"Tusk, you came to the…," Misao stopped in his tracks when he saw Tusk in the café with Yamato, "Oh…Yamato, you're here too," he said, walking up to the two men.
"Misao," Tusk called happily and grabbed his chauffeur by the arm, "you remember the other day I was in here right?"
Misao nodded.
"You remember me telling you about a girl I met in here right?"
Misao nodded again.
"Well, I wanted to introduce you to her as well," Tusk happily stated, "Sera, this is Misao, my driver and buddy. Misao, this is Sera, the girl of my dreams."
"Girl of your dreams?" Sera piped out, "what do you mean?' she asked.
"Well," Tusk lets go of Misao and sat down in the chair next to Yamato, oblivious to the glare that Yamato was currently giving him, "the day that I met you, I've decided to make it a goal to make you my girl," he confessed.
Sera glanced at Tusk and then to Yamato, "You know him?" she asked Yamato, pointing a finger to Tusk, "You two know each other?" she asked, eyeing Tusk this time.
"Sure we do," Tusk announced and slung an arm around Yamato's shoulders, "he's my childhood friend, along with Misao back there. Yama-chan is also my boss, he's the one who directs the movies I star in."
"Oh so you're an actor," Sera said, finally realizing who Tusk was, "no wonder why Amu was so star struck that day you came in," she chuckled.
"Ah…well yeah…," Tusk blushed and rubbed the back of his head, "anyways, Sera this is Kazakiri Yamato, and Yama-chan this is my girl," he claimed.
"Misao," Yamato half growled, "please take Tusk to the actual restaurant, I'll meet you guys there shortly," he ordered.
"Yes sir," Misao answered. He walked up to the younger one and grabbed Tusk by the arm, "okay lover boy, let's get going," he ordered, struggling to pull the younger one away and out from his seat.
"Ah…Sera," Tusk called, "can you hand me your phone?" he asked.
"Hm? For what?" Sera asked.
"Just give it to me," Tusk demanded.
Without thinking much, Sera reached into her apron's pocket and pulled out her phone then proceeded to hand it over to Tusk. Tusk grabbed the phone and dialed his phone number and pressed the green button. A ringing sound fills the cafe. Tusk reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, "To save your number," he said and hung up, "thank you," he then handed the phone back to Sera.
"Let's get going damn it," Misao grunted and finally pulled Tusk out of the seat.
"I'll call you later, maybe we can go catch a movie together or something," Tusk suggested while he got dragged out of the café by Misao. Sera stood there looking confused as ever.
Yamato rubbed his forehead and spun back around to face Sera, "I apologize for my friend's attitude," he stated.
Sera smiled at Yamato and placed her phone beside her work papers, "It's fine," she replied, "I'm used to men hitting on me randomly like that," she goes back to the notepad in front of her. Yamato sat in silence watching Sera concentrate on her work for a while before getting up from his seat.
"I better get going then," Yamato said and grabbed for his coat.
"Ah right," Sera piped, "but wait here," she said and disappeared into the kitchen. Yamato glanced at her phone and reached over the countertop. He flips hit the home button and a phot of Sera and her mom popped up. He then proceed to slide the bar over, surprised that Sera doesn't have a passcode protecting the phone, and punched in his phone number. Just like Tusk, Yamato called his phone and then hung up. He quickly placed the phone back where it belonged before Sera came back, "here you go," she said and handed him a bag.
"What's this?" Yamato asked, taking the small white bag from Sera.
"I wanted you to be the first person to try my new pumpkin spice pound cake," she answered, "it might not be that great since I'm still trying to perfect the recipe."
Yamato smiled and took a sniff from the bag, "It smells great," he pointed out, "I'm sure I'll enjoy the cake."
Sera smiled happily as Yamato wrapped his coat around his shoulders without wearing it, "I'll drop by later after the shooting," he stated.
"You don't have to," Sera chimed, "I mean, you'll be tired and all from all the recording."
"I never feel tired when it comes to you," Yamato winked at Sera which caused her to blush, "I'll see you later then?" he asked.
Sera nodded.
Instead of leaving the café, Yamato walked around the counter and stopped in front of Sera, "You're not leaving yet?" she asked.
Yamato shook his head and leaned in, "Not yet," he answered, "I'm thinking that I forgot something," he stated.
"Oh? What's that?" Sera asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.
Yamato gave Sera a warm smile and dipped in to place a soft kiss on her cheek, "That," he answered and pulled away. Sera placed a hand on the cheek that was just kissed and blushed even more, "I'll see you later then," he reminded her before turning his back on her. Sera couldn't say anything but watch Yamato walk out of the café.
Her heart thumping fast and loud as Yamato took each step to leave her standing behind.
"And that's a wrap for today," Yamato shouted to his crew. Everyone either stood up or stretched where they were standing at. Oda-san came up to Yamato and gave him a round of applaud.
"That was wonderful Yamato-san," Oda-san complimented, "you're definitely the best director in Japan."
Yamato smiled and gave Oda-san a bow, "Thank you for your compliments Oda-san, although I feel like I still need a lot of improvements."
"Well you're still young so you'll definitely grow," Oda-san stated and patted his shoulder, "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.
"Apparently, we don't do movie shootings on Sundays," Yamato answered, "I usually give my crew a rest on Sunday to enjoy their day off and do whatever they feel like."
"Ah…no wonder why your crew has nothing but praises and compliments about you," Oda-san chuckled, "alright then, I'll see you Monday," the older man stated. He gave Yamato one last hand shake before leaving the younger one with the staffs.
Tusk came up to Yamato and slung an arm around the younger one, "I get this bad feeling about that guy," he stated.
"Tusk, you're thinking too much," Yamato replied while sifting through the papers in front of him.
"I'm serious Yama-chan," Tusk pressed on, "old man with no hair and a stomach sticking out that far is always calling for trouble."
Yamato chuckled and elbowed his friend in the stomach, "Stop stereotyping you idiot," he shrugged Tusk's arm off his shoulders and walked up to Saki-san, "I want you to round up everyone and let them know to meet me here on Monday 10 am sharp," he instructed.
"Yes sir" Saki-san answered. Yamato handed her his papers to which she took them and stuffed them in a manila folder, "oh Yamato-san," she called before he got away, "the crew will be going to a dinner later, would you like to come?" she asked.
Yamato slipped into his coat, "No not tonight," he answered, "I have some family matters I need to take care," he lied.
"Oh..," Saki-san's tried to hide her disappointment.
"I'll see everyone on Monday then," Yamato said and took off.
"Good work today everyone," Sera announced as she locked up the café for the night, "Kasumi, will you be needing a ride home?"
Kasumi grabbed for her pink furred coat and slipped into it, "No, but thank you for the offer," she answered, "I'm having Takaharu pick me up tonight."
Sera smiled sweetly at her co-worker, "Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow?"
Kasumi nodded. Instantly, a car pulled up to the café and honked its' horns, "Takaharu is here Sera," Kasumi announced, "I'll see you guys all tomorrow," she grabbed for her messenger bag and took off.
"She's a sweet girl," Leo said nonchantly behind Sera.
"Yeah," Sera answered, "Kasumi and I met when we were in high school. During my years in high school, Amu's parents moved to Osaka so I didn't have anyone to hang out with. I was new to her high school and instantly Kasumi befriended me."
"That's really nice of her," Leo added.
"It really was," the memories of meeting Kasumi for the first time brought a smile to Sera's face.
"So who's Takaharu?" Leo asked.
"Takaharu? He's…," Sera knitted her brows together, "well their relationship is a bit complicated," she said with a light chuckle, "she told me that they're cousins and share the same grandfather."
"So then…are they like dating dating?" Leo asked, "Because I just saw Kasumi give that Takaharu guy a peck on the cheek."
Sera laughed and began wiping the table in front of her, "Yeah I guess you can say that they're dating," she confirmed, "like I said, their relationship is a bit complicated and you can't be judgmental about it either."
"I'm not," Leo said and took a seat in front of Sera, "any plans after this?" he asked, "if not, can I take Amu home with me?"
Sera immediately glared at Leo which caused him to laugh, "I mean, can I take Amu home?"
Sera smiled and shrugged, "Depends on what she says though," she pointed out, "you might have creeped her this afternoon with that kiss of yours," she teased.
Leo blushed and covered half of his face, "I didn't know what got into me. Looking at Amu in the eyes just made me do things that I usually don't do."
Sera laughed even louder and sat down in the seat adjacent to Leo, "Somehow I like you Leo," she confessed, "I've seen and been through all the guys that Amu dated and I must say, they're nothing compare to you."
"Really?" Leo asked.
Sera nodded, "They were all jerks who only liked her for her looks," she answered, "Amu, she's a special case. She doesn't really know how to handle stuff in the kitchen and that's why I don't allow her in there unless I'm in there to supervise her. Kitchen and Amu don't get along with each other I'll have to say," she let out a sigh and began playing with the wet towel, "she can be a bit of a dummy at times but when she cares for someone, she cares deeply and with all her heart. So I'm going to say this again Leo, you better not mess this up or else I'll get revenge on you," Sera threatened.
Leo chuckled and nodded his head, "I won't" he stated.
A knock at the door cut Leo's and Sera's conversation short which caused Leo to glance up behind Sera, "Yamato?" he called. Sera spun around to see Yamato standing out there in the cold. She got up from her seat and ran over to let him in.
"How long were you standing there?" she asked, moving to the side so that Yamato can enter. Yamato walked in and shook his hair from the snow that had started to descend up Tokyo, "it's snowing?" she asked, sticking her head outside to examine the already covered streets with white snow.
"A bit," Yamato answered. He wiped his shoes on the mat first before walking onto the tiles of the café.
"What are you doing here?" Leo asked, walking up to the younger one, "are you here to pick me up?" he asked.
Yamato laughed and punched the older one on the shoulder, "Does it look like I'm here to pick you up when you obviously drove yourself here?" he asked.
"Good point," Leo stated.
"Are you cold? Do you want something warm to drink?" Sera asked, walking over to where Yamato was standing, "I can go get you a cup of hot chocolate if you would like."
Just when Sera was about to leave to the kitchen, Yamato grabbed both of her hands and placed them on his cheeks, "This is all I need," he said with his eyes closed and a satisfied smile on his face, "your hands are warm enough to keep me warm."
Sera blinked a few times and then looked away. Leo felt weird standing there so he took off to find Amu. After a few moments on silence, Yamato intertwined their hands together and pulled Sera over to the closest table, "when are you off?" he asked, still holding onto her hands.
"Um…I still need to finish cleaning the tables and restrooms. I still need to count how much we made today and go over any low merchandises that might need to be restocked," Sera said and began listing off the job duties she needed to finish before going home.
"I'll help," Yamato stated and got up to take off his coat. He unbutton the bottom of his sleeves and rolled them up to his elbow, "I'm pretty good at cleaning and such," he claimed.
"You don't have you to Yamato," Sera said, "Amu and Leo are still here to help me with those things."
"No really," Yamato pressed on.
"Plus, didn't you just get done shooting for the night? I wouldn't want to bother you because I'm sure you're tired," Sera argued.
Yamato pinched Sera's nose and head over to grab the wet towel from the other table, "Silly, didn't I tell you that when it comes to you I'm never tired?" he reminded Sera and began wiping the table. Sera let out a defeated sigh and walked over to the bar.
"I'll send Leo and Amu home since you insist on helping me out so much," she told him and then disappeared into the kitchen.
"Thanks for the dinner tonight Saki-san," Tusk said and bowed.
"No problem Tusk," Saki-san replied back, "have a good night and be safe. I'll see you Monday," she told him before walking away.
Tusk blew out some smoke from his mouth and glanced up into the cold winter night sky, "I wonder why Yama-chan couldn't' make it tonight," he pondered.
"I heard from Saki-san that he had family matterst to take care of," Misao said and fished for the keys in his pocket, "ready to go home?" he asked.
Tusk held out his hand and signaled for Misao to hand him the key, "I'll drive us tonight," he stated, "since you're always driving me around."
Misao shrugged and placed the key in Tusk's palm, "If you insist buddy." The two men walked together to the car. Tusk unlocked it and got into the driver side while Misao got into the passenger side.
"Any plans tonight Tusk?" Misao asked.
Tusk turned on the turn and turned on the heater. He sat there letting the car heat up, "I'm going to drop by Sera's café to see if she's free for a movie date night," he answered.
"It's 10 at night, I don't' think Sera is there anymore," Misao said and pointed to the dash clock.
"Good point," Tusk commented, "I'll give her a call then," he pulled out his phone and dialed Sera's phone number.
After cleaning up, Yamato was sitting beside Sera watching her calculate how much they profited today and how much money she will need to go into the store to restock all the low merchandises. From the corner of his eyes, Yamato saw Sera's phone light up with a number. He frowned slightly at the phone number trying to recall where he has seen it and then it hit him that the phone number belonged to Tusk. Quietly like a ninja, Yamato reached out to Sera's phone and grabbed it. Instead of letting Sera know that someone was calling, he hit the off button to send the phone call to voicemail.
"And…I think that should be it," Sera said. She got up from the chair and began packing things away, "I'll go shopping for the things I need tomorrow while Amu opens up the café," she spun around to see Yamato still sitting there, "are you tired?" she asked.
"Kind of," he answered.
"Sorry for making you wait," she apologized.
Yamato smiled and shook his head, "No I didn't mind," he said and got up from the bar stool, "are you heading home?" he asked.
Sera nodded.
"Do you have a ride home?"
"No, my mom came by earlier to borrow my car since her car is in the shop. I was planning to catch the last train but…it seems like it's too late," Sera while glancing up at the clock for the time.
"I can send you home," Yamato stated.
"But…I've already asked enough help from you today already," Sera said with guilt.
"I don't mind," Yamato told her, "you can keep asking for help from me all you like," he confessed. He grabbed Sera's jacket and placed it over her shoulders, "C'mon, let me send you home."
"So?" Misao asked Tusk as they sat in the car.
"She didn't pick up," Tusk answered and try to call again but was directed straight to Sera's voicemail, "it was as if she purposely hung up on me."
"Try again tomorrow morning," Misao suggested, "maybe she's tired from working all day."
Tusk sighed nodded, "Yeah, you're right."
"Remember Tusk, in order to get into a girl's heart, you can't be pushy," Misao commented.
Tusk nodded and bit the bottom of his lips. He couldn't quite understand it all but hearing what Misao said was true. Forcing yourself into a girl's heart wasn't the correct way to go. Tusk will just have to try again tomorrow morning. He placed his phone down and shift the car into drive.
Yamato opened the car door for Sera and closed it when she entered. He walked over to the driver's side and slipped into the car. He turned on the car, turned on the heater, and turned on the radio, "What do you feel like listening to?" he asked as she shift the car into drive.
"Anything is fine with me," Sera answered.
"Okay," Yamato left the radio station alone and peeled away from the curb.
Sera grabbed her purse and searched through it for her phone but failed to find it, "Did I leave my phone back there?" she told herself while patting the pockets of her jacket.
"Did you need to make a phone call?" Yamato asked.
Sera nodded.
"I need to call my mom to see where she's at," she answered.
"Use my phone," Yamato suggested and gave her his phone. Sera took the phone and dialed her mom's number.
"Mom? Where are you?" Sera asked. She stayed silent for a while, "what? What do you mean a snow storm?"
Instantly the song from the radio station gets cut and the sound of an alert news comes on.
"Tonight we will be experiencing a snow storm so we are requesting for the people of Japan to please stay inside. I repeat, we will be experiencing a snow storm so please stay inside. The snow storm is predicted to hit by 11 close to 12 so please stay warm and stay inside."
The news dies and the song comes back on.
"Yeah I just got off right now," Sera answered, "a friend of mine is sending me home," she glanced at the clock on the dashboard and noticed that it was already 11:40 pm, "what? You want me to what? To stay at a motel for the night? You're not home? Where are you?" Sera waited for her mom to answer back, "Oh at Kazakiri-san's house."
Yamato frowned. He was planning to go home and visit his dad tonight and spend some father and son time together but since Sera's mom was at his house, he couldn't do so. He had to change his plans. He couldn't let Sera know that they'll be step siblings soon. In order to get Sera to remember their past together, to make her fall deeply and madly in love with him, and to make sure that she doesn't end up with anyone else but him in this lifetime so that the cycle won't break, Yamato had to do something else.
"How far is your house from here?" he asked.
Sera said bye to her mom over the phone and hung up, "Kind of far," she stated.
"My place isn't far from here, just about 5 minutes," Yamato explained, "if you don't mind, you can spend the night at my apartment."
"Um…," Sera bit the bottom of her lips.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you," Yamato chuckled, "if that's what you're worrying about."
"I don't have a choice right now," Sera said while looking at the clock, "the storm is going to hit soon, my mom isn't home and my house is too far. I might as well spend the night at your house and leave early tomorrow morning," she said.
Yamato pulled to the curb of the street and set the car into park. He turned to the side to face Sera who was still staring outside, "Hey," he called softly, catching Sera's attention. When Sera turned to look at him, Yamato saw the worried-ness in her eyes. Thinking of the best way to calm her nerves down, Yamato reached out and clasped her hands into his, "I'll be honest Sera, you're too precious for me to do any harm."
"It's…"
But before Sera could go on, Yamato brought her hands up to his lips and kissed it, "Trust me," he said, staring right into her eyes.
Sera felt her heart jump over mountains again. The look in Yamato's eyes told her that she could trust him. The look in his eyes made her want to do all kinds of risky thing with him because everything just felt right and safe. Sera nodded. Yamato gave her a smile and pulled away. He shifted the car back into drive and drove off to his apartment.
Author's Note: Longer chapter this time. Enjoy! And make sure to let me know what you guys think of it!
