Work Text:
It’s been happening for a week or two now, ever since Kakashi started taking up the graveyard shift for the small convenience store near his apartment and three bus-stops away from his university campus.
The first time it happened, Kakashi had merely shrugged, thinking nothing about it.
The store had a system in place, and there would usually be a chirpy tone to welcome the customer as the automatic sliding glass doors opened. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, looking up from his book, wondering who on earth would be up at two in the morning, and decided that walking at least ten minutes in the dead of the night to the nearest convenience store was a good idea.
(He hoped it wasn’t the fat, pot-bellied man buying condoms again, who always blushed when he went up to the counter to pay for his purchases. He seemed to think that buying condoms was embarrassing, and made an effort to buy them when there was no one in the store - at two in the morning.)
There was no one, and Kakashi found himself staring into an empty space even as the glass doors slid to a close, and he raised an eyebrow, taking a customary sweep of the empty store and the security feed. When he found nothing, he shrugged, before going back to his book, humming to himself.
Then just ten minutes before his shift ended, the doors slid open again. He looked up, and found nothing.
Right. It was a machine, and it was bound to be faulty. He sighed, and decided to write it down on the log book under the ‘remarks’ section - faulty sensors.
Except, the next time he had his shift, it wasn’t faulty. Kurenai, the girl who took the shift before Kakashi, had informed him that maintenance had came by earlier and found nothing wrong with the sensors.
Great then. The problem was fixed. Kakashi sat in his chair, preparing himself for a long night of reading until his shift ended.
Halfway through, the pot-bellied, condom-buying customer entered, barely sparing a glance at Kakashi even as he approached the counter, blindly grabbing on to a few boxes on the shelf beside the cashier, before dumping them on the belt, taking out his wallet and shuffling about.
Kakashi took his time to scan the purchases and bag them, amused at the man’s behaviour, darting glances between his purchase and the sliding doors.
“That would be thirty dollars, sir.” Kakashi said, keeping himself from smiling as the man slapped a fifty-dollar note into his hands, asked him to keep the change before leaving the store in a rush.
Sweet. He had earned twenty bucks. Tips were hard to come by, after all, since he was working the graveyard shift with no customers. He could buy something nice for himself with twenty.
Pocketing his tips, Kakashi made his comfortable, going back to where he had left off. The sensors chimed, and he sighed, a little disappointed since he was already comfortable.
He looked up, blinked as he watched the sliding doors closing. Frowning, the university student took a glance at the empty store and the security feeds. Nothing.
But it was strange. Kurenai had told him there was nothing wrong with the sensors, right? Maybe it was his imagination?
Ten minutes before his shift ended, the automatic doors slid open again, then closed. There was no one under the sensors.
Kakashi frowned, nearly tempted to write it under the remarks section again. He waited for Rin, the girl who had the shift after him, to come in.
“Kakashi?” Rin greeted, surprised. “Is something the matter?"
Kakashi hoisted his bag. “Rin, does the automatic sliding door open and close when there’s no one there during your shift?"
Rin blinked, staring at him and looked a little creeped out. “No? I mean, if the sensors don’t sense anything, the door won’t open. There should be something, right?”
Something.
Kakashi shook his head. “Uh, it’s nothing. Bye, Rin.”
.
This happened for about a week, before Kakashi, who felt like he was going to go insane from the automatic door opening and closing when there wasn’t anyone there, shared it with his friends.
“… And I don’t think I can write ‘faulty sensors’ one more time, because it would be the third time in two weeks and I don’t want to be fired."
Asuma and Gai simply stared at him once he finished recounting his experiences at his part time job.
“… Right.” Asuma finally managed to respond, but he hurriedly took a huge bite of his burger, refusing to comment any further, nudging Gai with his elbow instead.
Kakashi stared at them blankly.
“Uh, Kakashi,” Gai started, nothing unlike his usual boisterous, loud voice. “… Ever thought of just… taking another shift?"
Kakashi continued staring.
“I mean, that sounds pretty creepy - and we did tell you it’d be dangerous to work there, alone, at night.” Asuma added.
“Asuma. I’m a black belt in karate and a three-time judo champion. How am I possibly in danger?”
Asuma sighed. “I mean, that just sounds like…"
“A ghost?” Gai supplied helpfully. “There’s no one there right? But it opens twice every night, at the same time? Maybe it’s a ghost."
Kakashi stared at his friends, disbelieving their stupid theory of ghosts. he finished his burger, and threw the wrappers at them. “This is stupid."
.
Kurenai was already dressed and waiting for him when he reached the store.
“You look kinda irritated. What’s up?"
“It’s nothing. By the way, was there any problem with the sensors?” Kakashi asked. Kurenai stared at him in confusion, before shaking her head.
“No? It’s working perfectly fine. Something wrong?"
So it only happened to him, during his shift? Unfortunate. He waved Kurenai away as he dumped his bag below the counter, putting on the apron with the convenience store logo. “Your stupid boyfriend thinks this convenience store is haunted."
“Asuma?” Kurenai asked again, in disbelief.
Kakashi nodded, sitting onto the tiny chair as he dug for his book. “Well, only during my shift though, so there’s no problem."
“Ah, you mean when the doors open for no one?” Kurenai asked, smirking a little.
Kakashi rolled his eyes. “Whatever. It’s faulty, I swear."
Kurenai merely shrugged, before leaving him to himself, his books, and of course, automatic sliding doors that opened twice in the middle of the night for no one.
.
Kakashi was starting to think that maybe Asuma’s absurd theory was accurate. How else was he supposed to explain the doors opening in the dead of the night for nothing?
It was a ghost, that’s what.
Kakashi barely cared when the doors slid open. He glanced up, spotted nothing, then went back to his book. If it was a ghost that wasn’t going to purchase anything and give him tips, then he wasn’t going to waste his time fretting over something that may or may not even exist.
(Kakashi still insisted it was a sensor fault, though. No way in hell was he going to admit that he believed in Asuma’s ghost theory.)
Twenty minutes later, the door opened, and Kakashi blinked, a little surprised at the young man that stood in the main entrance, feet bare and looking like he was still asleep.
Was he sleep-walking? Or was this the ghost?
(Maybe it was a sleep-walking ghost. Kakashi doesn’t even know what this place is anymore. Is he still even working at a convenience store? Or was this like some regular hangout for ghosts that needed to buy condoms or chips for their ghost-sex or ghost-party?)
The man yawned. Not sleeping, then, as he noticed a black eyes snapping open as the man grumbled under his breath, dragging himself down the aisles in a lethargic manner. Kakashi eyed the man, worried that he would suddenly fall over and sleep on the shelves.
As the black head disappeared behind the shelves near the drinks, Kakashi stood up, a little worried about what he was supposed to do if the man really crashed - was he supposed to call the police or the hospital? Or maybe shove a can of coffee into his mouth and ask him to pay for it afterwards?
In the midst of his musings, the man stood up again, grumbling still, holding something under his arms.
Oh. A customer, then. Kakashi nearly forgot that he was working at convenience store.
He stood behind the cashier, patiently waiting for the man to approach. However, he walked straight pass the cashier, not even sparing Kakashi a glance as he walked to the entrance.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me, sir. Are you going to be purchasing that?” He asked as politely as he could, though not entirely sure what the man had in his hands.
He didn’t expect the man to jump at the sound of his voice though, yelping and using his free hand to clutch at his chest.
“Oh my god.” He wheezed, and turned around, eyes wide and awake. “You scared me.”
Kakashi stared, not-impressed at the bravery of the man in front of him. (Though otherwise could be said for his looks. Black hair, pale skin. Wow. Look at that smile.)
Then he dropped his gaze, and stopped. Suddenly, everything made sense. The door opening twice for plain air, or some ghost.
It wasn’t a ghost. It was a cat. A calico cat that was pressed snugly against the man.
A fucking cat.
Kakashi felt his mind blank-out, still staring at the purring bundle. Three weeks of thinking his workplace was haunted, and debating whether to fill in ‘faulty sensors’ under the remarks section.
“What the…” Kakashi frowned.
The man looked a little apologetic, noticing Kakashi’s glare at his cat, and the way the man nearly deflate into the tiny chair behind the counter.
“Seems like he’s been giving you a lot of trouble,” he started, offering an apologetic smile.
“Yeah. Thought this place was haunted or something.” Kakashi grumbled, not noticing what he had let slip.
The man laughed. “I’m really sorry. I’m Obito, by the way. Call me next time if he returns."
“Right.” Kakashi muttered, staring at Obito’s face, lips curved into a small smile. He waved Obito good bye, only realising minutes later that he never left his number.
Rin blinked at the sight of a depressed Kakashi the next day. “Did something happen with the door again?"
.
Kakashi now knew better when the door opened. He casted his gaze downwards, smiling when he saw a calico cat purring at him. Slowly, he approached the cat, holding it up and placing it at the counter.
Time passed, and the door slid open. Obito stood there, looking tired but more awake than he had been the last time.
“Hey,” he greeted, going up to his calico and scratching it under the chin, eliciting a soft purr. “Sorry about this dude. Why didn’t you call?"
Kakashi gave him a blank stare. “You didn’t leave your number, sir."
“Oh. Oops.” Obito laughed nervously, writing it hurriedly on the back of some scrap paper. “Please, next time just call me when he comes back."
“Sure."
Obito reached around the cat, easily carrying it in his arms comfortably. “Really sorry. But hey, at least it’s not a ghost, right?” He teased.
Kakashi half-glared, a little ashamed. “Are you going to be getting anything else with that?” Kakashi said, looking at the cat. “I have a feeling you owe me a lot of tips."
Obito flushed. “R-right,” he blindly grabbed on to one of the shelves at the counter. “Here."
“Really? ‘Ultra-thin, strawberry-flavoured’?” Kakashi said, smirking as he read the label on the box, watching the pale face heat up.
“Uh, not that. This.” Obito mumbled, swatting away the condom and putting a few chocolate bars instead. “Please just let me go home and sleep."
Kakashi nodded, ringing up the total and placing them into a bag. “That’ll be ten dollars."
Obit gave him twenty. “Tips, right? Can I get an extra plastic bag, though?"
Kakashi watched him bag the calico into the spare, and chuckled as Obito left the convenience store, only to come back and re-confirm that he did leave his phone number for Kakashi.
.
The next time the cat came back, Kakashi closed his book, watching as the calico jumped up on to the counter.
“Aren’t you pretty used to this?” He muttered softly, rubbing the feline creature under it’s chin, mimicking Obito’s actions.
The cat meowed, staring at him before turning away, curling up and falling asleep.
Kakashi fished out his phone, snapping a photo and sending it to Obito.
DSC_107.jpg
Calico cat for sale
Ugh. Omw, sorry.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow as Obito arrived ten minutes later, disheveled and out-of-breath. He eyes the man top to bottom, and smirked.
“You wear that to sleep?"
Obito looked at his own clothes, flushing at the Hello Kitty shirt. He groaned. “No. It’s a gift from my friend. I just threw on whatever when I got your message."
Kakashi imagined Obito, half-asleep as he read his message, with adorable bed hair and half-naked.
“Shame. Should have just come half-naked.” He smirked, watching as Obito turned red. Ignoring his comments, Obito took a chocolate bar, placing it on the counter with a little more force than necessary.
“Just this, and the cat."
Kakashi smiled, ringing up the purchase. Obito dug into his pocket, realising that he had forgotten to take out his wallet.
“Ugh."
“What, don’t tell me you forgot your wallet?"
Obito hung his head, nodding. “I feel bad enough already that this dude keeps bothering you. Sorry, I don’t have enough for tips."
Kakashi shrugged. “You can always tip me here instead,” he smirked, pointing at his lips.
.
(Rin smiled when the doors slid open, spotting Obito at the door. Finally, her shift was over!
“You’re late,” she said, watching as the man apologised, taking up his position behind the counter. There was a small mew, and she peered into his bag, sighing.
“And you should probably stop bring him here while you work.”
Obit pouted. “But I can’t leave him alone! Besides, I’ll be lonely."
Rin rolled her eyes, hoisting her bag. “Obito, cats are independent feline creatures. And besides, you have one of the busiest shift on the block - lunch time and rush hour.”)
.
(Kurenai raised an eyebrow as she entered to relieve Obito of his shift. “You brought him to work again? He probably knows the way here without you, by now."
Obito kept his mouth shut, shrugging as he packed his bag and picked up his calico.
“You need to get laid. It’s getting pathetic, seeing you lug the cat everywhere just because you’re lonely.” Kurenai muttered.
“And be like you, with Asuma and his conspiracy theories? Go out to haunting spots instead of dating spots?"
Kurenai sighed, a little resigned. “Did you know he thought that our convenience store is haunted?"
Obito snickered.)
.