Tradition's End (A Touhou Project Fanfiction)

Did We Take The Time to Really Discover?

Sekibanki was... not used to having idle time at her job.

On a typical day, there was always the morning rush, a time when Tradition's End was at its busiest. Her and Eric really did have to get a move on in order to keep the coffee and pastries flowing.

After that was over, there were still several customers who would end up trickling in and lingering until the early afternoon. While not as tiresome as the morning, it was still necessary to ensure they were well taken care of.

Absent that, there was always, always something to do or clean.

However, today, as noon crept up on them, the last customer in the store had left. With the cafe empty and the only tasks left to do being the ones typically reserved for after closing, there was a sudden glut of free time.

Eric could have decided to close up the cafe, but it was 'a bit too early for that' and he wanted to 'wait and see if there were any stragglers.'

Not that Sekibanki minded. She was getting paid to be there anyway, so it really didn't matter that there was nothing to do.

They took the opportunity to prepare everything that they'd need for closing the store, but that only took so long.

So, they passed the remaining time with conversation.

Eric leaned over the cafe counter while Sekibanki settled herself into one of the booth seats.

It had started out with a couple of comments about the day and inconsequential pieces of gossip. Then...

"Glad you're back to full, boss. Really looked like you were struggling for a while there."

And she was glad. A healthy boss meant a steady income, and she had her own little house to pay for.

That was one of the downsides of living within the village walls. Everybody, human or not, had to pay in order to keep a roof over their heads.

In a way, Sekibanki envied her friends, the majority of which lived outside of the Human Village. Sure, it was more chaotic out there, but it wasn't like they had to pay rent.

"Gods, it feels good to be back. It's the most inconvenient thing to have to put weight on a busted leg everyday." The relief in his voice was palpable.

"Can't relate. I'm-" Sekibanki cut herself off, turning her body and craning her non-existent neck to double check that there were no patrons in the cafe.

After a moment of confirmation, she turned back forwards, head rotating slower than her body in a way that did not look natural. It was a good thing that they were alone.

"I'm a youkai, so..."

Eric sighed. "Yeah, I get it. Youkai shrug off injuries and heal really fast. I've heard it from Alice a few times now."

"At least you're not stumbling around back there anymore, about to drop all the plates."

He snorted slightly. "At least now I can start going to Alice's again without exhausting myself. I get the feeling she didn't exactly like the fact that I flew out there while I was still hobbling around."

Sekibanki paused at that.

It... was probably pretty weird to ask about her boss's personal life, but she couldn't help but be curious.

"You talk about this Alice person a lot." It wasn't so much of a question as it was a statement of fact.

Eric rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah, I guess I do, don't I?"