Damn this is expensive…

When Takemura Eiji and Araki Yuuka arrived at the table, the others were still chatting.
– Finally, now we can all eat! – Ishida Masato exclaimed as he looked at Eiji.

– You didn’t have to wait for me, you know… – Eiji scratched the back of his head as he sat down beside him.

Yuuka sat down quietly, her fingers brushing the edge of her sleeve again.

Shiori shot Yuuka a sideways glance, her eyebrow lifting just slightly.

– Well, we did. But now I’m really digging in! – Masato grabbed his chopsticks and started eating.

–Yeah, let’s just eat. – Furuya Dai joined in.

Everyone grabbed their chopsticks as they started eating.
– Damn, this is good! – Mihara Tamotsu said with a satisfied look.

– Yeah, you really found a great place, Noguchi-kun! – Masato said as he looked over at Noguchi Jun.

– I’m happy you like it. – Jun smiled slightly.

They continued eating, Eiji finishing his bowl first.

– What the hell, Takemura-kun? I haven’t even finished half my bowl! – Dai looked at Eiji with widened eyes.

– You’re just eating slowly, what about it? – Eiji replied while leaning back.

– I don’t think it’s Furuya-kun that’s eating slowly… – Satou Shiori chimed in.

– Whatever… – Eiji sighed.

Everyone continued eating as Masato shook his head with a smirk.

Yuuka glanced over at Eiji and his empty bowl.

– Why do you eat so fast? – the question slipped out of her mouth before she even realized.

Her face reddened as the realization hit, shuffling around with the hem of her shirt.

A smirk appeared on Masato’s face as Eiji arranged his collar while looking away.

– It’s just… how I eat I guess…

Tamotsu noticed the tension between the two as he exchanged knowing looks with Masato.

– What’s up with that answer, Takemura-kun? If you don’t like the food just say so. – Tamotsu looked over at Eiji.

– It’s not that… it’s just that I… – Eiji paused.

– I can’t taste food. – Eiji couldn’t bring himself to say these words.

Masato shook his head with a chuckle.

– I’ll help you out this time, just be a great club president tomorrow, okay? – he whispered to Eiji then turned to the others. – It’s just that his tastebuds are all messed up and he can’t really taste anything.

Yuuka’s grip around her shirt tightened as she said in a quiet tone.

– I didn’t know that… I’m sorry…

– It’s whatever… It’s not your fault… – Eiji said while still looking away.

– Damn, but it’s still kinda crazy. – Dai looked over at Eiji.

– So that’s why you didn’t want to come along. – Shiori said.

– Yeah I guess… – Eiji sighed.

– You should have told us… – Jun said quietly as his chopsticks paused mid-air.

– Well, now I’m here, so it’s whatever.-- Eiji leaned back.

Everyone continued eating as everyone’s bowls emptied.

– Phew, this was great! – Masato leaned back.

– It did taste good. – Shiori said as she put her chopsticks down.

Tamotsu also leaned back with a satisfied look.

– We should come here again next time.

– Next time? What do you mean? – Dai’s eyes widened.

– Well, we’re going to hang out many times in the future as a club, so it would be nice to come here again. – Tamotsu responded.

– Don’t count on me. – Dai shook his head.

Tamotsu put his arm around Dai.

– I know you’ll come along anyway, so please don’t try to play the loner type.

Masato suddenly leaned forward as his tone got serious.

– But there is an issue in all this. It’s an issue of payment, if you will.

– What issue? I thought we would be splitting the bill. – Tamotsu raised an eyebrow.

– Well this is where the issue lies. I, as an elegant gentleman, can’t bear to see a young lady pay for herself when I was the one that invited her! – Masato said in a dramatic tone as Shiori sighed. – But it would be unfair towards the three of you guys that I also invited if you had to pay for yourselves and it would also be really misogynistic of me. So I propose a solution! – Masato stood up. – We let our dependable, valiant, handsome and most importantly kind-hearted club president pay for us.

– What?! – Eiji suddenly blurted out. – Why the hell should I pay for everyone?

– Just kidding, okay? But you should have seen your face. – Masato laughed. – I just wanted to say that, Satou-san, I’m absolutely paying for your meal and you can’t refuse. – he said to Shiori. – And you should also pay for Araki-san for always troubling her like that. – he whispered to Eiji.

Eiji looked away as he said in a quiet tone.

– Well, I guess I could do it as payback…

Shiori crossed her arms as she squinted her eyes at Masato.

– I can pay for myself, you know.

– It’s just how we do it back home. – he then leaned closer to her over the table. – You can pay for me next time when it’s just the two of us, then. – he whispered.

A slight blush spread across Shiori’s face as Masato sat back down with a smirk.

– I guess that could work… – she said quietly.

Eiji took out his wallet from his back pocket as he said to Yuuka.

– I… I guess I’ll also pay for you, then, Araki-san.

– O-Okay… Thank you… – she said as the redness in her cheeks intensified.

– We also worked out the payment, here’s our part. – Tamotsu said as he handed over a handful of bills to Eiji.

– Why give them to me?

– Well, you’re the closest to the edge of the table, so just take it. – Dai said.

– Whatever… – Eiji sighed as he took the bills.

The waiter suddenly arrived handing them the bill.

– Here’s your bill.

– Okay, thank you. – Eiji said as he took it.

He took out his and Yuuka’s part out of his wallet as Masato also handed him his and Shiori’s part.

– Thank God we don’t have to tip over here… – he thought, then looked over at the bill. – Why am I even doing this? – he placed the money on the bill and stood up. – Now that’s settled, we can leave. — he said to everyone.

– What’s up with you, always leaving so early… – Masato sighed as he also stood up.

As the group left the restaurant, they got hit by the cold breeze outside.

– Damn, it’s cold outside. – Masato said as he let out a breath of air.

– Well maybe put on your jacket then. – Eiji sighed.

– Look who’s talking, you’re always in your shirt. – Dai said.

– Everyone dresses however they want. Also, we live this way, so see you tomorrow. – Tamotsu said as he put an arm on Dai’s shoulder and walked in a direction.

– I also live this way. Bye. – Jun said as he walked by Dai and Tamotsu.

As they got further, the rest of the group didn’t move yet.

– So, what about the two of you? – Masato said as he looked over at Shiori and Yuuka.

– We live that way, so we’ll also be heading out now. – Shiori said as she started walking in a direction with Yuuka.

– Wait, we’re also headed that way, so why don’t we just walk home together? – Masato asked with brightened eyes.