Disclaimer: I don't own Shokugeki no Soma

It was a special weekend for Megumi Tadokoro; after all, she was visiting her hometown for a special festival it held every year. It was the time of year that she had always looked forward to as a young child, and even to this day she could barely hold back her excitement for it. Yet this year she was more nervous than excited for this weekend.

Megumi stared at the letter in her hand pondering as to why her mother had even sent it in the first place. The letter's words echoed in her mind, and she couldn't get them out. In hindsight she should have realized that talking about Soma so much to her mother would only lead to this very situation.

"She wants me to invite Soma to meet the family…" Megumi whispered to herself, pondering the deeper implications of those words.

A soft knocking at the door broke her out of her trance. "Megumi, it's time for dinner," Ryōko called.

"Oh I'll be right there!" Megumi rushed out not wanting to make her friends wait.

Ryōko and Yuki were both waiting outside, and they both wore worried expressions.

"What's the matter you two?" Megumi asked her two friends.

"What's the matter with us! What's the matter with you? You've been out of it ever since the afternoon," Yuki stopped herself from shouting.

"What do you mean? … I'm fine." Megumi answered trying to convince them with a warm smile. Though the look on their faces told her the whole story. Sighing Megumi finally broke and asked, "Ummm can I talk to both of you privately after dinner?"

The two girls looked at one another and a small smile played on their lips and they nodded at the shy girl's request. "Just don't skip out on anything Megumi, remember we're here to help." Ryōko gave her a warm encouraging smile before they went down stairs to get their dinner.

Dinner other than being delicious was rather uneventful, but Megumi was grateful for that. Seeing how Soma had lost in the Autumn Elections everyone assumed that he would be distraught and depressed. Yet that wasn't the case, as Soma for the most part was acting like his normal self.

But Megumi wasn't completely convinced that Soma was truly okay. While she didn't have anything big to go on, she had a feeling that Soma was still hung over about his defeat.

"Well I'm going to head on up. Goodnight everyone." Soma announced to his fellow Polar Star dorm mates.

A chorus of goodnight followed, and Soma had disappeared. The mood in the room instantly became somber, and the members of the Polar Star dorm fell into thought about their dorm mate.

"I wouldn't worry about him too much," Satoshi encouraged his fellows, standing up from his seat.

"Satoshi is right, Soma is still young and he'll get over it. You all must remember that there are no lessons in victory but there are thousands in losing," Fumio chimed in. "Now come on we have to clean up, so whose turn is it?"

No one spoke up as they all dreading clean up duty.

"I'll leave the duty to my wonderful kohais," Satoshi gave them all one last smile and bolted out of the room.

"We girls have very important issues to attend to, so please excuse us," Ryōko quickly said taking both Megumi and Yuki with her.

Without saying anything Shun stood up and walked out of the room. Daigo and Shoji were hot on his trail, leaving only Zenji.

"Well it looks like you got the short end of the stick," Fumio laughed. "Have this messed cleaned before I come back."

Zenji sighed adjusting his glasses. "Why is it always me?"

"So what has you down Megumi?" Ryōko asked her friend who was seated on the floor of her room.

Megumi knew she could trust in them, but she couldn't help but be a bit hesitant. "Um well I received a letter from my mother today."

"Yeah we know that much," Yuki interrupted.

Megumi sighed and held the letter out. "You'd understand faster if you two read the letter."

Ryōko grabbed the letter from her, and the both girls began to read it.

Megumi raised her right hand and placed it on her heart trying to calm her racing heartbeat.

Yuki was the first to stop reading the letter, and her lips contorted into a devious smile. "Oh I see the problem now. Our dear Megumi is worried about how she'll introduce her "boyfriend" to her family."

If a blushing face could turn redder than ripe tomato then Megumi was sure her face had turned that red. "No… it's not like that at all."

"Well from the sounds of it your mother may think the opposite," Ryōko smiled at the shy girl. "I can only assume you've said some pretty flattering things about Soma when you've spoken to your mother. I get the feeling that she thinks you two are an item."

Okay so what if she had spoken about Soma in a very flattering light to her mother? He did deserve the praise that she gave him after all. He was the person that helped her find proper footing here at Tōtsuki Academy. Not to mention the fact that he'd helped her out when ever she needed it, Soma was a true friend. A close friend… a friend that she admired… and maybe even liked more than a friend…

"No hold on what am I thinking? Soma, is just a friend and nothing more… yeah… just a friend…" Megumi thought to herself.

"Hey Ryōko, is it me or does it seem like Megumi is having some sort of inner conflict here?" Yuki whispered.

"It seems like that doesn't it?" Ryōko smiled that the whole ordeal.

Megumi sighed and for some reason felt tired about the whole situation. Life at Tōtsuki Academy was difficult enough without adding in all these complicated feelings to the mix.

"Hey earth to Megumi, is anyone there?" Yuki waved her hand in front of the girl.

"Uh… why does this have to be so complicated?" Megumi whined hugging her knees.

"Hey don't get so depressed on me, Megumi," Ryōko gave her a warm smile. "After all that's why we're here right?"

Ryōko was right. After all she did ask for their help, and her friends seemed like they were more than eager to help out. "Okay, okay what am I supposed to do then?"

"Well why don't you what the letter says and invite Soma to go with you. I mean what's the worst that could happen?" Yuki asked.

"That or Megumi just could not invite Soma to go with her. In either case you're going to have some explaining to do," Ryōko mused out loud.

So when it came down to it Megumi's only two options were to invite Soma, or not. Why couldn't there be a third option in which her mom wouldn't hound her with questions. Inviting him would be both awkward and embarrassing, or at least in her eyes. Not inviting him though would mean having to explain a bunch of things to her family especially her mother. Thinking about it carefully it seemed like it'd be easier to explain the whole situation to her family then actually take Soma with her, but what would she tell them.

From the corner of her eye Megumi saw Yuki stand up and stretch out. "Hey isn't that Soma out there?" Yuki asked as she and Ryōko went over to the window.

"What's he doing out there?" Ryōko chimed in, looking out the window with Yuki.

Megumi stood up and walked over to the window. Soma was walking out of the dorm with some small equipment, for what she could only assume to be a small grill and he had a satchel at his side.

"Where is he going?" Yuki wondered.

"That's the million dollar question isn't?" Ryōko replied. "Where do you think he's going Megumi?"

Ryōko's question flew over Megumi's head, as it seemed her body was moving on its own putting on the proper attire to chase after Soma. It hurt her knowing that Soma was in some sort of pain, and she'd do anything she could to help him out.

Next thing Megumi knew she was heading out the door. "Wait where are you going Megumi?" someone called her, but she couldn't tell who said it in her hurry.

Soma had dealt with the bitter taste of defeat on multiple occasions against his old man, and yet that fact didn't make his new loss any more bearable. Granted he did fight an uphill battle, and he gave it his all, but Akira still managed to come out on top in the end.

Well when he got thinking about it wasn't the loss that hurt him so much, but the fact that he broke the promise with his old man that hurt the most. He had gone and lost before he had the chance to challenge him one more time.

"Man that sucks," Soma sighed, assembling his small grill. "I'm going to have come up with my own style of cooking if I'm ever going to have a chance to beat my old man."

The grill had been set up and he began to light the fire and soon it was up and blazing. He fanned the fire to make sure that it would stay lit, and soon enough the fire was ready and waiting for the food it would cook.

Soma grabbed some small ingredients out of the satchel he had. He pulled out a small vile of some brown sauce simply labeled P and pieces of calamari. Soma placed the calamari pieces on the now hot grill, and dipped a pastry brush into the brown sauce quickly giving each piece a brush of the sauce.

The pieces of calamari began to release their juices, as they quickly were cooked on the grill with a loud sizzling sound. The aroma of roasted peanuts rose up in the air with the smoke, but it played second fiddle compared to the smell of the cooking calamari.

With one large inhale and exhale Soma pulled a piece off the grill and took a bite of it. He chewed it slowly, taking his time to truly savor the tastes of the calamari. Nicely put it was a decent piece of food, but it was boring... "I need to work on the peanut sauce…" Soma sighed.

Soma continued cooking the rest of the pieces in relative silence. His only companion was the moon that rested in the sky. It was both a calming and peaceful feeling that Soma felt looking up into the night sky that shown ever so brilliantly.

Yet there was a voice in the distance that was getting louder and louder, and he could swear that the voice was calling out his name. The voice was familiar, and it reminded him of a good friend that always had a calming effect on him.

"Soma!" Megumi panted, seemingly coming out of nowhere. "There you are. I was looking all over for you."

"Tadokoro, what are you doing here?" Soma asked.

"I saw you walking out of the dorm, so I chased after you. I wanted to see if you were alright." Megumi answered taking a couple of paces towards Soma.

"Don't worry about me I just wanted to test out some recipes that my dad taught me years ago. I wanted to see if I could improve them at all, but so far no luck." Soma chuckled lightly to himself.

"Oh what are you making, Soma?"

"It's calamari that I marinated lightly in a dry rub, then once it's started to cook I brush it all off with a peanut sauce."

"How did it turn out?"

"Why don't you taste it, and find out," Soma held out a piece of the calamari, but Megumi hesitated for a bit before taking the piece of food from him.

Taking a bite out of it, Megumi was instantly hit with the strong flavors of the calamari. As she chewed the flavors of the calamari were obviously overpowering the peanut sauce. The food gave off a somber feel to it, and it didn't have a spark of life that all of Soma's creation had, both the good and bad. "Well it's okay, but the peanut sauce is completely overpowered by the calamari."

"Yeah I agree, but at the very least it's been getting better and better. I remember when I first started to make this recipe people would pass out when they ate it. So you lucked out Tadokoro, and got a version that is actually edible." Soma smiled at her.

Megumi sighed in relief and asked, "May I join you?"

Soma nodded and patted a spot on the ground next to him. Megumi graciously sat down next to Soma and they both sat there in silence and watched the calamari cook.

There was a calm and peaceful silence between them, and Soma's mind began to wander once more.

Megumi watched Soma from the corner of her eye, and he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "I wonder what he's thinking about?"

She looked up at the beautiful moon overhead, as she allowed this welcomed silence to engulf them.

"Hey Tadokoro, do you think I'll ever develop my own cooking style?" Soma softly asked as he looked at the moon with Megumi.

The question caught her off guard and she looked over at Soma who was just staring into the fires of the small grill.

"I think you can." Megumi answered without hesitation, and with clear conviction in her voice. "I've seen your passion for cooking and I know whenever you are faced with a large problem you always come out on top. You never give up when the odds are stacked against you. So… that's why I think you'll be able to over come this trail and you'll become an even better chef because of it!"

Soma didn't answer, and she started to worry a bit at his lack of response.

"Remember when your dad came by to visit? You told Satoshi and I how many times you lost against him, and even though you never once beat him you never stopped challenging him. How are you going to ever beat him if you don't believe you have the capacity to over come your failures and better yourself from them? I... I know you Soma, and I know that if you work hard enough you'll be able to overcome and loss or failure that comes your way!" Megumi was out of breath after her just about shouting her final declaration to Soma. She was slightly panting, as she felt a bit drained after allowing herself to say all those things to Soma.

She looked over at Soma once she saw a small grin playing with his lips. Soon enough he began chuckle. His laughter was reserved yet full of energy, and his lips moved into a sincere smile. It was the first honest smile Megumi saw since his loss at the Autumn Election.

"What's so funny Soma?"

"It's nothing, nothing at all Tadokoro," Soma flashed her a toothy grin and stood up.

That was the smile that she was looking for; Soma's smile once again had a look that was full of life and passion that she so dearly missed.

"I've lost to my old man way too many times to let one loss mess with me. " Soma held out his hand and Megumi graciously took it, and Soma helped her up. "Thanks Tadokoro for helping me realize that."

"It's the least I can do considering all the times you've helped me out in the past," Megumi gave him a bashful smile.

Soma stretched out a bit and said, " I think it's about time we started to head back as it's getting late, but first I have to clean all this up."

"Oh let me help you out with that," Megumi chirped, jumping on the chance to help out Soma. In a matter of minutes between the two of them they put away all the equipment and placed the food in a small container. "Shall we go then Soma?"

"Yeah lets go," Soma smiled at Megumi, and the two friends made their way back to the dorm with a serene silence between them.

Soon enough the dorm was in sight they made their way inside. They slowly made their trek up the stairs, and they made their way to their dorm rooms. "Oh Soma what about that equipment aren't you going to store it some where?"

"Don't worry about it Tadokoro I have a place I can store it, and I also have a small mini fridge I can store the food in. Well goodnight Tadokoro, sweet dreams." Soma waved.

"Yeah goodnight…" Megumi whispered as thoughts of her mother's words that flooded her mind once more. "Soma, wait up!"

Soma stopped his motion and looked out of his room and asked, " What's up?"

"Um… I was…wondering if you're doing anything for the next three days?"

"Nothing really."

"Then do you think that you could come with me to my hometown for a couple of days? A local festival is starting the day after tomorrow and I think that you'd like it. There is a bunch of delicious food there, and everyone is so nice there I'm sure you'll get ideas for your new cooking style there Soma!" Megumi excitedly explained.

Then her words set in and she just realized what she had done. Megumi looked at Soma and he looked a bit shocked at her outburst. She could feel her cheeks go hot, and a sense of regret welled up in the pit of her stomach. "I mean that is if you want to! If you're busy and stuff then please by all means do what you want to do!" Megumi tired her best to salvage the situation, but she was panicking and her mind began to go blank.

"Man I haven't been to a festival in years!" Soma excited replied as a smile replaced his once shocked features. Those words instantly brought Megumi back to her senses. "Thanks for the invite Tadokoro, and yes I would like to go."

"That's great!" Megumi shouted almost too enthusiastically. "We leave tomorrow then around noon, and make sure to pack for the entire weekend alright."

"Alright, sounds like a plan," Soma cheerfully said.

"Yeah…"

Then silence once again claimed them, but it was an awkward silence as opposed to a calming silence like before.

"Well we should probably go to sleep," Soma proposed breaking the silence between them.

"You're right. Well goodnight Soma."

"Night Tadokoro."

They both entered their respective rooms, and once inside Megumi felt a large mixture of conflicting emotions. "I did it. I actually did it. I invited Soma." She whispered to herself falling on her bed.

She was excited, as Soma had agreed to come with her to her hometown. On the other hand she was also worried about how her family would receive Soma. Even with these thoughts swirling around in her mind Megumi couldn't help but feel happy about the whole situation. Soon enough Megumi allowed sleep to claim her as she fell asleep to the thoughts of the festival and Soma…

Author's Notes:

Well I finally wrote another story after forever. I blame school and a bunch of assorted video games of the 3ds. Anyway my return to fanfiction starts with my love for MegumiXSoma! Honestly ever since getting into this under appreciated fandom of Shokugeki no Soma I was a bit shocked to see all the love go to Erina who at this point still is a woefully static character. On the other hand people just ignored Megumi who not only is adorable but she has a character and she's actually gotten character development! My character preferences aside I also noticed there was no real MegumiXSoma stories on this site, so I thought I may as well be the one to command the MegumiXSoma ship in the ocean of all other ships!

Yes this is going to be a multi-chapter fic. I have it planned out for about 5 to 6 chapters, but expect slow updates from me sadly. Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and I hope to get out the next chapter as soon as I can!