Ride on Time

Chapter 10

Misao took the movie CD with her just in case as she left for town, scavenging every shop for the poster she wanted. In the end, she got it printed herself and she was finished with it in no time.
It was perfect.
She rolled it up and stuffed it into her tote before making her way back to the city, meaning to grab some lunch before heading back home.
Misao made a beeline for her favourite sushi bar and sat down, the food-filled conveyor belt moving in front of her. She just grabbed a few plates and chopsticks before eating them. A waiter would carefully count the amount of plates she had eaten and calculate the price she would have to pay.
"Ooo! How to order lah?" Misao turned at the familiar voice.
"How I know, this is my first time also, right?"
Turns out, it was Shri and his sister. They had once again bumped into each other.
"Shri! Shruti!" Misao waved them over.
The Malaysians lit up upon seeing her once again and joined her. She was surprised when the two of them sat on either side of her instead of beside each other.
"Okay, why did the two of you just sandwich me in the middle?" Misao asked, laying her chopsticks down on the hashioki.
"For fun," Shruti grinned. "Also, how do we order?"
"You don't, unless you have a special order," Misao explained. "What do you guys wanna eat?"
"Sushi?" Shri shrugged. "So long as it isn't raw..."
"Oh, then how about this?" Misao asked, lifting a plate of from the belt. "It's tobikko sushi, rice wrapped in seaweed and caviar."
"I think that sounds good," Shri smiled and took it. "Also, I saw that they have karaage in the menu outside. But I don't see it on the conveyer belt..."
"Oh, meat has to be ordered," Misao explained. "Wait, I'll call a waitress."
"What's karaage?" Shruti asked.
"Fried chicken," Shri explained, leaning forward slightly so that he could see her.
"Oh, can I have it?" Shruti asked.
Misao smiled and called the waiter to order.
"Can I have some gyoza too?" Shri asked as the waiter listed everything down. "Chicken, not beef."
Misao nodded and emphasised tori when speaking to the waiter before turning back to them. "What else?"
"Takoyaki?" Shri grinned. "Also, Shruti, do you want Gyoza too?"
"Uh... sure... what else do you recommend?" Shruti asked Misao. "I'm okay with anything as long as it doesn't contain beef, horse, or raw fish..."
Misao decided to order some kani maki mentai sushi, inarizushi, and some taiyaki as well as green tea to wash it down. The waiter nodded and left to get their order.
"Don't worry, guys," Misao smiled. "I come from a family who avoids beef and horse meat too."
For some reason that Misao didn't know, the Malaysian siblings exchanged smirks. Misao didn't say anything and grabbed a plate of tuna salad gunkan sushi.
"What's that?" Shri asked, lifting a plate of sushi topped with something white. "Looks kinda good."
He started eating it, even recommending Shruti to grab the same thing when it came again.
"Mmm... what's this anyway?" Shruti asked after eating it.
"Not sure," Shri shrugged. "But it's good."
"That's awabi sushi," Misao chuckled. "Sea snails. And it was raw."
Shri dropped his chopsticks in surprise. "Oh darn..."
"No... Shri!" Shruti groaned. "You made me eat raw sea snails?!"
"I didn't know!" Shri exclaimed. "Oh great..."
Misao started laughing. "Relax! Nothing's gonna happen to you unless you have a seafood allergy."
They ate whatever they pleased from the conveyer belt, this time asking Misao what each food contained, as they waited for their food. Eventually, the waiter returned with their food and they continued eating.
"This takoyaki is so good..." Shruti remarked as she ate. "What was it again?"
"Octopus," Misao explained.
"Oh!" Shruti nodded. "It's really good."
Soon, they had enough and called a waiter to count their plates and make separate bills for each of them. Misao was surprised when she realised how they ate like ten plates each.
"Oh my gosh... I'm so full..." Shruti groaned. "How do you guys eat so much?"
To her surprise, Misao only had five plates in front of her.
"Shruti, I think we ate too much..." Shri sighed at the stack of ceramic plates that the waiter carefully counted. "Well... I hope the bill isn't too high..."
They paid for their food and decided to get drinks at a convenience store instead since fancy drinks were a little pricy at the restaurant.
"Note to self, stop at eight plates max," Shruti said to herself as she her drank Sakura-flavoured soda. "Darn... this soda is really good."
"I know right!" Misao chuckled, drinking the same flavour.
Shri smiled, seeing how they got along good as he sipped his citrus soda.
"Why Shri never take Sakura?" Shruti grinned, nudging Misao.
Misao shrugged. "It's funny how we keep meeting each other, don't you think. You guys aren't stalking me or anything, right?"
The siblings looked at each other. Well, they did try to stalk her once, but they ended up rightfully booking at her ryōtei instead. Even now, they weren't actually stalking her. All they wanted was some sushi.
"Promise, we never stalked you," Shri admitted. "We just wanted to eat here."
Misao nodded and took a sip of her soda. She almost lost her grip on the can, but luckily managed to grab ahold of it. Alas, her tote fell and her poster for the movie Pistha was been exposed.
"Hey, look!" Shruti gasped, picking the poster up. "It's Pistha! Neesan, you know this movie?"
Misao quietly took the poster from her and rolled it up, putting it back into her tote. She nervously fingered the dangling petals of her kanzashi.
"I'm surprised..." Shri chuckled, walking alongside Misao. "I didn't know that Tamil movies were quite popular here."
"I really like this movie," Shruti chuckled, walking beside her too. "Shri, remember? We went and watched in theatre all last year?"
Misao smiled, comforted. "I like it too, especially when he gets hit on the head with the statue head."
Shri snickered. "Yeah, same. I like that part too."
"My roommate would always make fun of me whenever I'm watching Tamil movies, I mean she doesn't actually mock me, but she wonders how I can understand them," Misao shrugged, sparing a brief glance at a group of teen girls who were talking a little too loudly as they walked. "I usually watch them alone, without subtitles. I can actually understand what's going on with the screenplay alone." She chuckled. "Sorry, this is the first time I can actually laugh about a joke from a movie with someone."
Shri remembered the movie from last night and fished the note out of his wallet. "Oh, by the way... can you translate this? Sorry, my Japanese handwriting is really bad..."
Misao squinted at it with a frown, slowing down slightly. Really bad was an understatement, seeing how Shri's writing was practically chicken scratch. But somehow, she managed to make out the words. "Ai no... Tatakai? Yeah. It's Ai no Tatakai."
"What's that in English?" Shri asked. "I know that Ai means love, right? No means of? So it's something of Love?"
"Yes, Battle of Love. It's a really funny movie. Watched it once on tv."
"Was it last night? It was aired last night too."
"Oh, I didn't watch tv last night because my roommate was hogging the tv. I was busy reading."
"Oh..." Shri nodded. "What else Tamil movies do you like?"
Shruti smiled and just walked alongside them as they went on and on about movies. She could join that same conversation but decided to leave them to speak among themselves, slowly sipping her Sakura soda.
She suddenly felt something touch her from the back. Shruti instantly turned around and caught a creep harassing her. She just stood there, stunned that this could happen.
"Shruti?" Shri glanced behind him. He turned around and saw her staring at the stranger. "Shruti, what's up?"
The creep tried to run away but Shri caught him and slapped a hand across his face. It wasn't that hard to understand what had happened since the man still had a hand out.
"Don't ever dare touch my sister again," Shri spat, pulling his sister closer to him.
'Wow...' Misao gaped. She always thought a man should be strong, protect a woman he cares for.
The stranger bowed in apology and ran off. Misao frowned and put a hand on the Malaysian girl's elbow. Shruti immediately clutched arm, trembling.
"You okay, Shruti?" Misao asked in concerned. "Chikan is pretty common around crowded areas like this. We should go somewhere else."
"What's Chikan?" Shri asked.
Misao frowned. "Chikan means contact without consent, basically harassment. Happens mostly in crowded places like this and in trains. You guys better be careful. Especially you, Shruti."
"I always stayed away from crowds to avoid incidents like this, even in Malaysia," Shruti gulped. "I always heard about stuff like this, but never thought it would happen to me."
Misao sighed and patted her curly hair. "It's okay, Shruti. Just be careful in the future."
"Yeah, walk in front of me next time," Shri protectively stated. "They won't disturb you that way."
Misao smiled slightly. "I always wanted a protective brother. But I never got any siblings." She frowned when she noticed how they were standing in the middle of the crowd. "Let's go to a less crowded space. What about Maruyama Park? It wouldn't be as crowded now."
"That sounds good," Shri said, putting an arm around his sister when she let go of Misao. "Come on."