Azami Izumida/Let's Eat.

Put your hands together, and

Backstage Stories

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Izumi	(Phew~. I’m tired from helping out all day. But the performance looked like a success; I’m glad.)
	(I’m hungry… There’s still some time till dinner, so maybe I’ll grab something before heading home.)
Azami	—Got it. Don’t worry. I’ll let you off the hook if you treat me next time, Shifuto. Yeah, yeah. See you.
Izumi	Huh? Azami-kun?
Azami	—Director.
Izumi	On your way back from school?
Azami	Yeah. I was thinking of getting some ramen with a friend, but he cancelled on me last minute.
Izumi	Ramen, huh. Sounds good.
Azami	We can go another day, but the store is a requirement on the ramen map, so….
Izumi	Oh, right, you guys were filling out a ramen map?
	That’s right! Can I come along with you? I was just thinking of grabbing something to eat.
Azami	There’s no curry ramen.
Izumi	I eat things other than curry too!
Azami	Alright then, let’s go.
Izumi	What kind of store is it?
Azami	It offers beauty ramen that’s good for the skin. It’s popular among women lately.
Izumi	Beauty ramen!?
Azami	Full of collagen. The noodles are also made of low-fat ingredients.
Izumi	Amazing, Azami-kun. You’re serious even when it comes to ramen….
Azami	Of course.
	But it’s not really the kind of place a guy can go on his own, so I’m glad you’re here, Director.
Izumi	I’m hungry, so this is perfect. Is the friend you were planning on going with also a boy?
Azami	Yup. He just joined a theater troupe, and they’re telling him to take care of his skin and whatnot, so he was interested.
Izumi	Huh~. He must be relieved to have a friend like you, Azami-kun.
Azami	Well, he’s the kind of guy who can’t afford to spend money on cosmetics, so I teach him about stuff like rice bran face packs.
Izumi	Is he an old friend?
Azami	He’s my childhood friend.
Izumi	Ah, is he the one you ran away from home with?
Azami	Yup. He was always interested in theater, and he got accepted to a theater troupe audition recently.
Izumi	I see.
Azami	He was already a busy guy—he does all the housework and volunteers around where he lives, but now he has to deal with practice, too. So he hardly has any time anymore.
	He cancelled today because his troupe called him out of nowhere. But I’m glad he seems fulfilled.
Izumi	So he’s working hard. You can’t lose, Azami-kun.
Azami	Well, yeah.

Staff	Welcome~!
Izumi	The customers really are all women.
Azami	It doesn’t feel like a ramen shop.
Izumi	What will you order?
Azami	We still have to eat dinner, so something light—.
Izumi	Ah, this one says it’s moderate size. Should we order it?
Azami	I guess they offer this sort of thing because they get lots of female customers.
Izumi	They know know how to suit every need, huh.
Staff	Thank you for waiting~.
Izumi	Wow, it’s full of vegetables! Looks delicious!
Azami	It’s full of beauty food.
Izumi	Itadakimasu!
Azami	...Itadakimasu.
Izumi	(Ah, Azami-kun puts his hands together when he says it.)
	(Now that I think about it, he does it so discreetly that it’s hard to notice, but I feel like he always puts his hands together at the dorms, too.)
	(He’s holding his chopsticks very properly, too….)
	Azami-kun, you have good table manners, huh. Like when you say your “itadakimasu”s, and the way you hold your chopsticks.
Azami	——.
	No… It’s just habit because otherwise shithead Sakyo will yell at me.
Izumi	So it’s Sakyo-san’s teachings?
Azami	If I don’t put my hands together he whisks away my plate at top speed, and if I don’t hold my chopsticks properly he takes those away too. I don’t know if it’s because he always keeps an eye out, but his reaction speed is insane.
Izumi	So thorough… though that does sound like Sakyo-san.
	But why do you do it so inconspicuously?
Azami	That’s because… How do I put it, it’s embarrassing, and I don’t want shithead Sakyo to notice.
Izumi	(I guess he doesn’t want Sakyo-san to notice that he’s following his teachings. Kind of like a minor rebellious phase?)
	(Ah, that’s right—.)
Azami	Thanks for the meal.
Izumi	Thank you for the meal.
Azami	But yeah, no surprise, I’m still hungry. I wanna ask for a refill.
Izumi	I understand how you feel, but you won’t be able to eat dinner if you do.
Azami	Wonder what’s for dinner today?
Izumi	Now that you mention it, I think Omi-kun messaged us over LIME… But I was at work so I couldn’t check.
Azami	...Oh, here we go.
Juza Hyodo Omi-san, what’s for dinner today?
Omi Fushimi Today’s menu also functions as role-building for Autumn Troupe’s performance
taichi nanao Ooh, so Chinese!?
BANRI. Huh, sounds good
Juza Hyodo Almond tofu… Sesame dumplings….
Omi Fushimi I’ve prepared dessert too
BANRI. What are you, a kid?
Izumi	A menu that also functions as role-building… don’t tell me it’s….
Azami	Ramen…?

Izumi	We’re home~.
Azami	We’re home.
Omi	Perfect timing. We’re just about to eat, so help me set up the table.
Izumi	Is it ramen…?
Azami	No—.
Izumi	Ah, it’s dim sum!
Omi	Everyone’s been filling out the ramen map lately, right? So I tried making a full course of dim sum.
Izumi	Wow, there’s so much! It looks delicious!
Taichi	Dumplings and shaomai and deep fried food and fried vegetables and manto—uu, I don’t know what to eat first!
Homare	I heard we were having an Autumn Troupe play-themed dinner and bought some Chinese tea leaves.
Guy	I’ll brew them right away.
Omi	I’ll leave it to you, Guy-san.
Taichi	I can’t wait to eat~!
Izumi	Is this everything?
Azami	Yeah.
Taichi	Then—Itadakimasu! Let’s eat!
Izumi	Ah, wait one second!
Taichi	???
Homare	Is something the matter?
Izumi	We should take this opportunity to all put our hands together and say “Itadakimasu” at once!
Misumi	Everyone at once~?
Izumi	Yes. Everyone put your chopsticks down—.
	Omi-kun, thank you for always cooking such delicious meals for us! Now let’s say it together—.
Taichi	Itadakimasu!
Misumi	Itadakima~su!
Azami	...Itadakimasu.
Banri	What is this, elementary school lunchtime…?
Guy	So this is this country’s etiquette. It’s quite nice.
Homare	Yes, it’s refreshing.
Taichi	Omi-kun, thank you for all the meals!
Juza	They’re always delicious.
Omi	You guys are flattering me.
Misumi	Putting my hands together and saying “Itadakimasu” feels good~.
Guy	It’s like we’re showing respect to our meals.
Taichi	Dinner tastes even more delicious than usual!
Misumi	Then will it taste even better if we do it one more time~?
Homare	Hm, that’s quite interesting reasoning. It might be worth trying.
Misumi	Two times~? Triangle times~?
Taichi	Come on, A~chan, you too!
Azami	Eeh?
Taichi	Here we go! Put your hands together, and—itadakimasu!
Azami	Itadakimasu.
Izumi	(Fufu, this way Azami-kun won’t have to feel shy.)
Sakyo	….
Izumi	(Sakyo-san looks a little happy, too.)
Taichi	Ah! It’s true! It does taste even better!
Misumi	It’s delicious~!
Taichi	Should we do it again!?
Misumi	Yeah~!
Sakyo	—Stop making such a ruckus! Eat quietly!

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