Chapter Fourteen: Shopping and Past Reflections
Don't these phone calls ever stop coming in? Who in the world does the rooster head know that would call him? Thought Shura as she answered the 20th call that day. She was still trying to type of Sano's paper, which he had handed to her to draft.
Scratching down the caller's number and name, Shura hung up and went back to typing, she still had 15 pages to go.
My college work wasn't even this long. Thought Shura with a moan, and the fact that it was all in 10 point made it worse.
"You really shouldn't work so hard," came Tsubame's worried voice, as she noticed Shura rubbing her temples in frustration.
Shura looked up to the younger co-worker and nodded.
Tsubame came over in a blue skirt-like suit and gave Shura another folder of papers. She felt a bit guilty when Shura groaned in exasperation.
I should have stayed a journalist. Thought Shura as she looked through the folder.
"So who're you going to the Sakura Ball with?" Asked Tsubame, hoping to get Shura's mind off of all the work. Too much work was bad for a person's health.
"I don't know. At this rate, I'll still be working on his paperwork for him during the Ball," said Shura annoyed, as she went back to typing and looking to make sure that she typed it right.
Her neck was cramping from looking down at the paper and back up at the screen. She wanted to just shut her eyes from the annoying computer screen. Sleep threatened to envelop her whole.
"What are you going to wear?" Asked Tsubame, as she sat on the edge of Shura's desk.
"I'm busy," snapped Shura, as she continued to write.
"Fine! I just don't think that you should work so hard, you'll only make things worse for yourself," said Tsubame angrily, as she jumped off the desk and stormed off to the lounge.
Shura sighed as she rubbed her temples. What am I going to wear at the Ball? Thought Shura. Great. Another thing to worry about.
As she finished off the last paragraph on her paper, her cell phone rang.
Picking up her small red rotation cell phone, Shura answered.
"Hello? Shura speaking."
"Shura! Did you really quit your job?" Asked a high-shrilled voice.
"Tomoe?" Asked Shura in shock, she quickly went into a whisper. Not many people here liked Tomoe, because of what happened to their boss with her.
"Why did you quit Beauty Magazines?" Demanded her older sister angrily.
"I do get paid more here, and I don't think that I could... handle two jobs. You know that I'm not good at multi-tasking," stated Shura.
"Just give me the information on that Kamiya girl" ordered Tomoe.
"Why?" Asked Shura finally. She had always wanted to know the real truth to this.
"To make her pay for making me look bad" said Tomoe angrily.
"She was doing her job as a lawyer. The public didn't find out," stated Shura.
"It doesn't matter. I want her to pay for that."
Shura didn't answer.
"Listen. I'm your older sister, and as siblings you must help me. Think of your niece or nephew," said Tomoe.
"I'll think about it," said Shura, as she hung up.
She relaxed back in her chair, and closed her eyes. What am I going to do?
~*~*~*~*~
"Hurry up Sou," said Misao's chirpy voice, as she pulled him along into the mall.
The place was huge, and so many places to go. Her eyes seemed to twinkle with all of the lights there. Stores were glistening with toys, clothes, artwork, shoes, and much more. It was like a dream come true. The place was so enchanting.
Fountains spilled their crystal water as they walked passed it to a designers.
Soujiro couldn't help but smile at Misao's sudden childish behavior. She seemed so adorable.
They walked into a shop and Misao went off in her own direction to find something to wear.
Letting his eyes wander, Soujiro looked around the store. Dresses of all shapes and sizes filled the store from top to bottom. Small ones, sparkly ones, large ones, patterned ones, any thing you could think have was here. Despite the variety, none of them caught his eye.
"Hey Sou does this one look nice?" Came Misao's voice from one of the dressing rooms.
When did she get into one? Thought Soujiro, as he followed her voice.
"Does this one make me look fat?" Asked Misao, as she came out in a green dress.
Its straps were a dark green, as the dress fell to her ankles. The material was silk, and it had a green flower to the left shoulder, and the dress had slits up to her knees, so that her milky white skin showed as she walked.
She turned around to let him see, and he noticed that the front had a green collar type cover.
"Doesn't it remind of you those traditional clothes?" Asked Misao.
Soujiro was so lost in her beauty, that he didn't comprehend her question.
"Earth to Soujiro," came Misao's voice, as she waved a hand in front of his face.
"You should get it," said Soujiro with a smile.
"I don't know, it seems like it's missing something," said Misao, as she placed her forefinger to her chin to think of something.
"Wait right here," said Soujiro, as a thought came to mind.
Confused, Misao waited as Soujiro left.
Misao looked in the mirror, and smiled as she saw how the dress matched her eyes.
"Maybe if I put my hair up in a bun" suggested Misao out loud.
"In a traditional bun," came Soujiro's voice.
Misao clutched her rapidly beating heart as she glared at him.
"Don't do that! That was fast," said Misao, as she looked at him.
"I was in track. Here," said Soujiro as he handed her a green box with a smile.
Looking at her companion confused, Misao slowly opened the package. Her eyes went wide when she saw a white fan with green feathers at the end. It matched her outfit perfectly.
"There's something else in there too," said Soujiro.
Smiling at him, she dug deeper into the package and found a pair of emerald earrings.
"Oh thank you," said Misao, as she hugged him.
The earrings were on a long silver string that was the size of her pinky. It seemed to glow radiantly when put in the light.
"Well now our only problem is... I don't think that wearing those old shoes would really go well to the Ball," said Soujiro, as he looked down at her old worn out blue high heels that covered up her whole foot.
Misao scrunched her nose at him, and stuck out her tongue. She looked back at the earrings and then placed it back in the box with the fan.
Soujiro only chuckled.
"I better go pay for this," said Misao, as she handed him the box and went to go change back into her old clothes.
The 28-year-old smiled, and looked toward the rest of the mall, when Misao came back out a bit saddened.
"What's the matter?" Asked Soujiro concerned that she didn't like the dress.
"It's $2000(USD)," said Misao.
"No problem, I'll pay for it," said Soujiro smiling, as he took the folded dress from her hands, and handed back the package to her.
Before Misao could argue, he gave her a stern look.
"I'll take care of it. Then we can go get you shoes," said Soujiro smiling, as he went to the cash register.
Misao frowned. He sure is hard headed. Misao only shook her head.
~*~*~*~*~
The Jewelry Shop was filled with rows and rows of cases and cases of valuable gems, gold and silver necklaces, rubies, pearls, diamonds, and a lot more.
With a total of millions of dollars worth of goods, the place was one of the best places to shop for jewelry.
The whole shop was practically shining and glowing luminously with beautiful colors, which seemed that it would never fade like the stars you see at night.
Kaoru's eyes were dazzlingly dancing from the beautiful sight before her. She had never seen so many beautiful craftsmanship on jewelry before. It astonished her.
Kenshin and Kaoru had entered the mall, and had walked straight here. The boss, seemingly to know Kenshin quite well, led them to the back of the store where the more enhanced work was done.
They were seated in the corner until the female clerk with brown hair showed them both sets of gorgeous necklaces and bracelets.
"We're looking for something simple, yet elegant. It has to be able to cover the front well, without taking too much attention to the face and gown," said Kenshin. It seemed like he had done this before.
The clerk nodded as she looked at Kaoru's face, and tried to picture her with different sets of jewelry.
"Do you want earrings as well?" Asked the clerk, as she looked through all of the sets in the cases.
"Long ones, not the small circle ones," said Kenshin.
"Do you have a certain theme?" Asked the clerk, as she looked up at the two.
"Night," said Kaoru.
"Ah. I see, I think we might have something in the back," said the clerk as she left.
"What do you mean night?" Asked Kenshin confused, as he looked at his lawyer.
"I am wearing black, and you're wearing midnight blue. I just thought that I could have a night theme," said Kaoru, as she looked at the other jewelry cases.
"After this we'll look for a pair of shoes for you. Then we're going to have to go back to my place and teach you how to waltz," said Kenshin with a grin.
Kaoru narrowed her eyes at him, but then looked away toward the other cases behind them.
"We don't have a bracelet for this one though," came the clerk's voice, as she came out with a black square shaped box, that was the size of her hand.
The two looked closely as she opened it.
"It's beautiful," said Kaoru as her eyes brightened.
"Want to try it on?" Asked the clerk.
"May I?" Asked Kaoru happily, as she took the necklace.
The necklace was a silver then one; it had a silver straight string that hung down off the edge of the silver. At the end of the straight string, was as sapphire that was in the shape of a stare. It glistened in the light, and it really did look like a star.
Kenshin took the necklace and put it on for Kaoru, as she looked into the mirror to see how the necklace looked. It was gorgeous, and absolutely stunning.
Kaoru used a finger to touch the watery like silver around her neck. Her fingers went to the sapphire, and she smiled at the two of them.
"Try the earrings," said the clerk.
The earrings were silver, and went down into a circle, where silver hearts were in the center of the circles. They were long, and looked beautiful; a diamond was in the center of each of the silver hearts, making them twinkle in the light.
Kaoru placed those on herself.
She smiled as she looked at her reflection.
"We'll take it," said Kenshin, as he looked at Kaoru's glittering eyes at him.
"That'll be $17,000. Check or credit card?" Asked the clerk with the smile.
Kaoru's eyes went wide; she was shocked that she had all that money on her right at this very instant.
"Bill it to me," said Kenshin calmly.
"Yes Mr. Himura" said the clerk with a nod.
Kaoru took off the jewelry and placed it carefully in a box, as the clerk began to take out wrapping paper for it.
"That's a lot of money," said Kaoru; still in shock.
"It's not that much" said Kenshin, as he took the bag from the clerk, and they left the Jewelry Shop together.
"Not much?! That's worth as much as my paycheck," stated Kaoru.
"No it isn't. You get bonuses remember?" Kenshin looked over his shoulder at her.
Kaoru rolled her eyes, as they continued to walk.
"Well that's only right. But it's still a whole paycheck," said Kaoru.
Kenshin sighed, but kept walking.
Kaoru followed, and kept looking at the bag that Kenshin was so mindlessly walking around with. He acted like it was just an ordinary bag, which didn't have a $17,000 necklace and earrings in it.
"Now where to go for shoes?" asked Kenshin, though it seemed more to himself.
Kaoru had to stop, when Kenshin suddenly paused in the middle of a stride.
"Do you mind warning people before stopping?" asked Kaoru annoyed.
Kenshin tapped his chin as he tried to remember which shop had the best shoes.
"Are you listening to me?" asked Kaoru, as she walked in front of him.
"I remember now. Let's go," said Kenshin, as he grabbed the startled lawyer's hand and dragged her half across the mall to a shoe shop.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"This place is huge," said Misao, as she walked into a store that had nothing but shoes, shoes, and more shoes.
Everywhere you turned there were shoes. Tall ones, short ones, ones with heels that were half a foot, ones that looked gorgeous, odd, squared, long, and all sorts of shoes there. They were all of different colors. The place was defiantly a girl's paradise.
The two walked in, and immediately they noticed that there were many girls in the shop, either in groups, or with a boyfriend that had his hands in his pockets and looked bored to death. It was amazing how a girl could get all psyched over something so little, and the man turned into something like a cold icicle.
Soujiro had the dress wrapped up neatly, and was neatly folded in his hands, as Misao hung onto her Tommy Hilfiger purse and walked around happily.
"Shall we go look for a green ones?" asked Soujiro with a smile, he seemed to be the only male in the whole shop that was smiling.
Misao smiled brightly at him, before grabbing his hand and leading him deep within a woman's world of heaven.
"So many to choose from," said Misao, as they were surrounded by the color green of all different shades.
"Do you want to go with the traditional shoes? Or the more fashion modern?" asked Soujiro, as he looked at the high shelves that held nothing but shoes.
Misao tapped her lip with her forefinger thoughtfully, as she thought about it, and how it would look with her dress.
Suddenly; a familiar voice called over to them.
"Soujiro," came Kenshin's voice as he dragged Kaoru with him.
Kaoru saw Misao and a smile crossed her face, as she rushed toward her friend. The two smiled and hugged each other, as the two guys nodded at each other.
"So what are you two doing here together?" asked Kaoru, as she looked at Soujiro and then at the blushing Misao.
"We're going to the Sakura Ball together this Saturday," said Misao.
Kaoru and Kenshin exchanged looks, before looking back at them with a grin that caused them both to blush furiously.
"Didn't think you had it in you," said Kenshin, as he nudged Soujiro in the gut.
Soujiro only smiled nervously and then scratched the back of his head.
"You got a dress?" asked Kaoru, as she saw what Soujiro was holding, the green box was on top of it.
"Yes, it's a wonderful green dress," said Misao happily.
"I got a black one. So, you're looking for shoes too?" asked Kaoru.
"Why else would we be in here?" asked Misao with a grin.
"Well then, let's go look. You two guys stay here while us girls go look for shoes," said Kaoru with a bright smile as she and Misao walked toward another aisle of shoes like little girls.
Kenshin only rolled his eyes, before facing his friend.
"So. When did you begin to like the weasel girl?" asked Kenshin.
Soujiro glared at him, as his smile faded.
"All right! Then don't tell me," said Kenshin, as he moved the bag over a shoulder, and placed his other hand in his pocket.
"Sorry. But did you know that Amakusa use to go out with Misao? For four years?" asked Soujiro in a whisper, as he looked at the ground.
"Really? I always knew he was with someone in high school. Maybe she's the reason why I got Valedictorian in college and not him?" asked Kenshin, as he thought about it.
Soujiro, head still bowed, nodded.
"I see. Four years? Dang, the longest relationship I've ever had lasted... what? Four weeks? Wonder what happened. I mean, four years is a long time, and people who last that long usually end up together. Though people can move on," added Kenshin quickly, as he notice his friend's saddened features.
"It's okay," said Soujiro as he looked up to meet steel blue eyes with his sad azure ones.
"We've all been friends for a long time. I think that Amakusa really would want you to be happy," said Kenshin sincerely as he placed a hand on his childhood friend's shoulder.
"Thanks. So when did you learn to show so much emotion?" asked Soujiro with a grin.
Kenshin shrugged his shoulders as he put his hand back in his pockets.
"I think we should go find them before they buy the whole store," said Soujiro as he gave out a true life, as the two friends went off to find their escorts.
~*~*~*~*~
The hospital seemed deprived of all life; the whole place was cold and silent, as if no one had been there for a long time. It was the type of silence that no one would dare to break, the one that gets to you the most.
Shougo looked at his sister, who was improving rapidly, and the doctor had reassured him that she was going to be all right and could most likely leave today.
The news brought a smile to his face, but he surely didn't feel that way. He had lost something just as dear to him as his sister was. But he knew he had lost his gem when he left four years ago. They had lost track of each other since he was 24 and she 20.
She must have wanted to leave, when she left to Harvard in the middle of two years of college and he was on his sixth year. Just so that she could leave him. (A/N: This part is saying that they broke up when Misao was out of high school, but they still went to the same college, that's why they still saw each other. Though in her second year of college, Misao went to Harvard with Megumi. Now that she's 24 and he 28, they meet again. I wanted to clear that up, so you people don't get confused.)
"Something wrong?" came a week voice that shattered Shougo's concentration, as he looked up to see his pale sister looking concerned at him.
Shougo shook his head and smiled at her, before helping her sit up right on a pile of pillows that the nurse brought in.
"Tell me," said Magdaria, her voice a bit weak and hoarse.
"It's nothing," said Shougo, as he found a cup and went to the faucet to get her come water.
"You don't have to lie," said Magdaria, as she nodded in thanks as he helped her drink the water. She was still a bit weak from the operation last night.
Shougo only sighed, as he looked at his sister with a frown.
"Nothing gets passed you, does it?" he asked playfully, when he placed the cup on the tray table to the right of her bed.
Magdaria glared at him, it was the only thing she could do in her state.
"It's about Misao," said Shougo in a whisper.
Magdaria frowned, and then touched her brother's left cheek with her cold one. He grabbed her hand in both of his as he tried to warm them for her.
"It's been four years," said Magdaria, as she looked at her big brother in the eyes. Her charcoal ones looking at his chocolate ones in reassurance.
"I know. I know," said Shougo as he patted the back of her hand.
Magdaria could only smile sadly at him. She was the only one, apart from Misao and himself, that knew about the two's relationship all this time. As his sister, and Misao's friend, she knew how deep their love was. It tore at her when the two had to part. A sad love story that wasn't meant to be, but is meant to be.
It was like William Shakespeare once said, "To be or not to be, that is the question." What Magdaria wished, was that their love was to be.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"No! No, no, no! That's all wrong. This place has to be the bright colors of autumn. It's the Sakura Ball people, not Christmas. We need to plant Sakura trees, so that it's a path to the entrance. You're doing it all wrong, hand the streamers on the walls. We can't have anything in the center," yelled Kamatari in frustration. He had been working all day for the perfection of this Ball, and now these idiot crewmembers were ruining it. They weren't doing the decorations right.
Ugh. Can't they do anything? Though Kamatari, as he walked across the marble floor that needed to be polished, to help a girl that was hanging up the streamers, in an ugly design.
"We've barely got a week to do this. Work with me people, work! The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary! This has to be perfect, if we want to have a successful Ball. It can't be like last years, and by god I'm not going to allow it to," yelled Kamatari, as he stormed toward the workers, who quickly got off their break and went on working.
Please let this year's Ball a success. If there really is a god out there, please help me now lord. Begged Kamatari, as he closed his eyes before going back to ordering the workers around. One week wasn't going to be enough, but Kamatari was known as a miracle worker.
~*~*~*~*~
"Are you done yet?" came Sano's voice, as he walked over to Shura's desk with an apple in hand.
Shura's eye twitched as he sat at the corner of her desk eating. I work my ass off, and he's eating! The stupid rooster head.
"I'm not paying you to slack off," said Sano, as he threw the apple in her garbage can.
"You! I'm doing this as fast as I can. I only have to hands, and I need to take your calls too buddy. You try doing all of this at once," yelled Shura.
"Damn girl, calm down. Take your time then. Oh yeah, who're you going to the Sakura Ball with?" asked Sano, as he jumped to his feet.
"I have too much work," said Shura, as she ignored the question and went back to typing.
"I know someone you can go with," said Sano with a grin.
Shura glared at him, the last thing she wanted was for her boss to hook her up with some lame bastard like himself.
"This guy is Shougo Myojin," said Sano, he was about to go on when Shura jumped to her feet.
"You can actually hook me up with Shougo Amakusa Myojin, as his escort to the Sakura Ball?" asked Shura, her eyes twinkling at him.
Sano backed away a bit. She looked scary like that.
"The guy is a genius. How do you know him?" asked Shura.
"We went to the same high school and college," said Sano calmly.
"What!? How did an idiot like you get into that type of university?" asked Shura in shock, she understood Soujiro, Takasugi, and Kenshin going, but not a rooster head like Sano.
"Hey! I'll let you know that I'm quite knowledgeable," defended Sano, as he towered over her.
Shura snorted.
"You sure don't like it," said Shura, as she sat back down.
"Look here you evil pirate woman..." began Sanosuke, as he jabbed a finger at her.
"Don't point at me! Why do people call me a pirate?" asked Shura angrily.
"Because you're just as ugly, mean, disgusting, and smelly like one," answered Sanosuke with a grin.
"You..." began Shura as she stood up as well so that their eyes met, and a loathing connection formed.
"Sano! Do you want to go to the hospital with me? I'm going to go check on Megumi," said Takasugi, as he came out of his office with his keys in hand.
"Sure. I want to see Magdaria," said Sano, as he ignored the twitching Shura.
"Isn't Shougo there?" asked Shura suddenly.
"Yeah, he should be leaving with his sis today though," said Takasugi, as he made his way to the elevator.
"I'm coming too then," said Shura, as she grabbed her jacket.
"What? You have work to do," stated Sano.
"I'll do it later. Weren't you the one that wanted me to go to the Sakura Ball with Shougo in the first place?" asked Shura, as she rushed into the elevator after Takasugi.
Sano froze, and couldn't find the voice to speak.
Suddenly the elevator door began to close, and Shura waved at him with a grin before the doors closed.
Running to catch the door, Sano rushed forward, but then tripped on a briefcase of an employer.
Shura was seen pointing and laughing at the rooster head, as the tall man began to fall. But it would have been better if she was able to really go up to him and laugh.
Sano glared after them both, before going toward the stairs. That Shura girl is going to pay. Thought Sano coldly, as he ran down the flights of stairs to the garage to meet them.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kenshin leaned against a wall, as Soujiro stood and watch the girls try pair after pair of shoes. At this rate, they were never going to leave the shop in time for the Ball. The only good thing about this was, the guys were getting to know their escorts better. Girls sure do talk a lot when shopping; it had to be a known fact.
"We might as well just buy the whole store," said Kenshin as he pushed himself off the wall, and stood by Soujiro.
He was tired of waiting, and they had been watching the two try on every shoe in the store for two hours already.
"Its way passed lunch," said Kenshin, his stomach made a growling noise.
Soujiro only laughed at his old friend.
"Are you done yet?" asked Kenshin annoyed.
Kaoru looked up at him and frowned.
"We'll pay for the shoes. You two boys can go check out the game shop, but in your case, the food court," said Kaoru; the two girls began to giggle.
Blushing, Kenshin dragged Soujiro with him, once they left what they bought earlier with the two girls.
"So where would your stomach like to eat at?" asked Soujiro with a grin.
"Shut up Sou. About what they were talking about, didn't you use to live in Kyoto as well?" asked Kenshin, as he looked at his old friend who had his hands in his pockets.
"I don't know what you mean," said Soujiro, as he looked at his shoes.
"Don't play dumb with me Soujiro Seta. I know that you were listening just like me," accused Kenshin.
Soujiro bowed his head from the fact.
"So did you use to know Misao and Kaoru?" asked Kenshin finally.
"We went to the same elementary school, until I met Master Shishio and the whole issue thing came up," said Soujiro, as he looked forward as if remembering.
"So you've liked her that long eh?" asked Kenshin, eyeing the 28-year-old.
Blushing a slight pink of embarrassment, Soujiro could only nod.
"I knew it. Why else would you have all of a sudden liked her? I'm sure that you had to have met her in high school too," said Kenshin.
"Yes, she was usually with Megumi and Kaoru," said Soujiro remembering.
"They must have stuck to their lower class then, because I really don't remember seeing them," said Kenshin, as he tapped his chin thoughtfully as he tried to remember any of them.
"They were never that rich in status," said Soujiro in a low voice.
"Yeah. Do you think you can help me hook Shougo up with someone for the Ball? He's a new employee," said Kenshin.
Soujiro stopped dead in his tracks.
"What?" asked Kenshin confused, as he looked around for something that might have caught his eye.
"It's nothing," said Soujiro, as he continued to walk on.
"Look Sou. Shougo and Misao broke up, that means they're both single again. Knowing people who have long term relationship and break up, they don't ever want to see the other person again. It's just a known fact. I mean, four years and suddenly you break up. It had to be something major," said Kenshin reassuringly; he didn't want his friend to feel jealous or unsure of his relationship with Misao.
"I know. It's not like we're going out though," said Soujiro, as he looked at the checker patterned tiles on the floor, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
Kenshin rolled his eyes, and had to fight down the urge to hit the kid upside the head.
"If you've liked her this long, more than four years, I say that it has to work. I mean, how long have you liked her. Since you were what? 10? Let's go back up to now, that's 18 years man," said Kenshin, as he stopped and turned to Soujiro.
"19 if you include now, and when we knew each other before she went to school," stated Soujiro.
"That's nearly two decades man! That goes way more than four simple years. You should just tell how you feel and get it over with. The Sakura Ball will be the perfect time," said Kenshin; he really wanted to help his poor pal out.
Soujiro only fell silent.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"So, how's Soujiro?" asked Kaoru once the two left, she wanted to talk to her friend in secret for a while now.
"He's okay," said Misao, as she tried on a glass slipper, but decided better on it.
"Uh huh," said Kaoru knowingly, as she tried on a square type black shoe.
Misao only rolled her eyes.
"Kaoru, do you think that Megumi and I can get ready for the Ball at your place? So we can help each other out?" asked Misao.
"Sure, it'll be great," said Kaoru with a smile.
Smiling, Misao went back to looking at the shelves.
"*Gasp* This is perfect," said Kaoru suddenly.
"What?" asked Misao, as she rushed back over to Kaoru.
In Kaoru's hands were a pair of dark green shoes, that was more traditional. It has a rose shape design on it, and white hot super glue drops made it look like the dew on the morning plants.
Misao fell to her knees and took the shoe into her hands. It was perfect.
"Well now I need to find shoes," said Kaoru pouting.
Misao smiled before putting the box under one hand and helping Kaoru find a pair of black dress shoes.
"Excuse me Miss," said the clerk suddenly.
The two looked at the man.
"You're Kaoru Kamiya of the M.R.S. Magazines right?" asked the man, he suddenly reminded Kaoru of Kamatari as she forced a smile and nodded.
"I knew it. Kamatari always talks about you. I can see why he loves working with you. Now, he had me make a pair of black shoes for you," said the man with a smile. He wore those French designer type clothing, he had the hat, scarf, and everything.
Kaoru's smiled became a real one.
"Wait right here," said the man smiling as he rushed into the back of the store.
"Who's Kamatari?" asked Misao, a she looked at her old friend.
"He's my designer, and the photographer and designer of M.R.S. Magazines," said Kaoru.
Misao mouthed an 'oh' and nodded.
The man quickly came back out with a long black box.
He opened it, and smiled at the two's reaction to his masterpiece.
The shoe was black, and was made of leather strings, that was to be tied all the way to the calves. But that wasn't what caught there eye, small star shaped diamonds were spread apart on the stings. The shoe showed the person's toes, and the heel was luckily only 2 1/2 inches high. It was something that Kaoru could actually walk in.
Kaoru took the box and rolled up her pant legs as she tried it on. It looked stunning, and the diamonds were reflecting the store's light on its smooth hardness.
"It's perfect! How much?" asked Kaoru, as she carefully took them off.
"$5000, but don't worry. Kamatari took care of it," said the man with a smile.
Kaoru and Misao looked at the pair of shoes in awe.
Kaoru safely got the shoes wrapped up, and so did Misao, before they went toward the food court with all of their items in hand. The two girls chatted away, their shoes being the center of their topic.
~*~*~*~*~
A/N: That's it for now!