Ouran characters do not belong to me...
(This disclaimer applies for all chapters cause I don't feel like repeating it cause that would make me sad...)
Kitto Daijoubu!
- 1 -
"I'm coming! Just hold on a sec… argh!"
Pearls of laughter filled the room. "Are you ok Haruhi-chan?" There on the floor, covered by an assortment of cleaning supplies, was Fujioka Haruhi with an exasperated look on her face.
"Hai, daijoubu Arai-kun. Now come help me. And stop laughing!" With a bemused smile, Arai came over and lent her his hand.
It wasn't even yet noon, but the two were already busy at work. The task? Cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Why? It was Haruhi's newest endeavor, opening her own little café.
Haruhi once dreamed of nothing but becoming a lawyer and following in her mother's footsteps. However, after just half a year in law school, she realized that this was not meant to be her path. It just didn't suit her. For once, she decided to put away her books and try something uncharacteristic of her, something spontaneous. Haruhi tried many things, but nothing made her truly happy.
Now at the age of just 24, she had taken all of her savings and invested it in this small shop. It was old, run-down, and quite frankly, it was a completely terrifying mess. But that wouldn't stop her determined spirit. She'll make this work!
Enlisting the help of the only friend she's keep in contact with over the years, Arai promised to help her get started. His afternoons after work and the weekends became devoted to anything and everything she wanted him to do. Arai was glad for the excuse to spend more time with her, his childhood crush on Haruhi never having completely vanished. Besides, it was an interesting change of pace from his teaching job.
With the little funds she had left over, they even managed to buy enough paint to colour the walls and a few quaint table sets. After two months of pure sweat, the dilapidated store was transformed into a homely café. It looked just like Haruhi had imagined in her dreams.
Finally, it was open for business.
.o0O0o. .o0O0o. .o0O0o. .o0O0o. .o0O0o.
It was a quite day. In fact, it was too quiet. Arai sat at one of the small wooden tables, pretending to stare at a magazine page. Haruhi was unknowingly distracting him. She was pacing back and forth behind the counter. The silence was killing her.
"Arai-kun, how can you just sit there?" she asked, finally breaking the stillness. "We've been open for three weeks already. We've only hit a maximum of about 9 costumers a day. And one of them is always my dad. And he doesn't even pay!"
"Well, that's better than no customers at all. And think of it this way, at least you don't need to hire more workers. You're more than enough to take care of the shop," Arai stated, not once taking his eyes of her repetitive path.
"You're absolutely no help."
"Hey, I helped you fix up this place. I don't know anything about running a successful business."
Haruhi stopped her pacing and stared at him, "You're absolutely no help."
"You already said that," he chuckled. "Now I think I should be getting back to those kids. This lunch break is too short." He stood up and walked to the door. "I don't know how you survived being a student at Ouran, but being a teacher there is tiring. See you later Haruhi-chan," and with that he was gone.
Haruhi sighed. What was she going to do? This business was another failure, one she couldn't just chalk up as the latest in her series of misadventures. She had invested too much in it. There's got to be something she could do to liven up the place, if only she could think of it. How could she attract more customers?
Walking around the counter to the table that Arai had just recently vacated, she picked up the magazine he forgot. Closing it, she saw the cover. The cover that had a headline about today's two strongest business minds. The cover that had a bright picture of one ecstatic Suou Tamaki and one nonchalant Ootori Kyouya.
Perhaps Arai-kun did help her…
Review please? All suggestions and ideas welcome!