Yukihira Restaurant was lively as always.
Plates clattered. Oil hissed. Customers were having their foodgasms comfortably, while others waiting for their orders.
Behind the counter, Soma stood over the wok, flames rising as he tossed the ingredients.
"…Seems like I lost today."
Joichiro, who had just placed plates in front of waiting customers, replied casually, "Say that again after you win. You've lost 500 times, right?"
Soma clicked his tongue. "Don't be too cocky. It's 489 times."
Joichiro finally glanced at him, amused. "So you're almost there anyway."
Soma's eye twitched. "You're noisy, Dad."
A few regulars chuckled.
And right then.
The door slid open.
A regular customer looked over.
"Oh? Isn't that Akira-kun?"
Another leaned forward eagerly. "Oh! Is this going to be another battle between him and Soma?"
Soma turned instantly. "…Akira?"
His competitive instincts flared automatically.
"Oi! Perfect timing! Let's have a match…"
He paused mid-sentence as he got a clear look at Akira.
Unlike his usual energetic self, Akira looked like someone who had just walked out of a final boss fight with zero HP. He was slumped against Erika for some reason.
Soma blinked. "…What happened to you?"
Akira lifted a weak hand. "I just finished a battle like no other. I'm too tired… so no more battles today."
Soma frowned. "Did you fight a gorilla or something?"
Akira let out a breath. "I'd rather fight that than…"
He didn't even finish the sentence.
Joichiro chuckled softly as he approached. "Welcome back, you two."
Akira nodded faintly. "Hello."
Erika gave a polite bow. "Good afternoon."
They moved to their usual seats.
But this time, Akira didn't hesitate.
As if unconsciously wanting to be closer to Erika, he sat right beside her. Not with his usual inch of invisible personal boundary. Right next to her. Close enough that their shoulders touched.
He picked up the menu. Stared at it for three seconds.
Then lowered it. "…I'm too tired. Erika, you choose."
And without ceremony, he leaned his head lightly against her shoulder.
Erika stiffened slightly. "…Can't you at least pretend to function?"
Akira replied flatly, "No. Battery low."
Soma stared, wondering what exactly he had fought.
Joichiro also watched quietly, but for a different reason.
Erika sighed, flipping the menu open.
"Two Ginger Pork (Shogayaki) sets with miso soup and rice. And no garlic for me."
Soma immediately responded, "Got it!"
He removed the white cloth band from his wrist and tied it around his forehead like a headband, as if preparing for war.
Akira, too tired to move, mumbled with half-lidded eyes, "Water."
Erika reached for the glass beside them, filled it, and lifted it to his lips. "Drink properly."
He obediently drank.
Joichiro's mouth curved slightly. "…Oh. I guess kids grow up fast. But I suppose it's about time too."
Akira, still half-dead, muttered, "About time for what?"
Joichiro turned back toward the stove. "Nothing. About time for lunch."
Erika's fingers tightened just slightly around the glass.
"Why is Akira acting so clingy…? Even Uncle Joichiro noticed…But… it's not bad, I guess…"
While Erika was lost in thought and Akira remained half-dead, Joichiro returned with their food.
He set the plates down and looked at them with a faint smirk. "Hey, kid."
Akira responded weakly. "Mm."
Joichiro asked casually, "I wonder… has your cooking improved yet?"
Akira, too tired to engage and assuming he meant a cooking match, replied, "I don't know. Maybe next time. I'm not battling today."
Joichiro laughed softly. "Haha. Sure. Take care, kid."
Meanwhile, Erika remembered something Joichiro had once told Akira, that his almost perfect cooking would only improve if he cooked for someone important to him, someone he wanted to give only his very best to.
Unlike the idiot Akira, Erika understood what he had meant back then.
But now… she didn't know whether Akira's cooking had improved or not.
He always cooked well. How was she supposed to notice subtle differences? She was just a normal girl.
"After all the food Akira cooked for me… has anything changed?"
As Erika drifted in her thoughts, Akira's voice pulled her back.
"Erika, aren't you going to eat?"
She blinked, returning to her senses, and began eating, though her mind was still wandering.
Meanwhile, Akira ate steadily. With each bite, his lost energy slowly returned.
By the time he finished, he looked fully revived.
He exhaled deeply. "Sigh… This is good. My soul is completely healed."
He tilted his head slightly. "Is that why they call it soul food?"
As Akira finally revived after the meal, Joichiro pulled out the chair in front of them and sat down.
He looked at Akira. "Hey, kid."
Akira glanced up lazily. "Mm?"
Joichiro asked, "You remember Senzaemon-dono?"
Akira blinked once. "…Old Man Senzaemon?"
Erika looked between them. "You mean the director of Totsuki? The person we met when we were kids?"
Akira nodded casually. "Yeah, him. He sometimes recommends really good places to eat."
Erika stared at him. "You ask the director of Totsuki… for restaurant recommendations?"
Akira tilted his head. "He has good taste."
Then he turned back to Joichiro. "So, what about him?"
Joichiro shrugged slightly. "Nothing much. He just asked me how you're doing. Did you not contact him since you returned to Japan?"
Akira frowned faintly. "Huh? I was too busy with stuff, so I didn't. What's he trying to contact me for anyway?"
Joichiro shook his head. "Not sure either. He just asked if I'd met you and how you were doing. That's all."
Akira paused.
"Is it about my parents…?"
"…When?" he asked.
"Just this morning," Joichiro replied.
Akira nodded slowly. "Maybe I'll contact him soon."
Joichiro gave a small smile. "Don't worry. I've got a feeling he'll contact you himself soon."
Akira nodded. "Okay."
Then something crossed his mind.
"Speaking of Totsuki… is Soma going there? To Totsuki Culinary Institute?"
Joichiro leaned back slightly. "Well, that's the idea. I haven't told him yet, but yeah. He'll grow more there than here anyway."
Akira tilted his head. "I heard it's like a ten percent graduation rate or something?"
"Yeah," Joichiro replied calmly. "It's that intense."
Erika looked surprised. "That low? Isn't that bad?"
Joichiro chuckled lightly. "It's the kind of place that creates monsters. If you survive that, you can become the best of the best."
Akira blinked. "Oh right. You're an alumnus, right?"
Joichiro nodded. "Yeah. But I didn't actually graduate."
Erika's eyes widened. "Why?"
She genuinely couldn't understand it. He was the best chef she knew. How was he even a dropout?
Joichiro scratched the back of his head casually. "Well… I was just too good, I guess. I had no one to match me there."
He paused briefly.
"So I lost."
Erika frowned. "I don't get it."
Joichiro's gaze drifted somewhere distant for a moment. "A genius without an equal… or an anchor… can sometimes get lost."
Then he looked back at them and smiled lightly. "But I guess there are no signs of that here."
He stood up. "Anyway. I've got work."
He walked back behind the counter.
Erika stared at the table for a moment, quietly thinking about what he had said.
She couldn't stop thinking about it even after they left the restaurant for their home.
As they walked back toward the house, the road was unusually empty, probably because it was midday.
Erika walked beside him, still lost in thought about what Joichiro had said earlier.
Akira, for once, was unusually quiet. His soul had been recharged by the soul food, but two sleepless nights were finally catching up to him. His steps slowed slightly. His eyelids drooped.
Then Erika spoke softly.
"Akira… can I ask you something?"
Akira glanced at her. "Why so serious? What is it?"
She hesitated. "…Do you want an equal?"
Akira blinked. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
Erika looked ahead, fingers tightening slightly at her sides. "Uncle Joichiro said it, right? A genius without an equal sometimes gets lost. And you're a genius too… but I seriously can't think of anyone who could be your equal, so… do you want one?"
Akira went silent.
Not his usual thoughtful silence.
This one felt… different.
Then he shrugged lightly and said, "Who cares? A genius like me appears once in a million years, you know. I don't have an equal. No need for one either."
Erika blinked. "Huh… but…"
She didn't know what to say.
Akira suddenly yawned. "Anyway, I'm sleepy. I'm going to sleep."
Erika looked at him, sighed, and said. "Don't worry. We'll get home soon. See? That park is here, too."
They had already entered the empty park of encounters.
But Akira shook his head slightly. "No… I want to sleep now."
He looked around carefully, scanning for people or cameras. Seeing none, he suddenly shrank, white fur replacing clothes in a flash of light.
A small white direwolf pup leapt into Erika's arms.
"W-Wait…!"
She caught him instinctively, startled.
He telepathically said. "I'll sleep like this. You take me back, okay?"
Erika stiffened. "Wait, Akira…"
But his breathing had already evened out.
"You go on without me…"
And then he fell asleep.
Erika stared down at him. "…You just… what?"
She sighed softly.
After a moment of thought, she walked to a nearby park bench and sat down instead. The wolf pup curled up naturally on her lap, warm and soft.
As she gently petted him, his body relaxed further.
"I guess wolf pups also like being petted…" she murmured faintly.
But her thoughts returned.
When she had asked him about having an equal… she had seen it. That brief flicker. That hint of hurt.
"Was he… hurting?"
He had escaped the conversation by sleeping; now she doesn't know what he was thinking.
So she turned to the one person who might know.
"Hey, Selena… why did he seem hurt?"
Selena's voice echoed back with a quiet sigh.
"Well… It's a long story. But I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you that."
Erika frowned slightly. "But Akira is…"
Selena interrupted, "Don't worry, Erika-chan. When my brother wants to, he will definitely tell you. Just give him more time."
There was a pause, then she continued.
"Besides… he doesn't need an equal now, right?"
Erika fell silent. "…But can I really be his anchor?"
"If you can't," Selena replied calmly, "I can't think of anyone else. You're the closest to him."
Erika hesitated. "But didn't he make a lot of friends when we were separated? Kasumigaoka-senpai mentioned those romantic scenes too…"
Selena's tone shifted slightly. "What, jealous?"
Erika lowered her gaze. "…A bit."
Selena chuckled faintly. "Sure, he made friends. But you were the first friend he ever made. That matters, you know."
Then she added, "If you're still worried… how about you read the rest of the novel? You might understand more about those girls that way."
Erika nodded slowly. "You're right. I have time."
She adjusted the sleeping wolf pup on her lap, making sure he was comfortable.
Then she took out the books he had given her earlier.
"…I'll get to the bottom of this."
She opened the novel and began reading while gently stroking his fur.
Meanwhile, near Akira's school, several cloaked figures stood hidden in the forest behind it.
One of them spoke in a low voice. "Is it really okay to do this? It's the Starlight family."
Another replied coldly, "It will be fine. The Slaughter Princess and the Star Fortress have already disappeared like the rest of their family. Only that boy remains. We can beat him."
A third hesitated. "But I heard he's strong. Very strong."
One of them scoffed. "No matter what, he's just a single guy. He can't stop all of us. Our plan will work."
The others nodded, not realising some people had the exact same dialogue a few years ago, but none of them were left to point that out.
As Akira slept peacefully in Erika's lap, something evil began moving once again in the shadows.