Chapter Text
The ever green trees had a fresh, crisp vibrant vitality, their green leaves a piece of eternal summer. They were ever the reminder that the brisk, cold day of grey winter skies would eventually come to an end. Outside, people kept warm, nestled up in the care of winter wear, gloves, coats. Standing up from my office desk, I took one last look at my electric picture frame to see the black haired Rosa Canina, captured in a moment of song. That brought back memories, and with them, a wistful smile. I haven't seen her in ... what was it now, six years? Kanina never did come back from Italy, so nowadays it's been hard for me to keep in touch with her except through twitter and the like.
Flicking off the frame before it could change photos and putting on a tan winter coat and throwing a scarf around my neck, I stepped out of my corner office to be greeted by my receptionist as always. “Good evening, sir. Thank you for all the hard work,” she said, with a bow.
My name is Satou Sei. I graduated from Lillian's Girls' University three years ago with a major in English Literature. These days, I'm the manager of a promotions department for Red Slope at our home office in Akasaka, Tokyo. We're a medium sized book publisher, but my department doesn't work with the books so much. We have a lot of connections with the talk show circuit and experience putting together promotional events, and anymore we're almost as much a talent agency and event organizer company as we are a publisher.
The girl with the black side-tail in front of me is my receptionist, Susumu Rin. .
“Are you coming out for drinks tonight?” She was asking me, even if she was turned away from me, getting her coat.
“Yeah, sure, even though I know buying you drinks won't get me anywhere with you.” I bump shoulders with her, verbally yanking on her chain with my brash flirtations.
“That's sexual harassment, sir.” Susumu said as she pulled her coat on.
“Sorry, sorry.” I bowed. I knew Susumu didn't really mind. She just liked poking at me with it. It was part of our dynamic, and one of the reasons I liked her; she'd put up with my teasing. “Who else is coming?”
Susumu tilted her head in faux consideration. “Oh, most of us really. I'm sure you'll be glad to know both Tsutako and Yoshino are coming.”
Oh? It was uncommon for both of those girls to come on the same night. No big reasons, really. The news made me grin brightly, and since Susumu was right about it, I chimed in response, “Bingo~”
***
The maidens who once flocked to the Virgin Mary's garden long ago passed through those tall gates with their smiles innocent and angelic, their pure hearts and deep-colored uniforms have passed into adulthood. Though they no longer wear those pleated skirts, though they walk through a faster paced world now, they still walk with grace and serenity.
Lillians Alumni... eternal maidens.
***
“Way to go, Yoshino~” I laughed, shutting the door to our private room behind the three of us (Tsutako got distracted with 'a great photo op' outside). Yoshino just had the men around her finger sometimes with that 'good girl' act of hers. 'Oh, we'd love to have a few drinks with you some time, but tonight we're all here, so please understand, we'd really like to get some good 'girl talk' done. … We can't talk about men if they're with us can we? Hehe.' The gall that girl has. I gotta hand it to her, she's got her wits. The way she put things, it was hard for the boys to tell her no.
“I wanna see Rei react to you saying we're going to talk about men.” I said with a grin, settling down into my chair.
“I don't.” Yoshino said as she plopped down, with nothing else to say about the matter. I think I knew what was going on in her head though. I know Rei isn't the jealous type, so that can't be it, but she's never stopped being protective of Yoshino. She'd probably be more concerned about Yoshino leading them on than anything.
I can see it right now, Rei raising her voice, 'What if they get the wrong idea!?'
“How's business going anyway?” Susumu asked, pausing her MP3 player and pulling out an earphone as she settled down.
“It's alright right now, but it'll be great around the end of the month. December's always a good month for us since lots of people will buy Christmas Cake.” Yoshino answered, pose and posture pretty much perfect. That's one of the reasons why I helped Yoshino get a job in our office; I knew she'd was the perfect fit. The other reason is, of course, because she's Yoshino. How could I not help?
Yoshino is an office lady in the publishing department. Young, cute, coy, capable of being a nice demure girl... She's broken a couple of hearts in the office. Being the nice, perfect seeming lady when you're promised to another will do that. She and Rei have been together for, what... I don't know. Twenty-three years? They were neighbors their whole lives until they moved in together a few years back.
They're lucky, those two. I get that Yoshino doesn't like it when Rei smothers her (that's why she wanted a job outside the bakery, so she could get away from Rei; what an old married couple) but I think she takes what she has for granted...
“Alright, I'm here so the party can start now!” With a flick of her wrist, Tsutako flicked the door shut as fast as she had opened it, then sat down next to me, putting her camera on the table.
Susumu looked at Tsutako when she came in, but at what Tsutako had to say, well, she tossed her head aside, nose in the air. “Who said we were waiting for you~?” She pressed a button on the intercom. “A glass of the Cabernet please.”
We all ordered in turn.
“Hey boss, check out these photos I got.” Tsutako fiddled with her digital camera. Among the four of us, Tsutako's the newest hire at Red Slope. A newbie of almost three months for now, doing photography and graphic design and all that. She's also a Lillians' girl, but I didn't really know her too well during my school years besides as a newspaper club paparazzi. Despite being preeeetty high profile during high school we didn't cross paths too much. I think Yoshino saw more of her in high school. I know Yumi did. The girl's enthusiastic and has a good head on her shoulders. Earnest, but with just enough hook to her crook.
The first photos she showed me were of a salary man, shoulders sulked, staring into a mostly empty glass. Then of a few old dapper gentlemen clinking glasses together at a bar stand.
My favorite might have been the the guy with his hand on a woman's shoulder, trying to get her to turn back and look at him again. I wonder what he did to her. Poor … both of them, really. “You always have had a knack for catching emotional moments, haven't you. There's always something … intimate about your photography.”
“It's so nice for an artist when someone else understands her work!” Tsutako all but stapled her hand to her forehead during that hammed up reaction.
“You should take some more intimate photos of me.” I couldn't help but want to flirt with her.
“Ohh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?” Tsutako turned to face me full on, looking me straight in the eyes. Atta girl! Doubling down and flirting back~! That's why you're so fun to flirt with, Tsutako! I gave a little, “Heh,” before Susumu interrupted,
“Get a room, please.”
“Let me see next.” Yoshino adeptly diffused the situation by distracting Tsutako, who turned to hand her the camera. Boo~
But whatever. Our server came in and brought our drinks. Susumu ordered wine. Yoshino had a cocktail. Tsutako wanted hard cider. Myself? Beer.
“Cheers!” We all clinked our glasses together, and so a lively evening of conversation began.
“Yoshino, you need to read this book Satou lent me.” Susumu said, drumming a chopstick silently in the air.
Looking out the window, Yoshino sipped from some bright blue concoction before she answered. “I don't know. Sei and I have different taste in books usually.” It's true, Yoshino reads a lot of medieval Japanese fiction and young mens' light novels while I read a lot of literature and … well, light novels, but not the ones for young men usually.
“No, you'll like this one. It's a western, from a series called Lonesome Dove. It has outlaws and train robberies, sheriffs and gun fights. It's very exciting.” Susumu continued, pointing the top of her chopsticks at Yoshino the way one might point at someone with a folded fan.
Hah. That turned Yoshino's head right around. Her attention snapped right to what Susumu was saying? “Really? Tell me more.”
“So I did some quick thinking and realized we weren't far from the airport, so I kiiiinda lied and told the officer I was only speeding 'cause I was afraid of missing a flight and he let me go!!” I laughed grin, scratching the back of my head. “I thought I was screwed too! Am I charming or lucky or what?”
“To answer that rhetorical question: both.” said Tsutako, holding her cider out toward me. I knocked my beer against it. Clink. “Way to go, Satou.”
Susumu interrupted, gaze switching back and forth between Tsutako and me, one eyebrow arched up, the other sloped down, her jaw slightly agape. “Kind of lied?”
Tsutako and I just laughed... I think Yoshino stifled a little giggle.
“So lately there's this man who comes by the bakery every day and buys just one little thing. I don't like it.” Yoshino said, clacking her glass down on the table, freeing her hand so she could cross her indexes. Bzzzt!!
Susumu lifted a tilted hand up, as if to say, 'oh come on.' “But it's good for business, isn't it? Put your jealousy aside. You're reading into it too much.”
“No, I know that look in his eyes. He's coming for my Rei!” Yoshino whined, balling her fists up in front of her.
“Yoshino,” I say, reaching across the table to give her shoulder a little squeeze. “Chill out. I bet Rei doesn't even know his name.” Hehe... oh Rei. “That girl has eyes for you alone.”
But despite everything, Yoshino still stewed over it. Hehe... oh Yoshino.
It wasn't long before Yoshino had returned to her 'nice' persona. The first one of us to leave tonight was Susumu, leaving it as just us Lillians' alumni.
“So are you excited, Sei?” Yoshino asked me, leaning forward, eyes full of expectation.
I was pretty sure I knew what she was talking about, but playing dumb was fun if you only did it a little. “Huh? About whaaaat~?”
“You know 'what!' Youko!” Yoshino answered back instantly. Way to feed the trolls, heh.
“Of course I am! Youko's my BFF! We're having lunch the day after she moves in.” I say and grin with a toothy smile. I got real nice pearly whites.
Youko and I are... good friends. Even if our relationship is a little complicated. I'm pretty sure that back in the day she had feelings for me. Don't know if that's true any more. She's been gone for a few years, working as a lawyer in Osaka. But you know Youko and me, we stayed in touch. A lot of the old Yamayuri Council crew stays in touch.
“Wait wait, back up.” Tsutako all but butted her head between me and Yoshino, glancing at each of us as she asked, “Youko? As in Rosa Chinensis?”
“Pfft. Hahahahah, Tsutako! She hasn't been 'Rosa Chinensis' for years!” I exclaimed and gave her a little slap on the back.
“I know that, but there's still a part of me that thinks of her that way.” Tsutako came back at me with a playful slap to my shoulder.
“You don't think of me as Rosa Gigantea any more, do you?” She better not.
“Or me as Rosa Foetida” Yoshino chimed in.
“No, I think of you as Satou Sei, and you” Tsutako pointed at Yoshino, “as Rosa Foetida en Bouton.”
I laughed. Tsutako had such a coy look in her eyes with that slight tilt of her head. Yoshino was trying to bottle in her fuming, I could tell. You got told, Yoshino, haha~
I didn't give Yoshino a ruffle at her shoulder this time. She'd just think I was patronizing her. “You and Rei are gonna help out though, right?” With the moving, I meant.
“Well, Rei will probably be more help than I.” Yoshino answered, eyes gazing downward and away. I bet her fingers are laced tight on her lap. Well, whatever, she'll be over it in 10 minutes.
And so the night went on and wound down. We all had to leave sooner than later; there was yet another day of work tomorrow... we paid our bill and left (Susumu left her share when she cut out early) and we all went our separate ways at the train station. Once we were outside it was nice chance for me to light up a cigarette. It's a little vice I've picked up in the business world, but my craving for it isn't so strong that I take regular smoke breaks. I'd never hotbox Yoshino.
Just a few more days until the end of the week. Then I'd see Youko.