The Lilac Sage | Shokugeki no Soma

Knight and Sage

Dark and cold room. That's where she woke up. Not a single light entered through whatever curtains were present. Her eyes swelled and were red because of the crying that she had done the previous day. Or night? She couldn't tell, the room was too dark to determine what time it was.

She began to shake, the feared the dark. She loathed it. Eversince she was little, it had been her greatest fear. The fear that she may never see again. The fear that something may come to get her. The fear that... he would come.

Her thoughts had been interrupted the moment that a door gently swung open, allowing a bit of light to seep through.

'Is it him?' She thought fearfully. No, whoever she was assuming it would be, would never open a door so gently. The lights flickered on, it was still dim. But she preferred this than the previous situation that she had been in.

And he stood there. His white hair all tousled up and a face, despite his seriousness, showed signs of his sleepiness. He was wearing a white cotton shirt and blue boxer shorts.

"Are you alright?" He shut the door behind him and slowly made his way to stand in front of her.

She nodded as she kept her head low, him seeing her eyes would only reveal everything. She heard him sigh in a sad manner, before feeling the edge of his bed sink.

His hand tightly gripped the bedsheets, "I don't think so. I'm sorry, they didn't turn on the lights. You're afraid of the dark, aren't you?" He tossed her a photo.

~'~'~

The thunder cackled, causing a small scream to escape from her, resulting in surprising him as well. Within a couple of seconds, the darkness had consumed them.

She froze. Her eyes widened but she couldn't see anything. Her breathing quickened the moment that she began to panic.

"Riese-chan, relax!" Someone took her into his arms in a tight embrace. Somewhat soothing her.

"I'm here for you." She melted into the embrace of whoever that was. She managed to hug him back, despite the frozen state that she was previously in.

He melted her.

The lights began to turn on, when they heard the snap of a polaroid camera coming from the door.

"Aren't you two too cute?" Standing there with hearts in her eyes, was a dotting mother who caused the two to let go.

"Mother!" The white-haired boy protested, puffing his chubby cheeks in the process. His mother ignored him and handed him the product of what happened earlier and left the room. He kept that token in his empty wallet. Whenever she wasn't looking, he would steal glances at it and smile. 

'I'll always protect you.'

~'~'~

"I'll always protect you." He boldly said as he took in the girl into his arms. The moment that she saw the photo, she began to sob. He wiped away the tears that cascaded down her cheeks.

Riese said nothing, she just allowed herself to feel his warmth, his presence, his arms. "Eishi-kun..." She called out with a whisper, her face still buried in his chest. "If you want to protect me, let's get out of here." His breath got hitched in his throat as he heard her declaration. He simply tightened his arms around her. Not being able to speak.

"I'm sorry." Riese began, pushing him away, "That was unfair of me to say, although I hate what is happening, this is your ambition." She gave him a sweet, comforting, fake smile. For some bizarre reason, he felt sad at what she had claimed. He had to admit, it was true. He had his reasons. 

"Riese... I..." He couldn't find any words to say, the girl just pulled him into a hug, silencing him.

"It's fine, Eishi-kun... I assume that after this day, my father will come and training will commence." She whispered that last part, he simply nodded. It was the truth, there were plans that they would 'rehabilitate' her. They would turn her to the cook that her father and uncle wanted. They would once again, strip her of her freedom. They stayed in that hug for a couple more minutes, enjoying the warmth of each other in the cool air of the room.

~'~'~

"Riese-chan!" A certain white-haired boy pounced on an unsuspecting lilac-haired girl. The girl groaned in annoyance as the male clung unto her. She was quite irritable that particular morning.

She tried to look at her back and questioned the boy, "What is it, Eishi-kun?" Her voice had been a bit raised causing the boy to flinch and slightly loosen his hug.

"Did I make you mad? Do you not like me anymore?" He began to ask a stream of unending questions, "I'm so sorry, Riese-chan. I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me and you remind me of my pillow who is huggable like you!" The girl turned red at his statement and all annoyance had disappeared. She turned and gave him a tight hug.

"You're important to me too, Eishi-kun." It was the white-haired male's turn to go red. They stayed in the embrace of one another.

~'~'~

Riese pulled herself away from him and stared at him directly in his eyes, "Before it's too late..." She began, earning her a strange look from the male in front of her. 

"I just wanted to let you know, that my cooking improve because of you, I finally learned to enjoy it." There was sincerity in her eyes as she said these words which came from the heart. "The moment that my eyes first met yours, I felt that there was something about you. There was a connection." She paused and giggled.

"Sounds cliche, but it's the truth. You made my driven, more motivated than I ever have been." Eishi could only swallow the lump that had begun to form in his throat as he listened on. "I'm honestly not good with words, all I wanted to say is that I appreciate you and I'm grateful for meeting you."

The world stopped when their faces were mere inches from one another, a pair of warm hands pressed against the first seater's face, causing his cheeks to taint pink. He could feel her breath upon his lips, causing his to slightly part at the feeling. He closed his eyes, the moment that...

Her lips touched his. It was as if they were in some typical or cliche fairytale book. His stomach fluttered as well as hers, the room suddenly lit up. However, the only thing that had mattered to them was each other. Riese wrapped her arms around his neck while he did the same with her waist, further deepening the kiss. Much to his disappointment, she pulled away.

"I love you, Eishi Tsukasa. I always have, and I always will." She finally declared her love for him, tears still brimming in her eyes, "I-I just wanted you to know how I feel before things change. I'm not sure if I'll be able to see you again after this. I'm sorry if it's selfish for me to tell you that I love you after knowing that I might just disappear." She looked at her clenched fist, only for her face to be lifted up and their lips to meet once again.

"I love you, Riese Hayashi." He said with bated breath as their lips parted. "And I'll only love you. I want to be able to cook with you for the rest of my life." He gave a bitter smile, knowing that it would be nearly impossible. He pulled her into a hug, and just like that, they spent the rest of the night in each other's arms.

Not knowing what would be in store for them in the next coming days.

A/N - HIII GUYSS Sorry it's super short! I'm really sucky at making stories like these. But here's the thing that you all have been waiting for! After how many chapters, they finally kissed! <3 Well, that's it for now! See you guys in the next chapter!