*Shizuko's POV*
I got into my car and decided to call my best friend. I dialed the phone number and my phone started to ring. After 3 rings, she finally answered
A woman's voice came through the phone, "Hello? Do you have any idea what time it is here in the USA?"
I replied, "How should I know? I live all the way here in Japan."
She tiredly said, "Surely you didn't call me to just annoy me."
I asked, "Remember the bet we made when we were kids?"
I asked myself, I assume she forgot it all, "Which one?"
I reminded her, "The first one to claim their soulmate wins company from the other person."
She says in shock, as I believe she fully woke up,"No way you actually beat me to that..."
I jokingly told her, "Oh, trust me, I can't believe I found him first."
She asked me, "Aren't you always occupying yourself with paperwork?"
I explained, "I found him working in the café I just recently bought. He's cute if I do say so."
She asked me, "Is that the café that's currently famous in Japan?"
"Come and visit me at work or home, whichever you prefer, honestly." I said as she told her because she did, in fact, miss her dearly.
She said, as I think you hear her get out of bed, "I'll be there by Sunday."
Shizuko, "I'll see you then, Grizia."
As soon as I ended the phone call with my best friend, I dialed another number. This time it was the number of Jerry, the one who I assigned to watch MY Hiroshi. The phone rang and he immediately answered the phone.
I harshly demanded, "Jerry, report to my office."
Jerry immediately replied, "Yes, ma'am!"
I ended the call after that. I swear, I could have felt daggers staring at me when I kissed him. I started my BMW i7 and started to drive towards my office.
*Timeskip*
As I finally arrived at the location of my office, I parked my car in the parking lot reserved for me only. I got out of my car, and as I left the employee's only place, I was immediately bombarded by interviewers and such. I continued to walk as I ignored them. After all, if they do touch me, they know I will kill them. However, as I was about to enter the company's front door, an interviewer asked, "What is your relationship with the boy you kissed?". As I heard that, I turned around and smirked stealthily
I told the interviewer, who entered the company, "You will get your answer soon."
When the interviewers tried to get in, they were immediately stopped by the guards. As I walked towards the elevator, my employees were bowing to me to show their respect. I entered the elevator and pressed the 300th floor. After a while of waiting for the elevator to arrive at the top floor, it finally made the sound that says I have reached my floor. I walk through the elevator towards my office
I thought to myself, "I should make my companies have a faster elevator. I wonder if faster elevators should be the next thing Kibō no Mirai Technology invents?"
As I kept pondering this thought in my head, I reached my office door. I opened the door and I saw Jerry already there. I walked to my chair and I sat down with one leg above the other leg
I told him coldly, "State what you found out."
*End of Shizuko's POV*
*Tomorrow morning*
As Hiroshi woke up from his usual nightmare, he found out he had slept on the couch last night. This surprised him, as he didn't think he was so tired that he forgot to go to his bedroom. Then he remembered yesterday, and he figured that the shock must have made him quite tired. As today was a weekend, he had no class or work today. He, however, does have an important meeting soon. So, he checked his phone and saw it was his usual wake-up time of 5:20 AM. He sighs as he gets up from the couch and goes to his room to get his tracksuit on. Once he got his tracksuit on, he went to do his daily exercises.
*Timeskip*
After his morning routine was over, he decided to do his homework since he would be busy through the evening. He is at his desk at the moment and is currently distracted from his homework. This was strange; as a child, he never once had trouble doing his schoolwork. However, today he kept thinking back to how Shizuko kissed his cheeks and the whisper as well. Obviously, as he thought of both of them, his face went red. He has no understanding of what is happening to him. From a mansion, a woman who just woke from her sleep suddenly sneezed out of nowhere. After a while of getting sidetracked, he finally managed to finish his homework. He sighs as he looks at the time, and it was already 11, which means it took him 2 hours to complete his assignments. He would normally be able to finish all of his exams within an hour or less, as he studies more diligently than he thought.
He got up from his chair and went to his living room, where he started to watch the morning news, and as he thought, the talk was still going on. Him getting kissed by Shizuko was photographed, and he wasn't surprised, as there were so many cameras in the café that it could basically be a camera store if there weren't that many people in it.
He turned off the TV and decided to go and try out the new games that Izumi recommended to him. He went up to his room and got his laptop, and before he started to forget, he put an alarm on his phone. As he went into the webstore to check out the game, he saw that it needed to be paid. He sighs, as he should have figured that Izumi would recommend a good game locked behind a paywall. Instead of downloading it, he decided to just get some sleep. He put his laptop aside and made sure that the alarm sound from his phone was the loudest it could be. He then put his phone on the table near his bed. He laid down and he began to close his eyes
*Dreamland*
As he dreams, he sees that he is once again in the mystical forest. The difference this time is that it's snowing. He looked up and saw that the snow was all white and looked beautiful. The snow had patterns in them. He stood up and he started to walk around, exploring the forest. The forest, however, made a road for him to walk on. He was cautious at first, but he decided to walk on the road. He kept on walking, and the more he walked, the more the trees started to change. When he looked at the trees, they were all glowing white, one that wouldn't hurt your eyes. It was as if it was reflecting something. He continued to walk through the road until he saw the end. There was a rock in the middle of the forest. And in the rock, there was that fox again, the 9 white-tailed fox. He approached carefully; however, he accidentally walked on a twig and broke it, making a sound. When the sound was heard, the fox looked behind and saw Hiroshi.
The fox jumped down, and it started to transform into a human; however, it kept its tails and fox ears. Hiroshi looked shocked as the fox had transformed into a beautiful girl; however, her face was being covered by what looked like fog. When he looked down, he saw that the girl was not wearing clothes and he blushed immediately while looking away from the fox. The fox, however, snickered
The Fox teased, "It seems like your parents didn't explain it, huh?"
Hiroshi, "Who are y-you?!" He asked while stuttering due to seeing her naked.
The Fox replied, "You will find out soon enough; well, at least it's at the point where I can physically appear here. "
"What do you mean?" Hiroshi said as he tried to compose himself.
Fox teasingly replied, "You see, my dear, you have been marked by a kitsune~ "
Hiroshi, "Wha-" But before he could ask or think of it, he was interrupted by something.
The fox, who turned into a human, suddenly hugged Hiroshi from behind and began to nibble on his ear. Which caught Hiroshi by surprise as he almost jumped. Due to this reaction, the fox laughed at him
Fox flirted quietly, "If you keep giving me these cute little reactions, I might just gobble you up here~"
As soon as Hiroshi heard this, he immediately went red, as he was being teased too much. The fox laughed as she stopped hugging him. With a snap of her fingers, they were no longer in the mystical forest; instead, they were inside of a building
Hiroshi exclaimed, "Where are we?"
The Fox sat down on a long couch and answered, "You can turn around, and to answer your question, we are in my mansion. Well, it's also going to be your mansion soon"
Hiroshi looked behind him, and he saw the fox girl sitting down while one of her legs was on top of the other. Hiroshi was mesmerized, as the fox girl looked quite good in the dress she was wearing. It's quite a shame he still can't see the foxes face due to the fog.
After a while of staring at the fox, Hiroshi pondered and asked, "Why do I keep dreaming about you?"
While focusing on a book, The Fox replied, "Haven't heard? People who are not kitsunes will dream about a fox if they are marked by one."
Hiroshi asked, "Who marked me then?"
Fox said, "Sit down first."
Hiroshi hesitated at first, but in the end, he decided to sit down. But he sat down further than the fox liked and so she patted the spacer close to her, Hiroshi again hesitated but decided to just go there. As he sat down, the fox pulled his head down toward her lap. This shocked Hiroshi but for some reason, his body didn't want to fight it
Fox, "If it wasn't obvious, my cute soulmate, I marked you; well, my mark went to you." She says as she continues to read while caressing the head of Hiroshi.
Hiroshi, curious, asked, "Your mark went to me? How?"
The Fox explained to Hiroshi, "There are 2 types of marks: the dream mark and the kiss mark. Yours is the dream mark, if it wasn't obvious. The kiss mark is the most common, but it risks your partner cheating on you. Meanwhile, if your partner made your mark in a dream, it means they are your soulmate. A kitsune whose partner was marked in a dream is considered lucky."
Hiroshi, "Can you explain how our mark works?" He asked the fox while enjoying the caressing from her that he was getting
Fox, "Our mark works more differently; you see, it has stages. In Stage 1, you will first have the dream of the mystical forest and the fox. In Stage 2, you will be able to interact with the fox. And then, in the final stage, stage 3, the Kitsune will now be able to enter your dream. I guess we are just about a step away from stage 3."
Hiroshi started processing what she told him. When the fox saw that Hiroshi was being quiet, she smiled and continued to read, as she knew Hiroshi was thinking about the information, and she was right.. As Hiroshi finally had all of the information processed, he looked up at the fox lady
Hiroshi, "Hey, can you tell me your name?"
The fox playfully replied, "Now, now. As I have told you, you will find out later."
Hiroshi just sighs and closed his eyes, and then something began to grow louder and louder
Fox gloomingly said, "It looks like you have to wake up now."
*End of dream*
Before Hiroshi could even respond to the fox lady, he was already awake in his bed. He was staring at the ceiling, and he sighed. He picked up his phone and turned off the alarm. He got up from his bed and looked at the time and it was 5:40, which means his alarm went off 4 times before he woke up. This was the first time he slept through his alarm, which surprises him but he supposed it has to do with those dreams of his that always make him at peace. He stretched his body and stood up, then went to the bathroom to go and take a bath. Once he was done having his bath, he went to his closet to look for clothes. Since this was a fancy restaurant, he had to dress properly. He decided to wear a semi-formal outfit since he didn't have that many proper formal outfits. Once he put on the dress and put cologne in, he checked the time, and it was 6:20. So he decided to go early and grab a taxi to the restaurant. He went outside of the house and into the side road. He saw a taxi that was going closer to him so he waved his hands towards the taxi driver. The taxi driver saw Hiroshi waving his hands and decreased his speed so he would stop at the place where Hiroshi was. Once the Taxi stopped, Hiroshi entered the back seat of it
The taxi driver asked, "Where to, sir?" He asked Hiroshi, who had just gotten into the taxi.
Hiroshi replied, "Sakura Sweetheart, sir."
Taxi driver, "Alright, sir."
*Timeskip*
He arrived at the restaurant after a 30-minute drive; he never thought it was this far. He paid the taxi driver and exited the car. Once he exited, the taxi driver drove off. He looked at the place and saw many rich people, and what's more is that all of the people there except him were a hybrid between an animal and a human. Hiroshi started to walk towards the entrance of the restaurant. He entered the restaurant and he soon felt out of place. The place has gold as its interior design, and the inside of the restaurant looked like it was made by the most professional of professional artists. As he was looking around the building, one of the waitresses, who didn't look like a waitress due to her uniform, approached him
Waitress, "Hello? May I help you, sir?"
Hiroshi replied, "Uhm… I have a meeting with Miss Shizuko. May I know her table number?" Hiroshi asked the waitress, but this time, unlike other times, his tone was not that cold."
The waitress clarified, "Oh! You are Sir Hiroshi, yes?"
Hiroshi, surprised, answered, "Yeah, I am."
The waitress said as she gestured for him to follow her, "You got here early, but the table is this way. Please follow me."
Hiroshi just silently followed her since he doesn't know how a fancy restaurant like this works as he has no past experience. He walked past several tables that were eyeing him, but he ignored their stares at him. After walking by a few more tables, they arrived at a private place by the looks of it. The waitress opened the door and gestures for Hiroshi to enter, which he did
A female voice said, "Ah, you've arrived early, I see."
Hiroshi, "Miss Shizuko," he said as he bowed his head down lightly out of respect.
The waitress closed the door behind Hiroshi, and Shizuko gestured towards the seat In Front of her, signaling Hiroshi to sit down there
Shizuko. "How are you liking the restaurant so far?" She asked Hiroshi as she took her wine glass and drank from it.
Hiroshi, "It's a whole other experience from the café or the other restaurants I've been to."
Shizuko, "Yes, this is one of the finest restaurants in our country. Care for some wine?" She asked Hiroshi as she was about to pour herself another glass.
Hiroshi rejected it while implying, "No thank you, Miss Shizuko; I'm underaged; I'm only 17."
Shizuko, "Oh? Is that so? Hmmm, how old do you think I look?" She asked Hiroshi as she leaned forward and put her head on her hands.
After inspecting Shizuko, Hiroshi answered, "You look like around 28-year-old Miss Shizuko."
Shizuko flirted, "You are off by 6 years, my dear~ I'm only 22."
Hiroshi blushed at how she called him dear. He tried to hide it and act calm, but Shizuko saw through it and smirked slyly.
Hiroshi awkwardly changed the subject: "Miss Shizuko, why did you call me for a meeting?"
Shizuko then started to look serious as she got into proper posture and put aside her wine glass for now
"I would like to make you an offer." Shizuko said with all playfulness, leaving her tone.
"An offer?" Hiroshi asked, surprised at the sudden change in tone.
Shizuko offered, "I want you to become my personal assistant. You will be paid much better than what the café offers."
Hiroshi cautiously asked, "And as your personal assistant, what would I be doing, Miss Shizuko?"
Shizuko explained in detail, "You will be in charge of reminding me of my schedule, keeping track of my meetings, and bringing me coffee whenever I ask, and there will be more; however, the starting payment will be 30,000 dollars per month."
Hiroshi, "Can… Can I take some time to consider this?" Hiroshi said that he really liked working in the café.
Shizuko, "I will be giving you 3 days. I am, after all, in need of a personal assistant."
Hiroshi, "I understand, Miss Shizuko." Hiroshi said as he made a mental note to talk with his boss about this tomorrow.
Shizuko, "Now that the official business has been done, why don't we order some food?"
A waitress comes in while holding what seems like a menu book for them. She gave them it and she waited until they were done choosing. Hiroshi decided to just order what Shizuko would order, as he had no idea what kind of foods were in this restaurant. After looking for a while, Shizuko decided to order steak covered in golden caviar. The waitress took the menu back and she went to the kitchen to inform the chef of what they wanted
Shizuko suddenly asked, "Now, then, do you have female friends?"
Hiroshi replied, "I have one."
Shizuko curiously asked, "Oh? What is her name?"
Hiroshi: "Kiyomi, she's from the wolf clan."
Upon hearing that Kiyomi was from the Wolf clan, Shizuko almost showed her frown but she was glad she got it under control. Shizuko knew how the wolf clan finds their partner: either an alpha decides to mark who he or she wants or they forcibly claim whoever they want
Shizuko asked in a serious tone, "And is she an alpha?"
Hiroshi, confused, asked, "I'm sorry, Miss Shizuko, but what's an alpha?"
Shizuko, surprised, said, "Oh? You don't know that the wolves have another ranking system?"
Hiroshi replied, "No, I haven't really asked her about the wolf's work.".
Shizuko explained, "There are 5 ranks in the world of wolves. Alpha, Beta, mid-ranking wolves, Omega, and Cubs. Alpha consists of a female and a male couple, aka the mother and father of the family. The beta is the second highest, meaning they are the oldest of the children that the alpha had and will replace them as the alpha."
Hiroshi asked to cure his curiosity, "What about the other three, Miss Shizuko?"
Shizuko, impressed by Hiroshi's curiosity, said, "I won't be explaining those three, as they are often disregarded by the family. Only the alpha and beta are important to the wolf society."
They continued to have small talks, but they were interrupted by their food arriving. A waitress comes in with a tray containing their food. The waitress puts the food they ordered on the table. She left as soon as she finished placing their food on their table
Shizuko grabbed her utensils and said, "Well, let's dig in, shall we?"
Hiroshi nodded, and she looked at how she ate before copying her. Shizuko saw this and giggled on the inside. She would have teased him by now, but she decided it's best to just enjoy dinner with him in silence. They continued to eat in silence as Hiroshi mainly focused on eating, but he got the feeling that Shizuko would always look at him whenever he ate.
After a while, they were done eating; Shizuko was the first one to finish eating. So, she just watched Hiroshi eat silently while she smiled to herself.
Shizuko thought to herself, "I thought having a soulmate would be troublesome, but he is too cute."
Hiroshi finished eating, and as he was about to grab a tissue to clean his mouth, someone beat him to it. Shizuko had already started to gently wipe Hiroshi's mouth with a tissue she had prepared. She was doing so with a smile that was slowly turning into a smirk
Hiroshi startled, "What-"
Shizuko just continues to do it; after she was done, she was smirking
Shizuko teasingly said, "I might need to send you to a proper school for eating in a fancy restaurant."
Hiroshi, "I—what for Miss Shizuko?"
Shizuko said after the third cup of wine, "As my future personal assistant, you are expected to add banquets with me. So, you better get used to eating like this."
Hiroshi curiously asked, "How strong is your alcohol tolerance, ma'am?"
Shizuko, after pouring another cup, said, "That is something I do not know myself, dear."
Hiroshi just watched silently as she watched Shizuko drink a lot of wine like there was no tomorrow. Truth be told, Shizuko does know her alcohol tolerance and it was high. Kitsune has the ability to be calm at all times, even under the influence of alcohol, meaning Shizuko can practically drink hundreds of bottles of wine without showing it affecting her
Shizuko, "Ah right, do you know about the Kitsune mark?"
Hiroshi is curious as to how and why Shizuko would ask this: "Why do you ask Miss Shizuko?"
Shizuko smirked. "Ah, so you do?"
Hiroshi replied, "Well, I do know a little bit about it."
Shizuko, "Can you?" But before she could further make the conversation longer, her phone rang
Shizuko interrupted, "Ah, excuse me for a little bit."
*10 minutes later*
Shizuko ended the phone call and smiled towards Hiroshi
Shizuko excused herself and said, "I have to go now; however, I will give you a lift."
Hiroshi was about to answer back but she got a stare from Shizuko that said that her decision is final, which somehow made him shut up. So he stood up and followed her. They exited the private room of the restaurant and everyone was staring at him but not before they looked at Shizuka. Hiroshi only noticed when she stood up that she was wearing a suit; he could have seen from when they were eating, but he was more focused on not offending Shizuko. On the other hand, however, Shizuko was a little disappointed that Hiroshi did not compliment her, though she was glad Hiroshi wasn't secretly a pervert.
Shizuko thought to herself, "Though controlling a pervert may be interesting~"
They exited the restaurant and they went to her car, which was now a Mercedes, Shizuko unlocked the door through the key and she gestured to Hiroshi to be in the front passenger seat. Hiroshi entered the car and after sitting down, he put on his seatbelt
"So, where do you live?" Shizuko asked as she started the car.
Hiroshi said as he pointed in a direction, "I live in Akamatsu."
Shizuko replied, "That is quite far from here, about a 30-minute if I'm correct?"
Hiroshi, surprised, asked, "How did you know?"
Shizuko slightly lied, "That place has a good park, so I sometimes go there to relax."
Hiroshi just nodded as he looked through the front window. Shizuko, though wanting to speak, just focused on driving as she wanted content with this setting. Well, until she gets tired of waiting and decides to further increase the progress of the relationship, until then, she's content.
*30 minutes later*
They finally arrived at the house of Hiroshi, and he opened the door of her car
Shizuko smiled and said, "I will see you in 3 days."
Hiroshi said as he left the car, " See you then, miss Shizuko."
As soon as Hiroshi closed the door, Shizuko drove off.
*Shizuka's POV*
I dropped off Hiroshi at his house and I got the location so now I can pick him up or visit him whenever I want to. I got a phone call again and I answered it
Shizuko: What is it? Why are you calling me? (I said in a strict tone as I continued to drive.)
???, "Ma'am, the boss of Seidō no Nezumi currently wants to talk with you."
Shizuko sighed and replied, "And where is he?"
???, "At your office, ma'am."
I ended the phone call, and I started to drive towards my office. I didn't want to come back to my office today, but it seems like a change of plans. I'll visit him in his dream later.
*End of Shizuko's POV*
*Hiroshi's POV*
After Miss Shizuko dropped me off, I opened the front door of the house. I saw Sir Kawahara sitting down at the table, reading the newspaper, and the TV was on. I could also smell something cooking in the kitchen as I entered the house. Kawahara looked behind him, saw me and smiled
Kawahara, "Welcome home, Hiroshi."
"It's rare to see you in the house this often." I said as I laughed
Kawahara replied, "Well, the hospital isn't that busy these days."
"What are you cooking, sir Kawahara?" I asked him, as the smell was quite good
Kawahara replied, "Citrus Sakura Harmony Feast." I just learned how to make it.
"I'll go change first." I told him as I started to walk upstairs to my room.
As soon as I entered my room, I took off my clothes and threw them towards the wash bin. I went through my closet and got home clothes. After changing, I went back downstairs and I saw sir Kawahara setting up the table, which I helped him with.
Kawahara proclaimed, "You have been expressing your feelings better recently."
"I have?" I asked, surprised
Kawahara replied, "It can be told by the tone of your voice, Hiroshi."
"I guess.. I guess I have been expressing myself more lately, ever since….." I stopped myself as I suddenly got reminded of miss Shizuko
Kawahara, "Ma'am Shizuko, right?" He asked me as he hit the nail right in the end
"Yeah, wait, how did you know?" I asked him
Kawahara answered, "That is something I won't be explaining as of yet."
"Well, ever since I did meet her, I felt like something was changing in my life." I explained to Kawahara what I felt.
Kawahara smiled and said, "You will soon know why you are feeling like that, Hiroshi."
Kawahara, "Now then, let's eat. Itadakimasu! He says as he clasps his hands together."
I did the same, as I wondered what he meant by me finding out soon. Well, I guess I will figure that out soon if that's what they say.