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“Ainosuke-sama!”
A voice called out to him softly, and Ainosuke turned around, looking for its source.
“Here, Ainosuke-sama!”
There was a dark-haired head peeking out from behind one of the hedges, and Ainosuke took another quick look around to make sure nobody was watching before he ran over, ducking behind it to join his friend. Tadashi smiled shyly as he slipped his backpack off his shoulder and dug around inside, pulling out a handful of small packages. And Ainosuke’s eyes widened in excitement.
“Tadashi! What are these?” he asked, eagerly grabbing one when the other boy offered them to him. Ever since they’d started hanging out together, the older boy frequently shared some of his snacks with him, which was always an exciting experience. It wasn’t that the stuff he ate at home wasn’t good, but there was just something different and delicious about these cheap snacks. He lifted the one he held up to his eyes, squinting at the lettering on the wrapper.
“They’re called umaibo,” Tadashi explained, tugging one of them open and offering it to him. “They’re… uh… puffed corn, I think? But there’s a lot of different flavors.”
“Puffed corn? Is that like popcorn?” Ainosuke accepted the opened snack, and he took a bite of it, tilting his head as he chewed and contemplated the cheese-like flavor that spread over his tongue. Tadashi had shared some of that with him a little while back, too, though this looked and tasted pretty different. But Tadashi also looked puzzled as he opened another package and stared at the snack.
“I’m not sure. I mean, it’s not popcorn. But I don’t know why it’s called puffed corn, either. They probably use corn to make it?”
Ainosuke still couldn’t make a connection between the corn that he had at dinner and the thing in his hand, but it tasted good, so that was what mattered. As Tadashi started to eat his own umaibo, Ainosuke finished his first one and contemplated the array that had been set between them, trying to guess which one might be the best flavor. He couldn’t read some of the characters, though, so he eventually gave up and picked one at random, pulling the wrapper open and taking a bite.
This one was sweeter, and it really did taste like corn!
“Tadashi, Tadashi! Try this one! It’s good!” he encouraged his friend, offering it to him. Tadashi smiled as he leaned over and took a bite, chewing on it while his eyes widened.
“That one tastes like corn!”
“Right? What’s yours?”
“Um…” Tadashi looked at the wrapper, his mouth moving silently as he sounded out the characters. “Oh, this one’s takoyaki? I don’t think it really tastes like takoyaki, though.”
He frowned thoughtfully while Ainosuke clambered closer.
“Let me try!”
Obligingly, Tadashi held out the snack to Ainosuke, who bit off a piece with a crunch. He wasn’t really sure what takoyaki was supposed to taste like—maybe he could ask the chef to make some sometime?—but he thought it was pretty good.
“What does takoyaki taste like?” he asked as he continued to eat his own stick, and Tadashi’s brow furrowed as he thought about it.
“Well, the outside is crispy, but the inside is kinda gooey and has some herbs or something in it. And a bit of octopus, too. It’s best when it’s hot, but if you want, maybe I could try to bring some back from the summer festival this year. And maybe my mom could heat it up?” he mused as his eyes fell back to the package in his hand. “The sauce they put on it kinda tastes like this, though. And they add mayonnaise and bonito flakes to it, too. The bonito moves a little, when the takoyaki is hot.”
Ainosuke’s eyes had widened as his friend patiently described the food, and then he flopped down, landing half in Tadashi’s lap.
“I want to go to the summer festival with you,” he sighed, staring up at Tadashi’s face. Tadashi sometimes told him him stories about that, too: the goldfish scooping games, the food stalls, the drums… it all sounded like so much fun. Of course, he couldn’t go, not when there were so many studies he needed to keep up with. Plus, his aunts always called it “commoner’s entertainment” in the same sort of tone they used to describe other things that they didn’t like, but if he could only experience it once… Maybe if he was really, really good, he could try to ask them for permission? It didn’t even need to be the whole night, maybe just an hour or two with Tadashi and his parents.
The older boy looked a little sad as he looked down at Ainosuke, even though he was smiling.
“I do, too. Do you want another one?”
He held out another package in front of Ainosuke’s face, and even though the boy did want to try it, he shook his head.
“Next time?” he suggested hopefully. After all, if he kept eating them, he wouldn’t be able to eat his dinner, and then he’d get scolded again. He’d made that mistake before, when Tadashi had shared some fugashi with him, the first time they did this. He’d apologized, telling his aunts that his friend had given him some snacks—which wasn’t false—and promised not to spoil his appetite and health again. So he did feel a little guilty about this, but they only did it once in a while when they hung out, and he always ate all of his food afterwards. And Tadashi seemed to understand, nodding as he put the snack back down.
“Next time,” he promised. “I’ll try to find some new things for you, too. Or is there anything that you really liked before?”
“Hmmm… I think my favorite is still the kinoko… kinoko…” Ainosuke frowned, trying to remember the name, but Tadashi helped him out.
“The kinoko no yama?”
“Yeah, that! And ramune!”
In general, he thought that he liked sweet snacks more. He’d had much better chocolate and biscuits than what Tadashi had gotten him, of course, but the kinoko were just more fun! He liked biting off the tops of the mushrooms and eating them first, and Tadashi didn’t seem to mind eating the stems when Ainosuke had had enough of them.
The ramune had been really nice, too, and he still had the marble from the bottle they’d shared. Drinking the soda with the marble clacking around inside had been fun, and after they’d finished it, he’d watched with wide eyes as Tadashi carefully smashed the bottle before extracting it and giving it to him. Now, he kept it tucked in the back of a drawer in his desk, hidden in a small box so it wouldn’t roll around and be found. After all, he wasn’t sure how to explain what it was or where he’d gotten it if it was discovered. But sometimes, when he was studying by himself, he liked to take it out and put it on his desk to see it make little rainbows when the light hit it.
“I want to do something for you, too, Tadashi. Is there anything you want?” he asked, still looking up at his friend. He didn’t know what he could offer the older boy who could get snacks by himself and was probably smarter than Ainosuke, but he really did want to show his appreciation. Not because he wanted to pay Tadashi back so he couldn’t demand something from him later, when it was inconvenient, like he’d been taught, though. He just wanted to do something to make his friend happy, too.
But Tadashi shook his head as he smiled at Ainosuke.
“Thank you, but this is enough.”