Based on The Mercer Sister's Your Most Prized Possession?
Chapter Five: Cameras and Food
"So what is Nuit Noire like, Touya-kun?" Akari asked trying to make some small talk in the car.
"Erm, I'm not sure myself either. There's this regular Go player that comes every once in a while to ask for advice on some plays, and she's the owner of Nuit Noire. I think it's kind of a part café on one side with a bar on the other side." Akira explained.
"Oh…" was all Akari could say. Akira chuckled.
"She's been trying so hard to persuade me to go…" Akira trailed off while Akari giggled softly.
"Well, here we are." Akira said, pulling his car to a stop. Then he got out of his car and opened the door for Akari.
"Ohayo and welcome to Nuit Noire! We hope you enjoy your stay and oh! Touya-kun! I didn't know you were coming…and who's this captivating young lady?" said a slim woman with dark brown hair in an apron.
"Ohayo Sadimitzu-san. This is my friend, Fujisaki Akari. Fujisaki-san, meet Sadimitzu Saki, the owner of Nuit Noire." Touya introduced. Akari bowed.
"Pleased to meet you, Sadimitzu-san." Akari said. Saki beamed and motioned for a waiter.
"Show Touya-kun and his lady friend to a private room." Saki ordered the waiter.
"Oh, no. That won't be necessary, Sadimitzu-san. We'll just take some table next to a window." Akira interjected. Saki shrugged.
"Hai, whatever suits you best, Touya-kun." she replied and the waiter showed the couple to their table.
"She seems very nice." Akari commented.
"She can be a bit decisive at times though…" Akira replied and Akari giggled.
"So what shall we order Touya-kun?" Akari asked as they pored over the menus.
"I think I'll choose the miso soup along with a steak. What about you, Fujisaki-san?" Akira asked.
"Hmm…all these choices look so delicious, but I think I'll go with a clam chowder soup with a creamy chicken steak." Akari replied. Akira nodded and beckoned for a waiter and they gave their orders.
"Very well, sir. What would you like to drink, sir?" the waiter asked.
"I'll have the green bean slush, thank you." Akira replied. The waiter nodded and turned towards Akari.
"And what would you like to drink, miss?" he asked.
"I'd like the same please." Akari replied and the waiter left.
"I didn't know you liked to drink green bean slush as well." Akira commented.
"It's so addicting. It reminds me of coffee in a way..." Akari replied and Akira nodded in agreement.
"I've been trying to persuade Hikaru to drink it, but he insists on drinking red bean instead." Akari continued.
"I've tried to do the same too!" Akira exclaimed and the two of them dove into a conversation.
Meanwhile…
"Aargh! Shindo! You're going the wrong way!" Waya said as he was being tossed in his seat, his ponytail disguise coming off.
"No, I'm not! See! Here we are!" Hikaru countered while his car skidded to a halt.
"Congratulations, you finally found the place after like circling around the city like twenty times." Waya commented sarcastically.
"It's only eighteen times…now let's go inside…" Hikaru retorted.
"But my disguise!" Waya protested.
"We don't have time for that right now…it's not like I have ponytail holders in my car…" Hikaru replied and the two of them made their way inside the café.
Once they were in, they walked over to the bar, and ordered their drinks. Then, Hikaru began scanning the place until he finally spotted the couple.
"Look there they are!" he exclaimed.
"Shhh! Geez, you're attracting too much attention, Shindo." Waya said.
Hikaru was about to reply when he noticed a black-haired boy watching Akari and Akira as well, but the boy also had a miniature camera in his hand.
"What's that creep doing? He look's like he's filming them…" Hikaru hissed as he made his way to the boy and tapped on his shoulder, with Waya following behind.
"Ohayo. Is something the matter?" the boy asked.
"Yeah, something's the matter. Why are you filming my girlfriend over there?" Hikaru asked dangerously.
"Erm…Shindo, remember…don't make a ruckus…" Waya reminded nervously. The boy's eyes widened.
"You're Shindo Hikaru?" he asked.
"Yeah, and what's it to you?" Hikaru asked impatiently.
"I'm Kyshima Myuki, Akari's friend. Pleased to meet you. She talks about you a lot, Shindo-kun." the "boy" replied. Hikaru almost fell off his chair as he saw that the "boy's" features shone through. 'The boy was actually a girl!' he thought surprised.
"What are you doing filming her then?" Waya asked for Hikaru, seeing that Hikaru was too shocked.
"You don't think that after all my hard work of helping her get dressed up, that I'm going to wait at home for Akari to call, am I?" Myuki pointed out.
"Anyways, it seems like I'm not the only one interested in spying at Akari." Myuki continued.
"I'm…I'm not spying on her…I'm making sure nothing happens to her…" Hikaru spluttered.
"Whatever. So who's this friend of yours, Shindo-kun? He looks pretty cute." Myuki asked as Waya reddened, surprised by this sudden turn of events.
"Well Waya…aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Hikaru asked mischievously.
"I-I'm Waya Yoshitaka…" Waya finished off lamely. Apparently Myuki didn't seem to care much.
"Well, Waya-kun, I'm pleased to meet you." Myuki said smiling, making Waya redden even more.
"Er…pleased to m-meet you too, Kyshima-san…" Waya stuttered.
"You can call me Myuki-san, Waya-kun." Myuki replied.
"I-I think that's a bit too soon don't you think, Kyshima-san?" Waya squeaked out, getting more uncomfortable by the second.
"Please, I insist, Yoshi-kun. You don't mind me calling you Yoshi-kun, do you?" Myuki asked off. Waya merely gulped.
"I-I'd prefer it if you call me Waya instead, Kyshima-san." he stammered.
"Shh! Would you two be quiet, I can't hear what they're saying!" hissed Hikaru irritatingly.
By now, since he knew who the boy with the camera was, he had taken it into possession and used the volume control to hear what Akari and Akira were saying.
On the other side of the café…
Akari and Akira were having a pretty pleasant time, and they were oblivious to the people who were watching them. Then, a waiter approached them.
"Your orders, sir." the waiter said, placing their meals in front of them.
"Arigato." Akira said, and the waiter left.
Then, the Akira began cutting his steak, and Akari, her chicken. Much to his frustration, Akira's steak proved kind of difficult to cut, and he let out a sigh. Akari looked up.
"Is something the matter, Touya-kun?" she asked innocently.
"This steak is just kind of hard to cut…" he answered.
"Here, give me the steak, I'll help you. I'm used to this kind of tough steak." Akari said, and Akira passed his plate.
"You see, you have to angle the knife so that the sharp side is at a 30-60 degree range from the steak. Then you gently saw it while your other hand with the fork is keeping it in place." she said while sawing his steak.
"I didn't know there was that much to know about cutting steaks…" Akira replied.
"Well, you kind of learn to differentiate the steaks, because there are many varieties. Anyways, I'm done. Here, try a piece." Akari said, holding a fork with a piece of steak in front of Akira's mouth, and Akira bit, chewed, and swallowed it.
"It's pretty good. Here, try it yourself." Akira said, while holding a fork with steak and doing the same to Akari.
Craashh! Tinkle!
On the other side of the restaurant, a certain black-haired boy had broken the glass of his drink. Akari and Akira turned towards the noise. Luckily for Hikaru, Akari and Akira were unable to see clearly who he was, due to the distance of where they were sitting from.
"What was that?" Akari exclaimed.
"I think it's just some clumsy guy…let's return to our meal." Akira consoled. Akari squirmed a bit.
"I just think it's kind of strange…I feel as if I'm being watched somehow…" Akari confessed, and Akira laughed.
"Seriously, that guy just looked kind of creepy to me…" Akari protested.
"I think you're overreacting. There's nothing to be afraid of." Akira said, and the two of them continued to eat.
Back to the spying trio…
"Shindo, what is up with you?" Waya exclaimed as Hikaru wiped off the residue of his drink from his clothes.
"I agree with Yoshi-kun. If you keep this up, are you going to punch him in the face if he gives Akari a goodnight kiss?" asked Myuki. Hikaru growled.
"I don't even want to think about it right now…look at the two of them…Akari's feeding him food!" Hikaru whined.
"So what if she wants to feed him, it's her choice." reasoned Myuki.
"B-but she's never done that to me." Hikaru complained.
"Would you have let her?" Myuki countered.
"Besides, she probably doesn't want to treat you like a baby more than you already are." Waya added.
"Hey! Does that mean you're calling me a baby?" Hikaru asked threateningly. Waya whistled innocently.
"Uh…no…" he said innocently while Myuki giggled.
Back to our main feature…
By now, Akari and Akira had finished the meal, and a waiter approached them.
"Tiramisu, sir." the waiter said.
"But we didn't order any tiramisu, sir." Akari said, confused.
"It's on the house, miss." the waiter replied and then the couple dug into their dessert.
"Mm…I just love tiramisu!" Akari said between bites.
"I agree, it's very delicious…and expensive too…" Akira replied.
"But this time, it's free!" Akari said smiling, and within minutes, they were finished. Akira beckoned for a waiter.
"Check please." he said and waited for the waiter to come back. The check read 13,000 yen.
"Wow, this meal was pretty expensive…" Akari said trailing off as Akira pulled the money off from his wallet.
"It's all right, I can handle the bill." he said, and they waited for the change.
Back to the triplet at the bar…
"Kawaii…they're eating tiramisu together…" Myuki cooed, pressing on Hikaru's buttons.
"Uh…Kyshima-san, I wouldn't want to cross the line if I was you…" Waya warned, motioning to the quietly steaming Hikaru beside him.
"It's Myuki, and this is repent for what Hikaru did to Akari…selling her off like that…" she pointed out. Waya was about to reply when Hikaru spoke up.
"Look! There they go! Let's follow them!" he exclaimed.
"But I don't have a ride…" Myuki complained.
"It's ok, she can sit in the back of my car." Hikaru said. Waya gulped.
"Shindo…" he pleaded, not wanting to be in the same car as Myuki, while the latter beamed.
"Arigato, Shindo-kun…" Myuki said cheeringly while Waya inwardly groaned. 'This is going to be hell…' he thought as they walked towards Hikaru's car.
Author's Note: 13,000 yen $113