# Rising to the Challenge

## A Yakitate! Japan fanfiction

### by Brian Randall

Disclaimer: Yakitate! Japan is the property of Hashiguchi Takashi; no
disrespect is meant with the posting of this work. His paints, my easel.

Note: Takes place somewhere in the final pages of the last volume of the
manga. Trying to aim for something that can actually be read without knowledge
of the series, which maaay end up somewhat on the heavy-exposition-side of
things.

* * *

The office of the president and owner of Pantasia was a spacious, borderline
extravagant affair. Azusagawa Tsukino hadn't found much need for the plush
furniture and expensive wall art that it had come with. She'd had the desk
replaced with something more functional, replaced the pictures with portraits
of her younger sister and their friends, and had the original wet-bar removed
and replaced with a modest (but fully equipped) kitchen for baking.

In the time since winning the right to run the company in that amazing, globe-
spanning baking duel -- won, really, by her most successful baker, Kazuma
Azuma -- she'd done a lot of work. Only a small fraction of it had been
remodeling that office. The greater bulk of it was helping Azuma establish
Japan's national bread -- Azuma's fabulous ja-pan.

Looking back on things ... she had to admit to herself that she'd overcome
more obstacles than she ever thought possible. She'd also seen and experienced
things that most people wouldn't believe! While the world at large was mostly
aware of Azuma's work in receiving the Nobel peace prize -- work that Tsukino
was proud of him accomplishing as well -- the matter closer to her heart was
the Monaco Cup.

More than simply winning the baking tournament -- and the eternal friendship
of the crown prince of Monaco -- she remembered Azuma's gift from the queen of
Monaco in recognition of his victory and service. She'd given Azuma the ring,
and after securing the safety of the small bakery they had started from -- and
much more -- that ring had been passed to _her_.

Oh, more often than not, Azuma seemed lost in daydreams, he was so focused on
refining some baking technique, or devising a new bread. That was to be
expected of the world's most legendary baker!

But he'd overcome every obstacle set before him, more than once just for
_her_. And no matter how pronounced his love of baking, she had to think that
there was slightly more to it than just that, even if he was remarkably
evasive when it came time for a straight answer.

As one of her employees -- her most valued, certainly -- he wasn't in the
ideal position to speak openly in the way she often hoped he would. He wasn't
quite as forthcoming about some things as she thought he might want to be.
Just a few days previously, when she'd gotten her college degree, he'd been
there with the rest of their friends, cheering her on. And now that _that_ was
settled, she thought ... it really was time to move ahead.

He didn't need even a high school education, naturally; his baking was enough.
She baked, too, though she knew her skill was negligible compared to his.
Since she'd started spending more time in the kitchen when she could, she had
even grown her hair out a little.

It was still short -- she had been told it was almost 'boyishly' so, which was
ironic coming from her tomboy half-sister. It was a good, manageable length to
have in a kitchen, though. Longer hair could be an obstacle, or would require
a headband like the one she had given Azuma.

The headband he still wore.

That thought in mind, without any other obstacles in her path to overcome, she
ran the tips of her fingers across the crest of the ring on her other hand.

Just like him, it was time for _her_ to rise to the occasion!

* * *

After a full day of doing one of the things he most enjoyed -- teaching the
bakers of Pantasia how to make different varieties of the breads he'd devised
over the years -- Azuma was alone in the teaching kitchen he'd been given. He
could make bread almost anywhere, but the modern conveniences made it much
easier than turning sap into sugar, or baking in a giant shell over an open
flame.

Though the students he taught all should have known better than to leave
messes, he still found himself going over their workstations and searching for
anything that wasn't clean or correctly placed. A few minutes of the day
taking care of that seemed a fine way to 'cool down' from the rest of the work
he'd done. That and the fact that his students rarely left anything worse than
the smallest of messes -- take today's spilled flour on a single workstation.

Nothing so severe it warranted trying to admonish the student, at any rate. He
hummed to himself after wiping up the last stray bit of flour. Hmm, stray
flour ... now, how could he work that into a new bread? There were quite a few
possibilities, really.

Before he could continue that line of thought, he heard the door open. A
glance over to the source of the noise revealed Tsukino peeking in; her face
reddened faintly, her eyes lighting up as they met his. She seemed happy, but
he was used to seeing that smile on her. Especially over the recent years,
with things so much calmer than they had been when he'd first been hired by
the girl-- No, well.

She was a woman, now, he supposed. Had the time passed so quickly? He supposed
it must have -- the last time he'd visited Kai, the samurai baker's son had
been old enough to talk and knead dough.

Well, there was a thought. Loose flour, a bread a child could prepare....

"I think I know that look," Tsukino said in a teasing voice as she drew close,
stopping a handful of steps away. "How was your lesson today, Azuma-kun?"

"It was great, Tsukino-chan!" he answered enthusiastically. "All of the bakers
that get sent here from the branches are always eager to learn, so it's never
very difficult!"

"No problems at all?" she asked brightly.

There had been some minor detail, hadn't there? Something about kneading dough
that was slipping his mind at the moment. "I can't remember any," he returned,
shrugging. "Did you want a new ja-pan for the shops? Because, I've been
thinking--"

"It's not that," she overrode him gently, shaking her head. "It's, rather....
It's been some time, Azuma-kun, and ... I was thinking about our partnership."

"Partnership?" he wondered. "Oh, yeah -- you gave me some shares of Pantasia
for my work. Did you need those back?"

Her eyes widened and her smile slipped as she looked astonished. "I-- No, of
course not! Those are yours -- recognition for what you've done! I know it's
no Nobel prize, but I have to give you something, don't I?"

"No, you don't have to," he replied mildly. "I don't mind at all -- though,
those board meetings are sometimes pretty boring."

"W...well, yes, I can see that," she agreed, shaking her head. "Ah, but that's
not even what I was thinking about. It's more that, um ... in terms of giving
one another things, I was thinking about...." She trailed off, shifting her
shoulders. Her face went red again as she raised her hands, one pointing at
the ring on the other as she concluded meekly, "...this?"

"The ring of Pierrot?" he wondered. Then he recalled what had happened in
class suddenly-- And it was even related to the same ring he'd given to
Tsukino! "Oh! Yeah! One of the ladies that was taking lessons today had a ring
on that same finger! It didn't take her long to see what my reason for giving
that ring to you was, though!"

Tsukino's smile vanished again, replaced with a look of confusion. She shook
her head, asking, "What do you mean?"

"Ah, well -- I couldn't keep that ring myself because it would get in the way
while kneading dough," he explained authoritatively. "And she found that was
true, too. Though, I didn't know that it mattered where people wore rings
before? She explained why it was important to her, though, so I gave her a
string to wear it around her neck, instead!"

"I--" Tsukino looked like she'd just swallowed a very bad piece of bread.
"You.... S...so, you gave me this ring b...because it would get in the way of
baking?"

That was strange ... Tsukino's eyes were watering, and she looked sadder than
she'd been since they dealt with that terror of her older sister! "Well,
yeah," he agreed, a bit anxious. "Do you not like it? We can put it on a
string, instead, if you're worried about it getting in the way of baking!"

"O...or maybe you'd like to put it on a string yourself," she returned, bowing
her head and hiding her face as she removed the ring. He was surprised; the
skin underneath the ring was pale from lack of sun -- the color of dough that
hadn't been baked yet. She'd kept it on for a really long time!

"What's wrong?" he asked, confused. "Is someone trying to steal the deed to
Pantasia? I'll bake against any challenger for you, Tsukino-chan!"

"I...it's nothing," she said, looking up and smiling. She didn't look like she
really meant that smile, though; the tears in her eyes were running down her
face. "I-- I misunderstood.... This ring was an important prize from the crown
prince of Monaco -- s...so you should have it back, right?"

Well, that made things really easy for him! "Thanks," he agreed, taking it
back and offering what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "I'm really glad you
gave this back to me!"

Her expression didn't change except for the fact that she blinked -- spilling
more tears across her cheeks. Wow -- something was _really_ bothering her,
wasn't it?

* * *

Tsukino couldn't find it within her to nod or shake her head -- she realized
that communication between her and Azuma had never really been ... flawless.
Even despite that, she'd thought there was some understanding between them.
That he'd cared, not just been _that_ ignorant of things unrelated to bread!

She'd made a terrible mistake and thought -- and maybe expected -- a bit too
much out of someone who was really only ever a friend to her. Well, she'd
rather have a friend like Azuma than drive him away, so kept trying to force a
smile she couldn't at all feel anyway. Still ... it stung to have him be so
eager to accept it in return.

Or, she told herself, she was being silly and trying to cling to her childish
dreams.

"Before today, I didn't know what it meant when someone gave a ring like
this," he added, after a thoughtful minute. "So it's great that you returned
it to me without me needing to ask."

She raised a hand to her chest, blinking again, feeling her heart shudder
painfully. "I...is that ... so?" she asked, not sure she truly wished to know
the answer.

"Well, of course!" he agreed, nodding. "I mean ... I don't know what's going
on right now, but how else could I try and give it back to you the right way
if I didn't have it again?"

She couldn't keep her smile as shock overruled her expression, her eyes flying
wide. "W...what?!" she yelped.

Azuma shook his head, giving her a worried grin. "I-- I messed up by giving it
to you without understanding. But since it came up in class earlier, now I
_do_ know! And because I do...."

He dropped to one knee, offering the ring up.

"It means that you're the one I want to look out for and take care of --
that's what she said. And that's how I feel about Tsukino-chan, so ... now
that I really know what it means, and how to give it properly, I want to give
this to you!"

Her trembling hands shot out to snatch the offered ring and put it back on her
finger without the slightest bit of hesitation -- then she dropped to her own
knees and clasped Azuma's hand in her own. "You mean it, Azuma-kun? You really
do?"

"Of course!" he said, nodding. Then he looked thoughtful, slightly distant. "I
think I mentioned that I gave it to you already to the students today, but I
didn't mention I did it wrong the first time."

She blinked again, then realized what they must think -- what rumors (now
_true_) would probably be running through the company.

"Azuma-kun...."

"Well-- If it's not about bread, sometimes I miss things," he said, shaking
his head. "But who else would I want to give a ring like this to?"

She shook her head, giggling. "Azuma-kun, you're silly," she told him frankly,
releasing his hand to rub the tears from her face. "But that's just one of the
things I love about you."

He looked mildly confused, so she leaned closer to him and pressed her lips
against his, letting her eyes drift shut. Judging by his arms going around
her, holding her tight and returning the kiss, he got that, too.

And really, that seemed just fine.

* * *

Author's notes: Was a bit depressed, so decided to try and write a pointless
bit of WAFF to cheer myself up. Hope it lifts a few more spirits than my own.
:)