~ When reading, please keep your screen at a distance to avoid eye strain ~
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"Didn't I tell you? That's Japan's top culinary school, the graduation rate is less than ten percent. It's a super elite school."
You sighed at Joichiro's last minute announcement to Soma. "Ok, stop gawking at the school. We'll be late for the entrance exam." You shook Soma to grab his attention. He momentarily stopped breathing and looked at you with a sheepish grin "We definitely don't belong here."
"Yeah, tell me about it." You grab onto Soma's sleeve, gently pulling it so he would follow. "Hey dad, I don't get why the other students-" You notice Soma still talking to his father on the phone, later screaming into it saying how he'll surpass Joichiro.
Joichiro irked you to no end. Why would he only tell Soma about the entrance exam at the last minute?!
With that thought in your head, you immediately grab Soma's phone screaming to the person on the other end. "Hey, Joichiro-san! How dare you leave Soma here and not even tell him that he's taking an entrance exam to Japan's leading culinary school!"
"Oh (N/n)-chan! You-"
"Don't you '(N/n)-chan' me while I'm lecturing you! Next time I see you, I'm gonna cook you alive!" You immediately end the call and harshly gave Soma his phone, tugging him to sit on a nearby bench. "Remind me to never piss you off." Soma said jokingly as he put his phone in his pocket. He casually leaned on the bench with his arms on the back of his head.
"What did you and your dad talk about?" You asked, genuinely curious about Joichiro's whereabouts. "Well he-" Soma suddenly sit up straight as if he was gonna tell the best story ever. "Hey Soma!" You shouted as he nearly elbowed a stranger's cup of tea. "Be more careful." You scolded Soma and looked at the stranger. "I'm very sorry, we didn't realize that someone was already sitting here." You apologized with a slight bow, Soma following along "Yeah, I'm sorry too." Soma said sheepishly.
"Don't worry, it's not a big deal." The stranger said, emitting a very welcoming aura. Soma and Nikaido, as he introduced himself, started talking to each other. Mostly about the businesses their family runs and things of a similar caliber.
You slowly detached from Soma and the stranger's conversation, trying to find something more interesting to focus on. Looking around the crowd of people, only a few caught your interest.
First was a tanned male with white hair sitting under a tree. He seemed to be sniffing... cinnamon? You two made eye contact for a few seconds. He quickly broke it and went back to sniffing the cinnamon. Weird...
Second was a guy with black hair and a red bandanna tied on his wrist. This reminded you of Soma, whom you gave a sideward glance. When you looked at the guy again, he was glaring right at you. You awkwardly stared back, waiting for something to happen. The guy clicked his tongue and looked away with a scowl present on his face.
"That was mean..." You muttered to yourself.
Next were brothers, twins perhaps, one blonde and one with brown hair. You noticed some girls coming over to the blonde one and starting a conversation with him, squealing about how handsome he was.
Your thoughts were soon cut off when you felt Soma being kicked off the bench, taking you with him in the process. "Lowly commoners?" Nikaido asked, his welcoming aura was gone.
"How dare you people sit beside someone like me?!" He shouts dramatically. He then continued ranting about how us 'lowly commoners' are not supposed to be at Totsuki because you weren't fancy enough or whatever. It honestly fuelled your anger, you could tell Soma was getting none of this as well.
Before you even realized it, Soma was holding Nikaido by his collar. He was going on about not judging Yukihira's food without even knowing how it tastes. Soma let go of Nikaido once he let out his anger and grabbed your wrist, dragging you to wherever the exam was taking place. He seemed to be oblivious of other people whispering about us making me sigh.
"You could have let me beat him up you know?" You pouted at Soma who was still dragging you. "If I let you beat him up, he'd probably have a broken arm, three broken ribs and a cracked skull." Soma joked which caused you to giggle. "I may know karate but I'm not that strong." You playfully punched Soma causing him to laugh.
"Ah, here we are." You say while calmly pushing up your glasses which you now realize has been disheveled because of Soma dragging you around. As Soma opened the doors, you immediately notice the tension. You look at the very front, searching for the examiner only to realize that it was one of your acquaintances.
"Erina?" You unconsciously say aloud which caught Soma's attention. "You know her?"
"Yeah, we used to-"
"Any notes from the admissions department?" Before you could finish, Erina cut you off. She seemed to be asking the pink haired girl beside her which you assumed was her secretary. The pink haired girl spoke up.
"I'll read it." She stated in a monotone voice. She the went on about some group interviews and testing our practical skills and what not, causing you to get bored to death once again. Erina's voice once again took over the room.
"How pointless..."
This caused miss secretary to stop and look at Erina. "Bring the kitchen table here." She ordered with authority, her secretary diligently following her orders. "Yes Erina-sama!"
Whispers of curiosity echoed throughout the room as a table full of ingredients was brought to the front. A moment of silence took over.
She picked up something from the table. "The main ingredient is the egg. Make one dish, those who are able to satisfy my taste buds will be admitted to Totsuki Academy."
A chorus of gasps came from the crowdcrowd while you let out a small hum in agreement. "And for you applicants..." Erina continues
"I will give you one minute to cancel and withdraw your applications."
In the blink of an eye, almost all of the applicants ran out the door. Some of them were even screaming for their parents to come pick them up because of how scared they were.
From the corner of your eye, you could see Soma talking to that guy who kicked him off the bench. You let him be for now, waiting for all the people to get out.
"They were all hopeless, after all. I can't waste my time with people like them." Erina stated, crossing her arms and faced her secretary. Did she just ignore me and Soma? You thought with a disappointed look on your face. "My schedule is clear for the day right?" Erina asked, still ignoring your and Soma's existence. "Yes, Erina-sama."
"Well then, I'll be in my room trying out new recipes." Miss secretary started drooling at the thought of it. A few moments later, it looked like a scene straight from a yuri themed anime.
You listened to their conversation. Ooh, so Hisako is miss secretary's name... You thought as you crossed your arms, basically waiting for Soma to ruin their moment.
"Excuse me!" And there it is "Are there any limitations to what we can make?" Soma asked as the two girls moved away from each other. Erina gave Soma a glare before continuing "As long as the egg is your main ingredient, you can make any dish." Erina stated, still not noticing the other girl.
"But are you sure about this?" Erina started, trying to dishearten Soma. Before she could even speak again, Soma put his hand on Erina's shoulder and heaved out a sigh of relief. This exchange made you giggle as you inspected the kitchen. You could hear Hisako complaining about something and her trying to explain the situation to the oblivious Soma.
You looked around and saw a particular blade that caught your interest. "Hey Soma look! This blade looks neat!" You shouted from across the room, automatically getting the attention of Erina and Hisako. "Woah, it's so sharp." Soma replied as he immediately went to beside you to inspect the blade you were holding.
"Stop wandering around!" Hisako shouted, while Erina just stood dumbfounded while staring at you.
"(Y/n)?" Erina asked with a confused look on her face. You looked at her with a sheepish grin. "Hey Erina, it's been a while huh?" You said with a small smile.
"You two know each other?" Both Hisako and Soma asked at the same time. You just shrugged at them. "It's complicated." You said nonchalantly. Erina didn't bother answering though, instead...
"Let me ask you two." Erina spoke up again, with much more authority this time. "Will you two be taking my test?"
You and Soma grinned at each other. "Of course!" You replied as Soma threw the knife he was inspecting. You caught the knife with ease and flipped it around like you were flipping a ball pen in your hand.
"We just have to make you say it's delicious right?"
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I feel like the story is taking waaayyyy too long to progress. Should I fasten up the pace? >.>
Love y'all ♥