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Terukei - Paying the Bills

Nikei hated the fact that journalism wasn't exactly a job that could support his own life forever. Inflation was rising, bills were getting higher, and even just getting food was expensive. He hated the fact that he would have to turn to another job and not do what he believed to be his purpose full-time.

In the end, he was forced to swallow his pride and apply for a job at the nearest store, Otori Mart. He had good writing and skills when he needed to write a resume and cover letter, and he tried to keep as calm as possible during the interview with the new owner of the store chain, Teruya Otori.

"Alright, so can you tell me about yourself?" Teruya had asked, sitting behind a desk while smiling in a friendly manner. Despite not being an office job, he had wanted to conduct the interview in a formal manner. "In brief, I mean. We don't have all day, haha."

"My name is Nikei Yomiuri, I work as a journalist as a side job. I've been doing that job for years, but even when I only live on my on, everything is getting really expensive," he had explained to the taller man. "I needed another job to pay the bills, saw that you were hiring, and here we are now."

"I can't deny that it makes sense," the merchant had chuckled, amused by the journalist's blunt response. "What are your salary expectations for this job?"

The questions had continued, and Nikei ended up getting the job at the store. Now the journalist had a steady source of income, but he had to work a lot more to actually earn that pay, both in journalism and at the store. This ended up taking a toll on his psyche, as Teruya figured out soon.

"Oh, come on. You're the one who left it laying around," he heard Nikei grumble from around the corner. "Why the fuck are you blaming me when you didn't clean up your shit? Goddamn idiot with a stick up his ass..."

Teruya chose that moment to come out from around the corner and check on Nikei, hoping that the journalist hadn't murdered anyone in his late papa's store yet. He looked like he was carrying a lot of boxes that were too heavy.

"Woah, okay! Let's not strain ourselves here!" Teruya exclaimed, hurrying over and taking a couple boxes from him, and Nikei was instantly relieved by the loss of weight.

"Thanks for that," the smaller man acknowledged, a small smile on his face. "I think these need to be shelved in the back of the storage area, I don't actually know where they go."

"You don't? Then you picking them up and you cussing out someone, what was that all about?" the merchant questioned, and Nikei's mood instantly turned grumpy again.

"That was my grievance that this Ishimaru kid got a nine to five job. He was the one who was supposed to handle the shipment transfer today while I stocked the shelves in the actual store, but he must have put these down and forgot them, since these weren't my boxes. The guy started yelling at me about 'orderly behaviour' or something."

"Alright, I'll have to look into that a little more. Taka...well, he means well, but he tends to just to extremes a little too quickly," he agreed. "For now, let's get these into storage." 

Teruya began to walk to the warehouse-like storage area at the back of the store, and Nikei followed closely with his own box. For the merchant who was used to lifting heavy boxes, he could get them up onto the shelves, but he had to help the journalist with his lack of muscles for his.

"Whew, that was pretty heavy," Teruya laughed. He then checked the clock and relaxed a little. "Oh, looks like it's closing time. I'll have a talk with Kiyotaka tomorrow, you go home and get some rest."

"Are you not heading to your home?" Nikei asked, rubbing his sore arms. "The temperature's going to drop soon, you'd better hurry and finish whatever the hell you're doing."

"Well, I have to stay here and do some paperwork, so I can't leave this place yet. Bills don't pay themselves." With those words, the Former Ultimate Merchant went back into his office and locked the door behind him.

Nikei sighed and went back to the storage area, snagging a couple nutrient bars from one of the boxes. Teruya either didn't know that he was stealing food or didn't care, and Nikei wasn't going to disturb that balance by taking too much anytime soon.

As Nikei went to get his coat and leave, he noticed an abnormal bulge in one of its pockets. He opened it and found a few small snacks in it, one of which being rainbow coloured. All Nikei could do was sigh and shake his head, Teruya really wasn't subtle at all.