four sported similar disinterested looks.

"A-ah!" Umiko said, jumping. She immediately bowed to them. "I mean no disrespect!"

"Stand up straight," Terunori snapped, sounding irate. When she flinched at his tone, he smirked and lightened his voice. "You're part of the group we let through. Show some pride in yourself, eh?"

Umiko gave him a shaky smile in response.

"That reminds me," Mizuhara commented. She turned to Seoyun. "Kinokuni-san asked me to hand this to you." She held out a rather thick looking envelope.

Seoyun's brow furrowed as she took the envelope from the slate-haired chef. She looked it over before cautiously opening the envelope and perusing the contents of the letter it held. Her eyes grew wide. "Wh-what?!"

"It seems that Kinokuni-san was rather taken with your performance," Eishi said. "To be honest, you might be getting more of those kinds of offers from other chefs wanting to train you over break."

"You got invited to Kinokuni-sama's restaurant for training?!" Kaede shouted, a smile splitting his face apart. "Man, you get all of the luck, Mun-chan!"

"Don't call me Mun-chan!"

The students heard a loud snap as one of the chefs perked up and realized exactly who it was standing in front of him. "Ah, I was looking for you, too!" Kaede glanced up to see the Imp holding his hand out to him. "Well? Want to work with me this summer? It'll be brutal, and I'm not just talking about Beijing's shitty humidity issues."

This time it was Kaede who was struck speechless.

"Um, excuse me..." The group of alumni turned to the fourth person in the group. Adrian felt himself flush slightly; he still wasn't quite sure why he was with this ragtag group of his colleagues, but he had been with them and now he was paying for it. "If you don't mind my asking, where did the other alumni go off to?"

"Many of us have restaurants in Europe and other parts of Japan," Shinomiya explained. "Most of us boarded a plane back home at once, since we have to deal with some idiots as our sous chefs sometimes. Then again, six of the alumni piled into a van to try and drive off somewhere. Something about a pilgrimage of sorts?"

The students blinked in confusion.

Meanwhile...

"Whose idea was it to let Sōma-san drive?" Ikumi snapped, struggling to stay in her seat without falling into someone else's lap, which had happened three times already.

"Hey, it's not my fault that this car has a tendency to wobble at wide turns," the red-haired chef responded cheekily, smiling all too innocently to really be innocent. If the others weren't clinging for their lives to stay firmly on the car seats, they would have given him identical burning glares.

"Why did you take such long turns, anyways?!" Takumi shouted at him, scrabbling at his seat. "We're all alone on a straight highway. There is nowhere to even need to turn!" He gestured towards the obviously straight highway that stretched out behind and in front of them. Suddenly, the car jerked to the side again and the blond shot out a couple of choice Italian curses as he lost his grip on the car seat.

"Where's your sense of adventure, Takumi-san?" Sōma called back to where the Italian was now teetering on someone's lap, having been thrown onto their legs. The blond chef glanced up to see that a very irate Akira was looking at him, an eyebrow raised sharply.

"I'm afraid I don't exactly swing that way, Aldini-san," he said through gritted teeth. Takumi felt himself blush ferociously, his eyes glinting in rage as he shoved himself off of Akira's lap and back into his seat.

"That's right! You swing for Nakiris, right Akira?" Sōma sang back, chuckling mischievously as he noticed Akira's now bright red face and heard his angered stuttering response.

"Nakiris?" Erina pronounced slowly, relaxing in the passenger seat she was thankful she claimed early. She glanced to the seats behind her: Ikumi was squished against a window, staring dutifully out of it, as Satoshi squeezed next to her, completely unperturbed by the car's sudden jolts, and Takumi and Akira fought to get some space on the car seat somehow. Of course, forcing four adults into the back of a car hadn't been the smartest idea, now that they all thought of it, and none of them were wearing seatbelts for that reason. Meanwhile, Erina was stretching out on a rather comfortable seat while Sōma was directing the car with a single finger on the bottom of the steering wheel, which made the blonde chef rather nervous.

"D'you mean that you didn't see how much your cousin was hanging off of Hayama-san?" Ikumi asked, an overly innocent expression on her face for a single second before she glared at the others again. Akira shot a look promising nothing but death towards her. She ignored him and continued on nonchalantly. "I mean, he didn't really complain or anything..." She was cut off by Akira's hand, which had been firmly clasped over her traitorous mouth.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mito-san," Akira growled, ignoring Ikumi's muffled exclamations and attempts to lick his hand off of her mouth. The woman actually snarled and began to dutifully chew at Akira's fingers, finally dislodging him with a look of triumph to match his look of disgust.

"Settle down now," Satoshi said mildly. "We've still got a few hours left to drive. Conserve your excitement for later. After all, we're going back home."

"What kind of pilgrimage do you think the alumni are on?" Kaede mused aloud as the students slowly packed their luggage into the compartment under the bus.

"Probably one to find more techniques and keep learning," Seoyun said dismissively, hefting up a bag half her size and struggling to shove it into the cavity.

"How do you not know how to use a GPS? Everyone knows how to use a GPS."

"I'm not everyone, Ikumi-san."

"Hayama-san, how have you survived this long?"

"Aldini-san, I'm doing my best right now."

"Maybe I should try..."

"You're the reason we're lost, Sōma-san."

"Damn, she's really going to kill us, isn't she?"

"Just you."

"Double damn."

"Maybe they're finding more techniques for their repertoire?" Umiko offered.

"Perhaps," one of her housemates said.

"More likely, they're fighting over whose techniques are better," Adrian muttered under his breath, still uncertain why he was hovering close by them.

"Anyhow, who wants a snack?"

"Yukihira Sōma-kun, if you open that container in this car, I will kill you and use your testicles for animelles and the rest of you as mincemeat."

"Geez Nikumi, no need to get so violent. You don't even know what it is."

"And don't call me that!"

"What's your recipe supposed to be, Sōma-san?"

"Don't ask him that, Isshiki-senpai, it'll just tempt him to open it up and make us try some."

"Don't you want any, Hayama-san?"

"No."

"It's marshmallows stir-fried with onions and served with dried squid! New recipe that I came up with while at the camp."

"How in the world did you manage to stir-fry marshmallows."

"I covered them in bacon fat first! It took a little experimentation, I will admit, but it worked out in the end." A winsome smile is met with identical looks of disgust, par one face that showed only innocent curiosity.

"Yeah, the second you open that up in an enclosed space is the second my knife enters your body."

"And I'd help in the butchering. My nose doesn't need to experience that wretched combination."

"You all are boring and have no imagination."

"I bet they get along really well. Especially those five from the 92nd Generation."

"They all lived at Polar Star, right?"

"Well, mostly all of them, but from what I hear, Nakiri-sama pretty much lived with them."

"Yamaguchi-kun, why do you insist on calling all of the alumni -sama?"

"Gotta show them all respect, y'know? We're younger and less experienced and all of that."

"They're only seven years older than us."

"You are all the worst people that I know. Except for you, Isshiki-senpai. You're okay, as long as you have clothes on."

"I'll take that as a compliment of the highest order, Aldini-san!"

"I'm sure you do, Isshiki-senpai."

"You're the worst of all, Yukihira-san."

"Eh-?! Why me?! You're just asking for me to turn this car around."

"Don't you dare, Yukihira Sōma."

"Yeah, listen to your princess, why don't you?"

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Mito-san."

"I'll take your tongue for lengua next, Hayama-san."

"Let me know when we get there, alright?"

"Uh, sure, Mun-san."

"A bit late for that response, Yamaguchi-kun. She's already out."

"How does she do that?"

"Practice, I would think."

"We're here, guys!"

"FINALLY."

Ikumi immediately threw the car door open and practically rolled out of the car and onto the ground, sighing in relief at the fresh air. Satoshi emerged much more sedately, brushing the lint off of his rather formal looking button-up shirt and black jeans, both of which were somehow without creases, while Takumi and Akira had already leapt out of the other door and were stretching their arms, wincing as they heard their joints crack quietly.

"About time you made it back here!" They heard the familiar barking voice and smiled at one another discreetly before turning to the irate grey-haired woman that had stormed out of the house. "You took at least half an hour longer than you said you would," she continued, tapping her foot impatiently at them.

"Sorry, Fumio-san," Satoshi said, smiling at her in his usual sedate manner. "We had a rather exciting trip over, which included finding out who is and isn't used to technological methods of getting to places."

Fumio blinked before her face set into a deadpan. "Who was it that didn't know how to work a GPS?" she asked with an exasperated sigh.

The five other alumni pointed over at Akira, who rolled his eyes and raised his hand in as blasé a manner as he could.

Fumio sighed. "Well, get in there and get started, go on!" she said, shooing them into the kitchen. "You already promised I wouldn't have to work today."

"Can't we stretch for a little longer?" Sōma asked, stumbling at a determined renewed push.

"No! You already dallied far too long." She ushered them even more quickly. "Get going."

"Man, that smells really good," Kaede commented as they pushed the door to Polar Star open. He smiled deviously back towards his friends. "Fumio-san must have really missed us."

"Not really," another voice said. Kaede whipped around to see Yoshino Yūki, former Tōtsuki student turned housekeeper of Polar Star, cradling one of her chickens and giggling to herself. "Fumio-san always cooks, but she just has some helpers this time."

"Helpers?" Adrian pronounced, still wondering why he had followed the other Polar Star students, even though he had his own apartment elsewhere. Before Yūki could answer, another voice cut in.

"Heyo, Yūki, can we get some more of your eggs? Takumi's going berserk with quiches and frittatas, and Hayama wanted to try a new recipe, with some spice or another that he got from Arabia or something..." The red-haired chef that had just stuck his head through the door trailed off as he noticed the shell-shocked students in front of them. A couple of seconds passed in silence as the chef blinked, uncertain of what to say or do.

The awkward silence was broken as another chef popped in, looking mildly annoyed. "What's taking you so long, Yukihira-san?" Akira snapped. "I need more eggs, and Aldini-san just used the last one..." He noticed the other people in the room. He got over it much more quickly than Sōma did. "Well, this is awkward. Now, can we continue on, please?"

Sōma snapped out of it. "Ah, yes. Yūki, the eggs?"

"Ah, right!" the orange-haired woman said with a bright smile. "I'll bring a few more over." She skipped off.

"Well, this surprise is less of a surprise than we hoped," Akira commented. "Just, er, stay here, I guess." He disappeared, pulling Sōma along with him and closing the door firmly.

The students were still shocked by the appearance of the alumni.

"Well, I guess we found out where their pilgrimage led them to," Kaede quipped.

"No kidding," Seoyun responded. "I wonder who decided to come here?"

"We won't find out just by standing here," Umiko commented, moving towards the dining room. "We might as well try and see where we can help out."

The students began to set the table, their anticipation building at the prospect of tasting the alumni's cooking.

"We're done!" They heard one shout excitedly an hour later. A second after that, the doors to the kitchen banged open and the students finally got to see the alumni for the first time, in their element.

The first one they saw was Takumi. The so-called Prince of the Moon was dressed in semi-formal clothes, somehow, with a collared white shirt and lightweight navy blazer-like jacket coupled with a pair of faded jeans. He was somehow balancing five different dishes filled with some kind of egg inside, each one with a different inside mixed in. He placed all five at what seemed to be breakneck speed, flicking his wrists and forearms deftly to put the dishes down, simultaneously revealing that he was holding five serving knives as well. With a slight smirk, he effortlessly cut up all five dishes, bowing and stepping back.

Akira was next, though all of the students could smell his food before even catching a glimpse of him. He only had three dishes with him, though they weren't all very similar at all. One seemed to be a pile of flat yellow cakes filled with green sprouts and herbs (Seoyun seemed to get excited by this platter of food), while another held a thick, warm brown curry-like substance and the last seemed to be a simple bowl holding a mountain of fragrant rice. He smiled at all of the students before placing the bowl of rice with the curry and placing the other platter right next to them. He took a pair of chopsticks out of his pocket, though it looked as though he pulled them out of mid-air, and flicked them a couple of times, splitting the cakes into eight equal portions each. Immediately, a small puff of steam rose from each cut, releasing an aroma so powerful that it soothed them all. Indeed, Akira had all but earned his title as the Aromatherapist after graduating Tōtsuki.

Erina was next. She had always had her title as the Bearer of the God's Tongue, but now she was able to execute it perfectly. She only had one dish to offer though she was holding two platters, but it baffled and intrigued the students all at once. It seemed too disorderly for someone like Nakiri Erina, the one who seemed so uptight and perfectionist at the camp, to create: pieces of lychee, pork, tiny chunks of garlic, all served with a creamy sauce that smelled like brine and barbecue. And yet, when all of the smells came together, they culminated in an exquisite scent that the students had never experienced before. She calmly placed both bowls down at opposite ends of the table before nodding to the students and stepping off with her colleagues.

Following his kouhai was Satoshi, who decided against walking through to door and moved a board out of the ceiling to jump down. He landed, the platters in his hands barely rattling at the soft impact, and smiled widely at the students, his sky blue eyes wide open and showing every single facet of his mirth. He bowed slightly before walking over and placing the platters down without any pomp and circumstance, taking the covers off as he retreated. The fresh scents of vegetables and chicken floated up to the students, the smells wreathing around them and wrapping them into a nostalgic memory without them even having to take a single bite. Satoshi smiled at their entranced expressions before walking away.

Ikumi followed Satoshi, using the door like a normal person this time. She kicked it open, like a not-normal person, the wooden slab slamming into the wall with a loud THUD! as she sauntered out, arms bare of blades and face devoid of emotion. Suddenly, she gave a toothy smirk, placing the giant roast pig that she had prepared the day before down on the table with a SLAM and taking a knife out of her back pocket. She closed her eyes, whispered to herself, and began to carve the pig in front of the students, her brow furrowed in concentration, eyes glazed over as she zoned out, the meat completely becoming her own world. Within minutes, the pig was reduced to neat pork cuts, the knife went back into the sheathe in her pocket, and she crossed her arms. Ikumi smiled, licked her lips, and strolled away.

The final alumni to emerge was Sōma. He was holding two different dishes, divided into four plates of food that he had balanced on his arms as skillfully as Takumi had. A devious grin stretched across his face and a flash of his teeth appeared for a single second as he placed his offering in front of the students. The children surged forward, eager to see what the former First Seat had concocted.

A simple stir-fry of chicken and miscellaneous vegetables sat in front of them. The students' disappointment must have been visible because Sōma laughed out loud and said, "Don't knock it until you try it, and to try this, I'll have to add a little something."

And a hand flicked out, and a pinch of what looked like breadcrumbs flew from his fingertips, and suddenly the entire ensemble glittered, the scent redoubling as the sparkling crumbs seemed to melt into the vegetables. The students looked to Sōma with awe in their eyes. He winked back at them.

"Hmph! Still behaving as theatrically as ever, you silly Picasso," Erina said with a sniff. Sōma snickered at that, neither affirming nor denying her comment.

"Well, what are you runts waiting for?" The students jumped out of their reveries as Fumio appeared behind them. "Go ahead, try their dishes."

The students surged forward and were entranced with each bite of food. They experienced different visions, all of them, though they were more interested in the alumni's interactions.

"You forgot oregano in that frittata, didn't you, Aldini-san?" Akira asked, pointing a fork towards the offending egg dish. "Tsk tsk."

"Oi! At least my dish can be enjoyed cold, you walking nose!" Takumi responded, gritting his teeth.

"Ladies, ladies, you're both pretty, alright?" Sōma said, waving a hand around, an impish grin stretching across his face. "And both of your dishes are fine."

"Shut it, Yukihira-san!" Both chefs shouted back in unison before bickering again.

"Now now..." Satoshi said, though his tone and expression suggested that he only did it because he was expected to, not because he thought it would have some sort of effect.

"Er, is this normal?" Umiko asked timidly. The other students had been pestering the chefs for their recipes, which they were happily given, but the pinkish-brunette had been sitting in patient silence.

"Oh, very," Erina said nonchalantly, not noticing how pink Umiko turned when the Nakiri Erina responded to her. "They're just like children. They haven't grown at all."

"It's even more obvious when Kurokiba-san is with us. At least Ibusaki-san is mature enough to just watch it happen rather than take part in it," Ikumi added with a sigh.

"At least Tadokoro-san is able to keep them in track," Erina ended. "Though when Alice is here, she usually just mixes the chaos up even further, which isn't helpful at all."

"Reunions must be fun," Kaede commented, earning himself a sharp glance from Seoyun that he cringed away from.

"Very," Erina said drily.

Sōma just gave them an impish grin again before his eyes lit up and he turned back to his plate. "Wait, what if..." he murmured to himself before combining Akira's and Takumi's dishes together, much to the other chefs' horror.

"Oh great, there he goes, off on another project again," Ikumi grumbled as she watched Sōma try what seemed to be every variant of the alumni's dishes, spitting out the ones that didn't work well together and taking notes on the ones that did.

"What is he doing?" Seoyun asked, intrigued.

"Yukihira-san was known for his crazy ideas when we were going through Tōtsuki. It's most of the reason why he ended up on top; he was a storm of activity and wasn't afraid to stop trying new combinations. It got to the point where he could turn anything from a disaster into nothing short of artwork," Akira explained. "You may know him as the Son of the Devil, and that does encapsulate his work as a creator of chaos, but we knew him as the Artist, a creator of structured chaos, a creator that knew exactly what he was doing with the nonsense he imagined."

"Yeah, none of these really work," Sōma cut in, neatly ending the conversation. "Anyhow, who wants to try my new recipe?"

"NO ONE DOES!" the other alumni said in unison, confusing the students and making Fumio and Yūki roll their eyes.

The day- and camp- closed on their sharing of food and recettes, of their celebration of the students' survival. And yet, the next day, when the alumni were at the airport waiting for their flights home, when Sōma and Erina were due to part, all they could do was embrace, with whispers of a future together, whispers of a future where they would meet again, when they were at the top once more.

The end...?

Okay, yeah, I know that the ending is weird. But this story has turned into what I plan to be the second in a trilogy! It's still the main story; the others are more like an extended prologue and epilogue to this. Up next on my to-do list is the prequel. Keep your eyes open for Welcome to Hell: Emperors' Edition! It's still in its planning stages, but I think it'll be just as interesting as Devils' Edition was. It might be a little bit longer, as it's going to span all of Third Year, but I'm hoping to keep it a bit more condensed if possible, haha.

This story was so much fun to write! Thanks for sticking with me for so long, and for getting this story so many favorites, follows, and reviews! This was a wonderful adventure, and I hope you come with me on the next leg of this journey~

-Shriayle

WELCOME TO HELL: DEVILS' EDITION: A Shokugeki no Sōma fanfiction

END WORD COUNT: 72,164 words (I think)

P.S. The users whose characters have been chosen are Cat McHall, Black Supernova, Shored Kafka, SinsOfLove, BlizzardPhoenix222, BleachCadelina, MrAmoeba, Eramis8, FoulIceQueen, swishyla, NefCanuck, Demon Damian, and Nameless I am. If you were not named here, please wait to see if I contact you at a later time about using your character elsewhere.