"Did you file the invoice yet?"

Who the hell do you think I am?! Of course I did it!

"I did it already," an irritated voice replied.

"Yuuji..."

That voice sounds oddly familiar to me. It's as if all my nightmares manifested into one single being, and this being was talking to me right now.

"Yuuji…" she whispered again.

"Shouko..." A grumble of sore irritation and irrational fear emitted from Yuuji's closed lips.

"Yuuji..." The demented madwoman responded.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Yuuji cried, leaping back several feet in apprehension. Yuuji quickly collected himself, and readied for combat by taking the tiger stance.

"I'm your manager," she replied. Her face twisted as she attempted to smile.

That damn devil…she'll have to kill me before I see her smile!

"What, what happened to the other guy?" He asked, shielding his face with an unfortunate job proposal. He shuddered in fear as the paper took most of the impact and froze into stone.

"And did I just hear a cry for help?!" Something was pounding a few floors down…

"Dealt with," she quickly answered.

Was that a piece of rope dangling behind her?! I need to run before she ends me!

Yuuji nervously glanced at the time. He had to think of something. Anything to distance himself from her.

"Look at the time!" He nervously exclaimed. "My workday is over, bye!"

Yuuji quickly lunged for his sports jacket, and then took a sprinting start from the off button of his desktop. He raced for the exit, knocking over an unfortunate intern busy with two pitchers of coffee.

"H-hey! W-w-watch it!" the naïve intern cried after him, swerving just in time to avoid the speeding bullet of red hair and fear.

"Sorry! No time for that! I'm running away from-"

Whoosh.

"If you step out of that room, I'll make your parents sign this marriage confirmation form."

Yuuji stopped dead in his tracks.

"Sign…what?" Yuuji asked, perking his eyebrows.

"This…" Shouko whispered, raising a rather suspiciously formal paper to his face.

"I thought I had disposed of it already." Yuuji cried.

AKIHISA, I'LL MURDER YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

"Let's go to a maid cafe," she offered. The smile lagged behind.

"What?"

"A. Maid. Café."

The choice was oddly normal.

"Don't you want to go to somewhere more formal?"

"Like a wedding?"

"A maid cafe is just fine!" Yuuji smiled broadly.

Kubo sat two tables away from his Juliet.

His Juliet was really Akihisa, but that was the least of his worries. After all, he was just a walk away from him. All Kubo had to do was stroll over, and they would be able to-

"That's indecent," Kubo blushed. "I should save that for when we go home."

Sensing the indecency in that, Kubo blushed even further, and decided to just shut up about it.

His mind idly wandered off, but Kubo's eyes were glued to Akihisa. He watched as Akihisa accidentally knock over a teacup, giggled slightly as he meticulously spilled cake crumbs everywhere.

"His foolish actions…It's what entices me so much," Kubo sighed. He would've stayed in that dreamy pose forever if not for the scrutinizing glares of a worried mother. Kubo quickly broke away from daydreaming, and smiled at her.

It only made things worse. He watched as the woman scurry out of the café. Her son followed shortly behind with his ear caught in her iron grip.

"What the hell are you doing at a maid café anyways?" he whispered after them, scoffing slightly at how preposterous the whole situation is.

No matter. Akihisa is here with me. That is the most important thing. Speaking of which…I should probably move over by now… Kubo thought as he fixed his glasses.

It's still too early, he decided, looking out the window to prevent anyone else from noticing his rosy red blush.

Why am I even worrying about this? Kubo suddenly snapped. Why, I should just go there right now and-

You mustn't, Kubo-kun.

Why not! I see no reason not to, in fact I'm going there right after I fix my-

"Kuuuuubo!" Akihisa cheerfully called out. His problem was certainly solved.

"Akihisa! Erm, why don't you sit here?" Kubo patted the chair to his left. Was he a bit too blunt, too quick?

"Sure! A friend is a friend, haha," Akihisa smiled innocently. He skipped over to Kubo's table, and then sat just a few inches from him. Kubo's face couldn't get any redder.

"Is something wrong? Izzit a fever?" Akihisa asked, eyes slowly widening as he placed a hand on Kubo's forehead.

"Nah, it's not that," Kubo shook his head. He gently waved off Akihisa's hand. "It's you, Yoshii-kun."

"Sorry," Akihisa apologized. "It's really hot today…"

"No!" Kubo cried. "It's not that! I love you!"

Blunt! A voice rang out in his head. Too blunt!

You done it, another voice applauded sarcastically. You done goofed.

Fortunately, Akihisa was never great at picking up on such things.

"I love you too, but as a friend!" Akihisa returned.

"That's what I meant. Yeah. I love you as a friend," Kubo hastily followed up. "Nothing more." Kubo gave off an internal sigh of relief.

They sat awkwardly for some time. Akihisa switched between looking at his empty teacup and at Kubo's face. Kubo found himself peering intently into the depths of his black coffee.

I'm so close. So close. Damn it, why can't I do something? Kubo thought. I have all the material…come on Kubo, just ask him out gently…

Wait. Black coffee?

Since when did he like black coffee? Frowning slightly, he gestured to a nearby waitress.

"Sorry, can I order a cup of regular-" Kubo stopped. "Valedictorian? Is that you?"

"Salutatorian…"

"Shouko, I find it surprising that you would partake in such an occupation!"

"I am here for Yuuji." Shouko stepped aside to reveal the red-head, bound by rope and towels.

"Mm! Mm!" he cried for help. The cries landed on the ears of no one.

"I see. I suppose a maid café is the best place to practice such unconditional love," Kubo acknowledged.

"Why's he here?" Shouko pointed to Akihisa as she asked her question.

"Well, we're just…talking," Kubo answered.

"Talking…Yuuji, we should be more like them."

"Mm!"

Akihisa finally caught up to the conversation.

"Wait! We're just friends," Akihisa hastily explained. "It's not like I'm totally gay for Kubo or anything."

"I never said that," Shouko said.

"I thought you did. You can't ship me and Kubo! I don't like men!"

"What?" a bystander called out. "Akihisa likes men? Guys, look, he likes men!"

"Men? Who's the guy?" another joined in.

"It's him!" a third person pointed at Kubo.

"What! Akihisa likes Kubo?!"

"Oh boy, Shimada's going to murder him."

"I wonder what Himeji will cook for dinner tonight!"

"No, wait," Akihisa waved his hands to the crowd. "This is a misunderstanding!"

"I wish our relationship was this…well-known," Shouko sighed, placing a hand on her cheeks.

"Ah…looks like our romantic gathering is ruined," Kubo sighed.

"What?! No, everyone's misunderstanding the situation!" Akihisa cried out.

"I still love you," Kubo whispered deeply into the distressed boy's ear.

"No!" Akihisa cried. "I don't accept this!"

"Mmm!" Yuuji cried, kicking off the last of his restraints. "Akihisa! Run for it!"

"Wait, but I have to explain the situation first!"

"Akihisa, you're a dumb ass!" Yuuji yelled, knocking down a fan girl with a stool.

"Did you not see her demented eyes?" Yuuji furiously pointed at the unconscious girl. "Everyone's shipping you! It's too late!"

"Ah...Yuuji, let's run!"

Yuuji grabbed Akihisa by the hands, and they lunged out of a stained-glass window. Kubo and Shouko stood side by side as they watched the duo sprint off to the sunset.

"What an odd group, don't you think?" Kubo noted.

"Akihisa is a danger to my relationship."

"Now, now, don't kill him. He's my partner, too."

"Fine."

They stood like guards to the imperial court, stoic and…unmoving. Kubo placed one finger on his glasses, and tucked the other into his pocket. Shouko folded both her arms across her chest.

"You know," Kubo noticed after some time. "We've been standing here, cross-armed, for a while now."

"I noticed something too," Shouko added.

"Aye?"

"The brother of the Kinoshita family," Shouko gestured.

"Something's wrong with him?"

"I think he saw the whole thing and misinterpreted as well."

"Aye…seeing two men run off into the sunset does seem suspicious."

"I think he was here even earlier. He might've seen Akihisa with you as well."

"Don't tell me…Hideyoshi also likes Akihisa?"

"Hideyoshi Kinoshita is an actor," Shouko reminded, closing her eyes. "However, there is a 97.6% chance that I guessed right."

"I am at fault for this, I suppose."

"Yes."

"Ah…" Kubo mumbled, a bit remorseful. Maybe the woman he had seen earlier was a premonition that he very well ignored.

"I could be wrong, remember."

"I don't think so," Kubo sighed, nudging Shouko sightly.

"He's crying," Shouko stated.

"Yeah. Running away, too," Kubo added.

"I guess...I'm a hundred percent correct now."

"Aye, detective."

I've been scourging this website now, and noticed that some people add a footnote. Or header. However the author likes to capture their readers' attention.

I think it's better for a reader to read whatever they're reading first, and then taste the author's opinion or something.

Anyways, as promised, the fourth chapter..Adding that author's note was a bit annoying, but fortunately, I don't number my works.

How was each situation planned out? Did you have time to breathe, or was it so bland and lifeless that you mistook it for dead fish?