The Food's Demon Empress
A/N: Running away from a depressing thesis is always fun. More below, enjoy the read.
Chapter 1: On Fluff, Commoners and Kings
"You promised to be able to serve every customer, didn't you?" The woman that had so rudely barged in before the restaurant was open asked, with a look that showed only part of her intentions. Reading the vibe that suddenly hung around the diner, and recognizing what was going on, Soma weighed his options. The woman in front of him had probably done something to ensure he would be unable to prepare a conventional meal. A quick glance at the screen behind the counter showed the security camera being black, probably having been sprayed prior to any following break-in or the like. Nevertheless, Soma replied with a trademark customer service smile. "Sure, no problem. What would you like?"
The woman was clearly an amateur, Soma thought, as a predatory smile made its way onto her features. "A meat dish. It must have meat in it."
"That's all? Sure, one meat dish, coming right up!" This would at least allow him to check the damage they had done before taking the appropriate measures.
They had wrecked the cold storage. None of the equipment, but basically all the food had been thrown out of the fridge and was spoiled. No doubt it had been the two goons that the woman had taken with her. And either they hadn't noticed or hadn't cared for some of the clearly supernatural warnings not to mess with the supplies. This made them either very dull magically speaking, or very dull individuals in general. Still, given they had been able to break the - admittedly rather basic- defensive wards they had to be of supernatural origin themselves or have help from a supernatural being. The woman had seemed normal though.
Nevertheless, given the fact that they were supernaturals living in Japan, and not part of any of the three major factions, this either left an association with the Shinto shrines, or being part of the Yokai faction. Either way, he had access to both. So, he could either call someone, or make do with whatever he could salvage from the storage… Or make the food first, then get some revenge second. Pleased with this order of events, Soma set to cooking.
"How... How is this possible?!" The woman cried out in an almost orgasmic fashion, which strangely seemed to impact almost everyone on the topside. She was clearly not all there though, either because of the food, or maybe in general, as she turned to her two pieces of potentially hired muscle and openly asked if they had truly wrecked Yukihara's entire meat storage, uncaring that he was still in earshot. Still, Soma didn't need that to have his revenge for this petty crime against his family's diner.
"So, you guys ever heard of Kunou? Little girl, ball of energy and cutesy fluff, you know her?" He spoke up, interrupting the businesswoman.
The woman was startled by his words, interrupted in her own tirade and trying to figure out what he was talking about. Her bodyguards reacted more apprehensively however, as they did know who this redhead was talking about. What they didn't know was how he knew of her, or why he would bring her up.
"She was here just last week, together with her mother actually. Isn't she just the cutest?" Soma continued, smiling wistfully up in the air when thinking of the perpetually sugar-hyped fox. "I just have this urge to call her right now, invite her over for a nice breakfast. What do you guys think? Yeah, let me do that real quick."
"What are you talking about?" The woman replied, clearly unaware of who Soma was talking of, and why he was doing it. Her henchmen started to rapidly pale however and stuttered their words. "U-uhm, we, uhm... I mean, there is, uhm..." Their faces instantly turned completely white as a small burst of magic was felt by three of the four people in the room, coming from somewhere upstairs. This was immediately followed by a cacophony of noise coming down the stairs, followed by a yellow-blond blur colliding with the chef.
"Somaaa~ You called? Breakfast?" A young and energetic voice called out loudly, while the possessor of said voice was busy hugging the target of her question.
Her appearance however had a direct effect on the two bodyguards in the room, who staggered back as if physically struck by her appearance. "P-pr-princess Kunou? What are you doing in this place?"
At being addressed by her name and title, said princess looked away from the hallowed Provider of Food. "Ohri? Tarin? What are you guys doing here? Oh, are you also here for breakfast?"
As one, both bodyguards dropped to their knees, prostrating themselves in front of Soma. "Forgive us, we didn't know!" they shouted in unison, remaining face down on the floor. Kunou raised her eyebrows, but she was quick on the uptake. They had clearly done something against her beloved Foodgiver.
"What happened, Soma? Did these two do something bad? Do they need to be punished?" She asked, looking from the two muscled guys to her favourite chef. She saw his smirk as he replied negatively. "Nah, they're fine. They didn't know what they were dealing with, and they were hired anyway. Little harm was done here."
"Hmm, in that case they shouldn't be punished too harshly. Maybe I should just send them away without breakfast?" Kunou replied, hearing two exhaled breaths from the seemingly relieved bodyguards. It was at this point however that the non-supernatural person in the room could no longer take it.
"Who are you anyways? And what gives you the right to speak to my men like that? I am paying them, so they will listen to me!" The woman shouted, seemingly trying to win back some of the authority she had lost over the last few minutes. Her bodyguards however shook their heads and started shivering, still on the ground as they were. The little girl she was addressing smirked, almost in a similar way to the chef she was still hugging.
"You don't know who you are talking to, woman. You hired them from us, and they would be stupid to ever turn against my mother. Now, you are holding up my breakfast, so scram and leave this place alone." Kunou spoke, in a tone and with authority that no young girl should be able to wield. Still, the businesswoman was not easily intimidated, even though she really should have been. As she opened her mouth and prepared to shout an answer however, she found herself unable to make any noise. The little girl sighed, "They don't learn, do they Soma? No matter, Ohri, Tarin, deal with her, would you? Nothing fatal, a mindwipe should do. I might allow you back in here for breakfast afterwards, if I am in a good mood. Speaking of…" She turned her attention back to Soma, as the two bodyguards got off the ground and left, dragging the protesting woman with them. Soma lifted an eyebrow at the fox girl, who was now standing in front of him and reaching up to about his midriff.
"They are Oni, right?" Soma spoke, half questioning, half stating. As he received a nod, he continued, "I figured as much. Well, it's always good to have more supernaturals visit the restaurant, and it explains why they didn't recognise the wards on the freezer to warn them away. Anyhow, that doesn't matter. Now what can I do for you, oh Kunou, Fluffy Princess of the Yokai?"
"Give food please."
"Of course."
They had only been home together for a few hours, Soma and his father. They had two quick spars, one in the kitchen and one in the restaurant's basement, both of which Soma unsurprisingly lost, before his dad had announced -also unsurprisingly- that he had to leave again.
''I've taught you everything I could teach you for now. It's time for you to spread your own wings for a bit, Soma. Leave the nest, so to speak.'' His father said as they both stood just outside the house, before encasing his hand in magic. "Blur." he spoke, smiling as his visage started shimmering, remaining visible to Soma only due to the inherent magic resistance of the supernatural. A moment later, two batlike wings spread from Joichiro Yukihira's back.
"Papers for the Academy are on the table. See you when I see you, son."
"Sure, goodbye dad." Soma replied to his father who was busily speeding away, well used to situations like this ever since his mother had passed away. Then to himself he continued: "Only two wings huh? Guess he needs to make a stop somewhere in the country first."
Soma mentally summed up the situation while packing his stuff. He had apparently been enrolled at his dad's old school, and all he should do now was show up. This normally would not have been a problem, but the last possible bullet train he could take and still end up at this school on time would leave in only half an hour. Before that, Soma still needed to pack all his belongings, close up the restaurant properly and reset the wards. His flying was still slower than the bullet train, so he truly was on a deadline here. Nevertheless, he was looking forward to going to Totsuki, as it had been a while since he had met anyone from there. Gramps was always fun to talk to, and he was looking forward to cooking and duelling with the Nakiri-princesses, who he had heard a lot about over the years. There wasn't really any time to waste looking forward though, as he still had much to do before he could head over there.
"I was entrusted with today's entrance examination, my name is Nakiri Erina."
The words rang through the examination hall, and Soma tried to look over the crowd in front of him to see the girl he had heard so much about. Another voice spoke up, detailing the process of the examination. However, it seemed that the Nakiri girl had other ideas, as she interrupted her aide. "Bring the kitchen tables!"
What followed was some brief chaos as fully stocked kitchen tables were rolled in, nearly overflowing with ingredients and utensils. As Soma finally managed to get a clear look at the girl speaking to all those in the room, she raised her arm, addressing all of them again. "The main ingredient is egg. Make one dish, those who can satisfy my tongue will earn their admission to Totsuki academy!" She smirked at the crowd, and for the first time Soma got a small glimpse of the heritage he had heard so much about. Here was a princess alright, good looking and authoritative, clearly used to being someone that was either obeyed or moved aside for, lest those in front of her would be crushed. "In addition-" her gaze went across the room, "I'll give you all one minute to withdraw from the examination. If you want…"
The stampede out of the room shocked Soma, as he had seen few reasons for people to actually run. It wasn't like there was a 'Fear'-aura or spell over the room, or that the girl had used any demonic magics. Nevertheless, those who had shared the room with him ran in fear, away from Totsuki's halls. As the room rapidly emptied out, Erina addressed her aide. "Didn't you see? They were all hopeless garbage." She huffed in annoyance. "I won't waste any time on these kinds of people… Now then, I take it that's the end of today's schedule? I want to try cooking something new in my room. Are you interested in trying it, Hisako?"
Noticing he was being ignored and both girls were preparing to leave the room, Soma spoke up. "So… Can I make whatever I want?"
Both girls turned around, surprised at the boy standing there on his lonesome. "You can as long as you use eggs. But do you really want to try?" Her mocking question was met with a smirk, as Soma walked closer to the two girls before he answered. "Well, yes. I just have to make something that's good, right?" Hisako nodded in response, as Erina walked back to the central table holding the stack of applications they had received. "In that case, allow me to make our Yukihira Diner special for you, Princess."
As Soma turned to the kitchen table, the exact wording of his statement hit both girls at the same moment Erina had found Soma's file. There, in the top-right corner of the paper holding the guy's personal information, was a small sigil. Nothing more than a small sign, it intertwined the letters 'S' and 'N'. It looked unremarkable, but to those who know what it meant there were few icons more influential. While she was ready to simply dismiss this upstart commoner, this alone ensured he would have her full attention.
As the boy, called Soma Yukihira according to the files, was cooking, Erina took her time to study him. He handled himself well enough in a kitchen, she supposed, but she could not for the life of her discover what made him special enough to have him marked before he had even been admitted to Totsuki. Next to her, Hisako was busy reading through his file, having also noticed the distinctive sigil at the top. Knowing not what else to do, Erina spoke up. "Yukihira, what are you making?" It took a while before she got a reply, and when it came it was cocky.
"You that impatient? You'll see it when I am done." The boy spoke, causing an imaginary tick-mark to appear on Erina's head and her famous temper to rise to the forefront.
"Oi! I'll fail you right now. I don't have time to spare on a failure! Are you even trying to make a dish that corresponds to my tongue?!"
"Your tongue? Not so sure about that. It corresponds to your nature though." The boy replied, earning a confused "what?" from his conversation partner. "Say, this room is closed off right? No other witnesses or camera's, right?" His question threw both girls for another loop, as they considered what he was asking, before he continued without receiving an answer to his first question. "Anyhow, food's up! Here you go, princess." With a flourish Soma turned around, holding out a plate ladened with eggs, hard-boiled eggs that had been shelled, cut in half, and filled with a paste made from the egg yolks mixed with several condiments.
It took but a moment for Erina to recognise the dish, and to immediately place most of the boy's other off-the-cuff comments as well. Next to her, Hisako came to the same conclusion simultaneously and dropped the files she was holding to the floor, a black glow coming up on her hands. "Milady, step behind me. You… Turn around and face the wall in front of you, now!"
Soma calmly placed down the plate of Deviled Eggs in front of him, seemingly uncaring of the dark magic now gathering in the palms of both girls. "Now, girls. No need to panic or do anything rash. I won't spill your secrets. Please, have a bite first, it will make the upcoming conversation so much more pleasant when we have something to eat..." At that, Soma unfurled his four wings, a smirk crossing his face, seemingly all too pleased with the first impression he had made.
Hisako had to admit, the deviled eggs were actually pretty good. Not that she would say so to him, moments after having the metaphorical bombshell dropped on both her King and herself. She had had no idea he was a devil until he unfurled his wings and stopped containing his demonic aura. She knew her control over the aura was not perfect, and to be honest, neither was Erina's. Still, as a Bishop of the Nakiri she had always prided herself on her ability to sense magic, yet the guy in front of them had been able to remain hidden. How many more potential threats had she missed over the years? Was she still missing threats now? And how much of a threat was the devil in front of them? To have four wings at their age was an impressive feat for sure. Her king had four, but she was a High-Class devil, had basically been that from the moment she was born. She, as a bishop, was close to getting her second pair of wings, but she had received the best possible tutoring since she had moved in with her best friend and King. How had this guy, seemingly a random boy from the Tokyo suburbs, been able to get four wings already? Next to her, it was clear that Erina was going over the same questions in her head, while the devil in front of them kept smiling.
"What do you want? What's with all this show?" Erina asked, still tense and looking ready for a fight.
"I had to know who I was dealing with first, can't just walk in with my wings unfurled, now could I? As for what I want, I was enrolled here, simple as that…"
This didn't clear him from any suspicion, for as far as Erina was considered. "Enrolled as what, exactly? A chef, or a devil?"
"Hmm, a valid question, I suppose. You'd have to tell me, Princess of the Nakiri, did my dish please your 'you-know-whose tongue'?"
Said princess looked at the plate between the three of them. It was passable, and she couldn't deny that she was curious about the devil marked as a person of interest by her grandfather himself. "Fine, I suppose it is passable, if only barely… Still, why should I accept you as a devil here as well? Who are you really?"
Senzaemon was standing on the balcony, looking out over the wide extent of Totsuki's lands. They went on for many miles in all directions, with the personal quarters of himself and his closest family and colleagues lying directly in the middle. As he witnessed the students walking home, either to their places on the campus or out of the gates to their respective apartments, a knock on the doors leading outside his room to the balcony disrupted his observations. As the old man slowly turned around, he was met by his first granddaughter and heiress to the Nakiri Empire. "Good evening Erina, how is my favourite granddaughter doing today?"
Expecting the normal blustered reply, the lack of even a small blush or an answer in general surprised him. Instead, his granddaughter walked up next to him, adopting a similar stance and overlooking their 'realm' for a few minutes before answering. "I am doing alright, grandfather. I am confused, but alright." After these words Erina fell back into a silence, leaving it up to Senzaemon to continue the conversation.
"Well, given that you came to seek me out, there must be something I can help with. What is it that got you confused?" He asked, lacing his voice with the trademarked grandfatherly concern.
"I met another devil today. He got the drop on me and Hisako. He knew who we were before coming in too now that I think about it."
Senzaemon raised his left eyebrow. "Really? Who did he belong to? Was it another House?"
His granddaughter shook her head, slowly as if unsure. "I don't know. He wasn't overly hostile, for what it was worth. His name was Soma Yukihira, but I can't say I ever heard of a House with such a Japanese name, aside from ours…"
Contrary to her expectations however, her grandfather did have a clear response to the name. "Ah, I see, so the kid has arrived? I'm surprised you did not recognize him, as you actually know his father quite well. Hell, you have even met Soma before, even though that was many years ago."
This caused Erina to sharply turn her head and look at her grandfather, as her memory was working overtime to recall anything. It came up blank however, and as she said so her grandfather started to explain who the boy she had talked to was. It answered some of Erina's questions, yet at the same time sparked a whole lot more. She would have to wait until the year started to gain answers to those new questions, however. A few more weeks until the son of her grandfather's only Knight would attend Totsuki, shifting the fates of both the Yukihira Family and the Nakiri House in a political landslide not seen since the Civil War.
A/N #2: As stated above, I am writing a whole bunch of stories and drafts, in an attempt to not work on my thesis too much. After reading some good stories in both these fandoms, and having written and scrapped several drafts for stories in either, I finally got something in which I see some longevity. There is one other story in the SnS/DxD-crossover section, but my Spanish is of way too abysmal a level to be able to read it, and even two stories is too small an amount. This story will be rated T, potentially moved up to M later, unless I take the Wish of an Angel approach and create a sidestory should there be anything overly 'fun' happen.
As you've probably already figured out, there are multiple active peerages around at Totsuki, though all are rather unique in their nature. I have some of them sorted out already, but they are open to be changed until the moment I write them into the story, so please hit me with any of your suggestions. :)
The pairings will probably be rather standard, but I like my Erina/Soma stories, fite me. Not that there will be too much focus on Romance anyway, as writing that stuff is hard, but we'll see what they get up to over the course of this story. Canon DxD was somewhat teased with the presence of the Yokai, but we will see the DxD cannons fire off soon enough, and observe how this influences the Old Man and his granddaughters.
As for the cooking, there will be stuff in there, but for this first chapter I wanted the focus to be more on the supernatural side of Soma, hope you agree.
If not, let me know. If yes, also let me know. Let me know what you think of this all in general, and I'll see you in the next chapter.
~Alsodef
