Author's Note: This is my first Samurai sentai Shinkenger story. It's been swimming around in my head for about a month now. I have absolutely no idea how long it's going to be (or short), but I hope you enjoy the ride! Constructive Criticism is always welcomed.

Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai sentai Shinkenger, Kobayashi-san's writing, or any of her characters. But I do claim rights to my own characters and plot within this story.

Chapter One

Accident

"Don't look now, but our favorite customers just walked in the front door."

Three young men looked up and grimaced as the group of chattering girls filed in through the doorway.

"So who's the lucky one that gets to deal with them tonight, Takeru?" The tall brunette of the four asked.

Takeru, his dark hair falling over his face, leaned over the list of workers for the night and grimaced. "Kotoha," he answered quietly.

"Shit," the almost-auburn haired young man scowled.

"Chiaki," Takeru admonished.

"I know, I know," Chiaki's scowl deepened. "But why does it have to be Kotoha? Let me switch with her."

"Take-chan would let you if he could," the last member of their group answered as he continued to move his skillet over the open flame of the stove top.

"Genta's right," the tall one answered again. "You know she needs the tips."

Chiaki shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched against the wall, still eyeing the front door as the group of girls gave their names and waited to be seated. "Then you'd better go to tell her Ryunosuke, because you know they're not going to wait patiently for very long."

Ryunosuke nodded and walked off to find their fellow coworker.

"Chiaki," Takeru started. "Table three -"

"I'm on it," Chiaki cut him off and all but stalked across the room, but not before glaring heavily at the group of girls who were already beginning to tap their feet in impatience.

Takeru let out a quiet sigh.

"Don't worry Take-chan," Genta spoke over the sizzle and pop of his food being cooked. "Kotoha will be fine, she's a strong girl."

"I'm more worried about Chiaki at the moment," Takeru replied honestly.

Genta let out a laugh. "You know how overprotective of her Chiaki is. It's how he shows his affection; the guy is head-over-heels for Kotoha. Too bad she hasn't noticed it yet." He laughed good-naturedly. "Poor guy."

Takeru let a small smile grace his face. It was true, Chiaki had fallen for Kotoha since the moment she had walked in and asked for a job at the restaurant. But he was awkward and clumsy in his affection; it was little wonder that Kotoha wasn't entirely aware of his adoration of her. Then again, she could be slightly dense herself at times. Genta, Takeru, and Ryunosuke found it amusing to watch them together as Chiaki would fumble over his words and actions and Kotoha would merely giggle, causing him to blush deeply each time. Still, in a way, Takeru envied them. Even if they hadn't officially started dating, at least they had a beginning.

Ryunosuke reappeared at their side. "Looks like the group is here in full force tonight. All seven of them."

This time, even Genta winced. "At least they didn't bring their boyfriends with them this time."

Ryunosuke frowned. "Good point. If we're lucky, maybe they'll eat quickly and -"

The sound of a crashing glass was heard, and all three young men looked toward the sound.

Takeru felt his shoulders tense as he realized it had come from the direction of said group of girls. And sure enough, Kotoha, flustered and embarrassed, was apologizing profusely.

"I better get over there before this gets ugly," Takeru sighed in quiet exasperation.

"It's going to be a long night, isn't it?" He heard Ryunosuke ask Genta as Takeru pushed past the swinging doors of the kitchen and began to cross the room in quick strides.

Sure enough, Chiaki was already at Kotoha's side, signature scowl tucked firmly in place. "She already apologized," he heard the young waiter state.

"She knocked over my drink," one of the girls, one with straight red-streaked black hair protested with a glower.

"On accident," Chiaki countered.

"It's because she's too damn clumsy for her own good," the leader of the group, one with short dark curls interjected. "I don't know how she ever got a job here."

Kotoha flushed with embarrassment and Chiaki's look darkened. He opened his mouth to speak his mind, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Chiaki's head whipped around, temper flaring until he saw it was Takeru. He quickly snapped his jaw closed, but didn't budge from his spot in front of Kotoha.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Takeru asked neutrally.

Another one of the girls, this one with straight platinum blonde hair answered in almost a bored tone. "She knocked over Reina's glass with her serving tray. It fell and broke."

"I apologize," Takeru answered, the icon of courtesy. "We'll be sure to clean it up and bring you a new glass right away. We'll get you anything you like, free of charge, in compensation for your trouble."

The leader of the girls flipped her hair over her shoulder in impatience. "If you give us all free drinks, we'll forget the incident even happened." She looked over at Takeru slyly. "It would be in your best interest."

Takeru bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. "I will have one of our waiters bring your new drinks right away and take care of the tab myself."

He heard Kotoha gasp quietly from behind him. "You can't -"

Takeru swiftly gave her a look and Kotoha cut herself off.

"Fine," the girl answered, quickly ignoring the waiting staff once more and continuing her conversation with her friends.

Takeru discreetly looked around the area and noticed that some of the other patrons were eyeing the girls in disbelief, a couple rolled their eyes, but they quickly returned to their meals and conversations when they realized the situation had been handled.

Chiaki, however, looked like he was about to blow.

Takeru lowered his voice so only Chiaki could hear. "Take Kotoha with you to the back to get her cleaned up, and then help her prepare the drinks."

Chiaki looked at Takeru in puzzlement until he saw that he wasn't looking at him but at Kotoha. Chiaki's eyes followed to see Kotoha's eyes bright with unshed tears and flushed cheeks. He quickly swallowed his anger and took Kotoha gently by the arm, guiding her to the back.

Takeru looked at the mess of glass on the floor and knelt to begin picking up the shards by hand. He saw a broom handle enter his field of vision and looked up gratefully to see Ryunosuke handing him a broom and dust pan as the tall waiter began to take orders for the new drinks.

As soon as he had ensured that every last piece had been swept up, Takeru walked back to the kitchens and dumped its contents into the nearest trash bin.

Genta looked up from his next order for a moment to fix his oldest friend with a look. "Are you really going to take on the entire tab for those girls?"

Takeru sighed internally. "Just their drinks. It's no big deal; better than the alternative."

"I'm so sorry!" Kotoha's voice was thick as she looked up from the drink tray. "It's my fault, I'll pay for them."

Takeru waved her offer aside. "Tuition is due soon, save your money."

"But you have to pay for yours too!"

"I was planning on picking up an extra shift," Takeru shrugged. He knew she was trying to help, and the new drinks the girls had ordered weren't cheap by any means, but Takeru was the head waiter and manager. He was responsible for what happened out on the floor.

"I'm just glad Tanba isn't here tonight," Ryunosuke commented as he reentered the kitchen with a new order.

The other four flinched. Tanba was their boss. A strict man at his best moments and downright cruel at his worst. His dream was to serve only the "right" kind of customers, the ones like the group of girls in the other room. The ones who came from affluent families and so had money to burn. That also meant that their influence was wide. With one snap of their fingers, or a call placed to their parents, anyone on the staff could quickly find themselves out of a job. Or if they felt exceedingly vindictive, close down the restaurant or shop that had caused them any ire.

The restaurant, however, was located right next to the college campus, meaning that their clientele came from all walks of life. The reasonable prices and good food attracted a lot of customers, both great and…difficult. Tanba tried to please them all, if only to attract a larger influx of customers, but he would almost trip over his feet when girls like Reina and her friends came in. Good publicity from them could propel him in the cuisine world. So he expected his staff to all but fawn over them themselves. Needless to say, it was easier said than done.

"I'll help you serve their drinks," Ryunosuke said as Kotoha and Chiaki finished, distracting Kotoha before she could protest anymore.

"Thank you so much!" She grinned happily.

Takeru nodded his thanks and watched the two leave out the swinging doors. Ryunosuke had been working here almost as long as Takeru, and as a Theatre major, had the poise and acting skills to create nearly the perfect waiter. He'd keep the best eye on Kotoha.

Chiaki studied his manager for a long moment. "Takeru -"

"Table three is ready for their bill," Takeru cut him off.

Chiaki sighed in exasperation. "Fine, fine." He strode out of the room, leaving Takeru and Genta alone with the sounds and smells of good cooking.

"Take-chan," Genta started.

"It's fine Genta."

Genta sighed. "And I thought Chiaki was stubborn," he muttered to himself.

The rest of the evening passed with little incident. Kotoha managed the meals to the special table without as much as a hiccup. The lure of partially free service seemed to have been the goal all along, and so while they still managed to throw in a few dirty looks, the girls kept the rest of their comments to themselves.

Takeru let out a slow breath, rolling his shoulders to try and alleviate the tension that had built up from the moment the girls had entered.

"Only an hour until closing Take-chan," Genta chirped happily. "With any luck, we might be able to get a quiet rest of the night."

Before Takeru could respond, the swinging doors banged open as a steaming Chiaki strode back into the kitchen, a slew of colorful words flowing from his mouth.

Takeru and Genta looked at each other in surprise.

Takeru was about to ask what had happened now, when Kotoha burst in right behind him, flustered.

"Don't worry about it Chiaki. I don't mind!"

"That doesn't make it right Kotoha!"

"I'm sure they didn't mean it."

"Like hell they didn't mean it! You can't do that by accident."

"They probably thought it would be funny," she tried.

"Kotoha!" Chiaki's voice rose in frustration. "They did it to be mean! That's just how they are. They don't give a fig for anyone except themselves. If you think -"

"What happened?" Genta asked, confusion written all over his face.

"It was just a joke," Kotoha began.

"It's not a joke," Chiaki cut in. "It -"

Takeru held up his hand to silence the pair of them before they could get started again. He looked at Kotoha. "What happened?"

Kotoha bit her lip and looked at Chiaki's dark face. "Addison and Reina's table…well, you see…they…"

"They stuffed Kotoha's tip money to the bottom of their half-full drink glasses," Chiaki cut in, knowing Kotoha hated confrontation and didn't want to cause further trouble.

This time, even Genta frowned. "You'd think they would have been brought up with better manners."

Takeru felt his jaw clench in frustration.

"Hey Takeru," Ryunosuke called as he joined the group in the warm kitchen. "About Addison and her friends -"

"I know," Takeru said. "Kotoha and Chiaki just told me about the other incident with the drinks."

"Well, about that," Ryunosuke started, unsure of how to continue. "There's something else."

"What now?" Chiaki grumbled.

Takeru just looked at his senior waiter in silence.

Ryunosuke handed his manager one of the restaurant's own napkins. "I found it folded like an origami animal on the table after they had left, and Kotoha had already cleaned everything away. Look inside."

Puzzled, Takeru unfolded the spotless linen as the others gathered around him, their curiosity piqued. Inside was a slip of paper with a few crisp bills underneath. Takeru unfolded the note and read the elegant, precise script:

I apologize for the trouble we caused. I know it is not much, but I wanted to pay for the broken glass and the drinks. It was not the waitress' fault; it was an accident. Thank you for the wonderful service and meal. My compliments to the chef and the staff. Please see that the remaining money is spilt between the waiters, manager, and cook for their excellent service. In gratitude, M.

Takeru looked at the bills again and his eyes widened as he realized it more than covered for the drinks. It seemed to have included extra tip money in there as well, enough to share generously with everyone involved. Takeru looked back up at Ryunosuke.

"Who did this?"

Ryunosuke shrugged. "I didn't see anyone leave it behind. It was just…there."

"It seems like one of the girls left it," Genta commented.

Chiaki snorted. "Yeah, right. If it had been one of them, I'd bet all the bills would be fake. It was probably some other customer who saw the commotion and felt bad."

"I don't know Chiaki," Kotoha said as she studied the note and bills in her manager's hand. "That's an awful lot of money. It was mostly college students tonight. You know they don't have much money with tuition to pay."

Genta studied the note with a critical eye and his characteristic grin. "Whoever 'M' is, I like this person already!"