11. Getting Jobs

"Kano, just how the hell did you get us into this?" Kido said in a stressed tone as they stared at the pile of shattered glass before them.

"Me? But Kido, you're the one who threw them into the air like that!" Kano retorted defensively, holding back a chuckle.

"Well, just what did you expect when you scared me like that?! Now we're going to be fired for sure, you idiot!"

"But, I just wanted to show you my cool uniform! And your face was so funny… kekeke…" A grin cracked on Kano's face before Kido whipped around and swung her fist at his face, making firm contact with his cheek and sending him swerving in the other direction.

Kido sighed. It was only a matter of time before they screwed up this job too. Seto had managed to land a well-paying part-time job right after the trio rented out their apartment, and been working hard at it. But Kano and Kido had switched jobs several times over the course of the past few weeks. From small businesses to large warehouses, they had signed up for nearly any job advertised in the city that would take kids their age. They had been currently working at a small, traditional Japanese restaurant for the past few days, being extremely careful not to screw up. However, in most cases, they were fired due to some destructive mishap—just like the current situation they were in.

Scratching her head furiously, Kido looked around for a way to clean up the mess. Surely, someone outside heard the huge crash the dishes made when they shattered on the ground, and she and Kano would be screwed if it was the manager of the restaurant. Not seeing any immediate way to clear the broken glass shards, she kneeled down by the pile and extended her hand towards it.

"Woah! Careful there, Kido!" Kano suddenly called to her in a surprisingly stern voice, "I don't want you cutting up your pretty little hands!"

"Shut up already, would you? I know how to handle glass!" Kido snapped back, taking hold of one of the larger shards gingerly in her fingers. But, as soon as she finished the last sentence, the sliding door that led into the kitchen opened abruptly, and, to the utter dismay of Kido, the old manager of the restaurant stepped through. At glancing up to see his sour face glaring down at her, Kido's muscles tensed, and the sharp edges of the broken glass in her hand slit her skin. She screeched in pain and dropped it, turning her palm over to see blood well up in the cuts it created.

"Just what have you done?!" the manager shouted over Kido's cry, storming over to the smashed dishes and inspecting them, "Broken! Every single one of them! Look at this mess! Do you realize how much I'll have to pay to replace these?!"

"I… I'm so sorry, sir!" Kido clutched her bleeding hand and turned to the manager, bowing apologetically. "It was an accident, honestly! I was—"

"It was my fault, sir," Kano interjected suddenly, stepping beside Kido and bowing deeply as well, "I was clumsy."

"Are you two complete imbeciles?!" the manager continued, his face burning red and smoke practically pouring from his ears, "Worthless employees like you are making my restaurant look like second-rate garbage!"

Kano was silent for a few moments before he stood up straight and looked the manager in the eyes, once again wearing his signature smirk. "Oh, I'm sorry. I assumed that was what it was!"

"Kano!" Kido hissed, looking up at him.

"Why you…!" the manager took a threatening step towards Kano, who stood his ground. "The money to replace those dishes will no doubt be coming out of your wages!"

"Oh, that won't be necessary," the confident blonde smirked at the man, holding his hand down to Kido. She hesitated before sighing and taking his hand, looking at him with worried eyes as she stood up beside him, still cradling her wounded hand. "Because we quit."

Kano tugged on Kido's arm, signaling to follow him out of the kitchen. He raised one hand and waved to the fuming manager as they walked out. "We'll return the uniforms in the morning!"

As soon as the two of them had walked a bit of a distance away from the restaurant, Kano turned to Kido, looking slightly concerned. "Show me your hand."

Kido refused, holding her hand behind her back. "Kano, how could you do that?! We finally had a job!"

"Because," Kano began, stepping towards her, "I wasn't about to let some stuffy, old, traditional man talk to my Kido that way!" His smile appeared again, and anger consumed Kido's face.

"Your Kido?!" she raised her uninjured hand and closed it into a fist, slamming it into Kano's gut. He grunted and crumpled to the ground as Kido walked past him.

"Looks like we're back to square one," he mumbled with a pained smirk.

A/N:

Again, sorry for the late chapter! I had trouble planning this one… Although it sort of turned out alright! I've decided to start using their codenames now, just so you know!