[Chapter Twenty-Four]

Your eyes scanned the office once more. It was what you expected it to be. Decorated with all his law degrees, school diplomas, a few trophies from back in the day when he used to be younger and in better shape. Chihiro Natsuki wasn’t bad looking for his age, but to have a reputation like him, he’s been around the block for a while. He was well into his mid-forties.

“Well,” he began as he stopped typing. “That about sums up our meeting.”

You smiled gratefully. “Great. I suppose I’ll get going.”

“Before you do, I was wondering if I could ask you a personal question.”

You frowned ever-so-slightly. “Alright, but if I wish to refrain from answering, I hope you understand.”

“Of course.” He looked down at his written notes. “You’ve been completely honest with me this entire time; telling me of your relationship with Jiro and even divulging your current relationship you have with Mr. Minamino. I was wondering… why did you take the risk in dating a student?”

You arched up an eyebrow as your [eye color] eyes stared into his questioning brown ones.

“I only ask because I gather that you’re not someone who would so lightly risk losing her job and reputation over something so trivial such as a fling.”

“If you must know, we are in love.”

“Oh I have no doubt about that. Though young, he is quite wise. Our phone conversation was very enlightening.”

“How so?”

“He asked all the right questions. He even asked questions most people fail to ask due to lack of education of the law. Mr. Minamino is very sharp and very much in love with you.” You blushed at that statement. “My question, though, is why did you take that risk?”
“May I inquire as to why you’re so curious, Mr. Natsuki?”

He kindly smiled at you as he sat back in his chair. He had an air about him; it wasn’t threatening, but it wasn’t calming. He just seemed content at this moment.

“I’ve never met a couple so strong and ambitious. I’ve had many cases involving couples; most of the time one of them is being carted off to jail. They come to me with such determination and they have such faith in me to keep whomever out of jail. But as the trial goes on, they lose their love for one another and soon they abandon each other. But not you or Mr. Minamino. I can feel it. It’s a love most don’t come by in their lives. But you hadn’t known any of this when you took a risk, so why? Why did you jump off that bridge into his awaiting arms? What if he hadn’t caught you?”

What he said touched you. A love most people didn’t come by in their lives? That was a powerful statement. It was true what he said. You suspected you’d love him, but you didn’t know if he’d return that love. And you didn’t know it’d be as strong as it is. So why did you take that leap?

“Our relationship had started off so innocently,” you began gently, your eyes becoming unfocused as you recollected the memories. “I was falling behind in my work and Shuichi was lacking in his community hours. We were blindly matched up.

“Within the first second of seeing him, I was undoubtedly attracted to Shuichi. How could I not be? He has such a toned body and the way his hair falls on his shoulders. His skin contrasts so violently against his hair, but it’s the perfect match. But what I love most about his physical appearance is his eyes. Those beautiful, green eyes. When he looked at me, I instantly knew he was wise beyond his years.”

Natsuki remained silent as he leaned forward in his seat. He was completely entrapped with your calm demeanor and gentle voice. A soft smile spread across your lips.

“The first day he helped me, we ended up flirting. I remember that because the ride home I was so ashamed with myself. I was the teacher; I was supposed to set the boundaries and yet, I flirted with a student. Despite that, I didn’t tell him to stop coming. And the next day, I was jumping with anticipation to see him again.

“Each day he helped me was filled with playful banter. My classroom was our little sanctuary after school. We were hidden away from everyone and could act as we pleased. Things started crossing the line when we accidentally met at a café near my apartment. We spoke for a bit before we walked outside. That was the first time Shuichi touched me. He moved a strand of stray hair from my face.

“I found myself wanting to be with him more and more. Time spent with him went too quickly. Whenever I didn’t see him, I’d get mildly depressed. Shuichi had a way of calming me to the core just at the mere sight of him. And when he speaks, his voice is always even, relaxed, and kind.
“Eventually, I realized how popular Shuichi was. It seemed many girls were attracted to him for the very same reasons I was. It was when I was becoming jealous of my own students I realized I had developed feelings for him. True feelings, not just an infatuation for him.

“I believe it was a Friday and Shuichi couldn’t make it to help me after school. I went to the printer room and briefly chatted with Jiro before leaving. I turned to look down the hallway when I heard a female student say Shuichi’s name. I looked just in time to see her lean up and kiss him. The amount of stupidity and embarrassment I felt was overwhelming.

“I immediately went to my classroom and walked over to the window. I tried calming myself down, but I felt so idiotic. Of course Shuichi would be with someone already; he was so wonderful and pleasant. But he came after me. Shuichi came after me and tried telling me what happened. I was so stubborn he only had one way left to tell me and that was to kiss me.

“At first I wasn’t open to a relationship, but I eventually realized I couldn’t stay away from him.”

“Why? Why couldn’t you stay away from him?”

You glanced up to see Chihiro eagerly leaning in his chair. You smiled at him. After telling him of the events that led up to your relationship with Shuichi, you finally knew why you took that risk.

“I was already in love with him. Taking that leap off the bridge was the easiest thing for me to do. It was right and it was what I should have done. I haven’t once regretted my decision in having a relationship with Shuichi. Every day that I’m with him is pure bliss. I know we’ll have our fights, I know we’ll have our rough times, but I’m absolutely blessed to just be able to experience them with him.”

You could feel tears pooling in your eyes. You really did love Shuichi.

“I see,” came Chihiro’s calm response. “Shuichi takes charge, doesn’t he?”

You laughed as you nodded your head. You knew he wasn’t just referring to the phone call Natsuki received yesterday.

“I usually don’t say this, but I promise you I’ll do everything in my power to get you off the hook and make sure Jiro gets his punishment.”

You furrowed your brows. “How come you usually don’t say that?”

“Because more than ninety nine percent of the time, I’m doing it for money. And most of my clients are scum. But I know what it’s like to be in love and have someone come between it. You have something I lost. I want that bastard to pay for his actions. I genuinely mean I’ll do everything I can to make this go away and disappear forever.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Natsuki.”

“Please, call me Chihiro.”

“Will do. I better get going. Shuichi and I are going out for lunch.”

“I know a great place to go.”

“Really? Is it expensive,” you questioned, knowing full well with this man’s success, he could splurge his money in many ways more than one.

“Not at all. It is a drive from here, though.”

“How far?”

“About thirty minutes.”

“That’s not too bad. If you could give me the information, I’d be more than happy to go.”

A few minutes later, you had a piece of paper with directions, the name, and roughly how long it’d take you to get to the place. As you exited the building, you called Shuichi.

“Hello?”

“May I speak with Shuichi?”

“One moment.”

“Hello?”

“Shuichi, hi. I just finished seeing Chihiro Natsuki; should I pick you up at your house so we can go to lunch?”

“Hold on. You have the wrong Shuichi.”

You felt your face flush in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

Moments later, your Shuichi was on the line. “Sorry, Hatanaka answered the phone and forgot to ask which Shuichi you were calling for.”

“That’s okay. I just made a fool of myself, that’s all,” you laughed out.

A gentle chuckle escaped Shuichi. “Did you visit Natsuki?”
“Yes. And he’s recommended a place for us to eat. It’s about a thirty minute drive from here. That too far?”

“Not at all.”

“Great. Should I come pick you up at your house?”

“Yes, that’ll be fine.”

“Alright. I’ll see you in a few.”

The ride there was very pleasant. You and Shuichi talked about how the meeting with Natsuki went; you left out the last few minutes you had with the lawyer. You wanted to keep that part private.

The restaurant was actually located on the top of a hill overlooking the city. You parked the car and the two of you walked into the small restaurant.

Once inside, the hostess eagerly greeted you. “Hi! It’s so nice to meet you. May I ask as to who recommended this place to you?”

“Why do you ask,” Shuichi asked before you could ponder the odd question.

“Well, the only people who come here are the regulars and when someone new shows up, we know one of the regulars recommended the place. You see, the owner doesn’t do any advertising for the restaurant. He likes things to be passed on by word of mouth. He feels it’s more likely we’ll have the customer coming back. So, may I know who recommended this place to you two?”

“Chihiro Natsuki. Do you know him?”

“Yes, we all do. He comes in here once a month. Come, I’ll seat you at his table.”

She grabbed two menus and quickly walked through the homey restaurant to a large bay window that over looked the city below.

“Beautiful,” you whispered.

“Tsatski will be your waitress,” the hostess eagerly announced before she bounded off to go chat with one of the regulars.

“It’s very tranquil here,” you noted as you glanced around the area.

A lot of little trinkets were displayed. They looked like they were personally collected. Shuichi’s emerald eyes scanned the area as well. He hummed his agreement.

“I like it a lot,” you exclaimed before looking at your menu. You read over it briefly. “And they have a lot of good dishes to eat.”

Shuichi chuckled. “Perhaps we’ll come back.”

Your heart fluttered upon hearing that sentence. You looked up to meet his gaze and smiled softly. “I’d like that.”

“Hello, I’m Tsatski and I’ll be your waitress for today. Can I start you off with something to drink?”

“Water please.”

“Me as well.”

“Alright. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

You laughed quietly as the elderly woman disappeared to the kitchen. She seemed nice. As you scanned the menu, Tsatski came back with two glasses of water with lemon wedges in each one.

“Would you like a few more moments?”

“Please, that’d be great.”

“So I hear ol’ Chihiro recommended this place to you two younglings.”

You smiled as you stared up into her eyes. “Yes he did. You know him?”

“Do I? I knew him way back when he was in his twenties and going through law school. He’s only recommended this restaurant to two other couples before you guys.”

“Really,” Shuichi inquired with slight curiosity. “Do you know what became of them?”

“One couple has been happily married for eighteen years; the other couple has been happily married for twelve.”

“That’s sweet,” you announced with a smile.

“Chihiro doesn’t recommend this restaurant to just anybody. He’s not that type of guy. He recommends it to people he believes are truly in love; this is where he met his first and true love.”

“He briefly mentioned that. What happened between the two,” you questioned as you did your best to ignore the slight blush on your face.

“He met her in this very restaurant sitting at this very table. He was in law school, taking a nice weekend break as his father’s house while she was doing her best to make ends meet. The two were so in love it would give people cavities. Her ex-boyfriend, though, didn’t like that she was moving on. Her and Chihiro had plans together. They were going to travel the world, make lots of money, have kids, settle down in a nice suburban town. But, her ex-boyfriend cut all crazy one night, visited her, and accidentally killed her.”

“That’s terrible.”

“The guy’s still rotting in jail, but poor Chihiro. He hasn’t been with anyone since. It really hurts me, you know? That was back when he was in his twenties; he’s now forty-six. A long time to go without a woman’s touch, if ya know what I mean. But he won’t budge; he’ll love her till the day he dies. So, this is his secret spot where he cherishes her once a month, always on the number date they met. Like I said, he never recommends this to just anybody; he recommends it to people who are truly in love. So you two must be the real deal.”

“Well…” you trailed off with an elegant blush upon your face.

Shuichi smiled as hid hand travelled across the table to grab onto your hand. “We are,” he answered, his eyes locked onto yours. His voice was unwavering as well as his stare.

“Alright, I’ve talked too much. I’ll give you two some time to decide on what you guys want to eat. I’ll be back in five.”

Tsatski turned and headed over to the small bar and sat down on a stool next to another costumer. The way she behaved with him made you believe they were good friends. The man was old; he must have been a regular customer for years. Perhaps as long as Tsatski has been working there.

“I hope what she said didn’t bother you,” Shuichi suddenly announced.

Your eyes snapped up to meet his beautiful gaze. “Not at all! It’s just, I don’t exactly know how you feel and-”

“[Name] yes you do. Didn’t I say just yesterday that I loved you?”

“Well yeah, but she was saying some pretty heavy things. Like about those two couples Chihiro recommended. Happily married for over ten years, the both of them. We aren’t thinking about marriage yet… are we,” you threw that last part in because you were curious how Shuichi would answer.

“No we aren’t, at least, not just yet. But it is a possibility, is it not?”

“Yes, it is. But you’re only a high school teenager; isn’t commitment a fear with every teenager?”
Shuichi chuckled as he gave your hand a gentle squeeze. “I would say yes, except commitment doesn’t frighten me in the slightest.”

Your heart swarmed with delight. That had been a hidden fear of yours. It shouldn’t have been, considering that he was sitting across from you while you were currently being charged against the law.

“You’re too amazing,” you announced. “You’re always putting my fears in place and always reassuring me. I feel that I haven’t done any of those.”
“You, sitting across from this table, is all the reassurance I need.”

“There you go again,” you laughed lightly. “But it’s one of the many reasons why I love you.”

You leaned out of your chair and across the table to place your lips atop Shuichi’s in a quick kiss. When you pulled away, a serene smile was on Shuichi’s face.

“We’ll get through this. I promise,” he stated.

“I know we will,” you responded back in a whisper.

No matter what, you and Shuichi were going to get through this. You’d make sure of it, Shuichi would make sure of it, Chiyo would make sure of it, and Chihiro would make sure of it. With so many people fighting for justice to come forth, how could you two possibly fail?