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Taku Osamu and some of their friends for drinks at the club and he didn&039;t want to be late He supposed this would be the last tiether for a while because he and Osa their new drama He&039;d been in a couple of dra but it would never replace singing Well, it would if his voice ever gave out

Someone knocked on the door "Come in"

Satoshi sauntered in and flopped down on his bed "Going out?"

Taku week and a couple oftoto give up all this partying and settle down?"

"Right before I die," Takuht black jeans He didn&039;t have a probleuys and besides Satoshi was har," Satoshi said "I was thinking about calling it an early night since everyone is going out for the evening"

"Not everyone," Takumijo said "Why don&039;t you take Cristal out?"

Satoshi shook his head "She won&039;t go out withon Yi-jun"

"How do you know this? She seelad to see you at the airport"

"And where would I take her on such short notice?"

Satoshi asked

"To a movie or out for a stroll somewhere away from the farmhouse"

"Or I could just stay here and haveCristal here Not so these words? But I do get the drift"

Takumijo pulled on a sleeveless tee shirt and then a silky black jersey He added a silver cross with one half of a broken heart and then added a broken heart earring to his left ear, followed by a silver ring

"How is the production of the dra?" Satoshi asked

"Fine," Takune to his wrists and behind his ears "I&039;ood," Satoshi said "But don&039;t enjoy it tooAoroup co and everyone"

"Even Osamu?" Satoshi asked

Takumijo nodded "I&039;m too selfish to put anyone beforeis a hobby andor dance Now stop stalling and go ask Cristal out"

Satoshi nodded andthat can happen?"

"She can slam the door in your face" Takumijo replied with a chuckle

"Had that happen toTaku

Satoshi walked to his room A date? Where could he take her that would impress her? A festival? To the movies? To dinner? He reached for the phone andon around Osaka, but he wondered what Cristal would enjoy doing He picked up the phone and called her Cristal picked her phone up on one ring

"Hello"

"Hello beautiful Cristal"

There was a pause

"Are you there?" Satoshi asked

"Yes," Cristal answered "I&039; my toes"

"What color?" Satoshi asked curiously

"Firehouse red"

So inside his loins stirred "I can&039;t wait to see theht"

Sounded like she dropped the phone "We have a date? I don&039;t see it on my calendar"

"Ah, come on What else do you have to do?"

"Let , but that does not ," Satoshi pleaded "I&039;ll let you pick out the place"

Cristal chuckled "Youme to make a decision"

"Not desperate, but lonely Suddenly I&039;ve discovered that I don&039;t have a life"

"I knohat youin common "So what do you want to do?"

"I&039;d like to find out about you," Cristal said

"Meaning?" Satoshi asked intrigued

"I&039;d like to s in the world you could have chose, why this?"

"Because other than the obvious, I&039;ve discovered that I know absolutely nothing about you"

"That&039;s not true," Satoshi said "You know that I&039;reat sense of huhed "True, but I want to see where you reside, meet your people, and find out what you were like as a child"

He&039;d never been presented such a request before "Hold on a moment Let me see if my parents are at home" He put Cristal on hold and dialed his parents, ere delighted to hear froain "No, a friend of irl friend?" His father asked over the speakerphone

Satoshi hoped they weren&039;t entertaining other dignitaries

"Yes"

His ether"

"See you shortly," he told her He disconnected the call and got back to Cristal "They&039;re expecting us," he said "And wear a dress My father is a leg man"

"Hum, now I see where it comes from I&039;ll be ready in thirty minutes"

"I&039;lla bit nervous He&039;d never brought a girl home to meet his parents before What did itto find so appropriate to wear to meet the ambassador and his wife

Pants were definitely out, and she didn&039;t want to be too dressy especially at this late hour What had she been thinking? Meeting astep in a relationship

Cristal chose an outfit and eased her freshly painted toes into her high-heeled sandals She decided to wear her shoulder-length hair down Lucky she had just gone to the hairdresser earlier that day She walked down the stairs thirty

"Oh elic in a rust-colored double-breasted suit He wore his hair loose and combed back from his forehead He had accessorized his outfit with a silver tie tack and rust colored shoes

"I&039; at you," Satoshi replied He held out his hand to her "You are sieous"

Cristal hoped she had selected correctly She wore a two- pieced yellow skirt set, accessorized with a white pearl necklace and earrings She added white sandaled pu clutch to complete the look "Do I look okay?" she asked

Satoshi nodded "My folks are going to love you Coo"

Cristal nodded and accepted his hand

Satoshi&039;s red sports car waited out at the curb If she wasn&039;t mistaken, it was the first tiether alone without Kenshin, Takuuards "Where do your parents live?"

Cristal asked

"Fine tiht live on the ," she replied

"No need They live here in Osaka"

Cristal chucked "Are they afraid to cut the apron strings?"

"Yes I am their baby They keep me near so I&039;ll keep out of trouble It&039;sin from the United States to bail "

Satoshi just smiled at her but did not answer

The little red car had a lot of get up and go, and Satoshi wheeled it like an expert

They drove up to what could only be described as a Japanese version of an American mansion "Is this your home?" Cristal asked Satoshi

"No It&039;s my parents&039; home I live with you, re the stately hos, andshutters There was a huge porch and outer buildings

It reazine once

What was it? Oh yes, the Iot out, and came around to help her out

"Wow," Cristal said as they walked past a Japanese fountain filled with tiny bonsai trees and water lilies "This is gorgeous"

"It doesn&039;t take much to impress you, does it?"

"Aw, come on, don&039;t say that This place is beautiful"

Satoshi shrugged, took her hand, and led her to the front door He rang the bell

Odd, she had a key to her parents place to let herself in and out

The door was quickly answered She expected to see a butler but instead a handsomely dressed older Japanese woman appeared

"Satoshi," the woman squealed

Satoshi bowed "Mother"

The wohten up He towered over her "What&039;s with the forhtly "I&039;m still your Mommy"

Satoshi eased her arms from around him "Mother, this is Cristal Gentry Cristal, this is my mother"

Mrs Hayashi took her attention off her baby and peered over at her A big seous," she told Satoshi, pushing hied her

Cristal looked to Satoshi for help but he just snored her

Mrs Hayashi finally released her "Here, let me look at you" She turned Cristal around slowly "Where are you from, my dear?" she asked as she linked areles, California," Cristal replied Satoshi was left to close the door and follow them in

"Your home is so lovely"

"Thank you," Mrs Hayashi said

The rest of the nificent as the outside They passed through many rooms Most of them were decorated in typical traditional Japanese style with low tables, rugs, and art on the walls But some, like the parlor and piano rooms were more A rooht comfortably The walls were painted a buttery yellow, and there was brown crownaround the brown draped s and the doors The chairs were upholstered in gold, red, and green brocade Two men sat at the table They rose when they entered

"Cristal Gentry, this is my husband, Ambassador Hayashi and my eldest son"

My, my, my, Satoshi is full of surprises She knew him, what, nearly a year and he never mentioned that he had a handso woman is Cristal Gentry, a friend of Satoshi"

The older man approached and took her hand He was dressed in a dark brown business suit and light brown tie He was very tall He resembled Satoshi around the eyes and forehead, but Satoshi had inherited his delicate features from his mother "It is nice to meet a friend of Satoshi&039;s," the aain "Welcome to our home, Miss Gentry" His chocolate brown eyes, Satoshi&039;s eyes, twinkled merrily He introduced his eldest son "This is Tae"

Cristal turned to face the other man He also shared those beautiful brown eyes, but he had taken his handsome looks from his father Unlike Satoshi, his looks were more masculine and refined He wore a black business suit that fitted his ht black hair was fashionably cut short and looked manly

"It is nice to lish, but it washer out

Cristal never broke the gaze

Tae sht she was some empty-headed broad, he was surely mistaken

The ambassador took her over to the table and helped her into a seat He did the sarown sons sat down after them Satoshi sat next to her, while Tae sat across froet to know each other until thewoman took one looked at Satoshi, blushed, and put her head down Cristal knew exactly how the young woman felt Satoshi was just too ?" Tae asked Cristal

"I&039;m a journalist and Aomori&039;s publicist," Cristal answered

Tae lifted his chopsticks "Ah,business with pleasure I see"

"Not exactly," she said knowing exactly what heand not always fun But there are a few times when you can say it has been pleasurable"

She waited for the elder Hayashis to begin eating before sa?" Tae asked

"Ms Gentry and I are friends," Satoshi answered his brother He picked up his bowl of rice and scooped soht be an outsider but she could tell that there were some proble rivalry, but she felt this tension between them

The usually talkative Satoshi hadn&039;t said very much since they arrived

"What does a publicist do?" Mrs Hayashi asked

"I plan and organize Aomori&039;s public appearances and help schedule events I take care of their speeches and keep the public abreast of what the group is doing, like appearances and television shows"

"Isn&039;t it also your job to keep them out of trouble?" Tae asked

The food sank to the pit of her storown men They can do that for the publicized"

"Satoshi must keep you pretty busy," he said sarcastically

"Not especially," Cristal replied, picking up the fact that he was trying to insult his younger brother "I find his zest for life char"

Mrs Hayashi chuckled, while the ambassador cleared his throat

"What do your parents do?" Mrs Hayashi asked

"Both of my parents have retired froeneral and my mother was a colonel"

"You&039;re a lared at him but did not comment

"Yes," Cristal replied proudly "What do you do for a living?"

"Tae is a corporate lawyer," Satoshi answered

"Yes, I work for one of the largest law firer, but I ht when she heard one What was up with hier and pianist," Cristal said in her friend&039;s defense "He&039;s also a talented dancer And"

"A troublemaker," Tae finished "Has he told you how many times he&039;s been arrested?"

"Yes, I know all about that, but it&039;s not like he&039;smen, especially those who are entertainers, tend to be a bit undisciplined because of the rigorous training and sacrifice they make for their craft Do you have any idea what it&039;s like to be an idol? He can&039;t go anywhere or do things normal people do I&039;m surprised eren&039;t ive up on having noroes a little wild at ti lady," the ambassador said to her "You certainly seem to know a lot about my son And you must be the reason we haven&039;t had to bail him out of jail this past year"

Satoshi smirked

"It&039;s my job to know them," Cristal said "And they&039;re not very different from any other twenty-year-old men You don&039;t have to worry about hi man and very responsible He&039;s the backbone of Aomori"

Satoshi lifted an eyebrow to her

"In ay?" Tae asked still not convinced that his brother wasn&039;t a crioes to hiood listener and very co for a friend, even introduce hiive you a raise," Satoshi replied as he sipped his tea