Chapter 5
"Hey Natsume, where did you run off to the other day?" asked Akane. "I got a call from Suzu-san saying that our head manager ran out!" She and Natsume were doing the opening duties for the restaurant today. Akane fixed her glasses and looked at Natsume. "You should let me know ahead of time if you need a shift covered!"
"I'm really sorry," said Natsume. "Something just came up, and I had to go." Natsume still hasn't told Akane or the others about Natsuru yet. She was a little afraid of what her reaction might be. Ever since the end of the Kampfers, Akane's personalities seemed to have merged. It's a little strange, but now she has a balance between being kind and being aggressive. Natsume continued to take inventory of the restaurant's items. "I have someone I want you to meet, he should be here soon," she said without looking up from her clipboard.
"Someone you want me to meet?" repeated Akane. She stopped what she was doing and turned to Natsume. "I thought you and Haru-kun were getting along pretty well." Just like Natsuru, Akane had suspected that Haru had a thing going on for Natsume. It was quite obvious actually, considering how much time he spends with her and that she always sees them together.
"What do you mean?" asked Natsume.
"You know," Akane started. She looked back at the ground which she was sweeping. "You should really give some attention to Haru. Someone's going to get hurt at this rate." Akane shot another look back at Natsume, implying something in her stare.
Natsume looked up from her clipboard and frowned. "Do you think he likes me?" she asked.
Akane turned once again, except this time she gave Natsume the death stare. Having worked and hung out with Natsume all this time, Akane had noticed how all the men would flock to her like flies to a light. What's more flabbergasting is that she doesn't notice it most of the time, unless the guy was being so blatantly awkward that it was creepy. Akane sighed. "Shizuku was right, you are pretty dense."
Dense huh? That reminded her of Natsuru. Perhaps she did take towards him a little in that aspect. "Dense?!" she retorted. "I am not dense." She placed both hands on her hips and pouted.
"You are definately dense," said Akane. "You can't even tell that Haru-kun totally likes you!"
Natsume shook her head. "There's no way! We're just really close friends."
"Wow, I kind of feel really bad for Haru-kun now." She made a painful expression as if she had seen something disturbing.
Natume was starting to feel a little guilty now. "W-Well even if he does, there isn't anything I can do. I just don't see him in that kind of light, you know?" she rationalized out loud. It wasn't Akane that needed convincing, it was herself rather. She had always figured that Haru might have liked her, but kept dismissing it as nothing more than simple friendship. Yeah, that's all it was. Just friends.
"If you don't like him, then you don't like him," said Akane. She resumed her sweeping. "But just so you know," she continued. "You should make it clear before things get complicated."
"R-Right…"
"Anyways, back on topic. Who is this person you wanted me to meet?" asked Akane.
"He should be here soon," she said as she checked her watch.
Speak of the devil. The bells of the restaurant door jingled as the door itself swung open. "Hello?" said a voice.
The guest walked inside and onto the main floor where the two ladies were. Akane couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her mouth was slightly agape and her eyes had widened. She slowly walked towards the gentlemen with the blue hair, eyeing every detail of him. She placed a hand over her mouth. "Natsuru…is that you?" her voice full of surprise but was hushed at the same time. She looked at Natsume and blinked a couple times. "How…"
"Are you Akane?" asked Natsuru. He scratched the back of his head.
She turned back to him. "Yes! I am!"
"I see. Well I'm sorry if I don't remember you, but please take care of me from now on." He promptly bowed.
"Wait wait! What's going on!?" shouted Akane. "I thought you were dead?!" She turned to Natsume, who was smiling at Natsuru. "Natsume! What is this?!"
"Please calm down, I'll explain everything," reassured Natsume.
Akane stepped back and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm calm." She crossed her arms. "Now please explain."
Natsume nodded "This is the same Natsuru we all know," started Natsume. She took a seat from one of the empty tables and gestured for the both of them to join her. "He coincidentally showed up here a couple days ago and apparently has no memories of any of us."
"A couple days ago?" said Akane. She looked to Natsuru again, to which he simply shrugged and smiled. "You don't remember me at all, do you?" she frowned.
"Unfortunately not, Natsume did explain to me beforehand who you are though," said Natsuru.
"How about the name Mikoto? Or Shizuku? Do those ring a bell?" asked Akane.
Natsuru pondered for a moment, scratching the back of his head. "I don't recall ever meeting a Shizuku, or a Mikoto for that matter." He shrugged. "I'm very sorry."
Akane shook her head. "You don't need to apologize. Frankly, I'm actually very glad to see you again." She looked over to Natsume. "Can we talk?"
"There's no way that that is our Natsuru," said Akane as she pointed behind her. The two were having a little conversation in Natsume's office, out of sight and hearing range of Natsuru.
Natsume dropped into her chair and crossed her arms. "I'm telling you, it's him. There is no mistaking it."
"Don't you find any of this strange?" asked Akane. "People don't just come back to life! There's something behind this."
Natsume took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. The last thing she wanted to hear about was more crazy Kampfer related problems. Those days were over and long gone. Albeit those times were full of dangers and conflict, it was also fun and filled with joy for Natsume. "I know Akane…" she said softly. "Maybe there is something behind this, who knows? But I don't think it really matters at this point."
Akane frowned, sensing the strain in her voice. "You're right…none of that stuff matters anyway!" She shrugged it off, trying to alleviate the tense air.
Natsume simply nodded and smiled at her. "I know where you're coming from, I thought about it too. Call me irresponsible, stupid, reckless or whatever, but it's as you said. None of it really matters to me!" Natsume looked up at Akane and cracked a large grin. She stood up from her chair and walked over to Akane. "You worry too much," she said, patting her shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. But you worry too little sometimes," said Akane.
Natsume shrugged off Akane's comment and stepped out of her office, followed by Akane, and into the hallway that led to the front of the restaurant.
"By the way, have you told him about Takashi and Ayame?" asked Akane.
Natsume immediately turned around and covered Akane's mouth with both hands in one motion. Natsume's heart skipped a beat knowing that they were within hearing range of Natsuru, who was sitting at a table near the exit. She turned to look at him, he was sipping at some tea they had left for him. She sighed in relief and turned back to Akane giving her a piercing cold look. Natsume moved her further back down the hallway, hands still clasped over Akane's mouth. "Of course I haven't told him yet!" she whispered aggressively.
Akane grabbed Natsume's hands and pulled them away from her mouth. "What? Why not!?" she whispered.
"Why do you think?! I don't think most guys would be excited hearing about children they had out of wedlock!"
"Well…maybe you should propose to him!"
Natsume scoffed. "What are you talking about? Now is not the time!"
"I know I know, it was a joke," said Akane as she calmed her down. "Alright, let's just go with the flow," she shrugged.
Natsume nodded in agreement and turned back down the hallway. "Sorry to keep you waiting!" she chimed as the two walked over to Natsuru's table.
Natsuru looked up at the two, "Ah, no worries," he said. He sipped his tea, "So, this place is like a maid-café?"
"Quasi mad-café," corrected Natsume. "Whether you remember or not, you used to have quite the fetish for maids."
"Wait what?" stuttered Natsuru.
"I thought he had a sailor fuku fetish?" added Akane.
"Oh right, he did have that too."
"Umm…can we get back on the subject please?"
"We were just teasing," smirked Natsume. "Anyways, since Natsuru's out of a job, I thought I'd give him something to do around here."
"I see, then he'll be sticking around I assume?" said Akane.
"Yes, I'll be in your care from now on," bowed Natsuru.
"Ah, alright then. What are you going to have him do?"
"Dishes!" said Natsume. "Since the kitchen is already fully staffed with cooks and the like, all we were missing was a main dishwasher. The girls in the kitchen will love you!" she said.
Natsuru chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "As long as I'm doing something helpful, I'm happy."
Natsume found herself cracking a smile. "It's just like you to want to help people." She motioned Natsuru to follow her as she made her way towards the hallway they came from. To the right of the hallway was a pair of swinging kitchen doors. She brushed pass them and said with pride, "Welcome to the kitchen~"
It was an average size for a family diner kitchen. Well-kept and in pristine condition, it almost felt sterile. Natsuru looked around, observing his new workspace as he analyzed every detail. Being a dishwasher wasn't the first thing he had in mind when Natsume offered him a job, but beggars can't be choosers.
"With you here, the kitchen staff can focus on cooking, instead of having to worry about the mountain of dishes," she said.
Natsuru smiled. "I see." He could tell that she was trying to talk up his job to make it seem more interesting, but he saw right through it.
"Now, do you have any questions?" asked Natsume.
Natsuru shook his head. "It's pretty simple isn't it? Shouldn't be too hard."
A heavy breath escaped Natsuru's lungs as he sunk into the metallic chair of the break room. He's worked plenty of odd jobs during his travels, many of which were a lot harder than this one. Still, he found himself stressed out despite having done much more difficult things. Natsuru reached for his pocket and rummaged around before pulling out a carton of cigarettes. He peered inside the box, spotting 7 white tubes remaining. Natsuru wouldn't consider himself much of a smoker, but there are times when the stress would get to him. He bought this pack almost 3 months ago and still hasn't gotten around to finishing it.
It wasn't something he was proud of either. Albeit there are many other things that Natsuru could have turned to for stress relief that could have been a lot worse. He picked one of them out of the box and looked at it for a moment. Natsuru looked up as he saw the door open and calmly stuffed the box back in his pocket.
"Hey there," said Natsume. She walked into the room, holding a plate in one hand and closing the door behind her with the other. Natsuru's nose picks up the scent of delicious food and triggers a pang in his stomach.
"Hey, whatcha' got there?" asked Natsuru.
"Lunch!"
"Looks good…for you?"
"Nope, for you!" she set it down in front of him, the aroma of friend rice filled his nostrils. He looked down at the steaming mound of food, his mouth beginning to salivate, and then looked back up to Natsume.
Natsuru was stunned. "Really?! This is all for me?" he asked excitedly.
Natsume simply grinned and nodded. She placed a spoon down for Natsuru and took the seat across from him, "Enjoy it!" she said.
He hesitated for a moment, looking at the plate of food in front of him. He felt strange that he was the only one eating. "Aren't you hungry?" he asked.
"I already had something to eat earlier," said Natsume.
"Then…thank you for the food." He dug into the mound of fried rice with his spoon, picking up pieces of chicken, friend onions, bits of carrots, and some cucumbers along with the rice. His jaws began to strain as a result of not eating anything delicious for a while. He started chewing faster, enjoying the assortment of flavors. "Did you make this?" he asked with his mouth full.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, that's bad manners! And yes, I did make this." The last bit was said with a prideful tone. Natsume was never really able to cook back then. All she could make was instant ramen and microwave food. But she kept practicing and was eventually able to make all sorts of foods. She would always feel a sense of happiness and satisfaction when the kids complimented her cooking. Her mouth tilted up into a smile. "Like it?"
Natsuru nodded and continued to chow down at his food.
The squeaking sound of the break room door rung through the room as a tall man that matched Natsuru's height with jet black hair and stark features stepped in. "So this is where you were," said the man as he closed the door behind him.
"Haru!" said Natsume as she greeted him with a hug. "I haven't properly introduced you yet but, this is Natsuru Senou, the one I've always talked about!"
Natsuru quickly swallowed and stood up. "Nice to meet you," he bowed.
"What?" Haru sounded exasperated, as if he had heard something ridiculous. "I thought he was….dead?"
"Apparently not," said Natsume. "A lot of things happened and now he's back, but he's forgotten a good amount of his memories."
Haru looked at Natsuru with a sour look on his face and scoffed. "He's 'forgotten' his memories huh? Well isn't that convenient?"
"Umm, I'm sorry if I've done something to upset you, but it's not a lie if that's what you're thinking," said Natsuru.
"I'm not upset," retorted Haru. "Anyways Natsume, are we still on for tonight?"
That question caught her by surprise. She hesitated for a split second and looked at Haru, "Of course!" she said. That's right, she just remembered that she was supposed to go out with Haru tonight. Natsume was thinking of taking Natsuru around the city, it didn't matter, she just wanted to hang out with him. It could wait, she supposed.
"Natsume, we could use your help on the floor," said Akane as she burst into the break room. She waved to Haru and Natsuru before motioning for Natsume to follow. "Come on! We just got slammed!"
"Right!" she said as she followed Akane. Disappearing through the door, she dismissed the two with a smile.
It was just Haru and Natsuru now, standing in silence as the door closed behind the girls. Haru stood looking at the doorway while Natsuru was still standing and eager to get back to his meal. He shrugged it off and sat down. He figured Haru wasn't the friendliest with him and that he'd leave soon enough.
"Hey," said Haru in a cold tone. "What do you think you're doing?"
Natsuru furrowed his brow, "I'm not sure I know what you mean."
He scoffed and turned to Natsuru with his arms crossed. "There are a ton of guys after her…" he said. "But she never gave any of them a chance, except for me." His voice was growing more impatient as he continued. "And I won't let her be taken by the likes of you; someone who left her and then decides to come back all of a sudden."
Natsuru gritted his teeth and stood up, "That's not what happened," retorted Natsuru.
"And I suppose I'll just have to believe that you 'died' and has come back to life then?"
"Look," Natsuru sighed. "I'm not too sure myself; I've lost a good amount of my memories. But I know I did it for a good reason."
"So you admit that you left her. This is priceless," laughed Haru.
"You're really starting to piss me off now."
"Oh really? Then that makes two of us," said Haru.
They glared at each other, eyes full of anger. Natsuru could feel his palms getting sweaty as he clenched his fists, holding back the urge to punch Haru in his smug face. But he wasn't that type of guy, and he knew that very well. So he stood there with those angry eyes, watching Haru walk to the door, scoffing at him as he opened it.
Haru turned to Natsuru and scowled at him, "Stay away from her, punk."