Chapter Text
It was but a normal day.
Mafuyu thought not much differently of today. The girls in school went about their daily lives: speaking to their friends, begging their classmates for help or a follow up on whatever request they had, gossiping about some topic that the honor student paid no mind to out of respect for the hapless victim of such conversation. Everyone went through the same motions as ever.
The lunch bell rang in its somewhat cutesy yet droll tone and her classmates scuttled out of the classmates like ants coming out of the woodwork, in search for the scent of the cafeteria. Or wherever within the campus they had desired to dine, really. Mafuyu herself picked the same place, same table, same seat, same spot, same everything.
Well, it was almost…the same same she had been accustomed to.
As the air outside was dry and cold, her packed lunch today was a bowl of some nice sour soup made from fish bone stock, with the added solids of bok choy, white onions, tomatoes and a hint of tamarind extract. Next to the bowl wrapped in plastic was a small sweet bun filled with red bean paste, baked commercially as lamented by her mother. She supposed it was fine as it sufficed for a healthy yet perfectly heavy meal after those lectures.
It just needed some proteins…
Such thoughts were swatted out of her mind by virtue of her will and—
"Good morning, Asahina-senpai!!" The table shook as the every energetic Emu Otori hopped unto the seat beside her, slamming the transparently pink and green tupperware on the tabletop. "Wandahoi!!"
"Good morning…" Mafuyu's easy expression twitched involuntarily, her smile snapping into place on her face as she slowly turned to address her junior schoolmate. "…You look more energetic than usual, Otori-san. What seems to be the occasion today?"
"Eeeep…! N-Nothing…really!" Emu squealed, pressing her fingers together and looking sheepishly at the lunchbox she had placed down prior. "MaybeitsbecauseIthoughtyoudidntlikeyourfoodandyoulookedreallysadandmaybeIwantedtomakeyouhappyand—" She breathed in a lungful of air and leaned back into her chair; she was now looking with a determined expression, the stars were twinkling in her eyes. "…I thought maybe…we can share lunch together!! Food tastes really really yummy-yummy foomy-foomy wishie-wishie fun-da-hoy when you share them with your friends, Asahina-senpai!!!"
Those words earned a few stares from the others. Each mouth flapped when Mafuyu's stare flew to their respective faces.
Oh no…I feel bad for Asahina-senpai…
She's so kind for dealing with Otori-san like that. Maybe I should be kind like her too!
Then, she looked back towards Emu. She could see the beads of sweat dripping from her hair like dewdrops from Muhly Grass. She wondered if Emu knew people were talking behind her back like this; and if she did, did she care?
Regardless of wherever those questions, whatever mystery laid encased in the easily-meltable ice block that was the junior's mind, she had to respect her wishes. "Hehe…please speak slowly next time. And yes," Mafuyu set aside her bowl of soup, "we can share our lunch together. I'm quite flattered you consider me your friend, Otori-san."
"Y-Yes! Everyone is friend!! Friend-shaped…j-j-j-j-just like you, M-M-Maaaaa…Asah-h-hina-senpai! H-HahahaHAHAha…!!"
Emu lowered her eyes as to not meet Mafuyu's gaze. Her hands trembled she opened her tupperware box, to reveal a large sandwich…but on closer inspection, it was actually three smaller sandwiches layered side by side to make a larger whole. It smelled of…ketchup. Something tangy— something sour. Almost like a foreign dish; she had never imagined to eat anything like what her junior had, if that was to be their shared lunch.
"Th-This is a McDonald's McRibTM, Asahina-senpai!" She exclaimed, slowly inching the box closer towards Mafuyu. The latter's eyes followed it, casting the decorated meal with scrupulous lenses. "M-My sister and I made it with the stuff we bought yesterday! It was really fun to make and I wanted to add more things to it like tomatoes, onions, a sunny smiley wondahoy egg, a whish-whish-whish-whish egg, milk, fish, chicken, more pickles, omurice, grapes, Sour Patch KidsTM, Mountain Dew Baja BlastTM—"
Even while Mafuyu was still keeping up her smile, when she looked at Emu's excited eyes, the other slapped her own mouth shut with both hands. "Eek…! S-S-Sumimasorry…!! Y-You can get one, Asahina-senpai!"
"Thank you for the food, Otori-san." She dragged her own small plate of a singular bun and cleanly halved it with her chopsticks. "Compared to yours, mine doesn't seem as grand or colorful. I can only hope you enjoy a small part of this humble meal made by my dear mom."
"Y-Yes yes yes! Sure! Very sure! Y-Y-Y-Your m-m-mom must be very n-nice, haha!!"
They both grabbed their respective portions to fill the vacated spots on their dishes, with Emu doing it with her hands while Mafuyu with her chopsticks. After both had said their prayers, they started digging in. Mafuyu had thought of starting with her half of the sweet bun as an appetizer. Her eyes had advised differently; her curiosity compelled her to pull the bun up to see what was inside. Vegetables and protein arranged neatly and symmetrically, a kind of plating made not to overwhelm nor disappoint – it looked very appealing, in fact; Mafuyu looked beside her. Emu was audibly enjoying the bun imparted to her, a hand cupping her reddened cheek and…almost in tears.
She looked back to her own food. It had been a full minute since their prayers had been said; Emu was already finished with her sweet bun, sparing not a second further to dig in her own meal.
"Asahina-senpai do you like it?"
Mafuyu looked at her side. Her junior schoolmate's eyes sparkled in excitement at Mafuyu's eventual nondescript reply— her face the outcome of a particularly laborious painting session; her cheeks had decor of lettuce, bread crumbs and that aromatic red sauce glazed over the meat of the McRibTM. She then took a large chomp of the portion, still eagerly waiting and relishing in its taste.
Surely, it couldn't taste that much different from what she eats, right?
Emu just had those kinds of reactions – a hyperactive heart worn on the sleeves of her jacket.
"My apologies, I haven't eaten it yet…" Mafuyu breathed out through her nose. Neatly setting down her chopsticks, her hands grabbed for her part of the sandwich. She gave it one last look of trepidation, then…she chewed herself a sizable bite. Mafuyu looked straight ahead, chewing…chewing…chewing. She closed her eyes, inhaling, chewing, chewing, chewing.
The bread was tasteless. Not much to be expected. Hard, crunchy, and soft textures or crumb and crust became molded into a round dough in her mouth, then a colorful sweetness raided her neutered day. It pinched the inside of her cheeks, splashing upon the dough, bequeathing it animation, variance…quality.
At that introduction, the honor student's senses were kicked into overdrive. She felt the nerves on her hand shake, nearly dropping the McRibTM on her plate.
She chewed faster.
A multitude of flavors and textures graced her presence with excitable vehemence. Within the sweetened bread, a wild cocktail of sour onions and juicy pickles ventured into the maddened meshes. The crunch of lettuce distracted her but for a moment – a breath of fresh air…a new perspective, even. The sourness had been given spice— given heat, given…passion. From beneath Mafuyu's tongue, the muscles tensed and contracted to toss the heat of the flavors like how a masterful chef tosses their ingredients upon the dancing flame.
The next to intrude was a wafting richness akin to that of the feel of freshly varnished wood, as if she were invited into a space of homely luxuriousness. It provided comfort to her senses, a delectable lid to top off the swarm of sensations that had descended upon her. A syrup of savory relish that fancied the umami part of her tongue. It chanted a spiel of empiricism despite its finality.
This is new.
This is beautiful.
Those were her thoughts as she kept chewing before the satisfied swallow. Not long after, she took another enthusiastic bite to relive the journey and leaned into her chair, humming.
"I think…I like it."
"Y…You do? Really?"
With a small whine, Emu glanced once more at Mafuyu, who had taken another bite before she had gulped it down. For a few moments, it was the latter who had emitted the most noise on that table and, perhaps, the messiest eater. For the former, she looked away then back, incredulous, perplexed, eyes widened.
"You do…You really do! You really honestly do, Asahina-senpai!! Here! You can take another one!"
Without another word, Emu shoves her tupperware box closer to Mafuyu. She could see the thankful elation behind those eyes and also…something else. Something that stirred – something that was alike the thing Emu was afraid of whenever she saw her senior smile: but it had another form. It was a different thing but…
To know her friends more…to see those smiles and happiness from places she thought were impossible…weren't those more worth it than her own apprehensions? Of course!
She saw Mafuyu's smile reach through her cheeks and almost touch her eyes, like a happy rainbow turned upside down, as she reached for the McRibTM.