||| [T] h e [C] a f e |||^Itachi Uchiha^|||-Chapter one-
Chapter one: Job.
"Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.
-- "Shunryu Suzuki Roshi"
Mariko Kain was one of the clumsy ones.
"I'm so sorry!" A girl wearing a black dress and white cloth draped around her waist cried as she cleaned up the mess she had just created.
It was the third one today.
"Mariko!" Her boss scolded her from inside the kitchen, "You can't carry the tray with one hand. It needs support. Both hands, both hands."
The girl nodded, she cradled the silver plate with both hands and apologized to the customer in front of her as she quickly retreated into the kitchen. She let out a deep sigh as she placed the plate, broken tea pot and remains of a half eaten muffin on a black marble counter. She quickly re-loaded her tray with a new tea pot filled with sweet peppermint tea. A man about a few inches taller then her stared down at her in pity. He had short black hair and deep green eyes.
"Good luck." He stuck up a thumb and walked past her to grab a broom and a mop so he could clean up a mess that she hadn't quiet finished with. She blushed slightly and walked out from the cloth door.
All though no one really noticed her she felt as if they all were judging her performance. She swallowed the lump in her throat and approached a new table where a couple had sat.
She smiled wide and placed the tray down on the table.
"One peppermint tea and two strawberry shortcakes." She announced. The girl looked up at her and smiled a true smile.
"Thank you." She had short purple hairand stunning blue eyes, she was wearing a traditional blue kimono.
Her boyfriend had just rolled his eyes at the girl's words and sighed loudly. He had short messy blond hair and forest green eyes. He was dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a green fish netted tank top.
"Tylain don't be a jerk." The girl hissed as she cut a piece of her strawberry and stuffed it in her mouth.
"If you need anything else don't be afraid to call." Mariko stated as she turned around to enter back into the kitchen.
"It's so good!" The purple haired girl cried as she attacked another strawberry. Mariko had smiled as she walked underneath of the cloth, she reached out for another tray but a hand had stopped her. It was her boss.
"Hey Kain, you've been working hard, but it's time to close the cafe. You can go home but make sure you're here at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow okay?" Mariko nodded as she let go of the tray and walked over to the exit.
"Have a good night Kasumi sama." The red head grabbed for her black jacket and threw it on as she ran out of the cafe door.
She sighed deeply, "She's so awesome."
Mariko immediately slapped her hands together and began to rub them visiously. It was the first of October, and in Iwagakure that meant that it was starting to get colder. She was actually pretty excited for her first day of work this morning. She had woken up at 6:00 a.m. and finished all of her chores and eaten a huge breakfast and danced around her house with her cat. She had arrived at the cafe in perfect shape but she had never realised how tough it was to actually be a waitress. By the end of the day she was pooped and cold. She took a deep breath of the autumn air and reached her hand into her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She took out one her cigs and lit it with the lighter and perched it to her lips, and crossed the street to her house. A small traditional shoin zukuri. She took a few puffs and tosed the bud to the floor and stepped on it. It was a bad habit she had gotten herself into when she had been 12, after the sickness passed over her hated smoking but in her own way it calmed her down, and all her pain seemed to fly away. She slide one of the doors open and kicked off her shoes.
"Misukiiiiii." She cried as she slammed the door and ran across the wooden floors. Her kitten was perched on a small pillow. Its grey eyes stared at her as she ran towards her. Mariko had knelt down and affectionately petted the kitten.
It began to purr.
"Work was physico today but I survive, and I get my pay check on Thursday and and and...Oh my boss is this tall skinny blond haired woman and she is really supported and." Mariko stopped talking and shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm just happy I'm working again. You know Misuki this causes for a celebration." The red head clapped her hands together. "Well have a huge supper tonight."
And with that the red head stood up and walked into her kitchen and opening the cupboards. Nothing but dust had been stacked in her cupboard. She looked into another but found more naked spaces.
Mariko craned her head over to her cat. A depressed look crossed her face.
"There's...there's no food." Mariko almost started to cry. Then in the corner of her eyes she spotted her purse. She ran over to it and found a bag of coins.
All together she had 30 of them.
"That's not enough for a huge feast." She moaned as she dragged her feet to her room. Misuki fallowed behind her innocently as she took off her uniform and threw on a pair of dark washed jeans a yellow tank top. She grabbed her purse and black coat and was about to leave her house before she looked down at the cat.
"Do you want to come? I'm going to the store." Misuki walked over to the door and sat her bottom down.
Mariko lifted her up and hid her in her coat. "We have to be stealthy though. They don't like animals in the store."
Mariko opened her door and was personally acquainted with the cold autumn breeze again. It was around 9:00 p.m. so it had been dark; no one seemed to be out. She stood underneath a street light and looked both ways before crossing the bridge that lead to a little shop she would go to. While walking she looked up into the sky.
"No moon." She whispered softly as she lookeddown at Misuki. She walked under the trees and soon found herself at the small shop. She opened the door and a bell rang. She took a basket at the front of the store and walked over the refrigerator took out a milk carton and some cold fish. She closed the door and placed the items in the basket. She approached the storage foods and took some boxes of tea bags and also grabbed a few bagels, rice, instant noodles and some more items she needed for her and Misuki's 'Celebration feast'. She was a bit closer to the counter and she heard a tremble of words.
"Hey Kanaye have you heard about the border between Iwa and Taki destroyed. Some rouge Nin had actually token down all the guards that were scopting the area. Some of them being Ambu."
"Yeah, do you think 'Akatsuki' has anything to do with it?" Mariko's ears perked up. Akatsuki, what are they going to do now?! She thought to herself. Mariko wasn't personaly aquainted with any of the Akatsuki members, all she knew was they were some kind of terrorist group.
"Shh, don't talk about that. People say its bad luck to even mention that organisation."
"But still, what if their coming after the Tsuchikage. I'm not sure that old gramps can take care of him anymore." Some chuckles were heard.
"The Tsuchikage may be old but he can defiantly take care of himself."
"What would they want with the Tsuchikage anyways, who would want that grumpy old man anyways."
"Some say Deidara," Mariko dropped her basket and cursed, "had come after the kazekage the other day."
"Deidara?"
"Yeah…"
There was a pause.
"Well thank you Takafuni," There was a rustling of bags and the bell which means one of them had gone.
Mariko came to the cash register and smiled up at the man as she passed him her basket.
"32 gold coins please..." The man looked down at her. She pulled out her bag of money and passed it to him.
"Oh...I only have 30." She muttered and looked back at him.
"Is that you Mariko Kain?" He adjusted his glasses and smiled wide down at her. He had slick backed platinum blonde hair.
"Oh, Mr. Junta? Where is Sayou?"
"My brother? Well he is actually out with his wife right now; it's their anniversary today so he asked if I could watch the shop for him."
"Well that's great." The man placed each of items back in the basket and handed it to her.
"But I don't have enough sir."
"It's fine Kain, your mother saved me from death remember? It's the least I could do. I remember when you were just a baby. How is she doing, how is Minaki san doing?"
Mariko laughed nervously and bit her lip, "She doing better..."
Junta smiled sadly, "That's good. Tell her I said hi."
Mariko nodded and left the store.
She looked down in her coat and smiled at her cat's face.
"Mom's doing a lot better isn't she, Misuki." The kitten's ear twitched and Mariko began to walk across the bridge. She looked over it and frowned. The water was pretty high and because of the weather the rapids had speed up quite a bit.
Mariko sighed and continued to walk, listening to her footsteps when all of a sudden she heard a rustling in the forest a head of her.
Mariko froze.
"Hello…" She said allowed, and approached the forest, she had dropped her groceries
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A/N;
I'm ending it there.
I'm actually excited for the next chapter!
Thank's for reading :)