Choices

A/N Okay, I won't give any excuses. I know its been a while, and to those of you who have stuck around, I can't thank you enough. Life has been really tough over the last few months, and because of the anti-anxiety medication I've been on lately its been really tough for me to do anything productive outside of the work I do in class. But, I have 2 weeks' worth of holidays now before final exams, and I want to continue this story as well as revising, so lets see how well I can balance all my work. Anyways, there'll be more at the end, so for now I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

A blank face. Held for an impressive fourteen hours and fifteen minutes straight. In the air hostess' seven years of serving the Nakiri family, never had she been so intimated of a passenger, especially not a teenager. But, she recalled, this was Nakiri Erina we're talking about. A child prodigy in the cooking world, with so much pride it could back her prowess in culinary skills. The honey blonde girl wordlessly exited the jet, and the hostess noted how the young chef's head was held ever so slightly lower than usual, and how her hands were clenched into fists, tensing from time to time.

As Erina approached the car waiting at the feet of the steps leading down from the plane, her phone started vibrating in her pocket. She froze, composed herself, took out her phone, and answered, clearing her throat in an attempt to mask the raspy tone she had gained from crying. Erina was meant to be a tough young woman, and she would do as much as physically possible to keep up this image towards everyone, regardless of who they may be.

"Hello, this is Nakiri Erina speak-"

"Yo Nakiri, you're finally back!"

Erina didn't think her jaw had ever dropped as low as it was hanging right now. She had been expecting a call from another annoying client, or maybe Hisako or her grandfather, but overall, she hadn't been wanting to chat, which she thought had been made evident from her tone. Who she hadn't been expecting was Sõma, but now that his all too familiar voice was ringing through her ears, the blonde had no idea what to say. In fact, she had been hoping to avoid any contact with the boy outright, at least until her head was clear and she thought she could face him. But, she was Nakiri Erina, and she refused to allow her strong demeanour to falter, even if in front of the redhead.

"Yukihira-kun, did you need something from me? I'm a bit busy at the moment, so-"

"Stop that, would ya? We both know we need to talk, Erina."

Spiky red hair, a small white armband, tiny blue outfits, and a small diner. People, places, objects, all things she didn't recognise but felt she should. Erina didn't know what had been triggering these 'flashbacks' so to speak, but they had been happening constantly since she had left her father's office back in America. Memories were being added to her brain, and she felt as though her childhood was being broken apart and reconstructed slowly, with experiences she had envied in other children being added on.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about Yukihira-kun." She solidified her tone, and decided to keep up this act. All these new memories, new feelings and emotions were unknown to her, and until she was comfortable with the notion that her childhood memories had been taken away, she refused to talk about them to anyone. Even the boy who had lost his memories with her. "And who said you could use my first name! You are a commoner, and you should know your place Yukihira-kun!"

"A commoner who's also the son of your idol, right Erina? A commoner who lost his mother right alongside yours, right Erina? A commoner who-"

Beep-beep-beep

The redhead was in shock. She cut the phone? After everything we both just learnt, she still wants to ignore me? Sõma was annoyed, but moreover, he was hurt. Since the start of their first year, the young chef had been constantly trying to get the Totsuki princess' approval, but to no avail. Even after helping her defeat her father, he had gained little to no gratitude. And while Sõma normally wouldn't have cared for such disrespect, after learning the close relationship the two had shared earlier in their lives, he had been hoping for at least the smallest hint of friendliness from the young blonde. But, who was he kidding. They were from two different worlds, and even after all the revelations, this truth couldn't be any clearer. He had tried for a year straight, with no visible progress. What would some memories change about that?

"Sõma-kun, a-are you alright?" The shy voice of his best friend, Tadokoro, took over his attention. "You… you look sad about something."

"Nah, I'm fine Tadokoro. You… you go enjoy with everyone else." He hated to do this to her, but frankly, he didn't know what else to say. He wanted to be alone, to try and come to terms with the fact that he had spent a majority of his childhood with none other than the young Nakiri heiress, and her cold attitude towards Sõma hadn't helped him one bit. "I… I need to be alone for a bit is all."

Without waiting for the bluenette to reply, the first seat walked off, back towards the garden. However, he had forgotten to take his phone with him, and Megumi looked down towards the screen when she noticed it flashing.

I'm sorry about what I said Sõma.

Can you at least reply?

I said I'm sorry!

The girl was confused to say the least, and this only increased when she saw who the texts were from. Sõma-kun and Nakiri are on first name basis? I thought they hated each other? The girl also noted the three missed calls accompanying the texts, and now she was thoroughly baffled. What exactly had happened between the two? Was Erina the reason Sõma was looking so sad? I want to help him, but wouldn't I just be annoying him? He said he wanted to be alone… maybe I should just respect that. Megumi cared about Sõma, a lot, and seeing him so down made her want to help him. Her feelings for the boy had been confusing her a lot lately, and she really wanted to set them straight.

Steeling herself, she headed towards the garden. There's no time like the present, Megumi.

It had been 20 minutes now. He hadn't replied to her messages, or picked up her calls. Hell, he hadn't even bothered to read what she had sent him. Who does he think he is, ignoring me? A simple commoner, ignoring me, a member of the Nakiri family? But, she recalled, it was her fault he was ignoring her in the first place. Guess I shouldn't have cut the phone…

Staring absentmindedly out of the window, her thoughts were cut off when her phone, which she had been holding unusually tightly, started to buzz. Her heart stopped momentarily, as she had thought Sõma had finally decided to talk to her, but she was disappointed to see it was Hisako. Since when have I been disappointed to get called by Hisako! This boy is really messing up my emotions.

"Hisako, how are you?"

"Erina-sama, I was so worried about you! Tadokoro-san only just told me you were replying to messages again. Why didn't you call me as soon as you landed?" The pink-haired girl was ever so slightly annoyed at her master/best friend. When she found out that while she had been pulling her hair out worrying about her friend's safety and wellbeing, her friend had actually been talking to Sõma, she had been a bit ticked off to say the least.

"Tadokoro-san? How does she know that I'm back? The only person I've talked to since arriving in Japan is Sõma-ku… I mean Yukihira-kun!" She had gone back over her words almost as soon as they left her mouth, worried that her aide would get the wrong ideas. After all, I'm only using his first name because we knew each other a long time ago… That's definitely all there is to it!

"Oh my, Erina, did I just hear you use Yukihira-kun's first name?" The voice Erina had been dreading to hear had rung through her phone's speakers, and now it was the blonde's turn to be annoyed. Severely annoyed. "Don't tell me there's more to your relationship than you're letting on, dear cousin." Alice's voice dripped with suggestiveness and Erina was getting irked incredibly quickly. She needed to talk to her aide, not her annoying cousin!

"Listen Alice, I don't have time for your fun and games, okay. I'd appreciate if you could give the phone back to Hisako now, I need to discuss something with her." Erina needed to sort out her situation with Sõma, and she figured the best person to talk to would be her aide. Definitely not her meddling cousin.

"So rude Erina." Alice pouted, at which Hisako started to giggle. "You need to lighten up, there's no way a certain redhead will like you if you're always so uptight." And her sly tone was back, in full force too.

"WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!" Erina was blushing an incredibly bright red, and while she normally wouldn't have been fazed by her cousin's comments, recent discoveries about her shared past with the boy in question gave Alice's comments half a backing.

"Calm down, cousin, I'm only teasing. I'll give the phone back to Hishoko now." The silver haired Nakiri had had her fun and decided to lay off her cousin before she got seriously annoyed.

"Erina-sama, you were asking about Tadokoro-san. You see, she was with Yukihira-kun, but I saw him storm off, and Tadokoro noticed the missed calls you had left on his phone. As such, she thought it best to let everyone know you were back from your trip." Hisako was keeping up the formalities because she was talking to her mistress, but she really wanted to know why her best friend had needed to so urgently talk to the redhead who, as far as Hisako was aware, had been nothing but an annoyance to her friend since they had met. What had changed, the pinkette wondered.

"Listen Hisako, I just learnt a few things about my childhood and… my mother, but I think it'd be best if I explained in person." While the princess really wanted to tell someone about what she had just learnt, she thought it would be easier to explain if she could see her best friend face to face. The flashbacks or memories were still very much occurring, and the blonde didn't think she could live through another episode with no one there to comfort her. "The information involved Yukihira-kun, so I had wanted to discuss with him. That is all." Everything the young chef was feeling was foreign, and she really didn't want to dive any deeper into her emotions concerning the boy, at least until she had everything else figured out.

"Of course, Erina-sama. If you think that is best then I shall await your arrival. Do you have any idea how far away from the Polar Star dorm you are right now?" The alumni had left only a few minutes ago, and things were quickly wrapping up on the students' end as well. The aide was hoping her friend would arrive soon, or they'd have to talk at the Nakiri mansion.

"We're only around half an hour away, so we should be able to talk at the dorm. Could you tell Yukihira-kun that I will be arriving soon, because I really need to discuss some things with him."

"Of course, Erina-sama, have a safe journey." Hisako cut the phone, and released a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Her best friend sounded fine, which was great because the medicinal chef's mind had been plagued with worry since she first found out Erina was planning to visit her father. However, it seemed the elder Nakiri had given her friend some important information about her upbringing, and Hisako was keen to help Erina in any way she could. As her friend, as her aide; anything. Hisako had been looking for a chance to repay Erina for all she had done during the Regiment de Cuisine, and this could be the perfect chance.

Megumi quietly walked towards the place she knew Sõma would be. Being the first real friend the redhead had made after transferring to the academy, Sõma had often confided in Megumi in the small greenhouse located in the dorm's garden. Megumi knew there were things Sõma hadn't told her, particularly about the boy's past, but the bluenette was always too scared to ask in fears the young chef would get offended at her pestering.

Shaking her head, she straightened before walking half-confidently into the greenhouse, noticing the First Seat sitting on the bench in the back of the garden. The way the moon shone into the greenhouse, with beautiful flowers lining every surface, Megumi saw the space in a new light and couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't come here at this time of night before. Sõma hadn't noticed the girl yet, so Megumi decided to speak up, in an attempt to catch his attention without alerting the boy who was clearly deep in thought.

"Hey Sõma-kun, you must really have a lot on your mind, huh?" Megumi said ever so quietly, trying her best not to disturb the tranquil atmosphere. She was here so the boy had a person to talk to, and shocking him would help no one. "You've been visiting this spot a lot more recently, haven't you?" Megumi had noticed Sõma's visits to the greenhouse had become much more frequent as of late, particularly during parties or when it was late at night; when he thought no one would notice.

"I just needed to think about some stuff, that's all." Unbeknownst to the girl, there was a pained expression on the redhead's face. He had taken insults and comments from many people over the years, but the fact that Erina didn't want to talk to him despite what the two had just learnt hurt him; a lot more than he had expected. And to top it all off, his father's words were still lingering at the back of his mind. Did he really like the blonde? Or was it just admiration for the girl and the desire to gain her approval?

The greenhouse had always been a safe haven of sorts for him, at least when the balcony was occupied by other people. He found the plants surrounding him and the warm moonlight comforting, and it allowed him to think. At least, it did most of the time. Right now, too many things were floating around in his head, and if anything, he was craving some of Ryoko's 'rice juice' to help him calm down. "You can head back in Tadokoro, I'll… I'll join you guys in a bit." Sõma was still facing away from the other student, in hopes that she wouldn't be able to see his face. He knew he wore his emotions on his sleeve, and right now he needed anything but his friend worrying about him.

"Nakiri-san called you after you left." Megumi had a hunch that Sõma's sudden outburst of sadness had something to do with the princess, and although it pained her that Sõma was thinking about the other girl so much, she still thought it best to tell him. "She sounded kinda annoyed that you weren't replying and stuff."

Of course she did, what else did I expect from the Totsuki princess.

Megumi had expected a reaction, but she didn't expect the boy's head to rise almost instantly upon hearing her words, and him to turn around with a huge smile on his face. Now she was hurting, and a lot at that. Things were coming together in her mind, and before Sõma could rush out of the greenhouse she lightly tugged at his arm, prompting him to stop and turn around. There were things she needed to say; so she could set her feelings straight once and for all.

"Sõma-kun, I… I need to tell you something. I… Ever since we met last year… I-"

"Tadokoro, can we talk later, if you don't mind? Everything's finally making sense, and I really need to talk to Nakiri." His brain was, once again, working at light speed as he thought about what he'd say to her, how their conversation would go, everything. He cared about the other girl a lot, he really did, but right now he needed to do something else, and he hoped she'd understand.

"Of… of course, Sõma-kun. Your phone is still inside… so yeah. I'm going to hang around here a little longer… so…" The girl had now turned away from the redhead, and she prayed to whatever god existed that he wouldn't pick up on the sudden rasp in her voice, or how she was bringing her hands up to her face, or the tears beginning to form around her eyes. She prayed, she prayed, she prayed, and when she finally turned around and opened her now moist eyes she noticed the boy was there no more, and Megumi was alone, with the moon basking a soft yellow light over the now empty greenhouse.

Okay, holyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy shit that took a while. I wrote this all today, so I'm hoping there aren't too many mistakes. I won't make any promises, but I should be able to start a new chapter tomorrow, so you should see another update very soon. Other than that, I hoped you guys enjoyed and stay tuned because Erina and Sõma will finally be meeting :)