I came out of Ever After Boutique carrying an application and had to wait while Eijiro finished talking to a redhead with her hair pulled into a side pony tail and her shorter brunette friend with bangs that covered her eyes. He showed off his hardening quirk to them and they just fell more in love with how "manly" he is.
I listened to the sound of the ocean, only three blocks away, and took a deep breath of coastal air. Kyoto was off coastal air. Saitama was only ten minutes from our house, but the air tasted different here.
"Did you come to help me or to pick up girls?" After the way the lady behind the register looked at me, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be a future employee of Ever After Boutique. Perfectly fine with me. There were so many sequins reflecting the fluorescent lighting in that store, I was sure it would produce a massive headache after five minutes.
"I can do both at the same time," he assured me. "I'm talented like that."
The only reason I chose Saitama to look for a place of possible employment was because it had so many stores so close together and I wouldn't have to drive all around town picking up applications. And unlike the mall, hopefully nobody I knew would come around. It was near the beach, so mostly tourists or rich-types shopped here. The stores consisted mainly of local owners with local wares- lots of antique shops and vintage clothing stores. And although I liked the feel of the area, what I truly and sincerely hoped was that I wouldn't be able to find a job. Maybe that was why I stayed in my jeans and T-shirt, my hair pulled up into a ponytail, still wet from my shower.
"Never date a guy whose jeans don't cover his ankles," Eiji said, pointing to a guy twenty yards ahead. He shuddered.
"But he'd be able to walk through puddles and stuff without even getting his jeans wet. He's a planner."
I often wondered why my brothers insisted on making these lists for me. It wasn't like u had been waiting anxiously on the sidelines for the dating buzzer to sound.
He laughed then steered me to the right. "That looks like a good store." So far Eijis' employment suggestions had been influenced by whether there was a girl in the vicinity. This store just happened to have an outdoor where a girl and her little sister (maybe?) were throwing spare change into the water.
"Do you think there's two hundred and sixty-four dollars' worth of change in there?" I watched the coins ripple the surface. "I could just come here once a week and collect the money out of the fountains."
"Now you're thinking creatively," Eijiro said. "I could totally get behind that idea." Then he cleared his throat and spoke a little louder. "My sister"- he always made sure hot girls knew our relationship-"and I were just trying to guess how much money is in this fountain."
"A million dollars," the little girl with a horn on her head said.
"See, there you go," Eijiro said, looking at me. "Problem solved."
The periwinkle-haired girl in low-rise jeans playfully hit her sister's shoulder and batted her eyelashes at Eijiro with a giggle. Before I hurled, I stepped into the store behind her and looked around.
The store smelled like old people- like books and bread and perfume. It was full of...stuff-- mirrored boxes, colorful lamps, small dog statues. Did people buy small dog statues?
There was a girl. She had black hair tied up into a high ponytail. She stood arranging knickknacks on a shelf.
"Hi. Could I get an application?" I asked.
"Of course." She walked to the counter and pulled a paper from beneath it. "We're not really hiring right now, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?"
"Right."
She bit her lip. "There's a store two doors down. A little clothing store owner by a lady named Nemuri Kayama. You should try there. Tell her Momo Yaoyorozou sent you."
"Okay, thanks. I'm Y/N."
"Good to meet you."
I waved and walked out of the store.
"How'd it go?" Eijiro asked.
"Not hiring."
"Bummer. Well, I've already scored three phone numbers, so at least one of us is accomplishing something today."
"Thank you. Very motivating." I pointed up the way. "The girl told me to try some clothing store two doors this way, though."
We walked down the sidewalk and passed a doll store.
"Oh, you so need to go in there," Eiji said. I noticed the girl working inside was beautiful- of course. She had green hair that reached her hips and was tied in some sort of bow near the end.
Next time I went job hunting I was leaving my brother at home. He opened the door and a bell announced our arrival. When we stepped in, I realized this store was either on the verge of closing or on the verge of opening. Boxes lay open all over the floor and were being packed....unpacked?
"Oh," she said when she saw us. "Hi. Sorry, we're closed. Tokoyami must've left the door unlocked, kero." She handed us a card. "But if you're looking for a doll, that's our website. We're going mobile."
"Mobile?" Eijiro asked.
"As in trade shows, fairs." She continued putting newspaper into a box.
"You need some help packing up?" Eijiro asked.
I grabbed Eiji by the arm and yanked him out of the store.
"Did you see her eyes?" He put his hand over his heart and took a few staggering steps.
I rolled mine. "Last store," I said, pointing at the clothing store Momo must've been referring to. "Then I'm ready for food or something."
"I'll wait out here." When he said it, he gestured to a dancing studio next door. A girl who looked about our age, vines as hair, was inside, practicing in front of mirrors.
"I swear Eiji. You're such a guy."
I yanked open the door. The shop appeared free of any breathing person. It smelled like burning incense, but I couldn't find the source. There were a few headless mannequins wearing tiny dresses. Circular racks of clothes filled the middle of the store and more racks lined the walls. Along the back were large hutches housing small glass bottles. I couldn't tell if they were for sale or just on display. A floor lamp draped with a scarf stood unlit in the corner.
"Hello?" I called out. No answer. Just as I turned to leave, a woman that looked to be around her early 30s came out of the back room holding a coffee cup. Her brightly colored shirt looked straight out of India and her legs were clad in a wide-legged pair of dark jeans.
"Oh. Hello there." She set her cup down on the counter, put her palms together, and bowed.
"Okay, thanks."
She stepped forward and I could see that her feet were bare. "How can I serve you?"
Was this lady for real? I tried to remember the name of the store I was in. Crazy Lady Central? Had I accidentally walked into a spiritual healing or massage therapy store? The mannequins and racks of clothes would seem to indicate otherwise, but I was no fashion expert.
I held up the papers in my hand. "I just wanted to pick up an application. Um... Momo Yaoyorozou said you might be hiring.
"Did she now? I don't have applications. It's just me. This is my store."
"Okay. Well, thanks anyway." I started to leave.
"But," she said as I was almost out the door, "I asked for a sign today and here you are."
"A sign?" I glanced out the window, hoping Eiji would come in and save me. He was leaning against the glass next door staring inside dreamily. No help whatsoever.
"You want a job, right?"
Not really. "Yes."
"Well, I've been contemplating expanding, bringing in new business. And if Momo vouches for you, maybe you're just the girl I've been waiting for."
I didn't tell her that Momo had just met me. "I'm pretty sure I'm not the girl anyone has been waiting for. I have no experience, I've never used a register in my life. I really wouldn't be very good selling clothes either. I mean, look at me."
She did. She took in my faded UA High T-shirt (which is DEFINITELY not mine), my Target jeans, and my beat-up sneakers. "So you're looking for a job, but hoped you wouldn't find one? Let me guess. Parents forcing you to?"
"Yes. My dad."
"What's your name?"
"Y/N."
"Y/N, I'm Nemuri Kayama. I think I can give you the best deal in all of Kyoto. From six to eight on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then four hours Saturday mornings. So what is it? Eight hours a week? Your dad will be appeased and you'll hardly have to work at all."
I nodded slowly. That didn't sound too bad. Even if it meant working with Crazy Barefoot Lady.
She moved to a small metal tree by the register where earrings hung and straightened a pair, they looked up at me expectantly.
"What's that pay?" In other words, how many weeks was it going to take me to pay off those tickets and get done with this?"
"I can afford ten dollars an hour, so around a hundred and fifty dollars every two weeks, after taxes. But..."
Of course, there's a catch.
"You would need to wear something more presentable. If you don't have anything, I will front you a paycheck to buy a few outfits, but then you'll be working those first two weeks for your clothes."
Ugh. Stupid clothes. I looked at the mannequins, who were showing more leg than I cared to see. "I don't do dresses."
"Of course not. I wouldn't put you in a dress like that anyway. It's all wrong for your aura."
My aura? I didn't know my aura had an opinion on dresses.
"What's today?" She asked.
"Wednesday."
"Okay, why don't you come in tomorrow before your shift starts and you can fill out some paperwork? Don't forget to bring your driver's license... You are sixteen, right?"
"Yes."
"Good. Then after that, I'll help you pick out a few things that would suit you."
Tomorrow. I'll have to start work tomorrow. "Okay."
She smiled, took a deep breath, then bowed again. "This feels right."
I nodded and backed my way out of the store. Was this what "right" felt like?
"How'd it go?" Eijiro asked.
"I got a job."
"Really?" He looked up at the name of the store. "Nemuri's Bazaar."
"Yeah."
"And was it bizarre?" He wiggled his fingers.
"You have no idea."
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
(A/N: As you can probably tell, some characters might not have anything to do with what they are in the show. Like Midnight is not a pro hero and doesn't wear revealing clothes. How your father is Aizawa but he's a cop. And the boys who are your brothers and Bakugou, play sports instead of training to be a pro hero. So basically there's nothing related to pro heroes and stuff like that in this book.
Also for extra clarification on Eijiro, Sero, and Denki being your siblings...all four of you are obviously adopted by Aizawa when you all were really little. Cause obviously all four of you don't look the same and don't have the same features as Aizawa. None of you knew your actual parents since you were all left very young (each being adopted around the age of just 4 months old), so you love Aizawa as if he was your real dad since he was always there for you and cared for you as a real dad would.
So the story has NOTHING really to do with the show/manga. So no heroes, no UA (well yes but you don't attend and it's not a pro hero school), no villains, etc. Also for those who don't know Nemuri Kayama is Midnight. Hope y'all are enjoying it though! :))