Ryo didn't consider himself to be a sore loser. Sure, he didn't like losing, but ever since he first beat Alice, he realized that occasionally losing motivated him to be better. After this last loss, however, he felt useless as his classmates battled for his future. He wanted to burst out of the cage he and his fellow rebels were kept in (because of course Azami was as dramatic as the rest of the Nakiri clan) and use every ounce of his skill to bring those haughty judges to their knees! All he could do though was watch the others fight. So he resigned himself to the role of spectator.

From the freshman class, only Soma, Erina, Takumi, and she were left. Megumi Tadokoro. Ever since he lost to central, Ryo found his mind wandering towards the pig-tailed chef. He'd learned from Akira that Megumi and Takami had essentially survived by the grace of chef Rindo, but he knew she could still be a strong competitor. He hoped that she wasn't letting her nerves get to her, but when he finally saw her in the stadium, she seemed surer of herself.

Apparently, the four first years had received special training en route to the regimental battle. Whatever Megumi had gone through, she seemed more determined, like how she was in the Polar Star's kitchen. Of course, she still had her panic attacks, but now she could contain her outward nervousness to their down time in the hotel. Ryo watched Megumi from the corner of his eye as Hisako tried to help her focus her nerves by concentrating on calligraphy. He wondered if she appreciated how rare it was for Erina and Hisako to hold someone else in such high esteem, they were all clearly fond of the country girl. Or maybe he had it backwards. Had Megumi drawn them out of their elite world with her quiet charm? She did seem to have that effect on people. Ryo smiled to himself and realized that he was still underestimating her.

"Ha! I win again!" Soma slammed his cards down on the table and gloated over his friends.

"You just got lucky! Deal again." Akira grumbled and collected the cards to re-shuffle.

Alice and Erina squabbled over what move Alice should have made. Looking around the room Ryo found himself happy to be around all these eccentric chefs. He even took the opportunity to taunt Akira and challenge him to another food war. After sweeping the first bout it was easy to forget their precarious situation, so they may as well enjoy it while they could.

The next day, reality set in when the rebels suffered their first losses. Even the former council members fell to Central. Erina still seemed confident, but it was clear that they had to be careful in how they proceeded. And that's how Megumi ended up in the following bout.

From his position, slouched against the far wall of the rebel cage, Ryo watched Megumi, Soma, and Takumi go into a huddle before they started cooking. They only had a couple minutes to coordinate their strategy against their three opponents, but it only took a moment before they broke and were at their tasks. Seeing how well they worked together, Ryo felt a twinge of envy. It wasn't simply that the other boys were that close with Megumi; rather, they were all so familiar that they could support each other without losing their own individual positions as a top chef! For the first time Ryo truly understood what Megumi had said to him so long ago in their first battle. Working together and supporting their fellow chefs only made them stronger!

Reflecting on what led him to his current position, Ryo had to chuckle to himself. He guessed that this was the chance for her to prove him wrong from their first battle.

Megumi lost her battle to chef Momo. Though not without taking a big chunk of pride with her! As much as Megumi had tried to put on a brave front, she couldn't help but feel like a failure, especially in front of Erina. As her composure broke, Ryo wanted to point out everything she got right and how much she'd rattled her opponent… but, she had enough friends for that. As much as he wanted to be there for the port town girl, he realized that he didn't have the first clue on how to approach her!

As luck would have it though, after a day of resigning himself to the sidelines, Ryo was too restless to sleep and found himself in the hotel's kitchen (yet another perk of being even loosely associated with Tohtski) only to run into the very chef that wouldn't leave his mind.

Megumi was startled to see him so late at night and froze under his gaze. Ryo scanned her workstation, and it was easy to see what she was doing. Without a word, Ryo picked up some raw ginger and began finely slicing it. A small smile graced Megumi's face before she resumed measuring out her ingredients. It felt comfortable working next to Ryo, and she wasn't going to send him away.

"What change do you think you'll make?" Ryo broke the silence and cut any residual tension between the two first years.

"I think I might caramelize some of the apple and ginger with lemon juice and combine it sparingly with the rest of the filling for greater depth of flavor." Megumi focused on weighing out her butter, "I still want to keep the surprise center flavours, but I need more impact…. I guess I'm lucky that you stopped by!" Despite her loss earlier that day, Megumi beamed up at Ryo and his heart skipped a beat.

Damnit. As much as he hated feeling manipulated by Alice, he wasn't going to deny himself the pleasure of Megumi's company. Besides, let them at least get through the regimental battle before he worried about personal things!

"If you're going for impact, what do you think about changing the texture of the pancake?"

Megumi looked up at him with wide amber eyes. "What are you thinking?"

Ryo blushed faintly, "Just do what you did in the battle, and I'll show you." Megumi gave him a shy smile while biting her lip before focusing on her ingredients. It didn't take long for her to present a fresh dorayaki.

Ryo cut the dessert in half. He scored one side and brushed it with Megumi's apple butter and brown sugar before scorching it with a blowtorch.

Megumi let out a soft gasp, "It looks like a dragon scale!"

"Yes, well, visuals are just as important when getting diners to succumb to your food." Ryo couldn't quite meet her eyes, "Just taste and compare."

Megumi obliged by starting with her traditional variation. The bean paste with the caramelized sugars blending with the fresh sweetness of her original filling was delectable! The chunks of apple and even the ginger confiture were further highlighted by the depths of the cooked sugars! Megumi moaned around the flavors in her mouth as the different components dissolved, eventually leaving her with a lingering bitterness that wasn't unpleasant, but not quite comfortable either. She licked her lips to gather any lingering sweetness before turning to Ryo's version.

It definitely looked fiercer, but she knew that the filling was the same as what she'd just tasted. Ryo watched as her teeth broke through the sugared crust. Megumi gasped and her eyes shot open. The flavours all coated her tongue, Megumi's eyes rolled back as she melted to the ground. It was a small change, but the impact was irrefutable! The sensation of breaking that fine crust, the roughness of the outer texture against the smooth filling, the added sugar balancing out any bitterness…

Ryo chuckled, "I think you like it!" Megumi looked up from the floor, still seemingly dazed by the dish she'd just tasted and blushed. Ryo cleared his throat and helped her to her feet, though the image of Megumi blushing up at him would stay with him for a while.

"I still don't think enough about texture and visual appeal…" Megumi began to berate herself.

"Stop." Ryo fixed Megumi with firm look, "You took a point away from the third seat in a patisserie battle with WGO judges." He paused a moment to let his words sink in. "YOU. A FIRST YEAR, took a point away from the third seat, A PATISSERIE SPECIALIST, in a patisserie battle with WGO judges."

It seemed like forever as the two stared each other down before Ryo arched an eyebrow at Megumi and she burst out laughing.

"When you put it that way, I guess I didn't do too badly!"

"Oh, c'mon! You lost! Of course, you did badly! Now let's make another pancake sandwich and see if it would beat that apple-rose basket thing!"

Megumi laughed and beamed at Ryo in appreciation. She nodded and they proceeded to start a fresh batch of batter and filling. Whether their friends liked it or not, they were probably going to be stuck with dorayaki for breakfast.

As the dawn peeked through the window and the first of their classmates began to trickle into the kitchen, thankful for the waiting treats, Megumi and Ryo stood awkwardly in front of each other. It was so hard to know what to do when they weren't cooking!

"Th-thank you for staying up with me." Megumi turned beet red realizing how what she said sounded.

"It was fun. Don't worry about it."

Megumi looked at the ground but allowed herself to smile. "Maybe, next time we should work on something important to you?"

Ryo's initial impulse was to fire back that he didn't need help to perfect his dishes, but any venom caught in his throat, "I think I'd like that. Let's say tomorrow night."

Megumi looked surprised but happy!

"Don't wimp out on me!"

Megumi could only smile at him and nod back. "Tomorrow then."