Okay, so being a student at Tohtsuki is torture.

Hell.

Did the administration really believe what they put their students through wasn't a violation of human rights? Surely some child labor laws existed to save all one thousand first-years from this inhumane, demonic realm on earth.

But Soma Yukihira wouldn't have it any other way.

Sure, it felt like he was finding his way through the woods at night without a flashlight, but he was having a blast. He'd been raised tenacious and naturally embodied much grit, so there was no way he'd quit or get kicked out. Besides, the training camp-from-hell was actually fun as hell. So much fun, in fact, Soma couldn't sleep.

The rat race to serve the best dish during each session was more thrilling than grueling, and he wasn't as oblivious to the pressure as he allowed his peers to believe. Chef Inui told them they could use anything within the campgrounds. That's it. How freeing! This is how school should be, he thought as he and Megumi scoured the forest for edible seasonal plants. Apart from leaving Restaurant Yukihira, Soma'd never experienced anything more challenging than the freedom of self-expression— not because he couldn't tap into said freedom, but because he simply couldn't decide out of all his exciting ideas which path to follow! His chef's brain was bursting through gray matter with endless imagination.

Soma never thought about anything else but food and cooking, so school was never his top priority until he came to Tohtsuki. He arrived with a singular focus: get better and win back Restaurant Yukihira. That one-track mind had seriously been paying off in his first two months at Tohtsuki. But now that he was here, he came to conquer. Still, if he were honest, he wasn't exactly thrilled about, or even excelling, at his academic lectures here, either. Soma was more of a tactile learner; he practiced his craft on his own because there was always something to prepare, cook, or do. So he took his cooking seminars seriously, they reminded him of the busyness of being back at Yukihira's, but that was about it.

He knew a few of his peers at Tohtsuki didn't quite care for his devil-may-care attitude and foolhardiness, but that's because they had no idea the home in which he was raised. He prided himself on being his parent's child—a great friend, a personable diner owner, and a fierce competitor. Okay, sure, he was willfully ignorant to many social cues that got him plenty of leering glares from other first-years, but years as the sous chef of the best family diner in Japan meant he knew how to read people's bellies. That's what mattered. That's how he was trained— "Soma, you've gotta get to know our customers well enough to give them what they didn't even know they wanted to eat!" his father once said. And after only two months at Tohsuki, he could feel that part of him growing, thriving, flourishing. That fiery competitive urge to beat his opponent in the kitchen was being fanned by an uchiwa flat fan. The past two months were the most engaged in school he'd ever been; maybe even more than when he studied his father working over the restaurant's burners as a little boy. After all, returning to Yukihira Diner was the purpose of all of this training.

So, did it really matter if his competition hated him?

Yes, he often spoke or acted before his brain caught up, but that was just his mother's spunk coming out of him. "If you're not careful, Soma, you'll overthink yourself out of an original idea for a recipe. And we can't have that!" his mother used to say before shutting the new cookbook his nose was buried in and handing him a sharpened knife. That's how he learned to appreciate and trust his gut enough to move off of his instincts. That's badass, just like his mother. And no, he may not have much of a filter because of that, but he only spoke about what he knew or wanted to learn. His mouth was only good for eating and speaking what he believed in, and that's gotta be the whole point of life, right? So... so what if food was the only thing ever on his mind? Food feeds the world, and he was a chef, dammit! If people were hungry, he'd feed them, just like his dad did, and his mother's father, and his grandfathers before him.

But, damn, was he emotionally exhausted.

-8-

By the end of the first day of the training camp, Soma wasn't worried about the culinary challenges like everyone else enrolled in this pompous school. He knew that he'd rise to the occasion and put his signature Soma Yukihira spin on each dish he presented, but for the first time, cooking wasn't the only thought in his mind. He'd already developed genuine friendships and rivals that he wanted to see succeed so they could keep striving together. That was fine. It was cool to be in such company.

But…it was this squeezing in his chest that he had to constantly think about...whenever he saw her.

-8-

After deciding on his dish, and just as he determined his "Eggs before Dawn" challenge recipe was finished, Soma was surprised by how much of a good time he was having while other students wept from weakness and despair after each cooking challenge. He pitied them, how Zenji became emaciated at the end of each day; how Yuki felt bamboozled by their lack of downtime; and how countless students sobbed after hearing the dreaded phrase— "You're expelled!" It's why he stepped up to defend Megumi from that obstinate Chef Shinomiya on the second day. But now that Megumi stood up for herself and kinda won, all that drama and its ensuing unofficial Food War were now things of the past.

At least he was never bored.

When he realized he was the first among his friends to finish up and he had plenty of time to himself before they would join him, Soma happily skipped to the baths. He was proud to be first because that meant he'd have the bathhouse would be all to himself. He liked people, but he craved a moment to himself to soak in a hot bath and think without being "on"...

He heard someone softly humming somewhere close. But so was he, so he carried on. Nothing mattered from now until he was finished taking his bath. His bones could already feel his body dipping into the nice steaming water.

The humming grew louder as his feet drew closer to his destination. His head was in the clouds and his heart was tightening, gazing at a blurry vision...

But Soma never expected to run into her. Literally!

He skipped forward until he suddenly ran into someone. His hands pushed into warm, squishy flesh. Next thing he knew, the fog had cleared from his mind and Soma was gaping at a fallen Erina Nakiri. His brain ran back the feeling in his hands as his eyes scoured over her body to make the same connection. His heart burst like fireworks. He gasped as Erina clutched her robe over her full chest in anger.

"Nakiri!" The challenges forced him not to think of her—not to remember the rumors of her dating life, or who she was rumored to be dating— so the sight of her was a welcomed, if not jarring, surprise. It'd been the first time since the Training Camp's opening ceremony. That felt like weeks ago, not just three days. His breath grew shallow as he noticed she was in a bathrobe.

Has she been done this whole time? Even before me?!

Erina's skin was glowing, effervescently clean, and the dewy flesh looked supple enough to melt into the palm of his dry hands like freshly churned butter. She was saying something to him, but he was too stunned to hear it. Honestly, how could one person look this damn fine?! Then Soma realized his grave mistake. Technically, he'd just hit her, and now she was sitting on the hotel floor in pain. He moved to help her up, but she swatted him away.

"Do not touch me, you pissant!" She barked. "I can stand up on my own, okay!" She scooted away from him, waving her outstretched arm to keep him at bay. Soma couldn't deny that it stung a little, but the situation was already awkward. He didn't know any other way to make her feel comfortable but to compliment her.

"So, that was you I heard humming. You must be in good spirits today!"

She snapped at him again. "Were you spying on me, Soma Yukihira? I swear to-" He'd kind of forgotten how short of a fuse she had. He was remembering that much now.

"No! You just have a nice voice, is all" he cut her off. Erina staggered back a little, hushed into a quick blush. He grinned. "I knew there was a way to disarm you." He winked and took her hand to help her up. "I'll be sure to compliment you more often."

She yanked her arm away and stood up. Soma watched her fussily brush the invisible dust off her bathrobe. "Now I'm all filthy and in a sour mood. Thanks a lot."

"I can understand why you'd be in a festive mood. This is the most expensive hotel I've ever stayed at—"

"Clearly," she scoffed. "You're poor!"

Soma stopped to look at her and turned to the side, crossing his arms. He had an idea. "Y'know…" he smirked sheepishly. "I overheard Miss Secretary say you were looking for some playing cards." She scowled at him but listened on. "Well, I brought some cards for playing hanafuda and poker with my dorm mates tonight to unwind." It was now or never. Be cool, Soma. "That is, I mean, if you wanna join us." He didn't have to wait long for her to screech her rejection and throw in another classist jab for bonus points. Well, it was worth a try, right?

"You're joking, right? I wouldn't be caught dead playing games with you, Yukihira. And just so we're clear, while this training camp might be hell for you, this is just a useless technicality for me. Don't forget that. Can't wait to laugh at you when you fail tomorrow!" She smirked like the rich, mean girl she was and folded her arms.

"Well, that's not nice for someone humming and singing," Soma laughed. Erina's personality was grating and condescending, like an elite athlete who knew she was the best. He lifted her chin with the crook of his index finger. It was so gentle and sudden, that the gesture electric-shocked them both. "It's nice to know you'll be looking for me," he winked. Her mouth fell open, but no words came out.

Yeah, Soma would enjoy their first real competition.

"Miss Erina!" Hisako cried down the hall. Seeing her sprinting down the hall surprised Soma out of his daze. He almost forgot she existed but, come to think of it, it was odd that she hadn't already been right on Erina's heels like always. "I'm so sorry I'm late! My preparations took longer than—" She stopped in her tracks. Her face fell in horror. "S-Soma Yukihira?!" Hisako shrieked. He winced at the shrill pitch. (These girls loved to scream.) She waved her arms at him defensively. "What in God's name are you doing here? Why are you touching her? Why are you near her at all, you miscreant?"

Soma looked down at Erina, realizing he was still cupping her chin a hair's breadth away from her pouty bottom lip. "Oh, uh…" he let go and innocently jutted his thumb at the heiress. "I just laid Erina out on the floor." He didn't understand why Erina's secretary burst into tears, but both uptight girls lost their shit over it.

"Hisako! No! There's no need to cry!" Erina pleaded with kindness Soma never knew she was capable of possessing. She creaked her neck back at him with the gorgon glare he knew well by now. He waited to turn into stone. "I know what you're doing! Don't say things like that! Unlike you, I have a reputation to maintain!"

"Ah, don't be like that, Nakiri. You looked like you enjoyed it!" Soma made a bouncy sound with his mouth. He knew he was childish saying "boing!" but he did it anyway, reaching out to squeeze the air. Hisako's head nearly popped a blood vessel. His work here was done. Erina had to beg her not to believe a word he said before turning back to chastise him.

"What are you still doing here? Go take your bath and leave me alone!"

"Yeah! Leave us alone!" Hisako echoed, whining from behind her.

"Okay, okay! See ya!" He said, waving her off. He sang, strolling away, "I'm gonna get myself all squeaky clean! Splish, splash! About to take a bath!"

Soma walked the rest of the way to the men's bathhouse sour yet triumphant over how his run-in with Erina ended. He had been on a high from the training day, but how he handled that intense few minutes in the hallway with his biggest rival at Tohtsuki...and quite possibly the girl of his dreams...shot him up to cloud nine. It was a moment straight out of his nighttime fantasies to be with her alone against all odds. No matter how prickly she was with him, that moment revealed something significant:

He riled Erina Nakiri up just as much as she did him.

Good.

He couldn't wait to do it again.