Terunori used to hate getting scratches.
It wasn't surprising. He was spoiled. He was taught that scratches were bad things and woe on any employee who was taking care of him at the time if he got one. He also ended up hating scratches to his ego as well and would lash out at anyone who dared to attack him.
In middle school, he was forced to tolerate them. Totsuki was a competitive school, after all, and he was bound to pick up more than just scratches from his encounters. Slowly, he learned how to fight back until he was able to avoid almost all of them.
High school was when Terunori learned to embrace them. He went out of his way to get them because he wanted to reach the Elite Ten, and there were many rivals to beat on the way up. His scratches grew into gashes and bruises, but they healed back into tiny lines and scars. They reminded him of the experiences that he had with others, the knowledge he had gained as he made his way into the top. His battles weren't over once he reached his goal of getting in the Elite Ten. He had to fight off any challengers and fight his fellow members that he challenged.
He also had to fight for someone he wanted in his ranks.
Her name was Hojo Miyoko.
She caught his attention during his last year of middle school, when he had heard rumors about a girl who also had a talent for Chinese cooking. He met her near the end of that year and challenged her to a Shokugeki.
"And why would I want to do that?" She had asked him.
"I just want to see if you're really all that people say you are." He had replied.
They had three battles before he graduated. He won each of them by the skin of his teeth. Of course, she was angry. It didn't help how he gloated every time after.
"I refuse to have anything else to do with such an immature male as you!" She told him off the last time before disappearing. Terunori didn't see her his first year of high school, mostly because of how hard the first year tasks were and how he occupied himself trying to get into the Elite. But he still kept an ear out for her accomplishments, which were impressive.
That was why when he became president of the Chinese Cuisine RS in his second year, he sought her out again.
"I think I can figure things out on my own." Miyoko replied.
Terunori wasn't deterred by the rejection, though. He was too fascinated by her.
He would suggest the idea almost every time he saw her. For some reason, Miyoko reminded him of a cat. She was independent and she would claw at any guy would try to take it away.
But just like a stubborn cat lover, he was going to bear through the scratches to get her.
It was just going to take some time.