Akaiju Kuroko | Male | 22 | Karasu Antique Shop - Ward 07 | Mentions Ayumi

Letting her work on her own, and from the look of it she was certainly capable of doing so, Kuroko sat down at a comfortable chair beside the counter, crossing one leg over the other and resting his chin on his knuckles. "You're rather good at that," he said as he watched Ayumi gingerly pour milk into the slow-roasted coffee beans. She honestly looked like a professional. "Had a job at a coffee shop before, I presume?"

He was enjoying just watching the girl move about, making little designs with the cream and milk. A heart was the only one he could really make out. It suited her. He chuckled softly to himself. Their little partnership was turning out to be quite fun.

Akaiju Kuroko | Male | 22 | Karasu Antique Shop - Ward 07 | Mentions Ayumi

Nodding in satisfaction when she affirmed his assumptions, Kuroko watched Ayumi patiently, waiting until she was finally done to continue their conversation. After all, he had the feeling that doing something so tedious and meticulous was likely to require concentration.

"Ah," he said when she was finished, straightening himself a tad. He glanced toward the large grandfather clock places nicely at the divide between a pair of walls. 2:00 PM, on the dot. They had more time than he expected. "You can start now, if you'd like. I can't promise there will be many people walking about, but I would appreciate if you pointed them toward this little shop here? Typically, no one can deny a pretty face."

He flashed a charming smile and stood up, gliding toward the shop entrance and checking briefly to make sure everything was in order. "Your job will officially start tomorrow, but it wouldn't hurt to practice a bit now, hm?"

Kusari Murasaki | 18 | Male | CCG Headquarters - Ward 01 | Mentions Junko

Sky blue eyes looking over the woman with an obviously bothered frown, Kusari shrugged. "Payment in information. If it takes longer than expected and this doesn't give me enough info, I want you to tell me more." His lips curled into what was barely a smile. "We are partners after all."

"Oh, and," he added, as if he had just remembered something important, "that clipboard isn't for just your Quinque. Since I'm not gonna be here, you can do my exams for me, yeah? I'm doing you the favor of getting these papers, so you could always pay me back by doing my job in return."

He left before she could respond, waving over his shoulder with a brief "buh-bye" and exiting HQ, headed for the address listed on the slip of paper he had been given.

Akaiju Kuroko | Male | 22 | Karasu Antique Shop - Ward 07 | Mentions Ayumi

As he watched his newest and only employee run off to gather customers, Kuroko hummed quietly to himself, quenching his sudden boredom by tapping his fingers rhythmically against the desk, as if playing an imaginary piano. He did, in fact, know how to play a song or two with those familiar black and white keys, like any gentleman should be, but sadly he'd been forced to sell his lovely grand piano in order to pay for rent and his shop. It had been a very sad day.

He had not, however, been expecting so many people to come, especially within only a few short minutes of Ayumi's absence. He stared at the sudden flood of customers for a few moments, mouth gaping, but quickly snapped it shut when he realized just how stupidly rude he likely seemed. With each leaving customer there came a new handful of money, and that included a happy Kuroko. As the last one exited the shop, hands stacked with nicely packaged trinkets and antiques, the ghoul beamed graciously at his new employee.

"I'm amazed how fast you work," he complimented, giving a brief bow in thanks. "This is turning out to be an outstanding partnership."

Kusari Murasaki | 18 | Male | Wandering - Ward 01 | Mentions N/A

Walking - or rather, skipping through the front doors of HQ, the gates giving the affirmative beep signaling him as a non-ghoul, Murasaki gave occasional glances down at the wrinkled paper in his hand, on which neat handwriting gave him the address of his destination. It was pretty damn far, annoyingly. He would have to take a taxi, or the train. And he didn't have money for either. Shoulda asked Sho for some... he thought bitterly, mentally cursing the woman for making him go on such an errand. Just 'cause he was younger than her didn't mean she could push him around.

Well, not that he could really blame her. He had been a bit of a douche, but it still didn't justify making him walk so far. At least, not in his opinion. After an hour, plus the few minutes it took him to mess with some random shop keeper (he was still a kid after all, sort of), he finally arrived at Junko's office, looking it over with narrowed eyes. "God, this place is a serious dump."

Akaiju Kuroko | Male | 22 | Karasu Antique Shop - Ward 07 | Mentions Ayumi

As her smile brightened the room, Kuroko grinned wider. She certainly was a charming one, he had to admit. She would do just fine in this business. "Well you certainly did help," he mused, moving to brew a nice cup of coffee. He couldn't make one nearly as fashionably as Ayumi, but he'd had plenty of practice living alone for so many years.

As he waited for the beans to brew, he sat back down, watching as his new employee glided toward a small object tucked beneath a large vase. He smiled, remembering the little stone well. It had been donated to him by a woman, tears streaming down her face, who claimed the words had lied to her.

"'But both the bass and the melody must work together to get the right tune,'" he murmured. It was what he had told the woman, just a bit of his own wisdom to guide her through the heartbreak. Of course, she had ended up smacking him and running off. Apparently not all women were susceptible to his charm.

He had eaten her, in the end.