Why the hell did she even ask me that?

After a while of walking, the group arrived in front of a soba restaurant.

A warm wave of broth and steam drifted out as they stopped at the entrance.

– Is this it, Noguchi-kun? – Ishida Masato asked.

– Yes. – Noguchi Jun replied.

Takemura Eiji glanced at the menu outside with a sinking feeling.

– Then let’s just go in! What are we even waiting for? – Furuya Dai shouted, already charging inside.

But before he could even graze the doorknob, his collar jerked backward.

– Wait a second, okay? You haven’t even looked at the menu! – Tamotsu scolded, releasing him with a sigh.

– What are you getting, Shiori-chan? – Araki Yuuka was looking over the menu alongside Satou Shiori.

– I don’t know… I think I’ll get a Tanuki Soba. What about you? – Shiori replied, tapping her chin.

– I think I’d like a Kake Soba. – Yuuka said, glancing over at Eiji.

Eiji was standing before the menu, his eyes darting all about. Thoughts were rapidly devouring each other in his head.

– The two cheapest options are Mori Soba and Kake Soba. Mori Soba is slightly cheaper, but it’s cold… they might not serve it in April. I should try for that first, then switch to Kake Soba if they don’t have it. But Araki-san already chose Kake Soba, so…

He kept on thinking, his eyes flicking from price to price, not noticing everyone heading inside.

Before entering, Yuuka turned around to Eiji, noticing him still standing outside.

She glanced at the others for a moment, then she called out to him with a smile.

– Takemura-kun, aren’t you coming inside?

She took a step towards him, letting the door close behind her.

Eiji shook his head, like he just realized how everyone’s already left.

– Just a moment, you can go ahead without me… – he said with a calm expression.

Yuuka, however, didn’t move yet, shifting her weight from one foot to another.

– Should I just go home? Maybe I could just say that I’m not feeling well and they would believe it… – Eiji suddenly thought, but shook his head instantly. – I already told them I’d come. What kind of person would I be if I just lied like that?

He sighed as he started walking towards the door, noticing Yuuka standing in front of it.

– Did you… wait for me? Sorry… – he said as he opened the door for her.

– It’s okay. Thank you. – she said as she entered the restaurant.

Eiji followed after her as the door closed behind them.

The smell of soba hit their noses in waves, mixing, whirling around and creating an appetizing aroma.

– Yo, over here! – Masato waved towards them.

Yuuka just turned her head as Eiji was already halfway to the table.

– I heard you as soon as I entered, you’re loud as hell… – Eiji sighed as he took a seat beside Masato.

– Sorry for making you wait, did you order yet? – Yuuka said with a kind smile as she sat down beside Shiori.

– No, we were just waiting for all of us to be here, what took you so long? – Masato said with a knowing smirk.

A tinge of red instantly appeared on Yuuka’s face.

Eiji froze for half a second, his brows knitting.

– What’s with that reaction?! – he thought. – Nothing even happened!

Heat pricked at the back of his neck, but he forced his voice steady before Masato could say anything else.

– I was just looking at the menu and Araki-san waited for me.

Jun exhaled quietly, a dull ache settling in his chest.

– Let’s just order already, I’m hungry! – Dai was getting impatient.

– Do you even know what you want to order? – Eiji was getting ticked off.

– Do you?

– Yeah, that’s why I was looking at the menu. – Eiji suddenly calmed down.

– Well… I also know… – Dai muttered, his annoyance crumbling into awkwardness.

Eiji leaned back slightly, a smirk tugging at his mouth.

– So just be a bit more patient, okay? Unless you want to handle this like last time.

– Eiji… this is kinda not the time for that… – Masato leaned to Eiji with an awkward expression.

Dai’s jaw twitched in anger as he slammed his hand on the table.

– Okay, okay, let’s all relax. – Mihara lifted his hands slightly, then nodded toward the front. – Look, the waiter’s coming.

– Hello, are you ready to order? – the waiter asked with a kind expression.

– Yes, I would like a… uh… Kitsune Soba – Masato said as he let out a sigh of relief. – Phew, I almost forgot what I wanted…

– How could you even manage that? – Shiori was shaking her head. – I would like a Tanuki Soba. – she said to the waiter as she looked over at Yuuka.

– I would like to have a Kake Soba. – she said.

– Well, I’ll take a Tempura Soba. – Dai said with lingering bits of anger.

– I’d like a Niku Soba. – Tamotsu also ordered.

– I got it, and what would you like? – the waiter said, turning to Eiji.

– Me? – he blinked twice in confusion. – I… guess I’ll have a… Mori Soba. – he said, almost forgetting about his order.

– Is that all? – the waiter said.

– Yes, thank you. – Masato replied with a polite smile.

Eiji sighed.

– What are you sighing about, Eiji. – Masato looked at him.

– It’s just… I can’t breathe here, I’m going out for a sec. – he said as he stood up from the table.

– Oh, come on, don’t just leave us here! Especially not Araki-san! – he shouted after him, but Eiji was already outside.

At the last part, Yuuka blushed slightly as she fiddled with her sleeve.

– Well, it looks like he’s gone… – Tamotsu sighed.

– Oh, he’ll come back. Now that he ordered there’s no way he won’t eat it. – Masato leaned back. – It’s a real shame, though… We could have talked over some things about the club.

– Like what? – Shiori became intrigued.

– Like our first training session together. What we’re going to do, what you should bring and all that stuff. But now it seems like Eiji left all that stuff to me, he’s so cold sometimes! – Masato said in an overly dramatic voice.

– I don’t even know why he is our club president, he doesn’t even give a damn about this club. – Dai had a disdainful look.

– Calm down, Dai. I’m sure Takemura-kun’s trying his best, right, Ishida-kun? – Tamotsu looked over at Masato for confirmation.

– Of course, he just hadn't gotten used to the school yet. You’ll see, once he settles in, he’ll open up like a book. – Masato grinned.

– Really? – Yuuka leaned forward slightly.

– But why even start a club when he isn’t ready yet? – Jun suddenly asked.

– Well that, my friend, only he can answer. – Masato snapped his finger.

While the others were talking inside, Eiji sat down at a nearby bench outside.

– Damn, what’s up with me today? Am I looking for a fight, asking him something like that… – he sighed to himself. – I should probably apologize or something, but the fact that we already fought two times doesn’t make things better…

He looked back at the restaurant.

– They must be having fun, huh? Good for them, I feel like I’m suffocating in there. And we can’t really get a table outside either, since it’s still cold outside for them… Maybe I should just accept I’m not one of them and hand over the club to Masato… Yeah, it doesn’t sound that bad…

Eiji was still sitting at the bench when the food was finished and delivered to the table where the others were sitting.

– I’m digging in! – Masato said as he grabbed a pair of chopsticks.

– Yo, wait. Shouldn’t we only start eating when everyone’s here? – Tamotsu stopped him.

– What do you mean? – Masato tilted his head slightly.

– Takemura-kun’s missing, how did you not notice? – Shiori asked in a dry tone.

– Well, I’m sure he doesn’t mind, but maybe someone should go get him. Any volunteers? – Masato looked around the table.

No one said anything until Yuuka spoke up.

– I… I guess I can go. – she said while fidgeting with her sleeve.

– Perfect! He surely won’t say no to you! – Masato said as he gave a thumbs up.

– I’ll… try my best. – Yuuka stood up and left for the door.

– What’s up with the two of them? – Tamotsu broke the silence.

– Who knows? – Masato smirked.

– There’s nothing up, stop smirking like that! – Shiori was annoyed.

– Just like there’s nothing up between us? – Masato winked at her.

A blush suddenly spread on Shiori’s face as she looked away.

– Just… shut up, okay? – she said.

Outside, Yuuka just spotted Eiji when he stood up.

– Guess I should head inside, the food’s probably done by now…

He turned around and came face to face with Yuuka who just walked up to him.

– Hey… what’s up with you here? – he took a slight step back.

– I just… wanted to tell you to… come inside since our food’s ready…

– Oh… right. Sorry. I’ll come now. – he sighed as he walked past her.

She watched him as he walked away, until he was just at arm’s length. Her clothes rustled as she fidgeted around.

– Takemura-kun, are you… enjoying yourself? – she asked with a shy voice.

Eiji paused for a second, standing still like a statue.

Then, he suddenly let out a chuckle.

– What’s up with that question? – he said without turning back.

He then resumed walking towards the restaurant.

– Let’s just go in and stop worrying about that. – he turned his head to look at her with a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Yuuka suddenly looked away as her face became bright red.

– Okay… – she said shyly as she walked beside Eiji.

– Why the hell did she even ask me that? – Eiji thought as he felt an unexplainable warmth in his face.