A:N/ So as I've said before, I'll be updating once a week (every thursday) Anywho, the pacing of the story might be a little to slow for your tastes, please keep in mind that this is not a fluff-driven fic. It's made to let the characters grow and not just lump them into cute scenarios/moments. Of course there will be moments of sweetness, I just want to time it right in the pacing of the characters' character development.

To address some reviews:

To the random guest that reviewed: Hey! Yes the part where Takumi and Megumi broke up was omitted from the newer version of the story! I'm glad that you've noticed it. Anyway, that part I've decided to cut-out since it was really out of place with my story and felt clunky (The smut included there will also brand this story as rated M)

To Gray Fullbuster 20: I'm really glad that you like my story! I'll be continuing to do my best! So wait around for the next chapters hehe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shokugeki no Soma

Picking Up the Pieces

Sōma took one last longing look at the boxes that he'd just finish packing up. Earlier today, he was cleaning their room while Etsuko was still at school.

"Damn… What happened throughout these years…" he whispered. Sōma picked up a photo of him and Erina on the ground that he had forgotten to put away. He sat on the edge of his bed as he gently held onto the piece of memory in his hands.

"You look so beautiful…" the picture on Sōma's hands was a photo of him and Erina out on their first date. That was their first date. Sōma and Erina were kissing as fireworks lit up the sky.

"You ready?" Joichirou asked. Sōma turned around and saw his father leaning on the doorway with a lopsided grin on his face.

"Yeah… I've said my goodbyes. Help me out, Pops?" Sōma grinned, taking the boxes upstairs in their attic to their new home. Sōma had a small smile on his face as he felt that he was feeling lighter.

'Forgive me… Erina… I'm so sorry it took so long for me to let go.' He closed his eyes and recounted the number of times when Etsuko stumbled upon pictures of him and Erina. Just yesterday, Etsuko was fumbling around with a scrapbook that he and Erina made.

*Flashback*

"Papa… Who's Erina?" Etsuko asked as Sōma entered her room to tuck her in for the night. Sōma instantly froze and slowly turned to his side to see the scrapbook that he and Erina made together through their years of dating.

"Where did you find this…" Sōma asked as he reached for the scrapbook.

Etsuko hid in her covers, afraid that her father would be upset at her.

"It fell out of that box…" Etsuko pointed at a box that was beside her bookshelf. Sōma sighed and kissed her on the forehead. He then tucked her comfortably under her sheets and sat beside Etsuko.

"She's your Momma, Honey." Sōma finally admitted the thing that he was holding back on Etsuko for so long. The little girl beside him tilted her head in confusion and took another closer look at Erina's pictures.

"You and your Momma look so much alike." Tears fell from Sōma's face as Etsuko murmured something towards him.

"I love Papa and Momma…" she mumbled to Sōma before falling asleep. Sōma clutched his heart close, feeling that warmth that swelled from inside. Picking up the scrapbook from Etsuko's hands, he quietly got out of her room.

"What do I do now…" Sōma sobbed out in front of Etsuko's door. He was careful to not let her hear him, covering his mouth to keep down the uncontrollable sobs that escaped his mouth. Sōma held closer their memories in his chest with a sad smile on his face.

*End of Flashback*

"That's the last of it." Sōma said, smiling in content as they closed the door of their attic. He wiped beads of his sweat from his forehead before coming downstairs to their kitchen to get something to drink.

"I'm proud of you." Joichirou patted Sōma's shoulder and handed his son a glass of water.

"I wish I was as strong as you when your mother passed away." Joichirou commented with a small smile on his face. It was then Sōma's turn to pat his father on the shoulder.

"Hey Pops… Do you want to come with me and Etsuko to that mochi store we always go to when I pick her up from school?"

Joichirou leaned back from his seat and recalled what Sōma was talking about. It had been a few days now since Etsuko started going to school.

"Ohhh, was that the store that Etsuko was gushing about. I see, ain't that the one with that nice lady?" Joichirou teased as he wiggled his eyebrows at Sōma suggestively.

'Fuck. Busted.' Sōma gulped. Joichirou won't stop bugging him about this until he would fess up.

"Y-Yeah… Me and Etsuko are friends with the owner of the store." Sōma played it off cool as he tried to fend off Joichirou's suspicious looks towards him.

"As much as I want to meet that nice girl you were talking about, I can't make it. Me and Gin are going out for a few drinks since he's in town." Sōma nodded and let out a sigh of relief. He felt relieved that Joichirou won't be grilling him for questions later on.

"Alright then, it's time to pick up Etsuko anyway. I'll be going ahead now Pops!" Sōma grinned as he went out of their house.

Sumire Elementary School…

"Okay class! Don't forget to tell your parents about our upcoming school play!" Etsuko's teacher smiled at them before dismissing the class. The play that they were going to do was Beauty and the Beast.

Etsuko was nervous when she had found out that she was going to play Belle. The little girl was anxious when numerous girls wanted to play the part instead of her. The teacher however, wanted Etsuko to play as Belle since Etsuko was the best singer out of the numerous kids there.

"Oi Haru! We'll be playing dodgeball! Wanna join?" a kid yelled from afar as Haru and Etsuko were coming out of their classroom.

"Sure!" he replied happily towards the kid. Haru placed his bag on his locker before heading off to join his other friends, leaving Etsuko behind.

'What should I do then…' Etsuko thought. She wasn't friends with anyone other than Haru. The little girl scanned around the school playground, looking for something to do as she waits to be picked up by her dad.

"Flowerbed it is then!" Etsuko eventually decided to go by the flower beds and play there instead. The little girl squealed in surprise when she saw a dandelion fluttering in the wind.

"What should I wish for…" Etsuko mutters as she picks up the flower.

'I wish Papa would come sooner…' she closed her eyes and wished on the dandelion before blowing onto it. The seed head of the flower carried off into the wind as Etsuko giggled, seeing the pretty seeds of the dandelion being scattered off.

"Kiddo, are you ready to go now?" Etsuko blinked before quickly turning around to pounce on Sōma who just arrived. The other kids were being picked up by their parents as well. Etsuko looked around to see Haru before she leaves.

"Papa, have you seen Haru?" Etsuko asked. Sōma shook his head and tried to help Etsuko look for the little boy as well.

"Fancy seeing you here, Yukihira." A woman teased Sōma as he and Etsuko were about to leave the school.

"Haru!" Etsuko waved off to her friend and joined him to play as their parents talked.

Rindō Kobayashi was picking up her son Haru when she saw Sōma picking up Etsuko. The woman giggled at the cute sight in front of them when she saw how happy her son was when he played with Etsuko.

"Yukihira, did Etsuko-chan already told you about the play?" Rindō asked towards Sōma.

"They're going to make a play?"

"Yup! Haru told me earlier, he's pretty excited about it. It's a pretty cute version of Beauty and the Beast."

"Oh! I'll ask Etsuko about it later then. What part is Haru playing?" Sōma asked. Back in his middle school days, Sōma remembered participating in their school play, a classic Romeo and Juliet play.

"Haru's playing the Beast. I've already been thinking of some costume ideas for him earlier. I wanna dress up my little boy in a cute devil's outfit, but the teachers told me to not make him look a little too scary." Rindō whined out with her arms crossed.

"I wonder what part Etsuko is going to play…" Sōma leant back on one the benches while he waited for Haru and Etsuko to finish playing.

Sōma and Etsuko were on their way home after Etsuko finished playing with Haru. The father and daughter pair walked hand in hand towards Atra's store with smiles on their faces, excited to meet-up again with the friendly woman.

"Miss Atra!" Etsuko greeted Atra with a hug as she was serving her customers. Atra chuckled and patted Etsuko's head with a smile.

"Well hello there Etsuko-chan!" Atra turned back to the customers to finish up their orders, packing them up in take-out boxes and selling them. The mochi store had been a huge success. Plenty of people that came by on the shop's opening day were now store-regulars.

Sōma and Etsuko sat down on a table while they waited for Atra to finish tending to the customers. For the special today, Atra had made red bean mochi which goes well with tea.

The shop's busy crowd soon dissipated, easing Atra's burden.

"That was a tough day…" she mutters as she sat down with Sōma and Etsuko. Atra had brought their orders to them while she rubs her sore shoulder.

"Miss Atra, I'm nervous…" Etsuko said towards the woman. Sōma raised an eyebrow and saw Etsuko avoiding his look. Atra looked back at Sōma, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Why? What happened?" she asks in concern towards the little girl.

"We have a play coming up… And I'll be playing Belle…" Etsuko shyly whispers to Atra's ear. Atra then looks back at Sōma and winks at him with a grin on her face along with a thumbs-up.

"Can we tell your Papa?" Atra asks permission first towards Etsuko before saying something to Sōma. Etsuko nods and picks up a mochi to munch on as Atra tells Sōma.

"Well, she says that she's really nervous for a play that's coming up. She's playing Belle on their little Beauty and the Beast play." Atra explains to Sōma who nods while patting Etsuko's head.

"Ohhh, so that's why. Your friend Haru's playing the Beast right?" Sōma asks with a teasing smile towards Etsuko.

"Y-Yeah…" Etsuko tries to avoid Sōma's teasing and covers her face. Atra smacks Sōma on the head for teasing Etsuko, patting the girl on her back while shooting a look towards Sōma.

'Yikes, she can be an angry Momma Bear sometimes…' Sōma couldn't help but smile towards the two. They looked like mother and daughter, the way Atra consoles Etsuko as Etsuko shares to her about the things that she's nervous about.

"Do you have a costume yet?" Atra asks towards Etsuko who then shrugs and tells her that they have to find costumes.

"Hold on…' Atra pats Etsuko's head as she flips the shop's sign. The woman came back to the two of them with a measuring tape. Etsuko immediately giggles when Atra takes her measurements.

"You're going to make me a costume, Miss Atra?!" Etsuko asks with hopeful eyes. Atra nods while she writes down the numbers on a piece of paper.

"I didn't know you can sow dresses?" Sōma asks in confusion. Atra hums in response, retrieving a sketchpad from upstairs her house to show Sōma her previous designs. Etsuko was awestruck when she was flipping the pages of the sketchpad.

"My mother taught me all the things I know…" Atra smiled as she sketches through a piece of paper on the sketchpad that she took.

'It must be nice to have a Mom…' Sōma thought as he looked at Etsuko with a sad smile. He raised her right, but he can never give Etsuko the loving touch that a mother could. There were things that he wanted for her to experience, Sōma would be lying to himself if he denied to ever want to feel the love of a woman again.

The sun soon set and it was nearing nighttime when Atra finished her sketch. She managed to downsize Belle's first dress that was blue and white with a blue ribbon to match for Etsuko's work. Satisfied with her work, Atra held the sketch up to Sōma and Etsuko.

"What do you think?" she asks with a grin. Etsuko gently took the piece of paper from Atra's hand and hugged it with a smile on her face.

"Thank you Miss Atra! I love it!" the little girl hugs Atra while she giggles in excitement.

It was time for Sōma and Etsuko to go home when it started to rain down hard. The three of them were getting hungry since it was also dinner time.

"Iwatani-san, do you mind if we borrow an umbrella?" Sōma asks as the rain kept pouring outside. Atra went upstairs to give back Sōma's umbrella that she forgot to give back to him.

"The timing is always so wrong when I'm about to give it back to you." Atra chuckled as Sōma and Etsuko opened the door. The wind and rain were too strong for them to safely get home. Sōma shut the door and went back inside to the store after Atra's advice.

"Did you two get wet?" she asks in concern while bringing Sōma and Etsuko some spare towels.

"We're so sorry to bother you, Iwatani-san…"

Their stomach grumbling further embarrassed Sōma. A shy smile was seen on both the father and daughter when Atra invited the two of them upstairs for dinner.

"So… What're you two feeling to eat?" Atra smiled, shuffling through her well-stocked fridge for some fresh ingredients to use. It was Sōma's cue to step-in to cook for the three of them as a way of repaying Atra's hospitality.

"How about I do the cooking?" Sōma teased from behind Atra. He tied his headband to his head and made Atra sit back down on her table with Etsuko.

Sōma opted for a simple dish, one that he could sometimes consider his signature dish. He took out fresh chicken wings from Atra's freezer to start defrosting them, a bottle of sesame oil, a carton of eggs and some stalks of spring onion.

Etsuko immediately lightened up when she saw those familiar ingredients being prepared. The little girl clamored for her father. Etsuko looked from afar and admired the passion and tender-care that her father puts in into preparing their dinner.

'A dish that speaks to the heart…' Sōma repeated his mantra inside his head. Cooking was always more fun when he had people to cook for. There was never a dull moment in Sōma's career as a chef.

There was a sudden stop at his cooking when he felt his hands shaking.

"When was the last time that I made this…" he whispers to himself as he was absent-mindedly finishing up the process of plating the dishes.

"Yukihira-kun?" Atra quips with a concerned look. Sōma shook his head and smiled away the grief and pang of sadness that he felt.

"Tada! Here's my signature transforming furikake gohan!" he served them three bowls of the steaming rice.

The first bite into the dish made Atra feel something subtle that Sōma forgot to add when he was cooking the dish. There was something in the dish that screamed something was missing; there was an underlying feeling of the dish tasting somewhat incomplete.

"Papa?" Etsuko turns to Sōma in confusion when he stopped eating. Sōma reassured her that nothing was going on, opting to keep quiet instead of further dabbling on the matter that was stuck inside his head.

"This dish means a lot to you, huh Yukihira-san?" Atra quipped with a contented smile on her face after she finished her meal. She went over to pick up Etsuko's dishes after the little girl finished her own meal. Setting down the plates and bowls on the sink, Atra turned on the faucet and began to do the dishes.

'Did she notice?' Sōma pondered. He went over to Atra and helped in doing the dishes, much to her dismay.

"I can do this bit, Yukihira-san. That was a delicious dinner!" she smiled. Sōma leaned back unto his seat and closed his eyes for a minute.

*Dream Sequence*

"Sōma?" he heard Erina's voice calling out to him. Sōma opened his eyes and saw Erina smiling down on him with her own gentle smile.

"I never thought it would be this hard…" Sōma admitted. Erina was the person that drove Sōma to such lengths when it came down to improving himself and doing better. She was always the person that motivated him to cook from the heart and give it his all.

"Silly, you have Her now." Erina chuckled, kissing Sōma's forehead while she played with his hair.

"Erina… What do I do now?"

"You let her in." Erina replied while humming to her and Sōma's favorite song. The choice of words used by Erina might've come across as a bit vague, but Sōma understood what she meant.

"I'm really glad that it's her, Sōma." He felt tears coming from Erina. The imaginary plane around them played like a movie as it flashed through the little moments that Atra and Sōma had shared.

"When did you-" Sōma felt speechless when he recounted the times that he and Atra had been connecting with each other. Their lives had been woven together as much as he'd like to deny, she had been a part of his life from the start of his trip in Saint Gallen.

"You know… I'm really glad that you've met a wonderful person like her." Erina leaned her head onto Sōma's shoulder as they watched the series of flashes together.

"I'm really happy for you, Sōma. Thank you for moving on…" the last memory of his that played out was the one where he and Etsuko made mochi with Atra.

*End of Dream Sequence*

Sōma groaned awake, his head was throbbing from amount of things that he kept on bottling up inside. Atra went over to him with a mug of tea and a shy smile on her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asks to him. Atra sat on the opposite side of Sōma and watched him blew into his hot drink while she waited for his response.

"Sorry about that… I was having dreams again about my late-wife." He finally let it out and shared to Atra the pain that he felt for the past few years. Their talk over tea was something that Sōma desperately needed. He kept quiet when he was talking about Erina around Etsuko, not wanting to wake up his daughter who was sleeping on the other couch.

"I'm really glad that you've shared that to me, Yukihira-kun." Atra beamed at Sōma with a sincere smile on her face. She washed away all the worries that he felt and for that, Sōma couldn't help but feel thankful that he had the chance to meet her.

"We should probably head back now. It's getting a little too late…" Sōma stood up to carry Etsuko in his back without waking up the little girl. They went downstairs shortly after gathering their things.

The cool breeze of the night filled the shop with its cold air upon opening the door. Sōma turned back to Atra with a grin on his face. He felt so relieved and reinvigorated after finally telling someone all the insecurities and pain that he'd been bottling up for years.

"Iwatani-san… I hope that it was fate that led me into meeting you. I really appreciate all the things that you did for me and Etsuko."

Atra held her hand closer to her chest and nodded, unable to say anything from the nervousness that she was feeling. When Sōma was about to leave, she grabbed onto his jacket timidly.

"I-If you ever feel sad again… O-Or want to talk about things th-that are bothering you… Please don't be afraid to talk to me about it." She held his gaze with a determined look on her face.

'These two… They slowly began to mean more to me than anything else…' is the thought that ran through Atra's head. Etsuko and Sōma who were just ordinary customers at first, began to mean more to her like family.

Sōma put a hand on Atra's head, patting it gently with a small smile on his face.

"We'll be in your care then…" he uttered before leaving.

~ End

A:N/ Review if you enjoyed it! I really had fun making this chapter since this chapter was the 'proper' send-off to Erina. Sōma putting away her belongings in the attic is meant to symbolize that he's ready to move on with the next chapter of his life. Erina is still important to him, but the dream he had with her is meant to say that: Erina will forever love him, but he needs to move on with his life because he still has plenty of things to live for.

So that was just a short explanation of it all to y'all in case you feel cheated on me killing off Erina in this story. I know that plenty of you guy would've reviewed or went nuts if this was a family driven fic. with Sōma and Erina - but hey, this is my story that I wanted to write in a narrative that delves on the reality that Joichirou faced when Sōma's mother passed away.

Atra's character is meant to support Sōma to help him heal and possibly fill-in as a mother for Etsuko. I built her character to specifically cater the needs of a broken Sōma who is racked with grief. I'm really proud of what I've accomplished so far; with or without reviews - I'm doing this story and finishing it for the people that matter and have supported me.