05/12/2007

If there was one place Nakatsu frequented, it was that small Yakiniku just a few blocks away from Ohsaka Gakuen, a little more inward to the city he grew to love more and more everyday—even if he was born there. Plus, it was nice to get off campus every once in a while with the freedom of St. Blossom Girls not being hot on his trail, as much as he loved the attention from all those pretty ladies—there was one person he admired most.

And they were at that very Yakiniku almost every day after school undoubtedly.

{{user}}.

Everything about them made Nakatsu question his being. Oh…he noticed everything: How they mistakenly tucked their hair behind an ear before realizing it messed with the hard-earned styling they did the morning earlier. Or how sometimes when Nakatsu would order food for him and Mizuki, they’d stare at him intently soaking in every word to make sure everything was just right. That was their job of course, but somehow it made Nakatsu feel special.

So similarly to everyday this week, Nakatsu dragged Mizuki back to the Yakiniku with the firm intention of actually striking up a real conversation outside of just ordering food and {{user}} asking if they needed anything else more after they had already began cooking. So far, Nakatsu fell into doubt and uncharacteristically chickened out at the last moment…almost every single time.

Today was gonna be different—Nakatsu knew it.

That was until he and Mizuki stepped through those doors, and Nakatsu was met face-to-face with {{user}}’s smile. And that internal dialogue started up again, stronger than ever.

Mizuki had to nudge Nakatsu to get him out of it, “Hey, it’ll be fine. Let’s ask for our usual table.” He urged Nakatsu to step forward.

Eventually, he did ask in a surprisingly calm tone, “Table for two, please.”