Juriie sat before Brunch. Her eyes were more serious than they'd ever been and he was getting ready to find out why.

The woman started, "I guess I shouldn't beat around the bush. I'm just gonna come right out and say it in one breath okay? So listen carefully." She took one last breath before speaking again. Though brief, it was her way of buying a bit of time. Maybe this secret was only big to her, but that's what gave it importance.

"Lady Rue..." Still even now after facing the facts, she struggled to give up this bit of information.

But that name on it's own had Brunch on the edge of his seat. She was a class act. A chef's chef. She was the apprentice of the Gourmet Goddess Frohze. Some say that her food rivaled that of the Gourmet Goddess, and she was but one step away from being on her name Lady Rue was as famous as Acacia and Frohze.

"She's...my...my mother." The small woman barely managed to squeeze the words out. She nearly felt like fainting. How would people react if the world knew the identity of Lady Rue's daughter.

The tengu was surprised, but not shocked. "You know, there was a lot of fuss being made about you before you were born...Er, so I heard. I'm not an old man, so I wasn't around when all of this was being announced. You were said to hold an immense amount of food luck... I knew it was you."

Juriie stood up and flailed her arms, "What do you mean you knew it was me!? The world saw me once, and that was when I was a small 5lb infant child. There's no way you knew who I was!"

He shrugged, "The appetite demon in your eyes say otherwise."

The girl held her arms and turned from him worried like, "Yeah, there's a demon in there alright. It likes to announce it's presence whenever I decide to pick up a knife." Turning back toward the man, she widened her eyes, "Which is why I can't cook for this last round. Brunch, I've never made a decent meal in my life! I don't know why, but whenever I pick up a knife to cook, I just black out and when I come to again...everything is...destroyed.

Brunch rubbed his chin for a moment, "Hmm, maybe I can coach you through it."

Juriie rolled her "And you don't think my mother thought of that already? It's impossible. I'm not a chef, I'm meant for capturing ingredients... Wait a second, why aren't you acting surprised about my secret? Anyone else would have lost it."

The man gave a quick shrug of his shoulder, "Probably 'cause I don't really care. What? You want me to gravel at your feet er something? She's a great chef, and one that I would have loved to meet before her untimely death, but she's not you. Her accomplishments got nothin' to do with you."

The woman stood there a moment just absorbing his words. He was right. Her accomplishments don't reflect her. But that was another reason she had to remain hidden. She didn't want people to look at her mothers work and peg Juriie as a failure in comparison. It was too much pressure, so the best thing she could do was go into hiding.

"You think you can teach me? Fine. Let's go out there and make complete fools of ourselves...both of us."

The red man nodded, "Just trust me short stack." He gave a small press and rub at the top of her head before walking away.

(Gourmet Stadium)

Finally it was the moment of truth. Juriie stood before her counter just waiting for the event to begin. She didn't know which utensil to grab first. Her heart raced, and she felt like vomiting.

She thought to herself 'So this is where I fail huh? Right here in front of thousands... I'm going to have to change my name and leave town...AGAIN! I haven't cooked in years, and all I do is burn things! I should never have done this! I should never have entered the E.T. Soda Competition! I know you're watching Livebearer-dono...and I'm so sorry...'

"Competitors ready?!" Tina yelled into her microphone. "Okay, begin!"

The girl's hand reached for a knife, but before she could grab it, she heard Brunch yell. "Hey!"

He walked over to the woman and lifted her chin a bit. "Chin up. If you wanna cook like a champ, you need to look like one. Just listen to my instructions and calm down, okay?"

His words brought on old memories of her cooking in the kitchen with her mother. They were both the fondest and lowest times of her life...

(Kitchen with Lady Rue)

A young Juriie looked at her mother with tears in her eyes, "Mommy I can't do this. I'm not a chef. Every time I cook...IT happens."

Lady Rue shook her head, "No sweetheart, you're just gifted. Give it one last try. You know, Ms. Frohze believed in me when no one else would...now I'll do the same for you."

(Gourmet Stadium)

Brunch pointed at the rare Durian-Kiwi, "It looks tricky with all of the spikes, but if you give it a good hit on its side it'll crack right open. Then after that, get to choppin the vegetables. You know how to do that, right?"

She nodded and did as instructed, but instead of hitting the fruit on its side, she hit it right side up. As her hands slammed down with all of her strength, the force of the hit caused the spikes to penetrate her hand. It was a small cut, but after forcing it a second time, her injury became more apparent.

The tengu yelled at the woman, "The hell are you doing!?"

She looked back at him, and her hair snapped out of her bun. "Perhaps now is a bad time to tell you that you should probably protect the audience."

The mans eyes widened as he knew she was serious.

Juriie frowned, "I can hear it again..." As they call it, 'famous last words.' Only the viewing audience saw what was happening. The woman blacked out for but a moment. In her mind it felt like an eternity. She woke up just seconds later to see the destruction in front of her. Her cooking station was completely destroyed...

Her eyes looked around to see the gasping audience. All eyes were on her. They were in shock at what they'd just witnessed. But what did they witness?

Picking herself up from the ground, the woman dusted herself off. She searched around to find the familiar face that was Rin. Even she was in a state of shock.

The raven haired girl shook her head, "No.. Not again..."

She'd run off stage and head toward the exit of the stadium. Before she could make any headway, she felt a hand grab her arm.

"You gonna run again, huh?" Brunch held firmly onto her as he asked.

She turned to him with terror in her eye, "I have to!"

He'd release her and she stumbled over a bit. The man shrugged, "Whatever. It's not like I give a shit. Your demons don't effect my rank as a chef." He'd look away from her and fold his arms nonchalantly, "You're problem isn't losing control. It's the fact that you give up so easily. I can see why you're such a poor Gourmet Hunter now. It's because you're a chef."

The woman shook her head fiercely, "No! I'm no chef! I burn food and destroy things! Did you not just see?!"

Brunch nodded, "I saw, and as bizarre as that was...take a look at the food."

She looked at her cooking station once again, and although it was a huge mess, none of the ingredients were harmed. In fact, they were minced and in perfect condition.

Brunch looked into the girls eyes, "Take off if you want...or...we can finish this and win the E.T. Soda like we came here for."

The woman gave a smirk of triumph, "Let's give it one last shot!" Looking to the audience, she'd give a thumbs up. They cheered loudly as she resumed her position.

It was interesting what happened next. Brunch slowly coached her through cooking, and any time she could feel herself trembling again, she would move to a dish more soothing. That day she'd done something that she'd never been able to do in her entire 22 years of living.. She cooked a decent meal.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but they'd dare not fall. "Brunch, this may just be the shittiest meal you've ever seen, but it's the best one I have ever made. Even if we don't win this competition today, I am happy to have been your partner through it all. Thank you so much." Extending her arm, she'd give he man a firm handshake.

The two waited to be judged for the final time. Visually, Juriie's dish in comparison to her competitors was nothing short of a disaster. Her eyes closed as the judges took a bite of each dish. She didn't want to see anyone react to her food. No one had ever eaten anything she'd cooked before, so she was very self conscious.

She heard the sound of utensils being set down, and one of the judges started. "Ms. Juriie?"

The girl opened her green eye and tensed her shoulders, "Yes?"

The man continued, "I don't know what this taste is...It's something I've never eaten before. I can't even put my finger on it, and I've eaten many ingredients in my time. Before you get cocky I want you to know that it's not good. It's not bad either, but I just can't quite form an opinion on it."

She didn't know what that meant. She was just happy to hear that her cooking wasn't bad. "Okay?"

The voting was done, and the winner was clear. Another one of the four judges spoke, "After a while of deliberation, we have come to a consensus. The dish that we didn't pick lacked substance. It was a great show, but didn't taste quite as good as it looked. For that reason, we'd like to present the winner with the fruit of the E.T. Soda. Congratulations Chef Brunch and Gourmet Hunter Juriie."

The small woman's eyes widened. She was sure that she was going to go down in flames. Her competition's food looked delicious, but that's all it was, a display.

She happily took her half of the prize and smiled in the face of Brunch, "Less than a day. That's how long I've known you, yet you know more about me than 90% of people I know..." She'd punch his arm in a playful manner, "Keep in touch Tengu."

(Gourmet City Limits- Night)

Juriie sat on a bench on the outskirts of Gourmet City. Right next to Rin is where she rested, and from her position, she could see all of the fireworks bursting from the stadium she was at not too long ago.

The shorter woman handed a piece of the E.T. Soda fruit to Rin and held one herself, "I give thanks for the vast bounty this world provides. Now let's eat."

The girls took a bite, and the juice immediately fizzed from the sizes. Juriie laughed as she held it away from her. The soda spilled in their laps, and Juriie wiped the side of her mouth on her shoulder.

"It's really good! The carbonation is much stronger than I thought it would be!" Rin giggled out as she took another bite.

Juriie nodded in agreement, but before she could take another bite, she felt someone sit right next to her. The girl looked over her shoulder, and it was Brunch.

The tengu smiled, "You know, we made a good team...I'm...impressed, and that's something that I almost never say. Someday you'd be of good use in the Gourmet World."

The girl nodded, "I agree, but if you want to use me for my food luck than I'd suggest you bark up another tree. I've got what's known as Food Misfortune. Case you're wondering what that is, it is a vicious curse that puts me in the direct line of fire. It's a disease of sorts that's like the opposite of Food Luck...and the more I eat, the more it sends out pheromones that attract high level beasts. "

Brunch let out an annoyed sigh, "I ain't askin' ya to be my partner or nothin'! ...Just let me train you. You've got a lot of potential kid. The ingredients speak to you. As for that curse of yours, I'm pretty sure there's a recipe just waiting to cancel out those effects."

The raven haired girl sat the E.T Soda frut in her lap. "You can train me? To hunt ingredients?"

The red man gave a quick nod and faced forward once more. "I ain't gonna beg ya or nothin' so make your decision now."

Juriie focused on the food in front of her. It seemed as though she pondered in her mind for hours, but really, it was just a few seconds. She looked up and back over to the man, "I will go with you, Brunch."

Rin frowned as her choice was so sudden. "B-but what about Lilith? We have to be there for the grand opening of her restaurant in Gourmet Town!"

Lilith was an old friend of Juriie's and a new friend to Rin. The tan skinned woman pointed at the E.T. Soda fruit, "Give the fruit to Lilith as an opening gift. Tell her I'm sorry I couldn't make it. Ever since I decided to become a Gourmet Hunter, my only goal has been Livebearer-dono. If I can become stronger, there's no way he can deny my partnership...Tell the Kings I said hi. I've got training to do!"iv