after the blue, mana and souma have a conversation
“That was quite a marvelous dish, but I don’t know if I should be insulted by the fact that you weren’t trying to win.”
If Souma was surprised to be addressed so suddenly by the famed mythical Bookmaster of the WGO, he didn’t show it. Nakiri’s kaa-chan was a lot like her, or was it that Nakiri was a a lot like her kaa-chan? Point is, they had this imperious air about them that just demanded servility, or expected it even. He smirked before what she said caught up to him.
“Hey! I was going there guns blazing and in it to win it.” There was Yukihira’s at stake after all. To Souma’s mind, his plan was fool-proof. Shake Nakiri out of this weird funk she was in with a dish so delicious that he’d have complete victory over her. There was no way he was going to win if she was like that, looking so subdued and helpless. That wasn’t Nakiri at all. That wasn’t the goal nor the shrine he was working towards all this time.
She was Nakiri Erina with as much fire in her as ice, and it wouldn’t be them if she wasn’t acting all high-and-mighty and insulting him every step of the way, equal parts laughing and angry. Anything was fine as long as she was no longer crying.
Mana raised one finely groomed eyebrow at that. “Oh? So you completely disregarded the customer you were supposed to serve and the order given to you in order to cook something for your opponent, and you still wanted to win? My, my, now who’s being greedy now?” Mana couldn’t help but be amused at the boyish look of indignation of the young chef in front of her.
Truth be told, Mana doesn’t know what to expect from this Yukihira Souma. It’s just that as soon as she tasted his dish (and she’d say he was rude for serving Erina before her, the actual judge, but she doubts he’d care) she was able to see his personal flavor and through that know more about him than she’d otherwise have.
Yes, she could taste that overwhelming desire to win, but it wasn’t because of The BLUE, or her as the Bookmaster, but purely and entirely because it was Erina he was facing. It was a unique dish in that she didn’t get to just know him, but also got to know Erina through the dish he presented - their whole history leading up to that point. Despite it not being Erina who cooked the dish, it felt like she was there to see her during those moments Mana was not present in her life and it crushed her with the overwhelming gift and guilt of it.
If Erina’s dish was purely the mother she missed, then the face that came to mind when she was eating Yukihira’s Souma’s Queen’s Eggs Benedict was Erina’s, her sweet daughter’s. A dish that was created with the force of emotion and pure hearted desire for the sake of one person, and coming from a chef so young, Mana wonders if the boy in front of her even realizes what he had done and the implications of it.
“I couldn’t help but notice. During the regiment de cuisine, if I recall correctly, Erina cooked an improved version of what you served her during your entrance exam. So is that what this was then - a way to get the better of her?” Mana is genuinely curious but then the boy suddenly smirks.
“So you have been keeping tabs on her.”
Mana, there is no other word for it, sputters,”It is my duty as one of the heads of the culinary world to keep abreast of the events surrounding promising chefs, and Erina is among those chefs, if not the most promising.”
To Souma, it just sounds like she’s bragging about her daughter but he guesses most moms are just like that. “Yeah, yeah. You really are parent and child. The both of you should just be more honest with each other.”
Mana wants to remain indignant, but something in Yukihira’s tone softens her. “You should say whatever you want to each other while you still can. After all you don’t know what will happen in the future.” She guess it’s an uncharacteristic state for him to be in, because he continues upbeat, “And if you can’t say it with words, there’s always food.”
She wonder if that’s how the two of them have been communicating, a language all of their own. Not for the first time, she feels a pang of pain at all that she’s missed when it comes to Erina. Perhaps it’s too late to act like a mother now, after all this time. But she still has to ask.
She intended to ask, ‘what are your intentions towards Erina?’, but what comes out instead is, “What do you think about Erina?”
Surprisingly, he seems to be putting some thought into it, with his head in hand, then blurts out, “She’s prideful, and bossy, and is a bit of a snob,” he continues, listing insults on his fingers one by one and Mana starts to feel unsure about all of this, “She drives me crazy and insists she’s better than me even though she’s obviously not. She won’t tell me she likes my food even though she obviously does. She’s angry all the time, and smiles only when she thinks no one is looking. She’s beautiful when she cooks, and even more when she laughs.”
“She,” And here after everything he’s said that leaves Mana speechless, here he pauses, “She makes me a better chef and she’s the best chef I’ve met. I want to beat her and make her say ‘delicious’.” He looks relaxed as if finally getting it off of his chest. What surprises Mana the most is how blase and matter-of-factly he says it, as if he didn’t say anything profound and what basically amounts to a - what, exactly?
Despite this, Mana still has to be sure. She has to be sure she can trust him.
“You are aware though, of the risks of the God Tongue? Are you sure you want to stay by Erina’s side even knowing her possible fate?”
He narrows his eyes slightly at her, but his tone is light, “I’ve already told this to the Headmaster - well former Headmaster, I guess he’d be your father - that the Nakiri history sure sounds complicated, but it has nothing to do with me.”
“My goal back then hasn’t changed, and nothing now changes what I have to do. I just want her to say ‘It’s delicious’ from that mouth of hers.” He smiles and it’s a bit like the sun at dawn melting snow. “And isn’t that perfect? I just have to keep making dishes that wow her and are worthy of the god tongue. Even if she tastes some awful dishes here and there, she won’t break. And no offense lady, but maybe you shouldn’t underestimate your daughter.” He smirks.
‘She’s stronger than you,’ Mana hears what he doesn’t say out loud and rather than insult her, it incites a full-belly laughter, which confuses the normally unflappable boy.
Maybe it’s just simple-minded naiveté on his part, the confident words of a youth who hadn’t yet experienced the world, but it was his simple straightforwardness that cut through to Erina, and gave her daughter the strength to accomplish the impossible. She wants to trust this boy, the same way Erina trusts him.
“That’s all I wanted to hear, Yukihira Souma. Thank you.” For everything.
part 1 of snapshots in the life of an ice queen and a demon king
a series of interrelated and semi-chronological drabbles on what happens next, because the storm is endless but they don’t have to go through it alone. for nakiri and yukihira-kun what happens next only happens to be the rest of their lives.
erina and another slumber party
blakekathryn
stormborns
vaporwave
titsay
kaledo-art
