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If anyone were to ask if Sako was sneaking around on a school day, he would vehemently deny it. Yes, he had slipped away after first period and changed out of his uniform. And yes, he hadn’t told anyone where he was going, but that didn’t mean he was sneaking around. He liked having room to breathe and do things on his own. Everyone knew that.
It was just a coincidence that he’d packed a change of clothes without telling anyone.
And that, when asked about his plans for the day, he’d conveniently not told anyone he’d planned to skip classes today since last week.
And if a certain tall kohai of his looked at him like he didn’t believe a word he was saying, well, Sako did think the new batch of first-years were getting a little too audacious.
As he alights from the bus, he breathes in deeply, letting the chilly winter air fill his lungs comfortably.
His boots make quiet rhythmic sounds against tiny piles of snow when he starts walking, and while slightly distant, he could hear the rattling cry of cranes as they tottered around the rice fields. It was his first time in this town, which had been more than a thirty minute bus ride from Makochin’s lively shopping district. Traveling that far would normally annoy him, but today he was on a mission…of sorts.
Sako could see his destination – a grey building with a surprisingly tall ceiling – and he couldn’t hide the bit of excitement he was feeling. His lips turn up into a smile and his pace picks up even though it's clear he won't make it to the crosswalk on time.
He waits at the light, hands in his coat pockets, and eyes scanning the royal green of the mountains, which seemed to have escaped the touch of winter, only sporting freckles of reds and browns from fall. Meanwhile, the ground was already losing the vibrancy of fall. It didn’t help that the day was slightly overcast.
A truck drives by slowly, practically ignoring the traffic light as it changes from yellow to red. The driver peeks at him curiously.
It takes a moment, but when the crosswalk finally turns green, instead of the cheery electric chirping Sako was used to, it stays quiet. Or as quiet as it could be with a kite soaring around, its shrill cry loud and echoing.
How long had it been since he’d last left the city? Too long if just the sound of live birds made him feel like he’d been transported into a different time.
His boots continue their rhythmic clop as he finally crosses the street.
As he nears the shop premise, he notices a sign that reads Grand Reopening!
Sako had found the shop last month after an influencer shared the location. He had dozens of shops saved that were outside the prefecture, but this had been one of the few “in the area” (and only one) he’d yet to visit. But with their new December menu starting this week, he knew he had to visit, not just as a treat, but as a celebration.
The shop’s doors open automatically as he approaches and he looks around at the organized display of cookies, cakes, and other sweets, all surrounded by Christmas decorations. He makes a mental note to buy a few things on his way out. For himself. His snack stash was almost empty, especially after it had been discovered by…He shakes his head in exasperation, but smiles again. Because of the cafe.
It was to the right of the bakery area and Sako admired how modern everything looked, especially the floor to ceiling curtain wall overlooking the mountains he’d been admiring a few minutes ago. It was clear the temporary closure had been a great investment.
Cozy music plays, soft enough that if Sako hadn’t been taking in every detail, he would have missed it.
“Welcome,” a kind voice greets him, then gestures at the cafe floor. “Feel free to sit anywhere you’d like.” Sako nods in thanks and steps forward, looking around. The cafe had barely been open for an hour and already half the tables had been filled, including the only 5 small double tables meant for single patrons.
He ends up sitting at a four-person table, and hopes that the cafe won’t suddenly get an influx of people. He keeps his coat on, opting to unbutton it instead. It was cozy and warm inside: the tables were decorated with a simple floral centerpiece, the heater at a decent temperature, the smell of the kitchens as drinks and food were prepared and ferried off, and the smell of pine coming from the (surprisingly) real Christmas tree they’d set up in a corner. Sako sinks into his seat like he wants the soft cushion to envelope him completely.
The waitress that had greeted him comes over once he’s settled and leaves a cafe menu and a glass of water in front of him. She looks slightly amused, but politely says, “Please call for help when you’re ready to order.”
“Thank you.” He feels heat on his cheeks as he straightens up a bit more, but it’s obviously too late as the girl quietly says, “Feel free to relax”.
Sako already knew what he wanted to order. He’d looked at the menu days ago and while he’d been on the bus, but he still grabs the physical menu now and looks through it.
Their coffee menu was extensive and he huffs quietly. Hiiragi shouldn't, with all those stomach problems, but he'd probably still order something from that section. Probably a plain cup of black coffee from the more bitter selections, like a Paulista. Sako makes a face, not sure how anyone could drink something so bitter.
But the cafe also offered more pleasant drinks like lattes and au laits with latte art. They even had a few different image options, many of them sprinkled in reds for the holiday. One even had a candy cane decoration with a ribbon. That looks like something Kanuma might like…
He flips the page to see their set menus, quickly looking through them. Arima should bring some of those girls he keeps talking to here instead of those shops in the district. He might actually get a girlfriend that way…His eyes stray momentarily to the other tables where mostly women or couples are chatting away. Definitely leagues away from fried food at the bar.
The last page has the desserts, the reason he was here. They had a few cake options; a limited parfait selection, which wasn't bad considering all the other food and drink options they did have; as well as a few pancakes. He briefly thinks about Inugami eating some of the pancakes and then shakes his head with a quiet snort. Inugami probably didn't have the patience to sit in a place like this, with all that energy he had.
He closes the menu, reminding himself this is his alone time. He shouldn't be thinking about Shishitoren, much less contemplating what they'd order if they were here.
He calls the waitress and orders a hot cinnamon latte and their new seasonal parfait.
The cup is hot when they bring it out, steam rising from the rim despite the smiling snowman art on the surface. It was placed on a saucer with the same pinecone design. He smiles, taking his phone out and snapping a few pictures of the well made snowman. He leaves his phone on the table facedown, knowing he’ll need it when the rest of his order comes out.
When he grabs the cup, his fingers warm instantly.
He takes a sip, watching as the snowman shifts away from him. It doesn't dissipate, but it clearly doesn't look the same, its shape skewing slightly.
The sound of the automatic door opening to welcome new customers registers in his periphery, but he ignores it, preferring to settle down more comfortably in his seat, his earlier embarrassment forgotten.
“Wow! Look at that giant Christmas tree!”
Sako takes another sip of his drink and sighs deeply. He's clearly owed some alone time if he can hear Shishitoren's members in his head. But still, he looks to his left, as if he'd actually been spoken to. The Christmas tree they've set up is really nice. With the high ceiling, it doesn't look cramped and the shop has even placed a little skirt with fake gifts under it. Since it's still daytime, the lights don't stand out, but he's sure it looks great closer to sunset.
“No, no, it's okay, we're here with him.”
Someone pulls out the chair to his right and Sako nearly spits out his drink when he sees it's Inugami. Behind him are Arima and Kanuma. He hadn’t imagined their voices, they really were here. He scowls and mutters quietly but threateningly between his teeth, “What are you three doing here?!”
The same waitress who welcomed him so nicely now looks flustered, unsure of what to do with his flashy new companions, and possibly from seeing Sako’s change in personality. Sako rubs his temple and politely reassures her, “It's ok…they're…I know them…”
She nods and bows, and nearly runs behind the counter.
Arima laughs, taking the seat to Inugami’s right, “It's not so hard to say we're friends.”
Kanuma is looking around, obviously more excited than the other two. He takes the last seat available. “How did you find this place? It's so cute.”
Someone else comes to wait on them, a guy who doesn't look much older than them. He places three menus on the table, some extra water, and eyes them suspiciously, which makes sense since his three new tablemates are all wearing their Shishitoren jackets. This is why Sako had packed a change of clothes. This wasn’t their territory and contrary to Shishitoren's creed, he didn't want any trouble today. Or rather, not out here.
The waiter isn’t as friendly as the girl when he says to call him over once they’re ready to order. When he leaves, Sako demands, “Why are you all here? How are you here?”
“Inugami knew you were lying about today so we followed you.” Arima tells him as he looks through the menu, a smirk on his face. “I was so sure you were meeting some girl. Too bad.”
Inugami, just like Sako expected, is vibrating in his chair, not even bothering to open the menu. “I followed him. You two just tagged along. And I told you he wouldn’t be.”
Sako mutters, “How is that any better…”
“I'm glad we did. This is ten times better than whatever we were going to get for lunch. Maybe we should invite the others too.” Kanuma says it knowing it'll rile Sako up and Sako knows he shouldn't, but he still looks at Kanuma in warning as he pulls out his phone.
Kanuma laughs, hand to his mouth.
The waiter comes back, voice curt as he asks if they're ready to order. A part of Sako wants to bite back that they hadn’t called him yet, but another is reminding him that this was supposed to be a relaxing visit. A treat. A celebration.
Kanuma is the first to order and Sako is secretly satisfied when he does order what he suspected, along with one of the dessert sets. Arima orders meat and Inugami looks at him, “What should I order, Sako?”
Sako furrows his brows, “Why are you asking me? Order what you want.”
“But you came here to try out their menu, right? I saw you saving it to your phone.” Sako blushes as the others make oooo and ahhh noises, but Inugami continues. “You're the expert. What should I get?”
“Ask the waiter, he's the expert.” To his credit, the waiter is patient, and he must be realizing they're not a threat, but instead a group of idiots.
Inugami turns to the guy and then gestures at Sako, “I'll get what he got.”
The waiter nods, and starts to confirm their order but Sako stops him, resignation in his voice. “Not the same.” Sako thinks of the other menu items he'd saved, aside from the parfait. “He'll get one of the Christmas berry pancakes. And the tiramisu latte.”
They finally confirm their orders and the waiter leaves them, his posture less frosty than before.
Inugami looks excited, “Tiramisu latte?! You can drink a tiramisu?!”
“You can drink just about anything, if you find the right place,” Arima tells him. “I went to one place that had a pudding espresso.”
Sako takes a sip of his latte and raises a brow, “I doubt you drank something so bitter.”
Arima puffs up his chest and Kanuma laughs, likely also knowing he's bluffing, “I did! It was good. It might be too strong a drink for your delicate palette but it was perfect for me.”
“Then why did you order the au, au, what was it? Isn't that just milk?” Inugami asks him and Sako chuckles.
“It's an au lait, and it's not just milk, but he's right, it's not a bitter drink.” He raises a brow as if to say, well, how’ll you explain that?
Arima’s posture deflates slightly, but he continues, “No, no. I just ordered that because everyone else is ordering fancy drinks. If it was just me, I’d order a black espresso. Besides, it fits the mood.”
Sako rolls his eyes. “I’ll be sure to tell Hiiragi to invite you and your black espresso palette out for drinks one day. He also likes bitter drinks.”
Arima nods hesitantly and Kanuma laughs, “Oh, I need to see that. Make sure to invite me too.”
They squabble for a second, bumping shoulders, their chairs scraping the floor, and just when Sako is about to tell them to behave, some giggles have Arima looking over and fixing his posture. He’s got that grin he likes to show girls from afar and then winks at some girls a few tables away. Kanuma waves at them and Inugami turns around curiously. Sako has seen this one too many times and doesn’t bother looking over.
Alone time. Relaxing time.
Inugami leans into his space, “Look Sako, is that yours?”
The waitress from before is coming over with his parfait and Sako tries to keep up his senpai look. He’s pretty sure he fails when Inugami grins at him. Arima whistles and Kanuma says, “That looks so good!”
A small jug of water is left at their table with the parfait and Sako side-eyes his phone.
Never one to keep a thought just a thought, Inugami loudly asks, “Aren’t you going to take a picture?”
Sako, who had grabbed his spoon already and was about to dig in, pauses. His face feels like it’s heating up again, “Why–Why would I take a picture?”
Inugami is pouting, as if Sako had done something to him, when it was clearly him that was exposing all of Sako’s secrets. Secrets that Inugami only knew because Sako couldn’t shake him off. “But I saw you taking pictures earlier. Look, I even have evidence!”
He takes out his phone and Sako can see both Arima and Kanuma trying to keep a straight face, but they’re quietly snorting. Now Sako really wants his cushion to swallow him whole. Inugami thrusts his phone into Sako’s face and Sako looks at the evidence.
The photo is obviously of the cafe taken from somewhere by the curtain wall, but everything is blurry, probably because Inugami had been walking when he took it. Still, Sako can see what appears to be himself with a black object in his hands. He stares up at Inugami, incredulous. He can’t even take a picture correctly…
The others finally start laughing openly, as if they’d already known. Inugami is beaming.
Sako blushes and groans.
Both waiters come out with the rest of their order. When the pancakes are placed in front of Inugami, he grabs his phone and proclaims, “Don’t worry Sako, I’ll take the pictures so you don’t feel so embarrassed.”
He snaps picture after picture without giving his phone a chance to process and Sako can already tell what kind of pictures they’ll end up being. Arima and Kanuma also take out their phones and Sako checks his phone when it pings. Inugami has sent his pictures and he looks so proud of himself, even when you can’t even tell what half his photo subjects are. There’s only one that’s half-decent. Sako can see himself in the back and the semi-blurred face of Kanuma, as if Inugami had started to take it from his right, then moved it too quickly to his left.
Sako grabs his phone, “I can’t believe you can’t even take pictures.”
But Inugami looks smug as Sako finally takes pictures of his parfait, which has started to melt slightly at the top, and the pancakes.