The Golden Pear [YA - Featured]

♫~Notes 32~♫

 The lessons had passed, and neither Kagetsu nor Aiyoku showed up. For the first time in his life, Rigaku got perturbed. He had messaged his brothers, but he received no reply. 'Are they too busy? Or they encountered trouble?'

He and Freya were heading to the canteen. The oldest triplet invited her for lunch and didn't take no for an answer. Her rumbling stomach wasn't helping her at all.

And so the pear holder stepped into the enormous hall. 'Still impressive...' The ceiling had many lights high above their heads, so even claustrophobic people could eat with ease. The tiled floor shone, and not a single crack disturbed its surface. Hundreds of students sat, ate, chatted, or waited in the line.

'... and expensive too.' She puckered her lips and frowned. All she could ever afford from here were sandwiches, and only when they were on discount.

"Onegaishimasu, ignore the prices. Ladies shouldn't worry about money when they are invited." Rigaku gave her a tiny smile.

Freya glanced at him. 'Easy for you to say.' Her eyes traveled through the picture menu, discovering way too tasty looking dishes with numbers. The founder included meals from France, Great Britain, Austria, or Central Europe.

'Sweech... showa... sauce?' Freya tried to read the name of an orange sauce with sliced dumplings, cranberries, and two slices of meat. 'Czech Republic, one of the most loved national dish. Looks interesting.'

The local sushi came in a dozen of variants and took the entire section, and Freya's stomach rumbled so loudly others heard her. Only thanks to frowning Rigaku, they kept their remarks to themselves.

"Onegaishimasu, go on." He nodded his head toward the sushi.

'Come on, girl. You can't spoil yourself. Let's pick a small menu.' Her resolve turned into hot air, leaving her when her eyes had fallen on a super deluxe double plate. It had everything from maki, temaki, uramaki, sashimi, nigiri, fried crab pincers, and shrimps, with rolls covered by caviar.

She pressed that number faster than a human eye could see, and she clenched the ticket as if her life depended on it. Rigaku chuckled as people made way for her. Who wouldn't avoid a girl with a murderous aura?

He typed his order. And now they had to wait. A big LCD screen showed what orders had been finished and the waiting line. The average preparation time was around ten to fifteen minutes, with freshly prepared meals needing longer.

The first wave of excitement washed from Freya, and she slumped her shoulders.

"I won't say I understand,"—he adjusted his glasses for who-knows-how-many-times—"your decision to provide for yourself the minimum of everything. When I needed something, all I did was to ask."

'That's normal for rich people. But I guess you at least don't gush about it.'

"So... um, onegaishimasu, could you teach me?"

Freya looked at him, confused, as her eyebrows skyrocketed.

"How to save money and decide what is necessary and what isn't?" he added, almost whispering.

A ping sounded through the hall, announcing the numbers changed, and they saw their order had been prepared. Freya's face brightened like thousand suns as the sushi rolls sparkled in her eyes.

She clasped her hands, bowing her thank you, and bringing a smile to the cashier behind the counter before she lifted her plate and headed to a free table. Rigaku mimicked her, thanking them as well for the first time.

'Strange,' he thought as he followed. 'Can a simple Arigatou have such power?'

Upon sitting down with eyes following them, Freya realized she picked way too much for her. 'Oh, okay stomach, you asked for this, so you better stomach it.' With a smile, she gave her itadakimasu gesture and broke the chopsticks, digging in.

Rigaku did the same, finding her energy seeping into his body. They ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying every piece. Rigaku's frown scanned the area as louder murmur reached his ears. He sat with his back to the entrance, so he couldn't see who the students stared at. 'A new student?'

Freya lifted her head, watching a person coming closer to them. She gulped, her mouth turning into o, and her eyes shone with delight.

'What? Somebody impressed her?' The memories of their initial encounter resurfaced. Neither of them left an impact on her, so who could be her type? He turned around, and his jaw hung open.

A tall student stopped just a step from their table. He had blue eyes and very short blonde hair. At first glance, Rigaku recognized him, but his brain seemed to have trouble to place the face.

"Hi, Ri," the person spoke, with his gaze downcast.

"Uh..." Rigaku couldn't muster anything else in the first second. "A... Ai?" He stood up, holding his chopsticks with a maki.

"Yeah." The middle Kamini scratched behind his head, feeling a few millimeters short hair. "Looks weird, right?"

His older brother opened his mouth, closed it, and added, "No... I guess."

Aiyoku looked at the girl, and his sibling followed. She smiled at him and gave him thumbs up. 'You rock!'

"Did you... two?" Rigaku gestured between them with the maki before he placed it in his mouth.

"No, no! Freya-chan has nothing to do with this... mostly. We... kinda talked..." His younger brother played with his fingers.

"Let's sit down. It seems to be a long story." Rigaku left to get his brother chopsticks. "Have a bite."

"Thanks, I'm pretty starving, to tell the truth." Aiyoku took a piece from his brother's plate. "So good." When he wanted to take the second one, Rigaku slid the platter away.

"Now, you aren't dying, so you can talk." A bit of irritation sapped into his voice. He couldn't hide the small mental wound over not being informed about this.

Aiyoku's face turned long with a sour expression. "Yeah, I owe you an explanation."

The oldest brother returned the plate, letting out a deep breath. There were times his adult brain turned childish.

"No, it's alright. I may be the oldest, but I don't decide your life for you. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't need to."

"I need to. It was a tremendous step for me."

"Then you must be hungry." Rigaku moved his platter closer, and Freya did the same. Her gesture forbid Aiyoku to refuse a piece from her plate.

Arigatou - Thank you

Onegaishimasu - Please

Itadakimasu - Bon Apettite

Sweechshowa sauce = Svíčková (omáčka) - It's a beloved sauce in my mother country, and you can find it in many restaurants and pubs. At home, we do it from 100% of vegetable, so it's gluten-free, but that depends on used dumplings :-D