At seven o'clock I was near to one of Mitsuru's nervous breakdowns. "I don't know how to behave on a date", I thought. I never really had a date before. In school, I was the bookworm that you could borrow notes from for literature class. Sometimes I doubted if the boys even knew, I existed. I had never thought of myself as pretty. Not ugly either, but certainly not pretty. I was small and slender, with long, chocolate brown hair, silver-brown eyes and pale skin. Someone you could easily overlook. And now I was going to have a date with the most fascinating (and most handsome) man I had met in my whole life …
"Calm down!", I told myself, as I finally reached the bookstore. I heard footsteps a few metres away from me. I turned round. There in the dark, coming towards me, was Hatori. He was dressed in black, as usual (except the white shirt) and he smiled, as he saw me. Only Hatori could smile like that … All of my worries, all of my fears vanished into thin air. Everything would be fine … We were here, together, that was the only thing that mattered …
"Perfect timing", I said, as he came to me. "Indeed." Hatori stood beside me. "You look pretty", he said, noticing my dress. "Thanks." I was glad it was dark, so that he couldn't see me blushing. "You too."
For a moment we both went silent, feeling slightly self-conscious. When I finally found the courage to break the ice. "Come on." I gently grabbed Hatori's hand. He looked up, surprised. "I know a nice restaurant, just a few steps from here." I grinned. "I hope you like sushi." Hatori's face lightened up. "Sounds great", he said softly. I laughed. "Then come!" He joined in my laughing, as we walked to the restaurant, hand in hand. How I loved the sound of his laughter …
"So tell me", Hatori said, as we sat a few minutes later in a nice, little restaurant and were looking through the menues. "You never told me what you are doing, when you are not working in the bookstore or dancing in the snow." "Nothing special", I had to admit. "I am afraid, my life is pretty ordinary. I live in a one-room apartment, I call my parents every day …" "Your parents?", Hatori asked, sounding interested. I nodded. "My father owns a dojo in Tokyo", I told him and added jokingly: "I am an only child, I think that's why my mother is so protective of me." Hatori looked at me thoughtfully. "Well, your parents love you", he said. "Yes, and they have very special plans for my life", I replied. Hatori raised an eyebrow, noticing the slightly sad undertone in my voice.
"What do you mean?", he wanted to know. I paused for a moment, before I went on. "They are always telling me what they want me do", I answered. "To study medicine, to find a husband, to stop reading so much …" "But they never ask you what you want", Hatori realised. "And you feel that you can't live up to their expectations" "Yes …" I stopped. Hatori was the first person, that I had told all this … But he understood.
"What is it, that you want to do?", he asked me. I looked up. "I want to become a writer", I answered promptly. "I have since I was a little girl. I have already written several short stories, but it is difficult to find a publisher." I smiled. "I guess, I just have to keep trying", I said. "You have to follow your dream, right? Never give up … " Hatori had listened to me silently until now. "Right …" I noticed a flicker in his eyes.
"But enough of me." I leaned forward, bringing me closer to Hatori. "I still don't know anything about you, except that you are a doctor who likes to read." Hatori smiled at my description of him. "There is not much to know", he said. "Not much to know, or not much you want to tell me?" The words were out before I could stop myself. But Hatori didn't seem to be hurt. "I don't talk about myself very often", he replied.
"And what if I want to know more about you?", I asked back. Hatori smiled at this, but it was a sad smile. "My life is … complicated", he then began. "My parents both died when I was still young." "I am sorry", I said sympathetically. Hatori shook his head, to show that it was okay. "They didn't exactly were what you would call warm and loving parents", he told me. "I always knew exactly what I had to do, how I had to act or what I had to say. I never could fool around like my friends did, or play with them." "That sounds, as if you would have been very lonely", I said, feeling for him. "Yes", Hatori answered. "I mean no", he then added hastily, as if something had slipped him, he didn't want to say. "I was never lonely. I always had my family around me. But … yes, sometimes it did feel lonely, I guess." He bit his lips, as if he would have said too much.
"And now you're still living with your family?", I asked him, wanting to know more. Hatori nodded. "Our family structures are quite complex", he said. "I have many relatives, as you could see. Right now, I am the doctor of the Soma family." We both laughed.
"You care for others", I said softly. Hatori listened up. "Caring for other people is a noble thing to do", I continued gently. "But, Hatori, everyone needs someone who is also there for them." His eyes were now locked to mine. "And you would be there for me?", he asked, his voice barely a whisper. "If you would let me …", I whispered back.
The uncomfortable silence, the hidden nervousness … they disappeared. Hatori and I could talk. And so we did … We talked about everything. We ate and laughed, while Hatori told me, that his two best friends were also relatives of him. His two cousins, Shigure, whom I had already met, and Ayame, also their age. "They are two of the few Somas who don't live in or near the main house", Hatori told. "Why?", I asked, out of curiousity. I immediately got the feeling that I had asked something wrong. Or at least, Hatori really seemed to think, what to answer me. "Shigure, he … he just had to have a place of his own", he finally answered, sounding evasive. "And Aya … well, is Aya. You will understand what I mean, when you meet him."
Hatori chuckled. "He is one of a kind. Or at least, that is what he says. I would say that Ayame just drives me crazy." "You like them", I noted, smiling. Hatori nodded. "They are my friends", he replied and added, slightly grinning. "Although they act like little children, making me want to strangle them." I giggled. "They sound hilarious!" On Hatori's face appeared a mischievous grin, that I had last seen on Shigure Soma. "Believe me, it is not so funny, if you are the one, who has to help them out, everytime they get into trouble."
He told me how Ayame was called to the headmaster of their school, because of his silvery hair. How Ayame told him that he was a prince from a distant land and had to have such hair because of their traditions. "He confused and scared the poor man half to death. In the end, the headmaster just let him go", Hatori said. I laughed.
And so the evening went by. I enjoyed Hatori's company so much, that I only realised how late it was, when he walked me home.
"It's going to snow!", I said, as we were walking to my apartment. Hatori raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing me. "How would you know that?", he asked doubtfully. "I heard the weather forecast and it didn't mention anything about snow." I shook my head. "The air!", I said. "It smells like snow." "It smells cold", Hatori corrected me. I laughed. "Oh, come on!" I took his hand. "Trust me", I said. Hatori smiled. "Right now, I am not sure, if this is such a good idea", he replied, teasing me. I stuck out my tongue at him. "Oh, you're funny!"
We laughed and teased each other nearly the whole way back to my apartment. "I must say, for someone who seems so quiet and introverted, you can be quite cheeky", I said as we reached the door of my apartment building. "You should never judge a book by its cover", Hatori reminded me. "True …"
We fell silent. "So …" Hatori smiled, as he stepped closer to me. "I guess we have to say good-bye." "Yes …" I looked up, into those amazing eyes. "Thank you for the wonderful evening, Hatori. I really had fun tonight." He nodded. "Me too …"
Hatori was standing now right in front of me. How tall he was … Tall and perfect …
Before I really knew, what was happening, Hatori bent down, bringing our faces even closer together. Our noses touched … And then, his lips were on mine.
Feelings, that I cannot describe, rushed through me, filling every inch of my body. I closed my eyes, just enjoying the feeling of Hatori's soft lips. The whole world seemed to have disappeared. The people, the cold … There was only Hatori and me … Our hands were intertwined, so that I couldn't put them around his neck. We just stood there, lost in the magic of the moment … The Kiss seemed to last forever.
"Wow", I said slowly, as we finally let go of each other. My head was spinning. Hatori was still close to me, so that I could feel his chest heaving, as he tried to breath normally again. "I don't think this word does it justice", he managed to say. "No", I agreed. "You're right …"
As our breathing got slowly back to normal, I suddenly felt something wet and cold on my cheek. "What …?" We both looked up. I started laughing. "This can't be!", I heard Hatori say. "It's snowing!", I exclaimed happily. "I have to apologise", Hatori laughed, his hand still in mine. "I promise never to doubt your snow instincts ever again." "See?", I said, as I slowly stood up on my toes, to bring me closer to him. "You can trust me ..." "Yes …" And we kissed under the snow …
"This is an almost ridiculously perfect moment", I said, as we parted again. Hatori let his finger run through my hair. "Will you have lunch with me tomorrow, Kari-chan?", he asked me. I smiled and touched his hand. "Lunch, dinner … Whatever you want", I replied. As long as you never stop pronouncing my name the way you do, Hatori … "Good …"
When I went back into my apartment, I still felt the taste of Hatori's lips on mine …