Chapter 14: 

As night fell, Yumi and Yuji finally made it to the village. “We’re almost there, don’t worry!” Yuji said, excited for Yumi to see his stand. 

“As soon as we get there, we must make preparations and protection on the stand…” 

“Or…I could make us dinner instead!” 

Yumi gave him a dead look, but soon relaxed. 

“You know what…dinner sounds good, Yuji…” 

She quietly said, not wanting to come off as rude. Off to the side of the village was Yuji’s home: 

A bright red stand with a homemade sign that had “Toshida’s” written in huge writing. 

“So this is your stand…I’ve never seen it up close…” 

“I don’t get much business…So it just acts as home for me!” 

He said, trying to stay optimistic. With the jingle of the doorbell, and an awkward moment of Yuji holding the door for Yumi, they finally made it. Yumi immediately took in the area, and could only think: 

“This is so Yuji…” 

Inside was a small apartment-size area, filled with a kitchen and island, his bed with a blanket that had white rabbits on it, Soy Sauce’s bed, an ingredient drawer, and occasional recipes scattered on the ground. 

“I know it’s not the best…but I make it work!” 

He said with a giggle. Soy Sauce immediately crawled into his bed as Yumi and Yuji unpacked. 

“I’ll fill the drawers with our ingredients, go ahead and put your weapons and stuff wherever you want!” 

He said, already going to the drawer. 

Yumi set some of her scrolls on the windowsill, and noticed that his window had a perfect view of the clan’s dojo across the village. She started to think to herself again. 

“I’m really leaving that life behind for good, aren’t I…” She said, having flashbacks to all of her time spent in the dojo. Now, she had Yuji, and that was who she chose to be with. 

“This is for the better…Yuji is so much better than anything I did as a member of that horrible clan…” 

She said, a hint of disgust panged in her voice when she thought of her father and the clan. After all of that thinking, she was abruptly interrupted by Yuji yelling across the room. 

“Yumi! What do you want for dinner?” 

He yelled, still in the kitchen. 

“Uh…you know what, surprise me! I wanna see what you got, chef boy…” 

She said with a giggle. Yuji blushed slightly from being called “Chef boy.” 

“A-Alright! I’ll make my signature!” 

He said, already getting to work. Yumi sat on his bed and started to unpack her weapons, but she couldn’t help but watch Yuji cook instead. 

“He’s…actually really talented…” 

She thought to herself, as Yuji crafted their meal. “I…Can’t look away…W-Wait, what am I doing!?” 

She finally caught herself daydreaming, and got back to unpacking, while still occasionally stealing glances at Yuji. 

After about 30 minutes, Yuji came out with two trays in his hands. He went to Yumi, who was reading some scrolls on his bed. 

“Here you go! Compliments of the chef!” He said excitedly, and set one of the trays right on Yumi’s lap. “Thank you, Yuji…” 

She said quietly, before lifting the lid. She was first met with steam off of the lid, but what was under it was what caught her. Inside was a great bowl of Hibachi.* It had all of her favorite ingredients, with a mix of salmon, carrots, yum-yum sauce, eggs and even brown rice. 

“You…knew what I got in my hibachi…H-How?” 

“Oh! Your Mom told me, she said that it was one of your comfort meals.” 

He said, still a little proud of himself. 

“Mom…She told you a lot of stuff about me, didn’t she?” She said, yet her voice wasn’t annoyed. 

“Oh yeah, she really did…I didn't want to be rude, so I just let her rant my ear off.” 

He said with a giggle. With an exhale, she finally took the first bite. It tasted…extremely good! 

“Mmm…”

She let out, covering her mouth immediately after. 

“It’s okay! It’s normal to like something for once!” 

Yuji exclaimed, still giggling and blushing from Yumi actually enjoying his food. 

“Thank’s again…for feeding me, Yuji…” 

“It’s my pleasure! It’s nice to have someone that wants to eat my food.”

After they both finished their hibachi, they got ready for bed. Yuji had his own onesie pajamas. 

“Don’t mind me…I like to be comfy!” 

Yumi could only giggle at his ridiculous outfit. He finally got tucked in, and looked at Yumi. 

“Aren’t you going to turn in for the night?” 

“I don’t sleep…I’ve been trained to go nights without sleep for these situations…” 

It was evident in her posture. 

“Oh, don't give me that! Come here and rest for once!” 

He said, patting the area next to him on the bed. Yumi quietly face-palmed, and finally laid next to him, still visibly stiff. 

“Come on…I’m not gonna hurt you. Don’t make me get you a onesie too!” 

He said, trying to sound threatening. Yumi giggled once more and finally relaxed next to him. 

“You know…This is the first time I’ve ever had someone in the stand ever since my family was killed…Thank you for wanting to be by my side, Yumi…I really enjoy being with you…” 

He said gently. Yumi’s face was slowly growing with more blush by the second. 

“O-Of course, Yuji…you’re my friend, I’ll always be there to protect you…” 

“But…what if it wasn’t just for protection the whole time…what if we like hanging out because…we have something?” 

Yumi’s heart dropped at the thought. 

“W-We only did this for protection, Yuji! This is serious!” “I-I know, I’m sorry…” 

He said, regretting his words. 

“G-Good night Yumi…please be here when I wake up…” He said with a certain gaze in his eyes. Yumi could only get trapped in that gaze, even if she didn’t want to. 

“I-I promise, Yuji…with my life…”

After Yuji fell asleep, Yumi was still awake with too much on her mind. The clan’s planned attack, Yuji’s danger, her own mental issues, her mom, all were flooding her at once. 

“What am I gonna do…this is all too much…” 

She thought, still in a state of panic. It wasn't until Yuji, still asleep, took her hand without her realizing. She couldn’t help but immediately return to being calm at his touch. 

“Yuji…you can’t keep making my heart flutter like this…but you are, you truly are…” 

She whispered, hoping that he could hear her, even in his sleep. She snuggled close to him one last time. Not for an excuse like her warmth…She just wanted to be near him, no one else but him.

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