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Jinta gives her the usual greeting: blushing, scowling, and making a sound akin to a puppy being stepped on. Tessai hushes him with a firm shoulder squeeze.
"Jinta, you were doing so well with customers," he scolds. "Please do not force us to return to stealthy supervision tactics. Now, please give our new employee, Yuzu, a proper greeting."
He blushes, pouts, but relents and gives her a tiny wave. "I already know her. Yuzu practically comes in every day for all the snacks she can
get."
Tessai, either having forgotten her presence or eager that she adjust, hoists him by his shirt and begins scolding his manners. Yuzu sighs and shakes her head. Its nearly like being home except with less destruction, noise, and much gentler employees. Ururu maintains a safe distance from their normal chaos and gives her a welcoming albeit nervous smile.
"Please don't be offended," she says and motions for her to come outside. "We really are pleased to have you join us as an employee."
"It feels very much like home," she promises. "What should we begin with?"
Ururu guides her behind the shop and grabs two brooms. "I always like beginning with sweeping outside and then moving inside. I usually manage organization and stock while Mister Kisuke, Mister Tessai, and Jinta manage the front, but we can switch around as you become more comfortable."
Mister-Hat-and-Clogs or Mister Kisuke (she makes a note to ask him) has moved and been replaced by a small black cat. It appears completely unbothered with their arrival, blinking, and twitching its tail back and forth. Ururu nods a greeting and begins sweeping without further acknowledgment. Yuzu begins sweeping and neither speaks, absorbed into their task. It's not until she approaches the cat does she pause and look toward her coworker for help.
"Yoruichi will move." Ururu shrugs. "Give her a mild nudge with the broom and she'll move. You needn't worry about being bitten or scratched."
Ururu certainly doesn't seem the person who enjoys playing pranks, especially on new employees, but Yuzu still approaches with caution. She gives Yoruichi a nervous smile and slowly pushes the broom towards her.
Any domesticity Yoruichi might have disappears as she approaches with the broom. Her tail ceases twitching and curls tightly. Her fur bristles and a growl rise from her chest.
Stepping closer receives a spit and her tail curls even tighter. Ururu leans against her broom and watches with a deepening frown.
"She never acts like this," she murmurs. "Sometimes she might need time to get used to people. We can switch places or we can save sweeping for later."
Yuzu raises her chin and pushes the broom closer. A distrustful animal is not much different than caring for hysterical patients. It carries similar risks: biting, scratching, or worse having them become attached to her leg. Yoruichi rises and gives her a long unblinking stare before she turns and struts away.
"We just need time to get used to one another," she says. "I've worked with far worse patients than a distrustful cat."
Her lightest tiptoeing and silkiest tone are not enough to dissuade her distrust, though. Yuzu attempts maintaining a polite distance and giving her the appropriate time to move away. She attempts carefully nudging her with her broom and foot. Yoruichi remains unmoving, though and increases her hostility.
"You're such a grouch," Kisuke scolds and hoists her into his arms. "Would you like to become an outdoor cat again?"
Yuzu frantically shakes her head. "You don't need to change her environment to accommodate me. I've disrupted her world and I would probably react similarly as a cat or dog…"
Kisuke watches her with increasing amusement as she trails off. "I already decided you were cute when Tessai came up here with you. This rambling only intensifies the cute factor."
Her cheeks, chest, and neck are flaring pink again. Kisuke grins and curls the cats tail around his finger. It's not like this is her first compliment. Patients have called her cute before, but those compliments typically come under heavy sedation and are more amusing than meaningful. His expression is pure amusement, edging back towards that hunger, and it certainly isn't coming from sedation.
"Does every employee receive this spiel?"
He snorts and shakes his head. "I'd pay to see someone call Jinta cute, and it never comes up with Tessai or Ururu."
"I know Jinta and Tessai refer to you as the boss," she says. "Ururu calls you Mister Kisuke and my brother…"
"I know what he calls me," he replies. "You can just call me Kisuke."
Yoruichi chooses that moment to decide she's received enough coddling, and squirms from his arms. She struts away with her nose turned up. Yuzu watches her go with a mild sense of guilt pinching her gut.
"I know some animals just have a poor temperament," she murmurs. "Did something happen to her, though? I don't want to her create a stressful environment for her."
He leans back and purses his lips into a thin line.
"I've been chosen as her human, and she has difficulty sharing, especially with new people.
"I'll just try and slowly earn her trust," she decides. "Just please don't make her an outdoor cat."
"You're in for a fight."
Her nursing experience and encouragement give her no preparation for Yoruichi's next move.
Tessai gives her and Ururu water bottles and a warning to please stay hydrated while doing inventory. Yuzu intends on nursing her water as she's still unaccustomed to the environment, but the walk from school, sweeping, and now being in the cramped storage room stockpile. Her tiny sips become timid gulps and then she's practically inhaling the bottle. A few hurried instructions from Ururu and she's racing through the twisting hallways but stops short.
Yoruichi lies in front of the bathroom with a smug expression. Her thighs squeeze together. Her stomach drops heavier and heavier with the weight in her bladder. Nudging her isn't going to work and she doesn't have the broom. She attempts shifting her weight from one foot to the other does nothing to relieve the pressure.
Yuzu shuffles with her thighs pressed tightly together but stop with a gasp when she hears the low throaty chuckle.
Kisuke watches her with a smirk. She hunches forward, desperate now to hide her growing shame. she won't be humiliated here like this.
"I need the bathroom," she gasps. "Would you move her please?"
His smirk dissolves into feigned confusion.
"Would I move her? I could move her…"
Her thighs quake and her voice comes out a whimper. "Could you move her please?"
"I could move her," he murmurs. "I sure like this show, though."
Her stomach cramps and she feels like sobbing.
Kisuke moves slower than drizzling honey, cooing as he crouches to pick her up. Wait, he's enjoying this, and did he just refer to this as a show? Her thighs shake and he gives her a long slow smile as he drags a hand over the cats back. She unleashes a low delighted purr and she's tempted to rush past him, but that might just cost her the job.
"Tessai asked me to tell you something," he says. "I forgot what it was, though…"
"Could it wait?" she begs. "Please, could it wait?"
"I suppose it could wait," he says. "You better hurry up there. You look ready to burst."