"Return to your seats. I need to come to terms with my disappointment."

Arthur Roma and Itsuki Saito stood in the front of their classroom, though the room fell silent towards their instructor's harsh words towards them. Disappointment? But when? But how? That word, it was unfathomable, for the both of them, and it was hard to stomach…

But that wasn't only hard to believe for the two of them, but it was equally shocking to the very group they were gunning for.

"...Damn it…" Rena hissed, returning to her station, sitting down and twirling a knife out of stress, aggravated with the entire ordeal.  She wasn't the only one however.

"Tch…" Yuuta's eyes narrowed as well, somewhat pissed in regards to the teacher's words, but more-so towards Arthur and Itsuki themselves. He shot the brunette a glare, unable to stomach the events that were happening,

'Don't tell me you half-assed your performance just because it's up your alley. Get your head out of your ass, Arthur Roma-san. There are no advantages in the kitchen, only disadvantages… And as the only person in this challenge without a disadvantage, it's nothing short of disrespectful for you to have not given it your all.'

Yuuta mentally fumed, but even if his reaction was a little much, Rena couldn't help but shake her own head. She thought about it, but just couldn't understand. There's no way it could have been bad, right?...

Her heart began to race, while she contemplated doing something she never did…

"Oh, Shinji! Shuji! What a beautiful looking dish!"

But the moment passed. The teacher was onto another set of students, leaving Itsuki and Arthur to sit, awaiting their verdict in silence.

After another 20 minutes, and various students presenting their own dishes, the class had finally reached a conclusion, and the teacher, a consensus. Everyone sat in their original seats, which was a wee-bit awkward considering Roma and Rena sat next to one another, but it was more of an afterthought at the moment.

The instructor glanced over his notes, before finally standing up before everyone, beginning his lecture,

"For starters, this assignment has proven to be a tough one for most people involved with it today. It is to be understood and expected though, given American cuisine is much, much different from our own. As such, the challenge very well may have been too great for many."

His words made Arthur's eye twitch. It… pissed him off a bit, he had to admit - like an elaborate attempt to discredit him and his own cooking. As if he was being told that his knowledge on his own nationality's cooking was subpar.

"So because of this, " The teacher continued, "The grades in this assignment have been voided, except for the top team during this assignment. You may have noticed, but there was a certain team who was bred and born to be within this kitchen, and their teaming up was as inevitable as their going at each other.

You could taste the fierceness and  drive in their dish. Each ingredient was different from the other, like a couple of clashing egos, fighting for the top score. Despite it being a team activity, it was as if they were dueling one another, and it translated to my plate, tasting absolutely delicious!"

Yuuta's eyes were pitch black as the teacher went on, and on, and on. In essence, every word went in one ear, and out the other. He and Rena were the best two students within the classroom. That was obvious to anyone with a working brain. The only slight form of competition was Roma and Itsuki, but if they weren't in the race, it would've been another landslide victory - something he was once accustomed to.

He backed his seat out a bit, preparing to stand. He knew who had won this competition, and the sooner he received his cheers, the sooner he could exit the classroom,

"But,"

The word halted his movement, and Yuuta looked up towards the teacher again, out of confusion among everything else.

"But there was a slight, if not miniscule flaw in their finished product… One that wouldn't have made a difference, had there not been the exact same dish without said issue."

The plump man reached under himself, and lifted  a small container of syrup, much to the confusion of the rest of the classroom, "Something as small as syrup. To mellow out the salt-heavy fillings of the sandwich, the sweetness of syrup turned a filling dish into a savory one. That, is what separated the winning team from the losing team. That is what separated the obvious and the surprises, and that my students, is why the team of Arthur Roma and Itsuki Saito have won today's competition."

"FINALLY!!"

Everyone's eyes darted towards the very front of the classroom, fixating themselves on the blonde who shot to his feet. Itsuki had broken out into a laugh, and raised his fist into the air triumphantly.

Rena froze, a feeling of sickness settling within her stomach. Suddenly, the headache she had since entering the classroom was getting worse, and everything around her became distorted. But she wasn't the one the class was focused on. That title belonged to Itsuki Saito.

A few students began to clap for him and Roma, though the blonde was eating up the moment more than his partner, grinning as he laughed, "I BEAT RENA!! YES! ME! I BEAT THE FACE OF THE SCHOOL, AHAHAHA!!!"

Rena's eye twitched. There was another emotion she felt that surpassed her sudden fit of stress. Anger. And then hatred And then disgust. It was starting to come back to her now, and she remembered something key to herself as an individual:

'This is why I don't work with people.'

As the class applauded, she came to her feet, starting to head to the front door. The teacher made his usual protests, but she toned them out per usual, continuing to nearly dash out of the classroom, with Roma coming to his feet and hurriedly following afterwards.

Rena had her mind made up however, opening the door and storming out, causing the cheering to momentarily shock, and everyone to look in her direction in confusion. Roma himself was halfway out of the class until he felt a hand placed on his shoulder, stopping his momentum.

"?!"

"...congratulations, Arthur Roma-san. Enjoy your victory." Yuuta told Roma, with the latter too… confused to bother moving. That was to Yuuta's benefit though. He gently pat the brunette's shoulder, and stepped past him, also exiting the classroom, and closing the door behind himself. Then, he sighed a little. Putting the activity behind him, and preparing for the remainder of the day… Starting with her. If he knew Rena as well as he believed himself to, there was only one place she'd be right now. The male exhaled for a second time, and then wandered the hallways, beginning his venture.

And as for Rena, she reached for her forearm, though instead of pinching herself, she squeezed it in general, eyes still narrowed with an intense, repulsive feeling.

She lost? To them? What would the director and other heads of the school think?! Thinking about how this seemingly minor activity would change everything around her made her head hurt even further, and she even felt a wave of nausea.

To make matters worse, when she turned around to do another lap around the platform, she saw Yuuta Sarito sitting in her favorite spot, staring at nothing in general, but saying nothing either.

Now was far from the best time though, and the sight of him made her blood boil. Almost literally, In fact, each time she blinked, and he hadn't moved only stood to make her mood worse. She managed to address him though, and without screaming at that,

"Why- Why… Why the FUCK  are you here?! Can you go away? Leave, get out of my sight- never breathe the same air as me, or look at me, or even fucking exist near me."

Rena's rambling prompted a response from Yuuta, but rather than a verbal one, he held up four fingers, while his eyes had the small hint of purple in them that she had noticed earlier in class as well.

…though it was a gesture she didn't exactly take too well.

"Wh- Why the fuck would I even care?!" Rena began to approach him, and going by the stressed veins that bulged along her body, she was almost certainly going to strangle him. There was a glint in her eyes… a murderous one at that, and she hadn't even noticed it.

But Yuuta kept his composure, even as she approached with murderous intent, "Because," He began, finally speaking and looking her in the eyes as he did so,

"The two of us are in the same boat. You don't think I'm upset too? The match was ours to lose, and we completely blew it… But wrap your head around the situation before you earn yourself a criminal record, got it?" He requested in his normal, nonchalant tone, while nudging his head in the direction of the seat just in front of her.

Though his words made her stop in her tracks. She simply stared at him, with her entire being continuing to tremble with stress, among other negative emotions.

"Can I punch you?..."