The Lilac Sage | Shokugeki no Soma

Stuck in the Middle

Riese Hayashi's P.O.V

I arrived in front of a factory, I was surprised that I was being sent here instead of some fancy restaraunt or something. I didn't mind, it was a new experience. I stood in front of the factory and waited for my partner or staff from inside. I decided to reply to Eishi-kun's text while waiting.

To: Eishi (Tomato-kun)
Message: Eishi-kun, I can't believe it took you this long to text me. Hmph. Anyways, kidding aside, I'm not as upset anymore, but I would love to talk to you first so that we could explain our sides. I'll see you again soon. Don't worry or stress too much.

"Tomato-kun, hm.. You two are awfully familiar with each other." A voice appeared from beside me, and I sighed.

"Akira-kun, don't you know that it is bad to pry!" I hit his arm.

"Owch..." He rubbed his arm, "I just happened to see it." He then stood up straight, "So you'll be my partner." I sighed and nodded.

"Why do you sound upset?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm not." I shrugged him off and began walking towards the factory. The guard has let us in and we waited inside the lobby of the building. It was a confectionary factory.

A small, plump woman made her way towards us. She wore a fit red dress and heels that were about 4 inches. I was still taller than her. She held a fan and greeted us.

"So you both are the Totsuki students?" She asked with a tone that was annoying. I simply smiled.

"Yes, we are." I stuck out my hand in a formal manner, "Riese Hayashi." She simply looked at it and looked at me from my toes to the top of my head. I put my hand down and stuffed it in my pocket in attempt to stop myself from hitting her.

"Akira Hayama." The whitehaired male beside me introduced himself and the girl began to fuss about him. It caused great awkwardness to Akira-kun and made me laugh inside. If only I could video this moment. Perfect blackmail.

"I am Ayami Chiba. I own this establishment." The woman introduced herself but still eyed the Akira-kun. "Here, you will he in charge of helping out with the production, serving and cooking at the restaurant, and serving the customers. As you can see, we are a bit short-staffed." I turned to see that mostly females were around us.

'Probably because you would scare all your male staff away.' I thought to myself and glanced at Akira-kun. He looked back at me and I looked away.

"We will be giving you your schedule. But a brief explanation is that in the morning til the afternoon, you will be serving and preparing dishes. Afterwards, you will deal with production. We produce different kinds of chocolate, flour, sugar, salt, etc." Hmm.. Interesting.

'I wonder where the restaurant is located.' I excitedly thought. I confidentally knew that I would be passing this with ease.

We were then led to the restaurant. Everyone was quiet, the only sound that could be heard was the clicking of Chiba-san's heels against the floor. We soon reached a large wooden door and once we got inside, we saw an elaborate kitchen. There was nobody inside.

"This is where you both will be cooking." I was surprised that this factory would also have a restaurant. She then led us to see the dining area of the customers.

The place had been well decorated, it fit the theme of a fancy restaurant. There were chandeliers, fancy carpeting, tables made out of expensive wood, paintings hung on the walls were of the Rennaissance period. It was nice but there was something wrong.

It was empty. Unless...

"Tomorrow, we will officially be opening." The woman informed us, "For today, you will be learning the different recipes that the head chef has prepared." Another girl then approached her holding two hangers where the clothes were being covered by a black cloth. "These are your uniforms." She then looked over to me again and observed my body. It was starting to make me feel conscious.

"It will fit you just perfectly." I gulped. I had a bad feeling about this.

"The uniforms for the production will be given to you later on. For now, head over to the kitchen and begin. Chef Daiki Watanabe will be there." Akira-kun and I then followed her inside the kitchen. There we saw a young looking male. He looked around the same age as us, he also seemed to be very timid.

"U-uh, g-good morning to you both." He stuttered as he greeted us. "I-i'm Daiki Watanabe, I'm the n-newly hired Chef here."

"Riese Hayashi."

"Akira Hayama."

We both introduced ourselves and he still looked intimidated.

"You both made it into the semi-finals of the Autumn Elections! And you," he pointed towards Akira-kun, "Y-you were the o-one who won..." There was total silence, then he collapsed on the floor.

I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

~'~'~

As soon as the chef came to, he started to explain to us each dish. Which of course, we understood instantly. It didn't take long before we were excused and we headed to our rooms.

Let me correct myself, room. Our room was merely divided by a curtain which divided the two beds, and closet. But we had to share a bathroom.

"We have about 2 hours to rest." Akira-kun stated, setting his bag on the floor and I walked into my part, I collapsed on the bed and hugged my pillow.

"I'm going to sleep." With that, my phone vibrated. I groaned and instantly checked it, my annoyance was replaced with a smile.

From: Eishi (Tomato-kun)
Message: I'm really sorry, Riese-chan. I really was just busy. But I do really miss you. How are you there? Have you arrived safely? Are they treating you well? You're safe right?
Recieved an hour ago.

From: Eishi (Tomato-kun)
Message: Riese-chan??? Are you okay? I'm getting worried, you haven't replied yet.
Received 30 minutes ago.

From: Eishi (Tomato-kun)
Message: Riese-chan, please text me when you get there. (Or better, call cause I miss your voice.)
Received Just Now

The last text made me flustered, I didn't want to be. I was still upset with him.

To: Eishi (Tomato-kun)
Message: Sorry, Eishi-kun, I just finished with my tasks. I'm still kinda tired, so I'll call you later. Guess who I'm paired with.

Sent.

Within seconds, a reply came;

From: Eishi (Tomato-kun)
Message: Sorry, good to hear you're alright. Who?

To: Eishi (Tomato-kun)
Message: You're no fun, you're supposed to guess. Anyways, figure it out Eishi-kun. I'll be sleeping first. Don't stress yourself too much, and don't forget to eat.

With that, I closed my phone and placed it on my nightstand. I also began to close my eyes, "Akira-kun!"

"What?" Came a deep and bored voice from the other side of the curtain.

"Wake me up in 2 hours."

"Alright."

With that, I drifted off into a deep sleep. A dreamless sleep.