Story of a Rhythm Game Couple

Chapter 14. Yet another cafeteria exchange

"Hey Asahi-kun, I'll be around 10 minutes late. Is that okay for you?"

"Sure, your lunch box won't run away any time soon."

"Still the same spot, is it?"

"Yep. Still at the corner of the cafeteria here."

"I'll be right over."

Asahi closed the ZEN app and began surfing the web on his phone while waiting for Sana.

The conversation was part of the meal-sharing plan between Asahi and Sana. It had been mutually agreed that Asahi would start cooking for two, including Sana's portion. Asahi would find it easier and more cost-effective to make meals for two rather than just for himself, and Sana would be over the moon to be able to enjoy the mouth-watering cuisine that Asahi prepared every day.

By default, from Monday to Thursday, Asahi would have to prepare an extra lunch box, which Sana would then have to stop by the cafeteria to pick up. Since Sana usually played MaiDan at FunZone after school in the afternoon anyway, she would have dinner directly at his house, after which he would take her home later. On weekends, they would take care of their own meals unless otherwise specified, and most of the time, Sana would opt to come over to his apartment anyway. To prevent redundant food, they must inform each other a few hours in advance if anything unexpected came up that made them unable to attend.

Regarding the ingredients, Asahi would be in charge of doing all the groceries to keep track of the expenses. The total would then be calculated and split evenly between the two at the end of the month, though Sana offered to pay extra, considering it as labor costs. The menu for each meal would ultimately be decided by Asahi in the morning every day to maintain nutritional balance; however, if Sana had any special requests in mind, she would have to let him know in advance.

For the first few days, Sana was still shy about getting into Asahi's apartment, but now she seemed to have gained the confidence to just kind of walk right in.

In fact, this helped Asahi feel somewhat better, as the uncomfortable vibe between them was starting to fade. While Asahi was actively trying to appear unfriendly at school, he was pleased that his friendship with Sana had improved a lot. For starters, Sana used to just leave promptly once she finished cleaning the dishes, but after a few days, it sometimes took her aunt a phone call to make her go home, as she started to feel more comfortable and decided to stay around for a little longer.

Their evening routine went as follows: Sana would arrive about an hour before dinnertime to help prepare the food. After finishing up the meal and cleaning the kitchen, they would settle on the sofa and do their own things, whether it was watching TV, playing Otogeki or AiNov, or doing homework, without interfering much with one another. After some time, Asahi would take Sana home and return to his apartment before his bedtime schedule.

After over a month of exercising this plan, Asahi started to learn Sana's entrée preferences. She enjoyed every kind of food he made, but she especially took a liking to egg-based dishes, namely egg rolls and omurice. While Asahi was quite strict about maintaining a healthy diet, he tended to make these kinds of foods for her more often.

"Wow, so this is Asahi-kun's home-made oyakodon? Smells so nice!!"

Sana finally arrived at the cafeteria and opened her lunch box right away.

It was Thursday. Both Asahi and Sana didn't have afternoon class, so despite having the option to go home for lunch, they decided to stay back at school, per Asahi's request.

The lunch box that Asahi made for both of them today was a dish called oyakodon. The recipe called for a bowl of rice topped with little bits of braised chicken and chopped scallions. Just before getting fully cooked, the egg was poured over the rice, which would help it solidify. It was the dish's simplicity that appealed to egg lovers throughout the country.