Chapter 1: A moment outside

Hey everyone!

Thank you so much for actually giving this a try and a big welcome to my very first Sorina Story.

I have to say, I've never written a story before, so this should be pretty interesting, right?

I intended this to be a short fiction with only a few chapters to see how it would go for me. I always read tons of new stories here and for the longest time I wished to publish one myself, but I never had the time or felt confident enough to do that.

Now however I thought I could finaly give it a shot and here we are.

I'm extremely nervous about this, mostly because I'm not from an English speaking country, you know? I really hope this first chapter turned out okay.

Please guys, write me a review and tell me what you think, I'm so not confident when it comes to those kinds of things. So please write me your criticism or general thoughts, that would really help me out.

I picked the Sorina pairing simply because they are one of my most favorite (right next to NaLu of course).

So, without further ado, I present you the first chapter of 'Truth'. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much again for reading.

Disclaimer. I unfortunately don't own Shokugeki no Soma, but if I did... let's just say Soma and Erina would be a couple from the beginning.

It was finaly over.

At last the nightmare had ended.

Outside at the door frame leading towards the wide balcony of the Polar Star dormitory stood Nakiri Erina and watched the night sky in front of her with an peaceful expression on her beautiful face.

She noticed that it was warmer than expected, considering how strong the wind blew out here. But, be that as it may, this surprise sure was a pleasent one nonetheless. So without wasting her time thinking about it any further she simply stripped out of her uniforms jacket and made her way towards the railing at the other end. There was too much on her mind at the moment anyway.

It had been quite a while since the last time she felt so at ease like this, which was why she intended to savor every last bit of peaceful content she could, before their second school year would start and throw all kinds of new challenges her way.

Inside the dormitory her newfound friends- it was still a somewhat strange feeling to admit, the people she once looked down on, were now the ones she trusted the most beside her grandfather, Hisako and even Alice- were in the midst of a huge party with music, lot's of freshly made snacks and, of course Ryokos special rice juice. After all, this celebration marked their recent victory over central and her fathers insane regime earlier today, so of course it had to be massive. They were all so happy about it that most of them even shed an, what seemed like endless amount of tears. Especially Tadokoro, which didn't really came as a surprise though. That girl was sensitive like that, hence Erina had made a silent vow to always help her out whenever she could. After all, it was her, who lead the heiress to this dorm while she was completely soaked from the rain that night. She would be grateful to her forever.

At first she celebrated with everyone else inside, but quickly found that she needed some time alone to think about things in quiet.

What had happened to her father that turned him into such a... tyrant?

What circumstance pushed him over the edge that he would go so far as to intend to shut down all diner shops around Japan- or even further, she honestly wasn't able to tell what was going through his head anymore, not that she ever could.

All she knew was, it had something to do with Yukihiras dad, but that was about it. She had no idea why though.

Would he know?

Could she maybe get some answers out of her idol?

Now that she was the new headmaster of the academy, she should have the luxury to make appointments with whomever she saw fit, right?

Although, it probably wouldn't be so easy to simply up and leave all her new responsibilities behind, just so she could pay her number one idol a visit. Everyone was counting on her now to get rid of every last one of centrals ridiculous ideals, organizations and lapdogs inside Toutski academy and she most certainly wouldn't let them down. Now that her grandfather had retired, it was up to her to fix the mess, her father left behind in his destruction. The school needed a clear cut from the horror it endured and Erina wanted to change things as soon as humanly possible. So leaving the school to get some- much needed- answers wasn't an option at this point. Personal affairs shouldn't matter for the time being.

Besides she didn't even had a clue, if Jouchirou Saiba was still in Japan or not. For all she knew he could be landing at the airport of some distant country by now.

Maybe she should just forget about everything and simply relax for a little while?

Who knew, perhaps there would be an opportunity to travel abroad once everything else around the school was taken care of.

With that thought she closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm breeze against her skin. It felt so nice- peaceful-, and for a moment she was even able to blend out all the sound coming from inside.

The temptation to just fall asleep right then and there became overwhelming and for a second Erina considered sitting down on the bench a few feet away from her and let sleeps welcoming arms embrace her.

"I feel so tired..."

"Then go get some rest already."

And all sound, she successfully blended out moments ago was now back with one swift motion. The calm feeling in her body was replaced by her heart skipping a few beats at once, before going berserk inside her chest.

Because of him.

Yukihira Soma.

The man, who saved her from all her terrors, her fears, her inhibitions and her insecurities. She quickly turned around to see him casually leaning against the door frame of the balcony entrance, hands in his pockets and an easy grin on his face.

How long had he been standing there?

And more importantly why did he even come here?

Wasn't he in the middle of an 'epic'- his choice of words, not hers- Shokugeki with their upperclassman Isshki when she left?

She was more than a little confused as to why he showed up like that, thus Erina gave him a wide eyed look before shaking her head with a small smile. Try as she might, she would never be able to solve the big puzzle that was Yukihira Soma, so why even bother now?

"I can't go to bed now, it would ruin the good mood everyone is in. Not to mention quite rude."

With that said, she turned her back to him again.

He stood still where he was a little while longer- probably just a few more minutes though-, before pushing himself away from the open door frame and making his way towards her. While walking he first let out a small sigh, then opened his mouth once more.

"If ya say so..."

After reaching her, he simply leaned on the railing of the balcony next to her, looking up at the stars as well.

"Why are you out here on your own Nakiri? You totally missed my victory against Isshki back there. We started playing poker right after that and I was looking forward to beat you again."

He chuckled quietly after his words.

She swore, he loved to do that, and it drove her literally crazy. But, she wouldn't be Nakiri Erina, if she let him get away with that.

"Hmpf, as if. We both know, you could never beat me in anything Yukihira. Watch your tongue."

Even though she purely intended to sound harsh and venomous, she ended up giggling instead, which wasn't convincing at all. Thus her words did not have the desired effect, she so desperately wanted them to. Yukihira laughed out loud now, clutching his stomach with one hand and wiping away some tears from the corner of his eye with the other. As always he disregarded her words rather quickly without even considering, if she could actually mean what she said- that cocky bastard.

"Seriously Nakiri? You still gonna be that way after everything we just went through? Give me a break. And besides, don't you remember, how often I've won the last time we played? Man, your high and mighty attitude really is something else... But, I suppose that's just one more thing we all like about ya, right?"

After calming down from his laughter, he gave her a playful wink and a sincere smile, before turning his head towards the stars once again, leaving Erina blushing furiously, trying her best to not get frustrated by his comment- to no avail though. He just had this certain enticement to him, that always left her feeling flabbergasted and embarrassed to no end- as hard as it was to admit that.

She also turned her face towards the welcoming night breeze, as an attempt to hide her reaction. Ever since she stayed at the dorm and lived there with him- and the others of course-, she discovered an drastic increase in her heartbeat and a strange fluttery feeling in her stomach. She found it frustrating to be around him but due to reasons unknown to her, she wanted to see him as much as she could, despite her desperate attempts to deny it. She didn't understand why though and she blamed him for causing all these strange emotions in the first place. It was unusual for her to feel this way towards anyone and all she new was the fact that she didn't like it. Not knowing anything about these kinds of things, caused her to dislike her rising sensations rather quickly, as nice as they may be.

It repeatedly happened whenever this particular diner boy was near her and no matter how much she wanted to get irritated with him or just leave the room, she couldn't. Her heart wouldn't allow it for some reason.

And right now... it happened again.

She wanted to yell at him and tell him to leave her alone, but every inch inside her body refused to follow suit. And so, instead of insulting him or preferably get off the balcony herself, she just sighed and averted her gaze, giving no response this time- it didn't matter what she said anyway, as long as he was here, her heart wouldn't calm down. They indeed went through too much together to turn the tables back and be enemies again. Therefore she decided to drop the subject for now and focus on something else.

"Why did you come out here Yukihira? If the others are playing cards right now, shouldn't you be inside, throwing a fit, because of loosing one round or something?"

She was rather dumbfounded- to say the least- to see him give no protest whatsoever. Not even so much as another presumptuous comment came out of his mouth, which struck her as quite odd considering his usual demeanor.

He just stood there, still leaning his arms against the railing of the balcony and viewing the night sky above them. What she could see clear as day however, was the change of his facial expression. The challenging grin from before melted into something softer, causing Erinas heart to go on a massive rampage yet again. He also had, what seemed to be a far away look in his eyes now, like he was there with her but at the same time wasn't. She wondered, what he was thinking about, but didn't dare to ask.

Why, she couldn't say though.

What was the meaning of that warm smile?

Couldn't he turn his head her way, so she had a better view of this dreamy expression?

It wasn't often, you could see a look like that on Yukihira Somas face after all.

Of course she knew from day one of their meeting at the entrance exam, that he was a very handsome boy, but this certain gaze, she saw for the first time right now, made her unwillingly rephrase that statement, 'he's gorges- beautiful even'. But of course she would rather have a Shokugeki with monkeys in the forest than admit that out loud. Allowing herself to get mesmerized by his looks in silence was enough.

At That thought, the heiress felt her cheeks redden for what felt like the hundredth time at this point, thus she quickly averted her eyes yet again.

When would it stop? This was slowly but surely getting out of hand. She had only one word to describe her current predicament: 'infuriating', that was all it was.

Purely infuriating.

Not being able to control the movements of her own head really got on her nerves.

While desperately trying to calm down, she almost missed Yukihiras answer to her previous question.

What were they talking about again?

"I noticed you weren't with us in Zenjis Room anymore and went looking for ya. When I past the hallway, I saw the balcony door open, so I came over to close it real quick but seems like you were out here all along. You could have said something, ya know? Considering, how long it took me to find ya, I'm pretty sure the others must be all done with the game by now."

He turned his head slightly towards her and gave her another teasing wink. In that instant she definitely knew, she couldn't hold her irritation in any longer.

"Oh yeah? W-well, who told you to come look for me in the first place, huh?"

Hearing her annoyed tone, he couldn't help but laugh once more, even though this time it wasn't as loud as last time. "No one. I kinda figured, since you know, you left so silently, there must be something on your mind, right?"

After repeating that in her head, it sounded like a reasonable explanation. And she had to admit, she was a little impressed. Who would have guessed, that Yukihira Soma could come to those kinds of conclusions on his own? Not that he was stupid- quite the opposite in fact-, but hearing that stunned her, to say the least. It would appear, that he kept an watchful eye on his friends and knew exactly when to come out and say the right words to successfully cheer them up.

The only question now occupying her thoughts however was, did she even need it?

Was she seriously feeling down right now?

The answer came faster, than she wanted it to.

Yes.

She was feeling sad and maybe even a little lonely after beating central, which made perfect sense to her, now that the constant adrenaline and nervousness- not to mention the constant worrying over everyone else, who failed at the exams before- from their final battle earlier were finally calming down. All that was left, was the worn out state of her emotions and the tired aches in her body.

She was sad about her father. She was concerned about her new position as Headmaster. She just wanted to stop thinking and fall asleep right then and there.

Again, she was shocked, that Yukihira seemed to have picked up on that and followed her outside to...

To do what exactly?

Cheer her up, like he would with all their other friends?

She had a distant feeling, that it wouldn't do her much good at this point though, as disappointing as it was.

Apparently her face reflected these thoughts too, if the frown the redhead sported, when turning to look at her was anything to go by.

"Come on Nakiri, give me some credit, I'm not that ignorant ya know. Clearly there is something bothering you, but as usual, you won't tell anyone and just up and leave the room to deal with it on your own. I don't really know why I even came out here to begin with, when it's obvious you already made your choice to stay silent for whatever reason, right? I just thought that maybe you..." He shook his head and sighed in frustration, before continuing. However it seemed as though he wasn't going to say what he previously intended to, which somehow caused Erina to feel a tinge of disappointment wash through her. Why couldn't he just continue where he left off?

"Never mind... . Look Nakiri, I say it again, if you're tired, go get some rest. No one would consider it as rude, trust me. You should know that by now, shouldn't ya? Want me to carry you to your room?"

There it was again.

That wide, carefree grin of his.

So bright, that for a moment it made Erina forget about all her fears simply by looking at him.

She blinked once, twice, before bursting out laughing like crazy. She should never ever have underestimated the person before her, that much she understood now. She realized she couldn't deny it anymore, their conversations brought her pure joy. It was crazy, but true and she would cherish every second she shared with him. It was like a breath of fresh air, she needed so badly- craved it even.

He tilted his head to one side, looking at her fondly with a smaller- much softer and more affectionate- smile on his face, while she giggled wholeheartedly.

Yukihira was the reason for so many new sensations, that happened inside her body and she couldn't help but like it- like him. Even though she didn't know what they meant, even though it irritated her to no end, she felt content at the moment. The comment about carrying her to her room was a good example of why she savored his company so much these days. She could let loose and simply enjoy her youth without having to care much about reputations, appearances, status and whatnot.

There was simply no one in this world, more considerate and caring than him, that much was certain. And she was finally able to see and appreciate that now.

Calming down from her laughter, she wanted to respond to that exact remark he just made, when suddenly a more important thought came to mind. Something, she should have said way earlier today, but never had the chance to. Before she knew, she had already forgotten about it but right at that moment it came back to her with full force. Nonetheless, she felt guilty for not remembering sooner. However, she was confident to do more than just make up for her mistake right here.

With determination shining in her eyes, she turned her body completely towards Yukihira, who was still smiling at her- god, she swore, if he wouldn't cut that out soon, her heart would jump right out of her chest- and began to speak.

"Yukihira, I... I have something to tell you. It's- It's not much a-and I'm not sure, if it would even mean anything to you or not b-but... well..."

'Calm down, you can do this. Just say what you have to say and walk back to your room in grace. Not a big deal.'

Yukihira, now sporting a somewhat puzzled expression, looked at her expectantly in patience. He didn't say a word other than a confused 'hmm?' and a small gesture with his hand, encouraging her to go on.

"I-It's just... I-I wanted to... thank you. Thank you for everything you did for me. Thank you for showing me the right path, for reminding me of the way I wanted to cook, for teaching me how important it is to have friends by my side, helping and supporting me along the way. Thank you so much for helping me and making me feel better, whenever I felt sad or worried. I'm deeply in your dept, and although I feel like there is nothing I can do to repay you, I will still try my very best to do just that. You have my eternal gratitude. And... again I'm so sorry f-for causing that much trouble for you and the others here at the dorm. None of you would have had to deal with this mess, if- if I hadn't come here in the first place."

By now, Erina was standing in a position, she normally would never ever even consider doing in her life.

She bowed her upper body low in front of the diner boy she insulted on so many occasions before. Her bangs concealed her face, blocking it from anyone's view, while a particularly strong gust of wind played with her long honey blond locks. She had her eyes closed, praying to god, that he wouldn't make fun of her and that this awkward moment would end soon. She felt a little disgraceful, but figured for only this once in her lifetime, she could endure it. There would never be another situation, where she had to thank Yukihira of all people for something again anyway, that she would make sure of.

When she didn't hear a response of some sort, she decided to open her eyes again and risk a glimpse up from her bowing position in front of him to see what was going on. Only to find herself staring at a face that clearly reflected the owners inner turmoil.

Yukihira was officially in the biggest state of shock she had ever seen. His chin was almost touching the ground and his eyes looked like they were about to fall right out of his thick skull. He was gawking at her rather bewildered and shook his head multiple times as if trying to comprehend what just happened. It also seemed like he wanted to make sure he wasn't dreaming somehow, which struck her as kind of odd. Was it really that hard to imagine, she would be grateful to him for all he had done for her? Really?

When she straitened up again, he slowly looked like he got over the first shock and gave her the most beautiful yet still somehow confused smile she had ever seen, causing her heart to make all kinds of somersaults inside her chest, and her blood to shoot right to her head.

"W-wow, what the...?" Apparently the aftermath of that mind blow consisted of chopped sentences and continuous mumbling though. The first things coming out of his mouth were quite hard for Erina to make out, which he eventually seemed to notice as well. So after clearing his throat, he tried again.

"Nakiri... w-what are you talking about? Why would you thank me for something like that? And what's with that apology, huh? Nothing that happened was your fault, and we all helped you because we wanted to, got it? It was our own decision. You have nothing to thank me for. It was more like you helped us- helped me in the end, remember? You were the one, who led us through this whole thing and well... I feel like I should be thanking you for that. Without you... we couldn't have done it, and as much as it pains me to say this, even twice in one day, you still are above me, so it was all thanks to you, we were able to win. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be here right now. But! Let me make this clear too, since I'm constantly repeating myself anyways. I will come for you Nakiri, just you wait. One day I'll surpass you, and that day is going to be sooner than you might think."

As soon as he finished his rant, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, leaving her staring at him utterly speechless.

"Oh man..., now I have the feeling I'll never be able to get this image out of my head for the rest of my life. Seriously... you're full of all kinds of surprises, aren't ya? That was definitely the last thing I expected."

Yes, now it was definitely her turn to be bewildered, it seemed.

Did he seriously not blame her for anything?

Not one bit?

She felt a huge wave of relief wash over her, as a beautiful smile graced her own face.

"W-well, in that case..., I can't wait to see you try and reach my skill level Yukihira, I'm more than ready to take you on anytime you want."

She wasn't entirely sure about this because of the poor lighting they had out here, but she could have sworn, she saw the lightest hint of a blush spreading on the boys cheeks after hearing her words and receiving a playful wink from her- if he could do it to her all the time and leave her blushing furiously, then so could she. However she figured, that it couldn't possibly be true though and so dismissed it immediately.

Why would Yukihira of all people feel embarrassed because of something she said or did?

It made no sense whatsoever.

Before she knew it, he smirked devilishly, emphasizing his natural boyish charm, and brought his face a bit down, thus invading her personal space. The challenging glint in his eyes caused her heart to flutter once more.

"Oh is that so? Bring it on, princess! Talking all big like that won't help ya in the end. I will get there, just have a little patience, will ya?"

His voice betrayed not one amount of self doubt- quite the opposite actually-, and she unwillingly had to admit, that... she believed him. This Chef standing before her had the potential to reach great heights in the future. She had known this for a while, but was simply too proud to accept it.

What had changed?

Why could she admit it to herself now?

She didn't know, but whatever the reason, she found that she didn't care as much, as she used to. He would never reach her culinary skill level anyway so she had nothing to worry about, right?

That thought however didn't sound quite as delightful, as she would have hoped it would, which cased her even more inner turmoil.

Why didn't it sound appealing anymore?

The thought of Yukihira never being able to stand by her side as an equal felt... wrong somehow.

He deserved to be at the top, hence why she chose him to be the first seat.

She figured, her pride had something to do with it again. He clearly had proven himself, no questions asked, but he still wasn't from higher status. Having a humble background could prove itself to be quite the issue when trying to make a name for oneself as a famous Chef. He would have to face many obstacles and hardships along the way, but... she had the feeling, that he was more than capable of handling all of them. If there was one fact, she had to point out about Yukihira Soma, it would be his burning desire to face and overcome every challenge, every opposition.

She found, that she liked kind of his determination now.

It felt like a dare, one she was oh so willing to accept.

Wow, she really had changed, hadn't she? Before, she would have spilled over with irritation whenever his name was mentioned in her presence. Now however, she found herself yearning for his company. Strange, how fast things could change.

As a response to his previous words, she simply grinned right back at him with flushed cheeks and her head tilted back, due to their close proximity.

"How interesting, it would appear, my declaration of gratitude from before gave a certain someone the delusional idea, he could actually best me in a Shokugeki or something."

Her grin turned into a sweet smile now.

Yukihiras features seemed to relax as well, while he was staring back down at her with an somehow unreadable expression.

"It's not delusional, if I can pull it off, right? You won't even know what hit ya. Remember, anything can happen at any time."

"Is that a threat?"

At this, he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"More like a promise, I'd say."

"A promise to beat me? Seriously, you are so hopeless."

He gave her a low chuckle in response, but said nothing else. After a few seconds of meeting his warm gaze, she felt herself lost in these impressive depths of pure gold again. By now their faces where so close, his breath was tickling her skin, while his nose almost touched hers.

When did they ended up only a few inches away from each other?

He had his head turned towards her but other than that, his body was still leaning against the railing, unlike herself. She was facing him completely, only having one hand holding on to the cold metal for support.

Was it her then, who initiated their close proximity?

The wind blew in her ears, gently waving her hair from one side to the other. Her mind was clouded, unable to form even one strait line of thought.

She felt her heart going berserk and her knees shaking. Not again!

What was happening to her?

Wasn't it supposed to not get out of control like that?

First it was just the harmless staring, she wanted to get a hold of, but now her entire body language seemed to yearn for him- begging him to touch her however he pleased.

At what point did she change her position again?

She didn't know and quickly realized she didn't care. All her senses were focused on him and him alone. Erina was so nervous, she thought she would faint right then and there.

His next words came as a low mutter, which caused her eyes to close shut, somehow automatically.

"Y'know what? I think I really am at this point."

And with that the short distance between them closed and their lips met.

The kiss was tender, yet still cautious at the same time. No one knew where to go from here, until Erina slowly started to press her lips a little harder against his, her emotions simply overpowering her at the moment. Yukihira tilted his head further to the side to get even closer and followed suit. At this point, the once innocent kiss turned into something way more passionate and steamy. He opened his mouth, sending his tongue out to lick over the girls lips, causing a pleasant shiver down her spine and her knees to weaken. She followed his example more than willingly by sending her own tongue out to meet his half way. A shock wave of pure pleasure went through her body the moment their tongues started battling for dominance, switching from Erinas mouth to Yukihiras and vise versa. Eventually it was the redhead, who took control once again, completely ravishing Erinas mouth by exploring every inch and every corner his tongue could find. The heiress had the feeling, her legs would give in any second now, but it seemed Yukihira picked up on that as well- of course he did- and quickly held on to her hips with both hands, thus bringing her closer to his body so she would be steady for now. She held his shirt in a firm, almost desperate grip and pressed herself even harder against him. Even though it was warm outside- she had even discarded her jacket earlier-, she still seeked his natural body heat for some reason. She wanted to feel everything of him, and for a second she even wished, their clothes weren't in the way.

What was she doing?

This was Yukihira for crying out loud.

Since when did he know how to kiss like that? Although to be fair, this was her first kiss, so she couldn't tell, if he was good or not, but she concluded, since he drove these kinds of strange sensations out of her- wanting to feel the warm skin underneath his diner uniform was most definitely something she should be concerned about-, he must be gifted, right? She wasn't able to think strait and the more Yukihira sucked on her bottom lip and teased her with his tongue, the more she lost herself in this rush. His lips were so soft and pressed even harder against her own hungrily. He seemed to feel the same way she did at the moment, considering how he was shivering lightly and pressing himself further into her body.

While her hands slowly released his shirt and came up to cherish his face- why, she couldn't say though- his tenderly went up and down her sides, before going all the way around her waist, causing her to let out a small muffed moan. His touch felt so perfect and... just so right against her skin, she found herself secretly wishing- begging- for more. He was literally kissing her senseless right now and she couldn't get enough of it.

After what felt like a eternity- but probably were just a few seconds or so- they slowly broke apart to get some much needed air. Not too far away though- she could still feel his shaky breath against her skin. Her blush now resembled his hair color, causing a thin layer of sweat to run down the side of her face due to the pressing heat she felt.

Their eyes locked and she felt a, quite pleasurable jolt of electricity go through her entire body once more. He still held on to her waist, while her hands rested on his shoulders now. She didn't want him to let go yet- not yet- and it appeared he felt the same way, judging by the tightening of his grip around her.

Again the question as to what had just transferred between them popped into her head.

Had they actually...

Of course, she wasn't the only one thinking about that. It was evident in Yukihiras eyes, that he was asking himself similar questions. She could practically see the gears in his head turning. He seemed confused, maybe bewildered even and she couldn't blame him really, feeling the same amount of confusion herself.

Why did Yukihira kiss her?

Or was it her?

She honestly couldn't remember, who it was that made the first move, but that didn't matter right now anyway.

How did this happen?

Slowly she let go of his shoulders, feeling able to stand on her own again, and he quickly released her waist, as if just realizing that he was still holding on to her. Her face felt extremely hot, she was still shaking all over, and on top of that her heart was beating one mile a minute. She needed to get it together quickly.

Taking one step away from him to try and clear her mind, Erina just waited breathlessly and prayed, that he would address her first. She just couldn't come up with anything at the moment, no matter how much effort she put into it.

To her huge relief, she didn't have to wait that long.

"Nakiri, I..., how..., I'm..., I mean..."

"Soma! Erina!"

He was abruptly interrupted by the fast approaching Tadokoro Megumi, who waved a hand at them worriedly.

To get thrown out of their dazed states this abruptly came as a huge surprise for the two Chefs, still standing a few feet away from one another near the railing of the balcony. Naturally it caused them both to jump in fright and bring even more space between them.

Tadokoro seemed confused after seeing this, which Erina didn't blame her for, she would most likely be puzzled by their behavior as well.

"Uhhh... guys? Why are you out here? We were starting to get worried after none of you came back. Is everything alright? You look like, you've seen a ghost."

Luckily, the diner Chef was the first to respond. She still couldn't get over her shock.

"Ehhh..., no- I mean yes, I- I mean... well, you see... we just..."

'He still can't form a simple sentence by now? Seriously Yukihira?'

"You see, we just talked for a while about this and that until I thanked him for everything you guys did for me. After that he got into a 'shock state' of some sort I assume. He'll get over it eventually."

She had to say, she was rather proud of herself for that answer. It wasn't a lie, Yukihira was definitely shocked to hear her thanking him. And admitting, that she had expressed her gratitude towards him wasn't that mortifying, considering she planed on doing it for all her other friends as well once they got back inside. She just left out everything else that had happened after that particular moment.

"Oh, I see."

Tadokoro believed her immediately of course, for which the blonde was very thankful for, and send Yukihira a scolding look. "Soma, it's not really polite to respond in such a manner, you know?"

"Yeah... sure... whatever you s- hold on a second, what?"

It seemed he got his sassy attitude back now, filling Erina with relief and annoyance at the same time.

"I'm not being impolite, she caught me off guard, I didn't expect that! I mean can you imagine Nakiri here actually thanking you or even apologizing for something?"

While talking, he pointed his thumb towards her, causing her to feel irritation slowly creeping up her back again. What happened to the boy, who couldn't even get one word out just a second ago? Or the one, who couldn't get his hands off of her while they kissed?

Who's touches were so gentle yet firm, so tender yet demanding, so...

She felt herself blush again and quickly stopped her thought's right there before Tadokoro got suspicious. Not that she would but Erinas mind didn't function the way it was supposed to right now, thus she was overly paranoid for someone finding out about what happened between Yukihira and herself here. But now was not the time to worry about who might find out and who might already know. Now was the time to put one red headed commoner back in his place before he got any funny ideas.

With one confident step after another, she made her way back towards him, responding to his rude comment as she went.

"And what is that supposed to mean now? I have you know, I'm perfectly capable of thanking someone or humbly apologizing for my mistakes mister 'I am invincible, so I challenge the whole school to fight me for my first seat'. I haven't even lectured you for that foolish stunt you pulled, what the hell was that even about Yukihira? Are you out of your mind?"

For effectively redirecting the content of their conversation, she gave her inner self another proud pet on the back.

"What? Where did that come from? I never said I was invincible, did I?"

"Ahm guys...?"

"You might as well have. Honestly, do you think it's fun to get on everybody's bad side? I can't believe you. And don't think I forgot about that trick you pulled in our Shokugeki earlier. Throwing all our plans out the window like that, honestly. You put us into one hell of a risky situation, are you aware of that?"

"You've got to be kidding me! Seriously Nakiri? I already told you, I was confident in you getting us through this, remember? Let it go already, geeze."

"Oh yeah? And what if I don't?"

"Guys please!"

Both turned their attention once again to the quite uncomfortable looking Tadokoro, who stood there with both hands clenched into fists, pressing firmly against her chest. They were surprised to see the girl actually raising her voice and shutting them both up so easily.

"I don't really get, why you are bickering so much, but perhaps we should go back inside now, before the others get upset and start searching for all three of us?"

At that, no one was able to disagree and without further delay, all three made their way back to their waiting friends, Erina turning away from Yukihira with huff and a flip of her long hair..

While walking, she couldn't help but risk a few glances towards the red headed Chef beside her though.

What did they just do?

Was this for real?

They acted like nothing happened in front of Tadokoro, but what would happen the next time they were alone together?

Erina prayed for things to not get awkward between them from now on. She didn't want to loose a friend right after realizing what a great person he actually was.

But first she needed to calm down her still rampaging heart and figure out what these feelings meant.

And then there still was this other pressing issue of finding out what exactly happened to her father before he turned into a madman. She needed to know, in order to avoid it happening to herself somehow. She didn't want to end up like him, even though he was her father.

Perhaps she could start doing that tomorrow though, for now she needed to get some shuteye before she would go berserk herself.

Who knew what tomorrow would bring?

Hey guys!

I wanted to present you something a little better (at least I hope it is better) because I didn't like the amount of mistakes I made as well.