103 – Culture Festival (Part 1)
"Everyone ready?" Rika asked the first day shift as she stood by the door.
"Yes, class rep!" Everyone responded together.
She opened the classroom door to a long line of students waiting outside. Those of us who were in various cosplays formed our own line along the blackboard and welcomed people as they came in.
"Welcome to our cafe!" I exclaimed excitedly among the chorus of six other girls and three boys.
"Wow, their costumes look great!"
"The girls in the succubus costume are making me feel things…"
"Tsukiji High really goes all out, huh?"
As customers poured in, they reacted with a mixture of interest and surprise. It wasn't a surprise that most of them were men. We advertised our class' cosplay cafe with flyers that had pictures of myself and Mio after all.
Our class' cosplay cafe was apparently among the most hyped up attractions for the Culture Festival. Students had been talking about it since we brainstormed it, and word of mouth made it spread like wildfire. Taira had also done some extra PR from Isekai Gohan, so that added to the incredible number of people in line. Mio and I even saw some of our former customers.
A fixed number of patrons were let into the class at the very start to fill the seats to capacity. The classroom was separated into two halves separated by PVC frame and black curtains: the front half was the serving floor, and back half was designated as both the cooking and break area for us.
Mio, Kana, and I were part of the first day shift. Since Culture Festival spanned two days, we separated the class into two teams just like for Halloween. In splitting the work that way, both teams could enjoy a full day of the festival on the day they didn't work.
The teams were mostly decided on who wanted to participate in certain events that only happened on either day. Because the drama club's play was only on the second day, Mio and I decided to work the first day so that we could watch Hana perform.
Though we didn't have much faith that anything good would come of her as Mercutio, my class did owe the drama club for their part in getting us costumes.
"I feel like I've been seeing you two in your succubus outfits a lot lately," Kana remarked in passing.
"I also feel like I haven't had much choice in what I wear…" I replied, hanging my head.
Mio walked by and smacked my ass loud enough to draw everyone's attention. "This is us in our most natural form. Flaunt it!"
"C-Can you not do that in front of other people?" I cried, rubbing my ass.
"Permission to slap ass whenever I want once we're alone is given. Hell yeah!" She pumped a fist in the air.
"That's your takeaway? Don't do it at all! Argh!"
Mio had entered the cooking area, all the while cackling to herself.
After seeing mine and Mio's succubus outfits during Halloween, the class strongly insisted we wear it again for at least the first hour of cosplay cafe. With so many people asking— including Mio who demanded— how could I refuse them?
We still had to wear a skirt around our waist, or risked the student council president's wrath.
Well, I was sure Hitomi was knee-deep in work anyway.
"Saeko! Can you take this to table four?" Rika asked, handing me a plate of omurice.
I grabbed the plate and took a long gander at the class rep who was wearing a maid outfit from Isekai Gohan. This was one of the many that Kotori wore while soliciting people outside the store. There was nothing lewd about it. In fact, she really fit the role of a maid in black dress and white apron.
"Is-Is there something on my face?" Rika asked sheepishly.
"I was just thinking… you were probably a maid in your past life," I said, eliciting from her a head tilt.
"This is honestly kind of embarrassing to wear," she said, lifting the sides of her dress. "Although, I can't imagine what you're going through."
I rolled my eyes and went to deliver the omurice in my hands.
Table four was just a single guy in short hair and thick, round glasses.
"Sorry for making you wait. Here's your omurice, dear customer!" I set down the plate and utensils.
"Uhm…" he began skittishly, "I… I, uh… used to come to Isekai Gohan a lot to order from you."
"Ah. I stopped working there after summer break ended. Thank you for your patronage back then." I bowed to him, not realizing that he adjusted his glasses to peek into my cleavage.
As I turned to leave, he cleared his throat like he had more to say.
"Is… Is it alright if I shake your hand?" he asked, swallowing hard.
From what I remembered, customers at Isekai Gohan weren't allowed to put their hands on the workers. Likewise, we were constantly reminded not to go with such requests. For obvious reasons.
But I wasn't working at Isekai Gohan anymore, and a mere handshake was all he wanted.
"Sure, I don't see why not." I stuck my hand out, and he grabbed it with both hands.
Immediately, I regretted it. His hands were sweaty and shaky.
"Thank you for this meal!" he exclaimed, letting go and taking off out of the class.
"What?!"
I was left there dumbfounded.
Mio came out a second later, eyes facing the door where a customer had just left. His omurice remained untouched on the table before me.
"What the hell was that all about?" I wondered aloud.
"He's probably going straight to the bathroom to jerk off after you touched his hands," Mio said.
I choked on my own spit. "I didn't need to know that…"
"You asked!" She shrugged.
Although, I kind of wished I followed him out and gave him a helping hand. Being in my natural form and no one knowing was making me extremely horny. I just needed to last through the day and get home. Maybe bring Kana back with me.
"Excuse me!" A customer at another table raised his hand. "Can I order a handshake, too?"
"NO!"
It was my turn to cook, so I swapped with one of the students in the back. We had the cooking area set up with desks lining the back corner of the room in an L-shape. Upon them were small appliances like a coffee maker, several portable electric burners, and a microwave.
Kana was on one of the said cooking stations whipping up a salisbury steak. Once I crossed the threshold of the curtains, the smell of his cooking made my mouthwater like a leaking faucet.
Even with the windows wide open to let the smell out, the savoury scent was as powerful as it was welcome to my nose.
"You're really upping the cooking game in here," I said, walking over to get a better look.
"You say that, but the real gourmet chef just entered the kitchen. Hatsumi's taught you a thing or two about cooking, hasn't she?" Kana asked.
"She did, but… I think you have the wrong idea what all those 'cooking' lessons were all about when it came to her…" I shuddered at those sibling bonding times that might as well have been akin to playing doctor.
Nowadays, we weren't so indirect as a result of my succubification.
"Well, that's something I didn't expect to learn today." Kana cleared his throat and went to plate the salisbury steak over a scoop of rice.
The selfish side of me wanted a taste, but I couldn't very well take from a customer.
Kana suddenly separated a piece of steak with a fork and lifted it along with the morsel to my lips.
"No use pretending you aren't hungry. The guy who ordered it doesn't have to know," he said, waving it in my face.
I bit down on the delicious steak, savoring it as the juices spread across my taste buds. All this did was make me want more.
"I'll cook one up for you and Mio when we're on break." Kana smiled brightly.
"Hmmm." I stared long and hard enough at Kana that he became uneasy under my gaze.
"W-What?"
"I feel like you've been completely feminized," I remarked flatly, squinting at his red magical girl cosplay with a tiara and ribbons fluttering as he moved. That outfit definitely belonged to Taira.
The icing on the cake was that he wore an apron over it.
"Do I have to remind you who turned me into this?" he asked, lowering his voice. "I'm still waiting on you to change me back! I-I'm just making the best out of a bad situation, that's all. What's taking so long anyway?"
"Well… Uh, I'm not sure how to tell you this. Recently, I've started training with Selene on how to better use my magic, so that's kind of depleted my sexual energy reservoirs…" I answered hesitantly.
Kana looked like he wanted to complain, but he puffed up his cheeks and clenched tighter on the plate of salisbury steak.
"It's starting to feel like you prefer to keep me like this!" he groaned.
"I just think you look cuter this way," I said, avoiding his gaze and suppressing a smile from forming on my lips.
He gave me a 'hmph!' and exited the cooking area to deliver the food.
While he was gone, I began to whip up the other orders. Kana wasn't wrong that I was good at cooking. In the few times that my sister wasn't up to no good with younger me, she did teach me how to cook. I also expanded upon that by giving myself lessons from video tutorials and online forums.
One of life's greatest joys was cooking for someone and seeing how happy they became when eating your food. Especially that time I cooked for Hatsumi after failing her interview. She was so happy, she would have eaten anything I made her.
Two girls from my class entered the back to take a break on the opposite side of the cooking area. They waved at me, took a seat, and immediately pulled out their phones.
"Ahhh~ I wish my boyfriend would ask me to dance with him on the last day already."
"Just ask him yourself if he's taking so long," her friend said.
"But it's supposed to be the boy's job to take the initiative, isn't it?" She sighed.
That's right!
On the last day of the festival, a dance was held in the courtyard. I avoided them in the past year because I didn't have a girlfriend. This year was different. Should I take Kana or Mio? Could I be selfish and take both instead?
Well, damn. That was something Mio would think of. Now I was the one thinking it.
By lunch time, it was mine and Mio's turn to take breaks. Kana had switched to the role of wait staff on the serving floor. When I peeked out of the curtains, Mio was nowhere to be seen.
"Rika, have you seen Mio?" I asked as she was about to pass by me.
"I think Haruka Ichikawa came by, so they went to hang out," she answered.
"Hacchan did?"
Oh, well. She would probably be gone for a while then. My appetite was somewhat sated after Kana whipped me something up to eat, and leaving the class while still on shift would be rude to Rika. This was a good chance for me to catch a nap.
I sat down on an empty desk and put on a sleeping mask because the room was way too bright.
Some time had passed and exhaustion was finally taking hold of me. The low murmur of talking on the other side provided a pleasant ambience to fall asleep to. Just as I was about to drift off to dreamland, Mio's laughter rang in my ears.
"Saeko— oop." Mio quieted down immediately, and only the sound of a pan sizzling from a classmate cooking.
I expected Mio to mess with me, but she didn't. Instead, she just took a seat on the desk adjacent to mine. I was also too sleepy to wake up, hoping to get even fifteen or ten minutes in.
The student at the cooking station left, presumably to deliver the food they cooked.
As I was about to fall asleep for the second time, something soft pressed against my lips. Mio pulled away, then kissed me again. And again.
Suddenly, I was wide awake and heart racing like a nascar.
Mio eventually left the break area, too. But now I couldn't go back to sleep after her rather explicit display of affection.
I stepped out to find Mio ending her break early to service customers again.
"Morning, sleepyhead!" She grinned.
"I-If you knew I was awake… How come you didn't say anything?" I dreaded to ask her, still red in the face.
"Kahaha! You know you liked it. Besides, we've slept next to each other so many times, I know exactly how you breathe when you're knocked out," she said.
Ignoring her to regain my composure, I returned to work switching with the next set of cooks. Mio, Kana, and myself were on the wait staff for the rest of the afternoon. As I cleared the tables of a group who had just left, Rika let in a trio of familiar women.
"Saecchi, Miocchi! We came to support you guys!" Taira shouted as she entered with Kotori and Aya in tow.
"Yahoo~" Aya waved from Taira's back.
"You guys actually found time to visit!" I raced up to greet them and led them to their table.
"Between Isekai Gohan and Tsukiji University's own culture festival, it wasn't easy. But look at the saucy succubus." Taira purred, checking out my succubus outfit which I still hadn't changed out of.
"Oh, er… This was, uh… foreign made…"
I made small conversation with them while I took their orders.
Meanwhile, Kotori had her eyes cast to the table and was blushing for some reason. I realized why real quick when Mio emerged from the cooking area to investigate the commotion. She flashed a toothy grin upon locking eyes with Kotori.
When I went to give the orders to the cooks in the back, Mio nudged my arm and asked, "How about a second break?"
"You want to have sex with Kotori, don't you?" I sighed, tossing her the dirty towel in my hand. "I won't stop you, but you better not cause too much trouble for our senpai on their day off."
"If anything I'm giving them the R&R they've always needed!" She giggled.
"Saeeeeekoooo!"
A chill ran up my spine. I knew that overexcited voice.
My sister burst into the class with a camera in hand and a safari hat behind her head like she was at a safari, but the only animal whose picture she wanted to take was of me.
"Ah. So nice! Very good. You two are just wonderful!" she gushed to me and Mio.
The three of us were now the center of attention, with my sister taking pictures of us without end.
"Hatsumi, stop that! I'm working right now! Please, leave before you cause my class any more trouble!" I exclaimed, pushing her towards the door.
"I'm here as a guest, you know. You can't very well turn me away, can you?" My sister smiled.
"Guh… Right this way…" I led Hatsumi to her own table.
"It's been a while since I last saw you in your succubus costume," she said, then lowered her voice to a whisper. "Are you sure no one will find out?"
I nodded. "We'll be fine. Anyway, may I take your order, dear customer?"
My sister sat straight up, savoring this uncharacteristic politeness from me.
"I'd like to order one kiss, please!"
"WE DON'T SERVE THAT HERE!"
Hatsumi giggled to herself, then handed me a plastic bag that had a bento box inside.
"I'll just have one coffee. I only came by to make sure you were taking care of yourself. It looks like you're doing fine, so I'm glad!" she said.
I held the bento box to my face and caught the distinct smell of mixed spices used in fried chicken. My sister should still be busy with her own college stuff like Taira and the others, including looking for a job after not scoring that interview. Even now, she was still looking after me.
But as I popped open the box and saw the array of sauces on the side, a powerful sense of deja vu overwhelmed me.
"You did something to the sauces again, didn't you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"Oh, I have no idea what you're talking about," Hatsumi lied with a smile on her face.