Arc 0.5: The Introduction
Chapter: The Interview [I]
At a first glance, Anteiku appeared plain and pleasant. However, the first waiter he encountered inside the café set off a few alarm bells. The young man had wanted to ask a simple question in a polite tone, but the words which came out of his mouth were, "What the hell happened to your eye?"
From what the young man could tell, not a lot of people had asked the waiter this question, because he didn't have the answer rehearsed. "Um, I have Amblyopia. An ophthalmologist suggested I wear an eye patch over my stronger eye. It's supposed to make my weaker eye work harder and hopefully strengthen the optic nerves."
The young man raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a bit too old to have lazy eye? Last time I checked that particular condition developed in children."
The waiter wasn't expecting a follow up question. His response was flimsy at best. "From what the doctor told me, it happens later in life too. Now," he plastered a forced smile on his face. "My name is Ken Kaneki. How may I help you?"
The young man knew when to stop digging. "Right, erm, I don't know whether you can book reservations in this fine establishment, but I'm looking for a guy named Izaya Orihara."
The waiter's smile faltered for a bit. But he tried to act professional. "Normally, we don't reserve tables. This is a café, not a restaurant. But sometimes exceptions have to be made. Please come this way."
The young man followed the waiter. The café had two floors. The ground floor was the café itself, where the customers entered and the coffee was brewed. But the waiter with the eye patch took a flight of stairs and started to leave the lower main area.
"Not exactly your average neighbourhood café is it?" The young man observed. "Where are we going?"
"The upper floor. Now this isn't in the employee handbook, but the lower level is mostly preferred by couples, people who are out on dates or guys who just want to hang out. But the upper level is preferred by businessmen and office workers who value their privacy and want to keep working while enjoying their cup of coffee. It's the ideal place to hold a private meeting."
The young man was impressed. "I didn't say I was here for a meeting."
"You did not." The waiter responded. "But Orihara-san has been coming here for a while now and he always heads for the upper floor. Says this place has the best coffee in town."
"That's quite a high praise. Doesn't explain why he prefers the upper floor though." The young man added.
"Oh, he's always here with his laptop; working." The waiter replied. "I guess a busy man like him prefers some privacy." He hesitated a little before adding. "He likes to look down on people."
The young man raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly a crime."
The waiter blinked before realizing what he had just said and how it could be misinterpreted. "Oh no! I apologize. It's not what I meant. It's just, you were wondering about why Orihara-san prefers the upper floor and I was trying to say that he likes to watch people down at the lower level or out on the streets. This place gives him the best vantage point. I didn't mean anything else by it."
"If you say so." The young man decided to allay the waiter's fears. "Don't worry, I won't tell Orihara-san that you had a minor slip of the tongue and accidentally spoke your mind. If everything works out in my favour, I will leave a big tip for you when I leave."
The waiter looked embarrassed. "Um, customer-san, in Japan you don't tip waiters."
The young man resisted the urge to curse. "Right. Forgot all about it. Please don't think of it as an insult."
The waiter smiled. "Of course not. We get a few tourists every now and then."
It was not meant to be an insult. "I'm not a tourist. I just spent a lot of time abroad."
The waiter realized he had made another mistake. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean -"
The young man waved him off.
He wasn't interested in apologies.
They were on the upper floor and the difference between the two levels was easily noticeable. While the café at the ground floor offered two chairs and a small table to make the experience more intimate, the upper floor had proper booths to handle more than a couple of people to work out their respective businesses. The area had its own separate coffee bar and if he had to guess, the coffee brewed in this place tasted much better. He imagined the patrons who reserved a seat at the top had expensive tastes.
The waiter with the eye patch brought him to a booth at the back. The young man was expecting to meet up with a single man, but instead he was greeted by a group of individuals. Four to be exact. And he didn't know any one of them. This set off a few more red flags.
The young man turned on the waiter. "Where's Izaya Orihara?"
The waiter remained professional. "I can't tell you sir. But this is the table booked under his name."
The young man got the distinct impression that he was under observation. Everyone at the table was watching him.
The interview had already begun.