At another place, far away from Toutsuki Academy

- Kyoto –

Kyusei High School, Headmaster's Room

"It has been years since we participated in the Kanto Traditional Cuisine Festival. You want to join it this year, Yuu?"

An old man around 70 years old asked when he examined the registration paper in front of him. He asked the one who proposed such a thing, a young man in his school uniform - a white-and-black shirt that is vertically striped with the top button undone, a loose maroon tie and black sleeveless cardigan alongside a pair of red - black plaid pants. He has a youthful, handsome face with a pair violet colored eyes with long lashes shadowed it. His handsome face got framed with chin-length yellowish platinum light blonde hair, except for some locks at the rear of his head that extend pass his waist. That male student already accompanied him in his office room since an hour ago, helping him in arranging several paperwork.

"Yes, Headmaster Kikuchi." That young man answered calmly.

"What's your intention?"

The young man was taken aback by that sudden question. The old headmaster still looked at him, with sharp gaze which will sent a shiver but not that young man. "Just having fun, nothing else." That young man answered with his smile.

A soft sigh came out from the old headmaster once he heard a ridiculous answer from his own grandson. He gave the said registration paper to the younger one after he put his stamp on it. "Make sure to bring back something else than your 'having fun' thing, Yuu."

The young man - Kikuchi Yuu - eyed the registration paper then looked back at his grandfather. "I will consider it, Jii-sama. Then, excuse me." Yuu bowed respectfully to the old headmaster then headed out of the room.

Once he got out of the room, Yuu folded the registration paper and put it inside his pants pocket. He walked slowly through the long, quiet corridor in Kyusei High School building that late afternoon. The spring wind blew his hair. He took something from his left pocket. A coffee candy. He put it inside his mouth as he stopped for a while. His violet colored eyes caught an interesting scene a bit far away from his current place. A pair of boy and girl, stood face to face under a big sakura tree. Both the teenage got shy to each other, the girl kept her sight on the ground. While the boy occasionally looked at the girl then to his surroundings, he seemed has a difficulty to speak out his feeling.

"What a youthful scene..." He muttered as he decided to continue his journey. Instead of taking a left turn, Yuu was walking straight to the stairs which led to the rooftop. Chilly wind swept his face soon after he opened the rooftop door. He walked to the iron fence and looked at the vast landscape of Kyusei High School from there. Almost all the classrooms had empty, it left only several students who spent their short free time in the practice room or club room. Yuu got another coffee candy as the previous one has finished. He ignored the continuous ring of his phone's notifications. It was when his phone got a call that made Yuu took out this phone from his pocket. His little sister called him, but he just eyed the screen without having any intention to answer the call. Thirty seconds after that, the call ended before it started, the phone got silent.

"Are you really too lazy to answer the phone call from your cute little sister, Yuu?"

The one who got reprimanded didn't turn around just to face the other one who just arrived there. Ishii Mutsuki, a third year student just like Kikuchi Yuu, but took different major. He has be friend with the violet eyed boy since middle school, and he's always got his temper shortened by Yuu's careless deeds.

"You've known how annoying she would be when I answer the call. She never let me rest..."

"Ah... is that so?" Mutsuki replied as he walked toward Yuu's place. His ash grey eyes looked at the empty vast yard down there from the rooftop. "As long as I know, there is one person whom more annoying than that cute Akari." He sent a short look at Yuu from the corner of his eye. But, the other party didn't catch his intention and just acted like his usual self. "Anyway, let's get back to the student council room. We still have so many things to deal with."

Mutsuki dragged Yuu by his hand, as the latter must didn't want to go back by his own will. It took them about five minutes till the two arrived at the student council's room. All the attention inside that room got shifted when the door got opened and revealed the two highest ranked members of Kyusei's student council. Kikuchi Yuu, the president of Kyusei's student council, and Ishii Mutsuki, the vice president.

"How long you wanted us to wait for you, baka Yuu?!"

The petite girl threw her anger soon after her aqua blue eyes caught her half-brother's figure. She is Kikuchi Akari, the secretary of Kyusei's student council. The one who got asked didn't answer as he walked toward the other secretary girl. Yuu took out the folded registration paper from his pocket and handed it to the sophomore female student with glasses.

"You may send it to the festival's committee, Makoto." Yuu said calmly then headed to his work desk.

The girl - Hanazawa Makoto - who got the paper soon worked fast as she placed the said paper into an envelope then wrote something on it before she got up from her chair and asked for permission to go to the post service.

"Oh~ our Makoto is really reliable. Yuu-kun, instead of letting her work under Akari-chan, can you let me have her under my division?" Another female member of student council. Kondou Aki, the treasurer. It wasn't her first time asking that request to the student council's president, but she hasn't tired of doing the same thing over and over again. That request, of course got nothing from the president as he was so uninterested in that kind of unnecessary thing. But, that request made the hot pink haired treasurer got chilly glare from the other two members of student council. They were Kikuchi Akari, Makoto's teammate, and Kikuchi Kazuo, another treasurer.

"Of course I won't expel you from this division, Kazuo-kun. You're undoubtedly reliable too, but getting more member will bring our work got easier, right?" Aki told her reason to her team member, the younger Kikuchi boy who has got his attention back on the accounting papers on his desk.

"Whatever you say, Kondo senpai."

Mutsuki who watched the whole scene in silent just sighed. He has got enough about Kikuchi Yuu's careless deeds, and the thing that got his patient run out faster than usual was the other student council members who have the similar traits of the president himself. Why he has to be stuck between those strange figures?

"Yuu, what will you do with that Kanto festival? You barely asked Makoto to send the registration paper. The festival just a week away from now, and you haven't formed the team for that event. Seriously, are you sure thinking about that issue?"

"Of course I am. If not, I won't got stuck in the headmaster's room for damn an hour just to ask him to give his stamp over that registration paper." Yuu answered leisurely as he leaned on his chair, closed his eyes while savoring his favorite coffee candy. "You have got the place and time for the meeting, Akari?" Yuu asked the secretary girl, brought another topic of conversation.

"Yes." Akari answered shortly then walked toward Yuu's desk. She placed a board which a paper got attached on it. Yuu took it then read the paper swiftly.

"Good. Make sure you informed it to them." Yuu gave the board back to Akari.

"I will, then excuse me." Akari got back to her work desk to take several paperwork then placed it on Yuu's desk with a loud thud. "Make sure you have signed all of this documents once I got back here."

The student council room got quiet in strange way as the two secretary girls has gone into their own business, the two treasurers got engrossed in their accounting documents, while the president started examining and signing the documents lied on his desk.

"It seems that you've had a plan about that festival thing, Yuu." Mutsuki broke the silence but his attention was on the document in his hand.

"Not really." Yuu answered without looked at the one whom asked as his eyes focused on reading the document. "Moreover, it's not my idea to begin with." Yuu added as his right hand signed one document to other, and his eyes did the scanning document role.

"But, to think that you've worked up to something which isn't come from your own will, it's really strange, Yuu-nii-sama." Kazuo put down his glasses as well as his pen then looked at the over busy student council's president. Mutsuki who were selecting his paperwork nodded, he agreed at Kazuo's words.

Yuu placed the document which once in his hand to the desk and gave both Mutsuki and Kazuo a death glare, asked for the two to drop the topic and focused on their own business. Those simple act was succeed in making both Mutsuki and Kazuo got back in their work. While Yuu himself, he took a short break as he leaned on his chair and closed his eyes. His mind drifted to old memory.


(Flashback)

3 years ago...

95th National Pastry Chef Competition – Junior Division

"Oh, he is here."

"You're right."

"Is he took a wrong course? He should be in the traditional dish competition, isn't he?"

Yuu who has positioned himself in his workstation can't helped but sigh as he heard those murmurs kept buzzing like a broken record in his ears. His inner self wondered why such annoying teen chefs like them participated in the contest, they talked about others so lightly as if they have known the other party so well. The one who cause those murmurs was unfortunately got his workstation placed next to Yuu's. Yuu's violet colored eyes took a short look on the boy in traditional Japanese chef uniform, then he eyed his own white chef uniform. Maybe, if I dressed like I used to, they will talked about me like they talked about him?

"Oh, it seems today I was lucky."

Yuu looked at the boy next to his workstation. The boy looked back at him with his face adorned with smile. Despite those murmurs, he looked like unperturbed at all. The boy's red eyes gleamed as if he has seen a rarest thing in the world.

"I'll definitely won over you." That boy spoke again with his forefinger pointed to Yuu, which made Yuu had a questioning look on his face. He tried to remember if he has met that boy with short green tosca colored hair. But, he have no memory about him.

"Have we met before?"

"This is our first encounter. And, through this competition, I will show to them that the number one Japanese sweets chef is me – Kimura Haruki. So, I will won over you, Kikuchi Yuu!"

All the murmurs which previously talked about the boy whom no other than Kimura Haruki were dead down. The rest participant in that hall got their focus on the two teen Japanese sweets chefs. Unlike Kimura Haruki who has well-known about his ability, Kikuchi Yuu was a different story. Even though he has won countless pastry chef competitions, he kept his whereabouts in secret. People only knew his name, his specialty, no less no more. Even his picture was hard to be found.

"Kimura Haruki, huh?" Yuu mumbled those name as he remembered something related to that name. Yuu has heard about the youngest son of Kimura House in Tokyo whom took Japanese sweets as his specialty. Yuu himself, has long curious about the said Kimura Haruki – the one who has titled as the rarest jewel in between traditional Japanese cuisine chefs, also... the closest person to his long desired girl. "I will remember your name." Yuu talked back as he faced Haruki properly, a small smirk on his lips when he decided to challenge the latter. "Let's see, if your words became true."

The competition that day has ended, with two Japanese sweets chefs as the winner of the top two spot. The second place was captured by Kimura Haruki, and the first place was owned by Kikuchi Yuu. It was when Yuu was about to get out of the hall, Haruki's voice stopped his step.

"Next time, I will won over you." Yuu looked at Haruki who sent a sharp gaze toward him as he gripped his silver medal.

Yuu didn't reply immediately as he just stood still in his place while his eyes bored to the boy a year younger than him. During the competition earlier, he has taken a short observation toward Haruki. The younger one has unique color in expressing Japanese sweets itself, put so much creativities in his dish. "How about you join our school? With those talent, you'll improved more there also... we can have match whenever you want." Yuu spoke out his opinion, offered not a bad idea.

"Kyusei, huh? I'm glad to get your offer but I have to reject it. I've had my own place in Toutsuki. Also, I have a wish which is only will come true by being a Toutsuki student."

Yuu widened his eyes a bit as he heard that confident words. Such a frightening kid, he thought. Then, with a small smile, Yuu bid his goodbye. "Then, let's meet again, in our next competition."

(Flashback End)


A loud knock on the desk brough Yuu back from his reverie. He looked at the one who has disturbed him and it was no other than his little sister, Kikuchi Akari.

"They have agreed to participate in that festival." Akari announced as she gave the president her agenda book. "They ask for your time tomorrow to discuss about the menu and stand decoration." She added.

Yuu read at the page which got opened in that agenda book in silent. "You chose those time because you've known about my schedule tomorrow, right?" Yuu gave the book back to its owner.

"Of course. That is the only free slot in your schedule tomorrow. You're... mind with it?"

Yuu hated it, when he heard his sister used her threatening tone, asked whoever heard it to comply with her words. "Of course not. Good work." The younger Kikuchi girl soon retreated from that place then went to her own desk. Yuu immediately straightened his posture as he wanted to finish all his paperwork sooner so he will get to rest sooner too. Between his focus on the documents in front of him, he remembered his old promise again. A promise to have a match with that Kimura guy. "I don't know if he still remembered that or not."