Chapter by TheGoodGuy20

Back at it again with another Sorina fic! I hope you guys enjoy. ~TheGoogGuy20

Today was New Years eve, and the Totsuki campus was not quiet in the slightest. Granted, classes were not in session and most of the students were home, but the polar star gang was still around and they made enough noise to make up for everyone else not being there, in Erina's opinion.

Today, Erina was on a mission. In the past, she had struggled to show Soma her true feelings, that she actually liked him in a different way than just friends, but whenever she was considering making a confession, her pride always swelled up and she couldn't quite admit her feelings. While she wasn't the best with words, she was hoping her actions would speak for themselves. She had done some research on New Year's eve traditions and one of them was kissing your special someone at midnight. She was going to use that opportunity to show Soma how she felt the past 2 years since they took down Central.

As expected, Polar star was hosting a party, and she had been invited to it. It did irk her a bit that Megumi was the one that extended her the invite and not Soma, even though they talked all the time. Erina stepped out of her limo and made her way to the Polar Star dorm, letting out a quick sign that she was most likely going to be embarrassed in some way or another tonight, but then smiled knowing Soma would probably be the reason for that.

She opened the door and entered awkwardly, not knowing whether or not she should announce herself or not considering everyone present seemed to be engaged in a conversation. When the door shut, several pairs of eyes turned towards her and none other than Soma went up to greet her.

She noticed he was wearing a plain t shirt and athletic shorts, looking much more relaxed than he normally did. He was still wearing his headband on his arm as usual. He gave her a wave as he walked over to her

"Hey, Erina. Glad you could make it today."

He looked back at the rest of his friends and said jokingly

"Guys, the Totsuki headmistress has graced us with her presence so that means we'd better be on our best behavior!"

Zenji gulped, sliding his glass of Ryoko's rice juice behind his back out of Erina's sight, which earned him a laugh from the others.

"H-Hey! Don't make me seem all big and mean! I'm just one of you guys." she started off strong, and then said the last part a bit softer

"Haha I was just teasing you, Erina. I was hoping you would show up. I went out of my way to make all the snacks for tonight since I know you can be picky."

"And what makes you think you can satisfy me?" she challenged

"Well, you did tell me the dish I made for you the other day was good, so-"

Before he could continue, Erina grabbed him by the arm and put her other hand over his mouth so he wouldn't spill any more secrets between them.

"You don't have to tell the whole world about that, you know!"

Soma just gave his friends the thumbs up and they immediately knew he was back to his antics of teasing the princess.

It really was a full cast of attendance at the party that night, all of the polar star dorm members were present, including a few first years she wasn't familiar with. She noticed Hisako immediately, getting chummy with Hayama it looked like, the Aldini brothers were present, and also her very own cousin Alice, among others.

Erina really enjoyed getting to catch up with everyone. She found out that Megumi and Takumi had started going out recently, which wasn't a real surprise to her. Erina congratulated her and was also glad that she would no longer be Soma competition.

"Ok everyone! It's time for the video game tournament. It's a doubles tournament so pick a partner. I'm with Ryo!" Alice said cheerfully.

This was something she hadn't really expected for tonight. Erina had really never played a video game in her entire life, so she was sure going to make herself look silly. Regardless of this, she decided to track down Soma, intent that he must be her partner, because that would make her plan of kissing him at midnight all the easier. Once she found him, she was about to open her mouth and state her request, but she noticed that someone had beat her to the punch. It was one of the first years, Takai was his name she had heard.

"Sure Takai, I'll be your partner. No one else has asked me."

Soma spun around, and found Erina looking at him but seemingly at a loss for words. Soma knew what she was about to ask him. Not knowing what to say he just started

"Oh, um… well,"

Luckily for him, Takai had a grasp on the situation and bailed Soma out, in his own straightforward way. He spoke up

"Soma-senpai, is she your girlfriend?"

Both looked at him surprised, and Erina spoke up quickly

"N-No!. he's not. He's a very dear friend to me though."

"Y-yeah." Was all Soma could say, a little shocked

"I'll let you guys be partners then." Takai said as he gave Soma a wink, playing wingman for his senpai.

"Thanks." He said to Takai, he then turned towards Erina and added

"So I guess it's you and me then, huh."

"You'd better carry your weight, Soma!"

"Haha, I'm more worried about you. Have you ever played this game before?"

"O-oh course I have! Pretty good at it too actually." Erina lied

The game was super smash something or other, she couldn't really remember. She had never played the game before but she had seen a video of the game once so she knew the general premise of the game. The tournament was a single elimination with 8 teams, and luckily for Erina, Soma was actually really good at the game so they had a clean sweep of the first round.

The second round was different, as they were up against the pair of Takumi and Megumi, and Megumi was just as good at the game as Soma was. In the middle of the game, right after Soma died he teased Erina by saying

"Wow Erina, is cooking the only thing you're good at? You are seriously bad at this game."

"Oh quiet you. I'm just getting warmed up is all!" and to add a little emphasis to the words, she gave Soma a playful shove. This little action gave Soma an idea, he needed to do something in order for them to win this game as it was clear that wasn't the direction they were going.

At an intense moment of the game, Soma gave Takumi a little shove which sent him flying into Megumi's lap.

"Oh sorry about that. My hand slipped." Soma said while laughing out loud pretty proud of what he just did.

"Soma! I know you did that on purpose!" Takumi remarked, and Soma looked away and whistled trying to act innocent. His actions seemed to have the desired effect, as while Takumi got back to his senses pretty quickly, Megumi was left in a daze from the close contact with Takumi and with Soma's skills him and Erina's team was able to gain the upper hand in the game. Takumi was not one to lose easily though, so the match that included 4 people soon also became an elbowing match between the two of them in order to try to mess each other up. Takumi ended up being the first one out of the game, so he took that opportunity to give Soma a nice shove which sent him flying towards Erina. He fell into her lap which earned a startled shriek from her, but may have given her some motivation since she landed the winning hit just then.

"See, I told you I was good!" Erina said excitedly to Soma, making eye contact with him despite where he was.

"Yeah I guess you are. My bad for underestimating you." he replied, before returning to his seated position, and Erina had to admit that she missed his proximity.

"I'll get you next time Soma!" Takumi shouted as Megumi escorted him elsewhere

In the finals of the tournament, Soma and Erina put up a good fight, but they were no match for the team of Yuki and Isshiki who beat them without much trouble. Before she could get Soma alone, Erina heard Alice announce something to the room, which she only could be some crazy game idea she had, because to her it sounded like she was already intoxicated.

"It's game time everyone! And what better than a game where we can all get to know each other better!"

Everyone in the room looked around at each other nervously, thinking how dangerous it could be to allow Alice to get a hold of juicy bits of information, but everyone decided to take part anyways, the decision party influenced by Ryoko's rice juice in everyone's system.

How the game worked is that Alice would ask a question, and if it pertained to you, you would raise your hand, and if not then you would not. The first questions started off mild, such as have you ever pulled an all nighter, which most people raise their hands too, but the questions got more spicy very quickly

"Ok, so who here has someone they like? They don't have to be here but in general."

Obviously the people who were in a relationship raised their hands quite easily, and they were followed by some and then some who were less enthusiastic, probably a bit embarrassed. Soma was one of the first after the first group to raise his hand, and joining him were the likes of Alice, Hayama, and Hisako. After Alice gave Ryo a look, he raised his hand and Nikumi did so too at the very end. Erina wanted to raise her hand, but there was no way she was ready to admit something like that in front of a bunch of people. She kept her hand down and hoped Soma didn't think too much into it.

"And who here has kissed someone?" Alice asked boldly

Only a few hands went up, Takumi and Megumi's did again but this time a lot slower. That brought a smile to Soma's face, he could tell they were still in the awkward phase of physical interaction. Alice had her hand up and also held Ryo's hand up proudly, which he sighed but smiled at. To everyone's surprise, Soma's hand went up too, and rather quickly. Everyone looked at him, and then towards Erina who had her hand down, and then back to Soma in confusion. Erina was just as confused as everyone else, who was this mystery girl?! He had never told her about any flings he had before, and she had been wanting to be his first kiss

After a few more questions, everyone went back to their private conversations, the big time of midnight was almost approaching. Erina grabbed Soma by his hand and led him out to the polar star balcony, without saying anything.

"It was getting a little hot in there." Soma admitted, maybe referencing the heat or the general atmosphere.

"I-I want to talk to you about something."

"What's that?" Soma asked, curious

She looked away from him before beginning the question

"In the game I noticed that you kissed someone. Who… who was it?"

"Ah, so that's what you were concerned about. It was back when I was in middle school at some party. Played a few rounds of this random spin the bottle game and I ended up kissing this girl I really didn't know. Want me to elaborate on it more?"

"No, that's fine. I know you are telling the truth."

Erina turned towards Soma and continued with

"I wanted to be your first."

"Huh? Soma asked confused

And as the clock struck midnight Erina put her arms around Soma's neck and pulled him down, placing a kiss on his lips. The two, without much experience, acted on instinct from there and separated from each other a half minute later. She smiled at him, arms still around his neck, and teased him by saying:

"See? I'm good at things other than cooking. I just haven't been able to show you some of them yet."

Soma smiled back at her and said

"Yeah. you're right. I was just joking when I said you were only good at cooking before too. You're the talented headmistress of Totsuki who completes any task thrown at her with perfection. Also the women I've fallen far."

Erina blushed at that last part, and responded honestly with

"You are just as talented as me Soma. You've been with me every step of the way and I've been wanting to thank you for a long time but sometimes I'm not the best with words. So I hope my actions have conveyed my true feelings that I like you a lot, and have for a long time."

Soma initiated a kiss this time, which she happily returned. As they began walking back to the main room where everyone was, Soma asked

"Well, what now? Do we go and tell everyone that we're together now?"

"We could do that. Or we could wait until tomorrow. I still have a lot more I want to show you of what I'm good at" Erina stated seductively

"I'll take option B" Soma responded, a bit giddy

And with that Soma and Erina had a fun filled night, with Soma eagerly announcing to every one of their friends that they were a couple the very next day. It was a good New Years.