Chapter 5: Interchange

Nine and a half hours in total, seven of which was on a coach. At first that hadn't seemed that bad Megumi had dug out a pack of playing card, from Ryōko, and set up a game of solitaire. It was fun for maybe three and a half hours but then became repetitive.

So instead they both took out research notes from their Tōtsuki classes and started comparing notes and recipe ideas. "Oh I know", Megumi stared, "how about salt cod, grilled samphire, red onion chutney and..." she flicked a strand of hair out of her face and turned a couple of pages of her notebook, missing the way Sōma etched that memory of her into his mind.

"Originally I was going to just do a salt cod bake with fried burdock root with mushrooms and hazelnuts sautéed in butter", the blue haired girl explained. "But the idea of adding red onion chutney came from watching you using mango chutney. However I chose red onions instead..."

Sōma looked up from his own textbook, grinning. "I guess that means we both leant something from each other then", he announced. "I was really inspired by the way you incorporated those vegetables into your dish you served the judges. In fact it was the way you used them in your vegetable ramen that influenced my decision to use various cuts of beef and oxtail in my food war against Mimasaka". A warmth spread across Megumi's face as she forced herself to remain calm and not throw her arms around the boy beside her. Taking a small bit of courage, she smiled back and replied, "I'm glad I could help".

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Please be aware that this coach will terminate its journey at Morioka Ekimae, Higashiguchi bus station. Those wanting to travel towards Tōhoku will have to disembark at termination, and head towards Morioka station. Remaining journey time is, five hours. Please enjoy your travel, thank you".

Sōma groaned as soon as the drivers voice ended over the speaker system. "Five hours..." The redhead boy stretched in his seat, trying to get some motion back into his joints. Turning back to his notebook, Sōma looked the handwritten recipe for his omelette curry bomb he had made against Akira in the fall selection qualifying round. He had made refinements to the original ingredients and cooking method from observing both Akira and Ryo, which had only increased his resolve to get better and one day defeat them both.

"Cayenne pepper... white wine vinegar and..." he mused, jotting down. He was about to add gruyère cheese to the list with a question mark next to it as a reminder to test that theory out, when he felt something gently land on his shoulder.

Turning his head, his eyes widened at the sight of Megumi's asleep form resting against him. Again, he couldn't help to notice her attractiveness but once more he distracted himself with thoughts of the upcoming food festival, which just so happened to be in her home town. 'Her home town...' The word home struck out suddenly at him, and he couldn't help but mentally replay his fathers' words again. '...it's all about finding the right woman to stand by your side, one that understands you and who challenges your drive to change. Always'.

Shaking his head, to dispel his idiot fathers' imagined form from its laughing state, Sōma put down his pencil and pad and pulled a blanket form his rucksack and gently wrapped it around them both, before he too fell into the land of nod.

Warmth. That was the first thing she felt, followed by the feel of fabric against her face and the scent of orange chocolate. As Megumi awoke rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she smiled to herself as she felt completely refreshed before realising that there was more 'sitting and waiting' before the coach arrived at the half way point in the journey. As she went to stand up she noticed there was a blanket placed over her and Sōma... A furious blush appeared across her face as she realised that she had fallen asleep on Sōma's shoulder, and the fabric she could feel was his scarf that had acted as a mini pillow.

The smell of orange chocolate, however, was just one of an assortment of hot drinks that were currently being offered by the two stewardesses pushing the drinks cart down the aisle of seats. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate... even sake was on offer, despite her and Sōma being under the legal age to drink. Sitting upright and stretching she inadvertently grabbed the attention of one of the stewardesses, "what can I get you miss?"

Not wanting to disrespect the woman before her, Megumi ordered two cups of hot chocolate; one orange and the other mint. As the woman walked back to the trolley to get the two hot beverages, a voice interrupted the blue haired girl's thoughts. "Morning Megumi, I hope you slept well".

"I-I-I slept well thank you", Megumi stuttered. "You really didn't need to share your blanket with me. But thank you anyway". As the stewardess handed the drinks over to the two teenagers, Megumi could have sworn that she had seen a slight smile on the woman's face. Obviously she had been reacting to being in close proximity to two young persons still discovering their mutual feelings for each other. Sōma took his cup of hot chocolate and took a sip before humming in appreciation, as did the girl beside him. "Mmmm... This is good", he sighed contently looking out of the side window at the road and countryside going past them.

"We have to be closing in on Morioka by now..." Megumi would have giggled at her friends impatience had it not reminded her that they were now that much closer to her home, and her mother. "Yeah...", she replied, trying to remain focused. "Sōma, when we get into Tōhoku we will be met at the station by my mother, who will take us back to the family inn. Where we'll be staying".

Seeing him smile at her brought redness into her cheeks and she lifted her drink to her lips to hide her flushed appearance. "I'm glad that you were able to come" she stated, "whist I enjoy the food festival anyway, I have always wanted to take bring friends here, it's just Yuki and Ryōko have always been busy around this time of year".

"Hey lovebirds", a voice abruptly interrupted. "Would you like anything to eat from the trolley?" The stewardess asked, returning with drinks to another seated passenger. Sōma and Megumi both blinked, unaware that their conversation had been interpreted that way by the older woman. Blushing, Megumi buried her face in her cardigan, whilst Sōma looked like he had just choked on something. "Umm... can we just have two Macha Kit Kat's please..." he stammered, avoiding looking at the woman's smirking face as he exchanged money for snacks. "You two are adorable together", the stewardess mewed, as she smiled at the two of them and then moved off towards other passengers. "I hope you realise that someday".

Slowly, removing her hands from her face, the blue haired girl looked up and found Soma holding one of the four finger Kit Kat's for her. "T-T-thank you", she stuttered.

"Hey, Megumi do you think that's how everyone sees us?" His question induced in her a coughing fit, as she realised what he was talking about, that erupted from the girl who knew full well that some close people certainly did. Yuki, Ryōko and her mother definitively. "I think that Isshiki, Shun and Zenji see that view, as do Yuki and Ryōko. Shoji and Daigo, not so much", she stated frowning slightly not daring to mention her mother.

"Yeah, Shoji and Daigo are great chefs but their rivalry means that they are practically blind to their surroundings", Sōma replied, grinning. Not exactly sure why he was so, but sure that he enjoyed talking about his friends and their dormitory. He then returned to his notebook of recipes. A few crumbs of Kit Kat remained around his mouth and so, completely on automatic, Megumi leant forwards and brushed them away with her thumb.

Heat raced across Sōma's face as he felt his heart beating at a much faster pace, turning towards the girl he was totally captivated by her shimmering golden hazel eyes and her blue hair. In that moment both boy and girl were lost in each other's eyes, and with the crisp autumn sunlit landscape passing outside the coach windows they couldn't help but subtly lean into each other, and without thinking they gently touched their lips together.

Neither of them noticed the snap of a camera phone taking a photograph, nor heard the shocked giggling coming from a white haired girl at the back of the coach. A smirk plastered upon her face as she texted the photo back to people who she knew would love to see it. Pushing her phone back into her jeans pocket, the girl smiled to herself as she pictured her uppity cousins reaction.

By late afternoon, four hours later, an hour ahead of schedule, the coach finally arrived at the bus station in Morioka. Sōma and Megumi left the coach and made their way out of the coach terminal and crossed the wide road following the sign posts for Morioka train station. By the time they made it to the train station, and then found the right platform, both teenagers were tired, so when the electronic sign read 'Now Boarding', they made a beeline for seats that came with a table. So they could enjoy a more relaxed and quieter journey.

Giving them the potential for some respite. Both teenagers were still conscious that they had been avoiding the 'elephant in the room' topic, that being, the kiss they had shared on the coach. "Hey... Megumi", Soma began. "I was gonna ask you about it back on the coach but you seemed embarrassed..."

Knowing exactly what he wanted to talk about, Megumi went bright red and hurriedly buried her face in a cookery book given to her by Ikumi. And despite Sōma trying to get her to talk about 'what it had meant?' she remained in stubborn embarrassed silence.

Which she realised only made her look at Sōma more, thus increasing her blushing face. To his credit the redhead boy didn't press her; he simply sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her, "I really like you Megumi. I just... want you to know that".