Leave It To Me
Late Afternoon of April 5th...
The bell over the door to L'Amant chimed as the door opened, hearing this Fumiya looked up and began his normal welcome, "Good afternoon! Welcome – Oh hey Natsuo, wasn't expecting you today."
"Hey Fumiya," Natsuo returned the greeting as he sat at the counter then continued, "And yeah I wasn't originally planning on coming by today."
"Oh? Something come up?" Fumiya asked, his curiosity obvious.
Natsuo sighed before he replied, "You could say that. Is Boss around or is it just you right now?"
"Boss is in the back preparing an order, he should be out in a bit. Can I get you your usual?" Fumiya asked as he motioned towards the glasses.
Natsuo glanced towards the glasses and nodded as he answered, "May as well. Boss would scold me for taking up counter space and not ordering anything."
"That he would," Fumiya agreed with a chuckle as he went about preparing Natsuo's usual drink order.
A few minutes passed while Natsuo enjoyed his drink, chatting with Fumiya while waiting for Kobayashi to exit the kitchen. True to what Fumiya had said it wasn't long before the eccentric man came out holding two plates of food. Upon seeing Natsuo he happily said, "Oh my, back so soon Natsuo-chan? You were just here the other day."
"Yeah well, a lot can happen in two days Boss," Natsuo said in a purposely vague way.
"I see," Kobayashi stated as his eyes narrowed slightly before adding, "I'll be right back." With that said he made his way over to a table closer to the entrance and placed the plates of food on the table.
While Kobayashi was bringing the other customers their food Fumiya muttered, "Okay now I'm really curious."
Before Natsuo could reply to Fumiya, Kobayashi had returned to behind the counter and began speaking, "Alrighty then – Fumiya, you're in charge of any more customers while I hear what Natsuo-chan here has to say."
Fumiya gave a thumbs up as he replied, "You got it Boss."
"Okay, so what's happened – " Kobayashi was cut off by the sound of the bell over the door chiming again as someone entered the cafe. "My we're busy today aren't we..." Kobayashi said as he looked up before trailing off, then smiling and added, "Oh, Miyabi-chan, welcome!"
Natsuo turned around in surprise and sure enough saw Miyabi approaching the counter as she replied, "Good afternoon Mari-san... oh and Natsuo-kun!"
"Miyabi-san... I guess you really did take a liking to this place huh?" Natsuo asked with a smile.
Miyabi giggled slightly at his question as she answered, "You could say that, do you mind if I join you?"
Natsuo hesitated for a moment before saying, "Nah, you're more than welcome."
As Miyabi took a seat on the stool besides Natsuo, Kobayashi asked, "Are you getting your usual today Miyabi-chan, or are you feeling adventurous?"
Miyabi smiled before answering, "Surprise me Mari-san."
Kobayashi's face shifted into a huge grin as he turned to Fumiya and said, "You heard the lady, one House Secret Daily Special."
As Fumiya gave a salute and went about concocting the drink Natsuo turned to Miyabi and teased, "You have a usual? You really are a regular here now aren't you?"
"What can I say? This place is great to unwind at after working with Forester all day, I'm surprised we haven't bumped into each other here yet," Miyabi replied happily, her eyes widening slightly before adding, "Oh right, I've been meaning to ask: are you okay Natsuo-kun? You've been sporadic in stopping by to help out with stuff the last few days."
"Oh that... sorry. The last few days have been a little hectic..." Natsuo replied, trailing off with a sigh.
Seeing Miyabi's curious expression Kobayashi chimed in, "Natsuo-chan has a heart of gold, but that causes him to get himself involved in other people's problems. Why even now he's letting a woman he barely knows stay in his apartment."
"Boss!" Natsuo exclaimed.
"Natsuo-kun is what?!" Miyabi asked in shock before turning to Natsuo and angrily asking, "How could you do that to Rui-san?"
Natsuo groaned and shot Kobayashi a glare as he launched into the explanation of the situation for Miyabi's sake. A few moments later Miyabi had calmed down and summarized, "So she needed a place to stay... you're staying with your father and step-mother while your step-sister stays with this Ogura-san."
"That's right. Boss just likes to get a rise out of people," Natsuo confirmed while trying to ignore Kobayashi's chuckling.
"Forgive me, I just couldn't resist," Kobayashi said, still chuckling as he bowed slightly. Seeing Natsuo's frustration start to subside he asked, "Now Natsuo-chan, there was something you came to discuss right?"
Natsuo glanced hesitantly at Miyabi before shrugging and replying, "Yeah... it's about what we talked about the other day Boss. You remember how you told me to keep my eye out for if anything else weird happened?"
Kobayashi's face took on a more serious expression as he answered, "Of course, what happened?"
Natsuo took a breath before beginning his explanation, "Well this morning I headed to the apartment to swap out with Hina-nee so she could go to work. When I got there some guy I'd never seen before was looking around the outside of the building. He asked if I lived there, and when I said yes he asked if I'd seen a woman matching Misaki's description. He gave me a bad feeling so I lied, asked for the woman's name and his so if I saw her I could tell her. He gave me Misaki's name."
"And what was his?" Kobayashi asked in a calm tone.
"He said his name was 'Hojo'. He refused to give me his last name, saying Misaki would know who he was. After he left I asked her, she said he was a former coworker who had stalked her before. When I suggested going to the police she said she'd only do that if he became a bigger issue... I can't say for sure but it seemed like she was afraid of reporting him. Honestly I think between this and what happened the other day there's something Misaki hasn't told Hina-nee or myself," Natsuo finished his explanation with a concerned tone taking over.
Miyabi spoke up, "That does sound bad... I'd hate for something to happen to her or Rui-san's sister – " Miyabi cut herself off with a gasp as she looked back and forth between Natsuo and the two behind the counter.
"Oh don't worry Miyabi-chan, Fumiya and I already the whole situation," Kobayashi said reassuringly. He then turned to Natsuo and added, "I agree though... it could just be what Misaki-chan has said, but I don't like how this sounds. Natsuo-chan could you describe this 'Hojo'?"
"Yeah: he was a little shorter than me, had spiky hair that was dyed blonde – I could tell because his eyebrows were black, his face was long but other than that pretty ordinary," Natsuo described as best he could from memory.
Kobayashi nodded before asking, "What about how he talked? Any kind of specific dialect come through? And how did he walk?" After Natsuo did his best to answer these questions, even getting up to mimic how Hojo had moved, Kobayashi said, "Got it, thank you Natsuo-chan. I'll ask around and see what I can dig up. I have plans that I need to leave for soon but I can make a few calls before I head out."
Miyabi looked confused at this and asked, "Ask around and see what you can dig up...?"
"Boss is pretty well connected with shop owners and what-not all over the city. If anyone can find out if this guy is bad news it's Boss," Natsuo jumped in with a confident smile. As he watched Miyabi's confusion start to fade he thought to himself, "Close one... Miyabi knowing about all this other stuff is one thing, but I don't think letting her know that Boss is a former Yakuza right now is a great idea."
Kobayashi chimed with a more cheerful tone, "That's right! I have many connections, so we'll get to the bottom of this in no time!"
"I see, that's certainly very handy," Miyabi said after a moment, then proceeding to finish her drink. As she fished out the money to pay she turned to Natsuo and said, "From the sound of it, you seem to have everything under control, but if you need anything don't hesitate to ask okay? That's what friends are for after all."
"Thanks Miyabi-san, I'll make sure to remember that," Natsuo replied with a slight chuckle. After Miyabi had left, and Kobayashi had stepped into the back to start making calls, Natsuo's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Damn it!"
"What is it?" Fumiya asked, jumping slightly at the sudden outburst.
Natsuo hastily got out the money for his drink and replied, "There's actually something I need to ask Miyabi-san about, tell Boss I'll check in after a day or two!" With that he put the money on the counter and chased after Miyabi.
Fortunately Miyabi had not gotten very far, she was just entering the station when Natsuo caught up to her. Hearing the sound of rapid footsteps approaching she turned around, when she saw who it was she asked in surprise, "Natsuo-kun? Is everything okay?"
Natsuo took a moment to catch his breath before he replied, "Yeah, I just remembered there actually is something I could use your help with."
"Oh? It must be important if you chased after me instead of just messaging," Miyabi said with a slight laugh.
"Right, well... you're friends with Kuzuoka-san right?" Natsuo asked, hiding the fact he'd blanked on being able to message Miyabi.
"Nene-san? I guess you could call us friends...ish? We've not really hung out much outside of Forester... but she did help with something else from time to time," Miyabi answered, surprised that whatever Natsuo had to ask her was about Nene.
"Well, the thing is... a long while back she tried to... convince me to engage in activities that would have been cheating on Rui. I made it very clear to her then that it wasn't going to happen," Natsuo explained the backstory, being vague since they were in public.
Miyabi's eyes widened at this, she hadn't known that Nene had flirted with Natsuo before. She then asked, "I see, but what can I help with?"
"Well a few days ago she suddenly started doing it again, right in the workshop. I made it clear to her again that I have no interest in betraying Rui for her or anyone. I was hoping as her friend maybe you could help talk some sense into her?" Natsuo asked with a slight bow.
"Please Natsuo-kun, there's no need to bow. I'll see what I can do about Nene-san; you focus on this situation with Ogura-san," Miyabi replied reassuringly.
Natsuo straightened up with a smile and said, "Thank you Miyabi-san, I owe you if you can take care of that. I should get going, Hina-nee said she needs to head out for a bit this evening so I'm swapping in again."
"Then you better get going. I'll talk to you later Natsuo-kun," Miyabi said with a laugh before Natsuo headed off. Once he was gone Miyabi became absorbed by her thoughts as she made her way to her train, "A few days ago she started flirting with him again? That would have been... right after I told her I wasn't going to pursue Natsuo-kun anymore... what is she doing?"
A little later...
Natsuo entered the apartment while calling out, "Hina-nee, Misaki-san, I'm here!"
The sound of someone fumbling echoed from the bathroom sounded a moment before Hina emerged, looking slightly embarrassed as she returned the greeting, "Ah Natsuo-kun, thanks again for covering for me this evening."
"It's okay Hina-nee, you're doing me a huge a favor by staying here with Misaki-san; hanging out here for a few hours so you can go out for the evening is no issue," Natsuo replied as he waved his hand dismissively.
"I asked Misaki if she wanted to come with me, but she said she was going to be busy checking in at places she put applications in at," Hina explained as she started getting her things together.
Natsuo looked around for a brief moment before asking, "So is she out doing that right now?" When he saw Hina give an affirmative nod he added, "Is she sure that's a good idea? That Hojo guy was just asking around for her this morning."
"I said as much to her too, but she insisted. She said she intends to keep her word to you about finding work and another place to stay," Hina responded in a proud tone as she finished packing her gym bag.
Natsuo sighed as he sat down at his computer desk and said, "Honestly if there's something like a stalker she needs to lay low from for a bit I don't mind if the job hunt takes a bit longer..."
"See, even though you act all frustrated about the situation you're a big softy Natsuo-kun!" Hina teased with a boisterous laugh as Natsuo forced his face into a grimace in response.
Natsuo let Hina get her laughs out before he spoke up, "Seriously though Hina-nee... that Hojo guy gave me a bad feeling. There was just something... off. Call it a gut feeling."
"Now that you mention it... when I went with Misaki to get her things, when we were in that neighborhood she kept looking around nervously. It was probably because she was keeping an eye out for him," Hina said as she thought back on how Misaki had been acting.
"I'm hoping it's not anything worse than what she told me this morning – not that a stalker isn't bad of course. Just to be careful though I went to L'Amant and talked to Boss about all of this; he's going to see if he can dig up anything on this guy," Natsuo explained calmly as he got his laptop out of his bag and set it up on the desk.
Hina finished getting her shoes and jacket on before she replied, "Honestly that's probably a good idea, better safe than sorry. I'll tell Mari-san what I told you when I see him at the gym." As she went to leave Hina paused and turned back as she said, "Natsuo-kun..."
Natsuo turned towards her with a curious tone as she trailed off and asked, "Yeah Hina-nee?"
"I..." Hina trailed off again before taking a breath and saying, "Thanks for letting me know about your concerns, and that you have Mari-san looking into it in order to look out for all of us. You've come a long way from trying to shoulder everything by yourself. I'm proud of you."
Natsuo stared for a moment in surprise, not having expected her to say something like that so suddenly. When he recovered and was able collect his thoughts he replied, "Thanks Hina-nee... that means a lot. And yeah... I think Rui might actually explode if I keep trying to handle everything by myself, I have to remember I have all of you for support."
Hearing Natsuo's reply, Hina's eyes widened by an almost imperceptible amount as she said, "Exactly. No need to take on a huge burden when you have us to help lighten the load. Well I've got to get going, I should only be a few hours!" With that she hastily left the apartment, shutting the door behind her before Natsuo could reply.
Natsuo was left looking at the closed door, blinking a few times before he turned back to his laptop and muttered to himself, "Well that was weird, even for Hina-nee. Maybe she realized she's running late?"
Outside, Hina had already made her way down the stairs and was headed towards the station, mentally berating herself, "What the hell was that?! If I hadn't caught myself I would've said something stupid! I can't think about Natsuo-kun like that, I promised Rui that I would support them, that I would be there for them as a big sister... not as a... rival? No, not a rival... Natsuo-kun loves Rui and Rui loves him. That's all there is to it. I have to find a way to put these feelings behind me, for everyone's sake. Maybe I can talk to Mari-san about this too...?"
Hina remained lost in thought for the duration of her commute, being snapped out of her thoughts when Kobayashi greeted her outside the gym, "Good evening Hina-chan, I was starting to think you weren't going to make it."
As Hina's eyes snapped to him she asked, "What do you mean Mari-san?"
"Well I messaged you a few times but you didn't respond," Kobayashi said as he pointed his phone showing the messages he had sent.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I was kind of lost in thought on the way here and didn't notice my phone alerts!" Hina cried in apology as she fished her phone from her purse to confirm the messages had been received.
"Hmm... lost in thought huh?" Kobayashi asked before adding, "Well you'll have to tell me what's on your mind, but we better get going, don't want to walk in after the class has already started after all."
Hina nodded in agreement as they entered the facility and made their way to the locker rooms to change before heading to their yoga class that they had started attending every week. Once they got to the proper room they grabbed spots in the back so that any talk they had between each other wouldn't disturb anyone else. "These spots should do just fine," Kobayashi said as he placed his mat down.
Again, Hina nodded in agreement, distracted by her thoughts as she followed suit and placed her mat besides Kobayashi's. A few moment's later the instructor entered and started the class with some warm ups before getting into the more involved positions. During this Hina shifted to being laser focused on following the instructor's demonstrations to the letter.
As they continued Kobayashi spoke in a low enough volume that only Hina would hear him, "Alright Hina-chan, what's on your mind?"
Hina sighed slightly before she responded, "It's Misaki... Natsuo-kun told me that he talked to you earlier about running into that man who was looking for her... thank for you agreeing to look into things."
"No need to thank me, I don't want you and Natsuo-chan to get mixed up in anything bad after all," Kobayashi replied with a smile.
"When I went with Misaki to get some of her things from her previous residence she looked nervous. She was constantly looking around like she was keeping an eye out for someone, and now I'm pretty sure it was the man Natsuo-kun saw this morning," Hina continued, making sure to keep her voice down to not draw attention.
"I see... that would line up with her story about him that Natsuo-chan relayed to me. Be that as it may, if some shady looking guy is looking for her then she's in trouble, there's no way around that. I'm supposed to meet up with an old friend of mine later tonight, I'll see if he can find any info on this Hojo guy," Kobayashi said reassuringly as he continued to follow the instructor's moves.
Hina nodded as she replied, "That's good, it'll be a relief to know one way or the other. Then we can act accordingly based on what he finds."
The two silently continued to follow along with the instructor for a few more moments before Kobayashi spoke again, "Misaki-chan isn't the only thing on your mind though, so out with it."
"Huh? W-what do you mean?" Hina asked in surprise, stuttering slightly as she tried to keep her face calm.
"With how long I've known you now, you can't fool me Hina-chan," Kobayashi pressed in a teasing tone. When Hina still did not answer he added, "Well... if I have to take a guess I'd have to say Natsuo-chan is on your mind."
Hina let out a defeated sigh before responding, "I guess you really can read me like a book huh..."
"Please, I can't think of anything else that could affect you like this. So what exactly is on your mind?" Kobayashi asked calmly, but sternly.
"The last few days... the feelings that I've been pushing down have been bubbling back up. I thought I'd managed to put them behind me, but now I'm starting to think I never actually managed to move forward..." Hina responded, trailing off as she pushed a wave of sadness back down.
"I thought it might be something like that; pushing your feelings down and pretending they aren't there won't help you move forward Hina-chan. In order to to resolve a problem you have to acknowledge it and actively work towards a solution. If you want to start moving forward then you have to be honest about how you feel," Kobayashi explained calmly.
Hina gasped slightly at the thought and started, "But Natsuo-kun and Rui –"
"I'm not telling you to go and confess your feelings to Natsuo-chan," Kobayashi interjected, "I'm telling you that you need to take a long look at yourself, figure out what your true feelings are and to be honest with yourself. For the last few months you've thrown yourself into the 'supportive big sister' role because of the promise you made to Rui-Rui, and I think that's great of you, but if that's just how you're trying to distract yourself from how you feel... then eventually everything you're suppressing will burst out and cause damage you may not be able to fix."
Hina was silent for a moment before she managed to reply, "You're right... as usual Mari-san. Once the situation with Misaki is resolved I think I'll take some time away to figure everything out. Like you said: I can't move forward if I can't be honest with myself."
Kobayashi gave a heartfelt smile as he said, "Good. I want all of you to be happy, Natsuo-chan and Rui-Rui have found their happiness; I know you can too, you just have to start healing and actually moving forward."
Hina brushed a tear from her eye as she quietly responded, "Thank you so much Mari-san..."
"I thought I told you already: there's no need to thank me," Kobayashi said with a smile and small chuckle.
A few hours later...
Natsuo let out a tired sigh as he looked from the laptop clock to his watch and mumbled, "Still too early to message Rui... I don't want to wake her up before she needs to." He had been passing the time since Hina left by catching up on a few online series he'd fallen behind on, only stopping when getting a call from Tougen-sensei asking for assistance in a few days to get situated back at home.
Looking again at the time Natsuo thought to himself, "It is starting to get late though... I hope Misaki-san is okay..."
Just as Natsuo finished that thought, almost as if by design, the apartment door opened and Misaki called out in a slightly slurred tone, "I'm baaaack!"
Natsuo turned towards her and watched as she closed the door and made her way further in to the apartment, her face flushed slightly and staggering slightly. With a worried expression he stood and asked, "Misaki-san... are you okay?"
Misaki laughed giddily be she stumbled into Natsuo, who caught her reflexively. Misaki in turn wrapped her arms around him and whispered into his ear, "You're such a sweetheart Natsuo-kun... letting me stay here... making sure I'm okay... I should repay you somehow..."
"You don't need to repay Misaki-san, you just focus on getting back on your feet," Natsuo replied calmly, trying to figure out the best way to get out the death grip she had him in.
"No... I need to thank you. I insist," Misaki pressed, her voice taking on a hungry tone before she started to kiss and nibble at the side of Natsuo's neck.
Natsuo immediately pushed her away, keeping his grip on her shoulders when he saw her wobble, but held her at arm's length as he asked incredulously, "What the hell are you doing?!"
"What kind of question is that? I'm thanking you of course," Misaki answered with a giggle and half-lidded eyes.
As Natsuo examined her expression, still keeping her from closing the distance again, he asked, "Misaki-san... are you drunk?"
"So what if I am?" Misaki asked in returned before she lunged forward, knocking Natsuo off balance and onto the ground. As she landed atop him she pressed herself against him and peppered his neck with more kisses as she said, "We're alone right now, so let me show you my gratitude."
Natsuo tried to buck her off, but she latched her hands onto his wrists to pin his arms as she pushed back down. After this failed attempt Natsuo all but shouted, "Misaki-san you need to stop this, you're obviously not in your right mind!"
"For someone saying he doesn't want this... you're not resisting all that much Natsuo-kun," Misaki replied, whispering in that hungry tone again.
"That's because I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't stop –" Natsuo began but was cut off when Misaki was suddenly dragged off of him and back towards the kitchen. It took him a second to process what was happening, once he did he called out out, "Hina-nee?" In the commotion and confusion he had not heard Hina enter the apartment.
"Natsuo-kun! What's going on?! What's wrong with Misaki?!" Hina called back, managing to drag Misaki away despite her resistance.
Before Natsuo could reply Misaki wiggled free and turned to face Hina as she said, "Aw Hinaaaa... why'd you stop me. I just want –" Misaki cut herself off as she suddenly ran to sink and vomited into it for several seconds. Once she had finished vomiting Misaki slowly slumped to the ground in front of the sink and lost consciousness.
Both Natsuo and Hina stared at the unconscious girl for a moment before Hina spoke up, "What was that all about?"
"I'm not really sure to be honest. She got back right before you did and was acting strange... I think she may be drunk," Natsuo replied, just as confused as Hina was.
"Drunk... I guess that could explain it," Hina paused to sniff the air, frowning as she smelled the vomit before continuing, "But I don't smell alcohol at all... that's weird."
"Regardless, we can't leave her there. Help me move her Hina-nee," Natsuo said as he moved into the kitchen. Between the two of them they were easily able to move Misaki to the bed, as they finished and Hina covered her with the blanket Natsuo added, "There, at least now she can sleep off whatever is in her system."
Both were silent for a moment before Hina took a seat on the chair asked hesitantly, "So... what do we do now?"
With a sigh Natsuo made his way towards the door and began putting his shoes and coat on as he said, "You stay here, I'll go get some medicine for nausea in case she's still feeling sick when she wakes up. I hate to leave you with her like this, but after that I need to head back, I'll be back first thing in the morning though as usual."
Hina nodded before replying, "That's okay, after what just happened it's probably for the best that you need to go. You can leave her to me."
"Thanks Hina-nee," Natsuo said simply as he left the apartment.
Turning back to watch Misaki, Hina groaned and asked, "Just what were you thinking Misaki...?"
Meanwhile – at L'Amant
"So this is your cafe huh?" a well dressed man with slicked back hair and tinted glasses asked as he took a seat at the counter. He looked around briefly before adding, "It's nice."
"Why thank you! Anything I can get for you while you're here Ichiban? It's on the house," Kobayashi offered with a smile as he presented a menu to the man.
Ichiban shook his head before replying, "Just water is okay, thank you."
"Are you sure? It's the least I can do, I feel bad for calling you out here so late," Kobayashi stated in a serious tone as he filled a glass with water and handed it over.
Ichiban took a long sip of the water before he replied, "I'm sure, and it's no bother; you may not be in the family anymore but you're still a brother to me and many of the others."
"I see," Kobayashi said with a smile before asking, "So how has everyone been?"
"We're all getting by one way or the other, you know how it is," Ichiban answered with a chuckle. He paused to take another drink before continuing, "Now I know you didn't call me out here just catch up, something must be up."
Kobayashi's face shifted into a frown as he spoke, "There is something that's been bothering me the last few days, and I was hoping you could provide information or dig some up for me."
Ichiban leaned forward, his interest piqued as he said, "I'll see what I can do, shoot."
"The Medai neighborhood around Shibuya, is anything going on around there that would be dangerous?" Kobayashi asked calmly.
"Medai? You having some trouble with anyone around there?" Ichiban asked in turn, eyebrows raising slightly in surprise.
Kobayashi shook his head as he explained, "Not directly no. Some long time customers of mine, who I've grown quite fond of, have told me about some strange things they've noticed lately. I want to make sure they're not in danger."
Ichiban nodded his head as he answered, "I gotcha. Lately I've been hearing that some young gangsters have managed to take over that area – they aren't Yakuza though. That area was previously under the Kodan family's territory but apparently even they have had trouble pinning these gangsters down."
"The Kodan family huh..." Kobayashi thought out loud, barely more than a whisper.
"Yeah, apparently their new boss had some issues consolidating his authority when he first took over and these wannabes took advantage of that to swoop in. Since it's not our territory I don't know much else though, if you'd like I can have some of my guys sniff around and see what we can find," Ichiban offered before finishing his drink.
Kobayashi nodded as he replied, "That would be appreciated. I also have the name and description of someone who might be involved, but I don't know for sure. Figured it's a good starting point if anything."
"Let's hear it. Worst case is that they're not involved and we can dismiss them, but if they are involved with the gang then it's something to work with," Ichiban stated as he took out a pen and paper from his pocket to note down the information. A few minutes later he had the description and Hojo's name as Natsuo had given them to Kobayashi. Going over his notes one last time Ichiban said, "Got it. I'll get my guys looking into it first thing tomorrow, I'll contact you as soon as I know anything useful."
"It's appreciated, and in the future if you decide to stop by for a social visit anything you want is on the house, I insist," Kobayashi replied, his face returning to his usual smile.
Ichiban let out a genuine laugh at this before replying, "I may just take you up on that when it's not business we're discussing. These customers of yours... they must be important to you brother."
"They are, I guess you could say I feel like the eccentric uncle. I know that sounds odd, but they've been coming here for years, and I've helped them through a lot of rough patches. I don't want anything to happen to them," Kobayashi said with a reflective look on his face.
Ichiban smiled before saying, "I get that, and I'm glad to see you're doing well. You can leave this to me, we'll get to the bottom of whatever is going on."
Late that night...
"My head... my stomach... everything hurts..." Misaki thought to herself as she slowly regained consciousness with an audible groan. She slowly became aware that she was laying down on something comfortable, more so than the futon she had been using the last few nights. As she forced her eyes open she realized she was in Natsuo's apartment, the dim lighting was enough to tell that much.
"Finally awake?" a female voice asked from the side.
Misaki groggily turned her head and found Hina sitting at the desk chair, facing her. After a moment Misaki started to ask, "Hina... what am –" she cut herself off as memories came rushing back of what she had done to Natsuo. She quickly sat up but gripped her head as a wave of vertigo washed over her and she mumbled, "Oh... I really fucked up huh Hina...?"
Hina chuckled slightly before given a simply response of, "Well... yeah." Before Misaki could say anything else Hina grabbed a bottle of water and some pills off the desk and held them out while saying, "Here, these should help."
Misaki took the pills and washed them down with a large gulp of water before she muttered, "Thank you Hina... I guess Natsuo-kun will want me out of here right away after what I did."
"He didn't say anything like that before he went back, he actually seemed more worried about you than anything. I think he understands that you weren't in your right mind," Hina explained reassuringly.
Misaki turned and stared in shock, tears forming in her eyes as she asked, "How? How can he not be furious with me after I did that?"
Hina smiled as she reached out and put her hand on Misaki's shoulder and replied, "That's just the kind of person he is. He's certainly not happy about what happened, but he's not the kind of person to ignore context." When Misaki didn't say anything right away Hina continued, "Now... it seemed like you were drunk, and if you drank enough to get sick like you did and are still feeling ill it might be a good idea to go get checked out by a doctor... if you want to that is."
Misaki shook her head slowly in response before explaining, "No, I'd rather not go see a doctor. Ever since the time I spent in the hospital after my face was burned I'm really not a fan of them... I think I'll be okay after sleeping some more, and I'll have to take it easy tomorrow."
"Okay, no doctor then. I have to ask though, how did you get that drunk Misaki?" Hina asked, concern evident in her tone.
"After I finished checking the last place, I bumped into a friend of mine. When I told her about what was going on she invited me for drinks... everything hit me at once and I guess I got carried away. I don't even remember walking back here from the bar we were at," Misaki replied sorrowfully as she she held her head in her hands, wishing the medicine would kick in soon.
Hina nodded her head sadly as she said, "I understand that Misaki, and I'm sure Natsuo-kun will too. He'll be here in the morning, I have some errands I need to run so he'll probably be here when you wake up. Do you want me to explain what happened for you?"
"If you could... I think that would help. I don't know how I'm going to look him in the eye otherwise," Misaki mumbled as she laid back down, still keep her face turned to Hina.
"I'll do that, you can leave it to me Misaki!" Hina replied with her usual cheer returning to her tone before adding, "You just focus on resting up, don't worry about Natsuo-kun."
Misaki felt her self tearing up as she said, "Thank you Hina... seriously, thank you. You're... a good friend, you and Natsuo-kun both."
"You don't need to thank me, that's what friends are for!" Hina responded with a wide smile as she got up to set up the futon for the night.
As Misaki watched her, feeling herself starting to slip into sleep again she thought to herself, "These two... I don't deserve their kindness, especially after tonight. If Kai has people looking for me, and Hojo somehow tracked me to this neighborhood... I need to figure something out quickly..."
