The dine-in space at Tenderness Mojikō-Koganemura was fully kitted out. There were five counter seats with a view of the street outside, and two four-top tables. On each of these was a small vase for a seasonal flower—currently sunflowers—and a box of napkins. At one end of the room was a hot-water dispenser for tea, and a toaster, along with a rubbish bin. There was talk among the building residents of installing a television in the room as well. Fidgeting in a seat at one end of the counter, Mitsuri stared out the window, oblivious to all else.
The sun had completely set, and a cream-colored moon hung in the sky. A gentle night breeze flowed in through the open doors. Mitsuri fiddled with her phone, killing time, her eyes focused blindly on the screen.
“Oh!”
As Mitsuri’s gaze swept the scene outside for what seemed like the hundredth time, her face brightened. A familiar mini-truck had pulled slowly into the car park. In the back of the truck were a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner, and Nomiya’s motorbike. The heavily bearded driver noticed Mitsuri watching him and raised a hand. Next to him she could see Nomiya, head sagging.
She jumped up and ran toward the little truck. “Oh, you found him! Thank you!” As he exited the truck, Tsugi’s big beard split into a toothy grin.
“He was making a face like he was going to die, but he didn’t!”
When Mitsuri had called Tsugi, she asked him if he could find a missing person, and he had replied simply, “Of course.” In fact, he had added, it was his specialty.
Mitsuri told him she wanted him to look for Nomiya, and he quickly replied, “Ah, the muscly part-timer,” as if he understood. He had shown no interest in the staff, so she hadn’t thought he would actually grasp the situation at all.
“He was so mad at himself that he panicked and disappeared on his motorbike,” Mitsuri had explained. “I’m afraid something awful could happen to him. Can I ask you to look for him?”
Tsugi was silent for a moment, as if he was considering. “Got it,” he replied. “Where are you calling from now? Ah, Tenderness, as usual. Okay, can you wait there, please? I’ll bring him as soon as possible.”
“Oh, is that…are you sure?”
“I told you, I’m good at this.”
He had seemed confident, but she never expected him to find Nomiya so quickly. “I’m glad you’re safe.” She smiled at Nomiya as he clambered out of the truck.
“Sorry,” he replied in a faint, embarrassed voice, hanging his head. “Mitsuri, you should be home at this hour. It’s my fault you’re not.”
“I already went home. I made dinner and came back, so it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” She smiled at the young man’s concern for her, even at a time like this, and continued. “You must be hungry. I’d really like to take you somewhere to eat, but Phero—um, the manager will be coming back soon. So let’s wait for him in the dine-in space and I’ll get you something from the store.”
When she had contacted Shiba to let him know what was going on, he’d told her to have some food and wait there for him. Regarding Nomiya’s disappearance, he wanted to know whom she had called for help. He seemed surprised at the answer. Shiba said he had always figured the two of them would meet at some point, but, well, what timing! Anyway, from what he knew, the guy would find Nomiya quickly enough, no doubt, so she had made the right choice, but well, hmm…She got the feeling somehow that Shiba would rather not have involved Tsugi.
I wonder what’s up between those two? Curiouser and curiouser. Beating back the devil that was starting to dance in the corner of her mind, Mitsuri smiled at Tsugi. “Would you join us, Mr. Whatever Guy? It’s on the house, courtesy of the manager.”
“As I said, call me Tsugi. And thanks, I suppose I can’t say no to that.” His tone was a little informal but added nothing to her knowledge of him. And the way he added, “Actually, I’m pretty hungry,” and patted his belly was quite normal, not strange at all.
“Nomiya, why don’t you wait in the dine-in area while I get some food? How about the pork cutlet bowl? That seems to be your favorite lately.”
Nomiya shook his head. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
“But you hardly touched your lunch. You should eat something.” Usually he could put away as many as three servings in a flash. Won’t his muscles wither away if he misses a couple of meals? she wondered.
“But I don’t want to eat—”
“How about a sandwich? Pasta salad?”
If he eats just a bite, it could jump-start his appetite. Mitsuri suggested everything that she could think of, but Nomiya wouldn’t yield.
“Why don’t I just go get a few things?” Tsugi, who had been watching the exchange from the sidelines, broke in. “You talk to the kid. I’ll buy the food.”
“Okay, but…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. We’ll settle up the bill later. Okay, Mitsu?”
With that, Tsugi disappeared into the main store with his lopsided, easygoing gait.
“He’s a strange one, isn’t he?” Nomiya said under his breath. “I was sitting in Mekari Park, not thinking anything, just staring out at the ocean, when he came right up to me just as if he knew exactly where I’d be. He said, ‘Mitsuri is waiting for you, so it’s time to go.’ ”
Mekari Park was famous in the area for its beautiful nighttime views, but how in the world had Tsugi known the young man would be there? It was unbelievable, Mitsuri agreed, nodding, but at the same time, the devil of curiosity was dancing around like crazy on her shoulder as she wondered about Tsugi. Mitsu? He called me Mitsu. Isn’t that a little too intimate?
She was sitting across from Nomiya at one of the four-tops in the dine-in area when Tsugi returned, carrying a large plastic bag in each hand. “I’ve got food!” he said cheerily. “I bought a ton. Shopping with other people’s money is the best!”
He flopped down next to Nomiya and started pulling all sorts of food from the bags, one item after the next. There was a large peperoncino pasta and an assortment of sausages—two of each. There was a spaghetti carbonara and a katsudon, breaded pork cutlets with egg over rice. A container of kimchi, a ham-and-cheese sandwich, piled high with lettuce, and some soft-boiled eggs. There were three servings each of crème caramel pudding and dorayaki, sponge-cake sandwiches stuffed with red-bean filling and whipped cream.
“Right! Now we eat!”
Mitsuri couldn’t help but smile at his giddy high spirits. He sounded like a child with all his favorite foods laid out before him.
“Don’t hold back, Mr. Tsugi. You must be hungry!”
“Okay then, let’s dig in. You there, which do you want?” He turned to Nomiya, but when Nomiya shook his head, Tsugi reached for the spaghetti carbonara. He also broke open the sausage assortment and topped the pasta with them, and on top of those he placed a soft-boiled egg.
“A meal fit for a king. That’s happiness.”
With a smile, Tsugi happily laid into the food. He dunked the sausage in the sauce and ate it, inhaled some of the pasta, stopping halfway through to gently break the soft-boiled egg he had added to the dish. “Umm, good,” he murmured, munching on pasta coated in bright yellow egg yolk.
“You enjoy eating, don’t you?” Mitsuri said, watching Tsugi eat with gusto, and he nodded between bites.
“The greatest pleasure in life is to eat good food while talking about how good it is.”
He polished off the carbonara and reached for the peperoncino. Watching Tsugi enjoy his meal, Mitsuri began to feel hungry, even though she had eaten a light dinner while she was home. She reached for a pudding, since there were three of those.
“Nomiya, please have something, too.”
Nomiya must have felt at least a little bit hungry watching the two of them, but he still wouldn’t touch anything from the array of foods in front of him. She could see a glimmer of desire flickering in his eyes as he watched Tsugi packing away his feast, but he didn’t even bother to pick up his chopsticks. “I’m okay,” he kept repeating stubbornly, no matter how often Mitsuri pressed him.
“You can starve yourself, kid, but the old man’s condition won’t change!” Tsugi spoke brusquely, as if he were irritated by the endless back-and-forth. In response, Nomiya’s eyes filled with tears. Mitsuri hurriedly held out a handkerchief, but Nomiya wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. “I’m really sorry,” he said. “Sorry I caused so much trouble for everyone.”
“It’s really okay,” Mitsuri reassured him. “You know how much I like nosing into other people’s lives. I probably worried too much about you. I’m sure you would have been fine on your own.”
“I just don’t understand. I’m so pathetic! Why do I have to be this way?” Nomiya bit his lip in frustration.