Three light raps on a coach class cabin's door go unanswered.
Erina Nakiri sat in her private, first-class train car, fuming for reasons she dared not say aloud. The sunset looming over the snowcapped Hokkaido mountain range reminded her that she was trudging closer and closer to her doom. With nothing more in her power to do to save her beloved Tohtsuki and friends than what every one of the Rebels of the 92nd generation—led by the boy who used to be the most pernicious red thorn in her side—was already doing, she tried to distract herself as they all await their future tests and judgments. Tomorrow was their first trial by fire.
They could not fail.
Of course, she had already tried to do what she wanted to pass the time on this fast-moving train, but that led nowhere. (To think, she even considered telling him that the 'Roast Pork, Just Kidding' dish he made everyone for dinner wasn't his worst. She even thought about calling it…inventive. Tuh!) So now, she was frowning at the purpling sky and the snowy fields blurring her eyes white.
Still, all she saw was red.
She thought of calling her right hand to channel her negative energy into something girly and festive—maybe a game of cards or poring over her travel chest of holiday shojo (a current volume sat on her coffee table awaiting her low giggles and gawking eyes), But Hisako was busy doing something she rarely could do thanks to her undying devotion to her fair maiden: having fun with friends. She was no witch to snatch her best friend from their final moments of youthful cheer before her father (by proxy Central) drowned it all out.
She considered joining them, hanging with her peers like a regular teenager with a social life and friends for once. She could hear muffled laughter from the Polar Star dorm kids, her cousin, and the rest of their friends in the communal train cars, but she didn't want any of their company. Only one person's presence would calm the raging storm threatening to wash her back into the riptide of the underworld villain of her story.
She could not drown.
So she decided to take a long bath.
-8-
A first-class roomette's door slid open with more force than necessary.
"Yo, Nakiri! What'cha doin'?!"
Sōma's voice dropped. He looked around the large private room. It was empty. He glanced at his phone, frowning—half confused, half disappointed. It was his usual time to check-in on her. He swiped out of his lock screen—no missed calls or messages.
Where could she be? He sadly wondered as he closed the door without a trace in sight.
-8-
Erina returned from her bath, refreshed from the hot water's relaxing spell. She tightened her towel around her bust and moved through her cramped cabin room, her anger dispelled. Nightfall greeted her, and the warm glow of her room's dim bulbs provided her with the only light source. The empty room reminded her of her loneliness.
How dare he not check on me?
She blamed herself for getting her hopes up. She knew better than to allow the surprise attacks of his nightly company these past three days on the Tohtsuki Express to become an expectation like back at Polar Star. But how could she not? She was Erina Nakiri, after all! Who on earth could resist her?
A sharp voice in her head replied, That stupid, lowly commoner can.
The snide comment turned her mood sour in a snap. She moisturized her face, oiled her body, threw on her night slip like a disgruntled housewife, and slumped onto her chaise lounge. The stars had come out for their nightly appearance across the vast country sky, and they only reminded her of him.
"Aw, great! Now I'm craving salmon roe! … Yeh! Don't the stars remind you of tiny little shiny fish eggs?"
She sighed, annoyed at how much that ridiculous comparison made her giggle two nights ago, then cringed at how eagerly she accepted the first bite of his caviar and corn chips concoction right out of his hands the night before.
The lovestruck voice in her head chimed in: It was poetic in a lowly way, though.
It has been like pulling teeth to admit it to herself, but Erina knew she was falling deep and head-first for Sōma Yukihira. She didn't want to compare the two but recognized the butterflies and knew what they meant in this context. They echoed back to her first months dating Eishi, but the feelings she was developing for Sōma eclipsed that—like the moon passing between the earth and the sun.
She checked her phone—not to check if he texted her, which he did not—and swiped through her apps. She just needed to distract herself from the brittle, clawing hand of bitterness creeping up her throat, threatening to scratch at her larynx until she was forced to cave and cry out for him. But that would be such a foolish thing to do.
What do I look like pining after a stupid boy like a pick-me? That's not me. She settled on a classic Megan the Stallion mixtape. Tina Snow spoke her tsundere, girl-boss language.
It wasn't the liking, or possibly even loving, Yukihira part that upset her as much as it was the fact it was him. Of all the suitable bachelors her heart could've chosen to accept a proverbial rose from. Why him? Falling for him would mean she'd have to eat every insult she ever hurled his way. She bet he didn't even know how to choose the perfect amuse-bouche or rose!
But what made this emotional enlightenment worse was that she'd come to enjoy having him around. At first, it was only because he dared to approach her fearlessly. It was all his fault that he'd worn her down to where she expected him always to show up for her when she least expected or desired it.
…Or longed for it with every ounce of her being.
Because now she did all of the above.
So, of course, now he refused to show up.
Who does he think he is getting our hopes up? Her inner brat protested.
Her inner skeptic scoffed, And to think, we truly believed he would save us from the Devil.
Her inner elitist shut it down: Girl, if you don't just say fuck him and move on! We're not new to this. We're true to this.
"Ugh, whatever!" Erina screamed into the lavish private car. She was alone, her only company being her sad and miserable thoughts.
The mixtape has long ended, and the ice caps over her fractured heart have solidified. She looked out the window and could hear the harsh, howling wind of her soul. Clinging to her phone, a text from an ex she refused to acknowledge came through. Now was not the time for second chances.
-8-
"And that makes ten-to…" Sōma raised his hand behind his ear and leaned into his whimpering opponent's face.
"Zero," Takumi begrudgingly answered.
"Huh? What was that, Aldini? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you clearly over your shame," he taunted.
"I said, ZERO! Okay?" Takumi yelled back, his face bleeding tomato-red with embarrassment.
"Exactly! Ha!"
"Oh, shut up, Sōma Yukihira! I'll let you know that I have never played this game until today, but believe you, me! Once I've mastered it, I will beat you! So, come on! Another round!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You keep saying that, and you keep losing. To me!" Sōma cackled as everyone around them joined in. Even Isami was losing this battle of twin loyalty, trying to suppress his snickers.
"Just give it up, big bro. Sōma's been kicking your butt since dinner," Isami laughed at his brother's embarrassment.
"Wait, bro, take a pic to show Nackers tomorrow morning!" Daigo egged on. Sōma's head snapped in his direction. He hoped no one saw his heart just punch out of his chest.
"What?! No! Do no such thing!" Takumi protested as the boys squabbled and fought over Isami's phone.
But Sōma had to admit, as much fun as it is beating Takumi's ass in multiple rounds of the game flip-cup, he'd much rather be somewhere else.
"You tell 'im, Isami!" He stretched wide and yawned loudly, "Anyway, I'm beat from kicking your ass. So, I'll leave you to lick your wounds tonight, and we can try again after dinner tomorrow. I'm going to bed." He waved goodnight at his friends and threw his arms behind his head.
"Just wait! I'll beat you tomorrow, Sōma Yukihira!" Takumi called after him. Sōma glanced over his shoulder and let his cat fang peek through.
"Chill, Aldini! No shame in losing to the best!"
Sōma began walking back to his room car when he decided to try one last time. He was nearly at the end of the coach class train cars when Megumi Tadokoro approached him.
"Sōma-kun!"
"Eh, yeh, Tadokoro?" He stopped and turned to face his sheepish best friend. "What's up?
"You're heading to bed?"
"Yeah," Sōma yawned, maybe more than was believable. "As we saw yesterday, Central isn't holdin' back. So I need to be in tip-top shape to beat 'em all."
Megumi nodded, her facial expression betraying her thoughts.
"Oh, that's true. It's just that…" Sōma cocked his head at her hesitation.
"Hm? What is it, Megumi?"
"Well, Sh-Shun and Yuki suggested that we play a couple of rounds of Hanafuda for old-time's sake. Y'know, just in case it's the last time we get to do so as residents of Polar Star…" Megumi looked down at her twisting feet.
"Nah! We can't think or talk like that! I told you, we're all going to become second-years."
"T-that's what I said! But they told me to drag you back anyway, y'know, so we have no regrets when it's all said and done."
"Well…I don't like living with regrets…" Sōma glanced at the door separating the coach cars from first-class. He was so close. He sighed to himself and turned back to Megumi, energized with his second wind. "Alright, let's go, Megumi. But you're on my team before Yuki tries to claim you!"
Two hours later, Sōma bounded down the coach car's aisles.
"Sōma-kun, would you like me to walk you back to your cabin? Remember how lost you got yesterday?"
"No, it's all good, Tadokoro," Sōma laughed. "I think I know my way around this monster train now." He replied and continued his sprint…
"Oh-okay…goodnight!" Megumi nervously called after him, watching his back rush towards first class.
"G'night, Megs! Sleep tight!"
…until he finally stood at the door he'd been trying to reach all night.
At last!
-8-
Pressing the button to cross from one train car to another, Sōma felt his nerves sloshing around his stomach. He wasn't anxious. He wasn't scared. Heck, he wasn't even tired.
Sōma Yukihira was excited.
He gathered himself and pushed the door handle to Erina's private quarters. It didn't budge. Ice steeled his veins. She was either angry or asleep. He said a quick prayer to his mother that Erina was sleeping. He curled his knuckles, apprehensively knocking a few times on her door, and waited.
Nothing.
Okay, then…
Next, he made a light rhythmic beat and waited a little longer. Still, nothing. He motioned to knock again, his stomach folding into anxious knots, but dropped his arm to the side. If she was asleep, he shouldn't disturb her. Erina had been taking the stress of the promotion exams harder and more seriously than any other scrambling, frantic first-year. Her life at Tohtsuki and, in general, was on the line after all. She needed her beauty sleep.
But if she was awake and simply ignoring him?
Well, that would crack his heart like an eggshell. After running away from her family's mansion, they started this private tradition of spending quiet hours alone together when she found refuge at Polar Star. Now that he'd gotten used to their secret rendevous, it would feel like torture if she was mad at him. The past two weeks of genuinely getting to know Erina Nakiri—the Elite Tenth Seat, daughter of the former and current Tohtsuki director, and possessor of the legendary God Tongue—as simply Erina had been fun. Seeing who she was beneath the pristine persona of being an heiress became a sweet treat. She was soft-hearted, shy, and lightyears more innocent than Sōma had expected from someone so…mature. And more surprisingly, she was much nicer to him when it was just them two.
Since the end of dinner, his heart was set on spending time with her. It was his fault for getting carried away playing games with his friends, and now he was living through that regret. His shoulders slumped; the hecticness of the day's Hokkaido lessons and cooking drills began to weigh on him. The thought of missing her twice in one night shot his mood to the earth's core. He dragged himself back to his cabin.
All he wanted to do was see her smile one last time before he closed his eyes tonight.
-8-
He reached his cabin room door and lazily pulled down on its handle. He entered with his head hanging low, only lifting his chin to turn on the light switch.
He blinked once.
Maybe his eyes needed to adjust to the light. He backed out of his door to check the room number. It was the correct room number, all right. He turned his head back in and blinked again…and again and again. His eyes must've been deceiving him—his tongue tied as he questioned if he was in his right mind.
"N-Nakiri?"
Erina Nakiri sat on the twin bed in his cabin opposite a very empty and available couch, arms crossed, face screwed tight.
"Where have you been, Yukihira?" She pouted out her demand.
"Oh…I-" He stuttered for the words. Any word would do, but his brain was still processing the sight of Erina in his tiny room, wearing a silk shorts night set that didn't leave much to the imagination. He swallowed his arousal. But it was hard.
"I-I lost track of time playing cards with my dorm mates."
"So…you forgot about me." The look on Erina's face could sink a thousand ships at sea. But right now, it was making Sõma buckle at the knees.
"Huh?! No! I…He didn't know why he said it. "You should've come! Miss Secretary and Nakiri Number Two were there!" But judging by the sour expression on Erina's face, he knew he shouldn't have.
He approached her on his bed, but she got up and moved to the worn couch. Silently, she sat down and stared out the window. Her sharp elbow was on the armrest, and her chin frumped on her fist. She was upset. Sōma could feel it in the air.
He closed the door and flicked off the light. Erina sprawled her legs along the length of the couch as if to tell him he couldn't sit with her. Sōma smiled to himself. Her true expression was evident through the windowpane. He slipped out his shoes and gently lifted one of her legs. Erina stiffened at his warm touch as he lay between her.
He inclined his head to kiss her on the cheek, then rested his head on her lap. He closed his eyes, inhaling her alluring fragrance—milky, warm vanilla—and his mind melted into her secret garden.
-8-
At first, Erina didn't remove her gaze from the window's dark scene. She couldn't, for fear of discovering his touch and laying figure were but a dream. But the steady rhythm of his breathing pattern slowing into a slumbering tempo between her legs made her accept that this moment was real.
Cautiously, she looked down at the rebellious boy who snatched her heart too quickly for her liking. Staring at his oily, unruly, fiery hair, she let a small smile creep through the left corner of her lips.
She'd been waiting all day for this.
Their soft intimacies in the dark had become moments she cherished and clung to as she drilled career-saving culinary facts into her classmates' heads to stop from capsizing into a torrent of anxiety about her father winning in the end. These few quiet hours before she slipped to sleep in his arms were life jackets.
She gingerly ran her fingers through his hair, from scalp to end, lovingly caressing his split ends. He smelled of a busy kitchen, smoked bacon, and stale sweat and was much due for a shower, but she didn't care. His heartbeat thumped in and out against her thigh, and his scratchy socks itched her smooth ankles, but she didn't mind at all.
Before she knew it, Erina had entered a meditative trance, stroking his hair and gazing into the wintry landscape. New snowfall began sticking to the glass, crystallizing the silent scene of a fiery and icy young love.
As reckless and wild as Sōma Yukihira was in front of people, he was the epitome of peace when they were alone. Sure, he was still charismatic and made her laugh from how unwittingly ridiculous his ideas could be, but she liked how calm he became when it was just them two. His presence made her feel safe and soft as if none of her future worries mattered or could compare to the surety of now. He seemed to make the judgmental lion's den of voices in her head quiet into sleepy pussycats, and for that, as independently wealthy as she was, Erina owed him an outstanding debt she didn't know she could ever repay.
-8-
Minutes passed like grains of sand in an hourglass.
Sōma stirred in her lap. Her heart clenched the tendons around her breast. His eyes still closed, Sōma took her frozen hand in his hair and wrapped it around his shoulders like a hug. He gave the back of her hand a soft kiss and then nestled deeper into her lap, wrapping the arm he was sleeping on around the thigh he'd using as a pillow.
Erina forgot how to breathe, nearly passing out from the romance of it all. She didn't know what to do—Sōma wouldn't release his hold. She fanned herself with her free hand, nervous about the beads of sweat pricking her forehead and under her arms. Just as her attention returned to the window, Sōma rolled over.
"Hey," he whispered through a sleepy smile, running his fingers through his hair. Erina looked down at him, and her heart somersaulted in her chest. Recently, she noticed how weak her knees became whenever she stared into those golden irises. This time was no different. Even in the dark, they glowed brilliantly into her soul.
(Erina could not know this, but Sōma's heart could barely contain itself in its cage when those glimmering pair of intense purple-pinkish jewels locked onto him. He was plunging deeper into her.)
"Hi," she softly greeted back.
"How was dinner? I prepared the Hokkaido potatoes just like you taught us in your lectures."
Erina didn't skip a beat. "Disgusting."
Sōma smiled at her antagonism. "I'm happy to see you. I came to your train car earlier—twice, in fact—but you weren't there."
Erina stared at him, barely able to process how easily he revealed his mind to her, let alone responded. "I thought you fell asleep already or were mad at me."
"I was mad at you."
"I figured."
"How so?"
Sōma slid his fingers into hers and gave their hands a snug squeeze. "'Cuz I know you've gotten used to this little nightcap ritual we got goin' on," Sōma smugly replied. She rolled her eyes but never took them off of him. She could lose herself in those gold orbs any time without complaint. "I'm sorry I got caught up goofing off."
"Yukihira, it wouldn't be you if you weren't goofing off."
"Oh, so you think you know me?" He cheekily raised an eyebrow. Erina flipped her hair in his face, smirking and shrugging before looking out the window.
"Something of the sort."
"Mmm…" Sōma nodded. "So, what else do you know about me, Nakiri?" He adjusted himself to meet her at eye level.
"Well, for starters? You desperately need to take a shower." She scrunched her nose up. Sōma looked down at his stained Restaurant Yukihira cooking uniform shirt, checked his pits, and threw his head back.
"Whew! You're right about that!"
"I'm right about everything."
"Is that so?" He flashed his signature devilish grin.
"Yukihira…" She warned with a severe eyebrow raised.
"Smell my pits."
Erina frowned at how quickly he could ruin a romantic vibe. That is not what happens in her manga. "WHAT?! Ew! Gross! No, absolutely not!"
"C'mon! Let's see if that God Tongue of yours extends to your nose. Smell my pits and tell me what you see!"
"Of course it does, imbecile. How else does a chef know when her food is ready?"
Sōma shrugged and leaned forward. "I don't know, by taste. Come on then, take a whiff and a lick!"
"Yukihira, I said no!" She giggled. "Get your smelly pits away from me!"
"Then gimme a kiss."
His voice was low and serious. Erina stilled. They stared at each other again, nose to nose, feeling the warm brush of the other's shallow breaths tingle their skin. When she said nothing, eyeing her mouth, Sōma continued.
"Then, can I kiss you?"
Erina slowly nodded.
Sōma closed the distance.
Their lips grazed. The touch was so soft and delicate that they almost couldn't tell if the currents of electricity flowing through them were real...
His cabin door swung open.
"Sōma-kun! I just came to make sure you made it safe-" Their heads whipped towards the commotion. "OH! Oop! P-p-pardon me! S-sorry!" Megumi sputtered before rushing to slam the door shut.
"Fuck!" Sōma muttered under his breath.
"I should go." A shadow of self-consciousness shielded Erina's face; she was glaringly aware of the optics, and now the hall light shone in her eyes. She tried to slide from under Sōma.
"No!" Sōma heard his desperate plea before he could stop himself. "Erina, please, stay!" He leaned his forehead into hers, stroking the side of her dazzling face, the shape of a full moon. He lightly brushed a stray strand from her forehead, trying to recapture what was just shamefully interrupted.
Erina shook her head. "I shouldn't. It's late enough, and now Tadokoro-san just saw us…"
"She's super chill, I promise. She won't tell a soul."
They held their positions and let a beat of silence keep them frozen. "But, okay," Sōma sighed, resigned. He pulled himself off her and stood up.
"Thank you, and good night, Sōma."
"Goodnight, Nakiri. Rest up. We need our fearless leader more than ever tomorrow," he said, his genuine boyish smile instantly returning. Erina went pink and nodded, slightly hesitating before taking her leave.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Sōma fistfuls of teenage angst and pent-up arousal punched the air. "Fuuuuuck!" He crashed on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He could still smell her lingering scent on his sheets.
He loved Megumi, but…
Dammit all to hell! Why did she have to barge right then?!
He didn't care about being caught; he had nothing to hide, but it was a moment he knew would never come again. The opportunity to fall asleep hugging Erina's thighs and kissing her lips…was like capturing lightning in a bottle. He knew he wouldn't get the same chance twice.
He stripped off his clothes and entered the adjoining lavatory. Still seething at the missed opportunity, he stepped into the narrow shower, craving Erina Nakiri more than anything in the world…and desperately needing a cold shower.
-8-
"Goodnight, Nakiri. Rest up. We need our fearless leader more than ever tomorrow."
Erina made it back to her room, still flush. Her previous sadness had now been swapped out for teenage yearning. Her memory drifted back to the quiet space and time she'd just shared with the boy she wasn't ready to admit she was thoroughly crushing on. She could still smell his lingering scent on her nightgown. She wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
The bratty side of her groaned a guttural cringe. Teenage angst and pent-up feelings did not settle with her spirit. She was never this flustered with Eishi. What gives?
She plopped onto her bed—a plush queen mattress, albeit infinitely smaller than her bed at home. Oh, how she missed that bed. The old, springy dorm beds in Polar Star might as well have been torture apparatuses. The couch cushions in Sōma's measly train quarters were softer than those floorboards for mattresses.
But not softer than his touch. Erina rubbed the thigh he wrapped himself around and stared at the hand he tenderly kissed a mere hour ago. His phantom touch could still be felt if she reminisced hard enough. Why, oh why, did Tadokoro barge in when she did?! She wasn't supposed to see what she did.
However, Erina did want to kiss Sōma. She was just nervous, like she recently seemed to always be around him. After their first kiss in his dorm room, she'd come to savor the tingling feeling his lips on hers left behind on her tongue and body and had become incredibly self-conscious around him because of it. His kisses were smooth and firm, and his lips held onto hers like he never wanted to let go. Like he was telling her something only she could know.
She'd got carried away by his sultry voice and guitar-playing when she gave him his first kiss. Since that was a fluke, taking initiative with such matters was not how she wanted to be swooned. But she was still a girl who went after what she wanted, even if stealthily, and she had found a middle ground last night when asking for his kisses.
So, she was happy he took the lead like the male love interests in her favorite shojo. What more could she want? The quiet voices in her head began stirring from their Sōma-induced stupor with groggy suggestions. Afraid of being subjected to their scathing commentary again, Erina flipped over to scream into her pillow. She beat her legs and fists into her mattress in remorseful frustration.
.
.
.
.
Three light raps on a coach class cabin's door were answered.
Sōma Yukihira stood at his cabin door wrapped in a towel from the waist down with damp hair, gaping at Erina's coy demeanor. He instantly noticed she'd put on his grey hoodie. A shy twinkle lit her irises like the first snowflake of winter.
"On second thought, can I sleep here tonight instead?"
Struggling to say the most straightforward word in any spoken language, he nodded and moved to the side, letting her in. Erina's heart lept into her throat as she stepped through the threshold.
For Sōma's part, he couldn't contain his smile even if he tried. So he didn't as she grabbed his hand and led him back to his cramped twin-sized bed.
-8-
Heavy snow clung to the train windows. Thunder rumbled, and lightning struck in the background, punctuating the whooshing speed of the high rail train. The conductor announced that all train cars were on lockdown due to the rare thundersnow storm they were passing through; all passengers were thus ordered to remain in their cabins until further notice for their safety.
The announcement went over the heads of the two more-than-platonic friends who lay cuddled in bed, making each other blush and laugh for the last hour. Given the slim size of his roomette's sleeper, if they weren't already so tangled up in each other, the two teens were not supposed to fit.
But Sōma didn't mind.
And judging by the way Erina was cradled in his arms as if he were holding a cozy teddy bear, neither did she.
Though, they really should be asleep.
"Okay! Now, it's your turn to tell me the truth," she giggled on his chest. They'd been playing a silly game of Truth or Dare. Sōma had dared her to belch her loudest burp…or risk being tickled to oblivion. He knew she hated being touched like that, so the sound that erupted from Erina Nakiri's throat left them in shambles.
Sōma looked down at her with amused curiosity. "Hm? I am trying to remember choosing 'Truth.'"
"You didn't." Erina hid her face, but the tone in her voice shifted the mood. Sōma straightened his back on the headboard.
"Okay…so, what did I lie about, Nakiri?" He asked, running his fingers down her long mane, blanketing her back.
"Not so much lie, as much as you've been evasive."
He twirled her tresses around his index finger and unraveled it. "Oh, this should be good! What have I been evasive about?"
Sōma found himself in a stare-off contest with the tamed tsundere, and he was beginning to see just how human Erina was. That, though the holder of a divine palate came across as having it all together behind an impenetrable fortress, there was a sad and sensitive little girl housed deep within her soul. He settled in for a serious conversation, sliding to rest on his side. Erina peeled her eyes off him, her fingers suddenly needing to busy themselves with rubbing the hem of his shirt.
"The real nature of your relationship with Meat-Meat," she bashfully replied.
Her use of his nickname for the butcher baddie was not lost on him. Ikumi had been a part of their Hokkaido preparatory lectures from the start, and the two of them had some…awkward and uncomfortable encounters at the dorm and on the train—all while being tortured by Professor Nakiri. And Sōma knew Erina took notice.
"I told you, we're just friends," he said, kissing the corner of her mouth. "…Just like us."
Erina squinted at his answer, completely ignoring his implication about their situation. "But has it always been that way?"
"Yes. But we've had our moments."
"Your moments? Sōma Yukihira, what is that elusive statement supposed to mean?"
Sōma leaned his head on his hand and studied her countenance. "Erina Nakiri. Are you jealous?"
Her face screwed sour. "Me? Jealous?" He merely smirked at her. "I am not jealous, Sōma. But inquiring minds do want to know."
"Who are inquiring minds? You?"
"Obviously, baka!" She huffed.
Sōma chuckled and gave her one good look over. Damn, she was breathtaking. But even that didn't do his heart and mind justice in describing how Erina Nakiri made Sōma Yukihira think and feel.
He let out a deep sigh. "Girls are so complicated."
Erina's face deadpanned. "Excuse me?"
He rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling. "Ikumi only noticed me because I challenged her to a Food War last spring. The way she charged me up that day in the Bowl-Soc room, I couldn't have imagined we'd ever be friends. But, she's held me down so much since the summer that it was hard not to be good friends before we knew it."
Erina shifted her position on his chest as he spoke as if she was uncomfortable hearing the answer she sought. "We hung out a lot. We cooked together a few times and went on random errands and spontaneous field trips. Y'know, just enjoying each other's company."
"So, you went on dates."
"Is grabbing a burger and fries from Shake Shack and getting her truck washed considered a date?"
Erina just ogled at him. "So when I found you two trespassing on private Nakiri property over the summer, was that before or after a date?"
"Heh. For you or me?" Erina scowled at him. "Neither. I was walking her home-"—Erina grunted—"...after we finished gardening all day with Isshiki on Polar Star farm. But in her defense, that was all me why we ran into you guys before your date."
"Huh."
"Anyway, I thought we were just kicking it. I didn't think our friendship meant more to her than that."
She cocked her head, arching a suspicious eyebrow. "You didn't think she had feelings for you? Like, you had no clue?"
"Mm. Yah. No clue. I thought we were just getting along, passing favors back and forth as friends do."
"As friends do," Erina mockingly repeated.
"What? Don't say it like that. You've seen how we are at Polar Star."
"True…you lot are teetering incestuous altruism. Still, it's kind of silly of you to assume that, Sōma."
"Ha! Whatever that means. But I don't see how that's a silly assumption. Boys and girls can be friends!" Erina only nodded. "I mean, look at me and Todokoro!"
"And you two are just friends, too, correct?"
"You're being facetious, but yes. Can I finish without getting the third degree now?" Erina shrugged. "Anyway…the more time we spent together, the less I wondered if she was taking this for more than it was because she's been a good friend."
"She is loyal to a fault," Erina reflected. "So, the Mito Gala?"
"Ha! Yeah, I was returning the favor of her coming to help me in my hometown and thanking her for helping me win against Mimasaka."
Erina suddenly sat up. His hoodie swallowed her body whole and made him never want to see her in anything else again. She looked so cute he wanted to ask if he could put her in his pocket, but he'd have to wait because the way she glared at him with bulged eyes made him nervous. The lightning crackling in her pupils matched the one illuminating the snowcapped windows.
"What? Nakiri, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. You two just have more lore than I thought."
Erina was pouting. It was a cute response, for sure, but Sōma didn't understand why. He'd spent more of this kind of time with the heiress of Tohtsuki than with the baroness of beef. Besides, weren't they just friends, too?
"Like I said, we became really good friends. But I'll admit we flirted a bit here and there."
"Hm. Did you kiss her?"
"Nakiri, you're prying…" he teased, boomeranging her warning from the previous night. Erina frumped her arms and motioned to get out of bed. Sōma tugged her by the wrist of his sweatshirt until she crashed back on top of his chest. "I'm messing with you, Erina. Come back here," he begged, wrapping her in a bear hug. She fussed beneath his tight grip but stopped when he kissed the crown of her head. "But, no. She tried to at the gala, but it never happened. We've never kissed."
"You're insane if you think I believe you turned down a kiss from Ikumi Mito!" She muffled on his left pec. He could feel her head rising and falling over his beating heart. "Isn't the joke on campus that there's a trail of drool left behind whenever she walks by?"
"Yeah, well, it's true." The more he talked about his friendship with Ikumi to Erina, the more he realized he was Ikumi in his friendship with Erina. "She tried to kiss me on the dance floor, but my head turned before our lips met."
"Surely not on its own, Yukihira! Oh my god, why did you reject that poor girl like that? Shame on you!" Erina's scolding vibrated through his ribcage. But what could he do?
He knew he wanted more from whatever their current dynamic was, but maybe this wasn't the best time to explore that, especially considering what awaited them on the other side of the advancement exams was still up in the air.
Still…
"Because you walked in."
Sōma interpreted the glimmer in her eyes as appreciation. Maybe that was too arrogant, too presumptive of him.
(Narrator: Dearest reader, Sōma Yukihira could have no idea that at this exact moment, Erina Nakiri's crush on him turned into real feelings.)
She turned up her nose. "Hmph! I can't believe you thought I was jealous of that!"
"I mean…"
"Don't you dare accuse me of such a petty thing, Sōma Yukihira!" She hammered her fists into his torso.
"I didn't say anything! And what's so wrong with being a little jealous? I was more than a little jealous of Tsukasa." It was a careless admission, something he figured was already a given between them.
Yet, Erina's eyes grew wide as plates. Her lips popped like a gasp, and she scrunched her nose before begrudgingly admitting, "Okay, but only just a little!"
Sōma burst out laughing. "Ah, Nakiri! You're just too cute! What is my fragile heart going to do with you?" He shook his head. "Oh, look! The windows are all covered in snow."
Erina's face softened as she tilted her head and caressed his scar. "Kiss me?" She whispered, answering a burning question he didn't ask aloud. Sōma's eyes danced around her face as he consented, a fire roaring in the pit of his belly. She leaned up to give him a quick peck.
But the instant their lips met, Sōma locked them to keep her there.
a/n: i'm feeling like a billion bucks bc i just submitted my most challenging final, so i decided to post this chapter five days early. you're welcome ( ᴗ )
a bit about the title and chapter: NASA meteorology: "Thundersnow is a rare, snowy thunderstorm seen only in the strongest winter storms. the creation of thunder and lightning requires significant amounts of atmospheric instability, which requires warm air. this is ample in the spring and summer, but not as much during winter snow storms..." hmmm sounds a lot like our fire and ice couple in this liminal space they're stuck in. the give and take between them was fun to explore, and create bc the train arc was so short but held the climax of their emotional intimacy all season 3. so from the conception of this ff i always knew this mini-arc would unfold like this. they're exploring their feelings, testing the bounds of their intimacy and the boundaries of their friendship, clearing the air and licking some wounds, and in the process growing up and growing closer. mmm...i fkn love it! like, i love writing pouting erina and pining soma and i hope the eishi/ikumi relationship questions have been fully answered and that there's nothing more for sorina to clear the air about in the future...
lastly...as of this chapter, we are five chapters away from the end of Twin Flame: Soma's Story. ik ik i cannot believe it either; it's surreal but hasn't hit me yet that we're so close because there's a bit more story left to tell that i have yet even to write. so no worries about it ending any time in the very near future. (but probably by the end of summer in the u.s.)
p.s.: as always, i love reading your thoughts about where, so pls leave a review, follow, favorite, and share this novel with someone in the fandom you think would enjoy reading it, too! while you're at it, i have two new my hero academia ffs up (diff fandom ik but happy season 7 mha premiere day to all who watch and celebrate!)
-You're Welcome!-
8.20withlove
-i don't own the rights to Shokugeki no Sōma, wah wah wah
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