We arrived at the convenience store after a light walk. During the walk, the girls talked a lot while I could only look at the clouds absentmindedly. But that was probably for the best.
Inside the store, I saw a bustling crowd of people. In Hinata, stores at this time would have some elderly couples walking along the aisle to find ingredients for cooking and kids running around without a care in the world. I found this sight to be unsettling because of its unfamiliarity.
"I didn't think many students would come here," Saki said.
"It's not a big deal. We only came here for some snacks right?" Ichinose waved off Saki's concern.
"Yeah. Just get everything you need and meet at the cashier, okay? Let's split up!"
The store seemingly had everything that a student needed on a daily basis. It was filled with food supplies, essential items such as toothbrushes, razors, bandages, and so on. For now, I wanted to get some necessities to start off my life at the dormitory.
But something led me astray from my original objective. I personally liked chocolate or candies in general, so when I caught sight of the store's candy aisle, my vision went bright and flashy. Although it was compact, it had a collection of my all-time favorites, and also some new ones that I hadn't tried yet. The vibrant colors of the neatly arranged sweets lured me in from the entrance.
As expected, every product had a price tag attached to it. I picked up a random candy bar and checked the price. It said "5P", meaning 5 points. The school had deposited 50,000 points into each student's account as "a welcome gift," but it would be changed to 20,000 points monthly starting next month, which was still a considerable amount. With 50,000 points, I could potentially buy 10,000 candy bars if I wanted to, but I wasn't that stupid and lunatic.
I grabbed a shopping basket and decided to spend about 500 points on sweets. I harvested random brands of chocolate mixed in with other flavored sweets and walked to other areas of the store. After some scrummaging, I finally found the "cup noodle aisle" - a perfect instant food item to start a dorm life.
There were plenty of flavors to choose from, but personally, the ones that mimicked the ramen flavors were the best. It tasted delicious even though the time to cook would take about 3 to 5 minutes only.
"I think you should cut down on your cup noodle purchases, Hiryu-kun," Saki walked towards me as I was piling up these cup noodles in the shopping basket. "And the candies too!" Saki eyed the items I picked up and exclaimed.
"Don't you get tired of eating these lousy meals and oversweet candies? It ruins your body!" she screamed internally.
"Calm your chef instincts down. I know you want me to eat healthy meals, but people can't go about their day without some snacks. It's the law of the world."
"You're just making stuff up now!" Saki sprinted up to my face. Her angry expression was rather scary. That sharp glare could kill anyone in a heartbeat.
"I'm tasked with taking care of you, remember? You should at least return the cup noodles. I will give you a pass on the sweets. Negotiation is not possible, okay?"
She was determined to force these cup noodles out of my basket. I knew she had good intentions and the fact that she cared for my well-being. I should listen to her advice for now. I had plenty of time alone down the road to sneakily buy cup noodles.
Also, I noticed that whenever Saki reprimanded me for doing something, she always exploited her promise to my grandfather on his deathbed, which was 11 years ago. We were four-year-old kids who didn't have a care for life. If Saki still took this promise seriously, Grandfather would be pleased to hear. Of course, I felt grateful to Saki for her dedication.
"Anyhoo, I promise I would cook some delicious food for you daily! You wouldn't even think about these filthy cup noodles once you eat my food regularly. You would even forget its existence!"
"I doubt it. Though having you cook for both of us would be nice."
I mean, who wouldn't want a professional chef to cook a meal for you daily? "I could even learn some cooking skills from you as well," I suggested.
I thought about learning how to cook for a long time. I'd been relying on Saki most of the time, so in times without her, I would always stick to instant food at the store near our house. Every time I finished eating those, my body feels lethargic and heavy hours later. Now that I'd crawled out of my zone, I needed to check off everything I wanted to do in this very school, and that included cooking.
"Wait. Are you serious?" she tightly grabbed my arm and swung it back and forth. For a moment, I thought a dog was begging me for food.
"Absolutely. It doesn't hurt to prepare a good meal once in a while."
"KYAA~ Great! Can't wait for tonight!" she yelled.
I felt a sudden disturbance aiming towards me. It was the disgusted and surprised looks from other students nearby. They definitely got the wrong idea and thought we were going to do vulgar activities. I was, to an extent, immune to these stares because Saki had caused nothing but trouble in public since the day we befriended.
"I got tonight occupied. I have important things to do."
"Don't worry! It won't take much of your time. Just watch me cook and leave the instructions for later."
"Is that all I have to do? Don't I have to know the ingredients and the measurements?"
"You're a visual learner. Shouting instructions isn't gonna work, you know? I'm gonna cook today and let you cook tomorrow."
"Copying, you mean? Alright."
Up until now, I learned everything through visual analysis. By constantly doing so, it had become my second nature to completely copy one's actions. In other words, I mastered a skill faster than normal people. The only reason that prevented me from learning more was laziness.
"Oh. I bought you this onigiri," she foraged the paper bag and took out the onigiri. "I knew you were gonna buy instant noodles, so I bought this for you to eat instead," she smiled brightly.
"You're my mom or something?" I hesitantly took the onigiri. "Thanks. I'll buy you something next time."
"You better treat me to some fancy food with all the points you're gonna have," Saki seemed elated, too elated in fact. It was understandable since Sakai barely had any fancy restaurants. All the food Saki has made was created with a sense of homeyness. As an aspiring chef, it was only natural for her to expand her horizons and experience novelty.
"I'm not doing that for free. It would just be a waste of my points."
"Then I will work super hard to earn those points! When I finally beat you, I expect you to hand over all your points, okay~?" she let out a devious chuckle.
Honestly, I would love to see her beating me in a fight. Of course, it was a high-reaching goal. Unless I fell asleep in the middle of the battle, I couldn't see the vision, so I was willing to bet all my points so that it could motivate her more.
"Alright. It's great seeing you reach the impossible."
"Hey! That day will come, I'm telling you!" Saki pouted and lightly punched me.
"Doubt it. The record right now is 30 to 0, but I believe in you," I smiled lightly.
"Hmph. Thanks, I guess."
All the bouts we had were all one-sided. It was common sense since she just started learning how to fight. She showed tenacity every bout, for sure. I was surprised by how fast she was improving, so it was only right to push her beyond the limit even further.