Hanamichi looked around the restaurant. It seems people there were overdressed; the women were wearing shiny dresses while the men were at least sporting long sleeves. Maybe it was them that are underdressed? Well, he did his best to try to look decent since Youhei insisted he should do so. He was wearing a crisp reddish brown polo-shirt over soft cream pants, which actually accentuated his red hair. As for Rukawa, he was wearing a blue polo-shirt that matched his eyes well.

Sakuragi, with his eyes wandering around him, evidently amused with his surrounding, was forced to collect himself when he heard Rukawa speak.

"Table for two…"

The waiter led them to a table that was around the center of the room. Almost everybody would be able to see them, and somehow Hanamichi felt restless.

Rukawa immediately took his seat and glared at Hana to stop looking stupidly around and also to take his seat. Hana seemed rather cute, though. He was innocently glancing at other people, hints of admiration evident on his face.

Almost as soon as Hana has settled himself on his seat, the waiter came and gave out the menus. They were in thick leather cases and are somewhat heavy, considering they're similar to book covers. He browsed thru the pages but most of the foods listed there were unfamiliar. He thinks some of them even have foreign names.

He glanced at Rukawa but he was busy leafing through the pages of his own menu. Hana went back to deciphering the words in front of him before glancing up again at his companion.

"What is it?" Rukawa this time noticed him.

"Uh… I was just wondering, what are Buffalo wings?" Sakuragi was almost embarrassed to admit he never knew that cow looking creatures actually have wings.

"They are just chicken wings," Rukawa managed to throw a glance before he resumed flipping the pages of his menu.

"Eh? Why name them Buffalo wings then? Is the taste any different from regular chicken wings?"

"Why don't you try them?" Rukawa then took Hana's bright reaction as a yes before he turned to the waiter, "an order of the Buffalo wings, please."

A moment later, Hana spoke up again, "hm, what's a mostaccioli?"

"Just pasta."

"How does it taste like?"

"You want to order that too?" Rukawa looked at Hana who in turn smiled. He had no other choice but to mumble the order to the waiter.

"How about oysters?"

Rukawa stared at Hana again and blinked, "Oysters on the half shell, please."

"No kitsune, I want the salad!"

Rukawa ignored the nickname that he has gotten used to somehow, "Oyster Caesar Salad then."

"Will blue cheese taste good with it?"

Sakuragi's persistency eventually took its toll on Rukawa. He started to glare at him, but he had somehow lost his touch for Sakuragi did not retort as usual. Or maybe it's because he really wasn't feeling hostile at that moment. He diverted his attention to the waiter, "just take his order… everything…"

The redhead then proceeded to rattle on his orders to the now growing bemused employee. The waiter nearly sighed in relief when Sakuragi finally closed his menu, but not before the boy turned to Rukawa, "how about you? What will you have?"

The waiter gulped heavily while Rukawa managed to stop himself from smiling. The middle-aged man couldn't even start wondering how this obviously young boy will be able to finish everything he ordered.

"Just give me the chocolate cake," Rukawa glanced at Hanamichi who was busy ogling the other customers' food, "make that double chocolate."

"How many slices, sir?"

"The whole cake?" the pale boy managed to make the waiter shudder with the coldness of his tone. He obviously wanted to go as soon as he can. He began to mumble things that sounded close enough to confirming if his customers' orders were done. Rukawa, in turn, waved his hand dismissingly, not for the benefit of the waiter, mind you, but because he was really through ordering.

Hanamichi still was looking at other guests around them. Rukawa began to think he might be avoiding his stare. But why? Why this uneasy silence between them? Thankfully, another attendant immediately put down some appetizer on their table. This spared them from starting up conversations. This also spared Rukawa from thinking further. Anything that requires him to work up his brain gives him a headache after all.

The red head reached out a tentative hand to the small plate. He brought the food to his mouth; then mumbled some appreciative sounds. Rukawa stared at the plate: plain crackers drizzled with something white. What could be so special about it? Not so long after, Hanamichi's orders started coming. His attention was diverted to trying the new dishes that he didn't notice he was the only one who finished the appetizer.

'Commendable fast service' Rukawa thought to himself. It's also one of the reasons why he chose the place. The food they ordered kept on coming that Hanamichi seemed to get lost in trying to figure out which one to taste first.

Rukawa notices how the red head seems to stop to ponder on his food. Sakuragi seems to be the type who puts everything in his mouth. He gets a little of a lot of dishes, 3 to 4 at once, and chew them together in his mouth. It's as if he's trying to figure out which combination will taste best.

"Oi Rukawa, try this one, it's good!"

Rukawa speared a morsel of the dish Sakuragi asked him to try.

"Hm, this one is good too!"

Rukawa just found himself complying with what Sakuragi was asking him to do. The red head seemed to enjoy every food he had ordered that he wanted to share his enthusiasm with the unresponsive boy. Mirth shone brightly on the pair of chocolate-brown eyes that the owner of the dull azure eyes began to wonder why he was incapable of such emotions. He tried tasting every dish his date asked him to. With Sakuragi preceding him with appreciation for the taste of the food, he wondered why the dishes don't seem to taste as good to him. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Food is just food. Although there's supposed to be a variety of flavors: spicy, sweet, sour, salty and the likes, what he eats all taste the same to him.

Sakuragi Hanamichi really is… different.

He didn't notice he was starting to get absorbed in observing his companion. Well, I guess he really was absorbed in staring at his date for when the other boy stared up and looked at him, his expression changed into that of a five-year old caught eating candies right before dinner.

"Rukawa?"

His heart started to beat faster as the brown color of his eyes seemed to bore into his soul. He's never been the type to stare. Or at least he's never been the type to be caught staring. He's always been the type who has a rational explanation for everything. He always has to have a reason behind everything he does. That's one of the reasons why no one, especially Hanamichi, can negate what he says. No one will ever truly win an argument with Rukawa Kaede. This might be one of the first times he had no excuse when he really needed to have one.

"Can I have some of your cake?"

Rukawa released a breath of relief he didn't realize he was holding. The simple-mindedness of the boy in front of him proved to be out of this world. It's his fault for worrying himself in the first place. Never associate anything complicated with the red head.

"Yeah, help yourself." Rukawa stared elsewhere and appeared to look bored to erase any traces that he had been staring at Hanamichi, if ever he had left any. But he didn't manage to stop himself from stealing a glance at Sakuragi for he knew he would draw out a reaction from him. Seeing his face brighten up for the nth time was worth risking getting caught staring after all.

Sakuragi eventually managed to finish the cake on his own. He was triumphantly patting his full stomach when Rukawa asked for the bill. The raven haired boy contemplated if he should use his bank card or not. He suddenly felt he needed to go, that he needed some space to breathe. He then decided to pull a few ten thousand bills from his pocket and stuffed it inside the leather slip of some sort. He scrambled to his feet; he lost a lot of his grace than usual, as he motioned to Sakuragi to leave.

He walked briskly; he ignored the attendants mumbling insincere thank you's to them. He got to his bike, gripped the handle bars tightly, walked without losing the pace of his steps, as Sakuragi, not far behind him, was trying to match his speed with a baffled look on his face.