Hollow

Chapter 4

Her Feelings

Honey blonde locks danced with the cold night breeze to the beat of clicking heels making their way down a busy market street. Mixed with the many sounds of a hearty evening, laughter and the buzzing of people to name a few, violet eyes looked around slowly as she gradually made her way through.

Erina knew it was only a matter of moments before she arrived at the now famous Restaurant Yukihira. And though it may be well renowned, the restaurant looked anything but the part.

It was funny, she thought to herself, that no matter how famous and well known Sōma got, he never changed the appearance or moved his family shop. He kept it exactly where his father had placed it. One would think this would be problematic, since such a famous chef with a tiny shop would cause massive lines and plenty of unhappy customers for such a little store front. However, since no one ever really knew where Sōma was at one time, and that the shop was always predominantly closed, there was never really a crowd.

You just had to be lucky to spot the open sign since Sōma never makes it publicly known when he was back either. Lucky for her, from their previous conversation a week ago, she knew he was home.

Looking down at her phone, her Maps app showed just another block or two forward and she would be there. Coincidentally, at the same time, her phone began to ring and vibrate and the picture of a smiling Alice and a glaring Erina when they were young popped up reading incoming call.

Erina hummed to the beat of Spice by Tokyo Karankoron, liking to listen to her favorite ringtone a bit before answering.

She smiled knowingly. Hisako must have informed her cousin about what she had planned tonight. They were that close after all. After graduating Tōtsuki, the three of them became a tight unit. Of course they remained friends with all the others, but the three of them had formed their own small circle; where they could vent and talk about all things concerning them without the fear of being judged. And Alice had learned first hand why Hisako was her most trusted friend.

Clicking the green answer button, Erina placed the phone to her ear.

"Hell-"

"Erina!" Alice shouted through the line before the blonde could even finish her sentence. "You meanie! How could you not tell me you were going to visit Sōma-kun tonight!"

Erina let out a small laugh. "Calm down Alice… Sorry, I should of told you."

"Damn right you should of told me!" On the other end of the line, Alice pushed Ryō onto the couch and plopped herself on top of her lovable hunk. He always made the best seat in her opinion. More so than any of her expensive furniture. "This is important!"

Ryō smiled wryly and welcomed his wife with loving arms. She always did this. Had her little girl-on-girl conferences with her cousin and Hisako and used him as a chair while doing so. He knew the golden rule. He could listen but not speak. From what he could tell, she was only speaking with Erina at the moment, but he was sure the aide would be joining sooner or later..

"One second, let me add Hisako," Alice said. "She needs to be part of this."

Ryō smirked. Did he know his wife or what? Sometimes she could be so predictable. He nuzzled into her neck which caused Alice to playfully headbutt him. She wanted to stay focused at the moment, something big was about to happen and she needed to make sure Erina was ready. Even if she had to sacrifice that incredible feeling of Ryō on her neck.

It would be too much of a distraction.

A few moments later, Hisako was on the line and laughing.

"You know Alice-sama, I already spoke to Erina-sama before she left," the pinkette began, already knowing she was on three-way.

"I know! You guys are a bunch of meanies! How could the two of you plan this and not tell me! Sheesh, a girl moves away with her husband to Denmark and all of a sudden she's forgotten! I haven't died you know!"

Erina and Hisako laughed simultaneously at Alice's exaggeration.

"It's not like that Alice," Erina said. "You know the time differences. I was going to fill you in later tonight. I just planned this the other night with Hisako, and kind of spontaneously decided that I should do it this morning. I didn't want to disturb you so early…"

"Hmph! Still! Something this major could be treated as an exception." Alice pouted and pointed in front of her, as if Erina could see her accusing finger. Ryō couldn't help but smile at his wife. She was truly adorable when she puffed up her cheeks and began to act so eccentric. He squeezed and rubbed her waist calmingly, helping to soothe down the excited Alice. It was too soon to get her riled up.

More so for his sake than anyone else's. God help him should she remain this amped up all day. Though judging where her conversation was headed, it was looking like he was in for a rough afternoon.

But Erina was right. Morning time for her, would of been dead of night for them. He was quite glad she decided to spare the phone call. He had a long day the night before and definitely enjoyed sleeping in today.

Alice relaxed under her husband's touch. This was one of the perks of having Ryō as her seat of choice. No chair could rub you into comfort like Ryō could.

"Fine… I guess that makes sense…" Alice drawled. "Sooo…. TELL ME! ARE YOU READY? I know we did some practice but did not know you were going to go ahead with this sooo soon!" She screeched into the phone, not able to hold it in anymore. She was too excited to control herself that she was bouncing up and down on poor Ryō's lap.

"I knowwwww!" Hisako chimed in, also feeding off of Alice's energy. "This is sooo thrilling! I can't believe she's doing this!"

"Right? Erina you finally grew a backbone. You get him cousin! So what's the game plan? Are you going to seduce him? Are you going to just grab him and be all 'you're mine now!' You have options you know."

Erina couldn't believe some of the thoughts that ran through Alice's mind. Was that what she did with Ryō? Just grab him and be like marry me? Knowing Alice, that could possibly be true.

"Well…" Erina began, ready to enlighten her delirious cousin.

"Erina-sama is going to just march in there and tell him how she feels!" Hisako answered.

"Oooohhhh… bold," Alice answered with a sly grin, as her red orbs danced around with the thought, still liking the seduction idea more. "Erina, never knew you could be so daring…"

"Guys... I…" but the blonde was interrupted again.

"Yes! Erina-sama has had enough. We had a long talk about this. She's about to let Sōma-kun know."

The two girls laughed and squealed in excitement and continued to chatter back and forth as Erina could only shake her head happily. This was usually how all their group calls go. Alice and Hisako gossiped and got lively over silly things while Erina just sat back and laughed silently at the two.

She loved them dearly. And truth be told, she needed this. She was glad Alice called. Even if she barely got the chance to speak at the moment. Just hearing their voices was giving her the strength she needed; encouraging her to push forth and do what she had wanted to do for so long.

So many emotions, built up inside of her. Soon. She could finally let them out to the one person she's been meaning to say them to. The only person she wanted these words ears to fall upon. Her heartbeat quickened at just the thought and her cheeks were turning a shade of pink.

As the conversation went on, Erina found herself approaching the small restaurant, seeing the big sign with Sōma's family name plastered on the front.

She stopped a little bit out, as she noticed the boy now turned man who's haunted her dreams endlessly wave goodbye to his last customers of the night, and changed the sign on the front of his shop to "Closed." Erina smirked, he was going to be in for a surprise.

She steadied her beating heart as best as she could and steeled herself; her rosy cheeks as a result draining back to normal color.

"Girls…" Erina said into the phone, cutting in between their chatter. "I've arrived. Going to hang up now, ok?"

"Erina please call us back ASAP and let us know how it goes!" It sounded more like an order than a request from Alice but Erina knew she meant well. "I don't care what time it is. I need to hear how this goes!"

Ryō chuckled to himself at his wife's eagerness but he could not blame her. He couldn't help but be curious how this will play out as well. He did after all kind of help set this all up when he told Sōma to visit Erina's shop so he also felt invested. He would make sure to sit with Alice tonight to hear the update.

"Yes Erina-sama. Please let us know! And best of luck. I know you will be able to convey your feelings. Remember what we talked about."

Erina smiled. "Thank you. I'll give the two of you a call later tonight with hopefully some good news." With that said, the blonde ended the call and took a deep breath. She placed the phone into the pocket of her pencil skirt and before making her way inside the shop, checked herself out in the reflection of a nearby glass window.

She looked amazing. Professional and business-like, yet sexy and classy at the same time. She wore cream red-bottom heels, a tartan pencil skirt that was form fitting and accentuated the curves of her hips perfectly, and a simple white blouse which she left a few buttons at the top unbuttoned; she wanted to make Sōma sweat a little. He was dense, but he couldn't be that dense now could he? He did have a girlfriend after all. So clearly showing a little skin wouldn't hurt her chances.

What was she going to tell her cousin earlier? That she does not need to resort to seduction techniques… well, that one would have to be bent a little. Even she had to admit, the outfit she had on today was a bit over the top for just a little one-on-one occasion but it was fine. She liked to look fashionable. Always had.

To pull the look together, she had a khaki trench coat hung on her shoulders to keep her warm from the cool midnight breeze; she really did love to wear her trenches like this, giving her the freedom of slipping it on and off with ease. Plus it gave her a real classic look.

Honestly speaking, from an outsiders point of view, she looked so out of place. A dangerously beautiful and stunning woman standing outside an old and outdated looking restaurant. She looked more suited to be shopping in some designer store than going in some random diner.

Erina pursed her lips at her reflection. Something was not right. And then it hit her, her hair! Reaching for her volumed blonde locks, she tied it into a ponytail and smacked her lips together in delight with her finished appearance. There was only one word to describe her.

Fierce.

And she felt every bit of it. The past few days, Hisako and Alice had prepped her. They watched tons of romance movies and videos on the computer of girls confessing. Erina was every bit ready for this. At least on the outside. Mentally however, her mind was racing with uncertainties, but she had to shove those aside.

One thing she had in her pocket was that she knew how to dress sensual. That part came to her easily as she was always very chic. She smirked as she remembered the time when she dressed up as a teacher before the start of the Promotion Exams, and taught the Polar Star crew in an outfit that some deemed "risque." Dressing sexy always made her feel more confident.

"Yukihira Sōma…" Erina mumbled to herself before pushing the doors open.

That man...

"Get ready to be blown away."

Making her way inside as the door chimed, Erina's eyes inspected the shop slowly. She had been to this shop a few times during her school days, and nothing had changed. Not a simple tacky ornament out of place, exactly the way she remembered it to be.

Hearing the sounds of knives being put away in the kitchen, Erina approached the front counter and took a seat.

"Shop's closed!" Sōma yelled, not bothering to make his way up front. "Sorry about that, I'll be open tomorrow though!"

"How dull…" Erina deadpanned aloud, knowing that would catch the attention of the chef in the other room. "So this is the infamous Yukihira. How plain and utterly uninteresting." She even drummed her fine manicured nails on the countertop, doing her best impression of a snobby high class customer.

At the sound of his store being disrespected, Sōma started to make his way to the front. "You know, you should never judge a shop by the appearance," he said. "And anyways, the shop is clo-" but his sentence got cut short as he noticed the teasing smile on the face of the pretty blonde with the pointy sideburns.

"Oi! Nakiri!" Sōma beamed. He was definitely surprised to see her, though more than pleased at seeing an old friend. "What brings you here?"

Erina looked down and eyed the menu in front of her, that was conveniently on the counter. "Nothing much. Was in the area so I decided to stop by," she replied coolly.

"My aren't I special," Sōma said, not falling for it one bit. "A personal visit from the queen of Tōtsuki herself. I'm flattered." He even had the audacity to wink at her and Erina could already feel the heat rising in her cheeks. "But sorry, even for the queen, shop's closed," he teased.

Erina rolled her eyes trying to distract herself from his charming smile and placed an escaped strand of hair behind her ear. "Good thing I'm not here to eat your terrible food..."

Sōma laughed. "Jeez, we both know it's good. It won't kill you to admit it you know?"

That it's delicious.

"Sure... It's passable at best I suppose. Borderlining edible at times."

Lies. She would never tell him the words he wished to hear. For reasons, even she did not know.

That caused Sōma to chuckle again. Same old Nakiri. He'll get her to say it's good one day. He would of liked to have her try one of his dishes now but he had already put most of his cooking utensils away, and she didn't seem hungry at the moment. Even if she was distracting herself by looking at his menu.

"So what's got you all dressed up?" Sōma asked, noticing her looking pretty fancy. Much different from when he saw her the other day at work.

"I-I'm not dressed up! Well… that's not exactly true. I… Umm…" Erina's face was now hot. "Do you... like it?" She then asked, catching Sōma by surprise.

"Hmm? Looks ok I guess," the talented chef answered plainly and scratched his head wondering why she would ask him such a question. Since when has she ever wondered his opinion about the way she looked? Judging by the fire in her eyes and the scowl on her face, that was not the response she was looking for.

"Y-You! YOU JERK!" Erina glared at him. "I spent a lot of time picking out this outfit!" She crossed her arms and wondered why she even came here in the first place; and better yet, why did she even revealed that to him...

'Stupid. Insufferable. Idiot. Tasteless. Idiot…' The blonde went on and on criticizing him in her mind, not even caring that she repeated a few insults.

"E-Ehh! Sorry!" Sōma quickly apologized, waving his hands in defense. "I-I mean…" Now taking a really good look at her, Erina did look quite stunning. She always had, even he could admit that. He wasn't one to care about the way others looked. But Erina did always happen to catch his attention. He even took a large gulp when his eyes lingered a little bit longer than they should have on her open blouse. "I-I do think you look pretty," he manage to get out, his cheeks tinting a bit as he said so.

Unbelievable.

Erina turned to look at him again, a little surprised and her face painted cherry. She couldn't believe she heard him compliment her. Did this dense fool actually say something nice about her besides her cooking skills?

"R-Really?"

Sōma now was the one to turn from her, all of a sudden feeling nervous and not able to hold eye contact.

"Y-Yeah.." was all he was able to get out dumbly.

Really. Pretty.

Erina smiled warmly. Hearing him think she looked appealing made her feel delighted and helped to brace her for her next question. She didn't feel like beating around the bush any longer. She had come here with a mission in mind.

She was going to tell him how she felt.

"Yukihira… no," she stopped herself. "Sōma-kun." This caught the redhead's attention. She rarely ever called him by his first name. "I-I want to tell you something…"

She was bravely holding her gaze on him, fighting away the ever growing feeling to look away. The only sign of her nervousness was the fiddling of her hands as she toyed with the ends of her coat. A mix of emotions danced across her eyes and Sōma shifted into serious mode.

"S-Sure." He moved from behind the counter and leaned up against the wall beside her. "What's up?"

Erina hesitated for a moment.

This was it.

She stood up so now they were mere inches apart, never breaking eye contact with the handsome chef.

"I-I want to tell you something... important... that I've held onto for such a long time…" she started lowly. Sōma nodded for her to continue. The way she was looking at him now, he couldn't look away even if he wanted to. There was something hypnotizing about her eyes in this moment, as brilliant shades of violet and pink clashed with warm gold. The distance between them started to slowly close.

"S-Sōma-kun… ummm… how do I say this…" Erina started to mumble to herself getting lower and lower. She was shifting nervously back and forth and the light swish of her trench coat was the only noise filling the room. That, and the sound of Sōma swallowing nervously.

Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and taking another step towards him, Erina began to let out her caged feelings.

"I wanted to say, for the longest time… I think ever since maybe the end of our first year… I started to realize… I… I…"

"Y-You?" Sōma helped along, caught up in the moment and kind of already seeing where this was going. Yet he couldn't stop himself from wanting to hear her.

"I've liked you!" She blurted out. "B-But not like friend like! Even though yes, I like you as a friend… but like... I have feelings for you that are more than that…"

There! She said it! Erina could feel the weight lifting off her shoulders already. It was a bit rushed. Maybe even a bit weird, but whatever! It was done. Close enough to what she practiced. She had confessed to him the feelings she had kept trapped inside her for so long. Now he would finally know. Yes, the Nakiri Erina… liked him.

Him... the man she had once despised.

Yukihira Sōma.

Had captured her heart.

"Oh…" The unorthodox cook didn't know how to react. He wasn't as stupid as people thought when it came to love. The minute she got up and started approaching him, his mind was playing out all kinds of scenarios. This being one of them. He saw it coming. And even though he had a girlfriend, and he should of told her to stop and save her from the pain… he couldn't. He selfishly wanted to hear her say it.

Something within him wanted to hear her confess like she did. Just knowing she felt this way towards him opened up a part of his heart he had stitched closed. A part he had promised to remain shut. For fear of losing what they had. For fear of losing her...

And now here they were, with her just having finished confessing to him…

"So you like me huh?" Sōma asked for confirmation. He was more so saying it to himself, than truly asking her. He heard what she said. How could he not? Her words played over again and again in his mind, as they imprinted themselves into his brain.

Erina's face got redder if that was even humanly possible and she felt as if she could die at any moment from the embarrassment. "Y-Yes. I like-you, like-you…" This was so mortifying. "A-And I know you're in a relationship…"

Sōma could only nod, glad she knew his position. He wanted to say so much, but the words could not form in his mouth. That only got him to start thinking more. Wondering where she was going with this. If she had known he had a girlfriend, which obviously she does, why would she confess to him? Hell, he had told her himself he was taken the last time they met…

'WOW,' the boy thought, now realizing how much pain he must have inadvertently inflicted on her that night. No wonder her whole attitude changed after he had the phone call.

He was so stupid… how did he not notice.

"E-Erina…" he somehow found himself to say. "I… I don't know-"

She placed a finger on his lips silencing him immediately, the space between them now completely nonexistent.

"Y-You have a girlfriend. I-I know…" she stumbled. But continued on bravely. "But I just wanted to get that off my chest. I've been holding it inside for so long, and I couldn't live with myself anymore if I at least did not tell you. Sōma-kun, I like you. It took me a long time to come to terms with my feelings. But I can say it with certain… the day you left, I felt like a part of me was gone too. I felt so empty... so hollow."

Sōma couldn't help but smile at this. Her honestly was truly endearing. And her pained voice... he wished to make it go away. In this moment, she looked so beautiful right now. She captured his attention completely. He couldn't even think about anything else.

Everyone. Everything.

It was all forgotten.

Only the woman standing before him existed. The same woman whom now he had realized he had caused so much hurt… hurt that he could of saved her from. Hurt that he could of saved them both... If only…

If only…

He was brave enough to tell her how he felt, those few years ago.

"I-I see…" was all he could say. He even managed to chuckle a bit awkwardly, not even able to process all this information. "This... puts us in a weird situation now… since I'm in a relationship and all…"

Silence crept in between the two. They just stood there for a bit, body pressed against one another, both lost in their own thoughts, until Erina broke the silence.

She had confessed to him. Her main goal was accomplished. The one she had set with Hisako. She could go back home with her head held high knowing she did not chicken out. But… unbeknownst to her best friend, there was another goal she had set for herself.

Something else she had wanted to do for a long time. Something... that on the luckiest of nights, she would dream of and wake, wishing it were real.

"Sōma-kun…." She said softly.. Her voice contradicted the way she was looking at him right now, so full of focus and determination. Though she was quite, the body language she was giving off was anything but. "I'm about to do something that might break some rules..."

Sōma raised a brow at this. Unsure what Erina had in mind. But before he knew it, she pressed up harder up against him and stood on her tippy-toes so now they were perfectly at eye level and her lips were just mere breaths away from him.

Sōma could feel the heat of her body permeating through the thin fabrics of her clothing. Her breasts pushed against his polished chest and she bit her lips before continuing.

"But... I. Don't. Care."

He felt those words. If that was even possible. He knew she was not lying. Every single syllable she had just pronounced, he felt it.

Placing one hand on his shoulder for further leverage, to help take the strain off her toes, Erina mashed her lips against his at full force. The kiss was far from anything gentle. Far from anything he knew Erina to be. Instead, it was forceful, and passionate. It contained all her pent up feels. It was a kiss worth a thousand words.

The minute her lips touched his, it was like a fire had ignited within Sōma. His body burned with want as her need and passion for him transferred over to his being. If he had any kind of sense before, it was now all lost. He acted on pure instinct. Without even questioning, he wrapped one hand around her slim waist and placed his hand on the frame of her face, deepening the kiss.

For the love of all things, he had never tasted lips like hers. And when she daringly licked his lower lip, asking for entrance, he complied without a second thought. Their tongues battled one another for dominance, hungrily attacking each other, seeking to see which one would give up first.

Sōma squeezed her voluptuous hips, getting lost completely in their kiss and Erina couldn't stifle a weak moan that escaped her as they both pulled away; both in need of much air.

Panting heavily, Erina watched him through dreamy eyes. She wanted him so much. That kiss… she hoped it conveyed how strongly she felt about him.

He was the first kiss... and what a kiss it was.

It was a crime that he was not hers! A sin. A sin that they were not together and that he was something she could not have. That he was taken by another… Forbidden for her to touch.

To hell with that! She did not feel guilty, even in the slightest for kissing a taken man. In fact, she felt entitled to him. He was supposed to be hers. From the moment he walked into Tōtsuki, the one man that stood up to her with any sort of spine, she should of realized in that moment, he was meant for her.

And she'll be damned if she gave up on him now after just finding him again. She was hurt for too long. Where was her happiness? Where was her shot at love. She could wait no longer. She was going to take it.

She never waited to be handed anything. And this was just another one of those things.

Try as he might, Sōma could not form a solid train of thought at all. He was left panting just as much as she was. He had tried to stay as placid as possible, but the minute her lips crashed against his, like a tidal wave coming onto him at full force, he was completely swept away. He had never felt a kiss with so much emotion before. So much pain and wanting… it was all laid out and plain to see.

They pulled away from each other, neither one wanting the moment to end but knowing it needed to. Luckily for them, it was not a second too late, as at that very moment, the bell at the front of restaurant Yukihira chimed signaling the entrance of another guest.

"Sōmaaa-kun! Look what I got-" entered a red haired woman with some bags in her hand. But the girls voice was cut short at sight of another guest. "Oh Erina! What are you doing here?"

The pair forced themselves to look away from each other and turn to the door as Erina was greeted with another pair of golden orbs. Uncannily similar to the ones she was just staring into.

"Rindō!" Sōma said nervously, aware at the proximity of Erina and himself. "Erina was just in the neighborhood and decided to stop by… and we were doing some catching up!" He was acting very strange. She could tell just from his nervous glances.

She raised a brow at his weird behavior and turned to Erina.

The young queen on the other hand didn't say anything. She just nodded… as if somewhat agreeing with Sōma's explanation.

Suspicious…

Something definitely just happened. Though Rindō chose to ignore it for the time being and continued on playing ignorant.

"You should of texted me babe! I would of bought an extra box of noodles if I known we had company. Erina, so sorry. If my dumb boyfriend here would of told me we were having guests, I would of gotten you something!"

At the sound of Rindō calling Sōma "babe," Erina had her own suspicions she was his said girlfriend. But upon hearing her call him "boyfriend," that pretty much confirmed it.

So he was dating Rindō Kobayashi... She would of never guessed. And now she was face to face with her rival. She never knew her senpai had a romantic interest in Sōma. Yes there was always "interest" there, but it seemed more friendly than anything else. But she guessed, that was besides the point. That would not change the situation at hand.

The circumstances right now were as follows… she would be perceived as a home-wrecker and Rindō was his entitled girlfriend being cheated on.

"T-That's ok." Erina straightened herself, and headed towards the door. "I was just leaving."

However before she did so, she turned and looked back at Sōma. "Now I'm going to make you a promise, like how you made one to me those years ago. I'm not going to lose you again."

With the click of her heels, she then turned again and made her way to the exit. Brushing past Rindō as she went, she motioned to the red haired woman. "Can I have a word with you outside Rindō-senpai... privately?"

Rindō nods, slightly confused but could feel something interesting was about to happen. Especially after what Erina had just told her boyfriend. She tells Sōma she would be right back and followed Erina outside. Sōma could only watch, knowing they did not want him in their conversation.

He sighed and sat down, resting one hand in his head, while his other clutched his chest. He felt so conflicted… not sure of how to proceed.

When the girls were now outside, well out of earshot of the handsome cook, Erina turned to Rindō and eyed her calmly. "It's been a long time, Rindō-senpai."

"Likewise princess," Rindō said toothily. "I hope you've been well." Shoving her hands in her sweater, she eyed Erina up and down searching for answers. Something was definitely off about her. But she didn't have to wait long to find out, as the woman in front of her was more than ready to explain.

"Yes, I have. Thank you…" Erina answered. Not one to dance around the subject, Erina then got straight to the point. "Rindō. I have something to tell you but I want to ask you something first…"

"What's up?" The red head cocked her head intrigued and let out a sly cat-like grin.

"How much do you like Yukihira-kun?" The question was a simple one. If this was a random person asking her this, Rindō would have replied with a casual answer. And go on and on about how great her male look-a-like was. But for some reason, this did not feel like a question.

It felt like a threat.

Rindō's playful smile was gone.

"Sōma?" Rindō asked, and then feigned as if she was pondering the question for a bit. She didn't need to think about how much she liked Sōma. The answer came to her naturally, just as their relationship was. "A lot! He's like the perfect guy for me! We get along so well. He never backs down from anything! My kind of man!" Rindō laughed wholeheartedly thinking about said man.

"I see…" Erina replied. "Rindō... I have another question, how did you and Yukihira-kun end up dating?"

Rindō's sly smile returned, now starting to see a pattern with Erina's questions… She would of answered but from the moment she walked into the shop… something was off. And now she was starting to put the pieces together. "What does it matter to you?"

Erina's eyes narrow a bit, not liking that Rindō chose not to answer. That was fine however. She got the information she needed, seeing as how defensive Rindō got.

Seeing the slight look of displeasure of Erina's features, Rindō appeared to be amused now. "By any chance, does the great Nakiri Erina like my wittle Sōma-kun?"

Erina's heart sped up, though she was ready for this. This was why she called Rindō out here in the first place anyways.

"I-I do," Erina admits. "I wanted to speak with you outside because I'm not someone that does something underhandedly. I respect you Rindō-senpai. And I… I want you to know, I am interested in Sōma-kun."

"Hmmm…" Rindō placed a hand on her hip and eyed Erina cautiously. "I see… and you came here to tell him that I'm assuming?"

"Y-Yes…"

"Were you also planning on telling me too? Or did my appearance catch you by surprise and you wanted to tell me now that I caught your hand in the cookie jar?"

That stung. But the red haired woman had got it all wrong.

Erina glared at her. Did she really think she would do something so underhanded and cowardly. She could of left and not said anything at all just now. The whole purpose was to bring her out here and tell her. Clenching her fists, she calmed herself slightly.

"I… I did not know who Sōma-kun was dating," Erina answered truthfully. "I was going to ask him tonight, so then I would tell her personally. After you came in just now, I put the pieces together, and I made the decision there to tell you. As it would only be fair to you Rindō-senpai."

Rindō's eyes widened a bit, surprised at her answer. She could see the food empress was not lying. She had a knack for that kind of thing. And she appreciated honesty above all else. She would even go as far as to say she was impressed with Erina. They never spoke much while in school, but both obviously were around each other a lot due to them being in the Elite Ten. And it was without say, they both held much respect for one another. She nodded, and sighed.

"I respect your truthfulness. It's rare to find someone so honest nowadays," Rindō said. She kicked a random rock on the ground and dug her hands deeper into her sweater. It was one of the things that attracted her to Sōma. She knew he was probably going to tell her what happened once she got back inside anyways. He wasn't one to hide things. "That being said, I'm not giving him up that easily."

"I… I understand," Erina said.

"You really think you have what it takes to take him from me?"

"I-I'm not sure… Honestly I don't even know the first thing about trying to win a guy's feelings over," Erina said hesitantly. "But I know my feelings for Sōma-kun are true. I've never wanted anything more!"

Rindō smiled warmly. She understood where Erina was coming from. She knew that feeling all too well. But she was not about to lay down her happiness for someone else. This was the one thing she afforded herself to be selfish on.

"I appreciate the warning, and I thank you for the heads up." Rindō then started to make her way back to Restaraunt Yukihira. "I would say good luck… but I can't really support you on this... Anyways, Sōma-kun is waiting for me, have a good night."

Erina watched with mixed emotions as Rindō made her way back into the restaurant.

She knew she was the one in the wrong here.

What she was starting up… it was going to cause pain… for all of them. She knew this. Rindō was not a bad person at all. Judging from how she even handled their little convo there… Erina knew. Any other girl would of probably gone crazy at being told what she proclaimed to Rindō… she probably handled it as best as she could…

Erina sighed. And turned away. Even she did not know how this was going to play out.

Reaching in her pocket, she grabbed her phone ready to give the play-by-play to her friends. And what a story she was about to tell...

Edit: 4/16/18, 5:22AM

Authors Note: Hi Everyone! I know... I know... It's been quite some time. I'm not really sure how to explain. I would probably be here until tomorrow. But I'll say this, I know it's not much. But I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. I will try to update again when I can.

Just wanted to say thank you for all your support over the past few years. Honestly... I get a review like every few weeks or so and it reminds me wow... people still read my story. And trust when I say I read them all. I see every single one and it makes me so happy inside. Some of you have a real talent with words and making a person feel really special. I'm sorry to all my fans of this story that had to wait two years, maybe even more than that, for 1 chapter. At that pace, I will probably die before we finish this story. But again... I can't stress this enough. Thank you everyone. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you for making me feel special.

I hope I was able to still capture the same feelings in this chapter as I had in my previous ones. It's been quite some time since I added to this fic so maybe the tone might be off some. But I wanted to keep that same feeling... It does not feel like the perfect chapter to me. Idk, I feel rusty. But I hope it suffices.

I'll upload it as is. And probably edit it again sometime tonight. Just wanted to get it out there for you guys as soon as I could.

Also as you can tell, I'm not painting Rindō into so mean idiot girlfriend so Sōma could just throw her away and get with Erina, and yay, happy simple fic. I don't really like stories like that. I think characters are more complex. In this story... no one is a bad guy. It's just how everything plays out, and now they have to face the situations they are in. Anyways, that is all. P.S. The anime and manga right now are so amazing. Love every bit of it.