A/N: Hello dear readers! This is my first story for this fandom, so I hope the characters aren't too OOC. Pointers and suggestions for improvement are and will always be appreciated if you have any! :) Thanks!

Update (20.12.2017): Currently rewriting a few stories, including this one, I rewrote the first chapter a little so it flows more smoothly. I'll try to update the next chapter soon, thank you all for your patience! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Shokugeki no Soma, the manga/anime all belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 1: Sharp Eyed Boy Cook

It was a cold but nonetheless busy November day, the people of the little port town in Denmark worked as hard as they usually did despite the chill numbing their fingers. Their port was known for its rough environment, but most of all it was known for their successful pub, run by a very capable yet quite intimidating young chef.

The young lad growled menacingly, a truly threatening sound coming from such a young, innocent mouth. The growl, however, was enough to force even the eldest of the cooks into submission. Despite all the cooks, who stand under his control, were at least twice as old as he was, the boy didn't mind that one bit.

In fact, all the adults cowered in fear and snapped to attention when their very young chef issued a command. Due to his feral and aggressive demeanor, he worked his way up the ranks and that's how he managed to survive and become a chef of the successful albeit little pub. The boy was in charge, everyone knew that.

At least everyone was supposed to know that. The young boy cook glared as a girl made her way inside his kitchen.

There was a strict "no woman" policy and he was following it obediently, seeing that girl casually strolling into his restaurant sent his blood boiling. The other cooks could already see his fists clenching in anger as he grit his teeth, his eyes a scathing red. Could this girl not read?

"What the hell are you doin' here in my kitchen? Get the hell out!" he barked, his eyes sharp and the red in them practically glowed fiercely, his wild, feral features reminiscent of a wolf. The adults shared a frightened look with each-other, mentally begging the poor girl to run away as fast as she could to not suffer the wrath of their chef.

But the girl only smiled at him shyly, completely fearless, "Hi! I'm sorry to disturb but may I try your special s-salmon dish? I heard you're making the best in town!" she smiled sweetly, clasping her small hands together in front of her….trousers?

The girl was wearing trousers? The young boy cook rose an eyebrow at her attire, she was wearing boy's clothes save for the frilly but simple shirt she wore. She wore small, brown boots and loose, bell-bottom trousers which looked a little big on her small frame. A small floral hair clip was in her dark brown hair, acting more as decoration than actually holding her hair together to keep it out of her face. She had expressive, warm dark brown eyes. She was pale, but not overly so with small dimples on her nose and cheeks. She wasn't petite like some girls he saw but it also didn't seem like she ate regularly.

The young boy growled, he glared at his subordinates as they were watching with rapt interest, either waiting for their chef to skin the girl alive or to shoo her away with a broom. But the growl-like sound made the boy turn his wild, unruly hair back to the little girl.

She was hungry. Just then he did a double take on her clothes.

Her boots were well-worn, ripped at the edges, it would only take a matter of time when her toes would be poking out of them. Her shirt was ripped at the sleeves, ripped, done so forcefully. Her brown pants also had small holes here and there but then his eyes zeroed in on several cuts along her thin arms and her face had a small cut as well on the side of her cheek. A few bruises marked the inside of her arms and collarbone.

Without a word, the boy walked in the back of the kitchen, grabbed a chair and placed it in front of the kitchen table loudly, he glared at the girl squarely, "Well? What are ya waitin' for? Sit down and wait!" the girl was momentarily confused but followed the boy's orders nonetheless, seating herself at the chair and crossing her legs shyly while waving politely at the speechless cooks who stood rooted to the spot. What was their chef doing?

"I told you to cook, didn't I?! If I see anyone stare at the girl I'll throw them out!" at their chef's shout the adults immediately averted their curious gazes from the shy girl and focused on preparing meals for their other customers. They didn't dare look at what their chef was doing, in case his ever watchful eyes caught theirs straying and a fate worse than death would await them.

It wasn't too long before the young boy returned, a steaming plate in his hand, to the girl who was nervously playing with her fingers and trying hard to silence her ever growling stomach. Her arms were crossed over one another, in a desperate attempt to silence the embarrassing, growling noises, her face a bright shade of red. The boy frowned at this, she must be starving. He placed the plate in front of the hungry girl, along with some bread and a glass of water. The girls' dark brown eyes widened in amazement, looking up at the boy from her seat in shock.

Head held high and arms crossed, his gaze narrowed suspiciously, "What?! This is what you wanted, didn't ya? I don't want you disturbing my cooks with your stomach soundin' like some dying whale!" he huffed, his blazing red eyes boring into the girl, trying to intimidate her. But it seemed the girl was completely fearless or oblivious to it as she sent him a look of wonderment.

Before the boy could react, she launched herself at him, wrapping her thin arms around his small neck as she cried into his shoulder. The boy was stunned, "What the-! Wasn't she afraid of me? What's with this weird girl?" his thoughts were running wild, feeling the girl tighten her grip on him. How dare she be so bold and hug a boy she never saw before in her life? And why was she crying?! He hated cry babies!

Staying still in the girl's arms, Ryou's voice was anything but pleased, "What the hell are you doing?!" he hastily but carefully pried the crying girl away from him, his shoulder already soaked with her tears. A look of surprise fleeted across his face as he saw her appreciative smile and watery eyes.

Her voice was slightly husky from her crying but her words were clear enough to understand, "T-thank you so much... Thank you a lot! I-I don't have any money but I can-"

The boy interrupted her sharply, his arms crossed over his chest in irritation, "Tch. I don't need money, especially not from you. Calm down, alright? You don't have to pay." he added in a slightly softer tone which made the girl blush and hug him again sideways, he glared sharply at his cooks who immediately turned their backs to the children. Ryou couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the far too close proximity to this strange girl, but he wasn't one to randomly hit girls if they didn't hit him.

Their pub usually had two rules one must follow if one wanted to be a customer and not get kicked out: have money to pay for their food and obey the chef's orders. If you didn't do one of those things, you were thrown out. Simple as that. But this girl…why did their chef allow her to actually eat if she didn't have any money? It was most intriguing, perhaps the boy had gone soft?

"I…t-thank you. I…I didn't eat anything in days and I didn't know w-where to go anymore…" a look of understanding crossed the boys face for a brief second. He knew the feeling of going hungry for days very well. After all, he used to be in the same situation as this girl a few years back, before he fought his way to the top and practically lead the whole pub now.

It was a harsh world out there, especially for people whose talents weren't appreciated and ended up on the streets. In the culinary scene, it was a dog eat dog world and you don't get to the top without any scratches and battle scars.

The girl broke away from him and smiled, bowing deeply before she started eating, fast but tidy, not leaving any stains on herself or the table. He observed her from the side and silently admired her amount of self control, she must have been starving and yet she tried to eat as lady-like as possible while in a restaurant.

Releasing a noise akin to a grunt at the back of his throat, he left to work again, but observed her from a distance, making sure she was as comfortable as possible in a kitchen full of adult barbarian men and a hardened, swearing sailors.

The boy cook took her plate but was met with surprise as she took the plate from him back and washed it herself, struggling to reach the sink but with the help of one of the older cooks, managed to rinse off and clean the dish before drying it thoroughly with the fabric of her shirt. Shyly approaching a group of elder cooks, she handed them the empty, clean plate to one of the more friendlier cooks, who gave her a small smile and quickly went back to work when he saw his chef standing with his arms crossed, staring at them. The girl, now looking a lot happier and not anymore like a starved wolf, gave him a bright smile.

Her voice was filled with awe and adoration, eyes set on Ryou, "That was so good! How long are you cooking already?" she tilted her head to the side curiously.

The boy smirked proudly, "For over three years already. Fish is my specialty."

The girl's eyes were glowing with curiosity, "So, you can do anything with fish?" the boy nodded with a grin.

She squealed in happiness, clapping her hands. The boy rose an eyebrow at her enthusiastic attitude before he went back to work.

...Only to stop in realization. This girl…she didn't have anywhere to go. By the looks of it, she must have been living in the streets.

Hell, surviving as a chef in the kitchen was a matter of life or death but to live in the streets…it was just pure hell. If the young boy cook hadn't received help from a group of kind fishermen back then, he would have starved to death out in the cold, unforgiving streets of the little port town. It was a dog eat dog world and…sometimes you throw a bone to a stray dog when you yourself were once a stray.

"Hey you!" the girl turned around in surprise on her way to the exit, raising an eyebrow when the boy rushed towards her and grabbed her arm, a look of fear crossed her face before his bruising grip loosened, realizing the girl was frightened from his rough treatment. He would have to take a note on that.

The boy scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Hey, I know what it's like living on the streets. And no one should go through that hell, so why don't you just stay here? I have a spare bed in my room for you to sleep in, I can cook your meals and teach you how to cook too. You won't go cold or hungry that way. And you can pay that way for living here,"

The girl blinked, staring at him owlishly. Ryou rose an eyebrow, blinking back, "What?"

She remained quiet for some time, "Stay here?" she looked around, "In your restaurant?"

Unsure of the girl's reaction, Ryou nodded, "Yeah,"

His eyes widened slightly when he noticed her eyes beginning to water- Tears again? God damn it!

"Um...b-but I can't cook and I don't have any money and-" Ryou growled, gripping her shoulders.

"Oi, I told you I would teach ya, didn't I? 'Sides, my men are more than capable of teaching you the basics before I teach you myself. Like I said, I have a spare bed, if you aren't afraid of a little dust and dirt on the floor," his expression showed his annoyance, feet apart and arms crossed, "Well? I ain't asking again-"

Suddenly, he found himself crushed by her arms again. She was hugging him again but more controlled this time, almost... gently. Her hands fisted the material of his dark shirt, and her face was buried against his shoulder, sobbing quietly as tremors wracked her small body.

"Y-you...you would do that for me?" before he could answer, her shaky voice called out again, "B-but why? Y-you don't know me, I don't have any money to pay you back and-and-" her shaking got worse, the hands holding his shirt trembled.

He grit his teeth, pulling her away from him so she looked into his eyes, "Doesn't matter. I'll get to know ya won't I? 'Sides…it ain't nice being the only kid here anyway...I guess," he gave her a very small smile, his features softening from his usual frown making appear like the little, innocent boy he was. The first smile he smiled in…well a long time.

The girl smiled back at him and cheered happily, "I have a friend!" again, she hugged him.

And again, he pried her away from him, "Oi! Knock it off!" after making sure her hands were where he could see them, his gaze returned to hers, "What do you mean? Don't you have any friends?" the girl looked down solemnly at her worn shoes, shifting her weight.

"N-no...I don't." cursing under his breath, the boy sighed, gritting his teeth tightly.

Giving her a long look and already being sure he would regret this decision once the words left his mouth, he took a deep breath and forced the words out, "Uh…s-sure. I... guess we can be friends..." he smiled awkwardly, revealing sharp, white teeth.

The girl smiled timidly and for a moment he wondered how she could change from energetic and excited to timid and shy. She extended her small hand towards him then, her voice revealing just how happy she was, "Nice to meet you! My name is Lyca Ishikawa!" the boy contemplated her name, "Lyca" he had heard that word from somewhere before, from the sailors of other countries and he was sure what it meant. ...Wolf, huh?

He smirked, he hoped she was as feisty as her namesake suggested.

The young, sharp eyed boy cook smirked at her in that feral fashion he was renowned for in his pub and shook her hand firmly, "My name is Ryou Kurokiba, I'm the head chef here,"

Lyca smiled.

Have mercy dear readers! First time writing a Shokugeki no Souma story! Don't worry it will get better (I hope so) this was just the start!