Chapter 6

"Coffee. Black. Hurry and I might yet live."

Motoki chuckled and poured a cup for the American. "Haven't seen you around here before, stranger."

Kevin smiled. "It's my first time here." He yawned and shook his head. "I needed to find a place which served coffee as strong as I am used to it. This place came highly recommended."

"Why not Starbucks? They just opened up down the street."

The American scoffed. "I said strong coffee. Starbucks sells brown water."

Motoki smirked. "Not that I'm complaining. Jet lag?"

Kevin nodded. "How did you guess?"

"Well, first you're obviously American. Second, it isn't that early."

He nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Jet lag is killing me, my friend."

"I can tell. But I hope it isn't too early for introductions. I'm Motoki."

"Kevin."

"Keibin?"

"Something like that." A smile crossed Kevin's face.

The blond gazed at him carefully. "If you'd like, I could call you Bin-kun instead."

Kevin burst out laughing. "A nickname already? I am honored."

"You should be, Bin-kun."

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Minako skipped along the promenade, a winning smile on her face. She had been given a bunch of chores to do by her ever over-bearing mother and had decided, quite responsibly, to finish them early in the day. According to her watch, it was only nine in the morning and with a little luck she would be back before noon.

But before she did that, she wanted to stop at the Crown Arcade for a quick breakfast. She had retreated from the house to escape her mother and had not had time to grab something to eat. As an athlete, she knew the importance of three square meals a day.

She pushed open the door to Motoki's restaurant and hailed him with a big wave and what she imagined to be a sexy smile. True, he did have a girlfriend, and there was every indication that they would marry some day, but flirting was a harmless pastime and fun all the same.

Motoki had begun medical school along with Mamoru, cutting back severely on the time he spent in the arcade. Already, he was talking of quitting it all together. It took up a lot of his time, time which might be better spent on studying or keeping his spouse-to-be happy.

That meant that she would see him a lot less than she normally would, a thought that made her a little sad. 'Such things cannot be helped. It's our fate in this life.'

The morning crowd had already dispersed and there were only a few patrons left in the parlor. Motoki spotted her and waved back easily before disappearing into the back. A single person at the counter turned slightly to see her approach and then turned back to the mug he nursed in his palm. It was just enough for her to recognize him, and she cheerfully moved to take the seat next to him.

In English, "Good morning, Kevin-san! How are you doing today?"

The black hair was tousled, unruly, as if he had not slept well the night before. The black coffee he drank merely confirmed that. Kevin laughed tiredly. "Still working over a little bit of jet lag. My body is demanding sleep now, but I needed to get back to a reasonable schedule at some point."

"Poor baby." Minako's grin betrayed anything but pity.

Kevin rolled his eyes and lifted the coffee mug to his lips. The black liquid burned on its way down, but he ignored it. Many nights spent cramming for exams had made his esophagus quite resilient to the deleterious effects of boiling coffee. He imagined that the inside of his throat was leathery and scarred, but then why would he feel pain from hot coffee? The absurdity of the thought brought a smile to his face.

Minako winced for him. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Terribly. But I've found it's a rather effective way of waking up. Assuming you don't pass out from the pain first."

"And you willingly do such things to your body?"

He smirked. "College is not conducive to good health, physical, mental, or otherwise. This is a habit acquired from too many late nights."

The girl grinned. "So you're in college. I thought you might be older than me."

Kevin gazed at her steadily. "How old are you? I imagine high school aged."

Minako giggled. "Seventeen. Sixteen if you count by Western years."

"Right, because Japanese ages count from the moment of conception rather than birth."

"I'm impressed. Most Americans don't know much about Japan beyond anime, school girl uniforms, and Pocky."

"I am focusing my studies towards Asian Studies, particularly Japanese language and culture. I just tend to read slightly more than those legions of fanboys out there."

"That's really interesting." Minako propped her head on her hands. "Which university?"

"College," he corrected gently, "I go to a place called Amherst College."

She waved her hand dismissively. "College, university, what's the difference?"

"A rather large difference actually." Kevin sipped at his coffee again. "One, the liberal arts college I attend has fewer than two thousand people attending. It doesn't have any professional schools or graduate programs at all."

Minako cocked her head questioningly. "An art school? Funny, I didn't peg you as the sort."

Kevin coughed out a laugh and spoke a little defensively. "Well, I'm not. It's a liberal arts school, slightly different from an arts school. My school produces everything from industrialists to medical doctors to professors. The only difference from here is that it does not force you to concentrate on a profession while in undergraduate studies. It just allows you to actually learn stuff for the sake of learning it, letting you make the more important decisions when you are ready to. "

She looked impressed. "Wow. That does sound really cool, not having to choose your path so early. I've always wondered why schools made you do that so quickly. I figure that you should have time to be young, rather than always striving for something. Get good grades in order to get into a good university. Get into a good college in order to get a good, stable job. Get a good stable job in order to retire and go play on golf. It's just so boring!"

"Well, there you go."

Minako smiled sheepishly. "But my parents would never let me go to a place like that, my mother especially. She'd probably say something about me needing to have direction and purpose in life."

Kevin smiled enigmatically. "Boy do I know about that. But I don't think that making decisions so early on is responsible. Besides, we humans are a rather fickle bunch. I think we're entitled to change our minds once or twice before we leave college."

"Is that why you went there?"

He looked surprised. "I suppose so. It just never occurred to me like that. I guess I like having as many paths open as possible. But when I visited, it just felt right for some reason. Like everything I'd ever wanted in the world was waiting for me there. A bit idealistic, but a feeling is a feeling right?"

Minako nodded. "Don't underestimate feelings. They're very powerful things."

Kevin shrugged. "I try not to, although they tend to lead me astray quite a bit. Like telling me that I ought to drop everything and go to Japan, instead of staying home to study."

She smiled. "There's always room for spontaneity as well. You are a most interesting person. I think I'm going to like you, Kevin."

He nodded his head graciously. "Well that's always very encouraging."

She grinned at him and then her features turned to dismay before she began jabbering away in Japanese. "Where is Motoki? He should be serving me breakfast by now!"

As if on cue, Motoki arrived, a characteristically sloppy grin on his face. "Sorry, Minako-chan. Had something to take care of. I see you've introduced yourself to the newcomer."

"We met yesterday at the Hikawa Jinja."

Wryly, Kevin interjected, "Or if you want to be technical about it, when she nearly killed me in the mall a couple of days ago."

"Well that too. So are you going to take my order or what? I'm a very busy girl, Motoki!"

The blond man laughed slowly and planted his hands on the counter and stared at her. "Fine, fine. Make me actually earn my wages. What can I get for you?"

"Something American...grapefruit, toast, and orange juice."

"Coming right up." Motoki disappeared into the back for less than five minutes, before he reemerged, bearing a tray filled with various American foodstuffs.

Or to be more precise, what the Japanese imagined an American breakfast looked like. The bread was sliced an inch too thick and its topping resembled Vegemite more than peanut butter. The orange juice looked a little too much like orange Powerade, although the grapefruit looked quite normal.

Of course, there was one thing consummately American about Minako's breakfast, the copious amounts of sugar she doused her grapefruit with. Kevin motioned for Motoki to refill his cup. "Save some for the rest of us."

"Hey, don't get in the way of me and my grapefruit. This is the only way to make it even remotely edible. Besides, I need the energy for my daily chores. I have to go food shopping and finish many other very important tasks today."

"Sounds absolutely fascinating." Kevin dropped a couple of coins onto the counter and stood up to stretch. "And as much attraction as chores hold for me, I think that I will spend my day touring the city instead. There's got to be something to do."

Minako jumped up from her unfinished grapefruit. "You're playing tourist right now! Let me come, I could show you so many cool things around here!"

He grinned. "I would love company while I explore the city, but don't you have errands to run? And a breakfast to finish?"

Minako scowled. "Quiet you. I was trying to forget. Besides, they'll keep while I show you around."

Kevin raised his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, far be it for me to keep you from delinquency."

"I like showing people around Minato-ku! We can tour the city together, hit all the cool places to go."

Motoki, who had thus far watched the proceedings with an amused expression, laughed and spoke jokingly. "Can't really refuse an invitation like that."

"Indeed." Kevin nodded his thanks to the blond man for the coffee and shoved his hands in his pocket. "So where to?"

Minako grabbed her purse and thrust her arm through Kevin's. "Great! One whirlwind tour through Tokyo. We'll be through all the good parts and back in time for lunch. Your treat of course."

He was dragged a couple of steps towards the door. An almost dismayed expression crossed his face. "Why, all of a sudden, do I feel like I made a huge mistake?"