Chapter Text
Business was good. The OkaKoro Patisserie could continue to exist for the time being and its respective owners can live in relative comfort for the foreseeable future. If life were so simple…
Korone flipped the sign from “Open” to “Closed” and locked the doors with a sigh.
“Tired, honey?” Okayu said, sweeping the bits and crumbs across the floor.
Korone leaned her head against the door. She felt fatigued, but there was something under the surface that she couldn’t verbalize. “Okayu, we’re doing fine, right?”
“Like financially? Yeah.”
“...I mean us . Is this what our future will be?”
Okayu stopped her sweeping and leaned against the door with her wife. She held Korone’s hand. Warm and soft. Her voice lowered to that pitch that Korone loved to hear so much. “Tell me what’s wrong, Koro-san.”
“Nothing’s really wrong. But I just can’t help thinking that we’re missing something. I thought that making a bakery together, succeeding, and living out our dreams would grant me some sort of…”
“...Peace?” Okayu said.
“Yeah. I must sound like a whiny dog right now.”
“That’s true,” Okayu said. Korone frowned at her wife to see a coquettish smile. “I agree though. Something’s… missing. But thinking about it now won’t get us anywhere. How about we turn in early and take the day off tomorrow?”
Korone sighed and leaned closer to Okayu. “I wish you would say, ‘go and punch some stuff for a few hours’ instead of the boring ol’ ‘go to sleep’ advice.”
“Maybe we could go out? Just the two of us. Is that a better answer?” Okayu said, coming closer to Korone’s face.
“It’s a pretty good one.” Korone said smiling.
Okayu kissed Korone on the lips, “What about that answer?”
“A better one… but I’m not particularly satisfied with how quick that was.” Korone said, her tail wagging so hard it whacked the door. “Perhaps a discussion should be held in the bedroom?”
“At this rate, none of us would get any sleep.”
“We got the day off, don’t we?” Korone said.
Okayu giggled. “You are such a dog!”
Korone and Okayu awoke to noises from the front door. It was 5 A.M. Okayu turned and placed a pillow over her ears. Korone jumped from bed and grabbed her baseball bat. She ran downstairs towards the entrance to their patisserie and slowed as she passed the counters. Her ears forward and her tail bristled, she inched towards the shaking front door. Whoever or whatever was behind that door had better be prepared to be added into Korone’s RBI.
Korone unlocked the door. It swung open. Korone was already mid-swing. The figure on the other side of the door bowed, dodging the metal bat by a width of a hair. The impact of the bat to the door frame shook Korone so hard, she thought she turned into those massagers Okayu loved.
“Inugami Korone-sama! Please make me your disciple!” the figure said. A girl’s voice. Young and energetic. Cute too.
Korone stopped her vibrating and centered herself. She dropped her bat which made a deafening clang as it hit the ground. From the darkness of morning, she could make out the bushy tail behind the figure. Looks like a squirrel’s.
“Koro-san, what is going on?” Okayu said from behind the front counter, still in her pajamas which consisted of nothing but an oversized shirt.
Before Korone could get her vision back to normal, the figure spoke again. “Nekomata Okayu-sama! Please make me your disciple too!” Her bow changed its angle towards Okayu.
“Kid, it’s 5 AM.” Korone said.
“I meant to arrive at 4 because that’s when bakers begin working!” the squirrel girl shouted.
Okayu went to Korone’s side, nestling her cheek against her wife’s shoulder. “3, but I respect the drive. What’s your name, sweetie?”
“Ayunda Risu.”
“Risu-chan,” Korone said, “I almost bashed your brains in. Did you really think that waking us up before opening hours, especially on our day off, was a good way to get hired?”
“Yes…?” Risu said timidly.
Okayu giggled and whispered in Korone’s ear, “She reminds me of you.”
Korone furrowed her brow at Okayu. The cat didn’t mind. Okayu grinned at the squirrel girl, “Korone and I were planning to go out today. How about you accompany us? Consider it your interview.”
“Really!?” Both Risu and Korone said, each with a differing tone of voice.
“Really. If you don’t mind, I need to get dressed.”
Risu’s eyes wandered to Okayu’s loose-fit clothes and immediately away, “O-of course!”
Okayu slipped away, with both the dog and squirrel watching her as she faded into the back of the patisserie. Korone’s attention returned to Risu, still standing in the cold dark of morning.
Korone sighed. “Come on in.”
“Thank you, Inugami Korone-sama,” Risu said.
“Korone is fine.”
“Okay… Korone…” Risu sounded as if she were constipated, “...-senpai.”
Korone-senpai… She liked the sound of that. Korone pulled down a chair for Risu to sit and heated up some tea and toasted some leftover croissants from yesterday for the two. She laid the plates and cups on the table and settled down to the chair across from Risu. The squirrel girl’s eyes locked on to the pastry.
“Black sesame croissants with some barley tea. It’s on the house.”
“I never thought to try the black sesame ones…”
“What do you try then?”
“The almond croissants, the pistachio crepe cakes, walnut puffs, bear claws–”
“Everything with nuts in them, I see.” Korone said, eyeing Risu’s puffy tail. “Well, to become my disciple, you gotta open your taste buds to new things. Go on.”
Risu held the croissant in her hands. The flaky exterior crackled under her fingertips. Slowly and delicately, she took a deep enough bite to get to the creamy black sesame ganache. A couple chews in and her eyes widened. She looked at Korone with awe. Then she returned her gaze back to her croissant and continued to enjoy her piece. Through her munching, there was that unmistakable look that Korone forgot about.
As the years of business went by, Korone was focused on efficiency, production, and expansion. She knew her pastries were good, but she forgot what kept her going in the first place. At first, she thought that she needed to manage this patisserie enough for Okayu and her to gain some financial stability. But after that, she felt lost. Looking at Risu enjoying the croissant–which was one of Korone’s first recipes–reminded her of why she even baked to begin with.
To see someone smile.
Risu finished her croissant with enthusiasm and sipped on some tea to round out the meal, all the while grinning ear-to-ear. “Wow… That was crazy delicious Korone-senpai. I just knew that coming to you and Okayu-sama… Okayu-senpai… would be the right choice.”
“You chose us to be your baking masters, but why do you want to bake in the first place?” Korone asked, sipping her own tea.
“It’s kind of embarrassing,” Risu admitted, “I wanted to bake because of my friends. The two of them always loved when I made cookies and stuff. I want them to be proud of me. I want to see them smile more.”
There was a determination in Risu’s eyes that Korone recognized. A fire that could never be put out. Whoever these friends were, they mattered enough to this girl to risk having her skull caved in by a bat. Okayu was right, Risu reminded her a lot of herself.
Okayu came into the patisserie dressed up in a hoodie and sweats, “The black sesame croissants! Risu-chan, did you know that this was the first thing that Korone made for me when we first met? The moment I swallowed my first bite, she asked me out on a date!”
Korone shook her head, “She tells this story to everyone… Lemme put on a jacket and we’ll take a walk. The three of us.”