365 Days of Starshipping (Part 1)

Coffee Lovers

3/11/19

The group winced the moment they entered the cafe, because sitting in one of the counter seats was Jack Atlas.

Talk about bad timing, they really shouldn't have teased Jun so much on the way there - now they were going to have to deal with the consequences of their actions.

"Welco- Oh hey, these must be the guys they told you about, Jack," the barista behind the counter said, blinking at them before giving them a smile, "Well, if any of you want anything before you wander off again, let me know!"

"Thanks!" Johan replied, giving off a smile of his own.

"Actually, I think I'll get something," Edo said, breaking off from the group so he could order something to-go quickly. The barista followed him eagerly, listing off their most popular items and giving some suggestions.

Meanwhile, the rest of them turned towards Jack, who had spun around in his seat and was studying them with a critical eye.

"Why the hell does Judai know so many pros?" Jack asked them, a twitch forming in his eyebrow, "Or at least, former pros for most of you."

"You trying to say something, Atlas?" Jun retorted, glaring at Jack and getting one in return.

"Maybe, but only about you," Jack replied, looking at him distastefully, "Either way, here - they got lucky I was here at all, so take it. This whole thing is hilarious, you're literally running around like geese; they've really outdone themselves this time." He tossed the little scroll he'd been given about ten minutes early at Jun, hard enough to smack him in the face before he could stop it.

"Fucking bastard."

"That's you, you sore loser."

"You're literally arguing with someone more than twenty years your junior, Jun," Asuka sighed, hitting him lightly on the head, "Knock it off."

Jun grumbled, but backed off anyway to read the scroll with the others. In the meantime, Asuka turned back to Jack to find him giving her a considering look.

"You're Akiza's teacher, right?" Jack asked.

"That's me," she replied.

He gave a nod and turned back to his coffee, saying, "She's been doing better recently, talks about you a lot. You better keep contact with her when she leaves."

Asuka blinked in surprise, not expecting that response but recognizing the subtle threat for what it was - concern for his friend.

"Don't worry, I will. Nice to know she has good friends looking out for her," Asuka smiled, keeping back a laugh at how he tensed in response and practically shoved his cup into his face so he didn't have to reply. With that she turned back to the others, noting that Edo was now sporting a hot drink cup and wearing an impressed look on his face.

"Good coffee?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Really good coffee," he mused, narrowing his eyes down at his cup in thought, "I should find out if they do catering..."

Damn, if Edo was considering it for catering for one of his many events he helped put on, then Asuka really needed to stop by here in the mornings for coffee on the way to class. Clearly she'd been missing out on something good.

"I don't get it," Jun scowled, looking like he was two seconds away from tearing the piece of paper in half.

"'The hint will drop from the heavens for he who calls its name'," Sho mumbled, "Name? What kind of name would a hint have?"

"Man, why'd he have to give us so many riddles, doesn't he hate those too?" Kenzan groaned, rubbing at his temples, "It can't just be Judai who thought all of these up."

That earned a snort from Jack, and they all turned their attention to him at once.

He raised an eyebrow at them, an amused smirk taking up his face, "Duh, that's because it wasn't him. How do you think he's getting everywhere so fast? Yusei's having a fucking blast speeding around the city, and it's not like any of Sector Security will pull him over for doubling the speed limit. Lucky bastard."

"So basically, the only way we're going to find him at this point is to find every single one of these things," Sho despaired.

Johan pat him on the back with a grin, "Aw come on, it's not that bad! Besides, this is Judai we're talkin' about, he'll probably take pity on us if we can't finish it." Ruby purred from where she was perched on his shoulder, and he reached up to pet her, "Well, and if Ruby wants to play so badly, then Winged Kuriboh probably does too, and you know how much he cares about his partner."

Suddenly a happy cry resounded from the ceiling beams, and they all looked up to see Winged Kuriboh erratically flying around their heads. He was quick to drop a little slip of paper from his paws before making his escape through one of the cafe's open windows, though he made sure to wave to Ruby and purr happily before he left.

"...How the hell were we supposed to figure out that we were supposed to call out to Winged Kuriboh without getting lucky?" Jun scowled, staring out the window at the now-empty space.

As they looked at the hint, no one thought much about Ruby running over to look out the window for a bit, hanging on the edge of it. What they couldn't see was the Winged Kuriboh outside, waiting below the window for her.