86epilogue
There are a few widely accepted facts in the scientific world. Some even go as far as to call them universal truths. Prominently notable among these are the law of gravity, Newton's Laws of Motion, and the fact that all molecular gastronomy and global innovation shit aside, Nakiri Alice is a fucking force of nature. She is immutable and impossible to deflect from the goals she has established for herself. If she's standing in your way, I hate to break it to you but you're probably the one standing in her way. So move aside, or you're about to incur the wrath of her modernass stainless steel devices in all their glory.
When this steadfast willpower came down to planning her beloved cousin Erina's wedding, Alice promised that any and all obstacles would find himself, herself, themself, or itself sailing over the Pacific Ocean like a goddamn frisbee at no less than the speed of light. Or, if deemed worthy enough, she'd jam said obstacle into her fucking centrifuge and produce a few vials of umami for her next round of experiments in the lab. So what if particle acceleration didn't work out? This was so much more fun anyways.
Not to mention Arato Hisako, who was more than ready (and quite eager) to kick the unfortunate asses of those same obstacles all the way to kingdom come.
The combined force of the two women closest to Erina was too much for anyone.
And that, folks, is how Shinomiya Kojiro, the Legumes Magician, recipient of the world's most prestigious culinary awards, and bearer of seven Michelin stars across his three internationally renowned restaurants, ended up catering the wedding of Yukihira Soma and Nakiri Erina.
For the first time, Alice decided to set her own wedding (and her occasional egocentrism) aside and devote every single powerhouse-of-the-cell mitochondria of her genius brain into making Erina's the best wedding in history. So, aided by the original Polar Star party planner Yoshino Yuki and everyone else that knew the bride and groom well enough to be of adequate support, Alice and Hisako both took a two-week leave from their duties the day Erina said yes and rendezvoused in Tokyo.
Thirty-nine gallons of black coffee and one hundred and fourteen emails later, they were done. The two women didn't agree on much, but they decided without even needing to bring up other options that the wedding would have to be at Chateau Chantilly. Preoccupied with finding the perfect dress for her best friend and dresses for the bridesmaids, Hisako left the invites up to Alice, who quickly drafted a sleek egg-shaped invitation that pretty much screamed eggs. She insisted that the couple would want it that way, and Hisako was too wasted on caffeine to object.
Then Kurokiba and Isshiki arrived at the Danes' penthouse and suggested that all three weddings happen on the same day at the same place, but the idea was scrapped as soon as Hisako threatened to boot them both off the balcony. They were spared only because the reports and paperwork that would surely follow were too much of a pain in the ass to deal with.
In total, two hundred and seventy-four people — all of the Nakiri Group titans and Totsuki Network officials and the elites of the food industry — received an invitation. Saiba Joichiro was taken off and added back on the guest list at least five times, because neither Alice nor Hisako had a clue if he'd stay around long enough to see the newlyweds through the whole reception. They couldn't just not invite the groom's father, though, and he ended up as a handwritten addition.
Her brilliant engagement ring haloed with rubies blinding all passerby, Alice swooped down on Shino's Tokyo, where Shinomiya was running one of his usual checkups, and long story short, the Magician agreed to — read as was blackmailed into — cater the reception.
As soon as news of the upcoming wedding of the culinary power couple spread, the media started bristling with excitement at one of the most anticipated events of the sphere.
Everything else went smoothly, except a brief scuffle over who would be Erina's maid of honor. To nobody's surprise, Alice attempted to challenge Hisako to a shokugeki as soon as Erina released her verdict, but acceded resentfully when she found out Hayama would be Soma's best man.
Neither said anything, but everyone knew that Kurokiba and Takumi Aldini were both extremely disappointed to not have been granted the ultimate honor.
Eight months later, as appointed officiant Isshiki Satoshi ruled the proceedings with all the youth-centric pomp and circumstance he could muster, Erina and Soma exchanged their self-written vows. They had drafted them in secret, so until the ceremony, neither knew what the other had written.
"Yukihira Soma, I absolutely despised you when we first met. You left me wordless when I was famous for my unforgiving honesty. You barged into my kingdom uninvited and succeeded in flipping my world upside down. But I love you for that. We've come a long way and I promise to always remember that you are, indeed, a human, instead of a caffeine-fueled robot. You are too kind for your own good but now that we're getting married I'll make sure to teach you to be more stubborn sometimes. You will never be better than me at cooking, but I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life letting you get your hopes up. Once in a while I'll lose just to save your pride, because that's also partly my responsibility now. I don't like admitting it, but you are my number one favorite person in my world aside for the prodigious children that will definitely take after me that we'll raise together. If you attempt to feed me your squid and peanut butter blasphemies I will still love you, maybe a little less while I get rid of the aftertaste, but that will be your fault so you can't complain. But I'll love you and your incorrigible idiocy always, I promise."
Soma smirked. "Nakiri Erina, I promise I will make you say my cooking is delicious, over and over again until those words are the only words we know. I will love you and your totalitarian kitchen kingdom for as long as we both shall cook, and one day when we finally put our knives down, I will love you and all the memories we make together, every single moment until we have lived beyond the afterlife. You will never be alone, no matter what it takes. We'll walk to the farthest corners of the Earth together if we have to. I'll love you forever, I promise."
By the time the wedding bands were on their fingers, Isshiki-senpai was too emotional to deliver that fateful last sentence and it took a good five minutes for him to regain his composure, stop hiccuping, and finally speak the words Soma and Erina had waited for… since Genesis? Since their first meeting? Since before?
"I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Soma leaned in and pressed his mouth to Erina's, knowing that they would never be apart again. He grinned into the lingering kiss and she smiled in response.
A spark rose in his chest, and Erina felt that same spark fall through his lips and into her heart, open her soul to his will, leave his pure embodiment bare in her resolve.
They pulled away from each other as everyone present went absolutely berserk — in Kurokiba Ryo's case, quite literally — but Soma and Erina heard and saw and felt nobody aside for themselves and the ecstatic love between them.
Her eyes met his, and she thought to herself, I could live in this moment forever.
As if he knew what she was thinking, he smiled.
Always.
thank you all for your support, and as always, thanks for reading!