Chapter 27 - Some Guests

Ahhh…

Finally. The warmth of the shop. Damn, the first snow hasn't come yet, and I'm already hating the cold.

"Good morning, Kotone-san." Fumio greets me as I enter the shop.

The guy is now a lot friendlier to me compared to when we first met about two months ago. What is he doing in my spot though?

"Good morning, Fumio-san. Did you miss your job already?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" He asks, seemingly confused by my question.

"I mean, the day we met was the last time I saw you sit at the reception table." I tell him.

Since I got his job, I only saw the guy hang out at the lounge area or at the common table drinking tea.

"Ah. Well. We have unusual guests today.", he says.

More unusual than one of the biggest J-pop girl bands? More unusual than the customers who own some of the fanciest cars I've ever seen?

"How unusual could they be? You don't trust me?" I've been working here for two months now and while we don't get many customers, they all seem to be satisfied with me.

"You're here…" I am almost startled by a familiar voice behind me.

"Kichirou-san." I greet the owner of this place.

I've been startled by him a few times now, and he's not even doing it on purpose. Sometimes, when we have no customers, he would hang out in either the lounge area, the massage area, or the always locked storage room where he gets his massage solutions.

Many times, I would not even realize that we are in the same room as if he does not want his presence to be known. It's weird, but I'm already getting used to him. I'm also getting used to scanning for him whenever I enter a room in this shop.

"Good morning." He greets me. "Fumio. You don't have to worry. Just go to your room and start your day. I'm here anyways.", he then tells Fumio.

Fumio simply nods and complies to the order and soon, he's gone from the reception area. I always wonder what he's been doing in that room beyond the shower room. It's always locked when he's there. He stays locked in there all day maybe even after I get off work at 7 in the evenings.

I once took a peek at the room when he was not around but all I saw is just the wooden floor and the wooden walls with only a small drawer table in the corner. Curiosity got the best of me and I tried to open the drawers but unfortunately, they are locked.

"Kotone. Prepare enough tea for three guests." Kichirou-san orders me and he goes inside too.

Good, I get to do something today. While it was nice getting paid just to watch over a store while playing with my phone, it gets burdensome to be paid generously while giving unproportionate effort for the job.

A few minutes later, three guests, walk in the shop.

The place I worked at previously has yakuza members for some of its customers, and these three looks more dangerous than them. The tallest one is fashioning a mohawk hairstyle as if he wants to add more to his already very tall height.

The guy walking behind him looks like a gangster from a biker gang and is fashioning a leather jacket and ripped jeans.

And the last guy behind them is huge… horizontally. He's maybe a bit shorter than the mohawk guy but his excessively muscular physique makes him maybe twice as heavy.

Who are these people? What has the boss got himself to?

"G-good morning, guests." I greet them.

Oh goodness. Did I make it obvious that I'm intimidated?

"Hey there, miss. This the massage shop?" The mohawk guy asks. He's surprisingly gentle.

"Yes sir." Good. I sounded more confident this time.

"What the f*ck? 40,000 yen for a 30-minute massage? Miss, are you sure you're running a legit business here?" The leather jacket guy says and he is not happy looking at the price.

"Yes sir. I assure you our prices are fair and we cater to clientele who expect the best." I say.

Which I'm the most confident in saying. I haven't tried Kichirou-san's massage, but I know what he can do basing on how the guests look after going through his hands.

There are two types of people who walk in the shop. One: the ones who have the money to spare to give boss' massage a try. And many of those who get boss' massage almost always express their intention of coming back. Two: people who walk out of the shop without question after looking at the price. I guess type three are non-friendly types like this leather jacket guy.

"Good morning, dear guests." Phew, here's boss to my rescue.

"I'm guessing Fire Colossus, Blade Tornado, and Gorilla?" He addresses the mohawk guy, leather jacket guy, and the big guy, respectively.

"You all don't have to worry about the price. The service today is all paid by Old Phantom in advance." He adds.

Huh... Looks like he doesn't seem to be at all scared by these people.

What kind of names are these though? Are they hero nicknames?

"H-hey mister. Don't call us those." Gorilla says in his guttural deep voice.

"Hey. It's cool. It's not like we'll come back again." Fire Colossus says.

"Come to think of it. Old Phantom doesn't seem the guy to be a victim of scams. Maybe this is legit." Blade Tornado says as he gives boss a once over.

Yeah. Kichirou-san is calming to look at. It's weird. Even during the first time we met at the kids' playground, I could have been in a panicked state when he suddenly revealed himself, but I wasn't.

"Please. Take a seat over there. I'll serve you all tea in a moment. We also have some snacks available." I gesture the newcomers to the lounge area.

"Snacks?" Gorilla snaps his head to me, his eyes sparkling.

Uh oh… This man looks like he can clean out the entire dessert bar by himself.

"My good man. This is a massage shop, not a restaurant. Have some self-respect." Fire Colossus criticizes.

That was a bit mean, but hey, thank you, sir.

"Let me prepare, and when I'm ready, I'll have the young lady ask which of you will go first." Boss says before going to the storage room.

Soon, I have served the three their own cups of tea and am now standing an earshot away from them in case they need something else.

"Huh… I'm not surprised that Old Phantom would be frequenting a place like this. All clean and classy." Blade Tornado says as he looks around.

Who is this Old Phantom? Is it that 60 something year old customer we had last week? That man's the oldest customer I've seen the shop has had so far. Huh, he's some sort of a retired businessman and doesn't seem the type to involve himself with these types of people.

"True…" Fire Colossus says as he takes a sip from his cup. "Ohhh. Nice tea." He nods in appreciation. Why does he look like a punk but acts the opposite? Is it just his fashion sense?

Anyways, I agree with him about the tea. I don't know much about tea, but after I've had boss' tea, even sweetened iced tea taste like mud to me. Thankfully, Kichirou-san gives me some tea leaves to go home for me and Haruto to enjoy.

"About Old Phantom. How's your injuries, big guy?" Fire Colossus asks Gorilla.

"They still hurt." Gorilla says as he tries his best to reach a spot on his back with his hand.

I am trying my best right now to stop smiling or giggling. His huge muscles getting in the way of his mobility somehow looks adorable and funny.

"You did worse than us. You didn't even land a single hit on him." Blade Tornado says in a teasing tone.

"haha!" Fire Colossus cackles.

"Screw you two. At least I'm still in the Champions' row. You two can challenge me anytime… at the same time." Gorilla says.

"Eugh. You're no fun." Blade Tornado scoffs and Fire Colossus has nothing to say back.

Yeah. Gorilla-san just killed the banter.

Anyways, basing on what they're saying, it seems that these guys are fighters. This Gorilla guy seems to be the strongest of the three and these three all were beaten by the same guy who is treating them to boss' massage service.

A strange dynamic.

"Anyways. You always had ways to beat fast and quick fighters. What's the difference with the old man?" Blade Tornado asks Gorilla.

"…" Fire Colossus seems to be interested too.

I am too. How could an old man beat these three relatively young guys? And seemingly strong superiori at that.

"He didn't fall into my traps. Even when he walked right into them. It was frustrating." Gorilla leans back on the sofa. "I also didn't find a pattern to his movements. It's as if he doesn't have a plan at all and just so happens to make all the perfect decisions during the fight. Where to attack me, how to deal with my attacks, I felt like the fight was like a scripted dance."

Gorilla's words make the two others nod as if they understand.

"Anyways. Unlike you two, my fight lasted for 10 minutes and I wasn't knocked out. He had to choke me out." He concludes.

His two friends freeze and become speechless at his words. I haven't seen these three's fights, but it is obvious to me that Gorilla seems the type who can survive being hit by a big hammer in the head.

About this Old Phantom, then I think he's not that geriatric customer of ours. It doesn't make sense.

"Hey. How about you? How'd you lose in your rematch with the old guy?" Blade Tornado breaks the silence by asking Fire Colossus. "I was out of town so I didn't see it."

"Well. It was similar to what happened in our first match. He made it look like another lucky knockout by a counterattack." Fire Colossus shrugs.

"There were a lot of boos that night." Gorilla chuckles. He seemed to have witnessed the fight himself.

"I can imagine." Blade Tornado chuckles too.

"Why can't the audience see that he's stronger than he looks and that he's conning them?" Fire Colossus shakes his head.

"Hey. He made me a lot of money because of his act. I hope they don't see that anytime soon." Blade Tornado chuckles.

"Same. Why don't you bet on him too on his next fight? It's not too late." Gorilla encourages Fire Colossus.

"I already was, though." Fire Colossus shrugs.

"Oh… Oh well, I'll keep betting on him until he decides to challenge the top 3." Gorilla says.

"Top 3?" "Huh?" Fire Colossus and Blade Tornado give Gorilla surprised faces.

"You think he's strong enough to challenge those monsters?" Blade Tornado asks.

"Yeah. But I don't think he'll win." Gorilla shrugs.

"Man… I don't know. It feels like he's still hiding a lot. Who knows? Maybe he can find a way to win." Blade Tornado is surprisingly optimistic.

Betting? Fighter rankings? I'm losing interest.

*bzzt**bzzt* I'm taken away from eavesdropping by my bracelet vibrating. It's a signal from boss that he's ready for the first massage.

"Excuse me. The owner is about ready. Who among you will go first?" I interrupt the three's chat.

"I'll go. Let's see if what kind of shit Old Phantom enjoys." Blade Tornado volunteers without hesitation.

The other two also does not seem to have the problem with it.

A few moments later, "Please proceed to the massage room after changing.", I finish my instructions with Blade Tornado in front of the changing room.

"Thank you, miss. I just hope it's you who's doing the massage." He winks at me before closing the door.

That's not the first time a customer hit on me, but thankfully, they're all harmless attempts at flirting.