A Foxy Logo

As much as he felt uncomfortable having someone just give him an industrial stand mixer, he had to admit that was a god send. No longer did he have to toil; kneading the dough for his baking needs, now he could have as many pastries as he wanted. He could now make giant batches of bagels and it couldn't have come at a better time as the shift workers came out in droves.

"A dozen everything bagels and a coffee!" A voice screamed out from the crowd he had gathered up. The streaming throng of tired shift workers, each trying to vye a spot in line.

With thongs in hands, he bagged them as swiftly as he could. Sneaking in a thirteenth piece and emptying the tray, he gave his customer his order with a smile on his face, "That'll be thirteen eddies!" He replied.

In keeping with tradition, he kept his prices at a reasonable eddie per item. It was a bit more expensive than his pizza but hey, he was using real sesame and poppy seeds here! Not that it would have cost him anything, but it was the principle of the thing.

As the man paid him and retreated into the crowd, he turned to them and shouted, "That's the last of this batch! Next batch will be in a few minutes!" There were some groans and shouts of protest from the crowd, but they remained civil, staying in line.

Glancing over to the empty box of paper cups he had, he then added, "A reminder to everyone! We ran out of coffee cups so bring your own if you want to get served!" He had severely underestimated just how much coffee people needed.
Loading up another batch of beans in his coffee maker, he wiped the sweat off his forehead as he turned towards his last batch waiting to be thrown in the oven. As fun as it was to make bagels, this was more of his new morning routine. The real dish of the day had yet to be picked; he was thinking mexican.

With the lull between batches he had some time to sit down and enjoy a drink. Leaning down under the counter, he made himself a nice and cold NiCola. Getting back up, he had been rather curious about this drink ever since he'd gotten there. It was just everywhere, and he was more of a fan of the Red and White aside that. Now, he wanted to try it for a change and he needed cola for his Carnita's anyways, so he might as well use some of the more local flavors.

"Let's see what you got, NiCola," He said out loud as he took a drink before setting it down on the counter. Shaking his head and wincing he noted, "Fucking hell that was strong." The fizzy, artificial taste of cough syrup clung to his tongue, refusing to be washed down as he got himself a glass of water. He also found it mildly alcoholic, but that might be more of the classic flavor he made. He'd expected Coca Cola or Pepsi, not something that'd be more at home in a frat house.

Looking over to the opened bottle, he grimaced as he grabbed it and chugged it down. Waste not, want not; that was the motto. He opened it so now he was going to finish it.

As he drank his can, he turned over to the sign Kiwi had set up. The clean lines, tasteful design, and calligraphy were just a sight to behold. Along with the art, he knew that he needed to use it from here on out. It was Kiwi's art, however, so he needed her permission. Dialing her number, he waited for her to pick up.

It wouldn't take long for the grumpy woman to answer; immediately telling him, "I want a dozen poppy seed bagels for myself and a dozen cinnamon sugar bagels for Lucy. I swear that girl has quite the sweet tooth."

He was taken aback by the rather abrupt reply, "I… how the hell did you know I'm making bagels?" He asked.

He heard a snort on the other end of the line as she replied, "News travels fast, kid, and you're Night City's hottest new topic," Chuckling, the woman continued, "Who knows, maybe you'll actually get rich by selling at an eddie a piece for whatever you have on sale."

"Fair enough, I suppose," He nodded as he glanced over to the crowd to check for cameras. Thankfully, there was none that he could see at least. Turning his attention back to the call, he then said, "Anyways, I called you because I'm planning on using your art for my store. Is that ok?"

"You want my doodle for your store? Why the hell do you even need to ask? It's already there anyway, so use it," She replied in a mildly scolding tone, "I mean, it's just a quick and dirty doddle anyway, so there's no harm done."

He breathed a sigh of relief at her answer. "It's more of a courtesy call," he explained as he took another sip from his can and finding it more palatable. He had to admit, he was slowly getting used to the taste. The mild buzz was an added bonus. "But are you sure though? It has your chibi on it and I could trade mark it you know," He then told her.

"You're not that type of kid," The woman chuckled, "You're one of those soft ones, the type that'll get eaten up by a corpo if they ever managed to get you to sign something." Hearing a puff of smoke from the other end, she then added, "Word of advice, stay the hell away from Corpos if you know what's good for you. Trust me on this one."

"Alright," he nodded. Thinking about it, his brand might become a trophy for them. He'd probably have to face someone trying to buy him out one of these days, but not now. "Oh one last thing, I'll be making a small edit to your chibi. Just a small addition to fit in with the name of the store."

There was short pause on the other end of the line before she asked him, "What kind of edits?" He shivered at the impending sense of doom coming from the other end of the line but as he stared at her chibi, he couldn't help but want to add it. Those fluffy features were just perfect for the store if she was going to be a mascot.

"Thinking of adding fox ears," he admitted as he grabbed a chopstick and used it as a stylus to make his edit. Finding a template online, he then added, "It's honestly a perfect fit for you, you know. Just a crafty gumiho like in the legends of old."

"You added fox ears to my Chibi?" The woman hissed out as he heard choking laughter in the background. "I will stab you," She then grounded out. It was too late however and now he was a proud owner of a fox-eared Kiwi.

"I'll get a courier to get you your order," He replied as he started dialing another number. "Thanks for the drawing, bye~" He quickly added before closing the line. He was going to die the next time he met Kiwi but, looking over the doodle, it was well worth it.

A/N:

Seoul Kitchen finally got its mascot and Kiwi is not a happy camper. Chef would have to watch his back around the old gumiho or he'll have his liver eaten! Or so Lucy claims. Whether there is truth to this is an entirely different matter.

Oh yeah, sorry about forgetting to post these... I kinda forgot? Got really busy trying to get some chapters out for another fic. The next chapter for this is already beta'd though so there should be another chapter dropping either monday or tuesday? Depends really.

Anyways, I'd like to thank vyor once more for making this possible. Praise be vyor cause he actually puts up with my shenanigans . Now if you want to support me or want to read some fic chapters in advance, consider dropping by either or Ko-Fi. Without my s, I wouldn't have been able to write this.