Ichiryu tried to send little Rin to a normal school, but that didn't work out so well. She was board with other 3 year olds, 4 year olds, even 5 year olds. Sunny had been to school before their mother died so he already taught Rin how to read and write- even basic math skills. (When necessary he would even steal books from the school bags of other children.)

It was necessary to their survival; as long as he gave the illusion Rin was educated no one would suspect they were orphans. They would just assume their parents were working hard at a low paying job, in that city, or perhaps a few cities over. But that was a tale for another time.

Every day for the 3 months she was forced to go to regular school, she would run home and ask about what Sunny learned in his 2 hours of school. It his lessons were all about the gourmet plants and animals, the history of the gourmet lands and the gourmet cells, and -the god ingredients (with the possibilities they bring.)

But what interested Rin most were the plants and animals. There was so much to learn about these animals that took massive teams of soldiers to take down- and those were just the ones who had been taken down before. There were creatures that no one had ever dared to fight- their capture levels were immeasurable (and their meat was rarer then gold- but that diden't really seem as important)

It was then Ichiryu knew what had to be done. He hired a private tutor to teach Rin the basics of reading math and science- but at her level. Then she was allowed to sit in on the 2 hour classes with the boys- after that came meal time.

They boys ate ravenously. Rin had no idea why. She just assumed it was because the food was so yummy, but even she only ever ate one or 2 servings.

For the last 4 hours of the day, their schedules diverged. Rin was sent to the library, a massive room of books and computer data. She was able to look up articles about creatures, plants and other related searches. As the months went by she grew an interest in the chemistry behind certain naturally derived pheromones. She was fascinated by their abilities to manipulate situations and emotions; in the right hands they could do more to help people then most doctors could (at least the ones back in her home town.)

As she studied in the library and collected books to take back to her room to study later, Rin would never know what horrors the boys went through. For them, this 4 hour block was time used to improve their powers and abilities.

Once a month (or sooner, depending on how bad they did in the training) they were given injections of gourmet cells that would further develop with every meal. But as for the trading- each day they were given skills to master in relation to their abilities, then there was a tournament where they had to fight each other using their powers to the fullest extent. Then the winner had to fight Ichiryu himself.

He of course held back, he didn't want to actually kill a child. This was a daily test of how far they had come. He would give the winner critique on what he needed to approve on.

Little by little he introduced the concept of knocking out wild animals (after all that would be their actual job.) He would bring in animals that required precision (or else they would become poisonous or otherwise inedible) and animals that required advanced combat ability.

After the sun went down, everyone's day was done -all the children had free time to use as they pleased. In the massive estate each child had their own room so they could have a quiet place for studying, combat practice or meditation.

Rin would vists Sunny's room at least once a day. After the day's training he always He looked near death, but when she spoke to him he was so happy.

"I'm getting better!" he would say, as he climbed in to a bathtub of ice, covered in bruises. His injuries always varied; sometimes he had a dislocated shoulder, other times he had a chipped tooth, or a broken wrist. But they were told how best to treat their own injuries; the gourmet cells would do the rest.

There was something strange happening to his body; happening to all the boys. They seemed to get taller, stronger, at an unusual rate. Rin simply chalked it up to the boys being trained as athletes; at least that was how Sunny explained it. They were training for something bigger then themselves; they just didn't know what quite yet.

It was a special treat when she would come in to hear Sunny joyfully shouting "I won! I won! "he would still be as badly hurt as when he lost, but at least he knew he was capable of improvement.

Youngest and still smaller than the others, he only won about 10 percent of the time, so whenever he got a win the others would let him have his moment of glory in peace. (Mostly he would place 4th, winning him an extra round of painful injections.)

Rin's own room was sparsely decorated; she had a bed, a bathroom, and a little table with a chair. She kept her books and papers on the floor, so she could easily find what she was looking for. She could have probably gotten her own computer if she asked for one, but the library was close enough for her to use whenever she needed to.

She only spent time in her own room if Sunny wasn't in his room for whatever reason. Some times Sunny liked to wonder the grounds, walking through the gardens, always lost in throught. Other times he was getting more injections. Either way Rin would grab a book from her room and wait for him to return.

Sunny was always happy to see her. They would talk about what they did, and maybe even sneak in a midnight snack. He was always interested in what she researched; all the beautiful plants and animals she wanted to see one day. As it got late, Sunny would turn on his tv. It was a small tv, but television in general was a luxury he never had before. Ichiryu made him promise to not fall behind- or even more behind then he already was- or else the tv would have to go.

Sunny and Rin would fall asleep to the news broadcast about rare food finds in the World Kitchen market, and what people were doing with them in the magnificent restaurants of Gourmet Town.

This went on for 4 years. Ichiryu knew Rin needed to leave and find her place. But she was also just a child. She was gifted well beyond her years, with as passion for science. Her destiny lied elsewhere.

One day it finally happened.