Chapter 9

The next morning I woke up after a remarkably restful sleep and noticed that i was clutching something that wasn't my blanket. I hugged this warm soft object tightly and smiled happily until it started to move and turned in my direction. I let go immediately, and looked into wo half-closed yellow green eyes that looked at me dreamily. Had I just mistaken Suzuha for my pillow?

"Good morning, Rin." Suzuha whipered, rubbing her tousled head against my cheek.

"Um, h-hello, Suzu why are you lying on my futon?" I stammered until I remembered what happened just before i fell asleep yesterday.

"Oh, it just happened." said the other person smiling, " I hope it doesn't bother you."

Irritated by this aswer, I got up abruptly and looked at the wall clock that we had bought yesterday. Seven o'clock! Damn it, I had to hurry or i will be late for work. I ran quickly into the bathroom, washed myself sporadically, put on my clothes from the previous day and run into the kitchen, Then I hastily cleared a small cereal meal and brushed my teeth afterwards, finally i proceeded to put on my shoes.

"See you later Suzuha, Dont forget about your job later!" I called after the girl, who was still half asleep, and slammed shut the apartment door.

When I arrived in the city i sprinted to the yoshino cafe I was out of breath when i arrived there and have to take some time recollect myself.

"Hello Mr. Hououin! It's nice that you are panctual." My waiter colleague greeted me with a smile. "In the staff room we have a uniform ready for you."

"Thank you very much, I'll change immediately." I gasped still out of breath and quickly went into the small adjoining room. On a large wooden table draped carefully lay a white shirt black trousers, a sleeveless vest and an apron. I took off my clothes and slipped into my new uniform, getting tangled while doing so and almost falling over, i stepped outside after managing to change clothes.

A young waitress with black hair who introduced herself as Natsuki walked up to me and gave me a brief introduction on how to properly serve the guests. It didn't seem too difficult and she promised to take care of me a little on my first day at work, after which she handed me a tray and a small notepad. I stood there quietly until the first guests came to the cafe and sat near the window. After a moment's hesitation i gathered my courage and went to take their order. I nervously scribbled everything on my pad and hurried towards the counter to request the two cappucinos, croissant and scrambled eggs, Which i then brought to the table.

It was actually not as bad as i expected, little by little the Izakaya filled up with guests and I worked back and forth with my colleagues, sometimes getting nervous but still managing to get by, I also talked with my other colleagues here and there. Natsuki calmed me down and assured me that everyone would feel the same on their first day of work. Around ten o'clock the rush hour was subsiding a little and I could finally breathe easily. Then I was assigned to wash the dishes in the kitchen, which was not as stressful as taking the order of customers, although it was not that easy for me because of my slight clumsiness. A plate slipped from my hand and hit the floor, but I quickly swept it away and it's remains before anyone noticed.

From eleven thirty onwards i worked on the dining area again and served guests their meals, this cafe also offers small meals. When I came out of the kitchen with a tray full of dishes on my hand, my eyes fell on one of the tables where a young couple had just settled. A man with light brown, curly hair and a young woman who somehow reminded me of Faris. Could it be? I had to check my suspicions, I delivered the dishes and then approached the laughing couple until i was next to their table and could inspect them more closely. I had only seen Faris father once, but it has to be him, Akiha Yukitaka. Opposite him is a pink-haired girl who is leaning on the table.

"Um... good afternoon, may i take your order?" I asked tensely.

"Two cappuccinos for us please." answered the man who was about my age. I was thinking hard, he was the key to the success of our mission, he had kept the IBN over the years, buth how should i make contact with him?

I awoke from my trance after a while. "Coming right up!" I said with a smile and hurriedly left.

A few minutes later i came to the table with the order and was feverishly thinking about what i could say as i eavesdropped on their conversation.

"... the IBN that comes on the market in September ... grandiose technical progress.."

I couldn't helf but interrupt here, "I'm sorry for interrupting you, but i couldn't help overhearing your conversation, are you talking about this new computer that is due to appear later this year?" I placed the two coffee cups in front of the guests and looked at them with interest.

Faris father looked up at me with slight suprise and said, "Yes, are you also interested in the IBN 5100?"

"Only a bit, i only heard about it from some rumors." i replied.

"There are far too few people interested in this advanced technology, What's your name?"

I modestly introduced myself as Hououin Kyouma and shook hands with the young man and his girlfriend.

"It's Yukitaka's favorite topic." giggled the girl who introduced herself as Takana Chikane.

The man laughed heartily and kissed his companion on the cheek. "Yes, sometimes i get a little excited when i talk about it. Chikane listens to me, but i rarely meet people who share my passion."

"Oh I would love to talk about future technologies with you Akiha-san!" I grinned at the man, "I'm not that knowledgable when it comes to the deeper topics of technology but my interest in it is no way inferior to yours."

"Call me Yukitaka, I come here often to have coffee, I'd love to chat with you sometime."

"I would like that, let us talk about technological stuff when you have time." I said enthusiastically.

After the couple had their coffee they immediately left, I said goodbye to them and i cleared the cups. Faris father promised to come at the cafe after my shift some other time. The afternoon was rather uneventful, while I spent my time serving guests and rinsing glasses. It was actually a pretty pleasant job and I handn't expected to like it this much. Slowly my social awkwardness went away and I approached people more openly. What a nice coincidence that I met the person who donated the IBN 5100 in the future.

My colleague Natsuki praised me for learning quickly and explained some details about the small bar where I would serve tomorrow. Since I was working part-time, my shift would end at 4:00 pm. I continued to take orders and served guests who came to Yoshino's on that warm May afternoon. The window front was pushed open like last time and I saw many passerby strolling the streets of Akihabara. Suddenly they broke apart and I heard a loud squeak of tires. A light blue bike stopped in front of the cafe and a person i know well with two brown braids hopped down from her bike and attached a chain to it. She proceeded to enter the cafe and sat at the first free seat and stared expectantly towards the counter.

" What is your order Mam?" I asked in a raised tone, looking at her.

" A big apple juice spritzer, Quickly I'm very thirsty!" Answered my guest playing along with me.

"Comming right up."

I placed the spritzer in front of Suzuha and she looked at me with a smile. "How was your day?"

"Tiring, but it's the best job you could recommend me. My boss even gave me a bike for free." Suzuha gushed out. "I've been fixing bikes all day, but it's really fun. And how did you do?"

"I'm in my element." I exaggeratedly boast in my waiter's uniform. "I think i can get used to this job."

I boldly brushed my dark hair from my forehead.

Suzuha laughed and waited the last half hour of my shift while sipping her apple spritzer and gazing dreamily around. I remembered the unplanned tenderness of the morning and blushed slightly. This time i had to make sure that the girl didn't sleepwalk again. I took off my clothes and said goodbye to my colleagues, thanked Natsuki who gave me support throughout the day and left the cafe with suzuha. Relieved to have finished my first day of work relatively fine, I walked alongside Suzuha who enthusiastically told me about all the brakes that she had repaired today. When I told her about my encounter with Yukitaka and Chikane she became serious and thoughtful for a moment but returned to her cheerful self after a while.

"By the way, I went back on the roof of Radio Kaikan during lunch break and removed a few more parts from the time machine. I'm not an expert, but this technology must not be leaked to the people of this time." emphasized Suzuha. "I hid the stuff in the bike shop for the moment."

"Maybe we'll find a better place to hide it soon, what should we do with the rest of the FG204?" I asked.

"Blow it with a granade." the girl said casually as if it were something very common.

"Um..what?"

"Well, either we wait for the police to deal with the "satellite" or we take care of it ourselves. I thought you already made connections to the underworld. Then it will not be difficult to get weapons..."

"I have to think about this carefully."

We continued to stroll along the path, but before we got to the train station my companion stopped.

"Today we can save ourselves the train expense." Suzuha said to me from the corner of my eye.

I have a bad feeling about this. Suzuha pointed at the blue bike that she was pushing next to her. "I invite you on a little tour, Rin Hop on!"

I eyed the narrow frame of the wheel skeptically and asked, "Are you sure? Shouldn't we just ride the train?"

"Come on," Suzuha, who had already taken a seat on the saddle motioned at me and I reluctantly sat behind her on the luggage rack.

"Here we go!" Suzuha was already pedalling quickly and I almost fell off if not for my quick reflex of clinging to her slim waist.

The wind fluttered through my hair as we whizzed down a slightly sloping street. It must have looked funny how I, a tall man was on the backride while a petite girl is the one pedaling. Anxiously i watched the road on blurry motion and pressed myself against Suzuha's back as she laughed happily.

After fifteen minutes we finally arrived and I swayed slightly off the light blue bike. Suzuha then chained the bike to the front and proceeded to enter the apartment with me.