A taste of Kowledge is back, hopefully anyone still interested will enjoy!


Dangerous knowledge

Benjamin could feel blood rushing in his ears and his heart pounding deep in the leather-clad chest. He was in a hurry as tore through desolate night roads of Japan on his dual sport. He had to get there in time.

Ben knew that the Tōtsuki second years would be having their end of term exams tomorrow and he could not afford to be late in meeting the headmistress. He had screwed up, or rather she had and since their last meeting he'd tried to fix the situation. Now it all came down to this last resort, before the incident could spin more out of control. He looked down at the speedometer - already soaring far above the frankly far too low speed limit - he thought back to what had transpired:

After his last meeting with Nakiri Erina he had trudged through a living hell of criminal cases, about half of the Midnight chefs cases to find everything he could dig up. Most of them had kept quiet at first, but he had found a way to make them talk - he always did. It was amazing how willingly people confessed when they found out he could dig even more dirt up on them than they could ever remember having committed. What he found was on the chilling side of cases even for him; Yukihira's half-brother had send the midnight chefs not only to test the capabilities of Tōtsuki or to weaken their general position, he'd done it to find each of their weaknesses not unlike Benjamin worked himself. And now he was going under a pseudonym to either woo or, as a last resort, kidnap the headmistress to be his wife so he could use her God-tongue for his own needs. Ben hadn't had a chance to get enough information on how dangerous he was in a classic sense of the word, but he had beaten his father in a Shokugeki - and tomorrow he would be on his way to the examination, where his plans would come to fruition… one way or another.

This was why Benjamin was tearing up roads in a foreign country, so sleep deprived that he might vomit. He had sped down - he knew reckless driving on a bike could be fatal, and he could see the main office of Japan's top culinary school just up ahead. He hoped Nakiri Erina was still at her office or at least still up this late.

Said girl was just exiting the building getting ready to go home after another tiring day, but sadly fate wouldn't be so kind. She looked up as she heard the roar of a motorcycle just in time to see it skid on the road before the driver was flung across the asphalt and landed before her feet. A shrill scream piercing the night…


Erina hadn't thought she would spend the last night before the end of term exam in an ER facility, yet here she was. The blonde girl had been about to leave her office after another exhausting day of work. She had to do the final business before the exams, including the finishing touches on said exam, so paperwork had been a living nightmare - and the infuriating, redheaded First-seat had been no help at all. All she could think about these days was what that dinerboy had exclaimed to Suzuki-sensei on the day of their battle - that and the new teacher himself. It was obvious he was trying to court her, and even though she was flattered it didn't sit right with her: He treated her exactly like the heroes did the heroines in her Shōjo manga, but it felt wrong for some reason - why couldn't Yukihira-kun be chivalrous like that. It was deep in thoughts like these it had happened.

For some reason Benjamin had come for another late-night meeting, but had had an accident on his bike right as she was going home. The paramedics had said he was lucky; because of this low speed during the crash, most of his bodily functions were still intact: he had a few 1st degree road rash burns. They said it was still likely he had a concussion. And so he was transported to a nearby clinic with her as his health-insurance voucher, she had been the one to give what information she could.

It was nearly 1 am when a nurse came out to talk to her. "How is he?" Erina was about to fall over from exhaustion, her eyes were stinging so tired was she.

The nurse, not much older than herself, gave a worrying response.

"He's getting some needed rest - as should you. But I have some information you have to know… Is he your boyfriend?"

In most other situations where such a thing was suggested, Erina would either be flustered or irritated, but in this serious situation she just meekly replied he was merely an acquaintance and she was there because she witnessed what happened.

The nurse simply nodded before continuing. "His concussion might be worse than we thought. He keeps insisting that his name is Jonathan… but more worrying he might have killed someone."

Erina looked through the glass pane to the Dane's hospital room, him lying relaxed in a bed cuffed to the side of it…


This concludes the ninth chapter of 'A taste of Knowledge' I hope you liked it. If so feel free to review, favorite and follow. You are also more than welcome to leave story ideas/prompts, as it is a work in progress. This is also, to anyone interested in why there has been a hiatus, the reason - that and the revelation of who was behind the midnight, IMO was disappointing to say the least.

See you in the next one!

- One-of-Stone out