Chapter 54 - Anniversary (2)

(Cont'd)

While waiting for their food, Fumio and Kotone become self-conscious at being mistaken as a couple. The contents of Red's little note replaying in their minds is not helping either.

"Uhm… How's young Haruto, by the way?" Fumio asks in an attempt to break the awkwardness.

"Young Haruto…" Kotone giggles at how Fumio phrased her question.

"Are you that old?" She asks back.

"Oh… You're right." Fumio feels less awkward after Kotone's mood brightens up.

"Maybe because it's always that's how boss says it when he talks about your brother." He chuckles.

"Oh that makes sense." Kotone nods.

"He's fine. He just turned 19 last month." She answers shortly, figuring that Fumio does not really care and is just making conversation.

"Oh? Is he going to college?" Fumio asks.

"I'm planning on sending him to vocational school. Learn construction management or something." Kotone shrugs.

"Is he uh…" Fumio is about to ask more about Haruto's powers, but decides against it. It is a taboo after all and it is up to the person in question to reveal their powers on their own and the extent of it.

"Nevermind." He shakes his head as he tries to think of another topic to talk about. 

Fortunately for him, Kotone is curious too.

"How about you? I recall Kichirou-san once saying that you met up with your sister. That was months ago, I think." Kotone asks.

"Ah… Yeah. That." Fumio smiles bitterly.

"That was nothing. Just the clan bothering me." He shakes his head.

"Oh…" Kotone nods, not understanding what Fumio's words mean, but hears the heavy feeling that is contained in them.

"So, you're really not going to visit your parents?" She asks.

"Nah. But I'm more up for meeting up with my sister again. She's the only one who at least texted me a happy birthday." Fumio says.

"Oh…" Kotone regrets asking.

"Anyways. For a fancy place like this, I thought it'd be full." She then looks around, noticing that the restaurant is only half of its tables are occupied.

"This is actually common in restaurants and bars in clan compounds like this to not be full." Fumio's eyes brighten that he can keep the conversation going with his knowledge.

"Why?" Kotone is surprised by the information.

"Well. It's exclusive. Establishments like this probably only serve people that meet a certain criterion. We would have been refused service at the door if boss did not have a reservation." Fumio explains.

"Ah…" Kotone is surprised, and burdened. "Wow. And here I thought that restaurants like this are only seen on TV." She says, becoming self-conscious.

"Relax. Right now, we have looks that suit the place. All you have to do is straighten your back, stick your chest out, and don't stoop so low when you eat or drink." Fumio says.

This assures Kotone. 

"Is it your treat this time?"

"Yeah. As a thanks for that favor."

The two are distracted by two newcomers taking the table next to theirs.

The new customers take Kotone and Fumio's interest as they look like people who will stand out in a crowd, even amongst rich people. Two men in their 40s after all, simply carry themselves differently from average people like second nature.

The tall bald one, is wearing an obviously expensive set of brown checkered three-piece suit and crocodile leather shoes. The short handsome one is wearing a set of glossy and silver-colored corporate suit with matching shoes and tie.

The two men look immaculate with not even a single hair on their head out of place. Their clothes do not have a single thread sticking out or a lint even if one intentionally looks for them.

"Sorry for making you wait. And not answering your phone call. I was driving." The handsome man apologizes as they sit.

"It's fine. But, can I ask what held you up?" The bald man asks.

"Heavy traffic on my way from Koto, at Chiyo. It's those protesters." The handsome man explains himself.

"Huh… They're still going, huh?" The bald man chuckles.

"Yes. Probably until tomorrow when the congress would announce their decision." The handsome man replies with a smirk.

"What do you think their decision will be?" The bald man asks.

"Probably the same." The handsome man shrugs.

"Would you like that?" The bald man asks.

"Yes… I would be out of my mind to think otherwise. Giving the non-superiori free money? Do you know how much our taxes will be just to afford that?" The handsome man scoffs.

"Then they'll protest again." The bald man smirks.

"It'll die down anyways. What can they do?" The handsome man scoffs.

"Right... But I actually support it." The bald man says.

This surprises his friend, Fumio, and Kotone.

"What? I'm not the only one. My family, other families. Probably half of all the superiori clans think the same." The bald man continues.

"Why?" The shorter man asks.

"To shut the non-superiori up. Besides, the clans will definitely make the price of commodities slowly rise anyways, eventually offsetting the increase in our taxes." The bald man chuckles.

Fumio and Kotone feel their stomach sink at how casual the man said it.

"Ah…" The handsome man widens his eyes in surprise.

"Wouldn't the people notice though? Not only the non-superiori will be affected if we do that." He soon realizes a problem.

"They will. But what can they do? Ask to raise their UBI? Ask to lower the prices? The middle-class superiori who will get caught in the middle will buffer the non-superiori, making it harder for anymore protests and demands to arise." The bald man shrugs.

"And whichever clan is smart enough to sell things at a lower price to be more competitive, they'll be pressured by other clans to follow the trend." He adds.

"That sounds a lot of trouble just to accommodate these leeches." The shorter man leans back in his chair with a sigh.

"Meh. It's not really. This is nothing compared to when the clans made the country wear the mask of democracy." The bald man says in dismissal.

The two's conversation pauses as one of the waiters arrive at their table to serve their wine.

"Wanna get out of here?" Fumio meanwhile, asks Kotone, noticing her face is looking gloom. 

"Nah. I'll be fine." Kotone refuses. 

"How about another table?" Fumio asks instead.

"Sounds good." Kotone supports the idea this time.

The two can only hope that the food will taste good enough to soothe the bitterness brought upon by the conversation they overheard.

The two are about to call for a waiter to request for a change of seats when, "Hey there.", the handsome man calls out to Fumio.

"Hello." Fumio nods politely to the man.

"Nice shoes you got there. Custom tailored?" The man asks.

"Thank you. Yes. It is custom tailored. You have great sense of fashion yourself." Fumio smoothly replies as he releases some spiritual energy to his brain to clear his mind.

He also silently grumbles at Red in his mind for making his disguise stand out.

"Heh. I wasn't fishing for that, but thank you." The handsome man smiles and nods to Fumio.

"You're new in town?" He asks.

"Oh? New faces? Hello there." The bald man also greets the two amicably.

Fumio and Kotone's faces freeze at this. They did not expect to be bothered.

"We're simply visitors from out of town. We have heard of the reputation of this fine establishment, so we decided to drop by." Fumio replies.

The bald man and the handsome man simply stare at Fumio and Kotone for a few seconds before exchanging looks.

"I see." The bald man nods.

"Who did you hear this restaurant from?" He asks.

"We heard it from a friend who lives around here." Fumio almost freezes at the question, but manages to answer.

"Well. Everyone has friends from here. Maybe we know that friend of yours? I am looking to make new friends these days." The handsome man asks this time.

Fumio is stumped. He does not know what relation Red has to the Sunada Clan. He also does not want to lie either by saying that he is a friend of a random Sunada Clan member he has heard of as it will simply put him in trouble.

"I'm sorry, sir. While I'd love to know you more, I have a prior arrangement with my date. And this is our first date after all." He can only attempt to escape the conversation, "Excuse me?" and get the attention of a nearby waiter.

"Yes sir?" The waiter, clueless and too good at his job, attends to Fumio immediately, unknowingly blocking the handsome man and bald man from asking anymore questions.

"We'd like to change tables please." Fumio requests, softly.

"Very well, sir." The waiter is eager to help.

Fumio's voice is still heard however by the bald man.

"I'm sorry. Did we offend you?" He asks with a hint of offense in his tone.

"Oh. No, no." Fumio immediately wears an apologetic face.

"I'm terribly sorry for causing a misunderstanding. It's just, I do not want to make my inexperienced and embarrassing dating approach, which you two might inadvertently witness, be the first impression I make on you two. After all, I really do hope we meet again in the future." He apologizes.

"I see. Well, in that case, it should be me apologizing for misunderstanding." The bald man accepts Fumio's explanation.

"And I apologize too... For interrupting your date." The handsome man politely nods to Kotone, which Kotone is compelled to reply with a nod of her own.

Seeing that things have become amicable once again, "Well then. Excuses us.", Fumio stands up and gracefully extends his hand to Kotone, which Kotone gladly takes.

She does not know what just happened, but she is glad to escape the situation as other customers are now looking at them.

"Here you go." After the waiter brought them to a new table at the corner of the restaurant, right beside the window, Fumio sighs in relief.

"I didn't know you can speak flowery like that." Kotone gives Fumio a strange look.

"Hated it, but had to play the part. Or else, whatever is boss up to, we might ruin it if we get in trouble." Fumio scoffs.

"Trouble?" Kotone is surprised.

"All I saw were those two jerks wanting to know us." As soon as she said it however, she realizes it.

"They were suspicious of us?" She asks.

"Not really. Nosy people like them are just common among places like this. They have to know the identity of whoever shares the space with them." Fumio explains. 

"Wow..." Kotone scoffs.

"Yes. But the more we interact with them, they will be more suspicious. They actually asked us where we're from, or who in the Sunada is our friend. We don't have an answer for those so I had to get us out of there." Fumio says.

"Oh…" Kotone recalls the conversation and realizes the hidden meaning among the words exchanged.

"Yeah. They just used a common speech trick. I just didn't expect that boss will bring us here, a place where people like them are everywhere." He Fumio shakes his head.

"Well… Well, done, then." Kotone gives Fumio a look of approval and relief as she realizes that they almost got into a trap amongst what she considers are people that she can never afford to offend.

"Ugh. Kichirou-san…" She can only grumble.

"Hey. It's us who followed him, remember? He's even paying for lunch." Fumio reminds her.

"Oh… That's right. Hahaha." Kotone almost slaps her forehead, realizing that the situation is partly her responsibility.

"Haaa… Took them long enough." Fumio's eyes brighten as a waiter, carrying a tray of food, is walking to their direction.

Meanwhile, a the private room a floor above.

"By the way. This whole UBI thing for the non-superioris, does your family support it?" Red asks.

"No…" Junichi shakes his head.

"You're not having money problems, are you?" He asks in worry.