For Megumi it had been a pretty long day already, but her friends seemed to be full of energy and were duking it out against each other in the recesses of Alice's kitchen. She was seated off to the side, having been asked to judge the two battles. Her eyes felt dry and irritated from being up so early and her shoulders were also starting to feel tense. She couldn't wait to take a hot shower and then go to bed.
Deciding that she had sat still for too long, Megumi hopped off the stool and headed for Souma's station. He perked up when she approached, always ready for a quick chat.
"What's up Tadokoro, are you feeling bored?" He asked knowingly as he strained a pot.
"Yeah, I figured I should find out what you were all making." Megumi took a closer look at his work space noticing the makings of a pasta dish. There were some rather… interesting ingredients on
"You'd find out soon anyway." Souma pointed out and reached for a glass bowl with chopped mushrooms that he tossed onto a hot pan with some oil. Souma's counter and Megumi had a feeling she was going to be a guinea pig for a new, disgusting dish. Maybe the others would try it with her?
"If I stayed in the seat any longer, I would have merged with it." Megumi laughed. Her curiosity sated, Megumi left Souma to work and headed for Alice next.
"Megumi! What a pleasant surprise." Alice smiled softly, her focus on forming perfect ravioli. The blonde's hands were moving at great speed, but never once messed up the shape of each pocket. Megumi could see some interesting twists to the typical spinach and cheese ravioli and felt excited at the prospect of tasting Alice's dish.
"I hope I'm not bothering you?" She felt a little awkward going from one chef to another, but she really needed to get up and move.
"Not at all! I just thought you would have liked to rest. You've been up since forever." Alice smiled again, this time mischievously, and started spooning the prepared filling into the pasta pockets.
"Well, yes. It's been a long time since I went to the fish market." She admitted sheepishly, knowing that Alice often accompanied their resident seafood expert.
"You'll have to get used to it again. From now on, I'm counting on you to go with Ryo-kun." She teased lightly as Megumi made to go visit Hayama on the next counter.
"I'll do my best!" Megumi promised, having already decided to hone her skills and leech of Ryo's expertise whenever she could. She probably wouldn't be able to get up early every day, but she was willing to try.
Hayama, too, didn't seem surprised by Megumi dropping by.
"Shouldn't you be relaxing, Tadokoro? You seemed like you might faint during the movie." His lips quirked up as Megumi blanched at the reminder.
"I've never been good with scary stuff." She explained, trying to forget the entire experience. She heard him let out a huff of amusement before he adjusted his cutting board.
"Somehow, I'm not surprised." He replied and grabbed a knife to cut the lamb roast in front of him into smaller pieces. As expected, he already had an assortment of spices picked out in tiny glass bowls around his counter. Megumi could see and smell garlic, turmeric, cloves, coriander and nutmeg amongst others.
"What are you making Hayama-kun?" She asked curiously, eyes roaming over his ingredients. Ginger, chicken broth, onions and tomato paste as well as apricots, mint and almonds. Did he really have enough time to cook everything or was it just going to boil down to a stew?
"Moroccan lamb tagine with couscous." He smirked at her troubled expression, knowing that she was worried about the amount of time it would take.
"My broth is still cooling, but I should get started on cooking the lamb." Hayama stirred the saucepan on his stove and tasted the contents, looking satisfied.
"Of course, I'll leave you to it." Megumi bid him bye and set her course for the last occupant in the room.
Ryo had something simmering in a pot and was diligently chopping up herbs when Megumi walked over. He glanced up briefly as she approached, still focused on his dish. Not wanting to disturb him, she almost returned to her previous chair, but he called out to her before she could leave.
"Megumi." She turned to look at him and saw he had pulled out a chair for her at the end of the counter. "Sit." His tone wasn't commanding, it came out more as an invitation and she took the offered seat without any complaints.
"Am I distracting you?" She asked tentatively. She was relieved when he shook his head and started mixing his herb butter.
"What dish are you making?" She asked as she surveyed Ryo's counter after taking a seat. She spotted a whole leg of lamb, sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin and black pepper corns, but she didn't know what dish he was going for.
"Korean crusted lamb roast." Ryo replied and reached for a cutting board before grabbing carrots and lettuce and setting them aside. He started cutting up some red chili peppers that he added to a glass bowl with some soy sauce, mirin and honey.
Megumi noticed that even with his bandana on, he wasn't as fired up as he usually was. Or well, he wasn't as loud or brash as normal, but his intense focus on his dish was the same as always. Surprisingly, she found herself content to watch while Ryo worked. It was fascinating to study his technique up close and she marvelled at the fact that she was allowed in his space now. Aside from Alice, she doubted anyone else would be able to sit and watch like this. He glanced at her occasionally as if to see if she was still there, but otherwise didn't say anything.
Over the sounds of sizzling meat, stirring of pots and washing of dishes Megumi could hear Souma, Alice and Hayama conversing as they worked, and figured now would be a good time to ask Ryo about Hisako's absence. There was no guarantee that he knew anything about it, but he was incredibly observant and might have noticed or overheard something. She just needed an opening.
Ryo could tell before Megumi even opened her mouth that something was on her mind. It was evident in the way her face scrunched up in thought from time to time, and how her eyes darted around the kitchen to see if the others were watching them. As he fine tuned his marinade and coated the lab with it, he could feel her eyes on him again. He had noticed her watching his cutting technique moments prior, but this felt different.
"What's on your mind?" He finally caved and asked. Megumi seemed startled that he addressed her. Maybe she didn't think he had been watching her. He reached for cabbage and started shredding it while she got her thoughts organised. She finally looked up and spoke slowly.
"I was wondering if you knew why Arato-san didn't show up today?" She watched as Ryo's hands stilled and a contemplative look came over his features. He resumed chopping after a moment, but cast a covert look around to see if any of the others were close by, but they all stayed at their respective stations. His eyes came to rest on Megumi and he lowered his voice before replying.
"You weren't the only one whose heart was broken, when Yukihira and Miss Erina started going out," he paused to gauge her reaction. Truthfully, he didn't know whether or not to tell her the next bit, but Megumi looked genuinely worried about Arato. Maybe it would be best to settle for a semi-cryptic response. "Arato has been by Erina's side since they were children, it must have been quite the blow for her." Or maybe not.
"Oh…" Megumi breathed out, understanding passing over her. "I had no idea." It made sense. She had never met anyone as devoted to their role as Hisako was to helping Erina.
"I think it would be hard to spot. She's a pro at keeping up appearances."
"True, but she seemed kind of distant yesterday," she frowned. She could hardly recall interacting with Hisako the previous day. It was like she had faded into the background during the party. Well, Megumi had been a tad preoccupied with her own situation, so she hadn't paid much attention to the secretary. Megumi could feel Ryo's analyzing gaze on her and looked up to meet his eye, where she saw him come to a decision.
"It's just a hunch." Ryo clarified. He was pretty damn sure his hunch was correct, but it wasn't really his place to keep discussing Arato's feelings when she seemed to be concealing them. Megumi nodded, still thinking hard. "Right."
Seconds later, Ryo watched Megumi's posture relax and a small smile form on her face. "I can't wait to try your dish." Her smile was infectious and Ryo fought to stay focused and not grin at her like an idiot. How was this girl able to be so upbeat? He shook his head and informed her that she would have to wait awhile for it to finish.
"Hey no fair, Kurokiba! No bribing the judge!" Souma complained and waved a ladle around in the air, shouting about bias and injustice from across the kitchen.
"Could you stop yelling?" Hayama asked and pulled something from the oven, the steam momentarily obscuring his face. "It's not like he's actually bribing her." He continued to mutter under his breath.
"Hah? No judge worth their salt would let their relationships influence their judging." Ryo declared loudly and finished shredding the cabbage before grabbing the carrots to repeat the process. "Megumi won't be biased." He added and glanced at the girl at the end of his counter. Her cheeks were tinged with pink and her eyes were blown wide with surprise from his sudden praise.
"Megumi is the least biased person I know." Alice supplied helpfully from her own corner and started frying something.
"Hmm yeah, it is Tadokoro we're talking about…" Souma finally conceded. "Oh did I ever tell you about the time Tsukasa-senpai and I-" He proceeded to describe the informal shokugeki against the former 1st seat, catching the attention of the three other chefs. Megumi used that opportunity to calm down. Did it really only take one compliment to get her heart racing? She was getting used to people acknowledging her skills, but being praised by her fellow Elite 10 members made her feel shy.
Ryo must have noticed her trying to hide her face since he suddenly reached over and gently knocked her head as he had done earlier that day. Deciding that her heart had raced enough for the day, she focused on calming her breathing.
Less than an hour later, Megumi had four steaming dishes in front of her. Souma and Alice went first with their pasta dishes. Souma had presented a garlic mushroom pasta that looked deceptively normal, but Megumi's instincts and Souma's grinning face told her to watch out for something weird. As soon as she bit into it, her mouth was flooded with the taste of licorice and she nearly gagged. With great difficulty and a large glass of water handed to her by Hayama, Megumi finished her bite and quickly moved on to Alice's dish, ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese, fried to perfection.
The ravioli were golden and crispy, and their aroma was enticing. They tasted wonderful and it was unanimously agreed that it was the better of the two dishes.
Souma didn't look saddened by the loss and agreed that Alice's ravioli was amazing after having a bite. "Well of course it was," Alice bragged with a light tone.
Next up were Ryo and Hayama, who had both chosen lamb as their topic. Ryo's lamb roast was delicious, but it was Hayama's dish that Megumi wanted more of. The sweetness of the apricots elevated the entire dish and she found herself enthralled.
"I agree with Megumi," Alice declared after having a taste. Ryo made an annoyed sound as he shoveled the lamb and couscous into his mouth. "Hmph."
"Another win for me." Hayama taunted, which only set Ryo off. Luckily Alice's deft fingers snagged off the bandana, instantly deflating Ryo. He didn't skulk per se, but he wasn't indifferent either.
"It's been a while since we last did a shokugeki, Tadokoro. What do you say we have one tomorrow?" Souma suggested excitedly, completely missing how she stiffened in her seat.
"Oh, um-" Megumi desperately thought of something to say. It had been over a month since she had last faced Souma and she didn't plan on accepting his challenge anytime soon. Her penalty for losing was to be his test subject for a week and she had barely made it out alive the last time.
"Oi Megumi, next time you're gonna battle me and I won't go easy on you." Ryo promised darkly. She remembered Ryo saying something about trying the food in some of the videos yesterday, but there had been no mention of a showdown.
"I, uh-" She knew that Ryo wanted to have a rematch ever since the Autumn Festival- even though he won - but she didn't know how to decline when he was emitting his scary aura.
"No fair, I also want to have a Shokugeki with Megumi!" Alice whined, which led to a new argument breaking out over who would get to battle Megumi first.
Megumi didn't know what was going on any more.
It wasn't much later that she felt exhaustion creeping up on her as they finished cleaning the kitchen. Her shoulders felt tense and there was a spot on her lower back that was getting sore. They had all moved to the lounge and she finally took a seat. She ended up on an armchair next to Ryo's, and across from her were Alice, Hayama and Souma.
The Nakiri chefs had been kind enough to send over a chilled dessert that they all enjoyed after the intense cooking battle. It was a layered dessert with a brownie bottom, a vanilla cream in the middle and a light, airy chocolate mousse on top and it was divine. Even Hayama, who wasn't the biggest fan of sweets, agreed that it was a great dessert. Alice looked rather pleased at his appraisal.
Ryo looked content as he slowly chipped away at the different layers. He would take one bite of each layer, and then on the fourth bite he would scoop a little of everything onto his spoon. Megumi didn't know if he was aware of it, but she was having a hard time keeping a straight face.
"I could eat this all day." Ryo told her as the others talked about a new movie that was coming out soon.
"I'm sure you would replace all your meals with desserts if you could." She fought hard not to laugh at his ritualistic eating. "At this point I'm pretty sure that your blood consists of syrup." She added.
Ryo sent her a half-hearted glare before diving back into his dessert. A few seconds passed before he muttered his reply. "Maybe I should have asked Hayama to be my boyfriend. At least he wouldn't shame me for enjoying desserts." She was pretty sure he would.
"I'm sorry," Megumi apologised with a laugh. Ryo grumbled, but kept eating, which she took as a sign that he wasn't actually offended. Now, though, Ryo had put an image in her mind of himself and Hayama being on a date, but arguing about everything all day long. She told him this and he snorted, agreeing that it probably wouldn't have worked out.
"Luckily, you're the one I'm dating." He smirked and pinched her cheek, which she admittedly deserved for teasing him. Rubbing her cheek, she glanced at the time and was surprised to see that it had gotten later than she thought. Taking another bite of her own dessert, she decided it was time to take her leave.
"Ryo-kun, I was thinking that I should probably head home after this." Megumi told him. She had not expected her first date to last all day, even if she had been having fun for most of it. She had enjoyed spending time with Ryo and it definitely felt easier and more natural to be around him now.
"Do you want me to take you home?" He offered, finishing his dessert with one last, heaping spoonful.
"Oh no, I can go back by myself. I'm just starting to feel a little tired, but the walk should help wake me up again." Megumi insisted. She didn't want him to go all the way to her dorm and back, when he hadn't gotten any more time to rest. He had even stayed awake through a movie and a cooking match, but he must have been feeling tired by now. She was very impressed with his ability to function normally on very little sleep.
"It's getting late, Megumi. I'm not letting you walk home alone." Ryo countered, looking ready to argue.
"What's that Megumi, you are heading home?" Alice asked, having overheard the last bit.
"Um, yes. I'm starting to feel a little tired." She explained sheepishly.
"Why don't you just spend the night? I can have a guest room prepared for you." Alice offered. It wouldn't take much time to set up a room.
"I couldn't possibly impose any longer!" Megumi declined politely. She just wanted to get home, take a shower and crawl into her bed. Tomorrow was Sunday, so she had to catch up on laundry and some paperwork.
"If you're sure…" Alice looked skeptical, but didn't argue any further.
"Miss, I was just about to take Megumi home, maybe we should call it a night?" Ryo suggested, noting that it was already evening.
"You're right, but it's been so much fun! Even Hayama-kun was having a blast." Alice beamed, even as Hayama scoffed. He had been forced to come by Jun. He did enjoy the movie and winning over Kurokiba, but he was not going to admit that out loud. "I should also get going-"
"Tadokoro are you getting ready to head home? You can ride with me, I have an extra helmet for my scooter." Souma also joined in on the conversation and completely talked over Hayama. "I just gotta say bye to Nakiri real quick then we can go."
"That would be great." She thanked him and he left in search of Erina, while the remaining four decided to make their way to the front door.
"I guess that worked itself out." Alice commented lightly. She was a little annoyed that Erina hadn't returned at all, but she was aware that her cousin had a lot of work to do at the moment.
Ryo turned to Megumi with something resembling a frown on his face. "Are you sure you want to go with Yukihira? Isn't he a reckless driver?"
"It's fine, Souma-kun drives safely. Besides we're both going to the same place, it wouldn't make sense not to go together," she reasoned before grabbing hold of his arm. "And you've been up since early morning, you should get some sleep soon."
"Megumi's suggestion sounds more like a scolding." Alice snickered behind her hands. Her snickering spread to Hayma who snorted in amusement and opened the door, taking his leave first. Alice waved as he called out a farewell and disappeared from view. Ryo huffed to himself, and then turned his attention to Megumi who let go of his arm.
"I'll go to bed soon, but text me when you get home so I know you made it back in one piece." Ryo brushed her bangs back from her face as he spoke and she suppressed a shiver at the tickling sensation.
"I will. Thank you for today, I had a great time." She told him, feeling shy all of a sudden. It didn't help at all that Ryo bent down to kiss her forehead once again, while Alice watched them. "Yeah, so did I." Megumi held her breath, having anticipated it because of Alice's presence and was happy that she didn't run away or hide her face.
Souma chose that moment to return to their little group and rescue her. "Stop flirting, you two, and let's go Tadokoro!" He called out to them. There was a skip in his step as he made his way over and a wide grin was on his face. Alice smiled knowingly in his direction and he winked at her.
"Whatever, just make sure you drive safely." Ryo stressed, looking unimpressed at Souma's cheerful mood.
"Yes yes, I'll make sure your girlfriend is safe." Souma promised and led Megumi out of the doors. She stumbled a bit at the sudden movement, but righted herself as she turned to face Alice and Ryo.
"Have a good night, Ryo-kun, Alice-san." She waved.
"You too, come by again soon!" Alice called after them.
The ride back to the dorm was uneventful and passed by in a blur. Souma made good on his promise and drove safely, so they were able to chit chat about everything from their Elite 10 work to what they had recently seen on TV. As soon as Souma's scooter was parked and they were inside, Megumi beelined for her room. After a quick shower, she finally went to bed. The last thing she noticed before she fell asleep was that Ryo's scent had lingered on her pillow.