Patron Story - Cafe (Patreon)

On a sunny midmorning autumn day a humble café was finally slowing down after a hurried morning rush. Located in the northernmost island of the archipelago it was rare that days falling in October would ever have a morning above 23c (74f). The harbinger of winter normally blew through the city streets demanding obedience in the form of slowly thickening coats and jackets, shoes more suited for rainy days, and eventually evenings nestled underneath a kotatsu for warmth. Yet today broke the normal ritual of frigid cold that came with life in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido with a beautiful sunny sky that warmed away the clouds that threatened to block the rays that reminded Azumi of her sorely missed Spring. 

It seemed like such a waste to spend the day working inside it was hardly any wonder that she was taking a little longer on her break than she should have. It was slow in the family owned store where Azumi worked and she was enjoying the peace and quiet of getting to scroll through her phone while a busy bird took the moments rest to tidy up their workspace. “Can you believe it.. in Los Angeles they have days like this all the time.” 

The whimsical tune of Azumi’s voice caught the female bird offguard at first.  “Well if you have time to look at your phone maybe you have time to help me clean up a bit.” She said sharply as the mousegirl’s cheeks reddened. 

“But I’m on a break!” Her voice ended with a singsong tune and shea leaned over with a hand grabbing at her favorite drink for pseudo-spring days like this, a chilled bubble milk green tea.. with boba of course. Azumi added plenty of extra sugar in her mixes and happily sipped the drink as a few boba pearls shot through the straw into her lips. 

The bird quickly checked her phone, it was 10:47, “Your break ended two minutes ago..” She said with a stern frown at Azumi’s clear disregard for protocol. 

Azumi frowned and hid her sour look as she gazed at her phone for another moment. Rules. Protocol. Formalities. Aonori was a woman who seemed almost enthusiastic about ritualistic rules. She arrived to open up the café every morning without fail at five thirty. She was never tired and Azumi was sure she’d never even seen her yawn when they met outside the storefront. Aonori’s parents owned the café and the daughter was insistent upon making sure everything went right on the days she was in charge. It might have been coincidence but those were the days that Azumi was normally scheduled to work. “Okay, okay, I’m coming.” She pocketed her phone and took another sip.

Slow and methodical was Aonori’s pace although she wouldn’t refer to it as such. She would have called it doing things correctly, cleaning off the counters and making sure the workspace was immaculate from the dislodged crumbs of pastries in the display case. Minor spills of milk, tea, water, ice cubes that had begun to melt. The job was tedious and even despite her complaints Azumi was grateful, she needed the job to pay for her exams coming up and luckily for her Aonori was kind enough to help her study. The mousegirl often calling her ‘senpai’ much to the birdgirl’s irritation. “I was thinking,” Azumi’s voice caused the other woman to pause. “Maybe after work we could go get something to eat?”

The pause was short lived and the older girl quickly went back to cleaning. “Aren’t you supposed to be saving up for your exams?” She then glanced to a jar near the front counter that held a picture of Azumi wearing a bright smile with a few thousand yen resting near the bottom. “And what about your trip to America?” 

“Oh just a little bit to go out to lunch won’t hurt!” Azumi’s cheeriness brought a frown upon the other woman’s beak. “It’s okay I’ll put it back with my paycheck this week, and I’m almost up to 50 thousand Yen!” The final amount was never really discussed, but a plane ticket would set her back at least a hundred thousand, and maybe five thousand a night for a local hostel. “But if you went with me, it’d be even cheaper!” 

An upturned beak and a slight chirp of a huff told Azumi what she’d heard so many times before. “I have responsibilities here, Azumi.” The older more responsible woman said matter of factly. “I can’t just up and take a vacation whenever I please, certainly not an extended one across the ocean.” Of course she didn’t bring up a little detail like the Veil, something that held them all in place for the foreseeable future. Something that would shatter poor Azumi’s flighty dreams in a heartbeat, something Aonori wasn’t keen on explaining.. not yet anyways. 

“But your parents own the café,” Azumi reasoned. “They could understand if you need some time off, right?” 

Possibly but her parents needed her help, she was already putting off university for another semester so she could help keep the store running. “Azumi.” She hated giving bad news and having to be the tether of reality to tug the mousegirl’s head from the clouds. “I simply can’t-“

“But if we took a picture together. I always see people eying the jar, they like it!” Azumi squeaked excitedly having invested herself fully in their chit chat rather helping clean. “Especially when I take a picture with them after, it’ll be fun, we can take turns!”

She had to put her foot down. “No and stop chatting if you can’t do your work!” Aonori said sternly closing her eyes as she put aside the last of the cleaned dishes that often contained various blends and ices. Her agitation boiling over, she didn’t like the donation jar, to her it was too much like an American ‘tip’ jar and the practice was something she found shameful. Tipping in Japan was an insult, as if to say ‘You aren’t paid enough to do this job.’ Americans were often confused when their offer of generosity was met with a polite decline. The only reason she allowed it for Azumi was because she never mentioned it to the customers and it was for a specific purpose, going to the United States on a visit. She couldn’t bare to look at the crushed emotions on Azumi’s face as the sound of solemn brushstrokes from a broom along the hardwood floor broke the silence. The bird woman took a deep exhale. “I enjoy working here, I enjoy helping my family. I don’t..” She paused. “I don’t really care about going anywhere else.” 

“I’m sorry.” Was all that came from Azumi, a gentle murmur and then hushed silence.

It was almost a reprieve from tension when the lunch crowd started to arrive, the pair had begun to talk to one another once more even if it was only to communicate the orders back and forth. Azumi always had a way with the customers, her cheerful spritely demeanor almost like an unstoppable ray of sunshine as she greeted each customer, often remembering the names of visitors who’d only been there once before. Sharing words of small conversation that made the guest feel listened to as well as served with their drink order. Today was going particularly well as the summer temperature brought out the need for a chilled drink and Azumi’s demeanor matched the sunny day outside. To her mirth, although she refrained from acknowledging it, her jar was seeing generous donations from guests and the brief pause for her to take a picture seemed to have caught on down the line.

In contrast Aonori was much more reserved, gentle, and careful with the customers. While she hardly shied away from working the register she allowed Azumi the comfort of working directly with the guests rather than trading back and forth between making drinks and taking orders. 

A more complex order caught Aonori’s attention, multiple drinks from one customer and she knew exactly who it was for. “Azumi, tell them you need a moment and help me with this.” She said firmly as she glanced back over her shoulder. 

Larger orders were usually for a local business, and this one in particular with no specific corporate name to it, was an order that she’d recognize as a person of importance. Amidst the varied drinks contained in the batch there was one that stood out. Large green tea, boba, half sugar, extra boba on the side. Single ube filled croissant, powdered sugar dusted on top. This one had to be completed first as they did not enjoy being kept waiting. It wasn’t something she need bother with the young Azumi after all it wasn’t her family that was involved with this customer. “Double check everything, make sure it’s right.” Her voice soft and low as Azumi gave a fastidious nod.

Each one of the drinks had to be perfect and a sticker label kept them from being mixed together. In that moment Aonori and Azumi were like a coordinated machine, drinks fitting into the container with the lids sealed. A small box for the pastries assembled and in the next motion was stacked with the assorted baked goods. The drinks were set upon the counter with the box quickly set beside it. The customer looked inconspicuous with a formal button up white longsleeve and a blazer fit upon his feline shoulders. The spotted freckles of the cheetah male seemed to blend together as he glanced in Aonori’s direction and offered a slight shift of his head that beckoned the birdwoman over. 

Azumi was proudly cleaning up their workstation when out of the corner of her eye in the reflection of the counter she saw hands examining her ‘visit to America’ fund. “Oh! Yeah do you want a picture?” Azumi’s voice spoke up cheerfully as she saw that same someone lifting her jar. It took her a moment to realize that the jar wasn’t coming back. “E.. Excuse me?” Her voice cracked a moment as her eyes widened. Surely they weren’t stealing. “..Uhm.” 

The jingling bell that signaled a customer’s entrance and exit was now a horrifying sound to the normally cheerful mousegirl. “Azumi?” But footsteps had burst from the lifted counter that responded with a thud. “Azumi?!” Her attention immediately turned back to the customer with a pained look upon her face, their conversation far from concluded but Azumi was squeakscreaming at the top of her lungs. “I.. I’ll be right back!”

“Thief! Stop him! Hey stop!” 

Aonori hadn’t even made it to the door when she heard the ever further distant screams and adrenaline surged through her veins as she raced onto the sidewalk. Her eyes darting side to side, she saw Azumi and her legs dashed as fast as they could carry her. She could see in the distance a dashing figure that had swept by the confused onlookers that were too late to hear Azumi’s desperate cries for help and even further behind was Aonori. 

A crashing sound caught Azumi’s attention for a moment too long as she saw the glass remnants of her once proud jar shattered upon the concrete. Her body seized up immediately and in spite of herself her loss of balance sent her tumbling upon the ground with a teary cry of pain escaping her moments later.

It felt like forever until she’d caught up with the mousegirl who had crumpled on the sidewalk with tears streaming down her cheeks in front of shattered glass. The birdwoman paused as she glanced for the culprit who was deep past the traffic and camouflaged in the busied crowd crossing at the stoplight. But that didn’t matter, broken glass and Azumi beside it had taken her attention and she quickly examined the crying girl for cuts or gashes. She could see the growing red splotches of blood that filled the ivory nylons that covered her dirt covered knees. “Are you okay?” Aonori’s hands peeled back the nylon’s without Azumi’s resistance, she was much too preoccupied with a different pain than physical. It was only when she realized that the blood came from scraping against the ground and rather than being sliced by an errant shard of glass that Aonori felt a moment of calm take her heart.

“They.. they took it..” Azumi said between bubbled tears as she reached out to take hold of the picture of her smiling face. The culprit not even having the decency to steal her dream but rather leaving it shattered in wreckage for her to see. “It’s..” She sniffled pitifully, “It’s not fair..” Tears streamed down once more as she cried into her hands.

In that moment Aonori felt conflicted, the desire to tell Azumi that it was her fault for luring a thief with such an easy to steal opportunity. That she should be ashamed for leaving customers waiting at the counter to chase down a dishonorable culprit but all of that melted away as her arms wrapped around Azumi’s tear flooding form. “I know,” Aonori whispered. “I know.” And in the momentary silence that was only broken by the sniffling tears she, Azumi’s senpai, hugged upon her kohai.  

Words simply wouldn’t suffice in that moment, only the release of tears could bring any form of resolution to Azumi’s torn feelings but for as long as she needed Aonori was quiet and held her tight squeezing her protectively with her arms and letting the tears drip upon her beautiful feathered plumage. Azumi felt selfish, needy.. and foolish. 

Foolish for all the reasons Aonori had chastised her for, foolish for crying on the sun toasted sidewalk, and even worse for dragging Aonori into her mess. “I’m sorry..” Azumi sniffed and slowly attempted to raise herself to her feet. “We should.. snff.” She closed her eyes trying to collect herself. “We should get back to the café.”

Silently Aonori nodded as she rose beside her, the pair slowly walking back towards the café as Aonori reached out her hand gently touching upon Azumi’s. “After work let’s get something to eat,” Aonori offered a smile as Azumi glanced over with her rounded mousie ears perked. “My treat.” 

Azumi blinked away the tears and nodded returning the smile.

 Aonori didn’t need to travel, she didn’t need to explore, everything she loved was right here.