The sounds of birds chirping engulfed the morning in Polar Star Dormitory, After Rin and Souma's first successful Shokugeki, the residents of Polar Star Dormitory threw a celebratory party. Two weeks after the Shokugeki, Rin was sleeping when he heard a whisper calling his name.
"Rin-kun, wake up" the voice whispered
Rin still half asleep, opened his eyes and searched the room to find the source of the whisper. He didn't find anyone or anything in his room. Now he was confused, 'is it just my imagination?' he thought.
"Rin-kun"
The voice whispered his name again, Rin turned his head up and was shocked seeing the sight. There was Isshiki Satoshi peeking from the ceiling and smiling to him, before Rin could say anything, Isshiki jumped down.
"let's go, we're waiting downstairs for breakfast" Isshiki said then he left the stunned boy.
"What the fuck just happened?" He asked himself.
He went for the closet and grabbed a shirt then he put it on, after that he brushed hi teeth and washed his face. He went downstairs to the dining room and he saw everyone waiting for him.
"Sorry, I'm late" he grinned sheepishly.
Every people in the room just sighed and nodded at him. Everyone knew that he was not a morning person and he always late for school. Even sometimes, Souma have to barged in his room to wake him up.
"Tardiness is a bad habit, you know. You should sleep earlier than the usual" Fumio scolded him, he just nodded at her and sat down beside Ryoko. He then noticed that Souma was holding a piece of paper and the atmosphere in the room was too quiet than the usual.
"What is that, Yukihira?" He asked to him.
Souma who seemed to be lost in thought was startled hearing his name called.
"It's the Totsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp" Souma answered him.
Rin was confused, he didn't know why the atmosphere so gloomy in the room.
"Oh it's only a training camp. Why are you guys so gloomy?" Rin asked the other residents.
The residents were about to answered Rin's question but Isshiki answered first.
"This camp eliminates half of the people by the end of the week. They called it Totsuki Hell's Camp.'
Rin finally understood why the others were nervous, if they fail to survive the camp, they will get expelled. A part of Rin was feeling anxious, he don't know what will he do if he got expelled. But even Rin knew, that confidence is a crucial part of chef.
"I see… Then we will have to survive until the end of the week, right? We don't know what will happen in the camp but we just need to give our best!" Rin encouraged the residents. The others spirit was lifted up by his encouragement and they were grateful for that.
After breakfast the residents of some of the Polar Star Dormitory residents went to school and the rest helped Isshiki gardening outside. Rin was very tired after helping Isshiki gardening and helping Ibushaki chopped some woods, his lack of sleep apparently causing him fatigue. So he went to lay down under the trees, resting for a bit until Souma sat next to him. Rin who noticed that the redhead just sat there and didn't speak anything, sighed and asked him what does he want.
"Do you need something, Yukihira?" Rin asked him.
Souma who was staring at the clouds, finally turned his head when he noticed that the person beside him talked
"What do you think of the peoples in the dorm, Rin?" Souma asked him.
Rin who's not expecting that question just gave Souma a confused look and finally answered the question after thinking about it.
"They're nice, but how do I say it... Unique I guess. I mean there's a person who often emerged from the ceiling in our room and he usually only wear a fundoshi. But I like it here." He said, Souma laughed when Rin talked about their eccentric and unique senpai.
"Why do you asked this, Yukihira?" Rin was curious at Souma's reasons. Souma just shook his head say that there's nothing wrong. After that he walked away from Rin and informed him that the camp will be in three days.
The dinner in the Dormitory went well, no longer the gloomy atmosphere surrounding them but now determination and eagerness fill their minds. With Souma encouraging the residents again and saying that all of the Polar Star Dormitory will came back without anyone getting expelled.
The clock showed it's already 11, Rin wants to asks advice to his sister about the camp and the most effective way to get attention from the school but seeing that it's already late, he decided that he will asked her tomorrow. Rin couldn't sleep, despite his tiredness before, he didn't feel tired right now. So he decides to have a midnight meal. He went to the kitchen without knowing that someone was following him.
When he's in the kitchen, he saw the available ingredients and smiled brightly. He knew what is he making now but when he washed his hands, a person voice emerged from behind and surprising him because he thought that everyone was asleep.
"What are you cooking?" The voice belongs to Isshiki Satoshi, the seventh seat of Totsuki Elite Ten Council. Rin was surprised hearing his senpai voice but he composed himself before answering him.
"Oh Isshiki-senpai, I didn't see you there. I'm thinking about making a fried catfish with rice and coleslaw"
Isshiki is interested and curious about Rin's cooking, if he's the current second seat little brother surely Rin will give Isshiki a surprise.
"Could you make some for me? I'm craving for a midnight meal too." Isshiki said.
RIn nodded and prepares the dish. He started cooking the rice with water, chicken broth, ginger, and garlic. Then he prepared the batter for the fish and chopped the ingredients for the coleslaw. After that he fried the catfish and plated his dish.
"Here you go, Senpai" Rin offered the plate and Isshiki took it. 'the dish is simple yet the plating is gorgeous' Isshiki thought when seeing the dish.
"Itadakimasu" They both said together.
Isshiki took the first bite and was very stunned by his dish. The texture of the fish is so crispy yet so soft, the coleslaw perfectly brought the acidity and sweet flavor, and the rice despite its composition were so light. Every elements of the dish elevated each other, meaning that the dish was perfectly balanced. Isshiki hasn't realized that he is already finished with the dish.
"This is delicious, Rin-kun. If I may ask, where do you learn to cook?" Isshiki was curious that he was capable of making such delicious dish without going to Totsuki for middle school. Rin who was still eating, smiled when he saw Isshiki finished his food very fast.
"I often observed nee-san when she cooks but I went to Moonlight's for perfecting my culinary arts." He answered.
Isshiki was shocked hearing that the boy in front of him trained in the former fourth seat, Ebisawa Riko. But he still is curious about something that peeked his interest, Isshiki saw him cooked and it looks like seeing the current first seat cooking.
"Do you know who is the current first seat?" Isshiki asked. Rin just nodded at him and asked why he asked that question.
"Oh it's just that you look more similar to him then your sister. Not the looks but when you're in the kitchen, it's like seeing him cooked" Isshiki finished.
Rin doesn't wondered why Isshiki said that, he understands what he meant. When Rin is younger, he often looked Tsukasa as his idol, seeing perfection in kitchen is just mesmerizing to watch. But Rin's cooking is not better compare to Tsukasa's...
"When I was younger, Tsukasa-san often visited our house. He tends to have a Shokugeki either with nee-san or me, But I always lost and I have an ambition to surpassed both him and nee-san. I think that it's just a thing I picked up from him."
The two talked about each other, the hell's camp, and the Autumn Selection. Rin opened up to Isshiki about the deal that he made with Tsukasa. Isshiki was very interested with how things are going in the coming future, unknown to both of them that the clock already showed 2am.
'it's already late, I think we should get some rest" Isshiki smiled at his underclassmen. Both of them walked away to their own rooms. Rin lay down while thinking about the future, will he wins against Tsukasa? Will he wins the selection? He fell asleep when he felt his eyes are heavy.
In the morning, Rin woke up earlier than the others and immediately went to the bathroom. He need to take a shower and went to his sister apartment, there's a lot that he wants to asks her. Unfortunately, he forgot to bring his shirt to the bathroom and he thought that the others haven't woken up, so he went outside to the corridor wearing only pants and a towel covering his body.
Ryoko Sakaki has to arrive early at the school because her class starts earlier today, waking up she put her robe on and walked to the bathroom. When she was near the bathroom, she saw Kobayashi Rin who walked around the corridor bare chested and only wearing his pants. She observed the black haired boy's body and to say she wasn't admired by it was a lie. If she didn't know him already, she will think that he's a supermodel. Rin has an athletic body but not too bulky, he has well-toned muscles and abs visible on his body. Even though Rin don't specialized in any kind of sports, he's very good at it especially in volleyball. The thing that made Ryoko blushed so much is his looks, the still damp hair, the remaining water is visible in his body. Ryoko doesn't aware that she was staring at him when he made his way to her.
'Sakaki-san, the showers are free now" Rin said to her.
Ryoko tries to calm herself down before she answered him but the color of red on her cheeks are still visible. When she looked at his face, her breath caught. There she saw that he was smiling at her, the gentlest smile that she has ever seen was there, but the thing that she admired the most are his eyes. It seems that it's very easy to get lost in those azure orbs of his. Her face was starting to get redder than before, but she was saved from more embarrassment by Megumi and Yuki, she released her breath that she held.
"Ryoko, what are you doing?" Yuki cheerfully asked her best friend. Ryoko glanced at Yuki but when she looked back to the place where Rin was, he's not there. Sighing gladly, she told her best friends that it was nothing and the three of them went to the bathroom to prepare for school.
After he showered, he went to his sister apartment. Apparently walking from the Polar Star Dormitory to the front gate was very far and took a lot of time, Rin thought it's better if he should buy a motorcycle with his savings then spending it for unnecessary things. Arriving at his sister apartment, Rin used the spare key she gave to him and opened the door. He already let his sister know that he will be here today, so he doesn't bother to knocked the front door. When he walked in, he immediately sat at the couch and turned the TV on before he called her.
Kobayashi Rindou was having the best dream she ever had in her life but it was ruined when her brother disturbing her sleep. She dreamt that everyone is serving her the best food in the world and watching Tsukasa massaging her feet. She woke up when hearing her brother's voice, she sighed and went to the couch.
"Where's Tsukasa-san?" He asked to her without taking his eyes off from the TV.
Rindou was lucky that Rin decided to tell her that he will came to her apartment today, if her little brother walked in when she and Tsukasa are having their 'activities', it would be an embarrassing sight.
"He didn't stay here last night" She answered.
Rin just nodded at her, then he reduced the volume of the TV before he talked to her.
"Do you think I'll be able to win the Autumn's Selection?" He asked her. Rin sometimes have a confident that could rival a certain redheaded but that doesn't mean he's careless. He knew that he has a chance for winning the Autumn's Selection if he was selected, all he needs is reassurance.
"You tend to overthinking things, besides you don't know if you're selected or not. Just do your best from now on… and don't hold back." Before Rin could retorts her, she talked again.
"When your first Shokugeki, I already knew that you held back your true skills" Rindou finished.
Rin just sighed and gave her a smile. Rin knew that no one knew him better than her, despite their rivalries, both of them truly cares and loves each other. Both of them just watched the TV before he heard her stomach rumbled, hearing that both of them just laughed. Rin offered to cook for her breakfast and she gladly accepted it, they ate together and talked. Then Tsukasa arrived, after an hour of talking, Rin left the apartment and went back to the dorm.
The day started with the residents of Polar Star Dormitory assembled in the main hall, they were planning to go to the bus together but they noticed someone was missing. Rin was sleeping when every resident of the Polar Star Dormitory barged in his room, Daigo and Shoji violently picked him up and shook him. Rin woke up and saw that everyone was there and he saw the clock, he immediately ran to the bathroom. After waiting for 10 minutes for him, the residents just sighed at the black haired boy tardiness. All of them bid farewell to Isshiki and Fumio and they went to the stadium for further explanation regarding the Friendship and Rapport Training Camp or as like the students called it, 'The Hell's camp'. Rin didn't really pay attention when the teacher explained because he has been briefed by his sister about the camp already, he only listened when the teacher announced the bus sitting. After the briefing, the residents of Polar Star Dormitory walked together to the parking lot.
They were shocked when they saw the sight of dozens of busses parked there, seeing that took their energy already.
"After seeing this, there's nothing that could surprise me anymore" Souma said.
Rin asked the others about the sitting on the bus but weirdly he's the only who got different bus, the others are in the same bus. He shrugged it off and chose not to dwell on the problem. He bid farewell to the others and took off to find his bus, apparently his bus that supposed to take him to the Totsuki resort looked more luxurious than the others.
He walked inside and was stunned by the interior design of the vehicle, it looked so simple yet comforting and glamour at the same time. He saw that what appeared to be a bar and a pool table, now Rin was skeptical about this; why would he be placed in this bus and separated with his friends, he noticed that there are couches too. He sat on the far back of the bus, put his headphone, played the music, and chose not to think about the suspicious act of the school. Unknown to him that the plan was plotted by the director of Totsuki and his white haired granddaughter. He also noticed that he's alone in the bus.
He saw the name of Nakiri carved on the leather seat in front of him, he closed his eyes, hoping that he is not on the private bus of the Nakiri Family. But the world thought otherwise, he opened his eyes when he felt a hand poking his shoulder. He was shocked when he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of crimson eyes observing him; only inches away.
"Fufufu, you looked very different now" She leaned back after saying that. Rin was confused, have he met her before but he felt something familiar about her.
"Have me met before?" Rin asked the white haired girl, seeking answer for his curiosity. But before she could say anything, a voice called out from the front.
"I already put your bag in the trunk, Ojou" The voice belongs to Kurokiba Ryo.
Ryo is first year student and Nakiri Alice's aide. He is quite tall and has a well-built body, his notable traits include his long, unkempt brownish black hair and bangs that framed his face and hung just above his chin and his red eyes which have bags around them, giving him a wild appearance overall. He looked lazy, slow, and disheveled. He wears a standard Totsuki uniform, however he kept his jacket unbuttoned and doesn't wear the standard tied, he also has red clothing tied up on his wrist.
"Thanks, Ryo-kun" Alice glanced at her aide for a second then she turned to Rin again. Rin felt uncomfortable with her eyes that seems like she was observing him up.
"Ah sorry, I think I'm on the wrong bus. This isn't bus number 1, right?" He said and stand up to leave but the white haired interfered by blocking his path and she smirked mischievously.
"This is bus number 1" Rin was more confused than before, why was he placed on the Nakiri's private bus. But if Nakiri Alice is here that meant she will be here too and of course after he thought that, the princess walked in with Hisako following behind her.
Erina who was bored to death, walked in on her family private bus and saw that her cousin talking to someone that she couldn't see who it is because her cousin is blocking her view.
"Alice, who are you talking to?" When she said that, her white haired cousin immediately turned and smiled at her. Erina knew that smile, the smile that looked so evil and mischievously, that meant Alice is planning something for her cousin.
'Oh Erina, perfect timing" Alice said.
Erina now got a clear view of the person talking to her cousin, and to say that she was shocked was an understatement. There he was, Kobayashi Rin, the person who was in Erina's mind just before. Erina was mesmerized when she saw his beautiful azure eyes, she couldn't help to stare at those orbs. But when they made eye contact, she blushed and turned the other way, now facing Hisako who was recently behind her. The blush didn't go unnoticed by Alice and Hisako.
"Wh-what are you doing here? This bus is not for regular students" Erina said without looking at him.
"Because he was placed here" Alice said. Rin now felt more uncomfortable with the situation his in now, so he chose the best solution.
"I could take another bus that has empty seats" Rin said while walking to the exit but he was stopped when he felt someone touching his hand. Everyone on the room was shocked, including Ryo, when Nakiri Erina tugged Rin's hand and making him stopped on his tracks.
"Don't go..." Erina whispered to him while looking the other way. The people on the bus now felt more confused of the sudden change in the blonde's attitude. Alice was smiling mischievously, Hisako just stared at her best friend/boss, while Ryo just looked at the scene with a slight interest. Rin felt her arm tugging on his, it felt comfortable and warm. Erina who finally noticed what she was doing felt embarrassed.
"I mean that you couldn't went to the other busses because all of the busses already left" She said while trying to hide her blush. Alice was trying to her best to not laugh.
"Is that so? Then I can call a taxi' Rin said, still trying to get out of the bus. Ryo understand why the boy wants to get out of the awkward situation but unfortunately the girls didn't.
"Are you crazy? Your willing to pay for drive that takes 3 hours" Alice said but before Rin could answer, Erina pulled him and shoved him to his seat. Rin was confused with the blonde behavior but the others are intrigued by her.
Erina didn't know why she did that; like before she tugged his arm and now she pulled and shoved him to his seat. This act was done unconsciously by her.
"As the student representative, I couldn't let a student went to the resort with a taxi" Erina said while giving him a hair flip but the blush on her cheeks are still visible. Erina tried to hid her embarrassment with acting as the student representative, but Alice knew what she really meant, in other word, what Erina meant is 'I want you to stay here'.
Rin just nods at her and trying his best not to stare at her, but apparently he was lost in those amethyst eyes and the same thing happened with her. 'So beautiful' they both thought, and again this act doesn't go unnoticed by the others.
Erina didn't know how long has she standing in front of him and lost on his eyes until the bus moved and she lost her balance. She was falling but before her head could hit the glass, she was caught by him and their faces are inches away. Erina's face was flustered red right now, she walked away from him after he gently released her and she sat next to Hisako while he sat alone. Erina isn't mad at him for touching her instead she felt grateful that the bus moved so he could catch her, his touched on her body felt so warm, gentle, comforting, and it felt safe.
Rin blushed a bit after catching her when she's about to fall, but he hides it well enough so she couldn't see it. He smiled looking her embarrassed when he caught her, he thought that even the 'Ice Queen' herself isn't that cold instead she's nice.
Rin is lost in his thought when Alice poked his cheeks, he looked at her and she smiled at him before she challenged him to play pool, Rin was bored so he accepted her offer.
The game went with Alice confident attitude turned into depression when he beat her for 5 times, of course Alice didn't know that Ayame, the sous chef of Moonlight's, taught Rin in billiard and darts. When they play again, Rin asked Alice a question.
"Sorry, Nakiri-san, but you look so familiar. Have we already met?" Alice looked like she was trying to find something in her phone but when she was about to show it to him, Erina interrupts with snatching her phone.
'No, she hasn't met you before" Alice said to Rin nicely before she glared at her cousin. Her cousin laughed and say something that sounded like 'my bad' and 'sorry for that'. Rin just shrugged it off and he thought something interesting.
"Nakiri-san, why don't you play?" Rin asked Erina but apparently both of the girls looked to him and he remembered that both of her name was Nakiri.
"You could call me Alice" Alice said.
Erina questioned herself 'Is it better if he called me with my first name'. Erina would like it if he calls her with her first name but there's her pride.
"Are you saying that you could beat me?" Erina asked him and he just grinned and nodded at her.
'Are you afraid, Nakiri-san?" He challenged her and Erina accepted the challenge. It couldn't be called a match, it was a domination, Erina didn't even put one ball in the pot.
"At least I'm better than you in cooking" Erina teased him and do her famous hair flip when saying that. RIn smirked hearing her comment and chose to counter it.
'Don't get so comfortable, Nakiri-san. I'm going to be on top sooner than you thought"
Erina finally remembered the Shokugeki between Tsukasa and Rin that would bound to happen if Rin wins the Autumn' Selection, but that would be many hard battles that he would need to win; The selection, preliminaries, semifinal, final, and of course the Shokugeki with Tsukasa. Her odds to win their bet is with her.
Hisako, Alice, and Ryo were interested what the boy meant about being on top sooner, but the girls interests are more in the interaction between the blonde and the black haired boy. 'They looked so perfect for each other' Alice and Hisako thought.
Time went so fast when Rin and Erina talked with each other sometimes Alice, Hisako, and Ryo joined but mostly just the two of them talking with each other, before they could realize that they already arrived at the resort. Erina couldn't restrained her giggles when she saw the expression on Rin's face, Rin was extremely amazed and shocked when he saw the resort; saying that the resort was extravagant was an understatement, the resort was huge, luxurious, and fancy.
"It costs 80.000 yen per day" Erina said, shocking him more.
Erina saw his handsome and cute face, and she didn't mind to stare him all day if she cold. Somehow his presence is soothing and calming to her, unlike her cousin. Rin noticed that Erina was staring at him and they both blushed when their eyes met each other. The small interaction between Erina and Rin didn't go unnoticed by Alice, she smiled happily that the walls on her cousin are starting to break slowly.
"Students of Totsuki, please assemble at the main hall." The voice came from the teacher announcing the arriving students.
Hearing that Nakiri Erina left with Hisako following behind her, Alice and Ryo surprisingly disappeared from the scene too, Rin chose to find his friends in the hall. When he arrived at the main hall, he noticed that the hall is huge; being able to contained hundreds of students and isn't full yet. He didn't find his friends, so he chose to stand in the back while leaning on the walls.
"Welcome students to Totsuki Resort, tomorrow your friendship and rapport training camp will begin. At the end of the week only half of you will return to Totsuki, you will be evaluated and examined by the alumni" Roland Chapelle said to all students.
Then all of the alumni walked in, all of the students started to panicked because the alumni who walked in is no other Dojima Gin. Rin already knew Dojima Gin as he once or twice visited Moonlight and Ebisawa Riko are friends with him. There are others alumni too, such as; Shinomiya Kojiro, Hinako Inui, Hitoshi Sekimori, Fuyumi Mizuhara, Donato Gotoda, and many more. Dojima then introduce himself and explained that during the camp, the students will be treated as the alumni subordinate; meaning that they could be fired from the kitchen and get expelled. Most of the students has nervous, anxious, and desperate looks on their faces, while others had confidence that they would survived the week.
Gin has short brown hair, noticeably sharp eyes, and his eyebrows resemble sideways "V's", he also has very muscular body. Gin is a very serious, straightforward person who treats every single student at the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp like an employee and does not tolerate failure. Because of his leadership style, the Tōtsuki Resort is considered one of the best hotel establishments in the world. Gin also has a good eye for talent and is quite flexible when it comes to defending those whom he deems worthy enough to stay at Tōtsuki. However, in his eyes, Gin values action and effort over words. It goes without saying that Gin is a very hard person to impress, but for the select few that do grab his attention, it is considered almost a high honor by most aspiring chefs.
Shinomiya Kojiro has coral-colored hair that comes to his neck, with bangs parted to the left. He also has a prominent undercut on his right side. His left ear is pierced with a silver hoop earring and he wears glasses over his amber colored eyes. Kojiro is an extremely uptight person due to the people of France ostracizing him because he was Japanese and belittling his dream to earn the Pluspol Award. This caused him to become a much more ruthless individual who does not tolerate anyone going against his orders. He flatly denied any sort of input into his dishes, feeling that, as the head chef, no one had any authority to change his recipes. He has always been a smug individual even since his Tōtsuki days.
"You, who's leaning on the wall on the back-" Kojiro said while pointing his finger on Rin, gaining everyone his attention. Rin points his finger at himself and looked at Kojiro.
"Sorry, sorry. The one beside you, your fired" Kojiro said.
Rin sighed in relief that he wasn't expelled suddenly but the person standing next to him doesn't felt the same way as Rin does.
"What! Why am I expelled ?!" The boy questioned Shinomiya.
"Are you questioning my authority? And why do I fire you? Your shampoo has the scent of citrus and it could ruin the aroma of cooking" Shinomiya coldly answered the boy and causing a uproar in the crowd. The students are panicking when the chef fires more students before the camp even starts. Rin was grateful that Ebisawa has scolded him when he used a strong scented perfume before going to the kitchen.
He finally found his friends after Dojima announce their schedule for the week. Rin asked Ibusaki why Tadokoro is writing kanji of human on her palms, then Ibusaki explained that she was confronted by Hinako Inui and Donato Gotoda; saying that both of them were mesmerized by Megumi's innocent appearance. Rin turned around when he felt that someone was looking at him and he was right, there he saw Dojima Gin smiling at him, Rin then saw Dojima nods at him. Apparently a certain blonde was staring at Rin from a far when she noticed the small interaction between the former first seat and the blue eyed boy, she wanted to confront him and asked what's the story between them but she chose to do it another time when she saw that he was no longer there.
"What are you looking for" A very familiar voice said behind Erina, shocking her in the process. Feeling embarrass, she turned around wanting to give this person a word or two about sneaking up to people but when she saw the person she tried to find, she was surprised and she blushed when their eyes met.
Rin observed the girl in front of him, apparently she was about to say something but when she noticed he's the person who talked before, she stopped and she set her eyes on his. Erina broke the moment by pretending to cough and averting her eyes from his gaze.
"It's not polite to sneak behind someone, especially behind-" Erina said with her usual arrogance voice. Rin as the ignorant person he is, didn't even listened to her rambling about personal space, how she is the 'gods tongue', and some others stuff. After she said so many things in so little time, Rin nodded at her and acts like he listened to her. The two conversed for a bit regarding the camp and then Rin bid farewell to her and wishing her luck for the camp. Erina didn't know that he genuinely meant well but she thought that he's trying to belittled her.
"The next time we're going to meet is when I bid goodbye to you. Of course, I don't want to miss the moment you are expelled because you are not needed here in Totsuki, people like you who said that they will take the top but your cooking is nothing compare to me"
Erina said while giving him a hair flip and tried to regained her damaged pride. She didn't mean to sound so rude but she felt strange when he's near her and she didn't understand that feeling. She didn't understand why her heartbeat increased when he's near her, or the blushed on her cheeks when their eyes met. Nakiri Erina didn't know what to do, so she chose the only thing she could; which is to push people away. She didn't even notice that he was shocked hearing the words came from her mouth.
"I see…. Then I'll make sure to stay out of your way" Rin said with monotone voice, and then he walked away from her, leaving her all alone.
Rin knew that Erina was better than him but hearing her say that out loud hurts him. Sometimes he wonders, could his dreams become a reality? He always felt that it's not enough to surpassed them. He felt that what everything he accomplished wasn't enough, while receiving many praises, he still felt it's not perfect. Rin chose to work harder and trained harder so that one day he could surpassed them.
After grabbing his luggage at the lobby, Rin was in the elevator when someone asked to held the elevator open. The universe must be against them because the person who walked in is no other than Nakiri Erina, Erina stopped her tracks when she noticed that he was inside the elevator. She realized that her previous actions regarding belittling him was over the line and she wanted to apologize but she didn't know how. Awkward was one way to describe the moment they both currently in, apparently is just the both of them in the elevator; Hisako already went to her room and the rest of Polar Star Dormitory are in their respective rooms. Erina couldn't sustained the uncomfortable silence so she chose to fixed their friendship. She pressed the emergency button and made the elevator stopped, she closed her eyes, bowed to him, and muttered an apology. Rin was shocked seeing Nakiri Erina bowed to him, so he chose to be devious and took a photo of her bowing, when Erina heard the sound of camera clicking, she looked up and saw the grinning boy. Her face was flustered and she tried to steal his phone while accidently pressed the emergency button, making the elevator moved again.
"Why are you apologizing to me?" Rin said while evading her.
"I'm sorry…. I was over reacting earlier. I thought that when you said good luck to me, your trying to mocked me…"
"Oi, are you a baka or something? I'm trying to be nice to you since we're friends, right?" Rin said.
Erina was shocked when she heard that he said that they were friends, she didn't know what to say but hearing that they could be friends made her happy. Her expression softened and she smiled at him. Rin notice that the smile was the most beautiful smile he ever saw in his live, the smile was so genuine. Erina just slowly nodded at him and saying that they are friends. The misunderstanding was cleared by Erina apologies and Rin's statement about their friendship. Both of them didn't noticed the position they're in until they heard a very familiar laugh.
"Fufufu, I didn't know that you two are together"
yes, the voice belongs to none other than Nakiri Alice. Rin and Erina finally notice the position they're in; Erina's head was on his chest while her hands are on his side. Apparently when she heard him said that they were face shocked her so much that she couldn't move from her position when trying to grabbed his phone.
Alice took a photo of them without them knowing it, for safe keeping or in her mind was blackmail material to use against her cousin in the coming future. Both of them walked together side by side until she asked him a question.
"Why are you following me?"
"I didn't, I want to go to my room" He said while walking with her, then both of them stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked at each other.
"This is my room" they both said together, their room was beside each other. After that they walked to their own respective rooms, Rin checked out his room but then he notices a connecting door, the door connected his room to her room. Rin decided to knocked the door but then she answered from the other side.
"This door will not be opened by any of us since there's no lock on it" Rin just nodded in agreement since he didn't want to disturb her privacy and she felt the same way. They both decided to get some rest because tomorrow the hell's camp will begin.