EE Chapter 5

# Chapter Five - "Kaiseki"

### Eimi

    "Please, Eimi? I've never had someone to do this with, and you have no idea how badly I've wanted to do it with you. And when else will we have the chance? Please? I'll do anything you want if you'll just do it this once…"

    "Ok, fine. Fine! You wore me down. Do whatever you want. Just do a good job, ok? I don't want to regret saying yes tomorrow."

    "You won't, I promise! I know what I'm doing. I've been doing it for ages. It just feels more special with another person…"

    That was nearly a half hour ago, and since then I've been poked, prodded, leered at, dressed up like a doll, examined, manhandled like a piece of meat, and done something I thought I'd never do… All so that Megumi's desires would be satisfied…

    "There. That wasn't so bad, was it? You like it. I can tell." Megumi smiled with a smug sense of self satisfaction as she pulled the fabric tighter, obviously very proud of the position she'd tricked me into.

    "I dunno. It's so tight it almost hurts. How do you get so used to it?" I moved only slightly and grimaced as the knot Megumi had tied dug into me. She smirked again, determined to trick me into enjoying her crazy request. "How do you do this all the time? Are you some kind of masochist?"

    "You'll get the hang of it. It's just to the dining room and back, then you can take it off once dinner is over."

    "Wait, my hair ties!"

    "Your hair looks great! It goes perfectly with the kimono. Now come on, we're late."

    "And whose fault is that, *Ms. Aihara?*"

    Walking in a yukata isn't that bad… At least those have a little give to them. This, however, was a whole new level of clumsy for me, the girl who regularly makes clumsy look cute by design. There's a reason why I don't wear this kind of thing. Even though it was only about fifty paces from Megumi's room to the dining room, the kimono easily tripled that.

    "Seriously, how do you do everything you do in one of these?"

    "Practice, Ms. Inagawa. Years and years of practice."

    Though Megumi often wears a kimono - in fact, she wears them like normal people wear casual clothes, changing into one anytime she's not in her school uniform, workout clothes, or costume - tonight she's wearing one of her "good kimono". Not that I can tell the difference between her everyday ones and this, but the "good" ones tend to cost as much as a car or diamond necklace, making me wonder just how successful this little ryokan is… they always seem to be silky, cute, and more often than not some shade of green, and tonight's isn't any different. It's still super soft, still very attractive, and this one is a particularly dark shade of forest green with little golden leaves couched along its length. Mine, on loan from her like all of tonight's evening wear, is a deep navy blue embroidered with blossoming sakura branches winding down the sides. At her cruel insistence I'm completely without my trademark twintails, making us look a little bit like chromatically-mismatched sisters. Blonde and brunette, blue and green, but both covered in foliage. I would bet that if not for the context of being led in by Megumi, the girls waiting for their dinner wouldn't even recognize me when I walked in.

    At least the silk does actually feel kind of really nice and comfortable…

    "Our apologies for being late. Ms. Inagawa needed some convincing to dress for dinner. Isn't that right, Eimi?"

    "Well at least she showed up dressed to justify the wait! You both look amazing! Isn't that right, Hanarin?"

    Rinko just shook her head up and down, which I thought was sort of rude after all the effort Megumi went to, until I realized that all the girls were doing variations of the same. Hah! I knew this'd knock 'em speechless. What a great idea. Kneeling at the low table in one of the empty spaces next to Dam-Bi, Megumi knelt beside me next to her mom, who had changed out of her work yukata and into a bright crimson kimono similar to her daughter's.

    "Where's the hot- I mean, will Mr. Aihara be joining us?"

    The woman laughed, touching Megumi lightly on the arm. "Megumi told me you were all a riot, and I'm glad to see she wasn't exaggerating. I had no idea we'd be dining with *two* little princesses tonight."

    "*Mother*… that's not funny anymore. I just didn't know when there'd be another chance… Ahem. Anyway, I have no delusions about my place in the world, and I may be an idol, but I am definitely not a princess."

    "I dunno, you look like a princess to me." Chiyo said what everyone was probably thinking, judging by the nods to the affirmative.

    "I don't know what you're talking about, personally. Daddy calls me his little princess all the time, and it's rude to contradict your elders, *Princess Megumi*. Isn't that right, Mrs. Aihara."

    "See, Megumi? Your friends know how it is. Of course you're all princesses in your parents' eyes. Though, back to your question, unfortunately our other guests insisted my husband celebrate whatever it is they're celebrating with them, and decorum compelled him to acquiesce to their demands. But they're leaving in the morning and we've made sure to take no reservations for tomorrow night, so tomorrow's dinner will be even more special. Consider this a prelude."

    "I'm sorry, Megumi. I don't see my dad too often either. I know you must have been looking forward to it."

    "I was, Ms. Junko. And I am. But, we're going to spend plenty of time together tomorrow evening, so please don't let that cast a pallor over tonight's meal. It's very important to me that all of you enjoy our hospitality."

    "And on that note, let us begin. I've introduced myself to most of you, but in case we haven't had the pleasure, my name is Mei Aihara, but please just call me Oba-san, or even 'Megumi's mother'. She hates that." Which solidified exactly what all of us would be calling her for the rest of our stay. "My little Megumi didn't mention any special dietary restrictions, so I went ahead and prepared what I usually do for special guests. I know you're all watching what you eat, but I hope you'll indulge yourselves for this special occasion."

    The first indulgences to which Mrs. Aihara was referring were the long, thin plates and small, lovely ceramic cups filled to the brim with a cloudy liquid in front of each of our place settings. She raised hers to head height and offered a word in English, "cheers", then took a large sip.

    "A traditional aperitif before the meal to bring out your appetite. A few sips isn't enough to cause girls your age any harm, but we won't be offended in the slightest if any of you don't partake."

    I lifted the cup and took a sip of the slightly sweet, lightly chilled liquid. It wasn't as smooth as what dad usually insists the kitchen keep on hand, but then you would be unlikely to find that sort of quality in any normal ryokan. It wasn't bad enough to reject though. Normally this would be a huge no from me. Not only was it even more unnecessary calories on top of what was promising to be a huge meal, but the scandal of being seen in public partaking of alcohol - even if it is traditional - was something I don't need to deal with. But, since we're in a city nobody would be expecting to see me in, what's the harm? Especially since I doubt even my family would recognize me dressed like this.

    A few of my travel companions lifted their cups to their faces and followed suit. Dam-Bi took a sip hesitantly, then nodded to herself like it wasn't as bad as she had been expecting. Rinko took a huge gulp and made a stupid, sour face as she swallowed it. Next to me, Megumi took a dainty sip as though she were entirely used to it. Which, having grown up with this sort of cuisine, she may be.

    "Nope, none for you girls. You get to stick to tea." Junko, sitting next to our youngest friends, took the cups right out of Kanon's and Chiyo's hands. Kanon had managed a sip and seemed to have no discernable reaction, while Chiyo had still been holding it under her nose, trying to decipher the alien liquid.

    "But…"

    "Nope. You're too young." Of course, she *would* be the one to put a damper on the fun. "I'm sorry, Oba-san. Thank you for your generosity, but they're still a little young." Chiyo didn't seem phased at all, evidently not having been all that interested in the first place, but Kanon seemed a bit miffed at being treated like a kid, glaring at Junko unhappily until... "Fine, but drink it slowly. And just one cup."

    The rest of the first course was a small plate of bite-sized appetizers meant to ease us into the meal - in this case, a few small cubes of tofu with different seasonings and styles of preparation alongside a few slices of pickled daikon and cucumber. This sort of meal is called kaiseki ryori, and it's meant to be a pleasant, social dining experience drawn out over many small courses. Of course as a girl of a certain refinement I obviously know this, but I was pretty sure that not everyone quite understood.

    "Megumi?"

    "Yes, Ms. Inagawa?" She had an annoying smirk on her face. She used to call me that out of a sense of politeness, but now that she's used me as a human dress up doll I'm pretty sure that she's only doing it because she knows it annoys me.

    "You think everyone knows that this is just the first course?"

    That seemed unlikely. As I popped one of the pickled radishes into my mouth, it became instantly clear that it had been brined with strong peppers and excessive amounts of garlic. I coughed, caught off guard, stifled my usual instinct to comment on it, and cleared my palette with another sip. A bite of grilled tofu calmed the fire further, and I was able to point clandestinely across the table at a few of our less cultured guests, who had already cleaned their plates and were looking restless.

    "Mother," Megumi spoke up, clearly so everyone could hear, "How many courses did you prepare for tonight's supper? The usual nine?"

    "I *planned* thirteen for tonight. This is a special meal, afterall, getting to meet all your new friends. Unfortunately we had that booking at the last minute and I was only able to make eleven properly. But then your father was disappointed enough that he wouldn't be able to join us that serving his favorite dish would have just been cruel, so that will be on tomorrow's menu instead. So I'm afraid it's only ten tonight."

    "Ten courses…"

    Both of the youngest girls' eyes lit up as they realized that they had a feast lined up for them. It'll just be portioned out with the sort of refinement and culture that some people lack. Unexpectedly - though I *shouldn't* have expected anything else - this somehow signaled to several of the other diners that they should eat faster, as though they were holding up the next course by not chewing fast enough. Laughing lightly, Megumi and I finished ours at a proper, leisurely pace to set an example for everyone else. Also a surprise, Junko seemed to actually understand the purpose and rhythm of the meal. Between each course, Megumi helped her mother fetch and serve the dishes, despite everyone's insistence that we could help. Well, everyone else could help. I'd probably either just make a mess or take so long to retrieve them that everyone would end up on completely different courses. After a vegetable soup in a lovely strong beef broth, a tuna sashimi course, and a genuinely amazing grilled mackerel, I finally confronted Megumi about this quietly. I mean, I love being waited on hand and foot - who doesn't - but it feels somehow slimy when it's your friend doing all the work.

    "Eimi, this is who I am. How would my friends get to know me better if I hid that from them?"

    With complete honesty, I couldn't tell if she was joking or being serious, seeing as how our entire friendship is based on trying to figure out what's real about the other and what's not. Trying to figure out what exactly *this* meant kept me occupied through the next three courses, and they kept coming as a break in the conversation presented itself.

    "You made this all yourself, Megumi's Mom? Everything's so delicious! I've never had such a variety of dishes all at one meal!"

    "I did, Ms. Han. Thank you for your kind words. Usually we'd have a chef to help in the kitchen, but in the slow season it's usually just a few of us here, and I love to cook! I finally got pretty decent at it too. I bet Megumi could tell you all sorts of stories about how bad my cooking was when she was little."

    "Mother! That's simply not true!” The girl beside me set down her chopsticks carefully and addressed the entirety of the table with her reply. "I want all of you to know that my mother is mistaken. I would absolutely never tell those kinds of stories."

    "Why thank you, my daughter."

    "No matter how true they may be, it would be intolerably rude to do such a thing." My friend broke character, smiling like mad at her own joke as a light round of laughter encircled the table.

    "It's impressive that you've mastered Japanese cooking like this, being, ah, well…" Junko was trying to be overly polite and making what probably shouldn't be an issue into something weird. So, Megumi's Mom isn't Japanese. Just looking at Megumi you'd have a fifty-fifty shot of guessing that, and it's not like that's any real handicap to learning how to cook. Heck, I can barely make cup ramen but even I'm pretty sure that with a decade and a half of practice I could make at least one pretty fantastic meal. Besides, it's not like Miss Green-Eyes over there really looks all that much more Japanese than Mei does, and there's no way she knows how to cook this well.

    "Pretty impressive for being 'Bri'ish, eh?’” The woman laughed, like she had heard it before. "You'd be amazed how often that surprises people. But I've lived in Japan longer than Megumi, and she had to learn her manners from somewhere."

    "Was it her dad?” Chiyo chirped out without thinking. We all looked at her, confused over what we had just heard. "Wait! N-No! S-Sorry! I thought Megumi was gonna make another joke!" Mei broke out in a titter at the young girl's attempt to apologize for her faux pas, and soon the entire table was roaring. The girl hung her head in shame as both Junko and Mei tried to assure her that everything was fine and that it had been, actually, a fairly funny joke.

    "Ms. Watanabe, how did you know exactly what I was going to say? I must be getting predictable."

    "Gee, ya think?" I smiled as I pushed lightly against her shoulder. "You've become a regular comedian."

    "Now, her sense of humor she actually did get from me. Not that my lovely daughter would ever admit it."

    "Well I can see that. She looks like you too! Were you an idol when you were younger? I bet you were! That would explain a lot!"

    "Oh no, Ms. Hanazawa. We didn't really have those in England. I was lucky and got to travel all over the world with my parents when I was Megumi's age, and then on my own when I was a little bit older. So that's what I did, mostly, but I kept being drawn back to right here. Then one night one thing led to another, and that led to my little Megumi, and I've been blissfully happy ever since." The way Oba-san told it, it sounded like a well rehearsed fairy tale. Probably another thing she's had to tell nosy guests over and over.

    "Eww, mother, don't tell it like that."

    "Well it seems my daughter is being a bit shy, so I won't embarrass her any further."

    "Thank you, mother."

    "But if any of you happen to see me in the hall and were to ask for the details…" Megumi's face contorted into a sour grimace, aimed directly at her mom, as a few of our dinner companions laughed or made promises to take Mei up on the offer.

    "It seems it's time for the final courses already? What a shame." Megumi was uncharacteristically flustered after that. "I'll go fetch that for us."

    The final course, following some rice, miso, and savory pickled cabbage to clear our palettes - plus even more of Mrs. Aihara's generosity with our beverages - was a local dessert called a yatsuhashi, a triangular sort of cookie made of rice dough wrapped around an anko filling. Each plate contained three servings - as though we needed three after that enormous meal - each in a different style. One was flavored with cinnamon and baked to a light and crispy texture. The second was dark, full of sesame seeds whose toasted flavor perfectly accentuated the sweet filling. The third was uncooked and colored with matcha, tasting and behaving a lot like green tea mochi. All three were delicious, but personally I think the sesame version had the best range of flavor, though the table was pretty evenly split on the subject.

    Stuffed fuller than any of us had been in months and awake later than half of us were used to, we thanked Oba-san for the wonderful meal and retired for the evening.

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