Megumi was not surprised that Ryo possessed knowledge of numerous hidden culinary gems all over Tokyo. After they left the dorm, which Megumi graciously had been allowed to exit walking on her own two feet, Ryo guided her to a car waiting for them.
A car drive and a short walk later, Megumi found herself seated at an Italian restaurant on the fifth floor with a view of a busy walking street. Ryo knew the owners and had called ahead to get them squeezed in. It was a family owned restaurant that he had frequented for years, much like the place they had eaten breakfast at not too long ago.
After ordering a few things from the menu, Megumi leaned back in her chair and admired the view outside. It was hypnotizing to watch people walk by in steady streams. Without thinking about it, her eyes tracked a couple of girls wearing brightly colored jackets, observing as they laughed and stopped for pictures.
It made her look forward to seeing the girls on Saturday. Or was it Sunday? She couldn't really recall right now. She felt a dull ache at the back of her head and it made her realize that she had felt a little sluggish all day, but had ignored it in favor of getting work done.
Of course that particular thought reminded her of all the things she still had to take care of when she returned home. Phone calls, emails, lists, inspections and it went on and on. Megumi closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to stay present. Right now, she just wanted to take it slow and enjoy a hot meal that she didn't prepare herself.
Her foot was gently nudged under the table, "You okay?"
Megumi opened her eyes to find Ryo watching her closely. For a moment she had forgotten that he was there, but she was quick to reassure him. "I'm fine. I just zoned out for a minute."
"If you say so." Ryo did not sound convinced. Megumi was spared from having to say any more, when their food arrived.
They mostly ate in silence, both of them preoccupied with analyzing their respective dishes. Megumi was a huge fan of the soup. It was a rich tomato soup with just the right amount of tang and it was served with a beautifully crisp garlic bread. Ryo had ordered burrata with an assortment of tomatoes along with some other appetizers that he had polished off before she even noticed.
"How are the preparations coming along? I haven't heard much from you or Aldini." Ryo asked her after a few bites.
"We are getting there, I think. We are still waiting for some RSVPs, but all the judges have confirmed their participation." Megumi explained.
"But I am honestly looking forward to when it is over." She added after a pause. She had a whole new appreciation for the seniors that had dealt with these same preparations the years prior.
"Me too. Miss has been working us to the bone. I think Hayama is hiding from her."
Megumi couldn't help but smile at the mental image. She had a feeling that Hayama might still be unaware of Alice's increased interest in him. She was tempted to ask Ryo if she was right, but decided that it would be prying. It was none of her business.
"Have you recommended anyone for the elections?" She asked instead. They were mostly done eating and were waiting for dessert. Ryo's eyes followed a waiter leaving the kitchen with a silver tray.
"A couple." He mentioned one of the first years, who had challenged him a few times and actually put up a good fight. The rest of Ryo's candidates could be counted on one hand. She wondered how long he had spent on going over his list.
"I still have to shortlist my recommendations." Megumi admitted, spirits dampening slightly.
"I forbid you from thinking about work. Let future-Megumi worry about that." Ryo suggested and turned her focus back to their food. The waiter finally reached their table and set down the rest of their meals.
"Okay," she agreed and dug into her main dish. Her work could wait until she came back.
Days passed and Megumi finally got to hang out with her friends. By some miracle she had managed to straighten out the last details for the maintenance and she had managed to squeeze in enough time to condense her recommendation list. The rest of the Elite 10 had eased up on the number of shokugeki they accepted and had been able to relieve her of more than a few tasks, which meant that she had nothing to do until the next council meeting.
Yuki and Ryoko had also finished all their coursework and had suggested they go out. It was a rare occurrence that all of them including Nikumi had a day off, and they were going to take advantage of it. They had originally planned to go watch a movie, but once they met up, they decided to wander around and see where they ended up.
The group of girls came across a new cafe promoting their brand new bubble tea selection and all of them tried different flavors to compare.
"I'm normally not a big fan of boba, but this is delicious!" Yuki gushed, inhaling her drink and almost choking on the tapioca pearl. Megumi agreed and sipped her black milk tea thoughtfully. There were many ways she could think of to refine the taste, but it was surprisingly good.
"They got the consistency just right. Last time I had some, the pearls were like rubber. It was absolutely vile." Nikumi told them and explained in great detail how delicate the process was for achieving the perfect spheres. Megumi, Ryoko and Yuki listened with rapt attention as Nikumi gave her impromptu lecture. It felt great to see their friend back to her usual passionate self.
After a very in-depth discussion about the manufacturing process, sourcing and endless options for customization, they all agreed that the cafe they were visiting got a passing score for their drinks.
"I kind of want to try making it home." Megumi commented to her friends. Yuki lit up with excitement, Ryoko's expression turned pensive and Nikumi grinned deviously.
"Me too! First, we need to secure our ingredients, equipment and kitchen space." Nikumi listed swiftly, already jotting down notes on paper.
"I'll ask the guys if they have any of the things we need, otherwise we can get them on the way home." Yuki tapped away on her phone, typing at incredible speeds.
"As for the equipment… We can probably make do with what we already have, but I wonder…" Ryoko mumbled as she scrolled on her phone, looking up the exact equipment they would need. "Cloth bag, heat treatment.. gelatinization.. Oh! Okay, we can do that instead. But what about… Hmm." Ryoko was completely absorbed by her research and forgot to share her findings out loud.
Megumi, too, was looking up what they needed for their project and after listening to Nikumi's explanation and looking up some things, she came to a realization. "I think Alice-san might have all the remaining things." She told her friends.
"I was just thinking the same thing! Let's hear if we can come over." Yuki had already dialed Alice's number and had her phone up to her ear. The moment Alice picked up, the bubbly girl launched into an explanation and minutes later, Alice was on board.
"Sweet, we'll see you soon!" Yuki ended the call and relayed information to the rest of them. "We are meeting at Alice's place in two hours. She has all the equipment and like a million different teas, so let's get the rest of the things we need and get going."
The rest of Megumi's day was spent cooking up tapioca pearls with her friends and making a mess of Alice's kitchen. At some point Erina had also made her entrance. She had promised to meet with them as soon she was done with work and without any objection, the headmistress had been dragged into their shenanigans.
It felt so good to be surrounded by her friends again and she vowed not to let her work-life balance get this bad again. At some point, her phone rang and Megumi excused herself to take the call. She was surprised to see Chef Shinomiya calling her, but quickly picked up, knowing that her mentor hated waiting.
"Good evening, coach! It's been a long time." She greeted. At the end of the line she heard him huff.
"I told you to stop calling me that." His voice was laced with annoyance, but it did not deter her in the slightest. The immunity she had built up to his abrasive nature last year was still in effect, and she knew that his annoyance was mostly just for show.
"It has sort of become a habit." Megumi admitted sheepishly. It was very easy to imagine Shinomiya pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a deep breath. She knew he didn't hate it as much as he claimed and she did not see herself stopping anytime soon. She was still immensely grateful for his mentoring and it had, after all, led to her being at ease around him.
"Nevermind that," he huffed again, "did I catch you at a bad time?"
"No, it is fine." Megumi leaned against a wall, curious as to why he had suddenly contacted her.
"Listen up. I'm going to be in town at the end of the month and I want you to free up some time. There is something I need you to do." He started off slowly as if carefully considering his words.
"Okay?" Megumi prompted. He didn't sound angry or worried, just a little cryptic. What did he need her to do? She listened intently as he explained the details and found herself nodding along. They agreed to meet, when he could make time for her in the coming weeks and she thanked him for calling.
"Yes, I will see you then." Sliding her phone back in her pocket, Megumi slumped back against the wall once more. It had sounded like he just wanted to meet up for lunch, but she had a sneaking suspicion that there was something else Chef Shinomiya had purposefully kept from her.
The task she had been given was not urgent, but she made a note to look into it as soon as possible. Right now, she had too much on her plate, and he had assured her that it was something that could wait until after they met, though he did not say why. Feeling equal parts apprehensive and excited, Megumi took a few breaths and promised herself that everything would fall into place soon.
With that in mind, she returned to the chaos of Alice's kitchen and found her friends covered in starch and tea, waiting for her.
Not long before the preliminary round of the autumn election, Ryo found himself inspecting the venue one more time. A few volunteers were milling about and helping with the maintenance work, but no one else from the Elite 10 were there. Alice had been with him until not long ago, but she had been called away by Aldini for something he hadn't bothered listening to.
He had been patiently going over the list of things they needed to check before the tournament, including functional checks of the cameras used to stream the matches. Ryo was manually checking the camera angles all over the hall when he noticed the whispers.
"I heard she struck a deal with them to be their errand girl." One girl whispered to her friend.
"I heard that too! Do you think that's why she was allowed to advance to the next grade?" The other one replied. Although they were talking in hushed tones, Ryo was close enough to overhear their conversation, but almost completely hidden by the bulky camera. They were cleaning the stands a few rows under him and had not noticed his presence.
From the looks of it they were second year students. Ryo did not recall ever seeing them before, but he sucked at remembering faces and he had no interest in their conversation in the first place, so he tuned out their voices. It worked well enough until he thought, he heard them mention Megumi's name.
"No no, it was during the first year the camp she got expelled. No one knows how Tadokoro got him to rescind the expulsion, though there are many theories."
"Makes you wonder what else she has done to make it this far. Didn't she also-" The girls, now finished with cleaning, walked away just as he registered their comments.
Ryo was confused. Megumi was generally well-liked and had spent the past year making a name for herself. As far as he knew, she was on good terms with most of the student population and especially with some of the alumni.
Now that he thought back, there had been some chatter about her being expelled during their training camp, but since she was still enrolled, he had just dismissed the gossip. Aside from the ridiculous rumors about the love triangle with Yukihira, this was the first time he had ever heard someone question her integrity. It pissed him off.
The gossiping girls were too far away for him to do anything now, but Ryo decided to keep his ear to the ground. If rumors like this were circulating around Megumi, the kindest girl he knew, what else was being said? The autumn elections would be over them soon enough and there was bound to be trouble at such a big event.