Author's Note: This global crisis on the corona virus is crazy. At some point I thought I caught it since I experienced some symptoms. Maybe I was just paranoid, but good thing it turned out to be ordinary flu. I rested it out, so now I'm back.

I hope you're all well and in a much much much better situation.


Before Autumn Elections

"Megumi?"

She heard someone call as her neck tingled over something soft. It was close to brushing against the most ticklish part, right behind her ear.

No no no no...

"No!" She flinched up awake from her seat.

There was laughter around her. Megumi turned into a tomato as she realized that she's attending a meeting with the rest of the Elite 10 council.

"See? I told you she'd wake up that way." Souma's face all filled with mischief as he passed back Alice's pen that had a feather on it.

"Are you alright?" Nene asked concerned.

Mortified, Megumi nodded then simply sat down quietly. The sleep debt that accumulated from all of her cooking practice, rescheduled shokugeki, and Elite 10 responsibilities, are now taking a toll on her.

"Megumi, stay with us for a few more minutes. We'll be done soon." said Isshiki.

"Yeah you didn't really miss anything. It was just Kuga talking." Souma teased.

"Oi where's the respect? I'm still your senpai!" Kuga complained.

Megumi was already assigned for communicating with the judges for the Autumn Election Finals, plus a few more administrative tasks around the event. Isshiki is usually in-charge of contacting all the judges but...

"You and Shinomiya-senpai are pretty close. I'm sure he'll be happy to receive updates from you instead of Eizan and Kuga." Isshiki reasoned upon their assignments.

"Hey Isshiki what does that mean?!" gnarled Eizan who sounded more provoked than ever. He stood up glaring at Isshiki across the round table.

"Why are you making us look like villains?!" an annoyed Kuga for once shared the same sentiments as Eizan.

Isshiki passed on the folder containing profiles of the judges for the Autumn Election Finals. Megumi aligned the folder among with the other documents infront of her.

"He is a very busy man so he might only reply to us during his free time. I think it's only appropriate that when Shinomiya-senpai reads our message, it should be the image of Megumi's angelic face, not that of a yakuza or a rooster." Isshiki referred to Eizan and Kuga respectively then moved on to other matters.

Isshiki's cool unperturbed, only fueled the irritation of the two as they argued with him.

Megumi watched their banter as she scanned the judges' profiles and contact details. She stopped at the page showing Chef Shinomiya's info.

He's not supposed to be a complete stranger to her according to Isshiki-senpai, and yet she can only remember very little things about him apart from those she reads in magazines.

"Don't worry. You used to talk to each other a lot before. If you say hi, he'd most likely entertain you in a second."

"Is that so..?" Megumi turned to Alice who was right beside her. "W-what did we talk about?"

"I don't know, but you're often in such a good mood after getting a message from him." Alice gleamed at her.

"Oh... I wish I knew how to retrieve those messages."

"Well, you can always get new ones. This is a good chance to shed light into old times." Alice sprightly feathered on Megumi's nose. The latter sneezed like a puppy to Alice's amusement.

Megumi examined Shinomiya's profile. In any angle, she couldn't figure out how they could get along. Her fascination over the chef temporarily kept her afloat from her sleepy state throughout the meeting.


Thankfully the meeting ended with concrete agreements for all the event plans.

A yawn escaped Megumi, by which Nene tapped on the former's shoulder.

"I think you're almost at your limit." Nene said being icy as ever as they were walking through the grounds with the other Elite 10 members.

"I'm okay Nene-senpai. Don't worry about me." Megumi tried to answer as lively as she could. "A drink might help. I'll meet you at Erina's office alright?"

Megumi then ran off alone to the nearest vending machine she could find. She brought out her purse from her pocket, then counted some change enough for her favorite fruit juice, her arms clutching on her folders. She pushed her money into the machine, but the last coin fell and rolled off.

She chased after it until it reached the end of the corner. While picking it up, she heard boisterous laughs coming from a few feet around the corner.

"You challenged Megumi Tadokoro?" One girl heckled.

"Hey, don't underestimate her. She's actually pretty good!" Another girl commented.

Megumi wanted to take a peek, but feared that she might get caught.

"Just go for it. The other students who challenged her were too weak, that's all."

"Yeah. That Plain Jane might be a faker. Like, you can thoroughly clean a rag, but it's still a rag 'til the end. A lot of us think that way you know." One boasted. "I want my besties to watch me beat her this Friday so clear that date for me alright? Maybe she can be my slave after." The girl snickered, then the other two laughed once again.

Megumi never finished eavesdropping, but she started running again not claiming her juice from the vending machine.


Megumi squeezed on the toy duck accidentally squirting out water on her face. Still, the bubble bath relaxed her nerves.

It was almost the end of the week and Megumi's energy drained over the past days at Totsuki. Elite 10 Council Members get more challenging drills and exams compared to the regular Tootsuki students.

All that was fine, but...

That Plain Jane might be a faker.

The need to prove that she's worthy to stay in this school pushed her limits. All her friends said they saw her soul almost leaving her body like Marui, and while good food replenishes all that energy lost, nothing can replace a good night's sleep.

Never wanting to be a burden for her friends, she tried her best to blind them with her Autumn Election responsibilities, running the extra mile, more so in building up her communication with Chef Shinomiya.

Ever since Shinomiya agreed to become a judge, Megumi counted the days through continuous messages of morning greetings and updates about the event. Her experience at Shino's taught her that he tends to lash out on anyone who misses small details. With that she listed each and every bit of information that could be helpful for her senpai to judge the Autumn Elections such as:

- Date and time of the Autumn Elections- Criteria for judging- The program and theme for the competition- Quick profiles of the other judges- Her complete contact details in case he has questions- Her tentative schedule so he can anticipate her response- Other contact details of the Elite 10 if she is not able to accommodate him- Medicines prepared in case of health emergencies- All the locations of the newly renovated bathrooms near the arena.- The fire department and other emergency numbers

And the list goes on...

Okay perhaps she may have overdone it, and she sent those messages one by one within the last 24 hours.

Was it too much though?

That was answered as soon as she changed into her pajamas later that night. Shinomiya called her over her phone just to condemn her for it.

Displeasing him was the least of her intentions, but it happened anyway, and so once again, she hoped her apologies could get through him.

"S-sorry senpai! I really..." Megumi was having a hard time speaking as her other hand clumsily snapped on the last button of her top. His frustration penetrated through her phone as if her senpai is in her bedroom reprimanding her.

"Megumi, stop treating me as if I have never been in your position! Heck, stop treating me like I'm not an alumni!"

He's still calling me by my first name...

She heard it again from him, without any hesitation, as if it was natural for him to do so.

"I'm so sorry senpai!" she replied bowing like he was in a short distance to even see it.

"Blockhead! This is worse than hearing you lose confidence over your own cooking. If you send any more of these useless information, you can forget about me judging."

Megumi's stress cells activated. "N-no, Senpai! Please don't say that. I promise I won't bother you with anything unless it's really important."

"Look, I already told you that these messages are not the reason why I gave you my contact details."

"I understand, Senpai..." Megumi uncheerfully replied like a newly scolded child.

Communicating with the judges shouldn't be that hard, and yet her Senpai is now reviling her almost on the edge of refusing to participate.

That Plain Jane might be a faker.

She stared at herself infront of the mirror that was reflecting her, her straight hair freed from the braids, the walls of her well-lit room, and everything behind her. It's the same view she sees every night in her room, and yet, while she finds herself in a good position in school, those lonesome times when she was about to get expelled during her Freshman year, and everyone loathing her for her unworthy existence in Tootsuki, they all resurfaced.

Like, you can thoroughly clean a rag, but it's still a rag 'til the end.

A ball of tear rolled on her cheek, then another, and another... In no time it streamed and she was already covering her mouth so her Senpai can't hear her gulp air into her upper chest.

"Megumi, have you spaced out again?!"

Megumi distanced herself from her phone as her anguish filled her chest. She deeply breathed in then released a bit of the tension before she returned to answer.

"Sorry senpai. I'm still here." Her voice stammered, but tried her best to control her breathing to hold back her sobs. "I won't bother you anymore. I-I-I'll see you at the Autumn Elections..."

"Hey." His tone lowered. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong senpai." She replied as if trembling, and then her mouth gave out a sob.

"Are you crying?"

If Megumi uttered another word, she knew she would recklessly release all the bottled depressive emotions, the backlash of all her sleepless nights, and everything she has been juggling for the past weeks.

"Megumi, it's okay... You used to tell me everything." Shinomiya comforted her.

You and Shinomiya-senpai are pretty close.You used to talk to each other a lot before.

Feeling reassured, Megumi broke down as it all flooded out... How she's been working so hard to becoming a better chef in the background, the conversation she heard from those girls, and every ordeal that piled up to make her cry.

It all came out, and she surrendered it all to someone she barely has memories of, but then, he patiently listened throught it all.

"Sorry senpai... I must have wasted your time with this..." Megumi now sitting on her bed, reached out on a box of tissues then wiped her tears and blew out on another tissue to declog her nose.

"No, but as usual, you easily get swayed over such trivial matters. Did your friends cause you any of these things that you're worried about?"

"No, senpai. They're all very supportive..." she said protectively.

"And your mom?"

"Mom, and everyone at home, are my biggest cheerleaders." Megumi then glanced on a picture of them by her bedside table.

"Then it shouldn't matter. Don't waste any of your feelings on strangers. Those tears are only worth it for people you care about."

Megumi allowed him to lecture her with his own experience, which was once upon a time while her senpai was still at Totsuki. A lot of the students hated his guts, but they were eliminated or rather, expelled before they could all watch him be one of the very few graduates of the academy at the time.

As she listened to him, all her woes doffed out piece by piece. Her tears dried, and her lungs finally alleviated itself back to normal breathing as her senpai's stories consoled her.

Something about it definitely feels nostalgic, and familiar.

"Megumi, you're such a blockhead. When will you ever learn that no matter what you do, you will always be enough for the people who love you... Maybe even a lot more than you think. Tootsuki is not a walk in the park, but you're torturing yourself again with the lack of self-value."

It sounded a little rough, but in a way, his perspective soothed her, and Megumi disarmed herself to every word. She closed her eyes to take it all in before she replied. "I'll keep that in mind, senpai... Thank you..."

"Silly, this is exactly why you should call me."

"Sorry... I don't understand, senpai..." Megumi's curiosity of her missing memory deluged once again.

"Even back then, there were some things you can't seem to share with your friends. For that, even now, I'm here."

"Senpai..." Her heart gushed and pounded over his straightforward honesty, and a smile formed on her face. It was almost outlandish to even think that the prominent Chef Shinomiya would have this side of him, but it was everything she needed right now. "Thank you. I'll try not to lose heart anymore."

"Good. You should know better, and if you have to be reminded about it, that's what my number is for, not for those spams about fire department numbers. Why the hell would you send that?"

Megumi giggled and apologized again for it. He means well, and maybe, this could be the reason why they were close before.

Her Shinomiya-senpai seems to be a wonderful person, and he has been overall kind to her, so...

Why? Why can't I remember him?

"Anyway, it's late."

"I'll talk to you soon, senpai... No more spams. I promise!" she said a little more lighthearted than earlier.

"Good. Get some sleep then."

"Good night senpai."

The call dropped, and Megumi stood up again infront of her mirror. Her eyes all puffy, a little distressed, but she groomed herself then tied her hair up.

Tomorrow is a Friday... Where were those shokugeki invitations again?


Author's Note Again: It's a three-part chapter. I'll load the rest in a bit.