For the Love of Food

[Yasuda Erina]

April 20th, 2003, Sunday
10:30am

“This is a pretty place~”

Erina hummed her words in a singsong voice as she jogged through the entrance of Hikarizaka City Park, her brown pigtails bobbing along behind her. “School again tomorrow, but that’s okay~” she sang gleefully, continuing her made-up song with a large grin. “Because right now I get to jog in a pretty, pretty place!”

She began to slow her pace, glancing around to admire the scenery as she passed. It really was lovely. There had been parks in her old city, but they hadn’t felt quite the same. Perhaps it had to do with “small town charm” or something of that nature. Whatever it was, Erina had decided she liked it.

Her speed reduced to a casual walk, and the girl approached a park bench, still humming and smiling as she plopped herself down under the shade of a large, leafy tree. “Maybe one day, everyone can come here together~!” At this thought, her smile grew even broader, and she began to swing her feet back and forth, quickly losing herself in a happy daydream. Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful to gather all her friends here? Everyone back at her old home could come, as well as all the new friends she’d make! They could play games and laugh and have a picnic… A picnic!

The thought of food caused Erina’s eyes to sparkle and her mouth to water, drool making its way out of the corners of her grinning mouth. It was going to happen! She’d make it happen! Snapping back to attention, she jumped to her feet and hurriedly wiped her mouth with her arm. New determination and energy had filled her. Oh the motivating power of food!

“I bet Ai-chan would come!” she began to think aloud, reminiscing volleyball practices with her middle school friend while fumbling for her phone in her pocket. “If she sees how pretty it is, she’ll have to come and see me and bring me food! Definitely, for sure!” Switching to the phone’s camera setting, she turned to face the lake, holding up the device to get the best angle she could…

Grrrooooowl

“Waaaaaah~! Ai-chan needs to bring me food nooow!”

[Mizukami Ayumu]

Food?

The park was one of Ayumu's favorite haunts; he'd been here more than a few times, and he had never yet explored every nook and cranny of it... though not just because of its size, but also because the paths he took at different times were random... and in their randomness they tend to overlap.

As such, in his wandering, the Mizukami stumbled into a strange sight, someone with a cellphone camera... who was, strangely enough, saying something about food. That was what was strange about it.

The boy didn't really understand what the connection was between food and taking a picture of the place, but he knew that people don't immediately understand him sometimes, either, so his tolerance for strangeness was rather high. Oh, and strangeness can be easily converted to interest. The boy liked interesting things.

He stood there for a while. He'd given up a bit on the idea of writing in the park itself, and so only had the smallest of his notepads along with him, just to take note of things that he could feed to his muse.

Feed, huh? He didn't have much rations on him, just a few tuna sandwiches... he recounted the times his mother made him a loaf of the stuff, and he never got tired of it... he'd never really written about food. He did get hungry at rather random times, though. Well, he wasn't hungry yet, at this time...

Walking, and then looking closer, he realized the speaker was a girl, perhaps around his age. And she was cute. Agh, you're finding a lot of people cute. said Ayumu to himself, chiding. Well, then, it must be fortuitous to know many beautiful people... but Furukawa-senpai is still the cutest! But... even in my mind... it's... embarrassing...

"Hng!", a guttural utterance escaped him, as he shook his head in embarrassment from his thoughts.

Inadvertently, he had announced himself.

[Yasuda Erina]

“Eep!”

At the sound of another voice, Erina flinched. Her pink phone, cluttered with stickers, key chains, and gems, was thrown upwards into the air, but the girl caught it hastily in both hands then smiled sheepishly. Immediately forgetting her picture-taking plans, she spun around to face the owner of the voice. Strangers were just future friends, and she was quite eager to make more of those.

Spotting a young boy looking at her a short distance away, she flashed a bright smile. “Oh wow, you surprised me!” she giggled, rubbing the back of her head. She began to take a few steps toward him, looking more closely at him as she approached. He wasn’t much taller than herself, but he looked to be about the same age. Maybe they went to the same school.

“Do you go to Hikarizaka high too?” she asked, stopping in front of him and tilting her head. “Oh, wait! Wait! I should have introduced myself first! Ahhhh~!” Erina shook her head, hands on her temples as she scolded herself. “Do-over! Do-over!” she yelped, turning around and rushing back to the spot she had originally been standing on. “Stay over there! Don’t move, okay?”

Facing away from the boy, she paused for a moment, eyes closed, and nodded, as if mentally rewinding the last minute, then twirled around to smile at him once again. “Oh wow, you surprised me!” she repeated, walking toward him. “My name is Yasuda Erina, and I’m a first year at Hikarizaka high school! What’s your name?”

Groooooowl

“Ahhhhh! Be quiet, tummy, I’m making a friend!” she squealed, giving the offending body part a light tap. “Um… Um… Please be my friend and feed me! I’ll be really, really nice, and I’ll talk to you and make you laugh and…”

Grrrrrooowl

“Please!” Erina squeaked her final plea, hands together and head bowed low.

[Mizukami Ayumu]

"Ooookay."

As much as the girl had said he surprised her, Ayumu would have wanted to point out that the girl herself was surprising. With his usual deliberate way of moving and picking his actions, the boy would have not moved that much even if the girl had not said she would just stay there. She wasn't exactly the sort of person that one would inspire one to write... but...

"You're quirky." the white-haired boy observed.

To say 'you're quirky' was almost tantamount to saying, in Ayumu's terms, 'you're interesting', and Ayumu had always felt drawn to people who are... interesting. And she had been really interesting, since Ayumu had never felt the urge to inform somebody of their... interesting-ness before.

Well, perhaps Furukawa-senpai, but he had appreciated her bit by bit, slowly, as was her style... and he was too embarrassed to say it. On the other hand, this girl was outrageously rapid. He, the slow guy, hoped he could keep up; she didn't seem too bad.

The Mizukami smiled, widely. "You're already making me laugh. Well, not exactly laughing, but you're amusing. And you're talking to me." That's already a lot.

It was not just her interest with food, which kept sneaking back into her dialogue and then into the conversation, but her frantic, slightly exaggerated reactions to his presence... he didn't exactly picture himself the sort of intriguing stranger who somebody who would randomly want to make friends with.

Which must mean the somebody must be the intriguing stranger.

I guess you earned this, even with your abruptness. He fished into his bag and pulled out a square-sized package wrapped in plastic. "It's a sandwich. Tuna. Miss Hungry."

As soon as she accepted it, he got another one of his sandwiches and began unwrapping it. If she was going to eat, he was going to eat as well. All her talk about food had made him hungry, although he'd never experienced having a rumbling tummy before. Or hearing another person's rumbling tummy. Today contains a first.

"I'm Mizukami Ayumu. Second year."

[Yasuda Erina]

Feeling something brush against her hands, Erina opened one eye and raised her bowed head. A sandwich? Straightening herself up again, she took the plastic-wrapped morsel into her tiny hands and stared at it blankly for a few moments. Tuna, was it? Yes, the scent was definitely tuna.

“This… Oh… You’re my savior!” In an instant, the girl’s face dissolved into a goofy, blissful grin, her mouth gaping open and eyes twinkling with admiration. Quickly turning her attention to the sandwich in her hands, she ripped the plastic from it in an almost crazed frenzy, shoving half of it into her mouth and chewing rapidly. Her cheeks bulged, and bread crumbs hung on her lips.

Unable to verbalize her intense gratitude with her stuffed mouth, Erina settled on simply staring at Mizukami as adoringly as she could muster. Perhaps, if she tried hard enough, she could send him a telepathic message. You are the best person in the world! I love you! Please be my friend and give me food forever and ever!

Finally swallowing the last of her first massive bite, she opened her mouth and continued her thoughts out loud. “Mizukami-sempai is my favorite person today!” She nodded for emphasis before polishing off the second half of her sandwich with another chomp.

This Mizukami Ayumu boy seemed nice. He’d called her quirky, but that wasn’t bad, right? After all, he’d also said she was amusing. That meant he liked her too, didn’t it? “Okay! I’ve decided!” Erina announced suddenly, having gulped down the last of her sandwich. “Mizukami-sempai is invited to my picnic!”

[Mizukami Ayumu]

Mizukami Ayumu once thought he ate rather fast; after all, even if he usually picked larger servings, he would end up finishing than his classmates who have gotten smaller ones, specially those with the teenyweeny bentos. It was one of the few things he did quickly. However, it seems he was just proven wrong.

The girl in front of him... Yasuda-san, was it? She's gulping the sandwich down, rather than chewing it. Yes, gulping, as if it was liquid. For a while, the boy merely watched his new acquaintance, as if it was some sort of hamster specimen. He had bitten off a bite from his own sandwich, but his watching made him chew it a lot slower.

He swallowed.

"Um, Yasuda-san, I don't have... a lot of those sandwiches, so..." he said without thinking, because it seemed she would need a lot more than one, the way she was going at it. He took another bite of his tuna sandwich... he wondered if she even appreciated the mixing of flavors, with the speed she was going... there was mayonnaise, and then the pickle relish... it took time to make the sandwich, you know... I probably can't feed you forever... haha...

Still, she looked like she enjoyed it very much, even if she went about it in a fashion that was entirely different from delicate. It made him happy, even as he was worried that Yasuda-san would consume everything edible he had. He liked his tuna sandwiches, too. Very much. He took another bite, thoughtfully. He had a right to be a little stingy, too. "I'm not giving you another one immediately, ha." he informed her, though his expression was not entirely serious.

I guess her singlemindedness makes her even cuter, in a way... gah. Here I go again.

[Densetsu Karu]

Sitting in a bench in a beautiful park, Karu was munching down on a sushi brunch made by his grandmother. It was one of his favourite dishes, but eating with chopsticks was very difficult. Karu sighed, his mouth watering at the sight of the scrumptious delights before him. He growled in frustration as, again, he dropped his sushi back into the container. He had brought along a fork for such a mishap, but he wanted to do it the traditional way. He would not cheat, no sir!

Then, he heard somebody else in the park shouting something about food. He craned his neck, searching for the source of the voice, and saw a girl, on another bench, with a phone. The girl was trying to snap a picture of the park with her phone. What did that have to do with food, anyways? She kind of reminded him of his younger sister Taiyou, who always seemed to have her head in the clouds. He felt an aching sadness for his younger sister. Looking back down at his uneaten lunch, Karu suddenly lost his appetite. He won't be able to eat it now. Karu packed it back into his lunch bag and decided to go talk to the girl to ease his nerves.

As he stood up and started to walk, he wondered if the personality of the girl would remind him too much of his sister. He'd never be able to take that. Karu halted beside a cherry tree, rethinking his next point of action. He glanced over to the girl and saw that a guy had started talking to her. Or rather, she was talking to him. She moved around quickly, and seemed to be introducing herself. Karu watched as the young man shared a sandwich with the girl. She gobbled it up in no time at all; she was obviously quite hungry. Karu looked at his lunch, handmade by his grandma. She wouldn't mind if he gave it to someone, would she? After all, if he didn't eat it, it would probably go bad anyways. Better that someone ate it.

With that decision, Karu continued across the park and quietly approached the two. Oh no, how should he introduce himself? He couldn't turn around and think about it now; he was in sight range. "Um . . ." the Densetsu boy mumbled. "H-hello. I overheard that you w-were hungry, is that true?" Augh, idiot, he berated himself. You sound like some eavesdropping simpleton.

[Yasuda Erina]

Erina pouted a bit at Mizukami’s last statement, sucking the remnants of her sandwich off her fingers as she did. “How mean~” she said, poking her tongue out. However, her tone was playful, and her frown quickly reverted to a smile. “It’s okay, I’ll forgive you since you were a nice boy and shared with me.”

She grinned at him again, but visibly flinched at the sound of yet another male voice. Swiveling around to face the new arrival, the girl’s face lit up at the sight of yet another boy bearing offerings of food. “Yes, I am hungry~!” she answered him, eyes dancing with delight. “Yasuda Erina of class 1-A at Hikarizaka high school is a very hungry girl. And what’s your name?” She looked at him expectantly as she awaited his reply, but every few seconds her eyes darted down toward the sushi in his hands. It was true she wanted to know his name. Making friends was always a pleasure... But that sushi looked really good.

I wonder why all these boys are bringing me food today Erina thought to herself, humming and smiling. Maybe it’s just the kind of day to go out feeding cute girls in parks. I guess it’s lucky for me~

[Mizukami Ayumu]

I think I'm beginning to be curious of just how much she can eat before she can't eat anymore.

He would have begun to be his nosy self, and perhaps he would have tried to get her to answer questions by offering one more sandwich... if he had counted right, he must still have around five on his pack.

However, it seemed he wasn't the only one who was walking around with food. His faint smirk showed his amusement at the arrival of this other boy. It seems I'm not going to be alone in being Yasuda-san's prey... He giggled at the thought. It conjured a mental image of his new acquaintance as a cute and fluffy sort of tiger.

I wonder what she would have eaten if I hadn't happened to be passing by... she wouldn't suddenly be eating the bark of a tree, would she? Will she remove even a whole branch? Okay, so this train of thought is becoming absurd...

He eyed the sushi that the boy brought. While normally he wouldn't be attempting to partake on the food of others, specially of someone whose name he didn't even know yet, Yasuda-san's carefree approach made him want to try getting some of what the boy was offering, would be offering... would be forced into offering, now he had, erm, given himself away.

So we're all bringing seafood? Roar.

He liked sushi too, anyway, and it wasn't like offers can be made to just girls; away with double standards! "Don't let her have all that, give me some too." he said, with all solemnity and seriousness.

"And like she said, your name." He grinned. This was starting to become the picnic Yasuda-san was talking about. He finished his tuna sandwich and dusted his hands of the breadcrumbs. "I'm Mizukami."

[Densetsu Karu]

Aha, the duo didn't seem to notice Karu's odd greeting. The girl was obviously too focused on food to pay attention, but the white-haired young man looked a little more thoughtful. At first, that is. Coming to introduction, it seemed the two were Yasuda Erina and Mizukami, and they both were interested in his sushi. Perhaps that was the only reason they were so cordial. What if they were really high-minded schemers after his food? Well, whether they were or weren't, Karu would gladly share his rejected lunch.

"I am Densetsu Karu," he began, politely bowing, as he had been taught to do in Japan when introducing oneself. "Class 1-B of Hikarizaka." He produced two paper plates from his lunch bag and scooped an equal amount of sushi onto each plate (using a fork). He handed each of his new acquaintances a plate and chopsticks. "Enjoy." He was sure that the sushi would appease Yasuda-san. A sandwich and some sushi should be enough of a meal, especially since it wasn't exactly lunchtime yet.

Again, the girl's hyper energy reminded Karu of his sister. He felt a pang in his heart, but he tried to avoid the incoming feelings by watching the two eat their lunch. Mizukami gave him that sort of vibe, that one you get when your odd but interesting uncle greets you at a family birthday party. Erina sort of reminded him of a cute child, so full of innocence. In a way, Karu envied her. She looked very carefree. Being young, or at least acting young, gave you some sort of freedom from the burdens and responsibilities of the world.

[Yasuda Erina]

“No fair, Mizukami-sempai! You have your own food~!” Erina squeaked her displeasure, shaking the boy’s arm. Turning to the second boy, who had introduced himself as Densetsu Karu, she cupped a hand around her mouth and whispered, “Densetsu-san, don’t you think I’m cuter than Mizukami-sempai? That means you should give me more than him.” She smiled and nodded emphatically, as if the statement were proven fact, then took the plate he had offered to her.

“Itadakimasu~!” Seating herself in the grass, the girl happily took up her chopsticks and popped the first piece into her mouth, chewing rapidly. “Sit with me, sit with me!” she called out to the boys, motioning to either side of her. “The weather’s nice~ And, um…” She paused thoughtfully for a moment, shoving two more pieces into her mouth as she considered potential conversation topics.

So far, she had only really gotten the names and school years of her new friends (For she had considered them friends the moment they had introduced themselves). It certainly wasn’t enough, but where to start?

“Oh~!” Erina swallowed her mouthful of fish and rice, eyes wide. “This sushi is so yummy! It’s yummier than… than… baby hedgehogs.” She frowned a bit before adding, “Not that I’ve ever eaten one. I just saw a picture once, and they were super adorable and their stomachs looked so squishy. I just thought that maybe, if they were food, they would taste good.” She fidgeted a bit, obviously aware, for once, of her own silliness.

“I-I don’t eat cute, baby hedgehogs! I promise!”

[Mizukami Ayumu]

OC: Sorry if I gave a specific weather.

"She'll definitely need more than me." he observed.

Today definitely had good weather; while Ayumu appreciated the rain very much, and generally disliked sunny days, he did understand that it was rather hard to eat outside, to have a picnic, in such a drenching and dampening scenario. It was still good weather for Ayumu, too; it was just partly cloudy, and so there was light but not so much heat.

He trotted over to the tree under which Yasuda-san had chosen to sit. For a while he declined to sit down, though he stooped to get some of Densetsu-san's sushi. Densetsu... what a strange name. But I know what it means, unlike Yasuda... He wondered if he should ask what their names meant.

He popped a sushi into his mouth, and savored it. "It's good." he said, meaning it. He wasn't really good at describing how good food tasted, like how the rice and the vinegar meld and melt and all that, and so he hoped his little compliment would be enough. Densetsu-san sure is generous, huh. I might have second thoughts handing sushi like these over. Then again, a cute girl is involved... He decided against commenting about that particular subject further. He still didn't know much about Densetsu, yet.

On the other hand, there was a lot he had figured out, and could infer about Yasuda-san, though you never know, she just might be one of those characters with secret evil pasts and stuff. Or maybe she's just like that, perpetually fluffy and hungry. He decided to plop down unto the grass after all that thinking and tasting, after swallowing his first sushi.

"Don't you be eating it all up." he remarked, drily, to Yasuda-san. "I should get a little, too. You didn't even bring your own food." he chided, jokingly. To Densetsu-san, he said, "I think she could eat all that." in a conspiratorial manner, though it was mostly a stage whisper and Yasuda would hear it perfectly.

"You want a sandwich?" he asked, his question directed to Densetsu again. He plucked another sushi from the container. "You're ready with all these plates, for someone passing by." he thought aloud. Ayumu had dismissed the chopsticks and settled for using his hands. "Um, it's okay if I don't use the chopsticks, right?" It was an informal setting, and while Ayumu had learned using chopsticks well enough, he didn't feel like using them all the time when he ate.

He turned to Yasuda, who had been blabbering about the sushi being delicious, and managing to connect it with... hedgehogs. "Poor baby hedgehogs." he deadpanned. The fluffy tiger is going to eat them. Huhu. He smiled, nonetheless; the girl probably was feeling uncomfortable, and had wanted to start the conversation. Well, it's started, hedgehog-eater. "It's a good thing we aren't as cute as them."

[Densetsu Karu]

“Densetsu-san, don’t you think I’m cuter than Mizukami-sempai? That means you should give me more than him.”

"Um..." he mumbled. Of course she was cuter than Mizukami. He didn't find guys cute, so a girl would win by default. Unless it was cute in terms of babies. Male babies could be cute, too. "I just thought you wouldn't be that hungry since you already ate something," Karu said, stopping his mind from wandering.

Karu sat down beside his two acquaintances, and suddenly realized he had made a mistake, giving away his sushi. He was, of all things, regaining his appetite, but he sat down and tried to ignore the feeling. He had ignored hunger before, but not in front of two people eating his delicious sushi. His mouth started watering. As if reading his mind, Mizukami asked, "You want a sandwich?" Excellent timing! This guy was his saviour . . . now he sounded like Yasuda-san. "Yeah, I do. What kind is it?"

Plates? He did pack a lot of paper plates, didn't he? Well, he wasn't really sure why he packed them. Maybe he had expected to bump into someone on his Sunday walk through town. Again, he avoided the question by answering Mizukami's second one. "Nah, I have trouble using chopsticks myself," he admitted. Then, somehow, the conversation turned to hedgehogs.

"Hedgehogs..." Karu muttered, not really thinking about the animal, but about the two people with him. They were interesting people, for sure. Would it be rude to say so? "You guys are interesting," he ventured. He doubted Yasuda would be offended, given her apparent lack of knowledge of social cues. Mizukami seemed like the type to take it as a compliment. Or treat it with indifference.

[Yasuda Erina]

Continuing to munch on her sushi, Erina ignored Mizukami’s whisper to Densetsu. Of course she could eat all of this food! It wasn’t that much, was it? Just a snack before lunchtime…

Lunchtime. What would she do for lunch? She chewed thoughtfully as she considered her options, wracking her brain to remember the contents of the refrigerator at home. Her allowance had already been spent on a shopping trip last week, so eating out wasn’t an option. Ah, but her mother would be home. Surely, she’d make something if she asked…

“Poor baby hedgehogs. It’s a good thing we aren’t as cute as them.”

Erina swallowed her food and looked up at Mizukami, rubbing the back of her head and smiling awkwardly. “But they just… They look so squishy! Like gummies inside a spiky shell.” She giggled a bit at the image she had created, then looked around at the sound of Densetsu’s voice.

“You guys are interesting.”

She beamed at this statement, obviously pleased with what she believed to be a kind and sincere compliment. “I like you,” she said decidedly, “Densetsu-san is a nice boy. Let’s stick together as first years~!” She punched the air with her fist, as if it made their friendship official, then continued, “One day, I’m going to have a big picnic here, with all of my friends. You both get to be the very first ones invited! Don’t you feel special~?”

Grinning at the pair, she began to sway back and forth as she hummed yet another made-up song. "Mizukami-sempai and Densetsu-san~! Eating at my picnic with me~"

[Mizukami Ayumu]

OC: Legend, it's Yasuda!

"Tuna." he answered shortly, and in a second he had procured another of his sandwiches, even as he was enjoying his third (yes, while people were more concerned with what he was saying, he had already downed his second) sushi. He beamed at his underclassman's affirmation; so it's okay. Besides, it was easier to snatch... erm, to get the food with just your hands.

"Interesting, huh?" he repeated, looking just the slightest bit embarrassed about it. 'Interesting' was, to Ayumu, a definite compliment, and he definitely liked compliments very much. "Thanks." he said, beaming again. He had been told it was good, even best, to accept compliments; and he had learned that not many people found him what he appreciated most; interesting.

Then again, maybe he was just interesting because he was in the proximity of Yasuda-san, and Yasuda-san seemed to evoke the feelings of those within her range, probably making them interesting as well. Maybe it's a passive skill. he thought, in jest, to himself.

"By the way... your surname's interesting." he stated. Maybe he could get him to talk about it... it had been mostly Yasuda-san and him chattering.

Turning back to Yasuda-san, and, metaphorically, the discussion about hedgehogs and their potential yumminess, Ayumu felt inclined to deadpan yet again. She really was, as he had said before, 'amusing'. "I always thought hedgehogs were somewhat blue... with spiky hair... and ran very fast." he said, wondering in the same breath if his statement had been grammatically correct. Oh well.

Just as how easily she had turned the conversation to hedgehogs, she changed it to the topic of picnics. While she seemed to be consuming vast amounts of edible matter, she seemed to expel just as much genuine liking for other people; the two of them, Densetsu and he, had been mostly complete strangers to her, and she had so easily warmed up to them, albeit requiring food. He declined to make fun of that. Then again, eating together was a sign of comradeship, or something like that.

"You should bring your own food, if we're going to your picnic." he said, picking another of the raw-fish-treats. I do hope you're not equating friends with larders. he considered. Yasuda-san was nice enough... though it somewhat concerned him that food was perpetually on her mind. Well, I've only known her for a few moments. No judging.

He went back to cheerfully chewing.