When I finally got off the bus, Sona is nowhere to be seen.

"Did she really ran off?"

What is she? twelve?

There are quiet the number of people here.

Today is saturday and I believe there are school around here that has dayoff on saturday.

"It's not surprising if they decided to hangout around here..."

But this girl, she asked me to come here and then ran off somewhere by herself...

"Talk about a good start..."

I'll just call her, I refuse to take a single step until she gives me a reason, and a good one.

After a while.

"Hey Sona, where are you?"

"Huh? I can ask you the same thing, where are you?"

"That's not funny..."

"I thought you were behind me all this time, I thought I was talking to you until I realize you're not behind me, you make me look and feel like an idiot!"

I burst into laughter.

She keeps on yelling, clearly not happy with me laughing...

"I'm sorry, but it's not my fault you know, you ran off before I even get off the bus..."

"You could've said something!"

"Stop shouting."

"It's noisy in here! I hate to repeat myself!"

"Fine! Where are you? tell me and I'll head your way!"

"Just go straight! I'll wait near the fountain!"

"Got it!"

She hung up.

Why did I yell anyway? It's not that noisy here...

Well, whatever, let's just go to where she is, she said she'll wait by the fountain, shouldn't be hard to find.

I don't want to make her wait too long, so I head straight there, with hasten steps.

Not long after, I found the fountain...

"She said she'll be around here..."

I look around the fountain, but she's not there.

"Hmm..., maybe on one of those bench?"

I encircled the fountain, looking at each of the benches near the fountain.

"Still no sign of her..."

Where is she dammit?

Is she waiting or is it me who get to play the waiting game?

But she said she's waiting though, if by any chance that she's indeed waiting for me I'll feel bad to make her wait too long.

"I'll just do another run around this fountain."

Thump!

Just as I started to walk, someone suddenly pops out in front of me, collission was unavoidable.

"That hurt asshole!" The man said.

Asshole?

Now that means I don't need to play it nice with this guy.

"I can say the same, why'd you suddenly stand in my way?" I said.

"Huh? You blaming me?!"

"I'm not blaming the fountain that's for sure."

"You trying to be smart asshole?" He grabs me by the collar.

Is it going to be more fighting? Ain't yesterday enough?

"Stop it, you don't want to get hurt." I said, putting on the best intimidating look I can give.

I don't want to use violence again, not this soon.

"D-Don't look at me like that!"

Ahh..., seems like violence is unavoidable too.

A right punch, he doesn't have a frim stance, this is just a weak, amateur punch.

This is a sreet fight right? No rules applied?

In an instant, I use my knee to hit his balls as hard as I could, before he can hit me.

He kneels down, grabbing his crotch while screaming his lungs out.

As soon as his knees hit the ground, I use my right knee to hit his head, and knock him out.

"I warned you..."

He's not alone, there are two more guys, clearly hesitant to approach me.

"Pick him up and get out of my sight, lest you want to go through the same thing."

Judging from their look, I can tell that they want to have a go at me, but they keep looking back and forth between me and their friend on the ground, passed out.

And then they pick him up and carry him away, smart choice.

"Thanks Reno..."

Huh?

I search for the source of the voice, which is near me.

"Sona?"

"The one and only..."

"I was looking for you."

"I know, before your little fight, I can see that you were looking for me."

"Then why didn't call me?"

"Have you forgot? Those guys from before were being a nuisance and won't leave me alone."

"Those guys from before? They were hitting on you?"

"Trying to get in my pants is more like it..."

"What? Really? They were harassing you?"

Heh, glad I knocked him out then...

"You were so scary by the way, were you always like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your expression, it sends chill down my spine, those guys from before were scared too, I saw them stepping back a little bit."

Oh no, I went overboard...

"I-I was looking for you and I hate to make you wait, so they kinda pisses me off, especially after he called me asshole." I said as I laugh awkwardly.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I made you wait and late to catch up at the bus."

Despite the fact that she just called me scary, I try to put on a smile, for the sake of making her not question me any further.

"I-it's okay..." She said while looking away.

"So..., should we go now?"

"O-of course, why do you think we're here? Let's go to the main area first, we'll start from there."

"Sure, right besides you."

"Isn't it right behind you?"

"What, you want me to walk behind you and not besides?"

"F-forget I said anything..." She said while being embarassed.

Then I hope you'll forget you saw anything, is what I want to say...

But it's best if I don't say that, she'll just keep asking me if I do.

"Say Reno..."

Oh no...

Please don't ask, Please don't-

"Have you ate breakfast yet?"

"Huh?"

"Breakfast, you've had breakfast yet?"

"N-no..., no I haven't..."

Thank you!

The look on her face, she wanted to ask but she's being considerate since I avoided her question from before...

"Then let's have it, a cafe would suffice right?"

"Y-yeah, I guess..." I pause for a while "Thanks Sona..."

She doesn't answer, but give me a smile instead.

I must have make things awkward between us, I'm really sorry...

"Then let's go, I know a good place."

"A good place as in good food?"

"Nice atmosphere..."

"Oh..."

"And the foods are nice too."

"You don't need to phrase it like that..."

"Haha, I just felt like doing it." She said after giving me a small laugh.

On certain situation, she can be really kind too I see.

We walk in silence, but the air is not awkward.

Understanable, given the situation from before.

After a while, we arrive at the cafe that she suggested.

It's not that crowded, guess it's not rush hour yet.

But I have this feeling that The Silver spoon cafe is probably flooded with customer right now, despite being past breakfast time already.

"Welcome, a table for two?" asked the waiter.

"Yes please." Sona said.

"Understood, please, follow me."

"Oh, we prefer the outside table please." Sona said.

"I understand." He said while bowing his head a bit.

Silver spoon can learn a thing or two from this place...

Heck, I can learn a thing or two from this place...

We followed him to our table, a table for two at the outside area of the cafe, overlooking the whole fountain area.

"Nice view." I said.

"Thank you sir, please, do enjoy your stay."

"E-eh? o-of course, thank you..."

I wasn't talking to him though.

After we sit down, he gives us two menus..

"Nice service..."

"I know right, a good place is what I said..."

"Yeah, no doubt about it now."

I open the menu, browsing the breakfast section.

"The price is..."

"A bit high right?"

"Yeah, eight hundred yen for an omelette..."

"Never had that though, so I can't say whether it's worth it or not."

"I'll just go with sandwich, the safer option."

"Isn't that too light?" She said.

"Breakfast are meant to be light on our stomach." I said.

"I did say breakfast, but it's already too late for breakfast, brunch is more like it..."

"I think so too, but then again, I'm not that hungry."

"I see..."

"What'll you have?"

"A cake."

"A cake?"

"Yep..."

"I did say that breakfast are meant to be light, but that's..."

"Hey hey, if you're going to eat sandwich for brunch, you have no right to complain." She said.

But, sandwich IS heavier than a slice of cake.

They're selling it in slices right?

I mean, they must be.

This is not a bakery or cake shop, they don't sell the whole cake here...

I guess...

Not like she's able to eat a whole cake anyway...

"Ready to order?" She asked.

"Yeah."

I look around to find a waiter...

"Are you ready to order sir?"

"Whoa!"

But it was pointless, unknown to me, the waiter was besides me this whole time.

"Why are you so surprised?" Sona asked.

"I thought he went elsewhere..."

"No you idiot, he was there the whole time, waiting for us to order..."

"Doesn't he have anything better to do?"

"This is his job Reno, he's called a waiter for a reason..."

I suppose, I mean, I'm a waiter too now that I think about it.

Or perhaps, WAS a waiter...

"I'll have a slice of cheese cake and vanilla milkshake."

"I'll just have the egg sandwich and a cup of latte."

"Would you prefer it spicy or not sir?"

"A bit spicy."

"Understood, I'll be back with your order thank you, please excuse me"

He's more of a butler than a waiter...

"Are you unfamilliar with this kind of place?"

"Huh? No, no, it's just..."

"It's just?"

"He's really good at what he does, I feel like he's my personal butler or something..."

"Really? I think that much is a must for a waiter don't you think?"

Don't ask me...

Seeing him being that good at his job, can't help but makes me wonder how well did I perform at the silver spoon yesterday...

"Hey Reno."

"Y-yeah?"

"Stop spacing out, you're being rude to your partner..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Is something on your mind?"

"I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

"It's nothing..."

"Something you don't want to talk about?"

"It's not that I don't want to, but I prefer not to."

"I see, ok then..."

I'm not going to tell her I was spacing out because I was thinking just how well was my performance as a waiter the other day...

She'll make fun of me and I won't hear the end of it, I'm sure.

"Another question then..."

"What is it?"

"Were you always good at martial arts? or maybe fighting in particular?"

Oh no, why ask that of all thing!

"W-why do you ask?"

"It's just, I'm not a pro in martial arts, but your stance when you knock that guy out from before? it looks really skillful and perfectly mastered, I don't know, even someone like me that doesn't know martial arts that much can somehow tell."

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

It was a street fight though, I did everything on impulse...

"Not to mention it looks like it hurts a lot." She said.

I kicked his nuts, of course it hurts.

"Yeah well, to asnwer your question, when I was a kid, my dad forced me to at least master one form of martial arts for..., protecting myself."

"From what?"

"Uhh..., Various things."

"Okay..."

"I choose Aikido, a form of martial arts tha-"

"Focuses on self defense..."

"Right, but you see, one thing I learn from practicing Aikido is that my leg works were kind of weak compared to my upper body..."

"Uh huh..."

"After I finished mastering Aikido, I taught myself a mix of Muay Thai and Taekwondo, two form of martial arts that uses a lot of kicks and leg work..."

"Taught yourself?"

"Yes, I watched TVs and read various books about the two martial arts..."

"Why were you so dedicated towards martial art?"

"Because..."

How do I answer this without telling her my secrets...

"Because it was fun!" I said.

"Fun?"

"Yeah, practicing martial arts is fun..."

Her expression's telling me that she doesn't believe that.

"How is it fun?"

"That's..., something that a non martial artists can't understand I guess..."

"But why didn't you try to find a teacher? Isn't it better when an actual master teach you?"

"I..."

She's giving me a "stop lying" look...

Huh, that's right, now that she mention it...

"I don't know, I guess I wasn't that smart when I was a kid..."

"Oh? So you're smart now?"

"Hey, smarter than back then..."

"Excuse me, A slice of cheese cake, A sandwich, Vanilla milkshake, and a Cup of latte."

The waiter from before returned with our order.

"Thank you." We said together.

"It looks good to be honest..." I said.

"Don't just look at it, eat it Reno, we have a long day ahead of us..."

A long day ahead of us yet a slice of cake is all you eat?

No point arguing about it...

She said a long day ahead of us, how lon-

"Mphh!"

I unconsiously spit the food back out.

"W-what's wrong Reno?!"

I can hear someone running towards us.

"W-what's wrong sir? Are you okay?" Said the waiter from before.

"P-please, try eating this..." I said.

As soon as I said that, the waiter picks up a knife and slice the sandwich, and then put it in his mouth.

He makes the same expression I did, but he swallowed it.

I guess, spitting out food in front of the customer is way too rude.

"T-this is way too salty! And the egg is still undercooked too." He said.

"Y-yeah, I didn't mean to be rude by spitting it out..., can you please bring me a new one?"

"I-I will! I'm terribly sorry!" He apologise while bowing his head.

Blegh, that was horrid...

The slimy egg combine with the tomato and lettuces, and it's really salty too.

I guess the chef is still sleepy, that, or they're drunk...

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I-I'm fine..."

"That was surprising..."

"Tell me about it, I completely lose my appetite..."

"Should we change place?"

"N-no, there's nothing wrong with your food right? besides, the waiter did tell me that he'll bring me a new one."

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it..."

The slimy egg and over the top saltiness are still lingering on my tongue, I tried sipping the latte, but it makes everything worse...

"I need to go to the washroom for a bit, excuse me..."

I stood up and head for the washroom without waiting for her reply.

I swear I don't mean to be rude, but this sensation is unbereable.

"Excuse me, where's the washroom?" I asked one of the waiter.

He points me directly to it.

After a while of what I thought a futile attempt in washing my mouth, my taste buds are working normally again.

"If this were some kind of mystery flick, that would be counted as attempted murder with food poisoning..."

Scary...

Needless to say disgusting too.

"I should head back, wouldn't want to keep her waiting."

When I'm near our table, I can see the Waiter from before and what seems to be the chef by our table, apologising to Sona.

"Really? They're going to make a big deal out of this? Can't they just brought me a new food?"

Well, better not make them wait I guess.

Looks like they will keep doing that until I give them a proper pardon.

"There he is, you should apologize to him not me..." Sona said as she points toward me.

Then both the waiter and the chef bow their head to me.

"We're really sorry sir, I accidentally gave you the fail product that I was suppose to throw away." Said the chef.

He wasn't drunk which is a relief...

"There's no need to make a big deal out of this really, I said no problem didn't I?" I said.

"That won't do sir, as an apology everything you and your girlfriend order will be on the house." Said the chef.

"It also applies towards your new orders sir." Said the waiter.

"What? There's no need to-"

"Reno, If you don't do what they want, they won't stop pestering you."

Said the "girlfriend".

"But I'd feel bad."

"Just do it will you, it's their way of saying sorry."

"But-"

"Just do it." She glares at me.

That's a pretty scary look coming from her...

"Alright alright, jeez you don't have to look at me like that..."

I turn my attention to the waiter and chef.

"I guess, I'll take you on your offer."

They smile at me.

"Thank you Sir! Please sit down and order something, I promise it won't be a failure next time!" Said the chef with a smile on his face.

Damn, talk about hospitality.

I sit down and look at the menu again.

No matter how you look at it, giving me free food just because of a simple failure like that is just too much.

"Then I'll have the Beef Burger this time."

"Anything else sir? Your girlfriend perhaps?"

"She's not-"

"Another slice of this cake please." Said the "girlfriend".

"Definitely, I'll be back with you order, excuse me."

Then he leave immediately, seems like in a hurry.

"How rude, thinking I won't order another food like that..." She said.

That's your concern? Really?

"I'm wasn't going to say that..."

"Hmm? Then what were you going to say?"

"That you're not my girlfriend..."

"If I'm not your girlfriend, then why are we on a date right now?"

"Just because it's only the two of us doesn't mean it's a date..."

"But it is a date, a boy and a girl hanging out alone like this..."

"Exactly, hanging out." I pause. "And besides, you took me here in such a short notice..."

"And that's a reason because?"

"If you're going to ask me out on a date you should've asked me to go tomorrow."

"But I thought you have a plan with Suzuki tomorrow."

Oh..., that's right.

"Wait, I haven't told you yet?"

"Told me what?"

"That Suzuki cancelled our plan tomorrow."

She raises her eyebrows, probably surprised.

Well judging from her reaction alone, I can tell I haven't.

"Oh really? Why did she cancelled the plan?"

"Is it alright to tell you?"

"Did she told you to keep it a secret?"

"Well..., no."

"Then I guess it's alright."

If you put it like that.

"Well, she said that her grandmother was hospitalized at thursday due to sickness, considering that she's already old and her condition is not getting better, she went home just in case the worst happen."

"I see..., I'm sorry to hear that."

"I know, apparently she's really close with her grandma."

"She told you that?"

"No, but her expression when she told me gave it away, she looks really sad."

"She told you yesterday right?"

"Yeah, when I was suspended."

"In class she looked normal..."

Really now?

"Really?" I asked.

"You're really lucky then Reno."

"I don't know how to respond to that..."

"Thanks is sufficient enough."

"Why should I thank you though?"

"Hey, I gave you a com-"

"Excuse my intrusion, but here's your order." The waiter from before returns with our order.

After he put our order down, he steps back a couple of steps.

Maybe he's preparing for the worst too...

With a little bit of hesitation, I bite the burger.

"It's pretty good..."

The waiter is delighted to hear that, as if he's the one making this.

He only says enjoy while bowing a bit then walk away.

"Bet he's pretty anxious in waiting for you to say that." Sona said.

"Come on, how bad a chef must be to fail an order twice in a row?"

"Really bad..."

"I know right..."

After that we ate our food in silence, it's a mutual understanding really, the both of us happens to be the type of person that prefers to eat silently.

It doesn't take me even a minute to finish this burger.

"Are you hungry or is it that good?" Sona asked.

"If you wanted to take a bite you should just said so..."

"Not really, it's just you ate it with so much energy."

"Well it is good, that's a fact." I said.

"Then I guess this place doesn't disappoint right?"

"Not the best first impression, but it's alright."

I sit there in silence as she sips down her milkshake...

"So where do we go now?" I asked.

"Let's go to the game center, accompany me to burn down the calories that I just consume."

What?

"What the hell are you talking about? Two slices of cake was all that you eat, to call it burning down calories..."

The audacity...

"True it's not as heavy as your burger, but I have a figure to maintain." She said.

"Jesus, girls are having it rough huh..."

"Tell me about it."

"I can't, I'm a boy."

"Reno, that's just a figure of speech."

"What makes you think I don't know that?"

She glares at me again.

"You know what? Fuck you Reno..."

"Whoa hey, language..."

"And why should I mind my language around you?"

"What the hell happened to "Maintaining my figure"?"

"It went out the window that's what."

"So..., no burning down calories?"

"That's still on the list, come on..."

I admit that's pretty hillarious coming from her.

Now I know which button to push to piss her off...

But maybe I shouldn't do it too often though.

Might be bad for my good health.

Mentally, of course..., And if I'm going to hang out with her all day, I know I'm going to need a good state of mind and body.