A few months have passed since the couple had opened their restaurant and things have been going well. Kotori and Umi have become local celebrities and their restaurant hasn't gone more than an hour without at least one customer. Business was great and the couple could finally rest easy without having to worry too much with their money. However, due to the popularity of the restaurant, the two have been running around with no breaks all day for the past few months.
"Hey Umi? Don't you think that we should start hiring some workers?" the girl asked in a stressed tone.
"I think you're right Kotori…" Umi brought her hand up to her forehead to massage it. Kotori took a hold of her hand and rubbed her thumb over Umi's knuckles.
"We can hang up fliers tomorrow and see if anyone would be interested," she suggested.
Umi sighed, "We can't hire too many workers though, I hate to say it but if we hire too many workers our budget will be cut drastically," she took a quick peek to see her partner's reaction. To her surprise, Kotori was nodding along. It came as a shock, Kotori was usually one to promote 'the more the merrier' but maybe she's seeing eye to eye with Umi here.
"I think two to four workers should be enough right?" she suggested. Umi nodded in response.
"Hey Kotori?" Umi asked, "How about we start making that flier together?" she smiled. Kotori practically jumped up yelling,
"I'll go get the materials! Wait here, Umi!" she ran off. Umi giggled at Kotori's reaction, she had always enjoyed arts and crafts. She remembered how Kotori would always have an art book with her when the two went to University. They always had sketches of clothing and such since she was a fashion major, but nowadays she hasn't had the time to sketch anything.
"I'm back!" she said happily. Umi returned to reality as Kotori reclaimed the seat next to her.
"So what do you think we should put on it?" Umi asked.
Kotori began drawing before Umi could finish her question, "I think it should look something like….. this!" she finished it quickly and held it up to Umi like a child showing their parent a good grade.
Umi read the lettering carefully, "We are in search of new workers, become a part of our team…" she looked at the corner of the page to see a doodle of a bird.
"Kotori? What's this little bird thing in the corner?" she took the paper and pointed it out.
"Oh, that would be me as a bird! Isn't it cute?" she said happily.
Umi flipped the flier back to inspect it once again, "I… guess it's cute? But why did you draw yourself as a bird?" she questioned.
Kotori thought for a second before replying, "Well… Our restaurant name is 'Ocean Flight' and your name is Umi as in Ocean, and I thought I should draw myself as a bird for the 'flight' part," Kotori looked at Umi's uncertain expression. "I-Is it a bad idea?"
Umi jumped and replied, "N-No of course not!" Umi told a little white lie.
"Can I see that pen for a second?" Umi asked. Kotori handed her the pen and she wrote something down. She turned it to show Kotori, "We have to make sure that we provide information like work time and all of that; as well as an interview process."
Kotori nodded, "You're right, we have to make sure that we don't hire the wrong people for the job."
The couple looked over the flier and decided that it will go up first thing tomorrow morning. The two went to bed in anticipation for the next day.
Kotori woke up and got dressed quickly while Umi was still asleep. She grabbed the flier and raced downstairs to hang it up, "I hope we get some applications~" she said happily. Kotori returned upstairs gleefully to see Umi out of bed getting dressed, she peeked through the door for a couple seconds before bursting in, "Umi, you're awake~!" she dove towards Umi and inevitably missed. Umi simply took a step to the side to dodge the incoming girl.
"I-I'm changing Kotori! Don't do that!" she yelled in response.
Kotori rubbed the bump on her head and whined, "I just wanted to give you a lovely morning hug," Umi finished dressing and offered her hand to the damsel.
"I'm sorry Kotori, will you forgive me?" Kotori took the girl's hand and pulled Umi down causing her to scream.
"Yeah I forgive you now~" Kotori hugged onto a blushing Umi and laughed heartedly.
"C-Come on Kotori," Umi cried, "We have to get ready to open the restaurant," she tried to force herself out of the binding arms.
Kotori gave one last good hug before letting go, "Okay~" she released her grip quickly, causing the blue haired girl to propel backwards a few inches. Umi got up and massaged her lower back,
"Jeez Kotori…" Umi frowned. Kotori got up and looked apologetic,
"I'm sorry Umi, but I had to," she gave Umi a peck on the cheek and giggled before trotting downstairs.
Umi waited until her face returned to normal before heading down as couple opened up the restaurant and the day carried out as it usually did.
A couple hours had passed into lunchtime and two regulars walked into the restaurant almost routinely greeting the two owners.
"Umi~ Kotori~" a light voiced pronounced, "Elichi and Nontan are here!" the couple turned to be greeted by Nozomi and Eli making their daily lunch appointment.
"Nontan?" questioned Eli.
"Isn't it a cute name?" Nozomi replied.
Eli shrugged and proceeded to their usual table; Nozomi and Kotori follow suit. Kotori sat the two down at their table and asked, "Will it be the usual meals today?" the two nodded in unison and Kotori disappeared to hand their orders to Umi.
Kotori continued to take orders from the other guests until Umi rang the bell to signal Nozomi and Eli's order. She rushed over to pick them up and returned to the two, "Here's the usual~" she set the plates in front of them and turned to continue her work. Before she could, Kotori felt a tug on her skirt and turned to see Eli holding onto it, "U-Umm, is there something wrong Eli?"
Eli let go of the skirt and pointed to the front of the store, "I saw a flier that you two are looking for some workers?"
Kotori turned around to face Eli, "Y-yeah we are," she giggled nervously, "We've been getting very busy lately and thought we could use some help around here." Kotori looked at Eli questioningly, "Are you interested in working here?"
Eli shook her hands and head vigorously, "No, no, no, I already have a job," she laughed uncomfortably, "But my little sister Arisa might be interested in working here,"
Kotori clapped her hands together, "Oh really?!" she took a grab of Eli's hands and thanked her, "Just tell her to show up for an interview and we'll see if she's good for the job," Kotori quickly walked off before Eli could finish.
"W-wait, Kotori!" she yelled. Kotori turned around swiftly to hear what Eli had to say, "W-well, my little sister kind of admires Um-"
"Thanks for the food, Kotori! Tell Umi that it's delicious as always!" Nozomi interrupted.
Eli turned angrily towards Nozomi, "Nozomi! You know that Arisa has a crush on Umi,"
Nozomi began eating her food before speaking, "Yeah, and?"
Eli looked at her in disbelief, "W-what if she causes trouble for Kotori and Umi…?" she leaned in, "What if she… you know… disrupts their relationship?"
Nozomi looked at Eli blankly, "That's what you're worried about?" she continued to eat without continuing.
"O-of course I'm worried about it…" she looked down at her food.
"Elichi, look at them…" Nozomi motioned towards the couple.
Kotori pranced towards Umi gleefully as she handed her the small slip of paper with a smile. Umi blushed and smiled back taking the order.
"Look at how happy they are, even with such a busy restaurant, they're able to still smile through all of it," Nozomi looked at Eli, "that and the cards told me that they have a bond just as strong as ours."
Eli blushed, "Jeez Nozomi, you and your tarot cards…"
Nozomi giggled, "Let's enjoy our meal shall we?" Eli nodded reluctantly and began eating.
The two finished their meal and left their pay, on their way out Eli spoke up, "Kotori! I'll give Arisa a call and tell her to get ready for an interview." Kotori nodded and the two left together.
A ginger haired girl ran through the door just as the other two were leaving, bumping into them, "Ahh sorry! I didn't watch where I was going!"
"Honoka? It's alright, but why are you in such a rush?" asked Eli.
"Eli? Nozomi? I was just rushing over here when I saw the flier and-" the energetic girl paused for a moment before sticking her head back out the entrance doors. "Yukiho! Hurry up!"
An auburn haired girl approached the restaurant unwillingly, "I'm coming…" she groaned.
"Hey Yukiho," Eli greeted. "How has Arisa been doing with her schooling?"
"Hiya Eli, Arisa has been doing fine… I think?" Yukiho scratched her head, "She's still a bit clueless when it comes to anything Japanese, but she is doing really well with other subjects." she laughs nervously, "She even helps me with homework sometimes."
"So, Honoka, why were you in a hurry again?" asked Nozomi.
Honoka rushed past the two and slammed her hand against the flier, "For this!" she exclaimed.
"Oh the hiring flier?" Eli asked, "I was just talking to Kotori myself about getting Arisa to apply for it."
Honoka's eyes lit up as she looked at Yukiho deviously, "You hear that Yukiho~?" she jokingly danced over to her and leaned against the little sister. "Arisa is going to apply too~" Honoka started pushing against Yukiho.
Yukiho sighed with an annoyed look on her face, "Fine! If it'll get you and mom off my back about getting a job then I'll just do it."
Honoka replied with an annoyed tone, "We wouldn't have to if you would've just gotten up and worked around our own shop…" she pushed Yukiho in and bid farewell to Eli and Nozomi, "See you two around!"
"S-stop pushing me Honoka, I'm already here aren't I?" Yukiho shrugged Honoka off.
"Oh, Honoka. Welcome to the restaurant," Umi bowed, "Who is with you now?"
"Hello, my name is Kousaka Yukiho," the girl bowed before Umi. "I'm this loud mouth's sister," she added.
Honoka flashed a displeased look before covering it up with one of her usual smiles.
"She's here to apply for a job!" Honoka boasted before leaning in closer to Umi in a secretive manner, "Hey Umi… So you know how we're friends right…?" she looked around before continuing, "How about you hook up my younger sister with the job?"
Umi sighed and stared back at Honoka, "That wouldn't be fair to the other people who want to apply for the job. I'm sorry but she'll have to apply for it regularly like everyone else."
Honoka's posture slumped as she looked at Umi with her puppy dog eyes, "Pleeeeeease Umi-"
"No!" Umi cut her pleading facade off.
Honoka clicked her tongue and snapped her finger as if her wonderful plan had been ruined.
"Don't you think we should just let her have the job, Umi?" Kotori appeared from the kitchen. "I mean, she is a friend of ours and we haven't exactly had any applications yet other than the consideration of Eli's younger sister."
"Eli has a younger sister?" Umi was surprised.
"Yep. I don't know when she'll be applying but if she's anything like Eli, she might come around later today or tomorrow." Kotori answered back.
Umi brought her hand up to her chin and thought, "Well… I guess if they're friends we can trust them but…"
Kotori took a hold of Umi's hands to reassure her, "Trust me Umi, they'll be great for the job. We also don't have to worry about having to interview any strangers either so what's the harm in hiring the two of them?"
"But, what about the other people that want to apply for the jobs too? Shouldn't we be fair?" Umi was still uncertain.
"Come ooooon, pleeeeease Umi?" Honoka begged. Umi had almost forgotten that Honoka was still around.
"I-I promise that I will work my hardest if you hire me, " Yukiho joined in.
"Umiiii~" Kotori leaned in closer to Umi.
She was cornered and defeated, especially with Kotori begging so much.
"F-fine…" Umi said with a defeated tone.
"Yay!" the trio celebrated in unison as high fives were thrown about.
"I'll text Arisa and tell her the good news," Yukiho said as she pulled out her phone, punching in a quick message before putting it back in her pocket. She moved closer to the counter and took a seat. "So, do we have to go through any training programs or anything of that sort? You know, like how to run the cash register and all that?"
Umi responded with a faint nod of uncertainty, "Well… we haven't really planned on making a training program or anything. We were hoping that whoever applied would already have experience in this kind of business."
"That's no problem!" Honoka interrupted. "Yukiho here ran the cash register a few times when Mom and I couldn't man the sweets shop, you can probably just assign her up front with Kotori."
"That sounds like a good plan, doesn't it Umi?" Kotori added.
"Well, I suppose. But what about Eli's younger sister? The other person we were going to hire needed cooking experience of some sort to help me out in the kitchen." Umi responded.
"Oh… about that…" Yukiho spoke up quietly. "The thing about Arisa is that she's not exactly too keen on Japanese cuisine or culture because she has been living abroad up until a year or two ago."
"We might have a problem then…" Umi brought her hand up to her forehead.
"I-I'm sure she's a quick learner, Umi" Kotori said in attempts to reassure her stressed partner.
"I hope you're right…" Umi responded before looking back at Kotori, "That's enough talk of this, we've got to get back to work. I think some customers are waiting for you to take their orders."
"Ahh!" Kotori yelped, "I completely forgot, I'm sorry." she quickly rushed past the group and returned to taking orders.
Yukiho laughed at Kotori's clumsiness and turned back to Umi, "So, how soon can I start?"
Umi took a look at her wristwatch, "Well… It's lunch time right about now. If you really want to start soon we can have you come in for the evening shift, but that would be too rough on you since it's short notice." She looked worried, "I think tomorrow would be best?"
Yukiho looked back at the busy restaurant, "Does it get much busier than this during the evening?"
"I guess you could say that. We've been so busy running around to take note of it." she replied with a sigh.
"Then I should come in for today's evening shift to lessen your workload," Yukiho offered.
"We couldn't possibly make you do that," Umi begged.
"It's no problem at all! I have nothing planned tonight anyways so I might as well help out my dumb sister's friends." she replied with a cheeky remark.
"Hey, I'm right here," Honoka said with a displeased look.
"I-If you insist… then I'll see you around 5 then." Umi replied.
"Yeah sure, no problem! We should head home now so I'll be back later" announced Yukiho as she dragged Honoka by the collar.
"Eh? Wait! Why do I have to go home? I want to stay here with Umi and Kotori!" Honoka flailed as she yelled.
"Mom needs you to help out with the store remember? You're not getting out of that by spending time here." Yukiho responded sternly.
The loud siblings exited the restaurant with a few concerned stares from the customers. Umi and Kotori awkwardly smiled in response.
Lunchtime passed by without a problem as well as the down time in between lunch and dinner. There were occasional customers that came into the restaurant every now and then, but the couple spent a majority of the time sitting together at the front counter talking about their new employees. There were also the occasional flirtatious advances from Kotori every now and then.
Dinnertime started to roll around and customers began to fill in the restaurant at an alarming rate. It didn't take long before Kotori found herself running from table to table trying her best to take orders as quickly as she could. It wasn't any better on Umi's end either. She was moving as swiftly as she could around the kitchen to get the orders ready. Every few minutes she would be interrupted by the sound of a bell which signaled that Kotori had left a new order onto the existing pile.
Yukiho walked in followed by a smaller blonde haired girl as Kotori took notice.
"Oh Yukiho, you're here." Kotori said while preoccupied with taking orders.
"Woah, you guys look super busy!" Yukiho looked around the bustling restaurant. She quickly took a step to the side with her hands in a presenting gesture, "Oh Kotori, I brought Arisa. Eli's younger sister."
"Ah- Nice to meet you!" Arisa quickly bowed in response to her sudden introduction.
"Nice to meet you too, Arisa" Kotori said without looking back. "I'm sorry for not giving you a proper greeting but we're really busy right now."
"It's okay," she replied gently.
"Umi and I will sit and talk with you once closing time comes around," Kotori walked up to them to take a quick break from taking orders. "Yukiho, you can use the changing room down the hall and to the left to change into the uniform. I don't know if it'll fit but I made it so that it should fit most girls."
Yukiho nodded and followed Kotori's directions. The waitress turned to face Arisa next, "Arisa, I need you to head through those big kitchen doors and work back there with Umi. If you have any problems, just ask her to help out."
Arisa blushed a bit after hearing Umi's name and nodded; promptly taking her leave from the front to the back of the restaurant to meet with Umi.
Arisa made her way through the big kitchen doors to see a distressed blue haired girl running around the kitchen with multiple dishes in her hand. The girl took notice of Arisa's presence and set down everything that she was holding.
"U-Umm, can I help you? Was there something wrong with your order?" Umi questioned with a self judgemental look.
"Ahh no, there's nothing wrong! I'm not a customer." Arisa raised her hands in defence. "I'm pretty sure anything that you make is perfect… hehe" she took notice of the slip of her tongue and quickly silenced herself.
"O-oh, thank you so much for the compliment" Umi replied with a smile. "But if you're not a customer, what are you doing back here?"
"My name is Ayase Arisa, I'm Eli's little sister. Yukiho said that you two probably needed help tonight so I thought I should come along too." she answered.
"Oh, nice to meet you Arisa. My name is Sonoda Umi, thank you for coming here on short notice." she bowed.
Arisa blushed.
"So, is there anything I can do to help out?" she questioned.
"Yukiho told us that you aren't exactly accustomed to Japanese culture and cuisine yet since you lived abroad until recently," Umi said while Arisa awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.
"Y-yeah, I don't really know that much about everything here yet…" she replied.
"Since that's the case, I think it would be best if you stayed by the front counter to get the orders for me. You can also carry out the orders to Kotori and Yukiho so that I can focus on finishing the orders here," she suggested.
Arisa nodded, "That sounds like a good plan… It'll be a pleasure to work for you two!" she bowed and left the kitchen.
Arisa stood behind the counter and waited for Kotori to bring the orders just as Umi had told her to do. She looked to the side and saw Yukiho walk out sheepishly in a maid outfit that looked like Kotori's.
"Yukiho! You look so cute in that uniform!" Arisa exclaimed, surprising Yukiho and causing her to jump in response.
"A-Arisa!" Yukiho took a deep breath and clutched her chest. "A-are you sure that this doesn't look… weird on me?"
"I already said that you look super cute in it" Arisa responded in delight.
"T-thanks, I'm not used to wearing really girly stuff like this so…" Yukiho released a sigh of relief.
Kotori walked up to the two and clapped her hands together, "You look wonderful Yukiho! I'm glad that the uniform I made was a good fit on you." She walked behind the counter and got in between the two, "Alright here's how we do things around here, Yukiho. When you take orders, make sure that you greet them with a smile and make sure to wish them a good day. Afterwards, I usually ask if they want some drinks to start off and then I take their meal order…" Kotori continued to describe how to do her job while Yukiho promptly nodded in response.
Kotori took a break and looked at Arisa, "I'm assuming Umi already gave you instructions on what to do?"
Arisa nodded and responded back, "She wants me to take the orders to her and carry them out when she finishes."
"That's good enough for today. I'm sure that Umi would let you work in the kitchen with her and teach you how to cook some of our dishes once you've had some practice." she smiled. Kotori stretched her arms out and patted both of their heads, "I look forward to working with the two of you~" She pushed Yukiho a bit, "Lets get to work shall we Yukiho?"
Yukiho nodded earnestly and the two of them went off to take orders. It took Yukiho some time getting used to the large crowd, but they embraced her with warm welcomes regardless of her inexperience.
Arisa watched from the back of the counter with a smile while the two waitresses handed her the orders. Every time Arisa received an order, she would walk through those large kitchen doors to a wonderful sight of Umi concentrating on cooking the dishes. The fire that blazed in her eyes, the sweat beading on her forehead. Her wonderful hands moved around gracefully like a conductor orchestrating a beautiful sonata. This was a sight that Arisa wished she could see forever.
"Here are the next batch of orders, " Arisa sheepishly walked up next to Umi and placed the orders on the counter.
"Thank you Arisa, also, I don't mind if you call me Umi," she wiped the sweat from her forehead using her forearm, "I'm used to being called Umi more than my last name." she tilted her head slightly and smiled.
"Y-yes! U-Umi…" Arisa looked down in embarrassment. She felt something pat the top of her head and looked up.
"You're doing really well for your first day on the job! I'm glad that Kotori pushed me into hiring you two. Things are going a lot more smoothly without me having to constantly run in and out of the kitchen." she leaned against the counter for a small break.
"I'm glad that I can be of help, Umi!" Arisa said cheerfully.
Umi pushed herself off of the counter with a confident cry of enthusiasm, "Alright, time to get back to work!" she left Arisa alone by the counter and continued her work as she did before. Arisa smiled and skipped through the doors to wait for more orders to come by.
The restaurant remained busy as the night went on. Satisfied customers left the restaurant as hungry ones quickly replaced them. Yukiho was a hit with the customers and Kotori couldn't help but love how accepting everyone in the restaurant was.
Arisa remained behind the counter, overlooking the restaurant when she spotted a peculiar man walking in. He had a rather unkempt scruff, his suit was dirty and very much loose. The collar was unbuttoned and the tie was crooked and untidy. From a glimpse, it seemed that every customer that he passed had held their breath. He must have reeked of alcohol or something because of his abnormal walking pattern.
"T-T-Table… fer one pls…" the man said as he walked up to Yukiho.
"R-right this way sir…" Yukiho carefully guided him to an empty table and handed him a menu. "I'll be back once you've gotten your order decided, sir."
Yukiho retreated from the man rather quickly and went to grab Kotori by the arm, "Umm… Kotori? There's a man here who doesn't really seem… You know… Like he shouldn't be out in public." she held her nose, "He reeks of alcohol."
Kotori took a quick peek to see the man slumped over in his chair looking around dazed and confused at the restaurant and other customers. She could see the other customers making an effort to avert their gazes from the man while the ones close to him brought something up to their nose to cover his scent. It was obvious that the man should be at home but Kotori was against kicking out someone who is unintentionally making others uncomfortable. Kotori took a deep breath and walked up to the man, "Hello sir, fun night of drinking huh?"
"You betcha!" the man cackled loudly.
"How may I help you today?" Kotori pulled out her little notebook as usual.
"Gimmie the best dish you've got!" the man said in a triumphant tone.
"Alright, we'll have your order ready in a bit." Kotori nodded and handed the order to Arisa.
Yukiho and Kotori proceed with their normal routine while keeping an eye on the man. He seemed to be looking around the entire restaurant as if trying to remember something. Occasionally his eyes would meet with Kotori which caused him to quickly avert his gaze. There was something weird about the man, but neither Kotori or Yukiho could come up with a valid conclusion.
Arisa pushed herself through the doors and rang the bell, signalling Yukiho to come and pick it up.
"This one is for the man over there," she pointed to the strange man.
"Just my luck…" she whispered under her breath and put on a smile. Yukiho braced herself and walked up to the man with a gleeful facade, "Here you are sir, your meal has arrived." she placed it down in front of the man.
"Ah finally! I heard good things about this restaurant and I'm looking forward to this," the man grabbed his tableware and began to eat the food rather quickly and aggressively.
Yukiho moved over to the side to avoid any incoming projectiles of spit and food, "I'll be back later to give you the bill." she turned to move away from the man but felt a tug on her skirt. She turned around to see the man holding onto her. "I-Is there something you need, sir?"
The man inspected Yukiho from head to toe, "You know…" he swallowed the food that remained in his mouth, "You're a pretty good looking girl, how old are you?"
Yukiho quickly ripped herself away from the man, "I'm not 18, I can tell you that much."
The man snickered, "I've heard that many times before, you're not fooling me"
"Please just finish your food and leave, sir" Yukiho tried her best to keep herself from hitting the guy. The man got up which caused Yukiho to take a few steps back. He staggered as he walked towards Yukiho, "I'm warning you, I'll call the police if you don't stop!" she yelled in defence.
"You wouldn't do that," the man kept pressing.
Yukiho backed up until she saw someone come between them.
It was Kotori.
"Sir, I'm against throwing people out of my restaurant, but what you're doing is going too far." Kotori spoke strongly, "If you don't sit back down and finish your food, then I will have to escort you out of the restaurant."
The man clicked his tongue, "How is a small girl like you gonna force me out of the restaurant?" he chuckled a bit.
Arisa was watching nervously until Kotori had stepped up. The man was much larger than Kotori and there was no way Kotori would be able to intimidate the man from leaving. She shuffled nervously in place trying to think of what to do before quickly disappearing into the kitchen.
"U-Umi, something bad is happening in the restaurant!" Arisa yelled.
Umi stopped working immediately and washed her hands, "What's going on?"
"There's this strange man who walked in several minutes ago and he was hitting on Yukiho, so now Kotori is trying to-" Arisa stopped when she saw Umi pass her the second she mentioned Kotori.
Umi pushed through the doors to observe the scene. Every customer in the restaurant turned their seats to face the conflict and Umi followed their gazes to see Kotori standing in between Yukiho and a man larger than her. She looked back to see Arisa behind her, "So what's going on with this man?" she asked.
"Well, he walked in here and it seems that he's rather drunk. Then he pulled on Yukiho's skirt in attempts to pick her up. Yukiho got a bit defensive and now Kotori is trying to get him to sit down. She said that she would be forced to kick him out if he doesn't comply but…" Arisa shook a little.
Umi grasped Arisa's shoulders to help calm her down, "Don't worry Arisa, let me handle this. I need you to do a favor for me though, just in case things go wrong." Umi whispered something into her ear and Arisa disappeared into the hallway.
Umi took a deep breath and walked around the counter.
"Listen here girlie-" the man was cut off by a voice from behind.
"Is there something I could help you with, sir?"
The man turned around to see Umi who had her arms crossed.
"Who are you? Another employee?" he inspected Umi.
"I'm the manager and cook of this restaurant, now I ask again, is there something I could help you with, sir?" Umi placed emphasis on the question.
The crowd watched silently, surprised with Umi's sudden appearance. It was normal to see Umi every once and a while in the restaurant, but most of the time they would only spot her when she comes out of the kitchen to pick up an order before returning to it. Now that she was actually standing somewhere else other than behind the counter, the crowd could feel a strange aura radiating off of her. Umi was known to be a bit strict, but something about her posture and eyes spelled out something much more harsh, something that no customer had seen.
"Please have a seat, sir." Umi gestured to an empty chair.
"And what if I don't?" the man replied with a harsh tone.
"I'll be forced to make you leave." she said bluntly.
The man let out a snarkish laugh that echoed through the silent restaurant. Umi wasn't any much taller than Kotori, in fact, they were practically the same height. Umi was slimmer than Kotori and if the man thought Kotori was small, then Umi must have looked no more smaller than her.
"You're no smaller than this girl right here," he reached back and grabbed Kotori by the arm, pulling her forward with enough force to make her lose her balance. She would have fallen on the floor if it wasn't for Umi's quick reaction.
Umi helped Kotori up to her feet, "Are you okay, Kotori?" she nodded with a weak voice,
"Yeah, I'm alright…" she stood up and hid behind Umi.
Umi stared straight into the man's eyes, "Leave now, or you will regret this mistake." her voice was strong, it resonated throughout the restaurant and even caused some of the customers to move back a bit.
"And what're you gonna do about it? Push me out? I'd like to see you try!" the man boasted with confidence, "If anything, you can't be any better than that girl behind you."
Umi clenched her fist a bit as Kotori tapped her shoulder, "Umi, don't do anything too harsh…" she nodded and the tension in her fist began to relax. She cleared her throat and spoke up,
"I don't take kindly to strangers bad mouthing my fiance," Umi stepped up and kept her stare on the man, "You've overstayed your welcome in this restaurant, now leave."
"Umi!" she heard the call of her name from behind and everyone's attention shifted to the small blonde girl holding an elongated object wrapped in cloth. "I found the item that you wanted," she rushed over and handed it to Umi.
The man stepped back a bit, "W-what is that?"
Umi began untying the string that held the cloth together, "If you don't want to find out, I suggest you leave."
The man, unwilling to give up his pride stood strong, "I ain't scared!"
"I see…" Umi responded coldly and unwrapped the cloth to reveal an old kendo shinai that she had kept around after she graduated high school.
The man snickered to hide some of his fear, "What? Just an old kendo shinai? Is that the best you've got?"
Umi held the shinai by the handle and shifted into the stance that she had been training under for most of her life, "This is your last chance, sir."
The man clicked his tongue and turned away from Umi, "This is a waste of my time anyways. You two better watch out," and left the restaurant.
A few moments after the man left, some applause and compliments were thrown at Umi's success in getting the man to leave the restaurant. She took a deep breath and placed down her shinai, turning to Kotori, "Are you sure you're okay?" she inspected Kotori from head to toe.
Kotori laughed awkwardly, "I told you I'm fine Umi, you don't have to worry so much."
"Don't say that, of course I would be worried if you were to be hurt!" Umi yelled.
A silence fell upon the restaurant as Umi started to blush. She had totally forgotten that she was out in public and openly expressed her feelings for Kotori.
"You're lucky to have a fiance that cares for you so much" said one of the customers.
"I wish someone as cool as Umi could be my fiance," said another.
She blushed even more and scratched her cheek before quickly disappearing into the kitchen. Kotori looked at the audience and blushed a bit before getting back to work with Yukiho.
"Umi was so cool," Yukiho whispered to Kotori. "Is that why you fell for her?"
"EHH?!" Kotori yelped and paused, "W-we can talk about that another day. Time to focus on work~ on work~" she poorly shrugged Yukiho's question off. Yukiho giggled a bit at the flustered Kotori and went back to work.
Arisa sighed a breath of relief and reassumed her position behind the counter.
Umi walked to the front of the restaurant and flipped the sign to signal that they're closed. She turned around and walked over to the counter where she and Kotori would always talk before heading off to do their own work for the restaurant. This time they were joined by Yukiho and Arisa.
"I'm sorry for causing a problem today," Yukiho blurted out abruptly.
"No, no it's fine," Kotori replied by patting her back.
"It's not your fault," Arisa reassured.
"It was his own doing to begin with. Don't feel guilty about someone else's actions that you can't control," Umi added.
Yukiho's expression began to lift as she heard the others' encouragement. She looked at them with a smile and the rest of them sighed in relief.
"Oh yeah, Arisa, we never got to have a proper introduction, so we should do one now!" Kotori suggested.
"Oh! I almost forgot about that," Arisa replied and stood up, "Nice to meet the both of you, I'm Ayase Arisa, Eli's sister" she bowed, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you two!"
Umi and Kotori smiled.
"I'm Minami Kotori, it's a pleasure to be working with you!" Kotori said happily.
"We already had our short introductions, but it's nice to finally have a helping hand in the kitchen," Umi added.
"I look forward to working with everyone for as long as I can!" Arisa said in excitement. She began to look a bit curious, "I've been meaning to ask, but after that whole thing happened today; I didn't know that you knew Kendo, Umi!"
Umi rubbed the back of her neck, "Y-yeah, I've been doing it for a long time now."
"How long? and why?" Yukiho added.
Umi laughed nervously, "I don't really like talking about it often, but I guess I can let it slide since you two have been such great help today." she cleared her throat before continuing. "So when I was growing up, my parents owned a dojo that taught kendo and archery. It was inevitable for me to learn the two because they were my parents. They always boasted about, 'Umi is going to be the one to inherit the dojo' and all of that. But as you can guess by me being here, I wasn't too thrilled about having to inherit it. So I focused on my studies, went to University, and moved out here with Kotori. My parents and I aren't exactly on the best terms since they believe that I've abandoned them, but I guess I just have to hold out until they come around,"
She paused for a moment before continuing, "That's basically the story behind it, I came from a very traditional family that owned a dojo," she looked at Arisa, "So I'm as traditional as they come… I guess"
Kotori nodded, "Mhmm, but not only is Umi really good at kendo, but she is great at archery as well. She can also play the nagauta, is good at calligraphy and she even knows some traditional dances!"
Yukiho and Arisa clapped their hands at Umi's versatility.
Yukiho snuck her way into the conversation and looked at Kotori mischievously, "So… Kotori~ Tell us why you fell for Umi!"
"Uweh?!" Kotori's face flared up to Yukiho's outburst and Umi had a small blush as well. She cleared her throat before speaking, "W-well-" her voice cracked, "We had met at a university in Tokyo a few years ago and we ended up sharing an apartment together- that's how most of it started anyways," she paused and thought for a moment.
"I don't really know what it was that drew me in closer to Umi. She always looked like the the distant and chivalrous type of girl, you know, the one that is always nice to you but doesn't exactly express their feelings to you. I'll have to admit that it was her cool demeanor that really drew me into her at first. However, when we eventually spent most of our time together, I learned that she's a big spaz when it comes to romance and that stuff. I always thought that this side of Umi was really cute and it made me fall for her even harder."
Yukiho and Arisa were affixed by Kotori's description of why she fell for Umi. However, Umi on the other hand was hiding her face in embarrassment.
"She may seem cool and calm on the outside, but she's really just a big spaz and I love that about her!" Kotori exclaimed happily. Yukiho and Arisa gasped in the way most people would react to something cute or romantic.
Umi kept her face hidden as the attention of the others shifted to her.
"What about you, Umi? What made you fall for Kotori?" Yukiho asked deviously.
"O-oh! It's time for you two to go home, Kotori and I have to do some work before sleeping," she laughed nervously trying to shake them off by pointing at the clock.
"That stuff can wait can't it, Umi?" Kotori begged with her usual puppy eyes.
It only took one glance for Umi to give in, "Th-thats no fair Kotori…" she hung her head dejectedly.
The group inched closer to Umi as she cleared her throat and loosened her clothing a bit to keep herself from sweating in front of them, "W-well… I umm…" she looked at Kotori who was staring back. This caused her to avert her gaze, regardless of how much time she spent with Kotori she couldn't find it in herself to easily express what she loved about her. "When I saw Kotori I just thought that… she was really cute… and stuff…" she peeked back to see the girls eager to hear more,
"And?" Yukiho forced Umi to continue.
"Wasn't that enough?" Umi pleaded. She felt the heavy stares of the girls and sighed, "Well… Kotori was just so… cute. She always greeted me with this smile that made my heart skip a beat. And her soft and cheerful voice would always linger in my mind whenever we weren't together." she listened for any responses but things were silent. Umi assumed that they wanted to hear more, "I guess you could say that she's like a small bird. Something that is so tiny and gentle that you want to do everything you can to protect it. I couldn't help but want to stay by her side. She's so gentle and so caring and to be honest, I think that if it wasn't for Kotori. I'd be off somewhere in an office job stressing myself about getting work done, so…" Umi smiled and turned to the other girls.
Kotori's face had become beet red while Arisa and Yukiho sat with gaped expressions.
"U-Umi, I didn't expect you to say so much!" Kotori yelled out all flustered.
"That totally took me by surprise!" Yukiho responded.
"Is this what it's like to be in love?" Arisa questioned to herself.
Umi had completely gotten carried away and her blush started to build up as well, "A-Anyway! It's time for you two to head back home! It's dangerous out here at night for a girl," she got up and practically pushed the girls out of the door. "See you two tomorrow!" Umi closed the door and quickly locked it.
She placed her back against the door and let out a sigh. She pushed herself off and walked towards Kotori with a blush, "I'm going to go work in the office for a bit…" promptly heading for the kitchen.
"I-I'll clean up around here…" Kotori looked away blushing while clutching onto a cleaning rag by her chest.
As usual, the two independently carried out their duties and met at the counter when they had finished.
"Hey Umi? What are you going to do about that shinai?" Kotori asked while pointing at Umi's old kendo gear leaning against the wall.
"I guess we can keep it behind the counter in case anything else like today happens again," Umi walked over to the object and picked it up, placing it underneath the counter.
"I hope nothing like today happens again for a while. That was kind of scary," Kotori responded while hugging onto Umi.
Umi responded by patting Kotori's head, "I'll make sure to do my best to protect you and everyone else."
Kotori kissed Umi's cheek and started to pull her by the arm, "Hey Umi, you know… After Yukiho forced us to bring up our reasons for loving each other…" she blushed, "I kind of feel like we should have one of our special nights" she hid her face from Umi.
Umi was taken by surprise at Kotori's proposal and felt her heart race, "K-Kotori?!" she couldn't find the right words to respond with other than saying her name in question.
"I-It's okay if you don't want to…" Kotori still hid her face until she felt a soft grasp on her wrist. She looked back to see Umi looking back at her intensely. The two nodded and turned off the lights downstairs, heading back up to their room.
They entered their room quietly, "Let me go freshen up a bit," Kotori said as she detached herself from Umi's arm. "You wait here on the bed and relax," she smiled and left to the bathroom.
Umi took a seat on their bed and turned on the tv to put on some background noise. She got up and started to change into her sleepwear, "Today sure was tough for the restaurant…" Umi thought back to what happened. She slipped on her shirt and tied her hair into a ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror to make sure that she was somewhat presentable to Kotori,
"Not like she would really care, she always says that I look beautiful no matter how terrible I look," she laughed awkwardly to herself in the mirror. She shifted her eyes to the side of the mirror to see what was on the news. Apparently there had been some shady people walking around town recently which would help explain the incident that happened earlier tonight. The lights over her head began to flicker,
"Hmm… that's strange, these bulbs should be new shouldn't they," she squinted her eyes to the flickering lights, "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go out and buy new ones tomorrow."
Umi picked up her brush and began grooming her hair, "I wonder how long Kotori will take…"
She turned around and made her way to the bed when she abruptly lost her vision as everything went black, "What? A power outage?" she carefully navigated herself through the room, using her hands as a guide until she reached a window. "That's strange… It's not storming and I'm pretty sure they aren't doing any work around here at this hour…" Umi thought quietly for a few moments. "Maybe this could be one of Kotori's tricks?" she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark before she moved.
"Umi?!" a small voice cried out.
"Was that Kotori?" Umi looked around the room to see if she could spot her, "She's not here… Is she hiding behind the door?" she made her way carefully towards their bedroom door when her ears picked up heavy footsteps.
"Umi?! You better not be playing a prank on me! It's dark and scary in the bathroom!" the voice continued.
It took a few moments for Umi to piece together what was happening. The two of them were separated. The power had been cut off. It wasn't planned by Kotori, and there were heavy footsteps in the home. It was practically obvious that it was a break in and there was an intruder in the house. Worst of all, Kotori was alone.
Umi listened closely to the footsteps. The steps seem to be coming from downstairs which still gives her the time to reach Kotori across the upstairs hallway. She opened the bedroom door as silently as she could and crept down the corridor. It took a few short moments before Umi reached the bathroom. She knocked on the door lightly and whispered, "Kotori, are you in there? It's Umi,"
The door opened slightly and Umi slid in quickly, feeling a wet hug behind her, "Umi? What's going on?"
Umi felt Kotori's soft body pressed up against her and blushed a bit. Kotori must have been too frightened and caught up in the moment to get dressed, "A-are you still naked, Kotori?"
She shook her head, "I grabbed the shirt I was going to wear but forgot to dry myself off before putting it on."
Umi sighed in relief but quickly regained her focus, "Kotori, I think someone broke into the house." she felt around the bathroom, "Is there anything in here that we can use as a weapon?" Kotori helped in the search and held something up to Umi.
"Um, we have this plunger?" she suggested.
"I don't think that would be effective, Kotori," Umi replied plainly and looked up, "Hey how about the shower railing?"
Kotori followed Umi's gaze and gasped, "That could work since we have a detachable one!"
Umi reached up carefully removing the shower railing and slid the shower curtain off, "Okay Kotori, hold onto my hand and stay close."
"Mmm!" she nodded and gripped Umi's hand tightly.
Umi slowly opened the door and walked cautiously through the darkness, making sure that Kotori was with her every step of the way. She readied her on-the-spot weapon in the case that they encounter the intruder.
"Hey Kotori, do you have your cellphone on you?" Umi whispered.
"N-no, it died earlier today and I forgot to charge it before taking a shower." she responded sadly.
"That's okay, my phone should be in my pants in our room. If we can make it there, we can call for help." Umi replied quietly and listened for the footsteps again. They were still downstairs and but this time the intruder was making a small racket. She looked back at Kotori, "This is our chance."
Umi pulled Kotori quickly and moved into their room. She weaved through the room swiftly to her pants and reached her hands into the pockets.
Nothing.
"Oh no… I must have left my phone down in the office!" Umi yelled under her breath. She blew air through her nose angrily and turned to Kotori, "Listen to me Kotori, I need you to hide in this room until I get back."
Kotori shook her head violently, "No! I want to go with you, I don't want to be alone!"
Umi brought her finger up to her lips, "Shh, we have to be quiet Kotori, or they will find us. Look, look at me." Umi took a hold of Kotori's face and looked into her eyes, "I need you to stay calm, Kotori. You can come with me alright?"
Kotori wiped her eyes and nodded, "Okay…"
"Alright, lets go. Stay behind me and don't let go of my hand." Umi held Kotori's hand firmly.
The couple slipped out of their bedroom and silently descended the stairs. Umi couldn't hear footsteps or the racket from before, only the sound of her heart beating and Kotori's breathing. She couldn't tell where the intruder or intruders were but she had to continue cautiously. Umi reached the bottom of the stairs and peeked through the corner towards the door to the restaurant.
The lock had been broken and the door hung open slightly, "Alright Kotori, remember to stay close." Umi pulled Kotori carefully past the corner.
Kotori's heart was thumping, the only thing she could hear were the thoughts racing through her mind. She could see Umi talking to her, but she couldn't understand quite clearly. The combination of her heartbeats and thoughts threw off all of her focus.
"I-I'm scared Umi-" Kotori's words were ended abruptly as she felt something blunt hit against the back of her head. Her consciousness began to fade quickly as she stumbled to her knees and fell on the floor.
Umi heard the loud thud from behind her and the weight on her hand drastically increased. She turned around to see a large silhouette that appeared to be holding a blunt object shaped like a bat. But more importantly, she looked down to see Kotori passed out on the floor with red staining the back of her ash colored hair.
"KOTORI!" Umi screamed and dropped the shower railing. The silhouette quickly escaped as Umi fell to her knees and held Kotori in her arms,
"KOTORI?! KOTORI?!"