“We’re too late.” Satsuki forced the words out of her mouth. Her brows furrowed. She refused to give up, not after all those years she had dedicated to this day. It would not be in vain. Ragyo had just taken off into space to follow through with her plan to let Life Fibers take over the world. It was over. A depressing silence fell upon all Honnouji students. Some gazed at their feet, others gazed at their friends and classmates. All for what they determined would be the last time.” “I’ll go” Now everyone was looking up at Ryuuko, shocked by her proposal. Silence. Satsuki looked at Ryuuko and knew there was no time to calculate another plan. Mako stared at Ryuuko, her fist clenched and her jaw tight. “You heard me, I’ll go.” Ryuuko finalized the plan. Mako felt her knees shake and buckle, her palms began to sweat; there was a lump in her throat, and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears.

‘I don’t want you to go, it’s dangerous. Please stay, Ryuuko-chan. I don’t know what I would do if you didn’t come back.’ Those words never made it out of her mouth. She couldn’t tell if the words weren’t able to pass through her heart lodged in her throat, or if the her words escaped, only to hit the dense wall of fear and anxiety that surrounded everyone. ‘No.’ Mako scolded herself, ‘I can’t doubt her for even a minute. She’ll make it back, I’ll make sure she does.’ Suddenly confidence washed over the brunette, and she jumped in front of Ryuuko.

“Let’s go on a date, Ryuuko-chan!” Mako didn’t care that everyone was watching, because right now it was just her and Ryuuko. It was all or nothing.

“Huh?” Ryuuko tilted her head, confused by the suddenness of Mako’s confession. The brunette judged it was her turn to repeat herself. “Let’s go on a date once you’re back!” Smooch! “Let’s dress up in cute clothes, put on some cute accessories, go shopping, and eat ice cream in a world where girls are free to dress up in the clothes they like! I’m sure you’ll create a world like that!” Smooch! Another few moments of silence. “Gotcha” Ryuuko smiled, and every fear Mako had was gone. Quickly, everyone gave Ryuuko their Goku uniforms, and Mako watched as she took off. Even when Ryuuko was out of sight, Mako’s gaze did not falter.

“Mankanshoku” Satsuki emerged next to Mako, looking down at the short girl who waited with the loyalty of a dog for their owner to come back home.

“Yea, Satsuki-sama?”

“Are you worried about Ryuuko?” There was a pause. “Nope, not at all,” From the corner of her eyes, Mako saw Satsuki raise a brow in confusion, and went on the clarify, “Ryuuko-chan wouldn’t break a promise.”

The gentle and rhythmic pitter-patter of the rain lulled the usual morning nerves of Honnouji. Students and business persons took cover under whatever they had—umbrellas, canopies, jackets—as they wandered the streets for a bite to eat. Inside the quaint little coffee shop, a girl standing around 5’2 took the orders of those wanting a warm drink and shelter from the rain.

She had dark blue, almost black hair, with two red streaks, held in a high ponytail to avoid hair in whatever she prepared. Her striking blue eyes locked with whoever stood before her as she took their orders. She donned the Honnoutea uniform, which consisted of a wine red dress shirt tucked into black trousers held up by a belt. The sleeves were rolled up to her elbow, and she also wore a black tie and a black apron. On the apron on the right side of her chest was a name tag spelling the name "Ryuuko". She gave a toothy grin with a cheerful “Have a nice day!” to every leaving customer, and greeted any new customer with a “Welcome to Honnoutea! I’m Ryuuko! How may I help you?”

To Ryuuko, working at a coffee shop was alright. It wasn't too great, but it wasn’t too bad either. Customer service sucked ass, but she got paid well and got a good deal on various pastries and accompanying drinks. And at the end of the day, she was making money for college and that's what mattered most.  

Ryuuko felt the edges of the counter press into her stomach as she leaned over to hear the customer's order. It was hard to hear over the noisy chatter and jazz music that filled the coffee house. She forced a smile onto her face, despite the customer’s rude and evasive behavior. Ryuuko towered over the customer who could barely see over the counter. He was as short as a 3rd grader, but his rugged look and bald head had Ryuuko convinced that he was much older than his height suggested. ‘He looks like a giant baby. A big bratty one at that’ Ryuuko noted, and she would have laughed if she could afford losing her job.

"One tall hazelnut coffee for Fukuroda?" Ryuuko repeated to clarify the order. The customer didn't bother saying anything, and nodded instead. "Right, that'll be $2.45 sir." He handed her 3 dollars and she put it into the cash register, pulling out his change. "There ya go. Your change is 55 cents. Have a nice day." The man grunted in reply and went to the pick up station to wait for his drink. The pattern repeated, and once in a while a 'Clink!' would lightly echo as a customer put their change in the tip jar.

A good 10 minutes rolled on by when a tall man with black hair strode into the shop. He was dressed in similar attire to Ryuuko, but instead he opted for a black-and-yellow striped tie. He waved to Ryuuko, who returned the gesture by nodding in his direction as he went into the employees' room. A few minutes after, he came out with a black apron with the coffee shop logo imprinted on the chest and walked up to Ryuuko.

"Oy, Senketsu. Just on time, as always." Ryuuko said over her shoulder as she handed change to the current customer.

"I'm only on time because if I'm late in taking over your shift, I'll have hell to pay." He joked. "Though it doesn't matter too much since Tsumugu called in sick. You can take a 20 minute break, and that's about it."

"Gotcha." Ryuuko replied. She switched places with Senketsu and took off her apron so no one would bug her while she was on her break. She walked away from the station, and outside under the canopy. She checked her phone in case something came up. She had gotten a few texts from her sister and roommate, Satsuki, asking about groceries and dinner plans; a few emails telling her to check her social media; and even a few emails from colleges begging her to attend and give them all her money. That was about it. After replying to her texts and deleting spam emails, Ryuuko opened the coffee shop door. She felt the last 15 minutes of her break would be better spent in the warm and quiet employees' room.

"Wait! Please wait!" a strained, wheezy voice called out. Ryuuko let the door go and turned around to see a short girl drenched in water slip and catch her footing under the canopy. She put her hands on her knees and started trying to catch her breath. There was a good 30 seconds of silence where Ryuuko just stared at her. She was covered head to toe in water, and Ryuuko start droplets of water fall from the brown bangs that covered this girl’s face. Only when the other girl regained her composure and looked up did Ryuuko get a good look at her.

She had short light brown hair that was now sticking to her face and big brown eyes. She wore a white cardigan over a v-neck pink shirt, and light blue jeans. ‘Crap! She’s super cute!” Ryuuko stood there for a minute, before shaking her head. ‘Jus’ help her out already, Ryuuko. God, you must look like a total creep just standin' there and starin'!’

"Yo, you must be freezing your ass off!" Ryuuko exclaimed. The girl laughed a bit and nodded. Ryuuko walked a bit closer to her, her hands hanging in the air around the girl as if Ryuuko wanted to force the girl inside the warm coffee house, but feared getting wet. "What's the deal? Did'ja not know it was gonna rain today or somethin’?"

"I visited my parents the other day and ended up spending the night. This is what I wore yesterday." Ryuuko raised an eyebrow and the other caught herself, "My mom washed it before I went to bed and I showered. Trust me, I don't stink!" The brunette suddenly closed the distance between her and Ryuuko and raised her wrists in Ryuuko’s face, as if expecting Ryuuko to take a whiff and judge that she didn't stink. Ryuuko made a quiet 'I see' under her breath, but let the girl continue. "Anyway, I saw it was gonna rain and decided to run home before it happened, but I guess you can’t outrun mother nature, huh?"

"No kiddin'. So you came here to warm up with a drink and hide from the rain?" The brown haired girl nodded. "Oh, so uh, let's get you inside then. I'm actually on break right now, but maybe I can pull a few strings and get you a drink right away." Ryuuko opened the door and the other followed. "By that I mean 'Welcome, I'm Ryuuko. What d'ya want and who's it for'." The cheesy impersonation Ryuuko did of herself when she worked earned a laugh from the other girl.

"I'm Mako. I'll have a grande hot chocolate with whip cream, please. Ooooh, and some chocolate drizzle!" Mako answered, “Mmmm, that’ll hit the spot!" Ryuuko led her past the long line and found her a seat close to where she would work her magic to get the girl a hot chocolate.

"Wait here." Ryuuko said, but Mako tugged on her shirt. She turned around and looked at Mako, raising an eyebrow. Mako handed her a 10-dollar bill and gave her a smile.

"Don't forget your money. Keep the change." Ryuuko stared at her, dumbfounded. 'Shit! That's a super generous tip. Must be loaded or some kinda angel!' She nodded and flashed her a smile in return.

"Gotcha. I'll be right back. I should have a jacket in the back I can let ya borrow t' warm up." Ryuuko did a little jog behind the counter and began prepping a hot chocolate. She avoided eye contact with Senketsu, who looked at her with a sly smile plastered on his face as he prepared another order. Ryuuko knew Senketsu would give her shit for what she was doing. He only spoke up when Ryuuko finally put the lid on the drink and was about to deliver the order.

"You're trying real hard to impress someone you just met, Ryuuko. Any reason why?" He smirked. Ryuuko froze and gave him a small nervous laugh.

"The girl was soakin' wet. Totally not prepared for this weather. What's the harm in makin' sure she doesn't catch a cold? It's just bein', uh, customer friendly. We wanna make sure Honnoutea gets good yelp reviews, don’t we?"

Her response earned a forced chuckle and an eye roll from Senketsu.

"Ah, yes. You want to be real 'customer friendly' with her. Admit it, Ryuuko. We all know your gay, so there's no shame in that. You know, studies say that gay people can tell who else is gay by their smell. Care to share what your sense of smell and gaydar says about that girl over there." He teased, motioning to Mako with his head. Ryuuko tapped her foot, rather slammed it on the ground again and again. She didn't want to be interrogated.

"Just about as off as your assumption, Senketsu. Now I’m leavin’. I still got 10 minutes left of my break, and if you keep me here waitin’, I’m gonna end up givin’ Mako chocolate milk. That won’t warm her up, or give us good reviews either." She answered, before quickly walking to Mako's table where she put down her drink. Senketsu watched as Ryuuko scurried to the employees’ room and back in record time, her black-and-white jacket from high school now slung over her left shoulder. She ushered Mako to stand up, and Ryuuko helped Mako put on the jacket. Senketsu could tell that Ryuuko’s hands were a bit shaky. ‘Probably a little clammy too, she must be nervous around this girl.’ Senketsu thought. He was about to chuckle until he saw Mako turn around and hug Ryuuko, whose face flushed.

Ryuuko grabbed Mako’s arms and lowered them, then jogged over to the other side of the table so she could sit across from Mako. As Ryuuko pulled out her chair, her eyes made contact with Senketsu’s. Her mouth hung open, until her jaw clenched and she shot Senketsu the meanest look she could. Senketsu innocently shrugged, smiled to himself, and went back to work. Although Ryuuko made it obvious she didn't want to talk about it, he knew he would have to ask her later: