Kyoko and the One Coin Shop

Description: Kyoko goes to the 100 Yen Shop and finds 1000 yen on the ground... What kind of marvelous things will she buy? A secret admirer is watching...

"Ahhh," Kyoko sighed quietly, staring adoringly at the tiny, bell-shaped princess figurines lining the shelf before her. With pearly painted dresses and slim waists, their large, doe-like eyes pleaded with her to buy every one of them. 'Please Kyoko,' They seemed to say, 'Take us home!' Their tiaras and wings sparkled in unison, causing the stunned girl to shield her eyes from their brilliance.

'Little princesses,' Kyoko thought to herself. '...Fairy princesses?'

"What could you want with a commoner like me?...!" Kyoko wailed, holding her head and collapsing on her knees. "I don't have a proper garden and my room is too small!"

Walking by the hysterical girl, a young mother with a side-bun pulled her chubby little son close. "Let's go to the toy aisle," She persuaded nervously.

"But momma, we were JUST there..."

Overhearing them, Kyoko snapped from her reverie and quietly took her handbasket's plastic handle. Being on a shoestring budget, she often came to this cheap store to make domestic purchases or to stare at things she could later afford. Yes, this was the place where she bought all her necessities: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, pliers, screwdriver sets, and box cutters.

"I don't have much in my wallet, Princess," Kyoko whispered, plucking up a green gowned lady with short orange hair and a joyful expression. "So I can only invite one of you." Setting the figurine in her basket, something on her right side caught her eye. It was a piece of paper below the shelf– crumpled slightly and laying on the cold, speckled linoleum.

'This is...' Kyoko thought, glaring down at the green and purplish banknote. On its surface, a concerned man stared back at her knowingly. 'Congratulations on finding me,' he seemed to say. 'I will fold my feelings and reward you with the 1000 amount on my shoulder.'

"WAH–" She gasped, snatching the banknote off the ground and holding it up to the light. Glancing through its paper thin body, she finally accepted that it was genuine. "But is it really okay to take this?" She asked herself aloud, standing up with her handbasket and wandering close to the checkout counter.

"Eh... Excuse me," Kyoko began, summoning an idle cashier. "I found this. On the ground." She produced the banknote from her folded palm– flashing it before the young man.

"Oh, is that so?" He asked, smiling at her. "You'll have to pay for that, then, since everything here is 100. But don't worry, you get to keep the change."

"Eh?...!"

"Just kidding. Take it."

"Right! ...Good one!" She forced a cracked smile. 'So much so, that my brain was about to explode from the paradox.'

"And don't forget," He said in a mischievous manner. "You can buy 10 more items with that here... Not that I'm trying to make you feel obligated to spend or anything..."

"That's impossible. There's sales tax." Kyoko halted his effort to tease her. 'What is this guy thinking? It's not wise to spend so much money in such a cheap store...'

Walking back by the shelf of fairy princesses, she resisted her urge to get nine more figurines. Despite her efforts, though, she found her body inching closer and closer to the shelf all by itself– all until her elbow smacked into the middle shelf.

"Eyah!" She leapt, staring at the offender. Once again, the doe-eyed princesses casted their spell, begging her: 'One more won't hurt. Please? Just one more? Princesses like sticking together.'

"You're right," Kyoko congregated with the fairy princesses. "Belina will get lonely all by herself..." (She had already named the green gowned princess in her basket.) Reaching for one more figurine, Kyoko chose a purple gowned lady with long black hair and a serious expression.

Setting the figurine in her basket, she skipped off down the cosmetic and accessory aisle. 'I still have enough money left for about eight more items. I should be able to splurge a little more. The banknote was a lucky gift, after all. Right?'

Kyoko stopped, gawking at the shelf wall before her. Packages of cardboard backed lipsticks and eyeliners hung in abundance, shimmering with their glossy and hi-quality packaging. 'Name brand products?...!' She trembled in disbelief. 'In this store? How can that be possible? I know... it must've been overstock.'

"Today, fortune smiles upon me," Kyoko muttered to herself, leaning in close to chose a package. For lipstick... 'Oh, that color is named Rosa Rosa! ... But it's such a bright pink, I would feel self-concious wearing it.' Choosing a more subdued pink named Midnight Pumpkin (for why a pink would be named pumpkin, she had no idea), she continued on her search for more goods.

Two makeup packages rattled pleasingly in her basket, along with the two ceramic princesses. Grabbing her usual soaps and toiletries, she headed off for the hardware and craft aisle and threw a roll of floral wire into her basket. Picking up a package of mini pliers, her eyes shimmered as she examined their soft spongey handles. "They're mini. Really tiny..." She observed, melting from their cuteness. Behind her, the sound of a box being ripped open stirred her to look.

"We got mini screwdriver sets in, too. If you're interested," A familiar young man informed her, holding his box cutter down as he ran his hand through his short black hair.

'It's the guy who wants me to completely spend my treasure.' Kyoko realized, recognizing him as the cashier she had previously spoken with. "Aren't they just jeweler's screwdrivers, then?" She inquired. 'I already have enough of those.'

"No, they're literally mini screwdrivers. See?" He said, opening the cardboard box and handing her a clear plastic case. "The handles are short but the heads are standard size. Don't they look kind of pudgy that way?"

"Pudgy screwdrivers..." Kyoko smiled, nearly laughing at the fact. "I'll take them. I did come here for some, anyway..." Convinced by his sales pitch, she placed them into her basket. Walking away, the young man straightened his stack of cardboard boxes and threw his box cutter into his green shop apron. Swiftly moving past her, he relocated to the home goods aisle several shelves away.

'That's where I was going next...' Kyoko froze, uncertain of whether to continue on her path. 'He won't think I'm following him if I still go there, right?' Shaking off her paranoid thoughts, she continued as she was.

Picking up a glass star shaped candy dish, Kyoko carefully felt all its points before placing it back on the shelf. 'Oh. They also still have all those rose colored heart glasses,' she thought, standing back to stare at the glassware selection. Once again, the ripping sound of a cardboard boxed compelled her to look.

"Hey, over here. We got candy dishes in that look like glass slippers," the familiar young man beckoned her over. Lifting a lump of brown paper out from the top stacked box, he carefully unwrapped it to reveal a glass shoe. "It looks like Cinderella's glass slipper, doesn't it?" He asked, handing the dish to her.

"It does, it does!" She cried in delirious joy, holding it up to the light to examine its perfectly shaped heel and form. 'He sure knows his stock! What an efficient employee.'

"I'm glad you like it." The young man smiled, leaning over the tower of boxes and gazing at her for awhile.

"Eheh..." She laughed nervously. 'Why is he looking at me like that? ...Does he want me to buy more?'

"Hey, Takahashi!" A loud voice called, followed by a squatty young man. "I saw your basketball coach up by the front. You still haven't gotten part time permission from the school yet, right?"

"Oh sh–" The young man scrambled, abandoning his stack of boxes and darting off into the nearby back room.

Bewildered by what had just transpired before her, Kyoko went on with the rest of her shopping. After making her final selection– a set of baskets for organizing craft goods– she headed up to the checkout line.

Waiting in line patiently while eyeballing all the cute cell phone charms below the count, Kyoko jumped when a blur whooshed past her. Vaulting over the nearby counter with superhuman speed, the line started moving again as the blur revealed himself. "This way, please." The familiar young man known as Takahashi waived at her.

Ringing up her items while pounding the register's keyboard, he handed her a faded receipt and a black pen. "I'll need you signature," he told her.

"Huh? Why? I'm not using a bank card..." She looked at the receipt dubiously. 'And didn't he just pull this out from underneath the counter?...'

"It's a new policy. For banknotes in the amount of 1000 or over."

"I've never heard of such a weird rule..."

"Rules are rules. Don't get me in trouble, please."

Obliging his odd request, Kyoko took the pen and scribbled her name down on the receipt, looking up at him oddly as he bagged her goods. "Thank you. Have a nice day." He smiled and bowed at her, handing them to her.

"Yes, you too." She took the bags and headed out the whirring front automatic door.

Staring after her, a pleased smirk filled the young man's face. Folding up the signed receipt, he kissed it. 'If I outright asked you for an autograph... You might get scared and never come back, right?' He thought. 'Well this is good enough... I'll be silently cheering you on from afar. Hurry up and become an even bigger star, Kyoko.'

"Um, Takahashi," a thin employee warbled, staring down at the ground as he walked. "That 1000 note I lost. Have you seen it yet?"

"Nope."