Chapter 27: "You're crossing a minefield, the Sekigahara family are said to have ties with multiple yakuza."
Dangling by the side of the cliff with the tips of my fingers, I look down as the roaring tides slam against the sharp rocks.
If I fall, I'll be dead...!
And that's when I look up to see her... Alice. She gazes upon my pathetic being with a psychotic smirk.
"Alice! Help me!"
Getting on her knees, she grabs both my wrists and then leans forward to my ear.
"Long live the king..."
"Wait what?! Alice!"
Swiftly, she throws me off the cliff, plunging me to my doom.
"ALICE!"
As I fall to my death, the last thing I see is her gleeful smile which witnesses my death.
"YOU BIIIIIIIIIIIIII-"
UWAH!
My eyes spread open. I'm in my room...! It felt like I really fell. I may be lying down on the bed, but when I woke up, it's like I got smacked with an impact.
Gah, I don't know how to explain this...
Forcing myself on my ass, I rub my eyes and let out a yawn. It's so early in the morning that the sun's not even up. Regardless...
"Another day, another dime."
I throw my blanket off and get out of bed.
My weekends are busier than my weekdays. On Saturdays and Sundays, I've got work.
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As I awake from my slumber, I feel refreshed. What a nice dream I had... But I shouldn't indulge on it. It's not very... becoming of me. I look to my side to the alarm clock by my pillow. It's already eleven o'clock. The rays of sunlight shining through the window tell me as much.
But how comfortable it is, to stay under the covers with the air-conditioner up. I don't even want to get out of bed...!
This is exactly how I spent my weekends back home. Maybe I should sleep some more... I remember that time I slept for 48 hours non-stop. My maids ended up throwing water on me because they were scared I had contracted an unknown illness.
How unfortunate. I may have broken a world record had they never intervened. Perhaps I can try again today.
Slam!
"Arisu!"
My world record...
"Hehe...!" Narukami-san takes my blanket and yanks it away. "Get ready! We're going out today!"
I stare at her with drowsy eyes.
"Aww, it's already afternoon! You can't sleep so long! It's unhealthy!" She pokes me on the forehead gently. "I promised you that I'll show you around town, didn't I?"
I roll over, covering my face.
"Aww come on!" She starts shaking me. "It'll be fun! Trust me!"
...
I guess I should just follow her...
Someday, I will break that world record. But that day is not today.
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Taking a train, walking for a little while, within about half an hour, I've finally made it. The doors are still closed, but the prep cooking should be started around now.
Standing by the junction of a shopping district, we have Tenshi no Cafe (Cafe of Angels?), one of the many cosplay cafes in this city which has a name I forgot. They hire jailbait, make them put on stupid overdesigned outfits no human being would ever wear and then make them wait tables. The theme changes every week, so there's always some new crap to see.
I'm a guy, so they don't make me—
...
Must... repress... painful... memories...!
So, anyway, I'm a guy, so they don't make me cosplay here. There are times when they do some butler stuff, but I'm never called to arms for that kind of work. My face isn't... elegant enough to fit the image.
Not like I want to anyway.
My only job here is to cook. Stay behind the scenes, in the kitchen. The food you eat was cooked by these hands, so if you die of food poisoning, you know who to blame.
I don't exactly remember how I landed a job here but it's been a year or two since I was hired. The pay's okay, nothing spectacular, but I barely use any of it. I don't have anything I actually want to buy. It comes in handy for the times I need supplies or whenever I feel like eating out though.
Enough of these monologues...
I walk to the back of the restaurant, where the back door's already open. I can hear the sound of cutting going off, so I guess work's already started. As I peek inside...
"Yo! Reiji!" The silver-haired man salutes at me, knife running. "You're early, as always."
I roll my eyes as I enter.
Terumi Watase. He's the head chef here, and when he's behind the stove, he's a genuine pro. Social-wise, he's quite open and upbeat, though I wish he'd just shut up most of the time. He has the tendency to do some crazy—
"Catch!" He flings a knife at me.
"Holy shit!" I immediately catch it by the handle. "What the hell?! You could kill someone with that!"
He just laughs it off. "You've got good reflex, I know you'd catch it. Come on, stop moping about and get to work. We've got a long day ahead of us."
Gently, I put the knife on a table. "Let me get changed first." Taking off my jacket, I head for the changing room.
"YAHALLO!"
Son of a bitch! My footsteps quicken, my hands tug against the doorknob!
"Aha! Reiji-chan! You're here!"
My collar gets yanked and I'm pulled away from the door. I quickly slap the hand away and backstep to a wall.
"Don't touch me!"
Big emerald eyes gazing at me with a bright smile held from one cheek to the other, the girl's short pink (is that even natural?) hair is held aside with a heart-shaped clip. Her luscious body... Wait no, I don't want to describe that.
I'd be damned if I ever forget her. She appears in my worst nightmares. Brr!
Minori Chihara. At first glance, one would think something along the lines of:
"What a kind, energetic young lady!"
"She's a cutie-pie!"
"I feel like having her in my life will cure my endless despair!"
I had already matured enough to avoid such thoughts. Once bitten, twice shy. I wasn't going to fall for someone I just met. And that was when—
"Reiji-chan~! Who is this Arisu Sekigahara you've been getting along with?"
...
...
...
That.
She doesn't attend Gekkoukan.
A kind and energetic girl she is, but within a month, I found out the true reason she started working here. To facilitate her hobby.
Her hobby... of stalking people.
Hacking online accounts, recording phone calls, taking scandalous pictures... Minori's made a hobby of prying into people's private lives. She never explains why she enjoys it, but I don't think I want to know.
It's fortunate that I don't use the internet at all. My phone calls?
Bwahahahahaha!
Yeah, like I call anyone. And like anyone calls me.
That's why she seems so chummy with me. She can't really stalk me like how she stalks everyone else, so it's most probably a means of forcing her way into my life.
I know what you're up to, Minori, and I can't let you do that!
"Hey, don't just stand there~" She takes a step closer. "They're talking about how you two seem awfully close to each other. On the first day, the two of you were holding hands as you merrily skipped down the school hallways!"
That's not what happened!
"I even heard you beat up the entire Music Club because they didn't let her join."
That... should have happened.
"And that you are following her around like a lackey, joining her in whatever club she pleases. You're in the Counseling Club now, right? That's so not like you." She winks at me. "Is this love at first sight? Are you into the shy type? She cried during her introduction, you know? I never thought you liked those kinds of girls..."
"Minori, please cut it out." Terumi looks dazed as he watches us. "You're creeping me out."
"I'm sorry!" She sticks her tongue out. "I'm just so happy for Reiji-chan!" Slapping me on the shoulder, she continues. "He's such a grumpy widdle bear that needs a girl in his life! I find it so nice that he finally found someone!"
I groan. "It's not like that. There's absolutely nothing between us. She's just... someone I unfortunately cross paths with a lot."
"Then it's fate~!"
I want to throw up...
"I don't believe in fate or destiny. It's just plain coincidence, nothing more, nothing less."
"That's my Reiji-chan!" She starts poking me on the cheek. Repeatedly. "I'll wait a month or two for you to say the same thing again! Teehee! Ah, but do be careful." She crosses her arms. "I heard that a bunch of guys were fighting over her the other day. Like, punches and kicks. It looks like you're not the only one with an eye out for her. You must fight to win her love!"
Is that some sort of terrible joke?
"What kind of bullshit is that?" I raise an eyebrow. "That's hogwash. Why would anyone fight over her? She's not even that hot. A little cute, may—"
"Yowza!" Terumi's knife slams against the board hard. "Did you just acknowledge that a girl is cute? Reiji, that's the first time I heard you say that!" His eyes wander away as he reminisces. "Every time I ask you what you think of our co-workers in their outfits, you always say 'ugly', 'dumb' or 'only pedophiles like that'. Never 'cute'."
"The outfits are the ones I'm commenting on."
Snidely, he remarks, "So, you think the girls wearing them are cute?"
Son of a...
Minori moves between us, and taps her finger on her cheek. "Am I cute?" She then winks.
I grimace at her face. "No. You're creepy as all hell."
"Aww!" Sparkles appear in her eyes as she makes a catty smile. "Terumi-kun! He's in love!"
He's beaming at me, but it looks so demeaning... "I know right?!"
These two are pissing me off...!
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
"Three times in a row!" Terumi snaps his finger. "That's so tsunde—" He bit his tongue. "Tsundere!"
Minori joins in. "Tsundere!"
"Tsundere!"
"Tsundere!"
"SHUT UP!"
I get in the changing room and slam the door shut. Before they could bother me any further, I lock it up.
They're so anno—
"Oh, another thing Reiji-chan!"
Can I even narrate without them interrupting me?!
"WHAT?!"
Minori continues talking with the door between us. "Don't take this pursuit of yours for granted! It won't be easy. It may even kill you. You're crossing a minefield, the Sekigahara family are said to have ties with multiple yakuza."
I thought it'd be the mafia or some syndicate. I mean, I'm pretty sure she's foreign.
"I can't wait to see the lengths you'd go to take her hand in marriage! Imagine that, a peon from a low-class family trying to cross boundaries for an aristocrat! Isn't that the plot of The Lady And The Tramp? So romantic!"
I would be strangling her right now if this door wasn't between us...!
"Go forth, Reiji-chan! Spread your wings! Nothing stands before the might of true love! Social stature doesn't matter! All you need is L-O-V-E!"
I'm puking in my throat.
Slamming my fist against the door, I bark, "Will you just shut up?!"
"Not when you're overreacting! You're like an open book! It's so easy to read you!"
"Say that again when you open Mein Kampf! Read that crap in one sitting!"
"But I can still read you!"
Talking to these two... It's like trying to crush a diamond with your bare hands. Simply impossible to accomplish. I've already lost...
Bah, whatever.
Putting my jacket into my designated locker, I take an apron and get ready for work.
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Staring at the reflection in the mirror, I find it an oddity to see myself in casual clothes. I've gotten too used to pyjamas. The school uniform has started to feel comfortable too. Though I don't particularly like wearing skirts.
Urk... Thigh rubbing... I know it was an accident on his part, but it was not a pleasant experience for me. I guess we're even, he accidentally touched me without consent and I accidentally saw him naked, from thigh up. He hid himself pretty quick and it was rather steamy, so I didn't exactly get a clear image...
"Arisu, you're turning red." Narukami-san speaks up beside me as she watches me twirl about, admiring the green blouse. "You really like these clothes, huh?"
I nod at her. They feel just as comfortable as the cotton pyjamas I'd wear every night. The lightweight skirt falls below my knees, and it seems to complete the outfit with a slight mature edge.
Ryukishi-san raises her thumb toward me. "Always a pleasure to help! Just tell me if you need to lend any clothes!"
"You're a lifesaver." Narukami-san backs away and leans to a wall. "Arisu doesn't have anything casual in her wardrobe. They're all just formal dresses. They look incredible, but wearing them to wander around the city is a bit too much of a waste."
I never had an eye for fashion, so everything I wear was handpicked by my parents, who probably went to see a renowned fashion designer. Not that I ever wear any of them...
"Maybe we can borrow a few when the time comes." Ryukishi-san stares at the ceiling for a good two seconds. "The school will host a dance during fall. Just imagine, we'd outshine all those popular girls if we step inside looking like princesses!"
Note to self, act sick. I don't know how to dance, and I'd rather not embarrass myself any further.
"Shall we head out?" Narukami-san asks.
"Hey!"
I simply nod at her.
Truth to be told, I would rather spend the day under the covers. However, contradictory to that fact, I feel quite anxious to see the city. I only caught brief glimpses of it, and that was when we drove by. Narukami-san seems like the kind of person who would be knowledgeable about interesting places, she is quite a live wire.
Taking a purse, I get ready for the first outing I've had in years.
To Be Continued
AN: And now we know why Reiji is so lazy! He's conserving energy for work!
...
It doesn't actually work that way.