A Day Out

Tokyo, Japan,

Shibuya,

Samuel POV,

Two teenagers walked side by side, one clearly far more energetic than the other creating a rather sharp contrast with the other.. considering he was silent and only wore a simple smile.

Samuel looked around, observing his surroundings in search of any place he could eat at while Hayasaka simply observed him, so far he had shown little to no sign of even being affected by her presence, as if he was used to such things or perhaps, just had a different temperament entirely.

"Senpai, do you have a girlfriend?" She asked rather curiously, her round blue eyes shifting towards his facial expression.

"Nope." Samuel replied not quite paying attention to her, narrowing his eyes at a shop nearby... Was that what he thought it was? "Eh?" Hayasaka looked 'surprised' by his answer, of course she knew he had no significant other. She had been stalking him for a while now after all.

"Is it really a surprise?" Samuel asked rhetorically, already having found exactly where and what he wanted to eat.

"..Yes." She nodded slowly, if Hayasaka hadn't investigated the matter herself she wouldn't believe his words at all. Taking one more look at his appearance, she nodded again. Yeah, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would believe something like that. He was tall, the most attractive person she had seen yet, had a unique look and a rather amiable personality and outlook on life.

..Of course, to her this was just... a job... though, jobs can have unexpected outcomes as well.. Something the blonde maid didn't consider.

A bit of walking later, both of them arrived in front of a restaurant that had curtains covering about half the entrance. It was a simple ramen shop so Samuel didn't bother with checking the name. He held up the curtains for Hayasaka and then followed after her.. No it wasn't submissive behaviour, it was courteous manners.

The establishment itself was rather simple, wooden floor and wooden walls. Some tables and chairs were present in one corner though, as was the traditional style, there were wooden chairs along the counter as well. The furniture as a whole had the natural colour of the materials used in making it.. which was good, bright colours were nauseating after a certain point.

A television was hung adjacent to the counter itself, displaying the local news.

Samuel took a seat at the counter and looked at the menu hung behind it.

"Oh? Shouldn't you kids be at school?" The owner questioned with a big smile, he was a tall man with greying hair.. His choice of dress was rather peculiar, a t-shirt and jeans with an apron worn over them.

Samuel felt there was something peculiar to him.

"Yes we are. Can you believe it? Senpai got suspended for fighting back against someone that attacked him!" Hayasaka huffed in displeasure, folding her arms. Samuel glanced at the girl from the corner of his eye, wasn't she being a little too talkative?.. Not that it really bothered him.

'You know dear contractor, most people would be upset by this.'

Samuel shrugged off the witch's statement, it wasn't that she held some importance to him, it was that he saw no point in caring about something like his suspension being revealed.

"Damn kid, what ya do?" The old man placed a hand on his head with a strange smile, not every day something like that happened. Besides, despite the location, for some reason his shop hadn't been getting many customers lately.

"I was transferring soon anyway." Samuel brushed the matter of, it really wasn't a big deal at all.

"If you say so." If the kid didn't want to discuss it, then it wasn't his place to inquire further.

"That aside, five bowls of chicken ramen." Samuel ordered flashing a smile, he had quite the appetite after all, perhaps it was to support his rather strange physique or just habit, even he didn't know.

"...."

Both Hayasaka and the owner looked at him in slight surprise, "Hahaha, you ordered for the young lady too right?"

"No." Samuel averted his gaze, that was for himself.

"No?"

Samuel slowly shook his head.

"Damn then, but it makes sense I guess." The older man nodded wisely, folding his arms, upon closer inspection he had noticed that the young man had a rather broad figure.. Something that put a smile on his face considering being thin seemed to be all the fire among teenagers these days.

"I'll just.... have one bowl of the same." Haysaka placed her order as well before turning to Samuel, "Senpai, you have a really big appetite." The bright smile on her face made it obvious that she didn't find it strange at all and on the inside as well, she had no qualms with how much he ate. It's up to the person what they do no?

"Practising and exercising kinda left me drained for energy." Samuel explained as the old man got to cooking, eating a lot was mostly a habit at this point and one that would never get old for as long as he lived.

"... that's pretty cool." She 'whispered under her breath' while at the same time, making sure Samuel could clearly hear it. Some part of Hayasaka wanted to ask him if he could crush things in his hands but, her current persona didn't have that kind of hobby.

"Martial arts is pretty cool." Samuel nodded wisely, martial artists were pretty cool. With the group chat present, there was a chance he could learn martial arts from other worlds as well and that was enough to excite him.

"Do you think maybe I could try too?" Hayasaka asked curiously, deciding to capitalise on the fact that the man had a clear interest in fighting and martial arts. This was her only lead on him so far, she had to somehow convince him to call off the engagement.

"Orders up." The owner walked back to them, laying out six bowls, each with an enticing aroma that would make one water at the mouth. Ramen was one of the most commonly eaten dishes in the country of Japan, traditionally consisting of chinese style wheat noodles in a broth, toppings like pork, scallions etc were used as well as vegetables and on occasion, various types of meat. All depending on the type of ramen one prepares.

Samuel quickly got to eating and Hayasaka only watched, somewhat dazed by his rather elegant yet quick way of eating. Monstrous efficiency, were the only words with which Hayasaka could describe the sight in front of her. No wasteful movements, no spilling or the likes, no rough barbaric eating and yet... the ramen was disappearing before her eyes at an unbelievable pace.

Choosing not to interrupt him, Haysaka ate her own meal in silence. The old owner looked between the two teenagers in slight curiosity, for some reason, he felt that the two, despite their visibly different appearances, had quite a lot in common.

Not a few minutes later, Samuel was done. Five empty bowls laid out in front of him as he wiped his lips in satisfaction, "Thanks." He slightly bowed his head in gratitude before reaching for his pockets, "How much?"

"You didn't take a drink kid.... and no side dishes.. That's around 6000 yen with the young lady included." The owner somewhat explained, expecting him to pay for Hayasaka as well.

"Ah wait senpai, I'll pay for my own." Hayasaka was rather quick to reach for her purse... only, Samuel was quicker, he had already placed the payment on the counter before she could even open it.

"You coming?" He asked, glancing back at her with a small mocking smile, this was his victory.

"Yes." She stood up from her seat, walking up to him with a slightly twitching smile, "You could have let me pay."

"I never told you not to." Samuel shrugged as Hayasaka once again, froze for a moment before pouting, "Are you making fun of me?"

"Ah youngsters."

"Bye Ji-san~"

"I'm still in my 50s!"

=====

Share thoughts please.

You can find extra chapters at,

pat.reon.com/stoned_face