Yama-something - KoyamaPi, G
title: Yama-something
author: nihongofrancais
word count: 1,307 words
genre: RPF, AU, NEWS
pairing: Koyama/YamaPi (sort of, it you squint A LOT)
summary: Koyama strives to prove his ramen!making!mettle to a random stranger.
author's notes: unbetaed. Written for acchikocchi's prompt from the koyamapi!fic!a!thon! anamuan has a cameo! ♥
"HAI! IRASSHAI!"
Koyama looked up from where he was scrubbing down the countertop to see a customer walk under the noren and through the open door. "Kind of empty, isn't it?" The man chuckled, removing his sunglasses as he made his way over.
Koyama sheepishly smiled, adjusting the red bandana on his head with the flat of his hand. "It's not like this normally, really," he maintained. "We're usually full up at lunch."
"Oh really?" The man sat down on a stool opposite from where Koyama stood behind the counter. He was clearly skeptical, and yet... "Well, I'll just have to risk this one; I'm starving."
Pleased at the customer's choice, Koyama quickly prepared a bowl. "So what will you have then?"
"Hmm…" He glanced at the wall behind Koyama's head, checking out the various ramen offerings. "I guess I'll just go with the house specialty, with soft noodles and extra ginger."
"How about the soup? Strong?"
He nodded, going along with Koyama's suggestion. "Strong sounds good to me."
"Alright! So, one tonkatsu ramen, soft on the noodles, strong on the soup, and extra ginger coming up!"
Koyama immediately set to work, determined to prove his lone customer that the ramen here could be really good. Moving over to the strainers of boiling water, he tossed in a serving of ramen and then hit the timer above his head, insuring that he wouldn't overcook the noodles despite never having done so before-it never hurt to be a bit cautious, Koyama thought.
He moved back to the cutting boards near the front of the kitchen area and started slicing up the garnish ingredients in front of his customer. "So, are you Koyama?"
Koyama didn't have to ask what he was talking about, as it was a common question from new customers, seeing as the name of the place was "Koyama's". "I am Koyama, but not the one who started the shop. That would be my mother, who is off idol-chasing right now."
"Idol-chasing?"
"Yeah." Koyama chuckled, setting aside the finished green onions. "That's actually why no one is here, I think. Apparently they're filming for some drama at the hospital down the street and her favorite idol is like the star of the drama. Yama-something. ...YamaPi, that's what his name was! What kind of name is that anyway, right?"
His customer, who had been drinking from his small cup of water, choked a little. "Are you okay?" Koyama leaned over the countertop, watching helplessly in concern.
It took the young man a moment, but he recovered his voice. "Yeah, I'm fine, thank you. It's just that name. ...it's really something huh?"
"I guess." Koyama shrugged, moving back over to the noodles. Noting that they were ready, he grabbed the handle of the small strainer and pulled it from the water, giving it a few good, strong jerks to get all the excess water out. "I just don't get how those idols do it. I mean, I'm just struggling to get through college!"
"Oh? You're a student?"
"Yeah." Satisfied with the state of the noodles, Koyama gently slid them into the bowl and then started to ladle in the soup. "It took me two year of prep school, but I finally got into MeiDai's Literature department."
"Wow. MeiDai, as in Meiji University?" Koyama could hear that he was impressed in his voice, and appropriately blushed slightly. "I always wanted to go there; I was never smart enough though."
"Really?" Koyama glanced up from where he was garnishing the ramen, having already placed the sliced pork into the bowl. "What do you do, if you don't mind me asking?"
The man appeared a bit startled by the question, as if he had never been asked it before. "Me? Oh, I'm just a freeter. Sometimes I wish I could go back to school and try for college again."
As Koyama added the final ginger-remembering to add a bit extra-he couldn't help but feel the need to cheer on this stranger that he hadn't known until today. "You should try! It took me some time, but I eventually got in! And if I can get in, anyone can get in," he assured, setting the finished bowl of ramen in front of his customer. "Here you go! One tonkatsu ramen, soft noodles, strong soup, and extra ginger!"
Koyama eagerly watched as the young man's attention became fully enraptured with the bowl of streaming hot ramen in front of him. Taking the wooden chopsticks that he had broken earlier, he gave a quick, "ITADAKIMASU!" before diving in. He hefted a good amount of ramen out of the bowl and slurped-practically inhaled.
There was a moment of pause as he worked his mouth around the noodles and let his tongue absorb the taste. Then, he looked up from the bowl and straight at Koyama, meeting his eyes. "...meccha umai," he emphatically declared.
Koyama broke into a wide grin. "I'm so glad! To be totally honestly, that actually was the first bowl of ramen I've made all by myself!"
His customer, who had his face over the bowl as he feasted, stopped for a split second (as if he was trying to figure out if he'd been poisoned by this amateur), and then just continued. He had obviously taken a chance thus far; he might as well just follow it all the way through.
*~*~*
Later that evening, still riding out the high of his first successful bowl of ramen, Koyama leisurely lounged in the ofuro, flipping through the channels on the small wall-mounted television. "God, all these varieties are so boring," he muttered, flipping past some show called Himitsu no Arashi-chan of all things.
The next channel appeared to be some random medical drama or something and Koyama was about to click past it until he caught sight of a very familiar-looking fluffy perm on one of the actors. "I think I've seen that before…" His voice fell away once the head turned to reveal the face of the person and he found himself staring at the face of his mysterious customer from earlier.
Koyama squealed and jumped out of the ofuro right away, grabbing for his towel. He almost slipped as he struggled to pull the door opened, and then dashed down the hallway to the living room, clutching his towel around his waist with a trembling hand. "MOM! MOM! MY CUSTOMER-THE ONE I TOLD YOU ABOUT-HE'S ON-"
He froze in mid-flail in the doorway to the living room, dripping all over the tatami, but his mother hardly paid him mind. She was sitting directly in front of the television on a zabuton (looking not all that unlike a dog patiently waiting for a treat)-one hand gently threading through Nyanta's fur as he napped next to her feet, and the other holding the cordless house phone to her ear as she watched the same drama Koyama had been.
"Nikki-chan! Today, YamaPi was filming Code Blue in our neighborhood! I went to go see him, but the everyone was there and I didn't get to see him at all!" she whined to Koyama's older sister. "I wonder if they'll show our neighborhood or even our shop in the previews for next week's episode! I'm watching right now and YamaPi's just so perfect as a doctor…"
As the gears in Koyama's head started to turn and he eventually managed to piece together all the facts, Koyama began to feel a little faint. He had... His first bowl was for... OHMIGOD.
"YAMAPI!"
His mother quickly snapped her head in his direction as his cry of her idol's name. "Kei-chan? What's wrong? What about YamaPi?"
Koyama frowned, his lower lip quivering as he thought back to their conversation. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT ABOUT YOUR NAME! DON'T BE MAD AT ME!!!"
the end.
author: nihongofrancais
word count: 1,307 words
genre: RPF, AU, NEWS
pairing: Koyama/YamaPi (sort of, it you squint A LOT)
summary: Koyama strives to prove his ramen!making!mettle to a random stranger.
author's notes: unbetaed. Written for acchikocchi's prompt from the koyamapi!fic!a!thon! anamuan has a cameo! ♥
"HAI! IRASSHAI!"
Koyama looked up from where he was scrubbing down the countertop to see a customer walk under the noren and through the open door. "Kind of empty, isn't it?" The man chuckled, removing his sunglasses as he made his way over.
Koyama sheepishly smiled, adjusting the red bandana on his head with the flat of his hand. "It's not like this normally, really," he maintained. "We're usually full up at lunch."
"Oh really?" The man sat down on a stool opposite from where Koyama stood behind the counter. He was clearly skeptical, and yet... "Well, I'll just have to risk this one; I'm starving."
Pleased at the customer's choice, Koyama quickly prepared a bowl. "So what will you have then?"
"Hmm…" He glanced at the wall behind Koyama's head, checking out the various ramen offerings. "I guess I'll just go with the house specialty, with soft noodles and extra ginger."
"How about the soup? Strong?"
He nodded, going along with Koyama's suggestion. "Strong sounds good to me."
"Alright! So, one tonkatsu ramen, soft on the noodles, strong on the soup, and extra ginger coming up!"
Koyama immediately set to work, determined to prove his lone customer that the ramen here could be really good. Moving over to the strainers of boiling water, he tossed in a serving of ramen and then hit the timer above his head, insuring that he wouldn't overcook the noodles despite never having done so before-it never hurt to be a bit cautious, Koyama thought.
He moved back to the cutting boards near the front of the kitchen area and started slicing up the garnish ingredients in front of his customer. "So, are you Koyama?"
Koyama didn't have to ask what he was talking about, as it was a common question from new customers, seeing as the name of the place was "Koyama's". "I am Koyama, but not the one who started the shop. That would be my mother, who is off idol-chasing right now."
"Idol-chasing?"
"Yeah." Koyama chuckled, setting aside the finished green onions. "That's actually why no one is here, I think. Apparently they're filming for some drama at the hospital down the street and her favorite idol is like the star of the drama. Yama-something. ...YamaPi, that's what his name was! What kind of name is that anyway, right?"
His customer, who had been drinking from his small cup of water, choked a little. "Are you okay?" Koyama leaned over the countertop, watching helplessly in concern.
It took the young man a moment, but he recovered his voice. "Yeah, I'm fine, thank you. It's just that name. ...it's really something huh?"
"I guess." Koyama shrugged, moving back over to the noodles. Noting that they were ready, he grabbed the handle of the small strainer and pulled it from the water, giving it a few good, strong jerks to get all the excess water out. "I just don't get how those idols do it. I mean, I'm just struggling to get through college!"
"Oh? You're a student?"
"Yeah." Satisfied with the state of the noodles, Koyama gently slid them into the bowl and then started to ladle in the soup. "It took me two year of prep school, but I finally got into MeiDai's Literature department."
"Wow. MeiDai, as in Meiji University?" Koyama could hear that he was impressed in his voice, and appropriately blushed slightly. "I always wanted to go there; I was never smart enough though."
"Really?" Koyama glanced up from where he was garnishing the ramen, having already placed the sliced pork into the bowl. "What do you do, if you don't mind me asking?"
The man appeared a bit startled by the question, as if he had never been asked it before. "Me? Oh, I'm just a freeter. Sometimes I wish I could go back to school and try for college again."
As Koyama added the final ginger-remembering to add a bit extra-he couldn't help but feel the need to cheer on this stranger that he hadn't known until today. "You should try! It took me some time, but I eventually got in! And if I can get in, anyone can get in," he assured, setting the finished bowl of ramen in front of his customer. "Here you go! One tonkatsu ramen, soft noodles, strong soup, and extra ginger!"
Koyama eagerly watched as the young man's attention became fully enraptured with the bowl of streaming hot ramen in front of him. Taking the wooden chopsticks that he had broken earlier, he gave a quick, "ITADAKIMASU!" before diving in. He hefted a good amount of ramen out of the bowl and slurped-practically inhaled.
There was a moment of pause as he worked his mouth around the noodles and let his tongue absorb the taste. Then, he looked up from the bowl and straight at Koyama, meeting his eyes. "...meccha umai," he emphatically declared.
Koyama broke into a wide grin. "I'm so glad! To be totally honestly, that actually was the first bowl of ramen I've made all by myself!"
His customer, who had his face over the bowl as he feasted, stopped for a split second (as if he was trying to figure out if he'd been poisoned by this amateur), and then just continued. He had obviously taken a chance thus far; he might as well just follow it all the way through.
*~*~*
Later that evening, still riding out the high of his first successful bowl of ramen, Koyama leisurely lounged in the ofuro, flipping through the channels on the small wall-mounted television. "God, all these varieties are so boring," he muttered, flipping past some show called Himitsu no Arashi-chan of all things.
The next channel appeared to be some random medical drama or something and Koyama was about to click past it until he caught sight of a very familiar-looking fluffy perm on one of the actors. "I think I've seen that before…" His voice fell away once the head turned to reveal the face of the person and he found himself staring at the face of his mysterious customer from earlier.
Koyama squealed and jumped out of the ofuro right away, grabbing for his towel. He almost slipped as he struggled to pull the door opened, and then dashed down the hallway to the living room, clutching his towel around his waist with a trembling hand. "MOM! MOM! MY CUSTOMER-THE ONE I TOLD YOU ABOUT-HE'S ON-"
He froze in mid-flail in the doorway to the living room, dripping all over the tatami, but his mother hardly paid him mind. She was sitting directly in front of the television on a zabuton (looking not all that unlike a dog patiently waiting for a treat)-one hand gently threading through Nyanta's fur as he napped next to her feet, and the other holding the cordless house phone to her ear as she watched the same drama Koyama had been.
"Nikki-chan! Today, YamaPi was filming Code Blue in our neighborhood! I went to go see him, but the everyone was there and I didn't get to see him at all!" she whined to Koyama's older sister. "I wonder if they'll show our neighborhood or even our shop in the previews for next week's episode! I'm watching right now and YamaPi's just so perfect as a doctor…"
As the gears in Koyama's head started to turn and he eventually managed to piece together all the facts, Koyama began to feel a little faint. He had... His first bowl was for... OHMIGOD.
"YAMAPI!"
His mother quickly snapped her head in his direction as his cry of her idol's name. "Kei-chan? What's wrong? What about YamaPi?"
Koyama frowned, his lower lip quivering as he thought back to their conversation. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT ABOUT YOUR NAME! DON'T BE MAD AT ME!!!"
the end.