A/N: So… I'm sorry that this took so long. Things came up. Anyways, it's out now. Ikumi has made her appearance. And Alice is as curious as ever. Ryō and Megumi are being dragged along, as usual.
Also, attention, I have a tumblr blog where I post stuff (ideas and questions and thoughts and more) about this account. So… Follow me? The name is "stygianhazardff"
Disclaimer: I do not own Shokugeki no Sōma. And every time I read this manga, I get hungry.
"Research societies?" Sōma asked Megumi as they both stared at a bulletin board with a lot of flyers on it. Classes had ended for the day so Sōma and Megumi decided to take the long way back to the dorms to better explore more of the academy. Though honestly, it was because Sōma had managed to drag Megumi along with him and she was far too kind to say no. So now they had stopped once Sōma noticed a bunch of flyers on the bulletin board with pictures of some tasty looking foods on them.
"Yes," Megumi nodded as she looked at some of the other flyers on the bulletin board. "There's a whole bunch of societies in Tōtsuki that specialize in different types of cooking. After school, they develop new dishes or participate in cooking contests with each other. I suppose you could liken it to clubs in normal schools. I'm actually a part of the Local Cuisine Research Society myself."
"Hmmm…" Sōma hummed thoughtfully as he gazed at the flyers. One of them caught his eye with its bright colors and strange looking foods. "The Cutting Edge Research Society?"
"Oh?" Megumi looked over at the flyer. "That's the Research Society that focuses on Molecular Gastronomy. It's food science."
"That's interesting," Sōma looked over the flyer and noted the room number before moving on. "I may need to stop by. I wonder… Oh? A Don Research Society? I've been wanting to make a new don dish. Let's go, Tadokoro!"
"M-me too?!" Megumi asked disbelievingly. Regardless, she hurried after Sōma.
"Oh," Sōma stopped suddenly, causing Megumi to almost run into him. "Well, you don't have to if you're busy."
"O-oh… It's ok," Megumi smiled. "I don't really have anything else to do today. So I don't mind coming along with you."
"Really?" Sōma asked before quickly smiling and turning around to continue on. "Thanks Tadokoro!"
"Yeah, n-no problem S- Sōma-kun." Megumi blushed and started to follow him again, this time with a bit more distance between them.
Around them, several students glared at Sōma as he and Megumi passed them by.
"Hmph…" Alice pouted as she looked out the window down at the grounds below. She was getting bored just thinking up of new dishes, so she decided to look outside to see if there was anything she could play around with. And just when she saw the answer to her prayers, an annoyance showed in the appearance of Tadokoro Megumi. It appeared that she and Sōma were heading off somewhere within the building. They were looking at the bulletin board earlier, so she guessed Sōma was looking to join a Research Society. She half hoped that he would join hers, but she could tell just by looking at him that it wouldn't be his style. Such a pity.
"Ojou-sama?" Ryō asked her hesitantly.
"Yes Ryō-kun?" Alice turned around to look at him.
Ryō was staring down at the table in boredom. There were a few textbooks off to the side that looked really worn out. They were all written in another language, and the pages were frayed and bent. One was open to a page with a picture of what appeared to be a fish dish. Ryō turned to look at Alice. "Is there a problem, Ojou-sama?"
"No," Alice sighed and moved back to the table to sit down. "I was just thinking about something."
"Oh." Ryō looked back down at the table.
"Aren't you going to ask me what I was thinking about?" Alice questioned indignantly.
"Would you tell me even if I did ask you that?" Ryō asked back.
"That's not the point!" Alice slammed her hand on the table, wincing a bit at how hard she had done it. "I'm your master! You're supposed to look after my well-being, Ryō-kun."
"Ah." Ryō nodded.
"You…" Alice huffed angrily. "Honestly, it's like talking to a clam."
Ryō didn't respond, instead choosing to wait out Alice's irritation. It was pretty much his best option right now. He grabbed a book and pulled it over, opening up to a random page. He absentmindedly started to read it while Alice glared at him.
"Honestly…" Alice pulled out her smartphone and started to check it to see what was going on around Tōtsuki. There didn't seem to be much. There was a rumor that the Donburi Research Society was going to be offed by Erina soon though. That was a bit interesting. But honestly, after the first few Research Societies got dismantled by Erina, it had started to get boring to even see the Shokugekis involved since the outcome was obvious. "There's nothing new…"
Ryō glanced over at her before going back to his book. After a few minutes, he sighed and got up. "I'll make you some tea, Ojou-sama."
Alice smiled slightly, not that Ryō could see it. "Thank you, Ryō-kun. But I think I'll go for a walk for a bit first. Just bring it to me when you're finished, ok?"
"… Very well, ojou-sama." Ryō said after a moment.
Alice got up and quickly skipped out of the room while Ryō started to make the tea.
"I think this is the place, Sōma-kun." Megumi said as they walked towards a door.
"Thanks for leading the way, Tadokoro." Sōma said gratefully.
"I-it was n-no problem, Sōma-kun." Megumi stammered while moving out of the way so Sōma could walk in first.
Sōma pushed open the door and walked inside with a smile on his face. Though that smile quickly vanished and his eyes widened in shocked as he looked around the room. What was supposed to be a Research Society room instead looked like an old forgotten classroom. There were papers and notebooks all over the ground, chairs appeared to be missing, and the room seemed to be covered in a fine layer of dust. To top it off, there appeared to be a ghost sitting on a chair in the middle of the room with a pompadour style haircut and a pencil mustache.
Sōma and Megumi looked at each other in confusion.
"I'm sorry, but go back…" The ghost in the middle of the room said sadly. "Soon, the Don Research Society will be shut down."
"Eeeeeeeeeeh?!" Sōma and Megumi yelled out in shock.
"Oh, pardon me…" The ghost sat up a bit straighter in his chair, though its hair drooped further. "I'm this place's chief. My name is Konishi Kanichi, a Second Year student in the high school section."
"Are you ok, senpai…?" Sōma asked hesitantly. "You look sort of depressed or something."
"Hehehe…" Kanichi chuckled humorlessly. "Go ahead and laugh at me, I couldn't even protect the Don Research Society…"
"Oh?" Megumi glanced away and noticed a notebook on the floor with Don Research Society written on it in large letters. She bent down and picked it up. "Isn't this… a recipe compilation?"
"Can I see?" Sōma asked.
Megumi handed it over to him. "It seems like this has a bunch of dishes that the Don Research Society thought up of."
"Let's see here…" Sōma murmured as he flipped through the notebook. Almost immediately, he could tell that the notebook had recipes of incredible quality. Some of them, even he never would have thought up. There went from mainstream to eccentric, traditional to foreign. Regardless of the type, all of the recipes had an incredible amount of thought and time placed into them.
"These are all great dons!" Sōma exclaimed as he continued to flip through the notebook. "Why does the Don Research Society have to be shut down?"
Kanichi's eyes widened with new life and his hair suddenly stood up, fully erect, much to the shock of Megumi who took a step back in fear.
"You understand…" Kanichi said slowly before rushing over to grab a surprised Sōma with both hands. "You understand, Yukihira!"
"You're crying?!" Sōma yelled back at him.
"Dons are fast, tasty, and cheap. The beauty of the casual dining style! Manliness completed in one bowl. Truly, it is a men's meal for fighting men! As a single man, I cannot die without fully mastering Dooooooooons!" Kanichi finished with a really loud yell and flourish.
"He's a really passionate person, isn't he?" Megumi whispered to Sōma.
"Ah," Sōma whispered back. "But in a little bit of an annoying way."
"Damn it…" Kanichi muttered dejectedly. "My Don Research Society is… If only Nakiri Erina wasn't at this academy…!"
"Nakiri Erina?!" Sōma asked, completely surprised.
"That is how Narkiri Erina operates," Kanichi explained dully. "First, she cuts the budget or proposes the reduction of the Research Society that she doesn't like. After forcibly getting the approval to do such a thing, the Research Society's situation will gradually worsen until the only option they have left is to turn everything around at once with a Shokugeki. Then Nakiri puts even more absurd conditions to accept the Shokugeki and makes everything goes the way she wants. By doing all of that, she continues to gain more and more influence at Tōtsuki."
"Huh," Sōma leaned back against the wall in thought. "That's sort of impressive."
"Sōma-kun…" Megumi whispered softly while gesturing discreetly at Kanichi.
"Huh?" Sōma looked at Megumi before following her finger to look at a super depressed looking Kanichi. "O-oh… My bad…"
"The Don Research Society's members all ran away as soon as they found out that the opponent this time will be one of Nakiri's subordinates."
'This guy is really unpopular!" Sōma thought callously as he regarded Kanichi, whose hair had gone back down to its original droopy look.
"So…" Sōma began conversationally. "Just who exactly are you facing in the upcoming Shokugeki anyways, senpai?"
"That is-" Kanichi began to say before a loud noise brought all of their attentions to the door.
The door slammed open and a bunch of construction workers swarmed into the room and began looking around. Some carried notebooks, others rulers, a few even had hammers. A few of them thoughtless stepped on the Don Research Society's notebooks as they walked around the room while doing their thing. A fellow student, by the look of things, walked in after all of them. She had blonde hair and tanned skin, definitely a rarity in Japan. She also wore a plaid skirt and her shirt was tied in a way to show off her midriff and a bikini top with the American flag design. There was a sheath around her thigh for a knife and a scarf around her other thigh. She looked around carelessly, tapping her choker thoughtfully before frowning slightly.
"It's as we thought. This room is far too shabby to bother remodeling it. It would be better and faster to just destroy it completely and rebuild it from scratch just like we did with the Chan Research Society." One of the workers stated to the new girl.
"Is that right?" She asked uninterestedly before shrugging. "Alright, do that then."
"Wha-what exactly are you trying to do? Mito?!" Kanichi yelled at the new girl.
"Huh?" Ikumi rose an eyebrow at Kanichi. "Well… I came to check in early to get a preview. After all, the results are already pretty obvious."
Kanichi was about to retort before Ikumi's hand flashed out and slammed the wall next to his head, causing him to yelp slightly. "However, if you're confident that you can beat me, then the story will be quite different… Right, Mr. Chief?"
"N-no… Ehehehehehehe." Kanichi stammered out.
"Keh… What a gutless man," Ikumi said harshly. "No wonder your members ran away with a leader you in charge."
"Damn Nikumi…" Kanichi muttered.
Before anyone could react, there was a flash of silver. In the next instant, there was a butcher knife in Ikumi's hand and half of a pompadour styled haircut on the ground. Kanich looked down and screamed in shock at the sighed before looking back up at what was left of his hair and screaming again, even louder.
"If you call me that one more time…" Ikumi ground out slowly while clenching her butcher knife. "I will kill you."
"No way!" Megumi gasped. "Mito Ikumi-san is his opponent?!"
"Huh? Who is she?" Sōma asked.
"Her name is Mito Ikumi-san. A chef known also known as the Meat Master. In the middle school section, she was always one of the top scorers. Her meat dishes were always her specialty. She never got below an A in a class that had to do with meat. I doubt that there is any other student at Tōtsuki who knows more about meat then her." Megumi explained.
"Interesting…" Sōma said while checking her out. That was definitely an impressive record.
"You're hindering this, so just leave. You can come back in an hour." Ikumi said rudely.
"Wha?!" Kanichi took a step back before stammering back. "Th-the match isn't settled yet though."
"I told you it was obvious, didn't I?" Ikumi said. "Even Erina-sama thinks so. Dons are nothing more than a B-Class gourmet vulgar dish. Something like that isn't needed at Tōtsuki. This is a place for elites. You and your Don Research Society just don't cut it. No matter what dish you decide to make, I will beat it with my meat."
"Is that a fact?" Sōma said monotonously. "I think prioritizing one ingredient over every other ingredient is a disgrace for a chef."
Ikumi and Kanichi both turned to look at Sōma in shock. Sōma walked up to them and stood in-between them before placing a hand on Kanichi's shoulder and staring resolutely at Ikumi. "Hey Senpai… Do you mind leaving this Shokugeki to me?"
'I was worried that something like this would happen…' Megumi thought forlornly from her spot away from everyone else.
"… What's with you?" Ikumi asked in confusion. "Outsiders should just stay out of this…"
Ikumi's eyes widened when she suddenly recognized the guy standing in front of her. "Wait a second… You're the transfer student! The guy from the opening ceremony... Heh, I wanted to try talking with you at some point actually. But to think that you would try to butt in on someone else's Shokugeki. You must be pretty confident in your skills, at least."
"You can say that," Sōma grinned. "If you want, we can even battle with your specialty. Meat dishes. Either way, I'm sure that I'll win."
"Oh?" Ikumi narrowed her eyes at Sōma. "Well then… If you lose to me… Will you leave Tōtsuki?"
Sōma glared back while off to the side, Megumi bit s lip in worry.
"Keh!" Ikumi stepped back. "If you don't have any guts, then don't bo-"
"Yeah, that's fine with me!" Sōma cut in.
Ikumi turned to look at Sōma in shock.
"But then, let's see..." Sōma crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "If I win… Then you have to join the Don Research Society."
"Huh?!" Ikumi gaped at him.
"Huuuh?!" Kanichi and Megumi parroted after her.
"You'll have to join the Don Research Society and contribute to help develop the Don's culture," Sōma explained. "This will be how you apologize for all of the trouble you have caused."
"You really… Plan to win against me…" Ikumi grinned suddenly before turning around and marching out of the room. "We're leaving now!"
The contractors stopped what they were doing and all followed Ikumi out of the room. After they had all left, Ikumi turned and looked back at Sōma from outside of the door. "The main ingredient will be meat, the dish to make is a don. The time and date of the match will be the same as before, in three days."
Ikumi then turned and walked away. Had Ikumi turned around, she would have seen another student, one with white hair and white skin, staring after her in thought with a slight smirk on and a cup of tea in hand. Alice had been there a while, after following discreetly behind the contractors to see where they were heading, since she knew that they would lead her to the place where Erina was planning to destroy next. And, by total coincidence, it had led her straight to Sōma as well. Alice then leaned against the wall and kept on listening to what was going on inside of the room currently while taking a sip of the tea that Ryō had made for her.
'I'm going to look forward to a Shokugeki for the first time in a long time.' Alice thought to herself gleefully as she decided to make some plans to prepare for the event.
OMAKE
"So this is the Cutting Edge Research Society?" Sōma asked out loud as he walked in.
"Oh!" Alice waved and smile at Sōma from her place by the window. "Good day, Yukihira-kun."
"Oh!" Sōma grinned and walked over to her. "Hey there, Alice-san. You're a member of this Research Society?"
"Mhm," Alice smiled indulgently at Sōma. "Yeah, something like that. So what brings you here today?"
"Oh, I was just looking at Research Societies. I saw the flyer of this one and thought that it looked interesting so I decided to stop by." Sōma explained.
Alice preened at his unintentional compliment. She was the one who had designed the flyers. She knew that they were amazing, but having validation sure was nice.
"So I take it you wanted to join, right?" Alice asked.
"Uh, not really. I just came to take a look." Sōma laughed.
"What?!" Alice shouted. She then got up and walked over to the fridge. After searching for a few seconds, she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a tray filled with an assortment of different looking treats and placed them on the counter. "Come here. Eat these."
"Huh?" Sōma looked at the food in interest. He had never seen anything like these before. "Well, alright…"
Sōma took a lick of one and gasped at how delicious it tasted. "What is this?! It looks like a lollipop but tastes like BBQ Beef!"
"Right?" Alice smirked. "If you join the Cutting Edge Research Society, you can eat food like this every day."
"But…" Sōma started to say before Alice shoved another treat in his mouth. This one looked like sushi but tasted like chazuke. "Ok, I'm in!"
"Of course you are." Alice stated.
A/N: So here it is. The next chapter should have the Shokugeki in it. At least, that's what I think right now.
How many of you loved the latest chapter of the manga? It definitely fueled my desire to write a fan-fiction about Sōma and Rindō (the current 2nd Seat of the Elite Ten Council). I mean, seriously. She said she was interested in him, and then she got them both a seat at Eishi's (the current 1st Seat of the Elite Ten Council) booth. I mean, that's totally setting them up for a date. I can't wait to see what happens there, and what food Eishi makes. Depending on how it goes, that fan-fiction between them (Sōma and Rindō) may come out sooner than I had thought. Though, it will most likely be a one-shot by the looks of things unless Rindō makes more appearances in the manga around Sōma. She's really cute too. Fangs, slit pupils, easy-going, and random. I mean… I'm going to stop talking now. I'll just keep thinking of things I shouldn't say because it would spoil things. lol
Again, reminder, please feel free to follow "stygianhazardff" on tumblr for updates/thoughts about my fan-fiction stuff.