"Ow," was Eda's very stoical, unaffected opinion on Shiomi's special super spicy curry. "This hurts to eat."

Everyone in the dorm was hunched over in agony, and at his response, they whirled around in horror as Eda took his second bite without so much as a flinch.

"God damn this, it's too spicy!" sobbed a third-year, tears streaming down his face and snot leaking through his nose, but he bravely took the second bite only to painfully exclaim, "but damn it this is so good! I can't stop eating!"

A few people beside him do the same, only to exclaim in agonized, fire-breathing yelps afterward.

Though Sekimori's expulsion was unexpected, the other first-years survived the training camp. So in a little late celebration, the Polar Star Dorm was having a curry dinner party to commemorate.

Dressed in their pyjamas and huddled altogether in the kitchen, everyone was happily hustling around, singing and cheering. They were deep in the forest, so it wasn't like the noise would disturb anyone around.

It was warm, and fun.

Eda took a third bite. He hadn't had something this spicy since Tamako brought home a ghost pepper for April Fools last year. (Their regulars still refuse to enter Yukihira for that one day of the year.)

Due to the nature of spicy flavours, curry is usually a little more interesting to eat than anything else. Though muted, he can taste the spice, can feel the burn-- it's just the glorious umami of everything that is usually lost on his already dead taste buds.

For curry like Shiomi-senpais' it's just depressing to not be able to taste her carefully composed mixture of spices. He'll eat it if it's served at dinner, though.

Anyways Eda mainly only ate spicy food to spite the people who couldn't tolerate it.

Like Shinomiya, for example.

"Damn this why is this so good this is unfair--" Shinomiya forcefully swallowed another spoonful, trying to brave it but turning away in fear.

Eda set his clean plate on the sink. "Looks like there's going to be a line at the washrooms tonight," he commented, to which Shiomi chokes on a laugh.

"You seem fine, though? I'm impressed," the senior said.

Eda shrugged. "Got an iron tongue, I guess."

"Not an iron bowel, though," Shinomiya challenged.

"Worry about yourself, shithead."

Shiomi laughed good-naturedly, stirring the pot of curry as she continued serving the eager residents of Polar Star.

"It's quite upsetting that Sekimori won't be around for Autumn Elections this year," she sighed, "I was quite excited to give my all in pitching for his nomination, too."

"Autumn Elections?" Eda asked.

"It's the tournament--" Eda whirled over, Tournament arc?! "--between some selected high school first years in the autumn, woah, you're shining, Eda-chan."

"Sekimori might not be here, but there's still four of us!" the remaining High-school first-years declared, "we're going to kill this tournament, we swear!"

"Well, good luck."

"Shiomi-senpai, your unenthusiastic encouragement leaves us heartbroken!"

Eda, however, was too enamoured by the aspect of an infamous anime tournament arc to be focused on the senior's roars of determination.

(So a culinary school can have a tournament too, huh. Gotta have expected that from this over-competitive place, but to actually be met with one is like a dream come true of sorts.)

"The Junior High section doesn't have a lot of stuff going on, so you'll all definitely be allowed to come watch," Shiomi said, "look forward to it!"

Eda was very excited about it.

"It's said to be the tournament that decides the innings for future Elite Ten positions," Shinomiya explained. He sits down with a supreme Wagyu Beef Don (served up by their resident beef specialist, mob character #12,) held slightly in Eda's direction as an offer to take some.

Eda mourns the lack of taste, but hell he was not passing up the mouthfeel of some great meat.

"Elite Ten, huh," Eda considered, "I wonder if we'll take some spots if we get up to the High School division."

Shinomiya scoffed. "Aim too high and you'll burn."

Eda chuckled. "Hearing you obnoxiously underestimate me makes me want to prove you wrong."

To that, Shinomiya smirked. "That's the intention, dumbass."

-

"You're not going home?" Eda asked, hefting his travel bag over his shoulders. "It's Summer Break and all."

"I ain't sitting in the train for hell's hours cooking in the sun, you dunder," Shinomiya responded sharply. "Hurry up and go already, so I can go back to sleep."

For some reason, Shinomiya still woke up early to see everyone off as they left.

"And the real reason?"

"Mom's not home, no point, be quiet, scram."

"Ah."

Only a handful of students are staying at the dorms-- mostly the older ones who were preparing for the Autumn Election-- so it would seem a lonely choice to stay at the dorms when the noisier ones were gone.

(And to this day, Eda had no idea why his impulses drove him to say these following words.)

"You know, wanna come by my place?" he asked, "we could use an extra hand for the summer break rush back home."

"Huh?" Shinomiya's baffled response was honestly an expected outcome.

"Well, you know. I juggle two shifts at my home's bakery and my sis' diner, so once I go home, the guys are gonna freak out about me being home. I could use some help," he said. "Not interested?"

"Your diner isn't my business," Shinomiya said firmly. "Deal with your own problems on your own."

Eda nodded. Fair enough. He was just suggesting, anyway. But nah, he's not going to relent after coming this far. 

"So, you're too intimidated to work in a busy city diner?" he grinned.

And Shinomiya visibly went 'urk'.

"No worries, though. I'll just have to get extra training for Jou-san on my own. See ya, and have a nice summer, Shinomi--"

Eda immediately fell silent. Shinomiya's glare, paired with his exhaustion and the early morning, turned the gaze into some sort of furious abomination only seen in the depths of a horror flick.

"Meep," Eda shrank, all confidence lost as Shinomiya approached, a volcano in his eyes.

"Give me ten minutes."

Eda blinked, confused-- but Shinomiya was already turning around, undressing on his way up the stairs. A hand to brush his bedhead back in tentative place, he growls, pointing sharply at Eda.

"I'll be ready in ten fucking minutes so don't you dare bail before I'm done, you straw-boned city boy!"

Well, that just happened.

Eda couldn't help but smile a little, taking out his phone to inform the crowd about the guest he'll be bringing home.

-

It was funny to see Shinomiya tuck his hair back with a headband to stave off his obvious bedhead. Dressed in casual clothing, they boarded the train toward Sumiredoori.

"Come to think of it, you were having another unofficial Shokugeki with Mizuhara-san again, weren't you?" Eda struck up a conversation.

The real reason Shinomiya was so exhausted-- was because late last night, Mizuhara Fuyumi raided the Polar Star Dormitory and issued another challenge of Italian dishes against Shinomiya.

("I'll be going home tomorrow, so one last match!" she declared, and though Shinomiya wanted nothing more than to strangle the late-night noise, they accepted the challenge, had their resident Italian specialist (mob character #8) judge it-- and ultimately, Shinomiya won.)

(After that, she was presented batches of Eda's cookies to bring home as souvenirs to eat away her sorrows, and they all went back to sleep.)

(Eda himself had been asleep, so he didn't hear about it until this morning.)

Shinomiya groaned. "I don't know that girl's deal," he muttered, "she keeps insisting she wants to prove she's better than me at Italian-- but Italian isn't even my specialty?"

"Obviously, it's because you keep beating her at her specialty, so she's frustrated," Eda said, "wouldn't you be annoyed if someone was better than you at French?"

Shinomiya scoffed at that. "Are you daft? No one's better than me at French cuisine."

"I'm talking hypotheticals here."

"Huh? What's this got to do with pythagoras?"

Eda needed a moment to understand that. "That's hypotenuse, dude, are you awake? Are you talking to me half-asleep? You're talking nonsense."

"Anyways, if Mizuhara stopped coming at me claiming to be my lifelong rival that'd be nice," he grumbled. "She's annoying as hell."

To that, Eda could only curl a smile onto his features.

"Unfortunately, that's how the best friendships always start, Shinomiya."

Shinomiya grimaced really hard at that.

Eda made a mental note to seek out Mizuhara once they were back in school-- if he could bring up the courage, of course-- because he knew that this was going to be the start of a very wonderful friendship.

"Enough about me and Mizuhara-- what about you and Sena?" Shinomiya taunted back. "Don't think I didn't see you guys at the school's practice room last week."

Eda rolled his eyes at that one.

"We were exchanging recipes," he argued, "he wanted to bring some new cake recipes home, and I wanted to bring something western-inspired back for our diner's special-of-the-month, so that was the obvious choice."

"What kind of Japanese diner wants something western-inspired? Excuses."

"Our diner does!" Eda snapped back.

Immediately, the two were harshly shushed by the other passengers of the train, and their hands quickly came up to each other's mouths to shut each other up.

Then, synchronously, in a softer tone, they bowed. "We're very sorry."

They were quiet the rest of the trip.