"Eh? Wasn't that… Chihiro Mai-san? Why did she look so angry?"
Kanae asked the question after the girl in question walked away from them. Kei had a good guess as to why she is angry. He had told her that he wouldn't make it back in time for dinner and told her to not wait for him.
"Are you not chasing after her?" Chihaya said as she looked at Kei.
"Eh? You knew?"
"I'm part of the basketball club too, you know? It's hard not to notice you walking home together with a girl through the entrance that we both use."
In truth, Chihaya had been watching Kei walk home together with Mai on a regular basis. She didn't interfere however, since she thought that it would be good if he had someone he could talk to and interact with.
"…"
"Haah… Go on after her already. Before I find your dead body dumped somewhere tomorrow."
"Sorry to cut our dinner short, but please excuse me." Kei said before running out of the restaurant.
***
When Kei ran out of the restaurant, he ran in the direction he saw Mai walk towards. However, he couldn't see her anywhere in the crowd as he went past person by person. He started wondering about what places he was most likely going to find Mai in before he realized that she was probably out to buy dinner.
With that in mind, he started looking at the restaurants one by one until he reached the restaurant where they had the couple's promotion meal. Looking at the window, there she was. Mai was sat at the same spot that she sat when they came the last time. This time however, there was another person in front of her who was talking to her while she looked uncomfortable.
When Kei entered the restaurant, he was greeted by a familiar but cheerful waitress. This waitress was the waitress that got them to do the embarrassing things when they were last here.
"Ara, are you looking for your beau?"
"…"
"You didn't have a fight, did you? And after all the trouble this Onee-san went through to get you two closer. You should go to her soon, I think. She looks rather uncomfortable there. I asked if that person was bothering her but she didn't say yes, so I couldn't do anything."
When the other person sat in front of Mai and started talking, or hitting on her, she started looking uncomfortable. When the waitress saw that, she approached them and asked if there was anything troubling her in which Mai could only give her an uncomfortably wry smile.
"Sorry I'm late Mai, I was tied up in… Are you a friend?"
When Kei approached them, he decided to play it friendly to ward off the guy. After all, Kei never liked having any confrontations with anyone. As usual, Mai's beauty attracted the athletic-looking, confident, and brave looking boys. When Kei said that, as usual, the boy looked at him intimidatingly, as if trying to scare him off.
"Hah?! You got a problem? Can't you see I'm trying to have a conversation with her? Back off buddy." The boy said extremely loud, drawing the attention of the other diners.
"I'm sorry but I was supposed to have dinn—"
"Again, back off buddy! Don't disturb our peaceful date!"
When he said that, Kei's expression instantly changed as if he had enough. Kei leaned in close enough that his mouth was beside the boy's ear before whispering into it.
"Look here, I'm trying to save you some face here, and I'm not in the mod. But if you want to escalate this further, I wouldn't mind. I would fight you even, but if you end up with broken legs for the rest of your life, I'm not going to be held responsible. Am I understood?" Kei said in the tone he used to command his players during his basketball trainings.
"Y-you… I'm letting you off this time! I won't forget this!"
The boy then left the restaurant after creating that commotion. Kei breathed a sigh of relief being grateful that the situation didn't escalate any further than it already had. When he sat down in front of Mai, he noticed that she was sulking and had slightly teary eyes as if she was crying earlier.
"Mai…"
"Why don't you go continue your date with those two beautiful girls?"
"…but…"
"It must be nice being surrounded by pretty girls and senpais every day, isn't it?"
When Mai said that, Kei noticed that she had a mixture of different emotions. 'Was she crying?', 'Was she angry?', 'Is she mad at me? Okay she is definitely mad at me…'. These thoughts went through Kei's head.
"I'm done eating. Enjoy your meal." Mai said as she stood up and walked out of the restaurant with tears in her eyes.
When Mai left the restaurant, Kei sat there confused and wondered what he should do. Should he chase after her? Does he have the right to chase after her? Why should he even chase after her? What is she to him? When all these thoughts were circling through his head, he felt a slap on his back. When he turned around, he saw the waitress from earlier with a handful of girls looking angry at him.
"What are you doing?! Chase after her already! Do you want to lose such a keeper?!" the waitress was yelling at him with the support of the other girls.
With new determination… or extreme pressure, Kei stood up and ran out the restaurant after Mai. He already knew where she was going to go. Since she rarely goes anywhere, he figured the only place she would head towards is home. In the alley 5 minutes before they can reach their apartment complex, he could see the figure of Mai forming in his vision. As he ran up to her, he quickly grabbed hold of her hand.