Yuzuru had dealt with many strange customers during the time he had worked in the coffee shop.

There had been one man who had asked for coffee without coffee beans (it turned out to be a strange misunderstanding), an old lady who had made a fuss about the whipped cream not being a perfect spiral (that had taken a long time to correct), and a student who had wanted to buy all of the cherries they had in stock (apparently for an experiment, but he had no idea what kind of experiment would require that many cherries).

This was the first time someone had come up to him and asked for something that the store didn't even offer.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Mapo tofu, please," she repeated in an emotionless tone.

He blinked at her. "We don't serve that here."

She blinked back at him. "Oh."

She didn't move from her seat; an awkward silence stretched out between them.

He cleared his throat. "Would you like to order something else?" He laid a menu in front of her and gestured to it.

She stared blankly at the menu. After a few moments, she looked back up and pointed somewhere on the menu without even looking. "I would like that."

He looked at where her finger was pointing.

It was in between the rows that listed the food names.

"You're pointing at blank space."

She looked down. "So I am." She paused.

She shifted her finger down. "I would like that."

He looked at her selection. It was the coffee cake, a popular selection among his usual customers.

Not that there was anything "usual" about the current individual.

"Coming right up." He paused as a thought occurred to him. Turning back, he asked, "Would you like anything to drink with that?"

She shook her head.

"Alright then."

The silence returned as he prepared her order. At such a late hour, the pastries had long since grown cold, so he decided to heat it in the microwave first.

As he watched the cake spin on its plate, he occasionally snuck glances at the figure sitting at his counter.

Compared to the intense stage lights, the lighting in his store was positively dim. As such, her hair did not glow with that unnatural sheen that he saw on television. Her casual clothing, while still making her attractive, did not push her appearance past normal human limits like her formalwear did, making her seem more grounded, more real. Her eyes, no longer burning with intensity, held a curious tint as they stared at him–

Oh crap!

He quickly averted his gaze.

I hope she didn't see me staring.

That would not convey the most favorable of first impressions, for sure.

A loud ding saved him from a self-induced panic as the microwave announced that the pastry was ready. As he retrieved the coffeecake, he also grabbed a glass and filled it with water.

"Here you go," he said as he placed her order and the water in front of her. "The crumbs get stuck in your mouth if you don't have something to wash it down with."

She blinked at him. "Thank you," she said softly.

She ate in small, quick bites, pausing at times to sip the glass of water.

Yuzuru fidgeted awkwardly as he watched her eat. With conversation seeming unlikely, he scanned the shop for something to do.

A shadow in the corner of the room caught his attention. On further inspection, the black shape turned into a tall, lithe girl wearing a long, black scarf who had been standing in the corner all this time.

He blinked in surprise. "Can I help you?"

The girl stared back wordlessly.

He stepped forward. "Would you like a snack, or perhaps a drink?"

The girl's stare intensified until Yuzuru felt sweat trail down his back from the heat of her gaze. Her hands shifted in the folds of her dark cloak, allowing the light to glint off a sharp edge that looked suspiciously like a knife.

He backpedaled in a hurry. "I'll take that as a no."

As he wondered whether he should call the police to report an armed intruder in his store, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"That's Shiina. She's my escort."

He glanced back at the pianist, who had spoken. "Escort? I suppose that makes sense . . ."

Celebrities often attracted attention while walking in public. Reporters, zealous fans, and the paparazzi all seemingly conspired to hunt down any famous figure that took so much as a step outside.

Without support, it was all too easy for a celebrity to fall prey to an eager mob and end up being detained for hours on end.

"Can one girl hold back an entire crowd of people?" he wondered aloud.

He immediately regretted his decision as he felt the death glare on his back intensify once more.

"She's very good at her job. Comparable to a hundred men, even," the silver-haired girl quietly said before returning her attention to her food.

As the oppressive aura behind him faded, its owner mollified by the compliment, he decided to not press the matter further. "That's pretty impressive."

Silence fell once more, but with that initial icebreaker (unintentional as it was), he felt emboldened enough to continue.

"So . . . uh . . ." he began sheepishly.

She continued to eat without paying him any attention.

"I saw you on TV earlier today." he blurted out.

She glanced at him for a moment before dismissing him.

"I thought you were really good," he finished lamely.

She paused. "Thank you," she murmured before resuming.

She did not follow-up on his probes at conversation, but that she responded at all was a victory in his book.

He wondered how many more such feats he could achieve that night.

Or maybe I should stop now before I annoy her.

She must already get plenty of attention due to her status as a celebrity. Anything he said would likely be dismissed as the insincere prattling of another fan who only cared about her talent and fame.

A sinister voice whispered in his mind. Why are you even trying? She's clearly out of your league. Don't even bother . . .

But even as his inner doubts combined with his hidden apathy and depression to dissuade him, an unbidden image rose in his mind.

Of a tiny, delicate girl, standing all alone on an empty stage.

There was something inexplicably sad about that scene, an air of melancholy that clung to it like mist. Sentiments that his desire to help simply couldn't ignore.

So once again, he reached out to the girl.

"Anyway . . . what are you doing in my shop?" he asked.

She tilted her head at him. "Do you wish for me to leave?"

"What? No!" He flailed his arms around in a placating gesture. "I just meant – I didn't think someone as famous as you would visit a shop as obscure as mine."

"Oh." She took a sip of water. "Smaller shops have fewer people. I wish to avoid crowds, which is why I chose the smallest nearby shop."

"Ah, I see." He scratched the back of his head. "Having people recognize you all the time must be a real bother." His expression grew worried. "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

There was a pull in his heart, a strong aversion to leaving this girl alone. But if she wanted him to stay away, to maintain a professional distance between them, then he would respect her wishes.

She stared at him with a scrutinizing gaze as she took another sip from her cup. Slowly, deliberately, she set it back down.

"I don't mind."

It was so sudden that he couldn't quite process the statement. "Huh?"

"I don't mind speaking with you," she said.

Inwardly, he sighed in relief. "Well, that's good. I would be a poor host if I made my customer uncomfortable."

She didn't respond, but he noticed that her eyes seemed to occasionally dart towards him, that her body was ever so slightly more angled towards him, and that her emotionless voice no longer seemed quite as chilly.

He smiled. "So, what made you think a coffee shop would serve Mapo tofu, anyway?" he asked in a light tone.

He wasn't quite sure, but the barest hint of red seemed to appear on her cheeks.

"I . . . do not go outside often," she confessed.

He blinked. "Surely, you would still be able to identify different types of shops?"

She glanced away. "I never . . . had much need to. I did not have many opportunities to go outside during my childhood. My . . . family had a butler who attended our every need. But he fell ill a few days ago and has yet to recover, so I must take care of myself for the time being."

He nodded. "I see," he said. "It must be hard on your family to lose someone so important for any period of time."

"I suppose so," she said dully.

A brief silence settled over them, one all the more suffocating due to the dour mood the recent conversation seemed to have put the pianist in.

He changed the subject. "So, did you like the coffee cake?" he asked nervously.

She glanced down, as if just noticing that she had polished off the last bits of her meal. "It was good."

But despite her words, her tone held no excitement, none of the enthusiasm one would normally have after eating a delicious meal.

Let's see if we can change that.

"There's a restaurant that specializes in Mapo tofu near here," he said. "If you want, I could guide you there."

Her eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise. "Is it crowded?" she asked hesitantly.

He frowned. "There's not a whole lot of people that are obsessed with Mapo tofu, but the ones that are go there pretty regularly." He grimaced. "There will probably always be at last a small group in there."

He could see her wavering, one side desperately wanting the treat, the other telling her to avoid too much exposure to other people.

He smacked his palm with his fist as he came up with the perfect solution. "I know! You could just ask Shiina to run over there and buy you some. That way, you don't have to go yourself."

She frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"What? Why not?"

"Shiina got banned from the last store she went to."

His eyes slid back to the tall, dark-haired girl standing in the corner. He remembered that sharp glint she had flashed for just a moment and the promise of danger it carried.

Hmm. It might be better if he remained ignorant of what happened. After all, bringing up an embarrassing tale about her would surely draw her ire.

And he would like to keep his limbs attached, thank you very much.

Well, if sending Shiina was too risky, then there was only one option left:

"I'll run over there and buy some as take-out and bring it back for you, then you can pay me back. How does that sound?" he suggested.

He could see her excitement build, see the faintest traces of a smile creep over her face, and then a finger tapped her shoulder and she deflated.

"It's time to go," Shiina murmured.

He could see her disappointment in the slump of her shoulders, see her withdraw back into herself as she gave up that spark of hope.

Not on my watch.

"If you come back here tomorrow around the same time, I can have it ready for you."

She looked surprised by his sudden offer, but slowly, a genuine smile swept over her face.

"Thank you."

Her voice was soft and mellifluous, not at all what one would consider intense or passionate.

But he could hear her earnest gratitude, her honest happiness at the sight of a stranger going so far to grant her wish.

It warmed his heart, like a comforting bonfire that drove away the darkness of the night.

He felt his own smile widen as he bathed in the glow of his feelings before realizing that he had forgotten something very important.

"Ah! I almost forgot. My name is Yuzuru; what's yours?"

Her eyes burned brightly, not because of fake, artificial lights, but because her soul was ablaze, caught up in the moment just as he was.

"My name is Kanade."

Kanade. It means "to play a tune."

A fitting name for a musician. He wondered if it was some irony of fate that his own last name meant "no sound."

"Kanade," he said, savoring the way her name rolled off his tongue. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded at him before rising and walking towards the exit. As she left, Shiina flitted behind her before vanishing into the darkness of the night.

He watched her back shrink as she vanished into the city, a speck that was swallowed whole.

He thought to the last time he had seen her figure from such a distance and recalled the sense of profound loneliness that pervaded the image.

But here, it was not the same. Her back seemed a little straighter, her steps infused with just a bit more purpose.

But it was enough. To transform that desolate feeling into a tiny spark of hope that might someday ignite into something beautiful.

He then realized that it was past his normal closing hours and began to frantically lock up. When he got home, weary, he collapsed on his bed without a second thought.

It was only later that he would realize that the night terrors had not visited him that day, that his dark emotions remained undisturbed.

He wondered what that meant.

xxx

"Wait, are you serious? She walked into your store? And asked for Mapo tofu of all things?"

Yuzuru rolled his eyes as his friend collapsed on the counter laughing.

"Laugh it up all you want, Hinata. It won't change the fact that it happened."

The next day, the baseball player had dropped by again for another drink and to chat with him.

He had taken the opportunity to tell his friend of the surreal experience he had yesterday.

Perhaps that was a mistake.

"I'm just saying! It's such a funny coincidence she walked in the day you saw her on TV. It's like it was fate or something!"

"She doesn't like crowds, which is why she came so late and why she chose the smallest shop around, which just so happened to be mine."

"Hear that? Your lack of success was a good thing for once!"

Yuzuru felt a twitch in his left eyebrow.

Hinata, unaware of the irritation he was causing his friend, continued, "So, what did you two talk about anyway?"

The barista crossed his arms. "Not much, really. She had a scary escort following her around, and I learned her name was Kanade."

"Scary escort? Was there a big, burly man following her around?"

"Actually, it was a tall, skinny girl."

"You got scared by a girl?! What kind of man are you?"

"I'm sure if you piss Yui off enough, you'll see just how scary women can be. Maybe I should call her up right now?"

Hinata cringed. "There's no need for that. Really." He laughed sheepishly as his eyes nervously darted around the room before homing in on an inconspicuous package in a plastic bag lying on the counter. "Hey, what's that?"

Yuzuru spared it a glance before doing a double take. "Wait, don't touch that –"

Too late, Hinata had already opened the bag –

"Mapo tofu? You never told me you liked this kind of super spicy stuff . . ." His eyes widened. "Wait . . . you said Kanade wanted Mapo tofu. Did you buy this just for her?"

Yuzuru couldn't quite meet his eyes. "I'm just doing it as a favor."

"You totally did! Wait, that means she's coming by again? Dang, you're a real lucky bastard, you know that? To have a celebrity visit your shop two days in a row! I bet she's gonna bring in all kinds of customers in for you!"

Yuzuru rolled his eyes. "Somehow, I doubt that. She told me herself that she disliked crowded areas, so drawing attention would be counterproductive."

"So, it's just going to be you and her, huh? That's great! You'll have plenty of opportunities to make a move on her."

"It's not like that –"

"Pshhh, I saw the way you were staring at her on TV. You're totally into her. And now, you have the chance to act on your feelings! Don't let this opportunity slip by, you hear me? You need to settle down one day, you know?"

"You're blowing this out of proportion –"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Either way, take a good, hard look at your feelings and figure out what you really want. Don't have any regrets, okay?"

Yuzuru fell silent for a moment. "Figures you would be the one offering relationship advice." He chuckled weakly.

Hinata grinned. "What can I say? I'm just good with the ladies!"

"Don't let Yui overhear you, now."

They laughed together good-naturedly.

"Well, I should get going. Good luck!" Hinata said with a wave.

Yuzuru waved back. "Thanks."

As the bell's tinkle signaled his friend's exit, he felt his hands slow in their work, then stop. The thought of reaching out, of committing to a relationship, was both frightening and tantalizing.

He had already lost a loved one once; he wasn't keen to feel that crippling sensation of loss again. But he remembered how his attachment had given him a purpose in life, made each day worth living.

Maybe he had a chance –

What a load of nonsense. She's totally out of my league.

He sighed. No matter how well-intentioned Hinata had been when dispensing his advice, it will amount to nothing more than wishful thinking.

He was being helpful to a customer.

Nothing more.

That is what he kept on telling himself, no matter how much his heart yearned to argue otherwise.