It's Going to Erupt

“This is definitely a much more comfortable climate for me.”

“Great, we should have a great time today then.”

“Are you going to finally share some of our plans with me or should I just wait and see?”

Minori makes a pouty face as he cracks a smile back at her.

“Why don't I tell you part of it and leave the rest as a surprise?”

“That's better than you telling me nothing.”

“I’m going to make a quick bread recipe that's traditional in this area for us to eat later today and then we are going to go visit a nearby volcano.”

“Don’t tell me we’re going to try jet skiing in the volcano or something like that?”

“I wish we could, but there's nothing strong enough for us to try that with. Besides, the volcano I want to visit should be dormant so we won't be seeing any magma.”

She looks at him dubiously.

“There has to be more to it than just a walk, but why don’t you tell me about this bread you’re making.”

“I had someone pull out all of the ingredients up ahead so I can tell you about it while I make it.”

“You’re making it outside?”

“Yup.”

As they walked closer to the lake side up ahead, the lush green grass beneath their feet came to an end. It was replaced by a volcanic muddy ground that radiated heat as if there was a fire attempting to brim through its surface.

“Why does it feel like the ground is much warmer here?”

“It's a geothermal spring that's used to bake the bread.”

“What?”

Haru goes over to the prepared table and starts mixing the ingredients into a thick cake batter consistency.

“It’s a long honored tradition to bury this bread in a plastic wrapped pot.”

He pours the batter into a pot lined with baking paper. He then seals it before burying it just a few inches into the ground and builds a mound to cover it.

“Is it really hot enough to fully cook it though?”

“Yeah but it takes around twenty four hours.”

“Is that how long you expect me to wait to eat?”

“Haha. No worries, I just made this one because I wanted to try it out. The bakery that set this up for me already gave me a loaf of the bread. I have it sitting in my kitchen at home.”

“Oh good. Well why don’t we get going to that volcano then.”

“Sounds good to me.”

They make their way up the rock scattered slope of the nearby volcano. Upon reaching the top they could see the grim abyss within its dark crater.

“It’s really too bad we can’t see any magma. This would have been an amazing view.”

“Yeah it certainly would have. I didn’t bring you up here for the view though.”

A smile grew upon his face.

“We’re going volcano boarding.”

He conjures up two volcano boards for them along with jumpsuits, goggles and gloves.

“We aren’t sliding into the crater are we?”

“No no no. We’re going down the side.”

“But that was nothing but huge rocks.”

“Yeah but the other side is much smoother and safe enough for us to board down.”

They put on their safety gear and walk over to the sandy slope.

“Make sure that you keep your whole body on the volcano board. You can use your heels to slow down and brake, but if you use your hands or arms you’ll most likely end up flipping and hurting yourself.”

“Ok. Why don’t we race to the bottom. You know I love a good competition.”

The sudden sound of rocks tumbling into the crater caught their attention. Minori froze in shock as the ground beneath her feet began to crack as it began to fall apart. Haru jumps over and catches her at the very last moment.

“Thanks Haru.”

“You can’t just freeze like that Minori, you almost fell in with those rocks.”

They both looked over into what was once a dark abyss. A bright glow now pierced its dark surface.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“It has to be, but then that means—”

The once calm volcano now began to gurgle and explode.

“The rocks that tumbled down must have pierced its crust and disturbed the magma.”

“Now that’s cool.”

“Yeah it looks dangerous and beautiful at the same time.”

The whole volcano began to rumble as the explosions grew brighter and more aggressive.

“Well it looks like we should start that race of ours before it gets any worse.”

Bullets of lava began spewing in all directions as they leapt onto their boards with a running head start. They flew down the volcano side going over fifty miles an hour as they left a trail of ash and sand wisping behind them. Lava continued spitting across the area as if it were raining fire.

“Ahhhhhh!”

“Ahhhhhh!”

They were finally out of range from the eruption by the time they reached its base.

“That was so much fun! Between the speed we were going and the fear of getting hit by lava, that was one of my favorite things we have done.”

“Want to climb up and try it again?”

“No way, once was more than enough. I’m not getting close to the top of that temperamental mountain ever again. It went from asleep to exploding right before our eyes. With our luck lava will start flowing down any moment now.”

“Yeah that sure would be an amazing sight to behold, but why don’t we get a bit further from here just in case. And we could finally try out that bread.”

“That sounds perfect.”

After a short walk Haru sets up a little picnic area for them and pulls out a picnic basket filled with unusual looking katsu sandos.

“I hope you like it.”

“Wait, you aren’t going to tell me what it is?”

“Oh that’s right. I promised to not surprise you with ingredients.”

“Yup. That salmon dish might have been delicious but I didn’t forget about our game of takoyaki roulette.”

She glares at him.

“Haha, ok I’ll tell you. I used the volcanic rye bread in place of what would normally be milk bread. It's stuffed with a fried shark cutlet, katsu sauce and shredded cabbage that I pickled in lemon juice.”

“Why use shark meat?”

“Normally that bread is eaten with a type of fermented shark but I didn’t think you would like it so I came up with this.”

She reached over and grabbed one. Her face lit up after just the first bite.

“This is delicious. The bread is a bit sweet and the shark isn’t too much different from a chicken katsu.”

“I’m glad that you like it.”

After eating their fill of the katsu sandos Minori sprawled across the picnic blanket.

“I’m stuffed. So is there anything else you have planned for today?”

“Yeah and I'm sure you’re going to love it so hand over the brush.”