A Wonderful Accident (Tobias)

[Shizuko Hongo]

"Nervous, brown eyes scanned the cafeteria, which seemed to be unusually empty. After looking left and right a few times, the blonde young woman stepped through the doors, letting them slam closed behind her. The loud noise made her yelp and stumble over to a table before glancing over her shoulder. She breathed a soft sigh of relief and moved hastily away from the seat she had nearly collided with. It is nice to be in a place that is so quiet, she thought to herself, glancing around before looking at the ground and twirling a lock of blonde hair around her finger. Her roommate was a very nice young lady, but the constant 'ping' of text messages shared between the redhead and her boyfriend nearly drove her to the point of insanity. There were times when she had to retreat to her lab to do homework or glance at her notes. Mutsumi was and nice young woman though, and it was nice to share and room with someone who understood her culture. She shook her head slightly, hearing her stomach growl a moment afterward. Her face lit up in embarrassment, but she kept walking, hoping to find some semi decent food.

After wandering around for a while, she noticed a set of double doors out of the corner of her eye. It had to be the kitchen, there was no doubt about it. She tiptoed over quietly, or as best she could, thanks to the squeaky dress shoes she wore. Oh, how she disliked those shoes and how glad she was to be a senior so that she never had to wear them again. Graduation did not mean freedom, of course, but Shizuko was more than willing to wait for that day. She would be willing to participate in some kind of peaceful demonstration, but the idea of actual war scared her. She feared losing her brother most of all. Thoughts of death aside, there was someone else that had been on her mind recently and she could not figure out why. Maybe it was because he had saved her from the bullies, or maybe it was because of something else, but for some reason, she could not get him out of her mind. What was his name, again...? Oh, Tobias!

While she had been wrapped up in her own thoughts, she had walked into a counter. At first glance, there was nothing bad about doing so; however, a loud clattering sound made her scream in surprise and jump out of the way as more bowls from the counter fell to the floor, creating more and more noise. It would have been fine if she had been alone. Sadly, a sound coming from nearby made her freeze in place and start to sweat a little. She swallowed quietly and bent down to pick up the bowls, one at a time. When she finally finished, she noticed a young man with brown hair and hazel eyes staring at her. Surprise filled her chocolate brown eyes and her face turned a bright red as she stuttered.

"T-tobias-san? G-gomen! I-I didn't mean to d-disturb you..."

[Tobias Fordson]

        Very light rustling could be heard coming from the kitchen adjoining the cafeteria as Tobias rummages through the cupboards looking for ingredients. In the past few days, he found it increasingly difficult to find things in here, as the staff tended to misplace ingredients. Heaven forbid somebody know what they're doing around here. He had already found some students other than him do what they could to make food, a most daunting task, given the condition of the kitchen. They never fail to make this place a sty when they're done, that's for sure. He let out a long sigh of relief when he got the last of his ingredients together.

        Tobias quickly set himself to making up his lunch for the day. His mind tended to wander to his other projects, such as his novel writing or making up other recipes. But right now, an entirely different thought was blanketing his mind. That thought was of the blonde-haired girl he met just recently. He figured it was nothing important getting those bullies to back off of her, but for some reason, he just couldn't stop thinking of her. He was so focused on her that he didn't realize he was making the meal he offered to make her for taking up her time. Shizuko.... there's just something about her... and those eyes...

        His mind quickly snapped back into reality at the sound of a set of bowls crashing onto the ground. He let out a very quiet yelp, hoping he didn't accidentally leave something where he shouldn't have. With a very quiet breath, he wiped his hands off and slowly walked over to pick up whatever had fallen when he gazed upon the figure that caused the commotion. There, kneeling at the ground and already picking up the bowls on the ground, was the same blonde-haired girl from before. He wanted to say something, wanted to go over to her and help her, but for all that he could muster, he just sat there staring at her. His mind and heart both began to race at the very sight of her.

        

"T-tobias-san? G-gomen! I-I didn't mean to d-disturb you..."

        The words she spoke sent him crashing back into reality. He really had been staring at her all this time, and the very thought caused his features to darken heavily from blushing. All at once, his body wanted to run in fear, but nonetheless, he found an equally, if not stronger, desire to stay there. To talk to her, which was just as equally confusing to him.

        "S-Shizuko? I n-n-never expected to see you here... OH! Here, let me h-help with that."

        He quickly rushed over to her and helped her off the ground before working with her to place the bowls on the counter. He quickly shifted away shyly when done, feeling his face warm more as he stayed around her. He very carefully shifted his bangs away to clear his face before he spoke up again.

        "H-hey... you w-wouldn't happen to be h-hungry, would you? Because, i-if so, then y-you're in luck. I just h-happen to be making some Y-Yakitori Grilled Chicken and.... Ummm... I had p-planned to make this f-for you in the f-first place, so... maybe y-you would like to... if p-possible... if y-you'd like to help....

        Unable to force any more words, he shyly waved a hand off to where he was preparing the meal, his eyes keeping low but aimed towards her as intermittent glances shot up to her face, his features blushing at every glance.

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko had not heard the rustling sounds when she had entered the kitchen. All she had been focused on was finding something already prepared so that she could put it in the oven or microwave. Well, that is, until the giant stack of bowls decided to go clattering to the floor. She had been hoping to herself the entire time that no one else was in the kitchen, so they could not witness her display of clumsiness. Of course, when she had realized that she was not alone, she had once again hoped that the person who had seen her was not the young man she had previously been thinking about. Just after the bowls made impact with the floor, she heard a soft noise and she hoped that it was just a cook that she had startled. She picked up the bowls rapidly, trying to shove them onto the counter before the other person discovered her. Sadly, she was unable to because Tobias had discovered her before she could. His words startled her, despite the fact that she knew he was standing there and she squeaked and dropped the bowls again. She felt her face warm even more as she picked up the scattered metal objects once more, blinking in surprise as a hand was offered to her. She placed her free hand in his with a shy look on her face as he helped her up and she made sure that the bowls actually reached the counter. After finishing the task, she turned to face him and bowed, thanking him softly in her own language before straightening herself.

“A-ah? I-I was just h-hungry and I c-came in to g-get some…”

It was then that the blonde’s brown eyes shifted to the counter, which seemed prepared to cook some kind of chicken-based dish. The only reason she knew it was because she could see the raw chicken wrapped up in plastic wrap on a cutting board. His words brought her attention back to him and she suddenly noticed the stray blonde hairs hanging in front of her face and quickly cleared them to see him better. The offer came as quite a surprise to her. She blinked a little, unsure of what to say. She hoped that he did not think she was some kind of chef or anything; it was quite the opposite, actually. Shizuko had not cooked anything before. What need was there, when her parents had hired chefs for the family? The only time her mother cooked was when she felt like having Yakitori Grilled Chicken, which happened to be the only non-vegetarian meal Shizuko would eat. Whenever she had offered to help prepare it, though, her mother had refused, seeing as it went against the family’s logic. The young woman did not understand her parents; they wanted to be traditional, yet, they wanted to live like Westerners. She had insisted time and time again that they could not be both. The shy, yet hopeful look on Tobias’s face made her feel guilty for getting lost in her own thoughts and she nodded a little, smiling shyly.

“H-hai. I-I mean, y-yes, I-I am hungry. I-I would l-love to help you. I-It is the l-least I-I can d-do t-to r-repay y-your k-kindness.”

With that, Shizuko shuffled over to the sink to wash her hands. She was tempted to splash her face with water, but she supposed it was so warm that the water would just evaporate. Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest and even though she felt nervous, she could not help but smile a little. Somehow, the situation was exciting, though, she did not understand why. She had never needed to company of others; yet, she wanted to be in the company of this young man. As the soap suds built up on her hands, she wondered what the feeling was and pondered over it until the last bit of white disappeared down the drain. She shook her head a little and pulled her hair all the way back, just to make sure nothing but unevenly cut hairs framed her face. She stepped over to the counter, glancing over at Tobias and smiling shyly.

“O-Okay. W-what d-do y-you want me to d-do n-now?”

[Tobias Fordson]

        This situation was one Tobias was utterly confused by. Here he was, socially inept and more shy than a great number of the populace of the world. And yet, he was standing there asking for this girl's assistance in preparing lunch. Was it out of social pressure that his behavior changed so rapidly? Perhaps he had contracted some unknown fever or sickness. What if he was enamored over the sight of this beautiful blonde? The last thought irked his logical side and he shook his head rapidly. What would make him think that in the first place? He thought he could bed down the noting completely when he heard her solemn voice respond. His kindness? Nobody ever said that to him. All except the possibility of his foster parents. The only two people who actually cared about what Tobias thought and felt since that day... that horrible, fateful day.

        This girl's very demeanor and politeness seemed to gnaw away at him as she shifted over to the sink and washed up. It was his intention to go back to the counter right away, but at that moment, he became mesmerized by Shizuko's presence. It wasn't her silky hair or her chocolate-colored eyes... it was her. Just her alone caused an unknown rush to his heart and breath, though he kept the latter hidden. The thought of working so close to her was oddly exciting and brought out an extremely soft smile. On the inside, he questioned the source of this excitement, but that part of him subsided shortly after. As she shook her head, his own head finally cleared up and he cleared his throat, attempting to disguise the excessive amount of staring he was doing.

        He quickly shuffled to the counter to start making the necessary preparations when she stepped to the counter just a couple feet from him. The sudden proximity caused him to blush very slightly, though he blinked a few times before finally catching her words and responding.

        "W-well... we s-should s-split up and w-work on d-different t-things... h-here..." He pulled a fresh bowl and some seasonings from the tray he had them arranged on and slid them to her before bringing. "W-why don't y-you w-work on t-the s-sauce for the c-chicken and I g-get the c-chicken i-itself prepared? T-the r-recipe book is o-over t-there if y-you n-need it."

        Feeling oddly happy about the scene, he gave her a quick nod and a soft, shy smile before pulling the chicken to him and opening up the package it was in, going through the motions of preparing the meat for the sauce Shizuko was making. Yet again, his mind drifted to her absently, though the only indicator was his eyes were slightly off of watching his actions, his body somehow autonomously cutting up and preparing the chicken with no issue. What was of more importance is how much her presence distracted his mind. He absolutely couldn't stop thinking of her, to the point that he was completely absorbed in the worrying how she thought of him. Was he being too commanding or pushy? Maybe he wasn't talking loudly enough to be understood well. What if she had just been putting on an act because his offer and behavior was off-setting but she was too polite to say anything. When he quickly came to, he realized he had already finished the bag he started with and the second one too boot, with Shizuko simply staring at him. His face flushed brightly and he shrunk slightly in place.

        "I-I-I'm s-sorry t-t-to keep you w-waiting... P-p-please, f-forgive m-m-me."

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko was confused herself. She normally avoided social interactions at all costs. Her mind was telling her to run far, far away from the situation at hand. He muscles seemed to rebel against her brain, though, and made her stay. What was affecting her so much that she felt the need to stay? Was she staying because she wanted to or because she felt like she had to? Why were those eyes that seemed to be filled with such loneliness and a small amount of happiness making her feel so unusual? Had she gotten sick and not realized it? Why did the mere sight of the young man make her heart flutter like a trapped bird in a cage? She shook her head, closing her eyes and refusing the thought that was trying to escape float into her consciousness. She focused her attention on Tobias, who seemed to be lost in thought and slightly surprised by her words. The expression on her face fell and became apologetic almost immediately. She had clearly done something to offend him, and she did not want him to be unhappy or displeased with her. She bowed slightly and apologized again, the blood rushing to her cheeks as she straightened up. His continued staring worried her and she gently waved her hand in front of his face to see if he was still conscious. She cleared her throat softly and started tugging at the stray strands of blonde hair that hung around her face. She started to nervously bite the skin off her chapped lips as she let go of her hair. After a few moments, she spoke up very softly, so soft, in fact, that she was sure Tobias barely heard her.

“T-Tobias-san, d-daijoubu? A-are you alright?”

Shizuko could almost feel him staring at her, which made her feel slightly self-conscious. Her uniform was probably a mess from crawling around on the floor to pick up bowls. Her hair was probably all over the place thanks to her frantic, clumsy antics earlier. She probably looked like a complete mess, and yet she felt his eyes on her. Maybe… She shook her head. There was no logical reason to jump to conclusions. He was probably just making sure she was okay. Yes, she was almost sure of it. She tried to ignore her pounding heart and slightly quickened breath as she dried her hands and scurried over to the counter. She tried to keep the feelings that were hiding just under the surface under control by smiling shyly and taking the tasks she was assigned. Before she even touched the bowl of seasoning, she pulled the book closer, making sure she was able to read it clearly. Learning English had been much easier, thanks to her enhanced intelligence, but the way some things were phrased in the book confused her. The sentences were not even complete; they were fragments. She supposed this might be how literature for cooking was written, but it was very irritating to her. Nevertheless, she followed the instructions and made the sauce, pausing every once in a while to marvel at Tobias’s skill. After she was finished, she pushed the bowl further onto the counter to make sure it did not fall off and spoke to Tobias softly.

“G-gomen for interrupting you, b-but y-you’re v-very talented…”

Her face lit up a bright red as she whipped back around, trying to find something else to focus her attention on. Had she really just said that aloud? What was wrong with her? Why did she feel like she was losing her wits all of a sudden? His apology reached her ears and she shook her head, as if to indicate there was nothing wrong. She waved her hands in front of her, trying to find the words to say before stuttering them out as a blush consumed her face.

“N-no, it’s a-alright! U-Um, w-what can I d-do f-for you n-now?”

[Tobias Fordson]

        Tobias didn't know entirely how to react to this situation. He only knew 2 things. Firstly, he needed to focus on getting the lunch made so that he wouldn't make any more blunders. Secondly, he found it increasingly more difficult to focus at all for whatever reason. Every moment near her made his heart flutter and skip. Every glance at her made him lose all focus and just stare at her... why did he stare at her? It was like some sort of spell was fixed upon her that made everything else less important. But that was ridiculous. Magic wasn't real... Though, many things that acted like magic were obviously real, or this place wouldn't exist to begin with. Maybe... no, she couldn't have some sort of power like that. She was far too shy for something of that nature.

        "Ahh.... w-well... umm.... L-let's see h-here... Maybe...

        With all his effort, he tried to distract himself with finishing up with making food. He looked over and noticed that Shizuko had finished the sauce for the Yakitori, deciding to look it over carefully. Taking a nearby spoon, he dabbed some of the sauce on his finger and tasted it, ensuring it was the consistency and flavor they went for. It turned out that Shizuko had made the sauce perfectly. The flavor of the sauce danced on his tongue wildly, making note that it fit the recipe to the tee.

        "W-well, the sauce is p-perfect. It f-fits the f-flavor the r-recipe c-called f-for exactly. I s-s-suppose that w-we should s-start cooking, then..."

        Immediately, he began to direct her through getting the skewers arranged as he marinated a few pieces and handed them to her along with the pre-cut vegetables for the meal. Every ounce of him was trying its hardest not to think about her. It wasn't because he hated thinking of her... it was far from that. More than anything, he didn't want to appear distasteful or unthinking. To ensure nothing happened, he didn't once glance at her. He couldn't afford to. If he did, he would probably stare again. After a long time, they finally finished arranging the skewers and set them on a rack before trailing to the nearby oven. A normal chef would have preheated the oven, but Tobias had learned first-hand that the equipment here worked overly efficiently. With just a minute of waiting, the oven was fully ready for the meal in hand.

        "H-here. Now we j-just need to set this in here... a-and there. N-now w-we just s-set the timer a-and w-wait."

        He let out a small sigh of contentment and stepped back to watch the chicken broil. Shizuko had moved to settle nearby somewhere, but he didn't know exactly where until he glanced over and saw she was right next to him. He snapped back to watching the chicken, begging his mind to not blank out as it had before. He kept focused, or at least he thought he had, until his mind wandered once again. The thought this time was one of doubt. He had so suddenly and without obvious provocation completely blocked out looking at her. Would she find him cold and untrusting? Or was this what she wanted? But, more importantly, why was this so important to him? There was absolutely no indication that it should be, Yet he cared more about how she thought of him than he did of himself. The wandering thoughts had stayed until the timer rang out and he gasped slightly before noticing something soft in his hand. He glanced down to it and saw that him and Shizuko had been holding each other's hand while they waited.

        His heart flew wildly at the realization. When had it happened? And, more importantly... why did it feel ok? In his nervousness, he slowly looked up at her and stared into her eyes again. He wanted to say something, but as he opened his mouth, nothing but jumbled syllables came out for a moment. At this point, his face was completely red and he slid away from here the very moment she let go of him, turning his attention to the chicken to ensure they didn't burn, using some mitts to pulled the chicken onto the top of the oven.

        "S-s-s-silly m-m-me... I-I-I almost f-f-forgot a-a-about t-this..."

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko did not have the ability to read minds, but she was almost sure that Tobias was quite distracted. They way he held himself and the expression that she could (partially) see on his face “gave him away, so to speak. She did not bring attention to it, however, and decided to focus on following the recipe and making the sauce as he had asked her to. She kept her focus on her task until she finished. She saw Tobias approaching her and basically jumped out of the way so he could taste the sauce. Hearing that the sauce was just as the recipe called for made Shizuko blush even more; he had inadvertently complimented her without realizing it. She bowed her head slightly forward in thanks, noting the stray blonde hairs that fell in front of her face. She stood back up and brushed the hairs aside, listening to what Tobias said before speaking herself.

“T-that s-sounds l-like a g-good i-idea…”

After letting the chicken marinade for a few minutes, Shizuko helped Tobias assemble the skewers. The chicken was slimy against her fingers, but it smelled delicious, thanks to the sauce that she had assembled by herself. She was still slightly surprised by the fact that Tobias was letting her help. He could probably tell that she had never cooked before and yet, he was letting her help him make lunch. She supposed it might have been because he had promised her they day he saved her from the awful bullies that had been chasing her, even though deep down, she was sure there was another reason. She shook her head as pink covered her cheeks once more and focused her mind on her work instead of overanalyzing the young man handing her bright colored vegetables and slimy pieces of cut up chicken. She was grateful when Tobias placed trays on the counter so that she did not have to hold the increasing number of skewers in her brown-stained fingers. She watched him as he deftly picked up the trays and placed them in the oven. She wondered why he did not hit the ‘preheat’ button before they had started assembling the food, but she supposed he knew what he was doing.

“O-okay. I-it s-smells delicious a-already. A-arigatou, for letting me help...”

Red once again consumed her face as she stuttered the words to him. She was grateful to him, not only for letting her help, but for being so kind. Sure, other people had been kind to her in the past, but that was because they had to be. Her parents owned a major company, and many of the people she went to school with back in Japan had parents who worked at her parents’ company. The other people were nice to her because they knew she had been very sick as a child and thought that she would die any day, even though it became less likely as she grew older. She leaned her back against the counter, noting that Tobias was close to her. Instead of requesting him to step aside, though, she let him stand where he was, not wanting to be rude. She glanced over at him occasionally, shifting only her milk chocolate eyes to the side to glance at his face before looking back at the floor. He looked so relaxed and comfortable, despite the clear stutter that he had when he spoke to her. Her mind started to drift and she let it, though she was quickly snapped back to reality when the oven timer buzzed. She squeaked and tried to cover her mouth with her hand, only to realize that Tobias must have accidentally (or purposely) covered her hand with his own. They seemed to stare at each other for some time, trying to stutter out words and not finding any, before stepping away from each other and disconnecting their hands. Why is my heart racing so fast? I didn’t run, she thought to herself, watching as Tobias scurried over to the oven to snatch the chicken out before it burned. She looked at the ground again, wondering who had taken who’s hand first and what it meant. She did not understand what it meant. After a few moments of letting herself recover, Shizuko scurried around the kitchen to find some plates to put the food on.

“H-here. L-let me s-set these u-up. Y-you’ve d-done enough w-work a-already.”

After assembling the plates, Shizuko carried them out to the cafteria, placing them on a nearby table. She then went back into the kitchen to retrieve Tobias and brought him out the to table. She then walked back into the kitchen to quickly boil a pot of rice, noting that it did not take very long to do so. This raised a few questions in the back of her mind, but she focused on her task. When the rice was done, she strained the pot and grabbed the oven mitts Tobias had abandoned earlier to lift the pot and put the rice in a different container that she had found lying around. She brought out the rice and a spoon and placed as close to an equal amount on each plate as she could get. She then sat down across the table from Tobias, a small blush spread across her cheeks as she picked up the skewer and started to eat the chicken and vegetables, smiling at the taste. It reminded her a lot of home, though she was not quite sure if she missed it or not. After all, she was able to see her brother a lot and she might have made a new friend, as odd as the thought sounded. She looked up at Tobias, swallowing before smiling sweetly at him.

“A-ariagtou for t-the m-meal. I-it’s delicious. A-and g-gomen for r-running off. M-my family a-always has this d-dish with r-rice, s-so…”

[Tobias Fordson]

        Anxious: That was the only word that could describe his feelings right now. It was so very confusion to him. Why is it that his one outlet in life, his cooking, was so suddenly an almost stress inducing task? Why is it that the inclusion of one person was so significant that it could cause a mind-numbing amount of slip-ups. Why did her presence, her looks, and her very touch cause such upheaval with his mind and body? There were so many questions to ask, and none of them were good ones to be asked. Hopefully, Tobias thought, nothing more would happen and they could just finish cooking and be done with this. At least, that was the plan before he found himself holding her hand. He was almost speechless, and if it wasn't for the fact the food was getting close to burning, he wouldn't have broken away, it seemed. His mind and body seemed to get worse and worse with whatever was happening as each incident occured, but now it wasn't just distracted thoughts. His heart pumped quickly, as if adrenaline was blasting through his body, and his head felt light. The worst part of all of it? He liked it. In fact, he wanted it. He didn't know if that was good or if he was going delusional. Why want the feeling of your heart almost exploding in your chest and your mind going fuzzy? Fuzzy... was that even the proper definition?

        Tobias couldn't answer that himself, and in his light-headed stupor, he failed to notice Shizuko wander about gathering things. When he finally calmed enough to show stable thought, she walked back in and offered to finish the preparations herself. What struck him as odd wasn't the fact that she offered to do so; It was the fact that he accepted the offer with but a nod, being led out to the table that Shizuko had prepared. It was very generous of her to do this, but it was odd for her to run off like that. Wasn't the meal done? Or had she decided to make something else? That had to have been the case, but he payed no heed to it. He couldn't, try as he might have wanted to. She was literally the only thing on his mind. He began to wonder why it was that someone like this was so important that his own mind disobeyed his rational thought. Maybe this was an indication of a friendship being made? Yes, that had to be it. That had to be the case, even though a small part of him said that this wasn't how he acted when he had made friends before. When Shizuko returned, Tobias spied that she had boiled up a helping of rice for them a kind gesture indeed, though the reason was unclear until she spoke. The shy, sweet smile she had made him blush slightly.

        "O-oh... I-it was not a p-problem. I-I am glad y-you are e-enjoying it. A-a-and that w-was still ve-very kind of y-you to do..."

        Tobias' own face pricked up into a shy smile as they continued to eat, enjoying the fact that the meal was absolutely delicious. Now he was sure he was going crazy. He would glance up to her as they ate, blushing almost every time as they seemed to always lock eyes for a second. However, after the first few times, they started to giggle lightly... Tobias had never giggled, not even as a child, so why was he doing so now? Why was she returning the gesture? And, why did they both seem to enjoy doing so? He couldn't make up his mind the reason why, and simply left the thought where it was, figuring he'd be able to answer it at a later time. As they finished, he nodded to her before gathering their dishes, nodding to her and speaking with a shy tone and equally shy expression..

        "Th-thank you f-for all y-your help... I'm g-g-glad the food was d-d-delicious. I'll s-see to the plates, t-though I w-wouldn't be a-a-against you h-helping."

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko was not an expert by any means in the field of interpersonal communication. In fact, that was one of the areas that her gifted intelligence lacked in. She was not a mind reader by any means, either; however, she could clearly tell that something was odd about Tobias. She did not know him very well, but she was almost sure that he was quite nervous and unsettled. She wondered why. Was it her presence that made him uncomfortable? She could not be entirely sure, though. What surprised her more than his odd attitude was the fact that, somehow, her hand ended up in the grasp of his. She herself had no idea how it had happened. One moment, her hand was dangling by her side and, the next, it had somehow drifted in his direction. She wondered if it was merely a subconscious draw, which would make sense. What did not make sense, though, was why the drift was occurring? Was there something about him that made her want to be close to him? Was it because she wanted to be friends with him? She tilted her head in thought while he fetched food from the oven. She wondered what was going on with herself, and why her hand suddenly felt cold. She supposed it could have been from the mere fact that her hand was cooling down after contact with a warmer surface, said surface being his hand. She could not explain the odd feelings she was experiencing, and it frustrated her greatly. Instead of broadcasting it for him to show, though, she quickly composed herself, despite the small blush on her cheeks and her heart, which seemed to beating faster than normal for some reason.

When she had been speaking of setting up, she was referring to setting the table. Whenever her mother cooked, that was always her responsibilty. It was another subtle reminder of home, even though there was only two plates as opposed to four. She wondered idly if she should have invited her brother to this lunch as well. Upon thinking over it a second time, though, she decided against asking Tobias about it. The last thing she wanted was her brother assuming she was dating the young man in front of her. The very thought made her want to scoff out loud at the ridiculous notion. She and Tobias were merely friends and nothing more, and she did not want there to be anything more. A small voice in the back of her head tried to press the idea, but she silenced it by focusing on eating. The voice, after being ignored for some time, decided to nag her about rice and she quickly excused herself to make it. While it was cooking, she was hoping that he did not perceive her as rude for just getting up and doing something in the middle of a meal. She would have been scolded at home if she did such a thing, that was for certain. She tried to come back rather rapidly without burning herself. After doling out the rice, she sat back down and continued to eat. His thanks brought her head and her chocolate brown eyes up to his face. She swallowed the food in her mouth as a blush spread across her face and she responded quietly to his thanks.

“I-it’s n-not a problem, T-tobias-san. R-rice is v-very common w-with J-japanese d-dishes. I-I guess y-you c-could s-say i-it reminds m-me of h-home.”

Shizuko could not help that the small smile on her face stayed. She was starting to feel a little more comfortable with what she was feeling. She tried to focus all of her energy on eating though, just so it would not be clear that she was looking up at him from under her eyelashes. The blush on her face probably gave her away to anyone that was watching, though. His giggling caused soft giggles to bubble up from her own throat. She was tempted to cover her mouth with her hand, but she could not, since she was eating the rice that was on her plate. As they finished eating, she helped him round up the dishes and bring them to the kitchen. She started to wash them, responding to his statement after she started washing the dishes in the sink.

"T-the least I could do is h-help you... A-after a-all, y-you w-were so k-kind to m-make this m-meal f-for me..."

[Tobias Fordson]

        Tobias was not one to let things get out of hand. He was more prone to keeping everything safe, secure, and unchanging. These were all things that didnt seem to describe the happenstance meeting he had with Shizuko today. He had kept a mental record of every "accident" he incurred during his time with her, the most recent being the hand holding. That's not how friends behave... they don't suddenly have a subconscious desire to be close with their friends. That's just not how it works. The fact that he considered her a friend was, in itself, an amazing feat. Tobias had no friends since he was 9, having moved away from his hometown and, by extension, the only friends he had. Oddly, though, the constant spattering of giggles didn't bother him to be noted as an "accident". Internally, Tobias wondered why this was the case, but pushed the notion away from his mind as the two walked in with the dishes. The two made it to the large sink and began washing the dishes forthwith, seeming to coordinate in an unspoken manner, though he did apologize for needing to be so close to help. He did hope he wasn't making any mistakes, though. He really disliked messing up at all, especially after he had so many blunders today alone. That list did populate quite a bit more as they continued, do to the accidental bumps and brushes between their hands evoked a great deal of blushing on his part. Each time they bumped into each other, his resistance to the rush of being near her weakened more and more, his heart racing continually until they finally finished.

        Even after finishing the dishes, Tobias kept his hand in the soapy pool of water that formed in the sink. He couldn't bring himself to move away, to look about, or to even speak. He simply stood beside her, hands slightly playing with the suds that covered the water. The moment seemed to slow down, almost as if the world was pausing itself so they could stand there, the fact of which brought up a question that worried him more than he figured it should have: Did she really enjoy their lunch? It was easy enough to fake the notion, but regardless, it shouldn't have mattered as much as it did to him. He quickly thought back on the entirety of their encounter... and it occurred to him that, if she didn't really enjoy their meeting today, she hid it very well. No, that was a silly thought he mused. After all they did, acted like, and said, she absolutely must have enjoyed the lunch. He blinked as he could feel his hand, acting of it's own will seemingly, slid through the water to her hand to hold onto it. He was frightened and tried to fight back the action, but after a while, he simply accepted it. Part of him truly wanted to hold her hand, and so, he gave in. The warmth of her hand made the water they used seem ice cold, though he wondered if his hand felt the same way to her as hers did to him. He glanced up slowly, following her arm up to her shoulder, then along her neck until he looked her straight in the face and gave a small, genuine smile before speaking very softly to her.

        "I.... I r-really appreciate h-having this... o-opportunity to cook and e-eat lunch with y-you. And... t-this might sound s-silly, but..." His eyes averted slightly from her face as he began to have doubt surface in whether or not he should continue. However, his body gave an audible gulp as he glanced back to her, an unseen source of courage surfacing to push him. "I'd.... r-really like to do this a-again... O-or anything, f-for that m-matter..."

        The moment would only last a while longer before they finally parted their hands and gathered their things, putting away the ingredients and utensils in their proper places before turning to each other. Somehow, it was very sad to know they were parting, even if it would only be for a short time. Tobias was the first to walk out and away, though not without some effort on his part. Before she lost sight of him, he turned back to her and gave her a soft, warm smile before turning back to head to his class, having luckily had finished their meal to give him just enough time to be punctual. Tobias could already tell he was going to have a very long day ahead of him, but thankfully, he had a very memorable lunch to keep him going until the end of such a day.

[Shizuko Hongo]

Things had been more and more unpredictable for the blonde young woman, lately. There was always going to be uncertainty, especially on an island full of unsupervised, super-powered teenagers. What surprised her the most, though, was the fact that she had made a friend so quickly. Of course, it was not like she had any issues with trust or anything. It was more along the lines of driving pretty much everyone her own age away with her odd hobbies and extremely shy attitude. Yet, here she was, making a friend, for better or for worse. She let a small smile cross her lips; it was nice to say that she had a friend. She had been alone for the past few years and it was nice to have a companion, even if she did not see him every day. Just glancing at Tobias made her aware that he was deep in thought. She was tempted to ask him what he was thinking about, but she did not want to be rude or intrusive. After all, no one liked a nosy friend, right? She shook her head a little and helped him carry the plates to the kitchen. She started running the water and poured soap in said water, watching the suds bubble up. For some reason, she was tempted to playfully throw suds at him or smear them across his cheek, but she did not know why. To get the thoughts out of her mind, she focused on making sure the water level was not too high. When the sink was finally full enough, they stood side-by-side while washing the dishes, constantly bumping elbows and brushing hands within the watery-soapy content of the sink A small blush was spread across her cheeks due to all of this, but she did not really seem to mind much.

After the dishes were finished, Shizuko felt the need to ‘hang around’ the sink because Tobias was doing so. She too decided to play with some soap suds, giggling as bubbles drifted up as if to greet her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a look of disappointment on his face, which confused her a little bit. Why did he look so upset? What had she done to make him like that? Without her realizing it, her hand slowly drifted toward his under the water. She was almost relieved when his hand slipped over hers, though her face turned a bright red color. That was the second time they had held hands that day; were their bodies trying to tell them something their minds were not understanding? She shook her head a little; no, that was just silly. She felt his eyes on her and lifted her head, turning it so that she was facing him as he spoke. Her voice was soft, but loud enough for him to here. There was a smile on her lips as she spoke shyly.

“I-I a-a-apreciate it t-too… Y-you’ve h-helped me f-feel a l-little m-more w-welcome here. A-arigatou. I-I would l-like to d-do something l-like t-this again.”

The moment he let go of her hand was the moment she realized how cold the water was. She quickly yanked the plugs out of the sink and dried off the dishes, replacing everything in the correct cabinets. She let out a restrained sigh as he walked away without any notion of goodbye. She flicked off the lights and headed out toward the dining hall itself when she saw his small wave. She could not help a smile from breaking out across her face and returning the wave, even though she was not entirely sure what it meant. She glanced at the clock on one of the walls and nodded to herself. She had a little bit of time before she needed to be in the classroom. For a few moments, she ran over the entire situation in her head, wondering if there was more than she was thinking about. After a second or two, she let out a soft scoff and shook her head, taking a seat in her classroom. The very notion of whatever she was thinking of was just silly.