~~~~Soma~~~~
The sun was setting at the end of the day at Totsuki Academy. Hikari and I were hiking up the hill trying to find our assigned dormitory, Kyokusei dorms. But, we were having a little bit of trouble finding it.
"Kyokusei dormitory." I read off the paper, "Where the heck is this place? The sun's going down."
"Maybe if you would let me look at the map, we wouldn't be lost now would we?" Hikari said in spite.
"And maybe if you didn't stop for that espresso from the other culinary classes, we would have been lost while there was still light outside."
"That doesn't exactly help your case, big brother."
We looked around at the other dorms, and let's just say that they looked more like palaces than regular dorms. One looked like a white mansion, while another looked like a traditional Japanese Palace.
"Geez, do these rich kids really need palaces to stay in? And I thought that they couldn't get any snobbier." Hikari grumbled.
"Yeah, I wonder what they could all be for?" I wondered aloud, "Maybe our dorm will be a fancy schmancy, too."
"I really hope not." Hikari grumbled, "I don't I can handle being stuck in a dorm with a whole bunch of snobby rich kids."
"Don't worry, I think you'll be just fine. You're pretty hard to hate, Hikari."
"You're just saying that because you're my big brother."
"Exactly." I smiled, "Because I'm your twin brother, I know you better than anyone else in the world. So my word about you is the truth."
We kept walking and walking until we finally reached where we would be staying, and the only way we knew that this was our dorm, was because of the ratty old sign outside.
It was a large mansion, but it looked a little worn down. Ivy and vines were growing on the sides of the building, the fence and gates were rusty and old, and even crows were screeching about in the air. I thought that it was straight out of a nightmare. My sister on the other hand....
"This place looks awesome!" Hikari exclaimed, "It looks just like the mansion in my favorite horror film!"
"I thought you would've grown out of that horror movie lover phase." I deadpanned.
"You can never grow out of a horror movie lover phase, Soma! Now let's go inside."
She grabbed my hand and raced to the large front doors to enter. We opened the doors and walked inside the large mansion, standing near the entrance and looking around. All of a sudden, a door exploded open with a massive amount of smoke pouring out of it, followed by a loud crash that shook the entire mansion.
"An earthquake?" Soma wondered.
Hikari took a deep breath in through her nose and shrugged her shoulders.
"No, I think someone's smoking beef upstairs." Hikari sniffed again, "And I'm also smelling rabbits, ducks and deer."
Just then, running from the other side of the entrance was a red haired girl chasing a crowd of wild animals.
"Usako! Kamosuke! Shikanoshin! Stop! Stop running, please!" She shouted chasing after the animals.
"Hey! Room no. 116!" A voice shouted from above us, "You cannot bring wild game into the dorms! If you do that again I will skin you alive I swear! Oh, and room no. 208, you turned an empty room into a smoker room again, didn't you? Oh, how about I hang you outside and smoke you! How would you like that?! And you, room no. 205, if you've trashed your room again I'll gut you and feed you to the hogs!"
"I think I'm gonna like this place." Hikari said to herself. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind them.
"You two are the new transfer students Soma and Hikari Yukihira, right?" The same voice that was chastising the other people inside the dorm spoke. We turned around and saw an old woman wearing a headband and an apron.
"I am the dorm mother for this establishment, Fumio, or Ms. Daimidou or the holy mother of Kyoksukei. You can call me that."
I grimaced upon seeing the dorm mother while Hikari seemed delighted in meeting Ms. Fumio. She bowed with a big smile on her face.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Fumio. I'm Hikari Yukihira and this is my brother Soma. Glad to be here." She introduced her self.
Ms. Fumio smiled at my sister.
"Well, at least someone has some respect in this school. Now, what ingredients have you prepared?"
"Huh? Ingredients for what?" I asked, surprising both Ms. Fumio and Hikari.
"What else?" Ms. Fumio said, "For the famous Kyokusei entrance exam of course."
"It was all in the paper, Soma. Surely you read the requirements. Isn't that why you brought the charcoal grill, so you could at carry some ingredients in it?" Hikari asked.
"The girl is right. Residency will only be granted to those who create a dish in which its flavors are acceptable. And the judging will be done by the dorm's supervisor. Finally, the residents are allowed to bring any ingredients they wish."
"How was I supposed to know that? I didn't bring any ingredients with me. And Hikari, why didn't you tell me about this exam thing?" Soma shouted.
"You said that you read everything. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and assumed that you prepared for it. Guess I was wrong once again." Hikari said shrugging her shoulders.
"If you have nothing to offer, then you've lost by default." Ms. Fumio said with a smirk, "Unless you can show what you can do, then you've got no place here."
"So, what about tonight?" I asked.
"The two of you will be sleeping outside."
"You've gotta be kidding me! Don't you know how cold it gets out there in April?" I complained.
"Ms. Fumio, since this place is a dorm, surely there must be at least some ingredients lying around here. Maybe we could use those for our entrance exam." Hikari suggested.
Ms. Fumio hummed in thought, constantly glancing between me and my sister before she smirked at us with a glimmer in her eyes.
"Well, there are some leftovers in the kitchen, but it's a mish mash. I highly doubt you can really make anything the scraps that we've got." Ms. Fumio said.
Hikari and I perked up when she said leftovers. Hikari turned to me and smiled, reigniting my cooking fury as our two minds clicked together with the same idea.
"I think my sister is right yet again. Show us to the kitchen." I said.
Ms. Fumio showed us to the large dorm kitchen. She turned on the lights and we stood in awe at the amazing kitchen they had.
"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, "I didn't expect a kitchen like this."
"This is incredible." Hikari added.
"If there's one thing I hate it's cocky kids with inflated egos." Ms. Fumio said, "You have no idea how many student's dishes I've tasted in my life. Do you two really think you'll impress me with some slop you just throw together?"
"Watch and learn, Ms. Fumio." Hikari said as we looked around the kitchen.
"Hikari, we've got all sorts of spices over here." I said.
"I'm seeing all kinds of vegetables, bread crumbs, and rice." Hikari said.
I opened the fridge and saw some eggs sitting inside.
"I got eggs, sis. This should be enough to make something." I said, taking off my headband and tying it around my forehead.
"Ms. Fumio Daimidou, Kyokusei dorm mother..." Hikari started, fiddling with her headband tied around her wrist, "Just give us a few minutes. Soma, you plan on going first?"
"If you're okay with me taking the lead." I chuckled.
"Go for it, I'll for you. First born goes first and all."
I took out my knives and gathered up all the ingredients I would need, knowing exactly what to make with what little I had. I diced the onions, cracked the eggs, mixed the meat, and cooked the rice. Finally, after a few minutes, I presented a delicious looking hamburger steak.
"We've only had possibly a few scraps of meat just lying around." Ms. Fumio said, "How did you two make such a thick hamburger steak?"
I chuckled, "I used some of your canned mackerel to make a mackerel burger!"
"Canned Mackerel?" Ms. Fumio exclaimed in her shock.
"I added onions and bread crumbs to the egg then mixed it in with the canned mackerel, then added pepper and lightly salted it." I explained, "I fried it up to create a flaky and delicious mackerel patty. The I added ponzu to the leftover mackerel juices with some corn starch to make it thick, making a refreshing sauce. Given the time frame, I call this dish Yukihira Style: Use what you've got. Holy mackerel burger!"
Ms. Fumio sat down in front of the small meal and looked down at it in awe and wonder.
"Impossible, a hamburger steak made out of canned mackerel?" She said, using her chopsticks to take a bite, "This should be horrendous and inedible."
However, as soon as Ms. Fumio took that first bite, her old bones were shaking with shockwaves of deliciousness. Her face turned red with pleasure, her mouth drooling as she craved more. She took a sip of the egg soup and gasped when she tasted so much flavor from just the simple broth.
"Where is all this flavor coming from?" She asked then turned towards me, "Hey boy, how on earth did you make this? We have no seaweed or fish flakes. Nothing that could've been used to create a fish stock."
"Well, actually, I happened to have something on hand." I said, flicking the small squid tentacle I had been eating earlier on our way to the dorm.
"Squid?! You mean you used that thing to make your stock?"
Hikari chuckled, "Nice one, Soma. Dried squid is pure umami. You soaked the squid in some boiling water and added salt to create a thick soup stock. Good going."
Ms. Fumio smiled and set down her chopsticks, "Soma Yukihira... you have passed. Your room number is 303. Welcome to Kyokusei." She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small key with the number 303 before giving it to me.
~~~~Hikari~~~~
"You are welcome." Soma said taking off his headband and cleaning off his knives before putting them back in their case, "Sis, I'll be going up to my room. I'll meet you up there?"
"You bet. See ya soon, Soma. I won't be long." I replied waving goodbye to my brother as he left.
"So, Hikari Yukihira, what do you have planned to serve?" Ms. Fumio asked.
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath through the nose. I smiled, visualizing everything that I needed in that moment as soon as a I smelled it. The picture was clear, now all I had to do was create it.
"I think I've got it." I said, taking my headband from my wrist and tying my hair back up into a ponytail, "Just give me exactly ten minutes."
Immediately I began cooking, taking some of the leftover mackerel Soma had left behind. He knew exactly how much to leave me, such a good big brother he was. I grabbed some ginger, carrots, the rest of the eggs, salt and pepper.
I could Ms. Fumio's eyes locked onto my hands as I chopped the carrots with great precision and skill, making them small enough to cook with. I chopped, boiled, grated to the best of her abilities. It impressed the dorm mother, and I couldn't help but smile from feeling the rush of energy through my fingertips.
Finally, after exactly ten minutes, I served up a strange dish. It looked like an omelet with carrots, no signs of any of the mackerel I had before. And that's what made it so amazing to see.
"Here you are, a mackerel omelet. I do hope you enjoy." I said, smiling happily.
Ms. Fumio took her chopsticks and took a small bite of the omelet. Without even a second thought, she went in for another bite... and another... and another. In less that a couple of minutes, the entire omelet was gone and a satisfied look was on her face.
"What a wonderful omelet, I tasted the mackerel as it mixed with the sweetness of the carrots and the egg." Ms. Fumio said in delight, "Tell me, how did you make this?"
"I first grated the ginger to help with the fishy smell. I chopped the carrots into small bite sized pieces. I beat the eggs in a separate bowl and seasoned with salt and pepper, tasting the mackerel to make sure I would use just enough salt without too much conflict with the other flavors. I added the canned mackerel, carrots, and ginger to the egg mixture. I added oil to a warmed up frying pan and poured the egg mixture into it. I covered the pan and cooked it for exactly three minutes and fifty-eight seconds for optimal browning of the egg. I then folded it in half and cooked it again. I call it Yukihira Style: Mackerel Omelet."
Ms. Fumio couldn't believe her ears. This girl had a grasp of time that no one she had ever seen had before. She worked quickly in the exact time she said she would finish in, and created something incredible. This dish flooded all of Ms. Fumio's senses so much that she had hardly even noticed she had finished the omelet until it was already gone.
"Hikari Yukihira... You have passed the Kyokusei entrance exam." Ms. Fumio said, digging into her pocket and pulling out a key with the number 304 on the tag, "Your room number is 304. Welcome to Kyokusei."
I smiled and pulled off my headband, letting my red hair fall down my back, "You're welcome!"
As I was cleaning up my knives and putting them away, Ms. Fumio noticed something strange about them. On the handles of each knife was a name inscribed in fancy gold writing.
'Soma Yukihira' it read.
This confused the dorm mother, so she just had to ask, "Why is your brother's name on your knives?"
I looked back at the dorm mother and then at my knives, remembering the day my brother and I exchanged them. We were little kids, but our bond was strong even back then.
"It's kind of a physical representation of our twin bond." I answered, "When we got our knives, our parents had our names inscribed onto the handles. But we thought it would be funny to exchange our knives, so that even if we were far apart, we'd have a piece of each other to stay by our sides. It never really left us. Cheesy, I know, but it's nice for the both of us." I closed my knife case and left the kitchen to find my room.
As soon as I got to the my room and closed the door, I reached into my pocket and took out a bottle of headache medicine. Everything had been so crazy that I wasn't able to take my medication on time, so I had to take it before going to bed. I hated the taste of it, but it was necessary for my headaches to stay away.