Chapter 9: Forces Converge (2)

"Excuse me, but please don't disturb Big Brother Nik during my time!" A little girl cradled in Nik's embrace scrunched he brows and pouted cutely while glaring at Genta who sighed deeply. He had seen the Mitsuko walk in and didn't want to return inside if possible. Meanwhile, surrounded by women and girls, Nik was a hard man to approach.

Genta understood that Nik was beautiful but he never understood the reason why he was able to garner such attention in a day?

'I'm not bad looking myself... sigh,' Genta sighed as he smiled at the girl weakly, "Can you allow your Big Brother to talk with me for a moment?"

"No!" The girl stuck her tongue out before burying her head in a wryly smiling Nik. Patting her head warmly, Nik looked at Genta and took the initiative to speak. It may be the only chance to speak in a few days once again, after all.

"What can I help you with, Officer?"

Sighing, Genta glanced around and saw the irritated expression of those around him. Honestly, he felt quite irritated himself. All of the women were acting a bit irrationally. It's just a hug, after all. But Genta still decided to make this stop a quick one.

"Have you been well? Do you recall anything?"

With that, Genta began understanding how Nik has been adapting.

Meanwhile, within the shop, aside from Yuuko and Kaya behind the counter, Mitsuko stayed by the side and watched Kurumi walking towards the last shelf where Megumi had taken her spot to clean up the shelf due to the high customer rate.

"He's really made a difference," Mitsuko looked around with a curious expression while Kaya glanced at her... well, counterpart. Equal in many things except the number of corrupted children and a lack of a husband.

"Yes, I never thought that it would work so well," Yuuko glanced around. She was aware of a few gazes pointed in her direction by the small number of men in the shop. Attraction is needed for any business. Be it beauty or service. There can be some exceptions but those are rare.

"Now that I think about it, isn't there a comic store in the other street with another foreign cosplayer?" Mitsuko inquired curiously.

"Ah, you mean Rick," Kaya spoke with a surprised expression, "Genta knows that boy."

The trio fell into silence once again. But did their communication end? Hardly.

Kaya and Mitsuko glanced at each other once again before breaking into a soft smile and chuckling softly.

'Ehhh... creepy,' Yuuko gulped and packed another book with a formal smile while cashing it in.

"By the way, Kaya-san, I'm sorry to hear about your husband."

Kaya smiled and replied, "Me, too, about your husband, I mean."

"Oh, but we're together."

"I know. But it surely must be hard with all his business trips, right?" Kaya tilted her head.

"Ah, he must have stopped by your bakery," Mitsuko nodded.

"Not really, no." The light-brown-haired bespectacled woman shook her head.

"But I never took you for a bookish person, Mitsuko-san. Even in university... you were a bit wild. You did have Reiko-chan at that time, right? How is she?"

"Reiko is well," Mitsuko chuckled, "But I'm not here for the books. I came here to ask Yuuko if I could borrow Nik. He needs clothes."

"You're oddly familiar with Yuuko's employee," Kaya smiled.

"Well, of course, he's living with us for a few days."

---

"Do you often help out your mother? I'd expected you to keep on swinging that stupid stick. Ever thought of using it for something less painful? I guess, for you, the tip should be enough," Dead-eyed, Kurumi gazed at the apron-wearing Megumi silently placing the books on their appropriate shelves. Many customers would be courteous enough to do it but not kids who would come in to goof around. With Nik flaunting his face and his particularly gentle yet firm hugs that guaranteed repeat customers until their budgets or pocket money runs out, the menace only grew, making Megumi pick up the apron once again.

"I keep on telling you that I did not even talk to him," Megumi scoffed, not particularly angry anymore and she knew it well that at this point, if she grew angry, Kurumi would just 'win.'

"I don't really care about him," Kurumi shrugged, "All that blonde-haired duckling knew was going to karaoke and his voice matched his face," she glanced and pointed at one of the books. The two of them were at the corner most shelf which... was a place for a few more educational books.

"You ever read that?"

At Kurumi's words, Megumi looked over to the top shelf and her cheeks grew hotter. With a glare, she retorted to the smirking Kurumi in a low voice, fearing she would end up disturbing those around her, a concern that Kurumi sadly didn't share.

"No, I don't! Stop disturbing me!"

"Oh, look. A new issue of Tokyo Pleasures," Kurumi bent and picked up a magazine with an interested expression before continuing with a smirk, "Ever think what Manabu thinks of women who prefer education than a girl with a questionable stick?"

Megumi's brows twitched and as if growing more interested in the situation, Kurumi continued, "Want me to help you find out? I could do it with a... flick."

"You stay away from him!" Megumi swung the flat of a thin book against Kurumi but made sure to keep a bit of distance instead of just hitting someone in broad daylight.

"You're worrying about the wrong person. Doesn't he always have those advanced classes? At least show some—"

"Kurumi, come on, I'm leaving," a soft and mature call instantly stopped Kurumi in her tracks as she flinched. Turning around, she found Mitsuko peeking her head from the corner of the bookshelf and waving, "It was nice to meet you, Megumi-chan."

"Ah, please do visit our store once again," Megumi bowed politely. As usual, Kurumi and Megumi didn't actually bring their mothers into their little problem no matter how much they called out to each other's families in front of each other.

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"Genta-chan! We're leaving!" Kaya walked out of the store and unceremoniously pulled Genta by his arm as he scowled and protested but all to fall into deaf ears. Nik waved politely until Mitsuko and Kurumi walked out.

Seeing her walk away with a cool and collected expression, just like Kurumi, there was an odd expression on Nik's face but he didn't have much thought about it. With the amount of attention Mitsuko actually showed him in just these two days, it was refreshing not to be coddled just because he couldn't speak the local language.

Speaking of coddled, Nik finally let down the little girl as she blushed.

"You are the best, Big Brother!" She smiled, hurriedly pecking Nik's cheek before running off.

'Ah... at least purchase something from the store...' Nik pursed his lips but shook his head and stood up.

"Mom, why did Kurumi's mom come here?" Megumi finally walked out after completing her work as Yuuko sighed, "Well, she will be taking Nik to buy some outfits for him. Originally she wanted to take him today but it's already evening and I couldn't let him go like this. So, I think he won't be coming tomorrow until later in the evening."

"And who was that other woman?" Megumi inquired curiously. It was a rare sight to see her mother being so friendly with someone else.

"She, ehm, is my friend from when I was in University. She lives nearby and does come to the store sometimes. But she is only free during the afternoon so you didn't know about her," Yuuko smiled and then continued, "She is the elder cousin sister of the Officer who helped Nik stay around here."

'Nik, huh...' Megumi glanced at the youth taking an old woman in his arms without any reluctance. Truly, he did have a fanbase... but it was too diverse.

At this moment, a familiar customer entered the shop. A middle-aged man with greying hair and a blue suit over his relatively well-built body.

"It's good to see your business running so well, Yuuko-san," Yakima stated with a pleasant expression. Gazing back at the side of the entrance, his expression grew a bit dark but it returned normal instantly.

"Uncle!" Megumi smiled widely, "Isn't this great?"

Yuuko smiled while looking at Megumi. The mother-daughter pair, in the end, would obviously be happy that the store was doing well even if it was because of Nik. If this was a permanent situation or not still happened to be a source of worry for Yuuko. In the end, even if the recent success of her store can allow her to help Nik financially, there would still be a limit to what she can do in this scenario.

"Of course, this is great. Yuuko-san, now that you have all the help you need, maybe you can finally take some break from the store. A little rest would do you good in a long run."

Yakima's words were full of meaningful intentions but Yuuko could only decline the offer with a wry expression, "Yakima-san, I still cannot leave the shop at Nik's hands alone. And Megumi barely knows the price catalog and the discount lists."

Megumi couldn't help but pout and enter her home. This was atrocious!

'I used to help just until...'

A thought struck her, 'Until he fell into our backyard. Wait... maybe I can have more training this way.'

Her thoughts were opened to the possibilities as she returned to change out of her clothes.

On the other hand, Yakima sighed deeply. But instead of just leaving, he began browsing through some of the materials just to stay a little longer while inquiring a few things about Nik this time but the more he asked, the bitter his expression grew. Yuuko might have just said that she didn't know anything about Nik but she couldn't easily state such words bluntly because, in the end, she accepted to employ him.

The day came to a satisfying end once again, but this time, Yuuko was neither drunk nor did she shy from cooking up large portions knowing fully well that the man ate as well as he helped her earn yen.

Finally, it was Reiko who came up once again, but this time, she didn't come here to pick Nik out of obligation, but out of need.

"Heya~ Ready to take me? Home, I mean, hehe," Reiko gave a deep smile, her jacket a bit unfastened and the top button already unbuttoned. Her handbag barely hanging from her body.

Fortunately, Yuuko was the one to pack up the store for the night... she didn't want Megumi to be influenced by such drunken behavior fully unaware that it was her own drunken self prowling the kitchen last night with Megumi taking the charge for the rest of the dinner.

---

"Hey, come on, admit it. I'm the hottest in our family!" with her arm around Nik to support herself up and his arm around her waist, Reiko was beginning to realize why his hugs would be so popular. It wasn't just his face that was so 'yummy.' It was strangely his presence. Even with her body simply pressed onto him, and with years of instincts, her drunken self still proved more intimate than Nik might have expected. It was true. He was aroused just slightly enough but Reiko herself couldn't have imagined that Nik happened to be a slut of a caliber beyond her wildest dream.

'Hmm... the mother uses a more subtle approach except for entering the bath and exposing herself. The youngest shows the most reaction by constantly trying to vie for attention and now the eldest just uses the ace: Alcohol. But... wouldn't have it been better to act a little bit dizzy-like to encourage the partner to try and touch her?'

He analyzed silently. To him, the odor of alcohol is barely noteworthy. He had faced the abyss... literally. And it did not smell good, so, his standards, unlike what his external looks might depict, were absolutely low. No popular male escort is really allowed to have preferences. These privileges were for a few female ones that would help jack up the prices.

Gazing at Nik's profile with a smile, Reiko truly began drifting into a stupor of sleep until he suddenly stopped. It was more like a jerk that even made Reiko wake up momentarily and there she saw a silhouette standing down the stairs of the street close to the corner of the turn where the street light happened to have the weakest range.

Nik and Reiko glanced at each other for a moment. Words weren't needed to understand that caution may be necessary. It was night and both of them were tired and the street wasn't visited that much at all. The shopping district may be lively but it couldn't be said for the few other streets of the residential block where many are already settled in their houses.

"That's... so creepy," Reiko whispered. Nik didn't understand what she said, but he could understand the emotion.

Let's turn around towards a more boisterous region.

When Nik stepped back slightly, not the least bit interested in possibly threatening his existence over some weird shit, he found the silhouette strangely... removed. Like it was a play of their eyes but would the two of them see things simultaneously?

Surely not.

"Come on, I'll teach the longer way today..." Reiko's lips twitched, positively unnerved as she grew a bit sober. Just enough to direct Nik through the longer and more winding path.

But the same question continuously provoked both of their imagination.

"What was that?"

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