A/N: Hope you're all enjoying this! Comment please! And let's get straight to it.

"Here huh? The buildings are bigger and more prominent than what I thought..." Souma stated. We stood in Tokyo now. In front of us was this big school that we weren't very used to. Brother sulked, walking into the building. I followed closely.

"No. I told you. This is the building where the janitor and the maintenance staff are stationed. The hall for the entrance examination is somewhere else." A man stated.

Brother looked confused, "Eh? There's an exam?" He asked.

"Huh? Obviously." The man replied to brother. He turned to this huge map that was placed on the wall behind him. "You two are here now." He pointed to a building on the map. It was in the farthest bottom right corner. His pointer then moved to point at another building...across the map!? "The executive office is..3 km ahead." He told us.

"Ah..thank you.." I bowed in thanks. I pulled brother out of the building and we began walking. I glanced at my twin. He was silent and sulking. Brother was obviously still mad at father for leaving and closing down the shop. Ever since father left, brother hasn't been his normal, loud, cocky self. He hadn't even made one of his weird creations in a while. I was beginning to get a bit worried.

-----

"GYAHH! I FAILED THE PROMOTION EXAAAAAM!"

"It's over...My life's over..."

"I BEG YOU! I'LL DONATE YOU TEN OR TWENTY MILLION! SO PLEASE WITHDRAW MY SON'S DROP OUT!"

People were yelling desperately. Brother finally turned to see what was going on. I did as well. But both of us were caught off guard by a huge building that was gated off and placed atop a huge hill. Still in shock, Souma pulled out his phone and called father. He placed the call on speaker, so I could hear as well. "Huh, didn't I tell you two? That's one of Japan's best cooking schools. A superior elite school where less than 10% of the students graduate." Father explained from the other line. I frowned, a bit mad that father didn't say anything ahead of time. I'm sure he did that on purpose. "Well, do your best you two. At that school-" Father was cut off by people yelling in the background. It sounded like English.

"Ah..eh? What? We can't hear you." Souma said into the phone. "It's really noisy there, where are you, old man?"

"New York City." Father replied. I smiled. Wow, I wish I could be there cooking right now! "At Manhattan Royal Hotel's VIP Only Reception Hall. I'm cooking there now." Father went on talking to someone else in English, then it got quite. I figured that father went somewhere with no people around. "At first I worked in India, Italy, and Spain. I came to the U.S. yesterday. I'll be cooking in the city on the east coast for a while."

"I-I can't follow up with the conversation.." Souma replied in confusion. If only he paid more attention in class. Then he'd understand.

"Souma...If you can't survive that school, saying that you'll surpass me is a big joke...!" Father spoke directly to brother. Brother looked irritated and riled up. "You too Saori, so work hard."

"I'll do my best father." "I'LL SHOW YOU I CAN!" Brother yelled over me. Father went to say something else, but Souma hung up. I smacked his arm. "Sou-nii! Father was saying something important!"

"Psh. We don't need advice from that old man." Souma told me. We walked through the gates. There were many people here. They all had butlers and personal cars and really fancy suits.

"Sou-nii." I whispered, taking ahold of my brother's hand. He scowled, looking at the people around us.

"I feel so outta place." He muttered to me, kicking a nearby bench chair. "Ah...." He saw that someone was sitting there. "Sorry for kicking it.." He told the male with blonde hair. The other guy was drinking tea given to him by his butler and also had a fancy suit. Just like all the other people around here. The blond guy looked up and smiled kindly.

"Don't worry. Hey, are you two taking the exam?" He asked us. "I'm Nikaidou Yoshiaki. My family owns a French restaurant."

"EH! What a coincidence, our family also owns a restaurant." Souma replied with a slight smile. The Yoshiaki person smiled.

"Might be no coincidence." He said, pointing to a couple of people sitting a little bit across from us. "That man over there is the heir to a restaurant that's expanding throughout the country. Then that one is from Oodon'ya which sells fresh fish in all the Kanto region's... Most people here are thoroughbred from the cooking industry." He explained. "What kind of shop is yours?"

"It's called Yukihira." I spoke with a smile. He looked at me and smiled even wider.

"Yukihira...? A traditional Japanese restaurant?" Yoshiaki questioned.

"Haa, it's nothing big." Brother continued. We both smiled, thinking of the shop. "It's just a special of the day shop in the downtown." Then I felt myself fall onto the floor, brother falling beside me.

"That hurt.." I muttered, with a frown. Yoshiaki was now looking at us in disgust.

"You vulgar plebeian." He muttered to himself. He turned at us and yelled. "DON'T YOU DARE SIT NEXT TO ME!" People began surrounding us and laughing pathetically.

"Did you hear?"

"It seems these punks from a cheap restaurant are trying to get admitted."

"HA, you must be joking!"

"Listen carefully! This academy is no place for peasants like you two!"

The people around us began to make fun of us. They described this school like a 'holy garden.' The name of the school was Tootsuki Tea Ceremony and Cooking Academy. They continued to call brother and I plebeians. Until brother got fed up. He stood and grabbed Yoshiaki by the collar of his shirt. "You haven't eaten at Yukihira even once. Don't go deciding our value like that...!" Brother yelled in irritation. I stood quickly, tugging on Souma's arm so he'd let go.

"Sou-nii! Stop it!" I scolded. "Let's prove them wrong through cooking!" I complained, finally able to get brother to set Yoshiaki down.

-----

Moments later all of the people here were brought in for the exam. In front of us was a female about our age. She had violet eyes and long orange hair that was about the same length as mine. She looked over us and crossed her arms. "I was entrusted with today's entrance examination. My name is Nakiri Erina." She introduced herself. Another female besides her lifted a piece of paper to her face.

"The notification for admissions. I'll read it now." She began. "First is an interview in groups of ten based on the application forms. After that, a test of practical cooking skills with three different dishes. Those who pass will have to-" She was cut off by Erina.

"Hmph. How worthless.." Erina spoke with boredom evident in her eyes. "Bring the kitchen tables!" She ordered the other female. A minute later kitchen tables filled with ingredients were being pushed into the room. Erina walked up to the tables, her eyes scanning them. She reached out plucking one from the table. Erina turned, revealing that she pulled out an egg. "The main ingredient is egg. Make one dish. Those who can satisfy my tongue will earn their admission to Tootsuki Academy. In addition..I'll give you one minute to withdraw from the examination if you want." She smirked. Then many people around us fled quickly.

"EH?" Souma and I looked around to see everyone running out. Brother reached to grab someone. It was Yoshiaki. "Hey, wait! Why are you running away!?" brother questioned.

"You...don't know that person?!" Yoshiaki asked in slight fear. Brother and I shook our heads no. "She earned her pass from the middle school division as the top student! She's a genius that is the youngest person in history to enter 'Tootsuki's Elite Ten Council,' an organization in the academy that makes the most important decisions!! She's the holder to humanity's best palate, 'God's Palate'...!" Yoshiaki went on to explain her past and how great Erina seemed to be. "THAT MEANS IT WOULD BE THE END OF YOUR LIFE AS A CHEF!!" he yelled.

After everyone had fled, the room was only filled with me, brother, Erina, and Erina's assistant. They were having this weird yuri moment, until brother stepped in. "Can we make whatever we want." Souma asked. Erina turned around in shock, but then she returned to her cold expression.

"You can as long as you use eggs. But do you two really want to try?" She asked us boredly. "If you want to withdraw, this is your chance." She offered. Brother stepped forward, placing his hand on Erina's shoulder.

"Phew, I was really in a pinch---! I was wondering what I would do if I got dropped out without having a chance to cook!" Brother sighed in relief. Erina's assistant suddenly pushed brother away. I caught him.

"G-go away!" She yelled. "Do you know who this person is? She's a top student and a member of Tootsuki's Elite Ten Council. She's Nakiri Erina-sama!" The assistant girl yelled and motioned to Erina.

"Wow. This is really sharp." Brother admired a knife. I giggled at his short attention span.

"I'll ask you two once more. Do you really want to take this test?" Erina made sure. Brother smirked a bit, tossing the knife into the air with his right hand as he walked slightly forward. I caught the knife in my left hand, throwing my right arm over brother's shoulder.

"We just have to make it so that you say it's good right? I'll take it of course." Brother smirked cockily, like he did when he challenged dad and Minegasaki.

"Me too. I'll take the exam as well." I inputted my decision.

"If you're willing to go that far, then I'll let you taste the cooking industry's base's flavor...!" Erina challenged. Brother and I pulled our ribbons off our opposite forearms and tied our usual style. My hair in a high ponytail and brother's around his forehead.

"With pleasure. I'll make our shop's special for you." Brother smirked. I frowned.

"Ah, I wanted to do that.." I whined. Souma patted my head.

"Sorry Saori. I said it first." Brother told me. I pouted, but another dish already came to my head. I grinned , setting off to gather ingredients. Brother and I got to work. I decided to make datemaki.

I first preheated the oven to 350 degrees. I cut my tofu in eight pieces, then drowned out the water. In a bowl, I placed 5 eggs, tofu, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of sake, and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce. I mixed everything together completely. I poured the batter into a pan and placed it into the oven.

I glanced toward brother, seeing him expertly moving around to prepare his dish. He worked with his usual smirk and concentrated eyes. Souma diced, tasted, and mixed his dish. With another glance to Erina, I noticed the questioning look she gave my brother. She really had no idea what brother was preparing. With a smile, I turned back to what I was doing.

I pulled my omelette from the oven and removed it from the baking pan. I took ahold of the parchment paper, lifting it out and placing the bamboo mat upon it. A station down from me, I heard brother and Erina talking. They argued about what brother was making, while he teased her. I shook my head with a little smile. I flipped the whole thing and removed the parchment paper away from the omelette. With my sharp knife, I scored the omelette every half inch. I delicately rolled the omelette using the bamboo mat. With plastic wrap, I let it cool for about an hour. Lastly, I removed the wrap and cut it into nice 3/4 inch wide slices.

I neatly plate my perfectly cooked datemaki. With a swift turn, I placed my food in front of Erina. She examined my datemaki. Her violet eyes looked up at me expectantly, a little bored. I just gave her a smile. Erina cut a small piece and placed it into her mouth. Her eyes widened, as she chewed slowly. I saw a thin layer of sweat form on her forehead. She made eye contact with my gold orbs. "How is it, Erina-chan?" I asked softly, pulling the white cloth from my hair. My red locks fell back down over my shoulders.

"It's....it's..." She obviously struggled for words. Her legs buckled and she grabbed ahold of the counter to steady herself. Erina's eyes locked onto me. "This isn't any normal datemaki.." She muttered, looking at me and expecting an answer.

"It's my secret ingredient." I told her, with a grin. "But if I were to tell you what it was, it wouldn't be a secret anymore." I winked, but was cut short when brother presented his dish. Erina seemed unimpressed with brother's dish and went to walk away. Souma explained how his dish was able to 'transform.' So reluctantly she tasted the dish. Erina's reaction was almost the same as her reaction to my dish. She went for another bite, but brother went to tease her.

"If you just recline on the seat of honor there probably are things you can't make." Souma smirked, looking at me. I nodded my head agreeing with his statement. "Now, how is it? Was it good, bad? Tell me." Brother said, looking seriously at Erina.

"Me too, Erina-chan. You never gave me my results either.." I told her. Erina shifted her gaze in between Souma and I. I could practically see the gears turning inside her head. She grit her teeth and a blush heated over her cheeks.