A Journey of Life
Chapter 1:
As I see you sleep
The glasses clunked, the wind from the street nuzzled across the crook of her neck, the warm air from the diner invaded her face, the smell of frying chicken and the musky aroma of the dish that spread across the pan. The people laughed, a merry laugh, hideous chuckles, and giggles. The beer spilled on the floor with a splash, but none seemed to mind it. Her brain registered it all.
Until suddenly, it just halted for a moment…
All the activities they were doing. They just completely froze, and it was only a moment until they saw her, smiled, and resumed their mutterings and cheers. She felt her cheeks flushing at the sudden attention.
They did not seem to mind a new present, and surprisingly, they just stared not at her. The people were not like those who gawk at the new presence and start murmuring against the pan.
The sudden sound of the water against the hot pan diverted her attention to the counter. She could not quite see the face of the chef, due to the light that fell across his face, shining it in a peculiar way.
She walked slowly, too slowly for anyone to be comfortable with her steps, and they did not mind her at all. The aroma and crispiness of the food became stronger with her steps, and the sounds of the spices and the pressure cooker increased.
She slowly sat on the chair which was surprisingly plusher than she had anticipated it to be. "Order up," a loud, but not a vociferous voice said out loud in the deep baritone voice. It was a moment when she got a good image of the chef.
A bright pair of golden eyes pierced through the amethyst of her own. The most crimson of his hair wavered against the breeze of the fan. His breath was deep as though he had been spared just the moment, after a vigorous hour of cooking. His cheekbones were not unnoticeable, they rose and fell with each breath. Sweat poured down his face, igniting a warming light. A scarce eyebrow curled at her.
Her attention was, however, attained by a single feature that was the smile, the serene smile that he wore could melt an iceberg and stop the wars.
"Order up," he said again, stopping her in her reverie. A slightly confused look dawned all over her until suddenly, something hit her up.
"Oh," she mumbled incoherently. "I don't know the menu, can you….?" Nervousness was evident in her voice, and the least observant person would know it immediately.
The redhead gave out a bark of laughter, "No worries." He waved out his hands as he took out the towel from the near door, cleansed his hands, and handed her a small piece of paper. "Take your time, and order up what you want."
It baffled her how he handled the situation without a single ounce of agitation or anger. She gave him a slow nod, as the grin on his face did not leave it, and tended back to his bacon. It was only one slicky, printed paper in red where the Kanji letters were engraved.
She knew none of them. They were all the dishes that one would get at a normal diner, but the words "Yukihira Style:" and "Advanced" daunted a look of befuddlement over her. But being hungry, that she was. She pointed at the random item, "I'd like to try Yukihira Style: Transforming Furikake Gohan..."
He gave out something akin to a grunt of acknowledgment until he wrapped his head with a sleek, white bandana as a confident smile bloomed on his face.
It was sudden before the rustling of the pan, the dishes, the spices crackling, the meat cooking, the rice steaming. It was just like a melody to one's ears as she watched him cook. His steps were refined, his hands were slender, his build was lean, and he did everything with a smile and gracefully.
She dared to say that he was a match of Erina-Sama in terms of skill, perhaps even better. It was a weird thought to come across her mind, and one that she would give no consideration to, but she did this time.
A moment later, perhaps ten minutes later he was done. Ten minutes, a professional chef takes just to prepare his ingredients. She knew it well enough. She had grown accustomed to that sort of thing.
The bowl chimed in front of her with rice, and in another, small bowl some golden glistening cubes. "Bear please!" A man from the back shouted with a jovial voice, too jovial for her taste. He was probably drunk.
She examined the dish, and it looked normal. Oddly Normal.
Unsure of what to do, Hisako took the chopsticks in her hand, muttered a small prayer, and as she was about to take the bite of the rice, a yell came from across the diner, "Wait!" She stopped nigh immediately. "Don't try it now." The chef of the diner scuttled towards her, and she realized he was not old, hell he was not an adult too, around her age 18.
His hands grabbed the smaller bowler that contained the small cubes of gold. The hot rice steams still fell over her face, and the cubes fell over it and started melting down from the heat, covering the entire steamed rice with a new aroma that dwindled around the room.
A chorus of cheers rose.
"Yukihira, you sly bastard, you said that Furikake Gohan was finished!"
"It's not nice to lie, Yukihira. Demons will haunt you if you do."
"Make that damned dish and serve us, we are hungry chaps here." An old man, with his hands full with beer, grunted out wobbly, swallowing the liquor.
"Hai, Hai..." the redhead chef agreed, laughing. "I'm just making you that…. But first." A smirk curled on his lips. "Dig in! He professed confidently. His eyes twinkled, his bandana flew from the sudden pressure.
The new aroma was exotic, no doubt. But it came out of completely nowhere. She inhaled the fragrance. 'Is it chicken that I am smelling? But how?' She threw a curious look at the red-headed chef, but as a reply, his grin brightened.
She took the chopsticks, fixated them, and almost gently took some rice on her chopstick. Aroma increased, her nostrils flared with the exquisite smell. Without another thought, she put the rice with a cube -liquid?- in her mouth…
...And the flavors burst out with unfathomable taste, it contained them all sweetness, sourness, spiciness, and every flavor from every chef that she had encountered. To say Tousuki Megishima-Senpai's ramen exquisiteness whilst maintaining the grace of Nene-Senpai's soba.
Her mind was flooded, and if possible, her smile widened. A soft mewl escaped her lips, and she knew she'd be wobbling on her feet if she stood up and started to walk. A glance and she was able to see the red-headed chef grinning like a lunatic whilst preparing his ingredients for other dishes.
Right now, he was her least concern. Her medicine cooking would never match this, nor would any Nakiri's. She knew it, she had tasted them all, and there was just this thing… that those dishes lacked. The thing that all the dishes lacked.
His cooking felt much similar to her mother's. Her mother's sweet kiss, her mother's warmth, her mother's cuddles, her mother's lullabies, her mother's essence. The dish felt like home.
And Hisako Arato did one thing she could, she ate her food with a smile.
Looking at her watch, she realized that it was half-past twelve, and yet the crowd did not decrease, if it did anything, then it would increase.
She looked back at her plate, and she realized that she had eaten it faster than she had ever. She pushed the bowl back at the chef, he was not tired from the continuous cooking, it even seemed like his energy just increased.
She took her purse and arched an eyebrow at the golden-eyed chef. "How much?" She whispered, her stomach overloaded.
A confused look marred his features. "How much what?" He voiced out.
She shook her head with slight exasperation, "How much do I have to pay?"
He waved his hands off, "You don't need me. None of our first-time customers, you can pay later when you visit again.." He said with a wink
"I am not sure but I don't think I would come again," she replied.
"Oh," he mumbled out, then grinned. "Then too, no worries, you don't need to pay."
"But I insist!" her voice was above a shout as exasperation laced in it.
He raised his hands in a faux surrender, "Ok, ok. No need to get angry… You need 200 Yen for the Gohan and 150 Yen for the beer."
Well, that was cheaper than she had expected it to be. She took her to pursue, unpursued, scrambled through her money and turned deathly pale.
She had only 310 Yen. Despite her nervousness, she tried to bargain, "Isn't that a little costly?"
Another curious look daunted over him, "Well, it is really not. You'd get to know that Yukihira's sells the cheapest food in the whole Sumiredori Shopping Street."
'Shit! Oh, god not now!'
"O-Oh," her voice cracked with embarrassment. Firstly, she was compensated for paying and then did not have money to do so. "Would you mind lowering it a little?"
Befuddled, he raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you can pay 200 Yen if you like. But do you mind explaining why?" It looked like he got it. "Wait a minute, you don't ha-"
She punched his face, and stopped it from uttering anything, and stormed off not after placing 300 Yen on his hand.
She needed to find an ATM to withdraw money and to stay in a hotel. She could just phone Nakiri Manor, and ask for Limo to grab her up, but as she just checked in the Google Maps, Sumiredori Shopping District and Totsuki were a long way, and just coming from any car would take 3 hours, and then going back. It would almost be morning, and she would feel drowsy and low without getting any sleep.
She needed to find a hotel or a motel to let her rent a room for the night. But another thought came into her mind.
It was 1 AM, and ATMs were closed at 7 PM. There was no way in the hell she could withdraw any money.
And Hisako did one thing she could.
She turned back and entered the diner again.
The light shimmered at her face, Hisako did not realize but by the time she was eating, a lot of men and even women were drunk, sulking around in the chairs and the tables.
A lot of teenagers slept on the couches that were settled at the corner of the diner. The diner was overcrowded, yet there was a place for everyone to sit and eat the food. Almost all of the people were done eating. Their cheeks were flushed from the overdose of Alcohol. She noticed the red-headed chef.
He was giving an old lady a box filled with food, his smile couldn't be brighter. The old lady smiled at him through her thin lips and planted a soft kiss on his forehead, and she needed to take her statement back. His smile brightened by the kiss, and clearly, she meant the world to him.
His grin did not fall when he took a glance at her. "Oh, you are here again." His statement caused her to frown with irritation. He did not have an education of common human decency.
She pursued her lips. "Yes, I am here again..."
"Want another try?" He smiled cheerfully.
She shook her head, "I don't want that. But I do want to know where would I find a motel?"
He scratched his head a little, thinking a little, "I am not sure, but you need to visit the main town because none of the owners of the motels are here as of now. They had gone to visit their families."
She nodded, "How much time would it take to go to the Town Hall?"
"Around an hour or two if you are just as you are; vehicle-less. But if you can get a ride, then around 10 minutes at most." He said finally.
Well, that was another problem. An hour in the dark, with the thieves and knaves lurking around. "Can the motels here be open for a little while? I can pay three times the rent in the morning..." She offered.
A shake from his head, caused her to frown. "The immigrants that come here are not really… friendly… but if you want a place to stay, you can stay just here."
Her frown deepened, "What are you trying to imply?"
"What am I trying to imply?" Gods, he was dense!
"You are asking a girl to stay at your place who is a complete stranger, Yukihira-san."
As he got hit by the realization, he shook his head vigorously with a blush of his own."Oh no, no, no. That was not something I was trying to imply. I was just merely offering you a place to stay..." He said lamely, looking down at the floor, ashamed. "But you can stay if you want."
Truth to be told, she was considering his offer, despite the strangeness of it."And how can I be assured that you won't provide me any harm?"
"Harm?" He scratched his cheek. "You can ask me to sign any paper for your safety if you like..."
She shook her head with a smile, a small one, but a smile indeed. "I won't, I am assured that you won't when you insist so carefreely. But if you do..." her voice turned into a threatening whisper. "I'll make sure to ruin you in the ways that you won't be able to live on the streets too."
He raised his hands in faux surrender, "Wouldn't dare, milady." His smile fluttered her heart a little, just a little. "Climb the stairs, second room on the left."
Her face turned into a shy one. "Do you have a bath?" Her voice hitched.
He grinned, nodding, "You can visit it next to your room. I actually prepared it for myself, but you can use it, I'll do it later.." he said dejectedly.
"You better do," Hisako said with slight amusement laced in her voice. "You are smelling like dirty dishes."
He gave her a cheeky grin, "Will do, milady."
Hisako turned towards the door to the main house, before she turned back again, "By the way, what's your name?"
"It's Yukihira, Souma Yukihira." He voiced out. "And what's yours?"
She rubbed her head, embarrassingly after realizing she hadn't introduced herself. "It's Arato, Hisako Arato."
He grunted out in acknowledgment with a grin, before tending back to his dishes. "Also do you have female clothes?"
He nodded a little, "Open the cupboard in the same room, and you'll get some clothes. They were my mom's."
Hisako did not understand the meaning of 'were.' But left him with a pleasant smile.
As Souma was about to go back to his room, he noticed a faint light falling across the doorway. Realizing that his customer, no, Arato's door was opened.
As he took a little peek, he inhaled her features. Her cheekbones rose and fell with every breath she inhaled. Her violet hair littered across her face, and with every swift gust of wind, they fell at different parts of her pale skin.
Her long eyelashes spread through a little part of her cheek, her eyelids closed. Her pale skin glinted with light. The moon sang a soft lullaby.
He closed the door with a soft sound. He did realize one thing, though:
Her beauty was impeccable.
A/N: Another Installment in this story, and we are done with this chapter, as I would like to end it here. And I think it is a perfect end up here, with no cliffhangers. As for Romance, I always think it begins with appreciating.
Make sure to leave a Review, I'll write as long as you guys give me a Review.