Chapter 12

One would wonder why she didn't return to Kyoto when she was 17, after the immense disappointment she'd experienced with Sho, and there was a very simple answer to that and many other questions. Firstly, she simply didn't have the money for the train ticket to get back at the time and the more she worked for her adoptive parents, the more she grew attached to them. Secondly, she had come to the realization, during that time away, that she had been groomed to become Sho's wife and the future Okami to the Fuwa Ryokan, and there was no reason for her to return. He was no longer there and she was no longer needed or possibly even wanted there. Her mother and father had opened her eyes to the fact that they loved her and treated her like a daughter, not a future heir or employee that would eventually take over so that they could retire. Thirdly and finally, the only good memories she had from Kyoto were of Corn/Kuon and that was only a couple of weeks worth of memories from a distant childhood that she would be more than happy to forget completely. The only time she'd ever been an actual daughter to anyone was when she'd turned 16 and started working at the Daruma-ya.

What brought her back to thinking of such things? Well, the simple fact that she was actually considering giving Kuon a chance. Actually giving romance a chance. Of course she'd realized that what she thought she'd had with Sho was not even close to a mature relationship or even could be considered romance. There were three other times in her not so distant teen years where she'd given dating a try out of curiosity and those were romance. Well, an immature version of it at least, but it did open her eyes to the fact that there were many types of love in regards to that subject. She had more than her fair share of platonic relationships now, regardless of how much the other parties had wished it weren't so.

At the moment she was fussing over her makeup, wondering if her outfit was classy enough or sexy enough, and hoping that she didn't make a complete fool of herself by misinterpreting the signals that Kuon had sent her way. She had, after all, done it before.

She sighed inwardly at the thoughts. She always landed on her disastrous first love when it came to comparisons, and realized that she truly needed to stop doing that. It had ruined more than one of her relationships before. She was determined not to allow something like that to happen again. She really felt something for him and she didn't wish to screw it up by even mentioning the past. Unless he asked, of course. Then she would tell him everything that he wanted to know.

~xoxo~

Was his shave close enough? Was he wearing too much cologne? He checked his hair for the eighth time in the last ten minutes and wondered if it would look better neatly slicked back or naturally mussed. Should he wear this or that? Was his shirt the right color or type? Did he look too casual or should he go for something more of the Ren Tsuruga, classy style?

He sighed at the image in the mirror and gave out a little groan. "Come on Hizuri, she already agreed to date you. I have no idea why, but she did. You need to pull yourself together and go pick her up. It's almost time to leave." He glanced at the time displayed on his phone.

This would be their first official date and he wasn't sure how something like this would go. She wasn't like the other women he'd dated in the past. With them he honestly really didn't need to make an effort. They had always been the ones to initiate literally everything. This time it was him the he felt needed to impress her. Deep down, he wanted to show her that he was worth her time, that she meant a lot to him, and that he really wanted her to be a permanent fixture in his life.

"What would you like me to do, Boss?" Her head waiter asked with concern. The young woman, at the table with the obviously older man, looked extremely uncomfortable.

Kyoko had been watching this couple since they arrived and it did not look good. The man seemed to be harassing the pretty young woman, yet she was tolerating it for some unknown reason. She sighed. "Tell him that his credit card has been declined." She smirked. There were many reasons that something like that could happen, and they didn't have anything to do with the balance on it. "He'll need to stay while we call the credit card company and get permission to charge for the meal, but his companion can go home. Call a taxi for her if needed. On the house."

He nodded with a subdued smile on his face. They had used this little maneuver more than once before and it worked every time. Hopefully the young woman would accept the assist.

Akari Tendō, also known as Chiori Amamiya, was beside herself with anger, fear, and a little despair. Her manager had told her that this scumbag director wanted to have dinner with her to discuss an offer. How would anyone know that the offer wasn't for acting… Unless she slept with him and satisfied his carnal demands for an unspecified amount of time. Shockingly, and thankfully the waiter had interrupted the sleazy director's proposition with the announcement that his credit card had been declined. She almost laughed.

"We're very sorry sir, but you may be here for quite some time. It does take a considerable amount of time to check with the credit card company. We hope you understand our security precautions." The waiter slickly explained with a very stoic expression.

The man sighed in frustration. It was irritating, but they did politely explain and didn't treat him like some kind of criminal, so he agreed.

"If you like, we can call a cab for your companion. I'm sure you wouldn't want her to have to endure this lengthy process. Of course the fare will be fully complimentary." He added.

He agreed and Chiori was escorted to the lobby, with a take-home container with her dessert and a gift certificate for a free meal for two added to her bag. It was Kyoko's gift to her, seeing that the young woman obviously did not enjoy her meal.

When Chiori arrived home, she was in shock. No one had ever gone out of their way to help her in such a way. She wanted to go back immediately and thank the waiter, but that would mean running into that dirt-bag that her manager had set her up with. Which also reminded her to call the woman and let her know exactly what had happened and how thin the thread was that was preventing her from firing her on the spot.

That evening she had filled yet another notebook with her caustic thoughts; although, it did include a little bright spot of warm fuzzy feelings for the person that had come to her rescue.