"Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt."
-Jose` Ortega y Gassett
For the next few days of the week Ashlynn's alarm went off an extra two hours before she normally would get up for school on a day that she didn't train in the morning. For the first month of being in Namimori she would wake up with thirty minutes to get to school and an extra ten before classes were set to start. She had originally started this routine in the sixth grade when she received permission to go run with the Virden high school track and field team in the mornings (in what they called the zero hour class: The class before classes start.) and she had run the same route they had taken right before dinner. She hadn't been the fastest of the group but had averaged in the top ten of the group of fifty students involved. By the time she was a sophomore it was expected that she would have surpassed the first ranked runner. Ashlynn resolved to find out if Namimori high had a track team or not. If they didn't, well it was fine to run by herself until someone she knew ever offered to go with her.
Ashlynn had once asked her older brother Flaithri to run with her and he had up until he left for college. He initially ran with her during the holidays in the mornings but after a few days of waking up early while on break, he told her apologetically that it was enough.
"If you want me to go running with you, I'm going to need some motivation, " He said, "Like a demented clown waving a bloody knife chasing after us."
So the very next morning she gathered some of his friends that lived nearby to dress as clowns with realistic bloody knives to chase them. While it had been funny as hell, was recorded and uploaded on YouTube, and it had been a clever play on words; Flaithri never did run with her again after that stunt. Although it had encouraged Flaithri's friends to chase each other on their respective campus'. The most notable was the four gorillas chasing a banana.
Ashlynn locked her apartment before she left the complex wearing a baggy gray t-shirt, black gym shorts and holding a water bottle in one hand. She also had her I-pod on her upper arm with Velcro but she only put in one ear piece while the other was tucked into her shirt. She was going to explore a bit more of the streets in Namimori. So far she knew the route to the school, the library, and Fukano's bakery. So she was now jogging around the residential area to get a better feel of the surrounding areas.
After running in zig zags for an hour while committing the street names to memory; Ashlynn found that she was near Tsuna'a house. She was about to pass it by in favor of more exploring before she was greeted by a voice from the top of the wall surrounding the Sawada property.
"Ciaossu." It was Reborn sitting on the ledge separating one house from another, petting Leon, the little chameleon who was perched in the hitman's tiny palm.
Ashlynn jogged in place and greeted back. "Ah, Reborn. Good morning"
"Meagher Ashlynn, I want you to join Tsuna's family." He stated.
"Tsuna-san's family?" Ashlynn stilled, head tilted to one side unaware of the face she was making . 'Wow, Reborn, right to the chase huh? And only after one encounter with you and Tsuna.' She thought.
"Yes, It wasn't a lie that he is going to be a mafia boss. I want you to join the next generation of the Vongola Famiglia. Come to Namimori Junior high school, today you have been excused from your classes. This is your pass onto the grounds if someone decides to intercept you. Be there in forty-five minutes." Reborn said handing her a school pass before jumping away and disappearing.
Ashlynn stared at the pass a few moments before turning and sprinting back to her apartment. She was going to need to prepare and she had only so much time to do so. Though really, how do you prepare when you're going to have weapons targeted at you by a top-ranked mafia hitman?
Tsuna rubbed at his eyes sleepily as he walked sluggishly to Namimori Junior high. His morning had been very unpleasant; waking up to the sound of explosions, his limbs were tied together restricting their movement and being face with a rocket launcher aimed at your face wasn't exactly the most ideal way to wake up early in the morning.
"Yaw~~n, I'm so sleepy..." Tsuna rubbed his eyes again, nearly crashing into a light pole because of his hand in front of his eyes.
"Yo, Tsuna, wait for me!" Yamamoto ran up to catch up with him.
"Oh! Yamamoto! Good morning!"
Yamamoto rested his elbow on Tsuna's shoulder. "You look tired Tsuna. Are you staying up really late at night? You've got some really dark circles under your eyes."
"Err…Ah…some stuff has been happening lately." Tsuna said with a forlorn look and sighed tiredly.
'I want to stay as normal friends with Yamamoto…I can't possibly say that a hitman from another mafia family came to assassinate the hitman that is torturing me and living in my home and keeps making the attacking hitman cry, who is also now living with me. And Mom keeps telling me to stop them from fighting each other. Though Lambo starts it and Reborn ignores him or throws his attacks right back at him...and I had to take Lambo outside a few times to get him away from Reborn...' Tsuna began to sweat. '...Is that why he woke me up like he did this morning...? Because I kept leaving because of Lambo when I should have been doing homework...?'
"Well, as long as you're not sleep deprived from studying all night long, than that's good. Otherwise I'd lose my failure buddy, right? Then the teacher would pick on me more often because I didn't study." Yamamoto smiled and good naturedly smacked Tsuna's arm.
"Augh! He struck the Juudaime! That is unforgivable!" Gokudera was watching the exchange from the second story stairs in front of the school's front entrance. 'Damn that baseball bastard!' He crushed an empty pack of cigarettes in his hand,' He's being way to clingy and informal to the Juudaime! His behavior is insulting!' Gokudera looked at the hitman sitting on the railing next to him. "Reborn-san, are you really planning to let that guy into the Juudaime's family?"
"I'm not planning. I've already decided on it. He'll be useful."
"Wha! But he's so, so- Surely there is someone better and more qualified then that-Augh! He hit the Juudaime again! Damn him~~! Do it again, baseball bastard and I will kill you where you stand~~! Reborn-san, please! Please reconsider you decision! I object to have someone so rude like him entering the Vongola Family!" Gokudera pleaded. He looked over to the top hitman for an answer. Reborn was still on the railing, blowing a bubble through his baby nose.
"W-will you not hear me out on this, Reborn-san? I swear he will bring the family into ruin! We just can't risk him joining our ranks!"
Tsuna looked on with horror as Reborn nonchalantly swam in the school's swimming pool in an inner tube, eating a creamsicle. Swimming when no one was allowed to be in the pool area. There was a tray floating on the water's surface within the baby's reach, and Leon was swimming next to his partner; transformed to look like a rubber ducky. Reborn looked up at him without a single care or worry that he (Tsuna) was going to be in a lot of trouble if anyone found out they were here.
Reborn took a small bite out of his frozen treat. "So to put Gokudera's concerns at ease, I have decided to hold the 'Family Entrance Test'."
"What! W-what about my concerns!" Tsuna exclaimed hotly. "I don't want there to be a family and I don't want to be the Boss in the mafia! So why are you deciding these things by yourself! And I'm sure that you're not allowed in the school's pool let alone allowed on campus!
"Oh? Are you feeling left out Tsuna? Would you like to decide what the participants have to do for the test today? Would that make you feel better and more involved?"
"No! No test! And I don't want to be involved with whatever scheme you have cooked up! Yamamoto is my classmate! He's my friend (only one of the very few that I have!) and he's busy with baseball to be involved with your weird world! And what do you mean by 'Participants'? You're not dragging anyone else into this are you?"
"Too late. I already had Gokudera call Yamamoto out to courtyard so they should already be there waiting. And the other participant should be on the way over too." Reborn ignored Tsuna's protests and dived into the water.
"What!" Tsuna screeched, scrambling around the fences that enclosed the perimeter of the pool are and ran towards the courtyard on the other side of the school. "Gokudera-kun, No! What am I going to do if something happens and Yamamoto gets hurt? He won't be able to play baseball anymore! Everyone will hate me and, and...and what if Yamamoto does something drastic again when he can no longer play!"
The thick tension between the two teens was completely one-sided.
Yamamoto smiled at the other boy unaware of the bad mood the other boy was in. "Hey, hey Gokudera. What's with calling me out and giving me the silent stare down? Class has already started without us."
'What a nasty dude...There is no way that someone so weak looking could even think to be able to protect the Juudaime let alone be of any use for the family.' Gokudera glared at the baseball player.
"Here, drink this," Yamamoto offered a cold milk carton to the boy from his school bag. "They say that frustration is caused by not having enough calcium in your system. You can see your stress by your hair. First it'll gray and then before you know it your hair may start falling out."
'That's fucking it! This is my limit with this punk! Prepare to die you idiotic jock!' Gokudera seethed pulling out sticks of dynamite and prepared to attack.
"HEEEEY!"
Gokudera quickly put out the sparks and hid the dynamite sticks behind his back as he turned to face his boss. "Juudaime! Good morning!"
"Hey, Tsuna. You ended up ditching class too?" Yamamoto greeted then pointed behind Tsuna who was hunched over catching his breath. "Hunh? Who's that behind you Tsuna? You brought your little brother to school today?"
Gokudera glared at him and sat down on a nearby bench. Tsuna looked behind him and saw Reborn standing on Leon transformed skateboard and holding onto a rope that was tied around Tsuna's belt and waist band. "Geh! Reborn! No wonder it was heavier when I was running over here!" Tsuna cried.
Reborn ignored him. "Ciaossu. I'm not his little brother. My name is Reborn of the Vongola Famiglia and the strongest hitman in the entire world."
'Ahh! You idiot! Don't say such things so casually! Better yet don't even say anything at all and leave!' Tsuna grasped the sides of his head in frustration.
Yamamoto knelt in front of Reborn. "Hahaha! I see, well, I apologize. It must be troublesome to be the strongest hitman at such a young age."
"Not really. You are going to join the family too." Reborn declared.
Tsuna cut in. "No! Reborn this isn't a good idea!"
"See Reborn-san! Even the great Juudaime agrees with me! I don't see the worth in having a useless person in the family!" Gokudera added.
"Come on Tsuna, Gokudera, he's only a little kid. Besides didn't you do it when you were young too? Pretending to be cops and superheroes?" Yamamoto asked with a perpetual smile.
'H-he thinks that this is all just an elaborate game!' Tsuna thought defeated. Yamamoto grinned and picked Reborn and settled the hitman on his shoulder. Tsuna gaped at the scene in front of him. "Damn you Reborn! He nearly kills me when I even try to touch him! But in front of Yamamoto he's like a borrowed house cat looking for attention! And he's acting all goody goody for him!'
"The next Boss is going to be Tsuna. I am training him to be a Don and how to manage a family." Reborn told the baseball player.
"Oh? That's a very good choice of person." Yamamoto affirmed.
Reborn smirked and motioned to their left towards the gates of the school. "And here comes the other participating contestant to be in Tsuna's family."
The boys looked over to the approaching figure that was walking in their direction. Tsuna flipped. "What! Reborn NO! Don't drag Ashlynn-san into this! I don't want her to even have to worry about the mafia!"
Ashlynn smiled when she stood in front of Tsuna and Yamamoto with Reborn on his shoulders. Gokudera was glaring from his seat on the bench. "Tsuna-san, Reborn, good morning."
"Who the hell is this broad?" Gokudera demanded.
"This is Meagher Ashlynn, a first year at Namimori high school. She will be participating in the test today." Reborn introduced the girl in front of them. Ashlynn nodded to the boys and set down a large water bottle on the bench next to the one where Gokudera had been sitting. Said boy shook his fist angrily.
"Wait, Reborn-san! She's older than all of us! That must mean that she is our enem-" He was cut off by Yamamoto's laughter.
"Ha ha! Well, this will definitely be more of a contest now! My name is Yamamoto Takeshi and over there is Gokudera Hayato." Yamamoto introduced himself and Gokudera to the other contestant. Gokudera scoffed and lit up a cigarette. Ashlynn nodded her head in greeting again then looked to Reborn for instructions. The hitman bounced off of Yamamoto's shoulder to the ground.
"First is the entrance test."
"So we need to pass this to be initiated? That's pretty legitimate." commented Yamamoto.
"If you cannot pass this test, then you will be unable to join the family..." Reborn told them.
Tsuna sighed in relief. 'Oh, then that's okay. As long as they don't pass the test then everything should turn out just fine so Yamamoto and Ashlynn-san won't have to worry about mafia involvement.'
"…Because you will be dead if you cannot pass and your ashes will be scattered with the wind." Reborn finished the thought.
"It will be fine because they will be dea- What! Noooo! That's not a good thing at all! Reborn, stop this!" Tsuna cried.
Yamamoto patted Reborn on top of the fedora. "Ha ha! You are seriously funny, you know what? I'm starting to really like you."
"The test is easy enough. Just simply dodge all of the attacks against your life. Well, let's start. First level is knives!' Reborn announced and began targeting Yamamoto and Ashlynn with the sharp projectiles.
"Whoa!" cried Yamamoto. He had just barely missed having his arm skewered by three knives. Ashlynn easily jumped to the right and out of harms way; she watched how Reborn flexed his arm as he threw the weapons in their direction and acted accordingly to what she was able to see.
"Wait! Reborn! You're not seriously going to kill them are you?'" Tsuna yelled, rushing in front of Yamamoto.
'I am going to Fucking Kill him…' Gokudera was still seething.
"Wait up now Tsuna. When we were kids we played with wooden swords and other weapons right? It's alright; I'm going to stick around. How about you Ashlynn-san?" Yamamoto called.
Ashlynn was waiting with her hands on her knees, "Yeah, I'm not going to give in on the first level. It'll be over when I can't move anymore! And you may all call me just Ashlynn without the suffixes, okay?"
She tilted her head to the side in confusion when Yamamoto and Tsuna whipped their heads to look at her with red tinting across their cheeks. Gokudera and Reborn were unaffected for some strange reason.
"...Did I say something wrong...?...Oh, that's right, in Japan to call someone without a suffix is either incredibly insulting or it implies familiarity like between lovers or family...Sorry about that; it's a culture difference I haven't completely gotten used to (Ran reacted the same way). But, seriously you guys can call me Ashlynn. You don't use suffixes in the U.S."
They were still staring at her.
Ashlynn sighed. "Reborn, let's continue!"
Reborn smirked and decided that since Yamamoto was clearly not in the right mind he decided to target him before he switched his attacks on a both contestants. Yamamoto quickly shook out of his daze and commented lightly on the realism of the toys Reborn was throwing at them. Ashlynn smiled at the remark but did not make any remark in favor of dodging projectile weapons.
'They both think that this is a game! B-but those knives are actually real! Why- how can they not tell!' Tsuna was appalled.
"As your going to be their Boss, Tsuna, you should show them an example of your prowess and your ability as their superior." Reborn said.
"That's great! Now it's even more of a race to see who's going to pass! Well, let's run!" Yamamoto said pumped up.
"No way! Wait up!" Tsuna squealed and clambered after the other two teens.
"Good form, Tsuna!" Yamamoto complimented the two, dodging more of the knives thrown at him.
"Yamamoto has very good reflexes. He's got skill from his baseball training. And Ashlynn is very quick on her feet and seems to be able to tell where I'm throwing even at this distance. It seems that she's been training for a good while now with her speed. Very good." Reborn remarked nonchalantly but was rather impressed by the two. They had potential that could shape them into strong hitmen.
"Is that so? Keh…" Gokudera snorted.
"You know recent toys seem so realistic these days! Those really look like real knives. It's amazing!" Yamamoto commented on the weaponry as the three were running towards the other end of the courtyard.
"You thought those were toys!" Tsuna cried.
Ashlynn shook her head amused; they were doing very well so far. And she was pleasantly surprised at how easily this was so far. But she would have to take care not to become too over-confident when it was only level one. She also needed to keep an eye on Tsuna so she could help him where she could. That was the point of the test they were having. Survive and make sure that the Boss (Tsuna) escaped with his life.
"Next weapon is a bow-gun." Reborn announced switching out the knives.
"Eh! He got here ahead of us!" Tsuna hollered.
"GAHAHAHAHA! Found you Reborn!"
"Now what!" Tsuna tensed.
"I am Lambo of the Bovino Family! I'm Lambo who came to Junior High school even when he's only five years old!" The child wearing a cow-printed suit announced from a second story window of the school. Ashlynn wondered why none of the disciplinary committee or Hibari had shown up yet. They were making quite a lot of noise in the courtyard. None of the students inside seemed to take any notice either. Was having explosions go off on campus a normal occurrence?
"The most annoying one has appeared!" Tsuna shouted.
"Bovino? I've never heard of that family. What do you want to do, Reborn-san?" Gokudera asked.
"Fnn, continue." He replied and began opening fire on the three teens once more.
"Hiiiie!" Tsuna screamed and bolted back to the other side of the courtyard. Yamamoto and Ashlynn quickly caught up to him.
Lambo watched as he was ignored, Tears were beginning to form in the child's eyes. "Hold…it…in! Oh wait! Yeah! The boss from Italy sent Lambo who's working really really hard, a brand new weapon to use on his mission! TA-Da~~ A missile launcher!"
Lambo presented the large weapon with great fanfare and began to cry again when no one paid any attention to him. "Die Reborn!" Lambo aimed and fired the launcher.
Ashlynn quickly looked behind to see the missiles approaching at them instead of Reborn fast, she grabbed Tsuna and Yamamoto's arm and dragged them out of the way of the explosion. "You guys okay?" She coughed as the smoke began to clear up.
"Wow, that's was a cool firework. Though it looks like if I take it easy, I'm not going to pass." Yamamoto said. Tsuna looked ready to start cry.
'There's one.' Reborn smirked.
"Darn, lacked more than ten meters." Lambo reloaded the launcher.
"Reborn! Let's stop this test! You saw that right? Lambo started to shoot missiles! It's too much for us to continue!" Tsuna tried to reason with Reborn.
"Round three. A sub-machine gun, at the level of a trainee hitman." Reborn announced and switched to the said weapon and once again opened fire. Lambo had fired another round of missiles in the area. Ashlynn sucked in a quick breath, the bullets were getting way too close for her comfort. She had some scratches where some had skimmed her skin and her left leg had a slight burn from the missile explosion shot by Lambo, it was beginning to really hurt putting her weight on it. And Gokudera still had yet to start throwing dynamite and older Lambo to appear.
"Gokudera, you can cut loose as well. Think about killing Yamamoto and do it." Reborn suggested.
'Ohhh….well, that's too bad. Since Reborn had suggested it.' Gokudera readied his dynamite. "Juudaime!" The bomb expert yelled.
"Eh?"
'Please dodge these Juudaime!' Gokudera winked.
"Damnit Reborn! Then I'm going to use the ten-year bazooka!" Lambo shouted pointing said weapon to his face and firing then was surrounded by a pink smoke. "Goodness." Said the older figure that took Lambo's place. "It looks like Lambo from ten years has to do it. Thunder Set!"
"Next is the rocket launcher." Reborn switched out the sub-machine gun.
"Die!" Gokudera threw bombs into the courtyard.
"What the..!" said a shocked Yamamoto
"Oh, no." Ashlynn moaned
"HIIIIIIIIIIEE!" Tsuna screamed.
...
'Oh, crap! I think I overdid it.' Gokudera instantly defused the rest of his bombs in his hands. "Juudaime! Juudaime! Are you alright?" He called out.
"They're fine." Reborn noted.
"Phew, that was a really close one, huh?" Yamamoto had one of Tsuna's arms draped over his shoulder. Ashlynn was holding Tsuna's other arm. They had both jumped in grabbing Tsuna out of the way and covering the smaller boy with their bodies to shield him from the blast. All three were covered with dirt and scratches and there were many burns between Yamamoto and Ashlynn.
"Since they pulled me out of the way in time….I was saved." Tsuna whimpered.
"Congratulations. You both passed the entrance test. Not only did you have to preserve your own life, but you protected the life of your boss. You are now officially a part of the Vongola Family. Congratulations to both of you." Reborn congratulated then two.
Gokudera went up to Yamamoto and roughly grabbed the boys shirt, "Good job." He said. "You both protected the Juudaime. So I have no choice but to allow admittance into the family. But I am the Juudaime's right hand man so you could be the shoulder blade."
"Hahaha! You're really funny Gokudera! But, I don't want to withdraw from being Tsuna's right arm. So, you'll be the earlobe."
"What the Fuck! Then you're the Nose hair!"
"Ha-ha! Then you're the snot in his nose!"
'In a sense I guess they are getting along fairly well. More like those two are already in subordinate mode... Please stop!' Tsuna turned away from Yamamoto and Gokudera who were arguing over what body part they were according to his body. That was rather awkward. And creepy.
"Well, I'm going to go to class. See you Shorty." Yamamoto waved to reborn and picked up his school bag and began walking out of the courtyard. "Those bombs and toys seemed real and I've got some pretty nasty burns. This was a lot of fun."
"Bye. Have a nice day." Reborn waved the boy off.
"Juudaime! Let's go to the roof until next class!" Gokudera suggested before grabbing Tsuna's arm and dragging him towards the school building.
"AHH! G-Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna cried.
Ashlynn sighed heavily before sitting down in a nearby bench and took a long drink from her water bottle. Reborn jumped and sat next to her. Leon leaped from Reborn's fedora and was crawling around in her hair; the little chameleon settled into the loose, messy bun and poked his head out.
"I'm impressed at how well you did today and you managed to be the first to pass the test. How long have you been in training and who was your previous teacher?" he asked.
Ashlynn finished off her water and looked over at the damage to the courtyard. "I run and stretch every morning and before dinner when I can. I've been doing this since around the sixth grade. My teacher was a high school coach in Illinois. He was the track and field coach and he let me run with the team on their routes. His name was Mr. Jared Whitley."
"Fnn, and you still run even though you're in Namimori." That was a statement. "Maybe I'll have Tsuna join you in the mornings." Reborn nodded, Leon jumped out of his perch in Ashlynn's hair and sat on the brim of Reborn's fedora.
"The company would be appreciated if he'll do it. I'm going to head on home now. Then I'll call in and see if the bakery needs some extra help today. They usually do and it's just about time for the morning rush to start."
"Fnn, you work as well? That's very responsible of you."
"I live alone and take care of myself. I'll be leaving now, have a nice day, Reborn." Ashlynn waved goodbye and walked slowly out of the school's campus. Reborn watched her leave while he petted Leon on the head before he left the courtyard and went to find his no-good student to torture. Fifteen year old Lambo watched as was once again ignored by everyone. He sighed and leaned against the window sill and waited for his five minutes in the past to end. When the teenager poofed back to his rightful place in the future his younger counterpart went back to the Sawada household. He was hungry.
"Ashlynn-chan, my darling sweet little honeybun! Thank you so much for coming in on a day you don't even work! It's become so hectic today that we'll need the extra help we can get. I'll make to sure to pay you extra for today!" The founder and owner of the bakery practically cried in relief when Ashlynn came in and asked if she needed any extra hands for the day.
"I was excused from school today and decided that I wanted to come by and see you Boss Lady. So it's not a problem at all." Ashlynn told the woman who was crushing her in a hug.
The woman really didn't seem to realize her own strength and this was shown when she hugged people. A lot. Even strangers. When Dolly had gone with her to ask about the help wanted sign in the front of the bakery, the woman took one look at her and she (Ashlynn) was suddenly brought in an embrace that she felt a whiplash. Fukano Keiko was thirty-two years old with a boyfriend out of the country and no children. She had long black hair and light hazel eyes that was always shining happily. She was a tall woman with very large breasts. Because of her own height, Ashlynn, always without fail, found herself to be crushed into the other woman's boobs. Ashlynn had taken to calling her 'Boss Lady' and was rewarded with a joyful smile every time she called her that. Fukano absolutely loved her nickname and tried to get the rest of her minions (employees) to call her the same thing.
When Ashlynn finally was released from the tight grip she headed to the back of the bakery to start working. She was immediately put to work on cookies. Her body automatically did all the steps in a fluid manner and she allowed her to wander to the test she had taken earlier in the morning. After she had returned home she took a shower and took care of the burns to the best of her ability and covered the scrapes and bruises she had earned.
'Today was surprising. I feel...a lot faster than I normally am. And the burns from earlier are healing and it's only been about an hour and a half that I got them. I wonder why none of the teachers or students or any of the faculty went out to check what was going on. The noise must have disturbed a class or two... We were lucky though that Hibari didn't come out. We would have been punished for destroying school property and I really don't want to fight with him. Not yet anyway.'
One of the female employees came in through the door that lead to the front of the shop. "Hey, the rush has ended so it's going to be slow from here on out. You can go work in the front and I'll take over back here."
Ashlynn only nodded. She didn't know her name, hell she didn't know any of the other employees names that worked there. They had never went out of their way to introduce themselves so she was stuck always looking at the name tags on everyone when she needed to know something.
Ashlynn retied her apron and walked back to the front of the bakery and found that the other girl had been right. Business had downright stopped compared to the flood of people that had been in the building when she first came in for the day. It was...like a ghost town... and she was the only one...eerie. The only thing missing was tumbleweed rolling across the distance along with the wind. There were normally two rushes during the day; the morning one stated at nine-thirty in the morning and lasted between ten and eleven in the morning. Then there was another rush from four in the afternoon to six in the evening. The bakery would close its doors for the night around eleven-thirty at night.
The little bell attached to the top of the entrance door rang as a customer entered. Ashlynn turned around and nearly gasped when she saw who it was. Seriously, think of the devil and he shall appear. Hibari Kyouya was staring at her from the other side of the counter.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
That's why it was deserted in the front. Everyone had most likely fled the place when they saw Hibari approach. And it explained why that female employee said she would switch with her. What a total bitch. Ashlynn schooled her features and looked to the prefect and tried to hide her nervousness. She smiled, she hoped it didn't look like a grimace.
"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" Ashlynn asked politely.
"Coconut juice and a sleeve of shortbread."
"Alright, coming up." Now she understood why there was so much of that kind of juice stocked in the fridge and in the storage. Taking a can out of the fridge and putting the ordered short bread in a bag she went returned to the counter and placed them on the space between them.
"That will be-" She was cut off by the the money being shoved under her face. She took the bill and gave him back the change.
Ashlynn bowed her head. "Thank you for coming to Fukano's."
He stood there and stared for a few moments before he snatched his purchases and left the building. She stayed where she was and didn't move again until she heard the roar of a motorcycle and saw the prefect drive away. Ashlynn sighed in relief. That was absolutely terrifying. She was sure that encounter alone had shave off years of her life. The employee from earlier peeked out through the door from the back. When she saw that no one was in the building but Ashlynn she came over behind the counter.
"Did he leave?" She whispered.
"Yeah. Thanks a lot for sacrificing me." Ashlynn grumbled. Bitch.
"I didn't want to be bitten to death. For some reason he really doesn't like me or any of the other employees. Only Fukano-san can get away from being bitten to death because she interests him. There had been another who was the same but she retired years ago. Sigh. Even if I'm the only one in here he'll still strike me, so of course I'm going to put you out here in my place. Did he bite you to death?"
"...No. He didn't."
"Oh, that's goo-wait. What! He didn't do anything? He always hits me! And Koji-kun too! That's not fair! What did you do?" The employee fodder began to rant on how unfair it was. Ashlynn decided that she had enough and certainly didn't want to listen to the bitch whine. She went to Boss Lady's office and asked if she could go home.
"Yes, yes! Go on ahead sweetie! Oh! Here, take this. This is your check for the week and some extra for today's work." Fukano-san said happily handing her an envelope with her check inside. Most of it would go to Dolly for rent and other expenses and the rest would go to food, bathroom things, and medical supplies.
With passing the Family Entrance Test she knew that she was going to need a lot of them. If not for herself than for the boys with her.