Girls’ Nights Out, 5 – Pizza Time!

(Akane's PoV)

—

And, of course, Hoshiko 'shouted' with the same happiness she had felt all evening.

To be honest, it was good to see her like this. Hoshiko had always been the type of girl who hated social interactions with all her might, so seeing a 'new' side of her brought a big smile to my face.

'That fox...'

When we all stepped inside, a green-haired girl who was working as a waitress—dressed in a white shirt with a tie around her neck, simple black pants, and black boots—greeted us. Or, she tried, at least. 

'Uhm... she must be new...'

Hoshiko had literally shouted, "WE HAVE ARRIVED!" Like we were some kind of VIP guests, making the man at the counter look at us with an unreadable expression. 

That poor waitress stared at us in something between fear and embarrassment, and a loud silence filled the store for a few moments. Meanwhile, Hoshiko stood with her hands on her hips like some kind of superhero.

'She really has a lot to learn about social interactions...' I sighed.

Then Sora stepped forward, bowed her head to the man at the counter and the waitress, and spoke.

"We're sorry for the intrusion and this little show," she said in her Student Council President voice. "We'd like a table for three, thanks." She then raised her head, smiling warmly at everyone.

'Damn. What an angel.'

Then the waitress finally spoke. "Y-yeah... over there..." she replied, guiding us to a small table in the corner.

We walked slowly to the table and then sat in unison, with Hoshiko asking me if she'd done something wrong. 

"Yeah, Hoshiko. Everything was wrong, but it was funny. They probably thought you were gonna commit a robbery."  I replied, crossing my legs.

"Oh, come on. That's impossible. I'd never hurt people..." Hoshiko said, scratching the back of her head. 

"That's not reassuring..." Sora said.

"She actually has a sadistic side when she tattoos people, you know, Sora?" I said. 

"What? Really?" The angel moved her gaze to her. "She looks so nice—" 

"It's true. I like their expression when they are in agony..." Hoshiko smirked. "Oh boy... I remember that big gym guy who asked me to tattoo his entire right arm." She stretched her arms.

"What about that guy?" I asked. "You never told me that story."

"Oh, because there was never the chance, you know?" Hoshiko leaned closer to us. "Well, that guy acted strong, saying that he wasn't feeling anything..." Her grin widened. "Well, until I arrived at the inner bicep. He started screaming and crying like a baby goose. He even called out for his mommy!" 

I laughed while Sora wore a frightened smile. "Y-yeah? R-really?" She said.

"Yeah! Hahahaha!" Hoshiko wiped a tear from her left eye. "I was like, 'Stay still, big boy. No one's coming to help you. Endure it a little more.' Well, I made that 'little more' last over three hours. Three hours of agony he'll remember for the rest of his life. Hahahaha! Damn. That guy was hot, I must admit, but he was such a baby. I didn't like it." 

"Okay, I don't know if I still want a tattoo from you..." Sora said, looking away for an instant.

"Don't worry about it, Sora-chaaan~ I'll be really gentle with you," Hoshiko whispered like a snake.

"S-scary..." Sora leaned back, scraping her chair back a little.

'Damn...' I giggled.

And then, the green-haired waitress came with a small notepad, a pen, and three menus that she'd placed on our table.

Hoshiko grabbed it in the blink of an eye, while Sora did so elegantly. They scanned it very quickly, and Hoshiko kept mumbling something like 'oh... interesting... mmh... this looks good...'

I didn't bother looking at it because I already knew what I was going to eat: a Diavola. A pizza with tomato, mozzarella, and spicy salami slices.

"S-so... do you already know what to pick, or would you like a suggestion?" The waitress asked, her voice shaky. 

Hoshiko looked up from the menu almost instantly.

"Oh, sure. I'd like a... wait, I forgot the name..." She looked at the menu again. "Ah! Margherita! This one!" She pointed at it multiple times. "Put some pepper on it, please. I want it spicy. Oh, and also give me some fried things... t-these things!" She pointed at some appetizers on the menu. "I don't know how to read the names, but these, thanks." 

"O-okay..." The waitress wrote something on her notepad, moving her gaze to Sora. "And you, miss?"

The angel closed her menu and gently put it on the table. "Well, I'd like the pizza Primavera and some 'Bruschetta', please."

"So... Primavera and..." She kept writing. "A portion of Bruschetta... okay..." She then looked at me, who was staring at her with my arms crossed.

"A-and for you?" She asked.

"Diavola. With more spicy salami and pepper, thanks." I said, smiling politely.

"Okay..." She wrote. "And for a drink?"

"Cola, please," I said.

"I'd really like sparkling water, thanks," Sora added.

"Beer. Thanks. BEEEEER!" Hoshiko exclaimed, tapping her hands on the table, making the poor waitress take a step back. "STRONG BEER!" 

"...Hoshiko..." I sighed. 

"WHAT?" She looked at me.

"You're still not twenty. Legally, you can't drink..." I said.

The fox froze. "S-Shit. You're right." She looked at the waitress. "So... uhm... ahm... B-b-ee—Cola. Cola for me, too."

"Okay... Uhm... Is that all?" 

"Yes. Thank you." I said, silently signaling her to leave before Hoshiko could drop another gem.

The waitress followed my advice and walked away. I could literally see a trail of fear behind her. 

"Fuck it... I wanted beer..." Hoshiko sighed, leaning back on her chair with her hands on the back of her neck. "I hate laws..."

"You'll survive," I said. "Cola has sugar in it. It counts as a drink."

"It counts as a tragedy... I wanted beer... beer... Aaaaah!" Hoshiko slid down in her chair until her chin was practically on the table."I need something to do with my hands. When I'm nervous, and there's no beer about, they start getting ideas."

I raised an eyebrow. "You’re nervous?”

"I'm sitting in a nice restaurant with two normal people. Of course I'm nervous."

“I’m not normal, you should know it, fox,” I sighed.

"That's why you're not on the list." She pointed at Sora. “Lady Folder is on the list.”

"I'm honored," Sora said, in her usual dignified manner.

Then the green haired waitress came back sooner than I'd anticipated. Poor girl. She was carrying a tray nearly as wide as the table, loaded down with a ridiculous number of plates. I couldn't imagine how she'd managed to lift it.

She came up in tiny, careful steps, so concentrated on keeping everything in balance that she didn't seem to be breathing at all. She was properly relieved when she finally put it down on our table. And then, she pulled out our 'drinks' from a pouch she was wearing at her right side.

“Y-your appetizers,” she said. “ T-the... the ones you pointed at. ”

Hoshiko straightened and then looked at the tray. Then at the waitress. Then back to the tray. "Wait. What did I point at?"

The girl checked her notepad. “Y-you pointed at several things, so I wrote them all down.” She cleared her throat. “Fritto misto, arancini, olive ascolane, mozzarella in carrozza, croquette, and potato fries with truffle salt.”

Hoshiko blinked. “Uhm... All of them?”

“You... pointed at the entire page.” A pause. “Several times.”

"Ah, Fuck. I didn't realize it..." Hoshiko scratched the back of her head. "Thank you anyway, green Lady."

I looked at the food, and saw six plates, a basket of bread, and enough dipping sauce to supply a small army. There was so much fried food that I was fairly sure the vegetables had filed a complaint.

'Holy shit.' That's the only thing I could think about.

“Okay,” Hoshiko said slowly, moving her gaze between us and the food. “I may have accidentally ordered a banquet.”

“It is... rather a lot,” Sora observed.

“A lot? Lady Folder, this is a crime. A fucking war crime.” Then Hoshiko noticed the waitress again, and her expression changed immediately.

'Oh, no. Here we go.'

She leaned forward, squinting at the little name badge pinned to the girl's uniform.

“Midori? Is this your name?” Hoshiko asked.

The waitress stiffened. “Y-yes?"

“I like your hair!” She exclaimed, leaning close to her.

“Ah... yes.” She looked away for an instant.

“I love it! Is that your natural color?” She even touched her hair, and the poor waitress went entirely rigid.

“N-no. It's... It's dyed...”

“Really? Who did it? Because honestly, I'd put a little dragon right here.” Hoshiko tapped her own collarbone. “A tiny green Chinese dragon with detailed scales. It'd look amazing with your hair. So... I might also call you... baby dragon. What do you think?”

Midori stared at her, and for a moment, she looked as though she'd forgotten what language we were speaking. Then her entire face turned red.

“P-please enjoy your meal!” She then bowed so deeply that I worried she'd hit her head against the table, turned around, and walked straight into an empty chair.

Clatter.

“Sorry!” She apologized to the chair, and actually bowed to it, then hurried toward the kitchen without looking back.

Hoshiko collapsed onto the table.

“PFFFT! AHAHAHAHA!” She was laughing so hard that she could barely get the words out. “SHE APOLOGIZED TO THE FURNITURE!”

I rubbed my forehead. “Hoshiko... you're traumatizing her," I sighed.

“What? No! I'm welcoming her! I'm just making friends here!!!” Hoshiko exclaimed.

“You suggested tattooing a dragon on her chest, forgetting that she's a total stranger and she's probably on her first day of work.”

“BUT IT WOULD LOOK REALLY BEAUTIFUL! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, BABY WOLF!!!”

Sora had one hand pressed tightly over her mouth. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her shoulders kept shaking, so much for the dignified student council president.

Hoshiko eventually recovered enough to pick up a fork. She examined it for about a second before putting it down again, and then she grabbed an arancino with her bare hand.

It was golden brown, round, and about the size of her fist.

She took an enormous bite, way too big, and stopped chewing. Her eyes slowly closed. “Oh...”

I watched her.

'Oh, God... She's about to say something stupid...'

And then a long, ridiculous sigh escaped her throat. She raised her free hand to her cheek, looking as though she'd just experienced a religious revelation. “Oh my God...”

“Hoshiko...” I called her.

“There's meat sauce...” She swallowed. “There are peas...”

“Hoshiko.”

“AND THERE'S CHEESE IN THE MIDDLE!”

I sighed. “Hey... People are looking, you know.”

She ignored me.

“Baby wolf, it's like being hugged from the inside.”

“That's—”

“DON'T DISRESPECT IT!” She took another bite and made the same obscene little happy noise.

At the next table, a couple who'd been arguing about dessert actually stopped talking to watch her.

Sora leaned toward me. “Is... is she all right?” She asked.

“Yeah... That's just her eating. I've seen worse, don't worry about it. That's still nothing.” I whispered back.

“It sounds almost like she's in heaven.” 

“Well... She probably is, because I'm here.” I winked at Sora. 

Then I picked up an olive ascolana. I'd known Hoshiko long enough to recognize the signs. Once she started eating something she liked, the rest of the world faded away.

Her next victim was the mozzarella in carrozza. She grabbed a golden triangle of fried bread and bit into it, and a long strand of melted cheese stretched between the sandwich and her mouth.

Then her eyes widened.

“HOT!”

I looked up.

“HOT! HOT! IT'S LAVA! IT'S FUCKING LAVAAAA!” She started fanning her tongue with both hands. "IT'S A VOLCANO!”

“Hoshiko, drink something.”

She snatched her cola and emptied half the glass in the blink of an eye, then, without waiting for the food to cool, took another bite.

Sora and I stared at her for a few instants. 

"I didn't expect you to be this hungry, Hoshiko..." Sora said, scratching the back of her head.

"You'll have a lot of time to know me, Baby Girl." Hoshiko grinned and went straight back to eating.

The fried calamari disappeared first, followed by most of the olives. Then she attacked the fries with the greed of someone who hadn't eaten in a week. Every few seconds, she'd hiss through her teeth because something was still too hot, making both Sora and me laugh.

Honestly, I was starting to think she'd burn her mouth beyond repair.

“See,” she explained around a croquette, “without beer, my hands don't know what to do.” She reached for another piece. “So my mouth has to do all the work.”

“That's a terrifying sentence, you know?” I teased.

“Thank you,” Hoshiko replied.

She was halfway through a fried zucchini flower when she finally looked at us, and then she frowned.

“Wait.”

Sora paused with her fork raised.

“Yes?”

“Why aren't you eating?”

“We are eating,” Sora replied.

Hoshiko looked at her plate, and then at mine. "That's not eating, Lady Folder. That's pecking.”

Before Sora could protest, Hoshiko pushed the plate of arancini toward her.

“Here! Take one! They're incredible!”

“Oh, but...”

“TAKE IT!”

Then she turned to me.

“Baby wolf, the olives are yours. You like crunchy stuff. And take some fries too, because I can't be trusted with them. I still need to maintain a flat belly for my future boyfriend.”

I looked at the mountain of fries.

“Clearly.”

Sora accepted an arancino with both hands.

“Thank you, Hoshiko.” She even gave a little bow.

“Thanks, fox,” I added, taking the olives.

“STOP THANKING ME AND EAT! FOR FUCKS'S SAKE!”

Sora took a small bite, and her eyebrows rose. “Oh...” She chewed.

Hoshiko leaned forward eagerly. "Well?”

“This is wonderful!” Sora said, smiling warmly.

“RIGHT?!”

There we go. The two of them were getting along beautifully.

I settled back in my chair and ate an olive while their conversation dissolved into a passionate discussion about fried rice balls.

Around us, the small restaurant carried on as usual.

Cutlery clinked against plates, someone laughed near the counter, an old radio played something slow beneath the chatter, and the yellow lamps gave everything a pleasant, slightly worn warmth.

I'd never enjoyed a dinner like this. Not with real friends. And I was glad that my life was going in the right direction, despite some little glimpses of intrusive thoughts, like the fact that I'd have to testify against my father one day.

I was still thinking about that when Midori returned, and this time, she was carrying the pizzas.

Judging by her expression, she'd spent the entire walk from the kitchen praying Hoshiko wouldn't notice her. Unfortunately for her, Hoshiko had excellent eyesight.

The Margherita went in front of my fox, steaming beneath a generous dusting of black pepper; Sora got the Primavera, covered in arugula, Parma ham, and cherry tomatoes; and finally, I received my beloved Diavola, red and glossy, with little slices of spicy salami curling at the edges.

'Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.'

“P-please enjoy your meal,” Midori said quickly.

She was already preparing to escape.

“MIDORI-CHAN!”

Too late. Hoshiko caught her attention before she'd taken two steps.

The poor girl froze.

“Y-yes?”

“What's your favorite dessert?”

Midori looked toward the kitchen. “M-my favorite?”

“Yeah!”

“Um... tiramisu?”

“PERFECT! We're ordering tiramisu for later!”

Hoshiko grinned.

“And if it sucks, you owe me a heart!”

Midori blinked. “A... heart?”

“Your heart!” Hoshiko pressed her thumbs and index fingers together, making a little heart in front of her chest.

Midori stared at it, holding her gaze for barely a second before lowering her gaze to the floor. Her face was scarlet. “P-please enjoy!” And she ran away at a speed that probably violated several workplace safety regulations.

Hoshiko watched her leave with the most ridiculous expression of affection I'd ever seen.

“I'm going to treasure that forever.”

I shook my head. “She's going to quit after this, that's for sure.”

“She's going to thrive. And she'll dream of me every day until we become friends,” Hoshiko said.

“Sure, fox.” I turned my attention to the Diavola.

Sora, meanwhile, was examining it with obvious curiosity.

I noticed, smiled, and then slid a slice onto her plate.

“Here. Try this.”

“Oh! Thank you, Akane.” She folded the slice in half and took a generous bite.

I waited. One second. Two. Three... and her eyes flew open.

Her entire face turned red, and she grabbed her sparkling water with both hands.

Half the glass disappeared before she took another breath. Tears were already running down her cheeks.

“IT'S...!” She coughed.

“It's a firework!” I started laughing. "You've gotta get used to spicy things, you beautiful idol." 

Sora looked at the slice in horror. “I swallowed a firework!”

That finished Hoshiko. She collapsed sideways against the booth, laughing so hard that no sound came out.

I grinned at Sora. “Welcome to the real world, you beautiful angel!”

—

Author's note, part 2 coming later... the ch. was too long. LoL. 

Ps. Love you, Hiro