Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME nor anything canonical. All the storylines are my intellectual property.
Rating: T.
Summary: Akira's ninja skills are put to the test.
Author's Notes (4/21/07): Yeah, I have no idea where this little piece came from.
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With Flair
It was originally a teasing comment made on Mai and Midori's part that caused the mess in the first place.
"You want me to what?" Akira asked incredulously.
"We need a new bartender, and Midori-chan was saying that we should teach you how to do it," Mai said happily. "I think it's a great idea, and weren't you telling Takumi that you were going to start looking for a part-time job?"
Akira silently promised to have a long discussion with her live-in boyfriend about what to tell and what not tell his nosy sister. "You do realize that I've never handled alcohol in my life. I've got no experience being a bartender."
"There are classes and on-the-job training," Mai said helpfully. "And we don't need you right away, so you'd have time to practice."
"Sorry Mai-san, but we don't need money that badly. Find someone with actual training," Akira said dismissively.
Midori grinned and Akira frowned; the former wore that shit-eating smile whenever she was about to win an argument. "Oh, that's not a problem. I just made the suggestion because I thought you'd be good at it. Obviously, you think differently."
"Stop trying to bait me, Midori-sensei."
"Hey, I'm being helpful here," Midori said, holding her hands up. "Thinking of ways you can earn extra money without your class-work suffering. But you're right, you don't have any training. So is Takumi looking for a job too, even though he's going to be starting one of the hardest years in his college career?"
It was a more than tempting thought to quickly disembowel the redhead – both of them, really – but in the end Akira reluctantly agreed to go with Mai and get more information about the job. Both she and Takumi were both third years at Fuuka University, and Akira knew how much time and effort he needed to put into his studies if he was planning to go onto graduate school.
The things you do for love, she thought with a grimace as Mai introduced her to the current bartender at the Star Sapphire. He looked her up and down, and Akira just gave him a deadpan glare in return.
"No offense," he said bluntly, "but you don't look like you'd handle the job too well."
Oh really? "What's so hard about it?"
He lifted one of the vodka bottles – tightly capped – and the stainless steel shaker. "Watch."
Then he began spinning them around his body, tossing them to himself in wildly complex moves and spins that looked very impressive. They danced from hand to hand, and when he set them down, he looked particularly pleased with himself. Both Mai and Midori clapped appreciatively.
That's nothing, Akira thought. I could do better.
Midori's wink told her the same thing.
But rather than challenge the man here, she found herself more interested in the job. It was something that could keep her finger skills and reflexes up, and though it didn't involve dangerous weapons (more's the pity) she could get paid to basically throw stuff around and catch it. All she really needed to do was learn how to mix the drinks. So she asked, "Let's assume that I can do what you've just done. What else is involved in this job?"
The man gave her a look of disbelief. "You think you can do this?" he asked, tossing the shaker around again.
"Yes." She said it without a trace of pride; it was simply a fact.
He caught it and thumped it on the counter with an annoyed cough. "Fine. Come back tomorrow, and me and the manager will run you through."
Akira was about to protest when Mai gently grabbed her shoulder. "Hands-on training," she whispered.
So the kunoichi bit her lip and agreed.
The following day she returned to Mai's work about two hours before the restaurant was due to open for dinner. The manager asked her if she had any experience of the sort, and Akira said she didn't have the experience he wanted but she knew what she was doing.
"Do you, or don't you? Star Sapphire is famed for its bartenders having flair skills, and if you don't have them then you shouldn't be here," the current bartender said, then grumbled, "Shouldn't have listened to Tokiha. What the hell does she know?"
Akira's thinly-veiled annoyance suddenly turned cold and sharp. You did not just insult my boyfriend's sister, did you? "All right, asshole, I'll prove what I can do. Give me a couple of bottles."
He literally threw her three, watching with an arrogant smirk as he expected her to drop them.
It slowly disappeared over the next few minutes as the manager's eyes became wider with delight. And after she was done, she brought the bottles down and said, with great coolness, "This had better be worth it."
Two hours later, she had a free ride through bartending school and a job when she completed it.
Years later, even after she'd left Star Sapphire and found more lucrative, well-paying jobs in downtown nightclubs, Akira had to admit that it was a pretty good idea at the time.
Damned if she'd tell that to Mai or Midori, though.
