blackbox | kirishima eijirou

22 | lunar orbits

The essence of ramen broth lingering in the confined domain mingling with the raucous sizzling of minced onions formed a huge puff of steam. Small chatters from other consumers came about every once in a while, followed by the faint slurping of their noodles, leaving a salty taste on their hungry lips.

The cerulean sky was already deep, leaving the streetlights and the lamps above the stall to shine on their own. High stools were arranged in a line along the wooden counter, facing the life of two, dedicating their lives for a single bowl only to be devoured in minutes.

She slurped on her noodles, the spicy broth lingering on her tongue before licking her lips in satisfaction. She took the cubed tofu out of the bowl before dipping it in the handmade chilli sauce, popping it into her mouth, her taste buds crying in pleasure.

"God, you're scaring me."

Sakura glanced at the redhead beside her, who stares at her with a somewhat dirty look.

"What?"

"Watching you eat a spicy ass ramen had me sweating and dipping a whole tofu in the chilli sauce? Geez, I need some water here."

"Shut up. I love spicy food," she rolls her eyes, continuing to slurp on her noodles.

"I bet your anus' gonna erupt next morning."

She stopped midway slurping her noodles, a small part of her appetite torn away.

"Dude, I'm eating."

Eijirou chuckled. "Kidding."

She glanced back at her bowl of noodles, pouting a little when she realized she'd finished all the tofu.

"Excuse me," she lifts her bowl at the counter, immediately catching the owner's attention. "Can I have more tofu please?"

The owner only nodded with a warm smile, adding at least five more tofus into her bowl before thanking her, placing her bowl back in front of her.

Sakura did the same as before, dipping one of them into the chilli sauce.

She hears the redhead chuckling beside her this time, making her glance at him in confusion.

"You okay there?" She rose an eyebrow at him, wondering why he was laughing like nobody's business.

"You look so in love when you eat them, Sakura-chan," he chuckled again.

"Well, I am," the girl scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Any dish without tofu is like tea without sugar."

"So you really love tofu huh," he cracked a grin.

"Yep," she popped the chilli coated tofu into her mouth, sighing in satisfaction. "I could marry them but sadly, I'm just a human being."

"Well, I can find a human version of tofu for you."

A small chuckle slipped out of her lips as she gave him a weird look. "Who?"

"Me," he grinned roguishly, pointing at himself.

Another chuckle escaped her lips. "You're so lame."

"No, for real! Just let me dye my hair white and I'll look like actual tofu."

"Nah, you'd look like an elderly man," she popped another tofu into her mouth.

"Bitch, I said I'm fifteen, didn't I?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah I know," Sakura waves him off, continuing to slurp on the remaining of her noodles. "You're a fifteen-year-old boy with a twelve-year-old mindset."