Eleven

When her dinner was served, a pork cutlet bowl, distinctly not fried pickled eel livers, Kaho's mind wondered back to Tatsuya. Would he have accepted the offer for a picture without pay?

Lost in her musings, she didn't realize she'd been staring at Naseru, until he, with a cocked eyebrow, asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"

Startled, she answered, her voice barely above a whisper, "I... I wanted to kiss you earlier. But I didn't want you to think... well, you know."

Naseru furrowed his brows. His eyes darted away, trying to gather his thoughts before meeting Kaho's again. 

"I... I wasn't expecting that," he admitted.

Kaho looked down at her dinner, fiddling with her chopsticks. 

"I've never felt this way before," she murmured, her voice was quiet and tentative. "But I also don't want you to think I'm... easy?"

Naseru glanced up at her through his eyelashes. She was cautious when choosing her words, calculating, like she was listing pros and cons of every word she uttered. 

"I also didn't um, want you to think I'm impulsive and just swayed by my whims and emotions."

A silence hung between them, each lost in their own whirlpool of thoughts.

Naseru finally broke the silence, his voice gentle, "Kaho, I respect you and whatever you decide. Feelings can be a lot to deal with, especially when they're new or unexpected. But, it's okay. I won't judge you, or think any less of you."

Kaho's breath hitched, "You called me Kaho…"

Naseru's eyes widened, he sighed and shook his head, "I apologise."

"N-no! You don't have to apologise. Kaho is fine. Kaho is nice."

"Okay…" Naseru said, "Just know, that I'm not thinking ill of you."

Kaho took a deep breath, her shoulders dropping slightly with relief. "Thank you, Matsuoka. It's just all so new to me, and I'm trying to figure it out."

He offered a small smile, "We all are, in one way or another."

"Friends?" she proposed.

Naseru looked up at her and said nothing. 

"I'll take that as a yes," she echoed.

They turned to their katsudon, scarfing their dinners. It had cooled considerably as they'd talked and were able to shovel chunks into their mouths without comment or complaint. Kaho was sure she was going to end up with hiccups but it was worth it. The richness of the flavour in the meat and the veggies was delectable. She licked her lips and glanced up at Naseru. He was enjoying his meal with the same enthusiasm. Each bite of food seemed to lighten the air even more. 

Mr Narita, the waiter, came over with a pitcher of water and filled two glasses for them. The pair thanked him. 

"The air's lighter now," he remarked, his eyes twinkling. "How about coming back with your... friend again, Matsuoka?"

Naseru grinned. "We'll see."

"And you, young lady," the waiter said, pointing to Kaho, "I didn't catch your name."

"It's Aigawa Kaho," she replied.

"Ahh, Miss Aigawa. A pleasure to meet you. I'm Narita Koichi," The waiter said with a bow. He reached into his breast pocket and produced a developed picture and a silver Sharpie. 

"I sent Kirami to the convenience store to get this developed," Narita said, "After all, it's always special when your employees bring company. Miss Aigawa, would you mind signing this photo? You too Matsuoka. He is one of our favourite employees here, and I'm delighted he brought a friend from school."

Naseru snatched the image from Narita and scribbled his signature on one side of the picture using the Sharpie. Kaho took the pen and added hers to the diagonal corner, tactically drawing the loops of her signature so they concealed a sweat mark under her armpit.

She smiled shyly and handed the picture and pen back. 

They finished their meals and Naseru paid on a shiny red debit card. Kaho handed him her pocket change, but it barely covered her drink. She blushed furiously. She'd donated most of her money to the student council on their crusade to help fund Nakamura Sensei's transport to work after the storm.

"Don't worry about it, I've got you covered." 

"Please, please, let me pay you back tomorrow!" 

Naseru rolled his eyes, "If it makes you feel better, of course, but I don't care. I used my staff discount anyway." 

"I don't care, I didn't realise I didn't have cash on me," Kaho wailed, stomping her foot. 

Naseru rolled his eyes and gestured ahead with his head, they were almost halfway to school now, not far from Kaho's house. 

"I should get you home," Naseru said. 

She sighed, "I don't want to."

"You don't want to," he replied dryly. 

"You heard me, I don't want to," Kaho said with a grin. 

He shook his head and began to walk. Kaho sighed and picked up the pace, skittering down the steep slope toward the residential areas at the foot of the hill. They passed convenience stores, their neon red signs screaming that they were closed. She wondered if her mother would be back from mahjong with Ryota's mum before her business trip. Or if she had had too much sake and crashed on their sofa. Himiko would be fast asleep. Or attempting to stealthily play Mario on a handheld console while Taiga waited up. Alternatively, he'd have kept her up to play on the TV. Would they have had tsukiyaki for dinner? Taiga was great at making that. Her full stomach ached, jealous of the other flavourful meals that could have been waiting for her. 

"You okay back there?"

Kaho nodded, "Just wondering if my mum's waiting up." 

"Ah – will you be in trouble, for being so late?" 

Kaho shrugged, "They think I'm at Mariah's house." 

"Mariah, as in the girl who sits behind you?" 

Kaho nodded, "I would have said I was at Ryota's but my mum is actually there right now, playing mahjong." 

Naseru snorted, "What an exceptionally normal thing to spend your weekdays doing." 

Kaho laughed. They were almost at her street, "I can make it from here."

"You sure."

"Yeah. It's not like Katsuo is still out stalking girls. I can walk around the corner." 

"Oh, wait," Naseru said, reaching into his pocket. He produced his phone and held it out to her, "Text me when you get in?"

Kaho laughed, "Yeah, sure," she input her number into Naseru's phone and he texted her an emoji, so she had his number too. She nodded and headed down the street to her house, passing Stupid Tamaki's on the way. 

When she shut the door behind her, she saw Taiga in the kitchen, dancing in the kitchen to the radio, Rana in his arms, desperate to escape his clutches. She opened her phone to text Naseru, even though he couldn't be further than five houses down from where she'd left him. Her eyes widened and she snorted. 

"Is that an eel?" she said to herself, covering her mouth to stifle her giggles.