A/N: Oh my, where do I start.
First thing first, I would like to thank each every one of you for supporting this fic of mine and the oh-so-glorious Sorina ship. Thank you for the kind reviews, favorites, follows, and for even solely reading this. The response have been overwhelming for me since I've never received this much feedback, in the best way possible of course. And because of that, THANK YOU! I wish I could give everyone a hug :'D
Second, I decided to make this fic a little trilogy! So there will be a chapter after this (last one, though). I'm not confident on making it a long series since I'm not so sure I'll be able to keep you guys hooked to my story for long, but maybe I will do one in the future, who knows. This one is from our poster boy's POV, so I hope you enjoy this one as much as you guys enjoy the first one!
Lastly, I'd like to give a s/o to my bff MartengaPop for proofreading this and just being her awesome self. Please, show your support for her amazing stories as well :D
And don't forget to R&R! I'd love to hear some more of your feedbacks or just simply showing your love for this fic :)
Have a good day! And sorry for the long A/N.
CHAPTER II
Dare You To Move
Shocked.
He barely realized his arm is still hanging in the air as if it's still trying to stop the blonde who manages to turn his head over heels. Pulling his arms back towards him turns out to be not as easy as it's should be, and he definitely did not see the-thing-that-just-happened coming.
Did Nakiri Erina really just kissed him, Yukihira Sōma- the guy whom she used to cussed and looked down on? Yeah sure, they're now in better terms though it doesn't change Sōma's goal, but for her to get this far definitely don't wrap well around his head.
And the weirdest thing is this; he actually kissed her back- a sign that he actually liked it.
His feet take a step back before he finds himself helplessly leaning against the bed. A deep sigh breaks out of his mouth as he gets a good grip on his white headband, pulling it mercilessly and forcing the knots off. Sweats drip free on his temple in result of this action, but he could care less to wipe them off.
Sōma's mind drifts off to the God Tongue- the one he used to merely see as someone he needs to impress but slowly on the route to becoming a friend regarding how much personal stuff they know about each other because of their habit of late night talking. Heck, she is the only one who knows how he got that scar on his right eyebrow- they've came a long way, alright.
But then they kissed and his world crumbles down on him in a flash. The moment their lips touch was that one moment Sōma's sweat and blood to sway Erina with his cooking all these times seemed to fly that it almost didn't matter to him. He finds it hard to admit, but all he wanted was to drown in it and hoping no one would rescue him. It's the power of the God Tongue's lips, he supposed- the lips that only touches refined, gourmet food ended up touching his.
And then the Crème Brûlée creeps in; did she think it was delicious? Again, if it wasn't, Sōma wouldn't think that she'd kiss him. But was it purely the Crème Brûlée effect?
He's dying to know what she really thinks of it, and he'd really like to hear those words coming out from her own mouth. But on the other side, he's also dying to know what was that kiss for.
Reflectively, Sōma places his hand against his chest, and he wonders why his heart beats differently at the very moment he recalls how her thin, soft lips touch his.
But he's certain of one thing, and one thing only; tomorrow is going to be an interesting day.
»»-¤-««
A heavy brick seems to be weighing down Sōma's eyes still as he reclines himself on the kitchen island of Polar Star dorm, folding up his arms and placing his head over it. He would occasionally scratch his bed hair- initially to sort it out a bit, but it turns out he's only making it even messier. Not even the cheerful chirps from the bird could pull him back to earth regarding the interesting all-nighter he pulled last night.
Oh, just how that one heck of a blonde gets inside his head in a completely different way now. He can still recall how her lips drip caramel and matcha. Breath springs of vanilla fused with a little taste of his cooking- maybe it could never get any better; his cooking taste the best in her mouth. Of course- he certainly wouldn't mind to even brush his lips against hers, once again.
At this moment, his mind is made- Sōma needs to see Erina again. He needs to find out some things. Those things that kept him up all night and he's now seeking a chance where he could kill two birds with one stone. Which bird to kill first, he's still not sure of it. It's a battle between his old dream and a possible new dream.
If only he can get his head off of the kitchen island.
"Eh? Good morning, Sōma-kun."
A string of pastel-colored voice rings through his ear that sends his head up instantly. But then a sinking feeling of slight disappointment emerges once Sōma witness the unexpected neatly-braided bluenette standing across him. Again, the expected person doesn't address him with his first name- he should've known better.
"Ah, morning, Tadokoro." He says, trying his best to uplift himself although the weariness in him is still obvious, "Going to class?"
"Yes, after I have my break- Uh… S-Sōma-kun? Did you sleep at all last night?" Megumi places the tip of her fingers above her mouth right after noticing the obvious circle under the redhead's eyes.
Sōma smiles weakly at her remark, "Yeah, a little bit."
"Do you want some Chai Tea? Hayama-kun made his own tea blend last night. I-I can prepare a cup for you if you want."
The thought of the spice master's Chai Tea is sure hard to resist, so without thinking hard, Sōma lifts his thumb feebly before resting his head on the counter once again, "Sure, thanks a bunch, Tadokoro."
The room is soundless once again. The only thing Sōma can hear is the sound of whisk scraping against a metal saucepan- he's not too sure. Occasional footsteps of Megumi are not bothering him too much, especially when Crème Brûlée and Erina come creeping back inside his mind.
Just… where does he start when he sees Erina? What would he say?
Before a frustrated groan leaks out, the sound of a ceramic mug hitting the table wakes Sōma up from his lightheadedness, sending his head raises once more. Instantly, his nose is welcomed by a lingering smell of cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, and some other he can't identify yet merging into a perfume only Hayama can make. The tired self within him slowly fades away as his lips graze the soft, frothy surface of the aromatic beverage and feel the flavorful liquid smoothly running down his throat into his empty stomach.
This is not just a cup of Chai Tea- Megumi has prepared him a Chai Tea Latte.
The milk has taken a delicious cup of tea to another height. Not only the spices have waken up Sōma's senses within seconds, but the milk Megumi has vigorously whisk over the stove also gives it more body yet still keeping it light enough for the exhausted souls.
As Sōma admires the combination of Hayama and Megumi's craftsmanship, he can't help but notice another warmth that does not come from the cinnamon, and his newly awaken senses is surprised; it is black pepper.
And as a cherry on top of a perfect sundae, Megumi sweetened the tea with a spoonful of good quality honey, making the Chai Tea Latte even more robust in flavor.
"Better, Sōma-kun?"
Jeez, even the effect of Hayama's masterpiece and Megumi's warmth is full of surprise; it distracts Sōma's attention to the bluenette -the maker, the helper, and the friend- who has been sitting across the counter all this time.
"Ah yeah, definitely. Thanks again for preparing this, Tadokoro!" His friendly self seems to have come gradually.
"Don't mention it, Sōma-kun. I was planning on making one for myself anyway." Megumi smiles sweetly as she takes a small bite of a nori rice cracker, "I-If I may ask, what kept you up last night?"
No- he can't tell what happened last night to Megumi yet. Dragging people into this thing may not be best for the current situation since he's not so sure what kind of fucked up situation is this either.
"The usual, testing recipes." Sōma coats the actual fact with a piece of truth, but the next thing coming out of his mouth is out of his control, and it's sprawling out like a word vomit, "Say, you seen Nakiri today?"
Sōma no baka- he thought, but he manages to hide the shock by taking another sip of the Chai Tea Latte.
"Uhm… I-I think she's still changing in her room. What's the matter?"
"Ah. Nah, nothing important."
Megumi stares at him like there's a math problem written on Sōma's forehead. Maybe she's noticed that his behavior is slightly odd, but he's not going to worry about it too much- there are some things that he should worry too much about.
That's right- for once, Yukihira Sōma is uneasy.
"Well, maybe she will be here any minute. I hope she's doing alright, though. I ran into her in the bathroom earlier, and she didn't look… present." Megumi expresses her concern. Head in her hand with mouth slightly pouting.
Those remarks of Megumi surely catches Sōma's attention. Could she be having the same dilemma as him? How exactly does she feel about this?
As he's about to shrug the thought off with a big bite of nori rice cracker, Megumi excites her voice over something that instantly forces Sōma to turn his head to what Megumi refers, "Ah there she is. Good morning, Nakiri-san!"
A beat of a drum within Sōma's chest can be clearly sensed as his eyes land on a honey blonde figure standing in front of the kitchen entrance fully dressed with the well-known Totsuki uniform. Purple eyes sparkle a rather surprised glow at the golden eyes' direction. Her body freezes as if his feet are obliged to stop her tracks.
He takes one heavy breath as their eyes meet once again. Hot and cold the kitchen turned, but with a blush on her cheek and a bead of sweat running on his temple are enough to prove that it leads towards the hot.
And if Sōma could ever follow his animality, he would just come over there and wrap his arm around that figure once again.
"E-Eh, w-what is going on? W-Why is the atmosphere changing?" Megumi stutters once she notices the tension that wasn't present before Erina walks in.
Catching Sōma by surprise, Erina takes a glance towards Megumi, before going back to him.
And just like that, she shifts herself outside, drifting off without leaving any single mark. The only thing Sōma can hear before he can feel himself fully awaken is the sound of her fast-paced footsteps, and they are slowly fading away.
Without any second thought, Sōma's feet move as an attempt to catch up to Erina's surprisingly rapid movement, leaving the yelping Megumi alone in the kitchen. The hell with thinking of what to say- if Erina keeps avoiding him like this, what could be resolved?
Sōma makes a right turn towards the exit and the God Tongue's tail is nowhere near him. Her running figure is still visible, but it's becoming smaller every second. The hallway to the exit seems like a mile away to his way worn self. Oh, how he wish his strength is completely built by now, but no- the allnighter starts to take a toll on him now as he finds himself limping and out of breath by the time he exits the dorm.
He's sweating, panting, but there's nothing he can do now as Erina's frame outside the gate turns to dot before it makes a left turn. The last thing he sees within that little dot is, he thinks, her; taking a one last look at him, but she probably hopes that he can't catch her up.
Man, Sōma swears if she wasn't an undefeatable chef, she'd be one hell of a track star.
His hand is now on his knee. Breathing is no simple task for him and it literally feels like someone is lighting up fire inside his lungs. If only he isn't so tired, he could've easily caught up to her and get these things all over.
Again, his mind wonders; why is he getting himself into all this trouble? It's not like he's into Nakiri Erina- the one who possesses the oh-so-powerful taste bud. All he wants from her is her acknowledgement and that would be it.
Or is he?
"Ah, typical Sōma-kun; clueless about woman now, aren't we?"
A familiar male voice startles him and he jerks up towards the source. It is no other than the one who walks around wearing nothing but a piece of white cloth people called fundoshi to cover his junk- at least that's what he's wearing now. Over his shoulder is a hoe full of dirt, and his entire body is covered in sweat. Obviously, he's been out all morning gardening, yet he's flashing that million dollar smile like there's nothing in the world that can wear him out.
"What're you talking about, Isshiki-senpai?" Sōma uninterestedly ask, still bending down to straightened his slightly cramped legs.
"I saw Erina-cchi kissed you last night. What else would bother you this much?"
In that instance, Sōma jumps out like a lightning bolt just mentally strikes him.
"HUH?! H-HOW DID YOU… JUST- WHEN WILL YOU STOP LURKING ON YOUR KŌHAI ISSHIKI-SENPAI?!" His jaw drops and he's almost lost for word, but the urge to cuss the half naked man with a high-pitched voice is just unstoppable.
Responding to Sōma's outrage, Isshiki just laughs it off, "Now, now, Sōma-kun, there is no need to be mad. It was an accident. I tried talking through the tube but there wasn't any response from you, so then I opened the ceiling and accidently saw the... little thing."
"YOU SAW THE WHOLE THING DIDN'T YA?" Sōma replies, still raising his tone towards his senpai.
Once again, Isshiki just exposes his innocent smile, "No worries, Sōma-kun. When I saw Erina-cchi pulled your collar and kiss your lips, I closed the ceiling right away."
If Sōma was standing in front of a mirror, he must had seen a reflection of a well-ripened tomato- that's how mad red and embarrassed he is. But again, what's done is done, and he can't just make Isshiki unsee what he has seen.
"Now come with me, Sōma-kun. Let's have a conversation."
Seeing no way out of it- and giving up on trying to come up with an excuse, he finds himself sluggishly being dragged by the ass-bared peep.
»»-¤-««
"I see, so that's how it happened." Isshiki mumbles once Sōma's unscrambled what actually happened and what Isshiki didn't see. Sōma is left with no choice here- might as well let his senpai know. Maybe he can help him in some way, "I think she has a thing for you, no Sōma-kun?"
He sighs at Isshiki's remark, letting his gaze falls to the vivid vegetable garden of Polar Star dorm as his lung breaths on the fresh, morning air. The sun's getting higher every minute, but the warmth soaking within his skin is rather enjoyable and slightly calms him down.
"Nah, dunno." He briefly answers, revolting himself from the wooden bench and support his weight by leaning forward, "Seems like too wild of a thought."
"And I think you're starting to as well."
To Sōma, the picture of him having a crush on Erina is absolutely unthinkable. Heck- before this mess happened, she's just the mighty princess a stable boy has to impress.
But he for sure can't deny that she's… ethereally beautiful.
"Yeah, right," Sōma scoffs, "The gourmet world royalty and a diner brat sitting on a tree."
Again, Isshiki laughs, "You're in denial, Sōma-kun. How unlikely of you."
"What? I-"
"You kissed her back, and now you want to kiss her again. Isn't that true?"
Sōma throws his glance somewhere else, not wanting to look at the almost-bared senpai who seems to see right through him. Guess he's cornered now, isn't he?
Seeing no way to escape the freakshow of a senpai's interrogation- and thinking that his senpai might have made a good, possible point in spite of him regretting his decision to come along , he admits, "Aight, fine. But that's not the only thing-"
"Your Crème Brûlée; you still want recognition from Erina-cchi, don't you?"
"Okay, you're not a psychic by any means, are ya?" Sōma replies, massaging his nose bridge.
Cackling almost hysterically, he remarks, "No, no, Sōma-kun. Don't be like that. I just positioned myself in your shoes and figured what your one-sided, youthful mind might be thinking."
When he talks like that, he swears his senpai sounds like he's 62. What is with him and 'the youth' anyway? But no, he can't afford to fully develop that thought as one thing he particularly said catches his attention.
"One sided?" Sōma says, scrunching his forehead.
"I remember the day when we first met, you told me you were going for the top spot in Totsuki, right? But in order to do that, you need to have Erina-cchi acknowledgment as a chef, and that sole goal has been the only thing on your mind until this event throws you off and makes you confused. Yes, Sōma-kun?"
Isshiki's word is not only right on target like a perfect game of darts, but it also stirs his thoughts and feelings quite a bit more than before. He never really thought about his significant other romantically before, so maybe this is how it feels to do so?
As the gleeful chirps of the flying birds start to dim, his senpai continues without minding Sōma's idle response, "A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets, Sōma-kun, especially when you're talking about someone like Erina-cchi. Hasn't it dawn on you that food is everything here in Totsuki? With her sky-high pride and her noble status, I bet she's as confused as you are now."
"Eh, y'think so?"
"Indeed, Sōma-kun. You know how her father was, so basically, such thing as a feeling of affection is alien to her, because she has never felt any before she lives in this Polar Star dorm we call our home. Don't you think so?"
Come to think of it, his shameless, overexcited senpai might be right- something he never thought he would come to such conclusion. She does receive affections from his fellow Polar Star guys, though. But in terms of romantic relationship, maybe it is too, new to Erina despite all the shōjo manga she's been reading. It's as much of a love story she could get at this point.
"But… what about my cooking?" Sōma questions, suddenly remembering the thing that has been his most importance.
"Oh, Sōma-kun. Always eager for verbal recognitions." Isshiki chuckles, "It's simple; did she look like she enjoyed your Matcha Crème Brûlée?"
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, yeah. But-"
"Then you have your answer, Sōma-kun."
But clearly, to him a mere look isn't enough. He wants that particular mouth to say his cooking is delicious or he won't be satisfied.
"You don't get it, senpai. It's not enough for me." Sōma complains.
"So you would rather have her looking miserable but say your cooking is delicious, then?" Isshiki remarks calmly once again, smiling as if he knows that's obviously not what Sōma wants.
"What- that's outta the question, senpai. 'Course not!"
"Can't you see it now, Sōma-kun? The clearest voice to be heard is something that is shown. And the fact that…"
His ears have gone temporarily deaf once that last sentence runs through him like an endless stream of waves. Mouth forms an 'o' as if it's a sign that he's been given a wake-up call. He still can see Isshiki's mouth moves and keep mumbling about some secrets that can't be hidden forever, but it seems like his ears just refuse to pay attention as a lightbulb appears inside his brain and it slowly starts showing something he cannot see before.
And a confident smile emerges within his previously absent minded face.
"...and there is nobody in this world- Eh, Sōma-kun? Why are you smiling like that?" Isshiki stops muttering gibberish and asks.
He grins, "I've got it, senpai. I've got a plan."
"So you are indeed into Erina-cchi, right?" Isshiki invokes rather excitedly. Hands joined together and all. Even Sōma thinks he sees stars in the hue of his turquoise eyes.
"Oh, no. I'm still not sure of that." Sōma answers rather truthfully.
"Oh…" Isshiki remarks dejectedly, "So you're going to confront her about your cooking, then?"
"No, no. Definitely no."
Isshiki eyes him dumbfoundedly, blinking once in a while as if he's trying to read his mind once again, but Sōma isn't turning away this time. Instead, he eyes him back convincingly. He's still uncertain about his feelings yet his features beam as if he already know what the outcome will be.
"So what are you thinking, Sōma-kun?"
Smugly, Sōma replies, "Ha. You think I will easily give this out after everything I've told you about?"
At his pompous response, Isshiki stares at him hard like he's trying to break through Sōma thick wall and yet take another guess, slightly furrowing his brows. But what surprises Sōma is when his senpai slowly lifts his head before jumping and exploding like scintillating fireworks on new year's eve night sky.
"How wonderful, Sōma-kun! How absolutely wonderful! A star-crossed love story is finally happening in this wonderful Polar Star dorm! Oh, I've been waiting for this to happen forever, and now we're finally going to have our first couple ever! Oh wow, let us celebrate this special moment by basking in the ambiance of our youth and cook for everyone in the dorm, Sōma-kun!" Isshiki shouts as he practically jumps up and down the wooden bench, making it shakes vigorously.
Normally, Sōma would cringe whenever Isshiki does something weird and freaky like he's doing right now- especially if he starts exaggerating his speech and go overboard on the star-crossed lover thing. But now, he simply looks up at his giddy-looking senpai, folding his arms as his face twinkles and thinking this might be worth a celebration after all.
»»-¤-««
