Zharenye Krevetki

Intro: -Saving Jane, 'Imperfection'- And the real story unfolds… The prologue is more of an epilogue, so it's set after the series… (heh) I'm going to warn you now – this story is completely fictional. None of these events could never take place as they do here. There is lots of drama towards the end and I assure you that two pretty boys do not fall in love after some teasing and a boat-load of manipulation.

A/N: See? See? There's the menu for you! (points down) I'm shutting up now…


Ochen'Celes – Authentic Cuisine to you!
Restaurant Hours
OPEN 5 DAYS A WEEK
10 AM – 5 PM
CLOSED SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS


It had been quite some time since the last customer. Times like this were prime for breaks but it was quite lonely. The chef in the back was always ignoring him – no matter how angry he was able to make the other. He pulled at his black bow tie – that was his uniform – a simple, black bow-tie with a deep indigo, beautifully-embroidered vest with two tails in the back, a silk, button-up shirt partly open and a pair of very nice trousers. That was the same outfit he wore every day after he returned from school. It had to be that way – he was the manager of a very respectful restaurant, after all.

Yes, it was uncommon for a boy his age to be running a restaurant of this popularity at his tender age, but he had been doing so since he was ten years old. His thoughts of mundane problems were interrupted with the arrival of a customer. His bright, cerulean eyes focused on the boy – dressed in loose cargo pants, and a sweat shirt seeming two-sizes too big. The sleeves were rolled up in a messy manner and his bangs loosely dangled from their spiked position. This boy was probably from one of the poorer districts.

"Hmm…what kind of restaurant is this…?" He asked. It was late mid-day after the lunch-hour rush but before the dinner-time sprint. After searching about an hour for a fine-dining establishment, he found himself at this location.

The teenager was greeted by a similar-aged boy with a bright smile. "Hello and welcome to Ochen'Celes! This establishment serves authentic cuisine. Shall I seat you – maybe take your coat?"

The boy nodded, taking his coat and handing it to his blond host. He glanced around – the restaurant was a single room with what seemed an extra room for large parties. It was decorated in sleek accents and decorations with simple furnishings.

A certain painting of an icy, ocean scene on the wall caught his attention. Waves were crashing onto a small cottage. There were icebergs floating about on the other side of the ocean, though. On the right side of the picture, there were hard winds and hail but on the other side it was calm and settled. The rackety cottage was torn in between it all. As he stepped closer to the picture he realized it was a photo.

"May I?" the host asked, leading the boy to a seat. "My name is Fai. Please call me when you make your mind up. I'll be over in hasted pace."

The boy nodded. Glancing over to the photo again, he pointed to it. "Have you been there?"

Fai flipped his head, causing the golden strands of hair to flop to the other side. After a brief moment, a simple grin formed on his face. "Yes," he replied, "I was born there. My family moved out here soon afterwards. This ryotei has been in my family for quite some time. After my grand-mother passed away, we moved here to take over."

The boy twitched his crimson eyes. "I see. Sorry about that."

Fai tossed his head from side to side. "Don't worry about that. I didn't know her. Anyhow, are you ready to order?"

"Uh…yeah," the tan boy pointed to something on the menu and the blond nodded, leaving the other alone briefly. There was music going on in the background – a hard, etchy sounding instrument accompanied by a beautiful voice of a young girl. It was definitely foreign music – the language was not understandable.

Fai returned with a bright smile on his face. He was carrying a sleek-black tray that was shiny enough to show a reflection of ones' self when looked at. It carried a china glass with hot water and a heat-insulated teapot with enough hot water for about two more glasses. Alongside the tea was a little box with a few flavors of tea. Fai placed the tray on a mini-stand and allowed the boy to take his choice of tea.

"So," Fai began, "your order might take a while. Are you from around this part?"

The boy's eyes widened. "Is it in your job to harass your customers?"

The blond frowned. "It was a simple question. I didn't mean anything by it, you know – the small chat."

"My name is Kurogane. I come from a family who runs an onsen in the country. My family wants me to take over but I have no intention of doing so," Kurogane explained, "I want to pursue a life in the athletic field – kendo's my life and always will be. I was accepted in this year's tournament. I'll be participating. I've never been in a city before, so I came a week early to get the feel of things and get used to life out here."

Fai nodded. "I see. I guess…I can understand. Sometimes you feel so trapped within family matters. Things tangle up to the point of no escape."

The raven-haired boy grunted. "There's always escaping. You just gotta run away. I'm considering that, but there are really no plans so far… As long as they don't choose my wife for me, I think I'll be alright…"

Golden eyelashes settled mid-way on their azure hold. That was an option Fai had never once considered – arranged marriage. His family would probably choose a foreign bride from abroad for him…

"So you're a foreigner?" Kurogane asked.

Fai's golden locks bounced up and down. "Yes. We're formally from northern country overseas."

"Where?" the boy asked, taking a sip of his tea.

There was lingering silence before the blond sat upright and took the tray away. "…I'll go check up on your entrée."

As the flaxen boy left for the kitchen, Kurogane sighed. This kid must have some sort of complex over his past. People like that shouldn't keep things bottled up like he was, but then again, that advice could be applied to himself as well. After debating with himself (loosing desperately,) Fai returned.

The slender boy placed a strange-looking plate in front of the other. Kurogane stared at the concoction. "What the Hell is that?"

Fai flinched at the use of bad language; it was rude and unacceptable the way he was raised. "That would be your order," he calmly stated.

"Well what is it?" the boy demanded, seeming skeptical about the food.

Fai replaced the disgust in his mind with a tight grin. He smiled broadly with a matter-of-fact voice, "A great chef never gives out their secrets."

"A great chef doesn't kill their customers," a mumbling voice grumbled under a hushed breath.

Fai sat down contently with his elbow on the table and his cheek caressed in his hand. The boy stared at the groaning male. Every now and then a whimper of disgust filled the room, but for the most part it was silent with the background music clashing against the sound of silverware scratching the plate.

"How…How the Hell do you use these things?" Kurogane cried in defeat. He flung the fork across the room. The silver piece landed in the wall, making four miniscule holes in their resting space. Fai frowned.

"I'm going to ask that you don't throw our silverware, Kuro-Pyu," Fai stated with a somewhat serious tone.

The other boy shook his head with his upper-lip twitching. "Wh-What is up with that damn name?" Kurogane demanded.

"Well, you're big and strong," Fai explained, pulling the fork out with some difficulty. He groaned in discomfort until the fork finally gave way. Fai examined the holes it make and frowned again. It would be hard to seal these holes up before the dinner sprint. Looking back at his customer, he grinned. "A puppy – that's what you're like."

Unbelieving eyes trembled with a furious blush. A puppy was a baby doggie – er, dog and any baby animal was considered, 'cute.' On top of that, he was given some freaky nick-name – this was beyond his human capacity.

"What gives you any right to call me anything like that?" Kurogane demanded again. He was the customer here, he could demand whatever the Hell he wanted, he reasoned.

Fai frowned once more after returning from the kitchen. There was a screaming sound after a clinking noise – the chef probably saw the bent fork in all its shining glory. "You broke our piece and put four hard-to-fix holes in my wall and now you think you have the right to yell at me? My, Kuro-Tan, you have some guts. It's a wonder that your family still wants you to take over their onsen. You have none of the necessary skills to run an establishment of that level. I don't think I would even hire you as a waiter for this restaurant."

Kurogane growled at the other, signaling his leave. He flung a twenty-five-dollar bill on the table for the meal. A grumbled, 'thanks,' left his mouth before he was caught by the collar.

He flipped his head to glare at the blond who caught him. His eyes flashed a bright, bloody red.

"You are going to pay for that fork, yes?" a sadistic voice assured, smiling gently at the other's fierce glower.

"Hell no," Kurogane replied, slapping the other's wrist away. He smirked. "It's just a fork."

"It's a fork that costs one-hundred-and-twenty-five dollars for a set of five," Fai replied. "Alone that's twenty-five dollars for one, and that's not counting the holes in the wall. You are going to pay for the damages, yes? Or shall I take that out of your pay-check?"

"My…what?" Kurogane glared with a fierce glare. They widened a tad. "What the Hell are you talking about?"

"Kuro-Pyon doesn't seem like the type to have reserved a hotel room to stay at. Was he expecting to sleep on the streets?" Fai teased while biting his tongue. It was true – Kurogane gulped. Fai continued, "On top of that, you have the gall to waltz into someone's restaurant and break their property. Why don't you take responsibility for once?"

Kurogane's glower didn't faltered but cold sweat ran down his forehead profusely. "S-So what do you propose?"

"I'll give you food and board and even a place to practice your kendo, but you have to work for me free in your spare time!" Fai cheered, clasping his hands together tightly.

Kurogane blinked in amazement before he was grabbed by the collar without a reply. It didn't matter what he said or however much he cursed – the blond was definitely stronger than he looked, dragging him across the floor. It was somewhere between the lines Kurogane figured this might be one of the longest segments of his life…


Afterthoughts: Okay, so chapter one is finished. This fic will only take place during Kurogane's stay. Then the fic ends. (Nyah!) Not too long, yaya! (smiles) Please review, they make me happy and I have the best puppy-dog eyes ever. (puppy-dog eyes)