Author's Note

I apologize from all my heart that this chapter took so long. School gave me a ton of work and I also have to admit that for quite some time, I didn't had much inspiration.

But summer and the holidays are slowly approaching so hopefully I'll be able to update a little more often soon.

Thanks to everyone for their kind and encouraging reviews! You guys were the main motivation for me to actually finish this chapter at last and I hope you'll enjoy it!

And don't worry...as long as I am into SnS, I'll continue this story. I have many, many, many plans and I hope I'll be able to keep you around in the future

Thanks a lot for reading!

"One Katsu-Don coming right up!"

The customer's eyes glowed in anticipation as he looked at the steaming bowl in front of him. "Thank you very much." He quickly said, eager to start eating.

Erina only smiled and nodded. "It wasn't much." Before swiftly turning around and leaving the man with his delicacy.

While humming a little to herself the honey-blonde woman returned to the kitchen where she met her husband humming as well, but a different song.

"Gyudon for table three and Omurice for table seven." Erina announced as she stepped in and Soma gave a quick nod to signalise he had listened.

The following few moments the two spent in silence, just cooking next to each other.

Then Erina broke it. "Trainings Camp starts today." "Oh?" Soma turned to her.

"Alice told me yesterday." Erina informed.

The redhead next to her smiled and turned away again. "Ah yes...The Camp. Those are some memories. It certainly was very eventful to me."

"A Shokugeki against an alumni is certainly something not everyone can say about themselves." Erina noted.

"But there was also the Breakfast Challenge! Remember, where I nearly lost!" He reminded and laughed as if the thought of expulsion was the most hilarious joke ever. "You didn't thought about the theme properly." Erina commented.
Back then she had been more than pleased with the thought of Soma loosing.
Thank God, that this guy was incapable of giving up.

"It's also where I first met..." Soma suddenly said deep in thought, not bringing himself to say a name he hand's said in years.

But Erina understood none or less who he meant.

The Tenth Plate - A Colourful Face-Off

Group D - Training Site

No matter how tense the atmosphere was, Hideyoshi Kawashima was not one you get to shut up so easyily.

While his classmates shivered and exchanged nervous looks when awaiting the legendary Totsuki alumnus that would examine their group, he stood right in the front, where an "important personality" like him belonged, and bragged about his brand new cooking uniform.

This caused his best buddy/best rival Daisuke to be distracted from anxious mumbling and to rather glare at the black-haired boy. "How does such a giant ego even fit into such a small body?!"

Hideyoshi immediately stopped his ramble and rather turned to his companion with a challenging look on his face. "Hah?! What was that?!

Daisuke responded immediately and took a step closer to Hideyoshi. "You heard me correctly."

A second after their heads crashed together.

"Pfah, jealous as always, huh?" Hideyoshi grinned. "You wish!" Daisuke shot back.

"Silence." A female voice suddenly interrupted the bickering. While Daisuke and Hideyoshi backed away from each other and curiously turned around, the rest of the crowd stiffened and a lot of gasps could be heard.

"Oh god..."

"No way..."

"Right on the first day..."

"I think I am going to throw up..."

Totsuki Alumni Ikumi Aldini had her hands on her hips and an amused grin on her lips. "You surely inherited a lot from your mothers but not the harmony in their relationship. You two have the dynamics of your fathers through and through."

"Ikumi-San!" Hideyoshi and Daisuke exclaimed simultaneously. Ikumi nodded and lifted her hand. "Hey there! Been some time, huh?"

She now slowly turned to the class and that alone was enough to let them all become pale within a second.

"I..Ikumi Aldini...right in front of me...I cannot believe it...!"

"Not only did she manage to graduate from Totsuki but she was also part of the legendary 92nd Generation! She's gotta be top-notch!"

"She's one of the heads of this empire of a restaurant branch known an 'Trattoria Aldini', which has established, world-famous restaurants everywhere in the world."

"They say that she perfectly excels at meat dishes...What I would give to taste her barbecue."

Ikumi only licked over her lips.

This sight of trembling and nervous students certainly awoke a lot of memories of her own student life in her.

She clapped her hands together and announced. "Alright then. As many of you already stated: My name is Ikumi Aldini and I'll be your examiner for today. Now as you would please get your shit back together I would like to explain the task."

"Ikumi-San can be so bold and cool! But she also has quite the sweet and soft side hidden inside her." Daisuke smiled. Hideyoshi opened his mouth to disagree in some way only to find out that he couldn't.

Group C - Training Site

Elsewhere another kitchen was filled with whining and lamenting young chefs.

"First day and my examiner turns out to be a 92nd Generation alumni."

"...4th...4th seat of all things..."

"I will never be able to make it out of here!"

"Goodbye, dear Totsuki. It was fun while it lasted!"

The only one calm and composed between all this misery was the valedictorian Kaori Hayama. Gracefully as always she made her way to the ingredients and picked what she needed.

This made her stand out for from the crowd for sure and the Totsuki alumni evaluating Group C was watching her with interested, blue eyes.

As a 92nd Generation alumnus, as well as former 4th Seat, Takumi Aldini had received a bigger uproar of admiration and despair from the students than his wife in Group D.
Sometimes Takumi hated to be so cruel but it really was true that a good portion of students were not fit for the harsh culinary world. They claimed themselves as 'professional' despite not having any experience on how it is like to cook for actual customers. Totsuki was the first place where they truly experienced actual struggle. Before they had been praised into the heavens and received everything they wanted from their wealthy parents. They were easy to impress, uncreative, shallow and didn't had a true strive for the top, no matter how many times they would proclaim to have it.

Chefs like Kaori Hayama were different. Despite already having the top spot of her generation, Takumi could tell just by looking at her cooking that she was not satisfied yet.
Her dish defiantly was the one he looked forward to the most and not just because she was the valedictorian.

He took a note in his head to ask Mika later what she thinks about Kaori. After all the lavender-haired girl could make a good rival for his fiery and daring daughter.

He smiled.

Some parents might be worried for their children when the Training Camp begins.

Takumi was not in the slightest.

Group H - Training Site

"Good day, students of the 92nd Totsuki Generation. My name is Shigemichi Rui."

The woman crossed her arms and added. "I'll be the one testing you today."

While most of her classmates exchanged worried looks, Kimiko Yukihira only tilted her head. "Shigemichi Rui..." Hiroshi whispered. "All I truly know is that she is Shigemichi Kumai's wife. ...I think she is an alumnus of the 91st Generation, right Itoko-Chan?" Mika only leaned against the kitchen counter and shrugged. "Yeah, I think that was it."

Meanwhile, Rui wordlessly snapped her fingers and in came two workers. They brought in a big wheel that showcased the colours red, blue and yellow. Kimiko blinked in surprise. "Hm?" "What's that?" Mika questioned.

"Thanks." Rui said to the two workers, who gave a quick nod before retreating. With that Rui turned back to the class again. "Well then...Who's going to be the lucky charm today?"

"Lucky Charm...?" Hiroshi repeated in wonder. Ignoring the air of confusion around her, Rui only continued. "As I see no volunteers, I guess I'll pick myself." She did not look over the crowd too long. "Itsuki, would you be so kind?"

"Of course, mother." A stern voice replied in the back and made everyone turn around.!'

"...Mother?"

Their eyes fell on a bulky first year with straight, black bangs that hid his eyes perfectly but also made him look a little like a muscular mushroom.

It was only natural that a lot of whispers would emerge between the students after such a callout.

"So...Chef Shigemichi's son is with us here?"

"Shigemichi Itsuki...He's in my '' class. He's quite good."

"Oh boy..."

"He's probably going to be the best today."

The last comment made Kimiko perk up in interest and she curiously watched Itsuki making his way to the front.
He was as emotionless as his mother and didn't seemed to mind the chats around him at all.
The only time he moved his head was when he passed Kimiko, Hiroshi and Mika. He seemed to look at Hiroshi, who backed away a little in return.
Mika's blue eyes narrowed.

"Itsuki." Rui spoke as her son had finally reached her. "Spin the wheel, please."
He gave a nod and went to the wheel to fulfill the requests.

By the looks of it he had done it quite lazily but despite that the wheel was spinning like crazy.
A small smile appeared on Rui's lips. But it was gone only a second later and she calmly turned back to the crowd.

"So, what's the point of this..?" Mika muttered to herself as she waited for the wheel to finally come to a stop.

Two minutes later the wheel had come to a halt. It's pointer was on the yellow area.
The students shifted their gaze expectingly to Rui, hoping to finally get an explanation.
Their hopes were utterly destroyed as Rui merely ordered Itsuki. "Spin it again, please."
And without any commentary whatsoever Itsuki complied.

Mika was not amused.

"This is ridiculous! I'm sure the others are all cooking by now. Heck, most of them are probably already finished!" She hissed, while impatiently crossing her arms and starring daggers at the poor wheel. "Itoko-chan!" Hiroshi mumbled and casted a look to Rui in worry she might have heard his cousin.
But the alumnus was still as expressionless as before.
"I've got to agree with Mika-Chan." Kimiko chimed in. "This is taking quite long. I thought we were here to cook, no?"
"I..I am sure she has her intentions." Hiroshi responded and set his focus back to the wheel again.

After another couple of minutes the wheel had come to a halt again, the pointerthis time on the blue area.
And like last time, all attention went on Rui again.

As she turned to her son yet again, terror rose in the crowd.

"She's not going to...?"

"Please not...!"

"Watching this wheel spin yet again would only make me dizzy..."

Kimiko raised an eyebrow while Hiroshi worriedly looked at Mika who had clutched her fist in annoyance.

Sure enough a deep relief went through the crowd as Rui simply stated. "Thank you, Itsuki. You can go back now."
The black-haired male nodded and response and began moving.
She watched for a second with a small smile before her face hardened again.

"You." She pointed at a blonde girl, who immediately shrieked in surprise. "What colours did the wheel stop on?"
The girl's eye grew and she started to
stutter. "Well...uhm...uh..." "Cannot pay attention. Next!" Rui interrupted her and moved her finger an inch to point at the girl standing next to the blonde.
Her eyes grew in light shock as well but in the end she unsurely answered. "I believe it was..." "We're in the kitchen right now child, not in a church. Either you know something or you don't." "B...Blue and Yellow...! Miss!"
With a cool "Correct", Rui lowered her finger again.

"Blue and Yellow." She repeated for the class and made a hand gesture towards the wheel. "Those are the colours you will deal with today." She raised her voice a little. "Listen now, because I will only tell this once, so pay attention. Today's task, dear 115th Generation, is to create a dish with a blue and / or a yellow main ingredient. Team up if you like but I frankly don't care, so working alone is fine as well. Near this kitchen is a very large hall full of ingredients, so no need to worry. You have two hours. Failure to complete your dish within this timespan equals not passing."

She went silent for five seconds to let that sink in before she continued. "Your dish will be examined by me as soon as it's finished. Part of the judgement is a sort of grade so that the student knows just how good the dish was. That's why the dishes will be rated with points. 0 points is the worst and 20 points the best." Her voice suddenly became very sharp, as if she oughted to cut glass. "Furthermore...I'd like you to know that everything below 15 points is an expulsion."

Silence came over the room as the students stared at Rui in shock. She didn't seemed to mind though and only shrugged. "I really don't know why you're all just standing there. The task has been explained. I would start cooking now if I was in your place."

An then the uproar began.

"So it begun?!"

"15 points...that's more than half!"

"Focus back on work! A blue or a yellow ingredient!"

"Is there something naturally blue that you can eat?!"

"Let's Go with yellow. That leaves a lot more possibilities!"

"I agree. Yellow is defiantly the easier choice here."

Mika watched her classmates and couldn't help but to shake her head.
"Itoko-Chan." She then heard Hiroshi's tender voice beside her.
"Yeah?"
Hiroshi looked at her with big, blue, innocent eyes and asked. "What's your plan?"
"Oh...Well, I know which colour but let's check the ingredients hall first before we're planning further."
Her cousin nodded. "Alright."

Mika studied his determined face for a little while before mumbling. "You can always chime in ideas as well, okay?"
Hiroshi didn't respond.

But before Mika could say anything more, Kimiko joined the conversation. "Well, I should have known that you guys would team up." She smiled brightly at Hiroshi. "I would have liked to work with Hiroshi-kun a second time."
Immediately Hiroshi's eyes grew in amazement. "Re...Really...?"
Kimiko gave an eager nod back. "Of course."

While Hiroshi still stared at Kimiko in awe, Mika felt fire building up in her body. It was the same that she had experienced at the day as she saw Kimiko in her dorm for the first time.

"Yukihira." She loudly announced and fair enough for five seconds she had her attention. "As we're in the same group, I presume today's the day we finally settle who's superio-" But then she lost it again as Itsuki Shigemichi suddenly appeared.

All he was doing was walking towards his mother while talking to himself. "Everyone's taking yellow." He sighed. "Looks like this school truly is full of weaklings with no sense for challenge at all."

"Excuse me?" Kimiko then interrupted his monologue with a confident smirk.
While Mika spat "Hey! Yukihira! Pay attention!" behind her, Itsuki only calmly turned his head.
Kimiko' smirk grew a bit. "Don't you judge a little too fast?"

Itsuki continued to stare at her, forcing Kimiko to continue. "They say you'll be the top student today. I think I have to interfere with that."

Itsuki finally replied. "Judging by your boldness, I presume you will go with blue as well, hm?" "That's correct." Kimiko answered.

"You're Lucky that my mother rates the dishes per points." Itsuki turned away again and continued to walk on. "This will make absolutely clear who of us has the upper hand."

"This is going to be interesting." Kimiko whispered, before swiftly turning around and following the rest of her classmates who were hectically storming out of the kitchen to get to the ingredients.

The only ones who haven't moved away from their place yet were the Aldini cousins.

Hiroshi watched Kimiko. "She did it again." He said to himself.
Then he looked at his cousin. "Itoko-Chan...should we get moving-" He stopped himself as he saw how his cousin was shivering.
Her eyes were attached to the ground and she had balled her fists.

Between gritted teeth, she angrily growled.

"Yu...ki...hi...ra"

"Please be cautious. It's hot."

Not surprisingly, Kaori Hayama was the first one to present her dish in Takumi Aldini's class.
Her voice alone put a stop to everyone's actions and many pair of eyes trailed to the purple-haired beauty in interest.
She wore a stoic expression with not the slightest hint of nervousness on her face.

"Very well, then." Takumi gave the girl a warm, gentle smile while taking the spoon in his hands. "I anticipated your dish the most. The teachers have praised you a lot already and your classmates seem to hold great respect for you as well." He lowered his voice a little. „Your parents must be really proud."

Kaori responded in the same volume. "You have to ask them yourself on that matter, Chef Aldini."
Takumi gave a nod. "Splendid suggestion. I really should contact them some time. It's been long since I spoke to any of them. But let's eat first."

The class was dead silent as the students watched Takumi diving the spoon into the soup. Everyone was curious to see what amazing creation the valedictorian served this time.
Slowly but surely Takumi brought the spoon to his lips.

The moment he tasted the soup, his eyes teared up.

He felt an incredible warmth spreading in his body. His legs and arm became lighter and an immense, youthful energy filled him. For a moment Takumi was sure he could take on the entire world right now.
It was like a breath of fresh air that filled him with new life.

For the students in his class it was almost as if his blonde hair had gone a lot more shorter. His skin also seemed more and more smooth and he looked a little shorter as well.

For just a little second, the students of Group C had a young Takumi Aldini in front of them.
A free look into the past and into the 92nd Generation's school days.

But as quickly as the vision had come, it disappeared again and Takumi was an adult again.
But no one could deny that he looked a lot more fresher than before.

The class exchanged impressed looks.

"So that's we're Kaori-Sama has her nickname from." One of them whispered. "'The Gatekeeper of the Fountain of Eternal Youth' is what they call her. 'Youth Preserver' is the short version."
The student beside him nodded. "That's right. Kaori-Sama has already cooked for Elite chefs, renowned food experts and hard to please gourmets. They all say that her dishes have the power to give back a little youth. This saying comes from the fact that her cooking makes one feel more powerful and fills you with energy."

"Ex...Excellent..." Takumi mumbled. "Just by taking one spoon, I feel able to move mountains. This without a doubt passes, I don't even have to make a big show around it."

For once Kaori's face muscles moved.

She gave a small, pleased smirk. "It was my pleasure."

"12 points." Rui coldly stated before putting the chopsticks down.

The pair in front of her broke down as the realisation sunk in that they were expelled.

"The highest number of points she's given so far is 16. And even so, the number of people with 15 points is scaringly
small." One of the students whimpered. "This is so depressing!" Their partner nodded approvingly.

Just then, a chef stepped in that was expected to do better than the rest.
"I'm finished." He calmly announced and placed the plate in front of his mother.

"It's Shigemichi Itsuki's turn!"

"His mother will give him a pass and a good number of points for sure!"

Rui ignored the chats around her and only smiled at Itsuki. "As expected, you chose blue."

A second time the audience could not stay quiet.

"So he really did it!"

"Blue...There are barely any ingredients naturally blue...What did he even use?"

"Furthermore, it's a known fact that the colour blue can easily lower one's appetite."

Itsuki exhaled long and deep before slowly turning to his peers. "It's not as hard as you think finding a naturally, blue ingredient that also looks appealing to the eye. It's really simple honestly, your minds all just got blocked."
Fists were clutched, teeth were gritted and glares were shot.
And one look at the plate that Itsuki had served made the students realise what Itsuki had talked about.

In front of Rui was a truly, delicious-looking Blueberry cake.

Instantly a slight shame spread within the students.
To think they really had forgotten something as simple as blueberries in all their panic was certainly embarrassing them.

"It's not unusual that such challenges evoke panic in students." Rui stated and picked up a fork. She smiled. "Panic often turns one's sight limited. But I'm glad that it didn't affect you, Itsuki."

She took the first bite and the audience watched in tense silence.

"Splendid!" Rui then suddenly called out with reddened cheeks. "It has a biscuit layer and the dough is chocolate. On top there is whipped cream sprinkled with whites chocolate pieces and blueberries. But the highlight is certainly the middle layer! A blueberry ice cream layer!"
Satisfied she let the cold but fruity ice cream melt on her tongue before praising. "It has such a wonderful refreshing effect!"

For the first time, Rui finished a dish as a whole and there was certainly no surprise as she afterwards called out: "18 points! Passed!"

She placed the empty plate on the table next to her and spoke with that particular warmth that her voice always had when she addressed her son. "You are the first one who decided on a different route than everyone else and you defiantly excelled. It tasted great."

Itsuki gave a bow. "Thank you for the praise, mother."

Behind him, as usually, the whispers started. "As expected." "He has the highest number of points so far." "Told you he would come out as the best today."

With a small smirk that no one saw, Itsuki let the expressions of admiration shower over him and mentally bathed in the spotlight he was currently in. Just how he liked and imagined it.

But just then when the beautiful moment had reached its peak, a certain voice that rose above all the whispers had to creep in and destroy it all together.

"Hm, I have to say." The voice said. "I'm slightly disappointed."

Instantly all other voices died.

And Itsuki's face hardened.

He turned around with the speed of a turtle and slowly but surely he faced the owner of the voice.

A honey-blonde diner kid, smiling while perfectly balancing a plate on the right hand.

Outside, Itsuki appeared calm. But a flame was raging inside him and that girl's smile was petrol.

He whispered. "What?"

The girl only shrugged and elaborated. "Well after all your talking, I expected you to do something truly extraordinary. But blueberries?" She sighed, like a parent who just heard the news that their child had refuse to eat their vegetables again.

No one could see it, but Itsuki's left eye twitched in irritation.

But before Itsuki could say anything else, another voice suddenly joined the conversation.

"Aheam." A quick look behind him revealed that his mother had stood up from her chair.
A few students in the front backed away.

They didn't knew how this was even possible but somehow the alumnus looked even colder than she already had looked before. It was almost as if the temperature in the room sank.
And every word that came from Rui's lips made shivers run down the student's spines.

She clearly was not pleased.

"May I ask for your name, child? And when you're at it...might as well explain why you come in front here and..." The temperature had reached Arctic levels.
"...insult my dear son?"

Either Kimiko Yukihira was very brave or very stupid. Whatever it was, the cold atmosphere had no effect on her.
Instead of throwing herself to the floor, bowing and begging for excuse like most students in the rooms would've done it, she only tilted her head and scratched her chin afterwards with the free hand. "Oh, I'm sorry if I came across that rude. I was simply stating my thoughts. Maybe I should have voiced it differently." Nonchalant laughter followed that made a lot of students question Kimiko's sanity.

"Your Name." Rui spat demandingly and a few students flinched at the sharp tone. But once again, Kimiko seemed unaffected. "Oh...yeah, yes of course. I am sorry, Chef Shigemichi." She plastered on a big grin and announced in festive demeanour. "Yukihira Kimiko."

For a moment it was silent and the students anxiously just waited for something to happen.
Finally Rui spoke. "Well then, Chef Yukihira."
Slowly she sat down on her chair again and in an elegant manner she crossed her legs and held out a hand, challenging.
"Please serve your dish. I'm absolutely eager to see what you put on your plate."

Kimiko nodded, still unfazed by the threatening aura that surrounded the examiner now.
She moved forward and with a swift "Let it hopefully satisfy you", she placed the plate in front of Rui.

What followed was a gasp from Rui's side.
Itsuki swing around in wonder what caused his mother to gasp. But one look at the plate brought bewilderness on his face as well and he mumbled. "Wha...What?"

The rest of the class now tried to catch a glimpse of the plate as well and more and more shocked "Huh"s and "How"s could be heard.

Kimiko grinned. "I present: 'Boiled Eggs from the Sea'!"

What Rui had in front of her was a pile of fluffy, light-blue something with two eggs and a few vegetables in the middle of it.

"What's that?"

"Can you even eat that?"

"The blue stuff looks a little like cream doesn't it?"

"So you..." Rui started, clearly still taken a back, "...Those are..."

"Mashed Blue Potatoes." Kimiko ended the sentence and gave last nod as confirmation.
She then turned to her classmates and held up a deep-blue conk that looked like taken right out of the sea.
"Blue Potatoes." She announced. "They taste good, you should try 'em!"
All she received were pretty dumbfounded faces and silence. So she simply continued. "There where a lot of 'em in the hall with the ingredients, you should have looked better."
She pointed at the potato in her hand and turned her head to Itsuki. "Now that is what I call an blue ingredient. Blue, tasty and certainly unusual."

Itsuki gritted his teeth at that, not wanting to openly admit that Kimiko did have a point.

"Don't you agree, Chef Shigemichi?" She then asked Rui in a sugar-sweet voice.

Rui gripped her fork tighter at that. "This is indeed..." It was as if she was struggling to say the following words. "...the...perfect...response to the task."
Kimiko's grin grew a little wider.
"But I still have to judge how it tastes." Rui then sharply noted and lifted her fork.

A sweet, delicious flavour practically washed over Rui the next second. No matter how hard she tried to be extra critical on this dish, she could not deny it's tastiness.
Her tongue found a hint of garlic in the savoury mashed potatoes which paired perfectly with the fresh vegetables and the creamy egg.

She had wanted it to be bad, she really did. But in the end, it was true that this fairly overcame her son's dish in every aspect.

"Twe..." she mumbled, her brain still trying to comprehend that she really was going to say that. "Twen...Twenty Points!"

Itsuki clutched his fist while the uproar of shock happened behind him.

"20?!"

"She really earned full points! Amazing!"

"Hiraku-Sama's sister indeed!"

"True, we're talking about Hiraku-Sama's sister here after all."

"Kimiko-Sama! Look my way."

For a second Kimiko's smile disappeared and she pressed her lips together.
But as quick as the grim expression had come it disappeared again and her trademark grin was back. "Glad you liked it!"

Rui just looked to the side, not responding. And so, Kimiko had no choice but to simply turn around and to go back to her workstation.

On her way she passed Itsuki, who had gritted his teeth and crossed his arms. She gave him a little smile while walking past him.
Unlike Takayuki, Itsuki had made no real impression on her.

Satisfied and proud with herself, Kimiko arrived at her workstation, not minding the many impressed looks burning on her.
She only began to clean without any worry on her mind.

She had done a good job today. Her dish had taken everyone aback and she managed to turn out as the very best candidate. She was sure that there was no way anyone else would earn-

"Twenty points."

Kimiko's inner monologue of self-praise was abruptly put to an halt, as Rui's voice reached her ear.

Did she just say-?

"A...Another twenty points?!"

"Wow..."

"What did she make? What did she make?"

Kimiko would have love to hear more from Rui, but of course her noisy classmates had to interfere with that plan once again.

It left Kimiko with no other choice but to return to the front again, to see who it was that destroyed her plans of being the best in class today.
And so she tried to push herself trough the sea of chefs who all tried to catch a glimpse of the front.

Just as she was nearly there, a voice could be heard.
And instantly Kimiko remembered that she had forgotten something. Or rather, someone.

"Grazie!" A more than familiar voice exclaimed in the front. "Thank you very much." Another voice said right after and just like the first one, this one was also not unbeknownst to Kimiko.

A few steps and a few more elbow action, officially confirmed what Kimiko has suspected.
In front of Rui there stood her two dorm mates.
Mika and Hiroshi.

Mika had proudly crossed her arms and wore a prideful smirk. Hiroshi looked a lot more insecure in comparison and fiddled with his fingers while staring at the floor.
Rui had a bowl in her hands and her cheeks were reddened.
Itsuki only stared at his mother. His body language insecure and taken aback.

"Mika-Chan...Hiroshi-Kun..." Kimiko spoke and couldn't hide the slight shame she felt for forgetting about her dorm mates because of her little challenge towards Itsuki.

But other than that...What was going on?

Twenty points?

Just like her?

Was Mika...that good?

"Oh Yukihira." Mika looked over her shoulder, her expression remaining one of pride.
"Kimiko-san!" Hiroshi called out and swung around to meet Kimiko's face.

"What did you..." Kimiko moved her head up, down and left, right to get a look on Rui's bowl. "What did you make?"

Mika's smirk grew a little and now she fully turned around. "I'm very glad you asked. Hiroshi, if you'd be so kind?"

Hiroshi let out a little soft sigh. He gave Kimiko an almost excusing look, before saying. "Pasta, Ravioli to be exact, filled with spinach and bathed in an Avocado-Cream-Sauce. We also added a few pine nuts and olives."

Kimiko blankly stared at the blue-haired boy.
...Spinach? ...Avocado...?

Wait a minute...

A girl next to her spoke out aloud what she'd been thinking. "But...aren't those green ingredients?!"

Immediately the realisation spread within the rest of the class.

"Indeed."

"Isn't that against the topic?"

Kimiko meanwhile clutched her fist.
Unlike her fellow classmates, she had figured it out.
She directly looked at Mika, who only returned the challenging gaze still smirking.

Damnit.

A few seconds later, Mika dropped the stare battle and looked at her other classmates instead.
"I did not in any way broke the rules I was just a little more creative and thoughtful." She raised a finger. "Chef Shigemichi clearly state: A yellow and/or blue ingredient. I really didn't think I'd have to explain this to high schoolers, but if you mix yellow and blue it does indeed give green. Correct, Chef Shigemichi?"

"Correct." Rui muttered. "It really was not an violation to the rules."

"Wow..." Someone whispered. "She really was able to stay cool in all this to get such an idea!"

"Perfect." Another responded. "She defiantly was able to make her stand out from the crowd and be unique but also didn't chained herself to a small number of possible ingredients, considering that there are ton of green ingredients!"

Kimiko couldn't help herself but to agree.
She had expected Mika to be good, but a good that was just slightly above average. Never would she had imagined that any other Chef on this school, except Mona and Lola, could stand toe to toe with her.

But Mika Aldini certainly could.

"What did you say at the entrance ceremony again?" Mika mused and shifted her gaze back to Kimiko. "You we're talking about the fact you're not going to loose to 'rich kins not having stood in a kitchen once', right?"

Kimiko quickly let that sequence replay in her head before nodding. "That's correct."

"Well then Yukihira." Mika's smirk disappeared. "You judged a little too fast there. To tell you the truth, my parents may are successful, famous chefs owning a huge restaurant branch, but despite that: all knowledge I have on cooking comes from practical training. I've been helping in the restaurant since I am small."

"It shows." Kimiko could only say.

"Hiroshi here helped out in his Ryokan a lot of times as well, by the way." Mika then smiled to her cousin. "He did a wonderful job on the spinach."

Hiroshi couldn't help but to blush a little at that and he quickly looked away.

Mika continued speak then. "Well, today you're lucky that there is no higher number of points to give anymore. But let me tell you this..." Now she suddenly pointed at Kimiko. "I will crush you. With everything I can offer on the plate, I'll teach you just how powerful the heir to the Trattoria Aldini can really be." Her voice became sharp and she eyed Itsuki. "And I am not going to let anyone steal my show again as your rival again."

Determined fire build up in Kimiko's bones.
Right now there was nothing she wanted more than to face off with this immensely skilled chef her age. And she was ultimately angry with herself for ignoring this powerhouse and focusing of a much more weaker opponent.

She returned Mika's challenging gaze and stated. "I can't wait!"

"I can't wait to get into the hotel room. All I want right now is sleep." Chieko yawned and stretched herself afterwards.

Yasu, who sat beside her, continued to pet Megane-cchi on his hand while answering. "This day was just the beginning, you know Chi-chan?"

"Of course I do!" Chieko spat. "Why did we had to deal with such an exhausting task first anyway?!" She threw her arms into the air. "I mean, running around in search of ingredients in the wilderness? It was so tiring."

"But Inui-senpai was very pleased with our dish in the end." Yasu reminded.

"Speaking of Inui-senpai." Chieko then said, after a small, little period of silence. Her eyes suddenly began to sparkle and her cheeks reddened. "How high do you think is the possibility that the alumni will cook for us today?"

"Hm?" Yasu turned his head to the black-haired girl.

"Well I mean, those are high-class chefs..." Chieko's tone shifted to a higher note the more excited she got. "...I'd certainly be delighted to try their cooking! It'd be a great honour!"

"Yeah, I am sure it would be nice." Yasu answered and shifted his gaze away from his friend again. So he noted the new arrivals that were currently approaching them.
"Oh hey, look!" He called out. "It's the Aldinis and Yukihira!"

This put a stop to Chieko's daydreams and she perked up as well, adjusting her glasses in the meantime. "You're right." She nodded and jumped up to properly greet the three.

"Hello!" She waved, as soon as Kimiko, Mika and Hiroshi arrived in front of the three. Behind her, Yasu silently nodded a greeting.

Kimiko lifted her hand, Mika said "Hey" and Hiroshi warmly smiled. "Hello, Marui-san and Ibusaki! So I see you passed as well. That's good news." He then noticed the yellow featherball in Yasu's hands and excitedly called out. "Megane-cchi is back too!"

Yasu stood up and laid the chick into Hiroshi's open hands. "She's a little tired though, because Inui-senpai couldn't stop smooching and petting her."

"It's not named Megane-cchi." Chieko mumbled, barely audible to Hiroshi.

"So...What now?" Kimiko asked. Mika crossed her arms. "Did Kawashima and Aoki made it?"

"They both contacted us a little earlier. They're on their way!" Chieko informed before her eyes got all sparkly again as she swooned. "And about what happens next. I am not sure but I hope it will be a magnificent banquet by the talented alumnus for us!"

But sadly, Chieko shouldn't get her wish.

As Hideyoshi and Daisuke finally arrived, the group made their way into the hall where the rest of their classmates were already waiting.
Who also was waiting was Fuyumi Mizuhara and a huge group of muscular, bulk men.

"What the-" Chieko called out at that sight. "What's that?"
Her dormmates were just as confused and always shifted their gaze to Fuyumi in hope she'd explain it.

Thankfully she did.

"Greetings, students. Glad to see, so many of you made it through today." Fuyumi calmly said and silenced the crowd immediately.
Absolutely expressionless Fuyumi then pointed to the group of men beside her. "Those gentlemen here next to me are students of a Well-known, successful sport school in California. They're our guests today."

She made a small little pause before saying the death sentence. "And you'll cook for them today."

"Whaaaaaat?!" The crowd screamed all together.

"But I am so exhausted!"

"You can't be serious!"

"I just want sleep."

Yasu took a quick look at Chieko who had turned pale at Fuyumi's words and looked at the crowd in the front with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"You'll all make 50 servings each. In a Timespan of 2 Hours. Should you fail to meet this expectation, you're failed all together and expelled."

A good portion of students almost choked on the air at that. One even fainted.

Despite that Fuyumi merciless continued. "You may cook yourself dinner when you're done with the task."

She didn't left the students anymore time to whine and protest a little more and quickly raised a stopwatch in her hand. "Begin."

Screaming and panicking the students rushed into the kitchen.
Most of them moved hastily and without any concentration. A lot of anxious mumbled and heavy breathing could be heard.
Making everything even worse, you could also hear the yells of the students from the California schools rudely and loudly demanding their food.

Between all this chaos, Kaori Hayama managed to stay calm and elegantly completed her work with ease.

Lola and Mona only took a look at each other and reached for something on their neck simultaneously.

Takayuki was yelling back at the guys that they'd get their damn food when it was goddamn ready. As one of them made he dangerous, dangerous mistake to call him "midget", his anger went up to eleven.

Hideyoshi and Daisuke were arguing every single time they crossed paths, which was a lot of times. When not at each other's throats, Hideyoshi loudly bragged over and over about his skills, while Daisuke only nervously reassured himself that he was going to be okay.

Yasu was calmly stirring something in a pot as he suddenly heard a soft giggle. He turned around and saw Chieko with her back turned to him while chopping a few vegetables. "...Chi-chan?...Everything alright?"
"Mom was right." Chieko whispered without answering her best friend's question. "This camp is hell."

"Oh My, Oh my, Oh my." Hiroshi threw a tantrum while carefully preparing his dish, flinching every time the loud guys said something.

Mika angrily gritted her teeth as she heard Kimiko exclaiming. "Done!"

"You may won this round Yukihira! But I will come back at you! Just you wait!" She barked.

Kimiko strolled past her classmates, as she was allowed to leave. "Well, I see you guys later! I am waiting in Chieko-chan's room!"

"Sure!" "See ya later." "Good work, Yukihira." "We'll have a Card Match later, Yukihira! Prepare yourself!" "S...See you later, Kimiko-San"
"Now wait up! This is all already tiring enough! I don't need you guys to be hanging out in my-"

But Chieko's protest was interrupted. "Four-Eyes! Move a little faste, will ya!" The hulks yelled.

Immediately Chieko forgot about Kimiko and she turned to the male students. Her eyes narrowed. "How. Did. You. Just. Call. Me?"

While Chieko increasingly speed up her movements in anger, Kimiko had already left the kitchen.

Day one of Training Camp has all in all been a success. Although she could not deny that the encounter with Mika earlier had defiantly pulled on her pride.

And little did she know, that this would not be the last time.