Omurice

As Michio was walking down the street, he realised he didn't ask Aida what kind of food she liked. Maybe he shouldn't really care considering how she was treating him, but considering who we are talking about, of course he cared immensely. He took out his phone and looked at it. Should he just call her? Was her contact saved on the phone? He found the phone book and there were two contacts in it: Gabriel and someone called „Soulmate“. Michio couldn't help but make a face when he thought about how Aida would like that name. But he still wanted to call her, so he pressed the icon on the screen and a couple seconds later she picked up the phone.

„Did you put that name in Hino?“ He voice was a mixture of anger and annoyance.

„I swear I didn't“ he answered truthfully. How should he even have done it?

„Anyway, what do you want?“ She still sounded annoyed.

„Oh, I didn't ask you what you like to eat. If I go trough the trouble of preparing something I at least want it to be something you like.“ She seemed to think about for a little while.

„I like Omurice. It's nothing special, so even you should be able to do it. Although you probably won't do it as well as my mom... can... make...“ Her voice sounded the usual arrogant way she talked to Michio until she said the word mom. Suddenly all the hostility seemed to vanish from the words she was saying as if she suddenly remembered something sad. Then she hung up.

Michio stared at his phone for a while unsure what to do, but then he decided to go shopping first and then worry about Aida. He found the shop only a little way down the road, but in the opposite direction of where he came from the first time, so he didn't see it on his way to the house. When he entered it it looked decidedly like the Japanese supermarkets he knew from home and he suspected that this was another instance of a place or object in heaven taking the form of something familiar to the person using it. At least it was convenient. He easily found all the ingredients he needed and there was indeed no need to pay for anything, so he was quickly on his way back to the house and now he was thinking about Aida and her sudden change of spirit and he quickened his pace to make it back. When he arrived at the door he waited a couple seconds before he entered to gather his composure and then he opened the door. When he made his way in he could see Aida sitting at the kitchen table, holding her head in her hands. Was she crying? He swallowed hard and slowly walked towards her. He was still the sixteen year old boy he was when he died on the inside, so he was out of his depth dealing with a crying girl, but he still felt he needed to go to her. When he came closer he could hear that she was indeed crying.

„Yoshida? Are you alright?“ he said in a delicate tone of voice. Then she took her head out of her hands and looked directly at him and he could see that she was clearly crying a lot. He didn't know what to say or do.

„No, Hino. I'm not. And it's you fault.“ she said and her voice was very quiet and shaky.

„What did I do now?“ Michio was at a total loss.

„Why did you have to ask me about what food I liked? I was trying so hard not to think of it and you made it all for naught.“ Her voice was unchanged.

„I don't follow you Yoshida.“ Michio was afraid that he was terribly rude to her, but he just couldn't figure out what she meant. She reacted by holding her head in her hands again and crying some more. Michio felt terrible about the whole situation. Suddenly Aida turned to him.

„My mom. You made me think of her. And the rest of my family. My dad. And my little sister. I miss them so much. And now I'm thinking about how sad they must feel now that I'm gone. Do you get it now you brickhead?“ Michio felt stupid. Of course, everything changed after she mentioned her mom on the phone. Maybe Michio couldn't follow her train of thought since his situation was very different. His mom had died when he was very young and he bascially had no memory of her. His father was at work so much that he barely remembered how he looked like and he had his doubts that his father had even registered that his only child was dead by now. He had no siblings either, so he didn't really miss anyone back in his old life. But for Aida the situation obviously was very different and she had a lot of people she missed and a lot of people that were missing her. Of course that would be hard to deal with.

„I'm sorry.“ he finally said. He felt bad about saying something so weak and generic, but he didn't know what else to say either. Nothing had prepared him for this kind of situation.

„Whatever Hino. Didn't you say you do the cooking? Then do it. Just leave me be.“

„O-Okay, I'll do it.“ Michio was glad that she gave him an out and he started preparing the meal. Luckily he actually was a decent cook since he basically had to live on his own and he didn't fancy just eating premade meals every day. And he just enjoyed the process. On top, this kitchen was top notch and brand new, so it felt quite satisfying to use it. For a while he forgot about Aida and was totally immersed in the process. She took note of this as well and starting to watch him curiously, seemingly also forgetting about her pain for a while as well. As is tradition the finishing touch was to put Ketchup on top and even though he hesitated for a second Michio couldn't stop himself from putting a heart shape on Aidas serving. When she saw it she shot him a look that was best described as a death glare, but she didn't make any further comment. But Michio couldn't help but smile as she seemed to be back to her usual self at least. Even though that meant there would be more insults to follow most likely, but that was still easier to deal with than a girl dissolved into tears. Both were starting to eat and it actually tasted better than he ever had cooked it back on earth and Michio wondered whether that was another effect that heaven had. Aida seemed to be enjoying it as well.

„It tastes pretty good.“ She said after a while, seemingly embarrassed.

„T-Thank you.“ was all Michio could answer in reply, being pretty embarrassed himself upon the unexpected compliment.

„I don't forgive the heart though.“ Aida apparently wasn't willing to let him go so easily after all.

„Come on, that was pretty cute.“ Michio tried to play it off as a joke, which it was to begin with anyway. She just shot him another look that made it clear that she wasn't joking after all. They finished their meal in silence.

„Thanks Hino. I guess I owe you that much. Oh, and one more thing. Take a bath. You stink. It's on the first floor. But don't get any funny ideas. You still sleep on the couch.“

„Alright, but at least give me a pillow and a blanket. It's rather cold on that couch.“ He felt confident enough to at least ask for this much after the meal went over without any further incident.

„Fine, I put something out for you.“ And after that she left and went up the stairs. Michio did the dishes and then went up himself, looking for the bathroom which he found quite easily. A short time later he was soaking in the hot water.