Introduction (14 dec 2020)

Sorry for letting you all wait for a new chapter for a bit longer than usual. But the good news is that besides this 14th chapter, I have chapter 15 also nearly ready as well. So, that probably makes up for the extra wait, right? Without further ado, let's get "down to business" as soon as possible.

I hope you will enjoy reading this, and I'm definitely looking forward to hearing what you think of this chapter, as well as the other chapters in this story.

Note: If you want to comment on this story, or any of my other stories, you're welcome to leave a review, preferably as registered member, as this allows much more interaction between writer and reviewer. If there are parts you felt lacking, or disliked, please let me know this as well. Things can appear amazing in my perception, while others might think very differently. I'm eager to hear such feedback as well, since praise is always nice, and can confirm being on the right track, criticism is often what helps more to improve.

Chapter Prologue:

So, after the aquarium visit, where Chizuru had to say goodbye for a while, things had been pretty quiet, lately. Ruka was in college, it was her first year, so she had to work hard, to get off to a good start. Kazuya had just finished cleaning up the living room, when the bell suddenly rang.

Back in Business

"Ruka? Are you back already? Did something go wrong at college?" Kazuya asked, while he walked towards the front door.

'Why would Ruka ring the bell though?' Kazuya wondered. 'She may not have her own key, but she knows the door is never locked during the daytime…'

"So, what is the cutest girl I know doing back here so soon?" Kazuya said with a smile, as he opened the door.

"Hiya, Kazu-kun!" the blond girl standing on Kazuya's doorstep said, with a cheerful voice.

"M-Mami-chan?" Kazuya stuttered, baffled, as well as also somewhat embarrassed by how he had just greeted his unexpected visitor.

"I sure wasn't expecting such a sweet welcome…" Mami said, "… but hey, I definitely won't complain. So, thanks for making a girl feel appreciated!" she added, smiling.

"Eh, y-yeah…" Kazuya replied, a bit unsure how to react.

"So, shall we continue talking here, at your door, or are you going to invite me in?" Mami asked.

"S-Sorry, where are my manners? Please come in," Kazuya said, realizing he'd be a really poor host otherwise.

Mami stepped inside, then stood still in the middle of the living room and looked around. Next, she walked towards the kitchen, again taking in the view, before taking a peek inside the bathroom.

"Are… you looking for something?" Kazuya wondered.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just that your apartment sure is a lot more tidy compared to the last time I was here," Mami replied.

'The last time she was here? When did Mami-chan ever come here then?' Kazuya could remember one time he had been drunk, and Mami walked him home. She even wanted to invite him to her place but then she had realized her brother was having some friends over. Back then, Kazuya had been toying with the idea of asking Mami to come over to his apartment instead. 'But that never happened, right? Or…?' Kazuya started having some doubt if he could really trust his memory.

"Eeeh, I don't remember you've ever been here before?" Kazuya carefully inquired.

"Oh, that's just one time when I happened to be in the neighborhood, and wanted to talk, but you weren't home, apparently…" Mami explained, "… although you had left the door unlocked, so I took a quick look inside to see if you were ok."

'Ah, that's right, now I remember…' Kazuya thought. 'That was the time when Mizuhara had lost her key and she came to my place to see if she could get back into her apartment from my balcony. I had almost forgotten about this…'

"Everything ok, Kazu-kun?" Mami wondered; "You are spacing out…" she added, giggling.

"Oh, it's nothing…" Kazuya quickly changed the subject, "… so, what brings you here?"

"Didn't your grandma inform you I was gonna come by?" Mami said, looking very surprised; "She told me that you already knew about it."

'Huh!? What is Mami-chan talking about?' Kazuya was even more puzzled about all this now.

"You're spacing out again, Kazu-kun," Mami said, laughing; "You must have been so busy with all these rental girlfriends, that you totally forgot that one day you're going to be the proud owner of the Kinoshita Sake Shop. Well, your grandma felt it was time to prepare you for this, as the day will come when she won't be able to keep running the store. And since I have been one of the store's advisors for a while now, she asked me to discuss some things with you."

"Wait, how did you get to become an advisor for our family store again?" Kazuya wondered.

"Oh, I was looking for a management project for school, when I came across your grandma's Twitter account," Mami explained; "At first it seemed like such a coincidence, a liquor store with the same name as you, and then I learned that the owner was actually your grandma. It was supposed to be a project for just a few months, but I guess I got carried away a little," Mami added, with a smile.

"Ah, ok…" Kazuya replied, while letting Mami's words sink in.

"By then way, speaking of girlfriends, your grandma posted you were getting more serious with that dark haired girl now? What was her name again…?" Mami wondered.

"Her name is Ruka, and yes, we're officially together now," Kazuya explained, though still feeling a bit nervous talking about this with his ex.

"Oh, yes, Ruka-chan, that's it," Mami said; "I am having a little trouble remembering all these names of all these cute girls you've been gathering around you after we broke up…"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Kazuya sort of apologized.

"It's ok, Kazu-kun, no need to worry about me…" Mami said with a reassuring voice, "… what matters most is that you are happy, right?"

'Mami-chan is such a kind and understanding girl! If Ruka and I hadn't been getting more serious lately, I might have tried to get back with her,' Kazuya thought.

"Now, shall we get down to business?" Mami suggested, as she took out her laptop from the bag she had been carrying.

"Eh, sure…" Kazuya agreed, "… but please take it slow, I haven't been preparing for this."

The two youngsters sat down while Mami tried to explain the ins and outs of running the Kinoshita liquor store to Kazuya. It was still a bit awkward for him to be discussing the family business with his ex, and he also had sometimes a bit of trouble to focus on all the numbers Mami was presenting.

"Maybe it's time for a little break, Kazu-kun?" Mami asked; "I'm beginning to feel like you're having trouble keeping up with everything."

"I'm sorry…" Kazuya apologized, "… I never realized running a store would be so elaborate."

"Let me check if you have some refreshments in the fridge," Mami suggested; "Maybe you need to watch your fluid intake a little better. Be right back, Kazu-kun!"

'Mami-chan really has changed, she's so considerate! This is not the same girl who rented Mizuhara just to tell her to stay away from me. I guess we're all getting a little older and wiser…'

"Here's some orange juice, good for your fluid balance, and it also contains lots of vitamins," the blond girl said, as she put down a can in front of Kazuya.

"Gee, thanks," Kazuya reacted; "Don't forget to get something for yourself, ok?"

"You're such a considerate host, it's clear you've grown up a lot since we dated, Kazu-kun," Mami said with a smile, as she walked towards the kitchen, to get herself something to drink as well.

For a while, the two just sat down, chatting about casual things, such as every day college life, while enjoying their refreshing beverages. Suddenly Mami checked her watch, and then seemed to be very startled by something.

"Oh, look at the time, I still have to place that new order, or it won't get delivered in time!" Mami said, with a touch of panic in her voice.

"Ah, sorry I've taken so much of your time, I should have been a lot faster to grasp everything, so you wouldn't have had to do all this extra explaining," Kazuya apologized.

"Nah, that's not your fault, it's a lot to take in anyway," Mami reassured him; "But there is one thing you can do to help."

"And that is?" Kazuya inquired.

"Well, I need your grandma's approval for the order, but if I were to go over there now, I'd probably wake her up," Mami explained.

"Wake her up, what do you mean?" Kazuya asked.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Mami replied, acting all surprised; "Your grandma hasn't been feeling too well lately, and she's not getting any younger. So, she takes naps during the daytime, to help keep her strength up. That is probably one of the reasons she now wants to prepare you for taking over the shop in the future."

'Mami-chan is right, grandma is getting pretty old, and although she always seems full of life, her strength could be starting to fail…' Kazuya pondered, suddenly feeling quite worried about his elderly family member.

"Yeah, It's probably better to leave her resting…" Kazuya sighed, "… but you said I could help?"

"Well, since you're practically the owner, perhaps even in the very near future…" Mami paused for a short moment, "… I am sure she won't mind if you sign for this order. In fact, I think your grandma would be proud to see her grandson stepping up to the plate and starting to take responsibility."

"You really think so?" Kazuya veered up, and when Mami nodded, he added; "Ok, where do I sign?"

Mami presented him some documents, which Kazuya readily signed. Mami then scanned these with her phone and sent out the order.

"Thanks, Kazu-kun, you really helped me out here!" Mami cheered.

"Just glad I could help, anything for grandma…" Kazuya said, with a happy smile, "… oh, wait, I'm getting a new message."

"Last classes were canceled today, so I'll be home early! Love you!" Kazuya read on his phone's screen.

"It's from Ruka, she's coming home already," Kazuya explained; "Hey, why don't you stay till she gets back here? Then you can finally meet properly. You don't have to worry about that order, so you're probably free anyway, right?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea…" Mami said, hesitatingly.

"Ruka has changed a lot since you met in the Karaoke Village…" Kazuya continued, "… I believe I already told you once that she wanted to apologize for how she acted towards you back then."

"Uh, ok, maybe some other time then. I still have a pretty busy schedule for today. Can I take a raincheck instead?" Mami asked.

"Sure, we'll stay in touch!" Kazuya suggested.

"Ok, Kazu-kun, I'm sure we will!" Mami replied, with a smile.

Mami gathered her things, and then left, while Kazuya was still pondering a little about his grandma's health. Then he went to the kitchen, to clean the glasses they had used for the drinks. Ruka should be home soon…

(To be continued…)

Epilogue (17 dec 2020)

Initially a different chapter was going to be the 14th one, but I wanted that chapter to be published closer to the end of the year. You will soon see why that is…

So instead of unveiling that new chapter as soon as possible, I continued writing, and came up with this, setting the stage for… well, for what? Time will tell…

Please let me know what you think of this story and leave some feedback in the form of a review. If you are logged in on this fanfiction website, and post a review as registered member, I can even reply to your comments. I'd be happy to have some more interaction with the people who read my stories!

Btw, since I am not a native speaker, there will likely be some silly mistakes in this story. And in punctuation, maybe I made the same mistakes as in previous stories, or even made new mistakes. Hope you can bear with me and see through that. Helpful tips and suggestions are welcome.

Stay safe, and maybe until soon!