Happy Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. What else did I miss?
I've been gone a while, eh? I'm sorry for making you guys wait. Really I am. It's just that I had a hard time going about this chapter. A reaaaally hard time.
Blame Christmas. And the Dome Tour DVDs. And Yuko.
Yeah.
Consider this a late Christmas gift and token of apology for taking so long.orz
Order 7.1: A day like any otherMinami was quietly eating (inhaling) her katsudon breakfast one Sunday morning, watching Jurina help Churi prepare ingredients for the busy day ahead when Sayaka came out from the backroom looking quite worried.
"Takamina, have you seen my wig?"
Minami looked up from her bowl. "Nuf, showwy." The tall woman turned to the cousins.
"Churi? Jurina-chan?"
Both shook their heads slowly. The slight frown that was already on Sayaka's face became more pronounced. She murmured a 'thanks' before heading out to the dining area.
"Mariko, have you seen my wig?"
"Nope, haven't seen it..."
Blocking the conversation between the two women out of her hearing, Minami returned to her meal, not really worried about Sayaka's lost wig. It was probably just a prank by Sae and Yuko anyway. Besides, there were more important things to do than worry about a wig. You know, like eating katsudon.
With those thoughts in mind, the short girl returned to her crispy breaded ambrosia, paying no heed when Jurina began to snicker.
A few seconds later Sae and Yuko burst from the dining area, their faces pallid and sweating.
"Where the hell did you hide it?!" Yuko hissed angrily at her companion as they began rifling through the kitchen .
Churi's left eye started twitching. "Oi..."
"It was in one of the cooking pots, I swear! It should be found by now!" The pitch of Sae voice rose.
"You hid
what in my pots?" The duo shivered from the cook's icy tone.
Yuko scratched her head as she smiled sheepishly. "Is there a wig in one of your pots, by...any...chance."
The squirrel's voice died as a dark and ominous presence made itself known behind them. They froze as the presence spoke, its voice made of pure venom.
"And I suppose you can't find it anymore, now can you?"
They hesistantly and with utmost trepidation turned their heads behind them, and there, lo and behold, stood Sayaka, eyes gleaming dangerously and nostrils flaring. She pulled the hapless pair by their collars and lifted them up one foot in the air without so much as a grunt of effort.
A pork cutlet fell off the impressed Minami's gaping mouth.
Sae and Yuko cowered at the sight of the fuming woman, legs dangling helplessly beneath them.
Yuko tried to give her a charming smile.
"S-so, uh, found yer wig yet?"
Sae whimpered in a tiny voice as she saw steam coming out from Sayaka's nose.
"Mama."
~~~
Five minutes and several lumps on the head later, the too-successful pranksters sat in seiza, heads bowed, on the kitchen floor, as their victim loomed angrily over them.
(For some reason, Yuko had an intense feeling of deja vu.)
"So," the two troublemakers' heads drooped as Sayaka spoke, "you hid my wig."
"Hai..."
"And now it's lost."
They bowed their heads even lower.
"Hai..."
Sayaka heaved a long and tired sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming in.
"What to do I do now..."
The tomboy glanced at the squirrel and poked her thigh.
Help her out?Yuko gave Sae a small nod.
I have an idea."Hey," Yuko grunted as she and Sae tried to stand up. Their wobbling legs had already begun to fall asleep. "Remember that cheesy ass play we did back in junior year?"
"Yankees doing a school play," Sae snorted, wincing a bit at the prickly sensation under her feet, "who'd forget that? Worst. Play. Ever."
Sayaka's eyes slowly widened as she realized what they were thinking and cautiously took a step back. She did not like the shit eating grins that grew on their faces.
"No."
"C'mon,
Ruka-sama," Yuko scooted close to Sayaka, nudging the taller woman's side very, very hard. "You even had the Yabakunes watch the damn thing."
Sae wiggled her eyebrows as she went over to pat Sayaka's shoulder. Very,
very hard. "The customers will love it. 'Sides, it's the least you could do for beating the crap out of us."
Sayaka glared at the offending hand and took it off her shoulder with a deadly vice grip.
"ITAI!"
"If you hadn't lost my wig I wouldn't have beaten the crap outta you!" Sayaka snarled. After seeing the duo jump and cringe in fear (rather exaggeratedly), she calmed herself down and sighed once more, sending an exasperated glare at them. "Fine, I'll do it." Sae and Yuko cheered. "But." Sayaka put a hand up, silencing the two. "You two are going to help. "
"No prob!" Yuko grinned cheekily and stood at attention. Sae followed suit. "What can we do for Ruka-sama?"
A small smile began to creep across Sayaka's mouth. "Get me a cape. Shouldn't be too hard." She chuckled softly. "We're in Akiba after all."
"Aye Cap'n!" Sae and Yuko saluted at their friend and whizzed away to the exit. "Hooo, pins and needles. Ow, ow."
Sayaka shook her head with a smile and turned to Takamina, motioning her to come to the backroom.
"Hey, can you help me out?"
"Chyeah, shore." Minami swallowed her last cutlet and got up her chair, taking her wig from the table and putting it back on her pinned-up hair. "I'm done anyway. What do you want?"
As soon as they were inside the backroom and the door was closed, Mariko showed up by the order-up window smiling, a blond wig twirling around her index finger. Behind her was Haruna, a hand on her mouth as she tried to stifle her giggles.
The barista gave the cousins--who had been suspiciously silent the whole time--a thumbs up with her free hand.
"That went rather smoothly, didn't it?"
Akane and Jurina returned the thumbs up and burst in a fit of laughter.
~~~
"We shoulda enlisted Mariko-sama's help earlier." Said Yuko as they traipsed through some cosplay store that they did not bother knowing the name of. They had spent a good fifteen minutes running around looking for a place that sold costumes, and to their good fortune they found a shop that hadn't quite gotten over Halloween despite it being over for a month ago already--and they sold cheap used stuff too. "Boss is a genius troll. We wouldn't have fucked up."
Sae made a little 'pfft' sound as she picked up a spiky white wig, wondering if it would look good on her. She never wore a wig at work before. "Knowing her, she'd probably double-cross us or something."
"Hm. True." The squirrel nodded absently while she pulled out a black cloak from a rack. "Niiice. Looks a lot like the one back then too." It was a high collared cloak, its texture quite rough, though Yuko was mildly surprised to find that the dark red interior was warm and velvety. She took a look at the price tag. "Cheap too!"
"Yuko."
"Yeah."
"Yuko!"
"Yeah?"
"We forgot to bring money."
"Yea--" Yuko stopped stroking the cloak. "Oh." She looked up at Sae with widening eyes. "Oh shit. Should we go back?"
Sae quickly shook her head. "By the time we get back here the cafe'll be opening."
Yuko scratched her brown wig while crafty eyes shifted around the store. Seeing that no one else was nearby, she started stuffing the dark cloak inside her white button shirt.
"C'mon, help me out here!" Yuko whispered to Sae frantically. "For Ruka-sama!"
Sae did not know whether to laugh or hit Yuko in the head as she helped shoved more of the cloak down the smaller one's shirt. "You're taking this too seriously!"
As soon as the duo was done making the smaller one of them look like a pudgy little man, a finger tapped Sae on the shoulder. The girl yelped and pivoted sharply.
"We're--" Bow. "So sorry--" Bow again. "We'll never steal--" Yuko pulled at Sae's vest until she stood up straight again. "Airi-chan?"
The art teacher looked at them in amusement, waving her wallet.
"...You guys need any help?"
~~~
After discovering that Minami could not braid hair for shit ("Cornrows are definitely out of the equation then."), Sayaka decided that they stick with a ponytail ("No Takamina, I don't want any bows on my head." "Hey! Don't be dissin' my bows!").
"No scrunchies too." Sayaka reminded Minami as they rummaged through a drawer looking for something to tie the taller woman's long hair with. "We're going for a old timey look here."
"Gotcha." The short girl pulled out a long thin strip of red colored velvet. "How about this one?"
Sayaka stared at the ribbon for a moment before grinning in approval. "That'll do." She sat down on a stool in front of the giant mirror in the backroom. "Can you tie my hair?"
"Okay." Takamina went behind Sayaka, red ribbon in hand. Staring at their reflection, she noticed with mild annoyance that the top of Sayaka's head reached her nose.
Kami-sama, was she really that short?
She ran her hands through Sayaka's sleek black hair. Minami was surprised to find that it had no knots at all. "Should I tie everything up?"
Sayaka shook her head gently. "Nah. Keep it loose."
"'Kay." Takamina broke into a teasing grin as she started tying up Sayaka's long hair. "So. Yankees doing a play huh? What was it all about?"
"Oh god," Sayaka groaned, chiseled face contorting into a grimace. "I don't even want to remember it. It was so bad."
Minami's grin only got wider.
"Do tell."
"I might as well." The sitting woman sighed, eyes turning towards the ceiling. "It's a story about a vampire and girl--Ruka and Maria--who were lovers in a past life--"
"And the girl dies? I can already see where this is going."
"I told you it was bad." Sayaka chuckled. "Anyway, Maria's past life dies, and so Ruka waits..."
~~~
"You really saved us back there." Sae smiled gratefully at Airi as they walked back to the cafe.
Airi shook her head, smiling back. "It's nothing." She glanced at the plastic bag Sae was holding. "So what's the cloak for anyway?"
Yuko, who marched on ahead of them with a little spring in her steps, suddenly shouted. "Repentance!"
The otaku gave Sae a questioning look. "Repentance?"
Sae's smile became strained, as though reliving a painful memory. A hand went up to her head and started rubbing it. "We, ah, lost Sayaka's wig."
"...Ah." That did not explain the purchase of the cloak though. Airi mentally shrugged. No matter. She would find out later anyway.
"You going to the cafe?" Sae asked her while they stopped at a pedestrian crossing, patiently waiting for the signal to turn green.
"Yep." Airi nodded, looking thoughtfully at a billboard of the latest Madoka Magica movie on a building at the other side of the road. The titular character had won Saimoe this year. A frown began to form on the otaku's face. The number of votes had been decreasing in the last two years. Ah, how she missed the good old days--back when the fighting was fiercer and votes reached over a thousand! Now, they rarely went past three hundred. Airi sighed softly. "I invited a friend to check the place out. She said she'd come later."
The light turned green.
"A
she-friend?" Yuko faced Sae and Airi, walking backwards on the crossing. Her eyes squinted in suspicion at the latter. "Oi, you better not be two-timing our master chef!"
Sae and Airi let out a full-bellied laugh as they reached the other side of the road. "Idiot." Sae smacked Yuko gently on the head. "If Airi was cheating, she wouldn't bring the mistress to Churi's workplace. "
"Maa," Yuko began laughing along, "I'm just kidding!"
"Hey," asked Airi in a casual manner when their laughter died down. "Churi told me a few days ago that Mariko-sama ordered a shipment of Mount Fuji melonpan."
"Yup!" The squirrel chirped happily. They were almost at the cafe. "Just got delivered yesterday afternoon. We're serving it as a special later."
Airi's lips turned upwards.
~~~
"...And as Ruka embraces Maria on her bed, the hunter sneaks up from behind and stabs Ruka."
"Ooh."
"Before Ruka breathes his last, Maria begs him to bite her. So he does, and the curtain falls."
"Ooh, ooh. Let me guess." Takamina finished tying up Sayaka's hair and backed up to see her handiwork. She grinned. Not bad. "There's a voiceover saying it's Maria's turn to wait for Ruka's reincarnation?"
"Yeah, yeah." Sayaka grimaced as she stood up and went closer to the mirror. "I told you it was bad."
"It's not THAT bad." Minami was still grinning. "It just needs more, uh, depth. Yeah. Don't you think the story went too fast?"
The taller woman snorted while she looked at herself on the mirror."What do you expect from a play made by yankees?" She swept some hair to the sides. "I was actually surprised we managed to make something like that. "
Minami silenty observed the tall woman adjusting her hair in the mirror. Sayaka was rather broad shouldered and muscular for a female (the midget had once caught a glimpse of her glorious six-pack by accident while they were getting dressed for work), and combined with her defined jawline and high cheekbones, she, like Sae, was quite masculine, though Sae's features were more of the younger, boyish kind.
With Sayaka's hair tied loosely in a ponytail by the red velvet ribbon, unbound locks framing her chiseled, exotic face, she was both handsome and beautiful at the same time.
The epitome of danso.
Whoever played Maria, Minami thought, must have been a very lucky girl to see Sayaka up close like this.
"Actually, Maria was trying not to kill herself." Sayaka had caught Minami's gaze in the mirror at gave her a wry grin.
Takamina scratched her neck in embarrassment. Did she just say that out loud? "I wonder who Maria was."
The grin was still on Sayaka's face. "I believe you already know her quite well."
Minami's lips formed into a frown. "Who?"
At that very moment, Sae entered the room, a black folded cloth in her arms.
"Oi, Sayaka, we got you a cloak..."
Sayaka let out a short laugh. "Speak of the devil."
Takamina's jaw dropped. Her head turned to Sae, then to Sayaka, then to a growingly confused Sae, then to Sayaka again.
"You're joking."
The only answer she got was another laugh.
~~~
His smiling eyes twinkling in amusement (as it almost always did), Mario watched from the coffee counter as the cafe was enthralled, one by one, by Luis' emergency replacement.
Said replacement, however, was oblivious to the eyes on him as he went about doing his work.
"Your meal, Sashihara-san."
The continuous clacking of laptop keys came to a pause as Rino glanced up from her netbook. "Arigato--whoa."
Mouth open and jaws hanging, Sasshi stared unabashedly as the waiter placed her caffe mocha and curry rice on the table, his glossy raven hair hanging from the sides of his sculpted profile as he looked down at her, lips forming a gentlemanly smile that sent the poor girl at a loss for words.
"Is there anything else?"
It took all of Rino's remaining brainpower to shake her head.
The waiter nodded and gave her a slight bow, tucking the empty tray beneath his left arm. He turned away, leaving Sashihara gazing numbly of the black cloak and loose ponytail billowing gently behind him. It was only when she felt a wetness dripping from her nose that the trance was broken.
Sasshi giggled stupidly as she hastily wiped the blood off her mouth and touchpad.
Best. Danso. Ever."Ruka is like a prince in a fairytale, ne?" Haruna thought out loud, large dark brown eyes following Sayaka's new danso for a moment before turning back to her best friend making shots at the espresso machine.
More like he's the fairytale. Mario made a little noise of agreement as he pulled down the lever. "Even as Luis, Sayaka's danso has the feel of royalty to it." He smiled and leaned closer to Haruna as he slid a cup of espresso in front of her, murmuring in a low voice, "Nyaro, maybe I should get rid of the wig for real."
"Mm." Haruna took a small sip of the espresso before finding it too hot and started blowing gently on the drink's steaming surface. "Wouldn't it be a waste?"
"Aha, so you're the culprits." Airi suddenly spoke up behind Mario, giving the barista a small fright though he outwardly remained composed. The otaku had been leaning on the order-up window, listening in on them. "Why don't you keep the wig a little longer? It might be of use someday."
"You can put Churi and Jurina on the wanted list." said Mario with a chuckle, Haruna and Airi joining in right after. "Alright, I'll keep it."
"Keep what?" Kai asked curiously as he arrived, placing an empty tray on the counter.
"It's nothing." The barista grinned at the little waiter and gave him another order to serve. "You're looking awfully chipper today."
"It's nothing." Kai grinned back, his face lighting up like Tokyo Tower at night. It really was nothing, except that he had just come back from Ohori-san's table with his ass unscathed. The older woman had been busy ogling--quite lasciviously too--Ruka to notice that her favorite victim had escaped her clutches.
"Sayaka's danso is the best, isn't it?"
~~~
"Here ya go, Yukirin. Hot chocolate affogato." Haru put down the dessert in front of his ex-girlfriend, the ceramic mug making a soft clink as it met the table's glass surface.
"Thanks." The miko looked up at him with a gracious smile that the waiter gladly returned as he took away the finished dishes on her table . From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a tall waiter with long hair serving a girl that was shamelessly staring at him. Yuki giggled. "Seeing Sayaka in Ruka-mode sure brings back memories, doesn't it,
Maria-chan?"
Haru cringed, his face contorting in old shame and anguish.
Yukirin smiled in sadistic glee.
"Kagiri aru inochi nagaraaaa..."
"Mou, Yukirin!"
The shrine maiden continued teasing the ex-yankee to her heart's content, unaware that she was being watched by the mouse sitting at the corner of the cafe, as it always has been.
"Sometimes I wonder if watching's all yer gonna do. Well, that and whatever else it is you've been doing." Yuu chortled as he served Mayu her cafe au lait. He raised a brow at the table that was devoid of drawing materials. How unusual. "Where's your sketchbook?"
"Full. I'm going to buy another later." The girl in the jacket replied curtly, taking short sips of the milky beverage.
The sprightly little man began flipping the empty tray in his hands. "You know, for a kid your age, with the amount of time you spend here even on school days, I'm surprised your father doesn't know."
Mayu's eyes briefly turned downwards. "Even if he does, it doesn't matter."
"Right, right." The squirrel nodded in understanding. "Too busy with politics, eh?" He uttered a sigh and gave a small smile. "Gotta get back to work." He patted the mouse's shoulder, earning him a poisonous glare. Yuu merely chuckled, used to this kind of reaction. "Just call if you need anything."
"Hai, Yuko-san."
~~~
"Cafe Ricori." Rena read the signage outside said bistro with a quiet voice, snuggling into her parka and tightly wrapping her knit scarf around her neck as the cold air chilled her fragile-looking frame. The teacher has been to all kinds of cosplay restaurants before (What kind of otaku were you if you haven't been to one?), but danso cafes were not exactly her thing. Truth be told, she preferred cute young girls in french maid costumes.
Once, Rena was asked if she was a lolicon, and she had vehemently denied it. She was no lolicon! She just liked cute girls. And it just so happens that many cute girls are young. That didn't make her a lolicon, right?
Right?
But then a junior--Mukaida Manatsu--passed by the hallway outside the faculty office, and Rena's resolve crumbled, leaving her in a state of blushing and squealing that she valiantly tried to hide. To no avail, of course.
Airin-san had burst into laughter and nodded in understanding, lightheartedly complimenting her good taste.
"She'd look great in a meido outfit, don't you think?"Rena had turned even redder.
Giggling silently at the memory, she glanced at the board stand next to the entrance, the playful chalk handwriting announcing both in Japanese and English--grammatically correct too--- that today's special was Mount Fuji melonpan, limited stock ordered straight from 5th Station.
A small smile found itself on her face.
The art teacher certainly knew how to reel her in.
(The promise of a free volume of Chibi Airin C85 edition with exclusive content and a BD of Rebellion when it releases did help sway her mind too.)
Well, time to get inside. Airin-san must be waiting for her.
Approaching the door, she looked past the tinted glass with widening eyes at one of the waiters near the entrance.
"...Gakuran?"
-Part 1 no owari-Sae was Maria? What the hell is wrong with me lol
I'll post Part 2 after some sleep
Topic: Tales from the Danso Cafe - chapter 7 (30/01/2014) (Read 36510 times)