Misread the Room

I opened the door for Taiyori to walk in.

"Welcome to our grand opening!" a girl shouted from the backroom. "We'll be right with you!"

We glanced around the room, taking in the details. They definitely aimed for a cozy vibe with all the pastel colors blended into the walls. The marble floor was a nice touch, though it felt a bit out of place with the rest of the decoration. A row of couches lined the walls, each paired with small tables in front of them. Off to the side, a wall of hanging leaf vines stretched from ceiling to floor, adding a soft, natural element to the space.

"Oh~ It's so cute!" Taiyori exclaimed. "Thoughts?"

"Hm... Not bad, in my opinion," I replied. "Definitely looks a lot cozier than most of the bubble tea shops I've been to in the past."

"Think so?"

"For sure. Seems like a good spot to study, especially since it's so close to the campus. It was only like a ten-minute drive."

Out of nowhere, she brought out the Sherlock Holmes accent. "Astute observation, Tsuki! Anyway, let's go order. I'm excited to see how good this place is."

We stepped up to the counter where a cheerful girl came to greet us. However, her eyes went wide when she saw us. Why do I get the feeling I've seen her before? In fact, she kind of looks like...

"...Misha?" Taiyori gasped.

"Oh, hey, Ayaka!" Nanase grinned. "Surprised? I found out this place was getting ready to open up, so I applied a month ago. I didn't expect to actually get hired though, but here I am!"

Now I remember. She's that one girl who follows Taiyori around everywhere she goes. Her... attendant? I haven't seen her in a while, and I'm guessing this is why. She must've been onboarding.

"You didn't tell me that you applied here," Taiyori smiled with a raised brow.

"Yeah, I kinda wanted to keep it on the down low," Nanase chuckled. "I didn't want people from school knowing that I worked here, but it was gonna happen eventually. After all, it's so close to the campus."

"I see. Well, I'm happy for you. Maybe you can finally save up for that new laptop you wanted."

"Yeah!" Nanase then turned to me. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't... see..."

The smile on her face faded when she realized that it was me.

"Eh?!" she exclaimed. "Tsu-Tsu-Tsu... Tsuki?!"

"Hey," I said, lifting my hand to wave. "Didn't catch your name even though we've seen each other pretty often."

"Ah... it's... Nanase Misha. What are you doing here? Are you also here for the... grand... opening...?"

She then turned back to Taiyori, then back to me, then back to Taiyori. The cogs in her brain began turning, but something tells me there's going to be a wild misunderstanding.

"N-no way..." Nanase stuttered. "You two... Are you dating?!"

"Eh?!" Taiyori gasped.

I tilted my head away and sighed. I knew it.

"No!" Taiyori shouted. "It's not like that! I just wanted someone to come with me to the grand opening today, and Tsuki just happened to be free! R-right, Tsuki?!"

"Exactly that," I said.

"O-oh... Is that so?" Nanase smiled with uncertainty. "Sorry, Ayaka. I didn't mean to assume."

"It's okay," she replied. "No harm done. Anyway, we should give our orders."

"Ah! Right. What'll you be having?"

"Let me get the passionfruit green tea. Tsuki?"

"Hm... I'll have the oolong milk tea," I said. "Here."

I handed her my black credit card. It's not actually mine. It belongs to Watcher under an assumed name. He told me to spend however much I wanted on whatever I wanted, but I've never spent any more than the necessary amount for daily needs. This might be the first time I've used it to buy something of my choice.

"Wait, you're not paying for mine too, are you?" Taiyori asked.

"I am," I said.

A smirk appeared on her face. "Eh~? Since when did you become such a gentleman?"

"I've always been one. You just never noticed."

"Well, you know who I am, don't you? I have enough money to buy out this entire shop. If you're trying to impress me, something like this won't make a difference."

"No one here is trying to impress anyone. You just took too long to pull out your card, so I did it first."

"Is that so? Then, how shall I thank you for this kind gesture?"

"Why should you thank me? I thought this wouldn't make a difference."

Suddenly, a series of rapid clicks stopped us dead in our tracks. We looked over to see that Nanase had subconsciously dropped my card on the counter with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"You two... really aren't dating?" she asked.

"Huh?! No!" Taiyori protested.

"Pay no mind to what you just saw," I said as I covered my mouth with my wrist. "Nanase. Please, go ahead and make the payment."

"Ah, r-right..." she said.

Nanase swiped the card through a small kiosk machine and promptly handed my card back to me.

"If you two want to have a seat, we'll bring your drinks out to you," she said.

Taiyori nodded her head. "Sure thing. Thanks, Misha!"

"Thanks, Nanase," I said.

"No problem!" she grinned.

Taiyori and I went to sit down at a small table with booths next to a window. This is a rather nice storefront. The view of the plaza and streets beyond was a pleasant bonus.

"Certainly wasn't expecting to see Misha here," Taiyori chuckled. "And here I was thinking that she was too shy. Got a job before I did. That's a bit embarrassing."

"Someone like you doesn't necessarily need to work, though," I scoffed.

"That's true, but still. I'd want the experience. What about you, Tsuki?"

"What about me?"

"Why do you keep saying that like you don't know what I'm talking about? I'm asking you if you work or anything like that. Come to think of it, I still don't know a lot about you, so tell me. Who are you? You'll share that much, won't you?"

For a moment, I felt my poker face dropping, but I played it off flawlessly. I can't just tell her that I'm an assassin. There's no way she'll be able to comprehend something like that.

"Who am I, huh?" I smiled. "I'll keep that to myself."

Her brows immediately crossed. "What?! You can't do that! Only I'm allowed to!"

"Not so nice being on the other end, huh? Now you know how I feel. Let's call it a taste of revenge."

"Oho~?" she muttered as her frown was replaced by a malicious smile. "Is that why you pinned me to the ground in the car back there? Was that all a part of your revenge plan?"

"Eh? It was an accident!"

"You stayed on top of me for quite a while. Enjoyed the view, did you?"

"I... I was too stunned to do anything..."

"Really? I know I'm pretty and all, but come on. To get stunned while also being on top of me is something entirely different, you weirdo."

"Huh? Wait... T-that wasn't what I meant!"

Oh, yeah? Then, tell me. What did—"

We both paused at the creeping feeling as if we were being watched. Again, both of our heads turned towards the other side of the table. There stood Nanase holding our tea cups with the same exact expression as before.

"M-Misha..." Taiyori stuttered. "Trust me. It's... It's really not what you think."

"No, no, I understand now," Nanase said. "You two... aren't dating."

She then shot Taiyori a wink.

"Wait, no! I'm telling you, it's not like that either. There really is nothing going on between us!"

"I know, I know."

Again, with the most genuine grin, she winked. Before Taiyori could say another word, Nanase skipped back to the counter to help an elderly couple.

"This is all your fault," Taiyori grumbled.

"How is it my fault?" I asked. "You're the one who brought it up."

"Tch..."

She reached over the table and took my straw.

"Good luck trying to drink your tea now, asshole," she grumbled.

I tried reaching over to grab her straw, but she pulled that away as well.

"Nope!"

"...Taiyori," I said sternly.

"Think of this as punishment."

"For what?!"

"Hoho, what a beautiful young couple," a grandpa chuckled. "They kind of remind me of us when we could still walk on our own, dear."

"Oh, yes, I agree," the granny next to him chortled. "Keep it up, young ones."

Just like that, Taiyori tossed the straw back over the table. She took hers and aggressively shoved it into her cup.

After taking a small sip, she mumbled. "Okay... That one was on me..."