DISCLAIMER: I do not own Shokugeki no soma nor do I own the characters. English is also my second language so I apologise if there were any grammatical errors.
This was a prompt I received when I generated on an online website.
"What do you mean we are lost," questioned Soma, his browed knitted firmly staring into the violet eyes before him.
The owner of those vibrant orbs pouted, her long blonde hair swayed along with the autumn breeze as she replied, "Well, I…uh followed the map and we should've arrived at the destination by now, but apparently, we are off track." She fidgeted as a shade of pink dusted her cheeks, whether it be from the embarrassment of her incompetence of being a map reader or due to the close proximity between herself and the boy with red spiky hair.
Upon inspection, the red headed boy groaned, "Nakiri," he laughed, as he took the map from her hands and turned it around, "We are lost because you've been reading the map upside now this entire time!"
Erina Nakiri, the owner of the god's tongue, the princess of Totsuki Academy defeated by a piece of paper, merely a few centimetres in length would be the biggest joke of the century.
"What do you mean upside down!" stuttered Erina, her eyes dilated as she planted her delicate hands on her face as she continued to ramble, "What are we going to do now, Yukihira, it's already dusk and we won't be able to make it to the assigned destination in time. Will we miss the cooking task first up tomorrow morning?"
Indeed, the sun was already beneath the horizon, splatters of orange, pink, red and yellow dusted the sky. In a matter of a few minutes, darkness will consume the horizon, leaving only a single sphere and millions of diamond like stars to illuminate the sky.
"We will have to camp here for now," Soma suggested, he placed his backpack on the ground and began to unpack the tent set given to each partners in this activity, "It's getting dark and we would only get more lost if we continue trekking. We have to start trekking as soon as the sun raises though…It'll be tight but we should be able to make it."
"I can't believe this," Erina sighed exasperated, "why in the world would Chapelle sensei come up with this task? Of course I understand the need for us to adjust to unique situations, whereby cooking with ingredients we find in the wild to satisfy the requirements of the dish would pose as an excellent challenge. But why did we have to be put in pairs forcefully, then asked to trek to a given destination."
Soma chuckled but didn't reply. He was content with setting the tent up whilst Erina continued rambling on about their situation.
"If only I was paired up with Hisako," Erina grumbled as she sat down on a large rock nearby, "then she would've been in charge of the map and we would've been at the right place."
"Well," Soma laughed as he nailed in one of the last pegs into the ground to secure the tent, "I did offer to read the map and navigate, but if I recall correctly you were the one who snatched the map from me and confidently said that you would be the leader of this pair activity."
"That…that's because well, I, um," Erina stuttered, her face even redder than before, she was about to retort when she exclaimed, "Damn it, Yukihira! We…we only brought 1 tent! Oh my god, we originally planned that we would be at the assigned destination by dusk where I would share the tent with Hisako and Hisako's partner would share with you…but now…"
Realisation seemed to dawn on Soma as well, his face matched the shade of his hair. It was autumn, though the chill was bearable in the day, during the night, the temperature drops significantly. The fact that they are somewhere deep inside a forest near the foot of a snowy mountain doesn't help either.
"Nakiri, it'll just be one night," blushed Soma, who attempted to keep his uncertainty under control, "We have our own sleeping bag, so it wouldn't be like we are sharing a bed…"
"Hentai!" shouted Erina, "I…I can't share a tent with you…imagine all the talk that would go on when we return to the school."
"No one will know if we don't say anything," chuckled Soma nervously, his hand scratching his head out of instinct.
Unwillingly, Erina strutted her way towards him, her skirt swayed with her every move as she reached his face. She bent forward, her hot breath near his face sent shivers down his spine. She blushed, "No funny business or it'll be the end of you Soma Yukihira, you understand?"
Soma shook off the hot feeling that was consuming his mentality from the close proximity of Erina and replied flashing his trade mark smile before teasing, "I won't be able to help myself if you are this close to me."
Flustered, Erina jumped back her arms crossed in front of her busty chest, "Ok it's settled then."
"Let's get going," exclaimed Soma as he jumped to his feet, he laughed at the confused look that Erina threw at him, "We need some firewood to start a fire for both warmth and to fill our empty stomachs do we not?"
Erina contemplated for a few seconds, she could not understand the intensified feelings of butterflies in her stomach as she stared into his eyes. No, she was familiar with this feeling of anxiousness and excitement when she was around him. If she were to pinpoint a moment when these feelings surfaced it would be that evening, that evening in his room when he cooked her a Yukihira dish that reminded her why she started cooking in the first place. However, that feeling right now was intensified, her heart was fluttering like crazy, she was almost certain that he could hear the pounding of her heart against her chest in the silence of the night. She nodded quickly, hoping the lack of light would hide the red blush that coloured her cheeks.
Soma on the other hand was seemingly calm as he guided the pair through the forest in search for firewood. Though, if he were completely honest, his head was swimming with inappropriate thoughts and he was sure, if Erina was a telepath she would murder him right there, right now. She was beautiful, pure and mesmerising and she was right there beside him. They were alone, secluded and so close to each other. Soma could almost feel her breath against the back of his neck as she followed his directions, silently picking up any useable wood pieces.
"We made it," laughed Soma as they arrived back at the area where he had set up their tent. He dropped the firewood in his arms on the ground and proceeded to grab the few pieces of wood from Erina's hands. Their arms brushed together in the process, causing a shriek to erupt from Erina's mouth. Soma laughed awkwardly, averting his gaze from her obvious blush. He bent down and began to start the fire. It wasn't until the fire illuminated their surroundings when he realised Erina had been sitting oddly quiet and staring at her finger.
He walked over towards her and bent down in front of her. Being in close proximity, he noticed the slight whimper that escaped her lips as she attempted to squeeze something out of her finger.
"Here let me have a look," he suggested as he took her finger in his for inspection before he said, "You've got a splitter."
"Thank you, genius, I figured so far too," Erina replied rolling her eyes then whimpered from the slight pressure Soma was exerting, "Quit squeezing it, it hurts."
"Sorry," Soma replied as he scrambled towards his backpack before appearing back in front of Erina with a jar in his hands. He took her hands in his once again, relishing the softness of her hand and the warmth he felt as he held onto it. As if her hand was a delicate vase, he opened the jar and gently poured its contents onto her hand.
"What is that Soma?" Erina questioned, her face red from the contact.
"It's honey," Soma replied, "it's a natural way to draw out splinters. Not only so, it can act as an antiseptic so your hand doesn't get infected."
Erina nodded slightly, her eyes unwillingly fixated on their joined hands. "It's dripping Soma," Erina said suddenly as she snapped out of her trance, "it's – "
Before she could finish her sentence, his lips made contact with her hand. Erina was shocked as she watched Soma suck the excessive honey off her hand. It took her a few seconds to react and realise what was happening. She jumped back, startled by his sudden action and felt her face heat up uncontrollably once again.
"Wha…What do you think you're doing Yukihira!" She yelled flustered.
"Sorry," Soma replied sheepishly, his eyes glazed over, "I…uh…didn't want the honey to go to waste."
His statement was replied with a wave of silence. Erina quietly made her way to her own travel backpack before wiping the honey off her hand.
The awkwardness was suddenly dispersed by Erina when she stated, "Um…well thanks for the honey…I guess I'll make dinner for us as thanks."
Soma chuckled nervously, still recovering from his previous bold actions that he himself could not believe he conducted, "alright."
It didn't take long to prepare the dinner. It was simple, due to the lack of utensils, Erina made a simple skewer with the remaining chicken breast pieces that they had brought with them. She was thankful for the plentiful seasoning that they had brought with them in preparation for the cooking task. With simple seasoning and just the correct amount of time over the flames, she was able to produce a dish she could tolerate.
The skewers produced an overflowing aroma which was replied with a loud grumbled made by Soma's stomach. After saying his thanks, he dug into the meal, sighing contently as the juice of the chicken breast erupted in his mouth. The seasoning of the meat was done to perfection, accompanied with the slight crispy of the chicken made Soma forget that this was a meal prepared in the wilderness will only a small naked flame at their disposal.
"This is great Erina!" Soma exclaimed in heat of the moment.
"What did you just call me?" Erina asked looking up from her own skewer.
It was then, that he realised this was the first time he had called her Erina. It was usually Nakiri, or the occasional nicknames that he liked to use to tease her.
"Um…" Soma laughed as he took another bite from his skewer, his eyes averted Erina's questioning ones, "We are friends right, I mean you got us past the exam for getting into second year so um it would only be fair that we get on first name bases." He scratched his chin before continuing, "How about this, you get to call me Soma and I get to call you Erina."
"I already call you Soma, Yukihira," Erina replied before adding softly, "well…sometimes I do."
"Hmmm," Soma hummed as he finished the last of his skewer, he smiled evilly before he suggested, "how about this, the next time someone calls each other by their last name will be fined…and the punishment will be eating one of my creations."
Disgusted by the concept, Erina grumbled then nodded at his proposal.
The evening past without further drama, and the inevitable task of sleeping dawned upon the pair. The pair entered the tent together, both averted their eyes from each other as they laid down their sleeping bags respectively.
The small confined space meant that their sleeping bag had to be placed side by side. It took only a few minutes for the pair to settle in their own sleeping bag, however, sleep did not follow.
"Say Erina," Soma coughed trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in his stomach, "do you reckon Chapelle sensei is freaking out right now that the princess of Totsuki is missing?"
"Quit calling me that Soma," Erina grumbled as she turned onto her side, "I don't know about Chapelle sensei, but Hisako must be worried sick."
"True that," Soma chuckled imagining, the pink haired secretory interrogating everyone at base camp in attempt to find her beloved Erina sama, "Megumi must be worried too…"
Though Erina hated to admit it, whenever Soma mentioned the blue haired girl's name, her heart would always clench unwillingly. She knew the pair were extremely close even when compared to the rest of their dorm. It was obvious that despite their relationship of being 'best friends' Megumi displayed affection that surpassed what would be defined as friendship. However, she wondered whether Soma was just too dense to realise Megumi's feelings or he didn't reciprocate them. Secretly, she hoped that it would be the latter.
"You care a whole lot about Megumi don't you," Erina replied, hoping the slight waiver in her voice went unnoticed.
"Well, I care about Megumi as much as you care about Hisako," Soma replied cheerfully, his lips curled upwards in response to her question.
"What's wrong?" Soma asked when he noticed the new silence that dawned their tiny confined space. He lifted himself up with the support of his hands to stare downwards at Erina's face. He knew, she wasn't asleep as her eyes fluttered ever so slightly at his movements.
"Nothing," Erina snapped, "I just want some sleep."
Soma smiled as he observed her. In the darkness of their tent, he could barely make out the delicate features that frame her face. He knew now, she has had his heart ever since that day at the entrance exam. Back then, he was strangely drawn to her, the girl whose few words scared away all but one of the participants. He didn't realise that those innocent and simple feelings gradually manifested themselves into something more. Something he could no longer control.
"Yoo Erina," Soma murmured, poking her sides softly, encouraging her to open her eyes.
"What Soma," Erina snapped as she sat up, her violet eyes meeting his gold ones.
"You know I haven't forgotten my promise," Soma said seriously, his eyes glinting with his trademark determination, "I will make you say my food is good one day."
"Why me," Erina replied, her lips curled up into a soft smile, "isn't it enough if everyone else praises your cooking?"
Soma chuckled at her question, but had no intention in replying. He simply laid back down and closed his eyes. He muttered a quick goodnight but answered her question in his mind. One day he would tell her. But right now, it was a secret he would keep until the right moment arise. He would tell her…
Because you are what matters most to me.