The Ramen Test

A few things ran through my mind while Yusei went out for groceries. One, the robbers outdid themselves picking the place clean. Anything not firmly attached to the place was gone. Their efficiency astounded me. Normally robbers can't grab more than one or two valuable objects in an impromptu robbery, this group made great time in getting everything out before either Yusei or I returned. Two, finding the perps and getting an interview would make for a great scoop, especially if I caught them, but I didn't have Jack for back up anymore. A nagging feeling emerged as well as a distinct fear about venturing on a dangerous mission solo. I used to all the time but something nondescript made me second guess myself. Besides, if they even stole the food, some people could be trying to get by in the best way they know how. The merging of the city couldn't fix everything at once.

My stomach growled louder. Three, I really, really, hoped he brought back something tasty. The door swung open gently. Revealing, the savior of New Domino city holding serval bags including a few visible toiletries which must have been embarrassing to purchase. He put the bags down on the counter and pulled out two Ramen Cups, Red Demon's Noodle to be exact. Jack had made it a point early in his career to make his own real brand of Ramen. I should've guessed he might be familiar with the brand.

"Jack left a bunch of these behind when he moved out, muttering something about a cart load of stuff to take. I guess he couldn't take everything he loved with him," Yusei explained while beginning to make the Ramen. I laughed, loudly and nervously. Yeah, I must fall under the Ramen category quite nicely. Great and filling when convenient but easily disposable or left for someone else to consume, err wait, I think I'm taking the Ramen metaphor a bit too seriously. Anyway, Jack wouldn't toss me out like leftover Ramen. When Jack gets bent on a goal, he gets it done. If my klutzy nature distracted him from his return to king hood, well, he needed time, and I could give him that. Oh wait, what did Yusei say?

"I, kind of, got addicted to them. I've been buying them ever since," He admitted sheepishly. Okay, I see. He's embarrassed that he likes it. I suppose buying a long time friend's merchandise is kinda odd. But, I buy the stuff occasionally. I would honestly buy it fairly regularly if only for my fondness of Jack. It's just Ramen named after a fiery behemoth happens to be absurdly spicy. My tongue gets all hot and bothered, and I start running around the room like a maniac.

"Here, I figured, after everything, you wouldn't be in the mood to cook," Yusei politely offered me one of the cups. Now, I know to him this is not a big deal. But he just shared his freaking Ramen, Jack never shared his. What are you doing Carly? He said he liked it, but I doubt that he'd fight to the death for Ramen like Jack would. I. . . I'm gonna have to say no so I don't look like a buffoon running around my empty apartment.

"Crow and I used to share Ramen when we were little," He divulged, looking a little misty eyed, slurping on the Ramen. Apparently, Jack's love of Ramen wasn't singular but spread to his entire childhood entourage. When they were young and living in Satellite, Ramen made for an affordable feast. Yusei noticed that my fingers hovered over the cup, hesitant.

" It's a nice memory. I want to share this with you. I've kept in touch with many of my old friends, but truthfully, you're my first new one." He elaborated resulting in severe gut wrenching on my part. Egads, how can I say no to friendship Ramen? It's a wonder anyone ever disagreed with Yusei. I bet he could talk anyone out of anything. Bottoms up, at least the apartment is empty so I won't bump into anything except Yusei maybe.

I swallowed a decent portion, and as I predicted, my low tolerance to spices kicked in, scorching and scalding, no, not any less potent than the other times. To make matters worse, I swallowed way too fast. I fanned my poor abused tongue with my panicking hands. It didn't take me long to start running around infinitely. Experienced as I was dealing with my innate imbalance, it's a miracle I didn't crash into the four walls or the kitchen counter in my haste.

Water, need water, need cup for water. Ah, did he bring one? I scrambled flipping through the bags for cups. My fingers couldn't seem to keep from tangling with the plastic. My whole face must be flushed from the incident. Sucking in air in an effort to cool down probably wasn't doing me any favors in that department. Oh dear, what if I stop breathing, can you die from spicy noodles? No, I refuse to be sent to an early grave by a lowly cup.

On the brink of tears from the small dose of spicy goodness, the wanted cup magically made its way to my hand. That's wrong. Yusei observed my freak out in momentary shock. You know the type where you don't expect the crazy lady to throw cats at you. This lasted as long as I darted along the apartment, he soon snatched a cup from the correct bag and filled it with water because, you know, he has sense to do that first before running across the room. I chugged said water down as if it was the elixir of life itself. I panted briefly, glad to be released from my temporary insanity. As ridiculous as giving it another go may sound, I grabbed the cup again. My plan involved keeping the water handy and finishing the noodles, no way I'd insult him by ignoring his request. A dumbfounded look appeared when I continued the meal. The look resembled what I assumed showed on his face when he witnessed my earlier behavior. This guy didn't get stumped often. Must be a new experience.

"You don't need to finish that," He insisted, confiscating the noodles while I drowned myself with more water. I wouldn't have him stop me so I reached for them. I can't abandon bonding noodles. I'm almost done!

"But their friendship noodles," I begged, reminding him of his own words. I learned a very important personality trait that Yusei has from this whole encounter. The once part time mechanic held a strong sense of responsibility. If he even remotely thinks he did something wrong, he finds a way to take care of it. This makes me very distressed because generally I get hurt a lot and often for no good reason. Hanging around me might drive him insane. If he were more discriminating about it, the new king's remorse would make more sense like if he had accidentally set me on fire for example. Things might be okay. No one forced me to eat the noodles. And yet, he blamed himself as if he personally poured the spicy noodles down my throat which I usually watered down severely before it ever reached my lips.

Oh Yusei, it's not your fault. I'm horribly sentimental. He placed a hand over his face, debating whether the urge to return the noodles should be answered or not. Finally, he uncovered his face and stared at the half that remained. He stood there for a minute or two before an idea struck him. You could tell because his face lit up as if a pair of double AA batteries had just been inserted into him.

Then, the horribly awkward situation made a turn for the better. He smiled at me. Maybe, it was just that handsome men don't tend to smile at me, but my knees wobbled some. I'm happy to report that no falling occurred though. What he did next though, now, that touched my heart, that man finished the Red Demon Noodles like it wasn't the charcoal of hell.

"There, we shared our meal together, just like Crow and I did in the old days. Friends?" He concluded, holding out his hand. I took it, and shook vigorously. The guy really went out of his way to make people happy. I have a feeling were going to get along great.

Pleased, he set out to help me put up the groceries he bought for me. I didn't even protest when he helped this time. A comfortable silence settled in, much different from the solitary one that I'd grown accustomed to. It was just nice having someone else around. Sadly, as easily as he came into my life today, he went out. He glanced at my plain window which revealed the dark sky and decided that the time had come to part for the day. I escorted him to the door, and I'm sorry to say that I accidentally wiped the smile from his face.

"Next time, we'll get the interview done." I reminded him excitedly. I needed time to prepare of course, or I would have bombarded him with questions today. It was a faint and subtle change in his demeanor, but I caught it. Friendly to guarded, tomorrow, I'd simply be the reporter, and he'd be the king, the savior, and as was quickly becoming popular, the legendary duelist of New Domino. He nodded nonetheless.

As he walked off, I did not fret about the encounter. For one, I successfully caused Jack to pour his heart out once. My own heart decided that I should leave him be. Watching Yusei today, I saw an open and good heart. Heck, I'm sure had I yelled loud enough all those years before, he would have stopped running to roll my little yellow car off me. So, with any luck, the next day would not be burdened with any more disasters. This scoop will be mine.