And then, lunch break.
Yuuki took the bento out and was about to dig in when Yui’s girl friends started gathering at her desk in one’s and two’s, again. Going ham on the bento suddenly didn’t feel all that appealing anymore.
There were also the stares, particularly from a certain member of the lady squad. Maybe she was curious to see his reaction? No clue.
When they eventually started getting loud, Yuuki took the bento and got up from his seat.
I’d like to enjoy it somewhere quiet. It’s not everyday that I get to eat a bento. He thought, the usual spot springing to mind. Rio is... probably not there. Can’t imagine she eats at that place every single day. Yuuki thought as he walked out, heading toward the back of the school.
He knew his way around; it wasn’t his first time.
Yuuki stepped across a few jutting concrete sections, turning a corner further in and there he was.
“Well.”
Nevermind then.
Rio humbly sat in her usual spot, wolfing an onigiri down with a manga in hand. She lifted her eyes up from the manga, only to immediately lower them back down.
Yuuki paid no heed, sitting down next to her.
“Critical Attack on Titan, huh.” Rio was reading the same manga Yui had bought on their previous outing. Yet, upon further inspection, it appeared to be a rental. “Why not ask Yui to lend you hers…”
She ignored Yuuki’s mutter, silently darting her eyes from panel to panel. Rio flipped the pages at insane speeds, almost like she was in a speed reading competition with herself.
“Is it fun?”
“It’s a pretty fun manga, yes.”
“No, reading like that.”
“I haven’t skipped a single line. I understand what it’s going for thematically.”
“Yes, but is it fun?”
“It’s not about fun. I’m studying the series, so Yui and I have more to talk about.”
“How about you study for midterms instead?”
“I’ve already studied more than I’d like to admit. There’s not much to do... alone.”
The pause aroused genuine pity.
Rio tossed the rest of the onigiri into her mouth then looked at Yuuki.
“I suppose eating and reading is a bit rude. Not that I’d care, if there was no one else around.” She said as if taking an indirect jab at Yuuki, closing the manga.
On a cloth to her side sat a bento.
“What’s that?”
“My bento. That I made.”
“That you made? You can make bento?“
“Are you mocking me? Making bento is easy, all you need is a bit of time and energy.”
Rio stated matter of factly. Definitely high level.
The tamagoyaki was cut into evenly sliced pieces, the cylinder-shaped onigiri were neatly arranged, all uniform in size. The boiled spinach and hijiki looked nice as well, not a piece spilling over into the neighboring partitions. It was like something straight out of a cooking book.
“Wh-What are you staring at?”
“Just appreciating how the bento reflects your personality.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Yuuki decided not to elaborate on account of Rio’s terrifying expression, opening the lid to Yui’s bento, only to be immediately bombarded with pink.
A heart-shaped... time bomb?
A piece of pan-seared sea bass sat on a vaguely heart-shaped bed of pink rice, its grains scattered everywhere. It appeared as though Yuuki’s earlier explosive comment wasn’t too far off the mark. He was partly at fault for shaking the bento up, yes, but the rice was supposed to stick.
As Yuuki, who was flabbergasted, wondered if this was some novel form of harassment, Rio tried to take a curious peak inside, so he popped the lid back on.
“Why’d you close it.”
“You see…”
Yuuki was hesitant about showing that next to Rio’s bento.
Rio, however, appeared to have gotten the wrong idea, her voice suddenly taking on a soft tone.
“I understand. You must feel guilty, having to eat your mom’s bento in such a lonely place.”
“My mom is no longer with us.”
“O-Oh. Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
And you don’t feel guilty? Yuuki thought. Although I guess she did make her own bento. Not that I’d feel even the tiniest bit of guilt, even if my mom did make it.
“So... did you make it yourself?”
“No, Yui gave it to me.” Yuuki came clean, immediately regretting his decision.
Rio, predictably enough, leaned in with her eyes aglow. “Y-Yui, you say? C-Can I have some?”
“Nope.”
“Let’s trade then!”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Just a bite! Just one!”
“Alright, alright. If that’s what it takes to get you off my back.”
He popped the lid off, revealing the eldritch horrors inside.
Upon witnessing the scattered rice bento, Rio gave Yuuki a serious look. “What’s this?”
“It, uhh, got a little shook up.”
“It looks delicious. Steak roll, please.”
She, however, didn’t seem to care all that much.
What fortitude.
“One.”
Rio nabbed a steak roll with lightning fast chopstick technique, carrying it into her mouth. She closed her eyes, chewing slowly, deliberately, really admiring the flavor.
As she was thoroughly enjoying her moment of bliss, Yuuki dug in, gathering up all the scattered rice grains into one place.
“Woah woah woah! Slow down! Appreciate the flavor!”
“We’ll be here all day if I savor every bite.”
“Then share. I’ll help you finish.”
“You wish.” Yuuki blocked the bento off with his body.
Rio shot him an envious glare. “This must be some kind of joke, right? At my expense. You’re not her boyfriend or anything, it doesn’t make any sense for her to make you a bento.”
That’s right, it didn’t, and yet she did anyway.
“But what’s odd is that it definitely tastes like Yui’s cooking. She shared a bento with me once, I’d know.”
“Even the bass?”
“Besides the bass.”
“You... remember what her cooking tastes like?”
“It’s not that big of a deal. Stop pretending like it’s weird.”
It seems even her taste buds are high level. Although, now she feels a little scary in a different sense.
When Yuuki slowed his eating pace down a little to appease Rio, she pressed him with an accusatory stare.
“You bought it off of her, didn’t you? Fess up!”
“I did not.”
“You groveled at her feet?”
“I did not.”
“Which means you stole–”
“No.”
What does she take me for? Although I did try to give Yui money the last time she handed me a bento, so she’s not completely off the mark.
Rio knitted her brow. “Hmm…” She abruptly lifted her head, slapping her knee and raising her voice. “I get it now! You have some kind of dirt on Yui, don’t you? You forced her into making you that bento! It also explains why she’s so... friendly with you! I’ll rescue Yui from your evil clutches!” She exclaimed, tackling Yuuki.
Rio held back no punches; she was out for blood.
Yuuki lost balance as he evacuated his bento outside the danger zone, falling to the ground. Rio promptly mounted him. It legitimately felt like she was going to choke him out at this rate..
“H-Hear me out. It’s all part of Yui’s plan to win the affection of her seatmate.”