When Zhang Heng returned, he found Akane squatting by a wooden basin preparing nigiri sushi.
Nigiri sushi, hand-pressed sushi rice topped with sliced fresh fish, was considered a more luxurious dish. Legend had it that Tokugawa Ienari, the Tokugawa shogunate's eleventh shogun, was a greedy and lustful man. His favorite concubine's adopted father was a man named Sekio Nakano. Thanks to too many people wanting to become high-ranking officials through Sekio, many luxury shops were set up nearby his residence. A sushi restaurant owner had the idea of setting up a business selling nigiri sushi next door to Sekio. (Frankly, it was not really that high-end, but the trend soon caught on, and stalls were being set up on the streets).
"Is that tonight's dinner?" Zhang Heng asked, placing the soba noodles and roasted glutinous rice balls on the table. He had already finished the oden on the way back.
