To say that Megumi felt in over her head was an understatement. She and the other rebels had made it through the first two challenges, but after the Hokkaido noodle challenge, it was clear that director Azami didn't want to draw out their presence any longer than he had to.

After a pleasant evening exploring Sapporo and getting to know Erina better as a friend, they'd returned to their train only to realize that they'd been separated from the rest of the rebels! Soma was then further separated from them to have a showdown with Akira. Having Akira as an enemy had been more disappointing than shocking, but she knew that Soma would figure out some way to win.

That left her and Takumi with chef Rindo, the number two on the Council of Ten. Megumi's nerves were fried, and most of her free time was spent superstitiously eating the person character, but she couldn't afford to fail now!

As it turned out, chef Rindo clearly had no interest in failing the first years. She asked them to make something yummy, and between Takumi's cream poached salmon, and Megumi's curried baked stew, both freshmen passed! Sure, Rindo talked like she was a harsh judge, but Megumi couldn't help but think she wanted them to win. She remembered running into the upperclassman at the public baths, and how she covered for Erina's hiding location at the Polar Star. Of course, in retrospect there was room for doubt if she was really doing them a favour or looking for a laugh, but Megumi couldn't shake her good feeling about chef Rindo. Maybe someday she'd get the truth, but that didn't matter at present.

As Megumi and Takumi cleaned up the kitchen, Erina burst in in a panic! "I'm so sorry! Please don't lo-. Huh?" Confused by their calm demeanor it took a moment to explain that they'd passed chef Rindo's test without issue. It was a big relief to all of them. Checking on Soma had also been a relief despite its meaning Akira's expulsion.

Discovering that they were the last of the rebels standing, the four classmates felt the chill of despair before Erina had a last-ditch plan to save everyone at the price of her pride. Soma and Erina took lead on confronting Azami with no real result. Once Soma's dad showed up, however, with the former director Senzaemon and chef Gin, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope! Megumi felt smaller and more insignificant with each passing moment, standing among so many amazing chefs. She wanted to save her friends, but the longer she stood with these titans of cooking the stakes only got higher and she felt a bit sick at the thought of being responsible for the future of chef Saiba and global cuisine in its entirety!

Megumi took a breath so as not to panic. She found herself missing her home and wanting to return to how things used to be, but the option of going home had passed. She knew her mother loved her. She knew the fishermen loved and believed in her. But she still needed to believe in herself, now more than ever. After the stagiere she had started to see the value in her skills at hospitality, but now they were battling The Ten! How could hospitality help her in a one-on-one cooking battle!? Sure, her collaboration with chef Dojima and Takumi had received great reviews, but she wouldn't be following someone else during the regimental battle. Reflecting on the past semester, most of her best moments had been supporting someone else. She was feeling despondent.

Suddenly the memory of Ryo looking into her eyes, barely two inches from her face, asking her to cook for him flashed into Megumi's mind.

She blushed as she remembered the heat radiating off him and the way his voice seemed to soften to draw her out of her panicked state. Nothing inappropriate had happened, but it still made her heart quicken and her blush deepen, and memories of her favourite romance manga flashed before her eyes!

Megumi shook her head to focus on her initial point. While cooking with her home in mind seemed to work for her earlier challenges, cooking for a specific person seemed to help more in her food battles. Is that how her talent for hospitality could be used? But what could she possibly do to impress the judges that Central would bring in…

Now she saw the challenge clearly set before her. She had to find the balance between being true to her roots and showing her careful consideration of the diner. It was still a lot to ask of the freshman in such a short time, but she did feel her tension start to ease. At least… until her one-on-one mentor was brought in!

Chef Kojiro.

He'd flunked her once before and made it clear that he saw her as the provincial little girl that she was. She was worse than ever before, trying to cook for him. Megumi expected chef Kojiro to call her pathetic and walk away. And while he did call her pathetic, he urged her to rise above and do better! Throughout his insults, Megumi heard him not giving up on her. So, she couldn't give up on herself either! It reminded her of one of her first mangas, and the drive that made her a regional ping pong champion!

Megumi steeled herself and dedicated her time to training with Kojiro. He was relentless, but as far as Megumi was concerned, they couldn't afford anything less. All of her friends were relying on her being able to hold her own against the Ten. She wasn't sure that she could keep her confidence in the arena, but maybe if she learned enough on the train, she could keep at least a fraction of that skill and confidence in battle and make a difference. At least she could hope so!