Akatsuki Reminisces 3
I enter Bunny's with Nadeshiko in tow.
It's currently 7:39 in the evening. Perfect for dinner.
And a lot of students are sitting here and there in groups. They seem to be studying and some are seen eating.
I take a seat and Nadeshiko sits as well.
"What'll you take?" I ask her.
"Anything is fine."
"That won't do. You have to properly order."
"Then I will go with a steak."
"I see. I'll take a full course then."
I order and wait for the food.
But sitting without doing anything was boring.
"After today you are going back to that place, right?"
"I....have to. I need money. And that work pays the most and quickly."
"But it's not without risks. And it might lead to other troubles as well. Tell me, why are you doing that?"
"My father.....eloped with a girl. It had happened a few years back. Since then, I and my mother were living alone but peacefully. But she fell ill. And I need money to treat her. Our bank money was all gone and my father ran away most of our money. I was desperate when someone introduced me to that establishment."
"I understand your reason and I am not misjudging you. What kind of a person would you be if you force someone to do that? Who introduced you?"
"My distant uncle. He said that he knew the owner."
"I see. Anyway, I was probably tour first customer, right?"
"Yes. I was there for a week. But you are the only one who came to me."
"I will say that's fortunate. I seriously don't want you to there again."
"If I had money, I wouldn't be there."
"I'll give you money."
"Umm...no. I cannot just accept money. And it's a lot."
"How much? What disease does she have?"
"It's blood cancer. Still first stage. So I need to treat her immediately."
"I see. Well, I will take of that. Don't worry."
"But I can't just accept that."
"Are you thinking of paying me back?"
"Obviously. If I presume upon you then I have to do something in return."
"How about this...you work for me? As my caretaker."
"Caretaker?"
"Yeah. Embarrassing it may be but I cannot cook and clean. Left alone, I am a mess. So I need someone to at least tell me straight."
"That's your main goal, right?"
"You got it. But if you don't want to work that's fine. But I will still help you."
"No. I think it's good. I also don't want to go there."
"Then counting on you from tomorrow."
I say that to her. And the food arrived as well.
We ate and it was delicious. But that's when I noticed someone staring at me.
I looked at that direction and found a group.
The three stooges and Mizuki were together, sitting two tables away from ours.
"What to do?" I showed a grim expression.
"What happened?" Nadeshiko asked.
"Mizuki is here."
"Oh. Then shouldn't you call her?"
"I don't know. I mean, she hates my guts."
"Now now, be a little brave. Go talk to her."
"I think I will go."
I was planning on going but it was too late.
Mizuki herself had come to our table.
"Oh Mizuki, I was about to go there." I say.
"...…"
She just kept looking at me and Nadeshiko.
"Hello Mizuki." Nadeshiko greeted her.
"What are you doing here? And moreover with a person like this?" (M)
It seriously hurts when your sister calls you a person like this.
"What do you mean? We are on a date, aren't we?" Nadeshiko looked at me and made a 'Go with it' face.
"Yeah. That's right. It's a date."
But Mizuki wasn't convinced. I can pretty much feel it.
But the timing must be the worst. I got a phone call.
"I have to take it." I say that and leave.
I looked at them and saw Nadeshiko leave with Mizuki to sit at her table.
"Maybe, they would talk." I say and get busy in the phone call.
Nadeshiko POV
I see Akatsuki speaking on the phone outside.
He is an incredible person. He came to the shop where I just joined, on a whim.
And he saved me from that place. He even gave me a job. He is smart and has a lot of connections.
But he doesn't have any limbs. For that he has always suffered. His family was not very helpful to him.
And his mother went as far as to kill him.
I don't know when but I felt something for him.
Even though we met only yesterday, I feel something towards him.
It might be love or just plain admiration. But I have feelings for him.
And we are on our date today. We were sitting at our table when his sister came to us.
She was giving an incredibly cold look.
She is Mizuki. We were in the same grade and in the same class.
She is aloof and serious. But she is so beautiful that she is called the ice princess.
Some even compare her with Yuki-onna.
She questioned Akatsuki in a really cold voice. That isn't a tone you would normally use when speaking to your brother.
And Akatsuki got a call so he is talking and I moved to their table.
Mizuki was with three girls. Akatsuki mentioned them earlier.
And I was thinking of what to say when Mizuki asked me,
"Why are you around that man?"
Her tone was the same. Very cold and her face looked so scary that I wanted to run away.
"Why you say? He is my employer so we are on a date." I say.
"Employer? You are working for him."
"Yes. He gave me a job."
"What kind of job?"
She was unexpectedly pushy when it came to that.
"He said that I just have to take care of him."
"..." She is silent after hearing that.
"...ot..."
"Sorry. Did you say something?" I ask.
"Idiot." She said it.
Her face looking a little normal.
"Mizuki, you are way too much of a stalwart, you know?"
The flashy gal Mari said.
She is a flashy gal but so are the rest Natsumi and Akano.
It is hard to picture that the aloof Mizuki is getting along with these gals.
"What do you….mean?" Mizuki kinda stuttered.
"I mean you just want to talk to him like normal,right?" Akano said.
She is as flashy as it can get. Bright red hair and green eyes. She is a beauty but her appearance is a bit too flashy.
"That's true but..." Mizuki stopped midway.
The look on her is that of regret. Maybe she actually wants to talk to her brother.
That's when Akatsuki came to us.
"I gotta go." He said.
"What about our date?"
"We can continue later. Work called. Got some trouble. I have to go and fix the mistakes." He said with a tired look.
"Okay." I say to him.
"Oh…keep this." He gives me a card.
"What is this?"
"The key to my house. It will end up being a pain for you, right? So take it." He said and left.
He didn't even let me finish.
I put the card in my bag and look at them.
But they are looking at me with their mouths open.
"What's the matter?" I ask.
"You are quite close with him." Natsumi said.
"That's not true. He is just fun to be around."
"That means that you are close."
"He even gave you his home key." Mari also added.
"….." Mizuki isn't talking.
"Let's eat shall we?" I hurriedly change the topic.
We ate dinner. But the five of us ate a lot.
We were worrying about the bill.
"Check please." I loudly asked.
A person walked towards us.
"Your bill has been paid."
"Who paid?"
"Akatsuki-sama. He paid your bill and said that if any of come here, you can put it on his tab."
"What?" I was surprised but so were they.
"His tab? Is he a regular?" Mizuki asked.
"He is the one who helped us out. He got us clearance and set the business. He is our kind of founder so we cannot just disregard him."
This is way too much. I thought he was incredible. But this doesn't even come close.
How many surprises does he have.
"I guess that's that." I say.
"Wait!" Mizuki stopped me.
"Where does he live?" She asked me.
"Paradise Apartment. Too floor. Just around the corner that huge building." I say.
"Okay." She just said that.
I leave and they are still sitting there.
Maybe they are gonna stay over a little more.
I look at the clock. It just crossed 8:30 p.m.
It is night so I decided to head home.