#still. i will not let anyone miss out on hayama news.

[ni-kol-koru]

Hayama news dropped, you know what that means? I am back to posting (with an essay) 🧡⚡️

I remember the day when KuroBasu official Twitter account posted an announcment of a new mobile game and openned another Twitter account that they called Street Rivals. I was sooo excited to see what the game would be about and I thought I finally had a chance to play a KnB game! The trailers looked so good and the game looked so promising and I just couldn't wait for it to drop! I was so excited to make different team combinations and try out my favorite characters and, well, just have some fun! ⭐️

Then the game dropped. JAPANESE SERVERS ONLY. I was so disappointed because playing Street Rivals was something I was really looking forward to. I quickly saw that a lot of people were unhappy with the Japan only servers and that they were sending requests for the game to drop globally. I figured and hoped that maybe the developers would listen to the fans and that they would give all of us who live outside of Japan a chance to play the game. I still have hope thay I will be able to play it one day, but I was praying that the day would come before Hayama comes out in the game (because I, very obviously, want him). HE IS DROPPING SOON AND THE GAME IS STILL NOT AVAILABLE OUTSIDE OF JAPAN. Even if it dropped outside of Japan today, I would have no time to get ready to obtain Hayama, because he will be a high rank character and I would need a lot of materials to get him...

Even though it made me kinda sad, it also made my day better because hey, at the end of the day, Hayama will get some appreciation! He will get a cool splash art, he will get rendered again and he already got a really cool trailer! I really hope that people who get him will enjoy having him on the team, that he will be fun to play and that they wony regret obtaining him! ⭐️🧡

Anyways, here is his trailer, in case you didn't see it (apologies for the bad quality):

I can't wait for his gameplay tutorials to drop, I am really curious to see just what they have in store for him! How fast will he be? Will he have all 3 levels of Lightning Dribble as a part of his kit? Will he come with the Double Clutch? There are so many things that he could do! I also can't wait to see his splash art! I just really want to see him in the Street Rivals style, it's so new and polished, it is pretty detailed and cool, too! 🧡💫

[theshinsun]

Hyuuga and Izuki for character thing please? 🙃

Oh sweet, thanks for sending some more! This may be long bc there’s two again.

Hyuuga

How I feel about this character

A+ captain 👌. He puts up with so much shit and loves his team so much and he’s such a good character okay, so much respect. That whole arc where he quits basketball and Kiyoshi has to convince him to play and you can just Tell he still loves the game he’s just been severely discouraged (”I know that! that’s why I’m so bored every day!”) that was *chef’s kiss*. I also love the bit where he asks Riko how he can make shots under pressure and she threatens to break his shit for every one he misses and he Actually Agrees like goddamn. That’s dedication. Also this absolute NERD collecting army general figures (people pass it off as him forcing a new hobby when he’s quitting bball but he actually does seem to love them and know a lot about them and I love that). He’s so good. His relationship with the whole team is so good and his ability to lead them and keep even the uppity freshman duo in line is perfect. Quality organic senpai material.  

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Riko (100% canon team parents and that one valid straight ship. I love how they can be this terrifying evil duo and still so sweet with each other, how they support each other and get on each other’s nerves and still have each other/the team’s back at all times. wholesome af) 

Kiyoshi (their whole relationship is amazing, from the way they meet and Kiyoshi’s pestering and Hyuuga refusing to acknowledge that he’s right and they work well together, and then finally getting his shit together and that Promise he makes when Kiyoshi is injured?? good shit good shit. I also like him, Kiyoshi and Riko as a poly trio.)

Mibuchi (I MEAN. Mibuchi’s interest in Hyuuga is canon and the way he’s so flirty with him is actually pretty adorable. I’d love for them to actually be a couple with Hyuuga trying to be the stoic unfazed cool guy and then Mibuchi opens his fucking mouth and he turns into a blushing stammering mess) 

Izuki (what can I say I love ships that come with banter. these guys have got some long-standing history too, and I’m always a sucker for that. Izuki would drive Hyuuga up the fucking wall but they’ve also got some major camaraderie and obviously care for each other a lot. it’d def never be boring when they’re together)

Sakurai (get that apologetic mushroom. the dynamic between these two is so odd but it kinda just works for me, esp Sakurai’s sulkiness trying to prove he’s better that he doesn’t really show anyone else)

Kasamatsu (give me them good captain ships hells ye. I feel like Kasamatsu’s really come to respect him by the second Kaijo/Seirin game and they’re both such tough unyielding characters I’d love to see them get to be soft together)

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Kiyoshi (I can’t have a non-romantic OTP without it also working as a romantic ship can I) what can I say, the reason they work so well as a ship is also the reason they work so well as friends. The history and mutual trust between them, the determination and the promise that binds them together, they’re just such a good pair no matter how they fit together. They’ve also got a healthy dose of exasperated teasing banter about them and you know I eat that shit up. 

My unpopular opinion about this character

Blond Hyuuga is valid. *braces self* 

LISTEN my kink is long hair ok and even if he’d gotten it cut again I kinda wish he’d kept the color the bleached blond works with his eyes. Fight me.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Guy wears rimless glasses and plays basketball and you’re telling me he never gets them broken even once? It’s not so much a suggestion for improvement as much as a nitpick for realism’s sake, but it was the first damn thing my roommate pointed out about him and now I can’t stop thinking it.

Izuki

How I feel about this character

ALL HAIL THE PUN MASTER. Tbh I kinda wish I spoke some modicum of Japanese just so the majority of this guy’s jokes wouldn’t fly over my head, but still, even from what my ear and the subs have been able to gather, game recognize game. Izuki’s just an enjoyable character tbh, the way he puts his all into basketball with the rest of his team, the way he’s been playing the longest out of all of them and polished his skills over time, his intellect, his good jokes and absolutely TERRIBLE jokes and the way he harasses/bonds with Hyuuga, he’s such an all-around good egg and I don’t see him get enough love.  

All the people I ship romantically with this character

This list will be pretty short bc there aren’t all that many people... he interacts with one-on-one in canon? Which is kinda a shame tbh.

Hyuuga (As I said above, they’ve got history, they poke each other and get up in each other’s space and still have a rock solid foundation of support and trust for each other they’re a pure ship)

Kiyoshi (who on this team wouldn’t love this big lug to pieces? these two seem to be the only ones in Seirin with any common sense [at times they’ve also both got their fair share of nonsense to be sure] and have their own respectively odd personalities that would probably mesh really well together)

Takao (I talked about their birds-of-a-feather dynamic before in my list for Takao and I stand by it. they’re a good match with lots in common and the sass would be Endless)

Hayama (the ONE PERSON he gets to laugh at his jokes. they’re such an unlikely fit but I love the idea of the two of them just wreaking havoc as a couple)

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Koganei (say whaat at last a purely platonic relationship for this question). They’re such good bros tho, idk if I could see them as a couple, per se, but the way they play off each other is always hilarious and the way they each do their part to work together and support the team is fuckin wholesome. The arc of them working with Kiyoshi to form Seirin’s team in the first place is quality, and the shenanigans they get into over the course of the show never fail to delight me. Just a solid, good friendship that I’m here for.

My unpopular opinion about this character

LET HIM MAKE PUNS. This is more a disagreement with the characters in the show itself than with the fandom, but this guy is fuckin witty (even if his jokes are often groan-worthy, the wordplay itself, from what I’m able to understand, is really clever and that shit’s not easy to come up with on the spot). I respect his efforts and enthusiasm, at least, and as someone whose personality also revolves around lame jokes I will defend this guy to the grave.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

We get the briefest, barest mention of him being the one who’s played basketball since way back in grade school and therefore being the most experienced player, but it’s way in season 3 and is never really explored in any depth. Can we get some more backstory/growth for this guy, please? He doesn’t suffer from a lack of screentime (none of the Seirin guys do really) but I think a few of them do suffer from a lack of character development, and this guy’s got the foundation for something great I’m just not sure it was followed through on as well as it could’ve been. 

Tbh considering how well all the characters — even minor ones — in a show like, say... Haikyuu!! are fleshed out and given time and ways to grow and change, I just wish some of KNB’s supporting characters got the same love. It’s one of the show’s main weaknesses and while it doesn’t necessarily detract from the experience, there’s definitely some room for improvement there and I’m just kinda sad we didn’t get it.

[madokasoratsugu]

im new to shokugeki and i dont care about spoilers, why is it bad?

a no joke answer bc u deserve this:

tl;dr Shokugeki sucks because it lost its direction halfway through the story, and when Tsukada (the author) realised that he’d bitten off more than he could chew with such a huge cast of characters.

long answer:

here’s the thing. Shokugeki started out good. 

it mostly played off the usual shounen tropes: a challenger would appear, but then they quickly joined the friendship circle, rinse and repeat. but with such a wide cast of characters with differing goals and personalities plus the high stakes of only the top 10% graduating, it made it easy to bank on the character interactions and friendships, which is what the first half of Shokugeki did, heavily so. and it worked ! 

it was a simple set up (protag aims to beat his dad in a cook off, goes to cooking school, meets friends and foes ! a tournament arc ! fun and shenanigans ! yay!), but Shokugeki did it good. it didn’t subvert any expectations, just did according to what it set out to do. nothing felt exaggerated beyond the typical manga stuff, and everything achieved was earned with hard work. with the occasional fluff and friends thrown in, it became a comfy mix for a good shounen manga.

if anything, id say that half the success came from the character’s relationships themselves - the plot wasn’t anything special, but the genuinity that the characters and their friendships and goals (shared or not) were treated with were wholesome and fun.

which is why it was so fucking jarring when it derailed by throwing aside half of its cast and completely stagnating all character development for the remaining half.

(insert infamous Central Arc expulsion joke here)

if you’ve started/are intending to start, id say its the most obvious after the Moon Banquet Festival Arc/beginning of Central Arc. the writing started getting sloppy, as did the handling of the characters. ive mentioned this before, and ill stress this again: i honestly believe that Central Arc is when Tsukada realised what a big miss steak he did in creating such a huge cast, and in the face of Shokugeki’s then success, made some poor authorial choices to keep the hype going (both plot and character wise).

for characters: half the cast was rid of via expulsion, including very competent chefs (which had no proper in canon explanation on how the fuck that happened) who happened to be fan favourites. i mean, Hayama Akira ? fuck, Nakiri Alice, anyone ? plus any poor remaining characters got shafted in lieu of Souma, hard. this became more prominent as the Arcs slowly go on, the ones of which took the worst brunt of it being Takumi and Megumi.

(what do u think is worse. your fav never getting a cameo or your fav being part of the forefront team but constantly getting fucked over because Souma didn’t get the spotlight of the chapter yet. vote now in the replies.)

for plot: higher and higher stakes were introduced that again, just didn’t make sense !! in Central Arc, Souma was expected to win against Eishi, the best chef in his entire school. when two arcs prior he just lost a cooking contest to two of his peers (placed third), and one arc prior struggled to beat Kuga in ticket sales (even then he didn’t win because his cooking was better, so. wasnt even a win on the cooking front). there was no build up ! NOT EVEN A TRAINING ARC. he just went straight from the bottom rung of the ladder to the fucking ceiling. super different from the first half of the series when everything would be shown in careful detail (best example i can think of off the top of my head being the Shokugeki against Mimasaka in the Autumn Election Arc).

also: in the midst of introducing Erina’s character arc and backstory, Tsukada seemed to completely forget (or maybe just didnt know how to link back?) that he’d already established an overarching plotline: Souma’s quest to best Jouichirou. so when Souma began overthrowing these foes that are his seniors said to be leagues ahead of him, the suspension of disbelief was stretching waaay thin. but hey ! its a shounen manga ! we can forgive this much (sarcasm). 

then Tsukada introduces Asahi. mother fucking Asahi. who is basically introduced by beating Jouichirou without breaking a sweat, but oh boy did he break the suspension of disbelief right then and there and completely toss the plot into the fucking fire. because there’s no end goal anymore ! the one thing that our main character has been working so hard for ? non existent. pointless. this no name (at that time) character has done it, pack your bags boys, let’s go home.

(might i note that at this point, Shokugeki was also uuhh nothing like the slice of life comedy it originally was. it became an action-psychological mix that just…doesnt work. and i mean. of course it wouldn’t. there was no foreshadowing, the villians can’t be taken seriously because 1) theyre also teenagers for fuck’s sake 2) Azami’s just a creep, plain and simple. he has no depth. no one cares about an antagonist who’s bad at just being bad.

the themes it began with was completely set aside for really badly written character backstories and angsty edgey bs that i still don’t understand why Tsukada thought would work in retaining hype. especially when considering how pure the premise was.

i honestly also think that its the Blue Arc + Dark Chefs Arc when Tsukada actually realised that his plot had gone haywire, since volume sales were dropping hard and fans clearly hated the direction the series had gone in. but instead of trying to reign it back in, he decided to just let it run buckwild because he just didn’t know how to fix it.)

to rub salt into the wound: so many promised resolutions are shoved into the background, done offscreen, or worse yet, forgotten ! scenes that fans have literally been waiting for. Souma VS Erina Shokugeki. Souma VS Takumi Shokugeki. Nakiri Alice coming back to the series and actually fucking cooking again.

(im sure that there’s more that lead to its downfall but like. shrugs. this is mainly to me why it sucks: it had A Lot going for it (im not ashamed to admit that at one point i actually genuinely believed it could be one of the next Big 3 on Shounen Jump), and it just didnt live up to any of it for no other reason other than Tsukada mixing elements of a story that didn’t work well together, tried to force them to work, and did nothing to fix it when it didn’t.)

so our plot is gone. so are our lovable characters. so is the slice of life comedy that drew most people in in the first place. the potential that it had is now dust. what does Shokugeki have left that makes it unique, that makes people love it ? here’s the answer !

nothing. 

that fact kicks you in the teeth every fucking time you remember how good the first half of the series was. 

then that fact dropkicks you when you realise that Shokugeki no Soma literally started on a 90degree drop into a dumpster fire when the series was at the apex of its popularity and plot buildup.

that’s why it sucks.

[maddiesmt-morphina]

7 minutes in heaven Chapter 13

Chapter 13 - About dates and wishes 

His fingers seemed to strum the strands of the girl's white hair sleeping peacefuly in his arms. He admired the softness contained in them, like pure silk freshly taken from the cocoon. Ryo had spent the night awake, and yet he could tell that it was one of the best nights of his life. Her deep, slow, easy breathing relaxed him. No wonder she was the only person in the world to tame him deftly. Often his animal behavior contradicted her class, but he was sure that that was exactly why they got along so well. He took a deep breath for the thousandth time that night. He would record in his memory the scent of her mixed with his. Although they lived together for years, it was the first time Alice had let him lie in her bed. It was the first time he'd ever seen her so desperate for him that she'd let him hold her for a whole night. And it was not the first time she had made sure his life would never be the same. Alice had always been willful and her chivalrous spirit held him hostage from her playful gaze til the tip of her upturned nose.

He allowed himself to admire her for a few more seconds. Capturing, with his eyes, the rhythm of her breathing, the white skin of the arms that embraced him, the furrows of her fleshy lips that were so close to his own lips that it seemed sinful not to trace them with his fingertips or with the tip of his tongue.

Ryo blinked a few times to try to free himself from the prison that his own desire had put him again and very carefully, tried to break free to start his tasks of the day, starting with the mocca that the girl loved so much. However, as he tried to get up, he felt the resistance in the girl's arms and she didn't take long to speak.

"I don't need it"

"Miss"

"I don't need anything, Ryo. Just stay."

"But miss ..."

"You know..." She finally said, opening her eyes and letting the red iris meet his blood-colored eyes. "Yesterday, Hisako did everything you told her to do. She followed all the recipes and schedules ... but ... it was not the same. I ... I don't need any of that Ryo ... I just need you. .. so ... please, just stay."

"Anything for you, milady."

And with that she snuggled even more into him and finally Ryo closed his eyes, letting the warmth of her body rock him into a peaceful sleep.

#

When Hisako awoke, the day after her meeting with Hayama, she swore she was trapped in a parallel universe. Alice hadn't left her room, much less Kurokiba. Had the young woman's aide forgotten her mocca? And most impressive, she didn't hear Alice's angry screams. Another question that made her wonder if she had actually woken up in the right world was that Erina was not home, and hadn't even told anyone where she was going so early. But nothing made her question more her own sanity than a good morning message on her cell phone.

Hayama Akira [8:00 a.m]

Good Morning, Arato. I hope you had a pleasant evening just like me. Every word I said yesterday was sincere. I really hope we can make this misunderstending an opportunity to get to know each other better. May your day be lovely, as well as your smile.

-Hayama-

Hisako coudn't  help the involuntary sigh. She felt her lips curl in a slight, automatic smile. That man was going to be her downfall and she didn't even care. Somehow his message made her bolder. And with trembling fingers, she wrote her brief, but full of meaning, answer:

Arato Hisako [8:00 a.m]

You sure know how to make a girl blush. I don't doubt your words or intentions. To be honest, I can't wait to live them. So why don't we start with our name? I mean ... you can call me Hisako if you want.

A few miles away, the boy admired his cell phone screen for an answer that soon arrived. It made him laugh with relief. He was afraid he'd been too sharp or tacky.

"Hisako" He tested her name on his tongue and felt it tingle like fresh pepper squeezed into the papilla. It seemed that only her name had already warmed his insides and he was enjoying that feeling.

#

Hisako wasn't the only one to wake up with a message, in the Polar Star dormitory, Megumi didn't know if she breathed or answered the message of a certain blond Aldini.

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

Good morning, Tadokoro. I hope I didn't wake you, I apologize for sending you this message so early, but I couldn't help but remember of you when I saw ta trailer from a movie that happens to be playing on a nearby cinema.

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

So I thought if you were free today,

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

We Could go ...?

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

But only if you want, obviously, don't feel pressured, is that ...

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

ahh I think I'm freaking out, right?

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

MY GOD! Look how many messages I've already sent ...

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

And you are probably sleeping.

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

And I must be disturbing your sleep and

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

I'll stop now. Kami-sama ... I'm nervous ...

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

I WROTE THIS? How do I erase it?

Takumi Aldini [8:00 a.m]

Ahhh ... Pretend you didn't read it, Tadokoro, I'm sorry. Good Morning.

Megumi hugged her cell phone as she laughed nervously. She felt so comfortable and at the same time so aware of her own reflexes while she was with Takumi. She couldn't help but remember the moment when, for a second, she imagined he was about to kiss her. The memory made her face burn with shame, but her heart throbbed with desire.

Megume Tadokoro [8:15 a.m]

Good morning, Takumi. I would love to see the movie with you.

Takumi Aldini [8:15 a.m]

Ah, Tadokoro. I'm extremely happy. It will be an honor to accompany you. Can I pick you up at 3 p.m?

Megume Tadokoro [8:15 a.m]

Of course Takumi! But wouldn't it be to much trouble for you to come here?

Takumi Aldini [8:15 a.m]

For you, nothing is trouble, Megumi.

Takumi Aldini [8:15 a.m]

I mean, Tadokoro. I mean, I'll be there at 3 p.m sharp.

Megume Tadokoro [8:15 a.m]

You can call me Megume, Takumi. After all, I already call you by your name, rigth?

Takumi Aldini [8:15 a.m]

Ok. So. Our date is arranged, Megume

Takumi Aldini [8:15 a.m]

I mean, not a date

Takumi Aldini [8:15 a.m]

I mean unless you want it to be a date, then it might be a date.

Megume wasn't so sure of what to say. She really wanted it to be a date, but did that mean that she now had feelings for Takumi? She knew that, in the past, she even thought about having feelings for Soma, but what she felt now, for Takumi, was something totally different and new. She chose a short and sincere answer. Bluntly and no spaces for regrets.

Megume Tadokoro [8:15 a.m]

Is a date then.

#

"RYO !!!!"

Alice's excited voice made Ryo nearly fall off the bed. He stared at her with frightened eyes and his hand toward his red cloth, ready to wake the monster inside him, if need to.

"Miss, what happened? Are you injured? Do you need something? Someone hurt you, because if someone did, I swear to god, that bastard will wish he'd never been born"

The boy looked around for something threatening that might have triggered that her reaction. It was then that he heard her laugh and turned his attention to her smiling figure at his side.

He watched the girl bite her lips, a clear struggle to contain her laughter. An attempt at pouting turned out to be a lovely pucker up. He couldn't stop his right hand from settling on the girl's cheek. He stood there, hypnotized by those lips still marked by the teeth that pressure them earlier.

"Why are you laughing?" He whispered as if he was telling her the most secret of secrets.

Alice shuddered at his touch. The boy's voice had the most comforting tone in the world and she wondered if his lips tasted like home.

"What do you think you're doing in my bed?" Alice watched the boy blush and his eyes fluttered. Finally understanding, where it was.

"I, well, you asked me to bring you to bed and then you asked me to stay, and well, I do what milady wants."

“Is that so”

“Yes”

"And you know what I want now? More than anything else in the world, Ryo? " Alice leaned close enough to almost lean her forehead against his. The gaze fixed on the boy's lips. Meanwhile, Ryo felt his stomach knot and his body wake up to every threat of soft touch her fingers now made. Going from the side of his neck, through his strong arms and finally reaching the red cloth strapped to his wrist.

"I ... I think so." Only she could make him nervous enough to almost forget how to speak.

She leaned closer, whispering words half a centimeter from his lips. Untying the bandana of his wrist and tying it on his black hair. Demanding his full presence.

"So ... what are you waiting for, Ryo?"

And with nothing else to hold him, Ryo plunged toward her lips.

#

Hisako found her in one of the school kitchens. She watched the banquet prepared by the God's tongue and smiled as she notice the blonde concentrated on preparing another plate that would enter the menu.

It had been some time since Hisako had seen her cooking with so much determination and pleasure, and she supposed she knew where all that creativity and desire to cook came from.

"That seems delicious, Erina-sama."

The blonde almost let the pan with syrup fall from her hands, so was the concentration in which she was in.

"Hisako! Are you trying to kill me?"

"Forgive me, Erina-sama, but I'm afraid anything I've said or done would scare you anyway"

"What you mean?"

"I mean, you were too focus to notice anything but the bubbling of this wonderful strawberry syrup with pink pepper."

Erina smiled to see that her friend had hit the recipe.

"You are right. I was lost in thought"

"I know. Thoughts about a certain strawberry-red-haired boy with a peppery personality."

“I don’t know what are you talking about, Hisako. No one here is thinking of Yukihira”

The blonde turned off the fire and poured the syrup under a Dutch cream with bits of buttery biscuits fresh from the oven.

"But I didn't say his name ..."

Erina immediately stopped decorating the dish she was making. She had denounced herself.

"Erina, if you'll excuse me, I must say it's kinda obvious you're thinking about him. Look around, all the dishes you made have at least one red ingredient and one yellow ingredient and I wonder ... Don't we know someone with such a characteristic color combination?" Hisako put her finger on her chin and pretended to be deep in thought.

"Hahaha Hisako ... this is not funny ... I ... I don't even know why I made these dishes or even why I'm cooking ... I just ... I had this impulse ... this huge desire to ..." The girl bit her lip and the secretary finished.

"To vent all your worries and thoughts through food? Feeling lighter as you finished each dish? Feeling closer to him every time you created something new and totally unexpected?"

"Yes ... but ... how do you know?"

"Well ... maybe I'm going through it too?"

"Hm? Do not tell me you and Hayama ..."

"More or less ... maybe?"

The silence stretched as the two stared at each other, trying to discover the unspoken secrets in their mouths, but obvious in their eyes. At last Erina snorted and they both laughed.

"Hisako! I demand that you tell me what happened yesterday!"

"Only if you tell me what's making you so anxious to the point where you make such a feast at ten in the morning."

They looked at each other again and laughed together. Erina felt that finally Hisako had allowed herself to be her friend and not just her secretary.

#

Soma stared at the ceiling of his room with such concentration that he seemed to want to merge with it.

Through his head were vivid memories and confused desires. He knew exactly what he wanted ... He just didn't know the meaning of that.

He closed his eyes and touched his lips again. He had lost count of how often he had tried to feel the touch of her lips through his own fingers. He sighed as he imagined her tracing the paths he made himself. The hand rested over the mattress of the bed and he reopened his eyes in disappointment. The cotton sheets didn't contain even a third of the softness of her skin.

His body was claiming hers, and his mind was long gone.

He decided to pay attention to himself and the signs he showed. The dry mouth of anxiety to kiss her again accompanied the tremor that the nervousness of seeing her made him feel.

Since when did he feel so out of his body just because he knew he would see her?

Could he blame his juvenil hormones for all this mess of cravings and wants ? No. Soma knew that that was not the answer. And when he began to reflect a little more he could hear it. His own heart, which in its steady and accelerated beats, told him quietly why it felt so entirely hers. He smiled as he imagined what face she would do when he told  her his recent discovery.

He sighed knowing that this was another battle he was going to fight, but this time he would make sure he would win.

#

Takumi was so nervous that he almost left his house barefoot. After nearly running halfway to the dormitory, now he was trying to recompouse himself before ringing the buzzer on the Polar  Star dormitory. He was still trying to catch his breath as the door opened suddenly.

"Takumichii what are you doing here? Are this flowers? you're bringing with you?"

The blonde ran up against Yuki and Sakaki who were ready to leave. They looked curiously at the Italian and the flowers in his hands.

"Ah ... ehhh Yoshino and Sakaki ... eh " Takumi tried to hide the flowers, even if it was too late. He searched his brain for something to say, then he heard a sweet voice behind the girls.

"Don't need to answer the door, it's for m ..." the three of them came face to face with Megumi who couldn't finish the sentence. Wide-eyed and with her mouth half open, the blue-haired girl watched her friends glance at her and at the boy in the doorway. Yuki exchanged a malicious look with Ryoko and before making a biased comment, she felt her friend's hands pull at her wrist as she spoke.

"Come on, Yuki! We're going to be late! It was good to see you Aldini-Kun! Take care of Megume for us."

And as soon as they appeared ... the girls disappered.

Megumi was still a little shaken when Takumi asked her if she was okay.

"Ah yes. I am"

"hm ... alright ...so..."  the boy took the small bouquet of wildflowers that he hid and offered to the girl "They are ... are for you."

He watched her cheeks flush and he blushed too.

"They are beautiful! Thank you, Takumi! You didn't need to trouble yourself"

"As I said Megumi, you never are and never will be a trouble."

Megumi hugged the flowers, felt the soft scent coming from them and tried to calm her racing heart. She opened her eyes and found him still admiring her. They blinked a few times and spoke at the same time.

“Let's go?” They laughed in embarrassment and headed for their date.

#

The smell of wet grass in summer was one of her favorite scents. She filled her lungs with fresh air and felt renewed, but not less nervous. When Soma had suggested the place, Erina imagined that it was only a meeting place and that they would go somewhere else from there. But when she came across the boy waiting for her at the edge of the lake, and beside him, a boat with space for two, she understood they would not leave.

She couldn't stop the redness that covered her cheeks when she saw him without the famous blouse of the Yukihira restaurant. It seemed that he had really struggled to get out of the ordinary. The blue button-down blouse was open with the sleeves drawn up to the forearm, making his arms look stronger and more tempting. The way the white t-shirt hugged his body also made her aware that his attributes weren't just his cooking. And to top it off he smiled. Not that mischievous grin he gave out to his friends, but a smile she thought was only for her. With the power to eclipse the sun and rival the moon. Erina swallowed and walked toward him trying to fix her gaze on the horizon and no longer in the boy's anxious gaze.

For his part, Soma was totally captive by her. In addition to the relief  to know that she had actually come, he also had to control himself the best he could to avoid to take her in his arms ... as he had done a few days ago.

And she didn't make it any easier with that wine red high waist short clochard with a beige long sleeve off shoulder top , black bailarina shoes and a black floppy hat on her head that crowned what he thought was the vision of paradise.

He felt something turn inside him and he had to hold back the sigh that was about to come out of his mouth.

Silence. It was what she found as she stood in front of him. She looked down at the floor and gripped the strap of the small bag she carried.

She could feel his eyes burning as they ran from her head to her toes. She was really aware of the attention he was giving her. So she scratched her throat and tried to start a conversation.

"So?"

"Ahh yes ... I'm sorry Nakiri is that I didn't expect to see you so .... well ... so out of the uniform ... maybe."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Soma knew he'd said something wrong. He saw her bite the insides of her cheek in obvious irritation.

"Look who's talking about uniform, dinner boy."

"Don't misunderstand me Nakiri, it's just that, I didn't know that well ... let's start over? OK?" The boy scratched his throat and tried to recover as much as he could.

"You look really beautiful, Nakiri."

"You're decent, at least."

Soma gave a long sigh. A mixture of relief at having escaped with the nervousness that still enveloped him.

"Well, shall we?" He offered her his hand, and they got into the boat.

The path to the center of the lake was done silently. It was rare to find them in total silence. But there they were, surrounded by water and without a word spoken.

Erina could see the sky changing color in a breathtaking spectacle. The sun was setting and the reflections gave a unique color to the clouds. The orange and the pink dominated the sky and the sound of the oars disturbing the calm of the waters gave the place a bucolic air.

"Why did you choose this place?"

"Well ... to be honest ... Tadokoro said something about weeds, so I thought I'd take you to the dorm garden ..."

"I beg a pardon" Erina's eyes widened as she listened to him continue his story.

"But then she said that that wouldn't be right ... and that it would be better if we met in a place away from everything and everyone"

"Far from everything ... and everyone?" At that moment Erina felt her cheeks burn, he couldn't be serious ...

"And well ... we are in the middle of a lake ... I can't imagine how much far we could go..."

Soma was fluttering and this was sometimes a big flaw. In spite of being absolutely sincere, the words he was uttering resounded with a different sense in the ear of the girl who soon burst with rage.

"Yukihira! YOU PERVERT!"

"Hm? What? " The boy widened his eyes, startled and disoriented.

"I'm sure Tadokoro would never say something like that!"

"But it's true! She said I had to stay alone to solve this problem."

Dense as a door. His naiveté would one day be his end, and it seems that this end came sooner than he expected.

"Problem? Are you calling me a problem?"

"Nakiri ... can you please let me explain!"

"No! I've heard everything I had to hear! Take me back right now!" Erina was practically standing on the boat as she pointed toward the lakeshore.

"Nakiri, we're going to fall! Just Let me explain"

"I don't want to hear another word from you!"

Now they were standing in the boat that swayed as if it were on the high seas.

"Give me this oar because I'm going to go away from you even if I have to row by myself!"

"Wait a second! You can't go taking the oars like that! Do you even know how to paddle?"

"If even a moron like you can do it, then I can do it myself!"

"Moron is the ..."

Maybe fate gave the boy a blessing, causing him to swallow water instead of finishing the sentence.

The boat couldn't stand the discussion and turned. Throwing the two occupants in the lake.

Soma was the first to emerge from the depths of the lake. Coughing and trying to recover from almost drowning. Erina reappeared shortly after, under the same conditions. Her hat now floated in the lake, and her hair kept her from looking around.

The boy approached her and took her by the waist and running the girl's arms over his shoulder, ensuring that she had where to lean.

He watched her catch her breath as he did and tried to remove the strands of hair that were leaving her temporarily blind.

It was enough for amethyst and topaz to find each other and then lose each other.

"I said we were going to fall," he whispered, squeezing the girl's body even harder against his.

"So that was your plan? To try to drown me?" Erina couldn't avoid the teasing tone. And they laughed together after that.

The sky now, predominantly blue, had a full moon capable of lighting the whole region. The stars shone brighter without the competition of city lights.

When their laughter died ... their breaths intensified. Erina was still holding the boy and he made no mention of releasing her so soon.

And it was in this calm settled after the storm, that they let themselves be carried as a sea wave.

#

"And when they flew on the magic carpet, my god! That was so exciting!"

"Yeah"

"But it wasn't right of him to hide his origins just because she was a princess. Not at all."

"I think I understand Aladdin."

Megumi looked at him intriguedly, and the boy soon tried to explain himself.

"Don't get me wrong, but I don't think Aladdin found himself worth of Jasmine's affection. And there is nothing worse than this feeling of inferiority. Insecurity can destroy the confidence of a man Megume, believe me, I know.

"Do you feel inferior Takumi?"

"Sometimes, yes. Mainly when I lose to Yukihira."

At that moment, Megumi stopped walking. They could already see the dormitory ahead so they could afford to talk quietly.

"Something wrong?"

"You're not inferior to Soma-kun just because sometimes you lose to him in a Shokugeki, Takumi. There are so many other things that define you more than a simple competition."

"As what?"

She approached him until they were face to face. Golden eyes illuminating blue ones.

"You're kind and respectful, you're a good listener and you have a great taste for movies, you entertain me and give me peace, and the main thing, you saw me when even Soma-kun couldn't see me. And that's why, Takumi, I think you're mistaken to feel inferior because, in fact, you're already much more than you think you are."

The blonde felt renewed. Her words resounded like a new air drag on a drifting ship. He let himself relax, resting his forehead on hers and admiring those beautiful amber eyes. He didn't restrain the hand that was now resting on her right cheek and that she had no choice but to bend over so that she could absorb all the warmth of his touch.

He sighed as if to hold them there.

"Thank you."

#

Not far away from there, hungry and restless lips crashed each other like waves crashing into the rocks. Soma pressed her against his body even more and in response, she hugged the boy's waist with her legs.

Soma let out a hoarse groan as he felt her body so close to his. How he had missed this intimate and intense contact. Her skin was as soft as it had been a few days ago, not that she could change in such a short time, but he feared to forget every inch of her. The soft texture of her skin, the intoxicating scent of flowers he couldn't name, her lips as velvet as fresh peachs, every corner of her mouth and every movement that that divine tongue knew how to do to made him crazy.

He pressed her even harder against him. Letting one hand roam around her shapely legs while the other was burrowing into her silky strands of hair. He felt himself to be, at the same time,  the owner of the world and her hostage.

Erina thought of nothing else. She choose just to feel his body even closer to hers. And as he gave a slight pull on her hair as he kissed her neck, she swore she'd forgotten who she was.

Her fingernails were again nailed to his broad shoulders. She felt him sigh her name and that made her more bold. She lightly rolled her hips and felt him gasp. She tried the movement again and this time he gently pushed her away.

"Erina."

“What? What happened?”

She said breathlessly, still wrapped around his waist.

"Even though I adore what you ... I mean ... what we were doing ... I ... well ... I think we'd better get back on the lakeshore so we don't get colds."

"For the first time in this life," she says as she approaches the boy's lips, "I'm going to have to agree with you."

He still closed his eyes, waiting for one more kiss. However, the only thing he felt was the cold left by the absence of her body in his.

"Don't just stand there, Yukihira, you're still going to have to bring this boat with you, aren't you?"

The boy sighed and let the lake's water calm him. He almost lost control again. Being with her was deliciously risky.

She came out of the water first, her wet clothes marking her body, her dripping hair dripping water drops down her face and down her back. Soma lingered, taking her with his eyes.

"What are you waiting for?"

Her shaken voice woke him from the trance.

"Of course ... just...hm..just a moment."

The girl stared at him as she folded her arms. The act did nothing to help the poor boy who now had a privileged view of the almost transparent neckline of the wet blouse.

"Could you ... hm..could you turn around for a second Nakiri."

Erina blushed as soon as she heard the embarrassment in the boy's voice.

"Hmpf"

It didn't take long for her to feel something warm on her. She looked at the blanket around her and saw Soma straighten him as he tried to dry her hair.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Taking care of you... so you don't get a cold"

"And where did that come from?"- she pointed to the blanket.

"Ah ... that ... well along with the other things I had prepared for a picnic."

"You ... prepared a picnic?"

"Yes ... that's what I wanted to tell you earlier. Look ... it's all there."

The girl turned to the area where the boy was pointing and could see the basket with fruit and other sweets.

"Soma"

"But I think we can leave it for another day ... I don't want you to get sick." He finished drying her hair and wrapped her around the blanket even more.

"But and you? Aren't you cold."

"I am but ... I'd rather you to not feel cold."

She looked at him without reaction. The boy was totally drenched, shivering with cold, and all he could think was her. Erina opened the blanket and hugged him, covering the two of them.

"This blanket is big enough for both of us."

This time it was Soma who had no reaction. Her body warmed his. They seemed to fit perfectly.

Soma sighed deeply and hugged her as she relaxed her body in his. Her eyes closed, her head resting on his shoulder, the breath so close to his neck that it made him shiver, and it was not from the cold.

He rested his head on top of hers and closed his eyes too. Feeling the peace of being in peace.

"I like to be like this with you."

He revealed, sincere.

She stripped of her pride and took a deep breath to respond.

"Me too, Soma."

"Can we ... can we stay like this forever?"

She laughed at the innocence of his words.

"Forever is a long time, silly."

"Forever is a short time when I think about how much I want to be with you."

At that moment, Erina's heart seemed to stop. She fixed the purple gaze on his gold ones and whispered

"Soma ... what do you ..."

"Erina, I ... I can't stop to think about you .... I can't imagine me without our competitions, our fights, our kisses .... " The boy slowly approached the lips of the girl, causing his nose to touch hers in a delicate affection. "And I can't and I don't want to avoid what is happening"

Erina felt his hand caress her face and held it, holding it there.

"What do you mean, Soma? What do you really want?"

He smiled as he continued.

"I want to devote all the food I make to you. I want to offer you everything I have and I want you to be my eternal inspiration. I want to make you happy and I want to offer you the promise to have all your wishes fulfilled."

"And can I ask you how you plan to do that. At least this last one?"

"Well ... it should start any minute now."

He briefly parted from her and cast his gaze to the starry sky.

"What you mean?"

It was then that Erina saw one, two, three, a shower of falling stars gracing the sky.

"Make as many wishes as you want ..."

"Did you know that?"

"Yes. It was one of the reasons I chose this place. Here is far enough from the city lights, so we can see the stars better."

"Soma... you never fail to amaze me ."

"So..Aren't you going to make a wish"

The blonde shook her head. In her eyes a few tears stuck there and refused to fall. She took his hand in hers and whisperes quietly.

"Everything I could wish for is right here by my side.

"Does that mean you accept it?"

"It depends ... are you thinking about what I think you're thinking?"

"If you think I'm thinking that you finally accept the fact that my food is delicious then yes, we're thinking the same thing!"

Soma had a cynical face on his face, and Erina began to walk away from him, showing her displeasure at the out-of-hours joke.

"Geez Soma, what a mood killer!"

"Easy Erina! I was just kidding! Come here"

He hugged her again.

"So...would you accept me as your boyfriend?"

Erina toasted him with the most beautiful of smiles as she answered him.

"Of course, you idiot!"

He kissed her again. A gentle kiss, calm and in the light of the rain of falling stars.

"Now don't move away from me ... you have the blanket and it's cold."

"Soma!""

And the starry sky blessed all the kisses and teasing from that night.

#

ANND CUT!

SOOO...I came back from the dead ..it seems. I'm so very sorry it took this long! It wasn't my intention but then...this was a hell of a chapter to write... It took me months of write it and then erased it...because I never found it to be good enough... I wanted to do some fluffy things but...I don't think Soma and Erina are this kind of couple...so I have to change this a little bit and then I gave birth to this...I really hope to hear your opinion about the chapter and what do you expect to be the next and last chapter. ( YES THIS WAS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER). Thank you so much to all of you who followed this fanfic 'til now!I'm very grateful to you all! You guys are the true owners of this story. Hope to have made you guys go from lol to wow...and then to awnn. Let me know If I manage that reaction out of you! Once more thank u and see you next time!

Special thanks and happy birthday to my friend and eternal inspiration @brisadouce !! This is your birthday gift girl! go on and  take it!

[wishingforatypewriter]

Could you do number 15 for Soma and Erina? If it's possible could you also number 56 for Hisako and Hayama? Please and Thank You!!

Things you said with too many miles between us (Sorina)

The intensity of their high school bromance aside, it was rare for them all to have time to meet up. But by some serendipitous blend of conference schedules, restaurant hours, and delayed flights, Yukihira Souma, Kurokiba Ryo, and Hayama Akira were sitting in a Copenhagen bar watching the World Cup. 

Souma squinted at the screen as the cameras closed in on a midfielder from England. “Hey, didn’t that guy date Arato a few years back?” 

“He definitely did,” Ryo confirmed, taking a sip of his beer. 

Souma glanced over at Hayama, smirking. “Is that why you’re rooting for Spain?”

“Fuck off.” Hayama finished off his scotch and ordered another. They watched the game for a few more minutes. “Didn’t Erina date the Spanish goalie?” 

“Fuck if I know.” Souma made a habit of actively repressing any information he heard about Nakiri and other men. It was a sanity thing. 

“Can’t relate to these problems,” said Ryo, who had been dating Alice exclusively since high school and living with her even before then.

“Fuck you,” the other two said in unison. Ryo shook his head at them—they were both idiots when it came down to it—but he still paid for the next round of drinks out of sympathy. 

They stayed at the bar for a few more hours, long after the game was over, drinking and talking and planning to open up a burger joint in Brooklyn. Afterwards they headed back to Ryo’s place to decide, once and for all, who made the best pub food. 

“My, my, look what cat dragged in,” Alice said when she saw them. She was dressed in a lilac bathrobe and painting her fingernails. “Let me guess. I’m about to judge a competition.” 

And naturally, Alice being Alice, she had to carefully document the entire thing on social media. By the end of it, more than half of her followers wanted Brooklyn Burger Lab to actually become a thing. 

So Souma shouldn’t have been surprised when he got a call from Nakiri at six in the morning Central European Time.

“Why are you in Denmark?” she asked as soon as he answered. 

“Why are you yelling?” He pulled the blinds closed. And why was there so much light?

“I’m not…” she paused. “Are you hungover?” 

“Mildly.” He could practically hear her rolling her eyes over the phone. “Flight got delayed,” he said after she had her moment of judgmental silence. “Why, do you miss me?”

“W-what in the world would make you think something like that? ABSOLUTELY NOT!” 

Souma moved the phone away from his ear, wincing. He had definitely deserved that one. Still, it was way too early for this. “Nakiri, was there a reason for this call?”

“Just get back to Tokyo already,” she snapped, albeit much quieter this time. 

“Got it.” Souma smirked a bit. She really was something else. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Tonight,” she corrected before hanging up the phone. Never mind the fact that he had been heading to New York. 

This woman really was going to be the death of him. 

(Akisako under the cut)

Things you said in the spur of the moment (Akisako)

Note: We’re back in high school for this one (approximately in the middle of their third year). 

Arato Hisako considered herself a patient woman. She had to be in order to handle Erina’s appointments and cultivate medicinal herbs with the accuracy and finesse that such important tasks required. 

But there were some matters that she had absolutely no patience for. An example would be the second year girls in Professor Shiomi’s research seminar. You see, quite a number of them, though competent in the course material, had taken to asking their hot TA for private tutoring sessions. 

And as she was currently dating said hot TA, she was about ready to strangle all of them. 

“Don’t get so worked up about it,” he told her offhandedly after they had to stop in the hallway so he could give yet another fangirl an overview of Caribbean curry. 

“That’s easy for you to say,” she replied. “I bet you’d be mad as fuck if that many people were chasing after me.” 

Akira paused at this, giving her a long look. “You can’t be serious right now.” 

“But I am,” Hisako said, crossing her arms over her chest. “If I had a whole seminar full of admirers, you’d never be able to handle it!”

“What do you mean if?” he asked. “Half the damn school is in love with you, and it’s not just the underclassmen.”

“Oh please.” Hisako scoffed at the idea. “Where are these so-called admirers, then? I haven’t seen any.” 

“First of all, those two guys from Yukihira’s dorm who are always trailing behind you.”

“Daigo and Shoji?” she asked. 

“Whatever their names are. They’ve both been into you since we were freshmen.” 

Hisako mulled this over for a moment. That would actually explain a lot. “Okay, that’s one example…well, two.” 

“Sadatsuka Nao is literally stalking you.” He glanced behind him. “She’s probably around here somewhere.” 

“That’s about Erina-sama,” she argued.  

“No,” he told her, “it really isn’t. Hasn’t been for years. Let’s see, and then there’s the entire Medicinal Cuisine RS.” 

“They just see me as a mentor.” 

“Wrong again,” he said. “Face the facts, Arato. You’re fucking hot.” 

Hisako was quiet for a moment, letting it all sink in. “…And you haven’t strangled anyone?” 

“Not yet, anyway,” he leveled. “Now can you let the second years be?”

She pursed her lips, considering the matter. “Nope,” she said. “Let’s be real here, I’ve always been pettier than you are. You’re just gonna have to live with it.”

And live with it he did, with far fewer private TA sessions.

[maddiesmt-morphina]

7 minutes in heaven - Chapter 7: Let the challenges begin

The silence in the car was disturbing. Erina really didn't expect to be at the mercy of her own thoughts and memories of what had happened. She expected more. She waited for Hisako's interrogation, awaited her phrases of disappointment, and even longed for the reprimand she would receive from her friend. She really expected everything. Except for the stifling silence that surrounded her.

She tried to analyze her friend's face. The far-off look and the breathing that, once in a while grew stronger, resembled sighs. Like a storm falling on a sunny day, Erina felt the guilt invade every inch of her body. She had been so engrossed in her own actions and thoughts that she took nothing but herself into account. And that silence was her punishment for being, once again, the selfish, spoiled girl who didn't deserve her friendship.

"Hisako" Her voice came out thin and full of guilt.

The pink-haired girl stepped out of her trance to direct her attention to the heiress.

"Yes, Erina-sama?" Do you desire something?

"Yes"

"And what that would be? I can arrange it straight away" The young secretary was already with her phone in hand, ready to dial any number"

"I wish you…to forgive me"

"Hm?" Hisako's eyes widened, and her expression betrayed her confusion.

"B... But Erina-sama! What do you mean? Forgive you for what?"

"I ... I was selfish again. And don't you try to tell me that I wasn't because I can see in your eyes that you wish you had stayed"

"But Erina-sama, you told me yourself that if I wanted to, I could stay. I came because I wanted."

"No." The blonde closed her eyes and smiled slightly as she lowered her head and shook her head. "You came because you are a good friend, Hisako."

Hisako froze. She didn't know what to say.

" Listen, Hisako. I really want you to forgive me for always need you and for you to have to give up important things because of me. It doesn't matter if you say it was your choice because we both know you never had a choice, did you? That's because you put yourself aside the moment someone else needs you, so you cease to be your own choice"

The girl remained silent. She had never stopped to think about her actions and today she was questioned about it not only by the spice expert, but also by her best friend.

"Promise me you won't let anyone nullify you again, Hisako. Not even if that person is me.

"Erina -sama ... I ..."

"Just Promise me! Promise me, please! Because I will never be happy knowing that you're not completely happy. You're not my employee Hisako! You're my best friend! And what I have discovered in all these events is that friends don't bow their heads! They quarrel, they disagree, but they also support and love each other despite all the defects and failures! So, I guess, what I'm asking you is for you be more you than me, you know? I don't want the version of you that accomplishes my wishes and does everything to please me. I want the true version of Arato Hisako. All right?"

Hisako felt the vision blur. She blinked several times until she felt a few tears fall on her cheeks. She noticed that the same tears were running down her friend's face and she smiled gently.

"As you wish, Erina-sama."

Erina let the relief form a beautiful smile on her face and decided she would start a conversation herself.

"Then tell me Hisako, what dish were you preparing?"

The girl couldn't hide her excitement as she spoke of the menu she had carefully prepared with Hayama, and Erina began to notice that her eyes sparkled every time she spoke his name.

Meanwhile in the dormitory, Soma had finally finished organize the mess in the closet. He still murmured some offense to the heiress when he came across the clean, empty kitchen. On the counter a single plate and a note written in several different letter forms.

"Soma-kun, I hope you don't mind that we didn't wait for you, is that ..." Soma noticed how the letter, which was certainly from Megumi, was a bit trembling in the last word, a sign that someone had stolen the pen. Soon afterwards the young man recognized Daigo's bold letters.

"YUKIHIRA YOU SON OF A B..." with the last word utterly scratched in the form of censorship, Soma didn't have to be a genius to know what Daigo was calling him of and went to the next paragraph, trying to decipher Shoji's lyrics.

"Yukihira, don't mind Daigo! He just envies you, just like all of us!"

Soma noticed the next sentence in an elegant and totally different handwriting from the previous one.

"Don't put me in that context." signed: Hayama

"Yukihira, you need to teach me how you got it! Teach me, SENSEI!" Signed: Marui

"Thank you for helping me win the bet." signed: Ibusaki

"Yukihira! You're so shameless! Did you have to give it a show? "

"Are you jealous Nikimichhi?"

"Shut it Yuki"

"Congratulations on your new relationship, Yukihira! It's a relationship, isn't it?" signed Sakaki

"Ah the youth! Each day more premature"

"FINALLY, YUKIHIRA! But I confess that my plan ended up better than I expected! Thank you for the show! Listening to you guys from outside the closet was really the entertainment we need, wasn't it Ryo?"

"Miss Alice is right"

"Although I was a little embarrassed, I'm happy for you guys. It was about time!" Signed: Isami

"Yukihira you bastard! You made Tadokoro pass out twice! If you ever threat her purity again I'll…"

"I'm sorry about that, Soma-kun. Anyway, we saved some of the dish Hayama and Arato made. Once again, forgive us for not waiting for you. We were all very tired."

Signed: Megumi.

Soma stared at the note with a confused expression. What had happened that night? He still hadn't got rid of the feel of the heiress's lips running down his neck. Her nail marks were still there on his skin as proof that nothing had been a dream, but the anger he felt was still there. She had made him a fool.

He tried to breathe deeply and decided that he would analyze the situation when he was rested and sober. He sat down to eat as he reread the letter until he noticed a detail that had gone unnoticed in the first reading. The young man opened his eyes wide and dropped the hashi when he realized that all his friends had witnessed, or at least heard, what had happened inside the closet. He let out a heavy sigh. He was totally fucked.

Already in the corridors of the mansion, Ryo accompanied his mistress to her room, as he did every night. She kept chattering about the triumphs of her wondrous plan, and he usually wouldn't mind, but that night, Ryo felt strangely uneasy.

"Mou Ryo! What's with face? It seems more lethargic than normal."

"Hm ..."

"Don't tell me you're jealous of Yukihira?"

"I have no reason to be jealous, Miss Alice"

"That's better be true! Erina can't have it all!"

"What do you mean, miss?"

"I mean I don't want her to steal my aide!"

"Hm..."

When they reached the door of her room, Ryo stayed a little longer than necessary. That night he actually waited for her to open the door to enter.

"See you tomorrow, Ryo!"

"Hm ... I don't think so, miss."

"What? Already thinking about replace me for Erina? That's it, isn't it? That's why you were so airy"

"It's not"

"So, tell me! Why we won't see each other tomorrow? You're my aide! You can't leave me"

The shoe-popping on the floor diverted the young one's attention. Hisako appeared at the end of the hall and made herself be heard.

"Ah, Miss Alice! I'm Glad I could find you before you went to sleep. Could you give me your cell phone?"

"What the hell Hisoko?!Can't you see I'm in the middle of an argument with Ryo? What the hell do you need my cell phone for?"

"Well, excuse me, but it's the rules of your game, isn't it? Your dare starts at midnight and, well, it's already 5 before midnight. I thought you were saying goodbye.

"DARE?"

"Yes! Don't you remember? I dared you to spend a whole day without Kurokiba"

Alice started to tremble and it wasn't because of the cold. Anger mixed with fear and stubbornness gave Alice a scary look.

"Hisoko! This is bullshit! I can't stay a whole day without Ryo! He is my aide, my bodyguard, my secretary! Who will help me ?!"

"Don't worry about it! Erina-sama and I have already arranged the details with the security guards and some people who can assist you in Ryo's absence. Now, can you please give me your phone? You too, Kurokiba."

Ryo handed the cell phone to the girl while Alice panicked at the thought of the consequences of her game.

"Come on, Hisoko, the game is over. We have already reached our goal! We don't need to take this forward."

"You've reached your goal, Miss Alice. And if I need to go on a date tomorrow, so do you have to spend a day without Ryo" She finished her arrangements in the boy's cell phone and returned it to him

"Now you can give me yours"

Fearfully, Alice still tried to hold the phone more firmly, but her hands were sweaty because of her nervous status. It was enough to make Hisako pull the device from her hands without difficulty.

"Why do you need our cell phones?"

"First, I block this number from your cell phone, so you won't be able to call or communicate through social media. At least not with your cell phone. Secondly, I added an app in which I can monitor what you access and verify that you're not going to cheat"

"You really trust me, don't you Hisoko?"

"I'd like to say yes, but that's not the case. Tomorrow we'll have a team at your disposal and that will monitor you as well. Well, it's already two minutes before midnight, so I'll let you say your goodbye. Good evening, Miss Alice, Kurokiba."

And with a respectful nod, Hisako let the young ones enjoy their last minutes together.

"This is so unfair!"

"But it was you who asked for a dare"

"Come on Ryo! Don't remind me of that" She made a pout as she bit her own cheek. She needed to be strong. It would be just one day, and she would surpass this as she always has done with her most arduous obstacles.

"We're going to get over this, aren't we?"

"Yes"

"It's going to be a piece of cake for us!" She tried to look more confident, but her frightened look didn't fool her faithful aide. He approached her, enough to put a lock of hair behind her ear and whisper.

"Good night, Miss"

Alice felt her skin warm and thought it was because of her rage. She watched the boy walk away and stopped him when her fingers lightly grasped the end of the red cloth he wore tied to his wrist.

"Ryo." He didn't turn around. He knew he couldn't resist her pleading look. "Don't forget ..." She took a deep breath and let out the air along with the rest of the sentence. "Don't forget about me, okay?"

The boy clenched his fists and promised himself that he would never do anything like that again.

"Okay," was all he could say.

#

GUESS WHO IS BACK IN THE HOUSE?!

OMG GUYS!! Thank you so much for your support in the latest post! I got so inspired by it tha here I am with another chap!

And Yeah..sorry about the delay...here is the thing...I've been feeling down lately. Work and life are kicking hard. And, well, as you guys know this is a comedy fic. It is supposed to be light and fun to read . I don't want it to turn a angst fic because it'n not my intention after all I just wanna make you all laugh and relax a bit (And I hope that I've already managed that somehow).

I know this one was a short chapter but I promise you guys I'll give it my best to not let you down and, of course, add more Sorina moments in future chapters. ( Actually it was supposed to have a moment here but I'm keeping it for later as we have others shippes to have their moments to shine).

Don't forget to tell me what you think! The more feedback I have from you guys, the more I'll be able to write this fic as you like and enjoy and also the more inspire I become.

Thank you all for reading, following and commenting! It really means the world to me!

Special thanks to my beloved friend @royaldragonsevgisi15  and @erinashippo! You guys rock!

[wishingforatypewriter]

Rewind

Summary: Erina reflects on a missed opportunity 

It was a typical Friday night at the Nakiri mansion. Alice and Kurokiba had gone out on a date. It was a double date this time, if Erina had heard her cousin’s boastful ramblings correctly, but she had no idea who with. 

A few minutes after they left, Hisako had slipped out of the back door wearing lipstick and perfume and a black dress with a slit up one side. If her endeavors on previous Friday nights were any indication, she wouldn’t be back until the wee hours of the morning.

This time, like each time before, Erina had been sorely tempted to ask her friend where she was going and who she kept meeting and whether she thought it would last, but she didn’t. People were entitled to their secrets—their secret pleasures, their secret sorrows. There were things Erina preferred to keep hidden as well.

With a resigned sigh, the second seat closed the romance manga she had been reading and let it rest on her down pillows. She walked over to her desk and opened a small drawer with a key she kept at the bottom of her jewelry box. Inside was a plain manila envelope, one she had sent Hisako to deliver to the Polar Star dorm three months prior. Thinking it had contained only routine shokugeki related paperwork, Hisako had offered to store it in the ‘voided’ section of her gargantuan file cabinet. But Erina had insisted that she should keep the documents with her in case another opportunity to use them ever arose. It hadn’t.

Taking a seat on her plush swivel chair, Erina took the top document—printed, of course, on her personal letterhead—and read her statement of challenge for the first time since the day she composed it.

Yukihira-kun,

It’s insulting that you thought for even a minute that this was a real challenge. Given your current condition, I could win the first seat back in my sleep. However, being a woman of principle, I could never bring myself do such a thing—least of all to you…

It had all started about two weeks after the shokugeki that changed everything. In a 3-2 ruling, Yukihira Souma dethroned the illustrious Nakiri heiress and took the first seat of the Elite Ten Council. Subsequently, nearly every senior at Tōtsuki—and an impressive number of underclassmen—set out to challenge him for the top spot. The impulse, however ill-conceived, was understandable. If a commoner could reach the academy’s pinnacle, why couldn’t any of them? What Erina couldn’t wrap her mind around was why he always felt the need to entertain their requests.

“You’re up early,” Erina had said one morning when she’d spotted her cousin on her way out the door.

Alice glanced up at her, yawning. “Takumi Aldini took the spot last night, so I had to settle for a shokugeki before classes.”

“Alice.” Erina gave her hair a petulant flip that was made less threatening by the fact that she was still in her nightgown. “Do you truly believe that you’re going to win against him?”

“It’s a crapshoot, honestly,” the fourth seat revealed. “With our grade, the rankings barely mean anything. You, me, Yukihira, Hayama, and Ryo-kun are all basically at the same level. Who ends up winning depends on luck, the weather, how you feel when you get out of bed.” She gave a noncommittal wave to punctuate her point.

“You’d like to think that,” Erina said, mostly to herself. “Well, try not to take too much time. He and I have to go meet with the people from Saveur magazine later this morning.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t make you late for your date.” Alice winked at her cousin before opening the door. If someone had told Erina she’d ever miss being teased like that, she would have never believed it.

“For the last time, Alice, it is not a date. It’s an interview!”

“Whatever you say, Erina. You can console him on the way there after I win.”

In the end, Alice didn’t win the shokugeki, but she still managed to put them off schedule.

“You’re late,” Erina said when Souma slid into the car they’d be taking to the interview location. “If you’re going to occupy this position you should at least make an attempt to be somewhat punctual.”

“My bad, Nakiri,” he said, unbothered as ever by her scolding.

As they started driving, Erina checked her emails and texted Hisako and approved all the tastings she’d attend in the next two weeks. About half an hour into the journey, she actually ran out of work to do. 

She usually brought more paperwork with her on trips, but since she normally got absolutely nothing down when Yukihira was around, she hadn’t seen the point. Just as she was contemplating her unexpected productivity, a string of sneezes from the boy next to her drew Erina out of her musings.

She glanced over at the first seat. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What?”

“You’re not talking my ear off like you usually do,” Erina pointed out. And then, although he had been looking pretty tired before, he flashed her that ever irritating grin—the one that made people think that nothing was ever a problem for him. By the end of their first year, she’d known for certain that it was fake at least eighty percent of the time.

“If you wanted to have a conversation, you could have just said so.”

“I’m not saying that I wanted to talk to you! It’s just unusual for you not to rudely impose on me and distract me from my work, so I thought I’d ask why.”

“You know, Nakiri, you have a pretty cool talent there. You can really make anything sound hostile.”

“And you can distract people until they forget the questions you don’t feel like answering.” That was another thing she had noticed at the end of their first year. She had watched him talk circles around Tadokoro and Takumi—even his own father—and not one of them ever noticed he was doing it.

Souma sighed, then coughed a little. “What was the question?”

“What. Is. The. Matter. With. You?” She enunciated each syllable individually. “And if you say ‘nothing’ I will probably punch you.”

Souma smirked at her. “I would pay to see you punch someone.”

At this Erina rolled her eyes. Then she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “You know, now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever actually punched anyone, and…” The second seat grew quiet, realizing what he was doing. How often did he actually do that to her? “And that is not even the point! Yukihira!”

In the face of her withering glare, the first seat could only laugh. When he started coughing soon after, Erina just shook her head.

“Do you have a cold or something?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I think I’m just tired.”

Sighing, the second seat slid over and placed her hand on his forehead. “If you have a fever, it’s only a small one,” she decided. Then she retracted her hand and turned her head away, content to pretend that she hadn’t just done that. “You’ll probably be fine if you take it easy for the next few days.”

But of course he didn’t take it easy. And when the first seat walked into the French cuisine practicum they had together that Thursday morning, he looked like hell and sounded worse.

As was expected, they both finished their rouille de seiche well ahead of everyone else in the class, and received top marks, and had ample time left over to quarrel over nothing the way they always did. Or at least, they would have been quarreling if he could manage to get more than two sentences out without coughing like his lungs were about to end up on the floor.

“You sound like shit.”

“When did you start swearing, Nakiri?”

Erina’s cheeks flushed faintly. “Shortly after meeting you,” she said—and sadly it was pretty much true. Then she glanced out the window where the rain steadily pelted the campus. “I have a car coming around after class ends. Let me take you home. If you drop dead, I’ll be stuck with all your paperwork.”

“Thanks, but I have another shokugeki right after this.”

The Nakiri heiress rolled her eyes. “You really have no sense of self-preservation.” If only he had sabotaged himself this well back when she was rooting for his demise. “Against who?”

“Hayama.”

Erina’s eyes widened, all Alice’s talk about crapshoots and rankings rushing back to her. “You’re literally giving him the first seat,” she said. “Even on a normal day, there’s about a fifty-fifty chance that you’d lose to me or Hayama.”

“That's—”

“True. And you know it.” Erina crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t be stupid. Just cancel the match and reschedule it for later. It’s not like you have anything to prove anymore…well, I mean I still won’t accept you, but that’s a completely separate issue.”

“Things must really look bad if you’re worried, Nakiri,” he managed to say before he started hacking again.

Erina just sighed. There was so much she resented about that statement, she didn’t even know where to begin. Who said she was worried? And even more pressingly, who said she worried about him any less than anybody else? “You’re not going to listen to me anyway,” she said.

“I’ll pull it off,” he promised her, right before the class period ended. “Just watch.”

And naturally, he did pull it off—though just barely. And she did watch, though she was watching him more than the match, willing him telepathically not to fall over—as that was what people tended to do when they could hardly breathe.

And when it was over, he’d smiled a smile she knew was just for her. Once again, Yukihira Souma had proven her wrong, and once again she was happy to have been mistaken. Erina hadn’t even minded that people could probably see her gazing down at him like some naive Juliet.

But then Kurokiba issued his challenge. And as tireless as the current first seat was in his pursuit of new cuisine, she could tell that he was too spent to pull off another match. So, Nakiri Erina did what she did best. She made a scene.

From her private viewing balcony, Erina whirled on her cousin’s aide. “Don’t be absurd, Kurokiba-kun. His next opponent will be none other than me.” The entire crowd gasped as Kawashima Urara tried her best to commentate on this new turn of events. “After I take back my seat, you can fight me for it. If you have anything of value to offer me, that is. It’d do all of you good to remember I’m not as lenient as Yukihira-kun.”

Then the stadium erupted again, with everyone from the middle school students to the Polar Star crowd chatting anxiously amongst themselves. At long last, the severe god tongue, Queen Erina, had returned to Tōtsuki.

Erina glanced down at Souma one more time, her lips curled into a smirk, her eyes warm with affection, before turning to leave with Hisako in tow.

“Shall I draft an official statement of challenge for you, Erina-sama?” her aide asked once they were back inside the mansion.

“No,” she replied. “I’ll write it myself. This one will be…unique.” That was putting it lightly.

“Alright…” Hisako’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she didn’t ask any questions—a favor that Erina would return a thousand fold in the months to come. “Is there anything you need me to get for you?”

“A shot,” the second seat said with a sigh. “I think Alice has a handle of vodka on a shelf somewhere.”

Hisako blinked a few times, clearly shocked, though trying not to show it. “Of course. I’ll bring it immediately.”

After she took a shot—three, actually—Erina sat behind her desk in her plush swivel chair and started typing.

Yukihira-kun,

It’s insulting that you thought for even a minute that this was a real challenge. Given your current condition, I could win the first seat back in my sleep. However, being a woman of principle, I could never bring myself do such a thing—least of all to you. While I generally don’t share your egalitarian streak, I can respect it…at least sometimes. But, putting all that aside, you must know that since the day you first set foot on this campus, the pinnacle of the academy has belonged to you and me. Since we were first years, it felt like everything and everyone at this institution, including my grandfather (a fact that I still find a bit disturbing) has been pushing us towards one another. I hated you for it at first, which I’m sure you already know, but fighting against it is too exhausting. I’d be lying if I said you weren’t someone important to me—although I’m definitely still going to say it. Don’t waste your energy fighting every single battle that comes your way, because when I do decide to take you on again, I won’t hold back.

Additionally, on that note, get some sleep. If I see you in class, or at Parliament, or in any official or unofficial shokugeki venue any time before Monday, there will be hell to pay! Also, I suppose you can text me if you need anything.

Sincerely,

Nakiri Erina

Then she printed the form and slid it into the envelope and sent Hisako to bring it to the Polar Star.

It had returned to her unopened.

“I think we’ve become a nuisance to Tadokoro-san,” Hisako has said apologetically before explaining that the sixth seat begged her, all flustered and determined, to hold off the challenge ‘so Souma-kun could rest.’ Erina did all she did to keep from rolling her eyes. 

After she finished reading it over, Erina put the letter back in her drawer and locked it. In the morning she’d wake up and fight with Alice and act like she didn’t see the curious red marks that periodically showed up on the side of Hisako’s neck. On Monday, she would pretend to be as delighted with Souma and Megumi’s puppy love as everyone else in their circle of friends. By Wednesday, the delight would seem real. And if the weight of feelings unconfessed fell upon her again on some Friday night when she was left to her own devices…

People were entitled to their secrets—their secret what-ifs, their secret somedays. The drawer would always be hers to open or lock.

Notes: This is just me rewriting the time covered in one of my Megumi-centered fics from Erina’s perspective. Thanks for reading, everyone!