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Sakura approaches her on a nameless Tuesday, early in the morning while the birds are still singing their wake-up calls. Like usual, he grabs a seat at the counter while Kotoha makes him a coffee (secretly half-caf because Sakura definitely doesn’t need much extra energy) and serves him a random item off the menu (he spends a lot of time trying to decide on something other than omurice, so it’s easier this way). Today is an omelet day, and also, a bit of a breakthrough day it seems.
“Hey,” Sakura says as he splits his chopsticks in half, and in that strange mixture of hesitation and biting that only he can pull off, “Will you… do something? F–for me?”
“What’s up?” Kotoha asks, voice carefully flippant. In reality, she freezes in place at the question. She’s got this theory that if she stays still enough Sakura is less likely to run off before he finishes his sentences.
“Could you tell me if Suo ever comes in here, with…” Sakura trails off, his words stringing together in a mumble towards the end as his confidence clearly fails him.
“With?” Kotoha prompts.
“I don’t know. Girls. Other boys. People who aren’t… us,” Sakura gestures to his school jacket, then, “I don’t know,” he repeats, and rubs the back of his neck, his mouth set in a scowl.
“Oh,” Kotoha says, lips parting.
Out of all of the things she expected to asked of from Sakura—more captaining advice (for all the shit she gave him before, she knows being in charge of 30ish teenage boys cannot be easy), or maybe even something as small as a request for her omelet recipe or laundry tips—this certainly wasn’t one of them.
And this being, well, something she’s not quite sure of in the first place.
Actually, it almost sounds like…
No. It’s too soon to say. She should hear the intent straight from the source first.
“Interesting,” Kotoha says slowly and leaves it at that. She knows she can’t ask him outright and expect an answer but Sakura, predictably, takes the bait clean off the hook.
“What? What’s so interesting about what I said, huh?!” he demands, red quickly spreading on his face.
“Oh, nothing,” she hums slyly. “It just—it sounds like you want me to spy on your friends. I wonder what’s got you all worried about the people hanging around Suo suddenly?”
“I’m not worried,” Sakura denies immediately. “And it’s not about—them. Er, not them… personally or whatever.”
Kotoha raises her eyebrows. “Going to elaborate on that at all?”
“It’s V–valentine’s day soon and Kiryu said…” Sakura gets more hesitant with each word he says, and more red. But since it’s regarding a romantic topic like Valentine’s day, it’s no wonder. Sakura clears his throat. “He said a h–handsome guy like Suo would be mobbed with chocolates. I—I gotta make sure he isn’t caught off guard or distracted before our patrols ‘sall.”
Kotoha isn’t particularly close to Suo Hayato. He rarely comes in alone; usually accompanies the rest of the Furin crowd, greets her politely, and only ever orders tea. Still, Sakura’s assessment doesn't seem quite right. Kotoha rakes her memory and she can’t seem to remember a time Suo looked less than composed, not sitting calmly with the rest of them and with an indulgent smile aimed at his classmates.
No, wait. That’s not entirely accurate, there was this one time when the boys had been rowdier than usual, and that—
That was when you laughed in front of them, Sakura.
Sakura shocked all of them back then, Kotoha—who’s heart had been filled with so much pride and warmth in that very moment—included, but Suo… Suo had frozen at the sight, barely looked as though he were breathing while everyone collectively snapped out of it soon after. Suo had remained uncharacteristically dazed the rest of the night, but always hovering close to Sakura.
Slowly, Kotoha thinks she’s clicking the pieces together now.
“I see,” she says. “Should I report on the others too? Kiryu is pretty popular with the ladies from what I remember.”
“He can handle himself,” Sakura says with a huff.
“And Suo can’t?”
Sakura pauses, his gaze skittering from his plate of food to the windows. His fingers clench around his chopsticks and a scowl forms on his face. “You don’t have to do it anyway,” he bites out defensively. “It doesn’t matter.”
Kotoha sighs. She pushed too hard this time it seems.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t,” she tells him, exasperated. “I’ll text you if he comes in.”
“Yeah, alright,” Sakura mutters as his ruffled expression settles. He looks down at his food again and says, “T–thanks.”
“But you know,” Kotoha says, because she can’t help herself, “He doesn’t come in very often—at least not when you’re not already here. If you really want to make sure he doesn’t get distracted by all these people, you ought to make sure of it yourself. Valentine’s falls on a Saturday this year, so you might as well hang out with him before your patrols—that way you can actually keep an eye on him.”
Though if Sakura is really trying to keep Suo from becoming distracted, this isn’t the right solution either. If her theory is correct, Suo’s more likely to get distracted with Sakura around rather than with some random girls.
“Maybe,” Sakura says, but he looks thoughtful when he starts digging into his omelet.
Kotoha starts wiping down the rest of the counter with a satisfied grin. Oh, he has no idea what she just did for him.
-
It’s late when he comes in. The bell on the front door chimes and Kotoha looks up from where she’s sweeping the floor. A calm voice greets her.
“Hello, Kotoha-san,” Suo says as he steps in. He’s in his school uniform which means he must've come straight here after patrols.
“Suo-san,” she says, surprised but even more so at the lack of Sakura or Nirei trailing after him. She wasn’t kidding when she said he doesn’t come here without either of them often. “I’m afraid I just shut down the oven if you were looking to eat, but I can put on some tea.”
He bows slightly, his single eye curving shut as he smiles. “I appreciate it but we already ate at Ayame-obaa-chan’s restaurant.”
Then no offense, but what exactly are you doing here? Kotoha wonders shrewdly. It’s right before closing, there’s no Nirei or Sakura to tease and he has no appetite. But much like with Sakura, Kotoha needs to play this right to get to the bottom of it.
“Hey now, that old lady is stealing all my business,” Kotoha says, without any real heat.
Suo laughs.
“Did you know she has a lucky cat in front of her shop now?” Suo asks, and before she can answer, he continues, “It’s black and white with a little gold bell.”
Kotoha gasps. “Subliminal messaging! Oh, she’s sneaky.”
“Are you saying you don’t do just as well? I mean, you have the real deal, after all,” Suo adds.
“The regulars are fond of Sakura for sure,” Kotoha muses. “But I wouldn’t say he’s attracted more customers…”
Suo’s tightlipped smile relaxes into something more genuine—something she hadn’t even noticed was tense until it was dropped.
And he’s smiling, so happy about the fact that Sakura isn’t popular enough to draw a crowd around these parts. Did he come in here just to confirm that? Hm. So that’s what this is about.
These two boys, really… Now that she can see it, they’re not subtle at all.
“That’s probably for the best. I’d hate to see the mascot become more popular than the talent of the waitstaff,” Suo teases.
“I’m sure you would,” Kotoha says.
Suo pauses.
Oops, Kotoha thinks. Probably shouldn’t be playing with fire like that.
“Ah?” Suo says, tilting his head.
“Don’t mind me,” Kotoha says, somewhat flustered. “It’s been a long day. I must not be making much sense.”
“No, please excuse me for bothering you,” Suo says politely. He bows again and his expression is mostly unreadable—except for… is that a little pink tint to his cheeks? “I’ll let you close up.”
As he turns to the door once again, Kotoha is struck by the absurdity of the whole day. Firstly Sakura—his presence here is natural, of course, but randomly asking about Suo caught her off guard. She’s lucky he’s so easy to read and so free with his words for such a finicky guy.
Now Suo, he’s a much harder book to read. But coming in here without reason, asking her random questions—Kotoha serves gossipers all day! She’d be a fool not to catch on to something strange here and he was very pointed in his line of questioning anyway. Those Furin boys think he’s this all-knowing, mysterious guy, but at the end of the day he’s just another teenage boy like the rest of them!
And it’s… it’s actually very sweet.
“Suo-san,” she calls out.
He turns, halfway out the door. “Yes?”
“I think,” Kotoha says, and it only takes a second for her to decide to mention, off–hand, “I heard Sakura had something to ask you about Valentine’s day.”
This is outside of her usual scope when giving back to the Bofurin boys. Relationship–help rather than a simple roof with good food. But this is something she can do for them and so she will.
She’ll nudge him in the right direction, just like with Sakura. Because these two have got no business getting jealous of all these made-up suitors—not when they can so easily just speak to each other. Though to be fair, now that she thinks about it, neither of them is actually very easy to speak to. Whatever. That’s their problem.
Suo’s single eye brightens immediately.
“Does he now,” Suo murmurs.
“You didn’t hear it from me,” Kotoha tells him, amused by the reaction. Suo really gives a lot away when you’re looking for it. Sakura must already know that, though.
Suo grins. “Hear what?”
“Have a good night, Suo-san,” she says fondly.