Love in Japan

Chapter 8

When I opened my eyes, I found myself gazing into a sea of caramel. What was I looking at...? It sure was pretty... As my eyes started to adjust, I saw that they were eyes; mere inches from mine. I jumped back. "Aito?!" He pulled away quickly and we both blushed. "G-Gomen!!" He apologized quickly. "I-I didn't mean to freak you out!!" His whole face was red. I didn't have time to think about how cute it was--- my face probably looked just as red as my hair. "W-W-What were you doing...?!"
Had he been watching me sleep?!
"I-I'm sorry!" He grew extremely flustered. "I-I-I just, um, thought I saw something, that's all!"
I exhaled to calm myself. "Geez, you nearly gave me a heart attack..."
Aito ducked his head. "I'm sorry..."
"Don't worry about it."
I wondered what he'd come to do. Did he have to tell me something?
"Did you need something?"
"Eh?"
He seemed to remember what he'd gone in there for in the first place. "Oh! Right. It's time to eat."
I looked out the window. Had I really slept for that long...?
He smiled at me. "Come on!" He motioned for me to follow him, and together, we went down the flight if stairs and towards the dining room.
The energetic old woman greeted me almost instantly, before I could finish rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "Ahh!" She cooed as I flinched, pulling my hand back from my face, alarmed. "Kawaii!" She stared into my face deeply, like I was the most interesting exhibit at a museum.
Kawaii...?
Cute?
Me?
Maybe her eyesight hadn't held up after all these years...
She tugged on my arm. "Come on, dear! Dinner is waiting for you! You must be starving from your long trip!"
My stomach growled, almost on cue. "Um, yeah, I guess I'm pretty hungry..."
I wasn't really sure why, but Id always felt some sense of embarrassment when other people knew I was hungry. I didn't really get why. I was pulled along to the table, and sat down. Before I'd even walked in, powerful smells of foreign food hit my nose, many things I never smelled before swarming in my nostrils. It all smelled so good...
Eagerly, I sat down in an empty seat, which was beside Aito's little sister.
The spread of food was fascinating.
There were bowls of rice, various kinds of sushi, some foods I didn't know the name of because I'd never before seen them, and, something I'd always wanted to try, Onigiri (rice balls) Aito laughed when he saw me gawking in amazement. "Don't just sit there; dig in."
"Uh... Uh-huh..."
Still amazed, I picked up the pair of chopsticks in front of me. It was a good thing id had just enough practice using chopsticks to eat with. Without any hesitation, I reached out with the sticks and grabbed a promising piece of sushi which looked to be raw salmon strapped to a clump of rice, uttering, "Ittadakimasu..."
Bringing the sushi to my face, I slowly put it in my mouth, my free hand underneath to catch any crumbs. The instant I chewed and the taste hit my tongue, I felt my eyes grow ever wider, my cheeks flushing in excitement. "Mm...!"
It felt like fireworks went off. It tasted so delicious...!
Only then did I realize the others were watching me closely, in what might've been complete interest, like I was a strange creature they'd never seen trying something new.
I blushed under their gazes. "Wh-What?"
"Savvy-chan~," Gramma Mai cooed, "You are so adorable!"
My face flushed in embarrassment. "A-Am not!"
I looked at Aito, who was looking at me like I was a princess, with wide, amazed eyes. I grew flustered. "Not you too, Aito...!"
He blinked as though he were just now returning to reality and looked away, scratching the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed. "What's with that look...? That's unfair..."
Hm?
Had I misheard him...?
"What'd you say?"
He snapped back upright, blushing a little. "N-Nandemonai yo!" He exclaimed.
Nothing?
But I was sure I heard him say something... Weird.
Shaking it off, I continued to taste all the new foods on the table, as the others followed suit.
"Ittadakimasu~"
All the food was wonderful.
I was already enjoying Japan, and this was only the beginning!