Disclaimer: I do not own Shokugeki no Soma. Please do not sue me. I have no money.
Summary: Nakiri Erina lives a life far removed from that of a normal girl's. After a near defeat in a minor shokugeki, concerns are raised as to whether the young heiress is overworked and stressed. To assuage her grandfather's concerns, she agrees to see a therapist. Peculiar assignments are given in order to address the source of Erina's demons.
Thanks to: Cyber who is uber-bro for editing.
Title
Shokugeki no Soma
Chapter Three
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The therapist had ran behind schedule, so Nakiri Erina had to wait.
Accepting a seat offered by the receptionist, Erina looked around the lobby. She was sitting on the sofa with a small coffee table with some glamor magazines littered a top of it. Off to the side, was a bookcase with a selection of reading materials adjacent.
And among them with a book, similar to the one Hisako had brought for her. The picture-books called manga.
Erina rose. She took each step with dignity and grace, assuming completely that the receptionist was watching her every step when the young part-timer was busy playing Minesweeper on the computer.
Reaching out, Erina quickly grabbed the book and returned to her seat.
It was different from the one's Hisako had brought before. She had never read this one.
The thought of a different romantic story enthused her.
Perhaps they office wouldn't care if she just took it back with her to the mans-
"Excuse me, Nakiri Erina?"
"Eeep!"
The book went flying mid-air before Erina hastily caught it and hid it beneath her uniform coat.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. But Dr. Shinagawa will see you now. Please go on in," the receptionist said with a bow. After taking a breath to recompose herself, Erina went into the office.
The office was virtually unchanged. The only difference being the therapist had changed her outfit but that was of no importance.
"Hello hello! Please, take a seat," the therapist smiled.
Erina nodded and seated herself on the large cushioned sofa. The comic book targeted towards the young girl demographic tucked safely in her jacket pocket.
"So, normally I'd ask how you are but I think I'll go with this: what's that in your jacket?"
Erina froze. "N-nothing," Erina stuttered. If found out, she'd be caught for theft. Or worst, this woman might call the police on her! Nobody will want to hire a chef with a criminal record. They'd send her to prison and she'd never see her parents or grandparents or relatives or anybody ever again!
Erina Nakiri saw it in a prison movie once. Bad girls are taken and booked into the slammer for life!
"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"
The therapist tilted her head, her eyebrow raised.
"You suuure~"
"Yes! It's nothing. Absolutely… nothing…" Erina whimpered softly. "I'll return after the session," Erina confessed quietly as she removed the comic from her jacket. Placing it gently on the desk, Erina then leaned back. Her head tilted in shame.
"Oh, I enjoyed this one. You took it from my lobby?"
"Yes," Erina nodded.
"You were scared I was going to punish you for stealing?"
"W-well, I just like them is all," Erina said softly. "I like seeing where their-their-" Erina couldn't bring herself to name the genre before finishing, "I like seeing where their stories end up…"
"Interesting."
The therapist jotted some notes down before continuing.
"So you enjoy shoujo manga?"
Erina crossed her arms and puffed her chest.
"I like the plot, okay!?"
"That's fine! That's fine! I'm not judging you. In fact, it's uplifting to know you're doing something that's considered 'normal' for your age. Most girls aren't entrepreneurs and world famous gourmet food tasters who can sink entire city blocks of restaurants with a single review, you know?"
"That's true," Erina agreed, a slight smile on her lips.
"So, do you ever wish you were living in one of those comic book stories? You know, imagining yourself as the protagonist or heroine?"
Erina's cheeks blushed.
"No. It's utterly shameless."
"What is?"
Erina whispered an answer. The therapist didn't hear it.
"Come again?"
Erina whispered it again, barely louder.
"I really can't hear you."
Erina breathed in deeply.
"It's so utterly shameless to hold hands and walk home together!"
The therapist's eyes rose.
"I see," the therapist smiled before scribbling some more notes. "So! How goes my little homework assignment?"
"Good," Erina scoffed. "Easy actually. He likes caterpillars."
"How adventurous," the therapist nodded. "Although it's not really what I imagined you'd focus on."
"I got more," Erina mumbled.
"Go on."
"His father owns a diner. And he wants to open his own restaurant one day."
"Oh. What kind of diner does his father own?"
"Some special-of-the-day in a backwater shopping district no one cares about." Erina herself had never looked up the restaurant herself, but she imagined it was just some local hangout with mediocre edibles.
"What kind of food does his father make?"
"Plebian fare," Erina mumbled. "Probably anyways. I don't know anything about him. I guess it's passable if Yukihira's cooking is anything to go by."
"Coming from the famous God' Tongue, he must be an exceptionally talented cook," the therapist mused.
"Ugh. He's nothing special," Erina lied.
"So, what else you got for me? I imagine you have one more thing to tell me about him."
"He has lots of friends."
"Really? From the way you described him, he sounded very repulsive. What kind of friends does he have?"
"He has a lot of girlfriends," Erina replied quietly.
"A lot of girlfriends? Is he a player of something of that nature?"
Erina's cheeks blushed. She had only recently learned from the term but even she knew it wasn't applicable in this situation. "N-no. Nothing of that sort. I just mean a lot of his friends happen to be female."
"Hm, so tell me about them."
"There's Miss Mito, who is-well, was- a friend of mine. She is quite skilled with cooking high quality meats. There's also Miss Yoshino and Miss Sakaki who were in the Autumn Election Preliminaries. They are both quite exceptionally talented in their niche fields of cooking. Wild game for Miss Yoshino and fermentation processes for Miss Sakaki."
"My, this Yukihira fellow does make friends with talented individuals."
"Well none of them are as talented as me," Erina scoffed.
"You consider yourself his friend?"
"A-absolutely not! I'm just saying… if he was… I'd be the most talented out of all of them," Erina mumbled her answer. Her heartbeat was quickening. "Well there we go. That's all I really know about him. Besides him being an idiot and a pest of course."
The therapist tapped a pencil on her notepad.
"Does Yukihira Soma have a girlfriend?"
"W-what. No! I mean, I don't know. I don't think so. He's probably unable to comprehend a pure maidens feelings."
The therapist tilted her head.
"Is there a girl Yukihira is close with?"
Erina's body and heart tensed up. Her throat felt dry and her voice came out more annoyed than she would have liked.
"Tadokoro Megumi," Erina answered.
"Strange. I don't think you mentioned her. What can you tell me about her?"
"What's so special about Tadokoro Megumi!?" Erina snapped. The therapist jumped back at the suddenly display of intense irritation by the young Nakiri heiress. It was unbecoming of a fine lady and a culinary figure. "What's so special about the pure, sweet, innocent Megumi?"
Erina continued to fume.
Slowly, the frigid cold returned to her veins.
After a while, the anger dissipated.
But Nakiri Erina still found the thought of both Yukihira Souma and Tadokoro Megumi irritating.
"Nothing at all," the therapist shrugged. "Nothing."
The therapist scribbled for a long while into her notepad.
"What are you writing about?"
"Your next assignment actually," the therapist said happily. "You are going to talk to Tadokoro Megumi."
"Fine," Erina crossed her arms under her ample chest and crossed her legs. This assignment would be less burdensome than the last one.
"And I want you and her to talk about people you admire."
"You wish for us to talk about someone we admire?"
"Indeed."
Erina's mind immediately wandered to the mysterious gentleman who once cooked for her household. He created a masterful feast so wonderful and so magical Erina continues to pursue that perfection in her cooking to this day. Her only picture of him was her most prized possession.
"Someone we admire…" Erina's voice trailed off to the memory of that delightful meal.
"Yes, that's what I said. Someone like Yukihira Souma for example."
"Yea-wait, wait, wait! No. No! No no no no no!" Erina's words became jumbled as her mouth quivered out a barrage of denials and rejections. "Absolutely not! Not even close! Blegh!"
"Okay then. I still expect you to complete this assignment. See you in a week, then."
The therapist smiled and began calling her receptionist to bring the Nakiri limousine to the front.
Leaving the therapist office, Erina's thoughts tried to perverse the idea of Yukihira Souma being someone she would admire. She did so as Hisako greeted her. She continued to do so while looking out the window and listening to Hisako tick off the appointments for the next day.
She continued to do so in the bath, at dinner, and staring at the ceiling of her bedroom.
And somehow, Yukihira Souma never quite felt as repulsive in her mind as desperately as Erina tried to claim otherwise.
"I'm sick. That must be it. I'm ill," Erina mumbled before rolling her face onto her soft, silk pillow and screaming into the night.
Chapter Three Fin