Autumn Taste [Tsukasa Eishi x OC] [Shokugeki no Soma Fanfic]

XI

After realizing her own feelings, Rin did not sleep a wink. She did not know when, why or how she fell in love. Big bags of dark circles appeared under her eyes. At least she got a few moments of sleep in the bus but it was clearly not enough. When they arrived, it was Megumi who woke her up.

"You look tired..." Megumi pointed out the dark circles. Rin shooked her head and popped a caffeine pill in her mouth which she bought from the drugstore earlier.

Being the students of the Tootsuki Academy, it was no surprise that they made a big entrance. The huge line of buses blocked the road and caused a huge traffic jam. All the pedestrians and clients walking out from the hotels and resorts were shocked by the scene. Each and everyone of them knew that these people are not one to be mess with.

On the other hand, students were frozen on the spot as they watch the skyscraping buildings and luxurious reception at the hall. This is where they were going to have their training camp. Rin was of course taken away by the sight too but only for a second. It seemed perfectly fine since it was a training camp organized by Tootsuki.

Rin followed her fellow dormmates to the great banquet hall of the Tootsuki Resort. The second they entered the hall, they could sense an obvious tension between students. Some were sitting down and some were pacing around. No one made small talk to each other. Ryoko found the silence unpleasant considering about a thousand students were gathered in this one room.

As soon as Souma entered, he caught sight of Nikumi and shouted her nickname loudly, ignoring the pressure. Rin felt impressed by Souma's confidence. His carefree attitude did managed to calm her down a little. However, Souma's appearance caught some attention around. Nikumi quickly warned him to be cautious which he did not understand at all.

Once all the students gathered, Mr. Chapelle appeared on stage and gave a brief explanation of this training camp. Then he welcomed the guest lecturers whom are the alumni of the Tootsuki Academy. All the students immedietaly had a sense of respect towards them even though they have not met. Being able the call themselves an alumni is not an easy feat. It means they are genuises who graduated from Tootsuki despite the one-digit passing rate.

The guest lecturers went onto the stage one by one and need no introduction at all since they are well-known not only in the academy but all over the world. The first one to come up would be Shinomiya Kojirou, owner of Shino's Restaurant, the first ever Japanese person who got the Pluspol award in France. He also became the first lecturer to expelled a student because he wore a hair product which was too aromatic. All the students were intimidated and the temperature in the room dropped even lower than before.

Appearing right after Chef Shinomiya was Mizuhara Fuyumi and Sekimori Hitoshi. Rin was expecting for the next chef to appear but she heard Megumi's squeck. Rin looked towards her and saw a foreigner holding her hand and was straight up flirting with her. He was interrupted by Inui Hinako and she apologized politely to Megumi but somehow managed to left a very scary impression.

Finally, just as Tsukasa mentioned, Doujima Gin finally came up the stage. After a few words of 'encouragement', all the students were divided into twenty groups. Rin was separated from Megumi but luckily she was with Yoshino. All of the Polar Star students said their farewells and off they went to their first training.

***
Rin's group was under Mizuhara's care. They gathered in an isolated building in the middle of the mountain. Mizuhara stood among the students and clapped loudly to get all their attention.

"Pay attention, chefs. This mountain is rich of resources. You will get your requirements in this area to make me a meat dish that meets my standard. I'll have you form into pairs to work together. There are spices prepared in the kitchen and hunting equipments in the storeroom which you are free to use. Anyone who crosses over the boundaries of the limited area or cannot finish this task within the time limit will be expelled. Any questions?" Mizuhara briefly explained their first task. After looking around and seeing no hands raised, she announced, "Well then, the time limit is two hours. You may begin!"