Chapter Text
In Polar Star Dormitory, in room 303, Shana woke up from her sleep. She then reached for her phone and saw that it was half past six in the morning. She then got out of bed and stretched her body.
"Mmmm ahhhh..." she groaned.
She then walked towards the window and sat on a chair by the window, she then recalled last night's party.
Last night, because she was a new resident in the dormitory, the other residents prepared a welcoming party for her arrival, they partied until midnight, and then returned to their respective rooms to rest. After returning to her room, Shana jumped into her bed and fell asleep immediately.
Shana smiles remembering all that. All the residents of this dorm are very nice and friendly, and most importantly they are talented in cooking.
Basically it was natural since they were Tootsuki's students, but everyone living in this dorm was different from ordinary students. From what she heard from Yuri, this dormitory was always visited by many students who wanted to live here every year. But almost none of them managed to pass the exam held by the dorm caretaker.
The reason this dorm has so many fans is because it used to be the residence of the best graduate generation from Tootsuki, the Jewel Generation. But not just anyone can live here, they have to pass a super strict exam from the dorm caretaker to pass. So, the people who live here are very talented people.
After pondering all that, Shana got up and headed to the bathroom. She then brushed her teeth and washed her face. After some time spent in the bathroom, she came out and put on her casual clothes because there was still a lot of time before she left for school.
“Breakfast is ready.”
While wearing clothes, she heard Yuri's voice from the pipe in her room. She just remembered that last night they had made a new schedule for who would make breakfast and dinner. And today was Yuri and Mio's turn.
After getting dressed, she then headed to the dining room on the 1st floor. After arriving at the dining room, she saw that several people had already arrived.
"Good morning," she greeted.
They all turned to her and returned her greeting, she then sat on the empty seat that has been provided.
After everyone came, then they started breakfast.
"Ah! Oi Daichi, I've left the meat for last!” Shinra shouted when he saw Daichi take the meat he had left.
"Heh, who's quick he gets," said Daichi while eating the meat, making Shinra irritated.
Then a commotion broke out at the dining table, Ryuta tried to calm them down while Riku just laughed as if it was a normal thing.
“They started again,” Mio said with a sigh.
“It wouldn't be Polar Star if it wasn't noisy like this,” said Reine with a chuckle.
"Haha, I sometimes feel sorry for Ryuta-kun," Yuri laughed softly at the boy's commotion.
Shana just watched it all quietly while eating her food, she saw that everyone was used to such an incident and moreover their relationship was very close as if they had known each other for years.
“Hey I was curious, have you known each other for a long time? You guys even call each other by first names,” she asked.
Shana's question caught everyone's attention, then they looked at each other and soon they were laughing.
“Well, that's how it is. Our parents knew each other, and they always held reunions, so we've known each other ever since," said Fubuki.
"Yeah, and they always hold reunions here, so this place is like our home," Ryuta added.
"Why here?" she asked, though Shana already had a guess.
“Since our parents used to live here, this place means a lot to them,” Shinra replied.
Shana nodded, she finally understood why they were so close. Being friends for years has definitely made their relationship close to each other.
They had also asked Shana to call them by their first names, something Shana was grateful for. Although she feels a bit strange when she calls Fubuki because she also has a childhood friend named Fubuki too.
“Is Kamiya-senpai too?” Ask Shana.
"Me? No, I'm just like any other student who wants to live here,” replied Riku.
“I see.”
“It is a blessing for Kamiya-senpai to be here,” said Shinra.
"Yeah, with the Elite Ten members here, we will restore the glory of Polar Star," Daichi said as he raised his fist.
Ryuta also raised his fist, imitating his other two friends.
“Hahaha, you guys are exaggerating, but I like that spirit,” Riku said while laughing at his juniors.
The girls only eat quietly when the boys are excited, no one seems to feel strange about Daichi's words, except for the newcomer Shana.
"What was that about?" she asked the girls.
"You mean about Daichi's words earlier?" Fubuki asked, Shana nodded.
As far as she knew until now, Polar Star was a famous dorm that had a lot of fans. Therefore she was confused by Daichi's words about restoring Polar Star's glory.
“Before answering that, I want to ask you something, Shana. Do you know about the Jewel Generation?” this time it was Mio who spoke.
“Yes, they are the best graduates in this Tootsuki right. And I heard they mostly live in this dorm.”
"Exactly, thanks to them this dormitory became very famous and became an undisputed force in Tootsuki."
Shana nodded, the influence of this Jewel Generation was greater than she imagined.
"However, after many years after their departure, the strength of this dormitory is slowly decreasing and the interest is decreasing," continued Mio.
“And that's where Kamiya-senpai comes in, thanks to him people's attention is starting to turn back to this dormitory,” said Reine.
"Yes, thanks to his position as a member of the Elite Ten shows that the strength of this dormitory has not died," Yuri said ending the explanation.
Shana finally understands what it means to restore Polar Star's glory, and the title of Elite Ten turns out to be very influential in this school.
“By the way, what is the Elite Ten? All I know is that they are Tootsuki's best students."
The question caught everyone's attention, then they turned to Riku, hoping he could answer Shana's question. They all knew what the Elite Ten was, but it would be better if the person in question explained it.
Riku who could see everyone's attention on him decided to answer.
"Okay, let me explain. As you know, Tootsuki is a very large academy and has many committees, and of the many committees that exist, only one committee stands above all of them, namely the Elite Ten Tootsuki Council. It's a committee of the top 10 students in Tootsuki."
Riku paused for a drink, after which he continued.
"In Tootsuki there are many things that students have to complete. Well, the ones who determine what the disciples should do are the Elite Ten themselves. The Elite Ten were directly under the headmaster, even the teachers had to obey them. It really is the highest organization in making decisions.”
To say Shana was surprised was an understatement. She didn't expect that the Elite Ten's strength was that big, even the teachers had to obey their decisions.
“Th-That is an enormous amount of power for a student to wield,” she said.
"Yes, therefore every member of the Elite Ten is the chosen and best person in the school, not just any student can have that position."
“And during the Jewel Generation, almost all of the Elite Ten members were from this dormitory, including the mysterious First Seat,” Yuri added.
“The first seat… You mean the one who disappeared with Nakiri Erina?”
"Yeah, I'm surprised you know about that."
"Lisa told me before."
“So you're already friends with Lisa too,” said Reine.
"Do you know her?" asked Shana curiously.
“Yeah, we have been friends with her since childhood.”
Shana felt something was off. For some reason, everyone she'd met lately seemed connected, and it all had something to do with the Jewel Generation. This thought led her to a conclusion.
“Are your parents… Jewel Generation graduates,” she asked.
Shana's question surprised them a bit, they looked at each other and then smiled.
"Yes, my parents are graduates of the Jewel Generation and also former residents of this dormitory," Yuri replied.
She then turned to the others, they all nodded except for Riku and Mio. As for Riku, she already knew the reason, but she was curious about Mio.
Mio who sensed Shana's curiosity finally answered "No, my parents are one year older than them."
Shana nodded, her head aching slightly. She'd received so much shocking information, and it was still early in the morning, but she still had one more important question.
“How do I become a member of the Elite Ten?” she asked seriously. She thought that if she could become the Elite Ten, she was one step ahead of becoming the top of this academy.
Shana's question took everyone by surprise, then they remembered about Shana's speech at the opening ceremony, that she wanted to be on top of Totsuki. So, their surprise was lessened since it was a natural question, after all they were also aiming to be on top.
"To become a member of the Elite Ten, one way is to challenge the members of the Elite Ten themselves," said Riku.
"There is such a way?"
“Yes, but you have to risk something worth it. For example, you challenge me to get my 3rd seat, then you have to bet something equal to my seat. And the price is very high, even dropping out of this academy is not enough.”
"Is that true!?" said Shana in surprise, she wondered what other payment was greater than being expelled from school.
“That's right, that's the value of the Elite Ten's position,” Mio said.
"And you know, you can't just do it. To challenge someone, you need three things,” Riku continued. He then raised his finger, “There is one person who has the authority to declare that the challenge is official, several judges, and finally both parties agree to the conditions of the challenge. By doing all that, challenges can be arranged.”
"There's also a lot to take care of, huh..." thought Shana.
“Those who are at odds with one another, must make their opponent give up with their cooking. The tradition of Tootsuki's one-on-one cooking matches, that's called Shokugeki."
"Shokugeki..." Shana repeated Riku's words. Now that she understood what Shokugeki was, before that she had only heard small details from Lisa.
Shokugeki rules are absolute, if someone breaks them, then that person is called a failure. There used to be an unwritten rule that anyone who refused Shokugeki's challenge was called a coward.
Shana felt that she had gathered enough information for the day, and continued to finish her breakfast.
After breakfast, everyone went to school to do their own activities.
///
Standing alone on the dormitory balcony, Riku watched all his juniors who were going to school waiting for the bus to the center, because the distance from the dormitory to the center was quite far so they used the bus that the academy had provided to go.
Riku himself hasn't gone to school yet because his schedule is different from his juniors.
While watching his junior, Riku's thoughts turned to last night's party, specifically their newcomer, Yukihira Shana.
Since he entered this academy until now, there is one thing he always experiences when his cooking is eaten by other students, they all enjoy his cooking.
That's why last night's party was always on Riku's mind because he experienced something new since he entered this academy.
“How interesting,” Riku thought. “I wonder why she, Yukihira Shana, never says my cooking is delicious?”
Riku smiled slightly at the thought of such an interesting thing.
= = =
"That's a lot," said a flabbergasted Shana.
The girls from the Polar Star Dormitory invite Shana to tour the academy so that she can get to know her new environment better and right now they are in front of a bulletin board containing the latest information on Tootsuki.
Shana who was reading the bulletin board was surprised when she saw how many research clubs there were in Tootsuki.
“Yes, there are many research clubs in Tootsuki. There you can practice trying to make a new menu or you can also enter a cooking contest outside of school together,” said Mio.
"Like an extracurricular activity in an ordinary school, huh," Shana thought.
She then turned her attention again to the bulletin board, “I'm not really interested in getting into one of these, but I'm curious what research is being done here.”
“Hmm…” She looked at the various research names that were in Tootsuki, all of them varied, from cooking research to cooking utensils research.
“Wow, someone did some research on insect cooking ingredients, I wonder how it tastes like,” she thought, then she turned her attention to another pamphlet, “Regional cooking club, don research, weird ingredients… Wait, weird ingredients?”
Shana's attention was now on a pamphlet entitled Research on Weird Ingredients, “So this club is researching cuisine using weird ingredients, quite reckless. Hmm, but wait…”
Then an idea popped into her head.
"If I can use a weird dish, maybe I can avenge my father with it," she thought. In the past she had accidentally eaten a disgusting dish that her father had made, which made her faint due to her very sharp sense of taste. Since then, she has always distanced himself when her father was experimenting.
“…Hehe,” she subconsciously chuckled while making a strange smile, “Maybe I can pay a visit sometime.”
“S-Shana!?” said Yuri who suddenly felt goosebumps seeing Shana's strange smile.
"What's wrong with her? Why did she suddenly look like that when she saw the pamphlet?” Fubuki whispered to the others.
"How do I know, could she be interested in weird cuisine?" Mio replied.
“Just ask her directly,” said Reine, the others nodded.
"H-Hey, Shana-" Yuri's words were cut short by the sudden commotion.
They all turned towards the source and saw many students entering a certain building.
“Hey come on hurry up, Lisa-sama’s Shokugeki is going to start soon,” a student shouted to his friend.
"Lisa?" said Shana while raising her eyebrows.
“Ah, that reminds me. A few days ago, she said that a senior student challenged her to do Shokugeki. That senior wants to request Lisa's research data on advanced cookware," said Fubuki while crossing her arms.
"Then let's go there," said Shana, her friends nodded. This might be her chance to see what Shokugeki looks like, and more so to see Lisa's cooking skills.
They then walked towards the building where the Shokugeki will be held.
After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached the building. Arriving inside the building, they were greeted by the cheers of the students excited to see Shokugeki.
The building had two floors, but students had already filled seats on both the first and second floors. Almost all of them were filled with excited first year students, but Shana also noticed that there were several second and third year students.
Shana then turned her attention to the arena of competition, the arena itself was very wide, in the middle of which two kitchen tables had been prepared for the competing participants. But Shana felt something strange, the kitchen table provided was too wide for one person to use, so she was curious about the Shokugeki rules that were held this time, could it be a match in pairs? That was all she could guess for now.
At the top of the arena, there is a long table with three chairs provided. That must be where the judges sit.
Then a girl walked into the arena, “Thanks for waiting! The Shokugeki administrative office has approved this match as the official Shokugeki, therefore the match is about to start!!”
All the students screamed with joy.
"We already have 3 judges," said the host girl, pointing to the judges who had already arrived, "The theme is Japanese cuisine, and this time the competition is a pair match. One will be the head chef and the other will be the sous chef.”
The students shouted even louder.
“As I thought, this is a match in pairs,” thought Shana.
"Who will be Lisa's partner?" Yuri asked.
"I don't know," answered Fubuki with a shrug.
“Whoever is Lisa's partner, that person has to be really great. Because it's impossible to easily follow Lisa's movements,” said Mio.
"Yeah, that person just slowed down Lisa," Reine continued.
“Alright, it's about time we started the match. Contestants please enter!”
At the door to the left of the arena entered two people, the first having a large and slightly fat build followed by a student shorter than the first.
“The first is Tabata Katsuo from second year, and his partner Kabeyama Saku from first year!”
“So she fought a sophomore,” muttered Shana.
"Seems like that, seniors often challenge first-year students who have the potential to increase their experience," Yuri said.
“Next, let's welcome the Genius of the first year, Nakiri Lisa-sama!!”
This time the screams of the students were louder than before.
From the door on the right, enter Nakiri Lisa in her chef clothes walking confidently. Her elegance fascinates both male and female students.
"Lisa-sama!!" one fan shouted.
"Who do you think will win?" Ask one student to his friend.
"Of course Lisa-sama."
While the students cheered happily, the participants had entered their respective kitchens. Lisa then turned to her opponent.
"As promised, if we win you will hand over one of your researches on that advanced cookware," said Katsuo.
"Of course, in exchange you will give all your research on Hangiri," said Lisa casually.
“So they bet each other on the results of their research, but that senpai only asked for one of Lisa's research and Lisa asked for their entire research. That means one of Lisa's research is worth all of senpai's research,” thought Shana as she recalled the Shokugeki rules.
She then put her hand on her chin, “But, Hangiri huh. It is a container made of bamboo to store hot rice that will be made into Sushi. I used to cook using it…”
“Agreed,” said Katsuo, “By the way, where is your partner?”
Katsuo's question left the entire audience speechless, they were too excited about the match that they didn't notice that Lisa had come alone.
"T-That's right, I didn't see the Lisa-sama partner."
“Could it be that that person was late?”
"How dare that person cause trouble for Lisa-sama."
The crowd of students suddenly became angry to see Lisa's partner who had arrived late, but they were all silenced by Lisa's next words.
“Ah, about that I haven't chosen anyone yet,” she said with a cute wink.
The crowd fell silent.
“.”
“..”
“…”
“WHAAAAAAT!?” shouted all the students, they didn't expect that Lisa had not chosen her partner at all.
“Don't joke with us, Nakiri! Are you underestimating us!?” shouted Saku angrily.
Katsuo just kept quiet and crossed his arms, he then spoke, “Shokugeki rules are absolute, if you don't have a partner then you've lost. I'm disappointed in you being called a genius by people."
Lisa just smiled hearing her enemy's words, then suddenly she stared with cold eyes at her opponent, her red eyes that were so domineering that everyone got goosebumps and fell silent.
“Calm down senpai. I said I haven't choose anyone, right? All I have to do now is choose one of the audience here," she said coldly, making both Katsuo and Saku nervous.
The audience suddenly felt uneasy when they heard that Lisa would choose one of them.
“I-Is she going to choose one of us?” someone asked nervously.
"Th-That's impossible, we can't possibly be at her level."
"Well, let's see," said Lisa while looking at the audience, her eyes darting from student to student, so far no one is worthy to be her partner. Then her eyes fell on her friends in the Polar Star Dormitory, her focus was on a honey blonde haired girl she had recently met, she then headed to the girl.
Shana was so lost in her thoughts about using Hangiri that she didn't realize what was going on. She then felt someone holding her hand, when she looked up she saw Lisa who was smiling at her.
"Hmm?" Shana tilted her head.
"Hi, Shana. Be my partner," she said, before Shana said anything she was already pulled by Lisa.
“EEEEEEEEH!!??” shouted all the audience who were surprised to see the person Lisa chose.
"Isn't she a transfer student?"
“Why did Lisa-sama choose her?”
Meanwhile the polar star girls just sighed at Lisa's actions.
“Here she is again, always doing something that surprises people,” said Mio who shook her head, the others just laughed in amusement as they were used to Lisa's actions.
Meanwhile, Shana who was at the center of it all fell silent and was surprised at this sudden change of events.
“Eh!?”
That was all she could say.