The Trickster's Family (Persona 5 x Oshi No Ko Fanfic)

Chapter 2: The Rock Bottom

Few days after Ai's debut, everything seems peaceful at good ol Leblanc. Futaba was actively trying to make coffees based on what Sojiro taught her. Ever since Ren left, Futaba took over Ren's role in preparing coffees so that way Sojiro wouldn't have to make and serve coffees alone. The first few attempts were rough as she kept messing up the ingredients on making the coffee. And by the time when she served the coffee to Sojiro, he kept saying that the taste was too bland or not good. This kinda infuriates Futaba as she's motivated to keep making coffees until it tastes good.

Futaba: "Here you go, Sojiro! One fresh blend is complete! After few more attempts, I finally got it right!" 

Sojiro: "Is that so? Hmm... Let me try." he said as he grabs a cup of coffee and taste it a little.

Futaba: "Well, Sojiro? Does it taste good?" she said. 

Sojiro puts the coffee back on the table with his eyes closed.

Sojiro: "..." he said with his arms crossed. 

Futaba: "W-Well? How was it?"

Sojiro: "I'm gonna be frank, Futaba. While the blend you're making was an improvement over the first time you made, it still lacking some flavor."

Sojiro: "You're putting less coffee powder and more water into it. I suggest you should adjust that to make it balanced. Plus, you need to broth the coffee a little longer to enhance the flavor. Got that?"

Futaba: "Right... Sure thing, Sojiro." she said weakly.

Sojiro: "Don't be too upset. You still have ways to go if you want to learn how to blend coffee better. So cheer up will ya?"

Futaba: "Okay, Sojiro. I'll try!" she said with a smile.

Sojiro: "Good." he said as he look at the surroundings. There's no customers this time especially in early afternoon. Which is wild since normally they usually have two or three customers each times a day. But this is a rare case where Leblanc has no customers this time. Futaba notices Sojiro's reaction as she narrowed her eyes at the surroundings.

Sojiro: "It sure is quiet around here. Right, Futaba?"

Futaba: "Come to think of it, it sure does. There's no customers around here this time."

Sojiro: "Hmm. I'm starting to think that the customers had taken less interest with Leblanc right now." Futaba's eyes widen when she heard Sojiro's words.

Futaba: "What makes you say that, Sojiro?"

Sojiro: "It just... I opened this shop ever since Wakaba died. The business at Leblanc seems to be a huge success. So much so that a lot of customers wanting to come by and serving coffees and curry for themselves. It was blooming back then."

Sojiro: "But now with new cafes are starting to pop up, more and more customers are starting to decline in almost every single week to the point where it becomes lesser now."

Sojiro: "I even tried to add some menu or try at least to make Leblanc more appeal more in modern times. But it simply wasn't enough which worries me more."

Futaba: "..." Futaba said nothing as she keeps hearing Sojiro's words.

Sojiro: "*sigh* At this rate, Leblanc will be out of business if this continues." Futaba shocked to hear as she protests.

Futaba: "Don't say that Sojiro! Stop saying like it the end of the world!" 

Sojiro: "Futaba..."

Futaba: "To me, Leblanc is special to me as well as you, Sojiro. This place isn't just used to make customers come by and take coffees here, it also a place where they can make happy memories together."