"Shouko, why don't you play with Kanna for now? I'll make you both something good in a little while." He bent down and patted her head, then glanced at Kanna beside her.
"That goes for you too, of course. I'll make something tasty for you as well." With two little girls here, he could hardly favor one over the other.
Both of them cheered, then sat down together and fell into whatever it is little girls find to talk about.
Last, Yuto looked to Tohru. "Tohru, give the tables and chairs a wipe-down. We're opening soon."
"Got it!" The dragon answered cheerfully, grabbed a cloth, and set to work.
Yuto picked up a broom and stepped outside.
Customers rarely came up this alley, but the place still needed tending — just not as often as a busy storefront would.
A sweep every few days was plenty!
Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.
The bamboo broom dragged across the uneven stone, clearing grit from the cracks and the bits of windblown litter.
He was nearly done when an excited voice called from the mouth of the alley.
"Yuto-kun!"
He looked up.... It was Utaha.
Her fair, lovely face was flushed — hard to say whether from excitement, shyness, or plain happiness.
The alley was dim while the street beyond still held the day's brightness, and she stood right on the seam between the two, the light at her back.
She looked like a girl stepped out of a fairy tale.
"You're here. Go on in and have a seat; I'll be right behind you," he said with a smile.
"Mm!" She seemed to have something she wanted to say, but in the end she kept it in, nodding lightly before drifting down the steps into the restaurant.
As she passed him, she stole a glance his way without quite meaning to.
Broom in hand, Yuto couldn't help a quiet laugh.
The happiness was practically pouring off her; of course he could feel it.
There was only one thing that could put her in a mood like this — he knew her well enough for that.
He gave the ground a last couple of strokes and went back inside.
Tohru was still wiping down the furniture in quick, energetic passes.
To the left of the counter the two little girls whispered together; to the right sat Utaha, looking as though she could barely hold still, the tips of her feet swaying in some secret little dance with a bright lingering smile on her face.
Yuto set the broom aside, ducked into the kitchen to wash his hands and tie on his apron, then came back out behind the counter and looked across at her.
She happened to be looking right at him, her eyes bright as a sky full of stars, the corner of her mouth curved soft as a bend in a river.
He smiled. "What's got you so happy?"
"That Horikoshi guy got fired."
"So your book can be published now?"
"Mm!" She nodded, beaming.
"Congratulations, then," Yuto said gently.
She didn't answer right away.
She went quiet — but it wasn't a stiff, frozen silence, instead a slow embarrassment crept over her, and beneath that odd shyness sat a happiness so moving it nearly glowed.
She was like a flower blooming shyly at night, beautiful precisely for the way it tries to hide.
She looked into his eyes.
"Thank you," she said at last, after a small pause — two soft words, like a mischievous night breeze brushing past an ear and gone the next instant.
"It was nothing," he said lightly.
Hearing it, she felt a warm spring well up in her chest, gentle and mild.
She didn't know what he'd done, and she'd decided not to ask — because even if she did, he might not tell her.
And if he ever wanted some kind of repayment for it… well.
Even that wasn't something she couldn't accept.
Yuto had no idea what was running through her head just then, but he did notice something odd about her face.
It seemed to be — turning red.
"Then, to celebrate, your meal's on the house today," he said, smiling.
"In that case I'm ordering something extravagant!"
"Sure. Whatever you like." He just smiled and nodded, perfectly aware she was only teasing.
"Tohru, flip the sign on the door. It's time." Yuto's voice came from the kitchen; he was already cooking and couldn't get to it himself.
"On it!" The dragon went straight to the entrance, turned the sign from Closed to Open, and clicked on the little lamp above the door.
A soft pool of light spread over the dim alley.
Business had officially started, but Erina and Hisako still hadn't arrived — held up by the freezer, most likely.
Yuto wasn't worried since they'd only just opened.
...
Sizzle.
That was squid rolls hitting the hot pan, the tender red-and-white flesh slowly turning gold in the oil, the odd droplet popping and spitting as he nudged them around with his chopsticks.
This was the dish he meant for Utaha — made specially to celebrate her.
She'd joked about wanting something luxurious, but it had only been teasing; in the end she'd told him to make whatever he pleased and left it at that.
He lifted the pan-fried squid rolls onto a long rectangular plate and ladled a full spoonful of sauce over them.
Beside them sat two enormous fried prawns — no light tempura coating, just the prawn meat itself, but huge, leftovers from the lobster they'd had at the seafood meal last time, kept fresh all this while in the spatial backpack.
They hadn't escaped the pot in the end; fried to a deep gold, they made an impressive showing on the plate, mostly on sheer size, the rich meaty aroma rolling off them only drawing the eye more.
He squeezed cheese sauce over the prawn, then scooped out a small mound of rice.
For a grown man that little portion of rice would vanish in three bites, but here it was exactly right.
There was lobster.
There were squid rolls.
The rice was only a small extra.
He poured tea over it and set two cherries gently on top — the lobster fried, the squid pan-fried, the tea rice there to cut through all that richness.
When he carried the three plates out, the girl at the counter let out a soft sound of surprise.
"This is the Dreams Come True Set. A house special," Yuto said, smiling.
Utaha sighed with helplesness, though the corner of her mouth soon tugged upward.
"Honestly, this is too much. I'll never finish it all. Yuto-kun, are you trying to make me gain weight on purpose?" There was the faintest sulky complaint in it.
"Can't you let me off the hook just this once?"
"All right, all right. I'll make an exception this once," she added, playing reluctant — though her eyes said plainly that there was nothing reluctant about it at all.
They said I want to eat that.
"It looks so fancy…" Across the way, Shouko couldn't help murmuring at the sight of the food in front of Utaha.
Yuto turned his head as he'd heard her. "Shouko, would you like some too?"
"Eh! No, no — this is plenty." She shook her head in a small flurry and pointed at the little fried snacks he'd set out earlier for her and Kanna.
"It's fine. If there's something you want, just say so. I won't scold you," he said gently.
The little girl hesitated, then finally got out what she really wanted.
"Um… then… Yuto-nii-san, I want squid rolls!"
"Coming right up." He smiled, nodded, and turned back toward the kitchen.
But just as he was about to slice more squid, the restaurant door swung open.
The night's first customer had arrived!
"Welcome." He poked his head out of the kitchen with his usual easy smile.
Yuto poured a cup of tea for Yakumo Yukari, the stream gurgling softly into the cup, while across the counter, Shouko was already working through her squid rolls.
The Gensokyo crowd tonight was the same familiar lineup — Yuuka, Yakumo Yukari, Ran and Chen, Reimu and Marisa, and Suika to round it out.
Princess Kaguya, who'd promised the night before that she'd come, did not come with them.
When Yuto asked after her, Yukari laughed softly and filled him in.
The moon princess, having gotten thoroughly hooked on video games, had finally caught Eirin's punishment.
Ever since they'd returned the previous night, the screams from Eientei hadn't let up... no one knew exactly what Eirin had done, but it was certainly nothing simple.
And so the game-addicted princess had dropped clean off the grid.
Yuto couldn't help but smile at that.
He absolutely wasn't taking pleasure in her misfortune.
Absolutely not!
"By the way, Boss — on my way here Akyuu asked me to remind you that you still haven't done what you promised her last time. She hopes you won't forget." Yukari watched him with a small smile at the corner of her mouth.
The last time he'd visited Gensokyo, Hieda no Akyuu had told him she wanted to get some information out of him about the outside world and a few other things, and he'd agreed — only to drink too much later at the Scarlet Devil Mansion and let it slip his mind.
"Yukari, when you go back, tell Akyuu I haven't forgotten. Actually — why doesn't she just come to the restaurant?"
"Sure. I'll pass that along."
"Thanks." He smiled and nodded faintly.
Mentioning Akyuu reminded him he'd also promised to teach Sakuya how to make canelé — another thing his drinking had derailed last time.
He felt a little regret about it.
If a night like that ever came around again, he absolutely could not overdo it.
Remilia and Sakuya weren't here tonight, though, so the lesson would have to wait.
"Speaking of which, Kamisaka, your tolerance is genuinely awful. You passed out after just that little bit last time — seriously, you're no fun at all!"
Beside Reimu, Suika gulped down a mouthful of drink and aired her complaint with open dissatisfaction.
Yuto could only sigh.
This drink-loving oni had practically grown up steeping in a wine jar, how was he supposed to match her, with his life on the line?