Two Side Meets (Kazuki POV)

The atmosphere in the restaurant is electric, the tension from the last moments spilling over as we all gather around the dining booth. Taro, who seems to be taking on the role of mediator— instigator— or maybe he's ref as we sit in the middle of the dining area, Koemi and I sit on one side, her friends on the other. This space between us feels like a battlefield. 

Her friends are clearly showing that they are not backing down as they lean forward, their arms cross. I could feel the heat of their glares directed straight at Taro. The air is thick with suspicion and barely show any hostility. But with each side sizing each other. I could see this we'rent going to resolve anything unless someone took control of the situation. As I take the biggest breath I took for today, I decide to step up. 

"Alright, before we can go any further," I said, my voice cutting through the silence, "Why not we take a moment to introduce ourselves properly?"

"I feel we barely know each other, so I think that's part of the problem."

Koemi's friends exchange glances, making sure each other decides on the app. Taro, leans back in his seat with a smirk, curious to see how this would unfold.

And let's not forget about Tetsu, who has been lying quietly on the table between us all, letting out a small yawn, stretching his tiny legs.

I started with myself, since everyone is scare to start. "I'm Kazuki Nakamura," I said, glancing around the table. "I'm a third year at Fujiyama High School, and I've been working for her since she reopened this restaurant." 

"Taro here" I begin nodding to signal him. "Is a good friend of mine. He's been my training buddy since we first met." 

Koemi is next, she sat up a little straighter, as she still onto Tetsu, making sure he doesn't sleep. "Hi, I'm Koemi Watanabe," She said, sounding nervous "I'm also a third year, and I'm also an owner of this restaurant…" 

As Koemi signal her friends to start speaking. A girl on the far left became the first to speak. She has a short, bright pink hair and sparkling blue eyes. 

"I'm Ami," She tells us, her voice full of energy. "I'm really into DIY fashion. I actually made this bracelet!" 

She shows us your bracelet, we all looked at all, in awe as she wasn't kidding about being a DIY fashion maker. She really nailed it. 

Next to her is a long, dark hair tied into a sleek ponytail. "I'm Yumi," she said calmly. "I've got a bit of a green thumb. My room's basically a jungle at this point…" 

"Quite interesting…" I commented.

And lastly, the tallest of the three, with an athletic build and shoulder-length brown hair, spoke up. "I'm Saki!" She said with lots of confidences. "I'm the captain of our school's female basketball team." 

Taro impresses by Saki's confidence, he took it all in, and begin to introduce himself to us. "Taro Kinoshita," he said simply, giving her a nod. "Me and Kazuki go way back. But outside of me pushing him to his limit, I'm more a car enthusiast." 

As Taro finish, Tetsu let out a small yawn, giving his thoughts on this entire situation. The tension seems to calm down, but there's still certain that someone will interrupt that will bring the tension back up. But everyone is sitting, in silent, reevaluating everyone in this booth. 

I glance at Koemi. She looks nervous, biting her lips as if she's struggling with something. I realize now is the time to come clean— maybe it'll help ease some of the tension. 

I clear my throat, catching everyone's attention. "Listen, I'm done with this," I start, my anxiety gnawing at me. 

"I'm living in Koemi's apartment," I shout, "as she felt bad that I'm now homeless."

"We're nothing but just two co-workers…"

"Yeah, we're just working together for Grandpa," She adds. "That's it! We're just co-workers. Nothing more!" 

Koemi's friends immediately begin to murmur along themselves, their faces a mixture of confusion and concern. Ami is the first to speak, sounding concern. "Him living with you? That's kinda—"

"I swear, it's not like that." I say quickly, but Saki cuts me off, sounding skeptical. 

"So you're saying there's nothing going on between you two? Because it sure doesn't look that way…" 

Taro, who been silent, suddenly speaking up for me. "Woah, if they're saying that they nothing but just co-workers. No need to start accusing them of something!" 

"But isn't that a little bit weird?" Yumi chimes in, sounding angry. "Two high school students, barely knew each other, randomly working and living together… That's bound to cause questions!" 

This quickly spirals into an argument, with Taro and her friends going back and forth, each side trying to out-argue the other. Taro is defending me believing that there's nothing wrong as he brings up my current states, while Koemi's friends continue to express their doubts and concerns. The air grows thick and tension, and I can see Koemi shrinking back in her seat, already feeling overwhelm by the confrontation.

As the pressure continue to build up, I finally couldn't take it anymore. I stand up, slamming my hands on the table, startling everyone into silence.

"Enough!" I shout, my voice echoing through the restaurant. The force of my words shocks everyone, I look around the table. "We're all friends here, right? Then why are we arguing like this?" 

No one speaks for a moment, as I take a deep breath, trying to clam myself down. "Both of us are trying to make the best out of this difficult situation. We're not doing anything wrong. If you're really our friends, wouldn't you feel remorse?" 

There's a heavy silence from my outburst. Seeing everyone process what I said, their expressions softening as the tension slowly dissipates. Koemi gives me a smile, as I sit back down, watching everyone think about what they said to each other.

As the awkward silence continues. Tetsu yawns loudly, stretching his little paws as if the whole situation is too dull for his own liking. I couldn't help but notice how everyone seem lost in their thoughts. Koemi's friends exchange a few glances to each other. Meanwhile, Taro seems to be looking up the ceiling, probably processing everything that was said from the beginning of our interaction to now. 

As the silence is continuing to stretch on too long, Koemi broke it with a teasing grin. "Kazuki," she said, sounding playful, "Why exactly are you shirtless?" Her question caught me off guard, and I could feel my face heat up in embarrassment. 

Taro, sensing me, decide to jump in. "You know what?" His grin widening, "Kazuki doesn't have to be the only one showing it off." With that, he ripped off his own shirt, revealing his well-toned muscles. 

"I know the ladies love these, huh!" 

Her friends, got caught off guard by the tension just moments ago, embarrassed. Begin to burst into laughter. Even Koemi couldn't hold back her giggles. I groan inwardly but joining in the laughs by laughing at myself and Taro too. 

"What you think?" he asks, turning to Koemi's friends. "Maybe me and Kazuki should start a fitness program, don't you think?"

Koemi rolls her eyes, getting out her last laughs. "Alright, you two are ridiculous," she said. "I guess that silent is over now!" 

"But on a real note…" Taro tells us, becoming serious to stop the laughter. 

"I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions earlier." 

"I was just worried about Kazuki, but maybe I got a bit overprotective for my bro…" 

Yumi, representing for Koemi's group, nods in agreement. "Yeah, we might be too quick to judge…"

"We also wanted to make sure Koemi is meeting with the right person, but I guess this person isn't that malicious as we originally thought he is…" 

I shook my head, feeling guilty. "No, I should've been more upfront about everything. I've been too close with Koemi without realizing how it might affect me too…" 

Before I continue to blame myself, Koemi reaches over and tap my shoulder lightly. "Hey, stop beating yourself up." 

"All of us could've handled things better. This isn't all about you." 

We all agreed, nodding to each other. But Taro doesn't want to turn this conversation into another deep conversation like earlier. As he continues looking up, he asks Koemi. "Does that TV still work?"

"Yeah why?" Koemi curiously ask him. 

"I'm thinking… I have a karaoke box on my car. Why not I bring it out, and we can resolve it through Karaoke?" Taro answers.

Everyone on the table, begin to nod, while I slowly nod. The idea of singing in front of everyone is daunting, but the atmosphere is so lively that I can't help but be drawn into it. As Taro heads out to fetch the karaoke box, I wonder if I can really do it, but the atmosphere is rather calmly that I can't help but glad for a moment. 

While Koemi and her friends start discussing choices and order of performances, I saw Yumi staring at me. There's something about her that made me feel a bit of unease, leaving me with a sense of anticipation, wondering what she wants from me. 

As Taro returns with the karaoke equipment, setting it up with a flourish, the restaurant transforms from a tension to lively fun, something fitting to end off the day. 

Koemi turns to me, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "So, are you ready?" 

I force a smile, trying to mask my nerves. "I'll wait…"

I decide to wait it out, as Taro is the first person to take the stage. He is very excited to do this, while I'm not. While he is selecting his song, I can feel everyone except Yumi feeling good. As I stand there, I see Yumi continuing to stare at me, making me feel uncomfortable.