Hey guys,

Sorry for the sudden cut off of the last chapter. I'm slowly easing myself into the story, and I'm trying to find the rest of my notes and ideas for this story I have a few ideas, like how to handle Yuzu's dad and Ume being together in a platonic light, as in NO ROMANCE BETWEEN HER AND SHOU! DUN DUN DUN! Also Henry's involvement in Yuzu's life. I hope you guys enjoy it.

GOOD NEWS! I started a new job, so that's fun and I just got a new charger for my laptop, hence the lack of writing and getting too caught up in my life.

But I'm in a better place for now, and things are slowly getting more tolerable. Just wish I wasn't living where I am, but it's better than being out on the street!

And I had a question...if you've read my other story, I was thinking of getting some "adult scenes" drawn when I got some extra money...any thoughts? Or just scenes you'd like to see drawn in general adult or wholesome. Your choice!

Also...Nichijou is weird and march comes in like a lion is terrific.

And this last part is aimed at someone who left a review on "Autumn's Bounty," about where to send fanart of chapters. If you wish to send me fanart you can contact me via Twitter, DeviantArt and instagram under this username with a link. Or if you want to email it to me, you can email it to marteltony2 on Gmail. That's all. If you're going to draw me stuff cool, if you want to do commissions for me, cool, I'm just getting paid from my job and won't have money until next month, but there are MANY scenes I would like to do soon.

Also...Mei has a MAJOR OOC moment but it will make sense. I hope you guys like this! Also NEW CHAPTER WAS FANTASTIC! WOO!


Chapter 5

Though she was used to Himeko's occasional outbursts, seeing her best friend sobbing uncontrollably in front of her while muttering apologies was the last thing she'd expected.

She didn't know what Himeko was apologizing for, she hadn't done anything that Mei could think of outside of knocking her to the floor, but that was par for the course. Unlike most of her friends, Mei had no problem with Himeko's displays of emotional and physical affection as she'd been dealing with it since childhood, but this time it was different and Mei was at a complete loss.

She'd never seen Himeko this upset and Mei's comforting abilities had reached their limit the moment she'd sat down and offered her friend tea making patting Himeko on the head her last resort as she attempted to probe her best friend for answers.

"Hi...Himeko," said Mei, carefully petting her friends corkscrewed hair. "Himeko, I know this might sound a little harsh, but I need you to calm down, take a few breaths, and tell me what you're apologizing for? You haven't been here for more than ten minutes and you haven't done anything wrong. There's no need for you to apologize if you're not guilty of anything."

"I did too," sniffled Himeko, nuzzling Mei's shoulder causing the taller woman to fidget when the hair made contact with her ear, prompting Himeko to whisper another apology.

"It's all right." Mei took a deep breath and centered herself. "I know it was an accident. But what did you mean when you said you did something wrong? Unless you want to count tackling me in the doorway, you hurt my back more than you hurt my feelings."

Himeko's sobs turned to quiet hiccups as she said, "It's because I lied to you. I didn't come here just for a visit...I came here..be...becau...because...

"What do you mean?" Mei took another deep breath in an attempt to remain calm. Her patience was wearing thin, but Himeko had always been understanding when she was having a difficult time, especially after her grandfather's death and she wasn't about to throw all that away because she was getting annoyed by her best friend's crying. "Himeko, what happened?"

"I got fired," said Himeko, her voice cracking before beginning another round of loud sobs, making both Yuko and Pucchi begin to howl along with their owner.

"What do you mean you got fired?"

Like Mei, Himeko was primarily self-employed and was wondering just how bad things had turned out after Puuchi's incident with the judges.

"You know what I mean," snapped Himeko before saying she was sorry and blowing her nose loudly into her handkerchief. "What else is there to explain?"

"I meant how bad is it?" Mei took a sip of tea to avoid venting her frustrations out on her friend and waited for Himeko to dry her eyes on one of the tissues from the box on the coffee table. "Did you lose all your clients, or are you trying to find new ones?"

"I lost practically everyone I trained for in Japan," sniffed Himeko, her cheeks and eyes red puffy from her sobs. "Even though they said they understood what had happened because they'd seen it happen before. But instead of giving me another chance they said they'd be going with a more experienced trainer, but that they'd still be interested in my next litter. Typical, you want my dogs but you don't want me to train them. They're all a bunch of jerks."

"I can see why you'd think that," offered Mei comfortingly while trying to hide a small snort of laughter at seeing Himeko's pouting face. "But it can't be all that bad, can it? You're parents understand, don't they? I mean you got their blessing to follow through with this and they aren't going to force you to come back home are they?'

Mei knew how much of an influence Himeko's family had in Japan and even though they'd tried to reason with Himeko to forgo her dream of breeding and training dogs. After weeks of negotiation, they'd eventually accepted that their daughter wasn't going to give up on her passion and had even invested some money in the venture which Himeko had repaid in less than six months and had built a stellar reputation for herself until her last dog show. While much of it was lost on Mei, mostly because she preferred cuddling and playing with the dogs as opposed to training them to run through obstacles and do tricks, that didn't stop Mei from humoring her friend any time Himeko wanted to show off the latest trick she'd taught them or, go on and on about her latest litter via video chat and she knew Himeko pampered her dogs just as hard as she trained them.

While she did occasionally get bored watching the dogs get pranced around in front of people like cattle on an auction block, Himeko had been there for her more than the few friends she'd made throughout her school years; which was why Mei had never scoffed or laughed at her friend's dream and always support her in whatever way she could. But if what Himeko was saying was true, Mei was well aware of the ramifications one misstep could have on a career and was willing to do whatever she could to ensure her best friend didn't end up on the street.

"So do you have any clients left," asked Mei, confused as to what Himeko was going to do for work if she'd lost most of her Japanese clientele. "Or do you have some leads on any new clients or are you waiting to hear back and hope they'll change their minds?"

"I still have clients," sighed Himeko, shifting a bit away from Mei so she could rest her head against Mei's shoulder. "But as I said, most of them are only willing to buy from the litters. The only people that will let me train for them are here in America, and I got lucky that they were willing to speak on my behalf to help me get a Visa, but I don't have any place to live right now. I have plenty of money to hold me over for a while, but I don't have any references or...OW! What was that for Mei-Mei?! Why'd you hit me?!"

Mei raised her hand again, chuckling when she saw Himeko flinch at the thought of being struck again only to smile when she saw the look of surprise on her best friend's face when Mei began rubbing her head.

"Mei-Mei?" Himeko raised her eyes, her face beet red at the affection. "I'm confused. Are you mad at me or is this some weird American thing I'm not aware of?"

"I'm not mad, Himeko." Mei moved from patting Himeko's head, and as uncomfortable as she was with it, pulled her best friend into a warm hug. "But the next time something like this happens, don't hide it from me."

"I promise," said Himeko, relieved but unable to do more than allow Mei to hold her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. My parents already told me that this is my last chance and that if I don't make this work, I'm going to have to go back to school on top of them sending me profiles from a matchmaker. Even after I showed them that I'm good at what I do and haven't asked them for any money since I paid them back. I thought they'd given up on the idea, but it seems they haven't."

"I understand," said Mei with a light chuckle. "I went through it too."

"I remember." Himeko snuggled closer into Mei's embrace, and the artist felt her best friend begin to relax. "I saw a couple of your relatives before I left Japan. They still don't want to believe it and asked me to deliver a few profiles for you to look through."

"What did you do with them," sighed Mei holding Himeko closer.

Himeko giggled and moved a little closer while saying in a sing-song voice, "I threw them in the garbage as per your request."

Mei smiled and quietly said, "Thanks," before letting out a loud sigh at the fact that both she and Himeko were still having to deal with such problems and Mei felt herself remembering her own experience from a few years ago.

Shortly after her grandfather's death, a couple of distant aunts and cousins had started to take an uncomfortable interest in Mei's love life and had mailed her several profiles of eligible bachelors in hopes of enticing her to visit them and marry her off. At first, Mei had been polite and told them that she wasn't interested, saying she needed to focus on her career and finding her grandfather's paintings and for a time they did, saying that they understood and left her to her own devices. But eventually, her family began ignoring her requests and it wasn't uncommon at one point for both her virtual and physical mailboxes to be filled with at least a dozen or so letters, despite Mei's protests. Finally after nearly a year and tens of arguments and explaining her initial reasons one aunt had replied by saying that with a husband, Mei wouldn't need to work and could spend her free time searching for them while her husband brought home a salary.

Little did the aunt know that Mei had been sitting with her friends at a bistro and when the older woman had said that, Matsuri had overheard and snatched the phone out of Mei's hand and before Mei could pull it back loudly said, "Hi, ma'am. My name is Mizusawa Matsuri, Matty for short I'm a friend of Mei's. I'm fine thanks for asking. No, it's not common for someone to do this but..."

"Matty, give it back," Mei grumbled only to remain seated, knowing that if she attempted to retrieve her phone, she'd aggravate the healing tattoo on her thigh and cause the younger woman to make even more of a scene. "I'm not kidding. Give me my phone now."

"Mei, be quiet please, I'm in the middle of a conversation," had been Matty's reply making nearly everyone at the table start to laugh, except for Kaio who was doing her best to remain focused on her appointment ledger. "I didn't talk over you while you were talking to her. What was that, ma'am? Oh, nothing I was talking to Mei. Well, I'm talking to you right now instead of her is because we all heard about what happened with those matchmaking….yes I know it is a shame that she doesn't appreciate all the hard work you put into finding those guys for her. Kids today can be so selfish; I mean that policeman you sent her was so handsome. "

At hearing this, Mei's face began to turn bright red, and if it weren't for the fact that they were in a restaurant on top pain in her leg, she would have tackled Matsuri to retrieve her phone. Instead, she was forced to remain quiet and began trying to remove herself from the table while Kaio giggled, Harumi nearly choked on her soda from trying not to laugh, while Mitsuko snorted into her pho as Matsuri began going on and on about how she agreed with Mei's aunt about how selfish she was being.

"Well, I guess that was a bit of an overstatement," sighed Matsuri after biting into a spring roll. "Each generation is different and viewpoints change. I do think it's sweet that you're doing this out of concern, but can I ask you something? Have you ever thought that there might be another reason Mei isn't interested in the profiles."

All eyes were suddenly on Matsuri and everyone at the table began telling her to shut up and give the phone back. But in typical Matsuri fashion, she didn't listen to them and said, "Well, to answer your question I just meant that did you ever think that your niece might, for lack of a better word, be a dyke?"

Everyone save for Matsuri felt a cold sensation trickle down their spine after hearing what the pink-haired woman had said. Kaio's giggles stopped immediately, and her jaw dropped the moment she listened to what Matsuri had said, followed by a dull thud as Harumi's head had hit the table while Mitsuko glowered at her apprentice who was utterly oblivious to everything around her except for Mei's deathly cold glare and clenched fist.

"You know a dyke," said Matty without any concern to what she'd just done, thankfully in Japanese, even though they were all sure that most people in the restaurant understood what the younger woman was talking about, prompting Mei to resist the impulse to stand up and begin pummeling her friend.

"Oh you're not familiar with that word," muttered Matsuri after escaping from Mitsuko and Harumi's grasp while dodging Kaio's attempt to steal the phone back. "Well to make things simple, depending on its usage it's another word for lesbian. You know an onabe."

Before Mei could shout at Matsuri for using something that was often used as an insult on top of the fact that her friend had out her without permission, the painter cut off by her aunt's angry shouts through the phone. Her voice was so loud that everyone at the table, except for Mei and Matsuri, burst into laughter at the chastising Matsuri was receiving forcing the pink-haired girl to practically shove the phone back into Mei's hands. Mei smirked to see that Matsuri's face had turned bright red with embarrassment as she retrieved her chopsticks and began inhaling her food leaving Mei to retreat outside, still upset at Matsuri's presumptive nature and conversation that followed.

When she made it outside, Mei had expected the worst. She hardly knew any of her relatives given her infrequent visits to Japan. She knew that attitudes in Japan were changing but the fact remained that, while she wasn't close to them, she didn't want to risk alienating herself any more than she already had.

As she heard the blood pounding in her ears, Mei chewed nervously on her lip waiting for her aunt to say something and when she didn't she prepared to speak up but was cut off when the woman quietly asked, "Is what your friend said true?"

"Yes," had been Mei's reply, surprised at the lack of judgment in the woman's voice, but she still felt the overwhelming urge to vomit build in the back of her throat. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it's the truth, and I'd appreciate it if you and the others would stop sending those things.

"Very well," answered the woman with a tired sigh and a hint of laughter. "There's nothing to be done about it. I wish you would have brought this to my attention sooner. I could have told the family, and we wouldn't have spent all that time and energy focusing on something that wasn't going to happen."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Mei's temper flared as her mind shifted toward thinking her aunt was about to say something cruel. "If you're implying that there's something wr..."

"All I'm saying is that if you'd told me about your preferences sooner, I'd have introduced you to a couple of lovely young women I know through a few business contacts and friends. I'm not as closed minded as you think and I know we don't have much of a relationship, but I'd hope that what you did know about me would let you place some trust in me in introducing you to people. Though now that I think about it, I'm not sure….what exactly is your preference in a partner, Mei?"

Mei nearly dropped her phone when she heard this question, and after stammering out a response that her aunt didn't need to do anything for her, the woman agreed and asked for Mei's permission to at least tell the family. When Mei gave it, they spent a few minutes talking, and after hanging up to head back into the restaurant, Mei wasn't surprised to find a giggling Kaio standing behind a glaring Harumi and Mitsuko who were both holding a frowning Matsuri by her shoulders, making her look like a giant grumpy cat.

"Say it," growled Mitsuko shoving Maturi toward Mei as a vein positioned just beneath the stem of the rose tattoo on her neck began to pulse violently.

"Why," grumbled the pink-haired woman, pulling the cat-eared hood over her head, trying to hide her face. "I didn't do anything wrong, and if she had a problem with it, she could have done a better job of keeping the phone away from me!"

"That's bullshit and you know it." Harumi gave Matsuri another shove, forcing the younger woman even closer toward Mei who chuckled when she saw the look of fear on the pink-haired girl's face. "Now shut up and apologize for what you did."

"But I…"

"Now, Matsuri." Mitsuko walked forward and pulled the hood down and gave Matsuri's ear a violent tug. "Or you're not getting any shifts for the rest of the week."

"That's not fair!" Matsuri rounded on Mitsuko, the familiar spark of defiance returning to her voice. "Why do I gotta get screwed out of money just because she was too much of a chicken to tell her family!? If you think about it, I did her a favor. At least now her family is going to leave her alone and..."

"That still doesn't make what you did right," barked Mitsuko, her hair blowing gently in the breeze beneath her Boston flap cap while her hoody billowed menacingly. "You didn't ask her permission or anything of the sort. What you did is inexcusable, and if it were me you'd be getting a lot worse right now, so count yourself lucky that I'm only threatening to take shifts away from you. So apologize or consider yourself fired."

Matsuri opened her mouth in protest, and Mei felt a smile on her lips as she watched the younger woman try and figure out a counter argument only to eventually hunch over, nod, and turn to face Mei, her gaze focused on her shoes while she muttered something under her breath.

"What did you say," asked Mei bending down and using her finger to lift Matsuri's gaze to hers, slowly inching closer to Matsuri's face until their lips were almost touching. "I couldn't hear you. Where'd all that usual confidence go? I know you can speak louder than that."

Matsuri's eyes grew wide at Mei's advances and from behind the shorter woman's head, Mei could see a blush creep up Harumi's face, while Mitsuko coughed loudly in an attempt to hide her laughing.

"Come on, Matty," said Mei taking a step closer, "tell me what you wanted to say, please? I'm dying to know."

"I…," stammered Matsuri taking a cautious step back her eyes widening, her face almost as pink as her hair. "I...I said 'I'm sorry," for….for outing you. It was a mistake and, while I don't think I did anything wrong, I know doing that was messed up and I'm sorry. Okay?"

Matsuri's face shifted from pink to red at the uncomfortably playful, almost seductive look Mei was giving her, causing her to loudly ask, "Well aren't you gonna say something? You're freaking me out!"

"Do you mean it?" Mei placed a finger beneath Matsuri's chin and moved closer. "Do you really mean it?"

"Ye...yeah." Matsuri nodded and tried to back away only to be halted by Mitsuko's hand on her back. "Yeah, I mean it okay. I promise it won't happen again."

"Well, if what you're saying is true, then I guess there's only one thing left for me to do."

There was a moment of silence so loud that it drowned out everything until the loud crack that was the sound of Mei's fist colliding with the top of Matsuri's head causing Mitsuko and Kayo to wince, and Harumi to let out a very audible, "Ouch."

"OW," shouted Matsuri while several people around them gossiped quietly about the scene playing out in front of them. "What the fuck did you do that for?"

"Because," barked back Mei, growing to her full height and causing Matsuri to shrink away. "While I do agree that I could have done a better job of keeping you quiet, the fact remains that you knew what you were doing and instead of letting me tell them in my own time you decided to run your mouth!"

In spite of her efforts, Mei felt her voice slowly beginning to climb and even though it was catching more people's attention, she decided that if it got her point across she didn't care and continued shouting, "So, the next time you get the urge to mouth off about my love life, keep your mouth shut or next time I'll shut it for you!"

Even though they all knew it was an empty threat, all four women were so taken aback by the explosion of anger from the painter that even the three women who were on Mei's side nodded out of fear.

"I mean it," snorted Mei as she zipped up her jacket and shoved her hands in her pockets. "You do it again, and we're done."

"I know." Matsuri nodded, a quiet quiver in her voice. "I'm sorry, Mei."

"Good." Mei let out a relieved breath before allowing herself to relax. "Now that that's taken care of I guess I should be thanking you for getting that particular weight off my shoulders, so, I'll buy you dessert. Anything you want, my treat."

Knowing that if she was treating one of them, she would be willing to treat all of them, all four women began barraging her with recommendations on where to get the best possible dessert leading to Mei stopping at an ice cream parlor and two bakeries before returning to her house where her friends proceeded to destroy her living room playing video games and watching movies while gorging on sweets and pizza.

However, in spite of her frustrations with Matsuri, Mei counted herself lucky that her family had gotten off her case about getting married and wondered how she could help Himeko with her situation but wasn't sure how. Mei's exposure to her heritage was minimal at best and what seemed strange to her was perfectly normal to Himeko, and she knew that if her friend followed through with it her parents would find her someone kind and if Himeko accepted it, Mei would support her, even if she didn't totally agree with it.

"Is that what you want," asked Mei while Himeko polished off the last of the cookies, finally managing to free herself from her selfish thoughts about no longer being stuck in such a position thanks to Matsuri's brash actions. "If it is tell me what to do. If it isn't, my answer is the same."

"I don't know," sighed Himeko, her tears now dried, but her eyes and cheeks remained red and raw. "To be honest, I have been thinking about doing online courses. But honestly, right now, I want to relax and figure everything out before I begin work. I have a lot to plan out, and I need to go over a lot of v, but I need a few days to recover. Is that okay? I promise that I'll help out around the house and I'll clean up after the dogs, and if you want rent I can pay you when I'm in town. I know you don't need the money but….."

"Calm down Himeko," said Mei placing a finger on her friend's lips. "If you want to relax, then relax and don't worry about paying any rent. The first two are payment enough along with you putting food in the house. You're my friend, and you can stay here as long as you need to. How long is that if you don't mind my asking? You haven't said anything about where these clients of yours live. Is it out of state since you mentioned that you wouldn't be in the house all the time?"

"Luckily most of them are here in town or only a day or two away if I traveled by train or car," explained Himeko, pouring them a little more tea. "So when I have to work for them they offered to let me stay in a spare room so that I'm nearby to keep up with the training regimen I have planned. Thankfully they're long term clients and the dogs know me well, so it's all preparation and basic upkeep on their training. I won't be gone too long if that's what you're worried about."

"I am worried," said Mei in agreement, carefully patting the itch on her side. "I wouldn't be much of a best friend if I wasn't. You've always been there, even though we've spent most of our lives apart. I'm thankful to have a friend like you."

"Oh, Mei-Mei!"

There was a loud bark from the dogs and Mei felt a searing sensation in her side as Himeko collided with her again, knocking her on the couch and causing her to scream out in pain.

"Are you okay?!" Himeko slid off Mei and began frantically searching for her phone. "Do I need to call the doctor? What's the emergency number for America again?"

"Relax Himeko," hissed Mei as she sat up and lifted her shirt to show off the sizeable geometric arrow made up of circles, pyramids and other shapes. "You just aggravated my new tattoo. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it earlier. I should have said something sooner."

"Yes you should have," huffed Himeko setting her phone down and dropping down on the couch next to Mei and began carefully running a nail along the still healing tattoo. "I don't like the fact that you keep getting these things. You have such pretty skin, but I can sort of see the appeal in them. They are beautiful in their way."

Mei held back the whimper she felt build in her throat but didn't drop her shirt. Despite her tattoo still being a bit raw, something was comforting about her friend's touch, and Mei couldn't resist Himeko when she began moving to the others. First, to the one on Mei's right forearm, it had been her second one, and like her others took the form of a geometric shape, this one being in the shape of a lotus flower capped off with a diamond.

"So pretty," whispered Himeko as she began moving toward slowly toward Mei's shoulder.

"Mitsuko does excellent work." Mei smiled as she remembered the look on her grandfather's face when she'd shown him. The battle between him being impressed at the control and precision Mistsuko exhibited, all while fighting his preconceived notion that tattoos were for delinquents and criminals. "My grandfather even wrote her a letter of praise before he passed, she has it framed and hanging next to a picture of the three of us in her shop."

"I'm sure that made him uncomfortable."

"It did."

They both laughed and after letting go of Mei's arm, Himeko reached up and pulled down the right shoulder of Mei's shirt, exposing a simple geometric tattoo of a teddy bear sitting up with its arms resting in its lap. Unable to resist, Himeko pressed her cheek against the tattoo, kissed it, and said, "Even though I'm not a fan, I like this one the best."

"Why?" Mei did her best to look at the bear, but could only make out the ears along with Himeko's gentle smile at seeing her first tattoo. "It's not particularly complex and it's a little childish if you think about it."

"But that's why I like it most." Raising her finger, Himeko began tracing the crisp, sharp lines that made up the bear. "Even though it has all these rough edges and looks complex, it's cute an even if it's a little tough to understand at times, once you learn about it it's warm and inviting. In fact, it reminds me a lot of you."

Mei watched the blush creep up Himeko's face and felt her ears begin to burn, though she wasn't sure as to the reason. It wasn't the first time she and Himeko had been this close. If she were honest, the only reason she was even comfortable enough with Himeko even touching her tattoos was that she knew how careful Himeko would be, despite her predisposition of clinging onto Mei like a cat climbing up curtains. But there was something different about this time as if something in the back of her mind was telling Mei to push Himeko away while at the same time another part was telling her that it was okay and that Himeko wouldn't hurt her.

But before she could figure it out, Mei's phone began to buzz forcing Himeko to stop her inspection and allow Mei to readjust her shirt and check her phone while Himeko checked to make sure the dogs were settling in properly.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Mei ran a hand through her hair before unlocking her screen and smirked when she saw a familiar number and name along with a picture of a familiar blonde woman, a man with light colored hair and tan skin and a familiar smile, a brown-haired woman with a kind face and the same green eyes as the senders, and of course a tall muscular man waving awkwardly at the camera, a look of uncertainty on his face.

Hey Mei!

Sorry I haven't been in touch lately. I'm at home in Colorado right now dealing with some family stuff. After that, I'm gonna be heading to Toronto, Atlanta, and a few other places to deal with clients and strum up some business.

Sorry about the picture I couldn't resist sending you one.

Harumi said you were asking about me and I just wanted to let you know I'm okay. I feel bad about how we left things, and even though I'm gonna be outta town for a couple months, I wanted you to know that you can message me as much as you want and I'll answer you when I can. Also, Henry will be back in town after Georgia which will be in a few weeks, so if you can remember where my place is, you can head over there and talk to him if you want. He gets lonely, and he is a little awkward, but he's got a good heart. He really wants to get to know you better, and he spent most of that night after you guys met looking you up and according to him, you've

worked on a lot of series he's a fan of and wants to pick your brain.

If that happens, let me know so I can set some ground rules since he can get a little single-minded, but I promise you he means well, you just need to be patient with him.

Also, my grandma and grandpa own one of your grandpa's scenic paintings, and if you want, I can send you a picture of it. I'll look it over to see if it's an original and if you'd like it back I'll talk to them.

My mom and dad say 'hi' and said if you want to hang out when they come to town you're more than welcome.

Talk to you later!

Yuzu

"Who is Yuzu," asked Himeko over Mei's shoulders.

Mei could hear the jealousy in Himeko's voice but ignored it, knowing her friend's bark was worse than her bite and said, "She's a friend."

"A friend?" Himeko's eyebrow raised at the nervous cough in Mei's voice, knowing full well that her friend was hiding something. "Where did you meet her?"

"At Udagawa's Gallery," answered Mei without any hesitation. "She's the one I told you about, the one who found out about the woman who had one of Grandfather's stolen paintings. She's an art dealer as well as a talent agent for artists, musicians, and I think a few writers, I'd have to double check."

Even though she wanted to send a reply, Mei shut her phone off and fought the urge until Himeko wasn't paying attention. While she could see Himeko's expression soften at hearing the favor Yuzu had done for her best friend, it was clear from her voice that Himeko was jealous of Mei's new connection.

"Well, I'll be sure to make her a proper thank you gift. Do you know what kind of food she likes or perhaps I can make her a...no I can't do that I don't have a sewing machine here. Oh well, I'll think of something. Speaking of food have you eaten? Those snacks were delicious, but I haven't eaten yet, and I could go for something more substantial. Shall we eat here or would you like to go out? I did some research, and I'm intrigued by this famous beef sandwich that a lot of websites have mentioned. Also, there's the deep dish pizza, but then there are those empanada things the cab driver recommended..."

"Why don't you go upstairs, get changed, and then we figure out where to eat," suggested Mei, glad that Himeko's stomach had managed to distract her from the text message, though she knew it wouldn't be long before her best friend's focus turned back toward the text message. "You said you wanted to relax and I think a hot shower would be just the thing to help you do that."

"Yes, I suppose that would be the wisest thing to do." Himeko let out a low whistle and the dogs immediately came to her side and followed her out into the hallway.

"I'll show you where you're staying," said Mei, picking up her phone and leading Himeko to the freshly cleaned guest room.

After a refresher tour of the house and showing Himeko how to operate the shower and delivering some towels, she headed into her room and began to get changed but not before sending a reply to Yuzu.

I hope you enjoy your trip and that the situation isn't too serious with your family, but if it is, I pray that you get through it safely.

Tell Henry that I appreciate how much he enjoys my work and that when you get back, I'll be more than happy to discuss it with him.

I have a friend staying with me for the time being, and I'm going to be spending time with her and helping her get acclimated to life in America so I won't have a lot of free time due to that and work.

She's spent much of her life in Japan with only brief visits to other places and I'm worried she'll be overwhelmed by the culture shock.

I hope your trips aren't too taxing, and I look forward to spending time with you when you get back if that's okay, Henry as well if he wants. I'm going to be working on some new paintings soon. I don't know if I'll be selling them, but if you want to see them, I'll see if Udagawa will allow us to use one of the private showrooms at the gallery.

Just let me know and I'll set it up.

Best wishes,

Mei.

After rereading the message, Mei felt that it was friendly enough without being too presumptuous and sent it. Once it was gone, she changed into some capris and an old worn tee-shirt that had some faded paint stains on it before heading downstairs. Ignoring the phone as she figured that Yuzu wouldn't reply until much later until it let out three loud dings. Thinking it was her phone alerting her of some deadline she'd forgotten only to have her jaw drop when she read:

I get that.

Henry can be a little much if you aren't used to him and I hope everything goes well with your friend. I'd love to meet them! I'm sure if they're a friend of yours they gotta be cool and I do want to see your new paintings.

I'm excited to see an original Mei Aihara before anyone else.

Things aren't too serious but serious enough that I had to fly back with Henry for a bit.

But I gotta get back to my family. I'll tell you all about it later if you aren't too busy.

Have fun!

"Mei-Mei," came a voice from behind her. "Are you all right?"

Looking up, Mei was surprised to see Himeko fully dressed in a simple outfit made up of a frilly pink shirt and slacks, staring at her curiously.

Checking her phone's clock, Mei was amazed to find she'd been staring at her phone for almost fifteen minutes.

Putting her phone in her pocket, Mei nodded and said, "Yes, I'm fine Himeko. Have you figured out what you'd like to eat yet?"

"Not yet," sighed Himeko as they headed down the stairs and toward the front door. "I'm still undecided. I think I'll let you pick this time. If you don't mind my asking, did you get some good news? I hope it was good news, you sound like you've had a lot on your mind lately and I don't want to be a burden."

"You aren't a burden." Mei smiled at Himeko's thoughtfulness as she set a specialized alert to tell her when Yuzu had messaged her while Himeko moved close and carefully entwined their arms. "You're my friend, probably one of my only real friends, you'll never be a burden to me Himeko."

" Thank you for saying that, Mei-Mei." Himeko nodded and rested her head against Mei's shoulders, her grip tightening around Mei's bicep, her heart growing heavy at Mei's response and as they turned down the street and toward their dinner. "I can think of no greater treasure than being your friend."