- WATANABE TATSUO -
“Coming right up!” Tatsuo took back the menu and hurried to the kitchen to pass the order. Those cousins sure seemed to get along, Tatsuo thought to himself. He and his sister on the other hand, Tatsuo shivered at the thought. He couldn't imagine going anywhere with just Akane peacefully.
“Two katsudon, table seven!” Tatsuo passed the order to his father in the kitchen. Watanabe Kyouma was the only one there, doing more cleaning than cooking now that the restaurant was still quiet. He must had sent the other cooks on a break.
“On it's way!” Kyouma gave his son the thumbs-up, ditching his gloves and taking two steps from the sink to the furnace. “Back to your studies, champ!”
“Of course, dad.” Tatsuo nodded, then quickly scanned around the restaurant before he opened his book back up. The moment his eyes passed Hana, Tatsuo abruptly hid his face behind the register. Did she really think that? Tatsuo blushed, thinking back on Hana's comment. She's not in league with my dad, is she? No, no, no, don't think about it!
“Tatsuo-kun, is that you?” Tatsuo looked up. It was mrs. Nakaruma, the elderly regular who had ordered the fish head soup. “Oh look at you, you have such a healthy colour on your cheeks. Come closer dear, how are you?” The woman beckoned, and Tatsuo complied.
“Hello mrs. Nakamura, mr. Nakamura.” Tatsuo bowed, “Are you enjoying your meal?”
It wasn't long until Tatsuo's father finished the katsudon. He put down the tray on the counter and shook his head as he watched old mrs. Nakamura interrogate Tatsuo for every last detail on his school life. “That boy just can't say no, can he?” Kyouma laughed and beckoned for Hana in Tatsuo's stead. “Hana-chan, two katsudon, table seven.”
Hana couldn't have taken two steps, before something weird happened inside the bowls. The sliced up tonkatsu lumped itself up into a big chunk of pork-chop and peeked over the edge of the bowl. As it did, the girl would hear a strange voice in her head; “You have such beautiful eyes, child,” a voice as fractured as the tonkatsu itself was spoke, “Come closer so I can look at them.”