Chapter 42 – A Foreigner's First Café
Ui's POV
"Wow...so this is the place known as Hurujerko. It is biggeru and prettieru than I had previousry berieved it tū be."
"Yeah, I can see that." I said to Zoé-chan. "Also, Zoé-chan…it's pronounced Harajuku."
"Is that not nani I said?"
"Well…kinda?" I looked unsure.
"*sigh* Nani a shame...mai Engrish is just as horriburre as peopre make it out tū be. Maybe I wirru neveru get betteru at it..."
"Zoé-chan…" I said with a sad look. Before changing it to a more serious one while holding her hand tight. "…Don't worry about it, Zoé-chan. No matter what language you speak, I will always love you. You're too precious to lose over some stupid language barrier. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart."
"Ui…" Zoé-chan stared at me with a happy tearful look in her eyes.
Then, with very little hesitation, we brought our lips together and engaged in a sweet passionate love-filled make-out session. Paying no mind to whoever came across our moment of expressing our love for each other.
"*clear throat*"
"G-Gah!"
Well…except one person.
"Sheesh…you two making out in the middle of town without a care in the world…way to make me look like the freaking third wheel."
"S-Sorry, Miharu-senpai…"
"Désolé pour ça, Miharu…" Both of us said with mild embarrassment.
Today, it was just the three of us as we had came to Harajuku to meet up with two of Miharu-senpai's friends from France. One of them being Zoé-chan's older sister.
Never did I think that I would be meeting one of my girlfriend's family members nearly two months after getting together with her. But with her living in Japan nearly a year before any of the events of this story, it was bound to happen eventually.
I just hope I can get her to like me…
"*sigh* Anyway…those girls should be close. They said to meet them near…Ta-ke-shi-ta Street."
"Takeshita Street?!" I asked in excitement. "Wow, I didn't think they lived close by to there!"
"So, you know what this place is?"
"It's a pedestrian-friendly shopping street lined with fashion boutiques, cafés, and restaurants. Known as one of the most popular streets in all of Japan."
"Wow. That grand, huh?"
"It sounds rearry fun." Zoé-chan said. "I wish tū visit this Takeshita Street foru myserf. Is it okay with you, Ui?"
"Of course, Zoé-chan. But we should probably meet up with your sister first. She must be eager to see you again after a year apart."
"Oh, yes. That is turrue. Seeing mai orderu sisteru once more wourd turrury make me happy."
"*giggle* And I love seeing you happy, Zoé-chan." I said with a smile of my own.
"Ui…"
"*sigh* Oh! Pour l'amour de Dieu..." Miharu-senpai mumbled to herself with a facepalm. "…if I knew that you two were going to constantly be all lovey-dovey with each other, I would've stayed with Azusa. The fact that I have to go a whole week without being with her truly freaking blows."
"You could've just invited her." I said.
"I did. Today, to be exact. But she said that her cousin dropped by unannounced and is dealing with that."
"I see…"
Well, at least Azusa-chan found something to do this summer…
"*sigh* Oh, well…seeing two of my old friends again isn't all that bad. Where are they, anyway?"
"Well, did you try…"
"Miharu! Zoé!"
Suddenly, we heard a new voice. And then, running up to us, was a girl with orange hair. Short in the front and a long braided ponytail in the back.
And that was basically the only thing I found normal about it.
Because what I saw next was that the girl had these orange markings all over her body. And weird white pearls engraved with some black symbol alongside with it. Around her neck as a necklace, on both of her arms as wristbands, and even some on her head as a self-made crown.
And her outfit was…pretty bold, too. A white jacket over an orange & white bikini top, a grey mini-skirt, and flip-flops that matched her bikini top.
Point is…this girl is weird.
"Hey, there she is! Maddie!"
"Big Sis!"
"Wh-What?!" I reacted in shock.
And apparently, these two know her…
The trio of girls went up to hug each other. First, it was Zoé-chan and the girl. Then it was Miharu-senpai. All three looked very happy to see each other again.
Which makes me wonder even more about when was the last time Miharu-senpai had seen these girls.
It couldn't have been THAT long, right?
"Mec..." Miharu-senpai said. "…c'est vraiment toi, Maddie. Vous n'avez pas changé un peu."
"Et je peux dire la même chose de toi aussi, Miharu." The girl said. "Tu es aussi belle que quand nous étions plus jeunes."
"En venant de vous, cela signifie beaucoup."
"Big Sis! Tu m'as tellement manqué!" Zoé-chan cheered with glee.
"Zoé! Tu m'as tellement manqué aussi! Je suis si heureux de vous revoir. Un an d'intervalle était trop pour moi."
"*giggle* Je peux être d'accord avec ça, Big Sis."
"Uh…Miharu-senpai. I-I'm totally lost." I whispered to her.
"Oh, right. Sorry, Ui. We got so excited that we started talking in French and forgot you were here. And also not in France."
"S-Sure…it's okay." I gained a sweatdrop.
I am SO ignoring that hurtful first part…
"Maddie! There you are!"
Coming up towards us were three more girls who looked like they were college students. One had long black hair and red eyes, another had ice-blue hair in such a style where the back is a long ponytail and the front covers her crystal-like right eye, and…
…
Wait…is that Matsumoto-senpai?
"Ari! Iyó! Rise!"
"Geez, Maddie. I get that you were excited to see your sister again…but you didn't have to ditch us like that. And at such speed, too."
"Oh...désolé, tout le monde." The girl said while rubbing the back of her head.
"Hey, Ari!" Miharu-senpai cheered.
"It is nice tū see you once more, Ari!" Zoé-chan added.
"Miharu. Zoé. Nice to see you both as well."
"This is like one big reunion of French girls, don't you think?" The blue-haired girl said to Matsumoto-senpai.
"Yeah, it really is."
W-Woah…h-her voice. Onee-chan was right about it sounding like a ghost girl…
"Big Sis." Zoé-chan said as she held my hand. "I wourd rike foru you tū meet mai girrfriend. Heru name is Ui."
"Um…" I grew nervous for a second before calming down. "…h-hello, Richelieu-san. My name is Ui Hirasawa. It is nice to meet you." I then ended the introduction with a bow.
"Oh! So, this is the girru you were tarking about. She is rearry nice and pretty, Zoé."
"*giggle* Merci, Big Sis."
"So, it really is you, Ui." Matsumoto-senpai said to me. "The girl who confessed her love to Madeleine's sister 15 minutes after meeting her. That's…kinda surprising."
"Yeah…" I gained a sweatdrop. "…I can see why you think that. Based on what I'm known for. But I'm serious when I say this…when I first saw Zoé-chan on that computer screen that day, I knew right then and there that she was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Without a doubt."
"Ui…that is rearry sweet." Zoé-chan said to me with a very cute smile.
"Huh. So, you were always a lesbian?" Miharu-senpai asked.
"No, she was always a siscon." Matsumoto-senpai said. "But she never told her sister about it because of how wrong it is."
"Oh…man, you were gross, Ui."
You could've kept that to yourself, you know!
"Ari. Nani is this...siscon?" Zoé-chan's sister asked the black-haired girl next to her.
"Uh…i-it's something you don't need to know, Maddie." The girl gained a sweatdrop.
"Anyway…" Matsumoto-senpai spoke out. "I'll introduce you to everyone, Ui. First is Zoé's older sister Madeleine Richelieu. Next to her is her childhood friend Ariana Chéry. And then this is Iyo Mitsui. A friend of mine since high school."
"It's nice to meet you all." I said with a bow.
"Nice to meet you too, Ui-san." Both Iyo-san and Ariana-san said.
"It is nice tū meet you as werr, Ui." While Madeleine-san said the same thing…but with the same broken English as Zoé-chan.
Well, they are sisters. I guess it would make sense that they're both terrible with English and don't speak any Japanese.
"Well, with that out of the way…what are we gonna do now?" Miharu-senpai asked.
"Well, we are close to Takeshita Street." Iyo-san said. "We thought we could spend the day there while these four catch up with each other."
"Ooh~…Takeshita Street!" I cheered with glee. "I've always wanted to see what that place is like!"
"Trust me, Ui-san. You'll love it! It's a place where even us four can feel young again!"
"But we're only 19…" Matsumoto-senpai gained a sweatdrop.
The 7 of us had soon reached the well-known Takeshita Street. And it was truly what I've always imagined. Tons of people walking around…going into shops and sitting in the multiple cafés that lined up the entire street. Such a lively place is the perfect spot to have a first date with your girlfriend.
And that's exactly what I'm doing now. Despite the 5 extra people that are with us.
After hitting a few stores (some of us even bought some stuff), we were sitting at one of the cafés taking a short break. Talking about the French girl's past lives before they all moved to Japan.
And while I knew most of Miharu-senpai's and Ariana-san's was…rather dark, Madeleine-san's backstory was what blew me away the most.
Mainly because…
"S-So…th-the reason why Madeleine-san wears those pearls and has those orange markings all over her body is…i-is because she doesn't have a soul?!"
"Oh, yeah…I forgot that was a thing." Miharu-senpai said.
"Yep. Completely born without one." Ariana-san said to me. "Those who don't have one…which is a very rare chance, by the way…get these weird markings all over their body as proof that they are indeed soulless. And the pearls…known as Light Soul Pearls…help keep her from losing control of herself."
"So, in a way…they keep her calm?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"I see…" I then turned to Zoé-chan. "…And you have a soul, right? How did you get one but not your older sister?"
"I dó not know the circumstances it takes foru such an event tū occuru...but I can say that I most certainry have a souru. So, you dó not have tū worry, Ui."
"Oh. I see." I was actually relived to hear that Zoé-chan has a soul. The thought of this "lacking a soul" thing being a Richelieu Family trait kinda scared me a little.
If we were to have kids down the line, I would REALLY want them to have souls…
…
W-Wait, why am I even thinking about that?! I'm only 17!
…
I-Is my mind truly filled with sexual thoughts like those FanFiction stories portray me as? I sure hope not.
"But…even then…doesn't not having a soul bother you at all, Madeleine-san? I mean…that's a pretty big thing to not have."
"Hmm…" Madeleine-san thought for a bit. "…Whire I dó admit the thought of not having a souru does botheru me sometimes, it is not enough tū keep me feering sad about it. I rive mai day rike any otheru girru mai age."
"I see. That's some positive thinking, Madeleine-san."
"Prus, not having a souru gave me supernatsuraru powers. Dó you wish tū see?"
"H-Huh?"
"M-Maddie, no! Not in public!" Ariana-san yelled in a panic.
"Aw…d'accord, Ari."
"I see that you're still a buzzkill huh, Ari?" Miharu-senpai asked.
"And I see that you're still carefree about everything huh, Miharu?" Ariana-san asked right back.
These three must be really close to each other…
"So, uh…are we ready to order something?" I asked.
"We've been ready." Matsumoto-senpai said. "We've just been sitting here for the past 15 minutes waiting for our order to be taken. And yet, she made it such a big deal for us to come here…"
Speaking of "here", this particular café we were in was rather different than most cafés I've been to. It seemed…a lot more girly than cafés tend to be. Pink hearts, animal balloons, and giant desserts were all over the place. And the waitresses were all dressed like different kinds of animals. Make-up and all.
Onee-chan would definitely enjoy something like this…
"What's the name of this place, anyway?"
"It's called the…uh…w-wait, what's this place called again?"
"You mean you don't know?"
"More like she doesn't remember." Iyo-san said. "Ever since she gained the courage to use voice, Rise's memory has been total garbage. To the point where she forgot her own birthday once."
"W-Woah…" Miharu-senpai, Zoé-chan, and I were in disbelief.
"H-Hey, it's not that big of a deal!" Matsumoto-senpai grew a small blush of embarrassment on her face. "My memory isn't as "garbage" as you say it is, Iyo!"
"Oh, really? What about that time you forgot how old Himawari was?"
"S-So? At the time, it had been a while since I've seen her. It was bound to happen."
"Let me rephrase that. It was ONLY Himawari. You seemed to have remembered everyone else's ages pretty clearly."
…
…
…
"Sh…Sh-Shut up!" Was all Matsumoto-san said as she turned away from us. While gaining an ever bigger blush on her face.
"So, uh…the name?" I asked again.
"Oh, right. Sorry about that." Iyo-san said. "I think the name is…"
"It's called the Kawaii Monster Café, Iyo-senpai! *giggle*"
"Gah! Th-The hell did you come from?!" Miharu-senpai yelled out after a white-haired girl in what looked like an angel outfit appeared in front of our table.
"About time." Matsumoto-senpai said. "Despite you begging us to come here, you sure kept us waiting, Chitose."
Ch-Chitose?! I mentally shouted as I looked at the girl more closely. And through the make-up, I was able to recognize her as the elder Ikeda twin.
Holy crap…she ACTUALLY works here?!
"*giggle* Sorry, Rise-senpai! With it being summer break, we've been VERY busy! Especially around this time of day!"
"And you're oddly happy about that?" Ariana-san asked.
"Of course! It means that I can put more kawaii sweets in front of little cuties like you! *giggle*"
"R-Right…" Ariana-san gained a sweatdrop.
She's like a totally different person…is this really all an act for this one job? If so…she's really dedicated to it.
"Anyway~!" Chitose-chan continued. "It looks like you brought some extra friends! Long time no see, Ui-chan!"
"Yes…the same for you, Chitose-chan. Though, I am shocked that you actually work here."
"Yep! *giggle* I've worked here for the past 3 years! Working my way up to my current title of Head Waitress! And the pay is SO worth it despite the daily sore throats! *giggle*"
"I-I see…" I gained a sweatdrop.
She's a harder worker than me…
"And if I have to guess…this girl over here is Madeleine-senpai's little sister, is she not?!" Chitose-chan asked as she looked over towards Zoé-chan.
"You can tell?" Iyo-san asked.
"Of course! All foreigners give out this special vibe that just can't ignore! *giggle* It makes me feel all excited inside!"
"Uh…" We all wanted to question that so hard…
"Plus, they both have purple eyes!"
"Oh…" …But then decided not to when she gave a normal answer.
So, I see that she's still very open about her sexual feelings…
"A-Anyway…" Ariana-san said. "…this is Miharu Neroni. She's a year younger than Maddie and I, the three of us were childhood friends back in France."
"Oh~! I see! So, this is like a reunion! Well, lucky for you, girls, I'll personally make your reunion lunch here at the Kawaii Monster Café the most KAWAII-DESU you'll ever have! *giggle*"
"Ooh…" Both Richelieu sisters said in amazement.
"The hell does that even mean?" Miharu-senpai asked.
"I'm Japanese and I don't even know myself." Rise-senpai said with a huge sweatdrop.
"Uh…well, that sounds interesting, Chitose-chan." I said before picking up the menu to decided what to get. "So, what would you recommend?"
"Well~…there's honestly tons of stuff that I would recommend! The Cotton Candy Max Kawaii Sundae Float, The White Chocolate Mega Kawaii Ice Cream Cake, The Quadruple Stuffed Chocolate Marshmallow Éclair…"
"A-All of those sound like heart attacks…" Iyo-san said with a huge look of shock.
"D-Don't you have any simpler sweets, Chitose-chan?" I asked.
"Oh, alright…let me just get our newest team member to bring the Regular Menu to you! Trust me, you'll love it! *giggle*"
"If what we're getting is the Regular Menu, then what the hell is this?" Miharu-senpai whispered to me.
"At this point, it's best that we didn't know, Miharu-senpai." I replied with a sweatdrop.
"Oh, Newbie~! You have a table waiting for you!" Chitose-chan yelled out.
And then a few seconds later, a girl quickly came from around the corner wearing what looked like a dog girl costume. Brown ears, brown paws, and a bushy tail to boot. And her nose painted black and the fake wolf fangs in her mouth were an added bonus.
N-Now…a-about this girl…sh-she kinda looked familiar. A-Almost like this girl was…
"Hello, little cuties~! I'm here to deliver some of the most snout-watering, paw-licking, sweetest desserts in all of Japan, arf! Soon, you will ALL experience a kawaii experience~! Arf, arf, arf!"
…
…
…
"Oh…my…God…" Matsumoto-senpai said in shock.
"N-No way…i-is that…" I said. Also in shock.
"Ritsu?!" Miharu-senpai yelled out. Gaining the girl's attention.
…
Then, she froze for about 10 seconds before gaining a huge (and I mean HUGE) blush on her face. Dropping everything she had in her hands and covering her face with them.
"No…N-No! Y-You gotta be kidding me! YOU GOTTA BE FREAKING KIDDING MEEEEEEEE!"
"Ritsu-chan…you forgot to bark at the end."
"Chitose-chan…you're not helping…" I said to her with a huge sweatdrop.
Author's Note: Ui and Zoé's first date (technically) and Miharu reunites with her childhood friends. Seems like a happy normal time in Harajuku…until they run into Ritsu working at a café. Dressed like a dog girl and speaking with a highly cute voice.
A very interesting summer, indeed.
Ariana Chéry and Madeleine Richelieu are original characters that first appeared in Rise's Eternal Silence. They were hinted way back in Chapter 20. And now, they make their appearance. Just wanted to point that out, in case some of you didn't know.
Next chapter is back to Mugi, Azusa, and Sumire. As Mugi, still with little confidence about the idea, begins her new career as a school idol. With other antics to come, as well.
Thanks for reading. Later.