Little Kazu - Satoshi's Birthday Wish Part 2
The restaurant was almost full when Satoshi and Sho entered. Thankfully, their usual seat was empty.
“As usual,” Satoshi said without looking at the waiter that came to get his order. He usually ate dumpling soup at Masaki’s restaurant and the staff was aware of it.
“Err… I don’t know what you mean by that,” answered the waiter. Satoshi frowned. This was the first time he heard this voice. Granted, he didn’t remember the voice of all of Masaki’s staff but this waiter had a distinct voice that would make it hard for him to forget.
Satoshi lifted his face to look at the waiter. Oh, it’s a new waiter. No wonder he didn’t know about Satoshi’s order. Hmm, the waiter was quite handsome.
“Hi, Matsujun,” Sho greeted the waiter. “This is Ohno-san. He usually eats dumpling soup,”
“Okay,” The waiter, Matsujun, wrote down the order. “How about you, Sakurai-san? The usual one for you too?”
“Yes,” Sho answered. “And, please let Masaki know I’m here with Ohno-san,”
The waiter nodded his head and then left for the kitchen. Satoshi watched his retreating figure with interest. He didn’t realize that Sho was watching him. Not until he took his eyes off from the kitchen and saw Sho stared at him with a playful smile.
“Oh, are you interested in him, Ohno-san?”
“What are you talking about?” Satoshi decided to act dumb even though he knew exactly what Sho meant.
“He’s cute, right?”
“Kinda,” Satoshi shrugged him off. He’s not going to let Sho tease him.
“Awh, don’t be shy, Ohno-san. If you want, I will ask Masaki to give him your contact number,”
“Urgh, please don’t do that,” Satoshi protested. At the same time, another voice was talking in his head. It was Kazu.
“The waiter is perfect for Satoshi,”
“Shut up, Kazu,” Satoshi answered with his thoughts, hoping that Kazu would hear it. When he heard the pixie snorted, he knew it worked. “And, how do you know he’s perfect for me when you cannot see him?”
“Because Kazu can hear his thoughts and he seems to be nice. Can Kazu take a peek?” The pixie asked. “Kazu wants to see him,”
“No, stay there,”
Even though he couldn’t see it, Satoshi could easily imagine the pout on the pixie’s face.
“Kazu is not pouting,”
Kazu said inside his head. Satoshi smiled slightly. He wondered how much of his thoughts that Kazu could hear. Hopefully, none of it was embarrassing.
“Ohchan, why are you smiling to yourself?”
Satoshi was surprised when Masaki waved his hand in front of him. Thank goodness, he didn’t squeal or do anything stupid. It would not be cool if he did so. But, how long had Masaki been sitting next to Sho?
“Oh, hi, Aiba-chan! How are you?”
Perhaps his voice was a little louder than usual because both Aiba and Sho looked at him weirdly. Satoshi had to speak loudly to drown Kazu’s voice in his head. Kazu kept on begging him to let him out. When he threatened to send Kazu home, the pixie immediately stopped begging.
“I’ve been sitting here for five minutes but you ignore me,” Aiba said. “What are you thinking about?”
“Perhaps he was thinking about your new staff. The handsome Matsujun,” Sho answered, winking at him.
“No…” Satoshi quickly denied.
“Then, what are you thinking about?” Aiba asked again.
Hmm, what should he answer? If Satoshi said he was talking telepathically to the pixie in his pocket, both Sho and Aiba would think he’s crazy.
“I’m just thinking about my presentation,” Answered Ohno.
Masaki looked at him sceptically. “You didn’t come to eat here for a while," grumbled Masaki. "Why? At least, tell me you're eating properly,"
“Yes, I’m eating properly,”
“I don’t think instant ramen is a proper meal, Ohno-san,” Quipped Sho. Satoshi glared at his manager, wishing that he would keep the mouth shut about what he ate.
“Ohchan, how many times do I have to tell you…”
“I’m busy, Aiba-chan. I don’t have time to eat,”
“Sho-chan,” His friend turned his attention to Sho who sat next to him. “Stop giving Ohchan too much work. He’s not eating because of you,”
“Eh, it’s not my fault. I am busier than him but I still have time to eat,”
“Because you have me to look after you. Ohchan doesn’t have someone like that,”
The couple continued bickering so Satoshi ignored them. Instead, he started another conversation with the pixie in his pocket.
“Do you want to eat, Kazu?" Satoshi asked. Kazu only ate fruits before they left for work. So, he must be hungry right now. But, Satoshi had no idea how he could feed the tiny creature.
"It's okay. Kazu is not hungry," said the pixie. "Kazu is sleepy so he will sleep now,"
"Okay. Rest properly, Little Kazu,"
"Un…"
He smiled, thinking of the little creature in his pocket. Kazu was adorable. He loved everything about the pixie.
"Sho-chan, see! Ohchan is smiling creepily again,"
Satoshi was startled when he heard Masaki's loud voice. He looked at both Sho and Masaki who grinned idiotically at him. Seemed like the couple had stopped squabbling and based on the identical grin on their faces, perhaps they would team up to tease him.
"I've told you!" Sho said. "It's because of Matsujun. He's been acting weirdly since he saw Matsujun. Give his number to Ohno-san and you don't have to worry about your friend anymore. Someone else will take care of him,"
Right on cue, Matsujun appeared with their orders. Oh my god! This was so embarrassing. The waiter looked at him with a shy smile and he didn't know what to do. But, one thing for sure, he would have to reprimand Sho later. His boss or not, Sho deserved to be scolded for what he did.
"Enjoy your meals, sirs," The waiter said after he was done putting their orders on the table. Before he left, Matsujun went closer to him.
"My shift ends at 6 and I am free after that,"
The waiter said softly. But, it was still loud enough to be heard by the two idiots. Once again, Satoshi didn't know how to respond. Did Matsujun just ask him out?
"Yeah!" Masaki squealed. "Ohchan is going on a date tonight!"
"It's all thanks to me," Gloated Sho. "Maybe I should be a matchmaker,"
Satoshi ignored both of them. He could only think of Kazu and how relieved he was that the pixie was sleeping. He didn't want Kazu to know about it.
Matsujun was not serious about asking him out, Satoshi concluded as he watched television. The waiter must be teasing him because of what the two idiots said. So, Satoshi didn't bother to ask for his number. Or went back to the restaurant after he finished working. Instead, he thought of how to spend his birthday with the little pixie who was sitting on his shoulder right now. The little pixie was happily munching an apple that Satoshi had cut for him earlier. Kazu refused to change to his human size because he wanted to sit on Satoshi's shoulder.
"Do you want more apples, Little Kazu?" He asked the pixie. But, the only response he heard was a snort.
"What's wrong?" He asked again, taking the pixie from his shoulder to put on his palm so that he could look at Kazu properly. The pixie is pouting and Satoshi had no idea why he was sulking.
"Kazu is Kazu, not Little Kazu,"
Oh…
"Okay, I am sorry. I will not call you Little Kazu anymore. Do you want more apples?"
"No, Kazu is full," answered the pixie.
Suddenly, Satoshi's phone rang so Kazu flew back to his shoulder, allowing him to take the call. It was an unknown number.
"Moshi Moshi," Ohno greeted the caller. "Who is this?"
"Moshi Moshi, Ohno-san," answered the caller. It was Matsujun.
"Oh, hi!" Answered Ohno. It was awkward. He didn't expect Jun would call him. He glanced at Kazu who was staring at him.
"I hope I didn't bother you,"
“No, it’s okay. Did Aiba-chan give you my number? You know, you can ignore those two. They’re just messing around. You don’t have to do what they say,”
“Ah, no!” Matsujun denied. “It’s the other way around. I asked for your number from Aiba-san,”
“Eh?”
“I am serious about what I said earlier. I want to ask you out,”
Ah, so, Matsujun wasn’t teasing him. He was serious. But, what should Satoshi do now? Should he accept the invitation? Well, Matsujun was good looking and Satoshi was flattered to know that Matsujun was interested in him. But, somehow, it felt wrong to go out with Matsujun.
“Are you still there, Ohno-san?” The waiter asked when Satoshi stayed silent. “If you don’t want…”
“Satoshi, say yes,” Kazu urged him, drowning down what Matsujun was saying. “This is Satoshi’s chance to be with someone he loves. Matsujun-san is the perfect mate for Satoshi,”
"Can I call you back later?" Satoshi said, ignoring the pixie. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Kazu stuck out his tongue at him. "I need to do some…"
"There's no need to call me if you want to reject me, Ohno-san,"
"No, that's not what I mean. I just need to think first,"
"Okay, I will wait for the good news then. But, if you want to reject me, I would rather you don't call me back,"
"I hope it won't come to that," Satoshi assured him before he ended the call.
Putting the phone down, he was greeted by the sight of pouting Kazu again.
"Satoshi is stupid!" The pixie complained. "He should say yes to Matsujun-san,"
"Why?"
Kazu rolled his eyes. "Satoshi wishes to find someone to love. And now, Matsujun-san loves him but he rejects him. So, Satoshi is stupid!"
What a cutie Kazu is, Satoshi thought as he watched the small pixie. If Kazu was bigger, maybe he would pinch those cheeks to make him stop. But, he enjoyed watching a whining Kazu.
"I don't reject him, Kazu," Satoshi clarified. "I just want to think about this properly,"
"Why think?" Kazu continued grumbling. "Trust Kazu! Matsujun-san is perfect,"
"Really? I don't know. I don't feel any sparks for him,"
The pixie rolled his eyes again, a sign that he thought Satoshi had said something stupid again. "No need for sparks now. Go out with Matsujun-san first and then Satoshi will feel the sparks. Satoshi is so picky. That's why he hasn't found anyone to love yet. Get to know Matsujun-san first and then see how it goes,"
Satoshi was taken aback, too stunned to respond. What Kazu had said… it was indeed true. He was picky. A few people had confessed to him before but he rejected them all because he couldn't feel the sparks. No wonder he couldn't find anyone to love. He didn't do the most important thing, which is, to know them first.
Maybe that's why Kazu was here. The pixie wasn't here to find someone for Satoshi. He was here to knock some senses into Satoshi and to push him into getting to know other people.
Okay, let's think about this properly. What did he think about Matsujun? Well, the waiter looked nice. He's handsome and based on what he saw, Matsujun seemed to have the quality that he was looking for. Determination. That's what Satoshi saw in him.
“You’re right,” Satoshi finally said. “I will call Matsujun and ask him out. Saturday is perfect, right?”
“Saturday? Kazu thinks Thursday is better,”
“Why? Isn’t it too soon? I mean, it’s the day after tomorrow. Or, do you mean next Thursday?”
“This Thursday,” The pixie clarified. When Satoshi wanted to protest, Kazu was quick to cut him off. “It’s Satoshi’s birthday. Kazu thinks it will be romantic to celebrate it with Matsujun-san,”
“Eh?” The idea was good. But, rather than spending it with Jun, he wanted to spend it with Kazu.
“Why? Satoshi doesn’t think it’s a good idea?”
“As I said, it’s too soon,”
“But if Satoshi spends the special day with Matsujun-san, he will know Satoshi is serious,” Kazu tried to justify.
“I’m working on that day,”
“Satoshi can go after work,”
“He could be working on that day. Perhaps for the night shift,”
“Urgh!” The pixie huffed, perhaps annoyed by Satoshi’s reluctance. For Satoshi, it’s weird to see Kazu like this. Why was he so determined trying to set Satoshi up with Matsujun?
Ah, the thought crossed his mind. Perhaps, Kazu cannot go home unless he fulfils Satoshi’s wish. That’s why he wanted to get over this quickly. There could be a lover waiting for Kazu in the pixie land and he missed her.
As he thought of the possibility of Kazu having a lover, it hurt him. But, he didn’t understand why. Perhaps because he wasn’t ready to part with the little creature yet. He shook the thoughts away when he noticed the pixie was pouting.
“How about if I go on a date with him tomorrow?” Satoshi suggested. “I have another plan for my birthday,”
“Celebrating it with your family?”
Satoshi answered it with a smile.
“Satoshi, Kazu is sorry. Kazu shouldn’t force Satoshi to do what Kazu wants. It’s just, there is a time limit. If Kazu didn’t find a partner for Satoshi before his birthday, Kazu will fail the mission,”
“It’s okay, Kazu,” Satoshi said, remembering his wish. That’s understandable. He had wished to find a partner before he turned thirty. That’s why Kazu was in a rush to find a partner for him. Maybe he shouldn’t wish for anything at all. But, if he didn’t make a wish, he wouldn’t get a chance to meet Kazu. “I will call Matsujun now and ask him out,”
“Kazu is tired. He will rest now,” Kazu suddenly said. He looked gloomy for some reasons and Satoshi wished he could comfort him. However, from the look that Kazu gave him, it was clear that the pixie wanted to be left alone.
Well, at least Satoshi knew there’s one thing he could do to make Kazu happy. He glanced at the clock, wondering if it’s already late to call Matsujun. As it was still early, he took out his phone and dialled the number that had called him earlier. The waiter answered the call almost immediately.
“I assume it’s good news,” said Matsujun after they greeted each other.
“Is tomorrow okay for you? We can meet after you’re done with your shift,”
“Yup, tomorrow is fine with me. What do you want to do? Simple dinner or other activities? We can watch a movie if it’s okay with you,”
“Movie sounds fun. I’ll see you tomorrow, Matsujun,”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it. Good night, Ohno-san,” said Matsujun before they ended the call. Satoshi switched off the television. Kazu was already sleeping and he had no mood to do anything else. So, maybe he should join the pixie in the dreamland.
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