[SYNOPSIS: All Ninja wants to do is sit in the peaceful café and enjoy his black coffee...Unfortunately, a group of his female friends have plans at the exact same place.]

[LOCATION: Moonbean Coffee Co.(original café name, do not steal. ☕)]

do pardon the silliness of this one. 😂

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The sky above was covered in a sheet of silvery grey, blocking out the warmth of the sun that had been so much stronger only a month ago. The broad leaves of the oaks and maples that grew along the sides of the streets glowed striking shades of russet, gold and aubergine, swaying in the gentle breeze, and some even leaving their branches to glide in it before floating softly to the ground...Autumn had finally arrived, and after a particularly brutal summer, the town was more than glad to welcome the cool season.

As the breeze rolled by and carried its patches of warm colors, a violet figure strolled down the sidewalk, crimson scarf rippling gently in the light wind along with the strings of his byzantium headband. He took in a deep breath and savored the sweet, earthy scent of the falling leaves in the cold air, and when he released his breath he swore he saw it in a puff of vapor before his eyes. Ninja's eyebrows raised at the sight of it; was it really that cold, or was it just his mind indulging in his autumnal bliss? Well, whatever it was, he loved it all the same. Fall was always his favorite season, after all.

After what felt like too short of a walk, Ninja finally made it to his destination; Moonbean Coffee Co. This particular establishment had only been open for six weeks or so, but it was already garnering a lot of attention from the locals; it was a Canada-based company, and this was one of it's first locations to be opened in the States, so it had to be good if it was able to expand down here.

...Ninja knew that much. And since he'd already been here thrice before, he knew full well that was true.

As he entered through the spinning glass doors, the cool air turned a bit warmer, and he was obliged to take off his scarf and hang it on one of their coatracks along the entrance. The warm, nutty smell of coffee beans roasting behind the counter entered his nose and enticed him, beckoning Ninja to come over like a seductive Jorōgumo luring in its prey. To Ninja's delight, the line was very short today, with only two people in front of him and one of them already receiving his order. He only had to wait perhaps another minute more before he was able to approach the counter.

"Ahh, Ninja. Good to see you again," the barista greeted him, easily recognizing his stark violet exosuit and slightly darker headpiece. "Same as usual?"

"はい," he nodded as he pulled out his card.

"Thought so. That'll be $3.54...Guessing you don't want your receipt?"

He shook his head no as he paid. The barista, 'Steven' according to his nametag, had gotten somewhat well-acquainted with Ninja over the past month, so he already had half an idea on what he would request.

"Thanks, Ninja. You're order #84. Take a seat and make yourself at home."

With a light bow to the barista and a spring in his step, Ninja did just that. He eyed up a small empty table not far from the counter and right beside a window, making his way over and taking a seat in one of the small, padded wooden chairs and folding his hands on the table.

"#83, your order is done," he heard the barista say from where he sat. Good, his order would be ready sooner than he expected. Not that he was in a rush, though...It was hard to feel rushed in a place like this, after all. The fragrant smells, the deep reddish color of the wooden interior, the warm lighting, the electric fireplace crackling in the center of the establishment...It was all very relaxing.

And it wasn't just him that seemed relaxed; the other patrons seated around him were content and rather quiet themselves, savoring their hot beverages and whatever pastry they had with it, if any. This was a place of tranquility.

"#84, you're order's ready."

Ninja recognized his number being called, and he got right back up and made his way over to the counter, where his barista friend Steven had his order prepared and displayed in front of him.

Same as the last three times; a small cup of black coffee and a taiaki.

"Thank-yu, Steven-san," he said to him, giving the barista one more bow before returning to his table. During his first visit, he was surprised to learn that they served the fish-shaped pastry from his motherland; he had never seen them in the U.S. before! Although he had been a little let down when he found out they were filled with either cream cheese filling or chocolate custard instead of the traditional red bean paste...until he bit into one. It was perhaps the smoothest, creamiest, most uniquely delicious taiaki he had eaten in perhaps his entire life.

In fact, Ninja hadn't been much of a coffee person either until he first frequented this place; he had always been an avid tea drinker, and never thought much for coffee until recently. The only reason he'd even stepped foot in here at all was because his favorite tea shop was closed for renovations, and he hoped this joint would serve tea as well...It had actually turned out that Moonbean DID have a tea station, but of...lesser quality than he was accustomed to. But that was okay; he found out during his first visit that the bold, brassy taste of their coffee was just as good as anything he ever had down at the tea shop.

As he reminisced on recent memories, Ninja sat down and pulled his taiaki from its paper packaging. He had been given the chocolate-filled one this time; he'd had the cream cheese variant during his last visit, so it was smart of Steven to guess that he'd wanted to switch from his last order. He was a good man with strong intuition, Ninja could easily tell.

...Just as easily as he could tell that the coffee in his cup was the perfect temperature judging by the amount of steam wafting up from the slit in the lid.

Without any further hesitation, the violet crewmate took a generous bite out of the taiaki's head, savoring its smooth, moist texture. And then, he took a sip of his coffee...The heat emanating from the bold, dark beverage seemed to spread right through to his bones and engulf his entire body in a fuzzy warmth. Ninja sighed contently as he removed the cup from his lips and grinned.

...Nothing could ruin this moment. Nothing in the world-

"Helloooo, coffee shop!"

The sudden outburst from the front door shattered the violet crewmate's moment of zen and pulled his attention in. He immediately looked towards the door and saw none other than a familiar pink figure entering the establishment, visor slightly hidden behind a large yellow sticky note...And behind her followed another recognizable lime crewmate in a pointed cap and yet ANOTHER rose-colored figure in a floral headband.

"So this is the place you were talking about, Dum?" Gnome asked. "I've never been here before...*sniff* Ooooh, it smells really good, though."

"Wooow, this place looks cozy! If the coffee impresses me just as much, I might bring BDay over here sometime!"

Ninja turned away from them slightly and focused on his coffee as best he could, hoping the girls wouldn't see him. He wasn't exactly in the mood for a lively conversation at the moment.

"Welcome to Moonbean Coffee Co," Steven greeted them as they approached the counter, politeness masking his lack of enthusiasm. "What can I get you ladies today?"

"Hang on, we just need a minute to look at the baked stuff," Dum said to him, scanning the display of cookies, pastries and whatnot below the counter. "Do either of you know what you want yet?"

"I think I'll try the blueberry lemon scone," Gnome decided. "Rose, how about you?"

"I like a nice gooey cinnamon roll with my coffee in the mornin'. I'll have the one with the cream cheese glaze, sir."

"Excellent choices," he nodded flatly as he looked at Dum. "And what about you, ma'am?"

"I'll have the strawberry donut," she said to him. "And as for coffee...I'd like to order 3 medium-sized pumpkin spice lattes. It's all on me, gals!"

"Woo-hoo!"

"Will that be everything for the three of you today?"

"Yep! That'll be it!" the pink crewmate nodded.

"Alright, then. That'll be $10.06. Cash or card?"

"Cash, please, my good man," she replied, flashing an Alexander Hamilton and a shiny silver dime. "Keep the change."

"Okay, you're order #87. Take a seat and I'll call on you when you're order's ready."

"Thank you~!"

With that, Dum took the order number and lead her little troop over to one of the booths along the back wall...not far at all from where Ninja was seated. All he had to do was turn his head to the left in order to get a good look at them.

"Did you see what else their menu had?" Gnome asked the others. "I think it said they serve breakfast sandwiches here, too."

"Ohhh, do they?" Rose inquired. "What kinda stuff didja happen to see?"

"Ever had an Egg McBiscuit?"

"Oooh, I love those!" Dum exclaimed. "I used to ask for one every time we went to Mickey D's when I was little...But, uh, usually they were done serving breakfast when we went, so I didn't get one very often."

"Yeah, ya gotta be up bright 'n' early if you wanna sink your teeth into that buttery goodness," Rose nodded. "I was in that same spot myself back when I was in high school; there was one just down the street from where I lived, so I tried to snag one there before school most mornings."

"...Y'know, I wonder if Player would like this place?" Gnome suggested to the pink crewmate seated across from her. "I know Starbuck's has non-dairy creamers, so I'd think this place has some, too. You might check their menu again."

"I guess I could do that. I'm not sure if he'll want to come here, though. I've tried to invite him to Starbuck's before, but he says he prefers to make his coffee at home and that it's a 'waste of money' going out for it."

"Well, you know how Player is sometimes," Rose shrugged. "Gotta admit I understand a bit, though; he's been through a lotta muck, so I get him wanting to use what he'd got responsibly."

The trio kept jabbering, and Ninja found it increasingly more difficult to find his happy place again with them going on and on about such trivial things. He sighed, taking another bite out of his taiaki as he contemplated what to do.

...危険を冒してでも起きるべきか?  he asked himself. 彼らに見られたくない...

He glanced over at them to see if they were engrossed enough in their conversation to miss-did he just lock eyes with Gnome?  No...? Maybe for a split second, but he was turned far enough away that she couldn't make out his face. It seemed like the coast was clear, so he slowly, subtly stood up from his chair, grabbed his taiaki in one hand and his coffee in the other so he could-

"Hey! Is that NINJA??"

...くそっ.

Dum was the one to point him out, and before he even realized it the three of them were getting up and heading over to his table.

"I THOUGHT that might be you!" Gnome said to him. "How's it goin'?"

"Oh, ehh...It's-u going, eh...good," he replied to her. "How about-u...you thur-ee?"

"Better than ever right now," Dum nodded. "We're having ourselves a girl's day out~! And what better way to start that off than with some much-needed fall treats, am I right?"

"Say, Ninja. What's that ya got there?" Rose asked him, eyeing his taiaki. "Ohh, is that one o' those fish cakes they make in Japan!? Wow...I didn't know they made stuff like that here!"

"Yeah, that's cool...!" Gnome nodded. "I wonder what else they have up there, we didn't look at everything!"

"Well, no better time to prepare for our next visit than now, huh ladies?" Dum chortled.

"#87, your order is done!"

"OOH! I'll go get it!"

The pink crewmate made her way over to the counter and grabbed the bag of pastries and the cardboard drink holder with their three beverages...As soon as she returned with them, the smell of sweet cinnamon and other such spices hit Ninja's nose, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Uhh, what-eh, is...dat?"

"Only the best fall drink EVER," Gnome grinned as she took one of the cups and popped off the lid. "Pumpkin spice lattes are SOOO good...Oooh, and look at how pretty they make them here!"

The capped crewmate showed her open cup to him, and Ninja's eyes narrowed at the overly generous swirl of whipped cream floating atop the beverage, almost completely covering the coffee beneath except for around the rim. And it was around the rim that he could see the perfectly good café noir had been...tainted  with even more unnecessary amounts of milk, and probably a few spoonfuls of sugar to boot.

Sure, it LOOKED pretty; the whipped cream was in a neat swirl and had a sprinkle of cinnamon on top for a bit of garnish. But he had no plans to drink the unholy concoction. Besides, spices like this belonged in tea, not in coffee!

"I, uh...I see."

"You good, Ninja?" Rose asked him. "You're lookin' a little tense today."

"Oh, uhh, well, you know," he shrugged. "Busy day. I, uh, was actually about to leave."

"No," Dum piped up. "...I know what it is."

He turned to look at the pink crewmate, and was slightly alarmed by the smug grin on her face.

"I know that look anywhere," she sneered. "You just wanna get outta here so you don't have to put up with giiirrl nonsense."

"どうやって-!? Er, I mean, ah...What makes-u you think dat?"

"I've seen it on Player's face more than enough times throughout my life," she replied, earning a stifled giggle from her two peers. "Hey, I might be Dum, but I'm not stupid~!"

Ninja broke eye contact with her and cast a wayward glance off to his right, unaware that as he shifted, a bit of his black coffee sloshed out of the vent in the lid.

"...Sure," he responded flatly as he backed up. "Eh...Well, anyways, I best be on my-WAEY!!"

He exclaimed loudly as his foot suddenly flew out from underneath him, sending the purple crewmate careening into the tile floor along with his drink...The next thing anyone knew, Ninja was on the floor lying next to a large, brownish-black puddle.

"...That's gotta hurt," Gnome remarked.

"Here, I'll grab some napkins from the kiosk to clean that mess up," Rose said to them. "You two help him up and make sure he's alright."

As she left for the tea station to fetch some napkins, the pink and lime crewmates knelt down to help him up. But he shooed them away like a pair of flies before they even had the chance to take his hand.

"N-no. Stop."

He grunted as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, hissing a bit as he processed the blunt ache in the back of his head.

"Are you sure you're okay, Ninja?" Gnome asked him.

"I am fine. I don't need help..." he sighed heavily, casting Dum a poisonous glare. "...I don't want  help."

"Ohhh, jeez. I, uh..."

Dum backed away from him quickly...She knew what Ninja could get like when he was angry, and she wasn't about to incur his wrath.

"I-I'll go get you another coffee, then."

She stood up and hurried around the center wall where the electric fireplace sat, not processing Ninja calling out to her as she made her way back to the counter.

"Everything okay over there?" Steven asked once she arrived. "I picked up on the commotion behind the center wall."

"It will be in just a minute! Get me another coffee, stat!"

"Uh, same as your last order, or...?"

"Sure, yeah! Just...H-here, just take the whole five! Oh, man, I messed up today..."

She handed him a crisp 5 dollar bill for his troubles, which Steven stared at for a moment before answering.

"...Well, alright then. You're order #90. Sit tight, miss; I won't be a minute."

He got right to work fixing another coffee, and Dum sighed lightly as she turned around and leaned on the counter to ease her shaking legs...

...Just in time to see Ninja stomp out from behind the center wall, fingers digging into the crisp top of his taiaki and visor fixed in a perturbed glare.

Oh, no...

"Ninja, Ninja, I'm sorry if Dum made you mad," Gnome begged him as she tailed Ninja not far behind, failing to garner much attention from the purple bean. "Y-you know how she is, she likes to make jokes about things, and she doesn't mean to offend anyone when she does, j-just don't get mad at her, please!"

He paid Gnome no mind; frankly, he was upset at all three of them for spoiling what was supposed to be a calm, peaceful morning. Dum was insulting, Gnome was loud and showy about her poor taste, and Rose was...well, she didn't actually do  anything, but he'd always HATED the obnoxious sound of her voice, so that was enough to tip the scale.

"私がこれまでに出会った、愚かで、迷惑で、侮辱的な人々の中で," he spat at her as he approached. "あなたは確かにケーキを取る! 私はひとりで座って数分間リラックスしたかっただけなのに、あなたたち一行がやってきて、私のためにすべてを台無しにしなければならなかった!"

Dum KNEW she was in deep crap with Ninja when she heard him speaking in his mother tongue instead of English...It was the only way he could get away with more colorful  language in public, after all.

"Oh, boy. You upset him?" Steven asked as he turned around to see a seething Ninja. "Guess I finished this just in time, then."

"HERE! HERE! I replaced your coffee for you, Ninja, it's on me!"

The moment she took her order and showed it to him, Ninja snatched it right out of her hand and then reverted back to English.

"Listen to me," he said to her as he took a sip from the cup. "The next time you come in here and you see me? You turn away and pretend I am not dere." He took another sip. "And you had better be glad..." And another. "...Dat I learned-u my lesson with you back during dat-u werewolf problem on Polus."

He took another sip from his cup, then blew out a puff of air when he realized how hot it was and popped off the lid, revealing the contents inside.

...Contents that looked very familiar to Dum.

"So I want you to do de same for once and learn your own lesson from dis," he continued. "I do not wan-tu be disturbed when I am trying to relax. And I especially do not wan-tu be disturbed by YOU, because you and I? Not-u friends."

He blew on his drink and took another, drawn out sip, savoring his new, much-better tasting drink before swallowing and speaking yet again...By now, Gnome could see his face, and she could make out the mustache of whipped cream lining his upper lip.

"I tolerate-u you for the sake of de rest of us," he concluded. "So do not-u bother me with-u your talk, or your jokes, or your...tutti-frutti pam-pu-kin spice  lattes."

"Uh...d-don't bother you about pumpkin spice coffee?"

"Yes-u."

"...Does that include the one you're drinking right now, Ninja?" Gnome spoke up.

"何-?"

He looked into his open cup, and sure enough there was a half-melted swirl of whipped cream topped with cinnamon sitting atop what little liquid was left in there...He stared at it for a good long minute before finally finding the will to look up and face the pink and lime crewmates standing before him. He expected them to look smug again, but instead they just looked...dumbfounded.

"Guys, I finished cleanin' up the mess on the floor!" Rose called out as she came over. "Did everything work...out okay...?"

She knew something was odd the moment she saw the awkward look on Ninja's face...As they all stood there, he took another sip from his cup and studied the...surprisingly good beverage more carefully. The nuttiness of the coffee melded with the fragrant spices, its bitterness toned down heavily and replaced with the creamy smoothness of the cream...It was still a bit sweeter than he'd have liked, of course, but...

"...Hm," he hummed. "Perhaps I was too quick-u to judge. Nonedeless, I will be...leaving now. But-u first let us all agree to never speak of dis again."

"Noted."

"Got it."

"Uh, whatever ya say, Ninja..."

"Good. I, eh...will be seeing you all later, den. Have a good day out."

With that, he fished a dollar out of his pocket and dropped it into Steven's tip jar, headed for the door, grabbed his scarf off the coatrack, flung it around his neck and then disappeared out the door and into the chilly autumn air...The three friends exchanged glances with one another the moment he was gone.

"...So, who in the lobby do you think can keep a secret best?" Dum asked.

"MrEgg and PoopyFarts," Gnome immediately answered. "Ooh, and Engineer can!"

"Oh, Big B can keep one pretty well," Rose chimed in.

"Great, great! Because we GOTTA tell SOME of them. It's just too great...!"

"Shame he's too ashamed to admit it to anyone," the lime crewmate lamented. "I doubt they'd mind. Besides, now that we know he likes pumpkin spice lattes, we could be inviting him to our hangouts!"

"Eh...who knows? Maybe he'll come around eventually..."

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...

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"Nice to see you back again, Ninja. Haven't seen you in a while," Steven greeted the purple figure as he hung up his scarf again.

"Yes-u. it has been...a few weeks."

"Same as usual?"

"Eh...This time, I will have something different."

He took a peek around the restaurant to make sure he didn't see any...familiar faces before placing his order.

"...Do you still have de...pumpkin spice lattes?" he whispered.

"Sure do. They'll be in season till mid-December," he nodded. "You still want your usual taiaki with that?"

He nodded.

"No sugar in mine, please."

With that, he paid and received his number as usual, and then made his way over to his favorite spot by the window, taking one more look around the establishment for the three girls...He hadn't been here in pushing a month now, out of fear that he might come face-to-face with them again and humiliate himself once more. But today, he was finally able to come back in...

...And he was finally able to accept the fact that yes, in spite of his first impression, pumpkin spice coffee was pretty freaking delicious.

And this time, there wasn't anyone here that he knew to find out-

"Ninja?"

...He froze where he sat, then slowly turned his head towards the source of the sound...There, sitting just across from him along the wall, was a familiar red crewmate in a familiar-looking beanie.

"Wh-Player-san...!? Wh-what are-u you doing here...!?"

"I...!? Crap, I was hoping I wouldn't run into anyone I knew here...! Oh, jeez. Not a word to anyone else, Ninja. But I'm here waiting on my..."

He leaned in a bit to whisper.

"...Pumpkin spice latte."

At that, Ninja's own eyes widened.

"...I am doing de same," he confided to him.

...The violet and crimson beans each stared at one another for a good long moment before the latter decided to break the silence.

"...I won't tell if you don't."

"Good deal."