Miyabi

A dinner? At the estate? This was new. Father rarely entertained at the estate, preferring restaurants and hotels for social functions. And for someone that Miyabi knew, and not himself? That never happened.

Well, father never met the people she knew, in general. Except Zhu Yuan, back during school. Back before the academy and the bodyguards and the flat where Miyabi lived alone. But- well… not very many people talked with Miyabi in the first place, and Zhu Yuan might not have either if they both had not been assigned the class garden during the same week.

There's more to watering tomatoes than just getting the soil wet, Miss Hoshimi!

Miyabi's memory of Zhu Yuan's earnest concern remained one of her most vivid memories of high school. It was an anomaly- A stand-out from a lifetime of fearful and shocked looks. What did other people say about her? Grim. Scary. Odd. These were the words Miyabi heard when she accidentally overheard her peers talking about her. She'd mentally logged these sound-bites as factoids, but hadn't thought much about them, eve now: she'd been busy with classes and her training. She was becoming stronger. That was all she had time for. What matter if this boy thought her grim or that girl thought her scary? It was immaterial.

But now, Miyabi climbed into the rear-facing and surprisingly cramped backseat of the Victoria Housekeeping sedan and, after settling in, she watched Wise climb in after, smiling as he thumped clumsily down into the seat next to her- the weight of his hip again pressing into her side.

"This seat taken?" said Wise with a silly grin.

"Yes," said Miyabi without thinking. "By you. Thank you."

"It's my pleasure," said Wise, smiling brightly as he put on his seatbelt.

Miyabi felt her heart thumping in her chest again. "Mine, too."

Wise seemed to squint at her slightly as if he hadn't expected that response. But his smile became brighter and he opened his mouth to say something but at that moment, her father sat down on the opposite seat and slid inwards gracefully, no easy feat in a robe. Lycaon closed the doors after them.

Souichirou took a deep breath and his eyes regarded Miyabi sullenly, and then they shifted to Wise. A silence threatened as they both sat facing her father across the interior of the car. Meanwhile, Lycaon slowly walked around the outside of the sedan to the front passenger door. If Miyabi was more attuned to social norms, she would have thought this silence had drifted well into awkward territory, but she failed to notice.

Wise eventually took a slight breath and broke the reformed ice: "It's very generous of you to give us a ride, Mr. Hoshimi."

Father frowned at Wise, which irritated Miyabi. Why did he have to frown at such a polite thing to say?

"Miyabi is my daughter. Of course I would 'give her a ride'."

"Ah, of course," said Wise sheepishly. "Well, thanks for giving me a ride, then."

Father grunted slightly and his eyes drifted back to Miyabi. She felt like the pulse in her chest was changing in tone, shifting from excitement at being next to Wise to being angry at her Father. He was being quietly nasty to Wise! She'd witnessed Father behave in this way during meetings with political people he didn't like- or with those who he wanted to think in his disfavor.

Wise did not deserve this!

Miyabi's anger deepened and she stared at her father, trying to decide on some means of voicing her displeasure to him- but before she could think of anything to say… Father's face paled, he glanced away from her, he looked back again, he again looked away, and finally cleared his throat while adjusting his already pristine kimono.

"Ah, so… Mister.. Ah… Wise," mumbled Father, his tone gaining a measure of pleasantness. "Forgive me, but is that your family name? Am I addressing you correctly?"

Meanwhile, the car rocked as Lycaon's burly frame settled into the front seat on the other side of the opaque wall that separated the driver's compartment from the passengers. The car started up and began to move.

"Wise is perfect, Mr. Hoshimi."

"So, it is your family name: Wise?"

"Ah, no…" said Wise, his voice becoming a bit evasive. "Actually, I don't have a family name, Mr. Hoshimi. I'm an orphan."

"Oh," said father, his eyes looking at Miyabi again for a moment. He disapproved. That much was obvious to her.

"Well, then. Wise. What do you do? For a living?"

"I own a video store. Me and my sister do. In Janus Quarter."

"... a video store?" said father, his disapproving eyes again traveling to Miyabi, again beginning to make her angry. "Just one?"

"Ha, well," said Wise amiably. "One is more than a handful already and-"

The rest of Wise's words were lost in the pulse of Miyabi's growing anger. Father was trying to pick Wise apart in front of her. She could see that much. He wanted to show her all the ways he thought Wise was unacceptable as a boyfriend. It was obvious! No family name meant Wise had no lineage! A single small business meant Wise was not rich! All the petty things that Father thought were so important.

Miyabi spoke up suddenly, cutting off whatever Wise was in the middle of saying: "Wise is a proxy, father. He works for H.A.N.D. as an independent contractor, is paid a healthy government fee, and has guided me through hollows on over two dozen separate occasions."

Both Wise and father blinked at her in surprise. Both gritted their teeth. And perhaps it was Miyabi's imagination, but she felt Wise move slightly away from her, their connection at the hip getting notably colder.

"And he is MY proxy, father," she said, raising her chin. "I gave him one of my hairpins."

Father sputtered. "The hairpin your mother gave you?!"

"Mother gave me all my hairpins," said Miyabi pointedly. "And now Wise has one of them."

She looked at Wise and he was looking at her with a look of surprised concern, but she didn't want him to feel badly about the hairpin. She'd wanted to give it to him, and she remained confident it was safe in his keeping. His hand was resting on his thigh, but Miyabi did not gain the idea to reach for it. Instead her own hands remained stiffly in her own lap as she turned her gaze back on her shocked father.

Silence reigned again in the car, the sounds of other traffic around it now. They had left the long jetty road of Port Elpis and were now within a populated area. Something caused the car to slow briefly, then accelerate again- a stale red light, perhaps?

Souchioru's face was one of concerned thought, then he looked intently at Wise.

"Is all your proxy work above-board? Tell me the truth in this, boy. I need to know what sort of liability my daughter has deemed… appropriate for our family to risk."

Wise did not look pleased. He was rubbing his forehead and grimacing. With one final pained look at Miyabi, Wise took a deep breath and looked directly at Souichirou across the small space.

"No, sir. It's not. But I have no intention of dragging Lady Hoshimi in any trouble related to that."

Souchioru's face didn't evidence any relief. "That is good to hear, Wise. But desperate men tend to forget statements like that one. This puts me and my family in an awkward position. If you are caught and your relationship with my daughter, and thus, with myself is brought to light…"

Before Wise could consider a response to that, Miyabi felt impelled to voice her own intentions:

"I will not wait for Wise to ask for help, father. I will help him Immediately.. That is why I gave him the hairpin."

Souchioru gave her a look that was a sort of aghast exhaustion. "A- And damn your family in the effort, Miyabi?"

Miyabi thought he was being rather dramatic. "I will eradicate all evil, father, as I have said. Wise is not evil. He is an asset against evil. And do you not say to me that we must defend our family assets?"

Silence again. Everyone had their hands on their own thighs. Wise's and Souchioru's hands were balled into fists while Miyabi's were flat and relaxed, as she was when she was in quickdraw training. The air in the car was unpleasantly tense.

It lingered.

But once again, with a briefly pained look at Miyabi, Wise was the first to reach back out: "Mr. Hoshimi. I know I don't have a lot of credibility with you right now, but none of the commissions I take put me in direct conflict with the city. I help people against the hollows. I've worked for your daughter, for the H.I.A., for PubSec officers- and even with the city's military. I don't hurt good people."

Souchioru listened quietly, sighed, and rubbed his temple. "You do not hurt 'good' people? And how do you know who is good and who is bad, Wise?"

Wise frowned thoughtfully. "I… I just know, I guess. It's a feeling. And most people are good."

Souchioru snorted out an exasperated chuckle. "You just know. You guess…. Gods less fortunate, no wonder my daughter has taken a liking to you…"

The ice was broken once again. Miyabi looked at Wise and felt… pride. This handsome proxy of hers was so good with words. He was diplomatic in ways she could not conceive of before the moment of opportunity was past. But here Wise was, talking sense into her own father before her. A warm surge of attraction went through Miyabi in that moment, a spring-induced gust of that balmy wind from her most private dreams.

Miyabi's left ear twitched. Luckily, father could not hear how her heartbeat was now thudding in her chest.

Souchioru took a deep breath and his face wore a slightly more amiable expression. "Well- you have a name in that business, don't you, Wise? A code-name, or something? If my daughter is backing you, I should know it."

"Phaethon," said Wise with no hesitation. He seemed committed to truth-telling, for the moment.

Souchioru blinked. "Phaethon?! I've heard of him! That's you?!"

"Yes," said Wise. "But honestly, I work under a few aliases now. That name is a bit too well known. It can cause problems."

Miyabi thought her father was impressed. He had the expression of a go-master contemplating a suddenly favorable game state. One of father's ears twitched.

"Wise," said Souchioru slowly. "If I were to bring you commission offers from people I know, would you object?"

Wise looked at Miyabi briefly, his expression one of mild surprise. If he was looking for any answer in her face, Miyabi wasn't sure she provided one. He looked back at her father.

"I don't mind, Mr. Hoshimi," said Wise. "But I will only take the commissions that I want to take. And like I said- I won't work against the city."

"Reasonable," said Souchioru, but he seemed quite pleased. His ear twitched again.

"And you won't share my identity with others?" said Wise.

"Of course not!" said Souchioru. "Why would I want people to know my daughter was associated with a proxy? So don't worry about that, Wise- and more importantly: we have arrived! The estate drive is just ahead. Have you seen it before, Wise? In a magazine, perhaps?"

Wise took a deep breath, his fists clenched still to his legs. "I have, and I know the photos don't do it justice. Might I ask to stop the car so I can walk it? There is time before dinner, right?"

Miyabi felt as surprised as Souchioru looked, but her father recovered quickly and seemed to be beaming in pride.

"Of course!" said Souchioru. "You can hardly see it from that seat, anyway! Dinner is a good few hours away still! Do walk it! I will be eager to hear what you think!"

He pressed a button on the center console of the back seat and the car came to a quick stop.

Meanwhile, Wise looked at Miyabi and his face lacked its usual warmth. His blue eyes focused on her, cold and slightly distant. "Miyabi, would you be willing to walk with me?"

Wise wanted to walk the drive with her? Alone? Without father? That- that was a genius idea!

"Of course," said Miyabi. "Father has advised me of all the plants and their origins."

Souchiro's face went from pride to suspicion, perhaps realizing he had been outmaneuvered. But that expression vanished quickly into a hospitable smile as he gestured towards the outside of the car. "I'll advise the staff to guide you to a room where you can freshen up in when you arrive."

"Thank you for your excellent hospitality, Mr. Hoshimi," said Wise and he got out of the car without looking back. His hands were still clenched.

Miyabi glanced at her father but he simply looked at her thoughtfully.

"Let the staff know if you need anything, Miyabi," said Father. "I trust that you will not attempt anything… improper?"

Father's ear twitched.

Miyabi's ear twitched.

She didn't feel there was anything worth responding to in her father's statement. She got out of the car as well. The door shut on her father and his foolish question.

Wise was looking up at the large torii gate which towered over the entrance to the Hoshimi Estate. The shiny black top of the sedan was between them, and that moved off as the car continued on through the gate and up the drive. Birds twittered in the sudden silence.

After a moment, Wise turned to look at her and his jaw was set and his lips thin. He was angry. Miyabi's ear twitched. He was angry at her!

"Miyabi," said Wise, his voice tight. "Why did you tell your father I'm a proxy?! That is my secret to reveal! Not yours!"

She was surprised by the question. She felt her ear twitch. "I was unaware of any agreement to hide information from my father, Wise."

Wise hissed in a breath, glared at her, put his hands on his hips, and walked around in a circle. Then he stopped and looked at her intently, the glare gone, the frown slightly softened.

"Okay. Okay, fine. I can get on board with that, since it's your dad. But what about how you talked about me to him?"

Miyabi blinked. Her ear twitched. How she talked about him? "I don't know what you mean."

"Miyabi," said Wise. "You called me an asset."

"Yes," said Miyabi. "You are a great asset."

Wise's lips were thin and he rubbed the palm of his hand into his forehead. It was a new expression that Miyabi had not seen before. But as she'd spent more time with Wise's bangboo than with him in person, there were likely lots of expressions of his that she'd not seen yet.

They stood in silence for a moment before Wise sighed and looked towards the Hoshimi Estate. Miyabi followed his gaze and saw that the car had stopped again and Lycaon was emerging from the front seat. Father's bodyguard looked in their direction, closed the door of the car; and the car moved off, leaving him behind. Lycaon stood silently and motionlessly, watching them at a distance.

"Your dad decided you need a chaperone," said Wise with a sideways glance.

He didn't seem angry anymore, but Miyabi thought there was still something slightly off. He was not the Wise of yesterday, or even the Wise of today- after their hug. This was the strange Wise, again. The one she'd accidentally created when she'd flinched away from him today.

"Yes," said Miyab, unsure of her own misstep- if indeed she made one at all. She thought the encounter between Wise and Father had gone quite well, considering. But something was wrong between Wise and her, that seemed obvious.

"Shall we walk to the house and talk?" said Miyabi.

Wise took a deep breath and smiled softly. "Yeah, all right."

He crooked his elbow out towards her oddly and smiled. Miyabi blinked at his arm. What was he doing?

"Shall we walk arm in arm? Isn't that the proper way to enjoy a formal walk with a lady during courtship?"

Courtship! Miyabi felt her heart slowly gain tempo and power. Arm in arm? Oh! She had seen old paintings of this sort of thing.

Miyabi stepped forward and curled her arm around Wise's elbow, the soft firmness of his muscles evident through his clothing. When he smiled down at her, it was the normal Wise- the best Wise when everything was perfect. Miyabi felt her cheeks go hot. Her left ear twitched.

As one, they stepped over the threshold onto the Hoshimi Estate grounds and began their long stroll.