Chapter 1: The Rindō and the regret

CENTRAL: 2 REBELS:1

The arena was left in a deadly silence, everyone apart from a few were left in complete and utter shock about the results that displayed on the massive screens dotted around the vast building. The score displayed was almost unbelievable to everybody in the room, even the ones to benefit from these results were unable to truly understand it. This silence was kept for a few minutes, until one scarlet haired girl decided to speak (or more precisely shout).

"Better luck next time, Eh Yukihira!"

Her cat like eyes shone with unease as a half-hearted smile suddenly formed on her features, as she tried to ease the thick tension that was engulfing the hundreds of people present in the building.

The room remained in almost complete noiselessness as a few embarrassed coughs could be heard from the audience, as the attempt to relieve the atmosphere in the giant hall only helped make the uneasiness even more unbearable.

The person the girl had tried to get a reaction out of did not even register that she had said anything, he was looking down intensely at the floor, his amber eyes locked fixatedly into the polished surface he was standing on, his fiery red hair drooping down solemnly in a reflection of the mood that the hall had taken on. His posture remained uncharacteristically stiff; his arms locked to his side and his feet bolted firmly in place.

Not to be disheartened so easily, the scarlet haired girl crept tensely towards the shadow of a boy standing before her, the whole audience watched her with a certain intent, an intensity that could have shattered diamond into a million pieces, every single pair of eyes in the room watched the girl make her way cautiously towards the red headed boy. Any normal person would've disintegrated right then and there but this particular girl had a will much stronger than her appearance would make her seem.

Despite the seemingly endless eyes watching her she slowly placed one of her slim hands firmly on the boy's tense shoulder. The boy didn't even seem to notice the girl now standing within inches of him and making physical contact. She became even more painfully aware of all those watching her in the audience and took note of the multitude of expressions that adorned their faces, some looked on with a slight ground of uncertainty as they knew how unpredictable the girl could be, others looked on with hope in their eyes as they seemingly were starting to believe she could somehow save this situation, others looked on with an intense curiosity.

She then turned towards the judging panel. A pair of green eyes belonging to the blonde-haired judge named courage looked at her with a look of desperation as if pleading with her to do something, the darker skinned judge named Decora looked at her with a hint of guilt and regret, her shining blue eyes onlooking with an almost apologetic energy.

Then she noticed the out of place inky black eyes analysing her with almost a mark of disgust, his white face had a subtle smirk on it that somehow seemed to be scolding her with the sheer arrogance it displayed for even trying to console the person before her. After all the person before her was considered scum to him.

Never the less she pressed on and mustered all the charm and sweetness her voice could manage as she tried to lift the spirits of the room once more.

"Don't be like that Yukihira, your dish was extremely yummy, I almost thought you were going to beat us for a moment there!"

She faked a light chuckle as she turned to the cage that all the rebels were kept in, hoping to get a reaction out of them. The sight that met her knocked all the confidence and cheer she had attempted to build right out of her. There were two main emotions that could be seen from the people in that area, an intense sorrow and an even more intense hatred from some. She continued to look startled at them as the grin she wore a few moments earlier evaporated from her face, being replaced by an uncomfortable, indescribable expression.

She recognised a few of them from the Autumn elections and the moon festival, there was Erina's cousin, looking at her with utter disgust and her aide who seemingly wanted her to drop dead right there by his expression, he was holding a red bandanna and looked like he was about to strangle her with it, Rindō mentally thanked Azami for the cage.

But one person who stood in the shadows near the cage particularly took her eye she recognised as the former tenth seat, she had slowly moved away from her father, with a truly terrified look in her purple eyes., It unsettled her to see the so-called heir so utterly shocked.

She took a moment consider why she was receiving such hateful glares from some and then cruel realisation grasped her. They had put the future of these talented chefs in jeopardy and left all future students of the academy to be under Azami's rule for years to come. This is what they wanted right? She wanted central to win. So why did she feel so guilty?

A few feet away stood a pale, white-haired boy who was coming to an equal realisation, they were the reason for this situation, the Queen and knight, no... pawns, to carry out Azami's plans.

The silence continued for a few more agonising seconds before the red headed centre of attention spoke up to answer the scarlet girl's statement and vocalising the internal conflict of the two top chefs at the world's most prestigious cooking academy.

"It's not about my cooking, Rindō-senpai." He began, his words grabbing the attention of everyone in the room, especially the person mere inches away.

"It's about the future of cooking as a whole and our lives." He stated, an unusual ice in his tone.

He looked towards his upper-classman. Hopeless amber met regret filled yellow, an exchange that only those in close proximity to could truly grasp the meaning behind. One was giving an apologetic look towards the other while said other just stared back blankly.

Sōma said nothing further to the person in front of him, desperately trying to hide the pain flowing through him, he had let down everyone with the stupid bold move he had made and had potentially threatened the whole culinary world. But most importantly, he had lost Yukihira's. His whole livelihood, his family's treasure.

He walked somberly towards the cage designated for the rebels its cold iron bars seeming welcoming. He was about to step into the cage before a hand grabbed his shoulder firmly again.

"I'm sorry." The shaky voice of Rindō whispered behind him. He didn't care, he released himself from the grip of his upperclassman and closed the cold door to the cage behind him, where he promptly shut himself off to all of the outside world.

Seeing the display, tears started to well in Rindō's eyes as she desperately searched for comfort her cheery care free façade was finally starting to crack under the harsh stares directed towards her. She then found her comfort and ran towards the white-haired boy near her, where she promptly flung herself into his arms and then began to sob into his chest, darkening the immaculate white chef's uniform he was wearing. The boy could only hold her loosely in his arms before she dug herself further into his chest, forcing him to tighten his hold on her.

"W-what have we done?" A sad muffled voice said from his chest.

Startled deeply by his own conflict and the moving display his closest and only friend was showing. He was about to console her and tell his honest regret, never before had he felt so guilty about something, normally he wouldn't be fazed by something like this, yet he felt a deep honest regret. But his motivation to do so was harshly stopped by the man on the judging panel, his cold unforgiving stare from his horrifying pitch-black caused him to recite the excuse he had been telling himself.

"We have furthered the world of cooking Rindō-chan." He whispered to her.

In an instant she stiffened up and stopped pushing into him, all warmth that was emanating from her went stone cold as she looked up from his chest with a betrayed aura bleeding from her face. The white knight of the table was left silent as his only friend forcefully pushed herself away from him, causing him to stumble backwards. She was about to unleash a barrage of raw emotion towards her friend if a loud bang from judging panel didn't startle her.

The bang came from the director of Tōtsuki, an irritated look came from his vampire like face. He inhaled a sharp breath before shouting at the distraught second seat.

"Cease this pathetic display at once Kobayashi-san!" His voice boomed around the hall with such intensity that made even Senzaemon Nakiri flinch. The receiver of the thunderous command didn't budge, instead she steeled herself.

"You are the second seat of this academy; you must conduct yourself with the utmos- "

"I don't care!" The second seat exclaimed, earning an audible gasp from numerous members of the audience. Many of the rebels present at the hall began to chirp up at the blatant resistance shown by the second seat.

"Then you are expelled along with all the other rebellious scum." Azami said coldly.

"You can't expel me I quit!" Rindō screamed in a fashion more expected of her, as she stormed out of the large hall., tear streaks still on her face.

Silence enveloped the hall as the thick tension descended upon the student body once more, as the sudden changes in everything they knew about the academy kept stunning them.

Azami was the one to break the silence. "As agreed by the terms of the team shokugeki, all rebels are hereby expelled and the restaurant Yukihira's is now mine." He announced.

Faces of the rebels dropped into somber once more.

"The expelled students in question will have two days to collect their belongings at the academy and then leave. My daughter will be remaining at this academy as she was tricked by the lies of the rebellion." He added.

This caused the Nakiri heiress in question to tense up at the mention of herself, her honey blonde locks concealing her eyes as she had retreated into the shadows to hide from the audience and her father after losing the shokugeki,

"You now all may leave." The director finished, before proceeding to leave the hall in a menacing stroll.