The Assessment Test

Erina walks fast to the testing hall with Hisako behind as the girl was very excited.

"Erina-sama! Please slow down!" Hisako exclaimed as she was having trouble keeping up with her mistress haste steps.

Erina and Hisako reached a door as Erina swings it open and both were now within the facility of the testing hall.

The blonde mistress scan through the participants within the room and spot no redhead man within the crowd.

"He's not here? He told me that he would be coming into this school," Erina thought while having a sad look to her face.

The crowd saw Erina as they all seem to be afraid of her.

"It's her!" "It's the God Tongue!" "Why is she the examiner!?" "I'm ruined!"

"Erina-sama?" Hisako called out to her friend.

Erina sighs as she takes the test paper from Hisako before looking at the fulfillment conditions to enroll.

"And I was excited over nothing," Erina muttered out as she gives back the paper to Hisako before going to a table filled with all sorts of high-grade ingredients of all sorts.

She reached her hand out and took an egg into her possession.

"The main ingredient is an Egg," Erina said our loud while showing the egg to all the participants. 

"Make a meal that is worthy of my tongue and you will earn your admission to Totsuki, I will give you a minute to withdraw from the examination if you want."

In a second, all of the participants instantly ran away leaving Erina and Hisako within the hall.

"It would seem that there would be zero transfers today, Erina-sama," Hisako said looking to Erina who seems to be frowning sadly "Erina-sama? What is wrong?"

"Nothing…It's just…" Erina mumbled out while placing back the egg to the table before sighing out "I was so excited to see him again."

"Him?" Hisako asked while raising an eyebrow.

"-Sigh- let's just leave.." Erina said and was about to leave the testing hall before

BANG!

The front door to the testing hall was slammed open as it was the cloaked figure from before.

"I FINALLY FOUND THE PLACE!" The figure shouted out while seeming to be out of breath.

"A latecomer?" Hisako said as Erina slowly turns her attention to the cloaked figure and her eyes widen to see a bracelet on the figure's hand.

"It can't be…" Erina muttered out as the cloaked figure drops his bag before taking off his hood.

"Yo! Erina! Long time no see!" the cloaked figure revealed himself to be Soma, now 16 years old and looking quite mature from 8 years back.

"Soma…," Erina spoke out as her eyes started to tear up.

"Sorry I was late! This place is huge and it took me 30 minutes to get to the place!" Soma said with a sheepish grin while rubbing the back of his head.

"Soma!" Erina jumped to the man as she hugs him tight.

"Wow! Easy there!" Soma said with a laugh as he gives the hug back.

"Mou! I was nearly disappointed when you didn't come!" Erina said while sniffling.

"Sorry, sorry! Got a lot to sort out back home and I just got here like 5 hours ago and this happens," Soma said to her.

Erina wipes off her tears and gave Soma a big smile before her nose picked up a foul smell.

"Eeww! When was the last time you took a bath!?" Erina exclaimed while pinching her nose with her fingers and backed away from the man.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to take a bath today. Hahaha," Soma said with a laugh.

"Go to the showers!" Erina exclaimed while pointing to a bathroom "I won't let you take the exam if you stink! Your foul odor makes me want to puke!"

"That didn't stop you from hugging me though," Soma said with his grin still on.

"Take a shower now!" Erina shouted as she pushed Soma towards the bathroom and shut the door.

Erina huffs as she places her hands to her hips.

"Hisako, get some clothes for him to change," Erina told Hisako "I swear, he smells worse than a Durian fruit."

"Y-yes," Hisako said while bewildered to the scene that she had just witnessed beforehand before going to do what she had ordered.

30 minutes passed and Soma came out of the bath, all clean and fresh.

"Man, haven't take a nice bath in a week!" Soma said while drying his hair.

"For goodness sake, you haven't changed ever since we were kids," Erina said crossing her hands over her chest.

"Hahaha, glad to see you too," Soma said with a smile.

"Erina-sama" Hisako called out to Erina who turns his attention to her "Do you know this man?" Hisako asked her as she had no idea about who he was.

"His name is Yukihira Soma, a chef at a diner in Sumiredorei Shopping District, a loser at children games, and dislike losing to his father," Erina said as Soma takes out a briefcase and opened it and revealed a set of knives "and he's also my first male best friend."

"Funny that you know me so well, Erina," Soma said with a cheeky grin, "Did you miss me so badly?"

"Hmph! Please" Erina said while huffing her chest, "having Hisako around was way better than having you!"

"Oh look here, I just happened to have a new release of "Happy Memories" manga the 25th edition that hasn't been released yet in public," Soma said with the said comic book at hand that instantly made Erina's head whipped to the man.

"I wonder what happens after Hiroki met Sakura at the classroom, let's take a look~," Soma said while opening the comic with a big wide grin.

Erina's face turned red as she looks to be in distress over something.

"Hoooo, so that happens, huh?" Soma said with a cheeky sly smile as Erina was trying to stop herself from going near the man.

"And this happens as well? The author sure knows how to make a good scene~," Soma said while waving the comic in front of Erina as the girl's eyes followed the comic.

"Do you want to read it, E~ri~na?" Soma said playfully to Erina who nodded while blushing.

"What do you say first?" Soma asked as he holds the coming in front of Erina whose hands are reaching for the comic.

"P-please.." Erina mumbled out while reaching for the comic but Soma pulled it away.

"What was that? I didn't hear you~," Soma said while putting a hand to his ear.

Erina started to steam as she glared hard at the man.

"P-p-please.." Erina muttered out as Soma grins cheekily at her.

"What was that? What is the magic word?" Soma said out as he reached out the comic to her hands.

"P-please," Erina spoke out as her hands hold the comic.

"Atta girl," Soma said as he patted her head.

Hisako looks like she was out of the world as she watched the scene of the two acting like two kids.

Erina puffs out her cheeks before she turns around and reads the comic to herself.

Soma chuckles before he went to the ingredient table and takes out a couple of eggs.

"What are you doing?" Hisako asked the man who was in the middle of taking some chicken and spices.

"Just making a dish for the test," Soma said in reply as he takes a bunch of ingredients and went to a kitchen station.

"But you don't even know the main ingredient," Hisako said while in the background, Erina seems to be blushing hard while having steam coming out of her head as she intently reads the comic in her possession.

"Oh, I know," Soma said as he started the stove and place a pan on it while pouring some cooking oil on it "Just happened to hear the main ingredient when running by a group of guys who were screaming like a bunch of pansies."

Hisako looks deadpanned while Erina was steaming hard and looks to be nearly fainting from reading the comic.

"Now then," Soma grinned as he takes the white cloth off his hand before putting on his forehead like a headband "let's start, shall we?"

Soma started the cooking as he chops, stirs, boils, fried, and steams the ingredients as his hands were fast as lightning.

"How fast!" Hisako looks in amazement as Soma was cooking so fast that she started to see after images of him all around the place.

Soma instantly finished in mere 5 minutes as he presented a bowl of rice to a table.

"It's done!" Soma said with a grin.

Erina walks to the dish with the comic in her hands as she saw what the man-made.

"May I ask on what is the dish you presented for me?" Erina asked while having a tinge of red on her cheeks for no reason.

"Just a special from back home," Soma said as he had a container in his hand and it was filled with scrambled eggs and some sort of brownish jelly "Transforming Furikake Gohan Reunion Version!"

He drops the content of the container onto the bowl of rice as the jelly instantly melted upon contact with the rice.

"The jelly is melting onto the egg!" Hisako exclaimed as she saw how the dish transformed.

Erina's eyes soften as a delectable aroma burst out of the egg dish.

"Enjoy!" Soma said as he gives the two some chopsticks.

Erina and Hisako took a piece of the egg mixed with the rice and the melted jelly coating and took a bite.

Soon the flavors within the dish exploded within their mouth and send the two into heaven.

"The flavors! They're tingling around my tongue!" Hisako looks in amazement as she had never tasted such a dish.

Erina felt like she was in heaven as her body was tingling and shivering in pleasure so bad that she nearly dropped to the floor.

"The chicken, The rice, The egg! They're all mixed in harmony, and the taste is boosted to the limit!" Erina thought while puffing out some steam from her mouth "This taste…. it exceeds that of last time!"

"Do you like it?" Soma asked with a smile while leaning his chin to his hand.

"Hisako, you already ate today, right?" Erina asked Hisako who nodded.

"Good," Erina grabs the bowl of rice before she devoured the whole dish to herself.

"Erina-sama!?" Hisako exclaimed in surprise to see her mistress eat in such manner as such a scene was unbelievable to her.

Soma smiles as Erina finished his dish with a content sigh.

"How was it?" Soma asked as Erina wipes her lips with a napkin.

"It was…adequate" Erina replied while blushing a bit.

"Really~? Even though you ate it all for yourself like back then," Soma said with a cheeky grin as Erina blushed hard.

"S-shut up!" Erina exclaimed while turning around and her hair whipped around, "You passed and I expect you to come to my place this evening, understand!?"

"Is that an invitation~?" Soma asked as Erina stopped in her tracks with steam coming out of her head.

"Let's go Hisako!" Erina exclaimed as she speeds off away.

Hisako followed before bidding goodbye to Soma with a bow.

"It was a pleasure serving you," Soma said as he takes off his headband and wraps it back around his hand.

Erina and Hisako were now in a different department at Totsuki.

The shades from the windows were up and from where they can see, the sun was finally setting.

"That Yukihira fellow, he's a strange one," Hisako said as she stands beside Erina who was seated in the office and was looking at a paper that has Soma's information on it.

"That's just how his character is," Erina replied with a sigh.

"How long have the two of you know each other?" Hisako started to question as Erina watched with a smile towards the picture of Soma who did a peace sign in it.

"7- 8 years?" Erina answered as she takes a stamp and pressed it on the paper and with that a 'passed' sign appeared on it.

"That long?" Hisako said with a bit of amazement "That man has some amazing cooking skill but lack required etiquette."

"That blockhead is always the one who always forgot something that isn't related to cooking," Erina said while putting away the paper into her drawer "He always forgets to take a bath, take out the trash or anything that relates to daily life."

"You sound like you're his girlfriend, Erina-sama," Hisako said with a smile and in an instant, Erina's face went crimson red

"B-b-b-b-b-boyfriend!? Hisako! How could you say such a thing!?" Erina stammered while steaming up.

"I just assumed that," Hisako said with a sweatdrop as Erina started to steam while stammering a lot of gibberish.

Hisako sighs but smiles at seeing Erina acting like this before she looks to the window "You're a strange man, Yukihira."

Soma sneezes as the man rubs his nose to his finger.

"Must be fall already," Soma said as he was walking down a hill with his sack and suitcase at hand "now, I wonder if Gramps can lend me a room for the week?"

Soma now made his way on the road where a truck was parked at.