After the Fall Selection a tense friendship formed between the three finalists, and the rest of the first years began mingling outside their cliques.

Everything seemed peaceful until the announcement of the stagiaire when the first years were scattered around Tokyo.

Ryo's first stop found him in a local restaurant with a decent menu, but the owner's delinquent son was driving off customers with his obnoxious friends. This was an obvious and simple fix. Ryo had no time or patience for fools who don't appreciate their good fortune and would destroy what others work for. The young men, barely older than himself, stood no chance in front of the kitchen despot and they were quickly whipped into shape. His second placement however….

Either the fates or an administrator at Tohtski had a cruel sense of humor. Ryo scowled at the restaurant as he approached the front door. It had to be Indian cuisine. All Ryo could think of was Akira looking down on him and it pissed him off! It didn't help that the chef owner was well aware of who he had lost to and didn't miss an opportunity to rub it in his face.

Even worse than all of that though was that Ryo knew he was right. As much as he wanted to bare his fangs and shout down the criticism, he couldn't deny that he was outclassed when it came to spices.

A phone call from Alice came at just the right time to calm his nerves.

"You have to keep it together and get through this. How would it look for my aid to fail?!" Ryo's jaw clenched at her implication, but Alice had a point.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Ryo could hear Alice smiling over the phone. She was so smug when she was right. And as much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He had to push through his pride to figure out this spice business.

But he hated it so much! Every time he tried to focus on what the chef was looking for; he saw Akira gloating and it pissed him off all over again! He had to come up with a different approach. Ryo tried to think of other times he noticed spices being used well in a way different from his usual style. He was bold, assertive, and direct. He dominated through his food; there was no need for restraint! And then Ryo remembered a silvery broth reflecting amber eyes.

He hadn't wanted to dwell on it at the time, after all he'd won, but Megumi's ramen had struck a deep chord with him. Thinking back to the way the warmth had spread through his muscles and soothed his mind…. Even in the middle of a battle, he had eaten that bowl clean while Megumi described her approach to the judges. The familiarity of the seafood pulled him in, but then his senses were stroked with layers of sweetness and bitterness as a warmth pooled in his stomach and radiated out. Her seasoning was minimal, but each addition highlighted different aspects of her ingredients. Despite being in a uniform broth he found new flavours depending on the garnishes he ate. The earthiness of a mushroom or some burdock highlighted the sweetness of her broth, while the sweeter carrots and green beans brought out an underlying saltiness from the scallops, plus that tangy topping! As light as it was the interplay of contrasting flavours created a seductive dish that Ryo couldn't fight. The impact of his ramen may have won their battle, but Ryo couldn't forget how Megumi's dish wrapped itself around his heart like a warm blanket.

Thinking of Megumi didn't piss him off the way Akira did. If Ryo was being honest, he didn't exactly know how to feel about Megumi. By the time he was twelve he would regularly make grown men cry in the kitchen, yet when he chastised Megumi during their battle she refused to submit or cower before him. She'd steeled herself to look him in the eye and told him he was wrong! Sure, she was clearly afraid of him, but for once he found his opponent's fear distasteful. He thought she was just a naïve girl, but when he tasted her dish… he felt homesick for a home he never had. That was why he'd avoided dwelling on her dish. Her food tasted like a love and warmth he'd barely known in his childhood, and it hurt as much as he wanted more.

Of course, he'd quickly covered up his response by mocking her attempt and demanding that she taste his ramen in return. Seeing her succumb to his cooking should have put everything back in order, but it only added to his confusion. Megumi's gasp as his broth hit her tongue and slid down her throat, and the way she tensed up at the physical sensation of all that flavour coursing through her was everything Ryo could hope for! But then those eyes. Those amber eyes had locked onto him in challenge and refused him the complete submission he craved.

Ryo had seen those defiant eyes multiple times since then, usually in his more hormonally driven dreams accompanied by the sounds of her soft gasps as her body heaves and writhes with pleasure….. But he told himself that that didn't mean anything. She was cute and had given him a challenge in the kitchen. Alice's prattle with Erina about romance and finding love must have been messing with his head to even consider it was anything more than that.

Seeing her at the fish market and having her taste his saury selection was somewhat redeeming, but even that proved problematic in the end. Hearing Megumi's soft voice acknowledge his superiority over Yukihira filled him with pride. Seeing her eyes look up at him in awe….

Fuck.

Ryo told himself that Megumi wasn't his type because he didn't have a type! He didn't have time to be distracted with thoughts of lust or romance when he had failed against Akira! Comfort and love wouldn't make him a better chef! However, Megumi's approach to flavour was completely unlike his own and that was something he could consider using. Ryo assured himself that that was what kept the pig-tailed girl on his mind.

She didn't use spices the same way that Akira did, but her combination of complimentary and contrasting flavours made him rethink his approach a little. He had to think of how the differences in flavour highlight each other and create something better.

Ryo passed his second stagiaire to the astonishment of the chef owner. His use of spices held little resemblance to the traditional Indian blends, but the result was delicious.