Tadokoro Megumi was a quiet girl.

She would not speak to anyone unless she had a reason. When she did, her voice was soft and hesitant, like she felt like she didn't have the right to speak. Even when things were not going the way she wanted she would rather sink to the floor and write on her hand rather than to tell someone that this wasn't right.

However, that seemingly permanent habit of hers started to change in her first year of high school, thanks to the only transfer student in her year.

Yukihira Soma was the exact opposite of her, always saying what was on his mind. He proved it within the first two minutes of Megumi seeing him from the first time. By the end of three, she had resolved to never associate with him.

However, Fate said no.

And Megumi found herself stuck with him within the hour for an indefinite amount of time. She didn't complain, though. It wasn't in her nature to. She just resigned herself to this outcome and somehow became friends with the guy who seemed to be her polar opposite.

There was a flaw to her timid personality, though.

Whenever someone was about to cause harm to themselves, she would find just enough courage to say at least some kind of warning, even though she would become a stuttering mess by the end of it.

Of course, Soma was the kind of person who loved dangerous situations. And, of course, because of her worrying personality, Megumi would follow him to make sure that he wouldn't kill himself. He would eventually consider her advice and sometimes follow it, but there were times where he would get so fired up that her small voice could not even be heard.

So she made herself talk louder. She made herself speak clearer. It got to the point where she was screaming at Soma for risking his place at school for her during the training camp. However, that moment slipped her mind when she found her confidence in cooking later on and focused on not losing it again.

Even though he had denied it a couple times, Megumi still thought that Soma and his inclination towards challenging situations pushed her this far.

Megumi knew that she wasn't the only one that Soma ended helping. Being his constant companion let her see how Soma affected everyone they met, usually for the better. Even if those people realized something after the redhead left their sights, Megumi could tell the next time that they met that it had been Soma to invoke the change in them. Mostly because they wouldn't leave him alone for too long.

For some reason, that bothered her.

Being the nervous person that she was, Megumi did not have many friends in middle school. Sure, she had everyone in the dorm, but not many other people had decided to associate themselves with her. Soma, even though he had made himself the outcast in the first couple of months, had managed to amass an army of friends by the end of his first year.

Maybe she just wasn't used to the crowd.

But they were already in their second year and it still upset her. In fact, it felt like it had gotten even worse because now even strangers were crowding around them because of Soma's rank as first chair. And Soma, being the person that he was, would dash off to accept the next challenge.

Even if he had plans beforehand.

Heading over to Research Center to drop something off for Hayama. I'll meet you at the place later.

Megumi sighed as the time on her phone switched to 20:00, more than three hours after Soma had sent his message. She hadn't seen or even heard from him since then. Not that it made a difference now, as the panel was over. Luckily, the event had been entertaining so it was easy for her to wait until the end.

"Miss?" A voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She turned her head to see a concerned security guard calling out to her. "Are you alright?"

"Um…Yes!" She squeaked. "I…I was just waiting for my ride." It was a true statement. She had called for a car right before she had checked for what felt like the millionth time for any messages from her best friend.

"Okay." The guard relaxed. "It's not good for a lady to be out and about by herself this late. You're free to stay inside until your ride arrives."

"Thanks." Megumi waved to him as he went to continue his rounds. His words echoed in her head as she turned back to the glass doors.

She had a feeling that she was going to be alone a lot more in the future.

"Do you think that I should stop trying?"

She gently poked the rubber duck, watching it float around in erratic circles. Of course, the yellow creature did not reply. She had stayed in the bath a little longer than usual, mumbling to the toy about all her worries of the day. Saying them instead of keeping her thoughts in her head helped, as they sounded much more childish and made her feel bad about overthinking about them in the first place.

Like how Soma had forgotten about another plan to hang out today.

It was the same old reason why he had missed the panel a week ago: he got too caught up in the heat of competition. Last time, it had been a surprise from Ryo showing up in berserk mode demanding Soma and Akira to a match. This time, it had been the endless challenges from people vying for the first seat.

And Soma being Soma…

The bluenette closed her eyes and exhaled. Her eyes focused on the duck again once she opened them. She shifted until she was nose-to-bill with the toy.

"Do you want to know a secret?" She whispered.

The thing bobbed up and down silently.

"Sometimes, I wish for days like our first year. Those days where he still wasn't popular and we would spend our days in the kitchen or exploring around the campus or just hanging out together." She pushed the duck again. "But it's better this way. He seems happier."

The duck didn't stray too far this time. For some reason, it brought a smile to her face.

"At least you won't leave me." She murmured. Then she scrunched her face in confusion because she had no idea why she said that.

Megumi soon found herself saying things that puzzled her.

Like how rude it was of people to just interrupt her and Soma's conversations to challenge him.

Or how it wasn't nice how Soma would just abandon her for someone else.

Or how he would only sometimes apologize for missed plans.

Or how she couldn't find him as easily as she used to.

Or how sad she felt at the end of the day.

Luckily, those words never left her head. But her head could only hold so much.

One day, Megumi decided to end the cycle. She would have a final request to have Soma taste a dish that she had been working on for her club. She asked him in the morning, reminded him at lunch, and he himself asked if he still was needed on the way to the Elite Ten office. It had been the longest time they had kept plans in months.

But, of course…

"Yukihira!" Ryo, Alice, and Akira swarmed him right before they left for home. " I challenge you to a Shokugeki!" They said simultaneously.

"Yukihira!" Takumi, hearing the commotion, teleported next to them. "How dare you take on opponents without me?"

And Soma, being Soma…

"I can take you all on!" He grinned, gripping the bandana on his arm. "Right now!"

"But, Soma…" Megumi spoke, but her voice was drowned out by exclamations of "Me first!" and "You can't just skip over me! I'm a higher chair than you!"

She tried again, louder. But the passion in the redhead was too strong because of so many high ranked people in front of him. He didn't even glance in her direction.

Something snapped.

"EVERYONE, SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

The group did just that, their eyes widening and their jaws hitting the floor as they registered that it was the quiet Megumi who had screamed. She even saw from the corner of her eye heads popping out from the office they were standing front of.

But she didn't care for any of them at the moment.

Not even for the redhead she was currently glaring at, because it seemed like he didn't for her.

"I think the only way I'll get to hang out with my best friend is by challenging him, because he seems to forget about any other plans he makes with me beforehand."

Her voice was surprisingly clear when she said that, but she could feel the tears starting to form in her eyes. Not wanting to risk crying in front of her peers, she stormed off until she was out of their sight.

Only when she was sure that no one had cared to follow her did she break out into a run for her bike.