Chapter 11

As the students dispersed to their various places, Soran ignored the venomous glare that Erina was throwing his way as he left the small room.

Though he didn't make any attempt to spark a friendship with her, the same could'nt be said for Soma who seemed to have a talent for pushing people off.

He had unintentionally reminded Erina of her expression after she tasted Soran's food which resulted in the death glare she was giving the younger twin.

Soran could only sigh in exasperation at her combination of ignorance and arrogance as he and Soma made their way to the main building where they would be informed about their class schedule for the session.

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"You'll be splitting off into different classes and starting your coursework right off the bat." A suited man announced.

He was mostly ignored as the vast majority of the students spent their time and attention seemingly attempting to glare the twins to death. The looks of hate and rage was clear as the tension was too palpable not to be felt but the man seemingly ignored it as he continued.

"Today, you'll be cooking in pairs with your current partner. Got it?" He asked them all but received no answer as they were still glaring at an oblivious Soma and an unbothered Soran.

A blue haired girl, Megumi, stood just beside them, whimpering in panic and fear as Soma turned to her.

"Nice to meet you." He greeted as if he wasn't being glared at. Realizing that he was talking to her, the girl looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown.

Soran merely surveyed the crowd for any faces he would recognize. Seeing that they were all essentially 'side characters', he simply didn't bother.

He along with Soma and a group of other students were then lead to another room labeled 'Test Kitchen 3'.

Upon entering the somewhat large kitchen, he saw multiple workstations that were each filled with similar ingredients. The equipment looked too notch which was expected from Japan's top school.

Seeing as how the setup was the same for each table, he moved to a random table as Soma went off to another table beside him to look at the ingredients.

"Wow, the last time we cooked in a class was for home economics!" Soma exclaimed in nostalgia as he tossed an onion in his hand, causing Soran to sigh.

"This is more advanced than home economics." He retorted dryly. "And stop playing with the ingredients."

"Why? It's fun." Soma complained, throwing it even higher as Soran stretched out his hand.

"Give it." He said, gesturing to the onion as Soma looked betrayed, now holding it behind him and away from Soran's reach.

"No!"

"Don't be a child!"

"Who are you calling a child?! I'm older than you!"

"We're twins you idiot! Now stop playing with that thing and give it here!"

They argued, ignoring the rude comments from the surrounding students. Already tired of trying to handle Soma, Soran sighed as he looked beside Soma.

"I think you're partner needs your help." He pointed towards Megumi who was crouched on the floor.

As Soma turned to the girl, Soran turned to face his own 'partner'. He honestly couldn't call the guy his partner seeing as how he was glaring daggers into him at the moment.

"If you're going to look at me like that, you might as well go and find someone else to partner with." Soran said, unfazed by the glare as he turned to the brown haired boy beside him who only glared harder.

"Do you think I want to be paired with someone like you!? I'm only here because we were assigned together! Someone like you doesn't deserve to be in Totsuki!" The boy ranted, getting the attention of the other students, Soma included.

The murmurs of agreement didn't help the tension that piled up as Soran looked almost bored. "Are you done?"

The look of anger turned to fury as the boy stepped closer to Soran only for a mature voice to cut through everything.

"Attention!" The students looked to the front of the kitchen to see a stern blonde haired man wearing a red scarf over his white chef's uniform.

He didn't even give a glance at their arguement, ignoring the tension in the class. After all, his job was to teach, it wasn't his duty to settle petty disputes.

"Good morning, my young apprentis." The man greeted, a mix of French slipping into it as the students reciprocated the greeting, Soma looking a bit confused.

"You become responsible for creating a delectable dish the moment you step into the kitchen. Neither experience nor status can excuse you from this duty." He paused for a moment as the look in his eyes hardened.

"In my class, any dish that fails to deserve an A rating will automatically receive an E rating. Remember that." He continued as he then opened the small book that he carried with him.

'The chef who never smiles? How fun.' Soran thought, recognizing the man as one of the strictest chefs in Totsuki.

"Today's menu item is boeuf bourguignon." The man said as a student wrote on the whiteboard behind him. "It can be said to be a staple in French cuisine, but I'll put the recipe on the white board anyway. Two hours is your time limit. Each team should serve the dish as soon as it's complete." He announced as the students began to mumble in wary.

"Let us begin. Start cooking!" He announced as everyone hurried to begin cooking.

"I have a question." Soran's voice came, drawing attention to himself as Chef Chapelle looked at him with a question look.

"What is your question?"

"Can I be allowed to make this dish on my own?" He asked, shocking them all as Soma sighed un exasperation.

"Why am I even surprised?" The older twin muttered low enough for only Megumi to hear, causing her to look at him in confusion.

"What is that transfer student thinking?"

"Is he that stupid to think he can do it on his own?" The murmurs went on as Chapelle scrutinized the boy carefully.

"Are you dissatisfied with the pairing?" He asked Soran who shook his head.

"Not exaclty. I just don't feel comfortable allowing someone like him assist my cooking." He answered nonchalantly as the other boy flared in anger.

"Assist?!" Whatever he wanted to say next was cut off as the blonde man spoke.

"Very well." He said, prompting gasps from the students. "However, you will not be given any extra time or special treatment and I expect your dish to be up to par."

"There's no problem with that." Soran agreed as the brown haired was completely ignored.

"Very well. You'll both cook on your own." Chapelle announced as Soran turned to his 'partner' who still had a look of surprise on his face at the whole ordeal.

"Are you satisfied now? Now you can show off your all so wonderful skills. Enjoy." Soran spoke with sarcasm heavy in his voice as he walked to another empty station.

He took one look at the ingredients on the table before going to the cabinets at the side of the room filled with different kinds of cooking ingredients and such.

Looking through it all, he picked a jar of liquid and some spices. Some of the less occupied students watched him as he carried them to his table.

"That guy has run mad. There's no need for any of those stuff in the recipe." The boy said as his partner let out a mocking laugh.

"After all that talk he's just a confused idiot who doesn't belong here. Let him fail if he wants."

Soran simply ignored them as he got to work, getting out his knife from its small case. With the necessary ingredients laid in front of him, he didn't waste a moment as his knife wielding hand moved at almost blinding speed, dicing up the needs accessories in record time.

In front of him were now neatly cut up ingredients arranged in the order of size in which they were cut. The mushroom, onions and carrot were laid out first but the rest were simply odd.

"How the hell did he cut it so tiny!" This was the thought going through everyone's mind as other than the main ingredients, the other ingredients they couldn't identify were cut up to so thinly that they looked like powder.

He got out a small bowl, getting a handful of different quantities of each of the powder like spices and mixing them into small bowl. He took a palm sized pestle as he began crushing the mix of spices to fine and even powder.

An subtle aroma began to emerge from the mixture as the students had now realized that they needed to start working on their own dish.

Despite that, they all had different looks of shock as they wondered one thing. He hadn't even touched the beef yet so why was it already amazing.

Chef Chapelle who was in charge of the exercise could only look in curiousity as Soran did his work. The ingredients he carried certainly weren't needed in the dish he had asked them to prepare.

'Such refined technique. I wonder…what will it taste like?' Without him realizing, he was anticipating what Soran would make.

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With Soran working alone, it was expected that he wouldn't be able to finish cooking in time.

This was the exact reason why everyone was shell shocked as Soran took his plate dish to Chef Chapelle with a confident look on his face and an hour left on the clock.

"It's done." He said simply as he placed the dish in front of Chef Chapelle who scrutinized it for a moment before taking up a fork.

Gently pressing the back of the fork against the beef, the delicious liquid from the beef came rushing out from that point, causing the man's eyes to widen a bit.

"So tender… It practically springs back." He muttered as he picked up the fork as well, gently stabbing the fork into the corner of the beef as he cut out a small piece with the knife.

The moment the knife cut the beef, a powerful aroma burst out of it, filling the kitchen.

"This scent! What is this!?"

"What the hell is that!?"

Even the usually stern man wasn't excluded as his eyes shot open at the wonderful aroma that was previously hiding inside.

'So that's what he used all those spices for!' He realized as he composed himself, taking a bite from the piece he cut out.

Words couldn't explain how he felt as his tastebuds were overwhelmed by the taste that exploded in his mouth.

'Is this…pineapple?! He used pineapple to tenderize the beef! I feel like I'm walking on air! Excellent!' The effect was instantaneous as the man began laughing to the amazement of the entire class.

"Hahahaha! Hahaha!" It wasn't a chuckle or anything like that, it was full blown laughter, scaring the everyone.

The man who was known for never smiling was laughing like he was having the time of his life.

"Yukihira Soran, I'm giving you an A rating." The man said, an excited grin on his face. "However, I regret that I don't have the authority to grant a higher rating!" He announced, the grin never leaving his face.

The students were too shocked to speak as they watched the sight that nobody had thought would ever happen.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Soran said before turning to the class with an infuriating smirk on his face.

"Try and beat that…if you can." his words were especially aimed at a brown haired boy who was now fumbling with his hands in shock.

"Oh Aniki! I want to taste it!" Soma exclaimed, ruining the moment.

"Shut up and cook your own!"