そんな毎日に嫌気がさしたら京都にでも行くのかい。
Paradigm Shift
Chapter 16: Kyoto
He caught himself doodling on the margin of the handouts that had been given in the beginning of this meeting. His boss, walking along the perimeter of the oval table, placed a finger there as she passed him.
He quickly set his pen down and straightened his posture, thinking he was in trouble for not paying attention but simply finding her looking at him with an amused glint in her eye. While he was usually able to separate any personal feelings away from his work, he looked back down at his paper with embarrassment. He felt like the entire room knew that the two of them had once shared a night together, back when he wasn't in a higher-level position.
When he had first joined this company, fresh-faced and directly out of uni, he had looked up to her, wishing to one day take her place. That had been shattered when she threw herself at him. He still recognised her business acumen and respected her as his direct manager, but there was always a hint of flirtation in the way she interacted with him. She was easily fifteen or twenty years his senior, though he had never had the indecency to ask her.
He scanned the handout to get an idea of what he had missed. While he was looking directly at it, his eyes failed to take in any of the information in.
"Lastly, congratulations, everyone," she continued loudly when she had made it back to the front of the room. "I know this has been a strenuous few months, but it has all paid off. I'll be picking members of the global relations team to head to Hong Kong to seal the deal. You'll be hearing from me once we finalise the details. To celebrate, we're having a company-sponsored happy hour tonight. Everyone enjoy. Kamiya, a word."
He maintained a neutral expression as his colleagues left the room, his mate Shima throwing him a pair of bobbing eyebrows on the way out.
He got up to address her once everyone had left, not forgetting that the wall separating the conference room from the main floor was made of transparent glass. "Yes, ma'am?"
She paced to the opposite side of the oval table where he stood, smiling at him. He let himself look her once over. She struck him as an older woman who externally seemed to embrace her age but in actuality yearned to cling to her youth.
She always dressed in the business formal attire standard for the company, yet everyone noticed she was always adding small details to prevent her from looking frumpy. Everything was form fitting, her dark chignon always put together but never too stiff, her tights not quite opaque. Kiko, his ex-girlfriend, found her stylish. Shima found her to be a cougar.
"You'll be going to Hong Kong," she told him. "You're the first one chosen, apart from myself, of course, so I'd keep it on the DL for now."
He bowed. "I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you."
"You don't need to be so formal with me, Tai," she said as she walked around the table to the door.
He smirked, almost saying her first name. It would have been unthinkably rude if it hadn't been for the fact that he had already called her by it in the past. He stopped himself, the joke not worth the misinterpretation.
"But you're my manager," he replied tactfully.
"That I am. I'll see you tonight," she said, bowing her head slightly as she took her leave.
He chuckled as he followed her out the door and to the other side of the floor where he sat, though he was intercepted by Shima in front of his office.
"What did she want from you?" Shima asked, following him inside and shutting the door behind him.
Tai shrugged. "Bullshit. Are you going to the happy hour tonight?"
Shima scoffed. "You know I am. Are you? You're the one who never comes out anymore."
Tai pretended not to notice the accusatory tone. It was true that he wouldn't go under recent circumstances, but Sora had already informed him that she was busy that night, so he had nothing stopping him from joining the festivities. "I'm always down for free drinks. When are you done for the day?"
The faint hint of annoyance disappeared instantly from Shima's demeanour. "I can leave whenever. I'm not busy today. You've not yet met the intern, have you? She's been here three months. How have you not introduced yourself?"
"She works on the other side of the floor," Tai complained as he sat in his chair and unlocked his computer. "I can't be bothered to go all the way over there just to introduce myself to the intern."
"Well, aren't you so important," Shima said with a roll of his eyes. "While you're busy ignoring us, we've all gone out with her a few times. She fancies you."
"Can you blame her?" Tai asked automatically, clicking through his emails. "Okay, now, go away. I need to concentrate if I'm to get out on time."
Shima left with a flick of his middle finger upwards, coming back a few hours later at the end of the day. Tai, who had already finished work and was in the midst of telling Sora he was going out, stood up and swung his briefcase over his shoulder.
"Okay, let's go."
Shima threw an arm around him. "Finally! Everyone's already there, but I waited for you. Do hurry up!"
As Shima physically dragged him out of his office, he felt a stab of guilt upon seeing his assistant still there. He always felt bad leaving before her.
"We're having happy hour at the bar. Do you want to join?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No, thank you. I'm booking your accommodation for Hong Kong. Don't forget you have a morning meeting tomorrow, so you have to come in thirty minutes early."
"You're going to Hong Kong?" Shima cut in, pushing Tai out before he could properly end his conversation. "I thought she said things hadn't been decided yet! Damn, the woman is obsessed with you."
"Maybe she's obsessed with my work ethic," Tai countered.
Shima shrugged with a grin. "Or your ass, but who cares? Let's drink! Now!"
Shima practically ran to the bar, pushing Tai through the door in case he would change his mind. As he saw a large group of his colleagues overwhelmingly taking up the interior, it crossed his mind that his ex-girlfriend may be in attendance. He turned around to Shima.
"Do you know if Kiko is here?"
"No, I told her you were coming, so she backed out," Shima answered, still pushing him. "I've got you, so loosen up, and go meet the intern."
Shima pushed him down in a seat, directly beside a young woman in her early twenties, presumably the intern that he had heard so much about.
"Mika, do you know Kamiya?" Shima asked loudly, taking the seat across from him.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tai," he introduced himself, reaching his hand out for a handshake.
Shima had mentioned her a few times to him already. He told her how beautiful she was, but as he got his first clear look at her, he found her plainly so. She was definitely a pretty girl, but a generic one. She had brown hair that barely reached her shoulders, dark eyes smudged with a wash of brown eyeliner. Though she was sitting down, he knew from seeing around the office that she was slim and tall.
There were many attractive girls in Tokyo. She was just another one.
"Tai here has been very excited to meet you," Shima signed off with a wink before turning to speak to another of their colleagues.
Tai wasn't bothered by this, knowing Shima was just trying to relive their wingman days. He made a mental note to mention to Shima that he was seeing someone later, when they weren't in the presence of fifty of their colleagues. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and loosened his tie slightly before reaching for the pitcher.
"How are you liking working here?" he asked, refilling her glass for her. He set the pitcher down so she could pour his.
She thanked him shyly before answering his question. "I love it. I've always wanted to work at a company like this, so it's a dream come true for me."
She wanted the name, Tai concluded.
"I hope to be as successful as you at your age," she concluded sharply.
"Hm." He lifted his glass to hers. "And what are you assuming my age is?"
"Er, 35?"
He laughed. "Well, cheers to that."
He clinked her glass to his, and the two of them drank.
"Was I off?" she asked with a sheepish smile.
"Only by a decade," he answered good-naturedly. "I'm 27."
"You're young!" she exclaimed, surprised by his age. He had never felt like he looked any older than he actually was. "I guess we aren't that different. I'm 21."
He thought back to how he had been at 21. Most likely drunk and being useless.
She continued, "I've seen you around, but I never introduced myself because you seemed so important."
"I'm not that important," Tai said with a grin to himself, "but good to know I look it. You're here for uni credit, right? Which uni do you go to?"
"Waseda University."
"My alma mater."
As all people in their early twenties did, she looked thrilled at finding someone who had gone to the same uni as her, her eyes lighting up at the new piece of information she had learned about him.
"To be clear, I went on a football scholarship. I could have never gotten in with my grades."
"And you play football?" she gushed. "I love football."
She certainly didn't look like she did, but he wasn't about to doubt her. "You know, the company has a co-ed squad. We're rubbish, but you should join. Anyone's welcome to, as long as you don't mind your colleagues seeing you in something other than a suit."
She scooted closer to him. "I more enjoy watching it, but maybe I will if it means I can see more of you."
He went on alert when her shoulder suddenly but very purposefully brushed up against his own.
On one hand, he didn't want to lead this girl on. It made sense for him to just tell her he wasn't interested.
On the other, he hadn't revealed to anyone in his professional life that he was in a relationship, and it was weird to tell the intern first of all people.
Reaching his resolution, he leaned back so they were no longer touching. "My girlfriend also really enjoys football. I should invite her to a match one day, but, again, we're rubbish, and I kind of don't want her to see us lose all the time."
She tried hard to control her facial expression, but it was obvious he had embarrassed her. Not wanting her to feel awkward, he continued to talk to her, not bringing attention to the fact he wasn't single. It was mildly successful, as she didn't look so red anymore, though he saw her attraction towards him flicker out.
Shima, who had been busy talking to other colleagues, turned in his chair to face the two of them, reaching out to lightly shove Tai's shoulder.
"Mika, is Kamiya giving you a hard time?"
Ready to baton pass her over, Tai stood up. "I never give anyone a hard time. I'm going to make the rounds and call it a night, but have fun you two."
Shima looked confused by his actions but didn't stop him, and Tai made sure to greet his seniors before making his exit quietly. It was when he went outside that he suddenly felt knackered. Too lazy to take the subway and too full of beer to drive, he hailed a cab. Once the driver had inputted his address, he took out his mobile to call Sora.
"You're getting better about ringing me," she greeted.
"Give me some credit," he said tiredly. "How was your night?"
"It was fine. Why do you sound so out of it?"
"I went out with my colleagues, but I had to leave because my dashing good looks were getting too much attention from the female crowd."
She instantly sounded annoyed. "Are you flirting with random girls again? I don't understand why you have such a flirty personality, Tai. I'm actually going to break up with you."
"I was joking. Anyway," he added hurriedly, "where are you now? I want to see you."
"I just got home. I'm about to get ready for bed."
He sighed. "I want to invite myself over, but I already know what you're going to say, so I guess I'll save myself the trouble."
She laughed. "Thanks for explaining all of that to make me feel bad instead of not asking at all."
"I'm trying to get pity points. Is it working?" He looked at his district approaching in the distance. "I miss you. Let me see you."
"It's late. If you come now, you'll get home too late," she reasoned with him. "Aren't you tired?"
He stifled a yawn. "No, I'd rather see you than sleep."
"Are you sucking up right now?"
"Maybe a little. Is it working?"
"Never."
"So I'll see you soon," he confirmed, reading the actual meaning. Once he hung up, he reached forward inform the driver to change his destination.
"You've been drinking."
"No," he disputed uselessly, pulling away from their greeting kiss.
"Why do you still lie to me?" Sora asked as he flopped on the couch and closed his eyes. She lifted his legs so she could make space to sit down, placing his legs back down on her lap.
He flipped around so he could see her face. "So you won't nag at me."
"I'm too sleepy to nag at you tonight." She yawned to mimic his. "I knew you were tired."
"So are you," he accused, closing his eyes.
"We could both be asleep right now."
"I'd rather be here," he muttered. "Tell me about your day."
"It was just a regular day."
"Tell me about it anyway."
"All right. I already told you about how I went to a new hot pot place for lunch today, right?" He nodded, remembering her text. "Well, one of our co-workers accidentally splashed some sauce on Mimi, so she had this giant red stain on her beige skirt all day. Then, our boss saw her and told her to not be so sloppy, and Mimi got so angry that she nearly talked back to her. Can you imagine? That's Mimi for you, but she would have been fired on the spot–Tai? Are you asleep?"
"No, I'm listening," he answered, his eyes still shut. "Mimi was being the worst. Keep going."
She laughed, slapping his stomach. "Go home, Tai. You're falling asleep."
He caught her hand on his stomach, opening his eyes. "I want to know about you, not her."
"When do you go to Hong Kong?"
He shrugged. "Nothing's confirmed yet."
"You're still going to Kyoto with me this weekend, right?"
"Of course I am. I already took Friday off. We don't do everything that last minute," he teased. This was a frequent complaint he made to her about his job. He turned his head to the side, shutting his eyes again. "Besides, if Hong Kong ends up coinciding with Kyoto, I'll just tell my company I can't go."
"You're just saying that."
He shook his head. "I will… Just see…"
He didn't realise he had fallen asleep until he was woken by a shake to his shoulder.
"Tai, you're asleep."
"I'm not." He shifted his body to the side, forgetting that half of him was on Sora. "Oops, sorry. Just let me rest my eyes for a second."
"The longer you stay here, the later you'll go to bed."
"Tell me about what we're doing in Kyoto."
She must have known he was just making small talk, but she answered him anyway. "We're catching the bullet train Thursday morning and meeting my parents for lunch. Friday's my birthday, so I was hoping we could meet up with some of my old friends. Kyoto's a big place, so we'll probably need all weekend to sightsee, then we catch the train back Sunday afternoon."
"Mmhmm," he murmured.
"You're falling asleep again." She pushed his legs off her to the floor, then grabbed an arm to pull him up. "Come on, go home. I told you not to come."
He groaned, pressing fingers to his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't think I was this tired. It hit me all at once."
"You must have had a long day."
"Talking to random girls," he explained with a small chuckle, picking at her favourite line.
She pecked his lips and stood, stretching her arms out to help him too. He took them but used his strength to prevent her from pulling him up.
"Can I spend the night?" he asked while she glowered at him.
She used both hands to grab one of his arms and pulled, growing annoyed when he laughed from her failure to do so.
"I hate you, Tai."
"Can't you let me spend the night on your couch because you love me?" he negotiated.
She let go of his arms, giving up. "Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?"
He stared at her. She stared back, unfaltering.
"I knew it," he conceded finally, standing up on his own. "Anyway, thanks for letting me come over."
She put a hand to his chest, the quickness of his acceptance making her suddenly feel guilty. "Fine. If you really are that tired, you can have the couch."
She pushed him so he flopped back down, but he stood up back up again. "I was kidding, Sor. I'm going home."
"It's fine. You can have it. You're not even going to make it out the door at this rate."
"I was trying to make you feel bad."
"It worked."
"Good, you deserve it," he said with satisfaction.
"You're such a good boyfriend."
He laughed and kissed the side of her head. "All right. I'm leaving. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
She nodded and walked him to the door. She leaned against the frame of the open door, watching as he put his shoes back on.
"Are you mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad at you?" he asked, looking up.
"Because I won't let you spend the night."
"I knew coming here I wouldn't. I was messing with you, Sor. I'm not mad, though this is something we'll cross eventually, right?"
She pouted at his hopeful tone, obviously feeling bad. "I love you."
He nodded, standing up then bending down to kiss her. It wasn't the answer he wanted, but it wasn't bad either. "I love you too. I'll see you in the morning."
"Don't be late. I'll be so mad at you if we miss the train."
He smirked, holding the door handle to close it. "Don't get so angry already. It hasn't even happened yet."
Tai was lucky that Thursday was a national holiday, which meant he only had to take the Friday off.
When he left his room, he noticed two people in the dining table. Across Matt sat his brother, a figure who used to frequent their flat much more often before his marriage and subsequent soon-to-be fatherhood.
"TK, you're here," Tai said matter-of-factly. "Help me carry my things downstairs, will you?"
TK stood up, but Matt shot the two of them an annoyed look.
"Don't let him boss you around," Matt ordered.
"I don't mind."
"He doesn't mind."
Matt pulled TK back down by his sleeve. "Do it yourself, Tai. We're in the middle of a conversation."
Tai laughed, picking up a suitcase he had placed at the front of the flat as he opened the door. "All right. Bye both. See you in a few days. Take care of him while I'm gone, TK."
TK turned to his brother once Tai had left.
"You two are like a married couple," he joked, smiling when Matt glared in response.
"Worry about your own marriage," Matt grunted. "How's your wife?"
TK, who had come looking edgy already, shuffled in his chair. "She only has three weeks to go. Can you believe it? I didn't think nine months could pass so quickly."
Matt smirked. "Imagine how she feels. Something tells me she feels the opposite."
TK didn't offer a reaction.
He nudged his brother's shoulder. "Stop acting so nervous. The least you can do for her is act like you aren't scared."
"I do in front of her," TK insisted, "but right now I'm with you."
The teasing look on his face didn't disappear as he got up upon hearing the doorbell ring. "Aw, you're still just a baby to me, TK."
"You're acting like Mum."
"No, I'm not." He opened the front door, ready to reprimand Tai for being a hypocrite by forgetting his keys but surprised to see Mimi instead. "H-hey… What are you doing here?"
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, reaching up to kiss him. He was thankful the front door wasn't in direct view of where his brother currently sat.
"Since Tai's gone, I thought I'd come see you. Perfect timing too. I just ran into him." She held up two bags of groceries. "Have you eaten?"
"Er, my brother is here," he told her, not answering her question. "I'll introduce you."
He led her to the dining room, where TK's head was already turned with curiosity.
"TK, this is Mimi," Matt said uneasily, noting their facial expressions and seeing he was the only one who felt uncomfortable. "Mimi, this is my little brother, TK."
TK stood up to meet her. "Hello."
"Wow, you're cute!" Mimi greeted unconventionally.
"He's taken."
"I mean, I still think you're cuter," she said, pinching his cheek. He felt embarrassed in front of his sibling, who was smiling in amusement. "Good looking family though. Your parents must be beautiful."
"It's nice to finally meet you," TK started. "I've heard so much about you, but since I never had a face to the name, I was starting to think you weren't real."
"You talk about me?" Mimi asked Matt hopefully.
In all honesty, he didn't much, but he supposed TK got his information from Kari. Tai probably complained about Mimi to her, or maybe she heard from Sora. Tai had mentioned that Sora and Kari were growing close. He was surprised that Tai was okay with that.
"You came at a good time," TK said to Mimi. "Matt was just about to feed me."
"I was?"
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind cooking for three," his brother continued.
"I must have read your minds," Mimi sang, holding up her paper bags. "I picked up groceries on the way. Matt, you don't mind cooking, do you? I want to ask your brother everything there is to know about you."
Though he wasn't in love with the idea, the kitchen connected to the dining room through an open space in the wall, so he supposed he could at least hear them. TK had always been good about saying the right thing, but he was still nervous.
Within seconds, he could hear Mimi talking to TK in a million words per second.
"Wow, you have such clear skin!" she was saying. He looked out from the opening and saw her holding his brother by the chin, examining him at a close distance. "Your dermatologist must be amazing. You must go through great lengths to have skin like this."
TK didn't seem the least bit surprised that a stranger had grabbed his face. "Can't say that I do, but thank you. Sometimes I borrow my wife's loti—"
"WIFE!" Mimi shrieked, though this shouldn't have been news to her. He was sure that he had mentioned this to her before. "TK, sit down. There's so much we need to talk about. First, your skin. Second, your wife. Oh, that's right. You're married to Tai's sister. I remember now. Third, I must know everything about baby Matt."
As they stood in front of her parents' flat, Sora was fixing his hair and clothes to make him as presentable as possible.
"Do I really look that much like a slob?" he asked, bored with having stood still for so long.
"No, but my mum is very prim and proper, and I don't want her to make a silly judgment call based on how you look."
"So I do look like a slob," he concluded.
"That's not what I'm saying," she muttered, refolding the collar of his shirt so both sides matched perfectly. "Remember to compliment the flower arrangements. Don't do it right away, or they'll know I forced you to say it, but you have to do it at some point, or you're going to offend my mum."
"You're more nervous than I am."
"They can be brutal." She frowned, examining his face. He pretended not to notice that she was scrutinising it.
"You know what's brutal? Having to sit in a two hour train with the chair in front of you reclined all the way back. What an asshole—"
"TAI," she hissed so loudly she might as well have shouted. "That's what I'm saying. You need to watch your mouth. You can't swear in front of my parents."
"Obviously, I'm not going to swear. I don't even swear in front of you."
"You literally just did."
"It was a slip," he said with a wave of his hand. She was still staring at his face.
"I shaved," he told her, in case she hadn't noticed.
She stroked his chin affectionately but frowned as she twisted a finger around a tuft of his hair. "You need a haircut."
"Should I just pop by and get one then?" he asked sarcastically. When she glared at him, he pulled her hands off of him. "Sor, it'll be fine. Stop freaking out. Let's just go in. We're meeting your parents, not the Prime Minister."
"Just one second, Tai. I just—"
He reached out his arm and rang the doorbell.
"Tai!" she hissed, hitting his arm.
"It's fine," he brushed off. "We've been out here for ten minutes. You're being ridiculous."
"Tai, for goodness sake, why can't you just show a bit of patience for once in your life? I told you it would just be another s—" She stopped midsentence upon hearing the lock unbolt and straightened up, clutching her suitcase tightly. He rubbed her shoulder, only for her to shrug him off.
A woman answered the door, presumably Sora's mother. Sora often spoke of her as being well put together, and he could see that in the chic way she presented herself. Even the manner in which she greeted Sora was so different from how his own mother would greet him.
"Sora, hello darling," she said with a smile, reaching out for a hug that seemed to stop halfway. She looked from her daughter to him. "You must be Tai."
He bowed ninety degrees. "Pleased to meet you. Thank you for having me over."
"He's handsome," she commented to her daughter before stepping aside to let them in. He gave Sora a smug look, which she ignored.
In the living room sat her father, dressed in a suit and reading the morning paper. He stood up to introduce himself. Again, Tai bowed ninety degrees.
Her father also seemed serious, greeting him formally. Her parents were so different from his, who were much more laid back. Nevertheless, he didn't get a vibe that they were unfriendly or overly judgmental, despite the air of solemnity they exuded.
"Tai, you can sleep in the guest room," her mother said, opening a door. "Why don't you get settled? Lunch will be ready in a moment. Is there anything you don't eat?"
"I eat everything," he answered as Sora pushed him into the room.
"Are you nervous?" she asked him quietly, closing the door behind her.
"No, but you are," he pointed out with a grin, sprawling his suitcase on the floor and sitting down. He opened his suitcase to pick out a wrapped box that took up the majority of the space.
"What is that?"
"Ridiculously priced fruit." He spun the box on the floor. "I felt weird coming empty handed."
She immediately kneeled beside him, picking at pieces of his hair. "Why didn't you cut your hair?" she bemoaned.
"To stress you out."
"Do you think you're funny? I'm being serious right now."
He raised an eyebrow, hearing the actual irritation in her voice. "Question: are you acting like this out of experience with your parents, or are you embarrassed by me?"
She removed her hands from the top of his head, his query making her realise how irrational she was being. "Sorry. You're right. I'm being crazy. You look fine. I just want them to like you."
"Sora, I'm a delight. People love me," Tai assured.
She frowned. "Okay, this is why I'm concerned. They aren't going to like jokes like that. They're serious people, Tai."
"Then I won't joke around. It's not that complicated." He stood up, picking up the gift at the same time. He put a hand to the doorknob. "Can I open it, or are you going to freak out again?"
"I'm not freaking out," she hissed.
He grinned and opened the door. "After you."
Mimi giggled fiercely at something TK said to her.
"What happened?" Matt asked, not having realised his attention had drifted from the conversation.
"Your brother is so funny," Mimi said to him, giggling more. She turned to TK. "Do you have any embarrassing childhood stories about Matt?"
TK looked up in thought, taking a glance at Matt to check for clues as to how far he could go. He smiled at Mimi after assessing the situation. "No comment."
"Aw, come on! I'm sure you have something!"
TK grinned. "What can I say? I was the baby brother, always idolising his big bro. Right, Matt?"
"Shut up."
TK and Mimi laughed at his expense.
"Don't you have a wife to get back to?" Matt asked irritably, though his younger brother hadn't really said anything wrong.
TK checked his watch. "She's out with Mrs Kamiya today. I'm meeting them for dinner in a few hours. I have time."
"It's too bad you're married," Mimi said to him. "I'm sure you were quite the ladies man."
TK smiled pleasantly at her. "I wouldn't say that. I've been with my wife for nearly twelve years."
"Twelve?!" Mimi screeched, looking a mixture of both shocked and horrified. "I literally don't know anyone our age who's lasted that long! That must be some sort of record."
Matt felt his heart skip a beat. He had never fully disclosed how long he had dated Megumi and hoped TK wouldn't slip up. He made eye contact with his brother, hoping he'd understand that he shouldn't mention his own thirteen years.
"We get that a lot," TK said, not letting it faze him.
"Gosh, I don't think I could do that if I were you," Mimi said, shaking her head with disbelief still. "That must be so difficult."
TK gave a good-natured smile, one that Matt was never able to copy. "That's very flattering, but I don't think that's it. Quite the opposite really."
"He's so cute," Mimi said to Matt, even though TK could clearly hear. "Good for you, TK. Not many guys can go through their adolescence and twenties with just one girl."
"I got lucky," TK stated before changing the subject, much to Matt's appreciation. TK's affluent social skills were something he always wished he had possessed.
Lunch had started off formally, full of questions he had expected.
What did he do? He presented them with his business card and shared his recent project success along with his long-term goals outside of Mitsubishi.
Where was he from? He made sure to tell them of his parents and sister. Even they were delighted for his sister's pregnancy and offered advice that he was to pass along to her.
How had they met? He left out that it was at a bar, instead telling them of the funny situation in which he had tried to set Sora up with his best mate but fell for her instead.
For each question they asked him, he asked them a similar one, making sure not to cross any boundaries and diverting the conversation when he felt it might rear towards that situation. He complimented the food and took the seconds that Mrs Takenouchi insisted on giving him.
Indeed, Sora was correct in saying they were serious people, but he didn't find them off-putting or intimidating. He knew he had passed their initial screening of him when their conversations became more relaxed and free of the obligatory questions they had to ask him.
Sora's mother was impressed by his gift and his notice of her flower arrangements, which he remembered to comment on after deciphering why Sora was glaring at him so much. He asked Mr Takenouchi about his academic research, which bore him to tears, but he made sure to pick up on questions he could ask as if he knew what he was talking about.
Mr Takenouchi reached out, putting a firm hand on Tai's shoulder. "I like you."
Tai looked pointedly at Sora. "Could you please repeat that for Sora here? She was so nervous."
Mr Takenouchi looked astonished. "Why on Earth were you worried about him?"
"Well, you see, I'm an FC Tokyo fan, and she tells me you're all Kyoto Sanga fans," Tai answered, not wanting to put her on the spot. "I would tell you my true opinion, but I'm afraid I've just met you."
"That didn't stop you from telling me your true opinion," Sora reminded him with a smile.
"Circumstantial differences, Sor."
"Well, everyone is subjected to their flaws," Mr Takenouchi said, earning a shake from his wife's head. This was the first joke Mr Takenouchi had said. Tai had begun to think he didn't know how to make one. In fact, he was surprised he even had time to watch football amidst all of that research he supposedly had to do.
"That's exactly what I said about Sora," Tai responded, not missing a beat.
Mr Takenouchi grinned at Sora, humoured by Tai's response. "You know, Sora, Tai is much better than that stuffy guy you used to date."
"That isn't a nice thing to say," Sora scolded, looking aggravated as her lips suddenly pointed downwards.
Tai pretended not to have heard and opted to change the subject. "Well, if I came all the way to your childhood home, I should at least see a baby picture or something. I want to see what you were like when you were younger."
The two of them excused themselves from the table, and Sora led him to her room, keeping the door open.
Tai looked around the tidy room, his eyes falling on a wall of trophies that reminded him of his own at home.
"Wow," he said, letting out a low whistle. "I didn't know you were so gifted in sport."
"Football and tennis," she reminded him. She walked to the other side of the room where there was a balcony, then slid open the door, motioning him to step outside.
"How'd I do?" he asked when she slid the glass door closed again. "Was I as dreadful and inept as you imagined?"
"You did very well," she admitted, smiling affectionately at him. "I'm sorry I had such little faith in you."
"I guess I could see why you'd be nervous if you had to compare me to that stuffy guy you used to date," Tai said matter-of-factly.
She frowned. "My dad shouldn't have said that."
"Probably not, but he did, so now I'm curious."
"This again?" Sora asked, crossing her arms with dissatisfaction.
Seeing that it wasn't the right time, he dropped it. "Sorry."
"I'm just glad my parents like you."
"I told you. Parents love me."
She gave a small smile, her arms still crossed, now likely due to the cold. "I wonder if yours will like me too."
"My parents like everyone." He stepped to her, kissing the top of her forehead and using his hands as friction to warm her arms. "Let's worry about one set at a time for now though, okay?"
When TK stood up to catch dinner with Kari and his mother-in-law, Mimi pouted with disappointment and begged him to stay longer, giving him a lingering hug at the front door when he said he couldn't.
"He's so cute," Mimi gushed after Matt closed the door. "I wish I had a little brother."
"He's a good kid," Matt agreed.
"You know, from the way Sora described him, I thought he would be more similar to you, but he's way less rigid."
He raised an eyebrow. "Sorry for being so rigid."
She giggled, wrapping her arms around him. "I like that about you. Even now, you're giving me the worst hug of my life, but I still like it." She looked up at him, her radiant smile that he liked so much plastered on her face. "Is the rest of your family like him or you?"
Matt shrugged.
"Come on, tell me! Me, for example, I'm just like my mum. It's kind of uncanny."
"I'm not like my mum," he said, even though his father always told him otherwise.
"So you're like your dad, and TK's like your mum?"
He shrugged again. "I don't know."
She frowned. "You're no fun. I'm just trying to get to know you better."
He broke Mimi's hold of him so he could go to the kitchen to start tidying the dishes. "I don't have a great relationship with my mother."
She was still frowning, though the meaning behind them had changed. "Oh…"
"I don't like talking about it," he added, picking up the first of the many plates that had somehow piled up.
"Then we don't have to talk about it," she reasoned, "but for the record I find it sad. How horrible it must feel to have your own son dislike you."
He found it strange that she thought of it in the perspective of his mother instead of him, but he didn't say anything. He started to do the dishes, Mimi offering to dry them as he finished washing each one.
She had dropped the topic, so it was over, but he was still thinking about it. It was the way she had said it that made him feel guilty, as if he was unjustifiably hostile with his mum.
"I want to correct myself," he said finally, when the thoughts in his head could no longer contain themselves. "I don't dislike my mother. We just aren't close. My dad raised me, so I don't know much about her. I know she was a great mother to TK."
Mimi nibbled her lower lip uncomfortably. He leaned down to kiss her.
"Anyway, we don't have to talk about that."
"If you want to, I'm listening," she assured him. "I like learning things about you. You always seem so closed."
"I know."
She laughed a little. "You don't even refute it."
"I don't like talking about myself." He passed her a dish and watched her dry it with her manicured fingers, feeling bad for her. "I tell you more than I tell most people though."
She smiled a little. "Really? Like what? What do I know about the oh-so secretive Matt Ishida that the rest of the world doesn't?"
"I just told you about my mum."
"Tell me something happy about you," she said.
He flushed slightly, though he wasn't sure why. "I don't know."
"Come on, tell me. What's your happiest memory?"
He pretended not to be thinking about it, turning his attention back to the dishes, but his mind had already started searching.
What was his happiest memory?
Sprigs of days past came to mind, but to his horror he found they were all tainted by Megumi's presence. He thought back further, before he had been with her, but could only remember his parents' divorce.
"My happiest memory is when I went to Hawaii with my parents as a child," Mimi offered in an attempt to urge him to share his own. "It was beautiful. So what's yours?"
He chuckled a little. "Maybe the time I met you?"
"Cheeky," she said, slightly amused. "I'll take it even though it isn't true."
He changed the subject. "Tai isn't here for a few days. Stay here while he's gone."
She smirked at him. "Are you substituting me for Tai, or is it that you can't get enough of me?"
"Rest assured that I'd much rather be with you than Tai no matter the circumstance."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that, but I'm afraid I can't." Putting away the last dish, she dried her hands on a towel and wrapped her arms around him. "I have friends visiting from New York who are staying with me, and I have to entertain them. I've told you this already."
"I was hoping you would ditch them for me."
She laughed. "You're awful. I can't do that, but you're more than welcome to tag along. I'll be showing them around Tokyo, and I wouldn't mind showing you off a bit."
He shook his head. "You enjoy your time with them."
He did want her to see her friends, but he didn't want to meet them himself. She seemed to have more friends than even Tai, and he felt it would be too overwhelming.
"You can monopolise my time for now though," she told him, reaching up for a kiss. "They don't come in until tomorrow morning."
He decided he had grown old when the first thing he did when he woke up—naturally, of course—was turn on his mobile to check the business news outlets to see if his company's latest deal had been featured.
Feeling a little disappointed with himself for thinking about work first thing in the morning, he set his mobile back down on the nightstand and started to change when he heard a knock on his door, followed by Sora walking in.
"Jesus, you could have waited until I told you I was decent," Tai muttered, buckling his belt.
"Aren't you prude," Sora teased. "I thought you'd still be asleep."
"If you let me spend the night once in a while, you will have known that I'm an early riser," he said pointedly. Then, remembering something, he quickly added, "Happy birthday."
She smiled at him. "You remembered. I'll remember that the first thing you did on my birthday was snap at me."
"Then you've already forgotten that I texted you at midnight," he reminded her. "Anyway, let's try to not bicker on your birthday. It'll be a real testament to how far we've come if we can make it the whole day without arguing."
She laughed at his joke. "That'd be a nice birthday present."
"Well, I got you something else too. Turn around."
She was still smiling. "What are you going to do to me?"
"Well, the idea was to surprise you, but you've already barged right in now, haven't you?"
She turned around. "Fine, surprise me."
"No peeking."
She put up her hands to shield her eyes, making him laugh.
Wishing he had prepared earlier, he fumbled in his suitcase to pull out a wrapped box and a card. With the gifts for her and her parents out, his suitcase was now mostly empty.
"Boo," he said, walking in front of her. He used his free hand to lower her arms so she could see him. "Did you know your birthday is inconveniently close to Valentine's Day? It makes it hard to one-up myself."
"I'll try to take note of that in my next life," she said sarcastically, touching the necklace around her neck out of habit before taking the items from his hand.
"Open the gift first," he suggested.
She sat down on his bed, making a comment that he hadn't made it—"I was about to do it," he lied—before unwrapping the red and gold wrapping paper carefully.
"Did you wrap this?" she asked.
"I stuck the bow on top," he answered proudly, taking the gold accessory she had discarded and attempting to stick it in her hair.
He thought she would tell him to stop, but she didn't, so he snuck in a picture, much to her chagrin. He promised he'd delete it later, and she was too distracted to argue otherwise. She continued to unwrap the foil until she got the box of wine underneath. She held it up, reading the label aloud with poorly pronounced French. It was obvious to them both that it was expensive, but the lack of wine knowledge prevented them from really appreciating it for what it was.
"You're officially two years away from being thirty, you old lady."
"I don't appreciate the comment," she shot with a feigned look of annoyance before leaning to kiss him, "but thank you. It's lovely. Maybe we can all drink it tonight."
He teetered between feeling intrigued and touched, depending on whether her gracious reaction was genuine.
"You're supposed to not like it," he said disappointedly.
She looked alarmed. "Why?"
"Because I wanted you to read the card after you were underwhelmed," he explained.
She, not getting it, opened the envelope. When she took out the card, two slips of paper fell out. She picked them off the floor and examined them, then looked at him confusedly.
"Read the card," he told her.
He peeked over her shoulder as she did so, wincing when he saw his terrible penmanship scribbled on the card. He could imagine the poor chap who had made such an intricate design weeping over the spoiled remains of his once beautiful creation.
"I apologise for my handwriting," he said, though Sora was too busy reading to hear him. Even though everything was laid out in what he had written, he started explaining. "I wanted to take you to Bali for your birthday weekend, but since you demanded that we come here instead, I went ahead and cancelled those airplane tickets. Before you feel bad, they were frequent flyer miles, so I can just reschedule them. Pick a date and place, and we can go together."
He felt satisfaction when he saw a familiar reaction. It was the same one she had given on Valentine's Day when he had given her the necklace. She had almost felt bad for having received it, not really knowing what to say and stuttering over words. He always found her rather articulate, so it amused him to see a different, shyer side to her.
"Do you like it?"
She nodded meekly, putting her arms around him. "I do. Thank you."
"We could still go to Bali. You said you wanted to go."
She nuzzled her face into his shirt, her voice muffled by the material. "I do want to go, but I didn't mean you had to pay for it."
"You're wrinkling my shirt after yelling at me yesterday about how I need to fold my laundry properly so they don't get wrinkled."
"It's wool. You can't tell," she said, turning her head to the side to talk to him. "I like the wine too."
"My assistant picked it."
"I like it less."
"She gave me options rather," he corrected himself, "but you didn't even get mad. You were supposed to feel really stupid after you saw my real present. You ruin everything by being you."
"Why were you trying to play a prank on me on my birthday?"
"I'm trying to keep you young because you're starting to cut it close, don't you think?"
She pulled away from him, glaring. He pecked her lips, which made her pull away more, nervous in her parents' home.
"Mum's cutting your fruit for breakfast," she told him.
"What do you want to do today for your birthday?"
"I just want to show you around," she said, starting to straighten his jumper for him. "There are so many places I want you to see. My friends from school want to meet up tonight too, so you can meet them."
"I mean, is it okay that I look like this, or should I get a haircut first?"
She smiled, reaching up to detangle the mess that was his morning hair. "Your hair looks fine. I was just nervous that my parents would be hard on you, but now that I see how easily they accepted you, I know my friends will too."
Matt was bored, so he did something he hadn't done in a while: take out his bass guitar.
It was his old instrument, the one he had before Megumi gifted him a new one for his birthday years ago. That bass guitar was in a garbage pile somewhere, broken in two jagged pieces after he had smashed it against his wall.
He found his old one rather dusty and out-of-tune, which was lucky because it gave him something to do. He struck his tuning fork and held it to his ear, using it because it took longer that way.
After Mimi had left earlier that morning, he had wanted to go back to sleep but was unable to do so. He found that with Mimi, TK, and Tai all unavailable, he was incredibly bored. He had always enjoyed being by himself, so he wasn't sure why he suddenly yearned for company.
Finished, he set the tuning fork aside and strummed the strings together, satisfied in the way they now sounded.
However, now that he had finished his chore, he lost the inspiration to actually play. Music had always been his biggest passion and favourite hobby, though he found himself too lazy to do anything substantial with it recently.
Instead, he reached over to his desk to pick up the notebook that was lying on top of it. He flipped through the sheet music, each page coated with his handwritten notes. Occasionally, there was Megumi's cursive on the margins. Even though it reminded him of her, it had been the one thing he couldn't bare to rip up. This notebook was by far his most prized possession, some of the music dating back fifteen years. He'd rather lose his passport or wallet than lose this.
He stopped on a page that was different from the rest. With his insistence, Megumi had attempted to compose something. It was passable at best, but they had spent so much time trying to turn it to something more before giving up and agreeing she would just stick to singing. It was a failed piece, but he had kept it there for the memory. It had been one of his favourite pages.
Now, he could only frown as he looked at it, annoyed at himself for allowing such phantoms to rise and thinking of that wretched person again. He grabbed the sheet of paper and ripped it out, crumpling it into a ball and tossing it to the bin.
He missed, but he didn't notice, already taking out his mobile and opening his messages. He tapped Mimi's name, the last person he had texted and also the only person that day.
'Are you back from the airport?'
She always responded to him quickly, but when she didn't do so within a minute, he added another.
'Are you showing your friends around Tokyo?'
He stared at his phone but she still didn't respond, so he tapped Tai's name next.
'How's Kyoto?'
Tai was prompt but succinct.
'Parents love me.'
He had no response to that. As he was construing something for the sake of continuing the conversation, Mimi texted him back, and he instantly forgot about Tai.
'Yes! We're at Tokyo Tower.'
The text was followed by a picture of her and her friends, the backdrop of the Tokyo skyline blurry in the background. His eyes brushed past her friends to just her. She was so radiant that he sometimes found it difficult to believe he was dating her.
'Wish you were here!' she added. Mimi always broke her messages into multiple ones.
Compared to being confined in his room, imprisoned by thoughts that were eating his soul away, he could be with her. Sure, he would have to get over his discomfort of meeting new people, but what he had thought the night before to be a deal breaker now seemed like a minor inconvenience.
'I could be. Where are you going next?'
He waited impatiently for her reply. He hadn't realised how he had gotten so accustomed to her responding right away.
She finally replied.
'We were thinking lunch. Any suggestions?'
As he thought of places of interest near Tokyo Tower, she texted him again.
'Are you really coming?'
He got up from his chair, bending down to put the crumpled sheet of paper that he just noticed off the floor and into the bin.
'Yeah, I'll meet you in front of the Tokyo Tower in thirty minutes. I'll think of lunch options on the way.'
She shot him three messages in a row.
'I can't tell if you're joking.
'You better not be!
'Can't wait to see you! xx'
He used to find adding kisses to messages childish.
Somehow, he found hers endearing, and he almost sent her one back before he came to his senses and stopped himself.
Quickly, he stood up, having no time to lose. At thirty minutes to go, he was already late.
23 December 2015
I wasn't planning on writing the Kyoto trip at all, but because so many people were expecting it, I felt like I had to put it in. Sorry if it cuts off in weird parts; that'll be why. I actually went to Kyoto in the middle of writing this, and when I was at the drugstore, the tri. version of "Butterfly" came out on the store's playlist!
Since I'm still in Japan, I have been making little Digimon stops here and there. I must commend my boyfriend for putting up with me being such a fangirl. (タケルュ〜くん！) Not only did I make him watch tri. at the cinema, where there were no English subtitles for him, but I also dragged him to the Digimon theme café.
I even bought two magazines that featured Digimon tri. on the covers. One is quite random because an article inside shows what Tai and Matt carry around in their bags. Evidently, Tai chews gum while Matt prefers mints. I found it funny they even made this a thing.
Finally, as always, thank you for the reviews!