the hot springs are busy today, it seems. dozens of staff members scurry around, all looking too busy to pay yuzu any mind. a special event, perhaps? yuzu waits patiently on the sidelines until a familiar face catches her eye. there's been a new resident who moved into the apartment recently, though the name escapes her. her father mentioned they work several jobs and should have no trouble with rent, but she didn't quite expect to find them here.
"can i help you, little miss landlady?" the sickly pale octoling asks politely. yuzu's eyes are drawn to his uniform. strange, she's never seen any of the other staff wearing a uniform. maybe it's a personal preference.
"um, i'm looking for mister murasaki. we have a meeting today," she has to raise her voice slightly in order to be heard over the busied chatter around them.
"ah, of course! this way, please," the octoling gestures and uses the luggage trolley to clear a path for the both of them. yuzu has to stick close behind him to avoid getting swept away, and from this distance she catches a whiff of cleaning detergent, or perhaps hand sanitizer. she didn't know there were inkfish who could actually stand those things. before she can think about it too much, however, the octoling slows to a stop, nearly causing yuzu to bump into them.
"here we are. the boss is just inside the kitchen," he says before pushing the door open for yuzu. with a polite bow, yuzu gives her thanks before slipping past him, only to be greeted with another room full of busy staff milling around like ants preparing for the winter. she has to look for a few moments until she can spot murasaki leaning over one of the counters.
again, yuzu waits on the side until their eyes meet. sliding the knife he was holding into a sheath hanging from his waist, murasaki weaves his way between jellyfish to reach yuzu.
"sorry about the mess," he apologizes with a glance over his shoulder at the rest of the kitchen. "we'll get to talk later. but in the meantime, are you hungry? you can join our special guest for lunch." then, as if reading the question marks popping up in yuzu's head, adds on, "ah. it's your aunt satou. she's a specialized doctor. apparently some other family members decided to tag along, but she's the only one you need to concern yourself with." yuzu nods, then eyes the knife on murasaki's waist.
"are you going to cook, uncle murasaki?" she asks, and she doesn't expect the annoyed sigh murasaki lets out.
"it's a pain, but yes. family members are important guests, and it's sort of a company policy for me to be as involved as possible when it comes to service. can't trust anyone else to get the job right," he says, pointedly glaring at a jellyfish chef who has just tossed the entirety of their frying pan onto the roof of the kitchen. yuzu can't help but hide a giggle behind her hand. "anyways, come with me," murasaki continues. "i'll take you to where satou will be eating. it'll be just you guys, so don't worry. i'll join you later." with that, yuzu feels her nerves returning, but this is the whole reason why she's here. her mother said she could trust murasaki and satou, and the fact that she came all this way must mean she's willing to help.
she just hopes satou is a nice person.
