Chapter 2
It had been around a week since Sara had so kindly doxxed Shin; and seeing as his friends had yet to see him without his signature scarf and beanie combination, let alone know his real name, the group was in utter chaos for the rest of the day. Much to his surprise, they didn't roast him at all based on where he worked- if anything, they were actually more respectful than he thought they'd be. (Of course, that wasn't to say that they didn't roast him at all.)
His friends were an absolute wild card, that's for sure; but after a week had passed with no surprise visits from anyone, Shin could finally relax, finding comfort in knowing that no one probably cared enough to stop by. Oh, the joys of being insignificant!
The end of his spectacularly uneventful shift was just within reach, and when the bell that signaled a new arrival chimed, Shin was actually in a good enough mood to greet the customer. "Good afternoon!" Although the customer wouldn't be able to see him until they passed a shelf next to the door, Shin still smiled softly, gazing at the bit of blonde hair he could see from above the shelf.
"Heyo."
As soon as he heard the voice, Shin's eyes widened in apprehension, his heart nearly dropping into his stomach at the familiarity. "K-Keiji?!"
The person in question walked past the shelf and into his line of sight, confirming his worst fears. "Yep." Keiji rubbed the back of his neck, a mischievous glint in his eyes and the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. "Bet you weren't expecting me, huh?"
Shin really wasn't expecting anyone he knew for that matter, and most certainly not him, of all people. "I... was not," He stuttered out, watching as Keiji casually approached the counter. So much for his good mood- why'd he have to go and jinx himself like that? "So, uh, what brings you here on this fine day?"
"What, is Mr. Policeman not allowed to shop around just 'cause he feels like it?" As if to prove a point, Keiji picked up a magazine at random, not even sparing it a glance as he waved it in the air for Shin to see.
"Just an opinion of mine, but personally, I don't think policemen should be parading around porn magazines like that." Shin lowered his elbow onto the counter, resting his chin in his palm. "Doesn't make for a good public image."
"Huh?" Keiji glanced at the magazine in his hand and- "Oh, shit, whoops," he quickly shoved the magazine back on the rack, picking up another one that was more safe for work and holding it up. "You didn't see that."
"See what?" Shin hummed, a hint of smugness in his voice and in his smile.
"Exactly." He whistled, setting down the random magazine. "Now, you mind telling me where I can get myself some coffee?"
"To your right and all the way back." Shin lifted his head off of his palm, curling up his fist and pointing with his thumb in the direction of the drinks.
Keiji slipped his hands into his pockets. "I'll be right back," he said, waltzing off towards his destination. "Try not to miss me while I'm gone."
Shin watched Keiji until he was out of sight, straightening his posture and brushing out the wrinkles on his uniform. "Try not to miss me while I'm gone," He mocked quietly to himself.
Keiji was most definitely planning something. Perhaps it was that look on his face, or maybe Shin was being too paranoid, but he was so confident that there was something going on that it was driving him mad. For a brief moment, he wondered if he was just jumping to conclusions and being too judgmental; but any and all doubts he had washed away at the realization that the police station where Keiji worked at was a good fifteen minutes away from where he worked, meaning he had actively went out of his way to visit him- something which did not sit right with Shin in the slightest.
Shin shook his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts as soon as he saw Keiji approaching the counter, cup of coffee in hand. "Will that be all you're getting?" He asked, watching as the policeman set down the drink. What could he possibly do with a cup of coffee, spill it on him? (Probably not- Keiji liked his coffee too much to waste it on the likes of him.)
Keiji nodded in confirmation, pulling his wallet from out of his pocket and thumbing through its contents. "Oh, hey, woulda look at that..." He mumbled, pulling out a slip of paper from his wallet. "I got a coupon. Guess today's my lucky day," he chuckled, slipping the paper across the counter.
Not thinking much of it, Shin picked up the paper and skimmed over its contents; Any 250ml drink for 99 yen, valid at any 7-Eleven in Japan, one time use only, expiration date of April 2017, all the basic stuff. It seemed legit enough.
...Wait.
Shin pulled the paper closer to his face, staring intently at the text. Sure enough, the coupon had long since expired. "Yeah, uh, looks to me like your coupon won't work here," Shin hummed, setting the paper back down on the counter. "Sorry."
"Hm?" Keiji raised an inquisitive brow. "My coupon won't work? Why's that?"
"Can you read?" Shin turned the coupon around so it faced Keiji, pointing to the date near the bottom. "This coupon expired in 2017."
"And?"
"What do you mean 'and?!'" Shin exclaimed. "The coupon expired, it can't be used anymore."
"You're really gonna let some text on a paper stop you?" Keiji clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Try scanning it, maybe it'll work."
Shin merely sighed. "You know what, sure." He swiped the coupon off of the counter a little too angrily, holding it up to the scanner and- "Survey says better luck next time."
"Aw, c'mon, man, don't be such a stickler." Keiji frowned.
"S-Says you?!" Shin sputtered. "Why can't you just pay full price? It's not even that expensive."
"Hey, I don't know how much you think policemen get paid, but it's probably not as much as you think. Surely you can just put it in manually?" The policeman suggested.
Shin glanced wearily at the clock on the monitor, his patience quickly thinning with each passing second. "No, I can't just put it in manually, you wh-" He bit his tongue, holding back his foul language as he looked up just in time to see a woman and her child enter the line behind keiji. "What I can do is check for deals that are still valid." He smiled brightly, glaring daggers at a smirking Keiji as he checked for any applicable discounts. So this was what he had planned, huh? Suddenly, getting coffee spilt on him didn't sound as bad as it had earlier. "Sorry, it appears there's nothing else I can do."
"Look, kid, I'm gonna be real honest with you," Keiji lifted his hand up, running it through his dyed hair. "I'm just tryna get myself a nice cup of coffee and enjoy a nice ride to work. I've been working very hard and I've been asking very nicely, now if you don't give me this discount then I'm afraid we might have a bit of a problem here."
Shin had never wanted to strangle someone so badly in his entire life. "Sir, this is a 7-Eleven," he curled his fist on the counter, using his free hand to gesticulate wildly alongside each word he spoke. "I'm just an underpaid cashier, and I'm so sorry that your coupon expired, but can you please just try and be a little more understanding?"
''I dunno..." Keiji smirked, sliding his hand down and resting it on the back of his neck. "Your friendly policeman may not be so friendly if you don't tell him why you won't just give him the discount...''
Shin was on the brink of tears. They had been back and forth for almost five minutes now, and his shift had just now officially ended- yet here he was, bickering with Keiji, of all people. ''I said this before and I'll say it again: It says that it's valid until the 4th of April of 2017. That's over 4 years ago- Why do you even have this still?!'' He exclaimed, his voice nearly squeaking with how loud it was.
''I don't like that tone of voice you're using, sir." Keiji tilted his chin up, staring down at Shin in disapproval. "I'm afraid I'm gonna need to speak to your manager, buddy.''
"What? No, you can't just-"
"Hello, were you looking for the manager?"
From quite literally out of nowhere, another person popped up from behind the counter directly next to Shin, sending the poor worker jumping back as he shrieked in surprise. "WAH! Where did you come from?!"
"I'm the manager. It is my duty to be present whenever my assistance is required."
The person standing next to him was most definitely not his manager. Much unlike his manager, he had long hair and a pleasant face, donning a blue apron over his uniform. Wait a minute. "Kai?! What are you doing back here?! How'd you even get that shirt?!"
"I'm the manager." Kai repeated, not even sparing him a glance.
"No you're not!"
"Can you prove that?"
"I could literally ask you the same thing!" Shin cried out. "You don't even have a nametag on! What's your name, huh?!"
"My, my; you can't even remember my name? What a horrible employee." Kai shook his head, turning his attention back to Keiji. "I offer my sincerest apologies for the trouble my unruly employee has caused you. As proper compensation for the inconvenience, your order is entirely on us. I hope this won't put a damper on your mood for the remainder of the day."
"Thank you." Keiji nodded his head, picking up his coffee from the counter and taking a sip.
"As for you..." Kai slowly turned to face Shin. "As much as I wish I didn't have to do this, I believe your poor actions call for a penalty on your perfect record. It's such a shame to see my star employees fall from grace."
"You can't do sh-!" He nearly forgot that there was a child in the vicinity. "-anything! You don't even work here, and if you do, then I've never even seen you until now!"
Kai frowned. "If you insist that I am not your manager, then it appears that I have no choice other than to contact those in a higher position."
"Oh, yeah?" Shin huffed, rolling his eyes. "And who would that be?"
"The CEO of 7-Eleven."
Keiji nearly choked on his coffee, quickly bringing his hand up to his face and wiping his mouth.
Shin was just as taken aback by Kai's statement as Keiji was. "Oh, no." He shook his head, slamming his hand down on the counter. "Now I know you two are just messing with me."
Kai took a step closer to Shin. "I do not appreciate you talking back to your superior in such a manner and will not tolerate any more of your misbehavior. I'll have you know that the CEO and I are close friends, and he just so happens to be in the area."
"Yeah, right." Shin crossed his arms. "That's just too convenient to be believable! Who do you think I am?!"
"I think you're a little rat who doesn't know his place." Kai spat, the uncharacteristic emotion in his voice unnerving Shin and making him take a step back in cowardice. "Now, where were we? Ah, right, the CEO." In an instant, Kai was back to his usual neutral demeanor, lifting both of his hands up and clapping them together.
The bell attached to the door rang immediately after. The three watched in anticipation- Shin going as far as to lean his head to the side to get a better glimpse beyond the shelf that blocked their view of who had just entered. Walking past the shelf and straight towards the counter were two tall men wearing identical suits- the shorter of the two having gray hair tied up in a bun and circular glasses on his face, and the taller, more muscular of the two having red hair tied up in a similar manner and sunglasses on his face.
The entire store fell silent at the menacing air around the two new arrivals, all eyes glued to them as they approached the check out. "Greetings, my fellow friend." The gray haired man spoke, a smile on his face. "What appears to be the problem here?"
"Oh, come on!" Shin yelled, gripping his hair tightly and resisting the urge to rip it out. "That's literally just Kazumi and Q-Taro in a suit and bun!" As if to prove a point, the hair tie around Q-Taro's bun suddenly broke with a loud snap, flying into a shelf and bouncing off of it, rebounding straight into Shin's eye. "OW!" He yowled out in pain, his hands flying to cover his eye.
"That's Mishima to you." The gray haired man scolded.
"And? You're not even the CEO, you're just a high school teacher for crying out loud!"
Mishima frowned. Suddenly, his hair tie broke in a similar fashion to Q-Taro's, hitting the window and nearly hitting Keiji in the process. Thankfully, the policeman moved out of the way in the nick of time, watching in amusement as the hair tie hit Shin in the other eye.
"ARGH!" Shin shrieked, stumbling backwards and nearly falling over as he moved one of his hands to cradle his other eye. "How do you even-?!"
"With great power comes great capabilities- and great responsibilities too." Mishima pushed his glasses up his nose, the lenses glinting in the artificial light. "I'm afraid I'm due for a meeting in a few minutes, so I unfortunately cannot handle this matter myself; Which is why I've brought one of my esteemed bodyguards with me."
Somehow, Shin still had a little bit of fight left within him. "What, is the creator of a convenience store chain really gonna need bodyguards?"
"There is more to me than just that, young grasshopper." Mishima turned to the side, looking solemnly out the window. "I rose to power through hard work and sacrifice." He paused for dramatic effect, sighing softly before turning his back to the others. "I've indulged too much of my personal life with you guys. I shall be on my way now. I trust that my bodyguard will be able to handle the situation just fine without my guidance." With nothing else to say, Mishima exited as fast as he had arrived.
"Okay, okay, big guy's gone and the jig's up," Shin announced, reluctantly removing his hands from their protective stance and glaring at his friends through swollen eyes. "Don't you dare laugh at me." He hissed- though it was mostly directed at Keiji, given how he was the only one cracking up. "You guys are holding up the line, and quite frankly, are wasting my time. Please leave already."
Q-Taro turned his attention to Shin, cracking his knuckles.
"Guys...?" Shin asked.
"Sorry 'bout this," Q-Taro bowed his head. "Boss' orders." Before Shin could say anything, Q-Taro reached over the counter, grabbing onto Shin and yanking him from his spot, throwing him over his shoulder as if he were a towel.
"What- Hey!" Shin yelped in fear. "What are you doing?! Put me down!" His demands went unheard, Q-Taro waving farewell to Kai and Keiji before making his way to the back of the store. "Hello?! This isn't funny anymore! Let go of me!" The fear in Shin's voice became more evident with each word as he flailed about to no avail. Unfortunately for him, his strength was just no match for Q-Taro. (Or anyone's, for that matter.) "Q-Taro! Where are you taking me?! Hey! HEY-!"
Keiji and Kai were left to their own devices, watching on in silence as Q-Taro and Shin disappeared out of sight.
"Damn, that's crazy," The new voice caused both men to turn their heads. Taking up Shin's spot was another guy around Shin's age, with black spiky hair, red glasses, and not a care in the world. A co-worker of his, perhaps? "I'll take whoever's next." He casually called out to the woman and her child, both of which looked traumatized from the events that just transpired.
Words: ~2.8k
Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for reading! This chapter took a bit longer to write than I thought it would, so I apologize for the wait! I hope you guys find this chapter as funny as I did! Or else that'll be a little awkward LOL
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