A/N: *screeches* FORMATTING! I'm so mad I can't seem to get the image with the proper text screen image to show up. This is why I hate dealing with text messages in fic. :/
Morning found Tohru asleep at the coffee table, legs still crossed under her and head on her notes— only inches away from the keyboard of her open laptop. The screen had long since gone black as the computer went to sleep but if she had landed on the keyboard when sleep finally calmed her and filled her paper with key mashing she might have just died right there. Slowly, Tohru sat up, wincing at the cracking of her stiff limbs and spine, and peeling the stray page of notes from her face.
"Ugh."
Her eyes throbbed in that familiar way that signaled she was dehydrated. The two and a half empty beer cans on the table and the empty bag of chips gave her an idea of why.
"Ugh," she repeated, fighting the urge to smack one of the empty cans from the table. Tohru pulled herself to her feet, stumbling a little when they refused to cooperate, and shuffled to the kitchen.
"Miku?" Tohru called to her roommate. She had no idea what time it was but the sunlight had woken her up and Miku suffered from the disease known as 'morning person', so she was likely already awake. "Why did you let me sleep in the living room?"
There was no response, but the answer came from the note on the fridge in her roommate's neat handwriting:
Tohru— On call for the day, probably won't be back home until end of shift.
I will hear about this new job of yours later, you can't hide behind that paper forever.
Tama has already been fed, don't let her lie.
XOXO, Miku
"Tough luck," Tohru told the grey tabby twining around her ankles as she pulled a glass from the cabinet and filled it from the sink. Tama meowed forlornly and ran off to hide in Miku's room.
The cold water tasted amazing and after two glasses Tohru was beginning to feel like a person again. She put the glass in the sink for later and stretched her arms above her head. The clock on the wall told her it was still early, thanks to her sunshine wakeup call. It was tempting to go back to bed for an hour or two but Tohru knew from experience if she tried that then Tama would appear, lay on her phone, and muffle her alarm.
Instead Tohru took the time to open the blinds properly. The sunlight hurt her eyes but felt nice to stand in. Maybe cats had the right idea.
"Alright," she said to the empty room. Well, not so empty as Tama came jingling back in as soon as she heard the blinds open. "Gonna stretch with me?"
"Mya," said the cat, finding the best sunbeam and flopping over. She rolled a bit on the floor before stretching out with her little kitty paws in the air.
"Just me, then."
The routine felt good, familiar. Between homework, the search for a proper job, and the odd tutoring job (non-paid) it had been a few weeks since she'd had the energy and motivation to do her morning stretches. Tohru made a mental note to try to keep up the effort. Even if she didn't use her Quirk much since leaving U.A. how often did Miku harp on preventative measures?
By the time she finished her childhood routine from her stint in gymnastics and the basic U.A. warmups it was time to get ready. A quick shower, makeup routine, and at least fifteen minutes debating an outfit. Tohru hadn't been given a uniform, it hadn't even been mentioned, but was there too casual for bartending work? With a strangled cry of aggravation at her overthinking, Tohru tossed the shirts she was holding over her shoulder and decided to get as close to a uniform as she could: black jeans and a white button up. It wasn't like she owned a fitted vest or a bowtie. On a last second thought she scooped up a cardigan to stuff in her bag and walked out to the kitchen to grab something for lunch.
Tohru opened the fridge and paused. She'd forgotten that Miku had been so busy between her work shifts at the hospital and her own classes that she hadn't been able to go to the store for a while. And Tohru… didn't have the money to go. So now the fridge held mostly condiments, drinks, eggs and cheese.
"That's… a problem for later," she decided, taking out the eggs and cheese. "For now we'll just make an egg sandwich."
"Meow," said Tama from her spot in the sunshine, hoping that 'we' meant her too.
Unfortunately for the cat it became clear that it did not when Tohru stuffed half of the finished sandwich in her mouth so she could rinse off the dishes. The other half disappeared by the time she sat the dishes in the rack to dry and Tama's ear's went flat in distaste.
"Alright, Tama, I'm off to earn my ramen!" Tohru called, slinging her bag over her shoulder and waving to the cat.
The tabby cat just watched with her green marble eyes- leaving Tohru to wonder if she would hold a grudge over the eggs- before scrunching her face into a kitty smile.
"I'll take that as a vote of confidence," she laughed, stepping into her shoes and shutting the door behind her with a click .
Returning to Kamino was easy enough in-of-itself, but the trouble came in trying to find the poorly named bar once more.
"You know," Tohru said to no one, thinking out loud. "I bet they'd be doing alright, even with the questionable theme, if the place wasn't so hard to find."
The area was shady as shit but the bar itself wasn't that bad, and could be better with a little polish. Well, except for Many Hands Mike, or whoever he was. He should…probably not be the face of the bar. Mr. Shadow might be able to pull off the role, even if he did seem contradictory on whether he wanted the help or not.
Or…maybe it was just her help, specifically.
Tohru frowned at the thought. "Well, that's just unfortunate because I'm showing up."
…Assuming she could find the damned place again.
She must have racked up a bit of good karma in the past few days because it only took a little back-tracking and power walking through two grimey back alleys (that had likely seen more than a few drug deals) before she caught sight of that horrible Loins sign.
"There you are, you sneaky bastard." Tohru muttered before putting on her best pleasant face and pushing open the door. Maybe she could put a GPS marker in her phone's map for next time?
The bell above the door (was that there yesterday?) jingled as she stepped inside. The interior was as poorly lit as ever but she supposed it played into their theme well enough. She thought of the book in her bag and hoped she'd be able to read it clearly. Did no one care about their eyesight?
"Sakaime Tohru."
The sound of her name jolted Tohru from her very Miku-like line if thought. The speaker had obviously been Mr. Shadow but she hadn't seen him when she'd walked in. It took two sweeps of the small bar interior before she spotted his smokey head peeking up from behind the bar.
' Geh ,' Tohru thought, hoping she didn't make a face. That was about the last place she had expected to find him. The placement made it seem as if he were hiding from her but the logical side of her brain said that was ridiculous.
"You've returned," Mr. Shadow sounded less than thrilled but she was starting to see that exasperated-neutral tone might just be his voice.
"Sorry to disappoint," Tohru smiled as she walked up to the bar.
Mr. Shadow stood as she approached, folding a piece of paper and putting it in his vest pocket. An inventory list. "I am used to disappointment."
"Ah," Tohru said blankly, expression faltering, unsure if that had been a joke.
The two stared at each other for a moment, the time seeming to stretch on indefinitely for Tohru, before Mr. Shadow turned away with a flickering of his smokey head that might have indicated a sigh.
' So it was a joke ,' and Tohru realized reading the man was going to be much more difficult than she had first imagined.
"You are free to use anything in the bar as you see fit." Mr. Shadow gestured to the wall of bottles behind him with a short wave of his arm. Nowhere near as grandiose as Mr. Hands seemed prone to. "However, I would recommend against using anything on the top shelf for…experimentation."
"Over my pay-grade," Tohru nodded, flashing a thumbs up before she could think better of it. "Got it."
"A delivery of more traditional cocktail spirits and other essentials will be delivered shortly."
"Well, good thing I found this," from her bag Tohru produced the little book of mixed drinks and cocktails. She held it up for Mr. Shadow to see, looking proud. "I didn't think we still had this; Miku and I only tried to throw a college party once, you know."
Mr. Shadow said nothing.
Tohru rocked back on her heels, tennis shoes squeaking on the wood floor. "We got a cat instead and ate all the snacks with Natsu— You know, it's really not important. Anyway, I have a series of questions."
"Of course you do," but he gestured for her to continue with a twist of his hand.
"Do I get to know what to call you or should I just keep making things up?"
His yellow eyes narrowed just enough to be visibly noticeable before answering, "You may call me Kurogiri and as for my…boss he is Shigaraki Tomura. You may call him… Shigaraki Tomura. However I would suggest you report to me on matters concerning the bar."
"Do you…not have a first name?" Tohru asked, tipping her head slightly as she observed the shadow man.
"You may call me Kurogiri," he repeated flatly. "Now, ask your questions."
"Okay, so," she began, hoping she didn't sound stupidly excited over such a simple thing. "What's this place actually called? Because the sign says 'Loins' and I'm really hoping …"
"The sign." Kurogiri made an unreadable expression that she could only assume was his way of frowning. "We should invest in a more updated design. One less likely to short circuit and catch fire, especially if Shigaraki Tomura has a mind to play with the controls."
She mirrored his expression, visibly frowning."You're saying he broke it?"
"He has a tendency to destroy everything he touches," Kurogiri answered simply. Tohru laughed a little, certain she had caught his joke this time.
Kurogiri did not laugh.
"Um?" His expression remained as blank and unreadable as ever, and Tohru realized he had no intention of elaborating. "Right...Uh, is there, like, a uniform?"
The side door of the bar slammed open and Shigaraki shuffled out, much like he did last time. His gaze when he looked at them was still very much creepy and he was still very much covered in hands. Under all the hands Tohru had the distinct impression that he had slept in his clothes, as rumpled as they were.
"Ah, it's the 'love and kindness' girl. How cute. However, no time to chit chat. Come, Kurogiri. Let's go round up some more grunts for that big event we have coming up."
Tohru squinted as Shigaraki showed no indication of changing. Was he going out like that? There was a long moment- where she tried and failed to picture the man out in public, on the train, in a convenience store, looking like that- before her brain registered the second half of his sentence. "Oh, is there going to be a party later? I can put together a menu."
"In a manner of speaking," Kurogiri grumbled as he stepped around the bar to follow the hand covered man to the door. "But not here. Simply use the time to familiarize yourself with the bar and sign for the delivery."
"Try not to let the place fall down around your ears," Shigaraki added, laughing to himself as if he had just told a clever joke.
The door shut with a click and another jingle of the bell, leaving Tohru alone in the bar. Except, presumably, for that Nomu dog; but she hadn't seen or heard the thing yet so it probably wasn't allowed in the bar area.
"Honestly," she humphed, placing her hands on her hips. "Poor Kurogiri must have such a hard time keeping this place in the black." Between the theme and his boss insisting on wearing hands for his villain persona aesthetic.
"AND," Tohru added, turning on her heel and pointing at the TV in the corner, despite being the only one in the room. "What's the point of having this thing if it doesn't even work?!"
The TV didn't answer.
"Yeah that's what I thought."
Okay, now this was just getting sad. She could get away with it at home, Tama was always there to pretend to listen, but this was an empty bar. With another huff Tohru flipped her hair over her shoulder and pushed up her sleeves. She might as well get to making herself useful and there had to be cleaning supplies somewhere in this place.
The cleaning supplies were easy enough to locate, stored neatly in a small closet in the kitchen, but as much as 'dingy' seemed to be the place's aesthetic it was actually surprisingly clean. Tohru even dared to poke her head into the single bathroom off the bar area- something absolutely unthought of in most places- and found it nearly as clean as the one at home.
"I can hear my mother telling me to marry this man," Tohru muttered as she shut the door. The corner of her mouth twitched at the ridiculousness of the thought.
"Anyway," she began, tapping her fingernails on the wood of the closed door. "It's so quiet in here. How do people not lose their minds, just drinking in the dim lighting and the silence?"
An idea occurred to her and Tohru snapped her fingers before pulling out her phone and typing out a text message.
Tohru: (Natsu.)
Tohru: (Hey Natsu. Do me a favor.)
Natsuo: (Not even going to pretend to ask, huh?)
Tohru: (Do me a favor or I won't help you study for your next exam.)
Natsuo: (Finally showing your true colors, huh?)
Natsuo: (I always knew you were secretly a villain.)
Tohru: (✨)
Tohru: (No but seriously.)
Natsuo: (What is is? I'm not bailing you out of jail.)
Tohru: (Ha. Ha.)
Tohru: (I need the old radio from the apartment. Miku's on call so she's not home. You know where the spare key is, right?)
Natsuo: (Yeah.)
Tohru: (Great, I'll text you the address.)
Tohru: (And what do you mean jail? I'm a model citizen. Perfectly behaved.)
Tohru: (Shut up.)
As it turned out Tohru shouldn't have bothered with the address, as she got a call from Natsuo roughly twenty minutes later full of complaints about being lost in Kamino, that she owed him at least three snacks, and that he'd seen the same lost delivery man four times now. Tohru wondered if that was the delivery she was waiting on.
It probably was, as this bar seemed to be located in Limbo. Just west of the River Lithe maybe? Tohru mulled over the thought as she went to retrieve her radio and the promised delivery.
Natsuo was easy enough to spot in a crowd; not that there was much of one but she could spot him at a distance. He had enough of his father's height and that teenage ease of putting on muscle so he had enough bulk to be mistaken for an off-duty sidekick. Plus that snow white hair was impossible to miss when the sunlight reflected from it.
"Natsu!" Tohru called as she popped out from a nearby alleyway.
He startled, nearly dropping the radio tucked under his arm. "What were you doing in there?"
"Working."
"In the alley?!" Natsuo's eyes bugged out and Tohru contemplated kicking him on the shin.
"No, you jerk," she said, snatching her radio from him. "But that was the fastest way back to the main street."
He squinted down at her, crossing his arms across his broad chest like he wasn't still 19 and the baby of this friend group. "The shady job Miku mentioned."
"Oh, Miku doesn't even know what I'm doing yet. She's overreacting." Probably. She was probably overreacting. "Anyway, where's that delivery guy. I think it's the one I'm waiting on."
Briefly distracted, Natsuo blinked before screwing up his face as he tried to remember. "Like a block over, last I saw?" He pointed over his shoulder with a thumb and Tohru leaned around him as if hoping to see the poor lost delivery man. Sadly she did not.
"Cool, I need to go catch him." She straightened, grinning up at the younger man. "Thanks for this, Natsu. I'll pay you back the next time Miku and I make an actual meal."
"Hey, we're not done yet!" Natsuo shouted as she jogged past. Tohru turned to wink over her shoulder, laughing as she disappeared around the corner. "Damn, there she goes…"
He groaned, raking his hands through his hair in visible aggravation. "Aaargh! We're not done with this conversation yet!"
The only response Natsuo got was from a stray cat, stopping only briefly to stare at him before continuing on to the next alley.
"Am I being punked?" the delivery guy asked when she finally found him, so frazzled by this point he sounded on the verge of tears. "I wasn't even given a name for this place ."
' Damn,' Tohru thought, biting back a frown. ' I'm never going to know what this place is called .'
Out loud she said, "Hey, don't worry. I'm actually here to pick that up."
Tohru had never seen a man look so relieved and for one horrible second was convinced this stranger was going to hug her. Thankfully, he managed to keep a hold of his professionalism. "Thank G- I mean, do you need me to follow you back with the cart? They're rather heavy."
On the handcart there were three plastic milk crates filled with various bottles and what looked to be a single paper bag of snacks. "Oh no," she insisted, tucking her radio carefully into the top most crate. "I can manage."
"Miss?"
"Do I need to sign?"
"Oh, uh," the delivery guy fumbled for the paperwork, searching his pockets before presenting it to her. It was crumpled, having been stuffed into a back pocket, as a testament to the poor guy's struggles but it was still signable. "Are you sure you don't need help?"
"I can manage," Tohru repeated with a smile, handing back the paperwork. She readjusted her sleeves before crouching down to take the bottom-most crate by the handles. Tohru straightened, taking a moment to adjust her hold so the crates would stay balanced. "See? Thanks for the offer, though."
The trek back to Unnamed Mystery Bar was slower going, as Tohru didn't want to risk dropping the merchandise. It wasn't a problem, the weight of the crates or the distance walking, but the crates themselves were only stacked on top of each other and could be a little unwieldy if she started walking too fast.
The bar was still standing when she returned and it didn't look as if the place had been robbed. Come to think of it, Tohru wasn't sure she had even seen a cash register. Which was...concerning but she had to imagine it played into the theme. 'Under the table payments' and such. She sat the crates down behind the bar and stretched her arms above her head for a moment. There wasn't much room on the shelves for new stock but there seemed to be enough empty space under the bar and even a little mini-fridge she'd missed earlier.
Putting everything away didn't take nearly as long as she'd thought. Once again Tohru was left with nothing to do, aside from trying to find what radio stations would play clearly in the bar. Present Mic was probably on but he always made the speakers in her old radio crackle.
"Actually, you know what this place could use? If it's a theme bar it's going to need some signature drinks. I can at least make two based on the bosses," she decided, looking to her recently stocked alcohol selection. Tohru spared a glance at her mixology book and nodded to bolster her confidence. Yeah, she could do this.
It took a few attempts and several passes through the book before she ended up with something she liked:
"The Kurogiri: rum, ginger beer, cranberry juice and a slice of lime. It's a Dark and Stormy, but bitter about it."
And
"The Shigaraki: Whiskey, Amaretto, Frangelico and some bitters. Hopefully he won't notice it's an even more nuttier version of the Nutjob."
Tohru scrutinized the two separate glasses, all alone on the bar counter. Well it was a start. But they would really need to get in some regulars or more staff if they were going to have a special drink menu.
Never mind that was something she had decided herself only a few minutes ago.
