February 28, 1976 (Present Day)
The House of the Crowleys
(Dazai Crowley's POV)
Before we even knew it, about one week had already passed. Since that day when we first had our talk, both me, Alice and Yamato eventually devoted ourselves to our basic training and studying.
While it was nice to have another plus one to work alongside with, I still couldn't get used to seeing Yamato being around as often as she was now.
In any case, as per the condition she discussed with Mom, Yamato took up the chef's hat and apron and got to work bussing tables and cleaning dishes in the family restaurant downstairs.
Although she was sometimes prone to accidents more often than not, she knew just the right type of magic to undo her mistakes.
She was able to meld the broken dishes back to normal without so much as leaving behind a single scratch and then reinforcing it for added durability.
Problem was that Yamato sucked at cooking. Like….really badly, so we tried to steer her away from anything that involved the kitchen and keep her out in the front area, attending to customers.
Thankfully, that's where her social skills and customer service really shined. Something that we needed the most on this busy Monday morning.
The restaurant was packed. Seats were taken. The line was long and customers trotted back and forth.
It was really loud and hectic in here but we had a lot worse. Unfortunately, Dad was away yet again to handle some personal affairs so it was just me, Alice, Mom and Yamato holding down the fort. But besides that, everything was still relatively under control.
Sadly, Mom was the only one who spent most of her time in the kitchen, so it was easy for her to get overwhelmed by the flood of orders coming in. But whenever things got really serious, I would cover for Alice so she could go give Mom a helping hand.
Before we even knew it, the first rush hour was over.
Now it was a lot easier to tend to the rest of the customers and get ready for the next period.
Eventually, one blond haired man in particular had opened the front door to allow two other girls enter inside before following shortly behind them.
At first, I deemed the guy to be a little suspicious judging from his shady clothes. His overall choice of attire spoke that of a playboy. He wore a white shirt with a long sleeved red jacket hanging over it, all this which was complemented by his black jeans.
As the guy walked, it was clear that he carried a certain sense of subtle yet refined "swagger'' in his every movement. His blue eyes were similar to mine, they were cunning. Sharp enough to cut through any and all falsehood on one hand and soft enough to deceive a person on the other.
As for the girls, the first girl who entered first was shorter compared to the one right behind her. She had long purple hair with a petite yet quite sexy body one could only describe as a "short stack".
The girl behind her on the other hand was the complete opposite of her. Although being a little taller and having shorter blond hair, which was lighter then the man who entered behind them, she wasn't as well endowed as her female friend.
Hmm, now that I'm getting a close look at these guys, I eventually realized that I have never seen these guys around here before.
Are these guys new customers?
"Wow!~....It looks alot better than I thought!~ And take in that wonderful smell in the air~…..simply divine!~..." The purple haired girl said aloud.
"Hey, quit it. You're making a scene." Her partner who stood beside her softly elbowed her hip.
As they were talking, they were walking close to the cashier area and sat by a nearby table that looked similar to the high top tables and chairs you would see in a bar area.
Once I saw them take their seats, I came up close and presented them with two menus while carrying a small waitress tablet and pencil in my other hand.
"Hi, my name is Dazai and I'll be serving you for today. Can I get you started with any drinks?" I asked them, giving them the usual dialogue.
"Water's fine." The blond woman replied.
"Oh, c'mon! We gotta get something special!~ This is our first time here, remember?~" The purple-haired woman retorted.
So I was right. These guys must be from out of town or something. Surprisingly, we don't get those types around here that often no more.
"Be my guest, but you're the one paying, right?"
"Don't remind me...."
Seeing her friend recline in defeat, the blond woman turned her attention towards me.
"Sorry, we're new around here. Is there anything you can recommend to us?" She asked.
"Well, let's see, if we going by drinks….."
But before I could even speak, I was interrupted by a completely third party.
"Personally, I recommend their Chamomile Tea. I bet you those taste pretty good." A man said.
It was the blond man from before.
"Huh? Oh yeah, in fact, those are one of our specials. They are on sale right now actually." I replied.
"Heh, of course they are…" The man mumbled aloud while chuckling a little under his breath.
"Ooh, we'll take those then!~" The purple haired woman replied, being attracted to the discount.
"Alright, I'll get those right away, for you." I said.
But before I could go, the blonde hair woman spoke.
"Hey, what was your name again?" She asked.
"Dazai."
"Dazai? Like as in Daz?"
I raised my eyebrow, a little unsure what she meant.
"I don't think I ever had a nickname like that before, but those are the first three letters to it, yes." I eventually answered.
"So I finally found you….."
"I'm sorry?"
"Yeah, what did you mean by that?" The purple-haired woman asked suspiciously.
"Oh, it's nothing. Forget I said anything."
For some odd reason, I felt a strange wave of tension hanging in the air between the two of them.
Atleast that was until the blond guy spoke again.
"Hey, what a coincidence! My name starts with that too!~" He suddenly interrupted.
"What?" The blonde woman asked, utterly surprised.
"Yeah! The name's Dazrael. Pleasure to meet you." He replied, while outstretching his hand out.
Although both reluctant and conflicted about something, the girl eventually shook his hand.
Like the other woman, Dazrael's unkempt hair was a little on the short side, except a little longer in comparison. Similar to me, he also had large bangs.
While he and the others were talking, I went about to go make those cups of tea. However, now that it was quiet, I was able to overhear their conversation.
"Well, since we are on the topic, my name is Via. Good to see you." The purple haired girl replied.
"And this is Yamir. Don't mind her though. She's a little shy~...." She continued, introducing her friend.
"I can introduce myself, thank you very much." Yamir replied sternly.
"Yamir, huh…..how interesting." Dazrael mumbled aloud while staring at her suspiciously.
"Say, have we ever met before?" He asked her.
Both Yamir and Via raised their eyebrows at him.
"No, I don't think so. You definitely don't seem like nobody I know." Yamir replied.
"Tch, my bad then." He apologized, disappointed.
"Are you from around these parts?" Via asked.
Dazrael stopped for a moment as if to consider his next choice of words.
"Something like that. I come from…..distant lands but I guess you can say I call this place home."
For some reason, I felt a twinge of regret and remorse in his words.
As Dazrael spoke, he decided to look around and take in the sights of the cafe. His expression seemed to be drowning in some sort of odd nostalgia.
"Hah, this place brings back good memories." He said again, making my observations correct.
Around that moment, I came back to their table, carrying a small tray that held three cups of tea.
"Have you been here before?" I asked, curiously while placing the cups in their respective areas.
"Eh, something like that, I suppose." He said, while also thanking me for the drinks.
But before I could question what he said, Alice suddenly called out to me for something.
"Hey, Dazai! Order twenty seven's ready to go!" She said, shouting out to me from across the kitchen.
"I got it!" Yamato immediately replied before coming over to take the tray of food off her hands.
Guess that girl really trying to earn her keep, huh.
"That's your sister?" Dazrael asked, pointing to Alice.
"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm surprised you were able to tell. Most people don't think that because of the sheer difference in our hair color."
"Let me guess. Younger twin?" He asked again.
"How'd you know?"
"I have a twin sister named Alice too."
"Wow, what a coincidence."
We both chuckled.
"And whose that lovely lady over there?~" Via asked, trying to chip into the conversation.
"Oh, her? That's Yamato. This is her first week here, so try and take it easy on her." I replied.
Suddenly, Yamir narrowed her eyes at Yamato in particular. For some reason, I couldn't help but notice she was staring at her intensely.
"Is that so…."
"Is she related to you too?" Dazrael asked, probably questioning the white hair.
"Nah, just a close friend of mine."
"In any case, will there be anything you guys will be ordering?" I asked, remembering I still have a job to do.
"Nah, I think I'll stop with this for right now." Dazrael answered while getting ready to take his leave.
Before he went, he slipped his hand into the inner pockets of his jacket and pulled out a couple bills.
"This should be enough to pay for me and the girls."
"Eh, you sure?" Via asked.
"Oh, don't worry about it. It's just a couple of drinks. If anything, I want you to take it as nothing more but a light token of friendship." He replied.
"I'm fine with that~... Thanks, man!"
"Mhm, no problem.. But before I go, I got a question I want to ask the three of you."
"What's that?" Yamir asked.
"Do any of you guys happen to believe in fate?"
"Fate?"
"Yes, as in the mythical order where any and every event, regardless of the outcome, in theory, was always meant to happen. Kinda like some sort of warped prophecy." He elaborated.
I think we all know what fate is…..
In any case, for some reason, there was this strange sense of weight that Dazrael's words seem to carry. And it seemed like I wasn't the only one who noticed its importance. Even Via and Yamir went silent.
However, I was the first to speak up.
"Eh, as "cool" as that may seem, it doesn't like anything more than just some reason to justify pushing all your problems and responsibilities away." I eventually replied, giving my honest opinion.
"Personally, I don't think it exists." I continued.
But Dazrael only chuckled.
"Hah, that's pretty rich coming from a person like you…..Dazai~" He replied without so much as looking at me.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked, getting a lot more suspicious, even offended, with the way he was starting to talk to me.
"Who knows?~" He replied while shrugging his shoulders.
"But there is one thing I can say for sure." He stated again with yet another chuckle.
The moment he said that, he turned about to face us all with his arms stretched out and smiled in a semi-flashy manner.
"Call it destiny, or call it cliché, I personally think that it was "fate" that brought the four of us here together. And although I have to take my leave now, we'll all meet again one day. That I'm sure of~...."
Saying that much, he turned around to walk towards the door. But he didn't leave until after he imparted one last set of words. Before he did though, he spoke while looking at one of the girls in particular.
"Especially you…..Yamir~"