Chapter 2
When she woke, the first thing she noticed was that she was no longer laying on her couch, but was instead buried in her blankets. Smacking her lips and grimacing at the odd sensation that accompanied her dried mouth, Mei reached out from under her comforter and fumbled around for the bottled water she kept on her nightstand. When she felt it, she pulled it beneath the blanket and removed the cap and took a swig, coughed, and spilling the water down her chest, but feeling relieved at the cooling sensation in her throat.
After capping the bottle, Mei lifted the blanket slightly, glad to see that the lights were off and that it was dark outside. Pulling the blanket off, Mei climbed out of bed and stumbled blindingly into the bathroom, intending to go back to bed when she was finished but was blinded by the glaring light of her phone when she returned to her bedroom.
Rubbing her eyes, Mei instinctively lowered the brightness on her phone's screen, but was too late to answer the call and after checking the history saw that it was Harumi who called.
Pulling the call history up, Mei dialed Harumi back and when she heard the sound of the call connecting croaked out an annoyed, "What?"
"So you are alive," laughed Harumi over the sounds of blaring music and screaming people. "Are you okay? I've been trying to call you for the past couple of days, and you didn't pick up."
"Yeah," coughed Mei as she sat up and took a swig of an opened bottle of water she had next to her bed. "I'm fine I just ended up getting caught up in some work and was up for two days straight then crashed.
"That certainly sounds like you," grunted Harumi knowing full well how obsessed Mei could get engrossed with her work. "Are you sure you're okay? You seemed kinda pissed when the cops said you couldn't take that painting with you; I was worried you'd do something stupid."
"I'm fine." Mei took another sip of water and sat down on her bed, running her hand through her hair and trying to work a knot that had formed in her neck. "Just a little stiff after sleeping for so long. Where are you?"
"I'm at a bar." Harumi broke the conversation for a moment and shouted for the bartender to get her another round of shots before returning to Mei. "Mitsuko and Matty are with me right now and wanted to know if you wanted to come and join us. They said they finished the final draft of that tattoo you wanted done. I think you're gonna like it, I mean it looks awesome, but are you sure you're gonna be okay? You do remember what happened when you got the ones that went along your spine?"
"That's why I'm doing it over multiple sessions." Mei yawned and rubbed her eyes as she stared at what looked like a blob of gold on canvas. "I already talked it over with your sister so don't worry about it. Did you hear anything from the cops yet?
"Not a thing," sighed Harumi, sounding as disappointed as Mei felt. "They said it could be awhile before they find the guys who sold it and it's gotta remain in evidence until then. Sorry."
"It's not your fault." Mei stood up and stretched, groaning loudly as her back popped in several places. "Which bar did you go to?"
"We're at the Gold Star. Hey, screw you!" There was the sound of a woman shouting back at Harumi and then a few other patrons before the brunette finally calmed down enough to talk to Mei. "Damn, this was a new shirt too."
"What happened?" Mei was in the middle of pulling on her jeans and tightening her belt when the commotion happened.
"Just some jerk and his girlfriend running into me and not apologizing. Made me spill my whiskey all over the new tee-shirt I got at that concert I went to last week. Ah well, I'm not driving so I think I should be okay. So you coming or just asking for the hell of it?"
"Yeah, I'll stop by for a bit. I need to get out of the house anyway." Mei slipped a shirt on and began fastening her tennis shoes. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes. Is there anyone else with you outside your sister and Matty?"
"Uhhh, outside of Kayo and Yuzucchi, no one comes to mind."
"Yuzucchi?"
It'd been a long time since Mei had heard someone use a name like that and the only thing that came to mind was the memory of the cantankerous blonde she'd met in Udagawa's office.
"Yeah, well, you know her as Yuzu. She was the lady who brought in your grandpa's painting remember?" Mei heard the sound of ice jingling followed by a loud coughing fit from Harumi. "Oh jeez. Hey, Tommy? Are you trying to kill me? I asked for whiskey, not moonshine!"
"Don't tell me you invited that blonde?" Mei pulled her jacket on and grabbed her keys, a bunch of pencils, and her sketchbook before heading toward the front door.
"Of course I invited her. She's my friend," sighed Harumi, "and she did you a solid by bringing us that painting and calling the cops so I told her to stop by if she wanted. It's not like I planned this since I just now invited you because your dumbass decided to go on a work bender. If you don't wanna come, that's fine; there's a chance she might not come either, she's pretty busy most days so it'd be a miracle if she does show up."
"Fine," snorted Mei as she locked the door and made her way to the street "Just don't make me talk to her if she shows up."
"Whatever," chuckled Harumi deviously. "I'll see you in a bit."
Despite her trepidation overseeing the blonde again, Mei had to admit Harumi had a point about Yuzu doing her a big favor by calling the police and bringing the painting to Udagawa's when she could have easily stolen the canvas for her gain. Even if the blonde's attitude had annoyed her, Mei knew there wasn't any reason for her to hold a grudge.
She indeed was grateful, and after arriving at the bar, she'd decided to at least attempt an apology, even if the blonde didn't accept it.
When she entered, Mei was met with the sound smell of booze, bar food, and loud rock music. Her stomach grumbled much to Mei's annoyance, and she wasn't surprised to find Harumi and Mitsuko standing at the pool table chatting with a couple of guys while a pink-haired girl sat at the bar looking bored and swirling a giant glass of soda.
Approaching the bar, Mei ordered Tom Collins, and as she waited, she felt a hand on the back of her shoulder and heard a voice slur, "Look who decided to show up!"
Sighing, Mei shrugged the hand from her shoulder and faced the inebriated woman.
"Hello, Matty."
Matsuri Mizusawa, or more commonly known as Matty, was dressed in her usual outfit of a worn out hoodie, ripped jeans, while her bubblegum pink hair peeked out from beneath a cat ear beanie. She smelt vaguely of smoke and liquor, something that wasn't uncommon for her and Mei knew that unless she indulged her, the younger woman would refuse to leave her alone.
"Finally crawled out of your hole, eh," chuckled Matty before sipping deeply from her rum and coke.
"I have." Mei accepted her drink and asked for some water to go with it. "It's been a decent couple of days, and Harumi told me you were here, so I decided to come and have some fun."
"Yeah, I can see that." Matsuri reached out for Mei's sketchbook only to have Mei slap her hand away. "Seriously you gotta relax and hang out with us. It's the weekend so why don't you put your book down and enjoy yourself."
"That's why I'm here," snorted Mei as she took a sip of her drink. "To enjoy myself."
"With a sketchbook?" Matsuri leaned back in her chair and took a giant gulp of her rum and coke? "Honestly you gotta learn how to cut loose. I mean yeah you got some booze, but why don't you play some pool, talk to some people, maybe hit on someone?"
"That's the last thing I want to do right now." Mei took another drink and stared down at her friend, rolling her eyes at how stupidly the younger woman was grinning.
"How come?" Matsuri began poking her ice cubes with her straw and tried to suck up what little of her soda remained. "I mean it's not like it's a big deal, ya gotta do more than work your ass off. Hell when was the last time you got laid?"
"That is none of your business," growled Mei angrily at Matsuri.
"That answers that question," snickered Matsuri as she held up her glass and signaled for a refill.
Mei bent down and finally noticed the flushness in Matsuri's cheeks and rolled her eyes when she smelt the lingering scent of rum on her friend's breath. Even though she was only a couple of years younger, Matsuri was a talented artist in her own right and worked with Harumi's sister, Mitsuko, in her tattoo parlor where Mei was a somewhat regular customer. Though her respect for the younger girl's abilities was great, Mei avoided hiring her, instead preferring to use Mitsuko as her primary given Matsuri's penchant of adding in quirky little additions that her customers never asked for.
Most of them seemed to enjoy it however since Matsuri did find a way to incorporate it into the design rather seamlessly. If anything Mei had to chalk it up to being similar to the way she or her grandfather would find ways to leave their mark in their works, though Mei preferred doing it to an actual canvas instead of human skin.
"Dude what are you staring at?"
Matsuri blinked and shifted back from Mei a little and would have fallen out of her seat if it wasn't for Mei catching her.
"How many have you had?"
Mei was well aware of Matsuri's tolerance level and while it was nothing to scoff at, the girl was fond of mixed drinks that hid the flavor of the alcohol and had a tendency not to monitor how many she had, which was the only reason Mei wasn't yelling at her friend about her prying into her personal life.
"Four or five," hummed Matsuri before holding out her arms and greedily flexing her fingers in anticipation for the drink the bartender was bringing her, only to have it snagged by Mei.
"Get her usual meal and a pitcher of water, please. I'll be taking this."
"What?!" Matsuri slid out of her chair but was almost immediately knocked back into it thanks to her legs giving out. "Come on Mei give it back!"
Mei laughed to herself and sipped the cocktail before helping Matsuri back into her chair and patted her friend on the top of her head.
"Get some water and food in you, then booze. I'll even order your first drink afterward, deal?"
There was a tense moment of silence as the bartender watched the intense staring contest between the two women and let out a loud sigh of relief when Matsuri finally nodded in defeat under Mei's cold glare.
"Okay," gasped Matsuri while a green tinge slowly formed in her cheeks. "But I want a strong drink next time, got it?!"
"Sure," nodded Mei while wondering just how long Matsuri would be able to stay awake once she finally got some food in her stomach. "Just take care of yourself, and I'll check on you in a minute."
Taking the drinks, Mei headed toward her usual table in a corner near the pool table and sat down and took a sip of her cocktail before flipping open her sketchbook and began sketching out the scene in front of her.
As usual, Mitsuko had dressed in an outfit made up of dress pant's a long sleeved button up shirt and a tie, if t hadn't been for her rolled up sleeves exposing her numerous tattoos, she would have looked like an average office worker.
Harumi, on the other hand, was dressed down in a pair of jeans and her alcohol drenched tee-shirt and laughing with one of the guys she and her sister were playing pool with. From the looks of them, the men were either clients of Mitsuko's or just people who were interested in wondering where she'd gotten her tattoos done. Either way, Mei was too busy focusing on her work to pay much attention, knowing that at some point Harumi would join her or call her over to play a game with them.
Until then she was content to sketch the scenes as they played out in front of her.
The book she was using already had dozens of various pictures from her previous visits to the bar.
Some were simple drawings of the furniture or the bottles behind the bar, experiments in lighting and shadowing, but the majority of them were of people and their various activities. A few had people laughing, some crying, others just sitting quietly at their tables staring up at whatever happened to be playing on the television. There were even days when Mei somehow managed to catch the occasional intimate moment such as a kiss or a couple holding hands.
Despite the noise, Mei enjoyed visiting the bar thanks to the honesty the atmosphere provided and never left without filling no less than three pages with each visit.
Feeling her hunger begin to set in, Mei settled on ordering her usual fair and when she looked up to order she was greeted with the sight of a blonde woman sitting across from her, staring curiously down at her sketchbook.
"What the..," gasped Mei jumping back in her seat and smacking her head on the edge of the booth bench, sending a sharp pain through her skull.
"Are you all right," asked the blonde, trying to slide out of her chair so she could check on Mei. "Hey, can we get some bagged ice over here?"
"I'm fine," hissed Mei as she began checking to see if there was any blood on her fingertips. Luckily for Mei, the worst her injury would probably give her is pounding headache.
"Are you sure?" Yuzu stopped moving and stared at Mei cautiously, but took the ice the bartender brought them and handed it to Mei.
"Pretty sure." Even though she was trying to play tough, Mei took the ice and applied it to her injury, wincing at the searing cold. "Thanks."
"Well consider it repayment for scaring the crap out of you." Yuzu smiled at Mei, her face burning with embarrassment. "First I get you pissed at me and then I nearly make you knock yourself out. Keep hanging around me, and I'm likely to kill you."
"I wouldn't go that far," grunted Mei as she adjusted the bag. "Just open your mouth the next time you decide to sit down with someone. I don't really pay attention when I get absorbed in my work."
"Sorry." Yuzu grinned sheepishly and brushed some of her hair behind her ear and looked up at Mei with a small blush forming in her cheeks. "You just looked so focused that I couldn't help but sit down and watch you work for a bit. You're pretty amazing."
Blushing, Mei looked down at the page and seemed mildly pleased with herself. It wasn't overly detailed, but it did manage to capture the essence of her friends as they enjoyed their game of pool, but as usual, Mei noticed that she felt like something was lacking, but she couldn't place what it was.
"It's not bad," said Mei pushing aside the paper and staring up at Yuzu. "But, I'm sure you're used to seeing people work like this all the time given how you're a dealer, broker, agent? I never really did catch what it is that you do."
"Agent and occasional broker," smirked Yuzu before taking a sip of what Mei guessed was a martini. "That's how I found your grandfather's painting. The lady that brought it in uses me on occasion to sell works she finds or wants me to find someone to help verify if a painting is legitimate."
"Did she happen to tell you anything?" Mei set the bag down on a coaster and dabbed at her hair with a napkin. "About the guys that sold her the painting I mean?"
"Just that she went to what she thought was an estate sale at an auction house and that's how she got it." Yuzu finished her drink and ran her finger along the rim of the glass. "After that, she brought it to me to see if I could find someone and I dunno, I just remembered hearing about what happened with your grandfather and since pretty much anyone who knows his work knows he's exclusive through the Udagawa company, I brought it there and then they called you."
"I see." Mei sat back and took a sip of her Tom Collins and stared at Yuzu, amazed that the woman sitting in front of her had been the uptight art dealer she'd seen a few days prior.
Outside of work hours, Yuzu seemed to prefer bright colors, opting to wear a bright orange and red striped shirt that appeared to cut off at her shoulders. Her hair was still pulled back in the same ponytail, but Yuzu instead of studded earrings, Yuzu wore a pair of large hoops along with a series of bangles on her wrists.
In school, Mei would have laughed at her, finding her choice in clothing to be both gaudy and pretentious, but after becoming friends with Harumi, her attitude had changed, and she'd slowly changed her opinion, learning that sometimes a person's choice in clothing wasn't always a direct reflection of their personality. So, as a promise to hers and Harumi's friendship, Mei withheld her judgment until she got a better understanding of the blonde.
Finishing off her first cocktail, Mei sighed and whispered, "Thanks for that, by the way."
"I'm sorry?" Yuzu lifted her head and stared at Mei, oblivious to what the woman had just said.
"I said…"
Mei reached over for the rum and coke and took a long draft, hating its watered down taste, but knowing it was one of the few ways she'd be able to gather the courage to say what was on her mind.
"I said, thanks for doing that," repeated Mei a little more confident now that she'd finally said it out loud. "For finding my Grandfather's painting. I was beginning to think I'd never see one of them and….well...I shouldn't have treated you like that, and I'm sorry for not being more gracious back in Udagawa's office."
"Oh." Yuzu's face lit up at the words, and she couldn't help but smile. "Well thanks, that means a lot. But don't worry too much about it. I get why you got so upset after word got out about what happened to you and your grandfather you have every right to be mad at anyone who somehow gets ahold of one of those paintings."
"Thanks." Mei smiled nervously back at Yuzu before hastily taking another drink and staring down at her sketchbook.
"You're welcome," said Yuzu with the same strained silence while she continued to fiddle nervously with her glass.
As the silence grew between them, Mei and Yuzu both heard Harumi, Matsuri, and their other friends begin laughing loudly over the music.
Feeling like things were only going to devolve, and not feeling particularly up to imposing her presence on the group, Mei looked up from her sketchbook and noticed that Yuzu's eyes were locked on it eagerly.
Growing tired of Yuzu's anxious look, Mei picked the book up and held it out and grunted, "Here."
"What?" Yuzu gave Mei a shaky smile in an attempt to throw her off, but the way her eyes darted between the book and Mei gave her away.
"You keep looking at my sketchbook." Mei motioned the book towards Yuzu and nodded. "It's okay if you want to look at it. They're not pieces I ever intend on selling so take a look. Think of it as thanks for helping me out."
"Are you sure?" Yuzu took the book and palmed it carefully. "I mean I know from Harumin you don't like people seeing your work before it's finished so..."
"It's true that I prefer having control of when and where people get to see my work," answered Mei before waving down a server and asking for some food and a couple of refills. "And since you helped me out, I figured this was the least I could do."
"Thanks." Yuzu opened the book and began flipping through it, smiling at all the pictures while Mei alternated between finishing off the rum and coke and her water.
While Yuzu continued to flip through her book, Mei couldn't focus on anything but her smile. The way her cheeks contoured when her lips moved and how her eyes narrowed when she giggled at whatever was on the page. As she watched the blonde, Mei felt herself reaching for a napkin and pencil and began instinctively sketching her. It wasn't much, seeing as the napkin wasn't an ideal material, but Mei made do with what she had, and after several minutes, Mei noticed a shift in Yuzu's face, causing her to set down her pencil and ask, "What's wrong?"
Yuzu looked up from the pages and stared at Mei, looking a little less enthused than she previously had.
"What are you talking about?" Yuzu took her drink from the server who'd just arrived, her eyes widening at the immense amount of food Mei had ordered and watched in amusement as Mei began tearing through the wings with ravenous hunger.
"fa draings," said Mei through a sauce covered mouth of barbecue sauce.
"Say that again," laughed Yuzu pointing at her mouth and offering Mei a napkin. "I couldn't hear you through all that half-chewed chicken."
"Sorry," answered Mei after she swallowed her food and licked some sauce off her fingers. "I haven't eaten in a couple of days."
"Don't worry about it." Yuzu reached across the table and wiped a bit of excess sauce from the corner of Mei's mouth, causing the raven-haired girl to blush, making the blonde giggle. "There we go all clean."
"Thanks," muttered Mei as she took a sip of water, avoiding Yuzu's gaze. It'd been a long time since someone had done something like that to her, and she didn't know how to respond so she opted to reach out and tap the page Yuzu had stopped on, staining it with a barbecue sauce fingerprint. "But I was talking about the pictures. You looked happy at first, but then out of nowhere, your expression changed. Do you not like them?"
"Oh no, I think they're great! But ummm..," Yuzu pointed at the space next to Mei and then at herself, "do you mind if I sit next to you while we talk about this, I think it'll make it easier for me to explain. If not I get it, and I'll try to do it from here."
"I don't mind," said Mei as she picked a fry up out of one of the baskets and chewed on it. The truth was she did mind, but only because it meant giving up some of her precious personal space. But once she sat down, Mei found that the smell of her perfume mixed with the warmth of her presence made the situation a lot more bearable.
"Thanks," said Yuzu before pushing away the baskets and pulling the book toward her and tapping on the faces of the people. "It's their faces that caught my attention."
Mei looked at the picture and tried to understand what the blonde was talking about but couldn't see it.
"I don't get it. What's wrong with them?" Mei had seen these pictures a dozen times before and knew they weren't perfect. They were practice sketches and weren't ever going to be made public, so she didn't pay too much attention to detail. "I was just goofing off they aren't supposed to taken seriously."
"Yeah I know," answered Yuzu with a nervous chuckle. "But it's just that well….everyone looks kinda sad in them, not all of them, but the later ones all seem to be a little less lively than the others."
Yuzu flipped to the front of the book and showed Mei some early pictures from when she and Harumi had first started hanging out at the bar. Mei's technique back then had been a lot less refined, but she did remember having a lot of fun watching Harumi and the others while sketching them. But as she watched Yuzu flip through them, Mei slowly began seeing what the blonde was talking about. It was plain to see that her technique had improved, but as she investigated the pictures, Mei found herself leaning in, finally understanding what it was her drawings were lacking.
"I take it you saw what I was talking about," asked Yuzu as she tried to angle her chest away from Mei's ear.
"Yeah, I do," muttered Mei before moving back a bit too quickly, hitting her ear against Yuzu's breast, making both girls jump in surprise.
"Sorry," whispered Mei as she felt a tingle go down her spine thanks to the contact on her ear. Mei shifted away from Yuzu, and the two women did their best to keep a respectful distance as they continued to discuss Mei's work.
"Don't worry about it." Yuzu gave Mei a nervous peripheral glance and said, "But yeah, it was just something I noticed. It's not a big deal, and if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to."
"No, it's fine." Mei reached out for her cocktail and took a long drink before setting it down and began swirling the ice with her straw. "It's just that now that I think about it, what you're seeing is probably the result of my grandfather's death."
"Oh." Yuzu shut the book and slid it back toward Mei. "I didn't mean to bring that up."
"Don't apologize," chuckled Mei before chewing on a couple of more fries. "I offered to let you look at it, and since you are an agent, it's only natural you'd notice it."
"Thanks."
"No problem." Mei coughed and sighed, grabbing one of the tacos from a basket and chewed thoughtfully before speaking. "I'm not afraid to talk about it. I mean he's been gone for a while now, and I took care of him as his health failed. I was prepared for it, but it still hurt when he finally did die. Not as much as it would have originally, he spent a lot of time making sure we were both prepared for it and I've had my time to mourn for him. I just don't enjoy the idea of people profiting illegally from his death."
"That's understandable," chuckled Yuzu nervously pointing at one of the baskets. "Do you mind if I have a bit. I haven't eaten anything since lunch."
"Have at it." Mei picked up the basket of fries and the tacos and handed them to Yuzu and the pair of them sat in silence for a few minutes, quietly eating the food Mei had ordered.
"You look good by the way," coughed Mei, her ears burning. "It's definitely a change from what I saw you wearing in Udagawa's office.
"Oh, well, you know it's not something I wear every day, just when Harumi and I go out. Except not in the winter, it's way too cold for that." Yuzu's cheeks flushed with embarrassment at her wordiness and after chewing on her lower lip fo nervously for a moment loudly said, "You know, I can draw too. Would you like to see?"
"Umm sure," said Mei taken aback by this sudden declaration; handing over her sketchbook and one of her pencil's. "Go ahead."
"Are you sure?" Yuzu looked down at the book and then at Mei. "This book seems important. I mean there's a couple of pictures of your grandpa in here, and I don't wanna destroy it."
"Don't worry about it." Mei did her best to smile, but she could tell by the blonde's reaction that she wasn't doing an excellent job of it. "I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to see and since you gave me some honest feedback maybe you'll let me give some in return. I promise I won't be too harsh."
"Okay," answered Yuzu eagerly before moving over to her original seat while covering the book with her free arm to keep Mei from catching a peek.
Mei humored her and focused on watching Harumi try and help a very inebriated Matsuri into the bathroom while Mitsuko shared a beer with her pool buddies, while slowly depleting her basket of fries. By the time Yuzu finished, Mei had nearly emptied the basket and placed an order for another
"Here," said Yuzu shutting the book carefully while using the pen as a bookmark just as the new basket arrived.
Mei took the book and smirked when she saw Yuzu begin to fidget excitedly.
Wiping her hands on a napkin, Mei opened the book and had she been drinking; she would have spat out her drink at the sight of an odd human-shaped face with long dark hair and eyes staring up at her.
"What is this," laughed Mei as she took in the picture. "I thought you said you could draw."
"I didn't say I could draw well," laughed Yuzu, stealing the remaining fries. "But I did say I could draw, and I did draw something."
"It certainly is." Mei picked the book up and couldn't help but admire Yuzu's gall and found that while it wasn't technically great, Mei had to admit it did have a certain charm to it. "What's it supposed to be?"
"I thought it was kind of obvious." Mei watched as Yuzu's smile grew a little more sheepish. "It's supposed to be you."
Mei felt her ears burn at this revelation and stared back down at it and after a minute she did see a vague resemblance. Smirking, Mei picked up her pencil and waved at Yuzu, "Come here."
"Why," asked Yuzu after nervously swallowing the last of the fries. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Not necessarily." Mei tapped the blank page next to Yuzu's drawing and then pointed at the seat next to her. "I mean, to be honest, the adage is true that art is subjective. But if you're going for realism, I thought you might like a lesson or two in how to make me look a bit more like myself."
The look on Yuzu's face was one of absolute delight, and she practically leaped over the table to sit next to Mei. For the next few hours, Mei patiently walked Yuzu through a lesson in basic facial drawing and before they knew it, their friends had left and by the time the last call came around, Yuzu was pleased with her progress and Mei had to admit she was mildly impressed at the woman's ability to focus.
When they finally had to leave, Yuzu offered to pay for them to share a cab, but Mei declined to explain that she lived nearby.
Saying that she understood, Yuzu pulled a business card out of her purse and scribbled something on the back and handed it to Mei saying, "Thanks for talking to me tonight and covering the tab. Hopefully, we can do this again?"
"I don't see why not." Mei took the card and helped Yuzu into her cab. "Have a good night."
Yuzu returned the compliment and when she was gone Mei flipped the card over and blushed when she read:
Thanks for the lesson tonight and hanging out with me. If you wanna do it again, here's my personal number and email. I look forward to hearing from you.
When she was done reading it, Mei slipped the card into her wallet and headed home where she spent a few more hours painting, this time followed by staring at the card for a bit and fighting the urge to send Yuzu a late night text, before falling asleep.
For the next week, Mei resisted the compulsion, but finally, after some goading from Harumi about heading out to see a movie, Mei gave in and decided that it would be a little less awkward to have a third person come along and sent Yuzu a text and immediately regretted it.
While no stranger to texting, Mei hated the anxiety of waiting to see her phone light up with an alert. She much preferred the direct contact a phone call had, and Mei wished she had taken that route and hated not knowing why she was so nervous.
Deciding it best to occupy herself, Mei spent the next few hours working on a few of her commissions, getting lost in the concept art she'd been asked to design for a horror video game that was supposed to be released in a couple of years, and Mei was tagged to help with the environment designs. Just as she finished a particularly dark scene involving a decrepit house and destroyed street, Mei heard her phone ping, and she nearly fell on her face as she ran to see who it was that replied.
Catching herself on the dresser, Mei grabbed her phone and flipped it open, seeing Yuzu's name next to the message alert.
Opening it, Mei felt her throat close when she saw the reply read:
Sure! I don't have any plans tomorrow! I'm glad you finally got back to me, I was worried I might have scared you giving you my number so quickly. Do you and Harumin have a time you want to head out?
Taking a moment Mei processed how best to respond and then shakily typed out:
I'll check in with her and get back to you, and I'm sorry that it took a while for me to reply. I got swamped with work, but I'm glad you answered. Anyway give me a while to get ahold of Harumi, and I'll let you know what's going on. I'll see you tomorrow.
After sending it Yuzu told her that she was looking forward to hearing back and after talking with Harumi, Mei learned that Harumi would be available after seven and when Mei told Yuzu the time the blonde replied with:
It's a date!
Mei smiled and typed back:
See you tomorrow.
After sending the message, Mei stared down at her phone and after reading Yuzu's reply shouted, "WAIT?! WHAT?!"
