Kazuya turned his head towards the door and saw Haruna rushing in with a stack of dishes and a large food container, cheerfully greeting, "Sorry for the wait! Big sis talked to us for a while. The nagging makes me have less time to eat.."
These Sakura family members were all talented! They could even judge whether someone was coming by the sound of footsteps.
Kazuya got up to help Haruna set the table, and because he wasn't comfortable asking about the private conversation between the sisters, he asked, "Haruna, what's the deal with these books?"
"Books? What books?" Haruna's attention wasn't here at all. Only when Kazuya lifted the "Essentials of Acupuncture" did she react. Smiling, she said, "Oh, those are my dad's."
"Mr. Sakura knows traditional Chinese medicine?"
"Yeah, he spent some time in China. My mom is someone he met in China."
"So, both of your parents have been to China... What were they doing there?" Now Kazuya was even more curious.
"Mom studied abroad in China, and my dad seems to have traveled there. I don't know exactly what he traveled for, but he tagged along with my mom without face and skin and came back. They got married later." Haruna explained.
Kazuya hadn't expected to dig into the romantic stories of someone's parents. Feeling a bit awkward, he changed the subject, patted the book, "Taking traditional Chinese medicine as a hobby is quite rare."
It felt somewhat humorous, like a fisherman enjoying flower arrangement.
Haruna, already seated and eagerly waiting to eat, casually responded, "It's not a hobby. My dad used to run a clinic."
Kazuya was surprised again. "He ran a clinic? Did he change from being a doctor to a chef? That's quite a leap!"
"Before that, he ran a kendo school, but nobody joined. He couldn't get any students, so after exhausting all options, he changed to a clinic. However, the clinic didn't last long because he treated someone wrong and lost some money, so he switched to running a izakaya. He's been doing that for a little over a year, and the future is uncertain," Haruna candidly shared. She was an open and honest girl, not treating Kazuya like an outsider, casually discussing whatever came to mind.
Kazuya was still surprised by Mr. Sakura's varied experiences. On the other hand, Haruna seemed nonchalant about it all. "Don't be surprised. My mom once said my dad is a first-rate drunkard, second-rate swordsman, third-rate doctor, fourth-rate chef, and fifth-rate husband, ahaha!"
After laughing for a while, she mysteriously leaned on Kazuya's shoulder and said, "Don't be fooled by my dad's seriousness. After drinking, he's just a confused egg. I don't know how my mom was deceived into marrying him."
Her warm breath brushed into Kazuya's ears, carrying a faint scent of honey, and the touch on his shoulder was soft and elastic. Kazuya couldn't help but tilt his head and glance at her. Was she really born when her dad was drunk? Besides, we have to keep a distance as we're not the same gender. Is it really okay for you to lean on me like this?
Unfazed by others' opinions, Haruna remained carefree and leaned back, occupying a large space. She swayed her body back and forth. When the door opened, Haruka walked in, gave her a look, and slapped the back of her head. She said angrily, "Sit properly!"
This slap was indeed loud. Kazuya felt his scalp tingling by listening from the side. Haruna immediately sat obediently, tucking her two feet under her buttocks and rubbing the back of her head pitifully.
Akiho also entered, skillfully holding two large trays with various dishes on them. Haruka began serving soup and rice. After a moment of hesitation, Kazuya asked Haruna, "Mr. Sakura isn't joining us for dinner?"
"He'll be watching the store outside. In case customers suddenly arrive. Don't worry about him. He usually eats after closing the store... I don't want our matters to involve my siblings. Work is work, and our grievances are our grievances. They shouldn't mix. So, let's settle our affairs privately. However, I won't forget the insults you threw at me." Haruka declared.
Haruna nodded in agreement. "Exactly, sister just told us outside. This is between you and her, a mix of love and hate. It has nothing to do with us. Don't let us get involved..."
Before she could finish speaking, she received another slap on the back of her head. Haruka scolded angrily, "Don't use idioms randomly!"
Haruna's head was shaken by the beating, and she muttered in a low voice: "I want to speak more ladylikely, as long as I mean the right thing, why do I care so much all day long..."
Although her face looked displeased, her words didn't seem like a lie. This little radish started making sense? Did the sun rise from the west today?
However, Kazuya didn't mind. He replied, "I'm ready at any time!"
Haruka snorted lightly and made sure Kazuya got a bowl of soup too. However, when Kazuya watched, he noticed that there were two fewer tofu pieces on his bowl. He wondered if she did it on purpose.
Dinner was simple, consisting of rice, miso tofu soup, fried fish cakes, pickles, salted fish, and stir-fried vegetables. It was a typical Japanese home-cooked dinner.
Kazuya had no complaints. He was here to work, not to be a guest. It was just a work meal, and the whole family ate this way. Should he expect extravagant dishes just for him?
Joining in with everyone else's call of "Itatakimasu", Kazuya took a sip of the warm soup and felt slightly surprised. It wasn't that it tasted bad, but it definitely couldn't be called delicious. It was just average. He had expected more given the attention to detail in this izakaya, especially since they even used carefully selected rice and eggs for cooking. However, it turned out to be quite ordinary.
Was it because his taste differed from that of the Japanese? It was quite possible.
He picked at the rice, finding the grains translucent and clear, which was certainly better than what he used to cook. He then prepared to pick up some vegetables with his chopsticks, but to his surprise, there were two dishes before, and now there were only two empty plates with some light green residue.
Oh no, there was also a short vegetable stem.
He was stunned, raising his head to see Haruka efficiently feed herself rice, vegetables to Toutaro, taking a sip of soup, feed rice to Toutaro. She fed her little brother while eating, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster.
Akiho ate slowly and methodically, but covering her bowl with a thick layer of vegetables. Ayaka and Chika continuously pick up without only using their dominant hand. Their four arms moved up and down, covering the entire dining table, and they cooperated seamlessly, making it all dazzling. Next to Kazuya, Haruna was making sounds like feeding a pig, her head buried in a basin.
Why do you have a basin? He peeked inside and found it filled with mixed rice and some food not present on the table today.
Haruna wiped her mouth and asked, "Why aren't you eating? Do you find the taste unbearable? I've told you before. My dad is just a fourth-rate chef. Bear with it!"
"Oh, no, it tastes very good!" Kazuya praised insincerely. "Why are you eating something different from everyone else?"
Haruna's lips still had a piece of fish tail, and she said ambiguously, "This? this is the leftovers from yesterday. Can't let it go to waste... Well, you want to try it? I can share some with you." She said the last sentence with some regret.
Kazuya quickly declined, "No, thank you. Please enjoy your meal. I'm not used to eating leftovers." You are eating like a pig, and it seems like you're just being polite. You didn't really plan to share with me, did you?
Haruna sighed in relief and quickly said, "Then eat quickly. If you're slow, there won't be anything left!" After speaking, she continued voraciously devouring the food.
Kazuya quickly turned his attention back to the dining table. He noticed that even the salted fish was almost gone. There were only two small fish heads left lying in the plate, their eyes seemingly staring straight ahead, refusing to close.
Alright, eating fish heads is good for the brain.
Just as he was about to pick up them, there was a sudden gust of wind beside him. In a flash, he saw Haruna stuffing two fish heads into her mouth, chewing loudly, then taking another big spoonful of rice.
At the other end of the table, Haruka was feeding rice and scolding Toutaro, "You're almost four years old and you're already a little man. Eating one bowl of rice isn't enough. Have another one! Don't leave anything! Huh? What's that expression? Don't you dare cry; I'll hit you if you do!"
The whole dining table was bustling. Haruna was feeding like a pig, Haruka was scolding her child, Akiho was advising in a low voice, Ayaka and Chika, having finished their meal, began quarreling again, snatching food from each other...
Kazuya was speechless. Are you sure you family isn't pretending to be Japanese? This isn't how it's portrayed in Japanese dramas: everyone usually eats slowly and politely, savoring each bite.
He really felt powerless to comment, just picked up a piece of pickled vegetables and started pushing rice into his mouth. On the table, apart from pickled vegetables and natto, everything else was basically wiped out. Fortunately, the miso soup was plentiful, barely enough to have a decent meal.