Classique

by Zancrowe

{Soma / Erina} As rival schools attempt to crush Tootsuki in the biggest Tournament Arc; Azami finally attempts to retake control of his daughter; while Asahi decides it's time to usurp the Nakiri Throne from that very heiress. Only problem? Erina's boyfriend. [ft. Asahi/Dove; Loren/Nao; Ryou/Alice; Isshi/Nene; Taku/Hisa; Akira/Megu] ((43 / 44: To You, 10 Years From Nao))

4. Open Season

Rating: T+

Pairing: Soma/Erina

Genre: Romance; Drama; Hurt/Comfort; Shonen

Notes:

Hey Everyone! Zancrow Here!

One thing I'm noticing while writing this sequel is how easy it is for me to fall onto old habits as I write it. Allow me to explain: What I mean is that I instinctively try and write scenes with a minimalistic touch, much like I did "Nouvelle", which is something I set out to avoid doing while writing "Classique". I want this sequel to feel like its own work, not just more "Nouvelle". I'm not sure if I'm making much sense, but that has been my biggest challenge thus far, trying to find the right voice to make "Classique" its own work.

That said, another thing to note, is that while it may not be that apparent in these first few chapters, "Classique" is very much Erina's story, much like how I feel "Nouvelle" is Soma's. Of course, that doesn't downplay Soma's role, much like how the latter did not downplay Erina's, but I feel it's an important little factor for readers to know going forwards. Whether it works out or not, that's on me, but for now Thank You guys so much and read on!

Disclaimer: Don't own Shokugeki no Soma.

---

"…Stay… with me," she had repeated, and he felt lightheaded at the sudden shift their conversation–turned-argument had taken. He stared, eyes wide open, at the blonde girl who seemed to be incredibly conflicted at expressing the sentiments she was currently expressing. Her lips parted nonetheless, and a single truth came out.

"I don't want to sleep alone tonight."

"Erina…" Soma tried, but it was his turn to get the words he wanted, needed to say stuck in his throat. How? How should he respond to this situation? She stared, unsure, afraid, as if she had been saying something so very wrong. "I-Sure! Why not? Let's have ourselves a little sleepover."

She stared again, mouth still slightly agape, as if she had been trying to say something else, but his sudden shift in attitude caught her off-guard. Then she smiled, and then she let out a chuckle.

"Heh… Are you sure about that?" she said in a tone that sounded like half a tease and half a plea. "I didn't mean it to sound that desperate, you do know that, right?"

"No, yeah, absolutely," a still nervous Soma quickly replied. "I've had many days when I can't sleep, and I know it would help lots if I had you there with me. It's nothing major. We're not doing anything wrong."

"Exactly," Erina quickly agreed, her face still flushed, but trying her best to will it away.

"Besides, Kurokiba and Alice share a bed," Soma said without thinking, then mentally smacked himself for it. He did not think Alice wanted him sharing that information. Erina, on her end, did not seem that surprised.

"Yes, exactly!" Erina firmly stated, crossing her legs and resting herself back a bit into the bed. "It's perfectly normal for any couple. We're not doing anything wrong…" she voiced, but with each word, she felt her face grow hotter and hotter. Why couldn't she fool herself at least this once? "S-So… you're staying then?"

"Uh… yeah," Soma replied, as his eyes scanned the room a bit. Before Erina could ask what he was doing, he added: "So I take the floor then, or does your bathroom have a sofa… because I would not be surprised in the slightest if it does."

"No, of course not!" Erina quickly argued. "What kind of bathroom has a sofa? My closet does, but that's beside the point! You… you can just sleep here," she said as her tone got a lot softer with each passing word, and her face equally as redder. Soma paused, looking at her in confusion until he saw her hand gently tap her own bed. Then it was his turn to feel hot and bothered.

"The b-bed?" Soma asked, instinctively biting his lower lip a bit. She seemed to notice his body language at the suggestion, as she shifted her position a bit and sat back up, her eyes staring at anything in the room except him.

"I-It's big enough," Erina clarified, trying to state it as matter-of-factly as she could and failing to do so. Soma, for his part, could outright hear the little Kanachi-like devil on his shoulder whisper "that's what she said" before he shook his head and decided against following that train of thoughts.

"No, yeah, it is," Soma said, and just like that, they were both silent again. Soma staring at the bed, Erina staring at the window, both unable to talk or move any further. It was stupid, or at least, they both felt stupid. Erina most of all, as it had been her idea, her suggestion, and yet, she was fidgeting over every single miniscule detail.

'It's just sharing a room, nothing more,' Erina told herself, 'Alice has done it with Ryou ever since they were kids, no biggie, and I did not lie. I don't want to be alone. I hate being alone in this cold mansion… So… for once, try to act like the grown-up you are.'

"…It's late," Erina forced herself to say, causing the still pensive Soma to instantly turn his attention back to the heiress. "I know I sprung this on you so suddenly," Erina added, ignoring the little Alice-like devil on her shoulder whispering "that's what he said" and the subsequent blush that kept getting brighter and brighter. Soon she would no longer require her trusty Sailor Moon nightlight anymore. "…So, if you're not ready to go to bed. Y-You can use my bathroom, if you need to, and… and I have some clothes you could borrow, like how I did… back then…"

Damn it, she could not speak properly. What on Earth was she doing; she should be asking herself screaming. Since when did Erina Nakiri of all people do naughty stuff like this?

"Oh, yeah, that would be smart," Soma thankfully responded quickly and precisely, nodding and following her hand as she signaled towards the bathroom.

With everything seemingly decided upon, Erina proceeded to cover herself from head to toe with her bed sheets. Her face still flushed, she tried to ignore the fact that she had just held an entire conversation with her boyfriend in just her pajamas, but it was a hard fact to shake off. She proceeded to try and force herself to fall asleep, wondering if it were possible to do so before he reemerged from the bathroom. Rather than falling instantly asleep, a talent she sorely lacked, she got herself more and more nervous. She tried hugging one of her pillows, first with her arms, then with her legs. Then she turned, flipped, hammered her head against another pillow, anything to try and calm herself, but to no avail.

She turned again, grabbing hold of a nearby plush toy she had, which as a child, she'd use to help her sleep. Maybe it would help…

The bathroom door softly opened up, as a wet haired and wet faced Soma walked out.

…and she tossed the plush toy against the wall, away from her. She's look too damn childish with it.

If Soma saw the flying toy, he ignored it, walking up besides the bed, and taking a look at where he was supposed to spend the night. Erina had not lied at all, he noted, as the bed was massive. He was sure he could fit half of the Polar Stars in here and they'd all have enough room.

"So… I take this side, right?" he said, as he moved away from where she was curled up. She followed his frame with her head still nearly completely covered.

"Yes, that would be it," she voiced, and it sounding so uncharacteristically meek that it even surprised her. She shook her head, trying to sound a little more like the ice queen she was supposed to be. "That said, you haven't change your clothes yet. Let me find some stuff for you."

"Oh, that's fine," he replied.

"What? Don't fancy wearing your girlfriend's clothes?" she teased, and he merely laughed at the question. "If you prefer, I could ask Alice for something Ryou owns."

"No, that's not really it," Soma replied again. "The jogging pants I'm wearing work just fine as PJs, and I don't think I should be bothering them anymore than I have already."

"Bothering them? What did you…" she began, but her God's Tongue got wrapped up with itself as she saw the boy before her casually take of his shirt and toss it aside, leaving her with a full view of just how much Soma had been filling out since she had last seen him shirtless. She swallowed, biting her lips for a moment before she mentally slapped herself. "…Soma?"

"Yeah?"

She tried to form proper sentences, she really did, but her brain was not connecting properly to her mouth for some reason. She did not enjoy her own childish display at all. She had seen him shirtless before. Several times really. Ever since that basketball game from way before they were a thing. So, why, she asked her shameless self, was she still gawking at the sight like some run-of-the-mill teenaged girl. She was culinary royalty, not some hormonal soap opera character!

So why was his frame, which had clearly gotten more toned since she had last seen it, bothering her so? Why were his shoulders, now a little broader and firmer, causing her to want to extend her arms and run her finger through every single line that defined his form?

'Why are my thoughts being so descriptive?' she denounced herself, before she shook her head one last time and shrugged. "…Just go to sleep," she finished her original thought completely different, but Soma, who had just finished moving the half dozen sheets on the bed away, just gave her a smile.

"Yes ma'am."

Lights were turned off and both teens rested themselves on the bed, their bodies facing upwards, both wide eyed and without an ounce of sleepiness to be found. It felt stranger still, Erina noted, having him on her bed, as every little movement he made caused her to tense up. She was waiting for the inevitable moment he'd accidentally touch her. She had her argument ready, resting in the tip of her tongue, prepared to call him shameless and a pervert, but, it never came.

He moved, a lot she noted, but since the bed was so large, they never came in contact. She sighed, and began to wonder to herself why was she feeling disappointed by that?

She turned, flipping herself to face him, peeking her head out from under her covers. Her eyes slightly wide, she mouth forming a small 'o' shape at the sight of the boy. He had his eyes closed, clearly not asleep but pensive. His ever messy hair clung onto his facial features in a way that made the already attractive even more-so. Had she ever told him she adored how his hair looked when wet? Probably not, because it sounded weird even in her head.

But as she looked at him, she couldn't help but smile. This troublemaking commoner, who she had once hated with a fiery passion, had proven to be the one factor she never expected to make her feel safe. She was sure if she ever told her younger self that she'd get outright slapped, but it only made her smile more. And she was sure a younger Soma Yukihira would not believe this outcome either.

"…I'm sorry."

Soma's eyes opened slowly, as he had been unsure if Erina had talked at all. He had heard her voice, and he had heard the words, but she had said them so softly he would not have been surprised if it had been a ghost instead. Because, really, if those infamous hot springs were almost outright confirmed to be haunted, so could Nakiri manor.

He turned to her, and he was surprised to see her staring right back at him. He paused, she smiled softly, and then she repeated: "I'm sorry."

"What for?" was all he could ask.

"For being such a bitch," she replied so earnestly that he almost chocked. His expression was hilarious, she noted, as Soma looked shocked, confused, scared, and confused again in very quick succession. She couldn't really blame him, though.

"For what?" he asked again with a laugh, perhaps thinking if he changed the order of the words in his question he'd receive a cleared answer. She decided to try and oblige.

"Back when this all started. You, me," Erina explained, her tone still as tender as Soma had probably ever heard it. "Trying so hard to get you kicked out. Insulting you, taunting you. The comments I made against your restaurant… against the memory of your mom, I can't-"

"Hey, that's not true and you know it," Soma quickly cut in, and Erina stiffened a bit as he pushed himself closer to her. One minute they had been nearly a foot away, and now only mere inches kept them at bay. "You never meant to insult mom. And I know that for a fact. First thing you did was apologize for that. For all of it, actually, so you don't need to apologize again. Heck, after everything you did for me, you don't need to apologize period."

"I'm trying to be-"

"Don't," he instructed, placing his index finger against her lips, causing a jolt to run up and down her spine. "To tell you the truth, part of your charm is that unfiltered tongue of yours and that ice cold stare."

"That doesn't sou-"

Whatever complain she had was shut down the moment her took her lips with his, shifting himself further until he ended up on top of her, pinning her down with his frame in a way that made her mind go crazy. She should be used to this. To his catastrophic methods of seduction. He had no class, no style. He was charming to a fault, meek and understanding, and then, a flipped was switched and she was always pressed against a wall with his tongue caressing her own.

She should complain, she really should, but she couldn't talk right now so it couldn't be helped.

He kissed her fiercely, she let him. She knew neither knew how to kiss properly, but damn were they learning. Slowly, with each kiss, she felt how he grew more accustomed to her movements. He learned to read her, and in turn, she learned how to read him. In what way his tongue would twist, which shoulder of hers he would always grab first, how much pressure he'd pin her down with. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to keep her steady. To keep her there. To keep her his.

But, now she found herself with a new predicament. As she motioned to dig her nails into his shirt, because by God she needed to hold onto something, she remembered he was not wearing a shirt. She tried to gasp, but it came out as a moan, and it caused him to pause briefly. He moved his head slightly, likely trying to look at her, see what had caused that sudden reaction, but she'd be caught dead before she'd let him.

So she moved her head to the side, trying to keep herself away from his gaze. Big mistake, she learned. As Soma had decided to move back to kissing her, but instead of her lips, he was met by the nape of her neck. And he couldn't refuse such an invite, pressing his lips onto her bare skin, sucking down a bit too hard. This time the moan that escaped her lips was meant to be a moan, even if she had tried not to make a sound.

Her mind was racing, the entire room spinning.

She grabbed onto his nude torso, because she needed to. She dug her nails against his broad back, scratching his skin all the way down to his sides and ending up in his chest. In turn, she heard him voice something. She couldn't tell what, but she liked it. So she pressed harder.

He moved his hands, both finding themselves against a part of her she couldn't quite describe as either her stomach or her hips. She bit her lip again, her heart at her throat, her inner voice telling her that she should stop this before it went too far.

She drowned out that voice with her lips retaking his, the God's Tongue taking charge and caressing the boy's for a turn. It made her entire body shiver, because she was still too sensitive to the touch, but she was growing to like it. She kissed, he kissed back.

Yet his hands remained there, holding her, but not venturing upwards or downwards. If she had been clear in the head, she would have argued that it was the proper thing to do. She had not, after all, given him any indication of touching her anywhere… private. Yet, in the heat of the moment, would she really had stopped him if he had tried?

He lightly bit her lip, she moaned again, she pressed her fingernails deeper, he muffled a shout, they moved again…

…and he suddenly bounced up from her and twirled, sending him off the bed and onto the cold, hard (obviously carpeted) floor. A very heated Erina paused, her breathing still sporadic and her heartbeat incontrollable. She sat up, her hair a mess and her pajamas somewhat out of place, as she stared at the boy who had lifted himself from the floor and was apparently stretching and rubbing his left foot.

"S-Soma," she practically gasped as she still couldn't manage to keep her heart out of her throat. He looked just as agitated as she did, as he finished stretching his leg and turned to her, his eyes equally as confused and surprised at the sudden ferocity they both had acted on.

"Sorry," an equally flustered Soma responded. "Leg cramp. Bad timing, I know."

"Wha-No! Its fine," Erina argued, closing her eyes and trying her best to stop staring at the scratch marks the boy was now sporting. "That was too much, too quickly. Better if we just leave it at that and get some sleep…" she finished weakly, as even she wasn't really buying it. He didn't look like he was buying it either, but he didn't protest. He merely nodded, and moved to get back on the bed, before she extended her arm and stopped him. "Shirt. Now."

"What? But…"

"Put one of mine on," she instructed, her tone back to bossy. "Now."

"…yes ma'am," he replied, before he followed her pointed finger and took a folded shirt from one of Erina's many shelves. It was still dark, so he just grabbed the first one he saw, and proceeded to redress himself, as only then did she allow him to get back onto the bed.

They said little else after that, both still vividly remembering what had just happened and their bodies aching in the right ways making them outright relive it if they closed their eyes. So they did. And while Erina was probably going to throw a fit at herself the following morning, Soma had realized more stuff about himself than he had ever known before. After all, he had not lied, he did have something similar to a cramp…

…just not on that leg.

-0-

"And you brought them here?!" was the clearly agitated reprimand he first heard when he walked out of the back office. His two partners-in-crime, or rather, the two most trustworthy at least, were currently arguing about the upcoming meeting, and the ever distrustful Sargenta Cruel did not sound happy in the slightest.

"Better in our turf than in theirs," came the soft and polite reply from the man that had made the meeting possible. His right hand man and trusted advisor, the ever reserved Yuunosuke Tanaka, was resting his back against the wall when he turned to face the approaching man of the hour. "Ah, took you long enough. You ready?"

"This is a mistake. We can't trust people like this," Sargenta argued, turning from Yuunosuke towards their "boss", who merely cocked his head to the side, as if asking "what could possibly go wrong". "I know you're not stupid. Men like that live and die by contracts and negotiations, are you sure we want to try our hand at blackmailing him? Seriously, Asahi?"

Asahi paused, his eyes staring at Sargenta's for a moment. He looked pensive, as if unsure, before he nodded slowly.

"I hear you, I really do Sarge," Asahi voiced, instinctively stuffing his hands into his pockets before he caught himself and pulled them out. Proper body language was imperative when it came to successful negotiations, or so he had studied up at least. "And, yeah, I'm worried. Otherwise I wouldn't have been in Don Calma's office back there rehearsing for the last twenty minutes or so… But relax, won't you, when have I ever led us astray?"

"You want the proper answer or the polite answer?" Yuunosuke quickly chipped in, causing Asahi to turn to him and smirk. Sarge, unlike the two guys before her, did not feel this was such a good time to be joking around. At best, it could blow up in their face and have them run out of Japan, again. At worst, well, they'd probably end up getting found in several trash bags. Several, for each of them.

"I got this, just you guys watch," Asahi declared as he moved and walked from the office towards the main area of the bar they were currently all crashing at. It wasn't the biggest of places, but it did at least offer free drinks all night. For the guys at least, ladies got nothing, but they had to take it to the man himself if they had complaints. "Are they all there?" Asahi asked, turning once again to Yuunosuke.

"Just the man himself and the three other Noirs," Yuunosuke replied. "Mr. Eizan and Mr. Sadatsuka did not find it pertinent to attend."

"Stuck up bastards the lot of them," Asahi voiced, but he wasn't all that annoyed. Heck, he didn't need the Noirs there either if he were honest. He just needed him. "Still, good work Yuunosuke, this might be our biggest break yet."

"Be wary of them Asahi," Yuunosuke warned, reaching the main door that separated the back area of the bar from the front. He held onto the handle, but before he opened it for Asahi, he paused. "…They are a big deal, for the WGO at least. These are the only three that are placed at the same level you are, remember that."

"Are you saying I'm not a likeable enough fellow?" Asahi asked, flashing a trademark smile at Yuunosuke. The latter was unmoved.

"No, people usually hate you. Like, a lot," Yuunosuke replied, and even Sarge had to hold in her laughter. Asahi pouted at this, childishly, before he shook his head.

"You're probably right," he admitted. "Mr. Saiba used to say it's because I have a big personality. I'm taking him up on that." As Asahi moved to exit the back area, he paused again, taking a deep breath. Then he hopped in place, stretching his limbs a bit, before he hopped again, and again. Both Yuunosuke and Sarge could only stare, as their leader seemed fully invested in some sudden jumping jacks for some reason.

"…Are you okay?" Sarge asked, wondering if he had finally lost it. Asahi finished his last bounce, before he turned to her, a little out of breath but still smiling.

"Oh, sure, why wouldn't I be?" he voiced and she could clearly make out the sarcasm dripping out of his cheerful voice. "I mean, it's just finally meeting up with my biological father who I had no idea was really him until a few days ago and who I have minutes to try and convince otherwise this all goes down the shitter. Besides that, I'm great."

"Never seen you get stage fright," Yuunosuke voiced with a strange hint of glee in his voice. Asahi shrugged.

"Never seen me do many things my friend," Asahi replied, as he pushed himself forwards and excited the back area, leaving a concerned looking Sarge and a bemused looking Yuunosuke behind.

Asahi walked through the bar, emerging from behind the counter and quickly jumping over it, much to their patron's, fellow Noir Don Calma's fury, but he ignored it. As he made his way through the neon-lit bar, he spotted several faces in the small crowd. The bar was not very busy tonight, lucky for them in a way, as the biggest group within those walls were from his very own group.

At the very tail end of the bar, seated all around one another, was his ever faithful gang. The masked-sporting young man Kou Shiou, the failed dentist who kept insisting he was a doctor Claude Ville, the totally not inspired by recent monster-clown movies Boogie Malcanta, and the ever hyper Bonnie Harriet, sporting her trademark bunny ears which had earned her the nickname of Bunnyhair.

The foursome quickly took notice of Asahi appearing on the scene, as they all tensed up. Likely, Asahi assumed, because of the other group currently visiting. Sitting in the bar itself, was a trio of very peculiar individuals who Asahi had been hearing more and more of recently.

One, on the far right, was Ashitaro Sadatsuka, the only one amongst them with some pedigree in his name. He was currently busy carving something with his pocket knife, which probably was earning him the most stares from his gang.

Next to him sat Julius Bedlam, the one he knew most of. A famed Noir, but one that had been working exclusively for the Eizan family for a few years now. Very intimidating looking individual, Asahi noted.

The last, on the far left, was the surprisingly good looking Dove Dillinger. Her very dark black hair made her already pale, white skin look even whiter by comparison, drawing similarities to the animated cartoon of Snow White. Just a sexier version, Asahi mused, as she was a damn good looking young lady with curves in all the right places.

Then she slowly shifted herself, turning to face Asahi, probably catching him checking her out. She glanced at him, and seemed to smirk. He smiled ever-so politely in return, like the gentleman he was.

"Asahi Saiba."

The voice cut through him like a sudden knife to the back, causing Asahi to inwardly flinch. He forced himself to move, shifting his weight and turn to face the very man he had been preparing to blackmail. And, now seeing him up close, he felt even more unsure of his current plan. Azami Nakamura, or Nakiri, or whatever the hell last name he wanted to use, was indeed a very imposing individual. Always full of class, properly dressed, and seating in a manner that demonstrated that he had more ownership of the bar he was currently visiting than even Don Calma himself.

"Ah, Azami Nakamura," Asahi voiced. "I can't even begin to describe how happy I am you took up our invitation."

"It peeked my interests," Azami replied. "You're… let's say, unlawful interactions aside, you are every much as noteworthy as any of those three I have brought tonight here with me. So when I heard that you wanted to take part in my little competition, I was surprised, as I had not imagined one as unruly as you to be interested in such stuff like Tootsuki Academy."

"Oh, I am, kinda," Asahi responded, as he moved and took a seat on the table where Azami was seated. "I've been meaning to get in contact with you, for a while now really. I want in. I want to be part of that All-Star Team you got set up with these…" he said as he pointed to the three other noirs now behind him, "impressive specimens here. Especially the sexy one."

"~Ah, you hear that?" Dove quickly beamed. "He called you sexy Ashitaro."

"Tell him I'm not interested," Ashitaro quickly spat, his attention still on his carvings.

"…Don't prolong this any longer, please," Julius voiced, clearly wanting to leave as soon as possible.

"Indeed they are," Azami agreed, before he poised himself forwards, getting a little closer to Asahi, who stiffened a bit in response. "However, while you are impressive in your own right, allow me to clarify some things first. One, you lack the training to work as a proper unit of a group. You are unmanageable, sadly, and it's not something I can afford at this point. You see, this is not an ego trip for any of us, neither is it merely another run-of-the-mill culinary event. This, my friend, is our future careers at play. And sadly, I cannot risk that by adding you to our ranks, regardless of talent."

"Oh, wow," Asahi blurted out, annoyed. "So you weren't even going to humor my proposal, huh? Why come all this way then?"

"To prove a point," Azami answered. When Asahi gave him a confused look Azami clarified. "I know your type. I did not want, say, when we do get engaged in our duel against Tootsuki, for you and your band of misfits to attempt to "crash the party", so to speak. I wanted to show you my team, and if you wish, provide you the opportunity to test out their skill first hand. Just to make sure you don't get any ideas about getting in my way any further."

The coldness in Azami's voice made Asahi tense up a bit. The man was as ruthless as he was calculative. In a way, it reminded Asahi of his mother, and he hated that.

"And your idea of showing me their power is…?" Asahi asked, his tone turning a bit darker to match Azami's. Two could play that game. "They're not going to beat me up… are they?"

"No need. Our battles are not won through fists after all," Azami explained. "Bring in all of your Noirs. The ones seated at the tail-end there, the ones in the back, and even the old one serving these admittedly tasty drinks."

"Thank you handsome!" Don Calma called out, jovially.

"Don Calma, don't," Asahi quickly reprimanded, raising his index finger at the older man, who quickly pouted and returned to his drinks.

"Bring them all in," Azami continued. "I assure you, my little group of three, can defeat your entire team, even if you are amongst them. That way… I can crush any and all airs of greatness you lot may possess before you try and set yourself against me."

Asahi was silent. He stared, his eyes narrowing until the formed a frown. The rumors, all of them, were true. Azami Nakamura was a truly despicable man.

"I see," Asahi said, before he took a deep breath. Now came the moment of truth. "…As fine as that all sounds, I'll have to decline."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, and it's not that I believe your trio is that insanely good," Asahi continued. "But rather, that I have to prove nothing to you. Don't you get it, you are going to put me within your ranks, because I have a stake on the Nakiri throne. If you don't, you are going to regret it greatly."

"You're actually threatening me?" Azami asked with the most genuine sounding amusement Asahi had heard him use so far.

"…Yeah, I am, otherwise," Asahi continued, turning his hands into fists so he could hide his shaking. "I'll be forced to release these…" he said as he took out an envelope from his sleeve, as if he were doing a magic trick, and placing it before Azami. "And when you are the lynchpin in such a massive undertaking, well, such a scandal would cause your entire house of card to crumble down without Tootsuki needing to do pretty much anything at all."

Azami knew desperation when he saw it. He had grown used to it. Many would-be businessmen and women resulted to it once their plans had been destroyed. It was little else than an attempt at making him, him of all people, fear an incoming backlash of sorts. But, what, if anything, could this boy have on him? What dirt could this filth possibly acquire that would cause him to alter his plans?

It was sheer curiosity that even forced Azami to take the envelope and open it. He read it, quickly, but once he reached the main part, his eyes widened. And, for the briefest of moments, Azami had no response.

"Well…?" Asahi asked, crossing his arms across his chest and giving the man himself a smirk very similar to Azami's own. "Sad to say, but you are the father. So, excluding all the years of child support you owe, is this a big enough scandal, daddy?"

"What?!"

The sudden shout had not come from Azami, as Asahi had expected, but rather from Dove, who, after having spat out her entire drink onto Don Calma's face, jumped from her seat and landed right next to a still silent Azami.

"What is he saying?!" she demanded, shaking the elder man as she screamed. "He's not your son, is he?! That would be so damn cliché! Come on! You only have three daughters, Erina, Loren and me! No one else!"

"Loren's a boy," was all Azami voiced.

"Since when?!"

"Wait, what!?" it was Asahi's turn to be surprised. He stared at Dove. At the massive bundle of hotness before him. "Oh, fuck no! Don't tell me I'm related to you!"

"Yeah, face it kid," Dove replied, as she extended her arms and hugged Azami from the side, clinging onto the elder man's side. "Truth is… I'm your mother."

"…" Asahi said nothing, narrowing his eyes as he glared at Dove, who was still looking at him while clinging onto Azami. The older man seemed to shake off his shock quickly, as he began to move and lightly pushed Dove away.

"Dove, please, enough," Azami voiced, and Dove pouted. She was moments away from arguing, but he spoke again, and this time his voice was as cold as Asahi had ever heard anyone utter. "Dove." It was a single word. A warning. The black haired beauty froze, but she quickly let the man go and stepped to the side. Asahi could only stare, watching a display that seemed more like a trained dog being reprimanded than a daughter being scolded. Even Julius seemed surprised, unlike Ashitaro who was not even bothering with pretending to be following their conversation. Then Azami turned his cold glare back at Asahi. The boy forced his body not to flinch.

'Stare him down,' he ordered himself. 'Don't show fear.'

"…This is unexpected," Azami said. "I have an idea of where it is this could have transpired. That American woman, while I cannot recall the name, I can vividly remember the night," Azami continued, and Asahi did not squirm at all at the comment, surprising Azami ever-so slightly. "So you are the fruit of that mistake. Pity. It seems that you indeed have sufficient ammunition to hamper my plans. What to do? What to do? It seems like it would take a tremendous miracle for all of this to be buried, now won't it?"

"No need for your threats, pops," Asahi quickly shot in. "I told you, I want to help. This is just a little showcase, just to show you were are cut from the same cloth. To me, my father is still and always will be Jouichirou Saiba. He is the reason I have survived so long. I don't harbor any illusions of getting close to you or starting a proper relationship. I just want to fight. Fight, might I add, the one thing I'm sure you still hate more than me right now. They boy that's probably giving your daughter every single bit of love you gave my mother…"

Azami visibly stiffened at the comment, his glare piercing right through Asahi, who merely smirked in return. Dove could only stare, her eyes slightly wide, for the first time, outright impressed at someone talking in such a manner to this man.

"Tread lightly," Azami warned.

"You have her because she can out cook Erina Nakiri, no?" Asahi asked, pointing his thumb towards Dove, before he shifted his hand to point to himself. "…Then I'm all you need to out cook Soma Yukihira…."

-0-

Morning came by quickly. Too quickly for his liking.

They had stayed up late, because of course they had. The entire dorm had been busy, what with the entire New Elite Ten selection thingy that had happened plus the Open House event that had made so many strangers visit their dorms constantly. Which made sense, as these were the dorms that the increasingly more infamous Soma Yukihira stayed at.

And Loren hated all of it.

He woke up to roosters screaming their lungs out right next to his window, with the resident wannabe farmer Yuuki running after them. He tossed and turned, covering his tired face with his pillow to drown out the noise, but then he heard the two support characters (he had no idea what their names were nor did he care) arguing over toothpaste or something to that extent. He tried to drown out that noise too, but their argument turned into a fist fight for some reason and it ended with moron #1 punching moron #2 into Loren's door so hard that he broke it off its hinges and the dude fell into Loren's room.

Loren felt a vein pop.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Loren blasted as he sat up from his pathetic-excuse-for-a-bed and glared at the invading idiot who had his ass on his broken door.

"Oh, sorry about that Loren," moron #2 apologized, quickly getting back up and turning to moron #1. "Look what you caused Daigo! Now Loren's mad at me!"

"Serves you right!" moron #1 shot back, and Loren had to restrain himself from correcting him on the fact that, no, he was mad at both of them. "You shouldn't have taken my stuff!" then he turned to the agitated Loren. "Sorry about Loren. Shoji and I can fix this right up!"

"…yeah, sure," Loren forced himself to say, his fists clenched so tightly that he was leaving his nail marks on his palms, but he needed to remain calm. 'I have a job to do,' Loren reminded himself, taking a deep breath. 'I cannot let these two get the better of me. Just think happy thoughts. Come one month, this entire place will be a parking lot and these people will all be fast food employees… Ah, that does sounds nice…'

As the moronic duo began to try and place Loren's door back how it should be, Loren decided this was as good a time as any to force himself up. He got up, kicking the cheap sheets away with disdain, and walked right past the two without sparing them a second glance. As he made his way down the hall towards the bathroom, carrying his trusty little bag so he could get everything over with and not have to return to his room at all, he saw that pretty much all of the Polar Star, well, stars were up and about.

To one side he had the nerd with the girl nerd taking about something, to another side was the stripper guy, properly dressed thankfully, chatting about with the little reporter wannabe, and at the far end was the incredibly hot red haired woman with the big rack next to the petite one that was always tripping over stuff.

…He really needed to try and remember some of their names, he noted.

He managed to reach the bathroom without further incident, getting ready, ugly uniform and all, before he came back out and headed towards the stairs. Unfortunately, he was stopped this time around.

"Oh, hey Loren," the reporter kid called out. Loren tried to remember his name, but he came up short. So he gave the guy a fake friendly smile.

"Oh, hey!" Loren greeted. "Seems like I'm the last one to get up."

"Oh, no worries. Everyone knows you're new to Tootsuki. Most of us newbies come from the Middle School division, so we're used to how things work, to some extent at least. Since classes officially start today, we all got up extra early to prepare. Granted, Tootsuki usually gives students some leeway the first day, what with classes starting at noon for today only, but you know, better be prepared."

"Classes start at noon?" Loren asked, his smile trying to fade away but by sheer force of will him not allowing it to.

"Yeah!"

'Then why the hell am I up at seven?!'

"That's good to know!" came the cheery reply from the clearly not cheery Loren. The reporter didn't seem to notice, which made Loren pity the guy a bit, since it meant the poor kid was ill fit to be a cook and a reporter.

"So, whose class do you have first today?" Mitsuru asked, taking out a little notebook from his pocket. "I have Chapelle's class for first period. Everyone says he's a nightmare. Megumi has told me the stories, how he even intimidated Soma of all people. He denies it, but can you ima-"

"Hold that thought," Loren quickly interrupted, having not really been listening at all. As soon as he had seen the two other girls from their dorm that shared their school year walk into view, he immediately made a beeline towards the twins. "Hey there, morning ladies. Don't suppose you two could help a new classmate get acquainted with how things work here?"

"Oh, look Cilla, it's the boy who beat lady Erina's hubby," the long haired twin whispered into her sister's ear. The other girl giggled a bit.

"He didn't beat Soma, Berta," Cilla replied, still giggling softly. "Not to downplay your skills… Loren, was it? It was very impressive."

"Never said I beat the guy," Loren replied, memorizing the girls' names, because he clearly wanted to know their names. "I just passed his test. As you both did, well, your tests. But enough about that, I've always wanted to know, is twin-telepathy really a thing? Are you two like, you know, capable of starting a sentence and have the other one finish it."

"No, of course not," they both answered in unison, before they both froze and glared at each other. Loren just laughed, already trying to decide whether he preferred the hair shorter or longer.

"You guys are also in Chapelle's class, right?" Mitsuru asked innocently, which caused Loren to frown, as he had forgotten about him being there at all.

"We are indeed," Cilla replied. "I think all First Years have his class."

"Not all Cilla," Berta cut in, "You are either placed in his class or on Miss Shiomi's."

"I would have much preferred Miss Shiomi…" a somewhat sad Cilla added.

"I have… no idea who either of those two are," Loren added, still smiling, which caused the twins to smile back. He liked that. What he didn't like was the third-wheel still being a part of their conversation.

"We might still get Miss Shiomi soon," Mitsuru added, oblivious. "But it's good we're all together. Would be much scarier otherwise."

"Yeah, Chapelle is downright frightful," Berta voiced.

"But I'm curious to see how he handles having someone as good as Loren in his class," Cilla added, as she turned her bright eyes towards Loren, who inwardly stiffened. Both Berta and Mitsuru also turned towards the blonde boy, who just gave a small laugh.

"Heh, I-I… Who knows, I'm not that big of a deal," Loren tried to downplay. What on Earth had he prepared that night that made all these idiots fawn over him so? It wasn't even her best dish. "I'll just try my best and stuff!" he said, mimicking an anime protagonist as best he could.

Then his phone gave out a ring. It indicated a message, which he quickly took out and scanned. It was Dove, who had sent him a photo with some flavor text. It featured her, taking the photo herself surrounded by three other guys. Two who he had seen before, the so-called noir guys, and a third who he couldn't recall seeing. Both Dove and this guy were all smiles, giving peace signs to the photo, while Julius seemed annoyed as hell and Ashitaro was not emoting… but was flashing a peace sign too, for some reason.

What the hell?

'Found out Azami has a son, dude's going to join our team, totally genuinely and not at all by blackmailing the shit out of us!' Dove had written. 'What do you think? He's kinda hot, isn't he?'

Loren scoffed. 'Your taste in guys has always been so… damn, he is hot.'

"Who are those?" Mitsuru asked, eyeing Loren's phone, which caused the blonde to defensively turn around and hide it from view.

"Dude! Privacy much?" Loren shouted out, which caused the meek boy to quickly apologize and bow, but it did gain the interest of the twins.

"Does Loren have kinky photos in his phone?" Berta asked Cilla.

"Maybe he does, naughty boy," Cilla replied.

"What, no! It's just my friend who sent me a-Hey!" Loren shouted out as the two girls began to try and get behind him to grab his phone, both of them laughing as they did, while Loren tried to wrestle himself away from the two. "It's not anything like what you two are thinking!" he cried. 'It's worse! Way worse!'

Then, in a maneuver to get away from the twins, Loren twisted around and ended up smacking his hand against Marui's face, causing both the phone and the nerd's glasses to fly out. Both things ended up landing inches from the steps.

"My phone!" Loren cried out.

"My glasses!" Marui cried out.

Even worse, for Loren at least, the phone had fallen with the screen upwards, still lit up, the treasonous photo in full display. Loren went pale, but thankfully, if he reached it in time, he could get it before anyone noticed. So, as Madoka helped the phone-powered-slapped Marui, Loren quickly moved to grab his phone.

…Just as soon as another Polar Star was walking up the stairs.

The girl, whose hair covered half her face and who seemed like she belonged more in the set of a Corpse Party adaptation than in Tootsuki, eyed the strangeness before her for a moment, before her eyes darted downwards to the phone and pair of glasses on the floor. Her visible eye widened, as for a brief second, she could have sworn she saw…

…before Loren "accidentally" kicked his phone down the stairs, sending it tumbling down all the way to the bottom floor, where an audible 'crack' could be heard. From the phone's screen, and from the glasses too, as he had also kicked them down.

Marui shrieked, Madoka gasped, the twins felt a wave of coldness hit them both, because, as far as they knew, they were responsible, and Loren felt himself shiver. He stared, at the little witch before him, who had followed the phone's path down to its terrible fate. She turned back to him, her blood red eye scanning him as she frowned.

'No way she saw that clearly…' Loren thought as he decided to continue his acting. "Oh man, that phone was new…" he said solemnly.

"So sorry for that Loren," Cilla quickly approached him. "We went too far."

"W-We'll pay for a replacement, we promise," Berta added, as both twins bowed slightly before him. He wanted to be mad, he should be, but really, he was more worried about the other girl, who was still staring at him.

"Why is no one apologizing to me?!" Marui asked a wall. Madoka had to point him in the right direction.

"…You look better without the glasses," Cilla offered, as Berta laughed a bit.

As Marui continued to argue about his plight with the twins, with Madoka and Mitsuru attempting to help, Loren shrugged that off and went down the stair to recover his phone. The screen was busted, just as he feared, but it looked like it still worked. Usable, passable. But, there was still the other problem, the witch girl still staring at him from a few steps above him. She said nothing, merely turning back and going on her merry way, but the look she had given was clear to him.

'This…' he thought to himself, frowning. '…could become a problem…'

-0-

She woke up to the sounds of a soft knock on her door. She had not ordered any of the servants to wake her, so she assumed it must be either her Uncle or her Aunt. She didn't quite remember when she fell asleep, but as soon as she tried to move, she got a massive reminder of what had happened before she did.

She was not resting her head on her pillow. Rather, she was resting her head on Soma's chest, and that realization made her face turn beet red. Then it all came flashing back. The proposal, the shirt removal, the kiss, the… other stuff that followed. And somehow, here she ended up. Sleeping right on him like some newlywed bride after the honeymoon.

Furthermore, she couldn't blame him, since she was invading his side. Heck, he was barely on the bed, as she had apparently pushed him all the way to the edge of the mattress, and not once did he seem to complain.

She heard the knock again. She flinched, forcing herself to escape from that position they had found themselves in and move to her side. Softly squirm her body away from the arm that had wrapped itself around her frame, one that she was not that bothered by. Slowly, she removed herself from his grasp, not that it helped much, because for as kind and understanding as her Uncle and Aunt were, she was certainly not going to let them see them like this.

"I'm up, I'll be right out," Erina told the knocker, knowing that that would probably be enough to give her some minutes of privacy. Enough to get Soma out at least. "Soma, wake up," she whispered and she tugged on his (her?) sleeve. "It's morning. You need to go."

"Hmm?" the still sleepy boy muttered, as he slowly opened his eyes, taking a few seconds to properly realize where he even was and what had happened.

"Hurry it up please, there is something I need," the knocker spoke from behind the closed door.

Soma paused, having not heard that voice before. Must be one of the maids, he imagined, but as he turned to Erina, he was met by an unexpected sight. Erina was staring at the door, her eyes wide, and her complexion extremely pale. She looked on the verge of trembling, and before he could ask, he saw how she clearly mouthed an 'oh, fuck', which was incredibly out-of-character for someone as refined and proper as her.

"It's mother," she told him with outright fear in her voice.

"Your mom?" Soma asked, still confused.

"Shit. Shit. Shit," Erina immediately jumped from the bed and landed on her feet, scurrying to the nearby window as she peaked out from it. She bit her lip, before turning to the still processing Soma. "I can't send you out the window, my mother's personnel are right out there," she told him as she nervously walked circles inside her room. "What are you doing? Get. Up. If mother catches you here we are both dead."

"Yeah, okay," a still confused Soma said, as he got up and… and he had no idea what to do next.

"Erina. I'm waiting," Erina's mother could be heard saying, and Soma could see how Erina seemed to shrink with each syllable used.

"I know! I'm coming! I'm coming…" Erina scanned her room, before she moved to her closet. She motioned Soma to follow, and he did, without much complaint. She pushed Soma inside the walk-in closet, and he bit down the comment of how the closet alone was bigger than his dorm room. She stared, her hands on the closet's doors, before she shook her head. "No," she told either him or herself. "If she's looking for something, it's probably in here… The bathroom! Hide there."

He wasn't even given time to reply, as Erina quickly grabbed him and pulled him towards the bathroom before she pushed him in. Soma played along, still feeling like he was half-dreaming it all. When she closed the bathroom door, Soma saw how Erina clearly voiced a "stay quiet" to him before she closed the door.

With that resolved, somewhat, Erina did her best to fix her hair as she walked up to her main door, only stopping to kick Soma's discarded shirt and stuff haphazardly under bed. Then, she approached the door and slowly opened it to reveal the last person she had been expecting to see today.

"…Mother."

"You sure took your sweet time prancing around the room didn't you?" the famed Mana Nakiri asked, but based on her tone it was clear she wasn't expecting a reply. The blonde former heiress of the Nakiri Empire walked into the room without an invite of any kind, as she scanned her surroundings, before she turned to her extremely nervous and barely able to hide it daughter. "So much waiting and you can't even fix the sheets on your bed?"

"…Is there a purpose to the surprise visit that does not entail you criticizing me?" Erina asked, her tone still polite but with a hint of Mana in her. It annoyed them both, Erina knew it, but since it annoyed her mother more she liked using it.

"That's not my intention and you know it," Mana clarified. "Just trying to make sure you aren't wasting your precious time, nothing more."

"It's been more than a year since I last saw you," Erina said, biting her lower lip a bit. She couldn't really understand it, but she felt like crying, and she knew it wasn't because she had Soma hidden in the bathroom. "I just thought…"

Mana audibly sighed. The elder Nakiri woman seemed to pause, pondering her actions for a bit before she got closer to Erina and extended her hand. Erina froze, unsure if she was going to receive a caress or a slap, as her mother was not known to give either. And receive neither she did, as Mana stopped halfway. "…I heard you got the Fourth Seat."

"Huh?" Erina openly asked, eyeing her mother for a moment, before she nodded. "Y-Yes, I did. Just yesterday. It wasn't much," she said, before she inwardly slapped herself. Why had she just used his catchphrase all of the sudden? Damn it, she needed to get Soma out of her mind quickly.

"Good. That's good, I guess," Mana added, and Erina had no idea how to handle Mana's poor attempts at congratulating her. So she just smiled and nodded, and soon enough, both were in complete silence. Erina, wondering why it was that her closest relationships were the hardest for her to communicate properly with, still tried to keep the conversation alive by extending her arm and signaling the closet.

"So… what do you need? Need to borrow some clothes?" Erina asked innocently.

"Nonsense," Mana replied. "Just need some medication. My refill is in five days, and I know you barely use them anymore. Your dose might be lighter than mine, but it'll suffice."

"Medication?" Erina voiced, as she twisted her head a bit. Then it hit her. 'Wait, that's in the…!'

And Mana went to the bathroom.

No sooner had Mana opened the door than had Erina crawled right under her legs and closed the door right back up. Then Erina stood right up against the door, her expression one of "what the hell did I just do?", as Mana stared her down.

"…Erina?"

"I-I… well… You shouldn't go in there…"

"…Why?"

"Cause…" Erina tried, but she had no idea what to even say. "Because, well, because I… I just used it," she settled on, despite how much she did not want to imply what she was currently implying. "…I used it and you shouldn't enter it for at least fifteen minutes."

"…Are you serious?" her mother's tone made it clear she was not amused.

"I-I'm a lady after all," Erina tried, giving her mother a light smile. "Just wait here and I'll go fetch it for you. You can take the whole bottle if you need."

"Erina, please," Mana spoke, her disapproval even more evident. Erina mentally cursed, as what little praise she had earned from her mother was now completely stripped away once again. "I've changed your diapers, I think I can handle ten seconds in there."

"I-I… wait," Erina spoke, pausing. "You changed my diapers…? Really?"

"What, did you think you changed them yourself?"

"No, of course not," Erina explained. "I meant, I, well, I thought that the maids took care of the more… disgusting parts of child caring."

"…I suppose I only have myself to blame for your poor opinion of my maternal skills," Mana mused, as Erina bit down a sarcastic response. Not here, not now, she told herself. But, unfortunately for her, she did let her guard down, which allowed her mother to easily bypass her and enter the bathroom, which caused Erina to go into outright shock.

From: 'He's just a friend, I swear!' To: 'Oh, he works here; he was fixing the toilet!' And even: 'Who is that strange man?! I have never seen him in my life!'

All those excuses flashed themselves inside her head, ready for the reprimand of her life, but it never came. Her mother, true to her word, took about only ten seconds to go in, grab the bottle and exit. As she did, she gave her daughter another disapproving look, likely telling her how much she was overreacting.

Erina felt dizzy after all that, and only after catching a tiny glimpse of the seemingly empty bathroom her mother stepped out of that she figured Soma had to had hidden himself within the shower. She still felt like fainting.

"Hurry up and get ready," her mother told her as she walked out of Erina's room. "There's a lot we have to discuss, and I don't want to be here any longer than I need to be. Your Uncle should already be in the dining area."

And with that, Mana Nakiri left Erina Nakiri alone, the latter still emotionally comatose after that near encounter. She remained frozen in time for a bit until Soma peeked his head from the shower curtain, which he had been ever so grateful wasn't transparent.

"That was pretty scary," Soma mused, and Erina could only frown and pout his way, as he was still talking so jovially that it irked her. He acted like it had been nothing more than a game, rather than the life and death situation she maneuvered them out off.

"No time for your witty remarks," she told him. "I'm going to go and clear the way for you, making sure none of the maids are in the way. You, after you wait five minutes, need to get out of here. Got it."

"Yes ma'am," Soma responded with a salute, before he moved to pick up his stuff from under the bed. After he changed back into his own shirt, Soma paused briefly, turning to her. "Don't suppose we can kiss again for a little…" he paused the joke the moment he saw her glare intensify. "Not the moment, got it, shutting up now."

She said nothing else, not wanting to press the matter. She did not, could not allow herself to think back on the events that had transpired the night before. She almost got caught, and for what, they hadn't even done pretty much anything?

She shook her head again. That wasn't the point! The point was what it looked like, not whether or not they had done anything indecent.

So, without another word, out of fear she may say something she'd later regret, Erina walked out of the room, careful to close the door without locking Soma in, as she moved about. Soma waited, like he was told. He heard Erina's retreading steps, how she seemed to encounter someone, likely a maid, along the way and how she seemed to instruct the maid away from her room, politely asking the young woman for help at getting Alice up or something.

Soma just laughed. It had been quite a morning, and he had almost gotten Erina in trouble. He imagined her mother's reaction would have been very different from Jouichirou's, who while surprised, wasn't outright angry. Well, he had not been outright happy, either, but he had quickly understood the situation. Then again, Erina was outright royalty in this place, so it made some sense. Senzaemon, wherever the old man was at, would have certainly disapproved of Soma staying over.

So, after the five minutes were up, Soma left the room.

And came face-to-face with Mana Nakiri.

He was utterly unable to hide the surprise and fright he felt in every inch of his body the moment he had opened that door and had seen her standing right outside it, her arms crossed against her chest and staring directly into his eyes. She had known, all along, he imagined, and she had just quietly waited. Now, faced with the disapproving look himself, he understood a little bit of the massive fear Erina seemed to have, and once again, he saw himself kicked out of Tootsuki.

For good this time.

"Ma'am," he squealed a greeting, as properly as his nerves would allow. It sounded like a chipmunk.

"…My daughter has certainly been preoccupied it seems," she voiced, and her icy tone made Soma realize just how much Erina took from her. It was just like talking to the Erina from way back then, just dialed up to eleven. "Are you quite possibly done with her for today?"

"Ma'am, no, that's," he tried, but it was so hard to form words and arrange them properly. Still, saying nothing would probably look worse. Way worse. "I mean, it's not-"

"Not what it looks like?" she finished for him. "Really? Kids still use that excuse?"

"No, I," he tried again, but his nerves were making him laugh and that made the situation worse. He had to bite down on his own tongue to try and keep himself in check. "She wasn't feeling well, so I cra-stayed over. I-we didn't do anything improper, I assure you. Erina is totally proper and fancy and princessy and stuff…"

The look she was giving him made it clear she wasn't buying any of it, and Soma was having an inner fit trying to find a way to clear this situation up. It… didn't look good. Since they had clearly done more than what he wanted her to know, but clearly not as much as she was probably imagining.

"You're the one from the Showcase," Mana noted, and Soma felt himself stiffen further. How many people had watched that damn thing?

"Yes ma'am," he answered. "I-I am Erina's boyfriend, and well, back then I-"

"The famous diamond in the rough that made my father rethink his policies here. Anne wouldn't shut up about you, and yet, it seems your intentions in returning were not aimed at simply graduating," Mana told him, and Soma was learning of all the ways a person can squirm under the intimidating gaze of another.

"No, ma'am, I assure you, I have nothing but the utmost respect for your daughter," Soma tried once more, but he knew he wasn't lying. "I really, genuinely do love her, and we didn't do anything we shouldn't-"

Mana outright scoffed, loudly enough to cause him to pause. He looked on, eyes wide, as she rolled her eyes. "Love? Give me a break kid. I'd be more easily fooled if you tried to convince me that you at least pulled out properly instead of trying to sell me on the fact that you love my daughter."

"…What?"

"I'm not a high school girl, Soma Yukihira," Mana added, and hearing his name from her voice made him feel lightheaded. "Don't lie to my face. I have not the time, nor the patience for this. Come. Let's get you out of here… Permanently."

She then began to walk away, fully knowing he had little choice but to follow. Soma, however, while not wanting to be kicked out again, felt there was a much more urgent matter in all that she had said.

"Ma'am, I am not lying," he told her as he followed her, the ever dignified lady not bothering to even look at him any further. "Trust me, I know how this entire thing looks like from the outside, but trust me, Erina is not like that. She'd never-hey, wait!"

Surprisingly, Soma darted forwards and cut Mana off before she exited the hallway, causing the elder Nakiri to widen her eyes a bit, stopping her steps inches from the younger boy.

"Pull such a stunt again and I'll have you thrown out," Mana warned, her voice colder still.

"Fine, cool, whatever you want," Soma replied. "But at least listen to this part. I don't care what you think of me. But Erina is going through some stuff. That girl has so much stuff on her shoulders that I can't even begin to try to understand what any of that is like. And I'm sick and tired of everyone important to her always criticizing her for every minor thing and never actually helping."

"And that's supposed to mean what exactly?" Mana asked, apparently at least humoring him.

"That I know her," he replied, and his tone was as serious as he could muster. "Erina has tried as hard as she possibly can to fulfill every responsibility she has. I've seen her struggle, fight, cry and more just to please all of you people. So, please, all I ask, I'm fine if you distrust me, but don't think bad of her. She-She is not the type of girl who'd do anything like what you think we did."

"So… I guess that mark on her neck is from…?"

"…Not to the extent you think we did," Soma nervously clarified. Mana seemed to ponder his words briefly, before she scoffed and walked right pass the boy, and into the main dining area. Soma, having no choice in the matter, dejectedly followed her.

They were met by three other members of the Nakiri household. Erina, who had been talking mere moments prior before they entered, who as soon as she saw Soma, froze up on the spot. Next to her were her Uncle and Aunt, and both Soe and Leonora turned towards Soma, confusion evident in their features.

"Mighty fine job you're doing in keeping Erina in check," Mana spoke up as she reached their table, refusing to take a seat and instead standing somewhere near it.

"Soma?" Soe voiced, still confused at the presence of the boy so early in the morning. He was not an unlikely sight in this household, but hardly ever so early.

"…Morning," Soma squeaked, already mentally preparing himself to re-attend his old school. Mayumi and the others were going to be so disappointed in him.

"Yeah, seems like that was what Erina was using in her bathroom," Mana added, the disdain obvious. Soma flared up, but had to bite down his tongue to keep himself in line. He was way over his head, and anything more he said or did would not only affect him, but also her. But then he glanced back up, at Erina, and it broke him.

She wasn't arguing, blushing or afraid. She was starting to cry, even if she wasn't emoting it. He just moved towards her, but before he reached her, Leonora did first.

"No need to get emotional over that," her aunt told Erina, as she pressed the girl's head closer to her bosom. Erina said nothing, likely not used to such shows of affection. "Must you always come in here hell-bent on making people miserable?"

"You might be proud of what she's doing, but I'm not," Mana replied, crossing her arms once again.

"Right. And I'm certain we should take in what a massive role model you are, huh? Remind me again, what came first? Your marriage to Azami or this little baby being put in the oven?" Leonora shot back, her tone still somewhat jovial, despite how much her words seemed to irk Mana. Leonora heard how Erina squirmed in her grasps and voiced a soft "Aunty!", but all she did was pet the young girl on the head. "I know my niece," she added, and she pulled Erina's face towards her and used her thumbs to wipe away her tears, and again, Erina had no idea how to respond.

"…So the woman who married up wants to debate me in terms of proper etiquette?" Mana retorted, and Erina could outright feel how it made her Aunt flare up inwards. Before either woman slapped the other across the room, Soe intervened, standing up and speaking firmly.

"That's enough of that," Soe told them. "We have serious matters to attend to. I had to practically blackmail you to come here, didn't I? So don't go acting like you own the place. You and I snuck plenty of people in here when we were teens."

"You snuck girls in?" Leonora asked, cocking her head to the side in a manner that reminded Erina too much of Alice.

"…Just you my dear," Soe clarified, which only caused Mana to scoff. "B-But that aside, I won't have you tormenting little Erina like that. Believe me, I trust her, so back off."

"Clearly," Mana voiced, signaling to the boy. "Trust her a bit too much it seems. But don't forget, I'm her mother."

"Irrelevant," Soe shot back. "She lives here. Her official guardian is father, and since he's not here, she's officially staying with me. You want to scold and punish her, fine, just remember to raise her first. Oh, and that applies to him too," Soe added, pointing to Soma. "He's an official student here, and you are most certainly not a faculty member. So you can't punish him either. I'll talk to him later."

The last sentence made Soma a bit nervous, but he much preferred Uncle Soe to Mama Mana any day.

"Are you serious?!" Mana practically demanded, but Soe did not even flinch. The advantage of being the elder brother, Erina noted, as to him, for all the power and influence Mana Nakiri had, she was still a little girl throwing a tantrum.

"I am," he repeated firmly. "And, now, sit. This is very important, so let's be adults, and get to work."

Mana flashed roughly forty different expressions, none of them good, but she seemed to relent enough to allow herself to take a seat on the table. Leonora whispered to Erina that everything would be alright, as she, after giving her niece a kiss on her head, also took a seat on the table. Erina could just watch, still trying to process it all, as the three main members of the Nakiri household sat together in what seemed like the first time since forever.

She glance briefly at Soma, who she knew she was responsible for getting into this mess in the first place. Soma seemed to be trying to blend himself into the wallpaper, granted, but she couldn't blame him. She had no idea what to do herself.

"So, if we're going to ignore all of that, then," Mana expressed, taking a deep breath and taking out the bottle of pills she had taken from Erina's bathroom. She drank one from a glass which Erina hoped was filled with water, before she turned to the two elder Nakiris. "Seems like you've gotten us involved in quite the scandal, right, brother?"

"…It wasn't me," Soe expressed, but he decided against arguing any further. "Good, ol' loveable Azami went and riled up the other schools. Just like I told you over the phone, we've been issued a challenge. All six schools, and they're already at Doujima's place. Well, six plus one, as it appears we missed a little note that allows one more school to participate. I've written to Azami about it, but he hasn't yet responded."

"Yes, I'm aware, and thanks to that, I had to step down from the WGO for the moment," Mana expressed, clearly annoyed. "They couldn't maintain true sportsmanship if I was there, because I share the same last name as the owners of Tootsuki, despite my past with this place."

"You could have called yourself Mana Nakamura if you hate it so much," Leonora muttered, which caused Mana to glare at her.

"Leonora," Soe voiced, trying his best to keep both women from arguing again. Leonora just raised both her shoulders, as if she had no idea what he was saying. "…That said, still, it does mean a lot to father that you're here… You weren't obligated, not legally at least, so…"

"Don't," Mana cut him off, raising her hand. "I'm here because there's not much else I can do. I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. So spare me the sentimentality."

As the adults seemed unable to say three words to each other without wanting to argue, Erina just looked on, words she wanted to say in the tip of her tongue but too afraid to cut in. It felt too adult an environment for her, as the ever proud Erina felt like nothing more than a child before them all. She clenched her fists, unable to talk yet not wanting to walk away.

Then she felt Soma grip her hand, tightly. She turned to look at him, and he nodded. He knew what she was thinking, and she felt relieved.

"Pardon me," Erina cut in, causing the other three to shift their attentions to her. "…What's happening with grandfather? Is he… Is he unwell?"

"They haven't told you?" Mana asked, but to the surprise of both Erina and Soma, her tone was much softer than either one of them had expected from her. Granted, it was a far cry from being outright motherly, but it was still noticeable. When Erina shook her head, Mana seemed to ponder it for a bit, before she turned to Soe. "Still treating her like a little girl, huh? My guess is Alice doesn't know either, right?"

"We weren't sure ourselves," Soe expressed, before he took a deep breath. He seemed trying to put his next thoughts into words, when another voice cut in.

"Family meeting so early in the morning?" Alice spoke up as she walked in, still looking half asleep, as she yawned and stretched. Following her was Ryou, who said nothing, only stopping himself midway, to keep better distance from Alice.

"Speak of the devil," Mana said with a slight scoff, which caused Alice to turn and freeze in place when she realized who was there with them.

"Aunt Mana!? You're here?" Alice voiced, true surprise evident in her tone. "Wait! You're here! Crap, who died?!"

"No one died baby," Soe assured. "Please, take a seat, all of you. I'll explain everything," Soe instructed, and as the Nakiri cousins moved and took their seats, both seating at opposite sides of Leonora, Soe also motioned to Soma and Ryou. "You too as well. This… This involves all of Tootsuki, and you two are pretty close to the family as is."

Soma and Ryou said nothing, feeling way out of place, but they still moved and went to take a seat. Unfortunately for Soma, the last two seats were the ones right next to Mana, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. He turned to Ryou, who was sitting down next to Soe, with almost tears in his eyes. He mouthed 'can we switch?' to the boy, who immediately shook his head. Soma frowned, inwardly cursing before he took his seat and refused to make further eye contact with the woman.

"Very well," Soe began, as he took a deep enough breath, "Most of this information will be divulged later today to the student-body, but allow me to explain everything that's happening…"

-0-

It took Soe Nakiri a little bit of time to properly explain both what had been happening with the patriarch of the Nakiri family and what exactly the upcoming multi-school event entailed. Erina, Soma, Alice and Ryou remained silent, shocked at all that was unraveling before them, but deciding it would be best to say nothing. They listened, and in the case of the two cousins, tried their best not to tear up.

Once Soe was done, they spoke a bit more of what came next, how all this information would be made public today, and how later on, the students and graduates from those six schools would be welcomed in Tootsuki where the New Elite Ten would host the opening ceremony. At this, they were told that they should remember that they had a meeting on that very topic, and while Erina quickly got up to get ready, she had to return and remind the other three than since yesterday they were Elite Ten members too and to move.

So, less than an hour afterwards, the four found themselves entering the Elite Ten meeting room, a first for seventy-five percent of them.

The other six Elite Ten members were already there, waiting, and they all glanced up once the final four entered. And such, the very first meeting of this particular Elite Ten, began.

"Erina," Nene quickly greeted, her tone neither jovial nor annoyed, just perfectly professional. "Oh… and Alice, Ryou and Soma, right?"

"Yeah, that's us," Alice replied, flashing the older girl a smile.

"Hey," Soma saluted, and while Ryou merely gave the girl a nod, walked towards the round desk. He quickly made eye contact with Isshiki. "Hey, these chairs numbered or do I just seat anywhere?"

"Oh, they're not numbered," Isshiki quickly responded. "We tried that once, led to too many fights."

"This has always been a stupid system," Erina voiced as she moved past Soma and took the first available seat.

"You guys alright?" Takumi quickly voiced. He looked at Erina, before shifting his eyes briefly to Ryou, then Alice, then lastly Soma. "You don't look all that here."

"It's been quite the morning," Soma replied with half a smile. "But we are going to be talking about that now, right?" he asked, turning to Erina.

"…Yes," was all she replied.

"All that doom and gloom doesn't sound too good for us," Kuga added, as he stretched himself. He had been somehow the first to arrive, and it annoyed him to no end. All the prim and proper members had left, and there was no way in hell he could handle being the serious one. Even pigtails had been late. Pigtails!

"I've been briefed," Nene said, as she eyed Erina. "If you prefer, I can tell them. I may not know all the details, but… we don't need to be that much informed. You can leave, if you wish."

"Don't worry Nene," Erina replied, a hint of warmness in her tone. As Soma noted, he had almost forgotten that Erina had already spent a year alongside a few of these guys, so there was a certain sense of companionship there. "It's my responsibility after all. Not just as a seated member, but as a member of my family… So, please, allow me to explain what will be happening in the upcoming weeks…"

At the same time Erina began to explain everything to the Elite Ten, a school-wide assembly was called in as Soe Nakiri took the stage and addressed the entire student body. While his report to them was much shorter and far less detailed than what Erina was giving, it still filled in the basics. And as such, nearly every student could be seen with their eyes wide and their mouths agape at the news, even those who were currently within the Elite Ten.

"My grandfather is ill," Erina explained, the hint of sadness and worry evident in her voice, "He was admitted into the hospital officially about two weeks ago. It… It started as a minor pain and numbness in his chest and arm, but fortunately, he checked himself in and he was there when he suffered the attack… He's not in any immediate danger, thankfully, but he's been ordered to stay because they fear he could be vulnerable to something bigger, and that there could have been some damage done. My grandfather has always been an avid smoker, so it's not surprising, but, I mean…"

"Erina and I used to rush into his room and steal his cigarettes when we were little," Alice added with a little smile. "We flushed it down the toilet to try and keep him from using them. We… probably clogged it several times."

"He never got mad," Erina added. "He would simply laugh it off and promise to stop. That, too, he never did. But he's a strong man, I'm certain he'll be back in no time. I mean, he'd always tell us that… Wait, sorry I'm getting off topic, my apologies, I…"

"Hey," surprisingly it was Akira who spoke up, as the Indian chef had kept to himself since he first stepped into the room. "We get it. Your grandfather is very near and dear to all of us here. You can talk about him all you want. No one here minds."

"…Thanks Akira," Erina said earnestly, with a soft smile. "But, there is a more pressing matter that involves us all. Tootsuki is under… I want to say attack but I don't want to sound excessive."

"Yeah, that totally does sound alarming," Kuga voiced with a chuckle. "Are we going all in on the crazy this year and actually turning this place into a fight school?"

"Just let her talk," Nene reprimanded.

"He's not entirely wrong," Erina added. "We've been challenged by the other six World Gourmet Organization approved culinary schools. They are calling it an Intercontinental Shokugeki, the largest of its kind. We have dueled a few of these schools in the past, but simply one-on-one, and only between students. But this, this is major. They will be bringing, or rather, they brought to our academy their best. From current students to recent graduates, several chefs in the forms of teams meant to challenge us all. And it's us they are challenging, just us ten, against what we presume to be over thirty of them."

"And that's fair how?" Takumi asked, his arms crossed and his eyebrows burrowed.

"Thank you," Alice added. "That's what I said, but when these two meatheads heard it, they just got excited."

"We've been dueling talented people since before we started here," Ryou explained. "No sense in getting cold feet now."

"Dad once dueled over fifty people by himself, so I don't find it that threatening in comparison," Soma cheerily added.

"While that may be, these competitors are-wait, your dad did what?" Nene asked incredulously, eyeing the redhead.

"Oh, yeah, or at least he tells me as much," Soma replied.

"Mr. Yukihira is quite the individual," Isshiki expressed to the still twitching Nene. "However, that being said, this is still different. This involves the best of other schools against us. Their equivalent to our Elite Ten, so to speak. Granted, Mr. Yukihira, if memory serves, was involved in Tootsuki's first ever Intercontinental Shokugeki, so he's no stranger to these stakes."

"He was?" both Soma and Erina asked in unison, before Erina looked at Soma with a look that clearly had 'why don't you know that?' written all over it.

"So what does this Intercontinental Shokugeki entail?" the other quiet member amongst them, Shouko, asked. She flipped her baseball cap to the side, and edged closer to the table, for once seemingly interested in the topic at hand. "Is it going to be a multi-tier tournament like the Autumn Elections, or more like the Elite Ten selection process we all just did?"

"Neither, actually," Erina replied. "Usually it's done all in a day, their best against our, whoever gets the most wins taking the victory, but against this scale, it's different. It's going to take place in a period of over three weeks, likely four if that seventh group materializes. The matches are going to take place every Wednesday and Saturday, each day one of the school's group will face off against a selected few of us, enough to match their group evenly. Some groups are just four, others are six; we'll answer in kind. While most matches have a few set of distinct rules, they usually all boil down to the group that has the most wins takes the victory."

"Oh, that doesn't sound that hard," Kuga said, relieved.

"Seems like such a big fuss over such a simply thing," Akira added. "With several days in-between the matches, we'll be fine. They won't be able to tire us out."

"There's one minor problem," Nene added, who, as the new First Seat, had the "honor" of being briefed on these details. "If one of us loses his or her match, even if the others pick up the slack and win the day, that member is still eliminated from participating any further."

The entire group froze.

"So just one loss…?" Takumi began.

"Means we get put on the bench," Shouko followed, grinning. "Now that does sound scary."

"Not just that," Erina added. "If we lose too many members, we could still end up not having enough available members for a match-up at some point, and that would be an automatic win for that school."

"How on Earth is that fair?" Akira asked with a scoff.

"I know, it isn't!" Alice complained.

"It's because of how high and mighty this school usually acts," Ryou added. "According to Alice's old man, they edged us on with all these bullshit conditions because, according to them, we've always overestimated our value and ability against the WGO, so either we put up or shut up."

"So it's six, possibly seven, multi-Shokugeki matchups, where if we lose a match we get eliminated, and of course if we lose more than they do we just lose period," Kuga expressed, setting himself back onto his chair. "And we're betting, what, exactly?"

"Tootsuki."

"Come again?" Kuga shot back, getting back into a proper position.

"We're betting Tootsuki Academy," Erina repeated, her gaze as firm as she could manage. "If we lose more matches against any of them on any given day, or get too many of our members eliminated, we lose the entire Academy to whichever school defeats us. The odds are so against us, because if we win, we get shares on each of them, majority even, making us as close to a monopoly as legally allowed. But, if we lose, they get it all. Tootsuki becomes property of the winner, and for as much as they hate us… they'll close this place down without sparing us a second thought."

-0-

They soon found themselves before the entire student body, having been called out by their acting Headmaster Soe Nakiri, to properly declare the infamous Intercontinental Shokugeki that would be starting the next week. So, having prepared themselves as best as they individually could, the Elite Ten made their way onto the stage, as the lights brightened everything and the sound of applause erupted. The ten best students walked onto the middle, as their First Seat, a very nervous Nene, took the mic. Soe moved aside and allowed them to take center stage.

They all looked up, at the crowd, which as they realized, was not made of only Tootsuki students. On the VIP seating, usually reserved for welcomed guests, were the twenty-nine participants that would be facing off against them, all of them looking down at the ten.

The Elite Ten looked on, their eyes meeting those of their adversaries, of the ones that could outright get the kicked out of the academy they had dedicated so much time and effort too.

So, as Nene Kinokuni got ready, Satoshi Isshiki, Terunori Kuga, Erina Nakiri, Akira Hayama, Shouko Kaburagi, Soma Yukihira, Alice Nakiri, Ryou Kurokiba and Takumi Aldini all stood in line right beside her, all properly uniformed and swallowing any fears or doubts they could be having.

"So… those up there?" Yuuki asked, turning her attention from Soma and Isshiki upstage towards the groups above them. "Those are the jerks that want to close this place down? Why the hell are we treating them so nicely then?"

"They're no invading," Shun mentioned, his attention still at the stage. "This, for as unfair as it sounds, is still technically a friendly competition… just one with a lot riding on it."

"I don't buy the fact that they chose this time by coincidence," Ryoko added. "Like, really? Old man Senzaemon falls ill and then, boom, here they are!"

"Business men of that caliber are sharks," Marui expressed, as he corrected the position of his tapped together glasses as best he could, despite one of the lenses beginning to slip out.

"So, it's like they smell the blood on the water then," Loren cheerfully added, only to get a massive glare from Marui.

"You're the last person I want to hear completing my sentences!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry already!"

As Marui kept screaming at Loren, only to have the other students tell him to shut up, Megumi could not keep her eyes away from Soma, who she was sure was tensing up despite trying his best not to.

'You've always pushed through even the hardest of challenges,' she thought, as she felt a wave of uncertainty hit her. 'So please prove me wrong. Don't let this terrible gut feeling I have be true. Push through Soma, I know you can do it. You all can do it.'

"Ahem," Nene cleared her throat, which sounded massively loud on the microphone, which caused the girl to blush. She fidgeted a bit, before retaking inner control. "Right, a warm greeting to you all from Elite Ten. As a new year dawns upon us all, we here want to wish the very best to all of you students, a few who might someday even stand here alongside us. Do know that we will be doing our best not just for us, but for you all as well, so do cheer us on."

"She doesn't sound as bad as I thought," Rentaro muttered, turning to the little group next to him. "Usually, when she's not being a smarty pants and answering some question, she's quieter than Rui."

"I'm quiet?" Rui asked, taken aback.

"No sweetie, you're just not a loudmouth like Rentaro," Mea added, as she turned to the now frowning young man. "She's a fellow classmate, cut her some slack, or are you still pissed off you didn't get a seat?"

"You didn't either!"

"Shouko looks so out of place up there," voiced their largest member, Shigemichi, as he signaled to their friend. The others couldn't help but agree.

"She's always been insanely talented that's for-huh?" Rentaro began, but was surprised when the other young man standing with them did an about-face and began to walk away. "Oh, hey! I know your history with them and all that, but you sure you don't want to hear this? This sounds like it could really be bad for us all!"

"I have zero interest in what befalls this Academy. And part of me actually wishes we lose," Etsuya Eizan responded, and then simply walked away.

Out of the ten up on stage, only Shouko spotted him in the crowd walking away, and she couldn't help but smirk. Still, she said nothing, and Nene continued her speech uninterrupted.

"We here at Tootsuki extend a warm greetings to our challengers," Nene continued. "While we may be involved in a very, ah, noteworthy competition, we wish nothing but the best and are proud and honored to be able to engage with them in such a manner," she said with a soft bow, before adding: "That said, we will be taking the victory, every victory, because you are in our turf, and that might not have been the smartest thing you could have done."

The crowd begun to cheer at her words, as calls of mockery could be heard aimed at the invading schools, whose students seemed entirely unmoved.

The four students of the Spain Academy "Real Cocina" where the first to scoff at the audiences' reactions. Their team consisted of Alex Franco, Linda Montes, Christina Jusino and Alberto Rodriguez, who all seemed utterly unimpressed by the would-be declaration of war.

Next to them was the team from Ada Akintola's Culinary Academy. The four siblings of different ages just stared, despite the youngest trying and failing to edge closer to the edge as the elder brother denied it. Their team consisted of, from eldest to youngest, Hakeem Akintola, Keelan Akintola, Dakarai Akintola and Aisha Akintola.

The Italian group was next to them, and unlike the prior two groups, had a team of five. Their team consisted of Lucrezia Russo, Valentino De Luca, Marco Giordano, Alessandro Costa, and his younger sister Aurora Costa. Lucrezia's eyes shifted from the speaking Nene to the side, to the only member of the Elite Ten she cared for. She eyed Takumi for a moment, her hand forming a fist at the sight of him, but she said nothing.

The French team was the only one that took the mockery in stride, laughing it off and just chatting away at how cool everything looked. Their team was made up of Gautier Pierre, Lumiere Dubois, Camille Le Gall, Joseph Estel and Kitsch Sionis. They were jovial about it all, especially Gautier, when he caught sight of all the beauties that Tootsuki housed, needing for Camille to smack him, despite the fact that she couldn't outright disagree with his assessment.

Far differing from their carefree approach, the team leader of the team from Moscow International had to call off their largest member from going down and likely smacking several loudmouth Tootsuki students for the show of disrespect. Unneeded, she had expressed, and he obliged. Their team consisted of Ekaterina Antonova, Luka Vetrov, Sasha Yelchin, Aleksei Ozerov and Grigory Kholod.

The last team, the only one amongst them with six members, said nothing, their attention focusing on each individual Elite Ten member. They had heard many stories, so they knew not to underestimate them. Their six member team consisted of Van Autumn, his twin sister Bridgette Autumn, Benjamin Bracken, Emilia Bailey, Victor Slingby and Timonthy Humphries.

"I am aware that you all," Nene said, turning to the crowd, "have been given the okay to also challenge these… well, challengers, putting your expulsion on the line for the sake of eliminating a challenger for us, but, do not concern yourselves with that. We can and will win. After all, we are, Tootsuki Strong!"

Nene made her declaration loudly pumping her fist into the air, but when only silence and a few scattered coughs followed, she quickly blushed bright red, her fist still raised. Then she slowly turned her head around. "…Why did none of you raise your fists like you were supposed to?!"

"Oh wait, that was the signal?" Kuga asked, utterly confused, but he quickly pumped his fist into the air in response.

"Oh, wow, do we look triumphant alright," Erina added, also blushing, as she forced herself to raise her fist. The others followed, but instead of looking proud, they looked outright pathetic.

"…This is humiliating," Akira muttered.

"Whose stupid idea was this?!" Ryou roared.

"Um, excuse you! This was my dad's idea!" Alice barked back, the only one of them with their fist held up proudly.

"I'm sure they are threatened," Takumi offered.

"They are certainly speechless," Soma added with a smirk.

"Maybe they'll be drawn into a false sense of security which we can take to our advantage," Shouko said, as she smiled knowingly to the crowd.

"That's quite the naughty way to think…" Satoshi noted, as Shouko merely turned to him briefly and winked. Nene pretended not to be bothered by it.

The crowd, despite being dumbstruck and embarrassed by the display, or lack of thereof, still began to applaud, if out of anything to at least try and save face. So they clapped, as the Elite Ten looked on, knowing fully well what pity looked like when they saw it, but accepting it regardless, because damn did they need it.

Then, slowly, the claps shifted. They don't know which team began it, but soon all of them joined it.

Their challengers also began to clap.

Just, slowly. Clap, pause. Clap, pause. Clap, pause. Clap, pause. Clap, pause. Clap, pause.

It was enough to draw the attention of the crowd, who ceased in their clapping, turning to look at the ones seated in the VIP area. With each controlled clap, the teams sent their message clear, and the Elite Ten could only look on.

"It's like it's open season in here," Akira mused with a sarcastic laugh, "and we're they prey."

"They certainly have a way of demanding attention," Soma added, causing Akira to laugh a little more.

"So it's not just me feeling that we're the lambs being offered to the slaughter here," Takumi added, as he edged closer to the others.

"It's just you," Ryou muttered, annoyed, "Just you wait; I'll crush them all."

"Settle down boy," Alice chipped in, "Leave some for the rest of us."

"Don't you worry about that," Erina added, as she watched the scene before them all unfold. "There's plenty of them to go around."

-0-

At the end of the night, once the challengers were sent their way back to Gin Doujima's resort, the Elite Ten concluded their dealings for the day. With the competition set to start within a week, they had much to prepare, and Nene had already set up several meetings in the upcoming days to get everything ready. As much as Erina had initially presumed otherwise, Nene was turning out to be a very resourceful first seat, even if, as she herself had joked, she had continued the Tootsuki legacy of having a very proper First Seat alongside an insanely unprofessional Second Seat.

She smiled at that thought, and even went as far as to imagine how it would be like once she managed to get the First Seat, with Soma as her Second Seat. It sounded fun, she noted, but she shook her head. She needed to focus on the very real threat at hand first, before she could daydream about any possible future.

With a small smile, Erina rested her head back against the limousine's backseat she currently found herself in. Taking a glance out of the tinted window, she saw how it had begun to rain. It was merely a drizzle, nothing major, but enough to match her mood. Tired and a little sad, but nothing that would cause her to stop herself from doing what needed to be done.

Her driver got out, after they had reached the main gates, as there was another car stationed before them. While she was in no hurry, it was still protocol to give family members of the Nakiri household top priority, so her driver would either help speed up the process of whoever was visiting, or simply make them move to the side so that he could drive the heiress inside.

So Erina just waited, her body aching for her bed which she knew would feel so weird after having shared it with Soma. Had his cheap cologne lingered on the sheets, like it did in the sappy romance shoujo manga she would often times read?

Then there was a light tap on her window, which caused her to shift her attention to the umbrella wielding person standing outside. She had expected her driver, perhaps informing her of any misgivings, but it wasn't him.

It was her father.

---

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