So, I haven't been on for a while, for many reasons, a lot of which I can't get into right now. I apologize for not updating either of my other stories. If you want, though, you can check out my AO3 account. I'll be using that mostly from now on. I'll still go on though, if only to find a bigger audience for certain fandoms.
Anyway, this was written on a whim. You are free to ignore it, or take a look, whichever. You can even check it out on my AO3 account (my username is Blue_Iris). I just...I had to write this down.
I don't know if anyone remembers this series, or if anyone even cares, but...I've been wanting to write this for a while. All I was waiting for was the right motivation, and the right idea.
So, here it is; my first Muhyo and Roji fanfiction.
Disclaimer: I don't own either the rights to the main story or the characters within Muhyo and Roji. This was written purely for entertainment, not for profit.
He first meets them after a few months at his new job.
He works in a restaurant down in Chiyo Prefecture, a restaurant that is open until about one in the morning, depending on how business is. Most of the time, he waits on the customers—gets them seated, takes their orders, stuff like that. Sometimes, because the restaurant is still new and rather understaffed, and he has somewhat a talent for cooking, he is asked to help out in the kitchen.
That being said, the work is hard and sometimes he gets to the point of having a tearful meltdown—but the pay is good, and his boss is decent. The customers have been really nice too. So far, he hasn't come across a customer that would ruin his cheerful composure.
At least, not until tonight.
At ten o'clock, the restaurant is full of college students and families feeling in a good enough mood to eat out. It's a lively crowd tonight, but he can't help but smile at the atmosphere. He greets every group that enters the restaurant, wears a bright smile as he takes down their order, and he can't help but be happy when he sees the happy and sated looks on his customers' faces when he brings their food. Yes, this job isn't always so perfect, but he wouldn't trade it for the world.
He doesn't see them come in and he isn't the waiter who seats them, but one of his co-workers taps his shoulder and points them out, asking if he wouldn't mind taking care of them. He smiles and accepts the assignment, already placing his notepad in his pocket; then he heads for the table.
He's glad to see that the group has already been given drinks, but he notices that they are still looking intently at their menus. Though this makes him feel slightly awkward, he still keeps his smile.
"Hi! Welcome to Sakagura," he greets. "My name is Jiro Kusano, but you can call me Roji; everyone does. I'll be serving you tonight. How are we this evening?"
"Ah, we're fine, thanks—wait." One of the customers—a young woman with brown hair in a ponytail and a rather...ample chest—starts to look up from her menu. "What did you say—?"
The minute her eyes lock on him, everything in her body freezes and her brown eyes widen with such intensity that Roji feels his smile falter just the slightest.
"Is...is something wrong, ma'am?"
She snaps her head away from him then and glares at the young, dark haired man sitting across from her, still looking at the menu, but having big headphones in his ear.
"Yoichi," she hisses. When she doesn't get a response, she glares harder, then lifts a leg to kick the guy in the leg.
"Ow!" Yoichi cries. He removes the headphones and pouts at her. "Damn it, Nana, what?"
Nana puts on a smile, one that looks as cold as ice. "Our waiter is here."
"Ah, really! Heh, sorry about that, man, I was—"
The smile on Yoichi's face slips off the instant he looks at Roji, and his own dark eyes widen. His mouth drops open a bit, but no sound comes from it. Roji once again feels awkward. Why are they both looking at him that way? Has he seen these two before? Had he gotten their order wrong in the past? He can't...can't remember. He doesn't understand what's going on.
"Hey, you," a voice speaks up from the seat next to Yoichi—a voice that is colder than winter, sounds both young and old at the same time.
Roji blinks, not having noticed the third person, but he directs his gaze towards them anyway.
A menu is folded and placed on the table, revealing a short boy (probably at least a few inches below the five foot mark) with a round face, spiky black hair, and big, but hard blue eyes. Wrapped around his shoulders is a dark blue cape that looks a little too long, the kind that would probably flow behind if he were to walk away. He looks at Roji with a smirk that no kid at his age (though, really, just how old is he?) should wear and Roji can't help the shiver that runs down his spine.
"Chicken and lamb curry, with white rice and vegetables on the side," the boy finally says, seeming to not take notice of Roji's wide eyes and stiff posture. "Don't get cheap with the meat."
He holds the menu out for Roji to take, but the waiter still has no idea how to react to him. Usually, Roji could remain bright and cheerful with even the most hostile of customers. But this boy—Roji feels cold and hot at the same time; he feels like his heart's about to pop out of his chest, as if all his senses are in overdrive. It makes him want to both run away and reach out to the boy, to ask questions that haven't yet formed in his mind.
Is...is it possible?
"Oi!"
Roji blinks, then realizes that the boy is glaring at him.
"Take my order down and take the damn menu!"
"Ah! Sorry, my mistake," Roji rushes to write down the order, doing whatever he could to avoid the gaze of those blue eyes. When he's scrawled it down, he takes the menu and holds it under his other arm.
He then smiles over at Nana and Yoichi, trying not to stammer. "Would you two like to place your orders now, or wait a few more minutes?"
Nana smiles back at him, despite the slight dimness in her eyes. "I'm ready right now, if you are, Kusano-san."
Yoichi also passes a grin at him. "Me too, Kusano."
"Ah, you two don't have to be so formal," Roji smiles, flushing a little as he scratches the back of his head. "Just Roji is fine, really."
The dimness in Nana's eyes grows, and her smile twitches a little, but she says nothing.
Yoichi's smile softens. "Of course, I'll remember that. Anyway, I would like—"
Roji regains some of his confidence as he listens and writes down their orders. Once he's taken their menus, he can't help but glance at the strange boy sitting next to Yoichi, who now has his head turned away from Roji, his chin leaning on a propped fist.
"S-sorry about that again, young sir," he apologizes, feeling more guilty than uncomfortable.
The boy lets out a low snort. "Idiot."
Roji's eyes widen a little. "Idiot." For some reason, the word echoes in his mind, like a lingering dream he can't quite recall. It drives something through him, bringing pain and warmth all at once.
What could it mean?
Of course, he covers it up with a smile and a mock salute. After all, he has a job to do.
"I will be back with your food as soon as possible, okay! See you in a bit."
Once Roji drops off the orders—dishes that will take about half an hour to prepare—he asks his boss for a five minute break and takes a step outside the back of the restaurant.
He leans back against the door, still feeling his heart thump.
"What...what was that?" he asks himself. "And who were they? Who was he?"
Again, the image of cold blue eyes comes to mind, and his thoughts start to wander.
Could it be that—that he's the one I've been looking for? Roji starts to smile. Are they all who I've been looking for?
Are these people the ones to help me regain my memories?
For the first time since waking up alone in that hospital room six months ago, Roji truly feels hope. Hope that he will come to know and remember more than just his name. Perhaps he will even remember his family, if he has one. He will remember what those three people in the restaurant truly mean to him, and maybe he will gain some more friends—
What are you talking about?
Roji blinks.
Come on, you moron of a sprout; think. Three people just happen to walk in the restaurant you work at and may be people you were once close to? This isn't a comic book, or a manga. Nor is this life a movie, or a fantasy novel. This is real life. Stuff like that doesn't really happen to amnesiacs in real life. And even if it did, what do you think would change? You will probably still have the same boring, pathetic, worthless life that you have now.
So, really, are these thoughts really worth it...?
"I...I guess that's true, too."
Of course, it is.
"Guess I should get back to work then," Roji shrugs, his smile still plastered to his face, despite himself. "Heh, it's too bad, I really did wish..."
He shakes away the thought, then rubs away the tears threatening to drip from his eyes. He exhales and puts on a determined face, his smile still there. Then he turns around and goes back inside the restaurant.
Yoichi turns to the "boy" once the waiter is out of sight. "Muhyo."
"Yeah?"
"Did...did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That Roji was here, you little prick!" Nana snaps, her eyes watering.
Muhyo lifts his head from his hand, and then turns to face them, no expression in his face. For a few moments, he just blinks at them, as if taking in their accusatory gazes.
"Of course I did," he finally responds with a grin that might as well be a grimace. "I could sense his tempering a mile away. You two do recall how connected he and I are, right? Hee hee."
Yoichi's eyes widened, while Nana sent him a sneer, a single tear falling down her cheek.
"You fucker..." Yoichi shakes his head.
"It wasn't as if I planned to move this close to him. Seriously, no one told him to live in one of the areas where haunts are most active. And no one told him to start working at a place we just so happened to walk in. It just happened."
"Muhyo," Nana nearly sobs. "You know...you know what will happen if he remembers."
He drops his grin, and his eyes going hard, almost angry. "Of course, I do."
"Th-then why—?"
"Roji won't remember," Yoichi puts a hand on her shoulder, his smile reassuring. "What happened to him... Don't worry, a one time meeting like this won't trigger anything."
Nana sniffles. "You sure?"
Yoichi shares a glance at Muhyo, then nods, his face solemn. "Positive."
"This won't happen again," Muhyo adds.
Though still looking unsure, she nods, then gets out a napkin to compose herself. It wouldn't do to make Roji more suspicious with her emotional tendencies.
When Roji returns about twenty minutes later, to reassure them of their food soon being done, Nana and Yoichi both look more cheerful—well, as cheerful as they can allow themselves to be around a "stranger"—and even Roji seems to have more of a bounce in his step.
No one notices the intent stare that Muhyo is secretly sending Roji, or how tightly his hands are clenched in his lap.