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Tsuchigomori carefully folded the cloth of a very special bento box. This one had little fishies printed on the blue cloth and a nice warm meal inside.
“Does it look good?” Hanako popped his head around Tsuchigomori’s shoulder, admiring the pretty box.
“I don’t know why you can’t wrap this one,” Tsuchigomori sighed.
“I burnt my finger trying to fry the rice remember?” Hanako rubbed his burnt finger, a pitiful look on his face. Tsuchigomori held no such pity for the ghost. He was quite tired of getting roped into the two children’s romantic troubles. It’s been three days, three attempts of Hanako trying to get Yashiro’s attention.
~
Hanako looked at the cook book in his hands, brows furrowing in confusion. Making a bento for your beloved was supposed to be an endearing way to show love.
But all these recipes look confusing , Hanako thought, worried. Being dead for 50 years, he hasn’t had to cook in a long time. But his love for Yashiro was undying, so he rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a Mokke, and got to work.
He was in the Home Ec classroom astounded by all the different pans hanging above him. Who needed this many pans?!
He checked the recipe, realizing he needed a pot to make rice. Lucky, there were fewer pots to chose from. Hanako picked up the first one to catch his eye, a big pot, and heaved it onto the stove. The Mokke lit the burner as Hanako dumped buckets of water into the pot.
“‘Add two cups of rice to boiling water and let simmer for 20 min’” The ghost read aloud. “Do you know what simmer is?” Hanako asked the little Mokke, who was too distracted by some candy. He shrugged it off and dumped the rice in, keeping the heat on high.
When he finally pulled the pot off the burner, he looked at the rice... well, more like charred, black chunks.
“It still looks editable!” Hanako cheered in victory. The Mokke stayed far away, muttering something about poison.
Hanako scraped the “rice” into a bento box and floated over to a stack of fabrics, picking a pink one with red roses. For the cherry on top, he grabbed a red ribbon to tie a bow around the wrapped bento. Though, as Hanako would figure out, he couldn’t tie a bow. He never had to, seeing as Tsukasa didn’t typically wear them.
He slipped the ribbon through his fingers and under the other strip; over and under and around, but every attempt left the bow looking more like a mess of ribbon.
Hanako huffed in frustration, looking to the Mokke again for help, but it just shrugged. The ghost looked at the bento when he had an idea.
~
“You want me to help you tie a bow?” Tsuchigomori deadpanned.
“Yep! I’ve never done it,” Hanako admitted.
“And why are you suddenly making a bento?”
Hanako’s face quickly flushed a deep red as he attempted to look away. He puffed out his cheeks and said nothing at all, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Tsuchigomori couldn’t help but smile at the small ghost. Young love is gross but it sure is thrilling , he thought to himself.
“Fine,” Tsuchigomori wiped the smile off his face. “I’ll help.”
Hanako’s face was still a bit pink but he was smiling happily now as he floated over to Tsuchigomori.
“You have to wrap it around and then under...” the two worked for almost 20 minutes before Hanako was managed to tie something like a bow.
Hanako grabbed the bento and Tsuchigomori didn’t miss the mumbled “thanks” as the ghost floated out of the room.
Hanako sped through the halls, determined to place the bento on Yashiro’s desk before she saw. The next period was lunch, so it was a perfect plan. Hanako dropped the bento on her desk just as the bell rang and dashed under the teacher’s desk. He watched Yashiro walk into the room, chatting with that purple haired girl.
“But on TV last night, did you see-“
“Omg Yashiro look!” Aoi squealed as she interrupted her friend. Yashiro couldn’t figure out what she was so excited about until she saw the bento on her desk.
“Do you have secret admirer?” Aoi nudged Yashiro who was already lost in dream land.
“M-Maybe,” she whispered.
Yashiro went to open the bento and Hanako’s eyes glowed in excitement and hope. Though that sparkle was quickly snuffed out as he saw Yashiro’s disgusted face.
Yashiro looked at the charred mess of rice, the smell making her want to gag.
“I-It’s the thought that counts, right?” Aoi mumbled, not even sure of herself.
“Maybe it was to the wrong person,” Yashiro questioned as she went to throw the bento in the trash. Besides, not that she would admit, but she already had a crush. And knowing how he was a ghost, he would never do this.
Hanako couldn’t bare to watch the bento get thrown away so he left the class as quickly as he could. He spent the rest of the day on the rooftop, moping about his hopes and dreams of love being crushed.
Yashiro was a bit concerned about the ghost and how he was no where to be found. She tried looking for a bit, but gave up after an hour; resolving that she needed to get home.
Hanako floated around the school’s dark hallways, all the students gone, thinking about his failed bento. He thought about Yashiro and what it would be like if she became a couple with that exorcist. And that’s when Hanako stopped, a new determination on his face. He want going to let anybody else have his precious daikon! He was going to win her heart! Hanako floated happily to an oh-so-familiar classroom.
~
“You want me to help you again? At this hour?” Tsuchigomori looked out the window, the sky pitched black. It looked like it was around 3am. Take back what he said about young love being thrilling, now it’s just annoying.
“It’s not like you have to sleep! Come on! Help your favorite student!” Hanako smirked and looked directly into his former teacher’s eyes. “Please, Tsuchigomori-Sensei?”
Tsuchigomori was this close to showing the small ghost out of his classroom, but something in his eyes made him stop. Behind the playfulness there was sadness and longing. And so, for the second time he said, “fine.”
Hanako jumped up in joy, hands in the air.
“What do you need help with this time?” At the question, Hanako looked down, embarrassed.
“I need help making rice.”
Trying to spare the poor ghost’s feelings, Tsuchigomori held back a laugh.
“Ok, so I assume you tried last time, what did you do?” From the hours of 3am to 6am, the two supernaturals cooked many batches of rice, some turning out good, some worse than the first time. They boiled and stirred and even made some shrimp to go with the rice. Hanako put the meal in a nice bento and wrapped it in a pretty blue cloth with white clouds. He grabbed another red ribbon and tied a bow on top. Tsuchigomori smiled like proud dad as Hanako floated out of the room, not noticing the figure in the hallway.
Teru was fine with Yashiro being friends with number 7, but a relationship was too dangerous. Plus it was fun to just mess with the ghost. He began to walk back to the student council room where Akane was waiting, a smirk on his face.
All Hanako had left to do was wait for lunch period to come. He watched the students file in, played cards with the Mokke, messed with Kou; and finally the period he’d been waiting for rolled around. Hanako zig zagged between students, before coming to a somewhat empty hall. This is her class-
Hanako felt the bento fly out of his hands and the sparks of Teru’s weapon that was currently fitted around his neck.
“What the-“
“I just thought I’d check on you to make sure there’s was no trouble,” Teru spoke menacingly, grinning. But Hanako wasn’t looking at his face.
“Oh my, did I do that?” Teru plastered a look of shock onto his face as his looked at the broken bento on the ground, rice everywhere. He lowered his weapon and Hanako fell to the ground choking.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice! I hope that wasn’t for someone special.”
Hanako was ready to give that exorcist a piece of his mind but Teru had already walked away.
Hanako sighed, still a bit winded, and picked up his destroyed bento. So much for that , he thought sourly. But if anything, that gave Hanako more drive.
Of course, the whole time Yashiro cleaned the ghost complained about how rude people were sometimes. But whenever she would ask who was rude, he would go silent. Another one of Yashiro’s secrets was that she enjoyed her cleaning duties. Or, more accurately, being with a certain person while she cleaned. On her walk home, she wondered faintly if he held the same feelings she held for him.
~
To say Tsuchigomori was surprised when Hanako needed his help again was an understatement.
“Please! I burnt my finger while making the rice!” Hanako pleaded to his former teacher. All he needed was to fry the shrimp and tie the bow.
“How do you know this won’t end up like the last two times?” Tsuchigomori questioned while frying the shrimp. (How he was persuaded to do this was beyond his understanding.)
Hanako pulled his cap down. “I don’t know if it will work, but I have to try, right?” Hanako looked up, a sparkle of hope lighting up his eyes once more. Tsuchigomori couldn’t say much to that look so he just continued cooking, a light smile on his face.
When the food was finished, Hanako picked out a cloth with little fishies on it. Tsuchigomori just looked at the little ghost who was smiling. Soon, the bento was wrapped and Tsuchigomori watched Hanako float out of his room for the third day in a row. Young love, he thought , tiring and annoying, but love nonetheless.
Hanako wasn’t taking any chances this time. As the day neared end, he scribbled a little note and left it in his bathroom. Not 10 minutes later he saw Yashiro push open the door to the roof. She looked as beautiful as ever. Her hair floated in the light wind, her big, ruby eyes shining brightly. Hanako couldn’t help but stare.
“You said you needed me up here?” Yashiro walked over to where Hanako was standing.
“U-Ummm yes,” the ghost stuttered nervously, the bento hidden behind his back. The two sat down in silence.
“What did you need?” Yashiro asked, trying to break the somewhat uncomfortable silence. Hanako carefully brought the bento from behind his back, fingers trembling, face red hot.
“I-I hope you like it.” Hanako shoved the bento into Yashiro’s hands, pulling his cap down to cover his face.
Yashiro felt a blush of her own creep across her face as she carefully inspected the bento. The little fishes made her want to laugh. Her eyes widened at the delicious food inside, the smell was mouthwatering.
Before Hanako could ask anything, Yashiro gave him a peck of the lips, her face equally as red as Hanako’s. Hanako covered his mouth in pure shock. Yashiro moved to pick up some of the rice, but Hanako’s lips caught her’s before she could eat anything, not that she was disappointed. The two stayed on the rooftop for a long time, eating, talking, giving quick kisses. They soon fell asleep under the starry night, hearts content with everything they could’ve hoped for and more.