The scent of fresh coffee wafted up from the restaurant below, rousing Risa from her sleep the following morning. She stretched and slid out of bed, making her way slowly to the bathroom. As she went about her usual morning routine, she could hear the bustling of her grandfather in the kitchen downstairs as the morning's first customers began sauntering in- the familiar ting of the bell sounding each time the door opened.
She dressed in a pair of jegging capris, slid on a light blue short sleeve crew top tee, threw her hair up in a bun, then headed down the stairs towards the side entrance before sliding her feet into her slip-on shoes and greeting the customers as she made her way into the kitchen.
"Mornin', Gramps."
Seiryo greeted her with a warm smile and presented her with a mug of coffee. "It's just Koshi and the boys for now, why don't you join them for breakfast?"
"You sure?"
Seiryo nodded. "You can get to work soon as you eat."
Risa smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "You're the best, Gramps." Risa took her coffee over to the table where Yoshi Yamaguchi and his friends Ken Arakawa, Keiji Katabuchi, and Yuji Umemoto were sitting. "Mornin', boys."
"Mornin, Risa, how you been?" Ken asked. "Been a while."
Risa offered him a smile. "Been alright, you?"
"Been alright."
"Risa, did I hear right? You got caught up in that Trigger incident yesterday?" Yoshi asked.
Risa sighed, sipping a bit more of her coffee before she answered. "Yeah, I was out at the market to take to this new vendor about making a contract with us, but those idiot thugs started getting a bunch of civilians involved in their bullshit and drew the attention of some heroes."
"I heard it was Fat Gum and his two interns, Red Riot and Suneater."
Risa nodded. "That Red Riot kid is going to be a good hero someday, he really put himself on the line protecting everyone." She took another sip of coffee, savoring it. "I invited him and the others here to thank them, so you boys best behave."
Yoshi and the boys put up their hands in mock defeat when they saw the look she gave them, knowing better than to argue with Risa on the matter.
The regulars of Mazeru, including Yoshi and the boys, knew how dedicated Risa and Seiryo were to their work and they knew better than to upset Risa, having seen her fight on numerous occasions when certain and since former customer had become unruly or cocked an attitude with her. She wasn't a big woman, she was average height and weight for someone at her age, but she had been training for years in martial arts to discipline her mind and body while learning to control her quirk on top of it all. She was a spitfire, that much was for sure, but for the most part, she was a kind, thoughtful person whose smile could light up a room and who didn't take shit from anyone. She had become well-loved by her community and she loved to cook, she loved to see how her cooking and her grandfather's cooking made people react, and she was welcoming to everyone- regardless of their position or line of work. Anyone who decided to disrespect someone in the restaurant or on Mazeru's property would get a single warning before Risa kicked them out and banned them from the restaurant. She had a no-tolerance policy, believing that everyone was entitled to good food and a welcoming atmosphere, and anyone who threatened that felt her wrath in one form or another. There was no fighting or arguing inside the restaurant or on Mazeru's property either, and if things ever took a turn towards either, Seiryo would try to quell it with a round of sake on the house.
"You know you won't have a problem with us, Risa," Keiji replied. "I heard Matsuro was going to be stopping by later with his entourage, though."
Risa raised a brow at him. "Oh? Is it true his girlfriend dumped him?"
Yuji snickered. "Pfft, ya, it was pretty funny. She caught him cheating again, brought his mistress in on the action, and humiliated him in front of everyone. She was from one of the big families, too, so he can't touch her."
"Yeah, but he's been in a really foul mood since Lila dumped him," Ken added. "It's best not to bring it up around him."
"Breakfast is served," Seiryo said, bringing over the large tray of food for everyone. "Eat up, then when you're done, Risa, can you unload the delivery coming in an hour?"
Risa gave her grandfather a salute. "Can do, Gramps. Thanks!"
The rest of the morning was fairly uneventful and proceeded the same as usual. Risa went about cleaning and stocking their supplies once their order had been delivered, all the while listening to her favorite band- her earbuds in, her fingers drumming on boxes, her feet tapping as her head bobbed up and down to the beat. Things didn't pick up until lunchtime came around and she shifted her focus to waiting tables while Seiryo cooked. Sometime after the biggest part of their lunch rush, Risa spotted a few familiar faces entering the restaurant and beamed at them as they looked around.
"You came!" she said, pulling one of her earbuds out as she greeted them.
The newcomers were Fat Gum and his interns, and all were in their hero costumes.
"Hey, miss!" Red Riot said in reply to her greeting. "We thought we'd take you up on your offer for our lunch break."
Risa smiled. "I'm glad you did. You can take a seat anywhere you'd like and I'll be right over."
Red Riot and Suneater took a seat at the bar while Fat Gum stood nearby, noticing that a lot of the customers in the restaurant were people he knew had ties to underground criminal organizations. He remained on guard, not really liking the look he and the boys were getting, but his attention shifted to Risa as she came over with some menus for them and noticed that as soon as she shot the people giving him the stink eye a glare, they immediately looked away- somehow both fearful and embarrassed at the same time.
"Don't mind them, they're having a bad day," Risa said as she handed Fat Gum his menu. "Pick whatever you'd like, don't be shy just cuz it's on the house."
Fat Gum found himself blushing a bit as she winked and turned away, giving her attention to a different group of customers. 'What was that?'