-YUKIHIRA SŌMA-
SEPTEMBER 1
Sōma walked into an old, worn building, pleasantly surprised by how different it was on the inside. The abandoned winery had been transformed into an open-air wedding venue with exposed white brick enclosing it. Amber string lights laced twelve vaulted iron beams and dimmed the open-concept room under the dusky sun. Lining the back of the building, where the white arched wedding altar stood, was a fragrant and colorful herb and vegetable garden. It felt like they were on a farm in the south of France and not in the center of Tokyo. It made sense why the Inui-Shinomiya wedding dress rehearsal was being held here.
"Yukihira, good. You're actually on time," Shinomiya Kojirō smugly said. Sōma turned on his heel and cracked a grin.
"Omigod, Sōma-kun! I never knew you could look so dashing in a suit!" Inui Hinako cooed. She threw her arms around him in an excited embrace.
"I hate to agree, but I'm surprised you clean up so well," Kojirō said. He looked at his favorite apprentice and fought the small smile begging to stretch across his stiff upper lip.
"Ah, thanks!" Sōma replied. He caught his mentor struggling to show affection and couldn't help but laugh. "Damn, would it kill ya' to pay me a compliment…Sishou?"
"Shut up, Yukihira! I told you not to call me that," Kojirō growled, then turned up his nose. "And yes, it would."
"Oh, don't mind him. He's just nervous. You're going to make the most handsome groom one day to Erina-chan," she winked. "
"Hey! I'm not nervous, Hinako. You are!"
Hinako giggled, pulled her fiancé's crossed arms apart, and wrapped them around her waist. "Actually, Koji-poo, I'm more excited to marry you than nervous." She leaned forward to kiss him. Sōma blushed at the sight of THEE Shinomiya Kojirō returning her public display of affection by pressing her into his chest. He wasn't used to seeing the strict chef show any emotion other than irritation or rage. It was apparent to Sōma that his mentor was madly in love with his bride; the energy oozed out of him no matter how hard he tried to fight it.
It made him think of Erina. A wide pit opened in his stomach. He missed her deeply and couldn't wait to hold her in his arms again. Sōma knew he wanted to get married one day, but he hadn't thought much about having a wedding. Until he was asked to be a groomsman for his sensei, he'd never even been to a wedding. But now, with the wedding visuals around him, a realistic vision of that special day filled his imagination.
"Come this way, Sōma-chan!" Hinako clapped. "My sweet, sweet bunny, Megumi-chan, is already here too! Looking cute as always..." Before he could take a step, Hinako yanked him to the front row of chairs and then hurried away.
He smoothed out the same suit he wore for every formal event and turned to face his best friend. "Meg! Hey! I forgot Inui-sensei asked you to be a bridesmaid." Sōma thought he saw Megumi squirm at the sound of his voice. Before he could address it, a short, thick woman in all black and wide-framed square glasses walked to the front of the room and cleared her throat. Sōma snuck a final glance at Megumi—who promptly averted her gaze—and focused on the woman with the commanding voice.
"Okay! Now that the entire wedding party is here, we can begin! Thank you all for being on time for the Inui-Shinomiya wedding dress rehearsal. My name is Hiromiya Aoki, and I'm the wedding planner in charge, and no, I cannot be bullied. So don't try anything. Now, since everyone will be flying out to Paris tomorrow, we only have the next three hours of rehearsal to get as close to perfect—"
"Make it perfect," an invisible Kojirō demanded from the back of the venue.
"Yes…as possible for Sunday's ceremony," Aoki stammered. "Now—"
Sōma tried to keep listening to Aoki go over the rehearsal schedule, but the look on Megumi's face worried him. Had it begun an awkward evening between them? He tried to compliment her as they marched down the aisle together. "You know, Tadokoro, I don't think I've ever seen you in such a nice dress. Gold looks good on you. It brings out your eyes, y'know?"
"Thank you," Megumi curtly whispered before they parted to their respective sides of the altar.
Sōma became bored out of his mind the second he realized they'd be running through the processional multiple times. So he tried to playfully distract her as they stood across from each other at the altar, but she refused to pull her focus from the bride and groom even to notice him. She declined to hold his hand as they marched down the aisle, like Aoki instructed, like the rest of the bridal party was doing. And whenever Aoki gave directions from the back of the venue, Megumi would blink so slowly as she turned her head to not accidentally make eye contact that it looked like she was dozing off to sleep. It was a bit dramatic, Sōma thought, but he shrugged it off to him overthinking. Maybe she was tired, too.
"Okay, everyone!" Aoki clapped her hands three times. "Thank you for a smooth rehearsal. Now, we'll rehearse the processional one last time and then file out directly into the outdoor courtyard for the formal dress rehearsal dinner the bride and groom have prepared for us."
"Finally!" Sōma tried to make small talk as they walked back down the aisle again."Um, do you like your bridesmaid dress?" He asked, shutting his eyes at the ridiculousness of his empty question. Sōma didn't know why he chose that question; he knew nothing about what bridesmaids wore, but he couldn't understand why Megumi was suddenly so cold toward him. It was unlike her and the furthest thing from their friendship. When Megumi responded with the blandest shrug, Sōma couldn't take it anymore.
"Tadokoro, what's up? Why are you ignoring me?" He pulled her to the side, unconsciously guiding them into the closest place for privacy— a dark utility closet full of weathered winery tools.
-TADOKORO MEGUMI-
SEPTEMBER 1
Megumi immediately found the light switch and squinted as the tight closet space came alight. She didn't need anything to be misconstrued by the rest of the bridal party. Since she was the youngest bridesmaid on Inui-sensei's bachelorette trip, she learned that these women, five to ten years her senior, were quite the gossiping bunch. Best to keep her business private.
She hadn't seen Sōma since that tense Elite Ten meeting. How was she supposed to act like her run-in with Erina hadn't happened? But how was she going to tell him? Would Sōma even believe her if she told him Erina had bullied and intimidated her on that private jet? She stared past him and tried to keep her composure. Big mistake. He grabbed her by her shoulders.
"Hey! Why are you ignoring me?"
The worry coating Sōma's voice made her queasy. It used to give her butterflies.
"Let's not do this right now, Sōma-kun," Megumi's small voice cracked. Her throat was both closing up and on fire. The wellspring of tears was almost at its limit; talking would tip it past its breaking point. It didn't help that he looked and smelled so good. His messy red top was haphazardly combed over and looked in need of a good wash. The musky scent from his day still lingered on him though he did spray some nice cologne to mask the fact that he probably didn't shower before coming to the rehearsal.
Since they were paired together to walk down the aisle, Megumi had to take in Sōma's scent for two hours, and it left her feeling lightheaded. Maintaining her composure was difficult when he kept trying to hold her hand during the processional practice. She almost cried on the spot the one time she did speak to him. Leave it to Yukihira Sōma to notice that she'd worn the scariest color she could imagine wearing. Why did he have to be the one to notice the dress her mother hand-sewn and sent her "just in case"?
So for the rest of the dress rehearsal, Megumi forced herself to deafen her ears whenever he spoke to her because all she wanted to say, all she wanted to scream, was…
"Sōma, we can't be friends anymore."
Instead, she whispered it through the broken dam of tears. So much for all the hard work Ryōko did on her hair and makeup. She didn't hear Sōma say a thing and blamed it on her sobs and sniffles, but after a long silence, she reluctantly looked up at him, her eyes begging him to say something. Instead, Sōma gently kissed her forehead and wrapped her in a firm hug.
Megumi's knees buckled as she broke down into his blazer. All she ever wanted to do was kiss him, to be kissed by him. All she ever wanted to be was with him. All she ever dreamed of was his comforting touch as she sank into his arms. Here she was— finally getting all that in one unexpected moment but for the saddest reason imaginable. Love fucking hurts.
"Tadoroko, hey," Sōma softly cooed. "Hey, it's okay. I felt it coming."
That broke Megumi's already broken heart into a thousand more pieces. "How?"
"Well… You've been ignoring me since we left the terrace. I'm not as dumb as I look. Plus, I see how you look at Ryō," Sōma winked. He winked at her like this whenever she told him entirely too much about a new crush. (Of course, they were all just strawman suitors in their year who begged to take her out and conveniently disguised how deeply in love she was with Sōma. Placeholders in her love life as she awaited her chance with him. But that ship had sailed so long ago. She knew she needed to stop being lost at sea. Sōma could not, would not, save her.) It signaled that he knew her well enough to be happy for her, but he never pried. This time she wished he would. Because, she still didn't think he truly got it.
It was odd, this wink…
Sōma's winks would typically leave her giddy for a week straight, but this wink made her feel the chasm grow between them. Oh, how she wished she could tell him all she'd been going through this summer! But what could she honestly expect from him? To take her side against that wealthy family, one she was pretty sure he'd marry into?
"You don't look dumb at all. You look very sharp in this suit," she said, deflecting his response with a giggle.
"Thanks, Erina picked it out for me. Well, she also bought it-"
Megumi felt her veins turn to ice. She pulled away from him and began straightening herself up to leave. She could tell he felt the sudden shift in her energy, too, but she didn't care. She turned towards the doorknob.
"Is it because of Nakiri?"
There came another nauseous wave. Megumi stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Oh, wow, you really are smart," she replied. The sarcasm was thick on her mousy tongue. Sōma assumed a defensive stance.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Look, Sōma-kun. Just enjoy your relationship and leave me out of it."
"Again, what is that supposed to mean? Tadokoro, what's been going on with you lately? You've been distant, and when we do speak, you're…" Sōma chewed on his chapped lip. "You're kinda mean."
"But I thought you liked mean."
"Huh?"
"Oh, well, I suppose the right word is bitchy."
"Bitchy? Whoa! What the hell are you talking about?"
"So, you really don't know?"
Sōma shook his head, standing in place looking perplexed.
"Then, ask your girlfriend."
"What-"
Megumi wasn't going to stick around for him to finish that question. She pushed open the utility closet's door to find a frustratingly gorgeous Nakiri Erina standing right in front of her, her saucer eyes darting back and forth between them. She could feel the fire emanating off of Erina and the heavy breaths on her neck pushing out of Sōma's nose. Members of the bridal party looked on, some trying to conceal their nosiness, others not caring at all. The entire scene made her squirm. She wanted to evaporate right there.
Megumi thought of saying something quippy like, "He's all yours." Or something nasty like, "Oh, look! It's a 'Pick me! Choose me!' ass bitch." But in the ended, she decided against it and silently walked out of the closet.
"Nice dress."
Megumi stuttered in her step but kept walking. All she had to do was ignore Erina's saccharine insult. Megumi knew she said it to provoke her. She held her head high, brushing past a keenly heated Erina.
-NAKIRI ERINA-
SEPTEMBER 1
Only two thoughts ran through Erina's brain when she saw that door swing open right in front of her poker face:
1. Kill.
—and—
2. Revenge.
Instead, she chose not to feed the fire smoldering in her belly. Internally, she felt like she'd been slapped senseless. But she'd be damned if she let that show. Good thing she knew how to mask her anger. Her head slowly cocked to the side.
"Nice dress," she said with every ounce of venom in her soul. She wasn't lying; the gold dress did wonders for Megumi's pale, peasant-girl aesthetic. It had been sewn—not by a professional designer worth their salt—to drape her petite frame in a quaint yet flattering way. And with her hair neatly pinned out of her face, she was a plain and pretty girl, smudged makeup and all.
But Megumi had clearly been crying. The powder from her makeup left dusty oval imprint on the lapel of the black suit she bought Sōma. A blood vessel in her temple popped as she took the sight in. Everyone she could see was staring as Megumi walked past her, brushing past her but missing Erina's shoulder by a hair. Erina's nostrils flared like a breathing dragon; she knew Megumi did it to provoke her. But she'd take the tit for tat.
All that was left in her eye line was a visibly scared Yukihira Sōma. He cautiously stepped out of the closet to approach her.
"Erina," he desperately called out. She prepared to turn her back to him and leave the winery. After all, her driver was waiting on her just a few meters away from the front doors. Say nothing, she thought, and leave. She balled up her fists, but he grabbed her hand with such care she felt her heart melt at his touch. Still, her poker face was glued in place.
"What are you doing here?" Sōma asked, leaning in to kiss her on her rosy cheek. She turned away; it annoyed her that she knew she was blushing, but the look on her boyfriend's face informed her that he didn't interpret it that way. "What you saw-"
Erina swiftly placed her perfectly manicured middle finger over his lips. "I-" She started to say but was cut off by a squeal louder than Alice's. Then Hinako bounced and bowed in her face.
"Director Nakiri-san! To what do we owe this lovely surprise?" Hinako beamed in a cream slip dress at Erina. She didn't know where the bride-to-be emerged from, but it didn't matter because Hinako was radiating joy. It was almost contagious, the way it tingled all over Erina's body. Is this what getting married felt like? The unadulterated joy it brought the bride? A subtle squeeze of her hand reminded her of Sōma's close presence. She realized they were still holding hands, and it…felt right. Even though her thoughts were fuming mad at him, she couldn't deny how he made her heart feel. She looked down at their grip and then up into his eyes. Her anger washed away like a tidal wave. She let a small smile peek through her eyes at him and turned back to a buoyant Hinako.
"I came to give you and Shinomiya-san your wedding present." She watched Hinako spontaneously combust into tears. Sōma took out the tail of his always-on-him handkerchief and handed it to the blubbering bride.
"Ooo-Oh, Eh-Erina-chan! That is s-s-so kind 'uv yuh-yewwww!"
The echoing sounds of Hinako's cries created a lot of commotion as the groom rushed to her side with the rest of the wedding party in tow.
"Sweet pea, are you alright!" Kojirō wailed in this posh Parisian accent he had developed over the years. Erina looked between them, bewildered by the weeping pair. She turned to Sōma, but he just shrugged in equal confusion.
"Yes, I-I am, my love. I just…" Hinako looked around at everyone in the winery's foyer. "I'm just so happy."
Erina nodded. "Shinomiya-san," she swiftly bowed. He nodded back. "Director Nakiri, it's a pleasure, indeed. Unfortunately, this is a closed dress rehears-"
Erina cut off the incredulously rude man. How dare he not use any honorific while addressing her? "I was just telling the beautiful bride-to-be I was dropping by to give you both your wedding present." That shut him up. Yeah. Erina knew very well that money spoke louder than respect to powerful men.
"Oh?" Kojirō raised his eyebrow suspiciously.
"Yup." She dug into her clutch and pulled out a matte black card. "Congratulations on your nuptials. Please accept this wedding gift…well, it's more of a honeymoon gift from the Nakiri family as a show of our love and support of two Tōtsuki legends becoming one." She handed the card to Hinako, whose eyes balked at its inscription before passing it to Kojirō. He read it and burst into a coughing fit.
"D-Director Nakiri," he said in a hushed voice. "Thank you. Thank you very much." He bowed in rapid succession. Erina just stood in her signature poised posture and smirked.
"It is truly our pleasure. The least we could do, honestly."
"The least?!" Hinako shrieked. "This is the most generous gift! Please, you must stay for the rehearsal dinner! You're already dressed for the occasion, and Kojirō and I cooked each course ourselves…"
Erina's God Tongue salivated. Her mind flashed back to the opening closet door. Her face scrunched. "Oh, I don't think that's-"
Kojirō cut her off. "Director Nakiri-san, we insist."
Suddenly Erina felt Sōma's arm wrap around her waist and tightly squeeze her to stay. "Well, I suppose I could eat." His hold squeezed her tighter, leaning her body into his. It felt so good to be held by him again. She knew she'd missed him while she was away, but being in his arms made her realize just how much. Days apart from Sōma felt like months; she could chew him out about the closet incident later.
a/n: and just like that, it's been exactly a year since this story began. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my day one readers! it has been one of my favorite and most important passion projects in the past year of my life (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!), and it brings me so much joy to know so many people have read this from the comfort of their personal spaces around the world. thank you. i see each and every one of you in my own way.
on this chapter: we have officially entered the third act of our story. i've been writing this chapter and the proceeding arc for nearly eight months, trying to figure out what's true to this love triangle but also wanting to introduce the supporting adults of tōtsuki in their lives into the story. the adults are some of my favorite characters because of how much history and story branches they bring to Food Wars, so i hope you enjoy their presence, too.
now to be transparent: this story is winding down; though i could extend it, i have more stories from different character POV that i have been writing and can't wait to share with you, the reader. so, as i spend the next few chapters wrapping this story up, please know that it is not a goodbye but a "see you in another story" in the SYUniverse.