Chapter Text
After putting on the apron, Kirigiri went to look in the bathroom mirror. She scowled at what she saw.
"This is humiliating..." She muttered under her breath.
Her classmate, Enoshima, designed the aprons that the employees would wear over their school uniforms. The design she chose puzzled Kirigiri--it featured a cute teddy bear, half-white and half-brown in color, gingerly sipping from a warm mug of coffee, a look of ecstasy on their face.
Enoshima walked out of the one of the stalls, also wearing her apron.
"Looking good, Kirigiri-chan!" Enoshima said as she walked over towards the mirrors and washed her hands in the sink. "Don't you like the apron I designed for us?"
"I...I'm a bit confused, Enoshima-san." Kirigiri said. "Why a teddy bear...?"
"That is the Hope's Peak Coffee Shop's new mascot..." Enoshima said. "...Coffeekuma!"
"Coffee...kuma?"
"Yup!" Enoshima said, looking down at her apron as she turned off the sink. "Isn't he the cutest thing? With such an adorable mascot, business will be booming! Don't dilly-dally, Kirigiri-chan! The shop opens in five minutes."
"I'll be right out..." Kirigiri said, continuing to stare at her reflection as Enoshima walked out of the bathroom. Kirigiri sighed and began to tie her pale purple hair into a high ponytail.
Today was her first day working at the Hope's Peak Coffee Shop, a student-run café within the walls of the Academy. Working wasn't strictly necessary, as she didn't have to pay any tuition to attend Hope's Peak Academy. The Academy also provided food, housing, and all other basic necessities that a student could need. But Kirigiri wanted to save up some extra money so she could go on a graduation trip. She had never been outside the country, but she had always wanted to travel and see other parts of the world. She thought of going to London. She had always wanted to see Baker Street and take in the sights of the city where Sherlock Holmes lived. As the Super High School Level Detective, she almost felt like it was her destiny to go there at some point. She secretly hoped one of her classmates would express interest in tagging along on her trip...but she was also OK going alone. But she couldn't put the cart before the ox. Before she could even go to London, she needed to earn enough money. It was the same for all those who worked at the coffee shop; most high school students liked wanted some extra spending money for clothes, luxurious meals, video games, or whatever else struck their fancy. The coffee shop didn't pay the best, but it was conveniently located near the student dorms, and the job didn't seem like it would be too demanding.
The coffee shop was located in a corner of the school's large cafeteria. It consisted of a large wooden counter with a marble countertop, divided in half--near the register was where customers could order and pay; afterwards, they would move down to the other half of the counter, where they could receive their coffee once it was done. This other half of the counter had small metal stools for customers to sit while they waited, as well as a stack of newspapers and magazines for them to peruse. Behind the front counter was a back counter, which housed an assortment of machines and devices used for making the products served at the shop; there was an espresso machine, numerous coffee siphons, an old-fashioned hand cranked coffee bean grinder, several electric kettles, and a small stove. Hanging above the back counter was a wooden shelf crammed with bags of coffee beans (Kirigiri noticed that each of them seemed to be a specialty brand, assuring anyone who glanced at the packaging that they were ethically farmed in some faraway tropical place like Costa Rica or Indonesia), small tins of tea leaves, jars full of different kinds of sugar, and many pump bottles containing syrups and creamers in a variety of flavors; from French vanilla to mocha to peppermint to hazelnut. Numerous small refrigerators were built into back counter; opening their stainless steel doors, Kirigiri found they contained numerous kinds of milk (regular, soy, oat, almond, and more) and miscellaneous items that needed to be kept cold, such as bottles of whipped cream and fruit juice used to make smoothies.
A few minutes after Kirigiri showed up, she saw Naegi approaching, also dressed in an apron with Junko's mascot on it--"Coffeekuma."
"Morning, Kirigiri!" He said, waving and smiling at her as he stepped behind the front counter.
"Naegi..." She said, looking down at her own apron once again.
"What's wrong?" Naegi said, noticing the embarrassed look on her face.
"Just...this apron..." Kirigiri said. "Don't you think...it's embarrassing to wear? It's just...so juvenile! We're running a coffee shop, not a daycare."
"Kirigiri...you look fine!" Naegi said, laughing. "No need to worry. No one's going to judge you. It's your work uniform. You're not wearing it by choice!"
"Couldn't they just have made it one solid color, without any mascots or decals?" Kirigiri said.
"I mean, with Enoshima-san designing them, I'm not sure what you were expecting." Naegi said. "She loves teddy bears. I always see her doodling them in her notebook during class."
"...Whatever." Kirigiri said, sighing. "I'll get over it...eventually."
"Once the morning rush of customers comes in, you'll be too busy to even remember that little bear on your apron." Naegi said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "But we've still got a while before everyone starts waking up and flocking here to buy a coffee before morning classes start. It's usually the busiest from nine to eleven, then after that it levels off. Past noon, it's all downhill from there until we close at two. The first few days are hard...but after a week or so, you'll get in the groove of things."
"...Thanks, Naegi." Kirigiri said. She owed him this job. He had been working at the coffee shop for over a year at this point and--once a barista position opened up--he recommended Kirigiri to fill it. Enoshima, the store's manager, had been reluctant, worrying that she lacked "customer service skills" due to her taciturn personality. But with a little more convincing from Naegi, Enoshima eventually agreed to bring her on as the store's newest barista.
"Naegi...you didn't have to do all that for my sake." Kirigiri said, when Naegi told her what he had said to Enoshima.
"Don't worry about it." Naegi said. "I know you would have done the same thing for me, Kirigiri."
Kirigiri had smiled then. Growing up, she genuinely never thought she would ever have a friend, much less someone she could consider a 'best friend.' She had been just as quiet and reserved as a child as she was now. Solving puzzles and mysteries, that was her forte; not socializing. She always liked to work alone, for she found it easiest to think that way. For many years, she regarded friends as little more than a distraction. The Super High School Level Detective didn't need friends. She didn't need a John Watson. She thought she could solve any problem she came across all by herself, using only her mind. She didn't even realize the nature of the intense sadness which dwelled within her was loneliness until she befriended Naegi. She didn't mean to become his friend; they were merely assigned to work together on a group project in their Social Studies class. They were assigned to prepare a presentation for the class about the causes and effects of the Meiji Restoration on Japanese society. Kirigiri tried to opt out; she practically begged their teacher to let her work on the project alone.
"Kirigiri...you cannot do everything alone, you know!" Her teacher had said. "You must learn how to work collaboratively, as part of a group."
When she and Naegi met up at the library to work on the project later that day, she expected to find his company intolerable. He always seemed like a nice enough person; always very polite and curious about others. He wasn't the problem; she was. She could have been assigned to work on a group project with the Buddha, and she still would have dreaded the very idea of it. However, when she arrived at the library and they began comparing their notes from their assigned reading to decide what to include in their presentation, she found the whole thing to be quite...pleasant. Speaking with Naegi, being around another person, it seemed to have some kind of healing effect on her that she couldn't quite describe. She was so used to never speaking with anyone that she constantly mumbled and grew awkward. But Naegi remained polite the whole time, never once growing frustrated with her. At one point, when they decided to take a quick lunch break, Kirigiri grabbed a small package of dorayaki from her bag to snack on.
"Ah...you like dorayaki too?" Naegi said.
"Er...yes." Kirigiri said, clearing her throat. "I pack some for lunch almost everyday. I have a...bit of a sweet tooth, I guess. It's a bad habit..."
"Well, if it makes you happy, then you shouldn't feel too bad about it." Naegi said.
That was the full extent of the interaction. Kirigiri had entirely forgotten she even mentioned her love of dorayaki to him...until their next study session a few days later, when he showed up with a small box. Setting it down on the table, he opened the lid to reveal it was full of dorayaki.
"I bought these at the bakery down the street from the Academy." Naegi said. "I saw them...and I remembered that you like dorayaki too, so I thought we could share them as we studied."
"Ah..." Kirigiri said, genuinely shocked by the gesture of kindness. "I...um..."
"Only if you'd like to." Naegi said. "If you're not hungry, you don't have to take any."
"N-No, they look delicious..." Kirigiri said, grabbing one from the box and biting into it. "I just...I forgot I even told you that I like dorayaki...so...um...thank you...Naegi-san."
"No worries." Naegi said, grabbing one of the treats for himself. "Now, then, let's get started. There's this part on page eighty-seven that I wanted to ask you about..."
They ended up getting an A on their project. Their teacher was so pleased with their work that she continued to assign Kirigiri and Naegi to work together on future projects. Soon, before she even realized it, Kirigiri had someone she could call a friend. Someone she could trust and confide in. She never even knew how much she wanted someone like that in her life until she had it.
"...Why are you so nice to me, Naegi?" Kirigiri asked him one day when they were getting lunch at the cafeteria.
"What do you mean?" Naegi said.
"I just...I don't understand it..." Kirigiri said. "Most people...I guess they're intimidated by me or something because...they just ignore me and stay out of my way. But you...you wanted to be my friend. And you're so nice to me, all the time. I just don't understand why..."
"Do I need a reason?" Naegi said. "You're my friend, Kirigiri. I care about you. And I know you care about me. That makes us friends. And...because we're friends, I'm nice to you."
"It's as simple as that?"
"Simple as that!"
Eventually, Kirigiri overcame the awkwardness that came with this new, alien feeling of "friendship" and now felt totally comfortable around him. She knew that, so long as he was here, her new coffee job shop wouldn't be too (Pardon the pun, she thought to herself) unbearable...
__
"Gooooood morning, everyone!" Enoshima said, showing up at the coffee shop a few minutes after Naegi. Kirigiri rolled her eyes, remembering how Enoshima scolded her in the bathroom and told her not to be late. Yet here she was, five minutes late to her shift herself, having run back to her dorm room to grab a magazine to thumb through in case business was slow and she had time to kill. "OK, let's do a roll call! Kirigiri-chan is here. So is Naegi-kun. Let's see...we're missing someone...our other new hire!"
"Other new hire...?" Naegi said. "Wait, you hired someone else?"
"Yeah...it was kind of short notice." Enoshima said. "Saionji-chan, that girl in the class above us who I hired a few weeks ago, she quit out of nowhere! I went to talk to her because I was getting complaints from customers about her being rude. She exploded on me and called me--and I quote--'a skanky bitch who dresses like a colorblind toddler.' ...I have to admit, I was kind of impressed by the creativity of her insult. Honestly, I would have let her keep her job, but she handed over her apron and told me she refused to come back here ever again. So it goes, I guess. Not everyone is cut out for the barista life...especially those who call customers who can't decide what they want 'dim-witted pigs.' In this line of work, you've got to suck it up, force a smile, and be prepared to call a pig a supermodel!"
"Who did you hire to replace Saionji-san?" Naegi said.
"...Ah, sorry I'm late!"
Kirigiri immediately grew nervous upon hearing that familiar voice. By the time she turned around to face her, her palms had already grown sweaty, and she let her mouth hang open stupidly at the sight of her.
"Asahina-chan!" Enoshima said. "It's your first day, and you're already late! Tut tut! You're lucky I'm such a forgiving, benevolent dictator!"
"Asahina-san..." Kirigiri said under her breath as she watched her approach. In her eyes, Asahina had done the impossible. She looked good, even while wearing that hideous teddy bear apron...