Tall Tails

Chapter 3: Ghost Stories

Grey and Miyuki descended the long stone staircase just as the lunch rush was winding down and when they got to the restaurant it was fairly empty with only a few tables occupied by people finishing up their meals.

The restaurant was fox owned, the owner and his wife were both golden foxes like Miyuki and the owner's face lit up when he saw Grey and he quickly grabbed a menu and hurried over to greet both Grey and Miyuki "いらしゃいまグレイさん。二人昼御飯ですか。(Welcome Mr. Grey, two for lunch?)". Grey gave the owner a warm smile and answered "はい,お願いします。(yes please)" and in return the owner gestured towards the dining area signaling they could sit wherever they wanted..

Grey chose a booth seat near the back wall of the restaurant and the owner followed Grey and Miyuki to the table, setting down two menus in front of them before hurrying back behind the counter, quickly disappearing back into the kitchen. The two had just gotten situated when the owner's wife appeared with two glasses of water flashing both Miyuki and Grey a warm smile "何を飲んだいどうですか。(would you like something to drink?)". Grey looked over the drink menu for a moment before answering "お水結構です。(water is fine)". The owner's wife nodded and then turned to Miyuki "何を飲んだいどうですか。 (What Would You Like To Drink?)." Miyuki waved her hand in front of her face and replied "大丈夫です。that's okay)" indicating she didn't want anything extra. The owner's wife gave a small bow to both of them, and afterwards headed back behind the counter, leaving the two of them to look over their menus.

Grey and Miyuki both took a moment to mentally pick out what they wanted to order. Grey's restaurant recommendation was solid, the menu sported a fairly wide selection of dishes from appetizers, ramen, a few other specialty entrées and even boba tea and taiyaki for dessert. Miyuki couldn't help but smile, with her ears softly twitching in excitement as she looked over the menu, each dish looked more delicious than the last. Grey couldn't help but smile watching her reactions. "I guess you like the place I picked for lunch?" Miyuki nodded excitedly, while continuing to browse the selection of items in the menu. "I'm honestly having a hard time choosing. I'll probably just get some shoyu ramen and maybe a taiyaki or ice cream cone for dessert." Grey nodded approvingly, "Those are both great choices. I'm going with my usual tonkatsu ramen and takoyaki myself, just because they're my favorites," he explained.

Miyuki returned Grey's smile, and was about to comment on his selection when, as if on cue, the owner's wife came to take their order. The owner's wife gave Grey a small smirk before asking "いつものどうですか。グレイさん？ (The usual for you, Mr. Grey?)" Grey scratched the back of his head and returned a sheepish smile of his own along with an embarrassed chuckle. "Geez, am I really that predictable?" The owner's wife's hummed softly, her smirk transforming into an amused smile, she was already writing down his order, and replied "ちょっと...(a little...)" The owner's wife then turned to Miyuki 何を食べたいですか。(What would you like to eat?)" Miyuki put in her order of Shoyu ramen and after writing it down, the owner's wife took the menus and retreated back behind the counter to tend to the front of the shop.

Miyuki chewed her lip which she felt was quickly becoming a habit when she was around Grey.. Deep in thought, the day had been incredibly overwhelming thus far and it was barely noon. The more time she spent with Grey, the more she wanted to get to know him. She looked up at Grey and softly asked "You said foxes are good at seeing spirits, but what about you? I mean, humans don't seem to usually notice spirits, did you learn to see them from the foxes or were you born with the ability to see them?" Grey rubbed his chin thinking for a moment" Honest, I'm not sure how old I was when I first started seeing them, it just sort of happened. I definitely didn't learn it from the foxes and it used to be really dangerous because I couldn't tell which ones were good and which were bad. That's why my family first sent me to train with the foxes to begin with. Then, as I got older, I learned to tell which spirits needed to be sealed and which were ok to leave alone." Miyuki's ears perked up and leaned forward in her seat slightly, she was very intrigued by the information Grey had shared, she had thought he had learned how to see spirits but it appeared he was special in that regard, at least so far as humans were concerned.