Hisako checked her phone, noting the time in frustration. She should've been there by now, if not for her driver's car catching a flat on the road. By this point, Erina and the others should be starting their first trial for the Elite Ten Selection. She'd planned to enter herself as well, at least initially, but had reconsidered her decision after some thought and a discussion with Erina. They still couldn't be absolutely sure that her father wasn't going to use this as another opportunity to try and expel those that stood in the way of Central and its regime.

They'd decided it was prudent to have at least a few of them abstain from participating and Hisako had volunteered to be among that number. She knew she had talents that could be useful on the outside, should things go south, and she wasn't as blindly ambitious as the other members of her generation. She could set aside her own goals for the sake of the greater good.

"It's fine, Lee-san. We're only a few minutes away; I'll just walk the rest of the distance." said Hisako, stepping out of the car.

"Are you sure, Hisako-sama?" he asked curiously, wiping his forehead with his wrist. His sleeves were rolled up and he was crouched at the car's front, right tire with a socket wrench in one hand. Hisako nodded, pointing to the forest alongside the road.

"By car, it would've taken a little longer, actually. That footpath will have me at West Hall in a few minutes. I would stay and help you but…"

"No, Hisako-sama! That's more than alright." he said, standing to his feet and bowing. "I apologize for not doing a more thorough inspection of the car before leaving the mansion."

Hisako smiled and waved off his apology.

"No need, accidents happen. Do you think you'll have it fixed by the time I'm ready to leave? It shouldn't take much longer than two hours."

"Hisako-sama, you insult me!" he gasped, crouching down to inspect the tire once again. "I'll have this patched and repaired in no less than ten minutes or I will personally scrub this car until it is spotless or the sun has risen on a new day! You have my word!"

"Ah…alright then." said Hisako, blinking at both the man's exuberance and odd manner of speaking before waving goodbye and hurrying off down the footpath and into the trees. Despite the rush she was in, she couldn't help but take note of the beauty of some of the plants surrounding her; Tōtsuki's campus was really like no other. The tsubaki flowers were especially beautiful, this time of year.

Hisako paused, slowing as she noticed something odd. She stepped closer and leaned forward, eyeing a specific blossom curiously. She'd never seen a tsubaki flower like this one. Tsubaki flowers could come in red, pink and, more rarely, white. But she'd never seen a white tsubaki flower with red streaks running through the petals.

She reached her hand out to run her finger across the petal, noting how the red seemed to shift as she touched it. It also felt moist, as if it had just rained. It was really a beautiful flower. She leaned forward further, sniffing at the flower. Her nose crinkled and she leaned away; the acrid scent completely unlike any flower she'd ever smelt. Maybe it was a sick plant; perhaps that's why the petals were streaked with red?

It was only after she'd stepped away and began walking again that Hisako remembered it hadn't rained in days. She looked down at her finger. At the red streak now marring it. And realized what the bitter, sharp smell reminded her of.

She looked back at the tsubaki bush, noting the red streaks marring several of the white flowers. And also the pair of designer shoes protruding from the base of the bush. She felt herself freeze up as her mind connected the dots and she glanced around, suddenly finding the dusky forest surroundings much more sinister.

A groan from the bush prompted her to move forward, almost unconsciously, and she found herself leaning into the bush, parting the leaves to look down at the person held within. She recognized them.

"Eizan-senpai!"

He groaned again, blinking blearily up at Hisako through a single eye. His other eye was swollen shut and his face was more red than white, with the amount of blood smeared across it. Hisako gasped, leaning down and hooking her arms under his.

"ARGH!"

The sharp cry of pain startled her and she almost hopped back, shrieking.

"A-A-Arm…hurts…"

Eizan's words were slurred and Hisako could almost hear the pain in his voice. She tried to peer at his arms through the branches but the leaves obscured her vision too much. She looked around, wondering if anyone else was nearby to help. Instead, all she spotted was another person lying in the brush of the side of the road.

What had she stumbled into?

Hisako pulled out her phone, dialling a number.

"Hisako-sama, hello! Have you left something?" asked Lee curiously.

"No, Lee-san, that isn't it. I need you to come down that path I left on right now. As soon as you can. People are hurt!"

Hisako didn't hear a response other than the phone disconnecting. She didn't need one.

"Hai, Hisako-sama!"

She turned to face Lee, who stood at attention behind her. She looked at him, stunned, before looking down the path, where leaves were still falling in his wake.

"How did you…"

Another groan from the bush distracted her and Hisako turned back to Eizan, leaning down to grip his ankles. She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders.

"Lee-san, please look around and help anyone you can find! I have no idea what happened here but these guys are hurt. I can't tell how badly." she said, bracing herself and pulling. She grunted, pulling again and ignoring the cry of pain she elicited from Eizan as she freed him from the tangle of the bush, pulling him onto the main path.

He looked even worse in the light. His nose was clearly broken, his eye was rapidly darkening and Hisako was almost sure his lip wasn't supposed to be bleeding that much. His working eye was barely capable of focusing on her face. He opened his mouth, gasping as he tried to speak.

"My…a-arm…"

She looked at his arms, finding the left one to be relatively intact but the right one…

"Oh my god." said Hisako, sweat beading on her forehead as she resisted the urge to turn away. Eizan's shoulder was grotesquely bulging through the fabric of his chef's uniform, clearly out of place. She couldn't see much past the sleeve but it seemed like a clean dislocation; his shoulder joint looked whole beyond that.

"Hisako-sama."

She turned to face Lee, who was laying down a fourth person next to the three he'd already retrieved. She stepped over and looked them over, prodding each of them in turn and eliciting groans of pain. They didn't seem nearly as damaged as Eizan, but they each had their fair share of injuries.

"What happened here?" asked Hisako, her concern starting to be beat back by fear.

"Please send an ambulance right away, we're in the forest, on the footpath almost directly adjacent to West Hall, right off of the main road…you're already on the way? Oh, well, that's great, thank you." said Lee, speaking into a handset, his usual cheer dropped in exchange for seriousness, with a touch of confusion. Who would've called the ambulance? One of the victims perhaps? Lee shook his head, deciding that it didn't matter. He put his phone away, looking around cautiously at the darkened trees for any other signs of activity. "Hisako-sama, I'm not exactly versed on Tōtsuki's inner school dynamics but I'm sure that gang fights aren't a part of them. Do you have any idea what could've caused this?"

Hisako looked around at the scene, wondering that for herself. She knew that Eizan had less than respectable contacts in some of the surrounding schools and so she assumed it had to be one of them. She couldn't think of anyone in Tōtsuki that could've done this. Or that would've done this, even. She stepped over to Eizan, crouching down and noting that his eye was still tracking her. A good sign.

"Eizan-senpai, who did this to you?" she asked.

Eizan didn't respond immediately. And when he did, his words confused Hisako more than anything else.

"Yukihira...he did this…"

"Eizan-senpai, what do you mean?"

Eizan just continued looking at Hisako, his eye growing even glassier as he blinked.

"He…did this…"

Eizan's eye closed and Hisako panicked briefly before realizing he'd simply passed out.

"Hisako-sama, the EMT's are on their way. I will go meet them at the road and be back shortly."

"Thank you, Lee-san, that would be-"

Hisako looked up, only to find that she was the only conscious person in the clearing, the only other signs of movement being a cascade of falling leaves.

"Alright, it's been fifteen minutes. You should be well into the preparatory stages of your dish; however, you find yourself beset by a sudden bout of weakness."

Saito gestured and staff members wheeled in carts filled with odd, grey bands.

"A chef must be able to work through any opposition, even one of his or her body's own making. I would've preferred you all attend my challenge after having missed a night of sleep to better emulate the exhaustion of being truly ill but I am aware that such a request would be easily ignored by the less scrupulous among you." said Saito, stepping forward while holding up two of the grey objects in a single hand.

"These are weighted bands; the staff members will place two pairs at each of your stations. You must pause anytime in the next five minutes and place the bands around your wrists and ankles. You are not allowed to remove them until the challenge is complete."

Alice barely heard Saito's proclamation; she was caught between ensuring her soup stock was properly done and sneaking glances at Sōma. The red head didn't seem perturbed at all; his hands moved with a lively efficiency that would've had Alice jumping for joy in most circumstances but which only served as an unpleasant reminder.

A tinkling noise broke Alice from her thoughts and she removed the spoon from the pot, clenching her fists as they continued to tremble. She took a deep breath in and then out, clasping her hands together as she tried to calm down. After a few seconds, she released her hands, turning them over to inspect them. They stood still and calm, the way they always did.

"Here you go, Nakiri-san."

Alice looked up to find a Tōtsuki staff member placing something grey and heavy on her station. She looked at it curiously before looking around to see people pausing their cooking to slip them onto their wrists. A deep voice spoke up from behind Alice.

"Hey, you deaf or something? Five minutes is almost up, you better hurry."

Alice looked backwards at the person who'd spoken. It was a boy in dark sunglasses and a grey baseball cap. His Tōtsuki uniform was covered by the large trench coat he wore and he was in the process of slipping the bands onto his wrist. Alice didn't deign to respond, instead turning back to place her own weighted bands on.

Cinching each of them tightly, she waved her arms experimentally, noting how she could barely even tell they were there. She wondered what the point was if the weight was going to be so minute but a quick glance around told her that there were several struggling with the weight. It wasn't overt but she could see it in the way people's arms rested on their stations and the way their stirring was awkward and stilted.

"Well, Ryo always did tell me I was freakishly strong." she said to herself, smiling. The thought of the dark haired boy quickly made her smile disappear though and she glanced back at his station. His weights were already strapped on and his cooking was uninhibited but she saw that his eyes were locked firmly onto Sōma's back. Alice could now say she fully understood the term 'if looks could kill'.

"Your ankles too."

Alice's eyes shifted to the boy, who was out of sight. She quickly saw the reason why as he stood back up, dusting off his hands. Alice crouched down, strapping the ankle bands on and finding it just as easy to move as before. She went back to her simmering pot, placing in the spring onions and cabbage.

"Hey there, Nakiri-san."

Alice didn't turn to face the chatty boy behind her, she merely waved a hand to indicate she was listening.

"So…I couldn't help but notice that little dust up between your boyfriend and the transfer student. What's the story there?" he asked, carefully noting the amount of steam coming from his pot.

It took Alice a few seconds of confusion to realize that the boy wasn't talking about Sōma when she said boyfriend.

"Firstly, Ryo-kun is many things but he is most certainly not my boyfriend." said Alice, hoping the rebuke in her tone was enough, considering she couldn't turn to glare at him and watch her pot at the same time. "Secondly, that is none of your business, and I would appreciate it if you stayed out of mine."

"Woah, woah, easy there. Just asking, sheesh." said the boy, frowning at her. "Not every day you see something like that. No need to bite my head off."

Alice would've normally taken note and apologized but she couldn't muster up the energy to and so she simply continued stirring in irritated silence.

"You just gotta wonder, ya know. What could have two Autumn Election finalists going at it like that on today of all days? You'd think they'd be better at keeping it together."

"You certainly have a lot to say for someone who doesn't know anything about the situation." commented Alice acidly, dropping a single clove of garlic into her pot.

"I wouldn't say that exactly. I've heard of you guys. I mean, who hasn't? I watched the elections, same as anyone else. And I saw the red head's transfer speech. Didn't take him for such a hothead lately though, with the whole goody-two-shoes, Central thing." said the shades wearing teen as he tapped a dash of salt into his pot, sniffing at it delicately.

"Goody two shoes?" asked Alice, despite herself. She could think of many adjectives to describe Sōma but goody two shoes would not have been anywhere on the list.

"Well, yea." said the boy, looking at her. "Why do you think one of his nicknames is Azami's Dog? He hasn't stepped a toe out of line in weeks. Even when he forfeited to you, we all kinda assumed it was on the director's orders out of some good old family favouritism."

"I can assure you, it was anything but." said Alice. "Azami and I are not what you would call close."

"Is that right? News to me, I guess." he said, shrugging. "Not that I knew that much anyway."

Alice narrowed her eyes, turning her head to face the boy.

"Tell me your name." she said pointedly. He looked up at her, frowning.

"It wouldn't kill you to be a bit more polite. The name's Gentian, although everyone calls me Genti."

"Genti-san." Alice said, as if testing how the name sounded on her tongue. "I can't say that I've ever heard of you. I don't think I've ever even seen you, actually. Which is odd, considering someone good enough to be here should've showed up on my radar."

Genti shrugged as he cut a slab of beef into chunks.

"Not surprising, really, considering our class is still well in the hundreds. I'm about as nobody as you can get. Not much of a social guy."

"But I would have assumed I would've at least seen you at the Autumn Election preliminaries." said Alice, turning back to her pot. "I mean, if you're confident enough to try out for the Elite Ten, I would assume you skilled enough to at least make it to the preliminaries."

"Ah, well…" the shaded boy's voice was embarrassed. "I…overslept."

Alice twitched, only barely avoiding adding in an extra tablespoon of seasoning to her pot. Did he just say what she thought he said?

"I don't know what happened. I think I spent too much time worrying about my dish the night before, I closed my eyes for like a second and by the time I woke up, it was too late. I was disqualified."

Alice was going to comment further but she then noticed a commotion in the crowd of spectators out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over and saw Azami stepping through the crowd, a cell phone held to his ear. She couldn't hear him from where she was but she could tell he was agitated. She watched him walk to the front of the room, catching Saito's attention with a short wave.

She watched them converse briefly, before Azami pointed. At Sōma. And then at her. The grip Alice had on her spoon tightened but her expression didn't move; at least she didn't think it did.

Saito looked over at them. His eyes rested on Sōma, in particular, before he shook his head and spoke a few words to Azami, who's only response was a raised black eyebrow and a small frown. Saito spoke again, gesturing and Alice saw Azami's frown deepen in response but he didn't speak further. He simply walked back to his place at the front of the spectator's crowd and, by the time he was facing Alice's direction, his face was as blank and pleasant as ever.

Alice continued cooking, the soup taking form below her, even as her mind kept straying back to what had happened in the forest now that she didn't have a distraction in the form of conversation with the odd, shady boy behind her. It seemed no matter how she tried; she couldn't ignore what happened and give the dish below her complete focus. The events just seemed to stick out more and more in her mind and she could feel it affecting her cooking. Nothing overt but she could feel that she was, ever so slightly, off her game. And that would be all she needed to lose against the best of the best.

Alice paused, mid stir, and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she tried to settle herself into the focused calm that she preferred to utilize when cooking. She gave up on putting the day out of her mind and simply accepted its weight, enough to get her through the rest of the challenge at the very least. She forced all distractions to the back of her mind, making them less prominent, less important right then and there, so that she could clearly look forward. A sense of peace washed over her and she exhaled, her eyes opening with sharpened focus.

She continued stirring with renewed vigour, adding in ingredients at a calm, measured pace. She felt the dish coming together beneath her, as her talent spoke for itself. Even with the meagre selection offered, the Heaven Sent Child of Molecular Gastronomy worked her magic. She hummed lightly as she placed several ingredients to the side, identifying the Hazardous materials with an almost trivial ease even as, around her, she heard the voices of the examiners call out one student after the other.

"You! Do you see the colour of that beef! Expelled!"

"Young man, I don't know what restaurants you've eaten at in your lifetime but I assure you, none of them used rotten celery! Expelled!"

"Do you think I wouldn't notice that you now have four bundles of spring onions where we only provided each station with two? Expelled!"

Over an hour passed in this manner, the cries of "Expelled" lessening as time went on, even as fatigue grew. The weighted bands were doing their job of making the assembled students weary and exhausted. The sounds of dropped utensils and clashing pots became more and more frequent, even as the challenge began to near its conclusion.

It was with varying sighs of relief that, one by one, students began to finish and gesture for Saito to come and taste their dish. The stoic senior walked between stations, accepting the small serving dish proffered at each one. With a single sip and a brief hum, he wrote something down on the clipboard he carried before moving on to the next raised hand.

At Genti's station, Saito paused after taking a sip of the soup. His eyes opened, just barely, and he looked down at the coat wearing teen.

"What is your name?" Saito asked.

"Mori Gentian." he replied. "Something wrong, Saito-senpai?"

Saito shook his head slightly, placing the serving dish on the counter.

"No. Good work."

Saito moved on, continuing his usual grading pattern. He didn't stop to speak to any of the other chefs, with one noted exception where he expelled the girl and fired the examiner assigned to monitor her cooking process. She'd somehow managed to sneak contraband into her dish but the examiner hadn't caught it, but Saito could taste a complex blend of cumin in her dish that would've been impossible to replicate with the ingredients on hand.

After that particular incident, the remainder of the judging passed without a hitch and Saito soon stood in front of the room once again.

"Those of you in this room have all passed the first phase of the Elite Ten Selection. Bear in mind that, though it is an admirable achievement, all passing means is that you weren't disqualified or expelled. You have no idea what grades I've assigned you. It could be a one or it could be a twenty and, as Azami-sama has made clear, scores below a certain, cumulative threshold will result in immediate expulsion. So do not allow your success here to make you complacent. You are dismissed. Please return your bands to the carts near the door."

The students began to stream towards the cart, conversation starting as they began to divest themselves of the weight. Groans of relief echoed throughout the hall as the students freed themselves.

"Man, that was rough." complained Takumi, holding his wrist tenderly. "I thought my arm was going to fall off."

"I always told you that you should work out more, nii-chan." said Isami teasingly, looking none the worse for wear.

"Pardon me for not having the bulk you do, Isami." said Takumi grumpily, elbowing his brother as they walked towards the exit of the room.

"That wasn't so bad." commented Megumi cheerfully, looking down at her hands. "What did you think, Erina-chan?"

Erina didn't respond and when Megumi turned, she noticed the blonde was staring off to the side, at where Alice and Sōma stood, conversing. The sight made Megumi remember just what had happened before the Selection and she lost her smile.

"What do you think happened, Erina-chan?" she asked, tapping her on the shoulder lightly. Erina shook her head, eyes firmly locked on her cousin.

"I don't know but I intend to find out." she said, stepping forward, only to find herself cut off by a figure in a dark suit crossing paths with her. A figure she recognized. Erina's advance halted mid step and her breath hitched as she locked eyes with her father.

Azami looked down at Erina, as if he'd only just noticed her. He went to speak but then stopped, as if he'd thought better of it before continuing onwards towards where Alice and Sōma stood. His approach did not go unnoticed and Sōma pivoted, stepping in front of Alice and ignoring the glare she sent his way.

"Good evening, Sōma-kun." said Azami. Sōma didn't respond verbally; he simply crossed his arms and looked up at Azami. Azami's eyebrows rose as his smile dropped as he noticed the blank, glassy sheen of Sōma's eyes.

"It seems someone's been toying with things they shouldn't inside your head, Sōma-kun. Was that you? Or the lovely Kobayashi-kun?" he asked.

"What do you mean by that, Azami-san?" asked Alice, stepping past Sōma's raised arm and ignoring the annoyed look he sent her. Azami looked down at her with some interest.

"Dearest niece, how are you?"

"I'm quite fine, no thanks to you and your goons, Azami-san." Alice said, placing emphasis on the honorific. Azami's smile didn't waver.

"Ah yes, I heard about what happened in the forest between Etsuya-kun and you two. I'm very displeased, to say the least."

"With us or him?" she asked flatly.

"Both of you, quite frankly." said Azami, his smile dropping. "Etsuya-kun had no right to attempt to detain you as well. But that's no excuse for the overly aggressive response visited upon him by you and Sōma-kun. Etsuya-kun is being rushed to the hospital, as we speak."

"The hospital?!" exclaimed Ikumi in surprise.

"Eizan-senpai is injured?" asked Shun quietly. "What happened?"

"What happened is Etsuya-kun, along with four of his friends, were injured for simply following orders." commented Azami.

"Your orders." interjected Alice harshly.

"My orders." admitted Azami smoothly. "The fact that they were mine doesn't change the fact that he is now sitting in a hospital bed with a dislocated shoulder, bruised ribs and a concussion."

Erina's eyes widened and she looked at Alice but her cousin wouldn't meet her eyes, looking away guiltily.

"Alice, what did you do?" asked Erina desperately.

"Nothing wrong."

Sōma spoke for the first time since the challenge had ended. He looked at Erina, his flat, golden eyes meeting hers. He paused, staring at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. He blinked twice before shaking his head and looking back towards Azami.

"Alice hasn't done anything wrong and neither have I; your men attacked us and we defended ourselves, it was as simple as that."

"I believe I can argue that your retaliation was more than a little excessive." said Azami, shaking his head. "After all, your injuries seem mild to non-existent, Sōma-kun."

"That is simply because I have training and they do not. They came with intent to harm and debilitate and I responded in kind." said Sōma. "They came armed with weapons and ropes. Weapons I would be more than happy to direct the authorities to, assuming they weren't retrieved when your men were."

Azami didn't so much as blink in response to Sōma's claim but internally, he mentally crossed Eizan off of a list of potential assets. Did he really bring weapons to detain a single person? Things would've been tough enough to justify considering the numbers but to have weapons as well? No. Azami knew a lost cause when he saw one.

"Regardless. Etsuya-kun is gravely injured and that is something I will not stand for. I'm afraid I will have to expel you, here and now." said Azami. The crowd of onlookers froze at Azami's words. Erina's mouth dropped open and Ikumi's face paled as she looked at Sōma, who didn't seem to have even noticed what Azami said. He simply continued staring up at him.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Azami-san."

Azami looked down at Alice, who was smiling up at him calmly.

"And just why would that be, Alice?" he asked, almost curiously.

"Simply put, you don't have the authority. Sōma-kun's only been the tenth seat for a little over two months. You can't dismiss him, from the school or the Council, until three months have passed." said Alice, smirking.

"Is that true?" asked Megumi in surprise.

"It is." confirmed Erina shakily, even as Alice's words filled her with an almost crippling sense of relief. "Newly placed Council members are unable to be dismissed by any acting members of the Totsuki Administration, of which the Director is one, for varying lengths of time. They'd have to lose their seats themselves. It was a provision put into place by ojii-sama years ago to prevent abuses of power and favoritism."

Left unsaid was how that provision had been of little help. Azami shrugged, tapping his cane on the floor as he stroked his chin, considering. The look he gave Alice was akin to the look of an elder lion realizing that the younger lion wasn't quite so small and weak as he once thought.

"You are correct, Alice. I suppose that little detail had slipped my mind."

"Or you'd hoped we wouldn't notice." cut in Alice, her tone still as calm and pleasant as ever.

"My, my. Do you have such little faith in me?" he asked.

"Yes."

The simple, immediate response caused Azami to chuckle lowly.

"Be that as it may, I'm still more than capable of calling Sōma-kun on his actions before the administrative board. I have a feeling that they would see fit to do what I can't."

"We both know you won't do that." said Alice, resisting the urge to smirk up at him. "That would result in an investigation of the incident; one that I can assure you would end in our favour, considering they dared to lay a hand on the Demon King of Food's own granddaughter."

She gestured to the light red bruise on the side of her face.

"Besides. I'm sure the board hasn't forgotten who Tōtsuki's true ruler is."

The only visible reaction to Alice's gibe was the slight tightening of Azami's grip on his cane and the frosty look he leveled upon her.

"I believe we've gotten all we can out of this conversation."

"Yes. I believe we have." responded Alice.

Azami turned, his coat billowing behind him as he faced the small crowd of students that had been watching their verbal exchange. His glanced over at Sōma before looking away and settling his eyes onto his daughter. He smiled conciliatorily, stepping towards her.

"Erina, it's-"

Sōma lunged, placing himself in between the director and his daughter, his hands held out threateningly. The movement took everyone by surprise, although Azami seemed to take it in stride. He looked down at Sōma, his head slightly tilted.

"Is there a problem, Sōma-kun?" he asked genially.

"We have a deal." said Sōma, his voice flat. Azami continued looking down at Sōma, his eyes cold. After a few tense seconds, he spoke, his tone ever cordial.

"You're right. My apologies. It seems I'm rather forgetful today."

Without another word, Azami turned and strode towards the exit of the room, his abrupt departure only further confusing the onlookers. Alice turned to Sōma, her cheeks puffing angrily as she glared at him.

"Sōma-kun, you can't just up and attack anyone you please! Especially not the director of our school!" she admonished.

"I didn't attack him, I simply made it clear that I would. A threat of force can be just as effective as force itself."

Sōma's clinical response did nothing to assuage Alice's anger. Or the fear that lay at its root.

"Alice."

She turned to face Ryo, who had his arms folded and was standing across from her, though he was still glaring at Sōma, who was looking back at him idly, though he didn't make a move to step in front of Alice this time.

"What happened?" asked Ryo. "What happened to you before the challenge?"

"Ryo-kun…we can discuss this later." said Alice hesitantly, Ryo's reminder bringing it back to the forefront of her mind. Ryo stepped forward, his eyes moving from Sōma to her.

"Alice, I've never seen you this scared. Ever. And I know it has something to do with him. I'm not letting you go anywhere with him until you tell me what happened."

"I will tell you, but like I said, we can discuss this later." she insisted.

"No. I think we need to discuss it now, Alice." interjected Erina, her voice filled with concern. "You and Yukihira-kun have had enough time playing house and keeping secrets. We have a right to know what's going on."

"Especially after something like that." said Ikumi. "Sōma-kun almost put Kurokiba in the hospital and, if Azami's telling the truth, he actually DID put Eizan-senpai in the hospital!"

The meat chef looked over at Sōma but he simply looked back at her without saying anything.

"What happened Alice?" asked Ryo, glaring at her. Alice wasn't the least bit affected by his ire but she was affected by what lay behind it: genuine concern. She knew how things must have looked from his perspective, especially after what had happened right before the challenge.

Alice sighed, looking over at Sōma who simply contained to look at his friends, silent. She looked out at the Polar Star residents who were all looking at them with varying levels of concern and confusion. She sighed again, touching the bruise on her cheek as she opened her mouth.

"We were on our way to the hall but Eizan-senpai and a few of his goons intercepted us in the forest…"

Alice swung, her fist lashing out and catching the boy with the rope across the jaw. His head snapped back and Alice followed up, landing a solid punch to his chest that left him gasping and kneeling on the floor, even as she followed that punch up with a knee that sent him slumping to the floor, dazed.

Alice turned, smiling sweetly at the dumbfounded expression on the rest of the thugs' faces. Eizan's was no better; he was gaping at the petite girl in abject shock. He recovered quickly, however and turned to face his men.

"What are you standing around for? Go!"

The stern command seemed to remind them that, though one of theirs was down, it was still three on two. Two of them ran at Alice, yelling battle cries as they neared her. Alice stepped back warily, looking back and forth between them. As the left one neared, Alice turned and punched at him, only barely grazing his face but causing him to stumble. The other teen got near Alice and, in lieu of anything fancy, simply tackled her around the middle.

All of the air in Alice's chest left her in a gasp as she slammed into the forest floor. She wedged her hands against the boy's chest and started pushing. Despite the size disparity and the lack of leverage, he felt his grip start to loosen from around her torso. Her arms were like steel.

"What the fuck? Boss, she's strong!"

Eizan rolled his eyes, glancing over at Sōma who was eyeing the single, bat wielding thug across from him warily.

"How strong can she be? Look at her!"

Alice pushed harder, the arms around her waist slowly but surely being pried off of her frame. Once she got enough room, she brought her knees up and pushed them into his chest. The extra bit of power did the rest of the work, forcing the boy's large frame off of her. She maintained her grip on his shirt as she got to her feet, hefting him in the air with almost contemptuous ease. Alice got to her feet, dusting herself off with one hand as the other held the much larger boy straight up, above her head. He looked down at her with a mix of wonder and fear.

"What the hell are you?" he asked, looking at her arm for any sign of strain or trembling. There was none.

Alice shrugged, smiling lazily.

"I'm Nakiri Alice."

She flicked her wrist, dropping the boy to the ground with a thump and a cry. She laughed down at him, leaning over his fallen form.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm such a klutz sometimes, are you alright?"

Alice didn't see the thug she'd dropped earlier in the fight rise up behind her. She also didn't see him reach into his waistband and pull out a piece of pipe. And she definitely didn't see him start running towards her. But Sōma did.

"Al-!"

Sōma's opponent took his chance and tackled Sōma before he could get the word out, slamming the red headed boy into the floor. He held an arm over Sōma's throat, pushing down. Not enough to fully cut off his air way but definitely enough to silence him. Sōma squirmed and thrashed, trying in vain to get the bulky teenager off of him.

He looked to the side, watching the pipe wielding thug run at Alice from behind. She had turned to face the second boy, the one she'd almost hit in the face, and had no idea what was coming behind her.

'Alice. Behind you! ALICE!'

Try as he might, Sōma simply couldn't get the words out past the meaty arm of Eizan's henchman. He watched as the distance between Alice and the boy closed. Twenty feet. Ten feet. Five feet.

He wasn't sure what caused it; maybe Alice had heard the shuffling behind her or seen something in the smirk of the unarmed boy she was facing but she spun to face the boy just as the pipe swung out. It connected with the side of her jaw, her head flinging back as she stumbled backwards, falling to the floor.

Sōma felt like his heart had stopped as he looked at Alice's downed frame; the fear, pain and rage coalesced inside of him without end and he felt his other side respond. Felt him fully become aware and take notice.

Alice. Alice. Alice.

With a surge, Sōma was displaced, as if he weighed nothing and his other half settled into control. Golden eyes closed before opening back up, warm bronze replaced with cold, flinty gold. Sōma looked up at the boy who was holding him down, who was distracted by Eizan yelling at the thug holding the pipe. Sōma moved his arms, finding the right one had more freedom, based on the way he was lying. Sōma opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey."

The boy turned back to face Sōma questioningly, only for Sōma to rear up and slam his forehead into his nose. The blow was weak but quick and unexpected and it did its job. The boys grip on Sōma relaxed as he reeled back and Sōma's right arm lanced upwards and outwards, swinging into his throat, his fingers flared out.

The blow struck true and the thug gasped as he felt his ability to breathe fail him. He stumbled off of Sōma, hacking and coughing as he held his throat. Sōma sprung to his feet, cat like before turning and grabbing the back of the boy's shirt. He yanked him backwards and threaded his arm around his throat, pressuring the blood vessels there with the crook of his elbow and pulling.

In seconds, the hulking thug was out. Sōma released him, uncaring of how his body fell to the floor. He moved forwards towards where Eizan and his two remaining men were standing over Alice. Eizan was still yelling at the one holding the pipe, who looked both sheepish and terrified.

"-a Nakiri! You attacked a Nakiri woman with a pipe! Are you that much of an idiot?"

"B-b-but boss, you said to detain them and she was really strong, I don't see how…"

"You're right, you don't see. You don't see anything that isn't shoved in front of your nose, you imbecile. You better pray to the gods that…"

Eizan paused as Sōma walked past them as if they weren't even there. The older student blinked in surprise before looking back at the subordinate that should've been restraining Sōma and saw his collapsed frame. He looked back at Sōma, who was ignoring all of them in favour of crouching over Alice.

He turned her over, inspecting her face. He touched her jaw lightly, tracing the red mark there. He gently thumbed over her lip, which was cut at the corner, humming as he examined the small wound. He poked the bruise, earning a groan from the girl but nothing else. He nodded and stood to his feet, turning to face the teen holding the pipe.

"Nothing's broken or fractured. I believe she was able to turn with your blow at the last second, mitigating the force of it. She's not even unconscious, simply dazed. "

Sōma's assessment was detached and clinical. The pipe wielder sighed in relief, scratching the back of his head.

"That's goo-"

The rest of his statement was lost as Sōma stepped forward, his arm striking out and catching the boy straight in the stomach. He gasped as he bent over Sōma's fist, hacking. Sōma's fist left his gut, only to grab either side of his head and yank, his nose meeting Sōma's knee with a devastating crack. He fell to his knees, eyes blinded with tears as he held his nose with his free hand.

Sōma leaned down and took the pipe from his unresisting grip. He stepped back, swinging the pipe once or twice through the air before nodding to himself. He stepped forward once again, swinging up and striking the boy solidly in the jaw with a much stronger and more direct blow than the one he'd landed on Alice. Blood and spittle flew from his mouth as a sharp cracking noise filled the air. He fell to the floor bonelessly.

"That's how you deliver a jaw strike meant to knock someone unconscious."

Sōma looked at the pipe, which had dented at the point of contact. He shook his head, tossing it to the side as he turned to face Eizan and the single thug, who'd picked up the bat and stood in front of the second year protectively.

"Don't worry boss, he's not getting through me." he said, although the way his knees shock and his eyes darted around made his statement much less convincing than it would be. Sōma began walking forward, unhurried. He was almost halfway to them when he paused, mid stride. He turned to face Alice, who was beginning to sit up, groaning.

"Alice, are you alright?"

Alice moaned again, rubbing at her jaw tenderly.

"Yea…I'll be fine. Although I'm going to destroy that brute for daring to lay a hand on my face." she muttered angrily, while getting to her feet. She began to walk forward but Sōma stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. Alice blinked dazedly. When did he end up so close?

"Just relax Alice. I've already dealt with two of the four remaining threats. This shouldn't take much longer."

Sōma turned and began walking towards Eizan and his guard with a purposeful stride. Alice watched him walk away in confusion before noticing the slumped form nearby. She didn't immediately recognize him as the thug that had attacked her with the pipe but that was probably because she couldn't get past the blood covering his face.

Alice knew how to fight; between Ryo and her strength, she'd practically been forced to learn, lest she injure someone. She'd learnt alongside Ryo for years, although she wouldn't exactly call herself a martial artist the way he would. She simply knew enough of the basics to put her strength to good use. That being said, she still wasn't prepared for the scene before her.

A cry made her look up and she saw Sōma standing close to the guard, with one of his hands held in both of his. The bat lay to the side, uselessly, and the way his pinkie finger bent out and to the side told Alice just what had made him scream out like that. Sōma gripped his ring finger, bending it backwards and snapping it with an ease that both surprised and revolted Alice.

"Please, please! I give, I give!" shouted the young man, tears streaming down his face. Sōma released his hand but drew back and sent his foot forward, thumping it into the teen's chest and sending him flying backwards. He slammed into a tree, his body striking it with much more force than was healthy. He fell to the floor, his eyes vacant as he stared up at Sōma who stepped forward, his hand raised.

Alice saw Sōma glance to the side and he stepped back, the bat flying past his face. Eizan had a shaky grip on the wooden object and he looked at Sōma with an anger born of fear.

"Listen here, Yukihira. Just calm down. You've beaten my men, there's no need to take this any further. Let's just all calm down and go to the Selection, ok?"

Sōma looked at Eizan, as if he was considering what he was saying.

"Alright then, Eizan-senpai. That's agreeable."

Eizan's shoulders slumped as he sighed, shaking his head. He dropped the bat and laughed to himself, relieved more than anything else. He took his glasses off, eyeing the dirty lenses. He pulled a cloth from his pocket and began cleaning them.

"I gotta say, that's good to hear, Yukihira. It seems you're smarter than I give you credit for. There's been enough violence today, don't you think?"

Eizan didn't even see the fist coming. Sōma's fist landed solidly in the side of Eizan's face, sending him stumbling back as his glasses dropped to the floor. He cried out in surprise and pain as he held the side of his face in his hands.

"Yukihira! What the fuck! I thought you agreed!"

He blinked harshly, trying to clear his rapidly swelling eye. He heard more than saw Sōma's approach but that didn't mean he was ready to dodge the fist that planted itself in his chest, nor the knife strike to the side of his neck that erupted into a pain like none Eizan had ever felt before.

He screamed out, barely staying on his feet as he stumbled back further, holding his collarbone. Sōma didn't let up, instead reaching forward and grabbing Eizan's tie. He yanked the older boy forward, before using his other hand to strike out and land another salvo of blows into Eizan's ribs. At least seven or eight blows landed before Eizan's tie couldn't take the strain anymore and tore, allowing Eizan to fall back.

He held his chest with one hand, gasping. Each breath felt like it set a wave of fire skittering across his chest and his eye was now completely blind, between the swelling and the blood from his split forehead leaking into it.

"Yukihira, please, we can talk about this!"

Sōma's only response was to step forward and grab Eizan's arm, while placing his leg forward and pulling. Eizan fell forward, slamming into the floor with another cry of pain that Sōma ignored. Sōma grabbed his right arm, pulling it towards him as he kneeled onto Eizan's back.

Eizan felt his arm being stretched back further and further. He felt his shoulder start to whine in protest and he cried out again, gritting his teeth.

"Yukihira, stop this. Stop! What are you doing?"

Sōma paused in his efforts, looking down at the older student.

"Removing a threat."

"Please, please let me go! I promise I'll do anything you want. Please!"

Sōma looked down at Eizan, his eyes flat. He looked over at Alice, who was staring at him, stunned. His eyes narrowed as he eyed the small bead of red making its way down her lip. Sōma pulled backwards as he forced his knee into Eizan's shoulder simultaneously. With one final wrench, the shoulder popped out of the joint and Eizan screamed.

A long, loud scream that terrified Alice in a way that nothing ever had. She watched as Sōma dragged the other boy to his feet. He inspected the shoulder, shaking the arm and eliciting another scream from Eizan.

"Good. A clean displacement. Easily fixable."

Sōma tossed Eizan to the side as if he was so much garbage. His body landed in a shrub of tsubaki flowers, his blood painting the white blossoms with stripes of red. Eizan cried out as the landing jarred his shoulder again but Sōma gave his scream just as much attention as he gave the previous ones and turned to face Alice, who was staring at him in stunned silence.

"Alice?"

She blinked, stepping backwards in response to Sōma's step forward. He tilted his head at her.

"Is something the matter? Are you more injured than I first thought?"

The honest curiosity in Sōma's voice broke Alice from her reverie.

"Is something wrong? Sōma-kun…you…you just…"

She waved her arm around at the clearing. At the injured, unconscious bodies surrounding them. Sōma looked around.

"There's no need to concern yourself with their health, Alice. I fought to disable, that's all. They will be fine, with proper medical attention."

Sōma reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone. He dialed Tōtsuki's emergency number, placing the device to his ear.

"Good evening, there's been an altercation in the forest bordering West Hall, a few minutes down the footpath. Five injured, nothing life threatening."

Sōma ignored the operator's following question, instead hanging up and putting his phone away as he began walking away. Alice watched him walk away in confusion before he turned back to her.

"We're already late, Alice. Let's go."

Alice went to protest but then realized that they probably were actually quite late. She looked around at the fallen people around her before looking at the time on her phone. Her eyes widened and she hurried to catch up to Sōma.

She briefly contemplated waiting with the downed young men but the light throbbing in her jaw convinced her to press onwards. She wasn't going to allow something like this to stop her. She pointedly ignored the way her hands shook and the way she kept glancing at Sōma as they continued towards West Hall.

As Alice's story came to an end, the room grew quiet. No one quite knew what to say. Hayama looked at Sōma, who didn't seem fazed at all by Alice's recounting or the glances he was receiving. He just continued looking at Alice.

"Are you satisfied now? May we leave?"

Sōma's sudden question took them by surprise, considering how silent he'd been up until that point. After the surprise wore off, Erina spoke up, stepping forward.

"Is that it? Is that all you have to say after that insane story, Yukihira-kun?"

Sōma nodded, either missing or ignoring the concern in Erina's tone. He stretched, yawning.

"Alice. I ask again, may we leave?"

Alice turned to her cousin hesitantly. Erina simply shook her head and waved them away.

"Go, Alice. Since he seems so insistent. We'll speak about this later when Yukihira-kun's more…approachable."

Alice nodded, turning to leave. Ryo stepped in line to follow her, practically bumping elbows with Sōma.

"Move it, Yukihira." growled Ryo.

Sōma stepped back obediently, taking up the rear as the three of them left the hall, leaving the rest of their friends behind.

"Sōma-kun!"

Sōma paused, turning to face Megumi. The look in his eyes worried her and she felt a question rise unbidden to her lips.

"What's my name?"

Once she spoke, Megumi realized. There was no recognition in Sōma's eyes. His eyes passed over each of them, equally, as if they were strangers. She didn't see even a hint of familiarity or closeness in his gaze, no matter who he looked at. With the noted exception of Alice.

Sōma didn't speak immediately but, when he did, the answer surprised Megumi.

"Tadokoro Megumi. Freshman. Resident of Polar Star Dormitory. A friend."

Sōma said the words as if he was reading a laundry list. Megumi faltered, unsure of how to proceed. Sōma took her hesitance as a conclusion and began walking again. Before the blue haired girl could protest, he was already through the doors and gone.

"Sōma-kun…" muttered Megumi, wondering why watching him walk away this time hurt more than all of the other times she'd been forced to. Erina reached out and took her girlfriend's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. Megumi turned to Erina, burying her face in her shoulder.

"I thought we had him back." she whispered hollowly, feeling her chest thump achingly. She didn't feel any tears forming though. Perhaps she was simply done crying over Yukihira Sōma?

Erina wrapped her arms around Megumi, one hand around her back, the other stroking her head. Megumi returned the embrace, her arms going around Erina's waist in a grip that was probably too tight. The blonde placed a kiss on the top of Megumi's head.

"We got him back once, Megumi-chan. We'll get him back again." said Erina. She neglected to point out that he'd been "back" for barely three days.

"I don't know, Erina-chan. He seems so far this time. Not like before…even when he was cold and distant, there was still something there. Now…I just don't know. This is different." said Megumi.

"I don't know either," admitted Erina. "But that won't stop us. I promise."

"Question."

Megumi and Erina both froze. They turned to face Shun, who was looking back and forth between them. His eyes intensely peered out at them from behind his fringe as he looked between both girls. He was far from the only one.

The Aldini brothers were looking between the two in confusion, while Yuki seemed to be staring at them with hearts in her eyes.

Ikumi and Hayama were giving them similarly intense looks, although Hayama's was more appreciative than anything else.

Shun continued speaking.

"Are you two a thing?"

Erina and Megumi turned identical shades of red. Which became scarlet once Yuki couldn't contain herself anymore and squealed, hopping up and down.

"That's so cute!"

As the conversations began, Erina welcomed the distraction of answering her curious friends' questions. It helped keep her mind off of her feelings of guilt and concern over what seemed to be the never ending problem that was Yukihira Sōma.