17 Chapter 16

Author Note: I've been sick for a while so I haven't been able to do anything really. Felt bad about leaving this for so long so I managed to write up a chapter.

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-[Location: Totsuki Arena]-

-[Soran]-

Soran smirked darkly as he took off the band he used to tie his hair. Around him were multiple students collapsed on the floor with devastated looks on their faces.

"T-this is…Unbelievable!" The female announcer stuttered as the crowd looked on in shocked silence.

"T-the victor is Yukihira Soran!" She announced as the boy smirked at the crowd.

"Is this all of you? I still have energy for the rest of you." He challenged but none of them dared to speak.

Not even a minute after he dared them, multiple students rushed forward to take him up on it. With Senzaemon there, the application process of setting up a Shokugeki was easily waved off.

It only took an hour for them to gather new ingredients and get started once more. Totsuki was just that efficient. Unlike the result they expected, they lost by quite a large gap despite their effort and confidence.

-[Soma]-

Up in the crowd, the members of Polar Star had shocked looks not unlike that of the crowd as they stared at their fellow dorm mate.

"Y-Yukihira…" Yuki called out as the boy himself answered shakily.

"Yes…"

"W-what is your brother?" She asked, cranking her neck towards him, her eyes still wide.

"That's…I'm not sure anymore." Soma answered, his disbelief easily heard in his voice.

"H-he's not normal." Megumi stuttered out, shaking in shock.

-[Later]-

-[Soran]-

Walking into the Vegetarian RS building with a satisfied smile on his face, Soran looked at the students who were already inside, glaring at him in hatred.

They murmured amongst themselves but Soran wasn't bothered about that. Shido stood behind him with a look of utter devastation on his face.

From the moment Soran won, he lost all power in the club. It was also the reason why the other students didn't outright curse at him, not like it made a difference to him for what he was about to do.

"Alright, let's move on to the first order of business." He started, causing the glares to intensify but they stayed silent.

"You're all no longer members of this club. Get out of here." He said simply as silence reigned for a moment as they processed what he said before it was replaced by anger.

"What do you mean!?"

"What makes you think you can just do that!?"

He stared at them silently as they all protested before speaking. "I'm the head of this group and I can do whatever I want with it. That includes kicking out unwanted members, that includes all of you."

They almost erupted once more but he wasn't done speaking. "Of course if you're not happy with that decision, I'm willing to accept a Shokugeki." He said, causing them to quieten.

"If that is all, I expect all of you to be gone in an hour. Pack all your stuff and take them with you." He said before leaving the gathering of angry students.

As much as he didn't want to do that, it was necessary. He wasn't willing to accommodate people who would sabotage or inconvenience him at the first chance they got. With how much they despised him, it was unavoidable.

"Hey Soran!"

Hearing a familiar voice call out his name, he paused, turning around to see Soma and Megumi rushing towards him.

"Eh?" He couldn't help but look confused at the strange expression on Soma's face. "What is it?"

"What do you mean 'What is it?'?! Why didn't you tell me you were having a Shokugeki?!" Soma ranted, shaking an exasperated Soran by his shirt.

"I forgot." Soran said simply, throwing Soma into even more shock.

"Liar! You don't forget things!" Soma accused as Megumi stayed silent beside him, watching the display.

Despite his accusation, Soran didn't seem to be budging from his excuse. "Fight me!"

"Huh?! Are you out of your mind?" Soran asked tiredly as Soma pointed his finger at him challengingly.

"I challenge you to a Shokugeki!"

"Not happening."

"Why not?!"

"Honestly, you have too much energy." Soran muttered but they still heard it.

'Says the guy that challenged half the arena!' Soma and Megumi accused internally.

"So this makes you the head of the Research Society? That's awesome!" Soma praised with some excitement.

"Not as awesome as you'd think. I'm going to be piled with a lot of work." Soran lamented before turning to Megumi, noticing the confused look on her face. "What's wrong, Megumi?"

"Eh? Nothing's wrong, I'm just confused." She answered. At Soran's gesture, she continued. "A Shokugeki can only happen when both sides have something to wager. You became the head of the Vegetarian Research Group because of your match with Shido. What about the other matches? What we're the stakes?"

Her question made a lot of sense. In the heat of the moment, the wagers hadn't been announced. He let out a lazy smile as he thought back to the loophole he found in the Shokugeki rules.

The rules state that both opponents have to have something of equal value but that was only vaguely true. It was vaguely true in the sense that they had to be of equal value to make the match fair to the winner. However, if both opponents are satisfied with the rewards, then there was no problem.

"You know how this school is filled with rich kids?" He asked rhetorically as they both nodded. "Well, my reward for beating them was money. Lots of money."

Soma and Megumi blinked, not expecting this at all but Soran wasn't done speaking.

"If they're able to brag about their background then they'd have to at least have a lot of money right?" Soran questioned again rhetorically.

"H-how much?" Megumi couldn't help but ask.

"Twenty million Yen." He answered nonchalantly, causing them both to scream in shock. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You went against 20 students which means 1 million Yen from each of them…" she trailed off, no longer able to comprehend this absurdity.

"You're rich!" Soma exclaimed in surprise.

"We're rich." Soran corrected. "I'm not sure if you've already realized it but you probably shouldn't rely on Dad for money while we're here." Soran said with a deadpanned expression.

"Huh? Why?" Soma asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Trust me. You'll understand later." The younger twin said with a sigh. "Now if you don't mind, I have some important things to d-"

"Yukihira Soran!"

He sighed as he was interrupted, turning back to see the owner of the voice. As he turned, he saw a busty girl with tanned skin wearing what could only be described as a very skimpy version of the school uniform.

"I-" Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Soran interrupted her.

"Not interested." He said dryly, shocking even Soma and Megumi at the suddenness of his words.

Irritation showed on the girl's face as she stomped towards them. 'Wasn't it the Don research group that Mito was supposed to target? Then why is she coming after me?' He thought before remembering something that almost made him facepalm.

'You have to be kidding me… Is Erina so petty?' He didn't bother to answer the question, already knowing the answer.

"Don't interrupt me again!" She demanded, causing Soran to give her a dry look at her demanding tone.

"What do you want?" He asked her despite already having a feeling of what was happening.

"I challenge you to a Shokugeki." She challenged under Soran's dry stare. The exasperated manner in which he looked at her, caused an uncomfortable feeling to arise at his casual and silent dismissal.

"I'm not interested. You don't have anything that I want so it's not even worth considering." He commented, about to walk away when she spoke up again.

"Is that what you think?" She said with a smirk, causing him to pause. "In a few days, this club will have gone. Do you really think the Elite ten are going to continue funding such a club?"

'Oh right, that was Erina's tactic. Reducing funding to back then into a corner with the only choice being a Shokugeki.' He thought. "Tell Erina that if she wants to harass me so much, she might as well do it in person. It's not fun dealing with a proxy." He said, causing the girl to frown.

"Why you-!" She bit back her words as she noticed him pause for a moment.

'If you want to play things that way, I'll gladly oblige you.' He thought cruelly an idea coming to his head.

"If you want to have a Shokugeki so bad, then I accept." He said suddenly, confusing her. Soma and Megumi looked at him even more confused about what he was doing. "Though, I have one condition."

"What is it?" Mito questioned, seemingly satisfied that things were going her way.

"If you win, you can shut down this research group, demolish it even if you want. If I win, you are going to become my aide." He announced, shocking them all.

"What?!"

'If you're going to throw your pawns at me, I might as well flaunt them in your face later. There's also the fact that I need an assistant to run a few errands that are a hassle to take care of. Two birds, one stone.' He thought, his face not betraying his thoughts.

"What kind of condition is that?!" Mito questioned in anger.

"Take it or leave it. Whether you shut this club down or not, I can always acquire another one. It's your choice." He said simply, strung straight at her as she grit her teeth.

"You-! You're really arrogant, you know that? I accept." She said finally.

"Wonderful. Now let me clarify one thing, I won't be that one facing you." Soran said, her eyes widening in confusion as the boy pulled Soma in front of him. "You'll be facing him. We'll even go with your specialty; meat." He taunted, the girl's anger soaring at the way he seemingly didn't deem her worth his energy.

Anger can cloud judgement, which was why she didn't realize that she was being led by the nose. "You're on!"