Chapter Text
The door opened with a cheerful jingle as Marth stepped into the Café, the scent of freshly baked pastries and something....odd, but food-like, filling his nostrils. Outside the wide windows, the waves lapped against the glistening sands peacefully―such a perfect location for a Café, really, albeit probably very expensive, seeing as all the neighboring buildings were five-star hotels and resorts. And here, smack in the middle of the beachy town, stood the quaint but vibrant Nintendo Café.
Huh. Wonder what a 'Nintendo' is.
Two people were behind the clear display counters, a redheaded girl and a young guy dressed in blue, seemingly arguing. "What do you mean, you can't deliver there?! 'WE NEVER TURN DOWN A CUSTOMER'!!" the girl all but yelled, her companion flinching back from her flying spit. "That's our motto! The boss'll tear us apart if we don't get it delivered!"
The boy rubbed his forehead and sighed inaudibly, before catching sight of Marth and tugging on the girl's dress sleeve. Marth stiffened―these were his new coworkers. He needed to make a good first impression, especially if this boss was as strict as they sounded.
The girl met his eyes and raised her hand in greeting. "'Sup. You're the new kid? Come around back."
Marth rushed to where the girl motioned, feeling out of place behind the counter. "Nice to meet you, my name's―"
"I know your name," the girl cut in, earning an elbow in her ribs from the blue-clad boy. "Ow! WHat, I do! I'm the one who reviewed the papers before handing them to the boss! Anyway, I'm Daisy, this is Link, he doesn't talk much but you'll get used to understanding him. Now uhh....what do you, like, specialize in?"
"Oh, uh....I'm a prince."
Daisy ran a hand down her face. "No duh, dude, you're dressed like you walked out of a renaissance fair. Besides, I'm royalty, too, and he," she pointed a finger at Link, who was scrolling through orders on a rectangular device. "Protects a princess. Tell us what makes you unique. What skill do ya got that'll be useful here?"
"Uhh..."
Link glanced up from his device and tapped Daisy's shoulder, grabbing her attention. He then proceeded to dash into the kitchen area, returning swiftly with a mop and bucket. Daisy's face lit up. "Good idea! We have so many spills here, so we could really use someone on clean-up duty."
Link thrust the mop and bucket at Marth, who reluctantly took it. "....Alright. This is just, ah, temporary, right?"
"Oh, sure," Daisy waved him aside, heading toward the kitchen door. "C'mon with me, I'll introduce you to the rest of the staff. And make sure you deliver that order, Link!"
Link made an annoyed groan.
"It doesn't matter if Mr. Olimar lives on another planet, he ordered a blueberry muffin! You can do it!" she gave him a reassuring thumbs up, which seemed to only make him groan louder. She pushed the kitchen door open, leading Marth into a surprisingly vast kitchen. Pans, utensils, and cutlery lined the tile walls. Two small creatures―a yellow mouse and a....pink blob?―were hard at work cooking up a food that smelled like grilled cheese, but looked more like something from a health inspector's reccuring nightmare.
Daisy halted in her tracks in front of the steel island, leaning over to get a better look at the pink blob's cooking. "Kirby, what the heck is that."
"Poyo."
"Chicken?!" Marth blanched. "That's chicken?!"
"No, no, that's just how Kirby talks!" Daisy paused, then turned back to the pink blob. "It's....not chicken, right?"
Kirby shrugged, and the cooking promptly caught fire.
"Pika, pikapi!" the yellow mouse assured Marth in an only mildly panicked voice, and ran to grab a fire extinguisher. Hopefully, anyway.
Daisy pressed a hand against Marth's back and steered him away from the radiating flames. "Let's....ignore that, for now. That's Pikachu, by the way. Kirby's our head chef and comes up with the recipes, Pikachu helps with cooking and keeping things from doing....that. Most of the time. Okay, only one more member of our team to meet!"
Daisy tugged on the handle of a door in the back of the kitchen, revealing a huge, walk-in refrigerator. Something shifted in the back of the cold room, hidden in the shadows.
Marth gave Daisy an inquisitive look. "Do I...want to know what that is?"
Daisy snorted and flicked on the light. The room became bright immediately, and hunched in the corner was a very square guy holding a pickaxe. "That's Steve. He's in charge of getting us the freshest ingredients."
Steve nodded and suddenly whipped out a giant block of stone, before placing it beneath him and mining it for....some reason. Daisy leaned closer to Marth, whispering, "We....don't talk about Steve. Or to Steve. Link thinks he's killed a guy."
"What."
"Oh, it doesn't matter, really! Anyway, Steve's usually hiding out here and checking inventory, making sure there's 64 of everything....dunno why, but he's very particular about not going over that limit." Daisy shrugged and closed the door again nonchalantly, as if it wasn't creepy at all to have a guy hiding in the fridge.
"ALRIGHT!" Daisy exclaimed with a cheerful grin as she and Marth left the kitchen and entered the eating area. "Time to open up shop! Ready for your first day, newbie?"
"Definitely," he nodded, although internally his mind was screaming.
What the heck did I get myself into??!!?