AN: Man, I am so surprised I am poopin' out these chapters like there is no tomorrow. Maybe it's because school starts in two weeks, lol, but I digress. I wonder how long these updates can last though...
Once again, I'm thankful for all the people who reviewed, favorited, followed, w/e. It makes v happy and v humbled. My dudes, you make this queer little soul cry with happiness.
Things are beginning to pick up now, so I hope you enjoy the latest installment of this story.
Ciao. c:
Nico was amazed on how dedicated the new kid was.
For the past hour or so the newbie—her name was something like Honkers-stood in front of the cashier with her back straight and eyes shining brightly. She radiated a blinding energy from every pore in her body, and Nico always felt the need to squint whenever she needed to talk to the kid.
This time was no exception. Nico was busy making dough for the day's fresh supply of apple pie, but unfortunately miscalculated the amount of flour she needed and put it away much too early.
"Dammit," the black-haired woman muttered under her breath as she realized her mistake.
"Is something the matter?" Honoka asked with the speed of a bullet. Nico frowned to herself; she never understood how she always managed to dig her own grave.
"Well, uh," Nico turned her head slightly and saw the beaming face of an orange-haired staring at her with expectant puppy-eyes. The older of the two swore she could see a tail wagging behind the girl.
"Well?" Honoka pressed. Nico could feel the girl's energy rising with every passing second, and she had the impression that if this kid didn't do something quickly, she was going to burst right on the spot.
God, this kid was such a pain.
"I need—"
"You need?"
Nico frowned and narrowed her eyes at the newbie with disapproval. Surprisingly, the orange-haired girl shrank back and her exuberance dimmed to a level that the other actually tolerated. Nico was pleased with how compliant the kid was.
"Flour," the black-haired woman said. She gestured with her chin over Honoka's shoulder, "I stuck it in the cupboards under the counter. Should be in the third pair down. Make sure to open the door on the left."
Honoka tilted her head to the side. "What happens if I open the one on the right?"
Nico turned back to the ball of dough in front of her. "You'll clean up the mess that falls out."
As the both of them went off to work, Nico's frown grew as her annoyance nourished it like a child: it grew slowly, but when the time came, puberty hit and a large scowl made itself at home on her face.
"Who the hell does Nozomi think she is?" Nico whispered furiously, "Taking the day off. As if that tit-monster has something better to do than stuff her hand down Eli's pants—"
"Nico-chan?"
"-and I don't understand why I got assigned to training the newcomers. They both know I hate working with newbies especially when they—"
"Nico-chan…?"
"—and for God's sake, if that tit-monster decides to show her face in this cafe after having the audacity to flake on me, I'm going to—"
"Nico-chan!"
"WHAT!" Nico punched through the dough with ease and smashed her knuckles against the counter. She hissed as pain shot through her arm, and she drew back her hand. She stared sourly at the deep imprint of her fist in the dough as she rubbed her reddening knuckles.
"I got the flour," Honoka said sheepishly.
Nico sighed as she looked up. "Took you long enough—"
When she met Honoka's eyes, Nico forced herself to stop. The orange-haired girl had a smile to match her tone, and her blue eyes gleamed timidly over the large bulk of flour she had gathered in her arms. Nico didn't know why, but when she saw that expression, she felt a large wave of regret crash into her. It felt cold and made goosebumps rise on her arms, and suddenly she couldn't handle the weight of carrying their eye-contact anymore. Her red eyes drifted back to the indented lump of dough.
"...Thanks. You can put that next to me," Nico finished softly, patting the designated area with her uninjured hand. Honoka did as she was told without a word, but the sudden closeness made Nico feel even more awkward than ever, especially when Honoka didn't move after placing down the flour. A cold sweat was beginning to collect on the back of Nico's neck.
"Did you, uh," the black-haired woman cleared her throat, trying to find her words, "hear what I said?"
She was a little surprised when Honoka let out a shaky laugh. "You weren't exactly quiet."
Nico couldn't stop the breath of a chuckle escaping her. "It's a little habit of mine."
They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Neither of them did anything. They stared at the objects in front of them, Honoka with the bag of flour and Nico with her dough. The atmosphere was so palpable that the black-haired woman felt that she could grab a knife and slice off a piece, but she dared not to shatter the quiet, despite knowing that she should. The words were in her throat and she wanted nothing more than to cough them up, but her pride lodged them in place like phlegm.
"You know," Honoka began, "I wouldn't blame you if you hate me."
Nico looked up with shock. "Hate you? Why would I hate you?"
The orange-haired girl gave a single-shouldered shrug. "I mean, I'm a newbie and you said you hated newbies so—"
"No I didn't," Nico shook her head with a frown, "I said something different."
"But still," Honoka gave another shaky laugh, as if vocalizing her nerves would somehow make them go away, "I don't really blame you for—"
"Oh can it, kid," Nico said, "Everyone says things that they don't mean, and I'm no exception."
The orange-haired girl said nothing. Truth be told, it unnerved the black-haired woman.
"But," Nico sighed through her nose, "that doesn't excuse what I said or me yelling at you." She looked away and cleared her throat. She swallowed, her pride sliding down her throat, and the words she wanted to say from the beginning filled her mouth.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.
When Nico looked back up, she saw Honoka grinning at her with the same energy as before. They said nothing, just a quiet exchange of smiles, before going back to their respective posts. Another silence settled in between the both of them. But unlike the other one, this was welcoming and warm, and it enticed the both of them to gather the courage to break it.
Nico surprised herself when she decided to do it.
"Want to help me?" She asked.
The imaginary tail behind Honoka began wagging uncontrollably.
"Sure!"
And as they rolled the dough out together, Nico couldn't help but reluctantly admit to herself that Nozomi was right...for once.
This kid really was interesting.
-x-
The next day at school, Honoka was beaming much more than usual. Every girl that walked past her felt the need to look away, not because they felt ashamed, but because being near Honoka was like being near the sun-one quick glance and you can kiss your eyesight goodbye.
But that didn't stop Honoka from trying what she wanted to do: passing out fliers.
"Come one, come all! Check out Cafe Muse, right across from A-RISE! It'll be a blast!" The orange-haired girl quickly stepped in front of a redhead, successfully cutting the latter off.
The stranger didn't seem pleased by this, but Honoka decided to ignore it.
"Come on over!" Honoka said as she offered a flier to the redhead.
"Uh," the girl's violet eyes flicked to the side then back at the flier. "No."
Honoka felt herself deflate when the girl walked past her.
"Honoka?"
The orange-haired girl turned around to see who it was. Her smile came back in full-force when she saw the familiar duo of gray and blue.
"Umi-chan! Kotori-chan!" Honoka said, bounding over to her friends, "There you are!"
Umi raised a hand to stop the orange-haired girl in her tracks before she could fall and cause all three of them to the floor.
"What are you doing?" The blue-haired girl asked, taking a flier out of Honoka's hand. Kotori looked over the girl's shoulder and both of them let out a little noise when they saw the design.
It wasn't bad, nor was it good. It was just...okay. One could see how much heart Honoka put into creating them, from the tiny little coffee cups and pictures of various cakes. But what really caught their eye were the very primitive drawings of four people on the bottom of the paper. One was obviously Honoka, with her orange hair, but the other three were unknown to Umi and Kotori. Next to Honoka was a blonde with a ponytail, a purple-haired woman with pigtails, and a much shorter woman with black hair in pigtails as well. It was clear that the intention was to be cute but it certainly didn't look cute.
"This is a very...interesting poster, Honoka-chan," Kotori said with an uncomfortable smile. Honoka was, once again, oblivious to it and nodded vigorously.
"Right?! I made it myself!" The pride in Honoka's voice made the other two feel guilty about not liking it.
"So, has anyone showed up since you started...publicizing the cafe?" Umi asked, not wanting to linger on the subject of the horrible fliers anymore.
The orange-haired girl hummed in thought and looked up at the sky. "Not really. Well, no one from our school anyways."
"Have you guys had anyone come in since you've started?"
"A couple. But you know, it's only been one day, so," Honoka laughed and excitedly shoved a flier into a passing girl's hand. The girl jumped in surprise and tried to protest, but Honoka ignored her and the girl eventually walked away with a scared look on her face.
"How was your first day, anyways?" Kotori asked, passing the flier in her hands to another girl with a large smile. Unlike the girl Honoka gave one to, this one actually looked smitten with Kotori and accepted it enthusiastically.
"It was pretty good," Honoka said as she remembered her time with Nico, "I got yelled at by the 'Newbie Trainer'—that's what the others call her—but in the end, we got along just fine." Honoka grinned and did an 'okay' sign.
The two others girls gave each other swift glances. "Well," Umi said after a while, "as long as you're having fun," she smiled at Honoka, "then that's all that matters."
Kotori nodded. "Yep!"
The orange-haired girl tackled the both of them into a tight hug and almost knocked them over; the only thing that stopped them was a concrete wall that Honoka slammed her forehead into.
"But you know what would be even more fun?" Honoka asked as she separated from her friends to rub her sore head. Even with an injury, she refused to let dim her spirits.
There was a slight hesitation before Kotori and Umi both asked, "What?" in unison.
"If you came over to Muse, of course! Then maybe you can get a job there too.!" Honoka raised her hands in the air and laughed, and the other two followed suit, as if what Honoka said was the funniest joke they heard in their lifetime.
But underneath all the light-hearted gayety, all three knew Honoka was dead serious.
-x-
"Kayochin!"
Hanayo looked up from the paper in her hands and readjusted her glasses. A girl with short orange-hair jumped onto her desk with the grace of a cat. Truth be told, Hanayo was impressed-being in track did wonders for coordination.
"Rin-chan," Hanayo greeted her with a smile.
"Whatcha lookin' at? Are you trying to study right meow because you forgot to last night?" Rin gave a toothy grin and laughed.
The other girl gave a laugh, one that was quiet and light enough to sing through the air. "No, I just got a flier from that one senior."
"The one with orange hair?"
Hanayo nodded and stared at the flier in her hands. It was kind of cute, actually. She was fond of the tiny cakes and mugs decorating the borders, and something about the strange-looking people on the bottom made it very endearing.
In the weirdest of ways, the ad compelled Hanayo to try the place out.
"Hey, Kayochin," Rin poked her friend's forehead multiple times, as if she was a kitten playing with a new ball of yarn, "Do you want to try it later nyafter school?"
The bespectacled girl looked up with flush cheeks; she was always a reticent person, even if she was with her best friend. But luckily for her, Rin always managed to figure out what she was thinking with a simple look. Something about it made Hanayo feel like they were the perfect balance for one another, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
"But it's a cafe, Rin-chan," Hanayo pointed out, "You don't like coffee or tea."
"Nyaha!" Rin laughed, "Only if it's hot. I don't like hot coffee or tea because they taste nyasty, but if they got cold drinks then that's nyalright with me. Besides," the orange-haired girl's grin melted into a smaller one, "I nyow that you've always wanted to try that place for a while, haven't you?"
Hanayo gave a sigh and rested her head on Rin's thighs. A gentle hand rested on her head and began to stroke her hair. In the back of her head, the brunette felt like a cat being pampered by her owner. "I've always wanted to go there, but…."
"Your family?" Rin asked. Her body rumbled in a soothing matter, as if she was purring; Hanayo found it relaxing and closed her eyes. With the continual petting and comforting warmth of her friend, she was beginning to feel fatigue settle in her.
Without any energy left to speak, the brunette decided to go for a quiet hum as confirmation to Rin's question.
An exasperated sigh left the orange-haired girl's body.
"You nyow," Rin began, "I nyever really understood why they still keep you caged up, Kayochin. You're already a junyoir. They should just let you be who you want to be."
Hanayo forced her eyes to open, but she only had enough energy to open them halfway. It took her a moment to summon the strength to speak. "I know," she said quietly. But even as she said that, an unease was beginning the fester in her chest.
"But nyo matter what, I'll always be here for you, Kayochin," the orange-haired girl assured.
Between the soothing attention she was receiving and the comforting words she received from her friend, Hanayo suddenly felt at peace.
"I know," Hanayo repeated as she closed her eyes with the tiniest smile.
-x-
"So?"
Umi looked at Kotori, who was sitting beside her, then looked back up. A pair of gleaming blue eyes was staring at her with childlike expectancy.
"It's really good," Umi said, sounding very surprised. She had thought that Honoka was blowing thing out of proportion again, but everything the orange-haired girl said about the food was all true. The matcha tea she ordered was deliciously balanced; it wasn't too strong, nor was it too weak. And, oh God, the macaroons she ordered were amazing. They were fluffy and almost melted in her mouth, and the vanilla filling inside was perfect. Between the sweetness of the macaroons and the creaminess of the matcha, Umi found herself impressed with the cafe and its quality of food.
She wondered why this place didn't get any recognition at all.
"Yeah, that's great!" Honoka said as she clapped her hands together with enthusiasm. "I'll be sure to tell the chef that!"
Behind Honoka, the blonde woman-Eli, was her name?-made a little noise that sounded like a restrained laugh, as if Honoka said something only the two of them understood.
"How about you, Kotori-chan?" The orange-haired girl turned to said girl, "How did you like your tiramisu?"
"It was delicious," Kotori said with a smile, "And the macchiato was great too."
Honoka's smile grew impossibly larger. "It is, isn't it? The macchiato, I mean. It was the same drink I got here. But I got the chocolate cake instead of—"
A hand appeared and clapped itself on Honoka's shoulder, prompting her to quiet down.
"Why don't you go down to the basement and fetch me some more coffee beans? We ran out for some reason." Eli said with a crooked smile. On any other person it would have looked strange, but Umi thought that kind of expression fitted the blonde barista perfectly. She found it rather charming.
"Aye, aye, Eli-chan!" Honoka declared. Her expression turned serious and she saluted the blonde, before laughing at her own ridiculousness and trotted towards the back.
And then there were three.
"You two are Umi and Kotori, yeah?" Eli asked as she gathered the dirty plates and cups in front of them.
"Yes," the blue-haired girl confirmed. She watched as the blonde walked over to the sink, the china balanced on her arms with expertise.
Eli hummed before turning on the tap. The sound of rushing water filled the cafe. "I'm surprised you two can deal with someone like her," she said with a laugh.
Kotori gave a giggle. "I am too, to be honest."
Umi found herself smiling a timid smile. "She's always a little too much sometimes."
Eli made the same restrained laugh she made earlier. "I figured that one out already."
"But she's a really hard worker, isn't she?" Kotori asked. Even though she couldn't see, the blue-haired girl was able to catch the smile in her friend's tone. Hearing it made a warm feel beginning to ignite in her chest.
"She is," Eli agreed as she turned off the tap, "I'm surprised she's so dedicated. I thought she was kidding about saving the whole cafe thing."
Kotori made a little noise, something that was related to some kind of whimper. Umi felt the feeling in her chest get snubbed out.
"Honoka would never joke about saving something like this," Umi muttered.
The blonde turned around so that she was leaning against the sink counter while wiping off her hands with a hand towel.
"Why's that?" Eli asked.
The two girls exchanged quick glances at one another. "Well, you see," Kotori began, "when Honoka-chan was little, her dad—"
"I got the flour!"
With exceptional timing, Honoka burst through the door with a hefty bag of flour in her arms. There was also an unexplainable red smear streaking her cheek, but Umi decided not to question it yet when she saw Honoka's grin splitting her face.
However, Eli stared at the flour with disapproval. "Honoka?" She began.
The orange-haired girl turned to the blonde, her grin never wavering. "What is it, Eli-chan?"
"I asked for coffee beans, not flour."
The sound of Honoka screeching "EEEEEH?" almost overwhelmed the other three's laughter.
-x-
Kotori let out a sigh, her breath coming out as a brief white cloud before disappearing into nothingness. She looked up with her amber eyes, noting on how quickly the sky was beginning to darken. The usual blue canvas was now painted with various shades of purple, which eventually turned into a gradient of orange. The palette was strange, yet enticing-she made a little note in her head to keep the idea in her head until the next morning, when she was able to pitch the idea during her internship.
Speaking of her internship….
Kotori let out another sigh, this time being much more audible about it. She turned her eyes to the ground, watching the cracks on the pavement slip beneath her feet.
"Is something the matter, Kotori?"
The gray-haired turned to Umi, who was her only company for the night walk home. Honoka had to stay back in order to help Eli close up, and Umi was kind enough to go out of her way to accompany Kotori despite living in the opposite direction.
"Not really," Kotori said, looking ahead of her. A cone of light flickered to life as the street lamps were turned on-it was much later than she expected.
"Is it about Honoka?"
There was a beat of hesitance before Kotori stopped. Umi didn't realize it until several steps later, and she turned around with a worried look on her face.
"Kotori," she began, "what's wrong?"
The gray-haired girl began to wring the handles on her bookbag. The fabric roughly kissed her palms, and she decided to stop before she could chafe her skin.
"I...was thinking about quitting my internship so that I can join Honoka-chan at Muse," Kotori said as she stared at the ground. She couldn't see it, but she knew that Umi was wearing a disbelieving look on her face.
"W-what?" Umi stammered, "Kotori, you can't! Don't you want to get into fashion school?"
"I do but I want to help Honoka-chan with the cafe too. I know I can't handle two jobs with school in the way, so I have to give up on one of them."
Umi stepped in front of Kotori and tilted the latter's head up by her chin. Kotori stared straight into her friend's worried brown eyes.
"So you're going to give up on your dream?" Umi asked quietly.
Surprisingly, Kotori didn't hesitate at all when she answered. "If it can help Honoka-chan's dream come true, then I will."
The blue-haired girl replied with a quiet sigh out of her nose. "Why, though?"
"Because I don't want to see Honoka-chan get hurt again. I want to see her succeed!" Kotori declared, her voice getting shakier with every word. "You saw how she was when she couldn't save her father's shop, Umi-chan! She was devastated! I never want to see her like that again…." She sniffed and didn't realize she was crying until a warm tear streaked across her cheek.
Umi's cold finger wiped it away.
"You know she can't save Muse by herself," Kotori added, "And she needs us, Umi-chan."
"...I know she does," Umi whispered, "And it seems you've already made your decision."
Kotori gave a quiet laugh, one that was a bit on the hoarse side. "Sometimes you sound like a mother, Umi-chan."
"Someone has to keep the both of you in line," Umi said with a crooked smile.
The gray-haired girl gave a fond smile and leaned her forehead against Umi's. She could feel Umi push back ever so slightly.
"So will you join me?" Kotori asked, her voice just under a whisper.
A breeze blew past, and their hair fluttered in the wind. Underneath the vague scent of exhaust, Kotori caught the very familiar scent of Umi, one that reminded the former of a sea breeze.
"I'll think about it," Umi finally said.