Satoru held Tonight, My Sister-in-Law Loves Me in his left hand, yakisoba bread in his right.
Akane offered a rice ball to his mouth. He took a small bite, chewing.
"How is it?" she asked.
Satoru tilted his head, savoring. The first bite was stunning for a plain rice ball—perfectly balanced texture, soft yet firm, with a sweet-tangy kick…
Umeboshi! She'd added pickled plum!
Meeting Akane's expectant gaze, he gave a gentle smile. "Pretty average."
It's only good because I've been eating instant noodles too much, he told himself.
"How?! Ryoka always said my cooking's great…" Akane's cheeks puffed up like round mochi.
"Different tastes, maybe." Satoru flipped a page, then bit his bread. Ugh, why's this bread so bland now?
"Hmph, try this octopus sausage?" Akane dangled one with her chopsticks, teasingly.
Satoru glanced. Pink, tender, perfectly crispy edges—just looking screamed delicious. He eyed his bread, then the sausage, its decorative eyes practically pleading, "❤ Eat me~ Eat me~ ❤"
"If you insist," he said.
"Then, ahh—" Akane mimicked feeding a kid, urging him to open his mouth. He complied with a soft "ahh."
As she neared his lips, she froze, remembering her chopsticks carried her saliva. Already blushing, her face turned ripe apple red. She yanked them back.
Satoru: ?
"…N-Not yet," she mumbled. "At least until I…"
"Huh?" Satoru gave a "wind's too loud, didn't hear you" look.
"Just take it!" Akane shoved the bento at him.
"Fine, I'll grab it." With her permission, Satoru carefully picked a sausage, avoiding the rest, and popped it in.
Damn, the bread's trash. He refused to admit Akane's cooking was superior.
"Mm," he grunted coldly, eyes on his book.
"Hmph." Unpraised, Akane nibbled her rice ball sulkily. Not good? No way… She glanced at his book.
Honestly, Satoru's vibe leaned gloomy compared to sunny jocks. Though Akane hadn't known him long, him reading like this felt… right. Almost like a refined, literary youth.
Though, when facing Higashi or that subway creep, his eyes turned vicious, like a thug's.
Then she saw the title: Tonight, My Sister-in-Law Loves Me. Huh? Wait. Sister-in-law? Loves me? Loves me, or "loves" me? Is that "love" a verb?
Her mind spiraled into very adult thoughts. She gawked at Satoru. Reading dirty manga in front of a girl? What's this move?
But his dark eyes were calm as ink, face unchanged. She glanced lower… no tent. Probably not dirty, right? But sister-in-law… forbidden love?
So he's into older women? But they're the same grade…
"When's your birthday?" Akane asked.
Satoru looked up. "August. Why?"
August?! Akane leaned forward urgently. "What day?"
She was August too.
"Thirtieth," he said.
"…Phew." Akane relaxed. Good, not the thirty-first. Her "older" status was safe.
"What's that about?" Satoru munched his bread reluctantly.
"You're younger than me!" Akane giggled, pointing at her pert nose. "Call me Onee-san~~"
Satoru, slightly hunched while reading, sat up straight, towering over her by half a head. His disdainful gaze and smirking lips dripped mockery.
"Trash," he said.
Call her Onee-san? Not in 20,000 years!
But Akane wasn't mad. She froze, turned away, curled up, hand on her ample chest, hearing her thump-thump heartbeat.
That look…
That look. So cool. It pierced her heart, obliterating something deep inside!!
"T-Thanks for the meal," she whispered sincerely.
"Huh?"
"N-No, I mean, I'm full." Akane clasped her hands, signaling she was done. A Chinese saying, "beauty is a feast," hit home.
Satoru glanced at her bento—two rice balls and three sausages left.
"You're done?"
"Yup."
"Gimme."
"For what?"
"I'll eat."
Satoru tossed his bread aside, grabbing a rice ball. "Don't waste food."
The sweet-tangy flavor teased his taste buds.
Not because it's good, just that the bread's awful, he insisted. Comparison reveals truth.
His sudden gobbling stunned Akane. After a few seconds, she smirked slyly. "You think it's good, don't you?"
"Nope."
"Then why're you eating so fast? You finished it all!"
"Don't waste food!" Satoru said through a sausage. "'Every grain bears the farmer's sweat.'"
"Hmph, you totally think it's good! Be honest!"
"Nope, just hate waste."
"Then I'll bring you a bento tomorrow?"
"That's unnec—cough—no need to trouble yourself. I just don't want waste."
His mouth stayed firm. After scarfing the leftovers, he sat up straight, staring silently into the distance.
"What's wrong?" Akane asked, puzzled.
No answer. He opened his mouth calmly.
"Urp—"
"Huh?"
"Urp—"
"Wait… you're hiccupping?"
"Urp, urp…"
"You're choking?!"
…
…