[IC] Let's Have A Bakery type of Roleplay!

[Hibiki No Echo]

It was cold, to say the least. Goosebumps were on his body as condensed air was breathed out from his cold exposed lips. He folded his arms,damn it was freezing. His head pounded as he walk towards the white covered building where the demon woman lied. "Hah... it's so freaking goddamn cold." The short boy cursed. Normally he would be unfazed, however the Yakuza were party animals and decided, "Who cares? Your the heir of the Kunazumi family, let your hair down!". That's what he did, only to wake up to a massive headache and dizziness. Putting last night's events behind him, he continued to walk, more the snow would crunch and more this footprints would be indented. He could feel the sun slowly trying to break it's way through the snow. No one was really here, of course it's pretty early in the morning. He reached his humble destination. Sighing, he opened the shutter and unlocked the door with clunk!

It was... dark. To say the least. He took a step, into the unknown. Crack.... Was that glass? Oh, hell no. He walked to were the light was and with a click it flickered on. What happened next shocked the hell out of him.

There was glass on the floor, a young lady sprawled out beside said glass and red liquid appearing to come from under her. What the hell? Running to his fallen master he tried to shake her, seeing if she was alive or not. "Lila-sama! Are you alright? Are you okay?" Panicking, he tried to see if there was any signs of life in her. Fortunately for him, her teal eyes fluttered open.

"Oh... Kiku-kun? Is it morning already?". Her groggy voice was obvious. She was tired but alive. He sighed in relief. "I must have had too much to drink, my head is pounding. Ugh... I think I fell on strawberry coulis. Hey, is that the sugar glass? What on earth happened?". Wasn't he supposed to do the questioning? With an obviously annoyed look, he gave a cute pout as he sighed. "You threw a New Years Party remember? I think you got drunk? Hold up, did you give any minors drinks?".

It was just another day at the bakery. Wonderful. Freaking. Ful.

[Major Ursa]

Maybe if he were his former self, maybe Sakaki would have been an hour or two early for work. Nowadays, he was usually fashionably late, though never more than 15-minutes tops. The morning was crisp, and he had been awoken by the sound of the wind blowing outside. The sharp whistling slicing through his shallow dreams, and spilling out his consciousness back into the world of the waking. Awakening…to a minor headache. A slight hangover. He’d brought and drank most of his share of wine and brandy last night…oh god, there were minors taking a sip or two, if he recalled correctly. And if he recalled further, nothing bad happened when he had been in…but something might've happened after he left. Maybe going in early would be the nice thing to do…?

Pushing the covers off, scratching his stomach before reaching up and scratching his hair, he sat up on the king sized bad and set his feet on the wood floors. Some, no, most people craved a warm and filling breakfast in the morning…but not him. Sakaki only had one thing in mind, and that was a sweet and cool, moist cake. Of course, if he lived his life only eating cake, he’d live a shorter life…and that wouldn’t do. He had to live long enough to fully enough cake in a more healthy manner, this he was certain. And so, a more normal ‘western style’ breakfast was made.

Two sunny-side up eggs, four strips of bacon, a small portion of ‘breakfast rice’, and a glass or orange juice. Taking his time, and flipping through his usual baking magazine…’Hmmm…that looks good, but the amount of sugar used in this recipe means that it’d be overly sweet. Surely less of a sophisticated taste, but likeable and even popular to young children.’ Musing to himself and he ate on, soon everything on his plate was finished. Shoving his plate into the empty sink, he returned to his bedroom to sort of his outfit for today. Undershirt, black jeans, a white dress shirt…tie and a certain jacket would be over doing it. Running shoes, and a coat for the cold will do nicely. Setting his clothing onto his bed, he left to take a quick shower before drying off and getting dressed fully.

---

Continuing his walk through the snow, he made his way to the store front. He could see a that some light was on through the window, so someone was definitely home. Pushing the door open, and stepping in from the cold air and crunchy snow…? “…?!” Before him was Kiku, one of his young high school age coworkers…and Madame Lilacflour, covered in red and white sauces and chunks, and shiny pieces. Of course, any normal person would have assumed something terrible had happened. But, before his eyes had time to process, his nose had stepped in...his sense of smell tapping his sense of sight on the back to prevent such a mistake.

“Is that strawberry I smell?”

Striding over with little to no hesitation, even a little bit confidently, he reached forward with his finger pointed…! Taking a swipe at the substance with a single finger as quick as lightning (and almost as audibly powerful as thunder), he took the little bit of it into his mouth…before shutting his eyes and smiling widely, “Oh? Is this a new variation I taste in the usual strawberry sauce, Lila-chan?"

[Chezka]

Across the street from a charming little bakery stood a Parisian girl dressed to the nines, in the midst of a laughable attempt at hiding. Her golden tresses and brightly colored apparel (her signature red bow especially) were in stark contrast with the overcast weather, and no matter how hard she tried, she somehow still stuck out like a sore thumb. She hid behind a telephone pole when she spotted a small brown-haired boy heading for the bakery, and again when a much taller and older man followed, but as dainty as she was, the pole couldn't cover her completely. It seemed neither had noticed her, luckily enough. When the coast was clear, Lucy stepped out from her hiding place and started pacing back and forth restlessly, taking solace in the sound she heard every time she stepped on fresh snow. Her hazel green eyes never once strayed from the fancy script that spelled out 'Le Pasteur' as she took shaky breaths to calm down. She knew it was ridiculous of her to be so apprehensive, but she allowed herself a rare moment of self-doubt. This was her first job ever, after all. Having anxiety was almost expected, especially when the only thing she was good at was telling her maids to do things for her.

Lucy shoved her freezing hands in the front pockets of her pink coat, clenching and unclenching her fingers methodically until she could feel each one again. She gave herself only a few more seconds of cowardice. Three… two… one. Now, enough of this foolishness. As if on cue, a steely, determined glint replaced the hint of terror that were once swimming in her eyes. She raised her head and pulled back her shoulders, and like magic, she looked and felt like a totally different person. If before she looked very much like a girl trapped in a foreign country, lost and confused and with no one to rely on, now she appeared ten times more self-possessed. Like she actually chose to travel thousands of miles across the sea just to offer custodial services in a local bakery.

Crossing the street was surprisingly the hardest hurdle to clear. But once she finally did it, any previous apprehensions she had melted away like the last snow before spring. She pulled open the door with purpose and entered the bakery like she owned the place. Lucy was so intent on focusing on getting her introduction down perfectly that she didn't even bat an eyelash at the bizarre and chaotic state of the bakery. Instead of inquiring about all questionable things she'd spotted, she cleared her throat to get the other people's attention and smiled confidently in greeting.

"Hello, I am Lucy Devereaux-Koshiba," she said, only a slight inkling of her French accent showing through. Remembering her lessons in Japanese etiquette, she dipped her head slightly in a bow before continuing. "I'm the new custodian. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu."

[Blackwolf]

Yuu eyes opened as he laid in his bed. Sitting up he looked around his small a bit. To say it was nothing fancy was an understatement. A fridge and a couple of counters maid up his 'kitchen' no oven just a microwave and electric stove top. His bed didn't even have sheets, and was just a mattress on the floor and then there was an open door way leading into his small bathroom, and also no door. Reaching up he ran a hand through his colored hair looking over. Two bottles of whiskey laid next to his bed, one empty and on just about. Shrugging he grabbed that bottle that was nearly empty and lifted it up finishing it off. "two bottles in a night" he muttered some standing up looking around. Despite how much he drank last night he didn't really have a hang over, nor feel any different then any other moment, of course he wasn't drinking cause it was new years. No for him it was just another night.

Moving over to his small kitchen he opened up his cuboard, It was filled with spices and food, going to his fridge he started to pull out some left overs, manly some Indian style curry with pigs feet. Opening it up he tossed it into his microwave and looked at his fridge full of leftovers. He tended to make large meals and then save them so he could just grab something pre-made. Waiting he pulled out his curry and started to munch down, loving the spiciness of it. Finishing his breakfast he grabbed his coat and threw it on pushing his hands into his pocket. Locking up he started to make his way to work. The sun was nowhere to be scene as he left his apartment, starting the walk to the bakery, he was going in earlier then he was supposed to be there, something about last night being a holiday but he didn't really care so he was going in at his normal time.

Walking and listening to the crunch of snow under his boots he yawned some stopping to by some coffee and drinking it on his way the sun hadn't even rose yet. Becasue it was winter he couldn't ride his bike, and he didn't like trains so it took him a bit before he got to the bakery. He walked around to the back ally, pulling out his keys he opened the side door. He didn't have keys to the main door or anything, but since he was usually the first one here he needed to get in some how so he used the back, most days it didn't matter though, people always leave it unlocked. Once in side he slipped off his coat hung it up, pulled on an apron and started to get to work. It seemed that people though fresh baked goods just showed up every morning forgetting that some one has to make them. So he started to turn on ovens, pulling out dough that was already prepared and rising from the day before he started working.

As hours went by he heard the main doors being opened, some people talking as he was pulling morning pastries out of the oven. "well looks like solitude is over" he said walking to the front of the store with a tray to set out. He opened the door to the back from behind the counter and looked over at the scene. He was one of the tallest people working, just over six feet and his red colored hair up in a mohawk made him appear even taller. "Hey you guys know this is a mother ***** business right. We open in a bit." He sounded angry, but then Yuu always sounded angry and looked angry, well he was simply an angry person but as long as you left him alone he didn't have any probem with you. He placed the tray into the glass display case turning over looking at the small group that was forming "kiku I have more trays to come out mind giving me a hand with this" personally he liked kiku, mostly cause he seemed a bit quite, and he leaves him alone. It was then he noticed the woman laying on the ground as he was blinking a bit "our Fearless leader" he said turning and muttering something as he walked into the back room to grab more trays to bring out.

[Lovergames]

Alexia was drinking a hot milk tea which she bought three minutes ago while she was walking to her warm her body due to the cold weather.After she drank all the milk tea, she throws it to the nearest trash can.She sniffed.

"Aaaaahhhh..... What a beautiful day" She said to herself

She didn't noticed that she already in front of "La Pasteur" where she works as a cashier.All of a sudden she became nervous.

"Oh my god! This t-the f-first day of w-work..." She said to herself again nervously while swiping off her sweat then took a deep breath and exhales.

"Inhale.... Exhale..... Inhale..... Exhale.... I can do this!" She encouraged herself

"This is the first day of work and I should do my best" she added

"Here I go!" She said as she opens the door in La Pasteur.

As she opens the door,she saw her Japanese workmates.She speaks Japanese but she is horrible at speaking it.

"Oyasumi minna!" She greeted everyone but it was supposed to be Ohayou that means good morning.

Everyone looked confused at her language and they looked at their watch.Scratching their heads that it was still morning but why did she greet them good night when it was morning? The answer is that she is horrible at speaking Japanese.

She wears her uniform in the staff's locker room and gets ready to work.

[Destinyfailhorror17]

Kuro yawned, it was early and he didn’t enjoy it. He walked to where he was going to work…”La Pastier” It was good money for him and his life but he couldn’t complain. His clothing was thin and it made him sneezed through the cold morning. His new years…well he had nothing to do but sleep and bake some cheesecake so nothing really good happen to his new years. “Fu**….” He cursed as the coldness made him sneeze again. His little best friend at shoulder squeaked at him, wanting to know if he was okay. “I am okay Nezu, Arigatou for asking….” He lightly petted his mouse friend; luckily where he worked is was close to where he lived, a lame apartment a couple of blocks away. He entered the back that was unlocked, well of course he came in a little late. He had notice that some people were at the counter…”Well fu**…” He cursed again as he was late, he removed his favorite army jacket, put on his apron and tied his hair into a small ponytail.

Looking around again he noticed one of the bakers, Yuu was it…. he didn’t care much as he yawned again and started to help with the dough and trays, He saw Kiku too…again he didn’t care…he didn’t greeted anyone as he just wanted to get things over with well he did say something at least with no eye contact at all. “Hey, Teme…what else can I do?” He asked the too hoping to do something and get over with it. he gave a small smile to Nezu and whispered. "Cheese bread later?"

[Hibiki No Echo]

Lila-sama was a bit of an idiot. Who just lie on the floor like that? Honestly, as Kiku scoffed at his wonderful boss as he looked at the state of the place. It was a chaotic mess! What the hell did they do last night? He was gonna ask Kuyu. He then shook his head as he watched his only only custodian lick the strawberry coulis on the floor oozing on the floor. Sticky and wet, Lila was not as amused as people though she would be. With a short sigh and cute yawn, she got up slowly, wiping any dust on her black skirt. Kiku glance to his left to find a girl, a cute one at that. "Hora hora. There's someone here."

Lila looked at the said girl and smiled."Saka-kun, that has had probably grape juice mixed with it, which is why it tastes different. But enough with that, Kiku-kun, Yuu-chan and Saka-kun meet Koshiba-dono. She will be the new custodian so I want you Saka-kun to show her ropes okay?" She said winking as she pointed at the porcelain doll in front of them. "Koshiba-dono, gambatte desuyo!" She did a little cheering pose as she said that. Soon she saw Alexia come through the door.

With a wry smile, she scratched the back of her head. "Unfortunately, today I have to be somewhere extremely important, so Kiku-kun be sure take of the place. Megumi-chan will come in later so don't worry about too much. Hehe! Jan ne minna!" With that Lila disappeared through the front door, unaware of her less then pristine state. Soon she saw her other new employee, Alexia. "Kiku-kun is going to have his hands full.". With that Alexia popped through the door, Kiku knew the girl, bad at Japanese, screwing up alot at her interview but she would be a good Cashier. Well, she said Oyasumi, that's pretty normal for a foreigner. Waving politely he watched as the girl went to the locker room.

"Hah, Lila-sama's so weird. Um... Anyways, I-i'm Kunazumi Kiku, I-I'm a supervisor for the day, The man next to me is Watanabe-san, the other girl who just came by was Areshi- I mean, Alexia-san. W-watanabe-san will be be your guide for the day, I w-will be baking in the back, please call me if you need help!" He bowed a bit frantically, then he turned to the taller man next to him. "Watanabe-san, please, may you and Koshiba-san clean this mess up? If we don't the store won't be presentable.".

"Kiku, I have more trays to come out, Mind giving me a hand?" Kiku jumped at the deep voice behind him. Realizing Yuudai was her he replied with, "Hai! Matte wo kudaimase! I need to help the new employees!". With that he bowed again and ran off to go help the man in desperate need. "Hey teme, what else can I do?" then he had to turn around, knowing who that was. "E-eh? Ah... Um... ." Then he heard something that he said to his little mouse. "Actually, you can go eat for now, I believe there's some cheese and bacon rolls in the back." He offered with a meek smile and a cute blush on his face. He wasn't stuttering, so he was faking the cuteness. The little jackass.

Translations

Hora, hora.= Hey, hey. Gambatte desuyo!=Make sure you do your best! Matte wo kudaimase=Please give a me a minute!

[Ebil Bunny]

Naoko Takanori

Tires screeched from outside the shop, only covering up the sound of a blaring radio for a second. Naoko shot up in his fancy, new sports car. Even though it was snowing slightly, he had the roof back to feel the wind blow through his bright yellow hair. He shut off his car, and hopped over the side.

"Ah yeah, first day on the job and I'm doing great!" he told himself with a smile. He closed the roof so it wouldn't be filled with snow while he was inside.

"Hey everybody!" he called as he slid through the door.
"I'm Na-" he stopped as soon as he saw the mess. His brow furrowed.
"This isn't good... What happened? Blow out party last night?" he asked.

[cerozer0]

Cold

Megumi ran through the intricate, tight streets of Fukushima's residential area, wearing her school jersey. Right now, in the freezing cold of New Year's morning, she was exercising. Jogging to be exact, pushing her freezing body through the frigid air on mother's strict orders. It wasn't like this kind of exercise was unusual, in fact, Megumi was often seen jogging in the morning whenever she had time. It was a good way to wake up and keep fit, and so, she ran, deciding that she would spend most of her morning in the park. She was feeling a bit too blue to stay at home, after all, and needed to think some things over. Yesterday, Megumi had decided to take a day off of work to spend New Years with her mother, and despite having fun watching TV and eating cake (which was normally against the house rules), she felt bad for leaving everyone to work. Her shift wasn't until much later, but she felt as though she wasn't work as much as she should.

I'll work extra hard today, yes, that'll help with this depression.

Her mind chimed cheerily, that was, until a soft 'mew' interrupted her focus. Megumi froze, glancing about quickly to find the source of the meow, and then she finally caught sight of a black tail. A cat, black and sleek, stood on the wall beside her, and Megumi felt her body move on it's own, reaching up to give the feline a small scratch behind the ear while her lips formed into a large smile. The cat stared at her for a moment, then bolted, vanishing behind the wall, leaving the tall girl with a look of blank confusion. She waited a moment, thinking that maybe the cat would return, and when it didn't she began jogging again, a loud sigh escaping her lips with a puff of white vapor. Ah well, just one cat won't dampen her mood anymore...

"Ah! It's Kitabatake..."

Megumi froze in the center of a crossroads, staring curiously at two girls her age who stared back with wide, frightened eyes. She rose a hand to wave 'hello' but the girls flinched back, their colorful New Years kimonos shimmering against their small bodies, and Megumi felt her mouth form into a deeper frown,

"Sorr-"

"S-s-sorry! We'll be going, right, Kimi?" the first girl interrupted, her blonde-dyed hair shaking against her head.

"Yeah, sorry! Come on..." the second finished, dark hair pulled into a cute bun. They were both from her school. Kouhai.

And then they were gone, and Megumi felt her eyebrow twitch. What's so scary about her? She felt her hands reach up to play with the skin on her face, running gentle fingers over her flushed cheeks and thin lips pulled into a frown. Dumb, how dumb. Looks are dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb. Megumi started moving again, walking slowly up the familiar hill that lead to a playground where most of her childhood memories had been spent. Swings, slides, a jungle gym, see-saws, and many other colorful, worn toys and gadgets scattered the plush ground, and Megumi moved silently through the still landscape, taking a seat on the swing set. The cold air chilled her body to the bone, and her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, and then she was swinging, moving her longs legs slightly back and fourth. Her eyes were dark, face formed into a look of annoyance, and she remained that way, deep in thought, as the morning began to pass.

[Major Ursa]

Grape juice?! Something so simple, and yet…?! Letting out a small sigh, and a smaller chuckle, it were these little surprises that showed him why he could never be a baker, with his level of understanding so different from the master’s. Tasting a little bit more of the sticky substance, Sakaki righted himself and bowed curtly to his new co-worker, “Well met, Koshiba-san. Let me show you the custodian’s closet beside the staff. You’ll have to spend time learning about the closet and the equipment with me quite…intimately…” Not really thinking on how he phrased it out loud, since his sex-brain was literally shrunken to make way for way bigger cake-brain, he set a hand on the young foreign blooded girl’s shoulder and directed her to the back.

Waving nonchalantly at Yuudai, Koruku, and Koruku’s small companion mouse…despite that, in reality, as the custodian, the mouse should be the first thing cleaned up and Koruku would be on the chopping block for bringing such a thing…he made his way past the staff locker room and over to the custodian’s closet. Taking out a neat set of key, he unlocked the door and swung it open carefully, reaching to a side wall and flicking the light switch on.

The small space was quite shocking. An expensive looking armchair pushed up against the left wall, a small shelf to the side holding a stack of baking and cooking magazines as well as a framed picture of a half-eaten tiramisu. To the right was the custodian cart, hanging above it on the wall on display hooks were the mop and the broom…all the way in the back was a big, grey metal locker with a small washing station just beside it. Everything was pristine, everything was neat. The walls were paper white, the floor tiles held no grime, the custodian cart, mop and broom were spotless.

“This is the custodian closet. The small set of pipes and that drain are the washing station, used for filling up that cart’s mop bucket.” Entering in and reaching up, Sakaki pulled the mop off the wall before going over to the metal locker and unlocking it with one of his keys. Pausing only for a moment, he pulled out a pair of gloves and handed them to the girl, “Put these on, since you’re going to be picking up the sugar glass before I mop up the mess.” Closing the locker, he tapped the front of it, causing the metal locker to lightly clang...before looking at the young girl over his shoulder, “Only I and Lila-chan have keys for this, since there are chemical cleaners that are considerably dangerous. We usually try and clean up most of the messes without use of strong chemicals, since one of our coworker’s has a companion or two that could easily succumb to even the smallest portions, let alone the fumes of the chemicals.” 'That mouse of his...'

Reaching to the space on top of the locker, he pulled down two aprons. One was frilly pink; covered with lace and ribbons…the other was a plain, large, stark white apron. Without asking, without a word, Sakaki got to work securing the white apron onto the high school girl, tucking in the excess cloth here or there neatly and tying the straps correct and securely. Patting her on the shoulder, and giving her an easy smile, he spun her around and pushed her lightly, “Pick up the larger pieces of sugar glass and get them in the trash bin. Don’t worry, they won’t cut you. I’ll be here prepping the mops and cart and such, do tell them I’ll be out in a minute or two.” Securing the frilly apron onto his body, he brought the custodian cart to the washing station and began to get it filled up.

[Illusion]

Arisu mumbled as light began slipping through the windows and a few birds could be heard chirping outside. She slowly pushed herself up, onto her hands and then suddenly fell down again. "Owww..." She clenched her head and shut her eyes. Why does my head hurt so much...? I can't remember anything! Arisu began panicking a bit and quickly shook her head. She pulled the curtain that separated her side of the room from her brothers' and noticed their futons were already put away.

Arisu packed her futon away in the closet and slowly walked out of the room, continuously losing balance and grabbing the wall for support. She knew what this was, or at least could assume. Last night was a New Years party... With Lila-sama at the very least. After entering the main room, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Ah... Good mor-" Arisu was suddenly cut off.

"WHERE WERE YOU LAST NIGHT?? YOU CAME HOME COMPLETELY WASTED!!!" Her brothers yelled in unison. She flinched at the sudden noise and her ears began ringing.

"Agh, please quiet down!" She requested and plopped down on her knees in front of the kotatsu. Ahh, so warm! Her brothers frowned at her lack of responsibility from the night before and sighed.

"Arisu," her oldest brother began. "What were you thinking?! Not only did you drink as a minor, but you came home by yourself too! What if something happened on your way home!?" He began to speak frantically. Arisu sighed more heavily and began to apologize.

"You're right... Gomenasai..." She moved to the side a bit and bowed down, over-exaggerating just a little so her brothers would finally leave her alone. A tiny dog then appeared from the narrow, kitchen hallway and hopped onto Arisu's lap. "Omu! Ohaiyou!" She abruptly lightened up her mood and began rolling around with her Shiba Inu. They named him Omu because on the first day they brought him in as a stray, his bark sounded like "omu omu!" Arisu smiled at the thought and stood up.

"Alright, I'm gonna head out. I want to see if the New Years festivals are still going on," she informed and then returned to her room to change. She slid on a light blue dress, pulled on a pair of white stockings, a coat, and then wrapped a warm scarf around her neck without bothering to pull her hair out from underneath. She passed back through the main room and grabbed a small bag before opening the door.

"Ittekimasu," Arisu said quietly.

"Itterasshai!!~" Her brothers over-enthusiastically yelled and waved as the door closed.

The cold air filled the atmosphere. Arisu shivered a little to adjust to the sudden change in temperature from her apartment. She began walking down the fairly steep stairs and then away from her small apartment building. The snow made the scenery very bright, and Arisu had to squint to see properly. While taking her time following the sidewalk, she spotted a familiar face.

"Kitabatake-san...?" She only really knew her as an acquaintance and co-worker. Arisu had to admit, the rumors she heard around school slightly got to her as well. Although she was too far away to hear, Megumi stopped when encountering a couple of girls that Arisu recognized from school. Ah, I can already tell what's going to happen here... She sighed and continued walking. Well, either way, it's not my problem. Arisu shoved her icy hands in her coat pockets, realizing she forgot to put on gloves.

While detouring around the park to get to the festival area quicker, she noticed Megumi again. Another coincidence, huh? Arisu exhaled a breath of warm air into the cold and watched as it quickly disappeared. She then made her way to the playground and swing set. Without saying a word, she took a seat on the second swing. After a little bit, she began to speak.

"I-it's pretty cold today, huh?" Arisu began conversing with a pretty lame start. Of course it's cold you idiot.

[Destinyfailhorror17]

He heard Kiku-san said about cheese and bacon rolls and how he can eat them. He looked at Nezu and whispered again. “Seriously? Work to eat?…Teme oh well…Hai!” he shouted as he was going to enter the back room. Sakaki-san, a custodian he guessed, he look at him as Sakaki waved at him and the other bakers he felt like he was looking at Nezu in bad way. “Fu***** teme…”He mumbled lightly as he entered the back room. He looked for the rolls and was lucky enough to find them. Grabbing one cheese and one of bacon he sat down at broke the cheese roll in half. “Here Nezu.” He gave his little friend a half of the roll.

Nezu was a cute brown mouse, he always like Nezu when he found him eating his dinner before and kept him…he was his only friend. The little mouse nibble on the roll, “Oishi right? Of course…we’re willing to eat anything…” He finished the half of the cheese roll, with the bacon roll he ate quickly too, no breakfast…Standing he did needed to do some work…what eat for money that is so not happening. He walked out of the backroom and really asked. “Hey, seriously…I need to do something or else I won’t get paid…teme….”

[Hibiki No Echo]

Headache. That was what came into Kikuyu's mind in the first place, a heavy hardcore headache. Dammit how much did he drink? Is this what it felt like to be an adult, if so then he'll pass. Getting up from his futon, he walked out groggily from his catastrophic sleeping area. Yawning loudly, he stretched his back and his neck and decided to get some aspirin. "Kiku's probably at work, so what should I do..." Kuyu wondered out loud. Bored and tired, he was thinking of just going back to bed but that would be even MORE boring. "Well, who the hell cares if I'm 17, I'm gonna go live up some memories!" Pumping his fist in the air, he went out to wash his face and brush his teeth before literally kicking the door open and charging towards the snow in his t-shirt and jeans no less. To the park he goes, the cold was the absolute best, refreshing and crisp, nothing could beat the cold.

Well, weird thing was that he saw two pretty girls, both whom he worked with. "Konichiwa omaetachi!" He greeted out cheerfully, despite the rude version of you, then again he always used it so he didn't really care. "Arisu-chan, you okay? You were pretty groggy last night! Tastuyoshi and I had to drive you home! Gahahahaha!" Kuyu might have a hangover, he still could remember what happened last night. The he gave an almost flirtatious wink to her, possibly hinting at her actions the night before. Then he turned to Megumi, she wasn't there last night, a sight that was rare. Giving a stern face, he pointed. "Where were you? You missed out on all the fun Megumi-chan! I swear, everyone was tipsy and Lila was creating a fake murder scene so she could scare the living hell out of my brother! You should've been there! Haha!" With a toothy grin, he pointed at the festival stalls that were still up. "You know, we could have some fun, our shifts don't start till waaaaaay later, so come on!" If this was an anime, Kuyu would have one of those peppy and upbeat type of background music. Sadly it wasn't so they had to stick to the sound of Kuyu's annoying voice.

[cerozer0]

Someone else was around, she could feel it. Nothing exactly dangerous, just another person, and the presence came closer and closer until there was a small shift beside her and the swing to her right was taken by the other person. Megumi stiffened, her eyes locking with her knees, trying to keep her face lax and not-as-scary as others usually find it to be.

"I-It's pretty cold today, huh?"

Megumi glanced up at the familiar voice, and turned to look at her co-worker and acquaintance, Fukazawa-san. Her shoulders relaxed and she straightened, a small smile appearing on her lips,

"Yeah... It really is." her voice was light, maybe a bit husky, but not entirely intimidating. The comment about it being cold was very true, especially for one who had been sweating a few minutes before. Megumi dug her red-knuckled hands into the jersey's pockets and sighed, watching as her breath appeared as a white cloud and then quickly vanished. Fukazawa-san was one of the few people that Megumi felt somewhat comfortable around. She seemed cold, but didn't seem to fear her as much as others did. The silence was suddenly peacful, not forced and horrible like before, and Megumi leaned back to stare at the crisp blue sky.

And then it was ruined. That all too familiar voice of a man interrupted the quiet, cold morning, and Megumi glared forward to see Kikuyu Kunazumi-kun, the twin brother of Kiku Kunazumi. While they were nearly identical, Megumi had found that their mannerisms and voices are very distinct, with Kiki being rather cute and shy and Kikuyu being much more outspoken and flirtatious. Megumi obviously liked the shy one better, but all men were scary to her in the end. Kikuyu began rant about the party last night, which Megumi had (gladly) not taken part of, and she blinked as suddenly a finger was jabbed between her eyes, and an angry Kikuyu asked why she hadn't been around last night. Megumi gave a small, uncomfortable grin as he explained that everyone was tipsy and something about a fake murder scene,

"I... I had to spend it with mom and I don't think drinking is-" and then she was interrupted, the conversation changing into something about the festival stalls. Such a fast-paced person, how does anyone keep up?! After a moment of silence, Megumi finally sighed and stood up, standing many centimeters above Kikuyu,

"Why not?" she muttered, running a shaky hand through her short hair.

[Illusion]

Arisu was surprised that Megumi responded to her pretty normally. The calm silence afterwards was relaxing, even to the point where a sigh of relief could be heard slip from her lips. She then remembered Megumi's encounter earlier and felt a bit curious.

"Ah, Kitabatake-san, I was wondering about-" Arisu was cut off as a slightly unpleasing voice interrupted.

"Konichiwa omaetachi!" Kikuyu appeared almost out of nowhere and broke the peaceful atmosphere. Agh! This guy again! Arisu's eyebrows furrowed. She knew he was a co-worker but never really spoke to anyone at work besides Lila-san. "Arisu-chan, you okay? You were pretty groggy last night! Tastuyoshi and I had to drive you home! Gahahahaha!" He continued with his irritable talk.

"H-hey, since when did I allow you to call me by my first name!?" She almost yelled a bit, and then twitched her eyebrow as he ignored the question and continued to converse with Megumi. "Hmph," she stood up abruptly and turned away, just about ready to leave. Suddenly he recommended they visit the festival stalls.

"Why not?" Megumi seemed down for the idea. Arisu, on the other hand, seemed annoyed.

"I-I was gonna go anyways, so I guess I might as accompany you two," she wasn't technically lying, but spoke in that manner considering it would be better than going alone.

[Hibiki No Echo]

A bit shocked that both of them actually said yes, his face softened, looking a little more normal than usual. With a smile more suited to his twin brother he spoke, "Hehe. Well that's good, I was kinda worried about you two. Both of you don't really talk to me or any of the workers. To me, I understand but to everyone else..." He voice was a lot more quieter and sweeter. A rarity? No not really, it his usual tone of voice for conversing with people. Smiling, he gestured them to follow him. Walking through the snow to the festival stalls only a few meters away, it seemed like something. Something familiar, like from a story long ago. Who cared about that though? He was walking with two girls, he was gonna make conversation at some point. "Ne, Kitabatake-chan, how is your mother, Kasumi-sama, doing? If I remember correctly, Kiku once trained under her, well when his hair was down at least." He said out rather casually. "Oh, Arisu-chan, you said I could last night, I asked you a question and you were like, "Don't call me Fukuzawa, just call me Arisu."." Kuyu addressed the unanswered question with a mischievous wink on his baby-face.

His brother on the other hand, wasn't doing too well. There was pounding music and next thing you know comes along a blonde young man, with that same aura as Kuyu. Just great. He said something about a blowout party, right.This must be the new delivery boy. Looking up with his hazel eyes he answered and instructed with, "Unfortunately, th-there was. A-anyways, Takanori-san... Welcome, please go to the locker and g-get changed. Um... I'll meet with you shortly." Kiku replied with almost a annoyed tone as his eyebrow started to twitch. Then came the mouse lover, "Hey, seriously, I need to do something or I won't get paid... Teme." Kiku was seriously going to punch something in the face. How rude was he?

Putting on the most believable smile he could with a slight blush at that he said, "Kiske-kun, I wish for you to quickly bake the breakfast menu as we are about to open. Please grant my request. N-now excuse me..." With a cute little bow, he had to go to the back and go help Kaito-san, though the guy seemed scary, he couldn't compare to Kiku's angry wrath. "Kaito-san, u-um... Can you please start on the pie and sausage rolls? Extra will b-be needed as we have a huge order for them... Please start on that as soon as possible." Hoping the redhead heard his request he went to the counter wiped his forehead. He was going to punch something, his anger shown through the broken pen in his hand.

[Chezka]

Were all jobs like this…?

Lucy tried to keep a hold on the courage she'd just gotten back, but it was proving difficult. She felt too much like a fish out of water, and as more and more of the baker's employees dropped by to start their shift, she started wondering whether she would fit in. Le Pasteur's motley staff wasn't at all what she imagined them to be. She thought it would mostly consist of warm and inviting people, dressed in frilly aprons and armed with sweet smiles. At the very least, they were like that at the high-end pastry shops she regularly visited in Paris.

Lucy jumped slightly when a very tall boy appeared from the back, seemingly very angry as he told off the other employees. Her eyes trailed up and lingered on his mohawk, and one could see the fascination sparkling in her eyes. Cool! He looked like one of those delinquents from the gang show she watched! She wondered if he was a baker and smiled, amused at the image of the ferocious-looking redhead carefully making heart-shaped pastries. Her eyes then drifted to the smaller boy that came not long after him, and her eyes widened at the sight of the creature perched on his shoulder.

"On your shoulder!" she shrieked, prepared to jump on the boy and swat the rodent away, when she saw him smiling down at it.

Before she had a chance to ask about it, the older man she saw earlier this morning was already wheeling her away and started telling her all about her new job. If he didn't mind the rodent, maybe she was merely overreacting? Ah! Could it be that the mouse was an employee as well? Just like in that Ratatouille movie. Lucy grinned to herself, suddenly feeling excited about this new endeavor. She was experiencing and learning about so many new things. How fun~

Lucy followed Sakaki obediently, taking to heart everything he was telling her. Cleaning was a lot more complicated than she thought! The maids back home made it seem so easy. She slipped on the gloves she was handed without complaint, but she was obviously more excited when she saw the older man take out a pair of apron. The pink frilly one matched her outfit perfectly!

The disappointment in her face was obvious when she was given the plain white one instead. It seemed you have to earn your way to the cute aprons. Challenge accepted! Resolute, she gave the older boy a salute and marched back outside, ready to begin her first task.

[Major Ursa]

Waiting about a minute for the water in the cart to fill half way, he pulled out the top magazine from his pile. The very simplistic rainbow sprinkle and icing birthday cake looked delicious right about now, even if it was probably overly sweet...his thoughts then shifted over the Koshiba-chan had on her face when she looked at his apron. It was his personal apron, one he had been given from 'that' bakery before coming to work here. In his head, the likely conclusion for her reaction was that she didn't think such a thing fit him, or maybe she didn't like pink frilly aprons...ah, but that didn't matter much to him, such a difference in opinions.

Twisting the valve shut, he reached over to a tray on the cart and pulled out the one bottle on it. A non-toxic (ish) soap that was pretty good with stickiness and/or greasiness…it was practically a shampoo. Unscrewing the cap and pouring a little bit of the clean liquid into the water, Sakaki stuck his mop into the cart’s bucket, swishing it around a bit, mixing it. In fact…detaching the bucket from the cart; he picked it up and carried it out of the small space.

Walking through the back, he could smell the scrumptious scents of the morning’s baked good, something that made him glad for having already eaten his own breakfast. It didn’t seem like they’d be prepping any cake yet, anytime soon. Waiting for his new little helper to pick up the sugar glass pieces, since they couldn’t just be mopped up so easily, he couldn’t help but eye a certain shoulder riding mouse...and notice Kiku. There was something…on an almost business-training-related-esque hunch, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his key ring. Going over the keys, key to his apartment, his janitor keys, his car keys, a few locker keys…there was also a mistletoes charm…and finally a donut shaped stress reliever. The donut was a chocolate icing sort of paint scheme, a gift from a former college back then...he always hated it back then, and kept it with him for the sake of being bitter. Detaching the squishy donut, Sakaki waved for the younger boy's attention before tossing it to him, “Catch.”

[cerozer0]

Megumi smiled at Arisu's response, finding her anger to be somewhat cute, and then they were up and walking towards the fair grounds. She stepped gingerly through the snow, listening with a blank face as Kuyu's voice became quieter, much different from before. Odd. Freezing cold water seeped into her sneakers, and she blew out another small sigh and shivered. While winter did have it's pristine beauty and calming nights, the cold was something Megumi hated more then men. When it's cold the body sweats less, but when you do it turns you into a human icicle. Breathing heavily is harder, and joints locked and jammed if they weren't used enough. Clothing became layered, adding an uncomfortable heaviness to the girl who always liked to stay light on her feet, animals came out less, and the dojo was always freezing during the colder months so students rarely came. How stupid.

"Ne, Kitabatake-chan..."

Megumi glanced up as the group finally finished their traverse over the mound of snow, listening intently to Kuyu's question. After a moment of thought and remembering that they had indeed taught Kiku at one time she responded quietly,

"Mother is doing... Well. We haven't been getting many students, which has made her somewhat..." Megumi trailed off as she tried to remember the word, "... Agitated. But she's not ill or anything, so there's that." Images of her mother burning food, training for days on end, and crying while visiting the shrine last night replayed over and over in her head, but she shook them away and instead focused on the festivals grounds. Shrines, most empty and still, lined the path that led to a set of stone stairs. Lanterns hung from trees, unlit, awaiting for night to fall so that they may once again light the walkway on last time for the last New Years celebration. Megumi had climbed the stairs in front of them last night, dressed in an ornate kimono, to draw fortunes with her mother and pray for a good new year. Nameless men were setting up a few stands at the moment, selling things like masks and kites and food. Megumi looked expectantly at the two in front of her, awaiting one of them to find something interesting to do.

[Blackwolf]

Yuu's eyebrow twitched as he brought a hand up rubbing the bridge of his nose "bakas" he muttered before looking back up. The new girl was kind of just, staring at him with un odd look in her eye, "the the **** is her problem" he thought to him self as more and more people arrived. He honestly didn't even know half of there names, nor did he really care. But the mouse boy was the one who most caught his attention "Will you at least hide that damn rodent before I chop it's mover ****ing head off. This is a place that serves food we can be shut down" He was more then agitated at this point, and un like kiku he didn't bother hiding it. Returning to the back kitchen he started grabbing trays of pastries, bringing them out and placing them in to the glass containers as he looked over at Kiku" Yea I know, that is why it's already started, most of the pies are cooling right now and the sausage rolls are in the oven. I read the order sheets every morning before I start, and you would be amazed how much can get done before everyone starts coming in." Despite his looks Yuu was a very dedicated employee, and also one of the only ones who seemed to take things seriously "most of the breakfast menu is already done as well, the hell do you think all these trays are" He said lifting the two he had in his hands before placing them in the glass display case.

"what do these people think I do so early in the morning" he thought to himself as he re-entered the kitchen. He had been working at the bakery for the better part of a year now, and the morning routine hasn't changed at all. He new what had to come out and when. Once those doors the kitchen closed though he smiled, it was like a mute button as one of the oven's dinged and the sausage rolls were done. He put on some mits and pulled them out setting them on the cooling rack, where a bunch of pies were sitting, the racks were even tapped up with the name of the order on them for when they would get boxed up people would know which ones they were. He moved over to another area putting his bare hand over the large grill. Bending down and adjusting some nobs so it would be the right temperature incase any one ordered breakfast sandwhiches. There was another ding and he smiled moving over to an oven and pulling out some cup cakes. They were pinapple rum cakes with rum bakked in them. He had the frosting, which was coconut rum frosting, for his pino colada cupcakes already made as he pulled out the mixing bole checking as the frosting was just the right texture and cremeness. "Oh I can not wait to try these" he said starting to fill a frosting bag as those cup cakes cooled.