Entry 41: Would You Like to Change Jobs?
April 3rd: Morning
Yesterday was utterly exhausting. While yes, it was a good experience on the whole, that didn't make it any less taxing on the mind. In one day, I learned that my brother was not the asshole that I thought he was, all the while secretly looking out for me in his own dumbass way. Still one of the stupidest plans I've ever heard in my entire life, and I've helped Subaru make shrines for his gacha luck. And on the same day, my romantic life got an unexpected plus one. Hey, stop smiling idiot!
After the conversation last night, I walked the two girls home and spent the rest of the night laying in my bed thinking about this new situation I found myself in. Then, in the middle of my two hour sleep, my phone rang and a certain bunny eared Nakano requested my presence. So that's where I was heading right now, with an order of the fanciest English breakfast I could afford in hand of course. I'll hazard a guess and say that everyone knows about the news. So might as well come with a peace offering. My hand was shaking as I opened the Nakano apartment door. "Good morning..."
"Ah, morning, Kurororo!" Yotsuba immediately noticed my entrance from her seat in the living room. "Oh~ You bought food! I smell... Biscuits! And eggs! And BACON!" How scarily accurate. I handed the bag of food to the drooling girl and let her take it into the kitchen. "You're the best brother a girl could ever have!" I don't know about that one.
"I thought I should bring you all some break-" As I began to relax in the living room, the bathroom door opened. Nino was the one coming out of the bathroom, her toothbrush still in her mouth and in her messy pajamas. "Fast!" Instinctively, I turned away from her, already feeling my face begin to heat up. "M-Morning, Nino."
"Morning..." She also gave a surprisingly embarrassed answer. I turned back in time to see her walk back into the bathroom with a blush on her face. This is going to take a bit to get used to.
"Hm? Wha happa?" Yotsuba came back into the room with a piece of bacon in her mouth. "Hm? ah I guess she's still just embarrassed." So they do know.
"Yotsuba, leave enough for everyone else."
"I ain't Eatsuki!" The second most gluttonous sibling went back into the kitchen with a smile on her face. No but you're close to rivaling her.
After a few minutes, the bedroom door opened, Ichika came out of it na- "Put on some clothes!" I yelled at the girl as I covered my eyes.
"Hehe, didn't think you'd be here this early, Ro-chan." I heard her say before I heard footsteps quicken to meet her.
"I-Ichika! What are you doing?!" Miku's voice came through and sounded quite groggy, yet still surprised. "Kuro's... put some clothes on now!"
"Sorry, sorry! Jeez." I heard one pair of feet retreat into their room, so I found it safe to take my hand away from my eyes. Sure enough, it was just Miku standing at the doorway.
"I'm sorry about that..."
"Don't worry about it. Blame Ichika. That woman needs to learn how to wear clothes." The amount of times I'd seen that woman naked was honestly alarming. She needs to be more conscious about her body. I'm a teenage boy after all! "Putting that aside, good morning, Miku."
Speaking of Miku, she could stand to be a bit more conscious of herself, seeing as her blue pajamas were hanging off of her body in a way that made her cleavage and stomach visible. To stimulating... "Morning. How'd you sleep?" With a small smile, she sat down next to me and grabbed onto my arm, bringing it into her bosom.
"F-Fine! By the way, you might want to get your breakfast before Yotsuba inhales it all." Nodding, Miku planted a kiss on my cheek and headed into the kitchen. Leaving me sitting there, rubbing where she kissed. "Not fair..."
"Well you seem chipper." Coming out of the bathroom once more was Nino, now completely and stylishly dressed. Cute. She brushed her hair behind her ear and walked to sit next to me, the opposite side that Miku was at beforehand. "What? I can't sit somewhere?" Once again, her smug act didn't work very well given how red her cheeks were.
But I couldn't really say much myself, given I found myself fidgeting at her closeness. How am I supposed to act around her now? With Miku, it didn't feel strange to have our relationship change seeing as so many things were changing at the same time. But with Nino, what now? We've already had a comfortable relationship and now... what?
As I was thinking, I felt a pinch in my leg. "Ow!" Sure enough, it was the twin ribbon wearing girl herself, wearing a cute pout as she pinched my leg- "OW! I got it!"
"I don't think you do! Stupid asshole..." Dramatically, she turned her face away from me, crossed her arms and intensified her pout. Looks like I'm not the only one nervous, huh.
"My my, Nino. Are these your true feelings? I had no idea you were so sh-owowowowow! Okay, I'm sorry!" Why does she keep pinching the same spot!? "But good morning sweet heart... even though you practically stabbed me with your finger nails."
"Hmph, it's your own fault." She seemed to have deemed that enough of a good answer as she turned back to me.
"Hey, wait a sec! I said good morning to you earlier and everything! Why were you mad at all?"
"Cuz you were all nervous and shit. It pissed me off." How dare you say that to me while you yourself are so obviously nervous right now! Though it is pretty cute to see her like this. The normally smug Nino now acting meek. Gap Moe for sure. "Now I feel like you're thinking something that'd piss me off." Her slight blush disappeared and transformed into a glare. "Don't get cocky, asshole."
"S-Sorry."
"Hm, not much changed.." Miku along with Yotsu walked into the room. Miku was holding a plate of food while Yotsuba already had her satisfied smile on. How much did she eat?! She sat down next to me and began eating her breakfast with a smile. "Nino, if you want food then go get some quick. Itsuki should be waking up soon."
"Ah! You're right!" And so, went on the strange morning. Why am I here again?
Same Day: Noon
"Alrighty then! Everybody's tummy full?" Ichika said with a smile on her face. We had just finished breakfast and everyone, esisally Itsuki and Yotsu, had satisfied smiles on their faces. Smiles that I felt Ichika was about to destroy. "Now then I've got some news! You all... need to stop mooching off of me and get a job!"
"What?!" They all spat out. Huh, didn't see that one coming.
Their reactions seemed to bring the short haired Nakano great joy. Maybe she's the real sadist in the family. I glanced at Nino only to get another pinch in the leg. How'd she know?! "Sorry, sorry. That seemed a bit harsh. What I meant to say was let's split rent into five equal parts alright? And whoever can't pay gotta move back." Ah, I had a feeling rent and utilities were too much for a single high school girl to handle. But then...
"What exactly am I doing here then?" I finally ask. Itsuki, Nino and Miku seemed just as clueless as I was but two girls weren't. Yotsu refused to look me in the face and Ichika had an evil grin. Uh oh. "What now?"
"Well, Ku-chan! You see, you decided to not only lay a hand on one of my sisters... but two." Although the oldest sister was obviously trying her best to act imposing, her constant grin really did not make it convincing in the slightest. "So it's only natural that we'd impose a... tax, per say. One mil a month should be enough."
"You just want extra money. Sorry, but I'm gonna have to say no."
"Pooie." With a cutesy grin, she stuck out her tongue. "Aw well, it was worth a shot." I glanced at my two... you know and both of them just gave me a shrug. "But, let's get to the main event!" She reached into a drawer and produced a l;arge pile of flyers. "Get to job hunting!"
Soon, it was just the five of us, looking over the pile of flyers, as Ichika had to leave for work. " So what are you guys planning on?" I asked as I looked over a flier asking for a hand model. Yeah, no.
"I don't know." Miku was the first to respond as she rested her head on my shoulder. "Convenience store clerk, delivering papers on bike... I don't think any of them suit me." A small sigh escaped her mouth. I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Maybe I should have done more physical training."
"I... I don't think that's the issue." Itsuki said with a nervous smile. She looked back down at the flyers and sighed. "I'd feel much better if we could work in the same place but..."
"Yeah, I doubt anywhere that's hiring four people at once. Plus some of us are more competent than others." Nino oh so nicely put it. She was looking through the flyers with a bored expression, clearly not interested in doing any manual labor. "Hey, Kuro..."
"I won't be paying your share."
"What's even the point of dating you then?!" Wow. "Why're you still here anyways? Don't you have anything better to do?" Huh? That's... weird. As soon as she asked it, it looked like she regretted even saying it. "..."
"Well," I picked up another flier and had a look over it. Game industry intern... nah. That's more Subaru's style. " While we still get a monthly pay from library, I'm thinking about changing my career path. So I might as well get a part time job, see what I'd like to do in future."
"Wait wh-"
Yotsuba perked up at my sentiment and interrupted Nino. "Shishishi! Well if Kurorororo's gonna try something new so should we! Maybe I should try customer service like a waitress or something!" The image of Yotsu somehow ending up in the middle of an international incident because she spilled soup on someone came to mind. "Kuro, why're you cringing?!"
"L-Let's start out with something easier, Yotsu."
"Something easier than a waitress?! Kuuuuro, you don't believe in me, do you?"
"I do, I do. It's just... I worry, alright." Worry you'll put yourself in trouble. "Maybe the paper delivery that Miku mentioned would work for you. You are the most athletic of your sisters, and you could do it in the morning." I picked up the paper and handed it to her. Worst thing she can mess up is delivering it to the target's neighbor or something... I hope.
"You've got a point! Thanks big bro!"
"Don't call me that." I could feel my cheeks heating up and her snickering didn't help at all. "What about you, Itsuki? Found anything?"
She placed down the five flyers in her hands and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Not at all. Ideally, I'd like something that could help me grow... But I can't find anything."
"Grow... ah. Something that gives free food, right?"
"Nino, don't make fun of your sister." I quickly reprimanded.
"Well not just that." Don't prove her right. "But... I would like to do something that I'd enjoy." Something that you enjoy... Itsuki's words got me thinking and it seemed to have the same effect on Miku. Seeing as she sat up and looked through the flyers with a determined look.
"Something that I enjoy..." I whispered to myself once more. My brother's insistence came to mind. Him trying to get me to do what I really want to do. But what do I want to do? My whole life I only had three goals. Leave the orphanage alive, done. Protect the Nakano family, passed that with an SSS grade. And succeed my brother in leading, quest dropped by the giver himself. So now my future is free for me to choose... but what do I want? "Making money is hard..."
"Hm, speaking of money, it looks like a certain stingy tutor's café is hiring." Miku picked up a flyer and showed it to me. The flyer said Staff Wanted! 900 to 1080 yen pay. Baking knowledge needed!
"Huh... might as well then. I do enjoy cooking." Thanking Miku, I took the flyer from her hand. "I should probably head down there before it gets too late." As I stood up, I noticed Nino and Miku shared some sort of look before the two stood up as well. "Hm?"
"We're just escorting you. Come on, lazy bones." Nino took my wrist and practically dragged me out the apartment with Miku following behind with a small smile. A smile that was a bit too sinister for my liking. Something's going on here!
Same day: Afternoon
"Well, I expected to get maybe one or two applicants, but three in one day?!" A certain blond haired cafe manager said with a smile. "Perhaps, I've finally hit my popular phase, Uesugi." he said, glancing at the annoyed looking tutor... or should I say baker for today.
"I doubt that." True to the manager's word, I sat in front of him along with two identical sisters sitting on either side of me, in his office. Is this their new rutoine or something? I wasn't really surprised when the two of them said they were applying with me but... what's their plan? "Why the hell are you three here?" Taro asked, exasperated.
"I'd like to know the answer to that myself." Giving a glance to the two girls beside me, they both just looked the other way when I made eye contact with both of them. "What's your end goal here, exactly?"
"Nothing~" The two of them said in unison. Why do I feel like they just get in sync like that to annoy me.
"While I'd love to have more hands here, money's tight and we've only got one opening." The manager looked genuinely sad at this. Wow, how ad- "We'd get so many customers if we had two cute girls around." Capitalism strikes again.
I struggle to keep in a sigh at the man's strange dilemma but that seemed to embolden a certain music loving girl. Raising her hand, Miku exclaimed. "I want to bake for you, sir."
"Hm? Do you specialize in baking?" he asked, intrigued.
"Nah, I'm wayyyy better. In fact, I taught her all that she knows." Nino cut in with a smug smile. "In fact, I may be the best cook here!"
"I don't know about that one, Nino. It was me cooking for all of you for years after all. Plus you seemed to really love the cake I made you the other day."
"T-That had nothing to do with the taste..."
"What does... oh." I felt my face begin to heat up at the realization so I quickly hid my face behind my hand.
"Cute..."
"Why do I feel like you all are flirting in front of me?" Manager quickly spoke up with a bit of a blush on his own face. "Ah, to be young again. But if we're going to do something about this, then I know what this calls for." I was expecting him to say something serious but instead, he placed a hand on Taro's shoulder and smirked at him. "You take care of this!" This man reminds of Shiro. Am I really going to work for two idiots?
"Ugh, why do you always push the hard work onto me." Even though he said that, Taro still turned to us with the intention of doing just as he was ordered. "While I'd like to just take care of this normally and just pick one of you now, I'm afraid I'm a bit biased. I'd rather not work with someone who would try to hurt my very soul."
"What do you mean, Ugi?"
"Yeah, what do you mean, waste of human thought and breath?" I can see what he means.
"But, I don't know if that would be for the betterment of the shop. So, I suppose we will have a baking contest. Whoever makes the best cake, wins the job. Got it?" He crossed his arms and nodded his head to himself. "Any objections?"
"No, it sounds good to me." I stood up from my seat and stretched. "I'll do my best."
It wasn't lost on me that both Nino and Miku shared another look as the two of them stood up. "Hmph, you won't be beating me, Ku. You're a few to years too early to do so!" Nino said with a smile.
"I won't lose." Miku, on the other hand, had a determined look on. And so, the three of us were filled into the kitchen and took turns cooking. All three of us baked a strawberry shortcake and the results... varied.
Nino's cake stood tall and proud. It had multiple layers and was decorated quite fancy. The strawberries were beautiful and looked absolutely delicious, even to someone like me who hates strawberries.
Miku's also looked delicious. While it wasn't as tall nor as fancy as Nino's it still looked great and beautiful. The strawberries were ordered in more of a generic pattern to Nino's unique design. Nonetheless it was a show of how far she'd come in her cooking training.
As for mine... "That's... that can't even be called a cake." Taro said as he looked at the abomination that lay on the table. Where to even begin? First, the cake itself. The cake base was crumbly and couldn't even stay in one piece. Even if you tried to pick up a piece with a fork, the cake itself wouldn't be able to stay on the fork's prongs. The cream was watery and didn't even stick onto the cake. The strawberries were the only thing that looked edible and that was the only thing that I didn't make. "How do you even mess this up?"
"I... I have no idea. Did I forget how to cook since the trip?!" I was so devastated, I fell to my knees. "Is this how far my power goes?"
"Hm, maybe last time was a fluke." Nino said as she stared at the abomination. "I don't think we can even call this food, let alone a cake." She poked the attempt with a fork. "Is this alive?"
"Maybe he was just nervous... it's okay, Kuro. The cake you made me the other day was still delicious." Somehow I'm starting to doubt that.
Taro sighed and shook his head, clearly not happy with this outcome. "Kuro, I'm going to have to disqualify you immediately." NOOOOOOOOO! "Now then, let's taste these." Taro first went for Miku's cute off a piece and shoved it into his mouth. "Hmmm. Pretty good, if I do say so myself."
He nodded his head and grabbed a new fork to taste Nino's. As soon as he placed it in his mouth however- "PFFFT!"
"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell do you think you're doing, asshole?!" Nino slapped the young tutor upside the head as he spit out her food. To be fair, I was also a bit offended and surprised by his sudden spit take. "I didn't poison you're food this time!" This time?
"First off, ow! Secondly, I didn't spit it out because of that. That just tastes like ass!"
"Um, I don't think that's possible." The third Nakano came to defend her sister. "I don't think Nino's ever made anything that tastes bad."
"Fine. Try it yourself then!" Our judge gave both sisters new forks and pointed to the fancy looking cake. "Try it. If you like the taste I'll give you a million yen."
It seemed like that was what showed them that he was serious. For someone like Taro to talk about giving money, even as a joke... something was up. Miku was the first to take a taste of the cake and... sure enough she couldn't even swallow it. "So... salty!" She said after she spat it out into a trash can.
"Salty?! No way..." Nino's face lit up in panic and fell even more as she tested her own cake. "Ugh...no way. No way I fucked up this bad! How'd I mess up the sugar and salt?!"
The entire restaurant was covered in an awkward silence for a bit before... "Miku wins by the way. Don't know if that's clear." he got a punch in the stomach for that.
Twenty minutes later, the three of us were standing outside the cafe. Miku was wearing a proud smile while Nino had a thousand mile stare. "... Well that didn't go as expected." I said with a bit of a laugh. "I thought I'd gotten better. Guess I need more practice, hahaha..."
It didn't seem to work, seeing as the Baker of the Nakano family stood as still as a statue. "I think she's dead."
"Miku, don't joke about that." But it was starting to get worrying. "Why did you two even follow me? I know you both love cooking but..."
"Well, it's quite simple. We-" Awakening from her slumber, Nino quickly covered Miku's mouth. "Mhph!"
"S-Shut the fuck up! " Ah, she woke up. Glaring at her sister while gliding a finger over her neck, Nino seemed to deem this information to be classified. "Got it?" Miku nodded her head and the threatening girl stepped back from her sister. "God dammit, I can't believe I made a mistake like that..."
"Well, everyone makes mistakes, so its fine. But I never thought you would make one like that... weren't you the one who told me it's always important to taste your food as you make it?" I said, scratching the back of my head. Never thought Nino of all people would be this clumsy.
"I was in a hurry, okay?!"
"We didn't have a time limit, though."
"Miku... I will kick you." Even now, the sisters couldn't stop fighting. Why would I think that would change? As I tried my best to tune out whatever argument the two had, a piece of paper caught my eye. Across the street was another café, with a help wanted sign hanging on the door.
"Huh, guess I should apply here instead." I said as I walked up to the paper and read through the flyer.
Help wanted! In need of a baker and waiting staff. Please apply!
"Huh, two openings. Nino you-"
"Of course!" The Tsundere had teleported right next to me and was looking over the paper herself. "Hmmm. Guess you'll have to handle the customers, Ku."
"I'm applying for the baking option. What do you-"
"Even with that disaster of a cake?" Miku why? I couldn't hide the betrayal on my face as I turned to my girlfriend. "S-Sorry. But I think maybe you might want some more practice..."
"HA! And that's coming from Miku of all people? What happened to your five years of cooking experience? Hmmmm?"
"Salt." I got a kick in the shin for that single word. The cake wasn't the only thing that was salty, huh? "OW! You didn't have to kick me again."
"Stupid little..."
Miku seemed to be deep in thought for a minute before nodding her head to herself. "Alright, I guess I'll head home first then. Need to grab some groceries."
"Huh? You sure?" I asked and Nino seemed to have the same question on her mind. "Let me walk you home."
I got a shake of the head in response. "No, it's fine. Walk Nino home instead, it'll be late when you guys finish." With a smile, Miku turned on her heel. "Take care." As she left, I thought I saw her wink at her sister, whose face was now mostly red.
"Well... let's get to applying."
"R-Right."
Same Day: Evening
"You've... got to be kidding me." For the second time today, I fell onto my knees. This time however, it was outside my new part time job, Komugi-ya. The job where I will be working as a waiter... of course. "I lost again..."
"What do you expect? Your opponent was myself after all. The great Goddess Nino Nakano." Her shit eating grin pierced my very being. "You can try again in a couple hundred years. Ohohohoho!" Her fake rich girl laugh was only rubbing salt into the wound. "Alright, now get up. It's getting late and I'm pretty hungry."
With a sigh, I stood up and dusted off my pants. Taking in a deep breath and attempting to regain some of my lost pride, I let the breath out. "Alright then. Let's head home, shall we?"
Wordlessly, the two of us began the long trek back to the Nakano apartment. We were currently a healthy walk away from their home, a good twenty minutes away. As we walked, the memory of our re-recruitment of Taro played out as we walked past a few familiar streets. "Say Nino... are you going to tell me why you two followed me and stole my job?"
"Stole? You lost it fair and square. Don't be such a sore loser." Again with the smug smile, but something seemed a bit off. Hmm.
"Yeah, like you did as well." She flinched and sent a glare at me. "Look, I'm just curious as to why you of all people would want to work in the same place as the Tutor that you hate so much."
"It's not like I wanted to work there per say but..." her voice went down almost to a whisper. "I just didn't want you to." Now that threw me for a loop. Why? It's just a normal part time job with my friend.
"Hey, you two don't seriously think I'd go for Taro, do you?"
"I ought to smack you for saying something as dumb as that!" Okay, yeah. That was a dumb hypothesis. "When school starts, life will only get more busy. That bastard will start tutoring us again, not to mention it'll be our third year so we'll have our hands full with exams and college planning... add in a part time job and now we'll barely see each other."
"So your solution to that was to take the job from me so I had to get a job somewhere else and still not see you two?"
Her ribbons swayed in the wind as she stopped walking. "Look, we're not the sharpest tools in the shed.'' That's an understatement. With a frown she started walking once more. "Look, it worked out, didn't it? You and I are working in the same place and Miku's just across the street. We'll just ditch Ugi-mugi if he ever tries to hang with us." Nino, he is literally our friend.
While their weird excuse made sense in their own, quintuplet way. There were still a few things about today that stuck out as strange. One of them is now more suspicious that I knew their plan. "So you threw the match?"
"Pft, fuck no! Ku, you should know better than anyone that I don't use underhanded tactics like that." Yeah, you're more the type to revel in someone's defeat if it's fair and square, like five minutes ago. "I just... got nervous." Nervous?
That's just strange. Why would Nino of all people feel nervous when cooking? It's the number one thing that she's proud of. Before I could ask her what she meant, she began speaking once more. "Look... it's just weird alright? Being in the same room as you..." She said with a face as red as a tomato.
"Oh." Now it made sense, her weirdly mean insult this morning, along with her retreat into the bathroom. Along with the fact that she's walking five feet away from me. "Guess I can understand that. Didn't know I had that much of an effect on you."
"Normally you wouldn't, dick. It's just..." She stopped speaking for a second, seemingly going through what she wanted to say in her head. "It's different now. How the hell am I supposed to act? I never thought that something like this would happen. Let alone... be so close to you." She's so cute! I love her!
I coughed into my hand to try and regain my composure. I need to calm down before I end up hugging her. "To be fair, I don't know how to go forward either but, fuck it. Look at us, still talking normally and walking home normally. There's no need to overthink these things, Nino."
"..."
"Look." I stopped walking in front of her, making her stop just a foot away from me. "Everything's already out in the air and look. You, me and Miku are now in this kind of relationship. Sure it'll take some time getting used to but... I'm happy. I'm so unbelievably lucky to be in the situation and having met you two. Those are my true feelings. So stop forcing yourself, okay?"
"...So, I can just do what I want?"
"Yeah. No need to force-" I was interrupted by her body colliding with mine. Embracing me. "See? Just like-" Another interruption came when my lips were stolen. WHATKUHUJAM?!
Nino Nakano, the scary girl that she was, pulled away after a few seconds and licked her lips. "Thanks, Ku. Guess I don't have to hold back anymore." her smile was one that I hadn't seen on her. It wasn't smug, nor meant to make me feel bad. It wasn't one of her shining smiles of happiness either. Instead... It was a dangerous one. One that reminded me of a runaway train.
"I-I didn't expect you to let loose so soon." I said as I touched my lips. Here I thought I was getting better at this whole kissing thing. Jeez, what kind of teenage boy am I if something as simple as a kiss could make me this nervous! "T-Thank you."
Her dangerous smile disappeared and morphed into a smug one. "If it's this easy to turn you into a nervous wreck, I should just start doing it when you piss me off."
I looked back at her to try and defend myself. "... you're one to talk, Nino." Needless to say, she was blushing just as hard as I was.
"S-Shut up! Pervert!"