#if twst won't give me bald!Idia then I will make it happen myself.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Playing with Fire

Part 1 (ft. Riddle and Silver) I Part 2 (ft. Trey and Kalim) I Part 3 (ft. Jade and Lilia) I Part 4 (ft. Deuce and Jamil) I Part 5 (ft. Malleus and Ruggie) | Part 6 (ft. Cater and Rook) | Part 7 (ft. Sebek and Floyd)

In which Gordon Ramsay-kun is isekai’d into Twisted Wonderland. Part Food Wars, part Hell’s Kitchen, all Master Chef—Night Raven College isn’t ready to take on this Michelin Star celebrity!!

As the age-old saying goes, “if you play with fire, be prepared to get burned”! Will Idia and Ace be able to withstand the chef forged in the flames of hell’s kitchen?

asdhbasildsb PRETEND LIKE THIS ISN'T BEING PUT OUT AFTER THE EVENT 😭 (At least I'm all caught up on Master Chefs now...)

Imagine this…

"Alright, let's start cookin'!"

"HOLD IT!! Where do you think you’re going, Trappola?!”

"Gack!" Ace felt himself being yanked back by the collar, forcing the air out of him. The Ramshackle Prefect had him in a formidable grip—one rivaling that of Riddle's iron fist. "What's the big deal, stoppin' a guy from makin' a meal?"

A drawn-out sigh came from behind Gordon. “Fwehehe… Leave it to Ace-shi to solo-rush the boss battle… He's the type to button mash to skip past the tutorial and jump straight into things."

Annoyance surged up, and Ace spat out his heated words. "Oi, can it! Least I'm not shaking in my boots before getting anywhere NEAR the kitchen!"

“Not looking like that you aren’t.” Gordon flicked the first year’s chef’s hat, setting it askew. “Fix your hair! We don’t want any of it getting into the food.”

“Yeees, sir,” Ace groaned with an eye roll.

Gordon glanced at Idia, taking in the few hair clips he had scrounged up to clip his bangs back.

“You, Shroud!” Gordon snapped at him. “All your hair’s got to go up.”

“E-Eh…? All of it? B-But Ace-shi doesn’t have to! Th-This is gamer discrimination!!”

“Are your ears not working? Yes, I said ALL of it.” Gordon pointed to the blue flames that sprouted from the dorm leader’s scalp. “It has nothing to do with your hobbies, you’re a walking fire hazard!! What’s going to happen when a drop of oil hits you?”

“B-But my hair doesn’t even behave like regular fire does…” Idia mumbled, earning a glare from his instructor. “E-Eeep!! I-I got it, I’ll do it already!!”

“Oh, how the tables turn,” Ace sniggered as he secured the last of his bangs. The rest of his hair was too short to maneuver under his hat, spiking out on either side of his head.

“Alright, I’m gonna go ahead! Smell ya later, senpai!” He threw a wink and a wave at Idia before prancing into the kitchen.

The cheek and cheer made Idia cringe. What little motivation he had for this class wilted down to cinders.

He sniffed and mournfully did away with his hair, tucking every last bit of blue out of sight. When he at last dragged himself to the kitchen entryway, he hesitated on stepping through.

Haunting memories plagued his mind—the booming demands, the door being bashed down with fists and frying pans. Two monstrous men hovering above him as he cowered in a ball. The darkly easygoing expression on Floyd, Sebek in an imposing, militant stance, glaring down at him.

“Oi, Firefly Squid-senpai. This all the noodles you got? You’d better tell the truth or else Crocodile-chan and I will squeeze you senseless~”

Idia's fingers trembled terribly at the thought. Clamminess collected on his palms. The room seemed to spin

Gordon materialized by his frozen student's side.

“In you go then!” He gave a firm smack on Idia’s back, propelling him stumbling forward.

Ace, already at his station, looked up from inspecting bell peppers. A rainbow of red, orange, yellow, and green filled several baskets-but when he saw Idia, the peppers’ bright colors paled to Ace's massive grin.

“BAHAHAHAHAH!!” The first year keeled over, unable to contain his laughter. One arm cradled his stomach to keep himself from collapsing, the other pointing a knife at his upperclassman. “YOU TOTALLY LOOK BALD!!"

Idia flushed, shrinking into his chef's uniform. Were his hair visible, the flames would have, no doubt, been tinged pink with embarrassment.

"S-Sure, go for the low blow and pick on the guy whose character looks like crap in the event exclusive armor... This is why I wanted to send my tablet for this course instead of coming in person!!"

"Not bloody likely."

Idia stiffened at their instructor's voice, and the sharp clap that followed it. The sound echoed like static tracing along his scalp. His culinary nightmares had only just begun.

"If you've got the time to fuck around, you have time to cook. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, you two!"

Gordon Ramsay made sure to plant himself squarely between Ace and Idia's work benches. Knowing what chaos the kitchen grounds could breed, he didn't want to take any chances by leaving either or unsupervised. Not again, not after so many sessions with NRC's various problem children.

Chop, chop, chop...

"Groan..."

How many times have I taught this course by now? Gordon mused to himself, dragging a hand over his face. The horrors he had witnessed brought back the beginnings of a migraine, the slow simmer of rage.

Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop...

"Groooan..."

They aren't all bad kids, he thought. Some were just misunderstood, overeager, or lacking the technical abilities. Patience, Gordon, patience. They're children. They have plenty of room to grow.

Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop…

"GROOOOOOOOOOAN!!

He snapped.

“�� Trappola, your task is to cut the bell peppers, not to complain as you do it!!" Gordon bellowed with a huff.

"But teeeach," Ace whined, "there's so many veggies!! Why do I have to be the one to chop them all, anyway? Just cuz it's easy doesn't mean I like doing this, y'know!! My hand hurts, it's totally cramping!"

"You have the talent to make them the same size and shape. That will help the peppers cook more evenly once we throw them on the heat." Gordon pointed to another basket full of peppers. "So suck it up!"

“Can’t you make Idia-senpai split this work?! He’s barely doing anything on his own anyway, and a cute little underclassman like me sure could use the extra helping hand!”

Gordon deadpanned.

“What?! I am cute,” Ace insisted, “and I wasn’t joking about wanting that helping hand.”

“And you’re not getting it.”

"Uggggh, fiiiiine.”

Ace unenthusiastically returned to his chopping board. As he brought his knife down, bisecting a crimson pepper, his expression lightened with a realization. “Hey, you know what? With so many peppers lying around, I could cram an extra helping of it into Deuce’s portion!!”

Gordon frowned. “… Is that seriously what’s motivating you?”

“Haha, yup 🎵”

What a fast turnaround. Perked right up.

“All I need now’s a dish that’s easy to hide peppers in! What should I go with? A soup? Stir fry? Oh, ooor I could do an omelet—the ultimate betrayal!” He snickered in a self-congratulatory manner. “Deuce won’t ever know what hit him!!”

The master chef heaved a sigh and glanced at Idia’s station, leaving Ace to his mise en place. “And how are you doing over there, Shroud?”

Idia jumped at the mention of his name. His fingers, sticky and (aptly) peppered with pepper seeds, were fumbling with measuring spoons.

"I-I'm fine..."

"Well, what's taking you so long? In the same time Trappola's knocked out a few crates, you've been standing around twiddlin' your thumbs."

"S-So what if my stat growth is a little slower than Ace-shi's?! Cut me some slack here, this process couldn't be more inefficient if it tried!!"

Idia furiously shook his head. "It'd all be done by now if I had a machine to throw together a meal... instead, I have to tediously measure spices by hand and deal with this stuffy place. These steps could all be automated."

Gordon snorted, unimpressed with the dour attitude. "If everything were automated, you'd be putting a lot of people out of their passions."

"Jobs," Idia corrected. "You mean their jobs."

"No, I mean their passions," Gordon shot back. "A fire burns because it has fuel, and passions exist because of the spirit behind them. That's something no A.I. could replicate."

"Hihihihi..." A smug, challenging smile emerged on Idia's blue lips. "Try telling that to Ortho. Bet he could perfectly recreate any recipe you throw at him in record time. Think you could honestly take him? Heh, bring it."

“You certainly changed your tone quickly—but if you can talk like that about your own creation, then I’d better see that same energy in your dish.” The closest pan was gripped and handed to a slack-jawed Idia.

“B-B-But…!!”

“Let’s see you put your money where your mouth is.”

Gordon was already at the stove, cranking up the heat. A circle of flames erupted from the burner. In the glow of the fire, Gordon appeared not human, but like a demon chef from hell.

“I-I wasn’t built for this!!” Idia wailed in protest, only to have a spatula at him.

His instructor’s response was blunt and full of snark. “Perfect opportunity for you to ‘get good’, then. There’s no teacher like experience.”

Idia struggled to produce a counter argument—but his mind was moving fasting than his body. Gordon had seized the arm with the pan by the wrist and guided it to the stove, adding a splash of oil to it. The third year flinched as heat crept onto his skin.

“Peppers in, and cook until tender!!” Gordon ordered. "If you can’t take this much, you won't last long in my kitchen!"

Idia fearfully obeyed, tossing in a few of the peppers he had just washed. The water droplets crackled upon contact, and—

Crackle, sssszzzt, POP!!

“E-EEEEEEeeEEeEP!!” Idia launched back, dodging the flecks of hot oil that sprayed at him. Cook until tender? The apprentice chef would be tenderized sooner than the vegetables would!

“Hoo, boy. This is gonna be a looong class,” Ace muttered from his station. "Dude has no chill at all..."

“Haven’t I suffered enough?! J-Just put me out of my misery alreadyyyy!!”

“We’ve only just started, boys!!” Gordon barked. There was no mistaking the blazing passion in his composure and in his eyes. “Put your backs into it!! I’ll make men out of you yet!!”