Cafe Shukumei

Ichirou had practically ran out of the garage and dived into his car. "You better not blow anything up, kid," Ichirou's boss yelled after him, trying not to laugh.

"You worry to much old man." Ichirou started up his car and sped off towards where Masaru awaited him, Cafe Shukumei. One of the terrifying things about Ichirou was the fact he almost never listened to the rules of the road. He always went faster than he was supposed to, way faster and cut corners like a maniac. It was amazing that he had never been in a car accident while he was the driver. The glove compartment stuffed with tickets didn't affect him at all, just gave him something to laugh at. Fingers flew and horns blazed as Ichirou made his way to the popular cafe. It wasn't to long until he pulled up to the curb of the shop, laughing wildly at the high school students who had actually fallen backwards when he sped by. "Kids these days." He closed the door and locked his precious vehicle, patting its hood before walking into the cafe.

"Masaru," he started in a sing song voice. "Masaru, time to gather the explosives!"

Ichirou looked around, trying to find his sneaky snake of a friend. "I saw a big pile of lonely wood the other night and I heard it calling me. Need to stop by our houses and and see if there is anything we wanna burn." Several people looked at him like he was crazy, but he dismissed those people. If they didn't want to join in, then they were no fun what so ever. "I don't have any work tonight, so I wanna make this last."

Kutaki Sohma
Kutaki stretched her arms and fingers as she looked over the notebook she had just been writing in. With a satisfied smile she dropped off the window sill she had been currently sitting on and slid to the ground, some pieces of grass from her roof following her. She felt she deserved a break and one that involved some delicious coffee. pulling on a pair of shoes that were really slippers, though could barely pass as being shoes, she walked through the Sohma Estate. The younger kids were just arriving from school. She noticed Keiko headed towards Raiden's house, but instead of calling young girl's attention to her she just walked on. Her eyes kept open to see if she could spot Eri before she left, hoping her little bunny wouldn't mind coming with her before doing homework. But sadly she didn't see her.

Outside the Sohma estate everything seemed much brighter, sunnier. Maybe it was because her house was usually shrouded in shadow from the trees or because of the gloom that it seemed to impose on everyone as they entered. Either way Kutaki was glad for the sun and the excuse to stretch her legs. Her walk was mostly uneventful, except from the few odd stares from others at her clothing and hair color. It was also fairly long, you see she was headed to Café Shukumei. It was a ways away from the Sohma estate, but in Kutaki's opinion it had the best coffee and plus it gave her more time to clear her head so that by the time she would be back she would be able to write some more with little distraction. As she entered the place was crowded, at least though her eyes, this made her a bit uncomfortable, but she put on a smile and walked on to the counter. She ordered her usual coffee, an double espresso and found a place to wait. Her eyes drifted around the place as she people watched, always on the look out for a great character or even just a character quirk would suffice. Then she found Ichirou, the resident boar. Her smile grew when she recognized her old friend. He seemed to be currently looking for Masaru and had his back turned to her. She sneaked up behind him, really not looking as though she was sneaking but rather just her normal walk, then with no warning to those who happened to be watching she jumped up on his back. This looked like an impressive feat considering how much taller he was compared to the rather short goat.

"Well it's seems I've caught myself a wild boar," she said, not letting go as she hung from his shoulders, "What should I do with it I wonder? I could cook it? Nahh, the meat would be too tough. I could pin it and bring it a mate. But it would probably just run away. What do you think?" This last question she directed towards Ichirou, wanting him to answer back.

Cafe Shukumei, or just Shukumei as many of the customers had dubbed it, was thriving with business, which was hardly unusual on a Friday afternoon. As one of the more popular sites in the city, teenagers and young adults tended to flock to the cafe, eager to have their weekends start off right, sometimes stay-at-home parents came with their children for a treat, and even a few elderly couples here to enjoy a nice Spring afternoon. Yes, the cafe was packed, but not full enough to make the customers feel uncomfortable as they sat at either the tables or the couches, enjoying a coffee or pastry, chattering amongst themselves or typing silently on their laptops. However, in the back of the cafe, it was a much different story because in the back was the kitchen and it currently held just one occupant, Masaru Sohma.

It was one of those days where all the wait staff had shown up and even both of their baristas, ready for the Friday afternoon rush. This left the twenty-three-year-old to do what he did best; cook. His hair, an orangey-blond color, was pulled into a messy bun as he leaned over a fresh batch of strawberry pastries, the last for the day, icing each with deliberate care, creating a perfect swirl to top it of. He stepped back to admire his handiwork, sucking a stray bit of icing off of his thumb. Perfect.

"Masaru!" He was pulled out of his moment of tranquility, glancing over to the entrance of the kitchen. It was one of the new waitresses who'd been making doe eyes at him all week. Today, however, she seemed a little more nervous, a little unsettled.

"What is it, sweetie?" He asked, charming smile already pulled on his lips. She faltered for a moment, cheeks blazing a pretty pink color, still unused to his idle flirtation.

"I, um- Well, there's this guy who drove up like a crazy man and now he's in the cafe and..." She trailed off and for good reason. With the kitchen's door open, Masaru could plainly hear the cause of the disturbance.

"Masaru! Masaru, time to gather the explosives!"

Instead of looking perturbed, Masaru's grin grew even larger as Ichirou continued his rant about burning things. It grew even larger when the added voice of Kutaki joined him.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about them," He advised the waitress, slipping off his apron and putting it away neatly. Apparently it was time to go. "They're insane, but they're not dangerous. Usually. Unless they're already drunk, which may be a possibility. I'll take care of it. Have a good weekend, sweetie." And with that, he exited the kitchen leaving the still blushing waitress behind., stepping out from behind the counter and made his way over to the two idiots he considered some of his dearest friends. Yes, they were idiots, but they were his idiots.

"Both of you, stop that! You're scaring off my customers," He chided, but the grin on his face shattering the illusion of real irritation.

Ichirou was tapping his foot impatiently, about to start up yelling again, when what felt like a child leapt onto his back. Now, Ichirou knew that no one outside the Sohma family would dare do such a thing. "Well it's seems I've caught myself a wild boar," she said, not letting go as she hung from his shoulders, "What should I do with it I wonder? I could cook it? Nahh, the meat would be too tough. I could pin it and bring it a mate. But it would probably just run away. What do you think?"

"I think you should keep it as a pet and call it Fiji," Ichirou laughed, trying to pull Kutaki off to no avail.

"Both of you, stop that! You're scaring off my customers," a familiar voice 'scolded'. Ichirou met Masaru's smile as he looked at his friend.

"Scare? Why, I'm offended! If anything, I attract more than scare off." Ichirou punched Masaru's arm lightly before grabbing his wrist. "I was thinking of going and picking up the others, later when everything is ready. I'm not even sure if anyone remembered that it is today," Ichirou rambled on, Kutaki firmly attached to his back and him dragging Masaru along. As he continued to speak, he opened the passenger door of his car for Masaru before once again prying Kutaki off his back. "This is going to turn out awesome, I just know it! As long as there aren't any snags or fights." After being successful in getting Kutaki in the backseat, Ichirou walked to the drivers side. But then again ... stuff usually goes wrong in our family. Well, life is life. Do what it will, he thought. It was fairly nice to spend time with the family since there wasn't anyone he hated, minus the Head, anyone and everyone was welcome to their little get together. It was just a matter if anyone would or wouldn't show up.