While Ryo had begun to get an idea of what Alice was plotting, for the time being it didn't matter. Megumi was shaking and muttering to herself and wouldn't be any sort of competitor the way she was.
"Oi." Ryo wrapped his knuckles on Megumi's head while trying to get her attention. Megumi was still breathing heavily, but at least managed to focus on her classmate.
"Can you do this or not?" She stared up at Ryo as her sight seemed to shift in and out of focus. She wanted to say yes. But instead, she began shaking as her mind thought of how delicious all his food has been. Ryo pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to think of a solution.
With a growl to himself, Ryo slammed his hand against the wall next to Megumi's head; startling her back a step and giving him space to lean in so they were eye to eye. "I thought you were a better chef than this! Were you this pathetic before facing me the first time?! Or was it all your little friends pushing you along?"
Though jolted from her initial panic, Megumi now found herself with a new problem. She wanted to defend herself, but any retort she may have had died in her throat as she thought of how amazing Ryo was in the kitchen! And now he was standing so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek, and was he complimenting her?! Every nerve ending was on high alert and her natural anxiety was thrown into overdrive!
Ryo stared into her eyes for a minute, running through what he knew of the petite girl in front of him. She was quiet, but considerate. Thinking of the few food battles he'd witnessed from her, she always put a lot of thought into her diners.
"Why don't you cook for me?" The instant it left his mouth, Ryo was filled with doubt. Did he seriously just ask the bumpkin chef to cook for him?!
Megumi looked at him in shock, yet slowly, her eyes cleared and her breathing steadied. Thinking of her previous battles she acknowledged that she did need someone in mind to cook for if she was going to do her best; and Ryo was her opponent. It made sense. Still…. looking directly at Ryo for the first time and seeing uncertainty in his eyes, Megumi considered the young man in front of her. She knew that he and Alice had met as kids when he was running a pub in Denmark…. but how did a kid end up in that position in the first place?
Looking at him for the first time without her own self-consciousness, Megumi started to see more of who Ryo was. He pushed himself to be head chef as a child. He grew up in Denmark with a Japanese surname but doesn't seem to have much Asian influence in his cooking. It didn't paint the happiest picture, but if Megumi went with her instinct then maybe…
Megumi finally let out her last bit of tension and nodded at Ryo. "I can do this."
With Megumi looking up at him with her sparkling, resolved amber eyes, Ryo's voice caught in his throat. "J – Just do your best." He couldn't bring himself to maintain eye contact, but internally he found himself excited to see what Megumi would cook with him in mind.
Letting out one last slow breath to steady her nerves, Megumi turned to the task at hand. Whatever feelings she may or may not have towards Ryo, she couldn't fall apart in front of him. She knew that she had improved since their ramen battle and would prove it to him! And looking around the kitchen she realized that she had homecourt advantage. Shun's smoker, Yuki and Isshiki's produce and local meat, Ryoko's fermentation experiments, and most importantly for this particular battle, the cheese that she and the other girls had been experimenting with! Ryo may have an edge when it comes to general knowledge and techniques, but this is where she cooked with her friends every day, and she undeniably knew more about the niche workings of the Polar Star kitchen.
Running through her menu idea, Megumi prioritized what she'd need to do and darted to the refrigerator. She almost squealed in triumph when she found that they hadn't run out of the fresh herring that Isshiki had brought home to help with their Hokkaido lessons. She filleted and seasoned half of them and immediately turned to the pantry to find the rest of the spices she'd be needing. Megumi was thankful for the extra time given by Erina because she'd be needing every second!
While she darted about the kitchen to assemble her base ingredients, Megumi chanced a look towards Ryo and was surprised to see that he'd found his way to her collection of dried vegetables. She wasn't bothered that he was using them, after all it's why she left them stored in the communal kitchen, but even her dormmates didn't typically bother with her dried ingredients. She watched Ryo select a couple varieties of mushroom and set them simmering in some water while he tracked down soy sauce, vinegar, and a little molasses to add to the pot. As he covered the fungi and turned to his next set of ingredients, he caught Megumi staring and quirked an eyebrow in response.
Megumi blushed and quickly looked away, missing the smile Ryo gave her. He liked seeing her like this. It was undeniable that she was cute, anyone with eyes could see that. And thinking back to their first battle, Ryo couldn't deny that seeing Megumi fired up was pretty sexy. But seeing her calm and confident, moving with purpose around her dorm's kitchen was a whole new side of her. Ryo could see the strength in her lithe figure as she focused on each preparation. True, this level of care was probably why she was generally the last in her class to finish anything, but Ryo thought that her results spoke for themselves. As his gaze lingered on Megumi his eyes drifted down her form from her firm arms, down her toned back, to the swell of her hips and pleasantly muscular backside and thighs…. Ryo shook his head. It wasn't like him to get distracted like that! Still, comparing Megumi's timid personality to the way her body testified to how hard she worked was surprising. She had clearly earned her skill in the kitchen and the garden, so why was she always so scared?
On Megumi's side of the kitchen, a dark dough was being kneaded. She incorporated some nuts and grain and set it to proof before moving on to another, lighter bread dough. Once the second dough was covered, Megumi was off in a flash to the chicken coop. She returned with a basket of Polar Star eggs and began weighing them in her hand and separating them based on her findings. One batch went into a pot of boiling water right away. Another half dozen were set aside on a tray. Megumi went to put the rest away in the fridge.
"Hey, hold up."
Despite the casualness of Ryo's tone, the sudden break in silence caused Megumi to jump sending one of the eggs out of the basket and onto the floor.
"Sorry. I was just going to ask if I could get a couple of those." Ryo grabbed the paper towels and swiped up the deceased egg.
"No, I'm sorry! I've always too jumpy!" Megumi set her basket down and grabbed a dish towel and disinfectant to finish cleaning the mess.
"Why do you do that?"
"Do what?" Megumi looked up at Ryo who was looking at her in confusion.
"You don't do anything wrong, but you keep apologizing for yourself."
"I don't… I mean, it's not… I just… I don't know." Megumi finally finished looking deflated. "I'm just usually in the way or making things difficult so it's right that I should apologize."
"…according to who?"
"What?"
"Who says that you're in the way?" Ryo was staring now, trying to understand how Megumi could come to believe that.
"I mean, it was pretty obvious when I got to Tohtsuki." Megumi 's hands clenched while she looked at the floor fighting back tears. "Everyone at home believed in me, but once I got here it was crystal clear that I was nothing. I couldn't go home and disappoint everyone, but I know I don't belong here."
"Well that's a lot of bullshit."
Megumi's head shot up to protest before Ryo cut her off.
"When I first met Alice, it was at least a month of near daily competitions before I beat her."
Though surprised to hear this admission, Megumi was flattered that he told her at all. "…I slept in the barn for three months before I earned my room here."
Ryo paused and blinked. "What?"
"It's one of the rules of the Polar Star. To live here you must make a dish that meets Miss Fumio's approval. It took me three months to get her approval, so in the meantime I slept in the barn." After a beat Ryo burst out laughing. Megumi's blush deepened and felt like her tears were about to burst down her face until…
"That's fantastic!" Ryo was laughing genuinely without a hint of mockery. "You seem like you're some pampered princess, but you're a badass, Megumi Tadokoro!"
Megumi sputtered but never found the words to respond so she just kept blushing.
"Seriously, never trouble yourself with the opinions of rich kids. If you're a good cook, you're a good cook."
Megumi started to smile because Soma had been telling her the same basic thing since he got there, but as she looked up at Ryo her heart dropped because of one sudden realization.
Ryo wasn't wearing his bandana.
He always wore it for battles, but apparently he didn't think facing her was that much of a challenge.
Watching Megumi's face drop confused Ryo even more than her self-doubt!
Megumi bit her lip, picked up the basket and set it on the counter. "Take however many eggs you need."
Riled by the sudden shift in tone, Ryo had to know, "What now!?"
"You said you needed some of the eggs. Help yourself."
"No. Why are you all gloomy again?"
Megumi couldn't meet Ryo's eyes, but he could see the tears threatening to start at any second.
Ryo's jaw tightened, but he couldn't think of what to say next. He thought that things were going well, but clearly he'd managed to upset Megumi further.
"I meant what I said." Ryo grabbed three of the eggs and stalked back to his workstation.
Megumi pressed her eyes closed and took a breath before focusing back on her menu. If he didn't think she was a worthy challenger, then she could either roll over or step up. Thinking back on the past couple weeks, none of them could just give up. So, there would be no holding back, and any reservations she may have had about cooking a dish with Ryo in mind were blown out the window. Right now Megumi couldn't think of anyone else.
