A/N: So apparently some of you didn't like the last chapter. One person even didn't like the whole story. So… Whatever. About the last chapter though, I wanted this to be as true to canon as possible. But, it looks like the last chapter came too close. I made subtle changes. The dialogue was changed so it wasn't a copy, there were added thoughts, my own way of descriptions, Alice's presence (of course), and changes with what was noticed and said. My original goal was to make the big changes at the training camp and have the story deviate from there, but I'll be starting to deviate more now.

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.

Sōma drummed his fingers on his knee in impatience. This class was super slow. It was a cooking theory class. Honestly, he had no clue why he was even in it. There wasn't anything said so for that he didn't already know from his work at Restaurant Yukihira before starting at Tōtsuki. Though, as he looked around, it was pretty obvious that most of the students were impressed by what they were hearing the professor say. It was honestly a bit sad. He knew for a fact that he had learned of of this this already from a book he had seen in his old man's room when he was still in primary school.

'Seriously though, why wait for an instructor to tell you something when you can just do it yourself and taste the results?' Sōma thought exasperatedly. This school was extreme in some ways and rather dull in others. So far, he was pretty sure he was toeing the middle line amongst the students here. He scratched his head and leaned back in the chair while stifling a yawn as the professor turned around and started putting some sort of diagram on the board.

The look on his face was pretty telling. Another student in the class took note of it in interest.

Alice smirked slightly from her spot behind Sōma. So far, Sōma had not turned back once. It was a bit annoying, but it was to be expected. This was a pretty boring class so far. She heard that it would be more interesting near the end of the year with the partner project, but that too far away to even think about now. After the Staigare Period. The main reason she had taken this class was because Ryō had wanted to take a seafood class. They couldn't decide exactly what class to both be in. The cooking contest they had wagered the class on ended in a tie as well. So in the end, they both went their separate ways. It didn't matter that much. Some time apart would be good. And now, there was an added bonus. Yukihira Sōma was here. Half of her wondered why he would take this class. The other half of her didn't care since at least now she had entertainment.

Sōma shuddered suddenly. 'Huh? I thought I just felt something pretty ominous… Oh well, probably just a breeze or something.'

Sōma turned his attention back to the teacher once the diagram was finished.

"Now copy this down everyone," Malfroid-sensei said after sitting down at his desk. He was an American cook. Sōma didn't know anything about him, but based on what he had just heard, this guy definitely knew how to combine ingredients in interesting ways. Already, he had a few ideas for new recipes. Though he was pretty sure it wasn't what the teacher was looking to happen based on the strange diagram on the board. He had absolutely no idea what it was supposed to represent. Sōma half-heartedly copied it down just in case it was relevant. "I want you all to think about what this represents, and how it can matter to almost any type of cooking."

Sōma tuned him out again. This class was getting boring now. To make matters a bit more unbearable, there wasn't even a single other student from the Polar Star Dormitories in the class with him. At least if Tadokoro were here, he could talk to her a bit about his upcoming Shokugeki. But she was in a different class right now, and afterwards she would be with her Local Cuisine Research Society for a while. And he couldn't do much more anyways until after Kanichi was done with his classes for the day. As it was, he couldn't really start cooking until night time. He still had no clue what he was going to do until then. He closed his eyes in thought.

Alice discreetly sighed at how easy this class was. Although, she couldn't help but smirk at a few of the other students who looked absolutely lost. They would all definitely be sent home during the training camp, if not sooner based on their grades. This class was another one that sent a lot of people home. It didn't come close to Chapelle-sensei's class; no other class did. At least, not in the first year courses. She inconspicuously turned her cell phone on behind her notebook and decided to check the online Tōtsuki News Bulletin Board. It was pretty informative, a bit too slow for her liking, but informative nonetheless. It seemed to be pretty normal. The only real piece of interesting news was Sōma's Shokugeki with Mito Ikumi. Yet again another thing she already knew. This, however, included a poll that showed the odds were 100% in Ikumi's favor. She risked a glance at Sōma. He seemed to be staring at the board rather intently. He didn't seem to be worried about the Shokugeki at all. She looked back at her phone and impulsively clicked on Sōma's name to cast a vote in for him. Now there was a sliver on the pie chart with his name next to it. Alice nodded in satisfaction.

"Now then, class is dismissed. Please remember to find a partner by the end of the month. The sooner the better." Malfroid-sensei than turned and exited the room. Most of the other students were taken aback by his swift exit. A few were expecting it. Professor Malfroid wasn't a very social person. He was the mad scientist type that liked to stay in his laboratory, on in this case, his kitchen. Alice could certainly respect that.

Alice stretched a bit while keeping an eye on Sōma. He hadn't gotten up yet, though half the class was already gone. She got up and walked over to him only to pause briefly in disbelief. He was asleep. And quite skillfully too. If she wasn't in front of him, she would have thought that he was awake based on his posture. Alice glanced at his open notebook to see what kind of notes he was taking. Eyeing it, she couldn't tell what it was. It certainly didn't seem like anything she had seen or heard in the class so far. She was about to grab it to take a closer look when Sōma suddenly woke up.

"Huh?" Sōma looked around slowly before finally noticing Alice standing right next to him with an indignant look on her face. "Oh, Alice-san. Long time no see. I didn't realize that you were in this class."

'That makes you the only one.' Alice thought humorlessly. Everyone else in the class had definitely noticed her. They all had made a point of it by not sitting next to her. It didn't matter though. They would have been needless distractions anyways.

"So class is over, huh?" Sōma said needlessly. He couldn't think of anything else to say though. Alice hadn't replied and she seemed to be lost in thought.

"Yeah," Alice said after a moment when she realized that Sōma had kept talking. "When did you fall asleep anyways? I couldn't tell."

"Eh," Sōma looked down at his notes. "I think after I copied down the diagram."

Alice took another look at his notes. It sure didn't look like a diagram. "I see…"

"Well, no use staying here if everyone is gone," Sōma stood up and yawned loudly before walking towards the door. "What're you up to now, Alice-san?"

"Me?" Alice asked in confusion as she followed him out. "I was just going to go back home. Why?"

"Well I have some time to kill before Kanichi-senpai gets out of his classes. Would you like to hang out for a bit?" Sōma asked. He held the door open for her and then started to follow her.

"I suppose I have nothing else to do today," Alice lied. She actually had a lot to do. Nakiri family stuff. Still, should probably manage to scrape by later if she tried hard. This was too good a chance to pass up. Especially since the odds were that Sōma would be leaving after his ill-fated Shokugeki with Ikumi.

"Great! I'm going to be making some dons to test out. Tadokoro is busy with her Local Cuisine Research Society, so I could really use a taste tester." Sōma said in relief.

"Oh," Alice narrowed her eyes at him. "So you just want me to give you my opinion on your dishes?"

"Well, that and I owe you some of my cooking," Sōma replied. He smiled suddenly. "But if you're not in the mood for a don, I could always make you a special item from Restaurant Yukihira. Free of charge as a special classmates discount."

Alice turned to hide her reddening face. Just when she thought she was going to snap at him, he went and said something like that. He really was an annoying guy like Erina said at home. "Maybe another time when I can enjoy it more." Like after he managed to win his Shokugeki.

"Hmm," Sōma nodded in agreement. "That's fine; we'll save it for a special occasion then."

"So," Alice had to change the subject. If her face got any redder, she was sure that even Sōma would notice. "I suppose I can try a few of your dons out."

"Great!" Sōma grabbed her hand and started pulling her. "Then let's go."

Alice was glad that the hallway they were in was empty now. Anyone else would have easily seen just how flustered she was. As it was, all she could do now was hope that they didn't meet anyone on their way to the Don Research Society's room. That, and plan on her excuse to leave later before Tadokoro and Kanichi showed up and told her real identity to Sōma. She would definitely tell him herself later. At some point.

"So, what do you think?" Sōma asked after she took a bite of the don he had made.

Allice chewed thoughtfully. While she may not have God's Tongue, she knew food. Plus, she knew Ikumi. The answer was obvious. "It's no good. The taste is cheap and the impact is dull."

"Really?" Sōma groaned. "You've said that for four dishes now."

"Sorry," Alice shrugged before pushing the don back towards him. "I'm full now though."

Sōma glared at the don as if it had betrayed him.

Alice couldn't help but giggle at his face. Despite how funny Sōma was, he took cooking very seriously. He was definitely a maverick. Despite that, he didn't seem to have the right experience needed to beat Ikumi. He definitely had the experience though. She could tell as she watched him cook. The way he could quickly prepare ingredients, how he would quickly make a dish after glancing at the recipe, and the confidence he showed when cooking. There was no doubt, he knew what he was doing and wasn't afraid of making mistakes. It was a bit strange though.

'Where could he have gotten this good outside of Tōtsuki?' Alice thought as she watched him glumly eat the don she couldn't finish. 'There's no way that his small family diner could have prepared him this much.'

'Now what should I do?' Sōma thought as he took another bite of his latest don and thought about what Alice had said. 'It's true that that this don tastes cheap. Still though, it's good. I guess that the judges would want something more to their tastes though… I can't make a regular don. I need to reinvent it.'

Sōma glanced over to see Alice staring at him. "Are you ok?"

Alice huffed at his response. "Of course I am, Yukihira-kun."

Sōma raised an eyebrow at her. That response seemed eerily familiar for some reason. Now that he thought about it, she certainly reminded him of someone. He couldn't tell who though.

"Just checking," Sōma said. "So what do you think I should do?"

"You need to find a way to get better ingredients, I suppose." Alice said after a moment of thought.

"You think so?" Sōma glanced over at the open notebooks on the counter. "I don't think it would have much meaning to win using her own style."

"What?" Alice stared at him.

"Mito thinks that the only way for a dish to be good is to have the best ingredients," Sōma explained. "But that's wrong. Even a bad ingredient can surpass a good ingredient if it's prepared well. If I'm going to beat her ideal, I need to use my ideal against her."

"That's a rather simplistic view." Alice couldn't help but agree with Ikumi, at least to some degree. Still though, Sōma had somewhat of a good point. She knew a chef in the past that could make anything delicious. An old cook who worked at their mansion and also used to be a student at the academy. She hadn't seen or heard from him since she left to Denmark though.

"I don't like to complicate things." Sōma said.

Alice snorted delicately in response.

"I guess I do a bad job at that, huh?" Sōma laughed.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter as long as you win." Alice said with a tinge of worry.

Alice glanced over at the clock. It was almost time for the Second Year's classes to end. She would have to leave now.

Sōma took notice of her glance and expression. He pushed the don towards the sink. "You have to leave now?"

"Unfortunately," Alice sighed and got up. She risked another look at Sōma. He seemed to be put out by her having to leave too. That made her a bit happy. "Your dons aren't bad. But they need to be more. Everything at this academy has to be more."

"Thanks for your advice," Sōma said gratefully. "I really appreciate it. After I win the Shokugeki, I'll save a portion of my winning don for you."

"You're quite confident," Alice smirked at Sōma's bravado. "I'll be really mad if you lose now after saying that to me."

"There are more reasons for me to win now, I guess." Sōma smirked back.

"I'm looking forward to seeing that," Alice turned and started to walk out. Right before she exited, she stopped and turned around. "I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Ah, I'll see you." Sōma waved her off.

Alice shut the door and started to walk back home. She pulled out her phone and noted the several missed calls. She would check them later though. For now, she had to walk off the dons she had just eaten.

OMAKE

"Have you realized something yet, Sōma-kun?" Satoshi said lowly as he stood in front of Sōma.

"Huh," Sōma looked back at Satoshi unflinchingly. "What are you talking about, Isshiki-senpai?"

"There's something I need to tell you." Satoshi glanced around to make sure they were alone. It seemed that they were.

"Oh?" Sōma looked around to see what Satoshi was looking for. There didn't appear to be anything there.

"Yeah, this is something you need to know if you want to survive here at Tōtsuki." Satoshi looked back at Sōma after he was satisfied that no one was around to hear this.

"What's that?" Sōma questioned.

"Everyone is mad here." Satoshi stated.

"… What?" Sōma stared at Satoshi .

"Everyone is mad here," Satoshi repeated. "The teachers are mad, the students are mad. Even you and I are mad. Ryō-kun, especially, is very mad."

"I-I don't understand." Sōma said in confusion.

"That's because you're mad." Satoshi looked at Sōma with empathy.

"But I'm not!" Sōma cried out.

"Then why are you even here?" Satoshi asked. "I'll tell you why. It's because you're mad. And we're all mad here."

Sōma had no retort for that.

A/N: The Shokugeki was not in the chapter like I said it would be in the last chapter. Still, I hope that you liked the Sōma/Alice interaction that happened in place of it. Also, yay for Alice in Wonderland. I feel that Satoshi is a lot like the Cheshire Cat. He even hides and disappears.

Please feel free to give me your honest thoughts on what you think of this fan-fiction. They do help me grow as a writer, after all. Some people just really suck at constructive criticism… Anyway, I do admit that those of you who felt and said that the last chapter was too close to canon were correct. Some scenes, in the future, will have to be like that because they're fundamental to the plot. But I will endeavor to make sure that I don't waste too much of your reading time when it comes to stuff pertaining to that.

Again, reminder, please feel free to follow "stygianhazardff" on tumblr for updates/thoughts about my fan-fiction stuff.