Shokugeki no Sōma: Nashi Saito de Chīfu

by Gale-Dragon

Ever since he picked up a kitchen knife at age three, Sōma knew he wanted to be a chef. For twelve years, he cooked in the kitchen of his family diner. But he doesn't cook like you or me. No, he has his own cooking style, and that style will change the world of cooking forever. After all, Sōma's blind.

7. 7: Hell Camp pt 3

Gale-Dragon: Hello everyone. Chapter 7 is up and ready to be read.

~}i{~

"Talking"

'Thinking'

(Author commenting)

~}i{~

Shokugeki no Sōma Nashi Saito de Chīfu. Chapter 7; Hell Camp pt 3

~}i{~

Sōma was standing in the middle of the gigantic room, that he was told was the Grand Ballroom by Erina, tapping his right index finger on top of his left hand that was resting on his cane. Waiting for his godfather to come up and speak.

It was strangely quiet. Too quiet.

The only thing Sōma heard was the faint sound of the a/c, that was all.

He didn't hear the footsteps of the other students, he didn't hear any voices of the other students, he didn't hear any of the staff members, he didn't hear anyone rushing in, he didn't hear the voice of his godfather, and he didn't hear any of his friends calling out to him. It was just way too quiet considering that there was supposed to be an announcement for the next assignment.

'Why isn't anyone here for the announcement? Not even my dormmates and Ojisan are here,' Sōma thought to himself, before wondering 'Come to think of it, how long have I been waiting?'

Sōma pulled his phone out of his pocket, hit the main button, and asked the phone "What time is it?" The phone dinged and said, "The time is now 22:11 (10:11 PM)." Upon hearing that, Sōma realized what happened, and snarled out an "I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted her! That lying, rotten, brat of a princess!" He then pressed the button on the phone again and told it "Set a reminder for July 3 at 9:00 (AM), Titled: Bratty Princess' Jobs Will be Bussing Tables and Washing Dishes." The phone dinged again and said, "Reminder has been set for July 3 at 9:00 (AM)."

'Now that that's taken care of,' Sōma thought as he made his way to the same door he came in, then thought 'I just need to find someone who can tell me what the assignment is.'

~}i{~

22:34 (10:34 PM).

All of the kitchens were packed with students, all of whom were preparing for the morning's assignment. More than 80% of them were just now starting to realize one of the true difficulties of this. The self-doubt and the worry, just from the thought of the dish they made just might not being up to par with the challenge. That alone would be enough to keep them up all night.

}{

"I think I'm going to go to sleep," Erina stated, without even the hint of stress or doubt on her face or in her mind, and asked Hisako if she was going to continue practising.

She replied, "Er, yes, I'm still only half-finished."

"Oh, ok, don't stay up too late," The honey blond said with a happy good-night and told her that she'll see her in their shared hotel room. The pinkette smiled and waved the Nakiri off, then thought 'Erina-sama seems to be in a very good mood,' before going back to her prep and thinking 'She must already have the perfect dish for tomorrow.'

}{

In another kitchen, Takumi and Megumi managed to figure out what their dishes will be for tomorrow. Just as they were going to head off for some sleep, Sōma walked into the kitchen with a Sena Hiromi. This, of course, made the Polaris group, Aldini Twins, and the Meat Master happy and relieved. Yuki had the blind redhead in a bear hug, crying out that she was glad her fellow dormmate was alright, as both Ikumi and Takumi shouting at him in unison "WHERE THE HELL WHERE YOU?! YOU MISSED THE ANNOUNCEMENT?!" The two then started glaring at each other.

"S-Sōma-kun! What happened to you? Did you get lost?" Megumi asked as if she was a worried mother.

Getting out of the orangette's grasp, Sōma said: "A certain brat thought it would be amusing to give me bad directions, so I ended up in a different hall during the announcement."

"WHAT?!" All of Sōma's friends/allies shouted at the same time.

"Who the hell would do such a horrible thing?" Ikumi seethed, before adding "I mean, is this person so incompetent at cooking that they would sabotage someone like that?!" Takumi had a sneaking suspicion about who sed person was when he remembered what she said earlier. 'But she's the 10th Seat... Would she do something like misleading a student about a location?' The blond half-Italian thought, not sure if he was liking what he was speculating.

"Ano, anyway," Sena said, getting the group's attention before continuing "Yukihira-san has been told what the assignment is for tomorrow and the student who gave him the bad information will be dealt with appropriately by Chapelle-sensei, personally." This eased the group a bit. That was when Sena asked, "But just to be on the safe side, could one of you stay with Yukihira-san so he can get to his room safely?" Ibusaki Shun volunteered since he and Sōma were roommates. The blind redhead happily thanked the soft-spoken student.

With that Takumi and Megumi retired to their rooms. The blond made sure to tell the blind redhead not to slack off so he can have a challenge for tomorrow, Isami practically shooed his bother out of the kitchen and saying something along the lines of "Okay, Nii-chan, you told him, now go get some sleep."

As the rest of the group worked on their dish, Sōma already had an idea for the dish he wants to make and gathered eggs, butter, tomatoes, garlic cloves, olive oil, red wine, granulated consommé, dried parsley, salt, and pepper onto a tray and brought them to a free workstation. 'Okay, I have all the ingredients I need to make some test dishes,' the blind redhead thought as he placed the tray onto a cooking counter. 'I'll use the advice Andoryū gave me about whipping egg whites,' Sōma thought as he was about to break his first egg.

Suddenly, Sōma smelt a relatively heavy scent of fish and it smelt like it was right in front of his nose. But the fish smell smelt like it was on something that constantly came in contact with fish rather than the fish itself. "Yes, I am actually blind. Now will you stop with the whole waving a hand in front of my face, it's really old," Sōma stated in an unamused tone as the hand in front of his face stopped moving.

Kurokiba Ryō pulled his hand away and asked in a lackadaisical tone "How did you know I was doing that if you're blind?"

"Your hand reeks of fish and I can smell it move from side to side. On that note, I can assume that you specialize in seafood," Sōma answered as he folded his arms, the egg still in hand, then asked/stated, "Please tell me you're doing that because you have an egg dish ready for tomorrow and you were curious to know if I really am blind."

"Ano..." Ryō started to say in his lackadaisical tone when he was interrupted by an albino teen, Alice, who stated in a cheerfully surprised tone "Oh, like, wow! I was wondering if you were, like, faking it for some sympathy or something."

Sōma then said in a snarky sarcastic tone "Gee, you must've been watching every little move I made to come up with a theory like that."

"Aww, come on, like, don't be like that," the albino female teen said in a huffy tone, that mostly sounded like she was only faking that she was mad, and added, "I only wondered that because you don't show that you're blind when you're cooking."

"That's due to practising my cooking every day," Sōma stated as he cracked the egg and separated the whites from the yolk, not even missing the bowls he was using.

Seeing that Sōma wasn't even looking at the bowls as he cracked open another egg, separating the yolk from the egg whites again while not even missing a beat or had any hesitation, Alice waved her right hand in front of the redhead's unseeing eyes. Sōma frowned and stated in an annoyed tone "Seriously? Are you doing that too? We've already established that I'm blind, now you're just doing that just to be annoying."

That did surprise the albino when she said in a shocked tone "Like, how'd you know? My hands don't stink like Ryō-kun."

"Oi," Ryō said lazily, not caring that he'd just been insulted.

Sōma simply said, "Your hands do have a scent." Alice blinked in confusion when he said that as the redhead placed the eggshells into another bowl.

Sōma then suddenly grabbed Alice's wrist (the hand that was still close to his face) with his right hand and pulled her hand close to his nose. Alice blushed red at the sight of the redhead holding her hand so close to his face like that. Ryō just looked on with an unamused look on his face. "I was right, the scent is similar to what Ishi's hands smell like after one of his experiments," Sōma muttered, before telling Alice "Since Totsuki is a cooking school, I can assume your Specialty is Molecular Gastronomy."

Alice froze and her eyes widened. Ryō now actually had a look of shock on his face.

Alice yanked her hand away, still blushing red, and told Ryō that they were heading to their rooms. Sōma took note of this and said: "So the two of you do have your dishes for tomorrow."

"Yeah," Ryō said in his lackadaisical tone.

Sōma smiled happily and said, "Maybe you'll let me try them after the assignment is over." Alice turned even redder before she stormed off. Ryō followed her, via walking. 'A Molecular Gastronomist and a Seafood Specialist... That's certainly an odd duo,' Sōma thought before he continued with making his test dish.

~}i{~

On the morning of Day Four, the previous day, all of the students were randomly assigned to one of the many Dining Halls.

After getting his assigned station, Sōma was getting all of the ingredients for his dish, with the help of Aki and Nabu (the two Assisted Help Staff). Noticing the ingredients that they were getting, Aki asked: "Ano, Yukihira-dono, what are you planning on making for this assignment?"

"A Soufflé Omelette, I figured people would like the fun texture," Sōma said with a smile.

Aki stopped and asked in a surprised tone "A soufflé? For a buffet challenge? Are you serious?"

Sōma stopped, turned an ear to the staff member and asked: "Yes, why?"

Aki and Nabu looked at each other a worried look. They had to tell him the truth, about why soufflés and buffets don't mix.

~}i{~

"I don't believe it," Dōjima stated, rubbing his hand down his face, completely shocked at the recording he'd just watched with Chapelle, who was still wearing a straight face (Talk about having a good Poker Face). "I can understand one of the weaker students doing a stunt like this, but HER?! The Nakiri heir and 10th Seat?! It's just-! I don't know what to say," the hotel head stated in an uncharacteristically befuddled tone. If the hotel security cameras didn't capture the whole thing on tape, no one would ever believe it.

Chapelle re-watched the recording of Erina directing/pushing Sōma towards a Dining Hall, saying it was the Grand Ballroom. "I agree, Dōjima-kun, I agree, but this is solid proof of her sabotaging Yukihira-san. And by Totsuki rules, I must take appropriate actions. It doesn't matter what her social standings are, she is still a student and what she did was NOT acceptable," Chapelle stated, rewinding the recording before playing it again.

Dōjima let out a sad sigh when he said: "I guess the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that she did it without the slightest bit of hesitation." He was telling the truth, while he was displeased that someone would do such a thing to his godson, the fact that there was no guilt or hesitation for the deed is what hit the hotel head the most.

"I can understand how you feel about it," was all Chapelle said as he re-wound the recording again, then hit play.

~}i{~

Erina was completely pissed right now.

Why?

One, she was mad that her cooking station was next to the cooking station Yukihira Sōma was using. Two, she was mad that Yukihira Sōma being here, and knowing what the assignment was. And Three, she was enraged because Yukihira Sōma was completely IGNORING her! All reasons involved the blind redhead.

Erina finally noticed that Sōma and the two Assisted Help were only organizing and placing everything in a particular way, no one was cooking. The assignment was about to begin and the blind redhead didn't have a single plate of food out! With a finger to her chin and a sneer on her face, Erina mocked "Fu, are you really that incompetent that yo-"

"Nabu-san, do you have all the cases of eggs?" Sōma asked, cutting off the honey blond's sentence, thus pissing her off even more.

"Yup," Nabu stated and added, "I have everything set up so it'll be easier to move them when needed."

The blind redhead smiled and said "Good." This was ticking Erina off, even more, she had at least five anger marks visible on her head right now. Sōma turned on four portable burners.

Before Erina could express her obvious anger towards Sōma, Dōjima made his announcement via the tv monitors in all of the Dining Halls. Sōma turned his head up towards the sound, to hear the announcement better.

"Is everyone ready to present your dishes? Good. Now I will explain the conditions for passing. First, Let me introduce the judges!" Dōjima said into a mic. The next thing all of the Totsuki students knew, all the Dining Halls were filled with people, at least 1/3 of them were children. Dōjima continued his explanation "These are the families of the producers who partnered with Totsuki Resort Hotels to provide all of our ingredients. They are courageous enough to serve as our judges for this assignment every year. This year's theme of "Fresh and Surprising Eggs" has already been conveyed to them. We expect they will be the exacting judges they always are."

The majority of the students were just about ready to pass out due to the fear of just seeing all of the older men who were big the food markets. Sōma made no reaction to these people, he just kept his head pointing up so he could hear Dōjima speak over the sudden noise, this simple act was enough to catch a lot of the more experienced judges' attention.

More people walked in as Dōjima announced: "Also joining us as judges today are the steps and service staff of the Tosuki Resort Hotels." everyone easily recognized all of the head staff of the Totsuki Hotels. Well, everyone but Sōma. Dōjima continued with the announcement "Now, there are two requirements for this assignment. First, is whether or not our personal producers and staff find merit in your idea. And second, is having 200 servings of your dish eaten within the next two hours! Those who fulfilled both of these requirements will pass."

Roughly 80% of the students were already mumbling under their breath that the task was impossible, especially after pulling an all-nighter. Takumi, on the other hand, was thinking 'Aah, I get it. Male, female, young and old, servers and farmers… They have completely replicated what a hotel breakfast audience would be like! Out of all the assignment so far, this challenge is the closest to what we would face in the real world.'

"Now then, ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy this breakfast and the fun of the moment…" Dōjima stated before finishing with "Let the Judging Begin!" Then he thought 'Good luck, Sōma.'

With that, the cooking began.

"Yosh! Time to start the show!" Sōma stated with a smirk as he cracked his first egg, separating the yolk from the egg whites into two separate bowls. Aki and Nabu got ready to do their part in this as they thought back to earlier.

}{ Flashback }{

"Really?" Sōma asked in a rather surprised tone.

"Yes," Nabu said before adding "Because of the delicate structure of a soufflé, it'll go flat if it is not eaten within a short period of time after cooking. And at a buffet, customers are free to choose what they want to eat, when they want to eat, and may not choose a certain dish. Thus, why you don't have any type of soufflés at a buffet."

Sōma thought for a moment before saying "But... It's too late for me to change my dish now or experiment on a new dish! I have to use Soufflé Omelette."

That was when Aki said "But... Trying to get the attention of passing customers... That'll be rather difficult for a buffet."

An idea sparked in Sōma's head when, that was when he said with a smirk "Then, why not make it into a show." Nabu and Aki looked at the blind redhead and asked what he meant by that. With that smirk still on his face, Sōma stated: "What's the best way to grab people's interest?"

}{ End Flashback }{

The answer to that question echoed through the Assisted Help staffs' head: "Doing something big to catch their attention! Like a show!"

Sōma then flipped two Soufflé Omelettes high into the air from two of the four burners he was using.

Aki and Nabu were ready, each had a plate in each of their hand and their eyes on the flying omelettes. Aki caught them on his plates, just as Sōma flipped the next two into the air. As Aki placed his plates on the tray, Nabu caught the next two with his plates. As Nabu put his plates on the tray, Aki grabbed two more plates as Sōma started filling the pans with the raw omelettes. The Soufflé Omelettes that were on the tray were still bouncing from the impact, but they still retained their omelette form.

"Woah! Did you see that?!" a boy around 7 or 8 said, pointing at Sōma's station. "Yeah, that was super cool!" another boy around the same age said. Then a girl the same age as her male companions stated "Whoa! It looks and smells yummy!" Children started gathering around Sōma's cooking station, to watch the redhead show-off his cooking skills and waited for the dishes to be served.

Sōma's plan was working!

Once the tray was filled with plates, Nabu placed the tray in front of the children, all of whom took a plate and took a bite of the fluffy, jiggling, and yummy omelette. All of them then expressed complete and utter delight from the fun and delicious dish.

Erina only glanced at this, scoffed, and thought 'So what if he gets the children, he'll never pass with something as pathetic as an omelette.' She then turned her complete attention to cooking her perfectly delicious Egg Benedict, at least, that was her opinion.

}{ 1 Hour and 30 Minute Remaining for the Assignment }{

Takumi and Megumi were doing well and already had a couple of stacks of used plates piling up. The half-Italian's Instalata Frittata was a big hit with the young ladies, while the country girl's Bite-Sized Breakfast Stew did surprisingly well with the older customers. Although, Megumi did get a proposal to marry the grandson of Kyusaku, the natural cheese producer.

Ikumi's Petite Loco Moco Don got a lot of attention early on, mostly because of the oddity of it being served at a buffet. Although, the Meat Master did have an annoyingly unpleasant run-in with Alice, but Ikumi brushed it off, especially when she saw what the albino was serving. 'I see hardboiled eggs, eggs still in their shell, and bowls of raw eggs... Does she call that 'Cooking'? Nobody's going near her stuff, either,' Ikumi thought as she looked over the trays of food at Alice's cooking station as people passed it by. Then the Meat Master wondered 'What the hell is she thinking?'

As Erina was loading a tray of her "Royal" Egg Benedicts, she saw a line of people around the corner of her station. With a gloating smile, the honey blond thought 'Of course there would be a line for MY cooking. Let's see... After this round of trays, I should reach 200 dish mark.' Once the tray was full, Erina picked up the tray and thought 'Don't worry, my dear customers, you shall have more of my wonderful cooking.'

Erina turned with the tray in hand, so she could put it on the counter. But what she saw nearly caused her to drop her tray. Nearly all of the plates she had laid out for the customers to take were still there, only about six or seven of Erina's plates have been eaten. Erina put down the tray she was holding and rushed to the counters, to see if she was seeing things.

She wasn't.

'Why?! Why aren't they eating my dishes? I cooked these to absolute perfection... How come no one is taking any of them?' Erina thought, placing both of her hands onto the counter, staring at her Eggs Benedict. 'They're perfect in every single way... so why?' Erina thought, trying to figure out if there was some outside force preventing people from wanting her "perfect" dish.

The speakers dinged on and announced "Yukihira Sōma, 200 Servings Complete!"

Erina's shocked eyes snapped to the cooking station next to hers. It was bustling and booming with people. Customers of all ages and demographics were happily enjoying the Soufflé Omelettes that Sōma made, as the blind chef kept up the amazing show.

Erina couldn't believe it! Yukihira Sōma... He... He reached the 200 Servings mark before her!

How? How?! And with an Omelette!

The majority of the students were surprised to hear the name of the blind student being the first to complete the challenge. But to the students who knew better, they were really happy to hear that Sōma wasn't having any problems anymore. Takumi then shouted at the speaker that he fell behind this time but will win next time, Isami sighed when he heard this. Dōjima couldn't be any prouder at the moment, but he had to keep himself from grinning ear to ear though. The Hotel Head had to keep a professional distance after all.

"Oh? Erina wasn't first? That's a total shocker," Alice said, looking up at a nearby monitor. 'Oh? So his name is Yukihira Sōma,' the albino thought as she watched the monitor that showed the blind redhead cooking on it, still putting his cooking abilities on show for everyone to see. "Wow, he's pretty good," Alice had to admit. Placing her left index finger to the side of her chin, the albino continued to watch the screen until the image changed. 'He's also kinda cute too,' Alice thought as a customer took an interest in her odd dish.

}{ 50 Minutes Remaining for the Assignment }{

"Yukihira Sōma, 400 Servings completed!" the speaker system rang out.

Sōma just poured the mixture of beaten egg yolk and the fluffy egg whites into all eight of the burners, the max number he was allowed to use. "Yosh, time to make the next batch," the blind redhead said as he reached out to where the bowl of eggs (that were still in their shells) sat. Reaching in, Sōma realized that he was out of eggs. "Ano, Aki-san, Nabu-san, could you hand me some more eggs?" Sōma asked the two Helpers as he kept an ear to the burners. As soon as they put the jiggling omelettes onto a tray, Aki and Nabu immediately turned to the crate of eggs they acquired before the assignment started, only to realize one thing.

"Yukihira-dono, there are no more eggs for us to use," the two said at the same time.

"Eh?" was all that came out of Sōma's mouth.

After looking around a bit more, Aki and Nabu noted that they were also out of tomatoes. "I guess, I'm done then," Sōma stated before sadly telling his customers that he was closing up and that the remaining Soufflé Omelettes, that haven't been served, will be for his friends. The crowd awwed at that. The children thanked their "Really Cool Nii-san" for all the yummy cool omelettes. Sōma happily waved the children off, thanking them for eating his dish, and telling them to be adventurous and to try some of the other dishes available. The people who still had a plate in their hands finished off whatever was on it and placed the empty plates with the rest of the stacks.

Once the remaining omelette was finished, they were plated and placed on a cart. "Do the two of you mind helping me find my friends? I want them to try my dish and so I can try their dishes," Sōma said happily to the two Assisted Help staff. They nodded happily.

As the trio headed out to find all of Sōma's friends, Erina glared at the blind redhead.

}{ 30 Minutes Remaining for the Assignment }{

With the Assisted Help staff, Sōma was able to find all of his friends, give them a plate of his Soufflé Omelette, and he enjoyed their dishes. Sōma loved that each of his friends were able to create unique dishes with Eggs as the main ingredient. 'This assignment turned out to be great,' Sōma thought cheerfully as he happily ate of Ikumi's Petite Loco Moco Don while she ate his Soufflé Omelette. The white cane was leaning against the outer wall of Ikumi's cooking station.

Sōma then heard the sound of a crowd nearby. "Hm? What's going on over there," the blind redhead asked Ikumi as he pointed his chopsticks towards the sound.

Ikumi turned towards the crowd and said "I haven't the slightest idea... One person tried that girl's dish, and word of it moved through the customers like wildfire."

"So her dish is good, huh," Sōma stated as he placed his now empty bowl on top of the stack of bowls that were piling up. He then picks up his cane and started walking towards the crowd.

"OI! Where are you going?!" Ikumi shouted Sōma, who smiled at the meat master and said "To try her dish, of course. Her cooking must be amazing to get these many people after just one customer." Ikumi blinked a bit before saying "Uh... I guess that's true..."

"Oh, my, I only have enough ingredients for one more plate," Alice said in a tone that showed that she was only faking her astonishment of this fact. She then looked over to the countertop with all the empty trays and towers of plates. "I never expected so many people to enjoy my cooking so much," Alice stated in that same fake astonishment tone. 'Just as I expected~' the albino thought cheerfully.

"Hm? Are there any plates left?"

Alice turned to the person who asked the question, only to see Sōma feeling around one of her trays with his left hand as he held his cane with his right. "Oh? Yukihira-kun?" Alice asked looking at the blind redhead, who replied "Hm? That voice... Oh! You're the Molecular Gastronomist from last night."

The albino got all huffy and said in a childish tone "I have a name, you know!"

"Uh, you didn't exactly introduce yourself last night," Sōma said as he placed his left hand on top of his right hand, that was still resting on his cane.

That was when Alice vocalized "Ah! You're right!"

"I'm Alice," the Albino stated cheerfully, then added "I heard your name over the speakers, Yukihira-kun. You got to 200 servings before Erina. That's super impressive."

"What's so impressive about that? I just used my brain and skills for this assignment. I just happened to the first one who thought of using both," Sōma stated plainly. The blind redhead didn't want to talk about that blond brat of an heiress at the moment.

Alice stared at Sōma for a bit before finally saying "I do have enough ingredients for just one more dish, I can make my Three-Faces-of-an-Egg Breakfast for you."

Sōma blinked his unseeing eyes and asked: "Is it alright for you to?"

"It's fine, it's fine. Besides it be, like, a waste if I just leave these ingredients anyway," Alice said, waved her right hand before she started making her dish.

Sōma tilted his head to the side and thought 'Is she just hyper or something? She just doesn't seem to sit still, or pay attention.'

When Alice was finished with her final dish, she placed it in front of Sōma. The albino picked up one of the three eggs, the one that looked like a raw egg, and told the blind redhead to hold out his hands. Sōma leaned his cane against the counter and took the little bowl with the raw-looking egg. "Just slurp it and chew it," Alice explained cheerfully. Sōma did as he was told.

"Oh! Interesting! You made a Saltwater Gelée (Jelly) layer that lays around Salmon Roe inside gelatin! The rich saltiness of the roe wrapped in the gelatin and the flavour of the gelée, so fun! Andoryū would get a kick out of this texture! But, how'd you incorporate Eggs into this?" Sōma stated/asked Alice, who replied "The word Roe is just a classier term for Fish Eggs, and I made this look like a Raw Egg. The "Yolk" part was filled with the Roe and the "Egg Whites" part was the Saltwater Gelée."

"I get it, so, we were not just limited to eggs from birds for this assignment," Sōma stated before finishing off the "Raw Egg", chuckling at the fun texture and adding "Yup, Andoryū would love this texture, Kon might like this too."

'Andoryū? Kon? Are those friends of his?' Alice wondered as the redhead put the tiny bowl down.

"Next Egg~," Alice said cheerfully as Sōma held out his hands and she gave him the "Hardboiled Egg".

"Hm? This feels similar to a Hardboiled Egg, but it's a little softer," the blind redhead said, then rand his thumb over the flat side of the "Egg" and added, "The yolk part feels creamier too." Sōma then ate the "Hardboiled Egg". After swallowing the "Egg" the blind redhead said with a chuckle "I get it. For this one, you made a white asparagus mousse for the "Egg White" part and the "Yolk" is Hollandaise Sauce made from real egg yolk. You made the sauce from scratch, right?"

"Wow, you can tell?" Alice asked, actually shocked (for real).

"I'm sure you've heard, but when you lose one of your five senses, the others become heightened, to compensate for the sense that has been lost," Sōma explained before saying "Plus, I've had Hollandaise Sause before. It tastes better when it's made from scratch, in my opinion at least."

"I see," was all Alice was able to say right now.

"Last one~, hold on this one's a bit tricky," Alice stated as she carefully picked up the eggshell and stuck a small straw into a small hole in the shell. "Cup your hands, please," the albino told the blind redhead, who complied.

"Hm?" Sōma felt the eggshell and asked, "Ano, how do you eat this?"

"Oops, sorry," Alice stated before adding "You drink it, not eat it. I inserted a straw that you can use." Sōma then brought the eggshell to his face, his lips almost touching the shell, he turned the eggshell until he felt the tiny straw, and then he got the staw into his mouth.

After one sip, Sōma said "A milkshake? Oh! I get it, you removed the inside of this egg and filled it with a milkshake. *Takes another sip*. You made it with milk, eggs, and caramel."

"Right again," Alice stated with a cheerful smile.

"It's delicious, but isn't it a little inconvenient for it to be inside an egg like this?" Sōma asked the albino before adding "Or did you do this to make all three of these to resemble eggs?"

Alice grinned and said, "The later, of course."

"While I do admire the fact that you were creative when it came to this challenge, but isn't it a bit redundant to make all of them look like three different forms of an egg?" Sōma asked before taking another sip of the milkshake.

Alice then stated in a childish huffy tone "Hey, it's MY dish! If I wanna make my dishes look like eggs, then I'll make them look like eggs!"

"And I'm sure they look exactly like forms of eggs, and I'm actually impressed by that," Sōma stated honestly.

This caught Alice off guard.

Sōma continued by saying in a rather happy tone "I mean, you have to have a lot of guts to actually want your amazing tasting food to look ordinary and the ability to make it look exactly how you want to. After all, if you're expecting to eat one thing, but taste the flavour of something unexpected delicious, it adds a hell of an impact on what you're eating."

Alice blinked in amazement, turned a faint shade of pink, and got out an, "Uhh, I guess that is true..."

Sōma finished off the milkshake and said cheerfully "Anyway, I'll see you back at Totsuki, Alice-chan. Say, maybe you can teach me some Molecular Gastronomy and maybe compare recipes during our free time."

Alice blushed and said "Uhh, sure... I guess when neither of us has class."

Sōma then walked off, cane in hand to guide him. Alice's face was still red when this happened.

}{ Assignment: Over }{

Whoever completed the assignment were cheering for joy (everyone in the Polaris Dorm, Ikumi, and the Aldini Twins passed, btw), while whoever did not make the 200 servings mark were pretty much groaning that their lives were over.

A voice suddenly emitted through the speakers "Attention all students who passed the 200 Servings Challenge. Your next assignment will begin in four hours' time. You have free time until then, which you may use to rest."

While the majority of the students who passed started to panic, Erina untied her hair, not at all concerned about this news of an assignment, and thought sourly 'I managed to get 307 servings... But... HE got over 400 servings! What sort of trick did he use to get all of those customers to eat a boring, everyday omelette?' The honey blond was so engrossed in trying to figure out how the blind redhead outdid her (She's overthinking the situation and she didn't bother to get a good look at Sōma's omelette), she didn't even notice Chapelle standing in front of her, with a portable DVD player under his arm.

"Nakiri-san!" Chapelle snapped, in a louder tone then he'd normally use, finally getting the heiress' attention. By now it was just the two of in the hall since everyone raced away to prepare for the next assignment.

Looking up, Erina finally asked "Chapelle-sensei? Is there something I can help you with?"

With a stern look on his face, Chapelle stated: "Yes, you can explain your actions here." The teacher opened the portable DVD player, so that the screen was in front of Erina, and hit the play button.

Erina's eyes widened with fear and the colour drained from her face in pure horror as she watches the recording of her misleading Sōma.

"From what I can tell, this is a clear act of sabotage," Chapelle said sternly as he closed the portable DVD player, and added in that same stern tone "There is no word for me to use that can accurately describe how disappointed I am with you for doing such a thing." Erina still had that look of pure terror on her face when Chapelle stated "While I am not going to expel you or have you completely removed from the Elite Ten for this, you are dangerously close to the first of the two at the moment. For one of your punishments, the official report for this camp is that you underperformed and were barely able to pass all the assignments given and your powers as the 10th Seat will be diminished significantly."

"WHAT?! YOU CAN'T DO THAT?!" Erina shouted, not at all believing what she was hearing.

"I can, and already have," Chapelle stated sternly, before adding equally sternly "The Headmaster has been told of your actions and was emailed this very video, as you can imagine, he was not amused. Right now, your position as the 10th Seat of the Elite Ten is dangling by a very thin, single thread. You are officially on Academic Probation. One more stunt like this and you WILL be removed from your seat and formally expelled."

Erina was utterly mortified by this.

~}i{~ Day 5 of the Cooking Camp, 16:00 (4 PM) ~}i{~

Dōjima started his speech for the (mostly petrified) Totsuki students that passed the 200 servings assignment.

With a microphone in hand, Dōjima said to the students "Before we begin, one thing... At this point in the Camp, 352 students have failed and have been expelled. 628 of the remaining. This may seem harsh to you, but this is a microcosm of the real culinary world. To be a successful chef requires every skill, every ounce of determination you have. You cannot afford to lose your composure and unexpected situations. You must be acquainted with all types of ingredients. Once you become a chef, you must deal with constant pressure, but you must also withstand nights played by doubt and indecision as well as successfully adapt to unforeseen circumstances all while remaining professional. To make a living as a chef is like wandering alone through a storm-driven wasteland. The harder you push yourself the better you become, the more tired your legs grow and the venture your ultimate goal seems. For you know what, some of you may find yourself standing at the apex, having completely lost sight of the way there."

Megumi wondered if there was another meaning behind what Dōjima was saying.

Dōjima closed his eyes for a bit before opening them again and continuing with his speech "But, there is one thing I would ask you not to forget. Here at the Totsuki Institute, you have friends and companions who also choose their footprints on the same wasteland. May that truth brings you hope and encouragement when you finally step out on your own. I sincerely wish you all the very best of luck." These words were able to lift any doubt that some of the students might have had.

With a small, visible smirk on his face, Dōjima then stated "Now then. Let us begin the final assignment for this camp." This nearly caused around 75% of the remaining students to have a panic attack.

The doors leading to another section of the hotel open.

"Welcome!" the staff of the Totsuki Hotel greeted the remaining students as they directed them into a classy looking dining hall.

Every student was completely shocked by this.

Dōjima spoke into the mic, getting their attention, "To all 628 of you who have survived this far, allow me to be the first to congratulate you on passing all the challenges of this cooking camp! Your final assignment is to celebrate your success at the modest dinner party. everyone, please enjoy yourselves!" The students cheered at this, and they got even more excited when they learned that they would be eating a full-course meal prepared by the Totsuki Alumni.

With that, the surviving Totsuki first-year students enjoyed the delicious feast.

~}i{~ The Next Morning ~}i{~

At the moment, the Totsuki students were packing all of their belongings from their hotel rooms.

Sōma and Shun just zipped close their suitcases when they suddenly heard someone singing.

"Woke up with yawn. It's dawning, I'm still alive. Turned on my radio to start up new day. As goddanmed DJ's chattered how to survive. Amazing news got over on the airwave."

Sōma pulled his phone out from his pocket as the singing continued.

"Tonight, Love is rationed. Tonight, Across the nation. Tonight, Love infects worldwide. Almost another day." (1)

Shun then asked the redhead "Did you change your ringtone?"

Sōma replied "No, I have different ringtones for each of the people close to me," as he hit the answer button on his phone.

Shun then asked, "And you've memorized who has which ringtone?"

Sōma answered yes to the question and then said to the person on the other line "Hello? ... Eh? Now? ... But, I have to be on the bus in about 2 hours. ... Really? ... Are you sure? ... Alright, fine, but I have to leave before the buses do, understand? ... At least you know that. ... Okay, see ya."

"Someone you know here?" Shun asked Sōma, who replied "Yeah, and he wants to meet up with me before I head back to Totsuki."

Shun looked at the digital clock on the nightstand and said "Since we're completely packed, and if you bring your suitcase with you, and be at the bus depot before the buses leave... It shouldn't be much of a problem to meet up with this person now. I'll tell the others where you are."

"Thank you, Ibusaki-kun," Sōma said with a smile before he left the shared room with his suitcase rolling behind him.

~}i{~

"Kanpai!" Cheered the staff of the Totsuki Resort as they toasted their glasses.

"Oi, Ojisan," Sōma (resting an arm on his suitcase) stated in a bit of a deadpin tone, before saying "When you said you wanted to congratulate me on passing the camp, I thought you were going to be normal and pat me on the back or tell me how proud you are of me... NOT A FULL BLOWN PARTY!"

Yup, Dōjima Gin was throwing a nice, celebratory party for Sōma for completing the camp. It was being held in a hall on the other side of the hotel, so the other students wouldn't find them by accident. Dōjima patted the redhead on the back and said happily "Oh, come on, am I not allowed to throw a celebratory party for my godson, who might I add, passed this camp with ease."

Sōma sighed and wondered 'How is this guy our godfather again?'

"I knew something was up."

Sōma blinked and thought he recognized that voice. 'But whose voice is it?' the blind redhead wondered. That was when he heard his godfather say "Now, now, Shinomiya-kun, no need to get angry." Sōma turned to Dōjima's voice and said "Shinomiya-senpai?"

Right now, Shinomiya was glaring daggers at Dōjima when he hissed out "I should have known that you planned that Shokugeki. And you used your godkid!?"

Dōjima waved his hands in a defensive matter and said: "Now, now, Shinomiya-kun, that was for your own good!"

"Ojisan, is right, senpai," Sōma said as he stood next to his godfather, and added, "If you hadn't gone up against Megumi-chan and I, what would've happened to your cooking?" Shinomiya went silent. The blind redhead then said, "There was no denying that the Chou Farci you made was delicious, but there was also no denying that it felt that it wasn't made to the best of your abilities."

Shinomiya eyed the floor. He knew the blind redhead was right.

"By the way, wouldn't it be a conflict of interest if the godkid of one of the main overseers for the camp is attending sed camp?" Shinomiya asked with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Ojisan is very professional, he would never interfere unless something serious arises," Sōma stated before adding seriously "The only times I was with Ojisan was when we met in the Hot Springs completely by coincident after the 50 servings challenge, when he came to my room with the 'Lure you into a Shokugeki' plan, during the meet for Shokugeki, and during the Shokugeki itself. That was it. And I'm sure you've noticed that Ojisan kept a professional distance from me."

Shinomiya raised a brow and asked, "How'd you know that?"

"Aki-san and Nabu-san noticed you in the corners or by the doors from time to time. I distinctly remember them wondering out loud if you had too much free time on your hands," Sōma explained with a chuckle. Shinomiya flushed pink with embarrassment.

"Oh? You were watching my godson, huh," Dōjima asked Shinomiya in a teasing manner.

With a face redder than a tomato, Shinomiya snapped "I wasn't! I just happen to walk into the rooms where he was in!"

Dōjima continued with his teasing "Oh? Are you sure about that?" With an even redder face, Shinomiya snapped that he was sure.

Sōma sighed and thought 'This is one reason why I have a hard time taking Ojisan seriously when he's not in his Professional Mode.'

Shinomiya looked at a wall clock and said "Crap!"

Someone suddenly grabbed Sōma's right wrist and snapped "We need to get to the bus lot, NOW!"

"Senpai?" was all Sōma got out before Shinomiya started pulling him out of the hall, both with their wheeled luggage in their free hands.

"The buses are about to leave!" Shinomiya shouted as soon as the turned out of the hall.

"Oh? Now he worries about Sōma," Dojima said with a thoughtful look on his face before saying "My, my, Sōma, you certainly know how to attract interesting people to you." The hotel head couldn't help but smile and wonder how Jōichirō would react to this.

~}i{~

By the time Shinomiya dragged Sōma to the bus lot, all of the buses were gone.

The French chef cursed under his breath. "Judging by how quiet this place is and by your reaction, the buses are gone, aren't they?" Sōma asked keeping his grip on his suitcase.

"Yeah, now neither of have any transportation," Shinomiya stated in a frustrated tone.

Sōma thought for a bit before saying "We can ask Ojisan if he can lend us a hand and give us a ride to our destinations. I'm sure he wouldn't mind, especially since the camp is over." Shinomiya reluctantly agreed to that. "Speaking of hands," Sōma stated, pulling his right arm a bit (that was still being held by the French chef), and adding "You can let go of me now." After noticing that he was still holding the blind redhead's wrist, Shinomiya turned pink, released his grip, and softly apologized. Sōma then said, "Well, better head back inside."

The two suddenly heard a squeak and turned to the sound.

Nakiri Erina was surprised to see the famous Japanese chef that specializes in French cooking and the blind chef of Totsuki standing in front of her.

"Who's there?" Sōma asked Shinomiya, who replied while looking at Erina "I think she's one of the Nakiri kids."

"Nakiri... Wait, One of? You mean more than one Nakiri is attending Totsuki?" the blind redhead asked the French chef, who replied "Only two that I'm aware of. Cousins, I think."

Sōma was quiet for a bit before saying loud enough for Erina to hear "Oi, brat of a princess, is that you?"

The honey blond turned red and shouted: "Will you quit with that awful nickname!" Sōma sighed and stated "Damn, it is her. I was hoping it might have been the other Nakiri."

Shinomiya blinked before wondering 'Did something happen between these two?'

Someone ran up to Erina, saying something along the lines of arrangements being made for a car for her to use, but only one car was available. The attendant noticed the two redheads and asked: "Oh, did they miss the bus too?"

~}i{~

During the first two minutes of the limo ride, one thing that was as obvious as the Midnight Sun of Alaska was the tension between Sōma and Erina. Shinomiya was currently sitting between the two Totsuki students in the back seat of the limo. The last time the French chef felt such tension was when someone spiked everyone's soup dishes during one of Chapelle-sensei's classes. The Shinomiya clearly remembers that furious aura.

'Something nasty must have happened between them,' Shinomiya thought as he watches Sōma take out a pair of headphones and an mp3 player from his suitcase (that he insisted stay by his side). The blind redhead put the headphones on and hit the play button on the mp3 player. Sōma just sat in his seat, listening to whatever was playing. From what Shinomiya was able to hear, it wasn't music.

"Shinomiya-san, will you be able to attend the Fall Classic?" Erina asked the Totsuki graduate.

Shinomiya eyed the honey blond and said: "No, I already have a lot of things to do at my restaurant back in France."

Erina then said, "That's too bad, the Fall Classics bring out the best dishes in the first-years."

"I know that," Shinomiya stated plainly before adding while crossing his legs "I was selected for it during my first year."

"I'm sure you were, and I'm sure you placed in the top 3," Erina said as she flipped her hair and added "After all, the Fall Classics are the best way to-"

"Make a rough guess for a selection for the next Elite Ten," Sōma interrupted the blond. This immediately got Erina and Shinimiya's attention.

Sōma paused whatever he was listening to and said "The Fall Classics show the skills of the selected students. Who's cooking needs work, and who's skills stands above the rest of the first-years."

Shinomiya blinked before thinking 'I guess it's to be expected of Dojima's godson to know these things.'

"How the hell do you know that?!" Erina practically snapped.

"This really interesting thing called "Reading", I'm sure you've heard of it," Sōma stated coldly, then added coldly "I read the student handbook, obviously."

Erina then shouted "How the hell can you even read?! You're blind?!"

Sōma scoffed and said coldly "Shows what you know Bratty Princess."

"What did you just call me?!" Erina snapped angrily.

Sōma sighed and said coldly "Maybe if you stopped shouting so much, you would hear a lot better." "Why You!" Erina growled out.

Shinomiya raised a brow at the sudden change of behaviour with the heiress and the interaction between the two students. 'Something did happen...' the French chef thought, before suddenly remembering that Chapelle-sensei mentioned something in passing about being disappointed with the actions of one of his most promising students. After a little thinking about what was said by Chapelle back then, Sōma's actions now, what the Nakiri heiress was just saying, and the layout of the hotel, Shinomiya concluded. A conclusion that was pretty close to what happened. The French chef then thought 'While I admit I wasn't the nicest person to Yukihira-kun at the beginning, but there is no way in hell I would ever do something like that to him.'

Shinomiya gave an audible chough and said told Erina "Actually, you are doing a lot of shouting and considering that we are in an enclosed space, you are pretty loud. So can you please stop before I become deaf." Erina flushed red in embarrassment and quickly turned her head to the window with her face still red.

Shinomiya then turned to Sōma and said: "I didn't know the Totsuki Student Handbook came in braille."

"Oh, I guess you were in France when it happened three years ago," the blind redhead said before adding "Japan's National Education Board passed a law that all schools must have their student handbooks available to all students, including students with a disability (2)."

"So, Totsuki made a braille variation of their student handbook. Wouldn't an audiobook be easier?" Shinomiya asked with a raised brow.

Sōma shrugged and said, "I'm not sure why Totsuki went with braille, but all I know that there was an either-or choice between audio and braille for every school in Japan."

The French chef muttered an "I see."

Erina wasn't listening to the conversation, instead, she was thinking about how she was being told by a Totsuki graduate that she was acting inappropriately. 'How unbecoming of a Nakiri, and it's all His fault,' Erina thought bitterly.

"Eh, really?" Erina heard Shinomiya say. The honey blond turned to the two.

"Yeah, Midori's an expert when it comes to that," Sōma said with a smile.

Shinomiya chuckled before saying "Sounds like someone I should meet."

The blind redhead laughed and said, "I'm giving you the heads up, she's already married."

"Oi, Oi! That's not what I meant!" the French chef said with slight tinting of pink on his cheeks.

Sōma laughed and said, "I know, but people usually start flirting with her the moment they meet her."

"Ah, that explains the warning," Shinomiya said in a thoughtful tone as he placed the second knuckle of his right index finger on his chin.

'Is he trying to say that this Midori person is beautiful or something?' Erina thought with a raised brow.

"Besides, I don't want you to get caught up in one of Midori's mind games," Sōma said with a chuckle before adding "She just loves to make those people feel stupid. It's a really bad habit of hers and I'm glad Kon didn't inherit that from her."

Shinomiya just blinked and Erina raised an eyebrow.

Hearing that no one was talking, Sōma hit the play button on the mp3 player and the limo continued on its way.

~}i{~ Later ~}i{~

The limo dropped off both Erina and Sōma close to where all of the buses were parked. Shinomiya leaned over to look at Sōma and said: "Try to stay out of trouble if you can help it."

Sōma chuckled and said "No guarantees, but things happen." A glare of light hit the French chef's glasses as a smirk crossed his face. Erina saw this and wondered what they were talking about.

The limo drove off, towards its next destination.

Sōma started walking towards the sounds of his fellow first-year students when he heard Erina asked him what the French chef meant by what he said. "My, my, you aren't a good listener, are you," Sōma said as he continued walking, not caring if the honey blond followed him or not.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Erina asked in a peeved tone as she followed him.

Sōma sighed and said, "If you're asking that then you do need to improve your listening skills and you might as well re-read the Totsuki Student Handbook about Student Courtesy while you're at it."

Erina froze at that. She knew exactly what he was implying.

"YUKIHIRA!"

"Ah! Hello, Takumi-kun," Sōma said rather casually when he heard the voice. The blond half-Italian rushed to Sōma, grabbed the blind redhead by the collar, and practically shouted "WHERE THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?! YOU MISSED THE BUS!"

Sōma cringed at the volume, then said: "Ojisan held me up long enough to make me miss the bus."

"Hm?" Takumi blinked and asked, "Your uncle came to visit you after the camp?"

Sōma chuckled, as he got out of the half-Japanese's grip, and said: "No, actually, he's my godfather, but I call him Ojisan because he's the same age as my Pops."

"So he held you up..." Isami said as he stood next to his twin brother. Sōma nodded at that and said, "He's can be a bit, ano, excentric sometimes."

Yuki managed to catch Sōma in a bearhug again, saying something along the lines of her and the rest of the Polaris Dorm being worried about Sōma's disappearance, again. The blind redhead and the rest of the Polaris residents did their best to calm down the hyperactive orangette. It didn't take too long for her to calm down.

"I'm here now, so no worries," Sōma said with a smile. everyone in the Polaris Dorm agreed and then Shun said: "Everyone from the dorm has passed, so there's no more reason to worry."

"He's right," Megumi said in relief before adding "We're all here and everyone is alright."

Ryōko then added, "Daimidō-san called while we were on the bus and said there's going to be an amazing congratulation feast when we get back to the dorm."

Yuki's face lit up when she said "Eh?! Really?!" Daigo and Shōji happily cheered at that.

Erina just watched the scene unfold before her, not sure how to process what was happening. These fellow first-year students seemed more interested in everyone from the Polaris Dorm being together then why Sōma missed the bus. It was just plain strange to Erina.

"Yahoo~ Hoo~, Yukihira-ku~n!" a cheery voice called out to the group.

While everyone turned their heads to the voice, Sōma turned an ear to the voice.

"Alice! What are you doing here?" Erina asked in complete shock when she saw the albino girl and a lackadaisical Kurokiba Ryō.

"Alice-chan?" Sōma muttered before asking "The Alice-chan who made the Three-Faces-of-an-Egg?"

"Bi~n~go~," the Albino said cheerfully as she held out her index finger, waging it side to side with each syllable.

"Instead of talking about faces of eggs, you answer my question Alice, what are you doing here?" Erina snapped in an annoyed tone.

"There's no need to tell you anything, Er~i~na," the albino stated in a childishly teasing manner.

"Ano, do the two of you know each other?" Isami asked the honey blond and the albino when he realized neither of them was using any honorifics (3) when addressing one another.

Alice puffed her cheeks and said in a childish tone "Unfortionally, we're cousins."

'Oh, Shinomiya-senpai did mention that the two Nakiris were cousins, but I didn't think Alice-chan was the other Nakiri. But it does somewhat explain Alice-chan's connection to Molecular Gastronomy,' Sōma thought, remembering how Molecular Gastronomy works and some of the big names in sed field.

"Ano... Miss Alice, didn't you come here for something? Besides irritating her," Ryō asked Alice his usually lackadaisical tone, not caring much for the later comment.

"Ah! You're right," the albino stated in a very childish tone and manner, before pretending to think about what she wanted to say.

The only thing Ryō did was sigh and think 'You'd think she would act more mature by now.'

"Oi, Ryō-kun," Sōma said, getting the raven-haired teen's attention before asking "Is Alice-chan always like this?"

But before Ryō could even reply, Erina said in her Higher-Then-Thou tone "She's always been the overdramatic and annoying type."

Sōma frowned and stated in an annoyed tone "I'm not sure if you heard, but I asked Ryō-kun about Alice-chan. Your first name is Erina if I recall correctly."

Erina glared at Sōma and snapped "She's My annoying cousin."

That was when Sōma stated, "That may be true, but you don't seem to be close to her, despite not using honorifics with each other. Ryō-kun has known Alice-chan longer, so he would be the real person to ask when asking about Alice-chan."

Ryō-kun looked at Sōma and asked in a shocked tone, not his usual lackadaisical tone, "How'd you know I knew Miss Alice longer than her?"

"Because of a lack of behaviours from both you and the Bratty Princess," Sōma replied.

"Lack of behaviours?" Ryō-kun asked as Alice giggles at the nickname the blind redhead had given her cousin. The rest of the group had a confused look on their faces when they thought 'Doesn't Sōma-kun usually refer to Erina as Princess?' That made them wonder.

Erina was still pretty pissed about sed nickname and snapped "I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT! YOU! YOU DISABLED SECOND-RATE CHEF!" A lot of other students started gathering when they heard the honey blond shouting.

"OI! You have absolutely no right to call my future husband such degrading names!" Alice stated in an angry tone (not her usual childish pretend anger tone).

Everyone went deathly quiet at that very moment. And everyone had their widened eyes on the albino, save for Sōma who was wondering if he heard correctly.

Erina then stuttered out with an utterly shocked look on her face "W-w-w-w-w-what th-th-the h-h-hell d-d-did you j-j-just s-s-say?!"

Alice puffed her cheeks angrily and said: "You heard me." The Albino then walked up to Sōma, her footsteps were audible to everyone, and wrapped her arms around the blind redhead's right arm. Sōma was pulled off-balanced for just a moment before he catches himself with the cane in his left hand. Alice then said for all to hear "Yukihira Sōma will be supporting me as my husband when I become Head of the Narikiri Family."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Everyone in the immediate area practically shouted at the same time.

Sōma's eyebrow twitched as his face was distorted in pure shock when he thought 'What the hell?!'

~}i{~

To be Continued...

~}i{~

Omake: Summer Job for the "7 Elite Seats". (This is still a work in progress title, and is open for suggestions)

}i{ July 3; Summer Job Day 2 }i{

8:53 (AM) at Shokujidokoro Yukihira...

Nikiri Erina, Eizan Etsuya, Kinokuni Nene, Saitou Somei, Akanegakubo Momo, Kobayashi Rindou, and Tsukasa Eishi just walked into the diner, all in their uniforms for sed diner (the uniforms that aren't Spiked btw).

"Sorry, We're not open yet. But please come back at 10:00 (AM) and we'll serve you up some tasty food that'll feed your soul," Sōma said when he heard the footsteps as he placed a cup full of chopsticks onto a table.

"Ano... It's us," Tsukasa said nervously as he fidgeted with the hem of his uniform shirt.

"Are all of you here?" Sōma asked, turning to face the group of Seated Elites.

"Yes! We're all here!" Erina snapped sourly.

"Watch your tone, missy," Mayu stated as she walked into the area, before adding "He IS your boss now, so show him respect. *Now in a more sinister tone* Unless you Want to wear the Spiked Uniforms I have available." That shut Erina up pretty quickly.

Sōma walked around a table, heading towards the back, and told the 7 of the Elite 10 to follow him. Mayu went back upstairs, while the Elite wondered how the blind redhead was able to navigate around the table without the use of his cane.

Once everyone was crammed into the food storage area for the Diner, Sōma gave the 7 of the Elite 10 the first order of the day. "As you heard me say earlier, we open at 10:00 (AM), so we have to get everything ready before then. The food prepared into portions, tables cleaned, kitchen cleaned, and the silverware ready to be used. Your first job will be to get all of these done before we open. With all of you working on these together, it shouldn't take you that long," the blind redhead stated tapping on a shelf stocked with meat and added "Mayu wrote down the portion sized for each of the meats, do try to follow them, keep everything in order, and don't even dare complain about the quality of the ingredients if you've never tried them. Mayu'll shove you in one of her Spiked Uniforms if you do."

All of the Elite shuttered in fear at that.

"I'll be manning the Diner, of course. Mayu's not going to be helping out much because of her Summer Project," Sōma stated, pulling a small bag of raspberries, a small bag of blueberries, a small bag of blackberries, and a bag of strawberries off a nearby shelf, all without the slightest bit of hesitation. It was too weird for the Totsuki students to be witnessing.

Saitou was the one to finally ask "Are you really blind?"

Holding all the bags in his arms, Sōma said with a sigh "Yes, I am, and the reason I can navigate and know where everything is located, is because I lived here in this diner all my life." Now that they thought about it, it does make sense that the blind redhead would know where everything is in this place, even if he couldn't see anything.

Sōma then walked out of the storeroom to let the 7 of the 10 Elite work. The moment the blind redhead was completely out of the storeroom his phone went off and said "Bratty Princess' Jobs Will be Bussing Tables and Washing Dishes", he stopped the moment he heard that. Nikiri Erina, Eizan Etsuya, Kinokuni Nene, Saitou Somei, Akanegakubo Momo, Kobayashi Rindou, and Tsukasa Eishi turned their heads towards the blind redhead when they heard this. Erina seemed to be a turning red in anger. Sōma shifted all the bags to his left arm to free his right and used it to fish his phone out from his pocket. "Why'd I set that?" Sōma wondered out loud as he turned off the alarm, before saying "Oh, right! Now I remember," then said sourly to the honey blond as he put his phone back into his pocket "Bratty Princess, the only time you're allowed in Yukihira's kitchen is to wash the dishes, nothing more."

Erina got all mad, of course, and shouted "WHY THE HELL NOT?! I SHOULD BE AN ASSET IN THE KITCHEN!" Everyone in the storeroom covered their ears at the shrieking.

Sōma turned to the storeroom and said "If you want to work in This Kitchen, you earn it, and so far you have not earned that right, Bratty Princess. Also, shouting isn't going to help you earn anything except bleeding ears."

Before Erina could snap back, Saitou placed a hand on her shoulder, while rubbing one of his ears with his free hand, and said: "He tis right about thine shouting." The honey blond turned to see that the others were rubbing their throbbing ears.

Sōma then said "This rule doesn't just apply to just the Bratty Princess. If any of you want to work in this kitchen, you will have to earn it."

"Wait, all of us?" Kinokuni asked in a rather surprised tone.

Sōma nodded and explained "Those are Pop's rules, and it's been like that since he opened the diner. All us Yukihira kids earned the right to work in the kitchen, and since you seven are working here, this rule applies to you as well."

Tsukasa gave a nervous chuckle and said "I guess our Seats will not have use when "earning" the right to cook in your kitchen, huh?"

"That is correct," Sōma said flatly before adding in that same tone "You have to prove to us that you are willing to work as a chef."

Erina flipped her hair and said "Are you serious? We are the Elite of Totsuki. I'm sure we don't need to prove anything."

"I don't know about that," Sōma said before asking the 7 Elites "Are you truly sure you know what it means to be a chef?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN?!" Erina practically screeched.

"Nariki-san!" the other six Elites snapped at once with their hands still covering their ears.

Sōma walked off towards the kitchen, shaking his head, with the bags of berries still in his arms, and thinking 'I'm not sure about the five others, but the Bratty Princess' got a LOT to learn about being a chef... And that money-lover needs some work too.'

}i{

9:53 (AM) at Shokujidokoro Yukihira...

Everything was done. Bowls and plates are clean and ready to be used, tables are spotless, floors were shining, everything in the kitchen is sparkling, and all of the meats are in perfect portions. It took a while since all of the Seated Elites had to keep referring back to Mayu's notes, and the threats that were written in bold lettering to not move the placement of anything. 'She's not even trying to hide it from us that she will use Those if we mess up,' all seven thought after reading that particular part the first time, then they wondered if Sōma was aware of the written threats.

"Over here," Sōma happily waved when he heard the seven sets of footsteps, signalling them to come to a table for eight. Akanegakubo noticed the ten glasses of dark ruby red liquid, hugged her bear plushie, and asked: "What are those for?"

The blind redhead smiled and said "Call it a Shokujidokoro Yukihira Pre-Opening Tradition, to give you the energy for today. Don't worry, there are just berries in them."

So Sōma made them juice from the berries earlier...

Eizan looked at the table, raised a brow, and asked: "Why are there ten glasses when there's only eight of us?"

"One's for Mayu," Sōma said simply, then added, "And the other is for-"

"I'm back," Said a voice from the diner entrance.

'It's four minutes to opening. Why is there someone already here? And how'd they get in?' The seven Elite thought in unison.

"Oh, Hiro, good timing," Sōma said with a smile, before taking a sip of his drink, as a short boy with dark-coloured, medium-length dishevelled hair, small black eyes, wearing a light blue shirt, and khaki slacks walked into view.

The boy, Hiro, noticed the seven new faces in the diner before opening hours. "Ano, Sōma-Ani, are these the students from your school that'll be working here for the summer?" Hiro asked the blind redhead as he walked over to the group.

"They are, and they're going to be your kohai (4) while they're working here," Sōma said, still smiling, and asked, "You mind bringing Mayu her drink while you go get ready for the day?"

Hiro smiled and said "Sure," grabbed two of the glasses of juice, and headed upstairs.

The moment the boy was out of hearing range, Eizan snapped "Why the hell is that kid our Senpai?"

"Oh, Hiro's been working in the kitchen for about four years, thus he will be YOUR superior too," Sōma stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Come to think of i~t," Kobayashi said before asking Sōma "Why'd that kid call you Ani?"

With practically no hesitation, the blind redhead said "Oh, I guess both Mayu and I forgot to tell you, but Hiro is our younger brother. He's nine, by the way."

"YOU HAVE A YOUNGER BROTHER?!" was the unanimous response from the 7 Elites.

That was when the wall clock chimed 10:00 (AM).

"Oh, time to open up," Sōma stated before taking another sip of his drink and saying "Finish the juice and put the empty glasses in the sink, then get ready for the customers." Then he walked over to the diner's entrance to officially open it for business.

Nikiri Erina, Eizan Etsuya, Kinokuni Nene, Saitou Somei, Akanegakubo Momo, Kobayashi Rindou, and Tsukasa Eishi weren't looking forward to that after all none of them knew how to deal with customers for a common diner. All seven took a glass each and started drinking it rather than just dumping the juice in the sink, mostly because they knew Sōma would easily detect the smell of the juice in the sink. To all of their surprise, the berry juice was tasty and refreshing.

But before the Elites could savour or figure out the reason why the juice was delicious, they heard the sounds of people starting to come in. 'But we just opened?! How is this place already half full?!' all seven of the Elites thought at the same time the moment they realized that half of the tables were already filled with customers of all ages and genders.

"Oi, Kinokuni-san, Tsukasa-san, Saitou-san, Akanegakubo-san, Kobayashi-san, get your pads ready to take the customers' orders," Sōma shouted across the diner, getting their attention.

"Oh, right," the five in question said before they downed the remaining juice, handed the now empty glasses to Erina, quickly snatched their respective pads of paper (the pads had their names written on them) on the nearby counter, and raced off to start taking orders.

Erina stared at the red-stained glasses in her arms for a bit before thinking sourly 'This is such an utter waste of my talents.' But the honey blond went to the sink and started cleaning the glasses anyway, mostly because she didn't want to give Mayu any reason to force her into the Spiked Uniforms.

Eizan picked up the pad with his name on it and flipped the pad to the next sheet of paper. What was written on that page made the 7th Seat turned ghost white and had a petrified look on his face. Erina noticed this and asked "Something wrong, Eizan-senpai?"

In a bit of a nervous tone, Eizan said "Ano, it's nothing," as he quickly flipped the first page to cover what was on the second page. The blond male started scooting away from the honey blond and said in that same nervous tone "I'm just... Going to start working on my, ano, part here. Ano, have fun with the dishes, Nakiri-san." With that Eizan was out of Erina's view. The honey blond raised a brow at this and wondered what was written on that pad.

That was when Hiro walked into the kitchen, in the Shokujidokoro Yukihira uniform, and started moving the cooking pans and pots onto the stove, readying them for the day. The boy said hi to his older brother when he entered the kitchen. "You ready, Hiro?" Sōma asked his younger brother, who replied: "Sure am, Sōma-Ani."

Once the orders started coming in, the Yukihira brothers started cooking.

}{

Eizan bit his lip as he walked into Mayu's "Computer Lab". There were at least four separate computers, each with two monitors.

"How the hell did you get ahold of That information?!" Eizan snapped at the brunette girl as she continued to type on the computer she was currently sitting in front of. "Oi! Answer me!" the blond snapped in anger.

"Oh, I got that information due to testing out a 'Program' I had to make for my Coding Class," Mayu explained as she continued typing on her computer, not taking her eyes off the monitor she was looking at, then added "The Headmaster did tell me to use it on a computer that wasn't used, so imagine my surprise when I found all that 'Interesting' data on it. Guess the Headmaster didn't know you were using it for personal use." Eizan glared at the brunette.

"Sōma told me about the "conversation" he had with you when you had your goons bring him to your office," Mayu said when she finally stopped typing and swivelled in the chair to face the blond second-year, and added, "And quite frankly, I agree with my dear twin brother."

A glare hit Eizan's glasses when he stated with a smirk "What's wrong with giving him the option to see again. I was hoping he would accept, I'm sure his cooking skills would improve tenfold if he had his sight restored. I would've paid for everything."

"You don't get it, do you," Mayu said in a soulless voice as she rested her left elbow on the table.

"Eh?" was all Eizan could say

That was when Mayu asked, "Do you think money will solve everything?" But the tone that was used, it seemed more like she was trying to make a point rather than asking a question.

}i{

20:05 (8:05 PM) at Shokujidokoro Yukihira...

Save for a few regulars, Shokujidokoro Yukihira was empty. Nikiri Erina, Eizan Etsuya, Kinokuni Nene, Saitou Somei, Akanegakubo Momo, Kobayashi Rindou, and Tsukasa Eishi were pretty much close to passing out where they were (which was pretty much them at one of the bigger tables in the diner). They were practically working the entire day, and none of them thought about taking a break.

"Ano, are you guys that tired already?" Sōma asked the tired seven elites.

Hiro then made the comment "I guess they're not used to working in a real kitchen."

"Honestly," Sōma sighed as he placed his knuckles on his hips and added, "I actually expected you guys to last longer than this, but now that I think about it, you guys should've taken your lunch break when I told you to." Right now the seven Elites didn't have any energy to argue with their boss.

"Listen, how about eating something and rest a bit, Hiro and I will handle the first of the Night Customers," Sōma stated as he started whipping off one of the nearby tables. The seven Elites thought about what the blind redhead said for a second.

'Night Customers? What did he mean by that?' all seven thought at the same time.

"Ano, Sōma-Ani," Hiro pipped up.

Sōma turned an ear to his younger brother and asked: "What is it?" The boy looked at his older brother and said: "There doesn't seem to be as many customers in the Shopping District, especially since it's the busy hours." Now that the redhead thought about it, he didn't hear as many people today as he usually did.

Hiro then pointed out that the three depressed-looking men sitting in the corner of the diner.

One of those depressed men was the co-owner of Tomitaya's Bento Shop and the Current Chair of the Market Street Association; Tomita Yuya.

When the chairman told the two Yukihiras about Mozuya Karaage in the nearby train station's shopping mall, which was renovated last month. When Eizan heard this, he smirked. Mayu saw this from around the corner from where she stood, hidden from sight. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I'll taste that Mozuya tomorrow," Sōma stated with his happy-go-lucky smiles. Tomita practically shouted at the redhead why he wanted to do that. "Well, I'm a chef for one and I want to try their Karaage," Sōma stated with that smile still on his face, then added that he'll go tomorrow morning since he has to take care of the Night Customers.

That was when the seven Elites heard two people walk into the diner. They looked up to see a very miss-matched couple. The woman was tall, towering practically, with long black hair that was like a flaring wild mane that was barely able to be kept in a hair tie, grey eyes of a beast, wearing a ruby red blouse, and long purple slacks, while the man was of average height, short well kept black hair, cole black eyes of a moonless night, royal purple shirt with long sleeves, and onyx slack with polished black shoes. The seven Elites blinked and stared at the odd couple, wondering if they got lost or something.

"Good evening, Yukihira-kun," the man said in a smooth baritone voice.

Sōma took note of the voice, smiled, and said "Evening, Kōmori-san. I can assume Tairikuōkami-san is with you."

The woman snickered before saying with a wolfish grin "I am here, Sōma-kun."

Sōma grinned and asked in a cheery tone "The usual orders?"

The mismatched pair said "Yes, please," and found a table for two. The blind redhead turned to walked into the kitchen with Hiro, to prepare the odd couple's order. As Sōma walked by the table the seven Elites were sitting at, he told them that they didn't need to take the lovebirds' order.

The seven Totsuki Elite just stared at the mismatched pair as the two chatted happily. 'Yukihira called them Lovebirds... Does that mean that they're a couple?' the seven thought in unison. Erina looked at the well-kept man, then the wild-looking woman. The honey blond couldn't believe the two were a couple and brushed it off as Sōma inability to see. At least, that's what she thought until she saw the mismatched pair kiss. Erina, as well as the other six, was utterly dumbfounded.

"Ano, you guys are going to catch flies if you keep your mouths open like that," Hiro said as he and Sōma walked by the seven, all of whom quickly closed their mouths.

The blind redhead placed two bowls in front of the mismatched pair and said "Your orders and as usual no spring onions and no garlic."

The wild woman, Tairikuōkami, cackled and said "And as usual, you remember every detail. Thank you."

The gentleman, Kōmori, chuckled and said: "We're always impressed that you remember every customer you've served and their preferences."

The blind redhead chucked and said "Well, what do you expect? I'm planning on taking over this diner one day." The odd couple couldn't help but smile at that and wished the teen luck on that.

The seven Elites just watched this, not sure how to process what was happening right in front of their eyes.

"Mozuya Karaage? The take-home karaage place?" Tairikuōkami asked Sōma with a raised brow, snapping the seven Elites out of their thoughts.

The blind redhead nodded and asked, "Yeah, have you ever tried it?"

Kōmori shook his head and said "Not really, but it's more along the lines of "Can't" then "Won't" in all honesty."

Sōma blinked his unseeing eyes and asked: "They put garlic in their karaage?"

Tairikuōkami waved a hand and said, "That's kind of the problem, we don't know if they put garlic in their karaage."

The gentleman then added, "We've tried asking if there was garlic in the karaage, but they say they can't tell us anything because of their secret sauce they use for their karaage."

That was when the blind redhead said "Ah, garlic is a common ingredient in most sauces, especially when it paired with meats. No wonder you asked."

Kobayashi pipped in an "I don't get the big deal with the garlic, it makes stuff taste yummier."

The odd couple looked at the seven, then Sōma, and asked him at the same time "Who are they and why are they wearing you diner's uniform?" Sōma chipperly explained that his Pops agreed to allow some of the "Troubled but Gifted Students" at Totsuki to work in his diner as a summer camp.

"And those seven are apart of this Summer Camp?" Kōmori asked the blind redhead, who in turn nodded.

The wild woman gave the seven a cheerful thumbs-up and said: "Don't worry, Sōma-kun'll turn you guys into fine chefs." All seven of the Elites couldn't help but blink in confusion at the comment. Kōmori then said, "And to answer your question, miss, I can't eat garlic, it severely disagrees with my stomach, even a tiny bit can make me very sick."

Kobayashi stood up and asked in a very shocked voice "How can a yummy food make ya sick?"

Kōmori raised a brow at the question while Tairikuōkami asked in a tone that sounded like a mixture of suspicious and surprised "Don't they teach you about Food Intolerances and Food Allergies at Totsuki?"

Sōma answered "They do, but it's more of a lecture and test to prove that you went to the lecture rather than a class. It's one of those mandatory attendance lectures."

Tsukasa pipped up a "We attended, but Rindou slept through the whole thing... The teacher even scolded her, and she even slept through that..."

The odd couple and Sōma looked at the 2nd Seat (or turned in the direction of the sound for Sōma) with a rather shocked look on their faces. That was when the blind redhead asked in an uncharacteristically shocked tone "You slept through a critical lecture for the culinary industry? And considering that there are millions of people who are afflicted by food allergies and food intolerances, it's seriously bad if you miss that kind of lecture."

Everyone stared (or just have twitching eyebrows in Sōma's case) at the 2nd Seat of the Elite 10 when she said: "Wow, is it really that bad I slept through the boring lecture?"

Tairikuōkami looked at Sōma and said, "Please tell me that She *points at Kobayashi* doesn't have access to your kitchen."

"Oh no, she's not taking one step in MY kitchen until she can tell the difference between an Allergy and an Intolerance," Sōma stated, placing his knuckles on his hips while thinking 'Make that Three of them that need a lot of work.' The blind redhead sighed and then stated sternly "I know what I'm going to be telling the Headmaster later. Honestly, how you were allowed in a kitchen without knowing those is beyond me, and don't say because of your personality or cooking skills. Kobayashi-san, there is no way you're cooking in my kitchen now."

"Ya mean I can't Earn the Right, anymore?" the 2nd Seat asked in a bit of a childish tone, not taking this very seriously.

Sōma then snapped angrily "NONE OF YOU ARE EARNING ANY CHANCES OF COOKING IN MY KITCHEN UNTIL ALL SEVEN OF YOU CAN PASS THE ALLERGY AND INTOLERANCE TEST!"

"Wait?! All of us?!"

"Yes! All of you! I'm calling the Headmaster now," Sōma stated, before turning to the customers in the diner and said "I am so sorry you had to witness such a thing. Please continue to enjoy your meals while I'm gone." As the blind redhead walked to the stairs to the Yukihira's living quarters, he told Hiro to man the diner.

Once Sōma was out of sight, Kōmori asked Hiro "He's still not over That, huh?"

The boy shook his head and said: "No, but don't worry about it too much, Sōma-Ani's still a great chef and he pays extra attention to that kind of thing." The odd couple nodded and said at the same time "We understand." They realized that they said the same thing at the time and chuckled at that.

The Elites glared at Kobayashi Rindou, who noticed and asked in a cattish tone "What?"

}i{ Summer Omake: Day 2, End }i{

~}i{~

(1); Whoever can correctly guess the name of the song first, can request what they want to happen in the Summer Omake.

(2); Putting this law in the story because I didn't want to make things too difficult for Sōma.

(3); The Japanese language uses a broad array of honorific suffixes for addressing or referring to people. These honorifics attach to the end of people's names, as in Lucy-san where the honorific -san is attached to the name Lucy. -San is equidistant to Mr, Ms, or Mrs These honorifics are often gender-neutral; although, the honorific -chan is usually used to be cute, refer to girls, or used when referring to a childhood friend.

(4); Kohai is basically an Underclassman, opposite of a Senpai, which means Upperclassman.

~}i{~

Gale-Dragon: The pot is stirring, and it looks like it is full of trouble. Looks like now I need to start work on chapter 8 on the double. Have a Happy Halloween fellow creeps and ghouls.