Food Wars: Welcome to Culinary World

Chapter 33: A Place to Belong

(Soma's POV)

"Dammit, what kind of a school is this? IT'S AS BIG AS HELL!" I mentally complained. This is ridiculous, I've been walking for like, forever?! I left Eguchi because she had a phone call and told me to go on ahead. Only one problem though, I don't even know how far this 'Polar Star' dormitory is! I have the map, but I can't exactly tell if I'm almost there or I'm just getting further away from it!

I stopped and let out a tired sigh, then thought about Eguchi. "I wonder if she's already there" I asked myself, groaning as I continued to walk through these woods! I think I'll end up sleeping between the bushes tonight. The sky was slowly getting darker each minute, my legs were aching from all the walking, but if I don't hurry up, I'll end up sleeping outside. After few minutes later, I heard something from behind. I turned my head and saw a black car coming my way, I stepped out of the way, ignoring it as it passed by, but it suddenly stopped upfront. I raised a brow as I stared at the car, the door opened, and someone came out, my eyes widened.

"Soma! I'm glad I found you!" Eguchi waved, running towards me. "Hey, Eguchi!" I replied, smiling. "Sorry, I had a call from my dad, and we ended up talking for a while. And then he told me about-..." she kept talking, but I couldn't help but look at her closely. I ended up staring at her as I noticed something.

"Was she this pretty? Her smile's beautiful..." I mused, not noticing that I was staring at her. Suddenly, I was snapped out of my damn trance as she waved her hand in front of my face, and I shook my head.

"Oooii! Soma!" she called. "O-Oh, uh, sorry, sorry!" I chuckled nervously, my hand rubbing the back of my neck.

"Are you okay?" she frowned. "Yeah, I guess I'm just a little tired from all that walking. I don't know if I'm even getting close to the 'Polar Star' dormitory or not" I answered.

"Well, that's why I was looking for you. I wanted to call you, but I realized that you never gave me your number. We can both go together in the car! C'mon, get in!" she said, excitedly, getting behind me and pushed me into the car and closed the door, then got in from the other side, and the car started driving again. It was silent for a moment as I took out the squid tentacle from my mouth and adjusted myself in my seat.

"Thanks for giving me a ride, Eguchi! Man, I thought I was gonna end up sleeping outside tonight" I chuckled while rubbing the back of my head.

"Well, there's no way in hell I'm letting you sleep out in the cold! I'm really glad I found you, I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't find you at the dormitory" she stated with raised brows.

"Heh, yeah..." I smiled nervously, I don't know why, though. Actually, I feel really nervous, any my body feels stiff. Maybe I'm just tired from all that walking. Damn it, I can't wait to reach that dormitory and take a shower and go to bed. I glanced at Eguchi from the corner of my eye, she was looking out the window with a relaxed expression.

"Oh, right! I should ask her how she became a chef, I'm really curious about that" I mused after recalling her speech at the opening ceremony this morning.

"Hey, Eguchi-..." I started talking, but she interrupted me. "Oh, you can just call me Kaya, or any nickname so long as I like it. Let's drop the formalities since we're friends now, and soon enough we'll be dormmates as well" I raised a brow in interest and smirked.

"Really? What kinda nicknames you have?".

"Well, you can call me either Kaya-Chan, Egu-Chan, or even Kay!" she replied, shaking her head slightly with a smile.

"Wow, so many options! Haha!" I joked. "Alright, I'll call you Kay" she nodded at me before speaking again.

"So, what were you trying to say?" she asked. "How'd you become a chef?" I suddenly asked her; my face was only inches away from hers as I stared into her soul while her eyes widened.

"Huh?-...Wh-...What?!" she stammered. "No offense, but there's no way in hell anyone trains for 3 months and become a pro chef just like that! I need answers! Who trained you? What'd they make you do? Spill your secrets!" I demanded.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you! But personal space, first!" she said, pushing me away as I grinned like an excited child ready to hear a story. I stared at her expectantly with gleaming eyes as she rubbed the back of her head, humming.

"Um, let's see, where do I start? It's kind of a looooooong story, though. So, I'll just sum it up and-...".

"No! Tell me e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g!" I objected, pouting. She sweat dropped and shook her head, letting out a sigh.

"Fine. Let's see, the first month of my training started by focusing on the ingredients only by studying everything about them, fruits, veggies, poultry, seafood, and spices. As for those had trained me, it's my parents, since they're chefs and we run our own restaurant, so they took the liberty to train me everything they possibly could until I'm good enough to get into Totsuki, then I'm on my own for the rest of the way. On the second month, I learned about all kinds of knives, and what each of them is used for, and it was the month I got my very own knife and started using it along with the other knives. And the last month was the heaviest, I trained a lot, there were so many dishes I cooked that I lost count of them! And in the last two weeks, my parents made me cook for the customers since all my trainings were at our home kitchen, they wanted to put me in a real-life chef experience and meet the many types of customers. I've cooked for body builders, pregnant woman, children, and even pets!" she explained, and I was in awe as I paid attention for every word she said.

"Woah, your parents must be super strict" I remarked with amusement. "Ugh, yeah, when they trained me, they were merciless. But otherwise, they're cool" she rolled her eyes before crossing her arms and shrugged.

"Man, I wonder if I can challenge them" I said, grinning mischievously with my hand on my chin. E laughed, "Hahaha! They'll crush you easily! Even I couldn't beat them, they're Totsuki graduates!". I chuckled, we then stayed silent for a little while, it wasn't an awkward silence, but relaxing.

"Soma..." she called, and I looked at her. "Just to let you know, I too dealt with customers during my trainings" I stared cluelessly at her for a moment before smirking, recalling what I said at the opening ceremony.

"Ooh, so I have a real rival now, eh?".

"I guess you could say that" she snickered. "Well then, I guess this academy isn't so dull, after all" I stated, we both giggled, her sound of laughter made my heart suddenly flutter. She isn't like any other rich people, obnoxious, selfish, and rude. She's actually nice, rightful, doesn't let anybody shit with her and shows them hell, and she even stood up for Tadokoro in our cooking class! She's so natural and down to earth, and somehow, I feel comfortable around her.

During our ride to the dormitory, we got to know each other more. She loves video games so much; she even has a huge game room! She also has an older sister who works as a judge, and travels almost all the time to try different kinds of cuisines. She also has a pet cat, and she's not much of an outdoor person. Of course, she loves her parents' awesome cooking. I told her about myself as well, that I grew up with eagerness to cook, and there were times when I tried to do so, but my dishes sucked! Until my parents taught me everything, and over the years, I started mastering the dishes as I helped around at our diner by serving the customers, taking their orders, and cook their meals.

She listened to every word I said and giggled at the funny things I said. With every second passed, I grew more comfortable around her. I was enjoying my time as she talked with excitement lacing her tone, chuckling as she told me about her occasional bickering with her sister. All I did was staring at her, mesmerized by her beauty, and smiling. After a few minutes, we saw a building ahead.

"Oh, I think we're here now" she said, taking out the map and opening it. We got out the car, her driver took out our luggage and we thanked him before leaving.

However, once we turned around, our eyes widened. What we expected was completely different than what we were seeing in front of us...

-

Chapter End.