Chapter 55: Minuscule Light
"I've assembled fifty loyal soldiers and in less than an hour I will receive word that they will have cleared out your whole dorm", Eizan grinned. "Vexing isn't it? Knowing that your beloved dorm is about to be forever lost to you and there is nothing you can do to save it! Torn down right in front of you, and knowing that your friends are going to he so hurt by your failure to protect them".
As Eizan grinned and Sōma clenched his jaw, desperately biting back a snarky comment, as well as the overwhelming urge to strike out, neither of them noticed Kensuke walk forwards grab a whole pitcher of red wine and upend it all over Eizan before grabbing the soaked chef by the scruff of his neck.
"What the hell..." Eizan spluttered before he was properly grabbed by his shirt collar and hoisted into the air. "You smarmy son of a bitch!" Kensuke growled. "I knew you wanted to face Sōma but how dare you threaten, by means of proxy, the place where my sister lives!"
Paling, as sweat tricked down his face, as well as slowly being g deprived of oxygen, Eizan managed to shove the third seat back enough for him to loose grip, and unceremoniously drop the ninth seat on the hard floor. Picking himself up, just as Kensuke made another attempt to grab him again, the ninth seat scowled and scooted away. Grabbing a towel, offered to him by one of the aides in the room, Eizan dried his hair and tried to get wine stains out of his chefs whites, to not much success.
"You're too sentimental for your own good, Kensuke", Eizan spat wiping his semi-wet hair out of his eyes. "You are a member of Central too and you know that Kyokusei dorm is an eyesore as well as an outlier to our plans. Your sister may loose her campus home but she will not be expelled! Not unless she rejects the Azami doctrine..."
This time however, he wasn't quick enough to dodge a punch to the gut resulting in him being knocked flat on the ground. Live on television, and before all Tōtsuki students and staff. Humiliatingly.
"I won't let you drag my sister into whatever schemes you have laid out to hurt, distract or damage Sōma Yukihira", Kensuke growled. Noting the fire burning in her friends eyes, and knowing that Central could loose face if it was see to be fighting amongst each other, Rindō acted to diffuse the situation. "Ken... as a member of the Ten if you call these soldiers, as Eizan called them, or went down there and personally threatened them, they'd no doubt back down. But even if you did so, Director Azami would then do something that even you wouldn't be able to contravene".
"Maybe so..." Kensuke muttered, "but I will always protect my sister". Spinning around on the balls of his feet, the third seat sent a final withering scowl at Eizan; resulting in him cowering low, before storming out of the kitchen. "You're not going to have your fun for much longer Eizan!" As the doors slammed shut, alarming the judges, Rindō shook her head in exasperation. "You should have known what you're actions would do to him" she sighed at Eizan, "sometimes you can be as blind as Kuga"
Gritting his teeth, Eizan abruptly turned towards the second seat but faltered in his wish to retort upon seeing a thin lined glared expression to her face. "Ken is free to do whatever he likes, I suppose... but Director Azami won't..." he was cut off by Rindō swatting away his words. "Leave Azami alone for now. For what comes next, after today at least, will be satisfyingly different".
Growling, Eizan returned his attention back towards Sōma. Again the ninth seat clenched his fists as he saw that the redhead boy was completely ignoring his attempts to goad him, and infuriatingly the only thing he knew had gotten the other boy's attention had been Kensuke's outburst. A soft chuckling emanated from Sōma's throat as he picked up decided upon ingredients and moved towards his workstation, and then he issued a statement of fact that further incensed Eizan.
"You seem to be a person who doesn't like to get his hands dirty chef Eizan, but if you have something to say to me... would you please just put it on a plate?" With a glare in his eyes, and a scowl across his face, Sōma's unshakeable spirit was finally understood to Eizan. "Fine then", the ninth seat snapped taking off his glasses and placing them on his seat. "I guess the battle has to be done through cooking right, is that what it will take for you to learn your place".
Elsewhere, on the Tōtsuki campus, Isshiki was hard at work cementing his plans into solid document form; so that when Sōma would 'inevitably' win his food war, the Azami administration would not be able to simply brush them aside but be forced to accept any challenge they faced. As his fingers danced over the keys of his laptop and his eyes glanced over at the printer he felt surge of purpose rush through his body as the first pages of his new directives became physical artefacts.
Looking up at the clock on the wall, he noticed that it was showing quarter past five and he realised that Sōma's food war should be at its high point by now.
Isshiki hadn't been surprised by Rindō's earlier visit to him asking about why he seemed so blasé about his dorms seeming destruction, and whilst he had assured her that he wasn't worried for Kyokusei, the blonde haired seventh seat had been taken aback by Kensuke's presence. And the sullenness of his friend's, he thought of Ken as his friend even if that status was undefined, face.
'Ken... are you really alright with this?'
He had asked plainly but with as much sensitivity as he could muster, not wanting to make his friend overly worried or anxious. He hadn't got an answer from Ken as Rindō bounded forwards and wrapped her arms around the dark haired third seat. "He's with us, Isshiki! Ken knows that the hardships of school under Senzaemon cannot continue..."
Standing up from his desk and walking towards the printer, Isshiki frowned as he remembered Rindō's words. Whilst he could certainly understand why someone as socially distant and anxious as Ken would want to change the current system of Tōtsuki, hearing it from Rindō was not the same as hearing it from Kensuke. And Isshiki was adamant in the belief that whilst his friend really wanted to continue cooking his own way was also conflicted and confused about the manner that Azami was going about it.
'Quiet and unassuming'.
Kensuke Tadokoro was certainly that, and yet in their two years at Tōtsuki together Isshiki had discovered a deep sense of resentment and annoyance at the way that the academy taught, tested and graded its students. Moreover, through his friendships with Tsukasa, Rindō and Isshiki; Ken had been able to continue studying and cooking to his heart's content, as well as ably asking for help if ever needed.
However, Azami Nakiri had used Kensuke's fears and anxieties against him, as well as his desire to protect Megumi, to have him side with his Tōtsuki Revolution. The man had spun a tall tale of of lies and slander to make the third seat buckle to fear and think about a possible future culinary world world that he would be forever terrified of, and the only way to protect his own wish was to break down the system of Tōtsuki that supported the intense Japanese culinary world. And as Director Azami had stated, "the dial is at zero", Isshiki feared for Ken's mental well-being.
Sighing contently as he skim read the documents title, the Isshiki Rules, he was suddenly made aware of a sudden 'crash' that occurred down the corridor from his office and seeming to originate from the room containing documents pertaining to building designs and regulatory notes.
Grasping his papers in one hand, the seventh seat rushed out of his office and down the corridor, thinking that someone had accidentally toppled over one of the rickety filing cabinets, but as he pushed open the doors to the end room he was confronted by the sight of a red faced and scowling Kensuke rummaging through and slamming shut filing cabinets as he tore through documents looking for something.
Blinking, as he stood rooted to the spot watching in shocked amazement by the first obvious open display of emotion he had seen from his friend in a long time, Isshiki was struck by a sense of relief that Ken; no matter that he was supporting Azami, didn't appear to be simply manipulated. Yet, that only made the seventh seat even more determined to figure out his friends motivation. Moving forwards to grab Kensuke's arm, Isshiki successfully stopped the third seat from causing anymore ruckus.
Scowling as he felt himself stopped from his task at hand, Kensuke zeroed his gaze in on the person whom had interrupted him. Immediately seeing the calm smiling face of Satoshi Isshiki, Kensuke involuntarily flinched; knowing that his friend was too perceptive for his own good. 'He has no doubt noticed my unease'.
"Hey... talk to me Ken? What's the matter?" Almost going flat out hyperventilating, Kensuke somehow managed to pull himself together and look Isshiki in the eyes. "Where are the documents relating to the Kyokusei dormitory?" He asked, pointedly avoiding his friends question trying to spare him any involvement. "Huh? What do you want with the Kyokusei documents?" Issiki asked with perplexed caution. "Azami didn't ask you to collect them for him did he! Ken please tell me, what's the matter?"
Realising that he was at an impasse, Kensuke explained that Eizan had expedited the eviction of Kyokusei dorm, which would see Megumil loose her campus home. "I'm looking for the founding deeds that signed over land from Tōtsuki to the first of Kyokusei's residents nearly ninety years ago. If the land is truly independent, then Eizan has no right to evict Megumi and her friends. Subsequently, Central will have no right to intercede in Kyokusei's affaires".
Isshiki stood and stared, in complete silence at Kensuke's plan, before he shook himself out of his stupor and ran a hand across his face. "Whilst I don't know where the deeds would be... if they are true then Kyokusei's future would not be Tōtsuki's concern". Before he could ask Ken anymore questions, he became aware of the sound of rustling papers and the scent of aged books, blinking at the speed that Ken had moved around him to begin riffling through a large and tall book cabinet, Isshiki felt himself smile.
Tucking his papers into the inside pocket of his school blazer, Isshiki made his way over towards his fellow second year council seat and assisted him in looking for the Kyokusei deeds. Just as he was about to suggest that Kensuke should give up, and instead rely on an eviction revocation from Sōma's soon to be inevitable victory over Eizan, Isshiki heard the sound of a heavy bound document slammed down on a table.
Spinning around, the seventh seat had to grab onto the back a nearby seat to keep himself upright as he widened his eyes, with joy, upon seeing the words:
'Ownershipa of Land and Building; as well as all Legal rights of Kyokusei - signed over from Tōtsuki Academy's Director, Ieyasu Nakiri to Mister Anzai Ito', dated 1872
Before he could even express his gratitude and happiness, Isshiki had to jump out of the way as Kensuke barrelled past him clutching the book; out of the room, the corridor and then the building. With a groan, the seventh seat hurried after his friend, in all but name, trying it catch up with him so he could back him up whenever he was going.