大十五章
能力と力
Chapter 15
Abilities and Power
"It's so nice to be back," Erina exclaimed as she stretched herself out after getting out of a company car along with her boyfriend. Though it felt nice to go on a little excursion and get away from it all, the blonde had to admit to herself that her real element was here at Tōtsuki. She could even admit a little bit that this place held a special place in her heart, in spite of the fact it was her family's school, and that she would always come back here every now and again after she would inevitably leave.
"I know what you mean," her redheaded friend agreed as he unloaded their luggage from the company car. He however did not notice how his girlfriend's eyes had softened as she regarded him. Despite the place Tōtsuki held in her heart, it could never beat out being right alongside Yukihira Sōma. "The onsen ryokan was great, but their something about this place that makes it feel like home."
"Well it is my family's home," his blonde girlfriend stated proudly as she placed a hand over her chest.
"Tú casa es mí casa," he stated with a grin as he made his way to her side with their luggage trailing behind him.
"You know Spanish?" she asked as she began to walk back to the school grounds. People could say what they wanted to about Yukihira Sōma, but despite his (dubious) humble background and pedestrian appearance, he was a rather intelligent and fit young man. 'Especially fit,' she reminded herself as she licked her lips, a very recent memory of a naked Sōma in an onsen flitting through her mind. 'Definitely fit.'
"Well when you travel the world to learn about cooking, you don't just learn about cooking," Sōma explained as the made their way through the school grounds. It was rather early in the day so they would more than likely not be spotted by anyone. If they were caught, then he could hopefully explain the situation away by babbling on about helping a friend or something of the sort. "You learn about their culture, their history, the mannerisms, and so many other subjects." He then grinned at his girlfriend, "Cooking's isn't just about creating the ultimate dish; it's also about experiencing a whole new culture without actually having been there."
"I'll take your word for it," Erina replied with a smirk as she pushed open the doors to her own private mansion.
"I still can't believe that you have an entire mansion to yourself." Honestly, that was just a little over indulgent regarding Erina. Sure he would probably have helped buy his future children's apartments, but giving them an entire mansion? Now that was just overkill.
"Hisako-chan lives here too you know Sōma-kun," she retorted with a deadpan. Erina then made a motion with her hand to have her boyfriend relinquish her luggage back to her person. "Thank you," she beamed as the young man handed her luggage back with a fuss.
"So?" Sōma began awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. His blonde girlfriend just rolled her eyes as she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in for a rather daring kiss that had the redhead wrapping his arms around her waist to hold her flush to himself. Once the two broke away, very red blushes on their cheeks, and still in each other's arms, it was Erina to speak first.
"You're the man in this relationship Sōma-kun," she whispered quietly, her forehead pressed up against his own.
"Hehe, sorry 'bout that," he apologized with his trademark goofy grin. "So I'll see you tomorrow at the Resort?"
"Unfortunately we'll more than likely be separated during the first two days of the training camp," she explained with a frown. Erina giggled however when a lost look went across her boyfriend's face. "That doesn't mean we still can't visit each other during the night when no one's awake. I mean, we have been doing that for a while now."
"Do you have any idea how scandalous it would be if either of us were caught going to the other's room that late at night?" Though he could be considered a maverick, or even a daredevil, Sōma was not that reckless with abandon. To see his best friend even suggest something like that had him squirming a little with consternation.
"C'mon big boy, are you afraid of getting caught?" Erina whispered into her boyfriend's ear before nipping his ear lobe. The blonde smiled internally when she felt a shiver run down her friend's spine. "Relax, I was just kidding," she said in a teasing tone as she pulled back, a cheeky smile on her face. Erina had actually wanted to see her boyfriend squirm, seeing as she was usually the person squirming whenever in his presence. It felt good to have some power back in her corner.
"Anyway, see you at camp!" She then quickly pecked her boyfriend on the cheek before darting inside her mansion. When the doors slammed shut behind her, Sōma was snapped from his daze induced reverie. Shaking his head, the redhead looked once at the doors to his girlfriend's mansion before turning around and making his way back to the Polar Star Dorms and then to the new Diner of the Masses RS.
Up in a tree nearby Erina's mansion, sat one Sadatsuka Nao. Her usual red eyes held a near feral anger as she looked upon the retreating figure of one Yukihira Sōma through her binoculars. "So you're Yukihira Sōma!" she growled quietly as her grip on her beloved binoculars tightened.
"I'll make sure to get rid of you when I can," the Sadako-esque young woman promised a wicked grin on her face.
"Oi! This place isn't a pig sty is it?" Sōma shouted as he opened the door to the new Diner of the Masses RS building a little bit around noon. He was not disappointed to find that the fifty members of his RS had transformed the rundown building he had seen two days ago into a massive diner with a large open kitchen and generous amounts of seating for customers.
He had suggested to the Elite Ten in allowing his RS to operate like a real diner so that he could display the power of his RS to the school. During his day long excursion with his girlfriend, he had been contacted by Kuzumi that the Elite Ten had accepted his recommendation and allowed the Diner RS to spread it wings. And spread them it did.
Right at this moment there were members of his RS, former Hospitality RS members, serving customers, both fellow students, High School division and Junior High division, and visiting families alike, numbering nearly seventy-five customers. A number of heads, both customer and RS member alike, turned towards the source of the commotion to see who had shouted so boisterously like that. The customers themselves could not believe the comment due to the fact of how well run the restaurant was along with how innovative and delicious the food was. Members of the new Diner RS were enraged when they heard such slander and blasphemy toward their proud new RS that had skyrocketed in the few days it had been established.
"Don't look down on us!"
"This new RS isn't just for show!"
"Wanna saw that to our face!"
"The head of our RS will make you literally eat those words!"
"Geez guys!" the redhead exclaimed as he used both of his hands to make placating motions. "I was just kidding, no need to get that defensive." He grinned when he saw the jaws of all of his RS's members drop like a sack of potatoes.
"Boss!"
"Yukihira-bosu!"
"Yukihira!"
"Sōma-sama!"
That last one was rather new to him to be honest. He was not used to receiving such high praise or even being acknowledged like he was some heaven sent saint. Sure he was able to create delicious dishes based off of common diner dishes using techniques from different cultures, but that should not have been praise worthy enough. Like he was always saying, he had only come this far because he had dared to challenge the mold.
'You're special Sōma. You're not afraid of failure or defeat. You can take everything you've experienced, from the good to the bad, and make it into something new and fantastic. Let yourself be praised for your deeds.' Sōma huffed a little as he remembered a conversation he held with Erina nearly two weeks ago before the school year had officially began. Maybe he should just allow people to praise him without being embarrassed about it. It was not like it would really change him, he would still do what he always did.
Walking to the kitchen, the redhead tugged at the cloth wrapped around his neck like a scarf and removed it before wrapping it around his head. Kuzumi, who was overlooking the frying stations, grinned as he watched his President make his way into their midst.
"Ready to go, Yukihira-bosu?" he asked as tossed the redhead his secondary knife set. Said redhead removed the Nakiri knife in the set and examined the engraving on it.
えりな
"You know it Taiga-senpai!" the young man shouted as he took command of his RS. "Taiga-senpai, what are you guys working on right now!"
"Eight orders of Shrimp Tempura, nine orders of Tonkatsu, five orders of Vegetable Tempura and seven orders of fish tempura! We also have five orders of karaage going up as well!" the former head of the Tempura RS shouted as he assisted the former members of his RS at the frying station. "We'll be ready with three of each order in about four minutes!" Taiga Kuzumi, having specialized in Tempura battering techniques, was nominated to oversee the deep-frying aspect of the Diner RS.
"Alright!" Sōma commented as he looked over at where former president of the Don RS was at. "Konishi-senpai, how many Donburi are we looking at!" he shouted as he began to prep vegetables and meat to be distributed around his kitchen.
"Nikumi and I have four Katsudon being worked on in collaboration, six Gyūdon, five orders of Tendon. We'll have the Gyūdon wrapped up in ten minutes and the Katsudon and Tendon ready to go when Taiga is ready!" the biker like 'Don' of the former Don RS shouted back as he and Ikumi sweated over the hot stoves they were laboring over.
"Oi! I thought I told you not to call me Nikumi!"
"Three Shrimp Tempura, three tonkatsu, three vegetable tempura and three fish tempura are up!" Taiga shouted as he and three other members manning the frying stations pulled up their strainers. "Ready for the topping tables!" the Sōma look-a-like informed as he and the others moved food to dishes to be sent to the topping tables of various sections. "Ready again in seven minutes!"
"Acknowledged!" the numerous members of the kitchen shouted as they went about their tasks with an unerring focus and determination. Since there was no partition separating the kitchen from the seating area, the customers were given an entirely new sight as they watched the cooks scurry about and send out dishes like they were nothing.
Though the building they were in was labeled as the Diner of the Masses RS, and even had the feel and atmosphere of a diner, the food itself was anything but mundane diner food. Each and every time a customer would bite into the food they had ordered, they would not only experience the rich depth of the vegetables, meats and spices, but also the new combinations and adaptations of other cooking styles and recipes.
To say the least, the Diner RS felt more like an Haute Cuisine RS with its grand recipes, bold and rich flavors and appealing design. Yet it felt like a diner in the fact the atmosphere was homely and welcoming, inviting customers in and letting them relax and indulge themselves in the food they had ordered.
"How are the soup stocks coming along?!" Sōma shouted over to Iwatani Naofumi. The former president of the Universal Soup Stock Research Society, or the USSRS, was a second year with a somewhat glum face and shaggy dark hair. "The noodle station is running low!"
"Raphtalia, Firo and I will have the Dashi, Shitake, Beef and Chicken stock ready in about seven minutes! The pork stock is taking a little longer, so ten minutes for that!" Naofumi shouted back. "I'm also running low on kombu for the stocks as well as beef thigh and sinew!"
"Refill at the soup stock station!" the redhead shouted as he tapped a student chopping up ingredients on the shoulder. He had informed everyone that a slight tap on the shoulder meant they were to assist in that person's errand. However, since only the Head Chef, Sous Chef and Division Cooks were the people to more than likely be free, it meant no one could use it to mess around in the kitchen.
"On it Boss!" Okuma Rin shouted as helped Sōma round up materials for the soup stock station. It had only taken the two of them thirty seconds to gather the ingredients and prep them for use. Rin then returned to his task of helping prep and distribute vegetables to the different stations.
"Ramen, udon and soba are up and ready!" Kinichiro shouted as he and four others drained out their noodles and placed them into stock filled bowls. Despite only knowing more about Ramen, he was saddled with operating the noodles of the Diner RS. Not that it really mattered. He needed the practice with other noodles. "Fettucine and Angel Hair will be ready in five minutes! Beginning on a new batch of ramen, udon and soba; t-minus eleven minutes!"
"How are my stews coming along?!" Yukihira Sōma shouted as he looked over the orders on the computers screen. "I have three orders for Curry Katsu, six for beef curry and four for chicken curry! I also have four Boeuf Bourguignon, three Hasenpfeffer, and two Andrajos!"
"Stew takes longer than you think Yukihira-kun!" Sanada Yūki, former President of the Foreign Stew RS, shouted as she assisted four others in the work of six massive pots either boiling or simmering with their contents under a lid or releasing steam for customers to breathe deeply of and drool over. "Twenty or so minutes on the curries! The Bourguignon and Hasenpfeffer are at fifteen minutes! Andrajos incoming in ten minutes now!" She then looked over the six pots simmering on a different stove top and gauged how far they were along. "Next batches of the stews will be up in fifty minutes!"
The loud and boisterous young man who had barged into the building nearly fifteen minutes ago was commanding over forty cooks and crewmembers with a great amount of dexterity and clarity, surprising a great many of the customers with how easily the flow of the kitchen went with him at the head. That was not to say that the flow of the kitchen was chaotic, far from it. The way the cooks and crewmembers moved was deliberate and thought out with not a single movement wasted. But with this incredible young man, Yukihira Sōma, the flow of the kitchen instead turned into that of a grand orchestra being conducted by the likes of Ludwig von Beethoven.
"I have fifteen orders for Miso, ten for Harira, eleven for Wonton, eight for Egg drop, four for Clam Chowder and six for French Onion!" Sōma once more shouted over the din of the kitchen. "How are you guys coming along?!"
The two Tōma Team, Sō Tōma and Kamijō Tōma, along with their respective girlfriends, Mizuhara Kana and Misaka Mikoto, made up the former Appetizing Appetizer Soups RS which now over saw the operations of the soup division in the Diner of the Masses RS. To say that the dynamic of the group was interesting would be an understatement. "Kana, and I will have the Miso, Wonton and Egg drop soups done in eight minutes!" Sō Tōma shouted back as he scooped out the boiling hot wontons while Kana prepared the miso soups.
"Biribiri and I will have the Harira and French Onion done in about seven minutes!" Kamijō Tōma shouted to Sōma cheerfully as he scooped some noodles into the large pot of Harira. "I'll have another pot of Harira ready in one hour! Until then, I have about ten servings left!"
"Thanks!" Sōma shouted as he busied himself with cooking four steaks, a pan full of chunked chicken and three pork tenderloins. He ignored Mikoto's embarrassed shout due to her boyfriend's use of 'that name'.
"This isn't half bad," a young Middle-Eastern man muttered as he slurped down some Harira. A sigh passed through his lips as his tongue and his senses were assaulted near brutally by the flavor of the spices, vegetables and meats. "This was just like fighting those Flags."
"This Asian food's not as bad as I thought it would be," a brunette Irish man wearing a mink vest muttered as he tasted the chicken curry. "Real spicy too." He rolled his eyes when he watched the Kazakhstan native and his white haired girlfriend make goo-goo eyes at each other as they fed one another using chopsticks.
"Do they even realize they're drawing attention to themselves by doing that?" the man sitting beside the Irish man muttered distastefully. "It's against this country's customs to feed someone else in public. Can't they heed another culture's customs?"
"Ah, let 'em have their fun Tieria." The purple haired man turned around and glared softly at another Irish man, the identical twin of the first. "It's not often we all get to have peaceful excursions like this."
"I suppose."
"Watcha gettin' Cagalli?" a young brown haired man asked his girlfriend as he peered over his menu.
"Get your own food Kira," the blonde muttered as she flicked her boyfriend on the forehead. "It wouldn't be good for us to have traveled around Japan enjoying the food and sights to choose the same thing. Besides, we can just steal from each other's plates anyway."
"I think I'll get the karaage and the Katsudon," Kira said a minute later after having looked through the menu.
"Chicken Teriyaki and Hasenpfeffer," his blonde girlfriend decided a little after him. "Waiter!" she shouted, calling out to one of the numerous Diner RS members. "We're ready to order over here!"
For nearly seven hours it continued on like that for the Diner RS receiving orders for dishes left, right and center. Having the potential menu widened to nearly one-hundred items had presented a daunting task that many of the Diner RS members had been vehemently against since the beginning. They had stated that starting with such a wide variety of dishes would more than likely overwhelm them with a workload none of them were prepared to handle. Their thoughts had been curtailed when Sōma had denied shrinking the menu down. His answer, which would have incensed them had they not known him personally, had driven them all to work harder than ever with the other members beside them helping out.
"I didn't accept you into my RS with the idea that you were weak chefs. No cooking task, no matter how daunting, should deter any of us from creating a delicious dish. I have faith in all of you that we can pull off something great here if we all work together and pool our strengths."
Those words he had spoken before leaving yesterday on his date, and his display of leadership and abilities had endeared him to all members of his Diner RS. It was from there that every single one of them realized that Sōma's words during the Opening Ceremony were more than just cocky words spoken by a Transfer Student. They were words spoken by a young man who could quite possibly reach the heavens of the cooking world.
"Happy to have served you!" Sōma boasted full of pride as he removed his headband when they had closed up shop for the day. Though the many members of the Diner RS were tired and felt sore in places they never knew they could feel sore in, a sense of satisfaction and triumph washed over all of them as they saw the sales for the day.
A stipulation of allowing Sōma to open his Diner RS to the public was to make his dishes near dirt cheap as to not make people consider Tōtsuki a money grabbing institute. Having a single RS rake in a mountain load of money would just send the wrong image, since Tōtsuki was supposed to be self-sufficient by itself, with the help of the Nakiri clan of course.
Sōma had accepted that anyway, seeing as how the Diner RS could get materials and supplies from the Polar Star Dorms' own sources. It was not like he actually needed the money at all. He would probably had dumped it into funding for the Diner RS anyway. Not like even the RS needed it too.
So when Sōma popped open the safe and cash registers, his eyes and the RS members' eyes nearly bugged out at the massive amount of bills stuffed in. And having Sanada Yūki compute it later in the office with everyone gathered around had everyone's jaws hanging loose at the grand total.
"H-How?" the Two Tōma Team muttered together.
"That's impossible," Taiga and Kinichiro said as they tried to pick up their jaws.
"I thought we worked hard, but this?" Naofumi whispered in disbelief.
"Well… Good work everyone." Everyone turned to Sōma who had this dumbfounded look on his face. When he noticed everyone's eyes on him, he blushed a little and grinned, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Like I told you guys, I knew we would kick butt."
"Sōma-kun, this is nearly five times what we made yesterday," Yūki explained as she pointed at the one followed by six zeroes on the screen. "These numbers aren't a result of our hard work, it's a result of your great leadership."
"Sanada-san's right," Ikumi spoke up from her spot beside Yūki. "The moment you took control over the kitchen, our orders were getting out faster than they usually took and the synchronization between all of us just shot up. I hate to say this, but without you we more than likely wouldn't have reached this much."
"You guys can't always count on me you know, and you also can't always count on those around you." What he just said threw everyone for a loop, contradicting what he had told them a day ago about collaborating together and relying on one another. "Ah, sorry. What I mean is that you can't always expect to stay a chef who'll do the same thing over and over until it's just a dull activity. You can't always expect yourself to stay where you are, looking at the world at large and wondering what's out there.
"It's always terrifying to step out of what is safe and know into the unknown and endless. But at the same time it is something exhilarating and thrilling. It lights a fire in your soul you never knew you had until that moment, or it even reignites that fire you thought extinguished.
"What I'm saying is that we're all member of the Diner of the Masses RS. We're not members of several different RS cobbled together into one. This one joint effort from all of us, where we learn from one another and teach one another. We're here to do that exact thing not only here and Tōtsuki, but when we go out into the world to grow as individual people. Be your own person that others can rely on, a person that is worthy of praise."
A silence had descended over the RS after Sōma had begun to speak, allowing every member to absorb and understand the words their Head Chef was speaking. When he was done, all fifty members of the Diner of the Masses RS had an even greater respect for the First Year Transfer student. That was evident as everyone was cheering him on and shouting his name while calling him with their affectionate titles for the redhead.
Outside, perched on a tree with binoculars in hand was one Mimasaka Subaru who was watching the Diner of the Masses RS through the window. Or rather, watching Yukihira Sōma more specifically. His 'handler' Eizan Etsuya had sent him out on a reconnaissance mission to spy on the newest, and biggest to date, RS. He had also been told to look into its head, Yukihira Sōma, and see if there were any chances for recruitment.
"Doubt it," the massive student muttered. 'I wonder how long it'd take me to copy him.' A sinister grin crossed his lips as he thought of taking away the new student's prized knife. 'I could use skills like his.'
"Damn, I can't believe I actually made it through all of that," Sōma muttered as he opened the door to his bedroom. Too tired to even care or even make the effort, the redhead just dropped like a brick on his bed next the lump lying under his blankets. "I thought we wouldn't see each other till tomorrow night?"
"Can't sleep without you near me," she murmured quietly as she pulled the covers out from under her boyfriend and over him. Erina then stripped his shirt while making a face. "You stink badly."
"Worked seven hours straight in my RS," the redhead explained tiredly with a yawn.
"Tell about it in the morning." His yawn was contagious, as the blonde was yawning as well. "Sleep."
"Yes dear."
"Idiot."
"Love you too Erina," he whispered quietly as he kissed her forehead and snuggled closer to her body. She tightened her hold on him as well in return and pressed her head against his chest, letting the beating of his heart lull her to sleep.
AN: Forgive me everyone! I'm so, so, so sorry! I just got caught up in nearly everything else that I couldn't pump out the next chapter. Not only that, but 14 wanted to be a bitch to me and not come to me at all. So if you're wondering if it's an error that this is 15 and not 14, then there's the explaination. I'll have 14 up when it begins to cooperate with me. Till then, I'll continue on with the story since even I want to see where it goes!
And Miya-chan! I still love you no matter what! Don't ever forget that!
This last bit is for Miya and no one else! Avert your eyes if you're not her! I mean it!
"It's nice those two let us have their reservation here, huh, Miya?" Kokushi murmured into his girlfriend's ear as the gazed at the starry night sky up in the mountains of Kyoto. The two were currently soaking in the onsen, with the brunette leaning back against her boyfriend's chest.
"Hmmm," the young woman agreed as she allowed her body to loosen in the magnificent waters of the onsen.
"You know what's even better?" he whispered huskily into her ear.
"Hmmm?"
"This." The young man, a writer still stumbling through life, then initiated a mind blowing a soul searing kiss with his girlfriend that had her toes curling in delight. Just for added bonus, he used tongue too. When they pulled apart, the two of them were flushed deeply, and not because of the heat from the onsen, but rather a different heart.
"Wow," Miya murmured, a silly smile on her face. She then leaned in for another, since she really wanted more.