Rating: T+

Pairing: Soma/Erina

Genre: Slow Romance

Notes:

Nothing much to add today. Just thanks everyone and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: Don't own Shokugeki no Soma.


This would be a surprise, would it not?

Although, an explanation is required first.

It all first began when she heard a soft knock on her door. Megumi had not been expecting anyone else to come inside, as both of her friends-slash-housemates Yuuki Yoshino and Ryoko Sakaki were already in there with her. The three girls had been doing something that they lately had not been able to do much or often; which was to just hang out and talk about things friends usually talked about. So it was surprising for her when Fumio peeked her head into her room and told her she had a rather "unexpected" visitor downstairs. So Megumi followed Fumio towards their living room; leaving a dumbfounded Yuuki and Ryoko behind, who only looked at each other before following Megumi for a little friendly eavesdropping.

"Akira?" Megumi asked, even thou the act of the name coming from her mouth did not seem to make it more believable. "And he's here to see me?"

"That's what he said," Fumio answered, clearly just as confused as she was. "At first I thought he was here for Soma, and I told him the boy was away working on Nakiri's restaurant, but he insisted that he came here for you and that it was urgent that he would speak to you. Maybe he wants to date you or something."

"Fumio!" Megumi felt herself blush. She's never been asked out; nor would she expect it so suddenly by somebody she has hardly ever spoken to.

"I'm just saying, when random boys show up here, they're usually here to challenge Satoshi or Soma to a Shokugeki, to ask one of you girls out on a date… or to challenge you girls to a Shokugeki with the date as the prize," as Fumio said this, she let out a soft smile to the now nervous Megumi. "But since I know a thing or two about this Akira fellow, I don't think he's here to challenge or date you. He's a nice boy, whatever it is, he won't try to force it upon you. Otherwise we'll throw him into Yuuki's pig pen."

Megumi just laughed as she made her way to the living room, where as expected was a well-dressed Akira waiting for her, sitting cross-legged and proper; with a rather large envelope on the couch right beside him. Her heart beat a little faster as he really did look like if he had gone there to ask her out. How would she respond to that?

"Megumi Tadokoro," he greeted, his tone soft and polite, as he most often was. "Are you well? Oh, and many thanks Mrs. Daimidou for fetching her."

"You are very welcome," the older lady gave the boy a soft smile. "I see Jun's boasts about you are not all for granted."

"Not all of them."

"That's good to hear young man, so," Fumio turned to Megumi. "I'll leave you two to your business. I'll be in my room if I am needed."

And like that Megumi Tadokoro was left alone in the living room with Akira Hayama.

"Megumi-"

"Yes!" Megumi automatic overly forcefully happy response made Akira give a confused look; as Megumi mentally slapped herself for overacting. She had to repeat to herself over and over again that he was not there to ask her out; so she shouldn't be trying to turn him down if the boy wasn't even trying anything. "Oh, sorry," she apologized; also making a mental note to tone down her apologies. "I'm a little jumpy, but, you were saying?"

"…Would you like to go out with me?"

Her eyes forgot how it was to blink. She just froze, her wide-eyed expression glued to her face as she tried (and failed) to register that what she had just repeatedly told herself would not happen, was happening. All she could hear was the silence of the room, her own screams in her own head and the sound of whispering from the walls that was undoubtedly Yuuki and Ryoko's bad attempt at hiding.

"…Pardon?" she asked weakly.

Akira just stared; then gave a soft chuckle. "Sorry, that's my bad attempt at an icebreaker," he confessed; as she felt herself twitch all over. "You seemed so nervous that I just assumed you were half expecting me to say that."

"…You're mean."

"I apologize," his smile didn't fade in the slightest. "But our respective romantic endeavors aside; I'm actually here to make you an offer."

Megumi stared for a bit, she took a seat opposite of him, cross-legged like a lady should, and allowed his words to sink in. Offer? "What kind of offer?"

"I would like you to be my second assistant chef in my Shokugeki against Nakiri," he mentioned, eyes locked onto hers. "Since with only Kurokiba by my side, I am short on one-"

"I couldn't," she was quick to interrupt, causing him to look dumbstruck for a bit.

"Pardon?" it was his turn to ask, half wondering if she was returning the joke.

"I said I couldn't possibly be part of that," her tone was serious; serious enough for Akira to realize she was not joking about this.

"And why is that?"

"Why?" she repeated, her tone making it seem like it was obvious as to "why" and Akira was refusing to see it.

"Yes, why? I'd like to hear a reason for why you "couldn't possibly" join me," he repeated her terms, as she frowned at him. He found it funny how even when she frowned, as unlike other girls he has met, like Jun, Hisako or even Erina; she still looked adorable even when "mad".

"Akira, I have no idea why you think this is funny, but I can't be a part of that," her tone was still serious, but it was his turn to frown. And he did not look as cute as she did doing so.

"Still awaiting your reason why."

"Because…"

"Because?"

"Well because of," she started, but stopped herself as she got to "of".

"…Soma?" he finished for her, causing himself to receive a glare from her. He noted that he was clearly a gifted individual to have actually managed to produce a glare from Megumi Tadokoro; and that she actually looked rather attractive with such a serious expression on her features. He decided it be best to ignore those thoughts, as it was not stopping her newfound glare from being aimed in his direction.

"…Yes, Soma," she admitted, glare ever present. "I know I'm perceived as some dumb small town girl who doesn't know when she's being used, but I do have pride you know, I-"

"Whoa, whoa, easy there," Akira stood up, his hands held out wide open in front of him towards her, as if he were calming a raging bull. "Who said anything about using you, I'm asking you to join me. I'm not taking advantage of you or planning to."

"You say that now, but why me?" she crossed her arms as she did this, causing him to wonder if he should feel threatened or amused.

"Because of your skill."

"My skill?" she asked that in the most incredulous way anyone had even heard her utter, as even Akira was surprised by her tone. "You have Alice, Takumi or Mimasaka to choose from, and you want my skill?"

"I do not want Alice anywhere near me, and Mimasaka's "style" is not one I agree to. Takumi I've considered, but I believe you are the best choice," he explained as best he could, but by the look on her face made it clear she was not buying any of it.

"Really?"

"Yes, why are you being so…" then it hit him. Her refusals and her worry about being "used". It all made sense. "I get it. You think I want you on my team like some sort of insurance to use against Yukihira."

She looked at him, biting her lower lip a bit before shifting her view to the ground. "…Why else would you ask me…?" she weakly finished, her tone back to how it usually was.

"Megumi," Akira began, sitting back down a bit closer to her. "I understand Soma is your friend, and that you may feel a certain way towards him that does make him a very important friend."

"What?" her face got flustered very quickly as he spoke.

"Relax, I've been there," his tone got softer, as if speaking from experience. "I know what it is like; to feel something for someone who cares for you but not in the way you would like them to," as he spoke Megumi just listened, realizing fully well who he was implying. "So that's why we do this; why we fight against those beyond our reach. Not for them, but to prove to ourselves that we are not measured by their standards, but by our own."

"…I still don't understand."

"I'll explain," as he spoke, Akira retrieved the envelope he had with him and took out a letter from it. It was the letter sent out to both Erina and himself about the details of their upcoming Shokugeki. "Erina has both Soma and Hisako as her aides in the upcoming match, so I'm required to have two aides in order for it to be a fair match up. I honestly can't think of a better partner than you."

She allowed all of this to sink in. Was he really asking her to be a part of his team because of her skill? No hidden agenda or anything. It's not like she distrusted Akira, but again, she didn't know much about him. "It's counterproductive for you, I mean, making me go up against Soma."

"Why?" he asked, his tone serious. "I know he has helped you out, but that help has not been one-sided. You did not reach the Autumn Elections because he bribed the judges to put you there. You reached the Elections because you are good. And truth be told, I want you on my team because my restaurant is Mexican cuisine. Mexican cuisine is bigger in the United States than in any other country save for obviously Mexico. Do you know why they're so big in the States?"

"Um… because there are a lot of people who were born in Mexico living in the States?"

"Exactly, because while many Americans and people from other nationalities may enjoy Mexican cuisine as much as the next guy, they'll never feel the passion for it as much as those residents who grew up with the real thing," his tone was strong, in a way Megumi had a hard time describing. "Because even if you leave your home country to look for better opportunities, you leave your heart in your country. And those restaurants give you the ability to eat your hometown meals at least one more time. So for that half an hour you're eating there; you're home. And you know what they call that? Comfort foods…" he stopped, before adding with a very serious expression directed right at her eyes. "…And I have not found a better chef for cooking comfort foods than the one I'm talking to right now."

Megumi forgot how to swallow.

"Oh my God! I felt it all the way from here!" Yuuki's voice was heard all over the living room, as Megumi found herself unable to speak and Akira just looked at the wall he heard her voice from in amusement.

"Yuuki, quiet, they'll hear you," that was Ryoko.

"I think they already did," and that was Fumio.

Wait.

"Fumio! Are you eavesdropping too?" Megumi found her voice, and at that moment three heads peaked out from the doorframe; each belonging to Yuuki, Ryoko and Fumio respectively. "Girls, could I get some privacy!

"Hey, I'm a girl, eavesdropping is a female hobby; don't you watch soaps?" that was Yuuki.

"I'm just tagging along, don't blame me," that was Ryoko.

"And I'm old and bored, so sue me," and that was Fumio.

As Megumi just felt like there was really nothing she could say to them; as it was their expected behavior anyways; Akira standing up caused her attention to return to him. "You don't have to answer me now; just please try to give me an answer in two days; since the first match is in four."

He began to walk away, after giving Megumi (and by extension, the other ladies present) as short bow. As he did, he was stopped by Megumi grabbing onto the sleeve of his shirt. "You really think I'll be a good asset to you? This is a multicultural thing."

"Hey, I'm a guy from India making a Mexican restaurant in Japan. It doesn't get more multicultural than that," he spoke with a smile, an actual soft smile which Megumi had not really seen in him before. He did add something else before he left thou, stating: "And remember, Soma has no stake in this. Even if he loses, he is not expelled or anything of the sort. So what better event to make him really look at what you're made of than this one right here?"

She allowed his words to sink in; and as he left, she felt a small smile on her own lips.

This would be a surprise, would it not?

-0-

"Welcome back my ever faithful viewers!" a cheerful young girl appeared on television and streaming computer screens everywhere once the commercials ended and the event resumed. "You are all tuning in live for the cooking match of the century between the heiress of the Nakiri throne and current ten seat of the Elite Ten, Erina Nakiri; versus the champion of this year's Autumn Elections and overall top rookie of the first years, Akira Hayama! I'm your ever lovable host Urara Kawashima," she spoke with a wink to the audience. "Bringing you all the action on-direct courtesy of Tootsuki TV! Who will take home the crown on the first of the three proposed matched between Erina and Akira? We shall see on this event when we-"

"Hey!" a loud yell was heard off screen, as the girl jumped a bit as she was startled. "You're not supposed to be using that!"

"And, hey, look at the time! Urara Kawashima away!" with that spoken Urara darter out of the camera's view and onto somewhere off camera, as the previous host of the event appeared.

"…teenagers," he could be heard muttering; as he quickly composed himself and smiled brightly for the camera. "Sorry about that, uh, technical difficulties. But, enough of that, are you folks ready for the event? Why of course you are, you wouldn't be sitting there if you weren't! So without further ado, let's tune in back at the two teams as they're moved towards their respective restaurants!"

As the camera panned out, showing the hundreds of people gathered at that spot surrounding the competitors (mostly made out of other students, teachers, workers or special guests), almost everyone in Tootsuki who wasn't their present was tuning into the event from their dorms. Because not only was it the first Elite Member challenge of the year, which is a pretty big deal for everybody but mostly for the first years who have not seen a previous match up and have been led to believe that the Elite Ten are all but untouchable, but because many teachers announced a short quiz on the subject of the match for the next day; giving students an extra initiative to tune in.

And so around the campus, many where seeing the broadcast. From the whole group at Polar Star Dormitories, to the Aldini brothers at their room, to Kanichi and Ikumi at the former's dorm room (per the former's insistence he had no one else to see the event with), to even the rest of the members of the Elite Ten (each with their own predictions as to what would happen tonight). While most people were eager to see the match start, the biggest doubt or even complain everyone had at the moment it was announced was pretty much the most expected of reactions.

"Soma Yukihira is not cooking?"

For Soma, this meant stares. Many stares. From hundreds of people. Oh, and whispering. Can't forget the whispering.

So he just stood there, fourth in line after Julio, Hisako and Erina respectively, all staring down against the other team composed of Megumi, Alice, Ryou and Akira respectively. It felt so weird to be here, since while he had expected this event to be big, he didn't expect to feel like a movie star on the red carpet; as that was the closest he could describe it to someone if asked. Weirder even, was looking forwards and seeing Megumi all prepped and ready to fight against his team. Against him. It was a weird feeling, given to the fact that out of everyone in Tootsuki; he had never expected to go up against her.

So when the groups were told they could advance forwards and head towards the limousines (because of course, why not?) to be driven towards their respective restaurants; Soma did not hesitate to break formation and go towards Megumi.

Erina stared at him as he did, for the briefest of moments, before turning her attention elsewhere and heading to where she had been told to go alongside Hisako and Julio.

"Tadokoro!" he yelled as loud as he could, since the background noise and music made it hard to communicate. "Hey, Tadokoro!"

"Soma!" she yelled back, taking a few steps towards him, as her group stopped for a bit as she did. "Soma, hey! I, erm, surprise!?"

"Surprise alright! What are you doing here? I mean," he ought to correct himself. He wasn't that stupid. "I know you're competing, but, since when?"

"About four days ago, while you were painting, I guess."

"Oh, right, and, wow, look at you," he mentioned, honestly because he couldn't get the right words out. She looked, different. Something about her, about how she carried herself at that moment, made her almost unrecognizable in his eyes. "This is a pretty big thing, you know, I'm so glad for you. And I do mean that honestly, even if you're the reason we lose, I still mean it."

"I know," she just cocked her head a bit to the side, eyes a bit narrowed. Not looking mad, but composed. A strange adjective to describe Megumi, Soma noted. "I almost didn't accept, as I didn't want to inconvenience you, you know."

"Inconvenience?" his questioning tone couldn't be more honest. "Tadokoro, this is what we do, who we are. I'd have been disappointed if you had said no; so trust me, you did well."

"I know," her smile was tender as she spoke, causing him to stammer a bit with his own thoughts. It was honestly surprising for him that that could happen. "I'm here to prove something to myself, actually," she continued; and before he could ask she explained. "That the results of the Elections were just a midterm exam, not our final grades. Who says I can't be top student?"

"…No one's going to."

"…" if she was going to say something, she allowed her smile to do it for her. As Soma looked for more words to use, or try to, Akira could be heard calling for her, telling her that they really needed to go. It was then Soma noticed that all three other members of Megumi's group had been waiting for her to finish speaking with him; completely unlike his own group who were probably halfway to the restaurant by now. "I got to go," she mentioned softly, with him nodding in understanding.

"Best of luck, Tadokoro," Soma spoke to her, before turning to Akira. "Good luck man, show them all why you're the one with the crown."

Akira just smiled in turn, before speaking loud enough for Soma to hear but not loud enough to be considered a yell. "And best of luck to you too. Then again, if you have improved even in the slightest since our last match; you won't need much luck at all."

"I'd wish," Soma just smiled from ear to ear. "But haven't you heard, I'm a busboy, so you won't have to worry about me." As he spoke, he felt Megumi's piercing gaze upon him, analyzing him, like she always did when she thought he was putting on an act for one reason or another. Most of the time, she over analyzed stuff, but he'd have to agree that she was dead-on target this time around. "Eh," he would try to act it thou. "Tadokoro, something on yo-?"

"She's going to regret that."

The serious tone she took surprised him. It was so unlike her, to speak about someone like that. Even if he perfectly understood why.

"I really don't think she's the type to regret her decisions," he spoke honestly. Erina Nakiri was definitely not someone who'd waver on a decision she took just because other people disagreed.

"No Soma, trust me on this," Megumi's tone was still serious, but with her ever present smile as she turned towards her new comrades. "This is one mistake she's not going to be able to buy her way out of."

And for what was seemingly becoming a trend, Soma was left without a reply to give.

-0-

Soma was honestly surprised to find out that his "team" (a term he used as sparingly as he could, since a better description for their formation would be "Our Queen, the aides and her lackey"; but it would be a mouthful to say) actually waited for him at the limo. Oh, they did really care for their busboy… Or Erina would be disqualified if he wasn't at the match.

Yeah, that's probably why.

So as Team Erina plus 1 made their way to the restaurant, Soma partook in some sightseeing. Not that he hadn't seen any of this prior, since earlier that day he had taken his motor bike by this very route to reach their meeting point. Heck, he was forced to leave in parked somewhere around this area, since the amount of people at the point where they started were so many that's he wouldn't have found a spot an inch closer if he circled around the entire area. He was even sure he had parked somewhere closer to the actual restaurant that to the event, not that it mattered much.

As he watched and thought of his motor bike (he hoped it wouldn't rain), he felt oddly uncomfortable in the limousine. Since for all the commotion that just took place moments prior, the inside of that limousine was as quiet as could be. It seemed to be a trend when it came to riding in the same automobile as Erina Nakiri; at least when it came to him. Soma considered starting a conversation to ease the tension a bit, but decided not to on the account that he honestly didn't feel like it. Which was admittedly strange for him.

It took the sound of Erina's beeping phone, notifying everyone that she had received a text, to start something resembling a conversation between the four.

"…The staff's already there," Erina spoke softly, the other three unsure if it had been to them or to herself.

"That's good right?" Julio decided to try and use that to converse, even if it may have not been meant to anyone. "I mean, they were given a list of things that they needed to learn a few days ago when they were chosen, so it's good that they see the restaurant before they have to work on it… Even if it's only a few minutes."

"I suppose," Erina muttered, her eyes still glued to the phone. From Soma's point of view, she seemed to be reading something of the internet. He didn't know how she could, as he always got dizzy if he tried to read while on a moving vehicle. "…Just hope they don't touch anything."

Everyone just remained quiet at her comment, not wanting to rally up her more by telling her that their jobs required them to touch stuff. A lot of stuff. Soma just stared as he had come to expect her attitude by now, but he was still surprised when Hisako addressed him directly. "Hey Soma," she said. "You okay? Nervous?"

"…Ah," where had that come from? He knew Hisako was not as overly, what word could he use, intense as Erina; but to randomly ask him if he was okay was surprising. "I'm fine," he lied. "I guess I'm a little nervous. Never had people I needed to supervise, so it's a new experience there."

"You'll do fine. We're all counting on you to help us keep this thing running," she smiled at him as she said so, before shocking both him and an attention-paying Julio by turning to Erina and adding: "Isn't that right, Milady?"

Erina's face contorted a bit.

"…What was that?" Erina asked, her tone genuinely confused.

"That we're all counting on him to help us out," Hisako repeated, adding extra emphasis to the "all" to make sure Erina knew she was including her on that statement. Erina just stared before closing her eyes and sighing.

"Yeah, we are," she spoke, eyes still closed, before reopening to face Soma. "Just do your best."

Soma just smiled, more at Hisako than at Erina. But it still felt nice to receive some amount of support from his "boss"; even if it was practically being given at gunpoint.

"Will do."

-0-

As the four arrived at the restaurant, already with all of its lights turned on, equipment in place, and the big, bright neon sign that read: "GOLDEN LOCKS" in bright, obviously golden letters; Erina took that very minimal moment they were given before the competition started (which began at six o'clock sharp and lasted until eleven) to quickly run to her office and mentally prepare herself.

She sat down on her chair, facing towards her big desk, and took out the photo of her biggest cooking idol, Jouichirou Saiba.

"See, I could so get my own restaurant," she softly addressed the sole man responsible for her interest in following in the family business; and the one person she'd dedicate any of her triumphs to. Wherever he was anyways, she had not heard much from him recently.

"We're ready Milady," Hisako interrupted as she entered the office, causing Erina to quickly place the photograph face down on the desk. Hisako took only a moment to see what was going on before she gave Erina a sly smile. "Talking to your crush?"

"…It's not like that," a flustered Erina countered, before she stopped a leaving Hisako by adding: "Wait, Hisako! Are you mad at me?"

Hisako just turned to face her friend, looking at her for a moment before shaking her head. "No Milady, I'm not. I'm-"

"Yes you are!" Erina pouted as she spoke, causing Hisako to feel a bit awkward at being the only person alive allowed to see this side of her. But this was not the time nor the place for that, not with such an important event about to start in mere minutes. Erina, however, continued to speak while pouting. "You're mad because I treat that commoner like trash."

"…You make it sound worse."

"…But it's true."

"Milady, I-"

"Erina! Call me Erina," she shouted at first, before recovering the tone she always used; which in turn cause Hisako to widen her eyes a bit. She knew Erina to well to not notice when she formed barriers around herself. "I'm not your lady, I'm your friend. So, please, even if it's just you, call me-"

"Erina," Hisako complied, in the most tender voice she could have used. Erina just looked at her, as if unsure of what to say. "Sometimes the things you do, I, well, can't just blindly nod and agree with. Soma Yukihira is many things, but he is not a bad person. If anything, he's the one person who doesn't treat you the way you hate to be treated."

At this Erina said nothing, just shifted her gaze from Hisako to her facedown photograph.

"But, regardless of that, I'm here for you," Hisako continued, clenching her fist against the upper buttons of her chef's attire and smiling at Erina. "Never forget. There's not a single individual present in this entire campus that wants to see you succeed more than this girl right here."

-0-

"So… Are you really Soma Yukihira?"

Soma just nodded as one of the two bussers he was assigned to "supervise" asked him if he was who he said he was. The two of them were both first years, and both were failing at one class that they decided to participate in this events in hopes of gaining a few bonus points. The other boy, who was looking at Soma intensely, just asked: "Why are you a busboy?"

"…Because Erina Nakiri hates my guts… I guess…"

"Oh…" both of them spoke in unison, nodding.

Before they could ask any more questions, and Soma be forced to answer them, a loud chime was heard all around the campus; signaling the start of the event. At this Soma just took a deep breath, before sharply looking at the two before him.

"Okay, listen up guys, I know you two get your bonus points whether we win or lose this thing, so there is not much stake in this for you so long as you do your job moderately proper," he stated, as the both just looked at him more surprised than anything by his change of tone. "But we are part of Erina Nakiri's team, just by saying that around here you two will open doors you have no idea could be opened. That goes double if you help her win. So let's focus on this. This place has forty tables, so I'll split them and assign tables one to twenty to you," he said pointing at one of them. "And tables twenty-one to forty to you," he added while pointing to the other.

They both nodded in unison, wondering where this guy had a switch that turned him from casual to professional in an instant.

"And don't worry if anything goes wrong," Soma added, offering the two of them a smile. "You're both just support. I'll assign myself all forty tables and keep them steady and clean. You each just reset them like Nakiri wants them to be. Remember, a clean plate in front of each seat, and a folded napkin with two forks, a knife and a pair of chopsticks on the left side of each plate. You guys can get that stuff at the counters; all of which are fully stocked on plates, utensils and napkins. Understood?"

All they could do was nod.

-0-

The four-sectioned fryer had already been turned on; each section with two deep-fryer baskets.

The wide grill had already been set; divided into three sections of heat measuring 230 degrees, 300 degrees and 400 degrees of heat respectively.

The stove was also on, with the pans, skillets and woks all positioned as they should be; spatulas, tongs and other kitchen friendly materials all nearby and ready for usage.

The fridges (one for the expo, another for the pantry) were fully stuffed as ordered by Erina Nakiri; while both the walk-in cooler and the freezer were (slightly less so) stocked and kept at a respective temperature of 32 and -5 degrees Fahrenheit.

All the staff was in position, with the two hosts at the lobby, the waiters each scattered nearby waiting for their first seat, a back waiter in front of the expo and the other in front of the pantry, each busser (as per Soma's instructions) on his assigned area and all three chefs at the kitchen…

…Oh, and Soma was there somewhere.

So they waited.

…And waited.

…And waited.

…And waited.

…And waited.

Soma checked his watch. It read 6:12.

So they waited.

…And waited.

…And waited.

…And waited.

…And wait-

-The front doors were opened!

"Welcome to Restaurant Golden Locks," one of the hosts, a young girl in her first year at Tootsuki, spoke with a rehearsed greeting; complete with the most charming smile she could muster. After all, everything was being recorded, thanks to all the security cameras functioning as television cameras for the night. "Table for two?"

"Oh, yes, two please," the would-be customer spoke up, a young man in his twenties at most, accompanied by an equally aged female companion. As the young hostess got two menus ready and signaled the couple to follow her; the other host, a young lad, just kept his smile in place and watched as his "coworker" lead the couple to their table. The order had been preset, as each table had been numbered from one to forty, so they would be seated that way. This couple, for example, being the first, would seat at table number one. Therefore, they would be assigned to Andrew, an American first year student who had been assigned tables one, eleven, twenty-one and thirty-one. Or at least, that had been the intention.

"Oh, it's a bit chilly in here," the female guest spoke up, just as the hostess had placed the menus on the table and the gentleman had sat down. "You don't think," the costumer pondered a bit, before adding: "We could seat there?"

"There" was a far of table, table eight to be exact, which was indeed a bit further from the air-conditioning vent than table one was.

The hostess' eyes widened a bit. "Uh… well," she stammered, looking around for an answer. Was she allowed to do that? Change the assigned order. She looked back at the other host, whose facial expression made it clear she was just as lost as she was. Then she looked around, but given that the General-Manager and Head Chef Erina Nakiri was in the kitchen awaiting cooking orders, she was momentarily out of reach. Also, since both Hisako and Julio were back there with her, she couldn't ask either of them anything. At that moment, considering telling the customers to allow her to ask management about that (politely, of course), her eyes met with Soma's; who was looking when he noticed the guests had not yet been seated.

"Can we?" the young lady asked again, still in a polite tone.

The hostess eyes met with Soma's, who nodded.

And it was settled. The hostess, even if informed that that boy was just the Head Busser, was well aware that that guy was Soma "I'm the freaking Runner-Up" Yukihira and she would do as he told her to.

"Sure you can, right this way," she gleefully stated; smile ever present.

After the guests were seated, busy eyeing their menus, the hostess ran towards Soma. "Excuse me," she pardoned herself. "What do I do now?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Um, well, I was supposed to seat table one, but they wanted table eight, so should I still give Andrew the first table?" she explained as Soma looked at the table the guests were seated on.

"Who's got table eight? Originally, I mean."

"Oh, Greta does, erm, did."

"Let Greta keep her table and attend those guests," Soma told the hostess, while adding: "You'll get less mixed up if you just rearrange the seating orders of the waiters than changing their assigned tables. Trust me, you'll be lucky if half the guests we attend tonight seat where their supposed to. Just focus on avoiding double-seating any of the waiters. I'll go inform Greta she has guests waiting."

With that spoken and a smile at the nervous hostess, Soma turned and went to look for Greta, who just now became the waitress with the first seated table. All the while, the hostess just nodded, as the boy host came towards her as he noticed she was unmoving. "Everything okay?" he asked her.

She nodded. "It's just," she added. "That he's so damn hot."

-0-

Soma made his way to one of the service stations, the counters were everything was stored and the computers for placing orders rested. There, seven of the ten waiters of the restaurant were together talking and chatting away. At least, until they saw Soma approaching. Then they all pretended to be cleaning.

"Relax guys," Soma told them. "We're still going slow. So long as you don't keep going slow when more people come in; we're going to be okay." Then he turned toward the Egyptian waitress he was looking for. "Greta, table eight is yours. I know you were eight in line for a customer, but the customer had other plans. Please go and attend to them."

"Oh, okay," the young girl said, pulling out her notepad and pen to take their orders.

"Just remember to suggest something, anything works," Soma told her as she passed by him, clearly nervous about the whole thing. Soma then turned to Andrew, who looked a bit confused, and patted him softly in the shoulder. "Relax, this things happen. Next costumers that come in, should be yours. If they all feel that table one is too close to the air conditioning for their liking, we'll just seat your first table at number eleven or twenty-one, alright?"

"Um… yeah, alright."

"Good, now," he turned to the rest. "And while I did say we are slow, this is just a five hour shift. So just because we don't have costumers doesn't mean there's no work to be done. I want to see you guys studying up those menus and giving Greta a hand if she needs it and you have not yet been seated. Can we do that guys?"

They all nodded, saying things like "sure thing", "of course", or "whatever you say, sir".

Soma just smiled in return, half wondering when did his classmates become so polite.

-0-

"Order up," Hisako announced when their screen flashed and an order was set. "Deep fried shrimp dumplings, a medium order of just six, with potsticker sauce on the side. The also seem to want some edamame with kosher salt as well."

"Got it," Julio spoke as he threw six dumplings into the deep fryer. "Wait, table eight?" he questioned when he saw the table that appeared on screen with the order. "What are those hosts doing? They skipped seven tables."

"As long as they don't double-seat it won't be a problem. Maybe the host got confused or the costumer wanted a different seat," Erina mentioned, placing a handful of edamame into the steamer. "Let's focus on wants important," she added. "To give our customers such a fine taste that they'll feel their eating raw sewage when they go to Hayama's."

So cook they did. Erina oversaw and personally finished both the dumplings and edamame for that first order, showing the back waiter assigned at pantry (as neither order came out at expo) how to place them for display: all six dumplings in a row on a long, thin plate with the potsticker sauce at the end; and the edamame in a bowl, with the kosher salt in the middle in a ramekin. Then Greta came into the kitchen and took both plates out in a tray. Within seconds, the costumers had received their food and were busy eating and enjoying themselves.

Hisako did a quick trip to the table and asked how everything was after about two minutes of them having been served.

They couldn't speak to her because they couldn't remove their faces from their plates; so Hisako took their thumb ups as a good sign.

A few additional tables got filled up by hungry, judging customers; and aside from two other seating complaints, everybody sat where they were suggested. For Soma, he considered the first hour of the event to have run pretty smoothly; more so than he would have anticipated. He would have to admit that Nakiri, for all her attitude problems, did arrange her workers pretty efficiently.

It was nearing 7:45 when Soma first heard of another troubling situation brewing. The guests, another young couple in their twenties, did not have a problem sitting where assigned. In fact, they didn't have much of a problem at all. Their waitress did. First year student Carla from Guatemala had proven with her first table that she did not have any problems conducting costumer service. In fact, Soma had noticed that her cheerful demeanor and go-to attitude had proven to be very useful for them. In fact, her previous costumers had ordered every single thing she recommended, thanks to the fact that she made everything sound so mouthwatering (which, granted, it was). But her current problem was pretty much that exact thing. She couldn't use any of that to her advantage.

"What did you say?" Soma asked her, half wondering why every waiter and waitress came to him with their troubles instead of taking them to Nakiri. He presumed the reason was because he was working up front instead of back in the kitchen like the others; so in a way he was more approachable. He would have told her to go to Nakiri, but the staff were not at fault with the latter's attitude, so Soma would not take out his frustration on them. No other choice but to lend a helping hand then.

"I think they're deaf…" she had trouble putting it to words, Soma noted.

"Deaf?"

"I was going to approach the table and I saw them conversing with sign language…" she explained, clearly a bit nervous. "I didn't hear either one of them speak, and I don't know sign language so I can't communicate with them at all. What do I do?"

Soma just gave the girl a reassuring smile. "Relax, and come with me."

Soma, with a following Carla, went towards the latter's newly seated table (number sixteen to be exact) and with a smile in place Soma did the required introduction, testing Carla's theory. "Good evening folks, my name's So-"

The gentleman quickly interrupted him, not with words but with signals. He signaled his ears, then waved his index finger as if saying "no". Soma nodded at this, giving him a short bow, and proceeded to glide his hand above the menu, as if showing it off. Then he took out his note pad, and a pen, and writing something down. Then he showed him.

'Ready to order?' it read.

The young man nodded, then proceeded to point at an item in the menu. Soma nodded and took note of it. Since the item, stuffed wontons, came with a costumer's choice of two different fillings, Soma pointed at one of the fillings in the menu, and then at the other, all while looking at the young man. Said young man pointed to the crab filling, which Soma took note of.

He repeated this process with the young lady, and after he was done taking their orders, he showed him his note pad, to which they gave him an "okay" sign in approval. Soma then wrote something else.

'You're waitress is going to be Carla, who was a little busy so I lent her a little hand at taking your orders. She'll be right here to take your drink orders and take good care of you. Would this be alright?' it read.

They both nodded and smiled at Soma, who returned the nod and the smile.

Then he left and went towards a waiting Carla, whose wide eyes said it all. "How did you do that?"

"They know their condition better than anyone else, trust me, it's harder for them than it is for either you or me," he stated, his tone soft. "Many people will treat them differently for it, so going out sometimes becomes off-putting for them. But they're just like everyone else. They're not going to expect that you know sign language; so long as you try and communicate with them, be it by writing or by body language, you'll understand one another. So go, I already told them about you so you can take their drink orders, oh," he mentioned as he gave him his notes. "This is their order. They already confirmed it, so it's all good. Make sure they see what you write, so we don't get anything wrong. Okay?"

"…Yeah," the dumbstruck waitress nodded and went towards her table, taking the notepad with her. Soma just stared, as a smile found its way onto his face.

"That man is blind dad," a six-year old Soma stated, as if it were the most shocking thing in the world. What's a blind man doing in a restaurant?

"Is he now?" his father mentioned, his tone as cheerful as ever. "And what's wrong with that?"

"Well… what's he doing here? He can't even see the menus, how are we going to cook for him?" a childhood-innocence-level question was asked by the six-year old. His father just gave him a knowing smile before he turned to the other chef in the kitchen.

"He's starting to ask those questions, should I answer or should you?" Jouichirou asked, as his wife turned from the grill to him.

"You're getting nervous answering this?" she playfully asked. "I don't want to see your reaction when we have to explain birds and bees."

"What's with birds and bees?" Soma asked.

"Some grown up stuff I'll tell you later," she told him bending down to reach his short level. "As for our guest; you wouldn't like to be treated differently just because you can't do something others can, would you?"

"Um… no," Soma stated, but then added. "But I can do lots of stuff!"

"Can't reach the counter, now can you," his father added, causing Soma to pout. His mother giggle at that before signaling Jouichirou. The latter nodded and went out of the kitchen and towards the costumer.

"Watch you father now…" she stated, her eyes locked at her husband's retreating form.

"Good morning sir, what would you like today?" his father tried and true greeting.

"Oh, hi!" the man greeted back. "I've been told good things about this place, and judging by this delightful smell, I think they're right. Are you the chef?"

"That I am," Jouichirou stated. "Anything in particular you may want to try out, or would you like to hear a few recommendations first?"

"Well, truth be told," the man began his description. "I have an old buddy of mine that keeps mentioning one particular pork dish you prepare here. He's told me I simply cannot visit this place and not have it. I think it has-"

And as the man described the dish, Jouichirou took notes, asking here and there until they both came to an agreement. Just like he did with every other costumer.

"See Soma," his mother stated, a glint present in her eyes that he could never really decipher; always directed at his father. "This is how we take care of the people who come here. Tend to their needs. Always meet them halfway."

"Always meet them halfway," Soma repeated softly, as the restaurant kept bussing around him. More and more people had come over, and as they did, Soma realized something. They were purposely mimicking real life. It was a little over eight o'clock; so it was dinner rush. They place was getting full.

Time to get busy.

…Or it would have been, had he not heard a very unsettling phrase.

"It's not accepting it…" spoke one of the waiters, John, as the English first year tried to jam his finger harder against the touch screen of the order computer. Soma took a few steps towards him, and took a peek at what he was doing.

"Something wrong?" Soma asked.

"Oh, Soma, erm, well…" he fidgeted, but added: "This guy's been sitting there for over an hour, ordering the same exact thing. But now the computer won't let me ring it up."

"Let me see," Soma spoke as John allowed him to reach the screen. "What's the order?"

"Spring Rolls, order of four," John stated, showing him his notepad. "He's already had five previous orders of this stuff, don't know why he wants more, but now I can't seem to get this machine to accept them."

"Weird," Soma stated, unsure of what was going on. He knew how to run a restaurant and cook, but his old place did not have such a sophisticated machine for orders. He just used an old-fashioned pen and paper. "Maybe there's something wrong with this screen, try another one, Nakiri has like six spread around. I'll let her know of the order so that it doesn't take too long to reach the table."

"Okay, thanks a lot."

"No prob," Soma then ran towards the kitchen (well, walked quickly; as running in a high class restaurant wouldn't be, well, classy). "Hey Nakiri!" he called for her loudly, causing the two nearby back waiters to stare. Then they got back to work lest they get yelled at by Erina.

"What?" she asked as she poked her head from the side. Soma momentarily stopped; as he saw her. If she had been dirty when they were preparing the restaurant, she looked absolutely filthy now. She was completely sweaty and her clothes were more soaked in oil than he believed the meats were. Then again, this was completely normal for a chef; it just surprised him to see her like that. Then he shook her head as she began to frown when he wasn't saying anything.

"One of your machines is acting up," he stated, pointing towards the outside of the kitchen. "John is placing the order on another one, but table twelve is once again ordering four spring rolls."

"Oh, okay, thanks," she then turned around. "Julio, did you hear that. Put four more spring rolls down!"

"Understood," he stated, putting his spatula down (he was preparing something) and picking up the tongs. He opened up the freezer next to him, looked, and stopped. Then he stared. Before Erina could ask, he spoke. "Um… where are they?"

"…Right there." Erina answered, confused.

"…Um… Nope, none here. I believe we need to go find more in the freezer," he stated.

"I'll get them," Soma stated. "The guy ordered them a few minutes ago, so we should prioritize that." So Soma moved towards the freezer, the large walk-in freezer that was currently at negative seven degrees Fahrenheit, a bit lower than it should but nothing that would affect anything in it. Aside from Soma. "Cold," said the jacketless boy. "Okay, gotta go fast. Spring rolls, spring rolls," he repeated to himself as he looked around. "These are made of veggies, so we need this mix," he spoke as he grabbed a bag of chopped vegetables. "And the wrappings, which are…"

There were none.

"That's never good," he felt himself sweat, which was very, very difficult to do at below zero temperatures. So he ran back, actual running this time. He almost slipped too, even with the slip resistant shoes they were all required to wear. "Nakiri, we don't have wrappings for the rolls back there! Do you have any anywhere else?"

"What?" she turned to face him. "What do you mean we don't have wrappings? How many have we sold?"

"About twenty rolls on just that table alone," Hisako stated, checking their screen for the sales. "Table four also ordered eight, and table eleven had two… and I think table twenty had four… wait, no, those were egg rolls… which use the exact same… wrappings…"

"…We've sold quite a few egg rolls, right?" Julio commented, but before he could even get an answer Erina darter out of the kitchen and towards the freezer. As Hisako told Julio to let her handle it and to keep focusing on the other orders, Soma followed Erina; more surprised than anything that she did not slip at all running like that. She really was at another level.

When he reached her, she was in the freezer, going through every single stored box. "No, no, no," he heard her mumble. "The hell? I'm out?"

"We're out?" Soma repeated, as she looked at him.

"How many orders are up?" she asked, her left arm crossed against her chest and her right rested against her left with her hand near her lips. "Yukihira, did you see?"

"Um…" he tried to remember. "Excluding spring rolls guy, we have six more table with orders up and seventeen open menus divided upon seven tables that have yet not ordered anything."

"Damn it," she stated, her tone sounding a bit worryingly. Something he had never heard from her.

"Okay, what do we do?" he asked, and waited.

And waited.

She just looked at him, their eyes meeting. And he noticed. She was biting her nails, moving a bit from side to side. Then he realized what was happening.

"Nakiri! Don't freeze!" he yelled at her, snapping his fingers close to her face; causing her to come back from her thoughts. "Tell me what to do!"

"I, ah, I, we," she tried to think, he could tell she did, but for some reason she was unable to move. "I didn't buy enough, who orders so many rolls in a fancy restaurant? Y-You can get that for like a dollar at any small-time vendor."

"That doesn't matter right now," he told her, grabbing her by the shoulders and giving her a light tug. This caused her to look right at him, and from her eyes, he could see. She was scared. So he inwardly cursed, and suggested: "Just go back to the kitchen and get everything else out. I'll go to the mart here at Tootsuki and buy more."

"What, I can't send you to-"

"We really don't have time for this," his tone got lot stronger, which made her shut up immediately. "What we do have is an appetizer which should be ready in eight minutes already taking six and we have not even prepared it. I'll go buy more wraps, at least enough for a few more orders."

"How?"

"I have a motor bike parked nearby," he told her. "Just give me your imaginary, debit card thingy so I can buy them."

Completely unusual for the Queen of Tootsuki, Erina just nodded and pulled out her card which she had on her side pocket. She gave it to Soma who quickly darted out of the kitchen, this time actually slipping and almost falling if he didn't hold onto the buttocks of the male back waiter who was nearby (who he seriously hoped would not file for sexual harassment in the workplace), and ran out of the restaurant.

Erina breathed in deeply, then moved back into her kitchen.

-0-

Soma realized that his motor bike was a bit further away than he had accounted it to be, so he had to run like crazy to reach it. He quickly got on, started it up, and drove to the nearby mart in Tootsuki which sold pretty much everything. He was sure there were wraps there, since Nakiri most likely got them from there in the first place. All he needed was to get them to the restaurant on time. Time. That was his enemy.

He reached the mart in roughly three minutes, which including the four he had taken running to his motor bike, meant the spring rolls for table twelve were already thirteen minutes in (five more than they should normally take; and they had not yet even began to cook). So Soma ran through the mart, quickly reaching the freezers where he pulled out two bags of wraps.

"This should be enough," he concluded.

Then ran towards the registers… where he was greeted by the longest line he had ever seen at that place. The mart was big, and it had eighteen cash registers, four of which were automated pay-yourself machines. All four were out of service. And only two registers were opened; with equally long lines.

"You've got to be kidding me," he blurted out, before trying a different approach. "Pardon me people," he exclaimed, waving his bags a bit to garner their attention. When most of them looked at the young man waving bags of wraps and almost yelling at them, Soma stated: "This is sort-of an emergency; I just need to buy this two things and I'm out, so if I could be allowed to cut in line just this once; I'd be… be…"

They were all smiling at him.

Soma felt the cold sweat fall down the back of his neck; as the reality of the situation hit him. He remembered his own words.

"Don't you feel that these people take these events, a bit, I don't know, too extreme?"

Every single customer at the mart was an actor.

"Are you serious!" he darted out of the mart, leaving the two bags at one of the empty counters. He even considered stealing them, but (1) he'd never do that, and (2) he'd probably get the whole team disqualified if he did. So he just ran back to his bike, started it again, and drove away. "That's right, you idiot!" he shouted at himself. "This is Tootsuki, they're over-the-top at everything. They were expecting something like this! That guy probably ordered the same thing so many times hoping we'd ran out! So Soma, think boy, don't you freeze too," he was now yelling at himself. "If Tootsuki is controlling the mart, it's probably controlling every market, knowing fully well I need wraps… But they can't stop me from buying something out of Tootsuki's grounds!"

So he drove, at speeds a little higher than he should, out of Tootsuki's gates and to the nearest supermarket he could find. He hoped they would have wraps there, since he stopped looking at the clock after he left the mart.

Fortunately for him, the stars aligned and he found a few bags he needed. A cheaper brand, but he was not one to care; Nakiri should expect that. So he took the bags to the cashier, no line in sight, and took out his card…

…His imaginary, Tootsuki debit card filled with an imaginary budget whose real world value could be approximately tallied at $0.00.

"Oh, we have a special on these today," the cheery clerk told Soma. "Three of this for just seven dollars; would you like to buy a third?"

"…Sure," said the boy who was thankful he had not forgotten his wallet.

-0-

"Ma'am, um, the costumer is angry."

Those were words Erina did not want to hear.

"What's taking so damn long?" the man from table twelve shouted at Julio, who had gone out before Erina to check up on things. "I ordered those things almost thirty minutes ago! You guys take half an hour to make four spring rolls!"

"Sir, I assure you, we have some-"

"You assure me nothing! Who's your General Manager?" he demanded, and Erina approached the table.

"I am sir," she greeted, he tone professional. The glare she received from him made her blood boil but she swallowed every single word she wanted to say. "We will get your order done shortly, we just had the minor inconvenience of-"

"Minor? You call half an hour, minor?" the he laughed, a loud, angry mocking laugh which Erina felt she's hear in her nightmares tonight. "And I thought I was eating at a fine restaurant! You know what, keep them! Let's go!"

As the man signaled his group (a table of four people with him included), the all stood up to walk away; as John quickly moved to them with the receipt. "Oh, here sir, your bill. The last spring rolls won't be-"

"Oh, I'm not paying for that!"

At this Erina's eyes widened. "Pardon?" she stated, her eyes locking on him. "Sir," she forced herself to remain respectful. "The spring rolls that never came are not in that bill, but the ones you all ate are. You have to pay for those."

"I won't, I won't pay for shit!" the cursing caused her to stammer, as she felt herself in limbo. This could not be happening. "I won't pay for shitty service like this! I came to have a pleasant time with my family; and I have spent the last half hour without any service, no food, the waiter never came for refills nor did any of you come to tell us the order would take longer than expected. So no, you take that bill, and you shove it!"

And as emphasis he shattered a plate against the floor, carefully tossed just near enough to land near Erina's feet without hitting her. It did cause her to jump.

"Hey!" Julio quickly moved towards the guy, who just glared at him.

"Touch me and I'll have you out of business in three seconds flat."

Erina merely placed her hand on Julio's shoulder, holding him back. Then everyone just froze, every other guest looking at the commotion but not saying anything. Then the four ex-costumers walked out of the restaurant; crossing paths with an incoming Soma with to bags of wraps. As Soma realized what was going on, the man just looked at him and smiled. "Evening."

Soma entered the quietest restaurant he's ever been at; with only whispers and murmurs to be heard. He walked towards Erina, crouched down on the floor picking up the pieces of the broken plate. Julio was nearby, who took the bags from Soma with a nod of acknowledgement. Soma, without knowing how to fully respond, bent down in front of Erina.

"Nakiri, I, listen, we-"

"Can you finish picking this up?" she interrupted him, but before he answered he saw them. The tears on her eyes; that she was fighting as hard as she could to suppress. That question alone meant she was losing that fight. So Soma did as he would always do.

"Sure."

The she stood up and went back to the kitchen, as Soma picked up the pieces of their shattered night.


%