Rating: T+
Pairing: Soma/Erina
Genre: Romance; Drama; Hurt/Comfort; Shonen; Slight Mature Themes
Notes:
Hey Everyone! Zancrowe Here!
While I normally don't push for this all that much, I feel I have to give a huge thanks to all those readers that take that precious extra time to leave a review to these chapters. While I may note reply to all of them, do note that I read them. Always. And a go back to them whenever I get stuck or something. What I want to say it, they mean a lot to me, and if you can find the time and effort to leave something in those comments (praise or flames or something in-between, I accept them all), It would mean the world to me. It helps me get this story done in ways you cannot imagine.
Lastly, I do have a still relatively new Twitter account I am trying to use more, and I even posted this story's update there (and also reddit), so make sure to follow me there if you guys want to keep up to date with the things I'm reading, watching or, of course, writing. And we can probably engage there a bit better than in this dinosaur of a site… Not that I'm knocking on it, since it takes one to know one…
Disclaimer: Don't own Shokugeki no Soma.
"…Erina?" Soma softly tried to find his voice, as he had not been expecting to find her outside like this, just waiting for him, with those once big, bright eyes of hers utterly without their glow. "Listen, I-"
"We need to talk," she quickly cut in, her tone far sharper than he had been expecting. Sharper than even the one she used when they first met. He knew her enough by now to know she wasn't mad; she was hurt. And for once, he couldn't just pin all the blame onto her parents. "Do you have some time to spare?"
"You know you don't have to ask," he replied, hands on his pockets, "I've… I've been wanting to, actually. I think I need to-"
"It doesn't matter," she cut in once more, her eyes closed, arms still crossed, and her back still to the limousine. She looked so tired, and he couldn't act like he didn't know why. "I'm not here to blame you, or to make you out to be the bad guy in all of this. You said what you said because of everything I told you… I understand that. And… I cannot say my father, and even my mother, do not deserve this line of questioning be aimed at them. But this goes way beyond just me."
"Erina…"
"Soma," she added, her eyes finally once more on him. She had been crying. He could tell. What was he supposed to say here? Having literally zero experience in relationships before this girl had never frightened him as much as it was doing now. A good boyfriend would know what to do, what to say, but him? He had no idea. "I am more than just Erina of the Elite Ten, or a run of the mill Tootsuki Academy student. This academy is my family's entire legacy. If this controversy is not stopped, my entire family's name will be dragged through the mud, everything grandfather built and expanded upon will be destroyed, whether we win the Intercontinental Shokugeki or not. It won't even matter."
"…I get it," Soma softly said, and with his hands still in his pockets, nodding to Erina, "I know I got you into some very hot water. So if there's anything you need, just tell me. I didn't want to mess this up like this."
And it was surreal. One moment she looked so down, but upon hearing those words, her face brightened. She lit up, with only half a smile, granted, but it was half more than was there before. This girl, she really was the most beautiful girl he had ever met, and deep down he knew he couldn't stand the thought of being in bad terms with her. He felt miserable not being able to talk to her any time he wanted, or to text her whenever. Or to just steal a kiss every now and then, and laugh at all the different shades of red she turned as she argued against him doing so while at the same time puckering up for another kiss. It was simply too much.
"You will?" excited eyes asked.
"…Yeah, of course."
"Perfect!" she added with a clap, before right out of nowhere, she pulled out a very thick-looking folder filled with some very wordy documents. Soma gave the stack a glance, utterly baffled, wondering why it seemed they had been talking about the mess between her parents and his comments and all the sudden she was pulling out what looked like a month's worth of Elite Ten work. Did she fall behind because of him?
Even more importantly than that, did she actually think he could manage any type of paperwork? He could barely do his, and thanks to the International Shokugeki, his workload had been meager at best, and it was still too much. He did not want to imagine what he would have to do once this thing actually concluded and he was actually supposed to… well, work and study.
"Homework is not my forte," Soma said flatly, eyes narrowed, and Erina just frowned. She should know this by now, he figured.
"The day I turn to you for assistance in my academics is the day the world ends," she mocked, and he wanted to laugh or to make a joke, but even as a snide to his smarts (or lack thereof) she still sounded off. She still sounded sad, and it did not sit right with him. "This is something I just need you to sign, then we can do the interview and get this whole thing fixed right up."
"…Wait, what?"
"A televised interview is needed to get the word out," Erina explained, opening the folder up, signaling to the first page. "You can read it, if you want, but you can trust me I had my lawyers look over it multiple times already, so-"
"Wait, lawyers?" he just had to ask, utterly baffled. "Erina, what even is this?"
"Legal documents."
"L-Legal documents…?" he repeated, and it sounded even more off-putting the second time. "About what?"
"Well…" she tried. How was she supposed to explain this in a non-insulting way? She knew she was on thin ice as was, so… "Obviously the best way to fix everything up is for you to publicly express that you were mistaken in your comments regarding my father, and by extension, my mother, and this here is how you'll tell the proper story, about how my father was strict, yes, but never abusive. And, naturally, this NDA will-"
"Wait, NDA?!"
"Non-Disclosure Agreement," Erina explained, "It makes it so that, once you have read it and signed you-"
"Erina, I know what that is, I've read a manga with a lawyer as a protagonist once," he argued, trying to make it clear it wasn't the definition he was having a problem with.
"Not sure that's the best legal advice one can get."
"Not the point," he shot back. "You want me to go to some televised interview and just say I… misspoke?"
"…Yes."
"And signing this does… what?"
"…So that you can no longer sully my father's name with these claims, less there be… legal ramifications," she responded with each word getting softer and softer than the last, before she was almost whispering the last few. Soma's twitching eyebrow still made it clear he heard most of it. "I had my lawyers examine it thoroughly," she added before he could argue. "And I assure you that there's nothing here that will harm you. I made sure," she said, all the while keeping another specific detail to herself. 'Father had added a clause that if you even spoke about him at all in public, you'd be expelled and given a restraining order from me, but I quickly got rid of that.'
"Still…" he voiced, deflated. What was even happening anymore?
"Still…" she repeated, here tone just the slightest bit hopeful. "The end result is just, we fix this big mix-up, and everything returns back to normal."
"…Erina, I," he tried, he really did, but his mind could barely comprehend what she was saying. "You really want me to lie?"
"It's not lying," Erina quickly responded. It almost sounded automatic, as if she had been expecting him to say those very words. "Father was strict, but the big mess the media is making out of it is-"
"It's not wrong though," Soma countered, and the little brightness in Erina's eyes outright vanished. What replaced it was not something Soma liked.
"Stop trying to pretend you know what my life is like," she warned, or at least, it sounded very much like a warning. She seemed to catch herself, as for a moment, a small glimpse of guilt broke through the ice queen façade. "…I-I mean, this is destroying us. I'm trending worldwide, like if I was some abused little girl instead of who I'm supposed to be. Who Tootsuki Academy needs me to be. So… please, Soma, just do this for me."
He froze in the spot, his eyes wide, looking at hers, and he knew she was holding so much back. Right on the brink of breaking, and he could stop that from happening. All he had to do… was lie.
"Say I misspoke then…" he said, and it felt so alien for him to say it.
She nodded fiercely. "It will help tremendously. Father, Mother, they are doing everything to keep the media at bay, but come this Saturday, at our next match, all eyes will be on you. And if we settle this before then, then… then, just maybe, my family can slowly start to heal, like it's supposed to… right?"
Her eyes were starting to flood, and he was breaking. He knew that look, he knew that pain she was holding onto. So he took hold of the folder, and she seemed to materialize a pen out of thin air. He took hold of it as well, and as he did he wasn't sure if it was her hands that were shaking, or his.
"Azami was just… strict then…?" he asked, and he really had no idea if at her or at himself.
"Yes. Strict, not abusive," she answered regardless. And he took one look at the legal documents in his hands. His eyes narrowed, and as she seemed to be holding her breath, waiting for his signature. He felt that folder grow heavier and heavier until he could barely hold it up. It was all in his mind, he knew, but still.
Strict, but not abusive. That was what he was supposed to say…
"…It's just, when you're a kid, you don't understand what abuse really means. He's daddy, and he'll always be daddy. He hits you because you've been bad, or he locks himself into a room with you because he's looking out for you, protecting you from the dangers of the world that took mommy."
Her words slowly echoed back into his mind, that one time she had opened up to him back on the cruise…
"And he wasn't horrible either; he was kind at times. He would buy me things, read me bedtime stories, and play dumb games with me."
About the very same man that had caused her to run right out of the kitchen, abandoning her duties and left her a sobbing mess on the floor…
"Then other times, he'd spank me for not wanting to eat, slap me because I shouted back, and leave me locked in a dark room because I couldn't tell two stupid sauces apart. He would break my toys, tell me I did not deserve them, even if it had been mommy who had bought them for me."
She had fallen asleep on him, and he had not been able to even comprehend what had happened back then. But he knew, he knew he could never allow her to suffer like that again. To fall that deep…
"Then, he'd come to me the next day. And he'd cry. He'd tell me he was sorry. That he loved me; that he wasn't ever going to hurt me like that again. That he knew he was a bad daddy. And then I'd cry, and tell him I believed him. That he wasn't a bad daddy. And I begged him not to leave me, and he'd promise he wouldn't. And I'd believe him… again, and again."
"…That's the story behind the ever-so perfect princess of Tootsuki Academy," he repeated, his eyes shifting from the documents to the broken girl before him.
"…What?"
"That's how you described yourself, back then," he explained, and it took her a few moments until she remembered. Her eyes widened as she did, and for a moment, a knot formed in her throat and she couldn't quite speak. "…Erina, I can't-"
"Please don't," she cut it, begging. "Soma, I need you to…"
"He's done this before," Soma firmly responded. "I have no idea what you're supposed to do in a situation like this. I'm clearly not mature enough for any of this, but… I trust the words of that Erina a whole lot more than the ones your saying to me now."
"No! You don't get to use those words against me," she countered, her finger raised and pointed at him, her expression one of anger to try and hide the one of sadness. "I was stressed, caught off-guard. I said too much. I shouldn't have confined in you all of that."
"You're right," Soma replied, and Erina turned, her sharp eyes on his, for once the one with confusion evident between the two. "If you hadn't, I would have probably bought into his little act just like everyone else, but, thing is, you did. And I really don't know how to help you-"
"By fixing this!" she argued back, motioning to the documents.
"No, that's helping him," Soma corrected, and Erina flared.
"It's the same thing," Erina countered. "Helping my Father means helping me."
"That may be," he said solemnly, and upon hearing his tone, she knew him well enough to know he wasn't going to sign anything. And she felt herself break, loudly.
"…Soma, please."
"What he did, I can't fix it," Soma admitted. "But if I take back what I said, and he hurts you again, then that's on me."
"…Y-You really can't do this one little thing for me?!" she cried out.
"One little thing?!" he couldn't help but shoot back. "Like I haven't done anything for you?"
"Not like I have for you!" she argued. "Or are you forgetting we're all in this mess because of you, huh? I got you back into this school! That's why we got challenged! I stuck up for you at every turn, even against my own grandfather's wishes. You didn't have a problem with lying back then, did you?!"
"That's different!" Soma argued back. "This," he said, motioning to the stack of documents, "This hurts you. That whole mess last year was all on me. Our stakes was me getting back to Tootsuki, fixing the foul play that got me kicked out in the first place. But it wasn't anything this serious. Eizan's not my dad, I wasn't trying to get him to love me or anything."
"Don't mock me!"
"I'm not! You are the one who told me Azami always did this to you!" Soma countered, and Erina was shaking. "Always fooling you into believing he had changed, all just to end up hurting you again. And here he is, doing it once more, this time even taking the whole school down while he's at it. And you're falling for it all over again."
"…Enough," she muttered, and it was clear she was crying. She couldn't even hide it. "I'll solve this myself, somehow. I think we're done here."
"Erina…" he voiced, his anger utterly subsided when he heard those words in that tone. What was she saying? "Listen, I think we-"
"Don't bother," she cut in, taking hold of the documents from his hands, still crying, as he looked on, almost as broken as her. "Go, you have a meeting to attend to. I have other matters to… fix. We have nothing further to discuss."
Soma couldn't even find any words to try and stop this whole thing from spiraling any further out of control, if it was even possible at this point. Erina, for her part, merely turned around, hand firmly grasping onto the unsigned NDA, as she paused by the limousine's door. Soma looked on, and the wind made her ever-long blonde hair wave all around.
He looked on, and she waited.
She then suddenly kicked the limousine rather hard, almost leaving her shoeprint tattooed onto its side. While Soma was utterly confused by her action, the limousine's driver wasn't, as the poor man rushed right out of the driver's seat, tripping over himself as he mumbled a series of apologies at the princess for not realizing she wanted to get on. She didn't reprimand him or anything, merely got back inside the limousine once the door was opened to her, and sat inside, all while keeping her eyes as far away from Soma as she could.
He looked on, and despite offering the poor driver a very forced smile, Soma had no idea how to even process what had just happened. Had she just… Had Erina actually ended their…?
Erina had her hand on her forehead, head down, as she felt the limousine begin to drive away, only catching the briefest of glimpses of the boy still standing by the side of the road, whose eyes could almost be mistaken for being just as broken and dull as hers.
"Miss…?" her driver asked, and she knew he wasn't sure of what to say or do, but she wasn't a spoiled brat anymore. She was not going to take things out on those who had no fault on the matter. She had… grown past that.
"Don't mind any of this," she lied, and then it was her father's words that came out of her mouth. Whether or not she realized it, nobody knew. "…This was nothing but a high school romance, nothing more…"
-0-
Soma ended up having to drag himself into the stadium that less than a year ago had hosted the famed Autumn Elections, an event he had been so stoked to partake in. At the time it had meant everything for him, his next big step towards his ultimate goal of conquering all of Tootsuki. Winning that tournament would have gotten him ever closer to his dream of being the best, and in time, finally taking down his father and taking over Yukihira's. It was all… so simple back then. But it was in this very stadium it all seemed to have taken a curve.
In another life, he imagined, the tournament would have ended slightly different, Akira would not have challenged Erina and forced him (and Ryou) to partake in said challenge, they would have gone to further school events, Shokugekis all around, and all would be well. Azami would have probably still appeared, but would he had even cared if he had not grown as close as he had to Erina?
"Yukihira!" he heard his name get called out, and he turned, facing the middle of the grand stage, where all of his fellow Elite Ten teammates were all gathered. All except for her, of course. He had not meant to keep them waiting, so he slowly lifted his hand and waved a small apology at the group, sheepish smile trying to hide a very tired one.
"What pit did you crawl out of?" Kurokiba mouthed off, his sharp eyes on Soma, glancing at the redhead for a moment. The mad dog was standing alongside the three others that made up the remaining Second Year Elite Ten students, while the three Third Years sat atop the stage itself. Kurokiba's tone kinda irked Soma, but he couldn't really argue the observation.
"It's been a rough morning," Soma muttered, hands right back onto his pockets.
"Don't be rude Ryou," Alice quickly reprimanded, coming to Soma's defense surprisingly fast, as she motioned to the redhead. "You've seen the news. My cousin's in quite the mess, so of course that would affect Soma here too. Any good boyfriend would be concerned."
"Is that what a good boyfriend would do?" Soma repeated softly, half-wondering if that really was the case. If he was really in the right in all of this. He had sounded so sure when he had told Erina, but now, he wasn't so sure. Then he felt a hand go up to his shoulder, firmly. He didn't even need to look up from his own feet to know who it was.
"You look like hell," Takumi told him, and this did cause Soma to laugh.
"Can't really argue that," Soma just replied, before softly closed his fist and placed them on Takumi's chest. "But, relax, I'm fine-enough," he half-lied, "I can manage. Sorry I'm late everyone, what's up?"
Takumi said nothing to this, since he knew bravado when he saw it, but again, there was really not much he could say at this point.
Alice looked on, her face clearly showing concern, most notably at the fact that while Soma, miserable as he looked, had shown up, her cousin hadn't. This… wasn't like Erina at all, but again, even a fellow Nakiri like Alice couldn't quite pretend to be able to put herself into Erina's glass slippers and understand what it was she was going through at the moment.
Kurokiba said nothing else, merely scoffing at all the drama that came with the territory of just being near these girls and turned his attention back to the stage, where their seniors sat.
Akira, silent throughout, only observed. He wanted to convince himself that he wasn't at all invested in Erina or Soma's plight, but just like he had felt robbed when Soma had gotten kicked off last year, he did not want Erina's career to get ruined by circumstances outside her control. She was too much a worthy opponent to get crumbled by something like that. Similarly, when the question of her whereabouts undoubtedly came up, he'd pretend he couldn't outright smell her perfume all over Soma.
"That's okay Soma," their First Seat, seated with her legs crossed upon the stage, all proper as always, told him softly. Her voice, like the rest, echoed throughout this giant, empty arena; and Soma had to admit he had never quite heard this girl speak so gently before. He kinda was beginning to see what Isshiki saw in this girl. "I can't outright just push our responsibilities aside because of this situation given the gravity of it all," she continued, "But I understand," she then paused, as if contemplating her next words carefully, "…Do you know if Erina is going to be joining us, or…?"
"I don't think she is," Soma just responded automatically, "She said something along the lines of having other matter to tend to, or whatever. Related to Azami and all that."
"So why did she even come here in the first place?" Alice asked, turning to Soma. He gave her a puzzled look, which made her pout. "I totally saw her by the limo by one of the entrances. I just imagined she was waiting for you before coming inside. You know, discuss private matters privately and all that."
"Well, yeah, there was that-" Soma tried.
"Mind your own business," Kurokiba softly reprimanded in turn, causing Alice to feel a vein pop on her forehead.
"This is my business!" Alice barked back, "My family's business at that. We lose this, this entire place gets shut down. And we need all hands on deck. Little good that protect Erina hashtag will do her if she's homeless come next week."
"I highly doubt losing Tootsuki would make that girl even remotely close to poor," Akira couldn't help but add, his eyes on an increasingly annoyed Alice.
"Oh, heaven forbid, no," she quickly corrected. "But we could end up having to sell quite a lot of stuff. We might even end up with just one private yet! One! Can you imagine us having to share it?! Do you know how hard that would be to just schedule?!"
"Truly the working man's problem," Kurokiba said in the most deadpan of tones, as Alice's pout slowly turned into a small grin.
"…Yeah, I guess I'm still a bit of a brat," she admitted, which caused her boyfriend to turn to her with a curious look in his eyes. "What? I'm not that little girl anymore. And I know my cousin. I'm more worried about her doing what she always does, shutting everyone away and trying to take on the entire weight of the world on by herself…" she paused, her eyes then on Soma. "…Right?"
"…Yeah," he couldn't help but admit. She was right. That was just what she was doing. And he had no idea how to stop her, or if he even should.
"Let's just assume Erina won't be joining us then," Nene decided, calling the attention back to the seniors up on the stage. "We had planned this with all six of you in mind, but frankly, it works more evenly with just five. Besides, Erina is a monster in terms of skills, so she'll be fine… I hope. We'll focus on helping her in whatever way we can, but right now, best we can do is win this thing. So, if you guys are up to it, I wanted to offer you all a-a-What?!" Nene quickly switched from calm and collected to pissed off as Kuga had approached her and begun to poke her on the cheek with his index finger repeatedly.
"Don't try to steal my thunder from me four-eyes," he told her, as she felt her glasses crack thanks to the intensity of her glare. He did not seem bothered by it in the slightest. "This was my idea. Let me announce it."
"God, you're childish," Nene just muttered, before she just sighed and motioned to him. "…Fine, take it away."
"Thanks!" he childishly cheered, as he bounced up and took center stage, all while Nene and Isshiki looked on, and the five Second Years formed a line right before the stage, their eyes of their Third Seat and his very proud smirk. "Now then, my lovelies, while I want to just say I had a sudden stroke of genius and got all of this together by my very lonesome, I do have to admit I owe part of this to little miss Yuuki down in the Polar Star Dorm."
"Yuuki?" Soma voiced, his head titled. Not the first person he'd assume was actively involved in this entire situation, but a welcomed assistance nonetheless. 'Truth be told, she'd make a great replacement for Shouko,' he thought to himself, 'Heck, any of the Polar Stars would. I'd even take Loren at this point. At least he betrays you directly.'
"Yeah, little miss farmer, who better still have that baby bunny alive and well or I'm making a motion to have her kicked out," Kuga added, as he turned to Isshiki, who gave out a laugh.
"Terubunny is doing just fine," Isshiki commented, and Kuga's smile slowly twisted itself into a very confused-looking gesture.
"…Terubunny?"
"She normally doesn't really name the animals she takes care off," Isshiki explained, still all smiles. "But, since you took such a liking to the little fella, she decided to name him after you."
"…What a cheeky junior I have," Kuga noted, before he shook his head and carried on, since he could tell that his present Juniors were giving him very judging stares. "That aside, she gave me the idea to call in a little favor, or favors rather. Which is why Satoshi, Nene and I have taken the time to get this place set up and prepped to give you guys two full days… okay, one full day and a half of nonstop unofficial Shokugeki action! You can even begin clapping now, since you won't believe how hard it was to get clearance to use this stadium in such short notice, since it normally takes weeks in advance to prep this place up for the Elections…"
"Please do not break anything," Nene added, "Our current Headmaster is lenient, especially if it involves Alice, but he made it very clear that this place is our second biggest arena, right after our main one where the Intercontinental Shokugeki is taking place, and we need this place in top form once we return the keys… Uh, yes?"
Nene motioned to Akira, who had slowly raised his hand. The Indian boy paused for a moment, his sharp eyes on the stage itself, before turning to the side, where the kitchen set-ups they had used to the Elections were all prepped and ready for use. "Let me guess, we are going to be facing off against one another in an attempt to learn from each other and hopefully improve."
"More or less," Isshiki responded, as Kuga frowned.
"I have yet to finish my announcement," he muttered, before he turned to Akira. "You'll understand once-Yes?"
This time it was Alice who had raised her hand. "We're all kinda at the same level though. Not sure what good exhausting ourselves will do."
"Shouldn't our bigger priority be getting an actual Sixth Seat anyways?" Takumi quickly added, hand also raised, and Kuga just stared at the two, feeling his eyebrow twitch.
"Yes, and yes," he replied, "While practice makes perfect, or so they say, I am not expecting you all to just fight each other and improve all that much in just two days. And of course we need to solve the… Shouko situation, once we actually find that damn girl that is," he added, before quickly saying: "And no, we are not doing one-against-four matches Soma."
A slightly irked Soma quickly lowered his hand, pouting. It would have been fun.
"And, as much as it hurts to admit, there's not much Satoshi, Nene and I can offer you guys either," he added, his tone shifting a bit, a slightly more serious tenor evident. "Nene and I already got eliminated, and for as much as he wants to brag otherwise, Satoshi is still handicapped, quite literally at that."
"You make it sound like I lost my hand or something," Isshiki defended, waving his hand that was at least no longer bandaged up. It was relieving to see, Soma noted, since it meant they'd have Isshiki back in the ring soon enough. And, as much as it hurt him to admit it, they desperately needed him.
"Doctor told you to still be cautious," Nene quickly shot back, her eyes on her boyfriend. "While the injury is better, your hand it still utterly susceptible to strong heat."
"That part is true," Isshiki admitted, but he was still all smiles. It made Soma wonder just how much was an act put forth for them, to calm them down. They had lost two of their seniors, got betrayed by a third, and the only one they had was still injured. While the Second Years had full faith in their abilities, they all knew the rest of the school still saw them as bottom tier Elite Ten members. Satoshi Isshiki was their golden boy, so as long as he was still in the game, so to speak, there was hope.
Erina Nakiri was the other one who inspired hope amongst the alumni, and, to a lesser extent, Akira Hayama too. But the others were fodder at best to most, despite their performances proving otherwise.
"So… having said that," Kuga continued, bringing all the attention back to himself, as the five Second Years before him turned back to the Third Seat. "And in order not to waste another precious second, allow me to formally reintroduce your challengers…"
The five below all stared, eyes wide, confused at the declaration.
Kuga signaled to one of the main entrances, directed right behind the five, and as each of them turned back, their eyes all widened, seeing a sight they had not ever expected to see back within these walls but, in hindsight, it made the most sense.
It was here that Akira, Soma, Alice, Ryou and Takumi came face-to-face with the five who'd be their current trainers, so to speak, and none of the five could lie and say that it wasn't an exciting prospect.
To be able to challenge them once more.
Standing in line, mimicking the Second Years who had once been two years their juniors, Eishi Tsukasa, Rindou Kobayashi, Tosuke Megishima, Momo Akenegakubo and Soumei Saitou all walked forwards, stopping right before the five who now occupied the very seats they had just recently graduated from.
"How are my little juniors doing?!" Rindou quickly greeted with the biggest of smiles, waving her arms around frantically. "Don't worry! Big sis Rindou is here to help you fight off those mean old bullies!"
"We're not here to baby them, you know?" Soumei quickly added, his eyes on the new team. "Still, I'm not all that surprised. This is quite a decent line-up. At first I was concerned when old man Senzaemon did not call us back for this, but considering who got the lower seats, I can sort-of see why."
"…I'm not so sure," Momo voiced, as she took a few step forwards. Soma seemed to stiffen himself a bit as Momo walked right up to him, her small features slowly becoming a little glare, or as close to one as such a little-looking girl could manage. "You don't look at all like the brat that made us all take him back in. That is… concerning."
"Uh… I…" Soma tried, having gotten caught off-guard.
"Let him be Momo," Eishi voiced, and as Soma turned from the former Fourth Seat to the former First, Eishi offered him a genuine smile. "We've also heard about the whole mess involving the princess. I'd guess that's got you a bit down."
"…Yeah," Soma admitted, before he shook his head. He needed to focus on the here and now. "But that won't be a problem, I assure you guys. You have no idea how much I've been aching to get at each and every one of you," he said, as his trademark smirk came back to his face and he punched his fist into his palm, just before turning back to Momo. "And that includes you, Queen of Sweets."
"…Hmm," Momo softly noted, her eyes scanning him briefly, before she turned away. "Such display, not cute at all, good enough I suppose."
"Always so strict," Soumei told her with a laugh as she walked back to his side.
"You are the one who said we weren't here to baby them," she argued.
"And yet you love it when I baby y-" he never got to finish his statement, as Momo seemed to outright materialize Bucchi out of nothingness as if he were a Summon from Naruto and smacked her boyfriend right across the face with it. For a plush doll, he, or rather, she, hit rather hard with it.
"~Ah, young love," Rindou mused.
"Is that what that is?" Eishi asked, feeling a wave of nostalgia at seeing all of them together like this once more. He shook his head regardless, turning to the students before him. No, not students. To the Elite Ten members before him. The top of the top, ones that they, as graduates, had an obligation to assist to the best of their capacity. "Alright, it took some effort, but we're here. And we're thankful for the opportunity to assist," he said with a pause, as he looked up to the stage. "Thanks Kuga. And good job at keeping them afloat. Same to you Nene, Satoshi… I can't imagine how hard this whole thing must be."
"…You have no idea," Nene admitted, sounding oh-so tired, allowing her just the briefest moment to let her guard down. It was so good to see Eishi back, one of the few people she had the utmost faith in.
"It's been quite the event," Isshiki added, likewise as relieved.
"And we need to get these kids up to shape, so they don't end up like four-eyes and me," Kuga added afterwards, "Can we leave them to you?"
"Of course," Eishi replied, as the other four graduates stood right next to their former First Seat, all five of them staring down to the current five Elite Ten members. "Five-on-five, seems about right," Eishi noted with a small smile, "Since we started later than we planned today, these will have to be smaller matches, just so we can gauge where each of you are and what areas you need improving the most. Thirty minute matches, with random themes selected by the judges over there," he said, signaling to the three Third Years, "You guys will get to face against each one of us, rotating opponents once the match concludes. We have about five or so hours for today, so that's roughly ten matches, meaning each of you will get to face-off against each of us twice. Do try to win at least one of those ten matches, okay?"
"It's almost like they never left," Takumi noted with a rather irked expression.
"They certainly can get under your skin easily, can't they?" Alice added, her expression sharp.
"Big talk," Ryou said through gritted teeth, "We're not the same kids you guys knew. At least one out of ten? Don't start crying when we beat all of you in the first five rounds."
"I get dibs on Tsukasa based on just that comment alone!" Soma quickly declared, removing his bandanna from his sleeve and placing it on his head effortlessly. "What do you say, senior? Or should I say, Tootsuki graduate?"
"It takes effort, I'll admit," Akira voiced, his eyes surprisingly just as sharp as Soma's. "To get me to agree with these guys, but you won't be getting any mercy from us. There is a reason you weren't called back, after all."
"Oh my," Rindou voiced with glee. "How exciting."
"They're not cute at all," Momo commented, holding onto Bucchi tightly.
"This might be fun after all," Soumei added, as he held onto the hilt of his sword firmly.
The ever-quiet former Third Seat Tosuke said nothing, but his narrowed eyes seemed to scan all five of his would-be opponents, and even for such an imposing man who had almost outright declined Kuga's pleas to return to offer assistance, he couldn't quite hide the small satisfaction at seeing them all riled up like this. He had low-key expected to find them broken and messed up, but if they were this fired up, then maybe this wasn't a lost cause after all. Maybe…
"Very good then," Eishi said, before his eyes became sharp once more, fully befitting a man who had once held the title of strongest in this very Academy they were all desperately trying to defend. "Shall we begin?"
-0-
He sent the text to her once he revised it over and over more times than was probably needed, but if all these current experiences had taught him anything is that even one misplaced word could turn everything on its head. He had almost messed up, almost gotten to the point of making sure Azami got his greedy little paws away from Erina that he had almost gotten her ire instead. Had he done what he had originally planned, she probably would have not like it much. But, thank the heavens for one Soma Yukihira, who had done precisely the right thing to alienate both himself and Azami from the princess, leaving her completely vulnerable. Completely in need of someone trustworthy to lean on.
And what better person than the very best brother in the world?
Laying down on this comfy-ass bed in the expensive as all hell resort, Asahi smiled as he multitasked, his eyes on the screen waiting for his dear little sister to read his text while he had his comrades' voices in his ears, as their conference call was well underway.
"We've set out to do several test runs of these new dishes, and so far, the results have been quite the sight to behold," Asahi's right hand man and Japan's third best kidnapper Yuunosuke Tanaka explained, as Asahi half paid attention to him. He already figured anything they made that had been pre-approved by Erina herself was bound to cause a sensation, no matter to who they presented it to.
"That's to be expected," Don Calma voiced Asahi's thought for him. "It was the God's Tongue personal preferences after all. But, try as we might, I must apologize my dearest Asahi. We cannot take it to the level she herself would be truly satisfied with, much less something someone as grand as Mana Nakiri would ever accept."
"No… not yet," Asahi said calmly. "…I need you to keep those trails running. Find any and all weaknesses in those dishes, and iron them out. I need Erina to get better and fast. Last night was a disaster, and honestly she's a lot lower in terms of skills than I had hoped. They… they've been babying her too much in this place."
"It is her home," Sargenta Kruel voiced, her tone clearly not pleased at all. Asahi just laughed a bit when he recognized the annoyance in her voice.
"What's the matter Sarge?" he teased, "Don't tell me you're still mad I replaced you lot with these crazy serial killers in the making I'm partnered up with now? You know it wasn't my first choice."
"I don't think she's mad about that," Bonnie Harriet, usually known by her nickname Bunnyhair thanks to her usual attire, teased. "~It's not your new team she hates, well, not two out of the three of them."
"Shut your trap Bonnie!" Sarge shot back, as Asahi could hear Bunnyhair laugh it off. He was sure she wouldn't be so quick to tease Sarge if they weren't on-call as opposed to an in-person meeting.
"About them," Asahi mentioned, just as he received a reply from his little sister, causing his eyes to brighten.
"…They have a very hard past to decipher," the resident doctor turned noir chef, Claude Ville, informed with his trademark creepy low tone. "I've been tracing Julius Bedlam's history, but everything leads back to the Eizan family, and while they have fallen from grace as of late, they are still far more connected than we are. I cannot get careless with these investigations."
"Yeah, don't want to wake up to the news of your corpse showing up floating down some random river," Asahi said amusingly.
"Morbid," Kou Shiou noted, as the man seldom seen without his trademark mask took out a few notes of his own. "As for Ashitaro Sadatsuka, he's the third generation from that family involved in the culinary arts. His grandfather fancied himself a rival to Senzaemon Nakiri, but the first, and last, Intercontinental Shokugeki proved otherwise. The son, and Ashitaro's father, took part in that match, and he utterly lost to someone who should be of no surprise to you Asahi."
"…Jouichirou," Asahi voiced, no doubt in his mind, as he read Erina's rather long text. He had asked her how she was doing, and if she needed something, in the most innocent and charming manner he could muster. She had sent him a whole novel in response. Clearly, she had a lot in her mind. 'Girl's quite the drama queen…'
"And… I've got nothing on Dove," Bunnyhair added with a sheepish laugh, hoping Asahi would just brush in off like he usually did, but she had no such luck.
"Nothing?!"
All the noirs seemed to tense up at his sudden outburst, feeling like they were about to be collectively fired.
"U-Until a few years ago she was a total unknown; a nobody basically," Bunnyhair explained, with her little laugh now a nervous one. "All that is known is that she's Azami Nakamura's protégé, and not much else. Her background, her past education, everything prior to her first public showcase as a noir already under Azami is just… blank."
"…That's Azami's doing no doubt," Asahi said with a frown. He began to try and conjure up a text in response to Erina's, but it was difficult. Part of him just wanted to tell her to stop being such a crybaby and get her shit together, but… at the same time he didn't want to be mean to her. No, not want, he needed to fake affection. Right, fake it. That was what this was. Nothing more. "So, in the end," he added, while still toying around with his possible responses, "You all got nothing I didn't already know."
"Going deeper into Julius background would mean going directly into the Eizan's history," Claude mentioned, his tone clearly despising the idea.
"And Ashitaro is the black sheep of the Sadatsuka family it seems," Kou added, "For someone whose father was once hailed as Jouichirou Saiba's American equivalent like Toshio Sadatsuka, and whose stepmother is the former Fourth Seat of the Golden Era of Tootsuki Academy, Miss Riko Ebisawa herself, I find it so confusing that neither he nor his sister are much bigger than they are."
"It's your job to find out why that is," Asahi muttered, feeling exhausted, as if he were dealing with children. Both by call and by text. He decided to play the supportive role for now, allow Erina to vent out her frustrations and keep his advice to a minimum. After all, at times one needs not to listen, but to simply be heard, no?
"…I'll try and see if I can get something, anything of that Dove Dillinger then," Bunnyhair softly whispered, but as just her luck would have it, Asahi had a heavy interest on that particular individual.
"Please do," he told her firmly, causing her to squirm.
"…Asahi, I don't mean to overstep," Sarge began, which caused Asahi to chuckle sarcastically.
"That'd be a first."
"Screw you!" she barked back. "But it is kinda obvious you are putting way too much emphasis on this dumb little girl. She's just your father's placeholder until he gets his own daughter back. Why all this sudden interest in her?"
"You weren't there, Sarge," Asahi replied, sending his text before turning his full attention to his team, his real team, for a moment. "Dove Dillinger out-cooked her in a scenario where I was certain there could be no winner. She's not someone I can just ignore. For this to work, we need for it to be me, and only me, the one who wins this competition. I need Ashitaro, Julius and specially Daddy's little clone to be thoroughly defeated. So find out everything you guys can about them, specially Dove."
"Well, she's super-hot," Bunnyhair offered.
"…That doesn't help," Asahi flatly argued.
"To be fair, I much consider Julius to be hotter," Don Calma suggested.
"…That doesn't help either," Asahi added, annoyed. "I have eyes, I know they're both hot. But this isn't a beauty contest, so focus on their skills, their upbringing, anything that can help me pin down what their true techniques are. Because I know for a fact they have been holding back all this time."
"Are you really certain of that?" Yuunosuke asked, his tone far more composed than the rest, as per usual. Always the analytical mind, that one.
"Of course," Asahi replied without hesitation. "…Because I've been doing the same."
Upon hearing their master's words the rest all kept quiet, all pondering their next moves carefully, less they make Asahi madder than he already was. It was quite the situation. On one hand, they had gotten their passing grade on a select three dishes chosen by the God's Tongue herself, and after experimenting further, they had fine-tuned it enough. But, getting dirt on Asahi's teammates proved… problematic at best.
"…Asahi… If I may," the last member of their elite squad, of sorts, spoke up, his chilling childish voice causing about half of them to shudder, as they had even forgotten he was in the conversation at all. Asahi just narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah, what's your status Boogie?"
"…I think I have found something on your father, Azami himself," the man who fancied himself a killer clown, Boogie Malcanta told Asahi. "…Something he may not want out there, especially not right now."
"My father?" Asahi asked, a bit taken aback. "Boogie, I asked you to look into that brat Loren, as a backup if we didn't get anything on Dove, like we did evidently," he added, as he outright felt Bunnyhair flinch. "Why are you trying to dig up dirt on Azami? Do you have a death wish? Leave that bastard to me."
"…Apologies," Boogie expressed, but added: "…But I did. It does involve little Loren Frechette. Were this to be true, then, perhaps, your dearly departed mother is not the only mistake that man made during a trip to America."
"What?" It was the flattest "what?" Asahi had ever uttered.
"I do not have enough information to confirm it, yet…" Boogie replied. "But, all signs point to it. Why would a man who values gourmet over anything else take in a kid who knows not how to cook… unless…?"
"…Just be careful," Asahi told him, "Azami is not a man who can be taken by surprise twice by the same trick… If Loren is, damn it that would be excellent, especially with his image as damaged as it is, but…" Asahi paused, trying to contain the mix of excitement and worry he had. It was true, that just one more controversy would be enough to bury Azami completely, but he knew the man would have all those details buried six feet under. More so, since unlike Asahi himself, Azami had Loren with him, so were it to be true, Azami had found out first and gotten a hold of the kid, and likely made sure to silence anyone who could reveal him.
"…Asahi?" Sarge softly voiced, worried.
"The same goes to all of you. Do your jobs, but don't get caught," he warned them all, not really knowing what more to say at this point. "We're close, I can feel it. But don't act until we are sure of everything and have the evidence to protect ourselves. All we can do until then is just hope these Elite Ten dweebs manage to survive long enough to reach the final round, otherwise we'll have to change our plans to something far more invasive. But, for now, I'll try and guide my little sis as best I can, so go on and keep me posted."
Sarge wanted to add something else, but upon hearing the finality of Asahi's words, she refrained. He was right, she knew that, and the rest knew as well. He was in there, risking it all, and they needed to do their part. So she said nothing, and the call ended.
Asahi took a glance back onto his phone, realizing he had received another text from his sister, and getting ready for the massive wall of text that awaited him; he was shocked when he got the opposite. Just a small little text, but one that said so much.
"I think Soma and I just broke things off," it read, and Asahi didn't know how to feel about that statement. Was it good news for him? "Mom's asking me to go with her somewhere," it also read, which was also surprising in its own way. Was this Mana Nakiri's attempt at fixing her imagine, or a more genuine attempt at… No. Genuine is not a word one could ever associate with a Nakiri after all. "I'll text you once I'm back…"
Then for the briefest of moments, he read her next text: "Maybe I could call you instead."
Then she deleted it almost instantly.
"Never mind," it read instead.
And Asahi had no option but to pretend he didn't read what had been erased. It made his job a lot easier if he did.
But unbeknownst to him, on one of the ends of the call, one of his Noirs still held the phone up, the light of the screen slowly dying out, as he turned to the other man in the room, who had heard everything. "…I think this proves my loyalty, does it not?" Boogie asked, his eyes showing just the smallest amount of fear mixed in with hope. "…Azami Nakamura?"
And all Azami gave him was a nod. But it was enough. Boogie knew power when he saw it. He had believed in Asahi for all this time, but this? Facing and destroying someone of Azami's caliber? That was nothing but foolish suicide, brought forth by some dumb sense of pride and revenge. He would not allow himself to take him down with them all. If the rest wanted to fall off the cliff with Asahi, let them be, but he would not.
He knew Azami was a monster that could not be beaten, everything that fool Asahi falsely believed he could measure up against, but was about to find out he never really stood a chance to begin with. And, Boogie told himself, he was much happier watching that unfold from the winning side.
-0-
The days passed by fast. Too fast for her liking. She knew it was normal. Whenever you were dreading events to come, the minutes would fly by, the total opposite of if you were looking forwards to something, during which time seemed to stand still. For her, she was currently involved in the former, and in what seemed like a blink of an eye, she found herself once more reaching the main stadium, moments before the next big match was to start.
Saturday had arrived, and Tootsuki Academy's Elite Ten, or what was left of them, were slated to face-off against the very best the École des Plats Cuisinés had to offer. And it felt so surreal that it wasn't the match itself the top priority on her mind, as it rightfully should, had her life not taken such a drastic curve just two days ago.
"Remember what we agreed on," Erina heard her mother say as the limousine currently bringing the two in slowed down, nearing the main entrances. The crowd circling the event was massive, even for Tootsuki standards, and she couldn't pretend she didn't know why. Even with how controlled they had everything within these grounds, people all ached at the opportunity to catch a glimpse of their princess that was still making worldwide news. "I'll try to keep things as simple as possible, but…" then her mother gave pause, and it felt off. Mana Nakiri was not known to doubt herself. But, whatever words she had thought of saying, she decided against, and Erina just looked on, hoping she was doing the right thing.
"I just want this nightmare to be over," Erina said without even bothering to turn her gaze from the tinted windows, staring into the massive crowds she was moments away from confronting. She knew what she needed to do, what she needed to be. She no longer was that lost little girl hidden away behind her grandfather's imposing frame. She was now a lady, and the heiress of everything that man had built. And she needed to act the part.
So she'd fake the smile, fake the laugh, and just hope that at some point it would at least feel a bit real.
Then the doors were opened, and everything she had been dreading was now part of her reality. She stepped out, as the cameras flashed and the reporters shouted her name. She gave them her trademark smile, stepping into view fully showcasing her Tootsuki uniform proudly, almost as if it were an expensive gala dress, but it might as well be. It represented her very history after all.
Mana stepped out after her, dressed far more professionally than she had before, a suit tailored specifically for her, dress shirt and short form-hugging skirt, sporting the same smile her daughter wore, just one far more trained. Far more natural-looking. She took a stand right next to Erina, and as the cameras made the moment eternal, she gently caressed Erina's head, brushing her long hair back, causing the young teen to look up at her, for a moment caught off-guard, until it hit her what it was.
'…All part of the act, right?' she silently reminded herself, hating how she could feel her chest get heavy upon realizing it.
Then Azami stepped into view, dressed as impeccably as any mortal man could. He offered the reporters a salute, and took his place next to his daughter, his hand on her back, softly, pulling her a bit closer to him. She looked on, before forcing the smile to return, just in time for the fury of flashes that took the photos of the "perfect" family.
"Erina! Erina!" the reporters all called, as the princess turned, just as was discussed, her full attention to them. This was to be her first official appearance after that disastrous night, and her first actual comments on the matter outside of her social media accounts, who's only comment on the matter had been written by Hisako and contained the vaguest of language imaginable. This, however, had been planned down to the letter. Only the reporters chosen by Tootsuki itself were allowed inside, which meant, that they were going to serve them the most softball questions imaginable, otherwise they could have a repeat of what started this mess in the first place.
"…I'm sure you've all have a lot of questions for me at the moment, right?" Erina began, in a voice she didn't even recognize. But, whoever this girl was that was currently speaking for her, she sounded a lot more secure that she ever could, so it was for the best. "Strange, isn't it? Not like I'm making news nationwide or anything," she joked, and she heard the reporters offer her a little laugh in response.
"Any official comments on this movement made in your name, miss?" one young lady asked, her microphone inches from the princess. She felt nauseous.
"I just want to say I'm blown away by all the support and love I've seen from all corners of the world," she responded ad verbatim to what had been written for her. "I've never trended worldwide like this, and even from people who have zero relation to the culinary world. And I want to address, that I am grateful, so very much so, for all of it. But I really want to make it clear that the concern is really not necessary. I am beyond privileged for the life I have, and for my family, and my parents, while not perfect, as no one is, never once abused me in any way. Father," she said, turning to them, "…was strict in his upbringing and in training my "God's Tongue", as it has been called, but never once has he ever been abusive to me… E-Ever."
"What do you say to all those reports of a fallout between your father and the Headmaster of this academy, your grandfather?" another reported asked, and Erina was sure she was not going to be able to hold in her lunch for much longer.
"I-I…" she stammered, and she knew she really shouldn't. As controlled an environment as this was, this was still "live", meaning her every reaction was being seen worldwide, and one misstep meant ruining everything. She needed to control herself. "I was young, too young back then, so I know not much," she admitted, smiling again. She had that part down, because to anyone who did not know her well, she looked honestly happy. "There was some conflict, as is the case with many families. And my father and grandfather had a few clashes over what my studies and future would look like, but I can assure you, it was never about any form of abuse. Both my father and my mother were, and still are, very important people in the culinary world, so they were needed all over the world, and my grandfather insisted I was raised within this home, as opposed to traveling every week to another continent. And for that I am grateful, as I would not have the friends I have today had he not… more or less forced my father to allow me to stay with him."
"Senzaemon Nakiri is not a man one should argue against," Azami quickly added, a secure smile in his face, but Erina knew what he was doing. She had almost spoken a bit too much. "I should know, but again, most fathers-in-law are quite frightening," he added, and a few scattered laughs could be heard. "But he was right. Erina deserved better from me. It's not the child's job to accommodate herself to her parents' life, but rather the other way around. I was young, and did not fully appreciate it this back then. But he, older and wiser as he was, and to be honest, still is, helped me find the best way to care for her. He and I did have our arguments, but nothing half as severe as the media is making it out to be. There were no restraining orders, no campus restrictions, and no bad blood between any of us."
"So those accusations that have been lobbied against your person, what do you make of them?" another asked, this time every camera centered on Azami.
"False," he replied, "…to an extent," he added, knowingly. "I was indeed strict with Erina. And at times, a bit too much so. Never abusive, but I can admit that I was not the best father for her, nor was I the best husband to my dearest Mana," he added again, turning towards his former wife, extending his hand, reaching out, as she took hold of it, after the briefest moment of hesitation. Erina should feel happy. Why wasn't she happy?
"Any truth to those other rumors of you both coming back together?" yet another reporter asked.
"…All in due time," Mana was the one who replied, smiling as practiced. "Our first priority is, and always will be, Erina. We have been professionals first, parents second for far too long, and this whole situation, even if blown out of proportion, still helped us realize that we need to improve on that, a lot."
"We only have one Erina, after all," Azami added, as he pulled Mana closer, with Erina in-between the two. "Our focus is making sure she has a bright future ahead of her. Be it here at Tootsuki, or elsewhere."
"But what about this whole Intercontinental Shokugeki?" another asked, "Why do you wish to shut down your own daughter's school?"
"This is nothing but a friendly competition between schools," Azami assured. "If Tootsuki were to lose, Erina will not be affected in the slightest. And if it were to win, I would only be prouder of her still. This is not the first Intercontinental Shokugeki, nor do I suspect the last. Tootsuki could always challenge the winning school, and keep the cycle going. This will not affect the future of any student, past or present," he lied, and Erina knew it. Nothing of this scale had ever happened, and it could not happen again, win or lose. This would determine everything, but the lie was needed, she told herself.
Then of course, she had to braze herself, since the next question was going to be the hardest to answer.
"…So why did Soma Yukihira specifically call your treatment abuse?"
"…Soma comes from a very modest upbringing," Erina replied, her eyes on the camera, hoping she could keep her eyes dry for just a little longer. "His family was a lovely one, and his father is still a wonderful man, so he… was not used to the very strict regimen that I undertook to perfect my gifts. To him, it was-looked like abuse, to have such a young girl training for so long," she said, stiffening at her small mistake. She could not do that. "But I implore you all, do not take his words out of context, nor do you ever think he did so out of anything but genuine concern. My… boyfriend," she said, and it hurt, "Is very defensive of me. And he and my father have a very passive-aggressive relationship, right?"
"I find myself on the opposite end this time," Azami joked, and again, small bouts of laughter scattered. "Now I know what Senzaemon felt," he added. "But, I assure you all, there is no bad blood between young Soma and myself. His father is someone who I greatly admire, and a man who helped me a lot during my first year in high school in this very academy. And Soma is just as kind and talented; and I have nothing but appreciation for the amount of concern he shows for my daughter. And while misinformed, he was not that far off, as I've said, I could have been a better father, and every now and then, I should get reminded of this. So I am thankful for it."
"He really does love our daughter a lot," Mana added, and Erina could only shut her eyes for a moments because why?! Why of all the things her parents were saying, was that statement the one that sounded the most sincere?
"…And I love him," Erina said, her expressions cracking a bit, as she realized that she had used her actual voice. She did her best to ignore it. "But, I also implore you all to give him space," she added. "He needs to focus on his next matches. This is his career after all, and if any of you are familiar with last year's Showcase, then you know how talented a young chef he is."
"Would he be willing to offer his own comments once this competition ends?" came another question. Erina just stared for a moment, eyes a bit wide, smile still in place. Her parents, still smiling, waited, frozen in place, as it was still her turn to reply. They, noticing she wasn't speaking, turned, eyeing her for a moment, concerned.
It was here Erina had reached the point where she had to choose between speaking and crying or staying silent and keeping up the act. She could not do both. Just mentioning that showcase made it all flow right back to her. The cruise. The dance. The kiss. The "I love you's" and the way only he knew how to hold her by the waist as he twirled her under the moonlit sky.
And she felt miserable.
"…I don't know," she replied, out of script, and both her parents flinched. Erina only smiled, doing her best, before she simply nodded. "T-That's all the time I have," she lied. "I need to meet up with my team now. Please, wish us luck."
And without another word, she offered them a polite, little bow, and proceeded to walk pass all of them and into the stadium. Azami and Mana did their best to salvage the situation, with them answering the last set of the questions, which delved further into their respective treatment of Erina, and Azami's relationships with both his newfound son Asahi and his protégée Dove.
As the commotion near the front entrance to the stadium continued without the princess, the bus currently carrying all the contestants also parked itself not that far off. While most of the contestants present were there as a formality and not much else, either those that had been eliminated already or whose turn was yet to come, the main five of the day were positively stoked, as so helpfully noted by a particular third party.
"You guys seem very sure of yourselves," Asahi noted with a little grin, his arm rested against his seat, eyes on the group seated to the other side. They at least seemed more amicable with each other than, say, his own team, the Noir silently added. Ever since the incident, Dove refused to exchange any further words with him, and considering she was basically the most… friendly(?) of the bunch, that left him with the ever-quiet Julius or the refuses-to-even-acknowledge-you Ashitaro. Never did he think he'd actually miss his original little group of Noirs so much.
"Save your attempts at worming your way into our good graces Asahi," today's team leader, the ever flirtatious Gautier replied, his eyes sparkling as he stared down the Noir. The other four that made up the French team all turned towards him as well, with Camille frowning because of course she was wary of him, Lumiere outright glaring at him as if he were the enemy (I mean, he was, but they didn't know that), Joseph just staring, likely drifting off into space, and Kitsch, well…
"Maybe he's worried we'll humiliate his little sister?" Kitsch said with the tiniest of grins, his narrowed, snake-like eyes on Asahi. Dude could make for a fine Noir, Asahi noted, but he wasn't recruiting at the moment.
"That may be," Gautier replied, his eyes also on Asahi, as all the other challengers just listened in, some invested, other not really caring. "That was quite the little secret you had under your wing, Asahi. Never did any of us imagine you'd actually be related to not just the man headlining this event, but to the very princess herself. How naughty of you to keep it a secret from us."
"Hey, you never asked," Asahi just said. "And if you didn't realize, my pops and I are not exactly in say, good terms. So don't go thinking he's playing favorites with me."
"Of course we'd never think that," Gautier shot back, smiling. "Still, would have been nice if he had disclosed one of the participants in his own team was none other than his son. Alas, it shouldn't matter, we all knew he had stakes going in, and our schools still agreed to partake in this. It is a once in a lifetime chance at getting back at Tootsuki, so who are we to judge? Besides, forbidding Azami Nakamura from entering his own kin would have likely also included forbidding him from entering his protégé, and never could I imagine defeating Tootsuki today without the ever beautiful Dove Dillinger up in the stands, cheering me on. Is that not right, my dear-Ah?"
To his surprise, instead of a snarky comment or a flirty smile, Dove merely just turned to him with the darkest expression the man had ever seen such a pretty girl sport. He just shut up, swallowing his praise and leaving her be. Even Asahi had to admit she was a lot more intimidating now than she'd ever been before when she had been actively trying to be. She never said a word, and as soon as the bus' doors were opened she waltz right passed all of them, and headed out.
As she walked out, her eyes caught sight of the massive crowds down by the main entrance, all the flashing lights and the shouts, and she just glared. She could see, through the mountain of people, that the ever-darling Erina had already bailed, after she was probably done being showered in praises and concern, all while her mother and her father continued the conversation. All acting as if nothing was wrong. All pretending to be one big happy family.
Then she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she swore to herself if she turned her head and it was either Gautier or Asahi, she'd punch either of them squarely in the jaw, paparazzi be damned. But, instead, it was someone she rarely ever spoke to.
"You left your bag back in the bus," Julius noted, as he handed her her belongings, causing her to give pause, before she slowly took hold of it.
"…Thanks," she muttered, before she shook her head a bit. This was not how she was trained to act. "You're not my bodyguard, save that for the Eizan family. You don't have to watch out for me."
"I am your teammate until this nightmare is over," he flatly responded. "No reason why we must hate one another. I have no quarrel with any of you, even Asahi, for as unlikeable as he is, is here because of genuine merit… well, merit and blackmail, but mostly merit."
At this she said nothing, but she knew he had a point. As most of the other contestants got off the bus, each headed down into the stadium to find their selected seats, Dove just stared at the crowd once more. She was on the verge of replying when another one of her so-called teammates approached, and surprisingly, spoke up.
"You two seem quite invested in this entire mess involving the Nakiri family," Ashitaro voiced, as both Dove and Julius turned to him, the former frowning, while the latter give him an amused raised brow.
"Both?" Julius asked. "I'll admit the situation has escalated pass my expectations, but to consider me invested is a bit much."
"I didn't mean you," Ashitaro replied, standing before the two. "I meant her and Asahi. And take it from me, family drama is like a venom, it courses through your body and rips you apart from the inside unless you carve into it and suck it out to the last drop."
"How poetic," Julius noted.
"You come from quite the family yourself," Dove commented, her eyes on her teammate. "Sure you should be throwing stones from that glass house of yours?"
"Never said I never confronted such things, but there in-lies the difference," Ashitaro shot back, flashing his fangs at her, causing her to glare right back. "I took care of those things my way. You don't see my family here, making a scene. You don't hear her even daring to say a word."
"Her?" Asahi cut in, voicing Dove's question for her. "That's a very concerning statement there, Ashitaro my boy. Careful it doesn't get misconstrued."
"…As if it could," Ashitaro merely replied, without even bothering to turn to Asahi. "We are alike, you and I in that regard. Elder brothers who only care for what's best for our little sisters, no?"
"…Right," Asahi voiced, eyes narrowed, but the statement did not sit right with him at all.
He didn't say anything else, as soon enough the four of them followed the path the other contestants took, walking towards the stadium and towards their seats. He knew this little group was on the verge of self-destructing the moment it was formed, not helped in the slightest by his forced presence, but for his plans to work, he needed them to at least function as a group until their match came. And it was looking more and more unlikely as the days went by. Could Tootsuki really survive that long? And if they did, could he really polish Erina enough to take them out? It was looking almost impossible at this point. But then, they all came to a halt, the four Neo-Noirs pausing as they came face-to-face with a certain group of five they would have sworn would have been their opponents when this all had begun. And in a way, they sort-of wished that were still the case.
In one of the many halls leading up to the stadium's many seats, Asahi, Dove, Julius and Ashitaro met with Eishi, Rindou, Tosuke, Momo, and Soumei.
"…Uh, that uniform," Eishi noted, as he and his ex-classmates had just walked out of one of the entrances, on their way to their own seating for the event, having not expected any such run-ins. "You four are Azami's team, right? The Noirs."
"That's right!" Asahi quickly beamed, his eyes on the former First Seat, before the drifted a bit to the side, to his equipment case, where he most likely stored his most prized utensil. If only he could… "The situation must be dire if the most recent graduates are already back at school."
"Hmm, you'd think that, but not really," Eishi commented, polite smile ever present. "They're quite the skilled group. If you carry that line of thinking into your own matches, you might end up with a nasty little surprise."
"…Care to back that up with a wager, Eishi?" Asahi proposed, his arm raised and aimed at the former First Seat, whose smile faltered for a bit. He seemed inclined to respond, but he was beat to it.
"Oh come on, we're not here to fight," Rindou quickly cut in, stepping up between the two young men. "We have nothing but respect for you Noirs and all your accomplishments. Plus, that is one sick uniform, I must admit," she added with a wink. Asahi wanted to reply, but he noticed Dove quickly took a step forwards and it was here his warning bells began to ring all over his head. That girl was going to make them end up in a fist fight with these guys, wasn't she? And cooking against them, he'd be all for it, but an actual physical brawl? Against the mountain of muscle that was Tosuke? No thank you!
Rindou then turned, her eyes on the brunette, the latter whose eyes seemed to scan the former Second Seat from head to toe, slowly.
"Can I…?" Rindou tried, feeling the tension in the air. But then…
"I love your shoes," Dove just said, and she sounded outright… genuine?
"…Oh? Thanks!" Rindou quickly beamed, as Asahi and Eishi looked on, utterly baffled. Not the way they had predicted this would go down. "You must be Miss Dove Dillinger. Big fan of your work. And of that uniform, you total babe you."
"Same to you!" Dove cheerfully replied, all smiles, with her two thumbs up, and Asahi had no idea how she could switch so effortlessly like that. He was sure she was just going to cause a scene. And so was Tosuke, it seemed, if his perplexed features were any indication.
"Hmm…" Tosuke noted.
"Hmm?" Julius asked.
"Hmm?" Tosuke asked.
"…Hmm," Julius noted.
"Oh, please stop you two, I cannot handle the epic exchanging of words," Soumei said with a laugh, noticing how his fellow graduate and the Noir had quite a bit in common. He was laughing it off the moment he felt a tug in his sleeve, turning to see Momo with a massive pout on her features. "…What's wrong with you?"
"There are only four of them," she told him, pout still present, and he didn't understand the problem.
"What's wrong with that?"
"What do you mean what's wrong with that?" she repeated, annoyed. Then it clicked. "We're five. Who am I supposed to stare down?!"
"Oh? I didn't think you'd be that invested," Soumei noted, as he turned, pointing to the last of the Noirs. "Here, we can share my guy. You wouldn't mind, would you-?"
Then Soumei froze, his question incomplete, as the glare he got in return from Ashitaro outright unnerved him. No, not really that. He was used to bravado and rivalries and even threats. But it was the way that he looked at Momo, his eyes on her felt… off. So much so that without even noticing it, Soumei's hand had found itself holding onto the hilt of his blade, his frame moving a bit to put himself in between his diminutive girlfriend and… him.
"…Soumei?" Momo asked, her eyes on him, confused.
He said nothing, he just glared at Ashitaro, who just looked on…
…then smiled.
"It's a shame you five aren't in this," Ashitaro merely stated, as whatever it was Soumei had seen in his eyes had all but vanished. "…It would have been fun," was all the young man added, before he just walked pass the five Tootsuki alumni, all while Soumei glared at him until he was out of sight, hand still on his hilt, clenching it tightly.
"…We should also go," Asahi noted, before he turned to the five. "Pleasure meeting you guys. Maybe we'll see each other at next year's B.L.U.E."
"Yeah… maybe," Eishi replied, sensing the tension in the air that he had sworn had been averted earlier.
Without another word, Asahi, Dove and Julius walked pass the five, and followed along the path towards their seats, leaving the five graduates alone on the hall, each of them unnerved in different ways.
"Soumei…" Momo voiced, her tone uncharacteristically concerned. "What was that?"
"…That guy," Soumei replied, realizing his grip and slowly letting go of his sword.
"Gave you the creeps too?" Rindou asked, her hands on her jacket's pockets.
"I can't really blame Soumei if he did," Eishi added, a concerned look in his eyes.
"…I don't think it's just that," Tosuke finally voiced, and the other four turned to him, as he added, "We need to be wary about him. There's something there that I've seen before. And… it never ends well…"
-0-
"We should be with the others right now," Camille complained, as she followed along the long hallway, after their so-called team leader Gautier. The man seemed to have his head in the clouds for some reason, which was an improvement from having it up his own ass as usual, but still… "You are our leader, so lead us!" she added, pouting. "What happened to all that talk about strategy and knowing our opponents' weaknesses and all that junk?"
"But I did provide, did I not?" Gautier asked, as he took a turn onto another one of the halls. If she didn't know better, she would just assume he was trying to get to the bathrooms and had just gotten lost. But she knew better. She knew Gautier. The man acted like a buffoon, but he was analytical to a fault. He never acted or spoke without purpose… unless he was skirt-chasing, of course. "We spent an entire afternoon at Tootsuki, searching for our answers, and we came back to the dorms empty handed, did we not?"
"Yeah…?"
"So how do you think I managed to get my hands on these files?" he asked, signaling to the small folder that the team had built their entire strategy upon; and she honestly didn't know. It was true, they had gone two days ago to Tootsuki, the same day Soma Yukihira took little Aisha away for some reason. And yeah, they had gone to gather intel, and had gotten nada. So, where did he get…? "Our records are easily accessible through our school's website, viewable to all, yet Tootsuki goes to great length to hide their matches and results. Most likely as a way to preserve the structure of these so-called Shokugeki duels, as they even have the term trademarked and all. So, it is hard for us to know much about our opponents, unless we have a little outside help, or should I say, inside help."
"Huh?" Camille asked, still confused, but as the both turned another corner, they came face-to-face with a somewhat familiar individual. It was here Camille frowned. Of course it was a girl. And not just any girl.
Ekaterina Antonova stood by the many halls, her arms crossed, back to the wall, eyes closed until she heard their steps, then, slowly turned to the two. "You are late," the Russian beauty told Gautier, who quickly bowed before her.
"Apologies my dear, I got a bit lost within this maze," he replied, and Camille knew that was a lie. "But, in order to apologize for keeping a lady waiting on my behalf, I've come to return the files you so graciously allowed us to have."
"Wait," Camille blurted out, confused. "It was her? She's from Moscow International, is she not? How is she an inside source?"
"She can heard you," Ekaterina spoke up, and it made Camille flinch. The girl's piercing eyes were too much for Camille to properly handle. Gautier looked surprisingly unaffected. When had they switched roles? "And I am just the… how do you say… intermediary. I got those files from an interested third party, someone inside this academy, and as per our agreement, I allowed your team first… bid?"
"Dib, actually," Gautier corrected. "But, one such lovely as yourself can call it however you prefer."
"Does that garbage you call flirtatious banter ever actually work on any female?" Ekaterina asked, and as Gautier just laughed, Camille could not help but shake her head. No, it did not.
"But… why is, erm, Miss Ekaterina helping us at all?" Camille asked, her eyes on the Russian girl for a moment before she turned to Gautier, who was smirking.
"We struck a deal," he explained. "If we win with their help, I will have our school offer hers a portion of the spoils, so to speak…"
"…And were you to fail, and we win," Ekaterina added, her sharp eyes on the ever-bashful Camille, "We shall offer the same in return. Tootsuki must fall, come what may, even if it means joining forces with all of you. We've seen already three schools try and fail at defeating the so-called Elite Ten students, and with all the secrecy this academy employs, we need to end this farce before this whole situation with Erina Nakiri comes down and allows Tootsuki to cancel this event entirely."
"Indeed," Gautier noted, as he extended his arm, and gave Ekaterina the files. She took them without a word. "But do not worry your pretty little head off. I've got the perfect strategy in mind, for each of the five were are to confront. This… Shokugeki ends today, I assure you."
"We shall see," was all Ekaterina stated, before she turned, her short skirt swinging around before falling back in place, catching the eye of the other two, despite one of them attempting to avert her eyes.
"Now, hold on a minute my dear," Gautier called out, his hand raised. "Why don't we make this wager a bit more exciting?" Upon hearing those words, Ekaterina gave pause, as Gautier smiled. "Say, if I were to manage this victory, would you then be willing to go out on a date with this fine gentleman before you?"
Ekaterina then scoffed. "…You could singlehandedly win all three matches, and you would still not be the kind of person I'd ever be interested in dating, Gautier Pierre. So do not fool yourself. Focus on your victory in turn, less you end up like the rest, and stop it with the day dreaming."
"…Gautier, we need to focus!" Camille reprimanded, already blushing, before she turned to the Russian chef. "I-I'm sorry, he's like that. But he means well… mostly."
"You need not apologize for his behavior Camille Le Gall," Ekaterina replied, turning, her eyes on the other girl. "Do not take responsibilities for others. Focus on yourself, first and foremost. Always."
"I, eh… yeah…"
"…What about Camille then?" Gautier added, his hand on his chin, observing intently.
"What about me?"
"What about her?"
"If she defeats an Elite Ten member, would you consider a date with her?" Gautier asked, and Camille felt her entire body turn crimson. Gautier seemed poised to elaborate on the wager, but he was struck swiftly right across his jaw within seconds, as a very flushed Camille quickly bowed in apology.
"F-Forgive this idiot for comments like that," Camille quickly voiced, afraid to even look Ekaterina in the eyes. "We'll win this, no dates or extra wagers needed. You can leave us now, I'll give him a stern talking to so-"
"Wait a moment," Ekaterina cut in, her eyes examining Camille for a moment, which made the other girl squirm under her gaze. "…So deal would be, if Camille Le Gall wins against an Elite Ten member, she gets a date with me?"
"Yes," a still on the ground Gautier replied, and moments before Camille stomped on him even harder to get him to shut up, Ekaterina spoke up.
"Very well," she said, and Camille felt her entire world shift. What had she just said…? "I shall look forwards to your performance Camille Le Gall, and I will be rooting for your ever-so impressive victory," the Russian girl said with the tiniest of smiles, before she turned and left the two.
Camille had forgotten how to breathe.
"~Oh my," Gautier voiced, sitting back up, getting his wind back, finally. "Quite the mean right hook you have my dear, but would you look at that, you have an even better luck with the ladies that I do. How very impressive."
"Y-You… jerk!" she called out, grabbing him by his uniform's collar. "W-Why did you have to go and say that?! Do you not see how beautiful that girl is?! She's like a supermodel! How am I supposed to measure up to that?!"
"Do not insult my best friend!" Gautier quickly responded, and he sounded almost threatening, making her hesitate, despite the intention behind it. "Beautiful as she is, Ekaterina would be so lucky to be granted the opportunity to date you," he told her firmly, before he placed his hand on her head, patting her softly, as his tone lowered. "Don't be so hard on yourself Camie. You're not here because you're my best friend. You earned your spot on this team, and you will prove it up on that stage. Trust me. I know you more than you even know yourself; and I know how amazing you can really be."
"…I hate you," she just replied, her eyes betraying her, as she used her sleeve to wipe the tears away.
"…And he made Camille cry," Lumiere spoke up, as he and Joseph and Kitsch walked up to the other two, noticing the scene before them.
"Did this idiot get us eliminated before we even got into the ring, I wonder?" Kitsch asked, his smile still in place, which caused Gautier to frown.
"Such little faith you have in your leader," he noted, standing back up and brushing his uniform off. "But, no, we're all set. Let us go. We have a match to win. We have too much riding on this. So… are we ready?!"
"Yes!" Camille, Lumiere, Joseph and Kitsch all replied in unison, ready to take out the intimidating Elite Ten, come hell or high water.
-0-
Hisako managed to find Erina after about ten minutes of searching. It was fortunate she did, too, as she got to the bathrooms just in time to help her as she puked into the toilet, her nerves finally getting the better of her. Hisako held her long hair up for her, and once Erina calmed down enough to stop, Hisako took hold of the nearby toilet paper and handed it to her friend, who carefully wiped herself clean, before, embarrassed, she got up, flushed the toilet she had just been hugging, and made her way to the bathroom sink, washing he hands, her face and her mouth as best she could. Without even needing to ask, Hisako handed her her travel toothbrush and toothpaste and mouthwash. How Hisako had been so prepared Erina did not know, but it was for the best she supposed.
After cleaning herself for about five times in a row, a miserable-looking Erina finally turned to face Hisako, who had a very worried expression on her features.
"…This is getting out of hand," Hisako just noted, clearly concerned.
"How did you even know where to find me?" Erina just asked.
"I saw the televised interview you gave," she replied. "You looked… rough. So I headed out to search for you. Julio too. He's probably still looking. I'll text him I found you. But… I didn't think you'd be in this bad a shape… Maybe we should just head home."
"No, I'm… fine," Erina lied, and at this Hisako outright glared at her. It made Erina flinch. "Sorry, force of habit. I feel like shit, I know. But," she added, hoping to defend her case a bit at least, "If I just up and leave, not only do I make the rumors worse, I also won't be there to cheer on my team. And despite everything we said… we really can't afford to lose this Hisako, you know that."
"You're not competing today, right?" Hisako asked, even if deep down, she already knew the answer.
"…No, I don't think I can even if I wanted too," she answered earnestly, before she shook her head. "But I can manage to stand by them at least. And I should be with them now, as they get ready. I'm sorry for all of this, and thank you for being… so insanely prepared."
"I know you," Hisako just flatly replied. "I can tell when you can't fake it anymore. Your eyes give it away."
"Heh, is that so…?" Erina just noted, wondering if she should just keep her eyes hidden away with some sunglasses or something whenever she was out in public. Would that help or just make the whole thing look even more suspicious? "Still, thanks… You have no idea how gross it is to… throw up with this tongue of mine in the way."
"I can't begin to imagine."
"It's yucky," was all Erina said, as she shivered. But that was the least of her problems right now. Her stomach had finally settled, or it was just empty, but at least she didn't feel outright sick, so she could manage.
With that decided, Erina and Hisako parted ways once more, the latter heading back to her seat as she texted the other aide that she had found their heiress, while the former made a beeline towards the Elite Ten waiting room. And, despite herself, it made her nervous. She knew these people, she trusted them more than anyone else even. But she felt guilty all the same. She knew Soma was going to be there, and she couldn't just hide from him forever. No… she wanted to wish them luck. She wanted to support them all. She had more stakes in this than any of them, and yet, here she was afraid to even meet up with them when she wasn't even going to take part in the match-up at all. Her grandfather would be ashamed.
Forcing all her insecurities aside, she took a deep breath, and opened the main doors up, entering the room.
And just like she suspected, she was met by the sight of the five that had volunteered to partake in this match. Who else would it be, really? With Isshiki still benched, and her being… her, the only five that remained was them after all.
Akira gave the princess a look that almost looked like he was showing concern, which was odd considering how they were at each other throats just months ago.
Takumi's concern was more evident, as the blonde Italian was quick to turn to her and even voice her name softly, looking outright surprised by the state she was it.
Ryou also said nothing, but again, his eyes fell on her just like the rest. He also looked worried, and it really meant something if even he of all people looked concerned for her.
Then was Soma, who had been facing away from the door. He paused, turning, and upon meeting her eyes he seemed to automatically want to say something, but he stopped himself. He still motioned, his body language making it clear he wasn't sure how to even react.
"Where have you been?!" Alice of course shouted the moment she saw Erina walk in, drowning out whatever they had been discussing just moments prior. Her cousin stepped right up to her, a mix of concern and anger evident in each eye. "You haven't replied to any text or call any of us sent your way, I barely see you out of your room when we're home, and the first appearance you have you just go and sprout out all that nonsense! The hell?!"
"Nice to see you too…" Erina just stated, eye twitching. This had been a bad idea.
"Don't give me that!" Alice shot back, taking hold of Erina's hand, and despite her protests, she pulled her inside and forced her to take a seat.
"Alice!" she complained. "I'm just here to wish you guys luck. I know I've been… neglectful of my duties, but after today I'll be back and-"
"Yeah, sure, whatever," Alice replied, before she began to brush Erina's hair, catching the girl off-guard. "You look like a mess. If you're going to lie, you have to at least look like you have your life under control. Not like you crawled out of a well." As Alice spoke, Erina wanted to argue, but she was more surprised by how rather roughly Alice was being with her hair. She felt her hair be almost ripped off by that comb.
"Ouch, Alice, I get it, you're mad, don't take it out on my hair!" she exclaimed, as the boys just looked on, unsure if they should say something or not.
"Of course I'm mad!" Alice shot back, glaring at her cousin, as she tugged on her hair again, which got the job done, but it sent a painful tug to the princess, which caused her to jolt and stand back up, her glare on her cousin.
"Stop being so childish!" Erina argued. "I know you think I'm pushing my Elite Ten duties aside, but that's not true. I am trying to keep my family from collapsing."
"I am part of that family!" Alice told her, as both girls' glares intensified. "Listen you spoiled brat! I've been patient and trying my best to give you space and time to get everything sorted out, but every time I see you, you look worse and worse! And that… that interview you gave was just so scripted it hurt!"
"Of course it was scripted! You know how this works!" Erina cried out. "But you don't understand how this whole thing affects me personally! But it's done, it's over! With this, rumors will begin to die down, and the world will move on to other things, which is what I need the most now," she added, as her voice lowered in tone, almost as if she was unsure if that were true or not. "…After today's match, I'll be back on the team, full-time. My focus will be this, as it should be. I… promise. And I trust you all," she added, turning to the others, even if meeting Soma's eyes made her squirm on the inside. "…I really do. You all can win this. You don't have these seats out of pity. You've earned them. And I've seen you all give it your all to defend this school," she voiced, then turned to Alice, her eyes a bit narrowed, "…Except you, actually. You have yet to compete."
"Hey! That ain't my fault!" Alice defended, sounding genuinely offended. "I volunteered for all the matches, and I was present last time. I was just never called upon. Takumi even used my stuff to win, remember!"
"Then thank you for your contribution," Erina mocked, and Alice felt a vein pop.
"You are like trying to talk to a brick wall!" Alice barked, before Ryou stepped in and gently took hold of the girl that looked moments away from getting into a petty squabble with her cousin. "Let me go, I'm not gonna slap her or anything! I wanna, but I ain't gonna!"
"…Just, go out there and give it your all," Erina said, ignoring Alice's tantrum. "I promise you all this whole mess has been dealt with and is now over. We can go back to how things were before, and…" she paused, her eyes on Soma once more. She really wanted to mean these words she was saying. "…and it's not your fault in any way. Please know that. But it's over, and I'm fine. Everything's fine…"
Soma said nothing. He honestly had no idea how to even react to this. Especially since her eyes were telling a completely different story than what her lips were saying.
-0-
"Alright!" Urara blasted into the microphone as soon as she was given the green light. She poised her fist into the air and gave the crowd the brightest and biggest of smiles. "Welcome back, to our fourth match-up of this monumental event in the history of culinary arts, where our surviving home team, Tootsuki Academy's very own Elite Ten students continue to face-off against the best of the best the world has to offer. This time, their opponents are none other than the Top Five students of France's renowned École des Plats Cuisinés. Said team is made up of…!"
She then signaled to the screen, as the five names flashed, to the applause and cheers of mostly the other challengers, hoping to see at least another Elite Ten elimination, if not their downfall as a whole.
The names displayed were of course:
Gautier Pierre
Camille Le Gall
Lumiere Dubois
Joseph Estel
Kitsch Sionis
"And, representing the Elite Ten," Urara continued, signaling to the screen once more, "Are our very own top tier team!"
The screen then shifted, now showing:
Akira Hayama
Soma Yukihira
Alice Nakiri
Ryou Kurokiba
Takumi Aldini
At this, the crowd roared, going wild upon seeing the names of their fellow classmates and their hopeful saviors. It was a very tense moment, they all knew, so they needed to show as much support as they could. Erina, the fan-favorite, was not going to be involved, due to the circumstances surrounding her that they all knew to an extent. And by the look of things, the Third Years still active, Isshiki and Shouko, were not on this round either, and rumors of the two had spread, in very different directions granted, and not all that unfounded either.
Nene just stared, trying her best to control her breathing and to seem like she was assured of their victory at least. She owed her juniors that much, given her own failures. But… she also knew that this whole mess was weighting them down. Their practice rounds against the former Elite Ten top five had proven that, despite their talents and ingenuity, they still had much ground left to cover.
"Trust them," Isshiki whispered into her ear, and she frowned, since it meant he could easily read her thoughts despite her attempts otherwise. "I'm just as worried as you are, and I feel just as helpless. But, they earned those seats, they earned this less than ideal responsibility to protect this school. So give yourself the relief of being able to place your trust in them. They will protect this place, I am certain."
"…I know," Nene knew he was right. "…It's just, they struggled so much against Eishi and the others. I mean, don't get me wrong, I can't claim I could face any of them and win, like, at all. And they managed quite a few wins, but it's clear they're not at that level, and neither are we. It's just…"
"It was two days," Isshiki noted, his eyes still focused on the five down below. "They lost most of the matches on the first, but managed to win most of those very same matches on the second day. In just one day, the improved greatly. I know they still have ways to go, as do we, but I also believe, if they were stronger the day after, that they are likely stronger today than they were yesterday. Does that not make sense?"
"…Yeah, you're right," she admitted. "Besides, no point second guessing now, less we let all of Terunori's efforts go to waste, huh?"
"Now you give me credit," Kuga noted with a little grin, his eyes also on his juniors. Or rather, on one in particular. While Isshiki's assessment was correct, he did skim out on one particular detail. 'They all improved insanely in just one day,' he noted inwardly, his eyes narrowed. 'All except for you… Soma. Is this thing with the princess really bringing you down that much? I've never seen you so beaten down like that… Please let me be wrong.'
As the three Elite Ten looked, on Hisako made her way towards her assigned seating next to the others. Julio was quick to take notice of her arrival, almost bouncing right off his seat. "Is Milady alright?"
"She's… fine," Hisako forced herself to say, as she turned towards the VIP area, where they could also see Erina walk alongside her parents to their seats, with Erina deciding to seat alongside them for this match to help cement the image they were trying to sell. How much was too much? Hisako wondered. "Hopefully this situation blows over quickly enough, and we can turn our focus onto this match and us not ending up without a school come tomorrow."
"I'm still worried about Eri," Yuuki voiced, sinking into her seat. "She doesn't deserve to have all this stuff happen to her, and in the middle of all this other mess too."
"There's not much we can do for her at this point," Ryoko noted, before she turned to Hisako, who was in the process of sitting down. "…Is there?"
"I… don't really know," came the earnest reply.
"What irks me is that everyone is talking trash all over social media about Soma and the others right now!" Daigo raged, as he took a look at his phone. He was clearly pissed off at what he was reading. "Calling this five-man squad the Elite Ten's fodder team. The nerve! Like any of them can even come close to any of these guys!"
"Wait, who's saying that crap?!" Shoji asked, getting just as pissed.
"Seems that the newfound attention Erina found herself with has naturally caused an upsurge of interest in the Intercontinental Shokugeki itself," Marui explained, not even needing to check social media to know what was happening. It was bound to happen. "For the first time, we have more spectators from the world outside of cooking that from within, so many taking heads that know nothing about the arts are giving their "expert" opinion. This has become quite the viewable event, almost to the magnitude of a high grade sporting event."
"We have that many people watching?" Madoka asked, her eyes on Zenji, who merely nodded, his eyes fixated on the five on the arena. He couldn't even begin to imagine what the pressure down there most feel like.
"Lady Erina is still trending," Berta noted, her eyes on her phone as well. "But it seems opinions are split if her answers earlier were genuine or not."
"It is to be expected," her sister Cilla added. "She became an overnight sensation. People aren't just going to change their tunes so easily."
"We'll they better!" Yuuki shot back, pouting. "This whole mess is just hurting Eri!"
"…Is it though?" Shun softly voiced, and Yuuki turned to him, pout aimed his way. He was used to it by now. Ryoko instead turned to him, voicing his name softly, wondering his stance on the matter, as he had been mostly quiet on the whole matter. "Sometimes things need to be brought to light in order for them to be fixed. Calling Azami and Mana out is something I don't think I can fault Soma for, as I think I would have done the same."
"…You know Milady better than anyone," Ikumi told Hisako, as the medicinal girl just stared. "What's your stance in all of this?"
"I… I don't know," she replied, her eyes turned to Ikumi, the insecurity plain to see. She had been so sure before that this was the only way, but upon seeing Erina in that state, she no longer knew if that was indeed the case. She was intending to try and cover it up though, until she caught sight of an empty seat amongst their little group. She knew both rows were specifically reserved for them all, so… who was missing? She searched amongst their little group, counting each person, until it hit her who it was. "…Where's Nao?"
Several of her friends all turned to her, before they shifted their attention to the empty seat next to Loren's, who was so busy with his phone listening to music that it took him a bit to feel all those stares on him and turn to them all, slightly frightened. "W-What?" he asked defensively, wondering if Mitsuru had ratted him out to everyone. Had he not been a total goody-goody about it and promised he wouldn't?
Hisako just shook her head and offered the younger boy a little smile. "Nothing with you, Loren was it?" she told him, and all he could do was nod. "I… Nao usually seats next to you, right?"
"Unfortunately," he replied without thinking, then caught himself. "I-I mean, yeah, she does."
"Is she staying back at the dorm today?" Hisako asked, and Loren gave her a puzzled look. He had seen her walk alongside the group to this stadium, had he not? I mean, he did his best to ignore her, but she was hard to block out completely. Wasn't she near the entrance with them all?
"She was down by the entrance with us," it was Megumi who replied, turning to Hisako. "Could something be wrong with her?"
Hisako just gave her a confused shrug. Nao had been seated alongside this group since these events had started, and she was now starting to realize that Nao had been behaving… strangely. Well, stranger than was usual for the girl, compared to every other interaction Hisako had ever had with that obsessed girl.
As Hisako seemed to ponder this, Loren decided it best to just continue and ignore them, as it seemed he was still in the clear, and went back to his music…
But…
He frowned, and it was just curiosity, nothing more, that made him look up to the competitors' seating area, where he could see Dove watching the arena, with a face that made her look constipated, he noted with a little laugh. Azami's real son was there too, his expression goofy as always. And… the other guy whose name he didn't remember was also there, expression frozen as if he were a mannequin, like always. But…
'Where's the brother guy…?' Loren couldn't help but ask himself, and not seeing the fourth member sitting next to his other three teammates. Then he just shook his head. This wasn't his business, at all. Whatever those two did, he was sure the little witch deserved it, or so he told himself.
As all the spectators, friends and foes alike, all got ready for the event to start, Urara quickly reintroduced the five judges from the WGO, as they took their seats at the judging table. Anne was quick to give her the go ahead as soon as she was done, and in turn, she screamed out, "We are set to go! Contestants, get ready!"
The opposing team all got together, standing side to side, their eyes fixated on the Elite Ten students before them. Akira turned to them for a moment, and he could sense it in the air. Just how calm and collected they were, the total opposite of how they were handling things in their end. And for once, he felt like maybe he was part of the problem too.
"How are we feeling?" he uncharacteristically asked, turning to his team, all of who eyed him with different mixes of confusion. Alice replied they were fine, Ryou asked him what the hell was wrong with him, Takumi noted how out-of-character he sounded, and Soma just replied that he felt great, excellent even. Akira just nodded, and with a little smile, just said, "Good, because frankly, I'm nervous."
This caused the other four to outright stammer in place, all shocked.
"The hell?" Ryou blurted out, eyes narrowed. "Getting cold feet now?"
"I've been getting cold feet since this thing began," Akira admitted. "And… I think we're past the point of trying to play up this… act we all have, where we still see each other as rivals and need to put up this front. Maybe it's just me, but I am nervous. It's a lot. But… I realize you guys are not my rivals, not right now. You're my teammates, my… friends, even. We rise or fall in this together. And I won't pretend otherwise anymore. But trust me when I say, I trust all of you, and you have my support in kind."
"Akira?" Soma just blurted out, still shocked and confused. He understood the message, but…
"…I guess I'm nervous too," Takumi admitted, and upon Soma turning to him, he quickly added, "What? The stakes are high. Last time I went against my own home. I'm not infallible."
"No, yeah, I get it," Alice added, stepping up to the boys, as they seemed to form a circle between the five of them. "I'm… freaked out honestly. This whole thing with Erina was me worried sick, and I can't imagine what it would be to see this place closed down. It's everything my grandpa built. And, even if my parents want to keep things to themselves, spare us the details, I know he must be sick. He wouldn't have let this thing escalate so much otherwise. And I know I can't match up to Erina… but, like Akira said, I'm a part of this team, and I'll do as much as I can to support all of you!"
"Don't sell yourself short," Ryou added, before he seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. It wasn't in his upbringing at all to depend on others, or even to be depended on. But… The four others looked on, as the mad dog thought for a moment before he raised his arm, and placed his fist before them. "…I'm also nervous. I don't want to see this dumb place close down. So… let's win this, together."
"Together," Akira voiced, his fist to Ryou's.
"Together!" Alice cheered, adding her fist to the other two.
"Together," Takumi added, as his fist also joined the others.
"…Together," Soma lastly spoke up, his fist reaching the others last, but just as fiercely. Then the team of five turned towards their opponents, their passions reignited, as evident by their eyes. Gautier and the others glared in kind, and with that stare-down in place, the Fourth Intercontinental Shokugeki was officially started.
-0-
She heard the announcement from the public restrooms she currently found herself in, since Urara's loud as hell voice was hard to miss. The competition was starting, she noted, not that it mattered much if she was there or not anyways. She had tried to get into the Elite Ten, and of course, had simply not measured up. She then got her ass kicked by that weasel Loren, and then, to add injury to insult, got her most prized possession stolen from her. She knew she had stored it well, just not well enough she supposed.
As Nao Sadatsuka washed her face once more, in a failed attempt to hide the fact that she simply wasn't sleeping well at all anymore, she just glared at the ugly girl in the reflection.
"Why am I even still here?" she softly muttered. "What would I even have done had I gotten a Seat? Get closer to Lady Erina? Please, she has a mountain of things to handle, nothing I could ever help her with. I am not fit to be an aide, I can barely tend to myself… Should I just call it quits then? Not like I can go back home, Father would never allow it, nor would I want to if… he's there… Maybe Mommy would, if I asked her, would she take me in?"
Her reflection had no answer.
Frowning, she closed the faucet and turned around, deciding that at best she should just go to her seat, sit next to that blasted traitor, and just wish the Elite Ten members who were actually capable, unlike her, win this thing. Maybe once this all blew over she could go back to how things were… Maybe…
But no sooner had she poked her head out of the restroom, that she had caught a sight that made her ghostly pale. She held her own mouth shut with her hands to silence a scream, and darted right back inside. It was him! She saw him! But-But, he had not seen her right? He had his back turned, didn't he? She didn't see it well enough, but she was sure he had his back to her…
Still, Nao moved, getting into one of the stalls, and locking the door. Her hands still on her mouth, as her wide eyes begun to water. She was shaking. She knew a panic attack when she felt one coming, but now was not the time for it. She needed to just breathe in, breathe out. Try and stay calm. He wouldn't just come in to the girl's bathroom and…
She held her ground, silent as she could be, outright praying he had not seen her…
…then she heard steps.
She froze in place, raising her feet and placing them on top of the toilet's lid itself, to keep herself invisible to any and all. But the steps continued, and then got louder. They were slow, each step etching closer. On baited breath, she listened in, and soon, she heard nothing else. Silence followed…
Then the stall next to her was opened suddenly, the door knocked back with force. She inwardly shrieked, already crying. And it was her she was it. Saw him. His feet moved from that stall towards hers, and she recognized his stance. Why?! Why was he here?!
He then pushed on her door, but it did not budge. It seemed to make him pause. She wasn't even breathing anymore.
Then he slammed his fist onto the door, and she could swear she heard an audible crack on the wooden material, but the door's lock held. She stared at it, tears flowing, her body quivering, as the figure beyond the door seemed to tilt his head, if his shadow was any indication.
"Busted, perhaps…?" her brother's voice echoed through the area. She was now crying uncontrollably. It was really him. And he was going to hurt her. Please, someone, anyone, make him go away.
Her brother then seemed to go to the third and last stall, and with a swift kick, swung the door open. Of course there was no one there. This seemed to make him pause again, and as Nao watching his feet move about, he turned back to her stall, and then just, walked right past it. He made his way to the other open stall, and then, she hoped, out of the restroom itself.
Still shaking, she allowed herself to breathe a bit, thanking the heavens she was still alright. She would just wait there for a good five minutes before she ran to the others. Never again would she allow herself out in the open like this alone. That could have cost her so-
Then her phone began to ring.
"~I'm a Hex Girl. And I'm gonna put a spell on you~" her phone sang, and she was as quick as humanly possible to shut it off. She didn't even see who had been calling her. Then she looked back at the door, trying to hear for anything at all. He couldn't have heard that, right? He must have been already too far away to hear it right? She was still shaking, hoping against all odds that her brother had indeed left her alone and…
Then she heard another set of steps. She froze once more, her wide eyes to the side, where she had heard them.
Then she heard something loudly drop onto the floor, and before she could even question it, Ashitaro outright slid himself right under her stall's door, pulling himself inside with his hands, reaching in up until right about his waist, a massive grin on his face at the sight of her.
"There you are Nao!" he exclaimed with glee. "How's my little darling been?!"
And all she could do was scream.
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