Ignore It All...

Yuusuke approached a couple of people for assistance and recruited three additional individuals to help us with our work. Subsequently, we left the park and took a short walk, eventually arriving at an open garage of a house that had been transformed into a spacious kitchen.

Fluorescent lights cast a bright glow over the surrounding area, bouncing off of the wooden countertops that are adorned with neat rows of cooked rice, pickled vegetables, glistening grilled fish, and perfectly arranged pieces of omelet. The air is thick with the mingled aromas of soy sauce, simmering broth, and the sweet fragrance of cooked rice.

To my left, the clattering of metal echoes as older women scrub their woks and stack cleaned bowls near a large sink. Meanwhile, on my right, multiple men arrange the components into individual bento boxes, some packing them into a plastic bag just outside the garage.

“Ms. Kumamoto!” Yuusuke shouts out into the large kitchen, “Is everything finished?!”

“We’re packing up the children’s portions, then everything will be over!” An old woman from inside shouts out.

“I’ll send my people to distribute the adults’ portions first, alright?!” Yuusuke shouts out.

“Suit yourself!” She shouts, flailing her right hand.

To our right, there are three plastic bags that house a large portion of bentos, somewhere around fifteen in each of them.

“I’m sorry, but can you three go on ahead with these?” Yuusuke looks back at the three men. “She’s still new here, so I want to look out for her.”

“No worries, boss!” A buff man replies with a large smile as he steps forward. “Let’s go boys!”

””Roger!!”” Two scrawny figures salute, puffing their chest out.

Both of them stepped toward the plastic bag, each carrying one, while both scrawny figures’ arms trembled. Despite this, all three blasted off from the area, their speed increasing with each step.

“W-Will they be okay?” I ask, my shoulders slumping.

“Putting Masato aside, his two henchmen are actually pretty strong despite their looks, so I wouldn’t worry much if I were you…” Yuusuke looks at their back with a wistful smile.

“Henchmen…”

Do you really have to call them that?

“The children’s portions are all finished!” The old woman shouted out as she placed the last bento into the plastic bag.

“Perfect!” Yuusuke walks into the kitchen and stands before the old woman, “Thank you so much for your hard work.” He said, bowing down.

“Thank you for your hard work as well, kid!” The old woman pats Yuusuke’s right shoulder.

Once Yuusuke raised his head, he grabbed the two plastic bags and walked out of the kitchen. He then stops in front of me, handing one bag over.

“It’s a bit heavy, so be careful…” Yuusuke says with a smile.

“Okay…” I stretched my hand out, gripping onto the ledge.

For a second, the weight pulled my hand downwards, catching me off guard.

“Are you okay?” He asks.

“It’s not that heavy, so no worries…” I replied as I spread the bag open.

Inside it, there are roughly ten boxes in small portions within each bag, amounting to twenty bentos. For the adult portions, there are about fifteen in each, totaling up to forty-five…

Meaning that they’re about to distribute this to around sixty-five people…

“…”

“Let’s go back,” Yuusuke says as he walks ahead of me.

“O-Okay…” I quickly follow up with him.

We gradually left the kitchen’s vicinity, slowly walking back towards the park.

…

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“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Our shoes make contact with the hard concrete, making a heavy stepping noise that fills this silence. The bentos swims within the bag with each swaying motion, creating crumpled paper noise that struck my ears.

“…”

“…”

Can you please say something?!

This is getting really awkward!

What can I even talk about?

Yuusuke is extremely friendly and compassionate, but why can’t I muster up the courage to talk to him?!

How am I supposed to bang him if things are this awkward?!

Dammit, give me something to work with!

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…So, where did you two come from?” Yuusuke asks.

FINALLY!

“O-Oh, we’re from Fukuoka…” I said, looking back and forth between him.

“Ohhh…” He groaned, keeping his gaze straight. “Considering you’ve journeyed this far, are you two heading somewhere?”

“Yeah! We’re heading towards Tokyo to meet a relative!” I replied.

“Is that so…” Yuusuke replied.

“…”

“…”

“…Hey…” I stop my movement, turning my gaze downwards.

“…What’s wrong?” Yuusuke stops, looking back towards me.

“Can I… ask a question?” I fiddle with my thumbs.

“Sure…” Yuusuke’s voice trails off.

“…Are you… The leader of this city?” I ask, raising my head towards him.

“…My grandpa is the one who’s technically one…” Yuusuke looks down at the ground, “But… he can’t do everything on his own, so I volunteered to help.” He raised his head, a wide smile plastered on his face.

“…I see…”

Yuusuke is so cool!

Not only is he good-looking, but he’s also empathetic?!

Well, I guess it’s normal to want to help out family members that are in trouble, so it’s not like he’s doing anything special here, but I mean…

This time it’s just different!

GOD, I want to push him so badly!

It’s now or never…

Today is the only day we could talk to each other…

The sun is going to sink in a few hours.

Alice would definitely prefer to stay here for the night before we get a move on.

That’s why…

I can’t lose this chance!

But…

“…”

Wouldn’t that also mean it’ll be the end of my journey?

Wouldn’t my reason to be with Alice disappear as well?

“…”

No.

So, what if I can’t continue with Alice?

I doubt she even cares whether I’m with her or not…

She’s strong enough to do her own thing anyway…

That’s why… It’s fine…

It’s fine…

…Right?

“…”

A loud beat reverberated through my chest.

A sinking hole formed in my stomach.

Yet despite all that,

“…Hey, Yuusuke-san…” I bring my hands together, fiddling my thumbs around the bag.

“Hm? What is it?” Yuusuke asks, slowing down his walking pace.

“C-Can I have sex with you tonight?!” I screamed out, gazing straight into his eyes.

“…Huh?”

I decided to ignore it all.

…

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