2A/N: Wow, I have not made any updates in a while. Life really got in the way and I was doing everything I can to get my priorities straight. As a result, I haven't written anything for a while. Now with this whole COVID-19 quarantine madness I really need to keep myself from becoming extremely depressed. I've found myself getting interested in a lot of manga and anime during my spare time these past few years, one of them is Shokugeki no Soma (all that food looks so delicious). I've read the ending, could've been better, preferably with Erina finally calling Soma's dish delicious and those two eventually getting married, but what can you do.
When I read that Asahi grew up without a father, I jokingly predicted that his dad would actually be Azami, making Asahi and Erina half-siblings and thus preventing a marriage (I'm a Sorina shipper). Imagine my surprise when my theory was confirmed in chapter two of the epilogue. That got me thinking, how would Azami react when he finds out that the son he never knew about before almost became his son-in-law (sounds like something you'd see in a trashy American tabloid talk show, I won't name any examples, but you guys should know what I mean). So on with the first conversation between father and son that was touching at first but became very awkward very fast.
Disclaimer: I do not own Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, otherwise, I would've changed the ending.
Azami and Asahi's very first father-son talk (or WHAT?! My long-lost son tried to become my SON-IN-LAW?!)
This takes place at the end of the second Le Dessert epilogue chapter, Le Passé.
"And you are family." Erina smiled. "Isn't that right… elder brother Asahi?"
For a moment, Asahi just silently stood there, trying to wrap his head around what his younger half-sister just said to him.
'Did Erina…' he thought, 'just acknowledge me as her brother? Is she really welcoming me into the Nakiri family? Even after everything that happened. After what I did.'
"Well?" Erina asked, still smiling. This brought Asahi back to reality.
After a minute, Asahi answered, "I'm not sure what to say, I don't think I deserve such generosity after everything I did as a Noir chef. But…" he smiled at their father Azami, "seeing our father here with you, I can tell that you want to bring the family back together and set aside any differences that we have. If our father is okay with being part of the Nakiri family again and accepts me as his son, then I'll be more than happy to accept."
Erina turned to their father, "Father, you heard him, what do you say?"
Azami looked at his son, "Asahi, like you I've also done a lot of horrible things, things that I shouldn't be forgiven for. But seeing what your sister is doing right now shows that she has become a far better person than I'll ever be. That makes me very proud, and I would like to be there for both you and her, to be the father the two of you deserve. So, Erina, I accept your offer to be part of the family again, and Asahi, I also accept you as my son."
Azami then walked towards Asahi and hugged him. Asahi, holding back tears, hugged his father back.
Erina smiled at the sight then said, "Now that our family is finally whole, let's arrange for your things to be moved to the family estate in Japan. Then on our way back to Japan, you two will have a proper father and son talk. You guys must have a lot of things to talk about."
After arranging for Asahi's stuff to be shipped to the family estate and allowing Asahi to settle any unfinished business, the three of them were on a private jet back to Japan…
Azami and Asahi were sitting in seats that faced each other. The two managed to talk about some general and cooking-related subjects, such as likes and dislikes, their favorite foods, what cooking techniques they each learned, what each of them accomplished, the people they have met, any hobbies they share, and so on.
After some time talking, they both became silent. They both knew that the time had come to go into the more sensitive topics, such as Asahi's childhood…
Azami started first, "Son, you never knew about me before, did you?"
"My mother…" Asahi responded sadly, "never said anything about who you were during the seven years I spent with her, not even before she died."
"And she never tried to reach out to me after we broke up…" Azami sighed. "Did she raise you well during those seven years?"
"No," Asahi shook his head, "she got drunk a lot and was very abusive to me, one time she even tried drowning me…"
"She tried to drown you?" Azami covered his face with his hands, "Good lord, what an awful woman…"
"Well, believe it or not, I actually kind of miss her now, and I'm pretty sure she'd be proud of me for what I've accomplished, in a way." Asahi gave a sad smile.
"I see," Azami said, "and I suppose I shouldn't judge your mother on her parenting, I wasn't that much different when raising your sister. You could say that I 'brainwashed' Erina when it came to cooking and tasting dishes, all because I was angry that Saiba-senpai decided to leave Totsuki Academy before graduating."
Asahi gasped, "Seriously? I had a similar reason for becoming a Noir chef and competing in BLUE. After mother died, Saiba-san came into my life during my time at an orphanage, I looked up to him like the father I always wanted. But when he left to raise his son Soma after his wife's passing, I got really jealous of Soma and wanted to have a life just like his. That's why I joined up with the other Noir chefs and tried to get into the Nakiri family by attempting to win BLUE."
"Ah, you must have inherited your devotion to Saiba-senpai from me, which further proves that you're my son-" Azami paused then just stared at Asahi, "Wait a minute. How exactly was winning BLUE going to get you into the Nakiri family?"
"You mean, your wife Mana didn't tell you?" Asahi asked. Azami just gave him a blank look.
Asahi realized where this was going and started to sweat, he was going to have to address the elephant in the room… "Oh, um, it was just an agreement between me and your wife, becoming her personal chef and an honorary member of the family, nothing too special." Asahi scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh.
Erina, who was sitting in the chair across from them, gave a mischievous smirk at Asahi, "Honorary member? Since when does marrying me make you an honorary member of the family? Considering that we're actually half-siblings with the same father, I'm surprised my mother didn't immediately inform you of her suspicions the moment she tasted your dish at BLUE. And thank goodness Soma beat you. If you had won and we'd have gotten married, someone could have uncovered this information and make it public, destroying the family's public image in the process."
Asahi quickly turned to Erina in panic, "ERINA! SHUT THE HELL UP!"
This news shocked Azami, you could literally see the shock on his face. He turned his head towards Erina.
"Married? Wait, what? Erina, what are you talking about?" Azami turned his head back to his son, "ASAHI! WHAT ON EARTH IS YOUR SISTER TALKING ABOUT?!"
Asahi's face immediately turned red with a look of complete embarrassment and shame; he was also sweating uncontrollably.
"Um, well, you see father…"
He then proceeded to tell him in detail about his whole plan: the infiltration into Totsuki, Erina's kidnapping, the BLUE marriage challenge, the agreement between him and Mana in great detail, the possible honeymoon locations, everything. During this explanation Azami looked completely horrified, trying to grasp the idea that his own son tried to also become his son-in-law and also trying his best to NOT picture what the honeymoon would've looked like.
Once Asahi had finished, it looked like he wanted to jump into a deep dark hole out of complete shame and never come out.
"Asahi…" Azami finally began, "If you had known about me, would you have still gone through with this insane plan of yours?"
"HELL NO!" Asahi cried, "I have done a lot of bad things, true! But I still have standards! I would've immediately scrapped the idea and I would've tried to reach out to you! I just simply didn't know that you were my father or that Erina and I are siblings! Nobody told me until I had my people look into it! Not even your wife told me of her suspicions after she tasted my dish! Please, father, don't think I'm into that type of relationship!"
Azami took a minute to process this information then took a deep breath, "It's okay son, it's like you just said, you simply didn't know. At first, I was wondering why Mana didn't tell me any of this when she figured out who you really were. But now I think that she wanted to make sure I gave you a chance without having a horrible first impression of you. Either that or she planned on telling me after I came back with you just to tease me." He then reached out and put his hand on Asahi's shoulder while giving him a slight smile, "It was just an honest mistake, so let's not dwell on this for too long, okay Asahi?"
After a minute of getting over the shame, Asahi also gave a slight smile and nodded, "Okay father…"
Erina then spoke again with a big smile on her face, "And considering that I was a victim of both of your insane plans, I call having the right to teasing you both with this inside joke for the rest of your lives. Everyone else in the family is free to join in should they wish it."
When Azami and Asahi turned to face Erina, they saw her with her phone in hand. Turns out she recorded her brother's explanation and her father's reactions. "Before you two ask, no, I'm NOT going to delete this video!" Erina proceeded to laugh, it might have been the most she has ever laughed in her life.
Both father and son each put their faces into their hands in shame and groaned, knowing full well that they both deserved it. Now they have to worry about who Erina is going to show that video to…
A/N: I've been wanting to write this story for some time now, I'm so glad I finally got it written out. It's been a while since I've written a story, so this may not be up to par with my other stories. I hope you enjoyed the story and stay healthy; no pandemic can get the best of us.
