"Man, who knew eating at uni could be so damn expensive?"

Kaito had been wandering around the food court of Hope's Peak University for the past half-hour, trying to find something to eat for lunch. Unfortunately, college cuisine prices weren't too kind to broke students such as himself.

"I think the universe is telling you to get a job."

That comment came from Kokichi, Kaito's friend (...Well, sort of. It was more of a convenience thing.), who decided to tag along—despite the many, many, many times Kaito specifically said not to.

Kaito scoffed. "Right, because you know so much about jobs."

"I know more than you," Kokichi shot back. "At least I can actually save my money."

"I do know how to save my money, actually." Okay, maybe Kaito's statement wasn't completely true, but he'd be damned if he let Kokichi of all people have the last laugh. "I still have some of my savings left!"

"Not enough to buy some decent food, that's for sure."

Kaito clenched his fists and grumbled. "Hey, if you're gonna tag along and annoy me, can you at least help me find a cheap place we can eat at?"

"Ha!" Kokichi laughed. "So you admit you're broke! But, fine. We'll be here all day if I don't."

Kaito rolled his eyes, but continued with his own search nonetheless. He could barely turn his head, however, before Kokichi had latched onto his wrist and practically began dragging him through the wave of people bustling through the food court.

"H-Hey! Slow down!"

Kokichi did, eventually, slow down once they'd reached a rather secluded part of the court.

"Ta-da!"

Kokichi gestured grandly at the building before them; it was a cozy little building, painted an oak brown. Several plants were intricately placed along the windowsills, and a chalkboard sign sat just outside the door, listing off the day's specials in different colors.

Kaito stared for a bit longer before looking back at Kokichi, who was giving him a smug smile.

"Am I a genius or what?"

Kaito, however, furrowed his brows. "...A cafe? But they're so...lame."

Kokichi's smile dropped into a frown. "What do you mean by that? Cafes are totally un-lame!"

"To you, maybe. But..." Kaito awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know, man... They're just not my thing, I guess. We should go somewhere else. C'mon."

Kaito began to walk off, while Kokichi stayed back and watched, still frowning. Suddenly, that frown twisted into an amused smile, and he shrugged. "Oh, I get it. You're just too chicken to step foot inside a cafe, right?"

That statement caused Kaito to stop dead in his tracks and whip around, leveling Kokichi with narrowed eyes as he stomped back over to Kokichi. "Who the hell are you calling chicken?"

"If you weren't, then you'd have no problem eating at a cafe, right?"

"I'm not chicken! I already told you, they're just not my thing!"

Kokichi's smirk only grew wider in response. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, then?—what little of it you have, anyway."

"What, you mean a bet?"

"Yup," Kokichi replied, putting emphasis on the "p". He gestured to the building. "I dare you to go inside and buy one of the baristas something from there. Every day. For a month."

Kaito pursed his lips. "And what do I get if I win?"

"I'll pay you 7,000 yen at the end of the month."

"7,000 yen?" Kaito scratched at his goatee in thought. "Huh, that's not half bad."

"Of course, if you don't last the whole month, then that means you lose. And you'll be my personal servant for the entire month after this one. So... Do we have a deal?"

Kaito stared at Kokichi's outstretched hand for a long moment. He already knew his answer, of course—Kaito was not one to back down from a challenge, after all, so he wasn't exactly sure why he was so hesitant.

Ultimately, he shook the thoughts from his mind and took Kokichi's hand in a handshake. "You know what? It's a deal."

As the two pulled away, Kokichi spoke. "May the best man win."

Kaito simply nodded and glanced over at the cafe again. Looking back at Kokichi, he told him, "Stay here. I'll be right back."

With that, Kaito steeled himself before marching through the doors of the building, the chime of the bell above the door announcing his presence.

The inside of the cafe was just as cozy as the outside; more plants were placed on the tables and even hanging from the ceiling, and soft music played throughout.

Kaito strolled up to the counter, where a barista stood waiting. The barista was a blue-haired guy, who seemed to be about the same age as Kaito. He wore a polite smile, although his lack of eye contact and general posture gave his awkwardness away.

Kaito couldn't help but frown at that.

"Ah, hello..." the barista greeted. "Are you ready to order?"

"Uh, yeah, I'd like..." Kaito scratched at his goatee as he glanced at the menu overhead, examining the various foods and beverages the cafe had to offer. They were all pretty cheap—thank god—but he eventually decided on something simple. "Two coffees, please! Medium."

"Alright, and what type of coffee would you like?"

"Hmm... What would you recommend?"

The barista shot Kaito a look. "Eh? Me?" Kaito nodded, and he continued with, "Well, uhm... I personally prefer black coffee. Ah, but that's just my opinion, of course..."

"Really? Huh. Alright, I'll take one black coffee and one light roast coffee, then."

The barista nodded and pinned the order in the register as Kaito took the money from his pocket and handed it over. The barista then retrieved two cups and a marker before glancing at Kaito expectantly.

"Name?"

"Kaito."

The barista nodded again and scribbled down Kaito's name on one of the cups before turning around to complete his order.

As he waited for his order, Kaito hummed to himself as he turned around and surveyed the cafe. That's when he realized that, besides himself, there were no other customers inhabiting the building. It was a strange sight to see, considering the rest of the food court was packed.

Then again, people didn't really go to cafes for lunch, did they? It made sense, the longer Kaito thought about it. But that raised another question: was the barista really working here all by himself? He didn't see anyone else behind the counter, after all.

Kaito turned back around, ready to say something about it, only to see the barista holding out the two coffees towards him.

"Thanks." Kaito grinned as he took the coffees, inspecting the cups see see which one contained the light roast coffee. Once he'd figured it out, he handed the other cup, the one that contained the black coffee, to the barista.

"H-Huh?" The barista eyed the drink in bewilderment. "Why are you giving that to me?"

"Listen up!" Kaito proclaimed straightforwardly, making the barista jump slightly. "I'll be buying you something from here every day! And I won't let you refuse, either!"

The barista blinked in response, trying to process what was just said. "Okay...? Um, can I ask why?"

Kaito stayed silent for a moment. He wanted to tell the truth, but for some reason, something told him that would be a bad idea. So, instead, he responded with—

"I'm just making the world a better place, ya know? So, you don't even have to pay me back."

—which technically wasn't a lie. Sure, Kaito was focused on the bet first and foremost, but it was still nice to possibly make someone's day better.

The barista's expression remained unsure, as if he knew Kaito wasn't telling the whole truth. If he did, though, he didn't voice his doubts, instead opting for a small nod. "Um... Well, that's fine, I guess..."

"Great!" Kaito grinned. "We're gonna be seeing a lot of each other, so let's just break the ice! I already told you this, but the name's Kaito! Nice to meet ya!"

"Ah, I'm Shuichi..." The barista pointed to the name tag pinned to the apron he wore over his uniform. "It's nice to meet you, too..."

"Shuichi, huh?" Kaito nodded as he glanced over to the small clock on the wall in front of him, and his eyes widened. "Shit! Sorry, I gotta go or I'll be late for my class! See you tomorrow!"

Kaito waved goodbye to Shuichi before leaving, the bell chiming as the door shut behind him.

Shuichi stared blankly at the door for a few moments, even after Kaito was long gone.

It was funny, the whole thing. Someone he didn't even know coming into the cafe he worked at (which barely got any business, fyi) and offering to buy him something from it?—yeah, you didn't experience that every day.

Shuichi was sure Kaede would get a laugh out of it, at the very least.

Speaking of his friend/co-worker, he came face-to-face with her as he turned around to drink his coffee in the break room. She wore a smirk on her face as she stared at Shuichi with a knowing look.

"What?"

"I saw everything," Kaede replied, barely containing her excitement. "You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend, Shuichi!"

"Eh? B-Boyfriend?!" Shuichi averted his eyes. "That's n-not..."

"Come on, you can tell me! Who else would buy a coffee for you like that?"

Kaede pointed at the cup in question, which Shuichi began to fiddle with. "I... I don't even know who he was..."

Kaede's brows furrowed. "Really?"

Shuichi nodded.

"Huh, that's weird."

"Yeah..." Shuichi agreed, examining the coffee. "I think it might be some sort of prank, but..."

Kaede put a hand on Shuichi's shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it, Shuichi. But if it does turns out to be a prank, then I'll make sure to kick that guy's butt for you!"

Shuichi chuckled. "You don't have to go that far... But thanks, Kaede."

Kaede giggled. "No problem."

"Jeez, Kaito, you didn't even bother to get me some coffee?"

Kokichi pouted at his friend as the two navigated their way through the food court, which had now began to disperse.

"I only had enough to buy me and the barista a coffee," Kaito defended, taking a sip of said coffee. How long had it been since he had coffee, anyway? It'd definitely been a while.

"Really? What was the barista's name?"

"His name was... Shuichi."

"Oh. Was he cute?"

That question caught Kaito off-guard, as he briefly choked on his coffee. "What? I don't know... Maybe? Wait, why the hell does that even matter?!"

Kokichi hummed. "No reason. But, I do wanna know: what are we gonna do about lunch?"

Kaito froze in his tracks and mentally face-palmed; he forgot to buy the thing that caused this whole situation in the first place. Kaito couldn't go back to the cafe either, because A.) he didn't have any money left, and B.) if he did go back, he would most definitely be late for class.

Fuck.

Author's Note: Can you tell I know jack shit about coffee?

Anyways! Hello, Saimota nation! How y'all doing? I'm here with a fluffy cafe/university AU. What did you think about this chapter?

And I think that's it. I hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading; I appreciate any and all criticism. Also, if you're interested in chatting about the story (or just talking to me in general), feel free to find me on Tumblr at strawberrymixt. Until next time!