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(Setting) G&K CafeBar
| >Being a relatively small cafe, it only features a couple of tables and a counter. Sleepy mafioso guard sits sipping his coffee in the corner near the exit.
>Behind the counter stands the young woman in chocolate apron over black suit. Her waist long, chestnut color hair is let free, occasional strand resting on her fragile shoulders. Soft smile on her face made her deep, green eyes seem even deeper, diverting attention from the thin scar on her left temple.
| >A charming addition to the cafe interior, a young girl in the waitress uniform is wiping one of the tables, which likely just had been in use. Her bright red eyes shine in the hall's twilight, and shoulder blade length, fluffy blond hair is tied into tail with a big green ribbon.
| > Fox, trusted courier to the Springfields, walks in, wearing warmer clothing than the lilim usually does. He also seems to be carrying a shopping bag instead of his usual bag. He walks in, as relaxed as can be
"Ahhh!! This place is as cosy as always! I missed you guys, you know? How's it going??"
> He says all this as he comes to the counter, stars in his eyes. Anyone good person would have made a less flashy entrance. A smarter person would have said nothing at all.
| >>609159
>Mafioso in the corner is the first to greer the lilim, his extremely sharp gaze piercing through the room as Dale lifts his fedora slightly — fiery red hair of the Springfields guardian flashing in the dim lighting of the room.
>Svetlana limits herself to a polite nod towards the friend of the family, before going back to wiping the table... Apparently another one, at the opposite side of the hall.
| >Cafe owner herself blooms with a smile, as she turns on the teapot and leans over the bar counter.
"Mr. Ayanami! I haven't seen you in ages, I feel," — >her velvety voice with just a tad of coarseness in it flows throughout the cafe,
— "how have you been?"
| >>609167
> Fox quickly finds a seat and gets comfortable.
“Hi!!!! It does feel like we haven’t seen each other in a while. I’ve been so busy lately, plus I now have a housemate so I stick home a little more. Oh! I have a housemate now!! Her name is Dusty. I think you’d like her a lot. She looks all mean and tough but she’s actually sweet after she warms up to you.”
> He scans over the menu quickly before turning back
“What about here? What’s been new? “
| >>609280
>Mina shrugs with a half-smile, her loose hair flowing behind her back:
"Not much, really. City seems to have slowed down it seems, and so did business," — >Springfield's smile warmed up,
— "well, the Family business that is. It has been increasingly more busy here, since most our boys now don't have much to do."
>A mischievous glint appears in Mina's green eyes, and she leaned in close to his face, locking their gazes with a devilish smile:
| "So, tell me all about that... housemate of yours." — >She whispered not even blinking, gas lamps' lights dancing deep inside her eyes.
— "I'm all ears..."
| (Is it okay if a stranger wanders in? You seemed to emphasize how hard it was to find in the description, so I wanted to ask permission first.)
| (If you can rationalize finding it, you're welcome. — UKT)
| >>609295
"Hmm... Dusty... She's short! And really likes motorcycles. She's building one right now, or I think it might be done already. Oh! She's also from the US, just the other side of the country. I was thinking of bringing her here, but she isn't one to go out all that often either."
> He keeps his finger near his mouth as he spoke, as if he had to actively remember things about her that weren't just her personality
| >>609421
"Hmmmmmmmm," — >Mina hummed with amusement, shifting on top of the bar counter to rest her chest on her hands,
— "so you prefer short, cool types?"
| >A tall man wearing a blue and white overcoat walks in, his demeanor exuding a great deal of tiredness. He takes off his hood, brushing off remnants of snow from his coat in the same action. His brown hair bordering on black thus comes into view along with his face, although its upper half seems concealed beneath a small mask adorned with a singular horn...
>In brief, he looks odd.
"Here I am working all day for those people... Aaah"
>He lets out a sigh and approaches the counter
| >>609451
>From the moment the man entered, he would feel himself stabbed in the back with the piercing gaze of the red-headed mafioso in the corner.
>Mina shifted away from Fox, flashing the lilim with a quick apologetic smile that quickly transformed into a neutrally polite one, as she faced the newcomer:
"Welcome to G&K!"
| >>609490
>The stare makes the newcomer ill at ease but he coughs and tries his best to appear as the very image of composure.
"Hello indeed"
>He takes a seat, tapping the remaining snow off his boots, before truly settling in, he gives the bartender a direct stare
"I'll take whatever light beer you have, that or good sake"
|
| (last bamp before resuming. —UKT)
| (fml)
| >>609423
> Fox waits until Mina comes back to continue talking about Dusty. Once she does, it's as he never even stopped.
"I guess she's cool! Sometimes, I mean. She's always so intense and stuff. I really am still learning things about her constantly. Eventually, I'll know who she really is"
> He seems completely oblivious to what Mina could be implying. He just assumes she wants to know more about her because Fox thinks she's cool
| >>609509
>Mina nods, reaching into the cupboard below the bar counter:
"Light beer it is then."
>After roughly two minutes of moving around the kitchen, she returned to the man with a large, cold mug. Full of golden liquid, it featured a sticker with two blue mountains on its side.
>Mina was about to open her mouth to ask the preculiar man something, but she was suddenly picked by her shoulders and put in front of the Fox with a barely audible yelp.
| >>609509
>No one noticed the blond-haired waitress, the one responsible for Mina's sudden reposition, materialize behind the counter, taking the Springfield's place in front of the masked man.
"Tough night?" — Svetlana asked the newcomer, giving him the tsun treatment without any dere in sight. Some regulars found it arousing.
| >>610793
>It took Mina a second or two to come to it after being unceremoniously moved places, as if she was a piece of furniture. She still managed to overcome the surprise and, after a brief pause, diverted her attention back to Fox just in time to hear his line.
"Aaaaah~ I'm jello." — >Springfield puffed,
— "I wish I had someone to speak volumes about me. I hereby condemn you to a cup of coffee, mr. Ayanami. Which would you like?"
| >>611087
“Aww Mina-san... I’m sure you’ll find someone good! You’re wonderful, hounto ni.”
> Fox takes a second to look at the menu and quickly finds something seasonal to drink.
“Etto... a peppermint latte drink sounds good. Minty drinks warm me up very well”
| >>611085
>The man lifts an eyebrow at the odd scene but seemingly lets the matter drop, shrugging his shoulders
"Its been a series of rough nights actually, organizing for large scale things requires an ungoddly amount of paperwork in this town and here I thought I'd finally escape clerical work"
>He sighs and takes a good sip of his beer before letting out a satisfied voice
"Hmn, that does well to ease it atleast, nothing beats a good drink after a day's work"
| >>611248
>Impish just a second ago, Springfields' eminence grise suddenly blushed, diving down behind the counter for a cup perhaps in a bit more hurry than is appropriate:
"A-ahaha, right, peppermint latte coming right up."
>>611306
"Large scale paperwork?" — >Svetlana asked with her brow raised, neutrally enough to not express any particular interest. Different people came to G&K, and for some their business was to remain their own deal — even if they mentioned it themselves.
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| >>612354
"Arigatou Mina-san! I've been trying to drink more and more coffee, but I don't know how to really make it. I also don't do many deliveries to places where they're around"
> He pauses to think as if there was a reason for this, but can't really think of anything.
"Maybe you should branch out and open up a new place so I can drink coffee on the go!"
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| >>613007
"Opening new branches would bring a tad bit too much attention to this place, unfortunately." — >Mina re-emerged from beneath the counter with an empty cup and her hands went to dance around it, performing her special coffee-brewing magic,
— "I mean, if you took a closer look at the menu, some items don't exactly go around on the market anywhere else in GC, now do they?"
| >Chestnut-haired woman
brought her face closer to Fox as she delivered her last line with a wink, making sure no one but the lilim actually heard her.
"I am sure you can imagine how difficult is it for us to move, let alone open branches. Honestly, when Downtown went dark I was seriously considering closing this place." — >She said with a sigh, beaming with her usual smile shortly after,
— "it was actually Dale who talked me out of it."
| >>613250
> Fox maintained eye contact but gulped at her sudden rush up. He then remembered the “less-than-legal” reasons why the Family was the way they were. He had been so comfortable among them that he forgot this was a world where organised crime wasn’t looked well upon
“ Oh! Yeah! Wakateru wakateru. I’m still glad you are here in any event though. It’s always nice to have friends like you.”
> He really meant it too, more so out of genuine appreciate for Mina
| >>611306
>The masked man nods
"Yeah, just a lot of paperwork and request forms, boring stuff really. But that boring stuff has to be done and apart from my helpful sister well I handle most of it alone"
>He lets out a large sigh
| >>613381
>Mina just gave the Lilim a warm smile, as she put a coffee cup in front of him. The cream on top was forming a mint leaf.
"For your smooth talking you can get doubles free, if you want... Ah, I just remembered something veeeery important!" — >Chestnut-haired woman suddenly trailed off, her face getting serious.
— "Don't want to sound strange, but do you often travel underground? I mean, do you take shortcuts through it when working, or any other reason?"
| >>613480
>Svetlana suddenly raised her brow, and for the first time sounded genuinely curious:
"You work together with your sister? At the same place?"
| >>613911
> Fox smiles and then ponders. Underground traveling? He scans his past deliveries in his head
"I have done some underground shortcuts in the past. They're always a little scary to take because I'm never sure what I find, and then I have to rely on old maps and schematics instead of GPS"
| >>613938
>After listening to his reply, Mina nodded and then leaned in, whispering Fox right into left ear:
"Whatever you have to do, avoid going underground for the next week, you got me? Word is on the streets, that the corps and blue hats are gonna do a big sweep through and they will be shooting first, asking questions second."
>She straightened back up and gave the Lilim a sad smile.
"I dont know what they found there, and I dont want to know. Family also adjusts its routes."
| >>614070
> Fox commits it to his memory and upcoming routes. Getting caught in another gunfight was the last thing he wanted to do.
“I’m going to start rerouting things then. Thank you for the warning.”
> He sips his drink and suddenly sits up like a piston
“Do you need anything ran then? I don’t mind it at all! I would attract no attention after all”
| >>614457
>Mina put a finger up to her lower lip, and after a minute or so had a light bulb appear above her head for a split second. Huh?
"Actually, yes, there is one package. To the Torchwood Hospital. They usually pick these up themselves, but apparently this time the delivery doesn't quite line up with their schedule, or something?" — >Springfield shrugged,
— "Honestly, the guys that run the place are very weird. But they always pay upfront and don't ask questions."
| >>614848
> Fox pulls out his tablet one more and moves some stuff around on it before putting it back.
"I think that's a delivery that I could make. It's not going too out of the way from my other paths, plus it means I might have to find a way to finally get on top of the trains!"
> He seems very excited at the thought of this, despite anyone else clearly being able to see the danger of it
| >>613912
"Yeah, I do, she's quite the helpful one"
>The masked man says, averting his eyes a bit, before sighing
"I just wish she didn't push herself so hard for my sake"
| >>615610
>Mina simply nodded to the lilim.
"You gonna head out now? Or should I fix you something else first? It's on the house, after all."
>>617816
"Isn't it something natural?" — >Svetlana got her usual deadpan expression back on rather quickly.
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| >>623513
"Hmm.... That's a good question. ちょっと待てください"
> Fox pulls his phone out now and scrolls around, frantically typing on his screen even.
"Okay, I think it can be my last stop of the night. If I could have a minty sweet drink, that would be very nice! I have been in the mood for something to put extra pep in my strides!"
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| >>623513
>The man holds up his glass
"It's usually the older sibling that has to take the shit like that on you know, atleast that's how I always felt"
>He takes a long drag of the drink within
"I don't want to let her down is all, and I dont want her to see me pushing myself"
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This thread is permanently archived
| >Relocated to an ever smaller and easier-to-miss alley, five minutes away from the Central District main street, is a G&K CafeBar. Small, warm, quiet haven, with old-school, 1960-th themed wooden furniture and yellow gas lamps.
>Being known to a few chosen to begin with, it would take some luck to stumble upon it now.
>New cafe location quickly grew on Springfield family members scattered throughout the city, and once again became their favorite meeting spot and safe heaven.