Chapter Text
A new day.
Makoto wakes up, pulling himself out of bed, groggily rubbing his eyes. To be fair, calling it a bed wouldn’t be right. A queen size mattress that lies directly on the hardwood floor. With a sigh, he made his way to the small bathroom to get ready for the day. The first day at his new job, actually. It was a small restaurant in town, and he needed the money after spending most of his savings on a down payment and three months rent. Hey, at least the rent was somewhat cheap for a one bedroom apartment? He had never worked in a restaurant before, but he didn’t really care about that.
He towel dried his hair as he mulled over what kind of food he’d be cooking in his head. He reached for his toothbrush, and- err, forgot to buy one of those, I guess. There’s always the tried and true method of putting toothpaste on your finger and rubbing it on your teeth, right? Makoto reaches once again, feeling as his pale fingers wrap around the tube- Nope. That’s empty space. Now that’s a marble countertop. So smooth, so shiny… yeah he forgot to buy toothpaste too. He grumbled to himself before abandoning the bathroom entirely. Hopefully one of his coworkers would have gum, or something. Or maybe the kitchen has mint? Like, the plant. Obviously.
He throws his clothes on, having lost some time allotted for public transit during his dental hygiene pursuit. Makoto quickly makes his way out the door- nope, not yet. There’s one thing he can’t leave without. His ancient relic of a portable music player. And headphones. Seriously, this thing was so old he could give it to a museum. They’d probably give him more than this damn apartment’s worth. Makoto likes to think of himself as a man of few possessions, hence the sparsely furnished bedroom, but this thing has to have some semblance of sentimental value to him. He shuffles the same playlist he’s been adding to since high school, which is now an amalgam of sleazy rap, trashy teen girl pop, and videogame OSTs. Makoto would call it a masterpiece. He boards the train and stares into space, becoming one with the music.
The train has arrived at downtown Iwatodai! We’d love to ride with you again.
That artificially peppy tone echoed the same line through a station speaker that really needs replacing. Makoto was blissfully oblivious to it. He faintly hummed to the tune of the current song as he walked down the city streets. He vaguely recalled the slogan of the restaurant he applied to… something about seizing the day? He smirked. So cheesy.
As he tilted his head upwards, taking in the towering cityscape unfolding above his very eyes, he felt an impact against his chest. It was a short, brown haired girl. She wore glasses, and appeared pretty stunned for a moment. Out of obligation, Makoto opened his mouth to ask if she was okay, but she was too quick to the draw. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I was just in such a rush because I had to go to the library to- Eek! I have to go, umm, sorry!” Before Makoto could reassure her that she hadn’t committed any crime, she was off. Sprinting, really. Wow, she is genuinely dodging and weaving between all those people. If she keeps that up, she might be in for a college football scholarship.
“She said sorry twice.” A somewhat annoying voice spoke next to Makoto. He turned around, facing a brown haired guy in a yellow hoodie. “Sup, I’m Kenji!” He flashed Makoto a friendly smile, extending his hand for a handshake.
“And I’m leaving.” Makoto said, blowing a couple strands of hair out of his eye before pushing past Kenji. “H-hey! Wait up!” Makoto did, in fact, not wait up. Kenji let out a dejected sigh as a tan hand was placed on his shoulder. Another guy, slightly taller, with short black hair and a sweatsuit on. He had one of those blender cups with the steel balls, shaking a pale colored liquid vigorously with his free hand. “You’ll get ‘em next time, Kenji.” He sounded like he was teasing him, but his tone was genuine. It was kind of sweet.
“Shut up, Kaz. You make it sound like I’m trying to score chicks…” Kenji grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Come on, we know you like ‘em older.” Now, Kaz was teasing him. “Hey, you’re not wrong about that.” Kenji gave a cheeky grin. Kaz rolled up his sleeve a tad, checking his watch. His eyes widened. “Ahh, crap! If we don’t hurry to the gym my schedule’s gonna get all thrown off!” Kaz began to sprint before Kenji could process that sentence. “Hey! Damn it, I don’t even wanna go…” Kenji shook his head, but followed after his friend anyway.
After successfully escaping that harrowing (but brief) encounter, Makoto finally made it to the restaurant. In big, red letters atop the door, the name was…
S.E.E.S.
And in small letters riiiight beneath that…
the day!
Makoto facepalmed. It was even worse in person. So much worse. He shrugged his shoulders, placing a firm hand against the cold glass and pushing the door open. He was greeted by… a smell. Definitely a smell that is entering his nose and registering in his brain. And a way too enthusiastic voice. “Are YOU ready to S.E.E.S. the day?!” There was a face, and it was all up in his face. Without a second thought, he punched it. “Too close.” He mumbled, and the face fell backwards onto the ground. “Owww…” Seemed to be a guy about his age. Makoto cleared his throat, offering a hand to pull him up off of the tile floor. The guy grasped it, quickly recovering with a smile and a thumbs up. “I’m OKAY!” Makoto attempted to pull his hand away, but the guy firmly shook it. “Unfortunately…” A somewhat sassy voice rang in, and a girl who looked about the same age as the both of them walked over. She had short hair, and they all donned the same red apron uniform. It was a really vibrant red. “You must be the new guy. I’m Yukari, and please ignore Stupei over here.”
“Nice to meet you, Yukari. And Stupei.” Makoto snatched his hand away from the handshake. It went on way too long. Kind of started to get uncomfortable. “That’s right! The one and only Stupe- Hey, it’s Junpei!” He whined. Yukari stifled her laughter, but not very well. “Jeez, you might’ve given him some brain damage with that punch.” Junpei laughed a little too, taking it in stride. “Come on, I can handle that. I tanked that hit from Sanada, didn’t I?” Junpei gloated with a smirk, as if being punched in the face by, not one, but a total of two people was some sort of achievement.
“Yeeaaahh, and then you took off the next day…” She teased him. His expression shifted defensively. “Bwuh- that’s because I was totally sick!” “Yeah, totally.” She rolled her eyes. “Oh! Sorry, we didn’t even show you around yet! Here, meet me in the kitchen.” Yukari tilted her head, gesturing towards the counter with a door behind it. She then walked off in that direction. “Junpei. Sorry, I guess.” Makoto apologized, err, if you could even count his apathetic fulfilling of social obligations as an apology.
Junpei furrowed his brow, an angry look on his face. “You guess?” The awkward tension simmered for a moment, Makoto unsure of what to say. Suddenly, Junpei burst into laughter. “Oh man, shoulda seen the look on your face! I’m kidding, dude. No hard feels, kay? Now let’s get you a peek at that kitch.” Makoto forced out a faint, awkward laugh before following Junpei, who gestured towards the kitchen with his hand.
They entered a decently sized rectangular room. Posters hung on the wall with reminders for employees to wash their hands, change their gloves, and switch out produce. The tacky red wallpaper was peeling at some edges, revealing scuffed drywall behind it. The tile floor continued, even here. One big lamp hung overhead, illuminating the workspace. Corners… dusty. Junpei… picking something out of his teeth. Yukari… sighing at him. “So, these are the facilities. If you’d even call them that…” She twirled her hair with a finger, almost anxiously.
“Prep table’s next to the fridge, across from that is the stove, under the stove is, well, an oven, aaaand all the dry stuffs in that cabinet under the prep table. Oh, we keep spices and stuff in a basket… it’s kind of inefficient.” Yukari had a finger on her chin, looking up at the ceiling. She seemed like she was trying to recall something. Junpei intercepted. “We uhh, used to have a dishwasher, but it broke, haha…” He added, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. His expression almost… guilty. Makoto raised an eyebrow. Yukari snapped out of it immediately after Junpei spoke. “Oh! That’s right, the dishwasher. He totally flooded it with bubble bath mix.” Yukari put it bluntly. Junpei was caught off guard, rushing to his own defense. “H-hey! That was like, a prank, y’know?” Junpei tried to give Makoto a cheeky little grin, but Makoto wasn’t even looking at him.
Yukari giggled to herself a little. “You don’t have to worry about that, we have a backup dishwasher.” She then lifted her hand, pointing her index finger at Junpei. Her glittery pink nail sparkled in the lamplight. “A damn good one at that.” Junpei said, tilting his hat in some faux suave manner. Makoto interrupted the both of them, his tone cold. “There’s a line of people outside the door.” He said, exiting the kitchen and pointing. There was indeed quite the line. A couple bold ones pressed against the glass. “BWUH?!” Junpei exclaimed, paralyzed by the shock. Yukari was already making herself busy, taking fresh produce out of the fridge and dicing it up. “Damn it, we were supposed to open ten minutes ago!” She grumbled, her hands moving so fast they were simply a blur.
Makoto had to admit, he was pretty impressed. “Oh man, here she goes..” Junpei sighed. His expression made it clear this wasn’t the first time. “Junpei, wipe down the tables, stat! New guy, I need you taking orders, okay?” When she commanded Junpei, she spoke like a dictator. However, she shifted to a gentler tone with Makoto. Makoto nodded dutifully and assumed his post behind the counter. “So bossy…” Junpei mumbled, doing a girly voice and mocking Yukari under his breath as he begrudgingly wiped the tables. The customers outside looked a little confused.
Yukari quickly exited the kitchen to reprimand the table wiper. “Damn it Stupei, unlock the door before you wipe the tables down!” She took a deep breath. “In through the nose, out through the mouth…” She took a couple more deep breaths before calmly walking back into the kitchen. “She should really get evaluated..” Junpei mumbled before opening the door.
His attitude shifted in a fraction of a second. “Are YOU ready to S.E.E.S. the day?!” Junpei welcomed each and every one of them with that same stupid line, pointing them towards the counter. “That’s the new guy, go easy on him, will ya?” Customers quickly rushed in, most of them had seemingly taken a liking to Junpei. Makoto wondered just how long he and Yukari had been at this. A sleazy looking businessman approached the counter, his face anything but friendly. He eyed the menu. A couple other customers sat down as Junpei handed out menus to those opting for dine-in. “Here or to go.” Makoto said, dryly.
The businessman raised an eyebrow, eyeing him carefully. He then scoffed. “Hey, kid, you know who I am? I come here every damn day and take the same coffee.” Makoto simply stared at him blankly. “To go.” Makoto shrugged, writing it down on a notepad. “My scone. What about my scone? Hell, you work here and you don’t even know your damn regulars?” Makoto shrugged again, scribbling the word scone on his notepad. He told the man his total, waiting to be given the money. “You know what kind of scone I want? You wrote down blueberry scone?”
This guy appeared to be looking for some kind of fight. Makoto being the socially inept bastard he is, wasn’t able to pick up on that. “No. You didn’t say blueberry. You said scone.” The chattering of customers ceased as a few of them began to notice what was going on. They curiously looked over at the encounter between the two. The businessman leaned over the counter, very close to Makoto. His brow was so furrowed Makoto could’ve sworn that guy gained a few new wrinkles that morning. “You listen here, and you listen close. Scone implies blueberry.”
“Scone… implies blueberry?”
“Scone. Implies. Blueberry.”
A couple seconds of awkward eye contact were endured before Makoto picked up his notepad. He scribbled down ‘scone implies blueberry’ as he repeated it under his breath. The man snatched the notepad, slamming it on the counter. Just as he geared up for another bout of yelling, Junpei, who was headed back to the kitchen with a few orders, decided to play peacekeeper. Well, it was more of an obligation.
“Heeeey, let’s all calm down a tad, alright? I’ll get you that coffee and scone Mr. Tanaka.” Junpei was pretty good at customer service. Makoto could learn a thing or two from the guy, if he cared. “President Tanaka, to you.” He mumbled, fixing his suit and looking away. He seemed a little embarrassed. Makoto felt an arm grab his. Not rough, but firm. “And you’re coming with me, right now.” Junpei whisper-yelled in his ear before whisking him away. He was gently dragged into the kitchen, where a very stressed looking Yukari already had a dozen dishes ready. Junpei opened his mouth to explain, but Yukari cut him off. “I overheard. New guy, we’ll get you the restaurant equivalent of media training later. Whatever that is. For now just… act like you care? Wouldn’t hurt.” She flashed him a playful smile, but Makoto quickly shot it down. “But I don’t.” Makoto responded. Junpei stifled his laughter. “Man, I can’t wait for him to meet Kirijo.” A stupid smirk was on Junpei’s face.
“Keep talking and I’ll make you close up all by yourself tonight.” Yukari gave him a cold glare. He quickly shut up. “Yes ma’am…” He sulked off with the coffee and blueberry scone. She called after him. “Hey, when you’re done with that take this food to the tables!” Makoto could hear another meek ‘yes ma’am’ in the near distance. He sighed, exiting the kitchen and resuming his task. The businessman had just left, humming some catchy tune as he went out the door. Makoto could’ve sworn he heard it before…
Shift over.
Makoto stood idly at the counter he had just finished wiping off. It was dark out by now, he’d been hard at work all day. Well, hard at work is giving him a bit too much credit. Yukari exited the kitchen with a relieved sigh. Junpei was using the mop as a microphone as he obnoxiously sang. Yukari looked at Makoto with a soft smile. “You did pretty good for your first day. Better than him, at least.” Junpei was lost in his fantasized stardom. “Low bar.” Makoto replied. Yukari giggled a bit. “Try not to be too hard on him, okay? He really helped you out earlier.” She added, taking off her apron and folding it up.
She opened the staff closet, grabbing a trendy pink purse and slinging it over her arm. “I guess.” Makoto mumbled. Junpei finished up his fantastical performance, placing the mop in the closet and heading towards the door. “Heads up!” He tossed the keys to Yukari, a metallic jingling as they soared through the air. She caught them, thankfully. “Didn’t I tell you to stop that?” Sometimes, she sounded like a mom when she reprimanded Junpei. “Hey, I’m just feelin’ good! Another victory and a new member for S.E.E.S.! Wait, ain’t this your first victory?” Makoto looked confused. Yukari sighed. “Every time we close up shop, he calls it some victory. He thinks we’re in one of his games or something.” Her tone sounded tired, but she was smiling. “Come ooon, let’s celebrate by you driving us home! Whaddya say, Yuka?” Junpei was beaming a wide grin.
It’d be pretty hard to say no to that. Yukari reluctantly agreed. “Do you even have to ask? I take you home every night.” She opened the door as the three stepped out, the night breeze welcoming them to the cityscape. “Well that’s just because it’s convenient! Don’t get the wrong idea, newbie. We just live in the same apartment, that’s all.” Junpei was pretty quick to clear that up, but Makoto hadn’t thought of it that way at all. Yukari found this pretty peculiar too, raising an eyebrow after she locked the door and flipped the sign on it to CLOSED. “Umm, I don’t think anyone got the wrong idea, like, ever.” Junpei winced at her reaction. “Ice cold, Yukari, ice cold…” He mumbled. Makoto couldn’t help but smirk.
“Heeey, is that a smile I see on the new guys face?” Junpei teased as Yukari unlocked her car. A bright pink scratched up old Toyota model. She got in the front seat, turning it on as the passenger doors unlocked. Junpei went for the shotgun seat, but all Yukari had to do was give him a cold glare before he backed off without a word. He and Makoto sat in the back as she turned it on and began to drive. “So, where do you live?” She asked. Junpei reached for the aux, his hand quickly swatted away.
Makoto told them the address, Junpei’s eyes widening in excitement. “Oh, that’s the same apartment complex as us. Did you know it used to be a dormitory? Before they remodeled it, of course.” Yukari said. Junpei was silent, but he was bouncing his leg with excitement. After a couple minutes, they found themselves at the Iwatodai Apartment Complex. As they entered through the front door, Makoto finally noticed the dusty lounge that made up the first floor.
Junpei ran in, shoving past him. He gripped an air microphone, striking a dramatic pose. “And now, we can finally make use of… the AMAZINGLY UNDERRATED IWATODAI APARTMENT COMPLEX LOUNGE!” In Junpei’s mind, and Junpei’s mind alone, he heard the roaring of a crowd and his eyes were met with flurries of confetti. “So, you guys ready to get your hang on-“ As he turned to where the others were standing, he realized they… weren’t standing there. He could hear them as they hurriedly walked up the stairs. “Oh, come on! So much for that…” He mumbled, sitting down on the couch. He jolted up off of the couch as soon as his rear end met the cushion. “Eugh, it’s so… dusty.” He shivered with disgust before heading up the stairs as well.
Down one long hallway was Makoto’s apartment. Next to it, Junpei’s. “Oh, mines upstairs, so I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Everyone’s going to be there, so try to get some rest, okay?” Yukari said. Makoto shrugged, but then realized he should probably nod instead. So he did a weird half shrug half nod. Yukari giggled and headed up the stairs. “Goodnight!” She called down as she went up. Makoto unlocked his door and headed in. “Whew, lotsa stairs… hey new guy, wanna watch some flick-“ Makoto’s door shut. Very quickly. It almost felt targeted. “I’ll let you get away from me this time…” Junpei smirked before heading to his own apartment.
Tired from the long day, Makoto hopped in the shower. He dried himself off afterwards, eager to lay in his be- err, floor mattress. He didn’t mind. As soon as he lie his head down, he fell asleep.
Day end.