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“We’re going to be late!” Chiyo’s rainboots slap across wet concrete, the distant rumble of thunder doing little to drown out her wail. “Ine-san, how could you forget?!”
Pressing a palm to her weathered cheek, Ine sighs. “Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she says, shuffling alongside like a penguin in her pink raincoat. “I thought it was Monday!”
“Ine-san! Monday is when the garbage is collected! Tuesday is Super Saver day!”
“I know.” Ine casts Megumi a pleading glance, begging for a life raft, a change of subject... anything. “But I’m on the other side of the building, I didn’t hear the truck go by-”
As President of the Housewives Association, Megumi has been in the middle of plenty of tiffs and heard more grievances than she cares to remember. And this one has been going on for the last two city blocks, at least. “Don’t worry, Chiyo,” she says, staving off a quickly forming headache. Looping her arms through both of theirs, she smiles, all teeth. “We’ll get the goods.”
Chiyo, her youngest member and clearly an only child, has never met a complaint she couldn’t bleed dry. “My mother-in-law will only watch the kids for so long!"
"Oh, you know she loves them."
"And Manager!” she continues. “You know how he feels about rainchecks!”
“And the ladies from the next building over,” Ine adds thoughtfully, evidentially forgetting that Megumi is trying to help her. “They’ll definitely be there already, at a prime spot to clean the place out!”
“You leave them to me,” Megumi’s eyes narrow, guiding them through the storm. “As for Manager, he knows what’s good for him…”
“Ah, well, that’s true. He does have a soft spot for you,” Ine yells over the sudden gust of wind as they round a corner, her steps buckling under the blast.
Beneath the patter of rain on her umbrella, Chiyo mutters, not quietly enough, “Yea, because he’s terrified of her…”
“Let’s just try to be on time!” Ine tries weakly, warbling on the edge of the curb.
Megumi tightens her arm, reeling her back in. “Yes. That is a good idea, Ine-san. Think positively!”
“Oh!” Chiyo fusses, tugging down on the drawstrings of her hood as another gust of wind nearly topples all of them straight into a passing delivery truck. “I hope there are free samples this week to make up for this weather!”
“Now there’s an idea,” Megumi agrees, hugging closer to shuttered up storefronts lining the side of the road. “The melons last week were really good.”
“I made a parfait with mine!” Ine smiles.
“Ooooooh.”
Up ahead, the glow of the corner supermarket neon sign turns the sheets of rain into silver needles. With relief in her heart, Megumi flicks her wrist, checking her watch. 9:57am. They made it!
Chiyo somehow manages to stand on her tip toes and keep pace with them at the same time. “Huh.” She clicks her tongue. “I don’t see the normal crowd.”
Megumi frowns. Weather or not, that wasn’t like Yua-san and the rest at all. “They’re probably inside already.”
“The weather is rather frightful,” Ine agrees, then adds hopefully, “Perhaps they decided to stay home!”
Doubtful. But Megumi is not going to be the one to squash a grandmother's hope. Especially if it inspires Chiyo to drop her complaints.
Together, they step up onto the curb, the automatic doors shuddering to life. It whines a little in the humidity, jerkily sliding open with a friendly chime.
“Ooph,” Chiyo shakes her umbrella off over the welcome mat, dropping it in the holder with a dull shh-thunk! “Is it just me or is it colder than usual in here?”
“Between this weather and the A/C, I’m going to catch my death!” Ine pushes back her hood, fluffing her perm. “Why would they leave it on so high?”
Megumi frowns, heel-toeing her sneakers back and forth across the mat as she scans the entrance. She doesn’t see the manager. Nor does she see any of the other neighborhood housewives. But worst of all-
“Are you sure it’s Tuesday?” Ine asks.
Chiyo already has her phone out, staring at the screen with a perplexed frown. “It is!” she mumbles. “But if it’s Tuesday, then…”
“...where’s the sale?” Megumi finishes.
“Eh?!” A big voice, gravely and rough, cracks through the empty market, freezing Megumi in mid-motion. “Don’t you have anything more powerful?”
Slowly she pivots her head towards Chiyo, then Ine, who both stare back at her with the same sort of shock.
“I- I apologize-” Megumi would recognize Manager's soft, warbling voice anywhere. “I don’t know a lot about cleaning, erm-”
“C’mon, man,” the gruff voice continues. “I need you to back me up. I gotta real bloodbath on my hands..”
“Kaichou!” Chiyo hisses, reaching out to grab at a hood already shuffling out of reach.
Shh! Megumi mouths back, waving her away. Slowly, she tiptoes past the register, her shoes squelching on the waxed linoleum. Sidling up to a single-use poncho display, she peers around the corner and down the first aisle. Empty.
“I see how it is,” the man growls. “Tell me, who’s running this joint?”
“It- it’s me. I’m running this, erm, joint?”
Carefully, Megumi moves forward, dancing from one end cap to the next, surveying the unusually vacant aisles, one at a time.
“Ooh, I shakedown. I get it.” His voice rumbles menacingly. “What are ya lookin for? I’ll speak with the Boss, see if we can’t work out a deal.”
“N- n- no shakedown!” Manager’s voice snaps the closest it can to firm. It’s sorta like rotted bamboo. “If it’s not on the shelf, then we’re sold out!”
“You gotta have something, buddy. Anything!”
Finally, Megumi reaches the middle aisle five - the cleaning supplies aisle - and pokes her nose around the corner. Through the stacked display of shrimp chips, she catches the green slacks and white shirt of Manager, facing away from her and his shoulders slumped. Ducking down, she shifts a little further, edging the crinkling packaging of a bag of Lays out of her way-
She slaps her hand over her mouth to smother her gasp. Past the brightly colored plastic, right there under the fluorescent lighting, she spots a tall man, his tailored shirt settling over broad shoulders, well fitted pants, a fedora and… an apron with a Shiba emblazoned across the front?!
The soles of rain boots and sneakers squeak behind her and Megumi whirls on her heels, slapping her palms to both Ine and Chiyo’s mouths before they can utter a sound.
“It’s that neighbor,” she hisses to their shocked faces.
Beneath her palms, both of their mouths go slack.
Chiyo’s shock gives way to indignation. “Why hasn’t Miku called the cops on him yet?” she snaps in a fierce whisper. “Doesn’t she see that she’s making everyone uncomfortable keeping him around?!”
Ine nods vigorously. “He scares me!”
“Look, friend.” Even Tatsu’s sigh is loud enough to silence them, and they hunch down, careful to catch every syllable. “What I got at home ain’t enough. I’m gonna need ya to check the back room for some more of that white powder shit.”
All three of them exchange a singular expression, mouthing, White powder?!
“O- of course.” Megumi doesn’t need to see him to know that Manager is giving him the rudest bow, every line of him as indigent as when she has him check the stock room. “Just a moment.”
“Be sure to check real careful like!” Tatsu calls behind him.
Chiyo leans back against the endcap, bags of chips crumpling against her back. “What has that man gotten our poor Manager into?”
Megumi pinches her chin between her thumb and forefinger, brow furrowing in thought. “I saw something about this on a documentary.” They draw in close, ears tilted towards her. “He’s clearly got him involved in some drug syndicate.”
Ine’s wrinkled cheeks go a shade paler beneath her foundation. “Oh that’s it!” she fusses. “I’m not asking anymore, I’m telling my husband that we need to move!”
“Ine-san.” Megumi levels her with a steady gaze. “Are you telling me you’re going to let some thug run you out of your own home?”
“No, but-”
“I’ll just call the police when I get home,” Chiyo interrupts. “That should handle it.”
“The police around here won’t do anything against a man like that. They’re too soft in the belly around here,” Megumi huffs, crossing her arms. “What needs to happen is that someone should have words with him. Tell him that he’s not welcome anymore.”
Ine gasps. “But who would dare?”
“Oh, I would if I had half a chance!” Megumi declares, fist shaking in the air.
The both of them turn their glistening eyes towards her, hands clasped in front of their hearts. “Kaichou...”
The store around them is quiet, too quiet, and with a silent nod, Megumi turns back towards the aisle, to where the man still lingers, picking up a box of fabric softener and sniffing before returning it to its place on the shelf.
Megumi’s nose wrinkles. Just where did he get that apron?
Just then, with the sense of a man who knows he’s being watched, Tatsu turns and looks straight at her, his eyes wide through the tint of his aviators. “Oh!” He raises one hand up, and it takes her the space of a single terrifying moment to realize he’s… waving. At her. “Megumi-san! Good morning!”
“Oh no,” Chiyo whispers at her back.
“He spotted us,” Ine breathes.
“We can’t be impolite, we have to go say hello now!”
“He said good morning to Kaichou, not us!” Ine retorts. “We can be as rude all we like!”
With a smile that she suspects is more like a grimace plastered on her face, Megumi takes a deep breath, rounding the corner and squares up right into the center of the aisle. John Wayne music plays over the intercom. Or her head.
Behind her, she can hear Ine and Chiyo struggling to pull her back.
“Good morning,” she calls back, feet firm. “Tatsu-san.”
“Oh.” He flusters, eyes fluttering as he rubs the back of his neck, and this- this is where he’s supposed to tilt his head back, all imperious and ill-mannered as she tells him precisely where he could go. Not… squirm about like her son on the playground when one of the more athletic kids asks him if he wants to play. “There’s no need for that. We’re neighbors after all. You can call me Tacchan.”
She blinks. This has to be some sort of trick. It has to be some sort of code. “Er-” She doesn’t know these rules. Everything she ever heard on her True Crime podcasts hasn’t prepared her for a confrontation like this. “Okay?”
A terrifying grin spreads across his face.
“Oh!” He perks up, glancing over her shoulder. “Good morning, Ine-san! Chiyo-san! Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
“Uh-” Megumi looks behind her and finds Ine and Chiyo cowering at her back. “Good morning?”
Silence fills the space between them, stretching out until it is thick and sticky, and yet Tatsu’s grimace of a smile never once wavers.
“So, uh-” Megumi winces, the syllables awkward in her mouth-- “Ta… chan?”
He snaps to attention. “Yes?!”
“Are you, uhm--” Megumi glances behind her, checking to make sure the other two still have her back. They nod at her, urging her onward, and she blurts, “Are you here for the 10am special?!”
She winces, Ine and Chiyo’s eyes burning a hole into her back.
Tatsu only tilts his head. “Eh?”
“Um.” Megumi snaps her fingers a couple of times, holding her hand out, and behind her she can hear Ine digging into her purse, paper crinkling as she digs out the flyer. “There’s a sale. Right now.”
“Or, well, there should be,” Chiyo interjects, surly. “When Manager gets back.”
Ine places the flyer in Megumi’s hands. “Mushrooms are supposed to have a deep discount today,” she informs him with a deep frown. “I’m going to add them to my shabu shabu tonight!”
Megumi has just barely extended the folded up piece of paper when it snaps out of her hand. Tatsu lifts it up to the light, his head tilted at a painful looking angle as he holds it so close to his face, she wonders if he might want to consider switching out the aviators for a prescription.
“And they just… sell it… cheaper?” His eyes are wide as they consider her, like he’s waiting for the catch.
“They do it every Tuesday,” Megumi answers. “A different special every week.”
“There’s a coupon, too,” Chiyo mentions, pointing at the corner of the circular. “If you buy 10000¥ worth of produce, you get 1000¥ off.”
“But that one is mine,” Ine snuffles forward, snatching the flyer back. She stops cold when she sees Megumi and Chiyo staring at her. “What? I only have the one.”
Chiyo rolls her eyes. “Here,” she huffs, digging into her own endless bag to pull out her binder of coupons. “I have an extra.”
He takes the cutout from her with both hands, his mouth agape as he scans the terms and conditions. “But that’s just givin shit away!”
“But it ensures a loyal customer base,” Megumi replies.
Awareness dawns across his scarred face. “Ah.” Tacchan inclines his chin, straightening back up to his very intimidating height. “Little back scratchin, is it?”
Chiyo shifts, uncomfortable. “Er- something like that.”
“All the businesses around here do it,” Megumi adds. “If you know the schedule, you can save money every day of the week!”
His mouth rounds into a perfect circle, wheels turning behind those sunglasses. “Sister! Please!” His legs fall into a wide stance, palms braced against his knees as he bows deeply at the waist. “Teach me!”
Before she can answer, Manager puffs up alongside him, a bottle in hand. “Sorry for making you wait.”
Tatsu rears back, straightening up so quickly that Manager takes a step back. “Ya got the goods?”
“Ah, no.” His face twists in preparation for an argument that he does not have the patience for. Megumi knows the look well. “There was just this bottle of white vinegar left…”
Tatsu takes the bottle, turning it over in his hands. “None of that white powdery shit?” he frowns.
“Can you please stop calling it that? People will misunderstand,” Manager complains. “And no, as I said before, we are all out of baking soda. But I checked the internet. Vinegar by itself is good at removing blood stains!”
“Yea, fresh ones.” Tatsu’s shoulders droop. “Guess I’m gonna have to get a little creative.”
“Yes, well.” Manager looks between them nervously. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m running behind schedule.”
Tatsu grunts, which seems to be enough for the little man as he scurries down the aisle, disappearing around the corner.
With a belabored sigh, he puts the bottle in his basket and, well, it may be rude to look at someone else's grocery shopping, but Megumi’s eyes follow his hand anyways. When else was she going to see what a yakuza grabbed in-between terrorizing poor shopkeepers?
She’s taken aback, though, when she spots only a couple of items in the basket, the most visible being a small green package with the bright and bold letters SUPER LONG OVERNIGHT beneath a gentle looping R-
“Oh!” Clarity strikes her like a bolt of lightning, and she drops her voice, shifting closer so she cannot be overheard. “Did Miku make a, ah, mess?”
That scarred cheek rounds in a crooked grin. “Noticed that, did ya?” his voice booms, not shy at all. “Yea, the boss is in a mood. But don’t worry about it! Blood stains are my specialty!”
Megumi’s smile flinches into a grimace.
“Or, well.” Tatsu wilts again, staring down into his basket at the lone bottle of vinegar with dismay. “Normally they are.”
The three ladies exchange a look between them.
With a deep gulp of air, Chiyo steps forward. “Maybe we could… help?”
“I have over sixty years of cleaning up messes,” Ine adds kindly.
“If it’s just a little blood, I’m sure we can help you figure out something!” Megumi agrees.
Mouth twisting thoughtfully, Tatsu looks one way, then the other, before leaning in all close like. It’s kinda like they’re in one of those movies, about to score a deal. Megumi can almost feel the silk of her extra fancy kimono, wielding the power of her oyabun husband as if it were her own. Doling out favors. Making deals. It’s very exciting.
“Well, if that’s the case, Sister,” Tacchan says, all quiet. “Do you know anything about… dried stains?”
They frown up at him.
“Dried… stains?”
“Mm.” Tatsu nods, jaw ticking. “Real stubborn. From a few weeks back.”
“Oh, Miku,” Chiyo gasps. “How could you?”
“This is why she’s been single for so long,” Ine sighs.
Tatsu rolls his shoulders like he’s working out a kink. “Boss works a lot. She can’t do everything.”
“You’ll need to soak it,” Ine says. “If a little dab of soap on the spot doesn’t work, then you’ll need to try toothpaste.”
“Not the blue kind!” Megumi interjects. “Only the white. The kind they make with baking soda.”
Chiyo is staring off into the middle distance. “Made that mistake myself once.”
“You could always try hydrogen peroxide if that doesn’t work,” Megumi continues.
“There’s also the white vinegar you got there.”
Megumi wrinkles her nose. “Yes, but white vinegar leaves a smell. It’s good for the rest of the house, but for a futon? Sheets? Doesn’t matter how many times you wash it, you’ll still be waking up in the middle of the night wanting a snack.”
“Everything makes you hungry, Kaichou.” Chiyo smiles with a playful nudge.
Tatsu nods, lips pressed together in an attentive line. “So I take a smear of the stuff, and then I just--” His fingers curl into fists, so tight that the pale lines of scars across them blanch white, and he grabs hold of a set of imaginary sheets. Slowly, he twists them between his hands like he’s meaning to break a chicken’s neck--
“No!” They all cry out at once.
Frozen in a half slouch, Tatsu stares up at them like a boy who knows he’s about to get a bamboo switch to the calves. “No?” he manages weakly.
They all shake their heads vigorously. “Absolutely not.”
Cautiously, he unfurls himself, looking down at them with a perplexed frown. “But I got a lot of blood on these sheets. Would’ve thought I’d need to muscle them out.”
“Wait. You got a lot of blood on the sheets?” Chiyo blinks up at him, confused. “But I thought Miku-san had an accident?”
“Oh she did!” Tacchan’s attempt at a warm smile is back, the corner of his mouth quivering a little like he’s not used to it. Or he’s been practicing at it. “But that’s small. I got it handled. Nah, this is from the, er, incident last month.”
“Incident?” Megumi frowns. “What are you--”
Her words come to a sudden halt, replaced by a sharp inhale at the memory of a storm, the crash of trash cans toppling over outback. Miku’s faint cry as she rushed down the stairs. They had all seen it, one eye peering through a gap in their blinds and one ear pressed to their phone, each one ready to call the police as Miku slipped through the rain and the garbage to reach him.
Megumi remembers well the way a shirtless man had dwarfed Miku’s small frame, each step up the stairs and to her own apartment a struggle. Even through the rain and the dark, the colorful swirl of a dragon and rain mixed with blood is imprinted on that night.
...Was it only a month ago?
“Oh.” Ine’s voice has gone soft, gentle like she was correcting her youngest grandchild. “No, sweetie. You need to keep your touch light. But also be persistent!”
Chiyo nods as well. “The best way is to use a toothbrush. With soft bristles!”
Megumi finally finds her voice. “Too much and you’ll put a rend in the sheets.” She smiles weakly. “You wouldn’t want that!”
His mouth drops open in horror. “Thank you, Sister!” Again, his feet plant apart, head dropping in a low bow. “If I tear a hole in the boss’s sheets, she might tear a hole in me!”
Each of the ladies exchange a concerned look.
He shifts again, head tilted down and contemplating the tiling. “Although…”
They pause, all perking to attention. “Although?” Chiyo prompts.
He scratches the back of his head and, despite that terrifying scar slicing straight down his face, he looks… like a kid. Just like a kid, a little older than Chiyo, if that. “I, ah- Could I bother to ask for your help with one more thing?”
It’s Ine that speaks first. “There’s never any harm in asking, dear.”
“Yea! We’ll give you the, uh, goods!” Chiyo nods, her eyes skittering over to Megumi in askance. “Did I say that right?”
“I only had brothers and my ma didn’t get us involved in any of this, but, uh--” Tats- Tacchan’s words break out into an uncertain stammer, hands flexing with nerves.
“Tacchan.” Megumi lowers her head at an angle so she can meet his surprised gaze. “Don’t underestimate us housewives.”
His lips purse into a thin line. “Mm,” he nods. Reaching into his basket, he pushes aside the box of pads to reveal… a Lotte chocolate bar? “Do you think this is enough of a tribute for the boss?”
The ladies take a sharp inhale as one.
Megumi shakes her head firmly. “Absolutely not.”
“Get her another one,” Chiyo adds.
“We should go to the ice cream section,” Megumi says sagely, looping her arm through his and- Oh. Oh wow. He’s solid. Maybe Miku knew what she was doing after all. “Mint chocolate chip cookie dough is my favorite.”
“Mint?” Chiyo screws up her face. “Why would you ruin ice cream like that?”
“Maybe you should get her a bag of chips!” Ine chimes in, grabbing a box off the shelf as they pass by. “I always craved salt when I had mine!”
“Salt?” Chiyo snatches the box out of her hands, putting it back where Ine found it. “Are you trying to get him killed? The salt will just make the cramps worse.”
“But those are chocolate covered!” Ine pouts. "Salty and sweet!"
“Ine-san has a point,” Megumi says, steering them towards the meat section. “But maybe something healthier so she can restore her energy. I always crave beef. What were you going to make her for dinner?”
Tacchan doesn’t seem to know where to look, trying to keep up with their conversation. “I, uh-” he shrugs. “Boss has a lot of instant meals in the house, so I thought maybe curry or somethin’.”
There’s a collective gasp.
“Oh no,” Chiyo sighs. “I always knew Miku-san was working too hard, but I would have never guessed…”
Ine shakes her head sadly. “Such is the life of a career woman!”
“Are you busy today?” Megumi asks.
“Erm, Boss is at work, so I just planned on startin’ on the sheets--”
Ine is shaking her head. “It’s raining, my boy. You won’t be able to dry them if you wash them today. Best to just spot clean today."
"Weather is looking better tomorrow,” Chiyo chimes in, phone back in hand.
“Let’s do some grocery shopping instead,” Megumi encourages when his face drops into a frown. “So you can welcome her home with a nice meal.”
Ine tugs at his sleeve. “Give me your phone number. I’ll talk you through a good starter beef recipe.”
“Do you have a hot water bottle?” Chiyo asks. “A hot water bottle will help with the cramps.”
Megumi nods. “If not, I’ll let you borrow mine.”
~ ~ ~
Over the steady beep of the check out register, Manager eyes Ine as she stands at Tacchans elbow, pointing out each item as it is rung up along with how much money he saved.
“Oh no!” Chiyo moans, snapping up a celebrity magazine. “I didn’t know they broke up!?”
“That’s been on the news for the last week,” Manager mutters, bagging Ine’s carrots with her onions.
“My daughters will only let me watch cartoons,” Chiyo complains, flipping through the glossy pages. “This is the first I heard.”
“This isn’t a library,” Manager mutters, attempting to glower at her out of the corner of his eyes. If Chiyo notices, she doesn’t respond.
“Will you be staying with Miku, then?” Megumi asks, watching as Manager begins ringing up her purchases.
“Yea,” he nods, his face gone all fond. “I’ve already left my old gang. Sworn allegiance to my new boss.”
It takes a tick to understand his meaning.
“Miku got married?!” Chiyo gasps, shoving the magazine back onto the rack.
“Why didn’t she tell us?” Ine frowns. “I would have brought a present!”
“Just on paper.” Tacchan smiles down at them and, really, when you ignore that scar that looks like it might’ve taken out his eye if the one who gave it to him had been just a touch more committed, he really does look very sweet. And right now, he’s positively glowing. “Don’t have money for a proper wedding yet.”
“Will you be taking a job, then?” Ine pops in. “So Miku can stay home?”
“Shit no.” He shakes his head, folding his arms loose over his chest. “I’m not gonna have her give up her career just for whatever crap job I can get with a rap sheet as long as I am tall.”
“Then what are you going to do?” Chiyo asks.
“Stay home.” He nods, mostly to himself. “Take care of the house. Make things real nice and tidy.”
Behind his back, all three ladies exchange another glance. Come to a decision. And nod.
“Tacchan,” Megumi turns away from the important business of watching the tally to consider him. “You should make her take better care of herself.”
“Right,” Ine agrees.
With all the authority of her station, she orders, “No more instant dinners! No more stained bedding!”
"Eh?" He frowns at the three of them. “But she hasn't complained.”
"She's the moneymaker," Ine nods sagely. "Brain's too full for anything else but that."
“Making sure everyone is well-fed and clean is one of the most important jobs of a homemaker!” Chiyo adds on.
Pausing, Tacchan considers the till without really seeing it. “Huh.” He rubs at his chin, thoughtful. “I suppose that’s what I am now, ain’t it?”
“If you take up this task - if you’re truly serious about being Miku-san’s husband - then you will need to be initiated into the Housewives Association,” Megumi declares, fishing a card out of her purse. “We’ll teach you the ropes.”
“There’s a lot to learn,” Ine adds. “And we won’t go easy on you!”
“We might need to change the name of the association, though,” Chiyo mutters over Megumi’s shoulder.
Haltingly, Tacchan takes the card that Megumi offers with both hands, peering at it from over the rims of his aviators. “A gang, eh?”
“Us homemakers, we gotta stick together!” Ine declares, flexing her arm.
Tacchan nods, face serious. “Don’t worry, with me running with you, ain’t nobody gonna be lookin down on us!”
“Excuse me…” Manager interjects, gesturing to the total on the screen. “Ma’am, if you would please.”
“Oops, sorry!” Megumi smiles, handing him her cash. He’s counting back her coins when she turns back to Tacchan with an inquisitive sort of look. “So, ah, would you like to walk back with us?”
“Nah.” He’s shaking his head, that tense thing that was his smile just a touch more… himself. “Next week. I’ll be doing some reconnaissance after this. Research these sales.”
Her heart swells with pride. “Good plan. Making sure your household's money stretches as far as it can go is another duty we can teach you,” she nods. “We’ll convene later on and check your work.”
Straightening his back into a rigid line, he bows sharply at the waist. “Yes, Kaichou!”
Megumi smiles, taking up her bag. “Well. You have a good rest of your day, then.” The ladies all gather by the sliding door, its happy chime repeating as the motor groans to life. “You know where to find us if you need us.”
He bows again. “I look forward to working with you!”
With that, they nod, raising their hoods and umbrellas and disappearing into the rainy morning. The weather is clearing up, a break in the clouds turning the light rain golden.
Megumi casts one last glance over her shoulder, and through the condensation gathered on the windows, she can see Manager pointing at something on a circular, Tacchan nodding vigorously.
Ine smiles, beaming up at the both of them. “What a nice young man.”