Chapter 157: SIDE STORY – Food From the Heart

 

 

Saitou Risa Perspective

“Saitou-bucho, I’m going to run to Yashiro’s house this weekend. So, can you put me down for those extra hours?”

“No worries, Koda-san. Have a wonderful weekend.”

The day was finally over, and I was beyond excited. This morning I woke up early and made a bento box worthy of the elites. Saya-chan gave me two thumbs up on it, so I just had to make another one to share with a special person.

“Hehe…she’s going to be so surprised!”

I got into my car and took off to the Red Roses. Madoka-san works today, it’s the only reason why I go there now. The cold wind of the night filtered through my slightly opened window. My excitement couldn’t be contained as I pet the bento box like a puppy.

“The way to the heart is through the stomach!”

That’s what my mom taught me. It’s the same advice I gave to Saya-chan, however she doesn’t seem to take me seriously. She’s always going out and buying snacks instead of eating a freshly made meal.

“Finally arrived.”

The shopping district was crowded, so I wade my way through the tsunami of people, holding onto my bag for dear life. I didn’t want my bento box full of love to be destroyed by these heathens!

“Hehe…”

 

I couldn’t help but smile. It’s been a while since I truly put my all into cooking like this. I followed the recipe by heart. Of course, I added my own flair to it to make sure everyone knows that Saitou Risa made this. I knew once Madoka-san tastes it, she'd drop everything and hold me in her arms.

As I closed my eyes to envision the scene…I imagined her coming to terms that I have everything she’s ever wanted. She’ll bring her lips close to me, hover them slightly over mine, and finally, she'll ask…

“Marry me?”

“Ohh! Madoka-san, it’s too soon for that! What would your mother say?!”

When I came too, a bunch of people were looking at me strangely. Seems I let my delusion get the best of me. So, I skipped faster as the hole-in-the-wall restaurant I've grown so fondly of came into view.

“Good afternoon, Saitou-san!”

The older woman who usually runs the front end of the restaurant greeted me. She was sweet and had a grandmotherly feel to her. I recalled the first time I walked in here; she was so humble that I had to come back just to check in on her.

“Hello, may I get a seat for one?”

“Of course, is the usual satisfactory?”

“That’s fine.”

She led me inside, right to my favorite spot. That’s when I caught the little fairy I've grown so fond of, bouncing around at another table. She was writing their orders and even interacted with a baby who reached out to her.

“She’d make a good mother…”

Like how she treated that little girl with the long ivy hair, Madoka-san seemed to have a way with kids…or cute things, I guess. Now she approached, with her heels clicking as they came closer, my excitement was through the roof.

“Good afternoon, Saitou-san.”

“Hey, you? I saw you playing with that baby over there?”

Her cheeks reddened slightly as she rubbed her toes into the floor. I wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction. It was a treat seeing her this way.

“Oh…I’ve always wanted to take care of a baby. Me being an only child, and Hana-chan being too old to hold like that…”

She sighed, knowing her fantasy was just that…a fantasy for now.

“So, what you’re saying is, you want to have my baby, Madoka-san?”

“Eh?! S-Stop, that’s not funny…Saitou-san.”

“You’d make an amazing mother though!”

“R-Really?”

She seemed to think about it for a bit before shaking her head ferociously. Now calmed down, she took out her pen.

“Ah…anyway, what would you like to eat?”

“I’ll just have a cup of coffee, the usual. Actually, I brought something for you today.”

I reached in my bag and took out my special bento. It shined a radiant glow in my head as I pushed it onto her.

“Oh, is this a bento box? You shouldn’t have!”

“I’d like you to taste it on break…”

My chest warmed up.

“I worked hard and wanted to see if you liked it. Saya-chan loved it. She gave it two thumbs up! Two thumbs up!”

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The glow on Madoka-san’s face was priceless.

"Okay, I'll try it during my break time. For now, I'll put it in the refrigerator. I can't wait!"

After taking my order, she bounced to the back of the restaurant. Before entering, her coworker Okabe-san came out, and they crossed paths. She looked down at her box. It seemed like Madoka-san was explaining what happened with a glow on her face.

“Aww, she’s talking about me.”

That made me jittery with excitement.

I took out my pen and looked at my trusted notebook. Lately, I've been writing an interesting story about a country bumpkin who decided to go off and live in the big city with her mother's old friend. I'm still working out the kinks, but it's been a fun ride so far.

“Here’s your coffee, Saitou-san.”

“Oh, thank you, cutie.”

She put her hand to her chest and begged.

“I need to know, what’s in the bento?”

“Hehe, I’ll let you figure that out when you sit down for lunch.”

“That’s rude! You don’t realize how excited I am for this!”

Playfully, she pushed my shoulder and raced off to the next table. My Madoka-san seemed to be in a great mood today as her butt swayed from side to side. Wow…am I lucky to see this sight.

My head shook with excitement as I turned back to my story. Right now, she was on the train, leaving her old world behind. Only then did she discover a present placed in her bag without her knowledge.

"Hm, I hope that Madoka-san will read my stories one day."

The thought of us sitting under a chimney fire in the winter days, reading stories together came to mind. Of course, I’d probably not get any reading done because I’d be constantly assaulting her cheeks with my lips. As the delusion continued, the night raced on.

“It’s break time, Saitou-san!”

Excitedly, she sat down across from me, holding my bento box in her tender hands. With her chopsticks ready, she opened the box and revealed the tamagoyaki, fried fish cakes, and tempura. And no good bento box would be complete with a good helping of white rice on the side.

“Wow, this looks amazing!”

She picked up the fish cake first. I was most excited about this. Saya-chan said this was the best part of it. With a bite, she chewed vigorously. The expression on her face reminded me of Saya-chan’s. Her eyes went wide, and a slight tear rained down her face. When she swallowed, she grinned.

“O-Oh…you’re this kind…of cook.”

“So, how was it?!”

“It’s…fascinating. This fish tastes like beef…ground beef.”

I couldn’t make out what she mumbled though as she made her way through the box. She was eating everything, and it only made me want to jump for joy.

“Oh my…I…I don’t think I can finish it all, Saitou-san.”

Tears were raining down her face. Saya-chan had the same reaction. I didn’t want them to cry tears of joy. All I wanted was for them to know that I loved them.

“So, what do you think, Madoka-san?!”

“Oh, it’s…different. Like…I can feel the passion in it. Ah…”

She set the rest aside.

“Saitou-san…where did you learn to cook?”

“I’m self-taught!”

“Have you watched guides online…you know, videos and such?”

“Nope! There’s no reason to. Cooking comes from the heart, and I wanted to show you my heart, Madoka-san.”

Her mouth opened slightly as her cheeks went all the redder. It seemed as though I poured my passion into her.

“…You are adorable, Saitou-san. Hey…maybe one day we can cook together?”

The idea of cooking with Madoka-san made me jump from my seat.

“Really?!”

“Oh, yeah! I’d like to show you how I cook. I might be able to save Saya-san’s life if I do.”

I couldn’t hold it in as I ran around to the other side of the table. I gave her the biggest hug I could and smacked my lips on her cheek. 

 

 

They tasted like vanilla as my lips melted into her skin. My heart pounded at the realization of what I just did in public to her. Maybe I went overboard, but I had to play it as cool as possible.

“I look forward to it, cutie!”

I winked, earning a blush from her. With a poke of her nose, I let her go and sat back in my seat. We chatted for a bit before she went back to work. Needless to say, my weekend started out with a bang. She promised to cook with me, and there was no taking it back now. One day we’ll cook side by side and share our love with each other.

 

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