Yukihira Soma was never at a loss for words.

He always has something to say, sometimes to the annoyance of his companions. Even when he was completely absorbed in his craft he would mumble to himself in order to let out the hundreds of thoughts that raced through his head. Anyone who met him quickly had the impression that he was loud and foolhardy.

But that seemingly permanent part of his personality started to waver thanks to the girl he had been partnered on his first assignment.

It wasn't hard to see that Tadokoro Megumi was a very timid person. She was literally crouched on the ground writing kanji with her trembling hands the first time Soma had met her. Even her voice was all shaky when she spoke to him during the assignment.

At least she managed to be helpful.

And he did get his revenge for dealing with her by letting her try his awful creations.

Soma had expected their partnership to be a one-and-done thing. He even thought that he would not see the blue-haired girl again. He didn't mind, as his goal was to just prove to his father that he was worthy of taking over the diner. He had no time for friends.

However, once Soma found himself staring into the bewildered amber eyes of the girl he thought he would never see again later that night, he realized that Fate had decided to foil his plans.

And his polar opposite would be the main cause of it.

There were only a few times in his life that Soma's mind went completely blank.

A lot of the early ones were because of his father and the impossible tasks that he put on Soma. However, eventually, he got over that.

The more recent ones were because of Megumi.

The first time was that night when he had walked in on her in the bath that first night.

Another time was when she yelled at him for sticking up for her in the training camp.

This…

"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."

…was the latest addition.

It was an awful feeling when his mind went blank. He would freeze, his body so not used to the stillness that it went into "danger" mode. He would not be able to do anything until something else happened that would startle him back.

The first time had been a scream.

The time at the training camp, it had been her starting to cry and he was able to latch on to the fact her accent came out.

This time was just silence. She even turned her back on him and left, something that she had never done before in all the time they had been together. It only made his recovery processes even slower.

That was why he did not call out to stop her. That was why he didn't chase after her.

That was why it took him way, way, way too long to do anything.

It was only when someone pushed him did he start to come back.

He turned around to see who had done the deed and was surprised to see Arato's glare staring right back at him. She had somehow gotten through the crowd that had been surrounding him before.

"Go after her, Yukihira!" The secretary commanded.

"Er…right!" The words fell out of his mouth as his brain finally processed what had happened. He had to go after Megumi and apologize! He said a hurried 'thanks' to Arato before running off in the direction that his friend had gone in. When he saw no trace of her, he decided to look to where she usually parked her bike.

The spot was empty.

"She must have gone home." He thought out loud. He jogged his way to his own bike, having to park it in a different spot because his was motorized, and put on his helmet.

Maybe he would be able to catch her on the road.

"C-can I walk with you?"

"Eh?" Soma looked up from putting on his shoes. Tadokoro stood a bit away from him, twiddling her fingers together. "Don't you have a bike?"

"I do."

"Then why don't you take that? It takes forever to walk to school." He grumbled. If he was at this school any longer, he would have to get a bike himself.

"Because…" She hesitated for a brief moment. "I wanted to walk with you today, so you won't be alone this time."

Soma almost said that she was crazy. He wasn't lonely, so why should she be concerned? However, something in him told him not to.

"Uh, sure." He replied instead.

She looked surprised at first when he had said yes, but then she broke into a shy smile.

And he felt himself grinning back.

Soma thought it was kind of funny that one event could change his entire perspective on things.

It finally hit him that he had been coming home alone more often than not for months now, battles and office work keeping him late at the school. Usually, he would be occupied with the results of the match or eager to work on something other than the piles of papers that he had to go through because of his position.

But now, all he could think about was how empty the road home seemed.

Soma frowned as he reached the dorms. He had not seen the bluenette on the way home at all. Had he been occupied that long in the hallway earlier? However, her bike was not in its usual place when he went to put his away.

So, she either had put it somewhere else, or she had not made it home yet.

It turned out to be the latter reason, as Yuki appeared not even ten seconds after he had announced his arrival.

"Where's Megumi?" She asked. It was obvious that she had heard about the events that had transpired earlier by the way she was glaring at him. Soma wasn't surprised, as all the girls in their friend group were close. It was probably Alice who had told her, as she didn't know where Megumi was and Erina and Arato were not the kind to gossip.

"I don't know." He admitted. "I didn't see her on the way home."

"You don't know?" The female growled. "You piss her off to the point that she runs away, and you don't even try to go after her?"

"I-"

"I bet you didn't even try to text or call her."

Soma closed his mouth. The idea of doing just that didn't even cross his mind.

"I can't believe I'm right." Yuki scoffed. "Wait, I can, now that I remember what she's told me before." Soma scrunched his face, confused at the comment.

"I don't understand-"

"Of course you don't understand!" Yuki interrupted him. "All you think about is cooking, and that's the problem! If you actually stopped and looked around you for once, you would know why you're in this situation in the first place!" Still fuming, the female walked off and left him alone.

Soma went up to his room just long enough to change. He then went to the dining room, surprised that he had not run into anyone else this whole time. Once he sat down at one of the tables, he decided to take Yuki's advice and texted Megumi to see if she would tell him where she was. When she didn't reply after a while, he decided to call her. When the call went straight to voicemail, the weird feeling that he had been having for a few hours increased. Megumi never went this long without a reply. He had, though, he realized as he went through their chat history on a whim. There were many times where he had not replied for the rest of those days, even when she asked where he was.

Yuki's comment was starting to make a lot more sense now.

"This is a familiar sight. But it's usually the other way around."

"Huh?" Soma looked up from his phone and turned his head towards the direction of Ryoko's voice.

"Usually it's Megumi waiting for you in here." The female clarified, walking in room with a stack of bowls in her hands.

"Oh." Soma stared back at his darkened phone as Ryoko started to place the bowls down. It was getting close to dinner, he guessed. "Do you want some help?"

"Greatly appreciated." She replied and Soma went to go get the rest of the items.

"I'm guessing you heard what happened." He sighed.

"What? That you finally managed to get our angel to snap? Everyone has."

"Have you heard from Megumi?"

"She's not where I got the news from, but I have."

"Is she safe? Is she okay? Is she home?" The questions tumbled out of his mouth. "I've tried contacting her but she hasn't answered at all."

"Well, now you know how she's been feeling for months." Ryoko said calmly. She straightened herself and looked around the room. "She would wander the dorm for hours, checking her phone for any message from you. She would even camp out here if you missed dinner, refusing to leave to go upstairs until you got home."

Soma's gut twisted as he recalled the many times he had gotten home way after dinner. Megumi was always the first and sometimes the last person he would see at those times. He remembered many evenings where he would walk in the dining room with some leftovers and Megumi would be sitting in here in her nightclothes, alone most times. A smile would form every time once she saw him.

"I was waiting for you, Soma. Where'd you go?"

"I see." He mumbled.

"It only took you long enough." As if on cue, the rest of their dormmates, minus Megumi and Isshiki, came into the room. Sato had been the one to say that to him, but everyone else seemed like they had wanted to say something along the lines of that.

For once, Soma minded being the center of attention.

The air felt heavy all throughout dinner, which was uncommon for the lively dorm. Soma wasn't that stupid to not know the reason why. What broke the somber mood was the sound of the front door opening. A few moments later, Isshiki appeared in the doorway.

"Good evening, my juniors!" The senior's cheery mood helped brightened up the atmosphere a bit. The rest of the group gave greetings in response. Soma just waved.

"Did you find her?" Yuki asked.

"I did." Isshiki leaned back and looked in the direction of the main entrance. A few moments later, he stepped inside the dining room to reveal Megumi behind him. Soma was out of his seat as soon as he saw her.

"Megumi…" He said as he made his way towards her.

"Stop." The bluenette pushed her arm out to emphasize her words, but Soma froze automatically at the cold demand.

"I don't want to talk to you." She continued, her eyes never leaving the floor. Soma frowned but didn't reply.

She then brought her arm back to her body to bow towards the rest of their friends. "I'm sorry for making you guys worry. I don't feel particularly hungry tonight. Please excuse me." The bluenette then left to go upstairs. Soma sighed once he couldn't hear her footsteps anymore.

"All you can do right now is wait." Isshiki said as he passed by him. "After all, she waited for you all this time."