Chapter 21: Smiling Golden Buns
Two days passed in a flash.
Yamamoto Ryusei arrived at Komiya Yuki's house with a gift. Her home was a large estate, which he estimated to be about half the size of the entire Senju compound.
"Ryusei-nii, you're here!" Komiya Yuki, dressed in a white kimono with a morning glory pattern, was standing at the entrance to greet her guests.
Ryusei handed his gift to Yuki and complimented her, "Yuki, you look very beautiful today."
Yuki took the gift and passed it to a handmaiden beside her. She led Ryusei into the courtyard. "Thank you, Ryusei-nii. Please, come inside and rest for a bit."
Ryusei entered the house and found that most of his classmates had already arrived. They were all sitting at tables, drinking tea and eating snacks.
Yamashita So saw Ryusei and immediately waved. "Big Brother, you're finally here! Yuki's house is so huge!"
So wasn't wearing his Sun Wukong armor today, just ordinary casual clothes.
Ryusei nodded. "It is quite big. But why don't I see Yuki's parents?"
"They're in the capital on business, so they didn't come back," answered the blonde loli, Yamanaka Seisen. She then added with a wry smile, "What, did Yuki not tell you?"
"No," Ryusei replied after a moment's thought. "We mostly just discuss training."
"No wonder your skills are so strong, Ryusei," Uchiha Kagami said, walking in from outside. "Even when you're with a girl, all you think about is training."
The moment the girls in the room saw the bruise on Kagami's face, the room erupted.
"Kagami, what happened to your face?"
"Does it hurt? I'll rub it for you!"
"Who hit you? We'll get revenge for you!"
Kagami dodged the girls' encroaching hands and said with some embarrassment, "I just fell down carelessly."
"Fell?" Sarutobi Hiruzen carefully examined the injury on Kagami's face, then turned his head towards Hyuga Natsuki. "You two fell on opposite cheeks. That's quite symmetrical. Where did you fall? I'd like to go try it myself."
Hiruzen's words made Kagami's face turn bright red. He couldn't help but shoot a resentful glare at Ryusei.
Seeing Kagami's expression, Hiruzen looked as if he had discovered a new continent. "So it was you who..."
Ryusei clamped a hand over Hiruzen's mouth and said in a low voice, "Are you trying to get me killed by saying that here? The girls in our class would beat me to death, one punch each."
Hiruzen removed Ryusei's hand. "Yeah, our class's two handsome boys, Kagami and Danzo, both got beaten by you. But I want to say, nice job. It's just a shame Danzo's injury wasn't on his face."
Hey, hey, you're the one who gives Danzo that scar on his chin in the future, aren't you? Ryusei thought.
"Hiruzen, do you have a problem with my face?" Shimura Danzo said, suddenly appearing behind him. His abrupt words made Hiruzen jump.
"No, no! Your face is... uh... very handsome." Seeing Hiruzen praise Danzo with a look on his face like he'd just eaten a fly was quite amusing.
Danzo turned to face Ryusei. "Ryusei, I definitely won't lose to you next time."
Ryusei tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle, looked to the sky, and said faintly, "Danzo, those who are defeated by me can never defeat me again, for you can only watch my back. It is truly lonely to be invincible."
Hearing these showy words, the faces of the three boys next to him darkened, especially Danzo's. His face was as black as it was in his "Scapegoat-kage" days.
"Hahaha," Ryusei laughed, slinging an arm over Danzo's shoulder. "Just kidding, don't mind me. But don't you think what I just said sounded particularly cool?"
"Heh heh," Hiruzen laughed awkwardly, then looked at Ryusei with fighting spirit in his eyes. "Ryusei, since Kagami, Natsuki, and Danzo have all sparred with you, when are you going to spar with me?"
Shimura Danzo looked at the bruised cheeks of Kagami and Natsuki, and his impression of Ryusei couldn't help but improve.
At least he didn't hit me in the face when he beat me.
Ryusei replied evasively, "Don't be in such a hurry. There'll be plenty of time in the future."
"Everyone, come and eat!" Yuki had finished greeting her guests and was having the servants bring the food to the tables.
Akimichi Torifu sniffed the air and asked Yuki in shock, "This aroma... could it be... the cooking of the Special-Grade Chef, Master Liu Maoxing?"
"That's right," Yuki nodded. "Big Brother Liu Maoxing helped me make all these dishes."
"Really?" Torifu's eyes were shining with excitement. "I'm so happy I get to eat Master Liu Maoxing's cooking!"
"That is the highest praise for me," Liu Maoxing said, walking out from the back kitchen. "My dream is to create dishes that bring people happiness."
Torifu immediately rushed forward and hugged Liu Maoxing's leg. "Master, I want to learn how to cook! Can you take me as your apprentice?"
Liu Maoxing looked at the little fatty clinging to his leg. "I'm sorry, but due to certain circumstances, I cannot take you as my apprentice."
Torifu's entire body turned white with disappointment.
Just then, four handmaidens carried in a wooden plank. On the plank was something covered with a white veil, and from within came a strange "hehehehe" laughing sound. Amidst this bizarre laughter, the handmaidens placed the plank on the table.
Hearing this sound, some of the girls huddled together in fear.
"Next, allow me to introduce the dish I specially prepared for Yuki." Liu Maoxing grabbed the veil and whisked it away. On the plank was a coiled blue dragon. All over the dragon's body, claws, and even in its mouth were fist-sized yellow objects. Each object had a crack that curved upwards at both ends, making it look like a smiling mouth. They were constantly shaking, and the "hehehe" sound was coming from them.
Liu Maoxing took one of the buns and handed it to Yuki. "The Smiling Golden Bun. A golden bun that laughs. I hope Yuki will always be as happy as this bun."
"Thank you, Big Brother Liu Maoxing," Yuki said, taking the bun and biting into it. "It's delicious!"
The other students surrounded the dragon laden with buns, staring at the constantly shaking food. No one dared to reach out and take one.
"This is actually a bun? It's incredible," Hiruzen said, staring intently.
"Why is it moving? Is it alive? Or are there small, live animals inside?" Yamanaka Seisen asked, a little scared.
"No, there is no life inside it," Hyuga Natsuki, who had already activated his Byakugan, denied.
"It must be that the buns have become spirits," declared Yamashita So, who was obsessed with Journey to the West.
"What's the point of all this talk? We'll know once we eat it!" Akimichi Torifu directly grabbed a bun and took a bite. "So delicious!"
"Really? I want to try too!" All the students began to take the buns and eat them.
"It's so good! This bun is deep-fried, but it's not greasy at all!"
"It's different from the buns we usually eat, but it's so delicious!"
"But why does it laugh?"
"That's because of the steam," Liu Maoxing explained. "When the bun is deep-fried, the steam is locked inside, causing the meat filling to constantly move. The laughing sound is the sound of the meat pieces colliding."
"So that's how it works," Seisen said with a sigh of relief. "I thought it was alive. I was so scared just now."
"Who cares if it's alive or dead," Torifu said, eating a bun in each hand. "As long as it's delicious!"
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they were all so stuffed that they lay on the tatami mats, unable to move.
"This is the happiest day of my life," Torifu murmured, patting his large belly.
Yamanaka Seisen looked at the pile of gifts in the corner and said to Yuki, "Yuki, let's open the presents!"
"Okay, okay!" The girls were instantly interested.
Yuki opened the gifts. Most of the girls had given her hairpins, bracelets, and other accessories, while the boys had given her small toys and some calligraphy scrolls.
Yuki opened the birthday gift from Ryusei. From inside, she took out a black dress, which also came with cat ears and a cat tail. It was a perfect replica of Ruri Gokou's Gothic Lolita outfit.
"Wow, what an adorable dress!" Seisen exclaimed, her eyes shining.
Utatane Koharu pushed Yuki towards an inner room. "Hurry, go change into it and show us!"
A short while later, Yuki came out wearing the black Gothic Lolita dress and the cat ear headband, her face beet red.
The girls, upon seeing her, immediately pounced, hugging Yuki and snuggling against her.
"So cute! I want one!"
"This dress suits Yuki so well! Especially the cat ears, it's lethally cute!"
"By the way, Yuki, who gave you this dress?"
Yuki was having trouble breathing from all the hugging. She said breathlessly, "Ryusei-nii gave it to me."
The girls' eyes, shining with a green light, shot towards Yamamoto Ryusei.