Hey Guys! Back with another oneshot today lol. I think I might make a couple oneshots about the BLUE competition and the time shortly afterwards, and this is the first. I hope you all enjoy. This story is a bit different from my other ones so I hope I did a good job.

This time he felt he had done it. He felt he had made a dish that would make Erina say delicious. He put his heart and soul into the dish, pulling out every trick that he knew. He should have known it wouldn't have been enough, he knew Erina was a hard girl to please with just about anything. However, hearing her say disgusting this time hit a little worse than it did all of those other times.

After the judging, he ended up taking second place, and he offered Erina a quick congratulations before leaving the competition premises. Throughout his entire ride back to Totsuki, he was silent. Thinking. He was wondering what his next move should be. After all, it was clear that all of his current methods of training weren't good enough in accomplishing his goal in getting Erina to say delicious. He went back to his dorm room without saying a word and plopped on the bed.

Erina was a bit worried about Soma, to say the least. Sure, he was probably bummed out that he didn't win, but she had a feeling it was deeper than that. After all, he usually had lots to say after she tasted a dish of his, but he didn't really have much to say this time, and left without making very much noise after congratulating her. She began to regret saying that his dish was disgusting. She hated how her pride caused her to say the exact opposite of what she was actually feeling. If she had told the truth and finally admitted his dish was delicious like she could have so many times before, would things have turned out differently? She began to feel guilty about all the times she did call his dishes disgusting, even if they weren't delicious but still pretty good. She wondered why he even stuck by her side through thick and thin even though she was always challenging his competence, even most recently in this competition.

She then began to think that maybe he hated her now. That maybe he was done with her and was going to move on from her and draw closer to people who could appreciate him properly. It would make sense for him, because he already had a lot of friends and probably didn't need someone who couldn't even give him honesty.

With all of her thoughts, a few tears began to roll down her cheeks. She was glad she was alone in the back of one of the Nakiri limos, or else she probably would have lied about the source of her tears. She wiped them away, and looked at her phone. Not even a single text from him. This made her fears greater that she chased him away as normally he couldn't stop texting her when he wasn't cooking or with his friends. She let out a sigh, and put on a stoic face she had practiced her entire life. After all, Alice had planned a congratulations party for her, so she would be going there as soon as she got home. She only hoped Soma would be there, and hopefully they could talk things out.

When she got home to the Nakiri mansion, once Erina entered she saw that the entire place was already decorated, and that her friends were all there waiting to congratulate her. She was genuinely happy at this moment, glad that through all of her trials in life, she had people she could call friends. Once she had conversed with everyone in the vicinity, she scanned the room for Soma, but he was nowhere to be found. Worried, Erina asked her best friend Hisako the location of his whereabouts.

"Hey, Hisako. Is Yukihira going to be coming today?"

Hisako replied

"I don't think so. Alice invited him, but he texted me and said he wanted some time to himself today. He was probably just tired from the competition."

Erina's heart sank in her chest. So he was officially avoiding her. And to make matters worse, he texted Hisako instead of her, so she knew that he wanted no contact with her whatsoever. Throughout the night, she asked everyone about his whereabouts, and they all gave similar answers that he wanted some alone and that he texted that to them. So him texting Hiasko wasn't just a random choice on his part, he went and let everyone know besides her. She didn't really blame him though, as she could see why he would do that after her less than favorable treatment of him since their first meeting.

She wanted nothing more than to be beside him right now, but she began to think that she wasn't deserving of that position, and would never be. After all, his cooking was at a stage right now where he didn't need her god tongue critiques anymore, and she feared he began to realize this. She contemplated texting him numerous times, but didn't know what to say and also had the fear of rejection from him. Isolating her was one thing, but she wasn't sure how she would take a full on rejection of her from him. The thought scared her, and she fell asleep with nothing but him on her mind.

The next day, she slept later than she had in a long time, waking up well past noon. She checked her phone for messages, and there were none from the person she wanted them from most. Truly her worst nightmare was beginning. She contemplated playing the waiting game, as that would be the easiest option. However, she knew that would also cause him to be distant even if they did regain communication. They would be normal friends at best with that approach.

She decided for the more risky approach, which was to go to the polar star dorm and speak to the man himself. She was confident all the way there, but once she got to his door she struggled to knock. She could hear him behind the door, and she feared the thousands of things he could say to her. After contemplating leaving several times over, she gave his door a couple light knocks, and she heard him answer

"Who is it?"

After a short paused, she answered

"It's me… Erina."

There was another pause, and she began to think that he was just ignoring her, waiting for her to leave. Just as she was about to head down the stairs and out the doors and cry the next hour, she heard

"You can come in, Nakiri."

She opened the door to see a sight she didn't expect. His dorm room which was normally quite lively was barren, and all of his personal belongings were now in boxes. There were only a few things that were out, like his personal set of knives.

"What's going on? Why's all your stuff in boxes Yukihira?"

"I… I just thought I needed a change of pace."

"Wait, are you leaving Totsuki?!"

"Yes, well kind of. I've come to understand that right now my current training methods aren't good enough for the goals I want to achieve, so I plan on taking leave for around a year to train elsewhere."

Erina was fighting back the tears that were forming in her eyes. She now had confirmation that she was the reason for all of this. Wanting some clarification, she asked

"But why? Was I the cause of all of this?"

He answered honestly, with clear sadness in his voice

"Not directly because of you, but because I couldn't keep my promise to you. At the BLUE competition I pulled out everything I had in my arsenal to make you say delicious, and now I realize just how far away from that goal I truly am."

She made eye contact, and saw him in a sadder state than she ever had before. He looked miserable, like someone had just died. He wasn't crying but he looked tormented.

Erina then made a decision. She was going to stop always being prideful. She was going to stop having him deal with her less than ideal attitude all of the time. She was going to give him the recognition he deserved so many times over. She was going to show her gratitude for all the times he had saved her from trouble, more times than she can even count. She was going to give him the affection she always wanted to give him, as more than just a friend.

"Yukihira, no… I mean, Soma. I have something I want to tell you, something very important."

His eyes widened at her saying his given name, and he replied

"What is it… Erina?"

She got up from where she was sitting, and took a seat right next to him on his bed, purposely very close. She turned towards him, and confessed:

"Soma I- I've been lying to you… your food is not disgusting, it's not bad or even mediocre. Your food is, well your food is delicious. Now I know this is not the way you wanted me to say delicious, but this is all I can say for right now. Even the first dish you ever served me wasn't disgusting, it was actually really good. I know this is selfish of me, but I'm scared. I'm scared of you leaving me behind. Even not talking to you for an entire day and the thought of you distancing yourself from me has made me more miserable than when I was under my father's control."

She paused for a bit, taking a breath and continued

"I know this sounds really selfish. After all, I'm just the spoiled girl who looked down on people her entire life. But… I… I'm begging you to reconsider leaving. I want you around, and I see you as an equal who can stand by my side as a chef and as a person you are someone I admire and look up to. Long ago, after you saved me from my father, you have had a special place in my heart, one I know no one can hold but you. So I hope you can forgive me, for all of my selfish actions at the competition, as well as for how ungrateful I had been for everything you had done for me honestly."

She ended her speech, now having for the first time in her life said what her exact feelings were. She felt exposed, but knew that Soma had deserved to see this honest side of her for a long time now. After a minutes pause, he finally spoke up

"Wow Erina. You really had me worried there. I always thought I wasn't good enough, and feared I would never be"

"That's far from the truth. You are good enough, you are actually the one that has always impressed me the most. You're creative in your ideas and never have failed to impress me, not ever."

Soma turned towards Erina, and let out a smile, the first one she had seen in a while,

"Thanks, Erina. That means a lot coming from you. You've convinced me to stay, but don't think I've given up on trying to make you say delicious. I won't give up until I've heard you say it a million times!"

Erina smiled back at him, glad that the side of Soma she truly loved had returned, and she planned to keep that side there for good. She leaned towards Soma and gave him a soft kiss on the cheeks, and saw a blush appear on his face. She admitted, honestly

"I've been wanting to do that for a while now. Ever since our first year honestly. I hope you don't mind."

He turned to her and cupped her face with his one hand and placed a passionate kiss on her lips, which she returned with just as much energy. The kiss conveyed all the love that the two had growing for each other over the past year.

"I hope you don't mind me doing that then." He remarked with a smile

"Do it as much as you like. You deserve that much. After all, you're the only man in the world who would ever be worthy to be called mine."

After a steamy make out session that lasted a half hour, the two had their fill of each other and separated for the first time in a while. Soma stood up, looking proud

"I've decided. Now I'm going to tell all of our friends that I conquered Erina Nakiri!"

"H-Hey! At least try to make it sound a bit better than that!"

"Fine fine. How about we do it together then?"

"Sure. I'd like that very much."

And with a smile, she grabbed his hand and the two walked out the door to tell all of their friends about their newly established relationship. What started off as a cocky redhead and a dishonest blonde at odds would end up with the two together in perfect unison.

How did I do? Hope you guys enjoyed this!

Until next time,

~TheGoodGuy20