Fruit Parlor Cafe

Recipes for a Fruit Parfait

Introducing the Staff: Plum

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Hey. My name is Hisagi Shūhei, 21 years old and attending TCFA in my third year. I'm going to be a stage manager sometime in the future – well, I plan to be, anyway. Stage manager or graphic designer; I'm in a double major. For the moment I work for that crazy old bastard Urahara at his weird café, the Fruit Parlor.

You may know me as the waiter Plum. Also the only technosavvy one of our entire bunch. You'd think that, us being college boys, we'd have a lot of technosavvies. Nope. Sometimes I think this is Manager's special form of torture for me. Byakuya, Uryū, Tōshirō, and Ulquiorra know their way around machines okay. Ichigo and Renji, well, you better give them really specific instructions. They listen, it's nice. Grimmjow – oh god in heaven, Grimmjow. If there was ever a man worse at tech, I think the world would explode. I really do.

Seeing as it hasn't, I think it's safe to say he's the worst at tech you're ever gonna get. Seriously, the man is a menace. What's worse is he won't admit it. He thinks it's the tech's fault it starts smoking when he gets within a foot of it.

Haaah.

Uh, anyway, in a place where I don't bitch about my coworkers, life is about as normal as you can get. I'm pretty normal too – black hair, brown eyes, pale skin, fairly tall, pretty skinny. Pretty much your average Asian guy. Except for the tattoos. I have a gray-blue stripe across my face, and a 69 on my left cheekbone. Don't ask, it's a long story. Anyway, I've also got three vertical scars over my right eye. That's another long story. It has to do with some personal issues, so don't worry about it.

So, my coworkers. In a not-bitching sense. Well, I've known Renji since forever, so let's start with him. Renji's an awesome guy. He listens, which isn't something I get a lot. They're usually too busy ogling my tattoo or ignoring me because I speak what people like to call 'technobabble.' He's also gorgeous, which he will never hear from my mouth unless a miracle happens and I muster the balls to tell him that I've been halfway in lust with him since I discovered my sexuality. Yeah, I'm openly gay. Why else would I have a fucking 69 on my face?

Moving along, Ulquiorra and Uryū give me the same kinds of blank vibes. I know there's depth to both of them, but it's so hard to get past their exteriors it's damn near impossible. Uryū's a little easier to read than Ulquiorra. If that man were any blanker, he'd be a brick wall.

Tōshirō's like a little brother. He's the youngest and the grumpiest of our mismatched little band. He's adorable, if that makes sense. He likes to pretend he doesn't care about any of us, but he really does. Ichigo's much the same way. He's less grumpy and more prone to complete misunderstandings, though.

Grimmjow is confrontational. It's really the only way I can figure out to put it. He would start fights at the drop of a hat, if he was allowed too. Fortunately for the rest of us, Urahara's got something over his head, so he doesn't. He and Ichigo have a rivalry going, and I'm half-expecting to see them kissing in dark corners any day now. Unless he starts kissing Ulquiorra first. Grimmjow gets utterly infuriated by Ulquiorra's lack of response to pretty much anything, so he tries everything to get him to react.

And, finally, Byakuya is a very aloof, detached sort of man. He's also possibly the only straight one of our group. I heard he had a fiancée, but she died in a car accident. Since then he's practically adopted her little sister, Rukia. That one is a very odd sort of relationship. I think they're both clinging to each other because they're the last each has of the woman. Like I said, hard to explain, and very sad.

"Order up!"

Well, that's my cue.