Chapter 3
"Wow. You look, sexy!"
"Shut up!" Mao glared at him.
Mao walked out of the dressing room wearing his new uniform which consisted of a white t-shirt, black pants and an apron tightly knotted at the waistline of his slim frame.
"Come here." Haruki motioned his hand, "I'm about to open up, all the goods are on the shelves but you'll have to check their number as the day go by and put in orders with me. If the floor gets too hectic just yell for me when I'm in the kitchen. Ok? Questions?"
"No, I get it." He was given a menu this morning with all the prices and a tour around the numbered tables, everything seemed fairly simple.
"Oh! One more thing, smile. I need that pretty face of yours to attract some customers" he teased. Just as Mao was about to snap a remark, the door bell gave a 'Ding'. Mao swiftly looked around with a smile and said,
"Welcome." The young man at the door didn't move an inch, he stared at Mao for what seem like an eternity, Mao broke his intense stare and began towards the new customer, "how may I help you sir?"
"Ah, forgive me; I'm here to see Haru." He looked behind Mao and gave Haruki a wave. "How's it going buddy?" he gave Mao another look before walking over to the counter.
"Hey, what's up? Oh wait." Haruki peeked over at Mao and called him over, "This is my friend Shiki, he lives around the area, and his dad owns the building. Shiki, this is Mao, he's my new employee and roommate."
Shiki hung his hand in the air, Mao took it and gave it a shake, but Shiki didn't let go, then suddenly he planted a kiss on the back of it. To Mao's surprise he pulled away. "Hey!" Haruki snapped at once "Don't you dare lay your hands on him. Aren't you with that cute little school boy anyways?" he quickly changed the subject, didn't want to put Mao on the spot.
"That's history haha, wanna go out and play tonight?" he pointed to Mao who was setting the tables near the back windows, "you should bring your pretty new friend too." He suggested.
"I know better than to bring a lamb into a wolf's nest. I think I'll pass on tonight anyways."
"Oh come on, don't be like that, or are you trying to keep him for yourself." Shiki smirked
"He's new in town, don't give him any bad ideas you idiot."
"Is that so… you've picked up quite a beauty" Shiki simply stated
"If you're gonna mark around, go home." Haruki sternly replied
"So you're not denying it?" he said as he stood up, "keep a good eye on him, or he might be snatched away." He gave Haruki a wink. "See you later Haru. And you, Mao." He grinned before leaving.
Not long after, the bakery began to fill and soon the floor was full. Mao noticed the majority of the customers were young females and teenage girls, because they would look at him and giggle or whisper. This wasn't anything new to him, ever since high school as his appearance began to mature it attracted unnecessary attention. Kunugi was one.
"Oi Mao, we're taking a break, just leave the tables, you can set it later." Haruki had already turned the open sign around to 'closed'. Mao came over to sit at the counter; he gave a long sigh out of exhaustion. "You better stay alive for the afternoon shift. Here." Passing Mao a glass of Ice Chai Tea, then he cut a slice of the freshly baked Red Velvet Cake onto a plate and pushed it towards him.
"You never told me this job was such a torture."
"Haha, sorry it was unexpectedly busy this morning; normally we're not half this crowded. There's a college nearby, the girls on break probably texted all their friends over to check out the new hottie in town." A smirk sneaked on his face.
"Are you sure they're not just here to see you?" Mao returned the smirk "They sounded fairly intimate too, what was that name they were calling you…? Oh I remember now, Haru?" raising his eyebrows while trying to hold in his laughter.
"If you're jealous you can call me that too."
"Can I now, Haru chan?"
"Do I fit that image?"
"You do look like a big grizzly bear without teeth and the claws though." Mao said as he took another spoonful of the red cake.
"Well I can guarantee you, I'm not always fuzzy and claw-free, you don't wanna get on my bad side."
"A threat, huh?" Taking another bite.
"You scared?" the smile never left Haruki's face but a hint of seriousness appeared.
"We'll see when that happens." Finishing off the last corner, Mao drank the rest of his tea and stood up. "When do we open again?"
"In 45 minutes, from 2 to 5 and we'll be done for today. Do you need a nap?"
"I'm tougher than I look. I'll set the tables for later."
An urgent knock rocked the door; Mao got up from the sofa and ran towards the loud knocks or rather bangs. "Oh it's you Shiki san, are you alright?" he reeked of alcohol, and yet still holding a bag of beers in hand. He leaned against the door frame for support.
"Is Haru here, or would you like to join me for a drink instead?" Shiki asked as he raised the bag of beers.
"I'd rather not, but Haruki is just taking a bath now, you can come in and wait for him." Mao remained calm, he didn't like this man, not because he had a big intimidating built, but his sharp eyes hid a tint of danger, Mao felt uneasy when this man was around. As he led the way he could feel eyes boring into the back of his head, Mao spun around to face this man. He recognised this look, he had seen it too many times; a condescending expression with disgust and suspicion. Mao took a step back.
"So what are you doing here? Are you after his money or his body? Spill it pretty boy, did his parents send you?" he demanded casually. How many times had he done this before? He seemed awfully used to this.
"What's it to you?" Mao held his stand.
"The real question is, what's he to you?" Shiki jabbed his finger on Mao's chest.
"Like Haruki said, I'm his new employee and roommate."
"Employee I can believe but Haru hasn't let anyone into that room ever since-" he abruptly stopped speaking as if he's said too much.
"Don't worry, I know about it."
"So I see you've done your research."
"No, Haruki told me it himself. I only just got here yesterday. Now, why don't you back off." Mao fired back, he had had enough of this man, he hadn't done anything to deserve this interrogation.
He burst out laughing, then without a warning he pushed Mao with a shocking force on both shoulders, Mao fell right back landing on the sofa. "You think I'm an idiot? If you're after Haru's money I suggest you go somewhere else, with this pretty face of yours I'm sure you'll do just fine."
"I'm not after whatever money you're talking about" Mao tried to get up quickly but Shiki crashed him back down, in an instant he was on top of Mao, the boy slammed his hands against the man's chest to push him back.
"Then you're looking for a playmate? I'd be more than happy to help out." He grabbed Mao's wrists and locked them above his head, he roughly nibbled on Mao's earlobe, and then he bit down. Mao yelped in response shaking his head in protest. "Leave Haru alone." He whispered in a dark serious tone.
"Get off." Mao gave him a fierce gaze, "I don't have to explain myself to you, but that protective complex of yours… I think maybe you're the one who is after Haruki."
Shiki's expression screwed up, his hoist his free hand towards Mao. "Shiki! Stop! What the hell are you doing?" Haruki ran over in his bathrobe screaming. "Get off him!" as Shiki began to get up, Haruki dragged on his shoulder to speed things up.
"Chill man, we're just playing around." Haruki looked down at Mao and helped him sit up,
"Yeah, it's nothing." Mao gave a casual smile. This is the one guy he didn't want to make an enemy out of if he were to stay in this town, if it's not too late already.
"Are you okay?" Haruki asked gently still holding Mao's shoulder. Mao nodded firmly. In the corner of his eyes, he saw fire burning up in Shiki's eye. At that instance Mao understood - Shiki liked Haruki, this was simply jealousy. "Go home Shiki, that's enough. I said I didn't want to drink with you, I have bills to do tonight."
Shiki sulked like a big kid but obeyed Haruki's order anyways; he gave Mao another sharp glance before walking out the door."What did he do?" he looked Mao up and down until finally spotting a reddening bite mark on his right ear, suddenly the air gloomed over his wet fringe. He reached out and stroked the burning flesh.
"Ah…!" it hurt but Mao felt very sensitive at where Haruki touched him, angry at himself for letting out such a guilty sound he blushed and lowered his head. "Umm, really it was nothing, I think he was just drunk."
"Mao, if anything happens, I want you to be honest and tell me okay? I can protect you."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because I think you're the one, I think you're the one he had sent to save me. You're my second chance." He didn't blink twice while looking deep into Mao's eyes searching for some affection in return. "I've had enough of this guilt and self-loathing, I want to fall in love with you and I think I might already am. Ever since the first time I saw you, a flicker of spark lit up in my heart, I remember the feeling..." he was so earnest Mao regretted asking the question now.
"Sorry. I don't believe in love at first-sight. You were probably attracted to my appearance, you don't even know the real me or what I've done in the past. I'm not worth it Haruki, there's someone waiting for you out there." Mao grabbed the hands on his shoulders and held them tightly in his own. "I don't deserve any second chances Haruki."
"No, the fact that you sound regretful in your voice means you're not a bad person, why don't you confront your past so you can move on?"
"He's dead. I killed him. There's nothing to confront." Memory lane wasn't exactly the road he wanted to go down, but why was he spilling such a dark story to this unfamiliar guy he had only met yesterday. "I only want to live the rest of my days ordinarily to repay him."
"You're lying, you're not telling the full story." Haruki seems to be in denial
"Why would I lie about something like this?"
"How did he die?" Haruki demanded to know, his expression full of confusion.
"He was a detective and I was his spy, he was going to retire after that case but I withheld crucial information from him because I didn't want to let him go, but in the end he got shot before he could finish his investigation. Don't you see? It's all my fault!" he held his face in his hands, sobs began to fill the silent night.
"Shhh…Shhh…Shhh…"Haruki moved closer and wrapped his arms around Mao's trembling frame. "Hey calm down. Let's think about this rationally." Haruki stroked Mao's hair calmly to massage the tension away. "You know, you can keep thinking that it's your fault and blame yourself for the rest of your life. Or you can accept the reality that the one who shot him is a cold-blooded murderer behind bars, not you…" he sighed. "Sometimes… love can be selfish and selfless Mao. Given the circumstances I'm sure he loved you too but his love was selfless." Mao wanted so much to believe in those words, he wanted so much to forgive himself but that would mean betraying his love for Nagakura. He just shook his head in Haruki's chest.
"Mao. The past can hurt but you can run from it or learn from it."
None of them said anything, there was just a long silent where they sat and held each other tight.
