Chapter 1 - Friends

Erina looked round the room, smiling at the people around her. Since their victory against the Elite Ten, they'd briefly celebrated in Hokkaido, before being whisked back to Totsuki academy just hours after the result. And where else to continue the festivities, other than where this all started, at the dormitory. Surrounded by the usual chaos of a Polar Star party, she felt comfortable, at ease. Even Isshiki's exhibitionism wasn't really bothering her. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves, save for Soma.

She could see him muttering to himself. She thought he could look a little happier, given he was the first seat in Totsuki now. The polar star members watched him, laughing. He was more motivated than ever, considering himself to have "lost" to Erina. She followed him with her gaze as he made his way into the kitchen. After an hour more of celebration passed, she decided to check on him.

"Yukira-kun, you shouldn't put your nose to the grindstone like that." she smiled.

He turned and grinned at her. "Yo, Nakiri!". He turned back to his cooking. "Well, I lost today. I'm going to learn from that, so that one day I can finally beat you". He looked back at Erina. "You were amazing in the shokugeki Nakiri-san."

"Huh...? Well, o.. Of course I was!". She recomposed herself with a flick of her hair.

"I mean really. Thank you. I put you in an awkward spot with my dish, and you delivered something amazing. I knew you could do it though!"

His honesty always surprised her, he didn't seem to care about revealing whatever thought that came through his head. "Humph, well of course!" She paused for a little while, and relaxed her frown. This didn't feel like something she would normally say, but since their victory, and with the feeling of belonging she felt being back at the dormitory, she felt like being a bit more honest. "I mean… I… I feel I should be thanking you."

"What for?" He tossed the pan, and threw a few more ingredients in. An interesting aroma circled the room.

"I was having so much fun with you in the shokugeki." She smiled. "I remembered what was important to me about cooking. I could never have imagined a dish like that a few months ago." He continued to swing the pan around, seasoned and tasted. She enjoyed watching him cook. Flashy, with a lot of flair and confidence - she reflected that just months ago she would have issued a haughty dismissal at such traits.

"You know, that all came from you." A smug grin appeared on his face. "Besides, it sounds like my perfect plan to motivate you worked out! I'm glad you're finally showing some appreciation towards your true sensei Nakiri-san!" The anger flashed up immediately. "What?! Perfect plan? You're lucky that it worked out, idiot! Honestly, putting me in a situation like that and of all the times and places, only you would be so reckless!" He smiled at having managed to get a reaction out of her, and looked back at his cooking. Seeing his smile, she relaxed. Now that she knew Soma better, she found it much easier to trust that he meant no harm, and understood this was just one of the things he did with his friends. "Are we friends now?" she thought to herself.

He turned and smiled.

"Ready!"

"Huh?" Oh no… she was getting roped into a tasting session. What was in the pan… squid! A sudden jolt of adrenaline kicked in as she saw Soma rapidly approach with a devilish look, chopsticks aimed toward her mouth.

"Noooo! ...mmmmff".

She was in the ocean. Sun shining upon her. And then she saw the tentacles above the water, and a look of dread appeared on her face. She tried to escape, to no avail. "Help! No… please stop...". But what she feared didn't happen - they stopped just short of her. Several squid were surrounding, but not touching, gently fanning the water around her, as if she were in a jacuzzi. A flashy speed boat then approached her, piloted by a very handsome man with a peanut for a face, who leapt into the water causing a gentle wave to pass over Erina. "Yooooo, Nakiriiiii!" he shouted, in a resonant voice. He swam over with gusto, and handed her something with an eyebrow raise and a wink, and then took her into his arms. She looked at what she had handed him. A pina colada! What a refreshing combination of flavours.

She came back into the room.

"Don't do that without asking!" She picked up the nearest thing to hand and threw it at him. The dishcloth hit him square in the head, clung and covered his head like an ill fitting lampshade. She laughed. "Surprisingly though, that wasn't awful."

"You know I wouldn't do something like that to you Nakiri, tempting as it is" he laughed. "What did you think? Was it delicious?". He leant in with a goofy smile, hoping to finally hear those words.

"No." she said flatly. "But you're onto something. It wasn't traumatizing at the very least. I guess I had to show you how this combination worked first though" as she sat proudly with arms crossed. "You know, a little more acidity will help bring the dish together. And more depth to the stock."

"Let's see… vinegar? No… more citrus.."

She smiled as she watched him, undeterred as ever. "And some more heat".

"Alright Nakiri, coming up!"

"Dig in!"

"Well, what do you think?"

It had improved significantly. "It's not there yet. But it's not bad." That seemed enough to settle something in him for now, and he sat down beside her. Resting his head on his arms looked over to her. He was pensive for a little while.

"You know Nakiri-san… we haven't really hung out much like this before." Erina looked at him questioningly. Soma sat up and looked at her. "It's nice isn't it" She blushed and then her face sharpened a little. Doesn't he get embarrassed saying things like that! But she agreed. It was nice to not be fighting all the time.

"So what happens for you now Nakiri-san?"

"Well... being the director now I suppose I'll have even less time to myself..." she looked ahead of her, pensively.

"That's a shame. I was getting used to having you around here."

"Yeah…". She was going to miss being here so often as well. "I used to enjoy sinking into my work. It would take my mind off things I didn't want to think about. But now that I'm enjoying myself, it's a shame to find myself in such a position of responsibility"

"You're always working so hard for everyone else", he said thoughtfully.

"You're one to talk" as she turned and smiled at him. He felt a little embarrassed at the unexpected warmth of her expression.

"Ahh…" he smiled back and looked away briefly. "Well whatever happens, you're always welcome here. I want to keep learning with you."

She felt her face heat a little. "I know. Don't worry, I'll be visiting"

Megumi came rushing into the kitchen. "Soma-kun! Nakiri-san! There's going to be a meteor shower tonight, we're heading out on the balcony to watch. Do you want to come with us?"

"Hey, Tadokoro! Sounds good to me. What do you think?", said Soma looking at Erina.

Erina nodded in agreement, smiling at Megumi. They stood up and followed Megumi outside with the others.

Soma quietly watched as she gazed at the sky in wonder. Behind all her strength, intimidation and focus that he'd known her for for most of the year, was a girl who was curious, engaged, and he was finding her a real joy to be around.

"Hey Erina, don't you think those stars look like a frying pan?"

"Just there? That's the big dipper. It's actually a small part of ursa major, the great bear"

"Hmm… I don't really see a bear there though" he said, tilting his head side to side to try to see it.

"Think of the handle as the tail. Then the pan itself is the rear part of the body. Look… here" she tried to align him so he could see.

"Oh I see! I'm not sure it looks like a bear though. It looks more like a squirrel maybe. Or asparagus spears, with capers and pearl onions, garlic butter...". He squinted, as if trying to discern other ingredients present in the dish he was looking at.

"Are you just saying what you want to eat now?". She frowned, and remembered their chat on the train through Hokkaido. What an unusual mind you have Soma, she thought.

"I guess I always have food on the brain" he surmised. "You seem to know a lot about stargazing Nakiri-san"

"Yes. It was something I used to do with my grandfather. I still do it from time to time, it's a nice way to clear my head" she said. "What do you do to relax? If you ever find the time".

"Well.. I guess hanging out with the guys here always helps me to unwind. While I've been here, I've been really enjoying tending to the crops with Isshiki"

"Does he wear clothes when he does that?"

"I guess… if you count his loincloth as clothes. To be honest, I'd find it unusual if he wore anything else!" he laughed, as he looked over at Isshiki bouncing around with just an apron covering him, hopping between all the different conversations.

She put her hand to her chin and thought. "All of you here are quite unusual. Not in a bad way. You're all just so non-judgemental, and you're so open with each other"

"We wouldn't have it any other way!"

"I've been quite lucky with the people I've had around me in my life" He thought. "Erina was dealt a bad hand, so the least I can do is help her feel welcome here."

"Anyway Nakiri, you're part of the family now!".

"...really?"

"Yeah! Being such a nerd and all, you fit right in!"

She reddened. "Wh-what!? I am not!". She was building up a long rebuke in her head before Soma cut her off, realising he should clarify.

"I mean you have a real excitement for the things that you do. When I first met you, I didn't think you would have such passion for cooking, or for something like stargazing either. It's inspiring how much your enjoyment comes across when you share things. You're a great teacher Erina."

"Oh I see erm… thank you…" she said, a little confused.

"And we're all nerds here in Polar Star. That's what bonds us, and pushes us forward." She looked away, feeling embarrassed at how happy that sense of belonging made her feel.

"Look! Over there!"

"Hey… that's a plane isn't it?" he joked.

"Idiot, don't ruin this"

"Sorry, sorry" he grinned.

"You don't need to be entertaining all the time" she said in a hushed voice. "I'm already enjoying this."

She was right. Maybe he was trying too hard to keep her engaged. She really had changed a lot - he was genuinely surprised to hear that from her.. She was letting her guard down with him, so maybe he could put on less of a front for her. He breathed deeply and joined her in looking up at the sky.

"Another one!"

Soma was glad to see her looking so happy.

Slowly, the others started to take their leave, with the rice juice wearing off and the fatigue finally kicking in. Soma and Erina were both still going strong, seemingly still running on the high of their recent victory.

Hisako approached them - "Erina-sama, how are you doing?" as she stifled a yawn.

"I'm good, thank you Hisako. Please don't wait up for me, get some rest. I'm going to stay up, this meteor shower is really beautiful."

"Yes Erina-sama, I'll see you tomorrow"

"Yukiri-kun, what about you?" she asked hopefully.

"I'll stay up for a while. I'm still wide awake!" he said stretching his arms upwards.

He noticed that Erina was shivering a little.

"Maybe we can get something to stay warm?" he suggested.

"Hmm.. ok! It's my turn to make something, I've got just the thing. Can you help me prep?" Erina said.

They went in, Erina found the ingredients, and Soma followed Erina's instructions. "Celery, finely chopped. Two shallots. A leek. Some chicken stock. Carrots. Shiitake mushrooms.

"Done!"

"Thanks. I can do the rest"

"Alright. I'll go set things up outside. I'll be right back"

Soma left to fetch some blankets and some mats, and set up a small comfortable seating area against the wall. He went back down and found Erina was already serving up.

"I can't say I'm surprised, but this smells amazing!"

She served the soup into some large mugs. They carried them up and headed out, and huddled up in the blankets that Soma had prepared.

Soma took a sip of the soup. "Wow! This is amazing. It feels like I'm sinking into a warm bath.".

"Hisako showed me this one a few years ago. It apparently has restorative effects, and helps you to relax". She looked fondly at her mug, thinking of her friend who'd helped her so much in her life.

Soma gazed up at the sky again. "This reminds me of when I was back at home. We'd come back from the local festival, and dad had one of his spontaneous ideas." he smiled, reminiscing. "We made some small things to snack on and went and sat out in the park. It was such a clear night, with a full moon! Other families had similar ideas, and came all gathered with their lanterns. Seeing the lights on the field was like looking at a reflection of those up in the sky." Erina didn't know he could be this poetic. She thought about saying something sarcastic to cut through her discomfort, but she held it back.

"Mum looked so happy that night. Even with dad killing the atmosphere a little by sneaking in some disgusting creations with the other dishes we brought" he laughed.

"I wish I had been a little closer with my family for things like this" she said quietly.

"Sorry I didn't mean to..."

"No, no, don't be. That's not what I meant…". She paused, feeling a little ashamed that she might have made him feel guilty for sharing a pleasant memory. She just felt sad at the comparison with her own family. "I guess with so many of the good experiences I've had in life, I've been on my own… It's been so good to celebrate with all of you. And having someone here with me to watch something like this is really nice". Soma couldn't help feeling sad that she was so grateful for something so small. Another meteorite passed by, lighting up the sky as it burned up.

"I… I have a confession..."

"Hmm?" he looked at her, his head cocked to one side. She looked a little embarrassed.

"Don't take this the wrong way! I'm not saying I was wrong or anything..."

"Come on, come on, out with it."

He continued to look at her as she sat in silence, preparing herself. One breath, two breaths. Ok.

"You know... ", she was fiddling nervously with her hands. "You know when we first met. And I said your dish was disgusting. It… it... wasn't." She spun to look at him - "It wasn't like it was special or anything! It… just wasn't disgusting. And… well, I thought I should tell you."

Soma took in a deep breath and looked up. "I knew it", he said with a smirk.

"You… you knew?" she looked at him shocked.

He turned to face her. "Well, not for sure. But you looked like you enjoyed it at the time."

"Urghh...". So embarrassing! But it didn't sting like it did then. Come to think of it, it was all about him at the time, rather than the dish. And now that she had grown to respect him and enjoy his company, she didn't mind so much.

"Sorry. I judged you unfairly" she murmured.

"Apology accepted."

After a brief pause, and feeling lighter for telling him, she decided she wanted to say more. "I was... really nasty to you. What you represented to me… the empty perfectionism I'd given myself to… the enjoyment of cooking that I'd learned to reject… the part of me that I was scared of..." she kept talking seemingly without thinking, still looking at the space between her hands.

Soma interrupted. "Nakiri. Nakiri? It's ok. It's all in the past. I was a bit confused at the time - I didn't know what I'd done to upset you. Just existing around you seemed to be a bad idea" he smiled and scratched the back of his head. "I just thought you were kind of uptight and dishonest". She looked hurt. "But I didn't know you then." Her face softened again.

"I didn't know you either"

They sat in a comfortable silence for a short while. Soma looked up and said "Yeah... I totally misjudged you. For some reason I didn't think you'd be that good at cooking. I guessed with my diner experience, no one could touch me" he chuckled. "You know, if you'd accepted any of my challenges to a shokugeki, you could have had me expelled pretty easily looking back at it! That would have been pretty dumb". She laughed. He was right, he was so reckless he would have jumped at the chance. She could have solved her "problem" so easily if she hadn't deemed his challenge unworthy of someone of her status.

She looked at him, and gave him a friendly nudge. "I'm glad that didn't happen." A more serious look on her face appeared as she said "And don't you dare lose to any of these people challenging you now!"

"Yeah yeah, I know. I won't!"

They continued talking, without really noticing the time. They started to hear birdsong, and saw that the sky was brightening.

"Seems like we've made it through to tomorrow" Soma said, yawning.

"Yeah I completely lost track of time… I was intending to get an early night"

"Shall we head back in?"

"Just a little longer. I'd like to see the sunrise."

They stayed and watched as the sun rose slowly, the sky slowly shifting into lighter tones of red and blue.

"I'd better go home before Hisako starts to worry".

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll send out a search party before long...". He paused. "... shall I walk you back?"

"I guess the company would be nice. Don't you want to sleep? I can make it on my own."

"This is about normal for my sleeping schedule" he said jovially, waving away the offer. "Come on, let's go".

They walked quietly through the Totsuki grounds. They passed through the woodlands, the grand walkways of the Nakiri estate, and subsequently arrived at the mansion.

"Well then I guess this is goodnight? Or good morning" he smiled.

"Sure, one or the other. Thanks for walking back with me" she said tiredly.

"No problem, that's what friends are for"

She looked at him happily. And then for a moment, she looked torn. Old uncertainties and doubts were growing in volume. "This is going to be taken away. After I sleep it will all be reset and the sense of closeness, comfort will be gone. I don't want them to leave me. I don't want to be left alone again"

"Why do I always feel like this after connecting with someone?" she thought.

Soma looked at her curiously, about to say something. Before he could, she'd put her arms around him, and gave him a brief, firm hug to dispel that inner voice. She broke off, and said "Bye!" with a shy looking smile. Soma was taken aback.

"See ya Nakiri!", he waved to her. "What an unusual girl" he thought, smiling to himself.

"Was that too forward? Too personal?" - old doubts and feelings of shame were always waiting to take control of her again. "You know what, I don't care what anyone else thinks. I wanted to do that and that's good enough for me!", she thought proudly to herself and skipped happily through the door.