Hey guys! Back at it again with another SoRina Oneshot! This is easily the longest oneshot I've ever done, so I would appreciate hearing any feedback that you guys have. I had a lot of fun writing this one, and I thought the concept for the story was very unique and fun as well. As always feel free to leave any suggestions for future stories, I'm started to become inspired lately.
Set during Soma and Erina's second year, where Erina is the first seat of the Elite ten and Soma is the second seat.
There had been talk around Totsuki the last several days among the second years, and the reason for this was apparently that the academy was preparing some sort of exam for the second years which they hadn't ever conducted before. Even the elite ten members weren't given extra notice on what the exam was, and instead were told they would be participating similarly to the other students rather than receiving a special exam. All they were told was to prepare an overnight bag with a few changes of clothes since the exam would be conducted across several days.
"I wonder what the exam is going to be like this time." Soma said while talking to Takumi, who was the current 8th seat of the elite ten
"If it's anything like the training camp from hell, I'm challenging you to a Shokugeki!"
"I'll take you on anytime!" Soma replied, getting fired up "But they said this exam is going to be different than anything we've done before. Something tells me it's not going to be anything like the hell camp."
"That's a valid point. All we know is that the exam will teach us something about food, in one way or another."
Soma and Takumi had finally made their way to the designated meeting spot, which had many buses to drive them to whatever location they were going to, as they expected. After all the students were lined up, headmaster Senzaemon walked up to the stage to announce the test.
"Greetings students. I am sure you are all wondering why you are gathered here today. Well, I am happy to announce a new exam which will test both your knowledge of ingredients and cooking applications to the fullest. Rather than an exam, it would be more accurate to call this a sort of hands on exercise."
"Well what's the exercise, Gramps? I'm just dying to know." Soma blurted out. He then locked eyes with Erina who was near her grandfather, and she sent a slight glare his way, which he chuckled at.
"I'm glad you're excited now, but I wonder if you'll say that when the exercise is over." Senzaemon chuckled.
"The exercise is that the students will be taken to remote locations throughout Japan, and they will have to survive by finding cooking ingredients in their designated areas in order to make their own dishes over the span of four days and three nights. After the exercise all the students will be required to do a write up with something new they learned about the ingredients, and a dish you were able to create."
"I understand the exercise, but shouldn't we have prepared some supplies beforehand?" Zenji inquired
"The exam will be completed in groups of five students, pre-selected by the school, and each group will have adequate supplies provided by the academy. The locations have already been scouted by our faculty, so we know that the difficulty of finding ingredients is not overly hard, but also not easy! For lodging, a small cabin has been built for each team."
"This sounds pretty fun!" Soma said to Takumi. "I wonder who's going to be on my team."
"Probably some people you're familiar with. It seems like the academy knows who we'd work well with, and who we would not."
"Oh, and I forgot one last thing. For elite ten members who are in the elite ten, the test has an added difficulty. Since you students have a higher standard to uphold, you'll be completing the exercise with a slight handicap. Check your emails."
As soon as Senzaemon said this, Takumi whipped out his phone and checked his email to figure out whatever this handicap could be. He saw that his group has Alice, Ryo, and Hayama. Other than having one less member than all the other groups already, he knew there was probably some other twist too. He wasn't looking forward to that trios Shenanigans, mainly Alice's.
"Well what's it say, Takumi?"
"It says I'm with Alice, Ryo, and Hayama. And as for you… it says it's just you and Erina in your group."
"How's that possible?" Soma asked confused "How come your group has four people and mine has two?" he didn't even care that the other groups had more than both of theirs
"How am I supposed to know?! The director probably thought that since you're the second seat, and Erina is the first seat that you guys could handle an extra challenge or something."
"That makes sense. Just me and Erina… that could be kinda fun actual." Soma said out loud
"Just try not to drive her too crazy. You know how she gets around you."
Soma just chuckled and went to go find Erina, and get started on the exercise.
Eventually, students started making their way onto the buses, and Soma eventually found Erina, who was standing alone with whatever she had packed.
"Hey Erina!" he waved when he saw her
She didn't respond, and instead just eyed him with a slightly peeved look.
"What? Did I do something to make you mad already?" Soma asked
"It's this whole exercise! Who thought it would be a good idea for just me and you to be paired up?!"
"Huh? That wasn't my doing though. Are you saying even you didn't know about this whole thing beforehand?"
"My grandfather told me nothing, but now I wish he did. When I protested to him, he said he wanted the exercise to be a challenge for the top students in the school."
"Well I guess that makes sense. Anyways, let's just do our best!" Soma said while smiling at Erina.
"Y-yeah."
The reason why Erina was a bit surprised by the exercise wasn't because Soma was on her team. She expected that honestly. It was that it was just Soma. and her. In some remote location. In the past few months, Erina had come to terms with the fact that she liked Soma. And not just a friend way but a romantic way. And as someone who had never experienced romantic feelings before, her reactions to whatever Soma did were sometimes not exactly reflective of what she was thinking.
It seemed like whatever location they were going to was different from the general area of the rest of the students, because Soma and Erina had a car which drove them to their location. After about an hour of driving they finally reached their location, and there the driver stated that their supplies for the exercise were in the trunk.
Erina looked at them first, and was a bit in disbelief.
"Doesn't this seem a bit… sparse?" She asked the driver.
"This is all correct according to the director." Was all he responded.
"Well, no use thinking about it. Let's go find where we're staying!" Soma said
He grabbed the two heaviest looking bags along with his own pack and handed Erina the third, lighter looking pack, as he started walking on the trail of the map the driver had handed him.
"H-Hey! Wait for me!" Erina said as she hurriedly grabbed her stuff and headed after him. Once she was a few steps away from the car, it sped away, leaving the two of them all alone.
"Don't walk so fast! The last thing I need to do is lose you."
"Is the princess saying she needs me for this exercise?" Soma teased, knowing full well that roughing it outdoors really wasn't Erina's thing.
"O-Of course not! In fact, I could probably do just fine on my own, but I'll allow you to observe how a Nakiri handles a tough situation." She flicked her hair like she used to back when their were first years to show her superiority, but in doing so she tripped over a stump on the ground and went falling forwards. Luckily, Soma was right where he needed to be and she caught onto him for support, before stabilizing herself.
"What was that about showing me how it's done?" Soma joked
"Q-Quiet you! And, um… thanks for catching me."
"How easy or hard this exercise ends up being will probably be determined by how well we work together, considering that there's only two of us, and all the other groups have way more people."
"I agree. B-but don't think you can boss me around! I'm still the first seat and you're the second seat, so that means I have full authority over you!"
"Yeah, yeah." Soma nodded along as he held out his hand for Erina to grab as she stepped over a fallen tree, which she accepted.
After a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached what the map says as their destination.
"I see the river, and this looks like the firepit. But where's our cabin?!"
"Looks like we don't get one. I noticed a tent in this pack that I'm holding, so it looks like we will have to use that for sleeping."
"Grandfather really wasn't joking around when he said that our exam would be different from the rest of the students. So what else do we have?"
"I noticed that we have the basic essentials for cooking like pots and pans, oil, and some spices and other stuff like salt, but nothing for meals which is to be expected. We also have a lamp, sleeping bags and blankets, as well as different gear for catching animals it looks like. It also looks like we have a couple of water bottles to start, but those will go out quickly."
"Anything to start a fire with?"
"It doesn't look like that. I guess we're on our own for that."
"I wish they would have given us some matches at least. Anyways, fire is probably the most important thing, so go find some dry logs for the fire. I'll get some dry brush and sticks in order to get things started."
"Sounds good to me." Soma replied as he headed to the nearby forest in order to search for some dry wood.
It was easy for Erina to find the necessary items to start the fire, but she was struggling to remember how to start a fire with just good. She knew you had to rub two sticks together but didn't know what to do after that really. As Soma kept coming back with more and more wood and began making the wood tipi in the firepit, she was getting worried that at this rate they wouldn't have fire tonight, and that worrisome considering that sunset was in a few hours. During this, Soma kept to himself and constructed their tent on his own before he approached her again.
"Doing alright over here?"
She looked at him, panic imminent in her face
"I… " she paused
"What is it?"
"I need help! I'm sorry, I can't do it." she responded, feeling guilty and a bit useless.
Instead of responding he sat next to her, and took the wood from her hand and started trying to start the fire the same way she was. He was able to create a little smoke, but was unable to get a spark going.
"I don't blame you. This is harder than it looks!"
Somehow whatever Soma said always eased the concerns she was feeling, it was one of the reasons why she fell for him.
"I know this is the right way to do things, though i believe the usual way of doing things is with much bigger pieces of wood, and many people all pushing it at the same time."
"If only we had flint, or something else as a starter."
Soma stopped for a few minutes to think, and as Erina was about to say something he jumped up from his seated position.
"Erina! Did you happen to bring that pair of glasses you sometimes wear?"
Surprised by Soma's sudden movement, Erina replied
"Yeah, I have them. But how will that help us here?"
"Can i have them?"
Erina didn't really see what that was going to accomplish, but she trusted that Soma at least had an idea and was not just fooling around, so she found the glasses in her pack and handed them to him. Soma then grabbed only the driest brush, and put it in a pile, and used the pair of glasses to channel the sun to a certain point. Not after long, the brush began smoking, and then was finally ablaze. He quickly began adding larger and larger sticks to it, and eventually all the wood in the firepit had been lit.
Erina just looked at him in awe, both surprised and impressed that he was able to pull off something like that on the fly. He handed the glasses back to her.
"Thanks Erina. Those glasses really helped me there!"
"No, I should be thanking you. You had the idea after all and made fire while I couldn't do anything for an hour."
"Let's just call it a team effort then."
"Sure. But… I've decided. From now on, you're the leader. I'll listen to what you have to say without putting up much resistance because it's clear that you have a better idea of what you're doing out here than I do."
"I didn't expect you to give in so quickly." Soma chuckled
"L-Listen! I'm sure by the end of this I'll be showing you how things are run, so I'm just giving you a chance to look good!" She responded in typical Erina fashion.
"Sure, sure." Soma responded and gave Erina a pat on the head. "But until then you're in my care so let's work on getting as much done before sundown."
The two then collected water from the nearby river in several pots they had, and left them over the fire to boil, giving them enough safe water to drink for the next few days.
"What do you think we should do in terms of food for today?" Erina asked. "I'm… getting kind of hungry." she admitted
"Based on what we have here, I'd say our easiest method would be fishing. We've have a whole tackle box here of pretty nice stuff, and if the academy picked this spot for us I'm sure there are tons of fish in the river."
"Are you good at fishing?"
"Well, I know how to set up a line properly but I'm still probably considered a beginner. However, with both of us fishing I'm sure we'll be able to catch at least something before the Sun goes down."
Soma then got their gear rigged up, and handed Erina a fishing pole. He tried teaching Erina how to cast, but she was so awkward that most of the time the line didn't go very far at all, which Soma kept chuckling at."
"How about instead of laughing you show me how to do it!"
"Relax, fishing is a patience thing. I'm not very good at casting either so I would just drop the line and let the river take it downstream instead of trying to throw it far. That's what I've been doing."
"You should have told me that sooner. You're supposed to be leading me, instead of watching me struggle."
"That's true, but it's kind of fun to watch the princess struggle every once in a while."
"Y-you!"
Before Erina could retort, she heard a splash in the water. Looks like she had a bite.
"Set your hook!" Soma shouted
"W-what does that mean?" she asked
"Just jerk the rod upwards, to start."
She did as told, and it seemed that now the fish was hooked at least.
"What do I do now?"
"Start reeling it in."
"Like this?"
Erina tried to start reeling the fish in, but battling the current it was actually harder than she expected. Not wanting to lose the fish, Soma dropped his own rod and went over to her and also put his hands on the rod, and started reeling the fish in with her.
"D-do you have to be so close?" Erina said embarrassed, noticed how Soma was basically on top of her.
"Sorry, I just don't want to lose the fish."
"No, it's… fine."
With both of them working together they were able to land the fish successfully, and they dumped it into one of the pots temporarily to preserve the freshness. After an hour of fishing and no further luck, it seemed like one fish would be dinner that night.
"Looks like I was the only one to catch a fish tonight. Looks like someones going hungry." Erina teased Soma.
"Fine. I wasn't that hungry anyways." Soma sulked.
"I-I didn't actually mean that!" Erina quickly responded. "After all, you were the one who helped me out more the entire day."
Soma then smiled
"I know. I was just playing around. Wanted to see how much you cared for a lowly diner chef."
"W-why you little! Obviously I wouldn't let one of my friends go hungry. Now if you'll take a seat I have this fish to prepare for us."
Soma sat down and watched as Erina began cutting up the fish only leaving the cookable parts. Even if she was not in a kitchen, the swiftness at which she was able to prepare the fish impressed him. After adding some spices, she laid the two halves of the fish in the frying pan, and cooked them to perfection. They each had a filet, and while it wasn't the most they'd ever eaten, they were just glad to have something in their stomachs before taking on the next day of the challenge.
It was now well past sunset, and the stars shone brightly in the sky. All commotion from the day made Erina forget their sleeping situation. They would be in the same tent! She wasn't sure if her heart could handle that. It wasn't like the tent was really big either, so they would be really close to each other. However before she could think any longer, Soma spoke up
"You can take the tent. It's not really that big so I'd probably be cramping on your space."
Before she could protest and say that she didn't mind, she saw him already passed out on the ground, close enough to receive warmth from the still hot coals of the fire pit. She debated on waking him up or just dragging him in, but decided against it. She did however grab one of their blankets and place it over him before heading to sleep herself.
Soma woke up on the ground and confused. He was wondering how he got there, but then remembered he was tired so he just sat down, and must have dozed off.
"But where'd this blanket come from?" he thought "Oh, Erina must have put in on me."
He smiled at how the well known ice princess could be very sweet and caring sometimes.
He got up, very early it seemed based on the sun, and decided not to wake Erina up for the time being. He decided that he would take this early morning to do some scouting, and perhaps try to find a better fishing spot. That's when he noticed a sort of jar added to their supplies which hadn't been there before. It seemed like there was a cup of rice in the jar, and attached to it were different notes about survival out in the wild, presumably from the academy. He had suspected that some Totsuki faculty were near in case there was an emergency situation.
After walking around the river for a few minutes, Soma noticed a calm area which seemed like it would be a great hiding spot for fish. Having secured a new fishing spot, he continued to scout the area, trying to find anything else which they could use in their dishes. The forest was vast, so he ventured in but not for long because he didn't want to get lost and decided that it would be a better idea to search with Erina. He headed back to the camp, but not before picking up some extra firewood on the way back.
On his way back, he noticed Erina had woken up and was sitting by the still hot coals from the fire.
"Good Morning sleepyhead." Soma said as he ruffled her hair, adding to her already apparent bedhead. Erina didn't seem to mind though.
"How are you already so energetic this early in the morning?"
"I've been known to be a morning person. Sometimes my pops and I would open the diner even earlier than this, and we'd have to wake up a bit in advance to get the place ready too."
"That's definitely different from most chefs."
"I guess I have to be different in order to get the god tongue to call my food delicious."
"I haven't said that yet!" she said but she had internally.
"I know. But I know you want to!"
"K-Keep telling yourself that."
She then added.
"Anyway, I'm going to get washed up in the river. So don't you dare peek!"
"I wouldn't dare" he responded, though the idea was certainly appealing to him. However, he decided that he was above that, and walked to a different part of the river upstream in order to wash up himself.
Erina walked to the edge of the river, peeking over her shoulder every few seconds to make sure that Soma wasn't following her. Though she already knew the chance of this happening was very low, she wouldn't be surprised if he did something random out of sheer boredom. She didn't know how she would feel if she caught him peeking though. Definitely embarrassed, but also probably a bit relieved that we would even be interested enough in her to do so. After she saw him walking in the other direction, she quickly took her clothes off, and waded into the river, to wash off the accumulated dirt from the night before. The water was colder than she expected, and sent a shiver down her spine. She didn't waste any time and quickly got out and changed into a fresh set of clothes after drying off with a towel she was thankful to have brought.
She returned to the camp after freshening up, and was surprised to not see Soma there.
"Hopefully he didn't get lost." she thought "I saw him walking up stream so I'll take a look there real quick.
It wasn't long before she saw Soma in the river, appearing to be washing up himself. His back was facing her, and it then dawned on her that… he was naked! A part of her wanted to rush straight back to the camp, but there was another part of her which wanted to get closer, and that part of her won over. She slowly approached the river, careful not to make any noise. However, her clumsy self stepped on a branch and split it in two, alerting him of her presence.
He turned around, not seeming to remember that he didn't have any clothes on, giving her a full view of his front side.
"Oh hey Erina, I didn't know you finished up so quickly. I'll be out in a second."
"S-Soma! Don't turn our all of the sudden. Y-you're naked!"
He paused for a second before realizing and submerging most of himself in the water. He was actually a bit embarrassed, but he quickly recovered with
"And you were telling me to not peek, while it was you who wanted to peek all along! I didn't know you could be that sneaky, Erina."
"T-this was a complete accident, I assure you that!" She said as she dashed away, giving him back his privacy.
A few minutes later Soma got out of the water and dried himself, getting into new clothes as well, before heading back to the camp. A still blushing Erina spoke up first
"So, what are we doing today? I see the academy has given us a small portion of rice, probably to make sure we don't starve."
"I was thinking that we try fishing again today, as well as find something which we can use with the rice as the base. I found a new fishing spot that I think will be better."
Once more the two grabbed their fishing gear but this time headed to the new spot. All was well for a little while until Erina spoke up
"Soma, it appears that I've gotten all tangled up in this fishing line."
Soma almost couldn't believe it, but it was true that someone Erina's wrists had gotten tangled up in the fishing line essentially leaving her handcuffed. Soma just started laughing out loud at her situation.
"Seriously, how did you manage that?"
"I-I don't know! Just get me out, okay?"
"Oh, sounds like Erina is defenseless right now!"
He started poking her sides causing her to giggle.
"S-stop that! You know I'm ticklish. Actually, you probably did that on purpose!"
"Obviously I did."
Although he liked watching her squirm, he didn't continue for long as he was still unclear on what the boundary of physical touch was with her. Once he stopped and got her to stand still, after a couple minutes he was able to get her loose without having to cut the line.
"Jeez, I knew you were clumsy, but I didn't expect you to be so clumsy that you got tied up by a fishing line." he chuckled
"This thing is weird, okay? It's like using a brand new cooking utensil for the first time, only way harder."
This fishing spot turned out to be indeed better than the first one, as they were able to reel in four nice sized fish in a matter of a few hours.
After they dropped off their fish at the camp, Soma and Erina explored the forest together, looking for whatever was usable. The footing was often unstable, so the two of them walked together hand in hand a lot of the way, neither of them really realizing it.
Eventually, they came to a clearing where they found some Mushrooms growing. Erina had recognized this kind of mushroom, and knew that it was both tasty and safe to eat as well. They picked a bunch of the mushrooms and stored them away before walking any further.
"Things are surely sparse here. I would have expected to see some fruit tree or something like that." Soma commented
"The school probably thought that would be too easy for us though. They wanted us to dig deep, I guess."
After walking for a little while longer, Soma heard Erina's stomach grumble, and they decided to head back and make dinner with the rice, mushrooms,and they had caught.
Soma took the lead in cooking that day, going with a seared Salmon, similar to the one Erina made but with his own mix of spices, with a Mushroom Risotto on the side, made from the mushrooms and rice and a trace amount of oil.
Unlike the previous day, they now had an ample amount of food, which both of them ate their first portion very quickly. Erina quickly went for seconds, which made Soma know that what he was able to make was at least a little good. Before he could even ask how it would, Erina said
"It was good, Soma. Thanks for making it."
"Anytime. I am a chef after all, I enjoy making good food, especially for my friends."
After they finished eating, the sun was setting and a chill filled the air. Erina shivered, it would be a much cooler night than the previous one she anticipated.
"Alright, well we should probably turn in here for the day. It was a good day but tomorrow is probably not going to be any easier."
He laid down in the spot where he slept the previous night, but unlike the previous night he felt a tug at his shirt
"You… can sleep in the tent with me, you know."
Soma turned around, and looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Besides, I couldn't bear to know that you'd be out here by yourself in this chilly weather."
"If you're fine with it, I'm fine with it too."
Erina then grabbed his hand and led him to the tent, so he had no chance to second guess himself.
The tent was small, but he could already tell how much warmer it would be than outside with the protection from the breeze. He saw Erina's sleeping bag on the one side of the tent, and immediately went to the other side with a few blankets, not daring to get too close. Even Soma was unsure what to do in situations like this one. It wasn't helping how his heart was beating at double its normal speed considering he liked Erina. After a short silence, she spoke up.
"You know, you don't have to be so far away. It's… colder when you're farther away."
She said that last part randomly, not knowing whether or not it was actually true.
"Okay." was all Soma said, but he scooted towards the middle of the tent, instead of just sticking to the side.
To his surprise, Erina also moved closer to him, and wrapped her arms around him.
"I hope you don't mind, Soma. It's just that I'm cold." Erina said, semi lying. She was cold but she also was just wanting some physical contact with her crush.
"I don't mind." Soma said, trying to not stutter. He was sure he was pretty hot anyways out of some nervousness and excitement.
He must have been pretty tired though, because even despite his situation, Soma fell asleep rather quickly.
Soma woke up the next day, still a little bit in disbelief at how things turned out at the end of last night. He thought it was a dream at first, but was reminded he was still in reality when he noticed that he was still in Erina's arms. In fact, she had somehow worked him into her sleeping bag over the course of the night. He felt her waking up so he acted as if he was asleep in order to see what she would do. Upon fully waking up, she realized what position they were in, and quickly brought her hands back to her personal space and turned around, now facing away from him.
Just when she thought she was in the clear and that Soma slept through the entirety of that, he sneaked his arms around her, effectively trapping her.
"Eek!" she shrieked, not out of fear but just because she was startled.
"I-I thought you were still sleeping."
"I was, until shortly before you woke up. Did you think I wouldn't notice how you basically had me in your sleeping bag?" he teased her
"I was cold, okay? And besides… I can't help that I'm an aggressive cuddler."
Soma chuckled
"I don't mind."
After enjoying each other's warmth for a few more minutes, they decided to get up and continue with their last full day of the exercise. Since they had fish the last few days, they decided to go and try and find something different this time. They walked in the only direction which they hadn't explored yet, which was a plains area with a few trees scattered here and there. After around 15 minutes of walking, Soma put out his hand to stop Erina, and motioned for her to be quiet since he thought he heard something.
He began stealthily approaching the noise, which was gradually getting louder and louder. Once he got over a hill, he heard a clucking noise. Yes, it turns out there were a few wild chickens roaming around, and it seemed they had lain eggs for the day as well
Soma motioned for Erina to come over and she approached the hill in a similar way to which he did. When she was close enough to him, he whispered to her
"We're going to catch a chicken."
She whispered back
"How?! You know catching a chicken is way harder than it looks."
"That's what you're here for. You sneak around the back and startle them, and then they will come running right into my hands. And then we also get to keep the eggs afterwards for breakfast tomorrow."
"What if they get away?"
"That won't happen. Even if they do happen to elude me once, I was the third fastest at my middle school, so I can chase them down."
Erina giggled at that last part. Something about seeing Soma chase down a chicken just sounded funny to her.
She approached the chickens from the opposite side of Soma as was told of her, and when he gave her the sign, she rushed towards the chickens, causing them to run away and towards Soma. all the chickens were running in every which direction, which made it harder for Soma to pick a specific one to go after. He lunged for one, but missed and almost fell on his face, which caused Erina to start laughing.
"Almost had that one." she teased
"Oh quiet. I'll get one don't you worry."
At this point, Soma decided not to trying cutting the chickens off but instead focus on one and chase it down
"Stupid thing stop being so difficult!" Soma shouted out loud. The chicken avoided his grasps a few times, but eventually he was able to catch it and held it in his arms to show Erina.
"Got it!"
"I was worried I was going to go hungry tonight for a minute there. But you weren't kidding when you said you were fast. Did you run track and field as a kid or something?"
"Nah but I did play soccer for a year when I was in middle school. Guess I haven't lost too much speed since then."
With the chicken and eggs acquired, Soma and Erina headed back to their camp, in order to begin preparations for the day. They both realized that surviving out in the wild was much more difficult than they expected, just considering how they had to prepare all the food and do upkeep such as gathering firewood every day. Soma decided he wanted cook again today so after defeathering the chicken, he cooked it rotisserie style over the fire, and after an hour it was good to eat.
"It's good, Soma." Erina complimented him. "I didn't think it would be that easy for you to satisfy my palate but you've done so not just once but twice already."
"It wasn't much" Soma responded with his signature catchphrase.
As the evening became the night, the two decided to enjoy some stargazing, laying next to each other on a blanket which they just tossed on the ground. They laid there in silence for a few minutes, before Soma broke the silence.
"Looking at the sky, If you had to wish for anything right now, what would you wish for?"
Erina thought about it for a second before responding
"You know, there's nothing I would really wish for. If you had asked me a year or two ago I would have definitely had some things, but I've got all those things."
"Well, what were those things?" Soma asked
"Close friends, who weren't afraid of me and liked me for who I was, cooking rivals who were fun to compete against, and a better relationship with my family."
"Yeah, I would say you have those now."
"And you were at the center of that."
"Hm?"
"What I just said has all been related to you in some way. You're one of the first people who recognized me for me and wasn't afraid of me, my best cooking rival, and you've helped me repair the relationships I have with my family."
Soma paused for a second, not making some fast remark like he usually did. Eventually he said
"You're making me blush Erina. I didn't know you thought so highly of me."
"Of course I do! Soma, you're a really special person to me. Despite how I treated you when we first met, you were always the first one to come to my aid, you're nicer than anyone, and on top of that you're a great chef. Soma, I- I like you. And not just in the friend way."
Soma just sat there looking at the stars for a second, taking in all of what Erina just said. After a while he said
"Wow, sorry for the pause, I just wasn't expecting that. I was… actually hoping you felt like that. Because I feel the same way Erina. At first I was interested in you because you were the first person who said my cooking was bad, but after getting to know you I developed feelings for all of Erina Nakiri. You became the reason why I pushed myself to get better at cooking every day, because I wanted to make you the best food that I could."
Soma then grabbed Erina's hand, and they laid together in silence for a while, just gazing at the stars. Soma then spoke up
"So, um, I'm new at this whole romance thing so I'm not really sure what I should be doing but Erina, would you like to go out with me?"
Once Soma asked Erina out, she got up from her lying position and straddled him, planting a passionate kiss on his lips, which he returned just as passionately. After a few minutes, they separated for air and Soma spoke up, with Erina still on top of him.
"So that's a yes?"
"Yes, obviously! But I'll let you know, I can be the jealous type, so I'd better not be seeing you get chummy with any other girls!"
"I wouldn't dare. Besides I wouldn't need to when I've already got the most beautiful girlfriend."
Erina then kissed him again, letting out all the feelings she had been building up. After they were done for the night, they went back to sleep in the tent, and happily fell asleep in each other's arms.
The next day, Soma woke up and to his surprise Erina wasn't there next to him. She must have woken up early. He then noticed something which smelled really good. Erina popped her head in the tent and exclaimed
"I made breakfast! It looks like the eggs from yesterday will turn out really good."
"They certainly smell good. I'll be out in a second."
After Soma had woken up completely, he sat down by the fire and Erina already had a plate of scrambled eggs waiting for him
"Thanks." he said while giving her a kiss on the cheek, causing her to blush since she still wasn't used to this physical contact yet.
"A-Anytime!"
Soma devoured his plate of eggs very quickly, and it was now time for both of them to pack up their belongings and head back. Soma looked at Erina and said
"I would say this has been a pretty good trip."
"I would agree. Went in single and came out with a boyfriend. Learned a bit about food along the way." she chuckled
The two were walking hand in hand to the site where they had been dropped off, and as expected the car had been there waiting for them. After loading their stuff in the car, the exhaustion from the trip had caught up with both of them and they fell asleep leaning against each other the whole way home.
When they arrived back at the academy, all the students lined up again and were addressed by the headmaster once again upon completion of the exercise. Soma noticed how everyone looked to be pretty exhausted.
"Students, thank you for participating in this exercise. From the looks of things it seems like you were tested in all the ways we were hoping for. I look forward to reading all the reports you guys write up. As for now, you are all dismissed until classes on Monday."
With this all the students began dispersing, and Takumi found Soma among the crowd. To Soma, it looked like Takumi had the life drained out of him the past several days.
"Soma! I see you survived the exercise looking no worse for wear. You wouldn't believe what they had in store for us. First of all, Alice…"
And with this Takumi started a several minute long speech about his whole experience with his group and every random thing that made no sense that Alice did but Soma's mind kept drifting to Erina."
"...were you listening?"
"Of course I was. Heard every word of it Soma responded."
"Well, how was your experience? From the looks of things, it seems that you and Erina got along."
Just then, Erina walked by Soma and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before returning to her house. Soma looked at Takumi and replied
"I guess you can say it was pretty fun."
How'd you guys like it? I think this is one of my favorite stories that I have written. So many fun scenes in this one. Looking forward to starting my next fanfic already!
Until next time,
~TheGoodGuy20