Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .
Story: Modern world, hybrid AU. Ash Ketchum was a Persian hybrid that worked at a crazy café with her crazy boss Colress. She really didn't want to get entangled with the likes of Giovanni, Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie in their bid to create as many chaos in her life as they could.
Set as an AU.
Spoilers: Nope.
Warnings: Perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…
Pairings: BurntLedgerShipping

Kitty Claws
Chapter Two: Black and Blue, All Over You

Cyrus Akagi was a successful business man. He had created his business from scratch and expanded it to be where it was today. He didn't care for many things, and he had no patience for frivolities or for what people called 'spirit.' It was a waste of time and he saved his energy for matters that should actually concern him.

Which brought the question to ask himself why he was in a cosplay restaurant.

It had been brought to his attention that his secretary, a Purrloin hybrid named Jupiter, had been harassing a Persian hybrid regularly on the bullet train on the way to work. It had bothered him for some reason, so he had sought out where this Persian hybrid could possibly be located at.

That led to him finding out that the 17 year old female worked at the ExoCos Café, which was a café run by a group of hybrid females and owned by a male human. The set up seemed right out of a manga or anime.

At the moment, he'd been seated and was waiting for her. He knew the owner had told him she wouldn't be by yet, but he decided it didn't matter and he would wait for her. And then the owner came not long after and told him that she was getting dressed and would serve him soon. He didn't know why he suddenly felt nervous, but he pushed the feeling away.

He also admitted, just to himself, that he was uncomfortable in this setting. Not just because the café was full of hybrid waitresses (his company willingly employed them, though it wasn't full of them like Gio Corp.), but because they were all wearing fancy, expensive and lacy French Maid uniforms.

Each waitress wore a uniform that had a mid-thigh skirt that fluffed out and was made with plenty of frills and lace. The connecting torso garment was just as frilly and lacy, clinging tight to their bodies and especially highlighting their bosoms. Each of them were uniquely different from each other, being different types of hybrids.

Honestly, he was surprised to see so many of them gathered in one spot.

If he recalled, hybrids were rare and most people were wary and even outright despised their presence. Employment for them wasn't so high either. It meant more likely that this place, despite being created and owned by a human male, had specifically targeted hybrids to be employees and had given them a place to seek work at.

It was ironically very humanitarian of that odd male –

"Welcome home, Master, to the ExoCos Café," a female voice suddenly said to his side, and he turned to face whoever it was, slightly startled from his thoughts.

The Persian hybrid his secretary had stalked in particular had very long legs that were accentuated by the short skirt ensemble. Light-haired fur dusted her body, and on top of the black hair on her head, lay two rounded ears that were rimmed black as well.

The small, shy smile on her muzzle showed two pointed teeth from her upper jaw, and three thick whiskers on either side of her cheeks twitched the longer he continued to stare at her. Alongside her honey eyes, tinted red, there was also the trademarked red jewel in the center of her forehead.

Her tail had a curl at its end and swayed slightly. Suddenly, the tail went upright.

"Oh no, her tail's up!" he heard someone say and then all of a sudden, Cyrus found himself sprawled on his back on the floor after the feline hybrid had pounced on him. One of her claws threaded through his hair slightly.

"Mou! Your hair is so soft and really light blue! I really like it!"

Cyrus stared up at her grinning face in bewilderment.

She was pulled off of him by the blond owner, who had introduced himself as Colress earlier.

Colress smiled slightly. "Sorry about that. Ash here has a rather...odd fetish for hair, particularly men's hair. Just be warned that if you see her tail go up, she's likely going to pounce. Not that it matters if you notice or not –she's quite fast!"

Cyrus couldn't help but continue his bewildered watch of the events. This was...like nothing he'd ever experienced before. It was, if he could describe it all, "weird" as Mars (one of his more dedicated employees) would say.

Colress pushed the Persian hybrid away. "Go get ready to serve him," he muttered at her, and she left with a distinctive pout. Colress then turned back to him.

"She largely tends to communicate with body language at times, so if you pay attention, you'll mostly understand her and any hidden meanings she may convey," the blond said smartly, pushing up his glasses. "Although she's the only Persian hybrid I've encountered, I've also deduced from observations that due to her lithe muscles, she walks about without any sound and it'll be hard to not be startled by her sudden appearances."

Colress rummaged around in one of his pockets, before pulling out a ribbon that had an attached bell to it. He tossed it to Cyrus, who caught it numbly.

"Tie that around one of her wrists. It'll marginally make the situation better," Colress suggested. "You'll also find it hard to sneak up on her, since her whiskers are very sensitive to the changes in air movements. Trust me, I continuously test that theory," he said wryly.

Cyrus wondered if he only explained about Ash's abilities as a hybrid, or it was done for all the hybrids. It would make sense, considering the variety of hybrids working there, and people would probably be curious. It was also probably a mandatory part of this café, being that the hybrids were the main attraction, and not just the cosplaying part of the place. It would be ideal to have the hybrids entertain the customers with their unique attributes, and even be a condition of customers in having a hybrid, rather than a mundane person, as a waitress.

"Ah, here she comes!" Colress nodded at him, before excusing himself.

And then Ash was back, bowing profusely in apology.

"It's fine," he held up a hand, and still processing the inner workings of this place.

"Again, welcome home, master," she re-greeted him, holding out a wipe towel and a menu for him.

He took them from her and got up from the floor, seating himself at the table. Seeing the food, he also wondered if everyone there had the same on their menu from every other hybrid. It couldn't hurt to ask…

Ash scrunched up her nose, her muzzle twitching in thought.

"Eh, I think we have different stuff. Like Misty, for example, can't really cook anyway. So most of the stuff on there are things we can cook individually, or food that's ordered from the back, where our cook Cilan makes all the main dishes."

He looked at the main food menu, and saw that omurice, spaghetti, and ice cream were some of the more popular dishes and desserts and were what was some of the things ordered from the back. The drinks included certain brands of beer and even had champagne on there.

When he turned to the back of that, he saw what was Ash's personal menu. It listed her current menu food for the day, which made him assume that it was changed up every day and that she had a variety of cooking skills and was one of the better cooks amongst the maids.

Curiously, he looked at the next part of the menu, and saw it held extracurricular stuff. He almost dropped it though, by seeing what was included for a cosplay restaurant.

Apparently, customers could ask to take a polaroid picture with the waitress, play cards, video games, or even schedule a photography session with the maid. But then there were more unusual choices, such as ear cleaning, a foot or hand massage (although it seemed like Ash did full massages, according to this menu), or even have "dates" with the maids.

There was also that…

"Why would one ask to be slapped and why is it so expensive?" Cyrus was taken aback by the inclusion of it on the menu.

Ash laughed, though a tinge of exasperation was in her tone.

"It's actually a popular addition for some people. It's expensive to discourage the request, and Colress doesn't want someone to end up suing for assault or something, but you know...people have their specific tastes..."

"How long...how long do I have you for?" he asked, his nervousness coming back again.

"It depends on what food and services you order for," she explained, giving him an encouraging smile.

"...I'll order ramen," Cyrus decided rather anticlimactically.

"Yes, Master! Right away!"

There had been a point to his visit, he was sure. He just...couldn't recall after all of this.

Started 12/13/14 – Completed 12/14/14
Started 12/15/14 – Completed 12/16/14

A/n: So haha! Cyrus has arrived and is totally confused. Totes awesome for us though, eh? I hope everyone enjoyed and liked this chapter! Thanks to all those who faved and alerted. Please continue to lend your support and send in reviews, favs, and alerts!