Not even a week after the last incident did Shin have another long night ahead of him. Only this time, it was going to be a good night- something which he was so sure of, he could've bet on it. Tonight was going to be different. Why?

Because, instead of taking on an evening shift like he normally did, Shin explicitly asked his manager about working during the night shift. The 7-Eleven he worked at was thankfully open 24 hours, and since there were far less people willing to work into the wee hours of the night, his manager was more than happy to oblige.

Shin's shift tonight was from midnight to five in the morning. Considering his sleep schedule was non-existent due to spending many nights playing games on his computer, he didn't mind the time at all. If anything, it couldn't have been more perfect. Each one of his friends had visited him some time during the afternoon, most likely after they had gotten out of work or school. Surely they'd be too busy sleeping to come bother him at a time like this, no?

His hypothesis was spot on, and the next few hours of Shin's life were some of the best he'd had in a while- save for the occasional sneeze he'd have to deal with due to some of the remaining cat hairs left from his last incident. With hardly any customers stopping by, Shin's shift was so boring and quiet that he almost dozed off around four in the morning. It was remarkable, better than anything Shin could've ever hoped for.

The sound of the bell piercing through the ambience of the store snapped Shin back to reality. He stood up straight, pushing himself away from his spot against the counter in order to prevent himself from dozing off again. He was so at ease and content with this new arrangement that not only did he feel as if he was dreaming- but for once, he felt no dread or apprehension whatsoever from hearing the bell.

The dread instead hit him head on after the bell rang, in the sound of an incredibly loud air horn blaring from the front. Or perhaps the dread came from the "GOOD MORNIN' SHIN!" that followed immediately after. Either way, both noises were sudden, loud, and scared the ever living shit out of him.

Shin screamed, nearly jumping out of his skin from the shock. As soon as he saw Q-Taro round the corner with an air horn in hand, the surprise was quick to ebb away into annoyance. "What are you doing here?!"

"I could ask you the same thing," Q-Taro scratched the back of his head. "Ain't you usually here in the evenin' or somethin'?"

Shin slowly nodded his head. "I switched shifts. Specifically to get away from you guys. Now, please tell me why you're here."

Q-Taro grinned. "Gotta start my mornin' off right, so I came by to get some breakfast!"

"...Breakfast." Shin pursed his lips, pressing his palms flat against one another. "At four in the morning."

"Yep!" Q-Taro thrusted his hand forward, giving Shin a thumbs up. "I'm playin' outta town today; if I wanna get there in time I gotta be outta here by seven. Thought I'd drop by while I was on my mornin' run."

Now that he had a closer look at Q-Taro, Shin saw that the baseball player was in fact wearing semi-sweaty workout clothes. It didn't seem too out of character for Q-Taro, and although there were a few holes in his story (Such as why in the world would he come barging into the store blaring an air horn and screaming good morning directly at him if he hadn't planned to run into him?) he decided not to press the matter any further, opting to talk about a more urgent object currently at the forefront of his mind. "Look, I actually don't care about you being here, even after what you did last time, just please-" He leaned forward, gripping the counter so tightly his knuckles turned white. "-Don't tell anyone about my new hours!"

Q-Taro blinked. "Well, sure." He shrugged, seemingly indifferent. "But... You do know they're gonna find out eventually, right?"

Right on cue, the store's bell rang. "Greetings, Shin Tsukimi!" A loud voice called out.

Q-Taro just had to go and open his fat mouth, didn't he? "GO AWAY!" Shin yowled in frustration.

Alice gasped in indignation as he came into view. "Can I at least get a 'Good Morning' back?" Quite frankly, Shin couldn't tell whether his offended tone was fake or genuine.

Shin opened his mouth to retort- only to let out a nasty sneeze.

"Bless you," Both Alice and Q-Taro spoke in unison. Shin merely nodded his head in thanks, grabbing a tissue and blowing his nose. Although Alice was one of the few in the group chat he could actually tolerate, Shin knew all too well that he'd usually always come with a certain someone in tow.

"Normally, I'd say bless you, but now that I'm here I'd say you've already been blessed enough with my presence." Reko declared, following almost immediately after Alice and proving Shin's point.

"Thanks to you too, Reko." Shin grumbled, half-tempted to throw his dirty tissue at her. It'd probably just fall flat to the floor though, and he wasn't really in the mood to look like an idiot in front of these three- or any of his friends for that matter.

"Hey guys!" Q-Taro grinned. "What're y'all doin' up at this hour?"

"We were working so diligently on upcoming material for Samurai Yaiba that we failed to recognize how late it had gotten, that's all." Alice answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It was Alice's idea to stop here." Reko added, glancing at her nails with a bored expression.

The man in question nodded in agreement. "It was indeed. There were a few things I had wanted to pick up, which, if you'd be so kind as to excuse me, I shall go do now." With that, Alice strutted off into a random aisle.

Q-Taro hummed. "I actually had somethin' I wanted to get too! You two play nice while we're gone, 'kay?" He asked before quickly making his way towards the back of the store.

Great. Now Shin was alone with Reko. One look at her and he could tell that she was just as thrilled as he was- not at all. "Look, if you wanna bully me, just get it over with already," Shin sighed, grabbing another tissue and blowing his nose yet again.

"Believe me, I would've done so if I had any ideas," Reko grunted, leaning her back against the counter as she pulled out her phone. "Luckily for you I spent all night thinking up new songs, so the best thing I can think of at the moment is to text the group chat about your new hours."

"Anything but that!" Shin cried out. In his desperation he lunged forward, trying to swipe her phone from her hands.

"Get your filthy hands away from my shit!" Reko barked, shifting her phone to one hand as she slammed her other hand on top of Shin's hand, pinning it down to the counter and pressing down as hard as she could, only to pull her hand off of his after she got tired of his cries of pain.

When Shin had leaned forward, he noticed that she wasn't in the groupchat, but messaging with someone directly. "Are you texting your girlfriend?" He asked, as if he hadn't just nearly had his hand flattened by the girl he was currently questioning.

"Nao isn't my girlfriend," Reko grumbled through gritted teeth.

"Tsk," Shin shook his head knowingly. "Why'd you assume I was talking about Nao?" Watching Reko tense up at the realization of her slip up felt more satisfying than it should've. "Besides, isn't she sleeping? I'm fairly sure she has class in the morning."

The rockstar nodded in affirmation. "Even if she won't read it till later, I gotta say it's still leagues better than talking with you."

Choosing to ignore the insult directed at him, Shin decided to keep going. "Nao's a sweet, introverted young girl who's still in college. You're not much older than her, but if anyone's gonna make the first move it's gotta be you."

"No shit." Reko hissed in warning, gripping her phone tighter.

"Then wh-"

"Stop trying to give me advice as if you're older than me! I'll beat your ass!" Reko yelled out, whipping her head around and swinging her fist in Shin's general direction. Shin yelped as he somehow narrowly dodged her sucker punch, sending himself tumbling to the floor with how fast and low he had ducked. "I know what I have to do, so can it, dammit! Talking as if you know better than me- I'm sure even Alice has more experience than you do when it comes to this!"

"Hey!" A yell from a certain man can be heard a few aisles down. "I can hear you shit-talking me from here!" Reko merely lifted up her middle finger in response, glaring at Shin as he shakily rose to his feet.

Shin raised a brow in mild disbelief. "Alice actually has experience with this kind of stuff?" Most definitely not what her mini-rant was about, but Shin was no longer daring enough to keep egging her on.

Thankfully, Reko didn't want to talk about the matter anymore, making a face similar to Shin's. "I wouldn't even call it that," She scoffed, lowering her middle finger from the sky and shoving her fist into her jacket pocket. "It's so fucking pathetic that its actually kind of funny- he just leaves a bunch of cryptic hints and gives the most oddly specific gifts towards people he likes."

"...Am I interrupting somethin'?" Reko and Shin both turned their heads to stare at Q-Taro, who had just returned to the checkout with a cup in hand and a confused look on his face. "I kinda gotta head back out real soon, so I hope you don't mind the intrusion."

"Not at all," Reko shook her head, lifting up both of her hands as she gladly backed away from the counter. "He's all yours."

"Great! 'ppreciate it!" Q-Taro quickly took her place at the counter. "Awright, Shin, ring 'er up!" He grinned, slamming his cup down onto the counter.

As soon as Shin's eyes caught sight of what exactly was in the cup he felt himself freeze up. "Q-Taro."

"Hm? Wassup?"

"What is this?"

"It's a smoothie. I went for somethin' a li'l lighter since the ride outta town's gonna be long."

"You and I both know damn well that's not a smoothie."

"Well, sure it is! Smoothies are just blended fruit, ain't they?"

Shin placed his hands down firmly against the counter, pursing his lips together as he tried to hold back tears. "No, Q-Taro, just because smoothies are made up of blended fruit and tomatoes are technically fruit does not mean that ketchup is a smoothie. So, please tell me why you have just placed an entire cup filled with ketchup in front of me."

"Why're ya lookin' at me like dat, pal?" Q-Taro blinked in surprise, looking as clueless as ever. "Is 'ere somethin' wrong with my order?"

"It's ketchup?!" Shin lifted his hands from the counter, holding them out in confusion. "Are you insane?!"

"What, don't tell me you've never drank ketchup before?!" To Shin's horror, Q-Taro proceeded to pick up the cup and drink its contents as if it was nothing. "It's delicious!"

The only thing stopping Shin from vomiting in that moment was the fact that he'd have to clean it up afterwards. He turned his attention to Reko, tears actually falling from his eyes. "Are you seeing this shit, Reko?!"

"Hm?" Reko looked up from her phone.

"He's just drinking ketchup like some kind of american psycho?!" Shin gestured wildly to Q-Taro, too busy seeking Reko's help to notice the baseball player give her a wink.

"Why you gotta be so mean about it, damn?" Reko frowned, shoving her phone in her pocket and strolling towards the two. "What's so wrong about his choice of drink? It's just ketchup- hell, I could go for some of that right about now."

"You can have a sip if you'd like." Q-Taro offered.

Shin's eyes somehow widened further, nearly bugging out of his head. "You wouldn't dare."

Grabbing the cup and turning it around a little bit, Reko proceeded to take a few, healthy gulps without any hesitation whatsoever, never breaking eye contact with a horrified looking Shin as she did so. "Good shit!" She exclaimed, pulling the cup away from her lips and slamming it back down on the counter. She leaned back, craning her neck and looking towards the back of the store. "Hey, ugly hag! Hurry up and get your flat ass over here right now!"

"I know you did not just call my ass flat immediately after calling me a slur!" Alice's loud voice shot back from another aisle. "That's so meaaaan!" He wailed.

"What?!" Reko's nose scrunched up in confusion. "How can you have such bigass ears and still be deaf?! I called you a hag, not a f-"

"There is also no need to yell when I am right here!" Alice barked as he emerged from one of the aisles. "And you better watch your fucking language, missy!" He scolded. "That is no way to talk to your older brother!"

"Yeah, yeah, eat shit, whatever," Reko rolled her eyes, holding out the cup for Alice to take. "Dude, you need to try this drink right fucking now."

"Is that so?" Alice set the items in his hands down on the counter, taking the cup from Reko's outstretched hand. "Hm?" He hummed, squinting at the contents in the cup. "It's... just ketchup?"

"Yea, is there a problem?" Reko crossed her arms over her chest.

"Of course there's a problem!" Alice cried out in indignation.

Alice definitely had to be Shin's favorite now.

"There's no mayo to go with it! Plain ketchup is just straight up nasty!"

Perhaps Shin spoke too soon.

"Ew, you're still on that mayo shit?" Reko gagged. "I've already told you, mustard is where it's at when it comes to ketchup!"

"Guys, guys," Q-Taro placed a hand on either of their shoulders. "Both are good combos in their own right. Personally, my favorite is ketchup and ranch, and sometimes I even mix 'em- but today I'm in the mood for just ketchup, ya feel me?"

Reko nodded, bringing her hand to her chin in contemplation. "That's valid, actually." She mused. "Sometimes it's important to stick to the basics."

"Although I cannot share your love of plain ketchup, I can respect your opinions. As an apology for my reaction earlier, allow me to refill your cup, considering Reko drank a good portion of it." Before Reko could cuss him out, Alice left to refill Q-Taro's cup.

"That was the biggest cup size they had. You can ring dat up, right?" Q-Taro turned his attention back to Shin, pulling his wallet from his pocket and taking out his card.

Shin could feel the life draining from him. "Yeah," He mumbled miserably, putting in the price and ringing up Q-Taro in the most pitiful manner known to mankind. "Thank you for your purchase. Pardon my language on behalf of my company, but please never fucking do that again." Feeling as if he was gonna be sick, he grabbed another tissue, coughing into it before blowing his nose.

"No problem and no promises!" Q-Taro reached forward and ruffled Shin's hair in a lousy attempt to cheer him up.

"I have returned with your refreshment!" Alice announced, handing the cup back to Q-Taro.

"Thanks, man!" Q-Taro took the cup eagerly, taking another sip. "I gotta head out now, 'twas nice seein' y'all! See ya 'round!"

The Yabusame siblings both said their goodbyes to Q-Taro, watching as he left the store before turning their attention back to the half dead cashier before them. "You want anything while we're here, Reko?"

Reko shook her head. "Nah, I'll just steal one of your energy drinks while you're not looking."

"Which is exactly why I bought three this time around!" Alice smirked, putting his hand on his hip as he puffed his chest out. "My intelligence cannot be beaten!"

Reko snorted. "Okay, I'll just steal two of your energy drinks this time."

Alice gasped, his eyes widening as his face paled. "Nooooooooo! It was not supposed to end like this!"

"...Just split one in half..." Shin mumbled, his eyes downcast in defeat.

"What a great idea, Shin Tsukimi!" Alice beamed, slamming his hand down on the counter, pretending as if he hadn't just been traumatized.

Still shuddering from what he witnessed earlier, Shin quickly grabbed another tissue and sneezed into it, tossing it into the bin next to him alongside the other tissues before starting to scan Alice's items.

Feeling a little pity for the worker, Alice attempted to make small talk in order to lighten his spirits. "Are your allergies acting up as well?"

Shin nearly questioned the 'as well' part, until he picked up one of the items to scan it only to find that it was a pack of allergy relief pills. "Not in the way you're thinking. A few days ago, Gin brought a cat in here. No matter how much we clean, there's still hairs to be found."

"Worry not!" Alice declared, taking out his wallet from his pocket and pulling out some cash. "I'm sure you'll get them all eventually, and then you'll feel better in no time!"

"Thanks." Shin huffed, a small smile on his face as he took the cash from Alice, quickly sorting through it. "Would you like a bag for your order?" He offered as he opened up the cash compartment, taking out the change he owed Alice and holding it out to him.

"Oh my god!" Reko suddenly groaned, quickly grabbing the attention of the others. "This is why I hate men! You guys are so slow and annoying! We paid for the stuff so let's go, I wanna go home and sleep for the next twelve hours!" Before either of them had a chance to say anything, Reko grabbed a fistful of Alice's shirt and started dragging him toward the exit.

"There's no point in paying for the stuff if you don't let me get it!" Alice quickly scooped up as much as he could off of the counter, seemingly unphased by Reko's suddenly brash behavior.

"Bye, ugly!" Reko called out to Shin, not looking back as she hauled Alice toward the door.

"Till we meet again, Shin Tsukimi!" Alice shouted, waving goodbye to Shin with a large grin on his face.

Shin slowly waved back, watching with a dumbfounded expression as the two were suddenly gone. "Uh..." He muttered, closing the cash compartment and setting the change he had meant to give to Alice on the counter. The extra cash wasn't the only thing that he had left behind too- staring at the remaining items on the counter, he couldn't help but wonder to himself.

Weren't those two items in between the other stuff he had scanned? It wasn't as if he'd set them away from everything else. How did Alice manage to grab everything except 258 Yen, an energy drink, and a pack of allergy pills? It was such a weird combination too, it was almost like...

...An oddly specific gift.

Shin's smile from earlier returned. Yeah, that sounded about right. Even if he was just overthinking things, and it did in fact turn out to be just a crazy coincidence, he was sure Alice wouldn't mind if he helped himself. Stuffing the extra cash into his pocket, Shin tore open the packet of allergy pills, popping one in his mouth. Although they were probably long gone by now, he still muttered a small "thank you" as he cracked open the energy drink, taking a nice, well-deserved sip.

Words: ~3.4k

Author's Note: Yeesh, this chapter was WAY bigger than I had intended. Sorry it came out super late, I hope the extra 1,000 words make up for it! I'll try to publish the next chapter earlier on in the day, but I can't promise anything, my bad!