Every tick of the Clock

It was another somewhat uneventful day at the cafe in which Ritsuko worked. The traffic was the norm, as to be expected during the week, especially around lunch time. Different people and parties were scattered around the tables in the front of the house, conversing with others, while some worked away on laptop computers. Ritsuko was resting behind the counter, leaning down on her elbows across the surface next to the register. She sighed, occasionally looking around to keep herself attached to the world. Upon looking around, she took note of the lack of the usual customers she found herself expecting on a daily basis. That meant little to her in her near-coma state of boredom. Her friend Iruka walked out to join her in the front of the house from the kitchen, leaning in next to her. 

"Heh, slow one today, don't you think?" 

Despite being engaged in conversation, Ritsuko found herself staring at a boy sitting alone at a table. Something about him made Ritsuko feel uneasy, but more in a way of pity. It didn't seem as though he wanted to be alone, but she didn't want to walk out there and bother him. She sighed, rolling her head to relieve some neck pain, and responded quietly to her friend. 

"You think? Sometimes I wish people would host gatherings here, it would make this place lively!"

As the words rolled off her tongue, Ritsuko fell into thought again. She slipped into a flashback, remembering that boy Azaki from some time ago. His case was very similar, and Ritsuko had begun to become attached to him. Then, to no real surprise, he did not return to the cafe. Maybe that was why she didn't approach this boy today, she thought. Something about this particular case had struck her differently, however. After some mental combat, her sense of curiosity overwhelmed her and she slowly strolled over to the table he was sitting at. She stood at the edge of the table, her hands holding each other in front of her, smiling widely. 

"Hi, may I sit? I hope I'm not bothering you."

[Yakaze Sasa]

It was a boring day, nothing had really been happening and people were goign on like they usually did on a day like this. Sakuri had just been sitting at a local cafe for a while now, not doing anything in particular. he sat at a table, completely alone just observing the people around him while sipping on a cup of coffee he had ordered before. He felt  like just relaxing today anyway and found it quite comfortabel to just be doing nothing, concidering he felt a bit sore from the training that occurred the day before this. 

It looks rather empty today he thought to himself as he glanced through the cafe and let out a small sigh. Just moments later, he heard a voice that were interupting his thoughts, he turned to the side of him and found a girl standing there, which had asked if she could sit down with him. He quickly looked around the cafe to see if there were some sort of joke or something, but without finding anything that would point towards that he gave a nod to the girl. He found it quite weird that someone would just randomly go up to him asking if they can join him, this was something that had never occurred to him before.

He gave a quick inspection to what the girl was wearing, and drew the conclusion that she was working here. In the place where he worked, the owner would never allow an employee to sit down and conversate with a customer. It had to be something special she wanted him, why would she come here otherwise. Sasa looked at her expectantly waiting for her to tell him why she was here.

"So, what can i help you with?" 

He continued to look at the girl. He came to the conclusion that she were older than him, but not by much. She was also not that tall and it seemed like she were leaning more on one of her legs. But as he realized that drifting away in thoughts was not the best option to do in a conversation, he quickly broke his train of thought and once again looked at the girl, waiting for her to reply.

Ritsuko blushed slightly in the face of the awkwardness of this situation. At first it seemed like a really good idea, but this young man gave off the vibe that he did not want to speak. However, she did come here on a mission and she was surely going to try and talk to him.

"So, what can I help you with?" 

Surprisingly, she did not have an immediate answer for him. However, she was going to march onward on this little quest of hers. 

[Yakaze Sasa]

He kept looking at the girl, who now started to blush also. Sakuri put his arm up on the table and rested his headon it, still waiting for what the girl wanted him. This was sure odd to him. The thought went through his head that she might just have found him attractive or interesting in some other way, and that's why she would approach him. Surely it could not be job related, then she wouldn't be standing here blushing now.

"If you wanna sit down, I'm okay with that."

It felt like there were a very awkward situation between them both now, and Sakuri didn't feel quite comfortable in a situation like this. So he was switching where he looked between her and the chair multiple times, to signal that he wanted her to sit down. 
 
If she came here to talk with me, she might just get it overwith.


He thought to himself as she also looked very nervous. Maybe there is some joke afterall and her friends is forcing her to do this, many people seem to enjoy doing such things.

Ritsuko quickly took her seat at the table across from him, extending her hand for a handshake. It was apparent that she was causing somewhat of a scene just standing there, possibly leaving the other patrons to think something was wrong. He looked just as nervous as she did, however, and that made her feel a little bit better about all of this. She kept thinking back to Azaki, and how that day went and how it had annoyed her that he did not come back.

"Hello. My name is Hirase Ritsuko. I noticed you were sitting alone and thought you could deal with some company."

A flashback played in the back of her mind, causing her to see Azaki across the table. It was majorly upsetting to see, as it forced her to believe that she was he reason he never returned. It couldn't be anything else, her mind said, but that she had bothered him inappropriately. She almost wanted to turn around and go back to the counter, staring absentmindedly, but stood firm. A smile crept across her face and she tilted her head, trying to look charming enough to coerce conversation. 

From his looks alone, Ritsuko deduced that he must be a student. She had a slight feeling that she's seen him walking into the school as she passed by. He was handsome, but from his demeanor now, it's almost apparent that he acts similarly elsewhere. It struck her as odd that he came here alone, surely he must have some friends to come with him? It's a rare sighting to see a student, especially a high school student, here alone. She became more interested as her curiosity rose. 

[Yakaze Sasa]

He looked at her as she sat down on the chair in front , but he could clearly see that she was very nervous about this whole situation that she had found herself in. She sat down with such haste it was almost a world record he thought as he gave out a vague laugh to his own thought. finally after she sat down, she decided to answer his previous question regarding why she were here.

"Hello. My name is Hirase Ritsuko. I noticed you were sitting alone and thought you could deal with some company."

He almost felt upset to the reason why she sat down with him. Was it because she felt sorry for him? He kept resting his head on his hand as he looked on the nervous girl in front of him. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't nervous himself, maybe not as much for it to bother him, but it's always a certain feeling you get when you're meeting someone new, especially in a weird way like this. He noticed how she were extending her hand for a handshake, which he quickly accepted.

"I am Sasa, and sure, some company wouldn't kill i suppose."


He said as he kept looking at the girl trying to figure her out. He still had some problems to understand that she just came here to chat, as this was something which rarely happen to him, especially since he usually sat alone and that was not something people really cared about, not that it bothered him though. He lifted his cup up and took another sip of his coffee. 

"You seem to feel uncomfortable speaking with me, why do you put yourself through this?"

He was now leaning back in his chair instead and he gave a small smile to her, hoping that it would make the situation less tense.