The following day, among the two, Takumi was the first to awake, leaving Luna to sleep a bit longer. Once he did, he went to the shower room before heading to the kitchen soon afterward to have breakfast made.
Waking up half an hour later, Luna looked around the room but didn't find Takumi in the room. Going to the washroom, she headed downstairs another half an hour later and found Takumi in the kitchen cooking something delicious.
" You're awake, my angel," Takumi uttered in the first place as a greeting as he stumbled upon his daughter in the kitchen, watching him cook. "How was your sleep? Were you able to have a good night's sleep?"
Nodding in assertion, Luna uttered joyfully, " Yes, I had a good night's sleep thanks to you. Also, I like the house very much; it's cute." She uttered as she glanced around the house which she didn't have the chance to admire before due to her having been asleep the whole time.
Liking the compliment very much, Takumi uttered, " Thanks for the compliment." " You must be hungry, am I right?"
Agreeing with him, she said, "Yes, I'm famished. When are we eating?"
" Now."
With the words uttered by Takumi, he brought the food to the table several steps away from the kitchen. Luna sat at the table and looked at the food in delight, her mouth-watering.
" For your very first breakfast, I thought of making you a toast. I hope you'll find it pleasant."
Luna munched a bit of the toast in her mouth and uttered to Takumi as she looked delighted, " It's yummy."
Grinning slightly, Takumi retorted, " I'm glad you like it."
Soon afterward, Takumi joined Luna and had breakfast alongside her. Fifteen minutes later, Takumi went to get ready for work. By the time he was done with everything, another half an hour had passed.
"Are you ready to head out, Luna?"He asked the latter who answered with a simple nod. "You'll be staying with your grandparents until I come to fetch you at night."
" Okay, Daddy!"
Luna and Takumi head out of the house. Once they were at his parents' house, before leaving, Takumi hugged his daughter and wished her to have a pleasant day and she did the same. Bidding goodbye to his parents, he took off for the company.
Arriving at the G Consortium an hour and fifteen minutes later, Takumi was greeted by his colleagues at the entrance. The same occurred once he was inside and was heading toward his cubicle to sit.
Greeting his colleagues in return, Takumi felt immensely happy that he was finally accepted by his peers. Greeting Saunji last, he sat down.
Work went as per usual and Takumi was able to get most of his work done. For once, he was working with much enthusiasm and dedication. Everyone could see it in the office, not only the colleagues.
When lunch hour came, Takumi was surprisingly surrounded by his colleagues who asked him in a firm tone the following, " Hasegawa, would you mind having lunch with us?"
Takumi was taken aback by the sudden question being asked of him. Before he could give a formal response to his colleagues, one of them said, " You don't have to feel obliged to eat at our table. This was merely a suggestion, so you don't have to feel constrained."
" Why would I feel constrained?"He nodded before adding the following very subtly, " It'll be my pleasure to share lunch with you all."
Satisfied by the answer they got, they uttered before leaving their workstations, " Then, we'll be waiting for you at the cafeteria."
Once all the colleagues had left, Saunji approached Takumi and said, "Look at Mr. Popular showing off!"
" Mr. Popular?" "Aren't you exaggerating a bit here?"
" I've just agreed to have lunch together, but that doesn't mean I'm popular or anything of that sort. If anything, you're the popular one."
Putting all the jokes aside, Saunji asked a more assertive question, " We've all noticed your mood today. It clearly showed as you were working. It might have gone well yesterday, didn't it?"
" Yes, it wasn't so bad."
" Don't be so humble and spill the beans!"
Takumi began narrating to Saunji how yesterday went. He told him everything from when he went to fetch Luna at the orphanage and ended his narration to when they arrived at his parent's house where she was greeted by a fabulous and delightful welcome party.
During the time Takumi was done narrating everything in simpler detail, he was grinning to his ears.
" Yes, you've truly enjoyed yourself, Hasegawa, I can see that clearly on your face."
Looking at the time, Saunji uttered, "Putting all that aside, we should probably get going lest our colleagues get impatient."
" Yes, let's go!"
Leaving their workstations, they reached the cafeteria where their colleagues were eagerly waiting for them.
"Over here!" One of the colleagues waved in their direction to show them the way to the table.
Once there, they sat down. Saunji uttered an apology on behalf of both of them, " Sorry we're late!"
" It's fine, it's fine. We're just glad you could make it."
To their surprise, the food was already served by the time they got to the cafeteria. " We hope you don't mind that we've ordered on your behalf without consulting you."
" No, we don't mind. Thanks for ordering for us." Takumi answered on behalf of both of them.
Meanwhile, Luna was enjoying lunch with her grandparents at Takumi's parent's house. Haruki was absent as he was in school, so Luna was bored.
" How have things been for you so far?" "Are you able to adapt to your new environment?" Takumi's father asked Luna who answered, " Yes, I like it here. Daddy is very nice to me and loves me very much."
To the mention of such praise, the father uttered, " Yes, Takumi has always been like that, ever since he was little. He would always lend a hand to everyone in need without shying away from their troubles." " That is in itself his greatest quality, but also his greatest weakness."
" What do you mean?"
Luna asked inquisitively to her grandfather as she found his words to have double meaning than they should have.
" Nothing. Ignore whatever it is that I said."
At one moment, during lunch hour, Takumi's mother got a phone call from someone and stepped away to attend it.
She didn't come back until ten minutes later and when she did, she was increasingly happy, alerting Luna that something was amiss.
"What's wrong, grandmother?"
?
" I don't understand."
" You went to attend a call just now, but you came back very happy. Did something good happen?"
" Yes, something good happened." The mother answered her granddaughter with a forwarded response. " Something I was expecting very much will finally take place and I'm very excited about it."
" Something exciting! What is it?" "I want to know so I can also rejoice with you."
" No, I cannot disclose anything for now, but I promise to tell you once it comes true, alright?"
"Alright."
Back at the G Consortium, my colleagues asked about Luna and things related to her. Takumi eagerly shared with his colleagues how Luna's welcoming party went, detailing things in between.
Later, in the evening, during clocking hour as everyone was leaving the company, Takumi got a phone call from his mother. Saunji stayed behind to wait for Takumi, so they could head out of the company together.
" Yes, mom." Takumi attended his mother's call. From the other line, his mother uttered, " It's done."
Finding her words confusing, she asked, " What's done?"
" Your blind date has been set for this upcoming weekend." "All the details regarding the girl have been sent to your email, so make sure you take a look at it before this Saturday."
Takumi waited a whole minute before responding, "Mom, why did you set the date without informing me beforehand?" " What if I have to work overtime?"
Retorting to the complaint from her son, the mother uttered, "Have you forgotten?" "You never work overtime, so why would you start now?"
" Don't play one of your games now and do as I say and attend the blind date without question!"
Feeling helpless, Takumi uttered, " Don't worry, Mom, I made you a promise and I'll be sure to keep it."
When the call ended, Saunji approached him and asked, " What is the matter, Hasegawa?" " It was your mother just now, wasn't it?"
" Yes, it was her." He nodded in response. "She wants me to keep my end of the stick."
" By keeping your end of the stick, you mean going on that blind date you promised your mother weeks ago, leading to your daughter's adoption?"
" Yes, that very one." He nodded in response once more.
" What are you going to do?" Saunji asked Takumi who answered, "What can I do?" " I need to attend this blind date as scheduled. I did make a promise after all and if I don't comply with it, I'll be a very dishonest man."
With nothing else to say, Saunji could only wish him luck on his blind date.
Days later, Takumi headed for his blind date which was in a restaurant. The girl he was supposed to meet there was named Penelope Sainz, the eldest daughter of the Sainz Consortium, one of the leading enterprises in the world.
A woman wearing black high shoes and a porcelain dress elegantly walked toward Takumi.
Reaching the table, Takumi looked up and met her gaze. The woman politely introduced herself before Takumi. "You must be Takumi Hasegawa, my blind date, am I right?"
" Yes, I am." He nodded before introducing himself formally, " I'm Takumi Hasegawa. Nice to meet you."
" Likewise." "I'm Penelope Sainz and it's a pleasure to meet you as well."
The moment Penelope sat down, a voice echoed in the distance.
" Daddy!"