Approaching the school gate the next morning, Hikaru was startled when the neatly attired business man who'd been standing near it suddenly called out cheerfully, "Good morning sweetheart!"

She looked at his face and halted in shock. "You look older," she blurted. Feeling embarrassed, she quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, it's the suit I think."

He grinned at her, eyes sparkling with mirth, "I'm dressed for work," he said. He held out her school bag. "I was hoping I could catch you here, I was about to try turning this in at the gate," he explained. "I washed your lunch box and packed you a lunch too," he added with a mix of pride and uncertainty.

She took the bag from him, aware of the warmth of his fingers where they brushed against hers during the transfer. Awkwardly holding her bag and the container she'd packed for lunch the night before, she wordlessly offered him the container in exchange.

He took it from her with a curious expression.

"I brought lunch. My mother made the food in it," she explained, a little embarrassed.

"Oh," he replied, and then quickly added with a mischievous grin, "then I'll decide if I hope she's teaching you to cook after eating it." Suddenly he stopped smiling and reached out. He lifted her chin, turning her face. "Who hit you?" he asked flatly.

Hikaru raised a hand to her cheek and stared at him, feeling startled by his sudden seriousness. "You can tell?" she asked. Her cheek hadn't shown more than traces of bruising to her eyes when getting ready that morning.

He moved his fingers to touch her hand, shrugged and reassured her, "It isn't obvious, most people won't notice." He dropped his gaze and added, with a bit of embarrassment, "I spent quite awhile looking at your face very closely yesterday." He looked up again. "What happened?" he asked.

"Izumi-san hit me," she paused briefly. "He was more surprised than I was," she said uncertainly and then offered more reassuringly, "I don't think he'll ever do it again."

He had dropped his hand from hers and started to ask something, when someone else interrupted. It was the morning gate guard, who told them sternly, "No loitering in front of the gates."

He offered her a wry smile and said, "I don't want to get you in trouble. Please call me later." Then before she replied he turned and walked swiftly to a dark car parked nearby.

"Wait," Hikaru said anxiously. He looked back, but glanced at the guard and just waved farewell and got into the vehicle. The guard pressured Hikaru toward the entry.

The irritated gate guard asked irritably, "Do you like running laps? I can sign you up for them? Go on to your class."

Hikaru sighed. "How am I supposed to call you, when you haven't given me your number, or even told me your name?" Hikaru whispered almost silently after him, and turned away. "I guess he knows where to find me again if he wants to," she muttered as she traversed the halls.

She went to her classroom. Since she was early, she thought perhaps she could finish at least one assignment. She opened her bag and pulled out the stack of assignments. On top of the stack there was a note.

She unclipped it and read: "Hi, we met yesterday, and you left your bag with me. I asked a friend who is a high-school history teacher to help me, and tried to finish your assignments." At the bottom a contact number was listed, followed by "Call me!!!" The exclamation marks had little hearts on them. It was signed Takeshi Kiri.

She just sat there staring at the note for awhile, then carefully folded and pocketed it. She wondered what kind of guy lets a random stranger kiss him. Teaches her to kiss. Makes her lunch. Puts hearts on his exclamation marks. She sat there thinking while her classmates arrived and was startled when her teacher walked up and pulled the stack of assignments from her hands.

"Wait!" Hikaru protested.

Her teacher regarded her curiously, holding the assignments out of reach.

She blushed and explained, "I'm sorry, someone finished them for me, I'm not sure I should turn them in."

Her teacher dryly replied, "Then you should thank that person, accept their mistakes as your own, and do your own homework next time."

Hikaru's cheeks burned and she nodded.

--

Hikaru usually ate lunch at school with two friends, though only Risa shared her class and was there when Hikaru curiously opened her lunch box and then slammed the lid shut with a furious blush rising to her cheeks. Risa, a small but determined person, grabbed the edges of the box and wrestled it from Hikaru's grasp.

"What's going on?" asked Shizuoka curiously as she approached. She tapped an elegant nail against the table, and sat.

Risa opened the lunch box. A very pretty lunch was arranged inside. All the vegetables were cut into little heart shaped wafers, and another heart was drawn on the rice. Risa laughed and Shizuoka snatched a bite from the box.

"Wait," Hikaru said a little desperately, "I need to eat a bit of each thing in case I need to comment on it later."

Risa exclaimed cheerfully, "Your mom hasn't sent a lunch like that since grade school. Is she very bored being stuck at home?"

Hikaru hesitated, but didn't correct her friend's impression. Instead she answered the question about her mother, "I think she kind of likes being a housewife again."

The girls shared their lunches, but were careful to make sure Hikaru tried each food from her own box. Half a dozen times Hikaru almost spoke up about meeting the man who had prepared her lunch, but embarrassment over her own behavior and uncertainty silenced her.

--

Hikaru returned home after school, and avoided the phone by doing her homework. She sat at the short table that was the center of their house, and gnawed on her writing implement. Even so, she finished within an hour and a half.

Miri was reassured by her daughter's return to routine, and happily worked on her dinner preparations. Tonight Hikaru had a job, so food needed to be finished earlier than usual.

Hikaru stood at the side table that held the phone for awhile before picking it up. Finally she lifted it and entered Kiri's number. She waited for the call to go through.

He answered shortly, "I'm in a meeting right now, make it quick."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Hikaru said.

"Don't hang up!" Kiri interrupted swiftly.

"OK", Hikaru agreed with some confusion.

"Please excuse me for a few minutes, I need to take this call," she heard him say away from the phone, and then there was a thump and he said, "Hikaru-chan, I was afraid you weren't going to call me."

"Sorry," she said.

"Don't be. I'm glad you called. I have so many questions. Can I see you tonight?" he replied quickly.

"I have a job tonight," she responded hesitantly.

"Oh. Tomorrow I won't be done until ten," he said and then asked, "what about Saturday?"

"Saturday I have practice and another job." Hikaru replied.

"Oh, I see," he said.

A little desperately she asked, hoping she was pronouncing his name correctly, "Takeshi-san, is ten too late?"

He hesitated before replying, "It's not too late for me, is it OK for you?"

"Yes. Tomorrow night isn't a school night," she explained.

"Is there anywhere you'd prefer to meet at such a late hour?" Kiri asked cautiously.

"Would a family restaurant be OK?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied cheerfully.

"Then the Pavilion, at the intersection of Cross and Seventh?" she suggested.

Kiri said, "Just a moment," paused and pulled up the address. "OK, I have it marked," he said. "At ten tomorrow then? I may be a little late."

"Yes, that's OK" Hikaru replied.

"Hikaru-chan, I need to get back to the meeting, is this number you're calling from your number?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

"OK, I'll see you tomorrow sweetheart," he said and ended the call.

Hikaru stood staring at the phone until her mother peeked around the corner and asked, "You have a date?"

Hikaru nodded uncertainly.

Miri questioned, "Is it the guy you kissed? He's not the one who hit you is he?" She asked a bit anxiously.

Hikaru replied nervously, "It is. He didn't hit me."

Miri replied smugly, "I guess you'll see him again after all." Her daughter blushed and nodded and Miri asked a string of questions. "What's his name? What year is he in? Is he cute?"

Hikaru told her, "Takeshi Kiri, he's a little older and he's already working." She paused and blushed.

"I see," replied her mother cheerfully. "Food is ready."

Hikaru added without meeting her mother's eyes, "He's gorgeous."

Miri looked at her daughter and laughed.

--

Hikaru ate and then dressed in her stage clothes. Tonight she was wearing black jeans with silver chains lapping the sides, and a shimmering metallic blue shirt that Risa had designed. Her hair was pulled back in its usual simple ponytail, but tied with a black ribbon. She picked up her guitar and left her room.

As she descended the stairs her mother commented a little sadly, "You look exactly like your father."

Hikaru regarded her mother ruefully. "Just what every girl wants to hear," she responded wryly.

Miri laughed a little and made a face at her daughter. "You're beautiful. I'm so lucky both my children are so good looking." She rubbed her belly and added, "this one will be really cute too!"

Hikaru rolled her eyes and laughed. She pulled on her coat and then left to catch the bus.

--

She played a two hour solo set as the warm up musician for Blue Thursday at 'Night Owls'. It was one of the few places that regularly offered her solo work. They liked to have what was essentially live background music before they had the night's band come on stage. Blue Thursday's theme was of course, the blues.

Hikaru had had to learn a number of songs to play on Blue Thursday's, because it wasn't a genre that had been familiar when she started. She'd asked Ryu-sensei to teach her a few quickly. He had mourned her limited musical experience and suggested that at first she substitute some of the smoother pop songs she liked to fill out her repertoire while she learned more. It had worked well. There were a lot of blues songs she'd found that she didn't like, but there were also some good ones. She liked music that moved.

After she finished she raced to the bus stop, but missed the bus and had to wait for the next one. She groaned loudly, startling the other people waiting at the stop. Embarrassed, she indicated that it was nothing. She was sure Izumi-san would fuss when she got in.

-

Izumi did fuss when Hikaru got home. "You are late!" he said as soon as she opened the door.

"I had to wait for the bus," she replied calmly, but she felt annoyed.

"How hard is it to keep an eight o'clock curfew on school nights?" he demanded angrily. "It's almost nine," he added.

Hikaru looked at the clock, it was 8:35. She sighed and replied, "I don't finish until eight, I took the first bus back." Exasperated she asked, "What more do you want?"

Miri interrupted, "Nevermind, she's back well before bedtime."

"Miri," said Izumi, "you have no idea what your daughter has been doing lately. That man she was kissing yesterday had his hand up her skirt!"

"He did not!" Hikaru protested.

"I know what I saw!" he yelled back.

"It doesn't matter," her mother said weakly.

Hikaru glared at them both, Izumi-san for exaggerating, and her mother for not taking her side. She knew it was unfair, but she felt so irritated that she just stomped up to her room and slammed the door.

"Izumi, was that necessary?" Miri asked her husband quietly.

Mizuki Izumi frowned down at his wife and said, "She's going to get into trouble she can't handle if she keeps this up."

Miri looked up at her new husband and insisted stoutly, "She'll be fine."