Disclaimer: I don't own Assasination Classroom. Matsui Yuusei does. I only own the plot of this story.
That Night
Chapter 1: That Night
"Is that all, Sir?"
"Ah yes," answered one of the customers at the bar.
"Three glasses of beer coming right up," said the bartender while scurrying to fill up three empty beer glasses with root beer.
This was it. This was the life of the bartender every night. Whether he was serving glasses of beers to grumpy old men, or serving fancy cocktails to women. Either way, he was damn good at his job.
All of this was to earn money. Small salary or not, this was the only job that suited him and he was severely good at.
He had no other goal but to work for his family. So, 'slacking' wasn't an option for him. He only had a couple of friends who he would go to now and then to have fun. But, other than them, he had no one. Despite his poor living, the bartender was actually very, very smart. Intelligent, if I must say.
"Here you go, Sir. Three beers," said the bartender, whom goes by the name: Isogai.
A few minutes later, he received a phone call from his best friend, Maehara.
"Hey, man."
"Hey, Maehara. What's up?"
"I and a few others are gonna go and chill out for a bit. Maybe hit on some hot chicks. You in?" Isogai laughed.
"Well, my shift doesn't end until another hour. And why would I want to hit on other chicks when I have Kataoka?"
"Why would you not? That girl doesn't know how to have fun. And she doesn't even let you call her by her first name. She's a bombshell with money and brains. You have the brains but not the money. She's basically out of your league. You're lucky enough that she even decided to date you."
Ouch. He hated to admit how right his best friend was.
"But I don't even call you by your first name, and we've been buddies ever since we were little. Either way, I can't bail out on my shift now. What if, out of nowhere, a group of rich old men decided to come in here while I was out? It could've been my chance to earn a lot more than I actually get."
"Heh. Yeah, like that would happen. Ever. Come on dude. Just try and do something. You really need to stop worrying about work."
"Alright. I'll see what I can do," Isogai said while taking a look at the pub. It was empty. Well, nearly empty. There were only three customers in there. He could probably leave the front door of the pub unlocked so they could just leave whenever they're done. And maybe he could-
"Hello?" someone shouted. "Am I still allowed to have a drink in here?" Isogai was still on the phone with Maehara. He turned to look at the front door and saw someone with an averagely long, blond hair.
It was a girl. And someone young too. Usually, the customers here would be stressed and depressed old men. By the looks of it, she might be the same age as Isogai.
"Uh yes. You may," Isogai answered. "Hey, man. I'm gonna have to call you back," he said quietly to his phone, trying to hang up the call with his best friend.
"Ah yeah! Thank goodness! I'm so in the mood to drink right now." She took off her coat while making her way to the bar, which revealed what she was wearing. A black tank top and a pair of saggy pants from Marc Jacobs. Isogai blushed as he found himself staring at her chest. The three old men also stared at the girl. "So, are you the bartender around here?"
"Uh yeah. Sorry," he said while rubbing the back of his neck. "What would you like, Miss?"
"Hmm. I'll have a bottle of Whiskey, and ten glasses of Nevada Cocktail." Isogai was shocked. Why did she need so many drinks this late at night? And is she driving? If so, he couldn't let her drink so much. If anything were to happen to her, Isogai was the one to blame.
"Uh Miss, are you planning to drink all of that tonight?" Isogai asked.
"Huh? Oh! Of course not! The Whiskey is for me to put in my apartment. I ran out. I didn't want to go and buy it in the convenience store. It gets so expensive, it's almost ridiculous. So why not get it at a bar for even a cheaper price?"
"And what about the cocktails?"
"Well, this place is so dead, I can hardly look at it. Even the signboard outside doesn't even work. So why not get the place alive again by giving em' customers some drinks?" said the blond while resting back on the bar seat. "The ones in here tonight are very lucky. Does life ever give you a dame that offers drinks?" she asked while putting on a subtle smirk. Isogai shook his head. "Heh. I thought so. Anyways, hop to the drinks already."
"Are you sure? And your money? You don't mind spending it on complete strangers? Moreover, grumpy old men?" asked Isogai. Not even a hint of sarcasm evident in his voice. The girl laughed.
"You're a funny one. I only asked for it because I wanted to. Don't you worry about me," said the girl with a heart-warming smile. Isogai felt something tight grow in his chest. That girl's smile was really something else. It was something he rarely saw in his dull and boring days.
Sure, Isogai was good-looking. Sure, girls would swoon at the sight of him. But that only happened in Junior High. He was still good-looking, but girls in High School would only date guys that have: 1) money and 2) looks. So the girls would just cast him aside and instead go for guys like Maehara, who wasn't entirely poor.
High School was also the time when Isogai started dating a girl named Kataoka. A smart, responsible and average-looking girl at that. She was the perfect girl Isogai could've asked for. Or at least that's what he thought.
Days go by and their relationship started to drift. Sure, they do see each other sometimes, but not enough.
When dating someone, you get the longing to see them more, and want to spend time with them more. But, that's not how Isogai or Kataoka felt.
"You alright there?" A voice asked, disturbing his train of thoughts. "You've got an intense stare. It's creepy. You were zoning out weren't you?"
"Uh yeah. Sorry."
"It's alright. Ain't got nothin' on me." The girl paused. "It's been a while since I've been to one of these," she said while leaning back and staring at the pub ceiling. Isogai lifted one of his brows in confusion. Why is she telling him that? "I used to go to pubs all the time with my dad. That was way back when I was a kid. Ever since he transferred to America for his job, he rarely came home to visit my mom and I. And that was then when my family started to drift apart..."
Isogai stared at her. What she was going through is what he and Kataoka are going through. Except, hers relates to family, and Isogai and Kataoka are just strangers that just so happen to be dating.
"Aha! Sorry about that! I didn't mean to blurt that stuff out. I just... get lonely without my dad sometimes." There was a pause. "You must think I'm such a loud person," the girl stated while staring at the floor of the pub.
"Not at all." At that, she lifted her face to meet the eyes of the bartender. Shimmery, golden eyes. He had been staring at her. "My nights have been boring all this time. But tonight was different. I don't usually converse with customers. This is probably the first, ever long-lasting conversation I had with one," he said with a genuine smile.
"No way. That can't be true. You? A bartender? Barely talks to people? Ha. Ha. Very funny." Isogai laughed at her sarcastic comment.
"I'm not kidding. The old men here don't like to share their thoughts, so if that's the case, I don't share mine as well."
"Woah. And my mom says that I have issues," said the girl. Isogai couldn't help but to chuckle. Both of his arms were spreaded wide on the counter, allowing his upper half of his body to lean forward against the counter.
"So... Miss. You've got a nam-"
"Come with me." Isogai was interrupted by the girl, who had one of her palms on the back of his hand.
"What? Where?"
"Geez, you ask too many questions. I just want you to come with me. No?"
"Uhm. I'd like to know where we're going first," Isogai said.
"You really think I'm that type of person? I'm not gonna use you or your body," she said, filling her voice with laughter. "I just want you to follow me tonight. Maybe have a little fun."
Fun? Tonight? Isogai blushed. He's getting laid? And to someone other than Kataoka?
"Ah no! It's not like that. I told you! I won't be vandalizing your body. Just two people, walking downtown, having some fun, as friends! I figured you needed to take a break from work. I can see the fatigue laying on your shoulders. It's THAT obvious."
"I-uh actually, my friend asked me to hang out tonight as well, and-"
"Oh! If you had other plans, then just say so," she said with that smile she did earlier. He couldn't take it anymore. Her smile was killer. It was strong to make him feel butterflies in his stomach. "Seriously. It's alright! If I were you, I would rather hang out with a friend than a complete stranger."
"I guess I could just tell him that I have other plans." With that, the blond's eyes shot up with excitement and happiness. "And plus, you even said it yourself. The two of us. Going downtown. As friends. Are we not?" The girl couldn't help but to smile widely while shutting her eyes tightly. A small tint of red evident on her cheeks. She nodded happily.
The two of them didn't realize it but the pub was now empty. Apparently the three old men have left while they were deciding whether to go or not.
"Welp. Looks like they overheard our little convo," said the girl. "And the whole pub is cleared. So... You ready?"
"Yeah... yeah. I'm ready."