Fake Smile Daisuga

A Job

Disclaimer: None of the art is mine. Full credits go to the artists. All the characters are owned by Haruichi Furudate. Author-chan out!

Suga didn't move until a group of children approached the next morning and his motherly instincts took over. He stood up and smiled cheerfully at them.

"Hello, kids! Are your parents nearby? You shouldn't wander too far from them, you know," he said to the children.

A black haired boy with a bowl cut smiled at the mother crow. "No, it's fine! Our parents are right over there!" He pointed at a group of adults several hundred meters away. 

"You look lonely," said a tall redheaded boy. "Do you want to play with us?" The other kids cheered.

Their simple kindness warmed Sugawara's heart. He smiled again, but for the first time all day, this smile was genuine. "Sure! I'd love to play with you!" They grabbed his hands and pulled him off.

"Let's go to the swing set!" The redhead said and the group moved off, carrying Koushi with them in a swarm of laughing, smiling children.

When dusk fell, the parents came over to collect their offspring. A spiky black haired male and a taller chocolate haired man walked over to Suga. Their son, a reticent blonde with two black stripes of hair, did not want to let go of Suga's hand. Eventually, his parents disattached the blonde from Koushi. The chocolate haired man, who introduced himself as Iwaizumi Tooru, smiled.

"You've got quite a way with kids," he said. "Have you considered going into childcare? I think you'd be excellent at it. You can make a lot of money too."

A light switched on in Suga's head.

"I would love to work with kids. I'm actually looking for a job, since I really need one," he replied. "Do you know any openings in childcare?"

"How old are you?" Tooru asked.

Koushi winced. "Eighteen."

Tooru sighed. "All respectable workplaces require you to be older. Especially when working with kids, unfortunately. I'm sorry."

Koushi looked down, his high spirits crushed. "It's okay."

The other man, Iwaizumi Hajime, frowned. "You're just eighteen and you really need a job? Are you all right?"

"Yes!" Suga yelped. Shit, I raised my voice. He lowered his volume. "Yeah, I'm fine! I just want to get started working as soon as possible," he said, flashing his signature bright smile, which was fake once again.

Hajime frowned, but let it go. "Okay, then. Thank you for playing with the children. They loved you. Say thank you, Kentarou." 

The blonde boy looked up at Suga. "Thank you, senpai," he mumbled. Sugawara smiled at him.

"My pleasure," he assured them all.

"We'd better be going," Hajime said. "It was nice meeting you."

Koushi nodded. "Likewise."

They left. Suga sighed. Well, that went nowhere. At least I had fun playing with the children. On the other hand… They gave me an idea. I have no money, I'm alone, and I'm lost. If I stay on the streets, something bad will happen sooner or later, I just know it.

I can't go home, even if I knew where home was. He sighed. Daichi...

I have to get a job.

Koushi started walking to the nearest store. Surely, somewhere, someone was willing to hire him.

Two long days later, Sugawara slumped down beside the same tree and groaned. He couldn't find a job. No one wanted to hire a lone eighteen year old with no identification, credentials, or recommendations. He hadn't eaten in three days, and he was starving. He missed his home, his parents, his team, his crush.

At one point, he'd gotten confident enough to try to retrace his steps and get back to Miyagi, but he'd only gotten more lost. He had just managed to find his way to the park again. 

Bottom line, Suga was desperate.

He put his hands in his pockets out of reflex and his right hand touched paper. He frowned. When did I have paper in there? He brought it out. Oh.

It was the calling card the man gave him on his first night alone. He almost threw it away, but he stopped.

I'm desperate, he admitted. I'll pass out if I don't eat soon. I have to get money.

Slowly, unwillingly, he brought the paper up to his eyes.

Daishou Suguru
XXX-XXX-XXXX
Diamond Club, XX Street

Koushi sighed. "So it's a strip club," he mumbled. He glanced at the address. It wasn't far from the park.

Suga hated this. But he saw no alternative. 

Slowly, unwillingly, the setter walked to the club. He touched the doorknob. A part of him wished it wouldn't open.

It opened. He stepped inside and quietly closed the door. A tall male with major bedhead looked at him from behind a bar. His name tag read Kuroo Tetsurou. He ran his eyes appreciatively over the slender setter. He leaned his elbows on the counter.

"Hey there," Kuroo said. "Are you looking for someone?"

Sugawara took a deep breath. It's now or never.

"Daishou Suguru gave me a calling card to come here." He thought of Daichi. The silver haired male closed his eyes for a moment.

"I'm looking for a job."