Roses Can't Bloom In The Dark

by NakaruSoul

Roses are red, violets aren't blue, I'm somehow in RWBY, whatever shall I do? I also find this world that's being threatened to be engulfed by darkness to be very intriguing. What captivated me the most, is a beautiful rose that's fighting to grow in these dark times. And to see it mature, the darkness must be pushed back. It'll be almost impossible but it must be done. After all-

5. The Usual Morning

Who's ready for more light hearted slice of life moments?

What? You wanted an action filled chapter full of badass fight scenes and wanton destruction of the environment that'll satisfy your murder boner?

Sorry mates, you'll have to wait until arc one is over; meaning these light hearted moments will last until Summer goes to Beacon. Hope I don't lose interest in this story before I managed to reach the part though. I have some things planned for that and it'll be a shame to see it go to waste and never see the light of day.

I originally wanted to have this out on January but then I discovered a game called Subnautica. Needless to say, I got very distracted. Once I finished that, I found a game called Kingdom Come Deliverance and suddenly felt the urge to write my other fic that is also set in medieval times.

In the game, I was investigating a murder in a city and ended up getting dead drunk with the local priest, had an orgy with his wife and a barmaid and had to give a sermon in the priest's place the next day due to his hangover. Such realism, much wow. 10/10 would try again.

Also, there's like, over 20k words here so there's bound to be mistakes here and there. Double checking everything is very tedious and I have a very short attention span so sorry in advance I guess. Tee hee.

The original plan was to stop at 10k. I'm not sure where the other 10k came from and frankly, I don't wanna know. Curse you muse, why do you only work when I don't need you to and never do when I needed you.

Also, if you wanted to know in advance; I'll be introducing two new characters. One is from canon, another is an OC. There's another one as well but he's expendable so no need to remember him. He'll probably be gone and forgotten in a chapter or two.

Now that this is done, it's time I move on to my next story.

Warning: Bad grammar, wrong use of tenses and spelling mistakes inbound. You have been warned.

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(0) Pov Change

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Chapter 5: The Usual Morning

It was all very quiet as I walk down the stairs and into the kitchen. The sun haven't fully risen yet and only the faint orange rays could be seen shining through the small gap between the window curtains. The place was still quite dark so I went and flip the light switch that was positioned near the stairs, instantly enveloping the place in a bright light.

With the room lit, I lazily glance around the kitchen while letting out a yawn.

Only the faint rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall could be heard as well as the chirping of some early rising birds so it's pretty peaceful right now. I look over to the clock and saw that it's already 5:15 in the morning. The usual time that I would wake up nowadays is 5 a.m. so it took about fifteen minutes for me to take a quick shower, brush my teeth as well as taking a morning piss before I came down here. Pretty fast am I right?

It might have something to do with the fact that I do all three at the same time thought.

Anyway, it's time to start the day and what other way to do so than making a nice, tasty breakfast that'll make the girls mew in delight.

I move towards the industrial fridge that we have to take out some basic ingredients that I need to make breakfast for everyone. The amount of people I have too cook for have increased considerably somewhat since last month and needless to say, it's gotten quite livelier too.

Amber joined, bringing along two addition with her and May finally hired someone not long after so I no longer have to worry about having to deal with everything all on my own.

I mull over my choices as I look at the things we have in the fridge. It's not that we lack the varieties of ingredients to make whatever per se; it's just kind of hard to decided on what to make when I'm still unclear as to what everyone's preference are. So most of the time, I just make what I want and hope that the rest likes them enough to eat them. Most of the time, it works.

I do have some idea what Aunt May and Summer enjoys eating since we've spent a lot of time together already. Amber too, but that's because she's very predictable. The rest however, I don't know them all that well yet so I can't say for sure.

Hmm, maybe I should ask about their tastes in food when I have the chance later on. It would certainly save me some of the hassle on deciding what to make in the future.

Let's see now, yesterday we had a normal sandwich and a glass of milk so I suppose I can't make the same thing as that today. Need a little diversity in our meals after all, since people will get sick of eating the same thing everyday. Besides, today is a very special day. Summer will be leaving the group after today so the bland and everyday things that we usually eat are out of the question. She deserves something special for all the hard work she had done over the course of these few months.

I'm going to go all out for today and proof to myself that all that time spent reading cooking recipes on the internet is not pointless!

After deciding on what I should make, I took out a carton of eggs, frozen bacon (not sure if it's legit bacon or from a dead pig Faunus but it says so on the package so I'm not questioning it), broccoli, carrots and a bottle of mayonnaise. I placed those things on the table before I head to collect the utensils needed as well a some red onions that's place inside a basket. I place a large pot underneath a sink and turn on the tap, letting the water fill it. As it does so, I went to collect the vegetables and wash them under the sink while keeping an eye on the pot.

When the pot is half full, I turn off the tap and move the pot to the stove.

With that done, I took out a bowl as well as a grater and place them on the table with the rest of the ingredients. I started shredding the carrot with the grater to fill the bowl with those thin, orange, stripy remains of what was once an orange stick. I was about halfway down before I was suddenly felt like I'm forgetting something here.

Odd, what could it be that I haven't done yet? Hmm….the ingredients for the dish is all laid out already...

Oh right, I forgot to turn on the stove. Silly me.

I turn away from the table and approach the stove. While I'm there, I also took a pan that's hanging on the rack in front of the stove for easy access. I place it on the burner next to the pot and reach out both my hand towards two small knob in front of me. I turned them, watching with disinterest as sparks flew before fire came to life.

I quickly went back to shredding the carrot before the pan heats up and managed to finish just in time to see some steam rising from the pan. I quickly pour oil into the pan, listening to the sizzling sound when the oil made contact with the hot surface before proceeding to liberate the bacon from it's package.

When the oil is hot enough, I turn the fire down a tad so the bacon won't burnt so easily and place the delicious goodies in to fry.

And of course, since the bacon's still frozen and hasn't thawed yet, the oil spattered like someone aiming their ass at me and firing all their shit. I immediately backpedaled from the pan that's spraying it's oil like a machine gun to avoid getting hurt.

I let loose another yawn before turning back to the table to prepare the rest of the ingredients.

I started chopping the onions and dumping them in the bowl with the carrots. By now, the water should be almost be boiling so I took the broccoli and cut them into bite-size pieces on a cutting board. I took the entire board with me as I move over to the pot and toss them into the boiling water. I place the board to the side and went to check on the beacon.

Seeing that the underside should be cooked enough, I used a pair of tongs to flip them over.

With the bacon and broccoli cooking, I started to make the dressing that will give the dish it's flavor and took out another bowl from the cupboard. I squirt some mayonnaise in and mixed some salt along with some vinegar. I used a whisk to mix them together before I went to collect the bacon and place them on a plate to cool.

So entranced with what I was doing, I failed to notice Aunt May coming down the stairs lazily while stretching her arms behind her.

"Morning kid, what's for breakfast?" The woman asked sleepily the moment she stepped down into the kitchen as always. This is literally the first thing she would ask at the start of everyday.

"I'm pretty sure I've never made this one before so I guess it's something new, for you at least." I answered her as I place more bacon into the pan to fry.

"Oh ho, now that caught my interest. So, what is it?" May's sleepiness was instantly washed away at the prospect of eating something she had never experienced before and she looked rather energized now. She then took a quick whiff to smell the aroma that was in the air with a happy smile on her face, no doubt already imagining what kind of meal that I'm making for her to dig in to.

That glutton.

"I smell bacon." May noted as she nods to herself as if patting herself on the back for being able to guess just what I'm making. She could be cheating since the package that had the label 'bacon' is still on the table.

"Yes, you're absolutely right about that. Anyway, breakfast isn't going to be ready for a while so why don't you find something to do in the meantime." I told the green haired woman.

"Eh, I've got some morning errands to run anyways. I'll be back in time to eat." She informed me before exiting through back door.

"Sure thing." I replied, watching her push open the doors and disappear to the other side. With her gone, I return to my duties as the chief of this household.

The broccoli should be done by now so I scoop them out and place them into an empty bowl to cool. With the broccoli out, I put in a dozen eggs into the pot, utilizing the still boiling water so it doesn't go to waste as well as saving on gas prices.

Oh wait, I mean red Dust prices.

You know, it's really amazing to me that everything is powered by Dust in this world. From what I've heard, it's integrated into almost every technology and appliances nowadays. Makes me wonder just how it is that the people on Remnant learned how to harness those magical all purpose batteries in the first place.

Hmm, maybe I should check the library for answers once I have the time. I'm certainly curious as to how they mined it from the earth.

Minutes passed by idly with me just making making breakfast all while humming a song that people from this world wouldn't know. And just like that, the vegetables are prepared; bacon's fried and cut into tiny pieces; the dressing done; eggs are boiled and placed on another bowl so whoever wants to eat them can take them and the pot is drained and washed.

All that's left is to put them all, except the eggs, into one big bowl and mix them together. Hmm… hang on a moment. Something seem to be missing from this. I narrowed my eyes in deep thought as I look at the bowl of mixed ingredients, trying to deduct just what it is that's missing from this.

Oh right, the almonds.

I went to the cupboard that stores them and took out jar of almonds and toss them into the bowl before I started mixing again.

Once that's done, I laid out the finished product in front of me, nodding to myself in satisfaction as I felt very pleased with the results.

I shall call it, the Broccoli Bacon Salad! Not very original, I know.

Aside from being a salad that you can eat on it's own, it'll go well with steak as a side dish too.

I gave the dish a taste, plopping a single broccoli into my mouth and started chewing. I close my eyes and let my taste buds savor the flavor while trying to see if there's anything missing from the taste as I did so. I nodded to myself in satisfaction as the taste is just what I expected it would be when I made it.

I can already imaging what the reception of this dish will be like. Summer would probably wolf it down like everything else that I've ever made for her; Amber would most likely be disgusted by the broccoli and only eat the bacon part while Aunt May would most likely try to smuggled some alcohol onto the table.

Oh well, at least I get to enjoy watching people eating my food as well as their reactions to it. I do enjoy observing Summer and Amber in particular as they both have something in common when it comes to eating food. As for what, it's that they both eat like hamsters. They're always stuffing their face full of food before they chew and I would get the urge to poke those round, stuffed cheek of theirs.

I opened the cupboard and take out six plates and place them on the table before I went to collect a lunchbox that was left on the dish rack. Six plates for six people; that would be Aunt May, Me, Summer, Amber, Bear guy and the one who'll eventually fill in on Summer's position. The lunchbox is for the sniper since he/she needs to remain at their post for obvious reasons.

I used the tong to split the salad evenly onto the six plates that I had laid out before filling in one of the slots of the lunchbox. I also made sure to place two hard boiled eggs inside the lunchbox while I'm at it. I'm quite glad that there's actually enough for everyone so I didn't have to make some more just so everyone can get a taste of this new product. I even took the time to pile them up so that they would look like small mounts on the plates. That way, I'll have more space to put other things to go along with the salad.

Now then, on with the next task.

I took some more eggs from the fridge and fry them on the pan that still have the bacon flavored oil on it. It's efficient and tasty.

I kept on making them until there's enough for seven people and place two on each plates. With the sunny side up done, I decided to prepare the things I needed to make pancakes, and that's when I heard the bell to the cafe entrance rang.

After hearing the bell, I look towards to the clock and saw that it's already 6 in the morning. That would mean that everyone's favorite redhead is here. I place the bowl that I was mixing the pancake ingredients in down on the table and headed to to greet her.

I push open the door to the kitchen and saw Summer shambling in like a zombie that had just risen from the grave, looking very drowsy with her eyes barely open.

I'm rather impressed that she could always arrive here on time without any accident in that state of hers. Maybe something did happen but she's too sleepy to even remember them happening. Hmm...I wonder how many cars had to veer out of the way just to avoid crashing into her as she walk across the street.

Probably best if I never found out.

I watch in amusement as Summer shuffle towards the nearest table, pull out a chair and promptly plop herself on it. She then place both her arms on the table and slump onto them, resting her forehead on her arms as her entire body relaxes while she let out a small sigh.

She's still pretty bad a waking up early even after four months of having to do so. I'm not sure if she could hear me or not the way she is right now but I greeted her anyway. "Good afternoon Summer." I called out to her cheerfully.

"Mhmnning" She grumbled out unintelligibly while tilting her head side to side to show that she had heard me. "Koffiiieeee pwease." she requested in her typical 'I'm still waking up' type of speech as she uses her hand to wrap her signature white cloak around her body like one would with a blanket.

He he, she said 'pwease', so adorable.

"Sure thing." I told the sleepy girl with a small smile on my face, feeling completely amused by the sight as I walk towards the coffee machine by the bar.

I turn on the power to the machine and opened the cap to pour in a measured amount of coffee beans in before adding water into the reservoir. With that done, I close the cap and I pressed the big red button that had the word 'start' on it.

The machine made a very satisfying beep sound.

Gotta love big red buttons.

"Give it a few minutes to brew Summer." I informed her as I look over the counter to see how she's doing.

"Mmnkay." Came the barely audible reply before all I got from her was the faint sound of her breathing and the slight moving of her shoulders. She probably went back to dreamland now so I suppose I should go back to making breakfast while the coffee brews.

I went back into the kitchen to make the pancakes. It should take about 15 minutes before the coffee's ready so I have plenty of time to make at least a few servings of pancakes before then.

By my estimate, I'm going to need to make at least 20 to 25 pieces so there will be enough for everyone.

As for why I needed to make so many, it's simply because Summer can really eat a lot despite her size. It might have something to do with the fact that she frequently trains and fight monsters so her body needed a lot more energy to function than a normal person. I have no doubt in my mind that she can easily burn off all the extra fat she had consumed with relative ease. It also explained why she's has such a slender body as well as a really nice still growing figure.

Ahem, bad thoughts. Bad thoughts there buddy.

Still though, that ass.

"Ow!" My perverted thinking was suddenly cut short when I felt an electric jolt ran down my spine that caused my entire body to jerk reflexively. It was like I had an electric current running through my body and I had to hold onto the nearest object to avoid falling down. I lean against the wall, using my hands to keep myself steady and shaking my head to recover from the sudden shock.

As for how and why that happened, there's only thing that came to mind.

'Damn it Sheila! What was that for!?' I asked the perpetrator who basically tased me just now.

[Perversion countermeasure.] The VI in my head simply replied. [You asked me to do so whenever I detect a spike in your hormonal levels.]

Oh right, I remembered that now.

Previously, I caught myself ogling at all the pretty ladies that came into the cafe and wanted a way to stop myself from doing it. Sheila then gave a suggestion that she could shock me whenever I ogle at girls or think perverted thoughts so I thought 'why not?' and went along with it.

I immediately regretted it when I experienced the shock for the first time. Thankfully, no one was around this time to see why I suddenly slumped against the wall so I don't have to explain just what the hell happened. I was really lucky all the other times as well since no one was paying attention to me when it happened.

As for how a little chip inside my brain can do something like that… do you know that the human body generates little amount of electricity on it's own? Sheila uses that electricity to recharge her own batteries and she would always have more than she needed stored away for emergency uses.

She basically uses the stored up power from her battery supply and sent a small jolt at me whenever I'm acting like a little perv.

She also neglected to mention that the electric shock is actually from a suicide function that she has until after I experienced plenty of tasing. That function is mainly there just in case I ever ended up being captured by the enemy with no hope of escaping.

As for now that works, she uses all that energy stored up to fry herself as well as my brain to prevent any information leaks to the enemy.

It's scary as hell to know that she can kill me with a flip of a switch. It's also terrifying to think that she's using part of that function to stop me from fantasizing about girls.

Combat VI's are scary as hell man.

Still though, I'm a hormonal teenager for crying out loud. I should be able fantasize about whoever I want. It's all part of what being a man is all about! (AN: No it's not.)

[Do you wish for me to load 'MissSaggyTits .img' as a counter measure in the future? By my calculations, it's entirely more effective than the standard shock that I've been giving.]

'I'm sorry, please forgive me.' I begged pitifully after she mentioned that. Just mentioning her name is giving me PTSD flaskbacks of the strip club. Oh god, the horror, the sagginess.

I quickly went back to the stove and proceed to make the pancakes in order to keep myself busy. Cooking always does wonders in helping me relax and not think of horrifying images forged from Satan's anus. While doing so, I ask Sheila some questions regarding her method of stopping me from being a pervert. 'Hey Sheila, isn't there a better way to do this? I mean, I am a healthy young male after all and sometimes I just can't help it. There's also the fact that I really dislike pain so if there's a way to stop me aside from shocking me, I'd really appreciate it.'

[If you'd like, I can completely clamp down on the part of your brain that's responsible for the human reproduction instincts. It will eliminate your desire to mate with the opposite sex and free more processing power for me to focus on other tasks instead of constantly checking on your hormones levels.]

'Wait! Hold up a minute there. So, you're basically going to make me asexual because it'll be more convenient for you?'

[Yes.] Sheila simply answered. [Would you like me to do so now?]

'I'll...keep that option in mind...are there any other options?' I answered warily, hoping that I don't say anything that would lead her into suggesting even more absurd things.

[I can lower the output of the shocks if you want.] Sheila suggested nonchalantly.

'You can do that!? How come you never told me!?'

[You never asked.] Is that a hint of smugness that I detect in her synthetic voice? Ugh, she's just like my sister. No wonder why she's named after that cheeky little brat.

Anyway, while I was busy talking with Sheila, I didn't forget to work on the pancakes. So far, I only managed to make a few pieces and I have no idea just how many I can make with the amount of pancake mix that I have. There will probably be a bit more than I originally intended to make but I suppose I can give Amber more than usual to balance it out. The little girl eats a lot too but that's because she's still a growing child and she needs her nutrients.

It wasn't long before I heard something beeping outside, telling me that the coffee machine has done it's duty. I turn off the fire to the stove so that the pancake that was on it doesn't burnt and head towards the bar. From what I can see when I walked out of the kitchen, Summer was still dozing off on the table and will still be for the foreseeable future unless I get some caffeine into her system.

I reached the machine and took out a cup and a saucer from the cupboard above me. I grab hold of the jug in the machine that has the coffee and pour it into the cup. I stopped when the cup is about 8/10 full and place the jug back into the machine.

Then, I kneel down and opened the mini fridge placed underneath the bar counter. I took out the cream as well as a bar of chocolate from the fridge before I closed the door with my foot.

I poured the cream until the cup is almost full and place it aside. I used a teaspoon to stir the two substance together carefully so that it doesn't spill over. I watch as the steam rises from the cup while the black liquid changes it's color to milky brown. And last but not least, I added a piece of chocolate into the drink as the finishing touches.

And there we have it, a cup of coffee that's sweet with a bit of cocoa flavor; just the way Summer likes it.

I took the coffee and head over to where Summer is, easily balancing the cup in my hand as I walked due to years of practice. I'm actually pretty confident that I can run around while holding onto a cup filled with water without spilling a single drop but I'm not stupid enough to try it.

I place the drink on the table a bit away from where Summer's sleeping and gave the table a soft knock to wake her up. If that failed, I would've give her shoulder a gentle shake. If that failed as well…, let's just say my methods will undoubtedly get more interesting.

We didn't have anything urgent that needed doing today so I'll let her wake up in her own pace. But if we were in a hurry and needed to wake her up in the shortest amount of time possible, all I need to do is shove a cookie into her mouth. The effect is almost instantaneous and she would be wide awake while nibbling on the treat in her mouth.

But it would seem that I didn't need to resort to any of my other methods of waking Summer up today as she started to rouse from her slumber with just the table knocking. She started with a small jerk the moment my knuckles met the wooden surface of the table. Then, she slowly raised her head and noticed the cup of coffee in front of her with half-lidded and bleary eyes.

The girl reach her hand out to grabbed her drink by the saucer before she dragged it over towards her end of the table. She sat back up with her back leaning against the chair and proceeds to wraps both her hands around the cup. I can tell that she's clearly enjoying the warmth of her drink as she has a small yet sleepy looking smile on her face as she exhaled a very pleased sounding sigh with her eyes closed.

"Careful now, it's hot." I gave her a small warning like always so she doesn't get hurt. But I suppose that my warning is quite pointless since she has her Aura to protect her from being scorched by the hot liquid. But still, it doesn't mean she can't feel the heat from the drink. And from the other times that I saw her sleepily drinking coffee while it's still very hot, I can tell that it can be quite uncomfortable.

The girl paid my warning no heed like I had expected (not sure why I bother at this point) and slowly raise the cup to her lip. She then took a sip without even blowing at it first. Predictably, she visibly winched as the steaming liquid entered her mouth but she gulped it down immediately after.

After that, she place the cup down, almost missing the saucer had I not move it over to where she was lowering the cup towards. Summer's head then droop and raise lazily as if unable to decide whether she should be awake or asleep right now, both hands still clinging onto the cup for it's warmth. "'hanks." The redhead managed to mutter out; whether she's thanking me for the coffee or adjusting the saucer is unknown but I accepted her thanks nonetheless with a wry smile. This sort of behavior from Summer isn't that odd for me since I'm more than used to her behavior during her waking up period.

I also knew that her first sip is always to start up her systems and it goes by rather slowly at first. I'd give her 10 to 15 minutes before she's fully awake and functional. During the start up process, she'll also automatically drink the rest of her coffee while enjoying the sweet flavor that she's so fond of, something that's she's doing right now.

I watch as Summer took another sip and place the cup back down with a pleasant sigh, a small and satisfied smile was present on her face when she finished taking a sip.

She didn't winch this time as she's more prepared to take in the heat of the beverage.

I noticed that Summer's eyes had been closed since she had taken her first sip of her coffee and I move my hand in front of her face and started waving. Unsurprisingly, I got no response from her that indicates that she noticed the appendage moving in front of her.

I let my hand back down and watch in amusement as Summer raise the cup to her lips again, completely unaware or uncaring of what's happening in her surrounding.

It should be known that sleepy Summer is not fun to tease because you can't get much of a reaction out of her in that state. Cute, yes, but not as fun as when she's fully awake.

But, just because I can't tease her doesn't mean I can't do anything else to her. At times like these, is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of her unresponsive state and do things to her that I normally can't do. Best of all, she'll offer no resistance at all while I do them as well as being unable to remember anything that happened during her boot up sequence.

Wow, that sounded rather dirty for some reason.

Anyway, I can balance things on top of her head and stack them up to see how high was the limit before it came tumbling down; drew on her face; place the fake mustache on her face and give her funny hair styles that she wouldn't notice until she saw herself on the mirror. There's actually a small list of things that I've managed to do to her when she's in her sleepy state but that's a story for another time.

There's so many things that I want to try out but I don't think I would ever get the chance to do so anymore since today's Summer's last day working here.

I frowned when I recalled that particular tidbit. So today is going to be my last chance huh…well, there's this thing that I really wanted to try but never got the guts to before so I might as well tick it off my list right now.

I slowly raise my hand and place it lightly on top of the girl's head, noting just how smooth her hair is. As I've expected, she didn't respond to the hand on top of her head and remained completely immersed in her own world. I started rubbing her head gently, something I'd do when I'm praising my younger siblings back when we were just children.

And with this simple act, I can finally tick 'pat Summer' off my to do list.

Surprisingly, Summer's reaction to me stroking her head was not something that I expected and it left me somewhat dumbfounded. She seem to be leaning against my hand to get more out of my patting while emitting a very pleased sounding hum. It's almost as if she's purring.

Is she doing it unconsciously? Does that means that she enjoys being patted on the head?

There are a lot of questions popping into my mind right now but there is one thing that I'm completely certain of despite the odd situation I find myself in. It's that I feel kinda happy, even though I don't know why.

Is this what it's like to have a daughter to spoil?

I continue to caress Summer's head while trying to figure out the cause of the happy feeling that I'm getting. Could it be because she looks absolutely adorable the way she is right now? Sadly, I didn't have the time to figure it out because I heard the sound of someone knocking on the window at the front of the cafe.

I look over and saw that Amber had arrived at some point during my head patting session and was waving at me to get my attention like she would every time she came over to work.

I waved back at her with my free hand to show that I saw her. I noticed that the door's locked, probably by Summer when she entered, so that means that Amber can't get in right now. As for how Summer entered on her own, she has her own key to this place.

I guess this means that I'll need to head over there and unlock the door for Amber. That also meant that I need to stop patting Summer just so I can head over there to get the door for the brown haired child. I really don't want to stop patting Summer since I won't be able to do it anymore but I suppose there's not much choice for me in that matter.

Feeling rather dejected, I started to lift my hand away from Summer's head but something stopped me. My hand stopped short a few millimeters away from Summer's head as I felt something small and thin wrapped itself around my ring finger. My dejection was easily swapped with confusion and I look down to see just what it was.

You know how Summer's head usually have a piece of her hair that's always standing and moving around according to her emotions like some kind of tail? Well, it just wrapped itself around my finger, effectively stopping me from lifting my hand away from her head.

Thinking that I could seeing thing, I use my free hand to rub my eyes before looking back at my hand again. Summer's ahoge was still there, wrapped around my finger.

I have seen a lot of things since I came to Remnant but what I saw before me can easily be ranked one of the top ten weirdest. Hmm, maybe it just got entangled on my finger when I was busy patting Summer. It's not like her hair just moved on it's own to stop me from lifting my hand now right?

I began to move my hand away slowly to see if I can get away from it but Summer's ahoge seem to have other ideas and tightened itself around my finger. I swear to god I can actually feel it pulling my hand back to her head. A small piece of hair, pulling with enough strength to yank my hand back onto Summer's head. Just what the heck is going on here!?

Then it started dragging my hand across Summer's head just like how I did when I was stroking her.

Is- is it trying to tell me not to stop?

I'm growing more and more convinced by the second that Summer's ahoge is actually alive. Either that or Summer's the one who subconsciously didn't want me to stop.

Another about of knocking reminded me that Amber's still outside and I'm starting to feel worried. I needed to move away in order to open the door but Summer's ahoge is stopping me. I'm worried that if I tried to force my hand away it might hurt Summer in the process because I'll be pulling her hair.

I wanted to see if I can loosen it somewhat so I started rubbing the ahoge with my thumb in hopes that it'll do something.

The piece of hair suddenly shivered as if it's ticklish and slacken it's hold on my finger.

Not questioning just why on earth would hair feel ticklish, I quickly pull my hand away. It would seem that Summer could sense that something was missing because she just emitted a rather sad sounding whine the moment I pulled my hand away. Her ahoge seem to be affected by how she was feeling as well because it just drooped listlessly on top of her head like it had just lost all of it's energy.

I could only stare at the sleepy looking girl who's still quietly drinking her coffee as if nothing happened with confusion in my mind before I shook it off and move towards where Amber was.

Okay, I've decided. Let's just pretend the entire head patting thing never happened and how Summer's ahoge tried to keep me from leaving.

I opened the door and Amber came hopping in while a bright smile on her face. "Good afternoon Amber." I greeted her with a small smile, thinking about just how energetic this child is.

"Good evening!" She greeted back as she shot her hand up into the air, giggling all the while. This little fella started copying my way of greeting people after she heard me the first time around. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing but at least she only does so with the people working at the cafe. I don't want her mother asking me just why her daughter is greeting people wrongly after she started working here.

"Oh, hello there." I called out to the giant Bear Faunus standing outside the door and he replied with his usual grunt greeting before heading to his post outside.

We've set up a table and chair out there for Bear guy to sit as he waits for Amber to end her shift. We've even installed a small portable fan as well as a large umbrella on the table for him because it'll be completely cruel of us to make him to sit out there under the blazing sun with nothing to keep him cool.

Anyway, after Bear guy's no longer blocking the door, I can see the rooftop where the sniper's usually at and gave a wave towards his direction.

I refer the sniper as a he because it's more convenient for me. I saw him once or twice when he came over and I have no clue if the sniper is actually a dude or a chick because he wears a black full body hi-tech stealth suit along with a full face helmet with a tinted visor attached. There's also the fact that he has a very ambiguous figure that made him look like a dude at some angles and a chick at others so yeah, I'm just going to go with male until proven otherwise just to be safe.

I got a flash of his scope in return, indicating that he saw me.

At least the Sniper is friendly. Not sure if the flash was from he greeting me back or if he's just adjusting his aim towards me though.

And if you're wondering just why Bear guy is outside instead of being in the cafe to watch over Amber, the only thing I have to say is because he's forbidden to enter. Now one would normally think that it's strange for a bodyguard to be separated from the person he should be protecting but it's not like he had a choice in that matter. He isn't allowed inside because he scare the customers and because of that Aunt May just wouldn't allow him in no matter what.

He actually tried to go against Aunt May's request for him to stay outside when he first appeared.

Emphasis on tried.

When he made it very clear that he's not going to leave the girl's side, Aunt May went to the kitchen and came back with a wooden ladle that somehow managed to sent shivers down my spine the moment I laid eyes on it. It's like the wooden utensil was emitting some kind of bloodlust that won't be sedated until it hears the dying screams of it's enemies.

She then proceeds to beat the crap out of him with said ladle mercilessly. Summer and I were huddled together in the corner, both feeling utterly terrified of the woman while Amber was clapping her hands excitedly while watching the beat down the entire time.

As scary as the big man was, Aunt May is scarier.

After she was done dealing with the man twice her size, she went outside and proceeds to throw the demonic ladle at the sniper's direction. The wooden utensil flew like, a mile per second and we all heard the sound of something being hit echoing from the distance as well as a very faint cry of pain that followed.

Good god, that woman is terrifying. How did she even know that there was a sniper there?

But after seeing how pitiful Amber's bodyguards were after her trashing, Aunt May decided to compromise by setting the table and chair outside and stated that Amber will be safe as long as she's in the cafe so he just needs to wait outside until Amber's shift ended. Bear guy realized that he really can't beat her so he just sulkily accepts this and headed out to nurse his wounds and ego.

So much for being badass bodyguards. Then again, I can understand his reluctance to face off against a vastly superior opponent.

With him always being stationed outside, customers just thinks he's the cafe's security guard, here to protect the place from any gangs or ruffians that thought it would be a good idea to cause trouble in this place.

If anything, they're the ones that needs to be protected from Aunt May if they tried anything.

On a completely unrelated note, the Sniper comes by to pick up his lunchbox whenever it's ready.

"So, how are you today Amber?" I asked the energetic girl once I'm done greeting Bear guy and the Sniper.

"I'm great!" She replied with a smile. Her entire body seem to be brimming with the kind of energy that one would only find in children.

I smiled back and planted my hand on top of her head and started ruffling her hair.

Amber tried to escape from my head patting with a squeal, struggling for a brief moment before being able to give me the slip. She hopped back a step and shot me her meanest glare she could muster as both her hands reach up and examine her hair that had became a jumbled mess because of me. "No! Bad big bro. I just finished combing my hair not long ago and now I have to do it again. It's very hard you know." She informed me in annoyance as her hands comb through her hair to fix them.

I chuckled in return but that only seem to make her madder.

"Alright, alright. Calm down and come here. I'll help you fix them." I told the fuming child, gesturing for her to come over. She look at me with a bit of distrust, not really sure if I'm actually going to help her or just luring her over just so I can continue ruffling her hair. I can tell that she's very skeptical of me right now since I've offered to fix her hair plenty of times before but I mostly ended up ruffling her hair even more instead. It's not my fault that she kept accepting my offer like the naive little child that she is.

But eventually, after a few moments of contemplating, she decided to let me fix her hair for her and came over despite the risk of her falling victim of more head patting. It might have something to do with the fact that I was waving a piece of sweet in my hand that I got from my pockets.

I handed her the sweet the moment she got close and told her to turn around so I can comb her frizzy hair down with a spare comb that I have on hand for situations like these. "Remember, don't eat it until after breakfast." I reminded the brown haired girl as my hands went to work, easily smoothing out her hair through practiced motion.

"Kay~" She replied with a quick nod, her short hair slipped away from my fingers as she did so.

"Good then. But, if I catch you sneaking in any sweets during your meal, I'll have to punish you." I informed her with a smile, earning a very frightened and audible gulp from the child. It might be because I have 'punished' her before and the memory of said punishment still runs fresh in her mind. I'm using the word 'punish' very loosely here because all I did was forbid her from eating sweets. I don't really think that's much of a punishment but hey, it works.

"And we're done." I announced as I did one final comb to straighten the last of the extremely stubborn stray hair on her head and now the girl looks just as she was when she came in.

Amber went to pat her hair to see whether or not I was telling the truth and was visibly surprised to find her hair in perfect order. "Wow, that's so fast." She exclaimed in awe. "How can you fix it so fast big bro? It always takes me a while to get my hair done and I always have to ask mum for help when they get tangled." She asked while hopping on her feet, eager to get my secret technique of hair combing for herself.

"I have lots of practice." I simply answered her with a smirk, thinking back on all the times that I have to comb my little sisters' hairs because I just can't say no to their demands.

Fixing messy bedheads is something that I've been doing for them ever since they grew up enough to care about their appearances. It was a complete nightmare for me back then as I have completely no idea what I was suppose to do when they came to me asking if I could comb their hair for them for the very first time. I never even combed my own hair before and yet they're asking me to comb theirs for them.

The first few times that I've tried were….very interesting… and painful for both me and my sisters as they would scratch me with their nails whenever I accidentally pulled their hair too hard.

Being the eldest is never easy I tell you. All your younger siblings will think that you know the answer to everything simply because you're the oldest. Thankfully, they learned to do it on their own when they got older so I no longer needed to; but the experience that I've gained in combing their hairs back then never faded.

With Amber's hair fixed, there shouldn't be any more problems for me to deal with here so I jerked my thumb towards the kitchen. "Alright then, you know what to do; go get changed and get ready for breakfast."

Amber's expression quickly morphed into one of delight at the mere mention of breakfast and nodded quickly. "Okay." She managed to blurted out before she spun on her heels and zip into the kitchen at breakneck speed. I think I can see her afterimage lingering behind where she once stood for a brief second before it vanishes.

I watch her go with an amused smile on my face as I shook my head slightly. Ah kids these days, already breaking the laws of reality with their youthful energy.

I was about to head back into the kitchen to continue with the breakfast preparation but the ringing of the door bell stopped me. I quickly turn around to see who just entered and blinked when I saw a pair of yellow eyes meeting mine. A second later, I realized that I'm looking at the eyes of a teenage girl with a pair of cat ears on top of her head that just twitched when it heard the sound of the door closing. Cat ears...so fluffy. Must, resist, touching.

And as for why she entered the building even though it's clearly not open for business yet, it's probably because she works here.

Oh right, I need to greet her before she wonders just why I'm staring at her ears. "Good afternoon, Curry." I greeted the teen.

The girl in questioned made an expression of a defeated person before offering a very small smile in response and greeted back. "Good morning to you too, Alex." Hmm, I don't know if it has something to do with how she's feeling but her ears drooped a little bit just now when I greeted her. Maybe it had something to do with how I keep saying her name wrongly after all this time.

Anyho, she is the newest member of the group that I've mentioned before, the one who will eventually replace Summer's position as waitress once she left. Like Summer and Amber, she only comes by during the weekends to help out since that's the time with the highest amount of customers.

Curry is a cat Faunus. I'm pretty sure that her cat ears are a dead giveaway already but I'm telling you this now just in case. It's very hard to tell the difference between a cat Faunus and a fox Faunus since their ears are somewhat similar looking. I accidentally thought a fox Faunus was a cat one and got called a racist in return when I asked if he's a cat. Apparently, there are more ways to tell what kind of species a Faunus is other than looking at their extra appendages.

Anyway, Curry has medium length black hair and pale white skin. Her entire attire can be considered as traditional-ish Japanese clothing back in my world.

She's wearing a white haori, and if you want to have some inking of what it looked like, it's something that looks like a shirt and a robe got drunk one night and decided to have child together. To put it on, your wrap it around you body and tie it with some kind of string. It kinda like a buttoned shirt but without the buttons.

Anyway, she wore her haori over a black hakama; just imagine a trouser and dress hybrid that's tied around the waist and her footwear consist of black sandals and white socks. She gave me the impression of a shrine priestess when we first met to be honest.

Slinging over her shoulder is her handbag. It's a bag with black and white stripes as it's initial design and a cute cat paw sticker was present at the side of the bag. I don't know what the inside of said bag contains but I do know that she has a notebook tuck safely away in there. As for how I knew that, I frequently found her jotting something down on it with a serious look on her face before stuffing it back into her bag.

Whenever I asked what she's writing, she would always find a way to avoid telling me with excuses and shifting of subjects and she looked very panicked all the while. Curious, most curious indeed.

As for how we first met, remember the time when I first met what's his face on my first day here and I was serving a very cute girl with cat ears? That's Curry.

She also came by quite frequently as well but I never really made any mention of it because I thought she was just a regular customer. We usually just chatted about various topics whenever she pops in for a drink and I learned over time that she's a very optimistic person who wishes for the Humans and Faunus to coincide.

Maybe she thought I would be a great friend because I gave my view on how stupid the entire 'my race is better than yours' thing is when we first met.

"I see that Summer has arrived already." Curry noted as her gaze landed on the figure of our resident redhead who's still quietly sipping her coffee. Her ahoge seem to be waving at our general direction as if saying hello to Curry.

I noticed that Summer's cup was almost finished, meaning that it won't be long now before she's fully functional again. "It's always interesting to see her in that state." Curry commented with a light giggle and I wholeheartedly agree with her. I kept that fact to myself of course, I'm not stupid enough to blurt that out.

"Amber just got here as well and is changing upstairs right now. Can you go and lend her a hand just in case? I still have to get breakfast ready and I need to finish it soon if so we would have enough time to eat before the shop opens." I requested and Curry nodded dutifully.

"Of course. I'll come and help you after we're both done changing." She told me before heading off to find Amber.

"Thanks, that'll be a great help." I told her as she left. Such a nice girl Curry is. She's been a great help ever since she joined. While she was awkward and unsure of what to do at first, she eventually learned how to get things done with a bit of guidance from me and Summer so we can rely on her on many things now.

Anyway, over the course of a few weeks, I've had learned that she wasn't originally from Vale but moved here because of her family's occupation. She's from some place called Menagerie, I think. It must be tough for the poor girl, having to leave all her friends behind to come to some place that she had never been to before. The only good thing for her about the entire arrangement is that it only lasts for a few years and she and her family will be able to go back once they're done here.

I have no idea why she would want to work here and why Aunt May decided to hire her in the first place but she did say she had her reasons when I asked. I didn't pry after that because it would be really impolite to do so as we only known each other for a short while then. It's also because I don't want to be dragged into other people's problems when I already have my own set of troubles to deal with.

I probably won't be able to stop myself from offering to help if she told me some sob story that lead to her current circumstances. Well, she looked rather well off so it shouldn't be money problems that lead her here but then again, looks can be deceiving and she can easily hide that fact by wearing that only set of clean clothes that she have.

I watched as Curry's retreating figure disappeared into the kitchen and I purse my lips to the side while rubbing my chin in thought. Hmm, I dunno why but she keeps reminds me of someone else if I look at her at certain angles. Not sure who but there's the sense of familiarity there. Hmm, must be the ears.

Oh well, that isn't important right now and it's best to leave idle thoughts for when I'm free. For now, I need to finish up breakfast so we won't have to work on empty stomachs.

"Mmmmm..." It looks like a certain someone is done with her coffee and is waking up as well. I turn my attention to where the sound was coming from and I saw that Summer was stretching her limbs while remaining seated.

"Finally awake eh, Summer?" I said to her with a smirk.

"Yeah….what did I miss this time?" She asked in a faint and tired voice while rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, nothing much. There's Amber being Amber, Bear guy being grumpy and Curry just arrived so you've missed her by 20 seconds the very least." I informed her and left out the fact at that I took advantage of her sleepy state and patted her head for obvious reasons.

"Curry? The dish grew legs and walked on it's own?" She mumbled out drowsily.

"Come on Summer, you know who I'm talking about." I said as I rolled my eyes in amusement. It looks like she's still not with us yet. Odd, she should've be fully awoken after she finishes her coffee. Did she stay up late last night?

Summer press her index finger against her temple and tilt her head slightly to the side as she starts to think. "Curry...Cury...Karie...Oh! Kali." Summer exclaimed as she finally remembered the name of her co-worker that she had been working with for the past few weeks.

Oh right, Curry's actually name is Kali. I just keep calling her Curry ever since she introduced herself because they sounded so similar and because it's fun. Kali had given up on correcting me quite a while ago as well.

"Oh dear, that's quite cruel of you to forget the name of someone who's been with us for weeks Summer." I snickered as I walk towards the kitchen.

"Hey! In my opinion, you're the one that's cruel since you never got her name right." Summer got up from her seat and tried to justify herself. "How was I suppose to know that you were talking about Kali when you're calling her curry. The first thing that would came to my mind when you mentioned curry will be the dish, not a person." She said as she waved her hands in the air as if trying to get her point across. Heh, there's nothing like the usual banter war to get her worked up and awake again.

"So you're telling me that you'll always think of food first before anything else? My, my, such a greedy girl you are Summer." I stopped to tease while shooting her a smug look.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Summer fumed while shooting back a half-hearted glare.

"So what's gotten into you today? Usually you'll be right up after drinking your coffee." I asked in curiosity.

Upon hearing my question, Summer looked somewhat hesitant in answering me at first but she eventually told me after a slight pause. "I got caught up watching a series' finale last night and forgot to check time. By the time it finished the clock already struck midnight." She explained as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"I see..." I said, clearly understanding what it felt like since I pulled an all-nighter before just to finish a series that I found on Netflix. "Was it a good series?" I asked, feeling interested in just what kind of shows this world have to offer. I've never really checked for any TV programs in Remnant before because I've always been busying myself with work, playing with Amber and teasing Summer just to keep myself from being bored. There's really nothing much to do here other than those so maybe finding a good series to watch can help with that.

"Duh, of course it was. If it weren't I wouldn't have stayed up all night to watch it." Summer told me as if stating the obvious.

"What's it about then? If it managed to hold your attention for so long then it must be something good." I asked, my curiosity of this world's TV series grew even more as I thought of the many kind of movies that could exist in this world.

Do they even have cinemas here? Just what kind of movies would the people in this world make anyway? My best guess is that they would make movies about heroes saving the day to encourage kids to be Huntsmen in the future but other than that, I have absolutely no clue.

Summer opened her mouth to speak but caught herself at the last moment and slam it shut. I dunno why but she looked a bit panicky with a bit of reddish hue on her cheeks before she avert eye contact with me.

"I'm not telling you." She suddenly said, her face clearly has a light blush on it.

"What? Why not?" I questioned while rising my eyebrow, feeling rather intrigued by her sudden change in behavior. Just what's gotten her like this anyway? All I did was ask what kind of show she watched.

"I'm just not." Summer said, clearly not going to elaborate any further as she cross her arms in front of her chest with a huff while still not looking at me.

"Oh come on. It's not like you're watching some cheesy romance drama or somethin-" I stopped what I was about to say next when I barely caught Summer flinching at the mention of 'cheesy romance drama' and she swung her head in my direction with her eyes widen in what appears to be panic.

What's with that reaction?

I thought about it for a bit before I came to a stunning conclusion as all the information that I have about Summer's sudden change in behavior piled up together and formed one, very simple answer.

"No way..." I uttered out in shock and realization as my eyes slowly widen as well. Could it be that I hit the mark just now? Now that I'm looking at her more closely, I can see that the edges of her eyes were a bit puffy and red like she had cried the night before.

Summer noticed that I was staring at her and quickly looked away with a blush. She squirmed uncomfortably on the spot under my incredulous stare as her eyes continuously darts towards and away from mine every time our eyes met like she's too shy to look at me properly. Though I must admit, she looked rather cute right now. Eventually, she couldn't take the weird silence that we had unknowingly descended into anymore and spoke up. "What? What's wrong with liking cheesy romance drama?" She said a bit heatedly and with a tinge of embarrassment lanced in her voice as she spoke to defend her taste in movie genre.

I quickly backpedaled to create more distance between us and I raised my hand in a placating manner while my mind was racing a mile a minute to think of something to say that won't get her any angrier. I can't tell why but I could sense some kind of animosity coming from the redhead that just spells bruised shoulder if I said something wrong to set her off. "No, there's nothing wrong with that. it's just-" I paused to think of an appropriate word to say that won't lead to me experiencing painful body parts. "-an unexpected surprise. I always thought that you'd be the type to love action movies instead."

"While it's true that I enjoy action movies but I'm still a girl you know. Is it really that much of a surprise for me to enjoy romance movies as well?" Summer fumed indignantly as she turn to look at me with a very irritated yet embarrassed looking expression plastered on her face.

My only response was to make a very nervous side glance because I suddenly felt very guilty. I more or less stopped seeing Summer as a girl after spending so much time with her and started viewing her as more of a moe stress relief. "Sorry about that, I kinda forgot you were a girl for a bit." I apologized as sincerely as I could while I scratch my cheek sheepishly.

I promptly froze when I realized what I've just said. I basically just told her that I didn't see her as a girl didn't I? Hoo boy, I can't imagine any girl would enjoying being told that.

I slowly turn my head back to gauge Summer's reaction and true enough, she didn't like what she'd heard. Her shoulder's were visibly shaking while and there was a dark shadow being cast over her eyes as her hands clenched tightly.

"Ho~ Just what's that suppose to mean?" She asked in a very sweet tone that fooled no one as she looked at me in the eye. There was a dangerous glint present in those silver iris of hers that made me feel very afraid of what's to come. She started to move, slowly stalking closer towards me while I started to move backwards with each step she took.

Panicking and at a loss of what to do to calm the approaching demoness, I just ran my mouth without thinking. "W-well, It's just that you rarely act like a girl and-" I instantly clamp it back shut and place my hands over them when I heard what I've just said. God damn it brain! Why are you so useless when you're panicking!?

[I would offer you a shovel, but you seem to be doing a very fine job yourself already. This wouldn't have happened if you didn't turn off the emotion suppression you know.]

'Not now Sheila. And stop being so smug.'

"Oh really? So you're saying that I've never been like a girl to you at all?" Summer asked with a very sweet and innocent smile that looked very out of place with the murderous aura surrounding her. I felt my back touch the wall and I paled considerably as I realised that I just ran out of places to back up to and walked myself into a dead end while the redhead is getting closer and closer.

"Aren't you being too self-cautious about this?" I couldn't help but voice out in the face of impending death (read: sore shoulders).

"No I'm not! It's perfectly normal for a girl to be upset about this." Summer replied instantly as she stood before me. Because of our slight height difference, she had to look up bit and I had to look down as well so that our eyes would meet. But by doing so, her face was place mere inches away from mine because of our close proximity. She glaring as angrily as she could at me while pouting and I think I can feel her breath touching my lips due to how close we are.

Normally, this would be a very embarrassing position for both of us to be in but Summer's too mad to realize it and I'm too afraid for my life to care.

Thankfully, a divine intervention occurred that would save me from this hole that I dug myself into as Kali suddenly poked her head through the kitchen door, causing both of us to look over to her when we heard the sound of the door opening.

The cat girl had already changed into her work uniform which is basically a french maid uniform with inverted color scheme as well as a blue apron. Like always, the color of the uniform and apron doesn't really mash that well.

A pair of yellow eyes shifted from me to Summer, noting just how close we are before her lips twitched upwards. "Are you two still flirting?" She simply asked the both of us with an amused expression on her face.

""We are/ We're not."" We both answered at the same time, I answered with a bit of relief for being saved while Summer answered with a perfect deadpan, already used to people asking if we were flirting.

Amber decided to pop out from the kitchen as well, donned in her very own uniform which is the panda suit that she wore when she first started working here. It was a unanimous decision among all of us that Amber's uniform is to be the panda suit. It serves to amplify her cuteness as well as drawing more customers into the shop to witness the adorable ball of energy running around the place, trying to help out with the chores.

Amber walked up to me and tug the helm of my shirt to get my attention. "Big bro, is breakfast ready yet?" She asked impatiently. "It's getting late already." She informed me and my eyes widen and quickly snapped towards the clock on the wall.

It reads 6:30.

The shop usually opens at 7:00.

"Oh crud! Curry, help me with the cooking!" I quickly asked the raven haired cat girl as I move past Amber and Summer and head straight towards the kitchen to finish making the pancakes. Kali just nodded dutifully and followed me into the kitchen. Summer and Amber is already familiar with what they needed to do in preparation for the start of the day so I didn't need to tell them what to do and can leave them to their own devices.

Summer still looked peeved about the whole not a girl thing so I hope that delicious food will be able to calm her down somewhat so that she'll forgive me.

All in all, it looks like we're going to be opening late again today.

-0-

Like I've expected, it been decided that we're opening late today.

The one who decided that was none other than our boss who came back not moments after I rushed into the kitchen and found out that breakfast wasn't even ready yet.

Aunt May didn't even care about the people that's already gathered outside in anticipation for the cafe to open so they could get their usual morning coffee. She just hush the girls back into the kitchen to wait for me and Kali to finish up breakfast. She even told us to take our time and enjoy the food once we were done cooking too. It would seem that eating a delicious meal is more important than her own business but hey, it's her own cafe so she can do whatever she wants as long as I get paid.

Normally, the customers would be banging on the windows like the mindless caffeine zombies that they are right about now, but having Bear guy outside changed that because his intimidating presence alone will discourage anyone from trying. The weekends have actually became quite relaxing for me now that we have something to ward off the zombie horde.

Anyway, with Kali's help, we managed to finish up cooking breakfast in record time while Amber and Summer set the table for us.

Because Amber and Kali is part of the team now, they get their own set plates, bowls and of eating utensils so we could easily tell apart which ones belongs to who. Amber got hers in a brown set while Kali's set is black. Summer showed off her own red ones with cookie patterns rather proudly when they both got theirs and mine isn't really worth mentioning as I just took whatever was on hand and made it mine. It's white, just in case you wanted to know.

Anyway, with the table set and food cooked, everyone aside from me was seated on the table and already eating their meal with gusto. I, however, was standing to the side with a plate filled with food in my hand and the lunchbox on the other. I need to deliver these outside for Bear guy and the sniper and while I'm at it, I was thinking of making myself some coffee to go along with my breakfast.

I was about to head out but stopped and thought to myself whether or not I should make something for the others as well. Hmmm….oh well, I'm going to make my own anyway so I might as well make theirs while I'm at it.

"Hey everyone," I called out to get the attention of everyone on the table. Four heads turn to look at me, one of which had a piece of pancake hanging out of her mouth as she continues to chew and stain her mouth with maple syrup, completely uncaring of her own appearances. I'll let you guess who that is. "I'm going to go make something to drink, do you all want something as well?" I asked them as I jerked my head towards where the bar was at.

Summer quickly raise her hand to get my attention and I nodded at her for her to go ahead while noting that her mood is undoubtedly better than before. Must be the food. "I want another cup of coffee please." She told me before looking to her left where Kali was seated next to her. "What about you Kali?"

"I'd like a glass of hot milk if you will." Kali requests politely, a stark contrast of how Summer ordered hers. Kali has always been kind and polite but I suspected that it's because she's still not quite familiar with everyone to act casually as she would with her close friends. She's only been working here for a while at most so that's pretty normal. We'll get there eventually but until then, I guess I'll just have to bear with how polite and reserved Kali always is.

"Oh oh, I want chocolate milkshake." Amber, who was seated to Summer's right, told me excitedly while waving her hand in the air to get my attention.

I frowned lightly, eyes narrowing at the brown haired girl's choice in mild disapproval. Mild, only because I understood that she's still a child and they have a hard time resisting sweet things. There's also the fact that it's hard to get mad at the chibi child. I wonder if that's why all children are so cute as it acts as a natural defense against crossed parents. "No Amber, It's too early for that. How about something else?" I told her, trying to dissuade her from taking in so many sweet things right when the day had just begun.

"But I want chocolate milkshake." Amber whined like the little child that she is and pouted cutely at me, lips purse outward with a slight quiver in disappointment while her eyes enlarge themselves noticeably with sparkles sprinkling all around her.

I recoiled as if I've been struck. Ugh, oh no. No that look again. I quickly look to the side to avoid having my heartstrings tugged by the puppy dog eyes that she had just unleashed. "No means no Amber." I told her steadfastly without looking back.

"Pleeeeeease?" She asked while stretching out the word.

I risked a quick glance back and by doing so, I noticed that Summer had her scroll out near her side as if showing it to Kali while looking at me with an amused smile. Kali was leaning over to look at Summer's scroll before her eyes widen slightly as if she just understood something and look towards me with the same amused expression that Summer has.

I was confused at their weird behavior but choose to focus on Amber instead for the time being.

That decision turned out to be the wrong choice because Amber was still looking at me with her signature puppy dog eyes and quivering pouty lips. I felt like my heart was struck by a sledgehammer when she looks at me that way. The panda suit that she wore only serve to make the blow even harder by amplifying her cuteness.

Unable to handle the extreme sadness radiating from the little girl any longer but still steadfastly didn't want her to eat unhealthily, I decided to settle on a compromise. "I'll tell you what, If you've been a good girl today and have been extremely helpful, I'll make you that chocolate milkshake tonight for dinner." I told her as I let loose a defeated sigh, not really sure why I even tried stopping Amber from getting what she wants since I always loses in the end.

Amber beamed at my words and gave a childish salute, trying to look serious but failing because of the maple syrup on her face. "Yes sir!" She chirped with a face full of smiles. Damn me and my inability to resist cute things.

"You're going to spoil her kiddo." May told me with an amused shake of her head from her spot next to Amber. "If you keep this up, she's going to grow up thinking she can get whatever she wants from you as long as she gives you the puppy dog eyes."

"Oh shush you. I don't see you stopping her." I told her as I gave her the stink eye at her half-hearted attempts to admonish me. "So, what do you want to drink Amber?"

"Hmmmm," She hummed as she raise her hand to her chin and began rubbing it in thought. I couldn't help but think to myself in amusement that's she's trying to mimic me in some way because the rubbing chin in deep thought is so my thing. Then, her eyes lit up and she smiled as she made her decision. "I want soda!" Amber cried out her choice of beverage to go along with her breakfast.

I withheld a grimace upon hearing her answer. Tch, soft drinks. A drink made from carbonated water filled with plenty of artificial flavoring and tons and tons of sugar. I have no idea why kids these days love to drink that kind of thing and I most likely never will mainly because I don't like it at all. Oh well, it's an improvement from chocolate milkshakes, albeit a very small one, so there's that at least. "I suppose you can drink that." I told her, earning a 'Yay!' from the child before I turn to the last person in the room who hasn't ordered hers yet.

"I want a can of cold beer from the fridge." She replied with a hungry gleam in her eyes.

"Don't drink so early in the morning Aunt May." I rebuked her half-heartedly since I know that it's pointless to do so.

"Ugh, I'm an adult and I can do whatever I want.' Said adult whined in dissatisfaction in the most childish way possible, crossing her arms and turning her cheek away from me with a huff. The other two girls watch the older woman's antics with a faint smile on their faces but not Amber, she already went back to demolishing her pancakes with extreme vigor.

I place a hand over my face as I felt a slowly budding headache at the back of my head. Sometimes I felt like I'm the only responsible adult in this household. "I'm not letting you get wasted so early in the morning, especially not today of all days. I don't know about you but I certainly remember the time when you drank too much with Junior's dad and got smashed." I told her as I let my hand down to give her a disapproving stare, memories of a drunken Aunt May that I've encountered that one time resurfaced into my mind.

It had happened one morning right after I took a shower. I walked out of the bathroom, feeling completely refreshed with only a towel wrapped around my waist and ready to start the day as soon as I put some clothes on.

Unexpectedly, I found Aunt May right outside the door. She was laying on the ground face-first with a beer bottle clutched in her hand and looking completely out of it.

I was unsure of what to make of the scene before me and could only raise a bemused eyebrow. Before I could say or do anything, Aunt May seem to have registered my presence and crank her neck upwards to see who's there.

Our eyes met and she saw me in my half naked state. As sad as it is for me to admit it, that's something that I don't have much of a problem with since there's nothing much of me to see.

She then let out a loud belch, made a rather lewd comment before slamming her face onto the floor and promptly passing out.

I had to dragged her back into her room and decided not to think too much of that incident afterwards, banishing it to the furthest reach of my mind because I don't want to deal with it at the time, or at all for that matter.

I only learned later that day when Junior came over and told me that Aunt May went over to their bar to have a quick chat with his dad over a few drinks that night. And by few drinks, he actually meant 5 gallons worth of expensive alcohol and by quick chat, he actually meant they spent the entire night drowning themselves in booze as they debated whether or not water is actually wet. According to Junior, they were very serious about it too.

We had to run the cafe with an extremely tight budget for a few weeks to pay for the beer.

"Fineeee. I'll behave today. Just get me something hot." Aunt May finally relented after a brief stare off with me as she pouted, clearly not happy with the outcome as she was denied the alcohol that she wanted.

"Alright then." I said as I nod to myself in satisfaction over my victory. "I guess that's all so no take backs. I'm not going to go all the way back to make you something else just because you're unsatisfied with what you've ordered." I warned the girls before I head out to make the drinks.

-0-

I place a glass of bubbling strawberry soda in front of Amber from the tray in my hand. The little girl bounced on her seat giddily at the sight of her fuzzy beverage and immediately snatched it from the table and took one big gulp. Once she was done, she place the glass down and was about to wipe her mouth with her sleeve had I not stopped her. I quickly gave her my handkerchief and she used it to clean her mouth before giving me a cheerful thank you.

I place the tray to the side and sat down on my spot on the table which is between Amber and Aunt May. I've already gave everyone their drinks and they were already eating their food without any reservation the moment I walked outside to deliver food for Amber's bodyguards.

By the way, I also gave Bear guy a steaming mug of coffee as well as a few sets of the drink poured into paper cups so the sniper can pick it up whenever he wants. The sniper's job is harder than Bear guy's because he had to stay still and fully alert in one area for long periods of time so he deserves the extra coffee. Hopefully he would find the small patio umbrella that I found stored away in the storeroom to be useful in shielding him from the blazing sun. I never saw him use it though. But then again, he's very far away so unless I have my own pair of binoculars, being able to see the sniper is an impossible task.

I was about to dig in but stopped when I remembered something from earlier. "Hey Summer, what were you girls doing over there just now?" I asked curiously as I looked over to them.

Summer paused in the middle of raising her fork with a piece of pancake to her mouth before she turn to regard me with a thoughtful look. She place her fork down down on her plate to take out her Scroll and showed it to me.

The screen showed a very common stopwatch feature presented in every Scroll and it reads 35 seconds in the middle. Below it, there are several saved records that showed numbers that's progressively getting smaller the lower it goes. "35 seconds, that's a new record." Summer told me with a smile while Kali just giggled behind her hands.

Not understanding just what she was talking about, I could only offer a confused raise of my eyebrow. "A new record for what?" I asked, wondering just what it is that she's recording.

"A record for just how long it'll take before you cave in to Amber's demands." Summer informed me with a snicker that she didn't even bother to hide as she return her scroll to her pocket.

"Oh..." I let out, visibly deflating upon hearing her words. 35 seconds is all I can last against Amber's cuteness huh? I thought I could at least last longer than that.

"Oh come on Jerkface, at least try to say no to her." Summer chided me playfully while waving her fork at me.

"Tried that, doesn't work." I told her with a shake of my head. It's not like I never tried saying no to Amber. It's just whenever I tried saying those words, it just sorta turned into a yes mid-speech.

"You could try being stern with her when she's being unreasonable." Kali suggested, her right ear twitching in response to the sound of Amber burping from the soda. The little girl just giggled happily to herself when I shot her the stink eye at how ill-mannered she was.

"Ha! I highly doubt he could do that." Aunt May interjected all of the sudden with a laugh. "He'd rather let Amber have what she wants than being mean to her and with that personality of his, I can't imagine him being stern or strict at all. The boy just doesn't have it in him. He's just too kind for his own good, if a bit lazy. I mean, have you ever seen him getting angry before?" She told the girls with a knowing smile, earning nods from Summer as she has the most experience with me and a thoughtful look from Kali.

"That's so not true. I totally can be mean if I wanted to." I insisted, mainly because I didn't want to appear as a complete pushover. But it appears that no one believed me as Kali just gave me a gentle smile while Summer grinned at me. Their twinkling eyes clearly conveyed their thoughts about what I've just said.

Aunt May however, regarded me with a very amused look. "Oh really?" She said. "Try it then, I dare you. Hit me with an insult, the best that you've got." Aunt May grinned as she challenged me. That got both the girl's attention because both they sat up straighter and started staring at me attentively, Kali looked on with interest while Summer stared in anticipation, both not really knowing what to expect from me. Amber wasn't paying even the slightest attention to us because she's too busy trying to separate her bacon from the broccoli.

I gulped and shrink under the pressure of the girls' expecting gazes while my mind was racing to think of the worst insult possible to lunch at Aunt May. Sadly, I'm drawing blanks because I don't function well under pressure. It's also why I live my life in a laid back manner to avoid generating stress, something that I absolutely loath.

Knowing that I can't think of anything smart at the moment and that I was taking too long, I just said whatever would spew out of my mouth while thinking about the most annoying person that I've met thus far whose name I can't remember. "May your headphones snag on every door handle." I told her while trying to keep a straight face.

Aunt May just blinked and stare at me in silence as if processing what I've just said. It took few seconds but she eventually spoke. "That...has got to be the most polite yet humorous insult that I've ever heard. I'm not sure if I should feel offended or amused." She stated, causing both Summer and Kali to giggled to the side. "Can it even be counted as an insult at all I wonder?" May added as an afterthought.

"You asked for an insult and I delivered. Not my fault that it came out like that." I crossed my arms in front of my chest and started glowering in embarrassment and Summer just laughed harder at the face that I'm making.

"Oh stop laughing Summer." I grumbled at her in annoyance.

Summer lift her hands to cover her mouth, the sound of her laughter was smothered but not by much while her shoulders continue to shake with mirth. "That's so you Jerkface. That was totally what I imagined you would say." She said through her hands.

I rolled my eyes at her, showing that I'm less than amused before my eyes widen slightly as I thought of something to say that would no doubt cause some damage to the redhead. I quickly focus my attention towards Summer, eyes narrowing and face smoothed into a perfect poker face. "May the chocolate chips in your cookies always turn out to be raisins." I intoned.

Summer recoiled as if she was struck, her earlier amusement gone and she leveled a pouty glare at me. "That's the meanest thing anyone has ever said to me!" She said, sounding as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard while looking at me like I'm some sort of villain who'd steal candies from kids to make them cry just for laughs. To be fair, I did steal Amber's every once in a while but only so she wouldn't consume so much. It also helped that she never noticed that her candy stash is slowly getting smaller.

"See, I told you I could be mean." I told her haughtily.

Summer didn't dignify me with a response and simply turn her head to the left with a 'hrrump', clearly not happy with me.

I noticed that when Summer turned away, Amber quickly pick up her plate and hover it near Summer's. She then used her fork to shove over some of her broccoli that she had separated from her salad. With about half of what was suppose to be Amber's broccoli on Summer's plate, Amber quickly place her plate back down.

The little girl then put on a proud smile on her face. It's almost as if she was patting herself on the back for the feat that she managed to pull off without anyone noticing. Too bad I did, and judging from how Kali had a small smile on her face while looking at Amber, she did too. Summer however, never noticed what the little bugger had done because she was looking the other way.

I could only shake my head at what Amber has done. That girl, doesn't she know that if she wants to do something to someone without being found out, she shouldn't only be focusing on her target but to her surroundings as well? Ah well, she's just a kid so I can forgive the amateur mistake. I'll teach her how to properly prank people later.

Amber then began eating the bacon she had picked out without a single care in the world, her legs kicking up in the air while savoring the taste of the meat in her mouth with her eyes closed and her body shivering in delight.

Smiling at the sight, I decided to take advantage of the situation to further annoy our resident redhead for my own amusement. "Hey Summer, I noticed that you haven't even touched your vegetables yet."

Summer turn to me with a confused look on her face before she looked down at her plate. Her eyes widen when she saw the noticeable increase on greenery there. "What!? But these are-"

"We're suppose to be setting an example for the kid here. I mean, look at Amber, I know that she hates vegetables but at least she knows that it's good for her and eats them." I quickly interrupted her before she could get a word in.

We both look towards where Amber was and we saw her stabbing her fork into a single piece of broccoli that was laying motionlessly on top of the carcasses of it's boiled brethren. Without even a single bit of hesitation, she raise it towards her mouth and plop it in. The brown haired child began chewing it while looking us with those pure innocent brown eyes of hers, as if asking us if something was wrong.

"See, isn't she just a good girl? Isn't that right Kali?" I turn my head around to ask the cat girl. I noticed that in my peripheral vision, Amber quickly spits out the chewed broccoli onto her hand and toss it into a potted plant near the corner of the room that serves as nothing more than decoration to liven up the place. Amazingly, the gunk of chewed vegetable landed directly into the pot where it'll no doubt be fertilizer for the plant...if the entire thing wasn't made out of plastic. I made a mental note to clean that place later while Amber turned to face Summer, bashing her eyelashes at her cheekily as she did so.

"I suppose so." Kali agreed, giggling lightly as her yellow eyes twinkle with amusement. I have no doubt that she saw what Amber had just done.

"Clever girl." Summer muttered in discontent as she glared at the little girl. Said girl responded by grinning and is completely unaffected by Summer's glare. I couldn't help but admire Amber's bravery as I would break a sweat if I'm the one at the receiving end of Summer's glares. Only the really angry ones though.

"Clever indeed." Aunt May commented with a faint smile on her face. "Still though, best hurry up and finish eating. We still have to open shop after all." She reminded us all, prompting the girls to start eating their food.

Nodding in agreement, I decided to chime in as well to make sure that Amber would at least eat some of her vegetables instead of passing it all to Summer. It's good for her body after all and there's no way in hell that I'm going to let her entire diet consist of meat and sweets. "Alright Amber, enough playing around with your food and eat your vegetables properly this time." I told the panda girl.

"Ehhhhh~" Amber let out a childish whine as all kids would when they're told to do something that they don't particularly like. "But my mummy never made me eat something I don't like."

"That's because she spoils you too much." I told her with a roll of my eye.

"Haffnt you been vooing ze same?" Aunt May point out while her mouth was still filled with food.

"I do it in moderation. Also, please swallow before talking." I told the adult with a deadpan before turning my attention back to Amber. "Amber, eating them is good for you. You'll grow bigger and stronger if you do. I don't get why you keep trying to find ways to avoid eating them even though you always failed in the end. Maybe you should just give up on that and learn to enjoy it. It'll certainly save you a lot of hassle and a lot of headaches for me."

Amber just pouted at me, clearly not happy with the situation.

Seeing that it's going to take a while to convince the girl to eat her veggies, I opted to take the quicker and easier route via threatening. "Remember what I said earlier about that chocolate milkshake Amber? You'll only get it if you've been a good girl, and good girls eat their vegetables." I told her with a very sly smile.

True to her love for sweet things, Amber began shoving her salad into her mouth immediately and started eating it for real. She had a rather grumpy look on her face the entire time she did so but that's to be expected when you made someone do something they don't particularly like.

"Good girl." I praised her with a slight chuckle, thinking that maybe I should do something to cheer her up now, least she spend the entire day in a bad mood. "How about I show you a little trick that I know as a reward eh?" Amber continued to chew while rising an inquiring eyebrow at me. She doesn't look very happy with me but at least she looked intrigued at what I have to offer.

I reach my hand out to the bowl that held the hard boiled eggs and took one. "Watch closely now." I said as I tap the tip of the egg against the edge of the table and repeated the action with it's bottom. Amber's eyes were glued to the egg in my hand in curiosity as I carefully peel away the top and the bottom of the shell, leaving holes there wide enough for the trick that I'm about to perform.

I held onto the egg with one hand, fingers wrapped around it's sides gently and raised it up to my mouth. I place my other hand at the other end of the egg and blew into the hole at the tip. The egg inside the shell resisted for a brief second before it came loose, the entire thing popped out of it's shell and landed onto my palm. I showed Amber both the still perfectly intact shell and the egg, earning a wide eyed stare of awe from her.

"Woooooaaahhhh." She let out in childish wonder, her earlier bad mood seemingly forgotten. She reach out her hand while eyeing the shell, silently asking me if she could hold it for examination. I handed her the shell for her to get a closer look at while observing her reactions to it with interest.

Amber took it from me carefully, spinning it around in her hands at eye level while trying to understand just how something like this could be possible. She must've used a bit too much strength when holding onto the shell because it suddenly crumbled in her hands and the girl let out a sad sounding 'awww...' in disappointment.

"So, what do you think?" I asked her.

"It's cool." She said as she look away from the crumbled remains of the eggshell in her hands to look at me.

"You think you can do the same yourself?" I asked her while handing her another egg that I took from the bowl while she was busy examining the shell.

She quickly threw the crushed shell in her hand to the table and took the egg from my hand. She easily mimicked what I did and tried to blow the egg out of it's shell. She blew and blew with all her might, but the only result she got was her face turning red until she finally gave up and started gasping for air, swaying back and forth in her chair from the dizziness caused by her own actions.

She shook her head to rid herself of her dizzy spell and turn to me with narrowed eyes. "You musta did something to the egg first." She accused me, feeling miffed that she couldn't achieved what I did.

"What!?" I cried out in mock hurt. "Nonsense, my egg peeling skills are just that egg-celent." I replied while wagging my eyebrow.

"Pfff-." Suddenly, we heard the sound of someone starting to laugh but was abruptly muffled coming from Amber's side. It made both of us curious enough to turn our attention towards whoever made it.

Summer was there, staring intently at her plate and completely focusing on eating her pancakes. I wouldn't have notice that anything was wrong if there wasn't a faint reddish hue on her cheeks that is slowly becoming more apparent the more we stare at her. I grinned as I understood that she was pretending that she didn't just laughed while Amber pursing her lips to the side with a confused look on her face.

I'm feeling rather happy because someone is actually laughing at my puns. That almost never happens and when it did, it's only because they were being polite.

"W-what? What are you two staring at?" The redhead shuttered out when she finally couldn't handle the stares that she's getting from us anymore.

"Did you just...laughed at my pun?" I asked with a bit of hesitation, mainly because I could be wrong about her liking my pun and didn't want to get my hopes up.

"Pssh, who would even find that funny." Summer quickly denied while looking away, a clear sign that she was lying to me.

I couldn't help but smile as I reach my hand out to the table very slowly while keeping my eye on Summer. My odd movement drew everyone's attention, including Summer's as her gaze followed where my hand was going. I took an egg from the bowl again and brought it to my side, waving it in the air for the girls to see.

My smile turned into a wicked grin as I brought the egg to the table. "Nice to see that my pun has you so-" I paused and hit the egg against the table to crack it. "-cracked up." I punned as I show Summer the cracks on the egg. I heard Kali and Aunt May groan at how terrible the pun was but I ignored them with relative ease because I already expected that kind of response from them. Amber grew even more confused at what's going on as she continue to look between me and Summer, trying to figure out just what is happening. I ignored the little girl as well because the only thing I'm interested in right now is Summer's reaction.

I saw that Summer had purse her lips tightly into a thin line as she looked at everywhere but me while her shoulders tremble slightly.

I'm never knew that my grin could grew any wider than it is already but apparently, it could. "For someone who says that my puns aren't funny at all, your reactions to them are rather… egg-streme, no?"

Both of Summer's hands were clutched into fists, shaking as she restrains herself from laughing at my pun. Her lips were trembling as she shot me a glare for my punny attempts in trying to make her laugh. Kali just groaned again while burying her face into her hands with her ears drooped. "Please stop." She begged pitifully.

"What, why? I think that this is rather fun." I turn to face Kali with a bemused expression.

"I don't get it." Amber stated with a confused look on her face.

I pat the brown haired girl on her head. "You will one day, maybe when you're older." I simply told her to which she responded with an unsatisfied pout.

Kali lifted her face from her hands and shot me a pleading look. "Your puns are so bad that it's giving me goosebumps." Kali told me as she rubs her arms. It's actually rather nice to see her acting so unreserved for once.

"I think that you're just... eggs-aggerating." I told her with a smirk and quickly look over to Summer. Summer had a hand over her mouth now, the edges of her eyes twinkled with mirth as the trembling on her shoulders intensified.

"Seriously kid, stop it." Aunt May interrupted half-heartedly with a roll of her eyes. She wasn't even putting any effort in stopping me at all so I guess she approves of my puns. Either that or she's just too lazy to do anything about it.

Not wanting to displease the older woman any further because she's in charge of how much I get paid, I decided that it's best to stop now. But not before getting one last pun in of course. "Fineeeee, omelettin' this punny business go." I said with a shrug of my shoulders, earning another bout of groans from the two ladies.

Summer suddenly burst out into snickers, finally reaching the limit of how much she could stop herself from laughing.

"Ah ha! So you do find it funny!" I said loudly whilst pointing at finger at the redhead.

"N-no I don't." She feverishly denied while waving her hands in front of her.

"But you're smiling." I pointed out with an odd sense of victory swelling within my chest. I have no idea why I would be feeling that but who cares, I finally found someone who found my puns funny.

"I know and I hate it." Summer replied while hiding her face behind her hands, trying and failing to stop me from seeing the smile that she has.

And so, just like that, we started trading jabs and quips like usual with Amber joining in on occasions and most surprisingly, Kali too. It wasn't until Aunt May joined in and mercilessly destroyed us all with sharp words that easily cut us to the core did we quiet down in crushing defeat. It was a good thing Aunt May decided to stop us from continuing or we might end up messing around for the entire morning...again.

And just like that, our morning has gone off with a pretty rowdy start like always.

-0-

Halfway though the meal, Sheila decided to remind me that this might be the best time to ask the girls their preference in food. I thanked her for the reminder and decided to bring attention to myself with the risk of starting something even though the table had finally quiet down not long ago. I have no doubt that we're going to start being noisy again once I opened my mouth. I swear, there's never a quiet moment with these people. Then again, that has always been why I find their company so enjoyable. It's their charm after all.

"So…." I started, pausing to see if I got everyone's attention. I noticed that almost everyone had set their eyes on me now save for Amber as she greedily stuff more of her pancakes into her mouth. Aunt May is no longer present because she had already finished up her food and had headed out arrange the tables and chairs before we can open the cafe. "I've been meaning to ask, just what kind of food do you girls like and hate?"

"Huh, why are you asking this now all of the sudden?" Summer questioned.

"Well, I have something planned for tonight so I thought it might help in advance to know everyone's preference in food. That way, it'll be easier for me to decided what kind of dish I want to make tonight." I replied.

"Ooo, sounds interesting. But I'll have you know that there's almost nothing that I dislike eating." Summer declares proudly, smacking her fist at her puffed up chest in pride.

"I'm not surprised to hear that at all." I told her wryly with a smile. It wasn't that hard to come to that conclusion considering just how often she would wolf down everything on the table. It makes me glad that someone enjoys my cooking but couldn't she at least save something for me once in a while?

"Hey, what's with that look you're giving me?" Summer uttered inquisitively.

Before I could say anything, Amber decided to speak up and ask a question of her own. "Hey, big bro. What kind of food do you hate?" She questioned with interest. I crank my neck downwards to look at her and to my pleasant surprise, she barely had a stain of maple syrup on her mouth now. Finally, the kid's learning how to eat properly, or at least cleanlier than she used to. I've lost count of how many times I had to wipe her mouth for her so I'm actually feeling so proud of her right now. I think I might actually shed a tear of happiness like any emotional parent would when they saw their child do something that makes them proud.

"Seafood." I quickly answered least I started bawling like an idiot.

I saw Kali flinched at the corner of my eye and swivel her head towards me. She was looking at me with eyes widen in horror and betrayal like I'm some kind of monster that had just shed it's disguise and revealed it's true nature after befriending her and gaining her trust. Just what could cause that kind of reac- Oh right, she's a cat Faunus, she absolutely loves seafood.

"I'm surprised." Summer claimed, sounding skeptical. "I didn't know you have something that you don't like eating. You usually complain about it when we don't eat everything on our plates." She pointed out.

"Of course I do. I'm only human after all. Haven't you noticed that I rarely make seafood when I'm in charge of cooking?" I told her with a roll of my eyes. Judging from the look she were giving me, she seem to realize that as well. "What about you three?" I asked them eagerly, wanting to know a little bit more about the people that I've been hanging around with.

"Veggies." Amber stated predictably.

"Hmmmm, for me it would be tofu. It's unappetizing, mushy, bland and tasteless." Summer told me with clear disgust in her voice as her body shivers like she had remembered some childhood trauma. "I remember eating one at a restaurant before when I was younger and boy did I regretted putting that thing in my mouth."

"Really? I guess that's probably because they didn't properly marinade it or something. I can make something decent with tofu if you're willing to give it a shot. Who knows, maybe it'll be tasty enough to get rid of your distaste for it." I told her cheekily, clearly confident in my own cooking ability.

Summer gained a very thoughtful look as she turn to regard me. "Well...knowing you, everything you make is so sure to be delicious. I suppose I'll give it a try." She stated after she did some thinking on that matter, looking rather eager to try said dish now.

"Oh my, was that a compliment?" I couldn't help but ask with a coy smile.

Summer quickly look away with a small blush on her face. "No it's not. I was simply stating the obvious."

"Ah, I see. I'm happy to know that you hold my cooking in such high regard," I replied with a humorous smile. "enough that you're actually drooling at the mere mention of me making a new dish for you to try."

"W-wha?" Summer let out an alarmed cry as her face reddens even more and quickly wipe her chin with her hand to check. When she didn't find any moisture running down her mouth at all, her eye twitched in annoyance when she realized that she had been had. "Oh you lying jerk. I'll get you back for that." She uttered unhappily as her blush subsides.

"Heh, good luck with that." I reply with a chuckle, my mind already working on ways to foil any kind of revenge parnk that she may come up with. "So, what about you Curr- Curry?" I call out to her in concern when I noticed that the girl in question has a gloomy air hanging around her that wasn't there previously. Her eyes were hidden by the shadow created by her bangs as she look silently downward at her plate. This is the first time that I've seen her so down so I'm a bit worried as well as perplexed as to what could've caused her to become so depressed. She was completely fine just a moment ago.

"Erm...what's wrong Curry?" I hesitantly asked, not really sure if I wanted to know what could've made the normally calm and collected girl to act this way.

Kali turn to me with a hurtful expression. "How can you not like seafood?" She asked with a sad whine, causing me to recoil slightly at how adorably sad she looked. Herrrk! My heart, it hurts. I feel like there's a million needles penetrating through it just by looking at her. It has to be her cat features, those big round eyes and fluffy ears are a deadly combination.

But still, I know you're a cat Faunus and all Kali but seriously? You're that upset over the fact that I don't like seafood? "I just have a bad experience with seafood in the past alright. I got food poisoning from it one time and I ended up puking all day. It lead me to develop an apprehension of it on a subconscious level." I quickly explained to her my reasons for my dislike of seafood because the sad look on her face is just so heartbreaking. "I can eat it if I wanted to but I generally steer clear of it just to be safe."

Kali blinked and stayed still to process what I've just said, her face slowly morphing from one of hurt to one of understanding. "O-oh." She let out, sounding rather relieved while I made a mental note not to say anything bad about seafood around cat Faunuses, just in case.

[It has been noted.] Sheila informed me.

'Thank you Sheila.' I thanked my V.I before speaking out loud. "So, anything you hate eating Kali?" I asked in attempt to change the subject.

"W-well, I'm not really fond of bitter tasting food." Kali told me, poking her index fingers together as she looks away bashfully.

"I see." I nodded before moving on to the next topic. "How about the things you all like then?"

""Cookies/Sweets."" Summer and Amber both answered simultaneously without missing a beat.

"I meant real food." I told them with a deadpan.

Both the girls thought about their answers for a while before they both spoke up at the same time again ""Potatoes."" Both replied before looking at each other in surprise. It didn't take long before they burst out giggling at how much of a coincidence that was.

"What a coincidence. Me three." Kali added.

"That's quite a surprise, as well as convenient." I honestly said. There are a lot of dishes I can make with potatoes and it didn't hurt that I like it as well. I wonder if I should be amused that all four of us liked the same thing.

There's just one thing though.

We ran out of it not long ago.

Maybe we can go shopping for more later on today. It shouldn't take too long to buy them so that problem can easily be solved. That just leaves what kind of dishes should I make for them.

For Amber, I suppose having french fries on the menu should suffice. Normally I would be against oily junk food, in fact, I'm against all kind of junk food in general but I suppose I should make an exception for today.

Summer however, I have no clue as to what I should make for her since there are so many options. I'll think of something for her eventually so that just leaves Kali. Hmmmm….I think I'll make some tuna potato patties, or maybe a pie variation. There's still some tuna left in the fridge and I know for a fact that Kali will love it a lot. In fact, any kind of dish with tuna in it will always make her mew in excitement.

"Alrighty then." I declared. "I'm going to make a potato feast tonight so you girls best behave yourselves or you're not getting it."

""Yes mum/mummy."" Both Summer and Amber replied playfully, causing me to glare at them. Instead of being scared by my super mean glare, they both just laughed at the sour look I'm giving them.

I'm not sure when it started but the girls began calling me mum at some point. When I asked why, they told me that I get very naggy from time to time like a real mother would.

"While I'm glad to hear that you're making something special tonight but...what's the occasion? Surely, you must have some kind of reason for doing so." Kali asked curiously, prompting the other two girls to look at me for answers with equal curiosity.

"What, you mean you don't know? And don't call me Shirley." I added in the end with a smile.

Summer and Kali chuckled at the joke while Amber looked confused. "Know what?" Summer asked after she stopped her chuckles.

"It's for your farewell party. We can't let you leave with a simple goodbye after all." I simply stated.

Instantly, the cheerful mood around the table evaporated and I have a distinctive feeling that I've killed the mood with what I said just now.

"O-oh." Summer said, sounding rather shock and surprise at the revelation. Her head slowly tilt downwards while the ahoge on her head dropped listlessly. "Oh…" Summer repeated again in a lower volume than before. "So today's my last day huh..." I could only raise a confused eyebrow at her reaction. That's odd, I thought she would be more ecstatic to learn that she no longer have to work here.

"Eh!? Big sis is leaving?" Amber cried out in alarm.

Kali's eyes widen slightly when she realized that as well and could only look towards the redhead with a sad frown upon her face.

"Yeah, I guess so Amber." Summer answered the little girl.

"Does this mean I won't be able to see big sis again?" Amber asked in a worried tone, looking towards the redhead by her side sadly.

"Of course not Amber." Summer told her reassuringly though I can hear faint traces of sadness in her voice. "We can still see each other when I come by."

"Then promise me that you'll come by a lot." Amber childishly demands, looking at Summer with those round brown eyes of hers that's practically daring her to say no.

Summer chuckles a bit before she nodded. "Sure. I promise that I will."

After that, we were left to eat in silence, a very uncomfortable silence.

-0-

Everyone has finished eating not long ago but Summer has been playing with her food instead of eating it for a while now. I couldn't help but be surprised as well as worried because she's usually the one to finish first. Actually, the most shocking thing is that her plate actually have some food left on it. This is Summer that we're talking about here, she never leaves anything behind so why the sudden lost of appetite?

I could tell from her expression that something was bothering her but didn't know what so I could only watch with a worried frown as the redhead stared absentmindedly at her food, prodding it with her fork every once in a while.

She's acting really strangely today. That's odd considering that she was fine not long ago.

Just what could've cause the normally energetic redhead to act this way?

[It's your fault you know.] Sheila helpfully supplied when I was feeling very troubled and confused about Summer's sudden change in behavior.

'What? Why is it my fault?' I asked the VI indignantly, unsure as to why I'm suddenly being accused to be the one who caused Summer to be this way.

I waited for Sheila to answer my question but got none in return. It would seem that she chose to ignore me. Typical women behavior. They always say that you did something wrong but never bothered to explain what it is.

I sighed in resignation, knowing full well that I won't be getting an answer from my so called VI whose job was suppose to help me get through life. Instead, I look over to the side where the sink is and I saw the figure of a raven haired cat girl was there, washing the dishes while humming a very melodic tune. Not sure what song it is but it sure sounds nice.

Kali had offered to wash the dishes for me which is very nice of her as always and Amber was by her side, trying her best to help. Since the little girl is naturally too short to be able to reach the sink, she's currently standing on top of a chair to give her a boost in height.

Hmm, maybe I should ask Kali about Summer. She should know more than me since you know, she's a girl. I'm not going to ask her directly since Summer's nearby so I resorted to using my scroll to send her a message. I quickly took out the thingy from my pocket and searched for Kali on my contact list. It wasn't hard since there's like, only three people on my list.

I quickly typed in the message and pressed send.

A split second later, I heard a ding coming from Kali's direction. I watched as she quickly wash her hands to get rid of the soap and flicked her hands in the air to get rid of the water. She used her apron to fully dry them before picking her Scroll out from her pocket. She gave her new message a quick read before turning her head in my direction to give me a quirked eyebrow.

Anyway, my message reads [Have you noticed that Summer's acting a bit odd?] I'm also feeling slightly hopeful that she would tell me something instead of letting me figure things out on my own like Sheila did.

She typed into her scroll and another split second later, mine beeped. [You really don't know?]

[I don't, that's why I'm asking.]I typed back.

I saw Kali purse her lips together as she took on a contemplating look while examining me, almost as if she's trying to figure out whether or not I'm lying. Eventually, she just let out a sigh and shook her head slightly before typing again. [It's because you told her about the farewell party.] She finally explained.

I was feeling quite happy as well as confused upon hearing her answer. I was happy because there's actually a girl out there who would tell me what I did wrong for once instead of leaving cryptic answers; I was confuse because I have no idea why Summer would be upset because of that. [Why though? It's not like I did anything wrong when I told her that did I?]

[Well no. But think of it this way. Summer's been coming over here for months right? It's not uncommon for someone to develop a certain attachment to places as well as the people there after spending so much time there. Now that you've just told her that today is her last day here, how do you think she would feel?]

Upon reading Kali's reply, I tried to remember if Summer actually liked working here. Sadly, all the memories that I have about her only involved the redhead blushing cutely, getting mad at me for something I did and being caught doing something embarrassingly funny. Yeah, I really can't rely on my brain for this. [I really don't know. She did claim to dislike working with me from the start and it is my fault that she's forced to work here. I thought she would be happy to know that she's no longer needed to waste her weekends working instead of whatever it is that teenage Huntress-in-training does.] I typed back.

It didn't take long before I got Kali's reply and I quickly read the text that pop up on my screen.

[That's what you think.] was all it said. I don't get it at all so I crank my head towards Kali's direction and gave the girl a puzzled look.

Kali gave me a small smile before placing her scroll back into her pocket, effectively ending the conversation and returning her attention to the dishes.

So, in the end I still have no idea why Summer's acting this way. Ugh, why can't the girls just out and say what's on their mind instead of leading me on like this? Why Kali!? I thought you were different than the rest!

Knowing that I won't get anywhere like this, I took a sip of my coffee that I haven't finish yet while pondering about what Kali could've meant. I almost choked on it in surprise when I noticed that Amber was standing at my side. Ever since we removed the squeaky soles on her panda suit she's been moving around silently like a ninja whenever she wants.

"Yes Amber?" I asked the ninja panda, wondering just what she could've wanted.

"Cup." She said, holding her hands out.

I quirk my eyebrow and look down at the mug that still has a bit of coffee in it in my hand. Oh, so she wants to wash it for me. "It's a mug Amber, not a cup." I told her with a cheeky smile. "There's a clear difference between a cup and a mug." My words caused the girl to tilt her head questioningly as she look towards the mug at my hand, most likely trying to figure out what the difference is.

I chuckled lightly at her confused expression before speaking again. "Just wait for me to finish it first." Just as I said that, I suddenly have a bright idea involving the coffee in my hand and the little girl by my side. "Or, maybe, you want to try drinking it yourself?" I suggested to brown haired child with a shit-eating grin on my face, knowing full well that she never drank coffee before.

Amber seem to find that suggestion very appealing and she quickly nods her head eagerly.

But instead of handing her the drink immediately, I put on a show of uncertainly, pursing my lips to the side while humming as if I'm actually thinking about it. "Hmmm, maybe you shouldn't. It's an adult drink after all." I said, not really putting in any effort to dissuade her from trying.

Amber place her hands on her hips and stood up straight. "I'm a big girl, so I can drink it." She stated confidently.

"Oh really?" I challenged.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Then I guess there's nothing I can do to stop you." I told her seriously as I handed her the mug, trying my best not to smile as she gladly took it from my hand.

I watch with interest as she fearlessly place the mug to her mouth and took a big swig, blissfully unaware of the fact that I like my coffee blacker than vantablack in the morning for the extra kick strong enough to wake up the dead.

The moment the black liquid made contact with her taste buds, the excited expression on her face instantly scrunched and twisted into a grimace of bitter regret; bitter, because it's coffee. I have no doubt she was expecting something sweet when she got her hands on my mug.

She did a good job of not spitting the liquid out and managed to swallowed it forcefully while her eyes were squeezed tightly shut from the bitterness. She quickly place the mug down on the table and stuck her tongue out with the look of utter disgust on her face.

Then, she uses her hands to paw at her tongue in attempts to get rid of the bitter flavor lingering there to no avail.

Is it bad that I really wanted to take a picture of her right now?

"It's biter." She told me, her tongue still hanging out in the open and her eyes were slightly moistened like she's going to cry.

"No. It's bitter, bit-ter, not biter. There's two T's in it." I corrected her cheekily while waving a single finger at her.

Amber rolled her eyes at me in response. "Bitttttteeeerrrrr." She repeated while drawing out the word.

"Good." I nodded. "I'll make some coffee for you next time as a reward." I told her and her face immediately blanched at the prospect of drinking the bitter beverage again. "Don't worry, I'll make it sweet and creamy for you like how Summer likes it next time." At that, her face regained her colour and she seem to beam brightly at me.

Heh, kids. Always so simple. I took the mug and down the remaining coffee in one go before I gave it to Amber. "Here you go." Amber took the mug from me and quickly head over to the sink to wash it.

With Amber gone, I turn my attention back to the problem at hand, which is Summer. I frowned when I realized that she's still playing with the food on her plate.

It appears that Summer didn't notice the entire exchange going on in front of her at all. I'm starting to get even more worried than before because Summer almost always pays attention to what Amber and I were doing together. It's mostly because it's like a source of entertainment for her, just like how her reactions to my teasing are to me.

I never seen her this way before.

Summer usually has a vibrant air surrounding her that never fails to lighten up the place. But now that cheery air is gone and is replace with the brooding atmosphere that she has. Frankly, I don't like it one bit. Seeing her this troubled just makes me feel extremely guilty. The guilt might have something to do with Sheila and Kali pointing out that I am the cause of Summer current state even though I don't even know what I did.

I need to fix this pronto. And to do that, I need to figure out what's wrong with her first. Side's we can't have our maid of honor spending her last days around here all gloomy now can we?

"Hey Summer." I called the redhead to ask what's wrong, something I should've done from the get go. I couldn't help but notice at the corner of my eye, Kali was pretending not to be listening in and she's doing a very bad job at it too.

Summer suddenly jerked slightly when I called her, probably snapping herself out of her stupor when she heard her name being called. "Yes?" She asked while looking at me with a slight tilt of her head and a quirk of her eyebrow.

"Are you feeling all right?" I asked in concern, eyes flicking towards the food that she's playing with and back to her to let her know what I'm talking about. The girl look towards where I just glanced and realized what I was hinting at.

"Oh, right. I'm just... not really that hungry right now." Summer replied, causing me to stare at her in wide eyed shock. Summer isn't hungry? That's the same as saying that the Russians don't like alcohol. Okay, I admit that I was over exaggerating it a bit there.

I took a deep breath and decided to ask away before I lose my courage. "Are you upset because I told you that today would be your last day here?" I asked tentatively.

Summer took a moment to reply and I waited tensely all the while. "Not really. I was just thinking about what I'm suppose to do with my weekends now that I don't have to come here anymore." Summer answered while putting down her fork that she was poking her pancakes with. "It's just...weird. I'm already used to coming over here every weekend but now that I don't need to anymore, I don't really know what I should do with my newfound free time."

"Oh? Then why don't you hang out with your friends? I know you couldn't before because you were forced to work here so you've probably missed out a lot with them because of me." I told her while scratching my cheek sheepishly.

"Yeah...about that." Summer began hesitantly, looking very ashamed for some reason. "I don't really have a lot of people to hang out with." She said in a very low voice that I almost had to strain my ears to hear her.

I quirk an eyebrow at that. "I distinctively recall hearing you say that you have a lot of friends quite a while ago."

"Oh shut up. I lied about that okay." Summer uttered out, looking away in either embarrassment or shame. "I just didn't want to look bad."

"Why Summer, didn't you know that it's not a good thing to lie?" I said, feigning shock while looking at her with eyes widen in fake disbelief.

"I don't want to hear that from someone who told me that cotton candy came from clouds." She quipped back almost instantly. We both stared at each other for a few seconds before I started snickering as the memory of that time resurfaced. Summer eventually joined in as well and we shared a small laugh over that particular memory.

"That wasn't a lie, it was a joke. There's a difference between the two, albeit a very small one." I informed her in a sagely manner, like a wise old man passing on his knowledge to the younger generation.

"Oh hardy har har. Very funny." Summer said with a roll of her eyes. "I wouldn't have to deal with this kind of abrupt schedule shifts if it weren't for you, you know." She reminded me, sounding rather annoyed while pointing her index finger at me. I do know that the annoyance in her tone is fake because of how the edges of her lips are tugged upwards.

"Urgk." But even so, her words stuck me straight at my guilty conscious and I visibly winched while hanging my head down in shame. "Sorry about that."

"Why Jerkface, are you telling me that you're actually starting to feel sorry for everything you've done?" Summer uttered out in mock shock, looking at me with a playful smile.

I shook my head before looking at her in the eye. "No, not starting. Always." I answer her solemnly. It something rather uncharacteristic for me to do and it showed. Summer's playful smile immediately dropped and was replaced with a look of surprise. Heck, Kali even stopped pretending not to be listening in and snapped her head to regard me with the same amount of surprise as Summer.

It appears that at some point in time, she had finished washing the dishes and was trying to be unnoticeable as possible at the side of the room with her favorite notebook in hand, already writing something in it rather intensely. It really makes me wonder just what on earth is she writing in there but I'll shove that curiosity aside for now. I'll figure it out one day but today is not that day.

Amber was already missing from the kitchen, presumably already out in the front doing whatever it is that Aunt May wants her to do.

"Summer, I caused you to lose at least an entire month of your life if you add all the time you spent here together. An entire month that you could've use to spent your life however you see fit. Instead, you're stuck here because of what I did when we first met. Time is a fleeting thing and a person's lifespan only lasts for so long. How can I not feel guilty for wasting something so precious when it's not even mine to waste." I continued, my face crestfallen in genuine sadness.

Those were the thoughts that I had kept hidden away, thoughts that I don't let show because I know that it'll do no good when the damage is already done. The knowledge that the time that she had lost will not come back and it's slowly eating away at me, growing stronger the more time passes. She could've used it to train and grow stronger but I wasted it just like that. What if she got hurt during a mission because of the lack of training? Or worse, what if if she died?

Summer, realizing that I wasn't kidding around like always, decided to treat this matter seriously and thought about what I've said. She looked at me rather strangely when she spoke. "Is that why you're always treating me kindly?" She said with a sad frown on her face, sounding rather hurt by the revelation.

"No, that's just because I was raised to treat a girl nicely... and it's mostly because you're very cute. If it were a guy that's in your shoes, I would've just told him that I'm sorry about getting him in this mess and forget all about it later. In fact, I don't think I'll even bother to remember him at all." I told her seriously, not once breaking eye contact with the girl.

Summer blushed lightly when I called her cute but other than that, there's not much reaction. I guess all that teasing I did finally made her resistant to overreacting. "W-well, I can see that happening." She stammered at the start, breaking eye contact for a brief moment to gather herself. "You've always been like that with Sill."

"Who?" I asked in confusion, not really knowing who Summer just mentioned. The girl look back towards me with a look of disbelief. She opened her mouth to speak but snap it shut moments after, looking like she couldn't be bothered deal with this and just shook her head slightly with a small, amused smile on her face.

"Of course he'd forgotten about him already. Why am I not surprise." She muttered to herself before looking back at me. "No one important." She answered my earlier question with a deadpan.

"Okay?" I said, pushing aside the question of who this Sill person is in favor of doing something I should've done on the very first day.

I've been working up the courage to say it for a bit and now might as well be the best time as any. I need to hurry before I lose my chance and my nerves and we undoubtedly ended up starting another banter war. I took a deep breath before I started speaking. "Summer, I'm sorry. For everything that I've done so far to upset you as well as getting you into a debt that should've been all on me." I apologized to her with as much sincerity as I could muster with my head bowing lowly.

All of the sudden, I heard a soft 'thuck' as well as the feeling of stinging pain on my forehead. I quickly reel my head back in blind panic to see what could've hit me as well as rubbing the stinging spot on my head. The first thing I saw was Summer's outstretched hand and I instantly understood the reason why my forehead is stinging. It appears that the redhead had leaned over the table to flick me on my forehead.

I look at the girl in confusion while rubbing my forehead as she sat back down on her seat, leveling a look of disappointment at me. "I like it better when you're just a jerk who's too carefree for his own good." She told me with an unsatisfied pout on her face. "Getting worried over whether or not someone is unhappy with you doesn't suit you at all."

"Huh? I thought you'd be mad at me for getting you into this mess?" The confusion that I felt is most likely palpable from my voice alone.

"You would be right about that….if you said that three months ago." Summer informed me with a grin on her face, clearly enjoying the bewildered expression that I'm giving her right now. "What I meant to say is, I've stopped holding a grudge over that a long time ago Jerkface. Being here is a rather fun experience for me, if you exclude all the time you got me mad with your teasing that is."

"Really? So I've been worrying about this for nothing then?" I asked, sounding very exasperated for the waste of energy.

"Pretty much, yeah." Summer confirmed with a nod.

I just sighed in defeat. "Even so, I still feel really guilty about your arrangements here."

Summer suddenly gained a mischievous look on her face before she put on a thoughtful expression, placing her index finger against the side of her chin as she let out a thoughtful hum. "Weeellll, if you really sorry about it... then find a way to make it up to me." She told me, sounding all too happy with that idea.

I thought about what she had said and it seemed reasonable enough so I agreed. "Fine. As apology for upsetting you, I'll make a batch of butterscotch cookies for you to pick up the next time you come around."

"Make it two." Summer said happily with a greedy glint in her eye.

"What? Seriously?" I asked incredulously. One batch is already a lot and can fill half of that cookie jar that we have that's normally used to store cookies for staff consumption instead of selling. It's also a very big jar.

"Dead serious." Summer replied without missing a beat.

I lean back against my chair and sighed while shaking my head, already given up in caring about her calorie intake. I'll claim no responsibility if she gets fat from all that snacking but then again, I'm sure she'll burn all that fat away in no time with how much she trains during her time in combat school. "Fine, you greedy girl." I told her with a roll of my eyes.

"For that comment, you'll have to make three batches." Summer said, smirking smugly now.

"Okay, now that's just a bit too much. Two batches." I argued, crossing my arms together to make an 'X' in front of me.

"Are you saying that you won't make it up to me?" She pouted while fluttering her eyelashes at me innocently.

"You're milking this for all it's worth aren't you?" I accused, narrowing my eyes at the redhead while trying to ignore how cute she looked as she does that.

"What's that? Are you saying that you'll make four?" Summer said, opening her mouth slightly in mock surprise with a hand over it. "Why Jerkface, I didn't know you can be so generous."

My eye twitched in annoyance and I had to withhold the urge unleash my tickling skill on her as punishment for being so shameless. "Three and a half, that's the final offer. Take it or leave it." I told her.

"Deal." Summer said quickly as she held out her hand.

"Deal then." I muttered tiredly as I reach my own hand out to seal the deal. "Just don't come crying to me saying that it's my fault when you got fat later on." I added as we shook each other's hands.

"Ha, as if that would ever happen." Summer replied cheekily with a smile so infectious that I couldn't help but smile along with her.

Inwardly however, I was thinking about all the ingredients that I have to pay out of my own pockets since I can't just use the things in the kitchen for free. Ah well, at least she's smiling now. If it could get her to smile like that then it's totally worth the money.

Unbeknownst to me, Kali was smiling at how we sorta got things worked out as well. She gave a satisfied nod to herself and closes her notebook, the contents of which is only known to her, before she place it back into her bag and left the kitchen without anyone noticing it.

It was very impressive feat because she had to walk right past us to get to the door. I wonder if she's secretly a ninja.

(0)

"Didn't you say you'll find out about it yourself? Yet here you are, asking me for help."

Somewhere, in a dark and gloomy room at an unknown location, a man spoke out with a hint of amusement in his deep and gravelly voice.

It's hard to make out anything in the darkness but there is a faint source of light coming from a scroll that the man was using. It was place on a table, propped up on a stand. It had barely enough light to illuminate a quarter of it's surroundings and it was not enough to reach the man sitting behind the desk, leaving him in the dark.

"I have reasons to believe that the he is suspicious of me." Another voice spoke, coming from the scroll on the table. The voice was accompanied with a thick layer of static as to hide the identity of the speaker. There was no image on the man's scroll, only a simple text on the screen displaying 'audio only'. Judging by the tone alone, one can tell that the one speaking through the scroll sounded very irritated by the man's remark. "I have keep a low profile for now unless I give myself away."

"Why do I have the feeling that it's because you were being too much of an ass as usual and your attempts backfired spectacularly. Don't you know that the whole point of getting close to a person so they'll share their secrets with you is for them to like you?" The man shrouded in darkness said with mirth.

"Will you help me or not." The person he is speaking to growled out.

"Hmmm, I do wonder whether or not I should. You have been rather difficult to deal with recently and I already have my hands full with other matters." The man said in an offhanded manner, seemingly uncaring about the person he's talking to.

There was a loud thump coming from the scroll and the man can easily tell that the speaker just slammed his fist onto the table angrily. He had always been very easy to lose his temper. "Don't you dare speak that way with me Cobalt. If it weren't for me, you'd be rotting in Atlas' highest security prison. I can easily tip them off about your whereabouts if that's what you want." The speaker snapped threateningly; but to the man, the threat might as well be water off a duck's back as he rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner, knowing full well that the one he's speaking to can't see him.

"Yes, yes, I do recall owing you a favor for that. Do you want to call it in and let me deal with him for you?" The man known as Coblat suggested.

"Why? Knowing you, you won't even lift a finger unless you have something to gain from-" There was a knock coming from the door to the room he's in, causing the conversation to halt.

"Come in." Cobalt said and the door opened, causing a small beam of light to enter the room. It wasn't enough to illuminate the entire place but it's enough for anyone to tell that the room is more or less an office of some kind. Cobalt saw who it was on the other side and he smiled, silently thankful that someone came so he wouldn't have to continue talking with this particular individual. Maybe he can use this as an excuse to end the conversation early, he can be quite tedious to deal with after all.

There stood a teenager who looks about 17 or 18. With a single glance, once can tell that he's a Faunus by the pitch brown wolf ears on his head that mashes perfectly well with his short brown hair. If he presses them against his head well enough, he may just get away without anyone noticing them if one doesn't go looking closely at his head. The most noticeable thing about him however, is his eyes. His left eye is crimson and the right is brown.

"Ah, Grey. You're back already. Please, sit down and wait for a bit. I shall be with you shortly." The man gestured at the chair at the other side of his desk. The teen did just that and the man return his attention to his Scroll. "I do apologize for the interruption." Cobalt said, not sounding very apologetic at all. "Now, as you were saying?"

The person over the phone just clicked his tongue in irritation. "Forget about it. I'll deal with it myself. I won't be forgetting this anytime soon Cobalt, remember that." He said heatedly before there was a click and the line went dead.

"Old shitface being an ass again?" Grey asked in a bored tone, his entire posture lax as he lean against the chair with his hands in his pocket and his feet propped up on his knee.

"Unfortunately." Cobalt sighed in annoyance.

"I would offer my sympathies but we both know that I'd be lying. Anyway, the little rat that had been scurrying around had been dealt with. He won't be reporting to whoever he's working for anytime soon, or at all for that matter." The teen reported lazily.

"Excellent." Cobalt acknowledged with a small nod before he got all business like. "Now then, I have a new assessment for you."

"What! But I just got back. I haven't even get a wink of sleep last night just so I can track him down." The teen said in protest, letting his feet down and leaning in with a glare. Those mismatched colored eyes of his seem to glow menacingly in the dark. "You've been working us to the bone here and I think it's high time we all get some well deserved rest."

"Well now, I'm quite please to hear that you had done your job so diligently as always. You have my thanks. At any rate, the sooner you get this one done the sooner you can get some rest." Cobalt responded coldly.

Grey just glower in place but said nothing, knowing that nothing he say will change Cobalt's mind. It wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't been doing all the odd jobs from Cobalt for days on end with no breaks in between. He's tired, worn and very cranky from the lack of sleep. Still, when Cobalt wants something, he gets it. That's just how things goes around here and Grey has no way to do anything about it. Not yet at least. He just hopes he finds a way to get out of this mess before Cobalt works him and his partner to death.

Taking Grey's silence as a sign to continue, Cobalt spoke once more. "Now, I'm sure that you are aware of the ever constant thorn at my side known as Hui Xiong and his gang filled with ruffians and muscles for brains." Cobalt pressed something on his Scroll and Grey's own pinged.

The teen took out his scroll and saw a picture of a large man with short gray hair and mustache in a dress suit. "Yes, I heard of him. Hard not to when he's been the most dominating presence in the underworld right now. What, you want me to kill him next?"

"Oh heavens no. While Hui and his goons have been a nuisance from time to time by constantly trying to take over my territory and never failing to defend their own, they have been rather useful at drawing attention from the law to themselves so I can move about freely." Cobalt explained.

"Then what is it that you want from me?" Grey demanded impatiently.

"Tsk tsk. Now, now Grey. Manners." Cobalt waved his finger in front of the teen in amusement, causing the boy to grit his teeth in anger. "As for what I want, it has something to do what how erratic the gang's movement has been. The most notable thing is about all this is Hui's son." Cobalt pressed a few more things in his Scroll, sending more images to Grey's.

Grey studied them as they pop up. Some were mostly picture of Hui's black suit henchmen at various locations doing god knows what. The rest were pictures of a teenager with short black hair wearing a white dress shirt and black dress pants.

Grey couldn't help but wonder why most of them showed him carrying ungodly amounts of bags in the market area of Vale and being ordered around by two women. One with green hair while the other one has red hair and is nothing more than a teenager.

"The teen you see here is Hei 'Junior' Xiong. He's a very important person in Hui's gang and next in line to succeed him it if anything were to happen to Hui. You could say that Junior is the one keeping the gang's operations running smoothly and keeping things in order while Hui continues to expand his power base aggressively." Cobalt told Grey and the teen just nodded, absorbing the information while flicking through the photos. Grey still couldn't help but wonder why someone so important is being ordered around by the two ladies.

"This all started four months ago and as you can see, I find it very strange that Hui would had his son play host to these lovely looking ladies. At first I thought nothing much of it, thinking that they could just be loyal customers of his trade that he wanted to please but now however..." Cobalt trailed off as he tapped his Scroll.

"What's this?" Grey asked when he received a map of Vale with blue markers being replace with red ones scattered all over the place.

"A list of attacks at my turf. It happens at random intervals and always in the dead of night. Survivors of the attacks never have anything useful to share except that it was all done by a single woman wearing a wolf mask and skin tight black suit. My men were all beaten rather pathetically and not long after, Hui's men moved in, almost as if they knew that the place will be up for grabs. I'm slowly losing territory over the past months and whoever is attacking them sure as hell isn't Hui's men. They're just too professional, too effective to be one of Hui's lumbering goons. It just so happen that it all started a day after Junior was spotted accompanying the ladies."

"So what? You think those one of ladies have anything to do with it?" Grey questioned in bemusement.

"Well, maybe. There isn't any significant proof of that either one of them were the ones that did it but it doesn't hurt to be careful. After all, Hui doesn't just sent his son to be a pack mule for anyone ordinary now would he? I'm not sure what Hui's been up to lately and I do not like being left in the dark. So what I want is information. See if you can find out just what kind of relationship the two ladies have with Hui and his gang."

"Don't you want me to find out who the mysterious attacker is instead?"

"That can be dealt with in time but for now, information is more important. After all, if I know who or what I'm dealing with, I wouldn't need to waste men or resources preparing for every unknown."

"What do you know about those two?"

"Nothing much I must admit. The green haired one is a rather famous Huntress before she retired after the death of her husband whose personal information is highly classified to the point where even my hackers can't get anything out of her. The red haired one on the other hand is a Hunter-in-training who shows great promise and is one of the top 5 students in her academy.

Grey started thinking for a moment before he spoke up. "The thing with the ladies could be a distraction." He pointed out.

"True." Cobalt nodded. "But thankfully, we have someone we can ask about that." The man tapped his Scroll once more and Grey's mismatched coloured eyes look back his own when he heard it beep.

Grey saw an image of Junior walking down the street. Beside him there was another teen with spiky black hair with crystal blue eyes and wearing some kind of uniform. In the picture, they were both carrying items from the grocery store and the teen looked like was talking to Junior like they were the best of friends while Junior looked like he's ignoring him.

"The other guy looks like a complete pushover." Grey idly commented.

"This picture was taken not long ago. My informant told me that the other teen has been noted to being rather close with Junior as of late as well as the two ladies. So in short, I want him brought back alive for interrogation. Preferably today."

"I dunno." Grey said uncertainly. "He could be important if Junior is all buddy buddy with him."

"We did a background check on him and I've even sent someone to spy on him for a while now and so far, all that turned up was that he's more or less your typical civilian. He's nobody important I assure you. The only reason why Junior even pays attention to him is that he is working under that green haired woman at her cafe." Cobalt told him.

"A cafe?" Grey inquired.

"Yes. At any rate, even if he wasn't involve with any dealings with the underworld he should at least know something about why Hui had his son running errands for those women." Cobalt told him as he put away his Scroll.

"What if they came looking for him when he goes missing?"

"Then make sure you don't leave any trail for them to follow." Cobalt told him as if stating the obvious. "You may leave now Grey and do bring back some promising results." The man waved the teen off.

Irritated at the almost impossible task he was given, Gray stood up and turn around to leave. Just as he reached the door, he turn his head back and asked a single question that he should've asked from the beginning. "By the way, why is it so dark in here?"

"The bulb died." Cobalt answered simply.

"Oh." Grey simply said before he left, slamming down on the door hard on his way out.

-0-

Chapter End

-0-

AN: Hey, thanks for reading. Yes, I know, it felt rushed at the end there and I'm sorry for that.

Anyway, criticism is always appreciated and flames will be used as fuel for my story forge. And if any of you are wondering just why Kali is working there or other things like who those dudes at the end were, it will be revealed in due time. For now, this is where I sign off.

See you next time.