"Yu-ka-ri!" Mayu wished she had her trusty ax with her. That way she would have been able to chop off the wrist that her boss and sometimes-friend was holding onto.

Or cut down her friend. She was fine with both options. Both of them solved her current problem, which was Yukari essentially sabotaging her attempts to accelerate her love life. "I'm busy!"

The purple-haired girl raised an eyebrow. "Ditching work?"

"Ye-no, I'm just going to go after my soul mate so we can ride off into the sunset on the back of his white horse and get the happy fairy tale ending I've always dreamed of."

"Mayu, that's almost exactly what you said about the last guy you saw walk in here. Monday, remember? Spiky black hair, glary eyes, bad boy attitude? You looked like you would have killed someone if he asked you to."

Mayu looked at her friend oddly. "Why, is that weird?"

Yukari folded her arms. "Very."

Both girls stood, not a single word exchanged between them for some time. Finally, Mayu broke the silence. "So . . . ."

"No. Get back to work."

"But Yukari! He's getting away!"

The bunny-lover had had enough. It was time to bring out the big guns, play her ace, hit the final combination for an attack that would take this argument down once and for all. "Mayu, he has a boyfriend!"

"What?!"

"Have you seen the guy? Obviously, he's gay."

"But that's what you said about the last guy!"

"Gaydar," the purple-haired girl tapped the side of her pigtailed head knowingly. "Trust me, Mayu, I just saved you from wasting your time and effort pining away after a guy who'll never look at you the way you look at him."

The blonde slumped.

"See? Now go back to work. If I see you ditch work I'll dock your pay again."

When Yukari returned to counting her numbers in the back, Mayu took a careless seat at one of the frilled, fancy tables with the lace tablecloths so white they should have come with a warning sign for possible blindness. "Why do gay guys come to maid cafés, anyways?" she grumbled at the weirdness of it all.