AN: This chapter brought to you by… the Tokyo Board of Tourism, apparently. Thank you to Mr. Bluesky on AO3 for helping me make this chapter feel more authentic!
To yellow 14: I hoped people would appreciate that! It's a callback to the knot-tying scene in "Storm," how Luka can tie everything but a tie, while Kagami had to learn how to tie someone else's tie (even though any man her mother would approve would already know how).
To Lyger 0: You think so? ;P
To Butterfly: I figure it's important to make that clear. My internet research is enough for fan fiction purposes, but if I were actually writing for the show (or to publish a novel), I would need to actually do firsthand research – visiting or interviewing.
To Cesar848: That does seem to happen to them rather often, doesn't it?
Kagami breathed a sigh of relief on stepping out of the tower lobby and onto the street. Today's wasn't her first official business meeting, or even the first one since her mother had ended the internship and made her an official employee, but it had been the most important, and the first one out of the home office in Tokyo. Her mother had sent her on this trip and arranged this as the first stop for a very specific purpose – a meeting with Ojisan's company would be the perfect way to start giving her experience in meeting with their international clients on her own. Un-Pan was one of their oldest clients – bound by blood – and logically both she and her mother knew that there was no realistic way that Kagami could misstep so badly as to ruin that relationship. Today's meeting had largely been about orchestrating the company's next marketing campaign and negotiating rates for a couple of their other clients to transport their merchandise using Un-Pan – including the first shipment of Kitty Section's CDs and merchandise, assuming that Luka's meeting had been successful.
Luka interlaced his fingers with hers as they walked down the crowded sidewalk, and she leaned into his side, sighing in relief. "I'm glad you came with me," she murmured.
"I am, too," he agreed, tugging on her hand and pulling her to a stop in front of a department store that still had its Christmas lights display up. "And I thought Paris went all out for Christmas," he commented, an amused lilt to his voice, admiring the window display of a Christmas tree decorated with snowflake ornaments, hundreds of presents stacked underneath it next to a sign indicating that they would be donated to a children's charity.
Kagami grinned and wrapped her arm around his waist as they moved down to the next window, examining an intricate origami Nativity set. As they stood still, he draped his arm over her shoulder and rested his chin on her hair. After a few minutes they continued down the sidewalk, Kagami directing their steps inexorably toward the far off tower. "What you see now is nothing," she confided. "If we came back after dark, it would be spectacular." When he gave her a curious look, she nodded toward the trees lining the street.
Luka followed where she indicated and started. The trees were covered from top to bottom with strings of white lights, hardly leaving any of the bark visible. As they continued their walk, all of the trees were similarly covered. "That's–that's a lot of lights," he finally managed, nodding appreciatively.
She giggled and raised an eyebrow at him. "Such a way with words." He flushed. "Maybe we'll have to sneak out one of these nights to come down and see them," she suggested. "It wouldn't be that hard." She patted her purse for emphasis, wagging her eyebrows at him.
"Just say the word," he agreed, squeezing her hand gently. "Taking a run together would be fun." They walked in companionable silence for a few more blocks before he asked, "How was the meeting?"
She grinned, almost bouncing on her feet from excitement. "I was so nervous for nothing! Ojisan and I arrived with plenty of time. The sales figures were all solid – I hardly had to say anything to justify the fee increase Tsurugi is instituting for next year. There was a little negotiating on shipping fees, but nothing major. We're all set for Kitty Section to start shipping in January; we'll incorporate your merchandise into the next Agreste shipment for convenience."
"That's great, babe!" he cheered, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "I knew you could do it!"
She smiled, letting out an easy breath. This had been the easy meeting, but she could build from here. "But how did your meeting go?"
Luka furrowed his brows in thought. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "He said he would get back to me on it."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"I suppose that makes sense, but I was hoping for a little more positive outcome."
She cocked her head. "Considering the connection with Anarka, that's what I expected, too. So walk me through it," she instructed. "What happened?"
"I walked in, he handed me his business card; I gave him one of the cards you designed and put his in my pocket–"
"Damn." Kagami's heart sank and she face-palmed. "That's your problem."
"What?"
"The business card," she explained, grimacing. "He may have taken it as an insult that you put away his business card instead of keeping it out." Luka cocked his head in confusion. "Did you hold it out for him to read it first? Did you read his?"
"No…" His jaw dropped in realization. "Shoot. I'm sorry babe," he apologized, shoulders falling.
She shrugged, pushing down the knot forming in her chest, and wrapped her arm around his waist. "It can still work out," she assured him. "It's my fault for overbooking so I couldn't go with you today. If he has a few minutes tomorrow I can try to make amends. He might be willing to forgive you for it since you're European – and the connection with Anarka."
He nodded, frowning. "What about your meetings tomorrow at the Tsurugi building?"
"I can make it work," she insisted, pulling out her phone, a firm set to her mouth. "After today, I'm not too worried for tomorrow. Besides, tomorrow's meetings will be on my terms in my office. It's what Mother's been preparing me to do for eighteen years."
He raised an eyebrow dubiously.
"It'll be fine." She waved her hand dismissively as Takagi's secretary answered the phone. "Good morning," she greeted her. "My name is Tsurugi Kagami; my client Luka Couffaine had a meeting with Takagi-san earlier."
"Of course, Tsurugi-san," the woman responded. "How can I be of assistance?"
"Would Takagi-san be available for a few minutes as a follow-up tomorrow morning?"
The secretary hummed, her computer clicking. "He has five minutes before eight, if that will work."
"That will work perfectly," Kagami agreed, giving Luka a thumb's up. "Thank you so much." Ending the call she grinned at Luka, who gave her a worried look. "See? All good. But anyways, I don't really feel like talking business anymore today; I'd much rather show you the sights of Tokyo!" Kagami pointed up at the enormous Tokyo Tower a couple blocks away from them before glancing over at her boyfriend to take in his reaction.
Luka's jaw dropped. "Is that supposed to be–"
"A model of the Eiffel Tower?" she finished, smiling eagerly. "Yes, it is!"
He chuckled. "Halfway around the world, and it's like we're right back home." He pulled her into a hug and grinned. "Of course, just being here with you, it's like home never really left," he whispered, his breath ghosting against her skin, placing a finger under her chin and tipping it up to plant a kiss on her lips.
Kagami's grip on his waist tightened as she sighed into the kiss. Even after just six months, it was amazing just how true that statement had become. A year ago, when she bumped into him at that party – the same night that she had stopped that bank robbery with him – she couldn't have imagined her life going in this direction. At that time she had been fully accepting of her mother's plans. But now? Now she couldn't imagine her life any differently. Finally breaking the kiss she rested her cheek against his chest. "It's after lunchtime, and I'm hungry," she informed him.
"Where is there food nearby?" he asked.
"There are a few restaurants in the tower," she replied, frowning doubtfully. "But they cater a lot more to tourists – not much authentic food there. Our better option would be one of the restaurants in Shiba Park: we can eat and look out at the tower and the park, then we can decide where to go from there."
"Sounds good to me," Luka agreed, as they crossed the street and entered the park.
Merging in with the tourists, Kagami led the way across to Toufuya Ukai, where they were able to get a table near the window. Most of the plants around the building and park were barren in the winter time, but that gave them an unobstructed view of the park – and the tall orange-and-white tower in the center. While Luka stared out the window at the people walking through the park, Kagami placed their order for two servings of tofu ryouri and the seasonal yuzu tea for herself and Luka, and kobe beef for the Kwamis. When their food arrived, she set her purse on the table, and the two Kwamis slipped out, careful to avoid being seen by hiding between the purse and the extra plate.
"This city has truly changed since I was last here," Longg observed, picking out a couple snap peas to start.
Sass nodded, tearing off a chunk of beef. "I have never been here, ssso I have no comparissson!"
"You and me both," Luka joked, taking a bite of his own lunch.
"It is a fine island… provided that the people are not at war!" Longg replied, amused. "Sadly, every time I have been here before now, it was because of a war…"
Kagami giggled softly. "I'm glad I could give you an example of Japan without a war going on!"
As she scooped up her own seasoned tofu, Kagami let out a breath, allowing the familiar tastes and smells to wash over her. The last time she had visited this park had been before they moved to Paris; she hadn't really thought at the time about returning – certainly not with a boyfriend in tow. But here she was, experiencing her old home through his new eyes. "You know," she began, watching him stare at the top of the tower, "if we do come back at night, the tower will be lit up, too."
"Oh?"
She nodded. "At Christmastime it's lit up to look like a Christmas tree!"
"That sounds cool!" He arched an eyebrow at her. "Maybe we can just sit up on the top of the tower and look out at the city."
She smiled warmly. "I'd like that."
Once he finished eating, Luka put his hand on the table next to hers, waiting quietly for her to finish, listening to the soft Christmas music playing over the restaurant's system. The two Kwamis polished off their own meal before Kagami did. She took Luka's hand, squeezing it gently. He smiled warmly as he paid the bill. "Are you having fun, babe?"
"Definitely," she assured him, grinning. "As long as you are! Do you want to go up to the tower's observation deck?"
He hummed. "That's an option," he agreed. "But what else is there?"
"Let's see…" she began, tapping her chin. "If we go to FootTown – the building underneat the tower – there's a gallery we can walk through, or we can walk around and check out the stores." She nodded at the window. "And the Christmas market in the park is still open, though it doesn't look like there are as many stalls as there would have been last week."
He thought for a minute and got up, pulling her to her feet. "If we're going to come back one of these nights, we can see the tower then. For now, I think it would be interesting to see what the local people make, so why not walk through the market?"
Kagami nodded in acquiescence, holding his hand tightly as they left the restaurant and wended their way around the Christmas market. Stalls lined the sidewalks, though not all of them were occupied. A couple dozen other patrons wandered up and down the aisles; Luka and Kagami merged into the flow of traffic, admiring the wide array of handcrafted nativity sets, reindeer, and ornaments. Luka stopped in one stall to look at a glass ball with Hoteiosho painted on it. He picked it up and held it out to her. "What do you think?"
"Thinking about the 'tree' on the Liberty?" she asked, smiling affectionately at the memory from their Christmas just a few days – and one continent – ago. She shrugged. "I mean, he's more of a tourist thing, but why not? We can put it up next to the one with Père Noël!"
"That's what I was thinking," he agreed, pulling out his wallet to pay for the ornament. "But if this guy isn't an authentic Japanese Santa, then what is?"
Kagami tapped her chin, looking closer at the array of ornaments, before picking up one with a chubby man in a red suit with a white beard. "Honestly, Santa is more of an 'authentic' Japanese Santa!" she replied, stifling a giggle. "But what if we get both?"
Luka nodded in agreement and placed both ornaments on the counter, where the younger man behind the table rang them up and started to wrap them in paper. Before paying, however, Luka paused to look at a row of hand-folded ornaments next to the register, several of which showed two fish forming a circle. He turned to Kagami and raised an eyebrow dubiously.
"What does 'koi' mean in Japanese?" she asked him, smirking in amusement.
"'Love'…"
"And what kind of fish are those?"
"Koi–ohhh." He shook his head ruefully and took a closer look at the selection before picking out one comprised of a light green fish and a bright red fish. "You know why I picked this one, right?" he whispered softly, leaning in close.
"Of course," she confirmed. She felt her cheeks start to redden. "That was the reason we actually started dating, after all."
He nodded, smiling warmly. "And I couldn't be happier." He placed the fish with the other two ornaments and handed the man his card. "Do you realize it's almost exactly a year ago that we first worked together?"
"How could I forget?" she whispered softly, looking up into his eyes. "Although we had patrolled together a few times before that."
"We had," he agreed, "but that was the first time we were really in sync. That's when we became a team."
"The perfect team," she confirmed with a kiss.
PSA: Based on my research, koi fish are actually used as a symbol for love in Japan because "carp" and "love" are homophones. The actual characters are different, however, which is yet another reason not to get an "Eastern" tattoo without being 100% certain that it's actually the character you want!