Fat. Beautiful. Tasty. Ravenous.

Chapter 7

It's Saturday and I'm, once again, going over my schedule for this upcoming week with Tomoyo over the phone. She's trying to squeeze in a photoshoot for shoes on the same day I have lunch plans with Fat Gum.

"Actually, I have plans for that day," I tell her nonchalantly, hoping she'll just accept it and move on without trying to pry into my personal life. I should've known better.

"Really? With who? That hero boyfriend again?" she questions and I have to resist saying something snotty back.

"If you must know, it's Fat Gum's birthday and I'm taking him to lunch. Maybe also a party."

"Fat Gum? Like the Fat Gum Agency you were talking about before?" Then a loud gasp comes from the other end, "Oh my god, it really is the big guy?"

I can't stop my palm from smacking my forehead at her gross misunderstanding. "No! He's just my friend. For fuck's sake, none of this is your business anyway. I have plans. Let's move on."

"Sometimes your personal life is my business, Aiko," she says rather coldly, "I don't want you getting wrapped up with people who'll be a bad influence on you."

I have to pause to try and sort that out in my head. What the hell does she mean by that?

Frowning at her implication I tell her, "Fat Gum and most everyone at his agency are heroes. They're all good people."

"I don't mean like that," she corrects me and sighs, "Just... try to not pick up unnecessary habits from him okay?"

She's not saying anything directly but I think I get what she means and it kinda bites at me. He did get me to eat a takoyaki ball already. I bet she'd have a cow if she knew that. But he's also wanting to go to this taco place because it has healthier options for me. He's not trying to push me into anything. How could she only think of that of all things?

"I'm not," I snap at her, biting the "t" off harshly at the end, "and mind your own business."

I hit the "End Call" button and huff a big breath out in irritation.

Tomoyo has been my manager for years. She knows how seriously I take my work and how conscious I am of keeping my body in shape. Who I spend my time with won't change that. It's not like he's got a poor lifestyle as far as I've seen anyway.

Now I'm in a bad mood.

Part of me wants to call Taishiro-- possibly to actually talk to him this time. But I only just talked to him last night and I doubt he'll be able to answer at noon on a Saturday. Not to mention the fact that he doesn't like to talk about Fat, the same as Fat doesn't like to talk about him. I don't know how he'd feel about me complaining that my manager was being rude about his brother.

Instead I just decide to work it out of my system with a long run, listening to angry metal music.

By the time I get back to my apartment, I'm feeling less enraged, but am still unwilling to call Tomoyo back. She's gonna need to be the one to call me and apologize.

Ironically, my cell phone begins ringing the moment I think that. But when I check the caller ID, I find it's not Tomoyo, it's Fat Gum.

"Hello?" I answer, going to plop down on my couch and lay back on the cushions.

"Ai-senpai! How are you?" Red Riot gushes from the other end.

"Oh, Red, hi. I'm doing fine. What's up?" I say, intrigued by getting a call from one of Fat's pupils from what I assume is his line.

"Yeah so Suneater told us about Fat's birthday. We're doing this surprise party on Monday, right?" He asks.

So Suneater really did talk to them about it... That warms my heart to know. It probably wasn't even for me. He likely just cares about his mentor enough to go out of his comfort range for him.