Disclaimer: Death Note is not mine. Obviously.

Standing outside, Raito Yagami was sure that the place he was looking at would be perfect. The architecture was classy and unique but well kept and not at all out of place on the busy Japanese street. Everything about the shop radiated professionalism and an outrageous sense of high class finery. Yes, in the opinion of the young man, Sugar Cubed would be the perfect place for him to work during his summer vacation.

And so, with that thought in mind, he pushed the dark wooden door open and entered a small, dark room.

"Hello?" Somewhere in the room, there was a faint beeping noise and a dim blue glow that lit the room enough for Raito to make out a lamp on what he assumed was the host's podium. When he pulled the chain, an orange glow replaced the blue and a set of caramel eyes met with goggled ones.

"Matt, what have I said about playing video games while you are acting as the temporary host?" Raito's attention was turned to one side of the room as a panel of the wall came loose and an elderly man stepped through. He tipped his head in the guest's direction before addressing the redhead, who was still focused on his game, "I know this isn't what you want to be doing but..."

As the teen behind the podium was being scolded. Raito allowed himself a look around the room. Each wall was perfectly flawless with wood paneling covering every inch. The only fault seemed to be the small gap left by the door the old man had opened, but not fully shut. His eyes strayed again and Raito couldn't help but to allow himself a minute to appreciate the sheer luxury of the room; from the plush chairs to the elaborate glass lamp that he had turned on. The entire place was like a picture out of a European travel brochure.

"I'm sorry if our temporary host has caused you any trouble." Raito looked back to the smiling old man, "We're having a difficult time finding someone to fill the position you see. So, how may I help you?"

"That's what I came here for actually." The young man held out his hand, "I'm Raito Yagami. I have an interview for that opening."

"Of course!" The other look ecstatic, "Please, follow me and we can commence with the interview right away." He motioned towards the ajar section of wall. As he ushered Raito through, he turned back to the redhead who was again immersed in his handheld game, "Matt, leave the lights on and try to help anyone who comes through please." The only response he received was a quiet grunt.

The hallway that they passed down was nothing like the room that they had started in. The walls were painted a crisp white and there were several plain doors along the walls.

"I apologize if he caused you any trouble. He can be quite the troublemaker." The grey-haired man looked over his shoulder to catch Raito examining each blank door as they passed. "Ah yes this is our behind the scenes area. Most of these are offices but a few are living facilities. Not all of our employees have a place to go every night for some reason or another and, should you get the position, that same offer would be extended to you."

Raito nodded slowly, "That's a very...unique feature." His host opened the second to last door and waved for Raito to enter ahead of him. The other mans attention was held by the last door however.

The door that stood at the end of the hall was different from the rest in that it was made of what appeared to be heavy metal and it had three large locks holding it closed.

"Where does that door go?" When Raito turned to face his guide though, the kind smile was gone and the grey eyes were steely.

"I will put only one rule on you," He pointed to the door, "Do not go in there unless you have been specifically asked to. There are stairs behind it that lead to the owner's home. He is not always there but when he is, he likes to be left alone."

This seemed to startle Raito as he allowed himself to be led into the open room, "You mean you aren't the owner?"

"Oh goodness no!" The stern look was gone once again, "I am just the caretaker; a manager if you will." He shut the door behind himself as Raito look a seat across from the neatly organized desk, "You may call me Watari by the way. Everyone always does."

"Thank you. It's very nice to meet you." The two shook hands, Raito found himself surprised by how firm the grip was.

Watari settled himself into his own simple chair and opened the folder that was lying neatly in the center of his desk, "Yes, now Raito, may I call you that?" Raito nodded once in agreement, "Raito, we have already looked over your file and the boss and I, while we think your circumstances are different than those of our normal employees, believe that you may possess some traits that we would really like to add to the mix. One question though, have you ever heard of this establishment before your application?"

The fair-haired man looked shocked as the question emerged, "No. I haven't lived here for very long yet and haven't had the time to fully explore the area."

"Alright, that will make training a little easier." As if answering the unasked question, Watari continued to talk, his eyes scanning the papers in the file marked 'Raito Yagami', "You see, people who have a prior knowledge of our business often try to act in a certain way. What we strive for here though is t have all of our employees act completely as they would in their everyday lives. We do not want false personalities for it is each unique flavor that makes up the delicious sweet that is Sugar Cubed.

The poetic effect of his speech seemed lost on his guest, but he was still smiling widely, his eyes wrinkling at the corners. It was a moment before he started talking again, letting the air fill with an awkward silence before breaking it.

"Raito, we would be interested in hiring you as our new host. Your position would be to take the front desk calls, schedule reservations, seat the guests and tell them briefly of our daily specials. Does this sound like something you would be willing to do?"

There was no hesitation in the young man's voice as he sat forward in his and gave his answer "Of course. It sounds like a very promising position."

"Oh very good!" Watari smiled again and wrote something on the notepad at the bottom right corner of his desk. "The position will pay depending on the owner's evaluation of you and your work. But do not worry," The old man's hands came up as if sensing Raito's skepticism, "The pay is always good. You've already met our main waiter. You can ask him on the way out if you'd like, but every employee that has ever worked under us has declared that their pay was fair." As Raito calmed down a little, the warming smile returned, "The owner is very good at knowing exactly what each person needs."

"And if I find that I am not okay with what I get or I don't like the job?" Raito raised one perfect eyebrow and relaxed into his seat.

"We will terminate your work contract immediately and you will be free to go. However," Watari nodded slowly, "we've only ever had one employee terminate their contract like that. He was a... difficult man, and after a short while he decided that there was no way he could work for us. He left and opened his own business; one which quickly became our rival. Of course," The spell of gloom that had settled in the room was instantly dissipated with a smile, "That was when our primary shop was in our home, England. The owner has closed that shop for now in order to open this one. Luckily, our best employees decided to come with us."

"England? That's quite a ways away. Don't you miss your families and homes?" Raito had a hard time moving from his family for college and even now, tried to visit them when he had the chance. From the sad look on Watari's face though, he was getting that the two cases were not very similar.

"As I said before, your circumstances are different than those of our usual employees. Most of us no longer have families or homes to go back to." Raito continued to listen, expecting there to be more. Instead, a single slip of paper was slid to him, "Come back tomorrow if you are still interested. Shifts usually begin at five in the evening but someone will most likely be here all day. If you show up around four, we should be able to get you set up. You will work until midnight, help us close and be on your way by one or two in the morning. Is that alright?"

"Yes, that will be fine." Truthfully, the hours sounded a little late for a restaurant but he didn't want to be any more trouble. He was beginning to think he may have overstepped the line with the family matter.

"Good." Watari rose to his feet and started towards the door, "We will fit you for a uniform later, so until then just dress in nice casual clothing. Which doesn't seem like it is going to be a problem for you." He chuckled a little to himself as he opened the door into the hallway, "Please just go back the way you came and make sure that Matt has not turned out the light again. I would show you out myself, but I have some business that I must attend to right now."

"That's alright. You've been a very kind host to me so far." Raito shook the hand extended to him and made his way back down the hallway.

Watari watched the young man pass through the door and heard the click of the lamp before the opening was fully shut. As soon as he was sure that the hallway was secure, he headed back into his office, grabbed the folder off his desk and stepped into the hall, locking his office behind him.

He took three steps more, to the end of the hall, taking a ring of keys from his pocket as he went. He was careful to tuck the folder under his arm as he reached for the locks on the door, methodically undoing each one. As soon as they had each clicked in turn, he pocketed the keys again and let himself into the stairway. When he had climbed the stairs, he was presented with yet another door. This one was the same style as all the others in the hallway below but with a control panel and speaker positioned next to it.

"Is the interview over already Watari?" A very dull voice leaked out of the speaker, "I did not think it would go so quickly."

Pressing the black button next to the intercom, Watari began speaking in a very light voice, "Yes, we finished very quickly. He was just as you said he would be. May I come in sir?"

"Not right now. Please leave the files outside the door. And perhaps you would be so kind as to have Mello send me today's dish through the elevator. I think that would be nice." As Watari smiled and was about to leave, the voice came on again, "On second thought Watari, have him send up today's dish, some tea and, if it's not too much trouble, some of those delicious snacks that were just bought yesterday."

The old man gave a serene smile and a nod to the shut door, "Of course sir. It's not too much trouble at all and will give that rambunctious child something to do."

"Ah, good. Have him do that and I will call you up when I am done reviewing this Raito Yagami's file." When the voice cut out, Watari turned on his heel and headed down the stairs to try and stir up the chocolate-crazed boy behind the famous dishes. Dishes that were the stars of the eccentric dessert restaurant, Sugar Cubed.

I'm back! The second chapter is coming up quickly. I have to type it up but it's not too long (comparable to this chapter). This will be the first chapter story I've written since I was 8. And that one wasn't really that great. It was about a moose. So yes, let's hope this one is better. Sorry for any little mistakes you find here and there. I am, as always, my own beta.

On to more pressing matters though. I would REALLY like your opinion on this as it progresses. Is it something you would want to read? (Yes, there is a plot developing that is more interesting then the first few chapters). Critisism is welcome as long as it is constructive. Also, forgive me for the slow progress of this story in the future. School, sadly, takes up a large part of my life.

And for anyone interested in other Death Note stories, I've had the sequal to the Cheesecake one started for a while and it's almost through the preliminary writing process. And for those of you who like to give opinions, I'm leaving this title as temporary for now and if you would like to suggest something, feel free to suggest something random or ask me to give you a little low down on the plot and then suggest somthing. Or don't suggest something. It's really up to you. And if you like this title...cool! Okay, will stop talking now. As always, thank you for reading!