Resuming their positions in the rebel cage, Alice kept glancing towards Ryo from the corner of her eye. This time it was Akira who finally spoke up, "Just say what you need to so we can focus on these battles."
Alice didn't need much encouragement at this point, "So! This morning's breakfast was really delicious!"
Ryo closed his eyes and sighed against the inevitable interrogation from Alice. "Ya, I guess Megumi wanted to see where she could improve."
"Hmm… I'm not a morning person myself, but a couple people said that you were cooking together all night." Alice was smug. Ryo hated it when Alice was smug. He didn't appreciate her meddling, nor did he like the side-eye he was getting from Akira.
"I ran into her, and we worked on her recipe. Please grow up. Miss." Ryo hoped that Alice would take the hint and drop it.
Alice pursed her lips but didn't immediately respond.
"Akira!" Alice turned on her heel to her other cage-mate. "What do you think our chances are in this current line up?"
Taking the hint to drop the topic of Ryo and Megumi, Akira turned to face the arena, "Honestly, it may be close, but those three from Central are at the top for a reason. I don't think we can take anything for granted. As talented as Isshiki is, he's facing Eishi Tsukasa who's culinary execution can be called perfection. And as much as Takumi has improved, chef Rindo has already taken out the former number 4 seat. Our best chance this bout is Erina versus Momo but looking at the theme ingredient… it will all be an uphill battle."
As the battle commenced, all of the rebels felt how tenuous their position really was. Ryo was glad to have the attention off of himself, but looking at the line-up of the day's fight, he had to agree with Akira. None of their futures were secure.
Erina's match finished first and through the power of the God Tongue, she rocked chef Momo's confectionary fortress to its foundation! As Erina explained her process for having arrived at her Soufflé Léger de Grâce, Megumi's eyes opened wide as she realized that Erina had presented her own version of a dorayaki. The very dish that she'd tried to defeat chef Momo with! She gawked as she tried to understand what this could mean, until Alice chimed in to explain the meaning behind the dish's name.
"Translated, it's called the Light Souffle of Grace. It's just like how the characters of Megumi's name can be translated as grace or blessing!" Alice looked pointedly at Megumi to make her meaning clear, and upon realization Megumi's eyes opened wider in awe as she turned to Erina. The God Tongue had made something for her sake?!
The tears bubbled up and as soon as Erina was declared the winner and returned to the rebels, Megumi was bawling on her shoulder for thinking so highly of her. A few months ago, Ryo would have called this pathetic, but now… Megumi was too genuine and worked too hard to be called pathetic.
Ryo reflected on what Alice said about Megumi's name. So, the country girl was a blessing? By contrast, his own name meant to survive or exceed; a fighter who perseveres against all odds. He wasn't sure that the two went together. After all, if you are blessed, what do you need to fight for?
Ryo scoffed at himself for even letting the thought enter his head. As if names really had anything to do with who people became.
Meanwhile, a commotion indicated yet another twist against them when Azami decided that he and his specially selected WGO judges would replace the impartial judging panel. Soma naturally had some idiotic response about this being a good thing and going up against Azami directly. Looking at the judges that Azami brought with him, Ryo wondered if the director was trying to shake Erina's concentration. Sure, they were legitimate tier 1 judges, but it was a bit embarrassing the way they hung all over Azami at the judge's table. It must have been especially uncomfortable for Erina to see her father in such a situation, but her poker face never faltered. Ryo would never stop being surprised by the Nakiri family.
Though both Isshiki and Takumi put up good fights, it wasn't much of a surprise when Eishi and Rindo won their matches. What was a surprise was former director Senzaemon's declaration that the next bout would be a course battle to determine the victor! All of this was to say that the future of Tohtski Academy rested on Erina and Soma working together.
In short. They were doomed.
Alice, Ryo, and Akira stayed with the planning group for a few hours until Alice and Erina couldn't stop bickering and Isshiki recommended reducing the number of chefs in the kitchen. On the way out, Ryo caught Megumi's eye and mouthed "rain check". It was clear that they wouldn't be meeting up to cook that night.
By the next morning, Ryo could only hope that sane heads had prevailed and Soma and Erina had a solid plan to beat Central once and for all. At least, that was the hope until Megumi and Takumi appeared in the arena looking completely exhausted. Hisako tentatively asked if they'd reached a plan… but it was just then that Soma and Erina made their appearance, and they looked awful! They were still grumbling at each other and playing rock, paper, scissor to determine how they would approach the challenge.
"You've got to be kidding me." Ryo looked at the remaining rebels in despair.
Hisako called to Megumi and Takumi, "Did they reach any sort of plan?!"
"Well…" Megumi started, but the behaviour of Soma and Erina spoke for itself.
Despite such an inauspicious start, the transfer student and the God Tongue pulled off a miracle! Azumi resisted even tasting Erina's dish, but in the end, he took the bite that signaled his downfall.
Which also left the majority of the arena's occupants without their clothes thanks to the Nakiri endowment.
While Ryo wasn't particularly bothered to be standing in nothing but his briefs, he couldn't help but glance towards Megumi. He told himself it was to assure that she was alright and that no one was being inappropriate towards her, after all he was used to chaperoning Alice at the pool and any other situations where men may feel entitled to her attentions. Unlike with Alice though, when Ryo caught sight of Megumi in her white cotton bra and pantie set, he realized that he may be the person with inappropriate intentions. She was toned but still delicate and as Ryo's mouth went dry and the heat of a blush crept up his neck, he averted his eyes to leave Megumi with as much dignity as he could.
Megumi, on the other hand, once recovered from the surprise of losing her clothes in the middle of a food war, couldn't help but let her eyes wander to her fellow seaport chef. Her first impression was that 'of course he wore black reptile print briefs', but she wasn't as well prepared for just how muscular the young man was! With a gulp Megumi looked away and resigned herself to never being a perfect bride because she knew that she'd be dreaming of Ryo pressed against her again, and now with more detail!
Neither chef caught each other looking at their bared flesh, or the blushes that followed. But Alice did. A cat-like grin spread across her face as she realized just how little effort her plan should take. Of course, as much as she hated to admit it, this also meant that she would have to keep a 'hands off' approach. No more taunting Ryo about the blue-haired, country chef. She sighed but felt happy for her friends. Hopefully they would figure it out on their own, but she'd make sure to be there if not.