A/N

Hello! Welcome to a new story. To get the sad news out of the way, this does mean my other story, Changes, will be out of commission indefinitely/forever. I have tried to write so many different Naruto fanfictions but I always realize something. I don't have the proper feel for it. I could make stuff up, but all that combat stuff was never really my thing. However, cooking and romance is something I know much better. I will be entering some of my own creations into the cooking when I see that it would fit. There's going to be a few changes with the plot, but the main plotline will be the same. Please expect the chapters to be over 3000 words from now on! Anyways let's begin!

Soma laid in his bed with his hands behind his head after a long night of partying with his new dorm friends. He finally had time to collect his thoughts, "Totsuki Academy huh? Interesting."

Soma was a simple person, he didn't want much, but the thought of being able to compete against the best was alluring to him.. After all… Soma grabbed a picture he had put up of him and his dad from the nightstand. After all, he had to catch up to that man.

Ring Ring Ring

Who would call at this hour? Soma thought nevertheless he picked up the phone.

"Yo, Soma."

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"Oyaji?"

"Who else?" Soma heard Joichiro laugh in the background. "How is Totsuki treating you?"

"It's been fun. I just got finished meeting the people in the dorm and they seem like good people."

"Hm is that so?" Joichiro said as he looked at the grill in front of him cooking squid legs.

"Where are you now?"

"New York City, the Manhattan Royal Hotel, at the VIP reception hall."

Soma didn't understand, "Huh?"

"I'm making food here right now. I'll be here for a while."

"Since when do you cook there?"

Joichiro laughed again, "There's a lot you don't know about me yet, gaki."

Soma sat against the wall on his bed. "I guess so... do you have any more surprises for me?"

Joichiro sat down and grabbed one of the squid legs with his chopsticks. He decided to humor the child, "I went to Totsuki when I was younger."

Soma jolted up, "EHHHHH?"

Joichiro grinned, "I'll tell you stories about it another time. Anyways… So Soma, thinkin' you can survive that school till graduation and get better than me is a laugh."

Soma started to flinch as he started smiling, "I'LL DO IT!"

Joichiro's smile widened, "Fine, but let me give you some advice."

"Huh?"

"There's a special secret to improving your cooking so listen up. The trick to being a good chef is meeting the kind of woman that makes you want to offer up all of your cooking to her."

Soma sat in silence for a second. Find a woman who you want to cook for? His mind quickly flashed to the strict blonde girl he had first come acquainted with within the academy. "I think I have someone in mind, tou-san," he replied.

Joichiro's widened eyes and flinched. He quickly followed it up with laughter, "My my Soma, it's your first day and you're already talking to girls? That's my son."

"It's not like that. There's this girl. Nakiri Erina. She was the examiner for my test."

Joichiro sat quietly not interrupting the story.

The redhead's fist tightened, "She wouldn't acknowledge that my cooking is good to my face and told me i failed, but she still passed me. I promised her that I'll get her to say that my cooking is delicious someday," He ended with a grin.

"I see... good luck with that Soma," Joichiro heard his name coming from the kitchen, "I have to go now. Good luck, I'll send some money and basic essentials when you need it."

"Got it, I'll talk to you later."

Click

Erina Nakiri? I should give gramps a call, thought the older man as he headed back into the kitchen.

Soma thought about the interactions he had with Erina. There was something off about her. He knew he could come off like an idiot, but he knew a lot about people. That happens when you work at a restaurant from the age of three. Erina had a trapped feeling about her like she couldn't really be herself. Maybe it had to do with being the "God's Tongue". He scoffed, "Well, I'll try my best to get you to being yourself, "Princess of Totsuki," he said to no one in particular.

"Soma-kun," a voice said coming from seemingly nowhere.

The golden-eyed chef looked straight up to see Isshiki in the ceiling once again, "Hey Isshiki-senpai."

Isshiki smiled, "I see that your youth has kept you up, would you like to eat something?"

"Sure," Soma replied while shuddering at the word youth. That word creeped him out for some reason.

"We have some mackerel filets in the kitchen, I'll bring it to you once I finish," He ended with a smile.

"Thank you, Senpai."

A few minutes later Isshiki returned with a dish. However that wasn't the most noticeable part about him. His body was completely bare with only a thin apron to cover his unmentionables.

"You cooked like that didn't you?"

"Ah- I just find it more comfortable this way."

Isshiki placed the plate in front of the newcomer, "Well it's ready! Eat up, it's pan fried mackerel in Chinese pepper on a bed of puree."

Soma looked at the dish in excitement, "itadakimasu!"

The redhead took a quick bite with his chopsticks. His eyes widened and suddenly he was no longer at the dorm. Instead he was naked in a field of pink sakura trees.

This is too delicious! The way he uses the ingredients in such a short amount of time! How is this possible?

Soma was jolted out of his thoughts as he heard Isshiki call his name, "By the way Soma-kun…"

An instant feeling of darkness arose as he looked up to Isshiki.

"It seems you said something interesting at the opening ceremony. Aiming for the top spot here won't be as easy as you think," The older teen said as his eyes were being covered by his hair. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Isshiki Satoshi, the 7th chair of Totsuki's council of ten." His eyes fell upon Yukihira with a newfound intensity, "Now, Soma-kun… I would like to try YOUR food. Let me see how you express yourself through your food."

Soma looked down to hide his eyes as well but he couldn't stop a smirk from coming to his face. He scoffed. "I guess I understand what my dad was telling me about this place. Well then… Order in!"

New York City

"Hmpf, I should have known it was you, Gramps."

Senzaemon laughs, "I don't know what you could be talking about my dear student."

Joichiro sighed as he sat back in his chair, "Why would you pass Soma when your granddaughter obviously didn't want him to?"

Flashback

"D-disgusting!"

Senzaemon looked down on the sight of the young chefs with a smile on his face. It was the first time in a long time he had seen the "God's Tongue" have such a visceral reaction to a dish. It was obvious to him, even at a distance, that the girl loved the dish.

It seems that your son may be what Erina has been needing. Was he using Yukihira Soma? Sure. He was a grandfather first and seeing his granddaughter the way she was now wasn't something he liked. The training that Azami had done wasn't going to wear off so easily. However, with a chef like Yukihira, he could see that there was something that Erina didn't have and that would challenge her to see new views on cooking. He would of course taste the dish after they all left to confirm his suspicions, it wasn't like he would accept someone to Totsuki if their dish wasn't up to par.

Flashback end

"Remember our conversation after you met Erina-chan the first time, Saiba?"

"Ah... I see."

"You said then that you believed that meeting Soma could help her, even back then. However, we never had the chance to make it a reality," The old man said as he thought back. "Seeing them interact just once, has given me hope that Erina can be saved."

"That's a lot of pressure to put on my kid, Gramps," Joichiro said with a smile.

"That may be, yet I put my faith in your young spawn."

Joichiro fell quiet once again before he started chuckling uncontrollably. "You know I find it hilarious. I think we might become related by the end of this."

Senzaemon had to chuckle as well, "Only time will tell."

Joichiro suddenly became oddly chibi like with giant eyes that were just white with a white smile to match. "I can't wait to poke fun at him."

With that the two men hung up, both knowing what they were probably getting themselves and they both could honestly say that this would probably be a story of a lifetime.

A/N

Now that was a shorter chapter just to start setting everything up. I can already tell this is going to be so much fun. I originally wanted to make this chapter much longer, but I wanted to end on the cliffhanger just for the fun of it. It also just felt better starting the cook off in the next chapter. Anyways It's 7:30 AM currently and I haven't slept since I wrote this on a whim. Expect an updated version if I notice a ton of mistakes when I wake up. I just get so excited to release these that I can't stop myself haha.