Wasabi Octopus

"Welcome!"

A young office worker in a cheap black suit walked into the restaurant. He glanced around, then looked at Takasaki Tsuki and Uchiha Naruto in the kitchen area and frowned. Waving away the hot towel Takasaki Anzu offered him, he turned to leave.

"Sorry, I'm meeting a friend. Wrong place."

"How rude. He walked in and left without ordering anything," Takasaki Anzu complained.

"I told you this wouldn't work. We're just a few high school kids running the place. Customers are bound to think we don't know what we're doing. Why would they eat here?"

The Takasaki Izakaya had been open for nearly half an hour, but they still hadn't had any business. Other customers had come in earlier, too, only to make an excuse and leave when they saw how young their head chef, Takasaki Tsuki, looked.

Cooking wasn't quite like Chinese medicine, where the older the practitioner, the more sought-after they became. Still, the most popular chefs were in their forties and fifties, experienced and in their prime. Even thirty seemed a little young, let alone a high school girl like Takasaki Tsuki.

Though Takasaki Tsuki couldn't hide her disappointment, she still tried to encourage her younger sister:

"Our Takasaki Izakaya has been here for ten years. We have at least a few regulars. Besides, the evening rush is about to start. There are only so many places nearby. Once they're full, customers will come here."

Despite her words, Takasaki Tsuki didn't sound very confident.

Uchiha Naruto sighed at the sight. This restaurant really did have a bleak future. Was his first part-time job going to end this soon?

Still, he was only an ordinary employee, so it wasn't his place to say much.

Suddenly, a balding man in his fifties with a protruding belly entered the restaurant. After lifting the entrance curtain, he hesitated by the door for a moment, then finally found a seat.

"Mr. Hasegawa, welcome!"

The balding man took the damp towel Takasaki Anzu brought him and wiped his face before asking:

"Why hasn't your place been open lately? And why is it just you two girls? Where's your father?"

"Dad's sick. It'll be a few days before he can come back, so my sister and I are holding down the fort until then. What would you like, Mr. Hasegawa?"

Takasaki Anzu blinked up at him with a pitiful expression and asked in a sweet voice.

"So your father's not here. That means no sashimi, then. Hmm, I'll have some edamame, wasabi octopus, and one go of sake." Without looking at the menu, the balding man rattled off his familiar order.

Everything he ordered was a simple side dish that only needed a little preparation, rather than a chef's cooking. It seemed he still had doubts about Takasaki Tsuki's skills.

He's probably only ordering because he's a regular and feels too awkward to turn around and leave.

That was what Uchiha Naruto thought.

Still, at least they had their first customer.

"Of course. Coming right up."

"Uchiha, could you prepare the baby octopuses? Sorry for the trouble," Takasaki Tsuki asked.

"Piece of cake."

Uchiha Naruto took out a net and scooped a few lively baby octopuses out of the tank. After washing them in salt water, he cut them open, removed their innards, and sliced them into sashimi, ready to plate and serve.

Although the dish was called wasabi octopus, most restaurants actually used cheap horseradish paste.

He squeezed horseradish paste onto the pale, still-twitching octopus sashimi and sent it out with the edamame.

Takasaki Anzu brought out a small square wooden box, placed a glass inside it, and poured the sake in front of him. Once the glass filled, the sake overflowed into the wooden masu around it.

First, the balding man leaned forward and carefully sipped the sake brimming in the glass. Then he picked up a piece of still-moving octopus tentacle, dipped it in the horseradish paste, and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing with a crunch.

The sharp bite of the horseradish twisted his face into a mask of pain. He picked up the glass and took a hearty swig, his expression mingling agony with pleasure.

Watching him made Uchiha Naruto's scalp prickle. He could barely stomach raw fish, let alone octopus sashimi. He had heard that Japan had an even more hardcore way of eating it: swallowing octopuses alive. The fresh octopus needed no preparation at all. People swallowed it whole, savoring its struggles in their mouths and the suffocating sensation of its suckers clinging to their throats.

"Mr. Hasegawa, this dish of shuto is on the house."

Shuto was made by salting and fermenting seafood innards for a long time. It had a distinctive savory sweetness, and although its fishy flavor was strong, plenty of drinkers loved it. It could make people finish their sake without even noticing, hence its name, "sake thief."

"Then don't mind if I do. With snacks like these, that sake definitely won't be enough. Takasaki girls, another go of sake. Hmm... and bring me some Nanban Chicken!"

The balding man had finally placed a more substantial order, and Takasaki Tsuki perked up.

The chicken had already been portioned and cut, so Uchiha Naruto wasn't needed. Takasaki Tsuki worked deftly in the kitchen area and soon sent the Nanban Chicken out to his table.

The balding man picked up a piece of golden-fried chicken with his fingers, coated it in the special sauce made from mayonnaise and tartar sauce, and popped it into his mouth.

As he bit through the crisp coating and chewed, rich juices burst across his tongue. The plump, substantial chicken, combined with the creamy richness of egg yolk and the sweet-and-sour flavors, satisfied his taste buds and immediately sharpened his thirst for sake.

He lifted the glass and drained it, then poured the remaining sake from the masu into his glass and drank that too. The balding man gave her a thumbs-up:

"Elder Takasaki girl, you really do know how to cook. This Nanban Chicken tastes even better than your father's."

"Thank you so much for the compliment!"

A little overwhelmed by his praise, Takasaki Tsuki bowed repeatedly.

"After eating such delicious fried chicken, I'm craving your signature sashimi. But it looks like you didn't get any fish in today?" the balding man asked.

"Um, I'm sorry. Since Dad isn't here..."

"Fair enough. Good sashimi is all about the knife work. Your father's skills aren't easy to replace."

Perhaps the balding man had set things off on the right foot, because the Takasaki Izakaya's luck finally turned, and customers began trickling in.

Even so, by seven o'clock, the prime evening rush, barely half the seats were occupied.

"Table two wants Teriyaki Chicken Leg Rice and a soda."

"Table five wants two more orders of grilled chicken skewers, one order of fried croquettes, and another mug of beer."

Takasaki Tsuki did a quick calculation in her head. With this many customers, they wouldn't make much profit, but at least they wouldn't lose money. The restaurant could stay open. She couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.

"Huh? Your father's sick? I finally caught a sea bream this big, and I was hoping he'd turn it into sashimi for me."

An older man entered the restaurant, loudly voicing his disappointment. In a fishing hat, a gray long-sleeved waterproof hoodie, and baggy shorts, he looked every bit the typical fishing enthusiast.

"Otsuka, you actually came back with a catch this time? You didn't buy that sea bream, did you?" The balding man glanced at the big red fish in the bucket and teased him.

The fisherman gave a derisive chuckle, grabbed the sea bream by its tail, and lifted it straight out of the bucket.

The big red fish, longer than an arm, thrashed back and forth and nearly slipped from his grip several times, showing astonishing vigor!