L'Arc en Ciel fanfiction .::. Three is Company...

Episode 2 – Food and Lodging –

“So… here we are…” Hyde said grinning widely. “Should we announce ourselves, or…?”
Ken rang the bell on the front desk. “Hello? Anybody here?”
“Coming!” A voice answered wearily from afar.
“Ah… must be the clerk. We gotta act classy, guys… remember that.”
“Shut up…” Tetsu muttered under his breath.
“Hi, there. What’s up guys?” Sakura said scratching his head and forcing a smile.
“Er… well…” Tetsu was rather startled. He expected someone different.
“Hi! I’ve talked to someone on the phone earlier asking about accommodations here. I’m the… er… Kansai designer. Are there still rooms available?” Hyde blurted out smiling radiantly.
“Uh… well, yes… in fact, there are plenty.” Sakura replied looking up and down at the weird lot of avant-garde young men dress in nothing near formal.
“OK, we would like to take a room for three people then… A nice room.” Hyde started.
“We want a room for two people, a cheap one, and then another room for him… whatever room he chooses, but possibly far from ours.”
“Eh?”
“Hmm… well, the cheapest rooms are on the third floor. You can check them out if you want.”
“Ken-chan!” Hyde protested. “I thought we were going to be together!”
“Nope. Not with you!”
“But…! But…!”
“It’ll be more expensive for him, Ken-chan.” Tetsu suggested.
“It was his idea.”
“I… I’m aghast! You don’t want to share a room with me, Kennie?”
“Bingo.”
“Why not? I’m a good boy. I don’t snore, I don’t fart, and I’m…”
“You are a pain in the ass, Haido, so, no. I’m not sharing a room with you. If Tetsu wants to share a room with you, there’s nothing I can do to prevent it, although I think he’d soon move in with me.”
“Ah? Tete! Say something!”
“I’m staying with Ken-chan.” Tetsu relented wearily. “I hope you can be given a room right next door.”
“Oh? Really? So that’s the case, huh? You promised! You promised you’d be with me!” Hyde protested painfully. “That’s alright… I don’t care, you assholes, bad friends, idiots, stuck-up morons! I will get a pretty room for myself! And I won’t share it!” Hyde yelled angrily. “Say, what’s the prettiest room?” Hyde asked Sakura.
“Mine.” Sakura said defiantly.
“Can I have it?”
“Over my dead body.”
“OK. What’s the runner up?”
“The room across the corridor, in front of mine.”
“Can I have that one?”
“If you can pay for it.”
“I can! Er… How much is it?”
“15000 a week.”
“Taken.” Hyde said and shook Sakura’s hand.
“You can’t do that! That’s a lot of money and you don’t even have a job!” Tetsu protested.
“I’ll get myself a job! Meanwhile, I’ll use the money mommy and daddy gave me.”
“You are such a brat! I’ll call your mother and tell on you.”
“Nya! My mommy will be happy to know I’m getting a pretty and comfortable room, with cable TV, internet access, private bathroom, phone, air conditioning and kitchenette and…”
“Er… excuse me… the room you are getting doesn’t have that many things… it’s just a single room with private bathroom. You don’t get TV, much less cable TV, you don’t get a private phone line or internet access, nor air conditioning, nor…”
“What?!”
“Go to the Hilton if you want that.” Sakura said and shrugged.
“Yeah… Go to the Hilton.” Ken said and nodded to Sakura.
“Ah…” Hyde was speechless. “Fine. I’ll take it anyway. I’ll be in contact with tradition and I’ll return to the basics, I’ll have my own tatami, my kotatsu and…”
“Er… well, I hope you brought those things with you, because we don’t provide tatamis or kotatsus…”
“Shit!” Hyde protested. “So… what do I get?”
“As I said, a single room, a futon, a private bathroom with toilet, mirror and basin. Hmm… a small closet and a table.”
“No shower?”
“Nope.”
“Do I get an electric outlet?”
“Yes. One. No, wait… two.”
“Two, huh? Reading lamp?”
“Hmm… no.”
“Computer?”
“You are dreaming.”
“Laundry service?”
“You are insane.”
“How about food?”
“There’s a dining room, you can eat your meals there.”
“Who cooks?”
“You bring your food. We don’t serve meals.”
“Why not?”
“No cook.” Sakura said wearily and shrugged.
“Can I apply for the job?”
“What job?”
“Haido!”
“Cook.” Hyde said smiling. “I can cook. I’ve lived by myself for quite a while and I’ve perfected my innate cooking abilities by watching my ex-girlfriend do it.”
“Huh? I’m not looking for a cook right now…”
“It would be a great addition to the inn…” Hyde said mischievously. “You could get an extra income. What’s more… I’m the right person for the position, because the ‘rents own a pub and I know a lot about these things.”
“Yeah… I’m a barfly, but that still doesn’t make me a barman.”
“Try me. You have nothing to lose.”
“I can’t believe this…” Ken said.
“I don’t think I need a cook, thanks. So… Will you get the second best room, or…”
“I will. Just think about my offer. Do I pay in advance?”
“Preferably. We take checks, bank transfers and of course, cash.”
“Credit cards?”
“No.”
“That’s not smart. You should take credit cards too.”
“Do you plan to pay by credit card?”
“No. I was just asking. I don’t have one.”
“So why the fuss?”
“Just curious.”
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
“Oh… I’m suddenly scared. Whom should I write a check to?”
“Sakurazawa Inn.”
“Good.” Hyde took out a roll of money and counted it.
“Weren’t you going to pay by check?”
“No. I was just wondering.”
Sakura rolled his eyes.
“15 000 yen it is.”
“How much would you pay me if I was a cook here?”
“Minimum wages.”
“Uh-huh… exploiter… I’ll take the job anyway.”
“I didn’t say there was a position available!”
“Well, contact me when you have decided about that. I’ll be in my room… you know where it is. Now, uh… please, show it to me.”
Sakura took the money and rolled his eyes. “This way, please.”

“He’s gonna be sorry… he’s gonna be oh-so-sorry about this…” Ken muttered.
“You mean, Hai-chan?” Tetsu asked blinking.
“No. I mean Sakurazawa-san. Haido is too irresponsible to even know the concept behind the word ‘sorry’.”
“Uh… yeah…” Tetsu nodded and looked down. “By the way, Ken-chan… Why didn’t you want to share a room with him?”
“Well… Ken grinned. You promised… You promised me you’d give me a chance.”
“Ah… yes…” Tetsu said and looked away blushing. “I… I think we should probably stay here for a week. It’s not that pricey, coming to think of it, and Sakura-san seems to be a serious person.”
Ken nodded and sighed. “Sure.” He relented and pulled a nearby chair closer. “I’m gonna sit. I will grow roots if I keep waiting.”
“Huh?” Tetsu looked at him nervously.
“Take that as you wish.”

Sakura returned a few minutes after, arms crossed over his chest, he was obviously fuming.
“You two… please follow me, I’ll show you to the third floor rooms.”
“Ah. Good.” Tetsu said smiling and pulled his luggage behind him.
“Finally…” Ken sighed and followed them.
“Your friend is quite a character.” Sakura mumbled while walking up the stairs.
“Oh, please, don’t mind him. He won’t stay long.” Tetsu replied hurriedly.
“I hope he has money to keep paying for that room.”
“The ‘presidential suite’?” Ken asked mockingly, and caused Sakura to laugh whole-heartedly.
“Yeah, that one.”
“He’ll soon leave. He’s only here on vacation. Don’t mind what he says, as Tetsu pointed out. Our little Haido is a compulsive liar.”
“Oh!”
“Ah… well, he’s not that bad. He’s a good kid, in fact. Just a little weird…”
“… a little fucked up.” Ken added.
“Oh. I see. So maybe that bullshit about cooking wasn’t all that true?” Sakura asked detachedly.
“Uhm… I can’t say.” Tetsu said. “His parents do own a pub, in fact. And he’s lived on his own…”
“I don’t know how good he is at it, though.” Ken added.
“Oh. I see.” Sakura nodded. “Well, guys… this is the third floor. You can pick any room you like out of these three.”
“Which one would you choose?” Ken asked.
“Hmm… Probably the last one. There’s a bigger window and it gets more fresh air and light.”
“Great! Thanks!” Tetsu said smiling.
“Are these rooms smoking or non?” Ken asked pushing the room door open and peeking inside.
“Well… ever since I’m kanrinin here, all rooms are smoking.” Sakura chuckled.
“Good.” Ken chuckled back while Tetsu rolled his eyes.
“OK, dudes. I’ll let you unpack. If you need anything, I’m gonna be in the floor below.”
“All right. Got that.” Tetsu replied nodding and smiling.
“There’s a payphone and a TV set in the lounge. The dining room is open 24/7, however, if you’ll bring someone to have dinner with you, I ask that you let me know. The same goes for bringing people to your room. Usually it is not allowed, but I’ll allow it if you let me know beforehand.”
“OK. Thank you!”
“How many guests are there at the inn right now?” Ken asked casually.
“Counting you in?”
“Yeah.”
“Three.” Sakura said and bowing slightly he left.

“So, ne… niichan. As I mentioned before, I need more paint for the rooms. And by the way, it’s off white, not just any random shade of white.”
“White is white!” The voice on the other side of the phone retorted.
“Shades of colors are multiple and varied… just like the nuances in a musical range… or the different kinds of idiots.” Sakura replied casually.
“Listen to me, little moron!”
“So. By the way…” Sakura interrupted. “I already have guests here, and I would appreciate it if the delivery of the paint buckets was done without interrupting their peaceful rest.”
“Oh? You already have guests? I thought you’d wait until you had finished painting!”
“Well… if I learnt one thing by being in the music business, that is… seize your opportunity while you have a chance to.”
“What music business are you talking about, retard?!”
“There is no point in discussing this with an uninitiated, musically-ignorant, deaf-toned accountant who still listens to the Beatles.”
“Hey! Wait a second, you…!”
“I’m gonna be hiring a cook, I think. I’ll open a side-restaurant here and I’ll keep all the money from the restaurant for myself.”
“And who’s gonna cook, retard? You? All you can cook is sashimi!”
“My sashimi is the best sashimi this side of Tokyo, by the way. But no, I’m gonna hire a cook. I’m checking the resume of a fine young man who happens to be quite experienced in the gastronomic business.”
“What?!”
“Yeah. It doesn’t matter to you. You just make sure I get those paint buckets by tomorrow morning. Bye now, aniki.”
“Wait a sec---”
Sakura hung up and chuckled mockingly. “And that little twit will help me finance my very own rock and roll band… and my first indies single.” Sakura grinned. “The little Osaka designer with delusions of grandeur… if life gives you lemons, make lemonade, bro… make lemonade.”

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