It was a quiet, rainy day on Parrot Drive, that little side street in downtown Montgomery.  Business at Starbucks was calmly drizzling by.  Customers curled up in the comfy chairs, nursing their steaming cups of coffee and talking in low whispers, which were punctuated by polite, cultured laughter.  It was a room full of prissies, who were about to be incredibly disturbed.

Heads jerked upwards at the sound of screeching car breaks.  A sheet of water was thrown up onto the window, making a loud PFFFFT noise as though it were blowing a raspberry at the startled souls within.  The water dripped slowly down, revealing a large Ford Excursion (aka Road Hog) parked askew, spanning three average-sized parking spaces.  Seven men and two girls piled out, their mouths moving silently in animated conversation.  Not willing to be in the same room as a bunch of crazy "teenagers", two businessmen hurriedly packed up their laptops and left.  The rest of the customers decided to risk it and remained frozen in their seats, wary eyes watching as the strangers approached.

Chiriko fell from the monstrous car, clutching his stomach with one hand and holding an all-too-familiar small, soggy, white bag in the other.

"Tasuki is never driving again," groaned Tamahome.

"And what, you are?" Tasuki snapped.  "You drive like my grandmother!"

"The one with 25 speeding tickets?"

"Hn."

"Ooo, I love Starbucks!" cried Yui, her blue eyes dancing.

"Starbucks?  Um, um!" Miaka agreed.  The Suzaku seishi looked at each other and shrugged.

"Whatever you say, girls.  They just better have some fucking good service, unlike that other place you took us to," commented Tasuki.

"And fried?" came Tamahome's sarcastic remark.

Tasuki ignored him.  "What was that place called?  Mac Fondles?" he wondered.

"McDonalds," gasped Chiriko, still recovering.

"Same difference."

"Let's just go inside already, all right?  I'm starving, no da," Chichiri cried, exasperated.  He brushed past them and pushed open the door.

The tingle of a little bell announced their entrance, an eerie death sentence for the customers inside.

"Listen - they are stunned into silence, in awe of my beauty," sighed Hoto.

Someone coughed.

The seishi and two miko approached the cashier.  "Don't they talk here?" Tasuki confided to Chichiri.

"I don't think so, no da," Chichiri whispered back.

The cashier was eyeing them warily.  "No pets allowed," he said, his gaze on Tama.  The calico cat hissed and ran up from Mitsukake's arms to hide behind his shoulders.  Mitsukake frowned, and the cashier quickly (and conveniently) forgot the issue.

"Um, we'd like two cappuccinos, one caramel cider, two frappuccinos, a Tazo green tea, a latte, a mocha, and…" Miaka paused as Tasuki whispered something in her ear.  "And three espresso shots."
"You got Tasuki espresso shots?" cried Yui.  "Are you insane?"  One of the customers, hearing this foreboding exclamation, quickly got up and left.  The rest remained in a shocked silence, watching the nine oddities at the counter.

Tasuki grinned and ran a hand through his bright orange hair.  "I told her I'd pay for all of us," he chuckled.  Tamahome turned pale.

"Look, comfy chairs!" came Chiriko's cheery voice.  He was bouncing up and down on one of the red arm chairs in the corner, which had very recently been vacated.  The seishi, with the exception of Nuriko, and miko bustled over.  Meanwhile, Nuriko picked up the tray with all its drinks in one hand and a comfy chair in his other.  He began walking over to the group.

"Hey!  Don't rearrange the furniture!" the clerk cried, but quickly bit his tongue when Nuriko lifted the chair up onto his shoulder, still with one hand.  "N-never mind…" he stammered to Nuriko's arched eyebrow.

Tasuki jumped in front of the coffee-bearing seishi.  "Hey!  Hey!  Gimmie my espresso!" he cried.

"As if he needs it," muttered Yui.  Miaka nodded her agreement.

Nuriko set down the chair and gently pushed Tasuki away - well, he meant to, anyhow.  Tasuki went flying, falling backward over the coffee table.  "K'so…" he muttered.  Nuriko grinned.

"Attention!  I will now distribute the caffeinated drinks!" Nuriko announced.

"Coffee…" hissed Chiriko.

"Coffee!  Who got the…err…stuff with the fluff on top?"  He held up two cappuccinos.  Simultaneously, Chiriko and Mitsukake raised their hands.

"Cappuccino," Chiriko corrected as he got his drink.  Nuriko rolled his eyes.

"Now we have…oo, this is mine.  Yours too, Miaka-chan!"  Miaka grabbed her frappucino, grinning.

"A girl's drink," Tasuki muttered.  "You need a more manly drink, like espresso!" he cried, pounding his chest.  Everyone glared.

"Ahem…well, anyhow…" Nuriko quickly finished handing out the drinks.  Yui got caramel cider, Tamahome, a mocha, Hoto had ordered a latte, and Chichiri had, of course, asked for the Tazo green tea.  We all know what Tasuki bought.

"Espresso shots!" he cried, snatching the three tiny cups from Nuriko's hands.  There was a unified groan.  "Whaaat?"