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

XIII

It was past midnight and the fourth day of the camp. Rin stood among the chefs in the kitchen, staring at an egg. She rested her chin on her fingers and brainstormed what she should cook for morning buffet with egg as the main ingredient. She looked over to Megumi who already had an idea and was testing her dish. Rin went back to her own thoughts. After a few more moments, she decided to stop thinking and went for one of the most common egg dishes--scotch eggs.

Rin experimented her egg dish several times with different dipping sauces. After a few tries, she and Megumi exchanged dishes for taste testing. Both of them then went back to their station to finish their prep so that they could rest earlier.

***
Rin's station was in a different hall from Megumi. She felt that she had been unlucky because she could not be together with Megumi all through the camp.
She complained and protested a little in her mind while she moved to her station. She was happy enough to find out that Marui's station was opposite of hers. At least it was someone she knew. However, Rin was a little distracted since Marui looked paler and weaker than ever. Rin was worried he might pass out anytime soon.

Rin took out her dish and placed it on the counter. She looked at the big clock in the hall. There was still five minutes till the start of the buffet. After exchanging encouragement with the student beside her station, Rin went back to concentrating. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Her neighbour looked over and she opened her eyes at the same time. Her neighbour let out a small squeal as she stared at her eyes. It was as if her eyes had turned pitch black, glinting lightly like a predator.

Doujima's voice boomed in both halls through the speakers. He introduced the 'judges', who were apparently the guests staying in the hotel, the hotel staff and the ingredient sponsors. Their aim today is to serve 200 dishes per student in two hours. They also need to get acknowledgement from the cooking staff of the resort in order to pass. After the explanation, everyone started their judging.

No one came to Rin's station right at the start because her dish was too common. However, this did not waver her and she stood still without panicking. Luckily, and Englishman who seemed to be one of the guest staying in the resort came to her station.

"I never thought I'd see a picnic dish in a morning buffet! How creative!" The man exclaimed and happily took a dish. He gave a small bite and started commenting. "The texture is crunchy outside but soft inside! The yolk is still runny too! And it's a little sweet in there. The amount of spiciness is just right and blends perfectly with the sweetness!"

His compliments attracted a few people around including the vice chef of the Tootsuki Resort, Sena Hiromi.

"You added grated apple for the sweetness and used black pudding for the spiciness! What a combination! This is amazing, a perfect breakfast set in one small bite! This is a dish that changed its own history!" Hiromi said as he took a bite. After this comment, the kitchen staff near Rin's station began coming one by one. Rin's dish was also liked by many children because it was sweet. Rin did not stop working and kept on putting on dishes on the counter as it was running out fast. Somewhere along it she heard her name in the announcement but was too busy to even care.

"Hmm, yours is not that bad." While Rin took her dishes out, a girl stood at her counter and smiled politely at her. Rin stopped for a second to observe her. She had very white skin, white hair and ruby eyes. Rin had never seen someone like her around.

"But I feel like we won't get along." She smiled without humour. Rin took a second to understand and decided to best thing to do now was to ignore her and concentrate on finishing this task. The girl was unamused by her attitude and went back to her station which was starting to attract customers.