5. I Like the Girls Who Eat a Lot
Both Kotaro and Mitsuri had considered rejecting the matchmaking: one because of his selfish desire to not squander his youth as a husband, and the other because she felt unworthy of the man in front of her. Yet, both of them wanted this date to end successfully.
Now, the date was at its final arc – lunch. This was the time to eat and then talk about the result of the date. Because of this, they were nervous. Kotaro was a bit worried about how to reject Mitsuri. As determined as he was, he still lacked the words he needed to reject Mitsuri gracefully.
'What should I say?'
Kotaro was in a predicament. He could have done it straightforwardly if he felt that the girl in front of him was normal. But Mitsuri was not. The fact that his rejection might hurt her made him hesitant. His eyes, which had been looking out the window, turned their gaze to Mitsuri, who was sitting in front of him, all straight and unmoving like a statue.
'She's nervous too. Look at her trying so hard… So cute.'
Kotaro once again gazed at her profile, becoming a bit mesmerized by it. At this point, Kotaro was very much aware. Maybe, within this short span of time, he fell in lov— Maybe that's a bit too far-fetched. But it was certain that he liked the girl in front of him. This girl brought out Kotaro's protective instincts for her.
'Sigh! What should I do?'
Meanwhile...
'What should I do?'
Just like Kotaro, Mitsuri was worried. She sat straight, trying to act perfect, but didn't realize that her so-called act made it quite apparent that she wasn't alright. As normal as she seemed, her stomach wasn't.
Like any foodie, the moment food comes into sight, the stomach starts to rumble. Mitsuri was no exception to that.
But…
'I have to control it!'
That's right. Her hunger was nothing compared to the importance of this date. Mitsuri gritted her teeth and controlled the grumbles in her stomach. Soon, a waiter came to them.
"What would you like to order?"
"Oh! Give us two sets of the standard meal and…"
Kotaro asked more about the menu and ordered a bit, no, a lot more than one could eat. Not that he could eat that much, but it was his tactic! The tactic to reject Mitsuri!
'I've used it many times. It will work this time too!'
On the dates arranged by Aunt Aiko, Kotaro looked for a way to reject the girls. He couldn't do it without a reason, so he found a superb way. He noticed that these girls, in ancient times, tended to eat quite little. So, he ordered a lot of food, then rejected the girls with the notion that he liked women who could eat a lot of food.
'Heh~ This is a fail-proof method of rejecting girls!'
"As for sweets… Let's see…"
After witnessing so many cherry blossom trees blooming all around, Kotaro decided to order a suitable sweet.
"Do you have Sakuramochi?"
Just as he spoke "Sakuramochi," the still, unmoved figure of Mitsuri moved a bit. This didn't escape his notice.
'Oh! You like Sakuramochi.'
"Yes, we have it."
The waiter nodded. So, Kotaro ordered it without much thought. After all, just the name made Mitsuri's eyes brighten, and her breath levels rise, which unintentionally made his gaze move to her rising and falling chest.
"Then bring that as well."
"Yes, please wait for a while."
The waiter went away with the order, and Kotaro smiled, believing his plan had succeeded. It was quite unfortunate that he had met someone who went against the norm. The girl in front of him had muscles eight times denser than his and ate a lot to maintain that superhuman physique. His orders? They would vanish in a matter of seconds!
But for now, the ignorant Kotaro enjoyed the false dream of success, while Mitsuri continuously tried to steel her mind against the appearance of Sakuramochi.
...
"Hmm? Mitsuri, are you sure you're done?"
"Y-Yes."
Twitch!
'You barely even touched a dish!'
Kotaro's eyes twitched at her response. At least, she could have eaten a bit to make her act a little more convincing. But still, this innocence was what made her enchanting. Now, he felt bad. He was scheming, but she didn't even eat a bit in the name of tradition.
Sigh! Let the scheme go in the trash. And it became more so for him to make her eat, not let her return on an empty stomach feeling guilty about his intentions.
'These old traditions surely make my head spin.'
So, he pushed a plate of Sakuramochi towards her. Her eyes widened, and she even gulped a bit but still didn't move her hand to take it.
"I-I don't need to eat anymore, Kotaro-sama."
'Your actions aren't convincing at all!'
She wouldn't take even a bite. With no other choices, Kotaro picked up a piece with his chopsticks and pushed it toward Mitsuri's mouth.
"Just eat it. I like girls who eat a lot."
Thump! Thump!
A single line… and it made both their heartbeats rise. One, because he was overwhelmingly shy about feeding a girl for the first time in his life, and the other, because she felt that she had heard the line she most wanted to hear in her life.
"Here, open your mouth."
A tinge of redness was on Kotaro's face, but still, he held up the sweet with his chopsticks and signaled Mitsuri to open her mouth. She opened it, took it all in one bite, chewed it, and gulped it down. After it was all over, she realized what she had just experienced.
'I just ate with the same chopsticks as Kotaro-sama! And he even fed me!'
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A/N:
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