"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T WORK THERE?" Mirio asked sadly as him, Tamaki, and Nejire sat together for lunch the next day. "I feel bad." Tamaki muttered.
"You feel bad? About what? Did you do something mean to her?" Mirio pressed.
"I used to be so annoyed by her, even though she was just trying to be my friend. It feels wrong working at her shop without her knowing how much I didn't like her." Tamaki admitted. Mirio sighed. "Only you would over think that."
"Wait, so what is she like now? She still annoying right, that pagent-crown-stealing-meanie?" Nejire huffed, crossing her arms. "You're still holding onto that?" Mirio chuckled.
"She's still the same, honestly, but...she's nice. She's running the whole shop alone with only two other employees." Tamaki explained.
"Two employees?! Tamaki, you gotta take the job! You'd probably help out a lot!" Mirio gasped, shaking Tamaki aggressively by the shoulders.
"O.M.G! Let's go to her shop! I would love to see how she's doing!" Nejire clapped excitedly.
"N-No, we can't-"
"That's a great idea! I wanna see how y/n's doing too! C'mon Tamaki!" Mirio agreed. Tamaki sighed. "Guys, do we have to?"
"I guess we do." Tamaki sighed as they stood at the entrance of the Expresso Express. "Let's not wait any longer!" Mirio cheered, swinging the entrance door open.
As the three friends stepped inside, they noticed y/n working the register. She turned to the door, her face automatically lighting up. "Anajiki! And is that Mirio and Hado! Welcome!"
"Wow, y/n! You've grown up so much!" Mirio smiled, greeting y/n at the register.
Nejire crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip. "She's still pretty."
"Is that bad?" Tamaki mumbled, keeping his head low to the ground. "Of course it is!" Nejire whined.
. . .
The group of three sat in the coffee shop as they watched y/n rush around, helping her employees make drinks and taking orders. "She's working hard. I almost feel bad." Nejire muttered.
"...Nejire? Are you feeling alright?" Mirio teased, patting her head. She slapped it away. "Oh whatever! It's clear she's stressed out, working this shop alone at 20 years old. Yet she's serving everyone with a smile and working hard. I'll give her that." She huffed.
"You said she got this shop from her parents, right? She must feel a lot of pressure to keep it running." Mirio empathized.
Nejire and Mirio then noticed Tamaki slouching in his chair, staring into his cup of coffee. "T-Tamaki!? What's wrong?"
"Now I feel bad for saying I didn't want to work here because of my selfish way of thinking." He mumbled.
Mirio and Nejire sighed. "If you're actually sorry, then starting working here. She'll really appreciate it don't you think?"
Tamaki glanced over towards the counter, watching y/n greet customers as they walked in. "...Yeah..."
Y/n gasped loudly as she witnessed Tamaki walk into her store early the next morning. "AMAJIKIII!!!!" She cheered, running out from behind the counter to greet him. "You decided to work here!?"
Tamaki felt his cheeks blush. She's really close!!
"I-Uhm-Mhm. Yeah-"
"This is great! Here, let me go get you an apron!!" Y/n ran behind the curtain to the back. Ginger chuckled. "She's pretty pumped about having a new employee."
"Yeah, I can tell." Tamaki muttered tiredly.
"Do you know how to make coffee?" A voice bellowed from behind him, making Tamaki jump. He turned to see Hailey staring him down, a kitchen knife in her hand.
Tamaki shivered. "I-Y-Y-Ye-Yes-"
"Hailey! Quit holding the knife so casually! You're gonna scare customers away!" Ginger seethed, wrestling to take the knife out of her hand.
Y/n entered the main room again, a beige apron in her arms. "Here ya go, Amajiki! Did you bring your name tag?"
"Oh, yeah, I did." Tamaki reached into his jeans' pocket, taking out the homemade decorated name plate that y/n created.
She smiled, holding out her hand. Tamaki handed her the name plate as he put on the apron. She unstuck the pin in the back, carefully pinning it to his apron.
Tamaki gazed down at her as he watched her put on his name tag for him, his cheeks warming like an oven. "And....Done!" She stepped back, examining her new employee in his new uniform.
Her eyes twinkled with glee. "This is so exciting!" She clapped happily.
"Boss, shouldn't you hand out assignments now? We're about to open." Hailey reminded, still playing tug of war with Ginger.
"Yes! Let's see...Ginger, you're on drinks today. Hailey, you're on treats, but once you finish baking, help Ginger with the coffee. Tamaki, you're on the register. I'll stay with you so I can help you out! Sound good to everyone?"
"Yes ma'am!" Ginger and Hailey gave a thumbs up. Tamaki hesitantly nodded. "Y-Yes."
"Perfect! Let's open the store!!"
"A-Amajiki, you don't have to be so nervous around the customers. They know you're new, so a little slip up won't hurt business!" Y/n assured as Tamaki balled up in a corner behind the counter.
"I humiliated myself." He whispered.
"Don't worry Amajiki! People say stuff like that all the time!" Ginger beamed.
"Who says 'you too' when a customer asks 'are you new'?-" Hailey mumbled before Ginger chopped the top of her head as punishment, making her whine in pain.
"Seriously Amajiki! It's all right! You've been doing great the past few hours!" Y/n sweat dropped, trying to lift the courage of her employee.
The sound of the bell rang from above the entrance of the coffee shop, indicating another customer had arrived.
Y/n, Ginger, and Hailey turned to the person, Tamaki staying hidden in the corner. "Good morning! Welcome to Expresso Express! What can I get you today?" Y/n greeted, jogging to the register.
The person took a look around the shop, examining what seemed like every nook and cranny of the store. Y/n noticed a patch on the persons' navy blue collar, her heart dropping. No way...
"I would like to speak with the manager, please." The woman demanded, pulling out a stack of papers from a folder she was carrying.
"I...That's me!" Y/n introduced, holding out her hand. "I'm Y/n L/n!"
The woman looked y/n up and down. "...Aren't you a bit young to be the owner?"
"There's no age limit on being an entrepreneur!" Y/n bubbled, making Tamaki turn to watch her. He noticed how confident her stance was. Huh...She takes charge so easily.
"Right...Here." The woman handed y/n the stack of papers. Hailey and Ginger peered over her shoulder as they read the cover. "The Endeavor Agency will be buying out this vicinity. Unless you can pay that amount below, we will be tearing down this place by January 6th."
Y/n and her employees traced their eyes down to the bottom of the page, their mouths dropping. "FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND YEN!??!" They gasped.
(400,000 yen = about 4,000 u.s dollars)
Tamaki lightly inhaled, standing out of his corner and approaching the chaos.
"Wait a minute! Who gives you the right to buy us out!?" Ginger seethed. "We are a rich agency under the pro hero Endeavor. He can do what he wants."
"Why though? We can't afford to pay this." Hailey glared. The woman chuckled. "You aren't the only company we're buying out. Every family owned business on this block is facing the same problem as you. We want to build a new Endeavor Tower building. Simple as that-"
"This has to be against some law! You can't just purchase us like some store bought goods!" Ginger slammed his hand on the counter, the customers in the store growing silent.
The woman gave a coy smirk. "If you want tp...try and sue us." She pointed to her patch, it being the Endeavor Agency logo. "...You'll lose miserably."
The employees hitched as the woman walked towards the exit of the coffee shop. "I'll be back on the 6th to retrieve our payment. You've got less than a month. Use it wisely."
The young adults watched as the woman left the store, the bell ringing loudly. Y/n stared at her feet blankly, her hands shaking.
Ginger turned to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "...Y/n?"
Tamaki could almost hear the silence in her voice. This is bad. Really bad.
Y/n suddenly looked up with bright eyes, making Tamaki raise his eyebrows. "I'll be in my office. I gotta figure out how to gather up this money!" She skipped towards the curtains. "Keep working!"
They watched as their boss disappeared behind the cloth. Ginger sighed. "The 6th of next year, huh? That gives us about 21 days."
"I wonder what y/n plans to do." Hailey whispered.
Tamaki felt a pit form in his stomach. Y/n's shop...
it could be demolished.