90. Why so serious?

Arch laughed heartily at Darkling's jokes. "Looks like somebody has some huge imagination!" He said, while he lifted over his okonomiyaki pieces from the hotplate to his plate. "You should become a comedy writer!" He joked.

Darkling took a sip from his tea. "Yeah, right." He said as he put down his cup.

"Why not?" Arch asked. "This stuff is golden! Imagine: 'Darkling's Sauce and Condiment Encyclopedia'!"

"An encyclopedia even!" Darkling laughed. "I may have a big imagination, but now you're overestimating me!"

"How about 'Darkling's Useless Knowledge' then?" Arch continued.

Darkling grinned sarcastically. "Wait, haven't you patented that one yet? Using your own name, of course."

"Hm." Arch thought for a moment. "'Arch's Useless Pursuits' would be a more appropriate name, don't you think?"

As the two of them laughed, Kana looked at Arch, shaking her head, smiling.

"What?" Arch asked, puzzled.

"It's just that... this is the first time I've seen you talking this much, when you have a full plate standing in front of you." Kana giggled.

Arch stared down at his plate. "Oh yeah, food!" He exclaimed. "Dang, it's getting cold!"

"Serves you right!" Darkling, who was already enjoying his own plate of okonomiyaki, said.

They continued eating silently for a while, until Arch noticed Ifrit, who was silently prodding his okonomiyaki with his chopsticks instead of eating it.

"What's the matter, Ifrit?" He mumbled, his mouth half-filled with okonomiyaki.

"...Nothing." Ifrit blankly replied. Hitomi looked at him, worriedly, and rubbed his back gently.

Arch swallowed the contents of his mouth. "You're thinking about the rival store, is that it?" He asked, seriously.

Ifrit put his chopsticks down. "Hm."

"Come on man, why so serious?" Arch tried to cheer him up. "Lighten up, we will think of something! Right, guys?" He looked around for support.

"MMM-MM!" Darkling nodded, not being able to respond because his mouth was full. Kana also nodded, smiling silently.

"You shouldn't think about it so much. Otherwise it will start to take over your life." Arch continued. He started smiling. "Unwind now, worry later, alright?"

"Arch-san is right, Ifrit-kun." Hitomi said, still rubbing Ifrit's back. "It's not healthy to keep worrying all the time."

Silently, she took a piece of okonomiyaki between her chopsticks and held it in front of Ifrit's face. "Now, let's eat!" She said, giving Ifrit a sweet smile.

Ifrit stared blankly at the piece of okonomiyaki for a couple of seconds, then looked at Hitomi, smiling. He opened his mouth and grabbed the piece of okonomiyaki from Hitomi's chopsticks with it. As he chewed, smiling at Hitomi, she giggled.

From the other side of the table, the other three watched as Hitomi began feeding Ifrit. "I think it's the beer kicking in." Darkling whispered to Arch. "Looks like it has an opposite effect from last time."

"Could be." Arch whispered back. "It probably enhances his mood."

"Ahem." Kana cleared her throat. "Arch-san?" She said, as she pointed at his plate, which was still half-full.

"Ah man, now it's even more cold!" He exclaimed before hastily continuing eating, much to Kana and Darkling's amusement.

"He's at it again!" Darkling laughed as he continued eating as well.

91. The leaning tower of Arch Evil

Darkling's good mood faltered a bit as he watched Ifrit and Hitomi playfully feeding each other pieces of okonomiyaki before starting to cook their second one together. Hitomi leaned forward, giving Ifrit instructions and advice as he poured the batter, then they both laughed and enjoyed themselves while scattering cheese, green onions and pieces of octopus onto the pancake's surface.

Sighing, Darkling looked down at his half-eaten okonimiyaki, the little flakes of bonito still writhing faintly in the air as if they were alive. The impression that the thin shavings of fish were moving on their own had really freaked Darkling out the first time he'd seen it, but now it was all just part of the fun.

Normally, anyway.

"Say 'ahh', Ifrit-kun!" Hitomi said happily, holding out the last piece of their first okonomiyaki for Ifrit to eat.

"Aaaaaaaahh!" Ifrit said, opening his mouth exaggeratedly wide and chomping down comically on the morsel, to Hitomi's delight.

They make a nice couple, Darkling reflected to himself, as they turned their attention back to their okonomiyaki. Hitomi has this warmth, this heart to her that keeps Ifrit grounded in reality. Before Hitomi came along, Ifrit worked insane hours and talked business practically all the time, even with me and Arch. But now here he is, going on dates and acting all lovey-dovey and enjoying himself. Actually allowing himself to let loose and have fun. It's nice to see.

And Hitomi... she's grown a lot since she came to work for us. She used to be so timid, so quiet. Kind of like Kana, now that I think about it. Maybe that's why they've always gotten along so well, right from the start. But Hitomi's gotten more confident in herself since she and Ifrit got together. She's not brash or anything now, not by any means, but Ifrit's good for her. Just like she's good for him...

While Darkling was lost in thought, Arch held a finger up to his lips and made a shushing expression to the others as he quietly started stacking up the bowls and plates that the okonomiyaki ingredients had come in, adding empty tea cups and beer glasses to create a precarious tower of crockery in front of Darkling, who remained oblivious, staring into space.

"Hey, Dark?" Arch asked, when the Leaning Tower of Okonomiyaki was complete. "Dark?"

"Huh?" Darkling asked, blinking and coming back to reality, then blinking again in surprise as he saw the teetering pile of plates and bowls in front of him. "What the--?"

"Congratulations!" Arch said, slapping Darkling on the back. "You've won the grand prize - you get to wash up all the dishes!"

Darkling scrunched up his nose, huffing in grudging amusement. "No thanks!" he snorted, reaching out to start the painstaking task of disassembling the stack of crockery. He paused, surprised, as a slim white hand briefly brushed against his as it also reached out, to help. Looking up, Darkling found Kana's warm violet eyes on his.

"Here, Darkling-san," she offered, with a smile. "Let me help."

"Um, okay," Darkling said, smiling back despite himself. "Sure."

"I admit it wasn't very nice of Arch-san to take advantage of your distraction like that," Kana remarked, as they worked together to stack the dishes more practically, "but you were lost in thought for quite a long time."

"Heh," Darkling said, awkwardly. "I guess I was, at that."

Her hand touched his again as they both reached for an empty beer glass. Darkling looked up once more, finding her gaze on him still.

"If you ever want to talk about it," she said, quietly, "I will be glad to listen."

"Thanks, Kana," Darkling said, a rush of warmth flooding through his body at her words. "I, I really appreciate it."

"There's no charge," Kana said, with a friendly nod of her head, then added, "This time!" with a cheeky smile.

"I guess I'd better watch out how many times I avail myself of your services, then?" Darkling teased back.

"It's not good business sense to give away something this valuable for free all the time," Kana replied, loftily.

"I, ah, I guess not," Darkling agreed, looking down at the neatly stacked pile of plates and bowls, then shoving them in front of Arch. "Here, you can have them back now!"

"Gee, thanks," Arch grinned. "Where's the waitress? I feel like having a second round too!"

"Over there somewhere, I think," Darkling said, waving his arm for the waitress to come over. In the process, his gaze fell on Ifrit and Hitomi again, still leaning close to each other and sharing their second okonomiyaki. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kana's long brown hair swaying slightly as she neatly ate another piece of her own okonomiyaki. Catching his eye, she smiled warmly and Darkling smiled back before turning back to his own meal.

I guess I don't have it that bad after all, he had to admit to himself.

92. Battle For Okonomiyaki

The waitress briskly walked over to the table. "How may I help you, okyakusama?"

Darkling pointed to the neatly stacked dishes right in front of Arch. "Could you clear these for us? We'd really appreciate it."

The waitress bowed again. "Of course." She left for a moment and quickly returned with a busing tray. She loaded the stacks into the tray and, with some effort, lifted it up. "Do you require anything else?" she asked, politely.

Arch nodded. "I'd like another beer, please."

"Of course. I'll return soon." The waitress said. She turned toward the kitchen and, just as quickly as she arrived, walked away.

Ifrit raised an eyebrow. "Another drink, Arch?" He grinned. "I'd hate to have to carry you home." He leaned forward and pointed to his back. "Might hurt myself."

Arch lightly laughed. "Hey, you seem to forget." He jammed a thumb at his chest. "I actually know my limits. It's you that goes out like a light 'cause he doesn't know when to quit."

Kana giggled. "We did talk about that earlier...but it's still funny."

Darkling grinned, nodding. "Yeah, it is."

Hitomi put her hand up to her mouth, hiding a small smile. "It was a...bit funny."

Ifrit lowered his head, embarrassed. "That was one time..." he muttered. He looked up and noticed a couple of bowls next to Arch. "Looks like we missed some dishes."

Arch shook his head. "There's enough batter for another okonomiyaki, and a few ingredients left." He shrugged his shoulders. "So I figured, 'waste not, want not', right?"

"Cool." Darking said, crossing his arms. "Who wants to finish them off?"

Arch smiled. "I think it's pretty obvious that..."

"We do!" Hitomi exclaimed, fist raised in the air.

"I do." Arch finished. He and Hitomi paused, then looked at each other. The table was silent for a few seconds.

"Single round, rock, paper, scissors?" Arch asked, raising his hand.

"Rock, paper, scissors." Hitomi replied, nodding. She smiled, reached over, and hugged Ifrit. "But Ifrit-kun's playing with me."

Ifrit sighed. "I don't think two-on-one's very fair..."

Hitomi gave Ifrit a sad look, pressing out her lower lip. "But, Ifrit-kun..."

"Come on, Ifrit. I don't mind one bit." Arch said, confidently.

Ifrit looked at Hitomi, then at Arch, and gave a weak smile. "Fine, I'll play."

"Alright!" Hitomi exclaimed. "Get ready!" She raised her hand into a ready position.

How does she do that? Ifrit thought as he slowly raised his hand.

Darkling smirked. She really has changed since she's been with Ifrit... he thought.

Kana looked at Darkling suspiciously. "What are you thinking about, Darkling-san?"

Darkling looked away. "Just that this is going to be an interesting game..."

Kana looked back at Arch, Hitomi, and Ifrit. "Yes, I'm sure it will."

"Rock, paper, scissors!" Arch and Hitomi shout simultaneously, pumping their hands at each word.

"We could always get more batter..." Ifrit said, meekly.

"GO!" Arch and Hitomi exclaimed, throwing their hands out.

Arch looked down at the hands. His and Hitomi's were both rock. He looked at Ifrit's still withdrawn hand. It was also rock.

"Crap. It's a tie." he sighed, then raised his hand. "Another round?"

Hitomi nodded. "Another round." She turned to Ifrit. "We're going to win this time, I can feel it!"

Ifrit nodded, and raised his hand. He turned to Darkling. "When the waitress comes back, remind me to get more batter..."

Darkling nodded. "Will do, boss."

93. Calling it a day

"Alright, fine..." Arch sighed as he pulled back his clenched fist, looking at two open hands. "Have fun with your leftovers..." He said as he blankly stared at the remaining ingredients.

Hitomi picked up a piece of shrimp and waved it at Arch, while she put out her tongue at him, teasingly. "Do you want this, Arch-san?" She yelped, smiling happily.

"...Alright!" Arch said, then opened his mouth widely and pointed his finger at it, suggesting Hitomi to throw the shrimp in his mouth.

"Tee hee!" Hitomi giggled, as she threw the shrimp towards Arch.

*splat*

Everyone laughed heartily as the shrimp hit Arch in the face, right between his eyes on the bridge of his nose. A few seconds later, Arch started laughing as well. "Yes, almost!" He said, laughing.

As Arch wiped off his face, the waitress came back to clear up the dishes.

"Look, the waitress is here." Darkling said. "Do you need some more batter, Arch?"

"Nah, I'm good." Arch replied. "But I could use another beer!"

He then looked at Ifrit. "How about one for the road, Ifrit?"

Ifrit hesitated for a moment. "...No thanks. I think I'm actually going to watch my limit this time... As should you!" He added, jokingly but also partly serious.

"Pah!" Arch replied. "My limit is still well over 6 more glasses away!"

"Yeah yeah, bigmouth, just make sure we don't ever have to bring you home sometime, alright?" Darkling said, laughing. "Just the thought of it makes me feel exhausted..."

"Alright." Arch answered, pretending to be serious. "Next time when I'm drunk, remind me to crash at Darkling's place, okay?" He said to Ifrit, smiling.

"Actually, that's a great idea." Ifrit jokingly agreed. "Darkling's place is much closer to this part of town, after all."

Darkling remained silent. "Hoo boy, what have I gotten myself into this time..."

Laughing, the five chatted some more for a while. After Hitomi and Ifrit finished the remaining dishes and Arch finished his beer, it was time to wrap things up. They paid for their meals, thanked the kind waitresses and headed outside.

"Haah!" Arch sighed. "It was good to have some okonomiyaki after such a long time."

"I agree, Arch-san." Kana said. "And not just because of the food. Spending some time with friends is always fun to do." She said, smiling.

"That's very true." Darkling added. "And, luckily we get to do it again Saturday, right?"

"Oh, that's right!" Hitomi exclaimed. "Our house-warming party!"

"Yep, that's Saturday." Ifrit said, smiling. "But, first things first!" He said as he clasped his hands and started rubbing them. He looked at everyone intensely. "Are you ready for battle?" He asked, almost shouting.

The other four stared at him, puzzled. "...He's on to something..." Arch whispered to Darkling. "Erm, not until tomorrow." He said out loud. "Let's call it a day for now, alright?"

Ifrit looked at him for a moment. "Yes, very well... But tomorrow, we will come up with a plan!" He looked at everyone, once again. "I expect everyone at eight o'clock, sharp!"

Darkling sighed. "I guess some things never change." He mumbled to himself. "Okay, that's settled then." He said. "Do you need me to walk you two home?" He asked Hitomi and Kana.

Before either of them could answer, Ifrit spoke. "Nah, that's okay, Darkling. I want to escort my girl to her home myself this evening." He said as he smiled at Hitomi, who started blushing and giggling in turn. "Alright girls, let's go!" He exclaimed.

"Hai! See you tomorrow, Arch-san, Darkling-san!" Hitomi exclaimed.

"Sleep well, everyone!" Kana followed up.

"See you tomorrow, guys." Ifrit said as he started walking. Then, he turned around one more time towards Arch and Darkling with a friendly smile on his face. "Oh, and thanks for a great evening, guys!" He said before taking off with Kana and Hitomi.

The two of them watched the others walk off. "Yeah... you're welcome." Darkling answered, a bit puzzled.

Arch smiled. "Maybe things can change sometimes, eh?"

"I think you're right." Darkling replied.

94. Dark plans

The expensive silver sedan cruised through the city streets, bright street signs reflected glossily in its dark windows. Inside, in the back seat, Shiori shifted restlessly, peering out at the passing shops.

"It's funny that we ran into Darkling-san and the others at the restaurant, isn't it, Okaasan?" she ventured, after a moment, looking at her parents in the front of the car.

"Hmm, Shiori-chan?" her mother said, turning back to look at Shiori. Her mother's hand was on her father's leg, stroking it idly as he drove. "Oh, yes," she said, with a little smile. "...quite a coincidence, indeed."

"Will you be going there tomorrow?" Shiori asked, as her mother turned back to look at the streets again.

"I hadn't planned on it," her mother said, musingly, then turned to Shiori's father. "I suppose I could find a reason to drop by, though, briefly--"

"Before school?" Shiori asked, eagerly. "Could I come with you?"

Her mother blinked, her confusion evident even though her face was shadowed. "Nobody will be there before school, Shiori-chan. Only Ifrit-kun... and perhaps his little girlfriend," she added, with a laugh, before continuing. "Darkling-kun will definitely not be there that early," she said, knowingly.

Shiori blushed a little - in cases like these, it seemed that her mother could read her like a book. But she persisted.

"I, I really want to come with you!" she said, insistently. "We can make a little detour, can't we? I don't mind if we have to leave early!"

"Hai, hai, Shiori-chan," her mother said, waving her hand gently. "We will stop off tomorrow morning and see Ifrit-kun."

"S-sugoi!" Shiori cheered, feeling her heart jump a little in her chest. "Ano, then... I just remembered, I don't have anything for my lunch tomorrow! Can we stop somewhere on the way home, pleeeaaase?"

"What do you think, darling?" her mother asked, looking at her father, who smiled and nodded. "Of course, Shiori-chan," her mother said. "We'll stop and get whatever you need."

"Arigato!" Shiori blurted, falling back in her seat and clutching her hands over her chest, her fingers wrapping around the seatbelt in her excitement. "Ohh, I can't wait!"

The car continued on its way through the city streets, sleek and fleeting as a ghost.

95. Planning Interrupted?

"...and so, that's my plan." Ifrit said, pointing to the dry erase board with a retractable rod. The board was covered in complicated figures and diagrams, and was titled 'Foolproof Plan To Destroy Rival Store' in big red letters. "Any questions? Comments? Concerns?" he asked, retracting the rod.

Darking stared into his half-empty coffee cup, and stifled a yawn. He looked up. "What?" he asked, drowsily.

Arch held his coffee cup up half-way to his mouth, staring at the board, confused. He put the cup down and shook his head. "How late were you working on this?" he asked.

Ifrit put his hand on his chin. "Let's see..." he started to count fingers on his right hand. "One...two...three..." He raised his head. "Until about three-thirty."

Kana's eyes widened. He doesn't look tired at all. she thought, impressed.

Ifrit smiled, and looked at Kana. "Don't worry, Kana. If I'm motivated, I don't need much sleep."

A look of shock ran across Kana's face. "Ah, that's right..." Can Ifrit-san read my mind? she wondered.

Ifrit shook his head. "No, I can't." He smiled, and sat down in his chair.

Kana continued her shocked expression. "Ano, Ifrit-san..." She paused. "Never mind." she said, quietly.

Ifrit grabbed for his can of tea, and took a long gulp. He grinned. "Anything else?"

Hitomi raised her hand. "Ifrit-kun, that's a wonderful plan!" she exclaimed.

Ifrit nodded. "Thank you, Hitomi."

Hitomi lowered her hand. "But, I have a question."

Ifrit shrugged. "Sure, what's up?"

With a weak smile, Hitomi pointed at the board. "What does it all mean?"

Ifrit's grin quickly disappeared. He sighed, and placed his head in his hands. He looked up at Hitomi. "Maybe we should discuss another plan, huh?" he said, weakly.

Arch shrugged. "Couldn't hurt." He smiled. "It's possible we'll come up with a really good plan if we work together, after all. Besides..." He looked at the board again. "Can any of us really read this?"

Still half-asleep, Darkling squinted at the board. "...does that say 'battering ram' and...'carfull of C4'?" he asked, his voice a curious mixture of suspicion and fatigue.

Ifrit got up and quickly turned the board around. "No, of course not!" he exclaimed, waiving his hand in front of him. "Maybe you just need more coffee. I'll get you some." Ifrit grabbed Darkling's cup and headed toward the coffee machine.

Darkling grunted in agreement. "Yeah, more coffee..."

Arch held up his cup and shook it. "Could you top me off, too?" He asked sweetly.

Ifrit turned around and nodded. "Yeah, I'll just bring the pot over." Ifrit walked back to the table, placed Darkling's cup in front of him, and placed the half-empty pot on the middle of the table.

Arch immediately picked up the pot and filled his cup. "Thanks, Ifrit." He offered the pot to Kana. "Coffee?"

Kana nodded. "Arigato, Arch-san." She took the pot from Arch and filled her own cup. She, in turn, offered the pot to Hitomi. "Coffee, Hitomi-chan?"

Hitomi smiled. "Arigato, Kana-chan." She also filled her cup, and placed the almost empty pot back on the middle of the table.

Ifrit nodded. "Excellent. Now that everyone's topped off, let's discuss..." Ifrit paused and looked towards the showroom.

Hitomi looked at Ifrit worriedly. "Ifrit-kun? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Ifrit said. "It's just a bit early for customers, don't you think?"

Arch raised an eyebrow. "Customers?" He looked around. "I didn't hear anything."

Ifrit got out of his chair. "I'll go check it out. Excuse me." He hurried out of the break room.

Kana watched as Ifrit left. "Do you think anything's wrong?"

Darkling sipped from his cup. "Nah. It's probably an early customer, or something." He finished his coffee. "Just like Ifrit said."

Hitomi nodded, smiling. "Hai, I'm sure you're right."

96. Need more aspirin

"So..." Darkling said, seconds after Ifrit had left the break room. "Anyone else came up with some good ideas?" He said sarcastically.

"Ano... not really." Hitomi replied.

Yawning, Arch rubbed his face. "I'm afraid I won't be of much help this morning..." He said as he started rubbing his forehead.

"...A hangover?" Darkling smirked. "Aaw..."

"Not really." Arch sighed deeply. "I think it's mostly because of sleep deprivation."

"It's only 1 hour earlier than usual!" Darkling replied.

"You would be surprised what effect an hour difference can have on a human being..." Arch defended himself.

Picturing an agitated Arch, struggling to get in time to work, in his head, Darkling laughed.

"...What?" Arch asked, puzzled.

"Nothing." Darkling said, holding back laughter.

Arch stared into his empty cup. "I'm not sure if it was the coffee that worsened my headache, or Ifrit's explanation." He said with a sarcastic smile on his face.

"Ano, Arch-san, there's some aspirin in the upper right cupboard." Kana suggested him.

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Arch said. He stood up with a heavy sigh and walked to the kitchen area. "Thanks for the tip, Kana-chan."

As he passed Kana he patted her on the head, making her giggle with a mixture of amusement and confusion. Meanwhile, Darkling stared at the break room door. Ifrit hadn't shut it properly when he left the break room, so it was slightly ajar. He heard Ifrit mumbling to some person... or persons?

Female voices? He wondered. At this hour?

Shaking away his thoughts, he looked at Kana.

"How about you, Kana-chan?" He asked her. "Any ideas?"

"Well," Kana said, "maybe we should first..."

While she was talking, the door to the break room now opened widely.

"Well, actually we're..." Ifrit said.

"Well, good morning everyone!" Chisato exclaimed, surprised to see the entire staff in the break room.

"...in the middle of a meeting..." Ifrit mumbled in a low voice.

Arch, who was now holding one aspirin in his hand and a glass of water in the other hand, looked over to his right. Noticing Chisato, he stared blankly at her for a moment. After a few seconds he started smiling, lightly shook his head, put down the glass of water and ejected another aspirin from the medicine strip, before washing them both away with the glass of water.

"Umm... Hi, Chisato-san." Darkling replied, reluctantly. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

Chisato smiled. "Shiori-chan insisted that we would come over. She said something about a surprise for you - I think." She said, teasingly.

"Ano... Darkling-san is here!?" Shiori, still in the store, yelped. Startled because she didn't expect Darkling to be present, she hesitated to enter the break room.

"Come in, Shiori-chan." Her mother persuaded her. "They won't bite."

Realizing Shiori was in the store as well, Darkling briefly rubbed his forehead.

Grinning, Arch waved the medicine strip at Darkling. "Want one too?"

Out of Character: Sorry about the length, but because of the approach I chose there was a lot of groundwork to do before I could even start from where Arch left off...


97. Impromptu

"Do you really think it's big enough?" Shiori asked anxiously for about the tenth time as she and her mother walked the short distance from the car to the front entrance of Yogurt Slingers.

"Hai, hai, it will be fine," her mother said, reassuringly. "When your father and I were still in college, I would make him bentos all the time. Men sometimes have smaller appetites than you would expect, Shiori-chan. Which can be a disappointment at times," she added, wistfully. She shook her head, as if to clear it, and went on. "I'm sure what you have made will be more than enough for Darkling-kun."

"I hope so..." Shiori said, clutching the wrapped bundle to her chest as her mother approached the store with master key in hand.

"It isn't locked," her mother said, after testing the door handle. "Ifrit-kun must have already opened the store."

"But it's barely eight o'clock," Shiori said, surprised. "I thought you said that even Ifrit-kun might not be here this early."

"All the better, darling," her mother said, smoothly. "We can surprise him!"

"Ah. Terrific?" Shiori said, dubiously, following her mother inside. The store was empty, but the lights were on and music was playing through the sound system. It sure felt like the store was open... only no staff members.

It feels... kind of weird, actually, Shiori thought to herself, shuddering at the thought of a ghostly manager floating in through one of the walls. Her mother often chastised her for her overactive imagination, but she couldn't help it.

A few moments later, the door to the back room opened and Ifrit-kun emerged. He blinked at the sight of the two of them.

"Chisato-san..." he said, guardedly, then nodded at Shiori as well. "Shiori. Good morning. What are you doing here?"

"Surely I don't need an excuse to come visit my favourite tenants, Ifrit-kun?" Shiori's mother asked, then gestured to Shiori. "Shiori wanted to visit, and I certainly had no objections to seeing you so soon again, Ifrit-kun," she purred.

"No... um, me either," Ifrit-kun murmured. "You're welcome here anytime, Chisato-san. And, um..." He paused, his face wrinkling up slightly as he looked at Shiori, but then he heaved a sigh and added, "And you too, of course, Shiori."

"Arigato, Ifrit-kun!" Shiori replied, delighted.

"Have you opened the store already, Ifrit-kun?" Shiori's mother asked, grabbing Ifrit-kun's elbow and steering him towards the door to the back room. "You are so dedicated! I'm very impressed."

"Well, actually we're--" Ifrit-kun started, as Shiori's mother pushed open the door.

"Well, good morning everyone!" she said, in momentary surprise.

"--in the middle of a meeting..." Ifrit-kun finished, his shoulders slumping.

"Umm... Hi, Chisato-san," a familiar voice said, sending a shock through Shiori right down to her stomach. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Shiori-chan insisted that we would come over," Shiori's mother said, with a wicked smile. "She said something about a surprise for you - I think."

"Ano... Darkling-san is here?" Shiori yelped, her mouth finally catching up with her brain. Automatically, she clutched the wrapped bundle closer to her chest.

"Come in, Shiori-chan," her mother invited, waving her hand. "They won't bite... hard," she added, whispering the last word so that only Shiori could hear it.

"Um... hai..." Shiori whispered, entering the break room and looking around. Kana-neesan and Hitomi-neesan were sitting at the table, and Arch-kun was next to the sink. Darkling-kun was sitting at the table as well, with a card of tablets in his hand, pressing some out into his left palm.

"Hello, Shiori-chan!" Kana-neesan said, brightly.

"It's good to see you again!" Hitomi-neesan added.

"Um... hello," Shiori responded automatically, her train of thought completely thrown by Darkling-kun's unexpected presence here. She hadn't put on any makeup and she hadn't practised things to say to him - she'd thought they were going to give the bento to Ifrit-kun and then just leave and but there he was sitting right there and say something Shiori say something--

"Hello, Darkling-kun," she squeaked.

"Hi, Shiori-chan," Darkling-kun replied, tossing four aspirin into his mouth and washing them down with a mouthful of coffee. "How are you today?"

"Hot!" Shiori blurted, before realising she'd said the wrong word and scrambling to correct herself. "Fine! I'm fine!"

"That's good," Darkling-kun said, smiling at her and making her stomach fill up with butterflies again. "Um... your mother said you had a surprise for me?" he asked, warily.

"Um... hai!" Shiori nodded, still clutching the bento to her chest. "Hai!"

Darkling-kun kept staring at her for a few moments before she realised she was still nodding like a bobblehead doll in front of a fan. She forced her head to stop moving, somehow.

"So... uh... is that it?" he asked, after a few moments' silence. He pointed to the bundle in her arms.

"Oh," she realised, allowing herself one quick mechanical nod before forcing her head to stay still again. "Hai. This... this is for you, Darkling-kun!" she finished, her voice rising in pitch towards the end until it was almost a squeak. She pushed the bento out towards him with both hands, and bowed her head. "Ano... I'm sure it's not very good, but please eat whatever you like!"

With her head down, she didn't see Darkling's bemused smile or the gentle expression on his face as he took the bento from her. "Arigato, Shiori-chan," he said, softly. "I'm very grateful."

"It wasn't anything, really," Shiori mumbled, still staring at her shoes. "I was already making a bento for myself and I had too much ingredients and I thought who do I know who might like a bento and I thought well maybe Darkling-kun would want--"

"Shiori-chan worked very hard to make that bento for you, Darkling-kun," her mother interrupted, allowing Shiori to sink into thankful and breathless silence. "She woke up at five this morning to make sure that everything was just right. I hope you appreciate the effort she put into it for you."

"Oh. I do," Darkling-kun said, reassuringly. "Shiori-chan. Shiori-chan? Thank you."

"You're... you're welcome," Shiori squeaked, daring to lift her eyes a little to the point where she could just about see his hands.

"And now we should be going," Shiori's mother said, smoothly, with a nod at the whiteboard. "We'll leave you businesspeople to plot your schemes in peace."

"Oh," Shiori said, lifting her eyes and staring up at her mother, suddenly. "But we just got here and--" And I really want to spend more time with Darkling-kun. If I just knew what to say to him...

"Now now, Shiori-chan," her mother said, chidingly. "We took this detour as you requested, and you were able to deliver your present to Darkling-kun in person, which was more than you had been hoping for. But now we must get moving. We shouldn't inconvenience Ifrit-kun and Arch-kun any more than we already have."

"I... I suppose," Shiori said, reluctantly, then looked at Darkling-kun sadly. "Bye-bye, Darkling-kun."

"Bye, Shiori-chan," he replied, smiling. "Thank you again. Come back any time."

"I... I will!" Shiori said, a little more bravely. I'll have to do some more planning so I'm better prepared next time, but... but he looks happy, so this was a good idea, wasn't it? It was, right? "See you later, everyone!"

Shiori and her mother exited the break room to a chorus of variations on "goodbye, Shiori-chan".

"I... That went well, didn't it, Okaasan?" Shiori asked, looking up at her mother as they left the store.

"Yes," her mother said, looking down at her fondly. "I think it went very well indeed, darling."

"I'm so glad!" Shiori squealed, feeling her heart still pounding in her chest.

---
"I can't believe it!" Darkling enthused, looking down at the bento in his hands with a disbelieving grin on his face. "A cute girl made lunch for me! A cute girl made lunch for me! Ohh, I can't believe it! This is soooo good!"

98.Distraction Averted

Darkling looked up from the bento and noticed the break room was empty. The door to the showroom was slightly ajar. Where did everyone go? He thought.

Hitomi poked her head through the open door. "Ifrit-kun told me to tell you that he needs you behind the counter." She then ducked back into the showroom.

Darkling quickly stood up. "Ah, right. Sure." He picked up the bento and placed it in the fridge. "I'll be back for you later." he muttered, closing the fridge door. He walked out of the break room and dashed behind the counter. Arch was manning the cash register. "Hey, Arch." Darkling said.

Arch nodded to Darkling. "Hey, Dark. Glad to see you've finally joined the rest of us."

Darkling nodded. "Sure." He looked around. "Too bad no one's at the store yet."

Arch shrugged. "Eh. That'll change when we actually open."

"I'm sure you're right." Darkling agreed. He leaned up to Arch. "By the way, why did we cancel the meeting?"

Someone placed a hand on Darkling's shoulder. "I figured you could use some alone time with that bento of yours."

Darkling quickly turned around, and saw Ifrit standing right behind him, smiling.

Darkling smirked. "Ha ha, very funny."

"Seriously though." Ifrit said, squeezing himself between Darkling and Arch. "The meeting wasn't generating any good ideas, and after Chisato and Shiori's visit, there were too many distractions to continue. So I figured we should just open the store."

Darkling smiled. "Sounds good."

Ifrit clapped his hands together. "Excellent." He left from behind the counter. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the office."

Arch and Darkling watched Ifrit walk away. "So, Dark?" Arch asked, turning his head back to the cash register.

"Yeah?" Darkling replied.

"What's inside the bento that Shiori gave you?" Arch questioned.

Darkling laughed. "Do you ever stop thinking with your stomach?"

Arch also laughed. "No, not really."

99. Cranky Giant

Both Darkling and Arch took place on the stools behind the counter. Kana and Hitomi were restocking the shelves, which, by the looks of it, wouldn't take a whole lot of time to restock. Cranky, Arch leaned on the counter with his elbows and placed his head on top of his fists, looking to Darkling at his right.

"So... what a productive meeting this has been, eh?" Arch said sarcastically. He tried to force a smile on his face, but failed, so he ended up smiling bitterly.

"Yes, well, we..." Darkling saw Arch's facial expression and couldn't help but smiling. "Erm, at least we tried, didn't we?"

Arch sat up, rubbed his face and forehead a couple of times, then looked at Darkling, blankly. "You never stop being optimistic, do you?" He sighed.

"Neither do you, usually." Darkling rightfully remarked. "What is with you this morning?" He asked, a little worriedly.

Arch sighed again, this time even more deeply. "Pfff... headache, sleep deprivation, a pointless meeting, an empty store, Chisato crashing in on the meeting... need I go on?"

"Come on, Arch. Things will be better, I'm s..." Darkling tried to lift up Arch, but got interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

"Will they?" He asked, grumpily. "Will they really?"

Darkling opened his mouth to say something, but Arch continued. "We were supposed to come up with something, but we didn't. And now we're supposed to go happily back to work?"

"Well..."

Arch looked over towards the office. "Mr. Sparda has locked himself up in the office once again... God knows what he's doing in there." He then looked over towards Kana and Hitomi. "The girls are... well, what are they restocking, really? Because I don't recall selling that much yesterday..." He shook his head. "We might as well all go home after they're done."

"Well, since we're here, we might as well try to think of something, right?" Darkling tried to reason with him. "Are you sure you can't come up with something?"

"Hm..." Arch thought for a moment. He stared in front of him, blankly, then closed his eyes. After about 15 seconds of silence he sighed deeply. "It's no use, man... with this headache, I can't think clearly. Dammit, when will those aspirins kick in!?" He said in an almost exclaiming manner. For a moment Hitomi looked over with a startled look on her face, as did Kana.

"Just calm down." Darkling said. "Getting worked up will only make it worse."

"Yeah, you're right..." Arch mumbled. "It's just that..." He sighed deeply once more. "Gah!"

Darkling laughed. "It's one of those days, right?"

"Yes, well..." Arch smiled momentarily. "It's not like I have a girlfriend that brings me over lunch or anything..." He said, grinning.

Darkling looked down for a moment. "She's not my..."

Darkling paused as a little plan came to his mind. He briefly grinned as he figured out a way to cheer up Arch.

"Hm?" Arch asked, puzzled.

"Ah, so is that it?" He asked, teasingly.

"What?" Arch replied, visibly confused.

"You want someone that bring you over lunch as well!" He exclaimed while he smiled.

Arch paused for a moment and stared at Darkling, blankly. "Heh..." He mumbled as he started smiling weakly. "Nah..."

"No?" Darkling asked, smiling broadly. "Not some cute girl with golden blonde hair who you've met twice within just two days time?"

Arch laughed and started blushing lightly. "W-well, maybe..."

Darkling continued. "A cute girl that you've only met twice but still can't stop thinki..."

"Alright, alright!" Arch exclaimed as he jumped off his stool. "You got me man, you win!" He said as he started smiling genuinely. "Yeah, if only... that would be..." He said, walking in front of the counter. He lowered his voice as he spoke. "Heh, she's just so... just so..."

He paused suddenly, when he noticed that Hitomi and Kana were standing next to him as well. Both were looking at him with big smiles on their faces.

Kana looked at Hitomi. "I think Arch-san is in love!" She said, mildly.

Hitomi started giggling. "Is this right, Arch-san?"

"Erm..." Shocked, Arch's eyes opened wide. He never expected them to have heard everything he said. As his face turned red, he heard Darkling laughing briefly. "W-well..."

The expressions on Kana's and Hitomi's faces caused Arch to panic. He blushed furiously. "A-ah, leave me alone!" He said as he hurried himself to the back of the store, into the break room. Both Kana and Hitomi looked at him as he took off, with a mixture of confusion and disappointment on their faces, causing Darkling to laugh.

"Don't worry, girls," He said to them, "this is new for him, too!" He said, smiling.

100. Speling errers

It was about fifteen minutes later, and the store was still deathly quiet. Even Kana and Hitomi had run out of things to do, and were gathered around the front counter with Darkling, exchanging amused glances with each other as they all watched Arch, leaned back on his stool with his eyes closed and his mouth half-open as he dozed lightly. Occasional soft snores emanated from his mouth and nose.

"He looks so... peaceful," Kana remarked, after a moment.

"Yes," Hitomi agreed. "Like a baby. It's very nice."

"I want to get a glass of warm water and put his fingers in it," Darkling said, nodding thoughtfully.

"A glass of warm water?" Hitomi asked, confused, as Kana pursed her lips and shot a disapproving glance at Darkling.

"Um, well, if someone is sleeping and they need to, erm, go..." Kana explained, delicately, "...and you put their fingers into warm water, it sort of... encourages the process..."

"Darkling-san!" Hitomi snapped, looking shocked. "Why would you want to do that to poor Arch-san?"

Darkling shrugged, with a grin. "It's not like I'm going to. I just wonder what would happen if I did..."

"I don't think Arch-san would be very happy about it," Hitomi grumbled.

"No, probably not," Darkling agreed, with a laugh.

A sudden yell from the office sent the three employees flinching back as Arch woke up with a start, rocking forward on the stool to an upright position.

"Oh, that is it!" Ifrit's voice reverberated from the half-open office door. "That is just... so... it!"

Exchanging worried glances, Darkling, Kana and Hitomi edged closer to the office door as Arch blinked and looked around in a daze.

"Ano... Ifrit-kun?" Hitomi asked, after a moment, knocking gently on the door. "Is there... a problem?"

"Come in!" Ifrit snapped. "All of you, right now! You have to see this!"

Puzzled, the three employees entered the office, to find Ifrit at the whiteboard, angrily scribbling the words 'CUSTARD FLINGERS' on it in black letters. Arch brought up the rear, rubbing his eyes.

"What is it, Ifrit-kun?" Hitomi asked, the other three wisely keeping their silence. Ifrit seemed positively agitated, with a manic gleam to his eye and abrupt, irritable body language.

"This!" Ifrit declared, slamming the end of the capped whiteboard marker to indicate the words he'd just written down.

He didn't even take out his collapsible pointer, Darkling noted, worriedly. This must be bad...

"It's... the name of the rival store, ne?" Hitomi asked, after a moment, sounding puzzled. "It's, it's very similar to ours, yes..."

"Not only that!" Ifrit barked, forcing the other four to shield their faces to avoid the spray of saliva droplets. "Not only that...!"

He paused, breathing heavily.

"'Not only that'... but what, Ifrit-kun?" Hitomi prompted, gently, after a few moments of silence.

"But this!" Ifrit snapped, uncapping the marker and starting to rub out some of the letters with his fingers. "You take out the F and you transpose the S and you rearrange some of the letters of the first word and see what you get...!"

He slammed the tip of the marker against the whiteboard again, crushing the nib and sending a spatter of ink across the surface.

"See?" he demanded, breathing heavily.

"'Fuctard Slingers'," Darkling read, uncertainly, then turned to Arch. "What's a fuctard?"

"Maybe there's one standing right in front of us?" Arch suggested, dryly, then turned to Ifrit. "Ifrit, you're overreact--"

"It's a challenge!" Ifrit blurted, forcing Arch to flinch away, covering his face. "It's a direct challenge, a provocation, a thrown-down gauntlet slapped in our face and insulting us right where it hurts!"

"Are you sure it's not also a horribly overmixed metaphor?" Darkling asked. "Look, Ifrit, Arch is right. You're--"

"We can't stand for this!" Ifrit insisted, turning back to the board and erasing the letters with the palm of his hand before scrawling them down again, even more messily than before. "The name of their 'business' is a direct mockery of our own! It's a veiled insult staring us right between the eyes in our faces! It's flintlock pistols at thirty paces at high noon! It's--"

"Hitomi," Darkling muttered, nudging her towards Ifrit as he continued ranting.

"Um... hai?" Hitomi asked, nervously resisting.

"Make it better," Darkling requested, worriedly, as he, Arch and Kana started backing towards the door. "We'll be out front."

"Um... hai," Hitomi agreed, moving forward and reaching out to take Ifrit's hands. "Ifrit-kun, it will be all right. Really it will. Could you... could you explain to me how you found this out?"

Ifrit blinked, his expression clearing a little. "Sure," he said, in a slightly more even tone. "I was staring at the plan we wrote up earlier, you see, and I noticed that--"

"Hai, hai," Hitomi said, soothingly and admiringly, as Ifrit went on. "I see. I see..."

Darkling quietly pulled the door shut and breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess true love has its advantages after all," he said, softly.

"Good call," Arch agreed, with a smile.

101. Gossiping geese

"Make it better!" Arch laughed. "We should make more use of that!"

"Yeah, it's a good way to keep Ifrit under control, isn't it?" Darkling agreed.

Kana looked at the two of them, disapproving. "You shouldn't make fun of Hitomi like that..."

Arch started grinning. "Ah, we're not really making fun of her, are we? ...Not that much, anyway."

"Besides," Darkling added, "she's our friend. We all make fun of each other every now and then."

"Yes, but you shouldn't use people for your personal gain." Kana continued. "Hitomi still takes you guys very seriously!"

Darkling nodded and looked at Arch. "Hm, she may have a point there... "

"Oh come on, don't you think you're both overreacting a little?" Arch asked. "I mean, she has to get used to how we act sooner or later... I really wish she would loosen up a little when she's around us."

Kana started smiling. "Oh, but she is, Arch-san. Haven't you noticed last night?"

"Yeah, remember your battle for okonomiyaki?" Darkling laughed.

Arch laughed as well. "Yeah, I guess she has her moments... She's obviously less shy than when she first started working here. But I'd say she's still very shy most of the time." He then looked over to Kana. "You've known her a lot longer than us... Has she always been shy like that?"

Kana nodded her head. "Actually, she was even more shy before she started working here."

Arch's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" He exclaimed in disbelief. "Man, and I thought I was shy during my youth..."

"But, she's getting better. Trust me, Arch-san!" Kana assured him, smiling. "That's why I'm glad to see she's with Ifrit-san now."

"I know what you mean." Darkling followed up. "She really seems to be truly comfortable when she's around him."

Kana smiled and nodded, confirming what Darkling just said.

"Like I just said: 'true love has its advantages', eh?" Darkling said, smiling.

Kana looked at Darkling for a moment. "You keep mentioning that a lot lately, Darkling-san..." She said as she started smiling a bit mischievously.

"Well... it's true, isn't it?" Darkling replied, pretending not to know what she was getting at.

"Are you sure you aren't a little bit jealous?" Kana teased him.

"Hm." Darkling paused for a moment, thinking how to respond to that. "Well..." He continued, until Arch interrupted him.

"...I think I am." Arch suddenly blurted out. Kana and Darkling both stared at him, surprised. Seeing their faces, Arch started to smile. "Yeah that's right, I said it!" He continued. "Well, maybe 'jealous' isn't the right word, but... when I see Hitomi and Ifrit together, all happy... well, sometimes I wish I had someone, you know..." He said, dreamily.

Silently, Darkling nodded in agreement. Kana noticed this from the corner of her eyes and smiled briefly.

"Probably not someone like Hitomi though." Arch continued, thinking out loud as he stared in front of him, blankly. "She's a cute girl and all, but... she's just..."

"...Way too calm and quiet for you." Darkling interrupted, laughing.

Arch smiled for a moment. "She has a nice rack, though..."

As Kana opened her mouth to say something about Arch's comment, they heard someone clearing his throat behind them.

"UH-HEM!"

Arch snapped back into reality and noticed Ifrit was standing behind Kana and Darkling, glaring at him. Next to him stood Hitomi, who was looking away from him. She was blushing, but also had a hint of a smile on her face.

Arch scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. "Eh heh heh, did I say that out loud?"

102. Making It Better

Hitomi was sitting on the floor, her back leaned up against the wall. Ifrit was laying on the ground, his head in Hitomi's lap. She was gently stroking his hair.

"...and that's how I came up with the whole 'fuctard' thing." Ifrit explained. He paused, then looked up at Hitomi. "It's pretty stupid, now that I think about it..."

Hitomi smiled. "Maybe just a little." she replied. She stopped stroking his hair. "But it's all better now."

Ifrit got up, and sat next to Hitomi. "Not really." Ifrit muttered. He sighed, and leaned his head down on his closed knees. "There's still that rival store. Did you know they even have a website?" he looked up and threw both his hand up in the air. "A website!" he exclaimed.

"And how exactly did you find their website, Ifrit-kun?" Hitomi asked.

"I searched for local doujin shops using the Internet. It was surprisingly easy." Ifrit said matter-of-factly. "I honestly didn't know why we didn't do that before..."

"So you're saying instead of looking for the store last night, we could have just used your computer?" Hitomi questioned. Of course the Okonomiyaki at the end was a nice touch. she thought.

"...yeah. I guess we could have." Ifrit said, sheepishly.

Hitomi giggled. "Ifrit-kun, I think you're a little overworked."

Ifrit smiled, scratching his head and blushing. "Anyway, we still need to come up with a plan." He looked at Hitomi. "Do you have any good ideas?"

"Me?" Hitomi said, surprised. She blushed. "No, not really, Ifrit-kun." She edged closer to Ifrit. "But, that's what you're good at." She smiled. "You'll come up with a great plan in no time."

"You know what, Hitomi, you're right!" Ifrit exclaimed. He hopped up, and held his hand down to Hitomi. "Come on, let's go see what everyone else is doing."

Hitomi took Ifrit's hand. "Hai, Ifrit-kun!"

As Ifrit walked out of the office, he saw Arch, Darkling, and Kana talking near the counter. He looked back at Hitomi. "Let's go see what they're saying, huh?"

"Hai, Ifrit-kun." She nodded, and followed Ifrit towards the group.

Kana looked near the office and spotted Ifrit and Hitomi coming towards her. She started to opened her mouth to greet them, but Ifrit put his finger up to his lips. Kana stared at him for a moment, then nodded, and turned back towards Arch, who was talking while staring off into space.

"...like Hitomi though. She's a cute girl and all, but...she's just..."

"...Way too calm and quiet for you." Darkling interrupted, laughing.

Arch smiled for a moment. "She has a nice rack, though..."

Kana's eyes opened wide, and she looked back at Ifrit, who's face was slowly turning red. Hitomi immediately looked away, and started to blush. She tried to warn Arch. "..."

Before Kana could say anything, Ifrit loudly cleared his throat. "UH-HEM!"

Arch snapped to attention, and noticed Ifrit, glaring at him, as well as Hitomi, who was looking away.

Arch scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. "Eh heh heh, did I say that out loud?"