"Your friends are something else."

Shin rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it," He groaned, watching as his co-worker restocked the shelves.

"Are they always like this?"

"I mean, they get a little rowdy at times, but this is just too much!" Shin exclaimed, throwing his hands up for emphasis. "I only thought a few of them would go this far, but apparently all of them are in on it! They're already annoying enough as it is- I'm tired of them coming in during my shifts and acting like a bunch of wild animals! Can't I ever catch a break?" He whined out in distress.

The answer to Shin's question came in the form of his favorite bell ringing. "Hiya, meow!"

"NO!"

"Jeez, I just said hiya, woof..." Gin mumbled, waddling into the store with a sad look in his eyes. "Do you really not like people that much, meow?" He asked, quickly perking back up. "You're such a loner, woof!"

Shin shifted his gaze to his chuckling co-worker. "Do not encourage him." he hissed, glaring as he watched him quickly try to cover up the laugh with a few lousy fake coughs. "So, Gin," He whistled, turning his attention back to Gin. "What brings you h-"

"Meow!"

"Uh-?" Shin blinked in surprise.

"This is my friend, Kuro-chan, meow!" Gin announced, standing at the counter with a bright smile on his face.

"Gin..." Shin slowly leaned backwards, an apprehensive look on his face. "I know you did not just place a living, breathing cat in front of me."

The cat in question, Kuro-chan, merely meowed in response, taking a seat and licking his paw.

Gin rolled his eyes. "Well he's obviously not a dog, woof."

"That's not the point here!!" Shin cried out. "There's no animals allowed in the store! Take Kuro-kun back outside where you found him!"

"That's Kuro-chan to you, mister, meow!" Gin growled, gripping Mew-Chan tightly. "He's not just an animal, he's my friend, woof! How could you kick out a face as adorable as that, meow?" Judging by the look of disgust on Shin's face, it seemed as if the worker didn't find the cat as adorable as Gin did. "Don't tell me you're a dog person, arf?!" The boy gasped, eyes widening in shock.

"I actually prefer neither-"

Gin nodded his head in understanding, Shin's words flying over his head and out the door. "It's okay, Shin, meow. You don't have to lie to yourself any longer, woof. Even if cats are superior, dogs are super cute too, nya! In fact, I had a back up prepared in case you liked dogs more, woof!"

"Oh no, you are not bringing a dog-"

"Dog mode, activate!"

"Did Mew-Chan just move-"

Interrupting Shin for the third time in a row, Gin let out a loud bark. Kuro-chan startled from his spot on the counter, looking just as surprised as Shin did. Not even a second later, the doorbell rang.

Shin didn't know who he was expecting, or what he was expecting- but whatever it was, it most certainly was not Sara and another teenager waltzing into the store with Joe on a leash. "What the h-" He had almost forgotten that Gin was still here. "-heck am I looking at?"

"That's not a nice way to ask for someone's name." Sara scolded. "This is Ryoko Hirose, my best friend."

Ryoko smiled, waving politely to Shin. "I've heard a few things about you, it's nice to finally meet you."

"No, no, that's not-" Sara cleared her throat, shooting Shin a glare. "It's nice to meet you too, Ryoko, but why is Joe on a leash?!?!"

"Okay, okay, hear us out," Sara started, giving Joe a pat on his head. "We know animals normally aren't allowed in convenience stores but he's Ryoko's support dog." Sara turned her gaze to Ryoko, watching as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Isn't Joe dating Ryoko?! He's not a dog?!"

"Yeah," Joe crossed his arms. "I'm not just a dog; I'm a dawg." He winked, clicking his tongue and snapping his fingers.

A long, uncomfortable silence fell over the group.

"Bad dog," Pulling out a spray bottle from seemingly out of nowhere, Sara swiftly sprayed Joe with a splash of water. Joe whimpered, scooting closer to Ryoko. "Sit."

"Wait, you were actually serious about me acting like a dog-?"

Sara sprayed Joe again. "Sit, boy, sit!"

Clenching his teeth and swallowing his pride, Joe plopped down onto the ground.

"Good boy," Sara pulled a cracker from out of her pocket, flicking it up into the air.

Joe leaned his head to the side and caught it in his mouth, happily chowing down on the cracker. "Okay, this isn't actually that bad!"

"I want a treat too, arf!" Gin barked, scurrying up to the others and sitting down next to Joe.

"Enough!" Shin howled out in bewilderment. "This weird dog roleplay or whatever isn't even funny! It's just weird!"

"Bad dog!" Sara aimed the spray bottle at Shin, firing away. The mist hit both Shin and Kuro-chan, making them both hiss out in surprise. "How dare you call Ryoko's support dog a fake?"

Shin shook the water off of his face, swiping away at any stray droplets still on his skin. "Okay, okay, fine. Since you're so insistent that Joe's a support dog, then where's your certification?" He asked, holding out his hand expectantly.

Without missing a beat, Ryoko reached into her pocket, pulling out something small and handing it over to Shin. Shin gladly took the object, turning it over in his hand. "Are you kidding me?!" He asked, holding up the object for everyone to see. "This is just Joe's ID with dog ears drawn on him with a sharpie!"

"Are you questioning the validity of Joe's certification?" Ryoko asked, taking the certification back from Shin. "That's no good. We can prove it to you if you'd like."

"Oh really?" Shin hummed, crossing his arms over his chest. "And how exactly would you prove that it's real?"

"Oh, I can't prove that it's real." Ryoko shook her head. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "But he can." She smiled, turning her head back towards the door.

Shin craned his neck to the side, peering around the others to find... "Didya miss me?" Keiji asked, a casual smirk on his face as he scratched the back of his neck.

"How are you guys timing this so spot-on?!" Shin yelled out in confusion. "Are you guys just waiting outside for a certain signal or something?!"

Ignoring his question, Keiji approached Ryoko, who had been kind enough to meet him half way. "You said you wanted me to verify your service dog certification?"

"Are policemen even qualified to do that?" Joe tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Wait, sorry, I meant, uh... woof."

Keiji shrugged. "Sure, why not?" Taking the card from Ryoko's hand, he gave it a once over before handing it back to her. "Seems legit to me."

"That's bull!" Shin slammed his hand on the counter in exasperation. Unfortunately for him, Kuro-chan didn't appreciate the sudden motion, jumping up in surprise and swiping angrily at his hand. Shin yowled out in pain, yanking his hand away from Kuro-chan's claws.

"Kuro-chan, are you okay?!" Sara asked, making her way to the counter and scooping up the cat into her arms. "Did Shin startle you?"

"Um, hello?! I'm the one who was scratched?!" Shin gestured wildly to himself, showing off the bright red scratch on his hand for the world to see.

"Shut up," Sara snapped at Shin, petting Kuro-Chan's head softly. "Maybe you deserved it."

"Maybe I deserved it?!" Shin huffed. "I'm just an underpaid convenience store worker; what I deserve is a shift where you guys leave me alone, not whatever kind of zoo we have going on! Cats, dogs- what's next, birds?!"

"I thought you'd never ask." A new voice chimed in.

Shin let out an ungodly shriek, flinching backwards at the sudden presence before him that spawned from seemingly out of nowhere. "WHERE DID YOU EVEN COME FROM?!?!"

"Where does anyone come from, really?" Kai asked, bringing a hand to his chin as he pondered his question.

"Stop materializing from thin air!" Shin scolded, bringing his hand to his chest. "At least give me some sort of warning before you do that! How many of you are there, anyways?!" He asked, turning his head this way and that to see if there was anyone he missed.

"Don't worry, I only picked out one," Moving his hand from behind his back, Kai proceeded to place a chicken down on the counter.

Shin blinked. "...Is that a chicken?"

"As an employee you don't even recognize your own products?" Kai shook his head in disapproval. Although he had the same poker face as before, Shin could still somehow sense the disappointment he felt. "What bad service. Unlike your bad quality, the hen I have picked out has to be one of the most beautiful specimens I have ever laid eyes on. I'm very pleasantly surprised with what a nice selection you had to choose from."

"This is a convenience store from crying out loud! We don't sell chickens here!" Shin ran a hand through his teal hair, using his free hand to grip the counter tightly. "Where did you even get this from?!" He stared incredulously at the hen, watching as she took a step forward and clucked rather loudly.

"She's kind of cute," Sara hummed, reaching her hand out to the chicken. Kuro-chan seemed to agree with her, reaching out his paw and swiping at the unsuspecting hen. The poor bird ruffled her feathers at the sudden attack, screeching as it flew off the counter and onto the floor, scuffling as far away from the counter as she could.

"My hen!" Kai gasped. "Come back, dear!"

Before Kai could spring into action, he was beat to the punch by a certain policeman, standing directly in the hen's path. "Woah there, girlie," He cooed, bending down and holding out his hand to the hen. "Whatcha in a hurry for, huh?" The hen stopped in her tracks, tilting her head in confusion as she let out another cry. Keiji took the opportunity to pick her up- only to be greeted with the sight of an egg on the floor from where she previously stood. "My, my, what do we have here?" Shifting his grip so that he was holding onto the hen with only one arm, Keiji picked the egg up from off of the floor with his free hand. "Hm, that's a very nice egg." He hummed, turning it around in his hand as he stared intensely at it.

"Yes, it is indeed a very nice egg." Kai nodded in agreement. "It would be much appreciated if you could give it back alongside the hen, now." He took a step forward, ready to take the items by force.

Keiji wagged his finger tauntingly. "I dunno, I kinda like it," he mused, taking a step away from Kai and turning his gaze to the counter in front of him. "Hey, guys,"

"Oh my god, what now?" Shin muttered, his shoulders slouching in defeat.

"How much you wanna bet that I can't make it into the tip jar?" the policeman asked, walking further away from the counter.

"...Make it into the-" Shin took a second to comprehend what Keiji was asking, but when he came to the realization he immediately stood up straight. "Oh hell no, you are not throwing an egg into the tip jar."

"I second that," Kai chimed in, nodding his head in agreement.

Keiji clicked his tongue. "Just take out the tips and I'll clean it up afterward. Now, who's betting and how much?"

"No!" Shin protested before anyone could chip in. "You're not throwing an egg-" Keiji furrowed his brow, tilting his chin upwards and shooting Shin a pointed glare. Not in the mood for another fight with Keiji, he begrudgingly took the tips out of the tip jar. "Fine! I'll bet..." He spared a glance down at the money in his hand, quickly counting its value as he fought off the memories of his unpleasant experience from Gin's last visit. "1,170 Yen that you'll miss!" He blurted out before he could second guess whether he was right or not.

"I'll bet 1,000 yen that Keiji can make it into the jar." Sara chimed in.

Ryoko hummed. "1,500 says he won't make it in."

"I'm broke, woof!" Joe barked. "I'm also a dog, arf! I can't bet, woof!"

"My mom tells me not to participate in this kind of stuff, nya..." Gin mumbled.

"I refuse to participate because you will not be throwing any eggs while I'm here." Kai lowered his head, shooting a glare at Keiji.

The policeman was unphased by Kai's challenge. "Whatever, I'll bet 1,000 yen that I can make it." Before Kai had a chance to stop him, Keiji pulled his hand back, launching the egg forward in a swift motion. Much to the group's surprise, it missed the jar entirely, landing directly on Kai's face. "Whoops," Keiji brought his hand to the back of his neck in a sheepish manner, a shit-eating grin on his face as he pulled out a 1,000 yen bill from his pocket. "Guess I couldn't make it."

Ryoko gasped in surprise, Joe burst out laughing, Sara sighed as she took out the money she owed and set it on the counter, and the rest of the group was stunned into silence.

"You guys decide what you do with the money," Keiji set his bill on the shelf next to him. "I gotta get back to work. Duty calls for Mr. Policeman." Sparing one last glance at Kai, Keiji whistled. "See ya."

Everyone fell still for a brief moment in time. In the blink of an eye, both Keiji and Kai broke into a mad dash- the former rushing to the door in order to escape the wrath of the latter, who was hot on his tail.

The three teenagers alongside Gin all shared glances with each other, before promptly bursting out in laughter. While they were preoccupied, Shin quickly slipped out from behind the counter, taking the money Keiji left and pocketing it. "Great!" He exclaimed as he headed back to his spot at the register, taking the money Sara left on the counter as well. "Are we done here?" He asked, picking up the money he borrowed from earlier and shoving it back into the tip jar.

"Why are you in such a hurry, woof?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, we only just got here." Ryoko mused.

Shin opened his mouth to protest, inhaling sharply from the sudden tingle he felt in his nose and letting out a loud sneeze. "Oh no."

Sara hummed, her face lighting up with a knowing smile. "Oh?" She smirked. "Are you sick?"

"No, it was just a-" Shin paused mid-sentence, letting out another loud sneeze. "Sneeze. Just a sneeze."

"You don't happen to have any cat allergies, do you...?"

Shin grit his teeth. "No!" He sneezed for a third time. "I'm not-" He sneezed for a fourth time. "Allergic-" He sneezed for a fifth time. "To cats!" He exclaimed, sneezing extra loudly for special effect.

"Oohhh, so that's why you don't like cats, woof!" Gin's eyes lit up with a mischievous glint.

Sara, Joe, and Ryoko had a similar look in their eyes. Shin groaned in defeat, grabbing a tissue and blowing his nose. He had a hunch that there was going to be a long night ahead of him.

Words: ~2.6k

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! As per usual, sorry this chapter has come out so late into the night! I genuinely had fun writing this chapter, and although at first I was unsure as to how to combine the multiple ideas I had, I feel that I was able to make it work! I hope you enjoyed!