As she closed the door to the front office of the Amagi Inn, Kanji wondered again why Yukiko had asked him to come by.
She turned to him and spoke. "Yu said that you and him often talk about sewing."
"Senpai told you that?" Kanji started to get defensive before he realized that Senpai probably thought it was fine to bring that up, if he thought it was helpful. And it was fine! Kanji was proud to sew. "Yes, uh, yes we do. And also knitting. Not about technique so much, but... well, it's complicated."
Yukiko looked puzzled but chose not to investigate further. "Well... that's great, Kanji. I knew you sewed, but wasn't sure how much, and I could really use help with some of the older fabric chairs in the lounge. No one on staff feels confident enough to try fixing them and I don't want to push them too hard since I've already been asking for them to go beyond their duties, helping with my cooking."
"Your... cooking?" It was Kanji's turn to be confused, and he suddenly feared for the staff of the Amagi Inn.
"Never mind... Anyway, these chairs are old pieces, so we can't really replace them, but I wonder if they could be patched in a way that would still work. A bit of an imperfect, wabi-sabi appearance." Yukiko gave him a hopeful look.
Kanji was flattered, but... "I haven't really worked with upholstery before. It's different than clothing and dolls." Yukiko's face fell. "But I can take a look," Kanji continued.
"Could you? Sometimes I feel like this place is hanging by a thread-" Yukiko stopped abruptly and Kanji wasn't sure why. Was she regretting asking for his help?
"Yukiko, if you don't want-"
She closed her eyes and made a weird sound, rough and yet soft, like she was choking on a big marshmallow.
"Are you okay?" Kanji was getting a little concerned.
"Hanging... by a thread!" Yukiko started cackling and Kanji recoiled at the sudden outburst before realizing what was happening.
"Oh, come on! You had me worried!" She kept laughing. "It's not even funny!" he said.
"BY A THREAD!"
Kanji would never get used to how little it took to set her off, but her laughter was contagious and he chuckled too.
"Heh, I guess it is a little funny." He thought for a second. "Or maybe a little... punny-"
Yukiko shrieked. "PUNNY!"
Footsteps thumped outside and an inn employee threw open the door. "Miss Amagi, are you alright?" He turned to Kanji. "What did you do to her, you thug?"
"Hey man, I didn't do anything!" Kanji raised his voice, trying to show his innocence, but his anger at the employee's assumption came through.
"I don't buy it for a second - get away from her!" The man removed his jacket. "I knew nothing good would come of Miss Amagi hanging out with a hooligan like you. Look how badly you've scared her, she's coming apart at the seams! Time to cut you down to size!" He raised his fists toward Kanji as Yukiko, who was just beginning to recover, screamed again and then gasped for breath.
"Seams… cut to size… I can't…" she managed to get out. Kanji and the inn employee both looked at Yukiko and saw a tear running down her cheek as she fell to her knees, shaking.
With a scornful look toward Kanji, the inn employee lowered his fists and turned his attention back to Yukiko. "Miss Amagi, try to breathe. You must be having a panic attack," the man said.
Kanji sighed. "Dude, she just gets set off by jokes sometimes."
"Preposterous! Miss Amagi is refined and proper and would never lose her composure in this way unless something truly disturbed her, like your presence. Now get out of her before you do any more damage and I change my mind about using force to be rid of you." He sniffed and returned to trying to comfort Yukiko.
Kanji hesitated. "But I wanted to help with…" Yukiko looked up, cheeks red and eyes full of tears. God, Kanji thought, no wonder this guy thinks she's in trouble.
But then she smiled at Kanji and managed to say, "I'm sorry, Kanji. Can you come back tomorrow? I really would like your help if you can spare the time. I'll clear up this misunderstanding."
"Uh, yeah, sure!" Kanji said. He started to leave, but then, unable to help himself, he turned and said, "We'll get it all sewed up then."