Chapter Text
“Thank you for your hard work today, Ginji-san” Aoi flashed him a tired, satisfied smile.
It wasn’t easy running the Moonflower, but with a little help from him, somehow, they made it work. Over the last few months, Tsubaki had gotten used to the arduous nights and demanding pace of service while running a successful eatery. She was more efficient now, but even then, after the visit from the royal family, the number of customers flowing through her doors increased tenfold, all wanting a taste of her exquisite apparent realm cuisine.
“Not a problem Aoi-” Ginji abruptly froze. His eyes narrowed and began to trail a line down Aoi’s body. The girl blushed from the attention.
“-plink-”
“Aoi-san” he whispered, eyes wide, shocked.
He walked closer to her, and she took a step back. She didn’t know what could have possibly caused the panic stricken look across his face. He stooped down by her feet and picked something up off the ground. Standing back up to his full height, he revealed before her what upset him so much. Rolling around on his palm – shards of a pink gem.
Aoi frantically yanked her hair pin out –
Pay back the debt before the flower falls off…
- and stared at the slender piece of unextraordinary lacquered wood. She traced her fingers around the gentle curve at the tip of the pin where a blooming Camilla once laid.
…that is the time limit.