Hi, I wanted to write a short fanfic, maybe something akin to 4 or so chapters, about Erina and Soma. The settings would be after Azami, but going through with Erina not becoming anything like a director. Soma is still first place and still saved her, but Sazaemon is still the director and Erina just under his wings as she finishes her studies. Still, I wouldn't question the timeline I'm writing this on or anything of the sort. Just enjoy it as it goes, I guess. Maybe Erina is the one that handles and manages the Elite Ten or something, with Soma as first seat. Either way, enjoy!

Disclaimer, I don't own SHOKUGEKI NO SOMA

-0-0-0-0-0

She hated him.

Erina Nakiri walked through the huge halls of her mansion with an expression that, were it not late at night and empty, it'd kill anyone that walked in front of her. Anger, popping veins and utter disbelief. In her hands, two little documents filled to the brim with useless information she couldn't give a damn about at any current moment… Except for a little red post-it note in between them. One she had found right after taking her leave from the weekly Elite Ten's formal meeting, just after picking up her files.

Call me :) it read, in some strange handwriting that couldn't possibly belong to anyone with at least half a year of basic education, less so anyone involved with her or the table of elite people she herself considered outstanding and professional.

This was Yukihira Soma's handwriting, no questions asked. She'd never seen the guy actually write anything down and less so on a piece of paper, but she didn't need to see it to understand this was his doing. The smell, that dirt-cheap cologne that both him and his dad-, someone that to this day she idolized-, used. That mixture of oil and dry squid liquid stuck on the edge of the tiny piece of paper, it was something only Soma of all people kept inside their pockets. And probably where this note had spent the better part of the day inside. And lastly, the stupid drawing at the lower part of the note, of something she could only guess resembled a heart (But more like a circle) that made her think this was actually made by a child. This was Yukihira. One hundred percent sure.

And she absolutely despised it.

Why? JUST why would he ever do this-, and actually when did he even get the chance in their meeting to slide the note in her documents without her noticing, was something she kept on asking herself the entire walk back to her room. Why? This was Yukihira Soma, the most air-headed, plain, stupid looking, dense idiot she had ever met on the entire face of the earth, and somehow he had decided to start playing a game she'd only seen on shameless shoujo manga she read in her room, in secrecy, late at night. And yet, in her hands, read for the hundredth time already, the note remained real. Not a nightmare, not a trick of the light.

Erina reached her room, skipping most staff members that awaited her and also skipping dinner, to throw herself inside the bathtub and start pondering. Her mind left as an utter mess. The note, discarded on top of her huge bed.

"Why would that…man, do this to me? Is he messing with me? With Erina Nakiri? God's tongue? The actual sub-director of the school he attends!?" Her words kept echoing throughout her bathroom, with no no one to answer them back, "Call him? Why in the seven heavens would I ever call him? Why would he even assume I would?" She fought herself, smacking water and splashing everywhere, not caring about the mess she was creating. The water would dry later that night anyway.

Does he…No! No, there's no way, she stopped her train of thought midway, with a maddening blush adorning her cheeks. Whatever the note meant, it did not allude to anything of the sort. He was a commoner, and he was so voided of any actual thought process to allow falling for anyone romantically. She knew that for a fact. There were only two things inside that man's mind at all times, and one was food, and the other cooking.

So then why? It wasn't an emergency, that was for sure. And they had actually traded words that same day at the reunion. He was their First Seat after all, no matter how much it bothered her to accept that. The guy seemed the same as ever, with that brain-dead look on his face as he survived through her lectures by not paying attention at all. Even Eizan gave out his usual intervention of why the hell do we invite Yukihira if anything we say to him is forgotten after an hour? And the red-head actually agreed to that. So why?

She kept pondering, even after getting out of the tub, brushing her blonde hair and putting on her pajamas. The thought wouldn't leave her mind. Was he really expecting her to call? Was he waiting?

Already in her bed, she turned around and faced the clock hanging on the wall.

Twelve in the morning.

She frowned. Was he waiting for her to actually pick up the phone and dial his number? He'd never-, or maybe that was Yukihira's plan all along! To bother her the entire night with the thought of him waiting for her call! That's right! That's exactly the kind of plan his melted brain would form. The guy was probably fast asleep with a stupid grin of his face, and nothing more.

"I will not fall to your idiot tendencies, Yukihira Soma…" Erina finally decided, determined, with her legs both up in the air in a childish manner, pointing at the roof.

But then something poked her sides and she reached to see what it was…

It was that god darned post it note.

The blonde woman frowned again and growled lowly, but her face grew increasingly red as she did so as well.

I'll never fucking call you, Yukihira Soma!

-0-

Inside the Polar Star Dormitory, the halls were dark and silent as everyone went on through their usual night activities (Which consisted of sleeping) with only two windows showcasing light from inside.

In one of them, Fumio Daimido remained awake with a few cups of sake and a book in her lap, the ever so pensive woman thinking about who knows what and to what extent.

And in the other, Yukihira Soma se sat on the edge of his bed with a small piece of dry squid in between his teeth, a no-name manga on his hands…

And his phone clearly on the ready right beside him, down on the bed.

"Man…maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all" He sighed. It wasn't. Tadokoro, Rokyo, Shun and even Isshiki had let him known as much; that he couldn't expect the queen of Totsuki to just suddenly find interest in him even if he felt the way he did.

"And that's not to say it isn't noble…" Isshiki had commented after almost passing out on the spot at the revelation that Soma had dropped down on them. And soon after, the plan formed inside that weird brain of his, "But I don't think a note is the best way to go about this…"

"Hey, I'm not saying I'll outright confess with a piece of paper…I just thought, if I want to do this, I need to get Nakiri into my trap to begin with" Again, Isshiki sweat dropped at the implication, but guessed that Soma was just too dumb to realize how weird that sounded, "Then we talk…and, I don't know, I haven't planned that far ahead, but I'll just be honest with her" Ryoko, who had merely been listening, sweat dropped so hard she had to look away.

Tadokoro instead had been much more positive, even if everyone in the dorms knew how in love she was with the redhead. She had long accepted that Soma would never notice, and recently, she'd also seen the way Soma would, sometimes, leave his eyes on Erina more than he did on anybody else.

That had been all she needed to realize what was going on.

"I think it's cute…a note and a little message; it might keep her mind busy until she finally decides to…y-you know, call you…"

Everyone else exhaled air in response, all their efforts to stop Soma from doing something absolutely stupid thrown to the dirt thanks to a few words of encouragement, which were more than enough to fuel Yukihira Soma to the brim of forwardness.

And now, at twelve in the morning, Soma realized that maybe he was actually too dumb to figure out love.

"How did pops even manage to get my mom…is something I'll never comprehend" The chef finally closed his manga in defeat, understanding how dumb of an idea it had all been, and stood up to turn off his lights and go to sleep. It was late and he was tired, and he still had to wake up early for a Shokugeki some first year random had decided to call upon him, plus second year mathematics. Otherwise known as hell.

So he turned off the light and walked back to his bed.

Only to find his phone vibrating constantly.

-0-

What the hell am I doing…?

With a flushed face and shaky hands, Nakiri Erina sat at the edge of her bed while her phone made a calling sound that doubled her heartbeat by the second, almost believing that insanity had taken over her body.

And really, she had to be insane. She was calling no one else than perhaps the biggest bane of her existence, the never ending thorn of her reputation and the man that got on her nerves almost every. Single. Day. And not only that, but she felt nervous about it. Like a schoolgirl on a Friday night, with her heart pounding out of her chest for reasons that she could only push aside in fear of any signs she didn't agree with. At least not rationally.

This means nothing, she thought, trying to make sense of this crazy phone call. It's just a prank, and I'm falling for it. She instinctively frowned, her anger quickly overlapping those fluttery butterflies inside her belly. This wasn't some cute interaction. It was just her being stupid.

The phone kept ringing and her irritation grew exponentially.

That's it! This idiot is really sleeping and I actually-!

But then, her heart stopped for a second.

"Hello? Erina?" There it was. That nasal tone, that carefree way of speaking. Yukihira Soma. Except…he called her by her name this time; and she had noticed it before…how he'd call everybody else by their names, treating them as equals and with the amount of respect that maybe only a rock could warrant. Everyone but her. It was always Nakiri, or sometimes boss, whenever he wanted to rile her up (which was almost always) but never Erina…

It didn't bother her at all, even though it should. Even though she hated his guts.

"Ah, sorry-, I mean, Nakiri!" She frowned again, but guessed it was only right. They've never actually been that close. But he had saved her, helping with an arranged marriage and a terrible father, when she had been too distressed to do anything about it herself. And after that they had been amicable enough to hold conversations, to have Shokugeki's every other time (Where mostly she won but sometimes he actually managed to surprise her and everyone and steal a win himself) and even jest a little. Of course, nothing had ever gone beyond that.

She blushed. Not that I'd like it if he went beyond that!

"You there? I can hear you breathing hard…all good?" Her blush incremented tenfold and she shook her head twice to clean her mind a little. Get a hold of yourself.

"Yes, I'm right here, now, tell me just-,"

"Why the hell did I ask you to call me?" Soma interrupted her sentence, laughing nervously. Something absolutely non-characteristic for the red-head. He had never stutter or sounded shy before, and now his voice seemed like a distant memory of what he usually sounded like.

Erina couldn't help but feel strange inside her chest. This all indicated…a certain path she had witnessed before on frictional stories, but it just made no sense whatsoever. She couldn't fathom Yukihira of all people trying something on her that wasn't just a prank or a stupid idea they'd never implement in their school system.

So she wouldn't expect anything from him, keep her thoughts to herself.

It's not like she would accept anything that came out of his mouth anyway.

"Well, I wanted you to call me because I needed to make sure of something" He replied and Erina felt confused. Why was this guy speaking in such a cryptic way? This was a guy who always went forward with whatever thought he had inside his head, "I thought, if you actually did call then maybe there's a chance-,"

"A-A chance for what, exactly?" Erina questioned, her tone way harsher than what she had aimed for, maybe from her own nervousness.

"Uh…a chance, y'know, that you actually care, heh" His chuckle gave out how hard this was being for Yukihira, so much that she felt like she was talking to someone else entirely. Care? She cared. Even if it was most of the time futile, she always listened to his opinion on tasks regarding Totsuki. And she cared when he offered a workaround for her grandfather's sudden desire to retire. Sure she believed wholeheartedly that Yukihira was a braindead beast and an insult to culinary arts and the world she grew up in, but…she cared, "I also opted for a call since you always seem to be surrounded by people no matter the time of the day, and I know you like to keep your reputation intact and perfect…just didn't wanna make it look weird if I approached outta sudden, ya' know?" Erina remained silent, utterly perplexed.

Yukihira Soma being considerate of her? Something must be wrong for sure. She remembered the multiple times he made fun of her not only around friends and family, but also times where he did so even on national television.

"Yukihira, I really don't get what you're trying to say here, but for the record, even if I think you're an idiot, I care about y-,I-I care about your…well-being" Erina fixed her wording before she muttered something weird, and berated herself for blushing at her mistake, "B-But only about your well-being, do you understand!?" She still tried to explain herself, to which Soma merely laughed in response.

"I know, I know. And trust me, I'm trynna explain myself here, it's just that I didn't plan that far ahead" Erina merely sweat dropped, but that was something she could actually believe coming from the red head, "But I actually asked everyone for help on this, really. And most said it was a bad idea! Ryoko, Isshiki, Eizan-,"

He asked Eizan for help on…whatever this is? Erina couldn't believe just how oblivious Yukihira was. That man hated him to the edge of his existence.

"But once I got the green light from Tadokoro and Hishoko, I finally decided to go through with it" Her eyes widened in surprise.

Hisako knew about this!? She never said anything but...That would explain her strange behavior these last few days…She had actually caught the girl speaking with Yukihira alone after classes or sometimes even before entering their meeting room. And they both seemed to shut up as soon as she arrived, which had just merely irked Erina a bit at that moment, but it made sense now.

"Her name is-,"

"Hisako, I know. My bad, Alice's habit keeps rubbing off on me" Again, she was left surprised. Yukihira never apologized, "We kept it quiet for a while, but I'm happy she managed to get the note to you" Erina pouted and huffed at the revelation.

"So that's how you got this dirty note in my documents. Well, I should've suspected something like that, you'd never be able to sneak around my stuff without me noticing it"

"Yeah, because you never take your eyes off me, Nakiri" His comment forced her cheeks to turn bright red with embarrassment.

"I do not!" She realized her mistake and felt even more flustered, more with Yukihira's laughter on the other side of the line, "I mean, I don't do that! I do take my eyes off you! Yukihira, stop messing with me or I'm hanging up RIGHT NOW!" She screeched, her anger mixing with her strange emotions and stomach butterflies. Why she didn't just hang up on the spot was a mystery to her.

Or why she had called to begin with.

"No, no, don't hang up, my bad!" He apologized once again, his tone not that of his jester personality, but a far more calmer one, "Sorry, Nakiri. You and I kinda act like oil and water…I can't miss a chance to mess with you" For once, Erina let out a small chuckle. Mostly because it was true, Yukihira would never miss any given opportunity to rile her up or make her act up.

"I've taken notice of that, Yukihira. Now if you'd be so kind as to let me know what's this all about? You do realize who you're talking with right now, yes? It's also late midnight already" She replied back with sass, but keeping her sharp tongue to a minimum.

There was a cough on his part and a bit of shy-silence, with humming included. Her heartbeat increased tenfold once again.

Is he gonna-

"Well I know you and I got off to a rough start, almost a year back or so" He started to finally explain himself fully, "You treated me badly, but granted, I think I did so as well. Maybe we just couldn't correlate to one another!"

Erina nodded even if he wouldn't be able to see it.

"At the autumn event…we talked a lot. I felt like it wasn't like that fight in your private ride…more like actual talk. Shared information about dishes, you know the drill. Not quite there, but we weren't attacking each other anymore " Soma kept going, with a kind tone on his voice and a shyness she was positive it was probably his first time feeling, "And then that messed up shit with your dad happened, and the time you spent with us at the dorms, the mangas, our night talk…I-,well…I started seeing you in a new light, truth be told" That was the first time Erina ever head Soma stutter.

Suddenly her face heat up like a fire. Her body jolted. Was this really happening? Was Soma actually talking like this with her? She couldn't quite believe it, and it made no sense but…

What he said was true. Ever since those…traumatic events occurred, they had started exchanging words more and more amicably. Even friendly. Hisako had long since taken a liking to him, actually calling him by name and treating Soma like an actual comrade…and the same could be said about Alice and her dog-boyfriend. Not to mention everyone at the Elite Table (Except for Eizan) held Soma with a big amount of respect and saw him as a friend plus also a rival.

Even her own grandfather held huge expectations on him, and how couldn't he? Soma had bested everybody, including herself (Although the title for the best was still being fought over every other month), he was the son of the legendary Asura, and was also an incredibly outgoing individual in every other aspect of the word. He may be dumb, utterly moronic and more, but he could also establish a conversation even with a frog.

She coughed and ran out of air. Am I actually…?

"You were no longer the spoiled feral swamp witch I met at the entrance exam, nor just a lucky noble who managed to be born into wealth, but an actual person" He voiced out and Erina felt a vein pop on her forehead, silently deciding that the next time she saw him, she'd smack him hard at the very least, "You're…funny. And I'm not making fun of you, it's just…you react so out of touch with the world, because you were born into another one, granted, and it's just funny… You hold certain matters with so much regard that for me are just meaningless, and I think that's interesting. Your character is out of this world's levels of extreme, but I find that admirable and also a telltale of how not easy your life has been all around…" Erina felt like she could probably pass out on the spot. Just when did Yukihira actually obtain a vocabulary like this? When did he learn how to speak to her? And why wasn't she just stopping this altogether? This was madness, but…but…

He was pressing all the right buttons, as much as she hated to admit it.

"And suddenly, ha-, well…You're just always in my mind, Nakiri" She outright saw her soul get out of her body at his sudden attack, and felt her cheeks burning hot from how much she was blushing. SHE. The queen of Totsuki…How dare he be this forward!? "It's so annoying, outright distracting. Wherever I go, I'm always…God, this is awkward" She blinked twice and couldn't hold her laughter at the absurdity of Yukihira.

"Idiot. You just realized how awkward this has been?" She countered, but internally hoped it wouldn't deter him. She was mad enthralled and he had managed to gain her attention now, so better not waste it. Soma just remained silent for a minute.

"I know, I'm aware now, but hear me out" He just coughed away his embarrassment and continued. Something trademark about him by now, "I've been thinking about this for a while, and I found no fix to my distractions. After pondering for a bit, I came to the conclusion that you might actually hate me a little, which is why I went straight to Hisho-, I mean, to Hisako to consult it with her"

"Is that what you two have been talking about this entire week? I thought you were going insane, the both of you" Soma made a sound and seemed taken aback by the comment.

"Oh, you noticed!?" Erina could only sweat drop at the comment. They hadn't even tried to hide it…

"S-Something like that…" She managed, having to brush off the sudden urge to insult his stupidity once again.

"...Anyway, she just talked to me into realizing that's just how our..dynamic went, that there ain't no hate really, which is what basically led me to…now!" His grin could be heard even behind a phone, and Erina just mindlessly remained silent, merely replying back with a uh-huh, not really understanding, but feeling flustered nonetheless, "And…now I have two questions to ask, Nakiri Erina!" For all this awkward talk, the last sentence he threw her way was filled with the same determination Soma always used when either challenging or accepting duels from people. So much that she herself felt riled up from it.

"Go on, you're not mute. What questions?" She inquired after not hearing anything from his side for about twenty seconds, with her anxious heart not really wanting to wait in this powerful suspension.

"So, do you hate me?" He finally asked, leaving Erina with her eyes wide open, opting to stay quiet for her to think about her reply.

Did she? After all that, and the way she reacted to his words…she was stubborn, but not stupid. And he had helped her more times than she had at all, even doing so at one of the lowest points of her life. Saved her, saved her sister Hisako, helped her cousin Alice…this man wasn't bad-, okay, he may be stupid, annoying and plain looking, but not bad. He wasn't mean spirited, and she had learned plenty of his doings through her various sources of information. Forgiving Mimisaka Subaru and returning 99 utensils to the various people he had destroyed was no small feat, neither beating her half brother nor standing strong against her own father.

Truly, the more she thought about it, the less it made sense to…well, even not befriend the guy. Sure he was a commoner, and an idiot, but…Erina couldn't even remember the reason why she started hating his guts so much…or so she thought, but it was obvious.

Way back then, she had been too spoiled and blinded by her status to accept someone like Soma into her life and institution. A commoner in her eyes, an idiot at best.

But now?

"No, I don't hate you, Yukihira" She answered back, for once with honesty, and her mind prepared for the obvious question that came next after she confirmed to Soma how she did not feel about him.

"Phew! Ok, then…" Yukihira coughed and prepared himself, and Erina just closed her eyes, her ice queen persona long forgotten in the side of her bed, "Do you like seafood?"

"W-Well, I mean if you're-, wait" A sudden rage filled her chest, "T-These are your two questions!? What the fuck, Yukihira!?" She screamed with anger, feeling extremely toyed with.

Until Soma replied back with a laugh and a nervous apology.

"I'm sorry! It was actually three questions…calm down, Nakiri" His apologetic tone managed to control the situation, and the queen of Totsuki had to take a deep breath before replying, the question itself making everything even clearer.

She had to give it to Soma, the initial anger had calmed down her flustered persona a little.

"I…can enjoy it, so long it's actually well done, the fish is fresh and the procedure is clean and well taken care of" She replied professionally, and Soma just chuckled.

Of course, he'd be outright moronic if he thought she'd lower her standards even for a second.

Another long intake of air caused her chest to tighten up a little. He was clearly having a rough time there, and she just made it a bit harder, didn't she?

But then he exhaled and it sounded more like he was just preparing for his next wording.

"Okay…"Stop with all this damn suspension already, Yukihira!, she thought, his silence making it impossible for her to not feel like one of those stupid Shojo Manga girls she read about everyday, "I-I know this sounds insane, and you and I both know I'm insane, but-, ah shit" He scrambled for words, his voice shaky and out of character, but Erina remained quiet either way, too stunned to speak herself.

Was he gonna do it or not, for god's sake-,

…

"You wanna go out on a date with me, Nakiri Erina?"

*Beep sound*

0-0-0-0-0

Damn

She hung up.

"She actually quit the call…" Soma found himself on the corner of his room, far away from his initial location (the bed) after having spent the last ten minutes gathering courage as he spoke to the annoying witch that had pestered his mind for quite a long time already. He had been so nervous that staying still had not been an option, and suddenly he had found himself walking in circles around his entire room. Ending up sitting on his corner, exhausted.

He dropped his phone slowly to the side and let his eyes stare mindlessly at the ceiling, exploring the feelings that overwhelmed his senses.

He felt a little frustrated, for sure. All that emotional talk, all those secrets he told were done in less than a second, but at the very least he also felt relieved.

Finally, he could let go of that queen. No more feelings of what if's or fear of rejection. Just…peace at last. It'd take some time to get rid of the frustrated sadness, but in time he'd be able to concentrate on his cooking once again, with his feelings about her turning merely into a ghost of the past.

"Well, I guess it's a good time as any to go to sleep, heh" He stood up and went to reach for his phone, his hands even shaking a little.

But once he took hold of it, the thing vibrated once again, almost making Soma jump in surprise. Even if this time it didn't do so continuously.

On his front screen, a notification. He had never unlocked his phone faster than that moment.

Ice Queen (1) message received.

He should probably change that nametag as soon as possible…

Ice Queen: You're an idiot.

Numb, stupid and a nuisance. You lack any sort of touch or sense to tackle any subject that doesn't involve food, or cooking. Whenever we talk business with you, it goes right over your head and lands probably a mile away from where your brain is, that is, if you have any to begin with. Always wearing those wacky clothes, always showcasing that stupid grin of yours. You can't stay quiet or obey, and everything that comes into your mind, goes out through your mouth, not thinking of the consequences of whatever it is you decided to say.

Soma grimaced, actually letting it get to him for a moment, before another message popped up.

Ice Queen: I don't know what you did to me or if it's just too late at night or maybe the world is ending tomorrow, I don't know anymore, Yukihira. You're a commoner, and I'm from one of the biggest culinary families the world has ever come to find…

He typed something in return, fast enough for her to stop her ramble, which by her status of Typing… it was clearly not ending.

Me: Okay, but will you?

The typing stopped, and then after a minute, it resumed.

Ice Queen: Yes, fuck. I will.

When and where?

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