The Adventures of your Friendly Neighborhood Cafe

[Tensei Kaori]

It was good to be back at the cafe.

With the injury to her ankle, Ayaka had been unable to work for a little while, and thus had been stuck in her apartment with nothing to do except sort through her collection of random items, which were now strewn dangerously all over the place. Thankfully, though, she had her friends, who had helped her stay fed and comfortable during her recovery.

And now, at last, she had been cleared to go back to work, and she had returned to the cafe to resume waitressing in earnest. The uniform still felt odd when she wore it outside the cafe, but it was beginning to feel normal when she wore it to work. She was also starting to pull her hair out of her face even when she wasn't working, too. It was kind of nice having it out of the way.

All in all, it was a very good day. The only thing that could make it better was if she got to see her friends.

[strangevisitor]

"Hmm...perhaps...No....no." Utsuro muttered to himself, rearranging decidedly minute aspects of his apartment yet again. It was very imperative that he find the exact positions his collection of items from Tengakure should best be arranged in to maximize the positive energy.

And so he switched the places of the dented saucepan and handle-less colander. For the seventh time that morning.

"...Though, given my luck, maybe I should not be hanging hefty metal cookware above my head.." The reconsideration struck him, and he began to raise his hand back to grab the saucepan from the hook.

AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT'S IT!! I. HAVE. HAD IT!!!

Jumping with a slight yelp, the boy visibly paled as a fierce fever he had been pleasantly devoid of for several weeks now exploded through him.

N-no! What are you..

"Pipe down, I'm takin' a lunch break!" Ichiyuumaihi barked back, tossing aside the ratty old button-down shirt, marching purposefully towards the closet. "The hell did you put my stuff, kid.." Tucked in a corner at the back wall of the closet a bag was removed.

Shrugging into the worn leather jacket with the charred cuffs he was so very fond of, the bag was tossed towards the door, landing with a heavy thud where the shoddily-repaired sandals sat. Dropping into the small step shortly after, an odd, heavy pair of boots were pulled from the bag. They were still barely black from wear and scuffing, to the point where the metal plate inside the toe showed through.

Workers in Sound Village wore them to protect their feet from falling pieces of metal and such, and while their original owner had taken a good amount of...'convincing' to part with them, Ichiyuumaihi loved the amount of weight they lent to his footsteps. After all, someone like him, people should know he's coming so they can be ready! Tucking the laces into the boot without bothering to tighten them much, he tucked wallet and key into his pockets and headed out the door.

*****

The door to the cafe swung open wide as the random and unimportant would-be-patron was haphazardly removed from Ichi's path. Vaulting over the back of a booth, he swung his feet up to rest on the table with a solid clunk.

"Oi oi oi! What's a guy got to do to get some grub around here?!" He called out loudly. Maybe Gutsy-chan was working today, it'd be real nice of him to let her buy him lunch.

[Tensei Kaori]

Oh, no...

Ayaka knew this was bound to happen sometime. And though Ichi-san had been so kind and helpful to her last time, she was sort of scared to meet him again just by how Tsutomegi talked about him. Well. Ichi-san seemed to like her well enough, so maybe she'd be okay.

"Welcome, Ichi-san~" she called from where she was wiping down the counter; a few customers had just left and it had to be cleaned before anyone else sat there. "I'll be right over. And can you please take your feet off the table? I have to clean that when you're done, y'know."

[strangevisitor]

"Gutsy-chan! Back on your feet and running already, eh? Guess you're pretty tough after all, heheh. And I suppose, but only because you asked so nicely!" Laughing, the boisterous man folded his hands behind his head and leaned back in the booth, dropping his feet to the seat.

[Tensei Kaori]

"You're in a good mood today, Ichi-san," Ayaka remarked, finally tossing the rag back where it belonged, wiping her hands off, and snatching a menu to give to her newest customer. "Is it because you're getting out after so long? You haven't wrecked any more fences, have you?" she teased, handing over the menu with a grin.

[strangevisitor]

"Ugh, you ain't kiddin', kiddo. You literally have no idea how miserable my last couple weeks have been." Ichi grunted, shaking his head.

"Buuuuuuut that's all behind me now! I'm free to stretch my legs, better than ever!" He laughed, plucking the menu from her grasp and looking it over. "Lucky for you, the only thing I feel like wrecking right now iiiis.....some spicy curry. And if I can't breathe fire without chakra after it, it ain't spicy enough!"

[Tensei Kaori]

Ayaka grinned. "I have just the thing for you, Ichi-san," she assured him, taking back the menu. "You just sit tight and think about what you want to drink. I'll be back." And with that she was headed back behind the counter again, to where a window into the kitchen allowed her easy access to the people inside. Right now those people were Oyaji and Hikaru-kun, cooking up a storm.

"Hikaru-kun," she told her work buddy, "a friend of mine wants your special from last week. You remember the one."

The resulting devilish grin said it all. Normally Ayaka liked spicy food, but even she couldn't handle Hikaru-kun's spicy curry. If this wasn't hot enough for Ichi-san, she'd have to light it on fire.

"Okay," she announced, returning to the table. "Is there anything else you'd like? The lunch rush is about to start, so if you don't ask now I might not be able to get it for you as quick."

[strangevisitor]

Chin cupped between his index finger and thumb with an elbow on the table and his other arm hanging over the back of the booth's bench, the question was given deep consideration. Or at least so it seemed. Fingertips drummed on the other side of the bench, sharply rapping against the wood.

"Hmph. Well, some coffee or something, I guess. Doubt you guys serve alcohol, and nobody ever serves it to me in the freakin' body anyway, so it's a moot point either way." The tone of his voice, brash as it was, still managed to sound further annoyed by this particular fact of life, emphasized with a roll of the eyes. "So it'd better be some strong coffee, too!"

[Tensei Kaori]

"Coffee is coffee, Ichi-san," Ayaka explained as she stepped back behind the counter to retrieve a cup, saucer, and one of the coffee pots. She had been right; customers were already starting to flood in for lunch. "Sorry, I can't brew an entire pot just for you, so you'll have to have what we serve everyone else. Don't worry," she told him as she filled his cup, "it's really good, if you like coffee. I'll be back to check on you as soon as I can. Welcome~! I'll be right with you!"

And she was off, rushing to start the haphazard marathon that was Konoha's lunch hour.

[strangevisitor]

Just have to have what we serve everyone else?! Who the heck did she think she was waiting on?? The nerve..

"Coffee is coffee..tch." This stuff was probably made from prepackaged frozen grounds made by people with no care whatsoever for the roast or blend or anything..

*****

So the coffee had been decent. Not great, but definitely not prepackaged grounds, at least. Could have been a stronger roast, in his opinion.

What was NOT decent, however, was the wait. For such a tiny little cafe, the place was absolutely PACKED, and Gutsy-chan was running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to take care of everyone.

Except for him, it seemed. Which was arguably the most annoying part. He had been there before all of these people, first off, and secondly, it was HIM! Ichiyuumaihi had tried to be patient. Building a fort out of the toothpicks had been a halfway decent distraction from his slow-boiling annoyance. But of course, then some punk of a construction worker just HAD to bump the table as he walked past the booth.

A toothpick snapped between his fingers as its brothers fell to the tabletop in a heap. Then the lot promptly caught fire. A leg shot out from underneath the table, catching the front of the man's shins and sending him tumbling to the ground. Ichiyuumaihi grinned.

"There...that just about makes us even, right buddy?"

Ichi-sama..It was just a toothpick fort..

[Tensei Kaori]

"Kyaa! Oh my goodness, are you all right?"

Ayaka hadn't seen what had happened, but the fact that the man had fallen right beside Ichi-san's table, which had a pile of ashes and half-burned toothpicks on it, made Ayaka suspicious. She gave him a that better not have been you look as she helped the man up, then turned all her attention to getting him seated and comfortable before returning to a certain table.

"Ichi-san," she began as patiently as she could - which was beginning to sound a little strained by this point - "that wasn't you, was it? And can you please not light things on fire in here? If that table's damaged, Tsutomegi is the one who's gonna get charged for it, and besides that, someone could get hurt."

[strangevisitor]

An eyebrow perks, and the grin fell flat. "So what if it was?" Flames licked out from his mouth, small embers existing just long enough to be visible before snuffing back out of existence. Kami-sama it felt good to have some chakra again.

"I'm sittin' here, tryin' to be patient, tryin' to wait for my grub, and that punk comes along thinking he's funny, bumping my table...and now I've got you of all people trying to scold me?" The table began to smoke just slightly beneath his fingertips as they drummed sharper still against the surface, eyes seeming to glow as if they were hot coals.

"I have been locked away like some kind of animal for weeks." Ichiyuumaihi hissed at her, seeming to loom over her despite being seated. "And the worst part? My cage simpers. Whines. Laments his lot in life and obsesses over the most ASININE things! I've had it. I'm done. I've served my time, and now it's time for some fun."

The hissing, flame-licked mouth spread to a wide grin, and leaned back in the booth, making it a dedicated and purposeful action to make the heaviest thunk he could putting his boots back on the now-charred tabletop. "Better hurry up with my lunch, Gutsy-chan. You're seriously cutting into your tip, and I don't see any fences around, either."

[Tensei Kaori]

Ayaka just looked at Ichi-san. From the scorch mark on the table to the way he'd purposely slammed his feet back onto its surface to his arrogant grin...

... that fierce, scary expression on a face that normally regarded her with such gentle kindness.

"Your food is almost ready," she told Ichi-san as blankly as she could manage. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Please don't murder anyone while I'm gone."

And with that she turned around and marched back to the kitchen as stoically as she could, only letting a couple stray tears escape when she thought Ichi-san wouldn't see.

[strangevisitor]

"Heh. Looks like Gutsy-chan ain't so tough after all.." Settling back with a smirk, it was almost enough to satisfy the fiery figure. Almost. Either way, the wait was far more enjoyable from that point-

Ichiyuumaihi!That was, without a doubt, one of the MOST unacceptable-Shut. Up.

The wait was far more enjoyable from that point on. As long as the food was worth the wait, he didn't see much need for further harassment. For now.

[Tensei Kaori]

Where before Ayaka had been mentally urging Hikaru-kun to finish Ichi-san's order, she now dreaded having to return to that table. Every time the bell rang, signaling a completed order, she felt her stomach sink in a dizzying spiral. When she looked and saw a certain order of curry waiting to be served, she thought she was going to faint.

Somehow, though, she made it over without incident, and served the curry to Ichi-san with none of her usual waitress mannerisms. She couldn't smile, but she didn't want to show fear either, so everything from her motions to her very face were as blank and expressionless as she can make them.

"Your lunch," she said flatly, avoiding looking at his face. "Enjoy."