Ice Cream is Best Served with Friends || Saito

Saito was understandably excited for today. He’d been planning to thank Chise for her help a while ago, but so much has happened so quickly that she never really had time to spare. But now she was free! So, Saito wasted no time calling up his buddy and inviting her out to get some ice cream at this real snazzy, retro ice cream bar he found on his jogging route. Wasn’t the cheapest, but it wasn’t like Saito was hurting on cash with pocket money from home and he felt that after the stressful times Chise must’ve gone through recently, she deserved to relax a bit.

Wearing a baggy red hoodie and ragged, washed-out jeans, Saito kept his hands in the warm pockets as he walked down the calm street, to where they’d agreed to meet. It was Mid-Autumn and while trees weren’t bare, the pathways throughout Tokyo were swathed in red and brown, crinkly, dead leaves. He liked the way they’d crackle and snap beneath his feet – It made the world that little bit more dynamic while he enjoyed a boring walk.

He turned the corner of the street, letting a gust of wind blow a flurry of leaves the same way, and saw Chise waiting on a bench. She was wearing the usual muted but cutesy and fitting clothes she normally did. A pink sweater and cute skirt, casual shoes; she was prepared for a day of relaxing.
“Yo! Ishihara-chan!” he called, waving as he jogged toward her. He grinned his usual dumbass grin, plodding along that path and stopping a bit short of the bench, looking down at her. “How you doin’ today?” Animated as ever, he refused to stay still while they chatted, looking around them or bouncing on his heels between breaths.
They shared some smalltalk for a little while before heading off.

The bar was a very short walk away from where they already were, which gave them a few minutes to enjoy the outside. Saito strolled alongside Chise at a friendly distance, frequently turning in his stride to speak with her. “So this place, it’s called Frazzies! It’s, like, this 80’s American diner thing and I swear to God it sells the best freakin’ ice cream I’ve ever eaten!” Around them, the world was alive! People wandered as they crossed the road and turned onto a main street. A woman walked her two dogs and a small ground of younger kids yelled and giggled about something on their circle of phones. Cars drove by, birds tweeted above their heads and lights shone through shop windows.
“What’s your favourite ice cream, Ishihara-chan? Don’t forget, it’s my treat for helping me out, so you can get whatever you want – Or do ya wanna wait to see a menu?” Saito’s bright smile was definitely an assurance to Chise that everything was right with the world and that today was gonna be a great day.

As Chise responded, they would take another turn down an alley and then onto another main street, coming across a bright and flavoursome store front. It was bright red, with wide windows and “Frazzies” written in large, acrylic lettering across the top. Through the windows were the tell-tale signs of an American diner you’d see in any movie from that odd country. Booths and plates filled with hearty food and, in one booth, a huge pint of ice cream sat in front of a little girl with some of it down her dress and all over her face.
“We’re here!!” chimed Saito, corralling his classmate inside.

Saito rubbed his hands together and laughed a mischievous, decadent laugh as he stalked up to the counter. "Grab us a booth, Ishihara-chan! Imma have a chat with the boss!" By boss, of course, Saito meant the elderly Japanese man behind the counter, in one of those hokey white ice cream parlour uniforms. The old man recognised young Saito and gave a mild-mannered smile.
"Hello again, young man? Back so soon?"
"Sup gramps? Brought a friend this time around, I gotta convert her to the way of American ice cream." the old man watched Chise and laughed quietly.
"I'll make sure to whip up the best. Join your friend, Holly will take your orders as soon as she's done." Saito grinned and bounced on his heels over to wherever Chise sat them.

He slid into the booth, sitting opposite his floofy-haired buddy. "Already got the menu? What looks good to you?" Saito busied himself by tugging his hoodie off over his head. The menu was host to a massive variety of sweet frozen treats! Ice pops, slushies, sundaes, milkshakes- A veritable cornucopia of ice cream headaches! With a puff and grin, Saito tossed his hoodie in the space beside him, leaving him in his jeans and a short-sleeved shirt with the picture of some kind of otter lifting weights. "Get whatever you want, Ishihara-chan. My treat!" he gave the girl one of his usual, bright smiles that didn't quite fit his muscular frame.

After a few minutes of chatting, their discourse was interrupted by a woman dressed in a yellow waitress outfit, with her brown hair tied in a fancy braid. "Howdy again, little fella-" On closer inspection, Chise would notice that the woman was at least 6 feet tall and definitely American by her accent. Her Japanese was quite impressive. "Teikashi-san told me you were back and brought a cute friend!" The woman grinned to Chise, picking out a handy, half-used notepad. "So what're you two lookin' to have today?"
Saito glanced over to Chise. "Can you pick something for me too? Anythin's fine! We can even share one of the huge family bowl thingies if you're up to challenging my mighty appetite!" The laidback boy leaned back in his chair. When their order was taken, Holly would nod, note it down and dash off to get it made for them.

Saito chuckled to himself, leaning on the palm of a roughed hand as he observed Chise stumble over her own awkwardness in conversation to Holly. Chise was perhaps the least threatening human being he’d met in his life and probably the sweetest too. It seemed everything she did had some kind of kind intention behind it. He knew he’d blind-sided her by asking her to order for him, but Saito was interested in what she’d say since – well – their interactions outside of class and hallway were minimal, so it was like seeing what she thought he might like. And she definitely chose correctly. Upon he call for a choco-choco sundae, one of the treats he’d tried in the past, he rubbed his hands excitedly. “Good taste, Ishihara-chan!”

So now all they had to do was wait. Thankfully, ice cream never really needed much prep time, so they had a couple minutes to chat before their treats arrived. “How’s Shimizu-san?” He plucked a lump of lint from a crease in his shirt, inquiring about the peachette’s boyfriend. Haruto was a perfect match for Chise, he thought, talented and kind just like she was. While not a part of the cooking club, Saito had learned a lot about the practice by asking the little chef some questions now n then. Initially, he wasn’t a fan of the butter-wouldn’t-melt niceness of his actions, but the boy did show some spine sometimes. That was good. He listened to her response and, somewhere, interrupted her: “Has he proposed yet?” Saito gave her a mischievous grin, knowing it would put a spark in her heart. He’d seen Chise cry at teasing before, so he wouldn’t be too bad. He couldn’t handle crying…
If she got a little too shy about it, he’d wave his hand and laugh. “Just teasing! You two are such a good match that I couldn’t help myself!”

If Chise had any questions for him, he’d have to answer them in a moment as Holly returned with their frozen treats. “Here ya go, guys! Small pink sundae, no cherry with extra cream for you, honey, and a choco-sundae for Yamada-san.” Holly smiled to them both. “Enjoy!” And with that she was off again, the place starting to pick up in customers.
Saito let out a bubbly, excited laugh, looking over his ice cream. The sundaes were both in those fancy glass cup things. Saito’s was a scoop of dark chocolate drizzled in white and milk chocolate sauces with bunches of hazelnuts and chocolate chips on top. Chise’s was a quieter meal, with a scoop of delicious looking strawberry ice cream with red, white and blue sprinkles, a yoghurt-y vanilla syrup glistening beneath a proud, whole, seedless strawberry topped with a mountain of whipped cream. Saito had already started enjoying the delectable sweetness of the treat he was abandoning his diet for when Holly returned with a tall glass of cool-but-not-freezing water. “Sorry hun! A glass of water too for you!” Aaaand she was gone again.
Oh well! Only thing to do now was to enjoy the ice cream!