Hey guys, I'm writing this mostly because I got the idea and needed a break from writing Learning Love. This will be a story focusing on an OP Soma with minor SoRina elements. Due to the nature of the fic, some characters will be pretty OOC. Also this fic will be much shorter than Learning Love. Enjoy

Yukihira Soma was anything but your average kid. He was the son of Asura, a legend in the cooking world. His father had given up that life however, in favor of spending time with his wife and son in her family diner. From a young age, Soma showed exceptional cooking skill. It was when he was only 5 years old that he met her. The girl that would change his life.

"Tamako?"

"Yeah hun?"

"Old man Senzaemon wants me to bring Soma to meet his granddaughter. That ok with you?"

"Sure, why not? He could use some more friends his age."

And with that, Soma was brought to the Nakiri mansion with his father. Joichiro had only told him that he was going to meet someone, but not much else.

"Where are we dad?" Questioned Soma

"The house of a close friend of mine. He wants you to meet his granddaughter. A girl around your age." Answers Joichiro

"Oh, ok!" Soma says excitedly

They got to the mansion and they were greeted at the front door by a butler who led them into a grand sitting room. In this room, Soma noticed a very large and intimidating old man and a little girl around Soma's age with honey blonde hair. The old man was the first to speak.

"Ah, Joichiro, you're here. Please, take a seat, and the young man may as well."

"Thank you for inviting us Senzaemon. It's been awhile."

"It's no problem at all. You were one of the best chefs in Totsuki's history after all."

"Totsuki?" Soma asked

"Eh, why don't you take this young lady to the Kitchen and cook something for her?" Joichiro asked nervously.

"Ok!" Soma said excitedly

"You can cook?" Asked the little girl

"Yeah, and he's not half bad either." Joichiro answered.

"Ok, I guess I'll try his food." The girl said

With that, Soma dragged her to the kitchen, leaving the adults to talk.

"So, why did you avoid telling him about Totsuki?"

"I don't want to decide his life for him. I want to leave the option of him not being a chef open."

"Judging by how eager he was to cook for my granddaughter, I think he's already chosen."

"Maybe you're right. I just don't want him to go to Totsuki and regret it."

Back in the kitchen, Soma prepares his dish. He boils chicken stock, makes rice, and scrambles eggs.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Nakiri Erina. You?"

"Yukihira Soma. But you can just call me Soma."

"You can call me Erina. How long have you been cooking?"

"I started when I was 3… so 2 years now. Here you go." He said as he served a bowl of eggs with rice.

"What is this?"

"This is Yukihira secret menu item #8, Transforming Furikake Gohan!"

With that, Soma turns the bowl of eggs over the rice. Erina noticed golden yellow cubes that started melting upon contact with the rice. Erina took a bite and was surprised by the depth of Flavor achieved by this kid.

"This actually isn't bad. If you keep at it, with a little practice, you could be really good. But for a little help, the rice was a bit undercooked, the eggs could be fluffier, and the chicken stock should have been simmered for 2 minutes longer."

"Wow, you can tell all of that?"

"Yes, I have an ability called the God's Tongue. It let's me tell all of the ingredients and cooking methods used to make it. You shouldn't feel bad that I didn't love your dish. Most professional chefs can't even satisfy my palate."

"Then it's a challenge. Mark my words Erina-chan. I will make you say my cooking is delicious!"

Erina cracked a smile at this.

'I hope you will…' Erina thought

Just then, Joichiro came in and collected Soma. It was time to go.

About 4 months later, tragedy struck the Yukihira Household when Soma's mother passed away. In their grief, the father and son pair threw themselves into cooking like they never have before. Soma decided he wanted to travel the world with his father and learn cooking everywhere he could.

For the better part of 7 years, the duo traveled all over and cooked in 57 countries. Soma learned techniques from them all. Soma gained a reputation as "The little Asura" through these travels. Soma was now 13, and Joichiro decided that Soma needed a real education, so Soma was told all about Totsuki and he was pumped by the thought of the competition that awaited.

A couple weeks later and Soma was finally back in Japan. In classic Soma fashion, he got lost in Totsuki looking for the entrance exam location.

While he was walking around, a 13 year old Erina was also walking in the hallways of one of the buildings. She looks out the window and thinks she spies a familiar tuft of wild red hair.

"Is that…"

"What is it Erina-sama?" Erina's loyal aide, Hisako asked

"N-nothing. Just thought I saw someone I haven't seen in a while. What's next on my schedule?"

"We're taking the Totsuki Middle School entrance exam."

"Uuggghhh. Why is grandfather making take this stupid exam? We all know I'll pass."

"Your grandfather is having you do this for fairness. It wouldn't do good for Totsuki's reputation if you were admitted only because of who your family is."

"Fine, whatever. Let's just get this over with."

Back with Soma, he finally finds the entrance exam building. Entering, Soma takes note of the large number of people in the room. The exam was made up of 3 portions. An interview, cooking theory exam, and a practical cooking exam. The practical exam was something that Soma was really looking forward to, as the rest of it was pretty boring to the young chef. Just then, Sima was shaken from thoughts when he noticed familiar blonde locks.

"Erina-chan?" Soma asked himself.

He didn't have much time to process this thought as the entrance exam was about to begin. He was one of the last to be brought in for the interview portion. There, he was asked questions about his background, how long he'd been cooking and other similar things.

When the cooking theory exam came up, Soma was one of the first 2 students to finish, the first being Erina, naturally. As Erina was walking up with her test, Soma noticed her.

'Yep, that's definitely Erina-chan' Soma thought with a smile.

Shortly after, when Soma went up to hand in his test, Erina noticed the red hair and thought to herself once again.

'That has to be Soma-kun' Erina thought with a blush.

After everyone was done, it was time for the practical test. The students in the exam needed to make a traditional French dish. Erina chose a cassolette, and Soma made Boef Burgionuion. As expected, both Soma and Erina passed with flying colors.

After everyone was dismissed, Soma walked up to a distracted Erina and whispered in her ear.

"Hello Erina-chan"

Erina jumped and turned around seeing the boy she met all of those years ago.

"Soma-kun! Don;t scare me like that!"

Soma just chuckled at his friends reaction

"You know this boy Erina-sama?" Hisako asked

"Yes, Hisako. This is Yukihira Soma. Soma-kun, this is Arato Hisako. I met him a few years ago. His father is the As-" Soma cut her off

"Shhhh. I don't want people knowing that."

"But why Soma-kun? You should be proud of who your father is."

"Oh don't get me wrong, I am proud. But I want to make it in this school based on my own cooking, not who my father is."

"I guess that makes sense." Erina answered.

"What am I missing here? Who is his father?"

"Sorry Arato-san. Can't say." Soma answered

With that, Soma departed, and Erina had to spend some time explaining how she met Soma.

To everyone's surprise, Soma tied Erina for the highest score on the entrance exam. This kid that they had never heard of was on equal ground with the God's Tongue? Who is this guy? Throughout the entirety of middle school, Soma and the God's Tongue were basically joined at the hip, so much to the point that people thought they were dating. When asked about it, they always dodged the question and never confirmed or denied the allegation. They even took seats on the Elite 10 at about the same time, Erina beating 9th seat Eizan Etsuya, and Soma beating the previous 10th seat, a girl named Kaburagi Shoko. Even if they weren't dating, they were clearly a pair to be reckoned with. Some even speculated that they'd have the 1st and 2nd seat by the end of their first year of High School.

Well, that's chapter one. I hope you all enjoyed it. I know that I glossed over 2 years of school life, but Like I said, I want this to be a shorter story, and we know virtually nothing about the middle school program at Totsuki. So I decided to leave it alone. The SoRina of this story is mostly going to be back burner and not front and center like it is in Learning Love. That story will be back by March, so until then, here is this.