Chapter nine: Coincidence
AN: Whoa, sorry for taking so long... I got a new computer and have been playing with it incessantly for the past few days. XD Sorry. Heh. The thing about it is, it's in the same room as my mom's computer so we're almost always in the same room and I hate writing when there's people around... so that's partly why I took so long. (gets pelted with rotten fruits and other things)
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"Here, wear this hat."
"That hat is ridiculous."
"It's all I can think of, na no da! Just try it on!"
Taruto and Kisshu watched, thouroughly amused, as Pudding wrestled with Pai to get an over-sized hat over his head. And it wasn't just any over-sized hat; it was a hat with kitty ears. And that wasn't all. It had large, bubbly eyes embroidered onto it. Presumably for cosplaying. The purpose of the hat was to cover Pai's elongated ears, which would most certainly scare away people at the library, and possibly even get him fired before he even really got the job.
The sight of Pai in a fluffy kitty hat was definitely a Kodak moment, Kisshu acknowledged, whipping out a camera from behind his back and capturing the scene. Pai gave a "deer-caught-in-the-headlights" look, then a frightening glare. The green haired boy only laughed.
"Isn't there any other way?" Pai begged, almost leaving his monotone long enough to sound mildly upset.
"'Fraid not, Pai-kun."
The eldest alien sighed and stood up. "Whatever... I better get to work now."
Kisshu followed. "Me too."
Taruto glanced at Pudding and said, "We should get doing too."
"Hai, no da. Let me go get my siblings."
---
Pai couldn't help but notice the strange look the head librarian gave him when he approached her desk, and it made him feel even more awkward.
"Interesting choice of headgear, Mr..."
"...Pai..."
"Pai. I think you'll feel right at home over in the children's section. I want you to keep an eye on things, answer questions, make sure everyone's following the rules."
Pai nodded, although he desperately wished she had stationed him elsewhere. If there was one thing that made him feel more awkward than people staring at him in all of his kitty-hat glory, it was small children.
Immediately, a little girl with wide eyes tugged at his pant's leg, holding up a book. "Excuse me, Kitty-san, will you read this to me?"
The poor boy tried his hardest not to twitch at his new nickname sat in a chair, slowly taking the book from the little girl's hands.
'I should have taken that job at Jack-in-the-Box...' Pai thought to himself pathetically.
"Start reading now," the child prompted, seating herself on Pai's lap, eager to hear the story.
Sigh. "'The Lonely Little Puppy,'" he read, certain that his was turning blue in the face. This was so far out of his comfort zone, it wasn't even funny. Well, not to him, anyway.
"'Once upon a time, there was a shy little puppy named Noodles. Noodles was always too shy to talk to the other puppies, so he never made any friends. He became very lonely.'"
Pai was trying so hard to concentrate on reading the words on the pages without letting his voice break in half that he hadn't noticed that several other children had gathered around to listen to the story. And he certainly hadn't noticed that someone who happened to be passing by had recognized him and was watching in silent amusement.
"'But one day, a nice puppy named Fluffy introduced himself to Noodles and the two puppies became best friends. The end.'"
Thanking whoever wrote the cursed book for making it so short, Pai closed it and handed it back to the girl from whence it came, suddenly noticing his audience.
"Thanks, Kitty-san! You're the best book-reader EVER!" the little girl exclaimed empathetically, hugging his leg and leaving to find her family. All the other children took turns thanking "Kitty-san" for reading the book to them. With every "Thank you, Kitty-san", Pai turned a new shade of blue. Finally, they were all gone, leaving him dumbfounded. The hidden observer came out from the corner, a smile firmly in place.
"Ohayo, Pai-san," she greeted, still amused.
Pai's eyes widened. Just when he thought this day couldn't get any more embarrassing... "Midorikawa-san? What are you doing here?"
"I come to this library a lot, for studying and reading... What brings you here?"
"I, uh... work here now..." He redirected his gaze, fiddling with a pencil he found on the floor.
"Oh, that's very cool! And I was impressed when I saw you reading to the children. You're a natural."
Pai looked at her like she had three heads (although he had probably seen weirder things than that before). The idea of him and children working well together was such a foreign concept to him. The closest thing to a small child that Pai had ever interacted with regularly was Taruto, and he was abnormally mature for his age, although he had his... moments.
"You really think so?"
"Certainly!" Retasu flashed a warm smile, then glanced at her watch. "Oh, I really need to get going, I have to get to the cafe. Nice seeing you, Pai-san!"
And in a flash, she was gone, leaving Pai in the dazed state he had been in since entering the library.
---
"Ohayo gozaimasu!" Pudding greeted the entire cafe cheerfully, throwing her arms into the air for emphasis. No one acknowledged her gesture except Keiichirou, however.
"Good morning, Pudding-san." He smiled his ever-polite smile.
Retasu suddenly popped through the doors, almost crashing into Pudding.
"Gomennasai! I'm not late, am I?"
Pudding answered, "Right on time, na no da. Why would you be late?"
Retasu looked about nervously. "I got, uh... distracted. I'm going to go change into my uniform..." She then scattered into the back room in a flustered manner.
Pudding brushed it off, not noticing the difference in behavior, and turned to Taruto. "Ne, want to help me clean the dishes?"
The boy shrugged and followed as Ichigo and Ryou watched curiously (Ichigo more curious than Ryou). When the two were gone, Ichigo commented with a wide smirk, "Those two sure get along a lot better now, don't they? Isn't it cute?"
Ryou only shrugged impassively. "I hadn't noticed."
He seemed to have a knack for making Ichigo switch modes very quickly. "What do you mean, 'I hadn't noticed'!"
He shrugged once more.
"You drive me crazy!"
"Heh. I know."
---
The tall manager--now Kisshu's boss--greeted him, patting him on the shoulder."Oh, good to see you, the lunch rush will start soon."
"Now, I've gotta ask, dear, what's with the Halloween ears?"
Kisshu instinctively reached up to touch his ears, then realized what she meant. "I though it might, uh, attract customers."
It was amazing how fast Kisshu could come up with cover-ups. And how most of the time, people bought them. Pai was one of the few who could distiguish between truth and lie with him, an ability that only reenforced the fact that the two shared a very younger brother/older brother-like relationship.
"Good thinking, dear. I'm going to let you run the drive way window duty, m'kay?"
Before Kisshu would have had a chance to protest, she disappeared, so he simply accepted his task and took his place. It didn't take long for a voice to come through.
"Hey, can I order now?" asked a man's voice, slightly distorted through the communicative system.
"Yes, what do you want?"
"Let's see... I want... a number 4, a number 2, a diet coke... wait, no make that two number 4's... oh, strike the number two..."
Kisshu was trying pathetically to dicipher what the numbers represented and type in the man's order, all the while wishing that he had gotten an orientation.
"Oh, you know what? I think I'll just get a soda and eat at the sushi bar across the street."
Using every bit of self-control he owned, Kisshu tried his hardest not to scream like a little girl, and muttered, "Your total is one hundred yen... thanks for your business..."
Having a job was even harder than finding one in the first place.
---
Meanwhile at the cafe...
"Welcome, na no da! Come right this way, please!" Pudding greeted a group of young teens with her sunny charm. The group complied and followed her.
"You can sit right here, and may I take your order?"
She was simply perfect for being a waitress, except for the fact that her "acts" had occasionally broken things, something she grew out of in recent years. She always had such a bright personality and was perfect with the customers. And more recently, Ichigo and the others had noticed amongst themselves, held the attention of many of the male customers, although Pudding was innocently blind to this.
Taruto had begun to take note of this as well, and whether he wanted it to or not, it grated on his nerves.
After watching her from afar for a short period of time, whilst sweeping the floor, he started to wonder...
'Am I really good enough for her?'
This was the first time the thought, or anything like it, had ever crossed his mind. Although, he had never ventured as far as admitting that he liked her, something he had only done recently.
After all, they were so different...
'She's cheerful, bright, and easy to love... I'm moody, occasionally morose, and plain. She's pretty, with her shiny, blonde hair, healthy, tan complexion... I'm dull, placid, and pale...'
The more he thought about it, the more unsure about himself he felt.
Could she really ever like someone like him?
'This is ridiculous! Why should I care what she thinks of me, anyway? And besides, she's always clinging to me... she must like me... oi! Why do I keep thinking like this?'
He was so deep in his thoughts, that he didn't noticed Ryou up in his face, observing his distant expression.
"If you're dead, I might have to fire you," Ryou stated, both amused and annoyed.
Taruto snapped back into reality with a start, surprised to find Ryou's face so close to his own that he almost fell backwards. "Uwaa... I'm sorry... I was just..."
Ryou waved a nonchalant hand. "It's nothing. Just don't do it again."
The young boy nodded passively, turning around to return to his job, when he found himself face to face with yet another being, this one taking him by surprise as much as the first one, if not, more.
"Taru-Taru, are you okay?"
"P-Pudding... you scared me..."
"Are you okay?" the monkey girl repeated.
"Y... yeah, I'm okay..."
Pudding tilted her head to the side. "Your face is all red." She then placed a dainty hand on his forehead, gently brushing the fingers of her other hand across his cheeks. It sent a chill down his spine and, no doubt, probably made him turn even more red. "You feel a bit warm, too, na no da..."
She caught his eyes with her own, full of worry and concern. "Come with me into the kitchen, I'll get you something cool."
She gently took him into the kitchen, treating him as if he were a fragile item, not to be broken.
"Akasaka-oniichan!" Pudding chirped sweetly, tugging on Keiichirou's pant's leg like a small child.
"Yes, Pudding-san?" Keiichirou asked, smiling his ever-polite smile.
"Can you make something cold for Taru-Taru? He's not feeling good."
Taruto silently took amusement in the fact that he had never said a word abut not feeling good, and yet she was certain that something was wrong with him.
Although, in a way, she was right...
'I'm being silly... would she have gone to this much trouble for me if she didn't like me?'
"Here's some ice cream. And a bowl for you too, Pudding-san. I know how much you like this kind."
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Akasaka-oniichan!"
Taruto carefully watched Pudding, then thought to himself, 'I'm definitely just being silly.'
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AN: Okay, that didn't end the way I planned, but I've just got too much to deal with to write anymore and I didn't want to prolong this chapter any longer, so... blah, whatever. Hope you liked it. :P I promise more KisshuxIchigo fluff in the next chapter, too. So... yeah. Don't hurt me.
Meichiro: Hehe,
thanks!
DarkWolfYoukai860: XD No, he shouldn't, but that's just
Kisshu for you.
Yokie: Yup. Huhu.
cruelfeline: Your reviews
make me dance such a happy little dance. ;)
Moonlight-Milkyway:
You're welcome! And thank YOU!
