Chapter 368: 11: The Other Woman

Traveling with Sakurai was so distracting that Danika didn't have time to be nervous about the dinner. Not that the woman was at all obtrusive or anything, she was agile, quiet, and polite when spoken to. Not that Danika spoke to her many times, since she wasn't sure if attempts at conversation could be considered interference in Sakurai's job.

When they arrived at the building Danika's father currently lived in, Sakurai simply nodded once and then verified that Danika would be able to contact her when she was ready to leave, before calmly walking away. For a moment Danika wondered about that, but a glance around revealed nothing that she could imagine as any kind of security hazard either.

She rode the elevator up, and up, and up, to arrive at her father's place. It wasn't the place they had lived together, but Danika had been to it a few times. She suspected that he was paying more for the view of the city than she would approve of, but he could afford to.

She had even met Haru briefly once while Shinichi had been away, but her only impression of her father's lover so far was that she was very quiet. She took a deep breath before ringing the bell.

Dimitri Belova frowned at his daughter as he opened the door, and Danika raised an eyebrow at him. Haru took a couple of quick steps toward them, and then froze.

"Hi papa," Danika greeted her father a little awkwardly. "Haru," she added with a nod toward the older woman.

Haru wasn't actually old enough to be Danika's mother, realistically, but she was still quite a bit older. She was also pretty, and still quite slender. Danika thought that they made an attractive couple, and what little she knew made their relationship seem quite appropriate, she was just very quiet.

"You're the first to arrive," her father informed her.

He'd been responding to her messages lately, so Danika knew that he had known that she and Shinichi would be arriving separately. "Good," she replied calmly.

Danika looked around her father's place, seeing familiar old things mixed with things she'd never seen before. Unfortunately, because of the estrangement caused by their miscommunication, she had no idea which of those might have been added by her father or by Haru, so she was reluctant to use one as a conversation starter.

Haru asked nervously, "Would you like to have a seat?" As soon as the question left her mouth she gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth for a moment, before adding quickly, "I mean, sit over here to talk?" Haru's hands fluttered nervously, and she glanced worriedly from Dimitri to Danika.

Danika sighed a little and tried to say reassuringly, "Sure, we can sit together." She glanced at her father and asked, "Papa?"

"Yes, of course," her father agreed.

Danika rolled over and transferred herself to the small settee in front of the big window, and silently congratulated herself on accomplishing it neatly and quickly. But when she looked up, her father looked expressionless and Haru looked worried.

"Did I steal your favorite seat?" she asked uncomfortably.

"What? No, no you're fine there," Haru replied quickly and seated herself on one of the chairs across from the little couch.

Dimitri had just taken a step toward the other chair when a soft chime rang out. Danika chuckled at the thought that her father's doorbell resembled a game notification, as he walked back to the door.

Haru looked startled and started to rise again. "It's okay, it should just be Shinichi?" Danika said quickly.

"Ah, right," Haru replied nervously.

Danika turned her head to look, and Shinichi was revealed by the opening door. He grinned in relief at the sight of them and announced, "I'm at the right place."

"Indeed," Dimitri replied dryly, and waved Shinichi in.

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Danika gazed at them for a moment and thought that her boyfriend didn't seem at all like her father. It wasn't just his height or his hair, it was the way his face lit up when he met her eyes, and the way he turned and carefully hung his jacket on the rack that she hadn't noticed beside the door. Shinichi had mentioned once that she was nothing like his mother too, and suddenly she was curious about why.

Shinichi seemed to instantly understand when her father nodded toward them, and he walked toward her without worrying whether or not her father would follow. Danika didn't realize that she often indicated things in the same way, she was just glad when Shinichi settled himself beside her a moment later and slid his arm comfortably around her.

"Hi," he said to Haru with a smile.

"Hello," Haru replied more cheerfully than she had to Danika. She even smiled warmly.

Danika tried not to frown, but she wondered if Haru disliked her, or if she was so uncomfortable with Danika's inability to walk that it was making her seem so nervous. She glanced at Shinichi and her repressed frown turned into a repressed grin, as she realized that Haru could also be one of his fans and the change might have nothing to do with her.

"How are things going," Dimitri asked cautiously as he perched on the chair beside Haru.

Shinichi ran a hand through his hair and said, "Busy as usual, but at least Danika is back to her regular work schedule." Danika shifted and lifted her hand toward him. It was a small motion, but Shinichi glanced at her and added questioningly, "For now?"

"My schedule might not change, but I'll be on a new project team for awhile," Danika replied quickly. Her father shook his head and she asked him directly, "What?"

Dimitri smiled wryly at his daughter, which surprised her, and said, "It's odd hearing you talk about work instead of school."

Haru glanced at him and then Danika and gave a little cough before asking quickly, "Um, when do you want to eat?"

"Anytime is fine?" Danika replied hesitantly when no one else said anything right away. "Do you have something cooking that would be better if eaten sooner?"

Haru held out her hand and said quickly, "Oh no, I mean, the food is all ready, but I didn't cook anything. I'm sorry, I don't really cook…"

Danika almost asked, 'why are you sorry', but Shinichi rescued her by saying, "Neither do I, don't worry."

She was surprised when her father admitted, "I thought about trying to cook something for you like I did when you were really little, but it's been so long that I didn't want to have to order fast food, or present you with cup noodles at the last minute if it didn't turn out."

Danika's throat tightened, but she couldn't figure out how to admit out loud that she wouldn't have minded that at all. Her gaze moved to Haru's clenched hands in her lap and back to her anxious expression. All of a sudden she realized that the other woman was afraid that Danika would disapprove of her.

Her eyes widened a little and she glanced at Shinichi with a questioning look, he followed her gaze to Haru and shrugged slightly. He glanced at her father and squeezed her briefly.

Danika responded to his silent prompt by quickly saying, "I wouldn't have minded that papa, but I'm sure whatever the two of you chose will be fine."

Her father smiled at her, and then glanced at Haru. "So just let us know when you're hungry then."

Shinichi gave Dimitri a wry smile and admitted, "I'm always hungry when I know that we're filming soon. I think it's because our manager spends so much time talking about those extra kilograms the camera adds, and what we shouldn't be eating, that I can't help but think of all the foods I want to eat."

Dimitri laughed.

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