To: 榎本 夏樹
From: 瀬戸口 優
Subject: Hayasaka-chan's Place 「 Geez, It's really not that complicated.
Just head straight in town then make a right when you spot that cafe you were bugging me about before. You'll find Hayasaka-chan's flower shop nearby.
You won't miss it! . . . Then again, we're talking about you here.
Make an S.O.S. fire, when you get lost later. (LOL) 」✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ✧*｡ ;; The brunette read Yu’s text once more as she steadied her bike in front of the said edifice. She swore her eye twitched from irritation at her friend’s last comment and the thought of strangling a certain male ever entered the youth’s mind, but when it did…well, she felt it was warranted. Guess she’ll just have to deal with that meanie later. Letting out a small sigh, she slid her phone to the depths of her pocket and gathered a large load of her friend’s belongings.
Natsuki stood for a few minutes at the entrance of the shop with confusion written all over face as she still continued tried to process the fact on how in the world one of her best friends would forget her own school bag at school. Sure, a few classmates and close friends would always tease her for being an ‘innocent airhead’ or ’the bachelorette who has her head up in the clouds 24/7’, but surely there should be a limit, r- right? Oh well, thank goodness Mochita found it lying in the classroom, before the custodian began locking the classrooms. Why won’t Mochita returned Akari’s stuff, you ask?
“Our club is having a very important meeting after class, he says…Heh, riiiiiiight~” she muttered under her breath with an unconvinced look on her face. Oh, don’t get the wrong idea! It’s not like she didn’t want to drop by and spend some quality time with her best friend! Honestly, she’s excited to visiting Akari during her shift for the first time. It’s just - Yu taken notice that his friend has been acting different and gloomier as usual everytime Akari’s around. Did he wished to be Akari’s friend? Is that it? Why not take this opportunity just to talk to her, besides asking passing this job? It is such waste. Hmmm~ Come to think of it, Mochita is pretty much of a mystery and complexed guy. Maybe she should ask Yu about him when at the end of the day, but enough about him, her whole afternoon will be only dedicated to Akari, and that’s that!
The brunette finally opened the entrance door and the little bell that indicated a new arrival chimed merrily. Huh? No one’s around? Not even her best friend? That’s very strange. “Excuse me!” she called out as she walked to the nearby counter and settled her friend’s bag there. Light from the setting sun trickled through the windows, setting an orange hue to the broad, flowery store. Wow, never knew that her friend would work in such a romantic place. Talk about lucky!
”Akari~ Come out, come out wherever you are~ U- Uh- Are you still here?“ she called out once more, leaning over the counter, hoping to find a certain girl.
✿ —— Behind the counter was a girl sprawled on the floor, her hair forming a messy, ebony halo around her head. Drool leaked from the corner of an open mouth, as did very soft snoring. The uniform that all the employees of the flower shop wore was rumpled and dirt-stained. But then again, what kind of clothing wouldn’t be if the person wearing them decided to take a nap on the floor?
Ah, yes. Hayasaka Akari was looking positively attractive. The very picture of sophisticated grace.
You could hardly blame her. She had spent all night finishing a painting of hers. Her drowsiness was probably the main reason behind her forgetting her bag at school. Of course, her normal, head-in-the-clouds state probably didn’t help the case either. Akari hardly even felt disappointment when she found out that she’d failed the math test (that, apparently, was bound to happen when you were half-asleep). It seemed that the combination of bliss from having finished her painting and the sleepiness from staying up all night made her emotions a bit number than usual.
Akari was enjoying the show playing in her mind’s theater; the panda, the milk, the white bear! Ah, she wanted to sketch them. They were so adorable. At least, until both bears slowly turned their heads to face her. The movement was eerily synchronized, and she noticed for the first time that their eyes were black and utterly soulless. "Akari,” they said together. “Come out, come out wherever you are.”
A shriek bounced off the walls of the flower shop as the girl woke up, eyes wide and mouth dry and heart pounding like it wanted to break through her rib cage.“No!” she shouted, bears still dancing in the corner of her vision. It took quite a lot of flailing around for her to notice that she was inside the flower shop, and her best friend Natsuki was staring down at her from the other side of the counter.
“Oh… Nacchan… It’s you…” A yawn, as all the dream-induced panic quickly faded away, leaving her even more deflated and exhausted than she was before she fell asleep. It was somewhat similar to a sugar rush. “Don’t tell my boss I fell asleep on the job…”
She smiled, as cheerful as person as lethargic as she currently was could be. “Why are you here?” There was a specific purpose to the visit, she was sure. It wasn’t just some hey-I-felt-like-visiting-you-so-here-I-am excursion. An itch in the back of her mind told her so. But she couldn’t remember…