Later, Shouichi strolled around the venue, noticing the crowd growing larger as the evening went on. He occasionally took a quick sip of his drink, feeling the potent matcha flavour hit him — slightly bitter but nicely balanced by the sweet red bean. His verdict: "The perfect matcha!"
"Shouichi!" The gorgeous black-haired girl called out to him, waving her hands vigorously. She was standing in the stall with his mother. The store behind her was double the size of Maid & Tea Bliss, but simpler in design and five small tables provided for a dine-in option.
"Ayane! Yoko-san!" Shouichi's face lit up with joy.
Some customers walked in and began admiring the bite-sized, rectangular cakes displayed neatly in the glass case. They mulled over the options — strawberry cream, cheesecake, tiramisu, matcha — faced with an irresistible variety.
Normally, his mother sold cakes in larger slices, but for this special occasion, she had redesigned them into smaller portions to encourage sampling multiple flavours. The strategy was working brilliantly, as customers happily spent more without even realising it.
"Hehe, Yoko-san is definitely a smart woman, a business one at that." He remarked, stealing glances at Ayane and Yoko as they were working diligently. It took them a good while to eventually serve all incoming waves of customers.
Despite Ayane's lack of prior job experience and her typically reserved demeanour toward strangers, she excelled as a cashier, proving to be a surprisingly perfect fit for the role. Her innate sense of when to be gentle and approachable allowed her to adapt effortlessly to each situation, a quality that Shouichi couldn't help but admire.
"Ayane-chan, please take a break for now. I can watch the store, no biggie!" Yoko said, her sweet voice carrying a hint of motherly care.
Eventually, Ayane and Shouichi sat down together on an empty table inside her store.
"Hey! Gimme that!" Ayane suddenly asked and snatched his drink out of his hand.
"Ay! Grab your own, damn it!" Shouichi retorted, frowning for a moment. When she ignored him, he added, "That's special matcha! Last I checked, you don't even like sweet stuff..." Hoping his words would convince her to return his drink.
"Doesn't matter, I'm basically low on sugar," Ayane replied casually as she glanced at the used straw before sucking on it anyway.
"Ah! That hits the spot!" She exclaimed with her eyes closed and her lips curled up, then she read the label aloud, "Maid & Tea Bliss…"
While Ayane carefully inspected the cup, Shouichi waited, resting his jaw on his palm.
"Huh? What is this?... Enjoy, Shouichi ❤️!" Ayane read aloud a red, handwritten note on the side of the cup.
"What?" He asked, clueless.
"Do you want to explain?!" The fox girl snapped furiously, her bloodshot eyes piercing through him. Her dark purple gaze sent a shiver down his spine.
"Eh? I didn't know it was there!"
"Who is it? What's the deal with the heart? Did you flirt with every cashier you saw? You filthy rizzler!" Ayane began unloading questions, reprimanding him.
"Ay? Wait a damn minute! Calm down!" Shouichi replied, feeling the weight of karma strike back.
"Explain!" Ayane pressed, tightening her grip on the cup. The paper cup almost crumpled under her hand.
"I didn't know it was there! It was Momo-chan who set me up!"
"Momo-chan? Tomako Momo, our classmate?" Ayane asked, incredulous and puzzled.
"Stop lying! I walked past that store earlier, and there were two girls in maid costumes. Neither of them was Tomako Momo!" She continued the interrogation, her voice harsh with anger.
"Looks can be deceiving, Ayane-chan," Shouichi argued smugly. "Momo-chan is the one without the cat ears. She's a master of disguise!" He added nonchalantly.
"Hmm? Really?" A look of surprise crossed Ayane's face.
"Do you know CCK?"
"CCK? The group idol that sang 'The Runaway Girl'?" Ayane replied, taking another sip of his drink.
"Yes, that's one of their hit songs," he cheekily responded, lifting his finger nerdily.
"What about them? What are you even talking about?" She questioned, while Shouichi began fidgeting on his phone, searching for something.
"Well, this is Sahara Yukiko, um, Shinji's favourite," Shouichi said, showing Ayane a picture of the idol on his screen.
"Wow, she's pretty. But what does this have to do with Tomako-chan?" Ayane asked sceptically, enjoying his sweet drink without his consent.
"Well, Sahara-san looks just like you, thickhead!" Shouichi pointed out the obvious.
"Ha? I don't have the mole on my lower lip, and I'm pretty sure I'm taller, let alone smarter too," She refused to admit.
"Perhaps... But if you did your makeup like hers, no one would be able to tell the difference, right? My point is that Momo's makeup and wig transformed her into someone else," he explained excitedly.
"Ahhhhh, I finally got it now!... Okay, smartass! You're lucky, I let you off the hook this time," Ayane eventually admitted defeat. She took a long slurp of his drink, which seemed almost empty.
"...My sweet matcha..." Shouichi noticed.
"Which one's your favourite in CCK, by the way?" Ayane couldn't deny a sudden urge to ask. The blushing girl even refused to make eye contact with him.
"Of course, it has to be Sahara Yukiko! She's the visual of the group!" He confidently affirmed.
"Well... Um... Then, between me and Sahara-san, who... umm, which one is prettier?" She asked, uncharacteristically shy all of a sudden, fidgeting with her braided hair.
"What kind of question is that?"
"Eh!? Never mind! Forget what I asked!" She lashed out at him, fully embarrassed, and asked herself regretfully, "What the hell was I thinking?!"
"You guys seem to be enjoying yourselves. My, my, it's good to be young, hmm?" Yoko chimed in, appearing next to them. She then placed two cups of coffee and some cheesecakes on their table. It was apparent that Yoko was taking a short break from the store.
"Mom!" Shouichi said, slightly blushed.
"Thank you for the coffee, you've read my mind, Yoko-san," Ayane spoke in gratitude, smiling at Yoko sweetly.
"Sorry to intrude, but Ayane is definitely prettier than that idol. You don't know what filters or cosmetic surgery they've gone through to look like that," Yoko spoke up, answering Ayane's previous question.
"Yoko-san, I'm flattered..." Ayane said, holding her cup of coffee.
"That's true. Well, I can't argue with that," Shouichi agreed, popping a piece of cake into his mouth.
In his mind, Ayane was more of a natural beauty — a divine presence that could effortlessly captivate people without even trying. But Shouichi decided not to tell her that. She was already too prideful; no need to add fuel to the fire, he thought.
"Say... why don't you two search for the lucky pond?" Yoko spoke with enthusiasm, giving a soft handclap.
"Lucky pond?" Shouichi asked. He was baffled. He'd never heard of it before.
"Well, the forest behind the temple has a secret trail. Legend says there's a hidden pond, and if you find it, you'll be blessed by the gods of fortune!" Yoko gleefully clarified.
"I'm not interested in searching for a vaporous legend," Shouichi replied indifferently and shrugged.
"Hmm... I've heard a different version of the story..." Ayane murmured softly, Shouichi almost couldn't make out of what she said.
"My, don't you think if you find it, you might get lucky with your mid-term? Don't you need all the help you can get? Fufufu," Yoko persistently coaxed the young ones, giggling adoringly.
"Yoko-san, is it alright for me to go?" Ayane turned to ask. As a casual employee, she needed permission from the owner.
"Huh? You really want to go?" Shouichi turned to Ayane, surprised by Ayane's rash decision. She responded with a quick nod.
"Of course, you've already helped me plenty. You deserve a break and a refreshing walk," Yoko reassured her, then smiled gently. Yoko was always too kind to a fault.
"Fine..." Shouichi grimaced and reluctantly accepted the side quest.
***
After Morimura Ayane and Destirling Shouichi finished their dessert and coffee, the couple headed out to find the mystical pond said to bring luck. They walked past the enormous stone statue of a goddess and saw workers stacking large logs in a square formation.
"Ayane, what are those logs for?" He asked, pointing at the workers.
"It's for the fire ceremony tonight. They're going to light the whole stack to create a massive flame wall around the statue," she explained nonchalantly, her eyes glittering with excitement.
"It sounds majestic... and cool," He commented.
"Yep, it is!" she smiled excitedly.
The couple circled behind the large statue, and after a few minutes, the black Torii gate came into view. It was still late afternoon, and no one else was around. Strange, Shouichi thought to himself.
"Yukiyui no Mori," the wooden sign next to the gate read. An old, stone path led into the dense forest behind it.
"Fortune forest… Happily bonding forest… Interesting," Ayane mumbled to herself, tapping on her cheek ponderingly.
"What did you say?" Shouichi turned to ask, curious.
"Nothing… I was just trying to translate the Kanji."
"Let's go, Ayane-chan," Shouichi signalled, ready to begin their journey.
The stone path ended abruptly after a 15-minute walk and turned into a dirt trail. Dense bushes and trees lined both sides of the steep, narrow passage.
"Wait for me, Shouichi-kun! Hey!" Ayane called out, her voice strained as she bridged her arm over his shoulder, trying to catch her breath.
"This place seems mystical and mysterious. But something's off," He said, looking around warily.
"Huh? What? Are you seriously saying that right now?" Her voice trembled slightly.
"You haven't noticed?" Shouichi continued, a strange feeling lingering. He felt like someone — or something — was watching them the whole time.
Suddenly, Shouichi spotted flashing eyes in the deep forest, "There!" He pointed, reacting instinctively.
"Eh? Where?" Ayane asked, spooked, her eyes following where his finger pointed. But the flashing dots had disappeared before she could see them.
"...It's gone," Shouichi muttered, feeling an unsettling emptiness in his stomach.
"Shouichi-kun, stop playing around. I'm scared now." Ayane looked up at him, her face filled with fear as she gripped his jacket tightly.
"Meow, meow!" A small kitten suddenly appeared, mewing as it wandered toward them.
"Oh… it's just a cat," Shouichi said, feeling a wave of relief, though his eyes still scanned the forest around them, just in case.
"See? You're imagining things, Shouichi-kun. You got me scared for nothing," Ayane scolded him, though she smiled a little. The kitten approached them slowly, its movements friendly as it begged to be petted.
"Wow! Hahaha. What happened to its head? Why is it bald?" Ayane giggled, gently petting the furless spot on the kitten's head. It amusingly looked like an old man's egghead.
"It's Borudo-chan. I met this kitten before, with Shinji," Shouichi told her, remembering when Shinji had encountered the very same bald kitten a while back in the Hoshimashi shopping district.
"Borudo-chan? That's a cute name! Fufufu," Ayane laughed, gleefully scratching the kitten's belly. The cat seemed unusually submissive, purring and enjoying the attention.
"There! They're still here." Shouichi noticed the glowing dots again, now with two pairs of eyes. His heart raced, his body breaking into a cold sweat. Panic began to creep in.
"Ayane, Let's get out of here… Ayane… Ayane?!" Shouichi's voice faltered as he swept his eyes around, but the girl and the kitten had vanished into thin air. His mind raced with confusion and now genuine terror.
"Goddamnit! Where did she run off to?" Shouichi yelled, frustrated in his tone, his pace quickening as he searched for Ayane. She couldn't be far, he thought.
"What the flip?!" The dirt path split in two, and Shouichi hesitated, unsure of which direction to take.
"Lefty bad, righty right," He thought randomly, instinctively choosing the right path.
Shouichi ran as fast as he could, though the uneven terrain and hills slowed him down. Ayane was nowhere to be found. The trees grew denser, blocking out much of the sunlight, and the air grew eerily colder.
"Gaawwwhh!" A growling sound echoed through the forest, followed by rapid footsteps behind him. The noise startled Shouichi, immediately triggering his fight-or-flight response.
"I'll run back. I think this is the wrong way!" Panic gripped him as fear clouded his mind. He turned and began to sprint, but the terrifying sounds from both directions grew louder and louder, closing in on him.
"GAAAUHHHWWW!" A sudden terrifying roar sent Shouichi running into the bushes in a blind panic.
Shouichi kept running, tumbling forward as fast as he could, hoping to reach the other path by cutting through the dark forest. He could faintly hear the footsteps behind him, always chasing, always on his tail.
"There! I saw an opening, maybe another passage?!" Shouichi spotted a path just ahead of him.
"Woahh?! Urrgh!" He tripped on the exposed root of a tree and fell, his face slamming into the dirt while a sharp tree branch grazed his neck. He felt the sting but couldn't find any blood. "Lucky I have thick skin…" He thought.
"Shouichi-kun! Are you alright?" Ayane's voice reached him. The beautiful girl in a pink yukata poked her head through the bushes to investigate.
"Ayane? I was looking for you!" Shouichi said, a mix of anger and frustration lacing his voice.
"Oh, sorry. Borudo-chan ran off, so I followed him." She answered blankly while pulling the boy up.
"Don't run off like that again, damn it. You got me so worried!" He scolded Ayane seriously, catching his breath.
"Sorry, sorry, Unc (Uncle)! I won't do it again." Ayane mocked as she somehow found some humour in this horrifying situation. Though it irritated him slightly, Shouichi maintained his calm composure.
"Let's get out of here. Listen!... Something's following me. Something sinister!" Shouichi yelled agitatedly, brushing dried leaves off his clothes.
"Are you sure? Is it truly something sinister?" Ayane asked, cocking her head to the side. She didn't seem convinced. Ayane then pulled a few leaves from his graphite-black hair.
"Hey... Shouichi, look." She whispered and gracefully pointed to a small deer that poked its head out of the bushes, its eyes full of curiosity.
"Oh… It's just a small deer…" Shouichi mumbled, a wave of relief washing over him. Though his body shuddered, still hadn't fully calmed down.
"Stop freaking out like a baby!" Ayane laughed, her voice teasing.
Shouichi had no reply, letting her have her fun as he fell silent.
"Fufufu, you chicken, huh?" Ayane teased, nudging him playfully with her elbow.
His only response was a deep exhale.
Her gaze shifted, and her excitement seemed to spark anew. "Look! Look!" Ayane's voice rang out with childlike enthusiasm, and she pointed to the clearing up ahead, her eyes sparkling. "The pond! It's right there!" Her smile stretched even wider, a perfect expression of joy as if she had just found the greatest treasure.