Title: Sweet and Spice
Rating: T (language warning)
DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Shokugeki no Soma belongs to Yato Tsukuda and Shun Saeki. Two respected mangaka! I do not own the characters in any way nor the story plot. Only the idea of this fanfiction!
MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: Thank you for the support on the first chapter! I know a lot of you have waited for this. Let me be honest and say I hate writing the beginning stages of a fanfiction because introductions are difficult for me to execute.
But I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 02: Sweet Meetings and Wars
No matter how long she stared at the papers in her hands, she tried convincing herself all of it was just a dream and she would wake up in her room. There was no way a school could be this devilish in their acceptances, but just when the queen of Totsuki had failed her and Sōma she never expected to be getting acceptance letters from another person.
Everything had happened too fast for her brain to register, and that was saying something when she had dealt with demons who were after her life. Reacting and strategizing were the two skills she needed to enhance during her travels, but this man had surprised her from his unnecessary stripping to receiving two letters of acceptance into the culinary academy.
Nothing was said back as she tried getting answers from the much older male, but she was left alone in the kitchen with only his laugh echoing throughout the halls. Looking back down at the envelopes with Totsuki's emblem, Kagome could not help but feel a bit wary of what was to come.
'Guess this means we are officially admitted into Totsuki?' Placing the last clean bowl inside one of the cabinets, the miko returned to grab the letters off the counter before making her way towards the exit. Her eyes blinked a few times as the sun's glow behind the mountains glared into her vision. Regaining her normal vision, the miko stopped in her steps upon noticing the familiar red head laying down on the grass with arms crossed behind his head.
Of course failure in a kitchen did not suit him well. He was sore loser after all.
She sighed under her breath, making her way over to the depressed Yukihira. Pouting with a raised brow, she leaned over, casting her shadow over his eyes. "Still depressed?"
"It's over, Kagome…," he sighed, a small yet disheartening smile adorning his features.
Squatting down, she kept her head over his before presenting him the envelopes. "What if I said we just started?"
"Huh?" Opening his tired eyes, Sōma blinked once and then twice before reading the kanji for 'accepted'. "W-Wha!?" Sitting up in a flash, his forehead collided with the miko's, making both of them wince from the sudden impact. "W-What the hell, Kagome!?"
"Those are my words!" she grumbled in pain as she fell on her behind. Rubbing her forehead, the miko pouted watching Sōma's attention now on the letters in his hands.
His eyes scanned the contents from inside. He could not believe what he was reading: they were accepted. "Did that Erina chick change her mind or something?" he asked over his shoulder, noticing the miko having come to sit on the ground with him.
She shook her head: "no."
"No?"
Pointing with her thumb over her shoulder, Kagome blinked: "some old man gave them to me."
Silence hung in the air; stare versus stare.
"Kagome…," Sōma sighed under his breath as he closed his eyes. So an old man gave her the letters, that was great- "the hell!?"
Kagome's eyebrow twitched in response as she leaned away from his close proximity the moment his face got near hers. What the heck was his problem now?
"An old man? It could be a joke, Kagome," he huffed. The last thing he wanted was to call his father and say this old man gave them a joke of an acceptance letter.
"I'm telling the truth," Kagome spoke out, watching the red head look back down at the letters. "I don't know who he was exactly, but he tried our food." A smile broke on her face as she captured Sōma's attention on her. "He loved it. Whether these letters may be fake or not, let us find out. He even told me that we can pick up our uniforms at the front."
Taking another glance at the miko from the corner of his eyes, Sōma's grin returned. She was right; where was the harm? Hell, the deal with his father was to get into the school. Whatever or whoever got him in did not matter.
Jolting at the sudden jump he took to stand up, Kagome raised her eyes to see that confident smirk return on his lips. This guy definitely switched his moods left and right.
"Well?" Sōma spoke, offering his hand to the miko. "You coming?"
"First you explode and then you just accept it. I will never understand you," she sighed. Placing her hand over his, she was gently pulled onto her feet.
"Get used to it already, Kago-chan."
Feeling the corner of her lips twitch, she shook her head while watching the red head make his way down the hill and towards the main courtyard leading to the exit. She brushed away the strands of grass on her skirt until her eyes landed on the building she had just exited from. Noticing a shadow at the very top floor behind a window, Kagome blinked to focus her sight only to stand still at the sight of the older male.
A simple nod was given to her before the curtain draped closed.
This man might have changed their lives with one simple tasting of their dishes. Kagome was unsure if worry or excitement was running through her head at this time, but only time could tell.
"Eh~ there is more students than I had anticipated."
The miko's eyebrow twitched as she saw the clothing on the Yukihira's back. What the heck was he thinking wearing something other than Totsuki's uniform when they were supposed to give a speech as transfer students? She exhaled in hopes to tone down her swelling annoyance. Fixing the bow on her white button-up shirt, she concluded bows were definitely not her thing. And being outside of the assembly area where the sun hit did not help with the humidity she felt sticking to her like double skin. Kagome was sure most of the warmth she was feeling were the nerves kicking in. She never spoke to such a large crowd, much less, chefs.
It was a bit laughable to her thinking she went from a world saving miko to an amateur chef. Did she really have what it took to survive here?
"Just take it off," Sōma spoke from over his shoulder. It was plain as day the miko hated wearing such constricting clothing. "It's just a speech to the first-years like us."
She huffed in return, "you really don't care about first impressions, do you?" His laughter was all she needed to glare at his back. This guy was going to learn to tone down his confidence a notch or two soon. Before she could give him a small scolding, the two blinked as a black haired female with red and pink ribbons tying some of her hair back came towards them with a smile.
"Yukihira-san and Higurashi-san?" she asked, sighing after receiving their nod as confirmation. "Oh, I am glad you two are here! My name is Kawashima Urara. I am the emcee for the school."
'Emcee…?' she miko blinked. 'They need that kind of stuff here?'
"The speech you two will give will be right after I give Nakiri-sama her award. I will call both of you so please walk over to the back of the curtain until I call you up, okay?" Urara smiled until she noticed a certain red head completely ignoring her with his head peeking out to see the student body.
"Eh~ this is a lot of people," Sōma whistled under his breath. "I hope I don't stumble on my words."
"Are you ignoring me!?" Urara exclaimed.
Releasing a nervous chuckle, Kagome caught the emcee's attention: "please forgive him. He can be an airhead sometimes and simply just rude-"
"Oi! I may be an airhead but I am not deaf!" he shouted back.
Kagome's eyes dropped into a bored glare: 'You are not even going to deny it?' Watching Urara walk around the area of the outside assembly curtains, Kagome quickly realized she was left alone. "H-Huh?" She turned her head left and right with no sign of the cocky chef. 'O-Oi! Where the heck-?' She froze upon catching the fiery red head walking around the curtains without her. So much for a caring childhood friend.
Making her way through the last of the incoming students entering the assembly entrance, Kagome squeezed between two until she collided with another. The bump made her retreat a few steps back before quickly bowing her head in apology. "A-Ah sumimazen! I didn't mean to bump into you." Frozen in her bow, her eyes slowly curtained open; one lone cinnamon stick laid on the ground. Picking it up carefully, she continued to stare at the spice until she looked at her victim of her collision. White hair in a ponytail was the first thing to catch her attention and seal her lips. Silver hair she had not seen in a long time. Kagome noticed the male Totsuki uniform on his person knowing this was a student from the culinary academy. Tan skin with green eyes? Was he a foreign exchange student? "Sumimazen, I made you drop your um...". It was not normal for someone to be carrying cinnamon, right? Then again this was a culinary school so anything could be accepted.
"No, it is my fault," the male in front of her spoke. Reaching for the returned spice, he gave a small bow with his head. "I should have been looking where I was going."
Speechless, Kagome was left staring at the tan male until the announcement calling for the students to gather was heard. Nodding to the unknown male, she gave him a small smile with another bow before making her way behind the curtains to follow the idiot who left her behind.
Green eyes remained glued on the miko's back. Curiosity ran through his head in the want to know who she was. She was definitely not a regular at Totsuki for he had never seen her, but where had she come from?
"Hurry, Kagome! They are about to call me up!"
Kagome sighed, too tired to even argue back and correct his statement. She was going up there with him and she had a feeling she had nothing to prepare because there was a high chance Sōma would do all the talking. Coming to stand beside the red head, both of their eyes landed on the stage as they stood at the entrance ramp to the stage with a curtain covering their front view. Silence over took the area with Urara calling forth their valedictorian.
"Now," Urara spoke, gaining the attention of the first-years, "we will next present the new students with their class badge. Incoming valedictorian, Nakiri Erina."
"Hai!"
"Nakiri?" Kagome whispered, unable to get a full view of the stage. "Nee, Sōma-kun, does Nakiri ring a bell-?"
"Hmm, should I pose like this or use intimidating eyes like this?"
A sweat drop appeared over the miko's head as she saw Sōma practicing his own facial expressions and of course ignoring her question. She shook the want to strangle him and refocused her attention to Urara's next announcement.
"We now welcome our keynote speaker: the director of our Totsuki Academy…"
Kagome did not miss the gulps and nervous auras flailing around the audience the moment Urara announced the director's appearance.
Clearing her throat, Urara smiled at the crowed as an older male with long dark grey hair made his way behind her and towards the podium, "Nakiri Senzaemon-sama!"
A jolt of shock filled the miko's eyes as they became wide. That man – "c-chotto!" she exclaimed, grabbing Sōma's attention from the side.
"What is it?" he asked. Blinking his way over, he placed his chin over the miko's head to get a view of whatever had made her silent. An old man with a scar of his right eye and wearing a loose kimono had gotten her silent? Was she into older men now? "Are you?" he blinked, looking down as her eyes rose up.
"Am I what?" she questioned suspiciously.
"Into older men?"
A tick pulsed over her forehead: "what the hell brought this on!?" With Sōma easily dodging her punch, she huffed before turning back to see the fear in the student's eyes, well, at least some of them. She sighed, deciding it was best not to tell the Yukihira chef about the importance of this person. Who knew what Sōma would do if he found out. 'Chances are he would walk up there and strike a conversation with him.'
Coming back to rest his chin gently over the miko's head, Sōma raised a brow as he took in the director's features once more. He had to admit, he could be intimidating in one way, but he was just a director like any other school, right?
"Greetings."
Muteness blanketed over the students as Senzaemon's deep voice rung through the speakers, including Sōma and Kagome. Their curiosities peaked as they heard the seriousness in his tone, no doubt this was not going to be a regular welcoming to the year.
"Congratulations," Senzaemon continued, "on your advancement to the high school division. During your three years in the junior high school division, you have obtained a basic skill set in cooking and deepened your understanding of each ingredient. In addition to the cooking practicum, you attended classroom lectures on a variety of topics including culinary theory, nutrition, public health, introductory agronomics, and management."
Sōma whistled lowly under his breath: "wow~ they got all that in junior high-oomf!"
"Keep it down," retreating her elbow from his abdomen, Kagome turned her attention back ahead.
"Now, you are finally standing at the entrance to the high school division. The challenges you will now face are not about your skills or knowledge," the corner of Senzaemon's lips curved into a smirk, seeing his own serious tone having reflected onto his student's expression, "but whether you have the wherewithal to survive as a food professional." Raising his hand, he pointed at the first-years with his index finger, "ninety-percent of you…are meant to be sacrifices for honing the remaining one percent!"
One…percent? The miko was in a swirl of confusion and fear at this point. Ninety-nine percent of the students were mere sacrifices for the success of the one percent? Did that make any sense? If anything, it sounded like the school was constructed to be in that way. Narrowing her eyes on the director, she raised her guard up. This was definitely no ordinary school that much she could see.
"Of the eight-hundred and twelve students who entered our high school division last year, only seventy-six advanced to the second year! Incompetence and mediocrity will be mercilessly excised from our student body. A thousand first-years will be whittled down to a hundred by next year, and we can count those who will advance to graduation on one hand. Aspire to become one of the small handful of those professionals! It should be you!" Lowering his eyes, the smirk on the director's face stretched: "hone yourself!"
The miko's shoulders relaxed as she felt a rush of calm competitiveness blow over the students. Despite the director's words making everyone run to the edge of a cliff, his words were meant to push them off that cliff and discover a way to hang on. A cliff that had no certainty to be survived.
Giving them a small a bow with his head, Senzaemon chuckled under his breath. "That will be all." The determined whispers of his students made him smile to himself as he made his way down the exit ramp. An interesting year it will be and he was looking for to it. Making his way into the tent, he stopped in his steps upon making eye contact with the Nakiri queen who sat on one of the chairs inside. Seeing her give him a nod, he returned it slowly before making his full exit of the orientation.
Erina crossed her arms, feeling the rush of pride cover her person. 'This academy only has such strong name recognition because of the intense competition allowing only a select few to complete their education. Should one succeed in advancing to actual graduation, their stardom in the food world is assured for their remaining lifetime. But,' she sighed pitifully as her eyes roamed at the rest of the first-years and their eyes filled of determination to be that one percent, 'I pity those of you who are in the same generation as me. You have been destined to fight over who gets to be second place since the time you were born. The pinnacle of Totsuki Academy, and of the Japanese food world, belongs to me, Nakiri Erina!'
"Finally, we would like to introduce two transfer students who will be joining your ranks today."
The announcement brought Erina's attention to the stage. Furrowing her eyebrows at the memory of a certain duo she had overlooked herself, she could not help but feel her body shake from the embarrassment of the two. 'So two students made the cut in a different exam?' The image of the red and black haired teens flashed in her mind. 'Yukihira and Higurashi, huh? Hmph, just the mere memory of it makes my blood boil.'
"One percent, huh?" Sōma nodded, lifting his chin off from the miko's head. A low chuckle slowly escaped from him, making the miko blink. "Guess this is not going to be some boring home economics class."
Urara cleared her throat once again to calm everyone down. Tapping her finger on the microphone in front of her, she looked over to the other side of the stage leading to the ramp where the transfer student waited. "Finally, we would like to introduce two transfer students who will be joining your ranks today."
Feeling a push from behind, the miko took a few steps forward until she regained her balance and looked over her shoulder. "O-Oi-!"
"Come on, Kago-chan, he-he-he," Sōma's smirk returned, completely unaffected by the threatening glare the miko gave him. "We got to give our special speech." He gave her another small push forward while ignoring the blank stares at the crowd. "Come on, Kago-chan!"
"Oi! Don't be pushing me!" she shouted, looking over her shoulder. "Why should I be first!? You were the confident one!"
"Nah, I think you can handle it!" he smiled innocently.
"Oh right, you can't because you can't even handle defeating your old man!" Oh how much she wanted to hit him at this moment. Screw the witnesses, this guy was obviously trying to embarrass her on her first day!
A nerve quickly sprung over the male chef's forehead: "what was that!?"
The shouts and insults were shared over the microphone with the speakers adding the extra volume for the crowd to hear. Students remained still as they saw the mysterious red head and black haired students arguing with witnesses to remember their faces and voices. Were they delinquents!?
From the sidelines, Erina's pupils shook as she saw the two exact chef students her mind had sprung up just a minute ago. What were they doing on that stage?! Let alone on this campus!? Who let them in!? The minute she heard their voices, her reaction was to quickly look over to make sure she had been wrong, but was right. 'Y-Yukihira and Higurashi!? H-How!?'
Before she could act on her plan to murder the young Yukihira, her eyes blinked at the microphone standing in front of her over the podium. The nerves that had kicked in the morning had finally double in pain. She froze in her place with the eyes of the other student on her. Looking down at the wooden podium in front of her, she cleared her throat before she parted her lips to speak-
"Okay, okay, she is a little nervous so I guess I can take over," Sōma cut in.
Just how much could he anger her today?
Tapping the microphone himself, Sōma leaned in as he placed the miko behind him. "First, I want to apologize to be talking to y'all from up here." He chuckled, unsure how to continue his special speech. There was no way he could talk like the director. "I'll keep it short and sweet, then."
The miko blinked, unsure and afraid of what could be spitted out from his mouth. In all the years she had known him, nothing ever came out good with that cocky personality he held.
"Just a couple of sentences," he continued, "well, to start, my name is Yukihira Sōma, and right here," he pulled the miko to stand beside him, "is Higurashi Kagome. Now let us be honest-"
"You," Kagome glared, elbowing him on the side of his ribs.
"-m-me, I mean me…," he winced in pain before going back to return a bright smile to the rest of the first-years. "This academy is just a stepping stone for us! I wasn't expecting to transfer here, but I don't plan on losing to folks who have never actually served customers. Anyways, what I'm getting at is…basically, now that I'm here," he lifted a finger as his smile retreated, "we are going to take the number one spot!" Sōma scratched the back of his head with a sweat drop appearing. "Well, of course, I will be taking the number one spot and Kagome here will be taking the second."
Kagome's tick reappeared over her forehead and pulsed continuously as she watched the dumb grin on Sōma's face. Not only had he placed himself in the middle of a pack of hungry wolves, but he had taken her with him! And he had the nerve to put her second!? The ass!
As Sōma made his way to stand on the other side of the miko, he took a bow with his head. "Looking forward to being with y'all for the next three years!"
Taking a step forward to strangle him to make sure he never spoke again, the corner of her eyes watched as something came their way. The miko squatted down from the incoming object and blinked with wide eyes as the book had slammed over Sōma's face. A wave of overwhelming anger caught the miko's attention as students began to throw whatever they had near them. She cursed under her breath and quickly got on her feet.
"Sumimazen! H-He can be a bit of an idiot. Please don't think much of him," she chuckled nervously, managing to dodge the few flying cans and paper balls.
"Then tell him to go die!"
"Who the hell does he think he is!?"
A sweat drop loomed over the miko's head as she used her hand to forcefully place Sōma back in his ninety degree bow. "Again, we are sorry." Continuing to dodge the flying objects in target for their 'death', Kagome kicked the red head to the side of the exit before pushing him out of the way. Nothing but nervous laughter was coming out of her as the shouts of angered students echoed in her ears. What a great first impression.
"Phew," Sōma exhaled, placing his hand over his chest, "I managed not to bite my tongue."
"You should have bitten your tongue!" Kagome exclaimed, smacking the back of his head. "What the hell were you thinking!? Do you want enemies on the first day already!?"
Pouting from the pain and the miko's scold, Sōma rubbed the back of his head. "It was not my intention; I was just being honest. This is a school where you need to get to the one percent, remember? You are going to make enemies with the ninety-nine percent."
Since when did Sōma sound so smart? Taking her eyes away from the chef beside her, she sighed and crossed her arms. He had a point, but at the first day? Did he not see the number of enemies he had already made just by opening his mouth?
"You two!"
Breaking away from their small argument, Sōma and Kagome turned their heads ahead only to blink at the sight of the blonde examiner from the other day. Sōma's lips formed an 'o' as his memories clicked in. "Oh…hey!" he greeted. "You're the one from the exam!"
"Ah, that's right," Kagome nodded, "Nakiri Erina?" Wait, Nakiri? Kagome's eyes slightly widened as she remembered hearing the director's surname. 'His family name was also Nakiri, wasn't it!? Wait, they mentioned it again when they were presenting the valedictorian! Don't tell me the director and she are related!?'
"Man," Sōma cut in, scratching the back of his head, "that was nerve-wracking back there. It's not like I have ever had to stand up there to get awards or stuff like that before."
"I think your grades can give the reason."
Falling down from the comeback, Sōma's eyebrow twitched. If she wanted comebacks he would gladly give them to her. He turned around, ready to shoot her with a few of his, only to stop at the angered tone coming from behind.
"Why are you two here!?" Erina exclaimed, gaining blank stares from the two chefs. "I had rejected you both! You two cannot be here-!" Her view became interrupted with two envelopes being shown in front of her. The emblem of the academy tangled the words on her tongue. Those were…acceptance letters!?
"Wouldn't you come if you got an acceptance letter?" Kagome questioned, showing her the contents inside.
"B-But how!?"
"Man," he sighed, resting his hand over the miko's shoulder, "you had us scared shitless. You said it was disgusting. If it was good, you should of have just said so."
Biting her lower lip, Erina stopped herself from letting her pride being shattered as she heard Sōma's words. She was sure she called and rejected all students that she had to test! There was no way these two could have been accepted! Swallowing every ounce of fury inside of her, Erina flicked her hair to the side before coming to cross her arms. "I will say one thing to the two of you! I will never accepted your guys' cooking!"
Sōma and Kagome shared a glance at each other from the corner of their eyes.
"This is a mistake!" Erina continued. "A mistake, you understand!? You two came here to Totsuki because there was a mistake!" She scoffed, returning back to her ice cold expression. "Taking the number one spot? You two really know how to make jokes, that is for sure. Everyone who has been a student since junior high has been learning cutting-edge gastronomy! I can already tell that outsider transfer students like you two wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of beating them! Hmph!"
Taken into a silence, Kagome and Sōma allowed the Nakiri queen to pass between them. Eyes focused ahead where she once stood, Kagome blinked as she heard Sōma's light chuckle beside her, stopping Erina in her tracks.
"Three years in junior high, huh…," he sighed, tilting his head back to see the petals of the cherry blossom trees grace their way into the open tent. "Three years ago, hmm…"
The miko's eyes dropped back down to the ground. Even just a year ago her life had been different and now here she was on a different path of life. Sure cooking was a different battle, but the battles she had gone through were literally life and death, and for her death was not in option in those battles. Her eyes took a glance at the silent red head, something not in his character to do. A relaxed smile could be seen in his features, the miko taken back slightly from the expression.
"You know," Sōma began, "Kagome and I held a kitchen knife for the first time at the age of three. Over the course of knowing each other, we both worked in the kitchen of my father's restaurant when we were kids. Sure, she may not be as good as me, but Kagome does put her heart and soul in her cooking. For the past twelve years, I have been polishing my skills non-stop." Turning his head over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed to match his incoming smirk. "I can't let you smear mud on the restaurant we both grew up in by leaving after you said our cooking is disgusting. Just you wait! We will make you say 'delicious!'"
Despite all the things that came out of his mouth, his honesty and confidence were needed in some situations. Perhaps Sōma's rightful spot was here at this school. Kagome could not help but chuckle as she saw the annoyance painted on Erina's face.
Sōma knew how to get under your skin alright.
Blue eyes scanned the material on the paper in hand. Concentrating while being stared at was not helping in the least. The miko took a deep breath in, hoping to stomp down the anger that slowly increased in the pit of her stomach. Who knew being the first day of class would bring more annoyance than nerves. 'Well, I can thanks Sōma-kun for destroying those nerves,' she sighed. Of course Sōma would leave her to find the class by herself and stand at their work station while he went off to the bathroom. Readjusting the collar of her white cooking uniform, the miko looked around the culinary class. Those stares definitely were just waiting for a certain red head.
Shaking her head, the miko placed the sheet of paper containing her schedule down on the counter, she rubbed her temple. "First period hasn't even started and I am already feeling a headache coming…"
"Ano…"
Kagome looked up from her self-pity and blinked at the yellow eyed girl with blue braids staring back at her timidly. The miko leaned back as the girl's nerve-wracking aura began to embrace the surrounding area. Just how scared was she to be here? Noticing her holding the paper with the same number she had picked for the station they would be working on, Kagome sent the braided girl a smile. "Ah, are you my partner for this class?"
The timid aura blew away as soon as smile appeared on the girl's expression. Relief washed over her shaking body after hearing this was going to be her partner! "H-Hai!" she nodded. "M-My name is Tadokoro Megumi."
"Nice to meet you, Tadokoro-chan," Kagome returned the smile. "Higurashi Kagome."
"Oh, please, Megumi is just fine," the country girl spoke. The worries that had previously over flooded her thoughts had all sunk from the relief she had gotten to hear Kagome would be her partner for this class. Having barely made into the high school ranks with the lowest score, receiving a warning letter from the academy if she received one more letter 'E' in her classes would mean her expulsion only set her on a high anxiety alert. But after hearing the transfer student's challenge, that only made her pray just as twice in hopes she would not have to come across his path.
"Are you okay?" Kagome asked, noticing her nerves slightly rising again in her aura.
"H-Hai," Megumi nodded, "gomen, I guess I am just relieved it is just us two working together."
Scratching her cheek with her index finger, Kagome exhaled with an apology. "Gomen, Megumi-chan, but we have one more person in our group. Apparently there was a mistake in our numbers and I was stuck here until they fix it. So we have an odd number group."
"Oh, one more person?" Megumi blinked. "Who?"
"Yo."
The male voice behind her immediately made the timid chef jump as she turned around to face her worst nightmare. Even with her lips parted, she was unable to make anything come out.
"Yup," Kagome nodded with a dead-eye fish look, "unfortunately it is him." Oh she definitely felt Megumi's pain upon knowing who else would be with them. Oh she felt the shock alright.
Looking at the shaking girl beside the miko, Sōma blinked before raising his hand in a salute. "Nice to meet you." He noticed the prepared ingredients on the counter: "Wow," he whistled, "the last time I cooked in a class was for home economics!"
Feeling one stab of glares after another, the miko sighed tiredly. How this guy could ignore them was beyond her. Then again, she could, too, but if she wanted to live a normal life like a normal person in this era, she had to act like one right? A normal person would be a bit taken back by a whole class staring at you. 'I think he is just that oblivious about the world around him…,' she shook her head. 'If this continues on, he is going to end up marrying a knife.' Noticing Megumi squatting down on the ground, Kagome blinked curiously as she noticed her writing the kanji symbol of 'man' on her palm. Poor girl, he definitely felt for her.
"Um, why are you writing the "man" character on your hand over and over?" Sōma asked, watching as she 'ate' every character she wrote.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, reality coming back. Turning her head slowly to face the two transfer students, Megumi gulped. "T-This is so that I won't get nervous."
Kagome blinked in return, "nervous? Nervous why exactly?"
The hue of guilt and worry overtook her eyes as she looked back down at the ground. "If I get one more 'E' rating, I'll get expelled."
Sharing the same worry with her, Kagome rested her hand over her hip. No doubt this school placed a lot of pressure on them even during their middle school years. But getting one more 'E' rating and expelled? That must be one of the sacrifices the director had been talking about.
"Huh," Sōma whispered, "I had heard this is an elite school, but I guess even they have people like you."
The words sharply made a swift stabbed into Megumi's chest, making tears roll down her cheeks. 'A-And here I wanted to survive by keeping a low profile…now I am paired with this guy, of all people.'
"Like you're one to talk," Kagome scoffed, sending the red head a glare from the corner of her eyes.
"You shouldn't be neither! That is why we are here!"
"Learn to be a little nice with your words!" she barked back.
Scoffing in return, Sōma turned to notice the gloom casted over Megumi's person. Regretting his words, Sōma scratched the back of his head. "Oh, ah, suman," he chuckled, "I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I just tend to speak without thinking."
"Good that you realized that."
"Oi!" Sōma's quickly snapped to the side as he caught the miko looking elsewhere except at him. "Anyways, Tadokoro, was it?" he asked, placing his focus back on the timid chef, "I'm Yukihira Sōma. Sōma is fine, though. Nice to meet you!"
Megumi slowly came back on her feet as her eyes shifted left and right to see the flaming glares of her other classmates aiming at their space. "O-Oh…nice to…meet you, too." She scooted closer to the miko, giving her back to the glares in the room. "The stares hurt," she whispered, "how are you not a-affected by them? Does he not notice them?"
"Oh that?" Kagome blinked as her eyes looked around her surroundings. The glares of the students were definitely those of a demon at this point. "You get used to them. It comes with the package of knowing this baka."
"Attention!"
The class dropped their conversations as all eyes were on the incoming person. Remaining in her spot, Kagome blinked as she saw the older chef with slicked blonde hair wearing a red scarf around his white uniform place his notebook down on the front counter. Was this the instructor? If so, they seemed more natural than she thought.
"Good morning," he spoke, "my young apprentis."
"Good morning," the whole class replied back.
"A…A…Apple tea?" Sōma whispered. Did he want apple tea or was that a word for something else?
Coming to stand between the two transfer students, the two looked down to see Megumi's overreaction coming back to haunt her. "T-That's Rolan Chapelle-sensei," she whispered, feeling her whole body go numb.
The lecturer looked up from his notebook as he saw the fear running through the room. Of course this was a normal thing to see for first years, especially if they had heard of him. Clearing his throat, Chapelle's eyes narrowed on the class. "You become responsible for creating a delectable dish the moment you step into the kitchen. Neither experience nor status can excuse you from this duty. In my class, any dish that fails to deserve an 'A' rating will automatically receive an 'E' rating. Remember that."
Wincing at his words, the miko's eyes landed on Megumi, noticing the tears of anxiety streaming down her cheeks. First period and everything was already giving her migraine. Not to mention she felt for the poor girl. Not only did she have to be partnered up with her cocky chef and herself, but she was stuck with a lecturer who seemed to be an expert in failing students.
"That teach looks scary," Sōma commented behind them as Chapelle took roll.
"Just a bit," Kagome sighed.
Megumi turned around, making her hands into fists as she brought them into her chest. "H-He's notorious at Totsuki for being extremely strict with grades. Last year, he gave 'E' ratings to all fifty students in his class, eighteen of whom were expelled as a result of that rating."
Kagome's eyes widened: "he failed them all!?" She exhaled, placing her hands on her hips: "well there goes my luck."
"His nickname if The Chef Who Never Smiles," Megumi whispered, noticing the intensity in his glare.
"Eh~," Sōma nodded, watching as Chapelle's assistant began to write the recipe on the white board for class.
"Today's menu item is…" Chapelle spoke, giving the sheet of the recipe to his assistant behind him, "boeuf bourguignon. It can be said to be a staple in French cuisine, but I will put the recipe up on the white board, anyway. Two hours is your time limit. Each team should serve the dish as soon as it's complete. Let us begin," his glare hardened, "commencer la cuisson!"
Watching the rest of the student chefs scramble to gather their utensils and ingredients, Sōma raised a brow. "Did he just say to use common sense in a croissant?"
"I am pretty sure you are the one that needs a bit of common sense," the miko whispered back.
Megumi nodded to herself as she looked over the recipe from her spot. Giving herself some confidence, she knew all she needed was to stay calm. After all, she had two transfer students who made it into Totsuki without any problems. It was rare to hear any transfers coming in. 'They both look confident in their skills. I bet their cooking skills aren't too shabby-,' Megumi blanked out in blinks as she saw the two chefs behind her looking at the white board with curiosity and confusion.
"Boeuf bour-what?" Sōma stuttered out. What the heck was that?
Tilting her head to the side, in hopes to have some different angel in understanding, Kagome hooked her fingers underneath her chin. "Sounds like beef, right?"
"Nani!?" Megumi exclaimed. "Sōma-kun! Kagome-chan! You two have never made it before!?"
"Nope," they both replied at the same time, watching as Megumi was thrown into another pit of gloom and despair.
Turning his attention back on the white board ahead, Sōma shrugged his shoulders. If it was anything like it sounded like, it had to be beef, right? It was not like he never handled the meat in his life. "It's basically like braised beef sinew, right?" he laughed half-heartedly. "Well, I'm sure we'll manage! I'll go take a look at the recipe."
Leave it to Sōma to not freak out in any situation that had to deal with cooking. Kagome followed his person with his eyes as she looked over at the ingredients on their station. 'Just give him a math test and he will freak out then.' Feeling a pair of irritated auras behind her, the miko looked over her shoulder to see the glares of two students being directed towards the oblivious red head.
"Kagome-chan?"
The miko turned her head to the braided haired chef. "Uh, hai?"
"Are you alright?" she asked.
Cautiously, Kagome took a glance at the two male chefs sending sharp glares from the corner of her eyes before giving Megumi a simple nod. Why did she have the feeling cooking here would not be as simply as following a recipe?
One twitch.
'Megumi-chan…'
Two twitches.
'Poor girl…'
Kagome placed the colander into the sink as her eyes remained focused on the overly concentrated 'E' girl. Ever since they began to cook, Megumi's levels of stress and worry had even put her on the edge. Having barely met her, Kagome was starting to feel concerned for her well-being. No doubt the expulsion warning was hanging over her head as if it were her own execution. About forty-minutes into the cooking and now with the beef inside the large pot, Megumi never took her eyes off the lid.
"Take the beef out in forty-minutes…," Megumi whispered under her breath.
Kagome's eyebrow twitched again as she saw the intense focus in Megumi's eyes. Anymore push in her focus and she was sure her eyes would pop out.
"Take the beef out in thirty-nine minutes…"
A minute ticked by.
"Take the beef out in thirty-eight minutes!"
"Oh! Tadokoro! Kagome! Look! They have so many spices!"
Blinking at the red head freely inspecting the shelves at the back of the room, they both sighed. Of course they would the ones over worrying. Letting out a breath she had been holding in, Megumi's tense shoulders were given back freedom. "I feel like an idiot for being all anxious by myself…"
"Imagine being with him all the time," Kagome whispered back. Shaking the want to get out another sarcastic comment, the miko turned to Megumi and sent her a smile. "You want to help get the serving dishes and put these away?"
Megumi returned the smile, glad she had at least one person who was just as focus as she.
Whistling in wait, Sōma rested his hands on his hips. Who knew two hours would be slow. This was exactly why he hated class. Class and cooking just did not suit him well. But he had to admit the director's speech definitely had him curious to see who would be that one percent to make it to the top. He was no genius in math, but one percent was definitely a low number for graduates. Was this academy that difficult?
Catching a faint trace of smoke coming out from their pot simmering over the low heat, Sōma blinked as he noticed the lid slightly moved to the side. "Huh?" Raising his eyes up to see the miko walking towards him, she pointed at the pot, "Kagome, did you open the lid?"
She blinked back, following his line of sight. "No? We still have to simmer it for twenty more minutes."
Megumi looked over the miko's shoulder, seeing the lid just as Sōma had found it. "W-Why is it open?"
The same menacing auras she had felt before rose once more. Feeling the piercing glares on them, Kagome met their eyes along with their smirks from the same two male chefs that had their eyes on Sōma at the beginning of class. 'They wouldn't…,' rushing to stand in front of the stove, Kagome quickly took the lid off the pot only for the three to swallow all shock at the white substance laying over the beef.
"W-What is this white stuff!?" Megumi exclaimed.
His own irritation flowed in his blood as he noticed the miko's eyes glued on the other pair. He may be stupid, but this was clearly obvious who had done it. Sōma reached for a spoon from the side and scooped a bit of the powder before licking it for a taste. "Salt…," he whispered.
"How!? What are we going to do!?" Panic paralyzed Megumi completely as she saw her two partners glaring at the culprits of the mess. "We can't use this meat anymore!"
"Real mature," Kagome whispered. As much as she wanted to return the favor, she had to hold herself. This was no feudal era were anything was acceptable. The last thing she wanted was to be expelled on her first day. Turning her attention back on the red head, she sighed. "What should we do? It takes more than an hour to tenderize and season the meat."
"And then we have to braise the meat in the sauce for at least half an hour so that the flavors mingle!" Megumi looked over at the clock on the wall, feeling the color on her face drain. "We only have thirty-minutes left! We are going to get an 'E' rating if we serve this!"
The miko's brows furrowed in worry as she saw Megumi looking down at her charm for 'luck'. It seemed all of them had the worst luck on their first day. Focusing back on the silent red head, Kagome watched as Sōma looked left and right by turning his head. "What are you looking for?" she raised a brow.
"A pineapple."
"Pine…apple?" the miko blinked.
"Yeah," Sōma replied with a heavy sigh. "I thought this school might have it knowing how elite they are, but I don't see it. We could have used it to tenderize the meat in the time that we have."
Placing her fingers underneath her chin, the miko sunk into her own thoughts. Considering time was still ticking even while they stood looking at their destroyed meal, they had to come up with a solution and fast. Tenderizing and flavoring the beef was the biggest obstacle. Already her first day and she had to think this hard? She was just an amateur chef for Kami's sake. Her eyes took a glance of the red head beside her. 'Pineapple, huh?' Her mind rapidly flashed her a memory of the young Sōma having tried to make her taste test his creations when it came to flavoring meat. He went all out from mayonnaise seasonings to honey- 'Wait! Honey!' She gave herself a nod, the memory coming to a clear view when Sōma had actually succeeded in one of his creations. 'He had used honey to tenderize the meat that day! If they have honey, we might actually get this done!'
Kagome placed her hand over the young Yukihira's arm, catching his attention. "Sōma-kun, what if we try honey?"
"Honey?" he repeated. "Why would we- oh! Sokka!" Almost as if he had read her mind and the memory clicked back in, a smirk slowly spread over his lips. "Oh, you remembered my meat tasting days, huh-?"
"Just go get the damn honey," she glared. "We are wasting time."
"Hai, hai," he chuckled. Turning his back to his partners, he gave them a thumbs up: "yosh! Let's get this done! Kagome, go get the rest of the ingredients while I go grab the beef. Tadokoro, prepare the spices and the temperature."
Watching the young Yukihira make his way to the back of the classroom, Kagome blinked as she noticed the fidgeting movements coming from Megumi. Raising a brow, the corner of her lips rose into a half-hearted smile. Megumi was definitely panicking with the time slowly being eaten away. Kagome placed her hand over Megumi's shoulder: "Megumi-chan, don't worry. We can fix this."
"R-Really?" she blinked, sniffling her anxiety back.
With a simple nod, the miko quickly made her way to the back to gather the rest of the side ingredients into a tray. Carefully dodging any incoming students, the miko's eyes made a glance ahead as some partnered chefs made their debut dishes to Chapelle. 'Some of them are already done. We need to get this done before thirty-minutes are up'. Kagome placed the tray down on the counter along with Sōma putting down the beef and the jar of honey beside her.
Megumi blinked as she turned on the stove. The sight of the fresh ingredients only made her levels of anxiety rise up. Were these two really thinking in finishing a two hour recipe in less than thirty-minutes?
"All right," Sōma spoke, "let's put our game face on."
"H-Huh?" Megumi stuttered, "but there is no way we are going to finish in time even if we quickened our pace."
A chuckle passed under Sōma's breath as he slowly untied the knot of his white sash on his wrist. Noticing the miko begin to tighten her ponytail higher up, he quickly unwrapped the sash before putting it over his forehead. "That teacher says some pretty good things," he spoke, tying the sash from the back. "We are cooking pros before we are students. We are going to serve a dish, no matter what!"
"Like I said Megumi-chan," the miko reached for the mushrooms on the tray and began to slice them, "trust us. We can get this done."
Megumi was at a loss for words as she saw the duo synchronize their cooking. If it was not for knowing them, Megumi would have been convinced they had been doing this together for years with lots of practice and experience. Watching Sōma take out his own knives from his long black suitcase, Megumi jolted as Kagome called her out to bring in the rest of the ingredients to them.
"Megumi-chan?"
"H-Hai!?"
"We need the salt and pepper for the sauce and then the bouquet garni," the miko smiled as she opened the lid to the honey and handed it over to the red head beside her. As Megumi scurried over to assist them, Kagome heard a light chuckle next to her. "What's so funny?" she questioned, watching as Sōma began to spread the honey over the beef.
Shaking his head, the red head quickly tied some of the garni around the beef with a few strings. "Nothing; I am surprised you didn't go after those two guys."
She raised a brow: "was I supposed to?"
"Would have been nice," he laughed, "but I know you were looking after Tadokoro and our well-being. After all, it is our first day."
Dropping her gaze into her signature dead-eye fish look, Kagome rose the temperature of the stove as she began to sauté the butter and mushrooms together. "Where was this kind of thinking during the orientation speech?" A chuckle was returned from her the moment she noticed Sōma part his lips to return the sarcastic comment with one of his only for Megumi to hand over the two spices she had requested before. "Arigatou, Megumi-chan. Can you look over the mushrooms while I get the serving dishes?"
"S-Serving dishes already?" Megumi blinked. That fast already? Her eyes landed on the young Yukihira as his hands carefully placed the honey spread beef into the large pot.
Kagome swiftly made her way over to pick up the serving dishes. As she reached for the white squared dish on the third shelf, she stopped upon hearing the voices coming from behind.
"Look, that big-mouth transfer student and the other two are all worked up," one of the male chefs smirked with his laugh as he made his way around the miko to grab one of the serving dishes on the second shelf.
The miko froze, recognizing the auras of the two culprits.
"Well," the other spoke, "I bet an 'E' rating is guaranteed, no matter what."
"Are you two that insecure about your cooking to be ruining other people's hard work?"
Hearing the female voice beside them, the two male student-chefs turned their heads to see the miko grabbing the serving dish from the shelf. Eyebrows reacted to meet their glare as they saw the miko's confident smile.
As much as she wanted to say more to the two immature chefs, she knew remaining quiet was the best option. Giving them a small bow with her head, she made her way over to her station and handed over the dish to Sōma. 'Alright, ten minutes left.' Her eyes followed Megumi's movements from grabbing the sauce pan and pouring the sauce of the now plated beef. Although she had been the one to give Sōma the idea to use honey, she had to admit she was just as surprised like Megumi to see the end result.
A whole boeuf bourguignon plated on the serving dish with the warm mushroom and butter sauce to give its outer taste.
"Alright! Evaluation, please!" Sōma exclaimed as he grabbed the plate with two hands. Making his way towards Chapelle's grading station, both Megumi and Kagome walked behind him. Now standing in front of Chapelle's desk, the signature smirk from the red head made a comeback as he placed the final dish in front of him. "All done!"
The miko silently observed Chapelle's expression: stoic yet critical. His blue eyes remained glued on the warm piece of beef laying over a layer of sautéed vegetables. The entire class fell into a pit of silence as they watched their lecturer place the flat part of the fork over the beef and slowly press it down.
Chapelle's eyes widened slightly as he saw the juices of the meat and sauce flow through the openings of his fork and down onto the plate, but his surprise was the tenderness of the meat itself. Did he see wrong? There was no way meat could have been tenderized that quick with the little time they had after their small sabotage. Pressing the fork once again over the meat, Chapelle allowed a low 'hum' to escape his throat. "So tender…," he spoke, "the fork is practically springing back." Raising his eyes to meet the group, Chapelle kept his mild glare. "Your team had an accident, if I recall. How exactly did you manage to finish the assignment?"
Sōma chuckled as he pointed at the miko beside him with his thumb. "You can thank her; we used honey! We kneaded it into the meat before the braise and it was also included in the seasoning."
Chapelle nodded back, lowering his eyes once more at the plate before him. "Honey has protease, which breaks down proteins. The protease went to work on the tough beef flank, allowing you to tenderize it in the short time you had left."
Watching Chapelle begin to slice a piece of the flank beef, Megumi took a step towards the miko. "B-But how did you know that you could use honey this way?" Even she had been a bit surprised to see the two acting so casual in using the condiment.
"Well…," Kagome sighed, scratching her cheek, "I just remember Sōma making me try some of his new dishes when he was experimenting with meat. I remembered in one of the only dishes he made that actually tasted decent he had used honey."
"Sōma-kun did?" Megumi questioned.
"Hai," Sōma sniffled with a smirk. "A long time ago, I read this cookbook that said pineapple juice tenderizes meat. I couldn't think of a reason why I would get an entire pineapple just for that, so I experimented with a bunch of different stuff to see if anything had a similar effect. Kagome was my taste tester at this time and well, she was a great one."
The miko sighed as a gloom of disgust loomed over her person. Most of her taste buds had been killed off just by trying his experiments and she even wondered as a kid how she was still alive.
"Honey has a long shelf life," Sōma continued, "so it's much more versatile. Well, you will see once you try a bite, Tadokoro." Grabbing an extra fork from the side, the young Yukihira grabbed a piece from the beef and handed it over to Megumi. "Here."
Shifting her attention from Chapelle to Megumi, Kagome felt her palms sweat at the agonizing wait of their evaluation. As the two took their bites, both were pulled into a honey coaxing heaven as they felt the warmth of the beef and the sweet flavor of the honey melt them into paradise. Megumi and Chapelle were overtaken by the juicy flavors bringing their lips into a wide smile. Sōma chuckled at their expressions before turning to look at the blank miko behind him.
"Be a little proud of yourself, Kago-chan," he grinned. "You did help after all."
"Yeah, but…," Kagome's eyes remained on the smiling chef in front of them, "he…"
"Smiled!?" the entire class exclaimed watching as their lecturer had been taken into the warmth of French cuisine.
Hearing the silver ware being placed back down, the three student chefs and the rest of the class watched as Chapelle's serious expression slowly melted back onto his face. "Yukihira. Tadokoro. Higurashi. I will give you an 'A' rating. However…"
The three waited in silence and in worry of what was to come until a smirk appeared over his serious face.
"…I regret the fact that I do not have the authority to grant you a higher rating."
As he heard the critique and the satisfaction of his customer, Sōma unwrapped the sash over his head: "Glad you liked it!"
The miko's attention shifted over to the now calm female chef beside her. The stressful aura surrounding Megumi's person slowly lowered the moment she breathed out a sigh of relief. That itself made the miko smile and slowly take off the hair tie from her hair. The comments from the students in the back, along with their culprits, made her chuckle. This school was much more than just cooking.
It was about surviving hell.
Placing the jar of honey on the shelf, the miko's shoulders relaxed as she closed the cabinet. Everything had happened so quick she was unsure if this was even real. An academy with heated competition to be in the one percent definitely had a taste of war. Just by experiencing the sour taste of the two male chefs before had her blood boiling, but she knew it was best to beat them what they were here for. After all, she had managed to help Sōma.
'Never thought I would be able to help that baka,' she scoffed at herself, 'he is more knowledgeable than me in this area.'
A small chuckle from behind made her turn her head over her shoulder. Watching Sōma wrap his white sash around his wrist, the miko raised a brow. "What's so funny?"
"I am just surprised," he spoke, tying a knot over his wrist, "that you remembered the honey thing."
Scoffing again under her breath, the miko turned her attention back at the cabinets as the red head's reflection was given to her. Gold eyes fixated on her, Kagome closed her eyes. "Despite the torture I went through with you during our childhood years, I guess it was worth it."
"Oh-?"
"But only with that dish!" she exclaimed, coming around to jab a finger in his chest. "The rest were just pure pleasure of yours!"
"Mah, mah," he chuckled nervously, "no one else would do it."
"Because it was like asking for death trying your creations!"
"Ano…Sōma-kun. Kagome-chan."
The two transfer students blinked upon hearing their names coming from behind. Turning around to face the owner of the voice. Megumi's eyes lowered to the ground as her fingers locked with each other behind her back.
Sōma placed his hand over his hip, smiling at their new partner for the upcoming year. "Oh! Good work back there!"
"Thanks for helping us out today," Kagome smiled, watching a new joyful glow overtook Megumi's features.
Shaking her head timidly, Megumi's cheeks heated slightly with a red tint. "N-No, thank you two for today! It's all thanks to you two that I…"
"Don't worry about it," Kagome laughed softly. "We are just happy that you were able to put up with us. We are looking forward to working together from now on, Megumi-chan!"
Megumi nodded as her eyes stared at the two new chefs. She had been wrong to judge, but as she watched them talk and interact with each other, she could see there was a light of talent that glowed bright when the two worked together. 'Maybe I have gotten myself paired with two special people…'. These two were special and that she could tell just from the execution of skill and knowledge they demonstrated in class. Perhaps her luck was finally turning around.
"Oh, by the way," Sōma spoke, catching Megumi's attention as Kagome turned around to place the salt and pepper on the other cabinet. "Want to try my new recipe to celebrate our team-up?"
The miko froze in mid-task in placing the salt on the shelf as she heard Sōma practically ask Megumi to give her life up. Feeling a shiver run through her spine, she slowly turned her head over her shoulder watching as Megumi gave a naïve smile and nod. This girl was asking for death!
Megumi's and Kagome's eyes widened as Sōma slowly grabbed a small container from his bag and chopsticks digging for the tentacle dripped in possibly the most disgusting sauce ever.
"Here!" Sōma snickered, revealing that devilish side of him.
"H-Huh?" Megumi blinked taking small steps back.
"It' honey pickled squid." Sōma took one step at a time towards the innocent girl as the greenish looking honey dripped down to the container in his other hand. Extending his arm out to feed the unknown to the timid chef, he blinked as he felt another hand tightly clasp around his wrist. "Huh?" Noticing the eyebrow twitch on his childhood friend, Sōma raised a brow himself. "Kagome?"
A shaky smile was given to Megumi while keeping her firm grip on Sōma's wrist. "Megumi-chan…thank you again for your help. Why don't you go home before this baka kills both of us."
Unsure whether she should take this chance to run away from the hell she knew she would taste, Megumi gulped. Was Kagome trying to save her life? If so, would Sōma use her again to taste whatever he had in hand? "K-Kagome-chan-?"
The miko worded 'run' to the innocent girl. The last thing she wanted was to have Sōma create even more enemies, especially from someone who gave him a chance. Nodding one last time to Megumi, she sighed as Megumi gave them a bow and made her escape.
A pout formed over the red head: "darn. I just lost another test subject."
"You really have to stop doing these things to innocent bystanders-oomf!" Blue eyes bulged as the taste of the honey pickled squid melted all her taste buds. The slime and sour taste only made the color of her skin pale. As chopsticks were taken out of her mouth, the miko gulped with no choice and looked around for a drink to save her life. "Ugh! Sōma-kun! What the hell!?"
"You took her place," he snickered.
"I did no such thing!"
"Yeah you did," he raised a brow back. "You gave her an escape and you took her place." A smirk adorned his lips as he grabbed another squid piece from the container. "Care to give another opinion?"
Kagome's eyes narrowed as she grabbed him from the collar of his shirt and brought him close to her person. "You can be honest, Sōma-kun. Tell me you want to die."
"He-he-he."
Gently tugging out the hair tie out of his hair, a soft sigh was released. The scents of failure from his class overwhelmed his senses. 'First-years still have a lot to learn about herbs and spices…,' the tan male shook his head as he made his way out of the class and into the hall. The last thing he wanted was to let the overpowering mix of spices cover his nose to never smell again.
"You can be honest, Sōma-kun. Tell me you want to die."
Green eyes blinked as the door frame showcased the two transfer students in their year arguing back and forth. He raised a brow, noticing the black haired female he had bumped into in the morning threatening the red head as he tried to feed her-
'Is that…food?'
He coughed lightly upon catching the sour smell of the vinegar and honey. What had he made? Shaking his head, the young male's eyes slowly glided over to see the miko shaking the other male back and forth.
'Higurashi Kagome, huh?'
The minute his eyes had landed on her, he had caught a scent of cherry blossoms, but rich aged petals. At first glance, she was not like the Yukihira boy, but something did captivate. Toning down his curiosity, he hoped his path would come across the two to meet them formally and officially through skill and rivalry.
MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: Thank you for reading! Please review and let me know if I should continue because I have my doubts at the beginning ha-ha! Either way, thank you for reading!
Ja~ne!