"Where are we headed?" I asked, my hands tucked into my pockets as we casually walked out of her apartment complex.

"Hell, if I know," Bina shrugged. The action only brought further attention to her bare shoulders, making my eyes wander along her pale skin and follow the trails of her stitches. Damn, the date's barely even started, and I'm already getting too distracted. "Figured we'd just wander 'round and pick a spot that sticks out, y'know?"

I couldn't help but snort in amusement at that. "Yeah, sounds about right," I replied, nodding and looking around the area, partially to avoid staring too intently at her. "I hardly ever get to explore this city, so it'll be nice just to take some time to enjoy the sights."

"I got here probs a month 'fore you did," Bina told me, raising her arms to lean her head against them. When she stretched like that... Oi, three-second rule, buddy! "Never really got a chance to check the local shit out, what wit bein' one of, like, five or so people in the area that can legally kick a criminal liminal's teeth in."

"You mean a criliminal?" I offered with a crooked smile.

She blinked at me, trying to process what I'd said until it clicked, and she laughed and shook her head.

"Ya come up wit that one jus' now, or did it take ya a while?"

"That's a Papi original, actually," I corrected with a smile. "Let's call it a...papism!" I paused to consider, then added, "Should that be capitalized? Coming up with new words is always a challenge!"

"And ya always make it seem so easy!" Bina chuckled.

"I'm just a man trying to make the world a better place," I told her solemnly in a grave, deep voice. "I didn't ask for this."

"Whoa there, Rambo," she snorted, giving me a friendly pat. Was it just my imagination, or did her hand linger there a bit longer than usual? "Better watch out - your cliché is showin'!"

"Crap, really?" I asked in mock panic, patting down my pants. "Could've sworn I'd double-checked that."

We continued trading clever remarks for a few minutes until my stomach rumbled too loudly to ignore. I was so engrossed in our amusing conversation that I had forgotten I was hungry. Bina and I had an effortless connection that made it easy to laugh together.

Either way, people have to eat, so we ventured out to find a place with more specific options than before. Bina quickly dismissed the idea of going to a fancy restaurant and suggested a group of sit-in food stands, which were quite popular in Japan.

"So whatcha feelin'?" she asked as we walked. The sun was slowly setting, leaving a faint orange hue. Streetlights were brightly lit, and the streets still teemed with people. Some stared straight ahead, while others couldn't help but look curious toward Bina. Her outfit was revealing enough to show the many stitches across her body, far more than a human would typically have. Even without knowing she was a zombie, she was an uncommon sight amid the everyday hustle and bustle.

"I don't know; I had a lot of chicken and curry last night, so something different from that would be great," I replied with a shrug, not letting the stares of others distract me. "Is there anything in particular you would like?"

"I told ya, my sense o' taste is kinda slackin'," Bina said off-handedly. "Not much point in me choosin' the grub."

"There's gotta be some food you like, though," I pressed.

"Mm..." Bina hummed, glancing around at the food stands. "Well, if yer so insistent, I went to a decent little ramen joint with Mana a few weeks ago. Let's check it out."

As we rounded the corner, we were immediately met with the delightful aromas of boiling water, sizzling meat, and many spices and vegetables. When we entered the ramen stand, it felt like I had stepped into a blazing furnace. The intense heat was palpable, and the sounds of bubbling pots and frying meat were unmistakable.

The cook, an older man who looked to be in his fifties, looked up from us and smiled warmly. "Welcome, welcome," he greeted us with a cordial nod. His eyes widened with recognition when he saw Bina, and he exclaimed, "Oh, I remember you! You dropped by a few weeks ago with a monoeye girl, right?"

"That I did," Bina confirmed, grinning and plopping down at a seat in front of the counter. "Yer wife ain't here tonight?"

"No, she's out with some of her friends," the cook responded, dismissively waving his hand. "I'm not helpless to the point where I can't manage a night without her," he scoffed, raising a bushy eyebrow as he leaned forward to get a better look at me. "And who are you?"

"Akihiro Bando," I told him, inclining my head at him as I sat down. "Nice to meet you."

"Yuuichi Nakamura," the cook replied, mirroring my bow. "Well, the menu's right there, so you kids pick something, and I'll get it for you real quick here."

"Much appreciated," I said, already inching closer to the menu and, not so coincidentally, to Bina. It didn't take us long to decide what we wanted; Bina was usually quite decisive, and my hunger was enough to make me choose something quickly. After we placed our orders with Nakamura, he got to work right away, providing us with glasses of water to tide us over as we waited.

"We got some booze, too, if you're interested," he offered while he worked.

"I'm good for now, thanks," I declined. After last night, I was set on the alcohol front for a while. "How about you, Bina?"

"Eh, I'll pass too, I guess," she said, resting her chin on a palm.

Nakamura nodded silently and got back to cooking.

"Say, Aki," Bina started, turning in her seat to face me. The jade necklace swung at the movement, drawing my eyes. "Question."

"Answer."

She punched me lightly in the arm, a smirk on her lips. "Smartass."

"Violent," I shot back with feigned offense, rubbing the spot she'd hit me.

"Please, ya got hit worse before," she playfully retorted, easing back into her old position and looking more visibly relaxed. "Anyway, I was wonderin', what's yer home like?"

"Uh, it still kinda smells like booze," I replied, perplexed. "Even after Kurusu brought out the industrial-grade cleaning equipment."

"Not that," Bina corrected, rolling her eyes as she sipped her water. "I mean yer home, Aki. The place ya lived before ya came to our world."

"Ohhhhhh." Right, duh, why would she ask about a place she'd just been at this morning? "That's kinda random."

"Well... I have kinda been curious fer a while now," Bina explained, idly tracing her finger along the rim of her glass. "I dunno, tell me a story or somethin'. Jus' to gimme an idea 'bout where ya came from."

"Alright," I agreed, nodding. "But after that, you tell me a story. I know as little about your past as I do mine."

"Deal," Bina said immediately. She pointed the finger at me. "But yer first."

"Sure," I nodded, tapping my fingers against the wooden countertop and considering which story to tell. I wanted to give her a better understanding of my home, so many possibilities came to mind - from family to friends, happy to sad. A wide smile spread as I decided on one particular event. "Alright, to understand this one, I need to explain a bit of the context first."

"That's a great idea," Nakamura interjected as he placed two bowls of steaming hot ramen before us. "It'll give you something to do while you wait for them to cool down."

"Bah, I seldom feel pain anyway," Bina easily disregarded his warning, reaching for the chopsticks and poking at her food. "And thanks for the food, old man!"

"I ain't that old!" he protested, though there was little heat to his tone. "And eat at your own pace, I suppose. I'll be back here if you need me, and certainly not eavesdropping."

"Well, that's a relief," I chuckled. I picked my chopsticks and stirred the contents of the bowl, watching the yellow noodles, white eggs, green baby spinach leaves, and dark beef swirl through the brown, almost red liquid.

"Anyway, you were sayin'?" Bina said, bringing a large ball of noodles to her lips already.

"Oh yeah," I said, sitting enthusiastically in my seat. "So apparently, when I was born, I had a ravenous appetite! I'd eat anything put in front of me, no matter how unappetizing it was. Sandwiches, vegetables, fruits, and all sorts of other baby food - you name it, I'd eat it! Strangely enough, I sometimes even passed out while I was eating, food still in my hands!"

Bina laughed at that while she was chewing, which was admittedly a little gross. Oh well, getting a pretty girl to laugh was more than enough to make it worth it.

"But everything changed when the Fire Na-" I forced myself to stop there, clearing my throat. "I mean when my little sister was born."

"Oh no!"

"Exactly. For some inexplicable reason, once she was born, I refused to consume anything except for two things." I raised two fingers. "Pizza." I lowered one. "And Pepsi." I lowered the other.

"That's..." Bina's face twisted in bafflement. "Random as fuck."

I raised my hands, palms up, and shrugged. "To be honest, I have no clue why. All I know is that I was suddenly obsessed with pizza and Pepsi, and nothing else, as soon as I became an older brother."

"Okay then," she snorted. "Good to know ya were a weirdo right out the gate."

"Hey, I'll have you know that graduating from a diet of pizza and Pepsi was a huge accomplishment for me," I objected. "It was much sooner than you'd expect since Mom eventually grew weary of my shenanigans and ensured I had the proper nutrition to grow and develop."

"Right, right," Bina laughed, digging at her food with gusto now. "So ya loved pizza and Pepsi as a baby. That's yer story?"

"Not all of it," I assured her as I started to work on my bowl of noodles. Thankfully, it had cooled down enough, and I slurped a generous helping. "Oooh, that's delicious!"

"You're welcome!" called out Nakamura from the back.

I patiently waited for some time, savoring the delectable meal that had been prepared for me. I had no idea what herbs and spices had been used in the cooking, but it was scrumptious, and that was all that mattered. When I had finally quenched my thirst for food, I gulped down some cold water and wiped my mouth with a napkin.

"There we go," I breathed out contently. "Where was I?"

"Ya'd just graduated from pretzels and apple juice," Bina smirked at me.

"Yes, indeed I did," I declared proudly. "Luckily, I eventually managed to break the habit. Sadly, this was enough time for me to acquire a questionable reputation among my family."

"The plot thickens," she commented.

I nodded thoughtfully, my eyes heavy with the weight of my tragic past. "My grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on both sides never let me forget it. They always asked me how I could survive on a diet of nothing but carbs for so long," I said somberly, reluctantly baring my soul.

"Sounds like hell."

"Damn right, it was. But it peaked on my thirteenth birthday, where I was traumatized forever."

"... Ya really like yer dramatic pauses, don't ya?"

"Well, they gave me time to eat, so yeah," I replied after I gulped down the last morsel of food in my bowl. "Ah. Anyway. Thirteenth birthday. I was still kind of... Honestly, I was a bit of a shut-in back then. And by 'a bit', I mean a lot. I hardly talked, even around my family, so no one knew what to get me for my birthday. I don't even know what I wanted. Probably some video games."

"'Shut-in'?" Bina echoed, frowning. "What, like a recluse or somethin'?"

I replied, "Yeah, kinda." Thanks to my experience in middle school, I avoided any social interaction until I graduated from high school. I mostly stayed at home, playing video games and doing nothing else.

"That's..." Her brow furrowed, and she set her chopsticks on her bowl. "Kinda sad, Aki."

"Yeah, it sucked, not gonna lie." I shrugged. "But I'm not all that hung up on it anymore. Ancient history."

"Well, if ya say so." Thankfully, almost miraculously, Bina seemed to mean it, her previously concerned expression lightening far more quickly than I'd expect someone else to. "So, yer fam didn't know what to get ya for yer thirteenth birthday?"

"Righty-o," I confirmed eagerly. "On my birthday, my grandparents from both sides and a few aunts and uncles all came together with presents in hand. It was time to open the gifts, and I excitedly tore into the first one, which revealed a large box! Inside the box was... a delicious meat lover's pizza!"

"Shocker," Bina offered dryly.

"It gets even better," I promised excitedly. "The next one, from my grandparents, was an amazing pizza with bacon, pepperoni, and banana peppers! And then after that, I opened the present from my godparents, which was..."

"A sausage pizza?" she guessed.

"A 12-pack of Pepsi!" I exclaimed, slapping my hand on the counter.

"Oh, how silly of me!" Bina chuckled.

"Seriously, that was very bag-normative of you," I chastised her, attempting to do so in a serious voice but utterly failing.

"Guess I'll jus' pretend I know what that means," Bina said, rolling her eyes but still smiling.

"That's probably for the best," I admitted, not knowing what I had just said. "But it became painfully obvious that the only thing I was getting for my birthday was Pizza, and lots of it, along with soda. I couldn't help but sigh at the terrible realization."

She laughed at that, slapping her knee and shaking her head. "Wow, ya had it rough, didn't ya?"

"I cried that night," I admitted. "But hey, hard times make hard men." Then I realized what I'd just said. "Uh, phrasing?"

That got a loud outburst from her pretty quickly. "Ha! Not exactly what I was expectin', but still." She wiped a tear from her eye as she recovered. Huh, I didn't know she even could cry. "'Hard men,'" Bina repeated, snorting.

"Well, I got my embarrassing story out of the way; now it's your turn," I told her confidently, picking at the remains of my food.

"Guess so," Bina mused, brushing aside a lock of red hair along her ear as she pondered. "Hm... What to tell...."

To be continued...