A Spice in Life (Shokugeki no Soma x Fem!Reader)

Chapter 40 - Stagiaire, Stage 1: Noodle-Doodle-Doo

(Name)'s POV

Get it together, (Name)! I screamed at myself as I placed a shaking hand on my wristwatch. But it did little to calm my nerves as memories of the vile woman replayed in my head. First the festival, then the Autumn Elections, and now this..!

A firm hand on my shoulder brought me back to reality. Ryou had his arm wrapped around me, shaking a little as he squeezed my shoulder, and I realized he was trying to reassure me.

He didn't look at me and instead stared straight ahead at the noodle factory, his lips drawn into a tight line. A bead of sweat dripped down his neck. And in that moment of distraction from my own turmoil, I realized he was also trying to reassure himself.

He's scared of her.

It was like a slap to the face. I could only imagine what this woman had done to cause Ryou—her own son—to make such an expression. In comparison, my feelings were nothing.

I went to move forward, then opted to loop my arm through Ryou's first. He glanced at me as I walked with my head held high, eyes locked on the building in front of us. Akahoshi was waiting inside.

I will not let my fear get the best of me, I decided as I pushed open the door. I may be afraid, but that doesn't mean it can take control. I have to stay strong—for the both of us.

I expected Ryou to resist my pull, to flinch away from my touch, but he allowed me to lead him with little more than a sharp inhale once we entered. Akahoshi tapped her foot impatiently where she waited.

Then a question popped into my head. Didn't Shiomi-senpai say the training sites asked for Tōtsuki students specifically? I narrowed my eyes at the woman. Did she plan this?

Perhaps it was paranoid of me to assume she'd be so petty as to organize revenge against a teenage girl and her own son, but I wouldn't put it past her.

My words came out automatically, in a challenge. "I know your game, Akahoshi. Why don't you just expel me right here? Right now?" I lifted my chin, ignoring the way Ryou tightened his arm around mine in warning.

I also ignored the way my stomach transformed into a gymnast, doing flips and somersaults as it threatened to expel my breakfast. Similar to how I was risking my own expulsion from Tōtsuki. I was baffled by my own boldness to put it simply. I'm spending way too much time with Soma.

Fortunately, Akahoshi was willing to play along. She flicked a hair out of her face and simpered. "I am not only a chef, little girl, but a businesswoman. And I know what makes for good and bad business."

She pulled out two matching navy aprons and tossed them at us. "Expelling a student of an elite culinary academy proves of no use to me. Right now what I see are two free workers at my disposal." I unhooked arms with Ryou so we could put on the uniforms.

"And after the last stunt you pulled, I was lucky to get off with a warning. Tōtsuki's picky when it comes to their judges."

I furrowed my brows at this. What does she mean by my 'last stunt' and 'warning'? My mind flashed to my conversation with Isshiki the morning after the prelims, in which he offered to blacklist her from Tōtsuki's activities.

But I told him to leave it be. Ryou and I followed Akahoshi into the kitchen, arms no longer looped but still side-by-side. Did Isshiki-senpai go behind my back and do something? I didn't know how I felt about it; sure, he had good intentions, but it still rubbed me the wrong way.

I can worry about that later. Besides, even if he did, he clearly failed given my current situation...

We passed various large and looming machinery, though I admit they looked dated compared to the technology I'd seen at Tōtsuki. And also kinda nasty. Does she clean these regularly? I rubbed a finger along one of them, grimacing at the grime that came off of it.