The tightness in her chest did not fade after serving them. Rather, it felt like it got worse as she caught glimpses of Kazuma and Umi chatting away. Her amber eyes retained the spirit of a hard worker and she was able to manage during the long shift however, her mind rather, her heart was not in her work. Kotori could not focus however, by the time her shift ended, she noticed that the ponytailed teen was no longer there and in his seat was her idol-loving junior, Hanayo who had joined the group engaging in conversation with the orange haired cat-girl Rin.
She saw that the guy whom Kazuma was with, Shun had shifted to a single table with Nozomi. Her mind shifted slightly to the thoughts on what their relationship was, however when the word relationship came to mind, she drifted back on her thoughts of her bodyguard. He was an awkward person. After all, he spaced out a lot and wore such formal clothing even if he was visiting the principal of a school.
She saw the long haired Umi gesture to her to sit down. Kotori took a seat opposite of her, quite confused on how to start a conversation. It was normal for them to talk for hours about how Honoka's plans were causing them issues or for them to confide in one another but this time, her words seemed to be stuck at her throat.
'This is painful…'
Kotori felt as though her closest friend had turned into a stranger. No, rather, she had distanced herself emotionally to treat her as a stranger. She did not like it. She did not like it at all. She did not want her friends to be apart from her yet she herself was doing it. Suddenly the silence was broken.
"Kotori, anything the matter?"
A concerned question came from Umi. Their juniors were engrossed with their own chat while Nozomi was chatting inaudibly with the male sitting opposite her. Was she so obvious in showing her discomfort? She sighed as she straighten herself up. She knew she could not lie to Umi and as much as she did not want to hurt her, she wanted to know what was on the long haired girl's mind on the ponytailed male in question.
"It's about Kazuma-kun…"
She responded quietly a faint hint of red surrounding her cheeks showing her embarrassment to be consulting on such a matter yet, she was surprised to see a firm gaze from Umi. Suddenly her shoulders were firmly gripped. Was Umi feeling angered?
"Kotori… What did he do to you?! Did he do anything indecent?"
The sudden barrage of questions confused her. Kotori realized that the long haired girl had misinterpreted the meaning of her worries being about him. She smiled in relief somewhat, understanding that he friend truly treasured her. To get jealous over something as simple conversation, she surely must have had a clouded point of view, yet she could not deny, a part of her was still confused.
"It's not that Umi-chan. He's a good person, awkward admittedly but good nonetheless. It's just… I feel strange when I see him talk with you just now…. I don't know why…"
Kotori admitted to her friend trying to calm her down. She at the same time explained her situation. Umi from her almost frenzy rage, chuckled a little. Kotori wondered why, it was no laughing matter if she were to laugh off the matter, as the amber eyed girl was seriously lost as to why she felt such anger.
"Isn't it simple? Even if you were on a faux date as you said, you found yourself somewhat attracted by him. It could be you overthinking, as you rarely chat with guys other than customers here."
Umi consoled her friend giving her a firm smile, suddenly there were responses from the nearby tables.
"Kotori's having troubles with a guy?"
"Ooh Ka-san's got lucky."
"Kotori-chan and a guy… I gotta tell the rest!"
The three responses came from Nozomi, Shun and Rin respectively. The members of Lily White other than Umi herself, found it amusing to tease the off-duty maid. Kotori herself sank into the corner of her chair blushing hard. She still found it hard to believe that she might like someone whom she recently met or was it simply just that?
As the cat girl Rin began to dial the number of the other members of μ's. Kotori revved into a panic chasing frantically for the phone.
"Rin-chan!"
The orange shorthaired girl was surprised and in fear of whatever might happen, she simply dashed right out of the café.
Umi had a smile similar to that of a mother seeing her daughter grow up. She had been close to Kotori since childhood, always bearing the same issues as her when they were faced with ideas from their mutual friend the every straightforward Honoka yet now, it seemed that Kotori was deviating from their united path. Even the working at the café as Minalinsky was something that was due to their brunette's friend idea of being a school idol. Kotori like her name, was currently like a little bird spreading her wings into the unknown.
'Kotori… I wish you the best…'