'...fuck…' Rena lied on the floor, and was only just regaining her consciousness, with tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. After having been subject to a point-blank smack from the school's director, she was struggling to function at all.
"Stand up." The same man demanded stoutly of Rena, though at the moment, that was literally an impossible task for her, especially with how weak her entire body felt in the moment.
And as it occurred, the trio of young men watched on in collective shock of the display in front of them. Rena, assaulted by the very leader of the school. Out of fear, neither Roma nor Itsuki could move or even feign an attempt to defend the woman, but shockingly, there was someone who could.
Instantly breaking school rules, it was Yuuta Sarito who broke away from his place as a bystander and dragged himself towards the Director, shoving the man away from Rena and back into the hallway itself , showing a surprising amount of strength despite his stickly frame.
"Whew. Lord. Help me."
As the new twist in the tale began to form, Rena slowly rose to her feet, gripping tightly to the door frame for support while she both saw and felt her blood rush from her nose and lip and drip to the floor below, She gave it a light wipe and slowly approached the paler, stouter man anyways, sighing as she did,
"Jeez, old man. You didn't have to hit me that hard, I'm sure I have a concussion on top of a concussion."
Her surprisingly lighthearted remark wasn't met with the equally casual response she would've wished for, with the Director staring down at the two of them with stone cold eyes.
"My office. The both of you."
Despite his command, Rena shook her head, "Give him a break, I said he-"
Her words caught in her throat when she saw the man raise his hand for a second time, and with her unable to afford being caught off guard again, she flinched and stepped in front of Yuuta, preparing herself for a third concussion.
But to her shock, she felt her body being moved. Rena was shoved out of the way… though unfortunately, she was pushed head-first into a wall, giving her that third concussion anyway, but thankfully, not by the Director's hand, it seemed.
Though that meant someone was going to have to take the hit, and that somebody was the same person who shoved her out of the way in the first place. Yuuta didn't have time to brace himself after moving Rena out of the way, so by the time he realized it, the Director's hand came crashing down across his face, just like the woman before.
And naturally, he needed a moment. A few of them actually. Miraculously, he didn't hit the floor, but many of his senses were shut down, and he had to cling to the wall in order to remain upright, also watching as the blood from his face started to paint the hallway floors.
The Director looked from him, back to Rena. After the girl took a bit to gather herself, she finally stood again, and couldn't help but feel guilty, "Old man! Come on, I'll do whatever it is you need me to do! I know you're mad, but do-"
"My office, Rena. Now."
"...fine, old man, let's go…" Rena conceded to the Director, limping off and following the man who had so rudely summoned her. As the Director walked away, Yuuta glared at what he assumed was the direction that he was heading in… He knew the directions to get to the office… he just needed his vision to be clear enough for him to get there.
~
A few minutes later, the two finally made it to the office, though once they arrived, Rena saw all the other heads already there and present - several authoritative figures and heads of not only the school, but of many food organizations around the world, both competitive, and non-competitive. The girl sighed and took a seat, while the Director did the same - at the head of the table.
"Rena Koboko," He began, eyes closed, "I have spent many years crafting you into a chef beyond expectation, and beyond your years. I've crafted you to defy limits, to be the best, to stay at the top."
Rena twitched a little. The glares of all these various people in expensive suits and the air of disappointment was crippling, and almost impossible for her to breathe in.
"So," The Director continued, "For you to fail me in a fashion like *that*? That is completely unacceptable. You will undergo harsh training from morning to night. It is my understanding that you do not sleep? Then you will work for twenty-four hours, until you prove to me that you are worthy. You will not leave where you are stationed until I am satisfied. Am I understood?"
Rena practically jumped to her feet and slammed her hands down onto the table, glaring at the man at the conclusion of his words, "What?! That's ridiculous, are you out of your-"
Rena let out a loud hiss as she looked down to see a jackknife lodged deep into her thigh, clearly thrown there thanks to the Director who was glaring at her the entire time.
"This is your punishment until you show me that you are worthy. That is all. Meeting dismissed."
At the concluding of the meeting, all the other heads rose and began to exit as swiftly as they entered, and within the span of a minute, there was simply a shocked Rena and reserved Director left in the room.
"...You know, Rena.." The man opened his eyes, and Rena slowly glanced over towards him, her body trembling, large-in-part due to the knife still deep within her thigh.
"I did you a service. A huge favor. I saved your meaningless life." The man came to his feet, slowly walking around the table and approaching Rena, "I honed your skills. That nose of yours, your sense of smell is sharp. That tongue, those taste buds. You can taste every single ingredient in a dish. Those eyes, those ears, all of your senses. I know they're honed, because I taught you."
By this point, the man stood behind Rena, placing both of his hands on her shoulders, "Remember when I found you? You were nothing but trash. Almost a worthless street rat. *Almost*. I created who you are today. *I* did. You are my creation."
With that, he forcefully yanked the knife out of her thigh, something that would've warranted a scream, had he not warned her by squeezing her shoulder moments earlier as a warning.
"You owe me."
Those words bounced around Rena's brain, echoing more than the sound of her internal screaming in response to all the pain she had undergone today alone, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see him returning to his seat.
"So if you can't live up to my expectations, I will have you back on the streets as the disgusting trash that you were. You are excused."
Rena was still trembling in place. She almost couldn't stand, but her body managed to move on its own - likely out of fear as to what would happen if she didn't, taking little time to limp towards the door. Her hand reached out, and she opened it, walked out, and closed it, not even realizing that someone entered the room in the moment. Her eyes were a solid gold, as if she had just saw a ghost… And Rena just stood there, with blood gushing out of her thigh.
"Y'know…"
Rena froze when she heard that voice. Obviously it didn't belong to her, but it wasn't the Director's either.. But even despite it, it was annoyingly similar. She peeked at the door to see it was slightly open, and followed that by glancing inside.
His words cut up the animosity and tenseness in the air. The man she let inside, was the same one who was fairly responsible for this meeting ensuing in the first place. Rena just watched. Watched as Yuuta Sarito approached the head of the school.
"Once you hear that speech twice, it starts to get old, Pops." The Fourth-Seat continued, "What'll you do next? Have her do some stupid training trial for her to face one of your personal sous chefs, only for it all to be rigged so that she gets suspended and looses her spot in the rankings?"
Yuuta cursed under his breath, now glaring at the Director, digging both of his hands into his pockets, "You may have knocked me down from 1st to 4th, but no one in this academy can hold a goddamn candle to me. Your training sucks. It;s not that you don't get results because we're incapable, it's because you do a shit job. You did back then. You do now. And if I heard that half-assed plan of yours correctly, you're going to end up doing it again."
"...Yuuta Sarito. My foolish grandson. You would be wise to watch that tongue of yours. It is useless to me, so I would not have a problem with cutting it off." The Director responded, resting his chin on his intertwined hands, before continuing in his normal, cold tone,
"You kids will learn that the world in which we live in will never coddle you. As you go further and further into your careers, you will realize that my training was hardly the worst of it. You simply cannot accept that, so you choose to defy me. Rena Koboko stopped going to classes, and started doing whatever she liked. And you?"
The paler man met Yuuta's current glare, offering one of his own. His dull, almost empty eyes surprisingly fitting for the cynical Director, "You, are a failure in all aspects. And I'm starting to think that Miss Koboko will end up like you… Though this training will decide that. If you crack under the pressure now, you will never be successful."
He unfolded his hands and sat upright, both of his eyes narrowing towards Yuuta, who hadn't moved an inch since he began speaking, "I will not hold back on my training. I will make you wish death upon yourselves, and I will hone your skills because that is all that matters to me. Nothing else. Now then, if you have something of importance to tell me, say it now, or get out. I will not waste anymore time on you."
Rena stood out of sight, but listened, still in shock from what happened minutes ago. Her body was frozen now, and no matter how much she wanted to walk away, she couldn't… All she could do was listen.
Yuuta took a deep breath, before continuing with the man in front of him, "Rena Koboko-san currently holds the most prestigious position within the school right now. As such, I want to come to an agreement with you if you're willing to listen, Pops."
""Oh?" The Director arched his eyebrow, "I am listening."
The man sat back in his chair attentively. But Rena slowly turned around, fully facing the crack in the door. Her voice was frail and quiet, and she felt herself shaking as she spoke, "What are you?-"
"I'll forfeit my lower position, and my high school career itself in exchange for Koboko-san's continued daily school life. I'll take her shifts and go through her assigned training regimen. Though I'm aware that this only benefits her at this time… So in the case that she were to ever drop below her First-Seat position, the *both* of us will humbly serve you for the rest of our lives."
Yuuta's purple eyes were determined and confident despite the conditions he just placed himself under, narrowing them a bit as he finished his statement,
"Slaves at your disposal, to be exact."
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"
The door was flung open and then slammed close, but the person standing in front of it was Rena Koboko, just after yelling at Yuuta, though she winced as she did so. After glaring at him, she looked back towards the Director, "You can't accept that!"
And then looked back at Yuuta, "First of all, I don't sleep! I got whatever nutrients I need from my medicine, so I rarely ever eat! I can handle that, but you need to sleep! This can *kill* you!" And for a second time, she looked at the Director again, "You made your decision, you can't go back on it for something so preposterous!"
Despite her plea, the school's Director seemed to have been seriously mulling over the offer that Yuuta made, though the younger man now looked towards Rena instead.
"While I… appreciate your concern, I can assure you that it's unnecessary.." He began to speak.
"But!-"
"This was when you had first transferred in," Yuuta began, cutting off Rena's attempt to reason with him. His expression was surprisingly composed, and he even managed a bit of a smirk, "So you may not remember, but at one time, I was synonymous with a name. One that no longer carries the weight that it did before *he* died… But even so…"
Yuuta placed a hand over his face, moving his bangs aside a bit, before offering yet another confident expression,
"You can't kill what's already dead. I am The Phantom. I am the former First-Seat of Sekai-Ryouri. I am Yuutoshi Koboko."
Rena stopped all movement, unable to take all of that in. "I… Wait, what?... Excuse me, what-" Her eyes darted towards the Director, who only nodded slightly in response. Her shocked golden eyes went from the pale older man to the younger one, before she whipped around entirely, unable to look at either of them,
"What?... No, no. I'm not supposed to have any goddamn family, so what the fuck?!... You're *lying*, there's no way-"
"You're a pain in the ass, but that's how I knew you were one of ours." 'Yuutoshi' continued, sighing a bit and placing a hand on his hip. "Don't lose your shit over it though. We're from different parents, but we're of the same cursed bloodline…" Those purple eyes went from focusing on his apparent relative, to glaring at the Director, "...all three of us."
With a sigh, he dropped it, looking back at Rena again, "Believe it or not, I was you before you were you- if that makes sense. And in a single night, The Phantom, Yuutoshi Koboko died off without a trace. And so, I was reincarnated as Yuuta Sarito, just another piece of fodder in this goddamn academy."
Yuuta glanced towards the Director, but Rena full-on glared at him, and her eyes flared with a murderous glint. Her muscles flared, and a vein was visible from the side of her forehead, but the Director himself was unphased, running his fingers through his hair.
"I truly didn't care whether or not you knew, but I suppose you'd make a pointless entrance of some sort at some point."
Rena looked between the two of them, the sick feeling creeping upon her yet again.
"That's who I was though," 'Yuutoshi' began again, "That man died. The one who stands before you is Yuuta Sarito. Unfortunately, it looks like he too is in line to kick the bucket…"
"What the fuck are you *talking* about?!" Rena looked equal parts devastated and confused, backing away from the both of them. Finally, the Director looked at her, addressing her verbally,
"The male before you is my grandson. My sister gave birth to your mother, who eventually gave birth to you. Which makes you my grand-niece, and him, your cousin."
Yuuta nodded at her, but kept his eyes on the large man who had been speaking, still pondering over what was to come of his fate. He stood, watched, and waited silently.
And after a silence befell the room for a minute, the Director finally spoke again,
"Leave. I will let you know my decision tomorrow."
He turned his chair away from them, and waved the duo off. Rena's blood boiled as she turned and limped out, the adrenaline making her forget how heavily her leg was bleeding out, though as she left, Yuuta eventually joined her side, exhaling quietly.
"You gonna need help?" He asked reluctantly, already annoyed since he had a feeling that he'd get bombarded by questions, but, they never came.
Rena shook her head, and pinched her skin. She was relapsing, but at the moment, she just couldn't bring herself to care. She dragged herself to her room, and without a word said, Yuuta excused himself to his own, and the cathartic evening came to a wordless end.
When the door to her room opened, the first thing that Rena saw was Roma sitting attentively on her bed, with his own ahoge wagging excitedly since she arrived, though after she walked in, she sat on the floor and against the door.
"Crap… won't this need stitches?..." She muttered, feeling faint from blood loss. She applied pressure onto the wound with her hands, but looked frustrated. Really frustrated.
"AH!!" Roma dashed over to her, quick to take her into his arms, though the embrace didn't last long at all when he saw her bleed out all over his shorts, Rena looked at him innocently, before staring at the ground, her skin paling.
"...we have to go to that stupid Dr. Light guy, right? I'm gonna have him check my head again.."