Chapter 2: The Meeting

Ichirou woke up, his eyes fluttering open. The sunlight that peaked through the curtains drifted across his body, spilling onto the mahogany flooring. He sat up slowly, his chest length pink hair flowing down his shoulders and back. He looked downwards to his blush colored comforter, and gripped it tightly. His pale, bony hands trembled somewhat, revealing the inner turmoil that he was trying to keep in check.

Today was a big day for Ichirou. At merely the age of twenty-two years old, he was going to be sold off to be married. 

All right, maybe that was a bit excessive and dramatic. Rather, a better explanation would be that his parents were throwing a ball where he was the princess and all of the suitors were coming to try to win his hand in… dating? Marriage? He wasn’t really sure, and he wasn’t exactly thrilled to find out. He was certain that each of the alphas would try to flaunt their huge amounts of wealth and power in order to try to woo him. Just the thought of someone attempting that disgusted Ichirou.

Ichirou, you see, was the lucky son of two alphas, who had managed to produce a cute little omega boy. Being born into an affluent, rich alpha family certainly had its perks, but this was not one of them. Now that he had finished his time at his cosmetology school, they fully expected him to settle down, get married, and pop out a couple grandchildren. This was something Ichirou wanted, just not quite yet. He was barely old enough to drink, for god’s sake!

The pink haired young man finally tossed his blankets off, and hopped down from his bed. He pulled his pajama shirt off, stepped out of his pants, and pulled down his underwear. He stepped over to his walk-in closet, opening the door and stepping inside. He quickly grabbed a pair of underwear and put them on. He was the sort of person who got embarrassed if he was naked, even in his own bedroom.

Ichirou thumbed through his outfits. He wasn’t afraid of embracing his masculinity or his femininity, so there was anything in there from carefully tailored suits to adorable suspender skirts. However, today, he decided on a pair of pastel yellow shorts and a lavender, oversized t-shirt with a graphic of a cute anime girl on it. He would certainly be changing into a suit later, so he really didn’t see any use of trying too hard today. By mid afternoon, he would be getting a manicure, makeup, and having his outfits double checked.

Taking a speedy turn out of the closet, he went over to his vanity. He sat down and carefully checked his skin for any emergent acne that he would have to take care of. He didn’t really need makeup, as he was a dominant omega. Beauty came naturally to him, with long eyelashes, wide, pink eyes, a slim, soft figure, long, shining hair, and pale skin that was unblemished. His pouty lips smiled slightly as he saw that he had no pimples to speak of. He then grabbed one of his many hair elastics from one of the drawers of the vanity, as well as a comb. He quickly brushed it out, then tied it up high on the back of his head.

Finally pleased enough with how he looked, Ichirou grabbed his phone from his nightstand and walked out of his room with a purpose. That purpose was simple: food. He plodded down the stairs, going from the third floor of this stupidly large mansion down to the second floor. Much to his chagrin, as he hit the second floor, he could hear the sounds of people shuffling about through the mansion, likely setting up for tonight’s event in the ballroom. 

Ichirou shuffled through the several hallways and rooms, until he finally found the dining room, where he saw his younger sister, Ichika, sitting at the island. He felt a bite of envy course through him, which he quickly pushed down. She was still in college, and was an alpha. In comparison to him, she actually probably had a lot less options since she was studying business to become the heir to the family fortune and business, but at the very least she wasn’t being “heavily encouraged” to start dating for marriage.

He jumped up onto the seat next to her, and she jumped slightly, obviously not having expected him. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was just him, brushing back her short pink hair.

“God, can you say something next time? I’m trying to study,” Ichika complained, sitting up a bit. She pulled her papers and laptop away from him, trying to make room.

“Sorry, I was just being horribly depressed,” Ichirou dramatically sighed.

“Oh, shut up. There’s worse things in life than meeting a bunch of alphas. Mom and Dad aren’t even trying to push marriage super hard!”

“That’s what you think…”

Ichirou sullenly rested his chin on his fists. The chef came by quickly thereafter, took down what each of them wanted, before running back into the kitchen. Ichirou sighed, and continued pouting at his sister.

Ichika and he looked strikingly similar. The biggest difference was their builds and the length of their hair. Ichirou’s hair fell halfway down his shoulder blades, while Ichika’s was cut close to her head in a much more masculine haircut. Ichirou was barely five foot five inches, while Ichika was five foot ten inches. She had somewhat broad shoulders, and a bit of muscular tone. Ichirou’s body was more soft, with slight curves. Still, they both had the charm and beauty of a dominant alpha and a dominant omega, respectively.

“I’m not ready to get married,” Ichirou said. It was a quiet admission, but one that he had made many times before.

Ichika glanced at him, pursing her lips. “I know. If it was up to me, I’d let you live your life for at least another couple years. But being that you’re an omega, and Mom and Dad are old fashioned…” She trailed off, and looked back to the paper she was writing.

“I don’t think I’d even care if they wanted me to date more. It’s just the whole hurry up and date quickly and then get married thing. Why couldn’t I have been born an alpha and not have to worry about this crap!”

“Blame Great-Grandma. She was the last omega.”

Ichirou hummed, sounding disappointed. “It’s hard to be mad at the dead, though.”

“Sounds like a personal problem.”

The young man rolled his eyes, and the doors to the kitchen opened once more, revealing two trays; one of which was filled steaming rice, salted salmon, a bowl of miso soup, tamagoyaki, some broccoli, green tea, and a few pickled vegetables, while the other held a strawberry filled crepe, a Cafe au Lait, and a fruit salad. The chef carefully placed the Japanese-style breakfast beside Ichika, and the French-style breakfast in front of Ichirou. They both dug in, choosing to ignore both the homework and each other for the time being. The siblings had the same bad habit of eating and ignoring everything around them, something their parents had continually tried to fix in order to get them ready to exist in high society.

Speaking of their parents, their mother, Iwa, popped around the corner, loudly calling out, “Ichiroouuu! Ichirou!! Where are you? Oh, my darling, there you are!”

Ichirou grimaced before swallowing and turning to face his mother. “Yes? I’m right here, there’s no need to yell.”

If Ichirou had a flair for the dramatic, it was only because he had learned it from his mother. She let out a loud sigh, grabbing one of the chairs and pulling it over to the two young adults, sitting and flopping backwards with great verve.

“Your father ordered peonies instead of roses for the table settings by mistake! How will we ever be able to recover from this embarrassment? All of the alphas are going to think my baby boy’s some sort of joke!”

Ichika seemed to be doing everything in her power to hold in her laughs, while Ichirou sighed, rubbing his temples. “Mom, I asked for them to be changed to peonies, remember? I like them better since there’s no thorns.”

“No, no, no, my dear, there’s no way you did this. I distinctly remember you loving pink roses the best,” Iwa insisted.

“I do love pink roses the best, but having giant vases of thorny roses isn’t really a good idea. I really don’t think the alphas will care.”

“But they will! How will you get married, now?” 

With that said, she began to sob, lowering her face into her hands. Ichika was shaking now, trying to hold in her laughter at her mother’s ridiculous antics. After taking a moment to roll his eyes, Ichirou scooted his barstool closer to his mother, and laid his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, her makeup already dripping down her face.

“Mom. If he was going to marry me, I think he would have married me for reasons other than me having roses at this stupid little meet and greet thing. I’m not worried about it,” Ichirou said.

Iwa sniffed loudly and nodded wildly. “You’re right, darling! My little boy would never marry someone so shallow that they mind what flowers are at your first foray into the world of high society. You’ll have wonderful pink roses for your wedding.”

Ichirou nodded right on back, doing his best not to let his exasperation leak onto his face. Ichika, finally having composed herself, turned to face her mother and brother.

“Mom, that’s up to Ichirou. I’m sure he’d like that, but don’t decide that on your own,” she gently chided.

“Yes, yes, of course.” Iwa was now wiping her streaks of eyeliner off her cheeks, seeming to completely have calmed down. This sort of yo-yoing of emotion was fairly common for her, and her children were extremely used to it by this time. “Are you two finished with your breakfast? Or, by now, your almost lunch?” She looked at them disapprovingly at that last line.

Ichirou checked his phone. Indeed, by now, it was eleven. He had slept in later than he intended, but he had been so anxious the night before that it was an inevitability. He then turned his back towards his mother, and finished off his coffee. He hopped off his barstool and gave her an affirmative nod. Meanwhile, Ichika shook her head, sipping at her soup.

“Well, that’s fine, I really just need Ichirou. Come on, darling, help me with making sure everything is perfect for tonight,” Iwa said, grabbing Ichirou’s hand and dragging him down to the nearest staircase. He stumbled down after her, trying not to groan as he did so. If you could not tell by this point within the story, Ichirou was really not looking forward to this event.

His mother pulled him into the ballroom, which was bustling with activity. The marble tile had been cleaned to the point that it shone, the walls were repainted white, while the gold accents had been polished. The sparkling chandeliers had definitely been cleaned as well, and although the lights weren’t on, the crystals still sparkled. The windows let in plenty of light at this time, but they would surely be darkened by the time the event came. It was only early April, after all, and by seven it would be dark.

All and all, their home was styled after the French Rococo time period, but the ballroom was where that really showed. Everything felt ornate and rich. That might have been why Ichirou didn’t like the ballroom that much; it was just too much. It definitely felt out of place in modern Japan, but when you are ridiculously rich, what else were you supposed to do with your money?

As they set up the tables, Ichirou’s mother double checked everything from the tablecloth to the silverware. She confirmed everything with Ichirou, and he simply nodded. They had confirmed all of this several months ago, so he wasn’t sure why his mom was so determined to find the smallest detail that was wrong. It was probably “something something our family’s pride something something.” Ichirou was towed around by Iwa, confirming every bit of decor. Before he knew it, three PM had hit, and his mother had him leave to start getting ready.

As much as Ichirou did not want to entertain a bunch of annoying alphas, he relished in cleaning and pampering himself. He took a bath, ensuring to wash every inch of his body. He lathered himself with strawberry scented cleaning products that softened his skin. His hair was washed, then conditioned, then a mask. After verifying that he smelled great and was clean, he got up out of the bath and wiped down the somewhat misty mirror.

Ichirou put on a revitalizing face mask that had a cute panda face on it. He brushed his teeth harder than he normally would, and flossed as well. He put a generous amount of lotion onto his hands, arms, legs, and feet. Finally, he took off the face mask and washed his face. With this done, he pulled on his underwear, but nothing else as he walked out of his personal bathroom into his bedroom. As he had expected, there were several workers in the room, each one setting something different up.

He sat in front of the vanity once more, where they were all gathered around. However, this time, instead of facing the vanity, he faced the room. As soon as he did this, two of the women got to work on him. One began putting on makeup, blending it into his skin expertly, while the other put his feet in the portable foot spa that she had brought along. While those two women worked, the third was pulling together his baby pink suit, making certain that there were no crinkles, and all of the sizes were correct.

Although one could call it more natural looking, he did end up with a full face of makeup. He was certain that none of the alphas would be able to tell, unless for some reason there was a female alpha there, which would not be according to plan. Both his toenails and fingernails had been cut down a bit, with a shiny coat put on top. Lotions (which unfortunately did not smell like strawberries) had been rubbed into his hands and feet, as well as a couple of other treatments. 

With these done, Ichirou stood up and allowed the last woman to help him get into his pastel pink three piece suit. The only parts that weren’t pink were the white collared shirt, and the baby blue tie. It fit him perfectly, as it did a couple days ago when he tried it on. With this, he sat back down on the stool, and the makeup artist got back to work, this time on his hair. As the woman who helped him with his clothes adjusted this and that, and helped him put his shoes and socks on, the other woman did his hair into a pinned up braid, deftly sewing fake peonies into his braid.

At the end of all of it, Ichirou turned around and looked back at himself. He really was pretty. Beautiful even. He was certain that every one of those alphas would want him, as not only a rare high society omega, but also just as a gorgeous boy. It made him all the more nervous. With a careful breath in and out, he walked out the door of his bedroom and made his way to the first floor.

Ichirou felt a bit dizzy as he made his way through his labyrinth of a home. He had been entirely surrounded by betas and omegas while he was studying to be both a hair and makeup artist. The only alphas he had been around since this were his family and the occasional guest that came over to their home. Tonight, he was going to have to be in a room with several dozen of them. Just the idea of that many pheremones in the same room was enough to make him gag. That didn’t even bring into consideration the egos of all of those male alphas. Ichirou almost wished that he was straight.

It was half past six when he arrived in the ballroom. The ballroom had been decorated from head to toe with pink flowers, pink chiffon, and pink tableware. His sister, mother, and father were all standing around the head table, chattering among themselves. When Iwa saw him walking towards them, she let out a wail, holding out her arms towards him.

“My babbyyyyy!”

“Dear, calm down. You’re probably going to make him more nervous,” his father, Isami, consoled her.

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“That’s impossible,” Ichirou grumbled as he pulled out a seat, flopping down.

“Oh, darling, I know.” She sat next to him, her smile earnest. “I remember being so nervous when my parents set me up with your father. But it all worked out in the end, yes? And if you don’t meet your prince charming tonight, we’ll set up another event, again and again, until you do find him. Even if we have to bring in alphas from all over the globe, I don’t care as long as you’re married and-”

“Dear, you’re stressing him out again,” Isami chastised.

Ichika sat down next to Ichirou, a little grin on her face. “You’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ll find someone who can put up with your himedere ass.”

“Don’t use coarse language,” Iwa automatically said.

“I’m twenty, let me swear!” Ichika whined.

None of this was making poor Ichirou feel better. Indeed, guests began to filter in, each being shown to their seat one by one. Every few minutes, a tall, handsome man made his way into the hall. A low, chattering hum began to fill the room, as man after man came into the room. Even more than before, Ichirou was quite certain that he wouldn’t be able to take more than five or ten minutes with each guest, and that was not nearly enough time to get to know any single man.

After every seat was filled, his father stood up to speak. “Greetings, all. We welcome you to the Kimura home. This home was built by my father, after he visited Europe for several months. As you can imagine, his father was not pleased when he tore down the old family house to create this western style mansion, but I believe it was worth it. This home will likely go down to my darling daughter. However, that does not mean I love my son any less. If you are to take on the task of loving my Ichirou, I expect nothing but the utmost devotion. He’s a sweet boy who does things as he likes. He’s not afraid to be feminine, and he’s always been our sweet princess. If you don’t show him the absolute care and attention he deserves, then just know… the Kimura family will gladly take our princess back.”

It was taking everything in his power for Ichirou not to jump under the table and hide. He settled for looking at his lap, his face, ears, and neck a bright shade of red. Why, why, oh why did his parents have to be so embarrassing? Just tell them that he was a nice kid and to enjoy the meal, oh god, god damn.

“As a reminder, if any one of you alphas feel entitled to his body, I will have you kicked out and blacklisted by companies for the rest of your pathetic life. Anyhow, let’s get dinner started! Bring in the dishes.”

Isami clapped, and sat down as a barrage of servers came in to bring food to the men and two women. The cuisine was French, with the meal consisting of concombre a la menthe, consomme, confit de canard, and creme brulee. After that, the champagne was poured, and it was time for Ichirou to start wandering around and talking to people. His mother and father both had to pull him up. They patted his back before shoving him out to the empty middle of the room, where the men had gathered and begun to babble amongst themselves.

Ichirou kept to his five to ten minute rule as closely as possible, meeting each of the men. Some came from car companies, some from technology companies, and others were land owners. Each of them attempted to woo him with their riches and their status as alphas. They attempted to outclass each other, telling of their families histories, and their companies. It was, in a single word, exhausting.

The men came in all sorts, each of them dashingly handsome. Some had dark hair, some light, and some even multicolored. Their ages ranged from twenty to thirty, which he had managed to convince his parents of with quite a bit of cajoling. They had wanted up to thirty five, and while there was nothing wrong with being that age, he felt weird about someone wanting to date him when they were thirteen years his senior.

Ichirou supposed that what he would have liked was someone who was willing to speak to him as a human, not as a connection to the Kimura family. It seemed that none of them looked at him and saw a person, but rather as the number in their bank accounts increasing. No, that wasn’t exactly true. There were those few who didn’t see him as money, but seemingly a sex object. They would make comments about Ichirou’s body, things that made his skin crawl a bit, but not enough to warrant someone being tossed out of the building.

He laughed off another uncomfortable comment, before switching partners again. He wanted to call the guy out, but in this stuffy atmosphere, there was no way he could. He gave an empty glass that once homed champagne to a server, before nervously grabbing another full glass. This was his third, and he was starting to feel it. He was drinking it a bit too quickly, probably, but dealing with all of these men, he needed it.

More than anything else, the scent of the alphas were overwhelming him. Each man he spoke to seemed to need to release their pheromones, which mixed with the other men’s pheromones, which was creating an impossibly dense cloud of scents. It wasn’t necessarily that the men smelled bad, but it was definitely giving him sensory overload. He never wished more that he was one of those annoying people who breathed through his mouth.

It was about the time that he finished his third drink that he couldn’t stand it anymore. He needed a damn break. So, Ichirou interrupted a particularly boring sounding man, stating that he needed to use the restroom. He had no plans for actually using the restroom as he deftly moved through the barrage of men out to the hallway. He walked down the hall for a bit, then, attempting to be as sneaky as possible, he opened the door to his yard and walked out into the cool night air.

He took in a deep breath, standing outside the door for all of a moment before he speedily walked to his favorite spot in the garden. It was a little nook with trees and a couple of boulders blocking its view from the house. He sat on the stone bench, gripping it tightly and gratefully allowing the chilly air to cause the heat he had been feeling to be pulled out of him. He would just stay there for a moment, to allow himself some time to rest and rejuvenate. 

Surrounding him were a couple of cherry trees, and some tulips had begun to pop out. Winter truly was over, and now spring had begun. The grass had become a bit more green in spots, but it still wasn’t quite up to his mother’s standards. Being that it was half past ten by this point, there was no brightness from the sun left. The only things that glowed in the garden were the moon and some small garden lanterns. They really only gave the smallest of glows, barely revealing any details that the garden had.

Ichirou definitely wouldn’t say he was drunk, as he’d had three glasses over the course of two hours, but he wouldn’t say he was sober either. He needed those drinks in order to deal with all of the gross men he was dealing with. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to going in, but he steeled himself, deciding he would just have to grab another drink in order to face this mess.

That was, until someone wandered into the small clearing. Ichirou tensed up as he saw a man he did not recognize standing before him, wearing a blue and black suit. The man was tall, probably taller than all of the other alphas at the party. And, although Ichirou could not see his face super well, he could see that the man looked as surprised to see him as Ichirou was to see him.

“Sorry, I was just taking a break outside, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” the man said, stepping back.

Ichirou sighed. This was a man he had not yet spoken to, he was certain of that much. The deep, gentle manner in which he spoke was definitely not something he would have forgotten. Ichirou figured that he may as well get this man’s five to ten minutes used up before he went back into the sweltering, pungent ballroom. 

“You’re fine. We haven’t met, yet, right? If you want we can talk for a second,” Ichirou said, gesturing to the grass in front of him. “I was taking a break, too. The smell in there is really overwhelming.”

“I thought so, too,” the man said, stepping in slowly and seating himself on the grass a couple of meters away, leaving room for Ichirou to breathe. Huh. That was unusually courteous. 

“I’m Kimura Ichirou. I’m twenty two, and I’ve never dated anyone before. I like fashion and makeup, and I’m working on setting up a small subsection of Kimura Corporation to dive a bit into the makeup world.” The usual spiel automatically fell from his mouth.

“Nice to meet you, Kimura-san,” the man said with a quick bow. “I’m Yamashita Masahiro, and I’m the same age as you. I dated one guy before, but we both hated it so much that we broke up within a month. I also dated a girl before that. My uncle owns The Yamashita Hotel line.”

Ichirou was a bit surprised at the mostly casual way of speaking that Masahiro was using. For him, who had been using keigo all night long, it threw him off his game a bit. And it wasn’t even that he was speaking super impolitely, just that he was speaking more casually than others had been. But, somehow, with Masahiro sitting in front of him cross legged and leaning back on the palms of his hands, it felt strangely right. 

Masahiro spoke again before Ichirou was able to think of a proper response. “So, how has your night been? There’s a lot of guys here to get through.”

“Bad.” Ichirou’s response was automatic, and he covered his mouth, face turning bright red. Perhaps the three drinks had more of an effect on him than he had thought. Still, Masahiro didn’t seem surprised, and rather nodded sympathetically.

“I totally understand. I’m only here because my aunt kept bothering my uncle to get me into the dating scene. Well, that and I’ve heard that the Kimura family has great food.” Masahiro chuckled to himself.

For the first time that night, Ichirou felt seen. However, that feeling was quickly washed over by distrust. Why would someone openly admit that to him? If nothing else, they would try to make a good impression so that they could continue to have the Kimura family on their side. Perhaps this was some sort of weird dating strategy that he wasn’t aware of? Still, it couldn’t hurt to be a little bit honest.

“Well… I mean, I feel the same. I’m still so young; I’m not ready for marriage.”

Masahiro grinned somewhat at this, tilting his head a bit. “Glad to hear I’m not the only one at this party who’s trying to just make it through.”

“Yeah, I just, like, all of these guys suck here. All they care about is getting the prestige from working with the Kimura corporation, and if they care about more than that, then it feels like they’re looking at me like they wanna eat me. And my mom and dad said that they’ll do this again and again until I find a man, and I just…” Ichirou felt himself trail off, having surprised himself with that outburst. His face turned red and he looked away. This was not how this chat was supposed to go. He was supposed to just listen to Masahiro ramble about himself for several minutes, then go back inside to listen to more men jabber about how alpha they were.

“It’s fine, I won’t tell,” Masahiro said, causing Ichirou to jolt and look towards him. The taller man leaned forward at this moment, a slightly mischievous grin on his face. “Actually, I have a great idea that could help both you and I.”

“Oh?” Ichirou felt himself get nervous again.

“The both of us aren’t looking to date at the moment, and we both hate these sorts of events. So, why don’t we pretend to date?”

Ichirou felt his jaw drop at that suggestion. There was simply no way he could go along with that idea. His parents would surely find out and be so angry with him! Not only that, but how could he be certain that this wasn’t just Masahiro’s way of attempting to flirt with him? But, then again, he had kept his space from Ichirou, and hadn’t been flaunting his pheromones this whole time. And surely, even if parents eventually found out, it would buy him time.

“Before you say no, why don’t you just consider it? I’m not asking for a response right now. I just don’t want to go to any more of these events, and you seem nice.” Masahiro leaned back.

Ichirou hesitantly voiced the worries on his mind. “How do I know you aren’t doing this as some sort of clever way of getting with me?”

“Hm… well, I don’t really have any sort of answer for you on that end. I can’t prove intent without sufficient evidence, but I can make a simple promise for you. I promise that if you decide to do this, you can end the fake dating arrangement at any time.” Ichirou eyed him suspiciously while Masahiro stood up, quickly wiping any grass off his bottom. “Anyway, shouldn’t we head in? You need to greet more guests.”

Reluctantly, Ichirou stood up and followed him towards the house. Masahiro stopped at the door and opened it for Ichirou, an oddly calming smile on his face. In the light, Ichirou could see his features a lot more clearly. He had deep, dark blue hair that was carefully styled to swoop off to one side. His eyes were closer to a sky blue, but his long, thick eyelashes really stole the show. He also had some black plugs in his ears, although they weren’t very large. Ichirou could see that in the right circumstances, this towering man could either be considered terrifying or absolutely gorgeous. However, being surrounded by handsome, high class alphas all night, the only thing that really stood out about him was his insane height. This guy had to be nearly a foot taller than Ichirou…

Masahiro closed the door behind Ichirou. “I’m going to head out for the night then. Please consider my offer, Kimura-san.”

Ichirou, for the first time, caught a whiff of Masahiro’s pheromones. The smell was warm and woody, almost like the smell of a forest in the middle of summer. Still, he walked away, leaving Ichirou standing uncertainly there. The pleasant scent was gone in an instant. Taking in a deep breath, Ichirou turned towards the ballroom and began walking. 

There were significantly less people there, which Ichirou felt grateful for. It was, after all, getting close to eleven. He grabbed one last champagne, and chatted with each of the remaining alphas. Going back to his stuffy way of speaking, as well as the (somewhat less horrific) smell, was more challenging than he had expected. He managed to keep up appearances fairly well for the rest of the night, however, despite his thoughts being filled with Masahiro. Something about Masahiro had felt somewhat familiar, but he was also certain that he didn’t know the guy. Perhaps they had met at some sort of event while he was in high school? Maybe even back to middle school! 

With the last guest having been greeted, the remaining few men were ushered out of the room. It was half past eleven at this point, and Ichirou had spoken to several dozen men, all of which he felt he barely knew. With the last guest gone, an exhausted Ichirou and his family were left alone in the ballroom to speak for a moment. A big part of him wanted to just say that he’d talk about it tomorrow, but he knew that his parents would never let that fly. 

His mother, smiling widely, asked the questions that he did not want to answer. “Well, darling, was that so hard? You got through it so well.” Iwa reached out and lightly touched his cheek with her hand, cupping it gently. “Did you meet anyone you want to get to know better? Were there any guys’ whose families you want us to reach out to?”

Once more, Masahiro’s smiling face passed through his mind. It was at that moment that he decided to make a decision.

“Actually, I think I’ve got a name.”

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