Imperial Judgement

Souma! Victorious!

Next day, Souma was walking down the street coming back from school until his father called him.

"Souma, I went out for some business and I closed the shop," His father stated, with a slightly static voice on  the phone. " I'll come back tomorrow so you don't have to open the front." 

"Hmm, that's unusual, ok," Souma said back but his father wasn't finished talking to him.

"Hey," his father called to grab Souma's attention. 

"hm.. Is there still something?" Souma asked, standing still and waiting for his father to say something.

"What do you plan to do after you finish middle school?" Souma was confused by his question. Wasn't the answer obvious?

"I'll practice cooking at the shop," Souma replied firmly.

"I see," was all his father said before he hung up on Souma. That  old man doesn't talk much about himself... Come to think of it, I know little to nothing about the old man. 

"Oh yeah, I have to buy ingredients for tomorrows breakfast. Just bread, eggs and bacon will suffice," Souma muttered to himself resuming his walking.

After Souma arrived at the back door to the shop, and opened the door, his eyes widened in shock of the sight before him. Scattered on the ground, condiments, meat, vegetables, all of the ingredients that was in the shop. On the floor, Souma could also see dark shoe prints that have stepped over the stuff on the ground. The meat in the fridge was all trampled?! A thief!?  No, there is no kind of thief like that. The front shutter is open... 

Souma opened the door, but was quickly blinded by a bright light. After his eyes adjusted he resumed running to the front to see what happened. Right there on the banner of the restaurant, was dripping white paint.

Drip, drip, drip

"Oh my? The scenery looks better than yesterday. Is it because that bothersome sign is hidden?" A woman's voice came from behind Souma. It was none other than Yaeko Minegasaki, with her lackeys. "Ah~ somehow I feel like eating meat," She said nonchalant, one arm under her breasts and another holding her sunglasses. " The marbled steaks I always eat in Roppongi are the best! I like how the meat juices overflow in my mouth." Walking into the shop, she sat onto one of the chairs. "Hey, boy? Make me something. Especially a juicy meat dish!" She continued to mock him, as he had just found out the trashed ingredients in the kitchen (A/N:what a waste!).

"Oh? It can't be, you can't do it? Your client wants meat you know?" Her lackeys were smirking, and one even slightly chuckled. Souma's eye were shadowed as he looked down giving a menacing aura. "You can't serve it!? You said it yesterday, that if you couldn't serve food you would go out of business! Now that the sign is clear, it's a great timing! You should neatly close down this shop, ahahaha!" By now Minegasaki was laughing, face red with tears. Souma exhaled and you could practically see him steaming.

" Is that all you want to order?" He simply asked. Minegasaki and her goons both looked at him surprised. " If I can serve a dish to satisfy your palatte," continuing, he unraveled the cloth around his wrist, " swear that you'll never come to this shop again!" 

Flicking out the cloth, then promptly tying it around his head as his signature headband, he pulled up his sleeves and gave an intense glare at them. "It's a challenge!" 

At this point, Minegasaki was panicking and turned to the closest lackey. Her expression told him everything, Hey! Just like we planned you emptied the refrigerator!  His reply was, Y-yes! We smashed it all without leaving anything!!

Just what does he plan to make without ingredients?! Minegasaki thought in a daze.

Immediately, Souma quickly went to the kitchen and started using the fresh ingredients that he just bought that morning. Cutting, slicing and dicing, you could see him working in a quick and efficient manner. Although he was supposed to be making a meat dish, he was in actuality using potatoes and bacon. Souma put the ingredients into a pot, and then covered them with a lid. He was cooking the bacon and potato concoction in the oven, until the timer went ding!  Quickly working, he poured a liquid, into something that looked like the sauce. (A/N: Darn, I'm getting hungry while writing this)