--*--
Sunako started looking for the location of her second class when she remembered the block sectioning set up of their school. Probably she would meet him again and she didn't like the idea.
Her eyes widened when she saw a familiar person sitting near the window talking to some girls. She looked for any available seat and luckily she found one, just infront of her near the door. Without paying any attention, she sat and looked at her phone. She smiled as she saw the name of the sender of the message she just received. She was about to open the message when a familiar voice came from behind her.
"We meet again Sunako. Who's that?" Kyohei asked.
"None of your business. Get lost. Why are you sitting behind me. Please go back to your seat."
"It's the first day of class. I can sit wherever I want."
"Help yourself." Sunako's cold reply.
"By the way, I saw you with a handsome guy a while ago under a tree eating your lunch." Kyohei whispered to her. Hoping to get her attention. "Is he your boyfriend?" Just then, Kyohei noticed a silver ring in her ring finger.
"None of your business." Sunako said coldly and checked her phone for Takenaga's message.
Sunako, but we have a change of plans.
--*--
Sunako, changed of plans. I'm sorry I won't probably be home this afternoon because something important came up, I'll just explain it to you in person. I'm sorry, I can't keep my promise to watch the scary movie with you. I'll just watch it with you next time. I'm really sorry. – Takenaga
After reading the message, Sunako's heart sank, she tried to prevent the tears that might fall from her eyes. She sent a reply to Takenaga, telling him it's ok and told him to take care. She felt betrayed but what could she do, it's out of her control. Just then, she felt a hand grabbed her wrist.
"Sunako, what's this?" Kyohei asked while pointing at her ring finger.
"I don't have to answer every question you ask." Sunako pulled her wrist and punched Kyohei on the face. Annoying creature of the light. Their girl classmates glared at her, ready for battle.
"That hurts! What's the problem with you?" Kyohei rubbed his jaw.
"Please mind your own business creature of the light." After saying that, their professor arrived and started the lesson.
Sunako planned to go home directly but she realized that he won't probably be home, that's why she decided to go to the market to buy some ingredients for dinner. She first stopped by the seafood vendor and bought some shrimp. That's when Kyohei suddenly appeared out of no where and smiled at her.
"Wow! Shrimp! Shrimp tempura is my favorite!" Kyohei said while laughing.
"What are you doing here?" Sunako asked with a sour face.
"My feet just took me here. Are you going to cook shrimp tempura for dinner?"
"None of your business."
Girls are starting to go near them.
"Miss, what a handsome boyfriend you have there." The seafood vendor commented. Sunako wanted to dismissed it but Kyohei suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her out from the crowd as the girls surrounded them.
"What's wrong with you? If you want to get out from the crowd then don't include me. I still have a lot of ingredients to buy." Sunako said angrily.
"The seafood vendor said that I'm your boyfriend, right? So, it's alright to drag my girlfriend out from there." Kyohei smirked.
"You're not my boyfriend. Get lost!" Sunako shouted and was about to go back to buy the rest of the ingredients when the question of Kyohei stopped her from taking any steps.
"Do you already have a boyfriend?"
"None of your business." Sunako said and walked away.
She stopped when she noticed that Kyohei was still following her. "What do you want? Are you going to buy some food?"
"Nope, I'm just following you. Are you going to cook shrimp tempura?"
"Please don't follow me." She ran fast and tried to lose Kyohei but to no avail.
"You ran pretty fast...but no matter how hard you try, you can't win against me."
"Why are you following me?" Sunako said ready to punch him.
"Because of shrimp tempura!"
"What does it take for you to not follow me?"
"Shrimp tempura."
"Why don't you buy it somewhere. I'm sure you can afford it."
"I love homemade shrimp tempura."
"Make your own."
"I don't know how."
"Alright. If I teach you how to cook shrimp tempura, promise me that you will not bother me again. Okay?"
"Fine. So, where are you going to teach me how to cook? At your place?"
"No."
"Then, at my place. Come on." Sunako wanted to protest but she can't let Kyohei knows where she lives and besides she's certain that they won't be alone in his house because his family will be there.
After buying the remaining ingredients to make shrimp tempura, they walked for about 10 minutes and finally stopped near a hotel. Sunako immediately kicked Kyohei.
"Ouch! What's that for?"
"Why did you bring me here?" Sunako glared at Kyohei.
"Because it's my place. You have a problem with that?"
"I'm not going to do it with you!"
"What do you mean." Kyohei suddenly realized what she meant. "My house is next to the hotel. What do you mean with not doing it?" Kyouhei raised his keft eyebrow and waited for Sunako's response.
Then, Sunako just realized that there's indeed a house next to the hotel. She felt embarrassed and decided not to let it show no matter what. "Nothing. Let's go inside."
Sunako expected a grander house surrounded with lights and with red carpet to walk on. When they entered the gate, Sunako saw a simple house, no lights, no red carpet to walk on.
"Is it alright with your parents if I come here?"
"I'm living alone. This is my house." Kyohei bluntly said.
"A—alone?" Being alone with this creature is the last thing on my mind. But in order for me to have my peaceful life back. I must endure this.
"Yes. Shall we come inside?" Kyohei asked her and walked inside the house.
Upon entering the house, Sunako noticed that there's nothing much in it. Just a sofa infront of the TV and when they went to the kitchen, there's only two bowls, four plates and 4 cups in the cup board. There's also a pan and stove. She started to take the ingredients out from her shopping bag and prepared the utensils to be used. She looked around the fridge to check if there were some ingredients that she could use for the sauce but the fridge is empty, a small bottle of water can only be seen inside.
They started to make the shrimp tempura, she told Kyohei to pull off the head and the outer shell of the shrimp. At first, Kyohei almost broke the shrimp into pieces but after Sunako showed him how to properly remove the head and the outer shell of the shrimp, he finally managed to almost perfectly do it.
"Okay. With a skewer, devein the back of the shrimp. Like this." Sunako inserted the tip of the skewer sideways down from the head of the shrimp and then she pulled the tip of the skewer towards her to pull off the vein.
"That's complicated, but in the name of fried shrimp. I will do it." Kyohei started to insert the skewer but the tip accidently pricked his finger and it bled. Kyohei started to panick but Sunako just stood and admired it. "You are creeping me out!" Kyohei looked at Sunako in disbelief and wiped his wound with a tissue. "Okay. I'm done. What's the next step?"
"Then make a couple of slits underside the shrimp. After, hold the shrimp and bend it backwards to get its desired shape." Sunako helped Kyohei in doing it.
Aterwards, Sunako showed Kyohei how to remove the excess water in the tail of the shrimp by gently cutting its tip, then she took off the shell in the middle tail. They put it aside to make the batter.
Sunako mixed the egg mixture with the flour and dusted corn starch on top of the the shrimps. She then coated it with the batter and told Kyohei to fry it. Kyohei almost burned the first batch but with the help of Sunako they somehow managed to save it and fried the rest perfectly.
"Wow! The shrimp tempura is now ready." Kyohei exclaimed while looking at it in the wired rack.
"Are you going to eat here?" Kyohei picked a shrimp tempura and slowly ate it. "Shrimp tempura is best paired with warm tempura sauce. I wish there could be tempura sauce, for me to dip it."
"No. I should be going home now. Remember what you promised. As for the sauce, I'll just leave you a note on how to make it, since you don't have the necessary ingredients."
"Okay. Thanks by the way. More shrimp tempura for me. hahaha" Kyouhei said.
After writing the ingredients and the directions on how to make the tempura sauce in a clean sheet of paper, Sunako bid Kyohei farewell and was ready to go home.
"W-wait. I'll send you home." Kyohei said while still holding a piece of shrimp tempura in his hand.
"No, thanks. It's okay. It is still early. Goodbye."
Sunako made sure that Kyohei was not following her and went straight home. It was almost six in the evening when she arrived in front of her house and Sunako's heart skipped a beat when she noticed that the lights of the house across the road were on. She took a deep breath and slowly walked towards it.
--*--
I'm sorry if some of the characters are acting out of their character. :'
...reviews are welcome :)