Kaoru arrived at the entrance right on time. And I wasn’t prepared for how she looks at all.

   I was expecting her to dress up like a delinquent who’s all prepared to wreck havoc at a rival school. Instead, she’s wearing a gorgeous light blue one piece spaghetti-strap long dress with a brown cardigan.

   ‘Did you wait long, aniki?’ she asks me the moment she arrives.

   ‘...Huh? Oh, not at all. I just got here.’

   In fact, I’ve been waiting since twenty minutes before the appointed time. But she doesn’t need to know that.

   ‘You look stunning today.’ I compliment her.

   The compliment made her blush.

   ‘Thank you, aniki.’

   ‘Now then, shall we go?’

   ‘Yes.’

   After walking for a mere three minutes, I realize that this date would be a disaster if I don’t fix a major issue.

   ‘...Kaoru? I’m sorry to be blunt but, I didn’t think up of any plans for this outing.’

   ‘That’s okay, aniki. My invitation was too sudden, after all.’

   ‘That said, we still need a plan. Which is why I’m going to ask you straight. Do you have anywhere that you want to go?’

   ‘Well, I can’t think up of any right now. So can we just walk around randomly until I can?’

   ‘Sure.’

   So the walking continued. Eventually, we reached the street where I saw the fight between the knights and the yakuzas which happened some time ago.

   ‘This is where I saw the knights and your subordinates fighting.’ I recall.

   ‘As one of the Ueyama Group, I sincerely apologize for causing problems back then.’ Kaoru says while bowing repeatedly at me.

   ‘There’s no need for you to apologize. It wasn’t your fault, or your group for that matter. It was the knights who were trying to kidnap you against your will, remember?’

   ‘Still, if we didn’t start the fight with the Hidari Group…’

   ‘It probably won’t make much of a difference. Even if you didn’t cause a havoc, they might have used some other excuses to capture you.’

   After walking some more, we reach the entrance of an alley.

   ‘And this is where we first met.’ I say while pointing the alley.

   ‘Time sure flies, doesn’t it?’ she asks. ‘It’s already been a few weeks since then.’

   ‘It sure does. Man, it sure felt like a crazy ride back then. A ride that I would rather die than going back.’

   ‘To be honest, I feel the same way too, although the rather-die part is a bit too much. The only good thing I got out of it is meeting you, aniki.’

   She looks at me shyly. I was expecting her to stop herself from completing the sentence, but she actually didn’t.

   ‘Yeah, same here.’ I tell her. ‘I’ll be honest though. I had a huge struggle with myself when I found out that you were a guy.’

   ‘Why is that?’

   ‘It’s because you’re so cute for a guy. I was questioning my sexuality for the entire day!’

   She blushes when she heard the first part of the sentence.

   ‘How about now? Are you happy that I turned out to be a girl?’

   ‘Yup. Definitely. Guess I’m not a homosexual after all. Not that there’s anything wrong with being homosexual.’

   She chuckles for a bit, and then starts to fidget shyly.

   ‘Actually, I’m very happy too on that regard.’

   ‘That I’m not a homosexual?’

   ‘That too. But most importantly, that I’m a girl. If I’m a boy, it would be more socially unacceptable to fall in love with another boy.’

   ‘Ah, I see. Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with being a boy or being a homosexual. This isn’t the 70s or something, you know. But still, I’m glad that you’re a girl too.’

   Kaoru slowly nods.

   My brain is going overtime to think up of the next thing to say when Kaoru beats me to it.

   ‘Should we continue with our walk?’ she asks.

   ‘Yeah. Sure.’

   While walking around aimlessly, we got accosted by all sorts of people. Or more precisely, they were greeting Kaoru.

   ‘Hello there, Kaoru-chan.’ an old lady greets Kaoru.

   ‘Oh, good morning, Kitakawa-san. How’s your back?’

   ‘Thanks to the ointment you gave me last time, it’s much better.’

   ‘I’m glad to hear it. Please don’t hesitate to ask for more if your back hurts again.’

   ‘I most certainly will. Now I’ll just make myself scarce before I interrupt your…outing for too long.’ she says with a knowing smile and a wink.

   ‘Oh. Um, please take care.’ Kaoru says with a blush on her face.

   Some housewives also came up and have a chat with Kaoru. The topics are nothing of importance: the weather, the food they had for the past few days, their kids. Meanwhile, I’m standing all by myself like a piece of log. I don’t think I can join in the conversation, nor do I want to. Talking to strangers around my age is one thing, talking to people at least ten years older than me is another.

   Next, it’s a bunch of elementary school kids.

   ‘Look, it’s Kaoru onee-chan!’ a little girl squeals to her friends when she saw Kaoru.

   ‘Let’s go say hi!’ a boy says.

   ‘But, they look busy.’ a second girl hesitates. ‘And we’re busy too.’

   ‘It’s fine, it would only take a minute!’ another boy assures the girl.

   They proceed to surround Kaoru. She greets them with a warm smile.

   ‘Good morning to all of you. Are you planning to go somewhere?’ she asks them after hearing what the second girl said.

   ‘Yup, we’re going to the zoo!’ the second boy replies happily.

   ‘Is that so? Well, enjoy your day at the zoo but most importantly, please be safe at all times.’

   ‘Got it~!’ the kids say in unison.

   ‘You have fun with your date too, Kaoru onee-chan!’ the first girl says.

   That somehow made Kaoru flinch and blush. Meanwhile, the two boys are giving me a warning.

   ‘Listen nii-chan, you better give Kaoru onee-chan a good time or you’ll hear it from us.’ the first boy says to me.

   ‘You won’t like us when we’re angry.’ the second boy adds.

   I squat down to look at them at eye level and show them a smile.

   ‘Don’t you boys worry, I’ll be sure to give her an unforgettable memory.’ I assure them.

   ‘Good.’

   ‘You’d better.’

   I slowly stand up.

   ‘Right. Off you kids go to your own date.’

   I was completely joking when I said it, which is why I’m totally surprised from the reaction I got from them.

   ‘A d-d-d-d-d-d-d-date? We’re not going on a date!’ the second boy shouts.

   ‘T-That’s right! We’re just, er, going to have fun together! Nothing else!’ the first boy says in a loud voice.

   I should also mention the fact that their face are completely red. Interestingly, the two girls are fidgeting with tiny blushes on their cheeks.

   I raise up my hands and try my best to keep a straight face.

   ‘Okay, okay. I’ve made a mistake. I’m sorry. No need to get all excited.’

   After some more grumbling the boys finally left, with the two girls following right behind them.

   ‘Kids these days mature so quickly.’ I comment after they’re out of earshot. ‘How old are they exactly? Do you know, Kaoru?’

   ‘Yes, they’re all third graders.’

   ‘...Are you serious? They’re only eight years-old?’

   Wow. Just wow. When I was eight year-old, I barely knew what love was. Heck, no girls even wanted to talk to me way back then, so I was utterly confused whenever I saw a boy and a girl sitting all by themselves and flirting. Anyway, I digress.

   ‘You seem to be quite famous around here.’ I couldn’t help but notice.

   ‘Well, as you already know, I’m the daughter of a yakuza gang leader. They’re probably trying their best not to offend my father through me.’

   I shake my head in disagreement. ‘Not true. Haven’t you notice their expression? All of them were genuinely happy to see you. Trust me, they wouldn’t look as happy if they were afraid of you or just wanted to get on your good side.’

   ‘Excuse me from being blunt, but it seems like you’re speaking from experience, aniki.’

   I recall the time when I was still a nobody and pretty much hated by everyone around the Academy for hanging out with the student council duo and Mashiro like it’s a completely normal thing to do.

   ‘Oh, I am. It’s not as bad now, but I’ve been there.’

   Soon, it’s lunchtime, and I’m getting hungry. Therefore, I suggest for us to go have lunch. Kaoru has no objections to the suggestion.

   ‘You have something you feel like eating, Kaoru?’ I ask her before making a decision.

   ‘Is it okay if we go eat ramen? I know of a good place.’

   ‘Sure.’

   Kaoru brings me to a secluded ramen shop. The place looks old and shabby, and I can barely read the signboard that says ‘Menya Gouki’ on it. Normal people might find this place not to their taste, but ask any ramen connoisseur and they’ll tell you that this kind of place is the one where you get the real good stuff. I mean, if the shop manages to stay open for all these years, it just means that the chefs in there have lots of experiences, right?

   I open the door and let Kaoru goes in first before going in myself. The first thing I noticed is the aroma. It’s very enticing, and my stomach rumbles after my nose processed the smell.

   The shop’s half-full of customers, and it’s being manned by a man who’s probably in his forties, two other chefs and three waitresses.

   The middle-aged man looks up from his cooking and notices Kaoru. He immediately breaks into a huge smile.

   ‘Kaoru! How nice of you to come here!’ he says to Kaoru in a loud voice.

   Kaoru bows at him. ‘Once again, I’m here for your ramen.’

   ‘Come on now! There’s no need to be so formal. You’re a regular here, so there’s no need to act like a stranger.’

   He suddenly notices me.

   ‘Oh, who’s this?’ he asks curiously.

   ‘This is Kagenashi Akira-san. He’ll be my senior starting from next year.’ Kaoru introduces. ‘Ani- I mean senpai, this is Fudou-san. He’s the owner of this ramen place.’

   I bow at him as well. ‘Pleased to make your acquaintance.’

   ‘Hello there! There’s no need to be shy, any friend of Kaoru is a friend of mine! Come come, sit down so that I could serve you.’

   We did as he said and sit down at the counter.

   ‘So Kaoru, the usual?’ Fudou-san asks Kaoru while he serves us glasses of cold water.

   ‘Yes please.’

   ‘And you, senpai-kun?’

   ‘Um, what exactly is the usual for Kaoru?’

   ‘Well, hers is always this shop’s proud tonkotsu soup with normal thickness and hardness ramen with eight pieces of braised pork belly, extra-extra-extra serving of noodles and tower-tall heap of cabbages and bean sprouts. Also, a huge plate of pork dumplings.’

   ‘I’ll have the same ramen, except I want a normal serving of noodles and normal heap of vegetables with two pieces of pork belly. No dumplings for me, please.’

   ‘Got it.’

   He wasn’t kidding about the extra-extra-extra servings of noodles, tower-tall heap of vegetables and the size of the plate that he serves the dumpling on.

   There’s so many noodles inside the bowl they look like they might burst out from it any second, and that’s without the large chunks of pork bellies at the side. Honestly, if the portion of the noodles wasn’t this big I won’t be able to see them at all, since the vegetables are piled so high up it’s probably as tall as Kaoru if we put the bowl on the floor. My bowl of ramen looks tiny compared to it.

   As for the dumplings, I counted fifty of them. That’s enough serving for everyone inside this shop, the staffs included.

   ‘That’s…a lot of food.’ I comment.

   Kaoru looks very embarrassed.

   ‘I’m sorry. Are girls with big appetite repulsing?’

   ‘What? No, of course not. I’m just surprised, that’s all.’

   I suddenly remembered something.

   ‘Wait, you didn’t eat this much when we were on the plane to Italy.’

   ‘Oh, that was because I was so nervous I lost my appetite.’

   ‘I…see. Well, now that our food is here, let’s dig in.’

   ‘Yes.’

   We ate in silence for a good five minutes. I have only finished a quarter of my noodles when I see Kaoru lifting up her bowl from the corner of my eye. Surprised, I turn my neck to take a better look.

   She’s already draining the soup, even though the portion might have taken her at least thirty minutes to finish. I look at the plate that contained the dumplings. Not a single one of them remains.

   ‘Thank you. They were delicious as always.’ Kaoru is saying to Fudou-san.

   ‘No problem! I’m glad you enjoyed them!’

   ‘Sorry, Kaoru. Just give me ten, no, seven more minutes to finish this.’ I say to her while picking up my pace.

   ‘It’s okay, senpai! Please take your time. It would be bad if you choke.’ she quickly says.

   ‘Don’t feel bad about eating slower than her. I mean, she’s pretty much invincible when it comes to eating.’ Fudou-san tells me. ‘After all, she’s been the champion of the eating contest hosted by this shop five times in a row.’

   I stop eating.

   ‘Eating contest?’

   ‘Yup. Hey, Sasaki! Mind bringing the photo album here?’ the shop owner asks one of the waitress.

   ‘Sure thing, chief!’

   The waitress walks to a bookshelf and takes out a thick photo album from it. She then comes over and hands it to me. Fudou-san bends over so that he could flip the pages to the one he wants to show me.

   ‘Now, where are those…Aha! You can start from here.’ he tells me.

   I look through the album. Some of the photos feature Kaoru eating a huge bowl of ramen along with a few other contestants, while others feature her taking picture with an empty bowl, a trophy and some coupons while Fudou-san is standing next to her. Kaoru’s wearing a guy’s clothes in all of them.

   ‘I still remember the first time she came in to my shop and asked permission to join the contest.’ Fodou-san recalls. ‘At the time, I was thinking that there’s no way this scrawny, soft-spoken kid can last long in the contest, so I tried to talk her out of it. But since she persisted, I let her join anyway. Little did I know she would obliterate all the other contestants without even trying. Heck, it’s not even a contest, it’s a one-sided massacre!’

   Kaoru blushes. ‘Please, Fudou-san! You’re just exaggerating!’

   I look at the bowl and huge plate that she emptied in less than ten minutes. ‘Pretty sure he isn’t.’

   ‘However, the surprise continues! One day, the supposedly boy comes inside here while wearing a girl’s clothes and told me that he was a she all along! Can you imagine how surprised I was?’

   I recalled the first time I found out along with Ichika.

   ‘I probably can.’ I reply.

   ‘In fact, it was thanks to senpai here that I could live as a girl.’ Kaoru tells Fudou-san.

   ‘Oh, is that so? Good job, senpai-kun!’

   ‘Honestly, I didn’t do much. All I did was convince her father to treat his daughter like a daughter.’

   ‘Now you’re just being modest! Tell you what, as a reward of doing such a good deed, your meal’s on me!’

   I wanted to decline his offer, but unfortunately he’s having none of it. In the end, the two of us thanked Fudou-san for treating us and left the shop.

   ‘How was the food just now, aniki?’ Kaoru asks.

   ‘It was extremely good. In fact, it might be the best ramen shop I’ve been to.’ I reply from the bottom of my heart.

   Well, I’ve only been to around eight shops in both the real world and this one, including the one I went with Takagi and the gang, but still.

   ‘That’s good to hear. I’ve pretty much visited every single ramen shops in this area, and this one’s my favourite. Plus, they have eating contests too, which is a huge plus for me.’

   ‘Every single ramen shops? Seriously? Is that like a hobby of yours?’

   ‘Pretty much, yes. I have a huge appetite, but I still want to indulge myself with good food while filling my empty stomach. Which is why I took time to try out all kinds of eateries.’

   Wow, talk about dedication. As someone who cooks a lot, I’d probably did the same, except for the fact that I prefer to cook for myself rather than eating out, and the number of my party has grown so much that looking for places that can seat us at the same time is pretty much impossible.

   While we’re still talking, something impossible happened. After eating servings of noodles and dumplings enough to feed five to six people, Kaoru’s stomach makes a rumbling sound. It should be noted that we got out of the shop like ten minutes ago.

   Kaoru covers her face with her hands in embarrassment.

   ‘Please pretend that you didn’t hear it.’ she says with a slightly muffled voice.

   ‘No can do. Come on, let’s find eat some dessert or something.’

   She nods while mumbling her thanks.