Disclaimer: I don't own Shokugeki no Soma, just this story.

That tempura don.

…

No. It was more than that. It was that day, that my feelings started to change about you.

I told you the internal struggle I was having, that I understood both Saiba-sama's passion, and my father's ruthless ideal. It was so hard to think about.

Which path was the right one?

And when I finished my speech, I came to the realization that I dropped a lot of information on you, and that you would be annoyed with hearing such things. But you weren't. You offered to make me a dish.

And it changed my life.

Your tempura don… it made me realize that cooking should be an expression of one's self. Following a strict set of ideals will do nothing to shape the culinary world.

It was you, and your never-ending creativity. It was you, and your openness to letting me worry about my problems.

I was able to find what I wanted in my life, thanks to you.

…

It will always be you.

Just a few days to go until the Promotion Exams start.

… God, I want everyone to do well. That's one of my main hopes.

Everyone is just too precious to me, that I can't lose them. My time in Polar Star has been so important to who I am as a person.

…

"Oh, Nakiri. You're still up?"

…

And the person who has done the most (not that I would ever say that to his face) is right beside me, looking over my shoulder at the papers with various notes I've written to prepare for tomorrow's lessons.

Sōma Yukihira.

"Of course I am. There is still time to teach all of you guys about the challenges you will face in Hokkaido. I just want to make sure you are prepared adequately."

He proceeded to grab a stool, sitting beside me and looking at the information on my computer, currently loaded up to information about various meats and produce. The lesson for tomorrow would be a mix of various areas, where I would teach the group the best method of incorporating the foods that could be put for us.

I looked to him, eyebrow raised.

"… What?" He asked, and I let out a small sigh.

"You can go to sleep, you know." I retorted, and he just grinned.

"Yeah, but I'm not feeling all that tired."

I shook my head at his response. It was almost midnight, and the rest of the Polar Star members were sleeping already (or something else, if the sounds above our heads was any indication). While the rest of the dorm was diligent during the studies Hisako and I provided, Sōma would sleep through all of them. It was infuriating! His life at Tōtsuki is on the line, and he's choosing to goof off instead of putting some serious effort into this!

"Yes, which is the exact reason why you sleep through all of the lectures I give." I argued, and Sōma knew I was right, as he chuckled sheepishly.

"Alright, you got me." As he said that, he came to a realization. "How about you teach me right now?"

Again, an eyebrow was raised in suspicion.

"And why in the world would I do that?" I had no materials fully prepared, there wasn't anyone else who was going to get these lessons, and most importantly, the idiot sitting beside me isn't suited for getting taught.

"Well, um…" His thinking face was pretty stupid looking, which caused me to giggle.

"Huh? What's so funny?" He asked, while I waved my hand.

"N-not much." I cleared my throat, my giggling spree over. "Anyway, why would I bother to teach you? You would just sleep through everything anyway." Seriously, even when I would toss in the occasional activity, he would just doze off, forcing Hisako or myself to give him a hit on the head.

"Aw, come on, Nakiri! The lessons you have are boring, you can't deny that." I scoffed.

"Even so, learning the uses for ingredients will save you in the long run. I know my father will try to hinder all of the rebels. Because of that, you will need every trick possible to succeed." I reasoned. It seemed to work, as Sōma let out a hum of agreement. But soon, his face lit up, signifying that he thought of something.

"Alright then. How about instead of teaching me, we do some actual cooking, and teach me the older lessons?" He said, making me think for a bit. Well, if Sōma was going to do nothing but sleep through an important class, I might as well try to do something to fix that.

I let out a hum of agreement. "Alright then, Yukihira. I'll bite. Grab some meat and produce."

I have to commend Sōma's endurance and fire.

It's almost 2 in the morning, and while I felt on the verge of collapsing, he was still going strong, cooking only a little slower than he did a few hours ago.

I tried and sort of failed to suppress my yawn, looking to the redhead in front of me, who was cooking some potatoes like I taught him.

It was nice to see that my lessons were working. The usually thick-skulled Sōma would just ignore me and do what he wanted, but it finally seemed like he was becoming serious.

And the way he cooked, not to mention the food he made me taste leading up to this point, truly solidified the link between him and Saiba-sama. It tasted new, yet vaguely familiar, reminding me of the dishes Saiba-sama gave me all those years ago, as well as Sōma's tempura don.

"How do you do this on a regular basis, Yukihira? It's been two hours and you're still going strong." I said, another suppressed yawn coming soon after.

The thought crossed my mind a few times before, when I saw him looking a bit groggy some days. But my time at Polar Star confirmed how little sleep Sōma gets. In addition to talking with the girls who live at the dorm, who reveal Sōma's inconsistent (at best) sleep schedule, I've woken up some nights, to see him still up, cooking something. We would share a small nod of accepting each other's presence, while I would get some water or some other small task, before I left once again, Sōma still working. It just occurred to me now, as we were both relatively awake, that I could ask how this was possible for him.

He let out a chuckle in response. Knowing him, it probably would have been that downright annoying cackle, if he wasn't mindful of the lack of sounds coming from above us, signifying that the rest of the dorm was sleeping.

"Eh, it just came naturally to me. Cooking gets my mind off stuff, you know?" He said calmly, and for the smallest of seconds, I thought I saw a look of sadness on his face. Before I could even question anything, that stupid grin came back in full force. "Why? Feeling tired?"

"N-no." I lied, wanting to prove his smug face wrong. Another yawn that I couldn't suppress caused him to look at me skeptically, and I finally caved.

"Alright, I am. Happy?" Another small chuckle was his response.

"Not really. You should sleep." He said, sounding like he genuinely cared for my wellbeing. It was unexpected to hear his words, but I recovered quickly, shaking my head.

"No. This is the most progress myself or Hisako have gotten out of you these past few days, and I will get these lessons ingrained in your thick skull." I retorted, causing him to shrug with a small sigh.

"Alright then. One more dish. Then we'll go to sleep." I nodded at the fair compromise. Sōma would still be able to cook, if just for a bit longer, and I would be able to get some rest before tomorrow's teachings. And Sōma would have the knowledge I taught the rest of the Polar Star members.

…

After tasting Sōma's final dish of the night, a feeling that I wasn't familiar with resonated with me. The warmth of the spices and such let me be content.

Not that I would show it to him, of course.

"Well, how is it?" He asked, causing me to smirk.

"It's alright. What's more important is that you were able to apply the lessons I taught you over the night. And I have to say, good work." I lightly, and mockingly applauded, causing him to let out a dry chuckle.

"Jeez, it wouldn't kill you just to say it was good, you know." I simply giggled at his comment. Of course, I could say his food was good. But as annoying as he can be, I have to commend his efforts in the kitchen. From what the Polar Star girls tell me, I can see that he takes after Saiba-sama, in the best of ways.

And like most chefs, he has more to achieve. My godly palate can taste any of his imperfections, after all. He needs the motivation, in order to become anywhere close to what my skills dictate.

And as expected, Sōma took the criticisms in stride, and smiled. "Well, it'll happen someday. Remember what I promised you, Nakiri."

"I will make you say my food is delicious."

"Of course I do, Yukihira." I don't think I could ever forget it. It was the first time someone was so certain of something in my presence. "It's just that you have not met those standards." I said sternly with a smirk, making him chuckle once again.

"I know. But I just want you to know that one day, I will make you say it."

We fell into an awkward silence after, neither of us knowing what to say after Sōma's bold redeclaration. Thankfully, I was able to find a way out of the odd feeling.

"I'll hold you to that. Well, I again have to commend your ability to retain the information I have given you, but ultimately, the promotion exams will be the true judge of that." I said as I got up, standing in front of my rival turned ally. "But for now, I will say that you did well."

Sōma put a sheepish hand behind his head, rubbing his neck. "Thanks, I guess. That's probably the most I'll hear out of you."

We shared a small giggle, both of us knowing that it was likely true.

"Well, I have to pack all this up. If we're both up again, maybe I'll ask you to teach me some more. But for now, head to bed, Nakiri. I'll be on my way in a bit."

"Do you need any help?" I asked. In all fairness, Sōma did serve me food that applied my lessons. It felt a bit odd for me to just desert him like that after.

A wave of the hand stopped any attempts from me. "It's alright. Unlike me, you like sleep. I won't stop you."

With that, I couldn't argue. I just started walking away, preparing myself to sleep for as long as possible before another day of teaching.

But before I left, I turned to him.

"Thank you for the meal, Yukihira. And good work."

"Ah, it was nothing." He chuckled once again, as I left the room with a small smile on my face.

That morning, when I woke up to see him cooking once again, I was confused and a bit worried. Sōma's cryptic words about cooking getting his mind off of stuff still lingered in my mind, and I had to wonder: how much longer did he stay up after I went back to my room? Thankfully, he looked the same as always, so I didn't feel the need to question anything.

As long as he was ok, I could rest easy. He would power through the promotion exams, like the rest of the rebels.

A/N: So... it's been a while, huh?

Hello everyone, and welcome to my new story!

I know it's been a good while since I uploaded anything, so some of you may wonder where I've been, or who I am for anyone who's new. Well, for the new readers, hello there! I'm probably known as the guy that doesn't like fluff, so my 2 main stories are dramatic, angst filled Sorina fics, with only a side project there to help me learn to write fluff.

For the readers who haven't heard from me in a while, well first, I have to apologize. It's been 3 months since the last chapter of Phases of the Moon. But really, I've just had a lack of motivation.

(This will be a mini-tangent about my school life this year, skip if this stuff bores you)

So, school ended... about a month ago, and happily, I did well (enough :p) in all of my courses that I'm actually happy for once! But really, studying for the exams that I had to do was no easy feat, and it drained a whole bunch of energy from me. After taking a few weeks to accept that I actually finished school (and hanging out with both old and new friends), I kinda had an itch to do something, as I've just been NEETing this past month.

But because I actually didn't do awfully this year, my perspective changed in writing, in that I lacked any form of anger at myself or anything. The world is a horrible place, yes, but I just couldn't harness the energy to write anything: fluff, angst or otherwise.

However, I was brainstorming scenes in my head, and something came. So I finally got to writing. And now, here we are.

(Tangent over)

Speaking of, the chapter!

So, this story will be placed after chapter 168, and will have various one-shots going from then to the end of the regiment. Now, this first chapter might sound fluffy, and really, it mostly is.

I'm pretty happy with how it came out, mostly fluff with the slightest hint of drama. I don't know if I hit the dynamic I wanted the two to have at this point (which in my eyes, is allies, nothing more), but I'm still happy. Not much cooking stuff, but what is here is relevant to the plot.

Schedule will be inconsistent, unfortunately. I don't have much planned (besides a few scenes for the future), so I'll need some time to think of stuff.

But beyond that, please leave a review! It's been a long time since I've talked to anyone on FFN, and I'm ready to chat! Be it about the story (which would be super helpful, especially if you can leave a detailed review so I can send a proper response), or anything else, just drop a review, and I'll respond!

So yeah, new story, so...

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you again!

It Was You Ch 1: Teacher Teacher - Uploaded 06.03.2018

(Bonus AN: Spoilers for manga, if you don't want it, stop here)

Honestly, is anyone annoyed at what the hell the end of the regiment was? Honestly, the regiment arc was going on for so damn long, and while I expected the rebels to win (obviously), and while I smiled at Erina being Soma (nearly confirming the ship in my eyes), the aftershock was awful. Really? Soma first seat, Erina headmaster, appointed by Soma no less? God, I might be in the minority, but it feels so forced that it annoys the living hell out of me. And now, it just seems like it's going to be fluff. Great, just what I wanted.

If you guys who are also caught up (I don't want to read the newest chapter, it might just annoy me some more) want to help me understand the appeal, or want to talk about the manga in general, hit me up as well, as I would like to see the appeal in these new chapters.