⟦ℂℍ𝔸ℙ𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝟙𝟙⟧
Everyone was in pure chaos. The day had started off well enough. Kagami had gotten all of her friends' phone numbers and Togyather accounts. Everything had been peaceful and calm. Then, their homeroom instructor had informed everyone of the upcoming Culture Festival.
From the moment the words had left her lips, the room had erupted into arguments. Everyone wanted Shouko to be the centerpiece for their project, but no one could agree on what they should have her do.
The board had multiple ideas scribbled on it, tally marks next to each of them. They had been through the voting process a dozen and some times now, and nothing had been decided.
Maid cafe. Kagami scrunched up her nose and pretended to gag at the thought. Tadano choked back a laugh at her reaction. Haunted House. Kagami liked that idea, but as Yamai had suggested it, she refused to choose it as an option. Rock Band. She wouldn't be able to join, but she would enjoy the music vibrations. It wasn't a half bad idea.
Whack-A-Mole. She sunk in her seat at that suggestion. Agari made no effort in hiding her masochism. Historical drama involving ninja's. European set historical drama. Kagami could feel the headache forming from dealing with everyone's nonsense.
Onemine stood from her seat, offering the best idea Kagami had heard yet. Rice Balls. She would definitely be voting for that one. Darts, Bowling, Billiards. Love Fortunes. Manga. Frankfurters. Disco.
Even as they went through it again, everyone continued to argue, beginning to throw things. Tadano gave up in attempting to control the chaos, making his way to his desk with one question in mind.
"Komi-san? What did you vote for?" Shouko stared up at him in silence, glancing between him and Kagami. "It's alright if you'd rather not say."
Pausing only a second more, she carefully wrote out, "The maid cafe." Kagami stared in horror at the words written in the notebook, not that Shouko saw. She knew exactly what was going to happen the moment that her choice was visible to everyone.
As she predicted, the other choices were wiped from the board as if they had never existed, and the maid cafe had votes from everyone in the class. Kagami would have tried to fight it, but she knew there was no point in even trying. Besides, Shouko looked so... excited. She would never get in the way of that.
The prep work required for the maid cafe was nothing short of grueling. Kagami had offered to do everyone's measurements for their costumes, and was currently working on Agari. She raised the green haired girl's arms straight out to measure her bust, and lowered them to get her shoulder width next.
Tadano watched Kagami give Agari a thumbs up, helped her off the stage, and passed off the sheet with her measurements to one of the girls with a sewing machine.
She looked down at her student list, crossing off Agari and checking to see who was left. Shouko, Otori, Onemine, and Tadano. And herself, but she would have a hard time measuring that on her own. The first three were off getting more supplies from Calm's Home Center.
She glanced around the room for Tadano, who met her eyes with a smile when she found him. "Come over here! I need to get measurements for your suit." Kagami watched as he passed off a box he was carrying, and made his way over, dodging the groups on the floor.
Once he had managed to get to the other side of the classroom, she directed him onto the stand and began to measure from his hip down to his foot. She barely touched him when holding the tape to his side, but it still felt like lava was scorching him.
Kagami was close. Too close. His face burned with a vengeance. He barely noticed that Kagami had thrown her tape measure around her neck and was waving a hand in his face. "Tadano-kun, are you okay? Did they make you lift too many boxes? You should sit down."
He gulped, hoping she wouldn't see his adams' apple bobbing, knowing it would only lead to more questions. "Yes, I'm completely fine." She gave him a doubtful look, but didn't say anything more, moving on to her next measurement.
Tadano kept his eyes on Kagami the entire time. She moved so confidently. She knew exactly what she was doing, and what to do next. It was beautiful to witness. He was so focused, he was lucky that he registered that she had finished his measurements.
"Tadano-kun, if you wouldn't mind, would you help me with my measurements? No one else here knows what they're doing, and you're the only one not busy who I can walk through the process." Light pink dusted her cheeks at the question.
It needed to be done, but the thought of having Tadano doing certain measurements was embarrassing. Unfortunately, there wasn't a better choice available at the moment. Tadano's mind completely stalled, his imagination running wild until his face overheated and he could feel the steam erupting from his head.
"Is there really no one else? I don't know if this would be very appropriate for me to do." Kagami flushed further but confirmed he was the only option. The red never left his face for a moment, but he helped her onto the stand and began to follow her instructions.
Every place his hands brushed against or touched left a burning trail across her skin. From her legs, to her hips and waist, up to her back and shoulders. The pair were just doing everything in their power to not faint from their proximity. As Tadano finished with the last measurement, he stepped back and coughed awkwardly, looking away from Kagami and holding out the tape measurer to her.
"Thank you, Tadano-kun." She gave him a soft smile that would have caused him to flush if he wasn't already the darkest shade of red possible.
"Ishioka-san, may I ask why your measurements were different from the other girls? You never measured all the way down to their feet, only to their knees." Kagami pursed her lips in thought, debating whether her plan would be ruined if she told him.
"The thought of wearing a maid outfit makes me really uncomfortable, so I decided that I would wear a suit like the rest of the guys. Please don't tell anyone, especially Najimi. We both know that they would mess with it." Tadano chuckled at the thought, but promised to keep it a secret.
Kagami's eyelids were fluttering closed every couple of seconds. Her head would start to drop forward before she lurched back into an upright position. She had been at the school all night working on sewing costume after costume together.
There were a few other students who had also stayed late to complete their projects, but all of them had gone home eventually. Even so, as those students trickled through the door, they collapsed back into their positions from the night before and began to work laboriously once more.
Kagami's eyes closed again, her head dropping forward, but this time, she didn't jerk back upright. Her head fell towards the desk, but instead of making contact with cold hard wood, she was met with something warm and semi-soft.
She jerked back upright and blinked several times at her desk until it came into focus. It was a hand. Her eyes followed the hand up to an arm to the shoulder and neck, then up to the chin, and eventually its face. More accurately, Tadano's face.
He signed something that was too fast for her to catch, making her groan in frustration. "Slower, please." This time, she could keep up with what he was saying.
"Have you been here all night?" She gave him a single nod of confirmation that she immediately came to regret. Her head pounded, giving life to its own heartbeat.
"Have you eaten anything?" She shook her head, turning back to the project at hand. Tadano slid a rice ball onto her desk, shaped into a huge cube. She took one look at it and pushed it back towards him.
"I'm not going to take your food, Tadano-kun. I can eat later." He pushed it back towards her with an uncharacteristic stern face.
"Najimi, Onemine-san, Yamai-san, and Komi-san made rice balls for the entire class. I can go and get another one, but you will eat this one." Kagami squinted at him, but nodded slowly and took a bite of the rice ball.
As soon as it hit her tongue, she realized just how hungry she was. She quickly shoved the rest of the rice ball into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out as she chewed. "Careful there, Ishioka-san. I wouldn't want you to choke."
She only blinked owlishly at him and pointed to the table where the other snacks were staged. He understood what she wanted immediately. "Yes, yes, I will get one for myself too. Do you want another one?"
Kagami thought for only a second before nodding vigorously. "I'll make sure to get you one of the big ones that Onemine-san made." She thanked him before turning back to her sewing machine and finished attaching the shirt to the top. Only one more to go.
The girls had taken over the makeshift changing rooms in the back corner of their classroom. Osana, in their typical fashion, had forced Shouko into a short skirted maid outfit. She was heavily embarrassed, trying to tug the bottom of the skirt down, while begging Osana with her eyes to give her a dress with a long skirt.
From a chair off to the side, Kagami sighed at her friends antics. She reached for the long skirted maid outfit she specifically made for Shouko, and brought it over. Shouko deflated in relief, snatching the dress from her hands and running behind the curtain to change.
Unfortunately, with Shouko behind the curtain, there was no one else for Osana to focus on but Kagami. "Ishioka-san, where's your maid outfit? I want to see how you look in it."
Kagami held up the suit she had made for herself in the plastic protector sheet. "I'm not wearing that monstrosity." Osana pouted as Kagami disappeared behind another curtain to change.
Kagami quickly got changed into her suit and gave herself a once over. As she bent over to tie her shoes, her hair fell over her shoulder and into her eyes. Standing back up, she pursed her lips as she thought. Ponytail? Bun? Braid? ...Braid. Now that she had come to a decision, she quickly began splitting her hair into sections and twisting them together. With one more look over, she nodded once in approval, steeled herself for the hell that was to come, and pulled the curtain to the side.
Osana had not dropped their pout for a second, and continued to follow her around with it until their cafe opened and they were forced to be cheery and friendly for the customers.
They had flooded in, filling up every single one of their tables, leaving everyone who wasn't fast enough to form a line. Kagami and the rest of the males had lined up and greeted them with a smile and a deep bow. Kagami, of course, had only mouthed the words, but it wasn't like anyone else would be able to tell.
Osana had happily led in a middle aged man with short black hair who was looking everyone and everything over. She made a note to keep an eye on him, especially as he began to ogle her female classmates. Creep.
Osana, in typical fashion, forced Shouko into helping them serve the man. Kagami prepared to whisk her friend away if needed, but found that she had it completely under control.
She had frozen in fear, but as it had with everyone else who didn't understand her, it only served to make the man afraid of her as well. No longer was he staring at the maids, he focused only on the omelet he ordered, eating quickly, and leaving.
A hand waved in her face and she looked up to a girl who had her pink hair up in pigtails. Her expression was one of concern, but Kagami was more focused on where she knew the girl from. She's really cute. I would think that I'd remember her better.
The girl fidgeted under her scrutiny, and scratched the back of her head, causing something to click in the back of Kagami's brain. Her mouth parted in shock and realization. "Tadano-kun?"
"Yeah. Najimi strikes again." Kagami hid a giggle behind her hand, but Tadano saw it clearly and pouted. "It's not funny. This dress is really uncomfortable."
"I can imagine." She looked him up and down, missing the blush that was rapidly spreading across his face. "Come on, I'll get you your suit to change into. Then we can burn the dress so Osana-san doesn't try to force you back into it."
She led him over to the changing rooms, leaving him to stand around awkwardly and watch as she shuffled through the outfits left on the rack. She had made costumes for everyone in the class, but not everyone was set in customer service, and did not actually require one.
She turned around with a plastic bag, containing the suit she had made for him. She shoved it into his hands and pushed him behind the curtain to change.
Tadano was quick to step out of the dress and into the suit. He admired the stitching on it. Ishioka-san is really good at sewing. And that's exactly what he told her when he pushed the curtain to the side.
The second he had stepped into her line of sight, she flushed right down to the roots of her hair. His school uniform was one thing, but this was a whole different look. He looked... really good. And his compliment on her sewing skills only darkened the blush.
"Tadano-kun, you look... really nice. Not that you didn't look nice before, in the maid outfit, because you looked really cute in that too-" She cut herself off before she passed out from nerves.
Tadano's brain was short circuiting. She had just complimented his appearance. No one had ever done that before. She even complimented how I looked in the maid outfit.
Before he could say anything back, Osana pounced onto Kagami's back with a blur of black and white fabric. Oh no. They forced Kagami behind the curtain, where Tadano could only hear the thumps and crashes of the pair struggling.
He had considered going in to try and help Kagami, but paused with his hand inches from the curtain. What if Najimi is winning? That would mean that Kagami isn't fully dressed. He cut his thoughts off before it could get dirty. She's your friend, don't think about that. But... what would she look like in a maid outfit? Images flooded his brain before he could stop them.
The black and white of the dress would emphasize her slim waist and curves, the headpiece pulling back her thick curls back to show off the sharp delicate features of her face and her gray eyes.
All of that went out the window as the curtain was pulled sharply to the side and Osana pushed Kagami out, sending her crashing right into him. She steadied herself with her hands on his shoulders and chest, and he had attempted to keep her from falling by grabbing her around the waist.
While Tadano freaked out about how close she was to him, how he could smell her shampoo and body wash, and feel how small and delicate she was in comparison to him. She was busy sending Osana the most lethal glare she could muster.
And it was nothing less than incredibly lethal. Osana's entire body turned white, and they booked it for the cafe where Kagami wouldn't be able to follow through with murdering them.
Kagami had followed Osana with her head, turning to follow them out the curtain, but was faced with a chest that she followed up to lock eyes with Tadano. He still had his hands on her hips, and now she was hyper aware of the feeling. Her mouth went dry, and her eyes were wide. Neither of them could do anything but stare at the other.
Tadano, despite being average height, still towered over Kagami. Both of them were frozen in place, eyes locked together. In his head, Tadano was screaming at himself to let go and put space between them, but his heart wanted nothing more than to keep her exactly where she was- wait... what?
Kagami on the other hand, knew that she wanted nothing more than to pull him down to her height and- No. You can't do that to Shouko. Even still, she didn't pull away.
Tadano's body jolted, and he took several steps back. From there, Kagami was able to see why- Osana had barged back into the room to see if Kagami had calmed down. She had not. And now, she was eyeing them like a hungry animal ready to kill. Which she was. Kagami lunged at them, chasing them out of the cafe themed classroom and down the halls.
Tadano could do nothing but stare after them, drinking in how she looked in a maid outfit. There was absolutely nothing he could do to stop the blush that took over his face and ears at the sight.
Somewhere along the way, Kagami had lost sight of Osana, so now, she was leaning against the wall checking her social media. Osana had posted a picture of Tadano dressed as a maid on their account. It was captioned:
@yourchildhoodfriend So dedicated to the Maid Cafe Itan that he became one of the girls!
Kagami shook her head and began typing out her response, fingers tapping rapidly across the screen.
@icanthearyou You forced him into that and you know it @yourchildhoodfriend.
@yourchildhoodfriend Did not! Even if I did, he looked really cute, don't you think @icanthearyou?
@icanthearyou Yes, he did, but don't change the subject onion head @yourchildhoodfriend
@ItsHitomi You really are like that big bro. See @TadanoJeanne?
@TadanoJeanne You're right @ItsHitomi
There were several more responses from people that only Osana knew, but none of that mattered when she received a text from Hitomi.
>>From Tadano, Hitomi<<
You liiiiiiiiiiikkkkkkkkeeeeee himmmmmmmm!!
Above the text was a screenshot of her defensive message to Osana.
>>To Tadano, Hitomi<<
Shut up.
>>From Tadano, Hitomi<<
;)
Kagami rubbed her forehead and turned off her phone. She could feel a headache forming. Food. I need food. She glanced out the window and spotted several concession stands selling snacks. Bingo.