Standing in front of the kitchen counter where Roma usually prepared her ingredients, Haise was holding onto an antique kettle filled with boiling hot water; carefully tipping it forward, so the spout would pour into the coffee grounds that were funneled over a glass coffee pot. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, Miss Yoshimura, but… I thought I saw a contraption behind the barista bar that made this process automated," Haise commented, as he accidentally put too much hot water into the funnel; silently swearing, as he turned the kettle right side up to stop any more water from going into the grounded coffee beans.
Standing beside him while leaning forward with her elbows on the marble countertop, Eto had a relaxed expression on her face as she let out a throaty laugh at Haise's inquiry. "Hmmhmph…~! You would be correct, Sasaki, and yes, it certainly does make the task far less difficult than brewing it by hand," Eto replied in an amused voice. "But where's the entertainment and lesson in taking the easy way~? Besides, even if I would have started training you first on using the automated coffee machine, instead of knowing how to do it by hand, then you wouldn't have the fundamentals down to brew exceptional coffee to begin with!"
"… And besides, for as much money as I've invested into that system of glass tubing and electronic heating coils, the damn thing usually just ends up breaking down; so it's of the utmost importance that you have the knowledge to brew the perfect serving of coffee without it, on the probable chance that it goes out of order during your shift," Eto added, while keeping a close eye on the way Haise was pouring the rest of the hot water.
"Ah… Your friend wasn't lying when you said you were a fast learner; you certainly got the hang out after my prep talk. Tell me, am I truly all that inspiring, or did I just ramble on long enough for you to have corrected your circular pouring method~?" Eto asked playfully; grinning widely as she motioned with one hand for Haise to pour the finished batch of coffee into the ceramic white cup that she had set out for him.
Wanting to match her playful energy, Haise was smirking mischievously at her while he carefully raised the coffee pot to begin pouring himself a sample. "That's an "espresso-ly" hard question to answer: after all, you were talking a "latté", and quite frankly, I had a hard time giving a "frappe" about what you said," Haise said jokingly with a cheeky look of amusement on his face.
Stunned and left speechless after being hit with three consecutive coffee puns within the span of less than a few seconds, Eto's jaw remained agaped for a brief period of time, before finally an offended scoff came out of her opened mouth. "Oh wow… Those were all truly awful, Sasaki; as in, simply atrocious," Eto stated while giving Haise the impression that she genuinely meant what she said.
Just when Haise was about to apologize for his puns, Eto broke character when her lips curled into a wide smile. "… Fwahaha! Ah, I'm only messing with you, Sasaki! I absolutely have a soft spot for wordplay of any kind; especially if they're bad puns," Eto reassured with her cheeks turning a tint of pink, as she leaned up off of the table to stand facing toward where Haise was smirking back at her. "I have a joke that I'd love to share with you: would you mind if I tell it to you?" Eto asked, while excitedly waiting for Haise to finish taking a sip from his cup, so that he could respond to her inquiry.
Swishing the small amount of piping hot black coffee in his mouth, as if it were fine wine, Haise was content with the way his batch came out on his first try. 'It's far from the superb quality that Anteiku is known for, but… It's fine. It tastes like the kind of coffee they serve at Big Girl,' Haise thought to himself, before swallowing it down the hatch. "Please, I insist," Haise finally replied, as he sat the empty cup down on the counter while facing Eto with a intrigued look on his face.
Perking up the moment Haise agreed to humor her, Eto was bouncing up-and-down on her heels as she shook her fists close to her sides excitedly. "YES!!! Okay, okay, okay: the joke, gotta get to the joke now," Eto spoke aloud to herself in an attempt to regain her composure. Finding amusement from just how hard she had to try in order to calm herself down, Haise couldn't help but to feel anticipation coursing through him as he eagerly awaited to hear her joke.
Clearing her throat, Eto let out one elongated breath before finally sharing with Haise her best joke that she had. "So… A gorilla walks into a bar to order a "Banana Martini". The bartender, who's standing behind the counter and staring back at his talking ape, thinks that the whole situation is rather particular, and soon becomes lucid enough to realize that he's dreaming…"
"… He finally wakes up from his dream, and turns around while in bed with his wife to tell her all about the ridiculous dream he just had; you know— kehehe— w-what most married people would do," Eto continued; giggling to herself as she drew closer to the punchline. "Hehe…! And then that's when his wife ignores him! His marriage is in shambles, and all he can do is weep to himself, b-because he realizes that his marriage is in shambles— PFFTTTT, FWUAHAHAHA!!!" Eto started cackling hysterically, as she hunched over holding her abdomen; her skin becoming crimson as tears of joy trickled down her cheeks. "I-I CAN'T- I CAN'T B-BREATHE, PFFTTTT…!!!"
Seeing Eto losing her shit over an anti-joke that most people would have genuinely found upsetting, Haise couldn't help but to snicker at how amused the half/l-ghoul got over her own awful joke; with the primary motivator being that Eto's laugh was simply infectious. "Wow, hehehe…! I… I honestly wasn't expecting for the punchline to go in that direction; that really did catch me off guard," Haise commented in between soft chuckles, while Eto made a loud gasp as she filled her sore lungs up with much needed oxygen. "Heh… I really liked the one, actually. Thank you for telling me that joke, Miss Yoshimura; that might have been the highlight of my day."
Regaining her composure with a pleased smile across her pretty pink lips, Eto let out a comfortable sigh as she went back to leaning lazily over the marble countertop. "Hehe, yes, of course… Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't give you the obligatory disclaimer," Eto said somewhat sarcastically while playfully rolling her emerald-green eyes. "Ahem… Roma was the one who told me that joke, I take no credit for it. And just between you and I… You're the only other person who's ever found that joke to be even the least bit funny, besides yours truly," Eto revealed, while also acknowledging that she knew that the joke sucked, but still thoroughly thought it was hilarious.
Grinning bashfully as he let out a quiet yet nervous chuckle, Haise began throwing away the used coffee grounds before making his way over to the coffee grinder to make another fresh batch of grounds. "Yeah, I… I think I the way you executed the joke, and the steady build up leading to that punchline was what really made the joke funny, Miss Yoshimura," Haise mused honestly, before taking a moment to grind the coffee beans he had poured into the canister; collecting the grounds into a measuring cup that he took back to the counter.
Watching him walk away from the island counter in the middle of the large kitchen and making his way over to the other side of the kitchen where the ovens were, Eto nodded her head softly as she crossed her forearms over in another. "Precisely the point I wanted to bring up with you, Sasaki… Telling crappy jokes and making them work is a lot like making coffee: you have to put the time and effort into practicing your craft, and even then your results might not always be what you were hoping for," Eto said with a heartfelt tone in her voice, as a look of nostalgia slowly crept over her beautiful face.
"… My father used to tell me something along the lines of that when I was a just s little child trying to figure out how to make coffee just the way he did," Eto shared with a genuine tone of longing in her voice, which caused Haise to look over his shoulder while the burner was reheating the water inside the old copper-plated kettle. "He used to say that coffee was something that you had to put effort into, so the taste would always vary depending on whoever was brewing it," Eto reminisced, while thinking back to the days when she had to carry around a step-stool in order to look over the counter at what she was doing. "… He would always say that people were no different, and there was never any reason for me to get impatient when dealing with either."
Taking what she was saying to him to heart, Haise made sure to silence the whistling steam coming out of the kettle's spout by turning the burner off before it got too loud in the kitchen. "… I never knew my dad; he passed away before I was born… But for what it's worth, you have my condolences," Haise sympathized, as himself never had a father figure and didn't quite know how to empathize with what he thought Eto had been implying.
"… Condolences? Why would you give me your-OH!!! Oh, no! N-No: my father isn't dead, young man. We just… We just don't talk to one another anymore; not like how we used to," Eto clarified, while letting out a short chortle from the misunderstanding, "Ahhh... That's morbidly amusing… B-But uh, I-I am sorry to hear that your father passed away before you got the opportunity to meet him, Sasaki," Eto said empathetically, as she watched Haise walking back from the stove to where she was at. "If you ever need to talk to someone about that, or just about anything really— please— feel free to come talk to me anytime, regardless of the hour," Eto offered sincerely; smiling warmly at Haise, who felt vulnerable underneath her emerald gaze.
"Thank you, that… That means a lot, Miss Yoshimura; I'll be sure to remember that next time I… Next time that I got something on my mind," Haise replied, feeling naked without so much as a single piece of his uniform out of place; the half-ghoul's piercing stare made him feel anxious and comfortable, all at the same time. "… Ah, I almost forgot to say how much I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to work for you, Miss Yoshimura; especially with you and being so welcoming, it's… It's a lot to get used to, but just know that I'm truly thankful to be here," Haise said, as he rained his grateful praises down on the manager and her staff.
Becoming embarrassed and bashful from how much Haise's words of wishy-washy appreciation were tugging at her heartstrings, Eto took a moment to collect herself before continuing on with the rest of his training. Feeling confident that Haise would be mastering the art of brewing faster than anyone else she had ever trained before, Eto spent the next hour going over the layout of the Anteiku; giving her fellow half-ghoul the grand tour of all levels of the coffee shop, including the basement where the employee lounge and storage area were.
Impressing Haise with the numerous amounts of housing her father had added on to the top floors, back when he was still the owner of the establishment, Eto made sure to casually mention that he was free to move into his own apartment whenever he so chose to; a thoughtful offer that Haise told her that he would genuinely consider. Knowing that Haise was already more than familiar with the fenced off rooftop that she had turned into an outdoor recreational space for her and her employees, Eto chose to instead bring the young man back downstairs, so that he could begin to get familiar with the refrigerated ingredients closet.
Opening up the metal hatch to the large cold-storage room, Eto couldn't help but be impressed when she saw Haise taking out his phone to begin taking notes of everything she was telling him. Before being shown the secret meat locker that Eto kept hidden underneath a false floorboard that was too heavy for any mere human to lift on their own, the half-ghoul asked whether or not he was fine with seeing what was on the inside; warning him that there were indeed butchered human remains inside the confines of the large underground freezer.
Being no stranger to seeing gore, Haise thanked Eto for having taken his thoughts into consideration, before ensuring her that he would be fine. Cautious yet accepting of his answer, Eto slowly pried open the freezer before stepping back to allow Haise to get a look at the neatly organized contents of what was inside the "meat freezer". To his surprise, the inside of the freezer was a lot more sanitary than he thought; with all the raw human flesh neatly organized, and cut and packaged in a way that what he saw inside the freezer looked no different than what he saw being sold at the grocery store.
Seeing the look on Haise's face of disbelief, it was then that Eto playfully quipped about how even ghouls had to follow the proper food handling procedures that their human counterparts had to; half-jokingly explaining that they would lose their loyal customers if they served spoiled meat. When asked whether or not ghouls could get food poisoning, Eto answered Haise's question by telling him the story of how Naki thought it to be a good idea to dig up a corpse and bring that to his apartment; the story ending with Naki missing three days from work, due to needing to constantly be near a restroom.
Wrapping her lesson to Haise, Eto told him that ghouls who are used to eating fresh meat are usually more healthy, and could effortlessly blend in amongst humans without batting an eye. However, ghouls who ate rotting flesh would suffer negative life-altering side effects, such as becoming gaunt and sickly from being malnourished, and all would suffer from a deteriorating mental state that eventually cause them to become feral; their deaths would then be delivered swiftly by either an investigator from CCG, or by another ghoul.
After having educated Haise about the importance of proper food handling it was shortly after that Eto came to realize that they were running dangerously low on their supply of coffee creamer. When asked whether or not ghouls could even consume creamer, Eto told Haise that the creamer was meant for their human customers; reminding the young man that Anteiku served humans in more than just one way.
Taking a look at her phone, Eto took note of the time before having Haise follow her out of the cold-storage room, and into her private office. "May you be willing to go on a quick errand for me, Sasaki? I'd do it myself, but… I've got to get the sales from today accounted for, before we open tomorrow. The last thing I need here other than the CCG, is the National Tax Agency knocking down on my door," Eto quipped half-jokingly, to which earned her a mildly amused smirk from Haise.
"… Eugh, that reminds me that I have to start keeping track of my paystubs now," Haise dreaded, before immediately getting back to what Eto had asked. "Anyway… Yes, I'm more than willing to get what you need, Miss Yoshimura, but… Before I go, I have to ask where you even got your hands on those bottles of liquid coffee creamer? I've only seen them at Big Girl, and they usually only carry half-and-half," Haise asked, since liquid coffee creamer was usually only purchased online, and was almost always doubled the price that they were sold for in America.
Unable to help but to smile smuggly af the question, Eto opened up the small designer backpack that was placed on top of her desk, smiling as she took out her wallet. "Hmph! I've got connections, young man; getting a steady supply of coffee creamer in Tokyo is the least impressive thing I'm capable of," Eto said with a slightly playful tone, although the look on her face told Haise that she meant what she was implying.
"I'm going to text you the address to this place called "Helter Skelter"; on the outside, it looks like your run of the mill late-night bar… Go inside, and speak to the bar owner, and tell her I sent you there to pick up some coffee mate. I'll even let you choose the flavor; my human customers do adore trying the "weekly special"," Eto commanded in a domineering voice, which once again made Haise think back to what Miza had told him, about how all of them had been in a gang at one point.
Being told to verify that he understood what his assignment was, Haise took the money from Eto, and left Anteiku only after his manager confirmed that he had gotten her text message. Given the location name, address, and a picture of the peach-haired ghoul who he was supposed to make contact with, Haise was instructed to go out in street clothes, so as to avoid being affiliated with Anteiku by either CCG, or by anyone else who could be a potential threat to them. Given how Eto was treating his task more like a secret operation than a simple grocery trip, Haise couldn't help but wonder what the bubbly green-haired woman was like as a person, before she took over her father's coffee shop.