AN: My understanding of Japanese etiquette is researched but may not be completely accurate.
To Anon: Perhaps… :D
To Lyger 0: I mean, technically he is a foreigner. Though I think Eiji is a little more likely than Miki to call him "gaijin."
To CodeDweller: It's more like evening (8-9). But that is a good question…
To Butterfly: My intent with Miki is that she's nice, but in that "prim and proper" sense. :)
To yellow 14: They are a very cute couple!
Sass safely tucked in his shirt pocket, Luka arrived in the dining room for breakfast the next morning, just buttoning the last buttons on his shirt. Kagami, dressed in a sharp suit, pencil skirt, and flats, had beaten him downstairs and had already started on breakfast, talking with her aunt and uncle in rapid Japanese. She glanced up when he walked into the room and smiled brightly, rising from the table to meet him. Grabbing the silk tie he'd draped over his shoulder, she looped it around his neck and carefully tied it for him.
"One of these days you'll have to learn how to tie this for yourself!" she teased him in French, tugging the knot tight and leaning in close.
"What, and miss out on you tying it for me?" he teased back, giving her a quick peck on her surprised lips. Kagami blushed delicately as she returned to her seat, and he took the empty seat across from her.
Her uncle, Eiji, furrowed his brows and pursed his lips. "Do you not tie your own ties, Luka?" he asked, frowning.
Luka opened his mouth to answer, but Kagami jerked her head brusquely.
"Ojisan," she interjected, arching her eyebrow in challenge, "what business is it of anyone else if I want to tie it for him?"
"I think it's sweet," Miki cooed, pouring a cup of tea for Luka.
"Thank you." Surveying the wide array of foods available, Luka helped himself to a spoonful of rice with a greenish paste, topping it with an egg. He picked out a couple pieces of a dried fish for Sass, along with a bowl of miso soup.
Kagami smirked at him impishly. "I don't think he would wear a tie otherwise!"
"I doubt I would need a tie if not for you!" Luka replied, smiling. He took a taste of the rice, starting at the spiciness of the topping. "This is delicious… but what is it?" he asked.
"Yuzukoshō," Miki answered.
Luka gave Kagami a confused look and she explained. "Yuzu is a fruit – you'll taste it everywhere this time of year. The tea is yuzu, also." She traced her foot up and down his leg under the table and continued, "There are even snack foods that use yuzu – Kit Kats for one."
"That does sound interesting," he commented, sipping his tea and working steadily through his breakfast. He looked around the table with some surprise at the lack of a fifth place setting. "I take it Shiro is not joining us today?"
Miki waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, that boy is always waking up late," she answered. "Up till all hours with his games, then gets up by noon. But he works from home, so he can set his own hours."
"Unfortunately, not all of us have the luxury of such laziness," Eiji observed pointedly, glancing at the clock. "With the traffic, we must leave in no less than fifteen minutes," he warned.
"Of course, Ojisan." Kagami nodded obediently. "I have everything I need down here with me. Luka?"
He pursed his lips in thought, patting his tablet. "I do not need too much for this meeting. I am ready to go, just as soon as I finish eating."
Eiji nodded. "That's good."
"I hope you slept well," Miki commented, sipping her soup. "I find a new bed always takes adjustment."
"I slept very well, thank you," Luka responded. He slipped the dried fish off his plate and into his lap, carefully avoiding looking at Kagami, whose eyes had lit up mischievously.
"Did you feel the earthquake last night?" asked Miki.
Luka cocked his head in confusion. "No, I must have slept through it – what happened?"
Eiji shrugged and rose from the table. "It wasn't anything much – hardly even registered a 2 on the Richter scale. The news reported it off the coast, underwater. There shouldn't be any trouble, but it's probably smart to avoid the water for the next couple days, in case of tsunami."
Kagami shrugged. "It's hardly beach weather," she pointed out, rising from the table.
Luka swallowed his last mouthful of food and followed them out to the car waiting by the front door, allowing Kagami to get in before him and sit in the middle, between him and Eiji. She sat with her back ramrod straight, her hands folded in her lap. Although she appeared outwardly to be calm, he could see the lines of tension around her mouth, hear the shift in her heart song. The tempo accelerated and the mode shifted – Lydian, perhaps. He reached over and placed his hand on top of hers, but she subtly shook her head, and he withdrew it, looking out the window at the long row of houses they drove past on the way to the highway into town.
"So what has Kimiko been doing, Ojisan?" Kagami finally asked as the car accelerated onto the highway, dodging around the early morning traffic. "I've been so busy lately I haven't had a chance to catch up with her."
"Oh, she thinks she's going to be an artist," Eiji answered dismissively. "She has an apartment in the city with a friend, but still no job. She's planning to stop in this evening for dinner."
"What kind of artist is she?" asked Luka curiously.
"She's trying to break into the anime world," explained Eiji. "She hasn't gotten any opportunities yet, however."
"It's only a matter of time," Kagami noted. "She's very talented; someone's going to notice her eventually. I still have that poster she drew for me before we moved. It's hanging in my room back home."
"Do you think she could design a poster for Kitty Section?" Luka suggested. "Perhaps one that's anime-inspired and we can use if this Asia distribution deal works out?"
Kagami hummed contemplatively. "That's a really good idea!" she agreed, nodding slowly. "We can ask her tonight."
"Kitty Section is your band?" asked Eiji doubtfully. "Have you recorded many albums?"
Luka nodded. "We have a few on the market now – more with Kagami's help," he confirmed, giving her a smile. "Most of our concerts up to now have been in Paris, but we have started to expand a little. My band mates are all still in lycée, which does cut down on how much we can perform and record. But they all graduate this year, and I hope we will be able to schedule a tour in Southeast Asia this summer!"
"That is… impressive," Eiji allowed, eyes widening in some surprise. "When my sister said that you had insisted on dating a musician, Mei, I feared the worst!"
Kagami raised an eyebrow in challenge. "You assumed that 'musician' meant 'good-for-nothing drifter without prospects or motivation'?"
"So often the two categories overlap, Mei," he pointed out.
"Perhaps," Kagami conceded. She gave Luka a soft look, and he returned her smile. "But not in this case."
"I am quite glad to hear that." Eiji turned to examine them more closely as they entered the city.
They continued to speak idly until the car pulled up in front of the Kikai Tower. Luka stepped out first and held the door open for Kagami, taking her hand to help her stand. She smiled and smoothed the front of her skirt as they walked inside. He tried not to stare at the simple yet elegant lobby decorations and instead to follow Kagami's lead, walking straight across to the elevators. Kagami waited for him to enter the elevator first before following with Eiji. She hit two buttons on the elevator, and they ascended quietly. Luka took a slow breath. He could hear that anxious strain growing louder in Kagami's song, to a degree which he hadn't really heard since that summer. As the doors opened on the 19th floor, he brushed his hand against hers before stepping out, turning around in time to see her lips turn up into a slight smile as the elevator doors closed. "I'll meet you in the lobby after!" she called.
Luka cautiously opened the door marked "ChowaKyoku Bunpu" to find a woman a couple years older than himself sitting at a desk. She looked up on hearing the door open. "Irasshaimase." ["Welcome"]
"Hi, I am here for a meeting with Takagi-san," he told her.
The woman consulted her computer screen. "Of course, Couffaine-sama. Follow me, please." She led him down a short hallway and ushered him into a conference room, with a slightly-shorter man standing inside, his head inclined in a bow. Luka awkwardly returned the gesture, and the man straightened up before holding out a business card in both hands.
"Welcome, Couffaine-sama," he intoned, gesturing for Luka to sit. "I thank you for honoring me with this visit. And I hope this will be productive for both of us."
"Thank you, Takagi-san," Luka replied, accepting the card and placing it in his pocket before extracting his own business card and passing it to him. "I am grateful to you for meeting with me this morning. I also hope this can lead to a good business relationship."
"We shall see," Takagi-san allowed, an unreadable expression on his face as he set Luka's card on the table in front of him. "And how is your mother? I do still remember Anarka from her days with Jagged Stone – such an… unusual person she was. Although I suppose that is normal in this business. She certainly fit in well with that company!"
"She is quite well," Luka answered, smiling. "She has enjoyed her retirement, as well as watching Kitty Section grow. Although occasionally she does hint at missing the adventure of it all!"
"She was quite a talented musician, as I recall," noted Takagi-san, nodding. "But from your demo tape, I think you have inherited her talent."
"Thank you for the compliment; it is a tribute to the entire band, not just to myself."
"And so now you are looking to expand your brand into Asia?"
"That is our hope, sir," Luka agreed, nodding. "We started by performing locally, but thanks to word-of-mouth our profile has begun to rise. We have several recordings already available – the one I sent you is just a sample – and plan to record another album in the spring. They have sold well in Europe; my hope is that they will also find an audience here."
"Do you have the sales numbers with you?"
Luka pulled out his tablet and found the correct spreadsheet before turning it around for Takagi-san to read. He knit his brows, his eyes darting quickly back and forth across the screen as he read. Finally he nodded, his face still impassive. "I see that your sales numbers increased dramatically in August. Was that for your last concert?"
Luka shook his head. "Actually, the concert accounts for the spike in September. August was the first full month after we hired the Tsurugi Group as our marketing consultant."
"And what will be their involvement with this Asian distribution?"
"They are ready to handle the majority of the advertising through their Japan office. All we need is someone to distribute the recordings and merchandise."
Takagi-san nodded slowly, and they continued through the specifics of the deal. Finally, he sighed. "Your proposal has great merit," he told Luka. "I would like some time to consider it further."
"That is acceptable," Luka agreed, as Takagi-san rose to show him out of the office. "Thank you very much for your time."
"Do me the courtesy of giving my regards to your mother," Takagi-san instructed him as he called the elevator and leaned forward into a low bow, moments before the elevator arrived on their floor.
"I will." Luka's last view of him as the elevator doors closed was of the top of his head. On the way down, the elevator was empty, giving Luka plenty of time to think. Kagami had gone over Japanese customs and etiquette with him before they left, but he had forgotten most of what she had told him. Had he been expected to bow at the end? Had he talked too much? In the silence of the elevator and his own mind, he found himself second-guessing every step of the meeting. In spite of himself, he could feel his anxiety rising. He had been hoping for a favorable answer today, not a "come back later." But there was nothing more to do now.
When the elevator opened on the ground floor, he cocked his head in surprise on hearing Beethoven playing from the speakers in the ceiling. The strains of "Ode to Joy" invaded his ears and he closed his eyes, allowing the familiar music to calm his anxious heart. Finally feeling a sense of calm return, he walked a lap around the lobby, stopping in front of the tree to admire the strings of lights draping it, along with a handful of glowing paper lanterns. The decorations on the tree showed a blend of European and Asian influences, everything from traditional glass balls to paper fans and origami cranes. Something on the ground in front of the tree caught his eye, and he knelt to take a closer look at a figurine of a man with short black hair, big ears, and red robes that left his chest uncovered.
"You found Hoteiosho." Luka looked up to find Kagami standing next to him, smiling fondly.
"Who?"
"Santa – sort of. Only he's a Buddhist monk, not an elf."
"Huh."
"Take a walk?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
He straightened up and brushed his fingers against hers. "I'll follow your lead!"