Disclaimer: It's a work of fiction and just having fun with my favorite SNS pairing
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The air was filled with cheers and boundless energy as the elementary school kids were having fun in the outdoors. The skies were clear with summer breeze breathing through the generous green trees that shaded everyone: the kids, the camp staff, and a gaggle of chaperones.
While not deliberate, these chaperones may unwittingly step into the event area to snap photos of their kids in the best angle and sometimes may literally cross the line and disrupt the games. It was in that view that Soma and I, who had arrived earlier to set up the cooking lesson, joined in to entertain the kids who ended their previous activity while waiting for the rest.
Soma's jovial and energetic personality was magnetic in drawing the kids in a game of Simon Says followed by leading the kids in folk songs from their town.
Meanwhile, I mainly helped on the side lines as his support, but was soon surrounded by the girls who came and complimented my hair colour. The kids would remark "It's so pink and beautiful!" before asking permission to run their fingers through my locks while I taught a small group of them how to make a daisy chain.
One of the chaperones managed to get close to us and was paying particular attention to me; and she was not really trying to be subtle about it: hovering over us and seemed keen to take a clear shot.
"Would you like me to take a picture of you with your child?" She was not old enough to be a parent, I nonetheless offered diplomatically, hoping that would satisfy her.
"Oh, she isn't my child, she's my cousin." The dark haired girl gave a little wave to her cousin with those words, "But I thought I caught your name during the introductions: Arato Hisako?"
That made me pause, giving her a look over, "Have we met?"
"Just connecting the dots." a disarming smile, "We have Yukihira Soma from Restaurant Yukihira conducting cooking lessons, Shinko Matcha as refreshments," she nodded to the subjects respectively, "and there's you, Arato Hisako... I was wondering if you were all connected to an article about a summer-only restaurant in Oarai."
There was only one Oarai article that contained both our names. However, with the Aida Shion article, I could not really tell where her line of thought was leading to.
"We were there." I decided to keep it casual while making another daisy chain, no sense lying about some positive exposure.
The girl's lips held an "O" for a long moment before whipping her phone out and rapidly typing while moving away.
I kept my sight on her; what was that about?
"Ow! Stop that!"
"I didn't do anything."
"You did, you pulled on my hair."
Looking over to the nearby commotion. A little boy folded his arms, being defiant, "I didn't."
"You did, Sato." Another girl stood up for her friend, "you're always disturbing Mari-chan." A few other girls behind nodded in agreement.
From what I gathered, it seems this boy Sato has got himself in a spot of trouble and there are many others who are ready to vouch for his misdeeds. Being the closest young adult in the vicinity, I put on a patient, maternal posture, "kids, kids, let's not fight. What happened?"
"Sato pulled my hair, he's always doing it."
"I didn't!"
"Alright, kids, let's not to fight on such a nice day." I looked at Sato, "I won't say you did it-"
"He did!"
"I didn't!"
"Settle down, kids," I added some firmness in my words, continuing to Sato, "I think we can all agree that hair pulling hurts, right?"
Sato looked between Mari and me, before nodding shyly.
"And, don't you think that if someone hurt you, you would want to hear an apology? Otherwise, no one will want to be your friend."
The possibility of being ostracised by his friends made Sato flustered, "S-sorry, Mari."
Mari stared at him for a few moments, giving a huffed, "ok" and moving off to play elsewhere with the other girls following, leaving me with the boy.
On the other hand, Sato seemed dejected, muttering something under his breath.
"What's wrong? You did good by saying sorry."
Sato turned to me, tearing up, "I just wanted her to play with me."
I looked between them, then it dawned on me: this boy was simply awkward around the girl he wanted to be noticed by. I leaned to him and gently explained, "well, just think how you like to be treated. Do you like someone who is nice to you, or someone who is mean?"
"Someone who's nice."
"There you go." a reassuring smile, "don't pull a girl's hair, alright? She won't like it."
Sato nodded, wiping his tears and ran off, joining the others for a game of "the eagle catches the chicks" with Soma.
"Amazing. You're good with kids too." Koganei arrived shortly, likely observing nearby. "And so is Yukihira-kun."
"It's a good thing that these kids are well behaved. I can't take all the credit,"
Koganei chuckled, "With parents like that, I'm sure your kids will be well brought up."
I could not help but warm up to those words, bringing to my mind that today was the day that Soma and I agreed to wait for before we committed. As to what Koganei said… could it be what it may lead to in the future?
"So, who was that? Were they causing you any trouble?"
"Who? The kids?"
"That girl from earlier." Koganei pointed her chin to the person in question, who was now holding her phone a distance from her face as if taking selfies.
"Just someone who seemed to have read the restaurant article that we did in Oarai."
A pause as Koganei studied the girl. "Think we should keep an eye on her?"
I considered for a moment, "We should be fine... thanks."
A little later, as the afternoon sun cooled a little, Soma and I led the bunch of excited kids for the cooking lessons.
I took some time to present the goji berries, red dates and honey that will be part of a dessert dish. It was quite well received as any kid would be discovering a new sweet treat. Some parents even nodded approvingly as I explained the benefits of each ingredient.
Soma was the showman: he demonstrated how to identify a raw egg versus a cooked egg by simply spinning it, making a refreshing drink with honey and lemon, and using a butter knife to cut up fruits. The smiles on the kids' faces were a testament of how much they enjoyed Soma's antics to keep the lesson engaging.
All in all, the experience was quite enjoyable with no issues thanks to proper planning and supervision.
Soma seemed to get more… bouncy than usual as the day gave way to the evening. We barely had time to grab a bite to eat before he excused himself.
It was between the washroom and the activity area that an approaching quick footfall startled me. "Are you THE Arato Hisako with Aida Shion?" That girl from earlier has returned, now holding her phone up to me.
"Are you recording?!" Now that crosses the line and I am feeling my privacy getting invaded.
Whatever happened to the usual politeness and respect of Japanese people?
"Streaming to my viewers." she flipped the phone to speak to the camera and sure enough, it had the markings of a steaming UI. "Hey everyone. I'm at an elementary school camp in the sticks for my cousin, and guess who I met here? she turned the phone over "This is the aforementioned Arato Hisako… say hi!"
I gave her a frown and decided that it would be best to ignore her than to make a fuss publically or snatching away her phone.
"You said you were the Arato Hisako that was in the Oarai article, right? The bigger question is if you are the Arato Hisako that was reportedly with Aida Shion?" she kept pace with me, as I made a beeline to the crowd, where it should make her back off.
"AiShi was talking about you, wasn't he? What are the odds that there's another 'Arato Hisako' in Oarai at that time? How did both of you meet?..."
As we got closer to the others, she did not seem to give up. And I guess I got annoyed enough to blurt, "I'm not dating Aida Shion!" keeping my voice low.
"I'm not asking if you're dating him, just if you're the one he was talking about."
Wow, this girl is getting on my nerves. "I'm not consenting to be in your livestream, and think about how you're behaving here." I doubt I want to go through the trouble of pursuing litigation over this but hope she had enough sense to knock it off with my stern declaration.
I walked on, increasing my pace. Unfortunately, that did not seem to be enough as she continued to follow.
We must have attracted some attention as Koganei with a few other camp staff stepped in and blocked her way, "hey there; this is as far as you can go," She nodded to me to let me know to go ahead.
"Are you alright?" Kurase asked with concern, "We'll make sure she won't bother you for the rest of the evening."
"I'm fine." finally able to breathe, "and thanks." really grateful for the help the others had volunteered to offer.
"Hisako!" Soma came jogging over, "I heard something about someone harassing you?"
I shook my head, "It's ok now, thanks to everyone."
"What happened?" Soma turned towards where I came from, looking ready to pounce.
"Just someone asking about Aida Shion." it left a bitter taste in my mouth, "but it should be nothing; Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill." I put on a brave front. Not wanting to spoil the day, I changed the topic, "Where did you go? You have disappeared for a while."
Soma took a deep breath, caught between the want to act in my defence, and my words, before letting it go. "Just preparing for the next event. That reminds me, I'm happy to report to Camp Chief Kurase that everything is ready."
"Perfect!" Kurase clapped her hands together, "By the way, I would like to say thanks to both of you for the successful cooking class. It was a great show you put out there." She added with a sincere smile, "And you looked so well together!"
I felt vindicated by her words. Ever since Soma had that talk with her, I could not help but wonder if she was just suppressing her emotions. However, watching her now soothed all my doubts.
"I should go. Have a great time later!" Kurase nodded at both of us before walking off.
"Later? What's later?"
"Campfire." Soma grinned, "the main event." He offered his hand, "shall we?"
Without hesitation, I placed my hand in his, taking pleasure in the warmth and security that it provided. Walking hand in hand dispelled the unpleasantness I had experienced from that harasser; I felt stable, safe, and natural.
It simply felt… right.
The campfire was a fun experience for the kids with Okuma and Moriyama being the emcees. Their straight guy and wise guy routine was really popular as they led campfire songs that was cued by an interesting storyline.
I was treated to a folk song that Soma was teaching the kids this afternoon. It was a story of a heroic hunter braving the woods, hills, and river to find his kidnapped love and whisk her away from a den of bears under the cover of night. It had a catchy tune with actions to reflect what the hunter was doing, that I got swept up to sing and dance along.
There were also games of charades, quizzes, and telephone for audience participation that was very entertaining, leaving the crowd laughing in tears at some antics of the players.
Soon, it was the climax of the campfire: the campfire dance.
It was a simple dance where everyone was paired up and walked in pace around the campfire. For my part, I did not need much coaxing to join Soma for a dance with him. With my back to him and hands held slightly outwards to the sides we followed suit to dance with the gentle tunes.
"I love to see you smile."
"Was I smiling?" I craned my neck to meet Soma's eyes.
"Yeh." he breathed, "and it's different from before."
"Oh? How so?"
"I remember the first time we met, you were upset that I didn't know about Nakiri. From then you'd usually frown whenever we met." a light chuckle to mean no offence, "even our stagiaire had a rocky start." His words sounded like he was leading somewhere, so I waited for him to continue. "But the more we worked together, the more I got to know you: the girl who is more than Narkiri's secretary.
"I saw how quick and precise you were with numbers, as well as executing plans; I am awed by the way you cooked at the Autumn election, the way you balanced the medicinal spices and taste. In fact, you inspired me to a whole new dimension of cooking that I had not considered before."
"You inspired me too." I chipped in, "I have learned much from you. Both as a chef, and as a person."
Soma squeezed my hand lightly.
"I enjoy being with you by exploring new things together. The swimming lessons, the volleyball tournament, the… onsen," he paused at that word, teasingly, before continuing, "the class barbeque, the way we run our restaurant, and of course, our cooking experiments… It's like, we have found a way to make things work." there was contentment in his voice.
A comfortable silence fell between us as we swayed to the music, enjoying the moment.
In a bold move, I had taken smaller steps for him to catch up and move close. He read my body language and complied, having me pressed onto him.
His presence behind me was comforting… yet I never felt more awake and alive.
"I am thankful for this one month we have spent together."
"So am I." a blissful sigh.
"I love every moment that we are together."
I snuggled a little in agreement, "Me too."
"And I hope that it continues."
My breathing deepened, cheeks flushed, and feeling an excitement that I had to squeeze his hands to steady myself.
I hummed in agreement.
The music was reaching the end point.
"So, I guess you know what comes next?"
"What is it?" I feigned ignorance
"This is when I ask:" Soma leaned forward and breathed into my ear, sending a pleasant shiver throughout my body, "Will you be my girlfriend?"
It was impressive that he timed it just right; as the song was scripted to end with the front partner turn and face each other.
With hearts pounding, eyes meeting, and breaths mingling, I replied with a wholehearted
"Yes."
The instant the word left my lips, the sky was filled with a cacophony of whistles and distant explosions, along with the colourful display of light by the fireworks.
The fireworks were not in the program…
I later found out that it was a surprise that Soma prepared just for me. Just for this moment to ask that question.
A beautiful, precious moment.
A moment that I will cherish forever.
A/N: Thank you for the reviews! As we cross over to the mid point of the story, I hope you continue reading and dropping your feedback and reviews! They really do keep me going.
Thanks for the guesses on what would happen now that the Aida Shion article is out. I hope I meet the expectations when the full extent is revealed!
Drop a review on what you think will happen! It allows me to gauge how strong or subtle I should get when writing too ;)
Once again, thank you for your reviews! They do let me know if I still got your attention and it keeps me writing; as long as there's a healthy amount of interest, I'll continue writing!