The intense aroma of coffee, the hiss of a boiling kettle, the sounds of rain hitting the glass. The shop was something out of a book. Tall green plants in large clay pots sat in each corner, tables and chairs made with mahogany were placed sporadically along the vinyl flooring. The counter was made of marble and covered in small platters; on display today were a selection of lemon cupcakes, a large carrot cake in sixteen equally portioned slices (four of which had been taken from the original 20), mini strawberry shortcakes and flapjacks, all caged under glass dishes with little flags with hand-written katakana and the English names for each treat protruding from the inner layers.

The barista hummed; she was a young woman, no older than twenty-five, her dark brown hair was tied into a loose braid, her pale skin was dotted with soft freckles, and her eyes, honey-colored, glittered with scattered golden specks. Her soft, pink lips set into a peaceful smile as she worked. Another day in the tranquil store she'd owned for a good few years. It was quiet, those within all having hushed conversations or keeping to themselves, the atmosphere was nice, she'd much rather ease into the day than start it off in a hurry. She spent a lot of her time in the decent-sized space, serving, making coffee, decorated frothed milk with little patterns made of cocoa powder. It had a unique simplicity that she absolutely adored.

"Megaru, your coffee always tastes so good." The compliment made her smile. She turned to face the elderly woman, her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, graying at the roots, her face was round and wrinkled, with brown eyes hidden by round glasses, she was small in size and dressed in cashmere and silk. "Never too bitter, never too sweet, always just perfect."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Kobayashi, it means a lot to me." Megaru Yamaguchi scratched her cheek, she was always one to be a little bashful when complimented. She was even more so when the customer, Mrs. Kobayashi, reached into her purse and pulled out a couple of notes, ten thousand yen in total. Megaru blushed.

"Treat yourself." The wealthy elder insisted.

"M-Mrs. Kobayashi, I can't..." Her modesty was her own weakness, she shook her head, awfully hesitant even when the notes were put into her palm. The lady didn't seem to want to take no for an answer, closing Megaru's hand around the money, she cracked another smile.

"You deserve it, your mother would be so proud of the woman you've grown into."

A look of sympathy and pride shone in the elder's eyes.

Megaru had only been a child when her mother died, it had always been her dream to open a small coffee shop. That's what had led her to open her own. This caring old woman had once been her mother's carer, thus making her extended family in her eyes.

"I... thank you, Mrs. Kobayashi... you always believed in me."

The woman gave a nod, watching Megaru put the money into the pocket of her apron before she walked away.

She sighed, a little overwhelmed. Her work was her passion, nothing by her trying to put some love into dreary mornings of the public. That had worked so far, that was payment enough for her.

Shaking her head the young woman returned to prepping and portioning ingredients, she often planned what she'd have out on display ahead of time, tomorrow there'd be apple pie and Bakewell tarts her stepmother used to make, maybe some mochi too. The fun she'd have baking and making all these treats always kept her motivated.

She had been surprised how quickly revenue had come around when she first opened this place, of course at first it was difficult, but she was younger then, now she knew what she was doing, and keeping on top of it was becoming easier, even if the stress of numbers were there. Math had always been her least favorite subject in school.

Megaru rolled her shoulders back, muttering something to herself to remember before she heard the doorbell chime.

Time seemed to halt merely for a moment. A sudden intoxicating feeling of familiarity coaxed her into taking action.

Looking up might've been a bad idea, she was suddenly met with a thousand memories, ones she barely remembered up until now. Perhaps it was the hair… No- the eyes. Megaru swallowed, watching the tall red-haired young man walk in, closing his umbrella and leaving it in the small basket of similar items at the door, one she had received from her father. Oh, she knew him quite well, although she hadn't seen him in seven years... He hadn't actually changed much, grown more handsome, yes, and certainly taller. But even if she had unintentionally repressed the memories of her school days she could never forget the alluring eyes that had once kept her up at night. Ah. That feeling suddenly got worse in her chest.

"Akabane Karma." She greeted pleasantly when he reached the counter. She wasn't sure he even remembered her, the greeting was a spur of the moment thing, but he grinned. Grinned and reached to pat her head. The simple touched alone was making it hard for her to keep her composure, she managed to keep her face from appearing too red, even with the rising warmth under her skin.

"Megaru, it's a while."

Dammit…

Closing time came quicker than it had before. Megaru found herself still a little shaken from seeing her old friend and childhood crush. She took off her apron, rummaging through the pocket, pulling out the ten thousand yen and the note Karma had given her. She looked at the bills, "Guess I'm having yakisoba tonight." She nearly drooled at the thought, despite her background of wealth she chose to let her relative take on the family business, her life style was pretty normal now, no insanely expensive luxuries, no outrageous spending, it was a nice peaceful life.

She picked up her bag from the office, locking up and beginning her journey home, Tokyo was a beautiful city to live in, she adored it. With its alluring pleasantries and unseen perils, it truly was a place for those who sought adventure, yet it wouldn't disappoint those who wished for comfort.

As she strolled she thought back on the conversation she'd had with her former classmate that morning. It still felt a little unreal, like a movie. Like someone behind the scenes was manipulating her normally peaceful days.

"It's been too long, I haven't seen you since graduation." Megaru smiled, dusting off her apron, the stitching spelled out her mother's motto in kanji, "Don't give in even if hope seems beyond your reach", it was stained with cake batter and icing but it was her good luck token.

"Time sure flies huh?" He chuckled, the deep rumble was a lot to handle. His voice had gotten deeper since then, his slicked-back hair suited him and his eyes held a new gentleness. "I heard you managed to open this place from Kayano. Never had the chance to come and see it myself up until now though."

"Ah... yeah, after high school my father gave me some money to open it up." She explained.

"It's nice," Karma sent her a smile. "Hm... In fact, I think I'll have black coffee and one strawberry shortcake."

"Strawberry shortcake, you always did love strawberries didn't you?"

The thought brought back memories of lunch times, when they spent afternoons out in the open, the scent of strawberry milk and trouble on his breath as he commented on the reasons he was suspended. She had been a new student that year, sent down from Class D after a failure to complete her homework over the course of the month.

She would listen with a child-like curiosity. Her background and upbringing made his exploits sound like a manga, even if it were things as simple as sticking up for someone.

Megaru hadn't even noticed she was smiling.

"So, Karma, how's it been, last time I saw you, you were the Class 3-E's designated troublemaker." She almost giggled. She had always found herself enamored by the mischiefs of her older classmate.

It felt odd, with Kayano she's been a lot more awkward, but speaking to Karma again just felt right. It brought color to her cheeks, seven years had passed since graduation, she had grown, gone her separate ways and she had wondered when she'd see her friends again, but that soft warmth of friendship she felt was a lot different. It wasn't a warmth exactly, more like a longing. It was true she may have had feelings for him back then, an uncanny resemblance to those cliché "good girl likes bad boy" scenarios she saw in movies, but Megaru Yamaguchi had assumed they would fade when she lacked the courage to ruin the bond she had with her best friend. Liking Karma Akabane seemed like something that could only work in the head of her adolescent junior-high self.

She fiddled with her bag strap, her long woolen sweater kept the cold out, although it was still pretty early, the sun still remained partially in the sky. She found herself nibbling on her nail, she wondered why she felt this way, the knowledge of the note in her back pocket made her feeling even lighter headed.

"Don't open it until you get home!"

She really wanted to know what was in it… She could just open it right now. Open it. Right now. Now.

She sighed loudly, she couldn't gosh she hated that about herself. Megaru huffed, hurrying on down the street, her apartment wasn't too far away from the shop. Three blocks at most, she liked being healthy and walking. She also liked the concept of throwing her pride away to just take a peek inside and read the stupid note. She wouldn't and that's that. She could live, it would take twenty minutes at most to get home at the pace she was walking.

Perhaps.

Maybe.

"Why is this so hard?" She muttered to herself, her hand momentarily hovering over the pocket, she made a rather inhumane noise. All that time she spent questioning herself, arguing and panicking over a note she hadn't noticed her apartment building.

"Wow. I impress myself sometimes..." She fished around in her bag for her keys, sliding into the building and quietly shutting the loud door.

The spacious abode was dimly lit from the evening sun, the curtains, thin and silky, were open, letting the natural light. Megaru sighed, taking a step into her home, it took a moment of standing in silence before she frantically closed her door and nearly dove onto her couch. She took out the note, her fingers running gently over the edges of the paper. She unfolded it slowly, nibbling her lip as if something would jump out at her.

"What…?"

A phone number, written in Karma's neat handwriting, his phone number and a little picture of a devil.

Part of her felt a little underwhelmed, this was the king of pranks and trouble, part of her knew he'd probably set some of that quirk aside, life moved too fast to stay stuck in the past, the phone number meant she'd be able to speak to him again, although she wouldn't know what to say, she doubted she'd be that interesting to speak to, or would have anything to talk about, but she smiled.

The strange warmth was back.