1Chapter 2: An Outdoor Meal
Momo asked, "Are we close yet?"
"Almost," Mashirao replied while rechecking his phone to make sure they were heading the right way.
"Sorry, this just feels a lot further than any other place we've been to."
"Well, these kinds of places aren't exactly common." They had already taken a short train ride to get here, but it was a bit of a walk even then.
It was the first Sunday of December, and the couple was once more trying some "commoner food" for their date. Tonight, Yaoyorozu wore a fancy red jacket with a large belt and black pants. Once Ojiro saw said outfit, he expected high heels as he looked down but did find her wearing regular red sneakers. His girlfriend explained she didn't have any casual winter clothing at the moment. She had ordered some last week; just they hadn't arrived yet. Mashirao figured she wasn't used to buying things online. He was wearing a black jacket with a hoodie, though it wasn't up at the moment and some blue jeans with white tennis shoes.
"I would have thought there would be more of these around," Momo stated with a hint of disappointment.
"It's a dying business in most places. They are way too old-fashioned for the hustle and bustle of most of Japan. So unless it's a festival or holiday, good luck finding one in Tokyo. Though I hear they still have some presence in Fukuoka."
"That's it? That's quite far to the west."
The boy shrugged as he said, "It's what Shoji-kun told me once. He's from there, so you can ask him."
"Perhaps I will. Anyways, how did you find out about this one?"
Ojiro brought up his phone. "Thankfully, the few that are active during normal times keep a GPS active so their loyal customers can follow them easily."
This tidbit seemed to greatly interest Yaoyorozu as her eyes lit up as she looked at the phone. However, before she could say anything more on the matter, they had arrived. In front of them stood a yatai (food cart). The wheels and foldable doors had been removed and were behind the cart, giving it the illusion that it was more of a food stand. It was mainly brown except for its black roof, and red noren (fabric dividers set as a banner) hung below it, plus tōrō (traditional lantern) hanging to its left side. The noren and tōrō spelled out ramen in large black kanji text, though the latter was spelled out vertically. There were three sets of benches, one large one in front of the yatai and two smaller ones on either side. Currently, the place only had one customer, an older woman sitting on the right bench.
The couple took a seat on the bench at the front. Momo eagerly took out her phone to scan the AR code taped to the counter. Mashirao had shown her how they worked about a month ago at a burger joint. This was the first time she could put it to practice as their last few dates were them hanging out on school grounds due to his budget issues. Once Yaoyorozu had pulled up the small menu, they discussed their options before ordering.
They ordered gyoza (dumplings with a thinner wrapper and more finely chopped stuffing) to start with and chashu tonkotsu (ramen with marinated braised pork belly, egg, scallions, and garlic) for the both of them. A recent addition when getting food was for them to get the same thing to discuss the taste as an extra topic of discussion.
As the two workers began to prepare the food, Momo asked, "So why the pork option?" Mashirao usually gave his girlfriend the free option to choose from, but she was clueless about what to order as she didn't recognize most of the options.
"I was in the mood for something salty. Plus, this yatai is more known for this dish than the rest of their menu. Even if this is cheap, I want to taste the best they got."
"I see. I just figured you like this type of meat."
"It is a nice change of pace from all the chicken, beef, and fish that takes up most of our meals, I suppose. Shaking things up is nice. If it's within my limited budget."
Yaoyorozu hung her head as she said, "About that."
The couple was then handed their appetizer with a dipping sauce. The boy broke apart his chopsticks and took a dumpling to dip as he said, "Look, it's fine. As long as every date isn't an outing like this, I can afford it. Besides, there is only so much we can do in private on school grounds. It's nice to be out here and not have to hide our relationship."
"We don't have to hide it."
Ojiro took a bite and chewed before saying, "Yeah, you're right. I'm just worried about your mom finding out."
"And I have stated I can take care of her. She's more bark than bite nowadays with me."
"I just don't want to cause any trouble for you."
"Appreciated, but I can fend for myself."
The boy just grunted before asking, "Well, you could tell your folks during the holiday break, I guess."
"That was the plan," Momo stated as she took a dumpling with her chopsticks.
"Oh, you're that adamant about this, huh?"
"I'm just starting to see Hagakure-chan and Uraraka-chan's point of view as they waited for their boyfriends to be okay about going public. I didn't mind at first, but now I wish to spend more time with you than what time we get."
"And it's difficult if we have to do it in secret, I getcha."
Yaoyorozu's look became serious as she asked, "With that in mind, what's your say? Or is it more than just about my mother?"
Ojiro looked away and finished the rest of his food before saying, "Sorry, I'm just not ready. I guess I look like a coward wanting to delay this."
"Cause you're embarrassed? Like Midoriya-kun was?"
"I mean, that's a factor, yeah, but it's more a self-confidence thing."
Momo sighed but said nothing before finally taking a bite from her appetizer.
Mashirao reached over and grabbed her hand before saying, "Can it wait till the next term? The first day we get back, I promise. By then, I'll work out this funk I have about this whole thing."
Yaoyorozu was quick to lean over and give a peck on the boy's forehead as she stated, "I think I can work with that. I am still open to sooner, though."
"Yeah yeah, I'll consider it," Ojiro said as he scratched the back of his neck. He was still getting used to the physical contact, even if it was still minor.
They turned their discussion to the joint training exercise they had earlier that week with 1B as they ate the rest of their dumplings. Neither of their teams had won their match, but each learned a lot from the exchange.
"Hey, so, would you mind teaching me bōjutsu?"
"Is this because of the battle with Kaibara-san?"
Mashirao just nodded slowly in response. Sen's Gyrate negated most of Mashirao's defensive capabilities.
"I've never really taught anything non-academic before, but sure! And as a bonus, it means we can spend more time together."
"Hmm, I didn't think of that. A win-win, I guess."
"I'll just need some time to think up a lesson plan if you don't mind."
"That's fine; I didn't expect us to jump right into it anyways. I figured you would want to prepare if you said yes."
Next came the ramen - two bowls for Yaoyorozu - and the two began to dig in. It wasn't long before Ojiro noticed his girlfriend had stopped eating and was staring at him.
"Is something wrong?"
"Just observing a repeat phenomenon. It's been a while since I have seen this."
Mashirao looked around to see if anything was out of the ordinary. When he found no such thing, he looked back at Momo with a puzzled look.
The girl proceeded to point towards her boyfriend's lower back as she stated, "Your tail is wagging."
Ojiro was quick to drop his chopsticks and grab the end of his tail. "When did you see it last?"
"At the karaoke night."
"Oh, you saw then..."
"When I was singing that duo with Kendo-chan. Only a glimpse. It's why I didn't bring it up before. It was kinda dark."
"Jeez." Mashirao proceeded to drop his head on the counter.
"It's that embarrassing?"
"Of course it is."
"I think it's cute. Like a happy puppy."
Ojiro let his tail fall as she said, "Well, that's better than being seen as a monkey, I guess."
Yaoyorozu reached over and began to play with the hairs at the end of his appendage as she asked, "Is it involuntary?"
"Yeah, when I'm excited or happy. I did it a lot when I was much younger. Though if I concentrate hard enough, it won't happen."
"Why stop it, though?"
"Cause people would make fun of me about it in my last school. Plus, if I did it nowadays, I would never get Hagakure-chan or Kaminari-kun off my back."
Momo took her hand away as she stated, "Oh, sorry to bring it up then."
Mashirao was quick to grab her hand and say, "It's fine. Just a force of habit at this point. If I just let it happen today, I wouldn't be able to fight off Hagakure-chan and Kaminari-kun at all." He then looked away with a blush as he stated, "It seems I only slip up when it involves you."
Hic
"You two are adorable."
The couple looked over to their right to see the older woman with an o-choko (small saké cup) raised in her left hand. She had short curly grey hair and was wearing a grey jacket opened up to reveal a purple shirt underneath.
One of the workers then said, "Ma'am, don't bother the other customers."
"Oh, hush. I'm complimenting them." She then gulped to finish her drink.
The class vice president then whispered, "They serve alcohol here?"
"If I chose one that didn't, we would have had to travel further," Ojiro softly spoke back.
The woman then put her payment on the counter and got up from her seat. As she passed the couple while leaving, she said, "It's so nice to see young people be so open about their love. Everyone is always too reserved. You two enjoy yourselves."
"We will, and thanks," Momo stated. Once outside the hearing distance of the eldery, she then asked, "Are we being too open?"
"What? No, just probably more so than her generation was. It's not like we're making out in public."
"Hmm, so that is above the norm?" The vice class president then gave an expression of being in deep thought.
Ojiro tried to steer things back to reality by saying, "Look, everyone has different views on public displays of affection. But for the most part, it's common for adults to prefer the more reserved side of the argument. I say, do whatever feels right at the moment."
Yaoyorozu smirked as she said, "Well, that makes sense for you. You're terrible at hiding your feelings."
"Noted," Mashirao said before returning to his ramen.
The two then finished their meal and paid before making their leave.
As the two walked hand and hand back to the train station, the boy asked, "So how was the taste?"
"You said salty, so I was surprised to instead have a sweet and salty flavor."
Ojiro smirked. "Bitter only tastes good if you have something sweet with it, I say."
"True, but I didn't expect it to be that much. The broth itself was so creamy."
"Then it seems their signature ramen was a success for us both."
Yaoyorozu leaned into his shoulder and lifted his hand slightly as she said, "Yes, it was wonderful. Oh, and sorry about my bit about them serving alcohol."
"No big deal, but I guess it's a touchy subject because of your mom?"
Momo shook her head as she said, "I mean, sure, she drinks a lot but remember her quirk let's her remove such substances from her body easily. It's my father it's a problem with."
"Oh, I see. What kind of drunk is he? My dad is just quiet, and my mom gets a bit too giddy. Though the former doesn't happen often."
"Just dumb. Father is a brilliant man if a bit lazy. To see him become a bubbling mess is so demeaning. It's entertaining for our guests, which is probably the only reason mother tolerates it. I'm sure it's helped in gaining connections and resources for the family business. That doesn't mean I loathe it any less."
"I guess it does matter why you are drinking. Your parents just drink to be social."
"And yours?"
"I mean, their jobs can be tough sometimes. Since my mom is on the streets it's why she drinks more than my dad. Still, the stress can get to him too sometimes."
Yaoyorozu stopped to look at a billboard with heroes on it. "I wonder if it's common among heroes."
Ojiro thought for a moment before saying, "Probably, though they must be good about hiding it. It wouldn't be good for your public image even if you drank in moderation in public. I can't remember hearing any pros in the news with such problems. Maybe Midoriya-kun would know."
"Yeah, if anyone knew he would. Though hearing him talk about alcohol would be funny in itself."
The two chuckled at the prospect of their friend being knowledgeable about such a subject.
The couple then made their way to the train station, talking about their hopes for the next term. Once seated, Momo leaned into her boyfriend's side.
"Straight to it, huh?"
"Even with the heated air, the seats are still cold. I'm still not used to these public trains that don't have heated seats."
"Oh, that sounds divine," Mashirao stated as he let his tail wrap around his girlfriend's waist.
"I don't know; this is quite comfortable too," Yaoyorozu stated as she grabbed his arm. "Wake me up when it's our stop."
Ojiro then kissed her on the cheek before saying, "Sure thing."
Long time no see!
Another long-delayed work. It didn't help that I forgot to finish it once I began writing Cubicity again (one-track mind syndrome). But hey, it's finally here.
The idea of this chapter comes from a commission I had done way back at the end of 2018, which is almost the exact setting of the part involving Ojiro's tail (sans the old woman). It was the framework for these first two chapters of this side story, with the couple hanging out doing everyday things (though new experiences for Yaoyorozu). A splash of Japanese cuisine and a deeper dive into both characters I couldn't focus on in Cubicity.
The next chapter will instead be a campus date and will occur during the start of the third term. As much as these slices of Japanese cuisine settings are fun to write, I don't want to overdo it. Expect the next chapter in October.