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Lunch With Toshi

Nagatoro stepped inside the local family restaurant and scanned the room for a familiar face. Toshi waved to her from a booth adjacent to the window.

He rose and bowed as Nagatoro approached. "I'm so glad you could make it," he said.

"I'm glad you made it too." Nagatoro sat. "It's a pretty long trip to get here from Yokohama."

"I don't actually live in Yokohama. I live an hour east on the other side of Tokyo. It was a miracle of luck that my team happened to be in Yokohama the same time you and Princess Sakura were there."

"An hour past Yokohama even. I hope I don't let you down."

He smiled brightly. "You showed up. I'll consider anything beyond that a bonus."

A waitress stopped by and bowed. "Are you ready to order?"

"Oh, hi Mikura." Nagatoro lifted her menu. "We need a few more minutes."

The waitress took their drink orders.

"What would you recommend?" Toshi studied his menu.

"You can't go wrong with the dumplings. They make the best in town."

Toshi looked around nervously. "Does Hachioji-senpai know you're having lunch with me?"

"Of course, he does. Do you seriously think I'd sneak out on him behind his back?"

"I don't know. I'm new at this relationship stuff."

Aren't we all? she didn't say. She recalled her conversation with Senpai as they walked along the beach earlier that week.

###

"Do you really need to have lunch with him?" Senpai had asked.

"He just wants to ask some modeling questions. I'll insist we meet in public at a local place and I'll let you know all the details, so you've got nothing to worry about. Relax, jealous Senpai."

"How would you feel if I met with Yoshi to discuss 'some modeling questions'?" He put air quotes around the last three words.

Nagatoro laughed. "If you think that would bother me, then you don't know Yoshi. She's a sweet girl that wouldn't pose nude for you in a million years. Make that a billion. She only says she wants to try it because Sakura and I did it. She's a compulsive follower."

"She sounds serious to me."

"She'd probably do it if one of the gang joined her, but deep down, she's super shy, so even that would be a longshot." She extended her hand. "Let's make a deal. You let me hang out with Toshi, and I'll let you hang out with Yoshi."

"As if I would."

"I'm just making a point. If I were in your shoes, I'd have no issues at all."

He shook the hand. "Sorry if I'm overreacting. I'm new at this relationship stuff."

She took his arm and leaned into him. "Aren't we all?"

###

Nagatoro met Toshi's eyes. "Senpai knows everything, and he's fine with it." She shot him a sly smile. "By the way, thanks for the outfit, um, I mean the accessories. You know, the formal wear. Whatever you want to call it. It's very nice."

"No problem. Especially since it made it possible for me to have lunch with you. Although I'm kind of bummed that I didn't get the pictures of you modeling it."

Nagatoro fished out her phone, navigated to the gallery containing the more discrete shots of her wearing the gold cat cuffs, collar, and tiara costume, and handed it to Toshi.

His eyes bulged as he flipped through the images. "It doesn't look like you're wearing a bikini underneath."

"I'm not."

His jaw dropped. "Can I have copies of these?"

"No."

"I hope you're not offended at me asking."

"I'd be offended if you didn't."

The waitress came by to drop off drinks, and they gave her their food orders. Toshi ordered the dumplings. Nagatoro got a salad.

"Watching your figure?" Toshi teased.

"Maybe." She reached for him to return her phone. "I like to stay in shape for my artist."

He handed her the device. "Are you a nudist or something?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, in my limited experience with you, nudity seems to be a strong theme."

"That because you're always stripping off my virtual clothes. It's a crime to obscure perfection, right? You're such a pervert."

He chuckled. "Guilty as charged."

"Lucky for you, I've got a soft spot for perverts."

"Hachioji-senpai?"

She shrugged her acknowledgment. "By the way, no, I'm not a nudist. I don't strut around my house naked or anything. Nudity is a normal, accepted part of modeling. Go to an art school and walk around. There's a good chance you'll see a bunch of artists seated around a podium with a naked girl sitting on it. People have been painting, sculpting, or photographing the female form since the beginning of time."

"Would you model for me if I paid you?"

"Of course not."

"Would you pose for any other artist besides your Senpai?"

"No way."

"So there's more to it than modeling, isn't there?"

Nagatoro sipped her drink. "Okay, I suppose there is since he's my boyfriend. So naturally, I'm going to feel more comfortable around him than I would some stranger." She stared him down. "Look, Toshi. Instead of spending ridiculous sums of money on outfits for a girl that's off the market that you barely know, why not spend it on a honey of your own? Seriously."

He lowered his head. "I don't do too well with girls. Part of the reason I wanted to meet you is to find out how Hachioji-senpai ended up with someone like you."

"It's funny you should ask that because I spend a lot of time thinking about that too. Everybody asks me, 'Why are you dating that guy?', like I'm nuts or something. But that's not the case at all. It's a totally rational decision on my part."

Toshi scratched his chin. "You've got to admit there's a pretty big gap in social status between you two. You're a fit and fun beauty that wouldn't look out of place dating a star athlete, while he looks like a nerd who couldn't land a date with a girl unless she came with an air pump." He held up his palms. "Not to judge. I speak from experience."

"I'm not crazy, Toshi. Those people are judging the book by its cover. They look at his skinny frame, his thick glasses, his quiet demeanor, and you're right—they judge him to be way lower on the social scale. That's compared to the so-called popular guys, the ones with the good looks and sports talent."

She sipped her drink. "Yeah, I've got some of those types of guys interested in me too. But they're all so full of themselves, so I don't waste my time with them. Sure, I can date someone like that, and my peers might think more highly of me, but I've never been a person who cares much about what other people think. Which is not to say that Senpai doesn't deserve my attention, because he does."

Toshi nodded. "Obviously."

She tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"I was at the auction, remember? I saw what he produced and what he got paid for it. I work with your avatar just about every day, and I know who was responsible for creating that."

"I think you're catching on." She leaned forward. "You know, I met Senpai for the first time in the library at our school." She grinned. "And I gave that guy a super hard time. For which he's gotten revenge." She rubbed her wrists. "Several times."

"What happened?"

"To make a long story short, he dropped some of his art on the floor. He was working on a manga, and I looked the stuff over, and I ribbed him about it because the story was kind of… I don't know… it wasn't bad. Actually, the stuff he drew and wrote wasn't bad at all, and that intrigued me. I could see right away there was more to this guy than meets the eye."

She crossed her arms. "Look, if Senpai were some creepy shut-in wasting his life watching hentai, reading ero-manga, and fantasizing about 2-D girls, I wouldn't have been interested. I won't waste my time with that type either. But this guy was producing something. He was creating."

"And you wanted to be a part of it."

"Yes, I guess I did, although I didn't know it at the time. But maybe, yeah, I got the feeling even way back then that we might make a good team."

"And now he's a respected artist and you're a sought-after model. And it's not like either one of you would be where you are today if you stayed apart on your own."

"I guess that's true."

"So how do I get a hot girl interested in me?"

"You tell me, Toshi." Nagatoro raised her brow. "How would you do that?"

"I need to get really lucky."

"That's partly true, but there's more to it. You've got to have something to offer. Real luck, the kind you can bank on, is when opportunity meets preparation."

"Which means?"

"I think you know."

"I have to work on myself so I have something to offer so that when a lucky opportunity arrives, I can capitalize on it."

"I'm not going to lie. There aren't a lot of girls out there like me, but there's more of us than you might guess."

"What should I do?"

"What are you good at?"

"Modifying your avatar."

She nodded her agreement. "I've seen what you produced, and it's not bad. So you've got digital art skills?"

"Not like Senpai. When it comes to art, I'm more of a hacker."

"How did you do my long hair mod? That's beautiful."

"I borrowed the hair idea from Ramesses. She's a 3-D model on another platform. I had to tweak the code underneath to make it work. It was a challenge, but I can always figure out a way when I'm motivated."

"So you're a computer geek with a good eye for style. That's got potential. Now use that imagination and create something useful."

"Are there any shortcuts to love?"

She rolled her eyes. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Do the work, Toshi. That's the only way."

"I know another way. Check this out." When Toshi tapped his phone screen, it displayed a black and white swirl that resembled a spinning funnel. He held it at arm's length before Nagatoro's eyes.

"What's this?" she asked.

"A hypnotism app I developed."

"Really?"

"Focus on it and relax," Toshi replied in a slow, nearly monotone voice.

Nagatoro nodded.

"Look deep into the swirl."

She nodded once again.

"From now on, you will call me Master and you'll obey my every command."

Glassy-eyed, Nagatoro replied, "Yes, Master. I will obey."

"From this day forward, you will be my model and will love only me."

"Yes, Master." She nodded. "I am your model." Slowly and deliberately, she unfastened the top three buttons of her blouse, revealing the lacy red bra underneath.

Toshi yanked the phone back, set it face-down on the table, and waved his hands. "No, Miss Nagatoro. Stop undressing. I was only kidding."

The crash of china hitting the floor echoed through the building.

Nagatoro snapped her head toward the sound as she buttoned up her blouse, then returned her attention to Toshi. "I know. I was just messing with you too. That was pretty funny. The right kind of girl will give you points for that." A devious smile formed on her lips as she glanced to the side. "And your timing was perfect."

He stared wide-eyed at her blouse-covered breasts. "Why did you go that far?"

"I have my reasons."

###

Senpai nursed a steaming cup of tea at a booth set perpendicular to the side window booths where Toshi and Nagatoro sat. A shoulder-height divider hid his body from the other patrons. Though he felt confident the baseball cap, sunglasses, and flu mask he wore adequately hid his identity, he hunched over, just in case.

He straightened and peeked over the divider intermittently to keep an eye on the conversation. They seemed to be having a cordial chat. His perspective offered him a view of Toshi's profile and most of Nagatoro's body. Although he couldn't make out their words, their chat seemed friendly and animated.

He wished Nagatoro hadn't worn that low-cut skirt. He groaned each time she crossed and uncrossed her toned, slender legs. Thank the gods, she kept the rest of herself modestly covered and, from what he could tell, Toshi seemed to be keeping his eyes in their sockets and his tongue in his mouth.

Toshi pulled out his phone, tapped on the screen, and held it up to Nagatoro's eyes. She gazed at it with a glassy stare and nodded like a zombie. Then she unbuttoned her blouse. When her bra became visible, Senpai instinctively rose from his seat, ready to charge. Unfortunately, his hand planted on the saucer and flipped the tea cup over, dousing his pants with piping hot liquid. He managed to hold back a scream, but in his effort to brush away the fluid, he knocked the cup and saucer toward the edge of the table.

He lurched for the items, chasing them as he ducked toward the floor, but watched helplessly as they broke into pieces beyond his reach with a loud crash.

A waitress ran over and looked down at the prone guy, pants soaked, squirming in pain. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," he whispered through gritted teeth. He handed her a 5000 Yen note. "This should cover my bill and the damage." Ducking low, he dashed out the door.

Author's Notes: I'm back! Did you miss me. It's been about a month so I figured I'd add a bonus chapter. I've got a few others in mind, an entire arc actually, though I don't think I'll be able to produce it weekly. But you never know. Btw, if you do an image or google search on "Ramesses MMD" you'll see where Toshi got his inspiration for the long hair. I'm psyched they're making a second season of the anime. I'm still amazed at how the show managed to make me smile each week. It'll be great to have it back. See you next time! - SK