Chapter 480: Omega Hope~ – III |
Hope stared at the ominous bowl of crimson oil-soaked tofu. "U-Um... A-Am I supposed to just... eat this?"
It looked dangerous...
It wasn't like Hope DIDN'T like spicy food. But this looked like it would hurt...
"Hm?" Meggie looked up and said, "Don't worry about it. Looks worse than it actually is."
"I-Is that so?"
Hope swallowed.
To procrastinate taking a bite for just a bit longer, she took the time to look around her surroundings.
The moment they got off the train, Meggie had taken Hope down a dizzying array of alleys, storefronts, and buildings before arriving at this place, a Chinese restaurant called "Beyond Heaven's Feel."
At least, that's what Meggie said the Chinese characters translated to.
While she might be able to understand spoken Japanese, it was only conversational. Anything complicated and she was at a loss.
The translation device that she got helped. But she would still like to properly learn it at some point...
Meggie raised an eyebrow and said, "Do you not like tofu or something? Or have something against pork?"
"N-No! It's just..." Hope swallowed and looked down at her bowl. "...I'm a little scared."
Meggie blinked. Then she rolled her eyes and said, "I'm serious. I got you the not spicy one. It just looks bad. Take a bite."
Hope picked up her spoon with trembling hands. Then she scooped a bit. And she slowly took a bite...
'Mm?!'
It was good.
Meggie was right. It looked scary, but it was just red. It wasn't spicy at all. In fact...
Salty, savory, a hint of... sour?
It was refreshing. Tasty too.
Hope scooped a spoonful of rice and dipped it in the sauce before taking another bite. Then she let out a satisfied sigh. "It's yummy."
"Told you." Meggie puffed her chest out, proud. "This place is apparently run by a crazy former priest who was changed after being exposed to Mapo Tofu. He's dedicated his life to bringing Mapo Tofu to new heights... whatever that means. But anyway." She pointed at Hope's bowl. "That's technically not Mapo Tofu. It's more like tofu and ground pork drizzled in a modified sweet and sour sauce. A bit weird, but good, right?"
"Mmhm!" Hope smiled and kept eating. "It's warm. Yummy too. I don't think I've ever had anything like this..."
Back at home, Hope had just been living off fast food mostly. That, or basic meals like boiled eggs, chicken breasts, and carrots.
Meggie raised an eyebrow. "Really? What do you usually eat then?" She eyed Hope's thin arm and said, "Rabbit food?"
Hope blushed. "I-It wasn't THAT bad! I just... didn't have much time to eat..."
"Well, you do now. So eat up."
Hope giggled. "I guess I do, huh?" She smiled and then kept eating her mapo tofu... or whatever it really was. As she did, she looked up at Meggie and said, "Um... could you tell me about yourself, Meggie?"
"Hm? I guess." Meggie took a bite from her tofu and said, "What do you wanna know?"
"Well... I've been really curious. Is that your actual hair?"
"Huh? Yeah." Meggie reached up with her left hand and idly twirled her light green hair. Then she played a bit wiht the blonde highlights and looked smug. "It's pretty, right?"
Hope nodded. "It really is!" She smiled and said, "It really suits you too!"
Meggie smiled and said, "Of course it does. I look just like my mom, and there's bits of my dad showing too. It's awesome."
"Huh?" Hope tilted her head. "I don't think you look like your mom though?"
Meggie blinked. "What are you talking about? Of course I look like my mom."
"O-Oh! I didn't mean anything bad by it. It's just... I think you look a lot like Mister John? You have his bangs, you know? And his eyes too."
Meggie reached up to touch her bangs. Then she tilted her head and said, "Huh. No one's ever told me that. ...Do I?"
"Mmhm!" Hope nodded. "You have Mister John's kind eyes!"
Meggie blinked. Then she snorted. "No wonder I've been having troubles recently... But, hm." She rubbed her chin and said, "I HAVE been growing more. People said I looked a lot like my mom when I was younger, but maybe Dad's blood is finally showing up more now that I'm growing."
"Probably!"
Meggie chuckled. "Well... That just means I get to blame my dad for more things in my life then."
===
After they finished their lunch, Meggie took Hope back out onto the main streets of Akihabara to take a look around.
'It's not like we're in a rush or anything.'
Meggie idly walked beside Hope with that thought in mind, watching as the older woman... older girl?
Older friend. Let's go with that.
Meggie idly walked beside Hope, just keeping an eye on her new friend.
Hope looked around with an awed expression, her phone raised to take pictures wherever they went. "Japan is amazing...!"
"Is it?" Meggie glanced over and said, "It's not that special to me. I mean, the arcades are fun. The gaming stores too. But like the architecture is just alright."
Compared to the literal floating islands and things Meggie had seen before arriving here, it wasn't THAT exciting...
...Comiket and conventions were an exception. And the Tokyo Game Show.
Hope shook her head. "It's not just that. I mean..." Hope waved her hand at the people and said, "It's the people too! Look at them! Everyone's walking around, chatting, having fun... Some people are dressed in cosplay, some people in maid outfits... and then there are those people wearing full ballgowns!"
Meggie raised an eyebrow and said, "You're from America, aren't you? Isn't New York like this?"
"I-Is it?" Hope blushed. "I-I haven't gone outside my state at all, so I wouldn't really know... It's mostly just farmland, cornfields, and stuff like that where I'm from..."
"Huh." Meggie blinked. "...So you're practically a farm girl in a city for the first time."
"I-I wouldn't say that! But... a little bit...?"
Meggie laughed. "No wonder you seem so normal."
"N-Normal? Me?" Hope blinked. "...You think I'm normal?"
Meggie kept walking, sticking her hands in her pants pockets. "Yep. Out of all the girls, you're definitely the normal one. But that's a good thing."
Hope frowned. "...How is being normal a good thing? Since I'm part of-" Hope caught herself and quickly adjusted. "Since I'm part of that group, shouldn't I be outstanding? Shining?"
"Nope." Meggie smiled. "You just need to be you. I think that's why Dad picked you. It's not that you're 'special' but that you're 'real.' Think about it for a bit. Do you know anyone like your senpais?"
Hope paused. "...No. They're all so brilliant. Special."
"Right." Meggie nodded. "They're basically anime characters."
Hope giggled. "Now that you mention it... they kind of are, right?"
"Mmhm. But you're normal. A hardworking girl from the middle of nowhere who's chasing her dreams..." Meggie smiled and said, "I think that's an idol people will root for the most. Don't you?"
Hope's eyes blurred with tears. Placing her hands over her chest, she sniffed and said, "That's... one of the kindest things anyone's ever said to me, Meggie. Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah." Meggie felt her ears burn, but she looked away and said, "Just stop crying. You're the adult here, sheesh."
Hope laughed and wiped her tears. "Th-That's right. I'll stop. I'm just... really happy. You know?"
Meggie smiled. "Come on. Let's keep walking."
Hope nodded and moved close to Meggie, taking more pictures as they moved.
Meggie noticed and said, "How much do you know about Japan anyway? You're not acting like the typical American tourist."
"H-Huh? Um... not much..." Hope paused and said, "...Typical American tourist?"
"Yeah. Those weirdos who come to Japan to either find a 'waifu,' geek out over doujins, stock up on merch, or just act weird in general."
"...What?"
"Don't worry about it. Anyway... You look like a normie. I guess you are?" Meggie hummed. "Just how DID you find out about your new job anyway? And those people?"
"O-Oh. Well... I was on UTube after work one day when I got a clip recommended to me." Hope frowned. "...I think it was Miya's cooking video first?"
"Wait." Meggie blinked. "You're telling me it wasn't Hana, Aoko... or even Alfi that you saw first. But Miya? And a cooking video?"
"Y-Yes? I was watching a lot of cooking videos at the time to calm down from work and I came across her ramen video. I didn't really like her content though... But after that I started getting recommended the others, and before I knew it I was watching them all the time."
"Huh." Meggie blinked. "...Well. I guess Yuri-senpai's going to hold this over everyone's head when she finds out. It's probably the biggest win she's had in a while."