Hello again! Thank you to all those that have followed/favorited/reviewed and just read the story up to this point! It means so much to know that you are enjoying this story because I definitely enjoy writing it! Here is Chapter 3! More Kotori!


Chapter 3: Angel Cake

Umi was bored. She had been laying on her bedroom floor with her arms and legs spread outwards all day, doing nothing but staring at the ceiling. Every now and then she would roll over to her side, then switch to the other side, but in end she returned to staring at the ceiling. She had offered her mother to cook dinner but the whole family knew Umi wasn't the best when it came to cooking. For some reason she always burned the food or under cooked it, resulting in her being scolded by her mother. To avoid having to scold Umi, her mother flat out refused to let Umi near the stove. As a result, Umi had nothing to do but mope in her room and succumb to her boredom. Her room was clean as always and she had finished her homework days before. She glanced at her clock.

"Six o'clock. Eli should be home by now, maybe I'll go pay her a visit," she thought, debating whether or not it was worth the effort of standing up.

*Knock Knock*

"I see you've literally done nothing all day."

"Oh Eli, perfect timing! I was just thinking about going to see you but I see you've saved me the trouble." Umi sat up, sitting with her legs crossed in front of a small table in the center of the room.

Eli sat across the table and tossed Umi a folder filled with papers. "The notes for today, you haven't missed much."

"Ugh finally, something to do!"

Eli laughed. "You know, you wouldn't be in this position if you hadn't punched the man right in front of the police officer."

"He asked for it."

"He did."

Umi skimmed through the notes. She really hadn't missed much, which was good. It was bad enough that she had been suspendedfor doing something that actually benefited the community and now she would have that suspension on her academic record. In her opinion, the action should have been labeled as community service with her being awarded scholarships and early admittance to the top universities of Japan. A girl can dream. True, the man had to be sent to a first aid center to be checked for a concussion, but if you ask her he got off easy. He was lucky that they had been in the presence of an angel otherwise she would not have stopped at a single punch. Yes, an angel. The angel with soft looking brown hair, large innocent eyes, and a voice that sounded sweeter than the chirps of the morning birds. Despite her anger, Umi had been able to control herself in fear that she would see those golden eyes fill with tears again. It wouldn't have been the first time she had unintentionally made a girl cry.

"Nico and Rin should be coming by sometime today too,"

"How did they take the news?"

"They weren't surprised. Nico says she takes some credit for telling us to be alert."

"Sounds just like her. And Rin?"

"Something that ended with 'nya'."

"UMI!" rang Mrs. Sonoda's voice.

The sound of her footsteps grew louder as she approached Umi's room. Poking her head into the room she whispered loudly,

"Umi! Someone named Minami-san is here to see you! It's a girl! She's a girl!"

"Minami…san?" questioned Umi, glancing at Eli who simply shrugged. "I don't know anyone named Minami. Send her in, my room's clean anyways."

Umi's mother left quickly, obviously excited. Eli took a scrutinizing glance at Umi who sat in her old stained pajamas.

"Shouldn't you change out of your pajamas first?"

Umi gasped. "You're right! How embarrassing!"

Frantically, Umi ran to her dresser, picking the first t-shirt she saw. As she began to pull her old pajama shirt over her head she heard a squeak. Umi froze.

"Oh god…please tell me the visitor is not seeing me with my stomach entirely exposed," thought Umi slowly turning to face the source of high pitched noise.

It was worse than she thought. She felt her cheeks burn as her face began to heat up from embarrassment. She had been undressing in front of an angel. The angel. What on earth could she be doing here wanting to see her, creepy eyes Umi Sonoda? She couldn't move, she couldn't speak. She simply stood there staring in shock as the heavenly beauty turned an even brighter shade of pink, desperately trying to avert her eyes from Umi's form.

"Either finish changing your shirt or keep the shirt you're wearing on. I'm starting to get second hand embarrassment."

Eli's blunt voice broke the spell Umi was under. Shoving her shirt back down she began to mentally muster up the courage to speak to the girl still standing at the doorway. The fact that she was wearing her school uniform just like the day on the train made her seem vulnerable and Umi couldn't help but curse her rotten luck that she continued to give such a bad impression on her. First the violence, and now her lovely changing exposition. Just great.

"Man up Umi, man up! Don't glare, smile! Look gentle, don't scare her, oh please god don't let her be afraid of me. Oh good at least I'm wearing a bra…"

"I…I'm sorry…I didn't…I didn't get all that…man up?" stammered the girl

Umi felt the color drain from her face. "You heard me? I was thinking…wait…you heard my thoughts?"

"No Umi, you spoke out loud. It was a bit low and unclear though" clarified Eli, beginning to look rather amused at the situation.

"I just wanted to come thank you for saving me earlier! I'm Kotori Minami, it's such a pleasure to meet you properly! Please excuse my sudden intrusion." Kotori bowed.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Eli Ayase."

"Umi Sonoda" added Umi, finally getting a grip on her nerves.

"Well Umi, Minami-san, I'll be heading home now," Eli nodded at Kotori as she passed her by the doorway.

"W-wait! Won't you stay for a while longer?" Kotori asked hopefully, her eyes obviously pleading with Eli.

Umi raised an eyebrow and reality struck her, hitting hard. "Ah…of course…this again" thought the blue haired girl watching the two of them.

Kotori turned to Umi again and smiled, "You see, I brought a cake to thank you! I thought it would be nice to eat it as a group," She lifted up a bag that Umi hadn't noticed that she was carrying.

"Well, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt." Eli waved her bangs away. "Let's eat!"


"Wh-what is this?! It's delicious, it's heavenly! I don't think I've ever tasted anything quite like it!" Umi stared at the piece of cake on her fork in awe.

"You like it? I'm so glad! It's a cheesecake and I made it myself so I was worried you wouldn't like it! I know my appearance is so sudden and unexpected. I asked about you at the train station and someone had recognized you and told me where to go. I just had to thank you properly!" Kotori was smiling radiantly, her cheeks flushing with obvious excitement.

Once they had finished the cake, Umi eating the majority of it, Eli stood up to leave.

"I'll be leaving now, thank you for the food."

"Ah! I should be leaving now too!" Kotori gathered her things quickly and following Eli out the door.

"Of course." Umi smiled sadly as she closed the front door behind the two of them.

"They would make a good pair. They're both attractive, polite. She's so sweet…but you know Minami-san, I was the one that saved you…not Eli. But I understand, I was being out of line." Umi thought, slowly walking back to her room. "It's all the same, every time. I'm surprised I even feel disappointed anymore. But this time though…this time it hurts the most." She looked at the empty plates still on the table. "Well, at least the cheesecake was good! All's well that ends well."


*Ring! Ring! Ring!*

"Huh?" Umi looked up from her school work. "That doesn't sound like my ringtone…" She looked for the source of the noise. "A pink cell phone? Did Eli get a new phone?" Umi held the device in her hands. "Might as well answer it."

"Hello?"

"I knew it!" spoke a familiar girl's voice.

"Huh?"

"This is Minami from earlier! I left my phone with you, I'm so sorry! Can I come get it? What day would be good for you?"

"Oh you don't need to come all the way here. Just let me know where and when and I can bring it to you."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Well, you see I go to Koizumi Girl's Academy so would it be alright if we met tomorrow in front of the fountain at the center of the Shisuda Park? At 3 o'clock?"

"Yes…that's perfect."


Eli walked with Umi after school as usual. She would never admit it, but it had been lonely without Umi during the time she was suspended. She turned to talk to the girl but found a bright pink smartphone being waved in her face instead.

"You got a new phone? No offense, but that color really does not suit you."

"No! That girl Minami left it in my room yesterday. I'm on my way to meet her to give it back to her."

"Good for you."

"You're coming with me." Umi said firmly after mentally thinking about how Minami would expect and prefer Eli to come with her.

"I am?"

"You are."

Determined, Umi grabbed Eli's arm and steered her in the direction of the park.

"I will make you happy Minami," Umi thought "I'll bring you the one you like! That is the honorable thing to do!"


When they arrived Kotori was already waiting for them in front of the fountain. Her face brightened up as they approached and she waved. Umi felt her heart skip a beat and pulled Eli along a little roughly due to her nerves. Eli threw her an irritated look but said nothing.

"Thank you so much for taking the time to bring me my phone! I'm so sorry for the trouble!" Kotori bowed then lifted up a pink bag she was holding. "I brought sweets again to thank you!"

"It was no trouble, please don't worry about it." Umi replied feeling satisfied with herself. "Are you a first year in high school too?"

"Mmhmm, so you're a first year?"

"Yes, Eli and I are both first years at Shuei High School."

"You know, if you'd like you can eat what I brought on a bench in the park." suggested Kotori, looking away shyly.

Umi looked at Eli who appeared to have no opinion on the matter. With this she replied "Sounds good!"

The three of them sat down on a bench with Kotori sitting in between Eli and Umi. Kotori opened a box that was inside the bag to reveal a display of colorful sweets. Fascinated, Umi delicately took a bite of pink one.

"Delicious!" Umi held the half-finished sweet in front of her in admiration. "What is this?"

"Macaroons! I actually made them myself!" happily chirped the petite brunette.

"This and the cheesecake…you're so talented Minami!"

"Thank you…I guess baking is a talent of mine. Ehehehe…"

For the first time since arriving at the park Eli spoke, "That's admirable, I heard baking can be quite tiring if done properly."

Kotori turned her body towards Eli excitedly, "It is! All the mixing requires a lot of stamina!"

Umi stared at her. She watched her continue to chat with Eli about baking. She observed that her blush never left her cheeks. She watched her words jumble every now and then due to nerves. She was so jumpy, so nervous. Umi realized then what she was seeing. Minami was in love. It was deeper than just a childish crush, Umi could easily see that as she gazed at the pretty girl intently.

"Umi, stop staring. You're starting to get that glare again."

Startled, Umi withdrew her face from its close position by Kotori's. She hadn't realized she had leaned in so close to her. Kotori was blushing furiously and obviously putting a lot of effort into staying calm. Umi immediately felt guilty.

"My apologies. I-I'll be going to the restroom. Excuse me for a moment." It took all her strength not to run to her destination, but she managed to walk away looking nonchalant.


"I need to get a grip. I can't fall for her, she's fallen for Eli already." Umi leaned her back against the cool tile wall of the restroom. "I can't make things awkward for her, she's such a nice girl. It isn't her fault, Eli is just that irresistible. It's these emotions…they're so bothersome…if only nature allowed us only to love the ones who will of us back." Umi thought wistfully, "I told myself I never wanted to see this girl cry again…so I won't let her!"

Umi broke away from the wall and turned on a sink. After taking a deep breath, she dumped her head under the running water. The coolness of the water cleared her head as she made a decision.

"I will help her! I will help her be with Eli!"


Thanks for reading! Please review and I will update the next chapter as soon as possible!