Open for Business

The New Tenant

Katsuki Bakugou stepped out from his office overlooking his bar and restaurant below. Crimson red eyes soaked in the bustling lunch scene below.

'Shitty extras'

He sighed watching the people below sitting at tables and leaning against the bar. Extras paid the bills so he wasn't complaining, too much.

Freak and Soy Sauce were behind the bar filling drink orders. Shitty Hair and Racoon Eyes were busy taking orders and talking it up with the guests. He could hear Dunce in the kitchen calling out orders. Another day at The Explosion Bar & Grill.

Shitty hair looked up seeing him on the landing, grinning he just about danced to the bottom of the steps.

"Bakubro, super excited that Mido is moving in today. Tenman is going to swing by after our shifts are done and Sero, Mino, Den and I are going to be helping him move his stuff."

Katsuki glared, ruby eyes snapping angrily at the nickname Kiri used casually. "Oi, Hair for Brains, stop calling me that name, it's Katsuki to you." He pointed to the back of the building, "just be sure to use the back entrance through the alley so you don't bug everyone in the bar." He needed to make it clear to the new tenant that the alley was his entrance.

Kirishima laughed and jumped back to his tables, finishing taking orders.

'Fuck, another extra. Crap, why had he rented out the room'

Katsuki ran his hand through blonde spikes, something he did when agitated and these days he seemed to be doing it a lot. He had agreed to rent out the apartment above the bar to a friend of Soy Sauce or Four Eyes', he couldn't quite remember which and now he was regretting the decision. It had taken a long time for him to finally get everything pulled together. This place was his sanctuary and an extra living here could be a fucking nightmare.

He looked around he could not believe that it had already been two years. He grimaced remembering how he had tried a few different office jobs after graduation only to be handed his walking papers, generally with a human resource recommendation for anger management courses. It was the last disaster when he had crashed his foot through a copy machine, that had changed his life. He had been walking back to his apartment trying to cool his head when he noticed a for sale sign on the old wood and brick building across the street. He had admired the building every time he stepped out of his apartment and wondered why it had fallen into disrepair. Anyone with an eye could see it was gorgeous, with time, patience and a good pair of hands it would be back to its original beauty, probably better.

'I could make it beautiful'

Out of other options, he had jotted down the number on the sign and made a few calls to both realtors and parents. Thirty days later he was the proud owner of that building and in debt. But, fuck, it had felt good. He spent the next twelve months going into more debt renovating the gorgeous building. He ran his hand over the polished cherry wood bar, and yeah, fuck he had done a good job too. After a year of getting ready he had finally opened his own business.

Explosion was his gamer tag and it just felt right. He hired a few people and before he knew it the bar was doing a steady business. He was just about breaking even and still had a small nest egg, but his parents continued to help, which he hated, so damn, he needed money.

The building had a two-bedroom apartment one floor above the office that he had not really finished remodeling. He had not wanted to move in there, something about living where he worked was overwhelming. His parents owned the apartment across the way, so he had continued to live across the street, giving him some breathing space from his daily life at the bar. It was Shitty Hair that had come up with the idea of renting out the apartment, then Raccoon Eyes or Soy Sauce had begged him to let their friend rent it out.