Chapter 3: Its been a week

"Morning Squirt," Naomi greeted Rukawa who was still in his PJs, decorated with little orange basketballs, with a bright and cheery grin; in sync with the weather that was clear and sunny.

"Morning," Rukawa muttered, yawning against the back of his hand. It had been a week since he has moved in with his sister, and he was beginning to enjoy his time with Naomi. It was nice living with someone close to his age, and not having his omnipresent parents nagging at him all the time. Especially with the kind of grades he's been achieving. Living with Naomi ensured total freedom, something that he didn't really get living in Kanagawa. Not that Naomi wouldn't nag; she would, in her own way, without sounding like she was chiding Rukawa.

Rukawa rubbed his eyes and looked as his sister. She was still dressed in her bartender's uniform, having just come back from work a few hours ago. She was working night shift all the way this week, she had told him that day, and said that he might have to entertain himself for that week alone. "Aren't you going to bed yet?" Rukawa asked, taking 2 pieces of bread out from the bag and placing them into the toaster.

Naomi smiled tiredly, stifling a yawn. "Yea I will, after I scramble these eggs for you," she pointed at the pan which was heating over the stove.

Rukawa shook his head at her. "I can cook my own eggs. Go take a shower and sleep." He busied himself with pouring some juice, and waved her off.

"Fine. I'll be in the shower. Later," she gave a nod, and headed down the short hallway. Soon there were sounds of water in the bathroom and Rukawa turned to the pan, looking around for some butter or oil to put in.

He opened the fridge and took out the slab of butter, cutting it with a butter knife and dumping it into the pan. The pan sizzled immediately and smoke started coming from the pan, being left heated too long. He panicked slightly and picked the pan off the stove, turning the knob with his other hand to lower the heat. He cracked two eggs easily into the pan and scrambled them with the spatula, adding some salt and pepper in the process.

Dumping the eggs on the plate, he picked up his toast and sat down in front of the television, switching it on. Putting his feet on the coffee table, he channel surfed until Spongebob Squarepants came onscreen. Settling the remote control down, he leaned back into the couch and began eating his breakfast.

A good thirty minutes passed and Rukawa stood up, placing the dishes in the sink. What the hell is nee-chan doing? He wondered, looking at the door which was still closed. There didn't seem to be any noise coming from inside, and Rukawa decided to knock on the bathroom door. "Nee-chan? Have you gone and died in there?" he paused, waiting for a snappy answer. But none came. He knocked again, this time more persistently. "Nee-chan?"

A weird smell wafted into his nose and he scrunched it, feeling immensely puzzled. There was something not right going on in there and he rest his long fingers on the door knob, twisting it to find it unlocked. He opened the door hesitantly, and was greeted immediately by a strong lavender smell. He coughed. He stepped inside, steam blurring his vision momentarily. Waving his hand in front of his face, he saw Naomi lying in the tub, head lolled to the side. Luckily, all her naughty bits were covered by suds, which were steadily disappearing though.

Rukawa gave an irritated groan. He stooped beside her and shook her arm gently. "Nee-chan,"

Naomi stirred, looking up blearily at Rukawa. "Eh?"

"You fell asleep in the tub. Better get up before you catch a cold," he told her and stood up, leaving the bathroom, just a little amused by the indignant squeal Naomi made.

Naomi came out of the bathroom five minutes later, and thanked Rukawa for waking her. "The water was cooling rapidly. I'd have gotten sick in there. Thanks."

"Nee-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't ever burn those aromatherapy candles again ok? They're asphyxiating."

Naomi scowled. "Deal with it. I happen to like those very much, thank you." And she slammed the door.

Rukawa felt the ends of his lips curl up slightly and continued watching Spongebob.

"F is for friends who do stuff together

U is for U and me

N is for anywhere and anytime at all

Down here in the deep blue sea"

Rukawa walked on the streets with his hands in pockets, wondering aimlessly down the street. He hasn't found any basketball courts, but he had seen a group of youngsters just a few blocks from where he was staying, playing street basketball every evening around 8. Sometimes, he would watch on the sidelines with the rest of the crowd; and sometimes, he would just bypass that area and head on home straight. He never tried to play with them; he didn't think they were worth the trouble.

Besides, he'd wanted to get a job. And just as he was thinking about it, he came across an American restaurant, which had an advert on its door, seeking for waiters and waitresses, cooks and bartenders. What the heck. I'll just pop in for an interview. He stepped in, and was a little surprised at the electric guitars hanging off the walls. Not only that, there were frames of records and clothes hanging in a display that screamed rock 'n' roll against the wall, set off nicely by overhead lights.

Girls in short white uniforms were striding around with plates of food, and the bartenders were busy flipping bottles into the air and mixing up a flurry of drinks. The restaurant was pretty busy, and Rukawa was just about to step out when a girl in a blue shirt came bounding towards him.

"Hi there! How're you doing? Here for food? Drinks?" the girl smiled, handing him the menu. "Or would you like to look at some of our merchandise? We're having a 15 off everything today!"

"I'm looking for a job," he said tonelessly.

"Oh! Right, give me a second, I'll get you an application form. Come on, I'll sit you at the bar." With another megawatt grin, she sat him down on the bar stool and skipped off to some corner of the restaurant, speaking to a guy in a white uniform. The guy looked at him sceptically, and nodded at the blue-shirt girl, giving her a piece of paper.

All around him, the servers began to slow in whatever they were doing and stole glances at him ever so often. He ignored them, staring into space until a glass of water placed in front of him broke his concentration.

"Just in case you were thirsty. It is pretty warm outside after all." The bartender grinned at him, and stuck his hand out. "Skye Mikagami. Nice to meet ya."

Rukawa stared at his hand for quite a while, before reluctantly shaking it. "Rukawa Kaede."

Skye nodded, and returned to his business. The girl came back with the form and a pen, which he filled out dutifully and returned to her without a word. She took it, and told him to wait another 5 minutes while she got the manager to give him an interview.

He did, drumming his fingers on the bar top absently. Finally someone came and told him to proceed to the booth seat not far from where he was sitting. He did so, and the manager stuck his hand out, introducing himself as Yukio. He didn't look more than 25 years in age.

The interview went on for another twenty minutes, with Yukio asking him questions like how long he'd be working, what did he like to do and whether he thinks he's capable of doing simple cleaning work, and if he had any experience in serving. And, in this restaurant, they were not waiters but servers. Their motto was to Love All, Serve All. Rukawa nearly rolled his eyes at that one, but he kept his politeness and nodded patiently.

Yukio let out a breath that meant that he was done questioning. "Ok then, I guess we'll try you out for a few weeks. When are you ready to start work?"

"Today," he answered crisply.

Yukio chuckled. "I don't think so. You'll come tomorrow at 9 then, I'll put you under one of the trainers under the Servers department. I'll see you tomorrow. The uniforms will be issued then." He stood up.

Rukawa stood too, and bowed slightly. He returned the gesture and showed him to the door. Rukawa stepped out, feeling a slight sense of achievement at having landed a job. He went to the nearest takeout store and bought food home. Naomi must be feeling pretty hungry right about now.

"Tadaima," Rukawa mumbled, taking off his shoes and stepping into the apartment. What greeted him though made his jaw drop slightly.

"Okaeri," Miyagi grinned, waving at Rukawa impishly.

"What are you doing here?" he could only stand and stare at Miyagi stir the drink in his hand dumbly.

"Is that how you treat guests, Kaede?" Naomi called out from the kitchen.

Rukawa ignored his sister. "I bought us dinner." He gestured at the bag of food in his hands. "I suppose I bought enough for 3 of us," he continued, looking at Miyagi. "So, how'd you find me?"

"Hey, hey. Relax. You sound like you didn't want to be found or something. As if you were running away!" he laughed inanely to himself, finding his last statement funny. Rukawa looked on in a deadpanned manner. Seeing that no one was laughing along with him, he cleared his throat. "Ahem, heh. Well, I thought you were heading here only today, so I wanted to see you off. But I came to your doorstep, and was greeted by this UGLY couple sitting at the front of your porch smoking." His face twisted in disgust at the memory.

"Anyway, I asked them where you were and they gave me the only address that they had, which, well, led to you. Seems like whatever trouble that they might get into will come to you," he flicked the piece of paper with Naomi's address to Rukawa, who caught it deftly. He took a quick glance at it, and placed it away.

"Doesn't matter. I don't care anyway." Rukawa replied and went to the kitchen, looking for some plates to put the takeaway food in.

"I'll get this. You just go talk to Miyagi. He must be tired, travelling all this way," Naomi nudged him towards the couch, where Miyagi sat watching some TV. He gave her an evil eye, the ears of the fox popping from the side of his head, and slithered behind Miyagi, fuming.

"Now you've seen me. Go back home," he told him, fixing him with all the hate he could muster.

"Actually," Miyagi continued blithely, "I'm gonna be staying here for a few days, along with the rest of the team," he smiled, "since we couldn't bear to part with our dearest team member for such a long while,"

Rukawa sweatdropped. What?! And ruin my peace and quiet? Not in a million years! "W-where would you be staying then?" he crossed his fingers, hoping it wouldn't be anywhere too near his place.

"Why, there was this hostel right next door to your apartment! And real cheap too! Of course we'll stay there. Imagine how much fun it'll be living so close to each other!" the smaller boy cackled loudly. "Oh! Have you found any basketball courts around here?"

The wheels in Rukawa's mind started whirring restlessly. There was one proper court, but it belonged to a high school and it was 5 miles away. If he could somehow get them to stay around there instead...

Rukawa nodded at him and replied, "Yes. There's a court 5 miles from here. You might want to stay somewhere near there instead," I'm gonna get rid of you, no matter what. "The accommodation there I heard was really cheap too." He said, not trying to sound too eager.

"What, and leave you here alone?" Miyagi scoffed. "As if! We are a team, and we must act like a team! We'll look around for courts in our own time. I'm sure there'll be other makeshift courts or something,"

Damn. "I don't want to hold the team back," he tried again, but to no avail. Miyagi's mind was set. Scowling, Rukawa mumbled something about having a shower and retreated into the bathroom. Once he started the water, and was pretty sure no one outside could hear him, he let out a pathetic wail. "Noooooooooooooo!"