Hey guys, and this is the next chapter of The Fallen Chef, picking up the next day. Now, as I have pointed out, I am not a professional chef, nor am I even a good one. So, any dish that will be in this might not be as good as the Gotcha! Pork roast or the other dishes the entire gang has made. If someone wants to test it, and make the dish I'm describing, post it in the comments, and check if it is good.

Megumi POV

I walked into my first class, which was the only other class I shared with Soma.

I sat at my desk, right when everyone else was coming in.

However, when Soma walked in the classroom, everyone was whispering.

"What did he do to the ice princess? She's not in her office even."

'Huh? Last night she went to tell something about his dad. Why isn't she at school?'

Then, Soma sat down in his seat, on the other side of the room.

He looked… angry. But he didn't look at anyone in particular. Just at the desk.

'What happened?'

Then, the bell rang, and everyone sat down. Our history teacher would begin our test.

"Alright, everyone! It's time to start our test! Soma, if you want, here is the work you are missing, and you can work on it outside while the test is being taken."

"Nah, it's fine. I'll take the test." He had the slight amount of confidence that I remembered him for, but he didn't sound cocky. It was if he believed he could do well, which was a feat upon itself.

'Soma usually does really badly in this class. Last year alone, he barely passed.'

"Well, alright then." The teacher picked up a pile of tests, handing it out to us individually.

"Students, make sure you don't cheat, otherwise, you will get a zero."

This was the standard procedure. Then, we'd flip our tests over, and finish the test.

I usually would finish the test first, and Soma would be the last to finish.

Usually is the key word.

Within 30 minutes of getting the test, Soma was the very first person to finish the test, turning it in to our teacher within a half hour.

Everyone looked at him with shock, but they didn't talk, in fear of getting a zero.

The next person was me, at the 45 minute mark, which was right before many others turned their test in.

'I am pretty sure that I did well. I hope I did.'

I spent the last few minutes of class worrying about the test internally.

Then, 10 minutes later, the bell rang, and all of the students packed up to go to their next class, say for Soma and I.

Soma picked up the massive pile of papers and slid it into his backpack.

He also had a bunch of stickers plastered on the bag, all Asian and middle eastern countries.

Eventually, he and I walked out of class, but he didn't speak to me as we walked out.

He looked down, with his headband keeping his long hair out of his eyes.

"Yukihira?"

Hisako looked upon Soma, and instantly slapped him.

'Huh?!'

"What did you do to Lady Erina?"

Her voice was cold, but it still held a lot of pain.

The students nearby looked on.

"I just told her the truth. Nothing else."

His expression told me that was true, but he regretted it regardless.

"What does that truth entail, Yukihira?"

Soma took no time to reply. "That she was an asshole to me since the very beginning. That's what I told her."

Even Hisako was a little taken aback by what Soma had said.

"Now, I don't really care whether she likes me or not. I'm fine with either option. What I'm not fine with is how she treats other people."

"Yukihira, how dare you say that after she went out of her way to cover your mistakes for you!"

"She wasn't even subtle with me during the first year. She wanted me evicted from the school because I was poor and worked at my family diner. Not to mention me actually going against her. Don't you remember other cooks before me who were amazing, but rejected because they were poor, or they didn't agree with her every word?"

That made Hisako pause.

It looked like she knew from experience, what the people had gone through.

She bit her lip.

"I get that she is changing. But what about the cooks beforehand who tried to enter into this school, but were stopped because of how fearfully Erina made herself out to be, and were never given a chance? Has she done anything to help those people she has wronged?"

All I could do is look in shock.

'Has he been hiding his anger about Nakiri for the past two years?"

He sighed, as Hisako didn't respond, biting her lip in frustration.

'Why couldn't I stop her?' The thought that passed her eyes.

Regret and self-doubt painted her eyes, and concern nearly overtook me.

"That's what I thought. Have a good day, Hisako."

He turned around, untying the band off his head, letting his much longer hair roll off his back.

He looked back, one last time, with his headband on his left hand instead of his right one, and his bag in his left hand.

"I don't hate you, or Nakiri for that matter. You are an amazing chef, and I think Erina doesn't acknowledge that enough. You're a good friend, even to someone who wasn't a good person."

He walked away, leaving both of us stunned.

'What happened?' A thought that passed between both Hisako and I.

I went to my classes, haunted by that one thought.

Eventually, I went to my cooking class, and I saw… Soma.

"Hey, Soma?"

"Oh, hey Megumi."

The students whispered in the background about that sudden change, and how he was suddenly calling me by name, but I ignored that.

"Soma, why were you so mean to Nakiri?"

He sighed. "I'm not expecting forgiveness from her, of all people."

"Why? Isn't she your friend?"

"I thought that too, until she was rooting for Asashi to win." His expression turned grim.

I let him explain.

"It took me so long just to make her not want to evict me, and only because of my dad. If I wasn't related to my dad of all people, then she would have acted the same way she always did to me, and you, and everyone in the Polar Star Dorm. And yet, without any connection to my family, no blood relationship here, he instantly won her over, with minimal effort."

He looked… jealous? Frustrated? I was hit with so many emotions from Soma that I couldn't tell how he was feeling.

'He's been thinking about this for a long time, hasn't he?'

I had no method to comfort him. He was just angry, not just at himself, but also at everyone who had ever wronged him in the past.

'I'm sorry, Soma. I didn't think about how you were feeling during Blue…'

Then, our teacher began class, and we had to make a new dish.

I was stuck, since I didn't know what dish to make.

Luckily, I was Soma's partner, as per usual.

Soma suggested making a dish he called, "Taste of The World."

"Megumi, can you make some dishes that you remember from your village?"

'Huh? He remembers about my village? I thought he forgot it.'

"Um, sure, Soma!"

I went to make a similar curry that I made during the previous year Autumn Festival, but with the experience I had gotten from cooking in this school for two years.

I made the dish within the time limit, and Soma, for some reason, was frying potatoes.

"Um, Soma, what are you making?"

"Fish and Chips. I figured that using two different types of fish from two different cultures would compliment each other. Is it okay if I can add the fried chips to the curry you have made?"

"Um, sure? I don't know how well it will work together."

"Well, only one way to find out."

He looked at me with the unique smile I knew him for, one I hadn't seen for so long.

"Yeah! Let's do this!"

He and I were excited, making a new dish.

He double fried the fish and the potatoes, and half of which he dunked into the curry, and the other he left completely untouched.

Even though I had usually held a lot of confidence for Soma, I was pretty worried about how our dish would go on.

We served it to our teacher, and he looked at it.

"Wow. Interesting."

He ate into the fish and chips first, and again, he smiled, blushing with the taste.

He then dipped the fish and chips into the curry, along with the fish in chips already in the curry, and he looked like he was over heaven.

"Incredible work, Soma and Megumi. Once again, you've exceeded my expectations."

I smiled, along with Soma, at the announcement.

After we had finished, the bell rang shortly thereafter, and Soma and I walked out.

"Soma, where did you get the idea to make the dish today?"

"Well, let's just say that I wanted to try a different spin on a dish that some people enjoy. I also liked-"

He looked forward, as did I, and we saw Nakiri.

She didn't look cold, like her Ice Princess status would indicate, but rather, apologetic.

"Soma, we need to speak again. Please."

She looked awful, with slightly red eyes, a wet face, probably from the tears, and her principal uniform wasn't properly tied.

"Oh. Okay."

His expression darkened.

He faced towards me, giving me one last smile.

"Bye Megumi! I'll see you at the dorm!"

I reluctantly waved at him.

He turned around, but I could tell he didn't hold the smile for Nakiri.

'Is there… more? More that he hasn't said?'

And that's a wrap on the fifth chapter. Now, again, I am not a chef, unlike the author of Shokugeki no Soma, so unless you want to try this at home to test how good it is, don't try this at home.