Ramen Day-Off [MPC 102C]
Dec 24, 2022 16:40:43 GMT
Post by Ryosuke Yoshida on Dec 24, 2022 16:40:43 GMT
MPC Name: Solitary Downtime
MPC Number: 102C
Reward Requested: Posts
Ryosuke was extremely exhausted. All week long, he spent working on some special projects in his company, taking care of his Digimon, and of course, trying to deal with his son's rebellious, but now secretive behavior lately. So when he has a day off afterward, he didn't take long to take advantage of it as he went out for a night to Downtown Shibuya. Thankfully, Ryu was cooped up in his room, which he guessed he was busy with his homework or video games (though mostly in the latter) and both Ken and Taiyo were sleeping in his Digivice for the time being. And knowing how much they ate before he left, he had a feeling it might take a while for him to wake them up, so it would be better if he let them sleep. But just in case, he had to go back to his apartment early unless he wanted his son to complain about him focusing too much on his work when he clearly didn't do anything like that tonight.
But the question was where should he go? He only made dinner for his son and Digimon because he wanted to treat himself, but it has been a while since he treated himself to a meal with his hard-earned money. He couldn't drink too much and most of them were pubs with some of them being questionable when it came to their content. Thankfully, he didn't have to look for long when he found what seemed to be a ramen stand nearby. As he sat down, he sighed in relief as a man who appeared to be the stand's owner approached him.
"What will you have, sir?" the man asked.
What indeed. The last time he had a bowl of ramen was a few months ago. If he recalled, he did have one alongside his son, Ryu. And that was even before he became too busy with his work. Looking at the menu, he could see several classics available along with a few variations the ramen chef made specifically for it. Not only that, some of the classics were the ones he recognized he enjoyed as a child. Well, getting this day off by himself was a bit rare, so he could enjoy it while it lasted tonight.
"I'll have one bowl of shoyu ramen, please."
The ramen stand owner nodded silently as he went off to make his order. As he did, Ryosuke could smell the soy sauce added to the soup. How long did he miss that smell? Last time he recalled, he often ate ramen alone after school and college with his fellow college friends. Even recalling eating a bowl with his ex-wife and son was one of the happy memories he ever had. If he could regain Ryu's trust in him, maybe there would be a chance they could start over and eat ramen together again.
"What's that smell?"
Ryosuke's eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice from his pocket. Why so soon? Was it because of the smell? More importantly, how in the world did one of his Digimon smell from his Digivice?
Regardless, he secretly took out his Digivice under the counter and said, "Taiyo, I told you and Ken to be quiet when you're staying inside my Digivice."
"But it smells so good!" Ryosuke's Koromon said from the Digivice's speaker and screen. "Can you let us try out what you're going to eat? Please, please, please!"
Ryosuke gasped as he heard Taiyo's voice a bit louder than usual. He looked up to see the owner look around once he heard his voice just as he could finish his bowl.
"U-Uh... I just had a sudden call from my boss," Ryosuke sheepishly excused. "He suddenly told me something important and confidential."
The owner stared at the office worker in confusion at first. But he then shrugged and went back to finishing the next order. This made Ryosuke sigh in relief before he turned to his Digivice.
"I wish I could, but bringing you out will draw out any unwanted attention," Ryosuke whispered. "Plus, I don't know how to make ramen by myself."
Last time he checked, his ex-wife and her sister were decent with ramen and he has no confidence since he only helped out with the vegetables.
"But I wanna! It's not fair!"
Ryosuke sighed in dismay. He didn't want to spoil both of his Digimon rotten. They were like his surrogate sons next to his real ones and he didn't want to be too strict with them. He needed to find a compromise before Taiyo did something he would regret.
Now that he thought about it, there should be several adult Tamers in Shibuya, right? Maybe...
"Tell you what. If I meet a Tamer or Digimon who might cook some ramen, maybe you and Ken will try it out with me," Ryosuke suggested. "Besides, if you guys get out here, you might scare the cook than getting what you want without my permission."
He could see Taiyo's eyes perked up and his mouth seemingly drooling on the screen. "Do you promise?"
"I promise, you guys will be able to taste it the moment we have the chance."
That was no lie. Then again, he was very bad at lying. Which was a godsend that Ryu didn't find anything suspicious of his previous excuses from close calls of revealing his Digimon at the wrong time. But if anything to make Taiyo and Ken happy was to show them more of his world as best as he could, then he would do anything to find a way.
"Yay! Thank you, Ryosuke! I can't wait!" Taiyo jumped around in his Digivice as his Tamer watched with a smile. Then, his Koromon yawned.
"Well, you can't exactly enjoy it if you dozed off in the morning," Ryosuke gently warned. "Why don't you go back to bed? I'll finish up here as soon as possible."
"Alright. Good night... Zzzz..."
Once he watched his Koromon fall asleep beside his surrogate brother, which was a furry blue slime with a tail and a metal horned helmet, Ryosuke sighed in relief. But he still needed to make a mental note of it. Again, his promise was genuine and he has to be on the lookout if he found somewhere where they could enjoy a bowl of ramen together.
"Order up!"
Ryosuke quickly hid his Digivice as soon as the cook returned with a bowl of ramen placed right in front of him.
"Shoyu ramen, as you ordered," the cook said. "Enjoy."
"Thank you very much," Ryosuke nodded before he took a pair of chopsticks from the holder and clapped his hands together. "Itadakemasu."
He carefully slurped the noodles while enjoying the tangy and savory taste of the mix of soy sauce, chicken, boiled eggs, and bamboo shoots. He really missed this. The savoriness of the soy sauce, the warm soup he could enjoy in the chilly season today, and the only company was the ramen cook. Speaking of which, the cook stared at him with his arm crossed for a while until he said, "You really enjoy classic ramen, sir. First time for a while?"
Ryosuke sheepishly chuckled. "You can say that. Although, the last time I enjoyed Shoyu Ramen was when I was in college. Wish I brought my son with me."
To his surprise, the ramen stand owner laughed and said, "I sometimes meet other salarymen and woman in my stand recently who has the same nostalgia filter the moment they enjoyed my classics. It's not only one of my bestsellers, but I'm just happy to see them enjoy them while recalling their childhood memories."
Ryosuke smiled. It seemed he would enjoy his day off with company after all. Well, it wasn't just the cook this time. They were sleeping back in his Digivice, sure. But Taiyo and Ken were on his side. Which made him want to bring Ryu with him at another time so much.
"If you like, I can share some memories while I'm here."
The ramen chef grinned. "My stand's open until midnight. I'm okay with your stories for a while."
Thank goodness. While he didn't get to go to a pub, he did spend his free time wisely. He wondered what would happen tomorrow now that Taiyo learned about ramen. But for now, he could enjoy his alone time chatting away with his hopes of becoming a regular someday.
Total Word Count: 1411
MPC Number: 102C
Reward Requested: Posts
Ryosuke was extremely exhausted. All week long, he spent working on some special projects in his company, taking care of his Digimon, and of course, trying to deal with his son's rebellious, but now secretive behavior lately. So when he has a day off afterward, he didn't take long to take advantage of it as he went out for a night to Downtown Shibuya. Thankfully, Ryu was cooped up in his room, which he guessed he was busy with his homework or video games (though mostly in the latter) and both Ken and Taiyo were sleeping in his Digivice for the time being. And knowing how much they ate before he left, he had a feeling it might take a while for him to wake them up, so it would be better if he let them sleep. But just in case, he had to go back to his apartment early unless he wanted his son to complain about him focusing too much on his work when he clearly didn't do anything like that tonight.
But the question was where should he go? He only made dinner for his son and Digimon because he wanted to treat himself, but it has been a while since he treated himself to a meal with his hard-earned money. He couldn't drink too much and most of them were pubs with some of them being questionable when it came to their content. Thankfully, he didn't have to look for long when he found what seemed to be a ramen stand nearby. As he sat down, he sighed in relief as a man who appeared to be the stand's owner approached him.
"What will you have, sir?" the man asked.
What indeed. The last time he had a bowl of ramen was a few months ago. If he recalled, he did have one alongside his son, Ryu. And that was even before he became too busy with his work. Looking at the menu, he could see several classics available along with a few variations the ramen chef made specifically for it. Not only that, some of the classics were the ones he recognized he enjoyed as a child. Well, getting this day off by himself was a bit rare, so he could enjoy it while it lasted tonight.
"I'll have one bowl of shoyu ramen, please."
The ramen stand owner nodded silently as he went off to make his order. As he did, Ryosuke could smell the soy sauce added to the soup. How long did he miss that smell? Last time he recalled, he often ate ramen alone after school and college with his fellow college friends. Even recalling eating a bowl with his ex-wife and son was one of the happy memories he ever had. If he could regain Ryu's trust in him, maybe there would be a chance they could start over and eat ramen together again.
"What's that smell?"
Ryosuke's eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice from his pocket. Why so soon? Was it because of the smell? More importantly, how in the world did one of his Digimon smell from his Digivice?
Regardless, he secretly took out his Digivice under the counter and said, "Taiyo, I told you and Ken to be quiet when you're staying inside my Digivice."
"But it smells so good!" Ryosuke's Koromon said from the Digivice's speaker and screen. "Can you let us try out what you're going to eat? Please, please, please!"
Ryosuke gasped as he heard Taiyo's voice a bit louder than usual. He looked up to see the owner look around once he heard his voice just as he could finish his bowl.
"U-Uh... I just had a sudden call from my boss," Ryosuke sheepishly excused. "He suddenly told me something important and confidential."
The owner stared at the office worker in confusion at first. But he then shrugged and went back to finishing the next order. This made Ryosuke sigh in relief before he turned to his Digivice.
"I wish I could, but bringing you out will draw out any unwanted attention," Ryosuke whispered. "Plus, I don't know how to make ramen by myself."
Last time he checked, his ex-wife and her sister were decent with ramen and he has no confidence since he only helped out with the vegetables.
"But I wanna! It's not fair!"
Ryosuke sighed in dismay. He didn't want to spoil both of his Digimon rotten. They were like his surrogate sons next to his real ones and he didn't want to be too strict with them. He needed to find a compromise before Taiyo did something he would regret.
Now that he thought about it, there should be several adult Tamers in Shibuya, right? Maybe...
"Tell you what. If I meet a Tamer or Digimon who might cook some ramen, maybe you and Ken will try it out with me," Ryosuke suggested. "Besides, if you guys get out here, you might scare the cook than getting what you want without my permission."
He could see Taiyo's eyes perked up and his mouth seemingly drooling on the screen. "Do you promise?"
"I promise, you guys will be able to taste it the moment we have the chance."
That was no lie. Then again, he was very bad at lying. Which was a godsend that Ryu didn't find anything suspicious of his previous excuses from close calls of revealing his Digimon at the wrong time. But if anything to make Taiyo and Ken happy was to show them more of his world as best as he could, then he would do anything to find a way.
"Yay! Thank you, Ryosuke! I can't wait!" Taiyo jumped around in his Digivice as his Tamer watched with a smile. Then, his Koromon yawned.
"Well, you can't exactly enjoy it if you dozed off in the morning," Ryosuke gently warned. "Why don't you go back to bed? I'll finish up here as soon as possible."
"Alright. Good night... Zzzz..."
Once he watched his Koromon fall asleep beside his surrogate brother, which was a furry blue slime with a tail and a metal horned helmet, Ryosuke sighed in relief. But he still needed to make a mental note of it. Again, his promise was genuine and he has to be on the lookout if he found somewhere where they could enjoy a bowl of ramen together.
"Order up!"
Ryosuke quickly hid his Digivice as soon as the cook returned with a bowl of ramen placed right in front of him.
"Shoyu ramen, as you ordered," the cook said. "Enjoy."
"Thank you very much," Ryosuke nodded before he took a pair of chopsticks from the holder and clapped his hands together. "Itadakemasu."
He carefully slurped the noodles while enjoying the tangy and savory taste of the mix of soy sauce, chicken, boiled eggs, and bamboo shoots. He really missed this. The savoriness of the soy sauce, the warm soup he could enjoy in the chilly season today, and the only company was the ramen cook. Speaking of which, the cook stared at him with his arm crossed for a while until he said, "You really enjoy classic ramen, sir. First time for a while?"
Ryosuke sheepishly chuckled. "You can say that. Although, the last time I enjoyed Shoyu Ramen was when I was in college. Wish I brought my son with me."
To his surprise, the ramen stand owner laughed and said, "I sometimes meet other salarymen and woman in my stand recently who has the same nostalgia filter the moment they enjoyed my classics. It's not only one of my bestsellers, but I'm just happy to see them enjoy them while recalling their childhood memories."
Ryosuke smiled. It seemed he would enjoy his day off with company after all. Well, it wasn't just the cook this time. They were sleeping back in his Digivice, sure. But Taiyo and Ken were on his side. Which made him want to bring Ryu with him at another time so much.
"If you like, I can share some memories while I'm here."
The ramen chef grinned. "My stand's open until midnight. I'm okay with your stories for a while."
Thank goodness. While he didn't get to go to a pub, he did spend his free time wisely. He wondered what would happen tomorrow now that Taiyo learned about ramen. But for now, he could enjoy his alone time chatting away with his hopes of becoming a regular someday.
Total Word Count: 1411
