Gum's Helper

Chapter Two

I slowly crawled from bed after shutting off my alarm. I am not a morning person. It was 4am after all. I showered and did my hygienic routine. I threw my hair back up in a bun and got changed for the day. I made some oatmeal with fruit and orange juice before going off to work. When I arrived the sun wasn't up yet and not a lot of people were out and about.

I waved to the secretary on the way in who smiled in return. Once I climbed the stairs I made my way to Fatgum's office. "Fatgum?" I called out while knocking. "Come in." He called. When I swung open the door he was at his desk on the phone and looked up at me with a smile. I sat on the couch and silently waited for him to finish.

"Sato. How are you today?" He asked genuinely. "Good. A bit tiered but that I'll get used too. How about you?" I asked. "Oh, I'm just fine." He smiled gently. "Oh! Right! Your office is 209 it's right next to mine. The break room is 204." Toyomitsu explained. "Ah, thank you. By the way I brought some nectar. Perhaps you'd like me to make you some tea in the break room to mix it with?" I proposed by lifting a jar of it from a paper bag.

"That would be lovely. Thank you so much, Sato." Fatgum said. "I'm not sure how you'd like to store this for on the go but I can make around 10 jars a day." I said sitting one of them on his desk. "I'll figure it out. Don't you worry." He dismissed. I smiled before walking out of his office. I settled into my own and made Fatgum's tea.

"Here you go." I said placing it gently on his desk. "Careful. It's really hot." I warned and he smiled gently. "What flower is this nectar from?" He said holding up the empty jar that was just full. My eyes widened in shock. "It's Wisteria. Please be careful drinking it so quickly could upset your stomach." I said concerned.

"Maybe you should have some water instead of tea. Let me get you some." I suggested walking off. A hand was wrapped around my wrist and I stopped to turn around. "It's no worry Sato. As you can tell I eat a lot and I've been through my fair share of food poisoning and sugar rushes." He smiled reassuringly while patting his stomach. "I suppose if anyone could handle it it'd be you." I reasoned.

"Bring me the other jar will you? I think I've found my new favorite drink." He said cheerfully. When bringing back the nectar I sat it on the desk. "Go easy." I warned and he chuckled. "Don't worry about me." He said. "I'm sure you've already seen but there is some paperwork the will need filing on your desk. When it's done bring it into me." Fatgum said. "Of course." I replied before getting to work.

I filed the paperwork all the way up to noon and I was only about halfway done before I heard a knock on my door. "Come in." Fatgum stood in the doorway. "Sato, it's lunch break. Would you like to go to lunch with me?" He offered. "Yes, of course." I said with a small smile shutting my laptop. A date? No. Just a work outing is all I assured myself.

"What were you thinking?" I asked as we walked out of the building. "I really do love Takoyaki. Do you Sato?" He questioned. "It's also one of my favorites." I told him. "Good. I want to make sure you eat good." He smiled and my heart skipped a beat. "Why's that?" I asked as we walked towards the restaurant. "Well the better you eat the better I eat. Your nectar will inherently turn out better. Plus you are quite small." Fatgum explained.

"That makes sense. Typically I eat once a day but now that I have a job to do I'll be eating more frequently." I said with a smile. Fatgum laid his hand on my shoulder and I turned to look at him but my smile dropped because of his concerned look. "Only once a day? Sato, you should be eating at least three to four times a day." He reasoned. "I know. I know. I've just always had a troubled relationship with food." I said awkwardly.

He understood and immediately squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. "We will work on that. I'll be here to help." He gave me a reassuring smile and I returned it. On the walk to the restaurant several fans were calling out to him, asking for signature, or pictures. Fatgum looked so happy like it was the most natural thing which was really sweet. However, I wanted to curl in a ball being around all the attention.

Finally we walked up into the restaurant. "Fatgum!" A manager called out with a smile on his face as soon as we walked in. "How are you?" He asked. "I'm good, thank you!" Fatgum replied. "Who's the pretty lady? Is she your girlfriend?" The manager asked and I immediately blushed. Fatgum laughed. "No, no. This is just my assistant." He reassured him. "Ah, you finally got that position filled I see. Come have a seat." He beckoned us over to a table and we both took our seats.

"Will you be having your usual?" The manger asked Fatgum. "Yes, uh add a number four today though!" He replied. "Got it!" The manager wrote down. "And for the young lady?" He asked looking up from his notepad. "I'll just have a number one with a water. Thank you." I said giving the manager a polite smile. "Get her a side of Gomaae, Hijiki, and Daikon." Fatgum spoke to the manager and I immediately started waving him off.

"Fatgum-Sama there's no need." I told him. "Ah, don't worry about it, Sato. I am paying and whatever you absolutely can't finish I'll eat the rest of, alright?" Fatgum reassured me. "You really don't have too pay for it." I tried waving off the manager again but I realized he'd already left to put in our order.

"After we finish lunch we will be out on patrol until 6pm." He warned me and I nodded in understanding. "So while we are here tell me a bit about yourself. I want to get to know who I'll be working with a bit better." Toyomitsu asked with a gentle smile. "Uh well, I just moved out of the foster house I was living in a month ago and I needed to get a job to pay for the bills and I was scrambling around a bit because my quirk isn't purposeful in all fields." I spoke as the manager brought out our drinks and I conjured a wisteria flower which I put stem down so the nectar could steep into the tea.

Fatgum smiled in return. "So you lived in foster care? For how long?" He asked curiously. "Well, according to them I was walking a long busy streets alone when I was eight and had no recollection of my life as if I had amnesia. A wonderful woman brought me to a police station where they tried to find my parents but they had no luck. So, then I was put into foster care for 10 years. I never really had a home for more than a couple of weeks or so. Schooling was all done by the Hero Public Safety Commission. Hence why I discovered I could poison people. No normal eight year old thinks of that." I said with a snort as I laughed.

"That sounds like it was difficult. Do you have a good living situation now?" He asked me and I didn't know if I should answer him honestly or not. But it's hard to lie to such a nice guy. "I-uh not really? I live a couple cities over and so I've been getting up at 4AM to make it here and I live in a bad side of town so when it's so dark in the morning it puts me a bit on edge walking to the bus stop." I said as I laughed a bit but Fatgum himself held a more concerned expression.

"Why don't you move closer to the Agency?" He asked curiously. "Well, my lease isn't up for six months. I searched for jobs in the local area but nothing worked out and I had to span out my search. Then I stumbled across your Agency which was a perfect fit. However, it is a bit far." I said with an awkward laugh. "Well, do move closer when you can. It is a bit of an inconvenience when you're so far away." He explained. Before I could answer the manager brought out our food and sat it on the table.

The entire table was full corner to corner with dishes and Fatgum noticed my concerned expression. "Just eat what you can and if you see something you like from my plated don't hesitate to help yourself." He said with a smile. Fatgum finished his dishes very quickly almost surprising me how fast and neat he could eat. "You have to try this." Fatgum said while placing some Yakitori on my plate with his chopsticks. I'm not really a fan of Yakitori but I didn't want to be rude.

I placed it in my mouth bracing for the taste however it was flavorful and pleasant. My eyes widened and Fatgum chuckled. "Is it good? Have some more." He said all while placing more onto my plate. "Fatgum-Sama, it's really okay. You eat-." He interrupted me by waving me off. I sighed and finished all of the Yakitori and Takoyaki I had on my plates. I ate my Hijiki and Daikon and I was totally stuffed there wasn't anyway I could eat my Gomaae. "Oh god, I am so bloated." I groaned and Fatgum raised an eyebrow reminding me who I was talking to and I chuckled.

I pushed my Gomaae towards him. "You can eat it. You can do it." Fatgum reassured me. "Fatgum-Sama please no more." I begged. "Alright, I'll finish it for you but you at least have to try it. One bite." He coaxed and I twirled it around my chopsticks before topping off my already full stomach. "Atta girl." He said before taking my plate and practically inhaling the rest of it.