A Cup of Life (by AquaJet)
Message to Bonnsaka: Please don't ever think that the forum doesn't care about its members. We all come from different places and we don't have a lot of members staying for a long time as it is. I'm attracted to the members of the forum and I am glad to have been part of the forum for a long time. I've learned a lot about writing as well as other people. All I ask of you is that you stay and enjoy the time spent in NXYZ but if you still want to leave then I won't stop you. This is my gift!fic for you. (sorry it's over 4,000 words FFFFFFF)
+linebreak+
He didn't understand why he was attracted to a small café. The exterior wasn't anything particularly extravagant but instead simple. The name itself seemed as simple as its appearance—Sunshine Community Café: the place for everyone and anyone. It appeared simple yet he could recognize it instantly because of the rainbow colors accompanied by white or black. The servers wore a standard completely black or white uniform with a rainbow-colored item of their choice. The other workers didn't need a uniform, but they wore a special hat depending on their job with a rainbow badge. That's how one distinguishes people in Sunshine Community Café to the other café shops.
It really wasn't his cup of tea to go to such a café. He preferred to go to a nice, quiet café with a more "normal" atmosphere but there was one thing he knew for sure why he was drawn to such a place.
They made excellent coffee.
"Good morning, Tezuka-san." The barista smiled. "Would you like your usual cup?" she asked.
Tezuka nodded and sat down in his usual table. He noticed the newspaper was there. He looked at the barista for an answer. She giggled. Her ponytail went loose and she sighed at the thought of fixing up her messy black hair. She removed her white beret with a vivid blue badge to fix her hair. "You should know of a couple of goofballs that said they would bring the newspaper and reserve your spot as their thanks."
Yes, he remembered those two—Sam and Jo, the foreign waiter and waitress of the café. He opened up the newspaper to find a little funny comic. He didn't laugh at the jokes. He simply fixed his glasses and smiled a little.
"Didn't I tell you it would make him smile, Sam?"
"Well I'll be damned. I thought for sure that it would make him laugh, Jo!"
As usual, Tezuka had the basic idea of what they said in English and had a general sense it was about his reaction to the newspaper. Sam, the waitress, grinned and skipped toward Tezuka. Her twin pony tails bounced, and he could hear her heels click. She was a very cute and cheery high school girl. She wore the black standard waitress uniform with a deep red bandana as her tie. Jo walked slowly behind her. He had striking green eyes and wore the white standard waiter uniform with a deep red scarf despite the warm weather.
"Hey, Mr. Tezuka, you should smile more. You face seemed a little grim there for a second." Sam joked.
"…Can you two please speak in Japanese?" Tezuka asked.
"Oh right, sorry. It's just easier to speak in English." Jo chuckled.
"Anyway, you two should stay safe. There have been cases of foreigners getting kidnapped in the newspapers." Tezuka stared at the headline that read: Missing Foreigners.
"Aw, but you're a police officer, so you'll come save us little kids won't you?" Sam pouted at Tezuka and hoped for a good answer. Jo joined along.
Tezuka lifted his glasses a bit. "It's my duty to protect all citizens and not show favorit-OOF." He felt a heavy pat on his back.
"Aw, don't be a stick in the mud. You love us." The red-haired boy grinned.
"In any case," Tezuka quickly recovered. "You guys should still be careful. I can't make any promises that I'll always be there to protect you."
Suddenly, Tezuka remembered a terrible case involving the blue eyed waitress.
+linebreak+
When Tezuka was a loyal customer to the Sunshine Community Café for a month, it was near the time when Jo and Sam began working. They knew a lot of phrases in Japanese—mostly relating to the food industry. Tezuka didn't mean to eavesdrop but they always held conversation about their traveling life to the barista.
"We worked at a burrito place in Mexico once. We wore sombreros and everything." The waiter explained.
"I got to do some salsa dancing." The blonde waitress wiggled her eyebrows in a flirtatious fashion.
"And man-hunting,"
"And your woman-hunting isn't as bad?"
"Oh there you go again, accusing me of things that you do too."
"Well, if you didn't go woman-hunting a lot, I wouldn't have to man-hunt."
The barista laughed. "You two are an interesting bunch but you don't look like siblings. How are you traveling together?"
"Oh, that's easy." Jo smiled. "You see, our families are very close friends. They plan on marrying me off to Sam here. She doesn't have big boobs that I really like, but I guess I don't mind. I mean please Sam you need like huge boobs before we get marri-AAAAARRRG."
The cute waitress smiled sweetly as she stepped gleefully on the boy's foot. "Why do you scream like a pirate? It's not a good thing." She turned her attention to the barista. "Anyway, our grandparents passed away at similar times and left their fortunes to us. Our family told us to go travel the world together."
"My, my, if you two are rich then why are you working here?" The barista asked.
"We want to open a restaurant together." Jo bashfully admitted.
"Yeah! We have to start at the bottom so we can learn about pleasing our customers from a different perspective. We also need experience. Besides, this guy is kind of useless without me." Sam smiled, putting her arm over Jo's shoulder.
"You two are wonderful kids. I hope the day we part won't be soon because I like you two." The barista smiled.
"We like you too!" they said in unison.
Tezuka smiled a bit at their story. He wondered what had happen to him lately—he'd been feeling more relaxed. Tezuka thought he needed to be more on alert. He returned to his post after that small coffee break.
Later that day, Tezuka walked home after a tiring day at work. There wasn't much crime going on since it had been quiet in the past few days. No wonder he felt like he was getting too relaxed. He needed to be more on alert or else the peace might-…
"HELP…! PLEASE! ANYONE! HEEE-MMMMMMM…!"
Tezuka reacted quickly and searched for the source of the scream. He heard the sounds coming from a dark alleyway. He couldn't believe what he saw. It was the waitress from the café. Most of her clothes were torn and thrown to the side and there was a man on top of her, covering her mouth and holding a knife.
Tezuka pulled out his gun. "Put your hands up and release the girl!" he shouted.
The man was surprised by the young cop's loud voice.
"Or what…? You'll shoot me? I have this defenseless girl here and a knife. You better not shoot unless you want me and this girl dead."
Tezuka didn't need to hesitate. He knew how to deal with that type of person. "Are you afraid?" He asked.
"What? I'm not afraid of anything, especially you cops."
"Of course cowards wouldn't be afraid when they use cowardly methods."
"Why you sonuva-" The man charged at Tezuka. Tezuka swiftly knocked him out with what he learned in karate a few years ago. Tezuka quickly handcuffed the man and walked over to Sam.
She silently sobbed. The girl seemed so lifeless and unashamed that she was naked in front of the cop. Tezuka saw a lot of minor cuts but he noticed a bit of blood on her inner thighs. He took off his coat and covered her with it. She shook. "I've been violated…there's no point in living anymore…" she muttered.
Tezuka extended a hand to her. "Please come with me to the police station…you'll be fine."
He knew how to deal with criminals. He knew how to use a gun. He knew how to have an intimidating pressure. He knew how to be serious, alert, and flexible in his job.
He did not know how to comfort people.
"No…I can't go back to Jo like this."
"Please come with me to the police station miss. It will be better if-…"
"No it won't!" She sobbed and flicked his hand away. Then they both heard a small gasp.
"Sam-chan…Tezuka-san…?"
It was the barista. She quickly looked at the scene and had an idea what happened. Tezuka looked at the barista with hope. "Can you please escort her to the police station? She might feel better if it's you."
The barista nodded. She walked to Sam. "Sam, let's go." Sam shook her head.
"I'm not pure enough for Jo. I'll become like one of those broken girls with a tragic past, unable to really love and feel comfortable again and then I'll die a lonely fate just like in those depressing novels."
"So you're going to abandon Jo? You're going to abandon your dreams and goals because you don't feel like you're good enough?"
"No I…I…"
"Jo was telling me yesterday how he felt like he wasn't good enough to be with you because you are very pretty, kind to all your friends, and work hard. He said he was going to 'work hard so Sam can depend on me'! And now you're going to abandon him just because some scum laid his hand on you?"
"I didn't abandon him! He'll abandon me when he learns-!"
"I was raped by my stepdad when I was fifteen. When my mom learned about it, she drove him out of the house and then taught me how I should be a strong woman and that I need to find a partner. It has to be someone who I can trust and communicate with. He should also be okay with my faults and admire my strengths just like I should do the same. She also taught me some martial arts so the same thing won't happen again. You have found Jo to be very special in your heart, so much that you think your faults will disappoint him and he'll turn away from you but that's not true. You're about as special to him as he is to you. Never underestimate the kindness of people." She hugged Sam. Sam cried even more but she felt so relieved.
The next day, Tezuka went to Sunshine Community Café and thanked the barista.
"Thank you very much for calming the victim, Monroe Sam." Tezuka felt a bit embarrassed then coughed. "I couldn't have done that and I'm sorry to hear about your past circumstances."
"Don't worry about it. The memory doesn't haunt me anymore." The barista smiled. "And everyone has their special talents. I heard a bit more about the details that happened. You're very brave and skilled at handling the scum. And you were doing your best at being very calm and gentlemanly to Sam." She giggled.
Tezuka coughed again. "It's just part of my duty."
"Yes, yes,"
"Police-man-san…!" Sam appeared before them, out of breath. She held a small package in her hand. She handed it to Tezuka. "Please accept my gift. I'm sorry for the trouble."
"I don't need any gifts. Your safety is my main concern as a policeman-."
"Oh just accept it!" The barista opened it for serious young man. It was a dark blue tie.
"I have something for you too Akane-chan." She handed a present to the barista.
"Thank you very much. Now get to work." She winked. Sam nodded and skipped to the changing rooms.
"Your name is Akane?" Tezuka asked. In the whole entire month he's been there, people referred to her in different nicknames so he wasn't sure what her real name was.
"Yep, my name is Sasazuka Akane. And what is yours, Brave-police-man-san?" She smiled.
"Tezuka Kunimitsu."
"Uh Tezuka-san?" they heard the voice of someone familiar. "Thank you very much for saving Sam. When I heard the news…I went on a rampage. Oh and thank you too, Sasazuka-san, for calming me down." Jo placed the newspaper in front of Tezuka.
Tezuka blinked at it confusingly.
"Sasazuka-san said you liked to read the newspaper in the morning. It's uh…my thanks to you…" He felt nervous. "Well, please excuse me; I have to get to work." Then he headed off.
Akane smiled. "See…? People are surprising. If they give you something you should accept it with a smile and a 'thank you'!"
+linebreak+
"Roger that, Mr. Tezuka!" Sam saluted which helped bring Tezuka back to reality. "Now would you like any food to go with your coffee?"
Tezuka was ready to reject the offer but in the corner of his eye he saw a child staring at him with his pitch dark eyes. He walked closer to Tezuka. The little boy's brown hair was messy. Tezuka fixed his hair up a bit. "Would you like to join me, Jun-kun?"
The boy nodded. "Yes, I would like that very much, Tezuka-san!" The boy sat on the opposite side of Tezuka and tried to mimic his serious, strict behavior. Tezuka took a piece of his newspaper, the section with the comics, and handed it to Jun. "Thank you very much!" Jun greedily read to his heart's content.
Tezuka nodded. "Can you please get me a fruit cup and some apple juice?" He asked to Sam.
"Right, captain…! Good morning, Jun." She greeted.
"G-Good morning Sam," Jun smiled, feeling accomplished that he could greet people.
The young waitress served Tezuka his coffee and as he drank, memories about his meeting with Jun flooded his mind.
+linebreak+
Even on a rainy day, Tezuka would head over to his favorite café. He was just addicted to their good coffee, he convinced himself. He saw a little boy in front of the entrance, soaked and wearing normal clothing. Tezuka quickly looked around for the little boy's parents but it was just him staring blankly at the café. He wondered if he should help the boy or not. There was the possibility that he was lost and he may need help but Tezuka wasn't really good at that sort of thing.
"Tezuka-san, please come in!" Akane ordered. He noticed she had put a blanket over the little boy. She brought him some coffee and looked over at the boy.
"Is there anything you want today?" she asked.
The boy stared at the ground. "I have no money…" He said.
"Can you please get me a fruit cup?" Tezuka asked.
Akane blinked. Tezuka never ordered any food before. She gave him a fruit cup but Tezuka didn't touch it. He continued drinking his coffee. Jun eyed the fruit cup. His stomach growled and then he blushed. Tezuka looked at the boy. "Do you want it?" he offered.
The boy stared at the cup and then back at the older man. "C-Can I really?"
Tezuka nodded and moved the cup closer to the boy. The boy grabbed a grape and ate it. He felt very satisfied. "T-Thank you…my name is Jun." He said.
"I'm Tezuka Kunimitsu."
"And I'm Awesome-Akane-nee-chan!" The barista added with a silly face. Jun giggled and Tezuka smiled a bit.
"By the way, your awesome-nee-chan needs to ask you a question. Is that alright?" Akane asked.
The boy nodded.
"Why were you in front of the store?"
The boy finished eating his fruit cup. "I look for mommy." He said. "Papa said she isn't coming back home anymore."
"Oh dear, where's your papa?" she asked.
Jun stared outside. "He at work."
"Brave-police-man-san, I think you should escort the little boy home. You'll worry your papa."
"I no care about papa. I want see mama."
"Your father probably cares about you but he doesn't know how to express it." Tezuka said.
Akane was surprised but she went along with it. "Right, how do you think he would feel if his precious and cute child wasn't there to greet him when he comes home?"
"Papa no care about me. He stay in his room for a whole day when mama no come back. I want to bring mama back so we can eat together."
Akane thought about it for a while. "Did your parents say anything about a divorce?"
Jun shook his head. "They say mama 'passed on' but where did she pass on to?"
Akane gasped. Tezuka remained unresponsive and simply pushed up his glasses. He didn't know how to respond.
"You know, my dad 'passed on' too."
"Did you find your papa?"
"No."
"Then…I won't find mama…?"
"That's not true. Your mama's body passed on to an unreachable place just like my papa's. It can't be found no matter how hard you try to look for them."
Jun began to cry. "I…can't be with mama anymore…?"
"That's not true." Akane quickly added. "Even if you can't see your mother anymore who says she isn't watching you right now, waiting for you to turn into the strong man you will become? Just because you can't see her figure right in front of you, it doesn't mean you can't tell her how your day went or show her how much you've grown. As long as you believe she's always with you then it's enough isn't it?"
"Mama's always with me?" he asked.
Akane nodded.
"Forever…?"
"If that's what you believe." She patted him gently on the head.
He smiled. "Thank you Akane-nee-chan. Thank you Tezuka-nii-san." He ran off home.
"I'm too old to be an aniki." Tezuka muttered, sipping his coffee.
"Yeah right, you liked it." Akane smiled.
Maybe he did a little but only a little.
+linebreak+
Jun finished his fruit cup. Sam walked around. "Would you like your receipt?" she asked.
Jun nodded. He took out his little bag of coins. He counted his amount for the fruit cup. Tezuka realized what Jun was trying to do and shook his head. "I'll pay for it." He said.
Jun shook his head. "Papa said I won't be a respectable man if I can't pay for myself." He said while finding the exact change. He gave the money to Sam, feeling accomplished.
"This is correct but there's an extra 100 yen."
"Tip for nice waitress."
"Aw, thank you."
As Jun left, Tezuka phone vibrated. He checked it to see that he received a text message from his co-worker, Inui. It read: there's a rumor that you are transferring somewhere else because you got a promotion. Is it true?
Seeing as Tezuka would take forever in texting Inui back, he just called him.
-Tezuka?
"Hello Inui."
-So is it true that you got a promotion and you're transferring to Yokohama?
"I'm considering it."
-Huh, that's strange.
"What's strange, Inui?" Tesuka asked. He noticed that he had been doing lots of things that didn't seem like him. He hoped that nobody would notice.
-You would have accepted right away. Saying something like, "I understand. I will make preparations to leave as soon as possible." Yet you asked the boss to give you some time to think about it. That must mean something is holding you back.
"Not really."
-It's not good to lie to me. You know I find out about things very quickly, especially how you go out of your way to visit a certain café. What's it called? Sunshine Community Café…?
"Good bye, Inui." Tezuka hung up. He noticed another cup of coffee at his table. "I didn't order another cup."
"It's on the house." Akane explained. "So what are you considering?" she asked.
"I might transfer to Yokohama."
"And do you want to go?"
"It's a good opportunity to expand my experience as a cop and it's a more relaxing place to go to. I can fish frequently on the weekends."
"I'm not asking about the benefits. Do you really want to go?" Akane frowned.
He fixed his glasses. "Thank you for the coffee."
Akane frowned. "You're welcome." She muttered as she went back to her work station but she didn't feel very cheery so she went home early. Tezuka felt a bit empty. She was always inside the shop whether it was very early or very late and all day and night. He wondered if she lived there.
"Yo sonny, you shouldn't be cold to Panda-chan." An old janitor that worked there said to Tezuka. He wore a black jumpsuit with an orange cap. It looked a bit strange yet that's how the place was.
"Panda…?"
"Akane-chan,"
"I apologize."
"Don't apologize to me," He laughed. "But really, go easy on her. This place is all she has in remembrance of her father and now her mother is gone too. Now, she moved into the café."
"When did her mother pass away?"
"About a month ago."
"Is that why she wasn't there that day?"
The old janitor grinned. "Why would she tell you her mother passed away when you wouldn't tell her you were transferring?"
"I'm still considering the transfer."
"Right." he sighed. "I think its best not to hesitate. Go where you want to go but don't forget the little people you meet in your life. And trust in the people who care about you."
Tezuka pulled out his small notebook, scribbled something on the paper, folded it, and handed the note to the janitor. "Please give it to her." Then he left.
The janitor peeked inside, he couldn't help it. He snorted. "Very smooth, trying to give her your number without doing it yourself is a little cowardly, young man."
+linebreak+
Akane received Tezuka's note. She pressed the numbers on her cell but didn't press send. Then she remembered her mother's words: never hesitate. She breathed in deeply and pressed "send". She heard the rings and counted them—one…two…three…four…
-Hello?
She was scared but she wasn't gonna hang up and let it be a prank call. "Tezuka?"
-Sasazuka-san?
She breathed in again. "Yes. You said in your note to call."
-…I apologize for my cold actions.
"No, I'm sorry for sticking my nose in your business. It's just that…"
-…just that…?
"I…uh…I like you coming to my café every day and I…I'll miss you if you decide to leave."
-…I enjoyed my time there…and I'm glad to have been your friend.
Akane gasped. "F-Friend…?"
-…are we not friends?
"N-No…! I mean yes! It's just that I thought you didn't really consider me one. I just thought, you know, that you thought I was a weird girl with too much baggage and stuff."
-No, you're fine as you are.
Akane felt very relieved. "Can we still be friends even if you leave?"
-"Just because I can't see you in front of me, does that mean we stop being friends?" Someone I know said something similar to a boy.
Akane blushed. "You still remember that?"
-Yes.
She giggled. "Hey, if you still haven't decided whether to go or not, can you drop by the café tomorrow?"
-Sure.
"Okay then, good night, Tezuka-san."
-Same to you, Sasazuka-san.
+linebreak+
Tezuka shouldn't have come if he knew that confetti would be thrown at his face. "Congratulations on your promotion." They shouted. Tezuka fixed his glasses and was about to speak but Jo and Sam shoved him inside and placed him at his usual spot. There was a coffeecake on his table.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US YOU WERE GOING TO LEAVE? WE'LL MISS YOU!" Sam cried. Her fiancé patted her in the back.
The old janitor shook his head. "It was nice knowing you sonny."
"Is Tezuka-san not coming back?" Jun tugged on Tezuka's suit sleeve.
"Uh guys…" Akane's eyes widened as she walked in.
"Everyone…" Tezuka spoke up finally. "I'm staying here."
"Eh?"
Akane sighed. "I said he still hasn't decided so none of this stuff was supposed to happen until we heard his answer. Sheesh you guys, now I lost customers."
"Oh boo, there's no fun around here. I want an emotional party going on." Sam pouted. Jo rolled his eyes at her quick recovery. Jun and the old janitor laughed. Akane sighed. She served Tezuka some coffee and cut a bit of the coffee cake. "I guess a party wouldn't hurt right, Tezuka-san?" Akane asked.
Tezuka nodded. She drank the same coffee Tezuka drank. "It needs more sugar." She said. "Anyway, I'm glad you're staying."
Tezuka nodded. He was glad too.
