It was never intentional, but since the start of the new term, Soma has repeatedly found himself sitting beside Erina in their restaurant management seminar. It was the only class they had together. He'd walk in and find the first empty seat, which just so happened to always be right next to her, like he was drawn there. Sometimes, he didn't even notice her until she shouted at him to pay attention to her.
Like she was doing right now.
"Yukihira! I am speaking to you! How dare you ignore me!" Erina flailed her arms, as she did whenever she snapped at him. Her expensive perfume tickled his nose. Soma grabbed her wrists, and she gasped.
"Oh, Nakiri! I didn't see you there. It's been a minute. What's up? You smell nice."
"How rude! Don't sniff me, you dog!" She snatched her arms out of his grip.
Soma leaned against the desk's edge. "Looks like we keep sitting together in this class." He flashed a bright smile that disarmed her even more. "Let's get along, okay?"
"I'll never get along with the likes of you," she stuttered out fussing. "A mediocre chef!"
"You say that, but since we can't stop sitting beside each other, I'll make you eat your words." He flicked her hair and winked.
"Don't act like you don't go out of your way to sit beside me, Yukihira," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"I really don't-" Then it hit him—the only way to seriously compete with Kuga. "Ah, Nakiri! You're a genius!"
He pulled her in for a bear hug. "Thank you, Erina!" He almost pressed his luck with a kiss on the cheek, but their onlooking classmates were glancing at them furtively, whispering about their interaction.
Erina tensed in his arms and yanked herself out of his hold. "Unhand me, Yukihira! What is wrong with you?! And what are you squawking about?"
"You'll see," he said, sliding back in his seat and flashing a mischievous smirk as their professor began class.
The stage was set.
"Wait-did you just call me a bird?"
"Shhh!"
-8-
At the end of their lecture on menu development, Erina methodically packed up her note-taking stationery set, textbook, highlighters, tablet, keyboard, and magic pen as if purposely delaying the hands of time. Soma loitered around her, twirling the only pen he brought to class. It was his first time seeing her since the Mito Group's gala.
Was it possible for a few days to feel like weeks?
Soma eyed the entrance full of students rushing out of the lecture hall.
'No sign of him anywhere. He wasn't with her at the gala, either. What's that about?' He threw his backpack over his shoulders and leaned back on their shared desk.
"So, Nakiri..."
"You cannot borrow my notes, Yukihira," she dryly interrupted.
He casually ran his fingers through his hair and laughed. It was disjointed in his throat. 'That's odd.'
"That's not my question."
She craned her neck to face him. "Then, what is it?"
A sudden wave of nerves filled his chest, which rattled him because he'd never felt nervous around Erina. But ever since she refused to speak to him at the gala, even though they kept making eye contact, he supposes he feels…well, he didn't really know how to feel.
"So, um, I haven't seen the First Seat around campus since the Momoji Meet-and-Greet."
"That is not a question." She went back to packing up.
"O-oh...I mean…I haven't seen your boyfriend picking you up from class lately, and I just wanted to make sure everything was good with the Elite Ten power couple."
Her stare was glassy. "Don't ask me about my business, Yukihira. We are not friends." The bite in her words sent chills down his spine.
Then, she looked away, her voice dropping. "But if you must know, unlike the peasant likes of you, the responsibilities of Tohtsuki's First Seat, especially during the Moon Festival, are highly prioritized. In other words, he has more important matters to attend to than pester me...unlike like a certain redheaded gnat."
Her slander nearly flew over his head. "Oh yeah? So then, since he's not coming, I was thinking you'd wanna walk with me to lunch, but-"
"Over my dead body."
"...Never mind…"
Well, he had to try.
-8-
After almost a month of planning and testing recipes, the final prep week of the Moon Festival was underway. He was ready to beat Terunori Kuga in overall sales. He just needed to perfect his version of Chinese cuisine. He didn't feel like he nailing the flavors. He was proven right when Miyoko Kojo took him to the Chinese Cuisine RS for reconnaissance and he tasted Kuga's mapo tofu. That heat was indescribable. How would he beat that inferno of Sichuan spiciness from across the street? He needed taste testers.
As luck would have it, he drove by the Nakiri mansion and found the heiress cousins arguing outside.
'Perfect! Another chance to cook for Erina. (And Alice and Hisako, too.)'
One of the things Soma liked the most about Erina was that she was honest. It was a quality people often ascribed to him. Though her words cut like barbed wire, he respected the non-insulting ones. His father taught him that the biggest lessons came from constructive criticism. And Erina knew how to criticize, all right. His mother showed him the quickest way to learn something new was to follow expert guidance. And there was no denying that Erina Nakiri had unparalleled expertise as a gourmand and chef; she was at her best when she was prickly and blunt. He even heard a rumor that Anthony Bourdain was once her client.
Hisako chopped up a bushel of green onions, which was more than Soma expected after she'd graciously let him steal Erina's only free hour.
"This is the most I will do, Yukihira."
"It's more than enough. Thank you, Hisako."
As he browned the pork and boiled the tofu, Soma's mind was flooded with ideas about how Erina would react to the Restaurant Yukihira mapo tofu recipe. He'd been working hard to be a better chef by the next time he got to cook for her. This was that moment.
He missed the scowl Erina was burning through Hisako's forehead. But he heard her whisper something stern to the dutiful girl, who instantly apologized and sat quietly.
Soma stirred the stew with all the determination he needed to hear that one coveted adjective leap off her lips. Scooping three ladled portions of mapo tofu into three bowls and sprinkled the fresh green onions Hisako chopped on top, he confidently carried them over to the three girls. Even though he knew he had a ways to go before beating the Eighth Seat, today was the day the Tenth Seat would acknowledge his cooking.
Just one word.
That specific word was all he needed to hear.
"Shameful."
"Okay, ouch?" Not quite the word he was expecting.
"SssoOoOo spicy!" Alice careened her head into her cup of milk. "But tasty!" Hisako silently nodded at Alice's judgment, fanning her mouth.
"It won't help you beat Kuga," Erina declared.
That wasn't shocking. "Why not?"
"Because you're missing two essential components of Sichuan cooking by a long shot—'Ma' and 'La.'"
Soma tilted his head because sometimes, listening to the brilliant girl talk felt like solving a riddle from a sphinx.
"Oh. 'Ma' and 'La,' got it" He nodded. "What's that?"
Erina slammed her hand on the table. "Omigod! You know nothing, Soma Yukihira!" Alice, Hisako, and Soma jerked back at the explosion. The outburst felt a little too much, even for her. Erina collected herself and cleared her throat. "Nevertheless, I will only tell you because you're hopelessly ignorant." Her words were like darts aimed at his forehead but striking his heart, but he didn't care; she was speaking to him and teaching him how to be a better chef. A win is a win.
As Erina gave a detailed speech breaking down the two distinct spice and flavor components of Chinese cuisine, it began to click where he needed to focus. "There's a sophistication that you're missing in this task. As usual," she sniped at him, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ugh, what would you do without me?"
"Aw, you're right, Erinacchi! You'll make an awesome anonymous restaurant critic one day!" His eyes gleamed, scooping up the half-eaten plate right as she motioned to take a bite. He thought he saw a whimper of craving slip out of her. He smirked to himself.
"Ew! Never call me that and forget everything I said!"
"That's impossible," the other three first-years corrected.
-8-
After the first-day debrief with the other first-years, after Soma and Megumi finished prepping for day two's concept, after they had a spontaneous late-night food giveaway to drum up business, after he created handmade noodles on the spot, even after eating gross squid and smelly fish concoctions with the class witch, Nao Sadatsuka...
Soma went for a walk.
It was dead in the night but he needed to clear his head. The more he thought about his battle against Kuga, the less he could sleep. A correlative habit he noticed he'd picked up since arriving at Tohtsuki. The black pepper buns were a strong start, but not enough. Not if he was going to wipe the floor with that cocky short stock. He needed to win with his cooking. His way.
His feet led him down a familiar path.
The moon was split in half and followed him along the thick woods. He'd be lying if he said he was thinking of anything or anyone, or wishing something special would happen. But he had a feeling he would see her again tonight. Erina had a way of showing up when he least expected it, as if he willed it to be. But sometimes he took his will for granted.
The sweet smell of wet grass tickled his nose, and he decided to follow its direction. He could finally see the edge of her favorite pond glistening under the clearing sky. A large hedge fence lined the wild forest from the manicured backwoods; he walked along it. Muffled voices in the distance grabbed his attention. He didn't know why but couldn't stop moving toward them.
A soft sob bubbled in the air and seized his heart.
"This is just Ten business, darling. Don't let it come between us. Hm?"
"But why, Tsukasa? Why are you doing this?"
Soma immediately recognized the voice, and his blood turned cold. 'Why is Erina Nakiri crying in the woods?'
"Erina…my pet. I told you not to call me that anymore," the First Seat pleaded. We're E=MC-squared. I thought our relationship was past surnames."
"Are we? And I told you not to call me that."
"You don't agree?"
Soma heard two mushy steps being taken. He couldn't see it but he could sense they were kissing.
Suddenly, Eishi's voice dropped to a sultry tone. "Okay...You don't think we're close enough to move past formalities?"
"I don't know what we are anymore, Tsukasa...san."
"Erina, don't be like this." It sounded like a warning.
A sharp smack sliced through the silence.
"No! Do not touch me!" Erina's voice hardened. "Why would you do this to me, Tsukasa? Am I not enough for you?"
It no longer felt right eavesdropping. Soma slowly stepped back from the shrub that separated them and walked home.
-8-
Winning against Kuga on the fourth day was relieving. He owed it to Erina's harsh judgment, but Soma was not pleased with how long it took. He'd seriously underestimated the Eighth Seat's skills. There was more work to be done to snag the First Seat. Until Sunday night's final second, he wasn't giving up on winning in total sales.
"You ready for the final day, Megumi?"
"Yes!"
Second place sucks.
He was disappointed, but Soma owed Megumi a big one for all her help this week. He would've never gotten his sales out of the red without her. Maybe he could talk Kuga into two free orders of mapo tofu. At the same time, he'd need to think of a more intentional appreciation gift for his friend, the dependable girl in pigtails breaking down the outdoor seating area she'd worked by herself right beside him.
"Soma Yukihira!"
He looked up to find Rindo Kobayashi flagging him down, walking towards his booth from Kuga's gaudy restaurant.
"I reserved a table for you in the Mountain Area." The serpentine Second Seat coiled her arm around his shoulder.
"A table in the Mountain Area?" Soma liked Rindo. She had been so friendly the two times he'd interacted with her, and he liked her spunk; he figured she could've been his older sister in a different life. Plus, he hasn't stopped thinking about those alligator fries in weeks! He just didn't care for her best friend.
"You, too, Megumi. Do you guys wanna head to the First Seat's booth? Aren't you curious to taste what kind of food the current First Seat makes?" She licked her lips seductively. "My treat!"
Taste the First Seat's food? For a split second, Soma's mind flashed back to the conversation he overheard in the forest. 'Did he hit her?'
Ab opportunity to get into the mind of Eishi Tsukasa?
Now, that was an offer Soma simply couldn't refuse.
-8-
Okay. He's not even gonna waste time denying it because you've already seen the humiliating footage.
The First Seat's entire nine-course menu was out of this world. With just one bite, Soma was transported into a crystal-clear crustacean springland. It was like eating the pure judgment of taste. Each course was so disrespectfully delectable, it left him stunned; his chest was laid bare.
Something about tasting Eishi's food made Soma better understand Erina. Was this the caliber of fine cuisine her palate was used to?
If the First Seat's cooking was to her taste, it made sense why they never got along. They were two very different chefs—a vast wilderness apart in style, ethos, and execution of culinary excellence. He was bright and intense with the spice of endless imagination and life; Eishi was a numbing, serene, and austere presentation of a soul detached from emotion.
Like "Ma" and "La."
The essence of Eishi's cooking was to be emptied by the enlightenment of each ingredient onto the plate. That could never be Soma. He poured his soul into every single dish he made. Still, it pissed him off to admit (because he didn't want to think how far it extended, he still didn't know all she saw in him, and he still felt uneasy about that tense conversation in the forest)...
But one thing the First Seat was seriously out of his league.
a/n: this is the first chapter i've posted since releasing my newest one-shot, Lightning in a Bottle. if you read it, i hope you enjoyed it and caught the little treasures i left for this readership. if you haven't and venture over there after reading this, i welcome you. a reminder that we have not reached that point in this story yet, but it's a teaser one-shot for what's to come in this journey we're currently on.
also, when i'm not writing (fan)fiction, i write cultural criticism from a spiritual lens, and so *drumrolls* my anime and spirituality substack is live! you can check out the first post bc it's dedicated to our best boy! and a new newsletter drops this sunday, so consider it a weekend with the cozy writer! (you can even become a free or S-tier subscriber: pub/soloye/p/shonen-is-spiritual?r=321zq5 _campaign=post _medium=web)