K: Bittersweet Flames

Chapter 9

All of us had talked on various topics and I noticed good and bad habits that they each have while I was there.

From time to time, we would tell jokes and the rest of the regulars there would throw in jokes as well, igniting echoes of laughter in the bar when there were no customers in the bar.

And they considered the relationship between us as friends. Considering how they were reluctant and distant with my presence when I first met them; when they stated that I had developed the closeness between all of us to have them call me their friend after a week or so, I was truly flabbergasted.

I got to recognise a few other people who were said to be 'friends' of Mikoto.

But from the way they were greeting and conversing, it seemed as if Mikoto was the leader of their group. It was causing me to think suspiciously of them, but I didn't want to.

Rimu came along with me to work, and he usually spent most of his time having small talks with Anna, working around his schoolwork or watching Kusanagi and I doing our work routines. He helps around the bar when he got the permission from the blonde since he broke a few plates before due to his carelessness, which induced the blonde's frustration for his extreme care and dedication to his bar.

As what Kusanagi had told me before, the story about filling up the empty glasses we keep in ourselves, I'm slowly getting there. We are slowly getting there.

With a quick freshen up of my face, brushing my teeth and tidying my hair, I changed into a pair of black long pants and a beige coloured long-sleeved button-up shirt. I then picked my phone and typed in the password, unlocking my phone. The first message I saw was from Kusanagi, asking me where I was and why haven't I appeared in the bar yet for work. The bar was booked for today by a company from the afternoon till the evening for a celebration of someone's promotion, so he needed to open it earlier than usual.

The next message was from Sakura, telling me that Kusanagi had called her to ask about my whereabouts. Amaro's message was about school work and capitalised words of 'help', so I left his message to view for last.

Mikoto had called my phone. I assumed that he did so because Anna and Kusanagi were asking him for my whereabouts.

Tapping into Kusanagi's notification message, I sent him a quick message, apologising that I had overslept and am going to rush my way there.

My phone sounded once, but I didn't bother to look at it and kept my phone in my bag. Taking along the bags that I had left by the door, I locked the door behind me and left the building. Throwing the bags in the recycling bins, I started running down the streets, dodging people as they passed by.

I didn't stop to look at the people walking around me, nor did I stop when I had bumped into someone; only giving him or her a quick apology and dashing right away.

My eyes caught sight of the colour green and they moved to see a male walking on the pathway on the other side of the street, across the road—which was all well and fine.

The green coloured particles that surrounded him didn't seem to be strong, but I wondered why he was alone. I shook my head and continued forth.

This was a time I wished that my glasses didn't break, or I wished that I had them on myself. The particles... the coloured clans... I didn't want to see them. The letter that came with my necklace had stated that it was best if not many knew what I could see and do, for it would cause troubles for myself. And so, wouldn't it be better if I wasn't able to see them in the first place?

Running down the street, I took a left. The bar would be just down this short street. From where I was running down at, I could already see the reddish-brown coloured building and the wooden signboard right outside the bar from my point of view.