A/N: I LIVE! Happy New Year and what's not! Major apologies to you guys. I've had most of this chapter sitting on for the better part of months, but to find the energy to finish it appeared nigh impossible. Meetings, the holidays, and just life in general you know? Anyway, I thought I'd go for a Megumi-centric chapter this time, though it came out nothing like I had imagined when I started. This fic is taking on a very strange little life of its own already lol.

Here's to chapter 3 (finally)

Another night found Megumi trying to fall into a fitful sleep.

Normally, she would be tossing while thinking about her grades, plagued with deep worry that she would be sent home a failure. This night found her still in the bed, eyes glued to the ceiling as she replayed the image of Kurokiba Ryou in her head. His lips were curled upwards in a smirk and his eyes shone with devious intent. A fresh wave of embarrassment swallowed her as she thought about how she froze in his gaze like a small rabbit staring down a wild dog.

He was toying with her. Just as he had when they faced off against each other. She remembered the weight of his hungry gaze on her and flushed violently. It wasn't just that he was clearly her culinary superior, he did things to her. As much as she wanted to be upset about losing to him or at him for mocking her so openly, she couldn't help but notice how beautiful he was. Or was he handsome? His features rode the line between pretty and rugged, though the way his hair framed and fell in his face did little to discourage her from calling him beautiful. She made an exasperated noise. She had come to Toutsuki to learn and become a better chef, not become entangled with feelings and crushes. She didn't even have that much experience with boys to begin with: most of her knowledge on romance came from shoujo manga. Not that she'd needed to know much before since her classmates hardly paid attention to her before. And in comparison to her female peers, she felt rather plain looking and meek. Ever since her face off with Ryou people seemed to take more notice now, but it didn't stop him from being out of her league in the kitchen. Or out of her league in general. She needed to make peace with her apparent attraction to her ex-rival. The heels of her palm pressed into her eye sockets as if trying to force the thoughts out of her brain.

In the eerie stillness of her room she could hear the quiet click of a door being closed. She listened, frozen still, as someone rustled near her door clearly fumbling with something before a creak sounded in the stairwell letting her know they were leaving. Curious, she threw off her covers and stalked her way to the door. She eased it open just enough to see a familiar red-headed figure picking his way down the stairs. With him he had a cooler and a small coal grill. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together.

"Souma-kun?" The boy in question turned to the sound of her voice, mild concern his expression when he saw her.

"Ah, Megumi. Did I wake you up?"

She shook her head. She had been up all night apparently but Souma certainly didn't need to know that.

"I was already up. Are you heading to the fish market?"

He grinned cheekily at her and she swore her heart fluttered. If she could blame anyone for her current predicament it would be Souma. The red-head shook up Toutsuki with his arrival and Megumi shook along with it. Before Souma, she didn't see herself surviving their first semester let alone making it to the Autumn Election stage. Her confidence grew by leaps and bounds with him by her side, even if that meant falling into a few misadventures along the way. And as she found herself no longer being crushed by the pressures of their prestigious academy, she found time to finally appreciate the things around her. Like the handsome red-head with the cheeky smile and charming personality. And the gaggle of girls, and guy, that was drawn to him. Somewhere in that melee she realised that Souma was too involved in his goals to notice her, and even if he wasn't she would clearly be low on his list of prospects. Her first crush at Toutsuki was out of her league, and now her second seemed to be even more so. She huffed a sigh of frustration at her taste in men, but he didn't seem to notice. Typical Souma.

"Hehe, yeah. I wanted to start testing recipes today, you know?" She hummed to the affirmative.

"Is it ok if I come along? I haven't been to a fish market in a while."

"Sure. Could always use the company." Megumi struggled to keep hold of her excitement as he grinned at her. It had been some time since it was just the two of them, and crush aside, Souma was still one of her closest friends at Toutsuki.

"Great, just give me a minute to get ready." She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye as she ducked back into her room quickly. When she popped back out to go to the bathroom, she could hear Souma's rustling down the stairs. In what felt like record time she was showered, dressed and ready to go. She crept down the noisy stairway and joined Souma as he stood in the doorway. Although it was still pretty dark out the view was still breathtaking. The visible mountains were silhouetted against the night sky and the lights of nearby buildings and city twinkled like a million jewels. She smiled gently at the scene before turning her eyes to Souma. His gaze was steady and burning with determination. It sent thrills of excitement down her spine.

"This is where everything changes." Souma muttered to himself. She couldn't agree more.

What was meant to be an uneventful trip to the fish market turned into anything but that. Just when Souma made a good selection, they spotted Ryou and Alice. His scarlet gaze fell on them hard, lingering on Megumi before flicking to Souma. Behind him, Alice eyed them all with a sense of mischievous interest. Before she knew it they ended up in a duel to see who could judge fish the best. Between Ryou winning their contest with an inferior looking selection and finding out about Hayama's uncanny ability to select the best catch without even looking, Souma came away looking more concerned than she'd ever seen him. Since then Souma had been back to the market once, opting to spend his time devising a way to maximise his flavours. When he wasn't muttering about smoking the fish, he was on about fermentation and other curing techniques. Megumi figured it would be best if she played a more low key supportive role to her friend. Besides, she had other things to think about. Namely what Ryou said to them after his face off.

"I've worked everyday to make sure I don't lose my ability to choose the best ingredients. I'll never fall behind someone who judges fish with half hearted knowledge."

His voice, that cool baritone, was awash with such an unashamed display of aggression that her stomach knotted just recalling it. Then he looked at her, his eyes sparkling with the intensity of a naked flame. He looked so angry. Was he angry at her? Was he upset because he thought she was an unworthy opponent? It set all her insecurities on edge and sent her running to eagerly caress the familiar edges of her charm for academic success. But watching Souma put so much energy into closing the gap with his competition made her want to do so as well. And so today was her third day at the fish market, but the first by herself. Had it been anywhere other than a fish market, she might have been nervous but being a harbour town girl meant that she at least had enough confidence to do this alone. She paused in front a container full of amberjack, content to survey the fish for a moment as she lightly tapped her lips with her index finger. She pulled her small cooler a bit closer to her, careful not to obstruct the path around her.

"If I were you, I would go for the one in the back to the left. It's got great colouring and a decent fat content." As if instructed, Megumi's eyes darted over to the fish in question.

"That is a good choice, but I think I'd want something with a more mature flavour." Megumi mumbled absentmindedly, eyes continuing to comb the tray.

"Oh. Hmmm. How about that one in the middle then?" Amber eyes drifted back to the middle and found the recommendation to be satisfactory.

"Thanks..." The sound of her voice died in her throat as she looked up into the beaming face of a fisherwoman. She flushed with embarrassment at not having acknowledged her before.

"Ah, I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention!"

"No worries dear. I'll take that as a compliment to my fish." The older woman winked at her.

"You're one of the Toutsuki students, right? I'm sure I've seen you round this market before."

"Ah, yes. Tadokoro Megumi." She bowed in greeting and felt slight relief when the older woman returned the gesture.

"Takahashi Hitomi. Nice to meet you Megumi-chan." The older woman grinned earnestly at Megumi, her grip as strong as any fisherman's. She vaguely remembered her face from Souma's showdown a few days ago. Megumi smiled back shyly, fumbling a bit with her response.

"I tell you what, Megumi-chan. Since you seem to like my fish so much, I'll give you your first set of fish free. How's that sound?"

"A-are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense! It's always a pleasure to have you Toutsuki students around. Plus you're just so darn cute..." Megumi blushed slightly at the compliment. She may have received it often since moving to Tokyo but she never could get used to it. Before she knew it, Hitomi had packaged a few fish for her and was offering them over the counter. Megumi reluctantly took them from her and put them into her cooler. They spoke a little bit about recipes for the fish before Megumi's phone alarm went off. She went on her way, bidding Hitomi a farewell, pleased that she was able to make a new friend that day.

With four days left til the final showdown, the atmosphere on campus was getting tenser but Megumi somehow managed to find solace in the energy of the fish market. She didn't travel with her cooler this day, opting instead to just take a look. It didn't help that she was running a bit late either. Having to lug around a cooler full of fish would only slow her down in the long run. Her gaze shifted from the shellfish before her to scan the crowded market. Since she had gotten into the habit of coming to the market in the mornings, she had also begun the habit of looking for Ryou among the throngs of people. She thought she had spotted him when a voice in front of her made her head snap in that direction.

"Eh? Megumi-chan, where's your boyfriend this morning?" Megumi looked at Hitomi with surprise.

"Boyf-friend?" An image of Ryou began to form across her mind but she squashed it down.

"Ah yeah. The red head that comes in with you sometimes."

"You mean the one with the scar on his eyebrow?" Another fisherman, Sanosuke chimed in. Megumi looked between the two of them, horror clear on her features.

"S-souma-kun isn't my boyfriend, obach-chan." she hated how shrill her voice sounded.

"Oh, he isn't? But you two get along so well I just thought he was. Such a shame." Megumi beamed an embarrassed smile at them as they offered their condolences.

"Ah, but that means you can date Ryou-chan instead!" Sanosuke called out, clapping Megumi on her shoulder as she spluttered with her beet red face. Over her brief time at the market she had realised the fishermen were avid gossips and teases, but this was surely going too far.

"You need to stop teasing Megumi-chan! Can't you see that her face is all red?"

"Ah, but Ryou-chan is quite the looker isn't he?" The other fisherman nodded in agreement and Megumi tried to calm herself down. After their banter, she couldn't find it in herself to look for him in the crowd, but she didn't have to.

"Isn't that Ryou-chan over there?" Megumi and Sanosuke looked over to where Hitomi pointed. Sure enough there was Ryou, apparently unaccompanied as he eyed some fish. He had a bag in hand and it looked as though he was on his way out of the market. The lively banter of the fisherman all but died down as they watched him. After bidding farewell to the vendor, he walked away. He looked angry; his jaw was tight, his whole body seemed tense.

"Ryou-chan looks rather tense, wouldn't you say?"

"Heh, I guess the nerves are finally getting to him." Megumi's brow furrowed in confusion at that. She looked at his face again and saw nothing but irritation radiating off him in waves. Noticing her confusion, they chuckled.

"Ryou-chan can be a bit stoic, but when you see him as often as we do, you can figure out his expressions. He may look a bit angry, but he's definitely nervous."

"Heh, yeah. Ryou-chan seems like the type to just channel everything into being mad just to get things done."

"Eh? What do you mean by that?" Megumi hated to pry, but the question was out before she could stop herself. Sanosuke looked at Hitomi, who in turn gave an expression that was half grimace, half smile.

"I don't really know the details, but Ryou-chan seems to have had a hard time growing up. Not that he lets it get him down, bless him. He just puts it all into his cooking."

Sanosuke nodded, wiping a knife clean. Megumi looked thoughtful, a pregnant silence hanging between them. She turned to look at him again. The set of his brow was stern, and she thought that perhaps should see what they were referring to. Or maybe not. Something about his expression did strike her as being familiar however. She had definitely seen it before. Before she had time to think about it, the alarm on her phone went off, letting her know it was time to leave the market. She turned back to the two vendors, who had since picked up another line of conversation. The beeping grew progressively louder, catching their attention.

"Time for you to go is it?" Megumi nodded to the affirmative.

"Well I guess we'll see you tomorrow, yes?"

"Yes! Tomorrow." She smiled at them. With a quick bow, she excused herself.

Megumi soon worked out a rhythm going to the market and then to school. As the days passed, she found it progressively easier to make her way down to the market. The atmosphere was energising in a way that prepared her for the tension at school. She saw Souma less and less, save for the morning he came with her to the market to get his last set of saury and some times when she brought him something to eat. While she didn't get to talk to her new fisher friends, she noticed them gesturing at her from across the market. Hitomi even gave her a thumbs up, making her blush and stumble into Souma at one point. She hoped that they were a lot more subtle when it came to talking about Ryou, but something told her that she shouldn't put her money on it. So she took it upon herself to be more subtle. If she ever saw him, she was sure not to let her gaze linger for too long. She waved if they ever made eye contact and if their paths ever crossed, she spoke. Her heart seemed to jolt slightly every time her gaze fell on him. So much for not indulging her crush, she thought. Over that time she had taken note of Ryou's expressions. The slight way his lips curled upwards when he engaged a fisherman for a long while. The way his eyes bore holes into the fish as he scoured the day's catch. The faint arch in his eyebrow as he regarded Alice on the days she accompanied him. While she wasn't as good as the fishermen, she was coming to see past the bored, sometimes hostile, exterior to appreciate his more nuanced expression. She wasn't sure when that type of knowledge would come in handy, but she would be lying if she said she didn't find him fascinating.

"You should watch where you're going Tadokoro." Megumi flushed at the sound of his voice, eyes wide as she turned to face him.

"Kurokiba-k-kun! I'm sorry," she shuffled out of his way as best she could. "G-g-good morning!" Kurokiba huffed, one corner of his lips curling faintly upward. Or so she thought, as the expression was gone as soon as she noticed it. He tipped his head in lieu of greeting her verbally. Her eyes fell on the bags that he carried over his shoulder. She wondered absently if he wasn't cold with the fish pressing into his back, but opted not to ask him.

"Yukihira didn't come today either. I'd say that he got cold feet and dropped out but knowing that guy, he's got something up his sleeve." His scarlet eyes scanned her body, noting her two empty hands and lack of bag. "He hasn't sent you to run his errands?" Megumi shook her head reflexively.

"I'm actually here for my own reasons."

"Hmm?"

"I...I thought about what you said, about honing your selection skills by coming to the market everyday." His eyebrow quirked at that. She was rambling, but couldn't find it in herself to stop. "It made me realise that I'd been neglecting something important, so I thought I would exercise that skill too." Her brows were knitted in concentration as she peered at the fish, slender fingers resting gently on the edge of the crate. She hoped that he wouldn't be able to see her blushing at this angle.

"Really?" She peered at him through her eyelashes and nodded slightly, making a small affirming noise. Any pretense of bravado was gone, as embarrassment washed over her. The expression on his face softened, with the tight line that was his lips curling faintly at the corners. She found the expression oddly endearing and wondered if that was what he was trying to communicate.

"Y-yes. There's a lot of things I need to work on if I'm going to really cook my best." Her grip on the edge of the crate tightened as well as her jaw. Her gaze, a hard amber, fell on him. He returned her intense look with one of his own.

"I know people were shocked by how well I did. They didn't expect much of me. I want that when I step on the stage with someone like you, I'm considered an equal."

His faint smile turned to a smirk as his eyes narrowed.

"Interesting. Well, I'm ready for a rematch whenever you are, Tadokoro." His voice had taken on a coarser texture that left goosebumps on her flesh as it washed over her body. Rather than look down on her as she thought he would, he seemed genuinely excited by the prospect. Something about that made her feel light inside and she smiled at him, nodding in agreement. They stayed like that for a moment before a soft buzzing took her attention to her phone.

"Ah, looks like I'd better get going." she bowed again. "Do your best today at the finals Kurokiba-kun." His jaws clenched and a troubled look took up residence in his eyes. She wondered if she had said something wrong.

"I always do my best."

Without another word he pushed past her, venturing further into the market. She threw one last look his way before the crowd swallowed him whole.

When the night of the final came, she could hardly believe the result. Watching them cook against each other was a sight to behold and if the aroma was anything to go by, a taste to behold as well. As she had expected, the match was quite tense. Souma in particular had stunned after he opted not to start with a fresh fish, though the others were hardly behind. Ryou delivered another powerful dish and Hayama surprised with an elegant reduction of his usual spice offering. And in the end, Hayama proved to be victorious.

It was obvious Souma was disappointed especially having realized that it was due to his lack of a specialty. Hayama made a gracious and oddly sentimental winner, stunning the crowd when he embraced his mentor even as he tried to play off his embarrassment afterwards.

And Ryou?

He was livid.

Or that's what she thought at first. His body language hummed with a tension she had never seen before and he practically snarled at the judges. But then she saw it. For a split second, Ryou's wild eyes weren't ablaze with anger but with what she could only describe as panic. Those crimson orbs fell on Souma and lingered on Hayama before his brow clenched tight again and he howled fresh. In between his ranting and yelling, Megumi could hear the concerned whispers from the crowd.

"What a nutjob."

"He's a great chef but what a scary guy."

"How does Alice-san even put up with him."

She looked into the crowd but never seemed to catch anyone in the act of badmouthing him. Her fists tightened in her lap as she felt her ire raising. They may not have been friends, but she felt an odd sense of camaraderie growing between them. Strange, how only a few days previous she had been the one to defend her friends to him. He was hard to read like the fishermen had told her, but at the very least she could see he put his everything into his cooking and if for nothing else he deserved respect for that. Her gaze fell on him again as she remembered what he said to her earlier.

"I always do my best."

More than a rebuttal, it was a statement of intent used to convince them both. That explosion of flavor, she slowly began to realise, was only a manifestation of his will. Whatever he put on a plate was charged with his passions and energy. Every chef puts a piece of themselves into their cooking. For Megumi, it was her tenderness and reverence towards her home that she bestowed on her diner. For Ryou, it seemed to be a fierce determination to conquer whoever found his cuisine in front of them. More than his passion, his cooking was meant to leave only one man standing…him. And as she watched Alice wrangle him closer to Souma and Hayama for photo opportunities, she couldn't imagine what it must feel like for him.

Based on the look on his face, it appeared he couldn't either.

After the Autumn Elections, Ryou seemed to be sparse especially at the fish market. Were it not for the fishermen, she would have wondered if he even bothered coming still. It had been four days before she saw him again. He stood a way off, hands in his pockets as he idly combed his gaze over the day's catch. If possible, under his eyes looked even darker than normal and his body was still tense and wired. She drifted along with the crowd, getting closer to him while he stood as though rooted to the spot. She approached him, but before she could say anything, he beat her to the punch.

"Tadokoro."

She nodded and bowed slightly in response, inching a bit closer to him so that she could listen better. Her eyes fell on the fish in the tray before him. It was full of saury, though he seemed to only be interested in staring into the space around it. Rather than look into his face, she redirected her gaze to the fish.

"Your dish was impressive at the finals." she finally said, after a small eternity passed between them. From the corner of her eye she could see his grip tighten.

"You came to mock me then?" He still didn't look at her and she was taken aback by his response.

"Eh? N-no way. I mean it. The way you handled the eel alone..." a slight flush coloured her cheeks and she prayed he didn't notice. He turned slightly to look at her and she mimicked him, peering up at him. His gaze sharpened from the blank stare he was subjecting the fish too. He studied her face intently, eyes piercing her own as though he was trying to see into the bottom of her soul. It rooted her to the ground, unable and a little unwilling to look away. His body gradually became more tense and his eyes narrowed into a mild squint. After a while he straightened up and relaxed a little as though he had found what he was looking for.

"Show me how to make your ramen." She blinked, caught quite off-guard by the forthrightness of his demand.

"Wh-eh?"

"Your ramen. I want to see how you made it."

She blinked again, brain failing to process the turn their conversation had taken. She searched his face for answers only to receive a delicately raised eyebrow. A million thoughts cropped up in her mind, many half formed. His jaw was clenched so tight she worried he may crack a tooth. On the surface he seemed quite calm but she was slowly gaining confidence in her ability to read his moods. It had helped that she had seen it before. Like Hitomi said, it was how he looked when he was nervous. He had regarded her with that same expression before, but at least now she could put a finger to it. How she could possibly make him of all people nervous was beyond her, but she stowed that thought away for later. Right now he was asking her for her help. Without much further thought, she agreed.

He studied her face a while longer before nodding slightly and taking his hands out of his pockets to stretch.

"Meet me at Alice's place. 5PM tomorrow." he said as he walked off.

She made a noise of affirmation, watching him walk into the crowd only to disappear.

"This is where everything changes." she mumbled to herself. She sincerely hoped it was for the better.

A/N: Thanks for your patience. I'll be travelling soon so I won't have much time to work on the next chapter but here's to it being uploaded in less time than this one was.