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Was it possible for someone's natural messy hair to become even messier?
And was it possible for it to be one of the cutest things that one's ever witnessed?
Nakiri Erina would answer 'yes' to both of those questions.
Erina had dropped by the Polar Star Dormitory around the late hours of the morning, upon Megumi's request. The bluenette had came to her the day before with a request to spend the next day—today—together. Erina had agreed without a moment's hesitation. It was rare that she was invited out to do "normal teenage girl" things, and Megumi was always pleasant to be around. Upon her arrival, said bluenette had opened the door for her and invited her inside, offering her things like tea, or the breakfast that was made earlier on. She had politely declined them all and found herself waiting in the Polar Star's kitchen while Megumi went to get ready for their day out. As she patiently waited, her mind, and eyes, wandered. The minutes ticked on, and Erina was sucked into her thoughts more and more. She was almost completely zoned out until she was able to catch a glimpse of familiar, fiery red hair. Immediately, her attention was stolen by its owner and a frown marred her features. She was already ready to throw insults like daggers at the male, but she seemed to choke up the moment she got a good look at him.
In all of his half-awake glory (and who even slept 'til such a late hour?!), Sōma was sluggishly moving around the kitchen, warming up today's breakfast. He had yet to notice another presence besides himself, so Erina took the opportunity to let her eyes roam the back of the redhead. He had adorned a pair of long pajama pants that were dark grey in color with a black plaid pattern. For his top, he was wearing a slightly lose, long-sleeved shirt that was pure white. It reached down to his fingertips and had crudely cut thumbholes, which Erina assumed that Sōma did himself. But it wasn't his choice of pajamas that caused Erina to freeze up and stare with slightly widened eyes. Oh, no. It was the state that his hair was in. She was used to its messy nature, but this... This was beyond what she was used to seeing.
It was—What was it called again? Right, bedhead. Erina has never seen anyone else's bedhead but her own, and she never imagined seeing Sōma with it. The sight caused... an array of emotions within her. It caused her cheeks to begin to grow hot and for her to press her palms against them as a way to cool them down, turning away from Sōma. She instantly thought of how much she probably resembled her friend, Megumi. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to dwell on it for long because the subject of her thoughts and cause of her blushing had finally taken notice of her.
"Ah, Nakiri. I didn't know that you were in here. Mornin'," Sōma greeted in a low, gravelly tone that was still laden with sleep. It was nothing like his usual voice and sent shivers running down the blonde's back for reasons unknown to her.
"G-Good morning, Yukihira...," she trailed off, chancing a glance towards her schoolmate. She almost screamed at how quickly he went from standing some feet away from her to sitting across from her at the island. The only indication she gave to her surprise was the way that she leaned back in her seat. It was subtle enough for Sōma not to pick up on, though, as he began to eat the breakfast he warmed up, movements as sluggish as they were moments before. The blonde took the time to get her bearings together. She didn't need Sōma realizing her strange behavior. No doubt, the redhead would just tease her endlessly about it. He seemed to enjoy doing that—getting underneath Erina's skin and breaking her out of her "ice princess" persona. Even now, she could vision the irritating smirk that always caused her blood to boil. Thinking about all of the annoying aspects of Sōma seemed to calm her down and forget why she began to lose her cool in the first place.
As she was stuck in her own thoughts, she didn't seem to realize that her dazed gaze was settled upon Sōma, who had taken notice and was staring back. He had let another moment of silent staring pass before he was waving a hand and snapping fingers in front of Tōtsuki's princess, grinning when she came to with a startled response.
"Jeez, Nakiri," he started in a teasing tone, causing Erina to tense up, ready for whatever was about to come. The mischievous gleam in those all-too-familiar yellow eyes served to put her on edge even more as he said, "Can't you wait until I've at least gotten rid of my bed hair to stare? Unless you like the look, that is."
Now, Sōma was only teasing. That's what he does. What he was known for, really. He expected for Erina to roll her eyes and begin her daily verbal assault on him. Or, to become flustered and begin to deny his words. What he didn't expect was for her to become speechless. A blush had blossomed across her cheeks, which was expected, as she averted her eyes elsewhere and kept her lips settled in a firm line, which wasn't expected. Sōma let silence fill in the space between him as he continued to gaze at Erina. The longer it was silent, the more that the redhead's suspicions were confirmed. Finally, he just blurted out in a tone of disbelief, "You do like it!"
"I-I most certainly d-do not!" Erina had fired back without a moment's hesitation, but it was too late to be in denial. Sōma's mind was made up and she could tell that he wouldn't be letting this one go anytime soon.
"I knew you had a thing for me," he continued, seemingly oblivious to Erina's protests and splutters.
"W-What?! A thing—How does finding someone's bedhead cute mean that they have a crush on that person?!" The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. As soon as they left, she wanted to run out and never show her face to Sōma ever again.
"Hmm, I guess it doesn't," he agreed with eyebrows furrowed in thought. The expression soon shifted into one of smugness with the aforementioned, irritating smirk. "But you did just admit that you found me cute," he stated, looking like the cat that got the canary. They both knew that wasn't what she said at all, but Erina felt that she'd just dig herself a deeper hole if she tried to correct him. The best that she could do was hope that someone would come and get her out of this mess. She wasn't sure how much more she could handle in regards to the slightly tense, electric atmosphere around them, her heart lodged in her throat, and the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
Thankfully, it seemed like someone sensed her distress and sent Megumi the Angel to her aid.
Two pairs of eyes turned to face her as the bluenette stood in the entrance to the kitchen, bowing as she apologized profusely. "I'm so sorry, Erina-chan! I didn't mean to have you waiting for so long! Please forgive me!"
The blonde waved off Megumi's apologies, already forgiving her since she saved her from a dangerous situation. Getting to her feet, she flicked her hair to rest behind her shoulders, returning to her haughty nature. Her eyes leveled Sōma with a stern glare, fighting back the blush wanted to overtake her cheeks again. She didn't say anything, just stared at him before joining Megumi at the kitchen's entrance.
"We should be on our way, Megumi-chan. I don't want to get caught up in the crowds," she confessed, seeing Megumi nod in agreement. They were about to leave when Megumi had halted and returned her focus to Soma, who was finishing up his breakfast.
"Sōma-kun, your hair!" She squeaked, analyzing it. "I know it's usually messy, but that's just terrible. Be sure to fix it up, okay?" She fussed.
Sōma twirled a lock of his hair in between two fingers, looking at it thoughtfully. "I don't know. Some people seem to like it this way," he confessed with a slight smirk, not turning to face them. Which Erina was grateful for since hearing those words and seeing that smirk caused her face to flare up once more, much to her annoyance. He had let go of his hair and focused his mirthful gaze on Erina. Even as he said, "But I'll fix it up, Tadokoro."
That was what had Erina practically dragging a confused, yet skeptical Megumi out of the Polar Star Dormitory, blatantly ignoring the laughter that flowed out of the kitchen. Sōma was able to catch her face become that of a tomato before she turned so fast that he was certain she had gotten whiplash. And he had gotten it from watching her.
Getting to his feet, he cleaned up his area and headed out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and to his room. As he began to get ready for the day, he found himself staring at his hair in the mirror, wondering a simple, yet devious thought.
I wonder if it's possible to make it less messy to please Tadokoro, yet still bother Nakiri?
After all, getting underneath Erina's skin was something he enjoyed.