Chapter 8: Tastes like coffee

"I'm just assuming this is the first time you said that outside of your little group. I can respect you've probably put a lot of time into finding us. I can also respect that what you just said was in fact interesting." A short young man in sky blue jacket leaned forward in his side of the sofa, eyeing Cinder sceptically. "However, let me be the first person to say you are full of shit."

Four people sat in a small room. It housed a red sofa, a coffee table, and an armchair which the pyro currently sat on. The young man currently sat on the right-most side of the sofa, an aura of grouchiness surrounding him.

Cinder had been expecting something along those lines to be said. After all, what she had just offered him was something only the mad could come up with. Well, the mad and the informed.

"While I understand that my offer may be outlandish-"

"Understatement of the year." A ginger haired fox faunus muttered quietly, playing some form of game on her scroll. "Not only are you saying we'll become stronger and faster, you'll also saying that eating people will make us more so." She chuckled softly into her oversized pink sweater. "Ridiculous, isn't it right Ra?"

On her left sat a huge man, covered by a pale green hood. The man nodded, apparently not in the mood to speak. What was visible of his face betrayed his stoicism as it showed the faintest traces of nervousness.

"You need to understand." The young man said. "We're cannibals. What we do is not exactly considered a great. In fact were anyone to find out what we do, we'd be executed." A deep scowl formed on his face. "The fact that you already knew that is problematic for us. Not only that, but then you show up at our hideout spouting bullshit about making us more powerful than hunters."

"If my information is correct, you already have basic hunter training." Cinder commented. "The surgery boosts natural ability. If you can learn to use that ability, I have no doubts that you can surpass even the greatest hunters." Unlike the three before her, Cinder knew that statement was only partly true. The ghoul she was already working with would have difficulty facing a great hunter, even if that was only because he avoided using his 'kakuja'. Considering what it did to him, it was for the probably for the best.

"There's no proof that this surgery of yours could actually make us stronger." The fox faunus said as she pocketed her scroll. "Unless you actually have something that can prove your legitimacy, I don't see why we should let you leave this room in one piece."

"A fair point." Cinder admitted before pulling out her own scroll and laying it on the table. The image of a white haired man in a mask appeared on the screen. "My proof." The pyro gestured to the scroll. The large man picked it up, studying the picture then opening up a bio on the other open tab. After a few brief moments he passed it to the faunus, who after reading through it also passed it along.

"You've done this already." The short man finally spoke. A grin formed on his face as he looked back up at Cinder. "You should have told us this before. This process could have been much smoother."

"I blame you." The faunus told him. The man grumbled something incoherent before addressing the pyro.

"So who is this guy anyway? The bio just calls him 'Eyepatch'."

"I like to keep as much personal information off of hardware as possible." Recently, Cinder had confirmed someone had been spying on her operations. She became slightly more cautious but any more so, and she'd be delaying her plans. "However, since this is person to person, and this information is essentially useless to you anyway, I suppose I can divulge his name for you, Mr. Verlede."

"His name is Kaneki Ken."

Business trips from Atlas are uncommon.

There are plenty of business trips to Atlas, sure. Generally though, reasons to leave the northern kingdom for work were few and very far between. However any excuse to get out of the cold was welcomed by the bespectacled man in his suit.

The trip was coming to an end, and he wasn't sure how to spend his last afternoon in Vale. There had been a few options but none of them really appealed to him except for one.

He'd always wanted to try Vale's coffee.

It sounded strange, but considering the hours he worked, infatuation with caffeine was acceptable to say the least. He had heard the the kingdom offered a large variety of coffee, each tasting wildly different from the other. Since they only grew one type of coffee bean in Atlas, the idea of tasting new types of fresh coffee appealed greatly to the man.

Several hours passed with him moving from themed coffee shop to coffee shop. They we're all as good as the rumour said. He could help but feel envious of the people of Vale.

Then he found a coffee shop on a quiet street. Not a single car or truck passed through it as people of various ages walked and chatted. It was unlike other streets he had seen these past few days. The shop itself seemed deserted, apart from an unidentifiable figure standing behind what appeared to be a counter.

The man saw no reason not to enter.

Inside the shop held a simplistic set-up, unlike the ones he had visited earlier. Wooden tables and chairs, all looking moderately high priced. There were a few bar stools at the counter but that's the only differentiation from a regular coffee shop he had seen.

Behind the counter was a smiling young man with simple black hair and piercing blue eyes. The young man came out from behind the counter and bowed.

"Welcome to Shizukana Yume." The man said brightly. "Would you care for some coffee?"

The politeness of the young man startled him. The young ones who had served him in the other shops had been quite flippant. This man seemed quite humble. He wore a beige shirt, some neat black pants, a short tie and a rather small white apron with several pockets at his side. The only thing that truly strayed from uniform was a blue glowing bracelet at his side, but that was acceptable for someone as young as him.

The man suddenly realised the man was patiently waiting for an answer. "Uh, yes. I'll just have some coffee."

"Do you want anything with it like cream or sugar?" The man asked.

"No, black is fine." The bespectacled man said before looking for a place to sit. The entire shop was open to him, so he decide to take a seat near the window. He took off his glasses and tucked them into his breast pocket, seeing as how they were mostly for the sake of his clients.

Within a few minutes, the young man had brought his coffee over.

"I'm surprised there aren't any people in here." The businessman said as he looked out the window.

"It just opened today, so I'm not surprised." The young man said as he placed the coffee down on the table. "You're actually my first customer."

"Oh really? The businessman mused. His eyes widened as he processed what the young man had said. "Wait, yourfirst customer?"

"Yes. I'm the manager and currently the only one working here." The young man said. The businessman was shocked. Someone so young could afford to open up a coffee shop?

"That's very impressive for someone your age. How old are you, exactly? Twenty three? Twenty two?"

"I'm twenty." The businessman stared in shock.

"Very impressive." He said, picking up his cup and taking a small sip.

It was the best sip he ever had.

Quickly gulping the rest down in as polite a manner as he could, he marvelled at the now empty cup. The other places had been good, but this? This was on a whole new level.

"Absolutely incredible." The businessman said. "What beans do you use exactly?"

"Atlesian." His eyes went wide again.

"I don't think so." He exhaled out. "I come from Atlas. And I always have my coffee fresh. I would have known if the coffee it made could be this good."

"Well the beans are only part of making the coffee." The young man countered. "Brewing time and technique are also important. So are the equipment you use. And then there's your own personal experience with making coffee."

The businessman stared into the cup in his hands as he processed what the young man said. "Do you want another cup, sir?" The businessman blinked out of his trance.

"Uh, yes. Yes I would." He handed his cup and saucer to the manager, who turned and left to brew some more coffee. "I'm Seryy, by the way. Seryy Derevo." The young man smiled back at him.

"Ritoru Joku."

Seryy sighed contently as he left. He had no doubt that the young man Ritoru's shop would thrive. Giving one final wave as the sun began to set, he promised to visit on his next business trip to Vale. The young man bowed and said he looked forward to his visit.

The the businessman out of sight, Ritoru let out his own relieved sigh, walking to the outside window shutters and closing them. As he re-entered the shop, he pondered over the events of the day. Yume had it's first customer that day, and that was something to celebrate. When he got some other staff, he could think of getting a few posters printed and advertised. He smiled to himself as he pulled a small box out on of his apron pockets. Using a free hand, he removed the blue contacts from his eyes, revealing their natural gray color.

His smile quickly turned into a smirk.

"So what exactly does 'Shizukana Yume' mean?" The businessman had asked as the manager brought him a sandwich. The manager smiled politely at him.

"It means 'Quiet Dream'."

Arc Two

A/N: So yeah, OCs.

Not really my thing, mostly either because they're a hit, or they're a really bad miss. At least from what I've seen.

I hope these are a hit, though.

Also:

Are you fucking ready?!

We'll find out next time I guess. Thanks for stopping by.