Hello my lovely readers~ okay, that sounded fruity. Anyway, I would've gotten this out sooner, but…life happens, and then your computer brakes. But anyway, I've had this chapter done for awhile, and waited until Valentine's day to put it up, and I wanted it to coincide with the final chapter of Stupid Womanizer. So, Happy Valentine's Day!
"I'm telling you that's what happened!" I yelled, pointing at the empty hole where my door used to be.
"And I'm telling you, I don't believe you, Amai!" shouted the super. It had been one week since my attempt at the art of seduction, and the visit of a blonde jackass and his friend. Since then, my apartment's been open to the world. Literally. Three days ago, I was playing my violin, or fiddle as my dad and his side of the family call it, making sure I wasn't getting rusty in the last two weeks. Unfortunately, my door used to muffle the sounds of the violin. With the door open however…it was like I was giving a performance to the people next door. I just wish it was Taka-chan that heard it. Although he might've if he was home.
Twenty minutes after my practice ended, a man in a disheveled suit and tie walked into my apartment when I was putting the violin away after cleaning it. Judging from his attire, he just finished meeting up with Kimi Monowa. He handed me two thousand yen, and told me I made the sex more…sensual, and that I should play it again next time. I would've thrown the money in his face and told him to shove it up his ass, but he left before I could say anything…and I wanted the money. I am ashamed of myself, but not so ashamed to have ordered a big meal at Ichinozu, one of my favorite restaurants. Ichinozu is a ramen shop. As well as one of the few places that lets me in anymore.
"This is the third time, Amai. The THIRD TIME!" he yelled, his face growing an unusual shade of purple.
"And this time, it's not…my…fault." I said calmly. I didn't need to pinch my ear for this. I get mad at him, and I lose a place to stay.
"Okay, let's go over it one more time." he conceded, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The blonde bartender, and his dreadlocked friend, knocked your door down, asked for Mr. Mitsukanei, and threw him through your door?!" he said, growing angry again.
"Why is that so hard to understand? You've lived in this city longer than I have. You know Shizu-chan, right?" I asked, hands on my hips.
"Screw it, I'm tired of your attitude. How 'bout this. Pay for the door, and I'll take care of any problem you have with this apartment." he said, staring daggers at me for his defeat.
The reason for this is because I've sent him letters from inside the building, since he lives here, about certain…'complaints' I've had about the apartment. I.e. the ever growing water stains on the ceiling. Most everything in my apartment is made from either wood, plaster, or plain, old cement. The floor and two feet up the walls being cement. From two feet up to the ceiling being wood, and the ceiling being plaster. Complaints might be too strong a word. Lets call it concerns. Like Chicken Little. The sky might fall. The sky being my ceiling. It helped a little that I lived on the top floor of a three floor apartment death trap, so if the ceiling did fall, the top apartment wouldn't crush me or Moo-Moo.
"Tch, fine. Well, first off, the shower faucet in the bathroom turns on by itself, and when in use, it turns off sporadically. Second-" I said, before he raised up a hand to stop me from speaking on.
"No-no. I said any problem, not problem-s." he said, writing something down on his clipboard, probably the shower faucet problem, before turning away from me and walking towards the door way. "By the way, it's five thousand yen for the door. Pay it by next Tuesday if you want your shower fixed." he said, leaving the room, and walking don the hall.
'Ripping me off. Last time it was twenty-five hundred yen.' I thought, opening the door and letting Moo-Moo out of my room. For a rat infested apartment, they didn't allow animals here. Ironic? Yes. Breaking the rules? Yeah right. A few weeks here, and she cut the pest problem down by, like…20%? Maybe more, I'm not here during the day.
'Speaking of which…' I thought, looking at the clock on the stove. And after seeing it blink 12:00 for the forth time, got my cell phone out of my pocket and saw it was 10:27. Wait. 10:27?! "Shit! Moo-Moo, I gotta go. Be a good kitty while I'm gone." I shouted over my shoulder, grabbing my hat from the table and my coat from off the back of a chair. "Don't let the super see you!"
~DRRR~
"Hey Masaomi, are you ever gonna hit on girls your own age?" I asked, handing him back his change, and leaning on the glass case.
"Amai, that would be a reality I don't want to live in." He getting deadly serious while pocketing the change, before breaking into his goofy, flirty self. "Not while I have my boobylicious Amai-chan and Anri-chan!" he cried, throwing his hands up in the air, turning to look at Mikado, and who I supposed was Anri.
"Masaomi! Please don't say that to Anri-san.-or Amai-chan!" Mikado said, adding me a second too late.
"It's fine Mikado-san, it's been a while since I got a…I'm gonna go ahead and call it a compliment-from a semi-pervert." I said, waving him off before getting out a broom and moving around the counter.
"What do you mean semi-pervert?!" cried Masaomi, feigning being wounded.
"Sorry sorry, I meant horny teenage boy." I laughed, sweeping in front of the door, watching the people walk by on the sidewalk. "Oh, and it's nice to meet you Sonohara-san. Sorry about the earlier conversation, it's something we've done since I meet Masaomi-kun." I said to her, shaking her hand before going to throw away the dirt.
"It's nice to meet you too Tachibana-san. Kida-kun has told me a lot about you." she said quietly, shaking my hand before going back to eating her bento with Mikado at one of the tables, while Masaomi chose to sit on top of the display case.
"Really. What'd he say?" I asked, before shoving him off the counter, and cleaning off the spot where his butt had previously been.
"I just said you're the only girl I know who's a total bad-ass, aaaand who doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks about them." he said, sitting beside Mikado, trying to steal a bit of something from his bento. I burst out laughing, if not because I found his ass-kissery hilarious.
"Okay you little punks, and Anri, get outta here before class starts." I said, pushing the guys towards the doors, and leaving Anri to follow meekly behind them. "Bye Sonohara-san, come back anytime, okay?" I said, waving them goodbye from the door.
"Good-bye Tachibana-san." she said, waving back a little. After they disappeared from sight, by which I mean turn a corner, I backed up into the store and closed the door, turning around, and practically jumped out of my skin, when I saw Izaya lounging against the counter with a smirk on his wolfish face.
"Making new acquaintances are we Tachibana-san?" he asked, grin growing wider.
"How the hell did you-? Never mind." I said, accepting it without a fight.
"So I understand that a certain debt collection duo stopped by your apartment. I didn't know you have debts." he said, raising an eyebrow, like he didn't know.
"Yeah, a student loan. I went back to school to get a degree in ass-kicking," I said, half threatening, and half humoring him, "look, they came looking for a neighbor of mine, and mistook my door for his. End of story, okay?" I said, moving behind the counter.
"Hmph. How uninteresting. Say, how about we play a game, Amai-chan?" he asked, leaning on the counter casually.
"Not while I'm working. Miss Yuumi would disapprove." I told him, placing the broom back in its' corner.
"Come on Amai, only a little wont hurt you. Just try it. It'll be fun." he said, smirking that wolf smile again.
"What are you trying to do? Sell me drugs? Tch, fine. One game, and you leave me alone, all right?" I said, pointing a finger in his face, before getting out a spray bottle and rag, and moving outside to wash the window.
"Deal! The game is…Twenty Questions!" he said pausing for dramatic effect, following behind me outside.
"What's the point? You already know me, right?" I asked, spraying the window.
"But that's the point. I want to know more about you Amai-chan." he said, leaning a shoulder against the glass.
"Careful. I already told you not to get familiar with me Orihara-san." I said, pointing the nozzle at him, finger on the spray bottle trigger.
"Heh. Question one:" he said, holding up a finger, disregarding my threat. "What Prefecture are you from?"
"Hokkaido Prefecture."
"Good. Question Two: How old are you?"
"23."
"What city were you born in?"
"Around Hakodate." 'Is twenty questions supposed to be this personal?'
Before he could ask the next question, a resounding crash of metal on concrete was heard over the normal din. Looking over my shoulder towards the sound of the crash, I saw just in time, a vending machine rising into the air before plummeting to earth, hidden behind buildings over a mile away. An eager grin spread on my face, and had it not been for the fact that I was in the middle of my shift, I would rushed over immediately. "Brute. Always making a mess." muttered Izaya with a slight twitch of his lips formed into a frown, looking in the same direction as me.
"What? You know him or something?" I asked, tearing my eyes away to look at him.
"Yes, I do. Tell me something Amai-chan, why do you want to know who it is so badly?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Just curiosity. And you can save me the phrase, cause like a cat, I do have nine lives, in terms of speaking, I'm lucky." I said, grinning a Cheshire cat smile at him.
"Hmmm, what would happen once you know who it is Amai-chan? What would you do after knowing?" he asked. I didn't answer, choosing instead to ignore him and step on tip toes to reach the top of the window. A hand gripped my wrist, right where the scars from the cuffs where still healing, causing me to wince at the sting.
"Consider these questions part of the game and answer them." he said, his tone of voice dropping a few levels. I eyed him for a few seconds before tugging my arm back and releasing his grasp.
"It's curiosity. I just want to know." I repeated. Staring at my reflection in the glass.
"What will you do after? Do nothing? Wont it be just a waste of time?" he asked close to my ear. 'Eight down. Twelve to go.' I thought.
"Then…then…I don't know! I don't think out a lotta stuff. Only super important stuff. I just want to see who it is." I said, getting frustrated. 'And see if their as lonely as I am.' I added in my mind.
The questions ranged on for twelve more questions, and by the end, he knew high school hell, and my neighbors. But not that. No, never that. "Hey Orihara-san, can I ask you a question? What was the point of that game anyway?" I asked him when it seemed like we had been standing out side for an hour.
"I like to know more about my dear little pawns before I play with them. It was interesting talking to you Amai-chan." he said, waving a little before disappearing altogether.
'That was kind of nice, being able to talk to someone like tha-pawn? Pawn. PAWN?!' I thought. "Get back here you little-" I started to shout, before a newspaper hit me on the head.
"Amai! Leave it alone for once." Miss Yuumi said, shaking the newspaper at me, a stern look in her eyes as she peered up at me over her half-moon glasses.
"But Miss Yuumi, he-" I started, before she cut me off.
"No! No excuses. Now please get back in the shop, and leave it alone." she said, a little exasperated, wiping a hand over her face, sighing.
"Miss Yuumi? Is something…wrong?" I asked her, gently leading her back inside the comfort of her shop.
"Amai, be a dear and get me some water from the kitchen." she sighed, sitting down at one of the tables. When I came back, her glasses were off and she was rubbing her temples. Never a good sign for Miss Yuumi. As soon as I set the glass down in front of her and sat down across from her she started to speak. "Sit down Amai, we need to talk-Oh, good girl. Good sit." she said, before sighing again and averting her eyes, taking a drink from the glass.
"Miss Yuumi…you're not going to…I mean…fire me, are you?" I asked hesitantly.
"Let me talk for now Amai, it'll be easier to understand." she said, taking another drink from her water. 'Oh God. Oh no! please…please don't fire me! I need this job!' I thought to myself, praying she wouldn't.
"Last night, I received a call from my daughter. She has…a child. I'm beyond ecstatic to know that I have a grand child, but…she does not know who the father is, neither does she have the proper funds to support the child. I suggested to her that she come work in the bakery until she finds a proper job inside of Tokyo. She'll be paid of course, but…I cant afford to pay both of you equally." she said, hands folded in front of her as she looked at me for some kind of signal of understanding.
"I don't understand. Am I fired?" I finally asked her after several moments of silence.
"No no. You're not fired. Both of you will be working here. But you'll both be part time at half pay each. I'm sorry Amai, but I need to help my daughter. She's stubborn, she wont accept charity from her own parents! And she's supporting someone now. She needs the money desperately. Please tell me you understand." she said grasping my hands, searching my eyes.
What could I say? What could I possibly say to this kind old woman who gave me a job when I was running out of time? To someone who's child needed help supporting their child? "I…I understand…Miss Yuumi. The shift change…when does she start?" I asked trying to smile.
"Thank you! Thank you Amai! You don't know what this means to me! She'll be arriving next week, we'll decide then the hours you both shall work. Thank you Amai!" she cried, standing up from her chair, and hugging me from across the table. I wrapped my arms around her small frame and when she let go and hurried to the kitchen to call her daughter, I sat still in my chair. Thinking. Calculating. Half my pay? I'd be out hundreds each month. The way it was now, my savings were miniscule, and it would run out in less than two months.
'Three options. One: get another part time job. Two: return home, and admit defeat. Or One-point-Five: take out a loan until I find a another job. Before the week runs out, I should focus my free time on finding another job. Maybe I should ask Taka-chan if there are any openings where he works.'
"Hey! Tachibana-san! You there? We wanna buy something."
At the sound of a customers voice, I snapped out of my planning, and got up from my seat. Looking at the clock on the wall, I noticed it was four hours until closing time. Maybe six hours until Taka-chan woke up for his job. I could maybe ask him then. "Welcome to Sakura Bakery. How may I help you?"
~DRRR~
"See you tomorrow Miss Yuumi." I shouted into the shop, before letting the door swing behind me as I started home. Passing near dark shops, and random pedestrians on the side walks, I thought again of the few plans I had to keep afloat.
'I'll ask Taka-chan if there's an opening at his job, but…he works in a gay bar. Is it for guys? Or is it girls too?…I don't know how I would feel if a girl hit on me though. It would be something new, that's for sure. And it's not like I'm against gays. My neighbor is gay. My brother is gay. Yeah…I'll be fine.'
By the time I got home, it was about the same time Taka-chan was leaving for work. I know this because when I went to knock on his door, he opened it and crashed right into me in his haste. "Amai! What is it? Why are you crashing into my when I need to leave for work?" he asked, a little irritated that his hair was minuscule-y messed up. "U-umm, that's the thing Taka-chan…umm, is there…umm" I started, trying to think of what I was going to say. Forgetting everything I thought up on the way home.
"What is it? Spit it out, I don't have all night." he said, crossing his arms in front of his flat chest, and tapping the toe of his heeled shoe impatiently.
"Are there…are there any…is there a job up for grabs where you work?!" I shouted, looking up at him with the one weapon I could use against him. Huge chibi water filled eyes. I learned this technique when I was eight-years-old, and learned Patrick was keeping a stash of sweets under his mattress. To this day, I have used this technique when I was in need of something bad. And for this, I needed a second job. Although, it might've worked if Taka-chan hadn't been in so much of a rush.
"I'm sorry Amai-chan, I really need to get to work, as it is I'm running late. I'll talk to you tomorrow if I've got the time." he said, rushing past me towards the stairwell. Sighing in defeat, I walked the short was back to my apartment, stopping only when I heard Taka-chan's voice again.
"I'll ask the manager, but don't get you hope's up. He usually employs males only. 'course you know why. Hehe." he giggled, turning and partially running down the stairwell.
"Don't get my hopes up. Right. I can do that. Don't get my hopes up don't get my hopes." I chanted, as I turned back around, and walked into my door-less apartment. "Yes!" I shouted, throwing my hands up in accomplishment. 'How can I get my hopes up when this is the most fantastic news?! Nothing's gonna get me down now.' I thought, picking Moo-Moo up off my table, and kissing the top of her head over and over.
"Good news Amai-chan?" asked a masculine voice. I ceased kissing my cat, and looked at my surroundings a little more closely. Upon inspection, I found three things wrong in my apartment. One: the dreadlocked man and his blonde accomplice were back in my apartment. Two: Chikan-san was sitting on my couch. And three: my bedroom door was open. I knew the answer to the question that is: "Why is the Blonde jack-ass and his friend in my apartment?", the answer was probably Chikan-san. The question: "Why is Chikan-can and the debt collector duo in my apartment?", did not have an answer yet. And the last one: "Why is my bedroom door open? I'm sure I closed it, and I know cats don't have opposable thumbs." for that answer, I'm 70% sure it had something to do with Chikan-san. Which, if I was correct, would mean that I would have to burn some of my clothes.
"Mac soith. Cad a rinne mé ag dul seo?!"(Son of a bitch. What did I do to deserve this?!) I shouted up at the ceiling.
