The next few days flew by without Megumi noticing. After the first hectic week, it became much easier to manage classes, Elite 10 work and hanging out with Ryo. It became sort of like a routine to see him every day and she found that she genuinely enjoyed his company. They would sit and work together in their shared classes and in meetings, sometimes meet for lunch and other times just hang out at the dorm or at the Nakiri estate.
It worked perfectly for the first few days so Megumi gradually relaxed and let down her guard, until Yuki asked a question that Megumi should have already expected. It was brought up casually a few days after Megumi's first date. She and Yuki had been doing the dishes when the ginger girl asked if she and Ryo had kissed yet.
Megumi's response had been to drop the soap covered dish in the sink and sputter unintentionally. "Wh-uh-I-what?"
"I was just wondering. It seems like you are really comfortable around him now, so I thought you might have kissed already." It was a legitimate question that Megumi had no prepared response to. It was also pretty clear that Yuki wasn't asking about Ryo kissing her forehead or cheeks. Megumi didn't want to lie, so she took a deep breath and picked the dish back up.
"No, we haven't." She finally said, carefully rinsing the dish and handing it to Yuki.
"Well don't you want to?" Yuki pressed and grabbed the dish to dry it off.
"I haven't really thought about it to be honest…" Megumi dodged. It wasn't entirely untrue. She just hadn't considered it as an option that she could explore, since she and Ryo had decided to draw the line there.
"I'm not saying it to rush you," Yuki assured her. "Just that it's natural when you are in a relationship and you shouldn't hold back if you want to kiss him. You saw how comfortable Erinacchi got after telling us."
Just as Yuki said, Erina had revealed a little more about her relationship with Souma at the last Girls' Hangout. It had been embarrassing for Erina to tell them, but she worked up her courage and admitted that she enjoyed kissing Souma. Out of respect for their dorm mate the girls dropped any further questions and miraculously, Megumi hadn't been subjected to the same line of questioning. Well, she was being questioned now and was unsure of how to navigate herself out of the conversation. If only Ryo was here, he would know what to say.
"I don't think it'll happen anytime soon. It's embarrassing, and I don't think Ryo has even considered it." Megumi deflected, hoping that Yuki would let the topic drop. No such luck.
"How can you be sure of that if you've never talked about it? For all we know, he could be waiting for you to give the green light." Yuki pointed out and reached for the next dish while Megumi grew quiet. How could she explain to Yuki that it was off limits without revealing their little farce.
Yuki kept probing. "Come on, you've gotta at least be curious about it."
Megumi thought about it again. She had read about it so often and even heard from her friends what it was like, so of course she had wondered if she would also experience it the same way.
"Alright, maybe I'm a tiny bit curious," she admitted. "But I have no idea how to bring it up. It's too much for me." The mere thought of bringing it up made her cheeks heat up. How would Ryo react if she asked him? Megumi shook her head, it was better not to think about it.
Next to her, Yuki's face lit up with excitement. "No worries, you just need a little help from your favorite wingwoman!" Oh no.
It was almost a week later that Yuki's scheming bore fruit. She had been keeping a low profile the entire week, and Megumi had honestly forgotten that her best friend was planning something, so it came as a shock when Yuki made her move.
Ryo and Alice had been hanging out at the dorm when another game of truth and dare was started. In the beginning it had been harmless, but as the stakes became higher, Megumi felt a sense of trepidation growing. It didn't help that Yuki shot her a meaningful look right as it became her turn to direct the game.
"Kurokiba," Yuki shared a conspiring smile with Alice, "I dare you to kiss Megumi!" Cheers broke out and Megumi froze on the spot.
Her eyes flitted to Ryo's and she saw the conflicting emotions on his face. He was fiercely competitive and wanted to win the game, but kissing had not been part of their deal and he was trying to find a solution. Megumi's eyes swept over the rest of the players and back to Ryo. He looked at her questioningly and she could tell that he was waiting for her to make a decision. Everyone else was watching with varying degrees of curiosity.
Megumi could feel Alice's sharp, expectant gaze on them and had to suppress a shiver. If they were to convince her and everyone else, now was the time. At the same time, Yuki would stop trying to be Megumi's wingman all the time. It seemed to be a solution for several of their problems.
She looked over at Ryo again, gauging his reaction. He was still wearing his bandana, but he was not exuding his usual fiery aura. His expression was neutral, but his shoulders held a bit of tension which she only noticed because his back was straight as a rod.
He had stepped closer to Megumi and was waiting for her to give him a signal. She locked eyes with him and with her heart beating wildly in her chest, Megumi gave him the tiniest nod.
In one swift movement, Ryo placed both hands on her cheeks and bent down to press his lips to hers in a short kiss. For a second she felt pressure against her lips, and then it was gone, leaving behind a slight tingling. Faintly, she heard cheering and wolf whistles in the background, but her focus was elsewhere. It was over so quickly she wasn't even sure it happened.
When she felt Ryo's thumbs stroke her cheeks, she looked up to see his brows furrowed and wondered what was going through his head. He held her gaze for a long moment, before looking down. Was she supposed to do something now? Had she ruined it? His expression lost the concern he had been regarding her with and he removed his hands from her face and put a little distance between them. He looked over his shoulder and faced the peanut gallery, who were either grinning or looking gobsmacked, much like they had done last time the game was played.
"Alright, show's over, get back to the game." Ryo grumbled after letting go of Megumi, who silently stepped back. It took only a few seconds before the game resumed and Megumi was able to blend into the background, but not before Yuki gave her a thumbs up. Quietly, Megumi sought a seat that wasn't too close to the center of the game, where she could process her first kiss. She took a seat at the dining table and tried to put on a mask of indifference.
In the minutes that followed as the game continued, Megumi felt eyes on her every so often. She assumed they were watching her reaction, but she was careful to keep her expression unbothered even as her thoughts raged. It was hard for her to sort out her thoughts in a room full of people, especially since she wasn't sure how to feel about being put on the spot like that. Megumi leaned back and watched the game proceed for a few more minutes before she decided to head upstairs.
Back in her room, Megumi couldn't help but replay how her first kiss had been.
She didn't know if she was disappointed or not. On one hand, she now knew what being kissed felt like and she hadn't disliked it at all. On the other hand, her first kiss had been with a friend of sorts and it had been on a dare to keep her and Ryo's cover, which made Megumi wonder if she was supposed to feel bad about it.
Surprisingly, she didn't feel embarrassed at having been kissed in front of all her friends, which would usually have been mortifying. Did that mean she didn't count it as a real kiss? Maybe. Or maybe she had grown so used to dating Ryo already that it really didn't matter. This particular thought led her to wonder how Ryo felt about his dare. He hadn't objected to the dare, nor had he expressed disgust or reluctance, but there had been something guarded in his eyes when he looked at her. Had he hated it after all? How was she going to face him again?
She didn't know what to think and so she started doing what she always did when she wanted to stop thinking. She started cleaning her room.
Megumi had been about to wipe down her coffee table when she heard knocking on her door. "Come in," she called without a second thought. The door opened and Ryo stopped just inside her room and gazed at her. "Hey," he greeted quietly, not quite shuffling his feet, but close.
"Hi," Megumi replied and looked down, feeling bashful under his gaze. She heard him close the door and approach her with measured steps. Megumi was sitting on the floor, in the small space between the bed and her table and Ryo took a seat next to her, making the already tight space feel even more cramped.
"I came to check on you and to apologize." Ryo told her slowly, his gaze locked onto her.
"What for?" Megumi asked curiously.
"For not declining the dare. I hope it didn't make you uncomfortable." Ryo explained and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't wearing his bandana any longer and bangs fell over his eyes. A wave of fondness washed over her at his concern. Was that why he had looked at her so intently?
"I was surprised, but that's all. I didn't think Yuki would ask you to do that." She laughed nervously, twisting the cloth in her hands. "I'm sorry I didn't stop her." She added and peeked at him sideways. Ryo looked thoughtful and gave a slow nod. Then his gaze landed on her again and she watched him take a deep breath.
"Was it…" Ryo paused for a second as though considering whether to continue or not. "Was it your first?" He asked and Megumi saw worry and... guilt in his expression? Megumi dropped the cloth on the table and placed her hands in her lap.
"Um… yes." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt and heard him suck in a breath.
"Fuck, sorry, I didn't mean to take that from you… I shouldn't have taken that stupid dare." He trailed off and Megumi's eyes were blown wide in surprise.
"It's okay!" She put her hands up and quickly reassured him. "It's actually my fault that Yuki gave you that dare, so I'm sorry, Ryo-kun." His brows lifted in surprise, so Megumi told him about how she had been asked if they had kissed on their first date and how Yuki made it her mission to ensure that Megumi had her first kiss.
"Still, it would make me feel better if you would let me do it properly." Ryo told her with sincerity.
"What?" Megumi asked densely. Ryo nodded and waited for her to decide what she wanted to do. Her cheeks reddened when it sunk in what he was suggesting.
Did she want him to? Thinking back to the few times Ryo had kissed her forehead or cheek, she realized that a small part of her had wondered what a more intimate kiss would feel like. The one from earlier didn't count, she decided. Meeting his dark eyes, she could feel her pulse quickening when she realized what her answer was.
"Okay," she whispered and tried to hide her embarrassment by looking down at her lap. Was it selfish of her to ask that of him even though he was offering? She didn't get to contemplate any further, because Ryo moved beside her.
He turned to face her and put his hand on the side of her face, tilting it towards him as he leaned in and ever so softly kissed her. His lips were warm and his hand on her cheek was gentle. This time, she was certain that they kissed. His lips moved slightly against hers and she was surprised by their softness, and then it was over.
Megumi's cheeks were blazing when he pulled back. She could barely look at him, but she fought her embarrassment and brought her gaze up to meet his eyes. Ryo's expression was soft and there was a ghost of a smile still on his face.
She couldn't believe what she had just agreed to. What was wrong with her? When did she become so shameless?
"You okay?" He asked after a few moments and tugged gently at her braid. She nodded and peeked at him from the side, "Just a little embarrassed."
"Alright. Did you want to go back down or just stay up here and chill?" Ryo asked her.
"I think I'd rather stay here, but you are welcome to go back and join the others." Megumi offered. She was done cleaning, but there was still some paperwork to do for this week's meetings as well as some coursework that she had been putting off.
Ryo snorted in response. "You think I would leave you here all alone and go back to the circus happening downstairs? You wound me." He sighed and dramatically placed his hand over his heart, coaxing a laugh out of her.
"That's not what I said!" Megumi protested.
"But that's what I heard." Ryo continued, smirking at how easy she was to rile up. She pouted and got up to retrieve some papers from her desk before sitting back down at her small coffee table. Ryo held back a snigger and instead asked what she was working on.
"I'm going to go over the budget proposals for the new research societies. We have a lot of new societies forming that Kinokuni-senpai and I will discuss this week." She showed him the list of new RSs and he quirked a brow at some of the more… creative ones. Icelandic fermenting RS and sous vide RS? Interesting. Grilled squid RS, not so much.
"Need any help?" Ryo offered. She smiled and handed him one of the piles in front of her. "Thank you."
Once Ryo was certain that Megumi was absorbed in filling out her paperwork, he discreetly studied her over the edge of the papers. He believed her when she insisted that she was fine, but he still felt bad for how things had turned out downstairs. He was lucky she didn't call off their agreement. She was such a sweet girl and he was honestly starting to feel guilty for asking her to help him out. He promised to make it up to her soon.
He had known Megumi for a little more than a year, but it was during these past two weeks that his perception of her had changed. No longer the easily intimidated, clumsy country bumpkin, Megumi had grown into a soft-spoken, yet determined girl whose focus was on improving her craft in her own unique way and Ryo respected the hell out of her for that. He was also proud of how she took everything in stride instead of short-circuiting like she would have done a year ago.
It was this development that ultimately led Ryo to kissing Megumi in front of the peanut gallery. He had seen the initial mild panic on her face morph into quiet determination, and if she wasn't backing down, then he had the guts to follow through as well. All things considered, they had both handled it well. He was confident that they would handle it just as easily if it ever came up again.
He glanced at her one more time, watching how she furrowed her brows in concentration as she read over the different club proposals.
"Megumi." He touched her hand to get her attention. "Yes?" She replied absently, eyes still on her paper.
"In case we are put on the spot, would it be okay if I kissed you again?" Ryo's question made her pause. She looked up and met his eyes, not a trace of panic on her face. She really had calmed down, he thought equal parts proud and impressed. Ryo could practically hear the thoughts in her head, but what surprised him the most was the reddening of her cheeks.
"Oh! I guess so… Um…Yes." She looked away shyly and he had to squash down the urge to make her look at him again.
"Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you." He nudged her shoulder reassuringly. "Unless you want me to," he added cheekily. Megumi let out a short, bubbling laugh. "I didn't think you would." All the shyness disappeared from her face and Megumi handed him another stack of papers to look over.
Together they reduced the pile of proposals to only a few sheets of paper and neither of them noticed when Megumi started leaning on Ryo as they worked. They had already gotten used to sitting so closely together that it felt weird not to.
"Do you have any shokugekis this week?" Megumi asked eventually, looking over her planner for the upcoming week. It was full of classes as usual, but now a lot of meetings were being arranged for the upcoming school wide events.
"A few. What about you?" Ryo asked her, absently playing with her braids again. While Megumi did accept the occasional shokugeki, it had been quite a while since she had last been challenged for her seat. It had been a nice break, but she had a feeling it was going to change soon. "None."
Of course that was all it took for Ryo to challenge her then and there.