"Well, we really don't have much to eat around here..." Hideaki offered a weak smile as he finished pulling a few items out of the cupboard. "And we really don't have many clean dishes, either." As Emiko watched him, it was pretty obvious to her that her friend's smile was forced. Unlike her family, which was rich enough to hire someone to do the cooking and cleaning- not that Emiko cared for Ashley, the latest in a line of housekeepers/nannies- Hideaki had always had a list of chores to do on his own. "And Dad won't let me make anything but Ramen noodles and popcorn, so what'dya want?"

Emiko shrugged. She was just glad to get out of her own house, as her father was busy with his campaign. Thankfully, Ashley had agreed to shuttle Emiko wherever she needed or wanted to go over the summer, so the sixth grader wasn't stuck at home all summer when Tetsuya was at the office trying to pass legislation. Or she wouldn't have even been here; San Francisco was a long drive from her home in San Jose. "How 'bout Ramen noodles?"

Hideaki pulled out a microwave pot and two bowls. One thing that they most certainly had a surplus of around the pantry was Ramen noodles. He was slightly less than graceful as he filled the pot about halfway with water and carried it over to the microwave and Emiko could hardly help but smile. Neither of the kids was known for being particularly graceful, but she was pretty sure she could have carried the dishes over from the sink to the microwave without almost spilling half the water.

"I'm gonna make yours first 'cause we only have one pot." Hideaki pressed a button and the microwave started. When Emiko opened her mouth to argue that Hideaki needed to eat more than she did- which she knew was true, as he'd admitted to not eating breakfast that morning and Ashley had insisted that Emiko finish an entire bowl of oatmeal, half an omelet and freshly cut fruit before leaving the house- but Hideaki smiled. "You're the guest and it'd be rude for me to make my food first," he replied. Such was always the case; Hideaki usually thought of everyone else before he thought of himself.

A few minutes later, Hideaki pulled the pot out of the microwave and poured the soup and noodles into one of the plastic bowls that he'd set aside for Emiko. As she watched him, she noticed that the liquid was hardly close to letting off steam. But she knew it would still need to cool down before she ate it; she could remember one of her father's friend's words of caution around hot foods. She had been about nine years of age at the time.

Ashley had just left for the evening and Emiko was sitting down to a delicious supper of spaghetti noodles with tomato sauce. Tetsuya was working on a speech for his re-election in the den and a friend- or at least she assumed this was a friend of her father's- was watching and providing careful critique. When her father had finished speaking, the other man said a few words and followed Takahashi into the dining room, where Emiko sat. Tetsuya had taken little notice of his daughter, but the stranger leaned over to Emiko. "Be careful. It's still hot and your father would not want to see you burn yourself," he hissed in her ear before exiting out the front door.

She'd only seen the stranger once or twice since then and hadn't ever heard him talk before, but she was always careful around hot foods. The girl took a pair of chopsticks and stirred the noodles around absently, all the while watching her friend. "Hey, go ahead and eat before your noodles get cold," he glanced back at her, momentarily taking his focus off the microwave. "I can wait." Emiko wanted to protest, but Hideaki smiled over at her. It's so like him, she thought to herself. He always thinks of everyone else before him... even me. And I don't deserve it. She closed her eyes for a moment. I don't deserve his friendship and he deserves a lot better than mine. She didn't even notice that the microwave had beeped and Hideaki walked over to where she was sitting.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. After a moment, Emiko looked up at him and nodded. "You sure?" The girl bit her lips together to keep from crying- she'd always been taught not to show weakness- and nodded once again. There was a short silence that was building up and this made Hideaki uncomfortable enough to squirm. "Hey, your noodles are getting cold."

After a long moment, Emiko smiled gently at him, but it was a forced smile. "I was waiting for your food to be done," she answered.

"You know you didn't hafta do that."

Emiko nodded. "Yeah, I know..." her voice trailed off slightly. "But it's no fun to eat alone. And besides, I like them better cold." This time her smile was genuine. The girl picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of cold ramen noodles. And she couldn't have been happier.