As the Autumn Elections drew closer, Erina felt confident that she had effectively summoned Yukihira home. She had expected him to pop up any day now, smirking and joking and being his normal insufferable self. But when the main judges for the preliminary round arrived on campus, her plans were essentially thwarted.

"These are your schedules for the day of the contest," she explained, handing each of them the laminated agendas Hisako had prepared the night before.

"Thanks, Erina-san," Eishi said with an appreciative smile.

"Tsukasa, we have to go back to Paris after this," she heard Kobayashi-san say as they got settled in their lounge.

Eishi heaved a heavy sigh, gratefully taking the mineral water Tadokoro Megumi had placed in front of him. "Rindou, we can't fly back to Europe just so you can eat Yukihira's grilled octopus again."

"But it was so yummy," the red haired woman protested.

Erina's ears perked up when she heard his name. Then, inspecting her manicure and trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, she asked, "Yukihira-kun is in Paris?"

She'd had a feeling he would land there somehow, but calling her contacts to ask about it would have been too bold a move.

"Mhmm. He's been working at Shino's and senpai won't let him leave because he's selfish."

At this, the bespectacled chef chafed. "How is it selfish? Do you have any idea how many chefs would commit murder for a spot in my kitchen?"

"At least pay him more if you're going to keep using his recipes."

Shinomiya waved her off. "The experience will pay for itself many times over."

Erina tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "Oh. Did he say when he's planning on coming back?"

"I tried to bring him for you, but he said no," Rindou said with a sigh. "It looks like you're on your own with this one."

Like clockwork, Erina's cheeks began to flush. "I-it's not as if I care when he comes back. Hayama-kun and I are just tired of picking up his slack with the Elite Ten work."

"You underclassmen are really hopeless when it comes to this stuff." Rindou shook her head slowly, wearing an amused grin. "Just call him and say come home already. It's much easier than coming up with all these elaborate plans."

In retrospect, it was probably the soundest, most sober-minded advice the adventurous cook had ever offered, but in the moment it sounded as off-color as jumping out of a cake.

The Autumn Elections came and went, and a winter frost encroached upon every exposed surface on campus. Every evening Alice and Kurokiba sat by the fireplace, comparing luxury condos they might move into after graduation. Hisako started coming home later and later, those curious red marks cropping up on her neck and collarbone every few weeks. The quiet frustration Erina had been sensing from Tadokoro-san gradually faded as she and Takumi spent more time together in the Elite Ten libraries.

And when she finally worked up the nerve to fly to Paris, Chef Shinomiya reported that Yukihira had left a week prior.

"Where?" she asked with an exhausted sigh, taking the wine he poured her gratefully.

"South America, I think," the alumnus said. "He left a number for the kitchen he's working in. I can tell him you came by—"

"No, don't!"

Shinomiya gave her a long look, pushing his glasses further up on his nose. "I'm getting tired of you kids and your lovers' quarrel—"

Erina's face morphed into a scandalized expression. "We're not...I mean it isn't—"

"Oh, but it is because you are here, in my restaurant, ten thousand kilometers away from home, looking for a boy you're on the outs with. That is the textbook definition of a lovers' quarrel. In fact, it's a Hallmark movie."

Erina cringed, instantly regretting mimicking the approach of the heroine in her latest shoujo manga. "I'm sorry for troubling you with this," she said, her eyes lowered. "I should be going, at any rate."

The older chef's features softened a bit. "Stay for dinner," he said.

Erina's grandfather had always told her that dishes worthy of the title of specialty made you see the face of the chef. And the moment the fluffy omurice souffle touched her lips, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was his recipe.

The whimsical combination of flavors, the shiro soy sauce and Gruyère cheese, sent a warmth coursing through her veins despite the winter weather.

She kept replaying each component in her memory throughout the journey home and wondered what she'd say about it if she ever saw him again.


Takumi wasn't sure when it had happened, but in in the months since Yukihira left, he had become closer to Tadokoro-san. At first, he had thought it his responsibility to look out for her in his rival's absence, but in time, he found himself seeking her company at every possible moment.

On one such occasion, when they were lounging on the couch in his Elite Ten office, writing thank you notes to this year's stagiare hosts until their hands cramped up, he had been working up the nerve to ask her out for coffee when she received a phone call from a New York number.

"It's probably Souma-kun," she said. "He left Buenos Aires for Brooklyn a week ago."

Takumi fought down the spark of annoyance that came over him; so the second seat was capable of picking up a phone after all.

"Hello," Megumi said to the person on the other line. "Yes, this is she...I am his emergency contact, why?...What?"

Takumi watched as her expression shifted from slight confusion to worry. He had been learning the body language of her anxiety — the way she nibbled her lip and fussed with her braid.

"I see...I am still in Japan, but it doesn't matter. I'll be there as soon as possible. Thank you for calling."

She hung up the phone and immediately started packing up her messenger bag. "Forgive me, Takumi-kun," she said. "I promise I'll finish my portion later, but I have to get to the airport!"

"Don't worry about the notes," he said, lightly jogging to keep up with her as she sped down the hallway. It was sometimes easy to forget that the girl had been an athlete before coming to Totsuki. "What's wrong?"

She turned to him, golden eyes welling with tears. "Souma-kun is in the hospital. Sorry, but I...I have to go right away."

She ran off then, at her legendary hopping-hare speed. He knew that by the time he reached the Polar Star, she'd probably be in a cab to the airport.

Two feelings came over Takumi as he watched her go. The first, naturally, was concern for their friend, but the second—more insidious, more fervent—was the numbing realization that he didn't have any chance with her the way things were now.

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading, everybody! New new chapter brought to you by my flight getting delayed by over four hours. I didn't plan on it, but I ended up slipping a little Takumegu into the story. Please let me know what you think! I hope you're all having a better day than I am lol.