 Previously on Kitchen Princess Academy, where we last left off, our goon squad was in shambles. Sora got blown up by a truck and Najika lost the big baking contest. And she's also somehow being blamed for his death. The director of the academy, Sora's father, wants to expel Najika too, but Daiichi cuts a deal with him that she can stay at the school if he takes over Sora's role as student body president. So now, Najika is living in the Fujina diner, Daiichi is enslaved to his father, and Akane is kind of just hanging out. Oh, and Sora is back! Except it's not Sora, it's Sora's evil clone. No, I'm not kidding! This is Seha Mizuno, another child prodigy chef who's here to replace Najika as the spokesperson for the school's culinary program. He's also a total bitch to everyone. Najika stands up to him, which triggers yet another baking contest. Despite Seha being the more technically skilled baker, Najika wins because she has the secret ingredient of love. And that's what you missed on Kitchen Princess Academy! So what do you think of a new set? We joined Seha as he's sulking after losing to Najika. He's pretty rattled about this whole thing because it reminded him of his childhood. Because remember, he also grew up in Hokkaido in the same area as Najika did. She triggered all these memories of his childhood to come back after giving him a cookie baked with ingredients from that area of Hokkaido. And now he's sulking like a bitch, reminiscing about his sad childhood. That's right, baby! We're getting a villain origin story! You have to be the best or else you're worthless! Father, I made a cake! I'm working, Seha! Get out of the way! I ran out of the house that day. What an old house! Does someone live here? She looks like she's having fun, even though her cake looks so ugly, but why? Say I'm a Zuno! Mr. Director, what a shame. You humiliated me, and I brought you here. I love that, one, the director keeps putting the fate of his school on the shoulders of random 14 year olds, and two, he's always shocked that 14 year olds fuck up everything they do. Now let's try this again. I want you to crush Nijika Kazami in front of everyone. Crush her, so she'll never stand tall again. After the most recent bacon competition, all the kids at school have suddenly decided they love Nijika, and so business at the Fujita Diner really picks up. Akane takes a moment to reflect on the current situation, and how much her life has changed in the past. Oh god, this guy again! Hey, my books! Hey, you little meddler, how dare you make me eat your stupid food? Even Hokkaido ingredients won't fool me, you'll see how good I am. So be prepared. Move it, you peasants! Huh? Akane Kishida? What are you doing here? It's none of your business. Hey! Huh, since when are models interested in sweets? Or is it for a certain student body president? I can see you're in love with him, but he doesn't like you back. Isn't it a waste of time? That's not true! Ugh, you're such a jerk. But it is true! We're traded to a little montage of Akane's memories growing up with Daichi. Speaking of Daichi, Akane eavesdrops on Daichi eavesdropping on his father's business call. Yes. Haha, yes, we're evil. By summer lavender house, the orphanage Nijika grew up in will be property of the Mizuno Corporation, the company owned by Seiya's dad. Yes, I'm looking forward to it. Bye! Hey, what was that about the lavender house? If you do anything to that place, I'll never forgive you. How dare you talk to me like that? I thought you were going to do as I say because of Nijika Kazami. What? That was the deal. That's why I let her stay here. All you have to do is be quiet and listen to me. Akane has hit with the realization of just how much Daichi really cares for Nijika. He sacrificed everything. He changed his life. He moved back into a home that he hates all for Nijika. Akane is crushed. Oh, Akane! I finally found you! Don't touch me! No, I don't want to be like how I was before. Mean and pathetic. Akane decides to stop being such a little piss baby and actually talk directly to Daichi about her feelings. What the fuck is going on? But of course, she also has to bake some shit. You made this? I have feelings for you, Daichi, but I don't want to regret them. So tell me the truth, there's no chance of you liking me? Not even one in a thousand? Wow, this is so intimate and vulnerable. I sure hope nobody's listening. Oh no! I'm so sorry, Akane, but I like Nijika and Nijika only. Even if she likes Sora, I don't need her to look at me. Yeah, I already knew that. Thank you, Daichi, for eating my dessert, the first one I've ever made. Now rejection, of course, sucks, but Akane actually is taking this situation very well. She seems to be at peace. Oh god, this asshole again. Luckily, Seiya doesn't get in Akane's head. She goes straight to the Fijiridiner and makes peace with Nijika in the most normal way possible. Nijika! Sorry, I was in a bad mood that day. I think of you as my best friend. Okay, me too! Just then, Daichi comes into the diner and actually manages to use his big boy words to tell Akane that even if he doesn't have feelings for her, he tells Akane that even if he doesn't have feelings for her, he still cares about her and loves her like a family member. So now we have a whopping two instances of direct communication in one book. What fucking series is this? Remember a few videos ago when I said that whenever there's not enough drama in the story, like Nijika's grandma just fucking dies or something? Wow! Things are going a little too well for our Goon Squad. You know what that means. Hey, Nijika! Phone call from the lavender house. Oh, okay! Grandma's dying again! Well, not exactly dying, but the lavender house orphanage is in trouble. As foreshadowed by the director's sinister phone call earlier, the lavender house is struggling financially and is in danger of getting shut down. Apparently, grandma, or Hagyo sensei, has been working herself ragged trying to come up with enough money to save the orphanage. Hmm, money, huh? Maybe I can help. Uh, say asama. How is the food? Hmm, it's pretty good. The chef has gotten better. The filet sauce needs more salt though, I think. What the fuck? Oh, I'm sorry. The restaurant across the street is having an eating contest. How dare they disturb my meal! I'm gonna go give them a piece of my mind! And I'm sure I won't see anyone who I know they're- What? That's right! Nijika is raising money for the lavender house by winning every eating contest in Tokyo. Pollyanna strikes again. Seiya, of course, has to make a big fucking deal about this. But then, Nijika somehow convinces him to bring her to another restaurant across town. I don't get to talking about cheesecake because, you know, they're both chefs, they know a lot about cheesecake. I think this is our first non-hatable moment with Seiya. And we're reminded about how similar he is to Nijika. Like they're both geniuses, they're both culinary experts, but they're also both kids. This is probably the first time for both of them that they've talked to someone their own age who knows and cares as much about food as they do. It turns out when he doesn't have something to prove, Seiya's actually pretty pleasant to talk to. I sure hope this isn't setting up a redemption arc for Seiya. And Seiya decides to keep these good vibes going by dropping the biggest bombshell imaginable on her. He's like, yeah, cheesecake, am I right? Our pounds have been entwined since we were children. I saw you. I was a little baby boy in Hokkaido and I saw the lab in their house. I looked through the windows and I saw that little laughing girl decorating that cake. I knew it was you. I knew it was you. All these years later, all these years older and you still laugh and smile exactly the same way when you're talking about cake. Talking about cheesecake. Nijika is understandably overwhelmed by this information. She's even more overwhelmed when she realizes that if Seiya was really a child in Hokkaido at the same time as her, there's a chance that he's been her flan prince all along. This rattles her so much that she just fucking passes out dead, I guess. End of book seven! Book eight begins with Nijika waking up in bed. Seiya was nice enough to bring her home after she fucking died at cheesecake factory. She tries to get more information out of him about his childhood in Hokkaido and about this little girl he remembers seeing at the lavender house. Seiya uses this as an opportunity to remind us that he is in fact rich. The lavender house is such a dump, huh? I would never live in such a hole. The manager must be really slacking off. If they don't have the money, they should just shut it down. It would be for the best. Then Nijika slaps him across the fucking face. Make him. I don't think you guys understand how significant this moment is. This is Nijika fucking Kazami, our Pollyanna pacifist. Throughout the series, she's done a lot of insane drastic shit, but she's never resorted to just straight up hitting someone. What the? She's not slacking off. If you ever badmouth the lavender house again, I'll fuck your bitch ass up. No, I'm kidding. She says, I'll never forgive you. But like, oh my God, can you imagine? She runs off to dramatically cry alone and Daichi finds her. What's wrong? What happened? Is it Seiya Mizuno? Did he say something to you again? I'm gonna slug him. Yeah, you're a little fucking late for that one, Daichi. They talk a bit and Nijika tells him how worried she is about the lavender house and their financial situation. Daichi tells her again that he'll do anything for her. See, this, this is the kind of 13 year old girl fan service that I live for back in the day. When I'm with Daichi, I feel warm inside. I wonder why. Oh my God. A few days later, Nijika gets called to the director's office. Now, life is full of uncertainties, but there are a few things in this world that I am absolutely sure of. One, people can change. I know the director was a bit of a dick in the past, but I want to hear him out. I'm sure he's not gonna try to hurt Nijika again. Two, there will be no more baking contest in our future and certainly no surprise baking contest. And three, grandma is gonna be completely fine. Nothing bad is going to happen to her or anyone else at the lavender house. Kazami-san. Kishi-san? Oh my God, who the fuck are you? Oh yeah, we met her in one of the like 15 previous baking contests. For once, the director doesn't seem to have some awful threat for Nijika. He has an opportunity. The Academy will be hosting a high tea and they want both Nijika and Seiya to prepare the food. This event is a big fucking deal because they will be discussing the Academy's new culinary program, meaning that investors, famous chefs, and food critics will be in attendance. Nijika, seeing absolutely nothing suspicious about this, agrees. I'll do it. Please let me do it. Good luck. I'll be looking forward to it. I can't believe the director asked me to participate. I'm so happy. Maybe he's starting to forgive me. Nothing could ruin my- Hey there, slugger. I hate him. Meanwhile, at the Fujita Diner, a high tea sponsored by the director, Nijika giddily explains what a high tea is to Akane and Daichi and then fucks off to start baking. Completely missing a really good point that Daichi just brought up. It's sponsored by the director. The Academy isn't funding or organizing this event. The director is personally putting all of this together. Honestly, I'm starting to get a little nervous. Fujita learns about Nijika's project and amazingly, he's actually really excited about it. We get this fucking adorable scene where she's making jam and he's like giving advice and telling her which fruits are in season. These are the moments I live for. Remember what he was like in the first book? Or even just a couple books ago? Fujita has grown to the point where he's no longer denying that he cares about Nijika and her cooking. He's not like reluctantly helping her while rolling his eyes and complaining. Hello? Oh, Hakio sensei. What's up? I've been trying to call you. Oh, I'm sorry. I've just been busy lately. You know, sensei, I made a little bit of money, so I thought I could send it. It's not much, but sensei? Hakio sensei, what's wrong? I'm sorry, Nijika. The lavender house is closing down. What? I'm sorry. They took the deed to the land. There's nothing we can do anymore. I'm currently working on finding a new home for the children. I'll call you when everything settles down. Lavender house is closing down? Damn, this is bad. I sure hope it doesn't get way worse. Nijika! Listen, it's about the high tea this Sunday. My mom is coming too, and it seems like it's not just a tea event. It's going to be a competition between your food and saya Mizuno's. Oh my God! You mean to tell me that the director lied there's a surprise baking contest and something bad is happening to grandma? That dastardly bastard, he's done it again! Nijika goes straight into the lion's den and confronts the director. A competition? But that's not what you told me before. You just asked me to serve your guests with my cooking. And the director's like, yeah, I lied to you Nijika. I'm a psychopath. I don't want to compete in some meaningless competition. Besides, the lavender house is closing down. I don't have time for that right now. We don't see the director's face when she says this, but I just imagine he has like a grinch smile. Yes, I heard about the lavender house getting torn down. By summer, the lavender house will be property of the Mizuno corporation. I can save the lavender house, but I have one condition. Huh? Accept the competition and lose on purpose. Okay, I hate to be a bummer and end it there, but the cliffhanger is just too good. And I don't want this video to be too long. I want to try this thing where I upload a video more than once every five years. But you can rest assured that we will be seeing our goon squad again very soon. Thank you so much for watching. Subscribe if you want to, don't if you don't. And I'll see you next whenever I upload. Bye! It feels so good to be talking about kitchen princess again. I did some kitchen princessing of my own last night.