Reizo looked blankly at the official looking document in his hands. You would imagine something this important looking would have me doing something… well. important. Or at least more important than helping at a restaurant… he shook his head slightly and sighed, folding the paper back up and tucking it away into the deep pocket of his pristine looking white hoodie. His mother, and sisters, had insisted that for his first “official mission,” he should look professional and pristine. Who are they kidding? I will be a glorified dishwasher for the day… he rolled his eyes, then looked up to the sign above the door that proudly proclaimed
NOODLE DREAM
with two steaming bowls of some variety of ramen to either side. How very original. The sun had only started to rise over Maruishi and Reizo was fairly certain he already felt completely and utterly done with today.
He stepped inside, pulling the folded paper back out from his pocket as he did and peered around, lightly tapping the stiff document against the thigh of his black pants. ”Hello? Kita-san?”
Kita-san was an older gentleman, with kinked, messy, tangled reddish hair, brown eyes, and a bony face. He wasn’t sure why, but all of his workers had quit in the past week or two and had left him completely high and dry. Desperate for helping hands, he had contracted Iwagakure’s students to help.
Reizo started off with wiping down the tables in the dining area, then giving the entire front portion of the restaurant a quick sweep to take care of any lingering dirt or debris that had been missed around closing time last night. A lot had been missed last night. Reizo was under the impression that Kita-san had been the last one there last night, and the first one there in the morning, and had been so exhausted after doing basically everything at the restaurant, he had been rather neglectful when it came to closing up.
When he stepped foot into the kitchen, that feeling was even further reinforced. He stopped dead in his tracks to briefly admire the sheer mess sitting before him. The sink was piled high with bowls and pans and pots from the night before, and some still sat forgotten on their burners (though fortunately the burners were off, the contents of the pots in most cases looked like some sort of sludge meant to keep your hair slicked back or in place rather than anything Reizo would want to put in his mouth…) He let out a sigh, not the first and certainly not the last of the day, and set to work.
He started by emptying the standing pots, wincing at some of the scents wafting from them. He was pretty sure they had been sitting there for more than one night, but got them all at least dumped out without too many problems. Then cleaned out one side of one of the large sinks and filled the scummy pots and pans with a bit of hot water. The various soaking cooking containers were set off out of the way and he set to work on washing the bowls and utensils and… well. Everything. Glad I decided to show up a bit earlier than the contract said I needed to be. This is a lot more work than I thought I would be doing before the restaurant even opened… He hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Kita-san since the man had set him to work. But he had been given instructions, and Reizo was particularly good at following those.
Once the “easy to clean” things were done, he set about starting some water boiling for the various broths and noodles that would be used for the first few orders of the day. He peered out of the kitchen about when the doors were suppose to open and, of course, didn’t see Kita-san…
So, what did Reizo do? The most logical thing he could think of… he opened the doors and… was immediately mobbed.
When Kita-san walked into the restaurant, there was a near-literal tide of people, all packed tight and clamoring around a central point, and the academy student he was paying good yen for was nowhere to be seen. He scowled, ”MURAKAMI! Front and center!”
”Buuuuuuuhhhh! S-s-sorry, K-K-Kita-san! I… er. Can not get f-free!” Reizo called, managing to get his head just above the crowd for a moment, then sinking back into the sea of people as if he had been overcome by a literal wave.
And that very effectively set the tone for the rest of Reizo’s day…
When he finally was allowed to leave that night, after sweeping and mopping and washing all the dishes and the windows and… well. everything else besides counting the money that went into closing up shop, Reizo was exhausted. His pristine white jacket was now covered in stains, which of course he would be reprimanded for later, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. The jacket might be ruined entirely, judging by a couple of the worst. Who thought it was a good idea for an eight year old to work in a kitchen of all places?
He sat outside of the restaurant, on a stone bench situated nearby and pulled the styrofoam bowl from the brown paper bag he had been clutching, popping the top off and sniffing at the steam that rose up.
”...Oooo… this entire ordeal may have been worth it after all…”
NOODLE DREAM
with two steaming bowls of some variety of ramen to either side. How very original. The sun had only started to rise over Maruishi and Reizo was fairly certain he already felt completely and utterly done with today.
He stepped inside, pulling the folded paper back out from his pocket as he did and peered around, lightly tapping the stiff document against the thigh of his black pants. ”Hello? Kita-san?”
Kita-san was an older gentleman, with kinked, messy, tangled reddish hair, brown eyes, and a bony face. He wasn’t sure why, but all of his workers had quit in the past week or two and had left him completely high and dry. Desperate for helping hands, he had contracted Iwagakure’s students to help.
Reizo started off with wiping down the tables in the dining area, then giving the entire front portion of the restaurant a quick sweep to take care of any lingering dirt or debris that had been missed around closing time last night. A lot had been missed last night. Reizo was under the impression that Kita-san had been the last one there last night, and the first one there in the morning, and had been so exhausted after doing basically everything at the restaurant, he had been rather neglectful when it came to closing up.
When he stepped foot into the kitchen, that feeling was even further reinforced. He stopped dead in his tracks to briefly admire the sheer mess sitting before him. The sink was piled high with bowls and pans and pots from the night before, and some still sat forgotten on their burners (though fortunately the burners were off, the contents of the pots in most cases looked like some sort of sludge meant to keep your hair slicked back or in place rather than anything Reizo would want to put in his mouth…) He let out a sigh, not the first and certainly not the last of the day, and set to work.
He started by emptying the standing pots, wincing at some of the scents wafting from them. He was pretty sure they had been sitting there for more than one night, but got them all at least dumped out without too many problems. Then cleaned out one side of one of the large sinks and filled the scummy pots and pans with a bit of hot water. The various soaking cooking containers were set off out of the way and he set to work on washing the bowls and utensils and… well. Everything. Glad I decided to show up a bit earlier than the contract said I needed to be. This is a lot more work than I thought I would be doing before the restaurant even opened… He hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Kita-san since the man had set him to work. But he had been given instructions, and Reizo was particularly good at following those.
Once the “easy to clean” things were done, he set about starting some water boiling for the various broths and noodles that would be used for the first few orders of the day. He peered out of the kitchen about when the doors were suppose to open and, of course, didn’t see Kita-san…
So, what did Reizo do? The most logical thing he could think of… he opened the doors and… was immediately mobbed.
When Kita-san walked into the restaurant, there was a near-literal tide of people, all packed tight and clamoring around a central point, and the academy student he was paying good yen for was nowhere to be seen. He scowled, ”MURAKAMI! Front and center!”
”Buuuuuuuhhhh! S-s-sorry, K-K-Kita-san! I… er. Can not get f-free!” Reizo called, managing to get his head just above the crowd for a moment, then sinking back into the sea of people as if he had been overcome by a literal wave.
And that very effectively set the tone for the rest of Reizo’s day…
When he finally was allowed to leave that night, after sweeping and mopping and washing all the dishes and the windows and… well. everything else besides counting the money that went into closing up shop, Reizo was exhausted. His pristine white jacket was now covered in stains, which of course he would be reprimanded for later, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. The jacket might be ruined entirely, judging by a couple of the worst. Who thought it was a good idea for an eight year old to work in a kitchen of all places?
He sat outside of the restaurant, on a stone bench situated nearby and pulled the styrofoam bowl from the brown paper bag he had been clutching, popping the top off and sniffing at the steam that rose up.
”...Oooo… this entire ordeal may have been worth it after all…”