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Chapter Text

The first time she saw him she did not think much about it, other than taking note of his wild red hair. It was the first day of Totsuki training camp and Erina had better, more important things to do than to watch a boy whom she did not recognize. She had just came out after her bath, and the boy too, was whistling a recent pop song as he emerged from the neighbouring male communal bath room. He simply acknowledged her presence with a short, polite bow and she returned the greeting with a silent nod as she realized he had ignored her embarrassing singing voice.

She met him again the next day, during Shinomiya-senpai's session. The boy - she learned that his name was Soma from what the former Totsuki's First Seat called him - was there to help out sorting the ingredients and running errands for Shinomiya. He called Shinomiya "Shishou". Shinomiya simply told Inui-senpai that Soma was working part time at his restaurant, Shino's, and that he was bringing him there as an errand boy. Throughout the session she noticed that Soma had been observing them with keen eyes but spoke to no one. She wondered if he was some kind of spy Totsuki sent to assess them. If he was, she did not know, but apparently he was likely not since Dojima-senpai made a remark that indicated it was his first time seeing Soma. Dojima commented that it was rare - or rather the first time that Shinomiya had taken an apprentice - a teenage boy, to boot. Shinomiya snorted.

"He's just a snotty, cheeky brat. One with potential, though."

The boy couldn't be ordinary, if the jerkass Shinomiya admitted that.

Then the final day of training came. Survivors of the training camp marveled at the feasts prepared specially by the Totsuki graduates for them. Erina's eyes caught Soma working on the finishing touches of Shinomiya's dishes. Her eyes widened. He lets someone do the finishing touch of his dish?

It seemed like she wasn't the only one who noticed it. Alice being Alice of course went ahead to approach the boy first.
"You're not a Totsuki student aren't you?" Alice asked.
Erina decided to sit near her cousin this time just because she won't admit that she was interested in the boy.
"Nah...I'm just here to help Shinomiya-hishou."
"Which school do you go to? How old are you?"
"Fifteen. I go to school...here and there."
"Here and there?"
"My dad travels a lot. It's only me and my dad in our family, so I follow him around. Never stayed in the same place for more than three months. Two months ago we were in France but Dad had an emergency so he dropped me at Shinomiya-shishou's. Apparently they are acquainted of some sort."

Well, that explained why he was with Shinomiya. It didn't explain how a two-month apprentice was allowed to touch the chef's dishes, though.

Erina saw him again a week later. The boy was surprisingly chatting with Rindo-senpai and Tsukasa-senpai, looking as vibrant as usual. He had a schoolbag and a thick envelope in his hands this time. Rindo noticed her and waved at her, gesturing her and Hisako to come closer. She looked energetic as always and the First Seat of Totsuki appeared as tired as usual while holding a stack of papers in his hands.
She introduced the boy as a newly transferred student, Yukihira Soma. He went to a highschool in France previously, albeit only for two months. He had already passed the test by Rindo and Tsukasa. Erina narrowed her eyes a bit. Rindo was undoubtedly an excellent chef but she was quite lenient when it came to judging. Tsukasa was just...well, he was not a strict judge either and something told Erina that he neither had the energy nor will to fight against Rindo's decision.

Soma grinned. "Yo, we meet again Nakiri!"

He sure was something. Erina had to remind herself that being new, and living abroad for years must have made him ignorant of her fame and status. She was well-known but not outside the culinary world of Japan.

Soma's eyes darted towards the stack of papers in Tsukasa's hands and nonchalantly took one as his eyes scanned through the sheet. "You got this part and this part wrong."

Tsukasa looked like he had just been given a death sentence. Rindo's face on the other hand brightened. "Kid, do you know how to do these stuff?"
"Hmm? Well yeah, I did those things a lot for my dad and my master-"
Tsukasa grabbed his arm. "Please, would you be my assistant?"

Erina had no doubt that Soma was going to bring a new storm to Totsuki, considering he had already landed himself on the position of Totsuki's First Seat's assistant on the first day of school.

Chapter Text

Soma placed a mug of hot coffee on the desk whilst snickering at the half-dead older boy. It was just a cup of cheap coffee from the vending machine but Tsukasa was never picky when his taste buds was as dead as his will to live.

He shook the older boy's shoulders. "You shouldn't be sleeping on the desk, senpai. That's a bad habit. You're not going to get a good quality nap anyway," he said.

It seemed to work although Tsukasa was slightly startled when he woke up. He glanced at his surroundings with half-closed eyes. "Oh, Soma-kun...wait, the paperwork..."

"I already checked the billings, sorted the papers according to types and priorities, and settled the orders. You can give them a double check later once you're completely awake."

Tsukasa sighed as he leaned against the chair. "You're a lifesaver. Nowadays I get to sleep for six hours a day instead of four, thanks to you."

Soma laughed. "Oh, and here's your schedule. I left some gaps here for you to study, since you're a third year. I know this is a culinary school but we still have to take subjects like Maths and English."

Tsukasa swallowed the bitter hot liquid. "Oh right, the school festival is coming soon...we need to figure out the promotion, the booth..."
Soma blinked. "Booth?"
"Students are allowed to open booths in three different areas. You can make some money out of it. Of course, I'm planning to do so as well."
Soma nodded. He frowned. "How big is the school festival?"
"How big...err..."
"I mean...I've never experienced any school festival," Soma admitted.

"You haven't? What a shame!" They heard Rindo's voice as she kicked the door open, followed by Tsukasa's gawk. She grinned and sat on the couch next to Soma.

"Totsuki's festival is just like other school's festival but on a larger scale. Since we are a culinary school most of the students will be opening food booths, though you will find some exhibition or mini flea market," Rindo explained.

Soma hummed. "Sounds interesting. Are you two going to set up booths as well?" The redhead asked.

Tsukasa nodded with a smile. "It will be a month from now but I'm going to start testing recipes perhaps in another two weeks..." His face turned gloomy as he paused, and added, "...if we don't get additional paperwork, of course. People will be fighting for the best spots after all."

Rindo laughed. "I won't be setting up a booth. My yearly tradition is to visit every single booth, and to eat every single food ever!"

Adventurous as always, Soma thought. But getting saddled with paperwork when the festival was approaching certainly did not sound fun to him. Tsukasa was already half dying from all the work bundled to him. Soma was used to filing and doing bills and taxes and all the...complicated stuff his father disliked doing, but the amount Tsukasa had surpassed the ones even at Shino's.

He left Tsukasa with a stern warning for the older boy to go home and rest, plus with a promise to help him during the festival. Frankly Soma would have loved to open his own booth as well but he had wanted to go around and visit the other booths too. Besides, Tsukasa had given him the pitiful, abandoned puppy look when the First Seat requested for his help. Never had he seen someone so majestic and pathetic at the same time.

He yawned as he walked the same path he took to return to his apartment. When Jouichiro agreed to Nakiri Senzaemon's suggestion to enroll his son in Totsuki the man had used a couple of connections he had to procure an apartment within a walking distance to the school. After his wife's death ten years ago he had sold their house, and went around the world travelling, only stopping by Japan a couple of times to visit his parents' and wife's graves. The apartment was the first permanent residence Soma had since he was five. It was small, designed for only two people but was cosy enough.

The only drawback was that even though his apartment was only a fifteen minutes walk away from school, the supermarket was half an hour away. He ended up having to take a bus to the supermarket, then make a detour to go back home. Not to mention living alone was pretty lonely. Soma loved cooking but cooking for himself just wasn't as fun. If only there was a school dorm or something...

He halted his steps as he suddenly felt something underneath his shoe. He lifted his foot and noticed a small note book.

It was a recipe book, filled with various recipes, mostly utilizing local vegetables and seafood. Interesting. The preparation method and drawings indicated dishes of rustic and homely themes. It was quite rare compared to other students in Totsuki, who seemed to know nothing but gourmet dining. Soma himself, after traveling around the globe was more fond of diners and food trucks compared to gourmet restaurants.

He flipped to the first page of the note book. Tadokoro Megumi. Soma recognized the name. She was a fellow first year, a cute but very timid girl who looked like she had just popped out of a Showa era drama. They had never spoken though, since she sat far from him in classes.

He caught one of the girls in his class and asked her where he could find Tadokoro.
"Tadokoro-san? She probably has returned to the dorm already," answered the girl.
What the hell. They have a school dorm? If Soma had known he would rather stay in the dorm.

After a great difficulty (getting lost a couple of times) Soma stood before the Polaris Star Dorm. Damn, he thought. The dorm was an old building, perhaps an old mansion transformed into a residence for the students but still looked just as good as new. There was even a garden bearing fresh vegetables at the yard.

He stood there in awe, and jumped a little as he saw Isshiki-senpai, the Seventh Seat opened the door. And dear lord, what was the older boy wearing?

"Senpai," he greeted.

"Oh, you are Yukihira-kun aren't you? Tsukasa-san's assistant," Isshiki said, recognising him. "What are you doing here?"

Soma showed him the small book. "Tadokoro dropped her book. I'm just here to return it."
Isshiki laughed. "I see. Come in and have some tea. Tadokoro is out buying something but I'm sure she will be back soon."
He accepted the invitation eagerly. "By the way senpai, what are you doing here?"
"Hm? I live here."
"Eh? So this is a mixed dorm?"
"Indeed. Did you not know?"
"I didn't. If only I knew, I would have requested to live here too. It gets lonely living alone."
"... I see. Do you live by yourself? Your family?"
"Only my dad. He's in Afghanistan right now, which is why I'm here. I used to follow him wherever he goes but he doesn't allow me to follow him this time."
"Is he...in the army?"
Soma shook his head. "He's a chef. Well, the part where he's going is a war-free zone but still, I guess he's worried."
"Oh? Is your father a celebrity chef or a missionary one?"

The redhead laughed. Isshiki led him to the dining room, and served him some tea. "No...I guess. Well, he's not Ramsay but he does get invitations to cook here and there. We travel around by request but a lot of the time we end up being the one who learn more about cooking."
By the time Soma had finished his plate of homemade cookies and tea Tadokoro finally returned with another resident of the dorm, who offered him a suspicious cup of 'rice juice'. Soon other residents of the dorm had all gathered and the redhead couldn't help but to feel a little awkward, yet welcomed by their hospitality. The smoked meat and cheese went great with the 'rice juice' and kind Tadokoro had made hotpot using vegetables sent from her hometown. All of them, save for Isshiki was stunned to find out that he was actually Tsukasa's assistant, despite being in the school for barely a month.

"So you're the famous first-year who managed to win the First Seat's heart at first sight. I've only heard about you and thought it was a rumour," Sakaki half teased him.

"He likes me because I help him around with the paperwork," Soma claimed to drive away their suspicion. "I'm not sure about others' level since most of the time I've only seen Tsukasa-senpai's cooking, but if that's the level of Totsuki, surely there are plenty of excellent chefs here."

Isshiki frowned. "Tsukasa is the First Seat. I thought that alone should be enough to tell you that his cooking is on a different level. Indeed, there are a lot of talented individuals in Totsuki, but if you're comparing them all to Tsukasa you will be disappointed."

Tadokoro nodded. "But you've been here for a month. I rarely see you in practical classes..."

Soma grinned sheepishly and rubbed his head. "I kind of missed them, because of the work. Theory classes are counted as attendance, so I couldn't skip but most of the practical classes are just evaluations and not counted in the credits. I just did the evaluation in a different time."

'So his classmates basically had never seen him cook', thought Isshiki. Isshiki himself was curious. Nakiri Erina herself had an assistant and she wasn't just a good secretary, she was an excellent cook. There was definitely something more to Soma than just the paperwork.

They continued the party anyway, and Soma ended up staying over for the night as he was too tired to walk home. Isshiki woke up late the next day, and found his dormmates half sprawled on the floor and half cleaning dishes. He blinked, as he saw a bowl of hot porridge on the dinner table.

"Yukihira-kun made that," Tadokoro informed her, her face already freshened although she looked to be in some sort of a trance-like happiness. "He said it should be able to help everyone freshen up."

Full of anticipation Isshiki sat down and lifted the spoon to his mouth. Tadokoro warned him that the soup was still hot, but by the time the words reached his ears and processed by his brain it was too late. Tadokoro shrieked as his apron and loincloth were gone, leaving him bare and...refreshed.

He looked down on the bowl and his eyes widened. It was empty and only now he realized the roof of his mouth and his tongue were burning from the heat.

"Since when did I..."

Tadokoro sighed. "Amazing isn't it? By the time I realized it my bowl was clean too. I didn't even hear Yukihira-kun saying his thanks and goodbye. Ah, did I thank him properly yesterday?"

Isshiki bit his lip. So this was the power of Tsukasa's assistant. No...it did not have anything to do with Tsukasa. The older boy may be a genius but he was not the type to make such...homely food and able to generate such reaction. What Soma made was the epitome of common food, yet the flavor was so clean and rich at the same time. Isshiki peered at the pot. There were bits of vegetables from their own garden and pieces of yesterday's leftover smoked meat. The magic probably came from the broth Soma used to boil the rice and perfect cooking time, plus perfect balance of the ingredients.

Yukihira Soma...he was a force to reckon.

Chapter Text

Soma wiped his forehead. He sighed as he continued to carefully paint the walls.

"You know Shishou...when you called me I didn't think it was to procure free labor. Why didn't you hire part-time workers?"

Abel signaled him to shut his mouth. The blonde too was holding a brush in his hand. "We asked him the same thing already. Do you know that he asked his designer friend to sketch the restaurant design for him and paid the guy with a plate of paella and wine?"

Soma pouted. "This is illegal child labor, you know!"

He yelped as he felt a silver tray lightly hit his head. "Stop talking and start working. It's weekend. You don't have a girlfriend or even friends, do you?" Shinomiya said, lifting a box in one hand.

"I do," Abel murmured begrudgingly.

He yelped as he too received a smack on his back.

"At this rate we might have to go on a worker's strike," Soma uttered.

Shinomiya raised an eyebrow. "Really? Go ahead then. More quiche for the rest of us."

"... Let's finish up shall we, Monsieur Abel?"

"Oui, Soma."

###

Soma did not expect to be receive a shokugeki challenge just when he was finally going to attend his first practical class. He only blinked, hand just about to reach for his knife when the big, burly boy appeared.

Tadokoro, his supposed partner for the class informed him that the boy was Mimasaka, a student known to terrorise others by mimicking them, improving and then overwhelming them during the battle. He then would take away a chef's most precious tool - his opponents' knives. Up to now he had collected 99 tools, with the last one belonging to an Italian first year boy.

He glanced at the instructor, who only sighed.

"Normally I wouldn't allow such thing to interrupt classes...but this time is an exception. After all, one ought to go through at least one
shokugeki before entering the Autumn Selection."

Soma blinked. "Autumn Selection? What is that?"

"Tsukasa-san's hasn't told you yet? Oh well...he did tell me to allow you to participate in a shokugeki if you were challenged. I suppose today's class will be an observation for the others."

Mimasaka agreed to the theme - Western food, specifically beef stew, as the class had been preparing for that recipe. The other students watched as Soma stared at the ingredients for a few moments before finally picking up several things.

On the sideline Takumi Aldini clenched his fists as Mimasaka grabbed the same ingredients, with the addition of several others. He was going to crush the new kid. Tsukasa's assistant or not it was Soma's first time in a shokugeki but Mimasaka's hundredth time.

As they cooked Mimasaka began his monologue, explaining that he had been stalking Soma ever since he discovered the identity of Totsuki's First Seat's assistant. Soma's face was unchanged, until Mimasaka even revealed the color of his underwear, much to everyone's horror.

"I have no idea I am that famous. I know Tsukasa-senpai is famous and good looking but he's not an idol material, is he? He sleeps and drools on his desk," Soma snorted.

Mimasaka smirked. "Don't worry, at the end of the match you'll be just another name defeated by me. I will have your knife and make you relinquish your position as well."

Soma rolled his eyes. "I don't care much about the position. Doing paperwork isn't all that glamorous. I'll have you return all the knives you've stolen when you lose, Mimasaka."

The boy was undoubtedly confident. Mimasaka on the other hand was more than convinced that he will win. Both dishes ready, they placed their dishes for the judges.

"You know Mimasaka... I'm not sure about all the students here, but there's one thing I'm confident with," Soma stated calmly. "I'm not going to lose to anyone who never served a real customer."
That set Takumi on fire.

Perhaps it was expected, or unexpected as well. Everyone knew that the arrogant Mimasaka will be utterly defeated one day. Everyone knew the guy selected by Tsukasa Eiishi couldn't possibly be a second rate chef. Still, they just could help but to feel stunned and amazed.

Soma untied his white headband as he grinned at the defeated boy. "The knives?"

Mimasaka trembled. "Impossible. How could I....I have perfectly studied you..."

Soma rolled his eyes. "A mere few hours of stalking can't compare to ten years experience of serving people, Mimasaka. I've been learning how to cook since I could talk. I never stopped learning since then."

###

Soma failed to understand why Tsukasa looked like he on the verge of meeting the Grim Reaper - again.

"I sorted out the paperwork for you," he lamented as he picked up strewn pieces of paper. "By my calculation you should have finished most of the work already, even with the upcoming festival. What happened?"

Carefully he avoided stepping into anything important as he pulled the First Seat carefully by his shoulders, resting the older boy on his seat. He wheeled the chair to the sofa and gritted his teeth as he laid down Tsukasa on the couch. As usual Tsukasa's necktie was loosened up and hanging on his shoulder. Soma decided to simply take off the necktie and unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt to give him more room to breathe.

Tsukasa blinked slowly as he heard the door slammed. Soma returned a couple of minutes later with a thermos.
"Hot chocolate with ginger for you, senpai," he said. "It's Yukihira family's secret recipe!"
Tsukasa gratefully accepted the cup of hot chocolate, which was a big change from the vending machine coffee he usually got. For a moment he felt alive.

"I wonder what I'd do without you, Soma-kun," Tsukasa murmured.
"You survived all these time without me, surely you can do the same."
"Yes, but...I'm glad that I begged you to be my right hand man that day."
"Don't use the word begged, senpai... I do get extra credits and other advantages from helping you."
"Ah, but that day you looked like you were going to reject me..."
"To be honest, I was. But you looked so pitiful senpai. I had no idea it was actually your secret weapon."
"Secret weapon?"
"The kicked puppy face."
"Kicked...puppy?"
".... Never mind."

Tsukasa stared at the younger boy, who busied himself arranging the papers and filing the bills. He stared, long and hard.
"Soma-kun...I'm thinking of testing my recipes tonight. Do you want to come over to my place?"
Soma blinked. For a moment he looked slightly surprised. Then he shook his head and smiled.
"I'd love to but I can't tonight. My dad is finally coming home, so I'm going to the airport to pick him up."
Tsukasa did not bother hiding his disappointment. Soma sighed.

"There you go again, making that face! I'm sure Rindo-senpai is more than willing to test your food. If not, I am available on other weekdays."

Tsukasa tilted his head. "Weekdays? Do you have plans on weekends?"

"Yeah, I have to go and help out at Shinomiya-shishou's new place. His new restaurant is still in construction and the cheapskate doesn't hire any workers, so I'm helping him out. Which reminds me - since I'm finished here, I'm going home. Shinomiya-shishou offered to drive me to the airport and I can't make him wait. See you, senpai."

The door slammed close. Tsukasa watched the boy left.
He felt dejected.

Chapter Text

Shinomiya wiped his mouth calmly with the napkin. He had no regret.

Preparing for the new Shino's took most of his time and money of course but he had no trouble driving his somewhat apprentice to the airport. Soma did help him with the restaurant for free and when Saiba Jouichiro offered to make them dinner as thanks, he could not say no.

The redhead boy did not have time to go to the supermarket that day so Jouichiro just had to make do with the leftover vegetables and eggs, but the ramen was perhaps the best noodles Shinomiya had ever eaten. The noodles were made with the perfect stretch and elasticity, the broth was rich but not overwhelming, the toppings were all cooked to perfection, each delicious enough on their own and even better when eaten with the broth and ramen noodles. Boy, was he so glad Abel had to return to France for an emergency. If not the younger boy might turn to the blonde instead for help but Shinomiya sure did not want to miss Chef Saiba's special dish.

Learning how to cook in six different continents sure was tiring but the results were worth it. If the penguins in Antarctica could cook Jouichiro probably would go there as well.

The two father and son chatted and exchanged news. It seemed like Jouichiro was only going to stay for two weeks, as he had received an invitation from Buckingham Palace to cook for the new royal prince's birthday. He originally planned to bring Soma, as he wanted to head to Ireland next but changed his mind when Soma informed him that school festival and Autumn Selection were coming soon.

"Too bad I can't watch either of them, huh," Jouichiro said and patted his son's head. "I'll go and pay a visit to the Director, and Gin maybe. The guy did help find the apartment after all."

"By the way Dad, you didn't tell me there's a school dorm! I could have just stayed in the dorm," Soma pouted.
"I was going to let you stay in the dorm but when I went to check the condition there was a naked guy wearing only an apron and a girl prancing around drunk, with sake. Do you think I'd let you stay after the shocking image?"

Drunk girl and naked apron man? The image certainly did bring shivers to Shinomiya.

"Oh, you're talking about Isshiki-senpai. He does walk around either naked with apron or a loincloth most of the time, but he's a good guy."
"Telling me that he does that on a regular basis instead of tipsiness just makes it worse, Soma."

Eventually Jouichiro kicked Soma to bed, telling him that kids need enough sleep to grow up. He returned to the kitchen and brought a couple cans of drinks for himself and Shinomiya.

"My son hasn't given you any trouble has he, Kojirou?"

Shinomiya shook his head. "He's been a great help at the restaurant. His French still sucks and he still makes those grotesque squids with chocolate or whatever sometimes, but he has the passion and energy."

Jouichiro laughed. He looked at his own can. "Soma...isn't really like me. He's not exactly a genius - not to say that he's not talented. However, he doesn't give up, doesn't stop learning. Sooner or later he will surpass me and become a better chef."

Shinomiya nodded. He then laughed a little. "One thing for sure is that he's better at being an adult than you. He helped me do the accounts and taxes. Told me he learned them because you pushed him to do them. Even now..."

Shinomiya paused. Jouichiro narrowed his eyes.

"Do you know that he's taken the position of assistant to the current First Seat?"
Jouichiro hummed. "Maybe he did mention that."
"Aren't you worried?"
The older man laughed. "A little, perhaps. However, Soma is not one to be overshadowed. He's been an assistant to me ever since he was a kid. He's always been good at supporting."
"I've noticed."
"But like I said he doesn't stop at that. If he's still choosing to be an assistant perhaps there is something he wants from there. An assistant he may be, but not a side character. I trust him."
".... I see."

##

Preparations for the festival turned out to drain him more than he expected. Preliminaries for Autumn Selection would come right after the festival. In between the next round, the first year students would have their midterm exams as well. Then the Stagiare. Soma truly had no idea how he was going to survive everything.

Tsukasa seemed to have it worse. As the booking of venues finally started this week, requests for shokugeki were endless - no matter how much he stamped and signed and approved the paperwork was endless. He couldn't reject a shokugeki request as it may result in distasteful physical fights between the students. But shokugeki meant additional venue booking forms, ingredient ordering, this and that and...

Tsukasa slumped in his chair, ready to hang himself with his necktie - until his saviour came bearing a pot of ginger tea and sugar cookies. He felt an urge to get up, hug and kiss Soma right away when the boy offered to set up Tsukasa's booth for the festival.

"It's going to be gourmet French, nine course meals right? With reservations for maximum of three tables of four at a time? I can do it, if you don't mind. I'll model it based on the French restaurants I went to in Paris. Ah, but if you're incorporating some Japanese elements it would be good to have the ambiance of a traditional Japanese teahouse too."

As the First Seat Tsukasa had the right to reserve his own spot for the festival. He gave Soma the directions and the boy set off after helping him sort out the paperwork.

The next day Tsukasa came during his break to check his booth.

The tables and chairs were already set, the island kitchen cleaned, and Soma was carrying a vase of bamboo plants.

"Oh, senpai!" He greeted cheerfully. "What do you think? The lighting is not ready yet but I think this placement would be nice. It has the right amount of privacy for each table, but not too far that the place feels empty. If you want music we can place the stereo here...or do you want live musician? I think we can request a piano but I don't know any pianist..."

Soma yelped as he squeezed the boy tight.
"Thank you, thank you...oh dear I feel so useless..."
"... Stop crying, senpai. It makes you look kind of pathetic. Nakiri is next door, and looking at her being all cool and charismatic kind of make you even more lame."

Apparently the insult did not work on the older boy, as he agreed and complimented Erina's capability instead. Soma sighed. He frowned as he examined the floor plan he roughly sketched. Tsukasa told him that he did not really aim for highest profit anyway, since smaller and cheaper stalls were often more popular and likely to generate income. Soma already knew while Tsukasa was capable to make cheap and delicious meals, diners and street food weren't his style. He style was more...refined and elegant, for a lack of vocabulary.

A total opposite of Soma's natural style. While the redhead was familiar and definitely not bad in gourmet cooking, he preferred being fast, efficient and creative - something more suitable for diners. It came from joining his father preparing meals for impatient clients. Rich or poor, one thing that majority of the world population shared was that one could hardly wait to eat when they knew good food was coming.

They came across Erina and Hisako, who like them had just went to set up their own booth. Like Tsukasa she too had opted for fine dining. He greeted her with a quick wave and a grin. "Yo, Nakiri!"

The Tenth Seat seemed flustered - either she was not used to casual greetings or she was hiding something. It looked to be most likely the latter as she abruptly hid her hands, which were holding a paper bag behind her back. "Good evening Tsukasa-senpai, Yukihira-kun. What a coincidence."

Tsukasa returned the greeting as well, and Soma tilted his head to peer at the paper bag. "What's that? Some kind of secret ingredients or something?"

Erina blushed furiously. "Of of of course! It's just an ingredient! It's not a book or anything like that!"

"Erina-sama!" Hisako hissed.

Erina jumped a little. She cleared her throat. "Are you two done already?"

"Nah, the lighting we requested needs some fixing so we'll finish the rest tomorrow. Table cloths and flowers...ugh," Soma scratched his head. "Now that I think about it there are still so many things unfinished. What about the plates, senpai?"

Tsukasa paled. "You're right. The plates, the glasses...and oh...drinks. I forgot to order the drinks!"

"We work on reservation so I don't think we need to worry much about the quantity, but I'll go and place the order right away, anyway," Soma sighed. "Drinks...are we allowed to serve alcohols in the academy?"

Erina shook her head. "Most of our customers are adults but since the manpower are all underage, there will be no alcohol served," she explained.

"Great. That makes things easier. Senpai, you go ahead and finish the paperwork. I'll work on the order. See you tomorrow."

Tsukasa blinked. "Tomorrow? Are you going home straight away after that?"

"Uhh...well yeah. My dad is home so I need to restock the fridge, since he's going to invite guests tonight," Soma said. "He's still having headache from the jetlag."
"Ah. So you're going to cook dinner tonight."
"Nope. My dad will. He's well enough to cook but not enough to go to the supermarket. His high school alumni are coming over tonight and I think they're missing his cooking," Soma said.

Erina was about to ask something, when Rindo came to join their conversation. Not wanting to be roped over Soma quietly escaped, not even turning back as he ran for the bus.

He did not see the look in Tsukasa's eyes.

Chapter Text

Jouichiro lit the incense. It had been years since he actually put up an altar for his deceased wife and he was feeling guilty. Ten years, and he only went to see her grave twice. Soma could hardly remember his mother and Jouichiro felt bad that he did nothing to help his child recall the small but precious memories they had as a complete family. The only thing he did to honour her was taking her surname for their child. The diner they met at was left collecting dust, as he neither had the strength to step inside nor to sell it.

The doorbell rang and Jouichiro welcomed Gin and Jun, who both had brought some home warming gifts - Jun with her spices and Gin with a bottle from his collection.

Gin looked around. "Where is Soma-kun?"

Jouichiro peeked through a small opening to his son's bedroom. He laughed quietly. "Seems like he fell asleep. He must be tired. He's been preparing for the school festival and just a couple hours ago was fighting against a horde of bloodthirsty housewives at the supermarket. I'll wake him-"

Gin stopped him. "It's okay, Jouichiro. Let him rest. He's such an energetic lad, it must be a tiring day," he said.

They were about to start dinner, when the doorbell rang again. Jun skipped away to answer the door while Jouichiro brought the dishes. They heard a squeak.

Even after all these years both Gin and Jouichiro still recognized Nakamura Azami. The man was still as unlikeable as ever but Jouichiro wasn't about to turn down a guest. He did not specify to whom his invitation extend after all and Azami had the courtesy to bring home warming gifts. The man also stopped by the altar set for Jouichiro's deceased wife and lit up an incense to pay respect.

"It's been ten years isn't it, Saiba-senpai?" Azami spoke as they were finished with appetizers. "Just when I thought you couldn't be any better, you keep improving. It seems like there is no boundary for geniuses."

Jouichiro chuckled as he brought out the next dish. "Nonsense. There are still more to explore out there."

Gin nodded with satisfaction as he indulged in the main dish - lamb chops marinated with Middle Eastern style spices. "How long will you be here? It'd be great if you could watch the Autumn Selection. Also-"

"I have a job in London at the end of this month. Too bad," Jouichiro apologized. "Now that's two people I already disappointed."

Jun blinked. "Two people? Who...oh, your son! Is he competing in the selection?"

"Or so I heard. He's more upset that I'm leaving him for a long period, for the first time. He's used to being surrounded by a lot of people and this is the first time he has to go home to an empty house," Jouichiro chuckled.

"Your son..." Azami trailed off.

"The same age as your little girl. I don't think they've ever met before. Back when we were living in Japan he clung to his mother all the time, never leaving home. Then after we start travelling he glued himself to me. I never left him more than a couple weeks before this, and even then I usually left him with my acquaintances."

"I see. I haven't seen his skill with my own eyes. How good is your son?" Gin asked.

Jouichiro hummed. "Let's see. Good enough for Shinomiya Kojirou to keep calling him back," he said.

Gin whistled. Azami seemed strangely satisfied. If the tsundere Totsuki alumni acknowledged Soma's skills then he was definitely a more than talented one.

The dessert was just as fantastic. Jun was already holding her glass as she was obviously ready for another round of drink, when Jouichiro suddenly had a mischievous grin curved on.

"Dessert is not over, Jun. Don't get tipsy yet," he said as he took out a plate of...something slimy.

Azami pretended to look for the bathroom while Gin excused himself to the veranda to inhale some fresh air as they all took in the sight of tentacles lathered with peanut butter and jam.

Jun screamed.

Soma woke up in the middle of the night with a perched throat and a growling stomach. He froze midway in the living room as he saw a woman with pale face rolled up in a blanket while lying on the floor and a macho man sleeping on the couch.
He shook his head. Must be imagination.

###

"Oh, hi Yukihira-kun!"

Soma turned around and smiled as he waved back. "Isshiki-senpai!"

As usual the second year student was looking as fresh as sunshine. Fortunately they were at the campus building so he was dressed in his full school uniform instead of loincloth.

Soma took a look at the booth and gasped. "Is this your booth, senpai? It almost look like a set for a wedding ceremony," he commented.

The setting was completely white, with white tables, chairs, and white curtains draped all over the open space. Soma noticed the empty vases positioned in various places.

"I'll be having fresh flowers there. It wouldn't do good to place them here too early, so I decided to have them delivered on the morning of the festival," Isshiki explained.

"I see. That's smart," Soma agreed. "Everyone is so hyped up for the festival huh?"

Isshiki stared at him. "Are you not interested to open your own booth? Just because you're Tsukasa-san's assistant doesn't mean you can't have your own," he asked.

Soma shrugged. "Maybe next year. I'm already occupied as it is. The work seems to be non-ending."

That's because Rindo dumped all her work to Tsukasa, Isshiki thought as he imagined Tsukasa's pale, gloomy face. Still, Isshiki noticed that despite doing just fine last year (if you count staying alive as fine) Tsukasa seemed to depend on the redhead a lot, almost to the point of clinging. Erina had Hisako glued to her most of the time but being the Nakiri heiress she also had business outside of school to manage. And Isshiki figured it was a girls thing to do, since all girls liked walking in groups, even to the bathroom.

He had never seen Soma's skills, but he had had a taste. Tadokoro, who watched his first and only shokugeki so far claimed that the boy was a prodigy. She also said that nowadays instead of Mimasaka an Italian blonde boy has been stalking the redhead.
And talk about the devil...

"Yukihira!"

Soma waved his hand. "Oh, hi Aldini brothers! Is your booth going well? I can't wait to taste authentic Italian pizza!"

Takumi pointed his finger towards Soma. "Let's have a battle!"
"Eh, why? You got a spot already didn't you?"
"Let's see whose booth raise the most profit!"
"Ehh? But this is not really my booth, since I'm just helping Tsukasa-senpai. Besides, unlike yours ours work on reservation system so there's no way we can top your sales," Soma said.
Takumi's mouth was open but no words came out. Soma and Isami laughed.

"What's with you, seriously? Yukihira, let's battle!" Soma mimicked the blonde perfectly, causing the latter to blush furiously.
"Eii, shut up! Let's have a shokugeki then, I'm going to crush you!" Takumi challenged.
"Sure, later," Soma replied nonchalantly.
"What?!"
"All the venues have been booked. Besides, aren't you busy with your own booth? Plus we have exams to study after the festival, you know?"

Takumi wept alone as he was shot down as usual while Soma proceeded to have a nice chat with Isami. Isshiki had to laugh at that.

"You sure have fun teasing him don't you, Yukihira-kun? I heard the duel with Mimasaka was the only shokugeki you had in this school but you were calm enough to win him," Isshiki said.

Soma laughed. "Well, it was my first battle against Totsuki student but not my first food battle, actually. My dad is a chef and we have shokugeki against each other all the time."

Isshiki raised an eyebrow. "Oh? He must be a really great chef."

The redhead nodded. "Well yeah, he was an alumni of Totsuki too. The same generation as Dojima-senpai."

"That Dojima-senpai?" Isami repeated.

"Yeah. Back when Dojima-senpai was the First Seat, my dad was the Second Seat."

Isshiki's eyes widened. The second seat during Dojima Gin's was, if he was not mistaken...

"I'm sorry to ask this, but...are your parents divorced, Yukihira-kun?"

Soma blinked. "What? No!"

"But if I'm not mistaken, when Dojima-senpai was the First Seat, the Second Seat was Saiba-senpai, wasn't it?"

Soma seemed surprised. "I'm surprised you know him, even though he wasn't the First Seat. Yeah, Saiba Jouichiro is my dad. He and I took my mother's surname after he was married."

Holy cow. Isami did not seem to be familiar with the name but Isshiki had recognized and silently recalled the first time he heard about the legend of Totsuki, the one called the Asura of Totsuki. Saiba Jouichiro was not your average chef. At the age of seventeen he had joined and won an international cooking competition. He was famed as the genius of culinary world, and currently a chef of celebrity status despite not actually doing any television show. From what the Seventh Seat had heard Saiba Jouichiro now travelled around the world and lived by taking requests from important clients. Very important ones, namely politicians and royal families.

So that was why Soma claimed he was mostly home schooled. Saiba must have brought his son along with him during the travels. Isshiki wondered how much knowledge the boy had absorbed. He had only gotten a glimpse (or rather, a taste) of what the boy could do.

"Well, I've got to run home now. See ya, Isshiki-senpai!"

Isshiki waved and smiled. Inside, his heart was burning with a newfound interest and determination.

Chapter Text

A short senpai who specialises in Chinese cooking came to see Soma this morning. According to Rindo, Kuga had been looking for the mysterious freshman who managed to gain the First Seat's trust on the first day to prove that he deserved Tsukasa's recognition. Nobody believed Rindo when she told them he literally caught Tsukasa's attention because he was helping poor guy with his desk work.

Soma had came across him before at the school hallway. At that time he had brushed him off because he was rushing Tsukasa's order. He gave Kuga a simple nod, with a friend 'see ya later'. He did not think Kuga would actually feel insulted.

The boy came to see him when he was enjoying Alice's curry rice with chocolate. He was just about to have a spice-sniffing competition with Hayama Akira when Kuga came to challenge him for an 'unofficial' shokugeki.

Soma raised an eyebrow at that.

"You know, when I was in Korea there was a saying that you shouldn't even bother a dog when he's eating. Good thing this is a real good curry - otherwise my appetite would have been ruined."

Alice and Akira giggled. Kuga was not happy, of course.

Soma sighed. "But sure, I'll accept that challenge, if Tsukasa-senpai allows us to borrow his place for a while."

Alice clasped her hands. "Interesting! Why don't I go observe, perhaps do a taste test while you watch over the booth?"

Akira scowled. "Huh? Leaving me out of the fun? No way."

They found Tsukasa half dead on the floor. It was fortunate that his booth worked on reservation system. His last customers had already left. Soma dragged his much taller, heavier body and plopped him onto the tatami mat that was originally placed for decoration.

Soma tighten his headband and apron. Alice cheered for both of them and watched with fascination. By the time Soma had turned on the heat Alice suddenly realized the presence of more people behind her.

Erina and Isshiki were there to watch. So were the Aldini twins and Mimastalker.

In no time Kuga had finished cooking. Chinese dishes are always about high heat and high speed after all. He looked around. "So who's going to judge?"

Four hands were up. Surprisingly the God's Tongue Nakiri Erina was silent. Isshiki alone noticed her hands were fidgeting.

Too tsun-tsun to admit you want to try?

Kuga's dish was the traditional authentic mapo tofu, as expected. Just from the smell alone Isshiki knew it was going to be good. The four of them gathered around the bowl, each with a clean spoon in hand and marvelled at the taste of the spice that was just perfect. Even Soma had taken a spoonful and loudly proclaimed it's deliciousness. Kuga looked proud.

Soma's on the other hand...

It did not look like the traditional mapo tofu. He had put in some handstretched noodles beneath a large meatball, surrounded by the tofu pieces and gravy sauce. It almost looked like...

"What are you making, meatball pasta?" Alice questioned.

Soma laughed. "Well, I was craving for it. I actually was planning to go to the Aldini's after your booth."

"The hell, did you even take the challenge seriously?" Kuga furiously asked.

Soma smirked. "Hey, who said I didn't? It doesn't look like a traditional mapo tofu, but it is mapo tofu."

Bravely, the Eight Seat of Totsuki took a step and was the first to take a bite.

Strangely enough, for the next few days not a single soul talk about whatever had transpired since that night.

###

"He's going to the semifinal? We haven't even seen him in the preliminary round!"

Soma pretended to be deaf as he walked through the school hallway filled with whispers and gossips about him.

He understood the students' resentment. They had never actually seen him cooking, let alone tasted it aside from that one time Mimasaka challenged him. However, that did not mean he did not participate in exams and shokugeki. It was just that they were not public and his opponents were not exactly vocal about their defeat.
Whenever he was not attending classes, he had to attend to Tsukasa's...needs. Somehow lately the older male kept demanding his help almost all the time like an attention-depraved child. He had to reject every unnecessary challenge and focused only on the compulsory cooking tests.

He did participate in shokugeki.

He first went against Nikumi. Wait no, her name wasn't Nikumi...screw it, she was obsessed with meat so he'd call her Nikumi. She annoyed him with her insistence that grade A5 meat was the best so he beat her using cheap, supermarket meat. That girl should learn that procuring the best ingredient won't make you a good chef.
Then Erina's albino cousin became his opponent. Again he was annoyed by the mentality of the rich. Everything needed to be premium. He showed her that a good old nori bento could be even better than her oh-so-meticulously prepared premium sushi set.

Both shokugeki were done without large audience, late evenings, judged by Totsuki's Ten Seats and the instructors. He won them fair and square but apparently other students won't accept his advancement unless someone got publicly humiliated.

Soma knew everyone was curious about him not only because he was a transfer student - he was Tsukasa's aide. It pissed him off that everyone thought he must be good because of Tsukasa, not because of him.

Which was why he was now having this argument with the First Seat.

"No."
"Why?"
"Because...please," Tsukasa simply said.

There he goes again, Soma thought. He had told Tsukasa about his intention to quit probably at least twenty times, and the First Seat had begged him to stay at least twenty times too.

"There is only one round left before you win the Autumn Selection," Tsukasa said. "Then people will acknowledge your skills."

Soma rolled his eyes. "You're talking as if I'm guaranteed to win against Akira. His nose is something else, you know. I've been to Mumbai, Karachi, and...what was the name again? Anyway, his sense when it comes to spices is almost as good as an Indian grandma, if you know what I mean."

"Yes, but you have your own charm. Cooking is not all about spices," Tsukasa said.

"Your point is valid, but the Ten Seats aside Akira is perhaps the best cook I've ever encountered in this school," Soma was firm with his statement.

"You won against Eight Seat."

Soma frowned. How did he know that? He barely knew anything outside of his interest, and that day after Kuga was humiliated both Erina and Isshiki-senpai promised to keep their mouths shut. Soma thought the reason Kuga hated him was because Tsukasa disregarded him, but acknowledged Soma instead. He was sure if Kuga was that pissed off, Tsukasa probably did not remember or care about him.

So how did he know about their little...'scuffle'?

"Don't look at me like that. Nakiri and Isshiki promised to not tell a soul, but you perhaps forgot that you two had used my kitchen. I wasn't completely awake, but I could smell and hear you guys. Nobody else but you would turn mapo tofu into meatball spaghetti.

Soma sighed. True enough. He glanced at Tsukasa.

Pity for the puppy-face aside, he still had reasons to stay by the older boy's side. Tsukasa might be hopeless and half-dead most of the time, but not when he was cooking. Soma had assisted him few times and he always found himself fascinated by Tsukasa's cooking. Until the day he could learn how to perform even greater magic than this man, he was reluctant to leave.

Chapter Text

For Stagiare, each Totsuki student was supposed to go through apprenticeship for a minimum of one week in two different establishments. Then they were given an additional week to write up a report on each place they went to. By right the placement was supposed to be randomised.

Not for one Yukihira Soma. Shinomiya Kojiro had booked him for the whole three weeks (Soma wondered when he'd have enough time to write his own report, since he knew by the time he returned to school he'd have to help out Tsukasa again). He complained to Shinomiya but of course his master only gave him 'the look'.

"Your report will only be like, ten percent of your final marks. MY evaluation of you will take up half of your marks, so get to work and suck it up, brat."

Soma was hundred percent sure Shinomiya had bribed the instructors and director to make sure he would be placed in Shino's. Shinomiya was always about 'efficiency' and having an experienced assistant like Soma would help him to make sure the new branch of Shino's could have a grandiose opening.

He did not object being placed there, since Shinomiya allowed him to put one of his creations in the menu. Soma could not help but to glee at the menu card, and was more than enthusiastic when Inui wanted to order his creation. It was the first time he was allowed to serve his own dish to customers, created from scratch by his own imagination. He had cooked for hundreds of thousands people before this, but all the dishes he had served were either his father's original recipe or just modified ones.

Doujima Gin had came to the new Shino's opening as well. He managed to tease Shinomiya for a second, while Inui praised the new menu, much to Soma's delight. Shinomiya told him to not get ahead of himself but Abel could see a corner of the chef's mouth lifted up, a proud smile on his face.

"By the way, I heard that Jouichiro somehow made you disqualify from the Autumn Selection?" Gin asked.

Soma snorted. "The old man decided to take the train back - right after his flight from England and cooking for the whole Buckingham Palace. Then he went to my mom's diner to clean the place but strained his back. Had to go to the hospital. Imagine receiving a call from the hospital at twelve midnight, not even knowing that your own dad is back."

'Someone is sulking,' Shinomiya thought. Well, Soma did have the right to sulk. Jouichiro had left him to fend for himself, at only fifteen. Considering the boy's mother too had passed away from illness, he imagined Soma must have been worried about his father's health. He even forfeited from the competition.

"Hayama Akira, the guy who was supposed to be my opponent was pissed," Soma said. "I heard some of the kids at school were saying that he won because I forfeited, even though Akira is a really great guy."

"Hayama Akira, huh? There have been talks that he would probably become one of Totsuki's Ten Council members, sooner or later," Gin said. "What about you, Soma? I know you're now assisting Tsukasa Eiichi, but haven't you ever thought about competing for the seat as well?"

Soma laughed. "The world of cuisine is not just Totsuki. My aim is bigger than that."

His master flicked the back of his head. "How neat, but shouldn't you start small first? Your French cuisine is still not refined enough, brat! Get back to the kitchen!"

"Ugh."

Chapter Text

Soma was enthusiastic when Jouichiro asked him to tag along to Malaysia for a week. They have been to several South East Asian countries, but Malaysia was one of the places he had not been yet. He finished his report for the Stagiare, then packed for Malaysia.

He expected to see his classmates hoarding him for any souvenirs. Yet the moment he stepped into the classroom that morning almost everyone seemed to be in a dark mood.

"Yo, Tadokoro!" He greeted. "What happened?"

Megumi looked at him gloomily. "Yukihira-kun..."

One of their classmates sighed. "Nakamura Azami happened."

Soma blinked. Azami-ojisan?

His jaw dropped as Megumi explained to him that during his absence, Nakiri Senzaemon was forced to retire. His son-in-law, Nakiri Azami or Nakamura Azami, had taken over the position of the school director using the support of the Elite Ten, albeit only six of them. Still, it was enough for him to take control - majority votes from the Elite Ten was all that mattered.

Because of that, the school curriculum had been revised. However, that main problem was that almost all the clubs and societies were forced to shut down in favour of the Central, that made all the decision.

Honestly, Soma felt somewhat betrayed that Tsukasa, the senpai he respected was a part of this. It was an authoritarian move that would just limit the students' creativity and Soma decided he did not like any bit of that.

That morning he decided to join the Elite Ten meeting, something he rarely ever bothered to do so. Assistants and secretaries were allowed to join, but it wasn't really compulsory so aside from Hisako, most of the time it was only the Elite Ten who attended the meeting.

Soma could see the grim looks in Kuga, Isshiki, Erina, and Megishima. He could not help but to feel pissed off as he listened to Eizan's presentation of the new curriculum.

"How boring," he announced.

Eizan stopped talking and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

The other Elite Ten and their assistants turned their attention to Soma. Erina bit her lower lip and Hisako chewed her lower lip nervously.

"Do you know how many millions of dishes are out there in this world? All you're thinking about are generic, boring dishes just enough to bring in the dough," Soma criticised him, not minding the glare from Eizan and Tsukasa's silently tugging his sleeve. "If our ancestors all think like you, we'd live to this day only eating smoked meat and raw fruits."

By now it was clear to Totsuki's Ninth Seat that he was being insulted - right in front of his peers. "If you say anything more, even if you are Tsukasa-san's assistant-"

"I am saying that you're lacking as a chef, Eizan-senpai," Soma said with a furious glare. "If you don't like what I'm saying, why don't I prove it to you? I'll let you have a taste of ten years of lessons from housewives, versus your boring 3 hour lecture on gastronomy and fixed, boring recipes."

Of course, the enraged Eizan made the mistake of accepting the challenge out of arrogance and perhaps ignorance. The rest of the Elite Ten, who served as judges for their impromptu shokugeki could not say anything to defend the Ninth Seat.

Not after they had tasted Soma's special chicken wingtip gyoza. The dish made Eizan's infamous Hainanese chicken rice plain and dull in comparison.

Tsukasa drummed his fingers silently as he stared at the empty dish before him. This would be the start of a rebellion that was not in his favour.

Chapter Text

News got out quite fast. By the following week rumours that Soma had replaced Eizan's place as one of the Elite Ten began to circulate. Soma had vehemently denied it but nobody seem to believe it, since now that Tsukasa had also taken part in giving lessons to junior students, Soma had to follow him around as an assistant.

He began to feel fear as he realised his bond with his fellow first years was slowly dissipating. Even though he himself was against the system, he had not yet left Tsukasa. Isshiki, Kuga, and Megishima, who opposed the Central were kicked out of the Elite Ten. And here he was, silently chopping, dicing, making the appetisers and desserts for Tsukasa's demonstration lessons. He could sense Takumi's angry glare boring holes through his head.

This could not go on, he decided. But is there something I can do? Soma wondered as he lied in his bed, appreciating the silence of the night. He sighed, switched off the lamp and closed his eyes. Better sleep it off and think of something tomorrow.

Ding dong.

Soma groaned. Who the hell would come to visit at 11 PM? His dad had already departed for Hokkaido. Surely not any of his dad's colleague. More importantly, who would come to see him? None of his friends had ever been to his apartment.

He almost choked on air once he caught the sight of Nakiri Erina and her secretary. Both were sweaty and looked like they had just ran away from home. Actually, maybe he was right - they did run away from home. Why else would the almighty Erina appear at his front door with a huge bag?

"What are you doing here?"

"Nakamura Azami is going to lock her in her own house! We can't let that happen!" Hisako hissed as she made way for herself and Erina into the apartment.

Good thing he had cleaned up.

"Wait, Azami-ojisan? He did what?" Soma blinked.

Erina frowned. "Why would you address my father so casually? Do you know him?"

"My dad went to the same school as him. But wait - why would he lock you in? You're not like...uh, I don't know. I guess in the culinary world you are kind of a princess, but what kind of child abuse is this?"

Erina sighed. "He wants to make use of my god's tongue, obviously."

"Shit, I know he's all about fine dining and all that but isn't that too overboard? Uh - you girls can take my room over there, I guess. I'll sleep in my dad's room. He's not going to be home for a few days, so I guess it's okay for you to take refuge here, unless it's going to get me arrested for kidnapping," Soma said. "Have you eaten? Do you want something to eat? I'll whip up something quick for you two."

"You don't really need to..."

"Nah, it's okay. You two must be tired after all that running."

Erina sat down on the couch. Her heart was still racing from the fear and excitement of doing something rebellious for the first time of her life. Hisako sat next to her, attempting to calm her down by squeezing her hands.

They both took a good look at the interior of the apartment. It was a very simply, but cosy-looking home. There was a flat screen TV, with a couple of plants, and a bookshelf filled with recipe books, magazines, and several other books in foreign languages. Erina noticed an altar with photo of a woman. She had heard that the boy lived on his own, and that one of his parents had passed away while the other was working abroad.

There her eyes caught a photo of Soma with a man she instantly recognised.

She could never mistake that long red hair. Chef Saiba. Her...'crush'. She gasped. For so long she had been looking for him, and here she found him in a photo smiling next to Soma, taken most probably somewhere in Europe based on the architecture at the background.

"Eat up, you two!" Soma called them for meal.

Erina wasn't really hungry, but she wasn't about to refuse him when she saw the piping, hot tempura. Both girls took their seat, said their thanks, and began eating.

"It's egg tempura. Yukihira family's special comfort food," Soma grinned.

Hisako bit into the egg and felt herself landed back into the comfort of her mom's nest. She closed her eyes and savoured the taste dreamily. Erina sampled the meal and was surprised. It was made with most likely cheap eggs, but it worked well.

Soma explained that he had bought cheap, low quality eggs at the supermarket, froze them so that they could last longer, then fried the frozen eggs to make tempura. It was a very good trick to get not only nice crispy exterior and soft melty interior, but made the egg extra nice and creamy.

"Where did you learn this?" Hisako asked.

"My dad. My mother died when I was still a little kid. Since then my dad would bring me with him to his workplace. We'd travel around the world, and sometimes when we miss home, we'd make this. Things like miso and other Japanese seasonings are not always available in most parts of the world, and some people don't consume beef or pork. But eggs are eaten everywhere in the world," Soma explained.

"Your father..." Erina asked.

Soma pointed at the same photo she saw earlier. "That's him. He used to go to Totsuki. He's a year or two older than your dad. They're not the closest, but from what I've heard from Dojima-senpai your dad kind of respects mine. That's why I can't understand why he would do this kind of thing. It's not something my dad would support."

Erina stared at him. "You're saying that, but in the end you too, are on Tsukasa-san's side, aren't you?"

Soma could not answer that.