An hour later…
"Disgusting!" Erina shouted loudly, her face practically glowing like a red light.
Sitting on a stool off to the side of the Kitchen table, a widely grinning Haru shook his head. "Nope, not buying it!"
"That's my judgment… the final judgment on the matter! You fail!" she retorted with a scowl and huffed, crossing her hands under her considerable chest.
"Well then Miss Judgment, where is the omelet that you found disgusting?" the blond Shinobi asked with a smirk, causing Erina to stiffen and go red in the face.
Damn him and his dish!
She had escorted the two daring chef-wannabes to the testing Kitchen to test their mettle and ordered them to prepare a dish worthy of her unique palate. Since there were two of them, she had assigned Hisako to oversee the redhead's examination while she watched the cheeky blond.
She had expected the blond to be a mere novice in the cooking department but the damn teen had poured cold water over her expectations and blurred through the Kitchen like a destructive wind.
He had chopped the different vegetables like a madman but one with skills, scrambled the eggs to perfection! And last but not the least, the divin… disgusting taste! She refused to acknowledge it as divine! The only thing divine was her tongue, end of story!
In spite of her exterior denial, she couldn't inwardly refute that it was one of the best she had ever tasted and she only ate the best! To think that a simple omelet could taste so good! It defied logic.
She had observed him like a hawk, watching and scrutinizing his every insignificant movement. Nothing beside his surprising skills and speed had stood out from the norm. Everything he had added to the omelet was common ingredient any person even vaguely familiar with cooking would know.
Yet… the taste was unlike anything she had ever tasted!
It had felt as though she had been lounging upon a bed of smooth, squashy and jiggling fried omelet, being caressed, cuddled and massaged by the lifeless surface of the egg bed! Even now, she could still vividly remember the addictive sensation of that one bite!
The blond was correct, despite how much she hated to admit it, that she eaten the omelet before even realizing it, lost in her own world of culinary euphoria. When she had exited from her utopia, the first thing she had seen was the smug, grinning face of the blond, the gaping expression of her aid and the absence of a familiar redhead.
It had turned out that she had been so lost in her world that Soma had finished his dish, presented it to Hisako and apparently passed her exam. She had thought of revoking her decision but decided against it since it would have lowered her aid's faith in her judgment and self-confidence.
In the end, seeing the blond's smug face and perverted grin, she had announced her decision and apparently the insolent teen was not listening to her! Her decision was final! Who cared if his dish was tasty or not, she was the judge here and she decided that it was disgusting!
However all that paled in comparison to what he had said or rather what he had suggested in his thinly veiled lewd innuendos.
Hisako and Soma stood at the far end of the Kitchen near a working table, a virtual silence hovering above them. Soma was too engrossed in his cooking to say anything while Hisako didn't know what to say.
Haru was calmly leaning on one of the tables and expertly examining some of the cutting tools, while sporting a wide grin on his sharp visage. Standing in front of him with her arms crossed under chest was Erina Nakiri who eyebrows were twitching madly as she impatiently tapped her foot.
"Alright, let's get down and dirty!" Feeling her piercing and obviously glaring gaze upon his face, Haru chuckled sheepishly. "I mean let's start with the cooking!"
"Finally." she muttered under breathe. He has been observing the damn knives for 15 minutes now and suggestively moving it and down, back and fro, all the while intently pinning her down with his damn blue-eyed gaze.
"I am gonna need some milk." Haru announced in a slow whisper, leaning towards a confused Nakiri heiress. "You wouldn't happen to have some fresh, nutritious and… creamy milk on you, would you?"
Erina subconsciously covered her chest with her hands and leaned back, her face resembling a tomato. Even though he asked for a normal ingredient, she couldn't help but think that he meant something else by those words. The blond was damn pervert after all!
"W-what do you need milk for?"
"To make a creamy milkshake with eggs" Haru retorted cheerfully. "So where can I find some fresh milk?"
Taking a wary step back, Erina tightened the blazer around herself and scowled. "There is none!"
"Aww man, I can't make a milkshake without milk!" the blond teen whined childishly before his blue eyes lit up in perverted delight, at least that's what Erina thought. "If there is no milk, then can you please show me the place where I can find some mouthwateringly delicious, heaving and juicy piece of meat?"
Even Hisako stopped whatever she was doing and gaped at the daring blond in shock. She had been too busy watching Soma prepare his dish to notice the dilemma Erina was facing. But now that she was paying some attention, she realized that the blond was even more forward than she had expected.
Visible puffs of steam escaped out of Erina's scorching ears as she took a deep breath. "JUST START YOUR DAMN COOKING!"
Finding no answer to the accusing question, Erina coughed into her hand to control her blushing face and turned to her assistant. "Hisako, inform them that all the applicants failed!"
"B-but ma'am…"
"Do it!"
"Now that is just cruel, sweet cheeks…" the blond Balance Keeper stated with a childish pout.
"Don't call me that!"
"As I was saying…" Ignoring her outburst, Haru continued with his sentence "That is just cruel. I mean sure I interrupted your raunchy session of girl on girl action, but come on, my glorious omelet at least deserves a passing grade."
"Stop saying that and get out!" the Nakiri heiress retorted, her face ready to burst into flames. Damn him and his one track mind!
"You are cruel, baby cakes." Haru declared with a pout. "That pink haired cutie passed her boyfriend, the least you can do is pass me as well."
"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND/ YOU ARE NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" the two examiners shouted in unison.
"Stop shouting, geez!" the blond groaned and turned to the side of the Kitchen. "Hey old man, don't ya think these cuties are being mean to me?"
Erina and Hisako blinked in surprise, momentarily forgetting their embarrassment as they turned towards the direction Haru was looking at. Their eyes widened when Senzaemon Nakiri, the esteemed Director of Totsuki Academy stepped out from the shadows and stared at Haru with a somewhat neutral look on his face.
"D-director/ Grandfather!"
Senzaemon pinned down the blond enigma with his red gaze, searching for anything that may reveal a bit about his real character, not the façade he was showcasing. He may be the director of a Culinary Academy, but he was also an old man who had seen much in his long life.
He had watched the entire ordeal from the adjoined room and heard every spoken word. He had to admit the redheaded boy had made an impression on him with his confidence and skills. There were very few who exceeded far and wide at such a young age and apparently, young Soma was among those very few.
While he hadn't tasted the young man's dish, he was perfectly pleased with Hisako Arato's decision of passing him. He would have even passed him on his confidence alone had he been assigned to judge the young man.
But this blond teen was something entirely different.
The skills, unmatched precision, speed and the confidence this boy showcased in the Kitchen was something extraordinary. He had seen a lot of chefs come and go through the doors of the Academy, some successful and some failures, yet none, with the exception of a few, matched the speed and skills this boy had.
"Old man, you still there?" Haru asked in confusion, waving his hand in front of the old Director's face, all the while blissfully ignoring Hisako's whispering warnings.
The blonde Nakiri heiress couldn't believe the nerve of this guy. No one and she meant... no one had ever called Senzaemon Nakiri, the Demon of Food an "old man"! Either he was bizarrely brave or incredibly stupid.
Seeing as the daring blond was ignoring her warnings, Hisako Arato excused herself and bolted out of the door. If the Director had any thoughts of bringing his wrath upon the insolent blond, she could at least be safe from it!
The silvered haired Head of the Nakiri household smiled uncharacteristically and walked around the table to stand in front of the sitting blond. "Well young man, where is the dish so that I may judge the validity of my granddaughter's remark?"
Erina blushed profusely when Haru gave her a sideway glance and grinned. "Cutie over there ate it like a pro."
Damn him! What was with him calling her cutie, sweet cheeks and baby cakes all the time!? She hated those nicknames!
"Is that so?" the Demon of Food asked with a raised eyebrow. "I can't exactly revoke her decision without tasting your prepared dish now, can I?"
Of course he knew that Erina had eaten the omelet but still he may be able to kill two birds with one stone. Since there was no omelet left, Haru will be compelled to make another one right in front of his piercing eyes.
He would see for himself what kind of skills the boy possessed. It was one thing watching from a door crack and but watching him directly may present an entirely different picture.
"Do I have to?" Haru whined, sighing deeply when Senzaemon nodded sharply. "You could have at least left something for the old man, sweet cheeks, now I have to make it all over again!"
The blond blissfully ignored the examiner's glares and growls and focused his attention on the ingredients. That girl was just so cute!
The old Director of the esteemed academy watched with something akin to amazement and acknowledgement as Haru blurred through the Kitchen, precisely chopping down the ingredients, scrambling the eggs and then frying it with perfection.
In a matter of moments, the dish was done and placed before the still and unmoving Demon of Food. Haru took his previous position on the stool and dropped his head on the table with a sigh, as the old Director reached for the prepared omelet and took a dignified bite.
"What the hell!?" he yelled in surprise, almost falling from the stool as the previously unmoving and neutral looking Food Demon suddenly jumped in delight and shredded his kimono shirt in an impressive show of strength, showcasing a ripped body underneath.
"This is MAGNIFICENT!" Senzaemon declared in a boisterous laugh. "The flavor is so rich, the lower surface is fried to perfection while the upper portion still retains its soft and smooth texture!"
Haru beamed joyfully and turned to a groaning Erina. "See cutie, I am the Man!"
Recovering from his Foodgasm, Senzaemon couldn't help but observe the prepared dish. Just like his beloved granddaughter, he observed nothing out of the ordinary, yet the taste was out of this world. While he had to admit, he had eaten better than this, it was still a pleasant surprise to see a mere student cook a dish of this caliber.
Haru stood up from his stool and strode up to the still contemplating silver haired man, picking up the plate as he did so. Even the old director blinked in surprise when the blond teen took the plate and walked away.
He sure was daring, he would give him that!
No one had the guts to even look him in the eye, yet this teen was being as nonchalant as possible. So bold and causal in fact that it almost reached the borders of rudeness.
Erina Nakiri, who had been face-palming this whole time, couldn't help but take a few cautious steps back as the blond chef-wannabe walked up to her with a wide… hopeful grin.
What was with him now? Couldn't he just leave her alone?
"Here sweet cheeks." Haru whispered slowly and raised the plate up to her hands "Take a bite."
"I already told you, it's disgusting!" she retorted with a scowl.
"Aww come on, please take a bite."
The blonde heiress noticed something odd about his request. Call her paranoid but there was something else he was hoping for. If her guess was right, then it was obviously something …
"Why?" she asked with narrowed eyes.
"Well, it caused the old man to shred his clothes." Haru grinned sheepishly. "I thought maybe… it would do the same and make you go commando!"
Yup, she guessed it right! It was definitely perverted!
"GET OUT!"
"Hey hey! No need to get all hormonal on me, sweet cheeks. A guy can dream, can't he?"
"I SAID GET OUT!"
A softly chuckling Senzaemon slipped out through the door and into the evening chilly air, knowing that Totsuki Academy would never be the same again. Not with Haru around!