Cosplay Cafe

Shizumi bowed as well before following Gasai back to the counter. She hesitated at first, and looked at him as he spoke. "It's alright. I trust you." She said. She let out a small sigh as she tried to figure out a way to start. "Well, the village I grew up in was called the Village of the Snow. For the most part I had a normal childhood. There were other nekos there like me, so I was happy. I lived with my mother and sister, and I loved them...so I wanted to be able to protect them in case of danger, so my older cousin trained me to be able to fight to defend myself and others." She said, giving him a smile. Then she looked down, continuing. "One day, a fire started in the village...no one knew why. My cousin tried to get my family out of the house, but my mother and sister were killed." She said sadly. "So we ran, hoping to meet up with the rest of the village, but after a few days we realized we were the only ones who survived...so we wandered around for a few months until we found an abandoned house. We decided to live there, and for the first few years we managed to survive without any problems..." she said, voice trailing away. She looked back up at Gasai. "Do you want me to keep going?" She asked. She was willing to keep explaining what had happened, but she wanted to know if he still wanted to hear.

Gasai looked down and waited for Shizumi to stop her story. "My dad told me about that fire... I'm sorry it was your village my dad used to live there before he moved away with my mother so they could be together." He mumbled, "Im really sorry about your village..." He said looking at her remembering that day when his father hanged up the phone and told everyone the bad news. "Yes please continue with your story." He nodded, very interested in this. Gasai was a great listener since he didn't talk much. He loved to listen to people talk especially people he knew or people he was still learning about. "I'm really interested in your story." He smiled at Shizumi.

Shizumi nodded with a small smile. "Thanks, Gasai." She said. She was glad he was a good person to talk to. She didn't feel the normal hints of nervousness when she usually spoke to people. she took a small breath, continuing with her story. "Well, one day I came home to find my cousin being attacked by two men. I think they were trying to take control of the house...but my cousin was fighting and I knew she was weakened by having to fight both of them so I got in the middle of it, trying to defend her. That went on for a little bit, both of us fighting them, but at one point I was thrown against a tree. I got really dizzy to the point that I couldn't stand up...one of them was walking towards me, and he had pulled out a little knife to kill me...I remember my cousin jumping in front of me to protect me...and then I blacked out. When I woke up, my cousin was gone, as well as the men. I didn't know what to do...I knew my cousin was dead and I was alone, so I ran." She said, looking down. "After a few months I came upon this place..." she said, taking on a bit of a happier tone, but she sighed. "I still blame myself for my cousin's death. She sacrificed herself for me...if I had just been able to get up...she might still be alive." She said quietly, looking at Gasai with a sad smile. "That's why all of my friends are important to me. I try my hardest to make sure that they're happy."

"That's so sad..." Gasai said under his breath. "Im really sorry about your cousin..." He was truly sad on the inside and it showed on the outside too. "As I said before my dad used to live in the village, his mother and rest of his family still lived there when it burned down." He gritted his teeth a bit. "I visited it once. It was wonderful." Gasai smiled at Shizumi, "I met some friends but we didn't stay in touch even though we all promised too. But I guess that's what happens..." He let out a small sigh and his eyes turned back to a light blue color. "I wish I could go back in time and stop all of it from happening." He laughed a bit at what he said. "I mean If I did that we would have never met and I would have never gone back in time since I never met you and it would still happen..." He said mostly to himself. "Oops sorry I was talking to myself again wasn't I?"

Shizumi looked at him, eyes filled with saddness as well. "Thank you, Gasai...but I feel a little better telling you about it." She said with a small smile. Her eyes widened a little bit as he spoke of his father's family. "Were they killed in the fire too?" She asked softly, voice filled with horror. She felt another prick of unhappiness as she saw Gasai's sad expressions. It hurt seeing her new friend sad. "It was wonderful." She said, memories of the good times that everyone in the village had when it was still around. It was painful...such a good place being burned down, most of the people killed, others probably scattered. "I remember a family coming by to visit. I was curious about them. Maybe that was you." She said with a small smile. "But it is sad though...I'm sorry that you weren't able to keep in touch with them." She listened in wonder as he spoke again and she gave a small smile, listening and giving a small laugh. "I tend to talk to myself too." She said. "There are times when I wish things had gone differently too. But then I remind myself that it lead me to meet so many good friends." She said, nodding at him. "Like you."

"Yea they were killed in the fire..." Gasai said sadly but then remembered what Shizumi had said about not liking her friends being sad and tried his best to make a smile at her. Gasai really did think the fire was unborn ate and often wondered what caused it or if he could go back with someone and investigate. "Maybe it was my family and I." He smiled a real smile and looked down at his notepad where he had started drawing without thinking. "It wasn't your fault I couldn't stay in touch with anyone it's more like my fault." Gasai knew it wasn't anyone else's fault he knew it was his for not staying in touch with anyone. "Maybe a few of them survived..." He hoped they did and that nothing happened to any of them. Gasai blushed as Shizumi said 'Like you.' "You're so sweet I mean for someone who says they're so quiet." He thought a moment. "Im glad we met each other."

Shizumi looked down when he said that they had been killed. "I'm sorry..." she said softly. "That fire really did affect a lot of people." She said, half to herself. another thing that hurt is that no one could give a reason for why it started...maybe having a little bit of closure would help people with the loss of their loved ones. She looked at Gasai, smiling a little bit. Even though he was sad, he was making the effort to smile. 'He really is a kind person.' She though to herself. "You shouldn't blame yourself either. You had no idea the fire was going to happen." She said, then gave a small chuckle. "Well, I guess neither of us should be blaming ourselves." She said. "But then again...I guess its normal for people to feel guilty when things like this happen...maybe its a part of the grieving." She wondered. As she listened, she really did hope that Gasai's friends were still alive. He was a good person, and was willing to listen to people. She looked up as Gasai spoke again and she gave a small shy smile. "Thanks, Gasai. I think you're really kind too. You're easy to talk to, and you listen, which is really important in friendship." She said. She gave a small nod, smiling as he said he was glad that they met. "I'm glad too." She said. "Hopefully one day, we'll be able to feel a little better about what happened to the village." She said.

Gasai nodded when a sudden thought came to his mind, "Why does it seem like we're the only ones working today?" He let out a small laugh and put his notepad back. "I mean there's more people than just us here but it just seems like tis only us who are doing anything." He looked around at the people, there were two other workers talking and sitting down. It was clear they were on break and he looked back at Shizumi. "Hopefully we'll all feel better about what happened that day... Who knows maybe everyone made it out and have just lived in the forrests like wild cats..." He said trying to make a small joke. "Get it? Because we're all nekos and wild cats.... Yea... Sorry i don't get out much I'm not good at joking..."

Shizumi blinked. "You're right." She said, looking around and only seeing the two workers. "Hmm. Maybe its because we're closing in an hour or so." She said thoughtfully. It did seem a little like they were some of the only workers left. She let out a small laugh. "Maybe its because we've been talking and we haven't noticed." She said with a smile as she turned back to him. She nodded as he spoke, a hopeful smile on her face as he said that hopefully it would get better. Her neko ears twitched in amusement at his joke and she let out a small laugh as he apologized. "Aww." She said, smiling. "Don't worry." She straightened her skirt and looked at him. "It made me smile, and we were pretty sad a few seconds ago." She said, her tail giving a single swish.

"Maybe..." Gasai blinked and looked at closing times. "Oh it's seems we do close in an hour..." He laughed, not knowing the schedule yet. "That could be why." He smiled at Shizumi not because she got the joke but because he felt like he could trust her. "Well I'm glad I could make you laugh." Gasai said looking to the side quickly, thinking he saw something. But it was probably nothing just another fly. He looked back at Shizumi and smiled. His Neko ears stood up straight for no reason just to express he was happy.

Shizumi nodded with a smile. "We close a little early on saturdays." She explained, looking around the cafe as a few customers began walking out. There were still a few customers left however. she looked back at Gasai as he suddenly looked to the side and she followed his gaze, wondering if there was something there. She looked back to the Cafe to see if there was anything over there but saw nothing. "Its actually been a pretty good day." She said, looking at Gasai, smiling when she saw his neko ears standing up. "Do you like working here so far?" She asked.

"Mhm I love working here." Gasai smiled and also looked around the cafe to see a few of the customers leaving. He knew it was just imagination or a fly that he saw. Or it was him being paranoid once more. "Working here is one of the best things that ever happened to me." He looked at Shizumi. "You said you like working here right?" He asked not remembering if he had already asked if she liked working here or not.

"Great." Shizumi smiled, glad that he was enjoying working at the Cafe so far. "That's good to hear." She said, looking at him as he asked if she enjoyed working at the cafe as well. "Yes, its nice to come here after school. In a way, it helps me forget about stress for a little while." She said. She gave a small smile as she remembered when she had first walked into the cafe, searching for a job. "I had been visiting this cafe for a while actually. I'd stop by before and after school. I remember I was a little hesitant at first, but then I found out that I really enjoyed it around here." She said.

Gasai nodded and looked at her half smiling. "My mother told me about this place and I've been here a few times before..." He said trying to think bak to when he used to come here with his whole family. "I Love this place. It's one of the few places I feel safe." He thought aloud, not knowing he said anything.

Shizumi smiled as he spoke. "Its a comfortable enviroment." She said. "Their muffins are really good too." She said, half to herself as she thought of the things she liked most about the cafe. "That must have been fun." She said as he mentioned coming with his family. Her neko ears twitched a bit as he spoke again, and she looked back at him. "If you don't mind me asking...are there times when you don't feel safe?" She asked, looking at him with a bit of concern in her eyes.

Gasai thoguht for a second, "Well yes there is just sometimes though not everywhere just some places..." He said looking down and trying to remember something. "I guess just until you learn to trust someone you have to assume everyones after you..." He said quickly not thinking much about anything he said. "I mean... It's like the whole entire worlds after you until you can trust it." He said just knowing what his parents had taught him about the real world.

Shizumi looked down for a little bit as she pondered what he said before looking up again. "That makes sense." She said after a little bit. She began to think back to when she first came here and she nodded slowly. "You know, I went through a phase where I felt like I couldn't trust anyone...it took me the longest time to trust Michi..." she said, half to herself. She looked up at Gasai with a small smile. "Its normal for you to feel like that...its an important lesson in life that you can't trust just anyone. But when you are able to trust someone, like your friends, you can believe that they'll be there to support you." She said. "It took me a long time to realize that...its a little scary, I'll admit...but you learn from it." She said. "And so you know, you can trust me Gasai." She promised with a small smile.

"I only know what my parents taught me about the world..." Gasai muttered hardly to himself. "I mean I don't exactly get out much." He said again, "Except for my job or when it's my day to get dinner or take out the trash or something..."

Shizumi looked at Gasai as he spoke and felt a hint of sadness as she heard him talk about his life. "Is it because you're afraid of the world being after you?" She asked, looking at him with concern in her eyes. She knew how it felt to be in that situation. For her, it had felt lonely, but at the same time trying to push anyone who tried to get close away, for fear of losing that person and being alone again.

Gasai sighed and thought for a moment about what they were talking about. "I guess." He said looking down and then back up, "I'm probably just paranoid though..." He said quickly again not thinking. The worlds after most people so it's some people vs the world... Gasai thought looking around, seeing closing time was soon.

Shizumi looked down for a little bit as she replied. "I won't lie and say that you don't have reason to be paranoid...the world can be cruel, and there are bad things that happen to people who don't deserve it." She said sadly. "But is there anything that I can do to help you, if you'll let me?" She asked. He had been kind enough to listen to her and she wanted to be able to do the same for him. She looked at the clock, wondering what time it was. There were fifteen more minutes until closing time.

Gasai smiled, "No not really anything. I'll be fine really." He also looked at the clock. Fourteen minutes until closing. "There's certain people I trust and some I don't, some I know and some I don't. It's like when you were a kid and your parents told you not to get in a van if you don't know the person or if they offer you candy. It's implanted into your mind to stay with the people you trust." He said thinking aloud trying to explain it.

Shizumi nodded slowly, understanding what he was saying. "That's a lesson that's been an important part in my life." She said as she looked around the Cafe. She noticed that the other two workers begining to leave the cafe. They stopped and waved at Shizumi and Gasai and Shizumi waved back with a smile before they walked out. She turned to look at Gasai. "When the Cafe closes, we'll have to lock the door behind us since we're the last ones." She said with a small smile.

Gasai nodded, "Right we need to lock up..." He said also waving as the other two left. "So earlier you said there was a girl named berry who worked here?" He asked quite curios as to wo this was.

Shizumi looked back as he spoke and nodded with a smile. "Yes. She's the manager, and she helped me a lot on my first day. She's really friendly and bubbly to all of the workers." She said. She remembered that she had given her tips on how to help the customers enjoy themselves at the cafe.