"Alright, that'll be enough for tonight, Nikumi-chan. Wouldn't want you to be too tired for our first day back at school tomorrow."

Rindō glanced down at her watch.

"Or today, should I say. Feel free to head home once you're done washing up!"

Rindō ignored the by-now-familiar, frosty glare from the busty blonde meat chef, slamming the door behind her without a care. She marched down the halls of the building, whistling to herself. It had been a fairly productive day, by her standards. Ikumi had done well, even if she didn't go out of her way to tell her as much.

Considering that this was the final day of the break, she'd pulled no punches with the girl and had run her through a battery of tests, evaluations and exercises, to really see how much of what she'd tried to teach the girl had stuck. And she'd been pleasantly surprised by how well she'd done. She just wondered how it would stack up against the other players; after all, this was Tōtsuki. No one worth their salt would've been sitting idle during the break.

At the very least, based on the feedback she'd gotten from Tsukasa, she knew that Sōma and the Nakiri girl had flourished under his tutelage. Their cooking had taken a leap forward, even though only a single week had passed. She'd expected as much from Sōma, but to hear that the Nakiri girl was even keeping pace was impressive. In her (admittedly limited) experience with the Nakiri family, they weren't a breed that took well to being told what to do.

But it seemed Nakiri Alice was more than willing to listen. A fact that seemed due in no small part to Sōma's efforts, if Tsukasa was to be believed. He also told her that it seemed something more was going on, although the signs weren't very obvious. To him, anyway.

To Rindō, that meant the signs were probably large and flashing neon. If someone as self-centered and oblivious as Tsukasa could see them, they had to be. And Rindō HAD been busy these past few weeks, her exchanges with Sōma short and text based for the most part. So it was possible that something had developed in that time; a fact which both concerned and intrigued her. She'd simply have to look into it, now that she'd have some more time to spare.

A chime rang out and Rindō looked down at her phone, seeing a little icon start to flash. An email had come through. She swiped it open and started to read it, casually continuing on her path towards home. As she finished up, she smirked widely and suddenly felt the urge to cackle. Which she did. It wasn't like there was anyone around to judge her for it.

It seemed the time had finally come. Preparations for next year would officially begin at a landmark meeting of this year's Elite Ten Council. The beginning of the end, so to speak.

Tōtsuki, as has been mentioned before, functioned quite differently from a lot of the other high school institutions of Japan. One of the most obvious differences being the Elite Ten Council. While most schools had some form of school council, they were often than not more extra-curricular than anything, and held no real say in the school's decisions. This was not so for the Elite Ten Council.

At the end of the day, the council of Tōtsuki's best had almost full authority over the school itself. Teachers could be fired, buildings could be remodeled and entire curriculums could be revised at their whim. As a result, the selection of just who could belong to this illustrious group was a careful process; mediated by several factors. Even the Director of Tōtsuki only had limited power when it came to influencing who was put onto the Elite Ten. While he could remove members at his will, replacing them wasn't a completely independent choice for him to make. And every time he removed a member, his position only became more vulnerable, simply because the empty seats could be obtained in a variety of ways.

In addition, due to a variety of rules set in place to ensure both the integrity of the Director and the Administration as a whole, a new Elite Ten Council member couldn't be dismissed against their will, outside of a shokugeki that is, for a period of time that varied based on the number of the seat in question. The holder of the 10th seat can't be dismissed from the Elite Ten for a period of no less than two months. Whereas, with the 1st seat, they can be dismissed after a single week.

Basically, this meant that any and all empty seats were a potential weakness to be exploited against Nakiri Azami. And there would be not three, but seven empty seats in a little more than a month.

Rindō smiled as she thought about how interesting things could possibly get. And wondered if Sōma had gathered the strength needed to really end this year with a bang. She truly hoped so.

Whistling as she strolled down the cobbled stone pathway, she couldn't help but cackle again, although this one was more of a giggle than anything else, as she smiled to herself. This was going to be so much fun!

Rindō daintily covered her mouth as she yawned. This was the part of Tōtsuki she hated. The part that, more than anything else, really made her cringe and made her wonder if the exorbitant budget, food and power allocated to her was really all worth it.

Final Examinations. These were apparently of vital importance to her as a senior because they would be a major factor in determining what colleges she would be able to attend once she graduated and left Tōtsuki.

Rindō rolled her eyes as she looked over the series of questions, filling some in while leaving others blank. This was so annoyingly trite. Boring, cookie cutter questions that matched the national Japanese school curriculum. Pretty much every senior in Japan would probably be looking at the same paper she was. Of course, the questions would be shuffled around. A different variable here, a different set of constants here. But it was all the same, when you got right down to it.

Rindō sighed, briefly catching the attention of the examiner who sat at the head of her classroom. It wasn't difficult, considering she was one of four people in the room. Her graduating class was fairly small, even by Tōtsuki's standards. Outside of the Elite Ten, there were only about six students set to graduate from Tōtsuki, and that was assuming none of them dropped out in between now and then.

Rindō eyed the three people around her idly, her half complete exam paper in front of her. Her contempt was almost palpable and the dark haired boy seated to her right glanced briefly in her direction, making the mistake of catching her eye.

He found himself frozen by her gaze, shivering as he sat, caught up in Rindō's cold, snakelike eyes. The second seat seemed to be weighing him, the way a predator weighed its prey before mercilessly crushing the life from it.

"Sensei."

The examiner looked back up at Rindō's voice. The maroon haired girl continued staring at the nervous boy, a bored expression painted across her face. She pointed her finger sharply at the boy, causing him to flinch.

"Kenichi-kun is looking at my paper."

The young man broke away from her eyes, looking at the examiner in horror.

"N-Najime-sensei, that's not true! I was…was just…"

"Just what, Kenichi-kun?" asked Rindō, the threat in her voice all too clear. With a muted yelp, the boy stopped talking and looked down at his work, the pencil in his hand shaking.

Najime looked between the two, clearly more than a little uncomfortable. He'd seen exactly what had happened, it was hard not to with so few people in the room. But he also couldn't afford to directly go against the second most powerful student at Tōtsuki. She could have him fired before the day was out, if she so chose.

"Kobayashi-kun, perhaps you were mistaken? Kenichi-kun's certainly never been one to cheat before, and I highly doubt he'd do it now on what is such an important day for all of you."

"Ah, I see." said Rindō, her expression almost apologetic as she leaned back, finally looking away from the trembling form of her fellow classmate.

Kenichi barely got to breathe a sigh of relief before he heard Rindō start to speak again.

"Well, I suppose I'll just have to speak with Azami-sama to get his thoughts on the matter. I wouldn't want to be remiss in my duties to Central, after all. And we certainly can't have it known that cheaters prosper at our illustrious school."

The relish with which Rindō had uttered the accusatory word was almost a tangible thing. Najime opened his mouth, as if to protest, before closing it as Rindō grinned at him.

"It would be a shame if something like that happened due to your inadequate proctoring, wouldn't it Najime-sensei?"

Kenichi's expression of relief had become one of complete horror and he looked to the front of the room, at his teacher. Sensei and student looked at one another. One fearful and one apologetic.

"Sensei…please…"

"Kenichi-kun…can you please give me your paper and exit the exam room?"

The crushed expression on Kenichi's face should've given Rindō a good laugh but it barely inspired a smile from her. It was too simple, too…easy. As Kenichi walked to the front of the classroom, she looked around at the other two students in the room, a boy and a girl, who were both watching her with guarded expressions. They quickly looked away once she caught their eyes, dutifully going back to filling out their exam papers. Rindō resisted the urge to scoff. Weaklings, all of them.

If you made it into your senior year of school at Tōtsuki, you were generally one of two kinds of people. An Elite Ten Council member or a spineless coward. Simply put, the competitive nature of Tōtsuki more often than not drove seniors to exile each other during their final year, as they realized that, for all their prestige, there were still only so many opportunities available. "Worthy" opportunities, that is. Realistically, any Tōtsuki graduate could work at kitchens across the world, but you still competed with those that you graduated with AND those that have graduated before you.

And it had become a generally accepted rule in the cooking world that, the more students a graduating class from Tōtsuki had; the less worth that class overall had, which gave the more often than not selfish seniors incentive to do their best to expel their fellow colleagues. And, while there were a few students that utilized more underhanded tactics, the vast majority of forced expulsions came as a result of Shokugekis. Which is how the split between the spineless and those that would make up the Elite Ten was so prominent.

You were a fighter that cut your teeth on the graves of your fellow classmates or you were a coward that simply plodded along during your tenure at Tōtsuki without accepting any shokugeki challenges. That was what it meant to be a third year at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy.

"Sensei."

Rindō looked up at the door to see Tsukasa Eishi standing in the frame, an apologetic look on his face as he scratched his cheek.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, might I borrow Rindō-chan? It's rather urgent."

"O-Of course, Tsukasa-san. That would be no trouble at all." said the teacher, standing up, flustered. "Kobayashi-kun, are you finished with your exam?"

Rindō looked down at the papers in front of her, flipping through them quickly. She sketched down a few more answers on the sheets she hadn't done yet, before carefully going back through the papers one more time. After doing some counting on her fingers and muttering under her breath, Rindō nodded to herself and stood up with a grin.

"All done, Najime-sensei."

She walked forward and tossed the paper on the desk carelessly, bypassing the man who'd had his hand held out to receive it. Following Tsukasa into the hall, she elbowed him in greeting, causing him to flinch.

"Rindō-chan…" he whined, rubbing his side.

"Oh, stop whining." she said, rolling her eyes. "Now, just what is it you needed me for?"

"Ah, it's time for the meeting."

Rindō looked over at Tsukasa, whose expression seemed to be more melancholic than usual.

"Ah, already? I thought the meeting wasn't going to be until later this evening."

Tsukasa shrugged, loosening and removing his tie as they continued to walk down the hall.

"It seems Azami-sama decided to move the timeframe up a bit. I didn't bother to ask why, as I was finished with my final exams for the day anyway."

They both paused before the door of the main meeting room of the Elite Ten Council. Tsukasa removed a key from his pocket, an ornate, gold gilded piece of metal. This was the key specifically reserved for the Elite Ten Council's headquarters. Besides Tsukasa's copy, there were only two others in circulation. One was in Rindō's possession while the other was split into half, and held jointly by the Director and the 3rd seat of the Elite Ten. As there was no current third seat, Azami held both halves, a fact he made use of, if his presence at the head of the table in the room was any indication.

"Greetings Tsukasa-kun. Kobayashi-kun."

"Azami-sama." they both responded, bowing their heads slightly. Rindō moved to take her seat, reclining back in it as was her wont. She didn't have too long to wait as, one by one, the other Elite Ten members started trickling in.

First came Saito Somei, followed by Kinokuni Nene and Eizan Etsuya. Akanegakubo Momo followed barely a minute later, her purple stuffed animal cradled in her arms. As everyone took their seats, the shuffling of chairs and quiet acknowledgement of colleagues was exchanged for silence as they waited for the final member of the Elite Ten Council to appear.

Azami stood up and moved towards the door, shutting it and locking it.

"I'm afraid Sōma-kun won't be joining us today. He has another, more pressing matter to attend to."

Rindō narrowed her eyes, ever so slightly, now more than sure that the shift in meeting time had been a very purposeful move on Azami's part.

"As all of you are aware, the end of the school year is almost upon us. With that, some of our esteemed council members will be leaving us for greener pastures as they go on to revolutionize the cooking world as we know it. This means that, as is always done, replacements for such talent will need to be found within our ranks. This year, I've taken the liberty of drawing up plans for the selection process of the coming Elite Ten."

Azami gestured and his head of security, Hideki, stepped forward and placed a thin bundle of papers in front of each of the Elite Ten members for their inspection.

"The details are enclosed therein; but the first thing I will need from each of our graduating council members is a nomination."

"A nomination?" asked Rindō curiously. Azami nodded and smiled, the expression hollow, as always.

"Yes. It will be an important part of the selection process. Each of the Elite Ten Council members that are graduating will select a Tōtsuki student from the two grades below as their nominee for joining the council next year. While the nomination will by no means be a guarantee, it will add significant weight to the student in question's bid to obtain a seat. Or a higher seat,even."

"What do you mean by 'a higher seat', Azami-sama?" asked Nene, her taciturn tone only barely revealing a glimpse of intrigue at Azami's choice of words.

"Well, the details are in your packets, as I said. But essentially, with this year's Elite Ten selection process, you will be placed on somewhat equal footing with the other students making a bid for a seat on the Council, Kinokuni-kun. Of course, the fact that you are a current seat holder already will impact your standing significantly. And a nomination on top of that will all but assure you a higher position, come next year."

"Ah, I see. Thank you, Azami-sama." said the pig tailed girl.

"Then would you like our nominations now then, Azami-sama?" asked Tsukasa genially. He wasn't even looking at the papers in front of him. He was merely leaning back and toying with his loosened tie.

"No. I was going to give you all until the end of the week to submit them. You are free to do it now, however, if you already have someone in mind."

He settled his cold, dark eyes on the white mirrors that were Tsukasa's.

"All I would ask is that you consider your choice carefully, Tsukasa-kun. It's important that you choose someone who will not only exemplify Tōtsuki, but also Central and my administration as well, understood?"

Tsukasa simply smiled, not a hint of the usual nerves he displayed under pressure showing.

"In that case, my nomination will be Kinokuni Nene, Azami-sama."

The pink eyed girl's eyes widened slightly, the equivalent of jaw dropping shock on someone less composed. Tsukasa looked over at her and smiled beatifically, the way a king may smile at his favored knight.

"I can think of no one better to further your ideals, Azami-sama. Nene-chan's a splendid chef, and I'm sure she'll be a good replacement for me come next year."

"You seem certain Nene-chan is going to be the 1st seat next year, Tsukasa." said Rindō, smiling mischievously at the white haired boy.

"Are you saying she won't be, Rindō? Nene's a formidable opponent." rumbled Saito, the swordsman interjecting, although his eyes still remained close. Rindō shrugged in response, carefree.

"I'm just saying anything is possible." she singsonged.

"Very well." said Azami, cutting the short moment of levity even shorter. "I don't disapprove of that decision. I'll make the appropriate arrangements. Tsukasa-kun, please complete the nomination form from your packet and give it to me. With that in mind, would anyone else like to submit their nominees at this time? Akanegakubo-kun? Saito-kun perhaps? If you're having trouble deciding, I have several potential candidates that may suit your tastes."

Azami looked around the room, but Saito said nothing, Rindō shook her head and Momo waved her doll, the stuffed cat shaking its head.

"This is a decision Bucchi and I should think about more." said the short girl.

"And that's perfectly fine." said Azami, more than used to the girl's odd mannerisms. "Just know that I expect a decision by no later than this Friday."

The three indecisive seniors nodded in response.

"Splendid. Now that that's out of the way, let's move on to our next item of business."

Azami snapped his fingers, and Hideki placed a binder in front of him. Opening it up, he glanced over the front page.

"The survivor's purge is progressing well for Central. Out of the thirty two independent organizations that have faced Central, thirty one organizations have been dismantled, with the Cutting Edge RS being the sole exception. Due to spring break, the purge was put on hold but, as of today, it has resumed. In fact, Sōma-kun should be in the middle of his shokugeki with the Chinese Cuisine RS right now."

"Yukihira's going up against Kuga?" asked Eizan, smirking behind his glasses. "That should be interesting to see. No matter who wins, an impudent punk will be put in his place."

"While Yukihira is certainly skilled, I doubt he'd be able to match Kuga when he's taking him seriously." said Nene simply, looking bored at the topic of the conversation.

"Sōma-kun may surprise you, Nene." commented Rindō, smiling cheekily. Nene glanced at her upperclassman, unimpressed.

"I know he's something of a pet project of yours, Rindō-senpai. But that's no reason to assume he'd beat Kuga. Especially considering the theme of the match would be Chinese cuisine."

Rindō's smile only grew and she laughed, slapping the girl on her shoulder, which earned her an irritated look from the 6th seat.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"There may be no need to wait actually. Why don't we find out?" said Azami. He gestured to Hideki and the man moved to the TV screen on the wall, turning it on with a tap. After a few more taps on his tablet, the screen shifted from the start up screen to the Tōtsuki channel. A serious Kawashima Urara came onto the screen, her usual bubbly demeanor muted.

"And there you have it. In what may have been the closest survivor's match we've seen to date, Sōma-kun emerges victorious once again. He just barely beat out Terunori Kuga in a 2-1 victory. In addition, Terunori-san is also expelled from Tōtsuki."

"Expelled?!"

The faces around the table showed varying degrees of surprise. Nene was by far the most shocked, her mouth hanging open and her magenta eyes wide. Her usual decorum had completely left her at the unexpected words from the school idol.

"Really? That annoying shorty went and got himself expelled?" said Rindō, rolling her eyes. She looked over at Nene, who still sat in stunned silence.

"Well, I told you he'd surprise you. Even more than I thought. Ai, Nene?"

The girl blinked, looking over at Rindō, who was smirking at her. Her cat like eyes gleamed in satisfaction. Rindō had nothing against Kuga, far from it, she actually quite liked the little hothead. But it was certainly satisfying to be proven right.

Nene blinked again, closing her mouth and swallowing as her eyes fell, her expression fixed back into its normal placidity. She stood up slowly, her movements a little too rigid.

"Azami-sama, I respectfully request a short r-recess…"

Nene's voice caught on the last word, and she cleared her throat, blinking rapidly to clear her eyes of the sudden moisture that had tried to gather. Azami stared at her, his eyes devoid of any pity, despite his token expression of sympathy.

"Alright then, Kinokuni-kun. We'll reconvene in fifteen minutes. You're excused until then."

Bowing formally, Nene turned and left the room, leaving heavy silence in her wake. Kinokuni Nene was known for her stoicism and unbreakable composure, and to see it so disturbed was more than a little surprising to those that knew her. Thankfully, the TV was still on in the background, providing a useful distraction to those still present.

On stage, Sōma and Kuga were conversing, much too far away for the camera's microphone to pick anything up. Sōma held out his hand beseechingly and Kuga's shoulders fell as he shook his head but obediently removed his uniform jacket and handed it to Sōma before marching through the double doors at the rear of the arena.

The camera switched views, going back to Urara as she watched the second year walk off. Noticing the camera's focus, Urara turned hastily, clearing her throat.

"To those just joining us, Yukihira Sōma has emerged victorious yet again in another survivor's purge shokugeki. He faced his toughest opponent yet, a second year and a former Elite Ten Council member to boot. The theme was Chinese Cuisine and, in what seemed to be somewhat of a reenactment of their conflict at the Moon Banquet Festival, Sōma-kun prepared a dish he calls 'Time Fuse Mapo Curry Noodles' and Terunori-san prepared his well-known 'Mapo Doufu'. The judges deliberated for almost fifteen minutes, before finally locking in their votes, leading to a 2-1 victory for Sōma-kun."

Scenes from the shokugeki started to play across the screen. Sōma stirring noodles; Kuga tossing the contents of a wok; the judges amazed, reddened faces as they tried both dishes.

"And in what proved to be a complete surprise, Terunori-san was the one who proposed utilizing Sōma's infamous stakes, betting expulsion against the Central Enforcer's tenth seat."

The scene shifted to Sōma and Kuga facing each other, the scene indicating that their dishes were in the middle of being cooked.

"So how about it, Yukihira-chin? I'm game if you are." said Kuga, smiling competitively at the red head.

Sōma didn't say anything at first, and his cold, flinty eyes seemed to be measuring Kuga. The dark skinned boy looked away from him, shivering exaggeratedly.

"Such cold eyes. You could give Nene-chan a run for her money. And her frigid stares are a sight to see, let me tell you. So what'll it be? Speak now or forever hold your peace and all that."

"I would urge you to reconsider. But if you still choose to proceed, then who am I to deny you?"

Kuga grinned, slapping the other boy on the shoulder spiritedly.

"That's what I like to hear. Try not to cry when I use you to get back on the Council, huh?"

"Arrogant to the end, I see." said Eizan, even though his face didn't match his words. While he was nowhere near as torn as Nene had been, it was clear that he was affected by the sudden removal of one of his classmates.

"Awww, is someone hurt? Is little Eizan sad because one of his friends is leaving?" asked Rindō mockingly. Eizan turned to her, the vein in his head throbbing.

"Kuga was an egotistical, puffed up midget, but he was still a comrade of ours. Don't try to act as if I should be jumping for joy just because he was stupid enough to get kicked out by a first year."

"It's your choice how you feel about Kuga's departure, Eizan." said Saito, opening his eyes to stare evenly at the younger white haired boy. "But, I would advise that you simply be thankful that you did not wield the blade that cut him down yourself."

Eizan gritted his teeth, his retort dying on his lips. The fifth seat was right. He'd done the research, he knew how it worked. There was a significant, inverse correlation between the size of a graduating class and the success of its members. Barring a few anomalies, it was all too clear that, to be a successful graduate of Tōtsuki, it was in your best interest to cull however much of the herd you could before you received your diploma.

And Eizan was no fool. He knew himself well enough. He wasn't nearly sentimental enough to sacrifice his future success for something as paltry as friendship. That didn't mean he was going to be happy doing it, however.

Saito looked up at the screen, where Sōma proceeded to walk towards the exit to the arena.

"Kuga made an error in judgement. And, just as it would on any other battlefield, it cost him."

"Wow, I think this is the most I've heard Saito talk in months." commented Rindō idly before noticing something on the screen. "Hey, is that…"

"Can I help you, Kinokuni-senpai?" asked Sōma evenly, Kuga's jacket folded over his arm. The green haired girl's eyes were clear of tears, but they bore a suspicious, pinkish tint that had nothing to do with her natural eye color.

"May I speak with you in private, Yukihira-kun?" asked Nene, the cool tone of her voice only barely hiding what lay beneath it. Sōma nodded silently, before opening the double doors and gesturing for Nene to follow him.

Once they'd entered the hallway proper, and the doors had closed behind them, Nene rounded on Sōma, her face still calm, but only just barely, now. Her fists were clenched tightly and her shoulders were drawn up.

"Take it back." she said. Sōma arched an eyebrow at her.

"If you mean the results of the shokugeki, then you should know as well as I that, once a judgement has been declared, there's no changing it Kinokuni-senpai."

"I don't care."

The nonsensical declaration was completely out of character for the level headed girl. Sōma took a closer look at the girl, his eyes sweeping over her form.

"My apologies, Kinokuni-senpai. I don't think I can be of any assistance here."

"Besides, I accepted the terms fair and square, Nene-chan."

Nene turned in surprise to face Kuga, who was looking at her with an expression somewhere in between sad and fond. He'd been reclining against a nearby wall, just barely out of sight.

"Kuga…you...you idiot!" barked out Nene, refusing to acknowledge that her eyes had begun to tear up, even though her face remained almost painfully controlled.

Kuga looked askance at her shout, before responding in kind, his expression comically angry.

"Hey, watch it! I'm not about to take any of that crap from you just because I'm leaving!"

"You're not leaving."

Nene turned to face Sōma, stepping over to him and snatching the blue uniform jacket he held. Walking back, she shoved it into Kuga's arms.

"You don't get to leave like this. I won't accept it."

Kuga looked down at the jacket he suddenly found in his arms, before looking up into Nene's determined, pink eyes. He sighed, shaking his head.

"The decision isn't yours to make, Nene-chan."

He stepped around her, holding out the jacket to Sōma, who took it back without a word. Nene looked between the two boys, at their almost identical, resolute expressions, and then she looked down, clenching her fists again as fog began to cover her vision. Removing her misty glasses, Nene used the back of her hand to wipe at her eyes as her composure began to crack even further.

"Baka."

"Yea. I am, aren't I?"

Nene felt arms encircle her and she leaned into Kuga, refusing to look at him. To let him see her cry. Kinokuni Nene was strong, cold, merciless. She did not cry.

"You swore that you'd beat me and that we'd graduate together. I was going to be the first seat and you were supposed to be the second."

"I think you have that backwards." Kuga corrected mildly, no heat in his voice.

"How are you supposed to do that if you're not even here?" she continued, ignoring his interruption. She felt more than heard him sigh again and his arms tightened around her.

"I guess I screwed up pretty big, Nene-chan. I'm not going to be able to keep my promise. You'll just have to do it for me. When you're the first seat of the school, I'll make sure to fly in so I can try some of your cooking, alright?"

Kuga's words, which were meant to comfort her, only served to make Nene feel worse, as they just made the fact that he was going to be gone more and more apparent. She didn't say anything further, instead just doing her best to try and forget, for just a few seconds, that her personal annoyance and maybe-best-friend was leaving.

Her pale arms slowly rose up to return his embrace, her arms tightening around him as her shoulders shook. More and more tears started to stream down her cheeks and she began to sob.

Kinokuni Nene, the strict, emotionless sixth seat of the Elite Ten Council and the strongest second year student in Tōtsuki didn't cry. But Nene-chan, the seventeen year old girl who was losing the pain in the ass that doubled as her best friend and most outspoken rival certainly did. And she did it loudly.

Sōma looked at the scene without flinching, the raw display of emotion from someone who normally didn't express any at all leaving a bitter, ironic taste in his mouth. He would watch what he'd wrought, however unwittingly. It would serve as a good reminder, when the time came.

Minutes passed, the only sound being Nene's sobbing as Kuga held her, stroking her back soothingly. While he didn't shed any tears of his own, it was clear that seeing the girl like this was a painful thing for him. It was only made worse by the fact that he was the reason she was like this.

As Nene's crying began to quiet down, she slowly relinquished her grip on Kuga. She drew back, still sniffling as she wiped at her eyes with the heel of her palm. Her pink eyes were now almost completely red, and Kuga pointedly ignored the redness of her cheeks, and the hiccups of her breath as she tried to regain some semblance of composure.

"You'll visit, won't you?"

The question was more of a plea than anything else and Kuga looked despondent at the vulnerability present in her voice. Kinokuni Nene wasn't vulnerable. Ever.

"I'll try." was all he could say.

Kuga wasn't a citizen of Japan. He's a Chinese national, originally hailing from Chengdu, the capital city of the Si Chaun province of China. With his expulsion, he couldn't be certain just what form his future was about to take, and he couldn't promise that he would be able to frequently come and go to Japan at his leisure. Especially now that his entire life had been basically turned upside down by his forceful removal from Tōtsuki.

Nene looked at Kuga, whose perpetually cheerful, impish expression had been swapped for a serious one.

"I mean it, Nene-chan. I expect you to make it to the top for the both of us, you hear?"

"Don't be presumptuous. I was planning to make it there regardless, so I can do without you attempting to order me around."

Kuga grinned at the familiar thorniness.

"That's my girl."

Stepping back, he looked over Nene's shoulder at Sōma, whose face was unreadable as ever.

"Hey, Yukihira-chin. Congrats on your win. You were a good opponent."

Sōma inclined his head.

"As were you, Kuga-senpai."

The dark haired boy walked off, whistling cheerfully as if he hadn't just been exiled from the most prestigious cooking school in the world. As he got further and further away, the tone faded until there was nothing but silence and the barest of echoes between Nene and Sōma.

Neither of them spoke, the silence heavy. Finally, after what seemed like much too long, Nene spoke.

"I will never forgive you for this, Yukihira."

Sōma took a moment to respond. And when he did, his words were said with little inflection.

"I wouldn't expect you to, Kinokuni-senpai."

"Good."

And with that, Nene walked off, her stride brisk and cold. When Kuga left, the teary eyed Nene-chan had left with him. Leaving Kinokuni Nene in her place. And Kinokuni Nene didn't cry; she crushed those that wronged her without mercy.

She ignored the fact that Sōma was just doing the job he'd been assigned to do. She ignored the fact that it was Kuga, not Sōma, who'd proposed the stakes and pressured his opponent into accepting. She ignored the fact that this was Tōtsuki and it could've easily been any one of a number of other students that expelled Terunori Kuga in a shokugeki.

She ignored it all, instead choosing to focus her frustration and anger on an all too easy target.

Nene opened the door to the Elite Ten Council meeting room, the conversations quieting at her entrance. Moving to take her seat, Nene ignored the mix of curiosity and concern coming from her fellow Council members.

"Are you alright, Kinokuni-kun?" asked Azami, the question mere formality more than anything else.

"Yes, Azami-sama. I'm fine."

Or at least, she would be. Once she'd properly taken her revenge on Yukihira Sōma.

Sōma walked down the trail towards the Nakiri mansion, thinking about the match he'd just had. He didn't often wager his seat unless he was completely certain about the outcome, and he'd been anything but sure of his ability to beat Kuga. He was, without question, the strongest of the RS presidents, as most students chose to focus on improving their own cooking as opposed to devoting their time to helping others improve their own. Selfishness was the name of the game at Tōtsuki.

Even with Kuga, the Chinese Cuisine RS had really just been more an extension of himself than anything else. He'd chosen to focus entirely on a specific branch of Chinese cooking, as opposed to on the wide breadth that China, with its thousands of years of rich culinary history, had to offer. He'd been able to utilize the resources of having his own, personal army to great effect more than once, as he'd shown at the Moon Banquet Festival.

That being said, when Kuga had brought up Sōma's usual wager, he'd made a critical error. Mapo Doufu, specifically the almost painfully spicy style of Mapo Doufo prepared by Kuga, required careful monitoring at all stages of preparation for a variety of reasons. The amount of different ingredients required to be brought together in so many different ways meant that a chef didn't have much time to spare leaving his station to trade gibes with his opponent.

Kuga was no rookie and had been planning to speak with Sōma from the beginning, so he'd knowingly made some adjustments to his dish, to provide him with the small window of time needed to request Sōma's terms. These adjustments, while mostly minor, lowered the quality of his dish. It wasn't a significant drop by any means, but it was a drop nonetheless. Kuga had underestimated Sōma's power and thought that the drop in quality would be negligible. He'd seen Sōma's Time Fuse Mapo Curry Noodles at the Moon Banquet festival and he knew that, even with the slight drop in quality, his dish was leagues ahead of Sōma's.

He'd overplayed his hand, out of a combination of desperation and arrogance. And Sōma had noticed this, and ruthlessly taken advantage of it. It had almost been instinctive, his desire to crush the cocky second year and, before he'd even properly thought of the consequences, he'd accepted the wager, knowing that, simply by asking for it and revealing how much he'd wanted it, Kuga had sealed his fate.

Sōma opened the door to his room, noting in abject surprise that he'd already made it home and inside without any sort of conscious attention. He must have been very deep in thought. He moved to the closet on the wall, sliding the door open with a soft clatter.

The closet's interior was taken up almost entirely by blue Tōtsuki jackets. Some hung freely while others also had a school tie threaded through the hanger they hung on. The jackets all varied in size and shape, with some being suited for males and others for females.

Sōma pulled down an empty hanger, placing Kuga's jacket on it before depositing it at the end of the line. He took a step back and looked at the hung reminders. It almost felt like visiting a graveyard. Over a dozen mismatched uniforms hung together, all that remained of their previous owners, all of them students that Sōma had personally expelled through his duties as Central's Premier Enforcer.

The line began with Morino Naru's faded blue uniform and was now ended by the fresh addition of Terunori Kuga's blazer. All of them, chefs with potential and ambition, personally cut short by Sōma at Azami's bidding. Kuga hadn't been on the list of students that Azami wanted Sōma to expel, simply because they both agreed that it was too risky to wager Sōma's seat against the former Council member. But he was sure Azami was probably more than pleased with the unexpected turn of events.

Sōma was brought from his musings by a knock at his door and he shut the closet quietly before walking to the door and opening it. Alice stood at the door, a conflicted expression on her face. It had none of the happy embarrassment that it usually had these days when she and Sōma were in the same room.

"Is something wrong, Alice?" asked Sōma guardedly. The girl didn't respond with words, instead handing him an envelope. The wax seal was already broken, and the style of the envelope was familiar; it was clear that it was a missive from the Shokugeki Administration Bureau.

"A messenger just dropped this off at the door. It's for you, Sōma-kun. It's a shokugeki challenge notice. Once I saw who it was from, I may have opened it and taken a peek inside…"

Sōma didn't really mind that Alice had done so. Shokugekis were a matter of public record, after all, but he wondered just what would make her curious enough to open the missive before delivering it to him. A closer inspection of the envelope's address gave him the answer.

Shokugeki Challenge Notice

Polar Star Dormitory vs. Central

Sōma resisted the urge to clench his fists, not wanting to damage the paper he held in his hands. While he wasn't surprised by this, he'd still hoped that he'd have more time before this happened. He didn't know if he was ready to face Isshiki Satoshi just yet, and he couldn't afford to lose this match. He wouldn't be able to protect his friends if they won their independence from Central. From him.

Sōma pulled the notice from the envelope, reading through the notice's first few lines. He blinked twice before reading them again. This time, his fists did clench and the notice crumpled in his hand, almost tearing beneath his grip. His face might as well have been carved from stone from how still it was.

"Ah, Sōma-kun!"

Alice reached forward, trying to remove the paper from his hands without damaging it further. At her cool touch, Sōma's fists loosened, prying open just enough to release the damning paper therein, letting it flutter to the floor.

Polar Star Dormitory vs. Central

Central Participant: Yukihira Sōma

Polar Star Dormitory Participants: Nakiri Erina, Tadokoro Megumi

What was this? Was this a joke? What was Isshiki doing? How dare he let her do this?

Alice saw Sōma start to tremble and she saw a glimpse of the dark emotions he kept down starting to rise from the surface. She took his hand in hers and squeezed, trying to catch his attention. When that didn't work, Alice reached out and pinched his cheek.

The sudden pain caused Sōma to turn on Alice, his eyes alight with fire. She stared right back, not the least bit intimidated.

After a few seconds of heated staring, Sōma blinked, coming back to himself. He sighed, finally returning Alice's cool grip with his own. She smiled at him.

"You need to lighten up, Sōma-kun."

The casual admonishment caused Sōma to smile tiredly at her, the small dose of levity doing wonders for his mood.

"Now, let's talk about this like civilized people. How are you going to handle this?"

Sōma frowned, his smile whisked away by the reminder.

"I don't know…I knew this match was coming, but I'd assumed it would be against Isshiki-senpai. It simply made the most sense. I don't know why he would risk the dorm like this, I don't know why he'd risk her…"

Alice blinked, surprised at the bitterness in Sōma's tone.

"And even if she beats me, this won't be the end. I'm not…I can't protect them. Not yet, not this soon."

"Sōma-kun, you're not making any sense. To be honest, I thought you'd be more concerned about your father's role in this."

Sōma tilted his head at Alice, confused.

"What does Pops have to do with this?"

Alice returned his look of confusion.

"Sōma-kun, did you not read the notice in full? Specifically the conditions of the match?"

Alice picked up the wrinkled piece of paper and did her best to smooth it out before handing it to Sōma. He looked over it curiously. He'd simply assumed the conditions were the standard for the survivor's purge. They were anything but.

Proposed Conditions:

Central's Victory – The Polar Star Dormitory is disbanded immediately, with its land, resources and facilities being allocated to Yukihira Sōma. Its residents must receive at least a week's notice of eviction prior to the forceful closure of the dormitory. In addition, Yukihira Joichiro will renew his teaching contract with Tōtsuki Culinary Academy for an additional three years.

Polar Star Dormitory's Victory – The Polar Star Dormitory will maintain its current standing. In addition, Yukihira Sōma must have a meeting with Nakiri Erina and Tadokoro Megumi in which he answers any questions posed honestly and in full. Yukihira Joichiro will be freed from his teaching contract once the current school year has ended.

The paper fell to the floor once again, Sōma's grip failing completely as he struggled to process what he just read. As he began to understand, to really understand what he'd just read, his face changed and what Alice had only glimpsed before came out in full force.

He walked past Alice, not even looking at her as he exited through the door, his steps barely contained.

"Sōma-kun!"

He didn't turn to face her, instead continuing his march towards the entrance of the mansion. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he shook it off, roughly. A second attempt was met by the same treatment and Sōma reached the door, wrenching it open.

"Yukihira Sōma!"

Alice's voice was incensed. Sōma paused, just barely, and looked over his shoulder at her.

"Don't follow me."

And then he left the furious girl in his wake, knowing but not caring that he'd pay for it later. Alice watched him march off down the driveway, resisting the urge to run after him and hug him, kiss him and punch him all at once. She was fairly certain that she knew exactly where Sōma was going, and that was the only reason she let his actions slide, however temporarily.

She just hoped he found what he was looking for, whatever that was.

"And that is how Eggs Benedict came about, at least in the form that we are familiar with today."

Joichiro underlined a particular line before turning to face the class of ninth graders, who were all scribbling furiously into their notebooks. He looked over at the board, wondering if he should erase it. He needed the space after all.

As his hand reached for the eraser, he heard sounds of protest start to emerge from behind him, which only got louder as his hand moved closer to the eraser.

A knock from the door interrupted his hand's progress, causing the students to let out a collective sigh of relief.

Joichiro moved towards the door to open it, but the person chose to take the initiative and open it themselves. Joichiro looked into the coldly furious face of his son and he sighed mentally, having expected this.

"Hey there, Sōma. Need something?"

Joichiro's lax tone seemed to only infuriate Sōma even more and he stepped into the room, drawing the class' attention to him; a regretful mistake.

The children all shrank back in their chairs, wearing almost identical expressions of fear. The sheer malice Sōma was emanating could almost be tasted and it made the students, all confident members of the middle school branch of Tōtsuki, shake in their boots.

Joichiro noticed the sudden hush that had fallen over his class.

"Sōma, what say you and I take this to my office?"

The red headed boy just continued staring at his father. He was breathing hard, as if he'd just ran a sprint and his stoic expression looked like it was hanging on by a thread of a thread. Joichiro narrowed his eyes in response.

"It wouldn't do to cause a scene, son. My office. Now."

Without a word, Sōma turned, slamming the door behind him with so much force that the hinges rang harshly in protest. Joichiro turned to his class, who were staring at the closed door in confused terror. They'd all heard of Central's Premier Enforcer, but it was something else to see him in person. Was that maelstrom of fury what all of his opponents had to suffer under? No wonder he was practically undefeated!

"Well, considering we were almost done with the lesson anyway, how about you all just use the rest of the class to discuss what we've covered today? Feel free to leave once the bell rings."

With those words, Joichiro left the class, his students breaking into furious conversation the second the door closed behind him.

Joichiro walked down the hall, opening the door to his office and finding Sōma within. The Central chef stood by the window, his hands gripping the pane, his knuckles white from the strain. Joichiro walked forward and sat behind his desk, sighing as he leaned back in his chair. It didn't take long for Sōma to break the silence.

"How dare you?"

Sōma looked over his shoulder to fix his father with a glare that burned cold, as paradoxical as that seemed.

Joichiro returned his glare with a calm, even stare.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."

"You know what you did. You got involved."

"Yes. I did."

At the blatant admission of guilt, Sōma gave a wordless snarl and slammed his hands on the window pane. Ignoring the throbbing in his palms, he turned to face Joichiro, his face contorted in anger.

"You weren't supposed to interfere! You swore you wouldn't."

"I told you I would take no direct action. And I haven't."

Sōma gritted his teeth, almost hissing as he spoke.

"So wagering your tenure, the ONE thing Nakiri Azami would care about more than almost anything, that's not a direct action?"

Joichiro shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm a teacher now, Sōma. And one of my students asked me for help. What was I supposed to do?"

"She's not supposed to be involved. That was part of our deal. She would stay out of this."

"She's also an independent woman capable of making her own decision, Sōma."

Sōma blinked at his father's words, his anger briefly sputtering before igniting again, even hotter. He took a step forward, looking as if he wanted to physically lash out against his father.

"So this is my fault? I'm wrong for wanting to protect her from him?!"

"No. She's your friend. It's noble to want to protect your friends from harm. But at the end of the day, this is her life, Sōma. You can't make these sorts of decisions for her. I told you that, months ago."

"And I told YOU, months ago, that I wasn't going to take that risk. She wasn't ready then. And she's not ready now. You were supposed to give me a year. Instead you're trying to give me less than two months!"

"How can you know she's not ready, Sōma?" countered Joichiro heatedly, finally responding to Sōma's anger with some of his own. "You didn't speak with her then, and you haven't spoken to her now. You're making assumptions again."

"You haven't seen what he did!" shouted Sōma. "You don't know what he's put her through! How can I let her go back to that? How can I let her make her own choices when he can just tell her what to choose?"

"That's not a decision for you to make, Sōma. It never was. It was wrong of me to let this stand for as long as I have."

Sōma looked into his father's eyes, finding compassion and concern there but, above all, resolve. He wouldn't convince Yukihira Joichiro to back down here.

"Months ago, I came at your call and saved you from your own stupidity once, when you assaulted Nakamura. I'm trying to do that again. You just have to let me."

"Let you? No one lets Saiba Joichiro do anything, do they? What choice have you left me with?"

"The right one, I hope."

"You think I don't know how much you hate it here, being tied down to this school, Dad? You're making me choose between you and her."

"No. I'm making you relinquish control of the situation. There's a difference. Can't you see what it's doing to you? Or do you simply not care?"

Sōma sat down on the chair heavily, trying to get his breathing under control. He looked away from Joichiro's judgemental gaze, ignoring the ring of truth in his words.

"Everything I've done, everything I've been through. It's been for her. All for her! Isn't this what you and Senzaemon-sama wanted? You wanted me to save her, right? Isn't that why I'm here in the first place?"

"Not like this. NEVER like this." said Joichiro, narrowing his eyes at Sōma's accusatory tone. "I never intended for you to give yourself up for her. This wasn't supposed to be some trade, Sōma."

"It's too bad then, that things worked out this way. I'm going to save her, dad. That's all there is to it. "

"You…you don't need to Sōma. Not anymore. You've done enough. You simply need to step back."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"You know why!" Sōma shouted, his eyes wide in barely restrained fury, the gold inside them almost molten in the heat of his gaze. "Mom wouldn't. Mom DIDN'T. So how could I?!"

"And you think Kumi would have wanted this? Her only son sacrificing himself like this?"

"She did it for me. She always did. But someone like you wouldn't understand that, would they, Asura?"

At Sōma's words, Joichiro's face grew cold and angry, an older mirror of his son's. He stared at Sōma, who stared back defiantly. Seconds passed in tense, bitter silence.

"Leave."

Sōma stood up threateningly.

"I'll leave when you retract your decision to be involved in this shokugeki."

"Then I suppose I'll be the one leaving, because I'm not retracting anything."

Joichiro stood up, walking around his desk and towards the door. He felt a hand grip his shoulder and he paused.

"Dad…please…"

The fury had left Sōma's tone, leaving behind nothing but desperation and vulnerability. Joichiro looked over his shoulder, at the withdrawn, panicked expression on his son's face.

Joichiro shrugged Sōma's hand off of his shoulder.

"Make sure you lock the door."

With those parting words, Joichiro left his office, closing the door behind him, leaving Sōma standing alone in the office, his heart torn as he fought with himself. If he won, he'd be locking his father into three more years of a life he didn't want. And if he lost…if he lost…

He couldn't lose. He just couldn't.