Running After You

Chapter 18: Kiddy Cafe

Youta may not have any specific plans going into today. However what he ended up doing was far from his mind as possible outcome as he walked along with Mitora and Fuwaka to the Hanmon cafe. It really was an establishment meant for children and those still into the game franchise. Admittedly there were still many in the latter camp, just that this didn't serve as his idea of where high schoolers would randomly go to for a hang out spot.

"Wow this place is still as busy as it used to be." Mitora proclaimed as they approached the building. There had been a large crowd with many standing outside. Fortunately in anticipation for such high demand, the cafe did have plenty of available space outdoor for people to enjoy. "Remember how we used to run around here?"

"Yeah." Her attempt to reminisce on their past memories brought back one more embarrassing for him. "I remember you tried stealing one of the statues because you thought it was a real hanmon." They had gotten into their role-playing a bit too hard that day to the extent of getting in trouble and having their parents scold them for it.

"That's the game's fault for making a statue hanmon." She defended herself, not even attempting to pretend she hadn't been fooled as Fuwaka was here to hear all this. "Besides, I bet everyone wishes these cute guys were real. Wouldn't it be amazing?"

"I don't know about that." Fuwaka commented as she took a look at some of the statues scattered about of the various creatures. Obviously as one who did not grow up a fan, she didn't view them the same way as others. "Some of them look pretty dangerous." There were some that had flames shooting out, then there ones made of acid, and a few others that looked strong enough to beat up a fully grown man.

"But that stuff's cool and besides some of them are pretty cute too."

"I guess." She replied unimpressed as she moved along the line. "It's just a bit too fluffy for me and..." Fuwaka stopped what she was saying and gasped. "No way, they have a hanmon like this?" She pointed to one which was one of the more filler monsters which based its appearance on that of a seagull.

"Uh, yeah?" He answered confused as to what got her fixated on this one specifically.

"This is amazing. I want to sit here." As it turned out, there was indeed a hanmon she liked. One that Youta would've figured had no fans. But as the old saying went, every hanmon was at least one person's favorite.

So the trio decided to sit there as no one else had claimed the spot and it wasn't as if Mitora or Youta had any issues with it. Though the latter did have issues with the whole thing as is. They sat across from the swimmer and looked through the various menu items. This was a popular destination, so spending a lot of time here was out of the question with seating only lasting for just half an hour.

Because of this, service was lightning quick as they ordered their food and got it less than two minutes later. Youta stared at his entree which was a special mac n' cheese bowl designed with the face of the franchise's mascot. He sighed as he took a spoonful and ate it. Despite his reservations about going here, at least the food's quality was still top notch.

Mitora also greatly enjoyed her meal, which was spaghetti colored purple to imitate that of another hanmon. Meanwhile Fuwaka was too focused on the statue in front of her to properly eat her food.

"Do you think they sell a charm of this, or something?" She asked as they all sat around the table.

"I haven't seen it, but it would probably be in the vending machines in the front of the restaurant." He answered. It had been ages since the last time he came. So he wasn't entirely certain on what they stocked, but if they featured this openly then they probably had merch for it.

"Be right back!" Right as he finished his sentence, Fuwaka got up from her seat and immediately rushed through the crowd, disappearing into the building. This left the other two alone, giving him the confidence to be a little more honest about the situation.

"While I guess this was alright because Fuwaka liked it. Can you suggest something a little more... Mature than this?"

"What's wrong with here?" She asked, impolitely slurping up her noodles as they talked. "You used to love going here."

"Yeah, used to." He responded. "But there's plenty of other things I'm interested in going to. Maybe this is my fault, since we haven't spent that much time together since getting into high school. But I'm not the same person I was back then."

"You really aren't, huh?" She took a sad bite of her spaghetti now. "But this place is still fun now. Look at how happy everyone else is."

"It's mostly kids though." He said, scanning the room to see how most of the fun and games were. "Also a ton of people dressed up as the hanmon to give some entertainment. I bet they'll even have one..." As the boy turned his head, he found himself face-to-face with a tall, slender creature that had no face. "Ahh!" Unsurprisingly this spooked him as Youta hastily tried to move away, but Mitora blocked his path so he ended up holding her tightly.

He stayed still, breathing heavily as the boy finally remembered one important fact. "Oh wait a second, this is just that hanmon they made based on that internet horror story. Kind of weird to do that for a children's game though." He said, turning his head back to address Mitora.

This was when he realized his actions. Now the pair were intertwined with his arms hugging her body. His chest pressing up and squeezing her breasts together. Their faces just a mere inch apart as their eyes locked with her shocked speechless. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" He quickly undid their bond and scooted as far from her as was possible from his chair.

"You grabbed me so quickly..." She barely was able to utter a complete sentence as her eyes stared out into space as if in a trance.

"It was, uh, because I was trying to protect you." He came up with an excuse so that he wouldn't appear so cowardly. "I guess you run faster than me though, so maybe I'd just hold you back."

"You... Grabbed me." She repeated again, crossing her arms over her chest. But this was meant as a means to think about how her body pressed against his, thinking of if he noticed one of their differences. Hoping he at least noticed something because if anything, not noticing would've been worse.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to scare Mr. Morikawa." The person dressed as the creature said.

"It's no problem." He said as if nothing was special about their conversation. Then the boy thought for a second on the strangest part yet. "Mitora how does this thing know my name?" She didn't reply as the girl was still shell-shocked from the experience.

"I wish I could take off the mask, but it's a weird body suit." The person, who sounded like a girl from her voice, said. "It's me, Takame."

"Takame?" He thought for a moment on the voice and then considered the tall height of the figure. Even without seeing her body shape or any identifying marks, it became clear to him there could only be one person standing before him. "Oh it is you. What are you doing here?"

"Ugh, it's a long story." She hung her head down as the only body language she could present to him. According to her, her father was good friends with the local owner of this cafe. They needed some extra help for the weekend to keep up with the big event. So he suggested she take the job.

Takame agreed, but this had been turning out to be one of the worst things she had ever done in her life. Aside from being forced to wear this outfit because it was the only one which would fit her. The children had ignored her most of the time and she had been stuck awkwardly standing besides people waiting for them to react. It didn't help the rules stated she was not allowed to speak as her hanmon was known for being silent.

Ironic that it was also known for sneaking up on people. With her masterful skills of sorts, it turned out she was a perfect fit for the hanmon after all.

"That does sound pretty tough." He said after hearing her full explanation. It was at this point where Fuwaka returned with a bag full of merch of her now favorite hanmon.

"I'm back." She said with a smile, only for it to be wiped clean off when she saw Takame. "Whoa! That's freaky."

"Yeah..." He said, taking a look at Mitora who still seemed out of it. "I think I also broke Mitora. So maybe we should just all go home now."