Zero's POV
One by one, my friends entered Natalie’s coffee shop and sat at the various tables with chairs.
Some stayed outside because they didn’t want to go in and preferred to rest right in front of the shop since it would be too crowded and hot if they joined us inside.
From what I counted earlier, there were about 50 of us, so half of my group was inside, including Miyuki and some of Kizaki’s crew.
Kizaki, Miyuki, and I sat at the long table of Natalie, where I used to sit to eat her food.
“What happened to your faces?” Natalie immediately asked as we faced her after sitting down.
I quickly replied, “Exercise,” in a calm voice while smiling.
Suddenly, her left eyebrow raised, and she looked at us with suspicion, saying, “Really? Do you think I’ll believe your ‘exercise’ excuse? Is there any exercise that leaves your faces bruised and swollen? Huh?” Her long line came with an irritated tone.
I chuckled quietly at her reaction, clearly annoyed with us, and answered, “Just kidding, we just got into a fight.”
She then asked, “Why did you guys get into a fight? Did they do something bad to you?” with her arms crossed in front of us.
I replied, “Yes, they wanted to mess with us, so we didn’t back down.”
She nodded, slowly calming down, then leaned in close to my face and stared at me intently.
I quickly backed away from her and almost fell off my chair as she said, “You need to treat your wounds; they’ll leave marks.” She calmly said, turning her back to us and walking to a door by her kitchen.
I breathed a sigh of relief when she left my sight, and I heard Miyuki speak up on my left, prompting me to look over.
“Is she your girlfriend, Zero?” I was surprised by what she said, widening my eyes and quickly responding, “No,” while averting my gaze from her because she was already grinning.
Kizaki chimed in from my right, asking, “What is she to you?” I turned to him and gave him a serious look.
I answered, “Just a friend,” and didn’t look at the two again.
The two beside me fell silent while the rest of our group behind us chatted about various topics.
Suddenly, Natalie reappeared from the door she had gone through earlier, holding a red box.
She placed it in front of us and opened it for us to see inside; it contained cotton, Betadine, alcohol, and band-aids.
She approached me and said, “I’ll treat your wounds so they can heal quickly,” while looking into my eyes.
I nodded slowly, and she started to treat my wounds with the cotton and alcohol.
I heard Miyuki ask Natalie, “Is Zero your friend?” We both turned to look at her.
Natalie replied, “Yes, he’s my savior,” and she gave Miyuki a sweet smile, leaving her momentarily speechless.
Natalie returned to what she was doing, still smiling at me while I just stared at her normally.
Kizaki then spoke up, asking, “What do you mean by savior?” I turned my head to him and saw Natalie also looking at me.
Natalie blushed and slowly responded, “He just saved me from some bad people,” as she bowed her head in embarrassment.
The two beside me cleared their throats and smiled at what they had just heard.
Miyuki teased me, saying, “Savior, huh? I wish I was saved too,” while laughing, covering her mouth with her hand.
I was annoyed by her comment, so I looked at her and said, “Shut up, don’t tease Natalie.”
I turned to Natalie, who was now staring at me, and said with confidence, “Just continue what you were doing.”
She said, “Oh right, I’ll treat your face wounds.” We saw her slightly flustered as she forgot what she was doing.
Natalie continued to work on my face, applying Betadine after cleaning my wounds.
But I noticed from the corner of my eye that Miyuki seemed to have something planned due to her grin.
Suddenly, she spoke, “I wish I were being treated too.” I heard her chuckle softly.
Feeling embarrassed, I caught Natalie blushing, and she pressed the cotton harder against my wound, causing me some pain.
“Argh!” Natalie was startled by my reaction and pulled the cotton away, saying, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
Her voice was gentle as she looked into my eyes.
I replied, “It’s okay; it’s not your fault.” I turned to Miyuki and shot her a glare.
Seeing my reaction, she fell silent, which made Kizaki laugh.
A while later, Natalie finished treating my wounds and carefully applied band-aids to prevent flies from getting on them.
Natalie handed the supplies to Miyuki, who just looked at them and then back at Natalie.
Miyuki asked, looking sad, “Aren’t you going to treat me?”
Natalie raised her left eyebrow, saying, “You’re grown now; you don’t need my help.”
I noticed Miyuki bowing her head, staring at the first-aid kit in front of her, looking dejected.
Kizaki and I chuckled quietly at Miyuki’s expression.
Miyuki lifted her head and said, “Why did you treat Zero but not me?” pouting.
Natalie laughed, prompting us to look at her. She was now smiling at me and said, “Because he’s the one who needed help right now.”
I looked away and turned to Miyuki, who was smiling at me. I told her, “Hurry up; others need to use that too.”
She followed my advice and treated her facial wounds, handing the supplies to Kizaki, who accepted them without hesitation.
Natalie left and went back through the door she came from earlier, only to come out again with more boxes that she placed in front of us.
We noticed they were first-aid kits, and she instructed us to distribute them to our friends so they could treat their own wounds.
Miyuki helped me, and together we handed out Natalie’s supplies to our friends.
15 minutes later
After treating our wounds, Natalie invited us to eat first to regain our strength.
We didn’t refuse and agreed to her offer of feeding us.
She cooked the omelet with rice that I always eat, and the same for my friends.
She started cooking, and the aroma of her fried rice filled the entire shop, making it smell delicious.
She served us each of the dishes, and we began to eat since Miyuki said she was starving.
Our friends commented, such as:
“This is delicious.”
“Great cooking.”
“I’m sure I’ll be full from this.”
Others nodded and smiled at Natalie, who thanked them happily.
Before long, we finished eating and were ready to leave the shop.
But I turned to Natalie and said, “Thank you for the food and treatment you gave us,” smiling at her.
She replied, “It’s nothing, just a small thing I can do for you,” with a cheerful expression.
I nodded at her, turned away, and invited my friends to leave.
They expressed their gratitude for what they received, making Natalie even happier with us.
All of us were outside, including those who had stayed behind, ready to head home. But Natalie suddenly shouted,
“Zero!” We all turned to her, and I saw her standing outside her shop.
She spoke again, “Be careful out there!” looking directly at me while smiling.
I responded, “Yes, don’t worry; I’m with my friends.” I smiled back at her and turned away.
To be continued.....